[sacw] SACW | 31 Jan. 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 31 January 2003

#1. US: INS Registration Rule Snags Pakistani Editor (George Lardner Jr.)
#2. South Asian brotherhood day against fascism (Ishtiaq Ahmed)
#3. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 110 |=20
29 Jan 2003
#4. [ Hindutva Spin : This business of 'illegal immigration' ;=20
Expelling 'Aliens', 'National Security'
- Bangladesh - India : 'Push-in' to strain on bilateral relations=20
(edit, Daily Star)
- Resources & Reading Materials
#5. Joint Fact-Finding Probe on RSS attack on Christian Missionaries in Ker=
ala
#6. Thousands Demand To Stop Koodankulan Nuclear Power Project (NAPM=20
Press Note)
#7. Intellectual betrayals (Pratap Bhanu Mehta)
#8. Bikers spread message of peace across 19 states in India
#9. Veena Talwar Oldenburg interviewd on her book on Dowry
#10. HINDUTVA AT WORK - Stories
- VHP plans to start a Life Insurance For Future (LIFF) for Hindus [=20
Since the minorities are eating em up]
-Construct temple immediately or face national crisis: VHP
- Sudershan's Hindutva: Muslims, Sikhs Hindus

__________________________

#1.

The Washington Post
Thursday, January 30, 2003; Page A01

Brookings Scholar Is Detained by INS
Registration Rule Snags Pakistani Editor

By George Lardner Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer

Ejaz Haider is an editor with Pakistan's most respected English-language
newsweekly and a visiting research scholar at the Brookings Institution, on=
e
of Washington's most prominent think tanks.

A good friend of his country's foreign minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, he
attended a conference Monday at Brookings Kasuri held as part of a campaign
against relentless enforcement of U.S. immigration rules.

On Tuesday, however, Haider became one of the latest people detained in the
government's registration program for temporary foreign visitors when two
armed INS agents accosted him on the street and took him into custody.

"We were stunned. I never thought I'd see this in my own country: people
grabbed on the street and taken away," said Stephen P. Cohen, head of the
Brookings South Asia program for which Haider worked. "If he hadn't come
into the building to show the agents some notes, it's not clear we would
have known where he was."

According to the Justice Department, Haider had missed a deadline to check
in with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Haider, however, said
officials at the State Department and INS had both told him he could ignore
the requirement to check back within 40 days of registering upon arrival at
Dulles International Airport.

"They probably had been keeping me under surveillance for some time," Haide=
r
said.

"They asked me if my name was Ejaz Haider, I said 'yes,' they showed me
their IDs, and just asked me why I hadn't gone in for some interview."

Kasuri said he brought up the case at a meeting with Attorney General John
D. Ashcroft yesterday.

"Everybody was embarrassed," Kasuri said. "I told him that it is this sort
of thing that is going to happen [if enforcement is not more restrained]. I=
f
that is the sort of person that can be nabbed, then no one is safe."

Often derided as the among government's most dysfunctional agencies, the IN=
S
was widely criticized last March when it sent out student visa approvals to
two of the dead Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists six months after they had slamme=
d
hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center.

Part of the reason for Kasuri's visit was to voice his government's alarm
over a separate part of the program, which requires male visitors to the
United States from 25 nations, most of them predominantly Muslim, to
register with the INS.

After meeting with Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin L. Powel=
l
and others, Kasuri said yesterday that he felt confident that there would b=
e
no mass deportation of Pakistani nationals.

In Haider's case, the episode may have stemmed from confusion about rules
for registering male visitors, said Justice Department spokesman Jorge
Martinez. More than 1,200 men have been detained in recent months when they
appeared at INS offices.

Some of the guidelines for another part of the registration program, which
takes place at U.S. airports, are classified. But Martinez said that Haider
would not have been required to register simply because he arrived from
Pakistan. Other factors, such as al Qaeda activity in that nation, may have
come into play.

He said officials could not simply notify Haider to come in and comply with
the deadline, because his willful violation of that rule would have been a
criminal violation. Although Haider's account suggested a nonwillful
violation at worst, Martinez said, "we don't know if everyone is telling th=
e
truth."

He said immigration officials are looking into Haider's case to determine i=
f
disciplinary action is needed.

Haider, news editor of the Friday Times, a weekly in Lahore, said he was
told to leave his wallet behind and was taken to the INS detention center i=
n
Alexandria.

