[sacw] SACW | 12 -13 Dec. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 12 -13 December 2002

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be no SACW dispatches between=20
December 13 - December 20, 2002.

Crime Against Humanity -- Gujarat 2002: A 2 volume report on the=20
investigations, findings and recommendations of the Concerned=20
Citizens' Tribunal
Is posted on www.sabrang.com

The Campaign To Stop Funding Hate:
www.stopfundinghate.org/

Detailed Report: The Foreign Exchange of Hate
www.stopfundinghate.org/sacw/index.html

__________________________

#1. India: Govt. vague on funds sent by U.S.-based charity (Anjali Mody)
#2. Web site of the election commission of India
#3. As Gujarat votes today... (Praful Bidwai)
#4. In Indian Election, Hate Is Part of Platform (Rama Lakshmi)
#5. A Secular India, or Not? At Strife Scene, Vote Is Test (Amy Waldman)
#6. Reject the poisoned chalice (Malini Parthasarathy )
#7. Chunikaka=B9s dharma (MH Jowher)
#8. The train stopped at Godhra (Deepak Roy)

__________________________

#1.

The Hindu
Dec. 12, 2002
http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/12/stories/2002121202701200.htm

Govt. vague on funds sent by U.S.-based charity

By Anjali Mody

NEW DELHI DEC. 11. The controversy over funds sent to Non-Government
Organisations (NGOs) in India from the Sangh Parivar-linked U.S.-based
charity, the Indian Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), has found the
Government obfuscating on the issue. Questions, on the subject from the
Rajya Sabha MP, A. Vijaya Raghavan, received answers, from the Minister of
State for Home, Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, which appear to be rather economical
with the truth.

Mr. Vijaya Raghavan asked the Minister for year-wise details of funds
received from the IDRF by NGOs working in India. The Minister said that in
1999-2000 no funds were received, in 2000-2001 Rs. 21.25 lakhs was received
by one NGO, which was not named and that the data for 2000-2002 was under
compilation.

To a question on year-wise details of "expenditure and funds utilised'' by
the NGOs, the Minister's response was: "the foreign contribution mentioned
above was reported to "have been utilised for relief/rehabilitation of
victims of natural calamities.''

The IDRF, however, claims to have donated more than 100 times the amount
named by the Minister to more than 50 India-based NGOs not only in
1999-2000, but in the previous financial year 1998-99 and the subsequent
financial year 2000-2001. In fact, in 1999-2000, the year in which,
Vidyasagar Rao told Parliament, the funds received were "nil,'' the IDRF
states that its `gifts' to NGOs in India amounted to $1,566,000 or Rs. 704
lakhs, assuming that its Rs. 45 to a dollar.

In 2000-20001, he said Rs. 21.21 lakhs was received by one NGO. However, th=
e
IDRF's largest recipient for that year, Sewa Bharati, Bhopal, got $105,665
or Rs. 47 lakhs. According to IDRF's annual reports, which are available on
the Internet, its `gifts' to Indian NGOs between 1998 and 2001 amount to
over $4 million or over Rs. 16 crores.

The Minister told Parliament that the funds were used for relief and
rehabilitation. It is a fact that some of the funds in 1999-2000 and
2000-2001 are listed for "relief and rehabilitation'' work following the
Orissa cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake. However, even in these cases the
largest recipient of these funds are organisations which are part of the
Sangh Parivar. Sewa Bharati, for example, is listed as the recipient of
$360,000 of the total $510,375 shown as earmarked for post- earthquake work
in Gujarat. The IDRF, a tax-empt charity based in the U.S., claims to be a
non-sectarian organisation raising funds for `development' and `relief' in
India. However, a recent report "Foreign Exchange of Hate'' showed that far
from being non-sectarian, the IDRF had been funding RSS-linked groups in
India since it was formed in the 1980s. Its primary list of the type of NGO=
s
it funds include the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram =97 linked with conversion activ=
ity
and anti-Christian violence in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat =97 and Sewa
Bharati.

The IDRF's annual contribution to Sangh NGOs has grown more than 10 times i=
n
nine years, from $118,930 in 1992-93 to $1.2 million in 2000-2001. Its fund
raising activities have grown exponentially since the BJP came to power.
Between 1992 and 1997 it distributed around $1.4 million to Sangh Parivar
NGOs. In the four years since 1998 it has disbursed over $4 million.

______

#2.

For information on the results in elections in Gujarat elections =3D>
Web site of the election commission of India
http://www.eci.gov.in/

_____

#3.

"The News International, Pakistan, December 12, 2002

As Gujarat votes today...

Praful Bidwai

The fate of Indian politics, no less, hangs in the balance as=20
Gujarat's 33 million electors vote today in a neck-and-neck state=20
Assembly election. Whether they choose the Bharatiya Janata Party or=20
its opponents will determine the direction which India takes in the=20
next few years: in particular, will the country remain trapped in the=20
dark politics of insecure identities, ethnic hatred, and communal=20
violence, or will it move towards addressing real, substantive, but=20
long-neglected, social, economic and political agendas?

