[sacw] SACW | 24 Jan. 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 24 January 2003

#1. Forum to promote peace between India, Pakistan (Iqbal Khattak)
#2. Pakistan: Display of musical instruments banned [in parts of NWFP]
#3. India: Big biz, low cunning (Praful Bidwai)
#4. India: Citizen's Conscience: Jairus Banaji interviewed (Rajni Bakshi)
#5. India: Resolutions from Rashtriya Ekta Samittee, Jansanwad Manch=20
and others meet on 16th January 2003, Bombay.
#6. India: Modi plans another genocide! (Press Note - Narmada Bachao Andola=
n)
#7. India: Mandir-masjid bomb ticks on Digvijay turf (Rasheed Kidwai)
#8. India Pakistan Nuclear Hawky Talky Contest Continues: Opinions and Repo=
rts
#9. IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize (Final Call for Entries)
#10. UK: Open Discussion Meeting - Fascism in India and Bush's ' war=20
on terror' (Feb. 4, London)
#11. UK: Theatre: Untangling Rushdie's epic of India (Sarah Hemming)

__________________________

#1.

The Daily Times
January 24, 2003

Forum to promote peace between India, Pakistan

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Delegations from retired army officers, intellectuals and=20
students will soon visit India under the banner of 'Pakistan-India=20
Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy' to promote "people-to-people"=20
diplomacy between the two countries.
Advocate Qaiser Khan, secretary-general of Pakistan-India Peoples=20
Forum for Peace and Democracy, NWFP chapter, told Daily Times on=20
Thursday that the visits were aimed at "strengthening=20
people-to-people diplomacy." He said the importance of such visits=20
had increased in the wake of worsening diplomatic ties between=20
Islamabad and New Delhi.
Mr Khan said former caretaker prime minister Meraj Khalid and former=20
Punjab chief minister Hanif Ramay would soon visit India with the=20
mission to improve ties between the two countries. He, however, gave=20
no exact dates for their visit.
"We will soon organize a big convention in Karachi to normalise=20
relations between the two countries," he said and added that new=20
thinking and ideas were needed to tame India and Pakistan.
He said peace-loving delegates from India and Pakistan would attend=20
the convention. The forum's provincial chapter will meet on February=20
4 in Peshawar to discuss how people-to-people contacts could be=20
increased and the two countries brought to negotiations.

______

#2.

The Daily Times
January 24, 2003

Display of musical instruments banned

Staff Report
PESHAWAR: The police has banned the open display of musical=20
instruments and asked musicians and eunuchs, particularly in the=20
Dabgari area, to avoid advertising their businesses by sitting=20
outside their shops.
On Wednesday evening, the police warned musical groups and eunuchs to=20
stop displaying musical instruments outside their business places and=20
also "avoid sitting" in balconies to attract people, police sources=20
told Daily Times on Thursday. They said two days ago 10 musicians and=20
eunuchs in Dabgari were booked under Section 107 of the PPC and=20
presented before a local court.
City Police chief Tanveerul Haq Sipra, who launched what the=20
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in NWFP called a "campaign against=20
obscenity", issued the order.
Under the campaign, local police have destroyed thousands of=20
"pornographic" videos, CDs and sex-related pills in the last couple=20
of weeks and removed billboards from cinema houses.
A junior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told=20
Daily Times that local MMA leaders were pressing the police to=20
arrange almost every week a function in which cassettes and CDs were=20
destroyed. "We have been asking video shop owners to cooperate and=20
they have been kind enough help out," he said.
Zahid Jan, a video shop owner in the city interior, told DT that=20
nobody, including the MMA leaders, knew what was put on fire. "We=20
have hidden all such cassettes and CDs and only damaged cassettes and=20
CDs were handed over for destruction.
"No one checks them. This is a strange country. There is no=20
counter-check to verify what you have said," said Mr Jan, underlining=20
loopholes in the campaign that MMA Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani=20
has declared "successful."

