SACW | 8-9 May 2004
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Sat May 8 19:06:14 CDT 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 8-9 May, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[1] Bangladesh: Who needs a Bangalee 'Mullah Omar' . . . (A.H. Jaffor Ullah)
[2] Pakistan: Peace Commission statement on Karachi Bomb blasts
[3] Kashmir: Enough is enough (Bashir Manzar)
[4] Keep J&K Out of Election Arena (Rajindar Sachar)
[5] India: Carrying message of hope and peace (Mandira Nayar)
[6] India: Karnataka: Writers, Artists and
Citizens Voices against communalism (Parvathi
Menon)
[7] In The People's Court: An Indian Muslim Seeks Justice (M Hasan Jowher)
[8] India: Press - Release by All India Christian Council
[9] Statement by Indian Peace Activists on Goings on in Ab Gharib
[10] RESOURCES:
- insaf Bulletin, May , 2004 is online
- Citizenship and the Passive Revolution
Interpreting the First Amendment (Nivedita Menon)
- The importance of being Irfan, revisited (Shashi Tharoor)
- latest issue of the quarterly newsletter, Of
Veshyas, Vamps, Whores and Women is online
--------------
[1]
[Source:
groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/ ]
WHO NEEDS A BANGALEE 'MULLAH OMAR' TO RID OF
SARBAHARA OPERATIVES OR METE OUT STREET JUSTICE?
By A.H. Jaffor Ullah
On May 6, 2004, I read in the Daily Star for the
first time that a 'Mullah Omar' like figure by
the name Azizur Rahman aka Bangla Bhai (a
non-standard Bangla construction!) who is
dispensing justice in the northwestern districts
of Bangladesh. This man's activities reminded me
of Mullah Omar who was doing the same thing in
Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the aftermath of civil
war in the late 1980s when Russian soldiers had
left the war-torn nation. Mullah Omar then
formed a Vigilante Force with ragtag Madrassah
students, which finally emerged as a very
powerful political force. This is the way the
Taliban party came into existence. The Talibans
in Kandahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan had
meted out justice to miscreants. Ordinary
Afghanis liked it so much so that they encouraged
the Talibans to take control of their nation.
And Mullah Omar and his brigands just did that.
The rest is history.
In Bangladesh, a similar thing is happening right
now. One Azizur Rahman has formed a group of
vigilantes by the name 'Jagrota Muslim Janata
Bangladesh' or JMJB to catch the members of an
outlaw group, Sarbahara and mete out street
justice. The sad part is the police are
encouraging the rural force to aid JMJB brigands
to catch the Bangladeshi desperados (Sarbahara).
That is not all what the JMBJ operatives are
doing in the western districts of Bangladesh.
The leader, 'Bangla Bhai' is also enforcing
strictest Islamic dress code among females. This
was reported in the Daily Star report. It seems
as if the JMJB members are trying to enforce
religious dictums among ordinary people. Asking
men to grow beards and women to sport burka
(veil) is a direct infringement to personal
freedom of our people. The JMBJ goons forgot
that about 10-11% people in Bangladesh are not
Muslims. On top of it, many Muslims may not like
the idea of keeping beard or wearing burka in a
climate that is very hostile to wear Islamic
garb, which is ideal for desert climate in hot
summer months. The question that pops out is -
who this JMBJ thinks they are? Bangladesh is not
like Afghanistan where there was no police force
to enforce law and order in the wake of the civil
war. Bangladesh is a burgeoning democracy and
the nation has a police force. Therefore, there
should not be any vigilantes manning the streets
to catch outlaws such as Sarbahara men. The
ruffians who go by the name JMBJ are trying to
shove ultra-Islamic values down the throat of
Bangalees in rural areas. Strangely enough, the
Deputy Inspector of Police, Noor Mohammad,
instead of admonishing Azizur ran aka 'Bangla
Bhai' for taking laws into his own hand had
bestowed a glowing encomium to him and his
ruffians for a job "well done."
There should not be any Vigilante Force operating
in Bangladesh because it undermines the
capabilities of the police, which is the arm of
the government to maintain law and order
throughout Bangladesh. It seems as if the police
in the western districts where JMBJ is very
active is inoperative now and are relying on the
ruffians managed by Azizur Rahman aka 'Bangla
Bhai' to maintain law and order. This has to be
a terrible development. The Inspector General of
Police in Bangladesh should immediately visit the
affected districts and sack those police officers
who gave moral support to JMBJ thugs. The DIG of
Police, Noor Mohammad, should also be reprimanded
for encouraging the Vigilante Force to carry out
street justice. The Home Mister should not
twiddle his thumb sitting in Dhaka hearing the
news of vigilantes manning the law and order plus
acting as judge all at the same time.
