[sacw] SACW | 19 Oct. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 19 October 2002

__________________________

#1. Pakistan: A poll victory for religious parties spells trouble.=20
That's just what military leaders were looking for (Ahmed Rashid)
#2. Pakistan: [Mullahs] Cajole them into power (Kamran Shafi)
#3. Press Release - Pakistan urged to act to defend religious=20
minorities (Minority Rights Group)
#4. On The brutal massacre of five Dalit citizens of India in Haryana:
- Report of the Left Parties Delegation to Duleena, Jhajjar Dist,=20
Haryana (India) on October 17
- Holy cow, holy war (Swami Agnivesh and Valson Thampu)
#5. Press Release: Save India Front
#6. India: A comment on & extracts from Minister for Labour's speech,=20
Madras on Oct. 17
#7. Hashimpura : Revisiting the "Forgotten Massacre" (Subhash Gatade )
#8. India: Report on a Gujarati play on the Gujarat carnage by=20
Saumya Joshi (Ram Puniyani)
#9. India: The Sangh and Swadeshi ( V. Krishna Ananth)
#10. India: Human rights and the police (Rajindar Sachar)
#11. "Genocide in the Land of Gandhi"
A lecture and documentary presentation by Martin Macwan and Zahir Janmohame=
d
(October 23 in New York City)
#12. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 97=20
(19 Oct. 2002)

__________________________

#1.

Far Eastern Economic Review
October 24, 2002

PAKISTAN
A Fine Fix
A poll victory for religious parties spells trouble. That's just what=20
military leaders were looking for

By Ahmed Rashid/LAHORE

THE SUCCESS OF a new alliance of six conservative Islamic parties in=20
Pakistan's general election on October 10 may have come as no=20
surprise to military ruler President Pervaiz Musharraf. In fact, his=20
army and Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, engineered the=20
victory of the fundamentalists like much else in the polls.

In the past, the military has supported religious parties as a=20
bulwark against the mainstream political elite and to help the army=20
carry out its foreign policies of maintaining hostility towards=20
India, regaining the mutually disputed territory of Kashmir and=20
supporting Pashtun allies in southern Afghanistan.

That equation has not changed, despite Musharraf's need to maintain a=20
strong alliance with the United States. The religious parties'=20
platform of anti-Americanism did not deter Musharraf: In fact, it=20
appears that the army and the ISI sponsored the religious leaders, or=20
mullahs, to ensure that the West does not question the need for=20
continued military rule to contain the religious parties. And by=20
keeping Kashmir on the boil, the election ensures a predominant role=20
for the army in the new political set-up.

"Strategically the military want to hold a red rag up to the West and=20
say 'Look, West, you need a military dictatorship because if there is=20
not, then pro-Taliban parties are going to come to power," opposition=20
politician and exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told=20
reporters in London.

While the army imposed a raft of obstacles preventing Bhutto and=20
other potential candidates from the two largest secular democratic=20
parties from standing in the elections, the path was cleared for=20
mullahs. For example, secular politicians were barred from running if=20
they did not have bachelors' degrees, while mullahs were only=20
required to have degrees from religious schools.

The result will be a continuing state of crisis for Pakistan,=20
beginning with the current hung parliament. The largest block of=20
seats went to the pro-army Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam, or=20
PML-Q, with 78 seats. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party took 62 seats=20
and the alliance of six religious parties, the United Council of=20
Action (UCA), won a remarkable 50 seats--the highest for any Islamic=20
grouping since Pakistan's inception. The opposition faction of the=20
Pakistan Muslim League led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won=20
14 seats. Another 100 candidates will be chosen from religious=20
minorities and women, bringing the total to 392 MPs.

WHAT THE MULLAHS WANT
The European Union called the election "seriously flawed," and=20
strongly criticized the army's interference in the pre-poll electoral=20
process. The EU raised serious doubts about whether there would be a=20
real transfer of power from the army to civilians.

In a not-so-surprising contrast the Bush administration in Washington=20
had little to say about the election, describing it as "a milestone=20
towards democracy."

