[sacw] SACW #1 | 17 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #1 | 17 March 2002

* For daily news updates & citizens initiatives in post riots=20
Gujarat Check: http://www.sabrang.com
** Also see new information & analysis section on the recent Communal=20
Riots in Gujarat on the SACW web site: http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/

__________________________

#1. Pakistan: Upcoming Joint Action Committee Meeting to formulate=20
action/strategy against sectarianism (Karachi)
+++++++
India: Reportage & Analysis on Gujarat
#2. From Frontline Magazine
- Appeasing The Hindu Right (Sukumar Muralidharan)
- Political direction and police support enable the death squads of=20
the Hindu Right to run riot in Muslim neighbourhoods in Gujarat.=20
(Praveen Swami)
- Condemning a carnage (T.K. Rajalakshmi)
- End the butchery, sack Narendra Milosevic Modi (Praful Bidwai)
#3. Religion and politics (Kuldip Nayar)
#4. The Terror of Fascist Theocracy (I.K.Shukla)
#5. Letter from Subhashini Ali after her tour of Gujarat as part of=20
the AIDWA / CPM investigation team
#6. Full Text of CPM & AIDWA report on Communal Violence in Gujarat=20
(March 2002)
#7. 'Genocide in The Land of Gandhi' - Upcoming Sale of Artworks=20
contributed by artists from across India / Concert and Exhibit=20
(Organised by SAHMAT in New Delhi)

__________________________

# 1.

Meeting to formulate action/strategy against sectarianism in Pakistan

KARACHI, March 15: To formulate a strategy for countering=20
sectarianism and the current spate of targeted killings, Joint Action=20
Committee invites all concerned , representatives of political=20
parties, professional bodies, labour unions and civil society=20
organisations to attend a meeting at PMA house on Wednesday 20 March=20
at 4.00 pm.

The meeting today also approved the following resolution:

The intensification of sectarian violence is another facet of
religious intolerance and a manifestation of the
deteriorating law and order situation, and spells disaster
for the country. Targeted killings on the basis of religion
should be condemned without any reservation. Of particular
concern is the trend towards killing medical professionals.
We demand that the government firmly control this menace and
reestablish the rule of law.

We find it strange that the government with its numerous
intelligence agencies cannot apprehend the leaders of
sectarian outfits who are masterminding 'religious' violence.
We deplore the half-hearted approach of the government
towards religious extremists, 'jihadis' and other
perpetrators of religious intolerance.

The claims of religious tolerance pleaded on Jan 12 by Gen.
Musharraf are not being followed by action. The rulers carry
the full responsibility for the growth of intolerance,
extremism and violence because of their policy of being soft
towards these groups. It is time for the government to break
all its links, open and secret, with such groups to the
satisfaction of citizens. It must work for the tolerance of
all dissent and minorities. It must also ensure the promotion
of pluralism that has been the hallmark of the sub-
continent's culture and civilisation.

(ends)

_______

#2.

Frontline, Volume 19 - Issue 06, Mar. 16 - 29, 2002
COVER STORY

APPEASING THE HINDU RIGHT
With the political power gained by whipping up majoritarian hysteria=20
over Ayodhya slowly slipping out of its hold, the Hindutva fraternity=20
is returning to the strategy of rightwing mobilisation. Thus Gujarat=20
burns and Ayodhya simmers.
by SUKUMAR MURALIDHARAN

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1906/19060040.htm

o o o o

Frontline, Volume 19 - Issue 06, Mar. 16 - 29, 2002

SAFFRON TERROR
Political direction and police support enable the death squads of the=20
Hindu Right to run riot in Muslim neighbourhoods in Gujarat.

by PRAVEEN SWAMI
in Ahmedabad

ASIF KHAN was not surprised when the police came knocking on his door=20
in Ahmedabad's Narora neighbourhood on the morning of February 28. A=20
bootlegger and a small-time thief, Khan has a dictionary-sized=20
criminal record. Each time there is communal trouble in the air, as a=20
precautionary measure he is arrested along with thousands of others=20
registered at police stations as "bad characters". That morning,=20
however, the police just wanted a walk. Khan took four officers=20
through the neighbourhood, after which they politely said goodbye.=20
"That," he now recalls, "really scared me. They were just there to=20
see how well-prepared we were to defend ourselves. And they learned=20
we weren't ready at all." [...]

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1906/19060080.htm

o o o o

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1906/19060240.htm
Frontline
Volume 19 - Issue 06, Mar. 16 - 29, 2002

CONDEMNING A CARNAGE
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
in New Delhi
THE attacks on the Muslim community in Gujarat and the passive role=20
the State and Central governments played have evoked protest not only=20
among political parties but among various sections of society. The=20
nature of the violence was such that it drew outraged citizens to the=20
streets.

