[sacw] SACW #2 | 28 May 02 [Gujarat & after]

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch #2 | 28 May 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

__________________________

#1. Separate Religion from Politics - Letter to Editor EPW
#2. Hindutva : The Rape of History (I.K.Shukla)
#3. India: Into the darkness (John Elliott)
#4. Press Release 'Hey Ram" Screened in Goa - No Ban on The Film
#5. Volunteers to provide relief in Gujarat
#6. Gujarat embers smoulder on after three months of strife
#7. Announcement of Aaj Ke Naam - film makers against communalism

__________________________

#1.

Economic and Political Weekly (Bombay)
Letter to Editor
May 18, 2002

Separate Religion from Politics

The ongoing communal attacks in Gujarat once again show that the slow=20
poison of communalism is spreading through Indian society and=20
threatening to tear apart our multireligious and multicultural=20
nation. The decision of the VHP - a constituent of the Sangh parivar=20
- to construct a Ram mandir at the site of the demolished Babri=20
masjid any time after March 12 whipped up Hindu religious feelings in=20
a planned way to cater to the electoral interests of the Sangh=20
parivar in UP and Uttaranchal. However, when the electoral results=20
were not up to their expectations, the need to pursue the Hindutva=20
agenda more aggressively was felt and stressed by the constituents of=20
the parivar - particularly the VHP. The Gujarat communal massacres=20
and violence that followed shortly thereafter were also carried out=20
according to carefully prepared plans. The Gujarat violence was=20
therefore part of a larger plan of communal politics. The burning=20
alive of men, women and children; the selective looting and burning=20
of shops and homes; and the call for economic boycott, have seared=20
the conscience of people all over the country. For the first time in=20
our history, a state government has displayed a thoroughly communal=20
approach, colluding with the attackers and justifying their actions.=20
The central government has in turn justified the actions of the state=20
government. The open communal bias of the institutions of government=20
and the organs of the state is reminiscent of the dark days of=20
Nazism. The barbaric events of Gujarat must now serve as a last=20
warning of what is in store for us if the politics of communalism=20
remains unchallenged.

Parliamentary parties have talked of according equal respect to all=20
religions, but in practice have fostered communal vote-banks of=20
different religions, deepening and expanding communal tension. Over=20
the years, the institutions of government have been involved in=20
religious rituals with political motives. Leaders of religious sects=20
have begun to exert undue influence on government decisions. We have=20
also seen open instigation of communal violence, and the use of=20
government and administrative apparatus to spread communal violence=20
and foster communal viewpoints. Communalism is no longer only a=20
vehicle to capture votes and come to power. Parties in power have=20
begun using the government and the organs of state to further=20
communalise society. The communalisation of society is being done at=20
a time when people of all religions and persuasions are facing=20
problems of poverty, unemployment, lack of access to education and=20
health, decline in values, communal division, and caste and gender=20
oppression. People's movements against these problems can be=20
successful only if we propagate, accept and internalise the need for=20
complete separation of religion from politics. Otherwise,=20
politically-driven communal ideologies will divert and divide us,=20
resulting in an endless spiral of violence.

In a multireligious and multicultural nation like ours, peaceful=20
coexistence of all is possible only if religion is treated as a=20
private matter of its citizens. Citizens may practise any religion of=20
their choice, but political parties and the government must be kept=20
away from all matters of religious belief. This is the lesson that=20
the history of our emergence as a nation has taught us.

It is futile to look towards parliamentary political parties alone=20
for leadership in the fight against communal politics. Most=20
parliamentary parties use the issue of secularism as a slogan to=20
obtain votes. At the same time, they do not hesitate to make use of=20
majority or minority communal feelings for their own political=20
advantage. The various unprincipled alliances that some parties have=20
entered into have greatly weakened public sentiment against=20
communalism and for secularism. The neglect of grass roots movement=20
and organisation have led to a false belief that communalism can be=20
checked by administrative action alone. This is the time for all of=20
us to shake off complacence and act decisively against communalism.=20
We must now pledge ourselves towards a people's movement for the=20
complete separation of religion from politics. Let us make a=20
beginning by promoting the idea of complete separation of religion=20
from politics. Let us discuss this idea in our homes, neighbourhoods=20
and workplaces. As people begin to respond positively, suggestions on=20
how to implement this idea will come in. This will lead to a=20
practical programme of action. Let us make a beginning now.

Pran Wantoo, Depinder Singh,
Rajesh Ramakrishnan,
Jitendra Murmu, and Viren Lobo

_____

#2.

