SACW | 03 Jan 2004
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Fri Jan 2 20:52:21 CST 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 03 January, 2004
[ANNOUNCEMENT: Please note, SACW dispatches are
going to be interrupted starting January 6/7 to
and are not likely to resume before February 22,
2004. ]
[1] Report on the media sector meeting during
the Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and
Democracy (PIPFPD) summit in Karachi on Dec 13,
2003
[2] [India - Mulla Multiplication] 'Conversion'
Convulsions in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin (Yoginder
Sikand)
[3] Postmodernism, Hindu nationalism and `Vedic
science' [Part 2] (Meera Nanda)
[4] Programme of the Seventh Subaltern Studies Conference [Delhi]
[5] Communal Riots 2003 (Asghar Ali Engineer)
[6] Precepts For 'non-Slave Indian' Year 2004
[7] Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW)
[8] BBC progamme on Gujarat angers India's fascists
[9] Important new Books:
A) 'The Path of the Parivar: Articles on Gujarat and Hindutva (Mukul Dube)
B) `Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism' by Jyotirmaya Sharma
[10] Press Release (India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum)
--------------
[1]
Report on the media sector meeting held during
the Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and
Democracy (PIPFPD) summit in Karachi on Dec 13,
2003
Read the full text at: www.sacw.net/peace/mediaatPIPFPD2003.html
_____
[2]
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 02:11:09 -0800 (PST)
'Conversion' Convulsions in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin
Yoginder Sikand
Located off a narrow, congested lane in Delhi's
Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, right opposite the
global headquarters of the Tablighi Jama'at, the
world's largest Islamic movement, are the offices
of the Idara Isha'at-I Diniyat. The Idara is a
publishing house that has for decades specialized
in producing Tablighi literature in several
languages. Indeed, the Idara's publications have
played a major role in the global spread of the
Tablighi Jama'at. The Idara's books are to be
found in almost every country where the Tabligh
movement is active, which is to say in almost
every country where Muslims live. The Idara and
the Tabligh movement have thus enjoyed a close
relationship over the years. The Idara has helped
popularize the message of the movement, while the
movement has helped build up the Idara into one
of the largest Muslim publishing houses in India.
The cosy relationship between the two is now at
an end, however. In a recent announcement the
senior owner of the Idara, Muhammad Anas, has
declared that he has 'repented' of having been
associated with the Tablighi Jama'at and the
Deobandi sect, and has now decided to join the
rival Ahl-i Hadith school. Given the fierce
rivalry between the Deobandis and the Tablighis,
on the one hand, and the Ahl-i Hadith on the
other, Anas' move has come as a major shock to
those who knew him as well as for activists in
the Tabligh movement.
Anas made his dramatic announcement in late 2003,
in an interview given to a certain Muhammad Aqil,
an Indian Ahl-i Hadith scholar and activist based
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Aqil spared no effort in
publicizing the Ahl-i Hadith's latest prize
neophyte. He arranged for the entire interview to
be put up on a major Indian Ahl-i Hadith website
managed out of Bombay (www.ahya.org). Audio tapes
containing the interview were also hurriedly
produced and distributed through Ahl-i Hadith
channels all over India. Clearly, for the Ahl-i
Hadith Anas' dramatic conversion is being seen as
a major triumph. Meanwhile, although Tablighi
leaders refuse to comment on the affair, there is
clearly considerable resentment in Tablighi
circles about what is regarded as Anas'
'betrayal' of the cause. As one Tablighi activist
told me, 'Anas' business empire was built
entirely on the money he earned by publishing
Tablighi books, and now he decides to stab us in
the back'.
Recent years have witnessed the remarkable
resurgence of intra-Muslim sectarian rivalries in
India, and in this the Ahl-i Hadith have had a
major role to play. Unlike the Deobandis and the
Barelwis, who form the vast majority of the
Indian Muslim population, the Ahl-i Hadith is
fiercely opposed to Sufism as well as to the
rigid following (taqlid) of any of the four
established schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
Instead, it insists that Muslims should strictly
follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the Prophetic
practice, alone. Sharing a common vision of Islam
with the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia, the Indian
Ahl-i Hadith are said to have received
considerable sums of money from Arab patrons.
Much of this money has been spent on producing
highly polemical literature targeted against
other Muslim groups, branding them as erroneous
and accusing them of polytheism (shirk) and
wrongful innovation (biddat). As a result of
relentless Ahl-i Hadith propaganda directed
against them, other Muslim groups have begun
responding by distributing literature defending
their beliefs and seeking to portray the Ahl-i
Hadith as sinister troublemakers. All this has
led to considerable resentment and tension in the
wider Muslim community.
Anas' decision to join the Ahl-i Hadith will no
doubt add a new angle to the ongoing
inter-sectarian rivalry between the Ahl-i Hadith
and the Deobandis, in particular because some of
his statements contained in his interview are
sure to be seen as provocative by the Deobandi
'ulama. The manner in which Anas and his
interviewer both discuss his decision to join the
Ahl-i Hadith gives the distinct impression that
both see the act as a radical shift from
'disbelief' to the true faith, as dramatic a
conversion as a shift from one religion to a
completely different one. It is as if the
Deobandi form of Islam that Anas had been
adhering to all these years had little or nothing
to do with real Islam. Naturally, the Deobandis
are not going to take this suggestion lightly.
Anas' interview is now available as a slim
48-page Urdu booklet, published by a Delhi-based
Ahl-I Hadith publishing house, the Dar ul-Kitab
al-Islamiya. The provocative title of the booklet
reads, 'Faza'il-i 'Amal (Tablighi Nisab) Ke
Nashir Ki Tauba' ('The Repentance of the
Publisher of the Faza'il-i 'Amal (Tablighi
Nisab'). The use of the word 'tauba' or
'repentance' is, of course, deliberate,
suggesting that, as the publisher of the booklet
sees it, Anas' earlier Deobandi-Tablighi
association was a grievous sin that he has now
sincerely repented of.