The outpouring of protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party, which=20
rules both at the Centre and in Gujarat, drew attention yet again to=20
the growth of right-wing fanaticism and the need to fight it=20
politically. Large sections of the Muslim community, who had stood=20
with the government in the aftermath of December 13, were angered by=20
the virtually state-sponsored carnage in Gujarat. Students, teachers,=20
journalists and even the working class joined hands in protest and=20
stated in unequivocal terms that the violence in Gujarat was not=20
acceptable even if it was triggered by the horrifying incident at=20
Godhra on February 27. That both incidents were deplored in equal=20
terms was clear from slogans such as "Godhra ho ya Ahmedabad,=20
sampradayakta ho barbad" (condemn communalism in both Godhra and=20
Ahmedabad).

It was appalling to see the State and Central governments looking for=20
excuses to defend the post-Godhra violence. Mediapersons who brought=20
out the horror were accused of behaving irresponsibly by none other=20
than Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, while he gave Gujarat Chief=20
Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit. It appeared as if the media were=20
acceptable as long as it fought the government's patriotic war, but=20
not when it seemingly transgressed government-set boundaries to=20
expose a pogrom in a BJP-ruled State. This further prompted=20
mediapersons from prominent newspaper organisations to come out in=20
solidarity against the carnage.

The murderous retaliation had just begun in Gujarat when seven=20
national women's organisations and several bodies of teachers and=20
students organised a dharna outside Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi on=20
March 2. The previous day a candlelight vigil was held at Rajghat by=20
several groups, including women's organisations, the All India=20
Federation of Trade Unions, and the Coalition For Nuclear Disarmament=20
and Peace, where the Godhra episode and the revenge killings were=20
condemned.

In spite of a drizzle, the dharna went on for two hours. Speaker=20
after speaker stressed the need to stand up to the atrocities=20
perpetrated by organised gangs with state patronage. Led by the All=20
India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), the National Federation=20
of Indian Women, the Centre for Women's Development Studies, the=20
Joint Women's Programme, the Young Women's Christian Association=20
(YWCA), the All India Women's Conference, the Muslim Women's Forum,=20
Nirantar, Saheli, Sama, Jagori, the women's unit of the Indian Social=20
Institute, and others, the meeting demanded the deployment of the=20
Army in the State. Pointing out that women and children were the=20
worst sufferers, they demanded the setting up of an independent panel=20
to expose the real perpetrators of the carnage. Significantly, even=20
women not associated with any organisation joined the protest. A=20
two-minute silence was observed to mourn the death of innocents.

On March 4, hundreds of journalists, academicians and students took=20
out a march in the national capital, condemning the carnage, the=20
negligence of the State government and the attacks on the media.=20
Prominent among them were authors Khushwant Singh and Arundhati Roy,=20
columnist B G Verghese, Frontline Editor N. Ram, The Times of India=20
Executive Managing Editor Dileep Padgaonkar, veteran Gandhian Nirmala=20
Deshpande, The Asian Age bureau chief Seema Mustafa, senior=20
journalist Amit Sen Gupta of The Hindustan Times, Nai Duniya Editor=20
Shahid Siddiqui and Mainstream Editor Sumit Chakravarty. The meeting=20
was supported by the Delhi Union of Journalists, Janwadi Lekhakh=20
Sangh and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union. The=20
speakers condemned the Narendra Modi government for its abdication of=20
responsibility during the carnage and took strong exception to its=20
attempt to blame the media for "inciting violence".

While Padgaonkar said that the march was an expression of solidarity=20
among the media and that the media had come out in flying colours for=20
its coverage of the carnage, N. Ram demanded the resignation of the=20
Modi government and pointed out that though the situation could have=20
easily been brought under control by the State government, it had=20
chosen to allow violence to continue unabated for two days. Slogans=20
were raised denouncing the carnage and demanding a ban on the Vishwa=20
Hindu Parishad.

The same day, hundreds of teachers, students and karamcharis of Delhi=20
University organised a march calling for a ban on the VHP, the=20
resignation of the Gujarat government and action against members of=20
the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students who spread=20
terror in the university during the VHP-sponsored bandh on March 1.=20
Students had walked the corridors of the Arts department, wielding=20
lathis, swords and tridents, shouting communal slogans and trying to=20
disrupt classes. The VHP's bandh call proved to be a damp squib.

The Left parties gave a call to observe March 6 as National Unity=20
Day. Thousands of people in various parts of the country came out on=20
the streets to hold meetings, protests and demonstrations. The same=20
day, teachers from across the country, under the banner of the All=20
India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations=20
and the Federation of Central Universities Teachers' Associations,=20
marched to the Parliament House protesting against the government=20
policies on higher education as well as against the Gujarat carnage.

