SACW | 19 May 03

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Mon, 19 May 2003 04:44:59 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire   | 19 May,  2003

Action Alert: In Defence of the Indian Historian Romila Thapar
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Alerts/IDRT300403.html

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

#1. India -Pakistan: Trading with the enemy (Farrukh Saleem)
#2. India -Pakistan: Let Punjabis show the way to peace (Ishtiaq Ahmed)
#3. Letter of Protest by Scholars and Intellectuals Against the 
Attack on Romila Thapar
#4. Correspondence: Letter received by SACW from Brannon Parker (who 
created the internet petiton against Romila Thapar) and the Response 
to Brannon Parker
#5. On Line Petition Defending the Library of Congress appointment of 
Dr Romila Thapar to the Kluge Chair
#6. On Sociology of Communalism (Asghar Ali Engineer)


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

#1.


The News International, May 18, 2003

Trading with the enemy

Dr Farrukh Saleem

On 27 December 2001, Pakistan and India traded harsh diplomatic 
sanctions. On 31 December 2001, Pakistani and Indian forces traded 
fire along the Line of Control (LoC). On 1 June 2002, India and 
Pakistan traded abduction accusations. On 8 January 2003, Pakistan 
and India traded nuclear war of words. People who begin trading goods 
stop trading fire.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/may2003-daily/18-05-2003/oped/o4.htm


______

#2.

The Daily Times, May 18, 2003
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=3Dstory_18-5-2003_pg3_2

