[sacw] SACW | 23 Sept. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 23 September 2002

__________________________

#1. Two South Asian pacifists undertake a journey of introspection on=20
the dynamics of peace and conflict between India and Pakistan (Ammara=20
Durrani)
#2. Eric Hobsbawm in conversation with Tristram Hunt
#3. A Minute=B9s Silence- This America is a cleaved giant in a final=20
paroxysm of rage (Ruchir Joshi)

__________________________

#1.

The News on Sunday
The News International (Pakistan)
22 September 2002

dialogue

Beyond the handshake

By Ammara Durrani

Two South Asian pacifists undertake a journey of introspection on the=20
dynamics of peace and conflict between India and Pakistan

Smitu Kothari is a distinguished activist and scholar, hailing from=20
Gujarat, India. Following in his renowned father Rajni Kothari's=20
footsteps, Kothari is committed to promoting peace and social justice=20
through sustainable development. Dividing his time between Princeton=20
and Delhi, he serves as the President of the International Group for=20
Grass Roots Initiatives and at the Lokayan group in Delhi as=20
co-ordinator for research on political, ecological and cultural=20
issues in South Asia. He is an active member of the Indian Coalition=20
for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, and has co-authored several books=20
on peace issues, including the recently published Out of the Nuclear=20
Shadow.

M B Naqvi is a distinguished Pakistani journalist based in Karachi.=20
With a 40-year history as a working journalist, he has been=20
associated with several national and international newspapers=20
including Indus Times, Dawn, Morning News, Times of Karachi, Finance=20
& Industry, Pakistan Observer and London Observer. In recent years,=20
Naqvi has emerged as one of the strongest Pakistani voices calling=20
for regional peace and nuclear disarmament in South Asia. He is a=20
founding member of the India-Pakistan Forum for Peace and Democracy;=20
and has been the President of Pakistan Peace Coalition since its=20
establishment in 1999.

During Kothari's recent visit to Pakistan, Political Economy=20
conducted a dialogue between the two pacifists on issues of regional=20
peace, the movement for peace and disarmament, and its=20
socio-political role in India and Pakistan. Excerpts follow:

PE: Smitu, the post-9/11 era has witnessed a global clampdown on=20
religious extremism in the Middle East and even in Pakistan. Why has=20
India not acted against its fundamentalists?

SK: One needs to unpack what we mean by religious extremism. If you=20
mean groups within the civil society that are engaged in violent=20
actions against the Indian people, and using violence as a means of=20
their political expression, or as means to subvert normal democratic=20
processes, then yes there is extremism. In that context, therefore,=20
what has happened in Gujarat in parts of Kashmir can be called=20
extremism ... If the question is narrowed down to asking whether the=20
State has acted rapidly and forcefully enough in the context of=20
violence in Gujarat, you're absolutely right. It hasn't acted because=20
the centre is controlled to a significant extent by the same party=20
that rules in Gujarat. This was seen as part of the political tactics=20
of the government in power. But (Modi) has received major setbacks=20
... Most probably, there will now be President's rule in Gujarat and=20
the elections will be held under the president's rule. The situation=20
has considerably calmed down. There are some skirmishes, a couple of=20
occasional incidents. To a significant extent I think Modi has been=20
humbled. At the moment he is leading a major yatra through the State=20
trying to whip up support for the party. But in many cases from the=20
reports that I have seen and what friends have been telling me, the=20
response has not been as good as he had hoped. Even if the State does=20
not act, or did not act, as it should have, I am at least confident=20
that the democratic process in the country will contain these forces=20
of fundamentalism and extremism.

PE: How do you think 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror has=20
impacted peace initiatives between India and Pakistan?

Naqvi: To us, it seems that the 9/11 events, regretful as they=20
were--and no one suggests that this bloody minded killing of=20
innocent, unaware individuals in New York was good--the manner in=20
which the Bush government has reacted and has hit out has caused a=20
major problem for the lesser side of the world. By lesser side I mean=20
relatively weaker, backward and relatively poor States. For us, the=20
going has been made much more rough. War and terror has now taken the=20
shape of a pre-emptive attack on Afghanistan.

