SACW | 12 Aug. 2003
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Tue Aug 12 02:52:08 CDT 2003
South Asia Citizens Wire | 12 August, 2003
[1.] "No-To-Political Islam": An Appeal (Taj Hashmi)
[2.] The Subtle Subversion: The State of Curricula and Textbooks in
Pakistan (A. H. Nayyar and Ahmed Salim)
[3.] India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch No. 129
[4.] India: Challenges to the Republic (Ram Puniyani)
[5.] India: Politics of the chameleon: BJP and the Ayodhya issue
(Praful Bidwai)
[6.] India: Solidarity Team to the Narmada Bachao Andolan Harassed by
The Gujarat
Police
[7.] CPJ/RSF appeal to Bangladesh government: Violence against
journalists encourages self-censorship
[8.] Remember the Gujarat Genocide - Picket Mass Murderer Modi in
London! (August 17)
[9.] A Discussion Forum on Kashmir (Aug. 22, San Francisco)
[10.] Animal Rights (Mukul Dube)
[11.] Kashmir: Crossing the Bhacchi bridge (Praveen Swami)
[12.] Jnanapith Awardee is an Abomination (I.K.Shukla)
--------------
[1.]
"NO-TO-POLITICAL ISLAM": AN APPEAL
By: Taj Hashmi
Joint-Convener of the Movement, "No-to-Political Islam"
[Taj Hashmi has done graduate studies in Islamic, South and Southeast
Asian history, politics and anthropology. He has taught at universities in
Bangladesh, Australia, Singapore and Canada. His publications include four
books on the history, culture and politics of South Asia, Islam and
gender. He is an erstwhile visiting professor of Asian Studies at the UBC,
Canada, and currently a research associate at the York Centre for Asian
Research, York University, Canada. His email address is:
taj_hashmi at hotmail.com]
This is an appeal to all peace-loving people-Muslim and non-Muslim- who
would extend their helping hand to any effort to uplift humanity, liberty,
equality, fraternity, and above all, justice anywhere in the world. What
happened on that dark day of human history, September 11, 2001, which
shattered world peace and disgraced Islam and Muslims throughout the
world, is a turning point in world history and the history of Islam. It is
high time that sensible and civilized Muslims and non-Muslims put their
heads together to understand the causes of this catastrophic event with a
view to defusing the unnecessary tension, conflict, mutual hatred and lack
of trust and understanding between Islam and the West. This is a global
and collective responsibility of both the Muslims and non-Muslims of the
world to take a positive step towards preventing more violence, injustice
and uncivilized behaviour in any name and form, especially in the name of
Islam.
I am sending this message to each and every honest and sincere, brave and
righteous person to join our movement, "No-to-Political Islam" to
strengthen our cause-bringing peace and justice within and outside the
amorphous Muslim community. Our prime object being the exposure and the
eventual eradication of all obscurantist views and beliefs, programmes and
objectives bearing the prefix of "Islamic", we believe, should get
wholehearted support of every civilized human being irrespective of
her/his faith and nationality. We would most appreciate your lending
support to the movement to crush the evil of "political Islam" from
Indonesia to Morocco, and Australia to America and beyond, once for all.
We want Islamic scholars (not the so-called Ulama, whose knowledge does
not go beyond the age-old Fiqh or Muslim jurisprudence, and the
controversial Hadis literature), both Muslim and non-Muslim, and
organizations and individuals who promote human rights to support our
movement against "political Islam" and all the variants of the
not-so-divine Shariah law, anachronistic to civilization, common sense and
antipodal to the teachings of the Holy Prophet.
Now, what do we mean by "political Islam"? Since all our activities in
power perspective, within a community, society or a club, or within a
state and beyond at the inter-state level is "political"; whatever Muslims
do in power perspective within a clan, village or community by citing
Islam as the source and sanction behind such activities is "political
Islam". The persecution of village women in the Salish courts in
Bangladesh in the name of Shariah or death threats and execution of women
in the name of Islam in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan and lately, Nigeria, come within the broad definition of the
expression. And we want the disempowerment of the self-styled custodians
of Islam, both Ulama and the non-Ulama sections of Muslim leaders, to
establish the rule of law in accordance with the principles of human
rights and common sense. We do not want the preponderance of the Ulama
(Sunni Islam does not recognize any established and formal clergy) and the
obsolete Shariah in deciding the fate of the Muslim community. We want the
preponderance of "spiritual Islam" at the cost of the "political" one.
We know some people justify "political Islam" arguing that Islam is a very
unique religion. The religion of Islam, as it began in Mecca in 610, was
transformed into a state with the Hijrat or migration of the Holy Prophet
from Mecca to Medina, they argue. Some even cite Iqbal and Gandhi as both
of them believed in the inseparability of religion with politics. They,
however, ignore the fact that Iqbal's and Gandhi's association of religion
with politics was in the spiritual and ethical sense, rather than in the
political sense of the expression.
Nothing can be farthest from the truth that the Prophet of Islam ran a
theocracy, mingling religion with politics. Although his was a unique
situation, the Prophet being the preacher of a new religion and the head
of the Medina-based state for about a decade, yet he relied on both the
Quran and local customs, traditions and consensus of his followers in the
day-to-day running of the administration. Many Shariah codes are but
replication of the pre-Islamic rules and traditions. The early caliphs
(632-661) also relied on local traditions and common sense in running the
civil and military administration of the state. So, there is hardly
anything rigid and "Islamic" or divine about the Shariah law as secular,
mundane needs and traditions moulded the bulk of the Islamic code.