There were violent reactions to some protests. In Ahmedabad, a=20
hundred-strong mob forced students and faculty from three city-based=20
institutions - the National Institute of Design, the Indian Institute=20
of Management and the Centre for Environmental Planning and=20
Technology - to call off their protest. They had undertaken a token=20
fast but it had to be called off as some of them were threatened.=20
Their placards were burnt and some of them beaten by VHP activists.

On March 9, at a meeting on the role of the state and the media and=20
ensuing violence in Gujarat prominent journalists condemned the=20
killings and reiterated that the media had not behaved irresponsibly=20
but had highlighted the horrors taking place while the government=20
remained inert and impassive. The horror of the killings as reported=20
in the media has succeeded in evoking a strong public reaction=20
against Hindu right-wing forces.

o o o o

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1906/19061150.htm
"Frontline", Volume 19 - Issue 06, Mar. 16 - 29, 2002

END THE BUTCHERY, SACK MODI
Praful Bidwai

The pogrom in Gujarat spells this nation's descent into unalloyed=20
barbarism. It can only end if Modi is sent packing and Vajpayee=20
shaken out of his smug complicity by the Opposition.
x x x

Narendra Milosevic Modi. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak=20
has emerged as the deadliest witchdoctor and purveyor of communal=20
poison in 'Hindutva's laboratory', Gujarat. As the official death=20
toll exceeds 650, the Godhra incident, terrible as it was, pales into=20
the shadow. Mortal fear, insecurity and hatred stalk Gujarat as the=20
wave of violence shifts to villages from the big cities.

What has been in progress in Gujarat since February 28 is not a=20
communal altercation or riot, or as much of the media calls it with=20
an air of neutrality, 'violence'. It is a veritable pogrom, a=20
systematic, targeted massacre of a religious minority, with the full=20
complicity, consent and direct involvement of the state, and a good=20
chunk of Gujarat=EDs power elite. The lacerations and deep wounds=20
inflicted by the pogrom are unlikely to heal soon. The images of=20
people, real flesh-and-blood human beings, being burnt alive, speared=20
or quartered and dismembered into small bits will haunt us for a=20
long, long time to come.

Only a thorough, impartial and credible inquiry can establish just=20
what led to the gory Godhra incident in which 58 people were charred=20
to death by a mob. This must investigate who was responsible for=20
setting fire to the coaches of the Sabarmati Express on February 27,=20
and determine the cause of failure of the intelligence agencies.

No such inquiry can ignore the relevant background: increasing=20
harassment of Indian Muslims since September 11 and especially since=20
December 13, and their maligning as the principal perpetrators or=20
sympathisers of terrorism; growing communalisation of Gujarat=EDs=20
society; the desperate tactics of the BJP and its associates in=20
launching the incendiary temple-building campaign in Ayodhya just as=20
the party faced an ignominious electoral defeat in four states; the=20
mobilisation of thousands of kar sevaks from Gujarat; and their=20
movement by rail, and the many instances of verbal abuse and=20
manhandling of Muslims by them, reported in Faizabad's Janmorcha=20
newspaper.

None of these constitutes a valid =ECprovocation=EE for horrible and=20
gratuitous acts such as burning people alive. But they highlight the=20
intelligence failure and warrant a serious investigation into the=20
calculations behind the Godhra incident, and its actual organisation=20
and execution on February 27.

However, unlike the unknowns in Godhra, there is little about its far=20
bloodier aftermath that is in doubt, in particular the elaborate=20
planning and preparations that had taken place well in advance of=20
February 27, including the stockpiling of firearms, swords and=20
trishuls. Already, there is overwhelming evidence of the involvement=20
of agencies of the state in the calibrated escalation of violence,=20
which began barely 24 hours after the Godhra incident. Consider the=20
following information gathered through extended conversations with=20
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and eyewitnesses in Gujarat,=20
and through the media:

* During the crucial interval between Godhra and the first targeted=20
attacks on Muslims, the police failed, despite mounting reports of=20
the coming 'Hindu backlash', to go through the routine drill they=20
have been trained to carry out for over 100 years, including special=20
patrolling, rounding up 'bad characters' and communal goondas,=20
setting up meetings of mohalla and residential colony=20
representatives, etc.

* Early on, Narendra Modi gave out unambiguous signals that he did=20
not want preventive action. He discouraged tough police measures even=20
after the VHP and the BJP launched their campaigns or arson and=20
murder.

* In countess instances, the police stood and watched as Hindutva=20
hooligans went about looting, burning and killing. Many officers=20
deliberately delayed despatching constables or summoning the fire=20
brigade when Muslim localities came under attack--as a means of=20
letting the =ECnatural reaction=EE (read, extreme anti-Muslim hatred)=20
work itself out. Soon, the police themselves started participating in=20
these crimes.

* After the first major day of violence, in which 150 people were=20
murdered in gory ways, Modi expressed =ECfull satisfaction=EE with the=20
working of the police and the law-and-order machinery. This was a=20
loud and clear message that the very apex of the state would remain=20
complicit in the pogrom.