This scribe has seen the photo of Azizur Rahman
aka Bangla Bhai who sported his full beard in the
picture. This megalomaniac wants to enforce his
ideas on ordinary people. Suggesting men to keep
beards in this day and age is simply preposterous
an idea. He is also admonishing women folks for
not wearing burka. Therefore, it follows that
this madman is bent on enforcing his values on
others. Bangladeshi people are granted freedom
of choice by the constitution of this free
nation. Why is this man hell-bent on denying the
rural folks their constitutional right? To add
insult to injury, the police are encouraging JMBJ
ruffians to enforce street justice. It is quite
possible that some innocent people may receive
the street justice from Azizur Rahman and his
loyal supporters. A correspondent of DS from
Naogaon reported that JMJB men yesterday
allegedly beat three outlaws to death at Atrai in
western part of the nation. Bangladesh has court
system in place and only the judges can mete out
justice. There should not be a parallel
judiciary in Bangladesh. It seems as if Azizur
Rahman and his gang of vigilantes are running a
parallel judiciary in Bangladesh with blessings
from the police.
Judging from all the reports appearing in the
newspapers this scribe thinks that Azizur Rahman
has become a sort of like warlord. If this
megalomaniac 'Bangla Bhai' is not emasculated
soon, other regional 'warlords' will emerge in
various districts. Therefore, this newly
developed Vigilante Force should be nipped in the
bud. The inept police of Bangladesh have
miserably failed to capture members of the outlaw
group Sarbahara and now they are relying on a
roving gang of ruffians such as JMJB members to
enforce law in rural districts. It is also
apparent that the JMJB men have other ideas in
their head. They want strictest brand of Islam
such as Wahhabism and its code of conduct to be
enforced in Bangladesh. This is the same ploy
Mullah Omar of Kandahar used to gain notoriety
and power. Maybe, Azizur Rahman aka 'Bangla
Bhai' is using the same method to gain power and
popularity among our rural folks. The sooner the
government crushes this neo-Talibanism in
Bangladesh the better. There should not be two
police forces and two judiciaries in Bangladesh.
Therefore, the government should declare JMBJ an
illegal or outlaw organization. But more than
anything, the self-declared leader 'Bangla Bhai'
should be brought to justice for dispensing his
brand of "justice."
(A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA)
_____
[2]
The Daily Times [Pakistan]
May 09, 2004
Peace commission blasts Karachi bomb
Staff Report
LAHORE: The Commission for Peace and Human
Development (CPHD) has condemned the killing of
15 worshipers in a bomb blast in Haidery Mosque
within the Sindh Madrassat-ul-Islam in Karachi on
Friday.
A CPHD statement said terrorism and extremism
could not be eradicated without the active
involvement of people from all walks of life. The
security situation has deteriorated to the extent
that even places of worships were not safe, the
statement said.
The bomb attack on an Ashoora procession in
Quetta two months ago in which 50 people were
killed and an attempt to attack a Shia mosque in
Rawalpindi indicate a wave of terrorism is
sweeping the country and the government must take
steps to end the menace, it said.
The commission said Gen Ziaul Haq's patronising
of fundamentalism had resulted in religious
intolerance, terrorism and hatred. The CPHD also
urged the public to discourage those responsible
for hatred, intolerance and terrorism.
_____
[3]
May 8, 2004
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
by Bashir Manzar
The violence has eaten up one more top commander
of Hizbul Mujahideen. As for as military strength
and organisational set-up goes, Hizbul Mujahideen
is the only indigenous militant group though it
too is based across the line of divide.
From past few months security forces have
succeeded in eliminating several top leaders of
the outfit. For security forces the killings are
'big successes' and for Hizb leadership 'the
martyrdom of its leadership strengthens its
resolve to fight against India'. But amid all
these claims and counter claims, Kashmir is
losing its children. The killing practice is on
from last fourteen years. Bullet whether it comes
out from the gun of security man or militant has
always one and the only one target - Kashmiri. A
street vendor, a student, a shopkeeper, a
pedestrian, a militant - all of them children of
this erstwhile Paradise on the Earth. How long
will this land be coloured in human blood? How
long people have to wail, cry and sob for their
dear ones? How long death will continue to have
its Tandau in the lanes and by-lanes of Kashmir?
These and much more questions are to be pondered
upon. Ordinary Kashmiris have no say in the whole
affair. Peoples’ lips have been sealed. They are
not allowed to say anything that even smells of
criticism. How ironic is the situation that those
who talk of peace and non-violence are being
branded as enemy agents. In such a scenario how
one can expect people to raise their voice
against every day killings? They have been
reduced to nothingness. And therefore onus lies
on the leadership, both political as well as
militant. Leadership doesn't survive in the
vacuum. It needs to have its roots in the ground.
Those who fail to feel the pulse of the people
can never claim to be the leaders and
unfortunately like mainstream politicians, the
separatist (political as well as militant)
leadership too has no connection with the ground.
