SACW | 18 March 2004
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Wed Mar 17 19:35:25 CST 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 18 March, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[1] Pakistan / USA: Taking an elephant to bed (M B Naqvi)
[2] India: Upcoming National Convention for Building Resistance to Fascism
[3] India: Upcoming event by Jharkhand Youth Association
[4] India: Sati glorification: Crime, society and
the wheels of injustice (Rakesh Shukla)
[5] India: Religion and Nationalism: Politics of BJP (Henrik Berglund)
[6] India: Narmada: The World Bank's Continuing
Indifference to the Grim Tragedy
[7] IMC-USA denounces Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan's pandering of Bal Thackeray
--------------
[1]
The News International [ Pakistan]
March 17, 2004
Taking an elephant to bed
M B Naqvi
Pakistan-American partnership in the 'War against
Terror' is inherently unequal and subject to
unexpected pressures being put on the weaker side
- quite like the dangers and discomforts of
sleeping with an elephant. The US Secretary of
State Collin Powell, bearing not so much gifts
but coming with a series of demands, would be in
Islamabad today. The US has saved the face of the
hosts by the retraction of what the US Deputy
Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz had told the Far
Eastern Economic Review. But does that withdrawal
of what was an accusation bring an end to the
matter? The American administration speaks with
many mouths, not all official. Far too many
mouths have articulated the accusation that
Pakistan is not really whole-hearted in rounding
or breaking up the regrouped Taliban. It remains
a most important issue to be sorted out.
Instead of flying in rage over this American
charge, let us look at the whole picture. Let us
try and see it from the American viewpoint in
order to better understand their concerns. Given
the demography of the overthrown Taliban regime,
and their origins in Pakistan's Pushtoon belt,
there is no other place where the Taliban could
have run. All those who escaped from Afghanistan
could only have come to Pakistan. That is plain.
What is also plain is the existence in the
country of what are Islamic extremists. The
phenomenon is well known to Pakistanis in the
shape of today's political happenings; the rise
of religious parties' alliance, MMA, in the last
election to the third position is a fact of life,
whether or not the MMA was helped by the
country's intelligence agencies. Islamic
extremism within the country has also manifested
itself in sectarian killings since 1980s; the
recent suicide bombing of an imambara in
Islamabad and the murder and mayhem in Quetta on
Ashura day were facets of extremism; the two
attempts on the life of President Pervez
Musharraf in last December were also a
demonstration of the same phenomenon.
It is also a fact of life that Pakistan is among
the leading Muslim countries where Islamic
parties hold as much power as they do. In
intellectual terms, the politics of Islamisation
has nowhere been taken to such fanciful heights
as in Pakistan. The power base of the Islamic
extremist forces in this country is not limited
to intelligent support from their votaries; it
includes a long-standing nexus of cooperation
between Pakistan's military and the mullahs; the
military has used the mullahs, as and when, it
needed them.
For instance, Gen. Zia-ul Haq by promoting
religious extremists was using them: he was
trying to take away as much political space as
possible from PPP in Sindh after the MRD
movement. Islamic extremism, in point of fact, is
closely linked to this country's power structure
that has ruled it all along, if it is not an
integral part of it. Another manifestation of
that linkage was the curious fact that political
agenda for the country has been written mostly by
the maulvis and maulanas. Whereas the political
class that has continuously ruled was not
oriented to Islamic tenets or values, it has been
promoting it. It can be said that it is hoist
with its own petard. The time seems to be
approaching when the power of the extremists has
to be broken and probably also a price will have
to be paid by all concerned.
Among the demands that Mr Powell is likely to
make, is one regarding the reform of madressas so
that they do not go on producing Islamic
radicalism. Who does not know that the final
products of our madressas are not fit to do any
useful work in the economy, except to become
imams of Mosques? Those who make a case for
specialized Islamic learning being necessary
through specialized institutions have to take the
responsibility for what these institutions
ultimately produce.
With an 800-years-old curriculum, the
Dars-i-Nizami, what is to be expected is known:
more of what is being produced. Those who are
orthodox will always defend these madressas
devoted to Dars-i-Nizami. Pakistanis cannot
escape the necessity of deciding the issue: a
radical reform of madressas cannot be conceived
except in the context of a unified educational
system that produces all levels of
specialization, in all the fields that are
necessary to the economy and the society: arts,
history, other humanities, sciences and
technology. The ideal would be that no
specialized religious institution should admit
anyone, who is not a normal humanities' graduate
with an interest in higher Islamic learning. But
for Pakistan to have a comprehensive and modern
educational system is itself a far cry and such a
reform of madressas would be much too unrealistic
in the given circumstances.