As a result of 9/11, the Indian State run by BJP leaders has decided=20
to forget all of what the Indian policies were until then and they=20
joined the US lock, stock and barrel. Pacifists find the space for=20
them being restricted. Soon after 9/11, the Indian State gave an=20
ultimatum to Pakistan that unless you do these, we will invade. And=20
to back their threat, they brought all their armed forces or whatever=20
could be brought on the borders in an attacking mode. With that we=20
see the BJP government sundering all communication links through=20
which the people of India and Pakistan could talk. The pacifists are=20
unable to meet each other, all those who are working for peace and a=20
rapprochement between India and Pakistan. They have no means of=20
travelling between the two countries. Similarly, the Pakistani=20
government is not anxious to restore the links. They are anxious on=20
other things, but not on the restoration of these links.

Smitu: I think it significantly affects what we are doing, there is=20
no question of that. But I think while it closes certain spaces, it=20
also opens some opportunities. I think the appropriation of what=20
constitutes democracy, civilisation and freedom in the post-9/11=20
world, to some extent the US is hoping to dominate it. I wouldn't=20
call it a backlash since it has as yet not taken an organised=20
political form, but there is significant resentment against this kind=20
of appropriation in different parts of India. As a consequence at a=20
popular level there has been this degree of anti-American sentiment.=20
In that space, I see the possibility of organising by peace activists=20
and democrats, of opening up new opportunities. There has been a=20
tremendous response for the need to restore a strong sense of=20
political autonomy from the design of this new set of politics, which=20
has come in the wake of 9/11.

Closures are what Naqvi Sahib was saying. What is particularly=20
problematic here is closure of even rail and road links, which=20
affects ordinary people. Yes, of course, peace activists are unable=20
to come and go. To some extent we are at least able to communicate=20
through e-mail and other contacts. When people to people contact is=20
adversely affected that constricts the possibilities that would open=20
up for a more peaceful resolution of issues between the two=20
countries. There are new spaces, which have opened up in India.

My week here in Pakistan has brought home to me how wide and how deep=20
is the sentiment for peace in your country for the resumption of=20
dialogue and for people to people contact between the two countries.=20
I don't think I've come across a single person who justifies the=20
nuclearisation or the militarisation of the two countries, which is=20
predominantly justified because of what regimes perceive as being=20
deteriorating political conditions between the two countries.

PE: If we look at the role of the pacifists, generally it does not go=20
beyond media coverage. How valuable actually is the pacifists' role=20
within society?

Naqvi: Pacifists' role remains important to themselves and to their=20
countries. They face tremendous odds because of the two States run by=20
two militaristic groups who are demonising the people of the other=20
country. They are using all sorts of sophisticated techniques of what=20
is called propaganda, which destroys the future of the common people=20
in India and Pakistan. So the odds are against the peace activists in=20
Pakistan. There are slightly lesser odds in India, but there are=20
plenty of them.

Smitu: We need to ask ourselves the question, who benefits from=20
militarisation and nuclearisation. If indeed, for instance, the US is=20
serious about contributing to the establishment of peace in the=20
region, which it has been talking about incessantly since 9/11, it=20
would not send along its senior most emissaries in the past year; it=20
wouldn't send senior members of the military industrial complex to=20
sell the latest weapons systems; it wouldn't create conditions where=20
the nuclear establishment around the world gets a boost because of=20
nuclearisation of the region. It knows very well that if South Asia=20
becomes a nuclear-free zone the peoples of South Asia would have a=20
much stronger moral and political ground to demand global nuclear=20
disarmament, which again affects their own designs and the massive=20
stockpiles that they have. They want to retain the supremacy, not=20
just in terms of their nuclear capabilities at present, but also in=20
terms of the legitimacy that they want to continue to have to build=20
nuclear weapons in future.

This kind of a sham or a superficial role that the US is playing in=20
the Sub-Continent also adversely affects peace activists and the=20
peace work that we are doing because of their arrogant unilateralism=20
and power that they have in the world; particularly, the way they use=20
that power as an economic instrument. For peace activists, one really=20
needs to engage quite centrally with this gamut of issues of=20
challenging the dependencies and insecurities created by the global=20
political economy as well as challenging the complex elements of=20
global geo-politics, which significantly benefits the international=20
imperial establishments and the military industrial complex in which=20
the US has a central role.