Abdul Rashid Shardar was Hizb operational chief.
But before that he was son of a mother, who
always wishes her son to shoulder her coffin and
not the otherwise. He was husband of a wife, who
would have always prayed to remain 'Sada
Suhagan'. He was father of some cute children,
who would have never dreamt of becoming orphans.
He was a human being and therefore, whether one
would have agreed with his political philosophy
or not, his death has pained everyone in Kashmir
the way deaths of other Kashmiris pain people
every day. But with every death the only question
that haunts everyone is 'how long?' Why the
leadership is not trying to read peoples’ mood. A
strike was called today by Hizbul Mujahideen and
supported by Geelani group of Hurriyat
Conference. The strike call failed to generate
public response. Why? Not because people were not
pained at Rashid's death but because people are
fed up with violence. They have seen enough of it
and now want an end to it. Every Kashmiri wants
permanent resolution of Kashmir issue because in
that lies the future of all Kashmiris. But is the
violent means only way to fight for ones rights?
This is the question that people have started
raising. The people have started questioning the
separatist leaders like Muhammad Yasin Malik and
Shabir Ahmad Shah. These leaders talk of
non-violence but never miss an opportunity to
glamorise violence when it suits furthering their
own respective agendas. If these young leaders
are convinced that militancy is the best option
to get Azadi from India, why have they abandoned
it? Rashid was 38 and the young crop of the
separatist leadership too is almost in the same
age group and some are even younger than Rashid.
Then why don’t they leave over ground politicking
to aged leaders like Geelani, Prof Bhat, Fazal
Haq Qureshi, Azam Inqilabi etc and themselves
join the militancy and fight Indian forces. These
leaders owe an explanation to Kashmiris and will
have to answer, if not today but sometime in
future, that what they actually stand for. If
they really believe in non-violence and peaceful
means of struggle, why don't they take the same
message to those Kashmiri boys who are fighting
militarily? Aren't their lives precious? Aren't
those young people pride sons of this soil?
Trading in blood is easy but saving human lives
is something that makes leaders out of ordinary
citizens.
The writer is editor Kashmir Images, a Srinagar based English daily
_____
[4]
Pioneer [India]
15.4.2004.
KEEP J&K OUT OF ELECTION ARENA
by Rajindar Sachar
Elections in a democratic society is somewhat of a safety valve which
forces the most die hard of element to think, even for a short period
rationally, at least till the date of elections.
That alone would explain the apparent easy stand on so called core issues
of BJP of uniform civil code and Article 370 of the Constitution. For
having harped for over decades for its commitment to compulsorily bring in
uniform civil code, always with the snide remark as to how conservative the
Muslim society was as against the allegedly progressive Hindu polity, (and
this when Islam was the first religion to recognize the right of inheritance
for females as far back as 1400 years ago, when Hindu Succession Act
recognized it only in 1956 and that too partially.) it was quite a rope
trick.
But it is Kashmir question which is of real concern because with it is
connected Indo-Pakistan goodwill. Any step, if it is only election oriented
but not a genuine change of policy would only complicate the matters. Thus
though there is no specific mention of abrogating Article 370 in the
so-called visionary document, the same not so cleverly tries to conceal
its real intent by highlighting that the constitution provides for transient
and temporary provision which is especially mentioned as heading of Article
370 and then linking it with the immediate challenge to eliminate terrorism
shows there is in fact no change in policy - it is mere verbiage cover up.
As a matter of fact, Ram Madhav, RSS boss has reiterated BJP commitment to
abrogate Article 370, notwithstanding that any student of law could tell him
that the President's power to declare Article 370 to be inoperative is
conditioned by the prior recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the
J&K to do so - an impossible situation to recommend its own special status.
Thus Article 370 cannot be abrogated unilaterally by even the unanimous
vote of Indian Parliament.
Electoral considerations have made Congress not only cravenly silent on this
important aspect but on the contrary even boast and project its
chauvinism - witness Congress spokespersons strident claim that Congress
has always believed that J&K including Pakistan occupied Kashmir is an
integral part of India and having the backing of Parliament endorsement.
Can we distinguish between the chauvinism of two major parties. Can
anyone in his senses in India conceive of any settlement with Pakistan on
J&K, on anything excepting LOC being accepted as international border
(though Pakistan Govt. may require considerable leeway and persuasion at
convincing its hardcore element, keeping in view the long hawkish
approach to Kashmir question for all these decades - (though I believe the
recent people to people contact has chastened both sides and made people
realize like the school children visiting both the countries said `On they
are like us'). The good will generated should not be allowed to be
frittered by any party in India dragging J&K into election arena - Pakistan
Govt. though quite receptive to major adjustment is still prevaricating
because of pressures from fundamentalists and religious parties and some of
the army brass. It will be long and patient journey. Hawkish stand by our
major parties in their election programme is not in the interest of Indo-Pak
goodwill.
