[sacw] SACW | 26 Nov. 02

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Tue, 26 Nov 2002 02:03:08 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire | 26 November 2002

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY -- GUJARAT 2002: A report on the=20
investigations, findings and recommendations of the 8-member=20
Concerned Citizens' Tribunal, headed by Justice VR Krishna Iyer,=20
Justice PB Sawant and Justice Hosbet Suresh.
Is posted on: www.sabrang.com
the above report is also available at: www.outlookindia.org

o o o

'THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE OF HATE: IDRF AND THE AMERICAN FUNDING OF HINDUTVA'.
by Sabrang Communications (India) and South Asia Citizens Web (France)
20 November 2002
A detailed investigative report on the use of American corporate=20
funds by the US based India Development and Relief Fund to promote=20
the projects of Hindu supremacist groups in India.

The online report is available at:
Sabrang Communications (India) www.sabrang.com
South Asia Citizens Web (France) www.mnet.fr/aiindex/

The full report is also being hosted by a growing number of web sites=20
worldwide.
The current list is:
Isis Creations (Australia): www.isis.aust.com/sacw/
Outlook (India): www.outlookindia.org
India Committee of the the Netherlands: www.indianet.nl
(UK): azadee.users.btopenworld.com/
Z Mag South Asia (USA): www.zmag.org/southasia/southasia1.htm
Alliance for Secular and Democratic South Asia (USA):=20
www.alliancesouthasia.org
Proxsa (USA) www.proxsa.org/newsflash/
SikhSpectrum.com Monthly (USA) www.sikhspectrum.com/112002/Report/hdv.htm
Stop Funding Hate (USA) : stopfundinghate.org/resources/FEH.htm
Dissident Voice (USA): dissidentvoice.org

__________________________

#1. Americans rhetoric about the democracy and freedom is seen in=20
Pakistan by most people as wholly bogus (M.B. Naqvi)
#2. Bangladesh: 2 British journalists working on film arrested (note=20
from the film producer + 2 news reports)
#3. India: Women=B9s Convention in Ahmedabad (9 December 2002)
#4. India: Many Hindus harbour the illusion that they can accept the=20
VHP's critique of the secular state and minorities and still not be=20
implicated in the violence that this ideology produces. (Pratap Bhanu=20
Mehta)
#5. India: No Shades in Saffron Conflict Moves Further Right (Mahesh Daga)
#6. India: Feud in the family, or is it? (Ram Puniyani)
#7. India: Police Violence Prevents Bhopal Survivors and Supporters=20
from Containing Toxic Waste at Dow-Carbide factory

__________________________

#1.

The Americans rhetoric about the democracy and freedom is seen in=20
Pakistan by most people as wholly bogus
M.B. Naqvi

Karachi Nov 24:

Questions regarding the durability of the newly restored=20
'sustainable' democracy is already being questioned. There are layers=20
and layers of controversies. An the outer layer is of course the=20
perennial dispute over the fundamental structure of the governing=20
processes, especially about the loci of power to be sure. Initial=20
warning shots have already been fired less than 24 hours after the=20
swearing in ceremony of the Jamali Cabinet.

President General Pervez Musharraf has warned the opposition and=20
impliedly everyone else not to make his Legal Framework Order=20
controversial. As he put it: 'that will complicate many things'. On=20
the other hand, one of the top leaders of MMA, Qazi Hussain Ahmed of=20
Jamaat-i-Islami, said that LFO needs to be discussed and Parliament=20
is the best place to do so. The lines have been clearly drawn.

It is strange that the largest party which has received the maximum=20
vote nationally remains ambiguous. Its top leaders are not vehement=20
or unduly articulate. To be sure they do affirm democratic precepts=20
for the record; but it is obvious that it is not going out of its way=20
to fight the political battles on that issue. Observers suspect that=20
the inconclusive behind-the-scenes negotiations between Musharraf and=20
PPP were left off in a state in which all hopes has not died down in=20
the PPP leaders hearts. Nawaz Sharif's PML, on the other hand, has=20
cast its lot with the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and for=20
all practical purposes with MMA.

Needless to say, it is an ancient debate in Pakistan that can be=20
traced to initial period of independence that constitution making was=20
the first item of the national agenda. The governing structure in the=20
state has remained a controversial matter. The point at issues is=20
quite simple and basically the most important one: whether there=20
would be the rule of law exercised by representatives of the people=20
institutionally or there would be a Viceroy- or Badshah- like person=20
who can order things and persons around. This is the sole issue that=20
has made Pakistan a country without constitution and without rule of=20
law. Even today what the LFO stands for is extraordinary powers of=20
Gen. Musharraf, the President as well as the Army Chief, to override=20
everyone and being able to sack the government and the Parliament and=20
the rest of the electoral system at will. In a sense all the elected=20
Assemblies and governments at the centre and provinces would be=20
working during his pleasure, ascertainable only by himself, though=20
courts have occasionally tried to pouch into that holy sphere of the=20
strongman=92s competence. Either the opposition has to pipe down soon=20
and the General continues to rule without much trouble for the next=20
five years at least. Or there would be a big dust up and it would not=20
be very long in the coming, given the initial indications.