PE: Given this huge disparity of power and resources, which is so=20
apparent with governments and IFIs on one hand and the struggle=20
movements on the other hand, do you think the struggle for peace is=20
worthwhile?

Smitu: What other choice do we have? It's not just a choice of peace=20
activists. What choice do the people of the region have? Do we want=20
to have a present and a future of dignity, justice and peace; or do=20
we want a future in which we're perpetually subservient to the=20
dictats of the people who don't even belong here; whom we don't=20
select, elect, nominate; who are not our people; who have other=20
designs; and who are appropriating our resources and surpluses? If=20
one wants to seriously talk about justice and peace, there is no=20
better time than to actually challenge the hegemonic designs of the=20
US and Western Europe in the Sub-Continent.

PE: Is the Indo-Pak tension because of US hegemony?

Smitu: I was going to say and address the critical problems that we=20
have domestically and between our two countries, which is what we=20
should be concentrating on to build a peaceful region. There is=20
enough work that we have done and others have done to show that if we=20
were to comprehensively trade and share between the two countries, we=20
could achieve substantial self-reliance in the region as a whole. Our=20
import rates would be reduced upto 80%. If we were to adopt=20
simultaneously the technologies that are now available in energy, oil=20
generation, etc we can be largely self-reliant as a region and have a=20
strong South Asia that can stand on its own rather than one that is=20
increasingly belittled and marginalised.

Yes, I think that the malaise is internal also. Our elites and our=20
people have an enormous responsibility. There are economic and=20
political elites within our countries who are looking at their narrow=20
interests and are as much responsible for what is happening now as=20
any other forces. For peace activists and for democratic rights=20
activists in India and Pakistan ... at least in India ... our primary=20
struggle is against our own political and economic elite.

PE: How influential is this struggle on the decision-making elite=20
when it comes to the negotiating table and the decision-making=20
process?

Naqvi: The apparent power of the elites cannot be belittled, but it=20
is not as overwhelming as it seems. I visualise a two-track approach=20
as Smitu has said. We cannot ignore the globalisation part that the=20
Americans and the 500 major multinationals are playing. Globalisation=20
is all about their profits and our losses. It is not mutually=20
beneficial to the Third World. The Third World is being exploited by=20
the multinationals and that is one side of the struggle that we have=20
to wage in collaboration with all the other peoples of the Third=20
World. The major work needs to be done at home. Here we have to fight=20
religious intolerance first. Try and defeat the machinations of the=20
elite over political matter, particularly the demonisation of=20
minority and the 'other', which in our case means India. In the case=20
of india, they have their own business to tackle. But for us, we have=20
to concentrate on democratising our society by first counteracting=20
the religious fanatics and demanding ever-growing space for the=20
common people to participate in political processes, and of course to=20
see the Army off the political scene. These are immediate tasks,=20
while the larger task is struggling for a nuclear-free world. We in=20
Pakistan are clear at least in our minds that some of the Indian=20
hardliners talk a great deal about world nuclear disarmament, but=20
they use the argument for a very immoral purpose. They believe that=20
by denouncing the Americans, the British and the French they provide=20
the justification for themselves to become another major nuclear=20
power. We do not want anything of that tactic. We must believe in a=20
non-nuclear world, a non-nuclear Asia and a non-nuclear South Asia,=20
with South Asia coming first for us.

Smitu: I don't think we should look at peace activists and pacifists=20
being a small, totally marginal group of idealistic, utopian,=20
starry-eyed activists, scholars and journalists...

PE: Do you characterise them as a movement?

Smitu: I definitely do. It's a lose a movement. It's not like a=20
peasant movement here in Punjab of tenants, which is in one place,=20
locally based and fairly strong. It's a movement that is complex but=20
it definitely is a movement. It is also growing. Naqvi sahib would=20
speak to the Pakistani reality. I can say for India that it is=20
definitely growing. More than ten years ago, we started the whole=20
process of Pakistan-India Forum for Peace and Democracy, when the=20
first group of over a hundred Pakistanis came to India. The first=20
dinner was hosted by the Indian Express. The second dinner was hosted=20
by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce. A year later when=20
150 Indians came to Lahore, the first dinner was hosted by the=20
Pakistan Chamber of Commerce. This is not a coincidence. There is a=20
strong group of people even in the what one might call the economic=20
establishment within the two countries, who believes that peace is in=20
the interest of the region. Peace is in their interest. But this=20
so-called peace activist is not a marginal phenomenon. It is=20
dispersed but it is very large and very significant. The political=20
challenge for us in both countries is to find ways in which this=20
disparate, dispersed group of people can be given much greater focus=20
and coherence so that we can bring this collective energy to bear=20
both as a pressure and a power against our own regimes, and equally=20
importantly building closer relationship between our two countries.

