SACW | 4 April 2004

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire   |  4 April,  2004
via:  www.sacw.net

[1] Pakistan: Storming the textbooks (Abbas Rashid)
[2] India: Our Forgettable Forefathers  (Githa Hariharan)
[3] India: Maharashtra's Dalit's . . . signing up 
for 'Akhand Bharat' (Ranjit Hoskote)
[4] India: Urgent action to protect life of 
Malayalam writer and eminent rationalist leader 
Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam in Kerala


--------------

[1]


The Daily Times [Pakistan]
April 03, 2004 

Storming the textbooks
by Abbas Rashid

There is little doubt that our curricula and 
textbooks have helped to create a mindset that is 
a part of the problem rather than a part of the 
solution. Our schools and universities should be 
a defence against dissension within, and not 
locations where our children learn to internalise 
a discriminatory framework
The controversy generated by the SDPI report, The 
Subtle Subversion, on curricula and state of 
textbooks in Pakistan is not entirely unexpected. 
It is par for the course when it comes to almost 
any attempt at reforming Pakistan's education 
system that resembles nothing as much as complete 
shambles at this stage.
One could differ on the details, but it is 
difficult to argue with the essential thrust of 
the report regarding the need to provide material 
to children that promotes tolerance, harmony and 
peace rather than hate, militarism and 
exclusivity. The report highlights historical 
distortions contained in textbooks, the systemic 
flaws in the procedures and structures governing 
their production and the manner in which they 
reinforce negative stereotypes rather than 
encouraging critical thinking.
They are unimaginatively written and the content 
is presented in ways that is not easily 
intelligible to children - in short they are 
glaring examples of poor workmanship. And yes, as 
the report emphasises, our textbooks are often 
entirely insensitive to the fact that citizens of 
Pakistan subscribing to faiths other than Islam 
have a right to be represented in our texts so 
that their children in schools are not made to 
feel as if they are strangers in their own land 
even if they are a minority.
The compilers of the report, A H Nayyar and Ahmed 
Salim, have built on, and credited, the work of 
other scholars such as the eminent historian K K 
Aziz. Of course Dr Nayyar himself wrote on the 
subject as far back as 1985 in a book published 
by the Zed Press.
Anyhow, as is often the case when such issues are 
raised in Pakistan, the debate over the report 
has been deftly narrowed by the detractors to a 
contest over who is the better Muslim and who the 
greater patriot. So, it should come as no great 
surprise that instead of debating the pros and 
cons of the report in academic terms while 
conceding the obvious need for much better 
textbooks, the issue has been turned into a 
battle for safeguarding Islam and the ideology of 
Pakistan.
In the haze that has come to surround the 
controversy over the report it is useful to 
remind ourselves that the argument is not about 
excluding religion from the curriculum but for 
providing a balanced perspective. The Munir 
Report based on the enquiry into the anti-Ahmadi 
riots of 1953, brilliantly analysed the 
phenomenon of the instrumentalist use of Islam by 
vested interests for self-serving and political 
ends. More than half a century later the practice 
continues unabated. The SDPI report's suggestions 
have been termed by some critics as being 
pro-India and anti-Pakistan.
Sustainable peace does require that we take a 
more balanced view of our neighbours and review 
the element of demonising the people, rather than 
criticising the governments, that has become part 
of our textbooks. Indeed, many in India too 
continue to protest vociferously against the 
saffronisation of texts under the BJP government. 
But, as in their case, so in ours, encouraging 
intolerance and exclusion has far more profound 
implications for the kind of society that we 
create for ourselves than the admittedly 
important issue of our relationship with key 
neighbours.
There are all kinds of reasons why sectarianism 
and an extremist ethos has developed in Pakistan 
over recent years. But, there is little doubt 
that our curricula and textbooks have helped to 
create a mindset that is a part of the problem 
rather than a part of the solution. Our schools 
and universities should be a defence against 
dissension within, and not locations where our 
children learn to internalise a discriminatory 
framework that encourages them to relegate 
minorities to the category of second-class 
citizens, denotes women as inferior beings or 
treats a growing number of sects even among 
Muslims as being outside the pale of Islam. 
Clearly, this serves neither Islam nor, by any 
stretch of imagination, does it make Pakistan 
stronger.
Those opposing change, whether in textbooks or 
otherwise, have picked on the US government's 
focus on madrassa education in Pakistan. Clearly, 
reform is needed here as elsewhere but the reason 
is that it is our society that cannot afford 
further fracturing and not because premium is to 
be placed on some US agenda. Nevertheless, the 
connection has been made and will be exploited by 
lobbies determined to block change. The momentum 
is already being built up against what appears to 
be the next major target in the area of education 
reform i.e., The Aga Khan University Examination 
Board.
An alliance called the 'Tuhaffaz-Taleemi Nisab 
Mahaz' (Preservation of the Educational 
Curriculum Front) while declaring its intent to 
launch a movement against any change in the 
curriculum also charged that the AKU Board was 
part of the US-led conspiracy to change the 
curriculum. Again, whatever support the Aga Khan 
University gets from various sources for this 
effort, a few facts need to be kept in mind. The 
University has over the years managed to 
establish a medical college and hospital, a 
school for nursing and an institute for 
educational development. Their high standards are 
recognised both at home and abroad. It serves 
crucially to provide an option for quality 
education within Pakistan along with a handful of 
other institutions such as the Lahore University 
of Management Sciences or the Quaid-e-Azam 
University.
More such institutions are badly needed for 
obviously the alternative of getting a good 
education abroad is open only to a miniscule 
minority in Pakistan. Similarly, only a very 
small number of our students can afford to sit 
for examinations conducted by foreign 
institutions such as the Oxford and Cambridge 
Examination Board. It is crucial, therefore, that 
an Examination Board set up by a credible and 
internationally recognised institution such as 
the AKU emerge as an alternative within Pakistan 
for our schools to associate with. This will 
enable a far larger number of our students to get 
an education that is worthwhile and certification 
that is widely recognised. In any case, 
association with the AKU Board is voluntary and 
schools that do not want to join have absolutely 
no need to do so.
In the education sector, reform is crucially 
needed in the areas of teacher education and 
training, textbooks and examinations. Reform is a 
process and even in the best of educational 
systems its specifics can and should be 
continually discussed, debated and refined. 
Insistence on preserving without change an 
education system that has all but collapsed is 
hardly a serious option for us.
Abbas Rashid is a freelance journalist and 
political analyst whose career has included 
editorial positions in various Pakistani 
newspapers


