SACW | 18 July, 2003
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Fri Jul 18 03:08:13 CDT 2003
South Asia Citizens Wire | 18 July, 2003
[1.] Pakistan: Shariat Bill in the NWFP - Whose law is it anyway?
(Shehar Bano Khan)
[2.] Pakistan-India: People's initiative for peace (Shafqat Mahmood)
[3.] India: Bad dough rising (Prem Shankar Jha)
[ Related article] Best [Bakery] case [Gujarat] : Towards a better
verdict (N K Singh)
[4.] India: The Marad impasse - ominous portent (V.R. Krishna Iyer)
[5.] India: [Documentary Film] Gujarat: A Laboratory of Hindu Rashtra
By Suma Josson
[6.] India: Post- Gujarat, Post-Shimla Congress: Any Takers? (I.K.Shukla)
[8.] India: Press Release - Appeal to the public by Coalition For
Peace and Harmony, Hyderabad
[9.] Bollywood star quits Hindu role under threats from the Hindu right
--------------
[1.]
DAWN [Pakistan]
17 July 2003
Whose law is it anyway?
By Shehar Bano Khan
Shehar Bano Khan questions the motives behind the adopting of the
Shariat Bill in the NWFP and the ramifications this may have for the
rest of the country.
There is a section of society that believes that many dichotomies
exist in Pakistan. They argue that the one outsmarting all others is
its 'Islamic Republic' appellation. They believe that democracy is
not the same as a khilafat, a parliament cannot be read as a
majlis-i-shoora and a head of state is not a replication of an amir.
So, how can we be a democratic and, at the same time, an Islamic
state?
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has the answer: adopt the Shariat
Bill, as it has done in the NWFP, and the country will no longer have
a contradictory title. Islam and Pakistan will be one and the same,
implying they are not exactly analogous at the moment. But the MMA's
method in answering the question has only served to make it more
confusing.
On June 2, 2003, the six-party alliance of the MMA passed the Shariat
Bill through the provincial assembly of the NWFP. Nobody dared
question them on how an 'Islamic edict' could be proclaimed through a
'secular' process.
Nobody even so much as attempted to demur nominally for fear of being
burnt at the stake by all those defenders of faith who felt entitled
by their religious supremacy to use any available stratagem of
democracy to make the NWFP into a state of believers.
If all else remains the same, the MMA, hand in hand, will soon lay
siege to the city of Islamabad. Will the debate of whether Islam
should be institutionalized or not finally come to an end?
I. A. Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP) in Lahore, who has a wealth of experience as an activist and a
columnist, cautions the people against the dangerous game being
played by the mullahs of the country. "If you want to stop this law's
progression you have to go to the basics first and de-ideologize your
state. The makers of Pakistan felt insecure and had to
institutionalize religion. It is they who are responsible for giving
in to the mullahs and creating confusion," says Rehman.
Playing liberally with concepts (the only time liberalism is shown by
religious extremists) and uncaring of contradictions, the MMA has
theocratised the NWFP by adopting the Shariat Bill, which is now an
act, and delivered on its election promise to make the province
conformto Islamic principles.
However, Rehman believes that the law does not mean much. "It is what
it projects which matters," he says. "Here the concept is reaching
far beyond the legislation." Even legal experts view the legislation
with much less of a trepidation than they do its actual
implementation.
"It's not the first time someone has tried to impose the Shariat,"
says Hamid Khan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of
Pakistan. "Ziaul Haq and Nawaz Sharif both tried to Islamize the
country. As an act I would say it is not harmful, but it definitely
has the potential of being misused by somepeople. Pakistan's history
is full of the misuse of laws."
Human rights activists call it the beginning of the Talibanization of
the country and call for a counter movement by the liberal forces of
democracy and unadulterated peoples' political participation.
Afrasiab Khattak, head of the HRCP, told a foreign newspaper that
"our society was gradually being pushed towards religious
totalitarianism", on the lines of the system practiced by the Taliban
in Afghanistan.
Well before the Shariat Bill, the MMA government in the NWFP had
already prohibited playing of music in public places and on buses,
banned cable TV and school going boys had to wear the traditional
shalwar kurta instead of shirt and trousers. And taking the place of
foremost priority, above that of economy, unemployment, illiteracy
and much more, was the MMA's drive to force girls to cover their
heads. The Shariat Bill has not changed anything for the Frontier
people that did not already exist with the MMA in power. The only
difference now is that a violation of these rules would carry a
strict punishment. Many ask what is next: Talibanized styled public
prosecutions?
"We have learned through the Zia period that his policy of
theocratising the state went beyond the laws he made," says Rehman.
"The impact of the Peshawar initiative will also go beyond what it
says in the body of law. Male doctors can no longer attend women
patients. Education will be strictly segregated, offices, schools and
shops will be closed during prayer time. And as attempted before,
saying prayers five times a day will be mandatory for civil servants.
All these have nothing to do with the Shariat Act. These are policy
directives."
