SACW | 18 Oct 2004

[sacw]

South Asia Citizens Wire   |  18 October,  2004
via:  www.sacw.net

[1] [Pakistani Journalists] Visiting Jammu & Kashmir (Imtiaz Alam)
[2] Bangladesh: Women's football dribbling with fanatic fantasia (Tureen Afroz)
[3] Pakistan: No compromise on murder (Beena Sarwar)
[4] Indian Muslims' Hope Is One Good Policewoman (Manish Swarup)
[5] India: The Lesser Evil: Lack of Secular 
Options Led to Democratic Front Win (Jyoti 
Punwani)
[6]  Book Review: "Eqbal Ahmad-Between Past & 
Future: Selected Essays on South Asia
Edited by Dohra Ahmad, Iftikhar Ahmad and Zia Mian"
[7] Events:  Talk on 'Perpetuating Culture and 
the Production of Self: A Sociological 
Understanding of Alig Identity' (New Delhi,


--------------

[1]


The News International
October 18, 2004

VISITING JAMMU & KASHMIR

Imtiaz Alam

Higher expectations, deeper suspicions, 
conflicting demands and overwhelming welcome 
underlined the first-ever visit of independent 
Pakistani journalists to Indian-administered 
Jammu and Kashmir. For reporters in search of the 
other side of the story, to behave like diplomats 
while keeping in mind disparate positions of the 
antagonists was a journey through a minefield. 
Yet, the members of the delegation kept their 
cool and behaved the way they should have on a 
good will-cum-reporting mission to ensure that 
the window to access no-go areas, in this case 
across the LoC, is wide opened and not shut on 
their colleagues from both countries. Though 
South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) broke 
the barrier, has it helped the ongoing processes 
or became a victim of paranoia?

This was made clearer by the organisers (SAFMA 
chapters of Pakistan and India) that the 
journalists' exchange across the LoC was a part 
of their effort to allowing media persons freely 
move across frontiers and accessing information 
in South Asia. Carrying no briefs from anybody or 
any party nor becoming instrument of this or that 
partisan divide, SAFMA had set certain limits 
while knowing well that the journalists' 
delegation will come under tremendous pressure 
from all and too demanding sides, since it was to 
a territory under a bloody dispute between India 
and Pakistan and zealously possessed and, 
variously, claimed by the inhabitants of J&K. It 
became 'historic' since what should have been a 
very normal visit became 'abnormal' due to the 
fact that this was the first-ever journey 
undertaken by the Pakistani scribes in the last 
57 years and against the backdrop of ongoing 
composite dialogue process.

No doubt, the visit would not have taken place 
without, thankfully, the clearance from India and 
Pakistan at the highest level and, indeed, this 
is what made the visit suspicious in the eyes of 
some conspiracy theorists or certain sick minds, 
who in fact suspect every move towards confidence 
building between India and Pakistan. The kind of 
reception and affection the delegation received 
from across all divides and regions was in fact a 
reflection of the longing the people feel for 
each other in the subcontinent, especially in J&K 
for Pakistan. Except for a very small section 
among the displaced Pandits, living in most 
miserable conditions in refugee camps in Jammu, 
accusing Pakistan of displacing them and those 
elements in Kashmir who consider negotiations 
between India and Pakistan as a death knell to 
their 'cause', the fraternity shown for the 
Pakistani delegation from Jammu to Kashmir was 
beyond our and their imagination. Even those who 
expressed reservations, for reasons SAFMA or the 
delegation could not be held responsible, in fact 
wanted the delegation to visit whole of Kashmir 
valley to assess the situation. Those who had 
decided not to receive the delegation also lined 
up behind the long queue.

Although there were no restraints on the media 
team to meet anybody anywhere, the visit was 
constrained by time and too tight a schedule 
prepared by SAFMA India and the coordinator, 
Editor Kashmir Times Mr Bhasin. The latter came 
under tremendous pressure for allowing the 
delegation to meet everybody from the local media 
and all sections of society. Stay in Jammu, 
although without doubts and acrimony except seen 
at the Pandits' camps, was too ceremonious. What 
was quite disturbing to find was that after being 
displaced from the valley many among them had 
abandoned their secular paradigm of Kashmiriat 
and some among them have become communalised to 
the extent that they now demand carving a Pandit 
state out of the valley not many among the 
community agree with. The criticism about the 
neglect of their plight by the media in Pakistan 
was right to a point since it is focused on the 
valley and looked at Pandits with tinted glasses. 
Yet, there are nationalists, also among the 
Pandits, who differ with the tendency to treat 
the Kashmir question as a communal issue and 
insist on finding a way out of the quagmire of a 
cyclical violence.

The overwhelming view among the middle classes in 
Jammu takes 'accession to India' as a fait 
accompli, while the Punjabis and Dogras underline 
the need for greater room to allow reunion of the 
divided communities and are much more flexible on 
resolving the dispute. In fact their political, 
intellectual and business representatives show 
certain degrees of flexibility to bring peace to 
their troubled region and for greater gains the 
former J&K state can reap from a rapprochement 
between India and Pakistan. Their major demand 
was to open Jammu-Sialkot route and allow free 
movement of people. The secular view dominant 
among the urban people of Jammu, many among them 
don't like to be called Kashmiris, preclude any 
division on the basis of religion and feel at 
greater ease with Indian secular ethos. The 
nationalists, however, demand a untied and 
secular J&K that will be relatively independent 
of both India and Pakistan without being fully 
sovereign. And there are those 'nationalists' who 
would want a reunited J&K integrated with India, 
given the level of assimilation that has already 
taken place.