Bush and Musharraf appear to be the only leaders to be so optimistic.=20
Whether the UCA joins hands with the PML-Q or remains in opposition,=20
it will pose immense problems. The UCA will demand greater=20
Islamicization and changes to the constitution at home while=20
questioning the country's alliance with the U.S.

Furthermore, Musharraf has in the past described the religious=20
parties and their militias as the first line of defence in any war=20
against India. With the hardline mullahs in parliament, it will be=20
inconceivable that the next prime minister will be able to hold=20
meaningful talks with India. The mullahs' victory will also push to=20
the back burner the pledges made by Musharraf to reform Pakistan's=20
religious schools, which have spawned Islamic militancy.

The UCA will certainly control the provincial governments of=20
Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province bordering=20
Afghanistan. This could weaken Afghanistan's leader, Hamid Karzai, as=20
the UCA leaders have close links to the Taliban and to renegade=20
commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Western diplomats say Hekmatyar is=20
already getting support from Pakistan.

"All of Pakistan's neighbours will see the UCA as a threat, and that=20
will increase the army's leverage with the Americans," says Rashed=20
Rehman, editor of the Frontier Post newspaper in Peshawar.

_____

#2.

The News International (Pakistan)
19 October 2002

Cajole them into power
by Kamran Shafi
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2002-daily/19-10-2002/oped/o2.htm

_____

#3.

Minority Rights Group International

PRESS RELEASE Embargoed 0.01 Thursday 10
October

Pakistan urged to act to defend religious minorities

On the eve of national elections, Pakistan's religious and ethnic
minorities are under threat from serious sectarian violence, a new
report from Minority Rights Group International (MRG) warns. The report
recommends that those responsible for crimes of ethnic and religious
hatred including recent killings, destruction of property and places of
worship, and crimes of sexual violence, must be brought to justice and
steps taken to instigate independent inquiries into these acts.

The killing of seven Christian charity workers in Karachi on 25
September is the latest in a number of attacks on religious minorities
including Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shia Muslims, which have
escalated in recent months. MRG's new report highlights the fact that
religious minorities have long suffered from discrimination, harassment
and lack of effective social, economic and political participation in
Pakistan. Recent factors including Pakistan's declared support for the
US 'war against terrorism' and allied action against the Taliban in
Afghanistan have served to further inflame religious and anti-Western
tensions and have led to outbreaks of extremist violence against both
ethnic and religious minorities.

Pakistan's Hindu minority, traditionally marginalized within Pakistan,
have been further targeted due to continuing political discord between
India and Pakistan over the disputed state of Kashmir. Recent violence
by Hindus against Muslims in the Indian State of Gujurat, resulting in
several hundred Muslim deaths, has served to further stigmatise the
Hindu minority in Pakistan and led to increased communal tensions.

"The current situation is dangerous and could escalate into one of
widespread violence against minorities", stated MRG's Director, Mark
Lattimer. "Successive governments have used religion for political ends.
Pakistan must fulfil its obligations under international law in actions
as well as words, and move to protect the rights of all its citizens
without prejudice."

MRG documents a number of examples of attacks against religious
minorities including the massacre of worshippers in Bahawalpur on 28
October 2001 and a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad on 17 March
2002 as well as numerous attacks against Ahmadis and Muslim groups
including Shia Muslims and Zikris. Importantly, acts of violence against
women such as rape and honour killings, both within and across religious
communities, are highlighted as issues of grave concern.

MRG's report calls on the newly elected Government of Pakistan and on
General Pervez Musharraf to establish independent commissions for
racial, religious and gender equality with authority to investigate
complaints and to enhance the capacity of the judiciary in this respect.
The authorities should ensure that religious and other minorities can
participate fully in all aspects of public life, and consider mechanisms
to achieve this including reserved seats in government, Parliament and
consultative bodies. Laws and constitutional provisions which
demonstrably result in discrimination against religious minorities, such
as Pakistan's Blasphemy Law2, should also be modified or revoked to
ensure that discrimination ceases.

