[sacw] SACW | 9 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 9 October 2002

__________________________

#1. New web site called "Peace Web" on Sri Lanka's peace process=20
(Social Scientists' Association)
#2. 2002 US State Department Report on International Religious Freedom
#3. India's Religious Pluralism and its Implications for the Economy=20
(Barbara Harriss-White)
#4. India=B9s majority=ADminority syndrome (Rajeev Bhargava)
#5. Planting the seeds of peace (Sq Ldr Anil Sehgal)
#6. India Tamil Nadu Faith through fiat (editorial, The Economic Times)
#7. Nagaland and India: Ripe For A Peace Settlement (Bharat Bhushan)
#8. India: Business Basics: Surat Stood Firm Against Violence (Kingshuk Nag=
)
#9. India: Night of the long knives? What the deuce is that? (Jawed Naqvi)
#10. India: Aide memoire for British parliamentary delegation on=20
human rights (AICC)

__________________________

#1.

The Social Scientists' Association, Colombo, Sri Lanka has launched a=20
new web site called "Peace Web" on Sri Lanka's peace process. It=20
mostly contains informed analysis of the ethnic conflict and the=20
peace/negotiation process in Sri Lanka. Contributors to this Website=20
are Sri Lanka's leading social science scholars and civil society=20
activists.

This "Peace Web" can be accessed as a sub-domain of the Social=20
Scientists' Association's website <www.ssalanka.com>

Kumari Jayawardena
Jayadeva Uyangoda

September 10, 2002

_____

#2.

2002 US State Department Report on International Religious Freedom=20
details religious persecution around the world on a=20
country-by-country basis [Includes India and Pakistan]
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/

_____

#3.

Although there is much written about religion and politics, there is far le=
ss
known about religion and the economy. I have tried to explore the implicati=
ons
of there being a plurality of religions in India for its (informal and un-s=
tate
regulated) economy. The work is tentative because so little is=20
'known', over and
above its being the daily experience of everyone living in India. But=20
I presented
this paper in Patna on September 28th as the Asian Development Research
Institute Foundation Lecture for 2002 and ADRI has published it as a pamphl=
et.

Anyone interested may download it from the web.
(QEHWPS82)(Date of Publication: February 2002)
Barbara Harriss-White (Queen Elizabeth House)
India's Religious Pluralism and its Implications for the Economy
http://www2.qeh.ox.ac.uk/research/qehwp-list2.html

Professor Barbara Harriss-White
Queen Elizabeth House
21 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LA
barbara.harriss@q...

_____

#4.

07 August 2002
India=B9s majority=ADminority syndrome
Rajeev Bhargava

In recent months, the state of Gujarat in western India has witnessed=20
horrendous massacres of Muslims by Hindu nationalist gangs.=20
openDemocracy=B9s New Delhi editor sees the violence as the latest=20
example of a wider phenomenon in India: an imprisoning syndrome of=20
mistrust which has both Hindu majority and Muslim minority in its=20
destructive grip.

Many more people in India have died before in communal massacres, a=20
greater number have been displaced, and perhaps a much larger amount=20
of property has been reduced to cinder. But the recent, state-abetted=20
pogrom of Muslims in Gujarat is unique because it has cemented new=20
forms of estrangement between communities. Over 200 mosques and=20
shrines have been destroyed, and thousands of Muslims have been=20
driven from their homes. Never before have Muslims felt more=20
vulnerable, alienated and besieged in post-independent India.

The singularity of Gujarat is unmistakable. Yet, it must be seen as=20
part of a long chain of events unfolding in India for some two=20
decades now, events which show that we are once again in the grip of=20
the majority=ADminority syndrome. This deadly, self-mutilating syndrome=20
first showed its fangs in the 1940s and led to the cataclysmic=20
partition of India. One shudders to think what great calamity lies in=20
store for the people of India now.

The term =8Csyndrome=B9 points, at the very least, to the breakdown of=20
basic trust and common understanding between the majority and the=20
minority. But in fact it encompasses something even more dreadful: a=20
diseased network of neurotic relations, so completely poisoned and=20
accompanied by such a vertiginous assortment of negative emotions=20
(envy, malice, jealousy, spite and hatred) that communities are bound=20
to slide deeper down the path of still deeper hostility and frenzied=20
mutual destruction.

Typically, when in the throes of the syndrome, animosity circulates=20
freely, adding layer upon layer of mutual grievance between=20
communities. Over time, chronic paranoia develops, inter-group=20
relations are perverted and the majority and the minority begin to=20
play antagonistic games, often fighting over nothing at all. Groups=20
demand from one another what they cannot really get, conjure up=20
imaginary grievances, insist precisely on what hurts the other most =AD=20
at one time obsessively desiring the very thing that the other wants,=20
at another time the exact opposite, always with the sole purpose of=20
negating the claims of the other. It is an abiding feature of a=20
syndrome that, rightly or wrongly, both sides feel persistently=20
humiliated.

