[sacw] SACW #1 | 27 August 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire #1 | 27 August 2002

__________________________

#1. Appeal to the Pakistan President re: Rukhsana Bunyad Blasphemy=20
Charge (PPAD)
#2. Rebellion In Pakistan - Letter To Subcomandante Marcos (Asha Amirali)
#3. Pakistan: State has no right to kill unarmed citizens (Daily Times Edit=
)
#4. USA: Diane Wilson in solidarity with Bhopal climbed a tower at=20
the Union Carbide Corp. plant and chained herself to the structure,=20
seeking justice for the victims of a 1984 industrial disaster in=20
Bhopal, India.
#5. USA: Join the Protest vigil in Washington in solidarity with=20
Bhopal gas victims(August 27th)
#6. Development in the Narmada Valley: An Edifice to Injustice=20
(Angana Chatterji)
#7. Filming the tribal villagers being displaced by the Narmada dam=20
in India? (Franny Armstrong)

__________________________

#1.

PPAD
Pakistanis for Peace and Alternative Development

To the President and Chief Executive

Government of Pakistan.

<mailto:ce@p...>ce@p...

Rukhsana Bunyad Blasphemy Charge

PPAD is a Peace and Alternative Development group formed in 1998 by=20
academics, intellectuals and professionals of Pakistani origin to=20
work for peace, tolerance and alternative development in South Asia.=20
As you and your government must be aware, religiously motivated=20
violence in Pakistan has claimed many lives and has been widely=20
reported in the international press. On 4 July, a man who had been=20
charged with blasphemy but granted bail since he was mentally=20
disturbed, was lynched by a mob in Chak Jumra in Punjab after a local=20
cleric issued a call to kill him. Less than a month earlier, a man=20
sentenced to death for blasphemy was killed inside the jail. You must=20
also be aware of the case of Dr Younus Skaikh who was similarly=20
accused of blasphemy and has for over two years been incarcerated=20
without a fair trial.

It is now reported that Rukhsana Bunyad, an elected councillor and=20
social worker from Mianwali, Punjab, has also been similarly accused=20
and arrested on 15 August without being given pre-trial bail. It also=20
appears that a local cleric has issued death threat and formed a=20
lynch squad to carry it out. Like the many Pakistanis living home and=20
abroad, we are again shocked and horrified at the continued tyranny=20
being carried out in the name of religion and at the repeated=20
victimisation of innocent citizens and religious minorities under the=20
notorious blasphemy law - for long a blot on the nation's face.

Frequency of such reports in the world press not only harms the=20
already much-dented image of Pakistan but also makes difficult the=20
lives of those living abroad. We urge your government and the=20
country's law and order institutions to do their duty to all their=20
citizens regardless of their religion, race and ethnic origins and=20
protect them and their families from violence and murder. We strongly=20
urge you and your government:

to take immediate and effective measures for the safety of Rukhsana=20
Bunyad and her family,
to fully investigate her case and take legal action against all those=20
found guilty of incitement to violence and murder,
to repeal and rescind the blasphemy law, release all those detained=20
under Section 295A, B and C and publicly condemn all calls and acts=20
of religiously motivated crime and violence.
Yours sincerely,

Dr I A Shibli
PPAD Co-ordinator
<mailto:ias23@h...>ias23@h...
2 Warwick Gardens, Ashtead, Surrey, UK.

Coordinator: Dr Ahmed Shibli, London
Core Members: Dr Ghazala Anwar, Newzealand. Group Captain (Rtd.)=20
Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistan. Nazeer A Chaudhry, USA. Prof. Hassan=20
Gardezi, Canada. Prof. Bilal Hashmi, USA Owais Hasin, Pakistan. Ayyub=20
Malik, UK. Dr Babar Mumtaz, UK. Prof A H Nayyar, Pakistan. Dr Saghir=20
Shaikh, USA

_____

#2.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3D32&ItemID=3D2073

Rebellion In Pakistan
Letter To Subcomandante Marcos

by Asha Amirali
July 05, 2002

July 3, 2002

Dear Sup,

Greetings. And much love.