In this poverty-stricken country, where poverty
is actually growing, all contrary claims of the
government notwithstanding, the madressas are
playing a certain social security role. These
take many children from poor households and
reduce the economic burden on the family budget
because they provide, besides free schooling,
free board and lodge to the boys. In recent
years, these madressas have on the whole become
rich enough to provide better clothes and
wholesome food. By one's own rough and ready
count, at least a quarter of a million boys are
in the madressas in various parts of the country.
The question has to be asked: where is the money
to come from for any kind of reform, let alone a
radical one? Madressa's funding comes to them
because of their rigid orthodoxy. If they change
the curricula, the funding might dry up or get
drastically reduced. The question is: does the
Jamali-Shaukat Aziz government know how to cope
with the consequences of reform in this area?
The Americans, in fact, are interested in pushing
Pakistan deeper into their Afghanistan war
against Taliban. The impression that the American
soldier is anxious to come to Pakistan may not be
correct; rather it would prefer to have more
soldiers from Pakistan inside Afghanistan itself,
though for specific FATA operations they might
wish to associate themselves with Pakistan's own
operations. That results from the lack of trust
in Pakistan Army. Which is where Paul Wolfowitz's
retraction becomes meaningless. That is the
American view no matter how politely does Powell
put it. Pakistan's soldiery may also be needed
elsewhere as bag carriers.
Historically, the alliance with the US has
pre-empted the possibility of Pakistan of having
any foreign policy of its own. It had reduced
Pakistan into a satellite state long ago. The
recent descent explores deeper depths. Does
Pakistan have the option to say no? No doubt that
it has said 'no' to the presence of American
troops on Pakistani soil - a denial that the
Americans may in fact welcome. Pakistan has also
said 'no' to any rolling back of the nuclear and
missile programmes - again the Americans could
not have asked for it without also asking the
same thing of India and Israel. The Americans are
in fact asking for what Pakistan and India have
both verbally said: a Nuclear Restraint Regime,
plus a little bit of political dÈtente.
If one is right in assessing the American
purposes, there is great scope for expanding the
present Pak-American partnership - it cannot
really be called an alliance. Pakistan is known
to desire a long-term US commitment - to what? It
is important to ask this question. A superficial
answer is that it wants to see the US to stay
engaged in South Asia which may enable it conduct
a Kashmir policy, without a war breaking out. The
US and India have shown it is an unrealistic
objective. But one part of Pakistan's desire is
really long-term association and not, too,
unrealistic. It wants to remain in a kind of
alliance with the US - indeed any form of it that
the US may agree to - for joint operations. No
doubt, the expectation from this is that
Pakistan's rather big-sized army will have a
mission to perform and some dollar aid will be an
added attraction.
It must be conceded that Americans have,
hitherto, shown no inclination to accept that
they need Pakistan military's assistance. It
seems to be a purely Pakistan idea - so far.
Pakistani generals are capable people; their
efforts to educate the Americans about the
benefits that will accrue to them from defeating
and overthrowing the Afghan government - before
the Afghan People's Democratic Party had made its
Saur Revolution - took sometime. But they did
succeed. They have been trying to teach the
Americans the benefits of associating Pakistanis
with their Central Asian mission. One hopes the
Americans will not welcome an alliance in which
the people of Pakistan take a different view.
Some of us were opposed to the 1980s war in
Afghanistan, and we remain opposed to other
possible wars in Central Asia. The idea will be
strongly controversial, as one that will again
prolong military's dominance at democracy's
expense. It will also compromise the fight
against extremism.
_____
[2]
Dear friends,
I am posting the call for an all-India convention in
Delhi proposed for April 4th, to discuss the challenge
of the Hindu right. The conference has been called by
a group of writers, activits and intellectuals and we
hope that you will be able to make it.
Sorry for cross posting, in case you have already
received it.
in solidarity,
Aditya Nigam
Dear friends,
This is only a reminder for the 04 April, 2004
RESISTANCE to be organized in Delhi . Copying below
the text of the call. It has been suggested by friends
in response to the call that we should
1. Look into the specific features of the Fascist
danger, the ways it has transformed itself, adapted to
the changed times, its relations with other social
processes.
2. Identify the sources of RESISTANCE to this
danger: Educational & Cultural, reclaiming the
religious ground, social movements, movements to
achieve equity, etc.
Kindly do send your suggestion to enable us to
structure the conference. If you think there are other
issues which must be addressed, kindly do let us know.
Do respond to this mail, confirm your participation,
circulate this mail widely with your personal
endorsement .
Waiting to hear from you,
In Solidarity,
apoorvanand
FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE
RESISTANCE 2004
FIRST NATIONAL
CONFERENCE
04 April, 2004, Rajendra Prasad Bhawan, DeenDayal
Upadhyaya Marg, NEW DELHI
Dear friend,
As a follow up action of the meeting in Delhi of
writers, artists and activists, a RESISTANCE
conference is being organized in Delhi on 04 April,
2004. Kindly find below the text of the call for the
conference. We request you to make it your own call
and circulate it among your members and friends with a
request to attend it.