By contrast, the journey to and through Srinagar 
brought too much pressure on the delegation due 
to an awesome deployment of security forces, 
inflated demands of the Kashmiris and high 
passions of a people under siege for too long. 
The two meetings that we had on our way to 
Srinagar showed an area overburdened with the 
crossfire of security agencies and the militants. 
The people were living under visible harassment 
and intimidation. Srinagar wore the look of a 
capital scrawling on its knees under the burden 
of both insurgency and counter-insurgency, 
especially the heavy boots of security agencies, 
while giving the false image of the summer 
capital of a state that is supposed to 'enjoy' a 
special status - in fact in reverse. The 
passions, expectations and demands were too high, 
as we met a large number of leaders, students, 
lawyers, journalists, shopkeepers, men on the 
street, political activists, wailing women 
searching for their sons and rank and file of 
most of the parties.

Regardless of what the parties from the opposite 
or the same camps say, and there are too many, 
the people of Srinagar from almost all walks of 
life know to spell one word with close to total 
unanimity and that is: Azadi 
(freedom/independence). The alienation from New 
Delhi is complete and, perhaps, irreversible. 
More than 90 per cent of the public opinion is 
tilted towards independence. Even those who raise 
the slogan of accession to Pakistan and also 
Nizam-e-Mustafa, although declining in numbers, 
subscribe to the idea of independence. Alienation 
from India does not mean that the Kashmiris want 
to join Pakistan. Yet the expectations from 
Pakistan are so high that even a non-official and 
private visit by the Pakistani journalists on 
Indian visa came under critical scrutiny, 
including those who practice Indian law or demand 
Indian passport to travel abroad. Suspicions 
about and complaints against Islamabad are on the 
rise after the division of All Parties Hurriyat 
Conference (APHC). On the issue of opening 
Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route, even those who 
oppose it cannot afford the reaction from the 
people who are craving to meet their own on the 
other side.

The target of resentment are the Indian security 
forces against whose excesses and human rights 
violations the system of justice has failed to 
provide any relief. Even the most moderate 
daughter of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed, Mehbooba 
Mufti, who has come to the rescue of many 
aggrieved families, feel helpless and seeks 
refuge behind the excuses a heartless 
administration provides to hide its crimes. It 
does not mean that the people are not getting 
irritated with the excesses committed by the 
militants. So overwhelming is the support for 
Azadi that even the senior rank and file of 
National Conference of Abdullah, People's 
Democratic Party of Mufti and the Kashmir unit of 
Congress feel sympathetic to the aspirations of 
their Kashmiri brethren. The leadership of these 
parties exhibits a lot of flexibility, despite 
their capitulation, on possible peaceful 
solutions while supporting softening of the LoC 
and opposing militancy. Although Hurriyat is 
divided, and the Ansari faction accuses Islamabad 
for the division and Geelani faction blames them 
of hobnobbing with New Delhi, it can still play a 
crucial role if reunited and the militant groups 
took the back seat.

There are two broad views on the course to 
resolve the conflict: The one who believes that 
Indo-Pak dialogue will damage the Kashmir cause 
and any kind of confidence building between the 
two will be at the cost of Kashmiris. The other 
view considers Indo-Pak reconciliation process 
suitable to Kashmiris, if their representatives 
are engaged to decide their destiny. Almost every 
section of opinion in Srinagar emphasised the 
urgency to include Kashmiri representatives in 
the talks and want the composite dialogue to 
succeed. About representation the Kashmiri 
leadership has no problem in showing magnanimity 
or presenting a foolproof electoral course. The 
real issue is that both Islamabad and New Delhi 
stop treating the Kashmir issue as a territorial 
dispute and, instead, address together the 
aspirations of the people of the valley in some 
appropriate form that is to the satisfaction of 
the two big brothers. The solution lies in the 
process, not in any pre-determined formula. Can 
New Delhi and Islamabad dare to get out of their 
straitjackets and free the Indian and Pakistani 
minds from remaining a hostage to annexationist 
or irredentist view over Kashmir and take this 
hurdle out of the way of greater cooperation? The 
problem is not with the Kashmiris, it is with us. 
Who are we, the Indians and Pakistanis, to decide 
their destiny?

______



[2]

New Age  - October 17, 2004

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL DRIBBLING
WITH FANATIC FANTASIA

