SACW | 02 Jan 2004 | India / Sexuality / US, Ulama / Communalism
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Thu Jan 1 21:01:16 CST 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 02 January, 2004
[Announcement: Please note, SACW dispatches will
be interrupted for the period last January 6/7
to February 22, 2004 ]
[1] India: Section 377: How natural is normal? (Nivedita Menon)
[2] Uncle Sam Courting the 'Maulanas' from India (Yoginder Sikand)
[3] India: Intimidating Trident - Communalism 2003 (Ram Puniyani)
[4] India: Upcoming event for peace and secularism
- Programme - Youth 4 Peace Unity Concert and
Promise of India's conference (Jan 7 and Jan 8,
Delhi)
--------------
[1]
South Asia Citizens Web | January 1, 2004
Section 377: How natural is normal?
Nivedita Menon
The recent episode of a lesbian couple in Kerala
having to seek court intervention to stop police
persecution initiated by their parents, starkly
underlines the fearsome question that lies
unrecognized at the heart of the furore around
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code: Is it
natural to be normal? Introduced into Indian
statute by the British parliament in 1872, this
section penalizes sexual activity "against the
order of nature". So? A handful of perverts
should worry. At most, the wider body of
ubiquitous "human rights activists" who hold the
absurd belief that as long as consenting adults
are involved, sexual preferences are private
matters from which the law should keep out.
Should anyone else care?
Well, here's bad news for normal society
-"normal" sexuality is no private matter. The
assumption is that "normal" sexual behaviour
springs from nature, and that it has nothing to
do with culture or history. But if we recognize
that sexuality is located in culture, we have to
deal with the uncomfortable idea that sexuality
is a human construct, and not something that
happens "naturally." Consider the possibility
that rules of sexual conduct are as arbitrary as
traffic rules, created by human societies to
maintain a certain sort of order, and which could
differ from place to place - for example, you
drive on the left in India and on the right in
the USA. Further, let us say you question the
sort of social order that traffic rules keep in
place. Say you believe that traffic rules in
Delhi are the product of a model of urban
planning that privileges the rich and penalizes
the poor, that this order encourages
petrol-consuming private vehicles and discourages
forms of transport that are energy-saving -
cycles, public transport, pedestrians. You would
then question that model of the city that forces
large numbers of inhabitants to travel long
distances every day simply to get to school and
work. You could debate the merits of traffic
rules and urban planning on the grounds of
convenience, equity and sustainability of natural
resources - at least, nobody could seriously
argue that any set of traffic rules is natural.
Let us apply this argument to sexuality. First of
all, if "normal" behaviour were so natural, it
would not require such a vast network of controls
to keep in place. Take some random examples. Item
one - gendered dress codes. Imagine a bearded man
in a skirt in a public place: why would this
shake the very foundations of "normal" society?
Unless "he" is recognizably a hijra, and that
puts him on the margins of normal society in a
different way. Just the wrong kind of cloth on
the wrong body, and the very foundations of
natural, normal sexual identity start to quake!
Two - the disciplining of thought through
schools, families, the media, education,
religion. All telling you that desire for someone
of the same sex is a sin, or insane, or criminal.
Three, if all else fails - violent coercive
measures to keep people heterosexual, from
electric shock therapy to physical abuse to using
the coercive apparatus of the state, as the
parents in the Kerala incident did. Four - laws.
Why would we need laws to maintain something that
is natural? Are there laws forcing people to eat
or sleep? But there is a law forcing people to
have sex in a particular way!
The point of real interest though, is that human
beings do not in fact, live particularly
"natural" lives. The whole purpose of
civilization seems to be to move as far away from
nature as possible. We clothe our naked bodies
(indeed, the same people who condemn
homosexuality as unnatural would insist that
natural nudity be covered up). We cook raw food
derived from nature, we build elaborate shelters
from the natural elements. We use contraception
(again, most of those who condemn homosexuality
on the grounds that sex is only for procreation
would not question the need for contraception).
Clearly, equating "unnatural" with
"immoral/wrong" is simply a way of suffocating
debate.
But the more important question is - what is the
social order that the rules of "normal" sexual
behaviour keep in place? Why is it so crucial to
ensure that men have legitimate sex only with
women? (Note the word legitimate, because of
course sex between people of the same sex is as
old as human civilization). Why the need to
ensure that women only have sex with the men they
are married to (because again, everyone knows
that the rules of chastity and monogamy are
enforced strictly only for women). Remember the
scene from the Hindi film Mrityudand in which the
visibly pregnant Shabana is asked "yeh kiska
bachha hai?" It is very evident that the baby is
inside her body, that it is hers, but the absurd
question makes absolute sense in a patriarchal
society - who is the father of this child, is
what the question means. Whose caste does this
child bear, to whose property can he lay claim?