An emotional arms race

A syndrome is set in motion by a long chain of closely-nested,=20
mutually-interlocking actions between small, impatient extremists=20
belonging to both the majority and minority =AD but eventually,=20
horrifically, it engulfs almost everyone. The primary responsibility=20
for the syndrome may rest with a powerful minority, as when it tries=20
to shape the structure exclusively or disproportionately. When it is=20
not allowed to, it cannot really complain of injustice. Yet,=20
unflinchingly and unmindful of others, it may persist with its own=20
exaggerated demands and precipitate a majority=ADminority syndrome with=20
disastrous consequences for everyone. Recall the actions of the=20
Muslim league in the 1940s.

A third party may be culpable too, as was the British colonial state=20
that used inter-community tensions to its own advantage and fuelled=20
the syndrome in India throughout the first half of the 20th century.=20
However, it usually develops when a minority confronts a majority=20
unwilling to share power with it, when it tries merely to=20
co-determine the social and political structure but is not permitted=20
by the majority to do so.

In such instances, partly because the terms of engagement of the two=20
groups are grossly unequal, a syndrome is accompanied by and results=20
in persistent and very real discrimination, humiliation,=20
marginalisation, exclusion or subordination of minorities. In extreme=20
cases, it threatens the very survival of the minority community.

B.R. Ambedkar, the brilliant leader of India=B9s scheduled castes, drew=20
attention to these vicious symptoms in a startlingly dispassionate=20
analysis of Hindu=ADMuslim relations in pre-independent India. He found=20
that both communities obsessively considered almost every issue with=20
a view to how it affected them in their struggle against the other.

Hindus and Muslims, he noted, make preparations against each other=20
without abatement, reminding one =8Cof a race in armaments between two=20
hostile nations. If the Hindus have the Banaras University, the=20
Musalmans must have the Aligarh University. If the Hindus start the=20
Shuddhi movement, the Muslims must launch the Tablig movement.=B9

For Ambedkar, the depth of antagonism between two communities was=20
evident by the remorseless atrocities they committed against women:=20
=8CWhat is astonishing is that these cold and deliberate acts of rank=20
cruelty were not regarded as atrocities to be condemned but were=20
treated as legitimate acts of warfare for which no apology was=20
necessary.=B9

The development of the syndrome stalled a reasonable and=20
accommodating solution to the Muslim question in India. It also=20
debilitated social reforms. Ambedkar grasped this point too. When=20
groups regard each other as a =8Cmenace=B9, he argues, all energy is=20
directed at meeting this menace. The exigencies of a common front of=20
the majority against a powerful minority, and the minority against=20
the majority, generate a =8Cconspiracy of silence over social evils=B9.=20
Neither attend to them =8Ceven though they are running sores and=20
requiring immediate attention, for the simple reason that they view=20
every measure of social reform as bound to create dissension and=20
division and thereby weaken the ranks when they ought to be closed to=20
meet the menace of the other community.=B9 This ensures social=20
stagnation and a pervasive spirit of conservatism dominates the=20
thoughts and actions of both.

Ambedkar must predominantly have had the persistence of caste=20
inequalities in mind, but he also cited the case of community laws=20
that violated individual rights of women but were passed with the=20
sole motive of preserving the existing numerical balance between the=20
two communities. Such reasoning, which turned a social issue=20
requiring urgent reform into a contentious matter between warring=20
communities, epitomises a majority=ADminority syndrome.

Scratching the itch of chauvinism

The philosopher David Hume claimed that enmity between hostile groups=20
can endure even though the original cause of animosity has=20
disappeared, and even when it is against their current interests.=20
Resentments, hatreds and grudges are sometimes bequeathed from=20
generation to generation.

In India, Hindu extremists and Muslim orthodoxy (and, by default, a=20
large number of ordinary Hindus and Muslims) appear to have inherited=20
features of the majority=ADminority syndrome, with particularly=20
disastrous consequences for the minority. The original situation of=20
conflict may have disappeared but extremists from the majority Hindu=20
community and, foolishly, sections of Muslim orthodoxy talk and=20
behave in a manner that resuscitates the syndrome.

Remember Shahbano, the elderly Muslim woman who filed a petition=20
seeking maintenance from her divorced husband, who obtained a=20
favourable judgement from all Indian courts, but who earned the wrath=20
of Muslim orthodoxy? A slight error on the part of the Supreme Court=20
=AD the judge took it upon himself to interpret the Qu=B9ran =AD gave=20
Muslim orthodoxy the alibi to press panic buttons about Hindu=20
majoritarianism, to paint alarmist scenarios of great danger to Islam=20
and to manufacture an unending list of imaginary grievances. Internal=20
debate was stifled, the government of the day succumbed to pressure=20
and passed a new law favouring the status quo on Muslim personal law.=20
Poor Shahbano was forced to retract.

The slogan of =8CIslam in danger=B9 soon turned into a self-fulfilling=20
prophecy, as Hindu chauvinists, forever waiting in the wings to=20
exploit some weakness within the Muslim community, first began a=20
harangue on the need for Muslims to shed backwardness, then charged=20
successive Congress governments with the appeasement of Muslims and=20
eventually began to consolidate a fiercely anti-Muslim, political=20
Hindu identity.

