SACW | 18 Sep 2004
sacw
aiindex at mnet.fr
Fri Sep 17 22:01:51 CDT 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire | 18 September, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[Our E-mailers under the name South Asia Citizens
Wire have now completed their continuous sixth
year of publication, earlier this month
(individual non digest postings from SACW started
two years earlier, in 1996) ! ]
=======
[1] Peace, Justice and Democracy in Sri Lanka (Asoka Bandarage)
[2] India: The Savarkarist syntax (Anil Nauriya)
[3] India: Noncensus! (Balvinder)
[4] India: Census Figures and BJP'S Anti-Minorityism (Asghar Ali Engineer)
[5] India: Census Controversy - A Letter to
India's Prime Minister from the Women's Center in
Bombay
[6] India: Film/CD Review of the Anhad CD's:
Revisiting the 'Secular' Ideal (S Irfan Habib)
[7] Religions or labels? / "Hindu Forces" and
Hindus - Two Letters (Mukul Dube)
[8] Upcoming Lectures, Seminars . . .
- USA: Lecture on Minority Rights in a Secular
State: The Case of India (Chicago, September 22)
- India: Seminar on: Education for Secular Democracy (New Delhi, September 29)
- USA: A Conversation [re India -Pakistan] "Civil
Society Working for Disarmament" (San Diego,
October 21)
--------------
[1]
PEACE, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY IN SRI LANKA
By Prof. Asoka Bandarage
(Text of speech given at the World Alliance for
Peace in Sri Lanka Conference, Oslo Norway,
August 20, 2004)
Practically everyone in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka's
friends abroad desire peace and want the cease
fire to hold. There is a consensus that the
solution does not lie in a return to armed
conflict. Yet, at the same time, the vast
majority of the people in the country, Sinhalese,
Tamil and Muslim, do not want appeasement of
terrorism in the name of peace. They want a
sustainable peace, a peace that upholds human
rights, social justice, political pluralism and
democracy.
Mass discontent with the handling of the peace
process was a primary reason for the defeat of
the previous UNP led UNF coalition at the April 2
elections in Sri Lanka. The peace-at-any-cost
approach, the partiality of the Norwegian
facilitators towards the LTTE and growing threats
to the country's security and sovereignty were
some of the reasons for the opposition to the
previous government.
The SLFP led UPFA coalition which came to power
at the April elections promised to make the peace
process transparent and to fine tune the role of
the facilitator. The SLFP, like its coalition
partner, the JVP, rejected the LTTE's claim to be
the 'sole representative' of Tamils as an
undemocratic premise and its ISGA proposal as a
blue print for a separate state. The Sri Lankan
President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, even talked of
sending the Norwegian facilitators back home
given the public's loss of faith in their
neutrality.
[...]
We need the support of the influential Sri Lankan
Diaspora and the international community to
strengthen the emerging international platform
for peace and democracy in Sri Lanka . The Sri
Lankan Diaspora that has helped perpetuate the
conflict must make a positive international
contribution to the resolution of the conflict,
instead. Expatriates can help by engaging in
dialogue within and across the ethnic and
religious communities. Instead of promoting the
messages of hate and enmity, or sending
hard-earned money to buy weapons to continue the
killing machine, they can help create a new
analyses and messages for peace and democracy.
They can send money for alternative economic
opportunities for the poor and ensure that the
children have a future.
The international community, the donors and the
Norwegian facilitators in particular must
pressure all parties to the Sri Lankan conflict
to abide by the rule of law and the international
covenants against the conscription of child
soldiers, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other relevant instruments. The LTTE
must be required to uphold paragraph 18 of the
Tokyo Declaration which was signed by 51
countries and 22 international organizations as
part of the Sri Lankan peace process. This
paragraph was introduced to ensure the
protection of human rights of all people, the
termination of child recruitment, balanced and
verifiable de-escalation, demilitarization and
normalization necessary to arrive at a political
settlement.
Norway is considered to be a leading democratic
and liberal country in the world. We need the
Norwegian media, academic and NGO communities to
make their officials facilitating the Sri Lankan
peace process accountable. We need Norway to play
their rightful role rather than capitulating to
terrorist threats. They must be required to
uphold the norms of neutrality expected of a
third party facilitator. If the Norwegian
facilitators take a strong and principled stance
in the enforcement of the Tokyo principles, then,
there is a chance that the LTTE could also be
influenced to change their ways and enter the
democratic process. The LTTE is a misguided
organization; but, if the human potential and
great talents represented by that organization
can be put to positive use, Sri Lanka and the
world at large would undoubtedly be safer and
more peaceful.
[...].
[FULL TEXT AT URL: www.sacw.net/peace/bandarage20082004.html ]
______
[2]
The Hindu - September 18, 2004 | Opinion - Leader Page Articles
THE SAVARKARIST SYNTAX
by Anil Nauriya
A great danger lurks in presenting Savarkarism
merely as a matter of being "different" from
Gandhism.
