SACW | 30 May 03
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex@mnet.fr
Fri, 30 May 2003 02:55:56 +0100
South Asia Citizens Wire | 30 May, 2003
In Defence of the Indian Historian Romila Thapar
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Alerts/IDRT300403.html
---------------
#1. Are nukes invincible? (M.B. Naqvi)
#2. Making History (Sherry Rehman)
#3. Strange Bedfellows: India & Israel as allies? (Praful Bidwai)
#4. Under Siege in the Narmada Valley (Angana Chatterji)
#5. ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy): Report and Action Plan
#6. [Maharshtra] state convention of Pakistan India Peoples' Forum For Peace=
&
Democracy (PIPFPD)
#7. Sandarbh plans to a study circle on June 4, 5 and 6 near Indore
#8. New titles recently brought out by Three Essays Collective
#9. Website of SARID (South Asian Research Institute for Policy & Developmen=
t)
--------------
#1.
The News International, May 28, 2003
Are nukes invincible?
By M.B. Naqvi
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/may2003-daily/28-05-2003/oped/o1.htm
______
#2.
The Nation, 26 May 2003
Making History.
by Sherry Rehman
"History is the most dangerous product ever concocted by the
chemistry of the intellect. It inebriates nations, saddles them with
false memories=8Akeeps their old sores running, torments them when they
not at rest, and induces in them megalomania and the mania of
persecution."
Paul Valery
[Reflections on the World Today]
Every time a window of opportunity opens to make peace between India
and Pakistan it is as if one-fifth of humanity holds their collective
breath. The current thaw looks like another one of these moments. As
one of the parliamentarians who recently crossed over the Wagah
border for a five-day yatra of New Delhi on the invitation of the
Pakistan-India Peace Forum, I was privileged to bear witness to a
rich skein of opinions and discourse on the subject.
What did we see and hear in India? Many voices from Indian civil
society, the media as well as the parliamentary opposition were
certainly united in seeking an end to the hostilities that hold both
nations prisoners of history. Many found the highway to peace paved
with good intentions, but sought different road-maps from the one the
BJP government disingenuously seemed to offer. Strikingly, the
highest level of optimism came not from the mainstream media or the
security establishment, but from opposition politicians and from key
members of civil society. These were the people who welcomed us with
open hearts and open homes, through a prism of back-to-back
engagements and public meetings. There we met every kind of person
engaged in opinion-making, community-building and public
representation. Many of the people we met belonged to that category
of humanity who feel that history should be a living thing, with a
chapter reflecting their collective will, not just the agenda of
hegemonists and misanthropes.
The massive phalanx of media persons that swept us up like a tidal
wave across the border, and remained with us throughout the trip had
one question running in common : what do you think people-to-people
contact and CBMs such as these accomplish? Do they actually get us
anywhere? My answer to them was often as follows. Track II diplomacy
in its many manifestations, is really about the creation of public
space for peace and disarmament discourse to gain legitimacy. It is
also about the manufacturing of consent and trust in each other. For
the process to work on an institutional level, the human element must
be operational in terms of basic confidence-restoration measures. A
nation cannot, must not , be reduced to the sum of its parts, nor
should human agency become the sole preserve of the state
establishment. Only illiberal democracies such as ours, [which are
also in favour now in the West] can afford to ignore the fact common
people are what makes both our countries go round, not the
anarchists, not the extremists and not the nay-sayers. These are the
people who keep the candle of hope burning even when conflict brings
the two nations close to the edge, teetering on the rim of an abyss
when death dances its hypnotic two-step on our long blood-stained
border.
The most frequently asked question, of course, was about the renewed
interstate dialogue. Will the process even be allowed to get off the
ground? Will the Americans push us into another Camp David for South
Asia? What will happen to Kashmir? And if we're eyeball to eyeball
across the table, who will blink first, in terms of concessions to
each other? On the surface at least, it seems the worm is turning,
with a BJP prime minister in India once again asking tentatively to
explore the possibilities of re-starting the dead engine of our peace
process. Vajpayee's strategic choices for picking this moment to take
the initiative may be driven by the fallout of Iraq and the fear of
US pre-emption. It may be driven by his personal sense of making
history, or it may be driven by the US facilitation that has assumed
unprecedented overt dimensions. For every sane humanist in the
region, however, the alternatives to peace are as few as a chance of
surviving nuclear war in the sub-continent.
Lets talk about it, even if it is for the hundredth time. India and
Pakistan share a border of nearly 3000 kms. The people on both sides,
particularly the whole SAARC region, comprise twenty percent of the
world's population. There is little disagreement on the contention
that we cannot afford to live in poverty and malnutrition while
scarce resources are swallowed up by defence establishments still
trapped in a cold-war security paradigm. A former Indian foreign
secretary and envoy to Pakistan summed it up rather poignantly by
saying that ' our geography has to be more important to us than our
history. We can't change the fact that we are neighbours. And we
can't wipe out our ugly history, but we can certainly look to shaping
our future.'
The next problem , other than of course, the vexed issue
of how the British apportioned Kashmir, has to do with the complex
'cross-border terrorism' accusation hurled by New Delhi at Islamabad
at an interval of roughly every twenty-four to fourty-eight hours.