This brings us to the institution of the family
that is at the core of the present extremely
inequitable social order. A Delhi High Court
judgement in 1984 ruled that the fundamental
rights to equality and freedom have no place in
the family. To bring constitutional law into the
home, the learned judge ruled, is like "taking a
bull into a china shop." And of course, he was
absolutely right. The family in India is indeed
premised on extreme inequality - beginning with
the wife changing her surname on marriage, to the
property to which no sister has equal rights with
her brother, to the sexual division of labour,
which legitimizes the unpaid domestic labour of
women. The rights to equality and freedom would
certainly destroy the family as we know it.
If families were only about material and
emotional support structures, then any such group
of people would be recognized as a family. Isn't
it also more likely that humans experience sexual
desire in a variety of ways, of which the
heterosexual is only one? But the point precisely
is that only the heterosexual, patriarchal family
is permitted to exist. And this family is about
the passing on of property and lineage through
men. The "normality" that this requires is
produced, maintained and rigorously policed by
the state, laws and social institutions. It is
far from being natural or private.
In short, section 377 does not refer to some
queer people out there, whom normal people can
gaze upon like anthropologists at a bizarre
tribe. Section 377 is about the painful creation
of Mr and Mrs Normal - it is one of the nails
holding in place the elaborate fiction that
"normality" springs from nature.
URL: www.sacw.net/SexualityMinorities/nivedita01Jan2004.html
_____
[2]
31 Dec., 2003
COURTING THE 'ULAMA
Yoginder Sikand
America's image in the Muslim world has never
been as badly tarnished as it is today, and many
Muslims are convinced, rightly or wrongly, that
the American establishment has launched an
all-out war against Islam. The actual situation
might be more complex than what conspiracy
theorists claim, but there can be no doubt that
the attacks on Afghanistan and now the invasion
of Iraq have given further legitimacy to the
arguments of those who see America as leading a
global war on Islam. The powerful influence that
the Christian fundamentalist evangelicals as well
as the Zionist lobby exercise on Bush and his
administration is held up as further evidence for
the assertion of Islam being framed as America's
latest global enemy.
Bush's several statements denying that his
country sees Islam as the enemy seem to have had
little impact on popular Muslim opinion, for
America's aggression against Iraq and
Afghanistan and its continued support for Israel
have been taken by Muslims as belying Bush's
claims. Not surprisingly, then, Muslims all over
the world see America's protestations of
innocence as simply hypocritical.
In a bid to improve America's image among the
Indian Muslims, the American Centre in New Delhi
recently launched an ambitious programme of
reaching out to the 'ulama of the traditional
madrasas, who exercise an important influence on
Muslim opinion both within India as well as
elsewhere. I first heard about the programme from
a friend, who was involved in launching it.
Curious to learn more, I fixed an interview with
Robert Schmidt, Counselor for Cultural Affairs at
the American Embassy in Delhi. Mr. Schmidt is
also the chairman of the board of the United
States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI).
Since I am presently working on a book on the
Indian madrasas, Mr. Schmidt was willing to meet
me and invited me to his office.
Mr. Schmidt explained that so far under the
programme that he has launched four batches of
ulama, a total of 27 people, from various Indian
madrasas have been sent to America on a
three-week visit, all expenses taken care of. The
participants were first taken to Washington,
where they met with State Department officials,
and discussed various issues of mutual concern.
Thereafter, they were taken to various American
cities, where they interacted with Christian,
Jewish and Muslim educationists and visited
schools run by different religious groups. Mr.
Schmidt said that he hopes to expand the
programme in future and is contacting 'ulama at
other madrasas in this regard.
I stepped out of the office wondering at the
Americans' sudden interest in the Indian
madrasas. In the days that followed my meeting
with Mr. Schmidt I met several Muslim leaders as
well as 'ulama to ask them what they thought
about the programme. Predictably, their response
was mixed. Some saw it as a ploy to 'purchase'
the 'ulama by showing them the glamorous side of
America. Some 'ulama, they said, would be more
than willing to speak out in favour of America if
they were suitably rewarded for their services.
They argued that the programme had nothing to do
with any philanthropic motives such as helping to
improve the functioning of the madrasas, and was
aimed simply at cultivating a group of 'ulama who
would work to promote American interests, such as
by issuing statements in America's favour or
speaking out against anti-American Islamist
groups. If the programme was motivated to help
reform the system of education, they argued, why
take the 'ulama all the way to America, instead
of to modern schools and universities within
India itself? If the Americans were genuinely
concerned about the pathetic state of education
in India, they asked, why pick on the madrasas
alone? Why, they asked, have the Americans not
thought about reforming the RSS-schools, for
instance, where venom against Muslims and
Christians is so openly preached?
On the other hand, several other 'ulama I met saw
the programme as a positive development. One
'alim argued that by affording an opportunity to
the 'ulama to travel abroad and observe the
functioning of religious schools in America
the programme might help promote reforms in the
madrasas that they run. Another 'alim asserted
that the dialogue that the programme was intended
to promote was indeed a welcome thing, for it
might help remove misunderstandings and alleviate
conflicts between America and the Muslim world.
'There is no alternative to dialogue', he said.
