SACW | 4 June 2004
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Fri Jun 4 04:59:40 CDT 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 4 June, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[1] Reducing nuclear risk (M. V. Ramana & R. Rajaraman)
[2] New Secular Government And Its Secular Tasks (Asghar Ali Engineer)
[3] Indian people opt for secular democracy (Daya Varma)
[4] India: Representation to the PM for justice in Gujarat
[5] India: Gujarat Control of Organised Crime
(Gujcoc) Bill, 2003 will legalise the present
Terrorism of the State
[6] Upcoming Event: AMAN Peace Course 2004 (New Delhi, September-October)
--------------
[1]
The Hindu
June 04, 2004
Opinion - Leader Page Articles
REDUCING NUCLEAR RISK
By M. V. Ramana & R. Rajaraman
As a primary risk reduction measure India should
not deploy nuclear-armed missiles and aircraft or
induct an early warning system.
THE RECENT change of Government offers an
important opportunity to reconsider Indian
nuclear policy. The Common Minimum Programme of
the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is brief on
this subject and mentions only that India will
maintain a credible nuclear programme while
evolving demonstrable and verifiable
confidence-building measures with its nuclear
neighbours. In and of itself, such a statement is
not very different from what leaders of the
Bharatiya Janata Party have said in the past. If
the new Alliance wants to put a distinctive stamp
on our nuclear policy, it would have to
distinguish itself from the BJP by implementing
some concrete changes through policy declarations
and directives as well as actual on-the-ground
practice. We would like to offer two specific
recommendations that do not compromise national
security in any real sense but are expressions of
the commitment to nuclear disarmament and
constitute confidence building measures.
The most important and basic commitment that the
UPA should offer is not to deploy nuclear
weapons. Deployment means keeping the warheads
armed with nuclear explosives on delivery
vehicles (ballistic missiles or aircraft) and
keeping them ready for attacking a designated
target. The United States and Russia keep
thousands of nuclear weapons deployed on high
alert, ready to be launched in a matter of
minutes, owing to a combination of Cold War
crises, military planning, technological
advances, and nuclear doctrines, all tied closely
to one another. From all public accounts, India
and Pakistan are yet to deploy nuclear-armed
missiles and bombers on a regular basis. However,
there are early signs of the same factors that
led the U.S. and Russia to deploy their weapons.
It is this impending change of weapon status that
should be explicitly and definitely ruled out by
the UPA Government.
At least two dangers would result from such
deployment. The first and greatest danger is that
deployment opens up the possibility that nuclear
weapons may be used accidentally or by
unauthorised personnel, especially during a
crisis. Deployment will almost inevitably involve
delegating some authority to military officers on
the field, allowing them to make the vital
decision about using nuclear weapons. This is
compounded by the poor state of communication
obtaining in South Asia. (In November 2001, it
was reported that Prime Minister Vajpayee could
not make a direct phone call from Air India One.)
It is the threat of unauthorised use that command
and control systems are supposed to avert.
However, even the most advanced command and
control systems are not foolproof. (The many
hazards of command and control for South Asia are
discussed in Zia Mian's essay in M.V. Ramana and
C. Rammanohar Reddy, eds., Prisoners of The
Nuclear Dream [New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2003]).
Deployed nuclear weapons pose conflicting
demands. On the one hand, they have to be
dispersed and with the military so that they
could be used upon warning of an attack. On the
other hand, the decision to use these weapons is
so momentous that one would like only the highest
political levels to be able to order their use,
that too after due deliberation. All this is
complicated by the widespread, large-scale
effects of nuclear war, which could disrupt
communication systems that link leaders or
commanders with field personnel.
The complexities involved in preparing for all
contingencies, especially given the short flying
times for Indian and Pakistani missiles and
airplanes to each other's territory, would
inexorably involve situations where military
personnel would have the authority to launch a
nuclear attack without explicit orders from the
highest levels of political authority. This
possibility is ruled out by not deploying nuclear
weapons.
The second risk resulting from deployment, over
and above the risk of nuclear war from
unauthorised use, is of serious accidents
involving nuclear weapons themselves or their
delivery vehicles such as missiles and aircraft.
