SACW | 26 April 03

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  |  26 April,  2003

#1. Sri Lanka: A four point programme for bipartisanship and peace 
(Jehan Perera)
#2. Pakistan - India: If both sides are flexible (M.H. Askari)
#3. Musharraf=92 Should Grasp Vajpayee's Offer (Badruddin R. Gowani)
#4. Pakistan: Seedy life of Pakistan's world-weary 'dancing girls' is 
caught on canvas (Jan McGirk)
#5. Pakistan: Sense on dress (Ismail Khan)
#6. South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) meeting begins in Dhaka
#7. India: SAHMAT Press Conference on what is happening in BJP-ruled 
Gujarat (26 April, New Delhi)
#8. India: Re-imagination of the State and Gujarat's Electoral 
Verdict (Aseem Prakash)
#9. India: Rights versus Representation - Defending Minority 
Interests in the Constituent Assembly  (Shefali Jha)
#10. India: Distribution of arms in the State of Rajasthan
Immediate need to ban the VHP dagger alias the trishul in the state 
(PUCL, Rajasthan)
#11. India: Stopping Togadia (T.K. Rajalakshmi)
#12. India: Building hatred around Bhojshala [in Madhya Pradesh] 
(Naunidhi Kaur)
#13. India: [Shiv Sena Leader] sets a cut-off date [to stop migrants] 
(Mahesh Vijapurkar )

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


#1.

The Daily News (Colombo), 26 April 2003

A four point programme for bipartisanship and peace
by Jehan Perera
http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/04/26/fea04.html


______


#2.

