[sacw] SACW | 26 Jan. 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 26 January 2003

#1. Pakistan:
- Police must protect human rights in North West Frontier Province=20
(Amnesty International)
- Pakistan author's murder condemned by Pakistan's human rights=20
commission (BBC)
#2. Nepal: Seven years, 7,000 dead and counting -Three human rights=20
activists about the impact (Nepali Times)
#3. Indian businessmen have no need to f=EAte Narendra Modi=20
(Rudrangshu Mukherjee)
#4. India: Post Gujarat-Reflections on Tasks for Human Rights=20
movement (Ram Puniyani)
#5. India: Calcutta Diary (A[shok] M[itra] )
#6. India: Church in Kerala Burnt (Mukundan C. Menon)
#7. India: Gandhian Thought, Hindutva and Communal Harmony - talk by=20
Prakash Louis (30 Jan, Ahmedabad)

__________________________

#1.

AI-index: ASA 33/001/2003 24/01/2003

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: ASA 33/001/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 016
24 January 2003

Pakistan: Police must protect human rights in North West Frontier Province
Amnesty International is deeply concerned by recent press reports=20
that Fazal Wahab Wahab, resident of Mingora - district of Swat - in=20
the North West Frontier of Pakistan was shot dead by unidentified=20
individuals on 21 January 2003 allegedly because of his writings on=20
political issues.The shooting took place while he was in a shop.The=20
shop keeper and his assistant were also killed in the cross fire.

Local observers believe that Fazal Wahab Wahab was killed because he=20
had written several controversial books in which he was critical of=20
clerics in Pakistan. There are reports that the contents of his=20
forthcoming book Mullah ka Anjam (The Fate of the Mullah) included=20
serious allegations of criminal activities against close relatives of=20
local political leaders.

Fazal Wahab Wahab had previously received death threats. Local police=20
alleged that his complaints of continued threats to his life were=20
made in order to support an asylum case to the US authorities and did=20
not give him any protection.The police have not taken any action to=20
arrest the assassins or protect the family of Fazal Wahab Wahab who=20
continue to receive threats.

The murder of Fazal Wahab Wahab follows a series of measures by local=20
authorities in the North West Frontier Province to curtail the right=20
of freedom of expression. Amnesty International urges the government=20
of the North West Frontier Province to bring the suspected=20
perpetrators to justice.

Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office=20
in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web:=20
http://www.amnesty.org

o o o o

BBC
Saturday, 25 January, 2003, 18:08 GMT
Pakistan author's murder condemned

Pakistan's human rights commission says it has launched an=20
investigation into the murder of the author, Fazal Wahab, whose work=20
was critical of radical Islam.
The commission's chairman, Afrasiab Khattak, told the BBC he was=20
extremely alarmed by the circumstances of Mr Wahab's murder on=20
Tuesday.

Mr Wahab, an outspoken critic of radical Islamic clerics, was shot=20
dead in the hill resort of Mingora, in North-West Frontier Province=20
(NWFP).
The London-based human rights group, Amnesty International, too has=20
expressed deep concern at the author's murder.
Pakistani police failed to give him any protection although he had=20
complained that he was receiving death threats, Amnesty said in a=20
report on Saturday.
The police have not taken any action to find his killers or protect=20
his family from further attacks, the report added.

Islamist outrage
The human rights commission was most alarmed by the fact that Mr=20
Wahab had told a press conference that he had received death threats,=20
and yet received no extra security, Mr Khattak said.

Islamists have been very active in the province

Mr Wahab began receiving threats after clerics issued a "fatwa", or a=20
religious ruling, against him.
Police say four armed men shot Mr Wahab dead while he was sitting in=20
a shop in Mingora.
Mr Wahab is believed to have caused much local anger with his=20
controversial writings.
His 2000 book Mullah ka Kirdar (The Mullah's Role) was banned amid=20
angry protests.
Two years ago, local clerics issued a religious ruling declaring him=20
a non-believer.
Last year, he published a book critical of Osama Bin Laden and his=20
former Taleban hosts in Afghanistan.

No arrests
Islamists in NWFP and elsewhere in Pakistan have protested against=20
the US-led "war against terrorism" since Pakistan decided to support=20
that campaign in 2001.
The province is ruled by a six-party Islamist alliance which won=20
elections in October on an anti-US platform pledging to enforce=20
strict Islamic laws.