Naqvi: Let me endorse Smitu that the movement is there. It's=20
potential is great. In Pakistan we also began with a conference in=20
Karachi in which 350 political activists of various kinds came at=20
their own expense to attend a peace conference and in February 1999,=20
a few months after nuclearisation. The main focus of that=20
organisation was anti-nuclear. In fact, the Pakistan Peace Coalition=20
stands for a unilateral nuclear disarmament in Pakistan. We do not=20
see any link between having the nuclear deterrent and the security of=20
the people of Pakistan. In terms of the normal inter-State=20
relationship, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence has not deterred India.=20
They are still threatening. So its usage is very limited. These two=20
deterrents are contributing to the increase in poverty and misery of=20
people in both the countries.

PE: What ways do you perceive to make your movement stronger to face=20
the challenges?

Naqvi: Through co-ordination with other peace movements in India=20
particularly. A more concentrated Indo-Pakistan joint effort to=20
counter the propaganda of the two belligerent, religiously intolerant=20
groups. We have to go to our own people, tell them what their=20
interests are and mobilise them.

Smitu: There is a critical inter-relationship between initiatives for=20
democracy and peace within each country that contributes to the=20
realisation of peace. In the absence of democratic forces and=20
processes within our countries, the realisation of peace would be=20
adversely affected. The so-called peace movement has to, therefore,=20
be linked critically to the movements for democratisation, dignity=20
and justice within our countries. Our primary efforts at the moment=20
are in contest with and in challenge of our regimes and of our=20
political and economic elites, who are perpetuating this climate of=20
intolerance and hate. It is not a coincidence that when the first=20
national conference of the Indian Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament=20
and Peace took place in November two years ago, instead of 100-150=20
people that we were expecting, some 700 people representing every=20
stream of democratic activity--from women's organisations, trade=20
unions, farmers' organisations, to the largest national fishworkers'=20
association anywhere in the world--significant representation from=20
this wide coalition of alliances from across the country came=20
together. So peace is not perceived as an issue of a few people who=20
oppose the nuclear designs of the country or of the few people who=20
are concerned about the relations between our two countries. It is an=20
issue that is a popular issue. It is an issue that affects every=20
single woman, man and child in the country.

PE: But in the power equation, these groups are on the powerless=20
side. Have you considered forging links with pressure groups such as=20
financial community and religious communities, and political parties?

Smitu: It's not whether we think there is a need. It's already been=20
done in India to a significant degree. I don't think at the moment=20
it's necessarily influencing the major national political parties.=20
There are significant--and I say that quite responsibly--parties who=20
would subscribe to the views, which I have shared with you today.=20
There are significant processes in the country at the popular level=20
in the decentralised context, which also hold a similar perspective.=20
For instance, in Rajhastan where Pokhran is based there is a proposal=20
to set up a major nuclear fuel-processing unit. But popular groups of=20
the state have called for a nuclear-free Rajhastan, which is gaining=20
significant momentum. The pressure on the State government in=20
Rajhastan is quite immense to actually tell the centre that we do not=20
want a nuclear processing zone to be based in our state.

Do we have support from the formal bodies of representation? It is=20
growing. More and more people in India are realising that politics is=20
not only the politics of representative democracy. It's not just what=20
elections bring forward. 542 people in India's parliament do not=20
necessarily represent the interests of the people of India. The=20
people of India have to find other political expressions and=20
instruments. This is why precisely the whole move for a more=20
democratic, decentralised process that is based on local governments=20
upwards is gaining momentum. We need to rethink what we mean by=20
democratic process, by democratic politics, by the conventional=20
category that we can only change national policy by participating in=20
national parties. That's not true anymore. You can influence national=20
politics by coalitions and alliances that are currently being formed=20
and strengthened in many different ways. I think that's the politics=20
of the future. Politics of the future is not 500 people appropriating=20
to themselves the authority to decide on behalf of a billion people.

