SACW | 4 Sept. 2003

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  |  4 September,  2003

[1.] India: Nuclear escalation
[2.] India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch Compilation # 133
[3.] South Asian labour leaders call upon India - Pakistan to cut 
defence spending. . .
[4.] India: Milking the cow politically (Praful Bidwai)
[5.]  Fast in Faith (Editorial, The Telegraph)
[6.] India - 2 part article by A.G. Noorani on the Ayodhya dispute
[7.] India: on the 4th Gujarat Citizens Conference by Movement for 
Secular Democracy ( Dwarika Nath Rath)
[8.] Call for Submissions: Larzish: Tremors of Revolution, 
International Film Festival of Gender & Sexual Plurality, 17, 18, 
19th October, Bombay 2003

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[1.]


http://www.thehindu.com/2003/09/04/stories/2003090403311000.htm
The Hindu
September 04, 2003
Opinion - Editorials    

NUCLEAR ESCALATION

THE FIRST MEETING of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) has decided 
to develop India's weapons programme further. This will take the 
country another step down the dangerous path of acquiring and 
assembling weapons of mass destruction that will bring greater 
insecurity, not peace, to South Asia. There are many disquieting 
features of this week's meeting of the NCA, which was set up in 
January 2003 as the supreme decision-making body for the development, 
management and authorised use of nuclear weapons. First, the 
formulation of clear principles and rules for the management of a 
nuclear arms programme is necessary to contain the likelihood of 
unauthorised use of these weapons. The creation of a body like the 
NCA, which is to lay down such rules, does not guarantee that 
fail-safe procedures will be in place; but the absence of such 
procedures certainly increases the risk of nuclear brinkmanship going 
out of control. Yet it took the Government almost five years after 
the Pokhran-II tests in May 1998 to establish the NCA and it has 
taken another eight months for the NCA to hold its first meeting. 
Such a casual attitude towards the establishment and working of the 
NCA does not provide public comfort that there are adequate 
safeguards in place for the management of India's nuclear arms.

Secondly, the NCA meeting has revealed that there continue to be many 
major gaps in the systems for control of India's nuclear weapons. An 
appropriate "command-and-control" system that specifies the rules for 
operation and has the necessary technology for management of these 
weapons is an essential element of a nuclear weapons programme. An 
"indication-and-warning" system is also necessary to provide correct 
intelligence and information during a period of military tension. 
Neither system is in place in India. This raises the possibility of a 
breakdown during a crisis in the lines of management of the arsenal, 
with unimaginable consequences for the country. Thirdly, the NCA has 
decided to expand India's delivery system for carrying nuclear bombs. 
If reports in a section of the media are correct, the Government has 
decided to induct a leased nuclear-powered submarine, is considering 
acquisition of new long-range bombers, and is accelerating 
development of the Agni medium-range missiles. All of them will be 
part of India's nuclear triad force. The direction that the delivery 
system programme is taking is not surprising; the composition of the 
triad was suggested in the draft nuclear doctrine formulated in 1999. 
But the confirmation of the shape of the nuclear triad opens the door 
to an extremely expensive and possibly open-ended weapons programme 
that the country can ill afford to carry out.

In the more than five years since India and then Pakistan, in that 
order, declared themselves nuclear weapon states, there has been no 
evidence that the acquisition of nuclear arms has strengthened 
security in South Asia. On the contrary, in the nuclear weapons era 
the two countries have fought one undeclared war (Kargil in 1999) and 
have come close to war on two subsequent occasions, in December 2001 
(following the terrorist attack on Parliament) and in May 2002 (after 
the killings in an army camp near Jammu). On each occasion, there was 
a heated exchange of words on the use of nuclear weapons. This game 
of brinkmanship could have spiralled into a nuclear holocaust in 
South Asia. India and Pakistan have provided proof, if it were 
needed, that the so-called theory of nuclear deterrence does not 
contribute to peace between countries. Yet there is no sign that 
either country is willing to reconsider its decision to become a 
nuclear weapon state.

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[2.]

INDIA PAKISTAN ARMS RACE AND MILITARISATION WATCH  # 133
(4 September 2003)
URL: <>groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/144


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[3.]