Yet both sides need to handle this with care, as it can easily derail
the peace process by inflaming rhetoric through the long hot summer.
Islamabad needs to clearly address this concern with more than a
short-term clampdown on militant camps in Azad Kashmir as well as
develop a containment strategy for non-state actors who recognise the
authority of no government or mainstream institution. At the same
time, if Lashkar-e-Taiba's operations are out of anyone's control,
Hizb commander Syed Salahuddin's defiance of Islamabad should also
register with New Delhi. Former Hurriyet chairman, Syed Ali Shah
Geelani's contention that he would convince militants to observe a
ceasefire if New Delhi conceded that Kashmir was disputed may not
appeal to the hawks in the Indian establishment. But as an option, it
needs to be taken seriously and not wasted like the unilateral truce
announced by Hizb field commanders like Majid Dar two summers ago in
June 2000.
On the other hand, last year, UK Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw's assertion in the House of Commons that there was a clear
link between the ISI and Kashmiri militant groups was a sobering
reminder of policy discord at home. Although the average Pakistani
would certainly vote for supporting the resolution of conflict in
Kashmir, including moral and diplomatic props for the valley's
inhabitants, they would balk at supporting the architecture of
militant jihad, its subsequent fallout on internal violence and its
capacity to damage Pakistan abroad. At the same time, Pakistan's most
recent ban on the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, along with seven other such
groups should be treated as the most significant confidence building
concession to India since Islamabad's release of prisoners, and the
restoration of 78 items on the import list from India.
Creative solutions to border stabilisation in terms of joint
patrolling, UN patrolling, or SAARC border monitors can cause little
harm to a Line of Control where at least an average of five people
are killed or injured on a daily basis. Predictably, neither side
comes out smelling of roses on this one as well. While India rejects
third-party patrolling, Pakistan was alleged to have rejected joint
patrolling after the Almaty summit in 2002.Many of us would like to
know why?
For its part, New Delhi needs to appreciate that last
fortnight's downturn in cross-border infiltration from Pakistan has
more to do with vigilance from Islamabad than with high levels of
snow in the upper reaches of the valley. The Indian Home Ministry's
logic about the downturn being attributable to heightened
intelligence activity from their security forces makes little sense
for obvious reasons. If more efficient patrolling of the
approximately 72 passes in the valley can result in lower
infiltration, then New Delhi needs to review the competence or
positioning of its 400,000 plus forces massed in the valley. In other
words, Pakistan's best efforts to send in freedom-fighters can easily
be thwarted by Indian security personnel. The 3000-odd militants
operating in Indian Held Kashmir can also surely be flushed out by
the muscular BSF or army corps watching every curve in each road in
the valley. End of story.
But that is addressing the supply-side of the
problem. As far as stability in the valley is concerned India should
focus seriously on cutting back forces if it wants Pakistan's
assistance in the demilitarisation of Kashmiri freedom fighters.
Since 1989 there have been 70,000 lives lost just in Kashmir. In the
same period over 8000 people in Kashmir have been reported missing, a
fact borne out by the National Human Rights Commission of India. No
human rights groups, independent media or UN personnel are allowed to
go into the valley. All this must change. Political groups in Kashmir
often have clashing ideologies and strategies, but they are all
united on one position. India needs to drop its insistence on
treating Kashmir as an " internal problem". It is worth remembering
that the UN Resolution which forms the context for the plebiscite to
determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people has been agreed to as a
result of not a Pakistani, but an Indian, official request in 1949 to
take the dispute to the UN. The last state elections in Kashmir may
have been a cause for renewed hope in that Mufti Saeed was expected
to ease conditions in the valley but so far the endemic unemployment
and militarization fuelling discontent continues unabated. Including
the APHC and other groups such as the JKLF in tripartite talks with
Pakistan can no longer be avoided by Delhi if it is indeed serious
about easing tensions in the valley.
After Mr Vajpayee's April 18th offer of unconditional
talks with Pakistan, Islamabad's counter-offer of a composite
dialogue needs to be grabbed like the proverbial straw in the wind.
In order for the process to start moving and to stay on track, both
governments need to put their political house in order. Prime
Minister Jamali needs to work on a meaningful political consensus at
home if he expects sustained support on this issue from the
opposition. Domestic CBMs have to be offered to engender trust and
fundamental conflicts resolved before the same can be done in any
meaningful way at the regional level. History can only be made by
empowered democracies, not apologetic transitionals.
In India too, Mr Vajpayee will have to instil some
restraint among his BJP hard-liners like Home Minister Advani and
=46oreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, who was last seen insisting on
conditions before any summit could be held. It is bad enough that New
Delhi continues its unilateral rain of Agni and Brahmo missile
testing at this point. If polyphonous statements have to be made at
all by New Delhi, at this fragile beginning, it would be best to echo
Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes in October1990 when he wrote
[in Perspectives on Kashmir] " I do not believe any foreign hand
engineered the Kashmir problem, and if others decided to take
advantage of it, I don't believe we should make it an issue; given
the nature of the politics of our subcontinent such a development was
inevitable." Now tell me, would that kind of strategic maturity not
match the emotional and intellectual generosity of most people in
India and Pakistan?
