SACW | 15-16 Sep 2004
sacw
aiindex at mnet.fr
Wed Sep 15 18:32:00 CDT 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch | 15-16 September, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
=======
[1] Pakistan: Talibanisation of NWFP (Burhanuddin Hasan)
[2] The rise of extremists in Bangladesh (Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury)
[3] [Pakistan-India] Inching towards - what? (M B Naqvi)
[4] Peddling the veil (Razi Azmi)
[5] India: Press Release (BJP Harao Manch/ Defeat BJP Forum)
[6] Pakistan: Book Launch of "Eqbal Ahmed:
Between Past and Future, Selected Essays on South
Asia" (Islamabad: 17 Sept 2004 | Lahore: 18th
Sept 2004 | Karachi: 23 Sept 2004)
[7] India: Film Screenings : The Men In The Tree
by Lalit Vachani (New Delhi, 18 Sept ) Aakrosh by
Ramesh Pimple (25 Sept)
[8] India: Upcoming workshop on Humanism in the
Age of Rising Global Fundamentalism
(Bombay, December 17-18, 2004)
[9] India Pakistan: Aar Paar 3 : Call For Entries
[10] 'LarzishŠ tremors of a revolution', 2nd
International Film Festival of Sexuality and
Gender Plurality, India (Bombay from the 4-7 Nov.
2004)
--------------
[1]
The News International - September 15, 2004
TALIBANISATION OF NWFP
by Burhanuddin Hasan
President Musharraf can probably never achieve
his ambition of enlightened moderation for
Pakistan, if he does not nip in the bud the
mischievous move of NWFP Chief Minister, backed
by radical religious parties to have Hisbah Bill
passed by the provincial Assembly to enforce
Mullah rule in the province. JUI, and
Jamat-e-Islami, which were in the vanguard of
anti-Pakistan and anti Quaid-i-Azam agitation
before partition, are fully backing the Hisbah
bill as a first step towards a Taliban style
theocracy in Pakistan. They had opposed Quaid's
vision of an enlightened and liberal democratic
Muslim homeland, and wanted a fanatically
theocratic state, if at all created on Indian
soil. The vast majority of Indian Muslims totally
rejected theocracy and rallied Quaid-i-Azam's
dream for a liberal progressive Pakistan.
As regards pre-partition NWFP, a congress
government headed by Dr. Khan Sahib, the elder
brother of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a leader of
secular thinking and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi
ruled it. Both leaders were opposed to Pakistan,
but the people of NWFP gave their verdict in
favour of Pakistan in a referendum. It may also
be mentioned that Pushtoon leadership by and
large has been of secular and democratic mind and
still is. However, the present government led by
MMA is bent upon enforcing Hisbah law in the
province which is nothing but the blueprint of
Taliban's repressive and inhuman regime in
Afghanistan, and President Ziaul Haq's slogan of
Islamisation. After postponing elections for the
third time, violating his solemn pledge to hold
the polls in October 1977 at the UN and in
Khana-e-Kaba, Ziaul Haq was left with no mandate
to rule. His only constituency was the army, but
he wanted to consolidate his power base among the
people without going through the political
process.
After careful consideration he found his mandate
to rule the country in the slogan of
"Islamisation" which would not only give
legitimacy to his rule, but would also endear him
to the religious parties. With the support of
some hired Ulema of the Islamic Ideology Council,
he declared that the concept of political parties
did not exist in Islam and the democratic system
of governance was un-Islamic.
With one master stroke Ziaul Haq changed the
entire ideological complexion of Pakistan from a
modern secular and progressive state to a
theocratic one to be run by an all powerful
"Amirul Mominin," (that is himself) with the
advice and consent of the same gang of Ulema who
had opposed the creation of Pakistan as conceived
by the Quaid-i-Azam. The religious political
parties, which due to their treacherous role in
the past had always been rejected by the people
of Pakistan, ganged up around General Zia and
became his bastion of power.
When President Ziaul Haq departed from the scene
on August 17, 1988 after more than 11 years of
military rule which saw one of Pakistan's worst
periods of human rights abuses and suppression of
freedom of expression, he left the country in the
same state of flux and uncertainty which existed
when he seized power in a military coup.
His experiment to distort Pakistan's ideology and
turn it into a theocratic state dominated by
mullahs failed. His Islamisation process remained
confined only to some symbolic measures which for
better or worse had no visible impact on society.
At one stage he himself realised that his futile
attempts at Islamisation had not borne any fruit.
His ploy to hold a referendum to legitimise his
rule and get him elected as President for five
years backfired. His gamble of power-sharing with
hand picked politicians also did not succeed.
According to newspaper reports and seminars held
on the proposed Hasba bill, the NWFP government
will appoint a Mohtasib at the provincial level
and one each at district level (How about small
cities and villages spread out in the province?)
These Mohtasibs will be "maulvies" having
knowledge of Islamic theology. (It has not been
clarified whether they would be honorary or paid
by the provincial exheques. If so, how much? The
Maulvi Mohtasibs will be roughly assigned these
duties:
1. Discourage commercial activity or any kind of
"fanfare" outside the places where Friday
congregational prayers are held.