* Mobs of the Hindutva hooligans specifically and accurately targeted=20
Muslim homes, buildings and shops--on the basis of the electoral=20
rolls provided by the municipal or state election authorities.

* By the time George Fernandes visited Ahmedabad, and his convoy was=20
attacked, the anti-minorities trend of the violence was clear. It was=20
also clear that the army would not be deployed in the proper sense of=20
the term. It belatedly sent about 500 men to stage flag marches in=20
different localities. The delay would lead to hundreds of avoidable=20
deaths. The state government, and its district officials, failed to=20
request the army in time to assist the civil authority in the=20
maintenance of law and order.

* The Ahmedabad police commissioner (P.C. Pandey) made unacceptable=20
and lame excuses for the partisan attitude of the police, saying what=20
happens in the larger society was =ECbound to affect it=EE. No senior=20
officers dared to discharge their duty in conformity with the=20
Constitution and protect the life and property of all citizens in an=20
impartial manner.

* Muslim High Court judges and senior police officers had to go into=20
hiding because the state failed to provide them even minimal=20
protection against the marauding mobs.

* The bestiality of the methods of killing has left lakhs of people=20
utterly traumatised.

* The police themselves burned down the office of an NGO engaged in=20
promoting communal harmony and reconciliation.

* The moneyed elite of Ahmedabad indulged in looting posh shops. Some=20
of them financed the salaries of the trishul-wielding youth who=20
joined the unprecedentedly large 5,000-15,000-strong mobs organised=20
by the Bajrang Dal and VHP.

* At the end of the first week of the pogrom, there were reports of=20
mistreatment of the 65,000 people who fled their homes for the safety=20
of ill-equipped refugee camps. Vehicles carrying essential supplies=20
to them were attacked.

* Narendra Modi shamelessly kept repeating his claim that the pogrom=20
was only a 'natural reaction' to Godhra, and further asserted that=20
his actions had the full approval of the Prime Minister to whom =ECI=20
speak four times a day.=EE

The Central government, on its part, endorsed Modi's actions and=20
decisions and was complicit in one of the worst episodes of=20
organised, unspontaneous communal violence in our history. Home=20
Minister Advani did not bother to visit Gujarat, from where he was=20
repeatedly elected an MP, for the first 100 hours; he finally made a=20
short, tokenist, visit. Vajpayee broadcast a pitiful and parsimonious=20
address to the nation, in which he did not even promise to protect=20
the life and property of the Muslims of Gujarat, or to punish those=20
guilty of unspeakable brutality and inhuman crimes.

This state-sponsored communal violence systematically targeted at a=20
religious minority is what gives the butchery in Gujarat a special,=20
sordid, terrifying, character. What Modi has accomplished=20
qualitatively exceeds the bestiality behind the massacre of the Sikhs=20
in Delhi in 1984 and, in some ways, the Bombay riots of 1992-93. In=20
neither of these episodes was the involvement of the state government=20
so direct, proactive and comprehensive. Nor was the Central=20
government=EDs conduct nearly as reprehensible.

For Gujarat=EDs religious minorities, Modi's rule is no different from=20
what Slobodan Milosevic's reign was for Serbia=EDs ethnic minorities.=20
Both are responsible for mass murder. Each day of Modi's continuation=20
in office means more violence. His government must be sacked. Its=20
rule is incompatible with fundamental rights--including rights to=20
life and liberty--guaranteed by the Constitution. This is not a=20
party-political demand, but a prerequisite of democracy. Gujarat's=20
civil society organisations see no other way out of the present=20
crisis. Nothing can justify the continuation of a government which so=20
abjectly--and brazenly--violates the right to life of millions of its=20
citizens.

L.K. Advani too has lost the moral authority to remain India's Home=20
Minister thanks to his complicity with Modi and his failure to uphold=20
the Constitution of India. He must go.

Gujarat=EDs is precisely the kind of emergency or exceptionally=20
stressful, extreme situation for which Articles 355 and 356 were=20
envisaged by the framers of our Constitution. These empower the=20
Centre to dismiss a state government or deploy troops to enforce its=20
compliance with Central orders. Article 355 specifically says it is=20
the =ECthe duty of the Union to protect every state against external=20
aggression and internal disturbance=EE and to ensure that its=20
governance =ECis carried on in accordance with the provisions of this=20
Constitution.=EE

It will not do to plead, as Narasimha Rao did in 1992-93, or many BJP=20
apologists do now, that the Centre can intervene in a state only=20
after imposing President's rule. As the legendary jurist H.M. Seervai=20
argued in two brilliant articles in The Economic Times (April 9 and=20
10, 1993), episodes like the Babri demolition or the Gujarat pogrom=20
eminently constitute grave 'internal disturbance'. Therefore, when=20
the Centre is =ECapprised of a situation in which internal disturbance=20
is threatened, it must take all necessary steps, including the use of=20
armed forces, to prevent internal disturbance.=EE This duty, says=20
Seervai, is imposed on the Union alone and not on the state=20
government.