_____



[2]

The Telegraph [India]
April 04, 2004

OUR FORGETTABLE FOREFATHERS
- It is up to us to unlearn Golwalkar's lessons
by Githa Hariharan

[PHOTO: RSS rally in which Golwalkar presided (Calcutta, 1972) ]

We can't help having the ancestors we have. But 
there is one good thing about growing up. We can 
use our judgment. We can make up our own minds 
about those stern black-and-white photographs 
lining our walls like a hallowed pantheon. We can 
use our adult sense of good and bad, right and 
wrong, to decide which of these worthies are 
significant for us in one way or the other. 
Several can be safely forgotten as 
inconsequential or irrelevant. More important is 
the shortlist of forefathers (and foremothers) we 
need to remember. Of these, some are memorable 
because their lives, though lived in the past, 
light our way in the present. Others we must 
never forget precisely because they were, and 
continue to be, a malignant influence. Dangerous, 
even in the form of their legacies.

As with our individual families, so with the 
nation's extended family. Our India, like any of 
our little families, has its share of shining and 
not-so-shining ancestors. Both sets have 
descendants who keep them alive, suitably framed, 
garlanded and quoted. Learning from icons - the 
little family's or the big family's - is not such 
a bad thing. But not all of them taught the right 
lessons. Some ancestors, and their legacies, can 
help us only if we unlearn their beliefs and 
ideas.

Consider just one of these gurujis from our 
nation's past, a man whose ideas inspire so many 
today: Madhav Sadhashiv Golwalkar. I recently 
came across a tattered, heavily underlined copy 
of Golwalkar's book, We or Our Nationhood 
Defined, which was first published in 1939. The 
cover of the book was torn, and the photograph on 
the frontispiece looked up at me intently.

It's a remarkable photograph. Like all those 
solemn old black-and-white studio photographs, 
this one too has a relentless head-on, frontal 
view. The posture is stiff, the eyes unsmiling. 
They seem to invite the beholder into the 
mysterious soul of the photographed man. The 
long, curly hair has been tamed and neatly 
combed. The dark moustache and beard are trimmed. 
The "costume" has been chosen with care for the 
image that will be handed down to posterity. The 
dark jacket with the emerging ruffled white 
collar, and the short pointed beard gives the 
young Golwalkar the look of a pirate who takes 
himself seriously.

I assume that this photograph was taken well 
after Golwalkar had finished his science course 
in the Hindu University in Varanasi and got his 
degree in law. He must have already been a 
professor of zoology, the professor who chose to 
work for the "Hindu cause" under Madan Mohan 
Malviya's influence, and which choice had 
crystallized under the influence of the 
"magnetic" Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.

Golwalkar subsequently became the second 
sar-sanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak 
Sangh, and steered the organization for the 33 
years between 1940 and 1973. Under his 
leadership, the RSS grew. With Golwalkar's ideas 
on Hindu rashtra, his years as the helmsman of 
the RSS widened and strengthened the ideological 
basis of the Sangh, and saw the resurgence of the 
"Hindu movement". A number of RSS affiliates, 
such as the Vidyarthi Parishad, the Bharatiya 
Mazdoor Sangh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the 
Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, came into 
existence.

Golwalkar has been described in numerous ways by 
some of his admiring descendants, our 
contemporaries. He is the "saviour of Hinduism", 
a "crusader for a strong and united India", a 
"staunch nationalist", and a guru who instilled 
patriotism in millions of youth, making them 
"effective instruments for the worship of Bharat 
Mata as her worthy children." (Also, his face was 
"luminous with innate intellect and learning". He 
played only "Indian games such as kusti". He 
hated cricket.)

Golwalkar is revered as a crusader for a strong 
India. I don't think any of us could have any 
objections to a strong India. But that word 
"strong" is the problem. Does Golwalkar's idea of 
a strong nation leave anything behind of India at 
all? To live the life of a nation, says 
Golwalkar, five factors - geographical, racial, 
religious, cultural and linguistic - must become 
one "indissoluble" whole. For him, every action, 
whether individual, social or political, is the 
result of a religious command; it is not possible 
to "complete" the idea of a nation without one 
national religion or one national culture.

Perhaps the picture of Golwalkar is best brought 
to life through his own uncompromising words. 
Take, for example, these words from the 
science-teaching nationalist in We or Our 
Nationhood Defined: "To keep up the purity of the 
Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world 
by her purging the country of the semitic Races - 
the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been 
manifested here. Germany has also shown how well 
nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, 
having differences going to the root, to be 
assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson 
for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by."

This means that our Habib Tanveers and Husains 
and Shabana Azmis and the millions of less-known 
others with "foreign" names belong to another 
culture, even another race. They will never be 
"assimilated" by "Hindusthan" although they know 
no world but India as we live it. "So long as 
they maintain their racial, religious and 
cultural differences, they cannot but be only 
foreigners, who may be either friendly or 
inimical to the Nation." In other words, these 
"foreigners" are enemies till proven innocent by 
a jury made up of Golwalkar's descendants.