We write to inform you of the plight of landless tenants in nine=20
districts in this state of Punjab, Pakistan.

A war rages here. On one side, thousands of police, rangers, and the=20
military; on the other, thousands of men and women armed with nothing=20
more than 'thappas', wooden sticks that women use to wash clothes.=20
The women,thappa in hand, are in the front-line; the men, unarmed,=20
are behind them.

Confrontation of this sort is unprecedented in our country. But it=20
has come about because some brave people have decided that enough is=20
enough. Pervez Musharraf is not to be believed anymore when he says=20
that state land will be redistributed to the landless. The government=20
is not to be believed anymore when it says it is working in the=20
interests of the poor. 'Malki ya maut' - 'ownership or death' - is=20
the slogan of one million landless tenants.

Allow us to tell you a little of the story.

In the early 1900's, the British colonialists founded agricultural=20
research, livestock, and dairy farms across approximately 68,000=20
acres of land in the Punjab. At the time, much of the land was=20
covered by forest. Christian and Muslim families from East Punjab=20
were forcibly migrated to these locations and given the task of=20
clearing and tilling the land. The colonialists promised ownership=20
rights in return for displacement and isolation, aches and pains,=20
diseases and death.

However, once the land was made productive it was quickly registered=20
as state-owned. Then came time for the British to leave and for=20
partition to rip the sub-continent apart. In the newly created state=20
of Pakistan, ownership rights remained elusive. They remained as such=20
in 1952, when land was being redistributed, and in the 1970's, as=20
Prime Minister Bhutto applauded the success of his land reform=20
program.

And so it is that today, one million tenants live and work on=20
state-owned farms spanning 70,000 acres across the province. While=20
the land is owned by the provincial government, the farms are=20
operated by different government agencies including the military, the=20
livestock department, and the Punjab Seed Corporation. In the 1950's,=20
these agencies had leased the land from the provincial government but=20
their leases are defunct now, having expired decades ago.

The absence of any moral or legal claim has not prevented the=20
agencies from demanding and collecting shares of each year's harvest.=20
But this year is different. This year, the tenants are holding back=20
the shares that have made the agencies fat and bloated. Instead, they=20
will only surrender these shares to the government of Punjab, the=20
owner of the land, in exchange for dialogue around the ownership that=20
was promised them a century ago.

You in Chiapas know that human beings have an amazing ability to=20
exist in the midst of misery, hunger and humiliation. Often it takes=20
an opportunity, an event, an inspiration to incite people to demand=20
what is rightfully theirs. Here in Punjab, it was an attempt to alter=20
the tenure arrangement in June 2000 that prompted the risky business=20
of organised resistance. Attempting to consolidate control and crush=20
resistance, the agencies offered the tenants contracts of 3 to 5=20
years. Once the contracts were up, the agencies would be free to push=20
people off the land. The existing tenure arrangement and tenancy laws=20
prevented them from evicting people, therefore the attempt to change=20
the system.

Anjuman Mazarain Punjab, now a million strong, was formed as an=20
organisation resisting this move towards contract arrangements. Its=20
men and women asked for the ownership rights that were rightfully=20
theirs. And as the agitation for justice spread amongst the tenants,=20
so did the panic within the status quo.

To date, this panic manifests itself in tight media control, heavy=20
police presence in villages, outrageous shows of force, and the=20
shooting and killing of five tenants in the last six months. The=20
first death was in January this year, when a tenant in Renala Khurd=20
was shot by the Director of Renala state military farms, Colonel=20
Mohammad Ali. Then, in mid-May, two more tenants were shot and=20
killed, one in Okara, and the other in Khanewal. In every instance,=20
retired or serving army officials were responsible.

