[sacw] SACW | 7 August 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 7 August 2002

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

__________________________

#1. Nuclear Role Models (Zia Mian, R. Rajaraman and Frank von Hippel)
#2. Killing Christians in Pakistan (Daily Times, Edit)
#3. Pakistan: Brutality Cloaked as Tradition (BEENA SARWAR)
#4. US policies in Nepal condemned (India- Nepal People's Solidarity Forum)
#5. India: Farmers of Hatred (Mukul Dube)
#6. India: Godhra's unanswered questions (Nafisa Ali)
#7. India: Monitoring investigation in Gujarat (C.V. Narasimhan)
#8. India: The White Ribbon Campaign for Peace
#9. India: Bombay Citizens letter to the Chief Election Commissioner
#10. India: Dharna / Sit In To Demand The Implementation of NHRC'S=20
recommendations (9 Aug)
#11.USA: Pluralism In India : A Retrospective - A symposium in=20
Southern California
#12. USA / India: VHP forms global outfit to promote Hindutva
#13. India: Announcing Three Essays Press

__________________________

#1.

The Washington Post
Tuesday, August 6, 2002; Page A15

Nuclear Role Models

By Zia Mian, R. Rajaraman and Frank von Hippel

Although the current South Asian crisis seems to have ebbed, the=20
underlying dynamic remains. The next flare-up will be even more=20
dangerous if the region's nuclear confrontation develops in the same=20
direction as the U.S.-Russian standoff -- with nuclear missiles on=20
alert, aimed at each other and ready to launch on warning.

As Lee Butler, former head of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said,=20
it was "no thanks to deterrence, but only by the grace of God" that=20
the United States and the Soviet Union survived their crises. Will=20
South Asia be so fortunate?

India and Pakistan are using the U.S. and Russian postures as=20
blueprints. India's Draft Nuclear Doctrine calls for everything the=20
superpowers have -- although on a more modest scale -- including a=20
"triad" of bombers and land- and sea-based missiles. It also=20
envisages an "assured capability to shift from peacetime deployment=20
to fully employable forces in the shortest possible time." Finally,=20
it calls for "space based and other assets . . . to provide early=20
warning." Pakistan has from the beginning been determined to obtain=20
matching nuclear capabilities.

Early warning systems don't have much point unless a retaliatory=20
launch can be ordered in the time before the attacking weapons=20
arrive. Pakistan's Shaheen missiles and the latest version of India's=20
Agni missile use solid fuel. The United States used solid fuel in its=20
Minuteman intercontinental missiles so that they were launch-ready at=20
all times.

A launch-on-warning posture would be far more dangerous in South Asia=20
than for the United States and Russia. The time it takes for a=20
missile to travel from the United States to Russia is a frighteningly=20
short 30 minutes but it still allows at least a little time to figure=20
out whether the warning of incoming missiles that one is receiving is=20
real or a human or hardware problem. In South Asia, available=20
decision time is vanishingly small; the total missile flight time=20
between India and Pakistan is only about 10 minutes.

Neither country is believed to keep its nuclear weapons deployed on=20
missiles or aircraft on a regular peacetime basis today. But such=20
non-deployment characterized the early U.S. and Soviet nuclear=20
postures as well. As the recent South Asian crisis abates, it is not=20
clear to what extent the various steps taken in the past few months=20
toward nuclear deployment will be reversed. Once elements of South=20
Asia's nuclear arsenal begin to be permanently deployed on high=20
alert, U.S.-Russian experience shows, bureaucratic and political=20
forces will come into play, resisting any attempt to roll back a=20
hair-trigger posture.

If we are to help prevent launch-ready weapons from becoming a=20
dangerous reality in South Asia, the nuclear superpowers will have to=20
become more responsible role models. The United States and Russia=20
could, for example, take off alert now the nuclear weapons that are,=20
under the Bush-Putin agreement, scheduled to be downloaded over a=20
decade. They could also open talks on options for de-alerting the=20
rest in a mutually transparent manner that would not make their=20
nuclear forces vulnerable to surprise attack. The United States=20
could, for example, keep its ballistic-missile subs out of range of=20
Russia instead of sending them forward with their missiles=20
launch-ready as today.

These steps would clear the way to take up India's suggestion for an=20
international conference to identify ways of eliminating nuclear=20
dangers. It would be hard for India and Pakistan to say no. India has=20
proposed this each year since 1998 in a U.N. resolution on reducing=20
nuclear danger. The goal should be a global zero alert for nuclear=20
forces.

