[sacw] SACW | 12 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 12 October 2002

__________________________

#1. Fundamentalists do well in Pakistan Election (John Lancaster)
#2. Musharraf faces crisis with rise of Islamists (Ahmed Rashid)
#3. Kashmir / India: Interim Report of the 4th Phase J&K State=20
Assembly elections =AD 8th October 2002
#4. India: Ayodhya Issue and Freedom of Expression (P Radhakrishnan)
#5. India: Sandeep Pandey plans march from UP to Gujarat to expose communal=
ists
#6. India: www.gaisecurity.com =3D> satirise the banalization or=20
popularization of surveillance
#7. India Musicians Remember Pearl
#8. The Other Asia - International Lesbian and Gay (ILGA) Asian=20
regional conference (Mumbai)

__________________________

#1.

The International Herald Tribune
Saturday, October 12, 2002
http://www.iht.com/articles/73533.html

Fundamentalists do well in Pakistan
Anti-U.S. coalition now a key player

John Lancaster (The Washington Post)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Riding a tide of public anger over American=20
anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, an Islamic=20
coalition has made major election gains against President Pervez=20
Musharraf.
.
An alliance of six hard-line religious parties captured a clear=20
majority of seats in the legislative assembly of Pakistan's=20
North-West Frontier Province, one of four provinces that make up the=20
country.
.
The United Action Forum, whose platform is resolutely hostile to the=20
United States, also posted better-than-expected gains in the National=20
Assembly, winning at least 40 of 272 open seats (another 70 are set=20
aside for women and minorities), according to election returns that=20
were still being tallied Friday night.
.
Musharraf will still retain ultimate power, having engineered=20
constitutional amendments that will allow him to dismiss Parliament=20
and the prime minister and veto cabinet decisions by means of a new=20
national security council, which he will head. Foreign policy, by all=20
accounts, will remain the purview of the army and intelligence=20
services, rather than the newly elected Parliament.
.
For that reason, analysts said Friday, the religious parties are=20
likely to make their influence at the national level felt most=20
strongly in the realm of social policy, at least at the outset. For=20
example, they are sure to block any effort to modernize the country's=20
madrassas, the religious schools seen as breeding grounds for Islamic=20
extremism, and change blasphemy laws that have been used to persecute=20
religious minorities.
.
The incomplete results showed that the pro-government Quaid-e-Azam=20
faction of the Pakistan Muslim League won at least 57 seats, while=20
the Pakistani People's Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto,=20
who lives in self-imposed exile, was running in second place with 44.
.
In the absence of an outright majority, the largest vote-getter will=20
have to form a coalition in which the religious alliance is likely to=20
emerge as a key powerbroker, according to diplomats and analysts.
.
"My initial observations are simply that the religious parties have=20
done massively better than anyone had predicted, that this gives them=20
the possibility of a serious swing vote in the National Assembly, and=20
that that could create real problems, particularly from the West's=20
point of view," a Western diplomat said.
.
"They will be able to create all sorts of obstacles in the path of=20
any legislation they don't like," said Najam Sethi, editor of the=20
Friday Times newspaper in Lahore. "Secondly, they will be able to=20
create a hell of a ruckus over existing policies and agitate for=20
their removal."
.
Even if the coalition does not have any direct say over Musharraf's=20
security policy, it could make things uncomfortable for the=20
government - and the United States - by virtue of its strong showing=20
in North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, where the alliance=20
appeared to have won a governing role in the provincial assembly, if=20
not an outright majority. Both provinces include the lawless tribal=20
areas along the Afghan border, a focal point of American-led efforts=20
to root out the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
.
"It was one of the points of the agenda" of the alliance that=20
"American bases are not acceptable for the Pakistani people," Asif=20
Luqman Qazi, deputy foreign policy director of Jamaat Islamiya, the=20
largest and most influential religious party in the coalition, said=20
in a telephone interview from the province Friday afternoon. "We will=20
ask the U.S. forces to abandon these bases."
.
Religious parties have traditionally played a minor role in Pakistani=20
politics, never capturing more than a handful of seats in Parliament.=20
To the extent that they have enjoyed influence here, it is because of=20
the army, which has played a long and well-documented role in=20
promoting Islamic militancy, first to drive the Soviets from=20
Afghanistan, later to fight a proxy war with India in Kashmir.
.
Under intense U.S. pressure following the Sept. 11 attacks, Musharraf=20
has tried to rein in some militant groups. But he has avoided=20
confrontation with their political allies, and his critics say that=20
he bears much of the responsibility for the religious parties' strong=20
showing in Thursday's voting.
.
Over mild protests from Washington, Musharraf moved vigorously over=20
the summer to neutralize his secular political opposition,=20
instituting new electoral rules calculated to rule out challenges by=20
Bhutto and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed=20
in October 1999. He also required that candidates for the national=20
assembly hold four-year college degrees, eliminating about 40 percent=20
of potential contenders. But Musharraf made an exception for=20
candidates from religious parties, whose madrassa certificates were=20
deemed adequate proof of literacy and learning. On Thursday, many of=20
them rushed in to fill the void left by disqualified rivals.

