[sacw] SACW | 26 March 03
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex@mnet.fr
Wed, 26 Mar 2003 02:51:45 +0100
South Asia Citizens Wire | 26 March, 2003
#1. Pakistan's mullahs thrive on anti-war fever (M B Naqvi)
#2. In Memory of Alys Faiz:
- Tribute to Alys Faiz - She crafted the future (I. A. Rehman)
- Alys Faiz (Arif Azad)
#3. Calls for release of Pakistan rights activist
#4. [Editorial on the Nandimarg Massacre in Kashmir] Shame! (Bashir Manzar)
#5. Christian Groups Condemn Massacre of Kashmiri Pandits
#6. New Delhi Protest by Aman Ekta Manch on Nandimarg Massacre in Kashmir
#7. India: Group of Concerned Citizens condemns the heinous killing
of Kashmiri Pandits
#8. India/Kashmir: Safeguard the lives of civilians (Amnesty International)
#9. [Iraq: Anti war protests continue in India]
#10. Screening(s): Suma Josson's film Gujarat: A Laboratory of Hindu
Rashtra (26 and 29 March)
#11. Riddles of Hindutva (Ram Puniyani)
#12. India: Hindutva At Work:
- Saffronised textbooks history now
- Swadeshis give BJP a discourse on economy
- BJP's saffron raths roll out in Assam
--------------
#1.
Asia Times
March 25, 2003
COMMENTARY
Pakistan's mullahs thrive on anti-war fever
By M B Naqvi
KARACHI - The burnings of United States flags and effigies of US
President George W Bush have now become de rigueur for frequent
demonstrations and rallies organized by the religious parties in
Pakistan against the war on Iraq.
Indeed, against this backdrop, the religious right in the country is
positioning itself even closer to power.
The loudest critics of US policy on Iraq are the religious parties
that have united in the Muttaheda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), which
comprises a third of the national parliament and wholly controls the
North West Frontier Province (NWFP), has a dominant share in
Balochistan province adjoining Afghanistan and is present in Punjab
and Sindh provinces.
The MMA call for general strike last Friday which led to widespread
shutdowns throughout the country. It was a success in NWFP and
Balochistan provinces, but was only sporadic in Punjab and Sindh.
Religious parties and groups are cashing in on a widespread
pan-Islamic sentiment, a characteristic of South Asian Muslims. They
see the war on Iraq in black and white, as a clash of religions:
Christian America and West - forget the actual facts - against a
Muslim country, Iraq.
More pan-Islamic propaganda by mullahs has acquired a lot of paranoia
and some xenophobia against the West. It curiously ignores "old
Europe's" opposition to America's war and the worldwide
demonstrations by millions of people of all religions or none.
Naimatullah Khan, a prominent MMA leader of Karachi who is also
city's mayor, enjoys the reputation of being moderate and
level-headed. He observed, "This war has no justification; it is
against the UN charter and indeed will deal a blow to both UN and
international law."
Astute politician that he is, he did not bring in the religious bit
at all, realizing that he was speaking to an international audience.
The MMA is exploiting the religious sentiments of Pakistani Muslims
to gain power. This power drive by the mullahs has posed the secular
elements in the country - an influential minority - a dilemma. They,
too, object to the war on political and legal grounds, but their
demonstrations are smaller. The majority among the West-oriented
politicians is secular, but their shibboleths are taken from the
mullahs.
Those who lead big, right-wing parties court the United States for
support. But their politics, god and country, is heavily garnished
with vacuous Islamic rhetoric. They have ended up strengthening the
mullahs far more than themselves.
In short, the MMA is having the best of both worlds: On one side, it
is cashing in on the widespread anti-US feelings, stealing
anti-imperialist slogans from the left and, on the other, is
bargaining with the generals. The generals are still the only people
who matter in giving a share in power. But they dread the US reaction.
The generals, the silent puppeteers behind the show of the
technically democratic government of Prime Minister Zafarullah
Jamali, and their chief, President General Pervez Musharraf, are at
sea regarding what policy to adopt toward the US and the Iraq war
they silently support.
Government views are carried by the media. But the generals are
falling between two stools of reflecting popular feelings, with
genuflections toward the MMA, and the need to remain on the right
side of the US, on whose support they depend. In the event, neither
objective is achieved, the US takes a dim view of what Islamabad is
doing.
Mainstream right-wing parties stand crippled by the generals, except
for the turncoat toadies who once belonged to the then Pakistan
Muslim League of former Premier Nawaz Sharif, and are now the ruling
party as the PML (Quaid-i-Azam).
They are dwarfed under the shadow of Musharraf and are not taken
seriously. Their many efforts to woo the MMA to join the government
have produced no result. The mullahs are aiming higher and treat the
ruling party with contempt. The US, too, remains wary.
