SACW | 3 May 2004
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Sun May 2 18:57:59 CDT 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 3 May, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[1] Pakistan: Rewriting school syllabi (Anwar Syed)
[2] SAHR to study minority rights in 5 Asian states
[3] Fiddling While Bangladesh Burns (Naeem Mohaiemen)
[4] India: It is good to remember Nehru's legacy
when revisionism infects India (Ashok Ganguly)
[5] India: Geography of Hatred (Patwant Singh)
[6] India: Apportioning the blame of Communal Riots (Ram Puniyani)
[7] India - Exhibit: Sunil Gupta -- Pictures from Here (New Delhi)
[8] Publication Announcement: "At the Water's Edge by Pradeep Jeganathan"
--------------
[1]
Dawn [Pakistan]
02 May 2004
REWRITING SCHOOL SYLLABI
By Anwar Syed
There is a move in the country to revise the
present school syllabuses, presumably because the
existing ones do not impart to our children and
adolescents information and skills at levels
found in the more progressive societies. Some
commentators on the subject insist that, in
addition to information and skills, education
must also plant certain attitudes and values in
the student's mind.
When folks of my generation were children,
elementary education began with teaching kids the
three Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic). By
the time we got through the third grade, we had
learned to read simple texts and write them out.
We had memorized the multiplication table, and
were able to do simple additions, subtractions,
multiplications, and divisions. At this stage we
were also given glimpses of history and local
geography.
All of these subjects along with a few others
(physics, chemistry, algebra, geometry, English,
a classical language of one's choice) were taught
at increasingly higher levels of attainment as we
went from the elementary to the middle and then
to high school.
Looking back, I am entirely satisfied with the
product of public schools before independence. As
we came out of the high school, most of us were
able to read, write, and speak fairly well, some
of us even fluently. We were informed enough to
understand the workings of the society in which
we lived. We could venture into discussions of
politics and issues of war and peace. We were
ready to go to college and learn to deal with
even higher levels of complexity.
There is general agreement among observers that
the standards of education in the country have
fallen precipitously during the last thirty years
or so. In other words, the product of our public
schools is not as capable as it used to be. A few
years ago I was astounded to see that the young
son of a servant at a friend's house in
Islamabad, a third grader in a public school,
simply could not read his Urdu textbook.
It is unlikely that this deterioration has
resulted mainly from insufficiencies in the
syllabuses of courses taught in schools. It is
true that newer concepts and approaches have made
the old course content in certain subjects - for
instance, mathematics - obsolete, and
substantially new syllabuses must therefore be
devised. But that is not the case across the
board. Syllabuses do get revised periodically
everywhere to take account of the relevant
advances in knowledge. But more often the changes
made, from one revision to the next, are
incremental, not radical.
Want of competence and professional commitment
among teachers, admitted at all hands, must be
blamed for the deterioration of our educational
standards more than any deficiency in the
syllabuses. Even after we have streamlined our
syllabuses, the quality of our education will not
improve unless our teachers begin to take their
mission more seriously.
This aspect of the matter should be kept in mind
even if we cannot discuss it now, because today
we are concerned with the issue of syllabus
revisions.
Given that syllabuses are being changed, it may
be appropriate to ask which way the undertaking
should go. If the objective is to bring our
standards approximately at par with those
prevalent in modern societies, the task should be
fairly simple as far as math, hard sciences, and
value-free subjects such as geography are
concerned.
The modernizers should sit down with sets of
textbooks in these subjects used in American, a
couple of European, and Japanese schools and, for
reassurance and to use as points of departure,
those used in India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
They can pick and choose from the contents of
these textbooks and come up with their own
syllabuses. Difficulties may arise when they deal
with the humanities and social sciences.
Under the leadership of the late Ismail al
Faruqui, an eminent professor of Islamic studies
at Temple University in Philadelphia, a group of
Muslim scholars initiated a movement to Islamize
knowledge and, to begin with, launched The
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences in
1984. Muslim scholars elsewhere, at other times,
may also have had the same thought, but Professor
Faruqui's initiative was the one more generally
known.
In any case, the ambition to Islamize knowledge
surfaced in Pakistan too, and it resulted in the
insertion of Quranic verses and sayings of the
Prophet (PBUH) in school textbooks and, in some
cases, expulsion of material from them because of
its alleged repugnance to Islamic values or its
incompatibility with Islamic versions of events
or phenomena.
It seems that the textbook boards in Punjab and
Sindh have recently taken some of these Islamic
insertions out of the books they have prescribed
and published. In a recent statement (April 8),
MMA and PML (N) spokesmen have denounced these
revisions as part of the government's allegedly
hidden plan (under American dictation) to
secularize our society. They have threatened to
launch a mass movement to thwart this design.
