[sacw] SACW | 2 Dec. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 2 December 2002

INTERRUPTION NOTICE: Please note, there will be no SACW dispatches on=20
3 and 4 December 2002.

__________________________

#1. Pakistan Govt's. political concessions to the mullahs making=20
Friday once again as the weekday off instead of Sunday (Editorial=20
Daily Times)
#2. Fascination with force: The iron in our souls (Praful Bidwai)
#3. Poor in India Starve as Surplus Wheat Rots (Amy Waldman)
#4. Reports on Meeting on the Danger of War in South Asia and the=20
Politics of Communal Violence and a Concert for Peace in California
#5. Sexual Violence in the South Asian Youth Community
#6. Abhigam Collective's 2003 Calender against Hate
#7. "Communal Rage in Secular India" by Rafiq Zakaria (Reviewed by:=20
Yoginder Sikand)
#8. Book Announcement: Rabindranath Tagore=B9s The Home And The World -=20
A Critical Companion
Edited By P.K. Datta

__________________________

#1.

The Daily Times (Lahore)
December 02, 2002
EDITORIAL

Not Friday again

Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali has announced that the Friday will=20
once again be the weekday off instead of Sunday. He is reported as=20
saying that he intends to review the executive orders passed by Nawaz=20
Sharif and soon announce Friday as the weekly holiday on the demand=20
of the MMA [Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal].
It may be recalled that when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared Friday as=20
the weekly holiday in 1977 instead of Sunday, he did so at the height=20
of the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement against him when he was under=20
pressure to make political concessions to the mullahs. Thus it was an=20
opportunist political decision. But the decision to revert to Sunday=20
by Nawaz Sharif in 1997 was taken on the demands of the business=20
community. It was widely welcomed because it was the logical and=20
rational thing to do from the point of view of the economy.
The importance of zuhr prayers aside, Friday is not prescribed as a=20
day of rest by Islam as is Sabbath in Christianity. Islam does not=20
make =B3rest=B2 mandatory and consequently does not preclude work-related=20
activity taking place on Fridays. Indeed, as the Saying goes, =B3Pray=20
on Fridays but disperse after prayers to work and trade for your=20
material well-being=B2. Regrettably, Mr Jamali=B9s pending decision=20
appears to disregard such good advice.
It makes no sense at all to revert to the Friday holiday. The world=20
takes Saturday and Sunday off because it can afford to do so. We=20
can=B9t afford to take even one day off =8B as it is, the work ethic=20
hardly comes naturally to us. But if we must, why should it be=20
Friday? If we were to shut shop on Fridays we would effectively=20
reduce our working days vis-=E0-vis the rest of the world to four.=20
Needless to say, the loss would be ours entirely for we are dependent=20
on the West for trade and business and not the other way round.
This decision also runs counter to the desperately rational decisions=20
taken so far by General Pervez Musharraf and his Finance Minister=20
Shaukat Aziz to set the economy right and align its priorities with=20
those of our critical trade and aid partners in the West. In fact it=20
will lend credence to the fears of the domestic business and=20
international community that the assurances held out by General=20
Musharraf of a continuity of economic policies under Mir Zafarullah=20
Jamali are about to go up in a puff of smoke.
Why make such a political concession in such a critical area of the=20
economy? If General Musharraf could resist this sort of irrational=20
pressure after he took over, why should Mr Jamali trip over himself=20
to butter up the irrational sections of society so readily? He should=20
realise that this not a small price to pay in exchange for the=20
dubious support of the MMA. It is capitulation from Day-One. If he=20
yields ground now, he will not be able to stand firm in the future on=20
his promise to stay the course on the economy. *
Inside or outside?
This issue also compels us to take another look at the broader=20
context of the MMA=B9s future role. A powerful section of the military=20
junta and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-QA) leadership thinks=20
that there is merit in having the religious parties =B3spitting inside=20
the tent rather than outside=B2. This is based on the argument that the=20
MMA can be bribed and cajoled and threatened to be a =B3reasonable=B2=20
partner sharing in the spoils of power and patronage =B3inside the=20
tent=B2 rather be left outside the tent in a sullen and hostile mood=20
that could lead to a unstable polity. As insiders, apparently the=20
burden of governance will soften the mullahs=B9 stance and make them=20
more flexible. This sort of thinking has nudged the PML-QA to once=20
again approach the MMA for its support in parliament after the MQM=B9s=20
threat to pull out of its alliance with the PML-QA in Islamabad.
But this reasoning flies against the evidence of history. When the=20
mullahs have been sitting inside the tent, their influence has been=20
felt outside the tent. In fact, that is exactly how they have made=20
insidious encroachments on the organs of the state and bound civil=20
society into a cultural straightjacket. Whenever they have been=20
conceded inches, they have turned around and demanded yards. They=20
asked Bhutto to yield on Friday and the Ahmedis and alcohol. He did.=20
But they still demanded his head and got it. Then they sat with=20
General Zia and Islamised state and society. Later they joined hands=20
with Nawaz in 1990 and forced him to pass the Shariah constitutional=20
amendment and followed it up by having =B3riba=B2 declared as un-Islamic.
The concessions that the MMA will demand if it is allowed inside the=20
tent will play havoc with the domestic and international policies of=20
the Musharraf regime. But if these are denied to them, they will=20
threaten to walk out and destabilise the government. Far better,=20
therefore, to fight with them in opposition, keep them at bay and=20
show the acceptable and moderate face of Pakistan to the rest of the=20
world. *