Old Hindu grievances, mostly imaginary, were re-invented: the=20
destruction of Hindu temples by Muslim invaders, the temerity of=20
those who caused partition to even ask for minority rights, the=20
disloyalty induced by pan-Islamism, the alleged Muslim propensity to=20
flout family planning norms with the sole purpose of increasing their=20
numerical strength, and the alleged role that polygamy and therefore=20
Muslim personal law plays in their devious design to out-populate=20
Hindus.

A time for imagination

The majority=ADminority syndrome divides the nation, breeds hierarchy,=20
mindlessly detracts from welfare and development and, by inhibiting=20
reforms, restricts freedom, stultifies communities and emboldens a=20
morally obnoxious conservatism. It has the potential of turning the=20
country into an economic wasteland. In a much altered context in=20
which Muslims are no longer a powerful minority, it is disastrous for=20
Indian Muslims and, as evident in Gujarat, sometimes threatens their=20
very survival. But it can do no good to the Hindus. It corrupts the=20
spirit of their religion and corrodes its social structure.

The durability of the Indian nation-state depends on the dissolution=20
of the majority=ADminority syndrome. Alas, here as in many other places=20
things move in circles. The syndrome can be cured only when large=20
sections of Hindus begin to really value the idea of equal=20
citizenship, to uncouple equality from sameness; and when Muslim=20
leaders and their blind followers, having fatefully embraced=20
conservative communitarianism, adopt a less instrumentalist attitude=20
to liberal and democratic institutions. None of this is possible,=20
however, unless the syndrome is treated and cast off.

How do we break this cycle? Political imagination is scarce in these=20
difficult times but it needs no great political acumen to grasp that,=20
for a start, those currently exacerbating the syndrome must=20
immediately be stopped in their tracks, isolated and shunned. Unless=20
this is done, India, its communities and its people, are unlikely to=20
survive, let alone prosper.

_____

#5.

The Friday Times, Lahore,
September 13-19, 2002

Planting the seeds of peace

Sq Ldr Anil Sehgal

Tum aao gulshan-e-Lahore se chaman bardosh
Hum aayen subh-e-Banaras ki roshni lekar
Himalaya ki hawaon ki taazgi lekar
Phir uske baad ye poochhein ke kaun
dushman hai?

(You bring us flowers from the gardens of Lahore
We bring you light from the dawn of Benares
- Freshness from the Himalayan airs-
And then let us ask together:
Who is the enemy?)
- Ali Sardar Jafri