______

#3.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/240103/detIDE01.shtml
The Hindustan Times
Friday, January 24, 2003
=20=20=09=20
Big biz, low cunning
Praful Bidwai

One must congratulate Oxford-based historian and secular activist=20
Jairus Banaji for courageously confronting Narendra Milosevic Modi=20
with awkward, but pertinent and long-overdue questions at the huge=20
'Gujarat Unlimited' congregation of 'business leaders' organised for=20
Modi's benefit last Saturday in Mumbai by the Confederation of Indian=20
Industry (CII).

Banaji spoke for millions of Indians when he asked how Modi could=20
promise 'strong growth', 'development' and 'progress' in Gujarat=20
without restoring the rule of law through justice for the victims of=20
independent India's worst pogrom of a religious minority: "You have=20
the blood of innocents on your hands," Banaji told Modi as he=20
recalled the reign of communal terror sponsored 11 months ago, the=20
devastating effects and grievous injuries from which are still in=20
evidence.

By the same token, one feels revolted at the gratuitous and servile=20
manner in which the captains of Indian industry glorified and=20
expressed solidarity with Modi at the CII event - just as they had=20
genuflected before him by attending his super-ostentatious=20
swearing-in ceremony.

The difference between the two was that the Mumbai felicitation was=20
an institutional initiative by the country's best-known chamber of=20
business - taken suo motu, unsolicited, not in response to an=20
external event. Gracing it was a virtual Who's Who of industry and=20
banking, including Jamshyd Godrej of Godrej & Boyce, A.M. Naik of=20
Larsen & Toubro, Prashant Ruia of Essar, P.P. Vora of IDBI, Nimesh=20
Kampani of JM Morgan Stanley, Chintan Parikh of Ashima and Pradip=20
Madhavji of Thomas Cook.

The CII itself has since acknowledged the initiative's exceptional=20
nature through a full-page advertisement in a national newspaper,=20
where it promises to "consolidate [its] partnership" with Modi's=20
government, and breathlessly quotes director-general Tarun Das: "This=20
meeting is not just a Gujarat or regional event, but a national=20
meeting". Highlighted are Modi's quotes: "Public participation is a=20
must for growth in Gujarat" and "Government has no business to be in=20
business".

By all accounts, the Mumbai interaction was collusive in nature, with=20
Das extolling business's "love affair" with Gujarat, Godrej praising=20
Modi for his "vision", and Modi conceding the demand for privatising=20
Gujarat's public sector fertiliser plants. Next month, the CII and=20
Modi will co-sponsor Petrominex, an international=20
conference-exhibition, with the 'mission' of making Gujarat "a=20
leading growth state".

This collusion is deeply deplorable, the more so because the CII is=20
supposedly the most 'modern', 'extrovert', 'globalised' and=20
technologically 'advanced' face of Indian capital, which interacts=20
closely and more confidently with the external world than, say, the=20
'protectionist' FICCI. The CII is the chosen partner of the United=20
States government and NGOs in promoting 'democracy' and 'good=20
governance' in India. Its meetings in April were India's first=20
industrial gatherings to take note of the Gujarat pogrom and its=20
impact on society and the economy.

All that would seem to have been erased and become irrelevant after=20
Modi's December victory. Conscientious industrialists like Deepak=20
Parekh, Anu Agha and Cyrus Guzder, who issued appeals for restoration=20
of human rights, democracy and justice, turned out to be mere voices=20
in the wilderness. Like opportunist politicians, the CII too seems to=20
have 'normalised' Modi's vile politics and legitimised his murderous=20
communalism -merely because he won an election.

Seen in perspective, Gujarat was one of the world's worst-ever=20
pogroms, far greater in intensity than the street-level lynchings=20
(although not concentration-camp gassing) of the Jews in pre-Nazi=20
Germany. As historian Eric Hobsbawm reminds us: "The pogroms in=20
Tsarist Russia which (justifiably) outraged world opinion and drove=20
Russian Jews across the Atlantic in their millions=8A were small,=20
almost negligible, by the standards of modern massacre: the dead were=20
counted in dozens, not hundreds=8A"

The 'grassroots' anti-semitism of central-eastern Europe was worse.=20
Hobsbawm writes: "Jews who escaped from newly-occupied Vienna to=20
Berlin in 1938 were astonished at the absence of street=20
anti-semitism=8A Yet even so, there is no comparison between the casual=20
and intermittent savagery of the pogroms and what was to come a=20
generation later. The handful of dead of 1881, the forty to fifty of=20
the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, outraged the world - and justifiably -=20
because=8A such a number=8A seemed intolerable to a world which expected=20
civilisation to advance. Even the much larger pogroms that=20
accompanied the mass peasant risings of the 1905 Russian revolution=20
had only modest casualties - perhaps 800 dead in all."