HINDUTVA : THE RAPE OF HISTORY
I.K.Shukla

The assault on Sadbhawana March and Shaheed Mela in Faizabad on=20
May10-11 by the Mayawati government of U.P. is a pointer, among other=20
things, of the role that saffronazis have assigned to Dalits. For the=20
latter to be tolerated or accommodated in the Vedic Taliban=20
dispensation it would be imperative that they agree to being used for=20
the purposes dear to Hindutva as so graphically evident in Gujarat.=20
And, Mayawati will play to the tune dictated by Manuvadis in U.P. as=20
avidly and adeptly as the Non-Democratic Alliance partners at the=20
centre. The flourishing racket of electoral politics in India may=20
prove to be the permanent cremation ground and coffin of its hapless=20
multitudes, but it will sustain the predatory ruling class, and=20
entrench the violently iniquitous status quo, besides swelling the=20
coffers of crooks and criminals.

The erasure of historical memory and common legacy is an avowed=20
project of the Hindu Huns. And there are reasons enough to accord=20
with their ideology of fascist brigandage. In the history of the land=20
either Hindutva hordes and their forbears had no role, or, worse, had=20
a very sordid one. Hence the nagging embarrassment of ignominy and=20
notoriety. This sense of alienation from the national mainstream and=20
this memory of betrayal of the nation in its critical moments, unless=20
violently excised, would constantly din and deflate the fatuous=20
claims and upstart dreams of the inferior and the craven who=20
constitute the squalid hordes of Hindutva.

It was for this reason that the saffronite collaborators and=20
Quislings used boots and batons in Faizabad to smash the=20
commemoration of our freedom fighters of 1857. That they were in=20
khaki signifies their penchant for paramilitary violence. (In the=20
pre-1947 era their black cap and khaki knicker opposed the white=20
Gandhi cap and khadi). 10 May 1857, that launched our First War of=20
Independence, however ill-fated, is a gloriously proud day for the=20
collective memory of a nation. It has been cherished as a memorable=20
event for our composite and panoptic nationhood. Its heroes and=20
ballads are national treasures. To demolish and defile them is=20
tantamount to setting aflame a brilliant chapter of India=92s history=20
and molesting the national memory. Hindutva, under the aegis of NDA,=20
has been engaged only in this degrading enterprise from day one of=20
its ascent to power.

Its destruction spree is uninhibited and unstoppable. In spheres both=20
internal and external it has furiously been busy destroying all that=20
was built over several decades as a principled and distinguished=20
corpus of alignments and achievements. It has openly renounced and=20
repudiated our traditional alliances (SADR, Palestine, Iraq, and=20
Non-Aligned Movement) and embraced, in abject servility, the=20
imperialist and neo-colonial aggressors who have been endangering=20
peace and threatening the world with weapons of mass destruction=20
(Israel, Morocco, USA). Its current postures and pretensions=20
vis-a-vis Pakistan are just a link in the chain of its Akhand Bharat=20
perfidies.

Since there is another Ayodhya, more authentic and more organic=20
(whether of 1857 or farther back), that it would like written out of=20
history and national consciousness, the BJP-Maya government of U.P.=20
savagely bore down on the marchers and freedom celebrants. Hindu Huns=20
mortally fear freedom of the people. People, in its book, are meant=20
to be kept in subjugation and deemed fit just for exploitation as=20
valets or voters. Each segment of society has been assigned by the=20
Manuvadi fascists a place and a function that it would perform=20
without demur, without complaint or questions, like robots or=20
androids. Nothing should inspire and encourage people to assert their=20
freedom and dignity. So the U.P.=92s BJP police charged and jailed=20
artists and writers, activists and professors. One of them is Dr=20
Subhendu Ghosh, Head, Bio-Physics Dept., University of Delhi.

Socially conscious and politically aware artists and activists,=20
students and workers are a thorn in the flesh of the saffron=20
scoundrels. The last minute withdrawal of permission, and=20
contrariwise, facilitating VHP=92s terror campaigns and RSS-Bajrang=20
Dal=92s vandalism in Ayodhya regularly, may flout the democratic norms=20
or impugn our civil liberties, but they assert the right to thuggery=20
that Hindu Huns seek and claim as in Gujarat. Mayawati is an ill=20
omen. She must be guarded against. I recall Kabir: Maya maha thagini=20
main jaanee (I know illusion to be the great cheat). She is loyal to=20
the meaning of her name. She will carry out more sordid and sinister=20
orders of BJP because she owes her gaddi to it. And, the biggest=20
state of the Union will thus have been bloodily prepared and readied=20
for the future electoral triumph of the terrorist gangsters of=20
VHP-Bajrang Dal-RSS-Shiv Sena. Maya with her Bahujan Samaj is a well=20
heeled in her own right but, for the nonce, is just a hired foot=20
soldier of the saffronazis.

