[sacw] SACW #1 | 28 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #1 | 28 March 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

__________________________

#1. Trends in South Asia (M B Naqvi)
#2. An Open Letter to Hob'le President of India (K.G.kannabiran)
#3. Blind Apathy (Editorial, Times of India)
#4.Appeal re Gujarat from Centre for Study of Society and Secularism=20
(Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Bombay)
#5. Gujarat: a plea and a proposal (Balakrishnan Rajagopal)
#6. Shall Nobody Save Us? (Ashok Mitra)

__________________________

#1.

Trends in South Asia
by M B Naqvi

[Karachi Mar 27]

Crowds on a killing spree and mobs of vandals and looters in Gujrat's
cities and towns made for horror-inspiring images on the telly; they were
doing something necessary and good by teaching an insolent minority a
lesson. Later reports told of the success of these men in instilling terror
in the disrespectful minority, huddling in refugee camps. One read of how
the administration acted. Nearer home one has attended quite a few doctors
meetings and have seen fear and despair in the eyes of successful Shia
medical practitioners, most preparing to leave the country. One has met
Christian priests and common Hindus, not to mention Ahmedis and Shias: all
afraid of tomorrow, with no one being confident of protection from police.
This is the state of affairs in worst affected areas, of course. But the
disease, religious intolerance of minorities, is rampant in many parts of
Pakistan, India and even Bangladesh. One apprehensive about what may happen
in the region and feel diminished.

Was it too long ago when people from various parts of South Asia could meet
and find that they had so much in common? They looked upon human beings as
human beings everywhere who were all rational and their hopes and
aspirations could be similar, if not the same. They all tended to be
Humanists with a liberal or tolerant bent of mind that favoured maximum
human freedoms and welfare for all human beings everywhere. They believed
in human equality, fraternity and liberty --- things that are likely to be
put down as mere cliches today. Look around and see how things have
changed in this region.

The first and the biggest change is perception about their=20
own identities.
Today's significant self identities are predominantly religious or
communal in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bhutan and Nepal
can be said to have quasi-religious state ideologies that are vulnerable to
erosion from democratic urges of their people. People tend to see and
treat themselves as Hindus, Muslims or Budhists primarily and have other
identities incidentally. So many kill and are killed on that basis.

There are other identities, of course. There is regional=20
paranoia. In all
the peripheral areas of historical India --- as a civilisational expanse
by and large coinciding with South Asia --- regional identities are strong
and durable, though they are seldom able to subordinate or override the
religions personas. Bengalis, Marathas, Tamils, Punjabis, Kashmiris,
Sindhis, Pathans, even Gujratis are among the many more well-known regional
identities that, in certain political circumstances, do override religious
ones, the outstanding example of which was the emergence of Bangladesh.

In an important way, the earlier Indian Punjab's Khalistan troubles,
current Kashmir insurgency (in part at least) and the many insurgencies in
India's north-east and the rather complex civil war in Sri Lanka exemplify
the strength and importance of regional nationalisms. It is true that
democratic institutions of India have managed to accommodate many
regionalisms, though many more remain un-reconciled as in Kashmir and
north-east where religious identities are playing an obstructive role. At
any rate hope survives that should democratic institutions be worked in
true democratic spirit (regional) sub-nationlisms can become organic parts
of a federation.

The third major force comprises a desperate protest against=20
mass poverty.
In addition to the socialist parties that are stable rulers of three Indian
states, there are active Nexalite movements in Nepal, India's Bihar,
Jharkhand, AP, parts of MP and Maharashtra. They are violence-prone and
may not be suppressable purely by physical force. The new globalisation
paradigm of economic management seems to be intensifying, rather than
solving, the problem of poverty. Human beings are killing other human
beings in the name of even social justice. Maybe more of it impends.