DAWN
April 25 2003

If both sides are flexible
By M.H. Askari

It would be unrealistic to assume that a resumption of talks between 
India and Pakistan, proposed by India's prime minister Atal Behari 
Vajpayee and welcomed by Pakistan, would take place without running 
into snags and hitches at various stages. Going by the past record of 
such bilateral exchanges, the chances of a smooth beginning of 
another round of talks, are very slim.
However, any scepticism arising out of Indian foreign minister 
Yashwant Sinha's repeated assertion that Pakistan deserved to be 
treated like Iraq for its role in promoting cross-border infiltration 
of militants into Indian held Kashmir seems unnecessary. First, Prime 
Minister Vajpayee has offered the talks quite a few days after Mr 
Sinha had voiced his allegations and insinuations. Seasonally, the 
US, to whom Mr Sinha addressed his entreaties for Iraq-like action 
against Pakistan, has made it quite clear that there is no parallel 
between Iraq and Pakistan.
What is important is for both countries to realize that there is no 
alternative to a dialogue. It is also important that neither side 
lays down any preconditions for the resumption of talks. Many eminent 
Indian observers of the Kashmir situation have repeatedly stressed 
that the only meaningful way for India to tackle the problem of 
cross-border terrorism is to make peace with the Kashmiris.
A brief for the American policymakers, developed by the Brookings 
Institution at the end of a 10-month long military stand-off between 
India and Pakistan along their common border last year, categorically 
stated that New Delhi urgently needed to "respond to the Kashmiris' 
legitimate grievances and institutionalize political mechanisms and 
processes to ensure democratic governance."
The incidents of violence in Kashmir on Tuesday, resulting in the 
death of a large number of people and 13 'militants', are most 
deplorable but would, hopefully, not upset the plans for talks. For 
the present, this seems unlikely, in view of the fact that the Indian 
authorities continue to stand by their offer of talks despite the 
incidents. India's junior foreign minister, Digvijay singh, confirmed 
on Tuesday that the offer of talks was by no means "flippant" and 
that they could begin as early as June if there is a positive 
response from the Pakistani side. He told an Indian daily, Asian Age 
that even a "one-line statement from the Pakistani side shunning 
violence" would be helpful in getting the talks started.
Not surprisingly, the only discordant note was struck by the Indian 
Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who, speaking in the Lok 
Sabha, said that "guerillas from Pakistan" could use the turbulence 
in Iraq as a "smoke screen" to hide infiltration into Kashmir. This 
makes little sense, as there is no possible linkage between Pakistan 
and Iraq. Contrary to what he implies, the international community, 
particularly the US, is likely to react very strongly to any over 
acts of terrorism.
The coming visit of the US deputy secretary of state, Richard 
Armitage, to South Asia in early May clearly indicates that US feels, 
the situation between India and Pakistan needs to be closely watched. 
US state department officials have indicated that Washington has 
remained engaged in South Asia since early last year when India 
massed its forces on the Pakistan border and the two countries came 
very close to fighting yet another war.
According to a report, a US State Department official, commenting on 
Indian prime minister's call for the resumption of a dialogue with 
Pakistan, has said, "It's good to hear leaders from both sides 
talking about a peaceful settlement" of their bilateral disputes and 
differences.
The proposed talks, if and when they take place, will need to be 
viewed with cautious optimism. The outcomes of such talks in the past 
have not been very encouraging. There was a great deal of optimism at 
the time of the Agra summit meeting between President Pervez 
Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in July 2001.
According to most reports after the summit, the two leaders came 
quite close to an agreement. But in the end, the summit ended quite 
abruptly even without the issue of a joint declaration or statement. 
The breakdown occurred at the final stage of drafting of the joint 
declaration over the semantics of the language. Since then the 
leaders the two countries have been drifting apart. At a SAARC summit 
afterwards, President Pervez Musharraf walked up to Mr Vajpayee and 
shook hands with him but the latter remained impassive and aloof.
The contacts between India and Pakistan at the people-to-people 
level, which have taken place over the past several years, have been 
quite promising. They have been attended by delegates representing 
various schools of thought and social activity from both sides. 
Praful Bidwai, one of the top Indian journalists and an indefatigable 
peace activist, believes that these initiatives indicate "a 
confluence of different concerns, radically questioning not just the 
war-like hostility between India and Pakistan but also the structures 
and belief systems that sustain such hostility." However, these 
efforts have not had any discernible impact on the official policy in 
either country. The sticking point has been Kashmir.
Coincidentally, the real hardliners on both sides are the bureaucrats 
connected with the formulation of foreign policy. A classic instance 
is the incident quoted by Dr Mubashir Hasan, in his article in this 
paper on Wednesday. According to him, at a SAARC summit some years 
ago the Indian prime minister asked the then Pakistani prime minister 
about the progress on a proposal for India to buy electric power from 
Pakistan. The then Pakistan prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) expressed 
his willingness to accept the proposal but a senior Pakistani 
bureaucrat (whom Hr Hasan has not named), present at the meeting, 
bluntly said that there was no question of such a deal taking place. 
That was the end of the matter.
On occasions it has been suggested that Pakistan and India should 
adopt a step-by-step approach the resolution of their disputes, 
including Kashmir, without insisting on its "centrality". The idea is 
that too rigid an adherence to the relevant UN resolutions for a 
plebiscite in Kashmir to determine the wishes of its people there can 
create problems. For instance, in the context of the plebiscite in 
the original resolution there was no provision for the state's opting 
for self-determination which now seems to what the majority of the 
Kashmiri people really want. The original resolution is thus not 
quite relevant any more.
On the eve of the Agra summit, President Musharraf, in an interview 
to an Indian journalist, said something to the effect that there 
could be a composite dialogue with India dealing with all outstanding 
issues but the centrality of the Kashmir has to be recognized. He 
then said: "I would say the end game really is to do something that 
will improve the condition of this economically deprived region of 
the world, the most poverty-stricken region ... We can do that if we 
remove the causes of tensions between India and Pakistan ... We have 
to do that by resolving the Kashmir dispute."
Incidentally, Gen Ziaul Haq, during a visit to New Delhi in the early 
1980s, said at a press conference that a dialogue between India and 
Pakistan did not necessarily have to start with Kashmir, adding "we 
could start with less contentious issues."
Perhaps Mr Vajpayee could start the proposed resumption of talks by 
reopening the road, rail, air links between the two countries which 
have been suspended since December 2001. The two countries could also 
consider having free trade and cultural exchanges, and even perhaps 
by abolishing the need for a visa to travel between the two 
countries. If nothing else, such steps could improve the atmospherics 
for bilateral talks, opening up the possibilities of peaceful 
solution of all outstanding problems and differences, including 
Kashmir.


______


#3.

[25 April 2003]

Musharraf=92 Should Grasp Vajpayee's Offer

by Badruddin R. Gowani

International crisis in some or other form has become part of the 
world scene and so the present one =96 that is, the ongoing US 
destruction, invasion, and conquest of Iraq, termed as "liberation" - 
can be ignored as just another crisis in order to console oneself and 
to create a false sense of normalcy.

Is it that easy? Can one do that?

=46or at least two reasons one cannot have a short cut with the latest US fu=
ry:
US has become a sole global power since 1989 (the year the Berlin 
Wall fell), and more so since 1991 (when Bush Sr. went on a 
destructive rampage against Iraq), and still is one =96 the 
unchallenged one.  (September 11, 2001 incident was a minor irritant 
economically, although, one has to accept, egoistically, it was a 
major blow.)

In the last twelve years, Iraq had been stripped of most of the 
weapons and had been bankrupted through illegal sanctions, and so was 
not a danger, in the true sense of the word, to anyone, least of all 
to Israel =96 which has over 200 nuclear weapons.

The US attacked Iraq with declared aims of destroying the "weapons of 
mass destruction" and a regime change.  No WMDs have been found =96 
even if they were discovered, it would have meant nothing - however, 
what is happening in Iraq right now should be an eye opener for Third 
World leaders.  The US troops immediately took control of the oil 
installations, while letting the people loot and destroy museums and 
buildings belonging to education and other government departments. 
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that people are enjoying 
the "freedom."  Would he have allowed people to enjoy their "freedom" 
by letting them burn down the Iraqi oil wells?  The root cause of US 
conquest.  The answer is not difficult to guess.