To attack the artists and activists of Sadbhawana March and Shaheed=20
Mela was also an egregious and exemplary insult for its=20
demonstrative value, meant to deter any such celebration of our=20
common bonds and syncretic roots. Earlier in the south, celebrations=20
of Tipu Sultan were similarly targeted. But the conspiracy and mad=20
drive to wipe out the contributions of generations gone by (Wali=20
Dakhni=92s and Faiyaz Khan=92s tombs razed in Ahmedabad), if allowed to=20
succeed, will turn us into a people without a civilisational matrix=20
and a historical anchor. Those who courted arrest and suffered=20
physical brutality at the hands of the saffron-soiled police in=20
Faizabad are to be lauded for being witnesses of a shining moment in=20
our history, however removed in time, and choristers against forced=20
forgetting. Human collectivities live by and suffuse their temporal=20
existence with meaning and purpose through such signposts of=20
significance and sublimity. To deliberately deprive a nation of such=20
mementos is to render it into an arid desert of zombies and=20
sleepwalkers.

Ghadr (mutiny) was the name given, in derision and denigration, to=20
this Revolt of Hindustan by the Brits. This 1857 Resistance to the=20
colonial aliens inspired the Gadarite movement of Indian expatriates=20
in California at the turn of the century. It replicated the same=20
unity, the same determination as that of its earlier namesake. It=20
also was similarly all-Indian, a Hindu-Sikh-Muslim brigade of those=20
with passion and fire to stake all for the freedom and reconstruction=20
of India as a socially just and plural society free from exploitation=20
and discrimination of any kind. Among those who participated in=20
various =93actions=92 and were jailed, hanged and exiled were Muslims=20
too: Rahmat Ali (Patiala State),Fazal Din (Hoshiarpur), Hafiz Abdulla=20
(Jagraon), Fazal Din (Khalra), Mujtaba Husain (Jaunpur), Ali Muhammad=20
Sidiqi (Akbarpur,Fyzabad), Ghulam Husain (Lahore), Imam Din. Lest we=20
start looking up to these heroic models, the theoterrorist state has=20
pre-emptively struck to squelch both our memory and their heroism.

In this connection a book would prove highly illuminating. An Account=20
of the Ghadr Conspiracy: 1913-1915 by F.C.Isemonger and J. Slattery.=20
This official British report, with a Foreword by Dr. Ved Prakash=20
Vatuk, Berkeley, 1998, was first printed in 1919 in Lahore. Written=20
from the colonial masters=92 point of view it does make an interesting=20
reading in that its meticulous methodology and thoroughness lay bare=20
the extensive intelligence network and its dragon teeth in the life=20
of a subjugated India. Such books should have come from the=20
Publications Division. But
that is a forlorn hope in the season of madness ushered by=20
BJP-National Demolition Alliance.

The animus and aversion that Vedic Taliban nurture against Urdu is=20
another sore point. Little do they realize that the Ghadr, the=20
newspaper that Gadarites started in San Francisco, California (USA),=20
and which debuted on 1 Nov. 1913, was in Urdu. It was only later that=20
the Gurmukhi and Gujarati editions followed. But the exclusivist=20
negation of culture that revels in ignorance, promotes stupidity as=20
its manifesto, and unreason as its motto, makes a blinding display of=20
its savage identity in Orissa or Gujarat flaunting its diet of=20
worms. Such ones in India have historically been traitors,=20
destroyers, parasites, cowards and sellouts. Cruelty, violence,=20
malfeasance and meanness are integral to their project of frenetic=20
destruction.

India, a continent-size nation, a civilizational colossus, needs=20
magnanimous giants as leaders, not pygmies, ogres and thugs. If it=20
does not want to self-destruct it must heed this warning.

Finally, let us hear from Kartar Singh Sarabha, aged 19, the song he=20
sang as he was led to the gallows by the British:
Yahi paaoge mahshar men zabaan meri bayaan meraa
Main bandaa Hind waalon ka hun, hai Hindostan meraa
Main Hindi, theth Hindi, khun Hindi, jaat Hindi hai
Yehi mazhab, yehi firqa, yehi hai khaandaan meraa.