'America and the Muslims have to learn to live
together and dialogue is the only way out'.
Going by past precedent, it is likely that the
programme would not be entirely free of political
implications and consequences. America's role in
supporting radical Islamic groups to counter
leftist forces in the Arab world and in
Afghanistan clearly suggests that it is not
undying hatred for Islam as such, but, rather,
what are seen as America's strategic interests,
that underly America's policies vis-a-vis
Islamic groups and the 'ulama. As to the actual
agenda of the 'ulama programme that the Americans
have launched in India there seems to be no
general consensus, but there can be no doubt that
it is stirring considerable debate in 'ulama
circles.
_____
[3]
SACW, January 1, 2003
Intimidating Trident
Communalism 2003
Ram Puniyani
The year 2003 had many a disturbing events. These are
portents for the polity of India as a secular
democracy. The backdrop of Gujarat carnage was too
heavy in the social conscience to be overcome. The
tragedy of Gujarat violence was followed by the
massive victory of the 'butcher of Gujarat', due to
whose acts of commission and omission the carnage took
the honorific scale unprecedented in the post
independence India. The nation was stunned to watch
the gross abuse of the human and democratic values,
with the active connivance of the state machinery. The
connivance of state apparatus was so gross that it
will be better to call it a state sponsored anti
Muslim pogrom. Apart from its many firsts, the
violation of the women of minority community, the
state hostility to those who tried to provide some
relief to the riot victims was unimaginable in any
society in the current times. The face of a frightened
Muslim pleading for mercy stated the nature of
violence and the state of mind of minorities in
Gujarat. The slitting open the womb of Kausar Bano to
burn her unborn baby underlined the scale of hatred,
which by now has become the part of social psyche all
over and more so in Gujarat.
Muslims in Godhra were presented as the culprits and
the whole genocide was presented as a reaction to the
burning of the train. Interestingly the Godhra tragedy
again highlights the state of the affairs and the
manipulation of events. There was no room to question
the Modiís spot investigation that Muslims have burnt
the train, there was no place for introspecting the
reasons for the train burning, who did it, as the
aggressive propaganda dished out the theory that
ëtheyí have burnt the train in collaboration with the
ISI and international terrorism, ëweí the Hindus are
under threat and so lets retaliate. By a sleight of
hand the active violence was presented as a reaction
of the unfortunate event, which could have been
investigated properly and guilty of the crime punished
in an impartial manner. This bogus theory exposed
itself, but not in the popular psyche, and the
well-planned pogrom unleashed itself. The question was
that if it was a reaction, than why the neighboring
Hindu of Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan are not taking
revenge? The questions it raised were innumerable. But
the popular psyche did accept the Modi thesis and a
section of people unleashed the first major
anti-Minority pogrom of 21st century, well coordinated
by different wings of RSS and its affiliates, Sangh
Parivar (SP).
How come that the one who presided over the biggest
genocide, of course with due protection from the
fellow swaymsevaks in the central govt., the Prime
minister and Home minister, could come back to power
in such a massive majority? This was simple enough to
explain as the polarization brought about due to
pogrom was highlighted continuously and majority
community was given the signal that defeat of Mr. Modi
is equivalent to victory of Pakistan, the country with
our permanent enemy status, and of international
terrorism. Also the inroads which BJPs affiliate,
Vanvasi Kalyan Ashsram (VKA) has made in the adivisi
areas did the rest, by winning over a large to section
of Adiviais to the politics of Hate.
Emerging as a Hero from the electoral battles, Mr.
Modiís arrogance reached sky high. The process of
giving justice to the Gujarat victims is being
obstructed in all possible ways. To begin with Justice
Shah-Nanvati commission, which has been appointed to
investigate the Gujarat riots, has been giving the
signals that it is going to play to the tunes of RSS
and its affiliates. Mr. Shah is a known RSS
sympathizer. Supreme Court had quashed his judgments
in TADA cases against Muslims. Mr. Nanavati also once
a while drops a line, which shows as do where do his
sympathies lie. The FIRís have not been filed in
innumerable cases and in few cases, which have come
up, the witnesses have been intimidated by the state
authorities and the sundry politicians who were
involved in the riots. The case of Best Bakery said it
all. Zahira Sheikh, whose twelve relatives were burnt
alive, initially gave the evidence against the
culprits. Later under the threats and pressures, most
of the witnesses along with her turned hostile and
retracted their statements and in the court denied
that she had seen any of the accused. Many a civil
liberties groups helped her and in the case filed in
the Supreme court, the court reprimanded Modi for his
governments failure to book the culprits of the riots
and to provide due protection to the victims and those
deposing in the courts. Since it is perceived that
situation in Gujarat is totally hostile to the
minorities and those seeking justice, it is being
argued that hearing of riot related cases be shifted
out of Gujarat since the atmosphere there is not
conducive to the proper conduct of the riot related
cases so they should be shifted out.