This election has already proved the psephologist's nightmare and may=20
well end up discrediting their craft. There are mutually=20
contradictory opinion polls and divergent assessments of its likely=20
results, even among those who have well-formed, clear, views.=20
However, after a visit to Gujarat, I think it would be fair to make=20
the following generalisations.

First, although this appears to be a photo-finish race to most=20
observers, the BJP's campaign peaked rather early and the Congress'=20
has gained momentum over the last fortnight. Not only has Sonia=20
Gandhi been attracting crowds of the order of 50,000 to one=20
lakh-compared to a mere 2,000 to 5,000 for LK Advani, but issues of=20
governance, development, people's livelihoods (as distinct from=20
religious identities) have acquired greater prominence in the voter's=20
calculations.

On governance, the BJP's record is appalling. Over the past five=20
years, Gujarat has seen every economic and social indicator go down.=20
GDP growth decelerated from eight percent in the 1990s to a mere 1.1=20
percent now. Water and power shortages have worsened. Gujarat has=20
also become a laggard in the spread of literacy and healthcare access.

The Congress now seems to have an edge. Even BJP supporters concede=20
that their party's lead over it has significantly narrowed. For=20
instance, the rabidly pro-saffron "India Today" has lowered its=20
projection of the BJP's tally of seats by 20 (to 100-110, in the=20
182-strong Assembly). Other polls (e.g. "Outlook") give a clear=20
advantage to the Congress, or put it at par with the BJP (although=20
"Frontline" is an exception). The situation on the campaign trial,=20
and growing confidence among Gujarat's minorities, reinforce this=20
impression.

Secondly, there is no Hindutva wave in Gujarat. There is of course=20
strong polarisation along communal lines in about 30 constituencies,=20
and plenty of support for the view that the pogrom of March-April was=20
a "reaction" to the burning alive of 59 people at Godhra on February=20
27. Yet, people won't vote for the BJP primarily because it is the=20
party of Hindutva, but for other reasons. "Religious considerations"=20
come at the bottom of the issues influencing the voter's choice=20
("prices" and "corruption" being close to the top, and caste=20
considerations next in line).

Thirdly, this is only partially because the Congress has accommodated=20
to the BJP by adopting a "soft-Hindutva" line. Contrary to one=20
fashionable view, the Congress has not quite reduced itself to the=20
BJP's 'B-team'.

True, the Congress has -- regrettably, indeed, deplorably -- made=20
concessions to "Hindu sentiments". Sonia Gandhi fielded former RSS=20
man Shankersingh Vaghela as party president and launched the party's=20
campaign from the pilgrimage town of Ambaji. The Congress has not=20
seriously raised the issue of bringing the guilty of the pogrom to=20
book. Only four of its candidates are Muslim.

But the Congress is by no means campaigning as a "Hindu" Party. It=20
presents an inclusive, plural face, fielding numerous chief ministers=20
and non-Congress leaders like Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ram Bilas=20
Paswan. It has raised a wide range of primarily secular issues like=20
the BJP's performance, employment, water supply, and law and order.=20
It has placed caste over religion in its choice of candidates: e.g.=20
Patels in Saurashtra and North Gujarat, Adivasis in South Gujarat, a=20
mix in Central Gujarat.

The Congress' posture, and the Election Commission's numerous=20
interventions to take inflammatorily communal issues out of the=20
campaign -- e.g. outlawing posters and T-shirts depicting the gutted=20
rail-coach at Godhra -- have encouraged urban Muslims to resolve to=20
come out and vote to the last 18-year-old. Apathy and sullenness,=20
evident among them a month ago, have evaporated. Even rural Muslims=20
will make a very special effort to exercise their franchise with a=20
little help from the Election Commission.

Gujarat's Muslim community recognises this election's high stakes. It=20
will not waste a single vote on candidates who are unlikely to defeat=20
the BJP. It is also sensitive to its adversary's tactics. Just last=20
weekend, many prominent Muslims in Ahmedabad reprimanded a=20
self-styled ulema council for openly appealing to Muslims to support=20
the Congress -- something the BJP would wickedly term a "fatwa" and=20
politically exploit.

As things stand, the BJP is especially vulnerable in three of=20
Gujarat's five main regions: Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat. It=20
hopes to take advantage of Congress factionalism in South Gujarat,=20
and of the wide religious divide in Central Gujarat.

The BJP is itself badly faction-ridden. Narendra Milosevic Modi has=20
badly antagonised his predecessor Keshubhai Patel -- and alienated=20
the upwardly mobile, socially dominant, Patel community which=20
comprises a quarter of the population and is decisive in Saurashtra=20
and North Gujarat.

Short of further successful polarisation of the electorate along=20
communal lines, the verdict should neutralise to a great extent the=20
BJP's cynically achieved "gains" from the post-Godhra violence. A=20
year ago, the BJP was poised to lose heavily in Gujarat. It had been=20
routed in local elections in as many as 23 of 25 districts, and all=20
Assembly by-elections but one.

The most telling sign that the BJP may be in trouble comes from the=20
media. "Gujarat Samachar", the state's biggest paper and BJP's=20
once-loyal supporter, has turned hostile. And "Sandesh", Number Two,=20
is going the same way.

