SACW | 18 Nov. 2003

[Harsh Kapoor]

SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WIRE   |  18 November,  2003

via South Asia Citizens Web:  www.sacw.net

_______

[1] Arms Race Leaves Medicine Behind - India and 
Pakistan spend billions on weapons  (Paul Watson)
[2] Bangladesh: Khoda Hafez versus Allah Hafez: A 
critical inquiry (Mahfuzur Rahman)
[3] Pakistan- India: Conflict yields dividends 
only for vested interests: Asma Jehangir (Kalpana 
Sharma)
[4] India: Walk for Peace, Communal Harmony and Justice (Ahmedabad, Dec., 18)
[5] Publication Announcement: "Prophets Facing 
Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and 
Hindu Nationalism in India" by Meera Nanda
[6] India: Learning in Saffron: RSS Schools Orissa (Angana Chatterji)
[7] Publication Announcement: [India] Communal 
Riots After Independence- A Comprehensive Account
[8] Publication Announcement: "Eqbal Ahmed 
Essays" (3 volumes) Compiled by Rana Mansur Amin

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[1]


Los Angeles Times, November 12, 2003

Arms Race Leaves Medicine Behind

India and Pakistan spend billions on weapons 
while aid groups struggle for funds to fight 
polio and tuberculosis.

By Paul Watson, Times Staff Writer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - When India signed a 
contract to buy a $1-billion military radar 
system last month, foreign aid agencies were 
still searching for $50 million in donations to 
defeat the country's polio scourge.
Across the border, Pakistan's armed forces were 
updating their multibillion-dollar shopping list, 
including a request for U.S.-made F-16 jets, 
while aid groups fighting a tuberculosis epidemic 
struggled against a lethal funding gap.
India and Pakistan, locked in an escalating arms 
race, were the world's second- and third-biggest 
weapons importers last year. Only China spent 
more on the international weapons market, 
according to the 2003 yearbook of the Stockholm 
International Peace Research Institute, a leading 
monitor of the global arms trade.
Arms control advocates argue that foreign 
development aid for health, education and other 
projects allows India and Pakistan to divert huge 
portions of their budgets to a military buildup 
that could trigger the fourth major war between 
the two nuclear-armed countries since they gained 
independence from Britain in 1947.
"All external assistance frees resources for arms 
spending," Husain Haqqani, a leading Pakistani 
journalist and visiting scholar at Washington's 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said 
in a phone interview.
"So basically, the international development 
community has to put its foot down and say: 'This 
is what we think has to be your optimum national 
security spending figure, and if you exceed that, 
no money from us for schools. You can build them 
with the money you're spending on arms.' "
As a group, aid workers are among the loudest 
opponents of arms sales because many of them see 
firsthand the human costs of war. But aid 
agencies are reluctant to deny support for the 
poor in order to punish the politicians.
"It's better to work with governments, and prod 
them in the right direction, on issues such as 
the fight against polio that affect the whole 
world," said Maria Calivis, UNICEF representative 
in India. "I also know that when that is done, 
you can galvanize a lot of support rather than 
taking the risk of postponing the resolution of 
such issues."
Polio Outbreak
The human cost of the Indian government's 
priorities is painfully evident in a polio 
epidemic that struck the country's north last 
year. The disease severely disables or kills its 
victims, many of whom are children infected by 
dirty water.
Polio was close to joining smallpox in being 
eradicated until it struck back with a vengeance 
in two of India's poorest states. They accounted 
for 71% of the world's 1,920 confirmed polio 
cases in 2002, according to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The 
World Health Organization blamed the Indian 
epidemic on a drop in the number of vaccinations.
An intensified polio eradication program in India 
will cost more than $94 million next year, and 
campaign organizers are still looking for foreign 
donors to pledge more than half that amount, 
Calivis said.
India has reported only 160 polio cases so far 
this year, and the target date for preventing the 
transmission of polio anywhere on Earth is the 
end of next year, Calivis added.
Tuberculosis kills more than 50,000 Pakistanis a 
year and infects 250,000. The infectious lung 
disease is easily prevented with vaccination, or 
treated with relatively cheap drugs.
More than a third of India and Pakistan's people 
live in desperate poverty. Their governments' 
dismal records on public health, education and 
aiding the poor have kept them in the bottom 
third of nations on the United Nations' human 
development index. India ranks 127th, while 
Pakistan is 144th on the U.N.'s ranking of 175 
countries, which looks at child mortality, 
literacy and other factors. Norway is first on 
the list and the U.S. seventh.
The arms race between India and Pakistan has 
intensified since the Sept. 11 attacks on the 
United States. While Russia remains India's 
biggest arms supplier, and China is Pakistan's, 
the U.S. is aggressively pursuing stronger 
defense ties on the subcontinent.
Eleven days after the Sept. 11 strikes, President 
Bush lifted a ban on weapons sales to India and 
Pakistan that had been imposed mainly as 
punishment for their nuclear arms programs and 
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's 1999 
coup.
Last month, the Pentagon agreed to refurbish 
Pakistan's 40 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets and to 
allow North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally 
Belgium to sell more F-16s to the country, 
Defense Secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan told reporters 
in Islamabad, the capital.
He said Pentagon officials had assured him that 
Congress would approve the sales, which would be 
made under a $3-billion aid package Bush pledged 
after a June meeting with Musharraf at Camp 
David. Half of the grant was allocated for 
military aid.
Last year, the U.S. publication Defense News 
reported that India planned to spend $95 billion 
on arms and equipment over 15 years, with almost 
a third of it going to the air force to buy 
combat aircraft, missiles and radar systems.
India increased its defense spending by at least 
14% this year to more than $13 billion, according 
to the federal budget, which some experts say 
does not disclose the full cost of defense. By 
the official figures, the military consumed about 
15% of Indian government money.
India's budget totaled $91.2 billion this year, 
and 7% of it went to social services such as 
schools and health care programs.
Pakistan's much smaller and weaker economy is 
more vulnerable to the costs of an arms race. Its 
budget figures show that Musharraf, who is still 
commanding general of the armed forces, hasn't 
been able to keep up with the Indian military's 
spending increases. But defense is still claiming 
a huge portion of government money.
Pakistan says it spent more than $2.5 billion on 
defense this year, which is roughly the same as 
last year's amount, according to the government. 
Roughly 14% of what the Pakistani government 
spends this year will go to the military.
Economic Drain
Measured as a percentage of the economy, defense 
spending is a much bigger drain on Pakistan than 
India. New Delhi spends about 2.5% of its gross 
domestic product on the military, while 
Pakistan's military costs amount to 4.5% of GDP, 
the Stockholm institute says.
U.S. defense spending, which soared in reaction 
to the Sept. 11 attacks, is expected to exceed 4% 
of GDP next year.
The U.S. Agency for International Development 
gave more than $70 million in development 
assistance to India last year for projects such 
as child disease prevention, environmental 
protection and support for women and girls.
The agency's development assistance budget for 
Pakistan last year was $50 million. It funded 
projects such as primary education and literacy 
programs, basic health services and support for 
democracy.
The figures don't include hundreds of millions of 
dollars in U.S. government loans and other 
nonmilitary support to India and Pakistan, or 
money sent by private donors such as church 
groups.
India and Pakistan almost went to war last year 
over India's claims that Pakistan was launching 
cross-border terrorist attacks, but intense U.S. 
and European pressure helped avert a conflict.
Although both countries insist they want peace, 
they have made only limited steps toward direct 
negotiations, and India says it continues to 
suffer attacks by militants it says are supported 
by Pakistan. Islamabad recently accused India of 
training militants in Afghanistan to launch 
attacks in Pakistan.
Last month's deal between India and Israel for 
the Phalcon airborne early-warning radar system 
has put pressure on Musharraf to go shopping for 
something similar. Because Pakistan's 
conventional military is much weaker than 
India's, it relies more heavily on nuclear 
weapons as a deterrent.
An angry Musharraf vowed to take steps to 
neutralize any Indian advantage. "We will 
maintain that no-win situation, come what may," 
Musharraf said. "This the world should know and 
India should know. They have reached an agreement 
and we will counter it. That has to be very 
clear."
It was only the latest in a long line of 
accusations, threats and counter-threats between 
India and Pakistan. The sparring reached an 
ominous new level in January when Indian Defense 
Minister George Fernandes warned Pakistan that it 
would be obliterated in a nuclear war.
"We have been saying all through that the person 
who heads Pakistan today, who is also the whole 
and sole in charge of that country, has been 
talking about using dangerous weapons, including 
the nukes," Fernandes told a radio call-in show.
"Well, I would reply by saying that if Pakistan 
has decided that it wants to get itself destroyed 
and erased from the world map, then it may take 
this step of madness, but if it wants to survive, 
then it would not do so."
*
Special correspondent Mubashir Zaidi in Islamabad contributed to this report.