At the detention center, Haider said he was taken to a room with a few
chairs in it and left there. Later he was photographed and fingerprinted
twice, in ink and electronically. He said he was told that bond had been se=
t
at $5,000 and that "I would have to spend the night in the county jail."

"Fortunately, we were able to contact people . . . and get him released
without bail," Cohen said. "It was too late to get . . . bail. Apparently,
they got a call from headquarters.

"For me," he added, "the personal irony of all this is that I have four
times over the last 25 years made calls to the Pakistani government to
release a Pakistani journalist from one of their prisons. I never thought I
would be making a plea to our own government to release a Pakistani
journalist from one of our jails."

Haider said he was registered and fingerprinted at Dulles on his arrival
Oct. 22 and was told he had to report to an INS office "between the 30th an=
d
40th day of my arrival." He said it was his understanding that Pakistan had
been put on the so-called entry-exit registration list last Oct. 1, but the=
n
he heard in mid-November that it had been taken off the list.

He telephoned the INS help line and the State Department, talked to
officials at Brookings, and thought no more of it until Tuesday.

When he was released Tuesday night, he said he was told to make his own
arrangements to return to Washington, but had left his wallet, as
instructed, at Brookings.

Fortunately, he said, he had a Metro Farecard in one of his pockets. The IN=
S
agents dropped him off at the King Street Station.

"The [Pakistani] embassy told me I was very lucky," he said. "They said . .
. they had left young men almost in the middle of nowhere."

Haider, who has visited the United States six times, said he cannot wait to
leave and, if such policies continue, will never come back.

"This is not the United States I used to come to," he said.

Staff writer Pamela Constable contributed to this report.

=A9 2003 The Washington Post Company

____

#2.

[ 'Brotherhood' sound not so PC but its a useful article ]

o o o

South Asian brotherhood day against fascism
by Ishtiaq Ahmed
At the beginning of 2003, the moral superiority of Gandhi's message=20
of brotherhood and the indivisibility of humanity can no longer be=20
doubted. South Asia needs to go back to the high standards of=20
non-violence and communal harmony that he established
On January 30
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=3Dstory_30-1-2003_pg3_4

______

#3.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 110
29 January 2003
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/121

______

#4.

[ Manufacturing the Hindutva Spin ....the elections are coming
Creation of Fear of the 'Outsider' is how it goes ...
The big buzz words are - 'illegal immigration' ; Expel 'the Aliens'=20
For Reasons of 'National Security' and of course the 'National ID=20
card' !! ]

o o o

The Daily Star (Dhaka)
31 January 2003
http://www.dailystarnews.com/200301/31/n3013102.htm

Editorial
Push-in putting strain on bilateral relations
Come to grips with the issue through discussion

How does the Indo-Bangla borderscape look like today? Guns are=20
pointed at each other; hundreds of Bengali-speaking people have been=20
collected to be pushed by the BSF into Bangladesh; the BDR along with=20
local people are resisting it; and the victims, including women and=20
children, are living it out under the open skies in winter at the no=20
man's land. Hardly a picture of normality. In fact it is potentially=20
explosive.

All this for no better reason than an ingeniously contrived pressure=20
being exerted on Bangladesh in the shape of push-in attempts. What=20
could be dealt with as a routine inter-country affair, has been blown=20
out of proportion -- thanks to India. New Delhi is doing it for=20
reasons best known to her, although there is no dearth of pointers to=20
the peculiar mindset of the BJP-led government. Some look at it as an=20
extension of the Gujarat card being played out with some state and=20
other elections in mind. Whatever maybe the case, the broader=20
perspective of Indo-Bangla relations has been subsumed -- one would=20
like to think temporarily -- by the capricious micro-dynamic of=20
India's attempted deportation charade.

Since January 22nd there have been a few dozen attempts made by the=20
BSF to push Bengali-speaking Muslim Indians reportedly collected from=20
Maharashtra, Mumbai, New Delhi and West Bengal through several border=20
points into Bangladesh territory. It is alleged that they were being=20
coerced into admitting they were illegal Bangladesh immigrants. The=20
surreptitious BSF moves met with resistance from the BDR and local=20
people raising the temperature along the borders.