The other mainstream party that polled more votes than it got seats
in last year's polls, the Pakistan Peoples Party of ex-prime minister
Benazir Bhutto, is keeping aloof from all anti-US demonstrations,
keeping a low profile. It is afraid of annoying the US.
Sharif's PML is also in the dumps with fewer seats in parliament,
thanks to the peculiar results in the October 2002 election. Its
rhetoric is borrowed mostly from MMA and does not really count today.
The left is only a dim memory from decades ago. Its atomized remnants
are found in many non-government organizations. Their old allies, the
regional nationalist parties, were never left-wing in texture, are
marked by factionalism, and fast becoming inconsequential.
Balochistan continues to live in the Middle Ages and is represented
by mullahs and the rich tribal chiefs or sardars. Only one regional
nationalist party counts electorally because it emerged the second
largest party in the last polls the Muttahida Quami Movement of Altaf
Hussain.
But ethnic Sindhi groups regard MQM's nationalist credentials with
suspicion because of accusations of its fascist tendencies. It is the
backbone of Sindh's provincial government as the largest party of the
ruling coalition. It has a deserved reputation of being pro-US.
But one of its leaders, ex-senator Nasreen Jalil, repeated a populist
line on Iraq and emphasized the humanitarian factor. "Too many Iraqi
lives are going to be needlessly lost. There is no real justification
for it. Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, clearly questionable,
would not be unique; so many others, especially Israel, have them.
Would the US fight against them all?"
Asked about the war, Hamza Alvi, a leftist intellectual,
disassociated himself from all that nonsense about a "clash of
civilizations" or of religions. He said, "'The US is set on a course
of enforcing a new, updated version of imperialism. Bush's immediate
objective may be oil and giving Israel more security.
"But the vision behind the current American quest covers most of
Asia, aiming at the encirclement of China and putting Russia in its
proper place. It has all but secured South Asia and is well on its
way to dominate Central Asia," he added. "Their nemesis - popular
reactions and struggles - may seem far away. But they might not be
all that far away either, including the many fooled Americans," Alvi
said.
(Inter Press Service)
_____
#2.
[Posted below are 2 articles from 'In Memory of Alys Faiz' A South
Citizens Wire Special compilation. All Interested in obtaining a
copy of the complete version should send a request to
aiindex@mnet.fr>]
o o o
The News on Sunday / The News International
23 March 2003
tribute
She crafted the future
The world was rattled by the noise made by the victors in the Second
World War about a new war -- this against an erstwhile ally -- and
Alys clutched the banner of peace, that was never lowered as long as
she could walk
By I. A. Rehman
Alys Faiz, who recently withdrew herself from the earthly scene at
the age of 88, was a woman of many parts. She played the
none-too-easy role of a life partner to a man of genius, guided their
two children towards becoming celebrities, worked as a journalist and
as a teacher for many years, wrote and spoke on humankind's joys and
sorrows, fought for the rights of the under-privileged, and never
looked back -- certainly not with any regret. It is difficult to
decide which of these roles revealed her at her best. Perhaps all
these roles were fashioned by her quest for a happier future. She
devoted herself to the crafting of such a future.
Adjectives that are often used in obituaries to describe the life and
work of a dear departed, such as 'great', 'outstanding', 'noble', are
not needed, nor are they adequate, while paying a tribute to Alys
=46aiz. She acquired eminence without labouring for distinction and
chose to derive pleasure from doing what she had to do without
carrying for the value anybody was going to put on it.
What was it that persuaded Alys at a very young age to join the fight
for South Asian people's freedom at a time when young men and women
of England were more keen to benefit from service of the colonial
administration? True, the First World War had radicalized the
European youth and they began exerting for their ideals in different
parts of the world. But there had to be something within one's self
to persuade one to devote one's whole life to the building of a
better future for the fellow human beings. Alys had been blessed by
this spark of light and she never allowed it to go off.
She came into the South Asian family at a time when fascism was
rapidly advancing to capture the world and threatening to sniff out
the socialist experiment. But every anti-fascist did not try to
understand the colonised people's dreams or to stand by their side.
Alys did that and more -- she fell in love with them. While remaining
very English all along she obliterated all the distinctions that
separated her first from the Indians and then from the Pakistanis.
These were in fact only two different appellations for peoples whose
tomorrows were linked with those of the rest of humanity.
In the early years of Pakistan one saw her in the small brigade of
fighters for civil liberties and she was one of the few who
understood what the shouting was about. The defence of these rights
was to become a passion for life. The world was soon rattled by the
noise made by the victors in the Second World War about a new war --
this against an erstwhile ally -- and Alys clutched the banner of
peace, that was neverlowered as long as she could walk.