As the nuclear superpowers unwind their Cold War hair-trigger=20
postures, they should do nothing to encourage or assist India and=20
Pakistan to move toward nuclear deployment. Political leaders and=20
military planners in South Asia have sought U.S. command and control=20
technology, citing concerns about nuclear weapons safety. Such=20
technology also could provide them the confidence to deploy the=20
weapons and, in a crisis, adopt more threatening and dangerous=20
postures. Down that path lies disaster.

Zia Mian is a Pakistani physicist on the research staff of Princeton=20
University. R. Rajaraman is a professor of physics at the Jawaharlal=20
Nehru University in New Delhi. Frank von Hippel is a professor of=20
public and international affairs at Princeton.

=A9 2002 The Washington Post Company

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#2.

Daily Times (Lahore)
August 07, 2002

Editorial: Killing Christians in Pakistan

On Monday, three terrorists attacked a missionary school in Jhika=20
Gali, Murree, and shot dead six people, four Muslims and two=20
Christians, but all of them were Pakistanis. There were 150 children=20
in the school, aged from six to 18, but they were apparently not=20
targeted. There were 30 American children also attending the school.=20
An organisation calling itself Revenge-Seeking Islamic Organisation=20
(Tanzimul Intiqami al-Bakistani) was identified by a note left behind=20
by the terrorists in which Pakistan was spelled as Bakistan. The note=20
said that the act was in retaliation against the atrocities committed=20
against the Muslims of Afghanistan, Palestine and Kashmir, and=20
against the conspiracy to spread Christianity in Pakistan. It=20
announced in Urdu that more killings would follow in the days to come.
This is the third attack on Christians linked to a church. Innocent=20
persons have earlier been butchered inside churches in Bahawalpur and=20
Islamabad. One Spanish research-worker's throat was slit last week in=20
Chitral after a warning not to preach Christianity among the local=20
population. A bomb was earlier thrown at foreign tourists looking at=20
a rock-carved statue of the Buddha in the Northern Areas. In the=20
first two attacks, the killers were said to be from the=20
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The Murree attack is sought by the killers to be=20
linked to some international organisation but it will most probably=20
turn out to be the handiwork of Pakistan's home-grown terrorists. The=20
note left behind near the missionary school spelled Pakistan as=20
Bakistan to muddy the trail. It contained some of the references that=20
appeared on the note written by Umar Sheikh after the kidnapping of=20
Daniel Pearl.
The alienation of the Jehad from the present government and the=20
rapidly spreading paranoia about Christians is at the root of=20
religion-based terrorism. Only last month, judges in Lahore and=20
Faisalabad handed down four death sentences to Christians accused of=20
blasphemy. In one case the accused was clearly mentally disturbed,=20
but the judge refused to send him for a medical examination before=20
passing judgment on him.
According to the memoirs of some church fathers, Christian missions=20
in Pakistan have traditionally failed to convert people in modern=20
times. Their work has thus been largely service-oriented in the=20
fields of health and education. Most Christians were settled in what=20
is now Pakistan before even the opening of the canal colonies in the=20
19th century. In fact, there is a higher rate of conversion from=20
Christianity to Islam than the other way around because of the ease=20
with which a Christian marriage is automatically annulled upon change=20
of faith, which is a convenient way to get out of a difficult social=20
fix. That is why the attack in Murree is a backlash of political=20
Jehad and its suspects come from the same murky hinterland as those=20
who were the erstwhile favourites of the state not so long ago.

_____

#3.

The New York Times
August 6, 2002

Brutality Cloaked as Tradition
By BEENA SARWAR

KARACHI, Pakistan - How could a tribal council in the Pakistani=20
village of Meerwala Jatoi decree that a young woman be raped in=20
revenge for a crime allegedly committed by her brother? They were=20
certain they could get away with it, of course. And they would have,=20
except that the local imam spoke out against it during Friday=20
prayers; a journalist in the mosque that day reported the case; the=20
story was picked up nationwide, then worldwide. Absent this=20
circumstantial chain, the rape would have gone unremarked.

That was and is the norm for rape - except that no tribal council=20
(known as a panchayat or, in regions bordering Afghanistan, as a=20
jirga) is known to have pronounced such a sentence before. Government=20
officials routinely turn a blind eye to panchayat or jirga justice,=20
which mostly settles matters related to land or family disputes.=20
Police chiefs and district commissioners attempting to end jirga law=20
find no support from the government.