Dawn [ Pakistan] 03 September 2003

PAKISTAN, INDIA ASKED TO CUT DEFENCE BUDGET
By Our Reporter

KARACHI, Sept 2: South Asian labour leaders have called upon India 
and Pakistan to drastically cut down their defence expenditure, 
minimize risk of armed conflicts , and settle all their disputes 
through political dialogue and confidence-building measures.
The call has been made in the Karachi declaration adopted by the 
South Asia Labour Conference for Peace at the conclusion of its 
two-day session here on Tuesday. The conference was attended by 
delegates from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan, India urged to give up arms race: Labour for peace conference
KARACHI, Sept 2: 'The Karachi Declaration' adopted at the conclusion 
of the two-day 'South Asian Labour for Peace Conference' on Tuesday 
called upon India and Pakistan to reduce their defence budgets and 
minimise chances of armed conflicts.
It stressed the need for adopting a South Asian charter of labour 
rights as well as a SAARC code of conduct for transnational 
corporations.
The conference, attended by delegates from India, Pakistan, 
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, was organised by the South Asian Labour 
Forum in collaboration with PILER.
The declaration called upon the people and governments of the region 
to press forward for peace and reduction of tension of all kinds by 
initiating a process of demilitarisation and moving towards global 
and regional denuclearisation and elimination of weapons of mass 
destruction.
It also stressed the need for increasing people to people contacts 
through political, economic and cultural events to promote friendship 
and reduce prejudices, making travel facilities friendly and faster.
The declaration said that developments since 1996 had added urgency 
to the need for adopting a South Asian charter of labour rights as 
well as a SAARC code of conduct for transnational corporations based 
on the ILO's Tripartite Declaration. "Labour organisations in the 
region must redouble their efforts towards realising these 
objectives," it added.
Noting the widening gap between workers in the formal sector and the 
informal sector caused by a huge expansion of the latter, it called 
for special efforts by the organised labour community to effectively 
coordinate with workers in the informal sector with a view to 
defending and promoting their fundamental rights.
Proclaiming the right of the people to move freely across the region 
to earn livelihoods through a system of work permits for immigrant 
labour, conference emphasised the need to ensure non-discrimination 
between national and immigrant workers and national legislation for 
special protection of women workers. The declaration also called for 
mobilising labour against all hatred, prejudice and divisions based 
upon ethnicity, race, caste, religion and nationalism.
The declaration, demanding more employment opportunities for women, 
said sexual harassment and exploitation of women at the workplace 
must be stopped and all social laws, customs and practices militating 
against gender equality must be removed. It also demanded elimination 
of child labour from all hazardous occupations that deprived children 
of healthy physical and mental development.
Rejecting contract farming and corporatisation of agriculture, it 
called for equitable land reforms and other measures to make 
agriculture more productive and sustainable.
The conference was of the view that privatisation of large industries 
and withdrawal of the state from social, economic, education, health, 
housing and welfare spheres must be given up to reject the ideology 
that privatisation was more responsive and more efficient than the 
public sector in those fields. The deceleration said the WTO 
perpetuated a subtle and pervasive form of recolonisation through 
economic warfare and sham negotiations.
The conference denounced the so-called poverty reduction strategies 
prepared for South Asia as a perpetuation of the neo-liberal 
programmes of structural adjustment that have already intensified 
mass poverty and foreign debt. It called for a South Asian labour 
commission to implement the Karachi Declaration and prepare an action 
plan for 2004.

o o o

The Hindu [India], September 3, 2003

PAK., INDIA URGED TO GIVE UP ARMS RACE

Islamabad, Sept. 3. (UNI): South Asian labour leaders have called 
upon India and Pakistan to drastically cut down their defence 
expenditure, minimise risk of armed conflicts, and settle all 
disputes through political dialogue and confidence-building measures.

The call has been made in the 'Karachi Declaration' adopted by the 
South Asia Labour Conference for Peace at the conclusion of its 
two-day session in Karachi yesterday, Pakistan newspaper Dawn 
reported today.

The conference was attended by delegates from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The declaration stressed the need for adopting a South Asian charter 
of labour rights as well as a SAARC code of conduct for transnational 
corporations.

It called upon the people and governments of the region to press 
forward for peace and reduction of tension of all kinds by initiating 
a process of demilitarisation and moving towards global and regional 
denuclearisation and elimination of weapons of mass destruction.

It also stressed the need for increasing people to people contacts 
through political, economic and cultural events to promote friendship 
and reduce prejudices, making travel facilities friendly and faster.

