[sacw] SACW | 13 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 13 October 2002

__________________________

#1. Pakistani Cleric to Use Islamic Law (Riaz Khan)
#2. Pakistan: A clean break with the past (Ishtiaq Ahmed)
#3. Sri Lanka: LTTE's ideological retreat - 'Eelavar' as internal=20
self-determination (Michael Roberts)
#4. India, Gujarat: United Platform To Expose 'fascist Forces' (Batuk Vora)
#5. India: In the cities of widows (Jeremy Seabrook)

__________________________

#1.

The Washington Post
Saturday, October 12, 2002

Pakistani Cleric to Use Islamic Law

By Riaz Khan
Associated Press Writer

NOWSHEHRA, Pakistan =AD=AD The strong showing by religious parties in=20
Pakistan's election heralds an Islamic revolution that will rid the=20
nation of Western influence and lead to a state governed by a strict=20
interpretation of Islamic law, a top Pakistani cleric said.

The religious coalition, called the United Action Forum, swept to a=20
surprising victory in the rugged North West Frontier Province along=20
the border with Afghanistan, and stood poised to form the first=20
Islamic provincial government in Pakistan's history.

It also could become partners in the government in Baluchistan,=20
another province bordering Afghanistan, electoral officials said.

That would give Islamic parties a powerful voice in two of Pakistan's=20
four provinces. Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province are=20
the nation's least populous regions, but are of the greatest=20
strategic value to the United States in its war on terrorism.

"We will bring an Islamic revolution to Pakistan," Qazi Hussain=20
Ahmed, the vice president of the coalition, told about 3,000 male=20
supporters at a sports stadium in Nowshehra, 28 miles east of the=20
frontier city of Peshawar.

"Our target is to implement an Islamic system in the whole country,=20
and the North West Frontier Province is the first step in this=20
regard."

Onlookers cheered and chanted "God is Great!" as Ahmed and other=20
speakers railed against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf for his=20
support of the United States' war in neighboring Afghanistan.

The elections were the first since Musharraf seized power in a 1999=20
bloodless coup. The two best-known Pakistani politicians, former=20
prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both were blocked=20
from contesting the race, leaving an opening for the religious=20
parties to do well.

Ahmed was one of about three dozen religious party candidates to win=20
seats in the national parliament, by far their best performance to=20
date. No other party seemed poised to win a clear majority in=20
parliament, which is comprised of 272 general seats and 70 others=20
allocated to women and minorities.

The religious parties normally register barely 5 percent of the vote=20
in Pakistani elections, and their strong showing was seen as a=20
repudiation of Musharraf's decision to support the United States in=20
its war on terrorism.

The head of Peshawar's main mosque used his Friday sermon to exhort=20
the newly elected religious candidates to fight for Pakistanis=20
imprisoned in that war.

"Their first task should be to seek the release of those Pakistanis=20
who are held at Guantanamo Bay," said Maulana Mohammed Yousuf=20
Qureshi, as supporters punched fists in the air to show their support.

He was referring to the U.S. naval base in Cuba where suspected=20
Taliban and al-Qaida are being detained.

Ahmed, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami, the main force in the religious=20
coalition, said his group planned a new reading of the constitution=20
to bring the country in line with his brand of Islamic teachings.

"We will interpret the constitution of the country in its real=20
Islamic spirit," he said. "We will eliminate obscenity from the=20
country, and particularly from radio and TV, and gradually, we will=20
eliminate Western culture from our country."
=A9 2002 The Associated Press

_____

#2.

The Daily Times (Lahore),
October 13, 2002
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=3Dstory_13-10-2002_pg3_2

A clean break with the past

Ishtiaq Ahmed
It is imperative that the clean break with our self-destructive past=20
be thorough and all-rounded. Pakistan is a big country with great=20
potential to emerge as a successful developmental democracy

