SACW | 3 Aug. 2003
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Sun Aug 3 05:39:19 CDT 2003
South Asia Citizens Wire | 3 August, 2003
[1.] An Open Letter To The President of Pakistan And The Prime
Minister of India (Pavan Nair)
[2.] India: Snub-Modi missives to Mandela
[3.] India: NHRC: Neither Too Little Nor Too Late (Mukul Dube)
[4.] India: Nanavati Commission Boycott (Digant Oza and Nachiketa Desai)
[5.] India: Sex And Television: Feminists Engage with Censorship
(Shohini Ghosh)
[6.] Book Reviews:
- Partition and Genocide by Anders Bjorn Hansen (Sudhanya Dasgupta Mukherjee)
- Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime' by Veena
Talwar Oldenburg (Urvashi Butalia)
--------------
[1.]
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)
<http://www.asiapeace.org>www.asiapeace.org
Executive Director: Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.,
<<mailto:pritamr at open.org>pritam at open.org>
Please review the following Open Letter on Siachen by Pavan Nair, a
retired Colonel from Indian Army. You may also wish to respond
directly to him at <<mailto:pavannair at vsnl.net>pavannair at vsnl.net>
Best wishes,
Pritam
__
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN AND THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA
Let the Guns fall silent in Siachen
Dear Mr President,Mr Prime Minister,
Citizens of both our countries are looking forward to an
improvement in our relations.Indeed some steps are already under way
in this direction.I am taking the liberty of bringing to your notice
an issue which needs your immediate and urgent attention.An issue
which must not be put off for reasons of fixing agendas or dates.An
issue which can be resolved without resorting to lengthy
negotiations.An issue,if resolved,will lead to the immediate
amelioration of the suffering of thousands of soldiers who have been
deployed at punishing altitudes on the Saltoro Ridge.An issue,if
resolved,could become the model for resolving even more difficult
issues between our countries.
I am also taking the liberty of suggesting a solution to resolve
the issue which has been taking a backseat vis a vis the Valley
issue.That the Siachen war has cost our countries many lives and many
wounded is well known.That the war has not achieved any strategic aim
for either side is well documented.That the war has cost both our
countries resources which could be utilized in a better manner is
also well understood.That both countries want a solution to this
problem is obvious-otherwise we would not have had seven rounds of
talks over the years.What is not known is the degree of suffering we
have inflicted on our soldiers over the last twenty years in this
conflict without end.
We have asked our soldiers to serve in an area which causes
trauma beyond the limits of human endurance.The altitude the soldiers
are serving at is the cruising altitude of airliners.Perched on crags
of rock and ice,exposed to the elements,breathing dangerously low
levels of oxygen ,living a degrading and sub human existence,they
carry on without complaint. And they will carry on for another twenty
years if required.They will continue to perform their duty for their
countries.The issue is that as countries which are progressive and
fighting extremism - should we be inflicting such punishment on our
soldier-citizens.There is a strong possibility that all who have
served at such extreme altitudes would have suffered long term injury
to body and psyche.It is possible that over two hundred thousand
soldiers on both sides could possibly have been affected and this
number is increasing by ten thousand every year.The conditions in
winter are even more extreme and hence this appeal to look into this
issue,as yet another winter will soon be upon us.
The essence of this proposal is to remove troops from the area of
conflict on the Saltoro Ridge as well as the uninhabitable Glacier
region without compromising the stated position of either party and
without conferring any tactical or strategic advantage to either
side.It is analogous to asking the contestants to return to their
corners in the ring.It is proposed to create a Human Exclusion
Zone(HEZ) comprising the Saltoro Ridge as well as the Siachen Glacier
System which will result in disengagement of troops and their
deinduction to lower altitudes.
Mr President,you have said that there are issues more important
than cricket and commerce which need to be sorted out first.I agree
with you entirely.In fact,you had mentioned Siachen in your interview
with Prannoy Roy,but it was not discussed.I would therefore urge you
to consider this issue without linking it to any other issue between
our countries.
Mr Prime Minister,you have shown the magnanimity of an elder
statesman.I therefore urge you to continue in the same spirit and
look into the modalities of the proposal suggested below.
1. A ceasefire to be declared by both countries in the area with
immediate effect.
2. India to commence withdrawal from the Northern passes(Indira
Col,Sia La and Bila Fond La) and complete the process within fifteen
days.