The BDR has beefed up its positions, while, according to the latest=20
reports, Indian commandos have been stationed at the border. The=20
overall situation in the border districts has become needlessly=20
tense. There has been even exchange of fire between the BSF and the=20
BDR at Samanta border point in Jhenidah on January 27. A dawn-to-dusk=20
curfew had been clamped on the Indian side of the border adjoining=20
Jessore, Satkhira and Jhenidah.

Bengali-speaking Indian Muslims apparently living in slums 'having no=20
ration cards' may have proved vulnerable to the collection drive.=20
Now, the thing is, one could easily read a communal dimension to it=20
because the victims appear to be mostly Muslim. So, the border is=20
tensed up and a communal frenzy is being worked up which bodes=20
neither well for Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relations nor for the=20
region as a whole.

The 'humanitarian ramifications of the evolving situation' cannot be=20
trifled with. These people have been living in India for years and=20
the BJP-led government is now ditching them all of a sudden to gain a=20
political mileage. The sight of numerous people, including women and=20
children, being stranded in no-man's land without food, shelter and=20
clothes should evoke sympathy from all concerned.

It also engenders outrage against people who are making an issue of=20
something that can be addressed through the normal channels of=20
inter-state communication. The BDR has so far sent four protest=20
letters to the BSF and repeatedly asked for flag meetings to talk=20
things over. But nothing has come off these efforts. At the same=20
time, the government of Bangladesh has formally urged New Delhi to=20
stop the push-in bids one time too many. These have not been paid=20
heed to as yet.

Instead, New Delhi has reacted to Bangladesh's overture by dubbing=20
the push-in charges as 'baseless and absurd'. 'There is no question=20
of Indian nationals being pushed into Bangladesh', the Indian=20
authorities have asserted. Our position is that the mere fact of=20
being Bengali-speaking does not entitle one to Bangladeshi=20
citizenship. Would the Bangladesh authorities be wrong in rejecting=20
entry to those being forced into our territory?

The issue is nothing new, though. It had cropped up before and, when=20
it did so the last time over, we had drawn the Indian government's=20
attention to the standard norm for giving a list of alleged illegal=20
immigrants so that we could check out on their status at our end.

If India hyped it all to make Bangladesh feel 'how serious the=20
illegal immigration issue is,' then we must say she has taken a wrong=20
route to do it. We are forced to conclude that the present BJP-led=20
government is playing the 'Muslim' card to strengthen its Hindu vote=20
bank. This religion based election strategy can and will have serious=20
consequences for India. We urge the Indian government to try and=20
resolve this issue through discussion.

It is only through discussion that misgivings can be removed. Let the=20
entire gamut of our relationship be freed from the vagaries of=20
electoral politics.

o o o

[RELATED RESOURCES AND READING MATERIAL]

India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality by Sanjib=20
Baruah; University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1999; pp=20
xxiii + 257, $36.50.

o o o

Migration, Gender, Refugees and South Asia:
On International Migration, and its implications for the study of=20
cultural geographies
Kavita Daiya (University of Chicago)
http://regionalworlds.uchicago.edu/bibliographicessaysonmigrat.pdf

o o o

The Marginal Nation : Transborder Migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal
By Ranabir Samaddar.
(Sage Publications, New Delhi | 1999, 228 p., tables, maps, ISBN=20
81-7036-744-1)

Contents: Introduction. 1. The world of the edges. 2. Legality,=20
illegality and reasons of state. 3. Those accounts. 4. Continuities,=20
discontinuities. 5. A Hossain Mia of today? 6. Caste and other=20
affinal ties. 7. Cartographic representations and anxieties. 8.=20
Naturalization, valorization. 9. Proletarianization, lumpenization=20
and their metaphors. 10. Agrarian impasse and the making of an=20
immigrant Niche. 11. A village in Malda. 12. Shefali. 13. The numbers=20
game. References. Index.

"Throughout South Asia, questions of 'illegal immigration' combined=20
with those of 'national security' have acquired politically explosive=20
dimensions in recent years. Despite this, migration studies have=20
remained, by and large, confined to the domains of economics and=20
demography. Dealing with transborder migrations from Bangladesh to=20
West Bengal, The Marginal Nation analyzes these issues within a=20
richer perspective which accommodates the historical, cultural and=20
geographic dimensions along with the economic and demographic.