The dangers of the bill and its far reaching ramifications, expressed
by Rehman and Khan, took little time tomanifest themselves. Jubilant
crowds ran through the Frontier streets celebrating the Shariat Bill
by tearing down billboard advertisements showing women and destroying
the satellite cable TV. Their "joy" spilled over to other parts of
the country, especially the Punjab, where dogmatist MMA supporters
went on a campaign to purge the country of obscene market promotions.
Similar efforts at "Islamization" were made by Ziaul Haq in 1985
through the Eighth Amendment to the constitution and Nawaz Sharif by
introducing the 15th Amendment in 1991.
Through a presidential order, Ziaul Haq directed the addition of
Article 2A into the constitution, which was subsequently ratified
through the Eighth Amendment. Both the amendments were a legal cover
for absolute and totalitarian control of the country.
"The problem is when Liaquat Ali Khan introduced the Objectives
Resolution, he believed that the mullahs would be satisfied and
nothing more would be required. Similarly, when Mr Bhutto declared
the Ahmedis non-Muslims, he too believed that nothing more was
needed. Then Zia came and he made a law which could be implemented.
Nawaz Sharif tried to do the same in 1991 with the 15th Amendment but
the enforcement of the Shariat Act never took place," explains
Rehman. He also pointed out how the Shariat Bill of 2003 was a legal
encroachment of the Frontier government on the centre, likening the
MMA to a qabza group. "In spite of it being illegal, they will still
carry it out in some ways," continues Mr Rehman.
The Frontier Shariat Bill is only one part of the Islamization
process in the NWFP. The other part, which in many ways is more
oppressive, is the Hisba Act. A few days after the passing of the
Shariat Bill came another reminder of how the MMA was going to keep
the memory of the Taliban alive. The Hisba Act (hisba means
accountability) is the establishment of the Department for the
Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue. Under this act, cases
will be decided on a jirga pattern, which according to the NWFP chief
minister, Akram Durrani, "would lighten the burden of the courts."
The more sinister side of this act will be the formation of a group
of 'technically virtuous' people, bludgeoning others to follow strict
Islamic guidelines set by it. "The Hisba Act is much more dangerous.
The central part is the creation of a force that will enforce the
Shariat in the state," warns Rehman.
The Islamization project of the NWFP has five components. First is
the enforcement of the Shariat Act, then comes the Hisba Act, the
reform of the behaviour of the state is the third part, followed by
the creation of a separate prosecution branch, with the last one
being amendments in the court fees act.
So far, the MMA has only enforced the Shariat Act, promising to
implement the other four shortly. The NWFP chief minister's
statements on the MMA believing in democracy have made a mockery of
this form of government. How can its misuse be checked and
counter-balanced? If the MMA decides to take the bill to Islamabad
and succeeds in getting it passed in a deal with the establishment,
should we be left to accept it because of some contorted, manipulated
version the MMA refers to as democracy?
The rest of the country is content to let the MMA play fair or foul
on the NWFP's political ground, not realizing the game is about to be
played in their backyards as well. Did we anticipate that nearly
one-fourth of the National Assembly would be occupied by the MMA?
Similarly, the approach of we-can-never-be-Talibanized should be
reconsidered, unless we have completely detached ourselves from
whatever is happening in the Frontier.
_____
[2.]
The News International [Pakistan] July 18, 2003
People's initiative for peace
Shafqat Mahmood
The people are taking over the business of creating a bond of trust
and affection between India and Pakistan. This is a happy development
considering that the two governments are circling each other like
frightened prize fighters. I was one among many who suggested that we
should move cautiously this time around but the two establishments
are taking this caution thing too far. Months after the first
breakthrough was made, we are still at the preliminaries.
The people's initiative started with a parliamentary delegation from
Pakistan taking the symbolic walk across Wagha. This poignant gesture
did serious damage to the artificial curtain of hate put up by the
two establishments. They were received with open arms and garlands of
roses amid loud slogans of friendship. The delegation went around
Indian cities spreading a message of peace and was treated with
respect and affection. This visit was not sponsored by the Government
of Pakistan.
Then, the well known journalist and occasional politician Kuldip
Nayyar came over with an Indian parliamentary delegation. They
visited major cities of Pakistan and interacted with a broad cross
section of the people. They were wined and dined and feted royally
and went back with great memories of friendship and love received
from the ordinary people. This visit was not sponsored by the Indian
government.
The people's initiative of peace continued with a Chambers of
Commerce delegation from Pakistan visiting Delhi. They had important
meetings with their Indian counterparts and were successful in
identifying areas of mutual trade. They also met the Foreign Minister
and were honoured by a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister.
Government of Pakistan has been at pains to point out that this
delegation had no official status.
Then the younger people got into the act. A whole host of young
journalist came over on the first bus from Delhi and had, according
to them, an exciting time in Lahore. They were so busy and their
programme so full that some hosts like the great Imtiaz Alam from the
South Asian Free Media Association could not trace them for a
pre-arranged dinner appointment. They met everyone; journalists, film
stars, politicians, students and were even treated to a sumptuous tea
by Governor Khalid Maqbool. Again, this visit was not sponsored by
the Indian government.