This is the price of resistance. But it is made lighter by the spirit=20
of those who are demanding their due. Thousands are charged with=20
crimes against the state. Hundreds are branded terrorists. Many=20
languish in jail. Water supplies and phone connections to a farm in=20
Khanewal district have been cut off for three weeks now; there is no=20
entry or exit allowed. It is a state of siege. But 'malki ya maut'=20
remains the weapon against which they must pit their guns and=20
artillery fire.

We write to you, knowing that the struggle here is the struggle=20
there, is the struggle everywhere. We know you are with us, as we are=20
with you.

In solidarity,

People's Rights Movement

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The People's Rights Movement is a confederation of diverse social=20
movements working for the rights of dispossessed and disadvantaged=20
Pakistanis. Anjuman Mazarain Punjab is part of this confederation.

_____

#3.

Daily Times (Lahore)
August 27, 2002
Editorial

State has no right to kill unarmed citizens

The killing of five peasants from Chak 4-4L in Okara, including a=20
woman, by a contingent of the Rangers and district police led by no=20
less than an officer of the rank of a Brigadier of the Pakistan army=20
on Saturday 24th August is a murderous and cowardly act. Scores of=20
other villagers were also injured. The tragedy, say reports, began=20
when the paramilitary contingent besieged the village. The tenants=20
wanted to know why they had been imprisoned in their own homes. The=20
argument apparently led to an exchange of hot words between the lowly=20
tenants and the high and mighty of the land. The contingent decided=20
to "conquer" the village. Since the incident, hundreds of police,=20
military and Rangers personnel have besieged more than 10 villages of=20
Okara military farms. What's going on?
There is an old and simmering dispute over land. The tenants want=20
ownership of land that they tilled for centuries until the British=20
colonialists created the institution of private property and deprived=20
them of ownership. That pattern has continued after independence. The=20
state of Pakistan, too, refuses to grant ownership of land to these=20
hapless tenants and is prepared to use its coercive might to vanquish=20
them. The laws governing tenancy are all archaic and colonial. The=20
farms, 21 in the Punjab, are either run by the military or the Punjab=20
Agriculture Department. The dispute has been simmering for a long=20
time but the last seven months have seen repeated incidents of=20
paramilitary forces attacking and besieging villages and killing and=20
injuring tenants. Successive governments, instead of taking an=20
enlightened view of the archaic laws and court verdicts under the=20
British government, have allowed the provincial government and the=20
army to take the law into their hands and act as an occupying force.
Earlier, on June 9, a heavy police contingent besieged and attacked a=20
village in Peerowal. All entry and exit points were cordoned off and=20
villagers were beaten up. In other incidents of firing and=20
intimidation people have been killed and wounded. All these criminal=20
acts, indulged by "law enforcement" personnel and, most significantly=20
in some cases, by army officers, have gone unpunished and matters=20
have gone from bad to worse.
The land dispute itself goes back to the Colonization Act of 1912=20
when the tenants were deprived of land they had brought to life=20
through their own means. At the time the British authorities handed=20
over the land to the British Cotton Growing Association. The Act=20
assumed that the British Colonial Government had full rights and=20
jurisdiction over all lands in every dependency. This assumption was=20
also upheld by a judicial committee of the Privy Council. Both the=20
law and its interpretation, which have continued to this date,=20
however, negate and violate not only land rights under Islamic law=20
but also rights under customary law as well as the law relating to=20
ancient usages.
The wound has been festering. The cause of the tenants has now been=20
taken up by the Tenants Association of Punjab (TAP), a nearly one=20
million-strong body which is at the cutting edge of the movement for=20
securing ownership rights for the landless peasants. It wants the=20
government to heed the just demand of the tenants who are seeking a=20
final settlement of the issue. Interestingly, neither the military=20
nor the Punjab Seed Corporation, own the land. Yet they grab the=20
lion's share of harvests every season. The latest unrest has been=20
sparked by additional demands made by them on the peasants.=20
Unfortunately, the government's response shows it is not serious in=20
resolving the issue. While on the one hand both the Punjab and the=20
federal government have promised to ensure the tenants their rights=20
and a just package, on the other hand they have unleashed troops=20
against the poor tenants.
The government needs to take a few quick steps. First, it should=20
order the siege of the villages to be lifted forthwith. Second, it=20
must bring to an immediate end the harassment of villagers as well as=20
people working at the military farms. Reports indicate these=20
government and semi-government employees are being slapped with=20
show-cause notices. Three, the government should immediately order a=20
judicial inquiry into the latest incident as well as previous=20
incidents to determine culpability. Four, the culprits, once found,=20
should be tried for use of excessive force and punished accordingly.=20
Finally, the government should begin to address the festering problem=20
and look into the archaic laws that have continued to hamper a=20
judicious solution to this issue. This situation cannot be allowed to=20
persist. In the final analysis, the peasants need the land, the=20
military doesn't. All this talk of "outside elements" instigating the=20
ignorant peasants is nonsense. The peasants have a right to be=20
organised, to agitate for their demands, and to seek redress from the=20
state. But the state has no right to kill its own non-violent,=20
unarmed citizens.