UNDERLYING THE glorification of Savarkarism by
the BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena are changes in the nature
and objectives of the major political parties,
the cynicism induced by the growing nexus between
crime and politics, and the collapse of a compact
that had facilitated post-independence politics.
The first principle of Savarkarism defines the
nation on the basis of religious community. This
is reflected in Savarkar's declaration on August
15, 1943: "I have no quarrel with Mr. Jinnah's
two-nation theory. We Hindus are a nation by
ourselves and it is a historical fact that Hindus
and Muslims are two nations" (Indian Annual
Register, 1943, Vol. 2, p. 10).
The second Savarkarist principle condones killing
to make religious community-related points. The
German versus Jew analogy is made in Savarkar's
writings when speaking of his notion of the Hindu
nation and those outside it. The killer aspect of
Savarkarism is noted by Sardar Patel. In his
February 27, 1948 letter to Nehru, Patel held the
fanatical wing of the Hindu Mahasabha under
Savarkar responsible for assassinating Gandhi.
The same trigger-happiness was evident in the
Gujarat carnage (2002) and its aftermath. Whether
a murder may be treated as a crime seems to
depend, for Savarkarism, upon the self-perceived
religious community interests of the killer.
A third key principle of Savarkarism is an
extension of Savarkar's mercy petitions affirming
loyalty to the imperial regime and effectively
ending his career as a freedom fighter. The Raj
had scotched the violent or "terrorist" movement
and loyalty was seen by Savarkar as an exit
policy. This approach finds contemporary
resonance in the previous Government's excessive
deference to the United States. This deference
was reflected, for instance, in the serious
consideration given to the despatch of Indian
troops to Iraq. The Anglocentric world is more
comfortable with this ideology, whatever it may
say about the Gujarat killings, than with the
India of Gandhi and Nehru. The colonial rulers
had tilted towards the Pakistan movement for
precisely the same reason.
Such features make Savarkarism attractive to the
BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena, although these organisations
now make loud claims of Savarkar's alleged
rationalism. The claims to rationality also need
scrutiny, considering stark contrarieties like
Savarkar's support for the two nation theory
while seeking to disclaim responsibility for
partition, support for Shuddhi combined with an
advertised atheism, and mercy-seeking accompanied
with valour and militancy claims. Savarkar's
exclusion of Christians and Muslims from his
definition of nation is acknowledged in
contemporaneous Hindu Mahasabha publications [eg.
Veer Savarkar's `Whirl-wind Propaganda', A. S.
Bhide (ed.), Bombay, 1941].
After Gandhi's murder there was an implicit
compact on the basis of which politics was
conducted. This was that while the Government
would not be vindictive, there would be no
glorification of the politics of assassination
promoted by Savarkarism. Even the Hindu-specific
parties, realising a political, whilst denying a
legal, responsibility for the enormity, refrained
for several decades from publicly eulogising
Savarkar although they did not abandon their
Hindu Rashtra objectives. The approver's evidence
was politically reprobatory, whatever tortuous
course the law took.
The Trial Court Record and the Kapur Commission
of the Sixties indicate also that the Government
had additional material. Morarji Desai, then
Bombay's Home Minister, was asked in the trial by
Savarkar's lawyer about his reasons for directing
"a close watch on Savarkar's house and his
movements" after the bomb incident 10 days before
the murder. Desai countered: "Shall I give my
reasons? It is for Savarkar to decide whether I
should answer. I am prepared to give my reasons."
Upon this, Savarkar's lawyer said: "I withdraw my
question". [See J.C. Jain, The Murder of Mahatma
Gandhi: Prelude and Aftermath, Chetana Ltd,
Bombay, 1961, p. 104]. Savarkar personally gave
an assurance to the Police Commissioner of Bombay
on February 22, 1948 of non-participation in
politics if "released on that condition." [For
text see K.L. Gauba, Assassination of Mahatma
Gandhi, Jaico, Bombay, 1969, pp 208-9] By
introducing Savarkar's portrait in Parliament's
Central Hall in February 2003 the NDA Government,
egged on by the Advani faction, destroyed a
55-year old political compact.
The Savarkar debate has furnished insights into
the changes in the Congress, the BJP and within
the media in the last few decades. Even within
Maharashtra, the pre-independence Congress, which
included the Socialist tradition, had strongly
resisted Savarkarism. The battle was joined soon
after the Savarkarite faction took control of the
Hindu Mahasabha in 1937-38. The May Day march in
1938 was attacked by the Mahasabha in Pune.
The socialist leader N.G. Goray wrote: "Who
attacked the May Day procession? Who assaulted
men like Senapati Bapat and [Gajanan] Kanitkar?
Who tore up the National Flag? The Hindu
Mahasabhaites and the Hedgewar Boys did all
this.... They have been taught to hate the
Muslims in general as Public Enemy Number 1, to
hate the Congress and its flag which is
pro-Muslim, to hate socialists and communists who
are anti-Hinduism.... They have their own flag,
`the Bhagwa', the symbol of Maratha Supremacy.