No doubt, cricket Diplomacy and peoples genuine desire for peace on both
sides is a helpful factor but let not hawks in India think that hawks in
Pakistan have vanished or that any settlement can take peace excepting on
total equality of status and respect between India and Pakistan. That is
why I was unhappy at some of the tone and provocative suggestions at India
Today conclave to Pakistan President General Musharaff asking him whether he
was for genuine peace and why could he not keep Kashmir question aside and
talk of trade. The patronizing tone of some of the questions was
objectionably provocative - small wonder that the General could not keep
his cool. And surprisingly (I can only conceive because of electoral
compulsion) Natwar Singh spokepeson of Congress unnecessarily reacted by
taking the extreme stand that this arbitrary action would affect Indo-Pak
peace process adversely. But it is reassuring that Pakistan has reiterated
its determination to continue peace talks at no less a level than Foreign
Secretary of Pakistan.
J&K question is independent of whichever party forms the next govt. at
Delhi. One is at least somewhat relieved that the present Home Minister has
at last recognized that without a human face and protection of Human Right
no settlement can be arrived at notwithstanding the genuine reciprocity by
Hurriyat leadership (notwithstanding their recent public relation exercise
of call for a poll boycott) but the later is being put in embarrassing
position by Kashmir Govt. arresting leaders like Yasin Malik and Shabir
Shah, who constitute an important element of Kashmir public opinion and all
efforts must be made to involve them also in talks). We must recognize that
though situation is far optimistic than a decade back, yet India will remain
the loser unless the face that it presents to the people of Kashmir Valley
is a humane, compassionate and understanding. At present that face still
continues to be insensitive - the battle for protection of Human Rights has
still to succeed before the hearts of average Kashmiri can be won.
The talks with Hurriyat are proceeding well. It is a welcome sign that
Govt. has recognized that Human Rights cannot be swept under the carpet and
Home Minister has even promised enquiry into incidents of killing by the
army. That is a welcome change of thinking from the govt. which even five
years back was calling Human Rights activists as anti national because they
dared to call for inquiry into the killing and other impermissible actions
of security forces. Govt. refused to accept the well established wisdom
that inquiry into alleged excesses does not demoralize security forces - on
the contrary they strengthen their presence and give faith to the average
citizen.
I feel that after the elections all the parties must sit together and
arrive at a consensus. It may be quite a problem for the Pakistan Govt. to
persuade its citizen immediately to accept LOC as an International Border
considering the long period and hysteria created on Kashmir issue in the
past. But I do believe that practical realism, international pressure to
contain terrorism even in Pakistan, the panic of US Govt. about terrorism
and above all the mutual goodwill, friendliness generated by mutual visit
and above all by the Indo - Pak cricket series, would convince even a die
hard Pakistani citizen that Kashmiri aspirations are not dependent on
disturbing the existing LOC but rather by giving the maximum of autonomy to
each part of Kashmir with as full opportunity for inter movement and trade
between the two sides. There are many in Pakistan who agree with this
assessment.
I am convinced that no settlement can take place or be acceptable, on any
other terms in either of the countries. India should take the lead by
announcing that except for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency and
Communications which were ceded by Instrument of Accession as the central
subject but all other powers will vest in J&K (of course with the same
autonomy to different parts of J&K) and in full hope that similar
declaration will be made by Pakistan Govt. qua area of (J&K) on its side.
______
[5]
The Hindu [India]
May 08, 2004
CARRYING MESSAGE OF HOPE AND PEACE
By Mandira Nayar
It was a welcome fit for `reel' heroes - a sky
full of bright pink and purple kites, orange
flowers, cheering crowds and even cameras. And as
these real heroes came home after a journey for
peace across the country, it was a chance for
adults to salute the idealism of the youth.
Keeping alive the faith in the spirit of secular
India, 30-odd youngsters under the banner of
Youth For Peace decided to spend sleepless nights
on the road from Kashmir to Kerala, asking people
to vote to defeat fascist forces.
"We have a legacy of composite culture that the
Sangh Parivar and its political face the
Bharatiya Janata Party wants us to forget. They
start by making us assert our religious identity
and then by making us believe that as Hindus our
needs are different. But they have nothing to do
with religion. They want us to forget the legacy
of our composite culture and years of living
together and start believing an alternate
history. We were concerned and went on this
journey to ask young people to vote to save the
two fundamental principles India is based on -
secularism and democracy,'' claims Swapnil Gupta,
a member of Youth For Peace.
However, the fight to save the freedom of the
country is not always easy. Attacked by people
who didn't want them to speak their mind, these
young kids have learnt the difficult lessons of
politics up-close and personal.