_____

#4.

HoustonChronicle.com
Aug. 26, 2002, 4:22PM

Protester hauled off tower
By TONY FREEMANTLE

Associated Press
Diane Wilson peers out from behind the banner she unfurled atop a=20
Union Carbide tower.

SEADRIFT -- In a major breach of security, a 53-year-old Seadrift=20
environmentalist climbed a tower at the Union Carbide Corp. plant=20
this morning and chained herself to the structure, seeking justice=20
for the victims of a 1984 industrial disaster in Bhopal, India.

This afternoon, however, Calhoun County sheriff's deputies forcibly=20
removed her and arrested her.

Diane Wilson, a former shrimper who had just completed a 30-day=20
hunger strike outside the plant, had scaled a 5-foot-high fence=20
topped with barbed-wire just before dawn to gain access to the=20
facility just north of here.

After climbing the tower and chaining herself down, Wilson unfurled a=20
banner accusing the Dow Chemical Co., now the parent company of Union=20
Carbide, of being responsible for the explosion of Union Carbide's=20
Bhopal plant that killed 3,849 people.

Wilson refused to come down when plant workers raised a basket up to=20
her, so she was taken by force.

Union Carbide officials said they were taking the breach of their=20
security seriously. They downplayed the potential risk of someone=20
gaining access to that particular unit of the plant since it was a=20
air separation unit and does not contain volatile substance.

Bart Gliatta, who is responsible for environmental health and safety=20
at the plant, said company security personnel saw some cars near the=20
plant's perimeter about 5:30 a.m. and investigated but did not find=20
Wilson.

"This is a serious issue," Gliatta said, "and we are treating it as=20
such. We are investigating to find out how she got in."
Protesters and supporters of the Bhopal victims have been staging=20
hunger strikes and other actions around the world to protest moves by=20
the Indian government to reduce criminal manslaughter charges against=20
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson to misdemeanor negligence charges.

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

_____

#5.

URGENT: Protest the Deadliest Corporate Crime in History

WHO: All are invited to join.

WHEN: 5:30 pm, Tuesday, August 27th

WHERE: Indian Embassy, 2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC,=20
by the Dupont Circle Metro (North Exit).

WHAT: (1) A brief vigil in support of the Bhopal gas disaster=20
survivors and (2) rally to voice reaction to the Bhopal Court=20
decision (handed down on Tuesday) involving lowering the charges=20
around former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson.