The declaration said developments since 1996 had added urgency to the 
need for adopting a South Asian charter of labour rights as well as a 
SAARC code of conduct for transnational corporations based on the 
ILO's Tripartite Declaration.

"Labour organisations in the region must redouble their efforts 
towards realising these objectives," it added.

o o o 

The New International [ Pakistan]
SOUTH ASIA LABOUR FORUM CONDEMNS GLOBALISATION

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Speakers at the concluding session of the two-day 'Labour 
for Peace Conference' jointly organised by the South Asian Labour 
Forum, PILER, and other organisations, condemned the policy of 
globalisation noting it had increased inequality in the South Asian 
Region.

Dr Aly Ercelawn presented his paper on child labour, bonded labour 
and the workers of the informal sector.

Suneet Chopra said that the region's vast majority of the working 
population was in the unorganised informal sector. He maintained that 
the land belonging to the government was the land of the peasantry 
and it should be distributed among them.

Karamat Ali, Dr Saba Gul Khattak and Jaya Shrivastave opined that it 
was not surprising that the past few years had witnessed a steady 
curtailment of workers' rights through legislation or other means 
throughout the region and real wages had declined considerably during 
this period. Speakers stressed that the trade unions in South Asia 
should take up the issue of workers of informal sector. The speakers 
noted that generally the trade unions in South Asia had been 
concentrating almost exclusively on organising permanent workers in 
the large-scale industries and service sectors.
[...]

_____


[4.]

The News International [Pakistan] September 04, 2004

MILKING THE COW POLITICALLY

Praful Bidwai

The Bharatiya Janata Party has so little to offer to the Indian 
public by way of substantive policies and programmes that it 
invariably falls back upon issues of identity and the politics of 
symbols and gestures. The temptation to exploit identity symbols 
grows within the BJP in the same proportion as its popular appeal, 
dependent upon its (generally poor) performance in government, 
declines.

Nothing highlights this better than the BJP's raking up of the 
Ayodhya temple issue from time to time - against its agreement with 
its own allies not to do so. But equally, if not even more gross, is 
its playing politics with the icon of the Holy Cow by demanding a 
blanket ban on cow-slaughter. This is an old agenda, one that led to 
the storming of India's Parliament House by fanatical sadhus way back 
in the mid-1960s. The party has again raised this issue by moving a 
Bill in Parliament.

Reassuringly, the BJP's secular allies strongly opposed the Bill and 
forced it to put it on hold. But its very drafting evoked defensive 
reactions, including from the Congress party, and from some Muslim 
intellectuals who argue that Muslims shouldn't oppose a cow-slaughter 
ban because none of their holy scriptures says they ought to eat 
beef. It is not a religious issue.

For the BJP, beef-eating is a religious issue. But it may be totally 
mistaken to believe that most Hindus will support the 
anti-cow-slaughter Bill. By pushing it, however, it will have 
inflicted enormous damage upon Indian society and politics.

Banning the slaughter of cows will violate two fundamental rights at 
the heart of India's Constitution - the freedom to live and act (and 
eat) as one wishes (provided that doesn't infringe other people's 
rights), and the right to "carry on any occupation, trade or 
business". This violation is all the more egregious because it 
panders to a particular group in India's multi-cultural, 
multi-religious society - under the false pretext of respecting the 
"religious sentiments" of a community.

To start with, a cow-slaughter ban will impose a heavy economic 
burden on society equivalent to more than half the grand total India 
annually spends on primary education in all schools put together. If 
the 10 million cows slaughtered each year are to be kept alive for 
only five years (that is, 50 million for one year), they will need as 
much additional pastureland as India currently has. If a paltry Rs 10 
is spent on each animal daily, that will annually cost over Rs 18,000 
crores! India's total primary education spending is Rs 35,00 crores.

Keeping economically useless, ailing, old cattle forcibly alive will 
mount further pressure on land and people. Worse, the Bill imposes a 
blanket ban on killing the cow and also its "progeny - including 
bulls. This will compel farmers to keep alive a class of useless 
animals, resulting in higher milk prices. There will be the 
additional burden of over $1 billion from lost exports of leather and 
meat products, mainly beef. Besides, at least 15 million people 
associated with the bovine-livestock economy, from trade in animals 
to leather-making, and trading in bones, will lose their livelihoods. 
This means an annual value-addition loss of Rs 15,000 crores.