I, for one, will be holding my breath in the predictably
irrational way that human beings tend to when they wait for likely
miracles. In the meantime, I impatiently await the arrival of Kuldip
Nayyar, Nirmala Deshpande, Admiral Ramdas, Inder Gujeral and other
friends at the Wagah border. We South Asians are very competitive
people. Have to order the same amount of garlands and barfi they had
for us every step of the peace track, don't we?.
______
#3.
May 26, 2003
Strange Bedfellows: India & Israel as allies?
By Praful Bidwai
It has long been known that the Bharatiya Janata Party, like its
parent Jana Sangh, has a special admiration for the state of Israel,
which is rooted deep in its ideology. Over the last five years, it
has elevated India-Israel political and military relations to heights
never before contemplated. Even so, few people expected the BJP-led
government to propose a unique "core" alliance to fight
"international terrorism", including India, Israel and the United
States. Even more astonishing is its move to invite Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon to visit India in the second week of June.
Consider the factual record. On May 8, National Security Adviser
Brajesh Mishra addressed the 97th annual dinner meeting of the
American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Washington in the presence of a
large number of US Congressmen--and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria
Aznar, who closely competes with Mr Tony Blair in demonstrating a
particularly servile form of loyalty to President George W. Bush. Mr
Mishra spoke in "admiration" of the AJC and in "celebration" of the
"the alliance of free societies involved in combating this scourge
[of terrorism]. The US, India and Israel have all been prime targets
of terrorism. They have to jointly face the same ugly face of
modern-day terrorism."
Mr Mishra advocated that "a core, consisting of democratic societies"
must emerge, "which can take on international terrorism in a holistic
and focused manner =8A to ensure that the global campaign against
terrorism is pursued to its logical conclusion, and does not run out
of steam because of other preoccupations. We owe this commitment to
our future generations." The US-Israel-India "triad" or "axis" would
form the core of this "democratic" alliance.
This triad would have "the political will and moral authority to take
bold decisions=8A It would not get bogged down in definitional and
casual arguments =8A" Mr Mishra underscored the growing proximity
between the three states: "We are all democracies, sharing a common
vision of pluralism, tolerance and equal opportunity. Stronger
India-US relations and India-Israel relations have a natural logic."
This expands on Mr Vajpayee's India-and-the-US-as-"natural-allies"
theme.
Mr Mishra sharply attacked what he called "diversionary arguments",
especially the "motivatedly propagated" fallacy "that terrorism can
only be eradicated by addressing its 'root causes'. This is
nonsense." Instead, he advocated "preventive measures" involving
"cooperation based on =8A shared values", such as "blocking financial
supplies [to terrorists], disrupting [their] networks, sharing
intelligence [and] simplifying extradition procedures." This
articulates the Israeli government's well-known militarist approach
to the question of Palestine, which disconnects "terrorism" from the
illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
Mr Mishra's speech is remarkable for its adulation of the AJC, which
is an out-and-out Zionist organisation. It comes on top of burgeoning
contacts between New Delhi and Tel Aviv since they established
full-scale relations in 1992. In 1999, Mr Mishra visited Israel and
met Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He was followed next year by Home
Minister L.K. Advani and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh. Israel and
India have since developed close "cooperation" in
intelligence-sharing and "counter-insurgency" operations. India has
become a major, if not world's biggest, buyer of Israeli armaments.
It has just received US clearance for acquiring Israel's "Phalcon"
air-borne early warning and control system, and is now trying to buy
the "Arrow" missile defence system in whose development SY Coleman, a
firm headed by Lt Gen Jay Garner (yes, of Iraq fame!) was critically
involved.
Above all, the BJP is repaying its debt to the AJC--America's single
most powerful advocacy group, with connections in the Pentagon, the
defence industry, Capitol Hill, the state department and the Bush
cabinet. The AJC in recent years has helped pro-BJP non-resident
Indians in the US to lobby Washington and build the India Caucus in
Congress, with as many as 160 members--"perhaps the largest
single-country" group in the House of Representatives, as Mr Mishra
boasted. This link, more than any arms deals, that explains the
ardour with which the Vajpayee government has embraced Likud
Party-ruled Israel.
In some respects, the "triad" or "axis" proposal marks a quantum
jump. It is based on a peculiar perception of terrorism and of
Palestinian independence as a "terrorist" cause. This perception is
an Israeli hallmark. Without it, there can be no special basis for an
"anti-terrorism" joint front or "axis" which includes Israel.
Indian public opinion strongly opposes this view, and Israel's policy
of occupation and brutal repression. Indians are not anti-Semitic,
but they have been consistently supportive of Palestinian statehood.
=46or them, Mr Yasser Arafat of the pre-Oslo period was something of a
hero. The Palestinian struggle still remains heroic. The "triad"
proposal's timing coincides with a major US offensive in West Asia.
Globally, Israel today is more isolated than ever before. It's
doubtful if any European Union member-state would invite Mr Sharon to
visit and endorse his hardline policies.