Seervai elaborates on Art 355, which, according to Dr Ambedkar=20
(quoted in the Constituent Assembly debates), is modelled on Article=20
4, S.4 of the US Constitution. In the US, this was used in the 1950s=20
and 1960s to enforce the Supreme Court=EDs order to de-segregate white=20
and black schools. Thus, in 1957, President Eisenhower despatched=20
several companies of the US Army to Little Rock, Arkansas, where 'a=20
large and ugly-tempered mob' had gathered to prevent black students=20
from entering a former whites-only high school.

Similarly, in 1962, Kennedy sent thousands of US troops to=20
Mississippi to break racist resistance to the admission of a black=20
student, James Meredith, to a university, where 'massive riots,=20
approaching the proportions of outright insurrection', had broken=20
out. The mere presence of the troops led to the collapse of the=20
resistance.

The case for applying Article 355 to Gujarat, deploying Central=20
forces to take over law-and-order functions, and dismissing Modi is=20
pressing in today=EDs circumstances. The ground for his dismissal must=20
not be obfuscated by inappropriate appeals to federalist principles=20
and the valid but inapplicable argument that Article 356 has been=20
frequently abused to settle scores with Oppositon parties ruling in=20
the states. There is a manifest and visible breakdown of the=20
Constitutional machinery in Gujarat, which poses a dire threat to the=20
very survival of its citizens.

The Vajpayee government is so crassly insensitive and callous that it=20
will not voluntarily act to defend the Constitution or the principle=20
of democratic decency. It can only be forced to do so by the secular=20
Opposition. The Opposition parties must do everything in their power=20
to raise public awareness--through mass-level campaigns, public=20
meetings, and rallies in different cities. Only such a mass campaign=20
launched jointly with civil society groups and people's movements=20
will generate the pressure necessary to force the Centre to act.

Allowing the subversion and suborning of our democracy by communal=20
forces means descending into downright majoritarianism, and=20
rationalising murder and mayhem--ultimately barbarism itself. This is=20
unacceptable.--end--

_______

#3.