If pronouncements of the forty Indian and Pakistani youth who=20
gathered recently at Singapore are any indicators, these seemingly=20
dreamy thoughts of the renowned poet can perhaps be safely realised.
The occasion for the gathering was a weeklong conference, 'Focus on=20
Kashmir', organised by the United World College of South East Asia,=20
at their sprawling campus in Singapore, from June 23 to 30. The=20
programme consisted of political discussions, cultural activities and=20
social interaction to build trust and understanding between the=20
participants and culminated in a joint statement calling for the=20
peaceful and non-violent resolution of the Kashmir conflict.
As the conference started, tensions and apprehensions were writ large=20
on the faces of the participants from both warring nations. Many a=20
session was fraught with palpable hostility and the organisers had to=20
intervene to bring about tolerance and sanity.
Fed on the mis-information disseminated through their textbooks,=20
media coverage and the political pronouncements of their respective=20
regimes, the participants initially took upon themselves the roles of=20
the proponents of their national aspirations. However, much sooner=20
than expected, the barriers of cultivated animosity gave way to=20
humane ways of tolerance and mutual respect and appreciation.
"We all came here to fight over Kashmir; to stick to the Pakistani=20
position over the issue come what may," says Rajia Abbas, a second=20
year student of BSc (Hons) at the Lahore University of Management=20
Studies. "We were more than sure that the Kashmir problem was a=20
deliberate creation of India and that the people of Kashmir wanted to=20
join their Muslim brothers in Pakistan. But after listening to the=20
Indian point of view, I am not so sure about the issue today," adds=20
Rajia, one of the most vociferous members of the Pakistani contingent.
Rajia has Kashmiri blood flowing in her veins. Her maternal=20
grandfather, Ghulam Ahmed Tarali, a staunch supporter of the Muslim=20
League, was forced to flee his native village of Taral in Kashmir in=20
the aftermath of Partition, leaving behind his relatives and only=20
son. He settled in Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir and never forgot his=20
roots.
"My grandfather always wanted to go back to his native village in=20
Kashmir. Towards the end of his life, he became a schizophrenic. He=20
would often run away from home muttering the name of his native=20
village and only son. His mental illness prevented him from realising=20
that he could never return to his roots. He died a very unhappy man,"=20
Rajia says with tearful eyes.
The daughter of a practicing cardiologist in Islamabad, Rajia feels=20
that most Indians have not accepted the reality of Pakistan. "Indians=20
are as touchy about the existence of Pakistan as Pakistanis are about=20
Bangladesh."
Rajia plans to share her changed views about the Kashmir issue with=20
her friends and tell them "there are instances where the Indian point=20
of view holds a lot of water".
"I am aware of the stiff resistance I am going to face in propagating=20
views that do not exactly match the official stand of my country. And=20
I am prepared for it," says the gritty girl from Lahore.
Before he came to Singapore and met his Indian counterparts,=20
19-year-old Fawad Irfan thought that "all Indians are uncivilised=20
barbarians and fanatics who hate Pakistanis". After a weeklong=20
interaction with Indian youth from diverse ethnic and cultural=20
backgrounds, Fawad feels that "Indians are perhaps better human=20
beings than us. I have not come across any hatred towards Pakistan or=20
Pakistanis".
He also plans to spread his message of peaceful co-existence and=20
tolerance through the street plays he regularly performs in=20
Bahawalpur. "Religious fanatics do exist in both countries, but they=20
are in the minority. We need to lessen the hatred so widely spread in=20
our society," says Fawad, the son of a well-known Seraiki writer.
18-year-old Ragni Kidvai, a student of the Karachi Grammar School,=20
had no bias against India or Indians. Being the only child of Nuzhat=20
and Zaheer Kidvai, well-known peace activists, exposed her to=20
"positive human vibrations" early in life and she has been regularly=20
participating in peace vigils with her parents.
As a member of the Women's Action Forum (WAF), Ragni visited New=20
Delhi in November 2001, along with her parents, to participate in the=20
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) conference. "We stayed with a=20
Hindu family. I find no difference in India and Pakistan; our social=20
concerns are so similar. I moved about Delhi like an Indian; nobody=20
asked me whether I was a Muslim or a Pakistani," says Ragni.
Delhi is one of Ragni's favourite cities; she says she has faced=20
stiff opposition from fundamentalists in Pakistan who wanted her to=20
change her "Indian name". "My father, an erstwhile seaman, is a great=20
lover of classical Indian music and named me Ragni Marea which means=20
'music of the sea '. I love my name, irrespective of whether it=20
sounds Indian or Russian," declares the young peacenik.
What if she falls in love with an Indian boy? "Religion or=20
nationality will not come in my way. Of course, I will marry him;=20
although, I know, there will be social resistance to my decision in=20
Pakistan" says the Karachiite.
Indian participants also came to the conference with biases against=20
Pakistan and her citizens. 18-year-old Gaurav Jain admits he had=20
"lots of hatred and animosity against Pakistanis for the perceived=20
wrongs committed against India. Now I understand them and their=20
attitudes. I feel there are instances where we too have gone wrong.=20
Today, I meet them as if they are my long lost brothers".
Anmol Tikkoo, also 18, had to flee from Srinagar at the age of five,=20
along with his parents and elder brother. In spite of their personal=20
losses and sufferings (his paternal uncle was shot dead by=20
militants), his parents taught him to be understanding and tolerant.=20
"My parents advised me that whenever I feel the loss of a part of my=20
childhood, I should remember the Muslim youth who had been forced to=20
join the militants and, in the process, lost their lives," says the=20
composed and serene Anmol, who joins Swarthmore University in the=20
United States in September this year.
Thanks to the tolerance taught by his parents, his bitterness has=20
since turned into sadness. "I often wonder whatever happened to our=20
proud heritage of Kashmiriyat; where is that traditional bond of love=20
between the Hindus and Muslims of Kashmir? We ought to remember that=20
in the game of violence there are no winners; all parties lose," he=20
adds.
The conference is a laudable effort in people-to-people contact=20
between India and Pakistan. It gave the youth from each country an=20
opportunity to understand and appreciate the other's point of view.
The Pakistani participants confirmed that the contingent was taken by=20
an NGO on a conducted tour of the refugee camps in Azad Kashmir=20
before coming to Singapore. They were duly briefed about the=20
Pakistan's stand in the Kashmir imbroglio. While the youth stuck to=20
the tutored stand in the beginning, their natural honesty soon took=20
over. They even joined their Indian counterparts in shooing away the=20
retired Pakistani brigadier who tried to present half-truths in his=20
presentation. In the words of Gul Jaffri, a Pakistani national living=20
in Singapore, "The Indians converted the Pakistani youth and vice=20
versa."
When renowned Indian singer Seema Anil Sehgal sang her songs for=20
peace and harmony, written by famous poets from the sub-continent,=20
both India and Pakistan, at the conference, the Pakistani youth=20
joined the chorus with great gusto and gave voice to "Hum jung na=20
hone denge" written by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee=20
with as much enthusiasm and vigour as to "Lahoo ka rang ek hai"=20
written by Pakistani poet Qateel Shifai.
Left to these youthful representatives and future leaders from India=20
and Pakistan, the future of the sub-continent seems to be in safer=20
hands.

_____

#6.