_____

#2.

The Daily Times
Saturday, October 12, 2002

Musharraf faces crisis with rise of Islamists

By Ahmed Rashid

Islamic fundamentalists were on the verge of taking power in a=20
Pakistani province bordering Afghanistan and mainstream opposition=20
parties were outperforming those loyal to President Pervaiz Musharraf=20
in key constituencies, according to early general election results=20
last night.
As counting continued, the army=B9s attempts to keep out the parties=20
led by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and form a civilian government=20
of pro-army candidates were in shambles.
Ms Bhutto=B9s Pakistan People=B9s Party and Mr Sharif=B9s Pakistan Muslim=20
League were sweeping the two largest provinces, Punjab and Sindh,=20
while pro-army candidates, including all those being considered for=20
the prime ministership, lost their seats.
Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif are in exile and were barred from the polls.=20
But Gen Musharraf=B9s rejection of their secular parties has led to a=20
much bigger crisis for the Pakistani president, the largest victory=20
of Islamic parties in Pakistan=B9s history.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Council of Action, made up of=20
six Islamic parties campaigning solely on a platform of=20
anti-Americanism were winning the majority of seats in the North West=20
Frontier Province and its capital, Peshawar.
The Islamic parties may be in a position to become the kingmakers in=20
forming the national government, and will certainly form the=20
provincial government in the NWFP.
That could help to revive the Taliban as the Islamic parties are=20
close allies of the ousted Afghan regime and strongly oppose the=20
presence of western forces in Afghanistan, as well as the pro-western=20
government in Kabul. They also demand imposition of Islamic law in=20
the NWFP.
The results overall showed a decisive rejection of army rule and its=20
attempts to manipulate the post-election process
The army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam, or PML-Q, lost=20
nearly all of its 11 seats in Lahore and was losing heavily in other=20
cities in Punjab.
The regime=B9s intelligence agencies have worked hard for PML-Q, which=20
is nicknamed the =B3king=B9s party=B2. The party supports the formal=20
induction of the army into the political power structure after the=20
election and backs Gen Musharraf to remain as president for the next=20
five years.
Polling day was characterised by traditional Pakistani electoral=20
traits, including heavy gunfire, accusations of vote-rigging and the=20
deaths of at least four supporters of rival parties. But overall=20
there was less violence than in previous elections.
Tens of thousands of troops and police patrolled major roads and=20
cities during the voting which the army said will restore an elected=20
civilian government three years after a coup brought Gen Musharraf to=20
power.
There was a lower than expected turnout in urban areas, with some=20
districts of Lahore showing less than 20 per cent but a much higher=20
turnout in rural areas, where local politicians command feudal and=20
tribal loyalties.
In some rural areas of Punjab province, turnout was as high as 50 per=20
cent. Overall turnout among the country=B9s 72 million voters at 64,000=20
polling stations was not expected to exceed the 35 per cent achieved=20
in the last general election in 1997.
Gen Musharraf voted with his wife near his home in Rawalpindi. He=20
pledged to hand over power to the new prime minister by the end of=20
the month. =B3We have worked out everything,=B2 Gen Musharraf said.
=B3It=B9s a legal process. We will go by this process and finally,=20
roughly by November 1, I will hand over chief executive authority to=20
a new prime minister.=B2
Last night Gen Musharraf raised the retirement age of judges of=20
higher courts, a move intended to ensure that they remain loyal to=20
the military in cases of complaints against the Electoral Commission=20
after the polls.
Although the army=B9s first choice to form the new government is the=20
PML-Q, it is also backing a powerful group of independent candidates=20
standing under the single election symbol of the crescent.
=B3These are the army=B9s strategic reserves, in case the PML-Q fails to=20
win,=B2 said a senior bureaucrat in Lahore. In any event, Gen Musharraf=20
still has the power to dissolve parliament and dismiss the prime=20
minister.