Mr Sharon seems to be baulking at the "Road Map", first proposed by
Mr Bush last June, to settle the Palestine-Israel conflict. This
document, since revised by the US state department, is remarkably
partial to Israel and imposes tough obligations upon the Palestinian
Authority (PA) and people, including an "immediate and unconditional
ceasefire to end armed activity and all acts of violence against
Israelis anywhere." But it doesn't impose the same conditions on
Israel. In the first phase, Israel only needs to dismantle settlement
outposts built since March 2001.
Israel has just (reluctantly) "accepted" the "Road Map" under US
pressure, but put its own interpretation on it, hedged it in with
conditions, and explicitly rejected the right of Palestinian refugees
to return--essential to any fair settlement of the historic dispute.
It has stipulated yet harsher obligations which the PA must
fulfil--before it takes even the first step.
The "Road Map" itself follows the collapse of the Oslo Accords
brought about by Israeli intransigence and sustained Palestinian
resistance--despite the Arafat leadership's willingness to implement
them. But like Oslo, the "Road Map" envisages "a final settlement"
which will give nominal statehood to Palestine, but subordinate it
politically, economically and militarily to Israel through a
Bantustan-type solution. Israel would continue to control "security"
(i.e. dominate all territory and entry and exit points), water, and
movement of people. Palestine won't have its own army, nor even
contiguous territory. Israel won't have to own up its culpability for
the pillage of Palestinian property during the 1948 exodus, and for
the post-1967 occupation.
This solution is patently unjust. It mocks at all notions of fairness
and honourable peace. To force it through, the US must "discipline"
Syria and Iran (now that Iraq has fallen), and divide and coerce the
PA's leadership. It's already moving in that direction by threatening
Syria and foisting Mahmoud Abbas (alias Abu Mazen) upon Mr Arafat as
his prime minister. Mr Sharon has not only welcomed and met Abu
Mazen, he has decided to spurn leaders who do any business with Mr
Arafat.
It's a safe bet that a majority of Indians will oppose a Sharon visit
and the anti-terrorism "axis" proposal as immoral and unwise. Most
political parties have condemned the proposal. The Congress described
it as "strange and perverse" and as arising from the BJP's
"obsession" with Israel: "It shows [the government's] intellectual
insolvency=8A" The Congress has also stressed India's commitment to the
Palestinian cause and recalled Non-Aligned Movement resolutions. The
Samajwadi Party says Mr Mishra shouldn't have made "such blatant
statements which go against the proclaimed policy of NAM." And the
CPM and CPI have accused the government of having "completely sold =8A
out to the US. It is overturning our foreign policy. It is very
dangerous=8A"
The BJP, and more broadly, the sangh parivar, has an acute and
long-standing Israel obsession. Establishing full relations with
Israel was always a distinctive part of the Jana Sangh-BJP's agenda.
Indeed, when RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras was asked in late 1991--after
India's turn towards economic neoliberalism--what's the one thing he
wanted from the soft-on-the-BJP Narasimha Rao government, he
unhesitatingly answered: full-scale relations with Israel.
There are three reasons for the BJP's fascination with Israel and
Zionism. First, a desire to toady up to the US through its most
important strategic ally outside Europe, and thus isolate Pakistan,
which cannot possibly ally with Israel as an "Islamic" state. Second,
the BJP shares Likud's Islamophobia and anti-Arabism. The third
reason is hyper-nationalism. The BJP is fascinated by the highly
militarised, tough-as-nails nature of Israeli society and by its
state's willingness to use massive force against the Palestinians
whom it treats as terrorists and sub-human vermin, pure and simple.
This closely parallels what some people in the parivar would like to
do to India's own religious minorities.
The BJP's ideology admires people like Mr Sharon for their machismo
and ferocious jingoism. Many Hindutva hardliners see Hindus and Jews
(plus Christians) as "strategic allies" against Islam and
Confucianism. Nothing could be more grossly wrong than this
"clash-of-civilisations" absurdity or an unethical alliance on
India's part with Israel, one of the most retrograde forces in the
world, opposed to freedom and national liberation. Mr Sharon must not
be invited to India. There must be no anti-terrorist "triad" which
includes Israel.--end--
______
#4.
Op-ed, Asian Age, Daily Newspaper, New Delhi, May 26, 2003
Under Siege in the Narmada Valley
Angana Chatterji
In the Narmada Valley, the government is seeking to wrench control
over land and livelihood from its poorest citizens. Thirty large, 135
medium and 3,000 small dams are planned on the Narmada river as she
journeys through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bad
news is, over a million lives will be decimated if the project is
carried out. About 50 per cent of the affected will be adivasi
(tribal) people. Familiar victims of 'progress'. Adivasi lives and
histories are under siege in India, their annexation into
maldevelopment a necessary cost of national advancement. It is a war
by the state on its people.
The residents of the Narmada Valley are expected to vanish, like
vermin, into the crevices of city slums or resettlement colonies.
Become a statistic. Join the 350 million Indians living in poverty.