The efforts to Islamize the hard sciences are
entirely dysfunctional. Jaafar Sheikh Idris
(professor of Usul al Din at the Islamic
University of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud in Saudi
Arabia), writing on "Islamization of the
Sciences" in the journal referred to above
(December 1987), makes the following insightful
observation:
"We should not make it a methodological rule to
look for empirical facts supportive of religious
statements, or religious texts which support
empirically established facts. It is a rule which
it is impossible to apply in practice." He goes
on to say that the rule would put us in one of
two equally dangerous positions: "either to give
scientific statements far-fetched meanings to
make them suit religious claims or twist
religious statements to force them to lend
support to scientific facts."
Why should we place verses from the Quran in a
book on physics? Presumably to show that
something that modern physics has found now was
known to the Quran 1,400 years ago, and to deduce
from that coincidence the proposition that the
Quran is a great and true book. But that is a
proposition of the validity of which we are
already convinced.
To make the greatness of the Quran dependent on
its compatibility with modern science is to
insult it. The reverse (conditioning the validity
of scientific findings on their confirmation by
the Quran) will leave science in degradation
since the Quran makes no mention of most of its
findings.
I suggest that any scientific assertions we
encounter in the Quran have been placed there
either to illustrate some point being made in
that particular context, or to call attention to
the creativity and majesty of God. It will bear
emphasis that the Quran is a book of law and
morals, a book of guidance in human interaction.
It is an error to regard it as a book of science
or a book of sociology, anthropology, or even
history (notwithstanding its passing references
to personalities and events).
The foremost obligation of a writer in the
humanities and social sciences is to report the
ground reality in his area of concern, tell us
what things are like and how they move. If this
reality has an Islamic content, we should know
about it. But he cannot "Islamize" the reality he
encounters if it is not already Islamic. A
sociologist who has chosen to study Pakistani
society must tell us how it is actually organized
(castes and sub-castes and tribes), how its
various segments interact, what its customs and
mores are.
This part of his enterprise must remain untouched
by his own ideological preferences. Depending
upon the scope of his inquiry, he may come to
issues of social policy where value judgments
become relevant: for instance, abolition or
curtailment of feudalism, among many others. This
is the proper place for bringing in Islam 99 -
verses from the Quran, if you will - as a set of
guidelines for social change.
Moves to Islamize the syllabuses are prompted by
the desire to enable the students to become good,
practising Muslims, truly moral persons.
Reflection will show that these moves are based
on a misunderstanding of how people become good.
Children learn math, but nor morals, at school.
In a charming introduction to his article a few
days ago, Mr Hafizur Rahman recounted our lack of
receptivity to the good advice that came our way
in school from Sheikh Sa'adi's "Gulistan" and
"Bostan" and the writings of other illustrious
teachers of morality. Nor did the exhortations of
professional preachers (imam and khatib in the
neighbourhood mosque) make any impact on our
choice of value and ways.
We learned Islam at home and became practising
Muslims, more or less, to the extent our parents
and other family members were. We got our
attitudes, including prejudices, partly from home
but largely from our peers on the street and
playground, and in social gatherings. MMA and
PML(N) spokesmen can be sure that no amount of
Islam in the school textbooks will make their
readers good Muslims.
It is entirely unrealistic to think that
knowledge of ethics makes a man moral. It should
not come as a surprise to anyone that most of the
high-class crooks in the world today are men and
women of considerable educational attainment. The
ulema among us are supposed to be well acquainted
with the Islamic code of morals. But, as we all
know, the conduct of many of them leaves much to
be desired in terms of Islamic righteousness.
The enterprise of Islamizing our government and
politics, society and economy, culture and
education has been grounded in hypocrisy, at best
in superficiality, from day one. This is apparent
from the fact that none of its proponents are out
there campaigning against corruption, deceit,
fraud, falsehood, breaking of covenants,
humiliation of women, exploitation of the poor,
and tyranny over the weak. If they do not regard
the eradication of these vices and atrocities as
the central part of their mission, what good will
their Islamization bring us, and what exactly are
they promising?
The writer is professor emeritus of political
science at the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst, US.
_____
[2]
The Daily Times [Pakistan]
May 03, 2004
SAHR TO STUDY MINORITY RIGHTS IN 5 ASIAN STATES
PESHAWAR A delegation of South Asians for Human
Rights (SAHR), a non-government organisation led
by former Indian prime minister IK Gujral and
renowned Pakistani lawyer Asma Jehangir, will
compile a report on rights of minorities in five
South Asian countries.
The report highlighting the violation of
minorities' rights in member states - India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka - will
be completed by December 2005, Dr Pandey from
Nepal told journalists on Saturday..
"Our interest is the development of democracy and
human rights in member states," said Dr Pandey.