We should not ignore the fact that the Holy Prophet was not only the first
Arab nationalist-unifying tribes into a nation- but also a great and
successful synthesizer of mundane, secular (pre-Islamic) Arab traditions
along with the spirituality of Islam. We often forget that the Ummah or
polity of Islam, as the Prophet conceived of and promoted in Medina, at
least in the first five years of his rule, had more Jewish and non-Muslim
members than the Muslim minority. It is wrong to assume that the Prophet
promoted and ran a theocracy. So, we believe that the mullahs and others
who promote an ìIslamic Stateî are talking about something, which never
existed before.
For centuries, "political Islam" is being sold to unsuspecting Muslims as
an integral part of the Islamic faith system. But a close look at
Khomeini or Taliban type of states shows that "political Islam" does not
bring any good to anybody other than promoting the interests of the ruling
clergy. A monolithic and theocratic Islamic State cannot achieve progress
with such a dogmatic and unyielding attitude discriminating against
non-Muslims and others. It is divisive, belligerent and dangerous to
humanity. Such an effort is bound to backfire endangering the existence of
both Islam and its peaceful adherents throughout the world.
Since we aim at bridging the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims by
placing an alternative to militant and obscurantist "political Islam" for
the sake of peace and justice, we would like to enlighten and educate both
liberal and militant Muslims and friendly and not-so-friendly non-Muslims
through a concerted effort of our team. We believe that ignorance breeds
prejudice and prejudice is the nursery of hate-crimes and terrorism. In
accordance with Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-1898), the founder of the
Aligarh Muslim University in north India, and some of his followers,
Chiragh Ali, Sayyid Ameer Ali and others who tried to revive the spirit of
rationalism, secularism and peaceful co-existence with non-Muslims among
Indian Muslims in the 19th century, we are also going to bridge the gap
between ignorance and knowledge eventually to bring the East and West
closer to each other for the sake of global peace and progress.
We firmly believe that the so-called tide of "Islamic fundamentalism" is a
passing phase and a part of the growing pain and birth pang of progress.
But we should not underestimate its baneful effects on the Muslims and the
world at large. The bulk of the backward Muslim community throughout the
world has been experiencing an unfair deal at the hands of their rulers
and their overseas patrons. The colonial legacy of exploitation and
misrule is still felt almost everywhere in the Muslim world. Even people
in the prosperous but abysmally backward Arab world are not free from such
exploitation in the name of Islam and patriotism/nationalism. A similar
passing phase was witnessed in the 12th and 13th centuries in parts of
modern Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The "Old Man of the Mountain", Hassan bin
Saba, ran a large gang of hashish smoking killers (hence the term
"assassin") belonging to the Ismaili sect of Shiites who indiscriminately
killed Sunni Muslims and others with impunity until their suppression by
Halagu Khan in 1258. This would be too trite an assumption that Ismailis
are synonymous with terrorists, as we know how peaceful and civil are
members of this relatively prosperous Shiite sect, wherever they live as
traders and professionals.
Consequently through our movement, we are trying to establish that Islam
per se is not the problem or threat to world peace and progress. Some
misguided Muslims under equally or more misguided leaders, motivated by
"political Islam" for various socio-economic and political reasons are the
problem. As one can no longer portray the Ismilis as "Assassins", so
eventually one would not associate Islam with terrorism provided we
liberate the religion and its followers from the clutches of "political
Islam". We want Western support and cooperation in this regard. As the
Western media and intellectuals distinguish Hitler and Nazism from Germany
and Christianity for the sake of objectivity, our movement aims at
bringing about similar objectivity between Islam and terrorism. Like
Buddha, we believe that: "Not by hate is hate destroyed, but by love alone
is hate destroyed.
"Our movement is going to educate Muslims and others about how Muslim
vainglory and neglect for philosophy, mathematics, rationalism, science
and technology since the 11th century has been catastrophic to the
community. We must know that the builders of the Taj Mahal and the Red
Fort and the Ottoman conquerors of Europe did not establish a single
university (the Ottomans established one as late as 1879). Consequently
most Muslims have remained pre-modern, pre-capitalist nourishing medieval,
feudal and tribal traditions and culture. Since Islam has not gone through
its Reformation and Muslims have not staged their Renaissance to revive
the lost glory of the early Abbasid era (before the ascendancy of
Mutawakkil the Bigot as the Caliph), half-educated mullahs reign supreme
everywhere from Indonesia to Morocco in the Muslim world and elsewhere
among the Muslim Diaspora in the West. Our movement is a step towards
Muslim Renaissance and Reformation of Islam.
However, the Ummah needs a thorough home cleaning and soul searching. And
this cannot be achieved without the support of Muslim and non-Muslim human
rights groups, intellectuals, legal experts, historians, anthropologists,
philosophers, scientists and others who want liberal, secular laws and
institutions for everyone, everywhere.
Please feel free to contact me giving your feed back, telling us what you
can do for the promotion of our cause: "No-to-Political Islam". Quite a
few enlightened Muslim and non-Muslim scholars and human rights
organizations have already lent support to our movement. We need your
support and cooperation, now.
Thank You.
______
[2.]
The Subtle Subversion:
The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan: A report
Compiled by A. H. Nayyar and Ahmed Salim
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (Islamabad, Pakistan)
August 2003
http://www.sdpi.org/what%27s_new/reporton/State%20of%20Curr&Textbooks(final-BB).pdf
______
[3.]
India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) Compilation # 129
(11 Aug 2003)
URL: groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/140
______
[4.]