In his introduction to the booklet, the editor of
the booklet, Muhammad Aqil, explains why he, like
many other Ahl-I Hadith scholars, is so opposed
to the Tablighi Jama'at. He writes that the
principal text used by Tablighi activists, the
Faza'il-i 'Amal, penned by the Tablighi scholar
Shaikh ul-Hadith Maulana Muhamad Zakariya, is
replete with concocted stories and weak and even
fabricated hadith or reports attributed to the
Prophet Muhammad. Several of the beliefs that it
prescribes, he says, are un-Islamic. Many of
these are derived from Sufism, which, he says,
has no sanction in Islam. A true Muslim, Aqil
argues, must follow only the Qur'an and the
genuine Hadith, and he claims that the only
Muslim group to do so is the Ahl-i Hadith. He
refers to numerous Arab and Indian Ahl-i Hadith
'ulama who have written texts 'proving' the
Tablighi Jama'at to be a deviant group, primarily
because of the allegedly un-Islamic contents of
the Faza'il-i 'Amal. Aqil also quotes a fatwa
issued by a leading Wahhabi 'alim, the late chief
Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin
Baaz, to back his claim. In his statement, bin
Baaz asserts that that the 'message' (da'wah) of
the Tablighi Jama'at is 'replete with errors' and
adds that it also propagates 'wrongful
innovations' (biddat) and 'polytheistic'
(shirkiya) practices. Hence, he asserts, it is
not proper (ja'iz) to travel on missionary tours
with the Tablighi Jama'at, unless the intention
be to warn the Tablighi activists of their
erroneous ways.
Anas' own narrative of his joining the Ahl-i
Hadith reads almost like a Pauline conversion
story, a sudden transformation from darkness to
light. He relates that he was first introduced to
the Ahl-i Hadith recently through audio tapes and
CDs containing lectures of leading Ahl-i Hadith
'ulama and through certain Ahl-i Hadith websites,
a remarkable testimony to the technological
sophistication of several Islamic groups in South
Asia. He then compared what he heard and read
from these sources with the writings of Hanafi
Deobandi 'ulama, and found to his consternation,
so he says, that many of the pronouncements of
the latter actually have no basis in the Qur'an
and Hadith. This led him to read the works of
Ahl-i Hadith scholars, and satisfied that their
writings are in accordance with the Qur'an and
Hadith, decided to join their sect.
Anas admits that his conversion experience has
not been a smooth affair. Most of his friends and
relatives are upset with him, as if, as he puts
it, he 'has committed a very grave sin'. After
joining the Ahl-i Hadith he says he has sought to
strictly follow the commandments of the Qur'an
and the Hadith, which has provoked considerable
opposition from even people he considers close to
him. Thus, for instance, he recently arranged for
the marriage of his son, a simple affair in
accordance with the Qur'an and Hadith to which
only a few people wereinvited. This has, he
laments, angered his relatives. Likewise, he says
that his daughter is now having to face
considerable problems in her in-laws home
because she prays in the Ahl-i Hadith fashion.
Yet, he says, he has persevered and now his wife,
all his children as well as the youngest of his
two brothers have followed him into the Ahl-i
Hadith. He adds that his middle brother has not
yet joined the Ahl-i Hadith but reveals that he,
too, broadly agrees with its aims and
understanding of Islam and will, too, probably
soon come around. He admits that his sudden
decision would make a major dent in his income,
for his business is based on publishing and
selling Tablighi books. Yet, he says, he is
willing to suffer poverty in God's path.
As he relates in his interview, following his
conversion Anas has introduced major changes in
his publishing house. After consulting his two
younger brothers, who are also partners in the
business, he has decided to stop publishing the
second volume of Maulana Zakariya's Faza'il-i
'Amal, the principal Tablighi text, and hopes to
end the first volume soon, too. He has made a
list of other books by Deobandi ulama that he was
earlier publishing or stocking in his bookshop
and which he now believes to contain material not
in accordance with his new understanding of
Islam. Among the books that he has stopped
publishing and selling are the Bahishti Zewar,
the Hikayat-i Auliya and the 'Amal-i Qur'ani by
the leading Deobandi scholar Maulana Ashraf Ali
Thanwi, the Tarikh-i Mashaikh-i Chisht by Maulana
Muhammad Zakariya, chief Tablighi ideologue, as
well as popular books for preparing amulets
(amaliyat) such as Naqsh-i Sulaimani, Kanz
ul-Husain, Shams ul-Ma'arif al-Kubra and Nafis
al-Ma'ani. He suggests that if he had his way he
would 'dump into a river' all the literature that
is stocked in his shop which contains utterances
that are not in accordance with the Qur'an and
Hadith. He goes so far as to say that people who
make a livelihood out of selling such books are
actually engaged in unlawful work.
Anas is now in the process of radically
restructuring what was once the largest
publishing house promoting the Tablighi Jama'at.
His shop continues to stock certain texts penned
by Tablighi ulama but several titles have simply
disappeared from the shelves. Their place has now
been taken by books written by Indian and Arab
Ahl-i Hadith ulama. Anas has probably selected
the new titles that he stocks with considerable
caution, careful not to display any books that
openly condemn the Deobandis and the Tablighis,
and the Hanafis more generally, for the locality
in which his shop is located is the nerve centre
of the Tablighis
'All this is to the good', a friend of mine and a
one time Tablighi activist who lives in the area
told me. 'I don't agree with the Ahl-i Hadith
myself', he said, 'but at least with new sorts of
books being kept at the Idara, the Tablighis
would be introduced to new ways of thinking,
which they are now so hostile to'. On the other
hand, he hastened to add, he feared that the
changes at the Idara might possibly lead to
heightened sectarian rivalries that the Muslims
of Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, already divided
between the Tablighis and those associated with
the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya nearby,
can clearly ill afford.