Such accidents might be initiated by an explosion
or fire involving the delivery vehicles,
especially missiles. A recent example of a
serious accident involving a missile occurred on
February 23, 2004 at the Sriharikota High
Altitude Range. Engineers were testing a motor
for the Agni missile when it caught fire and
exploded, killing at least six people. If such an
accident were to occur in an Agni missile loaded
with a nuclear warhead, it could well lead to the
dispersal of fissile material (plutonium or
enriched uranium) into the atmosphere,
potentially causing thousands of fatal cancers
among the nearby population.
The above estimate of casualties is not for a
nuclear explosion, but only for the detonation of
the chemical explosive in the weapon. This
chemical explosion could well trigger a nuclear
explosion. An accidental nuclear explosion with a
yield of 15 kilotons, the same as the weapon
detonated over Hiroshima, would destroy over 5
square kilometres from the combined effects of
blast and firestorms. Over 24 square kilometres
would be subject to radioactive fallout at such
levels that half the healthy adult population
would die of radiation sickness. If this were to
happen in the vicinity of a large South Asian
city, several hundreds of thousands of people
would die. In addition, such an explosion,
especially in times of crises, might be assumed
to be a nuclear attack and lead to a nuclear
response. Thus an accidental nuclear explosion
may even initiate a nuclear war, which could
cause millions of casualties.
In fact these risks prompt going beyond simply
non-deployment of nuclear weapons to actually
keeping the weapons disassembled.
Our second recommendation is that the UPA
Government immediately stop installing early
warning systems. These systems are intended to
detect incoming ballistic missiles and, it is
hoped, inform decision makers that nuclear war
has begun before the warheads themselves explode.
The last few years have witnessed the acquisition
of key components of an early warning network,
including the Green Pine radar from Israel. There
have also been reports of attempts to purchase
the Arrow anti-ballistic system. However, as we
have calculated in some detail elsewhere, these
systems simply cannot offer more than a few
minutes of warning in the South Asian context.
This is grossly insufficient for decision making
in any meaningful sense of the term.
The deployment of a hugely expensive early
warning system is worse than useless. It brings
with it the danger of accidental nuclear war due
to false alarms and miscalculations. There are
numerous examples from the experience of the U.S.
and Russia. Over the decades, the U.S. built an
elaborate and sophisticated system, involving a
worldwide network of satellites and radars and
using state-of-the-art technology, with layers of
filters to remove false signals. Yet from 1977
through 1984, the only period for which official
information has been released, the early warning
systems gave an average of 2,598 warnings each
year of potential incoming missiles attacks. Of
these about 5 per cent required further
evaluation. Needless to say, all of them were
false.
Information about the Russian experience is
limited, but there have been many false alarms
there too. In 1995, for instance, a Norwegian
scientific rocket launch was interpreted by the
Russian early warning system as a possible attack
and the matter went all the way up the command
chain to President Yeltsin.
Fortunately in all these cases, the mistake was
discovered in time to forestall any counter
attack decision. Nevertheless, the shocking fact
is that on many of these occasions, the world was
just minutes away from a possible nuclear
holocaust through error. The geographical
proximity of Pakistan and India does not allow us
even the minor reassurance that may be sought
from the much greater distance between the U.S.
and USSR, and longer missile flight times.
The only sure way to eliminate nuclear risks is
to abolish all nuclear weapons, regionally and
globally. This should be the goal of all rational
and peace loving people. The CMP assurance that
the new Government "will take a leadership role
in promoting universal, nuclear disarmament and
working for a nuclear weapons-free world" is
therefore welcome. But India and Pakistan already
possess dozens of nuclear weapons. With every
additional day that they exist they continue to
pose the serious dangers we have outlined.
Therefore even as we strive to eliminate them
altogether, it would in the meantime be prudent
to institute various risk reduction measures,
which would lower the chances of a destructive
nuclear war. The primary risk reduction measures
we recommend is that India not deploy, as a
matter of stated formal policy and practice,
nuclear-armed missiles and aircraft, or induct an
early warning system. This requires no new
technologies or organisations - indeed not
deploying would reduce enormously the demands on
nuclear infrastructure while increasing safety
and national security.
(M. V. Ramana is Fellow, Centre for
Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and
Development and co-editor of Prisoners of the
Nuclear Dream. R. Rajaraman is Professor Emeritus
of Theoretical Physics, Jawaharlal Nehru
University and Visiting Research Scholar at the
Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton
University, U.S.)