During the first half of the 1950s she faced challenges severe enough
to break any ordinary will. The way she faced the shower of calumny
and stood at her post at home and outside it and carved dignity out
of deprivation and suffering opened many eyes that had been slow to
recognise her mettle.
She was allowed a modest assignment at The Pakistan Times and along
with it a great deal of drudgery and she used this opportunity to add
to the newspaper's credit. That was also the beginning of the
discovery that life is not made entirely by the fulminations of the
rich and the powerful, it also receives its colour and dynamism from
the strivings and aspirations of the poor and the young.
While Faiz Ahmad Faiz was in prison, made to pay for something that
was nowhere mentioned in the tale, Alys was the moving symbol of
defiance. The best reply from Faiz and her would be, she decided, to
launch 'Dast-i-Saba', and show the world the joy of creativity.
However, she had to wait for many years before her talent for
journalism found a fuller expression. When she joined the Viewpoint
in the 1980s she had little difficulty in creating a niche for
herself and defining her outlook as a member of a journalist team.
People whose mother tongue is English often suffer heart-aches while
working with the subcontinental consumers of this language. Alys had
her share but did not allow this to affect her responsibility or
friendships.
During the break from journalism, Alys had opportunities to join
women's forums abroad and share the Palestinians' struggle for their
identity and their homeland. Of course, the ground for her joining
this front was paved by Faiz's entry in it, but Alys read the script
by herself and put her personal stamp on what she stood for.
=46aiz's death in 1984 was a deadly loss and it seemed insurmountable,
particularly as she counted the days spent without him. But she found
strength in sharing the deprivation of the disadvantaged. When she
came to work at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan it seemed she
had taken up a job she had been doing since her days of youth. She
could feel the pain of women ravaged and the anguish of people jailed
without cause and there was no question of abandoning the ranks of
the people fighting for their sovereign rights. Even when physical
disability had obliged her to remain confined to bed, the will to
speak out when this was needed did not disappear. And whenever there
was occasion to recall the past years of struggle, the triumphs and
setbacks, her eyes would light up as if she was again relishing the
joy of struggle, because struggle was all that mattered.
What does commitment to civil rights, peace, freedom and human rights
mean? One must go on building a future that guarantees freedom and
happiness for all people, she would often observe. As for herself she
never gave up and perhaps she did not fail to transmit to the young
girls and boys of Pakistan the spark of hope that had illuminated her
path decades ago.
o o o
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday March 25, 2003
Alys Faiz
Arif Azad
The journalist Alys Faiz, who has died aged 87, was one of the last
surviving members of a diminishing band of internationally minded
campaigners who fought for the anti-colonial cause in prewar London, and
later exercised considerable influence on the human rights agenda in the
newly emerging states of the Indian sub-continent.
Born in London, the daughter of a bookseller, she went to school in Leyton,
Essex, and joined the Communist party as a teenager. With her sister
Christobel, she became close to a group of London-based Indian
intellectuals, and joined the Free India League. She worked as the unpaid
secretary to Krishna Menon, the league secretary, who became a leading
diplomat and politician in Jawaharlal Nehru's government after Indian
independence in 1947.
In 1938, Alys went to India herself to visit Christobel, who had married a
well-known educationist and writer, MD Tasser. There, she fell in with a
group of radical writers and political activists, including her future
husband, the Urdu poet and Lenin peace prizewinner Faiz Ahmed Faiz. They
were married in 1941.
After the partition of the sub-continent, Alys adopted Pakistan as her
homeland, and helped resettle the mass of refugees generated by the transfer
of Hindus and Muslims across the new borders. In 1951, Faiz Ahmed Faiz was
imprisoned for his alleged role in what became known as the "Rawalpindi
conspiracy" to overthrow the government of Pakistan; he was, in part, the
inspiration for the character of the poet Nadir Khan, in Salman Rushdie's
Midnight's Children.
Alys bore this difficult period with dignity. She joined the staff of the
country's leading English-language daily, the Pakistan Times, editing its
women's and children's pages with flair. Her regular column, Appa Jan (or
"elder sister"), inspired a generation of young women into writing and human
rights activism. The touching letters she wrote to her imprisoned husband,
collected into Dear Heart (1986), are a testimony to her courage.
After her husband's release in 1955, the family moved to London, but Faiz
Ahmed Faiz could not endure exile and, a year later, they returned to
Pakistan, settling in Karachi. In 1971, when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formed
Pakistan's first democratically elected government, Alys moved to Islamabad,
where her husband became cultural adviser to the new administration. From
1973, Alys herself worked with the United Nations children's fund (Unicef).
In the wake of General Zia ul-haq's military coup against Bhutto in 1977,
Alys followed Faiz into exile in Beirut, from where she wrote regular
dispatches to the radical weekly Pakistan paper Viewpoint; these were later
collected into the anthology Over My Shoulder (1991).