Dr Pandey said the report would highlight what
was good for minorities in one country and what
was not in other countries. He said the report
would also make recommendations for the
protection of minority rights in five of the
countries of South Asia. He said the issue of
minority rights was a major issue, but the rights
of ethnic minorities were more important. Dr
Pandey hoped the thaw in ties between Pakistan
and India would contribute to the development of
human rights.
"Personally speaking, I think we are not living
in a peaceful environment because of the tension
between the two countries. But since the two
states are improving their relations, the region
will certainly feel the impact," the Nepalese
human rights activist remarked.
The report, first of its kind, will be compiled
under the South Asian People's Commission for
Rights of Minorities, SAHR General Secretary
Shirani G de Fontgalland from Sri Lanka told
Daily Times after speaking at the Guest Hour
programme of the Peshawar Press Club.
"Pakistan is the first country we are visiting
and will visit the other four member states
later," said Mr Fontgalland. When former Indian
Express editor George Vergehs was asked as to how
the SAHR viewed the threat to secularism in the
fast-growing fundamentalist India, he said, "We
will look at this threat."
The delegation has already visited Sindh,
Balochistan and Punjab to meet people belonging
to various cross-sections of society and top
government officials. In Peshawar, the SAHR
delegation met a team of the Awami National
Party. "We believe in equality and all
communities should have equal opportunities and
rights," Awami National Party (ANP) Provincial
President Begum Naseem Wali Khan told the SAHR
delegation. staff report
_____
[3]
Daily Star [Bangladesh]
April 27, 2004
FIDDLING WHILE BANGLADESH BURNS
By Naeem Mohaiemen
On January 8, the government caved in to religious
extremists and banned "all books" of the Ahmadiya
Muslims. Faced with widespread condemnation, the
government's weak excuse was that the step was taken
to ensure "safety and security" in Bangladesh. Whose
security was assured by this was not made clear--
however, it is clear that the Ahmadiya community's
safety has worsened after the ban. Emboldened by the
government decision, the International Khatme Nabuwot
(Last Prophet Movement) has taken a series of
escalating steps which may ultimately lead to national
pogroms against the Ahmadiyas. Meanwhile, the
secular-liberal intelligentsia continues to respond in
slow-motion, laboring under the illusion that polite
statements will be effective against a rabid movement
that uses violence, intimidation and street mobs to
carry out their programs.
Since January, a series of incidents have upped the
ante in the campaign to declare Ahmadiyas non-Muslim.
In February, the environment of hate was amplified by
the publication of the book "Why Qadianis are not
Muslims?" (Global Publishing) by Jamaat leader Delwar
Hossain Sayedee. On March 5, Imam Salauddin of
Ambarnagar village (Noakhali) issued a post-Jumma
fatwa declaring Ahmadiyas non-Muslim and calling for a
boycott of the community [Daily Star, March 12]. The
particular target of the fatwa was the family of
retired high school principal Morshed Alam Chowdhury.
Since the declaration, local thugs surrounded the
house and refused to allow anyone to leave the house.
No relatives were allowed to visit the family. When a
servant was sent from the house to shop in the local
market, he was beaten and threatened with death if he
continued to work for the family. Thugs cut down the
trees on Chowdhury's property and stole fish from his
pond. When asked about the fatwa, Imam Salauddin
retorted he had done this in accordance with a fatwa
signed by 117 Maulvis in June 2003 [Prothom Alo, March
13].
A week later, a more violent program was launched in
Kakuka union (Barguna). The program was announced at
a two-day rally of the International Khatme Nabuwat.
Inspired by the rally, zealots prepared to attack the
1,000 Ahmadiyas who had been living in the area for
the last 50 years. The incident attracted coverage
from national media including Bhorer Kagoj, Jonokontho
and Prothom Alo. It was also reported in the Daily
Star that Madrasa students were being organized with
the intention of razing down the Ahmadiya neighborhood
which accommodated 100 Ahmadiyas and their mosque.
Spurred to action by the media presence, the district
police administration intervened and prevented the
takeover of the Ahmadiya mosque. Although the police
played a positive role in Barguna, a more chilling
story emerged on April 6 from Shalkiri village
(Ponchogor). In that village, the leader of the local
chapter of Khatme Nabuwat Maulana Abdul Karim arrived
at Ahmadiya houses in a police jeep and conducted
searches for publications. When contacted by the
media, Karim admitted that no magistrate had
accompanied them on the searches [Khoborer Kagoj, 6
April].
The progressive Bengali response to this escalating
chain of events has been slow and reactive. This can
be best highlighted by a personal experience. On
April 15, the Dhaka premiere of our documentary
"Muslims or Heretics?" was held at the Goethe Center.