There are other reasons why a battle royal between the opposition and=20
the ruling gentry may be unavoidable including foreign factors. After=20
all the US has still to swallow and digest an MMA government in the=20
NWFP and the party's influence in the governing processes both in the=20
Senate and National Assembly and the province of Baluchistan. But=20
this is not the only layer of controversy. The methods that the=20
administration used to prepare for the election, particularly the=20
careful fashioning of the ruling King's Party, the PML (QA) and often=20
dubbed as Q League, had led to many heartaches.

The selection of the personnel has been extraordinarily careful for=20
those who actually won on the Q League's ticket. Many of the ruling=20
stalwarts of the Q League bitterly complain of having been stabbed in=20
the back by the same administration they were supposed to be attached=20
to. Apparently, only the most docile among the King's men were to be=20
promoted and anyone with any spark in him was dumped even after he=20
had been given a ticket by the party. Authentic stories of the=20
administration's ensuring the defeat in the polls of wellknown=20
leaders of the Q League and this is not true only of one or two men=20
or women. It will take sometime but many stories will be out before=20
long.

Then there is the extraordinary audacity with which defections from=20
other parties have been engineered. In order to ensure a minority=20
becoming a majority, there was a constitutional clause against=20
defections from the established parties; a defector can be=20
disqualified pronto. Gen. Musharraf has cynically kept that clause=20
suspended and it is being revived only with the oath-taking of the=20
new Senate. Until then defectors from any other party would be free=20
to cross the floor. Mr. Zafarullah Jamali scraped through the=20
election by the National Assembly with the help of 10 defectors from=20
the PPP. Out of these 10 at least six have been accommodated in the=20
new Cabinet. Such gross promotion of political corruption is being=20
hawked as 'real democracy'.

A certain malodour emanates from certain Ministers. Other men were=20
prosecuted by the National Accountability Bureau for nonpayment of=20
loans or getting them written off under political influence. There=20
are several members of the new Cabinet about which whispering has=20
begun. Indeed why call it whispering; many observers have noted and=20
adjudged that the National Accountability Bureau has acted as a means=20
for putting together the Kings Party and its various allies.

In terms of intense propaganda of politicians being corrupt and=20
incompetent, so dear to military dictators, a new subject opens for=20
the universities to investigate: who in the third world dictatorships=20
promotes corruption more: civilian politicians or unaccountable=20
dictators, usually generals. Should the universities award degrees in=20
the new discipline, interesting stories would be sure to emerge from=20
many countries and Pakistan=92s case would be perhaps the most=20
instructive.

Insofar as India and the US are concerned, they will have to deal,=20
protocol wise, with new Foreign Minister, the jurist, Khurshid=20
Mahmood Kasuri, a man of law and sound commonsense. But he alas! may=20
not be the master in his own house of foreign policy. In the name of=20
'continuity' Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, better known as Jadoogar of=20
Jeddah, has been saddled on the heads of Kasuri as well as the=20
Foreign Office as the Hon. Senior Adviser to the PM on Foreign=20
Affairs, Law, Justice and Human Rights with the status of a senior=20
Federal Minister. Now Pirzada is a wellknown category in both South=20
Block and the Foggy Bottom. In practice he is likely to be the=20
channel through which Gen. Musharraf is will convey his wishes and=20
decisions on matters bearing on external relations. But few outsiders=20
are likely to encounter this real legal genious who has devised the=20
structure of this =91sustainable=92 democracy and the political strategy=20
that Musharraf has adopted.

Anyhow a supposedly new beginning has been made and democracy of a=20
sort has been restored. It will have the Parliament and other=20
institutions of a democracy, though it will not have the spirit and=20
elan of a normal democracy. Can Pakistan make a success of it, many=20
foreigners have already formulated the question. Like all other=20
people in the world, Pakistanis are no less interested in a genuine=20
democracy, though the conditions in which they live are so=20
heart-rending that it is next to impossible for them to hold their=20
dictators and socalled democratic governments to account. They have=20
demonstrated their will to become a free democracy repeatedly. But=20
each time they rose up in veritable revolt, albeit non-violent, the=20
net result was another General who took over and inaugurated a new=20
political system which he called basic or real or true democracy.

Pakistanis have had foreign friends who have actually aided only the=20
dictators and never batted an eyelid when a General upturned an=20
evolving order. For, no matter what the exact limitations are imposed=20
on popular representatives, the dynamics of electoral politics and=20
running a relatively more open government are such that gradually the=20
ideas of more freedom, more openness and more scope for popular=20
sentiments respect begins to take shape. The aim becomes influencing=20
the course of events somehow. It is precisely at such times that the=20
dictators strike.

It would be tidious to give each example from 1958 onward. The facts=20
are generally wellknown. There has been in fact a clear collusion=20
between the socalled establishment --- that has been dubbed the=20
invisible and permanent government of Pakistan --- and American=20
governments at relevant stages. The establishment throws up a=20
dictator in the firm expectation that his path will be smoothened by=20
the Americans with various items of aid, including political support=20
and financial assistance. In return Pakistani dictators have=20
flourished by closely cooperating with the Americans. The Americans=20
rhetoric about the democracy and freedom is seen in Pakistan by most=20
people as wholly bogus.

And yet sober analysts caution Pakistanis against needless carping at=20
the Americans. The primary responsibility is that of the citizens=20
themselves. If they cannot assert themselves and demand and run a=20
democracy why blame others. A dictator is often in hock to the=20
foreign great power. He needs to be sustained (against his own=20
people) and the foreign power gets a supporter for almost any course=20
of action. The fault is not of the foreigners --- or even of the=20
generals who seize power. The fault is that of the people. If they=20
are so stupid and weak they have to pay for it. Pakistanis are duly=20
paying the price.