The Economic Times
October 8, 2002 =A0=A0|=A0=A0Updated at=A002:15=A0hrs=A0IST

Faith through fiat
EDITORIAL
[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2002 12:01:46 AM]
The Tamil Nadu government's ordinance on religious conversions has=20
brought the state in where it ought not to be. The ordinance seeks to=20
ban conversions by the use of 'force', 'allurement' or 'fraudulent=20
means'.
The state government says the idea behind the ordinance is to deter=20
'anti-social and vested interests exploiting innocent people=20
belonging to depressed classes'.
This high-sounding rhetoric can hardly conceal the very obvious=20
vested interests at work of the ruling AIADMK, seeking to cosy up to=20
the BJP and the NDA. Secularism demands that a person's religious=20
beliefs and convictions be entirely a personal affair.
The state has no business interfering in this domain. True, if there=20
is any evidence of a person being forced to subscribe to a particular=20
religious doctrine or practice a specific religion, the state must=20
step in to prevent such use of force.
But we don't need a law on religious conversions to deal with such=20
situations. The existing laws of the land are more than adequate.=20
Similarly, fraud is a criminal offence under Indian law and the=20
victim of fraud can prosecute the fraudster even without the benefit=20
of any fresh ordinance.
So what is it that the ordinance really achieves? It is the=20
'allurement' clause that has the real sting. This gives the state a=20
near blank cheque. Allurement is defined to include the offer of any=20
temptation in cash or kind.
We could take issue with the 'allurement' aspect at two levels. To=20
begin with, if a person's religious beliefs are entirely his or her=20
business, it must also mean that it is nobody else's business why the=20
person chooses whatever religion he or she chooses. That includes the=20
right to be 'tempted'.
At another level, who is to determine what constitutes temptation? If=20
one religion has a caste system and another promises to free you from=20
it, is that tempting?
Alternately, if a woman is allowed greater freedom in one religion=20
than in another, is that tempting the women to convert? The very=20
spirit of the ordinance is flawed.
It seems to believe that religions need state intervention to prevent=20
their adherents from deserting the fold. No truly religious person=20
would countenance such a notion.

______

#7.

The Telegraph
Wednesday, October 09, 2002

Nagaland and India: Ripe For A Peace Settlement
Bharat Bhushan
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1021009/asp/opinion/story_1273643.asp

______

#8.

The Times of India

Business Basics: Surat Stood Firm Against Violence
KINGSHUK NAG
[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2002 10:58:33 PM ]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?artid=3D24595612

_____

#9.

DAWN
8 Oct 2002

Night of the long knives? What the deuce is that?

