SACW #2 | 16-18 Nov 2004
sacw
aiindex at mnet.fr
Wed Nov 17 22:09:05 CST 2004
South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 16-18 November, 2004
via: www.sacw.net
[1] India: The BJP in dire straits (Praful Bidwai)
[2] India: Letter to the Editor (Mukul Dube)
[3] India: The arrest of Sankaracharya . . .
(i) Two notion theory (Badri Raina)
(ii) Rationalists want mutts under scanner (Report in the Hindu)
(iii) Dalit organisation wants Kanchi mutt
property seized (Report in Indian Express)
(iv) Stop politicising seer's arrest: CPI (Report in the Hindu)
(v) On Arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya (statement by CPIM Politburo)
[4] Fund Raising Call from Saheli, New Delhi
[5] India - Upcoming events and Publications :
5.1 National Convention on Development,
Displacement and Rehabilitation (30 Nov & 1 Dec,
2004)
5.2 Zubaan announces the publication of Dawn: A Novel by Arupa Kalita Patangia
5.3 Punjab Lok Rah, a theatre group from
Pakistan, will perform four plays in Maharashtra
--------------
[1]
The News International
November 18, 2004
THE BJP IN DIRE STRAITS
Praful Bidwai
Not even the most inveterate critics of the
Bharatiya Janata Party could have imagined that
the party would prove so incapable of dealing
with its recent election defeat that it would
find itself in the hopeless and utter disarray
that it does today. Last month, L K Advani had to
take over as its party president amidst the
washing of much dirty linen in public because no
second-rung leaders would have survived in the
job. But now even his authority stands undermined.
At last week's party office-bearers' meeting, Uma
Bharati threw a remarkable tantrum, staging a
grotesque political tamasha. She did something
that no Jana Sangh/BJP leader has ever done:
namely, challenge the party's top bosses in the
full glare of cameras while abusing her own
colleagues like M Venkaiah Naidu, Pramod Mahajan
and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Even as Advani was
detailing the crippling second-rung rivalry in
the BJP, she defied him to take disciplinary
action against her.
This episode caps numerous acts of protest and
defiance by Bharati over the past three months,
especially centred on her Tiranga Yatra, in which
she tried to wrap the National Flag around
vicious communalism. The so-called sanyasin
cannot forgive the BJP for having considered her
unfit to govern Madhya Pradesh as Chief Minister
and for not approving of her brother's antics.
She took her revenge in the way she knows best:
loutish and strident.
However, the episode reveals much more. Most
crucially, the BJP's leadership crisis has
deepened. Not only can't it put together a
relatively non-fractious "second-generation"
leadership. Even its "first-generation" leaders'
writ doesn't run. The greatest loser is none
other Advani. This has severely undermined the
desperate hope that he would somehow forge the
party into a fighting machine.
Equally important is the growing rift between the
BJP and the RSS, and the BJP and the loony Right
represented by the VHP - despite Advani's
attempts to placate them. For instance, his very
first pronouncements on taking over as party
president were all of the classic Hindutva
variety, including the Ram temple, "foreign
origins", and a Muslim demographic "invasion".
And his very first trip outside Delhi was made to
the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.
The parivar's fissures have become visible in
three ways. First, a sustained attack by Ashok
Singhal & Co on a hardliner like Advani (declared
"unfit" for the job). Second, Bharati has clearly
received significant encouragement from the
sangh. In particular, she has been advised by K N
Govindacharya, who was sacked by the BJP for his
denigratory remarks about Vajpayee, but whom the
RSS never disowned. And third, the RSS has
indirectly reprimanded Advani for holding the
first office-bearers' meeting in front of TV
cameras.
A front-page editorial in RSS organ "Organiser"
raps him on the knuckles for allowing "full-blast
televising" of Bharati's remarks and permitting
the media "to play a major role in BJP affairs...
It is one thing to be media savvy, another to be
captivated by the media". The article only mildly
rebukes Bharati in one line for being
"impulsive". Otherwise, it showers fulsome praise
upon her as a "very effective campaigner; a mass
mobiliser for the Hindu cause" and "a very
dynamic leader, honest, and committed to high
ideals", who will always "remain part of the
sangh movement". The BJP is reportedly making
conciliatory gestures towards Bharati. This can
only further damage Advani's authority and
strengthen the RSS's weight vis-a-vis the BJP.