-ends-

Notes for editors:
1. Religious Minorities in Pakistan by Dr. Iftikhar H. Malik, 32pp,
ISBN1 897693 69 9, published September 2002.
2. MRG's report documents numerous cases of blasphemy laws being used
against individuals from both non-Muslim and Muslim religious
minorities. In addition blasphemy allegations have resulted in major
incidents such as an attack against Christians in Khanewal, in 1997
resulting in the demolition of the Christian villages of Shantinagar and
Tibba Colony during which 13 churches and 700 properties were destroyed
and several people were killed. In 1998, Justice Nazeer Akhtar of Lahore
High Court suggested that blasphemers should be killed immediately.

For interviews, further information or copies of Religious Minorities in
Pakistan please contact the Press Office at MRG on 020 7978 9498. This
report is available online at:

www.minorityrights.org

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a non-governmental
organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote
cooperation and understanding between communities.

____

#4

[ 2 documents below On The brutal massacre of five Dalit citizens of=20
India in Haryana]

Report of the Left Parties Delegation to Duleena, Jhajjar Dist,=20
Haryana (India) on October 17 to Protest Dalit Lynching Atrocity

[The complete report is available at:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/2002/LeftOnDalitLynchingOct02.html
For those with unstable web connections, a copy can be made available=20
via e-mail <aiindex@m...>.

o o o

The Hindustan Times
19 October 2002

Holy cow, holy war
Swami Agnivesh and Valson Thampu

The lynching of five Dalits =8B Virender, Dayanand, Kailash, Raju=20
Gupta and Tota Ram =8B in Jhajjar in Haryana, reportedly by a frenzied=20
mob, for skinning a dead cow, is yet another pointer to the=20
criminality that marks mob behaviour, thanks to the communal=20
manipulation of mass religiosity by those who wish to thrive by it.=20
The brutal massacre of five citizens is bad enough. What is=20
absolutely shocking is the fact that they were hijacked from police=20
custody and lynched. It raises a host of questions that cry out for=20
answers.

The disturbing trend, however, is that the truth about events=20
coloured by communalism can never be known. [...]
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/191002/detIDE01.shtml

____

#5.

[ Source: A Posting on The indiathinkersnet Mailing list on Yahoogroups]

SAVE INDIA FRONT

Off. : 5, Pusa Road, IIIrd Floor, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005, Ph.-
5740016, Telefax : 5740017, E-mail : buddha@n...

1, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-2, Ph.: 3311455, 3317729, Fax:
3316173, E-mail : jamiat@n...

Udit Raj (Ram Raj)
National Chairman - All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations
Convener

Maulana Mahmood Madani
General Secretary - Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind
Convener

Press Release

To rebuff Modi's so called Gaurav Rath Yatra, Save India Front will
launch Gujarat Bachao Rath Yatra from 19th October

RALLY TO BE HELD ON 24TH NOVEMBER AGAINST PRIVATIZATION AND
RESERVATION IN PRIVATE SECTOR IN DELHI

New Delhi, 17 October, 2002

Mr. Udit Raj, Chairman of All India Confederation of SC/ST
Organizations and Convenor of Save India Front said that the major
organizations like ours, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and All India Christian
Council are going to launch Save Gujarat Rath Yatra which will start
from Dr. Ambedkar's statue, Sarangpur, Ahmedabad on 19th October. It
will halt in Kheda District in night and will begin meetings and
contacts on next day. Rath Yatra will remain in Baroda on 21st and
22nd October to spread the message of love and affection. The same
will reach Bharuch to organize meetings against communalism followed
by Surat on 25 - 26 October, 02. The first phase of Gujarat Bachao
Rath Yatra will end by 28th October at Dang. We will announce second
phase of Yatra later on. Gujarat is part of the nation and every
human being is an Indian and considering this humanistic factor and
other national issues and interests, we have decided to oppose Modi's
Kalank (Blot) & Sharm (Shame) Guarav Rath Yatra in Gujarat. This is a
communal and divisive Yatra hence it should be opposed by our Gujarat
Bachao Rath. Whatever venom, hatred and inimical atmosphere will be
created by Modi's Agaurav Rath Yatra,will be washed out by our
Gujarat Bachao Rath Yatra.

