[sacw] SACW #2 | 14 April. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch #2 | 14 April 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

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#1.Sri Lanka: When guns cease to fire (Kalpana Sharma)
#2. India: Call Of Conscience, Cast Of Character (HARSH MANDER)
#3. India: Goa - Silent march for communal amity
#4. India: Meet our Chief Monsters
#5. India: The Humanity of Jayprakash (S.H.Razi)
#6. The idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra from the Horses Mouth (The=20
Times of India)

__________________________

#1.

The Hindu, Sunday, Apr 07, 2002
Magazine

When guns cease to fire
KALPANA SHARMA

Relocation, and the resultant trauma, is an issue.

THE guns have fallen silent, for the moment, in one part of the world=20
even as they continue to boom in another. In Sri Lanka, a ceasefire=20
agreement has resulted in what women call "a quiet time" - a time to=20
think, to consider a future without war. In the Middle East there is=20
neither any quiet time nor peace. And even as this is being written,=20
we watch with horror as Israeli guns, in the name of a war against=20
terror, pulverise a nation that has struggled to assert its right to=20
survive for over five decades.

But coming back to Sri Lanka, the silence of the guns has given civil=20
society an opportunity to raise questions that both sides of the=20
ceasefire agreement need to think about. Not surprisingly, women have=20
raised these questions. For it is women's groups in Sri Lanka who=20
have been central tothe demand for peace. Yet, in the agreement as it=20
reads at present, there is no role for these women or for the groups=20
that have worked in impossibily difficult circumstances to talk about=20
a peaceful political settlement.

On March 8 this year, International Women's Day, the Mothers and=20
Daughters of Lanka and the Sri Lanka Women's NGO Forum made an=20
important statement on the peace process in their country. I quote=20
from the statement because I think it is significant in contexts=20
beyond Sri Lanka. They write: "As the displaced, as refugees, as=20
survivors of war offensives, landmine injuries and sexual violence,=20
as mothers, and girls, as soldiers, as combatants women experience=20
conflict differently than men. They understand the need for peace.=20
While it is mostly men who make war and need to take the=20
responsibility to stop war, women are affected disproportionately by=20
the consequences of war and the need to shape the contours of peace.

"Men make war - women need to shape the contours of peace. Yet, when=20
ceasefire agreements, or peace agreements, are negotiated, women are=20
nowhere in the picture. We have seen this in Afghanistan. We have=20
seen it in India in the agreement between the Government and the=20
Nagas. And we have seen it now in Sri Lanka.

Many people in this country are probably not aware of the distinctive=20
and courageous role that women's groups have played in building up a=20
constituency for peace in Sri Lanka for over two decades. In 1984,=20
when the Sri Lankan army arrested several hundred young men in Jaffna=20
under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, women's groups called for a=20
negotiated political settlement. Other civil society groups were=20
silent during this time. Yet, the women had the courage to speak up=20
and even take an unpopular stand.

They continued to push for talks and even though the 1987 Indo-Sri=20
Lanka accord,that led to the induction of Indian security forces in=20
Sri Lanka, was unpopular, women's groups pointed out that the accord=20
recognised Sri Lanka as a multi-ethnic society. They voiced their=20
support for devolution, a line that was not considered politically=20
correct at that time.

While in the Tamil north, women had come together to form a Mother's=20
Front following the arrests in 1984, in the south too women had to=20
face the consequences of "disappearances". The Indo-Lanka accord=20
produced a strong Sinhala backlash in the south and the result was=20
that Sinhala youth "disappeared" like their Tamil counterparts in the=20
north. The southern women responded to this crisis much as their=20
sisters in the north and they launched the Mothers and Daughters of=20
Lanka to demand information about their missing men.

What is significant about these developments is that while Sri Lankan=20
society became more and more divided along ethnic lines, the women in=20
the north and the south forged links that remained unbroken during=20
all the years of strife. Women also took up the issue of the millions=20
of "internally displaced" people in the country. People from the=20
north had to seek refuge in the south; people in the south went east.=20
With escalating conflict, communities that were threatened or felt=20
under threat had to forcibly relocate. The trauma and loss this=20
created in hundreds of households was a factor that had to be=20
addressed.

