[sacw] SACW | 16 April 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  |  16 April,  2003

#1. April issue of Himal
#2. April 17, Sahmat press meet on Iraq Museum/Library Looting
#3. Indian academic turns down an invitation from the Fogarty 
International Centre of National
Institute of Health, USA to attend a consultation on Trauma in 
Developing World.
#4. Dark Lessons from Iraq: Grave perils of 'pre-emption' (Praful Bidwai)
#5. Ram Puniyani on RSS and the Iraq war
#6. Book review: Roots of Terrorism by Kanti P. Bajpai  (Dilip Simeon)
#7. 'Saffron tide is rising...Govt making inroads for fascism' 
(interview with Khushwant Singh)
#8. By arresting Togadia, the Gehlot government lays down a very 
welcome bottomline (Edit, Indian Express)
#9. BBC Report on the Arrest of VHP's Tagodia
#10. Send Faxes of Congratulation to the Rajasthan Chief Minister for 
Upholding the Law and Reaafirming every Indian's Faith in Democracy + 
draft of model letter  (Sabrang Alert)
#11. Another Draft Model Letter to Send to Rajasthan CM
#12. Neither Hindu Nor Muslim [A song ]by Sahir Ludhianvi * 
(translation Baddrudin R Gowani)
#13. Press Release  - Members European Parliament suggest: 'suspend 
aid to Gujarat'
Netherlands government criticises human rights situation Gujarat 
(India Committee Netherlands)
#14. screening of a documentary about the rise of the Hindutva 
movement in India. (George Washington University, 16 April)
#15. Why This Hunger Strike? (Association of Parents of Disappeared 
Persons [in Kashmir] )


--------------

#1.

In the April Himal:

+ Matters of life and death: The fatal neglect of maternal health in South A=
sia
+ Ballad of the soldier's wife: War and the widow
+ Caste on the couch: Brahminical ideologies and Indian psychological theory
+ A Nepali health care prescription
+ Empire of Cricket

http://www.himalmag.com/2003/april/

_____


#2.

Subject: April 17, Sahmat press meet on Iraq Museum/Library Looting

Dear Friends,
Please join us on thursday afternoon, April 17th at 3
pm, at Sahmat, 8 VP House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
110001.
We are hosting a press conference on the tragic and
criminal destruction of the intellectual and cultural
heritage of Iraq which has taken place last week
during the looting and ransacking of the National
Museum in Baghdad, and the burning and looting of
libraries in Mosul and Baghdad.

Dr Kapila Vatsyayan and Professor MC Joshi, both
formerly of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the
Arts, in New Delhi, amongst the foremost scholars in
India, Professor DN Jha, historian, Delhi University,
and Vivan Sundaram, artist, who exhibited in Baghdad,
will all speak.

The institutions which have been looted were some of
the most famous in the world containing art,
antiquities and manuscripts from the most ancient
urban civilisations in human history.

Please join us to register the voice of protest of
Indian scholars, academics, artists and art historians
against the shocking destruction of a cultural
heritage of all humankind.

______


#3.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 16:51:16 +0530

Dear Friends,
Pasted below is a copy of an Indian academic, Prof. Dinesh Mohan turning
down an invitation from the Fogarty International Centre of National
Institute of Health, USA to attend a consultation on Trauma in Developing
World. Prof. Mohan has said that under the circumstances he is unable to
attend any event organised by an official agency of the USA, especially
where lives of people in the developing world are concerned.
I have his permission to circulate this letter. I request you to share this
letter with friends and colleagues.
Tapan Bose


To,
Dr. Gerald T. Keusch
Director
=46ogarty International Centre
National Institute of Health
Bethesada
Maryland
USA

  Dear Dr. Gerald Keusch:

  Thank you for your invitation to attend the Fogarty International
Center's Injury and Trauma Consultation in the Developing World to be
held at the Stone House on the campus of the National Institutes of
Health in Bethesda, Maryland  . Your invitation says that the broad
topic of trauma and injury with a specific focus on research/training
needs and opportunities in the developing world will be discussed.

I have thought over the invitation very carefully. Carefully, because
one has to think in professional terms with an underpinning of personal
values. At present I just cannot bring myself to attend any event
organised by an official agency of the USA. Especially where lives of
people in the developing world are concerned.

  I am sure you will understand our emotions and feelings.

  Dinesh Mohan

Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety
Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme
Room MS 808, Main Building
Indian Institute of Technology
Hauz Khas
New Delhi 110016

Phone:    (+91 11) 2659 1147
=46AX:      (+91 11) 2685 8703
Home:   (+91 11) 2649 4910
Email:    dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in >

______


#4.

Rediff.com, April 15, 2003

Grave perils of 'pre-emption'
Praful Bidwai

On the Indian government's Iraq policy, the public has long witnessed 
a bizarre drama bordering on the ridiculous. The government could not 
indefinitely ignore the widespread, growing public sentiment against 
the Anglo-American coalition's unjust, illegal and brutal war on 
Iraq. (Numerous polls show that the 85 per cent of people oppose it.)

On April 8, after stalling the unanimous Opposition demand for a 
Parliament resolution on Iraq for two months, the government finally 
agreed to one. But, true to type, it fudged the issue of 'condemning' 
or 'deploring' the invasion; instead, it chose a Hindi word, 'ninda,' 
which falls between the two. However, the Opposition prevailed in 
demanding that the US and the UK withdraw troops and Iraq's 
reconstruction be put under the United Nations' charge.