3. Pakistan to commence withdrawal from positions opposing the
Northern areas including Conway Saddle,Baltoro Glacier and Bila Fond
Glacier and complete the process in fifteen days to or behind a line
parallel to the Saltoro ridge and five kilometers away from it till
it meets the Line of Control(LOC).This will form the Western Boundary
of the HEZ.
4. Pakistan to commence withdrawal from Southern Areas including
Gyong La and Chumik Glacier to behind the Western boundary of the HEZ
within seven days after the completion of Step 3.
5. India to complete the withdrawal from the Southern Area
including Gyong Glacier within seven days of Step 4.
6. The process of demilitarising the Saltoro Ridge to be
completed by 15 October 2003.No human activity including cattle
grazing or cultivation will be permitted anywhere on the Saltoro
Ridge and the Siachen Glacier.
7. India to commence dismantling camps and facilities on the
Siachen Glacier and complete a withdrawal from the Glacier upto and
including its snout by 30 November 2003.The entire Glacier region
including its tributaries will be included in the HEZ.The Eastern
boundary will be formed by the Karakorum Ridgeline from Indira Col to
the East till the line running East West from the Snout of the
Siachen Glacier
8. A joint commission to be formed on the lines of the Indus
Water Commission to monitor the HEZ.The Commission to include
scientists and environmentalists besides the local military
commanders from both countries to recommend measures to revive the
eco system of the affected area.
Let not militant strikes deter you from a path you have so
wisely chosen.That will amount to playing into their hands.Let the
issue of disputed ownership of an arid wasteland not come in the way
of getting our soldiers down.They have done their duty.Whether
Saltoro/Siachen is inclusive to India or Pakistan or both can be
looked at at some other point in time.We have lost many soldiers on
both sides-many are suffering-let us not delay the resolution of this
conflict anymore.All it will take to implement this plan is a
telephone call from Delhi to Islamabad or vice versa.No protracted
negotiations,no exchange of maps,no bureaucrats,no ministers or
generals.All that has been tried on several occasions in the past to
no effect.
Let us think of a general ceasefire on the Line of Control and
International Border after the Siachen withdrawal. Let us think of
cricket and commerce after we have a ceasefire in effect.Let us think
of other issues after that.In the meantime,let many Noors be
healed.Let diplomatic niceties continue and overflights commence.They
will have some meaning only if we can begin to sort out what is one
of the major issues between our countries.
Mr President, Mr Prime Minister, let the guns fire the final
salute to the fallen in Siachen and then fall silent forever. I
appeal to you to take a decision on this issue without any further
delay.
With regards.
A retired Soldier
_____
[2.]
[The below report carries excerpts from some letters that appeared on SACW. ]
o o o
The Telegraph [India]
August 03, 2003
Snub-Modi missives to Mandela
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mandela: To come or not to come
New Delhi, Aug. 2: Nelson Mandela is being flooded with letters from
India, urging him not to accept Gujarat chief minister Narendra
Modi's invitation to attend Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary
function on October 2.
For Modi and his BJP government, a visit from the South African
leader - who spent the best years of his life in prison fighting a
racist regime - will be a badge of honour. Since the outbreak of the
Gujarat riots last year, the chief minister has walked into one
controversy after another.
The criticism has picked up with the latest exposures in the Best
Bakery massacre case, in which the main witness accused a BJP MLA of
intimidation. Fourteen people were burnt alive when the Vadodara
bakery was attacked by a mob on March 1 in the riots that followed
the Godhra train burnings. But the witness' refusal to identify the
accused led to their acquittal.
Last Thursday, the National Human Rights Commission took up the cause
of the witness, petitioning the Supreme Court for a retrial and
transfer of key riot cases out of the state.
Several organisations and individuals within and outside India are
trying to stall the South African leader's visit. In a letter to
Mandela, Daniel 'Connor, from England, wrote: "You should stay away
from the bogus Gandhi celebrations of the present regime in India.
You should combine a visit with a journey to Gujarat in the company
of human rights workers - not officials."
"You should visit some of the survivors of the outrage against the
Muslim (and to a lesser extent Christian) minority. Perhaps, Harsh
Mander, Indian director of Action Aid, who resigned his senior post
in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in protest at what
happened, would be an ideal guide for you," 'Connor added.
Another letter was from Shabnam Hashmi, an activist for peace and
harmony. "Our appeal to you is to reject the invitation publicly so
that the hands of those fighting for justice in Gujarat can be
strengthened," Hashmi wrote.