______

#2.

The Daily Star (Dhaka)
2 December 2002
Op-Ed.

Fascination with force: The iron in our souls

Praful Bidwai, writes from New Delhi

They are fundamentally mistaken in looking for military shortcuts,=20
technical quick-fixes or draconian laws. This betrays a deeply=20
cynical mindset fascinated or smitten by force. Much human progress=20
has been achieved through democratic engagement with different groups=20
and institutions, not through brute force. We now rely excessively on=20
coercion for everything -- from border security to domestic safety.=20
This is counterproductive. Ultimately, force-based approaches damage=20
the very object they are meant to protect.

No recent incident of sexual assault has shocked the Indian=20
public and Parliament as powerfully as the rape of a Delhi medical=20
student.

The media has commendably highlighted the larger issue of sexual=20
harassment and growing insecurity among women. The debate also=20
underscores the gender-insensitivity of the police and the need to=20
amend sexual harassment laws. This should provoke deep reflection.
However, a shrill note has crept into the discussion, with=20
several women MPs demanding capital punishment for rapists. In the=20
past, only Hindutva arch-conservatives like Mr L.K. Advani used to=20
call for this.

The sentiment favouring tighter rape laws has spread. A recent=20
Hindustan Times survey of 311 Delhi women finds that 29 percent want=20
rape to be punished with life imprisonment, 43 percent with=20
castration, and a frightful 71 percent with death.

Growing numbers of people are indisputably losing confidence in the=20
efficacy of the legal system as regards punishing sexual assault.=20
Sixtyeight percent believe the police "aren't doing enough".

Such sentiments contrast with the smugness of Delhi's police=20
commissioner who says, terrible as rapes are, "in a large city, they=20
happen". The VHP-RSS line, advocated from Jaipur, that only a=20
conservative "dress code" can protect women, also stands discredited.

However, capital punishment for rape may be a cure worse than the=20
disease. Rape is a serious violation of a woman's body and her=20
fundamental right to her person. But it is not as vile as murder.

Murder involves the extinction of human life -- with a terrible=20
finality. Yet, even murder should not be punished with death. For=20
nobody has the right to take away what they didn't create. Human life=20
is too precious to be snuffed out. Capital punishment doesn't deter=20
murder. Executing an innocent person causes irreversible harm.

That's why the European Union has abolished the death penalty. And=20
there is a strong movement for scrapping it in the otherwise=20
punishment-obsessed US.

Capital punishment for rape violates the ethical principle of=20
proportionality, accepted even in the conduct of war. Just punishment=20
must not be disproportionate to the severity of the offence.

Many of those who demand capital punishment for rape draw not on=20
ethics, but on mystical notions about the "sacred" feminine body --=20
like a mother-goddess' or sati's. Its "desecration" is equated with=20
murder.