It has become imperative for all of us who believe in
Democracy to speak out in unambiguous manner against
the fascist danger our country is facing today. Taking
advantage of the five year rule at the center and in
many states preceded and accompanied by their
ceaseless work among various sections of the society
through scores of organizations for more than seven
decades, the RSS led political forces have succeeded
in capturing crucial educational and cultural bodies,
infiltrating the judiciary and media, manipulating the
Dalit and Adivasi-struggles for their independent
identities. They have effectively put the issue of
justice and equity on the back burner and mystified
all social movements by foregrounding the issues of
religious identity , cultural nationalism , governance
and development in the national psyche.
The last two decades have witnessed an extreme
rightward shift in our social discourse. We have been
forced to fight to save our little spaces which are
under severe strain and attack from the rightwing
forces. The time has come to come together to
understand the process collectively and also devise
our action plan to combat the right reactionary
onslaught in a systematic manner.
We, therefore request you to endorse the call for a
national conference to build up RESISTANCE AGAINST
FASCISM AND JOIN US ON THE 04 April, 2004 at the
Rajendra Prasad Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg, New
Delhi110001.The conference would be divided into four
sessions. It starts at 9.30 am and would conclude at
5.30pm.
The RESISTANCE CONFERENCE would be action oriented .
We would like you to suggest the concerns you think
should be addresses by the conference. They can be
divided into three major sessions:
1. Threatened Pluralities.
2. Shrinking Space.
3. Closing of the Indian Minds.
Since it has to be a national intervention, we request
you to come over to Delhi for a day on the 04 April.
We would be able to make arrangements for your stay.
Kindly inform us about your travel plan and time of
arrival here. In the next mail, we would give you the
details of the place where the delegates would be
staying.
Your presence and active participation is critical to
make it an effective intervention.
We request to make it your own call and mobilize the
members and friends of your organization to
participate in it actively.
Waiting to hear from you,
In Solidarity,
Apoorvanand
On behalf of
Mahasweta Devi,U.R.Ananthmurthy, Namvar Singh,Bhanu
Bharati, Ashok Vajpeyi, Kavita Srivastava, Kamala
Prasad, Ali Jawed, Pankaj Singh, Rajendra Yadav,
Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Alok Rai,Shailendra, Arundhati
Roy, Kunwar Narain, Neelabh, Kedar Nath Singh, Ram
Puniyani, Sandeep Pandey,Rupesh, Vinod Kumar, Javed
Akhtar Khan, Arshad Ajmal, Balram, Anand, Vidya
Rao,S.N.Azad, Ishwar Singh Dost, Harsh Mander, Shubha
Mudgal, K.N.Pannikkar, Shabnam Hashmi, Apoorvanand,
Nivedita Menon,Khurshid Anwar, Nasirruddin Haider
Khan, Aditya Nigam, Ajey Kumar, Harsh Kapoor, Nand
Kishore Acharya, Akhilesh, Urvashi Butalia, Dilip
Chitre, Anwar Jamal, Purushottam Agrawal, Sudheer
Chandra, GeetajaliShree, Arun Maheshwari, Prashant
Bhushan, Ashok Maheshwari, Dhruv Narain, , Ganesh
Devy, Bhagwan Das Patel, RajaRam Bhadu,
AlakhNandan,Himanshu Pandya, Nand Chaturvedi, Pankaj,
ganga sahay Meena, Amarjeet Kaur, Rakesh Sharma, Bela
Bhatia,Saumya, Mangalesh Dabral,Raj Kishore,Prakash
Luios, Roop Rekha Verma, Nandita
Das, Cedric Prakash, Subhash Gatade.
_____
[3]
Jharkhand Youth Association
Bringing Indians Together
Summary:
Our country, India, is going through very
difficult time. Its citizens are being divided on
the basis of religion, caste and color. People
are being subjected to a propaganda campaign and
brainwashed with misleading and incorrect
information regarding Indian history, Indian
culture and about the very soul of India. The
India, as envisioned by our forefathers such as
Gandhiji, Nehru, Maualana Azad and Bhagat Singh,
is being converted into a India that is now being
characterized as belonging to only an exclusive
group of people with the exclusion of others,
including the minorities. This hate mongering and
brainwashing has led to increasing hatred and
polarization among communities who for century
have loved and lived together in peace and
dignity. One result of this hate mongering was
witnessed in form of genocide in Gujarat. In
addition, there has been threats made by those
responsible for Gujarat to repeat Gujarat in all
parts of India.
It is apparent that we no longer have the luxury
to wait for things to get better. We must act
now in order to keep the mosaic that is India
from further deteriorating. All who love India
need and should become active participants in
activities that will bring all Indians together
irrespective of their religion, caste, culture,
and together. We plan to do this by educating
the people about the composite culture of India.
