[sacw] SACW #1 | 22 Jan. 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire #1 | 22 January 2003

#1. Kashmir Militants set deadline for women to quit jobs (M Saleem Pandit=
)
- Terror's changing tack - renewed attempt to target women in J&K=20
needs to be urgently defeated (Edit., Indian Express)
- Women's group condemns 'diktat'
#2. India Sabka [Festival in Bombay] - A Report (Madhusree Dutta)
#3. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 109=20
(21 January 2003)
#4. Who will apologise to Gilani? (Kalpana Sharma)

__________________________

#1.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=3D=
34962053
THE TIMES OF INDIA
JANUARY 21, 2003

Militants set deadline for women to quit jobs in J&K
M SALEEM PANDIT
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2003 10:43:00 PM ]

SRINAGAR: A militant group in Rajouri has asked Muslim women to quit=20
their jobs by January 25 and stay home, or face punishment, including=20
death.

Posters to this effect have appeared overnight on the main walls of a=20
mosque in Shahdara Sharief. Similar posters appeared a few days ago=20
too, asking Muslim families to marry off their daughters by the age=20
of 15.

The handwritten posters carry the name of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islamia=20
(Huji). They have been removed by the police, said an official.

The Lashkar-e-Jabbar was the first militant group in Rajouri to come=20
up with a code of conduct for women. They demanded that women and=20
even girls, wear burqas when out in public. They, too, had issued=20
threats for non-compliance.

The issue had evoked widespread criticism, and when women refused to=20
comply, Jabbar had resorted to acid attacks and finally killed four=20
women.

This time, they have found a fervent supporter in Huji. Besides the=20
burqa diktat, the Huji has even supported Jabbar's demand that women=20
should be accompanied by men whenever they go out.

All womenshould take baths at home and stay all the times in their=20
homes, the Huji posters have declared.

o o o

Indian Express, 22 January 2003
Editorial
Terror's changing tack
The militants' renewed attempt to target women in J&K needs to be=20
urgently defeated

One of the more unfortunate social realities of this region is the=20
tendency to regard women as repositories of community honour.=20
Constant are the efforts, therefore, of fundamentalists everywhere -=20
no matter their religion - to subjugate women through arbitrary=20
diktats and physical threats.

The manner in which the Taliban ruled a nation through the often=20
violent suppression of women is well-documented, but it is by no=20
means unique. A state that has long prided itself on the liberal=20
values of Kashmiriyat is today fighting a rearguard battle against=20
assorted groups that make their presence felt by attacking, or=20
threatening to attack, women who do not conform to their own=20
extremely narrow vision of the world.

How dangerous they can be was confirmed when three young girls were=20
killed in Hasiyot in December, allegedly for not wearing the burqa.=20
The widespread repugnance and anger that met this attack actually=20
provoked the perpetrators of the outrage to 'apologise' for the=20
killings and reassure the people that the burqa was not mandatory.

Yet, soon after this so-called apology, a group calling itself the=20
Harkat-e-Jehad-e-Islami has issued a stern warning to women in the=20
J&K police to quit their jobs or face 'serious consequences'. It has=20
also reiterated that girls should be married by the age of 15 and=20
that the local imams must ensure this.

Fighting the perpetrators of such terror is particularly difficult=20
given the anonymous manner in which they function. The name of the=20
outfits they claim to represent is unfamiliar and their writ may=20
appear on a poster in a remote corner of the Valley.

For instance, a group calling itself the Laskar-e-Jabbar, raised a=20
ruckus over the burqa issue several months ago and then seemingly=20
disappeared, only to emerge again in early January demanding that=20
women quit their jobs and stay at home.

There must, however, be links between these various groups. The=20
Harkat-e-Jehad-e-Islami, interestingly, in its recent statement had=20
referred to the Laskar-e-Jabbar's earlier order, which seems to=20
suggest a connection between the two. Fighting this lot, therefore,=20
could be a bit like battling the wind.