Let=B9s suppose for a moment that the Pakistani military establishment=20
has a big change of heart and voluntarily decides to confine its=20
activities honestly and steadfastly to the domain prescribed by the=20
constitution of 1973 =8B that of organising Pakistan=B9s defence in an=20
efficient and credible manner. In such a situation, following the=20
results of a fair and open general election on October 10, an elected=20
government would be at the helm of affairs in Pakistan. Such a=20
government will enjoy popular prestige not only within the country=20
but also regionally and in the international arena.
Would such a government have the will to make clean break with the=20
past? In many senses, such a possibility would be inherent in the=20
situation since the withdrawal of the military would in itself=20
constitute a break with the immediate past. But the main question is:=20
Would such a government make a break also with the sordid politics of=20
the 1990s when the elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz=20
Sharif allegedly filled their own coffers to the brim? Why I qualify=20
=B3exploited=B2 by =B3alleged=B2 is not because I think that nothing of the=
=20
sort happened, but because impartial enquiry against those out of=20
power has never been the hallmark of Pakistani investigators. Rather=20
such an exercise has invariably been carried out in a spirit of=20
revenge.
Making a clean break with the past would therefore mean a determined=20
and concerted effort to begin afresh, almost as if Pakistan did not=20
become independent on August 14, 1947 but on October 10, 2002. Wisdom=20
tells us that it is never too late, but experience tells us that=20
being permanently late means getting nowhere, or rather getting to=20
the wrong places. And indeed Pakistan=B9s history shows the country has=20
both been getting nowhere as well as going the wrong way. Thus for=20
example, we have strayed famously from the August 11, 1947 vision of=20
a secular and democratic Pakistan spelt out by the Quaid-e-Azam in=20
unequivocal terms.
In the process, we have wasted long years practising and playing=20
myopic politics. We provoked a civil war causing the death of=20
hundreds of thousands of our compatriots and thus lost the more=20
populous half of our country; imposed hollow Islamisation which not=20
only alienated the minority sects and religious minorities but also=20
reduced women to the level of minors by declaring their intelligence=20
at best half in value to the silliest men in town, and that could=20
mean several millions; meanwhile, externally, we have been embarking=20
upon military adventures in search of strategic depths and other=20
elusive objectives.
We have been living under the illusion that since we rendered=20
outstanding services to the US in getting the Soviets out of=20
Afghanistan some years ago and more immediately in abandoning our=20
Taliban allies and providing full cooperation in the various military=20
operations against suspected Al Qaeda in our neighbourhood and on our=20
own soil, we would be rewarded with respect to our territorial=20
disputes with India. How and why would the GHQ fall for such=20
reasoning is of course one of those mysteries the non-military men=20
would have great difficulty in grasping. Our defence planners have=20
always excelled in tactical moves but blundered in strategic thinking.
The US relates to other states in terms of its national self-interest=20
and geopolitical concerns, and this can sometimes be manifestly=20
unfair to the interests of some loyal allies. After all, the fact=20
that the US maintains bases in various parts of the Arab world from=20
where it derives vital oil supplies has not made it reward them or=20
their Palestinian brethren at the expense of Israel. The latter=20
remains the main lynchpin in the US strategic planning for that=20
region.
Similarly our hyperactive or rather single-dimensional fixation on=20
Kashmir is not likely to impress the US to change its policy on=20
Kashmir. The Indians were no less keen on helping the US in the=20
struggle against terrorism and remain so. As a Western-type=20
democracy, India has, especially after the collapse of the Soviet=20
Union, been receiving praise from both Democrat and Republican=20
regimes. On the other hand, the US considers Pakistan a hotbed of=20
Islamic fundamentalist movements. How would an American government=20
justify to its own people a preference for Pakistan over India when=20
the latter is receiving increasing US media coverage as the source=20
for promoting yoga and health foods while the former is seen as an=20
operational base for the killers of Westerners and Christians? Under=20
the circumstances, there is no rational basis for believing that we=20
can do profitable business with President Bush over Kashmir. It does=20
appear we have gone hugely wrong in fixing our priorities internally=20
as well as externally. As a frontline state against Communism we have=20
lost relevance long ago.
Clearly, it is imperative that the clean break with our=20
self-destructive past be thorough and all-rounded. Pakistan is a big=20
country with great potential to emerge as a successful developmental=20
democracy. It used to be admired by many developing states for its=20
high rate of economic growth in the early 1960s. That grand=20
experiment ran aground as soon as we embarked upon Operation=20
Gibraltar in 1965 which instead of liberating Kashmir brought war and=20
destruction along our own border. There is little hope that pursuing=20
the Kashmir agenda in military terms with greater relentlessness=20
would make it any more successful than what has been achieved in the=20
past. The Kashmir dispute certainly needs to be resolved but by=20
peaceful means based on the notion of an overall South Asian peace=20
and prosperity.
Let Pakistan become a democracy and a modernising economy. Confiscate=20
all big landholdings and distribute them among the tillers. Tax all=20
propertied people and provide no exemptions. Let Pakistani=20
entrepreneurs enter free trade relations with their counterparts in=20
the rest of South Asia and elsewhere and include the workers and=20
peasants in periodic negotiations over wages and sharing of crops. If=20
that were to happen, Pakistan will become a beacon light showing the=20
way to others.

_____

#3.