[ See Book Review Below: ]
Biblio
VOL. IV NOS. 3 & 4 March - April 1999
The Exodus

The Marginal Nation : Transborder Migration from Bangladesh to West=20
Bengal by Ranabir Samaddar. (Sage Publications, New Delhi | 1999,=20
228 p., tables, maps, ISBN 81-7036-744-1)

D Bandopadhyay

Being part of the flotsam and jetsam of the great tidal wave of human=20
movement from East Pakistan to West Bengal at the end of 1947,1 read=20
the book almost at one go with great enthusiasm and interest. I must=20
admit going through it was a highly rewarding experience. It is not=20
bedside reading. It is a heavy book. It is=20

a product of extraordinary scholarship and assiduous and diligent=20
collection of primary material through painstaking interviews and=20
penetrating field visits covering almost the entire border areas of=20
West Bengal. The book, as the title suggests, is about transborder=20
migration from Bangladesh to West Bengal (and the rest of India) from=20
the mid-Eighties onwards. But the author transcends the "calculus of=20
migration" to bring the issue of migration "into the realm of=20
political studies of nationhood". In trying to achieve it Samaddar=20
succeeds in presenting a theoretical frame far away from xenophobic=20
perception of migration subverting the host country. This is=20
praiseworthy.
The book as 13 chapters, 36 tables-some of which are unique in terms=20
of the data presented therein-and 7 maps. Transborder migration is .a=20
highly sensitive issue politically; it is equally emotive socially in=20
West Bengal. Samaddar was well aware of the dangerous ground he was=20
traversing:
"While writing this book I was aware of the controversial nature of=20
the subject: transborder migration from Bangladesh to India produces=20
not only nationalist disputes, i.e. between India and Bangladesh, but=20
also disputes within the country. It makes sparks fly between the=20
right and the left, between "Hindu" perceptions and "Muslim"=20
perceptions, between "fundamentalism" and "secularism", "true=20
secularism" and "false secularism" and also between the "state and=20
the unstable sections of the population."
To present the subject with empathy as well as scholastic detachment=20
requires a high degree of intellectual discipline coupled with equal=20
competence in articulation. Samaddar has done it exceedingly well. To=20
avoid the "minefield" the author himself writes "that discussion at=20
certain points takes the form of a mere narrative leaving the reader=20
to draw his own conclusions while at others it turns to specific a=20
social position to highlight the inadequacy of received categories.=20
The entire study is thus both a report on transborder migration as=20
well as an attempt at strategizing, marked by procedural quarrels and=20
wrangles." Samaddar's frankness is admirable but leaving the reader=20
to guess or to speculate on what the author really had in mind and=20
did not express leaves one in a realm of abstract art. Samaddar could=20
have been little more explicit.
It is a rigorous research work based significantly on generation of=20
primary data through canvassing questionnaires among migrants of=20
different categories: Hindus, Muslims, transitory visitors, Bihari=20
Muslims and women. Among the Muslim migrants, there are those who=20
came on their own and others who were induced to come for being=20
"sold". Samaddar also consulted enormous secondary sources of census,=20
voters' lists, village census data sheets and the like. In fact in=20
his 37 tables many unpublished data have been presented for the first=20
time which enhances the value of the book as a serious=20
socio-political investigative document of a high order and provides=20
source material for future study of the subject. But somewhere along=20
the line Samaddar feels shy of the hard reality. He questions the=20
validity of a statistical exercise. Hence he modified the=20
questionnaire to make it "relatively less focused" because he "wanted=20
to know the migrant and not only migration". In his Acknowledgments=20
he elaborates this point:
"I feel guilty before those who helped me immensely in the=20
expectation that I shall be able to come out with a hard study. I=20
have failed them."
I find no justification for this self proclaimed "failure" which=20
tends to somewhat lessen the excellence of this superb research work.=20
There is no adversarial relationship between "migrant" and=20
"migration". There would be no "migration" without "migrants" and=20
there would be no "migrants" without "migration". Both these=20
categories are in a complementary role. Even Marxian epistemology,=20
"revolves around two interrelated themes and emphasise (a) the=20