Mr Khattak said the new authorities were failing to make public=20
security a prime responsibility. Instead, they were "creating terror=20
for the civil society," he added.
In its report, Amnesty says the author's murder followed efforts by=20
local authorities "to curtail the right of freedom of expression".
It said Mr Wahab's forthcoming book, Mullah ka Anjam (The Mullah's=20
Fate) made "serious allegations of criminal activities against close=20
relatives of local political leaders".
Local police say a murder case has been filed and an inquiry has=20
begun but so far, no one has been arrested.

______

#2.

Nepali Times
17 - 23 January 2003

Seven years, 7,000 dead and counting
The Maoist insurgency enters its eighth year next month. We asked=20
three human rights activists about the impact of the conflict, ways=20
to minimise the suffering of the innocents, and steps to find a=20
peaceful resolution.

Sudip Pathak, President, Human Rights Organisation of Nepal, and=20
Convenor of the Committee for Facilitation of Peace Dialogue.

On the impact of the conflict: An increasing number of people are=20
trapped by the conflict. This kind of violence is not natural and=20
unacceptable. We have been campaigning to restore peace, and have=20
been getting the parties involved to give up violence. We don't even=20
have the exact data on the number of people killed, rendered disabled=20
or displaced due to the conflict. Over the last few months, thousands=20
of people have been fleeing their homes in the mid-western hills in=20
search of safety and employment. We don't know where they are living=20
and under which conditions, or where they have gone. It is the=20
responsibility of the government to provide them security and create=20
an environment where its citizens can lead a life with dignity.

On the prospects of peace: We strongly advocate a peaceful solution=20
to the present conflict which has exacted enormous socio-economic=20
costs on the nation. The late Hrishikesh Shaha, had called for=20
peaceful solution to the conflict when the Maoists launched their=20
"people's war" in 1996. We appeal to both the government and rebels=20
to find a negotiated settlement to the problem through dialogue. Both=20
of them must be sensitive towards the situation in the country.

On mediation efforts: We have been in direct touch with both sides=20
involved in the conflict. We have urged them to start a dialogue=20
process, to begin with. In the second phase, we could identify the=20
agenda for talks and in the third phase, formal peace talks or=20
negotiations could start. But before that, both the sides will have=20
to agree to some sort of code of conduct. We believe that the peace=20
talks are possible through joint efforts of the government, Maoists,=20
political parties and the civil society.

On creating an environment for talks: We have yet to create an=20
environment for peace talks. We are still far away from bringing both=20
the sides over to the table for negotiations. Of course, both the=20
sides have expressed their commitment towards dialogue, which in=20
itself is a positive sign. The Maoists have said that they will not=20
target infrastructure, and will not kill cadres of different=20
political parties. The human rights community, including ourselves,=20
want to monitor whether their commitment is being implemented.=20
Similarly, the government needs to make public whereabouts of Maoist=20
cadres under detention and start releasing them to create an=20
environment of trust. The government should adopt a flexible approach=20
toward the rebels and withdraw allegations against them. Only an=20
environment for peaceful talks can bring both the sides together.

Krishna Pahadi, Chairman, Human Rights and Peace Society.

On the fallout of the conflict: Unarmed people and civilians are=20
increasingly being caught in the crossfire between the security=20
forces and the Maoist rebels. We recently visited two western=20
districts, Dang and Baglung and found that innocent people had been=20
killed by the security forces alleging them to be terrorists.=20
Similarly, Maoist rebels ambushed passenger buses in Sindhuli and=20
Dolakha, which is a gross violation of human rights.

Appeal to the parties in conflict: Our appeal to both the parties in=20
conflict is: Don't lose patience and try to find a peaceful solution=20
to the problem. We urge you to stand in favour of humanity and=20
abandon this spiral of violence and hatred.

On broader democratic agenda: People's fundamental human rights can't=20
be protected in the absence of democracy. We have been launching=20
peace campaigns in different parts of the country calling for the=20
protection of people's democratic rights. We have also organised=20
sit-ins and "upava" (fasting) to press for this cause. We denounce=20
the government's intervention even in the peaceful demonstrations in=20
the capital and elsewhere.

Kundan Aryal, journalist affiliated to the human rights group,=20
Informal Sector Service Center.

On the impact of conflict: People feel scared and have to a great=20
extent lost the tradition of generosity towards strangers. The=20
greatest victim of this conflict has been the freedom of expression.=20
People don't speak their mind fearing reprisals. People have been=20
forced to live under curfew for more than 14 months in districts like=20
Dang. And, the irony is that they don't feel secure even under the=20
curfew. What is the justification of imposing such a prolonged curfew=20
at a particular place? Aren't there alternatives to maintain peace=20
and order?