by Tureen Afroz

  The Bangladeshi girls can now 'bend it like 
Beckham'. Or I must say that they have dared to 
do so. The first ever women's football tournament 
of Bangladesh began on October 4 this year. 
Thanks to Bangladesh Football Federation and more 
thanks to the women players and their supportive 
families to take the country a step ahead. Women 
in Bangladesh were already into sports like 
volleyball, handball, swimming, shooting, judo 
and karate. The recent addition of football to 
the women's sports in Bangladesh is undoubtedly a 
brave step towards globalization. I feel proud to 
be a Bangladeshi woman. Sincere cheers for you 
soccer-girls out there for making a mark by 
creating a history for me and for all of us!
    However, it is unfortunate to notice that 
certain fanatic Islamic groups in Bangladesh have 
become critical over the country's first-ever 
women's football tournament. They have decided to 
carry on a three-day agitation program in Dhaka 
to stop the tournament. These groups have further 
vowed to announce tougher programs against the 
government if the competition is not stopped 
immediately. According to media reports of last 
few days, the Amir of Islamic Constitution 
Movement (ICM) and Charmonai Pir Fazlul Karim 
threatened to besiege the National Sports Council 
on October 9 if the government had not stopped 
the ongoing women's football tournament. The 
Islamic group, Jamiatul Ulama Islami Bangladesh 
has further declared that there members were even 
ready to sacrifice their lives to stop the event 
from going ahead.
    It may be mentioned here that only a few 
months back, Bangladesh's first women's wrestling 
competition received the similar kind of threats 
from Muslim fanatics who termed the event "vulgar 
and indecent". However, this time the demand of 
fanatic Islamic groups is not only limited to 
stopping the football tournament as such. They 
further demanded "a ban on all kinds of women 
sports" in Bangladesh. The reasons forwarded by 
these fanatic Islamic groups so far are two-folds 
:
    women sports destroy moral character; and
    women sports are anti-Islamic.
    I really do not understand how women sports 
can be said to destroy moral character. Even if 
it is, whose moral character are they talking 
about - of the women or the men? As far as the 
women are concerned, physical exercise and sport 
are beneficial to their physical healthiness. Men 
and women alike are in need of sport and exercise 
to maintain their physical fitness. Benefits 
derived from sport are keys to universal notions 
of good health, confidence, success and overall 
happiness. It is, therefore, a well acknowledged 
fact all over the world that sports not only have 
social and physical benefits but also essential 
psychological consequences. Physical exercise and 
fitness help to maintain a more balanced 
emotional state, as it 'aids in the release of 
harmful free radicals and excess hormones'.
    Women have multi-dimensional roles to play in 
family and the society. Therefore, women should 
be physically and emotionally fit to provide 
significant inputs to the society, as well as to 
her relationship with husband, family and 
friends. Therefore, the claim of fanatic Islamic 
groups that women sports destroy moral character 
of women is completely illogical. If, however, 
these Islamic groups meant that women sports 
would destroy the moral character of some men in 
the society then it is those men who need 
psychiatric treatment to restore the required 
standard of morality. Ban on women's sport would 
not help them much as they can still fantasize 
women's sports in their mind and can suffer from 
'continuous degradation of morality' syndrome.
    The other reason for demanding a ban on women 
sports by the fanatic Islamic groups in 
Bangladesh is that women sports are anti-Islamic. 
It is stated that Islam in general has always 
encouraged sports as a way of refreshing one's 
mind, be it of a man or women. The Prophet 
Muhammad always advised his disciples (both men 
and women) to engage in different forms of sport. 
According to history, the Prophet himself would 
engage in sports like wrestling, racing, archery 
and horse races. Islam did not, therefore, 
discriminate women on grounds of sports as such. 
Moreover, the following hadith would illustrate 
how women are treated equally with men in Islamic 
precinct regarding physical capabilities :
    While Aisha (r.a.a) was on a journey along 
with the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w), she had a race 
with him and outpaced him. As time passed, the 
Prophet (s.a.w) wished to avenge for his loss, so 
he raced her again, in which case he outpaced 
her, and remarked: "This is for that outpacing."
    Therefore, the claim made by fanatic Islamic 
groups in Bangladesh as to women sports being 
un-Islamic is completely baseless. Their demand 
for banning the ongoing football tournament and 
as such, the women's sports, does not merit any 
consideration, what so ever. On the contrary, it 
is strongly stated that their very demand for 
banning women's sports in Bangladesh is itself 
un-Islamic.
    As a matter of fact women's sports are 
encouraged in other parts of the Muslim world 
too. Very specifically, football is played by 
Muslim women in many other countries of the 
world. Muslim women in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar 
and Oman have been playing football against all 
odds. On September 18, 2004 women's football also 
made its debut in Pakistan when a match was 
played by its women's football team in Islamabad 
to promote the spirit of fair play in 
competitions. Football has been played by women 
in Iran for several decades and according to 
Khadijeh Sepanchi, the head of the Iranian 
Women's Football Association, about 4,700 Muslim 
women currently play football in Iran. Women 
football tournaments are also a regular feature 
of Kuwait University. Moreover, many non-Muslim 
countries of the world currently have their own 
all-Muslim women football teams participating in 
national and international events. Ansar United 
of the United States of America has its own 
all-Muslim women football team. The United 
Kingdom also sent its own all-Muslim girls' 
football team to the 3rd Muslim Women's Games of 
2001.
    The question of banning women sports in 
Bangladesh on Islamic grounds does also give rise 
to various issues of discrimination and 
Constitutional rights of women. Let's assume, to 
meet the demand of fanatic Islamic groups, such a 
ban is imposed by the government on Muslim women 
in Bangladesh. It will create a discrimination 
against Muslim women vis-à-vis non-Muslim women 
of Bangladesh as the later would be outside the 
scope of such ban. The government will thus be in 
violation of Article 28 (1) of the Constitution 
by which the citizens of Bangladesh have a right 
not to be discriminated on grounds of religion. 
If however, the ban is extended to non-Muslim 
women, they would be forced to refrain from doing 
something which otherwise their religion might 
permit. Therefore, the state would be in 
violation of Article 41 of the Constitution which 
guarantees freedom of religion to every citizen 
of Bangladesh.
    Moreover, if a ban is imposed on women sports 
(say, playing football) in Bangladesh while men 
remain free to participate in such activities, it 
would create a discrimination against women 
vis-à-vis men. According to Article 28(2) women 
in Bangladesh are guaranteed equal rights with 
men in all spheres of the State and of public 
life. Also, it is one of the fundamental 
principles of our state policy that the 
government should ensure women participation in 
all spheres of national life (Article 10 of the 
Constitution). Besides, the government has its 
international commitment under the Women 
Convention (CEDAW) to eliminate all forms of 
discrimination against women from the society. 
Therefore, the government should encourage and 
provide women of Bangladesh with equal 
opportunity and patronization in sports.
    In conclusion, I see no valid ground for 
fanatic Islamic group's agitation against the 
ongoing women's football tournament in 
Bangladesh. Rather, the very demand raised by 
fanatic Islamic groups for banning women's sports 
in Bangladesh is illogical, un-Islamic and above 
all, un-constitutional.
   