Perhaps, the only way their influence can be neutralised is by=20
creating public opinion against them - there is nothing that makes=20
the terrorist operating in the Valley more anxious than the=20
possibility of an eroded support base. But the people will only stand=20
up against such arbitrary and cowardly attacks if they gain the=20
confidence to do so.

The first task then for the Mufti government in J&K is to ensure the=20
security of the people in general and women in particular. The=20
message must go out to the remotest corner that the elected=20
government of the state will protect the right of citizens to pursue=20
a lifestyle of their choosing.

o o o

The Hindu, Jan 22, 2003
Women's group condemns 'diktat'
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2003012204991100.htm

______

#2.

Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 12:34:25 +0530

India Sabka- A Report

Gujarat 2002 - the carnage, the state collusion, the breakdown of=20
Constitutional machinery, the futility of all our efforts 'to do=20
something' - anything =8A relief, rehabilitation, documentation,=20
peace rally, protest rally, investigative reports, campaigning, legal=20
initiatives. What is to be done =8A what are we capable of =8A who=20
is our constituency =8A are we to work only when the war is on =8A does=20
the carnage ever start without a warning? what are we to do in=20
peace times =8A in other places, which are yet to go the Gujarat way?

Why had we failed to reach out to a wider audience ... perhaps our=20
message had become stale, perhaps the call for secularism needed to=20
be re-invented ... perhaps the form through which the message was=20
being communicated needed re-vamping =8A perhaps we needed to be=20
more dynamic, more in tune with the times, with the mindset of the=20
youth. It is within this phase of self doubt that the idea of a=20
youth festival emerged.

Towards the end of September, two groups, Majlis, a legal and=20
cultural centre and Open Circle, a group of visual artists joined=20
hands to organise the event. The idea was to approach various=20
colleges and invite students to participate in contests around=20
concerns of secularism. The process would culminate into a festival=20
of two days structured within popular culture. During the festival,=20
awardees would be given innovative prizes which would advance their=20
career prospects.

We were playing blind. None of us had any experience in organising=20
such an event. But nontheless, driven by the demand of our times,=20
we went ahead. The first step was to design a poster providing the=20
framework of the festival and the details of the contests. Soon=20
after the Diwali vacation, posters and circulars announcing the art=20
and cultural competitions were pasted in 100 colleges in and around=20
Mumbai. It was a tough task to create an interest on events around=20
the theme of multi-culturalism and communal intolerance among the=20
student body in a city where the student activities are generally=20
restricted to saree day, rose day, traditional day and Valentine's=20
day.

We used every strategy we could imagine. Sometimes the principal=20
needed to be cajoled for an appointment, sometimes the progressive=20
teacher in the college needed to be chased, sometimes the student=20
leaders needed to be lured and sometimes the torn posters needed to=20
be replaced. It went on and on and at first seemed to have no effect.=20
We started to regret the themes and regulations which were perhaps=20
too tough. After all, it is not an easy job to design a newspaper=20
front page, write a film script on India Sabka or design an=20
architectural intervention towards integrating a settlement which is=20
ghettoized on communal lines.

Besides, the prize offer of book coupons (of fabulous amounts -=20
according to us!) might not have been the best strategy to attract=20
students. Deadlines were extended, desperate phone calls were made,=20
friends and families were summoned to influence the student in each=20
home. Slowly the entries started trickling in, but drop by drop they=20
added up to a final tally of around 250. Phew, we had made it by=20
the skin of our teeth!

But more students had to be attracted. It had to be a festival, not a=20
workshop. So again we were at it. Bollywood stars were solicited.=20
Secular icons like

K. R. Narayanan, Mahasweta Devi and Narayan Murthy were invited.=20
Due to unavoidable reasons none of them could make it and we were=20
heart broken. But we remained undaunted. By the end of November,=20
another set of posters, listing out the events were pasted - 5000 in=20
all. In addition 500 banners were put up all over the city.