2. End negligence in performance of Friday prayers.
3. Enforce respect for Azan and performance of obligatory prayers.
4. reform public servants and stop them from
patronising activities of which the Shariat does
not approve (e.g., singing and dancing)
5. stop togetherness of unrelated men and women
6. discourage ostentatious spending
7. discipline those who disobey their parents
8. Order stores and other establishments to close down at prayer times.
In addition ,the Maulvi Mohtasib may undertake
investigations on his own initiative or on the
basis of complaints filed with him. They may call
a person to appear before him to testify or
answer questions. Disregard of their summons or
orders will be treated as contempt of office, and
punished as contempt of the superior courts is.
The mohtasib may impose penalties (fine,
flogging, imprisonment) on the spot. Some reports
have it that his findings and decrees will not be
subject to judicial review. It is said also that
he Hisbah law will override all other laws to the
extent that they may conflict with it.
Almost 90 percent of the duties of Maulvi
Mohtasibs will overlap the duties of law
enforcing agencies. So, why this duplication? The
supporters of Hisbah Law argue that police is
corrupt and law courts are not dispensing "cheap
and quick" justice. Would these Mohtasibs will be
paragons of virtue that they be allowed to punish
people and dispense justice on the spot without
observing the country's due process of law? This
may possibly result in justice for one and
injustice to the other by a Maulvi who does not
have the knowledge of the law of the land.
As regards performance of religious duties,
Qur'aan does to lay down any coercion or
punishment for those Muslims who do not offer
namaz or do not fast or performs Haj. It clearly
says "La Ikraha fiddin," so why human beings be
allowed to punish people for failing to perform
their religious rituals. This is a matter between
God and his "Abd". He may forgive him in
afterlife or punish him. Human beings have not
been given any right to force people to perform
their religious rites or punish them, because
they do not know God's will whether he accepts
the "tauba" of an offender or decided to punish
him. Punishments have, however, been laid down in
the Quran for crimes committed by humans against
humans but these too have to be awarded by a
competent court of law within a given legal
framework, and not by anybody simply because he
is a Maulvi.
The obscurantism maulvies of India were opposing
Quaid-i-Azam because they wanted a theocratic
Pakistan that was contrary to the vision of the
Quaid. However, when Pakistan came into being,
they swooped over it and occupied mosques and
madrases to preach religious fundamentalism and
produce radical Muslim youth. But since people
were against them, they could not get any
foothold in the corridors of government and kept
quiet till Ziaul Haq came into power and needed
their support to create a constituency for him
and distort Pakistan's ideology. The religious
parties gained strength due to Ziaul Haq's
financial and moral support and the emerging
Taliban phenomenon, which came mostly from NWFP.
Religious parties have at last got an opportunity
to introduce their kind of Nizam-e-Islam in NWFP,
in which they may not succeed, like Gen. Zia who
tried to introduce "Sharia" and failed.
______
[2]
The Daily Star - September 15, 2004
THE RISE OF EXTREMISTS IN BANGLADESH
Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, ndc, psc (Retd)
The grenade attack on the AL meeting on August 21
once again reminded us of the threat posed by
extremists in our society. It is not too
difficult to see a common thread in the terrorist
acts perpetrated over the last five years.
It all started with the bombing of Udichi's
musical programme in Jessore on March 6, 1999.
Udichi, since its inception in pre-liberation
days, has been a left-leaning musical group that
opposed fundamentalism and religious bigotry. To
the religious extremists, Udichi was a genuine
target for elimination. When the bombs went off
in Jessore, the performers from Lalon Academy of
Kushtia were on stage. Lalon is a much loved and
widely revered mystic poet-singer of Bengal, but
to the present breed of Islamic extremists all
kinds of music, especially "Sufi" music, is an
anathema. So, if you can't stop them, bomb them!
The result: 10 dead and many injured and maimed
for life, including a few from the Lalon Academy.
On October 8, 1999, religious extremists attacked
the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Khulna. The result: 8
dead and many injured. Ahmadiyyas have been in
Bangladesh for nearly a hundred years. There was
never any trouble until the 1980s when an
organisation called Khatme Nabuat Committee
sprang up composed of obscurantists. This group
has been gathering strength over the years. They
have been attacking Ahmadiyya mosques at various
places and have often assaulted and harassed
people belonging to Ahmadiyya community. To the
utter dismay of the vast majority of the citizen,
the government has taken a policy of appeasement
that only emboldens the fanatics.
On January 10, 2001 a rally organised by the
Communist Party was attacked in Dhaka, killing 7
people. This was followed by an attack on April
14, 2001 on the musical soiree organized by
Chhayanot at Ramna Park in celebration of the
Bengali New Year's day. Islamic extremists were
again suspects because they consider communists
as "kafirs" and are opposed to the celebration of
Bengali New Year. Again on June 3 that year, a
church in Baniarchar, Gopalganj was bombed,
killing 10 worshippers. Christians have been
living peacefully for centuries in Bangladesh.
They are often some of the poorest in the
society, mostly of tribal or schedule caste
origin. They never had any conflict or clash of
interest with the majority community. The
community is not active in mainstream politics.
The bombing of a place of worship and killing of
so many innocent people put the whole nation to
grief. Again, the finger was pointed towards the
Islamic extremists who consider the Christians
and Jews as enemies.