DAWN
16 March 2002

RELIGION AND POLITICS
By Kuldip Nayar

Woefully, the Gujarat riots have come at a time when the Muslims of=20
India have been joining the mainstream. Their faith in constitutional=20
guarantee for equality has been deepening and their confidence in the=20
country's secular ethos steadily increasing.
Even after partition, their romance with Pakistan had not ended,=20
although they had felt let down. But the liberation of Bangladesh,=20
one Muslim area cutting itself from another, disillusioned Indian=20
Muslim community. Good or bad, it accepted the fait accompli and=20
began to develop an identity, which was neither theocratic nor=20
pan-Islamic but wedded to the soil.
Otherwise, how do you explain their deliberate aloofness from the=20
issues which caught the imagination of the Muslim world? India, next=20
to Indonesia, has the largest Muslim population. But no Indian Muslim=20
has ever joined any jihad anywhere in the world. Take, for example,=20
Afghanistan. The Pakistani Muslims fought by the side of the Taliban=20
against the American-backed Northern Alliance. So much so, Islamabad=20
took Washington's permission to evacuate them. Some Bangladeshi=20
Muslims were also found in Afghanistan, but no Indian Muslim.
Nearer home, take Kashmir. You find Muslims of different countries=20
participating in what is going on in the valley, but there is no=20
Muslim from the rest of India. Even the support to the autonomy=20
demand is lacking. Silence of Indian Muslims on such issues is often=20
misunderstood. Yet, they have seldom said or done anything, which=20
they think does not represent the sense of the country.
The happenings in Gujarat have indeed jolted the community. On the=20
one hand, it is surprised over the reaction of some who became so=20
desperate that they went to the extent of burning the coaches of the=20
Sabarmati Express at Godhara. On the other hand, the community has=20
suffered beyond proportion when it comes to retaliation. It has also=20
found most of the Hindu intelligentsia coming to be part of the=20
anti-Muslim sentiment in one way or the other.
True, the Gujarat fire did not spread to the rest of the country,=20
except stray incidents in three or four cities. But it is of little=20
satisfaction to the community when once in a while there is such a=20
communal conflagration that whatever confidence it may have built=20
over the period is decimated in no time. Every time the dishonesty,=20
if not the animus of the majority, is more visible than before.
The community's fears have heightened because it finds the=20
authorities purposely inactive, the police contaminated and the=20
government interested more in covering its tracks than in punishing=20
the guilty. This was their experience in the last big killing at=20
Ahmedabad in 1969, nearly 33 years ago, and now again in Gujarat. In=20
fact, the community increasingly feels that a Hindu-Muslim riot=20
generally turns into a Muslim-police clash. The proposal to have a=20
mixed force in every state has remained only on paper.
The biggest challenge facing the community and the country is how to=20
change the biased mindset of the police. And an almost equally big=20
challenge is how to stop the injection of communal poison by the RSS=20
parivar in the states under the BJP and in the central ministries=20
headed by the BJP men.
The Ayodhya issue has risen at a wrong time. It has re-ignited the=20
fears in the community, which is still reeling under the loss of the=20
Babri masjid, demolished more than nine years ago. The community has=20
also become nervously conscious of the clout the Vishwa Hindu=20
Parishad (VHP), a fundamentalist organization, has in the corridors=20
of power. The prime minister had to bring the Kanchi Sankaracharya=20
(high priest) from down south, to make an equivocal statement that it=20
would abide by the court's verdict on the disputed Ram=20
Janambhoomi-Babri masjid site.
Even Otherwise the community's faith in Vajpayee's liberalism has=20
been lessening for some time. This is clear from the way the Muslims=20
voted in UP, bringing down the party strength in the assembly by 68=20
seats. Still the message has not gone home. Vajpayee, to the chagrin=20
of the community, is as dependent on the RSS as before. It was the=20
third party at the meetings between the Kanchi seer and the VHP.
The fallout from the events, as they have unfolded, is the closing of=20
ranks by the community. The Muslim Personal Law Board is emerging as=20
a rallying point. If this development had remained confined to=20
religious problems, it would not have mattered. But it looks like=20
becoming an instrument of political pressure. Many Muslims have begun=20
talking in terms of one platform and even a Muslim party.
This might well be what Hindu fundamentalists and even the BJP are=20
wishing. Their efforts to polarize the country have not succeeded so=20
far but it is very clear that they are hell-bent on doing so. In=20
fact, this has been their objective all along since partition. The=20
community will play into their hands if it decides to go it alone.
The Muslim Personal Law Board has not, however, done well by=20
combining the Ayodhya dispute with its normal work. The demolition of=20
the Babri masjid hurt the conscience of all, not the Muslims alone.=20
The entire nation felt horrified because the masjid represented=20
India's composite culture. So many Hindus joined hands with the=20
Muslims to condemn the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, another member of the=20
RSS parivar, over the masjid's demolition. The mood of the nation can=20
be judged from the dismal defeat of the BJP in UP and Rajasthan in=20
the state elections held soon after what happened at Ayodhya.
Muslims will be well advised in constituting a separate body in=20
dealing with the Babri masjid problem. That body should have members=20
of all communities. The Muslim Personal Law Board can join the body,=20
but not appropriate it. The Ayodhya matter is not between Hindus and=20
Muslims. This is a matter between those who believe in secular ethos=20
of the country and those who are out to establish Hindu Rashtra. This=20
is a matter which goes to the roots of our beliefs, our faith in the=20
constitution.
The Supreme Court's verdict was flouted when the masjid was=20
demolished and the VHP is traversing a similar path in a zigzag=20
manner. In a way, the prime minister is right when he says that a=20
settlement between the two communities can decide the dispute. But it=20
will be a limited settlement if it is ever reached. Many Hindus do=20
not want the temple to come up where the masjid once stood. Many=20
Muslims also do not want to rebuild the mosque at the same site.
Most people in the country would like the place to be left vacant so=20
as to serve as a reminder to the nation that a structure that=20
represented our pluralistic society was pulled down by religious=20
zealots on December 6, 1992. Japan has done a similar thing to keep=20
the horrors of war before its people. Hiroshima has left the ground,=20
where the bomb was dropped during the last World War, vacant. It=20
serves as a catharsis. The vacant site at Ayodhya may have a similar=20
effect.
It is a pity that those who were once the supporters of a secular=20
India are now apologists for a policy which is communal in content=20
and ruinous in objective. Their rationalization of what happened in=20
Gujarat is as disgusting as is their craze to stick to ministership.=20
This is not a political issue. It is sheer communalism. How many=20
Gujarats should happen before the different parties, particularly the=20
ruling BJP, realize that religion and politics cannot be mixed if=20
India is to stay united?
The writer is a freelance columnist based in New Delhi.

_______

#4.

THE TERROR OF FASCIST THEOCRACY
I.K.Shukla

They are busy harvesting the Gujarat carnage. BJP is mulling the idea=20
of holding elections to Gujarat Assembly, confident that the=20
polarized Hindu vote bank will pitchfork it into power to enable it=20
to finish the job it began on Feb.27. It believes that the charade=20
of Modi resigning, and dissolving the assembly, will attest its moral=20
credentials. By this token, Lok Sabha too must be dissolved by=20
Abysmal Bharat Vajpayee, since Hindutva is on the ascendant, NDA is=20
jittery, and nothing else will avail in burning the whole of India=20
except that Hindutva be on the helm all by itself. If BJP can ride=20
the wave of blood and fire to power in Gujarat, it can do so in New=20
Delhi too, which was both a partner and patron of the Gujarat=20
holocaust.

