SACW | 27 Aug. 2003
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Wed Aug 27 04:25:02 CDT 2003
South Asia Citizens Wire | 27 August, 2003
[1.] Letter from Pakistan (M.B. Naqvi)
[2.] Bombay Bombings : Statements by citizens groups
+ [related reference matter] "Bombay Bomb Blasts: Op-Eds and
Reports: A compilation"
[3.] India: Digging up for Secularism ? - underground temple
detection a la WMD search in Iraq: A compilation of reports
- Mumbai blast-Ayodhya connection speculative
- Canadian scientist's work may have sparked deadly blast in Mumbai [?]
- Ayodhya to be key issue in UP polls
- Archaeologists dig holes into ASI report (Akshaya Mukul)
- ASI report raises more questions (Anjali Mody)
- Underground movement (Vinay Lal)
[4.] UPCOMING EVENT: ASI Report on Ayodhya : A Press Conference by
Historians (Aug, 29, New Delhi)
[5.] Book Review: THE ELSEWHERE PEOPLE - Crossborder Migration,
Refugee Protection, and State Response: Omprakash Mishra and Anindyo
Majumdar
[6.] "My letter to the President of India" (Nafisa Ali )
[7.] India: Harsh Mandar's E-mail on Nafisa Ali and the Government of
Gujarat explains further
[8.] Chennai police bans play based on Gujarat riots (Sanjoy Bhadra)
[9.] Heritage Appropriation: The Patiala Festival (Pritam Singh)
--------------
[1.]
Letter from Pakistan
M.B. Naqvi
Karachi August 26:
Pakistani reactions to Mumbai's bomb explosions on Monday were
characterised by suspicion and some fear. Knee jerk reactions in both
Islamabad and South Block are familiar. As soon as the news broke,
Pakistan Foreign Office condemned the incidents as cases of
terrorism, affirming that Pakistan is against all terrorism where
innocent civilians are targetted.
On the Indian side the suspicion immediately fell on an Indian Muslim
students organisation that has links with Pakistan-based
Lashkar-i-Taiba (now operating under the name of Dawa after having
been banned by Pakistan government). Whether or not the intelligence
about a link between the Indian Muslim students body and Lashkar is
true, the Lashkar is certainly an extremist Islamic group that has a
terrorist record. It has made no secret of its intent to attack
Indian targets in India.
The Lashkar's position, after being banned, is peculiar: it
foreswears any political aims in Pakistan even under the new title of
Dawa. But it claims to have a consuming interest in the Kashmir
Jihad. In this it is a close ally of Jaish-i-Mohammad. Both these
bodies claim to be operating only in Kashmir in Indian controlled
part as well as in Azad Kashmir. Both have acted in close cooperation
with Pakistan's military agencies in the past and had enjoyed the
benign neglect of Islamabad --- until the Indian and American
pressure is said to have broken the cozy relationship sometime in
later 2002.
But this is by no means a confirmation of Indian suspicion which
looks uncommonly like a reflex action. It is merely a possibility:
some such can possibly be the case. That is all. But there are other
possibilities.
Among the Pakistani observers and commentators two main streams of
thought are prominent --- not counting the establishment's own
publicists. One assigns high significance to the exigencies of Indian
politics. The other school has its gaze focused on Washington and the
complicated games it is playing in the region.
The former school is torn between two possibilities: it is in no
position to reject the possibility of Lashkar-i-Taiba having a hand
in terrorist attacks in India. But its suspicions of BJP strategists'
Machiavellian skills is as strong. Many of them still believe that
the Godhra incident was stage managed to make its sequel possible ---
which enabled the BJP to win a handsome victory in last December's
state polls. Now again four Assembly polls impend in India during the
next few months --- and beyond which looms India's national election
in Sep-Oct 2004.
A raging and tearing campaign, a la Gujarat, heaping contumely on
Muslims and Pakistan, can confer on the likes of Narendra Modi a
famous victory. Now this is only a fear. It becomes plausible for
such people because they have noted the reluctance of the Indian
bureaucracy to implement with any enthusiasm what seems to be their
own Prime Minister's programme.
It is true that Pakistani bureaucracy's instinctive reactions are as
anti-Indian as Indian bureaucracy's are suspicious of Pakistani
moves. But in this case two points have impressed many Pakistanis:
the normalisation process is Mr. Vajpayee's initiative and South Bloc
was expected to push it harder. This does not seem to be the case;
the Indian officials appear quite relaxed at the slow pace of
normalisation --- which is what the Pakistani bureaucracy actually
likes.
The second school regards June 24 encounter between Gen. Pervez
Musharraf and the US President at Camp David to be a watershed. Gen.
Musharraf's India policy used to be primarily conciliatory and
accommodative towards India before this US visit. It is much harder
since. He is also more assertive of Pakistan's need for keeping up
the balance of power, not to mention the need for preserving Nuclear
Deterrent and all it implies.