On October 6, 2002, there was simultaneous attack
on four cinema halls in Mymensingh that left 21
people dead. It was the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Traditionally, new movies are released on Eid day
throughout the country. People go in large
numbers to watch the movies as a part of the Eid
festivities. Muslim extremists do not approve of
watching movies, even less of watching them on
Eid day. In October 2002, I saw a number of
articles and letters in one of the dailies, known
for its fundamentalist views, urging people not
to watch movies during Eid and asked the
government to close down the cinema halls on Eid
day. The bombing that followed was probably aimed
at "deviant" Muslims who ignored their warning.
Mazars, the tombs of Muslim saints, are also
coming under attack. The bombing on January 17,
2003, at Faila Peer Mazar in Tangail left 7 dead.
Next year, on January 12, 2004, bomb explosion at
Hazrat Shah Jalal's Mazar in Sylhet left 5 dead.
In both bombing, the fakirs, local Sufi singers,
were the targets. Although orthodox Muslims do
not approve of their presence in the Mazar, they
tolerated it. There was peaceful coexistence of
orthodox prayer and mystic chanting in all
mazars. I visited Hazrat Shah Jalal's Mazar many
a time during my childhood years in Sylhet. There
was always a corner at the back of the Mazar,
left out for the baul fakirs -- some of whom used
to take ganja or hashish as a part of their
private rituals. Orthodox Muslims never approved
it, but until recently, no one ever thought that
they should be bombed out. There were large
"gojar" fish in a tank in the Mazar premise and
people used to feed the fish with a hope that
their wishes would be fulfilled. We knew these
acts to be superstitions, but never thought that
the fish should all be poisoned. But then it
happened! Someone killed all the fish by
poisoning.
There was a bomb attack again at Shah Jalal's
Mazar on May 21, 2004. This time it was aimed at
the British High Commissioner. He escaped with
minor injury while 3 others died. The bomb attack
on him was a stark reminder of the strength of
extremist elements in our midst. The rise of
"Bangla Bhai" and the cover up that followed is
yet another example of official protection
offered to extremist elements by the political
high ups. Whereas the Prime Minister ordered the
arrest of "Bangla Bhai," another senior minister
of the cabinet said that the journalists had made
up "Bangla Bhai" and that he never existed. Since
then "Bangla Bhai" is operating free in northern
Bangladesh.
Islam in Bangladesh was garnished with many local
traditions. People of all religions used to enjoy
the religious celebrations of each other. Then
there were cultural events round the year that
were secular in nature. These helped to maintain
peace and tranquility in Bengali society despite
and all the trauma and turmoil that followed
partition in 1947. With the emergence of
Bangladesh in 1971, it was hoped that a truly
multi-cultural, multi- religious society would
emerge that would shun religious bigotry and move
towards establishing a modern democratic society.
But since 1980, with the patronage from
government and a few Middle Eastern countries, a
new breed of religious extremists has gradually
emerged. They are intolerant of any view other
than their own. In order to establish their
religious dogma they would not hesitate to use
force. Whoever heard the term "murtaad" before?
But now anyone who speaks out against religious
bigotry is termed a "murtaad" and hunted down.
Dr. Humayun Azad was the latest victim. Who will
be next?
In Bangladesh today, moderate Islam is being
challenged by extremism. Our situation is
somewhat similar to that of Indonesia. Islam in
Indonesia was, for centuries, a synthesis of
local and Islamic culture and traditions. There
was never any conflict, until the new breed of
extremists started preaching the Wahabi brand of
Islam. The Indonesian government was long denying
the existence of any militant groups in the
country, until Bali bombing -- a catastrophe that
came as a shattering blow to the governmental
claims.
Interestingly, in Bangladesh both AL and BNP
government seemingly tried to cover up the
issues. Not a single incident was properly
investigated and people were denied the right to
know the fate of the investigations --
irrespective of whether AL or BNP was in power.
Whenever anyone spoke of the danger posed by the
Islamic militants, the voice was silenced with
the excuse that it would smear the national image
abroad. It was like nurturing a cancer hoping
that it would cure itself. Such denial never
pays. I hope the attack on the AL rally on August
21 will help us all to wake up to the danger that
is lurking within. One only hopes that both AL
and BNP and indeed the whole nation will come
together on this issue and confront it squarely
before the Frankenstein destroys us all.
The author is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.
______
[3]
The News International - September 15, 2004
[PAKISTAN-INDIA] INCHING TOWARDS - WHAT?
by M B Naqvi
Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India have made
incremental progress in their two-day
negotiations on Sept 5 and 6. It can only be
assessed as inching forward. But inching toward
which goal? Officially it is described as
normalisation of relations. The results are a far
cry from what the climate of opinion in both
countries wants.
Take the main achievements: to continue the LoC
ceasefire, go on talking, sorting out a few, very
few, problems of marginal importance like
introducing a new tourist category of visas but
sending back the eight problems to the original
committees and to agree on a few CBMs. For the
rest, more routine meetings of border security,
anti-narcotics officials, Foreign Service
trainees' visits etc are envisaged. They couldn't
agree on military CBMs, including regarding
nuclear weapons. More committees have been set
up. There was no breakthrough on any significant
issue.