_____


[2]

The Daily Star [Dhaka]
November 18, 2003

Khoda Hafez versus Allah Hafez: A critical inquiry

Mahfuzur Rahman

On a trip from Dhaka to north Bangladesh during 
my recent visit to the country, I was struck by 
two phenomena. First, there was something unusual 
about some of the mileposts along the highway. In 
many places, as we headed for the Jamuna, they 
would often have a painted-over strip, a blank. 
The name of a particular destination has been 
systematically erased. You guessed right. The 
blank space, staring ever so briefly as you sped 
past it, once spelled out Bangabandhu Setu. The 
sign was gone, moved and painted over, almost 
certainly at state expense. How amazing, though, 
that a dumb, blank milepost could still speak 
volumes!

It is, however, a second phenomenon that I have 
chosen as the theme of the following paragraphs: 
many signboards, especially those at the 
boundaries of local administrative districts, 
that not so long ago wished Khoda Hafez to the 
exiting travellers, now say Allah Hafez instead. 
I, of course, never doubted the sincerity of 
those who put up the slogans invoking God's 
protection on roads infested with unsafe 
automobiles and marauding drivers. I am also sure 
the Supreme Being now being called upon, in fresh 
paint, to protect the lives of the users of those 
thoroughfares is the same One whose name used to 
be invoked on the old signs. Why then the change? 
Is there something of significance in the 
changeover, also made at considerable cost, from 
Khoda Hafez to Allah Hafez, just as there is 
meaning, albeit of a different nature, to the 
erased milepost sings? Or is this another 
exercise in triviality in which we as a nation 
seem to excel? I am not sure, but let us explore.

