[sacw] SACW | 29 May 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch | 29 May 2002
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

All are Invited to visit the Updated web pages of South Asians Against Nuke=
s:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/NoNukes.html
__________________________

#1. Return to talks: Letter to the Editor, The Hindu (T.E. Rajendran)
#2. False hope in deterrence (Achin Vanaik )
#3. Crisis Of Democracy - Symptoms of A Terminal Illness (Swami=20
Agnivesh & Valson Thampu)
#4. Police Brutalities in Godhra : A letter by Shabnam Hashmi
#5. Press Release - A public forum in Toronto in support of=20
Secularism & Human Rights in India
#6. BJP ruled Gujarat States Naked Glory (Ram Puniyani)
#7. Letter to the Editor , The Times of India (Raja Swamy)
#8. Uttar Pradesh moves to seize Gujarat carnage CDs
#9. Textbooks as hate labs (Manisha Priyam)

__________________________

#1.

The Hindu (Chennai), May 29, 2002

Return to talks

Sir, - An armed conflict is the last thing that India or Pakistan can=20
afford. Let our policy makers keep in mind that we are among the=20
poorest nations and a war will take us backward by several years in=20
all spheres of economic development, not to speak of the untold=20
misery that will be brought upon the people. Let us tone down the=20
rhetoric and return to negotiations.

T.E. Rajendran,
Chennai

_____

#2.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/290502/detide01.asp
The Hindustan Times (New Delhi), May 29, 2002

False hope in deterrence
By Achin Vanaik

If current war clouds have receded and with it the danger of a=20
nuclear exchange, what about the next confrontation or the time after=20
that?

How many warning bells do we need to hear to recognise what has been=20
obvious since those tests of May 1998? That this is the part of the=20
world where a nuclear holocaust is most likely.

Remember those denials by so many in the pro-bomb lobby of India=20
after Pokhran II that this was a racist slur, implying as it did that=20
we in India and Pakistan were less responsible than other nuclear=20
weapons powers. Remember too, that virtually the whole of the Indian=20
bomb lobby in welcoming those tests declared that both countries=20
going openly nuclear would actually bring about greater regional=20
stability and peace. Could there have been a more disastrously inept=20
prediction?

The easy way out is to claim that a duplicitous Pakistan is=20
responsible for our post-Pokhran, post-Chagai mess. But this excuse=20
won't do because the egg still remains on the faces of our Indian=20
experts who were so inexpert as not to anticipate this duplicity.=20
Therefore, the temptation is to now claim that Pokhran II was=20
inevitable because Pakistan was threatening us anyway with its=20
nuclear capability, or some other argument resting on the wondrous=20
powers of nuclear deterrence. Anything to save face and the=20
pro-nuclear argument, except the truth.

The presumed nuclear threats from Pakistan and China were always the=20
excuses, never the reasons. Indeed, the official declared position of=20
this Indian government - that the Indian bomb is neither 'country=20
specific' nor 'threat specific' - itself gives the game away. Pokhran=20
II was supposed to be an expression of India's political manhood, a=20
way of equipping oneself to participate in the tough, hard-headed=20
game of global geo-politics as an ambitious and rising power.

Obsession with political manhood through greater military=20
belligerence and power has always been the hallmark of Sangh ideology=20
- the reason why it has wanted the bomb since the Fifties, well=20
before the Pakistan or China threat could have been said to exist. It=20
is this same ideologically rooted belligerence and hostility that has=20
also spread so widely among the Indian elite (how else could the=20
Sangh have climbed to power?) which now threatens a regional=20
Armageddon.

For if it is Pakistan that, on balance, might be the first to pull=20
the nuclear trigger, it is India that is the most likely to provoke=20
the kind of conventional military conflict (whether in the name of=20
fighting terrorism or whatever else) that can spiral upwards to such=20
a situation.

The Cold War was essentially an ideological conflict where though the=20
US and Russia might have engaged in proxy wars in the third world,=20
there was little danger of them directly confronting each other=20
militarily - let alone brandishing nuclear weapons. Even then, it=20
was, on several occasions, a close run thing.

Here in South Asia, Pakistan, behind the post-1998 nuclear shield,=20
thought it could launch an incursion into Kargil. That war, which saw=20
both sides prepare covertly for possible use of nuclear weapons, was=20
brought to an end by external intervention, in much the same way as=20
external - above all US - pressure dissuaded India from going beyond=20
the brink this time, whatever claims New Delhi will undoubtedly make=20
for the 'success' of its coercive diplomacy and brinkmanship.