There is silence over the ultimate goal, of
course. Neither side felt it necessary to make
new departures in settled policies: it looks the
new Indo-Pakistan relationship has to adjust
itself into the existing framework of policies.
Truth is they need a rapprochement. But the quest
for a true reconciliation involves going beyond
merely diluting or cosmetically changing the
traditional stances. The best method of
reconciling is the methodology adopted by Germany
and France through their treaty of 1963. These
two European countries used to be traditional
enemies; they had fought three big wars in 69
years, the last one of which reduced many parts
of Europe into rubble. In the 59 years since the
Second World War, the two have become inseparable
friends and both have achieved exemplary
prosperity - in freedom.
Why Pakistan and India cannot take this route to
political prominence, economic prosperity and
cultural enrichment? The quest for normal, good
neighborliness has anyhow to cross the deep gulf
of mistrust and animosity, while unchanged basic
positions will continue to produce results
hitherto garnered. So long as normalisation alone
is sought, it will be like chasing one's own
tail; old established policies will continue to
keep the two at daggers drawn - without actually
being able to fight. It needs to be realized that
the directly antithetical policies - nominally on
Kashmir - need to be changed for one good and
sufficient reason: presence of nuclear weapons
have effectively defanged both vis-ý-vis each
other and frozen the dispute.
The traditional politics of Pakistan and India
relentlessly pushes them into permanent
confrontation. The next step has always been
conflict. But as 1999 and 2002 experiences have
shown, neither dared start an all-out war;
neither side could. And it was not simple mutual
deterrence emanating from the Bomb. The world
will not put up with a war that may degenerate
into a nuclear exchange; neither can live with
the consequences of having used its nuclear
capability. War between India and Pakistan is now
out of the question. And yet neither side has
realised that old policies of the two are
incompatible with peace. They have to go.
It might be argued that no matter how
antagonistic the current policies might be it is
impossible to pursue good neighborliness
peacefully. Well, the record of two Kashmir Wars,
Rann of Kutch fracas, the 19971 War, Kargil's
half war and the near war of 2002, in addition to
the war scares of 1986, 1990 and 1995, speaks for
itself. Unless Pakistan and India get out of the
rut and reconcile with each other, they are fated
to go on colliding. While war itself is
undesirable per se, in the context of nuclear
weapons makes it the ultimate nightmare. Plain
commonsense lays down that old politics and
stances have got to change if war is to be
avoided. But this cannot happen unless they begin
reconciling on a people-to-people basis which
alone can enable changing of old politics. And
thus, forging such close bonds that would create
new common purposes of cooperative endeavour to
enrich respective people economically and
culturally becomes possible. This will also open
the gates for regional integration so that a new
South Asia emerges.
This is not to say that it will be easy to make
war impossible and create new structures of
cooperative peace and all round economic
prosperity - which reaches the bottom rung of the
societies. Governments alone cannot quickly or
completely pull down the structures of fear,
suspicion and hatred they have taken so long to
build. It can be done by the cooperation of the
unwashed multitude and new and more humanistic
thinking. It will need chaining the beast of
chauvinism by promoting a humanistic, inclusivist
and pluralist thinking among all South Asian
peoples. Militant chauvinisms are the mother of
all hate-promoting policies that result in
militarisation and produces local versions of
industrial-military complex.
Keep in mind that both Pakistan and India are in
a quagmire: neither can actually make truly
lasting peace - in which popular welfare replaces
national security as the first priority - nor go
to war. Insofar as the people are concerned, they
have in recent years shown that they want more
people-to-people contacts, a new politics and
governments that make human security and welfare
their top priority in which national security is
seen as requiring only defensive measures. They
would like to see Indo-Pak cooperative friendship
to become a base for regional cooperation and
integration. Let there be a shared and
peace-promoting greatness of all of South Asia.
It is an alluring prospect, unless you are, like
children, fascinated by swash buckling militaries
and their deadly toys.
Preference for peace and economic and cultural
progress of all individuals need not lead to
downgrading the difficulties, viz. the forces
sustaining today's animosities. Jingoistic
nationalisms have produced their own nemesis:
nuclear weapons. These destroy trust in a radical
manner. People talk of CBMs as a panacea. When
tension mounts between Islamabad and New Delhi,
both start repositioning troops and tanks rather
than to reassure the other side. No Indian
general can be unmindful of Pakistani nukes nor
any Pak Commander forgets that a Prithivi-mounted
weapon is at the ready. The basic military
assumption is: capability equals readiness to use
it. So long as the inherent mischief of nuclear
weapons is not fully taken care of, there can be
no stable peace in South Asia.
People say the same thing about Kashmir dispute.
It is true it is a tough problem. But atomic
weapons have made it insoluble by Pakistan or
India. So long as the two antagonists do not
resolve the nukes problem, Kashmir too will stay
intractable. Add to this the influence and
machinations of local versions of
industrial-military complex; they are a powerful
vested interest that flourishes in enmity and
tension. There are ideologues on both sides who
denigrate and ridicule the humanists and peace
lovers as starry-eyed Utopia seekers. This gentry
falls back on recent history's overhang of
sharpened Hindu-Muslim tensions. Purpose of the
'realists' is to ensure that nothing changes.