The strengthening of jirga law beyond Pakistan's tribal areas (where=20
it has some legal sanction) has run parallel with the rise of Islamic=20
extremism. Many Pakistanis connect the two as being "traditional" and=20
therefore similar, but the fact remains that the jirga tradition has=20
no connection to religion, and that many so-called traditions,=20
particularly "Islamic laws," are not based in religion or tradition.

Jirga law is rooted in tribal customs and in the power of tribal=20
elders. The state, willing to exchange some of its powers for social=20
stability, has let these men take responsibility for many "private"=20
matters. This often means, in practice, giving this small portion of=20
the population private power over others, particularly women, even at=20
a time when elsewhere in society, the power of the elders is=20
declining.

What is equally troubling is that the state, in its insecurity, might=20
even cede more power by redefining public affairs as private, thereby=20
shifting accountability away from itself and into the hands of=20
others. This has happened not only with jirga law - giving both=20
accountability and power to tribal elders - but on a larger scale=20
with Islamic law and practice.

For example, the panchayat's decree in Meerwala Jatoi that the=20
punishment of rape be carried out by four men echoes the aberrations=20
in Pakistani law introduced by Gen. Zia ul-Haq, whose military rule=20
lasted from 1977 to 1988, in his attempts to Islamicize the country.=20
One law introduced in 1979 requires the presence of four witnesses to=20
an act of rape or adultery before the crime can be established. This=20
law obliterates the distinction between adultery and rape,=20
criminalizing a private offense (adultery) while, in effect, making=20
rape a private matter in which the burden of proof lies on the victim.

Yet even General Zia's campaign to create new laws and punishments=20
and label them as Islamic was questioned. When in 1981 the punishment=20
of stoning to death was challenged before the federal Shariah court -=20
part of Pakistan's extensive Islamic legal system - a majority of the=20
bench agreed it was un-Islamic. But that law was later reinstated=20
under political pressure. The point is that when the state declares=20
some aspect of social power to be Islamic or traditional, it creates=20
a political constituency in those who get that particular scrap of=20
power. And once they have it they will defend it in the terms it came=20
wrapped in, even if the "tradition" is new and the "Muslim law" even=20
newer.

In the tribal parts of Pakistan, local men are seizing more power via=20
religion or tradition. The police quail at confronting the issuers of=20
fatwas, no matter how political. There are exceptions, as when an=20
imam of a mosque in Jaranwala, in the Punjab, issued a fatwa last=20
month against Faraz Javed, who had objected to the imam's making a=20
political sermon during Friday prayers. Mr. Javed was saved from=20
being lynched by his American citizenship. The police swiftly=20
arrested those who had besieged his house, proving that the state can=20
be quite effective when it makes an effort.

Less lucky was Zahid Shah, a mentally disturbed young man in another=20
Punjabi village who was accused of blasphemy by a cleric and stoned=20
to death by an enraged mob barely a week before the Jaranwala case.=20
Blasphemy carries a death sentence in any case, but the accused are=20
often killed by vigilantes.

The values propagated during General Zia's long rule and entrenched=20
in the law have been internalized by some sectors of society. No=20
subsequent government has had the courage to reverse these laws,=20
despite the recommendations of government commissions. An early=20
effort by Gen. Pervez Musharraf to review blasphemy laws quickly ran=20
into political and clerical opposition.

Meanwhile, the government is gradually handing over the rights of=20
women as citizens and indeed as human beings to tribal elders in a=20
society that has, to a degree, long considered women as lesser=20
beings, family property and repositories of the family honor. Rape as=20
a form of revenge is a common phenomenon, particularly in the=20
southern Punjab and upper Sindh region, and the use of such violence=20
is increasing.

The decision of the panchayat in Meerwala Jatoi stemmed from another=20
aspect of the social system: the family of the woman who was raped=20
was poor, from a low caste. Yet another tradition was brought into=20
play.

It is to the good that such cases are inspiring debate on the=20
national level in Pakistan. The problems involved in cases like this=20
are not unique to Pakistan and the debate should not be, either.=20
General Zia's notions of Islamic law, for example, were partly=20
foreign in inspiration. This is not to shift blame but to acknowledge=20
that forms of traditionalism and fundamentalism can in a sense be=20
modern, even late-modern, across large parts of the world - and that=20
they can and should be contested in modern, usually secular terms=20
without any loss of cultural or religious identity. In Pakistan and=20
many other places, this is the fight now. It is hardly abstract. It=20
is fought over the bodies of girls and women, and sometimes over the=20
bodies of boys.

In the end, the state must assert its right and responsibility to=20
protect all its citizens. The culprits in acts like this now-famous=20
panchayat-law rape must be punished, but in accordance with law. And=20
the affected family must be tended to with sensitivity and care.=20
Surely that cannot be in violation of any traditions or beliefs worth=20
keeping.