Letters have also reached the South African high commissioner in
Delhi, asking him to inform Mandela about all the details of what has
been happening to Muslims under the Modi regime.
"Nelson Mandela is regarded the world over as a voice that has rung
out against anything which is draconian and authoritarian. It is the
duty of every citizen to protest his coming to Gujarat until such
time that justice prevails," wrote Cedric Prakash, director of
Prashant, a voluntary organisation in Ahmedabad.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi refused to comment. "Nelson Mandela's
visit is still not confirmed. We do not want to comment on it," Naqvi
said.
_____
[3.]
NHRC: Neither Too Little Nor Too Late
D-504 Purvasha
Mayur Vihar 1
Delhi 110091
3 August 2003
Dear Editor,
Since the National Human Rights Commission began to visibly act in
the matter of the Best Bakery trial, first sending a team to Vadodara
to study what had happened and eventually filing a Special Leave
Petition in the Supreme Court asking for that case to be tried again
and for it and the principal other post-Godhra cases to be tried
outside the state of Gujarat, several people have asked why it did
not act earlier.
As the lawyer Indira Jaising pointed out on a television show, the
NHRC had in fact acted earlier. When the first report came in of a
witness' turning hostile in the Best Bakery trial, the NHRC had asked
the Gujarat police about the circumstances and about the steps taken
to protect witnesses from intimidation. It is not known if an
explanation was forthcoming.
In fairness to the NHRC, we must say that in a state ruled by a party
which has shown a marked willingness and ability to subvert
institutions, it cannot have counted much on either the judiciary or
the police. The second of these, the police, is the more important
here, being the executive arm of the legal machinery. Even a free and
independent judiciary would be near to helpless if the police did not
properly carry out its orders.
My feeling is that the NHRC watched and waited, patiently and in
silence. It chose not to act when action would be ineffectual. What
it has now done is to enlarge the issue to something that affects not
just Gujarat but the entire country's system of justice. It has
presented to the Supreme Court a strong case for taking action which
will bypass the High Court of Gujarat for the reason that the
witnesses who come before that court will be physically situated
within that state.
If my speculation is correct, in not seeking to prevent a miscarriage
of justice with the knowledge that it would have a better chance of
setting things right later, the NHRC has shown a remarkable
astuteness.
Yours truly,
Mukul Dube
_____
[4.]
Sahara time [English weekly, India]
July 2 , 2003
Nanavati Commission Boycott
Digant Oza
Nachiketa Desai
Ahmedabad: A feeling of despondency prevailed among social and human
rights activists as Muslim riot victims boycotted the judicial
commission inquiring the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat. The riot
victims feared reprisal from the perpetrators of carnage if they
exposed themselves by speaking out the truth while deposing before
Justice G T Nanavati and Justice K G Shah who concluded the first
round of hearing in the worst-effected Ahmedabad city on Tuesday
(July 22).
Only one witness, Dr. Yunus Bhavnagari, made a sensational revelation
when he accused former state revenue minister Haren Pandya (later
slain by some unknown assassins) of having led the attack on the
Muslims in the posh Paldi area of the city last year. Most other
witnesses either did not turn up or parroted the well-rehearsed "all
was well with the police" when Gujarat was on fire line of the
Narendra Modi government.
"Despite our all out efforts to mobilize witnesses to depose before
the commission, very few had the courage to come out as they feared
for their life. The Muslims have come to the grim realization that
they are at the mercy of the police and goons of the saffron brigade.
Then, there is also this realization that the judicial commission is
toothless, without the powers to punish the guilty," said Dr. Hanif
Lakdawala of Sanchetna, a human rights organization.
The police and those accused of arson, loot and murder, on the other
hand, goaded dozens of people to depose before the commission. Their
common refrain was that there was no breakdown of law and order
during the 'Gujarat Bandh' call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
and the Bharatiya Janata Party on February 28 to protest the killing
of 58 Kar Sevaks near the Godhra railway station.
That these witnesses were well-tutored by the police got exposed
before the commission on the last day of the first phase hearing when
one of the witnesses, when cross examined, said he had come to depose
at the behest of the staff of the Madhavpura police station.
Virtually giving a certificate of 'efficiency and high level of
commitment to duty', a resident of Madhavpura, Pratapji Thakore said,
"The policemen worked round the clock to provide security to the
people." Thakore happens to be a government employee.
Their curiosity having been aroused about such an unusual statement,
Justice Shah asked the witness as to who had asked him to come to
depose before the commission. "The policemen from my area had come to
tell us to depose before the commission," Thakore replied candidly.