A fourth factor has also emerged primarily in India and may=20
arrive later
in Nepal. It is caste in a largely Hindu society. Although violence for its
sake is a hoary tradition, it is neither large-scale nor continuous. It is
restricted to individual cases and is sporadic. But since the caste-based
politics has come of age, many see visions of caste wars because caste
loyalties can operate like religious communalisms. Caste, like the nation,
is a para- or non- democratic category and is socially undifferentiated. It
might be a growing factor in most Indian states and may be also in Nepal in
the coming years and poses a tough challenge to social cohesion of states
dominated by Hindu numbers.

We in Pakistan are perturbed and alarmed by the growth of Islamic
extremism or fundamentalism as it is called. It is as intolerant as it is
violent. Attacks on minority Islamic sects or sub-sects are its favourite
pastime. Not that it is not prone to attack other (minority) religions.
Killing or oppressing Christians or Hindus comes quite natural to these
fanatics. Everybody recognises that Taliban-like zealots threaten modern
structures of state in Pakistan.

Gujrat pogroms, and not riots, --- by no means the first ---=20
have heavily
underlined the political fact of Hindu zealotry. What good can it do to
such a richly plural country like India? Indian democracy's survival would
seem to be predicated on social cohesion based on tolerance of all manner
of minorities --- in addition to religious ones --- and dissent, equal
human freedoms for all Indians and a federation that allows fulfilment of
significant hopes and aspirations of the people in the peripheral areas.
For such a polity intolerant and mostly xenophobic political forces like
Hindu Fundamentalism can only be destructive of all that has given India so
much colour and value. But the political ascendancy of this force is now a
fact of life over large swathes of northern and middle India.

While the main ruling party, the BJP, is obviously a protagonist of
Hindutva philosophy that inspires the RSS and its parivar, there is
considerable and vocal opposition. But as the voting on the POTO bill in
the Joint Parliamentary Session last Tuesday has shown the ruling coalition
is so strong as to get any anti-liberal measure through. Although it is
difficult to conceive that non-democratic forces will soon overwhelm
India's democratic institutions, complacency can be costly in terms of both
human lives and the quality of polity if true democrats --- humanists and
basically liberals --- do not steadfastly protect the beautiful diversities
of India. Mere elections and having more than one party are not all of
democracy. Haven't they heard of the rape of masses through sans polls in a
charged atmosphere.

Physical protection of religious minorities in Pakistan,=20
Bangladesh, India
and Sri Lanka is important in its own right. But that is by no means all
that is expected from a democratic dispensation. It has to go much beyond
the mere tolerance of minorities. It has to allow a thousand flowers ---
of thought, culture, rites, poetry, arts, et al --- to bloom. Let all
express themselves freely and bring out their best. There is a lacuna in
this vision of generic freedom: the Left has argued all along that pure
liberal democracy can not survive when a majority of the people suffer
diverse deprivations and exclusion, all because of poverty. A socially
unequal society cannot deliver equality of all. It is still hard to rebut
this old argument =96 despite the eclypse of the Left after the fall of the
Soviets. Moreover the point is being heavily underlined by Maoist
rebellions in Nepal and various Nexalite movements in India and we may hear
yet again from the Sri Lankan Left.

Secular Indian thinkers and parties correctly point to the=20
long history of
peaceful coexistence of religions in historical India. Those were the at
times when people took their religion very seriously as individuals and
tried to acquire virtue and practise piety. But that has changed. Who can
claim that the Islamabad's Church was recently bombed by virtuous on pious
Muslims or the vandals, killers and looters in Gujrat exemplified the Hindu
virtues in their individual lives such as ancient Hindu sages had preached?
Driven by hate and inspired by the goal of power for their politicised
religion or group or sect, people of no piety --- often hired guns or mere
looters --- indulge in the sort of outrages that are common enough in what
was once a home of notably tolerant civilisations: the Subcontinent. Old
and stable tolerance between actually pious Hindus and Muslims has gone
with genuine piety. What we now have is fakes and fanatics.