In the Narmada Valley, people are policed and brutalised. Stranded,
eliminated. Unable to raise crops, families or livestock, build
homes, send children to school. Unable to dream any other life but
that of righteous resistance. People whose burden is to be the
conscience abdicated by the state.
The Narmada Project has made contentious claims that it will bring
water to areas where the need for water is immense. The plan is to
store and divert the water of the Narmada. All 1312 kilometres of her
will be controlled and managed, exemplifying the power of technology
and government. The people of the Valley have protested the
construction of these dams since the mid-1980's. The Narmada Bachao
Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement) has advocated the rights of local
communities to sustainable development. The Andolan has charged that
the Narmada Development Project prioritises the electricity,
irrigation, and drinking water needs of the privileged at grave cost
to the marginalised.
The Sardar Sarovar multipurpose hydroelectric project is one of the
mega dams on the Narmada, expected to produce 1,450 megawatts of
power, furnish 30 million people with water, and provide employment
for 600,000. The reservoir will flood 91,000 acres of forest and
agricultural land. The canal network will mangle another 200,000
acres. The dam will displace 200,000 people. Calculations of costs
and benefits are based on assumptions that tribal lives have no
value. Small-scale, affordable technologies respectful of local
knowledge or the participation of affected people in decision-making
escapes the dominant imagination of nation, progress, democracy.
The height of the Sardar Sarovar is directly proportional to the
submergence of villages. Following a writ petition by the Narmada
Bachao Andolan in 1995, the Supreme Court of India limited the
construction of the dam to 80.3 meters. In an interim order in
=46ebruary 1999, the Court sanctioned an increase, raising the height
to 85 meters. In October 2000, the Supreme Court allowed another jump
to 90 meters. The Supreme Court also upheld the Narmada Water
Disputes Tribunal Award mandating land-for-land rehabilitation of all
impacted families six months prior to any increase in dam height.
In 2001, the Daud Committee report insisted that any extension in
height not be entertained until outstanding rehabilitation issues
were addressed. Yet, in May 2002, the Sardar Sarovar dam was expanded
from 90 to 95 meters at the insistence of the Narmada Control
Authority. Followed by forcible displacement and submergence.
Reciprocal rehabilitation was never undertaken.
On May 14, 2003, the Indian government decided to further increase
the height of the Sardar Sarovar Project to 100 meters. The Madhya
Pradesh government has moved to offer cash compensation claiming that
there is no land on which to resettle the displaced.
=46ive more feet. Medha Patkar, whose dedication has galvanised the
Andolan, protested this decision and was arrested on May 20. Most of
us barely notice, intent on escaping the inconvenience of insight,
while around us lives, held distant and insignificant, fall apart.
One hundred villages will be buried in Madhya Pradesh and twenty-six
in Maharashtra, with no provisions for just rehabilitation. Over
12,000 families will be drowned out. Where will the people go? For
adivasis and small farmers, the colossal dam stands as a grotesque
vessel of modernity enraging the river that gives them life.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, complicitious in the carnage
against Muslim minorities in 2002, and Congress Chief Ministers,
Sushil Kumar Shinde of Maharashtra and Digvijay Singh of Madhya
Pradesh, are silent about the implications of this decision. Perhaps
the plan is to erect the dam to the original height of 138 meters?
=46ifty years of dam building. Over thirty-three million displaced. Is
this development? What of the accountability of a nation to its
people? What is development but a commitment to rethink the
inequities of history through ethical growth? In the imagination of
India, the disenfranchised are a liability. They hold the nation
back. They do not find legitimacy in the model of combative and
centralised development that the state embraces.
The misadventures of modernisation in India have generated intense
conflicts over environmental management, cultural survival and the
cartography of development. It has made necessary oppositional
struggles in response to the chronic failures of human rights. Land
alienation, large dams, fishing trawlers, mining, loss of common
property, caste, gender and religious violence, state violence, water
privatisation, pollution, soil erosion, forest evictions,
displacement, irresponsible corporatisation. On and on. The list of
national 'accomplishments'. Testimony to the enormity of social
rupture.
What will it take? During the submergence in Domkhedi and Jalsindhi
last year, people in the Narmada Valley protested in neck deep water.
They went on a hunger strike, stood in front of bulldozers. The
Narmada Andolan has profoundly expanded the script of non-violent
resistance in the present. In refusing to be made docile, thousands
and thousands of people have enacted steadfast dissent for almost two
decades. International solidarity, the World Commission on Dams,
horizontal alliances, research, advocacy. These actions of democratic
practice are dependent upon the nations capacity to listen. What more
will it take?
Angana Chatterji is a professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology
at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
______
#5.
Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 01:12:10 +0500 (IST)
Dear Friends,
ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) was
formed in the first week of March 2003. ANHAD means without limits.
We envisage it as an inclusive institution in which every one who
stands for democracy, secularism, justice and peace can participate.
ANHAD was conceived as an organization, which would be absolutely
action oriented.
Anhad, in collaboration with local organization organized a ten day
political and theatre training workshops in Jaipur from May 5-14,
2003.