Sunday Observer (Colombo)
Sunday, 13 October 2002 =A0

LTTE's ideological retreat :=A0
'Eelavar' as internal self-determination

by Michael Roberts

This article is composed as two connected sections, divided by the=20
temporal moment when the segments were drafted. This distinction will=20
underline the moving character of most social relations and more=20
specifically the radical transformations of the ethnic conflict=20
during the course of the last ten months. The first part was drafted=20
in August 2002 and informed by my experiences in Sri Lankan in March=20
this year as well as Prabhakaran's media event at Kilinochchi in=20
April. The second part is informed by the news reports on the first=20
round of peace negotiations in Thailand.

I. Perspectives in March-August 2002

The peace negotiations and the demand for self-determination by the=20
LTTE and many Tamils residing in Sri Lanka raise the issue of Sri=20
Lankan identity in critical ways. Is there space for "internal=20
self-determination" within both the territory and the idea called=20
"Sri Lanka"? What does the concept of "internal self-determination,"=20
as distinct from the fuller sovereign status of "self-determination,"=20
mean? Does it allow for a "Tamil nation" to exist within the "Sri=20
Lankan nation" in ways that will allow for "the dignity and=20
self-respect" of those Tamils who wish to be part of this specific=20
Tamil entity?

LTTE cadres awaiting fresh orders?

These are momentous questions. The vocabulary seems imposing. One=20
might want to erase such weighty words and the even heavier issues=20
they raise. You cannot do so. Most people in Sri Lanka would surely=20
have taken note of the words of the LTTE leaders.

"Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe is the prime minister elected by the people=20
of Sri Lanka. He is the prime minister of those people. Here in=20
Thamil Eelam Mr. Prabhakaran is both the president and the prime=20
minister," declared Dr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE ideologue at the=20
famous Kilinochchi Press Conference (as reported in the Sunday=20
Island, 13 April 2002, with the emphasis above being my addition).

This statement says explicitly that the LTTE, and those Tamils who=20
have gathered behind its umbrella, consider themselves to be outside=20
the category "Sri Lankan."

One could therefore say that the peace negotiations in the context of=20
international pressures that deny the LTTE the possibility of a=20
separate state of Thamileelam are concerned with the task of bringing=20
these Ilavar (Eelamists) within the fold of Sri Lanka in ways that=20
will be workable across both sides of the fence. I say "Eelavar"=20
because it appears that some Tamils who favour the goal of=20
"Thamileeelam" seem to prefer this label to that of "Eelamist"=20
according to a purist position recently espoused by Peter Schalk, a=20
proficient Tamil-speaker.

As such, the present situation brings to mind the several voices in=20
public forums that have stressed the need to espouse a Sri Lankan=20
identity that is not equated with a Sinhala identity and attacked the=20
divisive collective identities associated with Sinhala nationalism,=20
Tamil nationalism and Islamic communitarianness (since the latter, as=20
yet, do not seem to have mounted a sustained vocabulary of "nation").

This suggestion is well-intentioned and moved by the pain of the=20
conflicts that have created such havoc in Sri Lankan society. It is=20
nevertheless a hope that seems quite far-fetched in the present=20
circumstances. In short, it is a fabulous wish because it wishes away=20
the searing memories of war among significant elements of the=20
population, memories that identify an ethnic "Other," whether=20
correctly or not, as the cause of specific sufferings. No political=20
settlement will last if people are not ready to recognise that a=20
profound bitterness runs through the thinking of many Tamils in=20
particular.

Such memories apart, the collective sentiments associated with being=20
Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil are deep-seated and cannot be waved away=20
with a magic wand. This type of fabulous wand is constructed=20
sometimes by entrepreneurs interested in pushing materialist=20
consumerism. A similar wand is waved by rationalists of humanitarian=20
disposition or by those who have latched unto "hybridity" and=20
cosmopolitan dwelling-in-travel as the answer to the world's=20
problems. Such currents, I stress, have a role to play in the current=20
processes, but those attached to such interests are in cuckoo-land if=20
they think that the communitarian sentiments within Sri Lanka will=20
wither away or can be pushed aside by pious statements.

Thus, those who wish to develop a Sri Lankan identity must work=20
within such hard realities. The issue is whether we can develop a Sri=20
Lankan identity that is overarching and encompassing. In other words,=20
can we develop a Sri Lankan identity as a confederative concept that=20
allows for a base of other ethnic sentiments? Can the Sri Lankan=20
nation embrace a Tamil nation, a Sinhalese nation, a Muslim=20
community/nation and the collective identities of the Burghers,=20
Malays, Colombo Chetties, et cetera? Can we construct a workable=20
plural society/state?