Whatever the elections' outcome, the communal divide in daily life=20
remains a reality in parts of Gujarat. In many Muslim bustees of=20
Ahmedabad's walled city, the only Hindu visitors are journalists:=20
even hawkers and auto-rickshaw drivers have deserted these mohallas.=20
According to a poll, only about two thirds of people feel secure in=20
Gujarat, and almost three fifths are not prepared to have a member of=20
a different community as their neighbour.

There has been a paradigm shift in Gujarat's public discourse as well=20
as elite perceptions over the past few years. "It will take a long,=20
long time to heal rifts and build bridges," says IG Patel, eminent=20
social scientist and former director of the London School of=20
Economics. Patel advocates constitutional values, citizen vigilance=20
and intervention, and tolerance of plurality and difference.

This will be a long haul -- whoever comes to power. It won't be easy=20
to overcome Gujarat's recent trauma, on top of the=20
identity-distorting processes that brought the BJP to power in the=20
first place.

One thing is clear, though, as argued here three weeks ago. Should=20
Modi win, he will emerge as militant Hindutva's new mascot and make a=20
bid for Atal Behari Vajpayee's job. Vajpayee has repeatedly caved in=20
to him by agreeing to campaign for him and change the dates of his=20
visits, and most of all, by abjectly declaring himself a mere=20
"advocate" for his leader (Dec 7, Baroda). Modi's ascendancy will=20
have disastrous consequences nationally. Should he lose, India will=20
get a breather from Hindutva. Could anything be more welcome?

_____

#4.

The Washington Post
Wednesday, December 11, 2002; Page A27

In Indian Election, Hate Is Part of Platform
Hindu Nationalist Candidate in Divided Gujarat Is Also Accused of=20
Murder, Rioting

PHOTO: Congress party supporters wave party flags during an election=20
rally in Ahmedabad, in India's riot-torn Gujarat state. Their=20
Hindu-nationalist opponents in the state legislative contest are=20
using anti-Muslim rhetoric that recalls the attack on a train Feb. 27=20
in which 58 Hindus were killed. (Mandel Ngan -- AFP)

By Rama Lakshmi

AHMEDABAD, India -- The candidate marched down the slum's narrow=20
lanes, followed by men dancing to the sound of loud drums and=20
spraying the streets with marigold petals. Hindu women paused from=20
their chores of peeling garlic and doing laundry to offer garlands=20
and blessings.

The cheerful scene, part of Jeetubhai Waghela's campaign for a seat=20
in the state legislature, played out beneath a cloth banner that=20
revealed a more ominous aspect of the coming election here in India's=20
western state of Gujarat. The banner vows to avenge the killing of 58=20
Hindus during an attack on a train by Muslims last February, and as=20
the supporters of Waghela, a member of the Hindu-nationalist=20
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), pressed forward and choked the alleys,=20
Muslim residents quickly hurried indoors.

"Here comes the lion," roared Waghela's men.

Nine months ago, as Gujarat was being riven by religious violence=20
that followed the killing of the Hindus, Waghela stormed the same=20
streets with a mob of Hindu men wearing orange bandanas and armed=20
with swords, sticks and gasoline, according to witnesses and police=20
records. Shouting angry slogans at Muslim residents, Waghela=20
allegedly ordered the mob to loot and destroy their homes, leaving=20
them homeless for months.

"For three days, Waghela and his men looted and burnt our homes. For=20
eight months, we lived in relief camps because of him," said Nasir=20
Khan, a complainant. "Now he tells Hindus he is their protector=20
against us. Where do we run for cover if he gets elected?"

After a Muslim mob in the town of Godhra killed 58 Hindu train=20
passengers in February, more than 1,000 people died, most of them=20
Muslim, in weeks of arson and killing throughout Gujarat. Human=20
rights groups have accused the BJP -- the ruling party in Gujarat as=20
well as in India's national government -- of essentially ignoring the=20
killings by its Hindu extremist allies.

As Gujarat prepares to elect a new state legislature on Thursday,=20
many analysts are describing the vote as an important test of the=20
secular foundations of India's religiously and ethnically diverse=20
democracy.

In a state where only 9 percent of the population of 50 million is=20
Muslim, the BJP is counting on sectarian passions to consolidate the=20
Hindu vote. Throughout the state, BJP leaders have delivered fiery=20
speeches against Muslims involved in the Feb. 27 attack and against=20
Pakistan-aided Islamic militants killing Hindus in the revolt-wracked=20
province of Jammu and Kashmir.

One such party stalwart is Waghela, who was arrested in connection=20
with this year's riots on four charges, including murder and rioting.=20
Jailed for 108 days and now free on bail, Waghela, 31, is back here=20
in Gomtipur, a mixed working-class neighborhood in Ahmedabad, with=20
folded hands, asking for votes for the BJP. He denies playing a role=20
in the riots and insists he was framed.

Campaigning on a recent morning, Waghela identified a new target of=20
hate for his Hindu voters. Climbing on a platform, he told them that=20
a fancy new high-rise for Muslims is being planned adjacent to their=20
homes, on the site of a closed textile mill. He warned them that they=20
would not be safe any longer.