And their leader is called `Rashtra Dhureen', i.e
Fuehrer!" (Congress Socialist, May 14, 1938).
Savarkar's politics came in for severe criticism
in Maharashtra. Bapat sharply criticised Savarkar
for his slogan "Hindustan Hindu ka..." on August
22, 1944. Although some have repeated the
Hindutva line of Savarkar's unquestioned iconic
status in Maharashtra, it was not accidental that
there was no Savarkar portrait in the State
Assembly until after one was placed in the
Central Hall of Parliament in 2003.
Congress defensiveness in the face of
BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena tactics reflects internal
changes since 1969 and particularly since the
Emergency years (1975-77) when the RSS and the
hoodlums in the Youth Congress found
convergences. As a part-consequence many Congress
men and women now have little knowledge of or
respect for their own legacy. Some former RSS
members attained important positions within the
Congress particularly after 1971. One former RSS
figure from Maharashtra was Indira Gandhi's
Cabinet Minister. In contrast, the BJP would
reserve such positions for key ideologues. The
Congress has been as ready to shield some of its
members from responsibility in the anti-Sikh
riots of 1984 as it has been to compromise on the
BJP's and Uma Bharati's alleged responsibility in
the Hubli case. The Karnataka unit is being
criticised within the Congress for so much as
setting out some facts in a newspaper
advertisement.
The BJP's internal changes are of a different
order. During 1974-84, approximately the period
of its transmutation from the Jan Sangh, this
group had begun to transit from Hindu nationalism
to Indian nationalism. This dynamic was reversed
by the Advani group with ideas of State and
nation derived apparently from Savarkar. The
Hawala case setback to the Advani group
necessitated a return to Vajpayee. That served
also, accidentally or otherwise, certain
coalitional purposes. The Advani faction's
politics now seeks reassertion of dominance.
The BJP's transformations may be compared in part
with those in the Hindu Mahasabha during 1937-38
when control passed from Pandit Malaviya to
Savarkar. The Gujarat killings (2002), the
ensuing cover-up, the distribution of trident
knives in Rajasthan, and the hold-up of
Parliament reflect this process. Media
management, even after the NDA Government
demitted power, remains an integral, if little
studied, part of this struggle. Typically, the
Uma Bharti reportage was often economical with
the facts of the Hubli case, just as
trident-knives were distributed in Rajasthan
without the media pressing for BJP
accountability, and Savarkarism was often
discussed in the absence of vital facts or by
trivialising them.
A newspaper associated with a house that had
supported Gandhi's constructive work programme
and the freedom movement editorialised: "Let Our
Icons Be." Later there was some recognition of
the real issues. But one observer may not have
been surprised at the initial nonchalance. Alan
Campbell-Johnson joined a lunch at Birla House a
week after Gandhi's assassination. Describing the
experience as "almost eerie," he wrote of the
conversation: "All this accent on brokerage I
found in strange contrast to the scenes and
sentiments in these very rooms a week ago."
(Campbell-Johnson, Mission With Mountbatten, New
York, 1985, p. 284).
A great danger lurks in anaesthesia
administration to the nation by a media so
unreflective as to present Savarkarism merely as
a matter of being "different" from Gandhi, and
fearful to the point that even in its electronic
puppetry it lampoons Manmohan, Laloo, and
Vajpayee but never Advani.
______
[3]
The Hindustan Times - September 18, 2004 | edit Page
NONCENSUS!
Balvinder
We, the people of the 21st century, claim to be
the most advanced and civilised people in
history. Sounds very good, but it's all bunkum.
We, as Indians, brand our nation to be one of the
most secular nations in the world. Bunkum again.
For I can't still figure out why we conducted a
'religion-based' census.
Well, there's, of course, the political reason -
as became evident immediately after the census
data was released in the form of statements of
acute worry from a number of zealots in
politicians' clothes. That didn't bother me too
much.
My worry is of an entirely different nature.
Though a sort of non-believer, being the
offspring of Sikh parents, I am a Sikh by birth.
I'm not, however, as devout a Sikh as my
Partition-patented 'refugee' parents were. Since
I trim my beard, my many 'sanctified'
acquaintances call me a 'patit' (lapsed) Sikh.
Because of my artistic bent of mind, I always get
attracted to any religious symbol I find visually
pleasing or exciting. Thus, I have been
collecting and keeping in my home various holy
icons that belong to 'other' religions, Hindu and
Christian in particular. However, this certainly
makes many of my friends quite uncomfortable.
On top of it, members of my family, like many
other 'born-Sikhs', don't have their names on the
voters list of the SGPC that periodically holds
elections to choose its office bearers. So I am
rather anxious to know in which category of
religion my family and I were marked in this
rather elaborate religion-based census!
I am sure that I'm not alone in my predicament.
And I am doubly sure that all those counted
during this census must have been 'allotted' one
religion or the other against their names.