II. Perspectives in late September, 2002

At about the same time that I drafted the section above, I wrote=20
another essay on "The Meaning of Eelam" which drew a distinction=20
between what I called "Adequate Eelam" and "Wholesale Eelam." My=20
image of "Adequate Eelam" was an approximate, but simple, way of=20
referring to "internal self-determination." It's meaning derives from=20
it's distinction from "Wholesale Eelam," that is, the goal of a=20
sovereign and independent state of Thamileelam.

In that essay I explicitly suggested that the LTTE was pragmatic and=20
ready to accept something less than Wholesale Eelam. I was directing=20
this message at the Sinhala, Muslim and other peoples in Sri Lanka=20
who had a fixed notion about the meaning of "Eelam" and who were=20
dogmatic in their readings of the developing situation.

This reading of the present situation was confirmed at Sattahip in=20
Thailand on the 18th September when the statements by the LTTE=20
representatives were interpreted by the BBC reporters in the caption=20
"Tamil Tigers 'do not want independence'." (BBC News, Internet, 19=20
Sept.2002). Thus Anton Balasingham is quoted as saying that "Our=20
demand for a homeland is not a demand for a separate state." The=20
demand, it would seem, is for "regional autonomy or self-government,"=20
that is to say, internal self-determination.

However, there is a "but" attached to this dilution of the LTTE's=20
previous goals. "If our demand for regional autonomy or=20
self-government is rejected, our people would have no other option=20
and separation would be the last resort," said Mr Balasingham at a=20
press conference.

This is a critical proviso. Sceptics may go further and assert that=20
this is a temporary re-adjustment of their original project with a=20
view to its revival once global conditions allow a further step=20
towards the unilateral declaration of independence.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that the present position adopted=20
by the LTTE at an international forum is a significant shift from the=20
posture adopted at the Kilinochchi Press Conference, a position that=20
was strikingly embodied in the quotation that I have presented at the=20
outset of this article.

In brief, the LTTE has given ground. The business deal initiated by=20
the UNP leadership through informal talks and then embodied in the=20
MoU is now blossoming and being pushed forward by it's own logic=20
besides other external and global forces. My speculations on the=20
reasons guiding this development in LTTE thinking will require more=20
space than that available today and will be presented in a future=20
article.

_____

#4.

Oct. 8, 2002

Special to IPA

UNITED PLATFORM TO EXPOSE 'FASCIST FORCES'-
NaMo's One Year Empties Gujarat Coffers

By Batuk Vora
Ahmedabad: For the first time ever in Gujarat, the state congress=20
leadership has come forward to 'wholeheartedly build the bridges'=20
with a non-Congress- non-BJP, secular and united platform, called Lok=20
Sangharsha Samiti, consisting of Gandhians, Sarvodayists, Leftists,=20
Senior writers and journalists, academicians defending the civil=20
rights and a host of voluntary organizations in their struggle for=20
secular and prosperous Gujarat.

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Chief Shankersingh Vaghela has vowed to=20
support such a struggle. Vaghela said "a time has come to forget all=20
the political and ideological differences by all the right minded=20
people and forge a real united front to wipe out the communal forces=20
in Gujarat" while addressing a meeting of all those NGOs here on Oct.=20
7, at the city Mayor's Bungalow premises. Vaghela himself convened=20
this meeting by signing a letter under his own name and signature.

The meeting was presided by Chunilal Vaidya, veteran Gandhian who=20
took a lead in organizing such a platform and who, together with=20
other secular personalities and NGOs, have already organized several=20
district-wise Sadbhavna (communal harmony) conferences within last=20
month or so, independent of Congress party's several rallies=20
statewide.

"Notable among such conferences held so far were at Godhra,=20
Bhavnagar, Bardoli, Bharuch, Himmatnagar and Palanpur, wherehuge=20
number of common masses attended and declared their support to such a=20
movement" said Vaidya. "Most noteworthy was, of course our conference=20
at Godhra" where after six long months, people of both the=20
communities have decided to sit together and do their social and=20
economic exchanges as old times. Many Muslim business persons from=20
far away Dahond too were present in this conference.

"One example of the dogged Gandhian way shown against communal=20
hooligans was seen at Bardoli Sadbhavna conference on Oct. 6th, when=20
more than a thousand people did not move or quit when a rowdy crowd=20
of 20-25 communal elements tried to rush to the platform and capture=20
the microphone shouting communal slogans," said Uttam Parmar, one of=20
the activists of Sangharsha Samiti.