After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1983 forced the Faizs to return to
Pakistan, Alys wrote regularly for Viewpoint, mostly on human rights and
social justice issues. She became a familiar figure on the political and
cultural landscape of Lahore.
=46ollowing her husband's death in 1984, Alys continued to write for Viewpoi=
nt
until it folded in 1992, after which she produced a regular column for She
magazine. She also collected material for a national centre of folk heritage
and handicrafts, and worked for Unicef in Islamabad, having been closely
engaged with the Pakistan human rights commission since its birth in 1986.
She is survived by her daughters Saleema Hashmi, an artist and former head
of the National College of Arts, and Muneeza Hashmi, a television producer
and former general manager of Pakistan Television.
=B7 Alys Faiz, journalist and human rights campaigner, born September 2 1915=
;
died March 12 2003
_____
#3.
BBC Tuesday, 25 March, 2003
Calls for release of Pakistan rights activist
The HRCP fears the government will become less tolerant of critics
Human rights workers in Pakistan have demanded the release of one of
their leading workers who they say has been detained by government
officials.
Akhtar Baloch, the Sindh province co-ordinator of the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) disappeared in Hyderabad after a
commission meeting on Sunday.
The authorities in Sindh have made no public comment on the case.
Journalists and co-workers have staged protests in Sindh calling for
his release.
Linked to report?
Commission director IA Rehman told the BBC that Pakistan was in
danger of becoming a "Gestapo state" if such disappearances were to
go unchecked.
Mr Rehman said the detention could be linked to a recent commission
report on human rights in Pakistan.
Inquiry call
"It could be one of two things. Either the government wants to send a
message to the HRCP - 'we can do this to you' - or the local
authority in Sindh has developed a grievance because of his work," Mr
Rehman said.
Mr Baloch's work in Sindh includes investigating disappearances and
extra-judicial killings.
Mr Rehman said the government had not tried to interfere with the
work of the commission, but added: "Pakistan is not what it was one
year ago... Now there is more pressure from the opposition and in
this situation the establishment will become less tolerant."
He said the commission had demanded an inquiry by judicial
authorities into the detention but said the HRCP might hold its own
public inquiry if unsatisfied.
Mr Rehman added: "This is not an isolated affair. There are other
cases - such as doctors - who have been detained."
Critical report
=46ormer commission chief Asma Jahangir told the BBC it had been told
"informally" that Mr Baloch was picked up by a government agency and
he would be released soon.
The detention came after a report critical of President Musharraf
The HRCP said it had been "advised" not to use the name of any agency
"irresponsibly".
Last week the HRCP published a report on human rights in Pakistan in 2002.
It said there had been some advances in human rights, such as the
greater representation of women in parliament.
However, it said President Pervez Musharraf had shifted power to the
unelected presidency and a military-dominated National Security
Council in a series of "fundamentally flawed" moves.
The general seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
Pakistan's Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, dismissed the
criticism. He said General Musharraf had stuck to the internationally
agreed timetable for democracy to the day.
The fact that the opposition was attacking the government in full
force, he said, was testimony to Pakistan's functioning democracy.
_____
#4.
Kashmir Images
www.kashmirimages.info
25 Mar 2003
Editorial
Shame!
by Bashir Manzar
The gruesome and barbaric massacre of twenty four hapless Pandits has
once again put a question mark on the very concept of humanity.
People cutting across political thoughts and beliefs have condemned
the act. Once again there are emotional statements from mainstream as
well as separatist politicians. On the day of massacre there was a
mad race among the politicians from different schools of thought to
visit the spot and get themselves clicked beside the dead bodies of
poor and unfortunate victims. They got themselves clicked and managed
to get those pictures published in newspapers and telecast on
television channels, and that is all. This has been happening and
this will continue to happen in future as for politicians it is part
of the game. Conflict economy is on what the politicians here thrive.
They are mere shopkeepers and the cheapest commodity available on
their political shops is human life and blood. The more blood split,
the more money, fame it gets for them. It is the human tragedy that
keeps them relevant and, therefore, they issue statements for a day
or too, order probes, suspend some cops, call strikes and after a few
days forget, no matter how gruesome the tragedy would have been and
start praying for something more dastardly to occur so that they get
more media coverage, more money and more fame.
People describe the act as inhuman. Is it so? No, calling the killers
as inhumans is insulting the species. Inhumans never do this, only
humans do. History bears witness, humans have been massacring humans,
burning them alive, burying them alive. Human life has become the
cheapest thing available and none other than the humans are
responsible for it. Dogs never eat dogs, only humans have that
distinction. Those who massacred twenty four humans are very much
humans - part of human civilisation. Civilisation - what humans are
proud of is in fact barbarism. Humans have been doing this and they
will continue to do this and in a bid to maintain the fiasco that
they are Ashraf-ul-Makhlookat (superior creation) they will try to
camouflage things by describing these acts as inhuman, insulting the
species that can not even dream of falling as low as humans fall.