A time of lasting peace?

The killings and deaths as a consequence of the war resulted in=20
hundreds of women-headed households. Women who had never before=20
engaged in wage labour had to find paid work. Others had to work out=20
ways to survive on just one earning member in the family.

In addition to all this, women were also drawn into the war in a more=20
direct way. The LTTE recruited many women combatants. It is estimated=20
that 30 per cent of their cadre were women and many of them became=20
suicide bombers.

And on both sides, women were victims of sexual crimes, particularly=20
by the security forces. In 1987, at the height of the hostilities,=20
women's groups from the north and the south raised some of these=20
issues at the national level. They talked about the rape of women by=20
the security forces, the harassment caused by security checks and the=20
problems of female-headed households. Over these years, they have=20
continued to raise these issues regardless of the status of the war.

Last year, on Women's Day, even though women could not travel to each=20
other's areas because of security restrictions, they held eight=20
simultaneous programmes in different parts of the country with the=20
single theme of peace. This year, because of the ceasefire, some of=20
them were able to travel to areas that had been completely closed to=20
them. And unitedly, they have issued a statement where they have=20
spelled out the ingredients of lasting peace.The critique of the=20
ceasefire agreement mediated by Norway by the Sri Lankan women's=20
groups is significant because it is constructive. Instead of standing=20
on the sidelines and criticising, they have put forward concrete=20
proposals to strengthen the agreement and make it more credible.=20
These women's voices need to be heeded by all sides if the time of=20
quiet is to become a time of lasting peace.

_____

#2.

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=3D20020422&fname=3DColumn+Hars=
h+%28F%29&sid=3D1
Outlook Magazine | Apr 22, 2002=20=20=20=20
AP
OPINION
Call Of Conscience, Cast Of Character
The IAS officer who resigned in the wake of systematic slaughter of=20
innocents in Gujarat on the role of higher pollice and civil services.
HARSH MANDER
The conscience of the nation has been shaken by the systematic=20
slaughter of innocents in Gujarat, the planned murder, rape and=20
pillage, specially targeting children and women. With our humanity in=20
tatters-blood drenched, shamed, threatened as rarely before-there is=20
a slowly growing resolve across the country that we must find ways to=20
ensure this is never allowed to happen again.
To prevent the recurrence of such machinated mass brutality in the=20
future, it is also of utmost importance that all those responsible=20
for the current carnage are identified and resolutely held to=20
account. This has rarely happened in the past; instead the nation has=20
seen those liable for such crimes against humanity thrive electorally=20
and professionally, while the devastated victims of sectarian=20
violence are denied even elementary succour and justice.

Failure of a police officer to perform his duty is akin to a=20
surgeon killing his patient on the operating table.

If this is allowed to happen once again in Gujarat, this will not be=20
the last time our hands will be soiled with the blood of innocents.
There are many groups of people who bear responsibility for the=20
crimes in Gujarat. I choose to focus here on the role of only
one of them-the higher police and civil services. The reasons for=20
this focus are that it is a vocation whose central calling is the=20
upholding of justice, of law, order and protection of vulnerable=20
people. Default in the performance of one's duty by a civil or police=20
officer in a riot is not only the crime of a citizen who turns one's=20
face away from injustice, because of indifference, fear or=20
complicity, it's a crime of much graver magnitude, akin to that of a=20
surgeon who wantonly kills his patient on the operation table.
Until the '80s, there was an unwritten agreement in our polity that=20
even if politicians inflamed communal passions, the police and civil=20
administration would be expected to act professionally and=20
impartially to control the riots in the shortest possible time, and=20
to protect innocent lives. There were several failures in=20
performance, and minorities were targeted in many infamous riots, but=20
the rules of the game were still acknowledged-and in the majority of=20
instances adhered to-which is why the higher civil and police=20
services were regarded as the steel frame vital to preserve the=20
nation's unity and plurality.