The root cause of communal outbreak in Gujarat was to capture
political power. In other words, coming election for Assembly in
Gujarat is to be blamed for murder, killing, rape and destruction of
properties etc. If the assembly elections are held under Mr. Narender
Modi's Govt., they are going to be farcical one. President's rule
should be imposed and eminent personalities and institutions like ex
Prime Minister and National Human Rights Commission should be
associated during the election. The Save India Front is going to
field its candidates in Assembly elections. At present there is no
fitting alternative to the BJP in Gujarat and hence we have to accept
this challenge. Mr. Udit Raj appealed to the people of Gujarat,
regardless of caste and religion, to come together and remove fascist
Government. Gujarat used to be role model for other states in respect
of social harmony and economic development but the situation is
turning contrary. All those who want to save the state should help us
in bailing out Gujarat from this crisis.

After independence, Christian Missionary Schools and Institutions
were well respected but when Sonia Gandhi took over the command of
the dying Congress, the Sangh Pariwar started attacking Christians so
that Sonia Gandhi, being President of the main opposition party,
would react and the BJP get an opportunity to brand her as an Italian
Christian. Recently Ms. Jai Lalita, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
issued draconian law banning conversion and this is seen as one of
the agenda of Sangh Parivar. We condemn it in strongest possible
manner and demand for its repeal.

The All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations struggled hard and
as a consequence, three anti-reservation orders have been withdrawn
and two of them are still in force. After a lot of pressure, the BJP
govt. withdrew anti-reservation orders but at the same time it is
finishing reservation through privatization. Under the garb of
Globalization and Liberalization, the assets of the country are being
sold at throw way prices and it is leading to poverty and
unemployment. For securing reservation in private sector, the SC/ST
Confederation and Lord Buddha Club are going to hold mammoth rally on
24th November, 2002 at Ram Lila Ground, New Delhi. The rally will
take up the cause of reservation in higher judiciary, land reforms,
compulsory and equal education, enactment of reservation act and
placing it in 9th schedule of the constitution, time bound promotion
to the Safai Karmacharies, reservation in Govt. contract and benefit
of reservation to those who do not belong to their states etc.

(Pravinder Dharia)

______

#6.

[ Received From: V. Krishna Ananth
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 14:47:23 +0530]

Mr Sahib Singh Verma who, as Chief Minister of Delhi, had issued an
order implying that Churches are drinking dens just because of a
spoonful of wine is symbolically involved in some routine ceremony in
churches and who is at present (for the last two months or so) Union
Minister for Labour, addressed a meeting organised by the Employers'
Federation of Southern India, the Madras Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (MCCI) and the National Institute of Personnel Management
(NIPM)-Chennai Chapter yesterday (OCt. 17) against the background of
the recommendations of the Second National Commission on Labour. The
following are extracts from his speech and remarks at the meeting:
------
Labour law reform is inevitable to face globalisation and give employment
and social security to 92 per cent of the labour force who are in the
unorganised sector and whom trade unions find it difficult to organise,
because there cannot be gate meetings in their cases (since they are
employed in widely dispersed locations and in small numbers). If we do not
reform labor laws, investors will not invest and provide employment and the=
y
will go to Sri Lanka, Indonesia or Bangladesh. Flexibility in labour laws
like employment on contract rather than assured employment may be desirable
but will be difficult to implement in existing industries which already hav=
e
a workforce and can only be proposed for new industries and enterprises.
"Democracy has no logic but only numbers count in a democracy, as was shown
by the Shah Bano case, where a widely acclaimed court ruling was nullified
by the then Prime Minister because of the pressure of numbers". Workers in
existing industries will oppose such reforms, and "when numbers combine wit=
h
organisational clout, that can mean a lot of resistance".