A great wave of Allah Hafez is sweeping Khoda 
Hafez not merely off roadside signs and hoardings 
but from its niches of every description. Say 
Khoda Hafez as a parting wish to a friend whom 
you may have met in the course of normal business 
of life, and you can now be sure to receive an 
Allah Hafez in return. My brother, cousins, 
brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, almost one and 
all, reel off an Allah Hafez hot on the heel of 
my Khoda Hafez. If my departure after the meeting 
is somehow delayed by a few moments -- that is, 
after I have already said Khoda Hafez, and they 
Allah Hafez -- they are likely to take the 
opportunity to say Allah Hafez for a second time. 
This, I suspect, is to nullify my Khoda Hafez. 
But wait. There is more to come. A close relative 
of mine, fully grown though still a bit short of 
my advanced years, glared at me the other day and 
solemnly proclaimed: "to say Khoda Hafez is act 
of gunah". Five- year olds have returned my Khoda 
Hafez with a defiant Allah Hafez.

And, yes, television newscasters now end their 
news bulletin with Allah Hafez, invariably on the 
state-owned TV channel but also on other 
channels. So do radio broadcasters. Ministers in 
the present government of the country, as well as 
other political leaders, never fail to end their 
speeches with Allah Hafez. (This, by the way, 
does not mean my endorsement of Khoda Hafez 
either in the public domain.)

Inquisitive as ever, I asked all and sundry how 
did such a sweeping change come about. This was 
met, for the most part, with a shrug and a 
strange I-don't-know-but- 
this-is-the-proper-thing-to-do reply. A senior 
friend of mine told me that this was entirely a 
political matter. And he was not joking. 
Astonished, I asked for an elaboration. "Arey 
bhai", he proceeded to explain, "the Awami 
Leagers say Khoda Hafez; the BNP- wallas say 
Allah Hafez. Satisfied?"

Of course I was not satisfied with the answer, 
even though the politics of the situation did 
seem to ring a bell. But surely the matter cannot 
be entirely as trivial as that. I soon promised 
myself, as well as a few others, that I would go 
to the bottom of it all. I now proceed to redeem 
my pledge.

I believe even the most ardent exponent of Allah 
Hafez will concede that whether a Muslim says 
Allah or utter Khoda, he or she means one and the 
same Supreme Being. This concession is, in fact, 
not a matter of magnanimity on the part of the 
Allah Hafezites. It has the force of logic behind 
it: if by uttering Khoda Hafez one can lose his 
Faith, then all the countless millions who must 
have uttered it in the historical past would have 
to be considered non-Muslim. A dreadful thought 
indeed! My ancestors, bless their souls, many of 
them devout Muslims, were all attuned to Khoda 
Hafez. They certainly did not belong to aiyyam-e 
jahelia. There can be little doubt therefore that 
Muslims mean the same Supreme Being -- I shall be 
using the term quite often for the sake of 
neutrality between "Allah" and "Khoda" in the 
present context -- no matter what name is used 
for Him. There must therefore be some compelling 
reason for the rush to abandon Khoda Hafez in 
favour of Allah Hafez. What is it? To start with, 
is the latter expression more Islamic?

"Allah" is certainly the preeminent name of the 
Supreme Being to Muslims. But this may come as a 
surprise to many that the word Allah has 
pre-Islamic roots. Some defenders of Allah Hafez 
are cagey about the pre-Islamic roots of the word 
even though Allah's greatness certainly does not 
depend on considerations of etymology of words 
used to describe or address Him. There is some 
recognition in the Allah Hafez camp of the 
historic connection. Take the following 
sentences, for example: " The word "Allah" was 
not unknown to the Arabs before Muhammad (Sa) 
(13: 16, 29: 61-63 etc.) They also had knowledge 
that man was a servant of Allah: this is seen in 
the name Abd Allah." [Shankhipta Islami 
Biswakosh, Brief Islamic Encylopaedia, (in 
Bengali). Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. 1982. 
Vol. I. p.67. The translation is mine. The 
numbers in parentheses are those of Qur'ânic 
suras and verses, respectively.] The Biswakosh 
also acknowledges that, "According to some 
linguists the word Allah was derived by adding 
alif and laam to the word ilah."

This acknowledgement is almost grudging and 
apologetic. Note the expression "was not 
unknown", or "according to some linguists". There 
is also omission of the fact that the pre-Islamic 
name Abd Allah, quoted above, also happened to be 
the name of the father of the Prophet of Islam 
himself. The fact is, it is almost certain that 
the word "Allah" is of pre-Islamic origin, and 
was widely used by the Meccans before the advent 
of Islam. The following is from E.J. Brill's 
First Encyclopaedia of Islam [ E.J.Brill, New 
York, 1987, p.302]: "Before Islam. That the 
Arabs, before the time of Muhammed, accepted and 
worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called 
Allâh, -- "the Ilâh", or the god, if the form is 
of genuine Arabic origin; if of Aramaic, from 
Alâhâ, "the god" -- seems absolutely certain." 
The Meccan's concept of the Supreme Being was of 
course, very different from that in Islam. But 
the word used to denote Him was the same in both 
and we are here concerned with the word, and 
there is little disagreement that the two 
expressions "Allah" and "Khoda" refer to the same 
Being.