The '80s saw the breaking of this unwritten compact leading to the=20
corrosion and near-collapse of the steel frame. It became a frequent=20
practice for higher civil and police authorities to be instructed to=20
actively connive in the systematic slaughter of one

As I sat with a six-year-old in my lap, I felt his pain but=20
also wondered how he would deal with his anger when he grew up.

community, and to do this by delaying-sometimes by several days-the=20
use of force. Local state authorities complied, and rioters were=20
unrestrained by state power in their mass murder, arson and plunder.
Why is the decisive and timely use of state coercive force-lathis,=20
teargas and bullets by police, paramilitary and military=20
contingents-so vital a state duty in a communal situation? In every=20
other kind of public disorder-labour, student or peasant protests-the=20
broad consensus across a wide section of liberal opinion is that a=20
democratic state must apply the principle of minimum necessary use of=20
force to restore public order and security, respecting the right of=20
democratic dissent and the expressions of public anger against=20
perceived injustices and grievances.
In situations of sectarian violence, by contrast, the responsibility=20
of the state is completely different from any other. A humane and=20
responsive democratic government must apply in all such situations-of=20
communal riots, or violence against minorities or Dalits-the=20
principle not of minimum necessary application of force, but instead=20
the responsible but maximum possible use of force the state can=20
muster in the shortest possible time.
This is because unlike other expressions of public anger, communal=20
violence targets almost invariably people most vulnerable and=20
defenceless; it is fuelled by perilous and explosive mass sentiments=20
of irrationality, unreason, prejudice and hatred, and its poison=20
spreads incrementally over space and time. Its wounds do not heal=20
across generations. The partition of our country continues to scar=20
our psyche half a century after its bloody passage. A whole decade of=20
terrorists in Punjab traced their origins to the maraudings of the=20
1984 rioters. As I held in my lap a six-year-old boy in a camp in=20
Ahmedabad recounting the killings of his mother and six siblings, I=20
felt broken by his pain, but wondered at the same time how he would=20
deal with his anger when he grows up. Likewise, the ashes of the=20
horrific burnings in Godhra will stir up their own poison. But it is=20
important to understand that the cycles of hatred did not begin in=20
the railway compartments of Godhra, and they'll not end in the=20
killing fields of Gujarat.
Thus it is that every moment's delay by state authorities to use=20
sufficient force to control communal violence is such an=20
unconscionable crime: it means more innocents will be slaughtered,=20
raped and maimed, but also that wounds would be opened which may not=20
heal for generations.
Civil and police authorities today openly await the orders of their=20
political supervisors before they use force, so much so that it has=20
become popular perception that indeed they cannot act without=20
permission from their administrative and political superiors, and=20
ultimately the chief minister. The legal position is completely at=20
variance with this widely-held view. It is unambiguous, in empowering=20
local civil authorities to take all decisions independently about the=20
use of force to control public disorders, including calling in the=20
army. The magistrate is not required to consult administrative=20
superiors, let alone those regarded as political 'masters'. The law=20
is clear that in the performance of this responsibility, civil and=20
police authorities are their own masters, responsible above all to=20
their own judgement and conscience. There are no alibis that the law=20
allows them.
One could argue that this may be an accurate description of the legal=20
situation, but the practice on the ground has sanctified political=20
consultation before force is applied. Only to convince the reader=20
that I speak from the personal experience of handling many riots, I=20
could contest this with events in the major riots of 1984 and 1989,=20
where as an executive magistrate I took decisions about the use of=20
force and calling in the army, sans any consultation. I could=20
similarly contest this with the experience of many other women and=20
men of character in the civil and police services across the country,=20
who would similarly testify to salutary application of force to=20
control more difficult communal violence, without recourse to=20
political clearances. There can be no dispute that given=20
administrative and political will, no riot can continue unchecked=20
beyond a few hours.
However, I will not substantiate this with my own experience, or=20
those of older officers. It gives me greatest pride and hope, amidst=20
the darkness that we find ourselves in today, to talk of the=20
independent action taken by a few young officers in Gujarat and=20