By Jawed Naqvi

Even with all the hullabaloo about an impressive eight per cent=20
growth earmarked for India by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee=20
this week, the fissures and contradictions within his ragtag alliance=20
still cannot be masked easily.
By a strange quirk, the contradictions appear to be sharper, even=20
bruising within the prime minister's own rightwing caboodle, led by=20
the sabre-rattling between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the more=20
rabid Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.
Hardly is there a day when we do not get to read about a=20
communications minister locking horns with a disinvestments minister,=20
or the education minister getting miffed with the home minister in a=20
turf war, or Vajpayee's real or imaginary lobby taking pot shots at=20
L. K. Advani's real or imaginary sidekicks.
A real if futile debate has been triggered by the government's=20
inability to decide whether to disinvest in certain key oil firms and=20
other state-owned units. Scandalous transactions are being leaked=20
through to the media as though from a generous-sized sieve. Land=20
deals, petrol pump allocations have only added to a slew of charges=20
concerning defence transactions and such like brought into such a=20
sharp picture by the tehelka.com exposes.
In short, everything seems to be in a flux, everything except the=20
government's communal agenda. The so-called gaurav yatra has resumed=20
in Gujarat and neo-fascist ideologues of the so-called Sangh Parivar=20
are partaking of all the access at their disposal to mass media,=20
official and private, to mouth mediaeval notions of nation-building.
Yet, there are several differences between India 2002 and Germany=20
1930 even if there are many similarities too.
According to an apocryphal story, Adolf Hitler once chided Benito=20
Mussolini for squandering money on an expensive finance ministry when=20
the Italian economy, by now in a shambles, could not really justify=20
one. "But you too boast of such a grand ministry for justice,"=20
retorted the Duce, giving a chuck on the chin to the outfoxed Fuehrer.
Given the carping criticism, even if it is usually nicely veiled,=20
among Vajpayee's ministers of each other's areas of influence the=20
Duce-Fuehrer fable may have found new relevance.
An impression purveyed through this story is that both the doomed=20
leaders in some indirect ways were economic thinkers harbouring what=20
might be loosely called "useful thoughts" on financial matters.
The reality, of course, was that both believed in bluster, in vague=20
promises of socialism, which they used as a slogan to gain wide=20
support, while actually working overtime to exterminate all living=20
signs of any equitable utopia. Thus communists were the first to be=20
targeted in Germany, even before the gas chambers were readied for a=20
more ruthless assault on the Jewish minority.
But unlike India of today where many of us can see symptoms of=20
fascist ideas multiplying and duplicating at an alarming speed, Nazi=20
Germany was a relatively peaceful place in the 1930s, albeit horrible=20
for those who disliked police thugs and racism.
Also, unlike the votaries of the rightwing Hindu fascism in India=20
today, the Nazis had wider support although it is not clear if it was=20
majority support given that there were no free elections.
One explanation that seems to underscore the appeal of the Nazis is=20
that unemployment fell rapidly under their rule. In 1932, there were=20
over six million unemployed. By 1935 there were only 1.5 million=20
unemployed.
In a crucial sense, Hitler was fortunate that he arrived on the scene=20
when the Great Depression had already passed its worst point.=20
Moreover, he came at a point when economists around the world were=20
beginning to understand how to get out of the Depression.
One approach taken by some governments was in response to the=20
Depression was to tighten the belt - spend less money in order to=20
balance the budget. It was a natural thing to do but turned out to be=20
a big mistake. Tightening the belt and putting up interest rates=20
appeared to have helped contract the economy.
A better answer was deficit financing, for the government to spend=20
its way out of the Depression, creating demand in order to stimulate=20
economic growth.
Hitler took ample measure of this advice. The key was spending on=20
public works - motorway construction. Naturally, some 70,000 were=20
immediately employed on the building of Germany's autobahn system.=20
Others got busy planting new forests and in armaments expenditure.=20
The Allies took pity on Germany and after 1932 there were no more=20
reparation repayments.
There was no fuelling of inflation because wage pressures were kept=20
low after the free trade unions were abolished in May 1933. Trade=20
Unions in normal times demand better wages and conditions for their=20
workers. There was still the problem of a deficit - imports to feed=20
the armaments industry
Far from its claim to socialism, the Nazi ideology did not demand an=20
end to private enterprise so long as private enterprise was willing=20
to work with the Nazis. By 1939 the profits of limited liability=20
companies were four times higher than they had been in 1928. Between=20
1933 and 1937, profits in trade and industry rose by 88 per cent=20
while wages rose only by 49 per cent. By 1937 the GNP per capita was=20
10 per cent higher than in 1929.
But there were problems. Hitler wanted to establish a defence economy=20
which in effect meant an economy ready for war. To achieve this aim,=20
Hitler wanted autarky, that is, self-sufficiency, in Germany. A=20
measure of his commitment is that in 1934, 18 per cent of public=20
expenditure was devoted to defence. By 1938, 58 per cent of the=20
government budget went to defence.
Hitler's policies annoyed Hjalmar Schacht, the talented but=20
conventional minister of economics from 1934 to 1937 and the=20
architect of the "economic miracle". Schacht favoured a more normal,=20
export-oriented economy intertwined with the other major economies.=20
If Schacht's advice had been followed, Germany would have found that=20
it could easily dominate the European economy (as it does today)=20
without ever going to war. But Hitler needed war to achieve his=20
utopian ideas, the destruction of the Jews and living space in=20
Eastern Europe.
There is obviously little ground to compare India's present state of=20
economy with that of pre-Nazi Germany, nor are the economic=20
objectives of the two regimes the same. India's external debt at the=20
end of the past fiscal year to March 2002 was $98.1 billion, slightly=20
lower than $99.7 billion at the end of the preceding year.
This debt continues to be fuelled by heavy defence-related imports, a=20
far cry from any war economy in the manner that Germany conjured.
So what is this big discussion going on in which a party that rose to=20
power by whipping up religious hysteria appears to be so absorbed in=20
serious economic matters, knowing very well that their brand of=20
economic agendas don't have an electorate anymore. And yet every=20
senior minister and his lackey is straining at the leash to jump into=20
the discussion of privatization and through it into the wider=20
discourse on economics.
While the issues involved are serious and are loaded with=20
implications for the country's economy, it must be noted that the=20
level of the discussion may not always reflect the reality that=20
votaries of both sides of this equation had only recently joined=20
hands to lobby a blueprint for the country's economy whose crux, the=20
nub of the matter was the cow.
Is the serious-looking, earnest-sounding discussion on privatization=20
then a way of playing both sides of the street in a game in which the=20
populist space is also cornered by the ruling conglomeration? If the=20
increasingly marginalized Left does seek to intervene, it will have=20
to do so by supporting the arguments of one of the two rightwing=20
factions of the saffron family.
It's a clever ploy, if that is the way it has been thought through,=20
one that virtually threatens to leave both the pro- reforms Congress=20
and the Left out in the cold. There is also another possibility here,=20
one in which the turf war of the various saffron centres of power is=20
apparently intensifying.
In Nazi Germany Ernst Rohm was leader of the SA, the street- fighting=20
stormtroopers who intimidated political opponents since 1921. In the=20
Indian context the Vishwa Hindu Parishad would be the closest=20
equivalent of the SA whose leader Ashok Singhal seems to have the=20
backing of the RSS which, in turn, looks like opposing Vajpayee's=20
new-found penchant for privatization.
Rohm had 100,000 men in 1933. It was an official outlet for violence=20
and a good way for an unemployed man to find work. It expanded=20
rapidly after Hitler came to power. Three million men had joined the=20
SA by the middle of 1934.
It was that year in June that Hitler displayed his power in an act of=20
revenge and destruction known as the "Night of the Long Knives".=20
There was a contradiction at the heart of Nazism. The name of the=20
party was the National Socialist German Workers Party. Why socialist?=20
Hitler knew that the idea of greater equality which socialism=20
represented to many working-class voters was an attractive ideal. The=20
SA embodied the socialist part of national socialism.
In India's ruling circles the debate has just begun about the way=20
ahead, a debate whether a narrow hysterical nationalism could deliver=20
better than the misleading slogans of socialism. The debate could=20
turn violent. The general election is not due until 2004.