The same concept operated in Jhajjar, where VHP mahants put a cow's=20
life higher than a man's.

This proposition reeks of hypocrisy, especially when advanced by=20
Hindutva supporters who falsely claim that tradition treats women on=20
a par with, if not higher than, men.

A cursory glance at the Manusmriti shows this is untrue. Women in=20
ancient societies were typically treated as objects and adjuncts of=20
men -- mothers, wives, daughters --, not independent individuals in=20
their own right.

India is no exception to this. It remains one of the most=20
male-supremacist and patriarchal societies anywhere.

What's left of the argument for stronger, tougher, punishment for=20
rape is the idea of deterrence -- the view that stiff penalties will=20
deter people from committing crimes. Experience shows tough laws=20
don't deter nearly enough. The Narcotics Act (minimum penalty, 10=20
years imprisonment) is a case in point. So is TADA.

Rape, feminists rightly argue, is a "structural crime" originating in=20
complex social phenomena. Hanging one or ten convicts will not end=20
it. There is also another complication: the acquittal rate will=20
sharply rise if penalties get extreme.

The central issue is how to bring rapists to book and reduce the=20
rates of acquittal (currently about 75 percent). Three reforms are=20
vital. First, the definition of "sexual intercourse" in Section 375=20
of IPC must be amended to include all forms of penetration as well as=20
marital rape.

Second, the status of the rape victim's statement must be=20
significantly raised within the evidence law. She need not prove that=20
the sexual act lacked her consent -- by, for instance, showing marks=20
of physical resistance. Nor should her antecedents be open to=20
question.

Questioning antecedents is a nasty way of casting suspicion on her=20
character and humiliating her. The victim must be encouraged to=20
report the offence: after all, over 90 percent of rapists are not=20
strangers, but known to the victim -- often, her relatives.

Third, as far as possible, women judges should hear rape cases, and=20
policewomen should investigate them. This will reduce the victim's=20
trauma and help her speak up. The victim should be allowed to record=20
her testimony in a judge's chamber, without having to appear in a=20
full courtroom. Counselling should be mandatory.

These measures must be supplemented by gender-sensitisation=20
programmes for the police. Women's groups and counsellors must be=20
involved to encourage the victim to overcome the stigma of rape.

Today, going to a police station and facing hostile and wolfish=20
glances or remarks from policemen is a soul-killing experience even=20
for self-confident professional women.

All this must change. Such reforms will greatly improve the=20
investigation, trial, and conviction for rape. They have far fewer=20
pitfalls than drastic measures which prescribe extreme penalties. The=20
changes are part of the general charter of reform of our crime=20
control and justice delivery systems -- themselves part of our larger=20
democratic agenda.

However, many people don't seem to believe in systemic reform, even=20
the possibility of reform. They prefer harsh, draconian, coercive=20
solutions, maximising the repressive power of the state while=20
disempowering the ordinary citizen.

They are fundamentally mistaken in looking for military shortcuts,=20
technical quick-fixes or draconian laws. This betrays a deeply=20
cynical mindset fascinated or smitten by force.

Much human progress has been achieved through democratic engagement=20
with different groups and institutions, not through brute force. We=20
now rely excessively on coercion for everything -- from border=20
security to domestic safety.

This is counterproductive. Ultimately, force-based approaches damage=20
the very object they are meant to protect.

Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist.

_____

#3.

The New York Times
December 2, 2002

Poor in India Starve as Surplus Wheat Rots
By AMY WALDMAN

HANNA, India =8B Surplus from this year's wheat harvest, bought by the=20
government from farmers, sits moldering in muddy fields here in=20
Punjab State. Some of the previous year's wheat surplus sits=20
untouched, too, and the year's before that, and the year's before=20
that.

To the south, in the neighboring state of Rajasthan, villagers ate=20
boiled leaves or discs of bread made from grass seeds in late summer=20
and autumn because they could not afford to buy wheat. One by one,=20
children and adults =8B as many as 47 in all =8B wilted away from=20
hunger-related causes, often clutching pained stomachs.