neighbouring Rajasthan during the present crisis itself.
Rahul Sharma was posted as Bhavnagar SP for less than a month when=20
the Godhra killings and the subsequent rioting all over Gujarat=20
happened. Following Godhra, he deployed a strong police contingent=20
for the Gujarat bandh called by the VHP the next day on February 28.=20
Unlike the rest of Gujarat, the day passed off without much trouble=20
in Bhavnagar. A day after, Rahul learned that a 2,000-strong mob,=20
armed with swords, trishuls, spears, stones, burning torches, petrol=20
bombs and acid bottles, was about to attack a madrassa with around=20
400 small Muslim boys between ages 12 and 15.Rahul rushed there with=20
a police force of some 50 people. Seeing that the force was hesitant=20
to open fire on the armed mob, Rahul himself took the rifle from a=20
fellow constable and did so. As some attackers fell to police=20
bullets, the crowd stopped in its tracks and faded away.
Rahul then made an entry in the logbook saying he had fired from the=20
constable's gun to save the children's lives. He also gave an order=20
that any policeman with a gun not opening fire to save human lives=20
from a violent mob would be prosecuted for abetting murder. This gave=20
his men a clear signal that the SP meant business, was willing to=20
take full responsibility for his acts and prepared to stick out his=20
neck. This had an immediate effect on his force, and Bhavnagar was=20
one town where more rioters were killed in police firing than=20
innocent victims in riots. For this, Rahul was moved out from=20
Bhavnagar within a month of assuming charge. He is quoted in Outlook=20
as saying, "I'm not one to run away from transfers. I take these=20
things in my stride. Other than controlling the riots, I did no=20
mischief."
In neighbouring Rajasthan, Ajmer SP Saurabh Srivastava, with a young=20
sdm in his first charge and his small force, doused communal fires in=20
Kishangarh on March 1, 2002, which had the potential of inflaming the=20
tinderbox in the entire state. They controlled an enraged armed mob=20
of over a thousand men bent on attacking minorities in a pitched=20
battle for over four hours.
Another defence we often hear is that lower police forces have become=20
hopelessly charged with the communal virus and thus it is impossible=20
to deploy it as a non-partisan instrument of coercive force to=20
control riots. True our men and women in khaki work under conditions=20
of great stress, long hours, inadequate facilities and uninspiring=20
training. Even so, whenever commanded by leaders of=20
character-non-partisan, professional, fearless and leading from the=20
front-the same forces are known to protect peace admirably.
It is sometimes also argued that the entire higher civil and police=20
services are now politicised beyond repair, therefore whatever their=20
legal and moral duties they today lack the conditions in which they=20
can reasonably be expected to perform them. Once again, I'd strongly=20
contest this. I've spent 20 of the best years of my life in the civil=20
service, but have always found that despite the decline in all=20
institutions of public life, there remain democratic spaces within to=20
struggle and act in accordance with one's beliefs without compromise.=20
I do not regret a single day. One may be battered and tossed around,=20
the way young police officers who opposed political dictates to=20
control the recent rioting in Gujarat were unjustly transferred. But=20
in the long run, I have not known upright officers to be terminally=20
suppressed, repressed or marginalised. On the contrary, I value=20
colleagues, in the civil and police services, usually unsung and=20
uncelebrated, who have quietly and resolutely performed their duties=20
with admirable character and steadfastness. Few in the civil and=20
police services can in all honesty testify to pressure so great that=20
they could not adhere to the call of their own conscience.
It is not as though there are no costs, but then if the performance=20
of duties was painless, there would not be many who would fail in its=20
pursuit. The costs are usually in the guise of frequent transfers,=20
and deprivation of the allurements of some assignments of power and=20
glamour, which are used to devastating effect by our political class=20
to entice a large part of the bureaucracy today.
Today, when I stand witness to the massacre in Gujarat enabled by=20
spectacular state abdication and connivance-or to the national=20
disgrace of people living at the edge of starvation even when godowns=20
overflow with foodgrains-I recognise the cold truth that the higher=20
civil and police services are in the throes of an unprecedented=20
crisis.The absolute minimum any state must ensure is the survival and=20
security of its people, and elementary justice. If state authorities=20
wantonly let violent mobs target innocents without restraint and do=20
so with impunity and without remorse or shame, then basic questions=20
need to be asked. By all of us. Because injustice involves us all.