_____

#3.

J&K Coalition of Civil Society

INTERIM REPORT OF THE FOURTH PHASE
J&K STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS =AD 8TH OCTOBER 2002

As members of the Independent Observers Group, organized by the civil=20
society coalition, we were to observe the conduct of the elections=20
for the J&K State Legislative Assembly. The group=B9s terms of=20
reference were: -

1. Use of coercion (either to participate or abstain from elections)

2. Interaction with electorate to find out why they participated or abstain=
ed

In this endeavour we formed joint teams comprising of people from=20
Jammu and Kashmir and different parts of India for four major regions=20
of the Doda district. The chosen constituencies included Banihal,=20
Doda, Baderwah and Kishtwar. While our final report with complete=20
documentary evidence would be made available at the earliest, we are=20
releasing an Interim Report of the Fourth Phase.=A0

There are some basic facts about Doda, which leads to the=20
=8Chyper-sensitivity=B9 of the district of Doda and an analysis of the=20
same is very necessary to understand the context in which elections=20
took place in the district. Doda unlike the Kashmir valley is a=20
highly mountainous region. Ninety percent of the population lives in=20
the rural areas. Approximately, one lakh military and Para military=20
forces, including Rashtriya Riffles, Central Reserve Police Force=20
(CRPF), Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI), Border Security=20
Forces (BSF). Moreover 20,000 state police force have been deployed=20
in the district. This is in addition to the approximately 10,000=20
Village Defence Committees (VDC) / Special Police Officers (SPO=B9s),=20
which exist in 31 Pathwar Halkas. Every Village Committee has merely=20
8 persons recruited. The voluminous presence of militant groups in=20
the district too is reported to be higher than in either Jammu region=20
or Kashmir valley.

The elections took place in the midst of high security arrangements.=20
But the threat of some attacks was evident in the region on the eve=20
of the elections. Hence in many areas the fear of either of the gun=20
was very evident and in many interior/rural areas of the district,=20
the stronger gun became the deciding factor.

In an interesting contrast to the elections in the Kashmir valley,=20
where urban voters generally boycotted the elections and rural=20
population participate to vote due to several reasons, many areas of=20
Doda witnessed the urban populace willingly and actively=20
participating in the elections and rural areas not showing up for=20
voting - except in areas where the security forces allegedly forced=20
them to.

Banihal Constituency =AD The team visited far-flung areas of the=20
Banihal constituency, situated in Doda district. Unlike in many other=20
areas of Doda particularly the towns where coercion was not visible,=20
it was used as a policy to defeat the boycott by the people in=20
Banihal, the better exception being the town areas.

Ashar, Banihal =AD The team reached the area at 10:50 am, after=20
receiving information about army coercion in the area. The team was=20
told that R.R personnel had visited the area in the morning hours to=20
compel people to cast their votes. On reaching the village, the team=20
saw 17 RR personnel deployed in the area inside the residential=20
locality, walking along with voters of the village towards the=20
polling booth. On seeing the team, the army personnel started moving=20
off and disappearing from the vicinity. But the team did manage to=20
follow one such jawan who tried to hide himself inside a rice husker.=20
An argument about the army herding people to the polling station was=20
made with the soldier who was very furious with the members.

Later after visiting the polling booths in nearby areas, the reason=20
for the army=B9s involvement was clearer. There were 4 votes cast in=20
polling booth No. 5 out of 527 at 11:20 am and at Booth No. 6, the=20
votes cast was 22 out of the 613 total.

Duligam, Banihal =AD Around 30 people, who were seen sitting on the=20
road guarded by two army persons (opposite the polling booth at a=20
lower plain), complained to the team in their presence that they were=20
being herded there by the army team, who had left them at the road,=20
and had gone to collect the remaining villagers. These people had=20
resisted to vote until the whole village was not brought to the place=20
were they were seated. The people were open in their resolve to=20
support only a "referendum" and not any elections for the=20
administrative purpose.