Let Punjabis show the way to peace

Ishtiaq Ahmed

There is no reason to fear that any open and unrestricted contact 
between the peoples of the two Punjabs will undermine the two-state 
solution that was agreed upon in 1947
These days the governments of India and Pakistan are making sensible 
moves towards normalisation of relations. We can only hold our breath 
and hope that this time the spoilers, who are well-entrenched on both 
sides and are proud to be known as hawks, will not gain the upper 
hand and bring to nought the positive statements and friendly 
gestures of preceding weeks by taking maximalist positions that the 
other side cannot possibly accept.
Past efforts by the governments of India and Pakistan have followed a 
set pattern. Hopes have been raised high with the heads of the two 
governments meeting and proclaiming an end to the era of 
confrontation and the opening of a new chapter in their relations 
which would include easing of travel facilities and expansion of 
trade. An important feature of such declarations has been the 
acknowledgement that the Kashmir dispute (the Indians prefer to call 
it an "issue") needs to be resolved peacefully. Thereafter, nothing 
substantial happens and after a while things go awry.
Just to recall the latest such events, it was in February 1999 when 
things looked truly bright on the peace front. Prime Minister Atal 
Behari Vajpayee had made the historic visit to the Minar-e-Pakistan 
where he publicly acknowledged that despite opposition to the idea of 
Pakistan the Hindu nationalist forces were now ready to accept the 
reality of Pakistan. But the architects of Kargil had other plans and 
a wasteful border war left hundreds of young men dead and wounded on 
both sides.
Another opportunity arose at the time of the Agra Summit in July 
2001. On that occasion the Indian side assumed an intransigent 
position only hours before a joint declaration was to be made by Mr 
Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf affirming their commitment to 
peace and friendly relations.
It is an old, well-established principle that when two antagonists 
cannot resolve their disputes and conflicts peacefully they are 
advised to invite a third party to mediate between them and find fair 
solutions. In this regard, Pakistan has been willing to accept third 
party mediation but India remains adamant not to submit their claims 
on Kashmir to any third party. As I have argued in earlier articles 
relating to Kashmir, the Indian and Pakistani positions on that 
dispute pertain to security and economic concerns. Unless we create a 
climate whereby both sides may learn to appreciate that their 
security and economic prosperity, along with that of the people of 
Kashmir, is actually enhanced from a rational sharing of its 
resources no real progress can possibly be made on Kashmir.
Under the circumstance, would it not be worthwhile to introduce new 
actors into the process of conflict resolution? These have to be 
found from within India and Pakistan. They should not be government 
officials and functionaries because that has already been tried 
unsuccessfully. It would also not suffice to have the annual meets of 
civil society actors such as the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for 
Peace and Democracy in various Indian and Pakistani cities. The Forum 
has done much good work in the field but it is constrained by both 
the delegations upholding the official positions of their governments 
on Kashmir. The net result is that nothing happens that can break the 
deadlock.
I should like to propose an entirely new way of approaching 
India-Pakistan relations. Let the people of the two countries meet 
without any fixed political agenda to deal with. For a start it must 
be the Punjabis on both sides of the Wagah-Attari Border who need to 
be engaged in the peace process.
Contrary to the official rhetoric about the 1947 Punjab riots, my own 
research shows that most of the people of Punjab did not want to 
abandon their hearth and home and wanted to stay put despite their 
province being partitioned on the basis of religious majorities. Even 
when they were leaving their villages and towns they were hoping to 
return as soon as the communal madness was brought under control. 
That of course could not happen.
In the 1950s the Pakistan High Commissioner to India Raja Ghazanfar 
Ali Khan allowed East Punjabis to freely visit West Punjab during an 
India-Pakistan cricket match at Lahore. The people of Lahore and 
Punjab offered the visitors such moving hospitality and generosity 
that the bloody riots of only a few years earlier seemed to be an 
unreal nightmare. Grown up men of all religions were seen embracing 
each other and crying and asking each other for forgiveness.
It is my contention that under international law and the higher moral 
law deriving from the universal conscience, the right to visit one's 
place of birth is an inalienable human right and must be granted to 
all human beings. In my interviews relating to the 1947 riots 
conducted recently in Pakistan, I was quite surprised how greatly 
Punjabi Muslims valued the right to go back and visit not only their 
homes but particularly their ancestral graveyards. Many of them want 
to go back at least once and offer fateha at the graves of their 
parents. They could not do that because at that moment the main 
consideration was to save their lives and quickly cross the border 
into Pakistan. The Hindus and Sikhs who fled West Punjab are equally 
emotional and they would like to visit their ancestral homes, schools 
and colleges.
I don't believe for a moment that Punjabi Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, 
Christians and others bear a permanent grudge against each other. On 
the other hand, my research shows that on both sides there is a 
realisation that India and Pakistan are two separate and independent 
states and they will and should remain so in the future.
There is no reason to fear that any open and unrestricted contact 
between the peoples of the two Punjabs will undermine the two-state 
solution that was agreed upon in 1947. On the contrary what is likely 
is that they will in their traditional wisdom generate enough good 
will that resolving the Kashmir dispute to the advantage of all the 
peoples of this region will appear to be the only sound option. So 
let's allow Punjabis to meet and mix freely for three months.

______


#3.


Source URL: http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Alerts/ProtestLetter17052003.html

Letter of Protest by Scholars and Intellectuals Against the Attack on 
Romila Thapar
[Sent to the Library of Congress and released to the Press on 17 May 2003]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are shocked at the letter of protest that is circulating in on the 
Internet against the appointment of Professor Romila Thapar as First 
Holder of the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at 
the Library of Congress, USA. Professor Thapar has been undoubtedly 
one of the most eminent Indian historians, whose prolific scholarly 
contribution has opened up new ways of looking at India's past.

The petition shows an amazing lack of familiarity with Professor 
Thapar's writings. Since the 1960s Professor Thapar has written 
powerfully against the colonial stereotypes that India had no past, 
no sense of time, and no historical consciousness. The petitioners 
attribute to her precisely those ideas that she has spent a lifetime 
battling against.

But clearly the problem is that Professor Thapar's conception of 
Indian past is different from that of the petitioners. Professor 
Thapar has looked at a variety of cultural traditions in the making 
of ancient India. To the petitioners Indian past is monolithic, 
unified and unmistakably only Hindu. Those who disagree with this 
notion are accused of committing cultural genocide.

This is a not just a shocking intolerance of perceptual differences. 
It is a politics that seeks to silence critique, and battles for a 
notion of the past that is homogeneously Hindu. It is part of a wider 
attack that we are witnessing in India today against intellectual and 
artistic freedom, and against cultural plurality. In a political 
milieu where dissent is being regularly repressed through 
intimidation, this petition against Professor Thapar and the hate 
mails that accompany it, become particular cause of concern.