(The author, an IAS officer, resigned in the wake of Gujarat riots.)

_____

#3.

The Hindu
Sunday, Apr 14, 2002

Silent march for communal amity

By Our Special Correspondent
A peace march by various groups in Panaji on Saturday to protest=20
against the "mishandling" of the Gujarat situation by the Centre. -=20
PTI

PANAJI APRIL 13. A silent peace march for communal harmony and to=20
protest against the "divisive ideology" of the Bharatiya Janata Party=20
was held here today. Members of trade unions and non-governmental=20
organisations, social activists and others participated in the march=20
organised by the Forum of Communal Harmony.

The processionists, carrying placards against the Gujarat violence,=20
walked through the streets of Panaji even as the BJP's national=20
executive committee was meeting here.

Claude Alvarez, an activist, told presspersons that after a BJP=20
Government was established in Goa, incidents of mosque-burning and=20
attacks on churches had taken place, something that had never before=20
happened in Goa. "Gujarat has set a bad example. The Chief Minister,=20
Narendra Modi, should have been removed from the post. We hold not=20
only him but also the Prime Minister responsible for what happened=20
there."

Tina Almeida, a lawyer and the main spirit behind the forum, said,=20
"Communalising of education is going on, and 42 primary schools have=20
recently been handed over to Vidya Bharati, an RSS organisation. We=20
do not want Goa to suffer like Gujarat. There are 30 per cent=20
Catholics in Goa, and we must oppose divisive policies."

_____

#4.

Deccan Chronicle (Secunderabad)
April 14, 2002
SUNDAY CHRONICLE

MEET OUR CHIEF MONSTERS

Gujarat. The word has become synonymous with carnage, bestiality and=20
other images of horror that no communal riot witnessed in this=20
country has ever seen.=20

THE PERPETRATORS: Narendra Modi, Sudhakarrao Naik,
Jagdish Tytler, Kalyan Singh and H K L Bhagat

At the centre of this stands a man - Chief Minister Narendra Modi -=20
whose image in people's consciousness will forever be of a man with a=20
mad glint in his eye recalling Newton's law - kriya aur pratikriya -=20
as VHP and Bajrang Dal lumpens went about systematically targeting=20
Muslims while his entire administration watched, not helplessly, but=20
indulgently.

Will he pay the price that other leaders who presided over such=20
butchery paid? Will his fate be different from H K L Bhagat and=20
Jagdish Tytler, who orchestrated the anti-Sikh riots after Indira=20
Gandhi's assassination, or of Sudhakarrao Naik, Chief Minister of=20
Maharashtra, who allowed Shiv Sena thugs to eliminate Muslims in=20
Mumbai in 1992, or even of P V Narasimha Rao, whose defence for=20
doing nothing while the Babri Masjid was demolished was that he=20
trusted then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's word?=20
History has proved time and again that people are ultimately secular=20
even if they show aberrations when a leader has the power to still=20
their conscience.

Which is why Bhagat and Tytler went in disgrace and are today not=20
even remembered in the party in which they commanded such clout. Naik=20
too was ousted - partly because damage control politics at the time=20
dictated that he should go, but largely because the party=20
acknowledged parading him as one of its showpieces was=20
counterproductive.=20

Narasimha Rao went largely because the voters in this country held=20
him more responsible than the real perpetrators behind the Babri=20
demolition. But is Modi going to buck this trend? Because the riots=20
we are seeing in Gujarat appear to be by the people, for Modi against=20
the Muslims.=20

Reports say that the average middle class Hindu is shorn of any=20
remorse that such atrocities are being heaped on Muslims. If=20
anything, what hits home is the chorus that Muslims had it coming to=20
them and only Modi was man enough not to become chicken-hearted and=20
back off from a monstrosity that is still snowballing nearly 50 days=20
since it began.

But then again, isn't it more likely that people are getting their=20
cue from the crescendo from Modi's Sangh Parivar's backers, who are=20
protecting him? And that soon, whether the BJP consigns him to the=20
dustbin or not, people will come to their senses and give him his=20
comeuppance?