Many a social activists have started perceiving that
the menacing grip of the state is strangulating the
civil liberties in general and those of minorities in
particular. the same is exemplified times and over
again. Mallika Sarabhai, one of the most respected
names in Gujarat is being hounded for raising her
voice against the atrocities of the state. She has
been one of petitioners in the public interest
litigation in the case file in the Supreme Court. She
had also raised her voice against the carnage in
Gujarat. The state Govt. managed to put up one of the
ex-applicants to Sarabhaiís dance troupe, and cooked
up a false case. The matter went to the extent of
putting hear behind bars, for trafficking, violation
of visa laws and for fraud. Sarabhaiís Darshana
Academy had duly returned the deposit to the
applicant, there was no violation of any of the norms
of the land. She had to appeal to courts to avoid her
arrest and to ensure that the Modi Govt. does not
victimize her. After the genocide, it is a different
Gujarat, one feel the Big Brother Modi breathing down
oneís neck all the time. A prelude to a Fascist state?
In one of the other ongoing court cases, Dara Singh
the culprit involved in the murder of Pastor Graham
Stains was sentenced to death. One recalls here that
Dara Singh has nebulous links with different wings of
Sangh Parivar. After he committed this crime, the Home
minister, Advani, went on to exonerate his links with
Bajrang Dal. M.M.Joshi and others went into assert
that the murder of Pastor stains is part of an
international conspiracy to destabilize the BJP led
coalition. Also Dilp Sing Judeo who is the champion of
Gharvapasi, reconversion of Adivasis to Hinduism,
vowed to fight Dara Singhís case in the courts. On
having been reprimanded by the RSS-BJP top brass for
this, he retracted. Incidentally, Judeoís brother took
the brief for Dara Singh.
The NRI funding of RSS and its progeny has been
brought to the surface by the human rights groups
based in US. The web site SACW and Sabrang prepared a
report on this expose. RSS sympathizers have set up
IDRF, and have been projecting it as a charity
organization supporting the work in India. The report
points out that most of its funds go to the RSS
affiliates and a large chunk of this is used in the
hate propaganda and in Hindutvasing the Adivasis.
Those NRIís looking for an avenue to do charity are
presented with IDRF as a non-sectarian charity
organization. These funds have played a major role in
doctoring the psyche of the masses leading to various
acts of violence against minorities.
As per the order of Allahabad High Court,
Archeological Survey of India (ASI) undertook the
excavation at the site where Babri mosque was
demolished. The report goes on to say that a massive
structure of 10 century, the one like the temple
existed at the site. This conclusion of ASI totally
goes against its own findings. It has conveniently
ignored uncomfortable findings in order to forcibly
prove the existence of temple. While the Sangh Parivar
has quietly picked up on this and is going around
saying that a massive Ram Temple existed and was
demolished, the discerning archeologists have quashed
the ASI thesis in a very convincing manner.
The report has not "taken into account" certain
features of the western -wall of the pre-Babri Masjid
chamber. The burnt brick wall of the pre-Babri Masjid
structure had a carved stone laid in the foundation.
If this finding is analyzed it precluded the
possibility of the structure being associated with
Hindus, since they never used carved stone in
foundation. Many an outstanding
archeologists-historians have refuted the possibility
of the temple being there on the ground of the same
findings.
The project undertaken by the MHRD to saffronise the
school textbooks reached it culmination in the release
of new textbooks. These new lots are a blot on the
academic standards so far achieved by Indian
historiography. Not only is there a heavy Hindutva
slant in these, they are also blatant in their
anti-Minorityism, anti-weaker sections of society and
these books eulogize the fascist type of Nationalism.
What shows the caliber of the writers of the books is
that have lifted paragraphs and pages from the US
books in the matters of World affairs. And on the top
of this, the naked plagiarism is being defended by the
MHRD minister. One is sure that these books will
create a havoc in the times to come as the central
core of these is paying blind obeisance to the
traditions, glorification of all the obscurantist
values and to spread hate against the Muslims and
Christians in blatant and subtle way.
The fact that communalization process is not just
restricted to North Indian states became clear in
various incidents in other states. In Madhya Pardesh
Uma Bharati tried to kick start her election campaign
with by making an issue around Bhojshala/mosque issue.
Fortunately her ploy did not work. The Baba Budan giri
dargah in Karnatkak has been repeatedly brought to
fore and the Sangh brigade aims to convert it into
Ayodhya of South. Every year they are holding a rally
to declare that it is Datta Pitham, which has been
converted by Muslims rulers into a Dargahg. In current
yearís function, the peace protesters were arrested in
large number while the state Govt. silently watched
the rally by Sangh Parivar, which spewed poison
against minorities. Kerala is another state giving the
danger signals. This state has large number of RSS
shakhas. The Marad incident of clash between two
groups of fishermen was communalized and the Muslim
residents of the village had to flee and take shelter
in a refugee camp. The subtle undercurrents of RSS
work are getting visible in most of the states. With
BJP led coalition coming to power at the center this
has got a boost and lot of official patronage is being
showered on the organizations related to RSS, which
primarily aim at its usual agenda, which spread myths
against minorities which in turn form a fertile ground
for the riots and other processes in due course of
time. Also the flood of dollars in the RSS affiliates
is another worrisome problem, adding grist to the
already existing threats posed by their activities.