It is another matter that most of them, like
myself, might not be practising the 'allotted'
faith of their birth. Then there are all those
who are either atheists or belong to varied
multi-religious faiths. Which crack in the census
did they fall into?
In any case, in this day and age - especially
with every Tom, Dick and Hari seeing a communal
slur when there is none - is there any need to
categorise Indians on the basis of their
religious faiths?
______
[4]
(Secular Perspective September 16-30, 2004)
CENSUS FIGURES AND BJP'S ANTI-MINORITYISM
by Asghar Ali Engineer
The Government of India has at last made public
the population figures of 2001 census after delay
of several years. Now we know that this was
delayed by the BJP-led government on account of
Loksabha elections. Whatever the reason the
population figures and particularly the growth of
Muslim population has caused great deal of
controversy as expected.
The census commissioner Mr. Banthya either
deliberately or otherwise caused sensation by not
disclosing that the Muslim population figures do
not take into account the fact that there was no
census in Assam in 1981 and in Kashmir in 1991
due to ethnic turmoil. Had this been disclosed
the Sangh Parivar would not have had another
chance at Muslim bashing. Since the BJP does not
want to miss any chance to bash Indian Muslims
and moreover there are elections in Maharashtra,
it jumped at this 'opportunity' to create
anti-Muslim feelings. The BJP has yet to overcome
the shock of its defeat in Loksabha elections.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the BJP president immediately
issued a statement condemning an usual growth of
Muslim population. He said that differential
growth rates for Hindu and Muslim populations in
India are a matter of grave concern for those
bothered about India's unity and integrity. The
"imbalance", he suggested, raises "serious
questions of a long term nature" when seen in
connection with the phenomenon of Bangladeshi
infiltrators.
BJP’s anti-Muslim feelings are so strong that
they had no patience even to wait for a day to
find out the truth of population figures and the
goof up by the census commissioner. Also without
any verification whatsoever, he invoked their
another pet issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators.
The fact was that both the growth of Hindu and
Muslim population has slowed down which is a
welcome sign. Apart from other reasons the reason
for differential rate of growth is that several
of the communities like Kabirpanthis, Prannathis,
Ramkrishna Mission followers etc. who refuse to
enlist themselves as Hindus in the census report
but otherwise perceived as Hindus. This can make
quite a difference as far as differential growth
of population is concerned.
It is also not generally known that in some
states, according to 1988 data the family
planning rate among Muslims is higher than that
of Hindus as the literacy rate among Muslim women
and their economic status is better than their
Hindu counterpart. Thus in 15 states the family
planning among Muslims is higher than that of
Hindus in U.P. In U.P. the family planning
figures among Hindus was, according to statistics
compiled in 1988, lesser than those of Muslims in
15 states.
In U.P. the acceptors of family planning among
Hindus in Bihar and Rajasthan are 29.4, 32.6 and
30.9 percent respectively. Among Muslims, on the
other hand, acceptors of family planning were
Kerala (64.4%), Andhra Pradesh (51.1%),
Chandigarh (35.8%), Delhi(53.8%), Goa (46.1%),
Gujarat (49%), Jammu and Kashmir (35%), Karnataka
( 34.4%), Madhya Pradesh (39.6%), Maharashtra
(45.8%), N. E. States (33%), Orissa (44%),
Pondichery (77%), Tamil Nadu (56.6%) and West
Bengal 42.2%). Of course in U.P. and Bihar the
family planning acceptance among Muslims is as
low as 18.1 and 14. percent respectively.
Thus it can be seen that religion is not the only
criterion as the Sangh Parivar thinks. There are
several other factors which impinge on acceptance
or otherwise of family planning. Had religion
been the only factor than Muslims in the 15
states as mentioned above, would not have
accepted family planning in larger proportion
than that of Hindus.
Also Bangladesh and Iran which are Muslim
countries would not have taken lead in making
family planning much greater success than that of
India. In Bangla Desh the rate of growth of
population has come down from 6.1 in 1980 to 2.9
percent. India's fertility rate declines in the
same period from 5.0 to 2.9 percent. Thus
Bangladesh Muslims have reduced fertility much
faster than that of Hindus in India. In Iran the
fertility rate is just two per woman amounting to
zero population growth.
It is not correct to say that Islam comes in the
way of family planning. There is no clear
injunction in the Qur’an against family planning.
The Holy Prophet himself permitted what is called
'azl' i.e. coitus interruptus which was the only
method then known for prevention of conception.
Imam Ghazzali, a great Islamic thinker of 12th
century has even permitted abortion up to third
month (before life begins in the foetus according
to the Qur’an) in case if mother's health or life
is in danger.
Similarly Maulana Abdulaziz, an Islamic scholar
of 18th century India and son of celebrated
Islamic thinker Shah Waliyullah also permitted
'azl and abortion on similar grounds. The grand
Mufti of al-Azhar in Egypt Shaltut bin Shaltut
also approved of family planning. Imam Shafi'i
while commenting on the verse 4:3 of the Qur’an
recommends small family as large family is likely
to become burden on man. And now even Muslim
Personal Law Board has declared its intention to
promote family planning among Muslims on the
pattern of Iran which has reached the goal of
zero growth in population.