In the meantime, many other villagers were brought to the area by=20
army personnel. Children and the old were seen together with this=20
crowd, which featured even the semi-blind Imam of the local mosque -=20
aged 85.When on enquiring from the R.R. regarding the alleged=20
coercion, the RR personnel retorted by refuting the allegations made=20
by the villagers. They also send a word of caution to the Commanding=20
Officer of the area regarding the teams=B9 visit, which later stopped=20
the team on their way back and insisted the team members to accompany=20
him to verify the allegations.

The need for this kind of coercion can be understood from the fact=20
that at 1:15 pm, there were no votes cast in the nearby poling=20
station (polling booth No. 12), where there were 1253 voters as per=20
the rolls.

Doda constituency =AD The elections started with the attack of militant=20
groups on the polling booth No. 4 situated inside the Town Hall at=20
Doda in the heart of the town. Three people were killed in the attack=20
including two CRPF soldiers and a militant. It was generally=20
perceived as an attempt to make sure a lesser voter turnout in the=20
city areas of Doda and need to be understood as a mode of coercion.=20
This pattern was seen again in two other polling booths of Babore and=20
Hanch were there were grenade attacks (without casualities) were=20
reported by the people.

There were many reasons cited by those participated in the elections,=20
including the anti-trifurcation wave, which was present throughout=20
among the minority and majority voters from the areas visited by the=20
team. Local issues as well as the family affiliations to the local=20
candidates too were cited. In the otherwise secular and communally=20
friendly areas of Doda, political competition between the two=20
communities was evident, leading to large voter turnout.

Roti Padarnah, Doda - Leaving beside the city polling booths where=20
voter turnout was willing and active, the interior areas of Doda did=20
bear the grunt of the armed forces=B9 might and thus coercion. This=20
village situated almost five kilometers away from any main road (the=20
polling booth No. 28 was on a hill-top needing three kilometers of=20
trekking) had 13 people casting their votes till 12:30 p.m. and in=20
the next two hours the numbers had gone up to 283 out of the 928=20
total voters- with many more awaiting their chance. On talking to the=20
people, the team was made to understand that the CRPF force, which=20
had the security charge of the area during the elections, had gone to=20
the nearby villages (Roti padarnah, Taishal, Chapna, Shirshi, etc)=20
and had herded people to the polling booth. The illiterate villagers=20
did not even know the candidates or their symbols to cast their vote.=20
Those who gave the team narrative evidence of the coercion included=20
the Presiding officer from Jammu as well.

Posta, Doda constituency =AD In Posta village, the CRPF personnel went=20
into the village at around 12:45 pm and gathered people, including=20
those working in the fields and forced them to go to the polling=20
booth (almost 3.5 km up from the village). The villagers later told=20
the team that they did not want to cast their votes as elections were=20
no solution to their issues. They also added that in normal=20
circumstances, there was no security provided to them by any of the=20
security forces and that there was a ban imposed by militant groups=20
on voting.

Babore, Doda constituency =AD In this urban polling booth (PB No.26),=20
people were participating in large numbers and by 11:55 am, there=20
were 250 votes cast out of the 864 total number of voters. But=20
minors=B9 voting (the team spoke to one of the minor voters =AD a girl of=20
fourteen) and the presiding officer=B9s enthusiasm to lead people=20
(especially illiterate women voters) by their fingers to press the=20
button of the voting machine did put shadow over the fairness aspect=20
of the election. Photographs available with the team can very well=20
illustrate how women were made to press the same button in as many as=20
20 consecutive cases. The presiding officer was from the Rajouri=20
district.

Baderwah constituency - In Baderwah there was willful participation=20
of the voters, in urban areas. The team visited Banzla 8 km from=20
Baderwah, starting polling booth number 44. Baderwah constituency has=20
107 polling stations out of which 17 polling booths were located in=20
towns and 90 in remote areas. Amongst 107 polling booths 55 were=20
described as hypersensitive and 52 sensitive by the Election=20
Commission. The team visited the polling booths no 34 at Baderwah=20
Degree College, Govt. Girls Schools Sartingal (PB. no. 44), Govt.=20
Girls Schools Masjid Mohalla (booth no 40), Thara Mohalla (booth no=20
36) Havelli (PB. no 39), Town Hall (PB. no. 38), Qilla Mohal, Ydrana=20
and Shiva (PB. no 58). The people from both the communities were=20
participated in elections with enthusiasm and without any coercion.=20
The members of the majority community stated that they were voting=20
for developmental and civic issues and they are conscious it is no=20
solution to the Kashmir issue. The members of Majority community=20
apprehended fears about the outcome if only the minority community=20
was to participate in the elections. The competition between the two=20
communities for voting and to elect their respective representative=20
was visible. However, at two places in Baderwah at Mathala Baderwah=20
where one person was killed people abstain from voting. At Marmat=20
where security forces had reportedly burnt 120 houses on 20th of=20
August and a section of people had migrated, they were threatened to=20
vote or face consequences. The team also came across allegations of=20
rigging due to non-participation of the considerable number of=20
people, who have boycotted the polls. One family claimed that they=20
have 500 votes in their clan and alleged that though all of them=20
abstained from voting, their votes were polled.