(On the judgment day these would be my words, my statement: I am a=20
servant of Indians and India is mine. I am an Indian, pure Indian, my=20
blood is Indian, my caste is Indian, my religion is Indian, my sect=20
is Indian, my family is India).

When the BJP police in UP attacked the March and the Mela it attacked=20
the memory of martyrs like Sarabha. Such rapes of history will recur=20
and must be resisted, martyrs=92 memory must be reclaimed and recited,=20
the kleptocratic vandals and revivalist villains desecrating and=20
despoiling the land must be consigned to the dung - drenched abyss of=20
oblivion .

May 26, 2002

_____

#3.

The New Statesman (UK)
Monday 27th May 2002

Into the darkness
John Elliott

India says Pakistan backs terrorism, but now it is charged with=20
supporting terrorism itself. By John Elliott

Your friendly local corner shop may seem an unlikely place to find=20
links to religiously motivated violence and ethnic cleansing. But the=20
Patels, a community (some say caste) who originally came from the=20
Indian state of Gujarat, played an important role in the troubles=20
that engulfed the state in March and April.

Together with other overseas Gujaratis in the UK and the US, Patels=20
are among those who help to finance the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),=20
the arch-Hindu fundamentalist organisation whose political arm, the=20
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), runs the state government in Gujarat=20
and leads India's coalition government. Some of the Patels also help=20
to finance the sect's small temples and schools in Gujarat's=20
villages, where, according to local social workers, militant Hindus=20
led attacks on Muslims in the past two months.

Without the dominant power of the VHP in Gujarat, riots that started=20
after 58 Hindu train passengers were burned alive, by a Muslim mob in=20
Godhra on 27 February, might have ended within a few days instead of=20
leading to more than 2,000 deaths, with bloody scenes of rape and the=20
burning of Muslims and their homes.

Instead, the violence accelerated, aided and encouraged by the BJP=20
Gujarat government and police - led by one of the Hindu movement's=20
most ambitious fundamentalists, Narendra Modi, the state's chief=20
minister. Modi used the Godhra incident as a trigger to unleash=20
attacks on Muslims, hoping that this would reverse recent BJP=20
electoral losses in the state - and allow Hindus to settle=20
long-running communal scores and drive Muslims out of their areas.=20
"This has not been a communal riot, nor a one-off event. It has been=20
genocide with the state being used as a laboratory for the VHP's=20
aims," says Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and leading social worker=20
who has been in Gujarat for nearly 30 years.

The large-scale violence has now stopped and, apart from isolated=20
incidents, is unlikely to begin again in the foreseeable future.=20
However, tensions and even further killings will continue later,=20
possibly instigated by Muslims marooned in refugee camps who do not=20
expect to get any significant redress in the courts for their loss of=20
relatives and property.

For the time being, though, the main protagonists are tired. Leading=20
businessmen, who have mostly stood by in silence for two months=20
(either because they supported the attacks on Muslims or were scared=20
of being attacked themselves), are demanding peace. There is a=20
general wish to revive the economy after two months of inactivity,=20
with workers staying away and truck drivers refusing to enter the=20
state.

Modi risks being dismissed for allowing the situation to deteriorate=20
- and it is far from clear whether the BJP has gained politically.=20
Government ministers and VHP leaders are loath to admit any=20
involvement with the riots. Some Hindus are still prepared to voice=20
anti-Muslim feeling, sentiments boosted by America's attack on=20
Islamic terrorists , and by India's growing tensions with Pakistan=20
over terrorist incidents in the disputed northern state of Jammu and=20
Kashmir.

Nationally, the BJP has realised that, instead of enhancing its=20
appeal as a strong Hindu party, the events have destroyed the secular=20
image it had been cultivating since it came to power in 1998. India's=20
reputation has been irretrievably damaged abroad, which will almost=20
certainly lead to a loss of urgently needed foreign investment. Since=20
11 September, Pakistan has been condemned by the US and other=20
countries for abetting terrorist activity in Indian Kashmir, but=20
India itself is now being accused of permitting and even encouraging=20
domestic terrorism. "What we have been seeing is state terrorism,=20
nothing less," says A P Raman, a leading local lawyer and former=20
senior judge.