Why these hapless Pandits were done to death? Who were the shameless
people who massacred them? These and much more question will continue
to haunt those who are yet to abandon their sanity. Kashmir polity is
full of questions and questions alone. Not that there are no answers
to all these questions but there is no will to answer. Mysteries are
what help politicians to rule the roost. Keep everything shrouded in
mystery and add to the confusion of an already confused lot. From
Moulana Farooq's murder to Qazi Nissar's, from Chittisinghpora
massacre to Nadimarg, there are only questions - not difficult to
answer. Politicians don't want to make the answers public as that may
devastate their conflict entrepreneurship. And as for as common
people are concerned it is the vested interest coupled with fear and
scare that has sealed their lips. Unless they gather the courage to
unlock their lips nothing is going to change. Humans would continue
to die at the hands of unidentified persons who in most of the cases
are well identified but the identity is being concealed for different
reasons. Politicians will always try to save their skin - mainstream
accusing separatists and vice versa but those who are dying are
ordinary Kashmiris and only they, not the government or the
separatists, can save themselves if they gather courage to call a
spade a spade.
_____
#5.
ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL
Regd. Office: 8-2-601/B/17 Bhanu Society Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
500034 Andhra Pradesh, India
President: Dr Joseph D=92 Souza Secretary General: Dr. John Dayal
Please correspond with Secretary General at:
Phone (91 11) 22722262 Mobile 09811021072
Email: <mailto:johndayal@vsnl.com>johndayal@vsnl.com
Christian Groups Condemn Massacre of Kashmiri Pandits
JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
NEW DELHI, March 25, 2003
The Christian Community has reacted with shock and concern over the
massacre of 22 innocent Kashmiri Pandit men, women and children by
terrorists in the Valley.
Major Christian organisations and activists issued a joint statement
today expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri Pandit community in
their hour of grief, and demanded swift action against the
perpetrators of the heinous crime which was meant to intimidate the
Pandits and sabotage the peace process in the State.
The joint statement was issued by All India Catholic Union president
Dr Maria E Menezes, All India Christian Council president Dr Joseph D
Souza, Dr John Dayal, Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Justice and Peace
Commission coordinator Sr. Mary Scaria, New Delhi YMCA president
Elwin Nathaniel and general secretary Philip Jadhav, and pioneering
children=92s right activist Joseph Gathia.
=93We are deeply disturbed and anguished at the brutal slaying of
innocent people, including children, in this act of war against
humanity. The targeting of any particular community in democratic,
plural and secular India =96 whether it is of Pandits in Kashmir,
Muslims and Christians in Gujarat, or Dalits elsewhere =96 is specially
heinous as it is meant to terrorise an entire people and hold them
hostage to narrow sectarian or political ends.
It has been Kashmir=92s tragedy that in the last decade or so, it has
seen many such occurrences, including repeated attacks on the
Pandits, and on Sikhs. Every time there is a movement forward
towards peace, it is halted and reversed by such a bloody interlude.
The international community also cannot shirk its responsibility in
the cross=96border origins of such terrorism. The Central and State
governments must been seen to be acting to bring the culprits to boom
and to prevent a recurrence of such crime.
It is gratifying and a wholesome portent that the entire Muslim
community of the Kashmir valley, itself victim of terrorism, and the
country has categorically denounced this violence and has made common
cause with the Pandits. The solidarity of all communities will give
the nation strength to emerge from such trials.
------------
Released to the Media for Publication by Dr John Dayal
_____
#6.
Date: 25 Mar 2003 06:32:21 -0000
URGENT PROTEST BY AMAN EKTA MANCH
TO PROTEST THE KILLINGS OF KASHMIRI PANDITS ON 23.03.2003 IN VILLAGE
NANDIMARG OF PULWAMA DISTRICT IN SOUTH KASHMIR, WE ARE ORGANISING A
DHARNA AT JANTAR MANTAR FOR AN HOUR TODAY, 25TH MARCH 2003 FROM 4:30
PM TO 5:30 PM. [New Delhj]
PLEASE COME WITH BANNERS AND PLACARDS. IF ANYONE OF YOU HAVE CONTACTS
IN THE MEDIA, PLEASE MOBILISE.
_____
#7.