Beena Sarwar is a journalist with The News, a Pakistani daily.

_____

#4.

US policies in Nepal condemned

New Delhi, Aug 3. Asking the U.S. and India to keep away from the=20
internal matters of Nepal, several Leftist leaders, human rights=20
activists, writers and journalists gathered in the Capital today=20
condemning atrocities being committed on scribes and citizens in=20
Nepal by the Monarchy and the Royal Nepal Army. Demanding abolition=20
of the constitutional monarchy in the Himalayan Kingdom, leaders and=20
activists, who had gathered under the banner of the India- Nepal=20
People's Solidarity Forum, alleged that people who had been fighting=20
for their rights and demanding social justice were being branded as=20
Maoists and brutally killed by the Nepalese Army.
Addressing the gathering speakers, which included the CPI=20
secretary D.Raja, All India Forward Bloc=92s Devrajan, the CPI-ML=20
(Liberation)=92s Swapan Mukherjee, the Nepali Janadhikar Suraksha=20
Samiti=92s Lakshman Pant, Avni Rai of the Revolutionary Socialist=20
Party, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party president Raghu Thakur,=20
Chittaranjan Singh of PUCL, Uttar Pradesh and Kamleshwar, lambasted=20
the U.S. and India for interfering in the internal matter of Nepal.=20
"In the grab of its war against terror, the U.S. is trying to=20
establish its hegemony in South Asia and Nepal was one of the country=20
where it is trying to make its presence felt by dictating terms with=20
India playing its protege". Mr D. Raja was very critical of US=20
policies and termed United States 'biggest terrorist'. He underlined=20
the common challenges faced by the countries of South Asia. Mr Avani=20
Roy (RSP) and Mr Devrajan (Forward Block) were of the opinion that=20
Indian democracy is threatened by the communal fascists who are=20
getting full support of US imperialists.
Condemning the July 11 incident in the Capital where 13=20
people including human right activists and four Nepali scribes were=20
picked by the Delhi police when they were discussing the=20
deteriorating situation in Nepal, speakers flayed the Government for=20
cracking down on these leaders on behest of the U.S. and Nepal.
On behalf of India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum, veteran=20
journalist Anand Swaroop Verma said that the Forum's motive was just=20
to reveal before people the atrocities being committed on innocent=20
people in Nepal and build a public opinion in favour of them. He said=20
that the people of Nepal were disillusioned with 'constitutional=20
monarchy' which is nothing but the autocratic rule of the Palace. Now=20
they want 'real democracy' to consolidate the gains of 1990=20
revolutionary movement which replaced the partyless Panchayat rule=20
with multi party democracy. The present king Gyanendra and prime=20
minister Deuba are playing in the hands of Mr chittaranjan Singh=20
alleged that if there was any terrorist State in the world it was the=20
U.S. which was freely selling arms to different countries, illegally=20
occupying territories and attacking nations. The meeting asked all=20
nations to fight the U.S. =96 sponsored terrorism and save the world=20
from imperialist forces. (The Hindu, Jansatta, Rashtriya Sahara etc.)

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#5.

(Finished 6 August 2002)