It is doubtful if either the Hindus as a whole, or those who own 
cattle, want cow-slaughter banned. Many, but not all, Hindus believe 
the cow is sacred in some sense. But that's not reflected in the way 
it's treated. A look at the emaciated, half-starved, cows that roam 
India's streets foraging for food and obstructing traffic should 
convince the sceptic. Even more brutal is the treatment of bullocks, 
who are mercilessly beaten to make them work beyond their capacity.

Most Hindus have the farmer's attitude to cattle. They sell them to 
the butcher once their useful life is exhausted. The vast majority of 
India's cattle-owners are Hindus. So the cow-slaughter issue is 
related to intra-Hindu politics. Cattle-owners have even less 
patience with the male calves of exotic breeds of cows (which cannot 
serve as draught animals). They are butchered young.

Finally, it's wrong to claim that Hindus don't eat beef, and their 
principal scriptures prohibit its consumption. Numerous Hindu 
communities, especially the low castes and Dalits, regularly consume 
beef, as do India's 180 million non-Hindus.

For instance, in Kerala, beef accounts for 40 percent of all meat, 
and is consumed by four-fifths of the people. They include 72 Hindu 
communities. In India, beef is at least twice cheaper than lamb or 
chicken. It is the poor's preferred source of first-class protein. 
Absence of beef will raise their food bill.

Surveys of butchers in different states show that three-fourths of 
all beef is consumed by non-Muslims. India's beef production has been 
rising at 7 percent a year, compared to 4 to 5 percent for mutton and 
chicken.

The proposed law is open to objection on two other grounds. It 
originates in the mistaken belief that cow-slaughter was "brought" to 
India by "invading" Muslims. But eminent Indian and European 
historians have shown, citing contemporary accounts, that beef-eating 
was integral to the dietary customs of ancient India. Animal 
sacrifice, including the killing of cows, is prescribed in many 
Indian texts, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Dharmashastras 
and other scriptures.

In no major scripture, says Professor D N Jha, of Delhi University 
and author of "The Myth of the Holy Cow", "is killing a cow described 
as a major or grave sin, unlike drinking liquor or killing a 
Brahmin... It is only in the 19th century that the demand for banning 
cow-slaughter emerged as a tool of mass political mobilisation by 
right-wing Hindu communalists". Jha's book, released by a small 
Indian publisher, was banned in 2001. When the ban was lifted, no 
Indian publisher would print it. He had to get it published in 
Britain.

The Bill is utterly hypocritical in that it bans cow-slaughter on 
animal rights grounds. If the real objective is to prevent cruelty to 
animals, then why single out the cow when hundreds of other animals 
are maltreated? Indian society is not particularly caring of animals. 
Most cows consume rotten vegetables, meat, and above all, an enormous 
amount of plastic bags from garbage-bins. Autopsies turn up literally 
hundreds of plastic bags in each animal's stomach.

Many states have angrily protested against the Bill, which puts a 
state-subject into a common ("Concurrent") federal-state list. For 
instance, Meghalaya's chief minister says: "A particular diet may be 
poison to one community, but food for another, as in the case of the 
Northeast's hill people whose main diet is beef." Mizoram's chief 
minister argues: "If the [Bill] is passed, it could set the ball 
rolling for efforts to ban the slaughter of pigs. But both beef and 
pork are part of our food habits".

Even Andhra Pradesh is against banning cow-slaughter. Some 3.5 
million Andhras are dependent on it. Besides, India's two most 
mechanised slaughter-houses, including Al-Kabeer, are located in 
Andhra. Al-Kabeer, a big beef exporter, is owned by a Hindu!

The BJP has manufactured a Hindu "tradition", which it is trying to 
ram down the throats of all Indians. This is pure, dangerous 
majoritarianism. It sets a test for India's secularism: can it resist 
the Hindu-communal onslaught?


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[5.]

The Telegraph [India] September 04, 2003   |  Editorial

FAST IN FAITH

A secular state of any maturity does not have a judiciary repeatedly 
ruling on matters associated with religion. The number of cases, from 
Ayodhya to cow slaughter, from the Best Bakery massacre to the right 
to conversion, that the higher courts are now dealing with is an 
alarming indicator of a change in India's secular atmosphere. The 
debate on the bringing of a uniform civil code is a symptom of the 
complicated relationship between civil society and religion-based 
communities in India, a relationship that is one outcome of the 
country's recent history and the twist that has been given to 
politics by the rise of Hindutva and fragmented vote banks. It has 
been left to the Supreme Court to rule that conversion is not a 
fundamental right. In other words, the freedom to propagate a 
religion does not imply the freedom to convert others. What is being 
condemned is inducement, force or "fraud". Common sense would have 
been adequate for this conclusion. But these are not normal times. 
The suspicion between communities, repeated violence, the focus on 
conversion as an incursion of a "foreign" faith, the ridiculous 
invention of "reconversions" by the Hindutva parties have all made 
conversion an issue big enough to be brought up in court.