We strongly protest against this attack on Professor Thapar.

Signatories:

Professor Hermann Kulke
Chair of Asian History,
Kiel University, Germany

Ranajit Guha

Stanley J. Tambiah
Harvard University

Professor T.N. Madan
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Professor Sumit Sarkar
Department of History
University of Delhi

Professor Partha Chatterjee
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Sheldon Pollock
George V. Bobinskoy Professor of Sanskrit and Indic Studies
Dept. of South Asian Languages and Civilizations
University of Chicago
1130 E. 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60637-1543

Professor Anthony Grafton
Henry Putnam University Professor
Department of History
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544

Professor Robert Tignor
Chair, Department of History
Department of History
Princeton University

Professor Kenneth McPherson
Mercator Professor
South Asia Institute
University of Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 330
69120 Heidelberg
GERMANY

Dr Sudipta Kaviraj
School of Oriental and Afrcian Studies
London

Prof. Fred Dallmayr,
University of Notre Dame.

Professor Kapil Raj
Ma=EEtre de conf=E9rences (Associate Professor)
Alexander Koyr=E9 Centre for the History of Science
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
54, boulevard Raspail
75006 Paris, France

Professor Gyanendra Pandey
Department of Anthropology and History
John Hopkins University

=46rancis Robinson,
Professor of the History of South Asia in the University
of London,
Royal Holloway, University of London.

Professor Supriya Chaudhuri
Dept. of English,
Jadavpur University

Professor Sukanta Chaudhuri
Dept. of English,
Jadavpur University

Professor David Washbrook
St Antony's College
University of Oxford

=46rederique Apffel-Marglin
Anthropology Professor
Smith College
Northampton. Mass, 01063, USA

David Neal Lorenzen

Dr Benjamin Zachariah
Lecturer in International History
Department of History
University of Sheffield
United Kingdom.

Professor Jayati Ghosh
Centre for Economic Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Abhijit Sen
Centre for Economic Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Profesor Chandrashekhar
Centre for Economic Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Prof. Dr. Marlene Njammasch
Institute for Asian and African Studies
Seminar for South Asian Studies
Humboldt University
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin

Dr. Ravi Ahuja, Assistant Professor of
History, South Asia Institute,
University of Heidelberg,

Sambudha Sen,
Reader , Department of English,
University of Delhi.

Profesor Gyan Prakash
Princeton University

Professor Satyajit Rath
Institute of Immunology

Aseem Prakash
=46ellow
Giri Institute of Development Studies
Lucknow - 2260 24
India

Professor Madhura swaminathan,
Indian Statistical Institute,
Kolkata, India

Professor V. K. Ramachandran,
Indian Statistical Institute
Kolkata, India

Dr. Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam
Sch=FCtzenstr. 8
85757 Karlsfeld
Germany

Rashmi Paliwal
Ekalavya
Bhopal
Madhaya Pradesh

Subramanyam
Ekalavya
Bhopal
Madhaya Pradesh

Shohini Ghosh,
Reader, MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi

Dr G.Arunima
University of Delhi

Balmurli Natrajan
Assistant Professor
Anthropology
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
U.S.A.

Ajay Sinha
Associate Professor
Art Department
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA 01075

Tim Schwabedissen
Kiel University, Germany

Dr. Mukulika Banerjee
Department of Anthropology
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

Professor Saurabh Dube
Centre for Asian and African Studies
El Colegio de M=E9xico
Mexico

Ajantha Subramanian
Harvard University

Professor Tirthankar Roy
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
Pune, India

Dr Ishita Banerjee
Centre for Asian and African Studies
El Colegio de M=E9xico

Prof. Dr. Jakob R=F6sel

Kesava Rao Siripurapu

TEESTA SETALVAD
JAVED ANAND, Bombay

Dr. Indira Ghose,
Lecturer, Department of English,
=46ree University of Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Mandakini Dubey
Duke University

Dr. Ashwini Chhatre
Department of Political Science,
Duke University.