Like so many of us, Golwalkar too was anxious to 
address the heterogeneous nature of Indian life. 
Except that his view of this enthralling, 
bewildering heterogeneity is a simple, 
straightforward "Muslim problem". "From this 
standpoint," he writes, "sanctioned by the 
experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign 
races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu 
culture and language, must learn to respect and 
hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain 
no idea but those of the glorification of the 
Hindu race and culture, i.e. of the Hindu nation 
and must lose their separate existence to merge 
in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, 
wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming 
nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any 
preferential treatment - not even citizen's 
rights."

Just over two years back, India - and Indians - 
were set ablaze. Those stories, so many that they 
make up a long and indelible roll-call of horror, 
have not found their place in election 
advertisements. These stories - murder, rape and 
looting in times of war, and fear, discrimination 
and ghetto-building in times of peace - are, 
alas, true stories, unlike some manufactured in 
an imaginative ad agency. Stories we need to 
remember and respond to, however painful they 
are, for one important reason. They happened in 
the same India that has now suddenly been blessed 
with roads, farmers' credit cards, and the gloss 
of PR packaging.

Guruji's lessons have been learnt well by those 
who are now at the gates. Perhaps these 
barbarians at the gate are "proud of being born 
in the great lineage of rishis and yogis", just 
as Guruji would have liked. It's up to the rest 
of us to dismantle Guruji's legacy of 
nation-breaking lessons.


_____



[3]


The Hindu
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Opinion - News Analysis
    
THE DALITS' DILEMMA

The coming elections have highlighted the threats 
to the autonomy of Maharashtra's Dalit community. 
Ranjit Hoskote discusses the issues involved.

THE MANIFESTOES of political formations make for 
sombre reading, once history has bypassed their 
rhetoric and overturned the ideals they enshrine. 
"Who are our enemies," asked the Dalit Panthers 
of Mumbai in what must now, perhaps, be described 
as their vision statement of 1972. Their answer 
was ready at hand: "Power, wealth, price. 
Landlords, capitalists, moneylenders and their 
lackeys. Those parties who indulge in religious 
or casteist politics and the government which 
depends on them..."

To many observers on the Left, in that period of 
naxalite unrest with the New Left upsurge in 
Europe and the United States still fresh in mind, 
the Panthers were the great new hope for a better 
India. They embodied a revolution that would 
confront the interwoven strands of class and 
caste, that would unmask oppression at the level 
of materiality as well as culture, translating 
into political action the teachings, variously 
imbibed, of the Buddha, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Marx 
and Mao.

As legatees of the Black Panthers and the 
naxalites, the Dalit Panthers sparked off a great 
pan-Indian wave of awakening in which, as Gail 
Omvedt points out, the downtrodden and the 
proletarian identities became conjoined as a 
potent source of resistance.

This wave, which began in the working-class 
districts of Mumbai, may be said to have peaked 
in northern India with Kanshi Ram's formation, in 
1980, of the Bahujan Samaj Party.

If the tone of defiance in the 1972 manifesto 
falls so oddly on the ear today, it is because so 
many of the organisation's founder-members have 
abdicated their radical inspiration. They have 
gravitated rightwards towards the same parties 
whose religious and casteist approach they once 
denounced. The tiger, the Shiv Sena's emblem, 
appears to be a more persuasive beast than the 
panther: the same voices that demanded the 
transformation of India into `Dalitistan' in the 
1980s have now signed up with the forces of 
Akhand Bharat (composite India).

It would be far too facile to ascribe this 
ideological shift to political opportunism alone. 
Rather, it may be more constructive to examine 
the issues at stake in the context of an evolving 
Dalit post-modernity in which the certitudes of 
the Marxist-existentialist tradition that gave 
birth to the Dalit Panthers have all been 
demolished. The rightward shift of the Panthers 
may well incarnate a tough realism. This would, 
of course, bring little comfort to those who 
believe that, because Left-liberal forces have 
treated the Dalits as a showpiece of progressive 
politics, the Dalits must return the compliment 
by playing showpiece forever. For the Panthers, 
who are intellectuals, writers and academics, 
reflect the turmoil in Maharashtra's Dalit 
community, which finds itself cheated of the 
benefits of six decades of development, bereft of 
effective leaders, and deployed as a vote bank in 
the demographic warfare that has been dignified 
with the title of the electoral process. Although 
precise figures are difficult to come by, 
observers have recently expressed dismay that 
significant numbers of Dalits in Maharashtra, 
mainly neo-Buddhists belonging to the formerly 
untouchable Mahar community, are prepared to try 
out the Shiv Sena.

The social and economic transformations of the 
1990s could scarcely have thrown up a different 
result. All through that momentous decade of 
globalisation, during which the protected market 
was opened up to trans-national players, private 
enterprise promoted while public spending was cut 
back, and the sunrise sectors of software, 
finance and banking shone while the old textile 
industry faded away, Dalits in Maharashtra 
watched as other classes and communities 
benefited from this wave of progress. In Mumbai, 
where the Dalits have long been associated with 
the textile industry, the contrast between the 
old and new has been most poignantly sharp: 
towers of affluence have soared above the ruins 
of Mumbai's old mill-lands, and industrial 
localities have been transformed into developers' 
paradise-islands. Thus the younger generation of 
Dalits has had to make a choice between an 
established but discredited leadership from 
within the community, and an emergent, apparently 
successful leadership - which happens to be 
provided by the traditional enemy, Shiv Sena, 
which has called for a strong coalition with the 
Dalits.

