[sacw] SACW | 8 Nov. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

INTERRUPTION NOTICE: Please note SACW posts will be interrupted=20
from the 10th - 17th November 2002

__________________________

South Asia Citizens Wire | 8 November 2002

#1. The burden of hope (Muzamil Jaleel )
#2. Dying day by day - Taking stock of mental and social health in=20
Kashmir (Fayaz Bukhari )
#3.Text of Petition to NHRC re protection to witness in Shootout=20
(Kuldip Nayar and Praful Bidwai)
#4. Letters to the Editor (Mukul Dube)
#5. As an Indian 'secularist dog', thanks to my upper caste=20
credentials, I don't have to skin a dead cow for a living. (Amit=20
Sengupta)
#6. November issue of Himal
#7. A Public Lecture & Discussion on Rise & Challenge of Hindutva in India
(November 9, 2002, Los Angeles)
#8. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 101 |=20
7 November 2002

__________________________

#1.

The Indian Express
Friday, November 08, 2002

The burden of hope
Muzamil Jaleel
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=3D12626

_____

#2.

Himal
November 2002

REPORT
Dying day by day
Taking stock of mental and social health in Kashmir.

by Fayaz Bukhari

Body counts and missing person reports reveal one side of the human=20
toll from Kashmir=B9s insurgency, but they are unable to tell us much=20
about the mental state of the living. How does one assess the mental=20
and social health of Kashmiris, and by what measure do we calculate=20
the accumulated damage on the mind of 13 years of conflict? Data=20
collected from Srinagar hospitals and social surveys conducted by=20
scholars and students in the state of Jammu and Kashmir are beginning=20
to provide a partial answer to this pressing question. What they=20
reveal is a highly traumatised population beleaguered by the effects=20
of daily violence and
social dislocation. Even if all violence in the state were to stop=20
tomorrow, the psychological and social damage would continue to be=20
felt for years to come. But the fact is that this political conflict=20
is not likely to be tidily resolved in the foreseeable future, and=20
the battle between the up to 700,000 troops stationed in the state=20
and the 3500-odd insurgents (the figure presented by New Delhi) is=20
expected to continue. Meanwhile, a continuously rising tide of=20
depression, troubled families, delayed marriages and suicides is=20
swamping the state.

Missing persons, disturbed survivors
Official statistics say 13,184 people have gone missing in Kashmir=20
since 1990, most of whom state officials say have joined militant=20
outfits, a claim disputed by many families. Out of this total, 135=20
(about one percent) have been declared dead by the government. Most=20
families that are missing members have, despite repeated efforts,=20
failed to find satisfactory explanations for the disappearances. In=20
1994, a group of these relatives formed the Association of Parents of=20
Disappeared Persons (APDP). They have since visited security=20
officials, police stations, politicians, courts and prisons=20
throughout India with photographs of sons, brothers, fathers and=20
husbands, trying to settle the uncertainty surrounding the=20
disappearances. As of June this year, the State Human Rights=20
Commission had received 1726 complaints concerning disappearances,=20
out of which 811 have been =8Cprocessed=B9, leaving 915 pending.

=B3There is a method in these disappearances=B2, says Parvez Imroz, an=20
APDP member. =B3The law enforcement agencies arrest people during=20
raids, routine patrolling, search operations. When the relatives=20
approach the security officials, they usually receive assurances that=20
their relatives will be released shortly. That never happens. After a=20
few visits the relatives are told that the people they are looking=20
for were not even arrested. The local police almost never file a=20
first-information-report against the security forces=B2. The=20
disappearance of thousands of young men has had a measurable economic=20
impact since it is usually the earning member of the family who goes=20
missing, leaving behind =8Chalf-widows=B9, women who for all practical=20
purposes have lost their husbands, and children, who are sooner=20
rather than later deserted by in-laws. But more corrosive still is=20
the psychological impact on broken families =AD constant agony and=20
trans-generational trauma. Over time, these develop into mental=20
disorders, says Amit Basu, a psychiatrist who is helping APDP set up=20
trauma centres throughout J&K.

Records from the out-patient department of Srinagar=B9s Hospital for=20
Psychiatric Diseases show that in the 1980s about 100 people were=20
reporting for treatment in a week; today, between 200 and 300 people=20
arrive every day. Most self-admitting patients are women aged 16 to=20
25. Because of the social stigma associated with psychological=20
disorders, doctors believe that no more than 10 percent of those in=20
need of psychiatric care are actually approaching the hospital.