_____
[2]
Secular Perspective
June-1-15-2004
NEW SECULAR GOVERNMENT AND ITS SECULAR TASKS
Asghar Ali Engineer
The new United Progressive Alliance Government
(earlier called United Secular Alliance which was
more meaningful) has been welcomed by all
progressive and secular forces in the country.
The victory of this alliance has proved to be
liberative for the minorities and the oppressed
people of India. The NDA Government led by the
BJP was not only communal and anti-minorities but
also pro-rich and anti-poor to the extreme. Even
the Amnesty International Report made public on
26th May has lambasted the Indian Government for
its poor human rights records particularly in
Gujarat. Now even the BJP and Shiv Sena leaders
have admitted that they lost because of Gujarat
carnage.
It is for this reason that the minorities in
particular have welcomed the new government,
particularly so as it is backed by the left
forces whose secular credentials are
unimpeachable. Thus this government certainly
inspires confidence among minorities and the
poor. However, this initial confidence has not
only to be sustained but strengthened through
proper action. The Congress has always been
ideologically secular but lost its secular
orientation during the last days of Mrs. Indira
Gandhi and began to be dubbed as the 'B-team' of
Hindutva Party BJP. The minorities began to be
alienated from the Congress until they deserted
it after demolition of the Babri Masjid during
the Prime Ministership of Shri Narasinha Rao.
Once it lost the confidence of minorities,
particularly the Muslims, it lost power at the
Centre and could not regain it until it could win
the Muslim confidence again. The Congress had to
work hard to convince Muslims again to regain
their confidence. Now let us hope the Congress
will not go off the course. Not only this it will
have to take steps to inspire confidence among
them. It should be seen as a party sympathetic to
the problems of minorities. For that number of
steps will have to be taken, some of which are
suggested here.
It would greatly inspire confidence among
minorities if a ministry of minority affairs is
created and some minority leader of integrity is
put in charge of it. In fact one of the Congress
leaders from Maharashtra Mr. Gurudas Kamat also
has made this suggestion. All minorities like the
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains
should be included under it. All put together
these minorities constitute more than 20 per cent
of Indian population. Indian Muslims alone are
around 150 million.
The ministry can study many of the problems
facing these minorities, which are of huge
proportions. Today no government ministry even
monitors data and indices pertaining to these
minorities. The Gopal Singh High Commission
Report prepared during the eighties, which had
painfully collected data on minorities was also
put in cold storage and its recommendations were
never implemented. The data was collected during
early eighties and hence has become totally
outdated. The Report prepared after lot of hard
labour was not even tabled in the Parliament.
When I spoke to the then Prime Minister Shri.
V.P. Singh about it in 1990 he was not even aware
about its existence.
Had there been a full-fledged ministry such
reports would not have been wasted like this. It
is true there is a minorities commission but it
hardly has any powers. It has often been
described as toothless tiger. It functions under
Welfare Ministry and its budget is also
controlled by this ministry. Thus the Commission
is totally at the mercy of the welfare minister.
It has hardly any priority for the ministry.
Since I was on one of its sub-committees I know
its plight very well. And the NDA Government
appointed a BJP man as its chairman. What
sympathy such a person would ever have for
minorities. The very psychological orientation of
BJP members is anti-minority. This was very much
demonstrated when Mr. Trilochan Singh, the
Chairman of National Minorities Commission gave
certificate to Narendra Modi Government in
Gujarat when Muslim carnage was taking place in
2002 and when the National Human Rights
Commission was lambasting Mr. Narendra Modi. So
much for the credentials of the NMC.
However, it may take time to take decision for
setting up a ministry for the minority affairs,
which is also bound to generate political
controversy with the BJP in opposition. Meanwhile
it is suggested that the National Minorities
Commission should be strengthened and should be
made statutory. Today it has no statutory powers
at all and its recommendations are not binding on
the government. Often its reports are not even
tabled in the Parliament. The NMC must be given
statutory powers and its recommendations should
be made binding on the government. This should be
done as early as possible as it is long standing
demand.
The NMC should also be asked to gather fresh data
on the pattern of the Gopal Singh High Commission
and suitable recommendations should be formulated
on its pattern and these recommendations should
be implemented to uplift the economic and
educational status of minorities. This should be
given top priority. In fact reliable data on all
India pattern about minorities is not available
and in the absence of such data no suitable
policies can be made.