The point is that whatever the political-diplomatic setbacks for=20
Pakistan during and after Kargil, it has not suffered any decisive=20
military defeat - precisely the aim and intention of so many amongst=20
the Indian elite (especially in Hindutva circles) who have demonised=20
Pakistan as the root cause of all India's troubles in Kashmir and=20
elsewhere. For them, Pakistan's 'nuclear bluff' must be called. That=20
is, the risk of a holocaust must be taken because Indian pride,=20
manhood, etc. demands it and because without a decisive military=20
defeat of Pakistan, India will always be tormented by an evil=20
Pakistan regime filled with an irrational and unbalanced hostility to=20
India. (Does it really matter if it is a Zia, Musharraf, Benazir or=20
Islamic fundamentalists in power in Islamabad?)

Yet, this same Pakistan regime can be relied upon to be rational and=20
balanced enough never to launch nuclear weapons no matter what the=20
military provocation from India, or even in the face of its own=20
'decisive' defeat. With this mindset so widespread in Indian=20
decision-shaping circles, is it any surprise that so many in South=20
Asia and internationally are now reaching the frightening conclusion=20
that some kind of nuclear exchange in the next seven or more years=20
between India and Pakistan is inevitable?

It is as simple as this: President Musharraf can and must do much=20
more to prevent cross-border terrorism. But because he is nowhere in=20
full control of events in Pakistan (indeed he is fighting for his own=20
political survival), he cannot guarantee its permanent end any more=20
than the US can stop terrorist attacks on it despite its own brutal=20
assault on Afghanistan. Recently, US Secretary of Defence Donald=20
Rumsfeld has said as much.

If India nonetheless sees such terrorist acts as sufficient cause for=20
war, then it will happen. There is a point where brinkmanship without=20
going further is unsustainable, and an India which has so cavalierly=20
practised brinkmanship after December 13 and May 14 has put itself in=20
a corner where in the future it will be under immense pressure=20
internally to go that one fatal step further. After all, the US,=20
Europe, Africa and the rest of Asia have the consolation of knowing=20
that they will not be directly affected by a nuclear exchange between=20
these two 'small' nuclear powers whatever their terrible mutual=20
devastation.

If war takes place between India and Pakistan, any Indian assumption=20
that it can score a 'decisive' victory quickly and easily will almost=20
certainly be shown to be faulty, leading to a dynamic of escalation=20
that has real likelihood of reaching the nuclear level. The Giriraj=20
Kishores of the world will, of course, not listen to some of the more=20
sober of India's military thinkers.

So what do we have to do? We have to avoid war by eschewing the=20
politics of war-mongering and brinkmanship, putting even terrorism=20
into proper perspective. If war still takes place, we must not resort=20
to nuclear exchanges. The second is even more important than the=20
first. But there is only one serious and effective way to ensure=20
this: get rid of all nuclear weapons in the region.

There are those in the Pakistani establishment who, recognising the=20
much greater burden and danger of nuclearisation and war for Pakistan=20
than for India, have always preferred non-nuclear parity between the=20
two countries, in contrast to others who believe nuclear weapons=20
compensate for Pakistan's conventional military imbalance vis-=E0-vis=20
India.

Twice after coming to power (September 2000 at the UN and in=20
mid-January 2002), Musharraf has proposed exploring such regional=20
denuclearisation measures, only to be ignored and contemptuously=20
rebuffed by India.

Thus, there is still space for both governments to rethink and=20
retreat from this insane nuclear path taken after May 1998. We must=20
understand clearly what the pro-bomb lobby will never like to admit:=20
nuclear deterrence is nothing but the irrational hope that terrible=20
fear (of the consequences of nuclear war) will always promote wise=20
decisions by fallible human beings operating under intense pressure=20
(especially in wartime situations) in changing circumstances they can=20
never fully control.

Seeking security through nuclear weapons is nothing but hope=20
masquerading as strategic wisdom. And that hope is looking=20
increasingly shopworn.

_____

#3.

The Statesman (Calcutta), 28 May 2002

CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY Symptoms Of A Terminal Illness
By Swami Agnivesh and Valson Thampu

The principal of a prestigious school, a thoroughly non-political and=20
widely respected educationist, rang us up the other day. She had a=20
question to ask. "Who shall we address these letters to?" she wanted=20
to know. The letters under reference, hundreds of them, were written=20
by the school children, pouring out their anguish at the unspeakable=20
suffering inflicted on innocent people of Gujarat for no other crime=20
than that they happened to belong to a minority community.
"Normally, in a democracy," she went on to say, "these letters should=20
have been addressed to the Prime Minister. But do we have a Prime=20
Minister?" A casual question, but a question that captures the=20
growing perplexity of millions around the country: a question that=20
shoots like an arrow right into the eye of Indian democracy.