Farmers of Hatred

Mukul Dube

Swami Agnivesh and Rev. Valson Thampu have argued (Indian
Express, 26 April 2002) that fear is the key force which the
Sangh Parivar uses to keep the Hindutva madness going. The
historian Tanika Sarkar says (Economic and Political Weekly, 13
July 2002) that a "breathless climate of terror and
counter-terror is the cement that consolidates Hindu unity under
Sangh terms". What is crucial is that underlying this fear, this
terror, is a staggering ignorance which is deliberately
cultivated by the farmers of hatred.
Nikhlesh Kumar, who teaches sociology at the university in
Shillong, grew up in a business family in the old walled city of
Delhi. It was believed by Hindus then, he says, that Muslims
would spit into food before they served it. Decades later, he was
with two Muslim friends, both Sunnis. One said to the other that
he never ate anything served by a Shia. Why? Of course, because
Shias spat into food before they served it. And don't we all know
that Hindus have nothing better to do than spit into the food of
others? A damned great nation of spitters we are.
Why should one person spit into another's food? There is
nothing to be gained by doing that, no earthly benefit. Yet
people, entire social groups, are accused of doing it habitually,
as a cultural trait. Why should I accuse someone of doing
something so pointless and stupid? The reason is obvious: it is
entirely natural for me to believe anything, anything at all -
the more irrational, the better - of those whom I do not know and
who I therefore fear and hate as only the unseeing can.
>From growing up in central India in the 1950s, I remember
several such utterly absurd myths. Sikh men, according to one,
smelt of rancid butter because they greased their beards. In a
fantastic jumbling up of abdominal organs, the vaginas of Bengali
women were said to reek of rotten fish. And so it went: Muslims
cursing one other group, Hindus cursing another, in private
probably each cursing the other.
The common factor was that neither knew a thing about those
whom they so abused and vilified. Not a thing. They had never
been out of their small town, and they may well never have set
eyes on a living, breathing specimen of the species of which they
spoke. The only mass entertainment of the time, radio and films,
both tended to encourage stereotyping. They are no better today.
Some twenty-five years ago, a couple I know had an immensely
difficult time renting accommodation in Delhi. One of them was a
Muslim, so potential landlords "naturally" feared the piling up
of mountains of animal bones outside their homes. In point of
fact, the Muslim half of that couple ate no meat while the Hindu
half was a devoted carnivore. But that could hardly have cleared
away the entirely bogus myth that the spotless Hindus were
historically vegetarian and the equally ridiculous belief that
filthy Muslims live on nothing but flesh.
U. Vindhya, a lawyer and teacher in Visakhapatnam, was in
Scandinavia recently. She tells a heart-warming story of how
people from our subcontinent gathered to listen to the Sufi
compositions of Bulle Shah. Here were people from "enemy" nations
listening to music together, eating together, wishing together -
calling upon their different divinities where necessary - that
war would be avoided.
What explains this? The simple fact that they were people
like one another, they shared a great deal, and they could see,
hear and touch one another. Just ordinary people, not monsters to
be feared. I cannot feel blind fear for those whom I know to be
no different from me - only a natural human kinship.
The real monster is ignorance, and the farmers of hatred
feed the beast well.

_____

#6.

The Hindustan Times
August 07, 2002

Godhra's unanswered questions
Nafisa Ali

Is this the same Atal Bihari Vajpayee who made that celebrated speech=20
in Goa and protected Narendra Modi? After the shameful petrol pump=20
scam exposed by the Indian Express, how come the prime minister acted=20
so fast, and with such conscientious statesmanship? Why did he not=20
similarly act and dismiss Narendra Modi when thousands of Indians=20
were killed and raped?

I want to blank out the horrors in Gujarat. I heard the survivors=20
convey their deep sense of betrayal. Their FIRs are not being=20
registered. If people want to return to their homes, then it is with=20
the condition that the names in the FIRs be dropped. Be it Godhra or=20
after, you only feel shock and anger. I grieve for all, irrespective=20
of their religion, caste or status.

All the guilty must be punished. Why is the Modi government and the=20
Centre shy of revealing the names of the passengers in the Sabarmati=20
Express on that tragic day? Were they all kar sevaks who died, as the=20
VHP/BJP claimed? If not, who are they? Why have 19 bodies still not=20
been identified? What about the passengers in the adjacent bogies?=20
Why have their testimonies not been taken?

Why is Advani so hurriedly trashing the forensic report, without even=20
allowing a transparent CBI enquiry? How was the inflammatory liquid=20
allowed inside the carriage? The Modi government was quick to declare=20
the Godhra massacre as an ISI conspiracy. If so, why were law-abiding=20
Indian Muslims of Gujarat punished in such a ghastly manner?

If it was not the ISI, who are the real killers of Godhra?

According to reports, the Godhra killing was not premeditated but a=20
result of a mob violence following continuing humiliations at the=20
hands of kar sevaks who were mostly travelling ticketless in the=20
trains. I was told of some Muslims trying to board the earlier=20
Sabarmati Express train on its way to Ayodhya, but who were not=20
allowed to. Instead, they were stabbed with trishuls by kar sevaks.=20
The same train then returned from Ayodhya.

One report said a policeman registered a complaint that kerosene cans=20
and stoves were being carried by the kar sevaks which perhaps helped=20
in the mass igniting of coach S-6. A magazine reported that a handful=20
of anti-social elements carrying jerry cans of inflammables were=20
trying to enter the train.

Let the truth come out. The solution lies within the problem. The=20
answer lies in every question asked, investigated and made public.=20
Mere inflammatory rhetoric for communal polarisation will not do.

Those responsible for the Godhra killings should be punished, as=20
should those who organised the post-Godhra carnage with direct=20
support from the Modi government. What happened after Godhra was=20
orchestrated genocide and Modi is now trying to profit from this=20
carnage. Is this possible in any civilised democracy? Modi has become=20
a challenge to the Constitution of India and the secular, pluralist=20
foundations of the Indian State.