(From Indian Currents-17th August 2003)
Challenges to the Republic:
Six Decades of Independence-A Balance Sheet
Ram Puniyani
As we celebrate the fifty sixth-independence day, we
are struck by a series of ideas, which are disturbing
as well as soothing. The state of Human rights and
democracy as a whole is undergoing a serious turmoil
requiring a serious introspection. We have witnessed
one of the worst communal violence in the recent times
in the form of Gujarat. This was the violence with a
difference in more ways than one. Its aftermath, the
attempt to punish the guilty is also very different as
for the first time the witnesses are not only turning
hostile out of fear of the state machinery but also
are scared of the culprits of the carnage. The
violation of the democratic rights of minorities is
just a tip of the iceberg, what lies underneath is a
total repression of the possibility of rights of
weaker sections of society. The adivasi, dalits, women
and workers are facing an unprecedented onslaught on
their very existence and dignity. The atrocities on
dalits are on the rise, the violation of womenís being
is frightening, the rising unemployment is just an
indicator of the state of economy, and the
encroachment on the adivasi lands further makes the
scenario bleaker.
The major glaring change on the political horizon has
been the rise of politics in the name of religion,
Hindutva. Since it is able to confuse the average
person as if it is some sort of a religion, due to
which emotive come to the fore. As such this Hindutva
is totally opposed to the values of our freedom
struggle, the values enshrined in our constitution,
the ones of Liberty, Equality and Community. This has
unleashed diverse social forces which on one hand are
trying to crush democratic principles of our democracy
on the one hand on the other the opposite set of
forces and movements have come up which are struggling
to keep aloft the humanitarian, egalitarian and just
values of our society.
Our independent struggle was an outcome of a long
drawn out process. It was not a mere struggle to do
away with the British rule. Its two other important
components were: One to assist the process of
emergence of India as a modern Nation state,
abolishing the feudalism and kingdoms. And two and
probably the most crucial part was a transition to the
relations of equality, a struggle against the caste
and gender hierarchy. It goes without saying that
since the movement was based on the primacy of Indian
identity and the primacy of the concept of citizenship
over the identity of religious community, people from
all the religious streams joined the movement
wholeheartedly. Today by deliberate design the role of
minority communities in the freedom struggle is being
questioned. The matters are crystal clear, any study
of independence movement will show the magic of
Gandhi, i.e. Indian nationalism cut across all the
religious boundaries, it dissolved them in the
building of modern India. As it was based on the
principles of caste and gender equality people from
all the castes and women also wholeheartedly
participated in this greatest mass movement of
twentieth century, our freedom struggle.
Independence saw the crystallization of the principles
of Indian freedom struggle getting enshrined in our
constitution. It opened the social and political space
for all the religious communities, all the castes and
both the genders. Our constitution was well backed up
by the policies of the state, which tried to ensure
that religion becomes the private matter of the
individual. Nehruís opposition to Rajendra Prasadís
participating in Somanth temple inauguration was not
the lone act. This was backed up by the intense
industrialization and broadening of the education
process. The two key processes which brought the
dalits and women into social-political space and which
ensured that people from all the communities are part
of the social and political life.
The reversal to this process was started of in the mid
seventies with V P Singh and A B Vajpayee approaching
the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid to issue a fatwa to vote
in favour of Janata Party. Later Indira Gandhi was to
improvise on this game and started visiting temples
and projecting the fear of petro dollars in the wake
of Meenkashipuram conversions. RSS-VHP cried foul at
these conversions and Rath yatras became the prime
mechanism of social mobilization or rather the social
struggles were dwarfed by the emotive appeals in the
name of religion. With Rajiv Gandhi reversing the Shah
Bano Judgement through an act of parliament the circle
became complete and the way was now open for the
blatant communalization of social space. And now the
Sangh Parivar entered the game in its full naked
glory. The concepts, which were earlier rejected, by
the Nation, Hindutva, Hindu rashtra were installed on
the mass consciousness. The Hate campaign against
minorities peaked in the demolition of Babri Masjid
and burning of Pastor Graham Stuaaw Satins. Since then
the political discourse was made to change its track
from the issues pertaining to poverty, hunger, disease
misery, unemployment, lack of health facilities,
housing etc to the place for temple etc and the hurt
of religious psyche of majority community.
The major attempt by communal forces is to curtail the
attempts for caste and gender equality. Its goal is to
preserve the Hindu unity without disturbing the caste
and gender equations. This has been achieved by
creating an external enemy in the form of Muslims and
Christians. And the dangers posed by the ëacts of
these minoritiesí are projected to be affecting the
Hindu community, its unity, its rights. The techniques
being used are straight from the time-tested oneís,
those used by Hitlerís Nazis in Germany in the decades
of 1930s. The communal hatred and violence are being
used to obfuscate the real social issues and the basic
social concerns. In addition the ghettoisation of
minority community is going on and the extension of
this divisive politics is being spread into the
southern states as well the level of communalization
is being deepened.
The real threat posed by this politics is not just to
the minorities but also to all the weaker sections of
society. This ghettoisation on one hand is
strengthening the Mullahs and orthodox sections in
society further worsening the image of the Muslim
minority, whose image has been manufactured in evil
colors by the communal forces with RSS in the fore.
Lately this image has been further blackened by those
international forces, which are propagating the
ideology of Clash of Civilizations.
In this stark scenario the hope is coming in the form
of resolve of democratic forces believing in pluralism
to come up and uphold the values of justice. Lately,
especially after the Gujarat carnage the attention of
the social action groups is focused on the issue of
communalism and many of them are making special
efforts to take up the cause of defense of democracy.