Humanist democrats have to correctly assess the factors that=20
are shaping
events and who or what is masterminding the growing mayhem in the region
and who or what is benefitting from it. Rationality (or scientific
outlook), equality and human freedoms can not subsist on mere noble wishes
or aspirations or exhortations of some. They should know by now the limits
of preaching rather well. There has to be a politically significant force
to bolster noble ideas and conditions have to be created in society in
which poverty's worst forms disappear and in which enlightenment, tolerance
and cultural pursuits can have some meaning for the common man. Such well
meaning democrats will need to coordinate efforts with their counterparts
in other parts of a region in which there is such a profusion of ethnic and
cultural overlaps.

_______

#2.

K.G.kannabiran
National President
People's Union for Civil Liberties [India]

An Open Letter to Hob'le President of India, Sri
K.R.Narayanan

Dear Mr. President

We call on you in hour of crisis. The people's Union for Civil=20
Liberties was founded by LOK Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan in a time of=20
national crisis such as this. As the president of PUCL, I appeal to=20
you on behalf of PUCL to provide this sane voice in this hour of=20
darkness.Independent India has seen a series of massacres of the=20
minorities starting with slaughter of sikhhs in 1984, the slaughter=20
of Muslims after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1993 and=20
slaughter of christians in the last few years. In Gujarat today we=20
have reached a level of Genocide that shocks the whole world even=20
after of the attack on the World Trade Centre and the bombing of=20
Afghanistann. This is surely no matter for nationnal pride. The=20
burning ground of Gujarat today is the scene of planned genocide.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide says: ART=20
II In the present Connvention, genocide means any of the followinng=20
acts committed to destroy, in whole or part, a national,=20
ethnical,racial, or religious group, as such: a)Killings members of=20
the group b)Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the=20
group; c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditionns of life=20
caluculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in=20
part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the=20
group; e)Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

ART III The following acts shall be punishable: a)Genocide;=20
b)Conspiracy to commit Genocide c)Direct and Public incitement to=20
commit genocide d)Attempt to commit gencocide e)cOMPLICITY IN GENOCIED

It is a bitter truth that minnisters of the Government today who=20
cried hoarse at Indhira Gandhi's abuse of power are eloquently silent=20
today on the events of Gujarat. A large number of people have been=20
rendered homeless and huddled into refugee within camps in the state=20
in which they have been living for generationns.

The deplorable condition of these camps bear testimony to the=20
political will of the governmet. The Chief Minister Mr. Narender Modi=20
is planning to disband these camps so that this concentrated evidence=20
of his meisdeeds can be dispersed and invisibilised. Miserable though=20
the camps may be the refugees are not ready to leave as certain death=20
awaits them outside. The constitutional value system that should=20
inform our governance and the International Convenants of Refugees=20
prohibit such refusal to take responsibbility for the lives of the=20
citizens. There is also a declared economic boycott of the minorities=20
that is being enforced by street power to deprive them of their right=20
to life and livelihood. That this is happening in Gandhiji's Gujarat=20
is a profound shame. When the RSS assasinated the Mahatma no pogrom=20
was launched against the RSS as whole or against the community of=20
Nathuram Godse. He was tried and punished by due process of law.

Similarly the criminals responsible for the Godhra killings should be=20
identified, arrested, tried and strictly punished. The response to=20
their heinous crime cannot be a planned nationwide pogrom against=20
innocent and vulnerable minorities.