The court burst into laughter.
While human rights and social activists could not much succeed in
instilling courage among the riot victims to come in large numbers
before the commission and narrate eyewitness accounts of the gory
violence they had been subjected to during the anti-Muslim pogrom,
BJP and VHP workers turned up in large numbers to give their
depositions. In a frontal attack on the Congress, former municipal
corporator Kamal Kamalkar of the BJP stated that persons armed with
swords and other lethal weapons had come in a vehicle bearing the tag
of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to Shahpur and killed one person.
In the same deposition, Kamalkar was all praise for the police.
Despite over 100 cases of rioting registered by the Madhavpura police
station during the post-Godhra violence, all the 151 witnesses,
except a Muslim woman, claimed before the commission that peace had
prevailed in their area and that the police deserved a pat for
performing their duty well.
"If this is the trend of hearing before a toothless commission, one
can very well imagine how the hearings by the various trial courts
that are to decide the cases related to serious crimes committed
during last year's violence must be proceeding," said Digant Oza of
the Citizen's Initiative, a state-level network of human rights
organizations.
In the much-publicized Best Bakery case, the session's court of
Baroda had acquitted all the 21 accused of burning alive 14 persons
after all the key witnesses had turned hostile allegedly under the
duress of BJP strongman and MLA Madhu Srivastava. The National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Justice A S Anand had described the
judgment as 'miscarriage of justice' and sought reopening of the case.
In as many as 37 other cases of serious crime, including the one
related to the burning alive of 70 Muslims in Sabarkantha district,
all the accused were acquitted by the court for want of evidence. Not
only were the witnesses turned hostile in these cases, but the public
prosecutors too did not perform their duty, alleged Mr. Oza.
In a memorandum to the NHRC, a delegation of state-level NGOs from
Gujarat has pointed out that the state government has appointed as
public prosecutors Hindu fundamentalist lawyers with strong links to
the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The NHRC's attention was drawn to the fact that Arun D Oza, who had
contested the assembly election as a BJP candidate was appointed
government pleader and public prosecutor. Similarly, in the city
civil court at Ahmedabad, known BJP/RSS workers Sudhir Brahmabhatt,
Labhubhai Patel, Deepak Sharma, Mahesh Patel and Rajesh Modi were
appointed additional public prosecutors. In the district court of
Ahmedabad, government pleader Anil Patel has been appointed the
government pleader. Similarly, in the district court of Mehsana,
Dilip Trivedi, the joint secretary of the VHP's state unit, has been
appointed a government pleader.
The network of state-level NGOs has demanded dismissal of these
public prosecutors and government pleaders and their trial for not
having performed their duty in accordance with the law.
e.o.m.
_____
[5.]
Screen [India]
July 18, 2003
SEX AND TELEVISION
Feminists Engage with Censorship
Shohini Ghosh
The Troubled Existence of Sex and Sexuality:
"The powerful always seek to limit freedom by talking of the misuse
of freedom, but freedom cannot be called freedom unless one has the
right to misuse it... More than evil itself, I have learnt to fear
the menace of good that comes in the form of improving others..."
(Rabindranath Tagore from Jibansmriti, Rabindra Rachnabali, cited in
Nandy 1994) "If you love freedom and like sex, censorship in bad
news..." (Kathleen Peratis, women's rights attorney, cited in
Strossen 1995)
In 1993, the BJP and Shiv Sena launched an assault on Bombay cinema
by disrupting films in mid-screenings; banning stars of Pakistani
origin and boycotting 'anti-national' stars like Dilip Kumar and
Shabana Azmi for attending Pakistan Day celebrations.8 The resultant
'treaty' between the BJP and the Film Makers Combine (FMC)
recommended steps to curb the 'deterioration of cinema culture' by
prohibiting 'insult to the Hindu faith'; promotion of 'anti-national
elements' or 'body exposure'.9 The Hindu right was perhaps quicker to
sense the subversive potential of popular cinema.
The first major controversy around 'obscenity' was articulated
through major representational shifts concerning women: the blurring
of distinction between the 'bad' vamp (Westernized, sexy and
promiscuous) and that of the 'good' heroine (chaste and virtuous).
Like most non-conventional 'disruptions', it appeared first in the
song and dance sequences and was celebrated unabashedly in 'Choli ke
Peechey Kya Hai...'? (What's Behind the Blouse?) from the film
Khalnayak (The Villain, 1993).