One outcome of this under-treated trauma is an increase in teenage=20
girl suicides. One 19-year-old girl, Jameela, witnessed her aunt=20
being hit by a stray bullet while working in the kitchen garden, and=20
later also witnessed a shootout in her locality. With no history of=20
psychiatric problems, she began suffering from post-traumatic stress=20
disorders:
recurrent, intrusive and distressing recollection of the events,=20
marked irritability, outbursts of anger, difficulty in concentrating,=20
sleeplessness, sadness, and disinterest in all social, domestic and=20
college activities. Following a minor altercation with her sister,=20
she consumed pesticide and ended her life.

Depression and suicidal tendencies also affect male and female=20
grown-ups. On an average day, two to three cases of attempted suicide=20
are admitted into Srinagar=B9s two main hospitals, known simply as SMHS=20
and SKIMS. A large number of people, mostly from the villages, do not=20
even make it to the city hospitals =AD they die on the way or in local=20
health centres. For a hospital that rarely had to address psychiatric=20
problems till before the troubles, in 1998 SMHS registered 167=20
suicide deaths =AD 92 women and 75 men. In 1999, the total was 208 =AD=20
144 women and 64 men. Between April 2000 and March 2001, altogether=20
567 suicides =AD 377 women and 190 men =AD were registered by the=20
hospital.

Researchers attribute this dramatic rise to the fear, tension and=20
uncertainty prevailing in J&K. Suicides among newly married men are=20
also on the rise because of impotency, which doctors attribute to=20
mental trauma from shock. Poverty and unemployment, other outcomes of=20
the violence, are also causes of depression and suicide. These=20
desperate measures, however, are not taken by only the local=20
civilians; Indian troops stationed in Kashmir over a period of=20
several years have also been similarly affected. According to=20
published data, over 400 armed forces personnel have committed=20
suicide in Kashmir since the insurgency began in 1989. Significantly,=20
their reasons for committing suicide are not very different from=20
those of civilians =AD fear of death, mental stress, but also=20
homesickness. Srinagar=B9s psychiatric hospital also receives a large=20
number of patients from the paramilitary services.

Families without fathers
In the last 13 years, the political unrest in Jammu and Kashmir is=20
thought to have produced about 18,000 widows and 40,000 orphans in=20
the state. This growing population of indigents has become one of the=20
biggest challenges facing Kashmiri society, and yet it is an=20
escalating tragedy that has not received due attention. Widows are=20
not typically acceptable brides, as Kashmiri society places a taboo=20
on remarriage unlike Muslim societies in many other parts of the=20
world. About 80 percent of widows are aged 25 to 32 with children=20
below the age of 10. Even when remarriage is possible, many women=20
prefer to remain single out of apprehensions for their children=B9s=20
welfare. A University of Kashmir study showed that 91 percent of=20
widows surveyed had not considered remarriage.

Aisha, from Budgam, became a widow at 22 when her militant husband=20
was killed in 1990. She has resisted pressure from her in-laws and=20
parents to remarry, and has declined an offer from a brother-in-law.=20
=B3If I remarry, my children would be ill-treated=B2, she says. =B3I would=
=20
then have another responsibility and my children=B9s lives would be=20
ruined. The objective of my life is to give them better education so=20
that they do not get a feeling that they are orphans. Being a widow=20
is my fate and I do not want to seal the fate of my children=B2.

The University of Kashmir study revealed that widows face three sets=20
of problems. The first difficulties surface soon after the death of=20
their partners, in the forms of emotional stress, denial of=20
inheritance rights, sexual harassment and general social=20
undesirability. The second wave of difficulties arises gradually, as=20
loss of control over the children, and a growing sense of=20
inferiority. Finally, the widows are burdened by the long-term and=20
growing demands of house care and the assignment of menial=20
responsibilities. Altogether, the women find their position=20
thoroughly compromised.

The Kashmir clergy claim to play no role in the taboo on widow=20
remarriage, as Islam clearly encourages Muslims to remarry, and men=20
are specifically encouraged to marry widows. In fact, polygamy in=20
Islam is intended to provide sustenance and social security to widows=20
through remarriage. In Kashmir, however, Islam has been greatly=20
influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism, which may go to explain why=20
widow remarriage is uncommon here. Widows of insurgents
or the =8Chalf-widows=B9 of surrendered insurgents are the least=20
desirable of all, as they are directly associated with violence=20
through their husbands.