You have been requested to summon a joint sitting of the Houses to=20
pass the POTO when Gujarat is burning. This is a subversion of all=20
principles of governance. As president you have a historic role to=20
play at this juncture. The making or unmaking of democracy will hinge=20
on your actions. The people of the country are waiting to fulfil your=20
role. The world is watching you. The NHRC has already expressed its=20
dissatisffaction with the Gujarat government's report in no uncertain=20
terms. The NHRC as you are aware was created with the sole purpose of=20
ensuring that the International Covenants including the ones on the=20
genocide are honoured. The NHRC has also declared the POTO to be in=20
opposition to the provisions of PartIII of the cconstitution. The=20
manner in which the government is ignoring the reality of Gujaraat=20
and proceeding with its agenda on terrorism is disturbing. The=20
numbers killed in Gujarat fast exceeds terrorist killinngs in the=20
last ten years. Unless the government is willing to name the VHP,=20
Bajrangdal and RSS as terrorist organizations it would be a farce to=20
go ahead with the joint sitting of the houses to consider POTO. When=20
Graham Staines was killed your voice spread hope and confidence among=20
us. Your response now on this issue is critical to the survival of=20
democracy in this country. We urge you to act now and restructure the=20
skewed priorities of the nation. We have the confidence in your=20
capacity to do so and look to your leadership.

K.G.Kannabiran
National President
PUCL

______

#3.

THE TIMES OF INDIA
EDITORIAL

Blind Apathy

[ THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2002 1:12:15 AM ]
"My heart is bursting. My grief is beyond limit". Tragically, these=20
words of a Gujarat riot survivor do not seem to find an echo in the=20
hearts of most Indians. The contrast couldn't be more stark.=20
Flashback to the Gujarat earthquake in 2001. In a magnificent=20
outpouring of
compassion, India rose as one to rush relief supplies to the=20
affected. It was a reaffirmation of the human spirit, of a concern=20
for fellow citizens. Yet today, when an entirely avoidable tragedy is=20
being played out in Gujarat, that fellow feeling is singularly=20
lacking. This newspaper has recorded in chilling detail how a state=20
government not only connived in the killing of its citizens but is=20
resolutely refusing to help the survivors. In fact, a state minister=20
actually demanded that even the few relief camps which exist must be=20
shut down as he feared it would provoke further communal violence.=20
Perhaps nothing better could be expected from the Narendra Modi=20
government. But where are the NGOs, other civil society groups,=20
concerned citizens? After the earthquake, hundreds of ordinary people=20
made their way there to pitch in with relief efforts. Schoolchildren=20
across the country campaigned to raise funds and material, corporates=20
came forward with their largesse, the Central government swung into=20
action. The volume of relief material which poured into the state was=20
so great that the administration actually turned down offers with the=20
argument that excess aid would adversely affect the state's economy.
Today tens of thousands of terrified riot survivors are huddled in=20
makeshift camps, even more have sought refuge in the homes of=20
relatives. The only help that these desperate people are getting is=20
from needy members of their own community, many of whom have lost=20
their homes and loved ones in these riots. A cynical political class=20
has sought to explain its unforgivable apathy with the question 'What=20
about the victims of Godhra?' The task of rehabilitating the victims=20
of Gujarat is monumental. It will involve reconstruction of homes and=20
finding work in the face of the sangh's call to boycott Muslim=20
businesses and deny work to them. Above all, it will involve=20
counselling to overcome the trauma of having witnessed unspeakable=20
horrors. Perhaps nothing will completely heal these scars, but the=20
message going out to Gujarat is that India simply does not care. The=20
National Human Rights Commission has recorded in terrifying detail=20
the vicious barbarism that was visited on a helpless minority. The=20
few individuals who have had the courage to speak out have=20
corroborated this. Our silence will only encourage the=20
fundamentalists who perpetrated the massacre of innocents. They will=20
conclude, and perhaps rightly so, that they can get away with it.=20
They will surmise that the reign of terror and fear that they have=20
unleashed has paid off. The state government has made a vague=20
statement about a relief package being worked out. Had there been a=20
greater public display of concern for the needy, relief work would=20
have been in full swing today. This apathy on the part of civil=20
society is perhaps the greatest victory for the proponents of=20
communal hatred. And the greatest loss for all of us who espouse=20
civilised values.

_____

#4.