Yet, on the other hand, government and Sangh Parivar leaders have 
widely departed from public sentiment by implicitly welcoming the war 
on Iraq insofar it gives respectability to the idea of 'pre-emptive' 
or 'preventive' attacks. These leaders are driven by an egregiously 
parochial Pakistan-centred agenda. They would like to claim the Iraq 
war retrospectively vindicates the horribly adventurist position New 
Delhi took for 10 long months vis-a-vis Pakistan following the 
December 2001 attack on Parliament. This confrontation, with one 
million troops eyeball-to-eyeball, brought South Asia to the brink of 
a nuclear catastrophe. There are pressures within the Parivar to 
return to that ultra-militant posture.

The first to take this stand was Pravin Togadia, perhaps India's most 
pathologically communal politician. Next came Atal Bihari Vajpayee 
himself, who after unbecoming vacillation, admitted that India 
couldn't take a truly principled -- hence tougher -- stand on Iraq 
because of the 'Kashmir issue.' And now Foreign Minister Yashwant 
Sinha has made an extraordinarily intemperate statement saying that 
'India has a much better case' for pre-emptive action against 
Pakistan than the US in Iraq. Outlining New Delhi's 'new thinking,' 
Sinha said Pakistan is a fit case for a 'pre-emptive' strike because 
of its weapons of mass destruction and sponsorship of terrorism. He 
elaborately repeated this statement on April 9 in Parliament.

However deplorable Pakistan's support to Kashmir's jihadi militants, 
it is simply unforgivable for Indian leaders to endorse 'pre-emptive' 
or 'preventive' wars. That notion is incompatible with international 
law and the UN Charter. Attacking a state on suspicion that it might 
act against you could create an ugly situation of mayhem the world 
over. In the India-Pakistan context, it spells a nuclear holocaust, 
in which there can be no winners, only losers -- including hundreds 
of thousands of innocent civilians.

To defend the 'pre-emptive' war on Iraq because that temporarily fits 
a hawkish subcontinental agenda is to embrace a deadly doctrine. 
India couldn't have been more unwise or narrow-minded in citing Iraq 
as a 'useful precedent.' If its intention was to please the world's 
sole superpower by showing doctrinal loyalty, it was promptly 
rebuked. Washington reacted: 'Any attempts to draw parallels between 
the Iraq and Kashmir situations are wrong... the US attack on Iraq 
should not be considered a "precedent." ' 'The circumstances that 
made coalition military action necessary in Iraq' (including its 
alleged 'defiance' of the Security Council for 12 years), 'do not 
apply' to South Asia.

Since then, Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has 
spewed venom to counter Sinha's vitriol. He has declared India 'a fit 
case for pre-emptive strikes... because... India possesses 
biological, chemical and other weapons of mass-destruction. It has 
kept these weapons even with some neighbours...' The absence of a 
direct mention of nuclear weapons, which Pakistan too indubitably 
possesses, is glaring. Both states are back trading serious charges 
and ratcheting up mutual hostilities. The trouble is they are both 
partly right -- and dangerously wrong.

Both are misreading the situation in Iraq, assuming that the war is 
over because US forces have made major forays into Baghdad, and 
because the Iraqi State's authority has collapsed in the capital. 
However, the truth may be more complex. There is mayhem and anarchy 
in Baghdad. It's not clear how the fighting will end. The Pentagon 
had hoped that the Saddam Hussein regime would 'collapse at the first 
whiff of gunpowder.' The amazing thing is that the Iraqi resistance 
held out for three weeks -- despite the US' overwhelming military 
superiority, and despite the popular hatred of Hussein's 24 year-long 
despotic rule.

The war could formally end in three ways. First, top Iraqi leaders 
are captured, or they surrender. Second, the Anglo-American forces 
quickly, completely break what is left of the morale of the Iraqi 
forces, leading to the regime's rapid unravelling -- not just in 
Baghdad but all over Iraq. Third, if this doesn't happen, the war 
coalition troops leave the safety of their tanks and armoured 
vehicles protected by the world's best air cover, and occupy Baghdad 
-- its buildings, streets, bunkers, checkpoints, everything.

The first course hasn't yet materialised. There have been too many 
misses. The last course risks inviting serious resistance, prolonged 
urban warfare and high casualties for the invading troops (as well as 
Iraqi citizens, about whom the American and British governments, 
unlike the global public, seem hardly bothered.) The war coalition 
naturally prefers the second course, and is investing political 
inputs into it. Unfortunately, the main input is via promoting the 
Iraqi National Congress's Ahmed Chalabi. US military forces on April 
7 airlifted Chalabi to a location near Nasiriya, along with 500 Iraqi 
exiles, grandiloquently named 'Free Iraqi Forces,' presumably after 
the French liberation during the Nazi occupation.

This violates the solemn promise made by US Deputy Defence Secretary 
Paul Wolfowitz that Washington wouldn't impose a government on Iraq, 
although it plans to 'secure' the entire country over six months or 
so through an interim administration headed by General Jay Garner: 
'The goal is not to install some particular group as the new leaders 
of Iraq. That absolutely contradicts the whole notion of democracy.' 
Wolfowitz says Iraq won't be another Kosovo or East Timor. 'It's not 
a model we want to follow, of a sort of permanent international 
administration...nor a UN administration... run in any way by 
foreigners.' Many Middle East specialists say the six-month period is 
a 'pipe-dream.' Even Wolfowitz concedes the job will 'probably take 
more time.' (Chalabi thinks US forces will probably have to stay in 
Iraq for two years.)

