SACW | 26 Aug. 2003

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  |  26 August,  2003

[1.] India - Pakistan: Peace with India - the artists' viewpoint (Saira Dar)
[2.] India: Murder and Mayhem in Bombay - Some Editorials in Indian Press
[3.] India: The Ayodhya Row & the Underground Temple Detectors
- Amid the ruins, new verdict on holy site  (Luke Harding)
- No evidence of temple at Ayodhya: Expert (Pranava K Chaudhary)
- Temples, churches and mosques have social, cultural and political 
significance, but hardly any spiritual worth (Swami Agnivesh & Rev 
Valson Thampu)
- Exchange Ayodhya for rights for Muslim dalits: Muslim Morcha
[4.] India: A.M. Khusro, 1925-2003 - Obituary by Mukul Dube
[5.] UK: Book Launch and Exhibition of Photographs
'Tribals of India' by Sunil Janah
[6.] Publication announcement: Feminists Under Fire : Exchanges 
across War Zones
Wenona Giles, Malathi de Alwis, Edith Klein, Neluka Silva (co-editors)
[7.] ICNA condemns the unauthorized use of its name
[8.]  India: 'Culture Cops'  of the Hindu far right attack free expression
- The Theatre director Habib Tanvir Interviewed (K.S. Shaini)
- BJP activists attack Tanvir supporters
[9.] India:  Press Body censures two Gujarati newspapers


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

[1.]