From Karachi, we hear that an Indian Youth delegation spent two weeks
with young people in that city and by all accounts had a fabulous
time. They sang songs together, swapped stories and experiences and
jointly visited every possible place of interest. Remarks by one
young Indian in an interview are revealing. He said that we had all
kinds of strange notions about Pakistanis before we came here. Now we
feel that they are more like us than anyone else. Hallelujah.
Not to be left behind this people's initiative of peace and
friendship, the Maulanas have now joined the act. Maulana Fazlur
Rehman and that irrepressible wit Hafiz Hussain Ahmed are now in
India. Fortunately for us, our Maulanas are of two distinct stripes.
There is the Jamaat-e-Islami that hates India and created a huge
uproar when Vajpayee visited Lahore. Then there is the Jamiatul
Ulemai Islam whose attitude is relatively soft. It has a close
affinity with the Indian religious school in Deoband and this may be
one reason for its moderate view on friendship with India. Maulana
Fazlur Rehman is making all the right noises in Delhi and he and his
party could become important players in a people's coalition for
peace.
The reintroduction of the bus journey between Delhi and Lahore seems
to have opened up a well spring of emotion among the two people. A
young Pakistani girl with a hole in her heart has been treated at an
Indian hospital free of cost. I have no doubt that this gesture would
be reciprocated at Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, if someone came
over from India. The narratives flowing from the visits to each
others country always speak of special consideration, of friendship
and affection, of shopkeepers reducing prices or chaiwallahs or
roadside hotel wallahs offering free meals.
These demonstrations of love are not a put on or just for show. The
mutual bond of affection among the people is real despite Kashmir,
despite four wars, despite incessant and hateful propaganda, despite
the lack of contact. There are other neighbours of India and
Pakistan. Yet, one does not find the same spirit or the same feelings
from their people for us. When the Indians and Pakistanis meet
anywhere, they are drawn to each other. The same cannot be said of
the Iranians or the Afghans or even of the Sri Lankans or Nepalese.
This demonstration of affection or this love fest does not mean that
we do not have any differences or that we do not express them. We
argue and we quarrel and we disagree on many many things but it is
like a disagreement within a family. We are each others peers and
therefore will have emotions of jealousy or envy and even of hate. We
will try to keep each other down as people do with peers but this
does not mean that we are separate or alien.
This is the important point to understand. More unites us than that
which divides us. We share a culture and a language, at least with
people of North India. We enjoy each others music and avidly watch
each others plays or movies. (Plays from Pakistan, movies from India)
We play the same games and are good cricketers and atrocious
footballers. Our mannerisms are similar, our habits despite different
religions remarkably the same. It is because of this that we treat
each other like long lost brothers when we reopen contact after a
temporary or a long hiatus.
The two establishments are now no longer calling the shots in the
sense of determining the emotions of the people. The people have
moved on and their perception of each other is now independent of the
hate brigades on both sides. It is for the first time since 1947 that
I find people becoming the vanguard for peace between the two
countries. Every day, every week, and every month, the people are
telling the establishments through their actions to take a move on.
For a long time a myth has floated around our establishment circles
that anyone who deviates from the stated stand on Kashmir will be
destroyed by the people. Wrong. The people want the establishments to
move on from their stated stands and find a solution. And if a
solution is not found in a hurry, no matter. Keep it aside for the
next generation to decide and not let it become a millstone around
our neck.
The people want the borders to be opened up, for the visa regime to
be less tight, and for mutual interaction to take place. People want
to play and do business with each other. It is time that the two
establishments heeded this call and moved quickly towards a durable
peace.
_____
[3.]
The Hindustan Times (India) July 18, 2003
Bad dough rising
Prem Shankar Jha
The acquittal of the 21 persons accused of hacking to death or
burning alive 14 men, women and children in what used to be the Best
Bakery in Vadodara is, by any reckoning, a travesty of justice that
should make us feel ashamed of what our country has become.
This is not because the accused were acquitted, but because of the
way in which they obtained their acquittal. Forty-one of the 74
witnesses the police had marshalled turned hostile. The main
complainants, who had stood by their accusations for 15 months, the
widow and daughter of the slain owner and other family members, did
not even come to court on the day when they were to be
cross-examined. Without them, there was no case. The judge presiding
over the 'fast track' court that had been set up for the trial was,
therefore, compelled to throw the case out for want of evidence.
The acquittal puts a huge blot upon the police of the state. There
is, admittedly, a great deal that needs explanation. Why did so many
witnesses turn hostile? Were they threatened with death, as both the
daughter Zahira and the wife of the owner, Sehrunissa, claimed after
the trial was over, or were they bribed to remain silent or absent
themselves from the court? The first has almost certainly happened.
But the second possibility cannot be ruled out, for it is a common
practice in this country, as was spectacularly demonstrated by the
BMW manslaughter case in Delhi. The probable answer is that both the
stick and the carrot were used. This probability is increased by the
fact that a BJP MLA, Madhu Srivastava, who was very active in
organising the defence of the accused, was seen frequently in the
company of the wife or the daughter.