"You will be surrounded from all sides by Muslims," said Waghela,=20
breathlessly flicking back his hair from his forehead. "Don't let=20
them gain power over you. Vote for me and I will stop that building=20
plan."

"Do you want the building here?" he asked.

"No!" the crowd shouted back.

This election is critical to the political destiny of the BJP, which=20
has suffered defeats in several state elections in the past two=20
years. Gujarat is the last major state in which the party holds=20
power, and critics fear that it could use a victory here as an=20
endorsement of strident Hindu politics. The national coalition that=20
the BJP leads in New Delhi under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee=20
will face the polls in 2004.

"In this election, the BJP is seeking a legitimization of violence=20
that its members indulged in against the Muslims," said Achyut=20
Yagnik, a political analyst and social worker in Gujarat. "The=20
results in Gujarat will determine whether they take this appeal of=20
Hindutva [Hindu chauvinism] beyond Gujarat."

The BJP's main challenger in Gujarat -- and at the national level --=20
is the Congress party, which attacks the BJP's Hindu fundamentalism=20
for endangering the lives and rights of India's religious minorities.=20
As a result, Gujarat's Muslims and Christians have rallied behind=20
Congress, while many Hindu voters in Gujarat feel that Congress,=20
headed at the national level by the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, has an=20
anti-Hindu slant and defends only the religious minorities.

Opinion polls show that it is likely to be a close contest between=20
the BJP and Congress. Some secular analysts said that although Hindu=20
voters may find the demagoguery of the BJP attractive, the social=20
divisions inherent in the caste system may prevent Hindus from voting=20
as a bloc.

The Muslims of Gujarat, on the other hand, appear to have decided to=20
vote en masse for Congress. Yet many complained that Congress took=20
their support for granted and often forgot them when attaining power.=20
They will vote for Congress, they say, simply because they have no=20
other choice.

Nowhere is this frustration felt more sharply than in Godhra, the=20
epicenter of Gujarat's religious strife.

The BJP's candidate in Godhra, Haresh Bhatt, campaigns under banners=20
of the burning train, distributes pictures of the dead Hindu=20
passengers and describes the election as a "religious war." But the=20
Congress candidate there, Rajendra Singh Patel, many Muslims said,=20
was involved in burning the shops and homes of Muslims in March.

"We made two appeals to the Congress last month not to field Patel in=20
the elections, but they still made him the candidate," said Mohammad=20
Yusuf, 56, a clerk in the city government. "But we are caught between=20
a ditch and a well. To defeat the BJP, we will have to vote for=20
Patel. But our heart is not in it."

=A9 2002 The Washington Post Company

_____

#5.

The New York Times
December 12, 2002

A Secular India, or Not? At Strife Scene, Vote Is Test
By AMY WALDMAN

PAVAGADH, India, Dec. 6 =8B The Muslims of this village in Gujarat were=20
certainly free to come home, Manoj Joshi said. They simply had to=20
agree to certain conditions first.

No more misbehaving with or marrying Hindu women. No more illegal=20
activities like betting. As important, the 156 Muslims who lived in=20
this village of about 4,000 people should learn to "live like a=20
minority."

"Don't try to dominate the Hindus," warned Mr. Joshi, a shopkeeper=20
and member of the fundamentalist World Hindu Council.

On Feb. 27, 59 Hindus burned to death at Godhra, about 20 miles from=20
here, after a Muslim mob surrounded their train. Hindus quickly took=20
their revenge. In a savage tableau, hundreds of Muslims were burned=20
and beheaded, quartered and raped, often by their Hindu neighbors.=20
Thousands, like the Muslims of Pavagadh, in eastern Gujarat State,=20
were driven from their homes.

Many have yet to come home. But on Thursday they will return, at=20
least briefly and probably under police escort, to vote in one of=20
India's most closely watched state elections in years.

For many Indians, the election is the latest test of whether India's=20
future will be as a secular society, in which its 130 million Muslims=20
have equal rights and protections, or a communal one, in which they=20
live at odds with, and perhaps at the mercy of, its 820 million=20
Hindus.

No one is more concerned about the outcome than Gujarat's Muslims,=20
who feel their livelihoods and security may depend on the results.=20
The violence here was led by Hindu nationalist groups closely linked=20
to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs Gujarat and leads a=20
national coalition as well. Sometimes it was led by party members and=20
leaders themselves, according to witnesses. The state government=20
initially did little to check it.

Now the state's acting chief minister, Narendra Modi, is leading a=20
campaign based on Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, that aims to unite Hindus,=20
and consolidate their votes, largely around fear of Muslims. His most=20
potent theme, and that of the Hindu nationalists campaigning on his=20
behalf, has been the burning of Hindus in the train at Godhra.

Of the Muslims who were killed or driven from their homes, he says not a wo=
rd.

Polls have shown the Bharatiya Janata Party leading, but the Congress=20
Party, its main opponent, is gaining. The election, whose results are=20
to be announced Sunday, seems too close to call.

Abdul Hamid Sheikh, 32, who fled Pavagadh with three generations of=20
his family, said that if the Congress Party won, they would feel safe=20
enough to return from the nearby town, Halol, where they took refuge.