The 'choli' controversy debated whether or not the song was vulgar
and obscene. The Hindu right attack against the song was led by the
Shiv Sena in Bombay and the students wing of the BJP, Akhil Bhartiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Delhi. A petition was filed in the Delhi
High Court asking for the deletion of the song from the film and a
ban on audio cassettes sales. The petition allege that the song was
'vulgar, against public morality and decency'. After dismissal of the
case by the trial court, the petitioners went to the High Court with
the appeal that, left unchallenged, the court's decision would be an
incentive to depicting increasing vulgarity on screen, which in turn,
would lead to increasing sexual harassment. The High Court dismissed
the petition in a 14-page order on the ground that (a) film viewing
was a matter of choice with no coercion involved; (b) that it was
'sheer imagination' that the song would lead to eve-teasing, and (c)
the alleged vulgarity was acceptable to society in keeping with
'latest developments' in the film world.
Khalnayak features two versions of the 'choli' song. The allegedly
'indecent' version is sung by two women (Ila Arun and Alka Yagnik)
and performed by two women (Madhuri Dixit and Neena Gupta) who
pretend to be prostitutes.10 The second version, with identical
lyrics and music is sung and performed by men. This version
culminates in the heroine being intimidated and physically assaulted
by the male protagonist. Ironically, both the petition and the
protesters chose to ignore this version. The anxiety regarding
'increasing sexual harassment' notwithstanding, the protesters
demanded censorship of not the version that actually depicted
violence against women but one that represented sexual agency on
their part.
The ritual of outrage and anxiety around the 'choli' song was
re-enacted around subsequent songs like 'Sexy, Sexy, Sexy, Mujhe Log
Bole...' (People Say I am Sexy, Sexy, Sexy) from Khuddar
(Self-respecting Person, 1993), 'Meri Pant Bhi Sexy...' (My Pant is
Sexy) from Dulaara (The Loved One, 1993); 'Sarkayleo Khatiya Jara
Lage...' (Bring Your Cot Closer, I am feeling Cold) from Raja Babu
(His Lordship, 1993) and similar songs with double-entenders. The
word 'sexy' placed both the songs from Khuddar and Dulaara in
trouble. The CBFC asked the director of Dulaara to replace the word
'sexy' with 'fancy'. Despite AIR's ban, the song topped all
popularity charts. 'Sexy, Sexy, Sexy, Mujhe Log Bole...' ended up
being re-recorded as 'Baby, Baby, Baby' even though all private
television channels continued to broadcast the 'sexy' version.
Organisations that protested against 'obscenity and vulgarity' in
film songs included the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the
Centre for Media Studies, the National Commission for Women (NCW),
the Parliamentary Standing Committee and the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC). Anurag Chaturvedi of the Marathi paper
Mahanagar and member of the examining committee constituted to look
into these songs told the press that 'unless this trend is checked
more songs will be written in the language of the Kamasutra.
Eve-teasers will be singing them on the streets and there will be no
one to stop them.11 Justice Ranganath Mishra, Chief Commissioner for
the NHRC called film songs 'the worst violators of human rights'.
This outrage and panic around 'obscenity' received an impetus with
the release of the Media Advocacy Group (MAG) report titled People's
Perceptions: Obscenity and Violence on the Small Screen (1994).12
Targeting films songs as the 'worst offenders,' the report claimed
that parents are 'angry and disgusted' at the rising levels of
obscenity in the media and are unable to control the viewing habits
of their children. It identifies the 'low-income group male' as the
most vulnerable to 'negative effects' and assumes that media
'impacts' directly on the audience.13 Assuming the classic 'culinary
fallacy' - that people consume wholly and uncritically whatever
appears on TV - the report constructs the viewer as a vulnerable and
passive non-agent.
The reportage of this report in newspapers generated more anxiety by
carrying the 'image blaming' process a step further by concluding
that 'obscene and vulgar' film songs 'increased eve-teasing and
harassment' (Rai 1994; Ninan 1994; Kazmi 1994). That 'there seemed to
be a great fear that young women might start imitating the clothes
and morals depicted on the screen'.14
Pressured by these groups and following a furore in Parliament, the
Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry recommended revision of
the CBFC guidelines in order to curb 'obscenity and vulgarity'. The
consequent 'revision' added to the already existing list of
'objectionable visuals' under categories titled Violence and
Vulgarity that merits being quoted in its entirety.