PM or pracharak
One of the unmistakable signs of the ill-health of a system is the=20
way its instruments are turned against itself. "We should not=20
forget", wrote Arthur Koestler, "that it was using legitimate=20
democratic means that Hitler murdered democracy". It is similar to=20
what is called auto-immunity vis-=E0-vis the human body, a condition in=20
which the body turns against itself. In a democracy like ours it is=20
the Prime Minister who symbolises the unity and integrity of the=20
country. When a person assumes office as Prime Minister under the=20
oath of allegiance and secrecy, he embraces the duty to function=20
impartially as the leader of the whole nation and not merely the=20
pracharak of a particular party. It is within this enlarged framework=20
that prime ministerial sensitivities should operate. The alternative=20
is to hijack this exalted office to serve the interests of a=20
particular ideology and precipitate the self-contradictions and=20
inconsistencies that betoken the sickness of our democracy.
In this respect, Vajpayee is only a transitional figure. All=20
transitional characters are condemned to hypocrisy; for they have to=20
speak with two different mouths: one crying in compassion at the Shah=20
Alam camp and the other, bellowing ideology in Goa. The Vajpayee who=20
fears that he would not be able to recite a poem ever again, and the=20
Vajpayee who insists remorselessly that Narendra Modi must continue=20
to preside over and prolong the very agony of the people that makes=20
him sink into poetic impotence, together comprise the profile of a=20
transitional leader. The next generation of Sangh leadership,=20
portended by Modi, will not carry this baggage of sentimentality or=20
doublespeak. They will be chillingly clear, brutally honest and=20
surgically unemotional, as in the case of Modi's excursion into=20
Newtonian physics. But, in due course, we shall learn -those of us=20
who may survive to see that day - that the hypocrisy of a Vajpayee is=20
a million times more human than the consistency and clarity of the=20
self-styled "chhote sardar" and sanghis of his ilk.

Fear of electorate
Then there is this other symptom of the pathology of our democracy:=20
the more the people lose their faith in and respect for their elected=20
leaders, the more stable the government becomes! An ironic commentary=20
on the state of our democratic culture today is that it is the fear=20
of having to face the electorate that glues together the disparate=20
and distressed coalition partners to the BJP, even when they know=20
that this could mean political hara-kiri for them. As Vajpayee=20
remarked to a newspaper editor some time ago, the more the electorate=20
rejects the BJP the more parties vie with each other to court it!=20
This leads to some interesting side-shows.
So we have a Chandrababu Naidu, who is profoundly disturbed at the=20
communal carnage in Gujarat and who wants Modi out, but stands=20
steadfastly by Vajpayee who snubs him in public on this demand. We=20
have a Mamata Banerjee whose heart breaks over the victims in Gujarat=20
but thinks this heartburn can be healed in a ministerial birth in=20
Delhi and so will prop up the BJP at all costs. We have, besides, an=20
Omar Abdullah who can neither vote for the government nor leave it=20
which results in a pathetic ritual of twice expressing his compulsion=20
as well as unwillingness to leave office. Of course, he will not=20
learn from Ram Vilas Paswan that liberating oneself from a=20
ministerial couch of pins and needles is not all that difficult, if=20
at least your rear-end is sensitive.
A third symptom of the terminal illness of our democracy is the utter=20
irrelevance of the people to the gameplans of governance. A question=20
that we had to face repeatedly in the refugee camps in Gujarat was,=20
"Are we not the citizens of India?". The answer is simple. Of course,=20
they are; but this glorious democracy has today reached a stage in=20
which citizens have ceased to matter. What is on today is a=20
government of the politicians, by the politicians and for the=20
politicians. The plight of the Muslims in Gujarat bristles with this=20
truth, a truth that applies to the overwhelming majority of the=20
people. Its hurt may vary in degree, but not in kind.
Well, why talk about ordinary people, even the coalition partners=20
have to live with the reality of their mounting irrelevance. Now that=20
Mayawati, the Dalit Messiah, is in the BJP camp, Chandrababu Naidu's=20
stock has crashed. Look at the way Karunanidhi has shrivelled, now=20
that Jayalalitha is back in favour with the BJP. Regrettably, the=20
loudest statement on the irrelevance of the people in recent times=20
has come from Vajpayee himself when, in the run-up to the UP=20
elections, he announced that the BJP could manage without the=20
Muslims. Since then, Modi in Gujarat has outstripped Vajpayee and=20
proved that Muslims have no place in the Gujarat of his dreams.