So why did Bush started this devastation which has no clear view of 
future, except an unending cycle of violence?  It is simply to scare 
the hell out of any nation who even thinks of pursuing an independent 
line.  In addition, behind this "freedom" of looting and burning 
there is a message: you defy our order and we won't just invade and 
conquer your country, we will destroy your history =96 records, 
artifacts, and heritage.  We are wild conquerors.

Another reason is that this "regime change" business is now going to 
become an addiction for the US rulers.  A warning is already served 
to Syria.  Bush wants it to "cooperate," Rumfeld is charging it with 
possession of "chemical weapons," Colin Powell is stabbing 
diplomatically, while Tony Blair said that there is no plan to 
"invade" =96 a tactic to calm down world's fear of another invasion.

One cannot help but conclude that Bush Jr. is much more dangerous, 
insane, fanatic, and a psychopath than Osama bin Laden, who had 
genuine grievances against the US - such as the presence of US forces 
in Saudi Arabia, US support of Israel, US sanctions against Iraq, 
etc.  Bush had none against Afghanistan or Iraq, and has none against 
Syria, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Libya, Sudan, or Venezuela.

(However, being in possession of the most destructive weapons and a 
dream of super hegemony over the world, Bush ignored all those 
appeals from around the world to avoid the invasion.)

In this situation, how is Musharraf feeling? It is a painful 
question.  He is well aware that the US would not want any other 
country to have nuclear weapons =96 except the US =96 and would do 
everything to denuclearize those countries, which it can easily 
attack.  Besides, the Taliban remnants are still in Pakistan

He cannot be in a worst state than the present one.  It is a 
three-pronged attack.  The mullahs are exerting more pressure on him 
and are gaining more power as a reaction against the US interference 
in Afghanistan, Pakistan, its support of Israel, and the present 
pillaging of Iraq; the US is constantly humiliating him by asking for 
his cooperation for every new criminal venture; and India (up until 
now) had been threatening him with a US style "war on terrorism" for 
Pakistan's moral and murderous support of Kashmiri people and Islamic 
militants.  (Sometime back, a title, "Musharraf's Murdah*: Look & 
Learn," for an article came to my mind which, I hope, Musharraf does 
not provide me with a chance to write.)

Pakistan based Islamic militant outfits do not miss any chance of 
keeping the Kashmir issue alive.  Their increased and insane 
atrocities in Kashmir with the aim of creating a war between Pakistan 
and India or some such scenario can push the whole region in a deep 
turmoil.  (Neither the armies of either countries or the Hindu 
fundamentalists are any saner or have any sense of decency or respect 
for human life).

On March 23, twenty-four Hindus, including children and women, were 
cruelly murdered, and not for the first time.  This is not the work 
of some lunatics but that of murderers who are doing it methodically 
and with a calculated strategy: to provoke an Indo-Pak conflict.

Musharraf cannot afford any fight.  On the other hand, his 
nervousness with the latest US insanity is also out in the open. 
Within this year, it has happened twice that Musharraf said things, 
which usually are not stated publicly.   Back in January, he warned 
the Islamists that after Iraq if the US attacks Pakistan nobody is 
going to come to its rescue.  Then on 15th of last month (a Freudian 
slip or an intentional outburst?), he openly wished that Pakistan 
should not have been a member of the UN Security Council at this 
time.  That is, when the US was trying to get it=92s second UN 
resolution for "war" against Iraq passed.  Musharraf was saved from a 
dangerous situation because the US avoided the UN as France had 
threatened to veto it.

It is a shameful situation for a country of 150 million people with a 
500,000 strong army and a dozen or more nuclear weapons.

Not that Musharraf is blameless.  Any leader, who creates enmity with 
neighbors and produces a mess in the neighborhood, will be that much 
weaker against the US, when the latter opens its fang to tear apart 
her/his country.  When he came to power in October 1999, he should 
have stopped supporting the Taliban =96 not because of the US - but 
because they were a nasty lot and were a regressive influence on the 
whole region; he should have avoided the Kargil mini-war; and he 
should have tried to make the Agra Summit a success, even a limited 
one  =96 in spite of Lal Krishna Adwani and other Hindu hardliners=92 
efforts to derail the summit.

Today, if relations with India were good, Pakistan would not have 
felt so vulnerable to be one of the targets on the US hit list of 
destruction.  (If Iraq=92s relations with Iran were good, if nothing 
else, at least Iran would have extended moral support.)

Musharraf cannot afford any more delays; he should accept Indian 
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's "hand of friendship" by 
offering Pakistan=92s hand and thus meeting Vajpayee=92s condition that 
"hands should be extended from both sides." (Vajpayee's speech in 
Srinagar on April 18, 2003).