The cynical interpretation of the Sena's sudden 
love for the Dalits is that it is looking for a 
fresh base from which to recruit storm troopers 
for its periodic displays of might. The more 
charitable reading is that the Sena may be 
undergoing a gradual makeover. If Uddhav 
Thackeray's careful exploration of the landscape 
of electoral possibilities is any index, the Sena 
may, over the next decade, renounce the maverick 
and incendiary approach perfected by its founder, 
Bal Thackeray. In that case, it would have to 
adopt the more careful, consolidationist methods 
of a normal political party. As such, it has 
already begun to present itself as a 
constructive, ecumenical platform that wishes to 
expand far beyond its strongholds in Mumbai and 
coastal Maharashtra. In attempting to build 
itself such a broad base in the State, the Sena 
has been courting the influential Maratha 
community, while also strengthening its presence 
among the Kunbis and the Other Backward Castes 
(OBCs). Its appeal to Dalits is the next logical 
move in mobilising a new regional entity that 
transcends the conventional divides of caste and 
caste-based interest.

The casualty, in this narrative, is the hope of 
an autonomous Dalit stance, a Dalit future 
different from those composed by the social 
scriptwriters of the Congress-Nationalist 
Congress Party and the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata 
Party alliances, and the caste-class alignments 
they embody. This predicament may be traced, in 
turn, to three signal failures. First, it can be 
argued that the Dalit Panthers never outgrew 
their fascination with a Fanonist politics of 
redemption by violence; if the CPI (M-L) served 
as their guiding light in the 1970s, the Sena 
provided the updated model for the 1990s, even if 
the caste-class narrative of revolution had to be 
replaced by a regional-linguistic one. Secondly, 
the post-Ambedkarite Republican Party of India 
(RPI) leadership utterly failed to execute Dr. 
Ambedkar's dream of a resistance alliance that 
would not remain confined to a specific caste, 
but which would embrace dissent and dissidence 
across sectarian lines.

Thirdly, and this is the most delicate yet vital 
issue, the Ambedkarite revolution has remained 
unfinished precisely because it has neglected its 
founder's culminating project: the re-invention 
of the Dalit identity as a Buddhist identity, the 
charging of resistance with the ethical and 
spiritual energies of meditation, self-discipline 
and a symbolic imagination that proposes an 
alternative to prevailing orthodoxy. As Buddhist 
practitioners linked to the Dalit community 
admit, Dalit Buddhism has suffered the same fate 
as many other revolutionary social experiments 
that struggle to articulate themselves in a world 
dominated by the forces they oppose. The 
pressures on Dalit Buddhism are enormous, since 
it operates in conditions of lack and resentment, 
with models of violent self-assertion ready to 
hand. In consequence, Buddhism has become a 
symbol of difference rather than a significantly 
different ground of being and action, among the 
majority of Maharashtra's Dalits. The danger with 
symbols is that they can easily be appropriated, 
as the machine of Hindutva has demonstrated by 
absorbing Dr. Ambedkar into its hall of glory.

The autonomy of Maharashtra's Dalit community may 
depend crucially on their re-reading of his 
revolutionary teachings, rather than a token 
profession of reverence for his aura.



_____


[4]


Urgent action to protect life of Malayalam writer 
and eminent rationalist leader Mr. Sreeni 
Pattathanam in Kerala

PEOPLES UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
KERALA STATE COMMITTEE
GANDHI BHAVAN, KACHERIPADY, BANERJI ROAD, KOCHI 682
018, KERALA


PRESIDENT: Adv:P.A.Pauran: GENERAL SECRETARY:
Vilayody Venugopal
TREASURER: Jacob V. Lazer

URGENT ACTION
MOVE EARTH AND HEAVEN TO PROTECT THE LIFE OF
SREENI PATTATHANAM - An Appeal

A National Defense Committee (NDC) was formed by PUCL,
Kerala to further the actions against the Kerala
Government's inhuman Order against the Malayalam
writer and eminent rationalist leader Mr. Sreeni
Pattathanam. Following the NDC, the Peoples Union for
Civil Liberties (PUCL) State Committee has passed a
resolution to support the writer Mr. Pattathanam. It
appeals before every human rights activist and
like-minded people to help this cause in whatever way
they can. What follows is a short account of the
controversial issue, which led the author Sreeni
Pattathanam to become the prey of religious fanatics.

About the author
Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam is a Malayalam writer who has
ten books and many investigative reports to his
credit. He was born in Kollam, Kerala State. He began
his career in Police Department, which helped him to
find the unjustifiable alliance between the State and
Religion. Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam was instrumental,
among others, several years ago in exposing the
'miracle' of the divine Makarajyoti light, which
appears during the annual Ayyappa pilgrimage in Kerala
on a remote hill. Having resigned from the Police
service Mr. Pattathanam joined as a teacher in a
Government school.

The investigative mind of a police officer and the
analytical mind of a school teacher gave Mr.
Pattathanam a charming presentation of his topic which
reflected in his writings as well. He traveled a lot
in the nook and corner of Kerala.

He had been the Editor of 'Ranarekha', rationalist
monthly, published in Malayalam. He was also the State
General Secretary of Indian Rationalist Association
(IRA) of which Mr. Sanal Edamaruku as its National
General Secretary. Currently he is the Chief Editor of
'Yukthirajyam', Malayalam rationalist monthly; and,
the General Secretary of Bharatiya Rationalist
Association.

About the controversial book
Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam has written a book Matha
Amritanandamayi: Divya Kathakalum Yatharthyavum (Matha
Amritanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities, Mass
Publicationas, Kollam, Kerala, revised edn.) that
becomes the controversial one in Malayalam language.
It was first published in 1985, since this godwoman
was not as famous as she is today. For the book there
was no demand from the Math to prosecute the author.
But later, when the lady became an incarnation of the
Lord Krishna himself, they could persuade the
government to move against the author.

Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam's efforts to bring to light
facts are pioneering. His main contentions are: the
Math's claims to miracles are bogus, and that there
have been many suspicious deaths in and around her
ashram, which need police investigation. The research
work contains elaborate references to court records,
newspaper reports and quotations from well-known
literary figures, including statements from the Math's
close relatives, as well as an interview with Matha
Amritanandamayi herself.

About Matha Amritanandamayi Devi
Matha Amritanandamayi Devi ( Sudhamani, born in 1953
in the district Kollam, Kerala State, India) is known
to the world as the "hugging mother". She was also the
subject of a televison documentary in the 'Weird
Weekends' series on BBC TV, presented by Louis
Theroux. She hugs people and passes on to them
'energy'. Reportedly she has hugged and healed some 20
million people all over the world as part of her
mission. On Fridays she acts as the goddess Kali, and
on many occasions she has claimed to be Lord Krishna
himself.

Like god man Satya Sai Baba, she too has many
devotees: BJP leaders like Prime Minister of India
A.B. Vajpayee, Home Minister of India L.K. Advani, and
also Congress Party Chief Minister (of Kerala) A.K.
Antony are amongst them.

Home Ministry records of the Government of India show
that the Matha Amritanadamayi Mission is the second
largest recipient in India of foreign funds - in
1998-99 alone Rs. 51.55 crores were received (about
515 million Indian Rupees or about 11.5 million US
Dollars). Educational institutions established by this
primary school drop out enjoy Deemed University
status; Penguin India published her authorized
biography (Amma, a Living Saint by Judith Cornell)
where her miracles and her boundless love are
highlighted, and the train Amrita Express (Palghat
Town- Thiruvananthapuram) is named after her.
Her devotees have celebrated Matha Amritanadamayi's
50th birth anniversary at Kochi. The five day long (in
2003) ceremony was in fact a festival in which all the
pompousness and luxurious attitude of the ashram was
reflected. It is said that 191 delegates from the UN
member countries were participated in the anniversary
festival. The President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam himself inaugurated this!

The whole Eastern Religion and Philosophy especially
Vedanta declare that there is no birth and death and
man is an immortal being. Mata Amritanadamayi is
claimed to follow the Vedanta philosophy. But instead
of showing reluctance to the concepts of birth and
death she has celebrated her 50th birthday! What is
the point in a particular number? Has the number 50
got any divine significance? In fact the hidden truth
is that the devotees have made use of Amma's birthday
for popularizing the ashram and its multifaceted
business ideals. PUCL State Committee strongly
believes that in and around the ashram many corporate
brains are being worked and the ashram itself is a
multinational corporate company.

Origin of the complaint
Let us now come to the complaint made by Adv. T.K.
Ajan, secretary, Amrita Apartments Residence
Association, of the ashram, Kollam, Kerala, for a
permission to prosecute Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam, the
author of the book as well as the publisher and
printer, under section 295-A of IPC, 292 of IPC, 196
of Cr PC with section 34 of IPC. The first
petition was filed before the The Principal Secretary,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Kerala
Government's Position

Instead of investigating the allegations and examining
the evidence produced in the book, the state
government - headed by the Mata's ardent devotee the
Chief minister A.K. Antony - initiated moves to
prosecute Mr Pattathanam for making 'objectionable
references' to the spiritual leader, and for 'hurting
the religious sentiments of her devotees'. With great
alacrity, the state government moved swiftly, and the
police inspector of Karunagappally recorded statements
from Sreeni Pattathanam as well as the publisher and
printer. The relevant law going to be applied would be
Section 295-A, which criminalizes 'insulting or
attempting to insult the religion or religious beliefs
of any class of citizens with an intention of
outraging its religious feelings'.

Rising to the occasion, a group of writers and social
activists headed by
eminent Malayalam author Paul Zacharia and Human
Rights activist Mr. Mukundan C. Menon issued a
statement condemning the vindictive nature of the
government's moves. "Since certain ruling politicians,
both at the federal and state governments, are known
devotees of the Mata, we have reasons to suspect that
there is a sinister and malicious conspiracy behind
the move to prosecute Mr Sreeni Pattathanam".
Because of the ensuing international attention, the
government relented and halted its steps to facilitate
the prosecution of the author. However, the Mata's
devotees against those who came to Sreeni
Pattathanam's defense launched a relentless
internet-based campaign.

High court's intervention
Mr. T.K. Ajan has then filed another petition before
the High Court of Kerala. Thus the government has
reopened the issue and the State Home Secretary has
summoned Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam to present himself
before him on 18th March 2003 for hearing.
After this questioning, the government of Kerala has
sanctioned Adv. T.K. Ajan to prosecute Mr. Sreeni
Pattathanam, the author of the book Matha
Amritanandamayi: Divya Kathakalum Yatharthyavum as
well as the publisher and printer. (The government
Order is attached herewith).

The question of human rights and the writer's freedom
of expression
It was pointed out by the Supreme Court of India in
L.I.C. of India v Prof. Manubhai D. Shah (AIR 1993 SC
171: 1992 (3) SCC 637: 1992(4) JT (sc) 181), that
freedom of speech and _expression is a natural right
which a human being acquires on birth and, therefore,
it is a basic human right. This human right has been
admired as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948). UN Human Declarations have to be respected by
all the signatory States, which India is.
In the Preamble of the Constitution of India, the
people of India declared their solemn resolve to
secure to all its citizen liberty of thought and
_expression. This resolve is reflected in Article
19(1) (a) of the Constitution, which guarantees the
fundamental right to freedom of speech and _expression
to all citizens.

Indian Constitution affirms the right of freedom of
expression, which includes:

1.	Right to voice one's opinion.
2.	Right to seek information and ideas.
3.	Right to receive information.
4.	Right to impart information.