Germany today is still to live down the horrors perpetrated by Adolf=20
Hitler. Will Gujarat take a moment to think that everywhere it turns=20
in the coming years, it is to face the mirror image of what is being=20
unleashed today?=20

Argues Teesta Setalvad of Communalism Combat, "Germany will never=20
relive such horror because it has chosen to stay with those images=20
that summon up guilt. But in Gujarat, nearly 50 days after the Godhra=20
massacre began the spiral of violence, we don't see enough rejection=20
of what has happened."

The problem, she adds, "is that the good people have been terrorised=20
into silence while the vocal ones are the drum-beaters for the Modi's=20
brand of communalism." Indians have in the past underscored that they=20
cannot live with the thought of killing someone cold-bloodedly just=20
because he practised a different religion.=20

Yes, all of us have at one time or another worn our religious=20
prejudices on our sleeve, but when it has come to the crunch and it=20
has meant compromising with what we think is ethical, we have always=20
balked.

Also September 11 - graphic images of which we see in our living=20
rooms day after day are a constant reminder of one powerful message.=20
And that is - you stab me and I'll come back with the kind of=20
ammunition at my command that will topple the symbols from which your=20
country draws its power.

Even closer home, Mumbai learnt the hard way that when you play with=20
fire, what you get is 13 serial bomb attacks that will kill so many=20
people that even in a populous city like Mumbai, a victim could be as=20
close as a blood relative, a friend, or a friend's friend.

As Gujaratis, we feel ashamed!

Aakar Patel, Editor, Mid-Day

Why are India's most prosperous people bent on destroying themselves?=20
Gujaratis - both Muslims and Hindus - should hang their heads in=20
shame at the disgrace they have brought themselves and their nation.=20
I am disgusted with the fact that I am one myself.

Not one Muslim tried to rescue the women and children who were burnt=20
alive in the Sabarmati Express by Muslim thugs in Godhra.=20

Television pictures of a Sumo whose doors were bound by wire to=20
prevent its occupants, including children, from escaping while it was=20
set on fire makes one feel like vomiting.

What kind of hatred drives men to watch a child burn and choke?

Why is our society divided? It shouldn't be. Hindu Gujaratis have far=20
more in common with Muslim Gujaratis than we have with other=20
communities. Our language, food and culture is the same. We even=20
share the business acumen Gujaratis are famed for.

***

Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC

What kind of government allows the killing of women and children? The=20
Central government must be equally blamed for letting the situation=20
go out of hand.=20

The carnage after Godhra has hit India's largest business community=20
badly. Being a Gujarati, it pains me to read in international as well=20
as Indian media that Gujaratis are barbaric and indulge in genocide.=20

Why are we sabotaging our growth and the international goodwill we have ear=
ned?

***

Nana Chudasama, Social activist and businessman

You should see my banner: Tragedy In Gandhi's Land, Raped By Our=20
Talibans? I feel ashamed and disgusted. I feel that this is something=20
you never expected of Gujarat.=20

By and large, you associate Gujarat with ideals and standards. I also=20
feel it was badly managed and handled by the government.=20

Someone has to be accountable - and that person is the Chief=20
Minister. We should have President's rule in Gujarat.

This madness must stop!

Dr V Kurien, Chairman, IRMA

My response to the communal violence is to invite Bharat Ratna Dr A P=20
J Abdul Kalam to be the Chief Guest at the IRMA (Institute of Rural=20
Management, Anand) Convocation scheduled on 12th April, 2002.=20

This speaks a lot for itself against the backdrop of communal tension=20
that has gripped Gujarat lately.

I just hope this madness is a temporary aberration and better sense=20
will prevail on people belonging to both communities.

***

Mallika Sarabhai, Famous dancer

The events in Gujarat has shocked all those believing in a just and=20
equitable India where citizens are allowed to practise the faith of=20
their choice.

Much of the evidence points towards State complicity and planned=20
genocide with the Gujarat head of the VHP admitting openly to having=20
masterminded much of the burning and looting of minority property.=20

We must stop the spread of this kind of barbarism. The level of=20
violence and the hues of hatred it has taken on are unprecedented in=20
the history of independent India. The massacre is reminiscent of=20
Rwanda and Bosnia.