Musharraf should consult people like Teesta Setalwad, Arundhati Roy, 
former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, Praful Bidwai, Asma Jahangir, Dr. 
Mubashir Hassan, I.A. Rahman and others for ideas on smoothing the 
path to negotiation.

There is no doubt that at times India acts like a big brother in the 
region and would act more often in such fashion in future, as its 
ties with US grow stronger.  (A small bully in company of the biggest 
bully never feels impotent but important.)  Even if India decides to 
act like a big brother, it will always be aware of the close 
proximity and hence of the retaliatory moves.  It is not like the 
world Master who just comes on killing, saucers, destroys, and goes 
back to its safe nest.

Some of the suggestions:
There are several advantages in having friendly relations with India:
Secularists in whole of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, 
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) would gain some strength 
after suffering so much defeat due to onslaught of communalism of all 
sorts in the whole region.
People traveling to both countries would be saved humiliation and 
time by entering each others=92 countries directly rather than via UAE 
or Singapore.
Defense expenditures of both countries would reduce, and the savings 
thus gained could be diverted to the betterment of their economies.
The SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) would be 
able to function in a meaningful way and could be helpful in 
improving cultural, economical, financial, and political relations 
between all the countries.
The region could stand up as one block in its dealings with the US, 
and in its opposition to the criminal activities of the US.
Improve relations with India without involving the US.  Relations 
based on mutual understanding would be long lasting than the one 
created by a country that nobody would want to trust.

Some other recommendations, including a few for India too:**
1. India must end the reign of terror in Kashmir and should take the 
Kashmiri people into confidence by granting them more autonomy.
2. Pakistan must clamp down on Pakistani infiltrators and also the 
foreign terrorists or "Jehadis."  It should see that they are not 
allowed to cross into the Indian Kashmir.
3. Pakistan will have to accept the bitter truth that the Kashmir 
Game is now over and will have to learn to stay content with the 
1/3rd portion, which is under its control.
4. Once both the countries have decided to accept the Line of Control 
as a permanent border, they should then involve the United Nations to 
give it a legal shape.
5. The terroristic activities of India's RAW (Research and Analysis 
Wing) and Pakistan's ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) in each 
other's countries must end.  Enough research has been done in South 
Asia and enough services have been provided to the South Asians.
6. Famous South Asian actor Dilip Kumar was awarded Pakistan's 
highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, by Sharif government in 
1998.  In spite of fierce opposition in India, Dilip Kumar showed 
courage by going to Pakistan to receive the award.  On part of Sharif 
government, it was a purely  political move.  A government of a 
Muslim country confers an award to a Muslim actor from India, a 
country with a Hindu majority.

It would have been much better if the award were also given to singer 
Lata Mangeshkar, a Hindu.  She is equally, if not more, popular in 
Pakistan and among other South Asians worldwide.  Musharraf 
government can rectify the folly by inviting Lata Mangeshkar and 
presenting her the Nishan-e-Pakistan.



*Corpse in several South Asian languages.
**The following ones are taken verbatim from my 2000 article, "The 
Kashmir Game is Over".


_____


#4.

The Independent (UK)
26 April 2003

In Foreign Parts: Seedy life of Pakistan's world-weary 'dancing 
girls' is caught on canvas

By Jan McGirk in Lahore

Plump courtesans such as Naila usually laze away the afternoon in 
darkened rooms, since most clients don't arrive at Lahore's old Heera 
Mandi quarter before 11pm. She laments that late-night customers 
prefer the vulgar "bump and grind" routines inspired by pop videos or 
Bollywood movies as a teaser for perfunctory sex.

Very few "nautch" (dancing) girls still perform the classical Urdu 
love songs and erotic dances that enchanted maharajas in Mogul times.

Naila, age 34 and tipping the scales at 15 stone (95kg), swigs liquor 
to get in the mood. Her baritone imbues the old lyrics with a 
palpable longing. "It's the voice of the whisky," she giggles. Her 
two youngest kids listen to rap, while her teenage daughters pout and 
primp.

She cranks up the volume on her tape recorder and huffs through the 
classic steps, fixing her gaze on Iqbal Hussain. Mr Hussain, a local 
painter who has chronicled her life on dozens of canvasses, champions 
the nautch traditions that his mother and sister used to practise.

Mr Hussain's campaign to preserve this remarkable neighbourhood of 
"Punjabi geishas" as a heritage site has met staunch opposition, 
particularly from Pakistan's religious fundamentalists. "The mullahs 
condemn me for promoting whoredom," he said, "and the cops resent me 
for showing their brutality towards prostitutes."

No one denies that nautch girls may be willing to have sex with 
paying clientele. This includes well-heeled politicians and 
industrialists as well as frustrated Lahori labourers. Though Naila's 
three daughters did not start turning tricks until they were 14, she 
began dancing when she was seven.

Generation after generation, these women are born into the flesh 
trade; in fact, a baby girl's birth is celebrated in this 
neighbourhood, unlike in most Pakistani communities.