Awareness about threats to democracy is being reached
to the broad layers of society. Also the demonization
of minorities is being combated by different
mechanisms, educational and cultural. Within Muslim
minorities while on one hand the orthodox elements
have got strength, on the other lately one is
witnessing the ripples of progressive Muslims coming
with the voice of sanity and reason. There are umpteen
examples of Muslim organizations protesting against
the highhandedness of Pakistan or terrorist attacks
here and there. There are many an organizations
calling for reforms in the community, asking for
education and other facilities. Amongst Christian
community innumerable groups and individuals are
working for democratic ethos while fighting for
preservation of safeguards for minorities. The
strongest factor is the longing of the minority groups
to link their struggles and aspirations with the
struggles of the other deprived sections of society.
The emerging aspiration for a for social and political
struggles may crystallize in to a platform for secular
issues. One also sees a hope in the emerging global
peace movement, which stands to oppose the imperialist
designs of controlling the oil resources, and in the
process demonizing Islam and sowing the seeds for rise
of terrorism.
Celebrating this Independence Day one is having mixed
feelings. The rise of Hindutva as a cover for
suppression of caste and gender equality at home and
Clash of Civilization thesis as a cover for
controlling oil resource feed into each other. The
agenda of global imperialism and religion based
politics matches. Both have created a common enemy in
Islam and Muslims. Of course at home Hindutva can
project an additional enemy in Christians. Both aim to
suppress the rights of weaker sections of society here
and weaker Nations worldwide. The response in the form
of rising movements has immense challenges to confront
and in this battle one looks forward with hope and
optimism towards the values which uphold justice and
rights of the exploited and oppressed sections of
society.
______
[5.]
The Daily Star [Bangladesh]
August 12, 2003
Politics of the chameleon: BJP and the Ayodhya issue
Praful Bidwai, writes from New Delhi
If you thought Mahant Ramachandra Paramhans, who recently died, was a
universally revered figure in Ayodhya, think again. Going by local
observers, he didn't command the respect of the other sadhus who
control various temples and akharas.
"Mahant Ramachandra subordinated the Ramjanmabhoomi trust to the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad", says Mr Sheetla Singh, the highly regarded
editor of the Faizabad-based Jan Morcha daily.
A majority of Ayodhya Mahants found Ramachandra overbearing and
untrustworthy--including Satya Das, the Ramlalla temple pujari, Gyan
Das of Hanuman Garhi, Phalahari Baba, Bhavnath Das and Dharam Das.
Ramachandra was responsible for stealthily spiriting images of
Ramlalla into the Babri mosque in 1949. He thus helped launch
hundreds of political careers.
But Ramchandra had little popular support. His Ayodhya-to-Delhi
chetavani yatra last year evoked a poor response. Building the temple
was an issue only for a few VHP leaders. The Mahant couldn't mobilise
even one thousand people for this last year.
Therefore, it's strange that the Prime Minister of a supposedly
secular nation attended the funeral of such a controversial person.
Mr Vajpayee's first visit to Ayodhya in 14 years took place in the
company of the VHP's Ashok Singhal and the RSS' Sudarshan.
Mr Vajpayee vowed to "fulfil the Mahant's last wish to build the
temple... We swear on his funeral pyre to complete [his] mission." Mr
Advani said building the temple "is the national wish".
Mr Vajpayee was trying to out-Singhal Mr Singhal on Hindutva. But two
days later, he retracted his statement and said: "There's no change
in our stand on the Ayodhya issue..."
The denial was neither convincing nor becoming of a Prime Minister.
Mr Vajpayee shouldn't have stooped to partisanship on this divisive
issue.
Mr Vajpayee's Hindutva turn at Ayodhya speaks poorly of him--just as
did his remarks about a [Ram temple] in "the India of my dreams"
(September 2000) or the Ayodhya agitation being a "nationalist
movement" (December 2000).
In Ayodhya, Mr Vajpayee was either playing Hindutva politics, or got
emotionally carried away. Both possibilities are unflattering. Even
more unseemly was his gratuitous outburst in Parliament about not
yielding to "compulsions".
Mr Vajpayee, who paid his annual gurudakshina to the RSS flag on
August 6, periodically descends to the same position on the temple as
the VHP, RSS or Bajrang Dal. He then becomes indistinguishable from
the "extremists" from whom he is supposed to guard the BJP's allies.
There is a difference between the BJP's parliamentary wing and
VHP-RSS bigots. The latter take the temple literally--and
aggressively. The BJP is more schizophrenic. It is, on the one hand,
bound by the NDA's programme and reluctantly accepts parliamentary
accountability.
On the other hand, it invests mystical properties into the temple as
a symbol of Hindutva hubris. The first posture provokes it to deny
that its leaders conspired to raze the Babri mosque--in breach of a
solemn commitment to the Supreme Court. The second position impels it
to depict the Ayodhya campaign as an upsurge of "cultural
nationalism".
This schizophrenia was on display last fortnight. The CBI dropped the
charge of criminal conspiracy against the Union ministers inciting
the mob in Ayodhya, viz. Messrs Advani, M.M. Joshi and Ms Uma
Bharati. It mysteriously "disappeared" videotapes recording their
speeches.
Law Minister Arun Jaitley's attempt at covering this up will convince
nobody. He cottoned on to a procedural technicality. He failed to
tell Parliament that the original 1993 chargesheet upheld in 1997 by
Special Judge J.P. Srivastava, contained Sec 120B of the Indian Penal
Code pertaining to "conspiracy". This combined two FIRs (197 and 198)
without the High Court's consent.
But the High Court itself recommended in 2001 that the "defect" (not
illegality) be "cured" through a minor governmental procedure.
All this reeks of an attempt to prevent a fair trial. The
"disappearance" of the Babri videotapes is a serious matter. The
Intelligence Bureau has nine hours of such coverage, as do private
agencies. I myself know at least three individuals who have watched
the tapes.