Dawn [Pakistan] August 24, 2003
http://www.dawn.com/2003/08/24/fea.htm#4

PEACE WITH INDIA - THE ARTISTS' VIEWPOINT
By Saira Dar

The fledgling non-commercial gallery, Neher Ghar, is fast emerging as 
a socially purposeful space for creative activities. A couple of 
months ago, an exhibition of art works commenting on the Iraq war 
crisis was held here and this paved the way for another exhibition in 
which artists were invited to express their opinions and ideas 
through their creative work on 'peace with India', a socio-political 
issue which has been in the forefront in recent days. A number of 
well-known and established artists, as well as young and upcoming 
ones, from Pakistan as well as India, participated in this 
exhibition, bringing forth a variety of viewpoints, techniques and 
media. Quddus Mirza who teaches at the NCA and is an art critic, has 
helped Neher Ghar to give shape to the idea of bringing together 
artists on the topic of peace between India and Pakistan and the 
exhibition which opened on August 18 will continue till September 2.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for artists participating in a 'theme' 
show, especially pertaining to sensitive and even volatile 
socio-political issues is to convey a pertinent message, and yet 
maintain the technical and aesthetic requirements of what is deemed a 
work of art. Often, the tendency is to neglect the latter, and 
concentrate on the former, and for most artists it is the symbolic 
approach that appears to work best in such a challenge. How obvious, 
subtle or complicated the symbolism is, depends on the mind set and 
style of the artist and it is interesting to observe how one issue 
can be addressed in a variety of ways.
Among the more conventional works, Prof Ijazul Hasan's large 
eye-catching and appealing oil painting titled Blizzard shows a few 
delicate bright yellow leaves emerging in a snowy blue landscape of 
rocks and bare trees. Salima Hashmi's mixed media work is in her 
characteristic style wherein the entire surface is delicately strewn 
with small broken lines and brush marks in neutral hues and in which 
emerge flowers and stems - symbolism is then attempted through the 
addition of blood-red blocks and a red dividing line in the central 
portion, and the work is titled 'No man's Land'. A more obvious but 
also evocative and touching symbolism is seen in the work is pastels 
by Rahat Naveed, which shows lighted diyas in front of a black but 
starry night.
Rukhe-Neelofar's Legitimate Relationship, an eye-catching and 
attractive painting in acrylics is an aerial view of two brightly 
clad beautiful young women, one in a green sari and the other in an 
orange shalwar-kameez, hand in hand, with one's head on the other's 
lap albeit facing opposite directions as they lie on a richly 
patterned rug. The work shows painterly skills and is a rather 
festive looking piece which shows hope. Risham Syed's untitled work 
has a heavily textured background which is built up to create the 
subtle imagery of roses and leaves and this frames a painted oval 
which appears as a kind of theatrical stage because of the image of 
pulled curtains on the sides and stages a symbolic 'drama' containing 
a stately columned building on a green field besot by parachutes and 
guns. Quddus Mirza's Dialogue is an arrangement of two opposite rows 
of seven small wooden blocks covered with floral patterned cloth, 
each with the image of a gun stamped on it so that one gun faces 
another one in the opposite position. This creates a lively and 
somewhat amusing piece that points out to the duality of political 
relationships.
Flowers seem to be a favoured though somewhat cliched symbol to 
represent hope and peace, and another work by Ayesha Khalid titled, 
Infinite Justice has a big red embroidered rose in the middle of a 
large frame covered with material that has the pattern of the 
camouflaged uniform worn by soldiers during wartime.
There are a number of other works that employ a more unconventional 
approach to socio-political comment and in which the symbolism gains 
precedence over the display of conventional artistic skills. For 
example, Sania Samad's Installation consists of an entire room draped 
in silver plastic sheets and has two similarly framed large mirrors 
placed on opposite walls. Two stately chairs, placed side by side, 
but in opposite directions, face the mirrors and this entire 
arrangement into which the viewer can enter and experience, is titled 
Narcissism. This installation and other efforts like a video 
presentation by Bani Abidi, and a lighted lamp with rotating, 
colliding, fish carrying the colours and symbols of India and 
Pakistan's flags, by David Alesworth, are attempted to catch the 
audience's attention in an unusual way and such creations have their 
own special niche in the contemporary art world.
Most of the Indian artist which include Shilpa Gupta, Kausik 
Mukhapadhy, NS Harsha, Jaitish Kalat, Sharmila Samant, Jaishri 
Abhichandni and Riyas Konu, as well as Pakistani artists like Naiza 
Khan, Aasma Mundrawala, Huma Mulji and a few others, have expressed 
themselves through small poster-like printed works which were 
actually part of an international project called Aaar Paar and was 
held simultaneously in Mumbai and Karachi in 2002.
Ten artists each from India and Pakistan developed a single coloured 
work which was then exchanged between the two countries via e-mail. 
These were then printed locally and inserted into public spaces, such 
as walls, or distributed as leaflets between newspapers in an attempt 
to get a public reaction. Most of these works are simple, economical 
but often pithy, more of printed statements than typical works of 
art, but nonetheless thought-provoking. For example, one work by a 
group of artists shows a small map of Karachi and highlights all 
those places which carry an Indian name, like Bombay Paan Shop, 
'Dehli ke Dahi Barey' Bombay Biryani and so on.
Riya Komu's piece emphasises the caption Don't' Let Your Friends 
Decide who Your Enemies Should be and Jitish Kallat's work is like a 
page on the internet which indicates that there is no way in which 
the user can download any information on peace.
Thus the issue of peace with India is addressed from a variety of 
angles and the exhibition has brought together a number of socially 
conscious artists who can perhaps elucidate some significant reaction 
from an audience who chooses to contemplate on the various symbols 
and messages.

_____


[2.]

[ MURDER AND MAYHEM IN BOMBAY - Some Editorials in Indian Press]

The Times of India, August 25, 2003
EDITORIAL
Murderous Monday
It was a horrifying reprise of 1993. Now, as then, the murderous bomb 
blasts which rocked Mumbai on Monday seemed to be well-planned and 
co-ordinated to inflict maximum damage on the city's symbols of civic 
pride and financial power.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com:80/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=145988


o o o

The Hindu, August 26, 2003
Editorial    
Behind the terrorist strikes
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/26/stories/2003082604160800.htm

o o o

The Indian Express, August 26, 2003
Editorial
Unmask the attacker
Mumbai cannot, must not, be held hostage to the insanity of the 
faceless terrorist
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=30267

_____


[3.]