By contrast, Hindutva mobs, backed by Modi, butchered 2,000 to 2,500=20
Muslims, and uprooted several lakhs, causing an economic loss of Rs=20
3,000 to 10,000 crore. The Gujarat violence was historic, as is the=20
political evil it has produced: an especially malign, explicitly=20
violent Hindutva, calculated to make civilisation retreat. Modi=20
represents not just that malignancy, but an immoral and sinister way=20
of manipulating social perceptions, diabolically violating the=20
Constitution, inflaming base passions and hatreds, and the ultimate=20
venality of using force and intimidation to grab power.

The least that any liberal-democratic and secular tendency can do is=20
to refuse to legitimise such evil, and to politically punish the BJP=20
for the damage it has inflicted on democracy.

The CII has forfeited its claim to belong to such a liberal current.=20
It has also exposed the hollowness of the claim that neoliberal=20
'free-market' policies create a healthy, structural separation=20
between economics and politics, business and government. If, under=20
neoliberalism, 'free enterprise' comes into its own, why toady up to=20
every chief minister and to the disinvestment, finance and telecom=20
ministers?

It is doubtful if neoliberal economics ever counters=20
communal-parochial politics. Some social scientists argue it is=20
neoliberalism's success in Gujarat, coupled with social conservatism,=20
that explains communalism's explosive growth.

The CII cannot even claim it was merely 'engaging' Modi, the chief=20
minister, not endorsing Modi, the politician. It is Modi as CM, who=20
wreaked havoc in Gujarat. To achieve that scale he had to be CM. A=20
man who failed to defend the citizen's most fundament right, that to=20
life - indeed conspired to violate it - cannot be expected to enforce=20
the Constitution and laws pertaining to business.

The CII and Indian industry must reflect on three issues.
* Can Gujarat seriously develop, even grow, without a modicum=20
of justice for the pogrom's victims - through systematic prosecution=20
of the guilty? What is the worth of growth, if it cannot raise=20
incomes and reduce painful inequalities? Modi's repressive policies=20
will perpetuate sweatshops (diamond polishing) and virtual human=20
abattoirs (Alang shipbreaking). Is that what Gujarat needs?
* Indian business's political record is utterly embarrassing.=20
When asked to bend during the Emergency, our industrialists famously=20
crawled. Earlier, they sponsored, financed and ideologically guided=20
self-confessedly fascist forces like the Shiv Sena, which have=20
contributed to shifting India's politics towards the communal Right.=20
Isn't it time for industry to break this vicious cycle?
* Finally, there are lessons to be learnt from the=20
business-politics nexus in Germany. The groups which supported and=20
financed Hitler were legendary industry 'leaders': Krupp, Siemens,=20
Thyssen, Mannesmann, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, even Hugo Boss.=20
They backed Hitler to defeat the Left. But fascism soon turned on=20
them. Hitler brought about war, untold destruction, economic collapse=20
and mass misery.

Hitler's early business backers, like Friedrich Flick, Fritz Thyssen,=20
Hugo Stinnes and Albert Voegler, reaped mixed benefits. Flick became=20
a billionaire on the strength of slave labour. Voegler committed=20
suicide in April 1945. And Stinnes, disillusioned with Hitler's=20
anti-Catholicism, was jailed through 1941-45.

It is only a coincidence that January 30 is the day Hitler became=20
Chancellor in 1933 and Gandhiji was assassinated in 1948. But=20
remarkably similar political processes link the two. Can our=20
businessmen see this?