About the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and
heroes such as Bhagat Singh, Sheik Bhukari, Pram
Vir Chakar recipient Havaldar Abdul Hamid, Batakh
Mian Ansari, Gandhi, Nehru, Maulana Azad, Allah
Rakha, Peer Ali Khan, Khudiram Bose, Rajguru,
Sukhdeo, Udham Singh and numerous other heroes
like them. They all worked for, and some even
died at the gallows for creating an India that in
the words of Rabindra Nath Tagore beckons all
'Come, O Aryan and Non-Aryan, Hindu and Muslim,
Come, O English and you Christian, Come, O Brahmin,
Purify your mind and clasp the hands of all;
Come O downtrodden, And let vanish all burdens of your humiliation.
Tarry not, but come you all.
To anoint the Mother,
On the shores of Bharat,
Where men of all races have come together'.
Many such brave Indians, Hindus, Muslims,
Christians and others died so that we may live in
the India of their dreams. An India sans hate,
sans rancor, sans exclusiveness, encompassing all
cultures, all religions, all languages and in
dignity and guaranteed human rights for all. We
therefore have to right the wrong, reclaim our
glorious past, and acknowledge the wrongs and
work for a better India for all.
The Jharkhand Youth Association is instituting a
project whereby the common citizens can be
educated in good citizenry by exposing them to
our glorious history and composite culture. The
main objective being is to counteract the wrong
and completely biased information that is being
incorporated into the text books and school
curriculum in India. We want the truth, the good
as well the bad be told to our people and then
give them the opportunity to decide as to what
kind of India they wish to create and live in.
Here is the gist of the project that we have
devised. A booklet written by Dr. Ram Punyani,
(who is a member of EKTA and currently a
professor at IIT, Mumbai); titled "Sampradayikta-
Kya Sach Kya Jhoot" (Communalism: What is False,
What is True) has been selected for the purpose
or organizing a competition for the youth. This
book presents events in Indian history in an
unbiased manner and will serve as basis of this
competition. A quiz competition is being
organized in Ranchi (Jharkhand, India) under the
supervision of Jharkhand Youth Association (JYA)
on APRIL 04, 2004. This competition is open to
all people regardless of age, sex and religion.
Given below is a more detailed description of how
this competition will be conducted.
Quiz Competition
JYA would distribute the enrollment form to
different colleges, institutes and schools where
the head of the institution would be responsible
for disbursing the same to participants. Any
group (a group consists of two people) that wants
to participate in the quiz competition would have
to register for a written exam by paying an
enrollment fee of Rs.20/-(Indian Rupees). Each
group would be given 2 books (Sampradayikta: Kya
Sach, Kya Jhoot) to prepare for the written exam.
JYA will collect the submitted forms from
colleges, institutions and schools after one week.
On April 04, 2004 each group would first appear
in a written test that would consist of 30
questions (from book + general questions). The
participants would have to finish the written
test in 30 minutes. While the judges are checking
the papers (of the written test), the quiz
competition will start for the general audience
comprising all who have come to participate in
the competition. Questions will be asked of
those present and whoever answers the questions
correctly would be given some kind of small gift
(e.g. pen).
After the results of written test results are
announced, 6 groups would be called for the final
quiz round. Among these will be chosen the First,
Second and Third Prize winners.
First Prize: Memento, Certificate and Cash Prize of Rs.1000/-
Second Prize: Memento, Certificate and Cash Prize of Rs.750/-
Third Prize: Memento, Certificate and Cash Prize of Rs.500/-
We may also give some prize to all six groups who
were selected for final quiz competition. In
addition, Dr. Punyani's booklet will be
distributed to the general public. They can take
the books free of charge, read it and pass it on
to their neighbors friends. In order to do all as
specified above, a committee has been formed.
They are solely responsible for the organization
of this event. The committee members are also
highly learned individuals with prior experience
in hosting such events. In addition they are
dedicated to the cause of creating a better India
for all Indians
Organizing Committee:
1. Prof V.N. Pandey (Head. of Department, Hindi, Ranchi College)
2. Prof R.K. Jha (Head. of Department. Botany, Ranchi College)
3. W.H.C. DAVID (Secretary Y.M.C.A.)
4. Gurvinder Singh Setthi (Secretary, Gurdwara Committee)
5. Shahnawaz Quraishi (Member of JYA &
sub-editor, Prabhat Khabar, local newspaper)
Quiz Master:
Dr. S. S. Akhtar (Public Relation Officer to
vice-chancellor, Ranchi University)
Chief Guest for Prize Distribution:
Amitabh Choudhary, (IAS Officer) DIG, Sports, Jharkhand Government
Media Coverage:
Local newspapers and private TV channel and
national TV channel (Doordarshan) would cover
this program. Efforts are being taken to telecast
this event LIVE through Doordarshan and other
private TV Channels.