  INDIA: THE AYODHYA ROW & THE UNDERGROUND TEMPLE DETECTORS

o o o

The Guardian  [UK]  August 26, 2003

Amid the ruins, new verdict on holy site

Luke Harding

Yesterday's blasts took place only hours after the publication of a 
long-awaited report on Ayodhya - the temple town in north India, 
which has long divided Hindus and Muslims.

In 1992 thousands of Hindu zealots tore down the 16th-century Babri 
mosque in the town, claiming it had been built on the site of an 
earlier Hindu temple sacred to Lord Ram, Hinduism's most important 
deity. The incident led to rioting across India, with several 
thousand killed.

It also propelled the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) 
to power - which exploited a wave of Hindu sentiment over Ayodhya to 
defeat India's Congress party. Since then Hindu extremists have 
claimed that they were entitled to destroy the mosque - because 
India's former Muslim Mughal rulers did the same when they swept into 
India in the 15th century.

What happened in Ayodhya was merely a case of righting an historical 
injustice, they argue. Yesterday's report by the archaeological 
survey of India (ASI) appears to support them - and claims that a 
Hindu temple did indeed exist on the disputed religious site long 
before the mosque.

The report deals a blow to India's Muslim community - and appears to 
be a belated blessing to Hindu vandals who plunged India into a 
communal crisis.

Secular historians are likely to dispute the ASI's conclusions. The 
BJP has stuffed academic institutions and bodies with its own 
supporters - and has even been accused of altering school text books 
to support its pro-Hindu version of history. It was not clear last 
night whether the bomb blasts in Bombay were provoked by the report - 
or whether the timing was a coincidence.

India's supreme court has been pondering its own verdict on the 
Ayodhya affair for several decades now. The court has yet to rule on 
whether a new Hindu temple can be constructed on the ruins of the old 
mosque - something that India's prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 
and most of his cabinet support. Until the court decides, the issue 
will continue to poison Hindu-Muslim relations.


o o o

The Times of India
No evidence of temple at Ayodhya: Expert
PRANAVA K CHAUDHARY
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2003 11:10:22 PM ]

PATNA: No evidence of an ancient Hindu temple had been found at the 
disputed site in Ayodhya. The ASI report is "vague and 
self-contradictory and something prepared under political pressure".

This observation has been made by one of the experts who had been 
recently summoned by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court 
hearing the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit to make their 
observation.

Sita Ram Rai a former director of Bihar state archaeology, who has 
already spent more than a fortnight at the Ayodhya excavated site 
during the month of June alleged that the ASI has carved "pillars out 
of the excavated floor to "draw" some inaccurate conclusions in 
favour of the contesting party.

The ASI which released its report on Monday with "motivated 
suggestions and wilful omissions makes its clear that its saffronised 
heart is in the right place", he said.

Besides Rai, other experts were former head of the department of 
archaeology, Kurukshetra University, Suraj Bhan, former professor of 
archaeology, Allahabad University, D Mandal and former professor, 
Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, New Delhi, Shireen Ratnakar. Both 
Rai and Mandal belong to Bihar.

Rai who conducted several archaeological excavations at Nagarjunkonda 
(Andhra Pradesh), Vaishali and Lota Pahar in Singhbhum, told TNN on 
Monday: "No structure was demolished before the construction of 
mosque (1528 AD)".

Rai, who has written on the excavations of Chirand (Saran) and 
Sonepur in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, had appeared as a 
witness before the Lucknow bench in April, 2002.

These archaeologists made detailed studies of the ASI's method of 
excavation and the artefacts recently excavated at the Ayodhya site. 
"All of us believe that there was no temple at the Ayodhya site", Rai 
said.

According to Rai, from the 13th century onwards artefacts belonging 
to Muslim period including coins belonging to Akbar's period have 
been in abundance in the whole region. The structural remains of 
broken bricks represented the habitation of the common masses, he 
said.

Rai says," whatever few structural remains of bricks have been used 
in the construction of houses were brought here from outside during 
the pre-mosque period".

