SACW | 25 Jan 2005
sacw
aiindex at mnet.fr
Mon Jan 24 21:13:28 CST 2005
South Asia Citizens Wire | 25 Jan., 2005
via: www.sacw.net
[1] The spectre of a 'second Tsunami' in Sri
Lanka: What can we do to prevent a human-made
disaster? (N. Shanmugaratnam)
[2] Pakistan-India: Cap The Nuclear Arsenal Now (R. Rajaraman)
[3] India: Secularism at stake (Bhanu Mehta)
[4] Tsunami relief and secularism : Needed a
progressive outlook in Charity (V.B.Rawat)
[5] India: Orissa - Agenda of Desaffronisation A Casualty (Santosh Das)
[6] India [Gujarat's religion survey in schools]
'Facts And Fears' (Edit, the Telegraph)
--------------
[1]
THE SPECTRE OF A 'SECOND TSUNAMI' IN SRI LANKA:
WHAT CAN WE DO TO PREVENT A HUMAN-MADE DISASTER?
by N. Shanmugaratnam (People-People Dialogue on Peace & Development (PPD))
[ 20 January 2005]
We live in a world in which disasters are not
uncommon. Let us not forget for a moment that
millions of people have died and are dying of
aids, malaria and starvation. The war in Iraq and
the numerous intrastate wars in various parts of
the world are so destructive of assets and
livelihoods while taking a heavy toll of human
life.
However, no disaster in our time has shocked the
world and impacted on the human psyche and evoked
sympathy for the victims on such a scale as the
Asian tsunami. The explanation for this lies in
the suddenness and the enormity of the havoc
wreaked by the tsunami. Over 200,000 lives were
lost and millions have been rendered homeless and
displaced in a matter of seconds and minutes. The
tsunami was a disastrous natural event from a
human point of view. However, it is well known
that the devastation would have been much less
had we been forewarned and better prepared. That
there is a human-made dimension to the
catastrophic socio-economic effects of the
tsunami is conveniently forgotten by the ruling
elites, who keep calling the disaster a purely
natural one. Blaming nature alone (and in this
instance it sounds credible) helps the local
rulers to cover up their failures. It has also
helped those who failed to share the
meteorological information they had about the
advancing tsunami with the countries on its way.
The suddenness or the speed and the scale of the
disaster have made it a humanitarian emergency of
unprecedented proportions. They have also thrown
up unprecedented challenges for reconstruction
and development. Valuable human capital has been
washed out. Millions of people had become
pauperised in a moment. Local and regional
economies have been destroyed. In the two worst
affected countries, Indonesia and Sri Lanka these
challenges have acquired greater complexity
because of their internal politico-military
situations. In these countries, post-tsunami
reconstruction cannot be separated from post-war
reconstruction and development. The challenge is
to turn the tsunami tragedy into an opportunity
for conflict resolution and link reconstruction
and development to peace building. Are these
countries ready to face the challenge?
Let us take the case of Sri Lanka, where nearly 40,000 people were killed.
* The tsunami has devastated around 70% of
the coast and the interior up to more than 2 km,
from the northernmost tip in the Jaffna peninsula
through the entire north-east and the south and a
part of the west coast up to the suburbs of
Colombo.
* A million people have been displaced.
* Livelihoods of over 250,000 households
ruined (fishers, farmers, shop owners and
employees in tourism and other sectors).
* Destruction of infrastructure, Businesses, other private assets.
* Loss of vital documents including documents regarding property rights.
* Unknown numbers of orphans, widows,
disabled persons and victims of post-disaster
trauma.
We need to place this tragedy in the larger
context of our unresolved national question and
the consequences of two decades of war in which
over 65,000 lives were lost.
* Around two thirds of the tsunami-affected
coastline is in the war zone of the North-East.
* 7-800,000 people were internally displaced due to war.
* Extensive destruction and damage to
infrastructure, regional economy and the
environment.
* Loss of livelihoods due to
militarisation, displacement, wartime
restrictions and death and incapacitation of
breadwinners.
* Resettlement of the war-displaced has
been extremely slow even three years after the
Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) of February 2002.
* New grievances and conflicts regarding
livelihoods and access to land and water
resources have emerged in the war-torn NEP as a
result of the protracted war.
* Communalisation i.e. the division of the
Lankan polity along ethnic lines runs deep.
* The peace process has been stalled for a
long time and the political tensions between the
UPFA government and the LTTE had reached a
serious level just before the tsunami.
The question is: Can post-tsunami reconstruction
be separated from post-war reconstruction &
development? The challenge, if I may repeat, is
to link reconstruction and development to
conflict resolution and peace building. This
involves:
* An early revival of the peace process and
reaching an agreement on an interim/transitional
arrangement for the NorthEast Province (NEP)
while jointly working on a long-term political
settlement.
* Rebuilding the war-torn and tsunami-torn
communities and their livelihoods.
* Rehabilitation and sustainable
development of coastal zone resource systems:
human settlements, fisheries, coastal agriculture
and forestry, recreation and tourism.
* Overall socio-economic revival.
* National reconciliation & reunification.
Today, there is an opportunity but there are some disturbing developments too.
Positive:
* Unity and Solidarity across ethnic and
religious divides: The tsunami has united people
across ethnic and religious divides:
People-People mutual help and harmony are at
their best in decades in Sri Lanka.
* Social movements support political
settlement: Some social movements in the South
are strongly supportive of a political settlement.
* The CFA has survived: The CFA of February
2002 continues to hold though with violations and
amid uncertainty.