As stated earlier, the incidents we are quoting in the Interim=20
Reports are only sample ones among the many similar instances the CCS=20
teams have come across. In this phase, due to the geographic range of=20
the Doda district, our teams were able to visit only four out of the=20
six constituencies, which went to polls on the 8th of October 2002.=20
We couldn=B9t cover the Lolab constituency of Kupwara District were=20
postponed elections were taking place along with the rest of the=20
fourth phase.

On Behalf of the Civil Society Coalition,

Adv. Mir Hafizullah Vijayan MJ
(Gen.Secy, J&K CCS) (Convener, CSI- India)
Phone: (0194)-456381 Ph: (011) -=20
6561743 / 651484

_____

#4.

Economic and Political Weekly (Bombay, India)
October 5, 2002
Commentary

Ayodhya Issue and Freedom of Expression

It is dismaying that there has hardly been any reaction in the media=20
to the order of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court against=20
the publication of news reports and comments on the Ayodhya issue by=20
the print and electronic media.

P Radhakrishnan

It is just over a month ago - on August 22 to be exact - that=20
sections of the press reported that taking strong exception to the=20
reporting on the Ayodhya issue by the print and electronic media, the=20
Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High=A0Court had ordered on August 20=20
that=A0publishing opinions of parties, their=A0counsel and other persons=20
in the dispute pending before the court and articles in regard to the=20
merits of the cases and televising of interviews in respect of the=20
Ayodhya matter by TV channels shall be treated as contempt of court.

It is dismaying that there has hardly been any reaction to the court=20
order in the media in the month or more following the court order.=20
This ostrich-like attitude of the media is ominous and an affront to=20
all secular-minded citizens who have a big stake in the settlement of=20
the Ayodhya dispute and who have to rely on the credibility of press=20
reports in regard to any information and opinion concerning the case.=20
More so, when the Sangh Parivar=E2s political outfit, the Bharatiya=20
Janata Party, is in power; more so, after the recent Gujarat pogrom;=20
more so, after Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal=E2s recent=20
reported statement that the =E3Gujarat experiment=E4 was a success and=20
his threat that it would be replicated in other states. All concerned=20
citizens have a stake in ensuring that the Ayodhya dispute is given a=20
deep burial for all times to come and in ensuring that such disputes=20
do not recur. That alone will enable India to grow economically,=20
socially, culturally, intellectually, politically and in whatever=20
other ways one can think of.

No doubt, sections of the media do fish in troubled waters. But is=20
that reason enough for the sweeping generalisation that so long as=20
the dispute is pending before the court all reporting and comment on=20
it in the print and electronic media undermine judicial authority and=20
amount to interference in the administration of justice?

This article is not on the Ayodhya dispute but on larger concerns=20
which must be nagging every democratic-minded citizen. In this=20
context, the following observations in an editorial on the Indian=20
judiciary in The Hindu on June 5, 2002 merit reproduction:

It is a well known dictum that justice is not a cloistered virtue and=20
should suffer the outspoken but respectful comment of ordinary men.=20
The extent of outspokenness that is common elsewhere is illustrated=20
by a headline in an article by a law professor in the United States=20
describing the Supreme Court judges who ruled against Al Gore as=20
'five robed bandits'. The judges there with their supreme confidence=20
in their learning, fairness and integrity would never think of=20
hauling up even such critics for contempt of court or for=20
scandalising the judiciary which smaller minds in their insecurity=20
are often wont to do in India. Judicial credibility, dignity and=20
respect are qualities that accrue naturally through learning,=20
fairness and a certain reserve and distance from the society around=20
and cannot be acquired by tilting at the windmills of public and=20
press scrutiny as if they were to blame for the ills afflicting the=20
judiciary. A certain measure of intolerance manifests itself at times=20
in gag orders seeking to cut out reporting of investigation and even=20
judicial proceedings in open court merely to avoid embarrassment to=20
the judges rather than out of any higher consideration of the welfare=20
or the rights of the litigants. Worse still is the increasing resort=20
by some courts to contempt proceedings to deter public scrutiny of=20
their actions, both judicial and administrative, and to draw a cloak=20
of secrecy over the functioning of the institution that has to be=20
seen by the public as transparently just.

These observations should help in understanding in perspective the=20
larger concerns referred to earlier. They are at least=A0six.

One, in a democracy what is expected of the media, as sections of the=20
media are wont to say, is to hold a mirror to the nation. A=20
democracy, especially a nascent one like India, can neither survive=20
nor emerge full-blooded without concerted constructive democratic=20
action. For this, understanding perceptions of the reality is as=20
important as understanding the elusive reality itself. This is best=20
done by identifying the fault lines in governance, the perfidies of=20
the governors and the pitfalls of the governed. The centrality of the=20
media's role in this is obvious. By remaining doggedly committed to=20
its cause and thus keeping the heat on, the media forces even an=20
unwilling government and its political leadership to act, albeit=20
haphazardly and perfunctorily, for the greater good. Barring small=20
sections, the Indian media has proved its functional imperative=20
amply. Viewed from the above perspective, a ban on the media as a=20
whole even if it is on a single issue amounts to depriving the nation=20
of the media's vital contribution to unravelling this issue in all=20
its ramifications, and to depriving the judiciary of the benefit of=20
the inputs it requires and which the media has been able to provide=20
for wrapping up the issue as speedily and judiciously as possible. If=20
sections of the media have transgressed the limits, the treatment=20
should be confined to such transgression.

Two, the Ayodhya dispute is no more an issue confined to a particular=20
court or to Ayodhya. The proliferation of literature on it from=20
various shades of contending opinion disseminated through every=20
conceivable means is so mind-boggling that even if the print and=20
electronic media are restrained from August 20 onwards, what has=20
already been churned out cannot be charred by a prospective gag=20
order. To cite one instance, a quick search of the entry 'Ayodhya=20
dispute' on one of the websites showed as many as 7,910 results,=20
many=A0of them from abroad. To cite another instance, along with the=20
publication of the contempt order another website listed reports on=20
matters relating to the Ayodhya dispute. Though the period covered is=20
only January to August 2002, the listing filled as many as eight=20
pages and contained 248 reports.

Three, as the ban is supposedly on the media as a whole, what happens=20
to the journalism of hate perpetrated by the Sangh parivar through=20
its various print organs, publications, websites and so on, from=20
India and abroad? The court cannot stop the flow of this propaganda.=20
In such a situation silencing the rest of the media may not go very=20
far in ensuring the administration of justice on the Ayodhya dispute.=20
If anything, the court order can only render the media of the Sangh=20
parivar more active and communally virulent.

Four, having been in the eye of the storm for a very long time now,=20
it is only to be expected that public minds are already not only=20
affected but more importantly afflicted by the Ayodhya syndrome. As=20
the material and social manifestations of this syndrome have already=20
spread far and wide, if the objective is to undo the influence of=20
these manifestations on the public mind it would be necessary to wipe=20
out all visible manifestations of this syndrome which have a bearing=20
on the sensibilities of society - manifestations such as the=20
stockpiling of the material for the proposed temple at Ayodhya and=20
the 'gaurav yatra' initiated by Narendra Modi. Assuming that the=20
public mind is credulous, far from silencing the media a=20
proactive=A0judiciary would exhort and encourage it to play a more=20
positive role for conflict resolution and for instilling faith among=20
the public in the functioning of the judiciary and other democratic=20
institutions which are now in disarray.

Five, as courts necessarily depend on evidence for the administration=20
of justice, in the absence of the vital role of the media the court=20
would find it increasingly difficult to trace the needle in the=20
haystack.

Six, and most important, the court order is an unnecessary and=20
unwarranted curb on the freedom of expression not only of the media=20
but of the people as a whole. As freedom of expression is a=20
fundamental right and a very important right in a democracy, it must=20
not be taken away merely to suit the expediencies of the=20
administration of justice.