5 day residential workshops were organized in the following 6
districts of Gujarat:
SURAT-May 15-19,2003
GODHRA- May 16-20,2003
HIMMATNAGAR- May 17-21,2003
CHOTILA- May 18-22, 2003
KUTCH- May 19-23,2003
AHMEDABAD- May 20-24,2003
572 activists from various local organizations participated in these
political training camps. The following topics were discussed in the
workshops:
CONCEPTS : Communalism ,Secularism / pseudo Secularism, Bharityata,
Nationalism, Hindutva/ hindu, Fascism, Terrorism, Democracy, Socialism
CITIZENS=92 RIGHTS: constitutional values, Secularism as constitutional
right, Fundamental rights and duties
INDIAN IDENTITY
=46ACTS AND MYTHS: Appeasement of Minorities, Anti Nationalism of
Minorities, Demography of the nation [population of the minorities],
Conversion and Christian Missionaries, Godhra =96 the facts and
falsities, Kashmir =96 the facts and falsities, Ayodhya
RELIGION & RELIGIOSITY: Religiosity Vs Secularism, Religion and
State, Religion and Democracy
PEOPLE=92S ISSUES: Dalit =96 issue, movement and interrelation with
communal politics, Tribal =96 issue, movement and interrelation with
communal politics, Gender =96 issue, movement and interrelation with
communal politics
MINORITY AND MAJORITY COMMUNALSIM
HISTORY, IDEOLOGY OF SANGH PARIVAR
=46ASCISM
COMMUNALISATION : History , Education, Press & Media, Institutions
GUJARATI IDENTITY AND PRIDE
SONGS: movement songs were taught every morning and evening
=46OLLOW UP ACTIONS TOWARDS SECULAR COMMUNITY BUIDLING
Possible secular actions & initiatives, Mode, language, idiom of
communication /intervention, Cultural interventions, Forms of active
resistance, Plan of actions and commitments from the district,
Anhad=92s future plan of actions and commitments
=46ILMS SHOWN AT THE WORKSHOP: NASEEM, GANDHI, ZAKHM, RAM KE NAAM,
ZULMATON KE DAUR MAIN, JUNOON KE BADHTE QADAM, MEN IN THE TREE, WAR
AND PEACE, EVIL STALKS THE LAND, DHARAMYUDH
Apart from these there were regular informal discussions at night,
singing, performances by participants of various plays
The resource persons for the workshops included:
=46ROM GUJARAT :
Achyut Yagnik, Ashim Roy, Batuk Vora, Chandu Mehria, Charu, Chunni
Kaka, Darshan Desai, Digant Oza, Dinesh Shukla, Dr GN Devi, Ela
Pathak, Gagan Sethi, Indu Kumar Jani, Joseph Macwan, K. Stalin, Kiran
Desai, Kirit Bhatt, Martin Macwan, Mayank Oza, PK Valera, Prakash
Shah, Raj Kumar Hans, Raju Deepti, Rohit Prajapati, Satyakam Joshi,
Sonal Mehta, Sophia Khan, Trupti, Uttam Parmar, Vidyut Joshi, Vinay
Mahajan
=46ROM UP: Sheetla Singh
=46ROM BOMBAY: Anand Patwardhan, Ram Puniyani , Mihir Desai
=46ROM DELHI: Dr KM Shrimali , Pralay Kanungo , Sohail Hashmi, Gauhar
Raza, Harsh Mander
Over all coordination was looked after by: Amarjyoti, Shankar Wankar,
Javed Meer, Lalji, Bharat Bhai, Usman Bhai, Fr. Stanny, K Stalin,
Zakia, Kamna and the Whole Prashant Team
Resource Material generated: The following books in Gujarati were
published specially for the workshops. They were distributed to the
participants and are now available for sale at Anhad offices in Delhi
and Ahmedabad:
Hamarey Geet- ( Hindi) A pocket booklet of movement songs- Rs 10
Anhad Pustak Mala 1- Shikshanu Sampradayikaran- - Rs 10
Anhad Pustak Mala 2- RSS Ne Odhkho by Shamsul Islam-Rs 10
Anhad Pustak Mala 3- Itihaasnu Punarlekhan Ane Sangh Parivar- Rs 10
Anhad Pustak Mala =964- Gujarat-Hundurashtrani Prayogshala- Rs 10
Dhamna Name- Dharm Parivartan Ane Hinsa Pachan Rahelu Satya- Rs 10
Dhavadnu Rajkaran =96Ek Sachitra Parichay by Ram Puniyani- Rs 60
Ek Daglun Bin Sampradayikta Taraf- Rs 40
Making the workshops possible: It would have been impossible to hold
the workshops without the support of the local organizations in
Gujarat and Rajasthan. The workshops venues where the participants
stayed also were made available free, the food was looked after the
local organization, the bills for the publications, local transport
were picked up by local Ngos. Whatever funds Anhad had raised so
far in the last two months after it was formed are almost over.