They confirm, as did the independent Citizens' Commission on Ayodhya,
that there was a conspiracy, a systematic plan to mobilise and incite
crowds to "get even" with "history" and destroy the mosque as an
"ocular insult" (Advani).
Three who committed that grave offence or instigated others must be
severely punished. But for more than 10 years, they haven't even
stood trial. This speaks of the NDA's obstructiveness and shows its
utter contempt for the rule of law, political probity and
accountability.
Like the Best Bakery case, this is probably unprecedented. The BJP's
predecessor governments were capable of great venality. But none
subverted the process of law the way it has. The BJP's reaction to
the National Human Rights Commission's appeal to the Supreme Court in
the Best Bakery judgment is nauseating. It calls it "anti-Hindu".
Nothing could better reduce Hinduism to an immoral faith that
justifies violence, mass rape and butchery.
The Congress has paid a price for its manipulative politics: loss of
power. The BJP must be made to pay a price too. The people have a
chance to make it do so, especially in the four Hindi heartland
elections due soon.
Faced with uncertainty, the party is playing crooked, suggesting that
all Assembly elections be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha
elections. This demands that we sacrifice the vital principle of
representative democracy for administrative expediency.
Should the BJP do badly in the Assembly elections, it will be tempted
to play the "temple" card--even at the cost of destroying the NDA--to
polarise politics communally. Ironically, it might find that its
"trump" is a dud.
Ayodhya ceased to be a movement long ago. It no longer inspires large
numbers or gives them a "cause" the way it used to. One only hopes
ordinary citizens won't have to suffer more for the BJP's blunders.
______
[6.]
Narmada Bachao Andolan
B-13 Shivam Flats, Ellora Park,
Baroda-390007. baroda at narmada.org
NBA Satyagraha Update - August 10, 2003
SOLIDARITY TEAM TO THE NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN HARASSED BY THE GUJARAT
POLICE
Dr. Angana Chatterji, scholar-activist and Board Member of the
International Rivers Network, along with Professor Richard Shapiro of the
California Institute of Integral Studies, Meenakshi Ganguly, correspondent
with Time Magazine, and Sanjay Kapoor, a cinematographer, made a
solidarity visit to the Narmada Valley. They visited Domkhedi, Jalsindhi,
Nimgaon, met with Medha Patkar and other Andolan activists to collect
testimonials about the submergence situation in the Valley.
As strong resistance intensifies in the valley with the Satyagraha gaining
momentum against the destructive Sardar Sarovar dam, the police are on a
roll, trying to intimidate and harass the free citizens of this country
who declare their solidarity with the dam-affected people in the Narmada
valley.
On their way out of the Valley on August 9th , this team of four got off
the boat near Kadipani (about 4 hours from Baroda), and were stopped by
the police who had already taken custody of their car papers and
threatened the driver who was parked there from the day before. Angana
Chatterji, Richard Shapiro, Meenakshi Ganguly and Sanjay Kapoor were asked
to travel in their jeep with a constable for about 15 km to the
sub-inspector's office where they were questioned and asked why they
associated with Medha Patkar, who 'is a 'problem' for Gujarat'. The police
alleged that Angana Chatterji and the others had come to the Valley to
create disturbances. They were asked about the content of what they would
be writing, why they were here, and informed by the police that where they
had visited was a restricted area (which it is not) and requires
permission (which it does not), and that their presence was suspicious.
They were also categorically told that this is Modi's state and there are
new rules here, and that the police have the authority to detain and
question those they deem suspicious. Before they left, the police wrote a
report that they said they would send to the government. "This is another
indication of mistreatment in Modi's Gujarat", said Angana Chatterji,
where the state actively supports in the intimidation of the innocent,
violence against minorities and adivasis, Hindutva extremism and
mal-development".
Angana Chatterji said that "The Narmada Bachao Andolan is a prolific and
ethical struggle, and must command our solidarity. The response of the
state to the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar dam is a crime against
humanity that particularly targets adivasi (indigenous) people, women,
children and the disenfranchised. The submergence is devastating the lives
of people, wildlife and precious ecosystems. More than 1500 families
affected at 100 meters are to be rehabilitated in Maharashtra and 12000
families in Madhya Pradesh. Siltation levels are dangerous and people have
been attacked and killed by trapped crocodiles. The river is raging in
anger, swallowing the homes, fields, histories and futures of thousands of
people, who have not received just rehabilitation, and are being treated
with contempt and disregard by the state. The police are brutalizing the
lives of those facing submergence by destroying their homes and forcibly
evicting them.
As water and electricity pulsates to Ahmedabad, the Narmada people are
left without basic amenities, without homes, clean water, electricity,
schools, their crops ravaged by the water. Where resettlement has been
attempted, it is flawed, in many instances the same land has been
allocated to multiple stakeholders. The Daud Committee's directive of land
for land rehabilitation implies habitable and cultivable land. Often the
government's resettlement package does not offer either. The Government of
India, the Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat are
intent on building non-viable large dams even while many nations are
decommissioning them. The rehabilitation process is misleading and unjust
and the people's demand for a written Government Resolution (Maharashtra)
on Rehabilitation is yet to be met. It symbolizes the incapacity of the
state to value lives and aspirations that dare to challenge the inequities
of globalization and dominant development. The injustice in the Narmada
Valley must be investigated by international human rights organizations
and the government brought to task and made to act ethically. As I
traveled through the water it is clear that large dams are not the temples
of India, they have become her burial grounds. "
NBA rebukes such cowardly acts by the Gujarat government and warns them
not to repeat such intimidation in future. We, urge the respectable
citizens of this country to voice against this blatant violation of human
rights and trespassing of citizens' freedom.