"It is the first time that the youth have raised
their voices, for even adults are scared of
talking about secularism, democracy, freedom of
speech. They have proved that this new generation
will be much better than the old. These children
are real heroes. It just goes to show how
intolerant we have become, if they can attack
15-year-old children from expressing their
mind,'' says Gauhar Raza.
And while some learnt that standing up for their
beliefs is not easy, others learnt that they are
never too young to make a difference. "I always
took my freedom for granted. But after I met
other children like me in Gujarat who are scared
of doing anything, wearing whatever they want or
even speaking their mind because goondas might
come and bash them up, I realised that it could
happen here. I think it is important for us to
take time and think for two minutes about them,
if not then we might end up losing ours,'' says
Ajita passionately.
Carrying messages of hope to different parts of
the countries, these children have become the
first link in the chain of peace. Unwilling to
bow down to pressure, they want to be able to
extend the chain even more.
______
[6]
Frontline [ India]
May 08 - 21, 2004
VOICES AGAINST COMMUNALISM
PARVATHI MENON
in Bangalore
SOME of Karnataka's most celebrated writers have
decided to come together for an explicitly
political purpose. The growing culture of
religious intolerance and communal violence in
Karnataka is at odds, they believe, with the
State's long literary tradition of humanism and
rational thought. To counter the spread of
communalism in the social and political fabric of
the State, these writers and their allies in
other segments of the creative arts recently
formed the Writers, Artists and Citizens' Forum
Against Communalism, a network of secular
individuals and organisations.
V. SREENIVASA MURTHY
Writer Girish Karnad (third from left, front row)
with critic and social activist G.K. Govinda Rao
(to his right) at a protest demonstration in
Bangalore on April 24 against the assault on
members of Writers, Artists and Citizens Forum
Against Communalism, allegedly by BJP workers at
Birur.
The Forum Against Communalism comprises writers
such as U.R. Ananthamurthy and Girish Karnad
(both Jnanpith Award winners), Pratibha
Nandakumar, Baragur Ramachandrappa, L.
Hanumanthaiyya and Dr. Vijaya; literary critics
and academics such as K. Marulasiddappa, G.K.
Govinda Rao and G. Ramakrishna; theatre persons
such as Abdullah of the Bhaivaikyatha Beedi
Nataka Thanda and Ravindranath of Samudaya; K.S.
Vimala, general secretary of the Janavadi Mahila
Sangha (JMS); Indudhara Honnavara, a leading
Dalit activist; and several others.
"As writers we all feel passionate about the
damage that communalism inflicts particularly
when we look at our State's pluralistic literary
and cultural heritage," said U.R. Ananthamurthy
to Frontline. "One thousand years ago Pampa, our
first great poet, wrote that mankind was one. He
was a Jain, and wrote a version of the
Mahabharata in which he made Arjuna the hero. The
great Vachanakaras of the 12th century fought
Vedic Hinduism and the caste system. In our own
time we have Kuvempu, Bendre and Karanth who laid
great traditions of rationalism. How can we allow
a party like the BJP to gain a foothold in a
state with these great religious traditions?"
The Forum was launched in Bangalore South
parliamentary constituency where H.N.
Ananthkumar, State president of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), is contesting. "We chose this
constituency deliberately," said Vimala. "Since
Ananthkumar's appointment as president of the
Karnataka BJP there have been many incidents of
communal violence in places like Aland, Kodagu,
Anekal, Chickmagalur and Mangalore. He has gone
on record to say that the BJP wants to make the
Bababudangiri shrine in Chickmagalur the `Ayodhya
of the South'." The Forum issued a call to the
electorate to support any winning secular
candidate against a BJP candidate.
Several secular organisations have joined forces
with the Forum. These include the JMS, the People
for India Forum, Manasa, Arivu, Bangalore
Initiative for Peace, Democratic Youth Federation
of India, Manava Premigala Balaga, Samudaya, and
some progressive Dalit groups.
The Forum activated its network amongst
progressive writers and cultural activists in
different parts of the State to organise four
cultural jathas that commenced from Bangalore,
Mysore, Hospet and Dharwad. Passing through towns
and villages where the artists staged
performances, the jathas converged at Birur in
Chickmagalur for a public meeting and cultural
programme. Four lakh pamphlets against
communalism were printed, including the popular
JMS pamphlet "Why Women Should Not Vote for the
BJP".
Criticism of the Forum's activities first began
to be made from within the community of creative
writers. "We have come under much criticism from
others in the literary field for our political
call," said Pratibha Nandkumar. "But this is a
part of the fight against communalism. We don't
belong to any political party - all we are
telling people is to vote for a secular party,"
she said. But once the activities of the Forum
got under way, the more serious attack came from
supporters of the BJP. A meeting organised in
Vijaynagar in Bangalore city by the JMS and the
Forum was disrupted by pro-BJP activists. In
Anekal town, the activities of the Forum were
disrupted. In Sagar, Shimoga, a performance by
Abdullah's children's theatre group was attacked,
allegedly by BJP supporters.