Some thing changed and the date is June 24 this year. The new element
on the surface is the resumption of US aid to Pakistan. The $ 3
billion aid will be disbursed in six years, half of which will
comprise military aid. What transpired between the two Presidents may
never be known in full or in their true context(s). But resumption of
$ 300 million per year military aid may have achieved a lot more than
the small aid figure would seem to suggest. Musharraf could assume
American protection even against India despite the expected American
disclaimers.
Doubtless, Pakistan was desperate for military aid before June 24 of
this year, all its defence strategy having been based on the
availability of some hard currencies. Even that did not encompass
Pakistan's needs. It could not buy modern military equipment because
no one can ignore the formal and informal US ban on major arms
producers to sell sensitive modern equipment to a military-ruled
Pakistan. It my be easier now for other nations to sell such
equipment.
For the rest, bases and terms of diplomatic engagement between two
South Asian states have become different. At any rate, Pakistan's
relations with India have always been accident prone. Remember Oct 1
and Dec 13 incidents in 2001. The entire year of 2002 had had to be
marked by unbearable military tensions and a lot of people in South
Asia and the rest of the world could visualise mushroom clouds rising
over the Indo-Gangetic plains. Both states are slowly returning to
normalcy --- the partial normality of Dec 12, 2001 --- halting and,
one fears, unwillingly. And if electoral politics of India also gets
mixed up with India-Pakistan relations, it will be good neither for
Indian politics nor for inter-state relations. Ends.
_____
[2.]
[A wide range of groups have issued public statements condemning the
bombings in Bombay and calling for peace posted below are two such
statements (apologies to others for being unable to include their
material for lack of space]
o o o
Date: 26 Aug 2003 06:05:30 -0000
From: Voice Of The Exploited <voiceoftheexploited at rediffmail.com>
THE BOMBAY CATHOLIC SABHA
C/o St Michael's Annexe,
L.J.Road, Mahim
Mumbai 400 016.
Tel: 24463853
Email:bcsabha at vsnl.net
PRESS
STATEMENT
Dear Madam / Sir,
The ALL INDIA CATHOLIC UNION [AICU] and THE BOMBAY CATHOLIC SABHA
[BCS] condemns the dastardly serial bomb attacks in the city of
Mumbai.We express our anguish at the deaths of so many innocent
people and serious injuries to hundreds of them.Our hearts reach
out in sympathy to the families of the bereaved and pray that God
may give them the strength to overcome this loss and those injured
that they have a miraculous and speedy recovery.
This is one more attempt by elements who are bent on disturbing
the peace for their own vested interests.
The State Government of the day should take responsibility for the
failure of the law and order machinery and ensure that the
culprits are apprehended and exemplary punishment meted out to
these fanatic forces.
We would also urge the opposition political parties to close ranks
and not to make political capital out of the deaths and misery of
the hundreds who have suffered wantonly at the hands of the
fundamentalist forces as any show of disunity now would embolden
them further to carry on these misguided adventures. The people of
the city of Mumbai will also not forgive and forget the
politicians and political forces who will not soothe the
suffering.
You are kindly requested to publish this press note in your
esteemed newspaper.
Thanks for your support and co-operation.
Best Regards
Dolphy D'souza
National Secretary for Human Rights & Social Justice,
ALL INDIA CATHOLIC UNION,,
Spokesman &Vice-President,
THE BOMBAY CATHOLIC SABHA.
Tel: 2808 5468
Mobile: 9892016671
o o o
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Vaidya, Aniruddha" <aniruddha.vaidya at intel.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 19:46:42 -0700
Association for India's Development (AID) --- Press Release
MUMBAI BOMB-BLASTS DISTRESS ASSOCIATION FOR INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT;
ORGANIZATION CONDEMS BLASTS; PRAYS FOR CALM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25th, 2003.
>From various cities across the US
The Association for India's Development (AID) is extremely distressed by
news of two nearly simultaneous and powerful car-bombs that exploded in
the western-Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) several hours ago. As of
today various Indian and international news organizations are reporting
the death of about 50 persons with injuries to over 160 people. AID
volunteers condemn this dastardly inhumane act in the strongest possible
terms. We also send our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the
families of those who were killed or injured by the blast and also to
the citizens of Mumbai.
The city of Mumbai is the proverbial melting pot of India and is a
mosaic of people from diverse religious, linguistic, regional and
economic backgrounds, all of whom call it their home. In the last decade
the metropolis has endured distressing times after the communal violence
of 1992 and the bomb-blasts of 1993 but recovered with the cooperative
enterprise of its citizens. However, in the past nine months it has
suffered rising concern of criminal terror due to bomb-blasts in public
places that have killed and injured people in the city. Today's
explosions are the worst in the last 10 years.
