SACW | 17 July, 2003

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire   |  17 July,  2003

[1.] Indians visiting PakistanŠand Pakistanis visiting India (Edit., 
Daily Times)
[2.] Talking peace (Deepti Mahajan)
[3.] Growing up with violence  (Kalpana Sharma)
[4.] Tea with Mussolini - Hindu nationalism and European fascism have 
a lot in common (Vivek Oberoi)
[5.] Bangladesh: New law  on women and children repression is no good
[6.] India: Shred the Women's Bill - Political parties should put 
their nominations where their words are
[7.] India: Poor public response plagues hearing of Godhra, riots 
cases  (Manas Dasgupta)
[8.]  The Spirit of Terrorism: December 13th, 2001  (Geoffrey Cook)


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


[1.]

The Daily Times (Pakistan)  July 17, 2003

Editorial: Indians visiting PakistanŠ

In the wake of the resumed bus travel between India and Pakistan, the 
seats were fully occupied on the Indian side, but from the Pakistani 
side only a few visitors could make it. Let it be said that from the 
Indian side, most of the travellers were journalists. There was a 
delegation of young Indians travelling through Pakistan, too, despite 
some uncivilised comments made about them in the Urdu press. It is 
quite apparent that after a period of non-communication the Pakistani 
high commission was able to be liberal about giving visas. Whoever 
took the decision for this policy, it has paid off because the Indian 
visitors have said things back home about Pakistan that puncture the 
myth created by hostile Indian state propaganda.
One well-known Indian TV journalist has written to say that Pakistan 
was nothing like what it was bruited about to be. The common 
Pakistani, he said, was without prejudice; in fact, he showed 
particular warmth and affection after finding out that the visitor 
was an Indian. He was "pleasantly surprised" to find that living 
under a government controlled by the military Pakistani society was 
remarkably free and had one of the freest presses in the third world. 
He went as far as saying that even the dress of common Pakistanis was 
very comfortable, attractive and egalitarian. There were many like 
him who entered Pakistan thinking that it would be an oppressed 
society with a crazy anti-Indian orientation; but they went back 
completely changed in their thinking. The warm treatment meted out to 
them by lay Pakistanis at the individual level was simply too winning 
in its ways.
Not long ago, India and Pakistan were playing the game of 
diplomat-bashing, kicking out each other's officers from the high 
commissions. Everybody knew what the charade was. Most of the staff 
in the high commissions was fake. Most people designated as diplomats 
from both sides were - and continue to be - spooks from the 
intelligence agencies. The ambassadors were ordered not to give more 
than a restricted quota of visas to avoid infiltration of RAW agents 
who caused horrible incidents to take place in Pakistan. When the 
spooks felt that too many visas had been issued they planted news in 
the Urdu press about the now-famous "black cats" from India who would 
cut a swathe through our lascivious politicians with their seduction.
The truth is that warmth was shown to the visiting Indians even as 
Islamabad was accusing RAW of instigating the sectarian murders in 
Quetta. What this proves is that no matter what the governments might 
do to each other, the people don't register the official hostility. 
It's as if a game is being played in which the rules don't extend to 
private behaviour. Don't discuss the political issues because that 
kind of thing gets lost in the miasma of indoctrination. What the 
jihadis say here and Bal Thakeray says there is not the voice of the 
people, but of a few who have a vested interest in war. At the level 
of the people, Pakistan remains a humane society. *
...and Pakistanis visiting India
The Pakistani press was probably too stunned by the gesture to 
editorialise on the story of a two-year-old girl named Fatima whose 
perforated heart has been successfully operated upon by Indian 
doctors in Bangalore. The chief minister of Karnataka offered a 
donation of Rs 10,000 and was on hand to welcome the patient, and the 
total expense was taken care of when a large number of Indian donors 
came forward. Yet the 34-seat bus that went from Lahore on Friday 
last had only nine passengers in it as compared to the full Indian 
bus that came to Lahore in exchange. But the fact is that when travel 
between the two countries is relaxed and institutionalised, many more 
Pakistanis are likely to visit India than vice versa, and that too 
from the big four cities of Sindh, which are home to the muhajirs who 
have come to Pakistan in their multitudes from India since 
independence.
To be sure, visas are a problem. The consulates have remained closed 
now for a long time. For Pakistanis wishing to travel to India the 
closure of the consulate in Karachi is a source of suffering. India's 
new high commissioner, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, has just entered 
Pakistan. He says he is going to relax the visa regime. Good. That 
will help a great deal. But not everyone is happy in Pakistan about 
people visiting India. The JUI's Maulana Fazlur Rehman who has just 
gone to India has been editorially hauled over the coals by one 
influential Urdu paper for having responded to the invitation of the 
son of Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani who had allegedly opposed the 
Quaid-e-Azam in undivided India.
Like Bal Thakeray on the other side, there are many here who don't 
want to have any truck with India unless it is to fight a terminal 
war. But truth on the ground is quite different. It seems Pakistan 
has got over its "successor state" complex and is no longer scared of 
gestures that might smack of a "relapse". So what if an Indian at the 
Piccadilly Circus says "we are one"? The issues are there and have to 
be resolved. Goodwill at the level of the people will only help. On 
the other hand, the "ill-will" practiced as a profession by the 
spooks on both sides will create more problems and resolve nothing. 
Our last high commissioner in New Delhi nearly got bumped off twice 
because of these shenanigans. If Pakistanis start visiting India in 
large numbers the Indian side must restrain deputy prime minister 
Advani from starting a manhunt for those who may have unwittingly 
overstayed. *

_____


[2.]