_____
[3]
[The second and concluding part of the two-part
article. The first part had been carried on SACW]
o o o
Frontline, January 03 - 16, 2004
Postmodernism, Hindu nationalism and `Vedic science' [Part 2]
MEERA NANDA
URL: www.flonnet.com/fl2101/stories/20040116001408700.htm
_____
[4]
SEVENTH SUBALTERN STUDIES CONFERENCE
6 January 2004
Morning Session: Re-scripting Identity
9.30 am to 1.00 pm
Jayati Lal: Unbecoming Women: Rewriting Gender
and Labour Scripts in a Factory Worker's Life
Story
Discussant: Chitra Joshi
Deborah Sutton: Race, Identity and Citizenship
Between South Asia and East Africa, 1948-1963
Discussant: Sumit Sarkar
Amit Basu: Politics of Sexual Identities From the
Margin: Listening to Lesbians of Calcutta
Discussant: Nivedita Menon
Afternoon session: Being in the City
2.00 pm to 5.30 pm
Gyan Prakash: Title yet to be received
Discussant: Gopal Guru
Sunalini Kumar: Issue-based Campaigns vs
Class-based mobilisation in the City: A Study of
the CNG controversy in Delhi
Discussant: Satish Deshpande
Ravi Sundaram: Uncanny Networks: Pirate, Urban
and the New Globalisation in India
Discussant: MSS Pandian
7 January
Morning Session: Nation in the Mirror of Culture
Janaki Bakhle: Music and the National Project:
Vishnu Bhatkhande and V.D. Paluskar
Discussant: Partho Dutta
Milind Wakankar: The End of Maharashtra Dharma:
Literature and Subalternity Before the Folk
Discussant: GP Deshpande
Rakesh Pandey: The Idea of the Popular in the Formation of Nationalist Culture
Discussant: Suresh Sharma
Afternoon Session: Staging the Nation
Shabnum Tejani: From 'Religious Community' to
'Communal Minority': The Muslims and the Debates
around Constitutional Reform, 1906-09
Discussant: Shail Mayaram
Sadan Jha: The Indian National Flag as a Site of Daily Plebiscite
Discussant: Shahid Amin
Aditya Nigam: Nation, Time and Belonging: The
Modern Indian Self in Search of History
Discussant: Partha Chatterjee
8 January
Morning Session: Resistance and Assertion
Angana Chatterji: Subaltern Resistance in Postcolonial Orissa
Discussant: Niraja Gopal Jayal
Bela Bhatia: Subaltern Consciousness and
Participation in the Naxalite Movement in Bihar
Discussant: Manoranjan Mohanty
Afternoon Session: Ethnographies of the Political
Rajeshwari Deshpande: Slum as Location of the Politics of the Disprivileged
Discussant: Achin Vanaik
Mukulika Banerjee: Democracy - An Ethnographic Approach
Elections in West Bengal
Discussant: Pratap Mehta
Susie Tharu: No Title yet
Discussant: Nicholas B. Dirks
9 January
Morning Open Session in Delhi University
10 am to 1pm
Panel Discussion on Caste and Democracy
Partcipants : Partha Chatterjee, D L Sheth, MSS
Pandian, Nicholas B Dirks, Yogendra Yadav and
Chandrabhan Prasad
Centre for the Study of Developing
Societies, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi -110054
_____
[5]
COMMUNAL RIOTS 2003
Asghar Ali Engineer
Communal riots have become the fate of this
country thanks to our politicians and their
selfish interests. And ironically most of the
riots are engineered by those politicians who
claim to be most patriotic. Their patriotism is
designed to win power by propagating hate
politics against minority communities. The year
2003 too, like previous years, saw its own quota
of communal violence.
The communal violence began in Gujarat in the New
Year. Gujarat, ruled by Narendra Modi, a hard
core RSS man who was responsible for Gujarat
carnage of 2002. Gujarat witnessed series of
communal clashes on 2nd January 2003. Most of
these incidents occurred in Central Gujarat, the
region from where the BJP won maximum number of
seats. And no wonder most of the victims were
from minority community. The police officials
admit that stray cases of communal violence have
not stopped since the Gujarat carnage. After the
election results, more than dozen cases of
violence, including murders, stone pelting and
arson, occurred in 10 different places, most of
them in Central Gujarat.
On 2nd January Darbhanga, Bihar witnessed
communal riot in Lalbagh area in which 8 persons
were injured including two policemen and police
had to impose curfew. And on 2nd January communal
violence took place in Ahmad Nagar, Maharashtra,
in which 5 persons were injured including one 70
year old woman. The violence broke out on the
question of burial ground land (qabrastan).
Police bandobast was tightened after these
clashes between the two communities.
The hate propagandists have created such
polarisation between Hindus and Muslims that any
small incident like scooterists knocking down
member of another community or cricket game
involving two communities results in communal
clashes. In Vidarbha towns of Akot and Risod
cricket resulted in communal clashes on 9th
January in which 1 person was stabbed and six
injured and in Risod 150 shops were gutted
resulting in loss of crores of rupees. Risod is a
sleepy town in Washim district. Both the towns
are in communally sensitive district and have
mixed population. In Akot a trader called
Sadarani was grievously stabbed during the game.
It was again a Gujarat that communal violence
broke out on 15th January on the occasion of
Uttarayan festival in several towns like
Ahmedabad, Godhra and Navsari. At least 15
persons were injured in these clashes. Stone
throwing and mob clashes took place in Dariyaganj
and Gomtipura areas which are communally most
sensitive in Ahmedabad.
On 14th January violence erupted in Ganjbasoda
town in Vidisha district of M.P. due to alleged
case of cow slaughter. Cow slaughter is another
issue on which violence erupts time and again. On
hearing about cow slaughter the mob went on
rampage setting 60 shops belonging to Muslims
were set on fire. Members of Bajrang Dal are
alleged to be behind these communal disturbances.
These Bajrang Dals were encouraged by the success
of BJP in Gujarat. Some houses and vehicles were
also set on fire. 22 persons were arrested. All
this happened even though the culprit and his
family members were arrested. Night curfew and
section 144 were imposed and situation was stated
to be under control.
There was communal riot in Mungir town in Bihar
on 16th January in which two persons including an
Imam of the mosque were killed. The violence
erupted after one Umakant Yadav was killed.
Umakant was killed by some goondas belonging to
minority community. This news spread like wild
fire in the city and members of both the
communities came out on the streets with
dangerous weapons. They fought against each other
and apart from the Imam another person Muhammad
Shamu also was killed and two more persons were
injured in firing. Laloo Prasad Yadav, President
of RJD said in a statement that these clashes in
Mongir is result of clashes between criminal
elements. Six persons were arrested and FIR was
filed against twenty persons.
On 22nd January a dispute between doctor and
patient took full-fledged communal eruption in
Warud in Amravati District of Maharashtra. Asif
Pathan whose wife got blinded due to wrong
treatment by an Ayurvedic doctor attacked him.
Pathan was then beaten up by two Bajrang Dal
activists who were protecting the doctor in
anticipation of attack. Though Aisfkhan
surrendered himself to the police 3,000 strong
mob protested the attack and some Bajrang Dals
started attacking properties belonging to
Muslims. Police brought the situation under
control and some Bajrang Dals were arrested. Dr.
Lokhande was also a VHP activist and it is
alleged that he was receiving threats from SIMI
activists.
Bhivandi is another communally sensitive town
where communal situation worsened two days before
Bakri Eid on February 9 when some Bajrang Dals
attacked cows being brought by Muslims. The
police took 9 cows in custody and police-Muslim
clashes flared up in which 34 persons were
injured including 26 policemen. The Rapid Action
Force was immediately brought to control the
situation. The communal cauldron in Bhivandi was
first stirred by Bajrang Dals and incitement by
some Muslims leaders added to the gravity of the
situation.