Group of Concerned Citizens
GCC condemns the heinous killing of Kashmiri Pandits
New Delhi, 24 March, 2003: We a group of concerned citizens
condemn the heinous killing yesterday of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in
village Nandimarg of Pulwama district in South Kashmir. This
monstrous act against innocent people reflects the depraved nature of
the killers who are bent upon derailing efforts of the sane elements
of society who are trying to bring Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri
Muslims together. What has been done in Kashmir is a dastardly act
meant to create fear psychosis among ordinary peace loving people of
both Hindu and Muslim communities. As citizens we share the heart
wrenching grief of the families who are left to mourn the dead. No
sane individual or group could have plunged the valley into this
massive blood bath. Only the most sinister minds could have conceived
and executed this dastardly crime. This insanity in which the
criminal elements have gripped the entire world finds its ghastly
manifestation in events such as this. It must stop and stop at once.
We demand:
Immediate and urgent action to catch the criminals responsible
Undertaking from the Central and State Administrations that no
untoward incident will be permitted to take place as a reaction.
Protection of minorities.
Relief and rehabilitation of the families of the victims to be
immediately given
Yours Truly
Syeda Saiyidain Hameed
For Group of Concerned Citizens
Kuldip Nayar, Nirmala Deshpande, Dr. Syeda Hameed, Dr. Prakash
Louis, Saiyid Hamid, Moosa Raza, Syed Shahabuddin, Prof. Mushirul
Hasan, Sumit Chakravorty, Prof Azizuddin Husain, Prof Rizwan Qaisar,
Prof Manoranjan Mohanty, Kamla Bhasin, Sushobha Barve, Dr. Monisha
Behal, Harsh Mander, Ahmad Raza Khan, M.Sajjad, Neshat Qaisar, Prof
M.H.Qureshi, Prof Asaduddin, Lt General Moti Dhar (retd), Navaid
Hamid, Admiral Ramdas (retd), Fatima Talib, V.K Tripathi.
______
#8.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: ASA 20/013/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 65
24 March 2003
India/Kashmir: Safeguard the lives of civilians
Amnesty International today condemned the unlawful killing by
unidentified gunmen of 24 civilians in Nadimarg village in the Indian
state of Jammu and Kashmir. The dead included 11 women and two
children and were all members of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
According to reports, around midnight on 23 March, approximate 15 men
wearing army fatigues and carrying automatic weapons disarmed police
officers at a nearby police station before ordering villagers out of
their homes. When the villagers where gathered outside, the armed men
fired on them indiscriminately killing 24 people before escaping into
nearby forest. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the
killings. This comes in the wake of the Government of Jammu and
Kashmir's calling on the Pandit community to return to the Kashmir
Valley after a decade and its attempts to restore the rule of law
across the state.
"All sides must safeguard the lives of civilians in Jammu and
Kashmir," Amnesty International said.
"International humanitarian law prohibits deliberate attacks on
civilians and those not taking direct part in hostilities. It is as
yet unclear who is responsible, but we wholeheartedly condemn this
attack."
"The killing of innocent civilians should never be used to score a
political point or undermine a political process," the international
human rights organization continued.
Amnesty International urged the authorities to take measures to
prevent further abuses against civilians and to ensure that the
killings in Nadimarg are comprehensively and transparently
investigated with a view to identifying the perpetrators and holding
them to account.
"In the past, all too often the unlawful killing of civilians were
left uninvestigated and those responsible remain punished," Amnesty
International said.
As an example, the organization referred to the massacre at
Chitthisinghpora in which 36 Sikh civilians were deliberately killed
in March 2000, which has still not been subjected to scrutiny.
Background
An early consequence of the rise of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir
was the migration of large numbers of the Hindu Pandit community from
the Kashmir Valley. The Pandits were regarded by some as having
strong links to the rest of India because they were Hindu and because
they held a large percentage of government posts. Sections of the
press called for the community to leave the Valley and anti-Pandit
demonstrations took place in Srinagar. Several prominent members of
the Pandit community, such as leading academics, were allegedly
killed by militants.
In 1991 about 150,000 Kashmiri Pandits migrated from the Kashmir
Valley. Those who were wealthy or had relatives in New Delhi moved
there while the rest were relocated in camps around Jammu and New
Delhi. A decade later, thousands of the migrants still live in camps
around Jammu. According to government figures in April 2001, about
32,000 Kashmiri migrant families have been registered with relief
organizations.
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web:
http://www.amnesty.org
_____
#9. [Iraq: Anti war protests continue in India]
The Times of India, March 26, 2003
THIRU'PURAM
Jesudas to lead anti-war musical campaign
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=3D41=
381928
The Times Of India, March 26, 2003
BANGALORE
Artists join brushes against war
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=3D41=
403869
_____
#10.
South Asia Forum, Johns Hopkins University
Association for India's Development
Policy Institute for Religion and State
invite you to a film screening on the aftermath of the Gujarat Violence
This film is set in the post-Godhra violence which engulfed Gujarat
from March 2002. It examines the extent to which the ideologies of
communal hatred have gained ground amongst ordinary Gujaratis. Q&A
with the Director, Suma Josson, will follow the 45 minute film.