Mr Hussain, who has witnessed the despair of his neighbourhood, 
added: "Things are changing for the worse. Fear of police drives the 
women to work through pimps. The women's work has become more 
dangerous."

Hina, who is Naila's middle daughter, was raped when she was 12. 
Earlier, three policemen turned on the girls in the bazaar and beat 
them with sticks, incensed that the comely teenagers had "the 
intention of inviting people upstairs".

Mr Hussain was astonished when Naila suggested this brutal episode as 
a theme for a painting, even though his narrative art usually 
reflects the family's personal routines.

Nowadays, working women are paid to drink shots and mime to songs in 
city bars. The women are often raped and robbed of their night's 
takings. There's no use reporting the crime, since a judge would 
blame the women.

_____


#5.


DAWN (Karachi) April 25, 2003

Sense on dress

By Ismail Khan

=46or a change, the Frontier assembly did meet at the stipulated time 
and things went well as far as the day's agenda was concerned - the 
usual lacklustre question hour. However, the brinkmanship of our 
legislators: if they have no issue to talk about, they create one.
Khalid Waqar Chamkani is a lawyer by profession, that too of the high 
court. One expected him to do better than moving a resolution which, 
although good in substance, included a controversial sentence, 
calling the trousers-shirt dress a symbol of slavery and an 
un-Islamic dress.
The actual resolution had called for a shalwar- qameez uniform for 
students and teachers in all public and private schools from the next 
academic year. But then Mr Waqar Chamkani moved a step further, 
describing western dress un- Islamic. This caused an uproar.
ANP's Bashir Bilour jumped from his seat to point to a huge portrait 
of the suit-and-tie-wearing Quaid-i-Azam overlooking the house. He 
dared the MMA MPs to say that the Quaid was wearing an un-Islamic 
dress. "Why is this picture there if it is un-Islamic? Bring it down 
if it is un- Islamic", he challenged the MMA MPs.
This prompted a few other opposition MPs to join in. Israr Gandapur, 
who like his father, Inayatullah Gandapur, comes to the house wearing 
'un-Islamic' dress, rose to explain the history of western-style 
trousers, their connection with the Ottoman empire and Turkey. The 
MMA members were not willing to listen.
Senior Minister Sirajul Haq did make an effort to brush the 
resolution aside. "There is nothing un-Islamic about the dress", he 
said. But the harangue created by some of the diehard MMA MPs forced 
Speaker Bakht Jahan to put it to vote. The ayes obviously carried the 
motion, amidst loud desk-thumping and cheers of congratulations to 
the mover.
The opposition, which by then had assembled in front of the Speaker's 
podium, in frustration walked out.
Better sense however prevailed and when the house reconvened after 
the break. The senior minister rose again to ask the speaker to 
delete the contentious sentence from the resolution. Bakht Jahan 
obliged and the MMA MPs who had pushed the resolution by voice and 
show of hand grudgingly said aye again to omit the disputed sentence

_____


#6.

The Daily Star (Dhaka)
April 26, 2003

SAHR meeting begins today
Staff Correspondent
The two-day meeting of the bureau members of the South Asians for 
Human Rights (SAHR) begins in the city today.

Leading human rights activists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and 
Nepal including SAHR Chair and former Indian premier, IK Gujral, and 
SAHR co-chair and UN Rapporteur for Extra Judicial Killings, Asma 
Jahangir, reached Dhaka yesterday to attend the meeting to be held at 
Sheraton Hotel. SAHR Bangladesh chapter is hosting the meeting.

The meeting is likely to focus on the implications of the war in 
Iraq, growing militarisation, rising use of religion and general 
political situation as related to human rights in the region.

SAHR bureau consists of members from South Asian countries. Members 
of the Bangladesh bureau are Sigma Huda, Hameeda Hossain, Subrata 
Chowdhury and Mahfuz Anam.

Meanwhile, IK Gujral and Asma Jahangir will exchange views with the 
members of civil society at 4:30pm today at the Supreme Court Bar 
Association auditorium.

Besides, SAHR bureau members will hold a press conference at Sheraton 
tomorrow afternoon.

______


#7.

SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg
New Delhi-110001
Telephone- 3711276/ 3351424
e-mail-sahmat@vsnl.com

25.4.2003

  Please Join Us! Very Important!!

After over a year of the genocide in Gujarat, Muslims still face a 
crippling economic and social boycott. A callous state establishment 
is not only denying justice to the victims but is actively involved 
in prosecuting innocent people belonging to the minority community.

To give details of what is happening in BJP-ruled Gujarat, a press 
conference is being held on Saturday, 26th April at 3.30 pm at SAHMAT 
office, 8
VBPH Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

Hanif Lakadawala and Teesta Setelwad  will address the conference.

Ram Rahman
for
SAHMAT


______


#8.