_____

#2.

Monday, November 25, 2002 12:18 PM

I was on a shoot in Bangladesh for a documentary on Bengali identity
against the backdrop of rising Muslim fundamentalism and the growing power
of the Army for Channel 4, UK. I left a a few days early. Today, my two
British colleagues, Zaiba Malick and Bruno have been arrested by the
National Security Agency of Bangladesh and kept in police custody.
Tomorrow they will be shifted to a jail in Dhaka called the Motijheel Jail.
As you know Bangladesh has the doubtful honor of being the country where
the largest number of journalists were killed. Could you spread the word
to put pressure on the Bangladesh government immediately? The documentary
was for Unreported World on Channel 4, UK. I was the Associate Producer,
Zaiba the reporter and Bruno the cameraman.

Ruchira Gupta

o o o

See Related Reports:
=A0
The Daily Star (Dhaka)
26 November 2002
http://www.dailystarnews.com/200211/26/n2112601.htm#BODY8

Two foreign journalists arrested at Benapole

Staff Correspondent, Khulna
The immigration police yesterday arrested two journalists working for=20
the British Channel 4 television network as they attempted to cross=20
into India at the western Benapole border checkpoint.
According to police, the two journalists - British national Zaiba Naz=20
Malik and Italian-born Leopondo Bruno Sorentino - are arrested on=20
specific charges under the Bangladesh Penal Code for treason.
One Didarul Islam of H/72 New Airport Road of Mohakhali filed a case=20
against the two with the Motijheel police in the capital before their=20
arrests yesterday.
A video camera, some videocassettes and some papers were seized from=20
their possession.
The Benapole police said the two journalists had told a joint team of=20
police and military intelligence officers they were teachers and were=20
travelling on tourist visas.
After the arrest, the two were sent to the capital escorted by a=20
police team to be handed over to the Motijheel police.
According to BBC, Malik and Sorentino had had spent two weeks filming=20
footage for a report on Islamic extremist groups.

o o o

BBC
Monday, 25 November, 2002, 15:30 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2511989.stm

UK journalists held in Bangladesh

Two journalists working for the British Channel 4 television network=20
have been arrested by Bangladeshi security authorities as they=20
attempted to cross into India at the western Benapole border=20
checkpoint.
The Bangladeshi authorities say that the two journalists, Zaiba Malik=20
and Leopondo Bruno Sorentino, had spent two weeks filming footage for=20
a report on Islamic extremist groups.

But a spokesman for Channel 4 has denied this, saying that the=20
journalists were in fact filming a general report on the political=20
situation in Bangladesh.
However, the police in Benapole said the journalists told a joint=20
team of police and military intelligence officers they were teachers=20
and were travelling on tourist visas.
Police said they found what was described as a huge quantity of video=20
film and anti-government material among the journalists' possessions.
Reports say the journalists will be taken to Dhaka to face charges.

>From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

______

#3.

MAHILA EKTA MANCH

INVITES YOU TO A WOMEN=B9S CONVENTION
9TH DEC 2002
AHMEDABAD
10.30 AM-5.30 PM

Action Aid, Ahmedabad Community Foundation, Aidwa, Anandi, =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
Behavioural Science Centre, Disha, Centre for Social Justice,=20
Navsarjan, Sahaj, Sahiyar, Sahrwaru, Samerth, Swati, Vikas Adhyan=20
Kendra, Uthaan

Dear Friends,

Time and again women have been made targets of sectarian violence.=20
Gujarat represents a glaring example of this in the recent history of=20
the country. While the violence in general has been described as a=20
=8Cstigma=B9 and a =8Cblot=B9 on the nation by politicians of various=20
persuasions, violence against women has been met with a deafening=20
silence from most quarters. There is nothing new about this silence:=20
it rages almost every time a woman is subject to sexual violence.=20
However, what makes Gujarat unique is that never before has there=20
been such a massive collapse of both state and society; both have=20
failed to uphold women=B9s rights to lives with dignity and security.=A0

Events in Gujarat do not need to be reiterated here. Suffice to say=20
that these developments pose a serious threat, as well as a severe=20
challenge, to the struggle for women=B9s rights in all spheres. The=20
women=B9s movement in India has consistently raised its voice against=20
violence over the last two decades. If this long struggle against=20
violence has to resonate with any meaning for ordinary women we have=20
to collectively raise our voices against the violence women have=20
faced in Gujarat.=A0

Unfortunately there has been an absence of such a collective voice in=20
Gujarat. Despite the fact that women=B9s groups have worked with the=20
women survivors of the violence there has been no collective and=20
public outcry against the violence. Some of us therefore thought=20
that one of the best ways in which to facilitate this public protest=20
and condemnation would be to organise a one day women=B9s convention in=20
Ahmedabad. With the announcement of elections on 12th Dec 2002 we=20
decided it was also the right time to make a public declaration of=20
the kind of governance that women want.

Women=B9s groups and civil liberties groups outside Gujarat have been=20
quick to respond to the current crisis. We have been strengthened=20
collectively and individually by this response. We therefore extend=20
an invitation to all groups outside the State to attend this=20
convention and add their voices to this struggle. Express your=20
solidarity with women survivors in Gujarat, and share with us the=20
actions you have initiated in your cities and villages.=A0

Please circulate this invitation widely and help to make this=20
convention a success. Also bring your banners and posters along.=20
Please let us know how many of you will attend the convention and=20
when you are likely to arrive in Ahmedabad. The venue is yet to be=20
finalised and we will let you know about later.