AID volunteers are deeply distressed and touched by this incident. We
appeal to the residents of Mumbai to demonstrate calm and to give
strength to each other in a show of the plurality and resilience that is
the hallmark of the city and summarily reject any incitement to violence
that might be read into the incident. We are encouraged, for example, by
the reported restraint shown by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri.
Sushil Kumar Shinde, by appealing for calm and for cautioning against
the urge to rush to judgment about who may behind this despicable act.
We would applaud and support the efforts of the civic administration,
eminent citizens and social activists to appeal for communal harmony, as
also all efforts to pursue whoever may responsible for the blasts
using the full extent of the law.
About AID:
The Association for India's Development (AID) is a US-based charitable
non-profit organization with a primary focus on empowering poor and
marginalized communities in India through various social developmental
efforts. AID is committed to secular values and a pluralistic vision of
India that supports and defends the principles of equity, justice and
liberty for all its residents. We are also working to seek the active
support of the Indian community (whether in India or abroad) in creating
an environment for inter-faith dialogue and tolerance that will keep us
on the road to peace and communal harmony.
- Issued on behalf of the volunteers of AID
AID Main Website: www.aidindia.org
o o o
[RELATED MATERIAL]
"[4.] Bombay Bomb Blasts | Opinions, Editorials and Reports: A compilation"
in: India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch No. 132 (27 Aug 2003)
URL: groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/143
_____
[3.]
"SEARCHING FOR A TEMPLE UNDER THE MOSQUE AT AYODHYA IS LIKE FINDING
WMD IN IRAQ."
- Gail Omvedt [One of India's well known Insurgent Anthropologists]
o o o
Sify [India] 25 August , 2003, 15:42
'Mumbai blast-Ayodhya connection speculative' (E Jayakrishnan)
http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13233314
o o o
The Ottawa Citizen [Canada] August 26, 2003
Canadian scientist's work may have sparked deadly blast in Mumbai
(Randy Boswell)
http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=E7CB0EB5-BB34-45BE-985C-0971FA6F7C1F
o o o
Sify, India August 26, 2003
Ayodhya to be key issue in UP polls
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13233744
o o o
The Times of India, August 26, 2003
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=148027
Archaeologists dig holes into ASI report <javascript:clippopup(148027);>
AKSHAYA MUKUL
NEW DELHI: The Archaeological Survey of India's excavation report on
Ayodhya, suggesting ''a huge structure indicative of remains, which
are distinctive features associated with the temples of north
India'', has been found wanting at many levels by archaeologists and
historians.
Archaeologist Suraj Bhan, who visited the site during the excavation,
says the report has not ''taken into account'' certain features of
the western wall of the pre-Babri Masjid chamber.
* According to him, the burnt brick wall of the pre-Babri Masjid
structure had a carved stone laid in the foundation. ''This has not
been taken into account. If it was, this could have precluded the
possibility of the structure being associated with Hindus, since they
never used carved stone in foundation,'' he says.
* The pillar bases are not of the same type. ''Fifty pillar bases are
not of the same type, which means they were used in different
structures,'' he says. R C Thakran of Delhi University, who also
spent a long time in Ayodhya during excavation, concurs. ''I have
seen the material in the pillar bases. Pieces of early mediaeval
bricks, thinner, smaller and less wide were found. Can it take a
massive structure?'' he asks.
Supriya Varma of Panjab University, who spent months in Ayodhya as an
expert of Sunni Waqf Board, has also pointed out glaring omissions in
the report.
* Though ASI suggests that from 10th century onwards, the site had a
shrine followed by a temple with different structural phases, its
report also talks of ''animal bones recovered from various levels of
different periods''.
''If there was a shrine and temple at this site, how do we account
for the presence of animal bones?'' she asks.
* She also says stone and decorated bricks could have been used in
any building, not necessarily only in a temple. Further, the carved
architectural members have come from the debris and not from a
stratified context.
According to Bhan, the ASI report has also not taken into account the
intrusive nature of pillar bases and the Ramchabutra. He says in
June, when he visited the site, the ASI had dug into the Babri Masjid
floor. ''It means that there was a structure later than the Masjid
itself''.
He says that the water reservoir in the south-eastern corner made of
lime and calcrete was later filled and the chabutra made, now known
as Ramchabutra. ''Excavation showed that even the chabutra was dug
into the Babri Masjid. This proves that the chabutra was a later
construction,'' he explains.
On the ASI's claim of continuity in structure from 10th century
onwards, Thakran says if there is any continuity, it is of ''lime
surkhi floor'', associated with Islamic architecture. He says there
is also continuity between the floor of the Masjid and walls of
massive structure.