1. Selectively exposing women's anatomy (e.g., breasts, cleavage,
thighs, navel) in song and dance numbers, through suggestive and
flimsy dresses, movements, zooming particularly in close-shots [sic].
2. Double meaning dialogues referring to women's anatomy (e.g.,
breasts or apples or some other fruits).3. Stimulation [sic] of
sexual movements (e.g., swinging of car, cot).4. Man and Woman in
close proximity to each other or one over the other and in close
proximity and making below-the-waist jerks suggesting copulation.
5. Pelvic jerks, breast swinging, hip jerks, man and woman mounting
on each other, rolling together, rubbing women's body from breasts to
thighs, hitting/rubbing man with breasts, sitting on each others
thighs and waist with entwined legs, lifting and peeping inside a
woman's skirt [sic] squeezing woman's navel and waist.6. Vulgar
kissing on breasts, navel, buttocks upper part of thighs.7. Coins,
etc. being put inside blouse and other types of eve-teasing as there
is invasion of privacy of women's body.8. Disrobing women.
The Spiral of Moral Panics
The hosting of numerous post-choli seminars, meetings and revised
CBFC guidelines notwithstanding, the anxieties around satellite
broadcasting were not allayed. From 1992 onward moral panics recurred
regularly.
In 1994, a controversy around obscenity broke out over
advocate-cum-model Anjali Kapur who had posed in the nude for Fantasy
magazine. This controversy placed 'pornography' under scrutiny. Later
that year, the CBFC stopped Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen for its
depiction of 'sex and violence' and recommended 10 major cuts and
some general ones. Phoolan Devi herself filed a petition in the Delhi
High Court demanding the film be banned as it had allegedly violated
her sexual privacy.
1994 also saw the launch of Shiv Sena's 'clean-up culture' drive in
Maharashtra. In order to 'repel the attack on [Indian] culture by
sexual permissiveness', Pramod Navalkar, the then Shiv Sena Minister
for Cultural Affairs, promised to remove sex and vulgarity from
advertisements and street hoardings.15 This campaign also saw the
indiscriminate confiscation of books, magazines and films that
contained sexually explicit material.
The year 1996 saw a rapid succession of moral panics. In January, a
controversy broke out around the Tuff shoes advertisement that showed
a nude couple (models Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman) locked in embrace
with snake wrapped around their necks. In April 1996, another
controversy took place over Mahesh Bhatt's statement that those who
wished to watch pornography had a right to do so. This provoked
social and women's organisations to demand his removal from the
governing council of the Film and Television Institute in Poona. In a
memorandum to the Minister of I&B, prominent members of the women's
movement demanded Bhatt's removal on the grounds that no citizen,
particularly someone in an official capacity, can claim the right to
watch pornography.16 Affirming the 'proven nexus' between 'violence,
pornography and prostitution' and concluding that pornography
'debased and commodified' the human body, it argued that while the
constitutional provision of free speech and expression were
important, imposing 'reasonable restrictions' were imperative to
prevent practices that were 'derogatory to the dignity of women'.17
The memorandum also demanded 'a code of decency aimed at checking
vulgarity in the electronic media.' Meanwhile, Global Internet Ltd, a
Chandigarh-based company proposed the launching of an adult channel
called Plus 21. The mere announcement of the proposed launch provoked
immediate censure and legal action. Responding to a petition filed by
the National Commission for Women (NCW), the Delhi High Court asked
Global Internet to submit a list of its subscribers. Indira Jaisingh
arguing for the NCW expressed fear that the programmes would be
'obscene and indecent'.18
Subsequently, metropolitan magistrate Prem Kumar asked Doordarshan to
stop screening all films,TV serials and advertisements that did not
have a Censor certificate. The 'directions for compliance' had been
issued because 'threats to the ageless Indian culture and ethos are
no less serious than threats to its political sovereignty and
independence' (The Pioneer, 4 July 1996). The order was in response
to a petition filed by an inmate of Tihar jail concerned about a
mosquito repellent and that had used the national anthem. The
petitioner had also complained about the screening of adult movies
and serials showing adulterous themes and crimes. Mr Kumar's
'directions' authorised the police to enter any place of screening
and exhibition in order to seize 'objectionable material'. A
subsequent High Court decision stayed Mr Kumar's orders (The Times of
India, 31 July 1996).
In 1996, the BJP came to power for 13 days with Sushma Swaraj as
Minister of I&B. Within this brief span, she criticised women
newscasters in Doordarshan for wearing 'semi-transparent' clothes and
passed an in-house order banning an advertisement for a music system
where the woman's skirt lifts momentarily with the music.19 Mrs
Swaraj also banned a sex education radio broadcast, believing that
such programmes promote 'adultery'.