On the Geneva Convention: The Geneva Convention stipulates that=20
civilians should not be targeted during the conflict and that=20
humanitarian assistance should be made available to the injured and=20
sick. But there have been numerous instances of violation of the=20
provisions of this convention by both the parties in Nepal over the=20
last seven years. We have the widespread culture of impunity which=20
needs to be changed. Moreover, the human rights community must warn=20
the parties in conflict that they will one day have to face the=20
International Criminal Court for their gross human rights violations=20
and abuses.

______

#3.

The Telegraph
Sunday, January 26, 2003

SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL
- Indian businessmen have no need to f=EAte Narendra Modi
Rudrangshu Mukherjee

Not with a long spoon
Whom I had known, forgotten, half
recalled
Both one and many.

- T.S.Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Newspapers, somebody said, catch history in flight. Rarely, if ever,=20
do they open up the past. One such rare occasion, for me personally,=20
was on Sunday, January 19. The bottom of the front page - the anchor=20
as it is known in the jargon of the newsroom - of The Telegraph=20
carried the news item that somebody in the Confederation of Indian=20
Industry meet in Mumbai had shouted at Narendra Modi. The "offender",=20
the report said, was a man called Jairus Danajee. It took me less=20
than a moment to realize that the reporter had got the name wrong.=20
The correct name is Jairus Banaji, the mentor of many of us in the=20
Seventies in Jawaharlal Nehru University. It was absolutely in the=20
fitness of things for Jairus to stand up in a meeting to accuse Modi=20
of having blood on his hands and to deplore the CII for providing=20
such a person with a forum.

Jairus Banaji is an unknown entity to most people. He studied at St=20
John's College, Oxford, from where he took a degree in Greats (the=20
Oxford name for a degree in Classics). I remember Tariq Ali telling=20
us in JNU that Jairus was something of a legend in the radical=20
circles of Oxford in the Sixties. He led the famous 1968 Oxford "sit=20
in", was part of the Trotskyist New Left and was phenomenally=20
erudite. He chucked up Classics and came to JNU to study ancient=20
Indian history. But student politics and "the Revolution" claimed him=20
in JNU. He was later to go back to Oxford in the Eighties and to the=20
classical world: he finished his D.Phil by writing a thesis on "The=20
Economy of the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity".

I first met Jairus in his activist phase in JNU and, like all who got=20
to know him, was completely bowled over by his radiating intellect,=20
his powers of comprehension, retention and articulation. He lit up=20
the intellectual lives of a few of us. He opened up our minds to=20
classical Marxism, to the writings of Marx, Kautsky, Lenin, Trotsky,=20
Preobrazensky, Rosa Luxemburg as well as to the world of contemporary=20
European Marxism. With him we read Luk=E1cs, Rosdolsky, Althusser,=20
Colletti, Poulant- zas. He introduced us to the writings of the=20
(post-Marc Bloch) Annales School, to Pierre Vilar's remarkable essay=20
on Don Quixote, to Kula on feudalism and to Levi Strauss. (Much=20
later, sitting in his house in Oxford, I also learnt a lot from him=20
about jazz and its origins, even though jazz isn't my kind of music.=20
But Jairus made the subject come alive as he had done so many times=20
before.) The days in JNU were heady days of reading, discussing and=20
arguing. I remember Jairus in the library intently reading Hegel. He=20
was the first to point out, at least to me, the intimate relationship=20
between Hegel's Logic and Marx's Capital. It was many years later,=20
when I studied Hegel in a remarkable study circle led by Partha=20
Chatterjee, that I got to understand what Jairus had been getting at.

All these things came back to me in a flash as I read the news=20
report. The gratitude for the past was complemented by pride in the=20
present. It was just like Jairus to stand up in a hostile environment=20
- there were attempts at the meeting to shut him up and to throw him=20
out - and to say what he wanted to say, and articulate the anguish=20
and anger that many of us feel not only about the events in Gujarat=20
but also at the sight of Modi being f=EAted by people who consider=20
themselves civilized and should know better. Jairus's intellect and=20
courage have never been influenced by any consideration save what he=20
considered to be his commitment to the just and the good.

Much as I welcomed Jairus's protest at the CII meet and much as I=20
admired him for it, I knew that he could not have been surprised at=20
the industrialists' camaraderie with Modi. He protested because he=20
felt it was his duty to do so. Jairus is too good a student of=20
history to be surprised at businessmen being cosy with a fascist=20
implicated in a pogrom against Muslims.