More important, the 'Free Iraqi Forces' creation and insinuation into 
southern Iraq is seen by the US' friends and foes alike as the 
Pentagon's bid to enhance Chalabi's standing as the seed of a new 
government through a forthcoming meeting of anti-Saddam Iraqis in 
Nasiriya. The 'Forces' are trained and guided by US Colonel Ted 
Steel, a Vietnam veteran. State Department, and even CIA, officials 
oppose the 'promote-Chalabi' move. Their reasons are simple. Chalabi 
was born in a wealthy banking family, and left Iraq in 1958 when he 
was 13. He has not returned except for a short period in the 
mid-1990s, when he tried to organise an unsuccessful 'popular 
uprising' from the Kurdish north. The INC leadership lacks a base in 
Iraq. It largely consists of millionaires and shady businessmen. A 
Jordanian court has sentenced him to 22 years' hard labour for bank 
fraud.

It is on his advice that the Pentagon relied while planning the 
invasion of Iraq which, he promised, would precipitate a popular 
uprising. INC sources too gave the US that tip-off about Iraq's 
topmost leaders being present in a particular building in Baghdad on 
March 20, which led to the 'decapitating' strike. The US blunder in 
sponsoring a client regime centred on Chalabi would be immeasurably 
graver than in appointing Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan and 
marginalising everybody else. Karzai was probably chosen because he 
had close links with US oil companies like Unocal with which US 
policy heavyweights were connected; he has also been a CIA 'asset.' 
The Iraqi situation is more volatile than post-war Afghanistan's. The 
Iraqi people will be even more allergic to a puppet regime.

Public-spirited citizens everywhere must demand that their 
governments don't recognise either an 'interim' US-led administration 
or a puppet government in Iraq. In India, the Parliament resolution 
calls for ending the war and troops withdrawal. The NDA government 
cannot now recognise an illegal entity installed by the invading 
forces. The peace movement must take the fight on to that plane and 
mount moral and political pressure on the Vajpayee government. Such 
pressure alone can dissuade this compromised government from acting 
in a petty, self-seeking way, by yoking the Iraq war to hawkish 
subcontinental agendas, and recklessly raising the danger level in 
our highly insecure, turbulent region.

Postscript (April 11, noon): As this column has always argued, Saddam 
Hussein is a dictator who has not only brutalised Iraq's people, but 
destroyed its social, political and religious institutions. One 
should shed no tears for him. The Iraqis are glad to be rid of him, 
but would be even happier to be rid of the Anglo-Americans, who in 
the first place sponsored his dictatorship. The real battle is only 
just beginning.

______


#5.

Indian Currents
12 April 2003
RSS and US: Natural Allies
-- Ram Puniyani
http://www.indiancurrents.com/ic%2016/Ram%20Puniyani.htm


______


#6.

The Hindu, Apr 13, 2003
Magazine

Selective analysis

In Roots of Terrorism, Bajpai's definition and understanding of the 
word is problematic. If we really want to address the roots of 
terror, we'll have to follow some unsettling trails, says DILIP 
SIMEON.

THIS is a timely book by an accomplished observer. However, the 
title's evocation of a radical analysis is belied by its contents. 
After an introduction to the differences between terrorism and war, 
and terrorists' lack of respect for innocent life, the author scans 
left and right wing extremism. He then chooses to focus on 
secessionist movements in the North East, Punjab and Kashmir. 
Bajpai's reason for this is that left and right wing extremism is 
perceived as being indigenous, and that the scale of the violence and 
casualties caused by the latter is relatively small. "When we say 
terrorism, therefore, we refer basically to the violence in these 
three borderlands".

In the aftermath of 9/11, we surely need to think seriously about 
terrorism. A dictionary suggests the following: Terror is "the state 
of being terrified or extremely frightened; intense fear or dread". 
Terrorism is "the systematic employment of violence and intimidation 
to, especially into acceding to specific political demands". A 
terrorist is "a person who uses and favours violent and intimidating 
methods of coercing a government or community". There is ample 
evidence of these methods being used by the Shiv Sena, the Bajrang 
Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Why do they not qualify as 
terrorist organisations? Must usage be a constraint to the act of 
definition? Why is "terrorism" so resistant to definition by the UNO 
and governments?

Is it because there exists a seamless connection between 
authoritarian establishments and extra-legal violence? Eqbal Ahmad in 
1998 described the official preference for eschewing causation and 
definition, which require comprehension and consistency. He cited a 
query about the causes of Palestinian terrorism, addressed by 
Yugoslav's foreign minister to U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. 
The latter pounded the table and replied, "there is no connection 
with any cause. Period." The Prime Minister recently told the U.N. 
that talk of root causes served to justify terrorism. Bush and 
Vajpayee are the good guys, period. After the murder of Staines and 
his sons in 1999, Vajpayee asked for a debate on religious 
conversions. Swayam-sevaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) 
routinely cite the "root causes" of the violence that accompanied the 
demolition of the Babri Masjid. Evil has a context when we identify 
with it, but becomes an emanation of Satan when we don't. If we 
really want to address the roots of terror, we shall have to follow 
some unsettling trails.

We need to interrogate the hypocritical discourse of violence in 
India. Officialdom regularly uses "riot" to suggest spontaneity. (As 
in the "Delhi riots of 1984"). This detracts from official complicity 
or downright instigation of mob-violence. Since the Calcutta Killing 
of 1946, it is doubtful that any major "riot" has been free from 
these tendencies. A case may be made for positing elements of 
deliberation in communal violence - this is true for the activities 
of the RSS. Bajpai speaks of these as "Hindu militancy", rather than 
terror. A glance at the order banning the RSS on February 4, 1948 
might have clarified the matter. He mentions the targeting of 
"upper"-caste people by left-wing insurgents in Bihar, but not the 
killings of innocent "low"-caste villagers by the Ranvir Sena. This 
is not a matter of analytical inflection. Terror breeds in fury at 
perceived injustice, unequal protection of the right to life, and 
humiliation of ordinary people. The Indian state has not 
even-handedly enforced the constitutional right to life, enshrined in 
Article 21. Unless these failures and the RSS cabal's promotion of 
violent paramilitaries are brought into the analysis, we will not 
understand the roots of terrorism. Bajpai could also have examined 
identity politics, which has emerged as the breeding ground of 
intolerance and authoritarian political agendas.