The Supreme Court ruling was made in order to dismiss a petition 
challenging an Orissa law requiring police verification of all 
religious conversions. The court has said that regarding the issue of 
converting others, the government can impose some restrictions 
keeping in view public order. While converting others certainly 
cannot be a fundamental right - such an expectation smacks of a 
religious state - an equal freedom of conscience for all would allow 
an individual to opt for another religion of his own free will. 
Police verification for the sake of "public order" would imply an 
excessive presence of the state in a private matter and in a 
non-criminal sphere. Conversions by force, inducement, or fraud would 
doubtless be a grave offence. But it is not clear what margin is 
being left for voluntary change of faith undertaken without any of 
these driving impulses, or even without the desire to take advantage 
of different marriage or property laws. There is no reason to believe 
that such conversions do not happen. The focus on religion and the 
association of freedom with religion have the negative effect of 
narrowing down the whole concept of the freedom of conscience. 
Perhaps that is the most dangerous outcome of compelling the courts 
to consider these questions. A religion-centred consciousness in 
India still has the potential to undermine the secular conscience.


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[6.]

The Hindustan Times [India], September 3, 2003
[Part 1.] Conspiracy praxis  by A.G. Noorani
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/030903/detIDE01.shtml


The Hindustan Times [India], September 4, 2003
[Part 2.] Demolition men  by  AG Noorani
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/040903/detPLA01.shtml


o o o

[Related matter: Slimy Kalyan Singh: Saving his ass] Nailed down finally?
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/040903/detEDI01.shtml


____


[7.]

Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 01:07:17 +0530

CALL OF THE HOUR
ON THE OCCASION OF FOURTH. CITIZENS’ GUJARAT STATE CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY
MOVEMENT FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY
A PERSONAL NOTE from - Dwarika Nath Rath

The Background:

  We are going to hold 4th.Citizens’ State Conference organized by 
Movement for Secular Democracy (MSD) on 6th September 2003. The 
conference is going to be held in the background of Best Bakery case, 
hearing of Nanavati commission, Supreme Court’s recommendation on 
UCC, issues centering round of Ayodhya, distribution of Trishuls, 
issue of Bhojshla, serial bomb blasts in Bombay, indiscriminate use 
of POTA against the minorities, Supreme court’s opinion on Conversion 
and more so ensuing Assembly election in many States and the country 
wide Parliamentary Election Advani’s plea for majority in Lok-Sabha 
for Ram Mandir Legislation, and the ups and down of Indo-Pak 
relationship. As days are passing issues will be also piled up.

It is a matter of fact that the post-carnage situation in Gujarat 
does not experience any REMOARSE. Rather it has a deep knee impact 
not only on socio-cultural aspect of life but also on political, 
economic aspects of State and People. The attempt of BJP Government 
has always been to communalize the entire administration and 
influence the judiciary but also to communalize the entire society. 
It is paying lip service to our Constitution to crush the very 
fabrics of the Constitution. The Modi’s tactics is to legitimize all 
the acts of his government and side by side trample all legitimate 
rights, gag the voice of the victims, denigrate Constitutional 
provisions and Constitutional bodies thereby squeezing whatever 
breathing space available for social justice and destroy rule of law 
and behave as defacto extra constitutional power.

Infact, in a regimented atmosphere people are scared to speak out 
freely. The incidents during the disposals of Nanavati commission’s 
hearing are enough to elucidate it. Witnesses’ turning hostile in 
Best bakery case is the mirror of today’s Gujarat.

The atmosphere of tolerance and generousness, compassion and 
humanitarian feelings once the qualities of the people of Gujarat are 
declining. Rhetoric of hate campaign is very common,

Governance?