The BJP today faces a manifold crisis. Six months
after the Lok Sabha elections, it has failed to
comprehend, accept or reconcile itself to its
defeat. From outright denial, it has at best
graduated to "internal" or question-begging
causes: we lost our ideological moorings; our
campaign on roads and electricity peaked too
soon; our "India Shining" slogan was pitched too
high... This basically denies that the party's
appeal has fundamentally narrowed and its social
base shrunk and that it offers no vision to the
people. Programmatically, the BJP peddles a
bankrupt mix of communalism, neoliberal economics
and toxic, chauvinist nationalism.
The BJP's crisis today is far grimmer than in
1984, when it was reduced to a miserable two
seats in the Lok Sabha. This is so despite the
fact that it is in power in six states, while 20
years ago, it ruled in none. Then, the party was
about to be buoyed up dramatically by the
anti-Babri mosque movement. This catapulted it to
89 seats. Today, there is no broad social
movement around. The Ayodhya temple campaign
evokes no popular support.
In 1984, the BJP was still an untested entity and
enjoyed a "novelty" advantage. Now, it has been
tried, tested and rejected. Then, the BJP was a
rising force especially in the Gangetic
heartland. Today, it is in dire shape in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar. Earlier, it could capitalise
on the Congress's historic decline and the
shrinking of the Centre-Left space in politics.
Now, that space is expanding and the Congress
reviving.
In the mid-1980s, there was strong synergy
between the BJP, RSS and VHP. The VHP mobilised
numbers through the hate-driven anti-Babri
agitation. The RSS provided the ideological
cement and organisational muscle. And the BJP
handled the parliamentary or "respectable"
political side of this division of labour. Now,
that has broken down. The VHP is in revolt. And
the RSS wants to administer "shock treatment"
even to Advani to remind him of his promise that
the BJP "will return to Hindutva".
Three questions arise. Fifteen years after its
meteoric rise, the BJP is shrinking. Does this
signify a short downturn or long-term decline?
Will the BJP split-into a hardline fringe party
like the Jana Sangh, plus a relatively "moderate"
parliamentary party? And does Hindutva, or rabid
Hindu nationalism, have a future as an ideology
or culture?
The BJP has probably entered a phase of long
decline. Given the present trends in society and
politics, it's hard to see how it can bounce
back. There are no likely electoral victories
anywhere. And sectarianism is so deeply ingrained
in the party that it will continue to play a
highly negative, confrontationist and
obstructionist role, further eroding its
credibility. Of course, its opponents could soon
get discredited if they follow conservative
policies or adopt a Right-wing course. But the
UPA hasn't yet embraced that course.
The BJP could split especially if a succession
struggle breaks out after Vajpayee and Advani
(who is barely two years younger) fade out. New
contenders could emerge for their mantle - eg
Narendra Milosevic Modi, backed by the VHP-RSS,
who might join hands with Bharati. In this case,
less hardline leaders, allied to industrial
houses, might break away.
However, a certain constituency for Hindutva will
still remain. It was always there - even at the
high noon of the Freedom Movement, and during the
wave of anti-RSS sentiment after Gandhi's
assassination. But this will be a marginal,
fringe constituency, with a mindset based on
visceral hatred of Muslims, and on rejection of a
plural, multi-ethnic, multi-religion India. But
that hardly spells a bright future for a party
that ruled India for six years.
______
[2] [Letter to the Editor]
D-504 Purvasha
Mayur Vihar 1
Delhi 110091
16 November 2004
The NDA says that while it still holds that all must accept the
verdict of the judiciary in the Ayodhya matter, it "prefers a
negotiated settlement" because our judicial process is slow.
Some questions arise.
1. What if a settlement is negotiated but the judicial verdict,
whenever it arrives, goes counter to that settlement?
2. In the negotiations, who will represent Hindus and who will
represent Muslims? Neither side has an electoral college or elected
leaders. Each side has many religious leaders who are often arrayed
against one another. Will lung power decide, or else the presence
of the words "Hindu" and "Muslim" in the names of
organisations? Are we to have two more Election Commissions?
3. All negotiation includes the use of pressure. Might the NDA's
preference for negotiation be a result of its inability to pressure
the courts and its demonstrated ability to pressure the other side?
4. Negotiations conducted in, to quote the NDA's resolution,
"an atmosphere of communal peace, mutual trust and good-
will", must involve give and take. Have we not seen, in the last
several years, that one side at least can take but cannot give?
The answers to these questions will identify the substance a load
of which makes up the NDA's resolution.