_____

#4.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3D=
35288085
The Times of India
January 24, 2003
Today's Interview

Citizen's Conscience

Jairus Banaji [JB], economic historian and author of a recent report=20
on Indian corporate governance, recently created a stir at a meeting=20
hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). The CII had=20
invited Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for an "interactive=20
session' with the business community in Mumbai to woo investors to=20
the state. When it was his turn to ask a question, Banaji raised the=20
issue of communal violence in Gujarat. At this point, several people=20
in the gathering vociferously objected and attempted to stop him from=20
speaking. Mr Banaji was escorted out of the meeting by the police and=20
allegedly held in custody for five hours. He spoke to Rajni Bakshi=20
[RB] about the need for initiatives from the corporate sector to=20
ensure good governance in India:

[RB] What inspired you to go to the CII meeting and what was the=20
question you asked?

[JB] I thought it was outrageous that the CII should be extending an=20
invitation to someone whose government was accused of aiding and=20
abetting the violence in Gujarat. I felt it was important to question=20
this publicly. What I said was, "You cannot have a strong economy=20
without justice, and you can't have justice without the rule of=20
law". By now there is consi-derable evidence to show that the state=20
government ac-tively connived in the post-Godhra violence. The=20
question I raised was why was the CII lending credibility to such=20
political forces. At this, there was a huge uproar, and apparently=20
leading officials of the CII beckoned to the CID to physically remove=20
me from the premises.

[RB] Isn't the CII entitled to invite the CM of a state to one of its=20
conferences?

[JB] Yes it is. I may not be the right person to have to say this but=20
it should be noted that although the meeting was organised by the=20
western region of CII, it was actually given a national profile, and=20
this transformed the nature of the whole event into some kind of=20
bizarre political statement. Why did the CII national leadership=20
choose to lend legitimacy to such a controversial political figure?

[RB] How does the violence in Gujarat last year pertain to the issue=20
of governance?

[JB] The fact that such brutality could be publicly displayed over=20
several weeks speaks volumes for the quality of governance in that=20
state. India has rarely seen a state being hijacked by political=20
forces in this way. The issue confronting us in India is whether we=20
wish to retain our democracy and constitutional rights and the rule=20
of law or are simply willing, out of fear or apathy, to allow=20
authoritarian forces to demolish all of those in successive waves of=20
carefully contrived communal violence. We cannot have a modern=20
society, let alone a modern economy, if the foundations of our=20
democracy are destroyed in this way.

RB: The term corporate governance generally applies to the internal=20
functioning of companies.
Are you saying that the corporate sector has a role to play in=20
ensuring better governance of society at large?

[JB] Of course it does and it should see itself doing so, just as any=20
other sector of civil society has a stake in the nature and quality=20
of the government which it elects. Business competitiveness cannot be=20
isolated from the quality of our general system of governance.

Indeed, Gujarat shows that this has now become a major constraint on=20
the former. Indian corporates are planning forays abroad and just as=20
they need the rule of law, an effective judiciary, fair play, etc, in=20
those countries in order to prosper, they need the same here, to an=20
even greater degree. It is at this level that corporates have to put=20
their heads together and see that they have a collective stake in=20
democracy, in the defence of our constitutional rights, in the rule=20
of law and the kind of government that is on offer.

[RB] But how do you expect businesses to achieve all this, especially=20
in the current climate?

[JB] By not capitula-ting to their deep-seated fear of politicians=20
and by building a strong collective platform within the business=20
community which is opposed to all those forms of misgovernance which=20
are currently destroying our credibility as a country and driving=20
investors away. Indian business has a peculiar sense of=20
self-preservation if it believes that we can forge a strong,=20
internationally competitive economy on the ruins of democracy and by=20
trampling on the constitutional rights and legal entitlements of our=20
citizens, starting with their most basic rights, the right to life=20
and livelihood.

What I saw at the CII meeting last Saturday was frightening, with=20
many business leaders sending out a loud and clear signal that as far=20
as they are concerned, political leaders may continue to commit=20
crimes with impunity.