Subject: Appeal
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 15:25:51 +0530

Dear Friends,

I am writing this appeal with deep anguish and pain. We have all been=20
deeply shaken by the horrific Gujarat violence, which has left around=20
a thousand dead and over a lakh homeless and penniless. While many an=20
unfortunate people have lost their lives for no fault of theirs, the=20
survivors are witnessing a harrowing time. These survivors have lost=20
their homes and businesses and are huddled in 56 relief camps. They=20
are forced to live in unhygienic places bereft of even minimum=20
facilities and most of them are having excruciating time coping with=20
the aftermath of the tragedy. They require food medicines and=20
rehabilitation on a large scale. It involves huge funds on urgent=20
basis. While the fright of the torture experienced during the riots=20
is not over, the problems of existence are staring them in their face.

The support coming from Government machinery at this crucial juncture=20
is conspicuous by its absence. Also the riot victims are in the grip=20
of psychological trauma, which is aggravating the situation. The=20
voluntary agencies have begun some work of relief but more needs to=20
be done on urgent basis.

As an effort in this direction Center has started a fund collection=20
drive to help the afflicted people. We wish to reach our bit of=20
relief to the hapless survivors of the violence. We wish to reach it=20
to the sufferers irrespective of their religion and caste strictly on=20
secular lines. As a first step in building this fund Center has=20
decided to donate a modest sum of Twenty Thousands. We appeal to you=20
at this critical juncture to donate generously for this humane cause.=20
We are sure that all of us share a compassion for the victims of the=20
violence irrespective of their religion. As human beings we should=20
try our best to alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters=20
and young children.

I do sincerely and humbly urge upon you to contribute in this effort.=20
Please draw your cheques in favor of "Center for Study of Society=20
and Secularism". We will send you the report of relief work done with=20
this money in due course.

Looking forward to your compassionate help.

Sincerely Yours

Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer
(Chairman)
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism,
9B, Himalaya Apts., 1st Floor, 6th Road,
Santacruz (E), Mumbai:- 400 055, India.
E-mail <mailto:csss@v...>csss@v...

_____

#5.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002032700031000.htm
The Hindu
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2002

Gujarat: a plea and a proposal

By Balakrishnan Rajagopal

The ideal response to the Gujarat atrocity is domestic legal and=20
political sanction... So far the indications are not hopeful... If=20
the mass killers of the Balkans and Rwanda can be prosecuted=20
internationally, why not those of Gujarat?

The tragedy of Gujarat has deeply scarred us. Burning Hindu women and=20
children on the train, mobs looting and pillaging Muslims' property,=20
gang rapes of countless Muslim women, systematic and planned pogroms=20
that slaughter hundreds of innocent Muslims, a criminally complicit=20
state administration that stood by, watched and, by some accounts,=20
even participated, a complete failure to support the traumatised=20
Muslims by the state as well as civil society, and a shocking=20
partisanship by the state in awarding compensation that shows that it=20
values Hindu lives more than Muslim ones. It is almost too hard to do=20
worse. There is a complete breakdown, not just of order or Government=20
but of humanity. Yet, there is no outrage around the world. India is=20
a mini-Rwanda where the natives are simply expected to slaughter each=20
other in their primeval fury. The western media is openly=20
anti-Muslim. It plays up the brutality of the Islamists while=20
ignoring the savagery of the Sangh Parivar, even when they attack the=20
Orissa legislature. For its part, the national Government refuses to=20
address a blatant breakdown of constitutional order and takes refuge=20
behind the time-tested device of judicial enquiry. It is evident that=20
the killers will literally get away with it.