M K Sukumar Philip Mathew
_______
[7.]
CPJ/RSF appeal to Bangladesh government: Violence against journalists
encourages self-censorship
Source: Bangladesh OBSERVER, 8 August 2003 www.bangladeshobserveronline.com
SALEEM SAMAD/Special Correspondent
International press freedom watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF)
and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) claimed that more than 130
attacks against press freedom since beginning of the year 2003 in
Bangladesh.
Paris based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) statement signed by
Robert Menard, its general secretary on August 5 faxed their
statement to Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, Information Minister
Tariqul Islam and Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury to voice
outrage at the level of violence against the press in recent months
in Bangladesh, one of the few countries in the world where
journalists face violence and open hostility from political leaders
on a daily basis.
Meanwhile New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a
separate statement to Bangladesh Prime Minister on August 4 condemns
the recent attacks none of which your government has adequately
investigated and faxed the statement to Bangladesh Prime Minister.
Since the beginning of the year, RSF has registered 51 physical
attacks against journalists (including 10 attempted killings), 50
death threats, 13 arrests, 14 abusive lawsuits and prosecutions and
five abductions. Members of the ruling BNP party or police were
involved in more than half of the cases of physical violence and
threats.
As the RSF letter was being drafted, the Bhorer Kagoj's correspondent
in Jhalakati was arrested by police. The same day, Daily Star's
correspondent in Dhaka university Hasan Jahid Tusher was attacked
with iron bars by members of the BNP's student wing. Three days
before, the daily Sangbad's correspondent in Rajshahi Jahangir Akash
was kidnapped by thugs and subjected to mistreatment for several
hours.
RSF urged the Prime Minister and Home Minister to take adequate
measures to put an end to the violence against journalists and
instead punish assailants responsible for the murder attempts.
The letter also called on the government to amend the defamation law
which, contrary to UN recommendations, provides for prison sentences
for offending journalists, and it urged the prime minister to reject
a bill currently under discussion which would introduce heavy prison
terms for journalists found guilty of defaming a parliamentarian.
The Dainik Janakantha was the first target of the ruling coalition of
conservatives and Islamists. In June, an influential adviser to the
Prime Minister filed a libel suit against the Daily Star and Prothom
Alo over the publication of a letter from an opposition leader. In
July, senior journalists of the private satellite TV stations ATN
Bangla News and Channel-i were detained and questioned by police
about reports of the discovery of a stash of arms in the north of the
country.
Despite reassuring statements by senior government officials about
respect for press freedom in Bangladesh, the evidence is overwhelming
that the authorities are unable to protect journalists, especially in
the small towns. The daily violence against journalists encourages
self-censorship and inhibits reporting on such issues as corruption,
the activities of criminal organisations and violence of a political
or religious nature.
Reporters Without Borders nonetheless welcomed progress in the
judicial proceedings against those responsible for a murder attempt
against journalist Tipu Sultan in 2001 in Feni. But the organisation
condemned the lack of progress in the investigations into the murder
of Shamsur Rahman in 2000 and the attempted murder of Prabir Shikder
in 2001.
CPJ condemns attack against, a correspondent for the English-language
newspaper Daily Star. These are the latest in a series of assaults
against journalists in Bangladesh. On June 19, JCD members beat and
kidnapped Abul Bashar, the local correspondent for the Bangla daily
Janakantha in Shariatpur.
As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to defending
our colleagues worldwide, CPJ is dismayed that Bangladesh
administration continues to tolerate attacks against the press and
urged that the perpetrators are prosecuted.
______
[8.]
Remember the Gujarat Genocide - Picket Mass Murderer Modi in London!
Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat and one of the chief
architects of the genocide of Gujarat's Muslim minority in March
2002, in which more than 2,000 women, children and men were brutally
massacred, is visiting Britain. His visit is ostensibly to attract
British-based business to invest in Gujarat - there will be a 'global
investors meeting' at the end of September in Ahmedabad - but Modi
will also be using it to gather support and funds from pro-Hindutva
organisations for further communal terror in India, and to receive
congratulations from these organisations, who regard him as a 'hero'
for engineering the genocide. His visit can only whip up more
communal conflict among our communities in Britain.
Narendra Modi will be speaking at a meeting at the Wembley Conference
Centre on Sunday 17 August. The meeting is organised by the Overseas
Friends of the BJP.
South Asia Solidarity Group together with the Indian Council of
Muslims and other South Asian organisations are planning a massive
protest. Further details will follow shortly.
We hope that you/your organisation will support and sponsor the protest.
Contact: <southasia at hotmail.com>
______
[9.]
This Forum will serve as an Education and a Discussion
Forum on Kashmir; Speakers from India, Pakistan and Kashmir
will critically analyze the historical roots of the conflict
and the way forward from a balanced and liberal viewpoint.
Topic: A Discussion Forum on Kashmir
Organizers:
Dr. Angana Chatterji,
Professor, Social and Cultural Anthropology Program
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco
Mr. Zulfiqar Ahmad
Peace and Security Program Officer for South Asia
Global Peace & Security Program
The Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development,
Berkeley
Speakers:
* Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Professor of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University,
Islamabad, Pakistan
* Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council,
Washington, D.C.
* Ms. Akhila Raman, Researcher on the Kashmir Conflict, Berkeley, CA
Followed by a Q&A and Discussion with audience.
When: Friday August 22, 2003: 6 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.
Where:
Namaste Hall
3rd Floor, California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
1453 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Organized by:
People for Peace in Kashmir
Social and Cultural Anthropology Program at CIIS, San Francisco
[...]