An Indian State is under an obligation to create
conditions in which all the citizens can effectively
and efficiently enjoy the aforesaid rights. What Mr.
Sreeni Pattathanam has done is that he only made use
the Constitutional rights stated above. Mr.
Pattathanam says: "I believe that I worked in
accordance with the Indian ConstitutionŠthey are
trying to deny my constitutional rights."
In Romesh Thappar v State of Madras (AIR 1950 SC 124:
1950 SCR 594:1950 SCJ 418: 1950 Cri LJ 1514), the
Supreme Court of India held that the freedom of speech
and _expression includes freedom of propagation of
ideas and this freedom is ensued by the freedom of
circulation.

Taking into consideration the above cases PUCL State
Committee has passed a resolution in which it has
criticized the government Order against the writer and
reiterated the fact that by issuing this Order the
government has violated the above two Orders of the
Supreme Court of India.

India's first blasphemy protection was happened in
1933 when Dr. D' Avoine, the President of the
Rationalist Association of India (RAI) from 1938 to
1944, published an article entitled, "Religion and
Morality" in the September 1933 issue of "Reason", the
official journal of RAI at that period. The Bombay
Police confiscated all the copies of "Reason" and
later arrested Dr. D'Avoine and charged under IPC295A.
On 5th March 1934 Sir H.P. Dastur, the Chief
Presidency Magistrate of Bombay, dismissed the case by
saying that "The accused may be wrongŠBut the article
merely represents the writer's view."

Religion or charitable trust?
In the complaint of Adv. T.K. Ajan, dated 23/05/2002,
it is emphatically stated that Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam
should be punished because of his "deliberate and
malicious intention to outrage the religion and
religious feelings of the devotees of Amma" (Complaint
no.5&7). He also says that Mata Amritanandamayi Math
Amritapuri is a place of worship of the devotees of
Amma who is their religious Guru (Complaint no.3).
But there is no mention in the complaint about the
nature and content of this 'religion'. There are many
religions in the world like Christianity, Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and
Zoroastrianism.

Barring Hinduism each religion has its
own founder. However, all religions have their own
particular rituals, ceremonials, principles, and
sacred books. Hinduism is a group of religious sects
each of which commonly accepts the Upanishads and the
Bhagavad Gita as scriptures. Since all these are the
known facts, the plaintiff should have stated in his
complaint the name, nature, and content of his
religion. He has not pointed out any 'ism' in
connection with 'Amma's' name. If it is a religion
what is its religious book or books? What are their
religious principles?

If he says that it is Hinduism, which is 'Amma's'
religion he should not forget the truth that Hinduism
is as old as the Rig Vedic period. Besides this, each
Hindu religious sect has its own religious ideals,
which may contradict with other sects of the same
religion. All these show that criticism is not foreign
to Hinduism. The Hindu religious philosophers like
Sankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva had developed criticism
among them. But they had not prosecuted their
opponents nor had they demanded prosecution from the
political authority. Instead, they allowed a
discussion among themselves. But Mr. Sreeni
Pattathanam is being crucified by the demands of this
so-called religion and its followers.

The certificate issued by Collectorate, Kollam,
certified that "the organization/institution namely
'Mata Amritanandamayi Math' (Register No.
IV.9/1988(KL/KPY), Amritapuri (P.O.) Kollam District),
Kerala - 690525 is a charitable and non-profit making
organization in India working in the field of
Health/Social welfare/Education/Rural development as a
non-sectarian basisŠ" In the complaint the plaintiff
himself has given a list of charitable activities
managed by the Math.

Nowhere in the certificate is it mentioned that the
Math is a religious institution or a religion. It is
not a religion but an "organization in India working
in the field of Health/Social welfare/Education/Rural
development."

The government of India has never accepted this Math
as a religion.

The aforesaid reasons point to the fact that the
allegation of the plaintiff in the complaint that Mr.
Sreeni Pattathanam's book is written with "deliberate
and malicious intention to outrage the religious
feelings of the devotees of Amma" is obviously
inconsistent, illogical, and hence illegitimate.
Since the Math is not a religion Mr. Sreeni
Pattathanam has not committed any offence that comes
under the section 295-A and 292 of IPC. Rather by
demanding from the authority for the prosecution of
the author the plaintiff Adv. T.K. Ajan insulted the
sincerity and investigative mind of an author,
because, in the complaint (no.6) it is said that
"Through the selling of the book the said Sreeni
Pattathanam gain money illegally and also gain
publicity illegally." But publishing and selling books
is not considered as illegal in India or anywhere in
the world. Neither is it illegal to gain publicity
thereby. Hence the contentions and the arguments of
the plaintiff are weak and not legitimate.

The PUCL State Committee expressed its grief in the
growing intolerance of the fanatics. It affirms that
we can expect tolerance, love, and compassion only
from a civilized people.

International Humanist and Ethical Union's
intervention
International Humanist and Ethical Union became aware
of the prosecution proceedings from the very
beginning. Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam as well as Mr. C.I.
Oommen, the President of Bharatiya Rationalist
Association, met with IHEU leaders in January 2003 and
in a video taped interview with IHEU Executive
Director Babu Gogineni they told about their fears
that in view of the prevailing campaign against
rationalists, and the rise of Hindu fundamentalism,
the danger for them was still not over, and that
efforts to prosecute would be restarted. Mr.
Pattathanam could be arrested and even tortured.
Custodial deaths are not uncommon in Kerala, they
reminded the free thinkers. Mr. Pattathanam says:
"This inhuman and cruel move against a writer by Hindu
Fascists should be stopped". He told a newspaper, "If
the charges contained in my book are baseless, the
devotees could have published a rejoinder. They have
published malicious reports against rationalists in
their publications".