The Gujarat government has failed in all fronts to deliver goods to 
the people. The government’s utter failure in earthquake area brought 
Modi in Keshubhai’s place. Narendra Modi’s failure to tackle drought 
as well as earthquake led him to divert the mind of the people from 
real issue to ethnic cleansing. The question of earthquake is still 
pending and Mr.Modi’s government failure to tackle the drought and 
flood situation shows playing the communal card and keep the debate 
of minority bashing as an ongoing process to further communalise the 
society.

  Taking the advantage of absence of powerful democratic movements and 
a fragmented, amorphous society, the BJP Govt. is able to take all 
the anti-people measures one after another. But it is a matter of 
satisfaction that in spite of all this, there is an echo of people’s 
movement, echo of student’s movement and the peasants, teachers, 
lawyers throughout the state.

Communalism, national jingoism, parochialism

Any criticism of Mr. Modi or its government is clubbed as a 
conspiracy. Apparent freedom of media is not tolerated and is subject 
to severe criticism. A blending of communalism with parochialism, 
national jingoism, patriotism with commercialization and even 
consumerism is practiced nakedly. The pogrom of ethnic cleansing 
paved the path of BJP government’s to violate all types of human, 
civil liberties rights. Those who defended these rights are branded 
as anti-Hindu, anti-Gujarat and anti-India. The Gujarat government 
has made a habit of criticizing NHRC like body and scheming to use 
various means to malign its credibility. Though the BJP Govt. was 
forced to appeal to Gujarat High court on Best Bakery but true to 
their practice of mobocracy the BJP leaders along with the ministers 
went to street against NHRC on D.8-8-03 as Kanun Bachao.

Saffronisation and liberalization

We know that riots, fratricidal war benefits the ruling elites, 
dividing the people – a ploy that was used by the British in India. 
The absence of Social Reform Movement, on-separation of State from 
religion has become counter productive. Riots destroy the very 
democratic atmosphere of society and fragment the society to the 
core. This very act disintegrates the society to the advantage of 
ruling elites.

  So also we are experiencing the impact of globalisation and 
liberalisation – a ploy to bid good-bye to Welfare State and a 
license to ignore people and suppress their voice of protest, fuel 
ethnic violence and dis stabilise the society giving enormous free 
hand to the ruling class to exploit the people On one hand the BJP 
Govt. does not hesitate to surrender to the dictates of WB, ADB, WTO 
or any multinational or favors any corporate houses at the cost of 
people’s miseries and on other hand behaves like despotic dictator 
not only to push the minorities to the wall but also to crush the 
middle class and poor people to ruination. So pushing the minorities 
to the wall and ruining the people is going hand in hand.

  Universities, educational establishment are on the way of 
saffronisation. Persons are so selected or nominated to carry forward 
the agenda of saffronisation and also liberalization. So we 
experience saffronisation and liberalization are going together.

Even the long tradition of India to stand against imperialism is 
thrown away to appease the U.S. imperialist to get U.S. sanction as a 
super-power in South-East Asia. The Growing relationship with Israel 
and the visit of Mr. Sharon the P.M. of Israel will further 
accelerate its complicity with the Imperialist and Zionists forces.

  Indo-Pak peace is the general desire of the people of both the 
countries. The normalization of the relation will be boon to both the 
countries But the peace maneuvers is followed by war hysteria by both 
the governments thereby helping to strengthen the fundamentalist 
forces and to fan up of communal and patriotic raw passion of the 
people.

  Narendra Modi has written a letter to the President of India to get 
details of results of riot trials in the past. Narendra Modi is out 
to open the Pandora’s box to legitimize his acts. No doubt we must 
have a sense of history to avoid mistakes and carry the society for 
better civilization. So the purpose of studying history is to learn 
from history. But citing instances from here and there to take 
revenge and legitimize all it’s acts of ethnic cleansing and minority 
bashing as the justifiable outcome of history is highly deplorable 
which alone can be compared with the Hitler’s logic of bringing 
Fascism in Germany?

Now Mr. Modi has started hijacking the militant tradition of Indian 
Freedom struggle. This act of piracy is nakedly and audaciously 
exhibited in the Veeranjali Yatra of Revolutionary Shyamji Krishna 
Verma.

It is graduating to mastermind to use all the available avenues, 
quarter starting from the House of Parliament, Judiciary to 
Administration and Media to mislead the Nation. Most of the assertive 
deliberations, speeches or the writings of these leaders lack any sum 
and substance except the food for provocation against the minority. 
These leaders care least about the historical facts or truth, because 
their purpose of utterances are made for cheap public consumption, 
cultivate falsification to provoke, incite the people with false 
assertion. Their message to the minority is loud and clear, i.e. buy 
peace or face the consequences.