There are a few young men, however, who are willing to challenge the=20
mores of Kashmiri society and marry widows. Riyaz Ahmad Khan, barely=20
20 years old, married the widow of his maternal uncle, a released=20
insurgent who was killed by unknown assailants. She is more than 10=20
years his senior, but he feels proud of having married a widow and he=20
hopes to create an example for others to follow so that more widows=20
are given a respectable place in society. He challenges
separatist political leaders, who pay much lip service to the=20
sufferings of the people of the Kashmir valley, to come forward and=20
marry their children to the widows of the conflict.

Brides without grooms
The society has so transformed over the last decade that even finding=20
a life partner in Kashmir has become a struggle. The =8Cmarriage=20
market=B9 has undergone fundamental changes that damage the prospects=20
of both sexes, but women in particular. =B3The market, especially for=20
girls, is down=B2, explains marriage broker Ghulam Muhammad Bhat. =B3Now=20
even school teachers are getting matches whereas they used to have a=20
difficult time. Parents are willing to marry off their daughters to=20
anybody who is an earning hand=B2. In spite of this, Bhat has a long=20
list of girls who have been waiting for matches for many years. Young=20
men have become extremely selective about prospective partners in=20
these economically trying times. They want working women to help=20
support the family, and not just any working woman will do. This
explains why Bhat=B9s list does not shrink even though the girls on it=20
are mostly highly educated; they work in private schools for meagre=20
salaries while most men want to marry government schoolteachers who=20
have a good and assured salary and also the time after school hours=20
to take care of the children.

In Kashmir, women traditionally married in their early 20s but now=20
many remain unmarried simply because there are not enough men=20
available. Professor Bashir Ahmad Dabla, head of the sociology=20
department at the University of Kashmir, says the number of eligible=20
boys has dropped considerably as a direct result of the disquiet in=20
the state. Hundreds have been killed, debilitated, arrested or=20
permanently displaced. A colleague of Dabla=B9s, Shabir Ahmad, says the=20
increasing emphasis on higher education has lessened the number of=20
young marriages. In the case of professionals, choice is often=20
restricted to those in a related field, which prolongs a search. =B3It=20
is ironic that instead of being a relieving factor, education becomes=20
a positive hindrance to marriage=B2, he says. =B3There is an inverse=20
relationship between education and timely marriages=B2. The prolonged=20
turmoil has also intensified class divisions in the Kashmir valley.=20
Most parents do not have the money to marry off their daughters, and=20
even earning men often balk at the prospect of marriage.

As marriages get increasingly delayed, and young people try to cope=20
with the increased stress in their lives, the impact is being felt by=20
the next generation. There has been a rise recently in congenital=20
disorders, particularly Down=B9s Syndrome, which has a known=20
association with the age of the mother at childbirth. Further, there=20
has also been an increase in recurrent abortions and gynaecological=20
complications. =8CMulti Dimensional Problems of Women in Kashmir=B9, a=20
study sponsored by the Indian Planning Commission, suggests that late=20
marriages, which is an increasing reality in Kashmir, affect the=20
general health of couples and their children.

Joblessness and underemployment continue to destabilise Kashmir, as=20
each additional year of violence further undermines economic and=20
social stability. Nearly 100,000 graduates in the state are=20
unemployed. It does not portend well for the future that owing to the=20
conflict many times that number have never seen the inside of a=20
school room. Tourism, a former staple of the Kashmiri economy, has=20
predictably collapsed with the rise of militancy in the state as a=20
result of the ongoing conflict. Social indicators suggest that with=20
continuing violence the human toll, imperfectly measured in delayed=20
marriages, unfulfilled marriages, mental disorders and suicides, will=20
only grow with the coming generation. For the sake of the living,=20
there need to be fewer deaths.

_____

#3.

To the Hon=B9ble Chairperson and His Companion Members
Of the
National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhavan
New Delhi

It is respectfully stated as under:

We are very concerned about the report, which appears credible, about=20
the account given by an eyewitness to the so called =B3Ansal shootout=B2.=20
We enclose a news clipping from the Asian Age dated November 6 2002.=20
A similar report was published by Midday yesterday. The Asian Age=20
also indicates that the witness is under some intimidation from the=20
police. In short the entire episode has all the trappings of a staged=20
encounter, which is eminently the domain of this Hon=B9ble Commission.