In view of all this evidence it is difficult to
maintain that Islam categorically opposes family
planning. It is true that there are different
opinions and some 'ulama oppose family planning'
particularly those rooted in old tradition and
closer to poorer and illiterate Muslims. This
should also be noted that religious teaching,
even if opposed to family planning, is not the
only consideration in human behaviour. Human
behaviour is too complex to be reduced only to
religious teachings.
In fact religious teaching may be only one among
many other considerations, particularly of
socio-economic nature. Economic and educational
factors play an important role in fertility
behaviour, among others. That is why in states
like Pondichery and Kerala where female literacy
rate among Muslims is higher and women are more
independent, family planning acceptance is much
higher compared to other states where female
literacy rate is comparatively low among Muslims.
There are other factors as well like widow
re-marriage. This has been acknowledged by
demographers. Also, male-female ratio among
Muslims is comparatively higher i.e. there are
936 female per thousand compared to 931 female
per thousand male among Hindus. And among
children up to 6 this ratio is 950 girls per
thousand boys among Muslims and only 925 for
Hindus. Mr. Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar
explains it thus: "Female infanticide and
foeticide reduces population indirectly as well
as directly. Even after contraception lowers the
total fertility rate (lifetime births per woman),
population growth can be rapid for two decades
because of what demographers call population
momentum: future mothers have already been born.
But female infanticide and foeticide ensure that
future mothers are not born, and so reduce
population momentum." (See TOI of 12/9/04).
According to Mr. Aiyar this is part of the reason
for falling Hindu population growth, but not
something the Hindus should boast about.
Thus there are several factors to be taken into
account for understanding the dynamics of
population growth in any community and for
devising remedial measures. Communalists, more
often than not, always bring religion into focus
ignoring very vital factors as their primary
obsession is with denunciation of a religious
community. The BJP better take these factors into
account if they really care for the country
rather than the narrow interests of a section of
the majority community.
The literacy rate among the Muslims according to
the census figures is lowest on all India level
i.e. around 59.1 per cent whereas among Hindus it
is 65.1 percent for those above 7 years of age.
The gap of course is only of 6 per cent, not too
wide. In fact matter is more complex than it
appears. As in case of family planning the rate
of literacy among Muslims in 15 states and Union
Territories is more than 70 per cent. It is also
to be noted that in Jharkhand, Orissa,
Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Daman and Diu, Dadra
and Nagar Haveli, Tamil Nadu, Pondichery and
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Muslims are doing
better than Hindus. In Chattisgarh, the Muslims
are ahead by 17 percentage points.
All these fact have to be taken into account.
Like that of family planning this myth also needs
to be shattered that Muslims do not take to
modern secular education per se. There is
increasing trend among Muslims both for family
planning and for modern secular education. One
should not take static view of situation as many
scholars do and particularly those who are
inclined to the Sangh Parivar. In secular India
Muslims, despite many difficulties, also have
greater opportunities as there are lesser
constraints and more freedom from orthodox point
of view.
Post-Babri demolition riots Muslim outlook has
changed greatly and they have realised that
emotional issues and confrontationist politics
will take them nowhere and it is only modern
education and economic progress which will ensure
better future for them. Whatever figures are
available point to the fact that trend for modern
education is progressively increasing. What lacks
are economic means rather than any traditional
obstacle for modern education. One has to work
hard to provide such opportunities to poor
Muslims. Partly it is for the government and
partly for Muslim leadership to create
opportunities for education and economic uplift
of Muslims.
And the RSS propaganda that Muslims will overtake
Hindus by 2050 should be dismissed with the
contempt it deserves. No serious demographer will
buy it.
(Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai:- 400 055
Website:- www.csss-isla.com )
______
[5] [ Letter to India's Prime Minister from the Women's Center in Bombay]
September 14th, 2004
To: The Prime Minister of India,
Shri Manmohan Singh.
From: 'The Women's Centre, Bombay - a space for Women'
104B, Sunrise apts; Nehru Rd; Vakola,
Santacruz (E), Mumbai-55, Maharashtra
Sir,
We, as an institution from the Autonomous Women's
Groups in this country for nearly a quarter
century, and member of networks of this movement,
condemn the communal sensationalisation of the
2001 census data recently.
It seems to us that there has been a great deal
of recklessness on the part of the census
authorities and the media. The Registrar General
released data that said that the Muslim
population in India is growing at a greater rate
than the previous decade, at 36%, when the actual
figure is 29%, a fall from the previous 33%.
Religion-based population figures and growth
rates have long been misused by those who seek
electoral victory on the basis of hate politics
in India. This time too, in response to recent
electoral losses and in anticipation of gains in
the coming assembly elections, the census data
has been misrepresented and a fear psychosis
about extinction has been created among sections
of the population.