_____

10.

Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2002 3:16 PM
Subject: aide memoire for britsh parliamentary delegation on human rights

ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL
79/B I&II Floors, Street 8, West Marredpally, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh
President: Dr Joseph D' Souza Secretary General: Dr. John Dayal

Please correspond with Secretary General at:
Phone (91 11) 2722262 Fax 2726582 Mobile 09811021072=20
<mailto:johndayal@v...>johndayal@v...

Aide Memoire for the
Hon'ble Members of the British Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human right=
s
On the Joint Committee's Visit to India 8 October 2002

>From Dr John Dayal
Secretary general, All India Christian Council
National Vice President, All India Catholic Union

Religious freedom under Stress in India
Minorities targets of right wing militant Hindutva ideology and its=20
patronage by the Government and several member parties of the ruling=20
Coalition in New Delhi.

This brief note does not purport to be a narrative of Human Rights=20
violations in India, (documented well by the UK, European and US=20
Human Rights agencies) specially in the domain of religious freedom=20
issues in a nation that is pluralistic in its civilisational=20
heritage, and in its ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity.=20
Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Constitution, which also=20
guarantees, especially to the Christian community the Freedom to=20
propagate their faith, a term encompassing evangelistic activity of=20
the Church.

The main perpetrators of the violence against Muslims, Christians,=20
Buddhists and Dalits minority groups are members of the Hindutva=20
Parivar, a combination of ideologically united parties and groups=20
such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena and their=20
sister organisations under the names of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad=20
(VHP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bajrang Dal and the=20
Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. The full roster of these organisations is over=20
100, and extends from students unions and trade unions to specialised=20
groups working in universities and villages, especially those in the=20
forested tribal belt of central India. They are abetted by the=20
Governments at the Centre, and in several states.

The VHP and others collect funds from the Indian Diaspora, including=20
Indians in the UK. We have demanded that the British government look=20
into the flow of Funds from the UK through the Indian Diaspora to=20
these killer groups.

Although the Muslim community is the main victim of bigotry and=20
violence in India, as seen in Gujarat in 2002, the Christian=20
community, of less than 24 million persons (less than 2.4 per cent of=20
the Indian population) finds itself a particular target of Hindutva=20
chauvinism and perverted right wing nationalism of the Sangh Parivar.
Despite Constitutional guarantees, the Christian community has been=20
special target of harassment, both from the government and from the=20
political right wing. There have been more than a thousand cases of=20
violence against the Christian community since 1998, when the present=20
political dispensation came to power. Harassment often amounting to=20
violence, grievous injury and illegal arrests, still averages a case=20
every two days or less.

Even in the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 in which thousands of=20
Muslins men, women and children were butchered or burnt alive, and a=20
large number of their mosques demolished, at least 20 Christian=20
churches were also destroyed. In an earlier wave of violence in 1998,=20
over three dozen churches were destroyed in just one district of the=20
Dangs in Gujarat.

Barring a few cases, no one has been arrested, much less punished in=20
a court of law, for terrorizing the Christian community.

One pernicious weapon to harass the Christian community is the=20
so-called Freedom of Religion Acts, which exist in the States of=20
Orissa (a major offender), Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. An=20
unofficial bill is also pending in the lower house of Parliament=20
which seeks to punish anyone who changes his religion. This bill=20
lists free education as an inducement to conversion.

The State of Tamil Nadu ruled by the AIADMK, which is part of the=20
Central ruling alliance in New Delhi, has this week (5th October=20
2002) promulgated an Ordinance, which imposes stiff penalties on=20
those who convert and the clergy that may be involved. This Ordinance=20
is ultra vires of the Constitution and violates United Nations=20
guarantees on religious freedom. There has been uproar against this=20
ordinance with Muslim, Buddhist and Dalit communities seeing it as a=20
ploy to continue their persecution and to deny them the benefits of=20
education and social development. The Christian Council and others=20
are challenging it in the High Court.

Other recent developments, including the massacre of Muslims in=20
Gujarat, offer an occasion once again, to all those desiring peace in=20
the subcontinent, to do some serious introspection on the situation=20
of the minorities as also of the Dalits and the backward communities=20
in the country.

Consider the facts:

1. There has been perceptible and systematic breakdown in the rule of=20
law, culpability and responsibility of the instruments of state,=20
including the administration (incorporating the army and the police)=20
and not excluding the judiciary. Police reforms have been aborted and=20
police and military brutality is on the rise. The judiciary, bereft=20
of even marginal representation of the subaltern groups, is=20
increasingly under suspicion for emerging biases.