The most serious attack to date on Forum members
and their activities, however, occurred in Birur
on April 23 where a function to celebrate Basava
Jayanthi was held to which members of the Forum
Against Communalism were invited. Apart from
speeches and theatre performances, Venkatesh
Nayak, a well-known singer from Dharwad, was to
give a one-hour performance. Forum activist
allege that two lorryloads of BJP activists
forcibly stopped the function. Copies of the JMS
pamphlet were burnt and the stage was ransacked.
"The hostile crowd then swelled to around a
thousand," said Nandakumar. "We were taken into
the police station, ostensibly for our
protection, but the crowd laid siege to the
building shouting filthy abuses at us." The
well-known writer, R.G. Halli Nagaraj, and a
group of child artists aged between seven and 17
were inside the station. According to Nandakumar,
they were roughed up, threatened and insulted.
Forum members say that such a response was only
to be expected. "Let any government come - our
struggle against communalism will go on," said
Govinda Rao. "Every act is political, whether it
is writing, singing or dancing. If writers and
artists don't come together for a cause like
this, why do we call ourselves intellectuals?" he
asked.
______
[7]
IN THE PEOPLE'S COURT
An Indian Muslim Seeks Justice
by M Hasan Jowher
[7 May 2004 ]
India may be shining for some now. For the
Muslims of Gujarat, however, the skies shone up
quite sometime ago. February-March 2002, to be
precise. Their sky was lit afire for days with
the burning of their homes, factories and shops.
As the shrieks of the rape victims and injured
children dimmed in the deafening shouts of
victory of hooligans let loose by the forces of
hate, their lives became dark for ever. Within
days over 2000 Indian lives had fallen, several
more injured permanently and hundreds of crores
of Indian property was destroyed.
To rub salt to the wounds of conscience the
ruling political party took out processions of
pride in a barbaric expression of glee. The
Gujarat state machinery did its best to destroy
every evidence and silence its critics. Besides
numerous fact finding teams and activists, the
NHRC and the Supreme Court of India have since
bared the nexus between a decrepit state
establishment and the marauders.
India has been shining similarly in the sky at
Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bhagalpur, Mumbai, Aligarh,
Bhiwandi and dozens of other places for the
"children of Babar and Ghaznavi" in the painful
aftermath of the partitioning of Bharat. No more
of this shine please, Muslims would say. We could
do with a little dark if this is what shining
implies.
Sadly for Muslims, the clergy, the politician and
the "bhai" constitute the bulk of their
leadership with woefully ineffective social
leadership. Blatant discrimination born in the
womb of history has added to the woes of the
community making them the worst sufferers in
independent India. The unresolved Kashmir
question and the Indo-Pak relations keep
thwarting the struggle of the community to march
in step with the Indian mainstream.
Sandwiched between selfish, unimaginative or
obscurantist leadership on the one hand and
forces of hate on the other, for the Indian
Muslim the nation is not shining. Not for some
who endowed the nation with the Taj Mahal, the
Qutub Minar and Gol Gumbad, who enriched its
music, sports, poetry, films, food and clothing
indelibly; who crafted many of its handicrafts
and who efficiently man the nation's small
service sector.
Fortunately a majority of Indians retain a sense
of history and the essence of "bharatiyat", viz,
sarva dharma sambhava or co-existence and
assimilation. The Muslim cause evokes wide
endorsement. Their cause is truly and effectively
championed by conscientious Hindus. In this sense
India has always been shining for its minorities.
But for political maneuvering the Indian voter
instinctively prefers peace-makers to the
divisive elements.
Ironically BJP is now asking for the votes of a
community its star campaigner, Narendra Modi,
derides as puncture repair-walas. Even more
astonishing that some Muslims should be
hobnobbing with it without the slightest public
assurance of corrective action on its part.
Muslims undoubtedly should not be the captive
voters of the Congress, SP, BSP or anyone else.
But surely they should vote sensibly for their
political advantage. Let the BJP make amends and
provide due assurances towards impartial and
benevolent governance.
BJP's current pro-Muslim posture appears false
appeasement at best and a crafty move to divide
their vote at worst. Nobody can return my dead
brethren, or their fallen limbs. But surely I
deserve a modicum of compensation and a measure
of security for future. Surely I have my legal
rights in my nation. Surely my motherland should
shine for me, too. All that the political parties
need to do to convince me of their sincerity is
to announce at the highest level the following
few steps:
a. To throw out of the party all political
bosses who abetted or endorsed the Gujarat
carnage.
b. To prosecute through CBI under NHRC
supervision all those guilty of heinous crimes
against humanity, both at Godhra and everywhere
else in Gujarat during 2002
c. To appoint a Compensation Commission to
compensate the victims adequately in keeping with
standards of a shining India.
d. To make the NHRC and the Minorities'
Commission constitutionally as powerful as the
Election Commission
e. To enact effective legislation making any
willful discrimination against the minorities on
grounds of religion and caste a cognizable offence
f. And to provide a package of incentives
for the educational and economic advancement of
the minorities to catch up with the rest of the
nation.