For Gujarat communal violence has become so
common that if it does not take place it becomes
a news. Communal violence took place in Mehsana
district on the occasion of Bakri Eid on 12th
February in which at least eight persons
including a police constable received stab and
sword injuries in Takodi village of Mehsana
district. It all started with some Muslims
allegedly bringing calves for slaughter. When the
police tried to stop they were greeted by volley
of stones. It is interesting to note that some
sources said that the real cause of trouble was
Panchayat election in which a Hindu was elected
Sarpanch with the help of some Muslims and the
other group of Muslims opposing the Hindu
Sarpanch did not allow these Muslims to enter the
mosque.
On 19th February there was trouble in Dhar, M.P.
when some Bajrang Dal members tried to enter the
Kamalmoula mosque forcibly. When the police did
not allow them there was call for bandh and
violence erupted. There were incidents of
violence and some one threw petrol bomb on police
and police fired back in which two persons were
injured. Another police station was gheraoed and
some motor vehicles were set afire. One police
van was also set on fire. The RPF was brought in.
Fifteen policemen were also injured. A BJP MLA
alleged that two persons died in police firing.
However, police denied any person was killed in
firing. It maintained no one was even injured.
Thirty- five persons were arrested in the whole
district and more than 25 persons were injured
during the disturbances which included 15
policemen.
On 26th February clashes broke out between Hindus
and Muslims in Banglore while a Hindu religious
procession was passing from near a mosque. There
was stone throwing from both sides in Vedika and
Ashok Nagar areas. Many shops and vehicles were
damaged and when police tried to intervene its
vehicles were also damaged. The mob set fire to
one wine shop also. Many people were injured
including 12 policemen.
Again on 1st March one riot erupted in Banglore
D.J. Halli area after the India-Pakistan cricket
match. Some 500 persons entered the area shouting
slogans and stone pelting started. The police
resorted to lathi charge and fired in the air to
disperse the mob. More than 8 persons including
four policemen were injured.
Ahmedabad and Baroda also witnessed communal
clashes on 2nd March after Indo-Pak cricket
match. The police fired in which one Muslim youth
was killed in Shahpur area. More than 12 persons
were injured including one Assistant police
commissioner. Same day stray incidents were also
reported from Baroda and a group of Hindus
celebrating India's victory over Pakistan clashed
with group of Muslims also celebrating India's
victory.
During Moharram procession in Bareilly on 7th
March communal violence broke out in which 4
persons were seriously injured one of which died
subsequently. The police arrested 163 persons.
Near Bahraich in Saravasti district in U.P.
village Barga-bargi dispute broke out on hunting
wild bore and people of one community attacked
people of another community in which 30 houses
were set afire and two children were burnt alive.
Twelve persons were injured. Many persons fled
from their houses out of fear.
On 18th March Hindus and Muslims clashed in
Indore, an important trading city of M.P. when a
Muslim fired on a Hindu in a state of
inebriation. The mob then set fire to vehicles
and two houses. However, the police brought
situation under control.
The next round of communal flare up was reported
from Gorakhpur in U.P. on 20th March a highly
sensitive town where Gorakhnath temple is
situated and Mahant Adityanath of BJP contests
election from there. Adityanath is known for his
militancy and extremism. He is a BJP M.P. from
this area. The clashes took place on the occasion
of Holi when a procession of Holi revellers led
by Mahant Aditynath was going through Zafra
locality. An argument broke out with some members
of minority community and the Holi revellers in a
fit of anger broke down the wall of Kerbala. The
two groups began to throw brickbats at each other
and some people started firing. The Imam of Ghazi
Rauza mosque was hit in the cross -fire and died.
More than a dozen scooters and vehicles were
burnt and shops looted. Two more persons were
killed and thus in all three persons died during
the disturbances. Mayawati, the then Chief
Minister removed Director General of Police for
his failure to control communal violence.
Next communal riot was reported from industrial
town of Rajgangpur 400 km. from Bhubneshwar in
Orissa on 11th April. Two persons were killed in
the clashes. Violence erupted when procession of
Lord Hanuman was being taken on the occasion of
Ramnavmi. Some unidentified persons pelted stones
on the procession and hell broke loose. The
district administration had made strict police
arrangements but it could not prevent communal
violence. When the situation was getting out of
control the police fired killing two persons. The
deceased were identified as Manik Kumar Sahu (28)
and J.J.Nag. Additional forces were rushed to
control the situation.
On 16th April Panki Block of Palamu in Jharkhand
State saw communal clashes between the two
communities in which one person died. Some people
burned the flag of a religious place. Then the
persons belonging to other community started
stoning from shops and from a religious place.
Then others also retaliated and next day a dead
body was found from a nearby well but it is not
certainly known who killed him.
Gulbahar Pathan was killed in Baroda, Gujarat and
his body with severed head was found with deep
wounds and violence broke out on 1st May between
Hindus and Muslims. Similarly on 10th May
violence was reported from Bhavnagar, Gujarat
clashes broke out on minor road accident and
situation got out of control and one person was
killed and seven others - policemen and
journalists were injured. The clashes erupted in
Ranika area of Bhavnagar. The person was killed
in police firing.
Though Kerala is comparatively free from communal
clashes but for last two years there have been
clashes between Muslims and RSS activists. In
January 2002 also some 5 persons were killed when
the Hindus attacked Muslim fishermen. The Muslims
retaliated this time and on May 2, 7 persons were
killed in Marad beach area under Beypore police
station in Kerala. Last year RSS had killed
Muslims and this year brother of one of the
deceased took revenge by killing seven persons.
The Muslims had used a nearby mosque for hiding
weapons and so the mosque was taken over by the
Government. The Muslims fled from the village in
fear and Sangh Parivar was not allowing them to
return. They could return only after few months
when the chief minister intervened.
Hyderabad witnessed communal violence in
Melapalli and Nampalli areas on 6th June. The
clashes went on whole night and next day too
stone pelting and incidents of setting fire
continued. About 10 motor vehicles were set
afire. One person had died in clashes on 5th June
night and this further provoked violence.
Jamner of Jalgaon district in Maharashtra
experienced communal clashes on 18th June when
brother of Ramesh Mali who was killed last year
on the same day attacked one Muinuddin Sheikh and
seriously injured him. Last year on 18th June 5
persons were killed in communal riots. However,
the police and local political leaders intervened
and controlled the situation.
Normally Jammu and Kashmir has been free from
communal violence despite repeated attempts by
militants to cause communal violence. However, a
small communal incident occurred on 1st July
between Hindus and Muslims and shops were burnt
and looted in Jammu. The trouble started when 150
Hindus who had fled from Kullar area due to
threats from militants were sitting on dharna.