PE to Naqvi: Do you see similar dynamics in Pakistan? For starters,=20
the financial community seems to completely support the present=20
regime...

Naqvi: It has always done so. We are more handicapped than our Indian=20
friends. We do not have India's free speech. It is true that=20
Pakistani press is freer today than at any other time in the past.=20
But it is still a flower in the desert and the forces of=20
authoritarianism are very strong. But the objective conditions are=20
highly conducive in this country for a peace movement to flourish.=20
There are people who would like to participate in this movement. It=20
is only the accumulated fear of political activism that has so far=20
inhibited any democratic upsurge, upsurges of political movements=20
before. The accumulated fear of authority in this country is still=20
pretty great that inhibits direct political activities. Even during=20
the electioneering, the regime has put so many hurdles in the way of=20
the mainstream political parties, which are not vastly different from=20
the generals themselves! For a true peace movement, they would put=20
far more difficulties in their way. But nevertheless, we have to=20
democratise our society and work for its democratisation by working=20
against the militarisation. For us, democracy should be human rights=20
of all the 150m Pakistani men, women and children and their welfare.=20
Not merely their rights in the sense that they should be able to=20
speak and move around freely, but also that they have the ability and=20
the space to act to improve their own conditions and to change=20
political faces, institutions, and policies. Citizen activism is the=20
essence of democracy and we should be working for it.

Smitu: The average reader of a newspaper like yours needs to--and I=20
say this quite humbly--interrogate himself/herself on what should=20
their contribution be towards the building of peace in the region,=20
'cause it benefits them. There is a fundamental loss of control not=20
just that the middle class has but the whole country has over=20
economic, military, and political processes. (We) need to interrogate=20
on what role can (we) play to bring back this control, to rethink=20
what 'they' mean by national security as well as what we mean by=20
national security. Is national security the amassing of military=20
hardware and people on our borders? The Indian rough estimate of what=20
it will cost it to pursue a nuclear weaponisation programme is going=20
to be 40,000 crores in the next 10 years. There must be equivalent=20
costs of a similar programme in Pakistan. Is that the priority and=20
does security come from those kinds of choices or does security come=20
as an aggregate of people's security? Does independence come from=20
greater interdependence between our two countries or does it come=20
from this kind of senseless subservience and to the dictats of your=20
own elites and of global economic and political elites? These are=20
fundamental questions.

PE: There seems to be a singular focus of the pacifists on=20
de-nuclearisation of the region. A lot of times peace activists=20
appear reluctant on taking up a position on Kashmir. Why?

Naqvi: Kashmir is certainly a difficult problem. It is a problem in=20
which I as a freedom-loving person am deeply concerned and involved.=20
I would like the Kashmiri people exactly the same as I would like for=20
any other people the best of whatever they can get ... all their=20
freedoms including their right to chose where they want to be.=20
Kashmiris must conduct their freedom movement if they think a freedom=20
movement is necessary. In any case, they need to conduct a movement=20
for human freedoms. I don't agree that the pacifists are reluctant to=20
take up a position. I take a very clear-cut position and I've just=20
taken it. But mind you, I do not approve of gun-running from=20
Pakistan, of going and getting freedom for Kashmiris for them. It is=20
the Kashmiris who must win their own freedoms in their own ways. And=20
my advice to them would be, be non-violent. By violence they are=20
inviting the Indian Government to use even greater violence. Violence=20
begets more violence. We have seen that between India and Pakistan.