The continuing threats to the minority community are vituperative=20
enough to terrify even the most educated and balanced of the=20
community.

***

Kiran More, Former Test cricketer

Gujaratis are a forward looking community - big hearted people driven=20
by the will to achieve and be successful. We have coped with=20
calamities in the past, and should bounce back this time too.=20

It pains me to think that this time it's perhaps a different scene.=20
There seems to be no end to this communal madness and the entire=20
State is suffering due to a few religious bigots.

***

F Khorakiwala, Chairman Akbarally's & IMC Member

When I decided to go to Ahmedabad, my Muslim friends said don't come=20
now. When I insisted and said I wanted to visit the camps, they said=20
I would have to go on my own.=20

Even Mallika Sarabhai phoned to say don't come. But I went. The=20
question is we are blaming the government. Yes, its inactive, but the=20
main issue is loss of confidence among people.

The issue is not merely of 50,000 refugees in camps - that is the=20
immediate problem - but rehabilitation will take months. Latur took=20
four years. Kutch has not even started after 16 months.=20

Unless steps for building confidence are taken, like I did after the=20
1993 riots in Mumbai by organising a human chain, normalcy will take=20
long to return.

______

#5.

The Humanity of Jayprakash
S.H.Razi

Ferocious communal riots broke out in Bihar during the=20
pre-Independence year of 1946. Jayprakash Narayan was not in Bihar=20
then. As soon as the news reached him, he cut short his tour across=20
India and returned to Patna. Summoning to his home all the comrades=20
of the Congress socialist party, he gathered from them facts about=20
the riots. The very next morning he set out, with some colleagues,=20
for the most affected areas of the districts of Patna and Monghyr.
Their first stop was Jethuli village, entirely populated by Muslims.=20
Each one of them had fled, leaving the village desolate, and all=20
their houses were set on fire. A few stray dogs, goats and chicken=20
were the only living souls left there.
By nightfall they reached Telhada, another Muslim village of=20
300-400.None of them could flee and not one person was left alive in=20
the entire village. A sort of an extension of Telhada had developed,=20
where only Hindus lived. That came first on their way. A member of=20
the armed police company there took J.P. to a nearby house. It seemed=20
to be the abode of some well-to-do farmers.
>From thence, guided by a lamp-holding policeman, J.P.=92s party walked=20
>to the deserted Muslim section. After about an hour J.P. returned to=20
>the farmer=92s house. Tears were flouring down his eyes and he wiped=20
>them with his handkerchief. Speechless, he sat down before a score=20
>of villagers who had gathered there in the meanwhile. When the tears=20
>stopped, he merely said, =93 We should leave now.=94
The aged head of the household urged: =93These folks have come down to=20
hear a few words from you. Do kindly say something.=94
=93I have nothing to say,=94 J.P. told him. =93Do you expect me to=20
congratulate you for the bloodbath you have enacted here?=94 Then,=20
engrossed in thought, he rose suddenly and said: =93You have placed a=20
blot on mother India=92s forehead. I have just come back, having seen=20
your barbarity with my own eyes. Never before in my life have I seen=20
such a ghastly scene. You too may not have seen anything like it.=20
These people had always been living in your midst. Till yesterday you=20
must have addressed them as uncles, brothers or sisters, sons and=20
daughters. And then all of a sudden you just slaughtered them! How=20
could you lift your hands against those unarmed, innocent babes and=20
the aged, women and men? What kind of madness seized you that in a=20
moment you turned from human beings into beasts, from man into Satan?=20
The policeman here told me that not a single Muslim from the entire=20
village is left alive; the old and the young, women and children =96=20
not one among them! He said the homes, the mosques, the bye-lanes=20
were all littered with corpses that could be removed only yesterday.=20
With a torchlight I looked down into a well, and still there were=20
dead bodies inside. There was an unbearable stench there. May I ask=20
you: What have you done? Why did you do it?=94
=93In Naokhali=85=94 a voice was heard from the village folk.
J.P.=92s face turned red with rage as he cut in: =93In Noakhali=85! So you=
=20