They started pelting stones on the shops
belonging to Muslims as they objected to blocking
the road. The authorities rushed to the trouble
spot. Sub-divisional magistrate of Kishtwar was
roughed up by the demonstrators. Four shops and
three small structures were set ablaze. Police
fired to disperse the mob. Four civilians and
seven policemen were injured.
Twenty four shops were burnt and three persons
were injured in Mehkar town of Buldhana district
in Maharashtra when quarrel over money matter
between two youths of different communities took
place. Soon it developed in serious communal
clashes. The police fired injuring three persons.
An indefinite curfew was imposed. The police
authorities said 20 others including 13 police
persons were injured. The police rounded up 47
persons in all.
Baroda and Junagadh saw communal clashes on the
occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in which one woman
was killed and 10 people were injured on 1st
September. Godhra also witnessed violence on 5th
September when Ganesh idols were being taken for
immersion. In these clashes 25 persons were
injured including one DSP. The procession was
stoned when passing through minority area and
many shops were set ablaze. The immediate
provocation came from objectionable slogans
written on walls of masjid. The role of BJP MLA
came to be criticised by both communities. His
supporters in the procession shouted derogatory
slogans.
There was serious communal trouble in Kodinar
town of Junagarh district in Gujarat. The VHP and
Bajrang Dal people looted and burnt 26 shops
belonging to Muslims. The police arrested 53
persons, which included one Bajrang Dal leader.
The police seized one car, one tractor, swords,
gas cutter, tins of kerosene and gas cylinders
from the rioters. According to the police there
was short circuit in one Hindu shop and it was
burnt. But the VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders
without verifying set rumour afloat that Muslims
have burnt the shop. The VHP organised bandh in
protest against the arrest of 53 persons.
About hundred families from tribal dominated
villages of Jhalawar district after Bajrang Dal
activists destroyed a mosque with bombs and
subjected Muslims to series of attacks over three
consecutive days from 22-25 September. Police
have arrested 30 people in this connection but
the RSS Iklera Tehsil Karyawahak Kanwarlal Meena
and his accomplice Devi Lal who masterminded the
operation were absconding.
Bihar experiences not much communal violence
thanks to Laloo Prasad's efforts. But that does
not mean there is no communalism and RSS is
sleeping. RSS-VHP are quite active spreading
communal feelings. In Ara, Bihar, communal
violence broke out on 5th October on the occasion
of Durga Puja. The RSS controls some puja
samitis. According to eye -witnesses there was a
garbage dump near the pooja pandal and people
used it as open urinal also. On that day a Muslim
youth was urinating. The youth was criminal
minded. Members of pooja samiti tried to stop him
and there was argument. The RSS gave it a
communal colour. Some RSS youth went round on
motor cycles spreading the rumour that the Muslim
youth not only urinated on the Durga idol but
broke the kalash also. Some miscreants gathered
and started burning and looting Muslim shops.
When the situation became out of control the
police opened fire killing two Hindu youths. Some
70 shops were burnt and 48 cars set ablaze. It is
obvious that it was conspiracy by the RSS to
spread communal violence in Bihar and try to
seize power from Laloo Prasad Yadav. Laloo knows
this well and he not only took immediate step to
curb the violence but also denounced it as RSS
conspiracy.
On 13th October Agra in U.P. was involved in
communal vortex when U.P. minister of state for
science and technology visited Agra. There were
widespread clashes between two communities and
curfew had to be imposed in two police circles of
Agra. The main reason was that Chowdhury Bashir
had defected from BSP and joined the Samajwadi
Party of Mulayamsingh Yadav. The Jatavs who are
supporters of BSP protested against Bashir and it
took communal turn. Fire arms and petrol bombs
were pelted back and forth and several houses and
vehicles were set on fire. Arson and looting
continued till late in the night. The mob tried
to forcibly enter the house in which Basheer had
taken refuge and tried to set it on fire. The
timely arrival of the police, however, saved
Bashir's life.
Agra again erupted on 2nd day despite heavy
police bandobast and violence spread in the city
in which one person was killed. He was beaten to
death. The U.P. Government transferred district
collector and SSP for their failure to control
communal violence. At least at seven places
houses and shops were set ablaze. Two godowns of
leather were also set afire. Agra is main centre
of leather goods.
On October 15 Kurla, an eastern suburb of Mumbai
went up in flames when a Muslim girl was teased
by some Hindu youth at night between 10.30 and 11
p.m. There was argument between members of two
communities and then violence began. Kurla has
large Muslim population and is highly communally
sensitive. Police was rushed and Jt. Commissioner
of Police Javed Ahmed also visited the area.
Tough temporarily situation calmed down but
erupted next morning again. Some miscreants
pelted stones at Jama Masjid on New Mill road. In
retaliation petrol bombs and soda water bottles
were thrown at Hanuman Mandir. Several persons
were injured grievously. State Reserve police,
Rapid Action Force and Riot Police were rushed.
Aligarh, a communally quite sensitive area in
Uttar Pradesh, saw communal strife again on 1st
November when an Arthi (dead body of a Hindu) was
passing through the passage lying through a
Muslim cemetery. The Muslims tried to stop the
passage of the body and dispute broke out and
both sides started firing on each other. Several
people were injured. They also indulged in arson
and heavy brickbatting. Two scooters and some
road - side kiosks were burnt. Police resorted to
heavy lathi charge and fired rubber bullets to
disperse the clashing groups. The administration
had to employ para-military forces like PAC and
RPF. Curfew had to be clamped in Delhi Gate,
Kotwali and Sasni Gate police station areas.
Gujarat cauldron continues to boil since the
post-Godhra carnage and communal incidents keep
on taking place every few days. Communal violence
revisited on 2nd November leaving three persons
dead and 45 injured. This time it occurred in
Viramgam, 65 kms. from Ahmedabad. There was heavy
stone pelting, arson and firing. One person was
killed when police fired 15 rounds and two
persons fell to bullets from private arms.
Trouble broke out when a cricket ball landed in
the nearby temple. This was enough provocation
for communal violence. Marauding began and at
least 30 shops were looted and burnt. Curfew was
imposed at 12.40 p.m. In all twenty five persons
were arrested including the BJP councillor
Puroshottambhai Vasrambhai Jadav who fired from
his gun killing one person. His gun was also
seized. Those killed were identified as Zakir
Allah Rakkha Multani (30), Zakir Yousuf Multani
(35) and Sharif Shafibhai (25).
Ahmedabad once again erupted on November 9 when
rumours spread that a person of minority
community was stabbed in Juhapura area. Communal
violence spread in Kalupur area in which two
persons lost their lives. One was burnt to death
and another was stoned to death. Besides this 5
persons were stabbed. Police had to lob several
tear gas shells and have imposed strict ban on
persons pouring out on streets.