In solidarity
Bhavna, Sheba, Sophia, Bina, Jyotsna, Jahanavi, Poonam, Trupti, Renu,=20
Nisha and many others.

PROGRAMME
Welcome and introduction: Bhavna Ramrakhiani, Ahmedabad
Why violence affects women : Kamla Bhasin, Delhi
Ahiya Ek Nagar Vastu Hatu: Street play by Fade-in Theatre, Ahmedabad
Overview of violence in Ahmedabad: Sheba George, Ahmedabad
Testimonies: Women from Panchmahals, Ahmedabad, Banaskantha,
Vadodara, Sabarkantha, Chhota Udepur and Bharuch
Songs: Vinay & Charul/Swaroopben Dhruv
Declaration of solidarity/sharing by outside groups
What do women want from elections? Dr. Sayeda Hamid, Delhi
More on elections: Sophia Khan, Ahmedabad
Testimonies continued
Summing up: Trupti Shah, Vadodara
Pledge: All participants
Vote of thanks=A0

______

#4.

The Hindu
Tuesday, Nov 26, 2002
Opinion - Leader Page Articles
=A0=A0=A0
An uphill struggle
By Pratap Bhanu Mehta

Many Hindus harbour the illusion that they can accept the VHP's=20
critique of the secular state and minorities and still not be=20
implicated in the violence that this ideology produces.

IRRESPECTIVE OF the outcome of the elections in Gujarat, Indian=20
politics will have to confront the thorny problems posed by the=20
existence of organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.=20
Contrary to their own claims, these are not purely cultural=20
organisations. In any case, the distinction between a cultural or=20
religious organisation and a purely political one is largely=20
meaningless when applied to organisations such as the VHP, whose=20
political impact, along with that of its allied organisations, on=20
public discourse has been unprecedented.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the VHP has been instrumental in=20
orchestrating the "rightward" shift in Indian politics; it has=20
single-handedly set the electoral agenda in many States, it openly=20
challenges the authority of the Government and leading state=20
institutions, its actions pose serious problems for public order, its=20
leaders condone violence against the minorities and its ideology is a=20
palpable threat to the values of our Constitution.

Quite possibly many of its members do not care for these larger goals=20
and are fellow travellers for some local cultural or religious=20
benefits, but this does not detract from the VHP's political=20
importance. While the Election Commission has, controversially,=20
clamped down on its election-related activities in Gujarat, the VHP=20
will continue to pose a serious challenge to the Indian state.

No democracy can survive only on the force of its laws and the threat=20
of sanctions alone. The habits of individuals in civil society, the=20
informal norms by which people conduct themselves in their public=20
interactions, and the values that they openly espouse are also=20
necessary for sustaining a democratic culture.

The growing strength of the VHP and the fact that its power poses a=20
challenge for state organisations have exposed just how fragile the=20
norms that sustain a genuine liberal constitutional democracy are in=20
many parts of the country. Whether we like it or not, the VHP=20
represents a powerful social movement, arguably one of the most=20
significant that India has seen in the last couple of decades. The=20
VHP has a mass base, it has organisational strength, its ideology is=20
subtly infiltrating institutions, and it is inch-by-inch gaining=20
ground. It will be complacent to assume that an electoral defeat for=20
the BJP will be a major reversal of fortune for the VHP; that it will=20
diminish in strength if it stops receiving the patronage of power.

There are many reasons to think that the VHP will have a significant=20
life beyond the electoral fortunes of the BJP. First, it simply=20
exists. Large organisations built over two to three decades, with a=20
financially robust base, simply do not disappear.

The VHP has mobilised constituencies and it would be odd for them to=20
simply melt away. Second, the ideological agenda of the VHP has found=20
acceptance in circles broader than the Sangh Parivar. Witness=20
Jayalalithaa's actions in Tamil Nadu, witness Shankarsinh Waghela's=20
recourse to a language of Hindu nationalism in Gujarat, and witness=20
the muted opposition to the VHP.

Many Hindus recoil at the violence that the VHP's ideology produces,=20
but there is reason to believe that many of those who are=20
uncomfortable with its shrill edges are nevertheless in sympathy with=20
its broad ideological message. Its conception of India has acquired=20
more tacit currency than we care to admit. And this ideological=20
hegemony will take some undoing.

Third, although this is a claim impossible to make with any degree of=20
certainty, the VHP has successfully managed to infiltrate a large=20
number of state institutions, and these will be an enduring source of=20
its power. Finally, the VHP has managed to fulfil what might for want=20
of a better term be described as a large historical need: it has=20
tapped into the longing for "Hindu culture" and organisation abroad,=20
and an exaggerated sense of Hindu injury at home. The psychological=20
anxieties that sustain the VHP, the politics of paranoia that gives=20
it succour is also unlikely to disappear anytime soon. The VHP is=20
here to stay.

This poses extraordinary problems. How does one deal with the VHP? It=20
is unlikely that we will anytime soon have a political coalition that=20
will have the will to clamp down on its activities.

And in any case, repressive action on the part of the state against=20
such organisations is extremely treacherous. It is treacherous=20
because such a state is likely to be interested in repression of free=20
activity in civil society itself, not just the activities of the VHP.=20
And it is treacherous because the VHP thrives on a sense of martyrdom.