Of course, none of this is unfortunately new. In 1984, the anti-Sikh=20
pogroms were instigated and supported by the Government and the=20
killers walked away free. The Mumbai `riots' in 1993 were found by=20
judicial enquiry to be the result of official connivance and=20
complicity with organised thuggery and yet no one has paid for it. It=20
seems as though the Indian state and society are systematically=20
unwilling or unable to ensure accountability for massive atrocities=20
involving minorities. It is quite touching to see the faith in the=20
Indian state on the part of intellectuals but evidence tells us that=20
it is not going to punish and deter those who commit atrocities=20
against minorities. Domestic legal sanctions do exist in Indian law=20
to punish and deter these horrific crimes but time and again, they=20
have not been used. The frustrated citizens of India and those who=20
support Indian democracy and pluralism, both in India and abroad, are=20
increasingly asking how they can do something to prevent India from=20
sliding into more mayhem, and even civil war or Talibanisation.

An important way to go forward is to take individual accountability=20
seriously as a legal principle. The ideal response to the Gujarat=20
atrocity is domestic legal and political sanction. But the state and=20
central administrations are both controlled by the BJP and it is=20
unlikely that effective measures will be taken against the=20
perpetrators of the Gujarat atrocities. So far, the indications are=20
not hopeful. Even if some political or legal sanction is taken=20
against the Modi regime - which looks unlikely - it still won't touch=20
those who actually killed, raped, pillaged, planned and instigated.=20
This looks bizarre in an age when the international trend is to=20
attach legal responsibility to individuals when they commit=20
atrocities. If the mass killers of the Balkans and Rwanda can be=20
prosecuted internationally, why not those of Gujarat? The crimes=20
committed in Gujarat certainly qualify as crimes against humanity in=20
their scale and savagery compared to massacres elsewhere during the=20
recent past.

Sceptics of this approach may object: that what happened is a riot=20
and not a deliberate mass attack, that the Gujarat government did not=20
commit it and is therefore not culpable, that domestic remedies exist=20
and that internationalising this issue will mean a violation of=20
India's sovereignty. For important reasons, the sceptics would be=20
wrong. First, it would be a mistake to characterise the violence in=20
Gujarat as a mere riot. What happened was a state-sponsored,=20
supported and even state-directed orgy of ethnic cleansing. The=20
killers seem to have been very well organised and seem to have had no=20
interference from the police at all. As such, the Gujarat violence is=20
as much ethnic cleansing as in former Yugoslavia.

Second, while it may be true that Gujarat Government did not=20
personally commit violence (though there are reports of State=20
officials' involvement), failing to prevent the violence makes it=20
complicit. The question is: at what point does Government's=20
complicity give rise to legal responsibility? There is a great deal=20
of jurisprudence, both old and new on this issue that indicates that=20
complicity in human rights atrocities may result in individual civil=20
and criminal liability and may also result in collective liability of=20
an organisation. It is now well established under international law=20
that a Government's failure to ensure a `right to remedy' for human=20
rights violations will result in legal liability. This right to=20
remedy, guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and=20
Political Rights to which India is a party, is especially important=20
in the case of massive atrocities and will lead to individual=20
liability. After World War II, leading German businesses such as the=20
Krupp corporation were prosecuted in Allied tribunals for complicity=20
in the holocaust. More recently, companies have been sued for=20
complicity in human rights abuses in Myanmar (Unocol) and Nigeria=20
(Royal Dutch Shell). It is clear that complicity in human rights=20
abuses can give rise to legal liability.

Third, the existing domestic remedies have a track record of failure=20
when it comes to crimes against minorities. While some have been=20
arrested for the Godhra train incident, there is nothing to indicate=20
that the perpetrators of the communal orgy will be pursued. Indeed,=20
it may be useful to think about how best to pursue Narendra Modi and=20
other Government and VHP officials through legal processes in other=20
countries. Belgium has adopted a law based on universal jurisdiction=20
for pursuing mass killers anywhere. Under that law, four Rwandan nuns=20
were recently convicted of genocide. An arrest warrant issued by a=20
Belgian judge against Mr. Modi or senior VHP officials can be served=20
in any other country. The Indian Government itself may decline to=20
accede to such a request, but other countries such as the U.K. may.=20
In addition, the VHP as an organisation as well as Mr. Modi and other=20
senior officials in their individual capacity can be sued in the U.S.=20
under the Alien Tort Statute for civil damages. This law has been=20
repeatedly used to pursue dictators such as Radovan Karadzic, Marcos=20
and others.