Cost of Event: (in Indian Rupees)
Prizes: 3500.00
Certificate: 700.00
Hall 900.00
Sound System 1000.00
Refreshment (guests) 500.00
Books 3000.00
(for 500 copies of Ram Punyani's book)
Miscellaneous 1500.00
TOTAL Rs.11100.00 = USD
250.00 (This is the APPROX MAXIMUM COST)
The same event can be held in different parts of
India. Jharkhand Youth Association and committee,
in charge of hosting this program will be
responsible for raising the funds for this event.
It is anticipated that they will be able to get
sponsorship from institutions, business etc to
cover the cost of such events.
Jharkhand Youth Association (JYA) is a non-profit
organization founded by Shamshad Quamar and Dr.
Jawaid Quddus in 2003 that works for the
upliftment for weaker section of society and
promotes peace and brotherhood among citizens of
India. Some of its projects are:
(1) Providing computer scholarship for needy
students for MCA, BCA, DCA and DTP courses
(2) Providing financial assistance to girls to pursue basic primary education
(3) Hosting events on topics that are of national importance.
(4) No discrimination is made on the basis of
religion, caste, color, gender or regional
Status of individuals utilizing the programs offered by JYA
For feedback and comment about this program,
please contact Shamshad Quamar at
<shamshad_quamar at yahoo.com> or Dr. Jawaid Quddus
at <jq20 at hotmail.com>
_____
[4]
Sati glorification: Crime, society and the wheels of injustice
By Rakesh Shukla
Despite protests both within Rajasthan and across
the country, no appeal has been filed against the
recent acquittal of those accused of glorifying
sati, following the death of Roop Kanwar on her
husband's funeral pyre back in 1987
On March 3, 2004, women's groups including the
Rajasthan University Women's Association, Sathin
Karmachari Sangh and the National Federation of
Indian Women, under the banner of Mahila Atyachar
Virodhi Jan Andolan, staged a march in Jaipur
protesting the acquittal, on January 31, of all
the accused in four criminal cases of
glorification of sati, which was abolished in
1829 by Lord Bentinck. The accused include, among
others, a former minister, a former IAS officer,
an advocate and the president of the Rajput Maha
Sabha.
The cases go back to Deorala 1987, and have a
chequered career. The Rajasthan High Court
quashed the chargesheets in December 1987 itself!
The Supreme Court finally reversed the high court
judgement and sent the cases back for trial in
January 2003.
On September 4, 1987 in Deorala, a nondescript
village in Rajasthan, 18-year-old Roop Kanwar
burned to death on the pyre of her husband Maal
Singh. Dressed in bridal finery, Roop Kanwar
walked at the head of the funeral procession to
the centre of the village and ascended the pyre.
The family lit the pyre fully aware that she was
sitting on it, alive, with hundreds of onlookers
watching the proceedings. In fact, relatives even
fed a thousand people in honour of 'Sati Mata'.
Based on a petition by women activists the
Rajasthan High Court, on September 14, 1987,
ordered the state government to prevent a
function glorifying sati from taking place on the
13th day of Roop Kanwar's death. The ceremony was
nevertheless held with much fanfare. A festive
'chunari', taken round in procession, draped over
a trishul to resemble the form of a woman, was
set ablaze in the presence of VIPs, politicians,
legislators and thousands of people. Cries of "
Sati Mata ki jai ," " Jab tak suraj-chand rahega,
Roop Kanwar tera naam rahega " ("As long as the
sun and the moon exist, Roop Kanwar will be
remembered") rent the air.
Pressure from women's groups led to the
promulgation of the Rajasthan Sati (Prevention)
Ordinance, 1987, on October 1, 1987, prohibiting
the glorification of sati. The Sati Dharma
Suraksha Samiti dropped 'Sati' from its name and
organised a massive rally, mid-October, in
Jaipur. People carried naked swords and shouted
slogans in favour of sati and Roop Kanwar.
Similar rallies were organised in the districts
of Alwar and Sikar. Under the ordinance, 22
criminal cases pertaining to these rallies were
filed for 'glorification of sati'.
On October 11, 1996, the additional district and
sessions judge at Neem-ka-Thana in Rajasthan
pronounced all 32 accused, including Roop
Kanwar's father-in-law, 'not guilty' with regard
to the immolation. They were acquitted.
The main reason for their acquittal was stated to
be the absence of eyewitnesses to the immolation,
which took place in the presence of hundreds of
onlookers. In fact, the court declared that the
prosecution had not been able to prove that Roop
Kanwar was alive when she sat on the pyre and was
burnt to death!
The court's finding brings us to the acquittal,
on January 31, 2004, of all the accused including
former minister and vice-president of the state's
BJP Rajendra Singh Rathore, former Bharatiya Yuva
Morcha president and nephew of vice-president
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Pratap Singh
Khachariawas, president of the Rajput Maha Sabha,
Narendra Singh Rajawat, former IAS officer Onkar
Singh and advocate Ram Singh Manohar in four of
the criminal cases under the 1987 ordinance.