Mukul Dube
______
[3] [On the Arrest of the Shankaracharya of Kanchi . . . ]
(i)
Hindustan Times
November 16, 2004 | Op-Ed.
TWO NOTION THEORY
Platform | Badri Raina
By any reckoning, the arrest of the
Shankaracharya of Kanchi is an extraordinary
event in Independent India. Some sections of
society already view the occurrence as a
not-to-be-endured challenge to what they have
been accustomed to thinking of as a repository of
unquestionable social power. Others, perhaps
disbelievingly, see in it the expression of a new
self-assurance on behalf of the State.
Clearly, the arrest and the contentions that
surround it bring into sharp focus the central
coordinate of a debate that ought to have been
resolved by now: should certain centres of social
authority be deemed to be beyond the pale of the
Constitution that authorises the existence of the
Republic? Or should the majesty of the law
override structures of assertion that pre-date
the constitutional republic? This continuing
fault-line still sometimes divides the
consciousness of India's expanding civil society
and diverse social interests that from time to
time seek to reinstitute precedence over the
legitimate operations of the State as by law
established.
Looked at in this way, the logic of the support
expressed by some Muslim clerics and Christian
fathers to the Shankaracharya can be understood.
Often divided along communal loyalties -
sometimes violently - the holy leaderships across
communities close ranks against the supremacy of
laws sanctioned by the secular State.
In this context, it is a matter of no small
significance that the prosecution of the
Shankaracharya has been ordered by the Tamil Nadu
government. Given the well-known fact that the
chief minister of that state bears profound
allegiance to the Hindu faith, and meticulously
observes all that it enjoins, the prima facie
case against the Shankaracharya has to have been
fairly decisive for the arrest to have been
sanctioned. That such sanction was granted must
also be read as testimony to Jayalalithaa's
admirable strength of allegiance to her oath of
office. Indeed, it is an example that cannot but
serve the republic truly well in consolidating
the sanctity of its foundational principles.
As the controversy is fuelled, three imperatives
suggest themselves. One, that the central
government give all due constitutional deference
to the judgment of the Tamil Nadu government and
desist from making any sort of intervention,
except to ensure that no sectarian interests are
permitted the licence to cause lawless mayhem or
inter-community strife. Two, that consistent with
the high standards and record of the Indian
judiciary, the courts in question continue to
look the case in the eye with customary
objectivity which is second nature to our
lordships, letting both fear and favour take a
backseat in deference to the majesty of the
Constitution and the law. And, three, that all
organs of civil society function as correctives
to interested social opinion, and argue on behalf
of the legitimacy of the republic and the rule of
law.
It must be emphasised that quite apart from the
particular case and its outcome - whatever it may
be - the matter of the deepest watershed
significance will be how the State and civil
society conduct themselves during and after its
pendency. It may not be an exaggeration to say
that far too much more for the life of the
republic may depend on that conduct than we may
at the moment envisage.
With due respect, one may address a plea to our
several leaders of organised religious opinion as
well. Is it not time that they gave their
acknowledgement and assent to the separation of
the domains of faith on the one hand and of the
conjoint obligations of the State towards all
citizens as stipulated by the Constitution? Do
they consider it possible that we can continue to
exist as a democracy - of which we are everyday
proud - if contending religious claims are
together permitted to thwart the operations of a
regime of laws meant to be applicable to every
Indian?
It is entirely legitimate and desirable that our
holy men and women insist that in all such cases,
the State function without prejudice. But any
clamour that the claims of religious identity are
above the claims of universal law, or that, worse
still, of some one particular religion above also
all other religions, can only speed the
disintegration of the very democracy that we are
so justly proud of. Surely, those to whom so many
Indians trust their souls understand this better
than ordinary mortals.
Therefore, the sooner they put their stamp of
approval upon the Republic as at present
constituted, the finer might become the produce
of their elevated endeavours to look after the
spiritual health of the nation. After all,
whenever rajdharma has been allowed to be
vitiated by the unemancipated self-absorptions of
dogma, the results for everybody - not excluding
those who set such proceedings in motion - have
always been bitter and self-defeating.
Let us learn to give to God what is God's and to
Caesar what is Caesar's - except that in our case
Caesar is only the Republic that we have given to
ourselves.
o o o o
(ii)
The Hindu
November 16, 2004
RATIONALISTS WANT MUTTS UNDER SCANNER
By Our Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD, NOV.15. The Federation of Atheist and Rationalists'
Association (FARA) has demanded that the Government keep a
watch on the activities of all mutts in the light of the arrest of the
Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Jayendra
Saraswathi.