Finally, it is a mistake to suppose that thinking of an international=20
law remedy for the Gujarat atrocities will result in a violation of=20
India's sovereignty. India has voluntarily become a party to numerous=20
human rights treaties that limit its sovereignty. Also, it is a=20
rather absurd understanding of sovereignty to object to an attempt to=20
support India's constitutional order by pursuing those who pose a=20
threat to it. Whose sovereignty are we protecting?

It is increasingly obvious that violence against minorities in India=20
won't end unless its perpetrators are compelled to pay wherever they=20
may find themselves around the world. The principle of accountability=20
in international human rights law demands as much. More importantly,=20
the heart-wrenching tragedy in Gujarat demands that the citizens of=20
India do more than simply criticise the Government. The victims and=20
Indian democracy deserve better.

(The writer is Director, MIT programme on Human Rights and Justice.)

_____

#6.

The Telegraph
28 March 2002

SHALL NOBODY SAVE US?
BY ASHOK MITRA

The prime minister has appealed to the opposition leaders to be=20
particularly careful while discussing events in Gujarat; it is, he=20
has added, an extremely sensitive situation. Will the prime minister=20
be prepared to make the same appeal to his henchmen in the Vishwa=20
Hindu Parishad and its parivar? There is reason for posing this=20
query. Please read on.

Over the past few weeks, thousands of copies of a circular letter,=20
purportedly from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, are being distributed in=20
Ahmedabad and other places in Gujarat. A verbatim translation of the=20
leaflet is given below.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad
Satyam Shivam Sundaram!
Jai Shri Ram!
Wake up! Arise! Think! Enforce! Save the country! Save the religion!

Economic boycott is the only solution! The anti-national elements use=20
the money earned from the Hindus to destroy us! They buy arms! They=20
molest our sisters and daughters! The way to break the backbone of=20
these elements is:

An economic non-cooperation movement!

Let us resolve - 1. From now on I will not buy anything from a Muslim=20
shopkeeper!

2. I will not sell anything from my shop to such elements!

3. Neither shall I use the hotels of these anti-nationals nor their garages=
!

4. I shall give my vehicles only to Hindu garages! From a needle to=20
gold, I shall not buy anything made by Muslims, neither shall we sell=20
them things made by us!

5. I shall boycott wholeheartedly films in which Muslim heroes and=20
heroines act! Throw out films produced by these anti-nationals!

6. We will never work in offices of Muslims! We'll not hire them!

7. We'll not let them buy offices in our business premises nor sell=20
or rent out houses to them in our housing societies and colonies.

8. I shall certainly vote, but only for him who will protect the Hindu nati=
on.

9. I shall ensure that our sisters and daughters do not fall into the=20
"love-trap" of Muslim boys at schools, colleges and workplaces.

10. I shall not receive any education or training from a Muslim teacher.

Such a strict economic boycott will throttle these elements! It will=20
break their back-bone! Then it will be difficult for them to live in=20
any corner of this country. Friends, begin this economic boycott from=20
today! Then no Muslim will raise his head before us! Did you read=20
this leaflet? Then make ten photocopies of it and distribute it to=20
our brothers. The curse of Hanumanji be on him who does not implement=20
this and distribute it to others! The curse of Ramchandraji will also=20
be on him! Jai Shri Ram!
- A true Hindu patriot.

N.B. The kites we use on kite-flying day are also made by Muslims.=20
The fireworks are also made by them. We should boycott these too. Jai=20
ShriRam!

There is no end of poetry in the world, so say the goody-goody=20
lyric-lovers. They are wrong. There is actually no end of bestiality=20
in the world, vide the text of the leaflet reproduced above. Till=20
now, no repudiation of the circular has been forthcoming from VHP=20
quarters, so we have to take it as both authorized and authoritative.=20
The contents of the leaflet would have done the Nazis proud in=20
Germany 70 years ago. We know the holocaust that took place in that=20
country and the rest of Europe subsequently.

