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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