"Sometimes, we ate half a bread," said Phoolchand, a laborer whose=20
2-year-old daughter died during that period. "Sometimes, a whole=20
bread."

More than two decades after a "green" revolution made India, the=20
world's second-most-populous country, self-sufficient in grain=20
production, half of India's children are malnourished. About 350=20
million Indians go to bed hungry every night. Pockets of starvation=20
deaths, like those in the Baran district of Rajasthan, have surfaced=20
regularly in recent years.

Yet the government is sitting on wheat surpluses =8B now at about 53=20
million metric tons =8B that would stretch to the moon and back at=20
least twice if all the bags were lined up. Persistent scarcity=20
surrounded by such bounty has become a source of shame for a nation=20
that has taken pride in feeding itself.

Advocates for the poor and those pushing for economic reforms ask how=20
a country can justify hoarding so much excess when so many of its=20
people regularly go hungry.

"It's scandalous," said Jean Dr=E8ze, an economist who has been helping=20
to document starvation deaths for a Supreme Court case brought by the=20
People's Union for Civil Liberties, an advocacy group, to compel the=20
government to use the surplus to relieve hunger.

The reason, experts and officials agree, is the economics =8B and=20
particularly the politics =8B of food in India, a country that has=20
modernized on many fronts but that remains desperately poor.

Critics say the central government, led for the last four years by=20
the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has catered to=20
political allies and powerful farm lobbies in a few key states by=20
buying more and more grain from farmers at higher and higher prices.=20
At the same time, it has been responding to pressure from=20
international lenders by curbing food subsidies to consumers.

One result has been huge stockpiles going to waste, while higher=20
prices for food and inefficient distribution leave basic items like=20
bread, a staple of the rural poor diet, out of reach for many. Even=20
though the surplus is supposed to be distributed to the poor,=20
politics and corruption often limit their access.

"It's not an economic issue anymore =8B it's a straightforward=20
political issue," said Jairam Ramesh, the senior economic adviser to=20
the Congress Party, the country's main opposition party.

Answering such criticism, Asok Kumar Mohapatra, who was until=20
recently a joint secretary with the Department of Food and Public=20
Distribution, said any system trying to feed a billion people was apt=20
to have inefficiencies. "It's easy to find fault with this kind of=20
organization," he said. But he, too, acknowledged the politics=20
involved. "The simple thing is they have lobbies," he said of the=20
farmers, "and lobbies work everywhere."

Both the glut in Punjab and the deprivation in Rajasthan reflect a=20
government in transition between a quasi-socialist past and a=20
free-market future, and one that at the local level especially seems=20
deeply ambivalent about its obligations to its poorest citizens.

After a devastating famine in 1943 that killed three million people=20
and humbling food scarcities in the 1960's, Indian central=20
governments have been determined to ensure that the country could=20
feed itself.

A nationwide system was set up to distribute subsidized food via a=20
network of "ration shops" that today number 454,000. At the same=20
time, India made great advances in increasing its productivity, by=20
developing high-yield seeds and investing in infrastructure, like=20
irrigation.

The green agricultural revolution quadrupled staple food production,=20
from 50 million metric tons in 1950 to 209 million metric tons by=20
2000.
The fruits of those efforts can be witnessed nowhere more vividly=20
than in Punjab. Today it is India's only state (along, perhaps, with=20
neighboring Haryana, which was carved from Punjab), that derives more=20
than 40 percent of its income from agriculture; until recently it had=20
the highest per capita income in India. It has some of the country's=20
best roads and, with only 2 percent of the country's land, grows 55=20
percent of its food.

While farmers in poorer states have either no grain surplus or no=20
mechanism by which to sell it to the government, Punjab has 1,600=20
wholesale grain markets, including the one here in Khanna, the=20
largest in Asia.

But the same system that has built up Punjab has also run into=20
trouble on almost every front, and even the farmers here know it=20
cannot last.

Over the past four years, even as advisory committees recommended=20
stabilizing or lowering the support prices paid to farmers, prices=20
instead went up, and up =8B to about $129 a metric ton, 2,200 pounds,=20
for wheat this year from about $99 in 1997.