The results of the assembly elections (MP, Rajasthan,
Chattisgargh) are the major worrisome factor. Every
victory of BJP leads it further to its tightening grip
on the civil and democratic institutions. By now the
other opportunist political formations have started
lending a ladder to the BJPís rise to power. The ilk
of George Fernandez, who is a symbol of the
opportunist politics to the core, is rising and BJP is
able to use such people to the hilt for its agenda and
the dirty work. In order to retain their privileges
and power this type of leaders are the oneís to defend
the rape of women in Gujarat or to put a cover to the
acts like ghastly burning of Pastor Stains. This
victory of BJP gives another signal and that pertains
to its ësuccessí in social engineering. By now the
affiliates of BJP have infiltrated in the remote areas
through Vanvasi kalyan Ahsrams which are not only
Hinduisng Adivasis but also Hidnutvaising them.
Gujarat showed as to how cleverly RSS can use Dalits
and Adivasis as its foot soldiers in conducting the
anti minority pogroms. These elections are showing
that RSS grip on Adivasi areas is risesing and now
through the medium of identity politics it can draw
the adivasis to its electoral fold. In a way BJP seems
to be emerging as a core pole in the electoral arena.
One, it is able to negotiate coalitions, taking
advantage of the power hunger of the opportunist
electoral formations. Two, it is able to give them the
RSS-Hindu identity through VKA etc. Three, by
providing upwardly mobile channels to a section of
them they are able to increase their base. And lastly,
the Sanskritisation process, which ensures that this
semi affluent section of Adiviasis falls in the lap of
SP, also grips a very small section of Adivasis.
The policies in external affairs are leading the
country in the lap of the US imperialism. One knows
during the colonial period of our country, RSS was not
opposed to the British rule as such but was focusing
its energies on opposing the political stream, which
trying to build India as a modern Indian Nation state,
the national stream under the leadership of Gandhi.
Even during Americaís aggression against Vietnam, RSS
might have been one of the few organizations in the
world to blatantly support the American policies.
India, which was the leader of Non Aligned movement
has been gradually shifting its stance to become the
client state of Unites states. This became very
obvious when India offered all the support to US in
its aggression against Afghanistan. The same
wavelength is continuing and US is recognizing that
India under the BJP can become another reliable ally
for its global ambitions of imposing Globalization on
his terms.
The impact of this Modi type intimidation on the
Muslim minorities is in the adverse direction. The
ghettoization of Muslim minorities, which increased in
the mid eighties, is rising further. This in turn is
leading to the further growth of Muslim fundamentalism
in the pockets of population.
Overall the scene is quiet dismal, especially after
the results of three state assemblies. If one analyses
the electoral percentage, one is clear that the total
votes polled by BJP are not significant except in
parts of the country. But combined with the different
strategies and with the coalitions, it is able to walk
away with the cake. It is a clever Machiavellian move,
which is keeping it in the center of power. Since BJP
is tied to the apron strings of RSS and is electoral
wing of Sangh Parivar, the danger becomes all the
more. If the trajectory is not checked it will aim at
a majority on its own, then subduing the allies it
will manipulate the social and political processes in
such a way that over a period of time it brings in the
agenda of Hindu Rashtra.
The response of the communities has been very divers.
A sign of hope has emerged from the Human rights
groups who have undertaken the work of spreading the
values of pluralism and harmony in the communities.
This being done through various channels, though most
welcome is too little too late. Amongst the Muslim
communities while on one hand there is rise of
obscurantist values, on the other various groups and
trusts working amongst them have been taking up the
issues related to education and self-employment in a
serious way. Again the efforts are miniscule compared
to the problem on hand.
The efforts at political level will fructify only if
the society gets a respite at electoral level and at
social level. The need is to ensure that under no
circumstance the communal powers come to power. Every
stint in power leads them to strengthening their grip
at the social level. This further erodes the
pluralistic values and its impact is on all aspects of
National life. The Nation is at the crossroads once
again. The threat of communal fascism is rising by the
day and the efforts to deal with this should aim at
forming a sort of platform for egalitarian society,
addressing the issues of people at day-to-day level.
The positive alternative of a society where the values
emerging from our freedom struggle and those enshrined
in our constitution is strengthened has to be our
priority. The fragmentation of secularists at
political and social level is most detrimental. One
can say with some degree of confidence that even now
the overall majority of society is fed up with the
impact of communal politics, the adverse effects of
the politics of Hindutva. The majority of Nation wants
the issues to be brought back to the oneís related to
bread, butter, shelter and employment. The tragedy is,
the center of gravity of our polity is gradually
shifting. The challenge is not only to hold it but
also to put forth a positive alternative of secular
democracy, the one committed to not only to the people
of one or other religion but to all Indian citizens.