We have reached a political juncture where open restriction on the=20
activities of the VHP will fuel the sense of injury that wide=20
constituencies feel. It will invite the thought that the state=20
represses Hindu organisations, and is likely to backfire. It is=20
unlikely therefore, given the prevailing climate, that state power=20
alone can enable it to tackle the VHP.

What are the prospects of a battle within civil society against the=20
VHP? Here again, the cards seem to be stacked against success. First,=20
there are very few organisations that can match the VHP in=20
organisational reach, ideological acceptance and access to resources.=20
Second, there is no articulated ideological alternative that can=20
provide a therapeutic cure for the sense of Hindu injury that the VHP=20
taps into.

Many of us may be convinced that this sense of injury is, at the very=20
least, exaggerated, itself a product the destructive politics of the=20
VHP. But we have to recognise that this external criticism of Hindu=20
nationalist politics carries very little bite. There are very few=20
alternative sources of authority or moral teaching within Hinduism=20
that can successfully combat the VHP.

Hindu nationalism has managed to colonise Hinduism. Third, one might=20
suppose that even if the VHP cannot be combated directly, it might be=20
possible to simply neglect the VHP and emphasise other issues in the=20
hope that, over time, its hold will weaken.

The trouble is that the VHP will not let you do this: Gujarat is one=20
indication of its ability to set the agenda, don't be surprised if=20
Ayodhya becomes an issue in Uttar Pradesh soon. It is also the case=20
that the rest of our politics is so marred by the most venial of=20
interests that it is difficult to imagine an alternative axis of=20
political mobilisation, or different terms of political discourse=20
emerging any time soon.

The macabre circus that passes for politics is likely to continue,=20
giving the VHP ample political space and opportunity. The only thing=20
that might generate a backlash against the VHP is a fear and=20
revulsion against the violence it legitimises. But many Hindus=20
harbour the illusion that they can accept the VHP's critique of the=20
secular state and minorities and still not be implicated in the=20
violence that this ideology produces. In any case, if the only thing=20
that can provoke us to recoil from a dangerous ideology is a=20
revulsion and fear of violence, it will already be too late for=20
Indian democracy.

(The writer is Professor of Philosophy and of Law and Governance, JNU.)

_____

#5.

The Times of India
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2002
No Shades in Saffron Conflict Moves Further Right
MAHESH DAGA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3D=
29393196

_____

#6.

The Indian Express
November 26, 2002

BJP and the Hindu state
Will the real Advani please stand up?
Mani Shankar Aiyar

So, who is the real L.K. Advani? The deputy prime minister who says=20
he has no intention of establishing a Hindu state in India? Or the=20
Advani we have all grown up with?

Times out of number, Advani has asserted that Hindu means Bharat=20
which means India. Therefore, in his view, there is no difference=20
between the Indian state and the Hindu state. So what=B9s new in his=20
now saying he does not believe in a Hindu state when what an =8CIndian=B9=20
state means to him is the same as what a =8CHindu=B9 state means to you=20
and me? Advani has also not changed his view that all Indians are=20
Hindus and, therefore, the Indian Muslim is a Hindu Muslim and an=20
Indian Christian is a Hindu Christian.

When I first came across his having said this in a Telegraph=20
interview of 1989, I asked whether, in that case, Advani regarded=20
himself as a Hindu =8B or as a Hindu Hindu? His reply is still awaited.

The fact is that this play with words is a BJP specialty. They think=20
they have made a point when they say they cannot be =8Cdharmanirpeksh=B9=20
(the usual Hindi translation for =8Csecularism=B9) because you cannot=20
refuse to take sides between dharma and adharma.

So, they say they are =8Cpanthnirpeksh=B9. But whatever the word, they do=20
not seem to see that they offend as much against =8Cpanthnirpekshata=B9=20
as they do against =8Cdharmanirpekshata=B9. So with the =8CHindu=B9 state.=
=20
What they want India to be is not what the rest of us want India to=20
be. And if there is no difference, then what=B9s the argument?

Indeed, one has to look no further than the rest of his speech to see=20
where the difference lies. He quotes Justice Verma to assert that his=20
Hinduism is something more than just a religion, it is part of a=20
larger Indian culture. True enough, but then is not Islam as=20
practiced in India and Christianity as practiced in India part of the=20
larger Indian culture? If he is as Indian, as he claims to be, would=20
Advani please repudiate his statement at Himachal Bhawan, New Delhi,=20
August 13 1990: =8CThe Ram Janmabhoomi movement is the biggest cultural=20
movement in history to unite crores of Indian hearts and assert the=20
emancipation of Hindu culture from medieval vandals and=20
pseudo-secular pseudo-intellectuals=B9? (Note the easy equation of=20
=8CIndian=B9 with =8CHindu=B9).

Advani described Pakistan as a =8Ctheocratic=B9 state to distinguish it=20
from secular India. But Pakistan is theocratic only in the sense that=20
it calls itself =8CIslamic=B9, not in the sense that it is ruled by=20
clerics.

Indeed, in no election since the establishment of Pakistan has a=20
theocratic party won more than 5 per cent of the vote or more than a=20
couple of seats in the Pakistan National Assembly =8B until the latest=20
where, thanks to Busharraf kowtowing to the Americans over the=20
Taliban, Maulana Fazlur Rahman has failed by no more than a single=20
vote to make it to prime minister.