In Hyderabad Talaguda area violence erupted
between Hindus and Muslims on the question of
constructing a wall for a place of worship.
Police resorted to firing and 5 persons were
injured in firing. However, the police frustrated
the attempt to attack the houses of one community.
On 17th November violence broke out in Vai in
Satara district of Maharashtra. Vai is a sacred
town for Hindus. The violence broke out when some
members of Pratabgadh Utsav Samiti forcibly tried
to stop a truck taking some cattle. More than 500
persons collected near a place of worship and
stone pelting and arson began. The Hindutvawadis
spread rumour in the town which intensified
violence. Varsha Deshpande of Yuva Kranti Dal who
toured the area along with the police said how
these Hindutvawadis discovered any cows. The fact
is, she said, there was a dead calf of she
buffalo, which was skinned by some dalits. The
mob set one tempo, two jeeps, a motor cycle and
several cycles ablaze. Members of minority
community were feeling highly insecure.
On 21st November violence broke out in Parbhani
in Marathwada area when a bomb exploded near Jama
Masjid after last Juma prayer of Ramadan in which
35 Muslims were injured and curfew was imposed in
Parbhani district. According to the police two
motorcycle riders threw the bomb when prayers was
going on in Rahmatnagar mosque. The explosion
took place at 1.50 p.m. After the bomb explosion
two shops were set ablaze in Gujri Sarafa and
Shivajinagar areas. It is said that Shiv Sena-BJP
workers are involved in the explosion.
Hyderabad again erupted on 4th December and
surprisingly this time it was between Sikhs and
Muslims. It is alleged that some Muslim youth
damaged a gurdwara in Kishanbagh area. One person
was killed and four were injured in stabbing
incidents. When news about attack on gurdwara
spread Sikhs collected near it and began to
attack Muslims. Muslims also retaliated and some
Sikhs were injured.
Hyderabad again witnessed communal violence on
6th December when Muslims were mourning on
demolition of Babri Masjid on that day in 1992
and Hindus were celebrating Shaurya Divas (day of
courage). Police resorted to firing in Sultan
Shahi and Gowlipura areas late in the night to
stop mobs resorting to looting and arson
targeting the opposite community. Three persons
died due to bullet injuries and two died in
stabbing incidents thus taking the toll to five
dead.
The victims alleged that role of police worsened
the situation. Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu
visited the victims who complained to him. He
ordered strict action against guilty police
officers. An indefinite curfew had to be clamped
in eight police station areas in the walled city
and 21 plattons of paramilitary forces had to be
deployed.
Thus the year 2003 also witnessed number of
communal riots throughout India in which several
lives were lost and hundreds were injured and
properties worth crores of rupees were damaged.
Most of the major states both in north and south
were affected by communal violence. It is in
smaller states with small Muslim population like
Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh etc., which did
not witness incidents of violence. Assam and
other North Eastern states generally experience
ethnic violence but not so much communal
violence. This year there were hardly any
incidents of communal violence in this zone.
Also, West Bengal was free of major communal
incidents. Since the left Front Government has
taken over West Bengal has been free of communal
violence, though not of communalism. Bihar too,
since Laloo Prasad Yadav has been in command has
not seen major riots. Thus it is clear that if
governments are determined to curb communal
violence it can be effectively checked.
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai.
_____
[6]
A Dalit New Year's Greetings/Resolutions
from "Thamizh Selvan.JM" <selvan at isac.ernet.in>
January 1, 2004
PRECEPTS FOR 'NON-SLAVE INDIAN' YEAR 2004
Dear ALL,
It is understandable that the DALITS, once if they
receive some money (May be
due to the their reserved employments or due to their
toiling), they are inherently tend to spend and offer
to God and his mediator, foolishly as repayments. The
so-called God's mediator inherently teaches them, that
the part of their toiled money should go to him. They
also desired to run to God's mediator to cure for
their disease or ailments, instead of Doctors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SO LET US MAKE A FIRM STAND THAT WE NEVER COMMIT THE
FOLLOWING FOOLISH MISTAKES OF 'LOOSING OUR WEALTH' TO
'ENSURE OUR SLAVERY'
PRECEPTS FOR YEAR 2004
WHAT WE CANNOT DO:-
a. Of course we admit our total inefficiency to get
our food, shelter & cloth by begging and bribing or
singing, shouting and crying to a supernatural God -
unfortunately we fools do not know that technique or
trick - we know only to do our work sincerely to earn
our food, shelter & cloth out of it.
b. Also we admit our foolishness openly that we cannot
travel 6000 miles to & fro, to say '"hello" to a statue
or to have a dip in longest Indian river or in the
southern sea, to wash away our sins - we fools openly
admit that we could only perform our actions of merit
and abstain from evil deeds, also add actions of merit
so that we can alleviate from pain and sorrow caused
by volitional functions (sankara) of our own evil
deeds and neither visiting a statue or by dipping in
to a river.
c. Further we cont offered to keep "cooling a statue
or a structure by pouring milk, gee, fruit juice and
food articles on to it" - Perhaps we may offer to
arrange a 24 hours automatic water chiller to auto
flash the statue or structure to cool, (if the so
called statues and structures penetrates any rational
inquiry!).
-But NOT EVEN A DROP OF MILK OR ANY OTHER FOOD
ARTICLES TO A STATUE OR STRUCTURE - Whatever a little
quantity of milk or food articles we found or we found
in excess, we sincerely share them with our depriving
downtrodden children who are totally under hunger &
malnutrition, who need nourishment for physical and
mental strength to develop their knowledge and wisdom.
d. Moreover we fools do not know that 'astonishing
marvel of science' that our disease or ailments or
failures or misfortunes, can be cured or rectified by
reading our astrological charts or by conducting a
rites and rituals to a supernatural being or God.
- Our only methods are:
- For disease we must consult a physician and intake
adequate medicines to cure.
- For our failures we analyse the actions we performed
and realising the "mistakes as mistakes" and modify
the 'committed mistakes' with action of merit, by
applying the 'iron law of universe - the sow and reap'
and yield the desired result and NOT BY ANY OTHER
MEANS!
- To achieve what we wanted, we set goals and targets,
which contains enough planning and foresight thinking
in to it - We apply the law of action and re- action.
We seed the action (which can yield our desired
result) and keep acting on the same direction, When we
complete one full circular round - We will certainly
reap the ripened desired result waiting for us to
enjoy & to be happy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT WE CAN DO:-
1. Whatever the money we toiled and earned and if we
found something in abundance and want to earn
spiritual gain out of it - We select 100 poor and
destitute around our locality, most importantly
without any prejudices of mind (like caste, sect &
Religion etc), and give then one time food and even a
set of dress material if you can - YOU CAN WITNESS THE
DIVINITY IN YOU and also you can view the spiritual
gain by your own eyes.