Everyone was pleased by the standing-room only event,
especially the presence of large number of young
faces. The documentary was followed by a spirited
discussion and the repeated slogan, "We must do
something!" Yet, newspaper reports on April 17 only
highlighted how far behind we are in the battle to
rescue Bangladesh from the extremists. Alongside
dutiful reporting of the film screening, Prothom Alo
carried a much larger headline, "Khatme Nabuwat rally,
two books seized from Ahmadiya mosque." While we had
been politely sipping tea on the rooftop of Goethe
Center and discussing next programs, the zealots were
ten steps ahead of us, launching a massive rally aimed
at taking over the Nakalpara mosque.
This incident is direct evidence of how much the
Khatme Nabuwat has been emboldened by the government
ban. In November, when Nabuwat first attacked the
Nakalpara mosque, police fought pitched battles with
them and successfully defended the mosque. By
contrast, on April 17, police escorted five members of
Khatme Nabuwat into the Ahmadiya mosque. Led by
Nayebe Amir Nur Hossain Nurani, the Nabuwat leaders
seized copies of the Quran and Bukhari Sharif. On
Channel I evening news, a Nabuwat leader was seen
examining the books, while the police followed him
obediently. I almost expected the police to salute
the Khatme Nabuwat leaders! The image leaves no doubt
that the anti-Ahmadiya campaign is a dress-rehearsal
for eventually taking over the country!
I stated before that progressive activists' response
to the current crisis is too slow and hesitant. After
the documentary screening, a film forum representative
asked us about organizing a screening in October. I
stared at him in disbelief! October is six months
away-- did he really believe the zealots would be
moving so slowly? At an April 6 press conference,
Khatme Nabuwat leaders announced a program to
"liberate" Ahmadiya mosques throughout the country,
including Hobiganj, Narayanganj, Brahmanbaria,
Ponchogor and Munshiganj. According to their
spokesperson, there were 91 Ahmadiya mosques in
Bangladesh, several of which had already been
"liberated." Speaking at the press conference, one
Nabuwat leader said, "Because we haven't been able to
create enough pressure on the Prime Minister, we
haven't been able to extract our main demand [of
declaring them non-Muslim]. This time, we will
fulfill our demands through an unstoppable movement."
They also declared a new deadline to the government of
June 30 for declaring Ahmadiyas non-Muslim. With
ruthless efficiency, Khatme Nabuwat, which has a
33-member executive committee, is rolling out
sub-committees in upazilas and districts to implement
these demands.
Given the speed at which the anti-Ahmadiya movement is
gathering momentum, progressives need to respond with
a sense of crisis and urgency. Bangladesh is the land
of "dofa" and "dabi", but we should have only one
"dofa"-- and that is the withdrawal of the ban on
Ahmadiya books. It is also essential that this be a
non-partisan effort, otherwise the government will
refuse to cooperate. Sensible members of the ruling
coalition can be allies in this movement to protect
religious freedom. Ain Salish Kendra (ASK) has filed
a "Demand Of Justice" notice with the government,
asking for explanation of the ban. Similar and
stronger actions must follow quickly from a wide
variety of organizations.
At the risk of repeating myself from an earlier
article, I quote Safdar Hashmi-- the Indian playwright
who was beaten to death by government thugs in the
70s. "Hall Bol (Raise Hell)! And get results."
I will keep repeating myself until all of us wake up.
BIO: Naeem Mohaiemen is Assoc. Editor of AltMuslim.com
[See also:
Amnesty Alert
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa130052004 ]
_____
[4]
The Telegraph [India]
April 24, 2004
FOUNDATION OF DEVELOPMENT
- It is good to remember Nehru's legacy when revisionism infects India
by Ashok ganguly
Every time elections are announced, I remember my childhood and the years
when I first started casting my vote in state and general elections. During
successive elections, I am reminded of the early years of Jawaharlal Nehru
at the helm of Indian politics. In retrospect, everything appeared to move
so slowly in India and it seemed that we would remain a developing country
for ever. When one is young, and also when one is not so young, one wants
all progress to happen in one's lifetime. It takes a while to appreciate the
difference in the timespan of nations.
It is election time and my thoughts, once again, return to Nehru. What helps
in the process is that every so often, either a foreign or an Indian author
publishes a scholarly tome on Nehru. This is an extremely valuable service
the authors render to remind Indians, of the older as well as the younger
generation, of the abiding values of the foundation of our modern
nationhood. With the passage of years, the values grow in importance,
particularly because, periodically, and lately with growing frequency,
revisionist politicians in our country distort historic personalities and
events with growing impunity and shrillness.