The News International (Pakistan)   July 17, 2003

Talking peace

Deepti Mahajan

Conflict is not new to South Asia. For long, the region has been 
witness to violent conflicts triggered by international, religious or 
ethnic differences. The Maoist insurgency in Nepal, the Tamil-Sinhala 
conflict in Sri Lanka, the violence in Kashmir, religious tensions in 
Bangladesh and India are some examples of conflicts that have either 
led to continuing violence or are potential flash-points waiting to 
erupt.

A close look at the issues that form a part of these conflicts 
provides clear evidence of the complexity of these situations and the 
enormity of obstacles in the peace processes. A set of diverse 
factors -- social, political, religious, economic -- calls for 
resolution at different levels. It is imperative that peace-builders 
at all levels -- political actors, diplomats, conflict resolution 
experts, academia, journalists, NGOs -- engage with the dynamics of 
these conflicts.

As an Indian, I recognise, that the conflict between India and 
Pakistan is one such a conflict, a solution to which has eluded the 
two countries, for a very long time now. It would not be putting it 
too strongly to say that the Kashmir issue has been talked about so 
much that it has become difficult to comprehend. Perhaps it is not 
just the views and reviews; but the problem in Kashmir has so many 
dimensions to it that it requires a lot of thinking to get a clear 
picture of the situation on ground. The media, in its own way, has 
added to the confusion. Conflicting views about the will of the 
Kashmiris have made it difficult for the common man to understand the 
nature of the problem.

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to meet my friends from 
across the border. Last year, I attended a peace conference -- 'Focus 
on Kashmir', at the United World College of South East Asia, 
Singapore, which brought together 40 young Indians and Pakistanis to 
work as a youth movement. Again, this year in June, I had the 
privilege of participating in the Conflict Transformation Workshop 
organised by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace 
(WISCOMP) where I met people from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, 
Bangladesh and Tibet. The Pakistanis are as peace loving as the 
Indians are and are equally anxious to resolve matters between the 
two countries. When I recall the faces of the Pakistanis I have met, 
something strikes my mind and tugs at my heart -- there is nothing 
that marks a Pakistani different from an Indian. We look alike. We 
wear the same kind of dresses. We understand each other's language. 
In fact we are battling the same problems back home.

Wisdom lies in coming together to fight the plethora of problems that 
plague India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister of Palestine, Mahmoud 
Abbas' statement on the West Asia peace process, rings in my ears -- 
"Enough killing, enough tragedy, enough pain -- let's move forward 
with courage to the future we all deserve." What is it that is 
stopping India and Pakistan from moving on the path to peace?

Surely, the key to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem is 
sustained dialogue, both within the two countries, and between India 
and Pakistan. Though it might be difficult for the two nations to 
even accept each other's position as a starting point, the beginning 
of a process of dialogue is of immediate importance. Beginning from 
the groups within India and Pakistan, the talks must then extend to 
the inter-state level. Grass root movements are of immense 
importance, not only for preservation of peace but also for the 
initiation of a political process. After 56 years of hatred and 
border skirmishes, it is time we started thinking of a final 
solution. Though the idea may sound far-fetched or even unrealistic, 
sanity demands at least a movement in this direction.

It is high time that political bigwigs start thinking for the people 
of Kashmir and rise above petty vested interests. Doing the right 
things at the right time, and most importantly, doing them rightly, 
is what can lead us to a peaceful future.... if only, wiser counsels 
prevail.

The writer is a second year student of Journalism (Hons) at Lady Shri 
Ram College, New Delhi, India



_____


[3.]

The Hindu (India) July 17, 2003

Growing up with violence
By Kalpana Sharma

What was associated with "normal" college and university life in 
India was totally absent in Kashmir over these last 13 years.

THE FACE of the average young Kashmiri that you see on television is 
an angry one. But what is life really like for a person who has grown 
up during a period when the gun has ruled and curfew has been a daily 
routine? Under its Violence Mitigation and Amelioration Project, 
Oxfam (India) Trust recently produced a rather unusual report that 
documents the opinions of nearly 200 young Kashmiris. The primary 
research was conducted by a group of young Kashmiris familiar with 
the situation in the State.

Although the report, "The impact of violence on the student community 
in Kashmir," does not claim to be either empirical or statistically 
significant, what it does convey through its qualitative material is 
the mood of the college-going person in Kashmir. Reports such as this 
are often dismissed because they lack academic rigour and also openly 
state their political bias.

Yet, it is inconceivable that a group of young Kashmiris could 
produce a report without articulating their views on the political 
situation in their State. In this report, that view is stated 
up-front; the reader can agree or disagree but the substance lies in 
the narratives and the information on what the young people think and 
what they experience.