Dr. Janet Sturgeon,
Brown University

Sheetal Majithia
Cornell University

Dr Abha Singh
Indira Gandhi University
New Delhi

Mayuri Amuluru

Mark Baker
=46orest Community Research
US

Professor Kim Berry
Head, Department of Women's Studies,
Humboldt State University.

Dr Nandini Sundar
Centre for Governance Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University

Bharati Jagannathan
Miranda House
Delhi University

G. Asha
K.Saradamoni
Janaki Nair

Praful bidwai
Journalist
New Delhi

Dr. Werner F. Menski,
Senior Lecturer in Law
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London
London WC1H 0XG

Arjun Dev
Indira Arjun Dev

Jean Dreze
India

Harjot Oberoi
Professor of South Asian History and Religions
Department of Asian Studies
1871 West Mall, Vancouver
University of British Columbia
BC V6T 1Z1, CANADA

Professor Tapati Guha-thakurta
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Professor Gautam Bhadra
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Professor Pradip Bose
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Dr Janaki Nair
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Professor Lakshmi Subramaniam
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences

Raziuddin Aquil
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Professor Anjan Ghosh
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Professor Manas Ray
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta

Tejaswini Niranjana,
Centre for the Study of Culture and Society
Bangalore

Ashish Rajadhyaksha,
Centre for the Study of Culture and Society
Bangalore

S.V.Srinivas,
Centre for the Study of Culture and Society
Bnagalore

Uma Maheshwari Bhrugubanda,
Columbia University

I.Mohan Krishna,
Independent film-maker,
Hyderabad

Dr Aloka Parasher-Sen
Department of History
University of Hyderabad

Dr David Hardiman,
Dept of History,
University of Warwick.

Dr. Satish Deshpande
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi University North Campus,
DELHI 110 007.

Professor Bina Agarwal
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Kanchan Chopra
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Dr Satish Deshpande
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Nilabja Ghosh
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Arup Mitra
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Saon Ray
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

S. Sakthivel
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Professor Patricia Uberoi
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Sudha Vasan
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Dr Mary John
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
Delhi 110 067

Joanna Jellinek
Publishing Editor,
Critical Quarterly

Ashwini Chhatre
Department of Political Science,
Duke University.

Janet Sturgeon,
Brown University

Sheetal Majithia
Cornell University

Mayuri Amuluru,
NYC.

Professor Susan Visvanathan
Centre for Social Systmes
Jawaharlal Nehru Univeristy

Mahasweta Chaudhury

Patrick Petitjean
REHSEIS-CNRS,
Paris

Dr. Jacques Pouchepadass
Senior Fellow, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris

Prof. Gyula Wojtilla
Department of Ancient History University of Szeged

=46arah Naqvi,
Independent writer

Dr Ian Mabbett
Reader in History,
School of Historical Studies,
Monash University,
Clayton, Vic. Australia 3800.

Dr Chandana Mathur
New School for Social Research, New York

Ines G. Zupanov
Research Fellow
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
CEIAS/EHESS
54, Bd. Raspail
Paris, 75006, France

Dr Francesca Orsini
University Lecturer in Hindi,
University of Cambridge

Anna Schultz
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign

Varuni Bhatia
Department of Religion
Columbia University

Sandeep Vaidya
125 Winter Garden
Pearse Street
Dublin 2
Ireland

K. Saradamoni,
Retired Professor, Economics,
Indian Statistical Institute.

Ritty Lukose
University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Bakirathi Mani
Assistant Professor
Department of English Literature
Swarthmore College

Dr Lata Mani,
Independent Scholar.
USA

Anupam Basu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of English

Laila Friese
=46reelance editor
Cambridge, UK

Aaron Moore
Dept. of History, Cornell University

Dr F. 'Nalini' Delvoye
EPHE IVth, Paris

Ahmer Nadeem Anwar,
Sri Venkateswara College,

Dr Daud Ali
Lecturer in the Early History of India, School of
Oriental and African Studies, London.

Avishek Ganguly
Dept of English & Comp Lit
Columbia University

Diya Das
Dept of Strategy & Human Resources
School of Management
Syracuse University

Ruchi
Columbia University

Dulali Nag
Unicef.