ANHAD=92s Immediate Futute Plans:
Meetings with activists, artists and intellectuals in other states
followed by similar workshops: scheduled meetings are: Bhopal : June
12, 2003, Chattisgarsh: June 15-16, 2003
Delhi: Workshop from June 4-7, 2003 , Venue: Indian Social Institute
Auditorium, 10, Lodhi Road Institutional Area, New Delhi-110003 ( for
registration and full workshop schedule contact Anhad: 23327366,
23327367, anhadinfo@yahoo.co.in)
STREET THEATRE REPERTORY: Formation of a regular street theatre
repertory, which would produce at least one new play a month, would
perform through out the year, would be available to perform all over
the country round the year. The repertory would have one director and
10 actors.
PUBLICATION FOR ALL STATES:
1. A set of 50 primers covering all major issues related to
communalism, to be produced in Hindi. Print order more than 5000
copies each. Will be translated in other languages as well.
2. A bi-monthly leaflet in Gujarat, Delhi, Chattisgarh, MP =9610
lakh copies in each state. WE already have a very efficient network
of distribution in Gujarat , similar networks would be set up in
other states over the next month or so.
3. Peace audiocassettes: One cassette every three months- at
least 10,000 copies to be distributed commercially through
distributors.
4. Anti communal, anti-fascist posters-at least 10 posters to be
produced over the next 3 months.
Gujarat Action Plan:
1. A series of competitions targeting students and urban youth (
to be announced this week).
2. A meeting on June 11, 2003 to review the programme so far +
to workout an action plan for the coming year in Gujarat.
3. State level street theatre workshop- to train 10 cultural
troupes from 10 different regions of Gujarat. To be held in July in
Ahmedabad. The troupes would be flagged off by the end of July and
they would travel all over their districts performing and interacting
with people. Commitment for one year from all participants.
4. Follow up workshops: the participants, who have already
attended the training camps plan to organize between 5-10 workshops
in their respective areas. These would be one or two day workshops
for the local residents in each districts.
5. Festival for Communal Harmony- July 1, 2003 at Ahmedabad.
6. Anhad Youth Clubs for Communal Harmony- Immediate formation
of 5 clubs in Ahmedabad by the end of June on experimental basis.
Target 1000 youth clubs to be set up by the end of the year all over
Gujarat.
7. Student exchange: regular interaction of students from other
parts of the country with local organizations in Gujarat. First batch
is going on June 9th from Delhi and would return on June 26, 2003.
They would interact with Martin Macwan=92s group Navsarjan and would
spend their time in a remote village, live with Dalit families and
work with children during the day.
ALL ANHAD ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE
COOPERATION OF LOCAL ORGANISATIONS. ANHAD WOULD BE WORKING IN OTHER
STATES TOO IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL NGOS/ MOVEMENTS AND
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVISTS, INTELLECTUALS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS.
=46or our future activities we urgently need funds. Please consider
this as an appeal for funds too. We cannot take foreign funds right
now as we do not have the necessary legal permission to do so. The
cheques/ drafts can be sent to Anhad, 4, Windsor Place, New
Delhi-110001. Anhad as a principle is open to taking funds from all
secular sources .
SHABNAM HASHMI KN PANNIKAR
HARSH MANDER SHUBHA MUDGAL
MAY 29, 2003
______
#6.
Subject: [Maharshtra] state convention of PIPFPD
friends,
please circulate the following mail to friends who can
take part in Pakistan India Peoples' Forum For Peace &
Democracy (PIPFPD).
friends,
the state level convention of PIPFPD will be held on
june 1, 2003 at shree kirtan kendra, opp. utpal
sanghvi school, jvpd, juhu [Bombay]. the convention will begin
at 10.00am with registration.
the convention will start with neela bhagwat singing
peace songs. then neera adarkar will give the history
of PIPFPD. after that, kumar ketkar will give keynote
address on global scenario with special reference to
south asia. then, jatin desai will present secretary
report of two years.
nandita bhavnani will address on indus culture &
sindhi community. some members of PIPFPD including
manisha tikekar, yogesh kamdar r now in pakistan, they
will also make small presentation on their visit.
we r also expecting some friends from pakistan
including karamat ali & some mlas & mnas from sindh
province. they will also address the convention.
the registration fee is rs. 50. which will cover
lunch, breakfast etc.
convention will also chalk out certain programmes to
spread the message of global peace particularly
between india & pakistan
those who r not yet members can become members at the
venue.
for more information u can write to:
desaijatin@yahoo.co.uk
thanks,
kumar ketkar jatin desai neera adarkar vijaya
chauhan firoze mithiborwala ritu dewan pushpa bhave
sanjeevani kher sudhakar borkar ashok datar
______
#7.
Indore May 27, 2003
Sandarbh Centre,
43 Saket Nagar, Indore =96 452018
Phone: 0731-2561296
sandarbhkendra@rediffmail.com
vineet_tiwari@hotmail.com
Dear friend;
repeated outbreaks of violence across the globe, growing immiseration
of the majority of the world=92s population and the complete collapse
of the social fabric in many of the third world and erstwhile
socialist countries require that we refresh our understanding of
certain key economic and political concepts like imperialism,
globalisation and fascism etc. and situate them in the current
conjuncture of capitalist development.
In this context, Sandarbh plans to organize a three-day study circle
on June 4, 5 and 6, 2003 at Kasturba Gram premises, Kandhwa road, 10
kilometres outside Indore. The topics covered and the resource
persons are as follows:
TOPICS
=B7 Globalisation and finance capital; the discussion will be
initiated by Dr. Jaya Metha, economist, senior visiting fellow at
Institute for Human Development, Delhi.