The complicity of BJP-NDA did not end with turning the whole of=20
Gujarat into an abattoir. The National Demolition Alliance, with some=20
of the two dozen parties of the coven claiming to be secular, was not=20
unduly ruffled at the series of assassinations, arson, and robbery=20
that the saffronazis conducted with religious regularity all over=20
India, victimizing the minorities- from the aborigines and Christians=20
to Muslims and Dalits. The NDA approval and abetment worked quite=20
well as incentive. Gujarat=92s well of death has not disturbed it at=20
all. Such sordid equanimity amounts to moral turpitude. If these=20
partners in the crimes of HinduTaliban were not avowed accessories,=20
the streams of blood and walls of fire would not be raging all over=20
so furiously, so ruthlessly, and so incessantly.

Smartly enough Ayodhya (shila daan/gift of columns) was dug up=20
synchronically as a diversion from the killing fields of Gujarat.=20
Instead of VHP-RSS-Bajarang Dal being hauled on the coals, their=20
leaders being dumped in jail, for orchestrating the pogrom in=20
Gujarat, for seditiously sowing disaffection, for subverting the=20
Constitution and defying law and order machinery publicly, for=20
colluding with the criminals, for sabotaging communal peace, they=20
were rewarded by BJP-NDA, and secretly permitted to conduct a=20
religious ceremony in Ayodhya on March 15. Their threats and=20
sacrilegious deeds warranted their arrest.

Not only were they inducted in Ayodhya with New Delhi=92s connivance=20
and Governor V.K. Shastri=92s collaboration, they were permitted and=20
prodded to flout the judgment of the Supreme Court. As if this was=20
not contempt of court enough, New Delhi also augmented the same by=20
sending a federal government employee of the PMO=92s Ayodhya Cell to=20
receive the shila from an avowed outlaw, Ramchandradas. Theocractic=20
fascism (HinduTalibanism) asserted itself nakedly, and bestially, and=20
won the day. Faced with it, the state was not helpless or soft, but=20
criminally and surreptitiously complicit. The celerity of it all, the=20
weaseling of the state structures in New Delhi and Lucknow, were=20
breath taking in their co-ordination and purported objective.

This was a defeat for democracy, secularism, and pluralism which=20
constitute the bedrock
of the Indian state as envisaged and enshrined by the fathers of the=20
nation. This was another blow to the emancipatory and egalitarian=20
aspirations of a society that has persevered long to realize its=20
dreams democratically. This was HinduTaliban=92s declaration of vicious=20
intent, its blueprint for the stark future: establishment of a Hindu=20
Rashtra, purged of diversity and difference, cleansed of beauty and=20
imagination. The shila dan in Ayodhya was another major step in that=20
diabolic direction. It paved the way for the construction of the=20
temple there dedicated to Death and Destruction, not Ram. The=20
Faizabad Commissioner was present as it was =93received=94 by the PMO=92s=20
envoy. Why has it now become the duty of a civil servant to pander=20
to a particular fanatical and violent cult? Is he an employee of the=20
state or the HinduTaliban?

New Delhi has sowed the seeds of another bitter harvest.

Let me share with readers a letter I received today from a friend, a=20
Muslim, hailing from Ahmedabad, but settled now in the US. I have=20
known him for several years, and had never expected a note like this=20
one from him. It hurts to go through it. A question, mine own, that=20
kept ringing in my ears, I could not suppress: Why does he still=20
believe in any Hindu to be capable of civil virtues and human=20
attributes? It reads (in parts):

=93My parents were not so religious. However, my mother, by=20
birth, was a Hindu.
We grew up in an all-Hindu neighborhood. Our house was burnt=20
down in the communal
riots of 1969. I vividly remember that Balraj Madhok, Advani, and=20
Vajpayee visited Ahmedabad and delivered very provocative speeches=20
blaming Muslims for the umpteen problems of India. Just a few months=20
later, the worst riots took place.

My mother=92s sister (maasi) was a medical intern working at the=20
largest Civil Hospital, where, as she told us, she saw thousands of=20
dead bodies piled up in the corridors and hallways. This was the=20
beginning of the BJP wave. We had to seek refuge in a neighbor=92s=20
house and hide under their bed, my mother with me. She felt helpless=20
and cowered as the RSS thugs searched the house for us.

This brings me back to what is happening now. My father now is 76. My=20
youngest brother, a lawyer, is married to his college sweetheart, a=20
Brahmin. All of them had to leave their home again a few weeks ago as=20
I spent agonizing days trying to find out where and how they were.