It was, therefore, a delight to read Shashi Tharoor's recent book, Nehru:
The Invention of India. Tharoor justifies yet another book on Nehru by
stating, "Jawaharlal Nehru’s impact on India is too great not to be
re-examined periodically. His legacy is ours, whether we agree with
everything he stood for or not." A distinctive feature of the Nehruvian
legacy was secularism - his visionary rejection of India's assorted
bigotries and particularisms. The nation should be more grateful now more
than ever of the legacy whose fragility as well as resilience have grown
with the passage of years.
Tharoor goes on to recall a speech to students of Bombay on May 20, 1928,
when Nehru declared, "Much is said about the superiority of our religion,
art, music and philosophy. But what are they today? Your religion has become
a thing of the kitchen, as to what you can eat and what you cannot eat, as
to whom you can touch and whom you cannot touch. Religion in India will
kill that country and its people if it is not subdued."
Even more true today than it has been since the dawn of independence.
Tharoor provides another telling quote, "After Partition, his uncompromising
commitment to Indian secularists made him a symbol of security for India's
Muslim and other minorities, the assurance that pluralist India would never
be reduced to Hindu India." Nehru's noble sentiments have been vilified,
distorted and misshaped beyond their original value into contentious
political divisiveness, as corrosive as the partitioning of castes,
communities and cultures across our geography. Thus, the identity of an
Indian beyond each community and religion is in danger of becoming a
receding dream. The nightmare that could emerge is beyond contemplation.
Nehruvian socialism continues to remain a favourite whipping topic. Today,
not many are ready, even grudgingly, to acknowledge that Nehru laid the
foundation of modern industrial and scientific development in India and the
spirit of self-reliance amongst a people who had lost their self-confidence
and self-esteem through a thousand years of foreign occupation. Immediately
after independence, the husbanding of the nation's depleted and vestigial
resources forced the state to occupy the commanding heights of the economy,
when private industrial enterprise was minuscule at best.
No matter how retrograde these policies might appear in today's environment,
the fact remains that the very same policies saw newly independent India
through those early days of trying to stand on its own feet and reconcile to
painfully slow economic growth. That the very same policies would eventually
enable India to embark on a regime of reforms and economic transformation is
only very grudgingly acknowledged. Thus, although they were not envisioned
as such, these same policies eventually enabled India to prepare itself to
face the unfolding challenges of today's market economy.
India may not have withstood the world energy crisis of the Seventies with
aplomb and confidence, but withstand it nevertheless it did. It is indeed
the same Nehruvian policy formulations which will enable India, one day, to
transform itself from a developing to a developed nation. State institutions
and economic policies do outlive their utility over time, but they do not
disappear into oblivion. What they do is to reappear as reincarnations in
tune with the sentiments and realities of the present.
The danger, of course, lies with those in India who have not been able to
reconcile themselves to the fact that socialism has outlived its utility.
They are not ready to acknowledge that socialism has served its purpose and
has provided India, in less than forty years, with an economic base to
pursue reforms and become a key player in the world of free markets and
trans-border trade. China understood the need to change much earlier, and
Russia, reluctantly, later on.
Nehru would have rejoiced to see India progressing rapidly today on a
foundation he and his contemporaries laid in the years following
independence, but could not have imagined what they had set in motion.
Whether it is secularism or economic development, it is worth revisiting
those founding principles of Indian nationhood from time to time, and there
is no better way of doing so than revisiting the legacy of Nehru. This is
particularly important for the growing generation of young Indians and those
amongst the older with a short memory span, and especially at a time when
revisionism and spin have infected Indian history.
______
[5]
The Indian Express [India]
April 23, 2004
GEOGRAPHY OF HATRED
By Patwant Singh
Twenty years is not sufficient time in which to
judge nations for their follies, which could
imperil their very existence. If, however, during
that period there is no introspection or
critical evaluation of why the state sanctioned
genocidal attacks on its own citizens, nor why,
instead of punishing politicians for their
criminal conduct they were allowed to get away
with their crimes and even permitted to stand for
parliamentary elections, then the sanctity of
constitutional law and human decencies ‚ an d in
fact the state¼s very existence ‚ are at peril.
As they are in India today.
Twenty years ago, in October 1984, Prime
Minister, Indira Gandhi was sho t dead by her
two Sikh bodyguards. The events witnessed in the
days following October 31 have few parallels,
even by the standards of this savage
sub-continent. The ruthless violence unleashed
against the Sikhs in several cities across the
country revealed the meticulousness with which
the pogrom against them had been planned.
Equally striking was the disinclination of the
police to intervene until the violence was well
under way. Not only was a stray act of
murderous folly seen as sufficient justification
for violence against the entire Sikh community,
but a careful propaganda blitzkrieg was also set
in motion to degrade them and their fait h in
much the same way as was done to the Muslims in
Gujarat more recently. S o the danger the nation
faces at the hands of venomous åleaders,¼
masqueradin g as men and women who have been
given the mandate to govern this unfortunate
country, must be seen in this light.