This was probably the worst and most prolonged violence since the=20
partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, and it raises the question=20
of whether similar events will break out elsewhere in India, with=20
militant Hindus in other states looking for excuses to copy Gujarat=20
and ethnically cleanse their areas.

"What you have seen evolving here is the original RSS agenda when it=20
was set up some 70 years ago to develop a Hindu rashtra (nation) and=20
bring back the glories of Hindu kingdoms 2,000 years ago," says Mukul=20
Sinha, a lawyer and opponent of the riots. He is referring to the=20
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Nazi-style organisation at the=20
centre of the Sangh Parivar, as the BJP's and VHP's overall Hindu=20
revivalist movement is known.

Although the state is famous as the home of the pacifist Mahatma=20
Gandhi, there are tensions under the surface that have made it an=20
ideal breeding ground for the Sangh Parivar. The Patels, in=20
particular, turned to the VHP because elite Gujaratis failed to give=20
them sufficient status as they gradually developed from farm workers=20
to landlords and prosperous businessmen. Involvement in Sangh Parivar=20
politics has changed that, and Patels now occupy leading positions in=20
the state. "They have become one of the most influential supporters=20
of the BJP and VHP in Gujarat, both politically and economically,"=20
says a local newspaper editor.

Special factors, therefore, led to the events of the past two months=20
- a well-established but worried BJP ruling party, a Sangh Parivar=20
that wanted to flex its fundamentalist muscles, supported by a large=20
and prosperous social group which wanted to assert itself. There does=20
not appear to be a similar political and social mix elsewhere in=20
India. But that could change in sensitive states such as Maharashtra=20
or Uttar Pradesh, so another "Gujarat 2002" cannot be ruled out=20
sometime in the future.

_____

#4.

PRESS RELEASE

'HEY RAM" SCREENED - NO BAN ON THE FILM

The controversial 'banned' film allegedly proscribed by the State's=20
Chief Electoral Officer Arvind Ray was today screened at the=20
Multi-Purpose Hall next to the Women Police Station at Old GMC=20
Complex at Panaji by Bailancho Saad.

The Saad spokesperson Sabina Martins stated that this was done after=20
it became clear that no written order, instructions or gazette=20
notification has been issued by the Chief Electoral Officer=20
prohibiting the screening of the Film. Saad activist Madhuri Rao=20
stated that earlier this morning, a twelve member delegation of=20
Bailancho Saad, a women's collective visited the CEO Office at=20
Altinho, with a representation which representation had drawn=20
attention to the fact that the casette promotes communal harmony and=20
peace and that suppression of the same is a gross violation of the=20
fundamental freedom of speech and expression.

Discussions with Assistant Electoral Officer J. Pai revealed that no=20
written orders regarding the Film HEY RAM and the Magazine=20
Communalism Combat had been issued by the CEO. The Saad pointed out=20
that in effect, this means that the screening of the Film and the=20
circulation of the Magazine Communalism Combat is not prohibited in=20
any way and the public were misled by the State at the instance of=20
instance of the vested interests. Consequently, a screening was=20
organised which was well-attended. Copies of the Special Issue of=20
Communalism Combat titled Genocide 2002 were also sold at the=20
screening.

albertina almeida

for Bailancho Saad

_____

#5.

The Hindu
Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Volunteers to provide relief

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 27. Ordinary people and victims of violence are trying=20
to fill the huge gap created by the Gujarat Government's reluctance=20
to provide proper relief and rehabilitation to the survivors of the=20
carnage in the State.

Volunteers, brought together by Aman Samudaya, an initiative launched=20
by over 30 NGOs and development agencies, including the Action Aid=20
Eklavya Foundation, the St. Xavier's Social Service Society and Oxfam=20
India, are working in relief camps to help people pick up pieces of=20
their lives and get justice.

The volunteers, called `Aman Pathiks', are trained to counsel people=20
in distress, to handle compensation cases and redressal for women who=20
have suffered violence. The Aman Pathiks, who are from all religious=20
communities, work in groups of two or four and are responsible for=20
between 40 and 80 families most affected by the violence. There are=20
about 200 victims of violence who have volunteered.

The volunteers will assist victims register FIRs, prepare death=20
certificates and help locate and identify missing family members.

The Aman Pathiks have received training in counselling from the=20
National Institute for Mental Health and Science in Bangalore. There=20
will also be a special training programme for those Aman Pathiks who=20
will be working with children.

Aman Samudaya says there is a need to focus on the single parent=20
households headed by women who have not only to look after their=20
children but also earn a living, as also on children who are orphaned=20
and who are disabled.