To conclude, the repeated use of contempt of court and assertion by=20
courts of the authority and the majesty of the court seem to resonate=20
what may be termed 'judicial paranoia'. Considering that the=20
judiciary is part of a larger system, this is probably inevitable,=20
but it is all the more ominous.

_____

#5.

Rediff.com
October 12, 2002

Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey to launch padayatra
Anand Mohan Sahay in Patna

Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey on Thursday said he is planning=20
to launch a padayatra (march) from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to the=20
Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, some time in November, before=20
the Gujarat election.

He said the idea is to spread the message of communal harmony and=20
expose the politics of violence propagated by right-wing Hindu=20
organisations.

Pandey, who has quit his job at the Indian Institute of Technology,=20
Kanpur, and is working for underprivileged children, said he had=20
chosen Ayodhya and the Sabarmati Ashram as both places symbolise=20
communal harmony.

Pandey is in Patna to attend a three-day Sarvodaya Samaj Sammelan as=20
part of the Jayaprakash Narayan birth centenary celebrations, which=20
began on Wednesday.

He said he was disturbed by the politics of communalism being played=20
by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party in=20
Gujarat.

Pandey said that in Gujarat, violence was not only justified but=20
glorified by everyone from the BJP government led by Chief Minister=20
Narendra Modi to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. What was more shocking,=20
he said, was that even Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani=20
and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee supported Modi.

The BJP had made violence a weapon, which is a dangerous trend in=20
Indian politics, he said. "Many people may not realise its=20
consequence today, but it is going to be deadly for everyone."

He feared that if the experiment of violence in Gujarat, which has=20
been termed a laboratory of the Sangh Parivar, succeeded, it would=20
prove dangerous for all Indians and not only the minority.

Pandey said the RSS and its outfits hardly have any faith in=20
democracy, an attitude that is against the spirit of the=20
Constitution. "They have entered into power from the backdoor by=20
using the BJP," he said.

He pointed out that before the Emergency in the 1970s, the RSS and=20
the BJP's predecessor, the Jan Sangh, were not very popular. Advani's=20
rathyatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in the late 1980s was the turning=20
point, after which he and his party gained rapid popularity using=20
religion.

_____

#6.

www.gaisecurity.com // telematic surveillance.

The willingness to watch and to be watched is perpetuated by capital. The
intersection of spectacle and surveillance evident in contemporary
postmodern phenomena like the cult of the celebrity and reality TV is not a
new idea. Surveillance has already been sold. The events of September 11 an=
d
December 13 (attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi) merely clinched
the deal. Within hours of the attacks the surveillance industry had
mobilized itself. Cloaked behind vague global security rhetoric, it set out
with the aim of profiting from a new and improved anxiety economy.
The surveillance industry sees India as one of its most lucrative potential
markets, with a growth potential of 25% in an industry that already has a
turnover of close to US $120 million per annum. On an everyday level, CCTVs
are cropping up in all the usual places. There is growing excitement about
electronic security devices. As Shuddhabrata Sengupta observes, modernising
elites in the so-called Third World are often better placed (due to lack of
constitutional safeguards to privacy or lack of awareness at the public
level of privacy issues) to put in place technologies of mass surveillance.
It comes as no surprise then when www.tradeport.org states on its website
that "installation of security devices has gained popularity among the uppe=
r
segment of Indian society, including the very rich and celebrities who
experience security threats. It has become a status symbol to install
high-tech safety equipment in homes and residential complexes."
Surveillance is creeping into India almost invisibly, with little discussio=
n
and an alarming lack of public awareness. Telematic Surveillance as a
project is operating in the context of a country on the periphery of late
capitalism. As such its reach is numerically limited but the significance o=
f
those numbers is incredibly wide ranging. Technologies are always, to some
extent, linked with capitalist interests and often function as tools of
oppression. This makes it increasingly crucial to expose the wired Indian
consumer to the underlying power relations inherent in new technologies--in
short, to a politics of information.
GaiSecurity.com is an intelligent surveillance solutions provider (cum
tactical entity) based in Mumbai, India. By offering surveillance as a
commodity, Gai attempts to satirise the banalization or popularization of
global surveillance. Gai wants to demonstrate the sheer strangeness of this
emerging global tele-surveillance market in the public (market) domain and
the mechanisms of power that lie behind it by playing it back to itself in =
a
distorted and exaggerated remix. Gai attempts to adopt a pedagogical role,
informing its customers of exactly what they might be buying into, by
subliminally(?) linking surveillance industry jingle to contesting voices i=
n
the network.
In subscribing to Gai's Service, Gai's customers implicitly turn from
tele-spectators to tele-actors. They become voyeuristic electronic agents
and their PC--a personal domestic device--is turned into an apparatus of
behaviour control. They may gain permanent direct access and thus control
over events, but at a price. They simultaneously become subject to control,
and are willingly(?) entered into a spectacular, viral, surveilling loop.
Gai, then, is also about digitized subjectivity. Being watched in the
information age means more than simply screen. It means database. Both
screen and database or digital profile are part of a larger genre of vision
technologies that essentially operate by abstracting bodies and/or spaces
from their territorial settings and transforming them into abstract flows o=
f
data. These flows of data, these images, become the locus of social control=
;
identity becomes locked in reductive, repressive data systems more real tha=
n
their fleshy referent. People are classified primarily in terms of potentia=
l
risk, the most obvious being the profiling of those with Arab or Islamic
backgrounds.
Gai wants to function as a subtle tactical entity exposing the skewed agend=
a
of the continued and uncontested transformation of public bodies into
scanned and controlled grids. Technology is not ahistorical; it has dubious
modes of power inscribed within its nodes and questionable values encoded i=
n
its software. Gai tries to make visible to its customers the collective los=
s
of sight perpetuated by the surveillance society.