Well before the release of the '2001 Census data
on Religion' on the 6th of September, on 20th
July, there were reports that the Shiv Sena had
presented 'Jagrook Hindu' awards to ten people in
Bijnor, U.P., for being Hindus and having
produced five or more children. In the light of
these awards, first announced on World Population
Day, the release of 'erroneous' data on
comparative growth rates among various religions,
gives room for doubt whether the 'errors' too
were not part of the July campaign.
Majoritarian politicians who have survived
entirely on divisive propaganda have already sown
the seeds of fear and loathing, from Bangalore to
UP, based on these 'errors'. Later corrections
may not have such wide currency and may not
repair the damage that has been done to the
democratic ethos and sentiments of the people.
Such campaigns have time and again resulted in
carnages and genocides, especially of the Muslim
community. The horror of Gujarat 2002 and the
extreme sexual atrocities suffered by Muslim
women there, are still fresh in our memories.
We ask that the Prime Minister and the U.P.A.
govt. take sufficient measures to repair the
damage.
- Penalize those who are responsible for the release of the misleading data.
- Publicise the truth in popular media, in all languages, immediately.
We are determined that India shall survive as a Democracy at the very least.
Sir, debates in the past few days have also
clarified the greater influence of uneven
regional social development indicators, rather
than religion, on reproductive rates. Population
rates have fallen across communities with better
social development indicators. In the light of
this, we condemn also the 'policy' decision of
the BJP to implement the 2 child norm in states
'ruled' by the party. We condemn this in other
states as well. Experience has shown us that
communal targetting, unfair use of
incentives/disincentives (eg forcing school
teachers and temporary women employees of
government programmes to fulfil targets), or even
direct coercion by state machinary can and will
be used to implement such policies. Improvement
of women's rights and freedoms and overall
improvement in access to basic services and
rights for the poor will act as better
contraceptives than such measures which may be
undemocratic.
* We urge you to review the clause in the CMP
that talks about implementing the 2 child norm in
150 high fertility districts and to consult
women's rights groups about this.
Sincerely,
Ammu Abraham for the Women's Centre, Bombay.
______
[6]
The Economic and Political Weekly
September 4, 2004
Book Review
Revisiting the 'Secular' Ideal
In Defence of Our Dreams,
12 CDs of Lectures and Documentary Films,
produced by Gauhar Raza for ANHAD,
New Delhi, 2004;
Rs 1,000.
S Irfan Habib
The unprecedented defeat of the fascist forces in
India led to euphoric celebrations all over the world.
The much-hyped ‘India Shining’ and ‘Feel Good’
campaign had camouflaged reality. The hysterical rise
and fall of the sensex gave us an idea as to whose
India had been shining during all those six years. I
have nothing against the corporate world but it should
not be seen as the only barometer of people’s
happiness and progress. This verdict is not only
against their anti-people economic policies but also
against the narrow jingoistic agenda, which the NDA
government pursued relentlessly, albeit
surreptitiously, through the RSS and its cohorts. The
pluralist vision of India, almost a sacred legacy of
our freedom struggle was pooh-poohed by the Sangh
ideologues, led from the front by none other than the
honourable HRD minister M M Joshi himself. The Gujarat
experiment could be seen as the ugly manifestation of
this organised campaign to kill the much-cherished
multicultural and multireligious vision of India.
However, quite a few attempts were made to defend this
pernicious legacy during the six years of BJP rule.
These attempts, mostly from socially conscious NGOs,
used varied methods to counter the state-sponsored
distortion of the Indian past. One such major attempt
was made by ANHAD, when it decided to rope in
important activists, historians and media personnel to
delve into the Indian past, and defend the great
liberal, democratic and secular heritage of India’s
freedom struggle. All this has been presented in the
form of a set of 12 CDs called In Defence of Our
Dreams, which includes lectures by prominent scholars,
media persons, and activists like Bipan Chandra, K N
Panikkar, K M Shrimali, Mridula Mukherjee, Rajdeep
Sardesai, Praful Bidwai, Nivedita Menon, Digant Oza, S
K Thorat, Mihir Desai, Harsh Mandar, Pralay Qanungo
and Sohail Hashmi, four documentary films by Gauhar
Raza, Rakesh Sharma and Saeed Mirza and an audio CD of
progressive movement songs.
Before getting on to the content of this package, let
me refer briefly to the context of this effort. During
the past few years, and particularly during the last
six years of the NDA rule, we have witnessed violence
at two levels – physical and in the realm of ideas.
The healing of wounds from the former can be attempted
through various means and as they say time is the
greatest healer, though I do not mean to undermine the
pain of those who actually experience it. But violence
in the realm of ideas cannot be repaired easily; even
time fails to refurbish the damage.
The communalisation of our polity, education and
culture, including the mischievous distortion of our
past, is a serious injury to the body politic of our
nation and the wounds will continue to fester. But the
damage cannot be repaired merely through state
intervention, it needs a concerted effort from all
those socially conscious NGOs who had played a
significant role in sensitising the people against the
divisive politics of the RSS and its extended family.