'We the people'
It is because people as people have ceased to matter to the managers=20
of Indian democracy today that no worthwhile efforts are being made=20
to put out the communal fires in Gujarat. It is for the same reason=20
that relief and rehabilitation measures have failed to take off even=20
after three months of this barbaric eruption. To compromise on the=20
primacy of "We, the people" is to encourage politicians to get away=20
with tokenisms at all levels.
It is not only for the BJP-led government that the people seem to=20
have vanished from the radar of Indian democracy. The opposition=20
parties themselves seem to have internalised this fascist perversion=20
of democracy. It was this that made the historic debate in the Lok=20
Sabha under Rule 184 such a bitter disappointment. Over 17 long and=20
tumultuous hours, everything under the sun was bandied back and=20
forth, but the keenness to alleviate the suffering of the people of=20
Gujarat was conspicuous by its absence.
This is what communalism does to democracy. It kicks up a dust storm=20
of gods, religions, temples, priests, and politicians and blacks out=20
the people. Communalism operates in terms of a vicious cycle. It=20
corrupts the culture of governance and banishes principled politics.=20
This generates the compulsion to form vote-banks based on caste and=20
religion. This requires that people are divided and directed against=20
each other. Their labels are only of incidental interest. What=20
matters is the gullibility of the people and the perversity written=20
into mass psychology by which people, when made to act in a group, go=20
not only against the norms of humanity but even against their own=20
interests.
Eventually, those who obliged the Sangh Parivar ringleaders by=20
revelling in the abominable in Gujarat would discover to their horror=20
that by serving as the tools of a fascist outfit they were building=20
their own dungeons of unfreedom, brick by brick. But the question is,=20
will it be too late by then?

Swami Agnivesh is a social activist while Valson Thampu is a member=20
of the minorities' commission.

_____

#4.

From: sahmat <sahmat@n...>
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:50:19 +0530 (IST)

His forehead almost touched the ground, the policemen held him down by the
neck and beat him hard on his buttocks, then threw him back and started
hitting on his legs. I am sitting in front of six year old Wasim Akram,
looking into his beautiful, deep and very sad eyes. His innocent face and
bruises on his legs and back will not let me sleep today.

While Modi's administration makes the whole nation believe that they very
successfully controlled the situation in Godhra on May 24th night by firing
at the Muslim mob and killing two people and injuring many more, the story
is very different. The RSS, the VHP and the whole gang are past masters in
fooling the people.

Travelling in and Godhra for the past one week it was just by chance that I
came to know about Wasim's story. Wasim's grand father Rashid Khan Amir Kha=
n
Pathan, 63 yrs old, a retired government servant was not a part of any mob,
but was forcibly taken away from his house at 3 in the morning on 25th May,
2002 in a so-called ' combing operation'. He lived in Makan Kuan about a km
away from Jahoopura, where the trouble had taken place at 11pm the previous
night.

The police which started hammering the door around 3 am, abused and beat up
the whole family including 24yr old Arifa, they scrached her hands with
nails, beat her up with batons and rifle butts, pulled her by the hair and
dragged her on the floor. Jahanara's (27 yrs) two year old daughter was
snatched away from her and thrown in a corner and then the police tore all
her clothes and beat her up with rifle butts. Naznin 11 years and Javed 14
yrs were also woken up from their sleep and severely beaten up by the
police. Khursheed Bibi the 73 year old sister of the deceased was also not
spared, barely able to speak to me when I met her during today, she kept
asking for justice.

After the police performed their sacred duty of beating up the whole family
and they pushed them in and closed the latch from outside, they pulled 63
year old Rashid Khan Amir Khan Pathan by his collar and took him with them.

Jahanara clearly heard three rounds of firing after sometime. She even saw
some blood in the morning near the house but it was only around 5.30 pm
when the police asked them to go and identify a body that they realized tha=
t
the old gentleman was killed in cold blood just a few hundred yards away
from their own house.

The police threatened to declare the body as 'lawaris' and burn it if they
did not take immediately. The post mortem report was not given. A bullet
mark in the forehead and the neck was clearly visible when the family burie=
d
the old man.

While the patriotic India is busy in its jingoism, the victims of the
continuing genocide are rotting. While Fernandes and Ms. Bharti takes pain
to explain to the nation that their are no rape cases, 38 gang raped women
in a small village wait for justice. Their complaints not heard, their FIR
not lodged. They are constantly jeered at by the rapists who are roaming
around freely. Ms. Bharti before you declare again that I am lying, please
consider that I have the evidence. Perhaps you have to have a wife and a
child to understand the pain of a woman who has been gang raped or child wh=
o
was burnt alive.

Shabnam Hashmi
Godhra
May 27, 2002

_____

#5.