With the monsoon expected in a matter of weeks Aman Samudaya is=20
concerned about the worsening conditions in the camps.

Action Aid's country director, Harsh Mander, said reports that camps=20
were being disbanded had created a mood of uncertainty and panic.

Once out of the camps the victims could lose out on compensation,=20
registering cases and pursuing justice.

_____

#6.

Gujarat embers smoulder on after three months of strife

>From Indo-Asian News Service

Ahmedabad, May 27 (IANS) Three months after the worst sectarian violence in
Gujarat that India witnessed in a decade, the social fabric in the native
land of Mahatma Gandhi lies in tatters.

After abating for nearly 10 days, street-fights and stabbings made a
comeback over the weekend, indicating how the sectarian hate that has
outraged the nation
continues in Gujarat state since the killing of 58 train passengers in
Godhra town February 27.

As national headlines have shifted away from Gujarat to tensions with
Pakistan, the suffering of thousands of survivors who bore the brunt of mob
attacks in many cities and towns for weeks has slipped out of focus. The
withdrawal of soldiers for redeployment along the border with Pakistan has
left many victims uneasy.

"Earlier the presence of the army personnel here gave us a sense of
security," said Shakeel Ahmed of the Islami Relief Committee. "But they are
gone due to the tensions with Pakistan, and we are once again without
protection."

Rendered homeless in their own birthplace, an overwhelming number of these
virtual refugees are Muslims living in makeshift relief camps that are
bursting at the seams and run a high risk of epidemic.

Their relations burnt to death, their houses torched and their belongings
looted, many survivors of the killings that claimed about 950 lives are too
scared to return home. And the fanatics behind the mob attacks in urban and
rural areas have been warning the Muslims against returning.

But many victims have faith in K.P.S. Gill, a retired Punjab police chief
who was named security advisor to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a
belated reaction from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.

Said Islami Relief Committee's Ahmed: "We have high hopes of Gill. But he
needs a free hand to deliver."

Since Gill arrived in the state early May, violence has been under check,
save a few flare-ups. But critics say that while Gill has made cosmetic
changes by transferring ineffective senior police officers, he has not
managed to stir the administration into alertness. Worse, he has ruled out
any action against policemen who turned a blind eye to the killings.

The Gujarat government's decision to appoint retired Supreme Court judge
G.T. Nanavati to a probe the violence has also brought little cheer.
Nanavati, who Vajpayee appointed two years ago to reinvestigate a Sikh
massacre of 1984, has been added to the commission of retired High Court
judge K.G. Shah.

Critics say the inquiry is still one-sided as its brief focuses largely on
the Godhra train torching, in which many volunteers of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad were killed, and not so much the Muslim killings that followed.

The promise of handsome compensation based on Vajpayee's relief package of
Rs.1.5 billion has turned out a cruel joke as most survivors have received
absurdly small sums.

An elderly shopkeeper, who was assessed worthy of compensation of Rs.75,000=
,
died of shock minutes after officials gave him a cheque of Rs.300 and curtl=
y
told him that was all he would get.

"Some people in our relief camp who lost everything have received as little
as Rs.200 to rebuild their lives," said Inamul Iraqi, an organiser at a
relief camp housing 5,000 Muslim survivors. "What can they do with such
little money?"

Added Wilfred D'Costa of Citizens' Initiative, a group of activist outfits:
"Anyway the compensation was inadequate. Now its disbursement is in a mess.=
"

Only a handful of cases have been filed against the thousands of killers.
Most survivors have no hope that those who butchered innocent people,
including women and children, would ever be caught and made to stand trial.

The chief minister, who initially virtually justified the anti-Muslim
violence as a reprisal for the Godhra attack, continues in power despite th=
e
opposition's determined bid to get him sacked.

Roaming free are hundreds of identified leaders of the Hindu radical groups
linked to the BJP who carried out the ghastly killings or ordered the
killers.

If anything, the BJP has turned around and slammed anyone -- including the
opposition, business chambers, liberals, western countries and even section=
s
of the media -- who condemned the dragging communal violence.

--Indo-Asian News Service

_____

#7.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF AAJ KE NAAM

Dear Friends,

Some of us got together recently in Delhi to discuss the possibility=20
of responding to the current communal situation in the country as a=20
community of film makers. In the meeting we decided to produce a=20
body of work which would represent our protest/statement/comment on=20
the times we are living in. We do not have the means to support=20
these productions but we are hoping that each one of us will be able=20
to generate resources and assistance to make these productions=20
possible. We hope to put these productions together as a package=20
which can then be screened all over the country. A detailed statement=20
(background text) is enclosed in the body of the message below.