The other suggestions relate to communalisation
of education. Even during earlier Congress and
other regimes no serious efforts were made to
de-communalise our school textbooks, particularly
relating to history. The BJP campaign for
Ramjanambhoomi would not have succeeded to such
an extent if our history text -books had not been
what they are today. The British rulers had
designed our history textbooks to divide us and
rule over us. These text- books were never
seriously revised and made genuinely secular so
as to de-communalise our education system.
It is for this reason that you find educated
middle class people who avail of these faulty
text books much more communal than the poor
illiterate masses. Our education system really
makes them communal and injects communal ideas
into their minds. Thus one can hardly fight
communal forces if our education system is not
thoroughly reformed. Our education system should
be devised to inculcate secular rational outlook,
on one hand, and, respect for all religions, on
the other. But unfortunately our education system
is producing communal bigots instead.
Thus text-book reform is an urgent need and
should be attended to on priority basis. The
Human Resources Ministry under the leadership of
Arjun Singh should pay attention to this task.
This will really strengthen our secular polity
and would permanently checkmate communal forces
from capturing power. The BJP rode to power on
the basis of Ramjanambhoomi issue and this issue
in turn became so powerful because of the
mind-set created by our text books. It is
difficult task but first step must be taken by
appointing a suitable commission, which can
thoroughly examine all text- books taught
throughout India and then suggest steps to reform
them. Education is a concurrent subject and,
therefore, should not be difficult to devise them
for whole of India. Of course regional
considerations would be there and guidelines
could be given for states to prepare these text
-books suitably.
There is another important area, which needs to
be attended to with similar sense of urgency. It
is the textbooks taught in the RSS run Shishu
Vihars some 32 thousand in numbers. These schools
do not take grant from government but that does
not mean they should be free to teach what is
totally contrary to our constitutional values.
The textbooks taught in these schools are highly
objectionable and inject poison against
minorities. We have examined these textbooks and
what is written there in will never be permitted
by any secular government.
Similarly, if one finds any objectionable
material being taught in madrasas too, steps
should be taken to remove such objectionable
material from madrasa text-books also. So far I
have not found any objectionable material but our
study may not be thorough and madrasa text -books
should also be thoroughly examined. No
institution, public or private, should be allowed
to violate the spirit of the Constitution.
Thousands of students study in these private
schools who grow with hatred towards other
religions because of such textbooks and thus it
becomes very easy to communalise polity.
Such a step to de-communalise our textbooks will
strengthen our secular foundations. Unfortunately
it has remained highly neglected area and as a
result we have witnessed thousands of small and
big riots throughout the post-independence era
culminating of course in the Gujarat genocide.
Much of this could have been avoided if we had
courage to reform our textbooks right after
independence. Now at least, after having paid
heavy price, we should not hesitate to take this
much needed step on top priority.
Another important area of reform is functioning
of the police. Since police is also educated
through these very institutions they also get
easily communalised. I have seen that in the
police training colleges there are no orientation
lectures on secularism. The policemen handle
communal riots with such communalised mind-set
and as a result they tend to be anti-minority in
their behaviour. Various inquiry commission
reports, particularly the Madon Commission and
Srikrishna Commission Reports on Bhivandi-Jalgaon
and of 1970 and of Bombay riots of 1992-93 have
severely castigated the role of the police in
these riots. In Gujarat carnage of 2002 it was
even worse and yet no steps are being taken to
effectively de-communalise the police. The
Congress-led UPA Government should pay urgent
attention to this problem as well. We have much
to learn in this respect from the Left-Front
Government in West Bengal.
(Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
Mumbai)
_____
[3]
McGill Reporter
May 27, 2004
INDIAN PEOPLE OPT FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY
A founding member of South Asia Center (CERAS)
and Pharmacology Professor Daya Varma reflects on
the meaning of the recent Indian elections.
The results of India's 14th Parliamentary
elections surprised every one - the winner, the
loser, the pollsters, the news media and
political analysts. Indian National Congress
(Congress) led by Sonia Gandhi secured 145 seats
and together with its 217 seats in 543-member
Parliament. The ruling National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) of Atal Bihari Vajpayee bagged 185
seats; BJP's share was 138. Communist Parties
and allies were the third with 62 seats.