Dr Priyamvada Gopal
=46aculty of English
Cambridge University

Dr. Werner F. Menski, MA, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Law
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London
London WC1H 0XG

Laura Carballido
Centro de Estudios de Asia y Africa
El Colegio de Mexico
Mexico

Damu Radheshwar AIA
Senior Associate
POLSHEK PARTNERSHIP ARCHITECTS
320 West 13th Street
New York, New York 10014

Sushma Joshi,
80th St, East Elmhurst, NY 11370
=46reelance writer

David Holmberg
Cornell University

Kath March
Cornell University

Andrew Willford
Cornell University

Ann Blackburn
Cornell University

Chris Minkowski
Cornell University

Ajantha Subramanian,
Harvard University

Laila Friese
=46reelance editor
Cambridge, UK

Dr Rudrangshu Mukherjee
Editor, Editorial Pages,
The Telegraph.

Dayita Datta
Vice Principal Welham Girls School, Dehra Dun

Bhaswati Chakravorty
Senior Assistant Editor,
The Telegraph

Dr. Christiane Brosius,
Department of Anthropology
South Asia Institute
University of Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 330
69120 Heidelberg
Germany
www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/ETHNO

Saugata Mukherjee
Centre for Linguistics & English
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Dr. Annie Montaut
Paris

Michel Paty

Aant Elzinga
Professor
Department of History of Ideas and Theory of Science
Goteborg University
Box 200 SE-405 30 Goteborg
Sweden

Professpor Dhruv Raina
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Prajit K Basu

Jisha Menon,
Stanford University

Cyril Ghosh,
Syracuse University

Paromita Kar
Sr Sub-editor-cum-reporter
The Statesman, Kolkata

Anupama Roy
Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi 110 007

Meenu Tiwari
Institute of Economic Growth
& Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

David Osorio
London, UK

Martine Osorio
London, UK

Jill Kitson
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dr Eivind Kahrs,
=46aculty of Oriental Studies,
University of Cambridge, UK

Vinay Lal
Associate Professor
Department of History,
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1473

Professor I K Shukla
Coalition for an Egalitarian and Pluralistic India
Los Angeles, California

Anil Lal
Roosevelt University
Chicago, Illinois

Dr Anju Relan
School of Medicine, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Dr Sudeshna Guha
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Cambridge

Shukla Sawant
School of Arts & Aesthetics JNU
New Delhi-110067,

Geetanjali Shree
Writer in Residence,
South Asian Studies,
University of Edinburgh.
U.K.

Dr Nandini Gooptu
Queen Elizabesth House, Oxford

Dr Vijay Prasad
Trinity College,Hartford, CT, USA

Julia Eckert
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Prashant Kidambi,
Lecturer in South Asian History,
University of Leicester, UK.

Aradhana (Anu) Sharma
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies
Department of Anthropology
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT 06459-0502

R Ravishankar
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaig

Professor Spencer Leonard
University of Chicago

Professor Debali Mookerjea-Leonard
Cornell University

Imre Bangha,
Research Fellow
Indian literature and Aesthetics, PRASADA,
DE Montfort University.

Sophie Hawkins,
Lancaster University
England

Clare Talwalker
Ass. Professor of Anthropology
University of Dayton

Dr. Vasant Saberwal,
Director of Research, Moving Images, New Delhi.

Sunil deshmukh
1300 rockrimmon rd
stamford ct 06903

Jinee Lokaneeta
Sanjay K mishra
USC,Los Angeles

Geetanjali Srikantan
ALTERNATIVE LAW FORUM
India

Nikita Sud
St Antony's College
Oxford

Arunabha Ghosh
Balliol College
Oxford OX1 3BJ, UK

Dr. Jeffrey Cox
Professor of History
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa, US

Dr. Corey Creekmur
Associate Professor of Film Studies
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa, US

Dr. Alice Davison
Associate Professor of Linguistics
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa

Dr. Gigi Durham
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa
Associate Professor of Journalism

Dr. Paul Greenough
Professor of History
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa

Dr. Santhi Hejeebu
Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics and History
South Asian Studies
University of Iowa

Dr. Meena Khandelwal
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
South Asian Studies, University of Iowa

Dr. Priya Kumar
Assistant Professor of English
South Asian Studies, University of Iowa

Dr. Mark Sidel
Assistant Professor of Law
South Asian Studies, University of Iowa

=46arida Abdulla Khan,
Dept.of Education,
Delhi University

Modumita Roy,
Associate professor of english
Tufts univerity
USA

The Indian CEO Council

Asha Shahed

Ashish Chadha
Dept. Of Cultural and Social Anthropology

=46rancoise Mallison
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
=46rance

Dr. Sabina Sawhney
Hofstra University

Pritam Singh
Oxford Brookes University Business School
Oxford

Dr S Kapila,
Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine,
Oxford OX2 6PE.

Gautam Premnath
Assistant Professor of English
University of Massachusetts Boston

Bina Fernandez
Wolfson College
OX2 6UD, Oxford, UK

Alaka Basu
Cornell University

Swagato sarkar
St.antonym's college
University of oxford
Oxford ox2 6jf,uk.

Dr. Frederick Smith,
Associate Professor of Religion and of Asian Languages and Literatures,
University of Iowa.
USA

Prof Barbara Harriss-White
Queen Elizbesth House, Oxford

Professor Adam Hardy
PRASADA
De Montfort University
Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

Aditi Thorat
Lincoln College
University of Oxford

Amit Ranjan Basu
Jawaharlal Nehru Univesrity

Dr. SangeetaDasGupta,
Visva Bharati University,
Santiniketan,

Dr. Padmanabh Samarendra,
S.A. Jaipuria College,
Calcutta University,

Siddhartha DasGupta,
Bangabashi Evening College,
Calcutta University,

Swarna Rajagopalan
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Dr Susan Daruvala,
=46aculty of Oriental Studies,
University of Cambridge

Preeti Chopra
Department of Architecture
University of California, Berkeley

Dr Sambudha Sen
Department of English
University of Delhi

Professor Rajeev Bhargava
Department of Political Science
University of Delhi

Dr PK Dutta
Department of Political Science
University of Delhi

Dr Prabhu Mohapatra
Department of History
University of Delhi

Mala Dayal
Ravi Dayal
Ravi Dayal Publishers
Naina Dayal

Dr Chitra Joshi
Reader, Department of History
Indraprastha College
University of Delhi

Dr Meena Bhargava
Reader, Department of History
Indraprastha College
University of Delhi

Mukul Manglik
Ramjas College
Univerity of Delhi

Rashmi Pant
Reader, Department of History
Indraprastha College
University of Delhi

Suvrita Khatri
Department of History
Deshbandhu College
University of Delhi

Dr Rana Behal
Department of History
Deshbandhu College
University of Delhi

Professor Aditya Mukherjee
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Mridual Mukherjee
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Tanika Sarkar
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Dr Kumkum Roy
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Kunal Chakrabarty
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Dr Hiraman Tiwari
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Samira Sheikh
Wolfson College,
Oxford OX2 6UD.

Dr Tapas Saha
National Institute of Health
Bethesda. MD 20892

Joy Pachuau
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Mahalakshmi
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Neeladri Bhattacharya
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Dr Yogesh Sharma
Centre for Histoircal Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Zoya Hasan
Centre for Political Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

Professor Mushirul Hasan
Department of History
Jamiya Milia Islamia
New Delhi

Dr Jairus Banaji
Bombay

Rohini Hensman
Bombay

Dilip Simeon
New Delhi

Harsh Kapoor,
South Asia Citizens Web,
=46rance

______


#4.

CORRESPONDENCE FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT:

Letter received by SACW from Brannon Parker (who created the internet 
petiton against Romila Thapar) 
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Alerts/responsetoBP.html#Letter%20recieved%20by%2=
0SACW%20from%20the 

[also available at Hindutva site:: http://www.hvk.org/articles/0503/0.html

SACW Response to Brannon Parker [along with his letter]
(posted at the web page In Defence of Romila Thapar)
Available at: http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Alerts/


______


#5.