So what is to be made of the Natwar Singh-Qasuri
encounter? Good that they met. Better that they
propose to go on talking at various levels. Jaw
jaw is always better than bang bang. But beyond
it, it is the pie in the sky (tomorrow);
different committees are to sort out the
difficult problems. Not that one disbelieves
either Natwar Singh or Khurshid Qasuri. But
behind them are arrayed politicians (uniformed in
Qasuri's case), backed by fearsome bureaucracies.
The point is that today's snail-paced progress is
all that is available before it breaks down and
both sides will try again after a few years. The
mere fact that the FMs meetings ended on a Monday
but the joint statement was issued on Wednesday
shows how the respective backroom boys are
haggling over what to include or exclude or on
what spin to put. No substantial issue could be
clinched and this is not an accident.
But still, few things about results of Delhi
encounter need notice. Khokrapar-Munabao rail and
bus have still to be discussed, as is
Srinagar-Muzaffarabad link. Bombay and Karachi
Consulate Generals are still in the womb of
future. There is nothing about visa relaxation.
The two negotiators, and their backroom boys,
need to be told that until the common Indian or
Pakistani is not enabled to travel easily and
visit one another's homes nothing is achieved.
This is the touchstone for judging their
achievements. Common visitors are not to be
treated as suspects.
There was a three quarters of a promise that
journalists will be allowed free entry in India
while Pakistan merely mumbled, as SAFMA has been
demanding. The two Foreign Ministers had promised
to get it through after persuading their
respective Home Ministries - which in effect
means intelligence agencies. It is doubtful if
the spooks will be happy; they would stop all
non-official travel, if they can. It needs to be
repeated, with emphasis, that criterion of all
progress is how easily does the common Pakistani
or Indian visit the other country and how hassle
free are the formalities.
______
[4]
Daily Times - September 16, 2004
PEDDLING THE VEIL
by Razi Azmi
To suggest that modesty and morality have any
direct relationship to the veil is an insult to
the vast majority of women - Muslim and
non-Muslim - who choose not to veil themselves,
as well as to the overwhelming majority of men
who are not oglers and rapists
Two French hostages still remain in mortal danger
in Iraq because of the French government ban on
wearing the hijab (or any religious attire) in
public schools. While few Muslims support
violence to protest the French decision, a very
large number of them all over the world,
especially the West, are quite agitated over this
issue. The hijab and burqa are important to some
of them, and the ban is viewed as an act of
deliberate discrimination against Muslims.
After the announcement of the French ban earlier
this year, demonstrations were held across cities
in Western countries. In at least one such
demonstration, leaflets signed by Hizb-ut-Tahrir
-- containing "an open letter" to the French
president and another addressed to the local
French diplomatic mission -- were distributed.
Calling the prohibition "an act of injustice and
religious persecution", it warned that when the
Muslims will have "put an end to the western
hegemony over the Muslim lands [and] the Khilafah
will be re-established, ... that day, the Muslims
will bestow goodness upon those that displayed
good, and will account those who displayed
contempt". Only time will tell who accounts whom!
Meanwhile, many educated Pakistani Muslim women,
living both in the country and in the West, now
wear not just the hijab but the full-length
Taliban-style burqa. Some go around writing
articles and making statements and speeches about
its supposed liberating effect on them.
Yasmin Ataullah, a press officer for the Muslim
Association of Britain, wrote in The Guardian
(September 3) that "I feel more confident in my
hijab, projecting myself as a progressive Muslim
woman who has the courage to be true to her faith
while living and working in Britain. ... I now
feel an affinity with Muslims in London. ... I
merely exercise my rights in a free society by
choosing to wear the hijab". To Mohtarma Yasmin,
hijab "is a reflection of a woman's modesty".
Undoubtedly, for every Yasmin Ataullah there are
many more Muslim women who feel more confident --
and definitely more progressive -- without the
hijab or burqa. And if the hijab gives her a
greater sense of affinity with some Muslims in
London, it equally diminishes her affinity with
the more numerous non-veiled Muslim women in UK,
not to mention the non-Muslim population. It is a
pity that in a country that has so much to offer
in terms of social, economic, educational,
political and other choices, she can find no
better way of exercising her rights than by
wearing the hijab. It remains, after all, a
symbol of religious separatism frowned upon by
liberal-minded Muslims, officially discouraged in
some Muslim countries and banned in Turkish
schools, universities and government offices.
For Mohtarma Yasmin, "the secularist arguments
behind the hijab ban in France amount to nothing
more than a denial of freedoms of expression and
choice". Muslims are the greatest votaries of
freedom of expression and choice, of
multiculturalism and secularism in those
countries where they happen to be in a minority,
as in the West and in India, but are the
champions of Islamic hegemony wherever they are
in a majority. Only the most diehard will deny
that religious minorities get a very shoddy deal
in all Muslim countries, where they are allowed
to exist only at the sufferance of the Muslim
majority.
Saudi Arabia, for one, does not even make a
pretence of permitting religious freedom.