Smitu: No, right from the earliest days of the pacifist movement=20
against nuclearisation and for peace between the two countries, I=20
don't think there is in a single major conference or event ... Take=20
the history of Pakistan-India Forum on Peace and Democracy, the first=20
event that was held in Delhi. One of four central themes was Kashmir.=20
We have never evaded engaging ourselves with that issue. In fact, the=20
most comprehensive proposals for the resolution of the Kashmir issue=20
have come from the peace movements. And in the efforts that are=20
currently under way, in terms of concrete proposals, they have come=20
from members of the human rights community and the peace movement in=20
India. It would be incorrect to say that the initiatives have not=20
come from us or that we are not in favour of a resolution of the=20
Kashmir issue. We are very much in favour of it. We see quite=20
centrally that it is has, unfortunately, become the fulcrum on which=20
relations between the two countries have been cast. Unfortunately I=20
say because it's just a justification not to address a whole range of=20
other issues that need to be simultaneously addressed to improve=20
relations between the two countries ... What we need to do,=20
therefore, is to put even greater pressure and participate as deeply=20
and fundamentally as we can in resolving the Kashmir issue. But the=20
initiatives need to come from both sides of the border. It has to=20
come by the granting of comprehensive substantial autonomy to the=20
peoples of Kashmir on both sides of the border to actually then be=20
able to decide on their future. This is not an issue of Hindus and=20
Muslims alone. It is an issue that encompasses many diverse and=20
plural groups, all of whose interests must be considered, protected=20
and defended in any resolution of the conflict.

PE: If both of you are given the option of identifying bullet points=20
to your respective governments to solve the problem, what would those=20
be?

Naqvi: Respect for the Kashmiri's rights if the answer is confined to=20
the question of Kashmir. Other points include restoration of=20
communication links between the two countries. Two, readiness of=20
India and Pakistan to respect the Kashmiris' wish for their own=20
rights and to decide what they want. Three, it is now the business of=20
the people of India and Pakistan to shape their own future by their=20
own democratic action.

Smitu: In addition to what Naqvi sahib has said, I would say that the=20
significant challenge in terms of bullet points would be the=20
deepening of the democratic process in both the countries; the=20
marginalisation and hopefully the complete separation of interference=20
by the religious and military groups in the democratic processes in=20
the countries; the urgent efforts in trying to improve trade and=20
communications and comprehensive sharing of our resources and=20
productive capacities and the institutional strengths; equally=20
importantly, the capacity of students and ordinary people to freely=20
move between the two countries, and particularly the students in our=20
countries to be able to enroll in the institutions of higher=20
education.

_____

#2.

Guardian Unlimited Observer
http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,796531,00.html

The Observer
Sunday September 22, 2002

Interview

Man of the extreme century

Eric Hobsbawm is one=20
of Britain's greatest historians. His long, eventful life has=20
mirrored the great events of the twentieth century. The rises of=20
imperialism, fascism and communism are as much components of his life=20
as subjects of his books, and have turned Hobsbawm into a 'lifelong=20
communist'. Now, he has published his autobiography. In this=20
wide-ranging conversation with Tristram Hunt, one of Britain 's new=20
generation of historians, he reveals how he continues to believe in a=20
spirit of progress as the surest route for happiness

[...]

EH: Well, they obviously chose barbarism above socialism in=20
Afghanistan. They financed the al-Qaeda guys [the Taliban],=20
specifically, because they thought communism was worse than that. I=20
don't believe communism was worse than that.

I don't believe that al-Qaeda or fundamentalism is the main danger to=20
capitalism. Capitalism will live with it; will make money out of it.=20
Fundamentalist Islam isn't a danger, if only because it can't win any=20
wars. The basic element to understanding the present situation is=20
that 9/11 did not threaten the US. It was a terrible human tragedy=20
which humiliated the US, but in no sense was it any weaker after=20
those attacks. Three, four or five of those attacks will not change=20
the position of the US or its relative power in the world. An example=20
of collapsing social democracy and growing fundamentalism is in India=20
where there is a government breaking with a westernising, secular,=20
tolerant democratic society, a socialist society, in order to create=20
a kind of exclusive Hinduist society.

TH: Much of it built on spurious historical foundations.

EH: Oh, completely spurious. They are re-jigging the entire textbooks=20
of India in order to make a more saffron past. What more saffron=20
means is pogroms against Christians and Muslims and no further belief=20
in democracy and truth and a secular society.

[ Read the full interview at:=20
http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,796531,00.html ]

_____

#3.