But that only replaces one set of question marks against the
behaviour of the Gujarat police with another. Given the importance of
the case why did it not protect, or sequester at least, its key
witnesses, so that they could not be reached by the defendants and
their supporters? The answer may be that there is no witness
protection programme in India akin to that of the US. But then why is
there no such programme when the successful intimidation of witnesses
is a common, almost everyday, occurrence? At the very least, knowing
that witnesses were likely to turn hostile, why did the Gujarat
police not take their depositions before a judicial magistrate? That
would have made it far more difficult for them to turn hostile later.
It would also have allowed the police to threaten those that did turn
hostile with prosecution for perjury.
In fact, the prosecution did not take, or contemplate, even one of
these precautions. Instead, the already traumatised survivors of the
massacre were forced to live on the raw edges of their nerves for
months, prey to every threat and inducement, afraid to go out or pick
up a telephone and denied any protection, assistance or even moral
support by the police. It is hardly surprising that Justice Mahida's
24-page judgment is loaded with condemnation of the police for its
lackadaisical handling of the case.
But why blame the Gujarat police alone? Such complete insouciance is
the norm throughout the country. It has made the task of an
undermanned, under-equipped, under-financed and overworked police
force well nigh impossible. This is reflected in the pathetic rate of
convictions - 1.5 per cent - that the police countrywide secures in
the cases that come up for trial. This explains the immense
popularity and widespread misuse of draconian laws like the Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities Act in the past, and of POTA, the
increasing resort by the police to arrest before investigation and
the stage-by-stage widening of the police's powers of detention to
subvert the individual's right to habeas corpus. Behind all these
gross abuses lies the police's belief that since they will not be
able to secure a conviction from the courts, they might as well
inflict the maximum of punishment upon the defendants by other means.
It also explains the increasing frequency of custodial killings and
fake encounters even in states that have never had to deal with an
insurgency.
The Best Bakery case, thus, underlines the fact that the rule of law
has virtually withered away in India. It has, therefore, been rightly
condemned by all sections of opinion except the deep saffron brigade
of the Far Right. But most commentators have concentrated upon its
juridical implications and shied away from examining its social and
political repercussions. These are, if anything, even more disturbing.
The outcome of the Best Bakery case has made it virtually certain
that the four remaining fast track cases will meet the same fate. If
these too collapse, the alienation of Indian Muslims from the nation
will be incalculable. To young Muslims in particular this will come
as further proof, if it were needed, that they cannot expect any
protection, or even fair play, from the Indian State. Most of them
will probably swallow their anger and hurt and continue with their
lives, but some will almost certainly not.
Their anger will be stoked by the sheer insecurity of their economic
lives. Today, with employment in the organised sector of the economy
shrinking at the rate of 1 per cent per annum, while job seekers
increase at the rate of 2.8 per cent, there are very few jobs to be
had. A growing proportion of the youth faces unemployment. Every
study shows this is more pronounced among the Muslims than among the
Hindus and other minorities. Put poverty and unemployment, together
with life in a ghetto, education in a madrasa, first-hand experience
of the ghoulish face of Hindu communal violence and a sense of having
been betrayed and abandoned, and one has a truly incendiary mixture
that could explode at any time. Add to this the fact that
fundamentalist organisations like the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the
Lashkar-e-Tayyeba have been making inroads into the Indian Muslim
areas, and the potential for what could amount to a civil war becomes
enormous.
India has had experience of this in the past. The caste wars that are
ravaging Bihar, for instance, began in the Seventies when the state
police ceased to be impartial and began to side with the landed
castes. The bomb blasts in Mumbai in March 1993 were planned and
executed by middle-class, technically-qualified Muslims who, with the
exception of Tiger Memon, had had no previous criminal record. They
too were motivated by anger at the way in which the Maharashtra
police had displayed a pronounced anti-Muslim bias in the riots that
had followed the destruction of the Babri masjid.
In the day of the Kalashnikov and RDX, one does not need to alienate
an entire community to create the conditions for a breakdown of law
and order. A handful of miscreants who deliberately target policemen,
politicians, prominent citizens and buildings that are symbols of the
State, can force the government into massive and undiscriminating
responses against the entire community that alienates it further and
enlarges the havens from which the miscreants operate. This is what
the police found out in Punjab and the security forces faced in
Kashmir. It is a lesson the Americans are learning painfully in Iraq
today.
Messrs Praveen Togadia, Madhu Srivastava and others of their ilk may
believe that they have dealt a blow for Hinduism by successfully
subverting the legal process in Gujarat. What they have actually done
is to weaken the moral foundations of the Indian State (which,
incidentally, is the only State we Hindus have). By doing this, they
have prised open the gates of Hell just a little wider.
o o o
[ See Related article]
The Indian Express [India], July 18, 2003
Best case: Towards a better verdict
N K Singh
On June 27, shockwaves rocked the country as all the 21 accused in
the Best Bakery case were acquitted. Days later, the worst fears were
confirmed when two of the star witnesses who turned hostile - Zaheera
Sheikh, daughter of the bakery-owner, and her mother, Sehrunissa -
told newspersons that a BJP MLA and a Congress councillor were among
those who threatened them to change their testimony. [...].