On Line Petition Defending the Library of Congress appointment of Dr 
Romila Thapar to the Kluge Chair
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/thapar/petition.html


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#6.

(Secular Perspective 16-31 May 2003)

ON SOCIOLOGY OF COMMUNALISM

by Asghar Ali Engineer

One cannot understand phenomenon of communalism without understanding 
the very nature of society. Society plays very important role in 
genesis of communalism. One cannot divide unless society is divisible 
along certain fault lines. These fault lines get further aggravated 
in certain conditions. In feudal societies too these fault lines 
exist but do not play politically divisive role as do in a colonial 
or capitalist society, which are much more competitive.

It is important to note that Indian society was never homogenous 
throughout history. It was highly diverse religiously, culturally, 
caste-wise and linguistically but there was hardly any tension 
between these groups. It all began with establishment of British rule 
in India and so most of the scholars agree that communalism is a 
modern phenomenon and not a medieval phenomenon.

Why the social cleavage got so aggravated with the advent of British 
rule? The cleavage did exist all through but it turned hostile only 
in the British colonial period. The explanation for this is quite 
complex, as there are host of reasons for this. However, three 
reasons are quite predominant which are as follows: The British 
divisive policies, competitive nature of colonial, political and 
social structure and backwardness of colonial society with stunted 
economic growth.

The British rule was shaken with war of independence in 1857 as 
Hindus and Muslims united to challenge British hegemony. It was 
easier to divide as fault lines were sharpening and communal 
consciousness was emerging among Hindu and Muslim elite. It is 
further to be noted that communal phenomenon is basically an upper 
class elite phenomenon. The Hindu elite welcomed the British rule as 
a 'liberative' one and began to aspire for higher administrative jobs.

The Muslim elite - mostly feudals - on the other hand, considered 
British rule as unmitigated disaster as not only they lost power but 
also because they suffered most during the retaliatory action by the 
British after 1857 uprising. They developed a sort of aversion for 
the British rulers and were quite reluctant to take to modern 
education introduced by the Britishers.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, a great thinker and educationist urged Muslim 
elite to go for modern education to better their future. Thus the 
Hindu and Muslim elite began to compete for British jobs and 
political favour. This widened the cleavage between the two elite. 
The British fully exploited this in their favour. The formation of 
Indian National Congress in 1885 also made the British more 
apprehensive of rising aspirations of the 'Hindu nationalism' and now 
began to manipulate Muslim feudal elite and play them against the 
Hindu elite.

Thus the colonial society sharpened communal consciousness and the 
British further fuelled separation through political manoeuvres. The 
Hindu and Muslim masses remained aloof from these controversies and 
coexisted without such hostilities. Among them neither there was 
competition for jobs nor for political posts. However, there was some 
trickling down effect.

The communal hostilities intensified with passage of time and 
controversies about sharing power between Hindu and Muslim elite and 
constitutional arrangement for sharing power. It must be noted that 
communalism is product not of religious hostilities but of political 
and economic struggle for share in power and resources between the 
educated elite. It is not a subaltern phenomenon either as they are 
not involved in such struggles.

Jinnah, a product of Lincoln's Inn in London, represented Muslim 
elite, not Muslim masses. The orthodox 'Ulama, on the other hand, 
were closer to the masses and represented their aspirations. No 
wonder than that Jinnah and the Deobandi 'Ulama never saw eye to eye 
on political matters. They were closer to Indian National congress 
than to Muslim League, which was the party of the Muslim elite. They 
supported the composite nationalism than Muslim separatism.

The British society was essentially a colonial society and masses had 
no say in political matters, as there was no universal franchise. 
After independence universal franchise was introduced and masses of 
people began to participate in the political processes. For few years 
after independence the Congress got elected to power. Its leaders 
like Nehru and others enjoyed tremendous prestige and people of all 
castes and communities continued to vote for it.

However, the political scenario began to change sharply at the end of 
sixties. Few general elections had brought more political 
consciousness among different caste and communities. Each caste and 
community began to develop heightened consciousness and began to 
demand greater share in power. Among Hindus only upper castes had all 
the political or economic benefits so far. Now increased 
participation in political processes made minorities and lower caste 
people understand importance of their vote and they began to make 
increased demands thus changing the dynamics of political change.