The issue is that we all deserve the status of equal
citizens irrespective of our caste creed and gender.
The issue at stake is that the choice of those who
struggled for our freedom has to be brought back as
the major concern of the nation, the concerns related
to a decent social and political existence.
Communalism is rising by default, it is as much the
success of the long work of RSS and its progeny as
much it is due to the failure of the progressive
people to understand the multiple dimensions of
social, economic and cultural life of the people in
all its rich complexity.
URL:
www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/rampuniyaniJan2004.html
_____
[4]
JANUARY 7, 2004
Promise of India & Youth 4 Peace Unity Concert
VENUE: Shringar Theatre, Pragati Maidan , New Delhi
( we have shifted the venue from Lal Chowk to Shringar due to cold weather)
Time: 5.30 pm onwards
Safdar Rangmanch- Street Play
Mannu Kohli, Zohra Segal, Gauhar Raza, Shakti-
Dalit Women Percussionist and Dance troupe from
Tamil Nadu, Usha Uthup
ENTRY FREE
Queries: Youth 4 Peace, Anhad- 4, Windsor Place,
New Delhi-110001. Tel- 23327367/ 66/ 9811807558
Info on Artists:
Safdar Rangmanch- Safdar Rangmanch was formed a
year after Safdar Hashmi’s murder. Safdar
Rangmanch has performed over 1000 performances of
over 20 street plays. Safdar Rangmanch would
perform its new play on January 7, 2004. The
following actors would be performing: Sanjay
Sharma, Saqlain Shahidi, Sudhir , Harish Kumar,
Chandan Kumar, Laxmi Sharma, Dorothy, Mansa
Patnam, Anuj, Mohit Rewal.
Shakti- Dalit percussionist, dance group
Sakthi Cultural Group is a Dalit women
percussionist and dance group from Tamil
Nadu.Shakti has completed 10 years and so far
1000 performances have been staged. Shakti
systematized the adavus of dances, worked
creatively to compose different choreography,
modernized the dances with attractive costumes
and above all they have tried to effectively
bring out a social message through these art
forms.
Today Shakti is equipped to perform cultural
programs for more than 2 hours . Shakti would be
performing on the theme of communal harmony for
about 40 mnts at the concert.
Zohra Segal- Zohra Segal’s first major role was
in Merchant-Ivory's The Courtesans of Bombay (d.
James Ivory, 1982). This led to a major role as
Lady Chatterjee in the television adaptation The
Jewel in the Crown (ITV, 1984).
Many of the roles Segal has played since the mid
1980s could be categorized as 'the elderly south
Asian woman', as in the comedy drama series
Tandoori Nights (Channel 4, 1987) and Never Say
Die (Channel 4, 1987) and the east-meets-west
drama Firm Friends (ITV, 1992-94), about the fast
food business. Segal has also worked on many
independent British features including Caravaggio
(d. Derek Jarman, 1986), Partition (d. Ken
McMullen, 1987) and Bhaji on the Beach (d.
Gurinder Chadha, 1993).
Since the mid-1990s most of Segal's work has been
for the Bollywood film industry, in films such as
in Dil Se (India, d. Mani Ratnam, 1998) and
Dillagi (India, d. Sunny Deol, 2000), though she
has continued to make films in Britain, recently
The Mystic Masseur (d. Ismail Merchant, 2001) and
Bend It Like Beckham (d. Gurinder Chadha, 2002).
To date, her acting career has spanned over 6
decades internationally and almost 4 decades in
the UK alone, bringing to the screen many
different representations of a south Asian woman
of the Diaspora.
Zohra Segal would recite poetry at the concert.
Usha Uthup- Usha Uthup or Didi as she is
fondly referred to, was born in independent India
of parents who came from the traditionally rich
states of Madras and Kerala and was raised in the
bustling metropolis of Mumbai. Although Usha had
never learnt music formally, her passion for
music was present right from the moment she
uttered her first words!
With her gifted, velvet, smooth voice she was the
only artist to have recorded six albums in
English with HMV/EMI. Today she sings in more
than thirteen Indian and eight foreign languages.
This is an achievement by itself.
If there is a legend bridging the East and the
West, it is Usha. With her music and charm, she
has transcended the barriers of caste, creed,
language and nationality. Accolades have come
from all over the world and she has sung for
Prime Ministers and Presidents alike. Indira
Gandhi, Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi and more
recently Nelson Mandela have all been her ardent
admirers.
Usha Uthup will sing songs of peace and harmony at the concert.
Gauhar Raza- Gauhar Raza did his M. Tech as an
electrical engineer from IIT, Delhi, worked as an
engineer for a few years and then joined Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research as a
scientist, where he continues to work. Gauhar
Raza is a documentary maker, playwright and a
poet. His documentary films have been widely used
by groups all over India and abroad. He has made
over 15 documentaries which include: Zulmaton ke
Daur Main, Ek Khoobsurat Jahaz, Junoon Ke Badhte
Qadam, Bahon ka Qila , The Glacier and others.