We request this Hon=B9ble Commission to institute a full inquiry into=20
the matter, direct appropriate protection to the eyewitness Mr.=20
H.Krishna and a recording of his version by the NHRC.

Should the NHRC so consider proper, it may please move the Supreme=20
cOurt or High Court under the ample powers that it has under the=20
Protection of Human Rights Act.

If required a fuller petition shall be moved before this Hon=B9ble=20
Commission. However, the present may be taken cognizance of as we=20
have not had time to move a formal petition.

The dangers of the police and the Home Department so completely=20
exceeding themselves as to actually create unnecessary terror and=20
consider the extinguishing of human life a simple matter for their=20
own ends can hardly be overstressed. It appears from the newspaper=20
report that this is just what the Special Cell Lodi Colony has done.

We humbly request this hon=B9ble Commission to issue urgent orders as praye=
d for.

We are reliably informed that Mr. Hari Krishna is missing from his=20
residence M-219 First Floor G.K II telephone 6474502.

It may be appropriate to seek a transfer of ACP Rajbir Singh and DCP=20
Ashok Chand who are running the Special Cell that is behind this=20
operation.

=20
Kuldip Nayar

=20
Praful Bidwai

November 6, 2002

On this petition the NHRC , on November 6 2002 at 5 p.m issued urgent=20
notice to Commissioner of Police Delhi, DCP Ashok Chand and ACP=20
Rajbir Singh.

NHRC has ordered IMMEDIATE AND ADEQUATE PROTECTION to Dr. H Krishna=20
and his family and has directed that the Commissioner of Police shall=20
ensure this and the Director General Investigation of NHRC shall=20
interact with the Commissioner of Police on this aspect to ensure=20
compliance with the NHRC=B9s orders.

The Delhi police has since confirmed receipt of the order.

______

#4.

The Hindu
Monday, Apr 01, 2002
Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Fighting genocide

Sir, =8B In ``The need for a law against genocide'' (March 25), K.G.=20
Kannabiran questions the characterisation of Hindu-Muslim problems as=20
"communal" rather than religious. On the face of it, it might seem an=20
unnecessary distinction, since in our country ``communal'' has not=20
been taken to mean anything other than religious. However, the=20
Constitution does speak of religion more often than it speaks of most=20
other things, starting with ``liberty of thought, belief, faith and=20
worship."

Do we need a law which deals specifically with genocide, whether or=20
not the killing is on grounds of religion? Perhaps we do, for, while=20
those Sections of the Indian Penal Code which pertain to abetment=20
(chapter V), criminal conspiracy (chap. V- A), public tranquillity=20
(chap. VII), religion (chap. XV) and criminal intimidation (chap.=20
XXII), could be applied to what happened in Gujarat recently, the=20
violent acts which characterised the riots were different from what=20
we call ``the usual'' communal rioting. The difference, it may be=20
argued, is one of kind, not degree.

It is necessary, nevertheless, to use the existing laws as much as=20
possible. Section 153-A, for example, deals with ``promoting enmity=20
between different groups... and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance=20
of harmony.'' But, a difficulty is that the Narendra Modis and their=20
administrators may not be inclined to use the provision proactively.

Mukul Dube,
New Delhi

______

#5.