In 1984, an American-owned pesticide plant in Bhopal, India exploded,=20
killing 8,000 people almost immediately and injuring thousands. To=20
date, 20,000 people have died and an average of 10 more continue to=20
die each month from long-term effects of the gas. The Indian=20
government has colluded with US companies to protect them from=20
criminal and civil liability. Now, at a time when President Bush is=20
talking about jail time for CEOs who defraud investors, the Indian=20
government wants to absolve Union Carbide and Dow corporation of=20
their responsibility for the disaster.

The Indian government has proposed downgrading charges against Union=20
Carbide's former CEO, who is on the lamb from charges of culpable=20
homicide.

Background:

See also last month's Washington Post story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36479-2002Jul7.html

In May 2002, the Central Bureau of Intelligence, India requested that=20
charges against Warren Anderson, a man liable for the death of 20,000=20
people, be reduced from culpable homicide to "negligence". The reduced
charge means that Anderson will face a maximum prison sentence of 2=20
years. Most likely he will get off with a negligible fine and will=20
never have to face the people who remain in ill and live in life=20
threatening conditions as a result of an industrial disaster that for=20
which he was responsible, in 1984.

In 1984, policies instituted by Union Carbide, of which Anderson was=20
CEO, led to a toxic leak in the Indian city of Bhopal, which has=20
killed
approximately 20,000 people (to date), left 120,000 people ill and in=20
need of medical care, and has rendered the area surrounding the now=20
deserted plant a global toxic hotspot, according to recent studies by=20
Greenpeace. The reason why Warren Anderson is deemed responsible is=20
because, he was responsible for instituting the cutbacks in safety=20
measures that led to this disaster, and was made aware of the danger=20
in which he was placing people. By ignoring studies, and exposing=20
people to deadly chemicals, Warren Anderson became culpable of=20
homicide.

Though the Indian Government initially sued Union Carbide for US $3=20
billion in damages, in 1989 it settled for US$ 470 million, meaning=20
the survivors of the Bhopal disaster would have received on average=20
US$340 per person for pain, suffering, lives and livelihoods lost. Of=20
the $470 million paid by Union Carbide to the government to date,=20
about $272 million remains unspent.

Survivors groups say that after an elaborate claim assessment and=20
disbursement process that took more than a decade, most people remain=20
uncompensated and the government officials are now planning on=20
spending the funds on activities not related to compensating, or=20
providing services for the remaining survivors.

Reverse the action taken in May by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

For more information, visit:
www.bhopal.net.
www.corpwatchindia.org
www.greenpeaceusa.org/bhopal

_____

#.6

Op-ed, The Asian Age, Daily Newspaper, New Delhi, August 25, 2002.

Development in the Narmada Valley: An Edifice to Injustice
By Angana Chatterji

Since early August 2002, the waters of the Narmada have been rising
violently. The construction of large dams on the Narmada river has
generated critical social and political debates in contemporary India. The
Narmada river in its passage through the states of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Gujarat, is the site of 30 large, 135 medium and 3,000 smal=
l
dams. Sardar Sarovar is one of the gigantic dams expected to irrigate 5 mil
lion acres of land, generate 1,450 megawatts of power, and supply water to
8,000 villages and 135 towns through the Mahi pipeline in Gujarat.

At what cost? These are highly refuted and controversial claims, and ones
that could have been met through alternative and sustainable development. T=
he
dams continue to rise, flawed markers of an archaic modernism, a testimony =
to
irresponsible technology, social corruption and unsound judgement. The 133
mile long reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar, a multipurpose hydroelectric
project, will flood 91,000 acres of land, 28,000 acres of which are forest
lands, and render destitute 43,000 families. About 50 per cent of those who
will be affected are adivasi (tribal) people. The Narmada watershed is home
to about 20 million peasants and adivasi people whose subsistence is
critically linked to their land, forests and water. Minimally, a million
people will be severely affected if the entire project is carried out. Sinc=
e
the mid 1980's, the people of the Narmada Valley and the Narmada Bachao
Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement) have protested the dams, and mounted an
empowered and prolific resistance to the unjust development brokered by dam
advocates.