Under the ordinance, 'sati' constitutes the
burning or burying alive of any widow along with
the body of her deceased husband or with any
article, object or thing associated with the
husband, irrespective of whether such burning or
burying is voluntary on the part of the widow or
otherwise.
Glorification has been defined under section 2(b)
of the ordinance. The first limb of the provision
defines 'glorification' as including the
observance of any ceremony or the taking out of a
procession in connection with sati. Interposing
'or', the second limb declares the creation of a
trust, collection of funds, construction of a
temple or the performance of any ceremony thereat
with a view to perpetuating the honour of, or to
preserve the memory of a widow committing sati as
glorification.
The court, duty-bound to apply the definition of
sati as laid down in the law, instead declares
that 'sati' means a "woman being virtuous, having
strong character, completely devoted towards her
husband and having a relationship with only one
man during her whole life". Applying this
subjective meaning, betraying a patriarchal
mindset, the judgement refers to Sita and Anusuya
as 'satis' and observes that the invocation of
their name would obviously not make a person
guilty of sati glorification.
The provision is then interpreted to mean that
the observance of any ceremony or the taking out
of a procession must also be in relation to a
particular incident for the act to be punishable.
Carrying this twisted logic further, the court
rules that as the Roop Kanwar incident has itself
not been proved to be one of 'sati', 'sati
glorification' is not established by the taking
out of processions.
The other striking feature of the case is the
turning hostile of senior government officials
including police officers. In what is probably
unprecedented, ADM Nar Hari Sharma, SDM Gyan
Prakash Shukla, SHO Bhilwara Satish Kumar, SHO
Nagar Nigam, Jaipur Chagan Lal, amongst other
ASIs and constables, all changed their
testimonies in court and refused to support the
prosecution launched and conducted by their own
administration. Lapses on the part of the
prosecution, such as a delay in filing an FIR
(First Information Report), failure to prove the
photographs, speeches recorded and news items
through the examination of photographers,
technicians and the journalists concerned, the
absence of test identification all contributed to
the acquittal.
As time for an appeal with the high court runs
out, continuing protests within the state and
across the country have failed to persuade the
state government, headed by Vasundhara Raje, to
file an appeal against the acquittal and take
steps to conduct, with due care and diligence,
the prosecution of 18 cases of 'sati
glorification' still pending trial.
(Rakesh Shukla is an advocate with the Supreme Court)
InfoChange News & Features, March 2004
_____
[5]
Economic and Political Weekly [India]
March 6, 2004
URL:
www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2004&leaf=03&filename=6925&filetype=html
Religion and Nationalism: Politics of BJP
While claiming full respect for the political and
civil rights of all citizens, the BJP has in its
political practice throughout the years
demonstrated that its version of Hindu
nationalism often clashes with generally
acknowledged features of Indian
democracy, especially minority rights. This essay
analyses the ideology of the BJP relating it to a
general theoretical discourse on nationalism and
also to the contemporary debate on citizenship
within political theory.
by Henrik Berglund
[THE FULL TEXT OF THE ABOVE PAPER IS AVAILABLE
VIA SACW. Should you require a copy send a
request to <aiindex at mnet.fr>]
_____
[6]
International Accountability Project
International Rivers Network
Lokayan
Urgewald
March 15, 2004
via facsimile
President James D. Wolfensohn
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
Narmada: The World Bank's Continuing Indifference to the Grim Tragedy
Dear Mr. Wolfensohn,
In the 60th anniversary year of the World Bank, and nineteen years
after the Board approved the Sardar Sarovar projects, we ask you to
consider whether there can be any outcome to the situation in the
Narmada Valley other than the one summarized above.
There are two major points of information that we want to share with
you. First, we want you to be aware that a decision from the Narmada
Control Authority to raise the height of the dam to 110 meters is
imminent and will be made this week. At this level, all of the
tribal areas behind the dam will be submerged.
Second, we feel the need to call to your attention a serious
management issue that is playing itself out inside the World Bank and
at the project level. The issue goes to the heart of sustainable
development: it is the question of World Bank support, guidance,
supervision, and oversight with respect to the environmental and
social avoidance and mitigation requirements that are reflected in
the Bank's policies and encompassed within loan agreements and
project documents.
The involuntary resettlement plan, the project supervision policy,
the indigenous peoples policy - these are not one-off checklists -
i.e. do indigenous people exist? Is there a plan? Rather, these
policies provide substantive and procedural guidance for what must be
in these plans and how they are to be carried out. The failure to
abide by or to enforce the terms of these policies has meant that
rights that local people have come to expect under their legal
framework are ignored, and the people are in the process marginalized.