 The writer is a barrister and currently doing 
her Ph.D. in Law at Monash University, Australia


______



[3]

The News on Sunday
October 17, 2004

NO COMPROMISE ON MURDER
Beena Sarwar

Murder by any other name still smells foul. It is still murder.
Unfortunately, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2004 against 'honour
killings' introduced by the treasury bench in the National Assembly deems
this crime compoundable, allowing for a 'compromise' (razinama) between the
parties. Thus the accused in 'honour killing' or karo kari cases will
continue to be able to escape punishment.

Most karo kari cases are committed by a close relative - father, brother,
son, or husband of the woman. Often, the victims are the most vulnerable
members of the family or community. In either case, if and when the case
reaches a court of law, the victim's family may 'pardon' the murderer (who
may well be one of them), or be pressurised to accept diyat ('blood-money')
as compensation. The murderer then goes free.

The motive is often other than the stated ghairat or honour, often related
to land disputes or old enmities. Such cases continue to take place because,
very simply, the murderer knows he will get away with it. The statistics
speak for themselves: according to one estimate, around 1,261 cases of
honour killings were reported in 2003 alone - 938 women and 323 men. That
is, over a hundred such cases a month.

The present bill does nothing to change this state of affairs, which appears
to have worsened since the promulgation of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance of
1990. Like other laws enacted in the name of religion, this one too has its
flaws and critics, as well as supporters who appear more interested in
preserving the status quo than in the ground reality of its negative effects.

On the positive side, this law did away with the concept of 'grave and
sudden provocation' introduced by the British and incorporated in Section
300 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The 'provocation' clause allowed
someone who had been 'provoked' into spontaneous murder, to receive a
lighter sentence if he could justify his act. Then, as now, a woman's
perceived infidelity was justification enough.

The Qisas & Diyat Act's omission of this clause leaves no room in the law
for any concessions. "But the law and the judiciary are apparently two
different things," writes the Lahore-based criminal lawyer Hassam Qadir
Shah, in 'Don't let them get away with murder', a booklet on criminal
procedures (Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Centre, 2002). "While the law is
clear and unforgiving on this account, some judges of the superior courts of
Pakistan have tried to read between the lines to apply the earlier concept
of justified anger. Quite a few reported judgments in the form of case-law
have once again mitigated the offence of murder in the context of so-called
'honour' crimes."

However, as Shah notes, several judgments also criticise this trend.
"Neither the law of the land nor religion permits so-called 'honour'
killings and it amounts to intentional murder ('qatl-i-amd')," states one
Supreme Court judgment, noting that "such iniquitous and vile" acts violate
the fundamental rights as enshrined in Article 9 of the Pakistan
Constitution which provides that no person shall be deprived of life or
liberty except in accordance with law. "Any custom in that respect is void
under Article 8 (1) of the Constitution" (PLD 2001 SC 96).

The major flaw in the Qisas and Diyat law, which covers all offences against
the human body, is that it makes such offenses compoundable (open to
compromise as a private matter between two parties) by providing for qisas
(retribution) or diyat (blood-money). The heirs of the victim can forgive
the murderer in the name of God without receiving any compensation or diyat
(Section 309), or compromise after receiving diyat (Section 310).

Most cases result in one or the other compromise, thus allowing murderers to
go free, even though Pakistani law does not contain any provision which
allows the offence of murder to be mitigated. Contrary to common belief,
Islam also explicitly forbids such killing in the name of ghairat or honour.

Prior to this change, the state was a party to murder cases, which were
non-compoundable, in keeping with the principle that the state must ensure
the right to life of all citizens, regardless of class, gender or creed. Now
the poor "may be cornered into compromising even for the most heinous crimes
in lieu of a hefty payoff, for instance. This promotes the practice of
settling murder cases, and especially cases of karo kari through a
compromise or razinama," notes Shah.

Many lawyers and human rights activists believe that there is no need to
define 'honour crimes' or 'karo kari' murders separately, as the existing
provisions of the PPC and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) are sufficient,
provided that such murders are registered as murder. In cases where guilt is
established, through confession or trial, the perpetrator must be convicted
at least on paper, even if there is a razinama, so that the criminal record
is established.

No matter how well-intentioned, the government's bill on 'honour killings'
is a farce as long as these factors are ignored. And finally, no law can
bring about changes unless it is implemented, and unless society changes to
accept the status of women as equal human beings.


______


[4]

New York Times, October 17, 2004

INDIAN MUSLIMS' HOPE IS ONE GOOD POLICEWOMAN

Manish Swarup/Associated Press
Angry mobs rioted in Ahmadabad in 2002 to protest 
the deaths of 59 Hindus in a train attack.

By Amy Waldman

KALOL, India - So indecent was his younger 
brother's death that Idris Yusuf Ghodawala never 
imagined the indignity that was to follow.