are talking about Noakhali, eh? If you were so brave, why didn=92t you=20
go there to save your brethren? You demonstrated your bravery by=20
striking at these poor, helpless people! What harm had they done to=20
you? You took revenge for Noakhali =96 did you? Who amongst them had=20
been to Noakhali to kill the Hindus? You took Noakhali=92s revenge in=20
Bihar? On those innocents? Then Bihar will be avenged in Punjab, and=20
so Punjab=92s revenge taken in U.P.! if revenges are thus kept taking,=20
people will be killed, homes will be burnt down all over the land =96=20
the entire country will be set on fire, all of India will be=20
destroyed! And if India is destroyed, are you going to survive? Have=20
you ever thought of that? =85
You call yourselves Hindus. So does your Hindu religion teach you to=20
mercilessly slaughter children and women and the aged? Aren=92t you=20
ashamed of yourselves? You ought to go and drawn yourselves in that=20
very well in which you had hurled down your brothers and sisters!=94
J.P. then sat down as suddenly as he had arisen earlier. All the=20
heads before him were bent down.
=93Do forgive us, sir,=94 pleaded the old farmer. =93 The blood of young=20
men is ever hot. We committed a terrible mistake.=94
=93Ay, the blood of the young men is hot =96 isn=92t it? Why did you not=20
stand p there? Why didn=92t you cry out at them: Take my life first,=20
and then only can you advance!
=85 You say you committed a mistake, you beg forgiveness! But who am I=20
to forgive? You have closed the doors of forgiveness by killing those=20
who could forgive!=94
Jayprakash Narayan now rose to leave. The old man once again folded=20
his hands, pleading: =93Sir, some snacks are ready. Pray do not=20
disappoint us!=94
=93 I can=92t take even a glass of water here; even there my eyes will see =
blood!=94
And the party sat out in the dark for Hilsa, the next village. That=20
was the night half. That night J.P. could neither eat nor sleep. He=20
would keep turning on his sides in the bed, sometimes go out in the=20
verandah and pace up and down.
Thus Jayprakash traversed for a week across various riot-affected=20
areas. In small meetings and large he scolded the rioters at times,=20
pleaded patiently with them at other time. Earnestly he requested the=20
people to win over the hearts of the refugees by serving them, to=20
entreat them to return to their abandoned homes, to take up the=20
responsibility of protecting them, to get the destitutes compensated=20
for their losses and to create a peaceful atmosphere. J.P. also=20
visited the refugees-camps. He spent many hours in the midst of the=20
homeless, consoled them, gave them patience and even wept at their=20
plight. In one of the camps he spoke to them thus:
=93I don=92t know with what words to console you. I feel ashamed even to=20
speak to you. I was born in a Hindu family, therefore I am said to be=20
a Hindu. So I consider myself guilty. But my dear brothers, all=20
Hindus are not alike, all Muslims too are not of the same kind. No=20
religion teaches barbarity and bloodshed. It is only we who, in the=20
name of religion, act in the most irreligious manner. This is a great=20
human frailty. All of us are first and foremost human beings, and=20
thereafter anything else =96 whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian.=20
A man could change his religion whenever he pleased =96 he may change=20
it even four times in a day. But remember no matter how desperately=20
he tries, he simply cannot change his humanity, no, never.=94

[Translated and condensed by Mahendra Meghani from the Gujarati book=20
=91Ame Joyela-Janela Jayprakash=92, edited by Narayan Desai and puplished=20
to mark the birth centenary of Jayprakash Narayan (2001-2002) by=20
Yagna Prakashan, Vadodara]

with best regards
on behalf of Narayan Desai

______

#6.

The Times of India
The idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2002 10:50:46 PM ]
Will it work? The Sunday Times articulates the grand dream of the=20
proponents of the Hindutva ideology and debates its suitability for=20
modern India.
India is a Hindu Rashtra People living here are known as Hindus
Muslims living here will be known as Hindu Muslims
Conversions will be a crime
Akhand Bharat will replace two-nation theory
Kashmir will be trifurcated lPoK will be regained through war

Madhav Gobind Vaidya, RSS Spokesperson
http://203.199.93.7/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D6795458

--=20
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