That is why the horrors in Gujarat need to be thoroughly probed by an=20
impartial body. Why should Hindus and Muslims be made sacrificial=20
goats for the vested interests of some politicians?

The prime minister promised Rs 150 crore for relief, but compensation=20
has been a farce. Our image as a democratic and liberal country has=20
taken a beating. We must reach out and help ordinary people who have=20
been devastated. Ninety per cent of Muslim homes have been destroyed.=20
Their material assets do not exist. Crores have gone up in flames.=20
More than 1 lakh people have no home to return to. A father and a son=20
recently returned to their home, only to be murdered in their sleep.

The Gujarat government says that 1,000 people died. But the truth is=20
that 2,000 Indians are still missing. Will they ever be located? Yet,=20
the government wants evidence of their murders. Can proof be found in=20
their ashes?

Who do we blame?

Industrialists do not want to speak out on Gujarat because they fear=20
that this may annoy the powers that be. How will 12 per cent of=20
defenceless Indians rebuild their lives and come to vote if there are=20
early elections in the state? Or is it that the 12 per cent do not=20
count?

What gives the BJP, the RSS and the VHP the right to be custodians of=20
the Hindu dharma? This is not Sarva Dharma Samabhava. The reverence=20
for god should bring out the good in each one of us. We, the people=20
of India, have to take charge. Hinduism as a way of life allows us to=20
grow into good human beings. Those who kill, burn and rape are not=20
Hindus. Must liberal Indians stand by in silence?

Why has Vajpayee let the country down? I appeal to President Abdul=20
Kalam - please help reconstruct the riot ravaged victims' material=20
and spiritual lives in this land of Vedanta. The answer lies within=20
each one of us. Let us plant the seed of prosperity, hope and right=20
action.

_____

#7.

The Hindu
Wednesday, Aug 07, 2002
Opinion - News Analysis

Monitoring investigation in Gujarat
By C.V. Narasimhan

The Godhra arson and the ghastly wholesale killings of February 2002,=20
meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed by militant communalists=20
in Gujarat, are still under investigation by the police. The=20
Statewide communal flare-up that persisted for over two months=20
seriously undermined public confidence in the administration,=20
especially in the police whose performance was perceivably partisan.=20
Every disturbance to public order was looked at with communally=20
tinted glasses. An objective and fair assessment of events and a=20
realistic appraisal of possible repercussions became casualties.=20
Somehow the situation improved subsequently owing to the innate good=20
sense of the people, and the administration seems to have resumed its=20
responsibilities as a secular Government. However, the recent=20
dissolution of the Assembly and the Chief Minister's call for=20
elections have queered the pitch and the air is filled again with=20
communally distinguishable odours. [...].

{ Full Text at: http://www.hindu.com/stories/2002080703811300.htm }

_____

#8.

GUJARAT 2002

The recent communal violence in Gujarat has left a trail of=20
devastation and a continuing climate of grief and fear. During the=20
two months of rioting, over 2000 people were killed. Over 10,000=20
shops and factories were gutted. And over 150,000 individuals were=20
rendered homeless, forced into relief camps for refugees in their own=20
state and nation. Today, around 20,000 people still remain in the=20
relief camps, and little has been done to ensure just compensation=20
and rehabilitation of the many victims.

A MOVEMENT AGAINST SILENCE

While a number of individuals have spoken out against the events in=20
Gujarat and some NGOs have been working with limited resources on the=20
ground, the public response has generally been marked by a deafening=20
silence.

Convinced that the vast majority of Indians condemn communal=20
violence, stand in solidarity with the victims, and uphold a vision=20
for a peaceful, just India, this campaign seeks to mobilise and unite=20
civil society under one simple symbol and its forceful message.

THE SYMBOL, THE MESSAGE

On 15 August 2002, India's Independence Day, citizens will be asked=20
to join this effort by wearing a white ribbon - in the form of a=20
badge or a band - as a visible sign of their condemnation of the=20
communal riots in Gujarat and their support for justice and peace.=20
The aim is to try and have 1 million Indians wearing this badge.=20

A CAMPAIGN FOR AWARENESS AND ACTION

Organised by a group of committed young Indians, working with=20
ActionAid India and the Ahmedabad-based Citizens' Initiative, the=20
campaign intends to generate awareness and public participation=20
throughout India, especially among young people. To achieve this=20
objective, the campaign will engage diverse means and venues,=20
involving television, radio, print media, web sites, college=20
festivals, civil society networks, celebrities, a large team of=20
student volunteers, and channels for direct distribution.