Regardless of the political dividends, would this
not, in its own right, be entirely a just and
honourable course for a national party? Would not
such a move truly shine India bright in the
comity of nations? Plus it will compel the other
parties to make their stand public and expose
them.
In a diverse and pluralistic nation like ours,
there can be no development without real harmony,
sincere reconciliation and recognition of the
beauty of diversity. Since we have an opportunity
let us wash our hands off this sin by voting for
secularism, responsible modernity, harmonious
development. For a united, peaceful India
envisioned by Tagore, Gandhi and Nehru.
On my part, I have long since recognized that
this alone is my motherland, that I must respect
the sentiments of the majority and that I need to
shed my "pidram sultan bood" - my father was the
king - complacence.
The Muslims of Gujarat have been brutalized as
were the Hindus of Sabarmati. The latter
criminals are being actively hounded while the
former criminals are shining in the glory of
power. They look up to the jury of Indian voters
to punish the guilty let loose by a prejudiced
establishment. The Gujarati voter has let them
down in the assembly elections in the heat of the
moment. But the nation has by and large expressed
its repulsion at the carnage. It now needs to
firmly stand by them. In the interest of truth
and justice.
The writer runs SPRAT - a voluntary organization
- and may be reached at mhj at mysprat.org
M Hasan Jowher
SPRAT
[Society for the Promotion of Rational Thinking]
SF-8, Rajnagar Complex, Narayan Nagar Road,
Paldi, AHMEDABAD 380 007
Web: <http://www.mysprat.org/>www.mysprat.org
______
[8]
PRESS RELEASE FOR DHARNA PROGRAMME
7 May 2004
To suspend officers of Ahmedabd Municipal
Corporation who demolished the Christian
graveyard, to arrest the guilty as per FIR for
Vatva Police Station & inorder to reinstate the
Christian graveyard Christian community organises
mass agitation in protest by comming down on
public road.
In the Press Release, Mr.Samson C. Christian,
National Executive Member & Joint Secretary of
All India Christian Council, said that there is
village Ranipur situated at the South zone of
Ahmedabad, far from 8 km. touch by with Mumbai
Saurashtra Highway, possessed minority Christian
community. Before this, the village was situated
at near by Pirana Suez Treatment Plant in 1862
A.D. And the Church was also built there in 1876
A.D. But due to necessary for there treatment
plant Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation snatched
away this landscape of farmers and also the
premises of Church, that why the old Ranipur
village shifted to the new one.
Point to be noted that, old Ranipur village,
survey no.442 which was registered as the
Graveyard of Christian community and also used
for funeral of Christian families and unowned
dead bodies. Direct instruction of Mr. D.K.Begda,
the incharge officer, Additional City Engineer,
and Mr. B.G.Satani, Deputy city Engineer, the
workers on the duty, with tractors and trolleys,
try to demolish the 143 years old tombs of old
historical graveyard. And a part of a great
conspiracy, they lave thrown all the waste of
Pirana treatment plant in the graveyard and tried
to demolish this holy graveyard starting from
Dt.30-04-04 Friday to Dt.02-05-04 evening. The
incident is much depicted, held in Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation.
Dt.02-05-04, the villages of Ranipur and We
(A.I.C.C.) came to know about this incident, then
the Secretary, the Ranipur Christian community
I.P.Mission Graveyard, Mr.Manhar Christie make a
complain, Dt.02-05-04 at 11:40 pm against these
above engineers and nine tractor drivers in Vatva
Police Station. which is under the command of
Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad.In addition to
that Police Inspector of Vatva Police Station Mr.
Patel has filed criminal case number 246/04
(F.I.R.) according to under section of I. P. C.
447, 427, 295, 297, 506(1) and 114 against
Additional City Engineer Shri D. K. Begda and the
Deputy City Engineer Shri. B. G. Satani and
others. But nothing has to be done to these
engineers and the tractor drivers and other
culprits. But there is the lack of legal action
and there is nothing any arrest warrent for their
arrestment. After all there is a F.I.R.against
these peoples, theCommissioner of Muncipal
Corporation have not taken any further action to
these officers and they have not suspended.
In addition to that the Incharg Deputy
Commissioner of Engineer Department Mr. H. N.