No, what distinguishes Pakistan=B9s constitutional development from=20
India=B9s is not that they are ruled by mullahs while we are not ruled=20
by pandits and pandas. What makes Pakistan non-secular is that they=20
are avowedly majoritarian while we are not. To Advani and his ilk,=20
the fact that =8Cwe=B9 are 85 per cent and =8Cthey=B9 are not makes all the=
=20
difference between those who legitimately belong and those who may=20
remain on our sufferance. Hence their rejection of our composite=20
culture.

Hence their insistence that we are secular only because we are Hindu.=20
Hence their tampering with history textbooks. Hence their avenging=20
themselves on =8CBabar ki aulad=B9. Hence their obsession with=20
conversion. Hence their perverse humour: =8Cham panch/hamare pachees=B9.

Hence, where Ram was born being, in Advani=B9s exquisite phraseology,=20
=8Cnot a matter of fact but a matter of faith=B9, targeted with precision=20
at the point where my faith will give maximum offence to the other=B9s.=20
Hence their listing of masjids to demolish and mandirs to build. In=20
which of these particulars is Advani any different from the mob he=20
leads?

Hence, too, the mob he chooses to lead. Was it not Advani who=20
described the Vishwa Hindu Parishad=B9s Ayodhya Movement as =8Ca stroke=20
of genius=B9? Did his train not include the likes of Sadhvi Rithambra:=20
Samajh na paaye baton se, ab laaton se samajhne do/ Khoon kharaba=20
hota hai, tho ek baar ho jaane do (What words have not taught, let=20
our kicks teach them now/ If bloodletting there must be, let it be,=20
let it be).

Can Advani deny the picture of Uma Bharati hugging Murli Manohar=20
Joshi as the two of them watched the masjid tumbling down? I asked=20
Advani rhetorically in the Lok Sabha before the infamous Black=20
Sunday, December 6, 1992, if it came to the crunch which oath would=20
prevail =8B his oath to the constitution or his oath to smash the Babri=20
masjid (Ram ki saugand ham khate hain/Mandir wahin banyenge)?

The constitution, of course, he spiritedly replied. And then stood=20
silent, as he stood silent over the carnage committed in the wake of=20
his =8Crath yatra=B9, as one by one over several hours each of the three=20
domes was torn down. Had he stepped under the domes and said the next=20
brick that falls, falls on my head, the outrage would have been=20
stopped.

Nearer now, who but Advani picked Narendra Modi to lead Gujarat? Who=20
but Advani failed to visit his constituency of Gandhinagar when=20
marauding hordes were targeting his own constituents? Who but Advani=20
sang paeans of praise, and still does (he was back at it last week in=20
his Lok Sabha reply), to Modi=B9s Newtonian condoning of the most=20
ghastly excesses =8B =8Ckriya-pratikriya=B9? And who but Advani=B9s cabal=20
twisted Vajpayee=B9s tail to rephrase what the prime minister said at=20
the Shah Alam camp in Ahmedabad into what he said after the party=20
conclave in Goa?

Be warned: our subcontinent is in imminent danger of slipping into=20
the hands of two spitting images of communalism =8B Advani in India and=20
Maulana Fazlur Rahman in Pakistan. There is nothing to choose between=20
them.

_____

#6.

Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 20:54:34 +0530 (IST)

Feud in the family, or is it?

Ram Puniyani

Advani's compulsion in stating that India will never become a Hindu
Rashtra has not found good favor with members of his family, Sangh Parivar.
VHP's Singhal reminded Mr. Advani about the prayer which they have been
singing in the Shakha(RSS training school)," By God I swear that I shall
do my best sacrifice my all-to preserve and promote the cause of Hindu Dhar=
ma,
Hindu Rashtra and Hindu Sanskriti" (From the prayer of RSS). At the same
time Bajarang Dal's Prakash Sharma reaffirmed that India was always a Hindu
Rashtra and will always remain so. Advani also got the taste of his own
medicine as some from Sangh stable called him a pseudo secular, trying to
appease minorities. Mr. Bal Thackeray the self proclaimed Hindu Hriday Samt=
rat,
(Emperor of Hindu Hearts) went to the extent of saying that Mr. Advani has
stabbed the Hindus in the back. Temporarily it sounds as if all is in disar=
ray
as for as the followers of the concept of Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation) is
concerned.

As for as the terms, Hindu Rashtra, Hindutva and pseudo secular are
concerned it was none other than Mr. Advani who had popularized them.
Today due to compulsions of his responsibility and the calculations for
future of his party in the electoral arena, he has to be guarded. It does
not mean by any stretch of imagination that Mr. Advani is giving up the
very plank, which has brought his party to power. It is part of multi
speak, to speak what suits a particular occasion and time. Than is it that
Singhal etc.s worry, that their family member is drifting from the path,
which they together as a Sangh Parivar are to follow, has some truth? That
seems unlikely, as they all know each other too well. They all know as to
why Vajpayee and Advani have to put Parliamentary face at the moment as
the politics of Hindu Rashtra cannot grab power in a single go. They are
aware that they have to keep infiltrating the system slowly. They are
aware that at every instance the circle of influence is to be expanded.
Vajpayee summed it very well when he said that Togadia is only doing his
job while trying to defy the ban on Padpadshahi Yatra by Election
Commission. Then, why they make such public outburst against each other?