Indian elections are festive. Every building,
wall, tree and lamppost is plastered with posters
and graffiti. On the sidewalks, buses and trains,
people are engaged in animated arguments about
the election and every one is predicting the
outcome; this lively interest imbues the social
fabric of India.
The recent elections were held in four phases
between April 20 and May 10 and results announced
on May 13. There were a total of 5398 candidates,
675 million registered voters and 225 political
parties. A total of 387,453,223 citizens (nearly
56%) voted at one of the 700,000 electoral booths
(one in Ladakh at a height of 5,180 meters!) and
one million electronic voting machines tabulated
the results using 8,000 metric tons of paper.
There was no Florida- type bungling. The winner
usually polls plus 300,000 votes; the highest by
a candidate in this election was 855,543. The
elections went rather smoothly to the credit of
the Election Commission and the maturity of the
Indian civil society. Indian elections prove that
it is not the formal education that ensures
democracy - it is the political maturity of
people, rooted in their lived experiences.
The ruling NDA government had called the
elections 6 months before they were due and
confidently entered the fray with the slogan
"India Shining" and "Feel good" in obvious
reference to what many perceived as a booming
economy, over 8% projected growth and warming of
relations between India and Pakistan.
The reasons for the electoral outcome of any
election are a matter of speculation and debate.
Most analysts agree that the Indian electorate
repudiated Vajpayee government's economic policy,
which has led to impoverishment of farmers and
regionalization of poverty in India's most
populous states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. For the
vast masses, India was not shining. Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological wing of
BJP contends that the main cause of their defeat
was the failure to highlight "the emotive chord
of Hindu nationalism, the bedrock of our
nationhood". In my opinion, the defeat of
Vajpayee's party was a repudiation of its
economic policy of reckless privatization, its
aggressive Hinduism and its pro-US foreign
policy. India is the home of nearly 150 million
Muslims and 30 million Christians; they felt
insecure in Vajpayee's India. The majority of
Hindus have different vision of what Hinduism is
than does RSS. Furthermore, NDA's main support
base was the affluent middle class; with time,
their influence is waning and that of working
masses rising.
Sonia Gandhi led her party on a simple platform
of defending the secular foundation of India and
addressing the need of the poor and rural India,
home of 70 percent Indians. She also had the
benefit of history. Her Congress party led India
to independence in 1947 and is perceived as the
architect of a secular independent India.
What effect will the change of government have on
internal and foreign policy of India? First of
all it confers relief to the minority community
of India, which felt terrorized during the 6
years of Vajpayee government. This in itself is a
big thing. The new government is unlikely to
dismantle the policy of economic liberalization
of which the new Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh,
was the architect. However, it will be obliged
to readjust these policies and bring the
marginalized section in its fold.
India-Pakistan relations are unlikely to change.
Bigger and better initiatives in improving
India-Pakistan relations were taken by the
Congress party in the past than were taken by
Vajpayee in the last few months: the Tashkent
(then part of Soviet Union) Accord by the late
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri (in whose
honor the Shashtri Indo-Canadian Institute was
instituted) and Simla accord between Indira
Gandhi and Pakistan's Bhutto (both were later
killed) are two examples. Moreover
Indo-Pakistani accords by the Congress Party
reflected independent initiative by the two
government. Improvements in Indo-Pak relations
during the Vajpayee regime were initiated by the
U.S., which needs both countries to materialize
its central Asia and Middle-East objectives .
Why did Sonia Gandhi decline the high position
of Prime Minister of the world's largest
democracy? This is unprecedented in history. In
my opinion she did it in the larger interest of
India. Hindu fundamentalists have been using her
Italian birth to arouse mass hysteria against
her, though she was quite acceptable to the
Indian people, just as the election of an Indian
born NDP leader to the Premiership of BC was
acceptable to the Canadian people.
Hindu fundamentalists will go to any extreme to
undermine the pluralist and secular fabric of
India. As soon as the election results were out
and Sonia Gandhi was unanimously elected as the
parliamentary leader, BJP leaders initiated
protests and even threatened her with her life.
While refusing the high office of Prime Minister
of India, she said: "Power in itself has never
attracted me, nor has position been my goal. My
aim has always been to defend the secular
foundation of our nation and the poor of our
countryŠ That is a long and arduous struggle, and
I will continue it with full determination." In
my opinion she declined the high office to save
India from uncalled-for turmoil. This may
embolden fundamentalists, but will certainly win
the hearts and souls of the Indian masses and
respect of the international community.