I wrote of the shadow these events could cast on
our country¼s future in The Indian Express in
December, 1984: „Instead of a careful assessment
of the long term implications of this planned
violence against the Sikhs there is evidence of
ill-advised attempts to justify and gloss over
it. These attempts are unbecoming and the
country might have to pay a heavy price for
ignoring the consequences of this violence¾.
The time to pay the price ‚ even though the
Punjab militancy has already taken a heavy toll
‚ is drawing near more rapidly than is realized.
This time around it is not just the Congress
Party with its morally impaired and inept
leaders who still call the shots, but an entirely
new breed of political mobsters whose leadership
is sanctioned by their parent organizations
which now occupy center stage in Indian politics.
The RSS, BJP, VHP and such, with their vision of
Hindutva, and the mindless blather of their
Modis, Dalmias and Togadias is the new danger
facing India. If government services and civil
society stepped aside to facilitate the killing
of Sikhs and the destruction of their properties
in North India and elsewhere in 1984, it was
inevitable that when the bell tolled for the
Muslims in Gujarat the blackout of the collective
conscious of elected officials, administration,
police, and segments of the media would
facilitate the extermination of Muslim men, women
and children throughout that state. Similar
versions of these despicable deeds are taking
place all over India, 20 years later. A key
difference being that instead of the Congress
the script this time has been written, directed
and produced by the BJP and its cohorts. The
other difference is that the whole of India is
now the happy hunting ground of these predatory
forces, and those now forced to accept the
Hindutva concept include Muslims, Christians and
anyone else who can be bullied or beaten into
submission by the mobs patronized by a collusive
state. If the ultimate corruption of a
nation¼s political system is the sacrifice of
all ideologies, principals and ethical concerns
in the pursuit of political power, then both the
BJP and the Congress Party are equally corrupt.
Irrespective of how many Indians of different
religious persuasion s are killed in the process
it did not matter to the mandarins in power durin
g Congress rule, nor to the BJP and its allies
presently in power. The mass killers are no less
eulogized today, than they were twenty years ago.
The man who presided over the mass killings of
Muslims in Gujarat is even mentioned as a future
Prime Minister! This is the extent to which the
grotesque and the obscene scarcely cause eyebrows
to be raised in today¼s India.
Martin Niemoller, a German clergyman of great
courage who opposed Nazism and all it stood for,
directed this message at those who did not raise
a finger as they watched the Nazis, with their
hatred for people of other faiths, enact the
century¼s most bizarre tragedy before them: „When
Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew,
therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler
attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and
therefore I was no t concerned. And when Hitler
attacked the Unions and the industrialists, I wa
s not a member of the Unions and I was not
concerned. Then, Hitler attacked m e and the
Protestant church ‚ and there was nobody left to
be concerned.¾
Followers of different religious faiths in India
should take Niemoller¼s words to heart. Because
if the Sikhs were targeted twenty years ago, the
Muslims more recently, and Christians are
tomorrow¼s target then India too, instead of a
proud, free and republican nation we dreamt of,
will go the Nazi way. It will, moreover, be
fragmented and torn apart by its constituents;
instigated by those whose potential for evil far
exceeds thei r preoccupation with ethical and
moral principles. If Sikh feelings are
mindlessly brushed aside by the Congress Party,
which has given parliamentary tickets to those
who colluded in the Sikh genocide of 1984, then
no Sikh with any sense of self-esteem or pride
will forget this slight.. The same applies to
the Muslims and Christians as well. A stage could
well be reached when the fundamentalists in
power in New Delhi over- reach themselves and
put the racially-driven body of India into
unending wars and conflicts.
With the general elections now underway, India
stands at the cross-roads of history. If
religious-revivalists and hot-heads are allowed
to dominate national politics, the next twenty
years will be grim. If their agenda of hate is
reversed, or at least kept in check by
right-thinking men and women of this country
during the next twenty years, then India and its
people can still find a place under the sun.
______
[6]
30 April 2004
Riot Report
Apportioning the blame of Communal Riots
by Ram Puniyani
During the current elections (April-May 2004) many a
Muslim leaders, or self proclaimed representatives of
the community, like Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, came
out with Fatwas to vote for BJP, to give it a chance.
The argument was that during BJP regime only Gujarat
riots have taken place while during Congress regimes
thousands of riots have taken place.
Riots, communal violence have become a sad reality of
Indiaís life. There are many an observations
pertaining to the riots. The major one being that
after every riot BJP in particular becomes stronger in
that area. Also that the majority of the victims of
riots in India are Muslims. The data from1961 to 1992,
shows that during these four decades 80 percent of
victims of communal violence have been Muslims. During
the 1984 Delhi riots nearly 4000 Sikhs were done to
death. In a similar vein another minority; Christians
saw the ghastly burning of Pastor Graham Stains along
with his two minor sons.