There are numerous references in the Qur'ân to 
the pagan's use of the word "Allah". The 
following examples should suffice [The 
translations are from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's 
well-known Qur'ânic Translation and Commentary. 
The 'Allah' in the original Arabic has been 
substituted here for 'God' used by Yusuf Ali].

"They [the pagans] swear their strongest Oaths by 
Allah..." [VI(An'âm): 109.].Or,

"If indeed thou ask them [the pagans] who has 
created the heavens and the earth...they will 
certainly reply, 'Allah'....". [ XXIX 
(Ankabut):61]. Or,

"And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends 
down rain from the sky,....they will certainly 
reply, 'Allah'..." [XXIX(Ankabut):63].

Very similar are the references to 'Allah' in 
verses XXXIX: 25, XXXIX: 38, and XLIII: 87.

The importance given to 'Allah' in earlier 
societies was also reflected in a major 
historical document: the Treaty of Hudaybiya. As 
is well known, in drawing up the treaty document 
the Prophet of Islam had instructed the scribe to 
begin with " In the name of Allah, the 
Compassionate [Rahman], the Merciful [Rahim]. But 
Suhayl b. Amr, representing the Quraysh, objected 
to Rahman and Rahim and insisted that only "In 
the name of Allah" be written instead. This was 
agreed to. [ Ibn Ishaq, The life of Muhammad, Tr. 
A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press. 1967. P. 
504.]

It should be evident by now that we are on track 
of a question of some importance: what is in a 
name? Let us pursue the matter a little further 
for more insight from the Qur'â

n itself. But let us also note in passing that 
Christian Arabs still use 'Allah' for their 
western co-religionist's 'God'. That does not 
make them any more Muslim than a Muslim's use of 
God makes him Christian.

The Qur'ân strongly suggests that whatever name 
one might give the Supreme Being, it is proper, 
so long as it is one of asma-al-husna, or 'the 
beautiful names' of His. Thus:

"The most beautiful names belong to God: so call 
on Him by them; but shun such men as use 
profanity in His names.... [VII( Al- A'raf): 
180]. Again, " Say: 'Call upon God [Allah] or 
call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call Him, 
(it is well): for to Him belong the Most 
Beautiful Names....'" [ XVII(Bani Isrâ-il): 110]

As one commentator explains: "Allah has not just 
two names ["Allah" and "Rahman"] but many more. 
By whatever name one calls Him, he is calling the 
same Being" [The Holy Qur'an al Karim. Bangla 
Translation and Brief Tafsir. Original: Hazrat 
Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi. Translation and 
edition: Maulana Muhiuddid Khan. The translation 
from Bengali is mine.] In his commentary on LIX: 
24, in which the phrase "the beautiful names" 
again appears, the same commentator explains: 
"Allah has beautiful names. In the Holy Qur'ân 
there is no definite indication of the number of 
such names". Hadith is mentioned as the source of 
the ninety -nine names commonly associated with 
the Supreme Being. But the commentator emphasizes 
that there are other names of His and these are 
numbered in the hundreds.

It is useful to point out here that Rahman is not 
only one of the many "attributes" of Allah; there 
places in the Qur'ân where "Rahman" is used in 
lieu of "Allah". The verse XVII: 110, quoted 
above, ["call upon Allah or call upon Rahman..."] 
is an important case. But there are other 
instances. Thus, sura LV ( Rahman ) starts with 
the name "Rahman", not "Allah". Again, in LXVII 
(Mulk): 3 one finds: " No want of proportion wilt 
thou see in the creation of Rahman....". Here too 
"Rahman" has been used in lieu of "Allah".

Having thus established that it is entirely 
permissible to call the Supreme Being by any of 
His names,( "Allah", "Rahman", or any other 
name), so long as it is not profane, and 
especially if it is beautiful, let us turn to the 
name which is the bone of contention here. As 
everyone knows, "Khoda" is a Persian word 
(actually Khuda in Persian, and slightly modified 
to Khoda in Bangla), not Arabic. With its root 
khud or khod, it simply means self-existing.

It is important in the present context to 
remember how intertwined has the word "Khoda" 
been with Bengali Muslim culture. In terms of its 
usage in everyday life, it is at least as common 
as "Allah", perhaps more so. The folklore of 
Bengal is strewn with it. One finds numerous 
invocations of Khoda in the lyrics of the region. 
Many Islamic Nazrul songs, for example, invoke 
Khoda and these songs are part of our cultural 
heritage, as are many devotional folk songs. I 
have seen Nazrul lyrics that contain both "Khoda" 
and "Allah" in the same composition.

It must also be appropriate to recall here 
briefly how prominent a place the word "Khuda" 
occupied in the culture of the land of its 
origin, Persia. I found it difficult to resist 
the quote: "O Jami, the road of guidance to Khuda 
is naught but love". This is a line from the 
Diwans of the great mystic poet and scholar Jami 
. Mulla Nurud-Din Jami, it is important to note, 
was an orthodox Muslim and was not enamoured of 
pre-Islamic Persian culture. [See Edward G. 
Browne, A Literary History of Persia. Cambridge. 
1976. (Original publication:1902). I have 
introduced "Khuda" from the Persian text, in 
place of Browne's translation in which "God" was 
used.] His piety did not prevent him from using 
"Khuda". Or, look at a line from Rumi, another 
great mystic poet: "That Khuda who on Creation's 
Primal Day / The first foundation of thy soul did 
lay/..." [ibid. Here too I have substituted 
"Khuda" from the Persian text for "God" in the 
translation by Browne.]