The court had summoned these "progressive archaeologists" in view of 
complaints from the Central Sunni Wakf Board and other plaintiffs in 
the Ayodhya title suit, sources said.

o o o


Deccan Herald [India] August 24, 2003

Ayodhya row: It's time to let go
Temples, churches and mosques have social, cultural and political 
significance, but hardly any spiritual worth

By Swami Agnivesh & Rev Valson Thampu

Assuming that we have the patience and humility to consult Lord Ram 
on Ayodhya, very likely he will counsel, "It's time to let go on this 
much ado about nothing." The belligerent Ram bhakts, however, are 
disinclined to do so, underlining the ironic truth that the clamour 
for Ram temple is independent of devotion to Lord Ram. This is proved 
by the stand of the pro-mandir hawks: "We will build the temple in 
the disputed area, even if Lord Ram were to ask us not to." The VHP, 
typical of its attitude to the rule of law, has made it clear that it 
will accept the court's verdict only if it is in its favour.

The Muslims are reluctant to let go on Ayodhya on the pretext that 
the property under dispute belongs to Allah, which they are not free 
to give away. This notwithstanding, in deference to the rule of law 
and the ethos of a modern secular society, they will abide by the 
judicial outcome unconditionally. By the same token, they must 
realise that the theological notion that this piece of land belongs 
to Allah is not a self-evident fact in the secular context. 

They should not, like the VHP, assume that all people are obliged to 
endorse esoteric assumptions simply because they are religious. Even 
theologically, this assumption is of dubious merit. On what basis can 
Muslims or any religious group assume that God is particularly 
interested in a certain piece of real estate?

The idea that God is particularly interested in a place of worship is 
a piece of clever invention by the priestly class in order to 
manipulate popular religiosity to their advantage. There are two 
contrary perspectives on the significance of places of worship. 

Religiously conditioned, the faithful feel fervently for places of 
worship. In our multi-religious society, it is important for every 
person to recognise and respect this fact. In a spiritual sense, 
however, God does not live in structures of brick and mortar, but in 
human hearts sanctified by love. Temples, churches and mosques have 
social, cultural and political significance, but hardly any spiritual 
worth. Founders of religions never attached themselves to places of 
worship. 

Continuing madness 

All through religious history, places of worship have been vulnerable 
to corruption, perversion and politics. The religious elites have, 
besides, dragged credulous followers into their selfish squabbles 
sugar-coated as jihads and holy wars. Millions have suffered and 
perished; but the madness continues.

It is high time we outgrew the crippling communal obsession with 
Ayodhya, not least because it is a non-issue imposed over the 
helpless people of that town. It is time to allow Lord Ram, the 
embodiment of righteousness, to be a blessing, rather than a 
nightmare, to the people of Ayodhya, Hindus and Muslims alike. 

The Ayodhya imbroglio defies solution simply because it is engaged 
from a predatory mentality of taking by force rather than of giving 
in grace. The threat to take the disputed land by force activates the 
vanity to defend it at all costs, irrespective of the worth ascribed 
to the object of dispute. At times it seems as though the Muslims are 
looking to the courts for a face-saving formula: "Please give an 
adverse verdict, so that we can wash our hands off this mess".

The Ayodhya mess can be cleaned up only if the concerned parties 
desire a solution. As long as communalists, who see Ayodhya as a 
goose that lays golden eggs for them, are allowed to meddle with it, 
no amicable solution can emerge.
[...].
{See Full Text at: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug25/top.asp }

o o o

Exchange Ayodhya for rights for Muslim dalits: Muslim Morcha
(Press Trust of India | Chennai, August 22)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_347125,001300020001.htm

_____


[4.]

Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 08:26:08 +0530
Subject: A.M. Khusro

A.M. Khusro, 1925-2003

Obituary by Mukul Dube

Professor Syed Ali Mohammed Khusro Husaini died on 24 August 2003. The
various appointments he held spanned a remarkable range: he taught
economics at Osmania and other universities and he conducted and
supervised research at the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi,
which he also headed for many years. He was Vice Chancellor of the
Aligarh Muslim University and India's ambassador to the Federal
Republic of Germany; he was a member of the Planning Commission and
later headed the Agha Khan Foundation's office in India; and he was
Chairman of the Eleventh Finance Commission. In recent years he did a
great deal of work in the voluntary sector. Even this list is by no
means exhaustive.
      As an economist, Khusro Sahab will be remembered chiefly for his
work on different aspects of agriculture such as land reforms and the
question of buffer stocks; although he also wrote on banking and even
did a study of students of Delhi University. His work in monetary
economics, which he did not keep up for long, in certain ways
anticipated Milton Friedman's, as Friedman himself said. His
professional and intellectual work covered many different areas and
was very far from narrow. And he was not just a theoretical economist
but a practical one too. For example, the Finance Commission which he
headed sought to use fiscal controls to establish the federalism which
politics had not only not achieved but which it worked against in many
ways.
      It is said of most economists that they can communicate only with
other economists, but Khusro Sahab had a rare ability to make the most
complex ideas comprehensible to ordinary people. This power underlay
much of his writing for lay readers. It also explains his immense
popularity as a teacher. He took his role of teacher very seriously,
and at the Delhi School of Economics he guided a record number of
Ph.D.s to completion. A considerable devotion and unending patience
could also be seen when, for example, he taught children how to play
tennis.
      Some months ago, I told Khusro Sahab that a friend had suggested
that India's Muslims could well adopt a Gandhian kind of
non-cooperation to counter discrimination and harassment at the hands
of the present dispensation. His reaction was that the parallel should
be drawn with great care. The rulers in Gandhi's time were non-Indian,
after all, and now they are Indian. More important, Muslims cannot
bear the economic strain which is sure to follow. The use of the
weapon must be accompanied by care for education and economic
opportunities. I give this example to show how the man thought quickly
and clearly, in large, societal terms, and with a firm grasp of
history. I doubt that there are many people with this breadth of
thought and vision.
      I happen to know that Khusro Sahab was very quick-tempered,
having once become the victim of a misunderstanding caused by an
off-the-cuff remark. But it is a sign of the man's discipline that his
reactions, even when he was extremely angry, were measured and
restrained. Perhaps, indeed, he carried good manners too far and had a
sometimes unfortunate ability to suffer even the most damaging kinds
of fool. He worked together on occasion with the most unlikely and
undesirable people, arguing in private that that was justified if some
little advantage could be squeezed out of them.
      Although he was close to what the ideal economist should be, and
although he chafed at the bit when other commitments kept him from his
work in his chosen field, Khusro Sahab told me once that his interest
really lay in literature. Ending up in a different profession had not
caused this interest to flag. World literature and Urdu poetry are
areas in which the depth of his knowledge far exceeded the ordinary.
His writing contains allusions, but not one of them seems to have been
imposed, to be out of place.
      Khusro Sahab, in short, was an example of a vanishing breed, the
complete man, the man who cannot be put into any single compartment,
the man who makes a success of all that he attempts. He was a product
of the best that the first half of the twentieth century offered, and
in particular he was a fine product of the finest of India's composite
culture, the best of our tradition of tehzeeb, with an abiding
interest in classical music and able to refer, aptly and with equal
facility, to the Quran, the Mahabharat and the Bible when needed.
      In a land where those with the most trifling attainments glory in
doing nothing for themselves, leaving every task to flunkeys, A.M.
Khusro, former ambassador and all the rest of it, drove his own car on
the busy roads of Delhi, whether to pick up his wife from her place of
work or to attend a seminar a dozen miles from home or just to buy a
slice of the cheese which someone in the family specially liked.
Although a connoisseur of fine food, he yet ate with relish, in a
foreign land, the modest meal prepared for him by an Indian student.
One can but marvel at such a man and seek to learn from him.

_____


[5.]