scientifictty and (b) the historicity of the cognitive process". (A=20
Dictionary of Marxist Thought: E.D. Bottomore, et al). Hard=20
statistics would have provided the "scientificity". However omitting=20
it was the author's choice and we must respect it. Samaddar wants to=20
break out of the mould of labour economics and sterile statistical=20
demography and put the whole issue against the political and=20
historical process of state formation and nation building in=20
Bangladesh-a brave new venture in epistemological exercise=20
undoubtedly.
The vanishing Hindus of Bangladesh provide a continuum of the process=20
of Partition. Return of the Muslim migrants from West Bengal provides=20
discontinuity and a negation of the same process. Migration of Muslim=20
agricultural workers in search of work-some of whom stay back and=20
some of whom return to Bangladesh with their accumulated=20
income-represents "immiserization, lumpenizarion and victimization"=20
in their own country. Depeasentized peasants, having lost land, cross=20
the border for greener pastures in India. Then there are the "Bihari=20
Muslims" stranded in Bangladesh, unwanted both in Pakistan and=20
Bangladesh. They can only return to their accursed original homeland=20
in India. From a figure of 700,000 there number has come down to=20
200,000. Where have they gone? Samaddar's description of Metiabruz in=20
Calcutta is a revelation, unknown to many old time Calcuttans many of=20
them are there.
The artificiality of the Radcliffe Award has been shown vividly in=20
his narration of the Malda border. The usual inter-district migration=20
of labour which used to take place before Partition continues even=20
today-although formally illegal yet socially accepted by all=20
concerned. The migrants neither recognize Partition nor the formation=20
of the new state of Bangladesh, Bangladesh as a nation has no meaning=20
for them. The artographic border is merely an irritating nuisance.
Samaddar's depiction of Muslim women migrants reaches a new height of=20
presentation in poignancy, courage, determination and defiance of the=20
dramatis personae. Shefali is a typical Bangladeshi Muslim woman and=20
an illegal migrant. Hunted, haunted and persecuted as an outlaw,=20
serving a sentence in an Indian jail, she is determined to come back=20
after being deported as a defiance against discriminatory social=20
order enforced by the mullahs in Bangladesh. She has tasted freedom=20
even as an outlaw in India and she would not give it up on any=20
account. She did it on her own. But more than 200,000 sisters of hers=20
were induced to leave Bangladesh under false promise, to be sold as=20
slave girls in Pakistan and the Middle East. No one knows the exact=20
number; it could be anything. Such horrendous trafficking in human=20
beings prohibited under all national laws and inter-national treaties=20
and conventions makes all states of South Asia-Bangladesh, India,=20
Pakistan-marginal to the victims of the trade. A "good" Bangladeshi=20
woman was sold at US $4500 at Karachi and taken to the Middle East.=20
Where is the conscience of man? The author puts the point succinctly:
The constant flow of young women across the border, now struggling=20
for survival, ensures that many of them would end their journey in=20
the brothels of metropoli; also it ensures 'a bottomless supply of=20
cheap labour', suffering wage discrimination, exploitation of the=20
vulnerable migrant child, and sometimes the destruction of 'culture,=20
kin networks and social relations.' The nation which to the immigrant=20
woman had appeared in the form of family, village and kin networks,=20
and had later on become a problem of identity once the crucial ties=20
were severed, now recedes into marginaiity."
Hence the "Marginal Nation!"
The book provides probably the most skillful use of anecdotal=20
material so far to come out in socio-political anthropological=20
studies on migrants. A brilliant tour de force! With his incisive=20
analytical skill and marshaling of facts from human stories, Samaddar=20
has created a new political category between alien and citizen-the=20
migrant-which is going to exercise considerable influence on the=20
political discourse in South Asia. It is a measure Samaddar's talent=20
as a researcher and writer that the presentation of this complex=20
socio-political and religious ethnographical phenomenon reads like=20
something new and sometimes more suspenseful than any other=20
publication on the subject. His interpretation is as authoritative as=20
it is sensational. An invaluable contribution to the study of human=20
migration in this part of the world.