Some assessments are questionable. Has the Indian state really "taken 
care to avoid harm to non-combatants and to use violence in a 
controlled manner"? The book could have mentioned the Naga village of 
Oinam that suffered Army atrocities in the late 1980s (the case is 
still pending), and in Kashmir, it could have described the Bij 
Behara case, the shooting of Mirwaiz's funeral processionists and the 
killing of innocent suspects in the Chattisinghpura massacre.

Details of these would have provided readers with material on which 
to formulate a better understanding of the roots of popular 
alienation in these "borderlands". Bajpai's sober assessment of the 
dangers of nuclearisation, his warnings that "just because the 
gradualists have proven ineffective does not mean that the 
militarists are right", that American intervention in Afghanistan 
would add to India's problems in Kashmir and his scenarios of 
military confrontations between India and Pakistan are balanced and 
impressive. The bland statement that Gandhians "would claim that a 
government should abdicate its law and order functions in the face of 
terrorism" is unfair. It is to be appreciated that he has raised the 
issue of the cult of violence in mainstream Indian society, the 
pogroms of Delhi in 1984 and Gujarat in 2002. His last sentence is 
unexceptionable - "in de-legitimising violence, it is not just, or 
even primarily governments that must exert themselves; it is all of 
us as practical and concerned citizens".


Roots of Terrorism, Kanti P. Bajpai, Penguin Books India, 2002,

Rs. 195.

Dilip Simeon is a historian.


______


#7.

The Indian Express
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
	 	 
TALKING WITH KHUSHWANT SINGH

'Saffron tide is rising...Govt making inroads for fascism'

In his latest book, The End of India, Khushwant Singh warns about the 
lethal combination of religion and politics. ''These are dark times 
for India - fascism has well and truly crossed our thresholds and dug 
its heels in our courtyard,'' he says. The writer spoke to Humra 
Quraishi on why he feels that way. Excerpts from the interview:

Do you agree with the Hindutva brigade's definition of nationalism?
A nationalist is one who is concerned about his country and also 
about equal treatment to all citizens. The Hindutva Government is not 
treating all its nationals as one, on the same footing - I know for a 
fact that there is discrimination against the Muslims and Christians. 
Discrimination against Muslims culminating in the demolition of the 
Babri Masjid and then the massacres in Gujarat by Hindu terrorists 
destroyed the notion that Hinduism is more tolerant than Islam. The 
murder of Christian missionaries, attacks on them and the burning of 
Bibles have done similar damage. In fact, let me also mention here 
that much before Jinnah had come up with the two-nation theory, it 
was people like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, V.D. Savarkar, 
who had come up with the Hindu nation theory. In fact, Lajpat Rai had 
even drawn a map of divided India - along religious lines.

In your book, you have written extensively on the Gujarat riots. Do 
you notice any similarity between that and the '84 Sikh riots?
Yes, it was quite obvious in both cases that the police was told not 
to control the rioting. I am a witness to the Sikh riots in New Delhi 
and I saw police doing little to control the rioters. And journalists 
and activists who recounted the Gujarat carnage told me of similar 
happenings in the riots there. In both the cases, it was said that 
the riots were provoked - the Sikh riots were said to be provoked by 
the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the Godhra incident was blamed 
for the Gujarat riots. If that was the case, why were the culprits 
not caught? It seems that the government has almost abdicated its 
duty and power to control mobs and what I find very disturbing and 
dangerous is that communal parties have launched their own private 
armies. Any government which allows private armies affiliated to 
political parties is doing nothing short of making inroads for 
fascism.

Why do you say fascism is here?
Whatever one is seeing around are all signs of fascism - appointments 
to important offices are not done on merit, key posts are given to 
their men, even Governor-level appointments. There could be some two 
or three showpieces from other communities, otherwise its ''their'' 
men in all key positions - Hitler functioned in exactly the same 
manner. And while Hitler's main target was the Jews, for this brigade 
it's the Muslim population in the country.

Do you think their tactics will overpower the so-called liberals?
The saffron tide is rising and I have written this book with a deep 
sense of concern for the country. Unless we immediately react and 
reject the communal policies, there is going to be disaster. It's 
time that right-thinking persons or liberals rejected these communal 
moves.

In 1989, you proposed the name of L.K. Advani as MP from New Delhi. 
Today you are his worst critic.
Yes, I did propose his name but that time I was totally disillusioned 
with the Congress. Ever since his Rath Yatra, I have been severely 
critical of him, and, at public fora, I've told him that he is 
responsible for sowing the seeds of hatred between the two 
communities.

Why do you think the Congress has not been able to take on these 
communal parties?
The Congress has no clear policy, it has not been able to take a firm 
stand on any issue and seems to be compromising on even vital issues. 
If today, the party follows the principle laid out by Jawaharlal 
Nehru, it could make some impact.