For more information: <kashmir_forum at mindspring.com>
_____
[10.
Subject: Animals' Rights
11 August 2003
Dear Editor,
Thirteen-year-old Munir, who wandered across the border with his
cattle, has been allowed to return in peace and unharmed, a
consequence of equal parts prime ministerial good will and the force
of lethal cuteness known as the Noor Effect.
But no one speaks of the boy's poor kine. I believe we should be
very concerned about them, for the Cross Border Cow must be rated at
least an aunt if not an NRI mother.
Yours truly,
Mukul Dube
_____
[11.]
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/12/stories/2003081200841000.htm
The Hindu, Aug 12, 2003
Crossing the Bhacchi bridge
By Praveen Swami
The real tragedy in Kishtwar is the failure of the political
establishment to affirm that the carnage there distinguishes little
between Hindu and Muslim.
THE SMALL hamlet of Bhacchi is connected to the world only by a small
rope bridge, perilously strung a hundred feet over the thundering
Chenab river. Food and supplies for the long Kishtwar winter must
cross this bridge, as must children on their way to school, people
going to work, and the unwell who must be moved to hospital. It is,
quite simply, the most important asset the village community has.
Some years ago, the villagers decided to recruit god to the defence
of their bridge. A mosque was built where it joins the village;
adjoining it the villagers constructed a temple, identical in size
and very similar in shape.
Syncretic religious practices of this kind are not hard to come by in
rural Kishtwar, a sprawling tehsil in the mountain district of Doda.
Yet, the Kishtwar region has also become the scene of bitter communal
contestation. Early this month, Hindu and Muslim mobs clashed in
Kishtwar town, setting off a small-scale battle that left several
injured and destroyed over a dozen shops. By all-India standards,
such riots are relatively minor. But for the past several years, the
Pakistan military establishment and Islamist groups have been pushing
for a partition of Jammu and Kashmir between Muslim-majority areas
north of the Chenab river, and the Hindu-majority areas to its south.
Kishtwar straddles this faultline, a fact which vests the communal
conflagration in the region with enormous significance.
Like most past riots in Kishtwar, the clashes on August 1 were rooted
in terrorist violence directed at Hindus. Villagers from the hamlet
of Pullar arrived in the town, demanding that an Army picket be
established to protect them from terrorists who had been intimidating
them. Such intimidation has frequently escalated into bloodshed; 32
Hindu villagers were killed across Kishtwar in a series of communal
massacres in 2001 alone. These massacres often provoked riots. The
2001 massacres, for example, led Hindu mobs to attack a village
mosque in Atholi, while the massacre of 16 bus passengers in 1994 had
led to communal violence in Kishtwar town itself.
This time, however, no Hindus had actually been killed or even
injured. As such, the traditional cause of communal war did not
exist. What is even more intriguing is that the violence came at a
time of relative quiet in Kishtwar. There have been no communal
massacres this year in Doda district. Indeed, the overall level of
civilian killings in Jammu province has declined sharply when
compared with previous years. Thirty civilians were killed until
August 1 in Doda, compared with 83 in 2002. Between January and
June-end in 2002, 210 civilians had been killed by terrorists in all
of Jammu; in the same period this year, 124 have been murdered.
Why then the communal rage? Several explanations are possible. For
one, the relative lull in killings is not the consequence of real
reduction in the presence of terrorist groups like the
Lashkar-e-Taiba. Although no communal massacres have taken place,
threats and small-scale killings continue. Even as the villagers from
Pullar reached Kishtwar, for example, some 117 Hindu families fled
their homes in the Sumbar mountain belt in Ramban tehsil, on the
western end of Doda district. The Sumbar refugees fled after two
members of their Village Defence Committee, armed volunteer units set
up to defend them against terrorist attacks, were killed. Over a
dozen Hindu-owned homes were also set on fire in the attacks.
Hindu insecurity is fuelled by the low importance attached to
securing Doda. The district, with an area of some 11,500 square
kilometres, is almost as large as the entire Kashmir valley. Yet, the
region is protected by just 57 companies, or some 6000 men, of the
Army, Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir Armed
Police. The CRPF and the Armed Police are largely limited to static
and patrol duties, leaving only the 28 companies of the 4, 8, 10, 11
and 26 Rashtriya Rifles battalions to operate offensively. Although
the Disturbed Areas Act was imposed in Doda after the massacres of
2001, neither the State nor the Centre has put men on the ground: the
presence of forces remains at levels lower than 1999, when well over
100 companies were committed to the district.
Another explanation might lie in the local politics of Kishtwar
itself. "Until 1980", says Kishtwar hardware-store owner Bhushan
Parihar, "almost all the shops in our market were Hindu-owned." From
the 1970s, however, a Muslim bourgeoisie began to emerge to challenge
the Hindu monopoly of trade, using the community's new-found
political muscle to gain timber and road construction contracts.
Contracts awarded during the construction of the massive Dul-Hasti
hydroelectric project further enriched this new class. From 1998, the
Hindu elite turned to the Bharatiya Janata Party to try and secure
its interests. Mr. Parihar, for one, had then lobbied with L.K.
Advani and Chaman Lal Gupta "for help in breaking the Muslim monopoly
of Dul-Hasti contracts."
Hindu chauvinism was mirrored by the growth of Muslim communalism.
While the mobilisational strategies of the National Conference
leadership in Doda were expressly targeted at the Muslim community,
it generally stopped short of confrontational communalism. With the
death of the National Conference heavyweight, Bashir Ahmad Kitchlew,
and the fracturing of the party's near-monopoly of power in last
year's elections, the field was wide open for new aspirants. While
the Congress concentrated on traditional National Conference-style
coalition-building, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) focussed
on labour discontent at Dul-Hasti to put together a fledgling
constituency.