Caf=E9 Coffee Day (the coffee shop chain) agreed to publicise the event=20
through its outlets, the Red FM radio channel agreed to be a=20
co-sponsor. Eminent publishers of the country agreed to sponsor=20
book prizes. The Western Railway agreed to give space to put up=20
art installations. An acquaintance sponsored two huge hoardings.=20
The resident editor of Indian Express gave an assurance of=20
co-operation. The Khadi Gramodyog promised to cover the cloth and=20
paper requirements. A printing press in Chennai agreed to print=20
the brochure at concessional rates. But as is the rule of life,=20
with each affirmation and promise there were twice the number of=20
negations and breach of promises.

And then came the anxious moments. Would only ten of us be able to=20
pull it through? Would students come? Do we really know what the=20
youth of today would find attractive? Were we diluting our ideology=20
in order to reach out? Was the choice of cultural productions right?=20
Would they have the fine balance of right politics and popular=20
patronage? Everyday was a new surge of doubts to deal with while=20
running against time to meet the deadlines. The festival had to=20
happen within the month of December because: a) the students'=20
academic calendar is a little slack during this period making it=20
physically possible for them to attend the festival, b) the programme=20
must be linked with the memory Babri Masjid demolition and Bombay=20
riots of 1992.

When we started in the month of September, the main agenda was to=20
make the voices of the secular Hindu audible and thus counter the=20
call of Hindutva. The agenda was hotly debated, many a friends and=20
colleagues refused to identify themselves as Hindus, just because the=20
Hindutvavalas are creating mayhem under the guise of representing=20
Hindus. Over many meetings we had to dilute our position a little in=20
order to get more people involved. Still the idea was to ask more=20
Hindu artists, intellectuals and professionals to participate and=20
voice their clear position against the Hindutva lobby. We wanted the=20
onus to be more on seculars who are born in Hindu families. But as=20
time passed we realized that this was indeed a tall order.

Even for us, the realization about the overwhelming number of=20
people with Muslim names involved and prolific in the field of art,=20
popular culture and social activism came as a shock. Hence, the=20
agenda of putting the onus more on Hindus had to be abandoned in the=20
middle, not because of the fear of playing with religious identity=20
and getting into a trap, but because it was not possible to create an=20
interesting programme only with Hindu names. There are just not that=20
many successful Hindu names who are effectively vocal against=20
Hindutva.

The elimination rounds for the contests started at different venues=20
from early December, even while we were engagaed with the nitty=20
gritty of the event. A cartoon stall was devised, where you could=20
get yourself sketched in different identities: Christian, Hindu,=20
Muslim and Sikh in 15 minutes and for Rs.30/-. A photo studio titled=20
photo Hindustani was designed to provide poloroid snaps with Aamir=20
Khan as Bhuvan and Karisma Kapoor as Zubeida. A DJ to remix=20
patriotism and multi-culturalism, a kiosk to print your own T-shirt.

But beneath the gaity and the festivity, the idological dilemmas=20
continued to haunt us. Were things moving in the right direction?=20
Well, we may just about manage to assert India Sabka, even make it=20
fashionable, but is that enough? Is that what we had started with?=20
Should we not talk about the Sangh parivar politics more directly?=20
Isn't it also an occasion to do a bit of pedagogy? Are fun and frolic=20
detrimental to the seriousness of the issue? Would not piggybacking=20
on popular culture be counter productive in the long run? In the=20
meantime, the campaigning for the forthcoming elections was gaining=20
momentum in Gujarat. What were we doing at such a time? Was this=20
worth it? At what cost - in terms of time, energy, resources and=20
obligations?

Again a round of brain storming, waves of doubts and attacks of=20
depression. Despite this, the work went on. A brochure was designed=20
with ten articles on the invisible minority communities in India and=20
Dalits in Pakistan and a photo-feature of dwellings of various=20
communities who had made homes in Mumbai. We wanted to extend the=20
discourse of identity beyond the dominant polemic of Hindu-Muslim.