I believe there are tens of thousands of people in the corporate=20
sector who are appalled by the way our society is being transformed.=20
They desperately need to get together and make their voice heard=20
collectively, and they can surely succeed because politicians need=20
business people today more than ever before.

_____

#5.

Rashtriya Ekata Samittee, Jansanwad Manch and others organized a meeting
on 16th January 2003 at Shramik, Dadar, Mumbai. Following resolutions were
passed in that meeting.

I) Banners and stickers will be displayed on the occasion of Indian
Republic day on 26th Jan. 2003 & Death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on
30th Jan. 2003.

Banners will be of two types:

Dharmanchya navavar ghaluniya vaad!
Deshyachya ektecha karu naka ghaat!!

Eshwar- Allah, Waheguru, chahe kaho Shriram!
Malik sabaka ek hain, kahe zagade unke naam!!

Price of each banner will be 100 Rs. and blank place will be given at the
bottom of the banner to write your organization name.
India is my country. (National pledge as printed on the first page of the
school text books) Will be printed on the stickers. Hindi and English
stickers will be available for Rs. 2 each.
Banners and stickers will be available at Shramik, Lokmanya Tilak Vasahat,
Raod no. 3, Dadar (E), Mumbai 400 014 from 23rd January 2003, 02-00 p.m.
and onwards.
Those who want banners and sticker, may please contact:
Bharti Sharma
Rashtriya Ekata Samitee, Shramik, Bharti chwal,

Shanta Jog Marg, Tilak Nagar, Chembur, Mumbai - 89.
Phone no. 2522 2654.

II) Initiate a regular program of developing activists who will spread
communal harmony and put a check on fundamentalism. Two day workshops can
be arranged for this purpose. Registration of members can be started
immediately and a group of 50 members each can accommoda5ed in a workshop,
which will be arranged during March / April 2003. A nominal participation
charge of Rs. 200 will be charged per person for this two day workshop.

Rehistration of the aspiring candidates willing to participate in the
workshop can be done at the following address.

Bharti Sharma
Rashtriya Ekata Samitee, Shramik, Bharti chwal,
Shanta Jog Marg, Tilak Nagar, Chembur, Mumbai - 89.
Phone no. 2522 2654.

Registration can also be done through email sureshsawant@v...

Waiting for your positive response!

Bharti Sharma.

_____

#6.

Narmada Bachao Andolan
62, Gandhi Marg, Badwani-451 551.
Email:badwani@n..., medha@n...

Press Note:-22.01.2003
Modi plans another genocide!
All out to flood Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat Adivasi and
non-Adivasi villages in the coming monsoon.

Following a notorious victory in Gujarat, using Narmada card to gain maximu=
m
seats in central Gujarat where water bound for Saurashtra-Kutch were
strategically diverted to, Modi and his parivar is all out to push the
presently stalled Sardar Sarovar Dam ahead. With thousands of families from
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and hundreds from Gujarat still in the
original villages and no cultivable agricultural land to offer, flooding of
the lands and houses of the villages have been illegally allowed over the
years. The dam remains stalled even now at 95 mts since even according to
the Supreme Court judgement (2000), all Project Affected Families are to be
resettled with housing sites as well as agricultural land as livelihood and
the same has not been possible as the government has no plan ready, even
after 24 years since the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal gave its award.
(1979)

Modi's victory was clearly due to the unholy compromise by Digvijay Singh
who changed his position from the initial opposition to the by-pass tunnel
(a lower height-90mts-canal) as well as to raising the dam-height from 90 t=
o
95 meters. This on one hand helped Modi tremendously to take Narmada waters
into Sabarmati but not much to Saurashtra ( even though it was technically
possible to do so!) In this process the original water allocation plan was
changed. In that plan there was no allocation for any city, Ahmedabad or
Vadodara. He used it to boost his image and gain votes.

On the other hand, the congress-ruled states were on the receiving end.
Maharashtra Government had its Task Force report ready and showing that
about 2800 families, more than 1000 of these are under 95 meters, are still
in the valley, and resettlement would require correction of records,
granting of land rights and alocation of land which is a serious and
time-taking exercise without which dam cannot proceed further. Thanks to
Vilasrao Deshmukh and his cabinet, Maharashtra had to estimate the losses
and sanction 37 lakhs, 81 thousand rupees as compensation, out of its own
coffers.