In January 1997, the debate surrounding nudity and obscenity
reappeared with the Bajrang Dal's (youth wing of the VHP) attack on
an exhibition of the artist M.F. Hussain for having painted goddess
Saraswati in the 'nude'.20 While the attack was an overtly communal
one, it was articulated through notions of decency and indecency. In
1998, a similar outrage was articulated around the Delhi Tourism
Department's decision to include a photograph of the dancing figure
of the archaeological site of Mohenjodaro, a common image in
elementary history books.21
The moral panic also spilled over onto newer communication
technologies. In May 1997, the cover of Stardust carried a 'morphed'
photo of Pooja Bhatt with the banner: 'Scoop of the Month: Actresses
caught NUDE in the net.' The picture, supposedly downloaded from the
internet, is an excellent illustration of the subjectivity governing
notions of nudity and obscenity, as the 'nude' actress, Pooja Bhatt,
is actually wearing a bikini.22
_____
[6.]
[BOOK REVIEWS]
o o o
Seminar [India] July 2003
PARTITION AND GENOCIDE: Manifestation of Violence in Punjab 1937-1947
by Anders Bjorn Hansen.
India Research Press, New Delhi, 2002.
THERE has been a renewed interest in partition in India in the last
decade, prompting it to re-emerge as a major area of inquiry
especially in disciplines like anthropology and history. It has
produced a vast and diverse body of work and debate. While much of
this has focused on partition itself and investigated its various
dimensions - socio-political, emotional and so on, during or
following it, comparatively much less has been written about the
conditions prevailing before partition barring a few works like Jaya
Chatterjee's Bengal Divided: Hindu Communalism and Partition,
1932-1947, Suranjan Das' Communal Riots in Bengal 1905-47 and the
like. The book under review treads fresh grounds as the author seeks
to explore the nature, changes and manifestations of violence in
Punjab between 1937-1947.
The author, a historian from University of Copenhagen, Denmark,
chooses the period 1937-47 in Punjab, a period studied mainly for
political developments leading to partition to analyse the
development of communal violence, more specifically tracing the
changes in the nature of violence from 'traditional' to 'genocidal'.
Part I - Political Power Struggle and Communalism - in three chapters
examines the link between political power struggle and the rise of
communalism in Punjab from the provincial elections in 1937 marking
the first escalation, through the interim period which saw the
failure of the Cripps Mission to the provincial elections of 1946,
and finally the period from the 1946 provincial elections till early
1947, i.e, end February, when the British government announced its
withdrawal. Part II, The Internecine Strife, looks at the
'internecine strife' between the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs from the
announcement of partition plans in June till the transfer of power
and independence in August with a special focus on the conditions pre
and post Rawalpindi massacres in March 1947. Part III, Independence,
deals with partition and the violence that followed. The concluding
chapter puts into perspective the findings of the study - the case of
ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The political pacts, events and their implications/fallouts, 1937
provincial election onwards, punctuate the study, largely forming the
backdrop against which changes in forms and nature of violence are
traced. The author, investigating the changes of violence from
'traditional' to 'genocidal', harps on issues like the nature of
inter- and intra-community feuds in the initial years, the gradual
crystallisation of community identity and consequent political
awareness changing the community relations and enabling
political/power relations to influence religious differences. The
rise and growth of the community-based 'quasi-military voluntary
groups' added to the separatist tendencies signalling a further rift
between religion and politics, thus 'effectively completing the
communalisation process.' Next the author traces the political
changes which marked an end to democratic interaction and peaceful
co-habitation with the nature of violence turning to genocidal. The
'genocidal tendencies' manifest primarily in the persecution of the
women of one community by the 'other', followed by an outbreak of
mass , unprecedented violence and 'ethnic cleansing' 'by' and 'on'
all three communities. With violence becoming more structured and
organised, there was a total disintegration of the moral/cultural
order making co-habitation impossible leading to large scale
uprooting and migration. Partition made this transformation complete.
Meticulously tracing the traits and transformation of violence marked
by the political events, the book, nevertheless, leaves certain areas
open for questioning, particularly in holding the League responsible
for the deteriorating political struggle and the polarisation of the
communities.