Then suddenly, in the first week of December, our booking at Patkar=20
hall for 17th and 18th got unceremoniously cancelled. We were flatly=20
told that Mr. Manohar Joshi, currently the speaker of Loksabha, but=20
better known in Mumbai as a henchman of Bal Thakeray, was=20
expected to address a function at the same venue on the 17th.=20
Were we important enough for 'them' to invent a trip of Manohar=20
Joshi to sabotage our programme? Or was it a simple case of licking=20
the toes of the powerful and just accidentally stamping our feet?

We had two choices: a) build up a campaign on this issue, claim=20
victimisation, let a scare spread among the students and let the=20
actual festival suffer; b) get more determined and work harder to=20
counter the new possibility of being pushed to an invisible corner.=20
We chose the second as we wanted to believe and spread the belief=20
that it is still possible to assert an audible voice for secularism=20
in this country. We decided not to publicise this development and=20
overnight shifted the venue to Y. B. Chavan Centre.

The depression and anxiety were set off with some wonderful entries=20
for the video competitions, some reasonably good fictions on Food=20
that my neighbours eat, some good hording campaign design. Just the=20
day before the festival, our office was swamped with entries for the=20
architecture competition. And we were elated.

We roped in our technician friends to make films out of the best two=20
entries for script writing. The best hoarding design was put up at=20
VT station, two art installations were mounted at Churchgate station=20
and Bandra bandstand and suddenly India Sabka was a public affair,=20
far beyond our doubts and hesitations. All friends were requested to=20
prepare 10 questions for the quiz programme. Conditions: the=20
questions should be light on its look, multiple in its meaning, fun=20
to think about and related to India Sabka. Tall order it was. Many=20
failed but others stepped in. A quiz programme of 250 questions on=20
food, cuisine and multi-culturalism was collated. We enjoyed every=20
moment of this compilation and learnt a lot in the process. Here's a=20
sampling -

Q. Who said this while discussing the issue of beef eating 'that may=20
be so, but if the meat is tender, I shall eat it'?

a) George Fernandes
b) Yagnavalkya
c) Sonia Gandhi
d) Swami Agnivesh

A film festival of four features and four documentaries was put=20
together. Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt lent it an official aura by=20
agreeing to innaugurate it. A call was given to fellow artists=20
and filmmakers to make special short videos for the occasion. No=20
production money, screening conditions uncertain, but thirteen new=20
videos came by. We put them in loops and ran them through six=20
monitors throughout the festival. An effort most rewarded by=20
audience presence.

Some more last minute hectic improvisations: a puzzle on the=20
geography of India, a few game shows on the history (a small-private=20
resistance to NCERT) and it was already 17th December. And the=20
regular hicups of organising any function. In the public lecture,=20
after a point Kapil Sibal slipped into Congress election manifesto,=20
Vijay Tendulkar resorted to predictable cynic peer bashing of=20
secularists' inertia and Malini Bhattacharjee did not enthuse the=20
students with a fiery speech. Barkha Dutt's flight failed to take=20
off due to fog in Delhi and the programme had to be rescheduled=20
for 22nd. Fortunately for us, Farooque Shaikh graciously stepped in=20
and saved the day. Alyque Padamsee threw up artists' tantrum causing=20
us to shift the meticulously planned, glamorous prize distribution=20
ceremony to the unceremonius foyer. But in the end, the impomptou=20
arrangement provided the right mood for the fervour of the day.

Through all this, the final reward was the student participation.=20
The students came, nearly two thousand of them. They played games,=20
wrote slogans, were regaled by Javed Akhtar's poetry, tried out the=20
quiz, won prizes or lost and cried, but generally enjoyed and=20
shouted again and again and again Indiaaaaa Sabka. And by the=20
way, in case you have not yet got the answer for the quiz, it is=20
(b). If you have got it right, or even if you have not, you would=20
have to join in the chant Indiaaaaa Sabka.

For Barkha Dutt's rescheduled programme, students turned out in=20
large numbers causing a stampede in the new venue, the YMCA. 20=20
students along with one Hindutvavadi lawyer, two Congress leaders,=20
one progressive newspaper editor and one academician formed the=20
panel. Undoubtedly, the students outshone the experts.