Capital is morally neutral. Profits are capital's only quarry. The=20
most convenient example and analogy in this case is the support that=20
the Nazis received from big business during their rise to power and=20
while they were in power. The German historian, Karl Bracher, has=20
shown in his book, The German Dictatorship, how big business made=20
"profitable mutual-interest alliances" with the Nazi party and the=20
Nazi state. Despite the far-reaching changes that the Nazis=20
introduced in German society, the old industrial and capitalist=20
class, having made its accommodation with violence and anti-Semitism,=20
remained in place. And till the war destroyed Germany, this class=20
made substantial gains.

A few statistics will speak for it. Profits from all industrial and=20
commercial enterprises rose from 6.6 billion marks in 1933 to 15=20
billion marks in 1938. The sales of Siemens doubled, those of Krupp=20
and Mannesmann Tube Works were tripled, those of Phillipp Hollizmann=20
Inc. increased six times, and those of the German Weapons and=20
Munitions Works rose tenfold. The distribution of German national=20
income shifted sharply in favour of capital between 1932 and 1938.=20
The shares of capital (interest, industrial and commercial profits,=20
undistributed industrial profits) rose from 17.4 per cent of the=20
national income in 1932 to 25 per cent in 1937 and 27 per cent in=20
1938.

The involvement of certain sections of industrialists with the Nazi=20
regime was direct and conscious. Ian Kershaw, in his new biography of=20
Hitler, has analysed how Hitler's idea of "living space" for the=20
German people - an intrinsic part of Hitler's ideology - blended=20
easily into businessmen's notions of a "greater economic sphere".=20
Those sections of the economy aligned to armaments production=20
fervently backed the Nazi regime's expansionist programme (which=20
included brutal acts of terror) since that was the certain route to=20
high profits.

Particular firms came to be implicated with the crimes the Nazi=20
regime perpetrated against the Jews. Industrial firms built the=20
gas-chambers in which the Jews were killed in concentration camps.=20
Edwin Black - in a remarkable study, IBM and the Holocaust - has=20
exposed IBM's conscious involvement in the Holocaust. IBM gave its=20
technology to the Nazis to help in the identification of Jews in=20
census, registrations and ancestral tracing programmes and the=20
organization of slave labour in concentration camps. The massive=20
information system that the Nazis needed to carry out Hitler's "final=20
solution" was possible because of the active cooperation of an=20
industrial giant. Capital has no scruples when profits have to be=20
made.

More than my personal recollections of Jairus, it was this history of=20
Nazi Germany that was opened up by the report on Modi at the CII=20
meet. Is there any need for industrialists and businessmen to fawn on=20
Modi? Aren't there other places in India (and in an era of=20
globalization, might one even add, the world) to invest in other than=20
Gujarat? Or do the captains of Indian industry feel that Modi=20
represents the future face of India? If so, have they paused to think=20
about the character of that future?

Early capitalism, it has been memorably noted, emerged from the womb=20
of history, dripping with blood. Indian capitalism is no longer in=20
its early stages; there is no need for it to associate with somebody=20
whose hands can never be cleansed of the blood of Muslims. Equally=20
important, isn't there something pathetic in the constant attempts of=20
industrialists and their chambers to seek the patronage of=20
politicians? Or is capital also always servile to power?

_____

#4.

South Asia Citizens Web
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/2002/Ram25Jan03.html

Post Gujarat-Reflections on Tasks for Human Rights movement
By Ram Puniyani
[25 January 2003]