Employers and workers should learn to cooperate in mutual interest as in a
family. There are people who say class conflict is inevitable but this
proposition is not acceptable. "Are there laws on families stipulating that
brothers and sisters should help each other and cooperate? Their mutual
attitude of accommodation comes out of the sense of belonging to a family.
Such a sense can be incorporated among workers mainly by the employers". To
encourage an attitude of cooperation among employers and employees, I
propose to suggest to heads of various religious sects with lakhs and lakhs
of followers, that they should appeal to employers and employees among thei=
r
followers to develop an attitude of cooperation in the workplace". In fact,
today morning I visited the Sankaracharya of Kanchi at Kancheepuram".

Among the last words uttered by Mr Verma at the meeting were that he was
consulting all political parties, MPs, trade unions and employers on NCL's
recommendations before the proposed bill to introduce labour reforms is
introduced in the budget session of Parliament. "We will do justice to all"=
.

(extract ends)
-----------

NOW I SHALL QUOTE PORTIONS from the last paragraph of the MPU BOOKLET,
"Unite the People, Defeat Fascism".

"The greatest danger thus to the values of India's secular, democratic
Constitution does not arise from legal and constitutional interpretations
and controversies, but from vested interests who would use the phenomenon o=
f
minority religious, cultural, ethnic identities and their social traits for
ulterior political motives -- legitimisation of authoritarian rule to manag=
e
the mundate conflicts of interest in a modern society facing an acute
economic and political crisis, viz, FASCIST RULE: A rule which, through
communal hate politics, will push under the carpet the real issues of our
times, like those between the landlord and the tenant, between the employer
and the employee, between big industry and small industry .........; avoid
democratic and just solutions to these conflicts and create the illusion of
justice for all by dictatorship in in the name of "Hindu nationalism".

Just imagine what if religious heads of minority "sects", who are
supported by ,democratic, leftist and working class movements in the
present situation of rising fascism through majoritarianism, refuse
to endorse the suggestion to issue an appeal to employers and
employees in their community. Devilish politics indeed but not
surprising. In fact, if you recall, Mr Ram Jethmalani, in
his practically first speech (at the Sindhi Chamber of Commerce in
Chennai, which too I had covered) after being sworn in as Minister
for Housing and Urban Development three or four years ago, warned the
minorities that their biggest defenders will be the Parivar and that
their biggest enemies will be those who swear by secularism! Mr Sahib
Singh Verma unfolds exactly what I envisaged when I
heard Jethmalani at that meeting.

R.Gopalakrishnan

______

#7.

Date: 18 Oct 2002 10:35:57 -0000

Hashimpura : Revisiting the "Forgotten Massacre"