In a statement here on Monday, N. Innaiah, coordintor, and eight
other activists of various rationalist and social organisations, accused
holy persons attached to mutts, ashrams, churches and wakfs of
indulging in "nefarious" activities and amassing wealth.
`Withdraw exemptions'
They said the arrest and quick action followed by the detention of the
Kanchi seer should be an eye-opener to all governments regarding
activities of these religious institutions. Referring to the protest by
"fundamentalist religious sections" against the arrest, they said this
indicated the danger of "getting exemptions from criminal activities on
the pretext of spiritualism."
The FARA asked the Government to withdraw all exemptions and tax
reliefs on properties and incomes extended to religious institutions
and separate religion from State affairs.
These organisations should confine their activities to only religion
without any involvement of State expenditure.
Mr. Innaiah urged the State Government to reopen the Puttaparthi
case of murders involving Sri Satya Saibaba and enquire into
activities of Kalki Bhagwan.
o o o o
(iii)
Indian Express
November 15 2004
DALIT ORGANISATION WANTS KANCHI MUTT PROPERTY SEIZED
MYSORE: The district Dalit Sangharsha Samiti has demanded that
the Tamil Nadu government seize the property of Kanchi mutt, as its
pontiff has been arrested on charges of murder.
Welcoming the initiative of the Tamil Nadu police, the Samiti termed
the arrest of Kanchi seer as legal, adding that the procedures followed
by the police were well within the limits of the Constitution.
In a press release issued here on Sunday, the members condemned
protests staged by the Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS activists, stating
that they should respect the Indian Constitution. ‘‘Laws are the same
for anyone, whether a king or seer,’’ they stated. The Samiti urged the
Madras High Court to order a thorough probe into the murder.
o o o o
(iv)
The Hindu
November 16, 2004
STOP POLITICISING SEER'S ARREST: CPI
NALGONDA, NOV.15. The Communist Party of India (CPI) State
secretary and Nalgona MP, S. Sudhakar Reddy, has advised Sangh
Parivar to "stop giving political colour'' to the arrest of the Kanchi
Sankaracharya.
Speaking to reporters at the party district headquarters here on
Monday, Mr. Sudhakar Reddy took exception to the "efforts of the
saffron brigade'' to project the arrest as an act against a particular
religion. "No one is above law. Courts will decide whether the
Sankaracharya is guilty or innocent,'' he added.
o o o o
(v)
November 14, 2004
Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist) has issued the following statement:
ON ARREST OF KANCHI SHANKARACHARYA
The arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, Sri
Jayendra Saraswathi has taken place in the
background of an investigation by the police in a
murder case. The prosecution has stated that
sufficient evidence exists to proceed against Sri
Jayendra Saraswati. Nobody is above law and the
judicial process should proceed unhindered.
The efforts of the VHP and some other forces to
give a communal angle to this affair is
condemnable. While the case should be pursued
with sensitivity keeping in mind the religious
status of the individual concerned, it must be
emphasized that this is not a religious matter.
The Tamilnadu state government should not give
into any pressures and allow the law to take its
course.
______
[4]
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 04:44:19 +0530
Dear Friend,
SUB: Fund Raising Call from Saheli, New Delhi
As always, warm greetings from Saheli.
We started 23 years ago with, as the saying goes,
'8 women, Rs. 80, two jhadoos and our
convictions' to be an autonomous women's group.
Beginning as a crisis-intervention centre to
offer support to women in distress, Saheli has
over the years, evolved into a campaign group
working on a range of issues pertaining to
women's health, safety and legal rights while at
the same time challenging the spectrum of
violence and aggression that women face - from
sexual assault to communalism to sex
determination to war.
In order to do so, we at Saheli work in many ways
to register protest and raise awareness. From
being solidarity space and support group for
several autonomous groups, to hands-on action, to
taking legal recourse to conducting surveys,
doing research to outreach programmes that
include presentations and talks, discussions,
film shows, plays, audio cassettes, etc.
Select areas of our current work include:
· Sexual
harassment at the workplace: raising awareness to
make the workplace safe for women employees,
helping individual women to deal with the problem
and access justice, and working on emerging
legislation on the issue.
· Women's health
and wellbeing: with specific focus on hazardous
contraceptives, coercive population control
policies, and the practice of sex-determination
and sex-selective abortions.
· Rising
communalism and conservatism: how it affects and
controls women's rights, liberties and sexuality;
its correlation with rising casteism and
caste/religion based violence, and the resurgence
of retrograde practices like sati, honour
killings, etc.