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=27826
_____
[4.]
The Hindu [India], July 18, 2003
The Marad impasse - ominous portent
By V.R. Krishna Iyer
Marad is a beautiful beach along which Hindu and Muslim fisherfolk
live in proximity but separately. The communal carnage there has
convulsed Kerala. The criminal episode is under investigation by the
State police. Bitterness among the Arayas (Hindus) has escalated,
thanks to obvious groups within the `Hindutva' fold. Muslim families
have fled the place and there is a police contingent guarding the
peace. Tension prevails and opposition to Muslims returning to their
homes has created a great crisis. How can a community be prevented
from occupying its residential locality in the light of the
constitutional right of every Indian "to reside in any part of the
territory of India"?
The fundamental duty under Article 51 (A) is to "promote harmony and
the spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India
transcending religious diversities". We must never allow Kerala's
culture of communal amity to be a criminal casualty. This is not
merely a governmental responsibility, but a sacred societal concern
and commitment. Not police presence but Hindu-Muslim fraternity is
the pharmacopoeia for peace. True, the issues are complex. The
deceased families must be generously recompensed for the loss of life
and Government employment given to one member at least from each
bereaved family. This is a minimal state obligation. A major demand
is for justice with speed preceded by fearless, favour-free police
investigation. The Central Bureau of Investigation fills the bill to
investigate this pre-planned crime. We must recognise that a large
section of the people are behind this demand. The Chief Minister, who
holds the Home portfolio, is justly disinclined to bring in the CBI,
as it could be seen as a reflection on the State police.
The question is how to get round this stalemate. There is inflexible
insistence from either side and there is something to be said in
favour of each side. True, police investigation, like judicial
justice, must appear to be above board. However, a great deal of
material has been gathered and an outside agency, such as the CBI,
registering a case and beginning investigation de novo without
familiarity with the locality and the background to the crime may
cause delay. But those who swear by the CBI also have a point,
although it is not an infallible instrumentality. A modus vivendi has
to be evolved so that a deadlock may end, credibility restored and
the investigation conducted impartially. Pragmatism blended with
principle, if acceptable, may offer a way out.
The following proposal may be given serious consideration by the
Chief Minister. He can address the Union Home Minister to lend the
services of a very senior CBI officer to supervise the State police
investigation done so far and continue it under his direction, and
use, if need be, the services of a few more CBI officials to assist
him. This would mean the guarantee of an independent investigation.
This would also mean that the case continues as one registered by the
State police.
There are in Kerala many well-meaning voluntary bodies, non-communal
and secular. They must lobby with both the sides so that the impasse
may be overcome. This must be possible, what with our rich heritage
of peaceful religious co-existence. In that event, the members of the
Muslim community must be freely allowed to occupy their former
residences, burying the hatchet and restoring the lost harmony. Marad
divided is Kerala divided, and Hindu-Muslim unity is an inalienable
value. We want not rabidity but sanity, not hostility but humanity if
Kerala is to win back its historic glory of Hindu soul, Christian
heart and Islamic body, if I may adapt a Vivekananda message of May
1898.
Two matters need better understanding to throw light on the Marad
imbroglio. Some sections of the public demand that the Marad mosque
where explosives and long knives were kept should be released
although it is now under the magisterial custody of the Collector.
Legally speaking, the building has been taken over the District
Magistrate under the Kerala Police Act. It was seized not under
Government orders and so the Government has no control over the order
of seizure which is done statutorily under magisterial discretion.
The second point that needs noting is that the Marad communal carnage
is a disturbing and potentially expanding explosion which may spread
across the west coast. What is at stake is not a village feud with
communal fuel, but a grave omen of Muslim alienation from the coastal
belt with a sinister portent of more clashes erupting.
_____
[5.]
GUJARAT: A LABORATORY OF HINDU RASHTRA
By Suma Josson
This film is set in the post-Godhra violence which
engulfed Gujarat from March 2002. It examines the
extent to which the ideologies of communal hatred have
gained ground amongst ordinary Gujaratis.
Dharmaj, Siswa, Mogri are just a few villages in
Gujarat's Anand district where Muslims who have lived
for decades have not been allowed to return since
being forced to flee during the riots. Their homes and
businesses were looted, burnt down or otherwise
destroyed in that period. The film covers 14 such
villages in Anand District.
It also shows that Gujarat is a fertile ground for
divisive ideologies: skewered economic growth, high
unemployment, the mood of despair among working
people, poor standards of human development at the low
end of the spectrum, caste discrimination and so on.
It traces the rise of groups and strata who -- with
generous support from non-resident Indians -- have
been at the forefront in promoting Hindutva.
The film also talks to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad --
the organisation at the epicentre of Gujarat's
sectarian explosion -- and some of its important
mahants / religious leaders. It explores their ideas
of democracy, Hindu Rashtra, the constitution, the
status and role they assign to women and other
controversial subjects.