by Subhash Gatade

"Failure to punish perpetrators of communal violence undermines=20
civilised democratic society..Without effective State protection of=20
minorities, guarantee of minority rights and cultural autonomy will=20
be a teasing illusion," Attorney General of India, Mr Soli Sorabjee=20
says at a UN Meeting For Protection and Promotion of Minorities=20
Rights (20th May 2002) Can a government declare members of its own=20
Police or PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) Force very much on duty=20
and receiving regular pay as 'absconders' ? Can non-bailable warrants=20
issued by competent Courts for these accused be returned unserved=20
not once, not twice but eighteen times ? And would it further dare to=20
ignore Court's orders for confiscating their property ? Can it let=20
of officers who refuse to cooperate with Commissions of Enquiry or=20
give misleading information to them ? If you want to have a fling in=20
this Topsyturvy Land you do not have to go far. It lies here in=20
India--The Uttar Pradesh. For its sheer wanton acts of omission and=20
commission which add to the nagging feeling of insecurity of the=20
common man have few parallels. And the episode in question is the=20
massacre at Hashimpura and its aftermath.It is not for nothing that=20
a senior journalist with the Times Of India Mr. Siddharth Varadarajan=20
in a frontpage article had commented more than two years ago: "Even=20
by the lethargic and Kafkaesque standards of the Indian judicial=20
system, the Hashimpura case is in a class of its own" (TOI, 17 May=20
200). The recent decision ( Jagran hindi daily 6 October 2002) by the=20
honourable Supreme Court asking for immediate transfer of the case=20
pertaining to Hashimpura massacre from Ghaziabad Session Court to=20
Delhi Session Court has once brought into sharp focus the 'forgotten=20
massacre" at Hashimpura more than 15 years ago wherein 42 innocent=20
Muslims were killed by the UP police in cold blood. The Supreme Court=20
in its judgement has castigated the powers that be in no uncertain=20
terms over the still to be framed charges in the massacre and has=20
directed all the accused who are part of the police and PAC team to=20
be present on 30 th October when the case would come up for=20
discussion there. As a recap of the events one may note that there=20
was a communal conflagration at Meerut there 15 years ago when the=20
Congress ruled both in the State and the centre. Both Police and=20
PAC pickets were posted there to bring the situation under=20
control.The 1994 Confidential report of the CBI throws light on the=20
sordid saga. "On 22nd May 1987 around 8.0 p.m. they herded 40-42=20
'rioters' in PAC Truck No. UR 1493 at Hashimpura overtly for taking=20
them to Meerut Civil Lines or Police Lines. However, the Platoon=20
Commander S.P.Singh drove to the Upper Ganga Canal=20
Muradnagar(Ghaziabad) ignoring their protests. On reaching their they=20
started to unceremoniously shooting them down. When a few tried to=20
escape they were shot down on the spot and their bodies were cast=20
into the Canal. Rest of them were taken to the Hindon canal and there=20
the sordid show was reenacted . '' It is worth underlining this=20
action of the police was basically to terrorize and brutalize the=20
minority population.This view is corroborated when in an article on=20
the same theme Mr Iqbal Ansari tells us that (PUCL Bulletin Feb 2001)=20
this was done ". while there was no rioting in that area of the=20
city." Inquiry reports by reputed journalists like Nikhil Chakravarty=20
and, Kuldip Nayar, and organisations like the People's Union For=20
Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the People's Union For Democratic Rights=20
(PUDR) revealed that it was a case of barbaric cold-blooded murder by=20
the PAC personnel. Nikhil Chakravartty compared the event with "Nazi=20
Pogrom against the Jews, to strike terror and nothing but terror in a=20
whole minority Community". The Amnesty International's inquiry report=20
observed, " There is evidence to suggest that members of the PAC have=20
been responsible for dozens of extra judicial killings and=20
disappearances".(AI Index: ASA 20/06/87). In a joint statement=20
eminent persons including I.K. Gujral, Rajindar Sachar, Kuldip Nayar,=20
Subhadra Joshi and Badr-Ud-Din Tyabji demanded, " the government must=20
prosecute all those who have disgraced their uniform. Their misdeeds=20
must treated at par with treason and tried by special Courts". In=20
order to view these events in the proper perspective it would be=20
necessary to look into the recommendations to the UP Govt.by the=20
National Minorities Commission who looked into matter. These are=20
dated 12-10-1999.A look at the long correspondence that preceded it=20
will also help. The State Govt. had also the incident looked into by=20
the CID. But it is intriguing to note that this internal=20
investigation were completed only in 1993 -six years later.Its=20
Findings came one year later . As if this delay was not enough it=20