The most glaring mistake is that despite admitting that during and
after period IV (Gupta level) up to period IX (late and post-Mughal),
regular habitation deposits disappear, resulting in mixing of earlier
material with the contemporary - creating problems of dating - it has
selectively used some of the artifacts for dating and excluded others.
o o o
The Hindu, August 27, 2003
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/27/stories/2003082704801200.htm
ASI report raises more questions
by Anjali Mody
New Delhi AUG. 26. The report of the Archaeological Survey of India
on its excavation at Ayodhya is unlikely to settle the academic
debate, and will prolong the legal dispute on what lay beneath the
disputed site. While proponents of the theory that a 12th Century
Hindu temple preceded the Babri Masjid say that they have been
vindicated, the opposing side is readying to question the basis of
the ASI's claim.
A great deal of the heat will focus on the ASI's conclusion that it
has found material at the site "indicative of remains which are
distinctive features found associated with the temples of North
India". To sustain this claim, the report states that some
architectural remains found on the site bear stylistic comparison to
another building from the 12th Century. Describing the "massive
structure below the disputed site", the ASI report states that one of
the architectural fragments, which belongs to the 12th Century, is
"similar to those found in Dharmachakrajina Vihara of Kumaradevi at
Sarnath which belongs to the early 12th Century''.
An ASI report from 1921 talks of this Vihara as having been built by
Kumaradevi, the Buddhist wife of Govindachandra, King of Kannauj. It
says that the archaeological find was first designated as the remains
of a Buddhist monastery. However, Dayaram Sahni, who beame the ASI's
first Indian Director-General in the 1930s, reinterpreted the
findings as those belonging to a temple. Mr. Sahni based his
interpretation on the grandeur of the structure that, he said, was
unlike any monastery. He said the absence of images of deities was
not sufficient reason to say that this was not a temple. Far from
settling the issue, this comparison is only likely to keep the
academic debate on the interpretation of artefacts from the Ayodhya
site alive.
The ASI report, however, contains more than discoveries of "remains
which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of
North India". The most significant finding, from an archaeological
point of view, is that the evidence of the first human settlement of
the site has been put at 1300 BC. This is several centuries earlier
than findings at similar settlements (classified by archaeologists as
Northern Black Polished Ware period) in the Gangetic plain. The
earliest dates for NBPW cultures is around 700 BC with the majority
being nearer 400-300 BC. If proven, this would make a significant
contribution to the understanding of history of the period. The ASI's
claim rests on Carbon14 dating of two samples found on the site.
Other findings at the site will also interest those who have traced
the site's connection with the Ramayana story. The report records
finding terracotta images of the mother goddess, female figurines and
remains of votive tanks, as late as the third century AD.
Archaeologists say that these are evidence of folk worship, and "are
not associated with Vaishnav worship", to which the Ramayana
tradition belongs. There are other places in India where evidence of
structures associated with Vaishnav worship has been found from the
early centuries of the first millennium AD.
o o o
The Hindustan Times [ India] August 27, 2003
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/270803/detIDE01.shtml
Underground movement
by Vinay Lal
Excavations in Ayodhya go back to 1969-70, when an archaeological
team from the Benaras Hindu University began digging in three
separate localities. Their results were first announced in the pages
of Indian Archaeology - A Review, the principal organ of the ASI. The
history of Ayodhya was described as going back to the NBP (Northern
Black Polished Ware) Period, "which is generally accepted as covering
the sixth to perhaps the first centuries BC".
This is of more than incidental significance, for Rama is described
in the Valmiki Ramayana as having been born in the Treta Yuga, or
thousands of years before the present-day Kali Yuga, which itself
began in 3102 BC. Yet there is no archaeological evidence to support
the view that Ayodhya was inhabited at that time; and it is much less
likely then that the Ayodhya of today could have been the large urban
settlement, replete with palaces and buildings on a grand scale, that
the Ayodhya of the Valmiki Ramayana purports to be.
As Sarvepalli Gopal and others would have it, and as I have
previously stated, the Ayodhya of the epic poem is 'fictional', and
what is later taken to be Ayodhya is none other than Saketa, which
the king Skanda Gupta (aka Vikramaditya) renamed Ayodhya, no doubt
because "he was trying to gain prestige for himself by drawing on the
tradition of the Suryavanshi kings, a line to which Rama is said to
have belonged".
It is agreed that habitation in Ayodhya continued after the NBP
period into the end of the Gupta period; between the 6th and the 11th
centuries, Ayodhya appears to have been abandoned. Following the
first round of excavations, in 1975, B.B. Lal, who had just retired
as Director-General of the ASI, initiated a project on the
archaeology of the 'Ramayana sites'. In the reports that he submitted
to the ASI in 1976-77 and 1979-80, he acknowledged this "break in
occupation", and the rehabilitation of the disputed site "around the
11th century AD".
Lal not only made no mention of any pillar-bases, he went so far as
to say that though "several later-medieval brick-and-kankar lime
floors [had] been met with", "the entire late period was devoid of
any special interest". Is not the 'late period' the very time when
the temple is supposed to have been demolished? Notwithstanding these
reports, Lal was much later, towards the end of 1990, to submit that
certain brick bases he had excavated in the Seventies were meant to
support pillars and thus suggested "the existence of a temple-like
structure in the south of the Babri masjid".