To go back to the question of propriety of the 
use of Khoda Hafez, the word "Khoda" is certainly 
not profane; it does not disparage the Supreme 
Being; it in fact compares rather well with other 
accepted names of His in Arabic; and the idea 
conveyed by the word finds powerful support from 
the Qur'ân itself. That the word is not profane 
or even disparaging should be obvious. It is also 
an unambiguously beautiful name.

For its lack of ambiguity, compare it with a 
couple of Arabic words often used to describe a 
particular attribute of the Supreme Being but 
which have other meanings as well. Take, for 
example, "Jabbar". Its dictionary meaning 
includes "a tyrant", "a giant", "someone 
pitiless". But when applied to the Supreme Being, 
it is taken to mean "the Most Powerful". Or note 
that one dictionary meaning of "Mutakabbar" is 
"haughty", but is not used in this sense when 
applied to the Supreme Being, or that "Quahhar" 
also literally means "haughty" but not when 
applied to Him. By contrast, there is no double 
meaning to the word "Khoda". It unambiguously 
means "self-existing".

Perhaps even more significantly, the meaning 
attached to "Khoda" is also exactly the same as 
that conveyed by a combination of attributes of 
the Supreme Being described in one of the most 
important suras of the Qur'an [Sura CXII 
(Ikhlas)] The translation of the phrase "Allah 
-as- samad: lum yaled wa lum yulud" is : "God, 
the Eternal, the Absolute; He begetteth not, nor 
is He begotten" [ Translation, Yusuf Ali]. 
"Samad" and "Wa lum yulud" convey a sense that is 
identical with the meaning of "Khoda". To top it, 
note that the word "Quyyum", used as an attribute 
of the Supreme Being also means, in Arabic, 
"self-existing", or "self-subsisting", which is 
identical with the sense conveyed by "Khoda".

It has often been argued that the name "Allah" 
encompasses all conceivable attributes of His. 
The Islami Bishwakosh, referred to above, 
insists: " The name "Allah" cannot be translated 
into any other language. Besides, the nouns and 
adjectives used by Allah in the Qur'ân to 
describe His own being, attributes, and actions, 
are all implicit in the name Allah". But this is 
merely an assertion and has no logical foundation 
to it. It flies in the face of the quotations 
from the Qur'ân given above, suggesting that 
Allah can be called by any name, including 
"Rahman", for example. Moreover, on a different 
plane, if indeed all His attributes were subsumed 
in "Allah", there would be no need for the name 
"Allah" to be followed by the host of other 
names, as in the popular invocation of the names 
of Allah, prescribed in the hadith. If "Allah" is 
all encompassing, then, by definition, the other 
names are superfluous, which is evidently not the 
case in the Islamic tradition.

Why, then, is the rush to jettison Khoda Hafez in 
favour of Allah Hafez? Could this be because the 
word "Khoda" is Persian, that is, non- Arabic or 
´Ajami, the term strictly meaning "Persian", but 
sometimes taken to mean, generally derogatorily, 
all non-Arabs? One suspects that this is indeed 
the case, and if so, the detractors of Khoda 
Hafez are in considerable trouble.

The Qur'ân dwells, in a number of places, on the 
question of the revelation of its text in the 
Arabic language and explains why: so that people 
(Arabs) would understand it. Thus: [The Qur'â

n is] A Book, whereof the verses are explained in 
detail; -- a Qur'ân in Arabic, for people who 
understand;..." [XLI( Ha-Mim Sajda):3]. 
Similarly: "We have made it a Qur'â

n in Arabic, that you may be able to understand." [ XLIII(Zukhruf):3].

One could formulate a thesis, if only for the 
sake of argument that what is being suggested is 
that the Qur'ân is meant for speakers of Arabic 
alone. Those who would insist on saying only 
Allah Hafez in all circumstances, and never Khoda 
Hafez, simply because the former expression is 
Arabic while the latter is not, is in fact in 
danger of being too close for comfort to this 
thesis. On the other hand, to its proponents, as 
well to others, Islam is a universal religion, 
meant for all mankind. One cannot, at one and the 
same time, accept only what is Arabic and also 
see his religion as something universal, cutting 
across the huge number of linguistic barriers 
that separate the peoples of the world from one 
another. The Qur'ân itself can be quoted as 
having recognised this diversity: "If God had so 
willed, He would have made you a single people.." 
[V ( Mâida): 48 ]. The proponents of Allah Hafez, 
while offering little substantive reason for 
their uncompromising abhorrence of Khoda Hafez, 
are also blind to this diversity.

The above analysis is not to suggest that all 
those who switched to Allah Hafez, and wanted 
others to follow them, have done so for motives 
of piety alone or that they are a bunch of 
ignoramuses. There is little doubt that a 
substantial body of the proponents of the new 
orthodoxy has a political agenda of its own, 
though not in the trivial sense in which my 
interlocutor mentioned above used it. That agenda 
is one of "Islamisation" of the society in their 
image of the religion, and is all too evident 
today.