   But thanks to the concerned - democratic minded people of the 
country who have been raising voice in every possible way to rope the 
Modi and its government. As a result of which the government has to 
abide by minimum obligation to our Constitutional provision with much 
opposition and reluctance. The Center and Gujarat state connivance to 
communalize the entire state, society and judiciary is stiffening the 
atmosphere.

An Introspection

Under these circumstances introspection of the secular forces is very 
important.

It is alarming that a sort of soft Hinudtva is making slow inroads in 
most of the minds there is an undertone that Muslims themselves are 
responsible for their plight.  Muslims should be practical, behave 
themselves and buy peace with the Hindu neighbors. The Muslims elders 
should prevail upon their own community to shun terrorism.etc, etc. 
What an irony?  When the Muslims are pushed to the wall and the 
victims are denied justice, this impact of soft Hinduta is shocking 
and alarming. It is like putting salt in their unhealed wounds. No 
one can deny the importance of social reform in Muslim community. The 
social reform is equally important for Hindu community and other 
religions too. But definitely it is not the proper time to preach the 
insulted and the humiliated Muslim community. It is the time to win 
their confidence.

We know we are going through a very difficult phase. The sangha 
parivar is closely united now though the secular and democratic 
forces are not divided but not closely united. Not that all are not 
busy in their secular pursuits or agendas but without proper 
co-ordination. The post carnage has placed us to full fill our 
historical task to weed out fascism, which is only possible in our 
united action. We have to be active in legal fronts, social, 
cultural, educational fronts, political fronts etc. And all these 
fronts should act in mutual co-ordination. Both the short term as 
well as the long-term activities has to be integrated in fine-tuning. 
The major focus of our activities will be Gujarat. The International 
and the National actions is very important to defeat the Sangha 
Parivar’s Propaganda, create International and National pressure. 
Responses from international community are important too. But 
Co-ordination between local effort with the National as well as the 
International effort is mostly desired. All the efforts in National 
and international levels must strengthen and conducive to the efforts 
in Gujarat.

We must remember now the Sangha Parivar out to consolidate its gains 
from the Carnage. Soon after the consolidation it will envisage a 
newer way of attack.

Under these circumstances, Democracy and Secularism is in danger in 
Gujarat. In spite of all these, there are organizations, 
personalities and individuals are trying their best to preserve 
democracy, stand for justice and rule of law. We appreciate and 
congratulate them. Amidst wilderness attempts are being made to 
launch legitimate, democratic and legal battle.

  What is necessary is powerful, united platform with minimum common 
agreed program to launch a political, social and cultural movement to 
resist the growing fascist menace in the state. This is the call of 
the hour


______


[8.]

LARZISH: TREMORS OF REVOLUTION,
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF GENDER & SEXUAL PLURALITY
17, 18, 19th October, Bombay 2003
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ASAP

There is no entry fee.

About Us
'Humjnsi' is part of India center for Human Rights and Law. Its a 
support group and a Helpline for women who love women. As part of our 
campaign work to raise issues of gender and sexuality we have decided 
to organize a film festival.

Humjinsi- an Urdu word in contemporary usage means, 'relationships 
between people of the same sex'- i.e., for homosexuals. The word is 
gender neutral, non-pejorative - and quite significantly, does not 
constrict the definition of the relationship to the sexual.

India center for Human Rights and Law is a comprehensive resource 
center specializing in documentation, education, publication, 
investigations and campaigns related to human rights and law. The 
center includes civil, political rights, economic, social, and 
cultural rights of women, children, tribals, rural poor, dalits, 
lesbian and gays, slum and pavement, dwellers, unorganized labour, 
prisoners, consumers and those affected by environmental degradation 
and retrogressive development policies.

Outline
We in Bombay (India) are curating a package of films and videos 
around the theme of sexual and gender minorities.

Our agenda is to primarily create a forum for showcasing works 
emerging from South-East Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America as 
well as other parts of the world. This festival is an attempt to 
compliment already existing and on going work within the sexuality 
and gender minority movement at the grass-root level. Relevant 
discussion forums and readi ngs will support the screenings. Various 
collectives and groups working locally in Bombay will be invited to 
put up information stalls at the venue.

This festival will be open to public and we look at it as a political 
tool to generate more visibility, facilitate a public discourse and 
celebrate our various existences.