Currently, according to Steen Jorgensen and others, the Bank is not
supervising its projects beyond the disbursement of funds. Michael
Carter, the India Country Director, made clear in recent
correspondence that the Bank will not supervise Sardar Sarovar or
other "closed" projects (though the loan is not repaid, and is
therefore still an active part of the Bank's portfolio and
relationship with the borrower), unless directed to do so by the
Board. What, exactly, is the point of the Board passing policies on
project supervision, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples
if not a recognition that the Bank needed to play an ongoing role in
managing and ensuring mitigation of the long-term impacts of World
Bank lending?
We are concerned that the fall-back, defensive position of the Bank
when challenged on its approach to troubled projects is to simply do
nothing. The current Country Director seems to be manifesting a long
tradition within the South Asia department of neglect for compliance
with environmental and social policies and terms of loan agreements.
This attitude was first manifested by Joe Wood at the time the
Narmada dams entered the Bank's lexicon. After the Bank and India
cancelled the remaining balance on their loan and credit agreements
for the Sardar Sarovar Projects, the then-General Counsel Ibrahim
Shihata felt it necessary to clarify in writing that legal
obligations continued to exist, and that the Indian government could
not just walk away from the terms of the agreement.
Mr. Shihata wrote to Mr. Wood that:
In the brief Board discussion today of the cancellation of the Bank's
loan for the Narmada Project, the impression was left that the
Government of India was no longer legally obligated to carry out its
obligations under the loan agreement . . . this is not the case.
Section 6.06 of the General Conditions applicable to all Bank loans .
. . provides that '[n]otwithstanding any cancellation or suspension,
all the provisions of the Loan Agreement and the Guarantee Agreement
shall continue in full force and effect except as specifically
provided in this Article.'
More recently, the Operations Evaluation Department, evaluating the
Energy Sector in India, wrote that:
"The Bank needs to continue to supervise closed loans if it is to
fulfill its responsibility to confirm that borrowers are living up to
the commitments they made when they borrowed from the Bank." (p. 15)
and that "Legally, loan/credit agreements are valid until the
loan/credit has been repaid. In practice, the Bank has not exercised
its remedies beyond the closing date of the loan/credit. (...) To
ensure that its environmental mandate is taken seriously, the Bank
needs to hold state governments to their commitments to implement
monitoring agreements." (p. 18). [Meeting India' s Energy Needs (1978
- 1999) : a country sector review (Report No. 19972), 1999, available
at
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_00012805311591]
We have met with Bank staff and management, from Delhi to Washington,
D.C. We have written numerous letters to you, to the Board of
Executive Directors, to the Chairman of the R&R Subgroup of the
Narmada Control Authority. The media, as well, is covering very
blatant violations of the terms of the loan/credit agreements such as:
- Madhya Pradesh's (MP) practice of cash compensation instead of land for land;
- MP's untenable (and contrary to the Narmada Tribunal Award)
designation of "temporarily" affected people who are not entitled to
full benefits as "permanently" submerged even though these lose
access to shelter and livelihood;
- The ever-increasing reckoning of how many families currently lack
rehabilitation in Maharashtra;
- The ongoing exclusion of canal and colony affected people from
Gujarat's recognition of affected families;
- The often-miserable conditions in resettlement colonies in all 3 states;
- The fact that Madhya Pradesh has admitted in the press that
resettlement sites that are supposed to be available for
already-affected families are not prepared, nor do colonies exist for
families that would be affected by the currently pending decision to
increase the height of the dam;
- The lack of a comprehensive and realistic resettlement plan that
shows how the escalating displacement in the Valley will be managed;
- And many more problems, documented in a fact-finding report of
Habitat International Coalition and other first-hand accounts of
monsoon impacts from the past two years of dam increases.
Mr. Wolfensohn, when you were in Delhi a few years back, you publicly
addressed people affected by Sardar Sarovar and their allies, and you
pledged that you would personally look at the issues that they were
raising, around forestry issues and around resettlement and
rehabilitation. The crucial time has come for you to step forward
and stake out that space, to take a personal interest in the
situation and override the indifference of your country office.
The Bank's position, articulated by Michael Carter, Steen Jorgensen,
and others in meetings and correspondence, is that the Bank could
choose to enforce the terms of the loan agreement, but that it is
choosing not to do so. This conscious choice to sit back and allow
flagrant - publicly reported on - violations of the R&R provisions in
Sardar Sarovar, could arguably, be shifted. According to the logic
advanced by proponents of the laissez-faire position, the Bank could
also take an active role.
Mr. Wolfensohn, all of us have been to the Narmada Valley. We are
writing as concerned individuals and organizations who have worked
directly with affected communities and their allies. They have a
message for you. They don't want the World Bank back into their
Valley, but they do want the World Bank to rectify its mistakes in
the past - its failure to ensure compliance with the policies is what
has led to the construction of this massive project without even a
comprehensive and realistic resettlement plan. Its failure to comply
with its own policies on project supervision, environmental impact
assessment, indigenous peoples and involuntary resettlement has meant
the steady erosion of their quality of life.