The reasons are not too far to seek. At present the RSS progenies are
doing a balancing act. Through their different organizations, different
faces, they want to give multiple messages suitable to each section of
society. So, while Advani or Vajpayee will address the democratically
oriented section, The Singhals and Togadias will be trying to keep the
flock of different section in the fold of Hindutva politics.

BJP is nothing if it is not taking the Nation towards Hindu Rashtra, the
Religious Fascism in the garb of Hinduism. The tragedy is that the name of
Hindu religion is being dragged for political goals of section of society.
This section of society is the one entrenched in the power, social and
economic. This is the politics of the elite, upper caste and section of
affluent middle class, which is hell-bent to oppose the social
transformation towards the gender and caste equality. As India is a plural
society electoral victory for the self-proclaimed representatives of
Hindus has not and probably will never come through the ballot box. To
overcome this there are George Fernanades, Mamatas, Jayalalitas and what
have you, a cabal, out to seek power by any and all compromises, and not
hesitating to prostrate in front of BJP. It can be said in general that
parties of fascism, religious fascism, cannot come to power in a
democratic way, be it the Hitlers of yesteryears, or Talibans in more
recent times.

RSS since its formation in 1925 has been creating Swaymsevaks, the ones
seeped in the ideology of Hindtva (Not Hinduism). Hindutva is the
Religious fascism based on Brahminical Hinduism, the polar opposite of
politics and religion of Mahatma Gandhi for example. Just to recall Gandhi
was a Sanatani Hindu but he did not want a Hindu Rashtra, he was deeply
committed to secular India. In contrast whatever be the level of
religiosity of these swaymsevaks they want to doctor and manipulate the
Indian culture, Indian society in a way which has nothing to do with the
democratic values. In a way their agenda is to convert India in to the
mirror image of Pakistan, where three A's, (Allah through Mullahs, America
through its Ambassador and Army through a General, rules the country.
These swayamsevaks in turn control most of the organizations, which are
collectively called Sangh Parivar. (BJP, VHP, Bajarang Dal, Vanavasi Kalyan
Ashram and host of others) There is no question that any of them will
genuinely not believe in Hindutva, Hindu Rashtra and all that deeply oppose=
d
to Indian Constitution. Mr. Sudarshan, the RSS supremo, stated soon after
taking over as the supremo that Indian Constitution needs to be replaced by
the one based on Hindu holy books. He dictated that Indian constitution sho=
uld
be done away with and the one based on Indian holy books (read Manusmriti)
be brought in. Hindu Rashtra is the undisputed goal of RSS and its
progenies. Here the contrast between Mr. Sudarshan and Dr. Ambedkar
(burning Manu Smriti and chairing the drafting committee of Indian
Constitution) is starkly clear.

The usual debate that there are factions in Sangh Parivar, BJP in
particular, has to be seen in this light. There is no dispute about the
basic goal of Hindu Rashtra, the dispute if any comes at the level of
implementation of nitty gritty's of politics. And thats where Singhal
Togadia and co. may sound talking on different wavelengths. At core level
the unity in the Parivar is too deep to be shaken by one or other
statement or step, of one or the other minister, even if it is the Prime
minister himself.

As far as their binding glue is intact these superficial differences are
in-house squabbles, which do melt away with new agendas and tasks being
taken. The strategy of these family members is to slowly transform this
society and polity into a authoritarian society and a fascist state.
Though this may sound to be alarmist we have to realize that this Indian
variant of fascism has a different pace. It is slow in its permeation of
the available social and political spaces mainly because the democratic
foundations laid by freedom struggle and Indian constitution are very
strong. To erode these without inviting adverse reaction is the strategy
of the group whose two extremes in today's parlance may be Advani-Vajpayee
on one side and Singhal-Togadia-Modi on the other. Rest of them lie in
between these two extremes. Famous poet Javed Akhtar once gave a brilliant
analogy about the subtle way of march of India's fascism. He pointed that
when a frog is put in the boiling water it will try to jump out but if it
is kept in the cozy temperature to begin with and then slowly the
temperature is raised it may initially get accustomed to the hot water and
with the temperature going to boiling one, it will get decimated without
becoming aware of its impending death. Unfortunately the frog in this
analogy is Indian democracy, which in real sense has been put in the water
of Hidnutva and slowly the temperature is being raise by the spectrum,
whose two poles are Advani and Togadia.

(Writer works for EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai)

_____

#7.

International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

Police Violence Prevents Bhopal Survivors and Supporters from=20
Containing Toxic Waste at Dow-Carbide factory

Bhopal, 25 November 2002: At 10.30am this morning, survivors of the=20
1984 Union Carbide gas disaster and activists from fourteen=20
countries =8B working together under the banner of International=20
Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) =AF were forcibly arrested=20
while trying to clean up some of many thousand tonnes of the toxic=20
waste and obsolete pesticides abandoned by Union Carbide at its=20
Bhopal site.

=93It=92s Dow, as the new owners of Union Carbide, that=92s behaving=20
criminally by leaving these dangerous materials here, not these=20
peaceful protestors. The government of India should welcome the=20
protestors=92 efforts to protect people in Bhopal and make sure Dow=20
accepts its responsibilities. They should have assisted them, rather=20
than arresting them and beating them,=94 said Satinath Sarangi, of the=20
Bhopal Group for Information and Action. Satinath Sarangi was also=20
arrested this morning, along with Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive=20
Director of Greenpeace India, Nityanand Jayaraman of Corpwatch and=20
60 volunteers from around the world.