At the same time, it explores very divergent
perspectives on the same issues from trade unionists,
human rights lawyers and other activists, specialists
and ordinary citizens.
Today Gujarat, Tomorrow India. That's the warning the
film holds out on the growth of increasingly fascist
tendencies, if those are not addressed right now.
Duration: 45 mins
English/Hindi with English sub-titles
For further details please contact the e-mail id
below.
e-mail: <india_one2000 at yahoo.com>
_____
[6.]
17 July 2003
POST- GUJARAT, POST-SHIMLA CONGRESS: ANY TAKERS?
I.K.Shukla
Rip Van Winkles of history, blissfully innocent of realities, remain
reluctant to abjure their assigned function of entertaining. Politics
thus gets enlivened, and the rough and tumble of a game, none too
edifying, gets spiced up. But the mock heroics and shadow play of a
theatre long defunct, and reduced to a museum curio, are still kept
alive for the benefit of the curious and the morale of the paladins
and pioneers and their cohorts.
Post-Gujarat Congress bears being looked into closely and critically.
Where was it when churches were being torched, shrines desecrated,
and Christians being beaten and their homes vandalized there? Where
was it when thousands of Muslims were robbed, slaughtered, set afire,
raped, and run out of their shops and homes, fields and work places?
Where was it when daggers (suitable christened as trishuls) were
distributed in millions among the Hindu criminals? Where was it when
handbills and booklets were printed in millions and distributed among
the Gujarat citizenry openly on how to kill, burn, rape without
inviting the rigors of the IPC and the wrath of law? If it could not
muster courage and strength to square off the saffron criminals in
Gujarat who were making mincemeat of both the Constitution and the
minorities, either it was dead or it was complicit. That was both the
general perception and the stark fact in quite a few brutal and
savage instances.
Has it changed its vegetable existence or shown any sign of waking up
to the grime and gore all around after Gujarat? An honest answer
would be a resounding No. Has it any future in Gujarat, or in India?
The answer, again, is a roaring No. It betrayed itself by resorting
to soft saffronism, a xerox copy of Hindu fascism, in the form of a
Keshubhai Patel, an ex-RSS man. It constricted itself by its choice
of a person and a policy, both discredited and both derivative.
Since there was nothing of a mission (except electoral interest),
there could be no popular mobilization in its favor and against its
antithesis, the Hindu Talibanism represented by RSS-VHP-BJP-Bajrang
Dal-Hindu Jagaran Manch-Shiv Sena, and Durga Vahini. Congress, in
Gujarat as elsewhere, had long ago become a “had been”. Lack of a
solid and ideologically charged grassroots base and corruption at the
higher echelons had weaselled it out.
Post-Gujarat holocaust, has it shown any sign of stirring into action
at the level of the populace? Not that anyone among the people is
aware of. Doctrinally desiccated, sluggishly and sleepily reacting
to events, holding conclaves of its chosen ones (most of them
unrepresentative non-entities as far as people are concerned) in some
salubrious resort, it has neither done any hard work among the people
educating them about issues, nor spruced up its image of a doddering
decrepit by adopting and formulating its domestic and foreign
policies as a better alternative, progressive and purposive, to the
sordid and squalid one of the saffron outlaws.
That in its abject ideological penury and scandalously pitiable
pusillanimity, the Congress still would vie in the electoral arena
will make gods weep. That post-Shimla it has decided to enter the
poll ring of fire testifies more to its somnolence and sterility than
to its vigor or vision of which both, as outlined above, it suffers
from acute and chronic deficit.
As it adopted, in servile emulation and "appreciation" of
VedicTaliban’s saffro culture, some of the most regressive and
reactionary policies in respect of our domestic responsibilities,
simultaneously it went overboard supporting the BJP-NDA in their
total surrender of national economy and our geo-political interests
to the warlords of Washington. It vowed its support for
implementation of the neo-liberal agenda of denudation of third world
resources and sovereignties, massive immiseration leading to death of
millions and destruction of their basic subsistence, all in the
interest of insatiable greed (of the trans-nationals, mostly
American) for profits, Congress declared itself against the people,
against the Constitution, against India.
Officially, it had not many tears to shed for the saffron scrapping
of the statutory thrust of egalitarian intent enshrined in the
Constitution. It, by and large, went along. No national resistance,
no protest, principled and popular, over a length of time about any
issue. So, when Non-Aligned Movement was systematically trashed by
New Delhi's Bhagwa warlords, Congress did not feel unduly provoked or
pushed. Bonhomie with Israel, alliance with Morocco, a dictatorial
monarchy (in furtherance of US interests), and abandonment
(de-recognition) of Saharwi struggle for freedom are some of the
explicit and obtrusive intimations of a saffron foreign policy that
is bereft of any semblance of principle or national interest, and all
of it dictated by and subordinated to the imperialist aliens. It did
not bring out the Congress on the streets. Invasions of Afghanistan
and Iraq did not bother it too much. It felt fine, on these matters,
to be in the good company of the HinduTaliban.