IHEU calls upon the Kerala State government to uphold
the principles of secularism and Humanism incorporated
in Article 51 A (h) of the Indian Constitution which
enjoins every Indian citizen to develop scientific
temper and Humanism.

IHEU also calls upon its member organizations,
associates, human rights activists and defenders of
democratic principles to send letters of protest to
the Chief Minister of Kerala as well as the Home
Secretary of Kerala state. IHEU is bringing the urgent
matter to the attention also of Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, Reporters Sans Frontieres, The
International Committee for the Protection of
Journalists and the UN Special Rapporteur of Freedom
of Religion or Belief. www.iheu.org

Need of the hour
Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam's case is not a new one in
human history. He inherits the great minds of the yore
that showed an extraordinary courage to criticize the
established religion and the state. Socrates had to
drink the hemlock, Hypatia, a courageous woman in the
medieval period who criticized the Church, are some
examples we have from the pages of ancient history. In
modern times too, writer's like Salman Rushdie and
Tasleema Nasreen are being subjected to the
intolerance of religious fanaticism. Recently in
Pakistan Dr. Younus Shaikh had been jailed for
blasphemy. But as a result of the worldwide demand for
the release of Dr.Younus the Pakistan government had
to release him from death sell. So if human rights
activists, secularists, free thinkers and rationalists
take this matter seriously and act urgently to
persuade the government to quit from the execution of
the Order that will be a boon to all those who think
freely. Above all, if we act in this very moment we
could perhaps prevent the similar incidents in future.
What we must do now is to organize a worldwide
campaign and do everything in favour of this writer
and hence the Kerala State Committee of PUCL requests
the cooperation of all like-minded people and
organizations in this regard.

http://www.petitiononline.com/sreenidc/petition.html

PLEASE SEND LETTER TO
Mr. A.K. Antony
The Chief Minister of Kerala State
Government Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram 695 001
Kerala, India
Fax:+91-0471-2333489 Email:
cmkerala at vsnl.net and

chiefminister at kerala.gov.in

Dear Chief Minister Mr.A.K. Antony,

I am writing to protest against the recent govt. order
to sanction the prosecution of an author and
rationalist leader Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam in your
state, because of his book Matha Amruthandamayi -
Divya Kadhakalum Yatharthiavum (Matha
Amrithanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities, Mass
Publications, revised edition) exposing the alleged
wrong doings of Mata Amritanandamayi.

I am aware of your own personal devotion to Mata
Amrithanandamayi; however, I am alarmed that as Chief
Minister as well as home minister incharge of police
and security, instead of examining the evidence
produced in the book and launching an inquiry into the
ashram activities, you have chosen to initiate moves
to prosecute Mr. Sreeni Patthathanam on the grounds
that his book has hurt the religious sentiments of
people, following a complaint by one Mr. Ajan. The
Mata's organisation is registered as a social
organisation and not as a religious organisation. How
can criticism of a social organisation and the doings
of those associated with it cause hurt to religious
sentiments? In any case, religious leaders cannot be
immune from the attentions of the criminal justice
system.

I call on you to uphold the principles of secular
democracy, to uphold the rule of law, and to protect
Mr. Pattathanam's freedom of _expression and belief
and its lawful exercise.

In these troubles times in India where intolerance is
on the rise, the international community is watching
you and looking to you to uphold democratic principles

Yours sincerely,
Expecting your urgent intervention in this matter.
Sd/-

Adv. P.A. Pauran, President, PUCL, Kerala.
V. Venugopal, General Secretary, PUCL, Kerala.
Jacob V. Lazer, Treasurer, PUCL, Kerala. Tel: 98472
97466

Copy of your suggestions and comments may be forwarded to:
Email:

sreenidcpucl at yahoo.co.in
jacobkaloor at yahoo.co.uk


o o o o o o

[SEE ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXTRACTED FROM THE ORIGINAL ALERT BY IHEU]

URGENT ACTION REQUESTED
Indian Rationalist Leader Sreeni Pattathanam needs support!
	 
Sreeni Pattathanam

Kerala Government renews attempts to prosecute 
author for book with explosive details on 
religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, the 
"Hugging Mother"

Hugging Mother

Mata Amritanandamayi (nee Sudhamani, 1953) of 
Kerala is known to the world as the  'hugging 
mother'. She was also the subject of a television 
documentary in the 'Weird Weekends' series on BBC 
TV, presented by Louis Theroux. She hugs people 
and passes on to them 'energy'. Reputedly she has 
hugged and healed some 20 million people all over 
the world as part of her mission. On Fridays she 
acts as the goddess Kali, and on many occasions 
she has claimed to be Lord Krishna himself.

Like god man Satya Sai Baba, she too has many 
devotees: BJP leaders like Prime Minister of 
India A.B. Vajpayee, Home Minister of India L.K. 
Advani, and also Congress Party Chief Minister 
(of Kerala) A.K. Antony are amongst them.

Home Ministry records of the Government of India 
show that the Mata Amritanadamayi Mission is the 
second largest recipient in India of foreign 
funds - in 1998-99 alone Rs. 51.55 crores were 
received (about 515 million Indian Rupees or 
about 11.5 million US Dollars). Educational 
institutions established by this primary school 
drop out enjoy Deemed University status; Penguin 
India published her authorized biography ('Amma, 
A Living Saint' by Judith Cornell) where her 
miracles and her boundless love are highlighted, 
and the train Amrit Express (Palghat Town- 
Thiruvananthapuram) is named after her.

Sacred Stories and Realities

In 2002, rationalist leader Mr. Sreeni 
Pattathanam, General Secretary of Bharateeya 
Rationalist Association - the Kerala State 
affiliate of the Rationalist Association of 
India, a member of IHEU - and Editor of the 
Malayalam language rationalist monthly 
Yukthirajyam, published a 170 page book in 
Malayalam: 'Matha Amruthandamayi - Divya 
Kadhakalum Yatharthiavum' (Matha 
Amrithanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities, 
Mass Publications, revised edition).