On March 1, 2002, as Hindu-Muslim riots convulsed 
the state of Gujarat, a Hindu mob armed with 
shiny new swords set upon Imran Ghodawala, an 
18-year-old Muslim, dragged him into the Rabbani 
mosque and burned him to death. Idris, hiding on 
a balcony next door, saw the attack and then the 
smoke billowing from the mosque.

When Idris Ghodawala went to the police to claim 
Imran's remains, he said the top local police 
officer, a Hindu named R. J. Patil, told him 
there were no remains to claim. Mr. Patil had 
burned them, knowing full well that Muslims, 
unlike Hindus, bury their dead.

The sacrilege still makes Mr. Ghodawala, 31, weep.

"We are Muslims, and they burned our body," he said.

Mr. Patil's action appears to have been part of a 
broader effort to conceal evidence and thwart 
prosecutions after the riots in Gujarat state, 
which left at least 1,100 Muslims dead and up to 
600 missing. Mr. Ghodawala could name four 
members of the mob that killed his brother, two 
of whom he had played cricket with as a child. 
But he said Mr. Patil refused to let him name 
names, or even file a complaint. So Mr. 
Ghodawala's case essentially disappeared, as did 
thousands of others stemming from the riots.

In a state controlled by Hindu nationalists, the 
police either refused to register the names of 
the accused or simply summarily closed cases; 
prosecutors did not oppose bail for suspects, and 
judges delivered acquittals in cases where dozens 
of people died.

Only a small number of Hindus have been convicted 
for any action in the riots, although the Supreme 
Court has now intervened to force more than 2,000 
cases that had been closed to be re-examined and 
at least two retried.

What happened in this area was typical except in 
one respect. Late last year, Neeraja Gotru Rao, a 
policewoman of uncommon courage, arrived here 
after being sent by the state police to 
reinvestigate the cases. Her work led to the 
arrests of about 30 suspects, including the 
personal assistant to a state government 
minister. It also led to the arrest of Mr. Patil 
on suspicion of destroying evidence by burning 
the remains of Imran Ghodawala and at least 12 
other Muslims.

The fate of these two police officers, whose 
interpretation of duty so diverged, will test 
more than whether justice will be done in the 
riots, which were set off by the immolation on 
Feb. 27, 2002, of 59 Hindus in a train carriage. 
It may also determine whether Muslims here can 
once again believe in the impartiality of the 
Indian state.

On a recent afternoon, the corpulent Mr. Patil 
was found not in jail, but sipping tea in his 
pajamas in the local government hospital. The 
minister's personal assistant and another 
well-connected accused person - all three 
ostensibly under arrest - were with him. Pleading 
illness, they were seeking bail from the comfort 
of the hospital.

Ms. Rao, meanwhile, was back in Ahmedabad, having 
been ordered by the Gujarat state police to wrap 
up her unfinished work. She is not granting 
interviews, but victims and their advocates say 
the order is another effort to thwart 
prosecutions.

"She was removed because she was doing good 
work," Mr. Ghodawala said. "And because she said 
she would try to find out who were the superior 
officers who gave the orders. Now I don't think 
anybody will take up this case." The director 
general of the Gujarat police says Ms. Rao, who 
is Hindu, was taking too long with her work, and 
that her investigation was finished.

The rioting lasted for weeks, but was most 
ferocious in the first few days. Sixty-eight 
Muslims died in this area, many of them from 
Delol, a village nearby.

Muslims died in the village and the surrounding 
fields, where Yaqub Adam, a tailor, saw his 
father, mother, uncle, cousin, nephew and two 
other relatives killed.

"Their only work in those days was to find the 
Muslims, kill them and burn them," Mr. Adam, 40, 
said.

Eleven more Muslims died next to the Ambika 
Society housing colony, when the truck in which 
they were trying to flee ran straight into a 
Hindu mob.

"Nobody came to save us," said Medina Yaqub 
Sheikh, who said she saw her husband hacked by a 
sword, then set on fire. One young woman said she 
was raped by five men.

More Muslims died at Derol station, and 17 more 
fleeing rioters at the Goma River. Two small boys 
were reportedly thrown on a fire, then when they 
crawled off, thrown on again. In Kalol, where 
about one-fourth of the 20,000 residents are 
Muslim, 165 Muslim properties and vehicles were 
looted and burned. One Muslim man, injured in the 
police firing, was burned to death in the 
hospital compound. Imran Ghodawala was burned to 
death in the mosque.

If each killing had its horrific particularity, 
the aftermath was strikingly similar. Victims and 
witnesses went to the local police station, 
controlled by Mr. Patil, to register complaints 
and claim their dead.

Survivors said Mr. Patil refused to let them file 
complaints, saying he would write what needed to 
be written. In the end, he wrote a single 
complaint bunching all the killings together and 
not listing the suspects whom witnesses had 
named. Survivors of the Ambika Society massacre 
said he told them that he had burned the remains 
of their loved ones.

When Mr. Ghodawala sought a certificate proving 
his brother's death so his family could get 
compensation from the state, he said the police 
told him that if he named names his family would 
get no money.

He would see his brother's killers in town, but 
was powerless, he said, tears flowing again. "If 
we chase them we cannot live here, we cannot work 
here," he said. "We do not have anybody to help."

That changed when Ms. Rao arrived at the end of 
last year. The state police had dispatched her to 
investigate the killings and rape at the Ambika 
Society after pressure from human rights and 
women's groups and the Supreme Court.