· Violence
against women: joint campaigns to raise awareness
of and strengthen women's struggle against sexual
harassment, sexual assault, violence and rape, as
well as against prejudice and violence on lesbian
women and other sexual minorities.
· Self Defence
training to empower women to better assess and
prepare themselves against physical and mental
assault.
· Periodic
publication of newsletters in English and Hindi,
monographs, reports, posters, stickers and other
campaign material.
· Active on
several committees and forums, as well as other
local, national and international networks on
university campuses, with student groups, women's
groups and other peoples' movements.
Over the years, the faith of countless women and
men like you, your inputs, encouragement,
criticism, and energy have been our major source
of strength. So today we write to ask you for
more: Your increased participation to fortify us
in these hard times, and some of that other dirty
thing called 'money'!
As you all know, our financial needs at Saheli
are modest - all of us are volunteers, yet
printing, publication and running an office does
cost us some. But for most part we manage to
raise funds for our functioning primarily from
individual donors and supporters of our work, and
through the sale of a variety of publications /
campaign material on issues we are working on. In
addition, we have organised just a couple of fund
raising events with corporate contributions over
the years - a music concert with Gangubai Hangal,
1988 and a screening of the film Unishe April,
1995.
Currently, our bank balance is hitting rock
bottom, so we are writing to ask you to please
offer a personal donation to Saheli as soon as
possible. (All donations are Tax Exempt under
Section 80G.) [...]
It would be best if your contribution could be slabs of :
· r Rs 100 / r Rs
500 / r Rs 1000 / r Rs 2000 / r Rs 5000 / r More
that you would like to offer as a
· r One-time / r Monthly / r Yearly commitment.
If you are a supporter living outside India, you
could also send us personal cheques in foreign
currency.
All Cheques/Demand Drafts should be made in
favour of SAHELI WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTRE.
Also, if you know of other friends who may like
to support our work, please feel free to pass
this appeal on to them.
Your prompt response is all the more important
because we are planning to dovetail this personal
contributions drive with a fund raising event (to
which all contributors will get a free invitation
of course) in early December. We will keep you
posted on developments on that front as they get
finalised too.
As always, rest assured your contributions will
help us continue our efforts towards a life of
dignity and equality for all women.
In solidarity,
Deepti, Laxmi, Sadhna, Satnam, Shweta, Vani, Vineeta
for SAHELI WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTRE
Saheli, Above Shop 105-108, Defence Colony Flyover Market, Defence
Colony, New Delhi 110 024 [India]
______
[5] [UPCOMING EVENTS AND PUBLICATIONS ]
5.1)
National Convention on Development, Displacement and Rehabilitation:
Asserting Rights, Demanding Justice and Evolving Strategies
Dates: 30 November & 1 December, 2004
Venue: New Delhi
Draft Agenda
Day I: November 30, 2004
No.
Time
Session
Invitees / Resource Persons
1
10.30 am - 11.30 am
Registration
2
11.30 am - 1.00 pm
Inauguration
Eminent persons, and representatives of the affected people
3
1.00 pm - 2.00 pm
Lunch
4
2.00 pm - 6.00 pm
Presentation on Development Planning; Impacts;
Mitigation and Rehabilitation - sector wise
Representatives of Peoples’ Movements, Researchers and Activists
5
7. 00 - 8.00 pm
Dinner
6
8.00 - 9.00 pm
Regional Meetings
7
9.00 onwards
Cultural programme / Documentaries
Day II: December 1, 2004
No.
Time
Session
Invitees / Resource Persons
1
9.00 am - 9.30 am
Displacement and Development in the International context and forum
Smitu Kothari and Miloon Kothari
2
9.30 am 11.00 am
Group Discussions on the proposed National policy and Strategies
NAPM, Centre for Equity Studies, Indian Social Institute
3
11.30 am - 1.00 pm
Reporting in the plenary
4
1.00 pm - 2.00 pm
Lunch
5
2.00 pm - 3.30 pm
Strategy Planning
6
3.30 pm - 5.00 pm
Interaction, Response and Declaration
Ministers, Chairpersons of National Commissions,
Members of Parliament and invitees from political
parties
Convened by: National Alliance of People's
Movements, Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Labourers’
Union, National Fish Workers Forum, Lokayan,
Shoshit Jan Andolan and Shahar Vikas Manch
(Maharashtra), Narmada Bachao Andolan; Delhi
Forum; Indian Social Institute; Habitat
International Coalition - Housing and Land Rights
Network; Matu Jana Sangathan and Rajendra Prasad
Academy, New Delhi.
o o o o
5.2)
ZUBAAN ANNOUNCES THE PUBLICATION OF DAWN: A NOVEL
BY AWARD WINNING ASSAMESE WRITER, ARUPA KALITA
PATANGIA.