In a city such as Mumbai, for instance, college students are busy at 
this time of the year trying for admission, shopping around for 
books, clothes and music, going to the movies, restaurants or just 
hanging around the roadside tea stalls. Such a scene would be unheard 
of in Kashmir, although in the last six months things could have 
changed.

The report records how the 13 long years, when the State was 
convulsed in violent conflict, took their toll on the life and 
academic performance of thousands of students. A majority of colleges 
could not function normally. Curfews, `bandhs' and continuous 
violence meant that students did not know from one day to the next 
whether they would get to college. Degrees were awarded even though 
students had not attended college. Also, many educational 
institutions were burnt down at the height of the troubles. Others 
were occupied by security forces and thus could not be used.

Even in the colleges that continued to function, there was little by 
way of extra-curricular activities. And student unions were not 
permitted. Thus, what was associated with "normal" college and 
university life in India was totally absent in Kashmir over these 
last 13 years.

In the course of the study, the researchers, Sarwar Kashani, Idrees 
Kanth and Gowhar Fazili, spoke to students in colleges in Srinagar, 
Sopore, Baramulla and Anantnag.

Ninety per cent of those interviewed said that they were angry over 
the current situation, and over 63 per cent said they had been 
affected by the violence. Over 90 per cent said they had no faith in 
the political leadership and did not attend political meetings. Yet, 
the overwhelming majority believed that education would help them 
find jobs and most of them ranked peace and employment in that order 
as their major concerns. Although these figures are drawn from a 
fairly small sample of boys and girls, they do give us an inkling of 
what the young in the State feel.

Far more interesting and helpful than the statistics are the 
narratives in the report. They provide a vivid picture of the 
different moods and views that are inevitable when you get a bunch of 
students together. Here are just two out of 17 in the report. 
Rukhsana Jabeen from a college in Baramulla, who lost her father at 
the age of 12, says, "Although women are trying to come out of the 
shambles, the society, particularly in Kashmir, is still dominated by 
men. I have to give an explanation to the family elders if I am late, 
which is not the case with my brother who is never asked this 
question."

Ajaz, a student of history, says, "I want peace now. The gun culture 
is going to ruin us. Educationally, we have suffered equally. No 
classes were held in those early years and I didn't attend college 
except for exams. I have been deprived of the simple yet joyful 
experiences of college life. Interaction with others is important. It 
enriches you. It teaches you a whole lot of things and above all, it 
makes you conscious. Staying back at home is very frustrating. You 
don't grow."

Most plaintive of all is this plea from Mohammad Ashraf Jatta of 
Anantnag, "Can you give us a break and take us out for a while to a 
place where there is no terror, where we will be able to roam about 
or at least get a whiff of fresh air? Can you take us out of this 
hell for a week or so?" When matters of state, of historical rights 
and wrongs, are being discussed, the voices of the young are ignored. 
Yet, for the future, these are the people who should be heeded, on 
whose shoulders a peaceful future can be built.


_____


[4.]

Business Standard (India)   July 17, 2003

Tea with Mussolini
Hindu nationalism and European fascism have a lot in common says Vivek Oberoi

Have you seen Tea with Mussolini? It's quite a charming film - 
especially if you are the sort who loves art and Italy.

The film is set in Italy at the time when the fascists were in power. 
At least one protagonist - an English lady - is happy with the turn 
of events.

She is happy that the trains run on time! Many Italians, of course, 
shared the same sentiment at the time. I have heard similar stories 
about the emergency in India.

More than a few people have said that the emergency really wasn't so 
bad. The trains ran on time, everyone came to office at the right 
time and so on. The more things change, the more they remain the same!

Meanwhile, this month The Atlantic Monthly carries an article in 
which "analysts at the RAND Corporation lay out 10 international 
security developments that aren't getting the attention they deserve."

One such international security development is the growing 
"Hindu-Muslim divide" in India. Rollie Lal, a political scientist at 
RAND writes, "A defining element of Indian politics since 
independence has been a commitment to secularism. That commitment is 
now at risk from an aggressive brand of Hindu nationalism that 
equates Indian national identity with Hindu religious identity."

So what do the Italian fascists and the emergency in India have to do 
with each other? Well, both have their roots in stresses produced by 
rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.

And so does the rise of Hindu nationalism. The physical, economic, 
psychological and religious dislocation at this stage of economic 
development is a source of discontent.

It's the daily grind of urban Indian life - huddling in crowded 
cities, dealing with a big, unresponsive government and watching the 
TV beam the promise of a cleaner, greener life on the other side - 
that produces these frustrations. Most of us deal with it.

But there are others who resort to escapism - finding someone to 
blame and finding some strong leader to quickly solve their problems. 
And you'll always find a strongman to exploit this weakness.

The British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli once remarked that you 
could tell a weak government by its eagerness to resort to strong 
measures.

According to the Berkeley economist, Brad Delong, "If one goes back 
to the foundation of European fascism around World War I, one finds:

*	A glorification of the ethno-nation.
*	A belief that the ethno-nation will realise its glorious 
destiny only if it has strong leaders (read Bal Thackery, Osama).
*	Contempt for the redistributive politics of parliaments 
dominated by interest groups.
*	Contempt for the "cretinism of parliaments" in general.
*	A belief that the ethno-nation not only should, but must band 
together because it has powerful enemies.
*	Blaming their current troubles on a specified "other" (Jews 
for Hitler/Mussolini and the Arabs; Indian Muslims for the BJP).