"Naranbhai Desai, one time colleague of Mahatma Gandhi, who was in=20
the chair, did not move and challenged the hooligans to do whatever=20
they liked?and ultimately mischief mongers had to abandon their wild=20
way of disruption", said Indubhai Jani, President of JanPath, a=20
confederation of 200 NGOs. And one of the conveners of Sangharsh=20
Samiti.

Shankersingh Vaghela assured all those non-Congress organizations and=20
personalities gathered at the meeting that "we accept Samiti's=20
suggestion to focus on the non-governance and non-performance of BJP=20
rulers during the last four and half years of their rule, instead of=20
getting trapped in BJP created agenda of majority-minority war during=20
the election campaign."

BJP, on the other hand, has organized a national meeting of its=20
leadership here to prop up and boost Narendra Modi in his alleged=20
"battle for majority's protection and against General Musharraf and=20
Pakistan". Leaders from L.K.Advani to Uma Bharti and Venkaiya Naidu=20
are present in this meeting.

It is being declared by the Samiti leaders that "BJP government here=20
has stopped monthly pensions of Rs 500 to each of the 1.25 lakh=20
widows. A provision of only Rs 41 crore against 97 crore was made on=20
this subhead".

Similarly, "Narendra Modi has been loudly declaring that his=20
government would provide employment to one lakh village unemployed=20
appointing them as Gram Mitra at the salary of Rs 1000 to each, with=20
five such recruits in each of the 18,000 villages", but according to=20
The Times of India's Gujarat edition report, ?only 2.5 crore was so=20
far spent out of a budgetary allocation of Rs 25 crore for this=20
purpose and there is no hope of fulfillment of this scheme since it=20
was meant to last till February 2003 only.?

"At least 15 times the state treasury had to make overdrafts to make=20
payments to its employees and the financial condition of state is so=20
precarious that a total of Rs 43,000 crores worth of domestic debt=20
had piled up on the state. No new project was initiated nor any=20
implementation of old projects was to be seen", wrote Financial=20
Express's Gujarati edition here.

"Narendra Modi is more concerned with his loud demagogy of fighting=20
against Pakistan than doing his administrative job", wrote Indian=20
Express.

Recent withdrawal by a company called Sea King from the centrally=20
declared and projected Special Economic Zone at Poshitra port of=20
Saurashtra together with commitment of more than Rs 6000 crore worth=20
of domestic and foreign investment and moving away to Navi Mumbai=20
area has dealt a further blow to Gujarat, which has degraded to=20
number 8 from its number 2 earlier last year in terms of foreign=20
direct investment. All this has happened during Narendra Modi's so=20
called Gaurav Yatra.

Gujarat has been kept out of the HRD ministry's project funded by the=20
World Bank worth of Rs 300 crore for upgrading technical education.=20
As many as nine other states grabbed this amount while Modi was=20
sitting on the file here and busy with his electioneering, wrote=20
another local Gujarati daily.

Modi claimed to have performed well on power sector, but according to=20
the Indian Express report, the state is facing a severe shortage of=20
at least 1,100 mw of power and Gujarat Electricity Board has been=20
supplying power to the farm sector as a whole only for four to six=20
odd hours during the full crop season. This has created a widespread=20
resentment against the BJP rule.

_____

#5.