There has been a recrudescence of trouble, including stabbings and=20
killings in Gujarat, following the circulation of this priceless=20
leaflet. This could be, one is afraid, only the beginning. Much worse=20
things might follow if the administration and the forces of law and=20
order do not bestir themselves. And there are no signs of their=20
bestirring themselves.

The Student's Islamic Movement of India has been banned in the=20
country, and with great fanfare. Even if all the other crimes of the=20
VHP were overlooked, the text of the circular reproduced above must=20
constitute more than adequate ground to declare it an unlawful=20
organization and suppress mercilessly all its activities.

To be candid, little ground exists for assuming that the state=20
government of Gujarat or the regime at the Centre presided over by=20
the Bharatiya Janata Party will do what is even minimally necessary=20
in the matter. The junior parties in the National Democratic Alliance=20
coalition have their own narrow short-term considerations, they are=20
apparently not overly concerned about the survival of the nation in=20
the long run. This is why a plea needs to be posted directly to the=20
chief justice of India. Given his Broach ancestry, he, one is sure,=20
is reasonably well-versed in Gujarati language, and is therefore in a=20
position to read the leaflet in original. The blood of any sensible=20
Indian patriot, pledged to defending the secular credentials of the=20
nation, cannot but boil after assimilating the message sought to be=20
transported to the Hindu community in Gujarat. It is an invocation to=20
anarchy and civil war. Fire has a contiguous quality, and a=20
conflagration, once started in one corner of the country might spread=20
unbelievingly fast all across the country.

The prime minister does not have either the inclination or the clout=20
to restrain the savage ones who constitute the bulwark of support for=20
his party. He has already provided enough evidence of that=20
disability. The president of the republic is hamstrung by Article 74=20
of the Constitution and cannot take any action without the leave of=20
his council of ministers. The sane overwhelming majority of the=20
nation has therefore little alternative but to approach the highest=20
judiciary in the land as last resort. The Supreme Court needs to act=20
as expeditiously as possible and issue directives to the governments=20
both at the Centre and in Gujarat to stamp out the VHP menace. The=20
luxury of posting a public interest petition with it could be=20
dispensed with in the present instance, for even the shortest delay=20
could mean an irretrievable calamity.

But a substantive problem can still be faced by all concerned. It is=20
a harsh reality that the fanatics out to destroy the nation are no=20
believers in the democratic mandate; they are equally convinced of=20
their competence to browbeat the authorities. They will continue to=20
apply pressure through various intermediaries. That apart, a=20
substantial number of people exist in the country who persist in=20
taking a supercilious view of things. What has happened and is=20
happening in Gujarat, they will argue, is a localized affair and it=20
does not concern the rest of the country. According to some others,=20
the VHP mad-hats are a transient phenomenon; should you look the=20
other way, they will disappear in no time.

For this na=EFve multitude, one can do no better than remind them of=20
the lament penned by that pastor in Germany, Martin Niem=F6ller, some=20
seven decades ago: "First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak=20
out because I was not a Jew./ Then they came for the communists, and=20
I did not speak out because I was not a communist./ Then they came=20
for the trade unionist, and I did not speak out because I was not a=20
trade unionist./ Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not=20
speak out because I was not a Catholic./ Then they came for me, and=20
there was no one left to speak out for me."

Things have come to such a pass that one does not feel confident=20
anymore that even the highest judiciary, unless it strikes=20
immediately, would be in a position to wield its authority for any=20
great stretch of time. The fury of the trishul is about ready to lay=20
the edifice of the nation in total ruin.

--=20
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996. To
subscribe send a blank
message to: <act-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> / To unsubscribe send a blank
message to: <act-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
________________________________________
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.