She set up shop in a separate room at the Kalol 
police station, and victims began coming to see 
her. They found a woman, about 35, in a police 
uniform, with short hair, small glasses, a strong 
build and a soft voice.

She listened with compassion, and spoke with 
affection. Medina Yaqub Sheikh is illiterate, but 
as she recounted how her husband died, she knew 
it mattered that Ms. Rao took notes.

"Earlier when we used to talk to the police they 
never used to write," Ms. Sheikh said.

As word spread about Ms. Rao, more victims began 
visiting her. Idris Ghodawala told her of his 
brother's killing. She visited the scene, 
photographing the spot, still preserved in the 
mosque, where his brother had burned.

"She used to encourage us: 'Don't be afraid of anybody,' " Mr. Ghodawala said.

Yaqub Adam told her of his family's deaths. "No 
one knew about this case because it was never 
reported," he said. "Because of R. J. Patil, 
nothing came on the surface."

Ms. Rao worked as late as midnight and avoided 
talking to witnesses in front of the local 
police, bringing her own staff to write 
affidavits.

"She wanted that whatever injustice happened to 
us, at the end of the day we should get justice," 
said the young woman who had been gang-raped.

Local Hindus looked on her less favorably. 
"Neeraja Rao used to call people and they would 
be sitting all day in her office," huffed Tushat 
Patel, a town official. "She was very tough."

By the time she was taken off the investigation, 
22 Delol men had been arrested. So had at least 
three of the four men Idris Ghodawala had named 
in his brother's killing, although they are free 
on bail.

One of them, Ajay Soni, a lecturer and member of 
the Association of National Volunteers, India's 
most powerful Hindu nationalist organization, 
called the charge fabricated. "This is all 
political," he said. "The minority cannot rule 
this country. This will not go any further."

Mr. Patil denied any wrongdoing as well. "All the 
senior officers knew what was the situation at 
the time," he said from his hospital bed.

For now, whether he was a renegade or following 
orders from superiors will remain unanswered 
since Ms. Rao is no longer here to pursue it.

Not a single Muslim has returned to live in 
Delol. Instead, they live in a ready-made ghetto, 
a colony built for them on the edge of Kalol by 
an Islamic relief organization. The houses are 
filled with widows and absence.

The young woman who said she was raped said she 
also lost her father, brother and husband - every 
male member of her household. She said she is 
still too fearful to go to town on her own, where 
her rapists wander free on bail.

She and the other victims want Ms. Rao back. "We 
had complete confidence in her, and we were 
getting justice through her," said Ms. Sheikh. 
"Now we are not sure."

In trusting Ms. Rao, the victims went out on a 
limb. Now, they say, it has been snapped beneath 
them.

Idris Ghodawala said he again sees no hope for 
justice, and he feels more threatened than ever. 
When he crosses paths with those who were 
arrested in the killing of his brother, he said, 
"It is I who try to hide, not them."

______



[5]


The Times of India, October 18, 2004

THE LESSER EVIL: LACK OF SECULAR OPTIONS LED TO DEMOCRATIC FRONT WIN
Jyoti Punwani

Even before noon on Saturday, the relief was 
palpable. Those who had threatened to launch an 
agitation against the Congress, or had decided 
not to endorse the ruling combine in the 
Maharashtra elections, were filled with an 
overriding thought: The BJP ogre had been kept 
out; no chance here of another Gujarat.

After a long time, the old Congress ruse worked, 
this time, without them even having used it. For 
20 years, the Congress used the BJP to frighten 
the Muslims - and others repelled by Hindutva - 
into voting for it. This strategy failed after 
the Babri masjid demolition. After December 6, 
1992, it seemed that the Congress had moved to 
the fringes of Muslim, if not secular, 
consciousness. But Gujarat 2002 changed all that. 
And the BJP's defence of Narendra Modi was the 
final straw.

Yet, last week, Muslims in Maharashtra didn't 
come out in droves as they had in 1999 to vote 
out the Sena-BJP. Some Muslim areas of Mumbai saw 
poor turnout. Yet, even here, Muslim candidates 
backed by the ruling combine won. The poor 
turnout was the latest indication of the 
despondency with which Muslims in Maharashtra 
regard the five years of rule by a 'secular' 
government. When the Vilasrao government was 
formed in 1999, Mumbai's Muslims were dancing on 
rooftops. Never before had there been as many as 
five ministers from their community. After the 
Sena-BJP drought, this was a bounty. Every Muslim 
home now had a direct connection to Mantralaya, 
it was said gleefully. The sight of the Samajwadi 
Party Maharashtra president and 1993 bomb blast 
TADA accused (discharged by the Supreme Court) 
Abu Asim Azmi, till then reviled by the Sena 
mouthpiece Saamna, striding along the corridors 
of Mantralaya as a partner in the government, 
sent a thrill through even those Muslims for whom 
he'd done nothing.

Azmi's loss this time from Bhiwandi, more than 50 
km away from his domain in south Mumbai, is both 
a tragedy and a relief. A relief because had he 
won, his claim of being the messiah of Mumbai's 
Muslims would have gained strength, despite his 
doing little other than resorting to 
Thackeray-style rhetoric. A tragedy because his 
defeat, despite his closeness to the ulema and a 
public endorsement by two mainstream Muslim 
organisations, represents the failure of the 
elusive 'Third Force', so desperately sought by 
Muslims sick of the Congress-NCP.