The Hindustan Times
Friday, November 8, 2002

Buddha's smile

Amit Sengupta

As an Indian 'secularist dog', thanks to my upper caste credentials,=20
I don't have to skin a dead cow for a living.
Nor are my 'community members' not allowed to enter temples or=20
stopped from drinking water from village wells, or forced to use a=20
'marked' cup in the local tea-shop, or made to eat human excreta as=20
divine punishment. Nor are women of my caste routinely stripped and=20
paraded naked as a public spectacle, if not raped by a collective=20
jury. Besides, our little children are not beaten to death, as in the=20
killing fields of the Ranvir Sena's Bihar, because they might turn=20
out to be 'rebel snakes' when they grow up, demanding social dignity=20
and the right to vote.
Modernity's enlightenment has its flip side. Especially in the vast,=20
fragmented, semi-feudal zones of 'below the poverty line' 'caste=20
India', surrounded by pockets of affluence. There is no space for the=20
'organic intellectual' here, as Antonio Gramsci would say.=20
Intellectuals exist only in vacuous bourgeois societies, he would=20
argue. Because all those who use their intelligence, craft, creative=20
skill, discipline and hard work to create a product are=20
'intellectuals'.
However, upper caste India has designed the paradigm of oppression=20
with such precision, consistency and rigour that all other=20
expressions of life-affirmation are crushed. The outcaste is an=20
outsider, outside the anthropology of life and death; he is less than=20
an animal, a false metaphor, born to be a slave by divine law, fated=20
to be flogged, lynched, reduced into a daily caricature in his own=20
eyes.
The truth is, as Kancha Ilaiah says, that the Shudras and Dalits (and=20
adivasis) were the first intellectuals, the first designers, the=20
first ecologists. They understood the earth and its flavours, because=20
it was they who tilled the soil. They played with the seasons,=20
because it was they who created the fruits of the earth. They=20
celebrated the colours of nature, designed the fantastic fabric of=20
folk craft. They mastered metals, fire, substances, rivers, barren=20
land, turned a dead object into a work of beauty. They protected=20
their ecology and the living beings who inhabited it (including the=20
cow), because it was they who sustained the cycle of life through the=20
zigzag of invisible time.
And others, the upper castes, the rulers, the children of god, the=20
twice born =97 what about them? They were the super parasites of the=20
superstructure of Vedic Hinduism, their flesh and soul nourished by=20
the bonded labour of the poorest of the poor, the untouchables, the=20
shadow which is neither human nor animal. So what's so surprising=20
about Acharya Giriraj Kishore's prophetic claim that a cow is more=20
valuable than five Dalits lynched to death?
In this code of Hindutva, a dead cow is more valuable than a living=20
human being. Let there be no doubt, as in Pastor Neimolar's narrative=20
on Nazism ("first they came for the Jews, I was not a Jew so I did=20
not care"), after the Christians and the Muslims, the Dalits and=20
tribals will be next on their hit list. And, of course, 'liberal=20
secularist dogs'. Unless they choose to be co-opted, willingly or=20
unwillingly, as in the Gujarat carnage. As their leaderships have=20
done year after election year in India's cowbelt. As what Mayawati is=20
doing right now in UP, after having promised the Dalits and Muslims=20
that come what may she will not break bread with the killers of=20
Gujarat.
Despite this infinite pessimism, there is bad news for the fascists.=20
The times they are a'changin'. In the interiors of India, outside the=20
gaze of the urban intellectual, a silent revolution is unfolding.=20
Thousands of Dalits are shifting the entrenched logic of time and=20
space, rejecting the mental shackles which bind them to an oppressive=20
religion which has only given them hunger and humiliation, picking up=20
weapons of liberation, seeking their fundamental right as enshrined=20
in the Constitution. Around that little statue of Bhimrao Ramji=20
Ambedkar in his perennial suit and tie, in those emaciated quarters=20
of the Dalit ghetto, a new wave of self-realisation is redefining the=20
contours of freedom and necessity. It's a slow and tiring process,=20
and the enemy is too powerful, backed by the Hindutva State; but one=20
thing's for sure, the wretched of the earth will not take it lying=20
down anymore.
On November 24 last year, thousands of Dalits adopted the Buddhist=20
'Dhamma' in the heart of Delhi. They shaved off their heads and=20
rejected their surnames and with it the mental slavery of the caste=20
society. And who stopped them from converting into what is one of the=20
most noble philosophies of emancipation in the subcontinent? The VHP,=20
backed by the BJP-led government in Delhi.
If this regime's inherent totalitarianism could be witnessed in stark=20
transparency, it was on that day, and weeks before that, when every=20
coercive tactic in the fascist book was used. Dalits were assaulted=20
and arrested, their right to assemble peacefully was denied despite=20
prior official permission, lies and rumours were circulated, all=20
roads to Delhi were blocked. It was the Police-State versus the=20
neo-Buddhist Dalit.
Why should a government stop what is a legitimate right and a=20
question of private faith? And doesn't the VHP convert/reconvert=20
tribals into Hinduism and hang it as a medal of a demographic=20
revolution? It's because they don't want Dalits to break out of their=20
vicious circle of condemnation. It's because they believe in the=20
Manusmriti. It's because the Shudras, Dalits, women =97 they only=20
deserve to be brutalised; in this torture itself lies their moksha!
This is the reason why the upper caste private armies kill the 'rebel=20
snake' children in Bihar. They just can't accept the changed reality=20
that Dalits can actually demand social and economic dignity. They=20
refuse to accept the Constitution of India. They don't believe in a=20
multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-lingual egalitarian India.=20
They don't want the untouchables to be touched by the freedoms of=20
secular democracy.
Dalits are rejecting their mental slavery, adopting other religions=20
by choice, especially Buddhism. The protracted circle of resurrection=20
begun by Babasaheb Ambedkar is entering its final chakravyuh. Take my=20
word, unlike Abhimanyu, the Dalits will break out of this rat-trap.=20
Their symbols of liberation are Buddha, Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule,=20
Tukaram, Kabir, the Bhakti movement, the revolutionary tradition.=20
They are waking up from this infinite insomnia. In a restless flux,=20
they are ready for a great leap forward. This is happening. After=20
Gujarat and Jhajjar, they are all the more determined. But if we=20
still choose to be blind, then not even the holy cow can save us.
Then, as in Sartre's preface to Frantz Fanon's epical The Wretched of=20
the Earth, the Dalits, like the Blacks, will one day gather around a=20
fire, while we, like the White coloniser, will become outsiders,=20
faceless, powerless; "they will see you perhaps, but they will go on=20
talking among themselves, without even lowering their voices. This=20
indifference strikes home=85 their fathers, shadowy creatures, your=20
creatures, were but dead souls=85 Their sons ignore you; a fire warms=20
them and sheds light around them, and you have not lit it. Now, at a=20
respectful distance, it is you who will feel furtive, night-bound and=20
perished with cold. Turn and turn about; in these shadows from whence=20
a new dawn will break, it is you who are the zombies."