Why doesn't the Indian middle class react to communal politics?
I think most Indians cannot really visualise the magnitude of the 
communal problem, although the signs are writ large all around - 
besides communal rioting, the way M.F. Husain's paintings were burnt, 
or for that matter the shooting of a film stopped, or changes brought 
about in school text books. There's a propaganda that the Christian 
population is rising because of conversions but the reality is that 
the Christian population in India has actually gone down. And the 
Sangh has capitalised on old prejudices about Muslims - that they are 
multiplying at an alarming rate, when the census figures clearly show 
that the rate of growth of the Hindu population has always been 
higher; and since Independence, in almost every communal rioting, the 
Muslim loss of life and property has been almost ten times that of 
the Hindus.

Do you think the situation will improve anytime soon?
No, I'm not optimistic but one should fight, one should make every 
single effort to save the country and openly challenge and take on 
these men who are destroying the country. We have to battle with them 
at any cost, give it back to them, abuse for abuse - for if we love 
our country we have to save it from these communal forces. And though 
the liberal class is shrinking, I do hope that the present generation 
totally rejects the communal and fascist polices.


______


#8.

The Indian Express
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Editorial	 	 

Not larger than law
By arresting Togadia, the Gehlot government lays down a very welcome bottoml=
ine

What should the state do with Praveenbhai Togadia, general secretary 
VHP and rabble rouser at large, who unabashedly plays communal 
politics and dares the law? How, specifically, must a Congress 
government deal with Togadia and the Togadia-like?

The Congress has long been flailing about for a counter-strategy to 
Hindutva and its Togadias; the battle of attrition between those who 
espouse soft Hindutva and others who advocate a hard secularism is an 
ongoing one. In this ferment, the Ashok Gehlot government's arrest of 
Togadia in Rajasthan lays down a very welcome bottomline. It 
recognises that even as the nuances of the larger political response 
are debated, the government must uphold the law of the land. There 
can be no debating, no quibbling over this one.

Having said that, it is sad that the Rajasthan government's action 
must be seen to be worthy of comment or commendation.

Togadia was arrested for defying prohibitory orders and a ban on the 
distribution, possession and carrying of tridents in the state, 
except at religious places. He had broken a law, so why the gratified 
applause at the arrest that followed? Truth is, ever since the 
BJP-led government came to power at the Centre and especially after 
Gujarat, the VHP has successfully courted a larger-than-law image. 
Togadia and Co have gotten away on several occasions with threatening 
to, when not actually undermining, the rule of law. The outfit is 
known for its inveterate minority-bashing and effusive hate-speech. 
It has often proclaimed its resolve not to abide by the court verdict 
on Ayodhya; most recently, Togadia flaunted his organisation's role 
in the Babri masjid demolition and the riots in Gujarat. In other 
words, the VHP has made no secret of the fact that it believes it can 
cock a snook at the law with impunity. And governments at the state 
and the Centre have fostered this belief. It is in this context that 
the Gehlot government's throwing the book at Togadia, or indeed the 
arrest of Acharya Dharmendra by the Digvijay Singh government in 
Madhya Pradesh earlier, is a noteworthy departure.

In this election year, a long and hard fight awaits opponents of the 
VHP's brand of politics. This contest must be conducted at various 
levels. The appropriation of words and symbols must be challenged - 
the apparent ease with which the VHP has hijacked 'dharam sansad' for 
the get-togethers of its motley sadhus and sants, for instance, or 
its attempt now to wrest the symbolism of Lord Shiva's trishul. The 
tug of war is bound to continue into the year and there will be 
compromises and surrenders on the way. But everyone would do well to 
remember the unyielding bottomline that the Rajasthan government has 
laid down in Ajmer.

_____

#9.

BBC News Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 April, 2003, 06:04 GMT 07:04 UK 

Hindu radical charged with 'conspiracy'
  A radical Hindu leader in India has been charged with "conspiracy 
against the nation", a charge which can attract life imprisonment.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2950871.stm

_____


#10.

Sabrang Alert for Immediate Action

URGENT ATTENTION   *	URGENT ATTENTION  * URGENT ATTENTION

Rajasthan, after Madhya Pradesh makes History

Send Faxes of Congratulation to the Rajasthan Chief Minister for 
Upholding the Law and Reaafirming every Indian's Faith in Democracy !!

April 14-16, 2003

Praveen Togadia, an architect of the genocide in Gujarat and proud f 
the venom and viterol he has been spewing against peace loving 
individuals, democratic minded citizens and the country's religious 
minorities and Dalits was detained by the Rajasthan government for 
breaking the ban on trishul distribution that the government had 
invoked a week earlier. He has today been remanded to judicial 
custody until April 30.

The Chief Minister of Rajasthan needs to be congratulated for 
standing up against the politics of hatred and venom. We urge that 
you send faxes to him at the fax number below as well as send a fax 
to the Congress (I) President, Smt Sonia Gandhi on the same issue. We 
include below suggested draft letters. Also please visit out wesbite, 
www.sabrang.com for an Update on a Hate Speech Campaign. Do also if 
you can send copies of the faxes/emails that you send to us 
sabrang@sabrang.com  We wish to also recognise groups like Sadhbhavna 
Manch, PUCL Rajasthan, Mazdoor Kisan shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) and Akal 
Sangharsh Samiti for constantly keeping the issue of  the imepratives 
for communal peace in their actions and protests.

After the detention on Sunday, Praveen Togadia has been remanded to 
judicial custody till April 30, 2003 despite two attempts to get 
bail. The bandh called by the VHP also turned out to be quite 
peaceful except for four incidents in different parts of the state 
that were also ably handled by your administration. It is highly 
likely that the VHP will appeal against the remand order. The FIR 
filed by the state against him holds him guilty of violating section 
4/25 of the Indian Arms Act, sections 153A, 153B and section 505 of 
the Indian Penal Code as also section 121 (A) of the IPC that is a 
section related to a 'conspiracy to overawe the government of 
Rajasthan.'