Press Release

Saturday, May 25 2002, Toronto

A public forum in support of Secularism and Human Rights in India was=20
attended by South Asians and people concerned about South Asia from=20
Toronto area. The forum was held this afternoon in the Council=20
Chamber of York Municipal Building. It was a part of South Asia=20
Heritage Month activities and was sponsored by International South=20
Asia Forum (INSAF), South Asians in Ontario and South Asia Left=20
Democratic Alliance (SALDA).=20

At the forum Mr. Sidharth Bhatia, a journalist who writes about=20
social and political issues, provided the background to the recent=20
communal strife in the state of Gujarat in India. He pointed out that=20
for the past century in India, there have been many instances of=20
violent communal conflicts, however, the agencies of Federal and=20
State governments were able to deal with those situations because=20
they had maintained their secular nature. Bhatia maintained that=20
there has been a qualitative shift in the way the current crisis has=20
bean dealt by the state of Gujarat. The government agencies, under=20
the influence of fundamentalist political influence, have either=20
become ineffectual or partial against the minority community.

Hon. Maria Minna, Member of Parliament, Beeches-Woodbine and Canada's=20
former Minister for International Development, spoke at the meeting.=20
Hon. Minna pointed out that Canadians with family-ties in India have=20
considerable influence in that region and they must use it to help in=20
the healing process. She pointed out that the relations between=20
different communities should not be simply those of "tolerance" but=20
those relations have to be that of acceptance and respect.

The meeting, moderated by Mr. Alok Mukherjee, former Acting Chief=20
Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, passed the=20
following two resolutions.

1. Resolution in Support of Secularism in India

For a week in March murder and mayhem gripped the state of Gujarat.=20
Over two thousand people from the minority community were killed by=20
the frenzied mobs led by Hindu fundamentalists. Even after two=20
months, Gujarat is still smoldering, tens of thousands of people who=20
lost their homes and businesses are now living in squalid camps. They=20
are still under attack and threatened by the very security forces who=20
are meant to protect them. Aid given to these internally displaced=20
people for their resettlement from within India and abroad is=20
prevented from reaching them.

Based on the above background, we, the people concerned about=20
Secularism and Human rights in South Asia demand that the Federal=20
Government of India,

* Uphold India's secular Constitution and take immediate steps to=20
protect its citizens and ensure that the violence against the=20
minority community in the state of Gujarat is curbed.
* Bring to justice criminals who burned passengers on Sabarmati=20
Express in Godhra and people who perpetrated subsequent massacre=20
against the minority community.
* Take steps to prevent further harassment by law enforcement=20
agencies of the people living in temporary shelters.
* Facilitate full and speedy rehabilitation of these internally=20
displaced people in the state of Gujarat

2. Resolution in Support of Human Rights in India

For a week in March murder and mayhem gripped the state of Gujarat.=20
Over two thousand people from the minority community were killed by=20
the frenzied mobs led by Hindu fundamentalists. Even after two=20
months, Gujarat is still smoldering, tens of thousands of people who=20
lost their homes and businesses are now living in squalid camps. They=20
are still under attack and threatened by the very security forces who=20
are meant to protect them. Aid given to these internally displaced=20
people for their resettlement from within India and abroad is=20
prevented from reaching them.

Based on the above background, we, the people concerned about=20
Secularism and Human rights in South Asia urge the Government of=20
Canada to:

* Bring pressure on the Government of India to take immediate steps=20
to ensure that the internally displaced people in the state of=20
Gujarat are fully rehabilitated.
* Raise concerns with Commonwealth, United Nations and other world=20
bodies about the state of human rights and protection of minority=20
communities in the state of Gujarat.

______

#6.

Savior or Devourer
BJP ruled Gujarat States Naked Glory

by Ram Puniyani

In the worst ever communal flare up Gujarat has lost over 2000 of its
citizens, over 3000 crores worth of social wealth, most of it belonging to
Muslims, and has witnessed the decimation of religious places, Dargahs and
Masjids. It is not nor for the first time that we have not seen state
playing partisan role before but here the matters are qualitatively
different. The demand that state administration should be transparent has
been fulfilled in the wrong direction, the participation, compliance and
encouragement of state personnel in supporting the rioters was transparent
and no alibis were used in breaking the laws, in twisting the meanings of
the clauses as the state apparatus was a mighty tool in the hands of the
pogrom conductors coming from the stable of Sangh Parivar.