The Economic and Political Weekly
April 19, 2003

Re-imagination of the State and Gujarat's Electoral Verdict
The absence of progressive class/social movements has made Gujarat 
susceptible to experiments with right wing ideologies, especially the 
politics of the Hindu right.
by Aseem Prakash
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=3D2003&leaf=3D04&filename=3D5725=
&filetype=3Dpdf


______


#9.

The Economic and Political Weekly
April 19, 2003

Rights versus Representation
Defending Minority Interests in the Constituent Assembly

In the name of democracy, the constituent assembly of India adopted 
certain specific individual and collective rights to religion. 
Democracy, however, is not just about rights; another integral 
component of democracy is representation. This essay argues that the 
granting of a range of individual and collective religious rights to 
the minorities was used, in the constituent assembly, to justify the 
refusal of their demand for more adequate mechanisms of 
representation, for instance, for proportional representation or for 
reserved seats in the legislatures.
by Shefali Jha
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=3D2003&leaf=3D04&filename=3D5723=
&filetype=3Dhtml

______


#10.

PUCL April, 2003
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communalism/2003/trishul.html


Summary Report of PUCL, Rajasthan

Distribution of arms in the State of Rajasthan
Immediate need to ban the VHP dagger alias the trishul in the state

Tables:
=46orthcoming trishul distribution ceremonies
Year and district-wise distribution of trishuls
List of some trishul distribution ceremonies in last 3 years
Communal Incident/Riots & Communal Tension
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communalism/2003/trishul-tables.html

After the successful victory of the VHP brand of the BJP in Gujarat 
the next target is Rajasthan. Facts related to distribution of 
trishuls not only show that after the carnage in Gujarat in 2002 more 
than six thousand trishuls were distributed in the State but after 
the victory in Gujarat the pace of arming people has increased. In 
less than thirty five days of the year 2003 more than 2600 people 
were armed with trishuls. In the next twenty days, nine ceremonies 
have been planned which are expected to arm about five thousand 
people with more than a thousand only in Dausa district.

The VHP was earlier moving with a strategy of arming people in those 
areas which have competitive communalism like Ajmer. All three 
religions the Hindus, Muslims and the Christians have a strong 
presence in this region and have been competing with each other for 
more than seventy five years. The VHP also selected areas where the 
RSS or Banvasi Kalyan Parshad have had a base for many years like in 
the districts of southern Rajasthan or the districts of Kota, Baran 
in East Rajasthan. The VHP also moved with trishuls after a riot 
happened in order to assert hindutva by arming a group of hindus. But 
now it has decided to spread its net of trishuls in the entire State. 
This year, it is moving westwards to areas like Sikar, Nagaur and 
Bikaner where the hindutva forces are weak. Todate trishul 
distribution has happened in 13 districts of the States but in the 
next twenty days they will have moved to four new districts and 
subsequently the rest of the State.

While the VHP states that more than seventy thousand trishuls have 
been distributed in last five years, according to Government sources 
the distribution totals to about ten thousand since 1998 till 
=46ebruary, 2003. In the first week of February during the distribution 
ceremony in Sikar district, the VHP announced that they would arm 3 
lac people in the State and only in Alwar and the Meo belt they would 
be arming a lac people. The VHP is known for its exaggerated 
statements but they cannot be ignored anymore as 2003 is the election 
year in the State and the Ayodhya movement is simmering again in the 
country. With little or no presence or opposition by Congress cadres 
at the grassroots, the NGOs having not woken up with a strategy to 
counter the VHP initiative of distributing Trishuls and the 
Government not taking any legal action against, the VHP may try to 
repeat in Gujarat in Rajasthanas an act of desperation.

The immediate need is bringing the trishul under the Arms Act in 
Rajasthan and prevent any further distribution of this arm in the 
State.

Some highlights of the trishul programme in the state
=46acts of the last five years show that the VHP launched its programme 
of trishul distribution in 1998 targeting the districts of Rajsamand 
and Kishangarh and Ajmer, where 304 trishuls were distributed. In the 
year1999 only Tonk district was a target where 27 trishuls were 
distributed. In year 2000 there were no distribution of trishuls. In 
2001 about 1126 trishuls were distributed in the five districts of 
Ajmer, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Banswara with more than 800 
trishuls distributed only in Ajmer and 195 in Bhilwara. It is the 
year 2002 which has sent alarm bells ringing through the State where 
in only one day in October more than 2000 trishuls were distributed 
in Jhalarapatan in Jhalawar. In the month of December, when all eyes 
were glued to Gujarat, Togadia and other senior VHP leaders 
distributed 2580 trishuls in Rajasthan. The break up of this 
distribution was as follows: 300 in Chittor on 7th Dec., 1100 in 
Sawai Madhopur on 14th Dec, 580 in Jaipur on 15th Dec and 600 in 
Bharatpur on 16th Dec.

These developments in Rajasthan become particularly alarming when 
viewed in the light of the Gujarat experience. It may be recalled 
that the regions where trishuls were distributed in large numbers in 
Gujarat saw the worst killings. The year 2002 saw 21 incidents of 
communal violence and riots in Rajasthan as compared to 5 in the 
earlier year. The timing and selection of place by VHP for trishul 
distribution in 2001 & 2002 has had a relationship with communal 
incidents/ tensions in the area.