"If the B.J.P. is returned to power, he said, "we don't even know if=20
we can live in Halol."

In one sense, the Muslims of this village were lucky. Some 500 Hindus=20
attacked their Islamic school the day after the train's immolation,=20
but no one was harmed. They all left the village under police escort.=20
Over the next two days, with not a policeman in sight, their homes=20
and shops were looted, and in some cases burned.

Nine months later, only five or six families, of about 40, have=20
returned, a situation replicated in varying degrees wherever rioting=20
occurred. One local official estimated that in a 25-mile radius, only=20
half of the 1,000 Muslim families driven out had returned home.

Fear is only one reason. In Pavagadh, economic and social coercion=20
have replaced physical violence. The village's Hindu nationalists=20
have enforced an economic boycott in which no Muslim can work in the=20
village.

In their conditions, meanwhile, they have made clear that any Muslim=20
who returns should do so as a subject, not an equal. "We tell them,=20
`If you want to live here, don't try to become like a father,' " Mr.=20
Joshi, who is 36, said. "Live like a son."

In Gujarat, as in India, Hindus and Muslims have generally lived in=20
peace, with sporadic outbreaks of communal violence, mostly in urban=20
areas. But this year, the violence spread to villages as well,=20
particularly those in central and eastern Gujarat.

Amid the intimacies of village life, personal scores, economic=20
interests and primal fears found a handy vehicle in a Hindu=20
nationalist ideology that at its most extreme seeks an India free of=20
Muslims. Those same intimacies make healing small communities like=20
Pavagadh that much harder.

Pavagadh is set amid the ruins of a medieval town and a 16th-century=20
Islamic sultanate. The mosque at the village edge is 500 years old,=20
and its magnificence is something to which even Hindus here point=20
proudly.

Hindu and Muslim families alike agree that they lived together for a=20
hundred years with no problem. But today the broken minarets on the=20
far humbler building used as the village mosque and school speak to=20
that coexistence fraying.

In the last year or two, both communities agree, things had begun to=20
change. The Hindu nationalists primarily blame Muslim interest in=20
their women. "We treat them as brothers," Mr. Joshi said. "And they=20
are keeping an eye on our sisters."

The village's Muslims say only four or five of their men have married=20
Hindu women. They blame the formation two years ago of a chapter of=20
the Bajrang Dal, the militant youth wing of the World Hindu Council,=20
for the tensions.

Founded in 1984, the group has worked to unite Hindus around their=20
religious and cultural identity, but more and more that message has=20
also been directed against Muslims.

In January Mr. Sheikh and a Hindu shopkeeper had a confrontation.=20
Afterward, he said, youth activists from the group brought at least=20
200 men from surrounding villages and stoned and looted his shop.

"We destroyed his shop," Naresh Sharma, the slight 26-year-old=20
president of Pavagadh's Bajrang Dal chapter, affirmed. "We gave him a=20
little glimpse of what we can do."

Then came the train burning at Godhra. With it, the division of=20
Muslims and Hindus was complete, Mr. Joshi said. He and Mr. Sharma=20
wore T-shirts featuring a photograph of the burning train. "I will=20
not allow my village to become Godhra," it said.

After the train burning, Mr. Joshi's father, Gansham, a retired=20
economics professor and the World Hindu Council's district chairman,=20
said a mob of 1,000 to 1,500 "outsiders" had come to attack Muslim=20
homes. Some locals might have been involved, he said, but they could=20
not be identified.

Other villagers say that the mob was much smaller =8B about 200 to 300=20
=8B and that most were from the village.

Things could have returned to normal after the rioting, said Gansham=20
Joshi, who is 68. But the Muslims insisted on filing police=20
complaints against 52 young Pavagadh men. Twenty-eight were arrested,=20
among them Mr. Sharma.

They spent two months in jail awaiting bail. "Some were definitely=20
innocent," Gansham Joshi said.

In prison, Mr. Sharma, who, as a Brahmin, sits at the top of the=20
caste hierarchy, found himself doing household work, like cleaning,=20
for the first time. (He did not, however, clean the toilets, he said;=20
the low-caste Hindus in the group did.)

Meanwhile, local officials were holding village meetings to try to=20
enable the Muslims' return. In some villages, Muslims have been=20
allowed to return home after retracting police complaints, forsaking=20
justice for reconciliation. In Pavagadh, too, the Hindus pressed the=20
Muslims, who had come to the meetings under police escort, to drop=20
the charges. The Muslims would not.

"Everyone was looted," Mr. Sheikh said, anguish and anger flitting=20
across an intense face. "Why should we not report it?"

On the men's release, Mr. Sharma said, the Hindu activists made a=20
"policy decision" not to exact revenge, but decided that Muslims=20
could not work in the village.

The Muslim families have survived on help from government, charities=20
or relatives, or on odd jobs. Some have found jobs elsewhere.

B. M. Patel, a local official, said that in the Muslims' absence,=20
Hindus had taken over their shops, and their market share.

"Hindu profit has gone up," he said. "They are not interested in=20
Muslims' coming back."

_____

#6.