To begin with one of the civil servants, Harsh Mander was so aghast with
the role of his peers and colleagues from the administrative services that
he could not overcome his disgust and resigned from the administrative
servive. Then Super Cop Julio Reibero was equally shamed by his colleagues
in the Khakis who were supposed to be manning the riot control but in fact
it was difficult to distinguish the rioters from the ones who are supposed
to control the riots. One also recalls many a ministers operating from the
police control rooms and directing the anti-minority operations. Most of
the human rights reports like Human Rights watch, stated that State
officials of Gujarat, were directly involved in the killings of hundreds
of Muslims since February 27 and are now engineering a massive cover-up of
the state's role in the violence (http://hrw.org/reports/2002/india/).
One of the researchers from South Asia watch pointed out that what
happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a carefully
orchestrated attack against Muslims. And that the attacks were planned in
advance and organized with extensive participation of the police and state
government officials.

The 75-page report from the Human Rights watch documents some of the
attacks against the Muslims and concludes that the police were directly
implicated in nearly all the attacks against Muslims. The standard
response was 'We have no orders to save you': While in some cases they
were passive observers in other instances the police officials led the
charge of murderous mobs, aiming and firing at Muslims who got in the way.
At times under the pretext of offering assistance, some police officers
led the victims directly into the hands of their killers. And the phone
calls made to the police and other support agencies failed to get the
necessary assistance.

The acme of the degeneration of the duties of the state has been reached.
When Hitler was on rampage against the Jews, other weaker sections of
society, and against those who were opposed to his policies it was state,
which implemented the programme of annihilation of the Jews and other.
Probably the hairs breadth difference still lies between what we witnessed
in Gujarat and what happened in Hitlers Germany. Here though the Sangh
Parivar is controlling the state apparatus it itself is not the state
apparatus.
The trajectory of communal violence has come a long way since they first
began in the last decade of 19th Century. These riots provoked by the
communal politics (Muslim and Hindu both), came up in response to the rise
of Secular Indian National Congress (INC). British had a two-pronged
strategy as far as the communal politics was concerned. At the political
level they did promote the communal outfits of Muslims and Hindus both, to
pursue their policy of Divide and Rule. At the level of communal violence
they were fairly neutral. After independence before seeing the role of
state in Communal violence as such we must remember that due to the
Partition tragedy most of the Muslim communal elements had left for
Pakistan and Muslim Leagues impact became very weak. Right since the
beginning the Hindu Communalists, in addition to having their own outfits
(Hindu Mahasabha and RSS) had also infiltrated in the INC. Also the
trained swayamsevaks of RSS started entering all the wings of state
machinery right from the beginning. It is not only that Ayodhya district
magistrate Nayyar was alone in helping RSS in making a dispute of Babri
Mosque. such characters were in all the walks of administrative machinery,
media and the armed forces.

In most of the riots, which have pained us since the first Jabalpur riot
of 1962, one sees a common pattern. While the bureaucracy soft peddles the
offence of wings of RSS police plays the partisan role. While the
administrative machine is sympathetic, to the Hindu sentiments (read Hindu
Communal politics), the communalization of police has been blatant. There
are instances (Meerut-Malyan, 1987) where the Provincial Armed
Constabulary lined up around 300 Muslims besides the canal and shot them
so that the bodies gets disposed off in the canal. There are instances
(Bhagalpur 1989) where the police along with the rioters killed 180
Muslims, buried them in a paddy field on which cauliflower was grown. Most
of the inquiry commission reports have shown the partisan role of police
in the riots. The Shrikrishna Commission also indicted the police
especially its Addl. Commission R.D. Tyagi for his shooting of the
innocents in the Suleman Bakery.

One also recalls the communal virus seeping in the various state sponsored
institutions, right under the nose of the Government which is supposed to
be protector of Secular values as per the constitution. After the
demolition of Babri Mosque, students of Lal bahadur Shastri Academy, the
future administrators etc. celebrated the event with unusual gusto.

So the rot is set all around. And its qualitative transformation in the
Gujarat is a dangerous portent for the values, which emerged from the
Indian Freedom struggle and got enshrined in the India Constitution. Where
did the things go wrong? Why the infiltration of RSS swayamsevaks in state
machinery could not be checked? Why did the Nation adopt a complacent
attitude towards the proliferation of communal virus in the police
stations and other offices? Did most of us think this outdated ideology
will die its natural death and does not deserve to be fought in a
proactive way? We need to answer all these if we want to restore the
democratic ethos and secular values in our political and social life.

Communalization of state apparatus has taken place due to multiple
factors. The silent infiltration of the swayamsevaks has been intensified
whenever the RSS progeny BJP comes to power. And in Gujarat the
uninterrupted rule of BJP has totally communalized all the state
institutions and even the civil society. The BJP-Bajarang Dal volunteers
have a thick as thiefs liaison with police. This is supplanted by the role
of media, which has been doing this persistently, and in this language
medias role is very dangerous. During Mumbai riots one could see that for
most of the police constables and other police officials the Saamana, a
Shiv Sena newspaper is the gospel truth, it is the one, which shapes their
opinion. And surely different versions of this communal rag must be
circulating in all the parts of the country putting the fuel to the
communal fire. We need to take stock of all this if we are serious in
combating these lethal bacteria, which has entered our body politic.