B.B. Lal's extraordinary delay in making known his 'findings',
particularly when they contradict the earlier published results, has,
of course, been questioned, but that is the least of the objections
that have been raised by historians and archaeologists opposed to the
Ramjanmabhoomi movement. Turning first to the carvings on the
pillars, it has been argued that they are far from offering any
irrefutable association with Vaishnavism: they lack the emblems
through which Vishnu is known - the shankha (conch shell), chakra
(wheel), gada (mace) and padma (lotus). The motifs on the pillars
suggest varying dates between the 9th and the 11th centuries; to be
more precise, "eight of them are dissimilar, the pattern of carvings
or decorative sculptures being quite different from each other",
while the remaining four, though carrying similar motifs, "do not
necessarily occur in a particular grouping".
The predominant motifs are floral, conventionalised or stylised
lotuses, and the female figure. All these motifs, while common to
much 'Hindu' art, are also found in early Buddhist art originating
from places like Sanchi and Bharhut, as well as in Jain and Shaivite
architecture. As one scholar has argued, "The only pillar (doorjamb?)
which has anything that may be called a religious motif is the one
found in the 'Sita-ki-Rasoi' (Sita's Kitchen), a structure that stood
apart from the Babri masjid though in the same complex. "On its lower
part, it has a figure with a trishula in its left hand", but the
trishula most emphatically suggests a Shaivite association, "for no
Vaishnava dvarapala [door keeper] can be and has ever been shown with
the trishula as an attribute".
The pillars themselves, Lal and his supporters have claimed, were
sustained by pillar bases that he is said to have excavated. R.S.
Sharma and his colleagues observe that the site notebook that Lal as
a professional archaeologist would have had to keep, as well as the
register of antiquities connected with the Ayodhya excavations, have
not been made available to other archaeologists. Nor has a full
report of Lal's supposed findings, which should have followed the
preliminary report, been published....
....But let us suppose that Lal did excavate some pillar bases, and
let us hear the voice of his supporters first. Is there agreement
that the black pillars and the bases said to support them are
structurally akin, and that both can be dated to the 11th century?
This is certainly not the considered opinion of many professional
archaeologists.
Thus D. Mandal, in his monograph Ayodhya: Archaeology After
Demolition, argues in considerable detail that it is "highly probable
that the so-called pillar bases are actually the remnant portions of
walls of different structural phases". He concurs with Sharma et al
that the so-called pillar bases would have been unable to sustain the
"vertical load of large-sized stone pillars", which must be construed
as being decorative rather than load-bearing pillars. In short, in
Mandal's view, "the contention that a 'pillared building' was raised
in the 11th century AD is absolutely baseless".
Similarly, Mandal makes short shrift of alleged "new archaeological
discoveries" at the Babri masjid site of a 'hoard' of sculptures and
other stone fragments bearing figures of Vishnu's incarnations, on
the basis of which a team of eight archaeologists and historians were
able to claim that their finds "prove that there did exist at this
very site a magnificent temple, from at least the 11th century, which
was destroyed to build a mosque-like structure over the debris of the
temple in the 16th century".
A panel depicting incarnations of Vishnu did not, as Mandal notes,
appear in the 'dig photo'; other objects, such as an image of
Shiva-Parvati, "were found some distance away", and in general the
"stratigraphic position and locus of discovery" of various 'finds'
have not been specified. From the point of view of an archaeologist
with professional training, "archaeological finds acquire the status
of evidence when situated in their context", and 'context' in
archaeology is "the concerned stratigraphy, the sequence of soil
deposits and the cultural material that is found in the various
deposits".
Mandal made then the pointed observation that "not a single
photograph showing the sequential stages of the unearthing of the
pieces of the 'hoard' has so far been published", and this neglect of
stratigraphy marred the entire digging operation. The haphazard
manner in which the digging was conducted did not merely ignore the
stratigraphy of the site, in relation to which both the structural
remains and the objects found there must be assessed, but in fact
destroyed the stratigraphic evidence....
....In the case of Ayodhya, it has been noted by more than one
archaeologist and historian that excavations at Ayodhya have yielded
Islamic glazed ware pottery pieces; all these pieces 'are securely
dated', in the words ironically of one of the protagonists of the
Ramjanmabhoomi movement, to a period between the 13th and 15th
centuries, and on stylistic and comparative grounds, that is in
relation to West Asian pieces, they are determined to be Islamic in
origin. The archaeological evidence, in other words, indicates not a
temple but rather the distinct possibility "of a Muslim settlement"
at or in the proximity of the mosque "from the 13th century onwards".