We would like to request all those connected with film making to=20
offer their services/expertise/equipment to make it possible for=20
these productions to take place. If you can let us know how you can=20
contribute towards the production we will try and put you in touch=20
with those in your cities who have agreed to make a video/film.

We are specially interested in statements by new film makers and we=20
will try to introduce them to camerapersons, sound recordists,=20
editors who are associated with the project.

Kindly respond at the earliest possible. We have started an egroup=20
called Aaj ke Naam through which we can interact and share our=20
thoughts.

The mails for this group can be sent to <aaj-ke-naam@m...>

and the archives/other information about the same can be had from the=20
following site: http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/aaj-ke-naam.

Others from film/media background could also become members of this=20
egroup by registering at the above site, or requesting us for the=20
same.

In Solidarity,

Rahul Roy/Yousuf Saeed List Moderators

_________________________________

Background Text : AAJ KE NAAM

In a few weeks, it will almost be two months since the killings began=20
in Gujarat. We have seen the images on television, not only of the=20
violence, but also of the ways in which those who orchestrated it=20
were feted and honoured. As people who work with images, as=20
documentary filmmakers, we feel an urgent need to address this=20
reality, so that these images of helpless victims and arrogant=20
engineers of massacres are not the only ones we will have available=20
to us to remember and understand a dark time. We also feel that as a=20
community, we- documentary filmmakers and all those who work with=20
images. will have failed in our responsibilities if we do not=20
respond to what has happened. This is why we are writing to you all,=20
as fellow filmmakers to make a series of interventions that can=20
begin to address what we have all witnessed in the last weeks and=20
days.

What have we witnessed? Once again, like in Delhi in 1984, in Meerut=20
in 1987 and at other places in other times, we have seen how a state=20
machinery has blatantly demonstrated that it is willing to organize=20
and implement a pogrom. We have also witnessed a near paralysis of=20
our imagination, as we clutch at ways of being able to articulate=20
our sadness and our anger at how the fabric of our social life, of=20
everyday relations, of the few things that redeemed our cities, have=20
been torn by the forces that command the state today and by their=20
agents in society.

If it was Gujarat yesterday, it (the violence that begins in the mind=20
and in the imagination) is everywhere today, in the arrogance with=20
which people say "serves them right" in ordinary tea shops and in=20
elite dinner parties, or in the seriousness, and the ease with which=20
people express the sentiment that "we need to arm ourselves for a=20
civil war, fought to the finish" on internet chat rooms, and in=20
crowded buses. If such a thing happens in our society, in these=20
times, Lebanon, Yugoslavia and Rwanda will seem picnics by comparions.

For many of us, this has resulted in our being unable to speak, being=20
unable to react by any means other than being present at an=20
occasional demonstration, or by signing a petition. This has left=20
our anger, our despair, un-thought, un-adressed and un-accounted=20
for. We live as if we had already begun counting our time, as=20
strangers, unsure of when the next wave of orchestrated madness will=20
occur and where it will occur. And, even if it does not occur, we=20
have seen the spaces of conversation, of discourse, steadily being=20
taken over by fascists and their epigones, or by those who would like=20
to make capital out of the suffering that arose from the violence.

We have witnessed the cynical politics that makes political parties=20
prepare themselves for elections in the wake of massacres. We have=20
seen them gloat in the assurance that violence will reap them the=20
rewards they seek. We have seen them justify this violence in a=20
language that would make a Goebbels feel proud of them. They have=20
told their thousand lies.

How do we address this time? How do we address its silences, its hate=20
speech, its evasions and its apologies? How do we speak without=20
garbled and tired cliches about communal amity (as if a davp style=20
"hindu-muslim-sikh-isai, hum sab hain bhai bhai" poster, or slogan=20
can do justice to the enormity of what has happened), without having=20
to defend a moribund state, its tokenism which paved the way for=20
full-on communalization, and its always pathetic treatment of people=20
who it decided were not part of the "mainstream", or without=20
resorting to a demonization of any community and their history?

How do we meaningfully break the silence about Gujarat? And how can=20
we think about it, not as an aberration (because then it would be=20
easy to forget and forgive the perpetrators-as abnormal and inhuman=20
people who are not like you or me) but as a slow poisoning of our=20
imaginations and of all our minds with images of some people as=20
"greater than"or "less than" human beings. The media, our=20
intelligentsia, our artists, everyone is implicated in this process.