According to a US State Department report: "Saudi
Arabia is an Islamic monarchy without legal
protection for freedom of religion, and such
protection does not exist in practice. Islam is
the official religion, and the law requires that
all citizens be Muslims. The government prohibits
the public practice of non-Muslim religions. The
government recognises the right of non-Muslims to
worship in private; however, it does not always
respect this right in practice."
Writing on a respected Pakistani Islamic website
(www.tanzeem.org), Ayeza Nadeem goes even further
than Yasmin Ataullah: "As a Muslim woman I don't
want to have affairs which could lead to
adultery, bastards, divorces. ... The veil gives
a big 'no' signal to all those people who have
any kind of evil in their hearts. Firstly they
cannot see me, which keeps them away."
Mohtarma Ayeza will surely concede that hundreds
of millions of women around the world lead
perfectly normal family lives unaided by hijab or
burqa, neither committing adultery nor conceiving
bastards. Among those who are able to maintain
their propriety, modesty and chastity without
recourse to the veil are my wife, sisters,
sisters-in-law and many nieces, as also the wives
and daughters of my numerous Muslim and
non-Muslim friends, most of whom are a credit to
the female sex in their different ways. Indeed,
to suggest that the veil and modesty and morality
have any direct relationship is an insult to the
vast majority of women - Muslim and non-Muslim -
who choose not to veil themselves, as well as to
the overwhelming majority of men who are not
oglers and rapists.
Not to veil oneself is not an advertisement for
sex nor an invitation to rape, and the hijab or
burqa does not guarantee any kind of immunity
from immorality. One can even make a case that
the converse is true, that the greater the
attempt to put women behind the veil, the greater
the propensity of males to become peeping Toms,
voyeurs or worse. Since Zia's 'Islamisation' took
hold in Pakistan, there has been a huge increase
in rapes, gang rapes, rapes sanctioned by jirgas,
so-called honour killings, stripping of women in
public and other acts of violence against women.
Almost all of these crimes against women occur in
rural areas and small towns, where none of the
victims can be accused of dressing themselves
'immodestly'.
Much is made of the higher divorce rates in the
West compared to Muslim countries. This is due to
the economic independence enjoyed by women in the
West and the fact that no stigma attaches to a
divorced woman in a western society. It should
not escape notice that the divorce rate in
Pakistan is on the increase as women gain
education and jobs, and the resulting relative
economic independence and social acceptance of
divorce.
The link between the veil and Islam is tenuous at
best, as contended in many articles on these
pages and elsewhere. It is not exclusive to
Muslims, but can be found in many non-Muslim
societies, including India, the countries of the
Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe. Rather
than extend the independence of women, the veil
always was and still remains a vestige of male
domination. One understands the protectionist or
religious arguments in support of the veil. But
to try to ascribe a higher moral value to the
veil or to equate it with modesty is a bit
disingenuous and to claim that it liberates women
is a flight of fantasy.
The author, a former academic with a doctorate in
modern history, is now a freelance writer and
columnist
______
[5]
DEFEAT BJP FORUM
38/2 Probyn Road,University of Delhi
New Delhi-110007
Tel-27666253/26691162
somanshu at bol.net.in
madhuchopra at hotmail.com
6.9.2004
PRESS RELEASE
A group of University teachers and social
activists gathered under the banner of the BJP
Harao Manch/ Defeat BJP Forum, were prevented by
the police from proceeding to the RSS office at
Jhandewalan. The mass deputation was to submit
the attached Memorandum and a National Flag at
the office to register our protest against the
use of the tricolour by the RSS/BJP as an
instrument to terrorize sections of our people,
and as a cheap political tool by forces that have
never given due respect either to the `Tiranga',
or to the democratic Constitution of which it is
a potent symbol.
Police who grappled with the peaceful
processionists at Ajmeri Gate, claimed that they
could not march with the National Flag to the RSS
office because "goondas had been collected in the
office to beat them up". When asked why the large
police contingent could not protect the
processionists against the goondas, they had no
answer.
It is shameful that a group of citizens
exercising their democratic right to protest are
prevented from doing so. At the same time, the
RSS-BJP's shameful use of the National Flag for
petty political reasons and for spreading
communal tensions and disharmony is being
facilitated by the police force. They can gather
everyday at Hubli, Karnataka, and elsewhere, but
citizens concerned at this attack on
constitutional and secular democratic principles,
are denied the right to even voice their
rejection of this communal, fascist activity.
The Sangh Parivar, unable to accept the
humiliating defeat of the NDA combine in the
general elections, is resorting to increasing
desperate measures to keep its flock together and
somehow stay in the news. The unprecedented
disruption of Lok Sabha activities, intemperate
attacks against individuals political leaders
including the shocking description of the Prime
Minister as `uncivilised', and now the highly
provocative `tiranga' satyagraha.
These tactics have forced the university teachers
and social activists who had come together under
the banner of the Defeat BJP Forum before the
elections to retain this banner and continue to
expose the undemocratic and unconstitutional
conduct of forces that do not respect the
people's verdict.
Among those present were M.A. Jawed, O.K. Yadav,
Zahoor Siddiqui, Vijay Singh, Tripta Wahi, Madhu
Prasad, Raghubir Singh Kapur, Narender Kumar,
C.L. Nagar, B.P. Sharma.