It is the contention, then, of credentialled critics that the entire
archaeological enterprise to demonstrate the existence of a temple,
more particularly an 11th century Vaishnava shrine dedicated to Rama,
at the Babri masjid site has been marked by scholarly incompetence
and ignorance, exceedingly questionable motives, violation of
professional ethical codes, and even downright dishonesty. Such work
cannot withstand professional scrutiny.
This is an edited extract from The History of History (OUP). The
writer is Associate Professor of History, University of California,
Los Angeles. This article was written before the latest ASI report
was submitted to the Allahabad High Court on August 25.
_____
[4.]
SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House
Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001 [India]
Tel-23711276/ 23351424
e-mail: sahmat at vsnl.com
26.8.2003
ASI REPORT ON AYODHYA
PRESS CONFERENCE BY HISTORIANS
Dear Friend,
In order to analyse the findings of the
archaeological
survey held by the ASI a Press Conference is being
held on Friday, 29th August, 2003 at 3.00 pm. at the
Speakers Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg. New
Delhi. Prof. Irfan Habib, Prof. Suraj Bhan and Dr.
Supriya Verma will elaborate how the conclusions
reached by the ASI report are unwarranted and cannot
be sustained on the basis of the actual findings as
recorded by the ASI itself.
Please make it convenient to attend.
Rajen Prasad
SAHMAT
_____
[5.]
The Hindu [India], Aug 19, 2003 | Book Review
The displaced people
THE ELSEWHERE PEOPLE - Crossborder Migration, Refugee Protection, and
State Response: Omprakash Mishra and Anindyo Majumdar; Lancer's
Books, P.O. Box No. 4236, New Delhi-110048.
http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/br/2003/08/19/stories/2003081900210300.htm
______
[6.]
Date: 23 Aug 2003 09:10:41 -0000
From: nafisa ali sodhi
Subject: My letter to the PRESIDENT OF INDIA
August 23, 2003
Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Hon’ble
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi [India]
Respected Sir,
I would like to bring to your attention with a heavy heart that on
the eve of Independence Day, which coincided with your inspiring
speech. I clearly remember the visionary lines when you highlighted
the fact that no political party should use religion as an instrument
or weapon. The Gujarat Government with malafide intention, through
the police lodged a false FIR against me. The FIR says that I was
inciting communal tension in the state of Gujarat. In my recent
visit to Gujarat, I spoke about healing, and the importance of both
communities working together for the economic well being of Gujarat.
I spoke about the importance of recording facts and that justice
should take its course. I am shocked to read in the Indian Express of
16th August, 2003, the points stated in the FIR and I appeal to you
to look into this issue I read with anguish the text of Gujarat Chief
Minister's letter to you published in the 'Indian Express' Newspaper
dated 6th August.
I have just been on tour to Gujarat. We went on a field visit to the
riot affected areas namely Mai Fatesha, Shahpur, Manvi Chowrah,
Bapunagar- Gomtipur, Godhra and Vadodara. Gujarat is a progressive
state and has been a pride of our national economy. I remember during
the earthquake when I was doing relief work in Kutch, how the world
came together to build the earthquake ravaged Gujarat and when the
riots happened due to the communal divide we had Indians taking
sides. We need to work to humanize this issue as we are the
custodians to India’s future. Sir, what happened in Godhra is a blot
for our nation and the handful of those who planned and carried out
the burning of innocent people in Sabramati Coach S-6 need to be
penalized and severely punished. Acts of terror that affect the
common citizens through manipulative powers need to be acted upon.
The same justice should be meted out to the rioters who destroyed
household and raped, chopped, hacked, burned and devastated innocent
lives. Eighteen months have passed and injustice continues, the riots
displaced over 200,000 Muslims and till date the Rupees Fifty
Thousand compensation promised to the families which lost their homes
have not been given to them. There is partisan treatment which is a
huge injustice in the world’s largest democracy. I would like to
point out some of the cases in Gujarat. Though the Godhra train
carnage has been handed over to the CBI, the carnage cases under the
‘Fast Track Court’ which was set up with the active support of the
Central Law Minister, have shown procedural flaws:
Godhra Train Carnage: 59 dead 60 arrested,
10 out on bail (POTA invoked)
Naroda Patiya: 91 dead, 54
arrested, 51 out on bail
Gulbarg Society: 42 dead, 28
arrested, 21out on bail
Sardarpura: 38 dead, 32
arrested, all out on bail
At the various meetings I had with the survivors of the riots,
including all the families of those who are languishing in jails,
under POTA, just because they are Muslims was heartbreaking for me as
an Indian. I found it so hard to explain the clauses under POTA to
the voiceless when they asked me why their families are not being
released. They did not even have money to visit their family members
in jail which I found heart wrenching.