The message will be spread widely and constantly during the week=20
leading up to 15 August and white ribbons will be distributed at=20
public sites so that as many like-minded Indians as possible can join=20
together to make a powerful statement and public impact on=20
Independence Day 2002.=20

JOIN A MILLION INDIANS IN WEARING A WHITE RIBBON ON INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Across the country, citizens will be wearing white ribbons to say:=20
'No to Violence, Yes to Peace' - please join us by wearing a white=20
ribbon and volunteering to distribute white ribbons across Bangalore=20
city and Karnataka state.

This nationwide campaign is being run by a group of committed young=20
Indians, working with ActionAid India and the Ahmedabad-based=20
Citizens' Initiative, In Karnataka, it is being coordinated by the=20
White Ribbon Campaign for Peace (India), Bangalore Initiative for=20
Peace as well as many other movements and individuals.

In Bangalore, ribbons will be distributed across the city=8A 'Peace=20
Links: A Human Chain of White Ribbons' will be formed along MG Road,=20
starting from the Mahatma Gandhi statue, on the morning of 15th=20
August, at 11am.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A VOLUNTEERS' MEETING ON 11TH AUGUST 2.30pm,=20
Feroze's Estate Agency Cunningham Road (opp. Westminster), Bangalore=20
- 52.

For details, contact: whiteribbonindia@r...

The White Ribbon Campaign for Peace (India)

Dear friends, violence in Gujarat continues. The country seems to be=20
perpetually on the brink of war. And the violence continues in the=20
rest of the country-perhaps not physically, but in the kinds of=20
conversations we overhear, the gestures we watch people make: words=20
and expressions of war-mongering and communal hatred are all around=20
us. We may be confused about the kinds of responses we should make,=20
we may be uncertain about what we can do individually and=20
collectively to make a difference.

But all of us share a common sense of outrage, and a quest for peace.=20
We know that war will not help the peoples of South Asia, and=20
communalism turns our pride in Indian plurality into a sad=20
caricature. It is about time that we expressed our need for peace,=20
for non-violence, together; it is about time we stopped being the=20
'silent majority'. Because we are both-unfortunately silent and=20
fortunately a majority.

So say YES to peace. Peacefully!

*Wear a White Ribbon*

*Ask at least five other people to wear white ribbons*

We need symbols of peace, of secularism, of humaneness: we need to=20
stand up and be counted.

Please share this request with as many people as you can.

Let us wear our white ribbons till the violence ends - both in deed=20
and in word. Thank you.

(N.B. Posters are also available)

_____

#9.

Copy of a letter to the CEC. Several people have signed it at an
Insaaniyat public meeting on 29th July.
Ammu Abraham, Women's Centre, Bombay
-------------------------------------
To:
The Chief Election Commissioner
Nirvachan Sadan,
Sardar Patel Chowk,
New Delhi

Dear Mr. Lyngdoh,

We are a group of people from Mumbai, who are very concerned about the
future of Indian democracy and secularism, and especially about the
impact of the pogroms in Gujarat on these. We are concerned that the
developments in Gujarat should not set a precedent for other states,
whereby, various paramilitia groups preaching communal hatred and
committing massacres of minority religious community members are seen to
be successful in dividing the country and affecting electoral outcomes.

We keep in touch with civil rights activists and relief workers in
Gujarat. One thing that has become very clear is that justice to the
victims has not yet come through and given the situation of the lack of
witnesses, badly formulated FIRs etc we wonder if it ever will.

Sir, more than a lakh of Muslim citizens were made into refugees during
the Gujarat pogroms. They have not recieved any justice. They have not
recieved any compensation worth mentioning. (Even relief sent from
Canada by Indians is being kept at the Kandla port citing bureaucratic
snarls as the reason for non-release). Yet, many of the refugee camps
have been shut down and people are being sent back. These are Indian
citizens/citizenesses, whose livelihoods have been destroyed, who have
lost all documents, who have seen their kin being slaughtered, women
being ravaged. If they go back, it is going to be with the idea that
they have been reduced to second class citizens in this country; in
defeated acceptance.

The current government in Gujarat is responsible for this situation and
neither the government nor the Governor has been in any way made
accountable. Now the Chief Minister has dissolved the State Assembly to
force the elections in a blatant attempt to translate the communal
"gains" of the riots into electoral power.