A. Social Movements-Tasks ahead

1. The graph of electoral defeats for BJP got reversed after the
Godhara and Gujarat happenings. The role of popular perceptions, the mass
consciousness in elections is there for all of us to see. The trivia,
which comes in the form of spreading false hood about history and other
things, like the nature of the other community etc. has gripped the social
thinking. Gujarat demonstrates that every new episode of violence
intensifies this social common sense, and one can say this doctored mass
consciousness forms the base on which communal politics operates its
agenda. In a way this, Hindutva, has hegemonised the mindset of vast
section of society. Violating the harmony and syncretism every new episode
of violence gives the confidence to the communal forces that they can
operate from higher pedestal to usurps electoral ground also.
2. This hides behind itself the creeping communalization of society,
through word of mouth, media and social intervention of Sangh Parivar
(SP). Also anti-minority sentiment gets intensified with every act
committed by terrorists. The erosion of social and political institutions
is going at the fast pace.
3. The social movements for Human Rights while seriously concerned
about the offensive of Hindutva are unable to find the suitable
alternative ground for building as democratic plural platform.
4. Gujarat again shows that Hindu Right has learnt faster that the
emotional issues (Ram Temple) and polarization (communal violence) are the
basic mechanisms, which can bring them to power. In consequence the post
Gujarat strategy of Hindutva movements has aggressively resorted to
Moditva, the rabid version of Hindutva. The hate mongering towards weaker
sections of society has been steeped up.
5. Hindutva by now has been able to perfect its machine. While the
ideological formulations are done at the level of RSS, pleasant looking
masks of BJP are the electoral warriors, Hate Speech is specialization of
VHP, and the street violence is the privilage of Bajarang Dal. Mechanisms
have been evolved to mobilize the deprived sections of society, unemployed
youth, retrenched workers, section of Dalits and Adivasis. The identity
politics resorted to be SP (Sangh Parivar) has overshadowed the politics
of Rights, democratic values.
6. The established parties are groping for answers. A big section has
succumbed to the coalition politics initiated by BJP. The most painful
examples being George Fernades on side and Mayawati on the other.
7. The response of those trying to save the democracy and Indian
constitution has to begin forthwith; we are already late by decades to say
the least.
8. The building up of democratic platform has to be many layered. The
activists of social movements are the Base of the forthcoming struggle.
a. The social movements aspirations have to be coalesced at the level
of programs. The fragmentation of the progressive forces has to be
addressed and to begin with a loose programmatic association of different
groups has to be evolved around the issues of downtrodden.
b. The core problems, which need urgent attention, relate to economic
rights, social equality and gender justice. In the spectrum of issues to
be taken up there can be a long list starting from employment rights to
anti-Dalit, anti-women, anti-minority atrocities.
c. Another layer of the struggle is the one related to civil and
democratic liberties.
d. The alternative schemes for most of these sections, employment,
protection, education, work etc. has to be linked to the communitarian and
social life of the weaker sections of society.
e. Countering Hindutva hegemony at the level of social consciousness
has to be linked to efforts to promote secular vales and education.

9.The positive fallout of Gujarat is the emergence of fora to
work on these issues. The laudable work being done by these groups
needs substance and coordination.
10. Horizontal issue based linkage of the groups working on these
issues will be mutually strengthening.

B.

Need For Education related to Secular Values

1. Gujarat carnage more than ever before has brought to our notice
the communalization of society. This process begins with doctoring of the
minds of people in general and later gets transformed in to hate for the
other and forms the basis of various communal actions, the most glaring of
which is communal violence. It also brings along a silent sanction to the
communal policies of the Govt.
2. The RSS has been working on doctoring of the minds from last eight
decades. Its shakha baudhiks are the root form, which this poison is
percolated to the broad layers of society. This core process is assisted
by
a. The communal slant of school books, which gets worsened as and
when the BJP comes to power
b. The media has a strong role in the process; especially large
section of the language press spread it in a strong way. Saamna and
Gujarat Samachar may be the worst examples but they have parallels in
different states.
C. Most of the cultural space has also been hegemonized by the communal
ideology

3. We have to work against odds. The myths and stereotypes about
minorities abound and form the base for the communal consciousness
4. The formation of these ideas begins from early age and keeps
getting stronger.
5. The task of education has to take into consideration that
a. Discussions alone cannot transform the societal consciousness.
b. The process of social education in the values of harmony has to be
a multi-pronged effort, in which intervention in media, cultural programs
and direct interactive discussions with different layers of society need
to be undertaken. Also these efforts have to have a reference point of the
social movements for social, economic and gender justice