Credits
Collaborators: Sejal Chad, Shefali Chad, Beatrice Gibson, Rahul Guha and
Vivek Sasikumar

[Source: Reader-list digest, Vol 1 #666]

_____

#7.

World - AP Asia
India Musicians Remember Pearl
Thu Oct 10, 4:12 PM ET

BOMBAY, India (AP) - Indian jazz musicians performed Thursday to mark=20
what would have been the 39th birthday of slain Wall Street Journal=20
reporter Daniel Pearl.

Led by Joe Alvarez, an Indian singer, the musicians played=20
compositions that Pearl enjoyed playing and listening to =8B including=20
"Sensitive Kind," "Autumn Leaves" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists while=20
investigating a story in Karachi, Pakistan earlier this year.

Alvarez said he met Pearl =8B a classically trained musician who played=20
the violin and mandolin =8B during a jazz night at a Bombay restaurant=20
a year ago.

"Danny came across as an unassuming, gentle and very kind person. We=20
were really surprised he was such a good musician," he said.

"He was carrying a violin in his bag and I asked him to jam with us.=20
Unrehearsed, he came out and flew ... That is the mark of a good=20
musician to play unrehearsed," he said.

Ernest Flaganan, another Indian singer, composed a song for Pearl=20
titled "To die for the truth."

"Daniel Pearl we'll never forget you and your death will not be in=20
vain ... Criminals of the world will always fear the pen in the hands=20
of an honest man," Flaganan sang.

The U.S.-based Daniel Pearl Foundation marked the journalist's=20
birthday with a music day that featured 100 events in 20 countries.

______

#8.

The Indian Express
Saturday, October 12, 2002

=8CSexual minorities=B9 retie umbilical cord
Georgina L. Maddox

Mumbai, October 11: All of them had a story to tell, reclaiming their=20
local identities and sharing tales of oppression between hot cups of=20
tea.

On the first day of the three-day, first ever International Lesbian=20
and Gay (ILGA) Asian regional conference A to Z =8B The Other Asia, 80=20
delegates registered, with a significantly higher attendance of=20
women=B9s groups than in other mixed conferences.

Organised by the Humsafar Trust and Aanchal, delegates have come from=20
countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand,=20
Nepal and India.

The agenda for the conference is to help groups and individuals=20
remain rooted in their local cultures while enhancing their=20
visibility.

being a historical event for Asian lesbian, gay, bisexual and=20
trans-gendered (LGBT) groups, it was unfortunate that many Indian=20
organisations did not attend.

Said Betu Singh, a founder member of Sangini, a support group for=20
lesbian and bisexual women in Delhi: =8C=8CI was hoping more groups from=20
India would participate. But I=B9m happy with the way things are going=20
at the conference so far.=B9=B9

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

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