=B7 Fascism =96 the historical experience and contemporary
manifestations; the discussion will be initiated by Dr. Vijay Singh,
historian, editor of Revolutionary Democracy, professor at Satyawati
College, Delhi.
=B7 Fascism in India =96 with a focus on Gujarat; the discussion
will be initiated by Mr. Ashim Roy, trade unionist based in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
These efforts are not merely theoretical exercises. Social movements
and grassroots activists experience the emergence of fascism in the
form of increasingly constrained democratic spaces. Therefore it is
imperative that we enhance our ability to comprehend the linkages
between the actualities of day-to-day political activism and the
larger, global processes that give shape to these actualities.
We hope that participants will stay together for three days and hold
rigorous discussions on theory as well as specific details. Staying
arrangements will be made at Kastarba Gram and the participants will
be required to contribute towards the same. We expect the per capita
expense to be around rs. 500 (*excluding the travel cost).
If you feel the workshop will be useful to you or any member of your
organization please let us know the name of the participant(s) as
soon as possible, either by e-mail or by phone.
Vineet Tiwari
(signed)
______
#8.
Dear Friend,
This is to introduce to you to the four new titles recently brought
out by Three Essays Collective.
Three Essays Collective is a new publishing house interested in
bringing out those works of scholarship which touch upon issues of
contemporary concern. They address a wide range of themes in history,
society, politics, culture, education and media. South Asian themes
would predominate, but not exhaust, the scope of these publications.
The emphasis on publishing a selection of shorter works of serious
scholarship in a reader-friendly format. They could be of great use
in undergraduate/postgraduate study programmes. They would
familiarise readers with the current debates in their respective
fields, even as they enlarge the field of enquiry.
The new titles are:
Vasudha Dalmia
Orienting India: European knowledge formation in the Eighteenth and
Nineteenth centuries
Archana Prasad
Against Ecological Romanticism: Verrier Elwin and the Making of an
Anti-Modern Tribal Identity
Biswamoy Pati
Identity, Hegemony, Resistance: Towards a Social History of
Conversions in Orissa, 1800-2000
Ashraf Aziz
Light of the Universe: Essays on Hindustani Film Music
You may also like to visit our website for more information and for
ordering these and our earlier titles:
<http://www.threeessays.com>www.threeessays.com
We would be grateful if you could also consider recommending these
titles to the institutions you are connected with.
With regards
Asad Zaidi
Three Essays Collective
57-C, LIG, Motia Khan,
New Delhi 110 055
India
Tel.: 98109 91412, 98681 26587
E-mail: <mailto:info@threeessays.com>info@threeessays.com
Website: <http://www.threeessays.com>www.threeessays.com
_____
#9.
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 09:31:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: non-profit forum SARID
Dear Friends,
We would like to introduce the website of SARID (South
Asian Research Institute for Policy & Development), a
non-profit forum dedicated to promoting sustainable
economic development strategies as well as peace in
South Asia.
Who we are:
We are a group of professionals concerned that
mainstream development is bypassing the low-income and
marginal populations of South Asia. In response, we
are working to increase local involvement by employing
indigenous resources through appropriate small- and
medium-scale efforts that embrace research,
intermediate technology, vocational training and
education.
What we do:
SARID aims to be an informed guide to sustainable
development & technology strategies for the region. We
pursue our objectives through:
(i)Projects: creating and supporting innovative
small-scale development and intermediate technology
schemes:
a. Vocational Training in Pakistan - teaching sewing,
quilting and marketing skills to indigent women in
Karachi.
b. Intermediate Technology in Sri Lanka - implementing
small-scale wind energy and affordable housing
solutions for an isolated northwestern community.
(ii)Forums, Courses and Workshops: organizing
opportunities for direct exchange about methods and
experiences regarding specific developmental concerns.
a. Interfaith Dialogue =F1 sponsoring discussions
between different communities to promote understanding
& tolerance.
b. English Language Courses =F1 teaching basic skills to
recent Asian immigrants in the US (as a model for
similar work in South Asia).
(iii)Research, Collation and dissemination:
gathering/sharing information on sustainable
development projects, research and literature through
web links and publications to aid in finding relevant
resources, organizations or funding.
SARID endeavors to foster inter-regional cooperation
and unity by inviting visitors to contribute relevant
information, topics, web sites, ideas, articles and
papers for publication on our website so as to assist
in informed and objective decision-making.
SARID is non-profit, non-partisan, non-political and
registered as a tax-exempt corporation in the USA.
SARID, 675 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge 02139, USA
tel: 617 492 0764 fax: 617 492 6226
Email: editors@sarid.net
Website: www.sarid.net
Regards
Board of Advisors
Javed Sultan, Executive Director
Dr. Janaki Blum, Director
Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Director
Shahid Ahmed Khan, Director
Dr. Jilani Warsi, Director
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (www.mnet.fr/aiindex).
The complete SACW archive is available at: http://sacw.insaf.net
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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