Still, this essay has primarily been a defence of 
reason. It is essential to inquire, to probe, to 
see for ourselves rather than see things the way 
the establishment, religious or lay, wants us to. 
While writing this piece I was reminded of the 
well-known fable of the man who, having been told 
that a falcon had just flown away with his ears, 
pursues the peregrine without bothering to find 
out if his two precious organs were really 
missing. Nothing is lost by the use of the word 
"Khoda", and no sin committed. To the inquiring 
mind, --one that refuses to pursue the proverbial 
falcon -- I say: Khoda Hafez! It is quite 
possible that by abandoning such pursuit he or 
she will have time for more productive ones.

Mahfuzur Rahman is a former UN official. He 
occasionally contributes to this paper.

_____


[3]

The Hindu [Chennai], Nov 18, 2003
http://www.thehindu.com/2003/11/18/stories/2003111805111200.htm

Conflict yields dividends only for vested interests: Asma Jehangir
By Kalpana Sharma

MUMBAI Nov. 17. The United Nations Special 
Rapporteur on Extra-judicial Killings is one of 
the many hats the fiery and determined human 
rights activist from Pakistan, Asma Jehangir, 
wears. In Mumbai to attend a closed-door meeting 
of jurists from South Asia, Ms. Jehangir, who has 
taken on the military establishment and the 
religious fundamentalists in Pakistan, was at her 
outspoken best at a meeting with a small group of 
journalists.

Asked what she thought about the latest peace 
moves between India and Pakistan, she said that 
in Pakistan there were different views. "Just as 
there are some people in India who don't want 
anything to do with Pakistan but to conquer it, 
there are people in Pakistan who would like to 
see our flag on the Red Fort," she said. "But 
this is vicious thinking. A large number of 
Pakistanis want peace. Families are separated. 
People on both sides have suffered. Peace has its 
own dividends for ordinary people. Conflict 
yields dividends only for vested interests."

She said people on both sides had a great deal to 
gain from peace economically and culturally. "Our 
cinema houses are on the verge of closure because 
they cannot show Indian films. Why don't you ask 
Lata Mangeshkar to apply for a Pakistani visa? If 
our government denies it, there will be protests 
and riots in Pakistan."

As one of the founder-members of the South Asians 
for Human Rights, Ms. Jehangir said they welcomed 
India's peace initiative. "First, India and 
Pakistan must have a reasonable relationship 
where there can be proper dialogue." Eventually, 
the Kashmir issue would have to be tackled. 
"Kashmir is not about territorial gain at the 
cost of people's lives. It is far more important 
to have a process that leads to dialogue. 
Kashmiris need the space to say what they feel 
and by this I include people in `Azad Kashmir'. 
Have we heard them? Have you heard them? Just 
because `Azad Kashmir' is better off than the 
Indian part doesn't mean we can violate their 
rights."

The Indian Government, Ms Jehangir suggested, had 
to "make its own amends to the Kashmiris living 
in India. It's time Indians recognised that there 
have been excesses. Once you recognise and say 
this has happened there, you will create a 
situation for Kashmiris to come back into the 
fold."

On the shape of politics in the future in 
Pakistan, Ms. Jehangir, who set up the Pakistan 
Human Rights Commission in 1989, said she was 
confident that if Pakistan had "fair and free" 
elections, religious and fundamentalist parties 
and alliances like the Muttahida Majlis Amal 
(MMA) would never be elected. "The fact is that 
the last election was rigged. The main political 
parties had been badly eroded by the 
establishment."

In the absence of other players, she said, a 
coalition of religious parties like the MMA did 
well.

Ms. Jehangir also questioned the Pakistan 
President, Pervez Musharraf's constant assurances 
to the rest of the world that the country was 
moving towards democracy. "If this was the case, 
the first step he should have taken was to set up 
an independent election commission as you have 
here."

Instead, she said, the same man who had been 
around for the referendum that confirmed General 
Musharraf's hold on power continued to function 
as the sole election commissioner.

The Pakistan human rights lawyer also spoke out 
against the United States' policies in the 
region. "They speak of `moderate' Islam, 
`moderate' Taliban. What does Bush mean by that?" 
she asked. "We don't know how they define 
moderation. Is the `moderate' democracy that Bush 
wants in Afghanistan like what we have in 
Pakistan?" she wondered.

Ms. Jehangir said that instability in Afghanistan 
would have its impact on Pakistan. "My grouse 
against the U.S. is that it has no post-Cold War 
policy. How will it pick up the pieces it has 
left behind in places like Afghanistan?" The rest 
of the world, she pointed out, could not be 
expected to clear up the mess left behind by it.

_____


[4]

PLEASE CIRCULATE, INFORM OTHERS

WALK FOR PEACE

An appeal to all peace-loving people of Ahmedabad to Join our

Walk for Peace

Walk for Peace, Communal Harmony and Justice

For the sake of the next generations lets join 
hands and come together for a cause- let the 
cause be peace

Date November 18, 2003
Time 2.30- 4.30pm
Route: beginning from Shah Alam Darwaza to Tagore Hall

Youth For Peace
Anhad
for details contact 079- 7449742- anhad office Ahmedabad
+919811807558- Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad
Kamna- 9824376350- Youth For Peace, Ahmedabad
982555029- Manan, Anhad, Ahmedabad

_____



[5]

Announcing a new book by Meera Nanda

"Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques 
of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India"
  by Meera Nanda
Rutgers University Press, 2003.
http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Prophets_Facing_Backward_1152.html

(Permanent Black will bring out an Indian edition   in early 2004).