Some or all of these features can be found among the supporters of 
Hindutva and the emergency.

The emergency was authoritarian, but secular. Hindutva, by 
comparison, is more democratic but rabidly anti-Muslim. And if these 
forces are not checked they will fuse to become European style 
fascism.

Already, the sort of rabble that the VHP/Bajrang Dal attracts is 
eerily similar to the Mussolini's Black Shirts and Hitler's Brown 
Shirts.

If you think I am going too far- just watch newsreels of the Babri 
Masjid demolition. The real solution to their anger is to find them 
jobs bagging groceries, not to kow-tow to their kooky demands.

However, finding everyone a job that affords a decent standard of 
living is going to take time. We have done well economically over the 
last 20 years. A 5.6 per cent growth rate from 1980 to 1990 and 6.2 
per cent growth rate from 1990 to 2000 is a solid record, upon which 
we can continue to build.

But even if we achieve the much-ballyhooed 8 per cent growth rate 
projected for this decade it will still take a few decades for India 
to join the ranks of the developed nations.

Meanwhile, one cannot allow the few who have lost patience with 
history to ruin it for the rest of us. Hindu fascism will ruin 
India's shot at economic and social modernity by making this place 
unattractive for investors and skilled professionals.

For investment and skilled professionals will only head for a place 
with political stability, the rule of law, where property and 
contract rights are secured - in short a liberal democracy.

We know from the history of 20th century Europe what happens when you 
try to appease the mob. Liberals must stand up to latter day fascists 
aggressively.

Personally, I think the VHP/Bajrang Dal's bark is worse than their 
bite. Remember Togadia whimpering out of the Rajasthani jail when the 
court rapped him for distributing trishuls.

Aggression in this context could mean only a lathi-charge or two when 
VHP rallies get out of control; not allowing their leaders to 
question the sanctity of the Constitution and poll alliances to 
defeat the BJP in the upcoming polls.

Hannah Arendt argued in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) that 
the Holocaust was a peculiarly modern phenomenon.

Colliding social forces, the rise of the nation-state, the collapse 
of old systems of class and rank, and the emergence of explosive new 
technologies of propaganda and mass destruction conspired to make it 
possible. You know we've seen this movie before. It will be sad 
indeed if we forgot the ending.

_____


[5.]

The Independent (Bangladesh)  July 17, 2003  | Editorial

New law

Women activists are viewing the new law, passed recently in the 
Jatiya Sangsad, on women and children repression, with trepidation. 
The say that certain provisions in the Act run contrary to women's 
interests. They have particularly expressed concern over the fact 
that the minimum punishment for dowry violence and sexual harassment 
have been reduced. They also believe that legal quibble over simple 
injury and severe injury will result in hindrance for violence 
victims to get legal redress. Gender activists fear the new law may 
negate progress made in gender equality over the years. That thought 
indeed is a frightening one. The fact is, violence against women show 
no signs of abating. Rape, beating, acid throwing, etc. all go on. 
Women being at a vulnerable position, both socially and economically, 
are easy targets. Social stigma attached with abused women makes them 
reluctant to seek justice. According to WHO study one woman is raped 
every hour in Bangladesh. Rape, as a method of political retribution 
is one of the most disturbing phenomenon observed in the recent years.

Rape is just one form of women abuse. Dowry deaths are quite common. 
The plight of acid violence has been brought to light time and again, 
yet we have seen few of the perpetrators of this heinous crime ever 
punished. Wife beating is taken as a matter of course in many areas 
here. The general conception is that it is husband's right, nay duty, 
to discipline their wives through corporal punishment. The streak of 
strong misogyny among many of the community elders makes things more 
difficult for women. However one thing that must be pointed out is 
that enactment of new laws will hardly act as a panacea for the ills 
affecting women. The problem lies in the enforcement, which has been 
rather lax more often than not. Strict enforcement of existing laws 
can also act as a powerful deterrent. Another point that should be 
taken into account is the fact that because of lack of education many 
women here are not even aware of their rights. The women activists 
can play a major part in this area.

We urge the concerned authorities to take every step necessary to 
alleviate the sufferings of women. The new law ought to be reviewed 
and the authorities should come up with proposed amendments that can 
take into account the objections of the women activists.

_____


[6.]

The Indian Express (India)
July 17, 2003
Editorial

Shred the Women's Bill
Political parties should put their nominations where their words are
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=27725

_____


[7.]

The Hindu (India), July 17, 2003
Poor public response plagues hearing of Godhra, riots cases
By Manas Dasgupta
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/07/17/stories/2003071702591200.htm

_____


[8.]