Punjab farmers, eager to cash in, are farming so much rice and wheat=20
that they are depleting the state's water and soil, creating a=20
long-term threat to the country's agricultural self-sufficiency.

"We know every year we take the water level down," said Bachittar=20
Singh, 67, a farmer with 125 acres near here. "But what alternative=20
do we have?"

Then there is the effect of such policies on the price of grain=20
itself. The high prices paid to farmers by the government have=20
inflated consumer prices, making it harder for the poor to buy grain.=20
In some cases, the government, wanting to keep market prices in India=20
high, has exported grain at lower prices than it was selling it to=20
its citizens.

By the mid-1990's, India was spending close to 1 percent of its gross=20
domestic product on food subsidies, with much of that lost to waste=20
and theft. Under strong pressure from the World Bank and other=20
international lenders to curb spending, the government decided in=20
1997 that only those below the poverty line would be able to buy=20
heavily subsidized food. Everyone else would have to buy it only=20
slightly below market price.

But with politics, indifference and corruption conspiring to limit=20
the number of those identified as poor, the amount of food being=20
bought from ration shops dropped significantly and stockpiles soared.=20
The problem is compounded by the fact that even many of those=20
classified as poor are unable to buy the subsidized grain because of=20
inaccessible ration shops or dealers who steal the grain for sale on=20
the black market.

Today the government has run out of warehouse space and has taken to=20
storing the grain in fields rented from farmers. A recent report=20
found that it was spending more on storage than on agriculture, rural=20
development, irrigation and flood control combined.

Some of the wheat, often protected only by porous jute bags and black=20
plastic tarpaulins, is rotten; even official estimates concede that=20
200,000 tons are "damaged," with the real total probably far higher.=20
Inspectors have found worm-infested wheat at schools where the state=20
is supposed to provide free lunch.

It is about 400 miles from the abundance here to the barren, scrubby=20
landscape of Baran, in the southeast corner of Rajasthan. This year=20
was the third year of drought, and the most brutal, with rainfall=20
down by 70 percent.

In the village of Swaans, isolated by jolting dirt roads and dry=20
riverbeds, one man, Gobrilal, lost an 8-year-old son to hunger this=20
fall. He sat recently beneath the shade of a thatched shelter,=20
surrounded by children who were all rib cages and swollen bellies,=20
and recounted two months of agony.

On good days they ate once a day, but many days they ate nothing.=20
Gobrilal's son began vomiting, even while asking for food, and died=20
two days later. "If we had money," his father said listlessly, "we=20
would have bought him wheat so he wouldn't have died."

_____

#4.

[Reports on Meeting on the Danger of War in South Asia and the=20
Politics of Communal Violence and a Concert for Peace in California=20
on November 2.]

o o o

A Successful Meeting on the Danger of War in South Asia and the=20
Politics of Communal Violence

On the occasion of the 18th anniversary of state-organized massacres=20
of the Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, Indian Progressive Study Group, Los=20
Angeles organized a discussion meeting titled "War Clouds and=20
Communal Violence: What Role must People Play?" The meeting took=20
place in the University of Southern California, Los Angeles on=20
November 2. It brought together a large number of students,=20
professionals, and activists form different organizations to=20
deliberate on the politics of communal violence and war. Against the=20
backdrop of ongoing violence and intrigues in Gujarat and within the=20
context of the rising war fever in South Asia, the meeting focused on=20
the sources of these dangers, and how people can seize initiatives on=20
the questions of peace, security and rights.

The meeting was followed with an equally successful concert for peace=20
in South Asia that featured Ustad Shujaat Khan, an eminent sitarist=20
from India and Ustad Tari Khan, a distinguished tabla player from=20
Pakistan. Under the banner titled "War is not an option", the=20
peace-concert was organized by a number of organizations including=20
the Indian Progressive Study Group, Los Angeles, the Pakistan Student=20
Association (USC), South Asia Forum (USC), Southern California Indian=20
Americans (USC), 2B Productions and South Asia Network.