The Hindu
Thursday, Dec 12, 2002

Reject the poisoned chalice
By Malini Parthasarathy

This is a critical moment not just for the suffering people of=20
Gujarat who have been put through the most harrowing of times as a=20
result of the provocative and polarising politics of the Narendra=20
Modi administration but for the entire nation. Never before in the=20
history of independent India has a State Government been so=20
unapologetic about its deep-rooted communal bias, adopting as it has=20
an explicit Hindu majoritarian platform and never before has an=20
administration been as unabashed about its tendentious and bruising=20
approach to Muslim minority citizens, driving them to the very edge=20
by questioning their nationalist credentials. What is ironic if not=20
painful is that while every liberal and democratic Indian is=20
understandably ashamed of what was signified by the communal madness=20
that raged in Gujarat months ago and earnestly believes that this=20
atavistic spectre of barbarism should be banished from the landscape=20
of an otherwise modernising India, Mr. Modi and his party appear=20
undaunted by the sense of national agony and are in fact seeking=20
reelection today on the basis of this very atavistic appeal.

Nothing could represent a more provocative insult to the national=20
commitment to communal harmony and pluralist coexistence that was so=20
earnestly enshrined in the Constitution adopted more than five=20
decades ago than Mr. Modi's repeated taunts of the Muslim minority=20
people of his own State, his insinuations that they are susceptible=20
to the supposedly adventurist designs of Pakistan and his final=20
desperate suggestion that if the Opposition Congress party wins the=20
election, it would represent a victory for Pakistan. Most mocking and=20
challenging of the authority of the Indian Constitution has been the=20
campaign of the BJP leadership, buttressed as it was by the=20
incendiary propaganda of the VHP which openly called upon Hindus to=20
"protect their interests". The fact that the Union Home Minister,=20
L.K. Advani, saw fit to praise Mr. Modi's "exemplary handling" of the=20
post-Godhra riots, besides sounding unpleasantly Orwellian, showed a=20
defiance of the basic principle decreed by the Constitution of=20
ensuring that all citizens were treated equally before the law,=20
unbecoming of a high constitutional functionary.

Confident as he is of the trust reposed in him by the BJP's national=20
leadership, Mr. Modi, despite the fact that he is the Chief Minister=20
of a State under the Indian Constitution, does not appear unduly=20
troubled by the constitutional imperative of maintaining equidistance=20
from the majority and minority communities in his State. His election=20
campaign was sustained by a constant stream of abusive rhetoric=20
directed at various opponents, real and imaginary, Sonia Gandhi and=20
Pervez Musharraf, all presumably meant to stereotype the hapless=20
minority Muslims as alien and also to tap into the deepseated=20
prejudices of the average Hindu voters in order to consolidate them=20
into a solid vote base. The BJP also did not hide the fact that it=20
intended to go into this election fully using the Hindu card, never=20
mind the horrors of the post-Godhra riots and the consequent=20
traumatisation of the Muslim community.

Thus the election plank of the BJP was aggressively communal. It=20
promised to adopt an anti-conversion law, similar to the one adopted=20
in Tamil Nadu by the Jayalalithaa regime and also threatened to study=20
"the utility" of madrassas, implying that these were hotbeds of=20
"Islamic terror". It was evident that Mr. Modi saw no reason to=20
pretend that he stood for anything else but Hindu majoritarianism. He=20
was clear that he intended to pit Hindu against Muslim and he had no=20
compunctions about branding all those who were not rank Hindu=20
communalists as traitors to the nation. His repeated references to=20
"Mian Musharraf", his unsubstantiated and incendiary suggestion that=20
Pakistan had a stake in the defeat of his Government, represented an=20
insulting and insensitive approach to the Muslim minority,=20
questioning their sense of patriotism. It also very swiftly would=20
serve to undermine their sense of belonging, which in fact, is part=20
of the Hindu majoritarian political design.

But can India afford to let Mr. Modi throw away five decades of=20
coexistence that has made Indian democracy a success story worldover?=20
Therefore every citizen who sees India's future best preserved=20
through a secular, pluralist and democratic governing vision has a=20
stake in the defeat of the fanaticism and the deeply retrograde=20
chauvinism that Mr. Modi represents. There is no use pretending that=20
this election is like any other one, about Gujarat's water needs,=20
electricity needs or even development aspirations. It is an election=20
that is about political choice of the critical kind that tests=20
India's identity as a modern and inclusive democracy, credentials=20
that even the Vajpayee administration appears so keen to preserve.=20
Given that Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani and their colleagues in the=20
Government often seem overeager to reassure the international=20
community that their Government remains committed to India's secular=20
and democratic governing traditions, their lack of embarrassment in=20
retaining Mr. Modi as their candidate for Chief Minister in Gujarat=20
despite the odium that his controversial actions attracted=20
internationally, indicates an underlying dichotomy in the BJP's=20
political approach.

On the one hand, the BJP realises that to win international=20
acceptance, it needs to reaffirm its willingness to comply with=20
India's time-tested and universally acclaimed secular and pluralistic=20
governing traditions. On the other hand, it sees its continued=20
political and electoral success as critically linked to pursuing the=20
strategy of Hindu majoritarianism. Hence the continued relevance of=20
Mr. Modi to the BJP's calculations. It is all too clear that Mr.=20
Modi's reelection would be read by the ruling establishment in Delhi=20
as an electoral vindication of the tactics and strategy of Hindu=20
majoritarianism.