'Matha Amruthandamayi - Divya Kadhakalum Yathar-thiavum'.

Book cover
front and back page
Mr. Pattathanam's efforts to bring to light facts 
are pioneering, and his main contentions are that 
the Mata's claims to miracles are bogus, and that 
there have been many suspicious deaths in and 
around her ashram which need police 
investigation. The research work contains 
elaborate references to court records, news paper 
reports and quotations from well known literary 
figures, including statements from the Mata's 
close relatives, as well as an interview with 
Mata Amritanandamayi herself.

In 2002, members of the Bharathiya Rationalist 
Association staged a protest demonstration 
outside the Government secretariat in 
Thiruvananthapuram calling for an impartial 
inquiry into the allegations of suspicious deaths 
as well as the activities of the 
so-called charitable institutions being run by 
the influential 'god woman'.


Government and Public Response

Instead of investigating the allegations and 
examining the evidence produced, the state 
government - headed by the Mata's ardent devotee 
the Chief minister A.K. Antony - initiated moves 
to prosecute Mr Pattathanam for making 
'objectionable references' to the spiritual 
leader, and for 'hurting the religious sentiments 
of her devotees'. With great alacrity, the state 
government moved swiftly, and statements from 
Sreeni Pattathanam as well as the publisher and 
printer were recorded by the police inspector of 
Karunagappally. The relevant law sought to be 
applied would be Section 295-A which criminalizes 
'insulting or attempting to insult the religion 
or religious beliefs of any class of citizens 
with an intention of outraging its religious 
feelings'.

Rising to the occasion, a group of writers and 
social activists headed by eminent Malayalee 
author Paul Zacharia and Human Rights activist 
Mr. Mukundan C. Menon issued a statement 
condemning the vindictive nature of the 
government's moves. "Since certain ruling 
politicians, both at the federal and state 
governments, are known devotees of the Mata, we 
have reasons to suspect that there is a sinister 
and malicious conspiracy behind the move to 
prosecute Mr Sreeni Pattathanam".

Because of the ensuing international attention, 
the government relented and halted its steps to 
facilitate the prosecution of the author. 
However, a relentless internet-based campaign was 
launched by the Mata's devotees against those who 
came to Sreeni Pattathanam's defence.

Mr. Pattathanam's Statement

Both Mr. Pattathanam as well as Mr. C.I. Oommen, 
President of the Bharateeya Rationalist 
Association, Kerala, met with IHEU leaders in 
January 2003.

In a videotaped interview with IHEU Executive 
Director Babu Gogineni they told about their 
fears that in view of the prevailing campaign 
against rationalists, and the rise of Hindu 
fundamentalism, the danger for them was still not 
over, and that efforts to prosecute would be 
restarted. Mr. Pattathanam could be arrested and 
even tortured. "Custodial deaths are not uncommon 
in Kerala", they reminded us.
Mr. Oommen

Mr. Pattathanam emphasized elsewhere: "I believe 
that I worked in accordance with the Indian 
Constitution Š they are trying to deny me my 
constitutional rights. This inhuman and cruel 
move against a writer by Hindu Fascists should be 
stopped". He told a newspaper "If the charges 
contained in my book are baseless, the devotees 
could have published a rejoinder. They have 
published malicious reports against rationalists 
in their publications".

Urgent Message

IHEU has now received urgent messages from Mr. 
Pattathanam that on the pretext of executing a 
High Court judgement, the State Government has 
reopened the issue and the State Home secretary 
has summoned Mr. Pattathanam to present himself 
before him on 18 March 2003 for questioning.


IHEU's Call for Action

IHEU notes that Mr. Pattathanam was instrumental 
several years ago in exposing the 'miracle' of 
the divine makarajyoti light, which 'appears' 
during the annual Ayyappa pilgrimage in Kerala on 
a remote hill.

Leaders of the Bharateeya Rationalist Association 
have also performed immense public service to the 
people of India by stopping - through the means 
of a Public Interest Litigation in the Kerala 
High Court - the fraudulent claims of Mr.Majeed 
of Fair Pharma who earned millions of Rupees by 
claiming that his (unverified and unapproved) 
AIDS cure IMMUNO QR had saved 100,000 patients.

IHEU calls upon the Kerala state government to 
stop immediately the harassment of a respected 
rationalist who is performing public service by 
protecting the gullible and innocent through his 
investigations.

IHEU supports Mr. Pattathanam's efforts to expose 
the truth behind claims to miracles.

IHEU defends Mr. Pattathanam's freedom of 
expression and his rights as an author and 
applauds his courage in bringing to light 
important facts about suspected crimes.

IHEU calls upon the Kerala State government to 
uphold the principles of secularism and Humanism 
incorporated in Article 51 A (h) of the Indian 
Constitution which enjoins every Indian citizen 
to develop scientific temper and Humanism.

[...]
IHEU is bringing the urgent matter to the 
attention also of Amnesty International, Human 
Rights Watch, Reporters Sans Frontieres, The 
International Committee for the Protection of 
Journalists and the UN Special Rapporteur of 
Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Rationalist Association of India and IHEU

The Rationalist Association of India is a full 
member of the International Humanist and Ethical 
Union.

[Other officials to whom letters can be adressed in support of Mr. Pattathanam]

- Governor of Kerala: Fax + 91 -471-2720266
- Director General of Police, Kerala: Fax: + 91 - 471 - 2726560
Email: dgp at scrb.com
- Principal Secretary Home (Police) Fax: + 91 - 471 - 2327582
Email: prisecy at home.kerala.gov.in


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

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on 
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