Not even the most vehement opponent of BJP-SS 
could endorse the last five years of 'secular 
rule' in Maharashtra. The omissions and 
commissions are startling: 53 communal riots (in 
contrast to the Sena-BJP's three); the shielding 
of guilty policemen indicted by the Srikrishna 
Commission; the targeting of Muslims in fake 
encounters; POTA's communal use; a refusal to 
advertise police recruitment drives in the Urdu 
press (for the state's constables/inspectors, 
Muslims remain landyas); the benign relationship 
between both Congress CMs and Bal Thackeray (he 
helped Sushil Kumar Shinde become CM by not 
fielding an opponent); continuous tirade against 
Muslims in Saamna ("All the murderers in the 
country - those that are found - are all Muslims. 
Tear apart not just by law but by force" are 
editorial statements from last month's issue); 
impunity to the VHP to conduct poisonous 
campaigns across interior Maharashtra; the 
bureaucratic functioning of the Maulana Azad 
Financial Corporation set up specially for 
Muslims.

For the first time in a decade, Maharashtra's 
normally expressive Ulema Council refused to 
endorse any party, asking Muslims to vote for the 
'best' candidate. That statement brought the 
favourite of the secularists to the ulema's 
doorstep four days before election day. Digvijay 
Singh's belated rush to the heart of Mumbai's 
Muslim area was another first; normally, the 
Congress sends emissaries to the community weeks 
in advance. Why, in 1999, even former Sena 
strongman Chhagan Bhujbal had wooed Muslims, only 
revealing his reluctance to shed his ideological 
roots after he became home minister.

It was this 'arrogance' of the Congress that 
Maharashtra's politically conscious Muslims 
wanted to dent by supporting potential Third 
Force candidates, hoping to pressurise them into 
pushing for Muslim demands. Alas, not only were 
such candidates too few, had they won, they would 
have sold themselves for a ministerial berth. 
Muslim activists knew this, yet, from all sides 
one heard the anguished question: What else can 
we do?

There were two other factors, which made votes 
drop into Congress's lap: Sonia Gandhi's 
'sacrifice' and Thackeray's last-minute 
anti-north Indian outburst. Despite Sonia not 
having lifted a finger to ensure a genuine 
secular government in Maharashtra, not even the 
most disgusted Muslim could resist her grand 
gesture, the final stamp which set her apart from 
her predecessor, Narasimha Rao, in the eyes of 
the Muslims.

Now that Maharashtra is set for another five 
years of non-Hindutva rule, should we expect 
genuine secular politics, some tough stands 
perhaps, from the new government? There's no 
reason why that should happen. All the Muslim 
ministers described as nikammey by the community 
are back. The Congress has seen it can win even 
without wooing its vote bank. What prevents it 
from lapsing into complacency?

Yet, Muslims across the board are happy. Yes, all 
the rascals have returned, but they shrug that 
it's only rascals who win anyway. Communal forces 
have been kept out, that's what matters.


______


[6]     [Book Review]