Teesta Setalvad					Javed Anand
			Sabrang Team

Write Letters and send them by Fax to

Shri Ashok Gehlot
Chief Minister, Rajasthan
=46ax: 0141-2382705
Email: cm@raj.nic.in

If possible please cc. your message to
Rajasthan Chief Secretary R.K.Nair Fax 0141-2227778
and Secretary to CM C.K. Mathews Fax 0141-2227934

Also copy your Letters to:
Smt Sonia Gandhi
President, Congress (I)
011-32018550

Draft for Letter

To: Shri Ashok Gehlot,
Chief Minister of Rajasthan

Dear Shri Gehlot,

Rajasthan has shown implicit faith in Indian democracy and the rule 
of law by first banning the trishuls =F1that was being unfortunately 
being used by certain forces to spread terror and violence--- and 
thereafter acting against Praveen Togadia, international general 
secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who defied this ban and 
distributed them in Ajmer last Sunday. As citizens and groups 
committed to the rule of law, peace and co-existence, we congratulate 
you on this bold step.

The offence in this case was defying a legal ban on trishul 
distribution. However the same forces led by Praveen Togadia himself 
have been combing the blatant distribution of trishuls with heavy 
doses of hate speech that vitiate the atmosphere and also create 
suspicions and divisions among people. So far, except for some 
exceptions like in the state of Madhya Pradesh, they have been able 
to get away with it.

We are also aware that in the past one month, repeated attempts have 
been made by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, and the Shiv 
Sena Commando Force to break the peace by indulging in vicious forms 
of hate speech and propaganda in Rajasthan. In most of these 
atttempts the government and administration have acted swiftly. We 
therefore urge that, regardless of pressure and propaganda, the 
government sticks to its resolve to book those who defy the law 
especially since communal and fascist forces have evil designs on 
your state.

If hate speech and propaganda are checked beforehand and nipped in 
the bud the build up in communal temperatures typical to a riot or a 
pogrom do not take place. People who have been co-existing for 
centuries continue with their daily lives not ruptured by suspicions, 
rumour and hatred. Every minor or major bout of communally driven 
violence ---and the Gujarat genocide is the most shameful example of 
this =F1are assisted ably by an atmosphere of communal poison that is 
fuelled by the systematic use of hate speech and writings. By acting 
swiftly and firmly against a man who represents an organisation that 
thrives on bullying and breaking the law, Rajasthan has shown the 
way. If the Indian Constitution and Indian Democracy are to be 
redeemed it is by firm actions such as these. We heartily 
congratulate you on this resolve.

Violence is engendered by a few and the majority of Indians wish to 
live in peace and be assured development. By such firm actions the 
dream of millions of ordinary Indians may actually come true.


_____


#11.

[Another Draft Model Letter to Send to Rajasthan CM }
=2E.....................................

  To: Shri Ashok Gehlot,
Chief Minister of Rajasthan

We write to congratulate your administration on
upholding the law and arresting VHP
General Secretary Pravin Togadia for distribution of
trishuls.  We urge you to ensure that
the due process of law is carried out and the case
against Mr. Togadia is processed with
utmost seriousness and firmness.

Media reports indicate that your government is under
considerable pressure from the VHP
and the BJP for arresting Mr. Togadia. We urge you and
appeal to you NOT to succumb
to these pressures. It is imperative that the due
process of law be carried out and all those
making hate speeches be arrested and prosecuted.

We also wish to remind you that though the bodies like
the VHP may be more visible and
louder than those who oppose them -- the majority of
Indians do not support politics of
hatred. Further, there is worldwide experience that
divisiveness and violence retards
investment and thereby economic as well as social
progress. We look to leaders like
yourself to uphold the law and secure a prosperous and
peaceful future for the people of
Rajasthan and India.

Signed:





_____


#12.

South Asia Citizens Web
[14 April 2003]

Neither Hindu Nor Muslim

[A song ]by Sahir Ludhianvi *

you won=92t become a Hindu nor a Muslim you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become

it is wonderful that so far no name you have
and no association with any religion you have
the knowledge that has divided the human beings
no blame on you, for none of that you have

the harbinger of changed times you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become

each one of the human being Lord created
and out of that Hindu or Muslim we created
nature had blessed us with just one land
but here India and Iran there we created

the storm that breaks every barrier is what you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become

which teaches hatred, that religion is not yours
the step that tramples human being is not yours
that temple** which has no Quran, yours, it is not
where there is no Gita, that mosque is not yours

an inspiration of peace and compromise you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become

these merchants of religion =96 one=92s own country they sell
and also the shrouds of the human corpses they sell
those slayers and looters sitting in the palaces
for the price of thorns, the garden=92s soul they would sell

for them, the declaration of death you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become

you won=92t become a Hindu nor a Muslim you will become
a human progeny you are and a human being you will become


*South Asian poet Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980), whose real name was 
Abdul Hai, was born in Ludhiana, Punjab.  He wrote poetry on a wide 
variety of a subjects, including social and humanitarian issues, and 
received many awards, in addition to the Padma Shri from the Indian 
government and the Soviet Land Nehru Award from the government of the 
then Soviet Union.  He also wrote songs for commercial films without 
compromising  either the quality or his own conscience.  He once 
said: =93Whatever is to be said, inclusion of conscience is necessary, 
that is, one should also feel it from inside.
Sahir considered great South Asian poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz as his mentor.
The above song is from the early 1960=92s film =93Dhool ka Phool=94 (or 
=46lower of Dust).  The song is filmed on a man raising a child whom he 
had found abandoned.
**Temple is a Hindu place of worship, Quran is a Muslim scripture, 
Gita is a Hindu scripture, and mosque is a Muslim place of worship.
Please accept my humble translation from the Hindi/Urdu language.
Badruddin R. Gowani


_____


#13.