"Meera Nanda is a unique scholar. She combines 
valuable criticism of postmodern science studies 
with a close reading of how these idaeas 
influence actual political developments in India. 
An appealing and powerful read."  Martha 
Nussbaum, University of Chicago.

"Meera Nanda is that rare insider who knows -and 
cared passionately-about the misdirected efforts 
at the heart of well-meaning but largely 
counter-productive arguments in the field of 
science studies. This is a brave and important 
book. Daniel Dennett, Tufts University, and 
author of Freedom Evolves and Darwin's Dangerous 
Idea.

"This first detailed examination of 
postmodernism's politically reactionary 
consequences should serve as a wake-up call for 
all conscientious leftists." Steve Fuller, author 
of Social Epistemology.

The leading voices in science studies have argued 
that  modern science reflects dominant social 
interests and culturea values of Western 
societies. Following this logic, postmodern 
scholars have urged non-Western societies to 
develop their own "alternative sciences" as a 
step toward "mental decolonization." In this 
passionate and highly original study, Meera Nanda 
reveals how these radical critiques of modern 
science are enabling Hindu ideologues to 
propagate religious myths in the guise of science 
and secularism.

Nanda contends that at the heart of Hindu 
supremacist ideology lies a postmodernist 
assumption:  that each society has its own norms 
of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence and 
conception of truth and that there is no 
non-arbitrary, culture-independent way to choose 
among these alternatives. This logic is enabling 
Hindu nationalists to celebrate the most mystical 
and obscurantist elements of Hinduism as "Vedic 
science." By eroding all distinctions between 
modern science and other local sciences, the 
postmodernist left has unwittingly aided the 
growth of reactionary modernism in India.


Meera Nanda is the author of Postmodernism and 
Religious Fundamentalism (Chennai: Navayana, 
2003), Breaking the Spell of Dharma and Other 
Essays (New Delhi: Three Essays Collective, 2002) 
and Planting the Future: A Resource Guide to 
Sustainable Agriculture. (Minneapolis: 
International Association for Sustainable 
Agriculture, 1990).

_____


[6]

Asian Age (New Delhi) November 11, 2003  | Op-ed.

Learning in Saffron: RSS Schools Orissa
Angana Chatterji

In Orissa, over the last five years the Sangh 
Parivar's tentacles have spread and thickened. 
Minorities, refugees, and the poor -- the social 
crevices in which they live narrow from neglect. 
The disenfranchised struggle to confront social 
violence. The annexation of territory and 
resources from the subaltern, the imposition of 
virulent ideologies and alienating economies, 
have produced diverse identity politics defining 
contested practices of citizenship. At the 
intersections of globalisation and hyper 
nationalism, Hindutva intervenes, unravelling the 
fragile fabric of democracy.

The communalisation of education is a serious 
concern across India. Sectarian education 
campaigns undertaken by Hindu extremist groups 
demonize minorities through the teaching of 
fundamentalist curricula. Such corruption of 
education incites the political and social fires 
of communalism. The RSS has spearheaded the 
movement, successfully penetrating into the 
educational systems of both the grassroots and 
centralised regulatory commissions. The Rashtriya 
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has fashioned an 
institutional umbrella that is having a damaging 
impact on education at the grassroots. The RSS 
has established Vanvasi Kalyan Parishads, 
Vivekananda Kendras, Sewa Bharatis and other 
groups to advance the ideological agenda of Hindu 
nationalism. The RSS administers 9,300 Ekal 
Vidyalayas in adivasi areas. For the diversity of 
cultures allied under the rubric of 'adivasi', 
the ongoing reality of Hinduisation offers 
evidence of their gradual and brutal 
incorporation into this caste system.

Created by the RSS in 1978, the Vidya Bharati 
Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan network focuses 
on moral, extracurricular and physical education 
for 'mind, body and spirit'. The Vidya Bharati 
system supervises over 18,000 schools across 
India, with 1.8 million students and 80,000 
teachers. A shared curriculum is used across the 
country. The Vidya Bharati operates 60 graduate 
institutions. About 5,000 Vidya Bharatis are 
endorsed by Education Boards primarily in states 
where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power..

Known as Shiksha Vikas Samiti, Vidya Bharati 
directs 391 Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools with 
111,000 students in Orissa. The RSS has 
constructed a network of educational institutions 
across the state. Initially the RSS maintained a 
public distance between the Sangh and Vidya 
Bharati. In recent years, as Hindutva 
consolidates its position in Orissa, the RSS has 
actively declared its affiliation with these 
schools. Rashtra Deepa, the RSS Oriya weekly, 
regularly chronicles some of the academic 
aspirations of the Sangh Parivar. Most RSS run 
schools are affiliated with the State Board of 
Education and adhere to the state approved 
curricula. As the Sangh infiltrates into 
regulatory bodies and actively leads the 
rewriting of textbooks and reorganisation of the 
curriculum, the classroom transforms into an 
agent of Hindutva.