M.A. Jawed; Madhu Prasad.
RSS: First Hoist the Tricolour at Jhandewalan Headquarters!
Today, when the nation has been independent for
57 years, the Sangh Parivar is set to launch
`Tiranga yatras' and Satyagrahas to defend the
honour of the flag and the nation.
Yet when the Indian people were involved in the
decades long struggle for freedom against British
imperialism, the RSS was conspicuous by its
absence in the struggle. When thousands of people
faced lathis, bullets and jail sentences for
hoisting the Tiranga and participated all over
the country in Satyagrahas during the Civil
Disobedience and Quit India movements against the
British Raj, the Sangh publicly took the stand
that it would not take part in the movement and
seldom missed the opportunity of assuring the
British rulers that they would keep to the right
side of colonial law and avoid any clash with the
authorities. Of course the reason given for this
was that the Sangh was secretly strengthening
itself and would take on British imperialism only
when it was strong enough to do so!
A similar duplicity has marked the statements and
actions of the RSS and its leaders throughout its
79-year old history. Nothing illustrates this
better than the Sangh's attitude to the national
flag.
In 1930, the Congress leadership first gave the
call for observing 26th January as Independence
Day. Unable to resist the popular mood, the RSS
instructed its shakas to hold rallies of
swayamsevaks "and worship the national flag, that
is, the Bhagwa Jhanda". The flag to be honoured
was not the Tiranga, which had been adopted by
the whole nation as the symbol of the freedom
struggle. Nor would the Sangh observe 26 January
as Independence Day again, although it became a
permanent feature of the national movement.
After Independence, it was again the Bhagwa
Jhanda and not the Tiranga that was hoisted and
honoured at the first major rally of the RSS held
at Ramlila Maidan on 7th December, 1947.
The only time the RSS gave any recognition at all
to the tricolour was in 1949 when the Government
of India made written allegiance to the
Constitution and the National Flag one of the
conditions for lifting the ban imposed on the
Sangh after the murder of Gandhiji. Article 5 of
the first written constitution of the RSS states:
"While recognizing the duty of every citizen to
be loyal to and to respect the State Flag, the
Sangh has as its flag, the 'Bhawa Dhwaj' - the
age-old symbol of Hindu culture." The usual
double-edged meaning of RSS statements is
unmistakeable. The Tiranga is termed the State
flag, not the National flag. And `while' it may
`recognize the duty of every citizen', the Sangh
still requires its members, "integral parts of
Hindu Rashtra" as the shakha prayer describes
them, to owe primary allegiance to the `Bhagwa
Dhwaj'.
Better late than never. If at last the RSS and
the Sangh Parivar are going to join the `national
mainstream' and salute and honour the tricolour,
then may we suggest that before any of their
leaders forcibly, and in violation of the law,
hoist the flag in Hubli or anywhere else again,
they immediately hoist it first on RSS
headquarters all over the country. To this end,
we are gifting the RSS a flag to fly above their
headquarters at Jhandewalan.
DEFEAT BJP FORUM
A platform of university teachers, writers and social activists
Published by the Defeat BJP Forum and printed at
Printing Service Corporation, New Delhi
DEFEAT BJP FORUM
38/2 Probyn Road,University of Delhi
New Delhi-110007
Tel-27666253/26691162
somanshu at bol.net.in/
madhuchopra at hotmail.com
6.9.2004
Press Release
The Sangh Parivar, still unable to accept the
humiliating defeat of the NDA combine in the
general elections, is resorting to increasing
desperate measures to keep its flock together and
somehow stay in the news. The unprecedented
disruption of Lok Sabha activities, intemperate
attacks against individuals political leaders
including the shocking description of the Prime
Minister as `uncivilised', and now the highly
provocative `tiranga' satyagraha.
These tactics have forced the university
teachers, writers and social activists who had
come together under the banner of the Defeat BJP
Forum for the elections to retain this banner and
continue to expose the undemocratic and
unconstitutional conduct of forces that do not
respect the people's verdict.
A mass deputation is proceeding to the RSS office
in Jhandewalan, New Delhi to submit the following
Memorandum and a National Flag to register our
protest against the use of the tricolour as an
instrument to terrorize sections of our people,
and as a cheap political tool by forces that have
never given due respect either to the Tiranga, or
to the democratic Constitution of which it is a
potent symbol.
M.A. Jawed
Madhu Prasad
______
[6] [BOOK LAUNCH]
Oxford University Press cordially invites you to the launching of "Eqbal
Ahmed: Between Past and Future, Selected Essays on South Asia".
The invitation, and program details, are contained in the attachments with
this email. Please come, and pass on this invitation (by email as well) to
others who might wish to attend. For your convenience, the times and
places are repeated below:
ISLAMABAD: Friday, 17 September 2004 at 6:00pm, at the National Library of
Pakistan, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad.
LAHORE: Saturday, 18th September 2004 at 4:30pm, at the Holiday Inn, 25/26
Egerton Road, Lahore.
KARACHI: Thursday, 23 September 2004 at 5:30pm, at the Beach Luxury Hotel,
M.T.Khan Road, Karachi.