2. If you can, you can even extend your sincere help
to educate your own kith and kin - the children of the
illiterate Dalit Brothers and sisters.
3. Help village Dalits, by starting village
institutions, like one we discussed may be a Dairy,
Poultry, Sericulture, goat farm etc., by which you can
directly benefiting yourself materially and
spiritually, as well you are invariably emancipating
and empowering your own brothers and sisters, the poor
directionless and helpless Dalits & their children.
4. Finally, we whole heartedly accept that we DO NOT
HAVE ANY AVERSION TOWARDS GOD, but since the Brahmins
have written all their supremacy, inequality, casteism
- the 'inequality of man to man and man to women', to
make us (the entire Indians) as total slaves to the
Brahmins, by inducing religiously sanctified, socially
induced helplessness, poverty, violence and killing as
a means of governing principles of Hindu social
system, where one has to invariably hate somebody and
love somebody or one has to worship some man as God
and torture some man as untouchable - which invariably
induces and retains the anger, hatred, ego, violence,
killing and rape as a means of social living, which
are inherently killing the process of Spirituality in
Man.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, as Rational Spiritualists, we therefore, fling the
concept of God by Steadfastly focusing our attention
towards the attainment of Nibbana (The cessation of
Birth & death) as final spiritual goal, by the only
process of purifying ourselves by controlling our
actions towards merit - by discarding the requirement
of God or begging and bribing to God or Conducting
rites and rituals to God, we thereby invariably
discarded and eliminated the inequality,
slavery and subjugation of 'man to man' and 'women to
maní, propagated by Manu.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I AM SURE:
IF ANYTHING EXISTS AS SPIRITUALITY - YES! THIS IS THAT
SPIRITUALITY!! AND IF ANYTHING EXISTS IN EMPOWERMENT
INDIANS - YES! THIS IS THAT PROCESS OF
EMANCIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT- AS A PART OR FULL!!!
REQUESTING ALL DALITS & OBCs, TO TAKE-UP THE ABOVE AS
PRECEPTS TO FREE THEMSELVES FROM ALL BONDAGES AND LIVE
WITH DIGNITY AND SELF-RESPECT!!!
HAPPY 'NON-SLAVE INDIAN' YEAR 2004!
MAY ALL BE HAPPY!
THAMIZH SELVAN.JM
Brahman, Ksetri, Vaishya, Shudra
and Chandal all have rights
women, children, male and female
and even prostitutes
(The first charter of human rights in India, Sant Tukaram, early 17th century)
______
[7]
Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW)
In the past five years, in Karnataka alone, 27
women have been attacked by acid. All the women
were attacked by men familiar to them "husbands,
neighbours, colleagues, former employers, men
they saw on the streets everyday"
Acid attacks is really only a more violent
extension of the existing crimes on women like
rape, dowry harassment, sexual harassment by the
patriarchal society.
On 2 January 2004, a protest to highlight the
failure of the Government in responding to such a
heinous crime will be held at Mysore Bank Circle,
Bangalore. A memorandum with the demands of the
Campaign will be submitted to the Home Minister,
Mallikarjun Kharge copies of which will be sent
to the Chief Minister as well.
On 3 January 2004, a documentary film ëBurnt not
destroyedí directed by Sanjana C.B., Usha B.N.
and Deepu from Pedestrian Pictures, carrying the
voices of the acid attack survivors and
reflecting their strength will be screened at 5
p.m. at Gandhi Bhavan, Kumarakrupa Road,
Bangalore.
On 4 January 2004, a public hearing will be held
at Senate Hall, Central College. The survivors
will share their experiences and depose before a
panel comprising Smt. Motamma, Minister for Women
and Child Development, Philomena Peres,
Chairperson of State Women's Commission, S.
Mariswamy, City Police Commissioner, Justice
Ko.Channabasappa, Retd Justice of Karnataka High
Court, Dr. Vijaya from Ela Prakashana and
Hemalatha Mahishi, leading womenís rights lawyer.
Contact pedestrian pictures at 5670 2232, 318 12
691, 98450 66747,
<mailto:pedepics at yahoo.com>pedepics at yahoo.com
Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on
Women (CSAAAW) is a coalition comprising several
organizations, academicians, lawyers,
journalists, womenís rights activists, students
and other concerned individuals from across
Karnataka. CSAAAW, a registered trust, was formed
subsequent to a fact-finding mission carried out
by Mahila Jagruthi (a mass based women's
organization working in several districts in
Karnataka) and Pedestrian Pictures (an
independent media activistsí group, committed to
using media to initiate action on various social
issues).
CSAAAW is committed to action on two fronts -
seeking legal and socio-economic justice for the
survivors and more importantly to fight for
prevention of such attacks on women.
For more details of the campaign, for copies of
the film and to contribute to the campaign
contact 678 6754, 9448444252,
<http://us.f415.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=csaaaw@rediffmail.com>csaaaw at rediffmail.com
_____
[7]
Rediff News, January 02, 2004, Friday
BBC progamme on Gujarat angers VHP
Shyam Bhatia in London
The UK head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has
attacked the BBC for its anti-Hindu bias
following a radio programme which supported the
thesis that the post-Godhra anti-Muslim riots
that swept Gujarat were premeditated.
"The riots were a spontaneous reaction by an
outraged population," said Dr Girdharilal Bhan in
his letter to the producers of the programme
'Bilal's return to Gujarat', which was broadcast
on New Year's Day as part of the prestigious
Crossing Continents series on BBC Radio Four.
The programme tracked the return to Gujarat of
British-Indian national, Bilal Dawood, who lost
his brother, his cousin and a friend of the
family in the anti-Muslim riots of February 2002.
Crossing Continents quoted Teesta Setalvad,
convener of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal, as
saying: "What is unprecedented about the carnage
was the level of state sponsorship."
The programme pointed out that both national and
international human rights groups have placed
much responsibility for the killings at the door
of Gujarat's BJP Hindu nationalist government.
In his letter to the BBC, Dr Bhan said: "It is
the strong belief in the British Hindu community
that the British media, in particular the BBC, is
strongly biased against Hindus. I know the BBC
strongly repudiates this. However, we have good
reasons to make our claim and can cite many
examples of one sided and biased reports."
He went on to say: "Gujarat riots were
deplorable and condemnable. All Hindus,
individuals and organisations, have condemned the
loss of life and limb and human misery.