6. In order of importance and logistics the following groups have to
be approached
a. Social activists already involved with movements
b. Media personnel
c. Students at different levels
d. Teachers
e. the groups of workers, dalits, women and adivasis through their
associations and through basti associations.
f. If possible the liberal sections of society through different
clubs.
7. Some groups can specialize in cultural and media intervention. The
cultural activities include street theatre, song groups, local cultural
expressions (Powadas, Quawallis etc.) Street theatre seems to be most
feasible and effective media of expressions. Showing of films has a great
impact.
8. Discussion and Lectures- the workshops of activist, students and
teachers can be one major conduit. The Basti conventions by political
activists are another major ones. Teachers can be approached through their
associations, students through NSS and other fora of the colleges.
9. The topics to be covered in sequential order can be as follows
a. Myths about medieval history, temple destructions, forcible
conversions, alliances of kings, Syncretic traditions, saints and sufis,
culture and religion
b. Religion and Human society, Aspects of Religions, type of
religions- Adivasi, regional, Prophet based. Evolution of the concept of
God, Religious communities in India.
c. Freedom Struggle- Secularization process, social relations of
caste and gender, British in India, Formation and goals of Indian National
Congress, Rise of Communal politics-its goals, Muslim League, Hindu
Mahasabha
d. Partition tragedy and Kashmir Problem
e. Communal Violence and politics in Post independence India, decade
of 80s, Meenakshipuram, Shah Bano, Ghettoisation of Minorities, Uniform
civil code
f. Stereotypes of minorities-four wives: Twenty Children, Loyalty to
Pakistan, conservatism
g. Terrorism, Imperialism and Islam
h. RSS the multi-headed hydra-Genesis, growth, agenda
i. Struggle for secular society,
10. The discussions need to be backed up by
a. Projects-meet the people from minority community, interact observe
Paper cuttings about crime, communal violence, being part of riot
investigation team, mohalla committees
b. Sharing of resources-books, cassettes, bibliography
c. Libraries with above materials
d. Formation of work groups for different activities, innovative
community functions

____

#5.

Economic and Political Weekly (Bombay)
January 18, 2003

Calcutta Diary

AM

...where angels fear to tread. But in case an angelic occasion=20
presents itself, why shy away from the act of indiscretion? So here=20
goes.

The Calcutta elite are in a tizzy. They are agog at the prospect of=20
experiencing what in American parlance is known as a 'double-header'.=20
Mother Teresa was already a Calcutta-based Nobel Laureate. She might=20
soon be a Calcutta-based Saint too. According to reports, the=20
Congregation for the Cause of Saints recently met in Vatican City and=20
took a decision to beatify the Mother, that is to say, to declare her=20
to be a Blessed of the Church. This is one step forward to the=20
attainment of Sainthood. To qualify for beatification, the saintly=20
person concerned is supposed to accomplish two miracles one after=20
another. There is a further conditionality: these miracles are to be=20
performed after the person has shuffled his or her mortal coils and=20
retired to heaven. Mother Teresa died in 1997. Two years after she=20
passed away, which is to say, in 1999, Monica Besra, a 30-year old=20
adivasi woman in the district of South Dinajpur in northern Bengal=20
was, it was stated, blessed by a miracle performed by the Mother.=20
Monica was undergoing treatment for a tumour in her stomach in the=20
Nabajiban Ashram of the Missionaries of Charity, the network of=20
succour built by the Mother. Monica's story is short and simple. One=20
September night she prayed and prayed to Mother Teresa to relieve=20
her of her illness; suddenly the Mother appeared in her dream and=20
took charge. When Monica woke up next morning, the tumour was gone.=20
The sisters in the Ashram cried in ecstasy: it was a miracle and=20
instantly became international news.

The cardinals, bishops and priests who met earlier this year in the=20
papal headquarters deliberated over the happening and formally=20
recognised it as a miracle. Mother Teresa has in a way therefore=20
reached the half-way house towards the attainment of sainthood. All=20
that the cardinals, bishops and priests constituting the Congregation=20
for the Cause of Saints have now to do is to scrounge for another=20
miracle attributable to the Mother and, whoa, Calcutta's elite would=20
have their prayer answered. The Mother, who publicised the city's=20
squalour, poverty and heartlessness to the world in a uniquely=20
humanitarian manner, would be a Saint on top of being a Nobel Prize=20
winner.

There is a hitch though. The woman who was said to be cured by the=20
miracle, Monica Besra, had been admitted as a patient earlier, in=20
1997, in the government hospital at Balurghat, the district=20
headquarters of South Dinajpur. Her medical records are fully=20
available. These records indicate that she was cured of her=20
'tubo-ovarian mass' in the hospital itself in May 1999, at least=20
three months earlier than the date on which she and the Missionaries=20
of Charity claimed the miracle to have taken place. According to the=20
hospital superintendent, M Murshed, an ultrasonography of her stomach=20
done on May 29 had established the disappearance of the tumour. Such=20
ovarian masses, Dr Murshed explained, was common amongst women=20
suffering from tuberculosis. Induced by malnutrition, Monica was=20
suffering from tuberculosis.