The films and videos we are looking for should primarily address 
minority sexuality and gender issues. They could be made in any 
genre, i.e. feature length fiction, shorts, experimental, 
documentary, animation or mixed media presentations.

This festival is a not for profit event. Our funds enable us to 
manage only the infrastructure and administrative costs for 
conducting the festival. Unfortunately we cannot pay postage fees for 
works from outside India. Within India, we can propose to arrange 
pick-ups of the films in various cities. For the same reasons we are 
unable to pay any screening fees to the filmmakers.

Regards,
Chatura, Natasha & Tejal

before 15th September 2003

CALL FOR Artworks, Drawings, Sketches, Photographs  
Short-fiction, Essays, Poetry, Fragments, Scribbles... for the 
FESTIVAL CATALOGUE

REQUIREMENTS for the festival:
1. Only 1/2" VHS ( PAL) videotapes will be accepted for preview. DO 
NOT send master tapes or film prints for preview screening. On 
selection we will request you to send the work on its original format.
2. Preview tapes must be labeled with the title, running time and 
contact info (including name, address and phone number).
3. Works submitted in languages other than English must be subtitled 
in English.
4. The Festival reserves the right to excerpt programmed works (up to 
3 minutes) for television and other promotional purposes.
6. Do not send submissions in fiber-filled envelopes. The dust 
damages videotapes and VCRs.
7. All submissions must be received by 20th February 2003. You will 
be notified of the programming committee's final decision by 15th 
June 2003. (THE DEADLINE MAY HAVE BEEN EXTENDED. PLEASE CHECK WITH 
THE THE ORGANISERS - HUMJINSI)
8. All preview tapes will be added to the Festivals arch ives unless 
accompanied by a self-addressed stamped and a request for return.
9. To submit more than one tape, please make a copy of this 
submission form for each entry.
10. If you are sending work from outside India, please indicate on 
the outside of the package, FOR FESTIVAL PREVIEW ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL 
VALUE or you may be required to pay customs duties.
11. Please include the following information and documents with each 
submission: Check List
b. Preview tape (VHS PAL).
c. Completed and signed submission form.
d. B&W and/ or colour stills (Images on disk and emailed stills are 
acceptable as well. If emailing, please send to 
festival_humjinsi at yahoo.com in the following format: tiff or 
minimally compressed jpg files with a dpi of 200 or higher. Good 
stills can make a difference in press coverage and festival 
prominence.)
e. Synopsis of the work for the press kit. (This is not mandatory, 
include if possible)


------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENTRY FORM
PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING FORM:
PRINT OR TYPE CLEARLY. COMPLETE AND SEND WITH TAPE:

English title:
Original title:
Director(s):
Producer(s):
Distributor(s):
Country of origin:
Year of completion:
Original Language:                        Subtitled                   Dubbed
Original Format:
Exhibition format (specify PAL/NTSC) :
Running time:
Category (check all that apply):

1. Fiction- Feature/Short
2. Documentary
3. Experimental
4. Animation
5. Mixed Media   
6. Student Category

Film specifications:
Sound: Mono___ Stereo___ Dolby A___ Dolby SR____
Aspect ratio: 1.33___ 1.66___ 1.85___ Scope___
Previous screenings:
Synopsis:
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name:
Address:  
City:                                                     Province/State:
Country:                                Postal/zip code:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Website:


Yes, You can include my contact information in the festival catalogue.. Y/N

AUTHORIZATION TO THE FESTIVAL:

__ Yes, I authorize Festival_Humjinsi to keep my submission tape for 
use in their Viewing Library with the understanding that the Library 
is for in-house viewing; no tapes are lent out nor are the tapes used 
for any additional public screenings without the written consent of 
the director and/or distributor.

The Festival reserves the right to excerpt programmed works (up to 3 
minut es) for television and other promotional purposes.

I have read and agree to the festival submission and participation 
guidelines and certify that I am authorised to submit this work to 
The Bombay Sexual and Gender Minority Film and Video Festival and 
that all the above information is correct.

Signed:_______________________________ Date:_______________

SEND TO:
Postal address: Humjinsi,
C/O India Centre for Human Rights and Law
CVOD Jain High School
4th Floor, 84 Samuel Street (Hazrat Abbas St.)
Dongri, Bombay-9
India
Email: festival_humjinsi at yahoo.co.in


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