Does the defeat of Vajpayee government have any
repercussion in Canada? I think it does. There
are nearly one million Canadians of South Asian
origin. Since BJP came to power, the Indian
community has been polarized -secular versus
non-secular. The massacre of innocent Muslims in
February-March of 2002 in the BJP-ruled state of
Gujarat under the government's indifference, if
not complicity, caused further division. It is an
interesting paradox that Canadians of Indian
origin do not want to be discriminated against
here, and yet many can find justification for
discrimination or even brutalization of minority
communities in India. A secular, democratic India
providing equal opportunity to all its citizen
will undoubtedly generate a healthy atmosphere
within the South Asian community in Canada.
______
[4]
Subject: Representation to the PM for justice in Gujarat
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 19:35:03 +0530
To
The NGO Fraternity, Activists for Secular India
Dear Friends,
Please consider making a joint or co-signed
representation to the new Prime Minister on the
lines of the following, now that justice due to
Gujarat victims seems possible.
In solidarity
Hasan Jowher with Team SPRAT
[Society for the Promotion of Rational Thinking]
SF-8, Rajnagar Complex, Narayan Nagar Road,
Paldi, AHMEDABAD 380 007
Tel: +79-2663 46 55 /66 /77 [1000-1800 Hrs - Office]
Tel: +79-2661 40 95 / 20 45 [2000-2100 Hrs - Res]
Fax: +79-2661 20 49
Web: <http://www.mysprat.org/>www.mysprat.org
e-mail: mhj at mysprat.org
--------------------------------------------------------------
Respected Prime Minister,
GUJARAT AGENDA
We congratulate you on the assumption of the
august office of the Prime Minister of the
Republic of India. We are sanguine that your
tenure will be remembered for both, constructive,
positive action and also for correcting the wrong.
Election 2004 has witnessed a vote for secularism
and against communalism. Not only the defeat of
the BJP at the centre but also the drubbing
received by the icon of Hindutva: Narendra Modi -
and his neo-convert friend Jayalalitha -
demonstrate the spirit of this mandate.
You have been very disturbed at the Gujarat
carnage. Both out of your personal commitment and
in fulfilment of the spirit of this mandate you
are now beckoned by the history of our times to
undo the harm done to the victims and to set a
precedent that deters its recurrence.
With all humility and due respect we urge you,
Sir, to undertake the following measures at the
earliest opportunity. A swift declaration of
intent will be keenly appreciated by the millions
of your admirers:
1. Dismissal of the Government of Mr Narendra
Modi and imposition of the Presidents rule in the
light of the strictures passed by the Supreme
Court and considering the collapse of the rule of
law and administration of justice.
2. The setting up of a statutory Compensation
Commission to publicly solicit all claims,
scrutinize and award full and contemporary
compensation for all loss of life, limb,
property, livelihood and other damages suffered
by all victims of communal riots.
3. Setting up of a special prosecution agency to
investigate afresh and to actively prosecute the
guilty in all riot related cases in Godhra and
elsewhere in Gujarat through fast-track courts.
4. Replacing all public prosecutors of
Gujarat having a communal past and those
associated with fundamentalist organizations.
5. Building public opinion, exposing the
irregularities of, and eventually banning
extremist organizations like the Bajrang Dal,
VHP, Shiv Sena etc. as was done to SIMI.
6. Setting up a statutory Reconciliation
Commission / Harmony Commission to promote
inter-faith harmony through a variety of
exercises including education, spread of
rationality, promoting increased interdependence
and cooperation amongst people of different
faiths. The commission will also advise
the various school boards, NCERT, the UGC and
other education imparting organs of the
administration on the course curricula and the
syllabi to promote national harmony.
7. Elevating the Minorities Commission and the
NHRC and arming them with adequate powers to make
them meaningful and effective, if necessary by
making due amendment to the Constitution.
While we seek the enforcement of Rule of Law for
all citizens of India we most certainly do not
propose appeasement of either the minority or the
majority. We request you to discourage
practices aimed at appeasing one or the other
religious section of the society and as far as
possible to keep the state aloof from religious
ceremonies.