Despite repeated demands by survivors=92 organisations, neither=20
Union Carbide nor its have come forward to clean up the site. A=20
2002 study by the Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal found high levels=20
of mercury and chemical poisons in the breast milk of mothers=20
living around Carbide=92s factory site. Poisons, including persistent=20
organic pollutants and heavy metals like mercury have leached from=20
the toxic wastes into the groundwater, and contaminated the people=20
living near the factory site.

The Bhopal site was the scene of the world=92s worst industrial=20
disaster in December 1984, when toxic gases escaped from Union=20
Carbide=92s ill-designed pesticide factory killing 8000 people in its=20
immediate aftermath. In February 2001, Union Carbide was acquired by=20
US multinational Dow Chemical Company.

=93Dow=92s refusal to clean up the factory site is poisoning us daily.=
=20
Studies have found poisons from Dow-Carbide=B9s contaminated factory=20
grounds in the breast milk of mothers living near the factory. By=20
refusing to clean up the factory site, Dow is already guilty of=20
poisoning a new generation of children,=B2 said Mrs. Rasheeda Bi, an=20
ICJB spokesperson and leader of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila=20
Stationery Karmachari Sangh (Bhopal Gas-affected Women Stationery=20
Workers Association). We will continue with our struggle for justice=20
until Dow accepts its liabilities, decontaminates the factory site=20
and surroundings and cleans up the poisoned groundwater,=94 Mrs. Bi=20
said. Former Union Carbide workers report that the company dumped=20
massive amounts of wastes containing pesticides, solvents and heavy=20
metals. Several reports =8B including the 1990 study by the Bhopal=20
Group for Information and Action, and 1999 study by Greenpeace and=20
Bhopal organisations =AF confirm the contamination of the factory=20
site, its surroundings and the groundwater. The Greenpeace study=20
found persistent and potentially carcinogenic chemicals such as=20
chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in the water. Additionally, the=20
study found mercury levels in some wastes to be up to 6 million=20
times higher than background levels.

=93It is utterly irresponsible to have abandoned these poisons here=20
for 18 years. Because of the seriousness of the contamination, the=20
entire factory site is an ongoing threat to the health of the=20
community members, many of whom are gas victims,=94 said Ruth=20
Stringer, Greenpeace scientist and ICJB spokesperson.

Environmental remediation and clean-up of the poisoned groundwater=20
is one of four key demands made by the International Campaign for=20
Justice in Bhopal to Dow Chemical. The campaign is demanding that=20
Dow should simultaneously address the other demands, including:=20
provision of long-term health care for the victims and their=20
children, economic rehabilitation of survivors, and subject itself=20
to the ongoing criminal trial at the Bhopal District Court.

For more information, visit:
www.bhopal.net
www.greenpeace.org

Or contact:
NamrataChowdhary, Media Officer, Greenpeace India.
E-mail: namrata.chowdhary@d...
Phone: (91) 9810850092

Matilda Bradshaw, Media Officer, Greenpeace International
on: +91 9821031453
E-mail: matilda.bradshaw@d...

Rashida Bi: +91 9827238637

[The below alert was written in the context of police detentions of=20
various activists, they have been released now, but people should=20
still consider writing letters of protest to the authorities... see=20
addresses below]

ACTION ALERT- ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AND PHYSICALLY ABUSED BY POLICE
IN BHOPAL

Sathianath Sarangi, Nithyanand Jayaraman, Ananthapadmanabhan ,Adarsh Vansay=
,
Shailendra Yeshwant, two reporters from an independent European media and 3
local activists were beaten this morning by the local police at Bhopal .The=
y
were then taken taken to the Shajahanabad police station and are being
detained there as I write this.

They have NOT BEEN INFORMED ABOUT THE CHARGES / GROUNDS OF ARREST and HAVE
NOT BEEN SERVED WITH AN ARREST MEMO, which they are bound to do under law.
This is gross abuse of power by the police and their action amounts to
blatant violation of human rights.

All the activists who are being detained have been fighting for justice for
the victims of the diastrous gas leak from the factory of Union Carbide in
1984. The action of the police appears to be an attempt to intimidate them
and stifle the movement for justice to tthe survivors and victims of the ga=
s
leak disaster.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN
Please send faxes or telegrams in protest of the high handed behaviour of
the police and illegal detention of the activists to:-
1. Mr.Digvijay Singh
Chief Minister of Madhyapradesh
Vallabh Bhavan
Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh
Ph- 0755 550906
Fax- 0755 540501
=A0=A0

2 The IG of Police
Bhopal.
Fax :- 0755 540922
=A0=A0
3. Bahi Mahaveer
The Governor of Bhopal
Fax:- 0755 554 711
Telephone:- 0755 540350

4. The National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhavan
Samsad Marg
New Delhi- 110 001
Telephone nos :- 011 3340891 and 3347065
Fax :- 011 334 0016

5. The State Human Rights Commission
Paryavas Bhavan
Arera Hills
Jail Road
Bhopal 462 001
Fax no:-0755 574028

E-mail :- mphrc@s...

You may need to add a 2 before the Bhopal nos if the country wide change in
telephone nos is in force already.
The country code ( 91) should be prefixed to the nos by those of you
outside India.

CIRCULATE the above information as widely as
possible.

Contact nos and e-mail id for queries:-
Devika at devika@x...
044- 4903415 and 044-491 0914

Please keep us informed about your action.

Devika

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