The ANHAD package of 12 CDs can be a useful instrument
for a long-term battle against revanchist forces, also
its reach and impact will be wider as it is based on
informal communication.
Battle for Ideas
Let me give you a glimpse of the package by referring
to some of the lectures included here. The most
insightful lecture is by Bipan Chandra, who touches
upon the two crucial issues at stake – secularism and
nationalism. Both of these are part of our legacy from
the freedom struggle and, unfortunately both have been
mocked and defaced irreparably by the ousted regime.
Bipan Chandra also refers to the desperate attempts of
the communal forces to appropriate national icons like
Gandhi, S C Bose, Patel, Bhagat Singh and several
others. This desperation becomes obvious when one
looks at their past. Their record in the freedom
struggle, since the RSS was founded in the early
1920s, is blank. These attempts failed miserably
because all those whom they wanted to appropriate are
on record fighting the communal forces led by RSS,
Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League during the
national struggle. Bipan Chandra makes an impassioned
appeal to all, particularly the media, that the word
saffronisation should not be used for communalisation.
Saffron is an honourable word in Indian culture and
even Bhagat Singh used this colour for his flag. Bipan
also tries to distinguish between a fundamentalist and
a communalist. A communalist may not always be a
religious fundamentalist, though both need to be
opposed. Veer Savarkar was no fundamentalist; rather
he was a self-proclaimed atheist, yet he could
communalise Hinduism and call it Hindutva. M A Jinnah
was no Muslim either yet he could succeed in dividing
the country on a communal basis. One can agree that a
fundamentalist can be a potential communalist but not
all fundamentalists are communalists, similarly not
all communalists are fundamentalists. Gandhi, Bipan
says, was convinced that Hindu and Muslim communalists
were the worst enemies of their respective religions
and they not only do not represent their religions,
they are against the very spirit of their religions.
Mridula Mukherjee discusses the legacy of the freedom
struggle and begins by calling this struggle the
engagement of ideas – a battle for the control of the
minds of men, women and children. The British colonial
establishment tried its best to impress upon the
colonised that they were here to salvage the native
population from the debilitating effects of the
uncivil and autocratic rule of the local Indian
despots. They tried to convince the Indians that their
arrival here was not part of any grand design; rather
they had strayed into India through the hand of
providence and the native population should be
grateful to god that the British were there to look
after them. This understanding was spread extensively
through the network of schools, colleges and
institutions, which the colonial government
established from mid-19th century onwards. The
beginnings of Indian nationalism can be traced to the
early intellectual rebuttal of this patronisation of
the colonial state. The efforts of Dadabhai Naoroji, M
G Ranade, G K Gokhle, R C Dutt, G V Joshi and several
others laid the theoretical foundations of Indian
nationalism, which later flowered in the form of
protests – both violent as well as non-violent. It is
sad, Mukherjee feels, that this foundational phase of
our freedom struggle is missing from the NCERT books.
Our young generation needs to be aware of this rich
legacy of the nationalist movement, where nationalism
is articulated against the backdrop of heterogeneous
India. One can contrast this with the narrow cultural
nationalism of the pseudo-nationalists, who equate
culture with their vulgarised Hinduism called
Hindutva. Mridula Mukherjee gives a large number of
examples from the nationalist phase to expose the
nefarious designs of the communalists to subvert this
multicultural and multireligious legacy.
Another major cause for concern in India these days
has been the gradual communalisation of the media. In
particular, during the past six years, a major section
of the media has provided legitimacy and
respectability to some crude and blatant communal
expositions. It has become all the more serious in the
light of proliferating TV channels and the rising
competition to earn TRPs, even at the cost of people’s
lives and national integrity. The communal categories
are rampant and communal assumptions inform news
analysis, even on news channels and in newspapers that
are otherwise secular. The acceptability and
legitimacy thus gained by the communal, often through
crude misrepresentation of facts, has helped to
redefine key concepts like nationalism, secularism and
communalism. Rajdeep Sardesai confronts this issue by
accepting its seriousness but pleads that we should
not make sweeping generalisations by painting the
whole media as communal. Citing Gujarat as an example,
he refers to some of the vernacular papers, which took
a secular position against Narendra Modi’s communal
and divisive politics despite intimidation and
threats. He feels that it is easy for an English
language journalist based in Delhi to write and talk
about tragedies like Gujarat but it is difficult for
those reporting from Ahmedabad or Vadodra, and more so
if they are doing it in a regional language. Sardesai
also refers to the changing trends in the media where
intimidation or seductions have become the accepted
norms. The state either intimidates, and the most
‘civilised’ way is to deny advertisements to hit the
revenue or seduces the media personnel by co-opting
them into various official committees. Some of the
editors of national dailies are even members of
parliament representing different political parties.
The space between the political establishment and the
media has shrunk, which means the media cannot play
the adversarial role it is supposed to play.