Dawn
A Novel
Arupa Kalita Patangia
Translated by Ranjita Biswas
300pp Pb o Rs 295
o ISBN 81 86706 84 4 o All rights available
Set in the heady years preceding independence,
this is the story of young Binapani growing up in
a small Assamese town. Headstrong, stubborn and
high-spirited, this independent minded girl is
confronted with a host of questions as she
attempts to come to terms with the changing
reality around her: why are girls not allowed to
study? Why do some families have to live in
poverty while others are feted and fawned upon by
townspeople? Why does a nationalist hero have to
be hidden away, a Christian boy termed an
outcasete? Before she can even begin to find
answers to any of these questions - in which her
only support is her aging grandmother, Jashodha -
Binapani is married off to a much older man whom
she has always disliked. A lifetime of drudgery,
relieved by the birth of her children, her
occasional visits to her grandmother, follows and
then, just as life threatens to become empty of
joy, a chance encounter with an old friend brings
change. Binapani realizes that the world is still
a beautiful place and life can still have
meaning. This beautifully crafted tale describes
a moment of profound hisotrical change, against
which it weaves a fine web of changing
relationships, of people's joys and sorrows, as
seen through the eyes of a young girl and her
painful journey to adulthood.
Arupa Patangia Kalita is one of Assam's leading,
award-winning novelists. She has more than ten
novels and short story collections to her credit
including Mriganabhi (1987) and Millenniumar
Sapon (2002). A Ph.D in English Literature, she
teaches English at Tangla College, Assam.
Ranjita Biswas has translated a number of
well-known Bengali and Assamese novels into
English.
For any further enquiries or for ordering copies
of the book, please contact Jaya Bhattacharji or
Satish Sharma at:
Zubaan,
K-92, First Floor,
Hauz Khas Enclave,
New Delhi - 110016
INDIA
Tel: +91-11-26521008, 26864497 and 26514772
Email: zubaanwbooks at vsnl.net
o o o o
5.3)
[ Punjab Lok Rah (PLR), a theatre group from
Pakistan, will perform four plays in Maharashtra
between 20th November and 25th November at the
invitation of Pakistan India Peoples' Forum For
Peace And Democracy (PIPFPD).
20 November at YB Chavan auditorium (Pune)
22 November at 8.00pm at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi (Bombay) ]
o o o o
(The Times of India, NOVEMBER 18, 2004)
City to host 'dramatic' Indo-Pak event
PUNE: The much-talked about people-to-people
dialogue between India and Pakistan finally
reaches Pune this weekend in the form of the
play, Sidq (The truth).
A delegation of 24 actors from the acclaimed
Lahore group, Punjab Lok Rahs, will stage the
play, based on the story of Shaheed Bhagat Singh,
at the Y.B. Chavan auditorium at 5 pm on November
20. The group will arrive in the city on November
19 as part of a 12-day India tour, Sanjay Sangwai
and Anwar Rajan of the Pakistan-India People's
Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) told
reporters on Wednesday. The tickets are available
at the venue as well as at Modern Furniture, Pune
camp and Books and Bakery, LIC building, opposite
Alaka theatre. The 50-minute play will be
followed by an interactive session with the
audience, which should prove the first
opportunity in a long time for Puneites to
exchange views with Pakistani citizens.
Interactions with several other groups, including
one at the Pune municipal corporation and the
Centre for Performing Arts, University of Pune,
has also been planned during their two-day tour.
After Saturday's inaugural show, several others
have been planned at Aurangabad, Mumbai (Ravindra
Natyamandir), Nagpur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and
other cities.
"This is just the beginning. The two peoples have
a lot in common, and such interactions will
increase the pressure on the governments to shift
the agenda from military expenditure to health
and development. If the process begins well in
Pune, the message will go down well in the rest
of Maharashtra," Sangvai said.
"The group is one of the progressive groups in
Pakistan. The choice of Bhagat Singh as a subject
is an interesting example, considering earlier
governments have tried to play down the freedom
struggle, which is part of the common past of the
two nations," Anwar Rajan said.
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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/
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