From: India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch # 125
17 July 2003
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/136

o o o

The Spirit of Terrorism: December 13th, 2001

by Geoffrey Cook *

	"...Le spectacle du tourisme impose le terrorisme du spectacle.  Et
	contre cette fascination immorale...l'orde politique nepeut rien"

						"Le'espirit du terrorisme"
						Jean Baudrillard
						Le Monde, Paris
						November 11, 2001

	Three years ago, at a banquet following a symposium on South 
Asian nuclear proliferation at the University of Wisconsin at 
Madison, I was at a table with the well known expert on 
Subcontinental Islamic political science Professor (emeritus) 
Theodore Wright from the State University at New York at Albany; the 
Director of the W. Alton Jones Foundation in Washington; the expert 
and author of India's Bomb, George Perkovitch; Neil Joeck, who at 
that time was about the highest ranking expert on South Asian nuclear 
matters directly employed by the U.S. government -- then at Lawrence 
Livermore Laboratory and now with the U.S. State Department; the 
Indian Consul-General Sharma at Chicago and myself.
       	Professor Wright, who because of his generation, was slightly 
baffled by the popularity of the new methodologies in the humanities 
and the social sciences, brought the discussion with these men, who 
are daily involved with issues of preventing mega-death, to the 
subject of Post-Modernism, the current rage in academic America. 
      	Ambassador Sharma, who had previously represented New Delhi 
in Hanoi after a career as a military man and had even written an art 
history book there about the relics of Hindu temples in Viet Nam, 
asked, "What is Post-Modernism?"  I responded with a quick repartee, 
"There is no bomb."  I would like to extend that comment for this 
exercise, "There is no Terrorism."  That is the précis of this paper.
            Everyday as a student of South Asian media, I listen to 
news broadcasts from both Radio Pakistan and All India Radio (AIR). 
It is interesting to compare descriptions of the same violent 
encounter in Kashmir where the identical space is claimed by the 
competing powers.  The Pakistani announcer describes the Vale as 
"occupied Kashmir" while New Delhi as Kashmir.  Islamabad talks of 
"freedom fighters" and "martyrs".  While the Indians describe the 
insurgents as "terrorists" and talk in the language of the grim 
statistics of death.  What we observe is opposing rhetoric.  The 
tragedy is that solutions are hidden behind the impenetrable rhetoric 
of the contending parties.  Peace will never be achieved unless this 
obfuscating oratory can first be pierced.  One of the thickest slabs 
of rhetoric is "Terrorism".
	This article will ask:  "What is Terrorism?"  "Is Terrorism 
real or is it rhetorical?"
Undeniably, something is real because there is great suffering and 
death, what is real (material) what is ethereal (immaterial) in the 
concept of Terrorism?  This study will be an abstract one to better 
understand the phenomenon; and, thereby, hopefully, to successfully 
grabble with it.  There are great risks in this approach -- that we 
lose sight of humanity suffering; and, thus, the point of my vignette 
at the beginning of this essay. So, let us proceed with caution. 
	On November 11th 2001, exactly two months after the Twin 
Towers outrage in New York City, a full two page large news-sheet 
sized article, "L'espirit terrorisme" 
(http//:humanities.psydeshow.org/political/baudrillard/htm) -- i.e. 
"The Spirit of Terrorism" 
(http://amsterdam.nettime/Lists-Archives/nettime-1-0111/msg00083.html) 
by one of the leading living French Post-Modern philosophers, Jean 
Baudrillard, was published in the important Parisian newspaper Le 
Monde in the French language.  For the influence it has generated it 
is rather short -- between 5-6,000 words.  Subsequently, before the 
end of last year, the article was published as a pamphlet under the 
same title by Editions Galilee, also, in Paris, and it has been 
reported that it has become a best seller there having done much to 
generate a great deal of questioning and dissatisfaction with 
American foreign policy in Afghanistan and the Middle East and 
Southern Asia within Europe.
	The essay attempts to get at the symbolic meaning of the 
tragedy, and along the way it asks what is Terrorism and its relation 
to Globalization and Modernism.  It clarifies why it is happening 
now, and even makes suggestions on how it can best be fought.  Your 
author would like to use Baudrillard's original thinking as a 
backdrop into the "meaning" of Terrorism or if there is any meaning 
in the act at all.  Although Baudrillard's work was written with 
American and French realities in mind and in complete ignorance of 
the South Asian model, I would like to apply his controversial (which 
created quite a stir on the pages of Le Monde itself) and unique 
ideas to the political realities of the Subcontinent.
	Now, again, cross-cultural comparisons can, also, be fraught 
with danger, for there are commonalities, but, at the same time 
totally different assumptions that are basic to dissimilar cultural 
milieus.  Too often this has caused political misunderstandings 
between New Delhi and Washington and Paris, and hence, unfortunately, 
has lead to low level antagonism over the past 55 years.
	Most of my readers in South Asia and in the Diasporas are 
probably not fluent in French. Therefore, I am using a quickly put 
together translation into English by a Dr. Rachel Boll of the School 
for Social Sciences at the Australian National University.  For the 
complete version follow the URL above after the English reference to 
the "The Spirit of Terrorism" (the full French text can be found at 
the URL after "L'espirit du terrorisme").  There are other 
translations appearing on the Internet, but, in my less than expert 