PRESS RELEASE 					Utrecht, 15 April 2003


Members European Parliament suggest: 'suspend aid to Gujarat'

Netherlands government criticises human rights situation Gujarat

=46our members of the European Parliament from different political 
parties have asked the European Commission to suspend official 
development aid to Gujarat till it is clear that those guilty of the 
massacre on 2000 Muslims are being punished, the victims 
rehabilitated and an end is put to the marginalisation of Christians 
and Muslims. (1)
The parliamentarians express their concern that Hindu fundamentalism 
is leading to increasing violence against religious minorities.

The members of Parliament also want to know if and how the Commission 
has followed up on the serious concerns expressed last year about the 
situation in Gujarat. They asked the Commission as well what 
recommendations they can give to European companies that are active 
in Gujarat 'in order to avoid that they contribute to the 
discrimination of religious and other minorities'.
The four parliamentarians are from the four biggest political groups: 
the Liberal Democrats, the Socialists, the Christian Democrats and 
the Greens. The initiative has been taken by Mr. Bob van de Bos from 
the Liberal Democrats.

Netherlands (Dutch) government criticises human rights situation in Gujarat
In its answers of 11 April to parliamentary questions on Gujarat, the 
Dutch government states that  'the state government under the 
leadership of Chief Minister Modi has done little to prevent the 
massacres and the recommendations of the earlier mentioned reports 
[of the NHRC, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch] have been 
insufficiently acted upon'(2). Also it is stated that 'prosecution of 
the perpetrators of the murderous assaults is only taking place to a 
limited extent. Rehabilitation and compensation of the victims does 
take place, be it also inadequately. There is concern about 
deliberate and systematic discrimination of and/or exclusion of 
Muslims'. The Dutch government is also of the opinion that 'the 
national BJP government has initially adopted a wait an see attitude 
on the massacres'.

Question of Dutch aid to India in limbo
In reaction to the question of the members of parliament if the Dutch 
government is prepared to suspend bilateral development co-operation 
with India until the marginalisation of the Muslim minority is being 
stopped and the recommendations of the NHRC, Amnesty and Human Rights 
Watch are implemented, the Dutch Minister of Development Co-operation 
replied that 'the Dutch government feels obliged to reconsider the 
whole development co-operation relation with India'. This is 
particularly prompted, it says, by the fact that India 'no longer 
wishes to maintain a government to government relationship with 
bilateral donors'. In its Budget Speech of 1st of March the Indian 
government stated that India wanted to discontinue the receipt of aid 
of countries with 'smaller assistance packages', so that their 
resources can be transferred to 'specified NGO's' (3).  The Dutch 
government is however the fourth largest bilateral donor in 2002-2003 
with =A424 million (appr. Rs. 120 crores).

It could be that e.g. the Dutch relatively pro-Dalit position in 
Durban, the present actual arms embargo for both India and Pakistan 
and last (see 4) and this years' position on the massacre in Gujarat, 
is playing a role in the decision of the Indian government to 
reconsider Dutch bilateral aid. This aid is mainly focussed on social 
sectors like primary education, drinking water and urban environment 
in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat (5).

Position of ICN (India Committee of the Netherlands)
The India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) expresses its solidarity 
with all victims of the violence in Gujarat, from whatever religion, 
and with all organisations that are contributing to achieve justice 
for all. ICN is shocked about and condemns the lack of  (access) to 
justice, rehabilitation and compensation for the victims and 
survivors in Gujarat as well as the marginalisation of in particular 
Muslims and Christians in the state.
ICN agrees to the idea that official development co-operation with 
the state government of Gujarat should be suspended till this 
situation has clearly changed. It is pleased to see that  the issue 
of human rights violations in Gujarat is clearly on the political 
agenda of The Netherlands and the European.

=46urther information:
- See below for links to the full (translated) documents
- Gerard Oonk, co-ordinator India Committee of the Netherlands
Tel. 31-30-2321340; e-mail: g.oonk@indianet.nl

=46or more background information on Gujarat (both in Dutch and 
English) see: www.indianet.nl/gujarat.html

Notes:
1. Questions European Parliament on Gujarat: 
http://www.indianet.nl/v030408e.html

2. Answers Dutch government to parliamentary questions on Gujarat: 
http://www.indianet.nl/a030411e.html

3. India Budget Speech: http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2003-04/bs/speecha.htm

4. Letter of Dutch Minister on Gujarat to ICCO: 
http://www.indianet.nl/br020626e.html

5. See: http://www.holland-in-india.org


_____


#14.

George Washington University will be hosting a screening of a 
documentary about the rise of the Hindutva movement in India.
The documentary, made by a Hindu film maker named Suma Josson, looks 
at the Hinduta movement not simply as a setback for human rights but 
as a setback for India's development.
Dr. Najid Husain, whose father-in-law was killed in the riots, will 
speak briefly his family's experience. I will be introducing the film.
Room 307, 800 21st Street (The Marvin Center), GW University
April 16, 5-7 pm.

Sponsored by Indian Muslim Council

_____


#15.

Date: Wed, 16 April 2003

Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons [in Kashmir] (APDP)

WHY THIS HUNGER STRIKE?

  APDP, since its formation in 1994, has been campaigning against 
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (EID) in Jammu And Kashmir 
State. The association from time to time highlighted the plight of 
EID, but the govt. remains indifferent to their problems. In the 
month of January, the association had given two months notice to the 
state govt. for considering their demands, which govt. has not 
responded to. The association has now decided to go for hunger strike 
from 17-24 April for pressing their demands.