I do not agree with Mr. Narendra Modi where he calls NGOs and
activists as being vested interests who are trying to obstruct the
path of progress. These are not stray incidents and highlighting them
will not slow the pace of development. It is in Narendra Modi's words
"such self appointed and so called champions of human rights groups
do not even hesitate to point fingers, with the help of sections of
media and institutions like the judiciary in the state" He raises
serious doubts about the intentions of those who will not remain
silent when they want accountability from a constitutionally elected
democratic government. While the civil liberties and human rights’
school of thought does acknowledge the difficulty in punishing mob
violence, the fact that legal system does not function in isolation
is also a major criterion for the procedural diligence or the lack of
same that take place in a particular case. As Supreme Court advocate
Kapil Sibal aptly puts it, "A credible legal system requires upright
investigators, independent public prosecutors, and judges of
impeccable integrity who inspire confidence. Sensitive
investigations, especially in cases of mob violence, with political
overtones, are often guided by considerations other than upholding
the rule of law. Investigators tailor made with predetermined
objectives are handpicked by the government. Investigators, obliged
by law to prosecute the accused, proceed instead to ensure their
acquittal. The victim of crime also becomes a victim at the hands of
the investigator."
I was alarmed with the statistics of the 120 witnesses listed in the
Best Bakery Trial by the investigating authorities. Sir, did you know
that one third never deposed. Of the 73 who did depose more than
half, 41 turned hostile, and of the 32 who stuck to their earlier
statements during deposition 6 were doctors from Sayaji Rao hospital
who did the post mortem and 26 were police officials. According to
the FIR lodged by the police, the police falsely stated that the
victims were burned in their sleep. This was not the statement given
by Zahira Shiekh who was witness to the burning. This is not about
group clashes that the Chief Minster Mr. Narendra Modi speaks about.
The fact is that in every investigation done such as Human Rights
Watch brought out by USA, Amnesty Report, European Union Report,
Dutch Government Report, Our Own National Human Rights Commission and
Independent fact finding Committees and Secular Democratic Human
Rights Activists have all found that the State Machinery was
responsible for the continuing injustice. When the fact of the Best
Bakery verdict was announced in a resounding 'Not Guilty' in the most
gruesome case of post Godhra carnage in which 14 people were burned
in a bakery in Vadodara on 1 March 2002 the judgment by a 'Fast Track
Court' in Vadodara declared the acquittal of all the 21 accused on 27
June, 2003 after 44 days of trial. It is when this injustice was
announced that an appeal was made to you and the National Human
Rights Commission.
Ironically one of the grounds in the FIR lodged against me is that I
advocated the removal of the Best Bakery Case from Gujarat which
according to the FIR amounts to an offence u/s 153A. The ground
appears to proceed on the basis that I exhorted the youth to neither
be like Osama Bin Laden or Narendra Modi. This appears to be the only
other ground on which an FIR u/s 153A has been lodged against me.
While I believe that asking the youth not to be extremist in views
will be fully in keeping with the objective of section 15A. It is the
Fundamental right of every citizen for a fair, transparent and
impartial trial guaranteed by the Constitution of India and this is
where National Human Rights Commission gets its locus of inquiry
from. In my opinion the Constitution should be amended to incorporate
a new clause where a judicial inquiry to protect the rights of the
common citizen and allows for a judicial probe to be conducted when
the State Government is partisan to the breakdown of State Machinery.
Accountability and the fear of legal prosecution will protect the
fundamental rights of every citizen. Does not the common citizen
deserve justice to inspire confidence?
The State chooses not to recognize the guilt of the accused and the
judge is made a helpless spectator watching witness after witness
turning hostile. If the past is any indicator, then the present mess
is only to be expected and unless something drastic is done in the
meanwhile and that too seems remote, then one need not be a crystal
gazer to predict the future where minorities become targets. Sir, as
the Head of the State, President of our Nation, I have total faith in
you. I humbly appeal to you to address all those who are tarnishing
the image of our country and weakening our democratic rights. As a
Muslim, I worry for my safety and justice which can be manipulated as
sadly cases in Gujarat have shown to be. This coming on the eve of
independence has reminded me, as a Muslim in Gujarat, I do not have
the freedom of speech and freedom of press is also under threat as
the Gujarat Govt. has lodged an FIR against Indian Express and
Gujarat Daily 'Divya Bhaskar'. They have accused me of creating
communal tension when I went on a healing mission to unite both
communities in a very progressive, economically strong state. A case
has also been registered against Habib Tanveer for his play 'Ponga
Pandit' that criticizes the riot and Mr. Narendra Modi.
Sir, I am sad and to forgive and forget is important, but we are
custodians of the future and we must record history in all honesty.
Thanking you.
Yours sincerely,
Nafisa Ali (Social Activist)
A Concerned Indian Citizen
Address: A-2 Greater Kailash -I
New Delhi -48
Ph: 9810009461/ 26483427
_____
[7.]
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:40:44 +0530
From: Harsh Mander
Subject: Nafisa Ali and the Government of Gujarat
Dear friends,
On the event of Independence Day, the Government of Gujarat slapped
charges of inciting communal hatred (under Section 153 A of the IPC) on
social worker and senior film actress Nafisa Ali. Among the co-accused
named by the state government for abetment of her alleged offence were
two daily newspapers, Indian Express and Divya Bhaskar.