The Statesman
13 October 2002
Editorial and Perspective

In the cities of widows
New Vistas
JEREMY SEABROOK

IN the open space in front of high ochre temple walls, a spreading=20
neem tree provides the only shade. About 100 women, most of them=20
elderly, squat or stand beneath the tree, all in the white weeds of=20
Indian widowhood, insubstantial as the eddies of pale dust that=20
perform ghostly dances in the breeze. The women gather around the=20
mobile medical unit of HelpAge India, which visits Vrindavan once a=20
week, offering free treatment to the thousands of women who have come=20
from all over India to finish their lives in this city of widows:=20
wraiths with puckered skin and bones of bamboo.
Vrindavan is close to Mathura, birthplace of Krishna, and is part of=20
the braj, the holy ground where he spent his childhood and youth, and=20
where his dalliance with the gopis, the herdswomen of the=20
countryside, is commemorated everywhere in temple carvings and=20
pictures. The women come here in an ambiguous pilgrimage of religious=20
exaltation and social rejection, since an ancient shame of widowhood=20
lives on and these women.
To die in this, one of the holiest sites in India, in devotion to=20
Krishna, must serve as consolation for the brutal eviction many have=20
suffered at the hands of their own families.
They tell a story of the joyous privilege of being in this sacred=20
spot; but as they talk, tears splash the dust, and these are tears of=20
grief, not gratitude. They spend the day chanting bhajans in the=20
surrounding temples. Four hours in the morning, four in the=20
afternoon. Each is paid two and a half rupees per session. Some can=20
take their payment in food =8B 100 grams of rice or dal.
Tulsi Chatterjee comes, like many, from West Bengal, where=20
traditionally widows were forced to shave their heads to avoid=20
provoking desire in men other than their dead husbands; a posthumous=20
policing of chastity. She came six years ago =B3for the sake of=20
religion. I got my three children married, and I have to find my own=20
way into the other world. Whatever the Lord Krishna gives, I am=20
satisfied. My husband, a factory worker in Kolkata, died 18 years=20
ago. I thought =8CWhile I can still move independently, I should go. If=20
I stay there and cannot move, I will become a burden and my children=20
will wish for my death sooner.=B9 I fled, without telling them where I=20
was going=B2.
Sushila Mandal is 60. Sixty is symbolic of a great age in India, even=20
though life expectancy is now 62. Her husband, a landless labourer,=20
died 12 years ago. She has two sons and two daughters. The younger=20
son is dead. =B3I was not getting food at home, I lived alone. My older=20
son wouldn=B9t let me stay with him and his family. Nobody was there to=20
look after me. I am happy now. If you are not happy in Vrindavan, you=20
will not be happy anywhere in the world. I recite bhajans eight hours=20
a day in the Mirabai temple. I pay 50 rupees a month to the ashram=20
where I stay. Of course, five rupees are not enough to eat properly.=20
What people give, I accept, but I do not beg in the streets.=B2
The medical unit of HelpAge India provides what is, for many, the=20
first medical attention they have ever received. It reveals a story=20
of neglect, vitamin deficiency and malnutrition; body pain, swollen=20
joints, failing eyesight, breathing difficulties, infections and=20
coughs, intermittent fevers that dehydrate and weaken.
There are extreme stories: women married in early childhood, whose=20
husbands died within months of marriage, ill-omened infant brides,=20
culpable for having lost their men even before the marriage was=20
consummated. A five-year-old, widowed after 20 days, is in her ninth=20
decade here.
Others speak of leaving their families unannounced, disappearing in=20
the night without luggage or belongings. Ramdevi is 65. Her husband=20
died of a fever five years ago, and her sons took his land and threw=20
her out of the house. =B3My son said =8CGo. You have nothing now. Your=20
husband is dead. I need the land.=B9=B2
Hona=B9s husband died when he lost a kidney and the other failed. She=20
has two sons, the younger of whom is mad. He is looked after by his=20
brother, but Hona didn=B9t want to be an added burden, so she left.=20
They do not visit. =B3Look,=B2 she says, =B3at the clothes I wear.=B2 She=20
says she is happy, but at the same time wipes the tear-stained cheeks=20
with the palm of her hand.
Rajamati is 68. From Gorakhpur, she has been here five years. She=20
sings bhajans eight hours a day. It is a day of fasting, although=20
with her thin, sunken face, she looks as though fasting is the last=20
thing she needs. Her children in Delhi ordered her to go. Rajmati was=20
one of the few who gave some hint of how the women survive=20
psychologically. =B3I am not happy, who can be happy? I do not like=20
singing bhajans for two and half rupees, but this is my luck. I=20
suppress those feelings, and place them elsewhere. Only in the night=20
they sometimes come back in dreams and I wake up crying.=B2
We went to the Aamar Bari Ashram (=B3Our home=B2 in Bengali), opened four=20
years ago as a private charity by the chairperson of the National=20
Commission for Women. It is one of the better ashrams, where all=20
basic necessities are provided, including medicine and food. Each has=20
her own tiny room. Whatever sins they have committed, here they find=20
moksha, since the earth here is purified and their wrongs will be=20
washed away. Few of the 100 residents are visited by their children.
The regime at least relieves them of the necessity of chanting for=20