Since 1989, when armed conflict started in Kashmir, more than 8,000 
people have disappeared after their arrest by the law enforcing 
agencies. Majority of them are non-combatant Kashmiris. Even the 
government has admitted the phenomenon. The new Chief Minister of J&K 
state, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on February 25, 2003 unveiled what the 
security agencies had been doing during 2000, 2001 and 2002. Mufti 
informed the State Assembly in Jammu that "Three thousand seven 
hundred and forty four persons are missing in between 2000 to 2002. 
1,553 persons got disappeared in 2000. 1586 went missing in 2001 and 
605 in 2002". Earlier, on July 18, 2002, the then Home Minister 
Khalid Najeeb Soharwardy of the erstwhile National Conference 
government had also admitted on the floor of the Legislative Assembly 
that 3,184 person were missing in the Valley since the inception of 
militancy. These figures are preliminary and one can understand the 
numbers of total disappearances keeping in view the figures furnished 
by the government.

Since 1989, different regimes have taken over the reigns. And, since 
1986 two civilian governments have been at the helm of the affairs 
but nothing on ground has changed. The present government which made 
human rights an election plank and promised people that human rights 
violations would be stopped at any cost and the perpetrators would be 
punished according to their Common Minimum Programme (CMP). 
Notwithstanding, the election rhetoric, the disappearances continue. 
Since 2nd November 2002, when the new government took over, there are 
26 cases of disappearances from different parts of the state, which 
have been brought to the notice of state government. It is customary 
that every new government blames previous governments for 
disappearances in the state and practically all the governments have 
shown indifference, callousness and helplessness under the prevailing 
circumstances to address the issue confronting more than two hundred 
thousands relatives of desaparecidos,  although the politicians and 
bureaucrats informally have expressed serious concern over the 
alarming number of missing persons but  have also express their 
helplessness in this behalf.

Way back in 1999, the home department issued a circular in 
continuation of Govt. Order No. GON 723-GR-GAD of 1990 dated 
10-07-1990 read with govt. Order NO. 1073-GR of 1990 dated 19-11-1990 
for constitution of the District-Screening-Cum- Coordination 
Committee in each district, which will recommend the cases of missing 
persons for payment of ex-gratia relief. The Committee along with 
other persons was to be comprised of the representatives of the very 
perpetrators (security forces). Since the issuance of the circular, 
this so-called District-Screening-Cum- Coordination Committee have 
seldom met. The association has no faith in this committee comprising 
the perpetrators.

In 2000, the Divisional Commissioner issued a public notice in local 
papers directing the relatives of the missing persons to approach the 
respective deputy commissioners along with the details of the missing 
persons. The relatives in thousands with lot of hope and expectations 
filed the details in the office of the respective Deputy 
Commissioners but till date, no body knows the fate of these 
petitions.

On the 30th of August 2000, the relatives commemorated the 
International Day of Disappeared, which was carried by the regional 
as well as national press. The National Human Rights Commission on 
press reporting took the suo moto cognizance of the matter and issued 
the notice to the state government and the Association of Parents of 
Disappeared Persons, for furnishing the details. The APDP complying 
the directions sent those details.   Since then, nobody is aware of 
the progress, and it is presumed that the matter has been shelved.

The state judiciary meant to protect the life and liberty of the 
citizen and to enforce the guidelines laid on by Supreme Court of 
India has failed, seldom has any perpetrator  been punished or booked 
under contempt for violating the guidelines. The exhaustive 
litigation has only given impression to the relatives that the 
institution is dysfunctional to redress their grievance or provide 
justice. Notwithstanding, the institutional failure, the relatives 
are relentlessly continuing their struggle by resorting to other 
measures like lobbying with the civil society groups, press etc.

In 2002, the association conducted a signature campaign in which 
thousands of relatives (though illiterate) signed the petition, which 
was later sent to the International Human Right institutions and 
organisations. This signature campaign was joined by the human rights 
group from different countries (European and Asian countries) also. 
Even a copy was forwarded to the authorities highlighting their 
demands.

The relatives are struggling on the individual as well as collective 
levels to know the fate of their beloved ones but the government is 
shying in acknowledging the plight of the relatives and to accept the 
demands of the Association made from time to time at different 
occasions. It seems that all the governments are helpless under the 
prevailing circumstances to address the problem, which they believe 
will demoralize the army.

Disappearance is a crime against humanity, according to the Rome 
Statute adopted on 17th of July 1998, and according to the 
International Criminal Court (ICC) the persons responsible for 
disappearances shall be personally responsible for violation of the 
International Humanitarian Law.

The relatives are observing this hunger strike as a mean to highlight 
their plight and in order to pressurize the government for;

(1). stopping the enforced disappearances in J&K so that other people 
should not undergo the similar plight and trauma they are facing.

(2). punishing the perpetrators responsible for enforced 
disappearances as under no law the disappearances could be an 
official act under any circumstances not even permissible in war 
times. It would only end if perpetrators are held personally 
responsible and seek no protection under the cover of impunity laws.

(3). appointment of the commission to probe into all enforced 
disappearances (as has been done in other countries) in J&K state, 
 since 1989 and identify the state and non-state actors responsible 
for EID.

(4). providing justice to the relatives of the disappeared persons 
according to the international standards.

The Struggle for justice shall continue.

In Solidarity

Parvez Imroz
President
J&K Coalition of Civil Society
The Bund Amira Kadal, Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir
190001
Telefax: - 2456381

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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.