Book Launch and Exhibition of Photographs

'Tribals of India'

by Sunil Janah
Oxford University Press, India, 2003

Monday September 1
6.30 pm

Nehru Centre,
8, South Audley Street,
London W1 [UK]

There will be an opportunity to talk to Sunil Janah about his 
photographs and to view an exhibition of his pictures whose themes 
include key moments in India's history, people and land, diversity of 
India's people, and  dance and sculpture.

Exhibition open September 1,  6.30pm- 8.30pm

September 2 - 5, 10.am to 5.30pm

Sunil Janah is one of India’s foremost photographers. Born in Assam 
in 1918, he first became known for his photographs taken during the 
Bengal famine. A man-made disaster caused by the diversion of India's 
foodgrains to the British army during the second world war, the 
famine intensified the anger which drove the movement for 
independence. Sunil Janah's photographs conveyed the full horror of 
this disaster, while never compromising the dignity of those who 
suffered.

Sunil Janah went on to document almost every aspect of the 
independence movement and Partition, on the one hand capturing 
historic moments in the lives of leaders such as Gandhi, Jinnah and 
Nehru, and on the other portraying the reality of mass movements of 
the period in sensitive and moving studies of individual participants 
as well as panoramic and often breathtaking images of a people on the 
march.

Sunil Janah photographs provide a compelling record of the series of 
peasant uprisings demanding land redistribution and a transformation 
of the social order which rocked India throughout the 1940s.

Independence was accompanied by partition of the country into India 
and Pakistan and by communal riots, the worst legacy, as Sunil Janah 
sees it, of the British policy of divide and rule.

Some of his most remarkable pictures taken after Independence portray 
the everyday lives of India's people, many of them from so-called 
'tribal' or adivasi communities.These pictures taken over thirty 
years when he travelled extensively throughout India are published 
together for the first time in 'Tribals of India'. Through these 
photographs Sunil Janah conveys the tenacious diversity of cultures, 
religions and ethnic groups across the region, creating a picture of 
India which today challenges the aggressively homogenised images 
created by contemporary right-wing Hindu chauvinism as well as the 
globalised media.

The photographs also subvert dominant ideas about Indian women, in 
their remarkable empathy with their mainly female subjects, who are 
never passive but instead  challenge the assumptions of the viewer.

The new edition of his book, Tribals of India, has been published 
with 33 new photographs. It will be available at the launch. Awaiting 
publication is another book of selected photographs, accompanied by 
an autographical sketch about his life as a photographer from 
1940-1975.

______


[6.]


FEMINISTS UNDER FIRE : Exchanges across War Zones

Wenona Giles, Malathi de Alwis, Edith Klein, Neluka Silva (co-editors)
with Maja Korac, Djurdja Knezevic, Zarana Papic (advisory editors)

$29.95 paper 320 pages
1-896357-78-4

Feminists Under Fire is about women living and working in conflict 
zones. Focusing on the civil wars in Sri Lanka and the former 
Yugoslavia, diverse authors face the problems of nationalism, ethnic 
conflict, and militarized violence. They explore commonalities and 
differences between the two regions, and consequences for women, 
their societies, and feminist politics.

Women are neither simply victimized nor empowered by war; their 
experiences are more complicated. While they suffer from war-related 
violence and upheaval, some women living in traditional societies 
find that war releases them from constricting hierarchies. Others 
find it reinforces conventional gender roles. This ambivalence needs 
to be examined and understood.

In addition to such concerns the collection addresses issues of 
domestic violence, rape, intermarriage, victimization, feminist 
organizing and anti-war activism, women's self-help organization, and 
political resistance.