opinion, I feel this is the best at this time until a fully literary 
and philosophical translation can be made.  In reading both, I notice 
differences in tone between the original and the translation, and may 
at occasion put the French in parenthesis.  Your critic has done 
three literary translations - but none from the French - so from time 
to time he will work to smooth out the flow of the phrasing in the 
target language of English.
	Post-Modernism is a belief that the world is in a new 
historical period from Modernism  -- especially in the fully 
industrialized world, but most contemporaries cannot put their 
fingers on what makes it different.   But it is agreed that attitudes 
have changed throughout most of the world. One of the most maddening 
markers of this attitude is the assumption that there are no firm 
eternal truths that people can rely on as in past ages.  It is truly 
a vision of the world in a constant state of flux and relativity. 
	With the death of the Second World (Socialist camp) and the 
birth of a "unipolar" world, what has arisen to challenge late 
Capitalism (Neo-libralismo) on the material plane and Post-Modernist 
cynicism on the intellectual level has been fundamentalism(s).  And 
it is not only Islamic fundamentalism (although there is a historical 
reason that it has predominated in certain periods of crisis in the 
Islamic world), but it exists in all fundamentalisms - including in 
Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Judaism, even Buddhism et al.  Your 
author might add that Lalita Ramdas, the wife of the former Chief of 
the Indian Naval Staff (he is the now the vocal leader in opposing 
nuclear proliferation in both India and Pakistan) pointed out -- in a 
San Francisco area talk she made with her husband -- that a 
fundamentalism need not only be religious.
A close senior professor colleague who teaches at the University of 
Texas at Austin in a non-South Asian area studies field wrote to me a 
letter of shock at the events at the disintegration of Yugoslavia. 
He deemed people would never again fight over religion as an 
indicator of difference.  But, when the prevailing system of liberal 
Communism collapsed in the Balkans, ancient repressed rivalries 
re-emerged.  So it was in South Asia at Partition, and the horrors of 
Partition have not been fully resolved over the past fifty-five years 
-- especially brought to our attention this year in the horrid 
excesses of Gujarat last February and March.  Curiously, competing 
fundamentalisms are most antagonistic to each other than liberalism 
is to fundamentalism.  (Please note that both Osama bin Laden and 
George W. Bush are Fundamentalists from different religious beliefs 
systems.)  The Indian political environment is disturbed by such 
fractures and schisms as religion, caste, class, language and 
sub-nationality.  And similar fissures also, rupture Pakistani 
society. Therefore, an understanding of Terrorism on the Subcontinent 
is a complex enterprise.  It has become a cliché - but true -- to say 
that Terrorism is the weapon of the weak and not of the powerful  -- 
especially suicidal terrorism.  Or, in Baudrillard's words. "When the 
situation is monopolized by powerŠwith technological Šhegemony 
[pensee unique]Šthe terrorist responds with a definitive actŠ" 
	Of course, in India, December 13th, 2001 in New Delhi is 
uttered in the same breath as September 11th in New York.  The attack 
on the national Parliament on that date and the attack on the 
Kashmiri Parliament of the previous October 1st and the army 
cantonment at Kaluchak in the same contested State of May 14th of 
that year led to two nuclear showdowns with Pakistan that are still 
smoldering just below the surface.
	The root of the public sympathy for Islamic militants 
worldwide lies not so much in Kashmir as in Palestine, for it is the 
outrages of the Israeli army that are portrayed on our televisions so 
prominently in most of the world.  Jean Baudrillard points out "ŠIt 
is they who did it, but we who wanted itŠ" ["Šc'est eux qui l'ont 
fait, mais c'est nous l'avons vouluŠ"]  Now, he is talking about the 
French popular response to the American tragedy, but in India the 
repressed and wretched probably had similar secret thoughts.  "If one 
does not take that into account, the event lost all symbolic 
[symbolique] dimension Šthe murderous fantasy of a few fanatics, who 
need only to be suppress.  But we know ŠthatŠis not so."  Notice the 
word "symbolic".  The World Trade Center was symbolic of the heart of 
American Capitalism, but the Parliament was even more symbolic of the 
Indian soul.  It stands at the heart of Indian democracy itself.  And 
the act vibrated horror throughout that nation.  A psychological 
attack at such a central symbol pervades emotional fear throughout 
the commonweal, for anyone, therefore, could be a terrorist or, on 
the other hand, a victim of one.  Shortly thereafter there was 
another terrorist action in Calcutta that was criminal and not 
politically based.   Along with the high profile attacks in Kashmir, 
the Indian nation was understandably devastated by the symbolic 
suicidal assaults of the Terrorists.   Baudrillard's European 
Post-Modernist sensibility states that "Š their death does not prove 
anything, but there is nothing to prove in a system where truth is 
self-elusive..." ["Šleur morte ne prouve rien, mais il n'y a rien a 
prouver dans un systeme ou la verite elle-meme est insaisissableŠ]" 
India, because it is a state that is quickly developing but still is 
not developed to the point of the First World, the advance populace's 
sensibility is probably more attuned to Modernism than to 
Post-Modernism, but the battle lines have been drawn up between the 
modern world and the Medieval mindset of the fundamental.  "...they 
[the terrorists] do not fight with equal weapons if they have the 
right to a salvation, we can no longer hope forŠ" ["Šils ne luttent 