What needs to be done to stem the rot, the polity is seriously ill. A
serious effort and careful nurturing of values is more than called for to
promote the plural democracy which celebrates differences as what matters
at political level is not ones religion but ones citizenship, which is
supreme and non-negotiable.

(The writer works for EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai)
______

#7.

Letter to the Editor , The Times of India

Dear Editor,

I am in general agreement with the views expressed in the
editorial "Economic Frontline," May 27, 2002=20
[<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?>http://timesofindia.i=
ndiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D13898845]=20
.
The author holds that
war is not good for business, and relates the rise and fall of the
Bombay sensex to irresponsible war rhetoric.

While quick to dismiss the possibility that the warmongering has
anything to do with the domestic arms industry, the author
unfortunately fails to mention the international arms industry,
primarily represented by the United States and its allies the UK and
Israel. Arms sales and deals with India have reached a feverish
pitch; the most recent sale of radar equipment worth $146 million,
signed on April 17, 2002 (in the direct aftermath of the worst state-
sponsored anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujrat), the first major US arms
sale to India in a decade, underscores this international connection.

Arms dealers need wars to build profits, and the US's overt support
for India and tacit support for Pakistan underscores the crucial fact
that in its calculations, neither is beyond being dispensible, even
if it means a profit-carnival for Raytheon and Lockheed, made
possible by a catastrophic war of holocaust-proportions. Have we
forgotten that just over a decade ago, the US militarily supported
both Iran and Iraq in a war that left a generation destroyed in both
countries. That our leaders are currently rampaging in this corrupt
path ought to stir the anger and outrage of every Indian. India and
Pakistan certainly need peace, and peace cannot come about when
injustice rules the land, and when secret deals and committments bind
the destinies of over a billion and a half human beings to the shoe
strings of international arms dealers and their faithful servants.
War is good for the business of billionaire arms dealers, not for the
farmer, worker, or small business that is struggling in our third
world neighbourhood.

Raja Swamy

_____

#8.

Uttar Pradesh moves to seize Gujarat carnage CDs

>From Indo-Asian News Service

Lucknow, May 28 (IANS) India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh is
cracking down on two potentially inflammatory compact discs (CDs) that have
graphically recorded the largely anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat.

Titled "Godhra to Gujarat", the 40-minute CDs each were being circulated in
most parts of the sprawling state that have a substantial Muslim population=
.
Authorities decided they were a threat to communal peace.

"The exposure of the CDs in a prominent newspaper prompted us to get on
their trail," the state's principal home secretary Anil Kumar told IANS.

Kumar said: "There is sufficient reason to ban such CDs outright. Now that
our policemen are on the job, I am sure we will seize the discs soon."

While the commentary in the CDs cannot be considered inflammatory, the
visual focus on bodies of innocent victims and heart-rending narrations by
survivors of the Gujarat carnage could cause law and order problems,
officials say.

Around 950 people have been killed in sectarian violence in Gujarat since
February 27. Most killings have been blamed on rightwing Hindu groups, and
began following the burning of 58 Hindu train passengers. The victims have
been mainly Muslims, who number about 140 million and form India's largest
minority.

The Godhra CDs are being compared to a videocassette the rightwing Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) had circulated soon after the police shot dead its
activists when they tried to storm the Babri mosque in Uttar Pradesh's
Ayodhya town in 1990.

Those who have seen the VHP cassette say the incident was blown out of
proportion with the obvious intent of poisoning the minds of the mass of
Hindus.

"If that could affect the psyche of ordinary Hindus, you cannot rule out th=
e
possibility of the Gujarat CDs misleading and corrupting the average
Muslim," said a senior police officer.

The Godhra CDs are said to be in circulation mainly in Muslim-dominated
areas of Uttar Pradesh. They are also being exhibited in other parts of
India as well as abroad.

--Indo-Asian News Service

_____

#9.

The Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 29 May 2002

Textbooks as hate labs
Manisha Priyam

The battle over the future direction of moulding the minds of our=20
young ones through the NCERT's proposed curriculum and textbooks,=20
some of which are in abeyance due to a stay order of the Supreme=20
Court, denotes a deplorable moment for our republic.