With the increasing impetus on the privatization 
of education, the RSS has been actively 
inaugurating schools in areas across Orissa where 
the government fails to provide public funding. 
The vigorous assertion of Sanskrit provides for 
the erasure and Hinduisation of minority 
languages. History, science, geography, 
literature, religious texts are interpreted into 
Hindutva. These texts, written in Oriya, are 
taught in schools and available in bookstores. 
The texts weave disparaging and malevolent 
fictions about minority groups, inciting Hindus 
to revenge history. The curriculum is censored 
and obscurantist, interpreted to legitimate the 
sanctity of a 'Hindu worldview' in India and the 
assembling of a Hindu state. It enables Hindu 
nationalism in advancing 'righteous' violence for 
ethnic cleansing. The RSS broadcasts this 
education as 'holistic', patriotic and accessible.

These schools are financed by individual 
donations and contributions from various 
charitable organisations such as the Mumbai based 
Bhansali Trust. These schools also offer income 
generation and computer skills. They serve as 
gathering places for Sangh organisations 
providing youth contact with Hindutva leaders. 
Parents say they are drawn to RSS run schools 
because they are affordable and profess to 
educate children in culture and religion, history 
and ritual.

Students receive ideological training through 
extra-curricular activity as well. They 
participate in development work and disaster 
relief, politicising education and linking it to 
social service. An RSS worker in Bhubaneswar 
speaks with pride. "We ask people to devote one 
hour a day for their country, in the name of the 
motherland. To gather in a field and play Indian 
games; with sticks, swords, other exercises, 
teach youth to march, some musical instruments. 
And then we workers discuss the ideology of the 
RSS -- what Hinduism is, how Hindu culture was 
great and how it is fading, how the youth must 
become involved to revive and purify it."

Through regular educational camps, he continues, 
the RSS recruits teachers and campaigners. Their 
task is to draw people to the Sangh. "To convince 
people that the country is in danger, the 
motherland is in danger. To tell people that no 
matter who they are, if they return to Hinduism 
there is place for them in the nation." After 
training, RSS state and district units send 
campaigners to serve within the different wings 
of the Sangh Parivar, and to the rural areas to 
recruit and organise the Sangh cadre.

The RSS holds month long training sessions across 
Orissa during summer vacations to attract 
students and young children. From these sessions, 
the RSS recruits for the Officers Training Camps 
(OTC). Held twice a year, the OTC provides 
schooling in self-defense and leadership. Around 
500 people attend each year. On completion, 
approximately100 join the organisation as 
campaigners. Graduates take an oath, "I will 
devote my body, mind, and money (tana, mana, 
bhana) to the motherland." For about 10 recruits, 
this develops into a lifelong, intense and full 
time commitment. Each December, the RSS organises 
the Sita Shibir, a 7-10 day winter camp. The 
families of attendees finance the camps. The 
growth of the RSS testifies to the success of 
these camps. The RSS boasts of 50,000 shakhas in 
India, 2500 in Orissa with a 100,000 strong cadre.

In Orissa, the RSS charges that aggressive 
Hinduisation is a 'rational' and warranted 
response to, among other factors, the growth of 
missionary activity leading to an increase in the 
Christian population. In fact, Christians 
constitute less than 3 percent of the population 
in the state, with a 1 percent increase since 
1981. The Christian population in India does not 
record any appreciable increase from 2.6 percent 
in 1971, to 2.43 in 1981, 2.34 in 1991, and 2.6 
in 2001.

History is animated through extra curricular 
activities, seminars and workshops. New heroes, 
timelines, events emerge to construct India's 
antiquity, to naturalize her geo-political 
borders, to define her heritage as Hindu. History 
is rewritten to determine belonging and 
unbelonging. Difference is represented as 
'other', a threat to the integrity of India as a 
Hindu nation, unless manipulated and 
straitjacketed. A whole new generation is being 
grown indoctrinated in Hindutva. It is a devious 
strategy to teach hate to the young.

Note: Information used in this article is derived 
from multiple sources, including interviews with 
persons affiliated with Sangh organisations.

Angana Chatterji is a professor of Social and 
Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute 
of Integral Studies.

_____


[7]

New book [From]
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism

Communal Riots After Independence
A Comprehensive Account

This book has documented the riots, which took 
place in India after independence. There is 
hardly any other credible work of this kind. 
Communal violence occurs very frequently in this 
country and yet much documentation has not been 
done.

This is virtually the first book and is an 
outcome of real hard work and immense patience to 
find the data. It gives a comprehensive account 
of communal riots for a period of more than half 
a century with analytical tables, graphs and 
commentary etc.

It may be found useful for scholars studying or 
researching in this field and the policy makers.


Contents

Preface
List of Tables
List of Graph
Introduction
A Commentary on Communal Violence
Communal Riots: 1952-2002 - An Account
Communal Riots: Statistics at a Glance
Index


Price Rs.550/-
           US$40

Total Pages - 253

Published by:
Shipra Publications
115-A, Vikas Marg, Shakarpur,
Delhi:- 110 092, India.
Tel. 91-11-22458662, 22500954, Fax: 91-11-22458662
E-mail:- <mailto:info at shiprapublications.com>info at shiprapublications.com



_____


[8]

Eqbal Ahmed Essays (3 volumes)
Compiled by Rana Mansur Amin
Self-published from Street # 3, Daswandi Pura, 
Sargodha Road, Gujrat  [Pakistan]
Tel: [92] + 0433-511960.
Email: mansur-amin at yahoo.co.uk
733pp. Rs1,500
(for 3 volumes)

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on 
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Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit 
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The complete SACW archive is available at: 
http://bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
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initiative, provides a partial back -up and 
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DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.

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