was further compounded by procrastination in implementing the action=20
recommended..Orders in the matter were issued only in 1995 and=20
1997.Even in this Order action was recommended only against 19=20
officials as against 66 recommended in the CID Report. In its=20
recommendations to the State Govt. the National Minorities Commission=20
had asked it not only to give adequate compensation to the families=20
of the affected people but also to ensure that all those found guilty=20
are punished. Even now nobody can claim authoritatively that the=20
guilty will be punished or the yearning of the affected people for=20
justice will fulfilled and the next of kin of those killed will get=20
adequate compensation. Mr Ansari rightly adds that ..The Govt. of=20
U.P. maintains that the amount of Rs. 40,000/- it paid for each of=20
those killed is enough. It needs to be kept in mind that Hashimpura's=20
is a case of custodial killings by PAC, not that of killings during=20
riots because of failure of governance as in 1984 in Delhi for which=20
the Delhi High Court awarded compensation of Rs. 2 lakhs. " The=20
bitter fact is that while these killers of Muslims are openly moving=20
about and the few surviving witnesses constantly go in danger to=20
their life. The Courts have revealed strange reluctance to summon the=20
heads of Police and Security and peremptorily ask them to produce=20
the accused.Although the case has been transferred to the session=20
court in Delhi at the behest of the honourable supreme court but one=20
can easily anticipate the long and tortuous process of litigation=20
which would take decades to complete. Looking at the track record of=20
the UP government seeking and deriving cooperation from it to deliver=20
justice to the victims of Hashimpura massacre appears quite=20
impossible. It is not for nothing that only last year the National=20
Human Rights Commission in its last sixth annual report (which covers=20
the period 1998-99) was forthright enough to declare that a 'Jungle=20
Raj' prevails under in UP. Though there has been a change of power at=20
the state level but the saffrons still form part of the coalition in=20
power and one does not notice any perceptible change at the level of=20
governance. It was reported only last yeat that UP is not only that=20
the biggest state which sends the largest number of MPs to the lower=20
house tops the list as far as the encounter killings or custodial=20
deaths are concerned but as far as the number of complaints of human=20
rights violations are concerned more than fifty percent of the=20
complaints originate from the land of the saffrons only. (As far as=20
the figures are concerned the commission rec'd total 40724 complaints=20
during the year April 1998 to March 1999 and out of which 54 percent=20
were from Uttar Pradesh).Even after repeated reminders from the=20
National Human Rights Commission the state government has yet to fill=20
its constituional responsibility for setting up a state human Rights=20
Commission.It is interesting to note that the government had issued a=20
notification for setting up a state human rights commission way back=20
in April 1996 only. The only formalities remaining were the selection=20
of the chairperson and members. And then suddenly the government=20
developed cold feet and unashamedly went back on its words. The=20
matter is subjudice and the issue is right now pending before the=20
high court. . It is indeed galling to find that , even more than=20
fifty years after the formation of Indian Republic Hashimpura is not=20
an exception.It is not just a synonym for massacre.It is a tendency.=20
There is nothing new in such massacres which are well thought-out=20
handiwork of those at the helm of power and capital for their=20
political and economic objectives .In the event the Constitution=20
becomes a Parody. The rules made under the Constitution only subserve=20
their interest. Even a cursory glance at the socio-political events=20
of the post independence half century will make this position clear.=20
Whether it is the notorious Bhopal Gas Tragedy; the anti-Sikh pogroms=20
following the assassination of Indira Gandhi; or the demolition of=20
the Babri Masjid which led to the biggest communal riots after=20
Partition or the latest post Godhra state sponsored pogrom of Muslims=20
in Gujarat when the retribution was invented as the state policy by=20
the Sangh Parivar wherein officially more than 1000 people mostly=20
Muslims have been killed by the storm troppers of the Bajrang Dal and=20
VHP variety with full connivance of the new "Hindu Hriday Samrat" Mr=20
Narendra 'Milosevic' Modi. Would the parties or organisations which=20
instigated the biggest communal frenzy in Indepndent India be=20
punished for their inhuman acts ? Would the parties and people=20
sitting on higher echleons of power be punished for the many inhuman=20
acts perpetrated under their regime? Is it any easier to answer this=20
question than the one raised at the beginning about the perpetrators=20
of the Hashimpura orgy ?