Gauhar’s first book of poetry ‘Jazbon ke Lau’ was
published by Rajkamal Prakashan and was given the
Hindi Academy Award for creative writing. He has
also been awarded by the Urdu Academy for
promoting Science in Urdu. His songs have been
widely used by the literacy movement all over
India.. Gauhar Raza would be reciting his
anti-communal poetry at the concert.
Mannu Kohli- Mannu Kohli, a young singer, has
been singing in public from very early age. BBC,
London recorded her concert at Bush House, London
and broadcast it internationally several times in
1992. Under the patronage of Mrs. Shubha Mudgal
she sang for Music Today's 'Wedding Songs of
U.P.". She has also sung for English musicals
like Jesus Christ Superstar and Irma La Douce.
Ghazal and Nazm are Mannu's forte though she has
no formal training in Ghazal singing. Her
diction in Urdu is impeccable. Mannu has worked
as a journalist for Delhi Midday and is currently
working for Music Today (India Today's music
company).
She would be singing ghazals by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ghalib and a few other poets.
ENTRY FREE
------------------------------------------------
JANUARY 8, 2004
Promise of India
cordially invites you to its conference
'Linking Peace and Development'
Organized by a Global Community of Indians
Reaffirming their Faith in a Democratic, Secular,
Pluralistic, and United India
Venue: India Habitat Center, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Thursday, January 8, 2004, 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Time: 8:00 AM breakfast; 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM, with lunch and tea breaks
Registration: There is no registration fee;
however, priority will be given to pre-registered
attendees. On-site registration will be open
subject to availability of space. You may
register at:
<https://www.promiseofindia.org/Conference.cfm>https://www.PromiseOfIndia.Org/Conference.cfm.
Theme: To make strong linkages between peace,
communal harmony, and India’s social and economic
development.
Approach: Keynote and panel presentations by
distinguished speakers with known commitment to
peace, development, and justice issues. Panelists
are drawn from diverse spheres such as grass
roots development, business, justice and
governance, the media, and activists working to
promote communal harmony.
Each panelist will introduce his/her
organization’s (or personal) area of work,
placing it in the overall context of linking
development to peace and justice. They will share
their views on recent events in India, and will
suggest concrete ideas for long term partnerships
between Indian civil society and the Indian
diaspora in support of communal harmony,
development, and governance issues. Each panel
presentation will be followed by at least fifteen
minutes of Q & A.
9:00 Welcome by Host for the day: Farooque
Shaikh*, Television Host and Actor
9:10 Introduction to Promise of India: Raju
Rajagopal, Chair, Promise of India
9:25 Introduction to India Development Trust, UK: Dr. Prem Sharma, Chair IDT
9:30 Inauguration and Keynote Address: Shri
I.K. Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India
10:00 Prof. Amartya Sen’s and Shabana Azmi’s message to Promise of India
10:15 **Tea Break**
PANEL PRESENTATIONS
(15 minutes per speaker, followed by Q & A; *
indicates speaker to be confirmed)
10:30 Panel #1: Peace and Social Development
Will feature NGO leaders, who have dedicated
themselves to serving marginalized communities,
and who are in a position to speak about the
severe impact of communal/caste violence upon
grass roots developmental work.
Moderator: Dr. Anita Deshmukh, India Development Service (IDS), Chicago, IL1.
· Aruna Roy IAS, Magsasay award winner;
Founder, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana (MKSS),
Rajasthan
· Sushma Iyengar, Managing Trustee, Kutch
Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), Bhuj, Gujarat
· Sandeep Pandey, Magsasay Award winner;
Co-founder, Asha for Education and Activist,
Lucknow, UP
11:45 Panel #2: Peace and Economic Development
Will feature business and community leaders, who
will juxtapose upbeat views of India’s economic
future, and the increasingly positive outlook of
India as a business destination, with the urgent
need to create an environment of peace and
harmony essential to reaching all sections of
society.
Moderator: Kailash Joshi, Global Vice-Chair,
The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) and Co-President,
India Community Center (ICC), Milpitas, CA
Anu Aga--Chairperson, Thermax India Ltd, Pune
Prof. S.K. Thorat--Director, Institute for Dalit Studies; Professor, JNU
Admiral Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff, India
1:00 PM **Lunch Break**
2:00 Panel #3: Justice and Governance
Will feature legal and constitutional experts,
and activists who have been working on
transparency and governance issues, who will be
able to speak about the inherent strengths of
India’s democratic institutions, especially in
the context of some of the recent events.
Moderator: Gagan Sethi, Managing Trustee, Janvikas, Ahmedabad, Gujarat1.
Justice J.S. Verma, former Chief Justice of
Supreme Court and former Chairman of
NHRC-National Human Rights Commission
Julio Francis Ribeiro, former Commissioner of Police, Mumbai
Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, National Coordinator, Lok Satta, Hyderabad
3:15 Panel #4: Role of the Media
Will feature leading journalists from the print,
visual, and internet media, who will be able to
speak about India’s press freedoms and the role
and responsibilities of the media as a watchdog
over democratic institutions, and the media’s
role in preserving and promoting communal harmony.