Even in the sphere of domestic policy, we ill afford to forget the
ban on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, the Shah Bano case, and the
facilitation of a dubious worship of Ram in Ayodhya, Congress, in all
these instances, acted demonstrably communally. Historically,
Congress was the sanctuary of some well-known diehard communalists.
Vasant Sathe a Congressite, asking for temple in Ayodhya is not a
novel or rare phenomenon. Nor is an Antony sniveling about the hurt
to the sentiments of the majority community because of "collective
bargaining by the minorities". The inference is, coercive bargaining,
monopolistically by the majority, is OK It would not hurt the
minorities’ sentiments for they are supposed to have none.
I would recall here one example, from among several, from the history
of Congress just to show that the tradition of communalism ensconced
in it is alive and well. It has thrived over time. This continuity of
a communal pathogen eroding it organizationally has never been
disavowed let alone abandoned. The sizzling specimen of saffron
ideology in the Congress comes out ingloriously in the case of
J.B.Kripalani. I refer the reader to MERE JEEVAN KEE KUCHH YAADEN by
Dr. Z.A. Ahmed, Lucknow, 1997, pp.144-147.
Congress was launching a Muslim Mass Contact campaign. Kripalani
bristled. He did not like it but instead of challenging Nehru, he
spewed his venom on Nehru’s supposed lieutenants in this campaign:
Ashraf, Sajjad Zaheer, and Z.A.Ahmed. He blurted out one day about
Muslims: ''Let sleeping dogs lie
When we come into power we will deal
with them."
And, this model of a political autobiography-writing (in Hindi)
contains, among several gems, a revealing incident of Morarji’s
communalism in Godhra, pp.34-36. He was the Deputy Collector there
when a communal riot broke out. An arch fanatic and Hindu
Mahasabhite, Vaman Rao, was endangering social peace and amity
between the two communities. Among others, Vaman was arrested by the
Superintendent of Police, Ziauddin Ahmed (Z.A.Ahmed's father) to ward
off further trouble and ensure peace. Desai objected. Zia told him
it would be unwise to let Rao go scot free in view of his dirty role
in ratcheting up communal passions. He further told him not to
interfere in the functioning of the law and order machinery and let
it exert to maintain peace which is solely its own responsibility.
Desai went away displeased. The case came up for hearing in Desai’s
court. He acquitted Rao, without even the fig leaf of a bail. Zia
foresaw such tampering with law and order leading to chaos. He did
not mince his disapproval and notified the higher ups accordingly.
Things became hot for Desai, and sensing serious repercussions, he
resigned and bolted to Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram.
An aside. JP Narayan had supported such ones (and later, the RSS)
against Jagjivan Ram in the run-up to the PM's gaddi in the Janta
experiment of coalitional government. The Ashram rehabilitated
Desai, and JP restored the RSS to the mainstream. The party of
assassins, traitors, and theocratic terrorists was thus made legit
and respectable in terms of democratic dispensation for which it had
nothing but absolute disdain.
That Sonia Gandhi did not know who and how many her supporters were
and thus the Vajpayee regime had won a stint at the Centre, never
seems to have registered in her mind or that of the Congress.
Otherwise Congress would not have courted stagnation and redundancy
by pretending to go it alone in the poll battle this long. The
decision to accept coalition has not come a day too soon. And, not
certainly, for the benefit of the people. It has cost the nation too
dearly to be easily forgotten or forgiven. Congress had proved itself
inept and insensitive for the umpteenth time, eventually most starkly
in Gujarat.
A fashionable fig leaf that has worn thin from rough usage over a
long period is the so-called UN umbrella. It is deemed highly
respectable and principled, mostly in the Third world, and largely by
the client states or satellites, that to save their skins, it is
enough for them on occasion to chant this mantra: only the UN
sanctioning or sponsoring a peace keeping force would be legit and
acceptable inducement for their participation. This cant ignores the
regular trashing of the UN by the imperialist powers whose chestnuts
the Third world serfs are so eager to haul up from the fire. More
loyal than the king are his serfs and servitors.
It did not dawn on the Congress that Indian troops would be used in
stabilizing slavery and colonialism in Iraq, as watchmen and sharp
shooting sentries, helping imperialist invaders loot its resources
and national wealth, and causing hundreds of deaths of Iraqi
civilians and freedom fighters. It could not visualize the seething
anger of all Arab and non-Arab countries of the neighboring region
against the invading armies and their auxiliaries from the Third
world. It failed miserably to see that no amount of UN fiat could
turn a crime against humanity and sovereignty and predatory loot –
Gulf War, the uniquely brutal sanctions of 13 years, and the Iraq
Invasion – into "liberation" or "democracy".
But vision, ideal, principles deserted the Congress long ago, much
before Indira Gandhi. Gandhiji had, perspicaciously therefore, wanted
it to dissolve after Independence, to save it from corruption and
coma, sterility and sclerosis. But that was not to be.