Nafisa Ali had been invited by ActionAid India for a goodwill visit to
Gujarat from 2-4 August, 2003. She went there as a goodwill ambassador
of ActionAid India, and visited Godhra, Vadodara and Ahmedabad to spread
the messages of peace and justice.
Apart from the survivors of the carnage, she met a wide range of college
students, business professionals, social workers, intellectuals and with
journalists as well. She also addressed gathering at the Ahmedabad
Management Association, Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad and
Centre for Development Communication.
In her lectures and interactions, she expressed her deep love and regard
for Gujarat, and enormous anguish and concern at the carnage and its
aftermath. She continuously emphasised the imperative to rebuild
communal harmony and trust, to defend the cultural diversity which makes
Indian civilization so rich, and to secure justice for the survivors of
the carnage.
She also made some strong comments against Chief Minister Narendra
Modi. She is quoted in the Indian Express of 5 August, 2003 to have
stated "Just like the people of Hitler's country are ashamed of him,
people will be of Modi too. Men can be good or bad, you cannot blame an
entire religion as good or bad. This isn't justice in a democracy-the
State and Centre are trying to polarize the country. Its amazing how
Narendra Modi can say that it's Pakistan behind it all. Indeed what
Britishers couldn’t do Modi has done. He's divided people on the basis
of communalism."
The government of Gujarat filed 2 FIRs against Ms Ali as prime accused
on 14th August, 2003, and the reporter and editor of Indian Express and
editor and publisher of the Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar for reporting.
The allegation against Ms. Ali was that she was promoting enmity between
different groups and acting prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and
thereby was culpable under Section 153-A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It is absurd to charge Ms. Ali of fomenting communal hatred. On the
contrary, she was courageously raising her voice for justice, pluralism,
harmony and peace.
It is deeply ominous for the survival of democracy that her words of
healing and of democratic dissent, that can by no stretch of imagination
be described as communal or inflammatory, have invited the wrath of the
state government, even as those guilty of leading mobs for slaughter,
rape and plunder walk free, and leaders like Dr. Praveen Togadia
continue to openly incite communal hatred in distant corners of the
country.
In the words of Martin Luther King Jr, there are moments in history when
silence is betrayal. The continuing brazen subversion of justice with
impunity by the state in Gujarat makes this one such moment in our
shared history.
With warm regards,
Harsh [Mandar]
[Director, ActionAid, India]
_____
[8.]
The Asian Age [India] , August 26, 2003
Chennai police bans play based on Gujarat riots
- By Sanjoy Bhadra
Kolkata, Aug. 25: Thought police has now targeted even Gandhian
thoughts. The staging of a play which was inspired by the Gandhian
philosophy of ahimsa was banned by the Tamil Nadu government.
Sanlap Kolkata, a city-based theatre group which went to Chennai to
stage its production was denied permission by the Chennai police.
Sanlap was scheduled to stage its recent production, Hey Ram, which
is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. However, the group was
forced to abandon its programme and stage another eight-year-old
production, Phire Dhekha (Looking Back), due to the interference of
the police.
Writer-director of Hey Ram, Kuntal Mukherjee said: "Since we had to
stage a play, we were left with no option but to stage an old play."
The South Madras Cultural Association had invited Sanlap Kolkata to
stage its latest production, Hey Ram, in Chennai. The group was asked
to submit a script of the play to the police which would then have
given permission for its staging. The administration in Chennai has
made it mandatory that permission be sought to stage any play. Mr
Mukherjee said: "A few days after the submission of the script, the
organisers informed us that the Chennai police has denied permission
to stage Hey Ram."
Hey Ram, a documentary drama, was staged in Kolkata for the first
time on August 18, 2002. The play created ripples in the theatre
circuit in West Bengal. It was the first play in the state in the
backdrop of the Gujarat riots. The group has already staged more than
50 shows of the play in several places across the country without any
trouble. The principal protagonist of the play is Gandhian professor
who is a staunch believer in his ahimsa. The play shows that shocked
by the murder the professor talks to Mahatma Gandhi in a soliloquy.
_____
[9.]
The Economic and Political Weekly [India] August 16, 2003
Heritage Appropriation: The Patiala Festival
Heritage is a contested arena - a fact brought out during the recent
Patiala heritage week celebrations in Punjab. Patiala's heritage is
evident in its rich tradition in the fine arts, patronised by its
erstwhile ruling family. However, another aspect of its heritage -
the politically oppressive rule by its royal family - has been
entirely glossed over. Sagas of exploitation, however, are still
preserved in folk memories and songs of the peasantry.
Pritam Singh
http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2003&leaf=08&filename=6149&filetype=html
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Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on matters of peace
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