The new contract-fuelled elite started using aggressively communal
tactics to break the mainstream parties' hold on the Muslim vote. It
turned to the People's Democratic Party, a new entrant with no real
mass base. It is not surprising, perhaps, a key figure in the recent
rioting was a new PDP leader. He is charged by local Hindus with
having led the Muslim mob that burned down Hindu-owned shops on
August 1. Muslims, in turn, charge a BJP leader with having started
the violence, by inciting the Pullar refugees to throw stones at
Muslim-owned shops which failed to down shutters that day. Whatever
the truth, both groups have benefited from the riots, gaining
legitimacy as defenders of their respective religious communities.
All of which, of course, points to the real tragedy in Kishtwar: the
failure of the political establishment to affirm that the carnage
there distinguishes little between Hindu and Muslim. In each year bar
1995, more Muslims have been killed by terrorists than Hindus. They
became victims of jihad fought in the name of their faith for being
members of pro-India parties, allegedly passing on information to
security forces, or simply resisting Islamist diktat. Like Hindu
refugees, Mohammad Aslam Mantoo, Sarpanch of Sarthal village, can
rarely spend the night in his own home because of terrorist threats.
The story is repeated across Jammu. On August 6, for example,
66-year-old Noor Mohammad Choudhary, headman of Mehrot near
Surankote, was shot dead for his supposed proximity to the National
Conference.
The bad news is that things could get worse, and sooner than most
believe. Despite the limited security resources available in Doda,
terrorists have been hit hard; 73 terrorists have been eliminated
since January, against 101 in the whole of 2002 or just 88 in the
whole of 2000. Yet, most in Doda believe these successes are not the
reason why major massacres have not taken place so far. Terrorist
groups seem to be biding their time as the India-Pakistan détente
process continues, waiting for what they believe will be its
inevitable collapse. Then, most experts believe, the killings will
resume, a proposition affirmed by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Mohammad
Yusuf Shah's August 8 threat of an escalation in "targeted attacks."
"We've done well", says Doda's Senior Superintendent of Police, Sunil
Kumar, "but, yes, its simply not possible for us to protect every
village community all the time."
Sadly, the PDP-Congress alliance regime does not seem to be taking
the crisis in Kishtwar with any seriousness. Persistent delays in
payments to Special Police Officers, local recruits paid Rs. 1,500 a
month to participate in offensive operations and man defensive
village pickets, have generated the impression, right or wrong, that
the PDP is insensitive to Hindu concerns. So, too, has the failure of
both Union and State Governments to upgrade the equipment and skills
of Village Defence Committees. The biggest failure, though, is
political. Until Hindu shopkeepers in Kishtwar learn to down shutters
when Muslims die, and Muslim shopkeepers when Hindus die, Kishtwar's
religious communities will continue to be sundered by a wall of
hatred and mistrust.
_____
[12.]
August 11, 2003
Jnanapith Awardee is an Abomination
I.K.Shukla
When the Nobel prize has been awarded to war-mongers and war
criminals, not too infrequently, it stands to reason that a Rajendra
Shah be found to qualify for the Jnanpith prize for the same reason,
and the same rationale.
His contribution to our repertoire of reflections, quite expressive
of the man and his mindset : "Religion is not taught through
preaching but through killing."
This is the perfect translation of "Naayamaatmaa pravachanena
labhyah", plus an extra odious addition thrown in gratis. But he
deserves prize for candor.
Yes, Muslims in Gujarat were taught what "Hindu" religion is through
mass slaughter. And, others will be taught so too all over India, if
Modis-Advanis and Ramesh Shahs-Keka Shastris prevail. Coming as it
does from the horses's mouth, no one is left any more in any
illusion, any doubt, as to what Religion is: in one word, it is
KILLING. This simplifies matters. But it also soils the polity and
strangles the imagination.
It is not coincidental that a Gujarati poet was chosen for the
Jnanpith award this year after the March 2002 pogrom , that saw 2000
Muslim lives lost, property worth crores destroyed, looted or stolen,
women dishonred and burnt, children roasted.
Thus was Gujarat rewarded for Dharma Raksha (religion saved/crusade).
Of how the superstructure functions in concert, this is a shamelessly
gory example. Gujarat's saffronite fascist gangsters stand
vindicated. Jnanpith is the "literary" wing of a big business house,
the Times of India group of Sahu-Jains.
As to Rajendra Shahs disavowing politics, it is an ancient joke and a
crude lie. He couldn't have made it to the top without politicking
that is essential to such enterprise. And, he is not singular.
But not for his benefit though, I like to quote a portion of
Guatemalan poet (1936-67) Otto Rene Castillo's poem, Apolitical
Intellectuals:
They will be asked nothing
about their absurd
justifications,
born in the shadow
of the total lie.
On that day
the simple men will come.
Those who had no place
in the books and poems
of the apolitical intellectuals,
but daily delivered
their bread and milk,
their tortillas and eggs,
those who mended their clothes,
those who drove their cars,
who cared for their dogs and gardens
and worked for them,
and they will ask:
"What did you do when the poor
suffered, when tenderness
and life
burned out in them?"
Apolitical intellectuals
of my sweet country,
you wil not be able to answer.
A vulture of silence
will eat your gut.
Your own misery
will pick at your soul.
And you will be mute
in your shame.
(Trans. by Margaret Randall in POETRY LIKE BREAD, Curbstone Press, 1994, p.94.)
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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).
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