The Telegraph (india)
Sunday, September 22, 2002
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020922/asp/opinion/story_1219227.asp

A MINUTE=B9S SILENCE
- This America is a cleaved giant in a final paroxysm of rage
THE THIN EDGE RUCHIR JOSHI

Long minute
On September 11 I was sitting in a bar near where I live in North=20
London, having a drink with my niece S, who had just arrived from=20
Ahmedabad to study fashion design. At about 1.45 pm the waitress came=20
up and informed us that there was to be a minute=B9s silence for the=20
victims of the attack on New York. There were not very many people at=20
the bar but, as the clock moved to 1.46, those of us who were there=20
fell silent.

As we know, one minute can be a pretty unremarkable unit of time, or=20
it can stretch for a very long while. It all depends on what that=20
minute happens to be traversing. In my case the minute moved not only=20
over the whole of this strange and horrible last year but also across=20
continents. While I regard what happened in New York and Washington=20
as a tragedy, I also felt a deep, deep anger that this day, and this=20
minute, were being privileged all across the world over the moments=20
of many other equally tragic and meaningless deaths. September 11 was=20
a day when roughly three thousand innocent people were murdered. But=20
were those innocents any more important than the innocent dead in=20
Afghanistan, than the long drawn out mass murder, rape and=20
dismemberment that is still going on in Gujarat? And, for that=20
matter, what about the many who may be about to die in Iraq?

I am sure I was far from being the only one who felt this way and, in=20
that sense, my minute was a pretty ordinary one, impossible to=20
differentiate from thousands (if not millions) of other people=B9s=20
minute of silence. What was perhaps different, and not shared by too=20
many other people, was this: at about the fortieth second of that=20
minute, a bizarre thought came to me that I was actually keeping a=20
minute=B9s silence for the demise of the United States of America.

Over the next few days the thought began to seem less and less=20
bizarre, and now it is properly installed, totally at home, sitting=20
on a chair at the dining table of my mind. Other thoughts sharing the=20
meal look suspiciously at this guy =8B yechh, what is he doing here? =8B=20
as if the idea is a dinner guest sitting there, dressed weird,=20
smelling odd, talking in some foreign tongue, and saying absolutely=20
nothing that anyone else can understand. But the guy is there,=20
nevertheless, and very politely and cheerfully munching into the food=20
on offer, passing dishes across, pouring wine for the person next to=20
him, listening to the conversation as if he understands every word=20
and generally partaking in the gathering as if he has every right to=20
be present.

Perhaps this guest is dressed like a black rap star from Los Angeles=20
and speaking softly in Kashmiri, or perhaps he=B9s dressed like a=20
Palestinian and speaking in piercing Gujarati. To move my story=20
forward let me sail closer to the second possibility.

********

My niece S is one of my father=B9s ten grandchildren. Besides my own=20
two children, whose whereabouts I more or less know, I was a bit hazy=20
about where the others were, and that day S gave me the run-down on=20
who was doing what. Out of the other eight grandchildren three were=20
now in America, S herself was here, in England for a year, but with=20
New York as the next target. This left four in Ahmedabad of whom one=20
was finishing college, after which he was also headed Stateside. Two=20
other cousins, who my nieces and nephews are close to, were also now=20
=B3US-ma=B2, as were various others who were more distant. In the larger=20
Joshi family, of the slightly younger cousins, perhaps seventy per=20
cent, were planning to leave Ahmedabad and go to America, aiming=20
obviously for the inevitable Green Card. Except for S, who was the=20
only =B3arty=B2 one, the professions too were all in a narrow range, IT,=20
business management, computer engineering and the like.

After S finished giving me the family news, I gently broached the=20
subject of the Gujarat genocide and its aftermath. What did she=20
think? Had any one of them visited the camps? How did my brother =8B=20
the top finance man in a big Ahmedabad company =8B think all this would=20
affect business? I tried hard not to impose on these questions any of=20
my own sense of outrage and despair. I wanted to hear what she had to=20
say. As I asked the questions a part of me was prepared for some hot=20
denial, some anger at =B3these Muslims=B2, some forceful paint-scrape of=20
the =B3explanations=B2 and =B3justifications=B2 being handed out by the Mod=
i=20
government. What I was not prepared for was what I got.

I hadn=B9t seen S since she was perhaps seventeen, and now, looking at=20
her at twenty-two, I could suddenly see strong traces of my father=B9s=20
face, and even more so the face of one of my father=B9s younger=20
brothers. This composite face that I knew so well was now calm,=20
considerate, concerned but unemotional. S spoke of what had happened=20
in Ahmedabad as if it was something that had happened in another=20
city, in a neighbouring state, say Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra, but=20
not Gujarat.