=46or instance Gangapur city ( Sawai Madhopur) is an example where in 
the wake of Godhra in 2002 March three persons were killed in police 
firing when a big crowd of people prevented the tazia processions 
during Muharram from being taken out in the city. Both the BJP and 
the VHP have periodically being holding programmes of spreading hate 
and finally on the 14th of December 1100 trishuls were distributed. 
Togadia himself came to distribute these trishuls and in his hate 
speech declared that now that the hindus had been armed the muslims 
could be taught a lesson.

In September 2001, Togadia himself undertook the journey to Asind in 
Bhilwara to distribute trishuls and honour the youth who broke the 
Kalindri masjid in the Sawai Bhoj premises at Asind. About 150 
trishuls were distributed to young village youth from closeby areas. 
=46ollowing the US attack on Afghanistan the poor mulsims of that area 
were called Osama Bin Laden supporters in a public meeting of Sadhvi 
Rithambara at Asind. Towards end December Daulatgarh, a village in 
the vicinity of Asind had its first communal tension where fingers 
were pointed at muslims that had were associated with Bin Laden. 
According to the villagers the young men who returned after the 
trishul ceremony spread hate against the muslims in the village.

Similarly on the 5th of April, 2001 a big trishul distribution 
ceremony took place on Muharram on the outskirts of Beawar. In less 
than a week's time an altercation happened between villagers and the 
administration over the construction of a masjid few kms. outside 
Beawar. Capitalising on this incident on the 16th of April, 2001 a 
serious incident of communal violence took place when a VHP rally 
pouting hate speech right at the entrance of a muslim mohalla was 
attacked resulting in loot, arson and injuring several people.

That the eyes of the VHP is on the dalits can be clearly seen through 
the trishul distribution event in Phagi, Jaipur district, held on the 
5th of January, 2002. It was organised to crush the emergence of the 
dalit identity in the area who were demanding rights to equal 
citizenship after the Chakwara incident of dalits being prevented 
bathing rights in the village pond. The banners pasted all over the 
pandaal said "all hindus are one". The VHP tried killing two birds 
with one stone, they not only made the "untouchables" feel important 
that day but the Manuwadi hindu big brothers armed them, a right 
traditionally not possessed by them. It may be recalled that in 
Gujarat the VHP army were the dalits.

Proscribing the trishul under the arms act
To prevent Gujarat from being repeated one of the immediate tasks 
needed is to prevent people the arming of people. There is an urgent 
need to ban trishul distribution in the state. Madhya Pradesh 
government has shown the way by proscribing the VHP trishuls under 
the Arms Act. The Rajasthan government just needs to include by a 
notification trishuls in the list of weapons under the relevant 
provision of the Act. At present, the VHP trishuls defy the Arms Act 
on just a technical count. The Arms Act, as in force, proscribes a 
weapon with a sharp blade of 10.5 cms length. Though the VHP trishul 
has a blade length of 13.5 cms, the sharpened part has been 
deliberately kept slightly shorter with a length of 8 cms only. But 
this is just an eyewash as the remainder can be sharpened anytime by 
the neighbourhood blacksmith at the behest of the person holding the 
trishul. Hence a fresh notification is required to bring these 
trishuls under the ambit of the Arms Act. The sooner this is done the 
better. The traditional trishul displayed in temples could be 
excluded from this as two of its arms are blunt and turned sideways 
and the middle arm is pointed but not sharp.

It may be recalled that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged 
the Prime Minister to restrain the VHP from distributing trishuls as 
the resultant panic among muslims would polarise the communal 
situation in the state. Also, any violence that this would generate 
would merely push the muslims to the arms of fundamentalists and 
possibly Pakistan in this border state. It is therefore that an 
urgent action needs to be taken in this regard.

The PUCL team was unable to get information as to where these 
trishuls are being manufactured. Officials in Rajasthan have informed 
us that they are not manufactured in the State and they come from 
outside. Finding the location of factories is important in the long 
run.

The People's Union for Civil Liberties appeals to all groups and 
citizens to help put pressure on the Government and get the trishul 
proscribed under the arms act by bringing in a fresh notification.

Kavita Srivastava & Prem Krishna Sharma

=46or More Information Contact:

People's Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan
49, Vivek Nagar, Station Road, Jaipur-302006
phone: 0141/2206139 (Prem Krishna Sharma) , 2591408, 2706483 ( Kavita 
Srivastava) e.mail: kavisriv@yahoo.com


_____


#11.

=46rontline
Volume 20 - Issue 09, April 26 - May 09, 2003

Stopping Togadia
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
The arrest of Praveen Togadia has temporarily halted the VHP's 
provocative trishul distribution campaign in Rajasthan, but will the 
Congress(I) government deal firmly with the Hindutva forces?
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2009/stories/20030509004103000.htm


_____


#12.