Moderator: Tarun Tejpal, Tehelka
Prabhash Joshi, Consulting Editor, Jan Satta (Hindi)
Paul Zacharia, Writer and Columnist in Malayalam
Sukumar Muralidharan, Bureau Chief, The Frontline
4:30 **Tea Break**
4:45 Panel #5: Communal Harmony
Will feature leading figures from different
religious traditions and activists who have been
working on communal harmony projects.
Moderator: Prof. Raka Ray, Dept of Sociology and
Chair, Center for South Asian Studies, University
of California at Berkeley
Nirmala Deshpande, Senior Gandhian, Association of Peoples of Asia
Swami Agnivesh, Adyathma Jagran Manch & World Council of Arya Samaj
Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, JNU
Fr. Cedric Prakash, Prashant, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Closing Address:
‘Linking Development to Peace and Justice:
Highlights, Thoughts, and Actions’
Harsh Mander--former IAS officer; Anhad; Writer and Activist
Promise of India is a global initiative from
people of Indian origin across the world, and
from the people of India, who wish to reaffirm
their faith in a Democratic, Secular, and
Pluralistic India at this critical juncture in
our nation’s history. It is a coalition of
individuals and organizations who wish to speak
with one voice against communal violence and to
offer their support for efforts to promote
harmony among communities. POI seeks to encourage
those who are working on the ground for peace,
justice, and transparency in governance, as well
as those working to redirect the nation's
energies towards development and educational
opportunities for all Indians. POI envisions the
creation of a sustainable global movement towards
these objectives.
Please RSVP: Promise of India, c/o ANHAD, 4
Windsor Place, New Delhi Tel: 2332-7367/ 66/
9811807558 or 098401-73650; Lunch and Tea will be
served; For more details, please log on to:
https://www.PromiseOfIndia.Org
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JANUARY 9, 2004
Anhad ( Act Now for Harmony and Democracy)
Invites you to the Premiere of the documentary
FINAL SOLUTION
at 4pm by
Rakesh Sharma
on January 9, 2004
at the Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
Rakesh Sharma would be present at the screening.
Final Solution is a study of the politics of
hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb 2002-
July 2003, the film examines the aftermath of the
genocidal violence that followed the burning of
59 Hindus in the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on
Feb 27, 2002. Over 2500 Moslems were brutally
killed in 'reaction', over 200,000 families
displaced; it left an impact on the entire
population of over 4 million Moslems in Gujarat.
The film is in four parts:
Part one - Pride and Genocide (57 minutes
approx.) – deals with the carnage and its
immediate aftermath. It examines the exploitation
of the Godhra train incident by the right-wing
propaganda machinery to drive a deep wedge in the
Gujarat society and polarize its populace. It
documents in graphic detail various acts of
brutality that marked the violence. It records
the pattern of pre-planned violence across towns
and villages and in various muslim settlements in
the state capital - Ahmedabad.
Part two - The Terror Trail (56 minutes approx) -
We hear voices from Gulberg society Sultana
narrates her own story and expresses her shock
about the venue chosen for the Gaurav Yatra
speech at Kalol - the very spot where the men
were killed and women chased into the fields
before being raped! In the Eral rape-murder case,
we hear Medina's eyewitness account We speak to
family members of the Hindu victims of the
terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple.
Part three - The Hate Mandate (58 minutes approx)
– travels on the election campaign during the
Assembly elections in Gujarat in late 2002. It is
an attempt to study 'from below' the spread of
fascism among the Hindus in Gujarat.
Part four - Hope and Despair ( 54 mins approx)–
brings out the voices of the hapless victims
whose universes have been damaged or destroyed
forever. It traces the process of ghettoisation -
350-400 Moslem students from Don Bosco school are
forced to join a new school within the Moslem
area; at the Juhapura-Vejalpur 'border', adults
speak of the fragile nature of the 'calm/peace' .
Rakesh Sharma began his film/TV career in 1986 as
an assistant director on Shyam Benegal's
Discovery of India. His broadcast industry
experience includes the set up/ launch of 3
broadcast channels in India : Channel [V], Star
Plus and Vijay TV (Tamil) and consultancy
assignments with several TV channels/production
companies in India He has now gone back to
independent documentary film-making. His previous
film Aftershocks : The Rough Guide to Democracy
won the best documentary award at Fribourg, Big
Mini-DV and at Big Muddy and won 7 other awards
at various festivals in USA and Europe during
2002-03. It has been screened at over 80
international film festivals and won the Robert
Flaherty prize in 2002.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
The complete SACW archive is available at:
bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
South Asia Counter Information Project a sister
initiative, provides a partial back -up and
archive for SACW: snipurl.com/sacip
See also associated site: www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
--
More information about the Sacw
mailing list