their food. The timetable is strict, with compulsory yoga and=20
readings from the Bhagavad Gita, but the environment is hygienic. The=20
more able-bodied help bathe and feed those confined to bed.
The ashram is around a series of courtyards, some of them two storeys=20
high; pots of tulsi, holy basil, everywhere. The rooms are simple=20
two-metre cubes, small windowless cells with dark green doors. Above=20
the central courtyard, a wire mesh prevents monkeys from stealing the=20
food.
Here I saw one of the most distressing scenes in Vrindavan. An old=20
lady, almost 90, lay spreadeagled on a cloth on the floor. She was=20
very ill, with a saline drip in her arm. To prevent her from tearing=20
it out, her hands had been tied on either side to two bricks =8B her=20
feeble strength was not equal to moving them. The door was closed,=20
leaving her silent in the dark, waiting for death.
I also met Shapla Sundheri, a small laughing woman in a green sari=20
who offered an image of sheer religious joy. From a former royal=20
family in what is now Bangladesh, she moved to Tripura after=20
Partition. She is 72. When her husband died, she was 14. She came to=20
the ashram =B3because we are not people who re-marry, because of our=20
social position=B2. Her brother comes from Delhi to see her, and she=20
visits her relatives in the city. In her little room, Shapla has=20
built a shrine to Krishna: a box covered with shiny gold and silver=20
tinsel. Inside, a small lamp, and above, a picture of Krishna, and a=20
frieze of dancing gopis. In front of the shrine, she has placed a=20
bowl of milk, some slices of coconut, a banana and some water. She=20
will break her fast with the food she has offered, purified by the=20
presence of her lord.
Outside the ashram, Lokti Das was struggling up the few marble steps=20
that lead to the ornamental entrance; a frail woman in her 80s with=20
big spectacles that magnify her eyes. She has been here 60 years, and=20
walks with the help of a rough stave. Her husband abandoned her and=20
someone from the village gave her the money to travel from Agartala.=20
She says, =B3Give me your blessings so that I can go to the other=20
world. We are looking to die here, that is all. I am weak with pain=20
and loneliness, but here you live so long you cannot count the years.=B2
Beneath the piety and hope of the blessed death, Vrindavan is=20
penetrated by stories of more material dereliction and abandonment.=20
The gestures of entreaty and supplication pierce the heart: they are=20
a reproach for all the sacrificial love and the measureless,=20
unrequited generosity of women in the world.
Perhaps this is an exceptional place, where only the very pious or=20
those living in extremes of rejection, come to find consolation. In=20
secular communities, where family ties have not been broken, old=20
women may have a happier time.
I went to a jhuggi-jhopri cluster in West Delhi, a slum on the=20
periphery of the city. Rough brick shelters, roofs of polythene or=20
corrugated metal, weighed down by stones and rusty bicycle wheels,=20
anything to prevent them blowing away in the gusty monsoon winds.=20
Narrow alleys, grey waste water trickling through the gutters, heaps=20
of garbage =8B vegetable waste decaying beneath the claws of scavenging=20
blue-black crows. This is Subhashnagar, established by rural migrants=20
30 or 40 years ago.
We sit on a broken charpai (string bed) close to the entrance to the=20
slum. Elderly people wait in line, as though telling their story were=20
simply another expectation in the daily accounts they must give of=20
themselves, to police, officials and the grudging administrators of=20
scant charity. Poona is over 75. She came from Moradabad in Uttar=20
Pradesh 15 years ago, when her husband died. She has two children.=20
She says, =B3My son feeds me.=B2 She was working in a flour-mill, but she=20
had to leave because of breathing difficulties and a constant cough.=20
Her son had a small shop where he prepared food for the slum=20
labourers, but the police destroyed it because he could not afford to=20
pay them the Rs 500 they demanded each week. He now works as a=20
rickshaw puller, earning between Rs 60 and Rs 100 a day. He has four=20
children. Poona says sagely, =B3A daughter-in-law is good only if a son=20
is good.=B2 And adds, =B3Who would not prefer the village, but in Delhi=20
there is food. I eat one meal a day =8B chappati and vegetable. Old age=20
has no appetite.=B2
Ramdevi is 60, also from Uttar Pradesh. Two years ago, her husband=20
died. A construction labourer and rickshaw-driver, he had TB. Ramdevi=20
had no land in the village, so she came with the two of her four=20
daughters who are unmarried. Despite her own ill-health, she works in=20
two houses as a maidservant, washing vessels and cleaning floors. She=20
has three sons also, who live apart from her and give her nothing.=20
Ramdevi earns between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 a month. The people she=20
works for give her stale chapattis but have no concern for her. =B3If I=20
am sick and miss two days, they dismiss me and I have to find work=20
somewhere else. I will need a dowry of Rs 30,000 to marry each=20
daughter. Where will I find such money when we are living on Rs 30 a=20
day?=B2
Laxmi, also 60, says, =B3No one listens to us because we are old. If my=20
grandchildren want to help me, their mother calls them away. I have=20
one son who is not in his senses, and who cannot be married. I am a=20
rag-picker, and we work together. We go out in the early morning. I=20
sell rags for five or six rupees a day. We eat roti and vegetable=20