What is happening in Gujarat/India is the handiwork of the local and=20
native fascists, but it is certainly linked to the much larger=20
imperialist beast rampaging the world with barbaric genocide. Imagine=20
the US reaction if a similar tragedy had happened to the Kurds in=20
Iraq. There is total silence about Gujarat here as the empire is=20
cozying up to the HinduTaliban fascists in the east and Israeli=20
fascists in the west, all this mayhem tethered to controlling the oil=20
flow monopolistically.=94

It is remarkable that despite his personal anguish and jangled nerves=20
regarding his family, he retains clarity of perception and can see=20
the larger geo-political picture of global mayhem and massacre in its=20
entirety. For him to retain and sustain his radically humanist=20
insight at a time of such crisis is a tribute to our common humanity.=20
It is from this impulse of universal compassion and human solidarity=20
that he shared his pain and anxiety about his loved ones with me, who=20
should be, in the book of Hindutva, his enemy.

15 March2002

_______

#5.

Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 19:08:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Subhashini Ali

dear [...]
just back from gujerat -
unadulterated hell. this is a message for you to see
and also pass on. love subhashini

All the NGOs who are doing heroic relief work in the
camps in Gujerat all over the State are being
co-ordinated by the St. Xavier=EDs Service Society.
Every camp we visited told us that the Christian
groups were the first to arrive. They are getting
help from all over the country which is then being
distributed. Clothes should be collected. Drafts and
cheques will be more than welcome.

The A/C is as follows: The name of the Account is St.
Xavier's Social Service Society.The account no. is
01100050714, State Bank of India, Main Branch (0301),
Bhadra - Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380 001

The biggest and most organised camp in Ahmedabad is
situated in the Shah e Alam Rauza. It is being run by
Moin Shakir and Munnaf Bhai. It is recognised by the
Government also - though hardly any aid from the Govt.
has been received. The organisers told me that their
bank account will be open by now. It will be in the
name of 'Hazrat Shah e Alam Rahat Camp', Rasoolabad,
Ahmedabad. The phone number is 079 5324901; fax no.
is 5394850

I have learnt that Shri Willy Dsouza from Xaviers will
be in Lucknow from tomorrow - there is a convention
against Communalism being organised by Insaf

_______

#6.

FULL TEXT OF CPIM & AIDWA REPORT ON COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT (March 20=
02)
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/CPMAIDWA2002gujaratreport.html

_______

#7.

PLEASE CIRCULATE TO YOUR FRIENDS

GENOCIDE IN THE LAND OF GANDHI

Sale of Artworks

contributed by artists from across the country ( see the list at the bottom=
)

at Academy of Fine Arts & Literature
Siri Fort Institutional Area

The display and sale of works opens on Wednesday, 20 March, at=20
6.00pm, and continues on Thursday, 21 March from 11.00am to 8.00pm

23 March 2002

Shubha Mudgal sings
on the lawns of
Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg,
7.00pm onwards

Her voice accompanies film footage of the carnage in Gujarat

A Photo exhibition will be on display

Contribute generously towards
relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the genocide

Please make your contributions at the venue.

If you can't join us then you can send your cheques to: SAHMAT, 8,=20
Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001.

LIST OF ARTISTS CONFIRMED SO FAR

AJAY DESAI
ANITA DUBE
ANJU DODIYA
ANJUM SINGH
ARPANA CAUR
ARPITA SINGH
ATUL DODIYA
BHUPEN KHAKHAR
CHRYSCNNE STASHECOS
DEEPAK TANDON
GULAM SHEIKH
HAKU SHAH
HEM JYOTIKA
JAGANATH PANDE
K.G.SUBRAMANIAM
KRISHEN KHANNA
MADHAO IMARTEY
MADHVI PAREKH
MAIKE ABETZ & OLIVER DRESCHER
MANISHA PAREKH
MANU PAREKH
MJ ENAS
NARESH KAPURIA
NILIMA SHEIK
NUPUR KUNDU
PARAMJIT SINGH
PARHIV SHAH
PETER NAGI
PRASHANT MUKHERJEE
PROBIR GUPTA
PUSHPAMALA N
RABIN MONDAL
RAM RAHMAN
RANBIR KALEKA
RATAN BALI KANT
REBA HORE
RITU SINGH
S.G.VASUDEV
SANJIV SINHA
SATISH GUJRAL
SHAMBHAVI
SHEILA MAKHIJANI
SOM NATH HORE
SOONI TARAPOREVALA
SUBROTO KUNDU
SUHAS NIMBALKAR
SUNIL DAS
SURJEET CAUR
TAPAN BHATTACHRYA
VEENA BHARGAVA
VIDYA CHITRE
VIJAY KUMAR
VIVAN SUNDARAM

--=20
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