"The riots however would not have happened if 58
men, women and children had not been burnt alive
in a premeditated and cold-blooded manner. The
riots were a spontaneous reaction by an outraged
population.
"There are those who say the burning alive of
Hindus was not premeditated. Some even go so far
as to say the train passengers had it coming
because they were provoking local Muslims and
that the setting alight of the train was the
handiwork of Hindu extremists.
"On the other hand they claim that the riots that
followed were premeditated. This is mind boggling
stuff. If journalists want to believe it, that is
up to them. It simply lowers their standing."
_____
[8] [Watch out for these important books ! ]
o o o
A)
The Path of the Parivar: Articles on Gujarat and Hindutva
by Mukul Dube
Foreword by the late Professor A.M. Khusro
Demy 8vo, 134 pp.; hardcover, Rs.300 or $25; paperback, Rs.140 or $15
Three Essays Collective
57-C LIG, Motia Khan
New Delhi 110055
Web site: www.threeessays.com
E-mail: info at threeessays.com
The thirty articles in this book, all but one
published in different periodicals, start with
the horror of the communal massacre in Gujarat at
the beginning of 2002 and go on to analyse the
manner in which the Sangh Parivar fosters
inter-religious hatred in its wild pursuit of a
Hindu Rashtra. They are mostly short and deal
each with a single theme, their aim being to
remind us of the core ideas of the modern world
which the Sangh Parivar simply does not
recognise: freedom, justice, democracy, progress
and, above all, humanity. Based on a foundation
of rationality, they are easy to read and the
arguments made in them are simply expressed.
The author has kept a vigilant eye on the
utterances of the leaders of the Sangh Parivar
and is able to show, using published news reports
and quoted speeches, how these people excel at
lying and at deceiving not just the country and
the world but their own followers as well. He
documents how the leadership of the BJP,
beginning with the Prime Minister and the Deputy
Prime Minister, stayed silent when it was their
constitutional duty to act, then grudgingly
admitted to their failures when they found that
their lies would not wash, and then shamelessly
returned to the position from which they had
begun. The book is a scathing indictment of
mendacity, intellectual duplicity and essential
pettiness, and it presents a frightening picture
of the downhill and backward-looking path on to
which the country has been pushed.
The book has a valuable appendix containing
letters from the author which were published in
various newspapers. They deal with a variety of
issues which are not covered in the articles but
which open up many avenues of thought.
From the Foreword by the late Professor A.M. Khusro:
Dube's sharply focussed study of the anatomy of
the pre-planned and deliberate communal outrage,
aided and abetted by official Government
intervention, is convincing and persuasive, both
at the macro and micro levels. Much has been
noticed, said and written in the ... months
following the Gujarat episode, but Dube has an
edge on all those analysts. He says more
convincingly what was said before and also says
what was never said earlier and needed to be said
boldly and bravely.
o o o
B)
The Hindu
Jan 03, 2004
An insightful book on Hindutva
By Our Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD JAN. 2 . An understanding of the ideas
and ideology behind what is today known as
political Hindutva is crucial to any
understanding of the present day India, observed
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, while
releasing the book `Hindutva: Exploring the Idea
of Hindu Nationalism' by Jyotirmaya Sharma,
Deputy Editor, The Hindu, here on Friday.
For long Hindutva had remained on the margins of
national life "unmarked and ill-understood" but
today it had established itself into the
country's political mainstream and therefore it
was necessary to understand this ideology which
was "challenging the idea of Indian nationalism
and secularism that we cherish," Mr. Ram said.
Mr. Ram observed that Hindutva had developed a
parallel conception of the idea of India which
rejected diversity, multiple cultural identities
and tolerance - the very ideas forming the core
of Indian nationhood. Therefore, the intellectual
foundations of Hindutva needed to be understood,
he said and complimented the author on his
provocative but insightful and persuasive
exploration of Hindutva in his book.
He further said that it was crucial to compare
the idea of Hinduism developed by the four
thinkers discussed in the book, Dayanand
Saraswati, Aurobindo Ghose, Swami Vivekananda and
V.D. Savarkar, with those of Mahatma Gandhi,
Rabindranath Tagore, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
Rammanohar Lohia to appreciate the contest of
ideas which shaped modern Indian nationalism.
In her comments on the book, Meenakshi Mukherjee,
former professor of English Literature,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the masculine,
aggressive and religiously driven nationalism
developed by these four thinkers was a reaction
to the caricature of Indians as effeminate and
cowardly by the British colonialists.
Jayaprakash Narayan, national convener of Lok
Satta organisation, said that it had become
imperative for all Indian citizens to understand
how religion and religious ideas were impacting
society. He identified cultural atavism, racial
bigotry and idolatrous nationalism as three weak
areas of Indian nationalism as it developed
through the freedom struggle and called for a
critique of these.
Mr. Sharma read extracts from his book.
______
[9]
India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum
PRESS RELEASE
Through newspapers we have come to know of the
illegal and shameful detention of Mr.Ishwar
Pokharel, a former member of Nepalese Parliament
and a member of the Communist Party of Nepal
(UML) by the Indian security personnel at the
Indira Gandhi International airport on Tuesday,
December 30, 2003.
Mr Pokharel was detained and interrogated for 16
long hours. The method of interrogation violated
all the civilized norms of decency. Mr Pokharel
was thoroughly humiliated and intimidated. The
Indian police tried to concoct a cock and bull
story about his meeting with certain Maoists in
India whereas he had actually come to address a
congregation of 'Pravasi Nepali Sangh' which is a
well-known social and cultural body of the
Nepalese in India.
This whole incident is a mindless act of high
handedness in which a respectable politician of a
neighbouring country was subjected to
indignities. The more heinous act on the part of
the police at the IGI airport was that in a
savagely and unscrupulous manner they stole Mr
Pokharel's cash and some other belongings too.
'India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum' expresses
deep sense of shock, protest and condemnation of
the above mentioned incident and demand that the
Indian Home Ministry look into this ugly incident
and immediately suspend and finally punish the
guilty police personnel be fittingly. The Indian
authorities concerned must also send a letter of
apology to Mr Ishwar Pokharel.
Anand Swaroop Verma
On behalf of the convening committee
Contact Address:
C/o Q-63, Sector-12, Noida-201301/ e-mail: nepalbulletin at rediffmail.com
Ph.: Anand Swaroop Verma: 0120-2524504, Gautam
Navlakha: 011-26476580, Anoop Saraya:
011-26588767, Pankaj Singh:011-22719840, Anil
Chamaria:011-27853886, N.K. Bhattacharya:
011-27580073
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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.
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