How do we account for the greed, the complete erasure of the humanity=20
of other people, and the inability to think in anything other than a=20
communal or nationalist binary mode that besets so much of our=20
contemporary culture, and especially our popular culture, our films=20
and our television.

Surely, this process has a history that we had begun to be=20
comfortable with, way before the killings in Gujarat happenned.=20
Surely, even Hindutva and the politics of hatred has a pre-history=20
in the way in which people were addressed in terms of their=20
identities even within what is called secular nationalism. Perhaps=20
it is about time that we started asking some uncomfortable questions=20
about how we got to where we have today.

We are documentary filmmakers, we live and work with the raw=20
materials of the realities, hopes, anxieties and dreams of the lives=20
of ordinary people. We have seen things that others theorize about,=20
or report, or convert into political manifestoes. Sometimes we=20
hesitate to say things, not because we dont want to say them, but=20
because we know that the realities that they attempt to describe are=20
very complicated, and not reducible to easy, newsy television bytes.

Some of us met in Delhi, one afternoon in March, when Rahul Roy and=20
Saba Dewan called us to consider what we can do together with our=20
craft and our skills in the wake of the killings in Gujarat. They=20
wrote,-"=8ACan we dream of film makers from all parts of the country=20
lodging their protests with videos on the communal situation which=20
are then shown together as a body of work? Can we do it, or rather=20
shouldn't we do it? "

We decided that the time had come for us to challenge our own=20
silence, our own awkward hesitations and our own confusions, despair=20
and anger about what we know is happening around us.

This letter emerges from that decision.

We have decided to make a collection of short films/videos that=20
articulate what we are thinking and feeling, some of which we have=20
tried to summarize above. These are not films for a cause, because=20
there is no cause to uphold. We are tired of causes that make people=20
into the objects of political projects that are always larger than=20
the reality of peoples lives. We are tired of the rhetoric of=20
communities, nations, states and all things that claim our=20
loyalties. We want to speak of and to the concreteness of particular=20
experiences, our experiences and yours and the experience of those=20
who have suffered and witnessed suffering. We make no larger claims.=20
These are not films that say "This is what needs to be done",=20
because we are not sure about "what needs to be done". We may have=20
our own differences, but we are agreed on the fact that the time for=20
people to be told that "this, or that, needs to be done" has long=20
gone.

These are not films we are making because someone has commissioned us=20
to make them, because no one has and no one will. These are films=20
that promise nothing to their makers other than a means to engage=20
with their times. They are not funded, they will not be sold, but we=20
hope to energize a network of peoples organizations, social=20
movements, groups, and even small affinity groups of individuals to=20
show and distribute them. They will be made available as VHS tapes,=20
and will be works available for fair use (for non commercial,=20
educational, consciouness raising, discussion related purposes)=20
within the public domain

We have decided to call this collection-"Aaj Ke Naam", (In Today's=20
Name) taken from the title of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, which talks=20
about the difficulty of living through dark times. We felt that=20
talking about today is necessary and difficult at the same time.

We are certain about the fact that we have anger, remorse and regret,=20
and that we want to step back and think with our images about what=20
we are feeling. We invite you to join us in this, to contribute=20
films/videos, as short as you want them to be. As poster-films, as=20
music videos, as experimental videos, as still images with=20
soundtracks, as animations, as computer generated shorts, as simple=20
video sketches and scratches-as anything that makes sense to you, and=20
that you feel can give expression to what you are thinking. This is=20
not an invitation to make the definitive, finished piece of work,=20
rather it is a call to respond, spontaneously and creatively, with=20
all and any creative means available at your disposal as a filmmaker=20
or as a person who works with moving images and sounds.

If you are a technician, ( a cameraperson, a sound recordist, an=20
editor, a writer, a graphic artist) and would not like to make a=20
film yourself, or feel that you could contribute better as a=20
technician, then you can let us know and we can make your offer=20
known to those who get involved or interested in this project.

The deadline for submission for the first cycle of films is 30=20
August, 2002. Do let us know what you think of these ideas, and=20
whether and how you would be interested in joining in or helping out=20
in any way.

In solidarity

M.K. Srinivasan, Rahul Roy, Raqs Media Collective, Saba Dewan, Sabina
Gadihoke, Sanjay Kak, Shriprakash, Yousuf Sayed.
--=20
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