While this might suit the strategic designs of the ruling party=20
determined to retain power in Delhi, the nation cannot afford the=20
high political and social costs in terms of the agony and trauma=20
inflicted on the minority communities, the state of siege that its=20
civil society is being plunged into by jingoistic and self-serving=20
scare-scenarios of "Islamic terror" and the chilling effect of all=20
this on the collective national psyche. It is time to recognise that=20
politics based on the mobilisation of hate, prejudice and fear are=20
not in the nation's interest. Gujarat's election today puts to test=20
the faith of millions of citizens in this country's ability to rise=20
above such sectarian and narrow-minded bigotry. India's democratic=20
institutions are meant to be the best guarantors of this country's=20
pluralist and inclusive spirit. The people of Gujarat must reject the=20
poisoned chalice of bigotry and chauvinism that is being held out by=20
the peddlers of Hindu chauvinism. It is important that secular and=20
pluralist values triumph in Gujarat. It would be India's gain.

_____

#7.

The Hindustan Times
Thursday, December 12, 2002
=A0
Chunikaka=B9s dharma
MH Jowher
At the tender age of three, Yakub does not know the significance of=20
December 12. But for his confused seventh grade camp-mate, Yasmeen,=20
this is a day of reckoning for the rulers of Gujarat.

I met Yakub and Yasmeen in the Bakarshah Roza relief camp in=20
Ahmedabad, gathering the shreds of their life scattered by the mayhem=20
of March. A lot has happened since then.

The fire of Godhra still burns in our hearts. We too were stunned=20
with pain. But the engineered carnage after Godhra, the vulgarity of=20
the gaurav yatras, the debasing of language, values and democratic=20
institutions, have scarred Gujarat forever.

If the elimination of 2,000 innocent people does not merit a rethink,=20
the economic losses caused by the riots (RS 10,000 crore) should. A=20
lot of inland and foreign investment has vanished, employment has=20
shrunk, credit ratings have downgraded, the coffers of the state and=20
municipalities are empty and the pride of great, entrepreneurial=20
Gujarat has sunk with the state pushed to the seventh position. Its=20
citizens are now burdened with the highest per capita debt in India.

While religio-cultural jingoism reined supreme, all developmental=20
work came to a standstill. Recognising this bankruptcy of governance,=20
the VHP/BJP returned to the Godhra theme again and again. But only=20
Godhra. As if nothing happened after that.

Can one believe that this is the land where the apostle of=20
non-violence once walked? Mahatma Gandhi=B9s name is anathema to those=20
who glorify his killer. His devoted followers, like the octogenarian=20
Chunikaka, old and frail, is branded pseudo-secular and abused. But=20
Chunikaka has taken to the streets once again, campaigning against=20
the extremists for what he believes is the true dharma. After=20
freedom, only once did the Gandhians of Gujarat take part in active=20
politics =8B during the Emergency, when they went to jail.

I had grown, like so many kids, in the lap of neighbourhood Hindu=20
uncles and aunts. Devout Hindus, different from my parents in so many=20
ways, yet quite like them in the way they loved me. Born in a devout=20
Muslim family, I came to recognise Hinduism as a flexible,=20
assimilating, adapting faith and culture.

The rigidities imposed by the autocratic Islamic States of West Asia,=20
the Islamic revolution of Iran and the madrasa-dominated Pakistan=20
made India=B9s pluralistic culture dearer to me. I was happy my parents=20
had not opted for (and I was not born in) a theocratic State. The=20
recent history of Afghanistan reinforced my faith in Indian=20
liberalism.

Not unfamiliar with communal rioting by both Hindus and Muslims, I=20
used to take Gujarat=B9s recurring violence in my stride. When=20
virtually the entire western Ahmedabad was systematically cleansed of=20
Muslims during 1989-92, I had to seek refuge in a small Muslim=20
mohalla. Though my decade-long tryst with the mainstream society was=20
humiliatingly aborted, my faith survived, sustained by reason. But=20
the post-Godhra carnage has shaken me. I am unable to fathom how=20
religion can kill reason, how bigotry can overrule every other=20
relationship!

Like secular India, I too would want to believe that the atrocities=20
were the handiwork of an extremist fringe and the majority of Hindus=20
were against this violence. Come December 12, the entire Hindu=20
society must choose between dharma and adharma, between Chunikaka and=20
Modi, between the sublime, non-violent faith of Aurobindo and=20
Vivekananda and its vulgarised, extremist version propounded by the=20
likes of Togadia.

They must choose between Indian nationalism and Hindutva extremism,=20
between humanism and rationality and fanaticism and chauvinism.=20
Because these elections might decide the destiny of both Indian=20
democracy and Hinduism.

(The writer is founder of Society for the Promotion of Rational=20
Thinking, Ahmedabad)

_____

#8.