The festival is over. And we are wiser. Now we know how to reach to=20
hundred colleges, we have contacts with fifty five colleges and we=20
have the phone numbers and email Ids of thousand odd students.=20
Well, what do we do with this information? How do we carry it=20
forward. India Sabka was a beginning, just the first faltering step.=20
The task ahead is enormous. Do we have the stamina to conduct such=20
events on a regular basis? If we do, we know that there are people=20
out there who will lend a helping hand, there are students who will=20
respond enthusiastically. And the next time we will not be playing=20
blind. We are sure of greater visibility.

Visibility is one thing we have decided to fight for. All the=20
questions that we started with are not resolved, but we feel better=20
that we have at least made a feeble attempt to approach those=20
questions through different routes and forms. Taufiq Qureshi ended=20
the festival with the concert and the slogan, India Sabka, hum=20
sabka; hai, tha aur rahega. I end with the assertion that we had=20
coined for the students: if we are together, we can make India Sabka=20
a call, a movement, a fashion.

Madhusree Dutta

for India Sabka

The brochures, posters, stickers and video films made for India Sabka=20
are available for like minded organisations and similar events.

_____

#3.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 109
21 January 2003
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/120

____

#4.

The Hindu
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2003

Who will apologise to Gilani?

By Kalpana Sharma

You do not have to be a Kashmiri or a Muslim to worry. Anyone who=20
dissents from the dominant order today is under threat.

SCORES OF questions about the false case against the recently=20
released Kashmiri journalist, Syed Ifthikar Gilani, remain=20
unanswered. These questions are likely to remain unaddressed as the=20
case disappears off the news pages and is relegated to the archives.=20
But what happened to Mr. Gilani should make everyone in the media sit=20
up, particularly those who disagree with this Government's stated=20
position on several issues, especially those pertaining to "national=20
security". Those words are advisedly put in quotes as they carry=20
different meanings for different people.

The first question that needs to be asked is how can a Government=20
hold a man in jail for seven months on trumped up charges under the=20
Official Secrets Act, disregard a report by the Military Intelligence=20
confirming that the documents he possessed were not secret, and then=20
blatantly withdraw the case without a word of apology? In a=20
one-and-a-half page application, the government merely states,=20
"Looking into the evidence on record and the circumstances, we are=20
withdrawing the case in public interest". What circumstances? That=20
the Government was shown up by its Military Intelligence? What=20
evidence? Did it take seven months to establish what would have been=20
known on Day One of the case? And what "public interest"? Whose=20
interest was served by jailing Mr. Gilani? And who will compensate=20
him for the loss of seven months of his life and livelihood? Who will=20
compensate his young children and his wife for the pain and anguish=20
caused by his unnecessary incarceration?

When asked whether the Government would at least apologise to Mr.=20
Gilani, the Minister of State for Home, I. D. Swami, countered,=20
"Withdrawal only means there is not enough evidence to prosecute him.=20
It does not mean innocence or guilt." This is truly an astonishing=20
statement against the background of what has happened in these seven=20
months.

Of course, if we question the Government's motives, especially on=20
issues that involve "national security", we are termed=20
"anti-national". But as journalists in particular, and as citizens of=20
a country that constantly boasts about being the world's largest=20
democracy, we must question the Government, its motives and its=20
actions. And we must continue to demand that an outdated law like the=20
Official Secrets Act is either scrapped, or thoroughly revised. In=20
its present form, it allows the Government unfettered power to hide=20
information that ought to be in the public domain and move against=20
individuals it finds inconvenient.

What happened to Mr. Gilani is not necessarily an aberration although=20
his release might deter the Government for a while from using the=20
same tactic to detain a journalist. It is not outside the realm of=20
the possible to envisage a time when the Government's=20
representatives, under any excuse, raid the offices of a newspaper,=20
inspect the computers, and find supposedly incriminating documents on=20
them. Many journalists rely on the Internet for information. We are=20
constantly downloading all manner of documents, printing them or=20
saving them for future reference. Once the state has decided you are=20
"anti-national", every document you possess takes on a different hue.=20
You do not have to be a Kashmiri or a Muslim to worry. Anyone who=20
dissents from the dominant order today is under threat. If you have=20
inconvenient politics, or inconvenient relatives, you better be alert.