Desai has visited the place and the news papers
have sharpened the above case. Construction of
the Graveyard has left. Although they have not
rebuilt the gravyard with their honour, We
(A.I.C.C.) have noted this thing very seriously,
and that is why we (A.I.C.C.)have organised a
"DHARNA" programme at main front gate of
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Danapith,
Khamasa, Ahmedabad. On 10/05/2004 at 2:00 p.m. to
5:00 p.m. with the co-operation of the
non-government organisations, dalit leaders &
muslim leaders of the Gujarat State. Because of
this programme the Christian Community will speak
out what the community has suffered. After
completion of Dharna Programme at 5:00 p.m. we
handed over a memorandum to Resp.Meyor and
Resp.Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation in presence of Ranipur village C.N.I.
Church's priest Resp.Rev. Manoj Gohil and other
leaders.
The organisation says, that the villagers of
Ranipur village declares that if there is not any
action from the Police Department and the
Muncipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad, then we shall
not let go ahead the vehicles of the Muncipal
Corporation from Narol road to Pirana Treatment
Plant, and will make the issue of the road
blocking. And the responsibility of these actions
will be the Ahmedabad Muncipal Corporation as
well as government of Gujarat.
Yours Sincerely
Samson C. Christian
National Executive Member
& Joint Secretary
All India Christian Council
______
[9]
STATEMENT BY INDIAN PEACE ACTIVISTS ON GOINGS ON IN AB GHARIB
06 May 2004
Press Release
We, the undersigned, are shocked by the depravity of the US/UK occupying
forces. Iraqi prisoners have been kept naked in 3 X 3 feet cells, without
water and toilets for days. Vicious beatings and other forms of torture
have been routine. US troops laugh and give the thumbs up sign as naked
prisoners are stacked on top of each other. Detainees have been sodomised
with external objects and urinated upon. One image refusing to vanish from
our minds is that of a hooded prisoner standing on a narrow box, wired all
over and threatened with electrocution should he fall off.
These goings on at Abu Gharaib prison, Baghdad, are only the tip of an
iceberg. Thousands of Iraqi civilians have already died in shootings and
not one US soldier has been punished. The US also continues to defiantly
violate all UN Human Rights Conventions in its treatment of Afghan
detainees at its Guantanamo base. This is the ugly logic of all colonial
style rule. When faced with mass resistance, as in Iraq, military occupiers
must psychologically come to believe that their opponents are subhuman and
therefore deserving of such brutal treatment. We are also deeply disturbed
by the failure of the Indian government so far to forthrightly and publicly
speak out against what has happened.
Nirmala Deshpande (Association of Peoples of Asia)
Syeda Hameed (Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia)
Prakash Louis (Indian Social Institute)
Anil Chaudhury (Indian Social Action Forum)
Amarjit Kaur (Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, India)
______
[10] RESOURCES
Check out the latest issue of insaf Bulletin [25]
May , 2004
International South Asia Forum
Postal address: Box 272, Westmount Stn., QC, Canada H3Z 2T2 (Tel. 514 346-9477)
(e-mail; insaf at insaf.net or visit our website http://www.insaf.net)
o o o o
Economic and Political Weekly
May 1, 2004
Citizenship and the Passive Revolution
Interpreting the First Amendment
Modernity as has been argued, is a set of
processes that can follow different sequences in
different societies and at different historical
conjunctures; in India unlike in the west, the
two processes of modernity and democracy emerged
almost simultaneously. This paper explores the
dilemmas created by the 'different sequentiality'
by focusing on one revealing moment - the 1951
Act that first amended the Constitution,
interpreted here as a landmark in the story of
modernity in India. While the amendment was seen
to limit individual rights it reflected primarily
the imperatives of the modernising project
envisaged by India's anti-imperialist elite that
included the creation of a bourgeois democracy,
the capitalist transformation of the economy and
the establishment of social justice.
by Nivedita Menon
[FULL TEXT OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE FOR
ALL INTERESTED; SHOULD YOU REQUIRE A COPY SEND A
REQUEST TO <aiindex at mnet.fr>]
o o o o
The Hindu | Magazine
May 09, 2004
THE SHASHI THAROOR COLUMN
The importance of being Irfan, revisited
URL: www.hindu.com/mag/2004/05/09/stories/2004050900130300.htm
o o o o
The latest issue of our quarterly newsletter, Of Veshyas, Vamps, Whores
and Women is now online at www.vampnews.org
This issue focuses on media representation of people in prostitution.
Following is a brief description of some of the key articles.....
Unzipped
Excerpts from a two-day workshop with 50 women in
prostitution and sex work where they were shown
Hindi films that represent prostitution (eg:
Pakeezah) and asked to comment on what they saw.
Read to find out the difference between "reel
lives" and "real lives"
The full text of this article is available at
www.vampnews.org/vol01no04/unzipped.html
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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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