Did Alan Octavio Hume in 1885, as its founding father, presciently
foresaw how Congress would finally serve the interests not of the
people of India, but the white foreigners? Congress has lived up to
that putative expectation. In that too it has identified and competed
with the BJP and the various outfits generically known as Rashtra
Sanharak Sangh.
Who needs this Congress? Let it find out.
_____
[7.]
17 July 2003
COALITION FOR PEACE AND HARMONY
6-3-1219/1E, UMANAGAR, P.O. BEGUMPET, HYDERABAD
500016 [India]
Registration no: 458 of 2003
Press Release.
Appeal to the public
We are a group of concerned citizens and organizations whose objectives
are the preservation of our national democratic and liberal values and the
plural culture of India..
We are all for an amicable solution of the Ayodhya mandir-masjid dispute,
which will be fair and just, will strengthen the rule of law and be
acceptable to secular and constitutional India. As such a proposal has
not emerged so far, we consider that the only option left is to wait for
a judicial determination of the dispute, however long it may take. There
is no need for hurrying a solution of the Ayodhya dispute in an unfair and
unjust manner as there are more important and urgent issues which need our
undivided attention, like the issues of roti, kapra and makan , health,
education and other issues of development We totally oppose an option
offered by some sections, namely for legislation to take over the
disputed and undisputed sites for temple construction. This will violate
all norms of justice, fairness, equity and rule of law.
We strongly condemn the repeated utterances of those, who claim to
represent the Hindus, that they will not abide by a court verdict if it
goes against their proposal to build a temple. This tantamounts to
contempt of the Indian constitution by the so-called votaries of
nationalism. It is an untruth to say that these organizations represent
the Hindus.
The raising of the mandir-masjid issue, regularly on the eve of an
election, suggests that the intention of these individuals is to garner
votes through the sinister route of creating communal frenzy and divide
among the people on religious lines. Such acts not only weaken the country
but adversely affect Indias standing in the world as a democratic, secular
country and her international relations.
We appeal to all to isolate these divisive forces and insist on awaiting
judicial solution of the Ayodhya mandir-masjid dispute, if a just and
fair negotiated settlement is not forthcoming.
_____
[8.]
India indymedia
17 Jul 2003
PRESS RELEASE
Film Fraternity Condemns Manhandling of Gopal Menon and Team by VHP
and the State Police
As members of the film fraternity, we are deeply shocked at the
manhandling of the well-known documentary filmmaker Gopal Menon and
his associates Mustaffa Deshamangalam and Viju Verma, by the VHP and
police machinery in Marad, Calicut, on July 8. This deplorable
incident, which took place when the team was trying to shoot footage
for a film on communalism at an open-to-all public function being
addressed by VHP chief Praveen Togadia, is yet another grim indicator
of the steady communalization of Kerala today.
The increasing communal violence in Kerala, a state known for its
secular traditions, is a matter of deep concern. Following the
violence in Marad, we have witnessed the state losing its secular
credentials and a growing sharp polarisation based on religious
identity. While both Hindu and Muslim communal forces have engaged
with the politics of hatred, the recent visit of Togadia to
Kozhikkode is calculated to add fuel to fire.
We see the attack on Gopal Menon and his associates as an attack on
freedom of expression and basic human rights. We read this issue not
as an isolated incident, but as part of an overall attack on
independent media by police machinery and fundamentalist forces.
We note with great concern further, that Chief Minister Antony,
instead of taking firm steps to restore normalcy and peace in Marad
is instead bending over backwards to accomodate communal forces in
Kerala. As a result, Muslim families who were forced to flee Marad
following the violence there are afraid to return to their homes even
today while leaders who are notorious for spreading communal hatred
are being allowed to further vitiate the city's already-charged
atmosphere.
We urge readers of this statement to speak up against the growth of
communalism in this country. We appeal to all secular and democratic
sections in the country to condemn this attack. We appeal to all
members of the mass media to boycott communal forces so that communal
statements do not dictate the lives of innocent citizens. We hope
this will help prevent further bloodshed on the basis of religious
identity. Finally, we demand the immediate rehabilitation of all
families who have been forced to vacate their homes in Marad.
Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Saeed Mirza, Kundan Shah, Anand
Patwardhan, Sudhir Mishra, Virender Saini, Ajay Bhardwaj, Altaf
Mazid, K R Mohanan, P T Kunhumohammed, Priyanandanan, Anjum
Rajabali, Avijit Mukul Kishore,, Amar Kanwar, Shriprakash, K.P.
Sasi, P. Baburaj, B.Ajithkumar, Rajeev Ravi C. Saratchandran,
Aditya Seth, Sagari Chhabra, Vagish K Jha, Pedestrian pictures
Deepak Roy, Satya Sivaraman, Lenin Rajendran.
______
[9.]
BBC (UK) 17 July, 2003
Bollywood star quits Hindu role
By Monica Chadha (BBC correspondent in Bombay)
One of Bollywood's leading Muslim stars has shelved plans to play a
Hindu god after receiving a series of threats, reportedly from a
religious group.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3074659.stm
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