Another important impact is on the power generation itself. As pleaded by
government of Madhya Prdesh in its submission to the Supreme Court, by-pass
tunnel is to affect power-generation since 1.29 MAF extra waters would be
suck through the same by Gujarat. While ?power? (56% and 27% respectively)
is the only benefit promised of Sardar Sarovar Project to Madhya Pradesh an=
d
Maharashtra, neither of the two governments is taking it seriously while
Modi, as indicated from the ongoing efforts, is submitting false reports to
the Narmada Control Authority, showing resettlement completed by all the
states.

Maharashtra bureaucracy, in the uncertain political situation, seems to hav=
e
played a game too.The Action Taken Report submitted to Narmada Control
Authority, 6 months after the truthful data is available from the Task
Force, showed only 64 families between 95 and 100 meters, and those too ,
resettled. During the visit of Narmada Control Authority
Director(Rehabilitaion) Mr Afroz Ahmed to the rehabilitation sites for fiel=
d
level assessment, most of what was reported was proved to be a fraud. The
information was partially or fully wrong in the case of 61 out of 64
families. Not only the Task Force Report but the official records made
available at the site also vindicated the information supplied by the
adivasi families with documentary proofs.

Whether the Government of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh take a truthful
position in favour of the affected families and in the interest of the
states (which necessitates a review of cost and benefits) or support Modi?s
parivar who is all out to push the dam with political expediency and
genocidal tendency exhibited by no concern for adivasis and other
down-trodden or the drought-affected and the unjustifiable costs to the
state's finance; not less than 16,500 crores more when the coffers are
empty. Will the betraying bureaucrats be tackled and Vilasrao Deshmukh's
stance of ?no further investment? into and no further construction of the
Sardar Sarovar Project, be retained by the new Chief Minister and his
cabinet or will Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments again face defea=
t
with its own deeds at the hands of the communal forces and face serious
challenge during the coming monsoon at the hands of the affected?

Medha Patkar

____

#7.

HINDUTVA'S HATE PEDDLERS AT WORK

o o o

The Telegraph, January 24, 2003

Mandir-masjid bomb ticks on Digvijay turf
RASHEED KIDWAI
Bhopal, Jan. 23: Ever wondered how much damage a can of cheap wall=20
paint could do? Immense, if one goes by events in Dhar, a=20
tribal-dominated district in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

A raging battle for supremacy between Hindus and Muslims, which has=20
all the trappings of another Ayodhya in the making, seems set to=20
snowball on February 6 and 7, when the two communities would be=20
offering prayers inside the 11th century Bhojshala complex. Hindus=20
will be celebrating Basant Panchami while Muslims will come for=20
Friday prayers. [...].
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030124/asp/nation/story_1603942.asp

____

#8.

[ India Pakistan Nuclear Hawky Talky Contest Continues: Opinions and Report=
s]

A degenerating nuclear logic by Achin Vanaik
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/23/stories/2003012300041000.htm

Pakistanis see new aggression in Indian nuclear doctrine (A news Report)
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=3Dstory_24-1-2003_pg7_39

Bomb Doubts - N-threat in the subcontinent: R Rajaraman Interviewed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3D=
34988412

[ More at:
South Asians Against Nukes
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/NoNukes.html ]

____

#9.

IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize

Final Call for Entries

The IFJ is making a final call for entries for the IFJ Journalism for=20
Tolerance Prize in South Asia. Applications will be accepted up until=20
Friday 21 February, 2003 - two weeks before the IFJ Journalism for=20
Tolerance Prize South Asia Jury meeting.

The IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize, promoting tolerance,=20
combating racism and discrimination, will be awarded to journalists=20
in five regions of the world.