pas a armes egales, puisqu'ils ont droit au salut, don't nous ne 
pouvons meme plus entretenir l'espoirŠ"]
After the end of the Afghan War against the Soviets, Arab and other 
irregular fighters remained in the Hindu Kush.  (Please note the 
internationalization of the Kashmir struggle indirectly grew out of 
great power rivalry in the region.)  After an indigenous revolt, 
which had been simmering for some time, began in the Vale during 
1989, many of these ideological mercenaries began filtering into J & 
K.  Some came across the porous Pakistani borders  -- whether with 
the connivance of the Pakistani ISI or not -- and some through other 
more devious routes directly from Afghanistan.  They caused 
disruption within Kashmiri society itself for they forced their harsh 
Islamicist views upon the more Sufic-oriented citizens of the State - 
often quite harshly.  But, at the same, time, as independent human 
rights reports have documented, violent repression against 
non-combatants by the Indian defense forces lost the hearts and minds 
of Srinagar's State to the Center in New Delhi.
India will very likely become a great world power if she can solve 
some grave problems.  One of those challenges is the relationship of 
the Center with its Peripheries, for violent dissatisfaction is found 
mostly at the peripheries.  India is the last great Nineteenth 
century empire.  If it cannot solve these political problems of 
geography, insurrection and sub-nationalities, it will go the way of 
the Soviet Union.  If it can, it will transpire into a mighty 
Twenty-first century powerfully unified state by the popular will of 
all of its citizens.  One of the most disturbing elements to an 
outsider is the current administration's abandonment of the nation's 
founding principles that made India into a great and inspiring 
nation.  That is Secularism.  As a well-known Dutch anthropologist on 
South Asia said at the University of California at Berkeley, 
"Secularism is what people do in private."  That is difference should 
not be forced on an Other.  To deny people their rights of lawful 
expression is to invite rebellion.  And that is what is happening 
under the current rightwing regime.
"Suicidal Terrorism was [is] the Terrorism of the poorŠ" ["Le 
terrorisme suicidaire etait un terroisme de pauvresŠ"]  This purest 
symbolic sacrifice opposes all politico-historical models in that it 
does not make sense under our [i.e., Western] value system (i.e. the 
primacy of life and even brute animal survival), and, thereby, under 
"our" rules; i.e., the Terrorist "cheats".  Terrorism does not follow 
the "moral" axiom of historical (i.e., permissive) aggression such as 
the revolutionary.  Even though "Terrorism is immoral" ["Le terroisme 
est immoral]," his act is not gratuitous, for in his twisted theology 
his exploit grants salvation to his soul.  That is why it is so hard 
to counter his actions and to break his cells and other structures. 
In a strange twist of history, he is a product of Globalization.  He 
has made good use of Globalism to build worldwide configurations of 
confraternities that can strike at many points at any time or at 
once.  That is the secret of his thinking and his success and that is 
what we must understand to counter him.
We should be heading towards bringing these ideas fully into a South 
Asian context, and how we can lessen the popular support for these 
militants, and make our political process more inclusive in so doing.
Sadly, the political evolution in both the United Sates and the 
Indian Union have grown more exclusive - not only to its own 
marginalized, but to those beyond its borders.  Both the States and 
India are hegemons.  The U.S.A., a less than humble world power, and 
India has gained hegemony within South Asia, and, if we are to 
believe the Prime Minister's boasts after the 1998 nuclear blasts, 
there are those aiming for hegemony from the China Sea to the Persian 
Gulf within his Government!  In one sense, though, India 
underestimates the power of its nemesis in Islamabad that was so 
dramatically dramatized last spring. 
The terrorist act makes the system itself suicide. ("L'hypothese 
terroriste, c'est que le systeme lui-meme se suicideŠ")  In 
democratic societies such as the United States, the United Kingdom 
and India such draconian measures as the Patriot Act, POTO and POTA 
are put forward to protect the society from these allusive asuras, 
but at the same time these measures attack the very democratic values 
of the societies themselves.  These incorporating principles are 
subsumed in trying to save the commonwealth itself.  Thus, the 
Terrorist has won the battle leading the system into a collapse.  The 
power of the terroristic adversary has humbled the hegemon.  Yet, 
most importantly, for the counter-insurgent to hold in mind is that 
repressive action travels the same road of unpredictability as 
terrorist actions ("L'acte represif parcourt la meme spirale 
impevisible que l'acte terroristeŠ")
The Terrorist could not have the power he has over the minds of a 
population without the unconscious collusion of the media.  The image 
consumes the event of the sacrificial suicide, and the media hands it 
back as a consumer good with an unprecedented impact.  "The real and 
fiction are inextricableŠ["Reel et fiction sont extricablesŠ"]. 
Especially in the Parliament incident, when the Real was added to the 
Image, mass terror and anger were created.  What followed were two 
(this observer feels there were two separate crises - one set off by 
December 13th and the other by May 14th) nuclear confrontations -- in 
disproportion to the threat -- with their nuclear neighbor Pakistan. 
The potential nuclear reaction came from a perceived violation of 
symbolic space.
What can we extract from Baudrillard on how to apply 
counter-insurgency in the South Asian environment, and what would be 