This vibrant collection emerges from The Women in Conflict Zones 
Network, an international collaboration of activists and scholars.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wenona Giles is Associate Professor and Chair, School of Social 
Sciences- Atkinson, York University, Toronto. Malathi de Alwis is 
Senior Research Fellow, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 
Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Visiting Associate Professor, New School for 
Social Research, New York. Edith Klein is Resident Fellow, Centre for 
Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto. Neluka 
Silva is Professor and Head, Department of English, University of 
Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Between the Lines
720 Bathurst St., Suite 404
Toronto, ON M5S 2R4 Canada
phone (416) 535-9914 fax (416) 535-1484
direct orders 1-800-718-7201 btlbooks at web.ca
Web site: http://www.btlbooks.com/index.htm

o o o

[Related Information]

FEMINISTS UNDER FIRE  Launch event:
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Co-sponsored by The Toronto Women's Bookstore
http://www.womensbookstore.com/

______


[7.]

ICNA condemns the unauthorized use of its name

The Islamic Circle of North America strongly condemns the unauthorized use of
its name in the ad welcoming the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
to the US, published in the current issue of 'India Abroad,' a weekly magazine
published out of New York.

The Islamic Circle of North America demands an open statement of apology from
the office of Ambassador-at-large for NRI/PIOs of India, for this appalling
act, in the very paper where the said ad is published.

Mr. Kumar from the advertising department of India Abroad told Mr. Naeem
Baig, Secretary General of ICNA, that the ad was given by the Indian 
Government's
office of Ambassador-at-large. Mr. Baig called the office of the
ambassador-at-large and protested the use of ICNA name with Minister 
Kathwal. Minister
Kathwal apologized to Mr. Baig and promised that a formal statement of apology
will be issued by his office.

We the members of the Islamic Circle of North America are very much disturbed
by these tactics of the Indian Government. The American Muslim community
considers Mr. Vajpayee directly responsible for the ill treatment, killings and
torture of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities in India.

Contact: ICNA General Secretary, Naeem Baig at 718 658 1199

END OF STATEMENT

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FYI: cited below are a few quotes from Vajpayee on Islam and Muslims:

" .. But the Islamic division of the world into 'Darul Harab' and 
'Darul Islam' comes in the way. Islam has yet to learn the art of 
existing and flourishing in a country where Muslims are in a 
minority. They cannot convert the whole of India to Islam. After all, 
they have to live here. So they have to recognize this fact. And 
today it has become a matter of grave concern and deep thinking in 
the Muslim countries. Because Quran offers no guidance in this 
regard. It only talks of killing kafirs or converting them to Islam. 
But they cannot do it always and everywhere. How can they do it where 
they are in a minority? If they try to do it, a major clash will take 
place and only the members of the minority will be killed. But 
Muslims themselves have to change this state of affairs. We cannot 
change it for them... " - Organiser , "RSS: Vision and Action 
Special" May 7, 1995. p. 61-63

"We did pull down the structure in Ayodhya. In fact it was a reaction 
to the Muslim vote-bank." - Organiser ,
"RSS: Vision and Action Special" , May 7, 1995. p. 61-63

_____


[8.]

Outlook Magazine | 01 Sep 2003  

Habib Tanvir

On his plays Ponga Pandit and Jamadarin being disrupted by the Sangh 
parivar in Madhya Pradesh
What provoked the mob to attack you?
It is all political. There is nothing provocative in the drama. It is 
a folk play which is being enacted in the villages for the last 60 
years. I haven't written it. Only the play is enacted by my artistes.
Have you faced such problems in the past?
Not at all.
Are you being targeted because you are a Muslim?
Yes, it is one reason. They argue that being a Muslim, I have no 
business meddling in the affairs of the Hindus.
Do you agree with it?
Not at all. I will be very happy if a Hindu goes ahead and exposes 
the mullahs and the maulvis.
Who do you think is behind all this?
The Sangh parivar. They are not making any attempt to hide their identity.
Was there any lapse on the part of the administration?
They could have been more alert. The policemen turned up with teargas 
shells only after the collector and SP reached the place. I don't 
understand why they couldn't anticipate trouble.
Who is organising this tour?
The state government's culture department.
What is the purpose of such a tour?
To promote communal harmony. It's important for the country after the 
Gujarat genocide.
You think you'll succeed in your venture?
I would say that the reaction is a measure of our success only.
Where do you think this kind of intolerance will lead to?
To fascism, definitely.