The discussion meeting began with two presentations providing=20
information on the massacres in Delhi 18 years ago, and the ongoing=20
violence and intrigues in Gujarat today. The presentations by the=20
researchers with IPSG, LA sketched out the disquieting trend of the=20
politics of riots. They showed that these were organized crimes=20
carried out with full complicity of the highest echelons of state and=20
political parties, that the alleged perpetrators have never been=20
brought to justice despite governmental changes, and that the victims=20
are yet to receive justice, compensation and rehabilitation. The=20
presentation on Gujarat concluded with a call for stepping up the=20
struggle for justice when the election mania is threatening to=20
sideline the concerns of justice and rehabilitation of the victims.

In her presentation, Sonali Kolhatkar, the host of the morning show=20
at KPFK, a Pacifica Radio station, spoke on the danger implied by the=20
pre-emptive strike and notions such as regime change. She explained=20
how these notions are at variance with the established norms in=20
international relations, and elaborated on the US plans to emerge as=20
the sole global power by exercising its supremacy over Asia.

The concluding presentation focused on the role people can play to=20
assure security and rights for themselves. Explaining how the=20
politics of communal violence has served to legitimize the existence=20
of successive governments, it highlighted the urgency of organizing=20
and uniting around the demand for open investigation and punishment=20
of the guilty. Speaking on the danger of war, the speaker pointed out=20
that the danger of war in South Asia is intricately tied up with the=20
rivalry over the conquest of Asia - a rivalry that has drawn all big=20
powers as well as the regional powers such as India, Pakistan etc.=20
into a complex series of collusions and collisions amongst=20
themselves. With war becoming an active part of governmental agenda,=20
the presentation underscored the necessity for people to fight for=20
the creation of anti-war governments. By ending people=B9s=20
marginalization from the political affairs of their own countries and=20
of the world, such endeavors hold the key to ushering in peace and=20
security, he concluded.

The presentations were followed by a vigorous discussion on these=20
topics that also brought out the inadequacy of the existing political=20
process that prevents people from having control over their elected=20
representatives or in setting and carrying out an agenda that is=20
beneficial to them. The meeting ended with a discussion on how the=20
projects of documentation, open investigation and truth commissions=20
can be pushed forward, and the need for drawing lessons from similar=20
activities across the globe.

o o o

Concert for Peace in South-Asia held in Univ. of Southern California,=20
Los Angeles
Taking a Firm Stand Against War

The South-Asian classical music concert on November 2 was not just=20
another concert. A tastefully decorated banner right at the entrance=20
to the Bing Theater, University of Southern California made sure=20
nobody could escape the fact that it was a cultural gathering with a=20
purpose =AD to emphatically reject the path of war.

The concert was organized within the context of unabated war tensions=20
in South Asia, and against the backdrop of the rising threat of war=20
in Asia. With war becoming an active part of the agenda of every=20
government, this overwhelmingly successful cultural evening was a=20
bold declaration: PEACE is NOT a MERE OPTION =AD IT IS A NECESSITY!=20
This was yet another celebration of the collective desire of people=20
for peace, and their initiatives to secure it.

The organizers of the concert were drawn from a cross-section of=20
groups involved in South Asian matters. These included the Indian=20
Progressive Study Group (Los Angeles), the Pakistan Student=20
Association (USC), South Asia Forum (USC), Southern California Indian=20
Americans (USC), 2B Productions, Inc. (based in New York), South Asia=20
Network, and others. The organizers plan to hold similar concerts in=20
other cities as well.

The evening=B9s concert was a recital by Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan, an=20
eminent sitarist from India, and by Ustad Tari Khan, a distinguished=20
tabla player from Pakistan. Both musicians delighted the audience for=20
over three hours with a variety of compositions, punctuated by Ustad=20
Shujaat Khan=B9s melodious singing. Despite their stylistic=20
differences, it was sublime to hear the finesse of sitar playing=20
blend with the vigor of tabla drumming, and rise to a crescendo in=20
unison. It was a musical reminder that our unity transcends our many=20
differences.

The mood of the participants was amply captured in the tumultuous=20
response they gave to the passionate call by one of the organizers=20
rejecting war as an option. Refusing to take sides on the=20
self-serving clash of ambitions of the ruling circle in South-Asia=20
and worldwide, it was a call for strengthening the bonds of unity,=20
goodwill, friendship, and mutual assistance between peoples.