the most effective methods of action.  He has said above that we are 
destroying our values in protecting our societies from the terrorist 
challenge.  For the ten days immediately after the World Trade Center 
attacks a constant barrage of Talking Heads (no nothing "experts") 
were paraded across American television screens.  The only comment 
that made any sense was "You can't protect yourself from Terrorism, 
you can only change policy."  For Terrorist action is not a totally 
destructive action in the terrorist mind, and it mirrors the violence 
of the hegemonic power he is attacking.  That is to say, the 
terrorist has a point from his perspective, and if we are to counter 
it, we must see it, and understand it.  We must not underestimate it. 
The adversary of the State has humbled the Union in both India and 
the United States.  It is not simply enough that the terrorists be 
eliminated as in previous insurgencies - they must be made to lose 
face in the hearts and minds of the people who secretly support them. 
"Šthis cannot be obtained by pure force and by suppression of the 
OtherŠ" ["ŠEt cela on ne l'obtient jamais par la force pure et par la 
suppression de l"autreŠ"]
It was said above that the ideology of contemporary Islamic militancy 
was born in the Middle East, and has traveled to South Asia.  India 
like America has become suicidal (to ourselves/themselves) in our 
unbearable power over the powerless.  For India, this is certainly 
true with Kashmir.  In the last fifty-five years there has been 
opportunities to reach a win-win solution.  But this author feels 
that the biggest obstacle has been New Delhi.  Every time that three 
(or better yet a fourth partner so each side has a negotiator that it 
can trust) way discussions are suggested, India proclaims the Simla 
Agreement.  Well, the Simla Agreement has not worked.  The 
Subcontinent was too close to war just a few short months go. 
Kashmir must be discussed with the wishes of the State's people 
participating as well as the two contending nation states. 
Otherwise, terrorism will only continue, and nuclear war is only a 
matter of time.  Another crisis must not be allowed to arise.  But 
how can the preconditions be established for serious negotiations? 
From New Delhi the issue of Terrorism is paramount.  Pakistan has to 
agree that this has to be a priority to be addressed at any future 
peace table.
But back to the point between the descriptions on Radio Pakistan and 
All India Radio (AIR):  What New Delhi calls Terrorism, Islamabad 
calls freedom fighting.  The violent actors within Kashmir are 
probably more independent agents than dependent upon Rawalpindi.  In 
opposing them they must be respected for that, as Pakistan must be 
respected as autonomous and powerful people, also.  At the height of 
this spring's crisis Western intelligence reports that leaked out 
suggested that Al'Quaida operatives operating in India were trying to 
destabilize Kashmir as much as possible in hopes that they could win 
against the American-led Coalition in Afghanistan.  In other words 
they were promoting the chances for nuclear war for their own 
perverted interests against the security of both India and Pakistan 
by stepping up attacks against Indian targets in J & K.
India had become trapped in a rhetoric regarding Terrorism from which 
she found she could not easily extradite herself.  If we are to 
believe The Times of India, the Indian high command estimated, by 
assuming the nuclear option in 1998, New Delhi did not have the 2:1 
advantage over the Pakistani forces as assumed during the recent 
crises, but rather a 1:1.2 -- a factor that better training, morale 
or even plain luck could offset.  This was reported to a 
Parliamentary Committee, too, according to the Times report.  The 
fact is that South Asia was lucky this time. The next time it may not 
be.  So, it is time that the two nations with the Kashmiri people as 
equals talk in earnest to create a formula to resolve their 
contentious claims.  A formulistic settlement at the international 
level could thwart the swampy grounds for terrorism to breed. 
Finally, to the issue of the existence of Terrorism, the terrorists 
are men who have very fixed goals and tactics.  They are subnational 
in structure.  And to say they are only Islamic is to miss the point. 
(The Basque nationalistic rebels are another group who are described 
as Terrorists.)   If the Islamicists were hegemonic, they would have 
similar groups applying the same tactics against them.  "Terrorist" 
is a moral pejorative used against a weaker insurgent by a militarily 
dominant group. Those insurgents are better described as guerrilla 
irregulars who employ suicidal tactics.  As the stronger party, it is 
too easy to absolve oneself of any moral complicity in the historical 
predicament by calling the weaker side Terroristic.  In that sense 
Terrorism does not exist, but violence does.  But, most importantly, 
applying violence alone or blaming another strong state will not make 
the problem disappear.  We have to look into our own policies and 
actions as well as defending ourselves from harm.  And this includes 
Indians, Kashmiris, Pakistanis, Americans and all others who face 
this challenge. 
Finally, this exercise has shown how greatly symbolism and rhetoric 
have played into our concept of "Terrorism."  For a successful 
counter-insurgency along with an extra-insurgent solution, these two 
obfuscations have to be sliced away from our vocabulary.  It is too 
easy to call this type of violence "Terrorism," and refuse to 
understand the underlying causes.  The word "Terrorism" can be a way 
of avoiding a solution to a larger, under lying quandary.

* P.O. Box 4233
Berkeley, California 94704-0233
<GCooketal at aol.com>


_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service 
run since 1998 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.