They do not want the World Bank back in the Valley, but they could
use the Bank's assistance in encouraging its client to adhere to the
terms of the deal. Work to ensure that there is no increase in the
height of the dam until resettlement and rehabilitation has been
completed for each stage of people already affected or to be
affected. Our recent trips to the Valley have shown that this is
currently not the case, and that there are significant discrepancies
between the government's reports and the reality on the ground.
All that we are asking is that the Bank take basic steps to raise
questions about compliance before there is any authorization to
increase the height of the dam. Please do not sit silent, when the
fate of thousands of people hangs in the balance. Please do not be
mute, in the face of widespread evidence of problems. Please ask
questions, enquire, ask to see a comprehensive and realistic
resettlement plan, call for compliance, and work to assist the
Borrower in improving capacity. Please emphasize the importance of
ensuring that all those affected benefit from the project, and that
rehabilitation takes place prior to construction and submergence.
Please do not tolerate people being flooded and arrested out of their
homes when they have not yet been able to exercise the procedural and
substantive rights to which they are entitled.
Why cannot the World Bank ask after the welfare of those to be
affected by the decision that is pending with the Narmada Control
Authority, on increasing the height to 110 meters? Why cannot the
World Bank urge caution when treading through such dangerous waters
as the violation of rights of thousands of adivasi (tribal) and other
local people? Why cannot the Bank learn from the past?
On that subject, we are all quite concerned to hear confirmation from
Michael Carter that MIGA is considering providing political risk
insurance to a potential private sector investor in the Omkareshwar
dam upstream of Sardar Sarovar on the Narmada. We find it ironic
that the Bank has played a role in creating conditions of social
impoverishment and social unrest, thereby engendering local
resistance to devastating dam projects, and is now turning around and
providing political risk insurance against the very risk and
insecurity that it helped create.
Please, consider how this approach is undermining the development
effectiveness and the credibility of the World Bank Group. It is
time for a renewed commitment to the people affected by these
projects. Please help steer a different course, focus on the ways
that the Bank can defend, give space for, and help enforce the rights
of project-affected people, rather than enshrining good words in
policy documents and turning the other cheek when they are violated.
Thank you for your time and attention at this crucially important
decision-point in the history of Sardar Sarovar. The situation is
even more urgent than when the four of us wrote to you on behalf of
130 organizations from 33 countries back in August 2003. A
detrimental decision is imminent. Please call on any of us if you
have any questions.
With best regards,
Smitu Kothari
Lokayan
Delhi
Currently at Princeton University
609.258.2836
Peter Bosshard
International Rivers Network
Zurich
41.1.4917021
Dana Clark
International Accountability Project
Berkeley, California
510.525.3262
Heffa Schuecking,
Urgewald, Germany
49.2583.1031
_____
[7]
IMC-USA denounces Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan's pandering of Bal Thackeray
For Immediate Release:
March 17, 2004
New York, N.Y.,Indian Muslim Council-USA, an
advocacy group of Indian-Americans dedicated to
the preservation of India's pluralist ethos,
denounced Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan's
pandering of Hindutva-fascist leader Bal
Thackeray. Zaheer Khan has reportedly implied to
the media that only "subversive" elements of the
Indian society consider Hindu militant leader Bal
Thackeray as anti-Muslim.
Dr. Shaik Ubaid, President of IMC-USA said, "Bal
Thackeray is complicit in the murders of
thousands of innocent Indians and his appalling
views on Muslims and minorities are well known.
To refer to Bal Thackeray as secular is the
ultimate insult to secularism." Bal Thackarey has
reportedly expressed satisfaction on the remarks
of Zaheer Khan, and that according to Dr. Ubaid,
"speaks volumes of Thackeray's guilt that seeks a
certificate of legitimacy from a sportsman."
Dr. Ubaid further added that Indian Muslims are
constantly under pressure from the militant Hindu
supremacists to prove their loyalty to India and
believes that Zaheer Khan, who has just come off
the injury list and is struggling with his form,
is under similar pressure.
"Zaheer should cement his place in the Indian
team through his performance and not by appeasing
mass murderers who consider Adolf Hitler as their
role model," declared Dr. Ubaid.
Dr Ubaid also castigated the Pakistani media for
asking questions that would have caused
difficulties to Zaheer Khan at the hands of
Hindutva-fascists if answered truthfully. "It
could be a distraction tactic by the Pakistanis
to counter Zaheer's effectiveness as India's
premier strike bowler." Dr. Ubaid exhorted the
young Indian paceman to tackle the Pakistani
media googlies with prudence and stay away from
appeasing mass murderers.
Contact:
Shaik Ubaid
Tel: 516 567 0783
Email: media at imc-usa.org
Indian Muslim Council-USA
265 Sunrise Highway, Suite 1-355
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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/
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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