A total prize pool of =A43,000 will be awarded for entries in three=20
separate categories: print/on-line, radio and television (approx Rs=20
50,000 each). The Prize, supported by the European Union, has been=20
launched at a time when cultural, religious and ethnic differences=20
are increasingly contributing to instability and unrest in many=20
regions of the world.=20

Entries should be submitted directly to the IFJ Journalism for=20
Tolerance Prize office South Asia:

C/O INDIA NEWS AND FEATURE ALLIANCE (INFA)
JEEVAN DEEP, PARLIAMENT STREET
NEW DELHI 110001 INDIA
TELEPHONE: + 91 11 2374 3330 or 32
FAX: + 91 11 2374 3334
E-MAIL: <mailto:ifjsouthasia@h...>ifjsouthasia@h...

PLEASE NOTE:
Entry forms are available from the IFJ, journalists' organisations in=20
the region or online www.ifj.org
- Entry is free and closes on 21 February 2003.
- Three separate categories: television, radio and print/on-line
- Entries must have been published/broadcast between 1 JANUARY 2002=20
and 31 DECEMBER 2002

For more information visit: <http://www.ifj.org/>www.ifj.org

Or contact:
Laxmi Murthy
IFJ-Tolerance Prize Co-ordinator (South Asia)
Tel: + 91-120-2430644 (from Delhi: 95120-2430644)
E.mail: <mailto:ifjsouthasia@h...>ifjsouthasia@h...

_____

#10.

OPEN DISCUSSION MEETING

Fascism in India and Bush's ' war on terror'

Tuesday, February 4 2003
7.00 pm
SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG [UK] (Tube: Russell Square)

We stand on the brink of an imperialist war with disastrous=20
implications for South Asia, while the Indian state rushes towards=20
full-blown fascism. This discussion meeting will be an opportunity to=20
look in more depth at issues including:

What is the nature of fascism in =91the world=92s largest democracy=92 and=
=20
what is India=92s role as an ally of the US?

How is Hindutva fascism redefining culture and history and policing=20
people's everyday behaviour?

What are the implications of the victory of the BJP in the recent=20
Gujarat elections - 9 months after the state- sponsored genocidal=20
attacks on Muslims?

As the number of death sentences in political cases grows, how has=20
the US 'war on terror' boosted repression in India?

How is money raised from corporations in the US - and in Britain with=20
the blessings of New Labour - being used to fund communal violence?

What can we do to support and strengthen the diverse forms of=20
resistance to fascism within India?

Speakers

Sudipta Kaviraj (Department of Politics SOAS)
Stop Funding Hate Campaign, USA
and others to be confirmed

_____

#11.

Financial Times (London)
Friday Jan 24 2003.

Theatre: Untangling Rushdie's epic of India
By Sarah Hemming
Published: January 23 2003

Arriving for our interview, Zubin Varla bursts through the stage door=20
with the energy of a greyhound leaving a trap. On the way to the=20
actors' canteen he talks and talks; once there he talks more - words=20
spilling out as he rolls skinny cigarettes and drinks black coffee. A=20
charming, courteous man, he seems to buzz with vitality.

He's going to need every ounce of that vitality over the next few=20
months. The actor is playing Saleem, the lead role in the RSC's=20
adaptation of Midnight's Children - and if you have read the=20
original, you will know what Varla is up against. Salman Rushdie's=20
vast, teeming novel runs to 463 pages, tangles the turbulent history=20
of post-partition India and Pakistan with a complex family saga,=20
leaps around in time, style and sense - and filters all this through=20
the medium of Saleem's mind.

Saleem is the book's narrator, but his symbolic value is much greater=20
than that. Born at the exact moment as Indian independence, he is, as=20
he says himself, "handcuffed to history" and his personal story=20
reflects that of his troubled country. "Everything is heightened,"=20
says Varla of the book. "It's the most remarkable piece of writing.=20
There's so much poetry in there, so much dirt, so much bravery - and=20
so much wit as well, because he [Rushdie] is a mischievous bugger."