______

#6.

In the November Himal:

+ Dirty little middle class secret: The hidden horror of child domestics
+ Murder in Haryana: Examining the upsurge of anti-dalit violence in India
+ From evil state to civil society: Reconsidering donor effects on Nepal
+ Ballot boxing in Kashmir and Pakistan
+ Numafung: A woman in Nepali film stands up.

http://www.himalmag.com/2002/november/

______

#7.

THE SOUTH ASIA FORUM
&
COALITION FOR AN EGALITARIAN AND PLURALISTIC INDIA
Present
A Public Lecture & Discussion on
FUNDAMENTALISM IN SOUTH ASIA
Rise & Challenge of Hindutva in India
Saturday, November 9, 2002
2:00 PM
University Hall, Room 1000
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, California 90045

Speaker: Virendra Prakash, IAS (Ret.)
Author of =93Hindutva Demystified=94

Mr. Virendra Prakash retired as Secretary to the Government of India in the
Ministry of Home Affairs, having held senior positions both in India and
abroad. As Deputy Commissioner Manipur and as Advisor to two Governors of
J&K state, he dealt closely with fundamentalist militancy. His book =94
Hindutva Demystified=94 which received wide acclamation was based on his
intimate interactions with Hindutva top leadership and the study of relevan=
t
literature, history as well as contemporary developments right up to the
tragic events of Godhra, Gujarat and Orissa.

The rise of fundamentalist politics around the world and especially in Sout=
h
Asia has affected the fragile majority and minority relationships, casting =
a
long, dark shadow on the future of the entire region. Lately, the rise of
majoritarian militancy in India in the name of HINDUTVA has added a
catastrophic new dimension to an already explosive situation. The
minorities, dalits & women, in particular, find themselves the target of
increasingly vicious attacks.
In this context, some issues to ponder over are:
- What is HINDUTVA - its motives and roots, its threats and prospects?
- What does it bode for the future of a pluralist, egalitarian and
progressive India?
- What does it mean for the future of the South Asian States?
- What is the role of the expatriate South Asian Community?
This event is free to the public and plenty of parking is available.
Directions:
>From Valley: Take San Diego (405) Freeway south. Exit on Manchester Blvd
(W) and turn right towards the beach.
>From Orange County: Take San Diego (405) Freeway North. Exit on Manchester
Blvd (W) and turn left towards the beach.
>From Downtown: Take I-10 West Freeway north and merge on to the San Diego
(405) south. Exit on Manchester Blvd (W) and turn right towards the beach.
After following the above, turn right on Lincoln Blvd and make another righ=
t
on LMU Drive. University Hall will be the first Bldg on the right, enter th=
e
underground parking structure from the second entrance and take the elevato=
r
to Room 1000.

For more information please contact:
Robin Khundkar (714) 895-5048 or rkhundkar@e... ;I K Shukla (310)
514-2934 or ikshukla@h... ; John Ishvaradas-Abdallah (310) 748-9369
or SufiSays@y...; Asad Zaidi (714) 313-2703 or asadzee@h...

____

#8.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 101
7 November 2002
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/112

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