2. Rapid erosion in the safeguards, affirmative action and cultural=20
guarantees of the constitution as far as the minorities and Dalits=20
are concerned. The government position on the Supreme Court hearings=20
on Article Thirty 30, in which the Union Cabinet has decided that=20
minorities deserve no special consideration, is an alarming=20
development.

2. Alarming decline in the share of the minorities and the Dalits in=20
the development process, and more so, in the governance and=20
administrative apparatus. The process of making the Tenth Five-year=20
plan has shown that funds are still not available to Muslims and=20
Dalits for viable economic growth.

3. There has been a conspiracy to subjugate and coerce the=20
minorities, with violence when required, with the view of dividing=20
the leadership, silencing the spokesmen and dissident voices, using=20
fake dialogues as instruments of blackmail against fragile=20
leaderships and clerical hierarchies embattled in internecine war or=20
susceptible to such blackmail for other reasons. The plight of the=20
Christians, who were victims even in the current anti Muslim violence=20
in Gujarat, is all too well known internationally. The state=20
complicity in the Gujarat violence has been proved by independent=20
enquiries.

4. The utter cynicism, criminal cynicism if I may call it, of the=20
ruling elite in general, the Bharatiya Janata party, NDA and the=20
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Parivar specifically, and Prime Minister=20
Atal Behari Vajpayee and deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani=20
individually. {This sequence of events will explain this more than=20
anything. Even as the violence against Christians makes global news=20
and the anti Muslim massacres in Gujarat stun world audiences despite=20
the September 11 biases if any, the ruling group instead of=20
confidence building measures takes the following actions. The RSS,=20
the ideological political master of the government, announces that=20
Muslims and Christians must know that they survive at the mercy of=20
the majority community, and they must forthwith purge their holy=20
books and scriptures of all that is offensive to the majority=20
community, the national meeting of the BJP at Goa attended by the=20
Prime Minister and his deputy, in affect endorses it as its own=20
voice, Narendra Modi was posted in Gujarat with a charter to=20
violently polarize the state - in which he succeeds beyond the=20
expectations of his gurus - his ideological twin, Vinay Katiyar, a=20
mastermind of the demolition of the Babri mosque as head of the=20
Bajrang Dal, is posted to Uttar Pradesh to head the BJP in another=20
exercise in religious polarization. In a final irony, Prime Minister=20
Atal Behari Vajpayee, shedding for ever whatever mask he has worn of=20
justice and moderation, appoints as deputy Prime Minister Home=20
minister Lal Krishna Advani who faces indictment for his role in the=20
demolition of the mosque and the subsequent violence, and seen as the=20
brutal anti minority face of Hindutva in the government. The=20
prospects of Advani succeeding Vajpayee as Prime Minister sooner than=20
later are a nightmare for all minorities and Dalits.}

TOWARDS A SOLUTION

1. Restore rule of law. Towards this, ensure adequate representation=20
of minorities and Dalits in the police, administration, judiciary and=20
financial sectors
2. Respect human rights, and restore human rights in Kashmir,=20
Nagaland and other states by open investigation of previous=20
violations, special courts, punitive action against the guilty and=20
adequate and exemplary compensation for the victims of human rights=20
violations by the state apparatus (including police and armed=20
forces), as well as for other Muslim, Dalit and Christian victims of=20
communal and caste violence
3. Withdraw black laws such as the anti conversion ordinance of Tamil Nadu
4. Devolution of development resources towards Minorities and Dalits=20
who today are landless, without the potential of self-employment and=20
entrepreneurship, and absolutely without a safety net.
5. Act to end hate campaigns and demonisation of Muslim and Christian=20
communities with all consequent ramifications.
6. Take transparent steps to separate church (majority religion) from=20
the State.
7. Bring the law to act upon all actions, groups, ideologies, and=20
organisations with a neo fascist, racist, supremacist, communal and=20
casteist agenda.
8. Use legal machinery to stop armed training of cadres of neo fascist grou=
ps
9. Restore full freedom of the media
10. Ensure transparency in appointments to statutory institutions=20
which are today packed with political lackeys and people known to be=20
hostile to Dalits, religious and ethnic minorities

What the International Community can do

1. Organise an international enquiry of the neo fascist and neo-nazi=20
groups, including the members of the Sangh Parivar Minister. This is=20
urgently required as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other sister=20
organisations are seeking international accreditation and are setting=20
up groups within the Indian community in Europe and North America
2. Urge international investigation of all funds sourced from North=20
America and Europe to organisations which are found or suspected to=20
be involved in anti Christian, anti Muslim and anti Dalit violence=20
and in hate campaigns
3. Urge transparent enquiry in violation of human rights in India by=20
state apparatus, including Police, and the armed forces.
4. Encourage the Human rights movement in India by setting up support=20
groups in Europe and the Americas. Protect the Human rights movement=20
from the influence and coercion of the state.
5. Advocacy in Europe and North America to put pressure on the=20
government in India to encourage and nurture a plural cultural=20
society in keeping with the diversity and plurality of Indian=20
civilization.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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