The Hindustan Times
December 12, 2002
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/121202/detPLA01.shtml
=A0
The train stopped at Godhra
Deepak Roy
In June, I visited Gujarat to shoot a film. I was not sure of the=20
outcome of my visit. I had earlier experienced the trauma of=20
Moradabad, Bhiwandi, Meerut and Bombay after communal riots broke out=20
there during the Eighties and Nineties.

I watched helplessly the Delhi killings in 1984. I remember the=20
horrified faces of the victims and the savage faces of the=20
=8Cconquerors=B9.

These faces came to my mind when the train entered the Godhra railway=20
station. Godhra had become a household name in India. A teenaged girl=20
hastily woke up her mother. The mother was not interested. I asked=20
the girl why she was waking up her mother. She said she wanted to=20
show her the Godhra railway station.

I kept quiet. After a long pause, she added, =B3Many Hindus were killed=20
here.=B2 I looked into her sparkling eyes. =B3Who killed them?=B2 A short=20
reply: =B3Mad Muslims.=B2 I asked, =B3Who told you?=B2 With disdain, she=20
said, =B3Everyone knows that. Are you a Muslim?=B2 She pointed towards my=20
beard.

The train stopped. An atmosphere of uneasiness was in the air. The=20
chaiwala=B9s business has not picked up since March. =B3Why?=B2 =B3Too many=
=20
policemen, so many restrictions.=B2 I had an uncanny feeling.

I looked behind. A policeman was listening. The train started moving.

On our way to Vadodara, at Kalol, an industrial town, we met Afzal=20
Ali, accidentally. He was a struggling actor. He used to work in=20
Gujarati films and TV serials. He was married to a Hindu girl who=20
used to own and manage a small beauty parlour in Kalol before the=20
carnage. The parlour was the only regular source of income for the=20
family. It was burnt down. Afzal and his wife were still waiting for=20
a meaningful compensation.

This couple was truly modern. They did not even send their son for=20
daily prayers to the local mosque. After the killings, Afzal is=20
reconsidering his old positions on religion. He took the tragedy=20
rather philosophically.

He narrated a parable: =B3A hundred-year-old woman peacefully passes=20
away. Her only eight-year-old son runs hither and thither crying=20
aloud. People from the neighborhood tell him that he should be happy=20
because his mother lived a full and satisfying life. The old man=20
replies promptly that he is not crying for his mother, but he is=20
crying because farishtas (angels) have finally found his place. They=20
would come back soon.=B2

We visited Best Bakery in the outskirts of Vadodara. This is the=20
place where 29 people were massacred on February 28. Even after four=20
months, the Best Bakery stood as a =8Cproud monument=B9 (as so many=20
others in Gujarat) of the =8Cvictory=B9 of the VHP brand of Hindutva. The=20
bakery, situated in a slum, used to supply low-priced bread/biscuits=20
to middle-class and lower middle-class areas of Vadodara and Anand.=20
We asked a woman, =B3Why did this happen?=B2 She replied, =B3It=B9s jealous=
y.=20
Jealousy played a big role in this massacre. No one can see others=20
prosper.=B2 This made me think.

Much has been written about the =8Cunholy alliance=B9 between sections of=20
Dalits and the Sangh Parivar. Some events definitely proved the=20
point. In a Patel-dominated village near Vadodara, the Muslim=20
locality was devastated. The mob comprised VHP leaders and Dalit=20
followers. They attacked Muslim houses and a mosque on the dreadful=20
night of February 28.

The majority of the mob comprised agricultural labourers from Chota=20
Udaipur. Daily wages for farm workers are as low as Rs 15 in parts of=20
Gujarat.We were told that the Dalits were lured by the VHP with a=20
false promise =8B higher wages.

Ahmedabad, once known as the Manchester of India, had 106 textile=20
mills in the Seventies. Now there are only 12 operative mills.=20
Thousands of retrenched workers from the textile mills who have=20
stayed back have switched over to service industries and small=20
businesses. Many of them are unemployed, trapped in poverty and=20
hunger. The BJP government has done nothing for them.

Parolebehn makes bidis with five other women in a dingy bidi=20
shop-cum-factory near the Arvind Textile Mill. The shop was closed=20
for three weeks during the riots. The owner slashed their wages from=20
Rs 25 to Rs 22 on the pretext of recovering the losses incurred=20
during the riots. His workers have no option but to accept his diktat.

Though 11 per cent of Gujaratis are Muslim, they are not involved in=20
diamond trading. This is an interesting phenomenon. The factory=20
owners prefer to employ only Hindus in the cutting and polishing=20
establishments. It is perhaps a matter of faith and trust. The=20
diamond trade suffered considerably during the riots. This loss=20
trickled down to the daily wage earners.

At the Bapunagar Diamond Market, Prahladbhai, a daily wage earner,=20
said he did not earn a single paisa during the riots and after. Did=20
he participate in the arson and looting? He said, =B3No. But my sons=20
participated. What can I do? We have to live with our community.=B2

I and my crew returned from Gujarat, shaken and angry. I did not=20
complete the film. My financiers wanted me to make a =B3very=20
sensational film=B2 in tune with a certain political ideology that they=20
wanted to propagate through my film. I refused.

(The writer is a Delhi-based documentary filmmaker)

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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