Who is to be blamed for these riots? In case of 1984
anti Sikh riots the role of Congress was most
abominable. In addition to overt role of Congress one
has to see the role of RSS also in this tragedy. In
one of the articles in a Hindi Monthly, Pratipaksha,
Nanaji Deshmukh a veteran of RSS wrote around that
time that there is a threat to the National unity, due
to Sikh extremism, and so Rajiv Gandhi should be
supported to the hilt. Needless to say it was Rajiv
Gandhi who blurted during these riots that when a big
tree falls the ground shakes. The role of RSS during
1984 riots is anybodyís guess. It was around this time
that Bajarang dal, the storm troopers of RSS was
formed. The rise of Sikh militancy, rise of
Bhindranwale, attack on Golden temple, operation blue
star and murder of Indira Gandhi preceded the anti
Sikh violence. The anti Sikh tragedy had different
dynamics than the two other minorities (Muslims,
Christians) who have also been under the chopping
block.
The Muslims and Christians have been targeted for
slightly different reasons. The anti Christian
violence has also not assumed the form of riot as
such. While we talk of riot the major phenomenon which
comes to mind is the so-called Hindu Muslim riot. From
pre-partition times, this name stuck to such
skirmishes, which went to assume more and more
horrendous proportions over a period of time. There
are calls for bandh, calls for direct action or at
times an event is given the twist to project as if the
community is under the threat of an attack so there is
a need to take up arms.
This becomes possible to begin with due to the massive
hatred spread against the ëotherí community. In pre
partition times Muslim League indulged in spreading
anti Hindu poison and Hindu Mahadsabha-RSS indulged in
spreading anti Muslim venom. These sentiments of
hatred against the ëotherí community are the fertile
soil in which particular events can be given a
communal twist, or calls for attacks in a veiled
language can be given. So many an events can take
place in the society but unless the inherent hatred
for the other community is there they cannot be
translated into violent episodes.
After the partition process, those from amongst the
hate spewing machines, Muslim communalism got
deflated, Hindu Mahasabha got eclipsed and RSS
proliferated as the time passed by. It went on from
strength to strength, and from organization to
organization, manned by the Hate embodiments, the RSS
swayamsevaks, whose core ideology is based on the Hate
ëotherí. By now there are over 150 RSS progenies doing
the job at various levels apart from those
swayamsevaks who have infiltrated in media, education
and bureaucracy.
Grounded on Hate, certain incidents are twisted to
give it a provocative interpretation, a call for
action to attack the other community. Sociologist
Dipanakar Gupta in one of his recent articles in a
popular newspaper outlined the role of ethno-preneur
in giving such a twist to the events. This soldier of
communal politics is on the look out for the chance to
convert a Human tragedy into a ladder for his
political enhancement, into enhancement of his
communal agenda, into converting it into a riot. In
recent past two such ethno-preneurs can easily be
discerned. The first one amongst these is Mr.
Balasaheb Thackeray, who gave an open call to Hindus
to ëdealí with the rising attacks on them. The
detailed analysis of the events of Mumbai riots shows
that the scattered isolated, unrelated events of
murder of Mathdi workers and the burning of Bane
family was projected as the onslaught by Muslims on
Hindus. And so the call that Hindus should become
aggressive. The call was duly backed up by regular
instructions. And than one sees over 900 dead bodies.
One witnesses property worth 10000 crores going up the
smoke. Most of this is well chronicled and
investigated in Shirkrishna Commission report. On the
dead bodies of the riot victimís Hindu community got
its first Soul Emperor (Hindu Hriday Samrat), none
other than Balasaheb Thackeray, who was the
ethno-preneur
A train is burnt in Godhra. One is not sure how and
why it has happened. it needs to be investigated and
the guilty need punished. Here another ethno-preneur
is lurking in the wings. Without wasting time he
declares that this is the act of International
terrorism, in association with the much-hated
Pakistani ISI and their ënatural associatesí the local
Muslims. He instructs all those concerned in
controlling the riot, to sit back and relax. Those
given these instructions take the cue and duly assist
the ëprocess of revenge of Godhraí. Two thousand lives
down the gutters of fire, twenty thousand worth
property down the drain, another Hindu Soul Emperor
emerges, Narendra Modi.
Prior to this many a riots had taken place. In most of
the investigations of the riots, Madon (Bhivandi),
Ahamdabad (Jagmohan) Kanyakumari (Vythathil)
Bhagalpur, Meerut and others the inquiry commissions
did come to the conclusion that the role of ethno-
preneur is generally played by some scattered RSS
organization, especially put together for the purpose
but drawing from the existing organization already
being conducted by a swayamsevak. Congress was ruling.