Cooking up evidence is, of course, not unique to India. Many=20
democracies resort to unsavoury methods to control dissidence, not=20
least "the land of the brave and the home of the free", the United=20
States. But fortunately, as in India, there still exist certain=20
self-correcting mechanisms, like the judiciary, or honest people=20
within government who bring out the truth.

In this context, recent developments in Italy are of particular=20
interest. In 2001, when anti-globalisation protestors gathered in the=20
city of Genoa, Italy, where the G-8 meeting was being held, over=20
20,000 police and armed personnel were mobilised to manage the=20
100,000 protestors. A virtual "ring of steel" was formed around the=20
city. Train stations and airports were closed and all roads leading=20
into the city were watched. Despite this, thousands of=20
anti-globalisation protestors managed to come into the city and=20
demonstrated their opposition to the issues being discussed by the=20
heads of state of the G-8 nations. Everything went off peacefully=20
until, in a confrontation with the police, a young man was killed.=20
The police shot him in the head. The 21-year-old, Carlo Giuliani,=20
became the first martyr of the movement. That same night, police=20
stormed a school where mostly Italian activists participating in the=20
Genoa Social Forum were sleeping. They ruthlessly beat up the=20
startled men and women, accused them of hoarding weapons, and=20
arrested 93 people of whom 72 were severely injured. Many of them had=20
to be carried out on stretchers.

The universal outrage at this incident led to a parliamentary=20
inquiry. Last week, the Italian police admitted that they had=20
fabricated evidence against the protestors. A senior Genoa police=20
officer, Pietro Troijani, admitted that two petrol bombs were planted=20
in the school where the Genoa Social Forum activists were living.=20
This was used as the excuse to storm the school on July 22. Now that=20
these facts have come out, three police chiefs have been transferred=20
and charges against 77 policemen for brutality are being investigated.

The inquiry also revealed that a senior police officer had faked a=20
stabbing of a policeman in order to frame the protestors. Mr.=20
Troijani now admits that planting the bombs was a "silly" mistake.=20
But the repercussions for that mistake were borne by blameless men=20
and women who were exercising their right to protest peacefully.=20
Although all those arrested from amongst the protestors were=20
eventually released, who will compensate them for the injury and=20
trauma caused by police brutality?

Our Government's representatives have not acknowledged that they made=20
a "silly" mistake in the case of Mr. Gilani. But the Government's=20
callousness towards Mr. Gilani will have far wider repercussions.=20
For, many people will have noted that even as the Government at the=20
Centre shows such diligence in rounding up ostensibly "anti-national"=20
elements, it seems oblivious to the fact that people against whom=20
there are clear-cut cases of loot, murder, rioting are being let off.=20
In Gujarat, almost every one of those charged for the carnage that=20
followed the Godhra train fire is now free. At least one of these=20
people, identified by scores of people as being part of the mob that=20
attacked people in Naroda Patiya, has been elected to the Gujarat=20
Assembly.

Also, the Gilani episode is a definite setback to efforts to work=20
towards peace in Jammu and Kashmir for it reinforces the deeply held=20
suspicions of many ordinary Kashmiris about the Central Government=20
and its motives. A Kashmiri school-teacher and activist at the Asian=20
Social Forum at Hyderabad earlier this month asked me, "Why, when we=20
have finally elected a government under reasonably free=20
circumstances, does the Delhi Government not allow it to govern?" She=20
was referring to the continuous challenges to the Jammu and Kashmir=20
Government's authority, and the questioning of its motives, by the=20
Central Government.

And finally, the Government has shot itself in the foot by its=20
handling of the Gilani case. It could not have done more to undercut=20
its own credibility. Tomorrow, if people express scepticism when=20
someone else is picked up and charged for being "anti-national", the=20
Government has only itself to blame.

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

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