o o o

(South Asia Citizens Web, 1998)
Fascism Alert #1: Defending Bangladeshi Immigrants=20
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/i_aii/Fascism.html

Fact Finding Report on Deportations of Bengali-Speaking Muslims From Mumbai
(CPDR, EKTA, WRAG | August 27th 1998)
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/i_csss/deport.html
=20
(Refugee Watch No.1, January 1998)
Refugees in South Asia: An Overview by Aung Phyro & Tapan Bose South=20
Asia has the fourth largest concentration of refugees in the world. A=20
majority
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Refugee-Watch/ref.html

(Frontline, August 15 - 28, 1998)
Protest in West Bengal
Kalyan Chaudhuri
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1517/15170430.htm

(Frontline, Apr. 14 - 27, 2001)
alliance of convenience
The Asom Gana Parishad breaks ranks with its coalition partners in=20
the State government to forge an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata=20
Party.
Kalyan Chaudhuri
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1808/18080370.htm

(Frontline, Volume 19 - Issue 12, June 8-21, 2002)
The nowhere people
The people evicted from Chitmahals, slivers of land in the=20
India-Bangladesh border areas, lead a miserable life in India as=20
their plea for recognition as Indian citizens fall on deaf ears.
Naunidhi Kaur

(Frontline, August 3 - 16, 2002)
No real refuge
Asylum-seekers in India are a vulnerable lot in the absence of a=20
national law to protect their rights.
NAUNIDHI KAUR
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1916/19160730.htm

(Gulf News, 18-01-2003)
Police to begin campaign to identify illegals
By Ajay Jha
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=3D74319

Refugees or Infiltrators? The Bharatiya Janata Party and Illegal=20
Migration from Bangladesh', Asian Studies Review, vol.26, no.1 (March=20
2002). [ISBN: 1035-7823]
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/abstract.asp?ref=3D1035-7823&vid=3D26&ii=
d=3D1&aid=3D121&s=3D

(South Asia Citizens Web, January 2003)
Plastic Identity: Dividing line between Chosen People and Illegal=20
Aliens by John Dayal
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/2002/JohnDayal2003.html

______

#5.

PRESS RELEASE

January 30, 2003

"People's Watch" (Tamil Nadu) and CHRO (Kerala) :
Joint Fact-Finding Probe on RSS attack on Christian Missionaries in Kerala

Following contradictory and divergent reports on the attack on=20
Christian missionaries, including a U.S. citizen, Rev. Joseph W.=20
Cooper, near Kilimanoor in Thiruvananthapuram district, on January=20
13, 2003, (Monday) night, a joint fact-finding team of Confederation=20
of Human Rights Organisations (CHRO), Kerala, and People's Watch (PW)=20
Tamil Nadu was constituted with the following members :

1) Ms. Maya Nair (PW, Tamil Nadu)
2) Ms. M. Rajakumari (PW, Tamil Nadu)
3) Dr. Abdul Salam (CHRO, Kerala)
4) Sr. Annie Punnoose (CHRO, Kerala)
5) K. S. Sreejith Kumar (CHRO, Kerala)

The team spent a whole day on January 20, 2003, to make spot visit at=20
the affected areas near Kilimanoor, and took versions of local people=20
including eye-witnesses of the incident, police personnel, and the=20
injured convalescing at KIMS hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.

Apart from police personnel, versions of the following local people=20
and victims of the attack helped us to make this report : Ms. Sarala=20
(45, Christian), David (35, Christian), Rajan (non-Christian),=20
Johnson (43, Christian), Rajendran (53, non-Christian and CPI-M=20
supporter), Nalinakshan (non-Christian and Congress supporter), Rev.=20
Cooper (67), and Pastor Benson Sam. Besides, versions of other local=20
people, who do not want to be identified due to threat perception and=20
fear-psychosis prevailing in the area, were collected and=20
incorporated in this report.

Note : Those who want to have the complete report, may contact the=20
following : CHRO, Kerala : Phone : 0471-2476262 ; Mobile :=20
98473-20011 ; e-mail : chro@r... ; People's Watch (Tamil=20
Nadu) : Ph: 0452-532432 ; Fax : 0452-531874 ; e-mail :=20
henri@s... )

Salient features like Findings and Recommendations of the lengthy=20
report are [available at=20
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/2002/CHRO2003.html ]

______

#6.

NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE=92S MOVEMENTS (NAPM)
C/o. Chemical Mazdoor Sabha, Haji Habib Bldg,
A Wing, First Floor, Naigaon Cross Road, Dadar (East), Mumbai 400014.
Tel Nos : (0) 022-24150529,( R ) 022-25369724, e-mail : sansahil@v...

Press Note: January 30, 2003

The Desh Bachao- Desh Banao Campaign
Day 5.