By K.S. Shaini

o o o

BJP activists, Tanvir supporters clash

Indo-Asian News Service

Bhopal, Aug 24 (IANS) Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed
Sunday with supporters of theatre personality Habib Tanvir who were
protesting the party's objections to one of the playwright's works.
BJP activists have disrupted Tanvir's play "Ponga Pandit Jamadarin" at a
couple of places in Madhya Pradesh, claiming it depicts Hinduism in a bad
light.
On Sunday, several of Tanvir's supporters marched toward the BJP office to
protest the disruptions but were stopped by a large police force that had
been deployed in the area.
Some 500 BJP activists rushed toward the group, pelted stones at them and
snatched some of the banners they were carrying.
Police had a tough time controlling the situation and order was restored
only after Tanvir's supporters left the area.
There had been reports that Tanvir too would join the protest but he did not
show up.
Tanvir has been staging "Ponga Pandit Jamadarin" at the invitation of the
Congress government of Madhya Pradesh.
It was first staged at Gwalior on August 15 and was disrupted by the
activists of the BJP, the Shiv Sena and other Hindu rightwing organisations.
With assembly elections due in November, the incident has taken a political
colour.
State BJP spokesman Kailash Vijayvarigiya has charged Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Digvijay Singh with using Tanvir to gain political mileage.
Tanvir has brushed this aside, saying the play was based on folklore and
that he had been staging it for three decades.
"I will continue staging the play, come what may," Tanvir told reporters
Sunday.

--Indo-Asian News Service


_____


[9.]

http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13232116

PCI censures two Gujarati newspapers
Saturday, 23 August , 2003, 16:33
New Delhi: Focussing on media coverage of Gujarat riots, Press 
Council of India has censured Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh in eight 
cases and has also underlined the need for revising the code of 
journalistic ethics in view of the emergence of the electronic media.

  The censure of the two prominent Gujarati newspapers and warning to 
Tarun Mitra, Saamna and Vishwamitra, for "transgressing" the norms 
relating to reporting on communal matters came when the Council 
recently adjudicated on 24 cases relating to media coverage of the 
riots.

In another case, the Council also asked the two newspapers to publish 
a rejoinder of noted dancer and social worker Mallika Sarabhai for 
"scurrilous" reports carried by them in April last year without 
verifying facts wherein personal remarks were made against her.

According to a press release issued by the Council, it also adopted a 
report of its Special Committee appointed to examine the role of the 
media during and after Gujarat riots.

Commenting upon the role played by the electronic media, the Council 
felt the telecast of pictures raises ethical issues that required to 
be deliberated upon.

The council also noted that a number of times, the print media has 
maintained that it cannot be hauled for code violations as they have 
to compete with the electronic media which has already telecast the 
news.

The Council said the media must be cautious, restrained and 
responsible while reporting internal conflicts and disturbances, but 
truth should not be a casualty.

While the Council is totally against any kind of censorship, it 
noticed that with the outreach of TV and 24 hour news channels giving 
live coverage of the riots, it is not possible for the print media to 
withhold photographs depicting the carnage, destruction, looting and 
burning.

However, stern action could be taken on two counts: The impact the 
photographs may have and their captions.

Further, the Special Committee felt that the Council must make all 
out efforts to get the proposed amendments to the Press Council Act, 
1978, long pending with the Government, enacted urgently.

It appreciated the recent guidelines of the DAVP that a newspaper 
will stand suspended with immediate effect if found submitting wrong 
information in his application or suspected to have been indulging in 
unethical or anti-national activities.

The Council felt that the audio-visual media, especially the TV 
channels, must be governed by some norms of conduct and a 
cell/committee should be set up immediately to monitor reportage of 
communal riots, whenever these occur.

While condemning the attacks on journalists and viewing them as an 
assault on the freedom of the press, specially when it is by the 
Government or its agencies, the Council felt that other than the 
state providing security to mediapersons, they should be provided 
insurance cover by their respective organisations while covering news 
of communal conflicts.


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