Those in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will be the worst affected by the
Sardar Sarovar. In violation of rules, since May 2002, the height of the
Sardar Sarovar dam has been increased to 95 meters at the behest of the
Narmada Control Authority, while resettlement and rehabilitation has yet to
be completed at the authorized 90 meter level. The Supreme Court and the
Central government have remained predictably silent. The Narmada Bachao
Andolan satyagraha (non violent resistance) sites at Domkhedi in Maharashtr=
a
and Jalsindhi in Madhya Pradesh are since under submergence. The water leve=
l
has crossed the 100 meter mark. The submergence in the Sardar Sarovar is th=
e
most recent in a long list of casualties. Activists and villagers await the
rising water as the police, masquerading as saviors, forcibly arrest them.
Ironically, the state, in the role of purveyor of death, plans to charge th=
e
20 activists who were arrested for aiding in suicide.

Arguably, droughts are a damaging reality in India and the need for water i=
s
immense. India needs a water program that will provide water to the fields,
villages, towns and industries throughout the year, without placing certain
communities at risk to benefit others. India needs cost effective and
environmentally responsible technologies for the networking of her water
bodies. The success of such endeavors will depend on local participation an=
d
the nation's capacity to ensure the rights of the poor.

The decision to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam has been
manipulated to show progress and completion in Gujarat, a state devastated =
by
communal carnage. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi hailed Sardar
Sarovar as India's testimonial to progress, bringing much needed reprieve t=
o
wounded Gujarat. It is perhaps a convenient strategy of deflecting attentio=
n
from his government's abysmal complicity in the murder and subjugation of
Muslim minorities earlier this year. It is meant to communicate that all is
well in the State, progress is on track and there are elections to be won.
What is the price of 'progress' if fetched on the backs of the poor, arrive=
d
at through cultural and ecological genocide? The power elite in India are
betraying all basic norms of democratic governance, abandoning the rule of
law and abrogating the constitutional rights of disenfranchised people.

Any further increase in the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam cannot be
permitted. An independent committee must be set up to review the status of
displacement and rehabilitation in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The Central
and state governments must act to implement the 2001 recommendations of the
Daud Committee, the July 2002 report on public hearing in the Valley, and t=
he
Maharashtra government's task force report on rehabilitation and rights.

What good is a nation if it refuses to protect its citizens? State sanction=
ed
development in the Narmada Valley will leave the marginalised without the
right to life and livelihood, resettled, at best, on lands unfit for
cultivation, fleeing the present in squatter settlements and slums, scatter=
ed
and nameless, with no past to remember or future to grasp. That is living
death. The state, the institution most responsible for their well being, is
condemning them to it. Injustice has become the shameful and prevailing
legacy of India. Voices of resistance ring from the Narmada Valley, resonan=
t
with commitment, barely audible in the present. At Domkhedi, Medha Patkar,
awe inspiring activist of the Narmada Movement, stands in knee deep water.
About 50 other people keep vigil with her. Almost all the houses in Domkhed=
i
are submerged. Dams are not the temples of India, they are her burial groun=
ds.

Angana Chatterji is a professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the
California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.

____

#7.

The Guardian (UK), Monday August 26, 2002

She had no commission, no crew... and she was in jail. So what could=20
documentary maker Franny Armstrong possibly do for the tribal=20
villagers being displaced by the Narmada dam in India?

Armstrong filming across the flooding Narmada river.

I had been intending to spend the solar eclipse of 1999 staring at=20
the Cornish sky through plastic glasses. But over a shoulder on a=20
crowded train one morning I came across an article in the Guardian=20
entitled Villagers in Shadow of Dam Await the End of the World. Six=20
days later I did get to see the eclipse - but sardined in the back of=20
an Indian police truck winding through the Narmada River valley on my=20
way to jail. The 80-odd tribal villagers who had also been arrested=20
were praying intensely - as you would if the world went dark just as=20
your ancestral village was submerged.