THOUSANDS DEMAND TO STOP KOODANKULAN NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT, PRAWN=20
FARMING : IMPLEMENT COASTAL REGULATION TO SAVE ENVIRONMENT, PEOPLE

Thousands of people belonging to various organizations in Kanya=20
Kumari district in Tamil Nadu demanded that to the Koodankulam=20
Nuclear power project be stopped forthwith and prawn farms on the=20
sea-coast be closed as per the Supreme Court orders. A mammoth=20
meeting was held at Nagercoil in South Tamil Nadu on Thursday=20
(January30), as the =91Desh Bachao-Desh Banao campaign=92 by the National=20
Alliance of People=92s Movements (NAPM) started its mass contact in=20
Tamil Nadu.

The people demanded that factories and tourist resorts be banned from=20
coastal areas as per the Coastal Regulation Act. This meeting of=20
workers, fisherpeople and peasants and the villagers in general at=20
also demanded that the sterlite plant in Thoothukudi that harms the=20
local environment and kills the local people be shut down immediately=20
and that the Sun Paper Mill and the Dharani Sugar factory be=20
prevented from dumping their waste in the Thamirabharani River. The=20
dry land that have been slated to be given away to private developers=20
be handed over to the respective Panchayat and sufficient funds be=20
provided be provide to those Panchayat for the development of the=20
same.

National Alliance of People=92s Movements (NAPM), has launched a=20
nationwide campaign against Globalization and communalism, to evolve=20
a nationwide programme with the consultation and participation with=20
all progressive organizations. The campaign, launched from Palakkad=20
district in Kerala, will traverse 17 states and reach Ayodhya on=20
March 30. Hundreds of organizations and prominent persons from all=20
walks of life throughout the country are participating in this=20
campaign. Number of organizations from the Kanyakumari district and=20
adjacent area participated in the campaign and meetings on Thursday.

Prominent among them were Pennurimai Iyakkam, Kattida Tozhilalar=20
Panchayt Sanghom, Workers and Peasants alliance from Madurai (17=20
unions from unorganised sector are part of this), the Environment=20
Protection Movement, the Manual Workers union and the Coordination=20
committee of the workers in the unorganised sector, Womens=92=20
collective, Navajyoti, National Fish Workers=92 Forum, Beedi womens=20
association. The representatives from Plachimada Coca- Cola virudha=20
Samara Samiti, Karimugal Carbon Virudha Samara Samiti from Kerala=20
decided to participate in the entire campaign till Ayodhya. The=20
meeting also demanded that the Colachel Fishing Harbour project that=20
has been a long-standing demand of the fisher people of Kanya Kumari=20
District be immediately implemented. It also called for immediate=20
establishment of Thengapattanam Landing Jetty and the =93Thoodil=20
Valaivu=94 in coastal villages and the privileges that have been=20
accorded to the coastal fisher people be provided for the inland=20
fisher people also.

Among other important demands were :
all the laws and amendments that have been introduced to curtail the=20
rights of the working people be rescinded immediately. The 1993=20
Supreme Court order and the June 25, 2002 wage agreement of the=20
Tamilnadu government be implemented for the Beedi workers. The=20
organised laborers be given job guarantees and the welfare schemes=20
meant for them be regulated through a specific board. The subsidies=20
and incentives given to the service sector be continued instead of=20
handing over those sectors to private parties The import of food=20
materials be stooped and we have enough food stock in our ware houses.

The Tamilnadu farmers be saved from the free-meal and other degrading=20
schemes and that they be given job guarantee and right to life.=20
Organic farming be promoted in India along with Job Guarantees=20
instead of bring in foreign agricultural methods and machines. . The=20
public sector units that have been created as the public treasures of=20
the Indian people be safeguarded from privatization and that the=20
vacant posts in these undertakings be filled immediately. The poverty=20
and violence that have been unleashed on women by globalization be=20
stopped immediately.

Earlier in the day, the campaign started its Tamil Nadu programme at=20
Gandhi Mandapam at Kanya Kumari, paying obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi=20
on the day of his martyrdom. The Green Movement activists gathered=20
their to salute the campaign. NAPM team held a meeting of the local=20
organizations at Nagarcoil who briefed about the local issues. This=20
interactive session enabled an active dialogue process towards the=20
wider alliance the campaign is aiming at.

The Desh Bachao Desh Banao campaign after concluded its Kerala, with=20
12 meetings and addressing thousands of people and a large number of=20
socio-political organizations, dealing with the issues ranging from=20
the resistance to foreign capital, exploitation and expropriation of=20
natural resources like water, land, forests and minerals to communal=20
fascist dirty politics.
The NAPM highlighted need for alliance of all the diverse struggle.