once a day. All the time, I am thinking, who will take care of him=20
when I am gone?=B2
Maya, also in her 60s, has a son and a daughter. The son has TB and=20
no children. The daughter has two children who are sickly. Maya had a=20
second daughter who died, leaving three children. The husband ran=20
away, and Maya takes care of them; one of these, a boy, is mentally=20
ill. The husband was, in any case, addicted to drink. He sold his=20
jhuggi for Rs 40,000 before he disappeared, so Maya had no choice but=20
to take in the children. She is a vegetable vendor in the=20
middle-class suburbs. She makes Rs 30 or Rs 40 a day. Since these are=20
illegal settlements, they pay no rent.
Mamata, 65, is sick. Her stomach is distended, obviously, she says,=20
not from an excess of food. She has two daughters and one son. The=20
son is married with four children, and they live separately. He beats=20
and abuses his children. =B3He neglects me, but since he is a=20
rickshaw-puller, he must feed his children first. My husband is a=20
rickshaw-puller, but worn out and no longer able to work.=B2 Mamata is=20
the only earning member of the family, and she sells a headload of=20
green vegetables. =B3Now my neck is weak and I cannot carry a=20
sufficient load. I earn between Rs 20 and Rs 30 a day. My daughter is=20
married but is also not happy because her husband drinks. My=20
daughter=B9s children are working =8B one is in a brick kiln, the other=20
does household work. Nobody cares for you when you are old. This is=20
our fate, this is our misfortune.
=B3If our children do not care for us, we should die by accident, or we=20
should go on the road to be killed by a lorry or take poison. Why do=20
we live?=B2
Sarbuti, over 80, lost her husband 20 years ago. He fell from the=20
building site where he was doing bheldari work. Sarbuti is herself=20
too old to work. She must go to the temple and ask for food for=20
herself and for her daughter, who is mad. There is no one to look=20
after them. =B3Where shall we go? We can roam the roads all day but=20
that will not give us food.=B2
Within 25 years, there will be almost 200 million people over 60 in=20
India. It is strange that the world should continue to be agitated by=20
fears of =B3over-population=B2 when a more rational concern would be the=20
demographic composition of populations which are stabilising.
Yesterday, it seems, the problem was the number of children being=20
born; tomorrow it will be the elderly. The only thing these=20
troublesome groups have in common is that the majority of them are=20
poor. Recently, the head of the Ageing and Health Division of the=20
World Health Organisation pointed out the consequences of this for=20
the developing countries: =B3Pensions, in the sense of the developed=20
world, are pie in the sky. They do not exist and will not exist.=B2 In=20
spite of this, he foresees a future in which the traditional family=20
networks that provide social security will also have decayed. =B3The=20
extended family is an illusion, because as soon as you start the=20
process of modernisation, the structure of traditional societies=20
becomes very fragile.=B2
Here, stated with a rare candour, is the known impact of=20
globalisation upon poor societies. It involves the forfeit of one=20
form of social protection, with little prospect of its replacement by=20
another. The response of the WHO to this bleak forecast is to=20
advocate the =B3economic insertion=B2 of the elderly poor, so they do not=20
become a burden upon their families. Recently, the crusade against=20
child labour was the humanitarian cry of the hour.
The elderly must everywhere cease to expect to be taken care of by=20
their families, as these fragment and scatter in the great=20
transhumance from the land. Indeed, we may expect to see significant=20
convergence between rich and poor countries, since it is now being=20
argued in Europe =8B where social security systems are threatened with=20
collapse by the declining ratio of working people to elderly=20
dependants =8B that the age of retirement will have to be postponed to=20
70 or 72. As the state continues to disengage from provision of=20
health and social care, it will become the duty of citizens to make=20
their own accommodation with ageing, illness and loss.
The proposition that the elderly of the Third World must continue to=20
labour scarcely marks any change in the present arrangements, as the=20
elderly housemaids, rickshaw drivers and vegetable vendors of=20
Subhashnagar testify. It means simply that the survival of more of=20
them into old age will flood the market with elderly entrants,=20
depressing the wages of those already on the margin of existence.
It seems the poor have been appointed to resolve all the=20
contradictions of globalism. If they have children to look after them=20
in sickness and old age, the =B3population explosion=B2 threatens to=20
overwhelm the perishing planet. If, however, they fail to have enough=20
children to relieve the government of responsibility for their=20
declining years, there will simply be mass destitution of the aged.
Perhaps the women who seek out the austere solace of Vrindavan are=20
not among the worst off after all; at least, their psychological sati=20
gives meaning to their suffering, unlike the gratuitous privations of=20
their sisters in the city slums.

(The author lives in Britain. He has written plays for stage,=20
television and radio, made TV documentaries, published more than 30=20
books and contributes to leading journals around the world.)

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