Whatever be the outcome of the protests and legal interventions,=20
certain irreversible changes have been effected in the character of=20
our democracy and its relationship to structures of knowledge. Two=20
key elements of the NCERT and the Union HRD ministry's version of=20
education reforms are responsible for these changes.

n The first element of this strategy is the attack on the academia,=20
especially historians. They are made out to be relics of the=20
Nehruvian past who have outlived their utility in an age when India=20
wants to dump its Left-of-the-centre policies. "Who says they are=20
respectable? They have received government support for 25 years?"=20
says the HRD minister. NCERT Director J.S. Rajput accuses them of=20
living in a world of illusions, issuing fatwas from the high empire=20
of intellectual hegemony (HT, May 9, 2002).

However untruthful the allegations, the success of this offensive=20
lies elsewhere. Beginning with the episode of withdrawal of the=20
Towards Freedom volumes by the ICHR, to the=20
curriculum/syllabus/textbook revision debate, intellectuals as varied=20
as Sumit Sarkar, Romila Thapar, Bipan Chandra and R.S. Sharma have=20
been put together in the category of "JNU-brand Marxist historians".=20
The lay reader, even if he finds the idea of labelling the=20
historian/intellectual a 'terrorist' loathsome, is unaware of the=20
plural debates that mark the development of this discipline. Nor is=20
he in a position to comprehend the nitty-gritty of the critique of=20
the syllabus undertaken by academics, which is publicly available.

The relentless attack on the academics who oppose the dangerous=20
possibilities of communal socialisation of young minds, as also the=20
mindless deprofessionalisation of the social sciences, aims to reduce=20
them to the status of a 'lobby' that resists initiatives for=20
educational change. "How can anyone else effect changes in education=20
which has been their domain for so many years?" asks Rajput. The=20
secular fatwa of the Indian academic is to be blamed not only for the=20
failings of the education system but also for its inability to make=20
children aware of the

basics of religion. The killings in Gujarat is blamed as the result=20
of the "head under the sand" policies on religion of the=20
'secularists'.

* The second element of this strategy is the direct appeal to=20
the people. This has been done in two ways: the claim of the=20
curriculum framework having been formulated through a 'participatory=20
process', and through the use of certain non-ideological terms such=20
as human values, load-reduction, activity-based learning and=20
integrated approach to social sciences, to describe the content of=20
the revision.
* Why should such a 'participatory process', sensitive to the=20
opinions of representatives of religions, require secrecy to write=20
the new texts?

At the core of this 'reform' exercise is the attempt to put in place=20
a militant, theological frame of thinking as the basis of the 'Indian=20
system of education". Behind use of neutral terminologies, is the=20
effort to broadbase this ideology from its sadhu-mahant-Hindutva vote=20
bank and locate it in the common sense, as an attempt at solving the=20
common person's woes with the education system. "The reaction of the=20
consumers of the education system (to the changes) is mostly=20
positive," says Rajput.

Who are the consumers of the system Rajput refers to? As he himself=20
claims, despite the long innings enjoyed by the books, their=20
countrywide penetration has been limited at 3 per cent. The only=20
place where the books have been popular is in the capital (HT, Feb=20
9). Then why such a motivated exercise to change the books?

The change managers are aware of the reach of the system. This is=20
exactly the institution they would like to control through force and=20
consent, norms and procedures, as much as in contravention of them.=20
India is among the few poor countries where there has been a high=20
availability of textbooks among the poor at prices that are very low=20
by international standards. In 1993-94, in six states studied for the=20
district primary education programme, 900 crore books were=20
distributed for Rs 8 each. Textbooks remain the principal=20
instructional aid in India's primary schools supplemented by a=20
blackboard. For most students they are the only reading material=20
available.

It is nobody's argument that quality improvement issues with respect=20
to the existing texts be overlooked. The significant issue is that it=20
is the poor, mainly in rural areas, who have been its main=20
'consumers'. They are too diffused as a group and resourceless to be=20
able to wage a collective action to defend the benefits they have=20
from the system.

The powerful users of the system, especially the middle-class, will=20
look for ways to save the future of their children. Exit options such=20
as boards other than CBSE, foreign affiliations, or migration may=20
emerge as the possible choices.

This then is the essence of the Hindutva approach to educational=20
reform: if you anyhow destroy it, there would be nothing left to=20
defend. Appeal to courts and the motivated attacks on the=20
intelligentsia mark the rise of India as a procedural republic, with=20
little space for open debates or disagreements.

Unable to link up between the complexities of archaeology, archives,=20
and architecture in the making of Indian history, the apathy of the=20
ordinary citizen will increase. Even for ardent critics of the NCERT=20
system, the skyline of Indian schooling won't ever be the same again=20
with the demise of the institution.

The writer teaches political science at Gargi College, Delhi University

--=20
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