All of this is true, but you only have to dip into the novel to be=20
struck by the considerable challenge of making it live on stage.=20
Rushdie weaves fact and fiction together with giddy relish. Consider=20
the difficulties, for instance, of bringing the Amritsar massacre to=20
life or a fantastical sequence in the jungle when the plants swell to=20
monstrous size. The stage version, adapted by Rushdie together with=20
the director Tim Supple and the RSC dramaturge Simon Reade, runs to=20
more than three hours and seethes with events and characters. And as=20
the novel plays with language and literary style, so too the=20
adaptation cuts from stage to film footage: Supple has said that he=20
is using "every theatrical trick" to preserve the novel's rich=20
flavour.

But how to make Saleem, the voice of the book, come alive? For a=20
start there is his physical appearance, which makes Richard III sound=20
like a matinee idol. Saleem describes his defects thus:=20
"Cucumber-nose stainface chinlessness horn-temples bandy-legs=20
finger-loss monk's tonsure." Varla possesses none of these attributes=20
naturally, and he points out that, while they can live in the mind's=20
eye, they can't all be reproduced on stage without creating a=20
monster. Horn-temples and monk's tonsure then are out; bandy-legs and=20
birthstains are in - as the gigantic nose that is Saleem's trademark.

If Saleem is a challenge physically, his mind is even more difficult=20
to represent. In the novel we witness events through his eyes but=20
also through his sensibility - everything comes pouring through him=20
so that we are unsure what is real and what is invented, what is=20
history and what is his story. This blurring of boundaries is=20
essential: the very act of writing becomes part of the story.

But while in the book the characters exist through Saleem's=20
description, once transferred to stage they take on independent life.=20
This change could sideline Saleem, reducing him to a commentator. Not=20
in this version, says Varla: Saleem both tells the story and takes=20
part in it, so emphasising the creative act of narration. "He's a=20
very active narrator," he explains. "From very early on he's out of=20
his corner, on to the stage and amidst it all. There are only a few=20
points when he's in that corner. The rest of the time he's there with=20
the story, bringing it on, inside it, watching the characters. He=20
becomes the narrator, the director, the conductor of events. He's=20
making the story, even bringing on the sets. The entire theatre=20
becomes his universe."

While this style of staging might reproduce the creative energy of=20
the book, the adaptation also has to address other issues. There is=20
Saleem's symbolic significance - in a sense, the character is India=20
(not an easy concept to act) - and because he acts as a conduit for=20
the story, his own personality is tricky to discern. Varla has to=20
piece this person together. "OK, it's difficult, you have to sift=20
through, but you do get a lot of clues in the book," he says. "Look=20
at how he describes himself as a nine-year-old: already obsessed with=20
meaning and purpose. He's a worrier, somebody who is insecure about=20
his looks, about the fact that he can't have sex. He's an=20
intelligent, eloquent man, but feels an outsider because he is not=20
Indian, he is a half-caste. He doesn't belong anywhere, so he's=20
trying to figure out where his home is really. His story is that of=20
India because he makes mistakes. The struggle that Saleem has, and=20
that maybe Salman had, and that my generation has had, being born=20
Indian in England, is that there is that pressure to be something=20
great. And that's a very difficult thing to live up to."

Varla was born in Croydon, south London, of Indian parents. The book,=20
he says, speaks very directly to them - his father, a decade older=20
than Rushdie, even went to a school very similar to that described in=20
the novel: "All the details about Bombay are so touching to my=20
parents because that is where they were brought up."

Varla leads a cast of 20 mostly British Asian actors: a significant=20
first for the RSC. The production is momentous in another respect=20
too: it fulfils a long-held desire of the author to dramatise the=20
novel. Rushdie has been a frequent presence in rehearsals, a=20
"personable and charming man," says Varla, happy to be quizzed about=20
his work. The author's personal attendance has helped the actor in=20
other ways too. Rushdie has acknowledged that there are aspects of=20
himself in Saleem. Having the original in the room can prove useful,=20
admits Varla: "There are times when he does something and I think,=20
'Ah, I'll nick that!' "

Pinching from life to make art is surely an activity of which author=20
Salman and character Saleem would surely approve.

Barbican Theatre, London EC2. Tel 0870 609 1110.=20
www.midnightschildren.com. In association with Columbia University,=20
the Universal Musical Society and the University of Michigan, Ann=20
Arbor, USA. Sponsored by Atos Origin.

--=20