Dawn
17 October 2004

REVIEW: Predicting the future
Reviewed by Uzma Aslam Khan

Between Past & Future is a collection of essays 
and talks delivered by Eqbal Ahmad over a period 
of almost 30 years. Though he wrote regularly 
throughout his life, this is the first 
compilation of his work to appear in print, and 
the editors, Dohra Ahmad, Iftikhar Ahmad, and Zia 
Mian, must have excruciated over which articles 
to include or omit. But the result is not only a 
precious anthology of one of the most 
encyclopedic and thought-provoking minds of the 
20th century, but an urgently needed reference 
point: almost all the 44 essays are as relevant 
today as when first written, some perhaps even 
more. Eqbal Ahmad not only analyzed the past but 
also predicted the future; the extent to which 
the predictions have come true are often so 
chilling that this book serves as a kind of 
compass to the 21st century.
Despite his overall opposition to 
nationalist-separatist movements, in the 1972 
"Notes on South Asia in crisis", Ahmad explained 
why he ultimately supported Bangladeshi 
nationalism. The piece illustrates his compassion 
and objectivity on many levels: it was mailed an 
hour before he was taken to trial in the US for 
protesting against the Vietnam war, revealing how 
he could engage with several outrages at the same 
time, with equal devotion and clarity; it 
condemns the Pakistani military's heinous 
treatment of Bengalis, as well as India's 
military intervention, and the massacring of 
around 10,000 Biharis by the Bengalis. Yet, 
despite being a Bihari himself, he refused "to 
equate the actions of the Bengali vigilantes with 
those of the government and the criminal acts of 
an organized, professional army".
In the 1980 interview "Pakistan in crisis", he 
spoke for two other disenfranchised groups: the 
Sindhis and the Baloch. He called Sindh "the 
second place in 20th century history where the 
indigenous people have become a minority in their 
own homeland - the first being Palestine". He 
argued that the southern provinces were "for all 
practical purposes completely excluded from the 
structure of the state". His warning about Baloch 
nationalism is chillingly pertinent to today.
One of the most illuminating articles in the 
collection is on Afghanistan. From the 
Anglo-Russian rivalry played out on Afghan soil, 
to the growing Soviet influence soon after the 
departure of the British and subsequent growth of 
rival elitist communist groups, to Daud Khan's 
1973 Kremlin-approved military coup, "Bloody 
games" is a vivid chronicle of a land "torn to 
pieces by teams sponsored by outsiders". Events 
leading up to the 1979 Soviet invasion are 
unnervingly convoluted, yet Ahmad was able to 
pick apart the knitting and expose individual 
strands more clearly than many other analysts.
Several strands lead to the Pakistan-backed 
Islamic fundamentalists' opposition to the 
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which 
overthrew Daud's government, also unpopular with 
Pakistan. Support of these Islamic groups began 
during Z.A. Bhutto's rule, in retaliation for the 
support Daud extended to the Pakhtoonistan 
movement. Daud repented and tried to reestablish 
links with Pakistan, but the Islamic groups 
continued to be used as "bargaining chips". The 
stakes were raised by General Zia, but they had 
already been introduced. A point seldom conceded 
enough here is that these threads are firmly 
rooted in Pakistan.
Once the Soviets invaded, the Mujahideen 
organized into eleven main groups: four were 
headquartered in Iran, seven in Pakistan. The 
article appeared in 1988, but today this warning 
rings even louder: "(Decades) of war have 
undermined the old Afghan ways; to the ancient 
ethnic and tribal divisions of Afghanistan have 
been added the conflict of ideologies and the 
irreconcilable ambitions of armed political 
organizations. In the Afghan code of honour, 
badal - the obligation to take revenge - has an 
important place. Neither time nor space limits 
the obligation. Unless a truce is made and 
compensation is paid, harm done in Peshawar or 
Kabul may be avenged years later in New York or 
Moscow."
When will the Soviet Union, Pakistan, the United 
States and Iran deign to offer a truce? The cost 
to Pakistan of failing to do so is spelled out in 
the 1998 article, "What after strategic depth?": 
"However inadvertently, Islamabad is setting the 
stage for the emergence in the next decade of a 
powerful Pakhtoonistan movement."
No one subject Ahmad wrote on was more important 
to him than any other. I selected these articles 
simply because I had not read them before, and 
there is no room to discuss more. So, for 
instance, the three on de-nuclearization, some of 
his last to appear in Dawn, are not discussed, 
though "India's obsession, our choice," in which 
he pleaded that trying to match India's nuclear 
capability is not deterrence but suicide, cannot 
be read enough. Ditto for the eloquent "A 
Kashmiri solution for Kashmir", the articles 
toward the end on Islam and politics, and the 
very moving piece on Akhtar Hameed Khan.
A minor concern: The book is divided into four 
sections; articles within each are not organized 
chronologically. Fair enough, but how are they 
organized? Except for the fourth, the headings 
are too vague to provide a thematic link, and 
although occasionally articles do run smoothly in 
series, some juxtapositions appear perfunctory. 
An example is "Reason as spectator", about a 
stampede that erupted at a conference. Why did it 
follow the articles on the nuclear tests? It 
would have made more sense in the last section, 
with the others on the religious right.
A deeper doubt is the inclusion of excerpts from 
three talks delivered on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, at 
the launch of the Jinnah Papers in 1995, in the 
presence of President Farooq Leghari. In the 
introduction, the editors explain that the 
purpose of the publication of the Jinnah Papers 
was to begin a national debate on Pakistan's 
history. They quote Ahmad as saying: "I do not 
know of any country's educational system that so 
explicitly subordinates knowledge to politics." 
But the excerpts do not begin to fill those gaps 
in knowledge. Moreover, the change in Ahmad's 
tone was stark: "Jinnah led (Pakistanis) with 
unassailable integrity along a path that promised 
economic justice, liberation from a constricting 
past, and an enlightened future. They followed 
with enthusiasm and dedication, without fear or 
misgiving". Nowhere did he himself tackle 
pressing questions, such as: what "constricting 
past" was Jinnah "liberating" Muslims from? And 
what about those Muslims who chose not to 
migrate, or came with a great deal of fear and 
misgiving? If he did write on such topics, the 
articles were unfortunately excluded from the 
book, though Ahmad believed (as he stated in 
another article) that "opposition is to democracy 
what oxygen is to life".
But the rest of the book is a searing, poignant 
gift, and the publisher and editors cannot be 
thanked enough for providing it. Eqbal Ahmad's 
last words in "South Asia in crisis" should be on 
bumper stickers: "In order for Pakistan to 
prosper in freedom and dignity we must withdraw 
the power presently vested in the army and 
bureaucracy and restructure both institutions... 
I hope (we will be compelled) to creativity and 
innovation rather than to put on more military 
fat and to harden the authoritarian arteries of 
the bureaucracy."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eqbal Ahmad-Between Past & Future: Selected Essays on South Asia
Edited by Dohra Ahmad, Iftikhar Ahmad and Zia Mian
Oxford University Press, Plot # 38, Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi
Tel: 111-693-673
Email: ouppak at theoffice.net
Website: www.oup.com.pk



______



[7]

The Centre for Studies on Indian Muslims, Hamdard 
University, invites you to attend a talk on

'Perpetuating Culture and the Production of Self:
A Sociological Understanding of 'Alig' Identity'
(Reflections on What it Means to be a Student of the Aligarh Muslim University)

By
S. M. Faizan Ahmed

  S. M. Faizan Ahmed received a Bachelor's degree 
in Sociology from the Aligarh Muslim University, 
Aligarh, and did his post-graduation from the 
Dept. of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, 
Delhi. Apart from his independent research, he 
has also been involved with several research 
institutions in Delhi. He has worked on 
Partition, Masculinities, Labour issues, the 
Students' movement and Muslim Politics. He is 
currently engaged in writing a monograph entitled 
"Making Democarcy Meaningful: Towards a New Brand 
of Muslim Politics".

Date: 21st October, 2004 (Thursday)
Time: 2:45 pm
Venue: Board Room (Near VC's office), Main 
Administrative Building,Hamdard University, New 
Delhi (Near Batra Hospital)



_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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