Time: 7:30 - 9:30pm, Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Place: Rome Auditorium, School of Advanced
International Studies 1619 Massachusetts Avenue,
Washington DC (DuPont South
Metro)
Contact: Surabhi Shah surabhi_shah@bellsouth.net,
Zahir Janmohamed zahir@hotmail.com, Bindi Patel patel_bindi@hotmail.com
o o o
The screening of the film, "Gujarat: A Laboratory of
Hindu Rashtra" will be from 2-4 pm on Sat March 29 at
304 Barnard Hall, Barnard College, New York.
_____
#11.
Milli Gazette, 16-30 March
Riddles of Hindutva
by Ram Puniyani
In the aftermath of Gujarat elections, where it is presumed that Hindutva
has 'succeeded' and brought dividends for the BJP, aggressive Hidnutva of
Modi variety is being recommended as the prescription for success of BJP
and as a route for the Hindu Rashtra. Pursuing this aggressive Hindutva
Mr. Katiyar has been going hammer and tongs spreading Anti-Muslim
sentiments. And to buttress his venom he has been using the selective
quotations from Ambedkar's writings showing him as Anti Muslim. One can
safely say that Ambedkar was giant of an intellectual with prolific
contribution on different aspects on Indian politics. His writings and
speeches spread over 16 volumes cover practically all the aspects of
social and political problems faced by India. He wrote with depth and went
to the root of the problems.
What are being misused are the selective quotes from his books on
Partition. A complete reading of the book reveals that he studied the
problem in its multiple dimensions and in his summary he went on to say
two major things. "Strange as it may appear Mr. Savarkar and Mr. Jinnah
instead of being opposed to each other on the one nation versus two
nations issue are in complete agreement about it. Both agree, not only
agree but insist that there are two nations in India- one the Muslim
nation and the other the Hindu nation." he continues, "They differ only as
regards the terms and conditions on which the two nations should be.
Jinnah says India should be cut up into two, Pakistan and Hindustan, the
Muslim nation to occupy Pakistan and the Hindu nation to occupy Hindustan.
Mr. Savarkar on the other hand insists that, although there are two
nations in India, India shall not be divided into two parts, one for the
Muslims and the other for Hindus; that the two nations shall dwell in one
country and shall live under the mantle of one single constitution: that
the constitution shall be such that the Hindu nation will be enabled to
occupy a predominant position that is due to it and the Muslim nation to
made to live in the position of subordinate co-operation with the Hindu
nation." (Thoughts on Pakistan, Third section, chapter VII)
He was for composite Indian Nationalism, "Is it not a fact that under the
Montague Chelmsford reforms in most provinces, if not in all, the Muslims,
the non-Brahmins and Depressed Classes united together and worked for the
reforms as members of one team from 1920 to 1937? Herein lay the most
fruitful method of achieving communal harmony among Hindus and Muslims and
of destroying the danger of Hindu Raj. Mr. Jinnah could have easily
pursued this line. Nor was it difficult for Mr. Jinnah to succeed in it."
(Thoughts on Pakistan, P. 359)
Rather than being anti Muslim, he tried to project that both these Hindu
and Muslim Nationalism are not the democratic Nationalism. While Chairing
the drafting committee of Indian constitution he picked up the principles,
which were totally opposed to the ideologies of communal Nationalism. In
addition he was concerned about safeguards for minorities and Dalits both.
What was the life and mission of Dr. Ambedkar. Is it that Katiyar and
company has suddenly been inspired by the ideology of Ambedkar? Today it
has become extremely important to understand this again as in Ambedkars
name a politics totally opposed to his values is being brought in. He was
the one to suffer and realize the vagaries of caste system, the
inalienable part of Brahminical Hinduism. His attempts for social justice
in the form of Chvadar talab (right to access public drinking water),
Kalaram Mandir (right to be treated as equals in places of worship) and
Manusmriti (symbol of caste and gender hierarchy) burning are major landmark=
s
in the history of Dalit liberation. While he went on to burn the Manusmriti,
the founders of Hindutva ideology have deep reverence for Manusmriti. Dr.
Ambedkar campaigned for social reforms all through his life. He could also
see that in Hinduism the prevalent notions are those of Brahminical stream
only. In his book Riddles of Hinduism published by Education Department,
Govt. of Maharashtra in 1987 he elaborates his understanding about
Hinduism i.e. its Brahminical version, "The book is an exposition of the
beliefs propounded by what might be called Brahminic theology ... I want
to make people aware that Hindu religion is not Sanatan (eternal)...the
second purpose of the book is to draw the attention of Hindu masses to the
devices of Brahmins and make them think for themselves how they have been
deceived and misguided by Brahmins" (Introduction).