Even after these riots, there has been no attempt to lower the communal
temparature in Gujarat. The Rathyatra events on the 12th of July make
this evident. Now the Chief Minister wants to hold elections in October
in an atmosphere of revelry with various Hindu festivals due.

Sir, allowing this manipulation of the democratic system for communal
goals will erode the democratic and secular nature of the Indian polity
even more. The lessons drawn in Gujarat shall be applied in other states
of India.

As the Constitutional authority in charge of the exercise of the most
fundamental right of the citizenry, we appeal to you to protect Indian
Democracy and Secularism. Do not allow elections in Gujarat till
February 2003, as it has normally been scheduled. You shall not only be
protecting the citizenship rights of the Muslims of Gujarat, but
upholding the Constitution of free India.

Entrusting the fate of our country into your hands,

sincerely yours,

_____

#10.

MOVEMENT FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY
C/o, Narmad-Meghani Library, Opp. Natraj Railway Crossing,=20
Mithakhali, Ellis Bridge, AHMEDABAD-380006. Ph.no: - (079) 6404418.=20
E-mail: - <mailto:dnr@i...>dnr@i...

, ON THE IMPLEMENTATI ON OF NHRC'S

DHARNA ON 9th. AUGUST near Martyr Vinod Kinariwala Memorial

Dear Friends,

MSD had a very spirited programme on last 1st. August, at Ambedkar=20
Centenary Hall with wider participation of many people.

To pursue the matter a Dharna Programme is taken on 9th.August the=20
day of the Quite India movement day. The Dharna will start at=20
8A.M. near Gujarat College. At 9 A.M. Tribute will be paid to the=20
MARTYR VINOD KINARIWALA at Gujarat College. The Dharna will continue=20
up to 12 noon. The highlight of the programme will be the fullest=20
implementation ofNHRC's recommendation. Please join the programme and=20
mobilize others to make the programme successful

News by Dwarikanath Rath D.6-8 -02 A REMINDER ONLY . PL. inform=20
others and mobilise

_____

#11.

COALITION FOR AN EGALITARIAN & PLURALISTIC INDIA
SOUTH ASIA FORUM and
IMRC

Hold a Symposium on

PLURALISM IN INDIA : A RETROSPECTIVE

on : Aug. 9/7pm
in : SEQUOIA CENTER, Buena Park

Panelists:
Shabnam Hashmi, cultural activist, associated with SAHMAT, New Delhi.
Dr Vinay Lal, Associate Professor, History Dept., UCLA.

Hashmi will also display a Poster Exhibition : HARVEST OF HATRED,
and present a video-reportage on Gujarat : EVIL STALKS THE LAND=20
produced by SAHMAT.

I.K.Shukla

_____

12.

VHP forms global outfit to promote Hindutva
Press Trust of India
New Delhi, August 06 In an ambitious move to spread Hindutva across=20
the globe, the Vishva Hindu Parishad on Tuesday announced the=20
setting up of VHP Overseas (VHPO) headed by leading industrialist B=20
K Modi and headquartered at New York. "The VHPO will be a global=20
body to address the challenges faced by Hindus living in culturally=20
diverse societies across the world," VHP Senior Vice-President=20
Acharya Giriraj Kishore told reporters here. Speaking on the=20
occasion, Modi said Hindus were holding high-level positions in=20
leading firms abroad but they need to enhance their self-esteem and=20
pride in their achievements as well as in the vast spiritual legacy=20
they have inherited. The VHPO would also initiate inter-faith=20
dialogue among people of diverse religious backgrounds and help=20
promote understanding, mutual respect and tolerance "to unfold the=20
oneness of spirituality in the human race." Mahesh Mehta, a=20
US-based NRI scientist in the field of membrane technology, who has=20
been appointed full time Vice-Chairman of VHPO, said the=20
organisation planned to promote eternal family values of Sanatana=20
Dharma which have found great admiration in the United States.

_____

#13.

Announcing Three Essays Press

The first set of books from Three Essays Press is out. For=20
information about the books and ordering details go the website:

<http://www.threeessays.com>www.threeessays.com

Titles are as follows:

Vijay Prashad
The American Scheme: Three Essays

Sunil Kumar
The Present in Delhi's Pasts

Radhika Desai
Slouching Towards Ayodhya: Three Essays

Meera Nanda
Breaking the Spell of Dharma and other essays

Ashraf Aziz
Light of the Universe: Three Essays on Hindustani Film Music

KN Panikkar
An Agenda for Cultural Action and Other Essays

Aijaz Ahmad
On Communalism and Globalization: Offensives of the Far Right

Three Essays Press
<mailto:info@t...>info@t...

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