This is therefore sort of a tussle between two assertions, one=20
claiming healing by medical care and the other claiming faith=20
healing. The medical records at the hospital are proving to be a=20
nuisance. Since they suggest that Monica Besra was actually cured=20
three months ahead of that prayerful night, professional cynics can=20
now indulge in the prank they are so good at: they can question the=20
authenticity of the miraculous act and adding insult to injury, pass=20
a Henry Fordish judgment: all miracles are bunk.

Come to think of it, the villain of the piece is Information=20
Technology. Thanks to the technological revolution that has=20
overwhelmed the world in recent decades, information travels further=20
than sound, and sometimes further than light even. The Middle Ages=20
and the more primitive times did not suffer from this disadvantage.=20
Holy persons had then all the time and space available to them to=20
perform a miracle and have it duly recognised by the Congregation at=20
Vatican City. A couple of such miracles, and the imprimatur of=20
Sainthood would descend upon the miracle-maker as a matter of course.=20
For hundreds of years on end, the papacy had created such Saints, and=20
no family planning programme had intruded either. The medical=20
profession was not sufficiently advanced. Medical records were=20
non-existent. Information Technology was yet to be. What is most=20
important, cynics could be summarily beheaded.

Unfortunately, the Monica Besra episode cannot be just brushed aside=20
as an ordinary happening. It has a relevance in the context of=20
Gujarat. Religious fanaticism has climbed inglorious peaks in this=20
western state in the country in the course of the past few months.=20
Reasoning has been forced to take a back seat, and faith is being=20
claimed to be, without question, superior to objective reality.=20
Sophisticated circles in urban circuits, proud of their faculty for=20
rational cerebration, are generally disdainful of Hindu obscurantism.=20
They are, they profess, prepared to fight to their last breath the=20
excesses of the puranic tribes. They are all of a sudden in a jam.=20
During all these years, it was as smooth as it could be. Mother=20
Teresa was the in thing; seasonal donations to the Missionaries of=20
Charity would be flaunted by this species with a somewhat superior=20
air. The virus of sectarianism and narrow-mindedness would be=20
condemned. Such alumni of, for instance, the Calcutta elite now face=20
a dilemma. Saints from the distant past were innocuous idols.=20
Ordinary folk, and even the cream of society, did not have to bother=20
over the details of the circumstances which took them to sainthood.=20
Miracles, as long as these happened in the remote past, were=20
phenomena one did not need to take seriously, nor was there any=20
compulsive need to scrutinise the credentials of such miracles.=20
Missionary people could therefore spread themselves across the world=20
and open schools, hospitals and charitable homes in the name of=20
assorted Saints. The Apostles and their preachings were taken for=20
granted, and, along with them, Saints and the marvels and miracles=20
attributed to them.

Glory by association, the Calcutta crowd would dearly love their city=20
to qualify as the abode of a Saint. Mother Teresa's beatification and=20
prospective sainthood are therefore deliriously welcome tidings. On=20
the other hand, the intellectual hurdle cannot quite be surmounted.=20
The moment you express jubilation over the Mother's forthcoming=20
near-certain attainment of sainthood, you also have to bear with the=20
embarrassment of tacit acceptance of the genuineness of the Monica=20
Besra miracle. The claim of the miracle cuts across the nitty-gritty=20
of the data enshrined in the medical records of the Balurghat=20
hospital. It cuts across the evidence of medical diagnosis and=20
therapy. Either the doctors in that hospital are impostors, or those=20
putting forth the claim on behalf of Mother Teresa are. Even honest=20
impostors are, after all, impostors.

We cannot, alas, slip into the comfortable security of ancient times=20
when miracles were dime a dozen and few, or perhaps none, had the=20
guts to question their authenticity. In this first decade of the=20
twenty-first century, with IT to the right of us, IT to the left of=20
us, and IT in front of us, it is impossible for us to accept miracles=20
qua miracles. They have to be scientifically established. Should we=20
try to cut any corners here, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the=20
Bajrang Dal will jump on us. Mother Teresa's miracle and the=20
disowning of Ram Janmabhoomi cannot quite go together. If the latter=20
is a hoax, the former too is.