He goes on to affirm, "Now the Brahmins have left no room for doubt for
they have propounded a most mischievous dogma which the Brahmins have
spread amongst the masses, is the dogma of infallibility of Vedas. If
Hindu intellect has ceased to grow and if the Hindu civilization and
culture has become stagnant and stinking pool, this dogma must be
destroyed root and branch if India is to progress. The Vedas are a
worthless set of books. There is no reason either to call them sacred or
infallible. The Brahmins have invested it with sanctity and infallibility
only because by a later interpolation of what is called Purusha-Sukta, the
Vedas have made them the Lords of the earth."
Today the Hindutva is claiming to be form of cultural nationalism. In its
construction of Culture, Vedas, Acharyas and Ram have a central place.
Veda's importance is unquestionable for Hindutva as it upholds inequality
of caste and gender at deeper level. And Brahimical values do form the
base of Hindutva. Though it is said that we do not believe in caste
system, the caste hierarchy is ingrained in all the ideological
projections and symbolisms of Hindutva politics. It is the same Brahminism
dominated Hinduism about which Dr. Ambedkar went on to say that "I was
born a Hindu that was not in my hands but I will not die a Hindu." And
that's how his quest began for search of another religion, which can give
social justice to Dalits, and thats how he converted to Buddhism with his
followers in 1956. And that's what many a dalits realize at the cost of
their lives. In Jajjhar again many a dalits converted to Buddhism after
five of them were killed for skinning the dead cow, another symbol of
assertive Brahminism and Hindutva today.
It is not for nothing that the journey to the Hindu Rashtra has been
signalled with the agitation for Ram Temple. This movement revolved around
primacy of Ram as symbol of Indian (Hindu is synonymous for Indian, in
Hindutva ideology) identity. Ram is also the major symbol of Cultural
Nationalism. Let's see what Ambedkar has to say about Lord Ram, "The life
of Sita simply did not count. What counted was his own personal name and
fame. He of course does not take the manly course of stopping this gossip,
which as a king he could do and which as husband who was convinced of his
wifes innocence he was bound to it." And further, "For 12 years the boys
lived in forest in Ashram of Valmiki not far from Ayodhya where Rama
continued to rule. Never once in those 12 years this model Husband and
living father cared to inquire what has happened to Sita whether she was
alive or dead, ...Sita preferred to die rather than return to Ram who had
behaved no better than a brute." The signals to the Dalits in Hindutva
cultural Nationalism are more than glaringly obvious as the Lord
demonstrates in his own life, "...he was a Shudra named Shambuk who was
practicing Tapasya with a view to going to heaven in his own earthly
person and without so much as a warning, expostulation or the like
addressed to him, cut off his head..."(From Riddles of Rama and Krishna).
Incidentally the clones of Katiyar in Maharashtra (Shiv Sena) raised hell
when this book of Dr. Ambedkar was due to be published by the Government
of Maharashtra.
Currently the reigning RSS supremo, Mr. K.S. Sudarshan clarified the
relationship between Hindutva and Dr. Ambedkars ideology. On assuming this
highest position in the hierarchy of Hindutva politics, Sudarshan went on
to say that Indian constitution is anti-Hindu, is based on western values
and should be done away with and the one based on Hindu holy books be
brought in. It does not require too much guessing to find out as to which
is that Holy book in which the laws of society are given. So Ambedkar
stands for burning Manusmriti and contributing to making of Indian
constitution while the Hindutva stands for the inverse of this. It is
tragic that the person whose all life and struggles were for throwing away
Hindutva politics is being misquoted to achieve the goals contrary to his
own. It is also tragic that the likes of Katiyar are abusing one the
greatest sons of India while those doing politics in his name
are either quiet on this or are compromising with the Hindutva for the
short-term goals of power.
(Writer works for EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity)
_____
#12.
[HINDUTVA AT WORK]
The Times of India, March 26, 2003
Saffronised textbooks history now
ANUPAMA G.S.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=3D41=
404274
o o o
Business Standard, March 26, 2003
Swadeshis give BJP a discourse on economy
It was a two-day Baudhik (learning session) in Mumbai for BJP
president M Venkaiah Naidu and his three general secretaries-Pramod
Mahajan, Rajnath Singh and Sanjay Joshi -as the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Swadeshi
Jagran Manch (SJM) met to learn more about each other's brand of
economics.
http://www.business-standard.com/today/politics.asp?Menu=3D97
o o o
Deccan Herald, March 26, 2003
BJP's saffron raths roll out in Assam
GUWAHATI: 'Saffron Raths' rolled out in Assam on Tuesday, as the BJP
embarked upon a two-week-long extensive 'awakening campaign' to
mobilise people against cow slaughter and illegal migration from
Bangladesh........
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar26/n1.asp
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (www.mnet.fr/aiindex).
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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