There are many who benefit from waging war and form war preparations.=20
It is not a coincidence that attacks on people=B9s rights, social=20
cutbacks and privatization have gone hand in hand with military=20
preparations everywhere. Those who benefit from war will lead the=20
world down that path, unless those who benefit from peace take charge=20
and change the course of events. This peace concert was a small=20
contribution to the rising tide of such endeavors.

_____

#5.

Sexual Violence in the South Asian Youth Community
A Study Initiated at the University of California at Berkeley, Spring 2002
http://www.geocities.com/genderstudy

_____

#6.

Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 16:40:51 +0530

Dear friends,

Some fires turn innocent people, homes and families to ashes.
Where as some fire become 'Pyaar Ki Shama' to light the lamp of love=20
in the darkness.

Year 2002 has witnessed disturbing violence of hate in Gujarat.
But amidst fear and darkness there were many people who worked=20
tirelessly to light the lamp of love.

We hope that year 2003 will see many more such lamps of love.
Our calendar 2003 is a simple and elegant expression towards this hope.
With beautiful verses by St. Kabir, Shankar Shailendra and others.

A 365 days companion to strengthen you, your family and friends=20
throughout the coming year.

Single copy priced at Rs. 25.00 only. Book your orders now.
For bulk orders before 20th December 2002, special discounts &=A0free posta=
ge.

Send us the MO or DD in favour of 'Abhigam Collective'.
For the cover and discount details, see the attachments. [attachments=20
removed for SACW dispatch]

Yours,
Charul Bharwada &=A0Vinay Mahajan

Loknaad
2, Gargi Apartment, Nehru Park, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Phone: 079 - 675 3663 (work) 675 2162 (home)
e-mail: <mailto:abhigam@i...>abhigam@i...

______

#7.

Book Review
Name of the Book: Communal Rage in Secular India
Author: Rafiq Zakaria
Publisher: Popular Prakashan, Mumbai
Year: 2002
Pages: 248
ISBN: 81-7991-070-9
Price: Rs. 350
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand

As home to a bewildering variety of religions, castes and ethnic=20
groups, India has no choice but to be secular, the alternative being=20
interminable civil war and uncontrollable destruction. In recent=20
years the marked rise of communal and fascist movements in the=20
country have wrought unimaginable havoc in the country, causing the=20
deaths of tens of thousands of innocents and threatening to set India=20
against itself. At a time when the logic of communalism has won=20
millions of adherents, the need to state the obvious=97that India=20
cannot survive without secularism=97is particularly urgent.
In this book, veteran scholar-activist Rafiq Zakaria provides=20
a grim picture of the way India is heading, driven by communal=20
passions and hatreds, down the path of doom. He begins with a chapter=20
on the recent macabre events in Gujarat, which has witnessed one of=20
the most brutal pogroms in recent history. He puts together various=20
reports to trace the sequence of events. He writes that for years now=20
Hindutva groups have being spreading hatred against Christians and=20
Muslims in Gujarat, creating an environment conducive to=20
inter-communal conflict. He refers to conflicting reports about the=20
burning of the train compartment at Godhra, which lit the spark that=20
set off a trail of killings in the state that took well over a=20
thousand lives. He discusses the various theories put forward, that=20
the train was set ablaze by local Muslims after a Muslim girl was=20
kidnapped by VHP goons or that it was actually done by VHP men=20
themselves, as suggested by a former Gujarat Chief Minister, but says=20
that the truth might actually never be known. He describes in great=20
detail the killings of Muslims that followed in the wake of Godhra,=20
led by Hindutva mobs in league with sections of the police, the=20
administration and with the connivance of the state government. He=20
suggests that if the advocates of Hindutva fascism are not stopped in=20
their tracks, and if Gujarat is allowed to repeat itself, India might=20
soon be up in flames.
The remainder of the book consists of a discussion of the=20
logic of fascism, in all the various guises that it comes in India=20
today. Hindu and Muslim fascists, Zakaria argues, are both impelled=20
by the same anti-democratic impulse. They claim to speak on behalf of=20
their own communities, while, in actual fact, they are their worst=20
enemies, causing murder and mayhem in the name of religion. He=20
convincingly argues that just as the Muslim League in pre-Partition=20
India, Hindutva fascists also subscribe to the pernicious two-nation=20
theory and to the thesis of Hindus and Muslims being two separate=20
nations, forever unable and unwilling to live together, doomed to=20
perpetual conflict. Zakaria issues a grim reminder of the chilling=20
horrors of religious fascism, such as in Afghanistan, Pakistan and=20
Kashmir, and argues that Indians must learn from these lessons before=20
it is too late.
Zakaria urges us to a reconsideration of our own histories in=20
order to challenge the logic of communalism. He appeals to us to=20
recall aspects of our pasts that both Hindu as well as Muslim=20
communalists would have us conveniently forget=97a tradition of=20
synthesis and harmony, represented by people like Nanak and Kabir,=20
who strove to bring Hindus and Muslims and others to recognize each=20
other=92s worth as fellow human beings. He insists on the urgent need=20
for us to recover liberal and liberative elements in each of our=20
religious traditions that can be used as resources against religious=20
fascism, both Hindu and Muslim, and thereby deny Hindu and Islamist=20
militants the right to claim to speak on behalf of their religions=20
and communities. No longer can secularists continue to deny the=20
importance of religion, he insists. The task before all concerned=20
Indians, he suggests, is to reclaim religion from the hands of the=20
merchants of religious terror, and to articulate new visions of each=20
religion that, rooted in an authentic spirituality, can help bring=20
people of different faiths to work together against inter-communal=20
strife.
Not everyone would agree with everything that Zakaria has to say. For=20
instance, his uncritical use of the terms =91Hindu=92 and =91Muslim=92=20
suggests an understanding of Hindus and Muslims as two well-defined,=20
homogenous and monolithic communities, devoid of internal class,=20
caste, regional or sectarian divisions, which is hardly the case.=20
Then again, in his understanding of communalism Zakaria seems to give=20
little attention to the complex caste-class underpinnings of=20
inter-communal conflict, thus tending to place the phenomenon in a=20
sociological vacuum. Dalits, for their part, might take issue with=20
his glorification of Gandhi. Radicals might see his prescription=97true=20
religion to counter religious fascism=97as only further compounding the=20
malaise. But, all said and done, this book is a pointed reminder of=20
the grave threats that we are faced with today, and in that it well=20
serves its purpose.

______

#8.

JUST PUBLISHED by PERMANENT BLACK
Distributed by Orient Longman <http://www.orientlongman.com>

RABINDRANATH TAGORE=B9S THE HOME AND THE WORLD - A Critical Companion
Edited by P.K. Datta

Hardback / 210pp / ISBN 81-7824-046-7 / Rs 395 / South Asia Rights /=20
Copublished with Anthem Press, London

The ten critical essays in this book examine Tagore=B9s best-known=20
novel in relation to the complex nature of colonial modernity. Taking=20
into account Tagore=B9s critique of religious nationalism as well as=20
the historical context of his novel, the essayists show how The Home=20
and the World throws up questions about gender, nationalism, and the=20
novel as a form.

Gender-related issues are elaborated in terms of the creation of=20
modern selfhood, the problems in representing the =8Cwoman-as-nation=B9,=20
and crises of masculinity. At the same time, there are analyses of=20
the many implications and ramifications of Tagore=B9s critique of Hindu=20
nationalism, specifically its relation to his anti-colonial vision.

This =8CCompanion=B9 will interest all those who study the Indian novel,=20
post-coloniality, gender representations, and nationalism. Written by=20
highly reputed bilingual scholars in the disciplines of history and=20
literary criticism, this book is an important contribution to=20
interdisciplinary cultural studies of the Indian subcontinent.

Contributors
P.K.Datta, Tanika Sarkar, Supriya Chaudhuri, Tapobrata Ghosh, Shohini=20
Ghosh, Michael Sprinker, Malini Bhattacharya, Sumit Sarkar, Jasodhara=20
Bagchi, Jayanti Chattopadhyay

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