This set of CDs by ANHAD also deal with the issues
related to the underprivileged sections of Indian
society like the dalits and the women. S K Thorat and
Nivedita Menon dwell upon the plight of the above
segments, relating the rise of communalism to the
changing role of the above in Indian politics. The
films by Gauhar Raza and Rakesh Sharma are based on
the Gujarat riots where they sensitively depict the
politics of hate and its consequences. The lectures
are interspersed with appropriate visuals to make the
communication more effective and interesting. The
package has a potential of easy dubbing into various
other Indian languages, which will make serious
subjects comprehensible and accessible to common
Indians.
______
[7] [Two Letters from Mukul Dube]
(i)
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:41:07 +0530
Subject: Religions or labels?
3 September 2004
In his "Letter from London: Demons from the
Past" (Daily Times, Lahore, 30 August 2004 *),
Irfan Husain [*URL:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-8-2004_pg3_4]
says that "Muslim heroes" such as "Mahmud of
Ghazni, Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, Balban, Mohammed bin
Qasim, and Sultan Mohammad Tughlak, all have
blood-stained handsŠ."
He goes on thus: "These conquerors
justified their deeds by claiming it was their
religious duty to smite non-believers. Cloaking
themselves in the banner of Islam, they claimed
they were fighting for their faith when, in
reality, they were indulging in straightforward
slaughter and pillage." Are we looking here at
Muslims vs. Hindus or at mediaeval rulers, never
mind their professed religions, who were
permanently at odds with one another because
their only true faith was made up of slaughter
and pillage and rapine and the annexation of
territory? Historians have demonstrated
convincingly that "Hindus" were born relatively
recently and only because a label had to be
applied to those who were neither Muslims nor
Christians. Shaivites and Vaishnavites, and the
spatially concentrated devotees of numerous
smaller divinities, were all lumped together
under the name-despite the fact that they had
been fighting amongst themselves for centuries or
millennia. And let us not forget that the
original connotation of the term was
geographical, not religious. In the same way,
to speak of a monolithic Islam is a historical
absurdity. This too has been swallowed because of
political compulsions. It too has lumped together
Arabs and Turks and Afghans and several other
ethnic and national groups which had and have
just one thing in common. A glance at the past
will show that innumerable battles were fought
between armies each of whose soldiers held the
Quran in one hand and a sword in the other. What
religious duty was it which made them fight these
battles?
Mukul Dube
- - - -
(ii)
Subject: letter to editor
D-504 Purvasha
Mayur Vihar 1
Delhi 110091
17 September 2004
Shri R.S. Sudarshan apparently said in Bhopal that "Hindu
forces" are under attack and appealed to "Hindus" to
support the RSS and the VHP. Can there have been a clearer
admission that "Hindu forces", that is, the two
organisations named, do not represent "Hindus"?
Mukul Dube
_____
[8] [UPCOMING EVENTS]
a)
University of Chicago's Office of International
Affairs in cooperation with The Fulbright
Visiting Specialist Program: Direct Access to the
Muslim World presents The Global Affairs Forum
"Minority Rights in a Secular State: The Case of
India,"
Date: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Speaker [...] Dr. Prakash Sarangi, PhD. Professor
of Political Science, University of Hyderabad,
India,
Venue: Chicago Circle Center, Cardinal Room - 750
S. Halsted St. (public parking lot available
across the street)
b)
Seminar on: Education for Secular Democracy
Keynote address by Prof. K.N. Panikkar
Presentations by Prof. Krishna Kumar, Dr.
Nivedita Menon, Dr. Anil Sadgopal, Ms Nandini
Sundar and others
Date: 29 September 2004
Venue: India International Centre Auditorium, New Delhi
Time: 10:00
(Collaboration: Samya and Anhad)
c)
Institute for Peace & Justice, University of San
Diego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492
2004 Women PeaceMakers Program
A Conversation with Zarina Salamat, Ph.D.:
Civil Society Working for Disarmament
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2004
12:30pm, IPJ Theatre
Zarina Salamat was the chairperson of the
Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and
Democracy (PIPFPD) in Islamabad (1998-2001,
2002-2004), and a leader in the Citizens' Peace
Committee (CPC). She hosted the visit by the
Mayor of Hiroshima as part of his worldwide
campaign for "Mayors of Peace" and enrolled local
Mayors to join in the movement. With the active
assistance of the Mayor, Ms. Salamat convinced
the Government of Pakistan to set up a Peace
Institute (the first of its kind) and university
faculties to introduce peace studies as part of
their curriculums. Her arrangements for
parliamentarians, activists and intellectuals
from Pakistan and India to meet is credited with
setting the environment for the 2004 visit of the
Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan, a first in
over a decade. Ms. Salamat has arranged for
women and youth from India and Pakistan to work
together.
This event will be moderated by Dr. Dee Aker, IPJ Deputy Director.
Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 20 to ipj at sandiego.edu
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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.
More information about the Sacw
mailing list