Gabriele D Sanjay Mangala Gopal Philip Mathew
National Alliance of Peoples=92 Movements

_____

#7.

The Hindu
Friday, Jan 31, 2003

Intellectual betrayals
By Pratap Bhanu Mehta
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2003013100891000.htm

_____

#8.

Bikers spread message of peace across 19 states
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, January 28

Six motorcyclists returned here Monday after spending more than a=20
month on the road spreading the message of peace and communal harmony.

The rally, led by 41-year-old Chandan M Lahiri, had been flagged off=20
December 21 from the India Gate here where the eternal flame to the=20
unknown soldier burns.

Christened the "aman yatra" or rally for peace, the motorcyclists=20
covered some 12,000 km in 19 states, interacting with the people and=20
distributing literature to promote peace. Voluntary group ActionAid=20
India sponsored the effort.

The other riders in the group were Solomon Jacob, Joy Raja, Inderjeet=20
Sen, Arnab and Saurabh. Sen at 17 was the youngest among the riders.

Social activist and actress Nafisa Ali and Delhi Joint Commissioner=20
of Police Amod Kant greeted the team on its return.

"During the tour, we did not find any trace of communal divide among=20
the people," said Lahiri while complementing the resilience of=20
Indians.

"The people we interacted with were more concerned about the basic=20
necessities of life. Food, shelter and education dominate their lives=20
and they do not hold a grudge for other communities," Lahiri=20
maintained.

_____

#9.

The Times of India
January 31, 2003
INTERVIEW
Brown woman's burden

Historian Veena Talwar Oldenburg's provocative book "=97Dowry Murder:=20
The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime" argues that dowry killings=20
and female infanticide received a sharp fillip by the decision of=20
the British to create individual peasant ownership as the centrepiece=20
of their revenue policy. Dowry, which served as a woman's safety net=20
in pre-colonial times, was transformed into a deadly institution=20
during the days of the Raj. The practice, she tells Rashme Sehgal,=20
has continued after Independence:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3D=
35992960

_____

#10.

HINDUTVA AT WORK - Stories

(i)

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=3D17495
The Indian Express (Thursday, January 30, 2003)

Now VHP to 'save' Hindus by insurance
Ens & Agencies
Mumbai, January 29: The VHP plans to start a Life Insurance For=20
Future (LIFF) for Hindus and their future generations as the=20
organisation feels ''Hindus are more unsafe than minorities''.

VHP international general secretary Praveen Togadia said here today=20
that the organisation intended to collect 1 per cent of monthly=20
income from Hindus and in return would safeguard their lives.=20
''Unlike the LIC, which collects premium for security for life of an=20
insured person, we intend to safeguard future generations of=20
Hindus,'' he said. ''About 4,000 civilians have been killed by=20
terrorists in J-K and now is the time to act and create awareness=20
among Hindus, especially youths,'' Togadia said.

Togadia, who was on a visit to Navi Mumbai Sports Association at=20
Vashi here, also said the outfit had mobilised 30 lakh youths and=20
distributed three lakh trishuls, ''not to harm anyone but to boost=20
the morale of the Hindus''.

Later, speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Togadia urged Sonia Gandhi to=20
support the Hindutva cause. Togadia argued that the ''only legal=20
way'' to resolve the temple issue was to enact a law in Parliament=20
for its construction.

''The VHP doesn't want Ayodhya to be an election issue. Sonia Gandhi=20
should assist in enacting this legislation. Those who support it will=20
get two-thirds majority. Those will go against it will suffer. Ram=20
Janmabhoomi will become the main issue for the 2004 Lok Sabha=20
polls.'' He also hinted that the legislation tabled in Parliament=20
would receive tacit support from Congressmen. ''Congressmen have=20
always supported it. It's only after Sonia took over that the party=20
turned into a Muslim League.''

Earlier, Togadia caused ripples when he arrived at a press meet in a=20
bullet-proof car fitted with a red beacon. The red light can be used=20
only by those mentioned in specific notifications issued by state and=20
Central governments.

o o o

(ii) IndiaExpress
Construct temple immediately or face national crisis: VHP (30th Jan 2003 )
http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/national/20030130-2.html

o o o

(iii) Sudershan's Hindutva: Muslims, Sikhs Hindus
Rachna Subir Sen
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=3D17493