Spending the night together in jail, we made our introductions. I'm a=20
documentary maker from London, recently recovered from a three-year=20
epic about the McLibel Trial. They are Adivasis - the original=20
inhabitants of India - who have farmed their land by the Narmada for=20
at least 12 generations. They filled in my sketchy understanding of=20
the story: big dam to displace 250,000 people along river valley, 40m=20
others to get water and electricity. But dam design flawed as river=20
calculations inaccurate. And water really intended for=20
industrialists, agribusiness and three large cities. Worldwide=20
protest and many authoritative reports highlight countless problems.=20
Government goes ahead anyway.

This left the Adivasis with three choices: they could move to a=20
government resettlement site with salty drinking water and inadequate=20
land; they could accept paltry cash compensation and head for a big=20
city slum; or they could stay at home and drown.

Each option would eventually lead to an early grave, they explained.=20
And if they had to die, they would rather it was with dignity and on=20
their own terms. Which is how I came to be filming them standing=20
chest deep in the rising water, until the police waded in and=20
arrested us all.

We were out of jail the next day and the mood back at the village=20
was, surprisingly, jubilant. My camera assistant-cum-sister - last=20
seen disappearing upriver on a log boat just before the police=20
arrived - had managed to get our footage on to Star TV's national=20
news. New supporters were arriving and the immediate threat of=20
submergence was over until next year's monsoon season.

So I headed back to London to get a solar battery charger and a TV=20
commission. Not that I held out much hope for the latter. British TV=20
is no longer interested in poor people in far away places, except as=20
a backdrop to rich people surfing, clubbing or playing survival=20
games. (Recent research by the Third World and Environment=20
Broadcasting Trust showed that the five terrestrial TV channels=20
between them broadcast a total of four programmes on the politics of=20
developing countries in the year 2000/1).

But I did think we had a chance with this one, as Booker-prize=20
winning author Arundhati Roy had recently become the public face of=20
the campaign against the dam: "As a writer, I was drawn towards it=20
like a vulture to a kill. Instinctively I knew that this was the=20
heart of politics, this was the story of modern India." Plenty of TV=20
companies were interested in the beautiful celebrity, but none in how=20
and why the farmers had decided to drown.

Shovelling rejection letters aside, I borrowed a few thousand pounds=20
and headed back to India. Only partly from sour grapes, I also=20
started work on my theory of why documentaries work better without a=20
commission. It starts at Heathrow, where I was whinging about the=20
weight of my single rucksack jammed full of camera, lights and sound=20
kit. Had I been making documentaries for the BBC 15 years ago, I'd=20
have needed six people to carry the equipment and a corporation-sized=20
bank balance to buy it. But those days ended with the arrival of the=20
new breed of cheap, lightweight video equipment.

Two planes, three rickshaws, two buses, a boat, a motorbike and an=20
eight-mile hike later, I'm back in the village and I've found my lead=20
character. Luhariya Sonkariya's house is lowest on the river bank and=20
will be first to be submerged. He is also the healer, holy man,=20
comedian, musician and general centre of attention. He quickly grasps=20
the film-making basics and takes it upon himself to brief everyone=20
else - pretend the camera isn't there, never look into the "eye"=20
(lens) and don't adjust your lungi (sarong) or the radio mic will=20
fall off.

Luhariya first showed me the village's sacred place where 10,000=20
people used to attend the annual Holi festival until the half-built=20
dam submerged their gods. Next I followed him into the forests=20
surrounding the village. He restocked his supplies and explained how=20
each plant is used - to make plates, rope or cigarettes or to cure=20
stomach cramps, axe wounds or burns. "They really work," he said,=20
noting my bemused expression. Several days later, one of his pastes=20
applied to my forehead eased a raging fever.