=46rontline
Volume 20 - Issue 09, April 26 - May 09, 2003

Building hatred around Bhojshala
NAUNIDHI KAUR
in Dhar

The order of the Archaeological Survey of India allowing Tuesday 
prayers at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, raises 
fresh fears about an escalation of communal tensions in the town.

ON Tuesdays, the 10,000-odd Muslims of Dhar in Madhya Pradesh 
consciously keep a low profile. There are few localities in the town 
of one lakh people where Hindus and Muslims live together. The level 
of interaction between the two communities plunges to greater depths 
on Tuesdays as the neighbourhood resounds with sloganeering by 
activists of the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), an affiliate of the 
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). HJM activists block the narrow 
lanes of Dhar town, about 60 km from Indore, doing door-to-door 
rounds urging the residents to attend the morning aarti at the 
Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex. They distribute a few grains of rice 
and flowers to the residents and ask them to offer these to goddess 
Saraswati in the complex. [...].
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2009/stories/20030509003103700.htm


_____


#13.

The Hindu, Apr 26, 2003

Now, Thackeray sets a cut-off date
By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI April 25. The Shiv Sena, which originally preached the 
`Mumbai-for-Maharashtrians' doctrine in the past, has now changed 
tack. All those who came here prior to 1995, it says, are 
Mumbaiwallahs. But if intends doing anything about the post-1995 
arrivals, it is not known how it would go about it.

And, it wants those who came prior to 1995 to stop the new influx of 
migrants. In an attempt towards securing such intent, the Sena chief, 
Bal Thackeray, today announced a "Me Mumbaikar (I am a Mumbai 
resident)" programme but did not specify the details. Stopping the 
"flood" should be the first priority, he said.

No one, he said, should "bring politics into this". If anyone was 
"far too smart to play a game of political chess on this", he told 
the party organ, Saamana, "then I will not rest till I defeat such 
designs".

It did not matter which region the pre-1995 migrants came from. There 
would be no discrimination on any grounds, regional, religious or 
language.

On Thursday, the Sena's executive president, Uddhav Thackeray, spelt 
out his view to Mumbai's business leaders at the Indian Merchants' 
Chamber and was backed by a battery of party elders.

Clearly, the party has moved away from its anti-Tamil line and 
started on a new tack without abandoning Hindutva.

Using the analogy of the cellular operators who advertise "incoming 
calls free", the younger Mr. Thackeray says Mumbai's plight is 
dictated by such an attitude. Anyone can come in. No questions asked. 
It may be recalled that the Sena had always spoken of "floods of 
migrants".

Its calls had always been met with the affirmation that Indian 
citizens' right to movement and choice of residence could not be 
curtailed. The party's argument is this: no one, except the Shiv Sena 
and its cadre are as concerned about Mumbai, or love it as much. But 
the process of allowing migrants, one per minute according to the 
Sena, into the already overcrowded metropolis has strained the city's 
resources to the extent that it could collapse soon. "It is already 
in a gridlock. Others have only feasted off it."

The continuing flow of people - by all accounts Mumbai is the biggest 
magnet for people in India, the city that can deny shelter but not a 
living - was because other States could not ensure employment or 
livelihood for their own people.

So, apart from paying the highest share of income and corporate 
taxes, Mumbai had to bear the burden. And the city got no special 
treatment, the Sena argues.

A few days ago, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray's cousin, Raj Thackeray, had 
said that given the manner in which Maharashtrians had suffered, they 
should be allowed to make money in any manner they chose and that 
both the Government and the media should turn a blind eye to that. 
That means the Sena's soft corner for its original base will 
continue. The new Uddhav Thackeray line appears to be rooted in urban 
planning: cities cannot be allowed to overstretch themselves beyond a 
point. There is some historic, though recent, background to 1995. 
That was the cut-off year for free rehabilitation of Mumbai's 
slum-dwellers in pucca houses, 225 sq. ft. for a family, when the 
Sena was in Government along with the BJP.

That effort came to nought because the builders could not sell enough 
space in the former slums in the free market.

According to Adhik Shirodkar, a former Sena Rajya Sabha member and 
perhaps the only Maharashtrian, others to the Upper House from the 
party having been non-Maharashtrians, the migrants, mainly from Uttar 
Pradesh and Bihar, should be asked three questions: Why are you 
coming here? Do you have a place to stay? What are you bringing to 
Mumbai?

Sanjay Nirupam, who hails from Bihar, says he continues to be 
pressured by kith and kin from back home to find jobs for them in 
Mumbai. He said he would henceforth ask them to go to other cities, 
maybe Pune or even Nagpur.

Said Mr. Bal Thackeray: "Does any other State allow an outsider to 
become a Minister? Can a non-Bengali manage to become a Minister in 
West Bengal?" In Maharashtra, non-Maharashtrians hold ministerial 
positions, he added.



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