The foreword by Ian Talbot is insightful. The introduction examines
terms like genocide and communalism, discusses the various debates
surrounding them, contextualises the study by presenting a brief
political history of Punjab and offers a review of literature. A
chronological order marks the structuring of the chapters and the
organisation of details as they probe the development of communal
violence. There is also a brief summary at the end of each chapter
which helps consolidate the points raised. Of particular interest are
two graphs in the conclusion, the first showing the development of
violence, from 1937-1946 and the number of casualties, the other
depicting the massive transformation in the violence, from
traditional to genocidal between 1937-1947. The study is based on
primary sources, especially the Fortnightly Reports, about 270 of
them written between January 1937 and August 1947 from the Chief
Secretary for the Government of Punjab to the Viceroy and the letters
from the Punjab Governor to the Viceroy. He has also drawn on two
previously published sources, Constitutional Relations Between
Britain and India: The Transfer of Power 1942-1947 (12 volumes) and
the Selection of Documents on Partition of Punjab 1947 consisting of
correspondence and reports compiled among officials in East and West
Punjab. He provides an extensive list of secondary sources, books and
articles including secondary published material from Pakistan. At the
end the book lists important persons, private armies and political
parties relevant to the study which provide easy reference for the
readers.
Sudhanya Dasgupta Mukherjee
o o o
The Indian Express, August 3, 2003
Dial D for Murder
Veena Oldenburg attempts to bring together academia and activism in
analysing the dowry death phenomenon, says our correspondent
Urvashi Butalia
In the late '70s and early '80s, feminist groups across India were
confounded by a relatively 'new' phenomenon: the increasing demands
for dowry, and the deaths, usually by fire, of young women whose
families were unable to meet the in-laws' demands. Where, activists
asked themselves, were these demands coming from? What had changed in
recent years to give rise to this 'evil'? Was this a phenomenon
particular to Punjab or Punjabis (where dowry first seemed to have
reared its ugly head)? Was it, as they learned more about it, a
middle-class phenomenon? Did it have anything to do with urban
migration? Or with Partition refugeeism-related greed?
Later, the questions changed to include the anomalies and paradoxes
that surrounded the deaths of these young women. The burns wards of
hospitals were - and even today are - full of 'brides' with burns
that will see no cure. Why were so many being killed? Was dowry, and
dowry murder, just the flip side of female infanticide? Why were
there so few convictions? And why did women almost always deny their
husbands' involvement even if it was clear that they were centrally
implicated?
Given the speed with which dowry spread across class, caste, religion
and region, and the fact that it has been such a major concern of
women's groups, it is surprising how little literature there is on
it. A small range of academic works jostled with the more activist
analyses - both in short supply - each trying to explain the
phenomenon from its particular point of view. Oldenburg's book
attempts, perhaps for the first time (with the exception of Srimati
Basu's book on law **), to bring the two together. Whether or not one
agrees with the conclusions, this is a work that deserves to be read.
Tracing the 'origins' of dowry from the scriptures, marriage rituals
and Manu's law books, Oldenburg looks at how it changed shape under
the British. Gender relationships in Punjab (the main focus of her
study) were transformed as a result of colonial land and revenue
policies. This, and not some inherent cultural lack, was what led to
the worsening of the status of women in the Punjab.
Oldenburg shows how dowry is a catchall term that covers a multitude
of sins. The actual malaise lies much deeper, in the many silences,
particularly around the area of sexuality, that surround women's
lives. As her own story - an integral part of her text - shows, the
violation of the young bride's body not only by her husband but also
by other male members of the marital family, can lead to situations
where young women are killed if they represent a threat to this
privilege, or they kill themselves. A telling encounter with an
American journalist recounted at the end of the book shows the
woman's surprise that the 'dowry cases' she has examined are really
different kinds of violent deaths of women, no more or less exotic
than domestic violence in New York or London. This comment goes some
way towards clearing the fog that has surrounded this issue, for the
question is often asked why mothers-in-law are so central in dowry
killings, why women, in fact, turn against women. Implicit in this
story is the truth that in making the mother-in-law the 'fall guy',
so to speak, patriarchy has once again found a way of protecting its
own.
* 'Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime' by Veena
Talwar Oldenburg; Oxford University Press, 2003; 261 pages;
** 'She Comes to Take Her Rights: Indian Women, Property and
Propriety' by Srimati Basu; Kali for Women, 2001; 305 pages; Rs 350.
_____
[7.]
India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) Compilation # 128
(3 Aug 2003)
Available at: groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/139
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on matters of peace
and democratisation in South Asia. SACW is an 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.
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