______
[7] [FILM SCREENINGS]
Anhad celebrates the spirit of free expression with films for freedom
A month long film festival
Venue : Anhad 4 Windsor Place Opp. Kanishka Hotel,
New Delhi - 110001
Time - 630 PM
Sep 18 2004 : The Men In The Tree (98min) by Lallit Vachani
In 1993, Vachani completed The Boy in the Branch,
about the indoctrination of young Hindu boys by
a branch of the RSS. Eight years later, Vachani
revisitedthe subjects of his earlier film, to
explore the rise of the RSS and its Hindutva
ideology.
Sep 25 2004 : Aakrosh by Rakesh Pimple
A first film on Gujarat genocide 2002, gives
brief account of survivors plight, anguish,
helplessness and sorrows of riots victims.
Open For All
Anhad 4, Windsor Place, New Delhi-110001 Tel- 23327366/ 23327367
______
[8]
ALL INDIA WORKSHOP ON HUMANISM IN THE AGE OF RISING GLOBAL FUNDAMENTALISM
On December 17th and 18th, 2004
At Centre for the Study of Social Change
M N Roy Human Development Campus, F Block, Plot No. 6
Opp. Govt. Colony Bldg. No. 326, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400051
Registration fee : Rs.200/-
All rationalists, humanists, grassroots workers and academicians are invited
Sangeeta Mall
Managing Editor, The Radical Humanist,
2A, Regency Park, Edenwoods, Thane 400601, Bombay, India
______
[9]
Aar Paar 3 : CALL FOR ENTRIES Aar Paar 2004
is a public art project between artists in India
and Pakistan.
Artists are invited to submit short films or
video works no longer than 4 minutes.
Fifteen entries will be selected by a Jury of artists and film makers.
The selected works will be projected in open air
public spaces as well as educational institutes
in Mumbai and Lahore, between November 2004 to
January 2005.
For more information on AAR PAAR 2000 and 2002, view url www.aarpaar.net
Please Note - Last date for confirmation of
participation: September 27, 2004 - Last date for
submission of works: October 31, 2004 - Format
for submission: mini DV/ DV tapes or DVD / copies
n Pal format - Entries will not be returned.
All submissions must enclose the following
information: Name and contact details of Artist.
Title of Work
Date of Production
Brief synopsis of the work 2 stills from the
work. Entries must be mailed to one of the
following addresses: Shilpa Gupta: 2nd Floor,
Premesh, 6 B Turner Road, Premesh, Bandra West
Mumbai 400050, India Tel: (91-22)
26427721/26414745
Huma Mulji: 1st Floor, 32, off Zafar Ali Road,
Gulberg V, Lahore 54400, Pakistan Tel: (92-42)
5764287/ 5718261 (ext.803)
_____
[10]
LARZISH, tremors of a revolutionŠ
International Film Festival of Sexuality and Gender Plurality, India
larzish_india at yahoo.com
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Larzish!
We are pleased to inform you that 'LarzishŠ
tremors of a revolution', 2nd International Film
Festival of Sexuality and Gender Plurality, India
will be held in Bombay from the 4th - 7th of
November 2004.
In the recent past the debates around sexuality
and gender unfolding in the country are beginning
to resonate with the experiences of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transsexual peoples and communities
fighting for rights while challenging
hetero-normativity. Emerging articulations
exploring connections and tensions around gender
and sexual expression, identity, state
repression, nationalism and the market in ways
that destabilize notions of self and society are
opening up spaces for imagining a humane world
where all genders and sexualities would be
respected and treated equally.
This year the festival showcases 80 films from
different parts of the world. The festival also
includes presentations, talks and panel
discussions to support the film screenings. We
are very interested in understanding the various
complexities of indigenous identities emerging
from India as well as look at how these ideas are
being represented, dealt with & being understood
in other parts of the world.
Festival highlights include:
* A retrospective of films and talk + Q&A
sessions with filmmaker, cultural theorist and
feminist activist Pratibha Parmar, who has been
involved in radical art practices since the early
80's in the UK. A filmmaker of Indian origin, her
work covers a vast plethora of issues including
homosexuality, racism, disability, HIV/AIDS &
diasporic culture.
* Disciplining Bhupen: Sexual Transgressions And
Normative Visualities - A presentation by art
historian Parul Dave Mukherjee on noted Indian
artist, late Bhupen Khakhar.
*A panel discussion on Marriage, Family &
Community with Rohini Hensman, Anu Mattew, Mary
John & Rinchin as panelists
* A panel discussion on Appearances & Identity
with Kajol, Maya Sharma, Satya & Shohini Ghosh as
panelists.
Please consider this as a formal invitation to
attend Larzish. We look forward to having you
here with us. More details about the film
festival will be put up on our web site. We will
inform you of the same very soon. If you have any
queries, please feel free to contact us on
larzish_india at yahoo.com
Warm Regards,
Natasha, Tejal & Shital
(On behalf of Larzish)
Please Note:
*This is a private not for profit event.
*Entry against valid invitation passes only.
*Rights of admission reserved with organisers at all times.
*The above program is subject to change without prior notice.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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/
SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
Sister initiatives :
South Asia Counter Information Project : snipurl.com/sacip
South Asians Against Nukes: www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
Communalism Watch: communalism.blogspot.com/
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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