It is in fact a problem facing all Indians. The twenty-first century=20
and puranic fervour are impossible fellow-travellers. One has to=20
choose in life, particularly if one claims to be a rational human=20
being. Either the twenty-first century exists, or Lord Rama with his=20
kingdom does. For the Calcutta gentry, the problem is even acuter.=20
They feel most comfortable with Mother Teresa. The dear lady has been=20
gone for the past five years, but she continues to be very much a la=20
mode. She co-exists, snugly and simultaneously, with the state=20
administration's supposed devotion to Left radicalism and the=20
scientific spirit. Gujarat has to be countered; on to battle; the=20
Bengali vanguard are desperately anxious to mount the barricade of=20
reason and secularism. In the given situation, what are they going to=20
do with the miracle ascribed to Mother Teresa? Debunk it? But were=20
they to treat it with contempt, they have to say good-bye to the=20
Mother herself and the pride and glory she has brought to them. This=20
is, let us admit, an archetypal instance of the Prisoner's Dilemma=20
referred to in the preliminary textbooks on game theory. The=20
mathematicians do not mind being occasionally checkmated. It is=20
because of seemingly intellectual cul-de-sacs that we come across=20
unsolved puzzles in mathematical sciences. A non-solution of this=20
nature will not however do for the Bengal gentry, or, for that=20
matter, any conscientious Indian. The option has to be exercised,=20
either for rationality or for black magic. Should you want to vote=20
for the Left Front in West Bengal and, at the same time, be besotted=20
by the Missionaries of Charity, let us then talk turkey, you might as=20
well join the parivar presided over by the Singhals and the Togadias.

____

#6.

Indian Currents
2 February 2003

Church in Kerala Burnt
-- Mukundan C. Menon

Wayanad: Amidst controversies ranging over the RSS attack on Rev.=20
Joseph W. Cooper near Thiruvananthapuram last week, the Full Gospel=20
Church at Cheengavallam, near Ambalawayal in Wayanad district, was=20
totally burnt down on the intervening night of January 22-23.

Belonging to Pentacost sect, this Church, in a small area of 7 cents,=20
was functioning since 1988. About 60 believers in the locality used=20
to attend prayers in this Church.

The whole building, with light roofs and four rooms, was destroyed=20
along with all furniture, including table, almirah, coat, chairs,=20
shelf, etc., were completely destroyed.

The Church Pastor, P. M. Baby, along with his wife, Ms. Theresa, were=20
staying in one of the Church rooms. However, the Church was burnt=20
down in their absence as they went to their parent house at=20
Padinjarathara Puthusserikadavu that night.

Prayers used to be held only three days a week at this Church. Those=20
who came for prayers on Thursday morning were shocked to see the=20
totally burnt Church. They informed Pastor Baby telephonically.

Notably, the Church was burnt down amidst objections raised by=20
certain Sangh Parivar bodies against the functioning of Pentecost=20
missionaries here. According to the believers, there were threats=20
against conducting prayers in the Church. Some of them faced threats=20
even on the previous day (Jan. 22).

Based upon Pastor Baby's complaint, the Ambalawayal police registered=20
a case. Senior police officials, including Kalpetta and Mananthavadi=20
Dy.S.Ps, K. Unni and K. V. Satheesan, alongwith finger-print experts,=20
conducted spot investigation in and around the Church premises. The=20
Church premises is under police protection now.

Notably, the Church was burnt down within one week of the first ever=20
pro-RSS conclave, "Akhila Kerala Vanavasi Sangamam" held under the=20
auspirces of "Kerala Vanavasi Vikasa Kendram" was inaugurated by RSS=20
supremo, K. S. Sudarshan, at Vattiyoorkavu in Wayanad. Apart from=20
other national leaders like "Akhil Bharateeya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram"=20
(ABVKA) president Jagadev Ram Orone, State leaders of Sangh Parivar,=20
like P. Parameswaran, also participated in this conclave.

The Church burning at Wayanad also came within 48 hours of the=20
two-day State Executive meeting of the BJP,held at Kanjagad in=20
Kasargode district, declared that its future action plan in Kerala=20
would be to vigorously pursue Hindutva agenda with a focus on deeper=20
penetration into the underprivileged sections in society and persuade=20
them to join its fold.

____

#7.

GANDHI NIRVAN DIN, 30 JANUARY

MR. PRAKASH SHAH (editor, "Nireekshak")

to speak on
"GANDHIAN THOUGHT, HINDUTVA AND COMMUNAL HARMONY"

Place: Himavan Conference Hall, Paldi,Nr. Paldi Cross Roads, Ahmedabad
Time: Thursday, 30 January, 6 p.m.

Programme jointly organized by: Gandhi Shanti Pratishtan Kendra=20
and Movement For Secular Democracy.

All are cordially invited