There was just one setback with Luhariya: his wife Bulgi was=20
initially too shy to appear on camera. But after several weeks=20
living, sleeping, ploughing fields and rolling chappatis with the=20
family, she trusted me sufficiently to at least watch the rough cut=20
from last year's footage. She pressed her face close against the=20
camera's flip-out screen for a tense 15 minutes, then, fighting back=20
tears, asked: "What do you want me to do?"

Bulgi came to be the emotional centre of the film, nailing many=20
complex arguments with simple soundbites such as: "They only offer us=20
land on paper. But we can't cultivate on paper, can we?" There's no=20
way she would have been persuaded by a big film crew storming in and=20
out on a tight schedule.

Where my low-budget limitations helped achieve greater intimacy with=20
the villagers, they also turned out to be an advantage with the=20
pro-dam contingent. The kind of narrow-minded, old-fashioned=20
politicians who still think big dams are a good idea cannot=20
comprehend that a young, scruffy, female person is making television.=20
They drop their guard completely and allow the condescension to ooze=20
through to the camera. Gujarat's minister for Narmada irrigation, Mr=20
Vyas, even invited me back to his sumptuous house to show off his=20
collection of tribal artwork and to explain why the tribal people=20
should give up their way of life "gladly, willingly, smilingly".

Clearly, films like this appeal only to a limited market here in the=20
UK - people sitting in a house preparing to drown will never get=20
ratings like people sitting in a house hoping to win =A375,000. The=20
trick is to combine the limited market here with that in Europe,=20
Asia, America and the rest of the world. And, again, it helps not to=20
have a commission. Well, it helps that the copyright is owned by a=20
small production company obsessed with getting the story out and not=20
too bothered about making money.

Take McLibel. Channel 4 made a three-hour drama, which was screened=20
in the UK and that was it. I made a 50 minute documentary, which=20
myself and our distributors, Journeyman Pictures, have plugged=20
endlessly ever since. So far we've managed five national broadcasts,=20
film festivals, cable and cinema screenings in 23 countries,=20
theatrical release in Australia, 1,000s of VHS copies and 100s of=20
free downloads from our website. Just last weekend, five years after=20
completion, it was broadcast by the WorldLink TV satellite network=20
across America. We were paid only $2,000, but by the end of the=20
weekend another three million people had seen it.

Which is all well and good, but not having a commission does have a=20
drawback - sustaining a three year production on fresh air and=20
favours can grind you down till you forget why you're doing it. But=20
then something reminds you. Filming at the dam one day, I asked my=20
interpreter, Jayesh, for his opinion. Brilliant, he replied. It=20
provides water and electricity to millions of people - and it is=20
soooo big. A week later, we visited the laughable resettlement site=20
Luhariya has been offered. Dam still good Jayesh? Yes, but they=20
should rehabilitate the people properly, this isn't fair. Next, the=20
big city slums, home to most of the 16m people displaced by 50 years=20
of Indian dam building. Jayesh? Nothing can justify this. Then the=20
industrialists eagerly awaiting the Narmada water. Jayesh? Wait a=20
minute, they said it was for the poor people. And finally a village=20
in the drought area that uses simple water-saving and collecting=20
techniques and is now self-sufficient. Jayesh? OK, we can solve our=20
water problems without causing mass destruction.

Jayesh's change of heart beautifully reminded me what the point of=20
all this is. Lay out a well-reasoned argument in front of a thinking=20
person and you might change their mind. Change enough people's minds=20
and you might change the world. Unfashionable, I know, but I just=20
can't stop believing in documentaries.

=B7 Drowned Out will be premiered at the Curzon Soho, London W1 (0871=20
8710022) on Wednesday, followed by a Q&A session with Franny=20
Armstrong and others. For further information, visit=20
www.spannerfilms.net.

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

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996.
To subscribe send a blank message to:
<act-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> / To unsubscribe send a blank
message to: <act-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
________________________________________
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//|//\\|//|//\\|//|//\\|//|=
//\\|//|