Yours sincerely,
______
[5]
Press Release
Date: 3 June 2004
The Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (Gujcoc)
Bill, 2003 will legalise the present Terrorism of
the State
Mr. Narendra Modi Government on Wednesday brought
in the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime
(Gujcoc) Bill, 2003. It is expected that the
state is a legal entity which is duty-bound to
protect its citizens to ensure that it acts and
behaves within the purview of the law. Otherwise,
the very foundation of a democratic polity is at
stake. But if we go by the present Government’s
behavior during the Gujarat carnage 2002 then we
left with no choice but to say that it was the
terrorism of the state and still it continued in
one form or other form. I have a strong feeling
that in the name of countering the “terrorism”
the state is becoming terrorist state by looking
for indiscriminate power in the state’s hand. Who
are the terrorists? If we go by the state and
government’s mind-set it is you and me, who are
harassed by police official, political party’s
leaders, communal organization, mafias, and
Government’s top officials. In the state like
Gujarat the “Terrorism of the State” is the on of
the main issue and we are trying to fight that.
Private individuals have little power compare to
the state, but when the state is transformed into
an institution of crime it aims to eternally
perpetuate itself. Therefore we are generally
concern about the acts of these governments and
their officials who shelter themselves from the
purview of the law. The Gujarat Control of
Organised Crime (Gujcoc) Bill, 2003 - such law
will legalise the state terrorism.
Rohit Prajapati
Human Rights Activist, Vadodara
______
[6]
AMAN Peace Course 2004:
Introduction
The Aman Trust will host a residential course on
peace and conflict, to be held in New Delhi
between September 13 and October 13, 2004. The
object of this educational programme is to
provide students, professionals, NGO workers and
journalists with a specialist course on conflict
and peace. It will introduce participants to the
global history of conflict in the 20th century;
the treatment of violence in theology and
literature; sociological researches on caste and
communalism in India, gender issues; law and the
structural genesis of violence, and related
themes. The aim is to equip participants with an
informed understanding of conflict, help
activists and professionals working in
conflict-affected zones and social segments gain
a better understanding of their situation and to
encourage informed researches into a number of
issues. A more detailed document with the
complete course structure will be released soon.
Summary of Contents
The programme was first held in 2003 at Jamia
Hamdard, New Delhi. There were 18 participants.
The course will be structured around six rubrics,
that will be entrusted to lead instructors. Some
guest instructors will also be invited to speak
on certain themes. The rubrics are listed below:
1. Ethical and Philosophical Perspectives on Violence: Purushottam Agrawal
2. Aspects of twentieth century world history: Dilip Simeon
3. Conflict Issues in the Womens Movement: Urvashi Butalia
4. The world order and concepts of conflict: Jairus Banaji
5. Issues in the Contemporary History of India and South Asia: Sumit Sarkar
6. Law, Conflict and Peace Processes: Nandita Haksar
Invitation for applications
AMAN invites applications from people involved
with the social sector, students and journalists.
The deadline for applications is July 10. There
are 20 seats available, and selection procedures
will be announced shortly. The course fee is Rs
5000/-. A limited number of scholarships are
available. The ability to comprehend lectures and
other forms of discussion in English is
necessary, although the course is open to
participants who wish to speak and submit their
coursework in Hindi.
Contact Details
Please ask for more information on the Aman Trust
and the Peace Course from our office, via e-mail,
or ordinary mail. Address correspondence to:
Ms Hassath; c/o The Aman Trust
D- 504, Nagarjuna Apartments,
Noida Road, New Delhi - 110096
Or e-mail: peacecourse at amanpanchayat.org
Our office telephone number is: 011-2271-3509/ 2271-3572
About Aman: The Aman Public Charitable Trust was
established in 2001 to render humanitarian
assistance and training to vulnerable sections of
Indian society, regardless of caste or creed, in
particular those rendered invisible by conflict.
The ongoing spiral of tension in South Asia has
bred fear and distrust, and undermined democratic
institutions. Aman believes that society's
neglect of people marginalised by violent
conflict will have unhealthy long-term
consequences. We envisage a pro-active role for
civil society in reducing conflict and mitigating
its effects. To this end, we have launched
projects for comprehending and reducing conflict
in India. Our sensitisation and legal-aid
programmes aim at strengthening social
institutions and resources for non-violent
conflict resolution. Our educational work (of
which this course is a part), is intended to
develop and disseminate inter-disciplinary
approaches to conflict.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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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