C/O: Subhash Gatade,B2/51 ,Sector 16, Rohini,Delhi-110085 Phone:=20
7296030 email : subhanjali @ rediffmail.com (*Forgotten Massacre is=20
the name of the article which Mr Iqbal Ansari wrote for the IOS=20
Bulletin) (Subhash Gatade, freelance journalist and social activist,=20
regularly writes for Hindi, English and Marathi newspapers and=20
magazines, also edits a Hindi journal 'Sandhan'.)

______

#8.

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 19:55:12 +0530 (IST)
From: Ram Puniyani
Subject: A briiliant play on Gujarat carnage

Surely dear, there was a city here!

A full length Gujarati play on the Gujarat carnage by Saumya Joshi (Fade
in Theaters) (1 hour 45 minutes)

The play was performed in Nehru Center on 18th Oct. 2 P.M.

It explores the recent carnage in a very serious and subtle way. This play
while conveying the message of harmony excels in theatrical aesthetics as
well. Two young archeologists in the year 4002 excavate the city of
Amdavad and see the horrific violence in the name of religion, something
unknown to them, with the conclusion that this disease destroyed the city.
The play depicts the closure of mills, the plan to spread violence in the
name of religion to make poor people forget their hunger, and the
helplessness of poor in the mayhem where they get killed. The play is a
powerful statement on the politics of communalism and evokes deep sense
empathy for the victims. It is at the same time extremely subtle while
giving the message. Brilliant in musical score, whose impact is as deep as
the theme of the play, its impact grips the audience. It talk of two parts
of city connected by Nehru Bridge. There are many a touching points where
one has deep admiration for the director and the team. The one, where in
one part the birthday celebrations, knife is piercing the cake, is counter
posed with innocents being knifed, speaks volumes for the theatrical
technique of the director.

Surely this play needs to be translated into all the Indian languages for
a broader audience. Its performances will have a very good impact on the
society.
-----
Correspondence
380/A, Parantap Flats, Sector 23, Gandhinagar, 382023
Ph. 3230688
e mail- fadein_ahm@h...

____

#9.

The Hindu
Saturday, Oct 19, 2002

The Sangh and Swadeshi
By V. Krishna Ananth

The debate (on economic policy) is a conscious attempt by the RSS to=20
enlarge its own base and occupy the political space that has=20
remained, predominantly, with the Left.
http://www.hindu.com/stories/2002101900551000.htm

____

#10.

The Hindu
Friday, Oct 18, 2002

Human rights and the police
By Rajindar Sachar
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/10/18/stories/2002101800331000.htm

____

#11.

"Genocide in the Land of Gandhi"
A lecture and documentary presentation by Martin Macwan and Zahir
Janmohamed

Wednesday, October 23, 7 p.m.

New York University School of Law
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 206
40 Washington Square South
(on W.4th between MacDougal and Sullivan) [New York City]

Since February 27, 2002, over 2,000 people have been killed in the state
of Gujarat, most of them
Muslim. The attacks have been actively supported by state government
officials and by the police.
Over 150,000 people have been displaced from their homes, hundreds of
women and girls have been
raped, and over 500 mosques and dargahs have been destroyed.

Martin Macwan is the founder-director of Navsarjan Trust, a
nongovernmental organization working
in over 2,000 villages in Gujarat. Navsarjan is part of the Citizens'
Initiative in Gujarat, a coalition of
NGOs working on justice and rehabilitation issues in the aftermath of
the violence in February and
March. Martin will brief us on the latest developments in Gujarat.

Zahir Janmohamed is a Gujarati-American student who went to Ahmedabad to
work in an NGO and
found himself in the midst of the riots. He will discuss his
experiences working in the relief camps.

Introduction by Smita Narula, Human Rights Watch, author of "We Have No
Orders to Save You: State
Participation and Complicity in the Communal Violence in Gujarat."

Directions: Take the 1/2 to Christopher Streetwalk east on west 4th
three blocks

A/C/E/F/V to West 4th St, walk East on West 4th 1 block

Take the N/R to 8th St, walk south on Broadway about three blocks and
turn right on 4th Street and
walk west three blocks

sponsored by NYU SALSA - South Asian Law Students Association

_____

#12.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 97
19 October 2002
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/108

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

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996.
To subscribe send a blank message to:
<act-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> / To unsubscribe send a blank
message to: <act-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
________________________________________
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//\\|//|//\\|//|//\\|//|//\\|//|