This gave new dimension to communalism, which we had inherited from 
the British period. Economic changes also added to the social strife. 
With land reforms middle castes in various states acquired more 
social clout and they demanded greater share in political power. The 
Reddys and Cammas in Andhra Pradesh, Patels in Gujarat, Marathas in 
Maharashtra, Yadavs in Utter Pradesh. and Bihar etc. acquired much 
greater clout and political parties began to woo them.

During early eighties Mrs. Gandhi realised the potential of these 
newly emerging castes and sought their support for electoral 
purposes. For these castes communalism provided an easier route to 
power in some cases. Thus Patels in Gujarat flocked around BJP to 
claim greater share in power. Also other backward castes found it 
very attractive to support communal outfits.

A sociological study of castes supporting VHP will be quite an 
interesting phenomenon. Most of the backward caste people finding no 
place in established secular parties found ready acceptance in 
outfits like the VHP. And to be in VHP, one has to compete with 
others in displaying communalism. The communal rhetoric helped them 
doubly: it helped them rise in the esteem of upper caste Hindus and 
also ensure them quicker rise in political power hierarchy.

The BJP which earlier had narrow upper caste base found it extremely 
difficult to win few parliamentary seats. It felt the necessity to 
widen its base. Initially it opposed implementation of Mandal 
Commission in 1990. But soon it realised its political potential and 
began to woo the OBC's to its fold. For these OBCs it was not easier 
to rise to the higher ranks of the political hierarchy. They thus 
flocked to VHP, which was a militant Hindu organisation. The extreme 
communal rhetoric made them more acceptable to the Hindu nationalist 
organisation.

It is such extreme rhetoric, which ensured quick rise of OBC leaders 
like Kalyan Singh who rose to became chief minister of U.P., Uma 
Bharti, Sadhvi Rithambara, Acharya Dharmendra Acharya Giriraj Kishor, 
Pravin Togadia and others. Ramjanambhoomi became their peg to hang 
their political aspirations on. It was confrontationist politics all 
along for them. More extreme the rhetoric quicker the rise. The Shiv 
Sena too attracted those castes which were below Mahars in the caste 
hierarchy in Maharashtra. The Mahars already had acquired political 
clout due to struggles by Ambedkar but those below Mahars had no such 
clout. It is Shiv Sena looking for expanding its political base gave 
them political importance and attracted them.

The Muslim politics too underwent similar change. In pre-partition 
days Muslim politics was monopoly of upper class Muslims known as 
ashraf. Most of the ashraf from minority areas like Utter Predesh. 
and Bihar migrated to Pakistan leaving behind low caste and poor 
Muslims known as ajlaf. Most of these Muslims were artisans and 
belonged to lower professions.

It is these Muslims who began to acquire economic clout in 
post-independence India. They began to rise in class hierarchy and 
upper class status and began to aspire, like OBCs among Hindus, for 
more political power and this drove a section of them to religious 
and fundamentalist rhetoric. The confrontationist postures some of 
them acquired during Shah Banu movement and Babri Masjid issue also 
has to be seen in this light. This confrontationist postures from 
both sides led to sharpening of communal consciousness and eruption 
of communal violence became more intense and widespread during 
eighties and early nineties.

The Indian society will continue to experience such violent caste and 
communal eruptions as long as it does not find political and economic 
equilibrium in terms of castes and communities. The rise of OBCs on 
one hand, and impact of globalisation on Indian economy on the other, 
will continue to cause occasional eruption of violence in Indian 
society for quite some time. Caste and communal polarisation will be 
with us as long as we are not able to create more egalitarian society.

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#4.

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#5.

The Deccan Herald, May 19, 2003

Expatriates' ideological battles: Remittance of hate and anger
By L K Sharma
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/may19/top.asp

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#6.

The May / June issue of the-south-asian has been published
URL: http://www.the-south-asian.com.

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#7.

India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 119
19 May 2003
URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/


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