Within Congress and within administration there are
elements that have been communalized. Congress did not
deal with riots in an effective manner, many a times
it just looked the other way around, when the carnage
was in progress. Guilty either got promoted
(Thackeray, Modi) at worst and remains unpunished at
best.
To look at riots just as to under whose regime they
took place is to overlook the bigger reality. The
truth of riots involves multiple factors and each of
this contributes at a different level. Pastor Stains
burning took place under a particular regime, looking
at that alone does not give us the full picture. We
have to see as to who is spreading the anti Christian
venom in villages and Adivasi areas, which
organization or individual is instigating others to
join in such inhuman acts a so on. Anti Muslim riots
took place aplenty under Congress regime. We have to
see who has been spreading hatred against this
community, who is instrumental in spreading the myths
about them, which by now have become a social common
sense. These myths spread systematically by different
progeny of RSS, and this is the ground on which the
events are taken up by ethno preneuers and converted
into the riots, which benefit their political agenda.
Shahi imam and othersí observation that more riots
took place under Congress regime is a very superficial
and distorted way at looking at things. It does not
help us in apportioning the blame of riots properly.
We have to delve deep in order to understand the
nature of these political formations to come to
conclusions, especially which are going to have a
far-reaching effect on our political future. In that
sense the worst of Congress crimes come nowhere close
to the machinations of RSS which operate at multiple
layers and which is making the life of minorities
miserable in this country. It is this, which is a big
obstacle to the efforts to get the justice for the
weak sections of society.
The RSS like formations, and their progeny are in a
different league altogether. Since they do not hold to
the values of democracy, affirmative actions and human
rights, they should not be compared with potentially
democratic organizations, which under the grass root
pressure can become better tailored for democratic
polity.
______
[7]
SUNIL GUPTA -- PICTURES FROM HERE
www.geocities.com/nigahmedia/sunil.html
A collection of photographs that represent six of the artist's projects over
20 years, reflecting his desire to create a cultural history for others and
himself in his position as a gay Indian man living with HIV in the west.
May 4th-14th, 10am-8pm everyday, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre.
In order to make the exhibition a true community space, there are daily tea's
at 6pm, and an accompanying schedule of talks, films, and, of course,
cocktail launches. Mark your calenders!
For a detailed program: www.geocities.com/nigahmedia/sunilprog.html
Launch Party: 3rd May, 6pm onwards, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat
Centre. All are invited!
Talk: Sunil will be present to talk about his work on the 4th of May, at 6pm.
Talk: Nigah is organising a discussion with known gay activist, writer, and
historian Saleem Kidwai (co-author of Same-sex love in India, as well as the
recent translation of Malika Pukhraj's autobiography). The discussion will
be held on the 8th of May, at 7pm at the Open Palm Court Conference Room in
the Habitat.
Films:
The Naz Foundation is organising films on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, and Nigah is
putting together films on the 9th of May. All films are in the Open Palm
Court Conference Room at the Habitat.
May 5th
2-6pm
Tales of the Night Fairies -- Shohini Ghosh
Majma - Rahul Roy
May 6th
2-6pm
King of Dreams -- Amar Kanwar
Love Dance -- Ramesh Venkataraman
May 7th
2-6pm
Manjuben Truckdriver -- Sharna Dastur
In the Flesh -- Bishaka Datta
May 8th
7pm
Discussion on Owning Gay History by Saleem Kidwai
Organised by the Nigah Media Collective
May 9th
2-3pm
Love is not just a Straight Thing I and II
by Nolan Lewis, Rachna Gutka, Shweta Dharia, Siddharth Surana, Nehal Thakakr,
Thomas Koshy 30min. (2003)
Tehdi Lakeer (The Crooked Line)
by Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal, and Arunima Sharma
21min. (2002)
3-3:15pm Break
3:15-3:45pm
BomGay
by Riyad Wadia
12min
Beauty Parlour
by Mehreen Jabbar
20 min (2000)
Thanks to Friends of Siddharth for providing this film.
4-5pm
My Friend Su
by Neeraj Bhasin
55min (2001)
5-5:30pm Tea/Coffee and Snacks
5:30-6:30pm
Gulabi Aaina
by Sridhar Rangayan
40min (2002)
6:30-7:30pm
Films by Riyad Wadia
Nadia
A Mermaid called Aida
____
[8]
[Pradeep Jeganathan's collection of short fiction.]
o o o
AT THE WATER'S EDGE
by Pradeep Jeganathan
New York: South Focus
128pp.
isbn: 0974883905
URL: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974883905/southfocuspre-20
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
The complete SACW archive is available at:
bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
South Asia Counter Information Project a sister
initiative, provides a partial back -up and
archive for SACW: snipurl.com/sacip
See also associated site: www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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