Yes, of course, what had happened was terrible. Yes, of course, the=20
Gujarat government had messed up badly and, yes, some people in=20
authority were totally culpable. Yes, Modi has to go. Yes, she had=20
visited the camps a few times with her fellow students and they had=20
tried to help the victims. Some of her younger brother=B9s friends were=20
Muslims, and he had called them immediately and told them to move to=20
the Joshi bungalow at the first sign of any danger. My nephew had=20
even offered to go and pick them up, but eventually it hadn=B9t proved=20
necessary.

Yes, yes, yes. But. But what could we do? How could you, Ruchirkaka,=20
even imagine that us Gujaratis could actually do something like this?=20
Don=B9t you know the real killers had been brought in from UP and MP=20
and they were the sort of people who didn=B9t really care if you were=20
Muslim or Hindu, they were just looking to kill? We were all scared.=20
Also, the problem was there was first a flood, then an earthquake,=20
and then, before people had time to recover, this happened. But life=20
has to carry on, and, business-wise, Gujarat would get back to even=20
keel in two to three years. What happened was terrible but there was=20
nothing we could have done to stop it, and there is nothing much we=20
can do now to repair the damage. It has very little to do with us,=20
it=B9s all the politicians=B9 and their goondas=B9 doing, and what can you=
=20
do about that? It=B9s bad, but it happens.

There was a seasoned distancing there, that I really found terrifying=20
in a twenty-two-year-old. It occurred to me later that S, and many=20
other young middle-class Gujaratis like her, were very well trained=20
to become =B3ordinary Americans=B2. There is a classic mixture of=20
accepted lies and stoicism that helps propel you past uncomfortable=20
questions, and this bright, fresh-faced, warm, affectionate girl had=20
carried it in with her in her chic little jhola all the way from=20
Ahmedabad. And she will perhaps, probably, still be carrying it when=20
she makes it to New York City.

Add her indifference and self-centredness =8B on the surface a very=20
civil, a very intelligent indifference =8B to the level already=20
existing in the States. Leave out all other nationalities and Indian=20
communities, just keep adding every young Gujarati Hindu who gets in,=20
and then work out how long it will be before it reaches critical=20
mass. Work out how long before the whole thing implodes.

********

Recently there has been a lot of talk, both here and in America,=20
about how we are seeing a new Roman (or indeed a new, bigger/better=20
British) Empire, benevolent, responsible, altruistic even, towards=20
its many subject lands, but all-powerful and ruthless at the same=20
time =8B The Mother of All Empires. Aside from the fact that all=20
empires eventually bite the dust, I find these comparisons=20
simultaneously depressing and risible. I keep looking for someone to=20
point out that now the whole of the Evil Empire is actually, finally,=20
on its way out. Like any B-grade actor it=B9s taking it=B9s time in=20
slow-motion, sure, but the US is actually lost without its Siamese=20
twin, the USSR. Surely it is possible to argue that, without half the=20
organs that propped it up, the America we see is a cleaved giant=20
caught in a final paroxysm of rage, blundering and murdering and=20
near-blind as it flails against the inescapable fading of the light.

Me being extremely pro-Americans, as opposed to being pro-America or=20
pro-American, I=B9d like to quickly and emphatically remind everyone=20
that there are, of course, many Americas, and some of them precious=20
enough for all of us to treat this terminal case as a matter of=20
crucial urgency. As if our own limbs were attached to the patient =8B=20
which they are. America is too important to be left to Americans,=20
(just as Islam and Hinduism are too important to be abandoned to the=20
self-proclaimed Swords of Allah and Trishuls of Shiv Bhagwan) and=20
hopefully, with all our efforts, some of these positive Americas will=20
survive, and even thrive, after the disintegration of the monolith.

But in the meantime, all I can see in the face of my niece are the=20
ghosts of hundreds of raped and murdered Gujarati women who happened=20
to be Muslim. And all I can think of is how to contain the body-count=20
of the many different Gujarats and Indias, the Pakistans, Irans and=20
Iraqs, that the remaining half of the twin monster will take with it=20
as it goes down.

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

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