* Majority reject war and are for peace:
Majority of the peoples of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese,
Tamils, Muslims and others) reject war and favour
a political settlement.
* High potential for development:
Development of the war and tsunami affected
economy has high potential for employment
generation, equitability and national
reconciliation if the right policies are chosen
and if development can be governed by appropriate
institutional arrangements.
* International support for peace: The
international actors involved in Sri Lankan
affairs seem to favour a political settlement.
Negative:
* Politicisation of official relief and
reconstruction: Official tsunami relief and
post-tsunami reconstruction have become
divisively politicised along party and ethnic
lines. Indeed, the tsunami became politicised
from the moment it hit the coasts of Sri Lanka.
* Centralisation and exclusion: There is an
ongoing centralisation of the entire official
relief and reconstruction operations under the
direct control of the President. This is not
likely to counter the divisive politicisation but
will bureaucratise relief and reconstruction with
adverse effects on the victims, while widening
the communication gap between the government and
the LTTE. Along with this is the trend of
corporatisation of reconstruction, with the
co-optation of business leaders into Task Forces
and committees dealing with the planning and
utilisation of foreign aid. The government has
been taking major decisions regarding coastal
human settlements and establishment of new urban
centres and towns in a totally top-down and
authoritarian fashion under conditions of
Emergency. There has not been any consultation
whatsoever with the affected communities, local
organisations and other stakeholders. People's
organisations and social movements have objected
to the government's failure to provide for
representation of the affected communities in
decision making. This centralist trend is
conflict-insensitive and likely to have adverse
effects on the peace process and the search for a
solution to the national question based on
autonomy and power sharing.
* Militarisation: The rescue and relief
operations have become militarised. Many
stakeholders view this with grave concern. The
government has ordered the state's armed forces
to take over relief distribution in affected
areas including the NEP. This has created new
tensions between the government and LTTE. Even
more disturbing is the arrival of troops from
India, USA, Pakistan, UK and Canada for rescue
and relief operations.
* Fear of a 'second tsunami':
Reconstruction and development policy: There are
concerns about the new regulations regarding
resettlement of the displaced in coastal areas
and about the high probability of a new wave of
social exclusion and disenfranchisement in the
name of reconstruction and development. There is
fear of a 'second tsunami' - a metaphor coined by
some Lankan activists to refer to a possible
human-made disaster. This fear is not unfounded
given the past experience of spatially and
socially uneven development. Post-tsunami
reconstruction has become almost entirely donor
driven, like the neoliberal development of the
past 27 years. One of the effects of the tsunami
has been a further widening of the disparities in
households' income and other entitlements between
the western urban areas and the affected coastal
areas. The government's approach has not shown
sufficient sensitivity to this and other problems.
* Ultranationalist opposition: There is
opposition from ultranationalist groups to a
peaceful resolution of the national question.
What can we do to prevent a 'second tsunami'.
The short answer is: oppose the negative and
support the positive tendencies. But this is more
easily said than done. The tasks ahead are
daunting. However, it is heartening to note that
several organisations have already found common
grounds to defend the rights of the tsunami
victims and to expose the flawed policy and
practices of the government. In a bizarre sense,
the tsunami was a blessing to the government,
which was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the
lack of much wanted foreign aid that was held up
due to the 'peace conditionality'. The tragedy
opened another door of foreign aid to the
government. Today, the government has been
promised tsunami aid to the tune of USD 1.8 bn.
The government is obviously happy about this and
the debt freeze, which has provided a temporary
relief from repayment of debt. This means the
government does not have any major financial
constraints for the time being. On the other
hand, how the money is going to be spent will
decide the socio-economic and environmental
outcome of the external aid received.
We need to recognise and face the challenge of
linking post-tsunami reconstruction to peace and
post-war reconstruction and development. This is
the time to do it and we cannot afford to miss
this historic opportunity. I submit the following
ideas for discussion at the PPD sessions.
* Work towards creating a broad and
principled alliance to resist the ongoing
politicisation, centralisation, militarisation
and corporatisation of relief and reconstruction;
This involves the formulation of an alternative
policy and an agenda for action.
* Demand a quick withdrawal of the foreign
troops from Sri Lanka, and a non-military
arrangement for relief and debris clearing
operations;
* Mobilise the victims of the tsunami and
discuss the proposed regulations on coastal
settlement and land rights with a view to
formulate the people's demands and develop an
agenda for action;
* Defend the fishing rights of the small
fishers and resist any attempt by government to
weaken or deny their customary rights to fishing
grounds;
* Organise a campaign for the immediate revival of the peace process.
* Expand the PPD process to include
dialogues between tsunami victims from the South
and war and tsunami victims from the NE (Tamils,
Muslims and Sinhalese) with a view to strengthen
solidarity and to learn new ideas regarding
reconciliation, reconstruction and development.
* Mobilise international support for
durable peace and inclusive and equitable
development in Sri Lanka.
______
[2]
The Hindu
Jan 25, 2005
Opinion - Leader Page Articles
CAP THE NUCLEAR ARSENAL NOW
By R. Rajaraman
If we in South Asia do not act now we will
bequeath succeeding generations hundreds of
nuclear weapons, in the shadow of whose hazards
they will have to live.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE lip service that they
periodically pay to the goal of a nuclear
weapon-free South Asia, in practice the
Governments of India and Pakistan are not taking
serious steps to move towards it. Most of our
national security experts also seem to consider
nuclear disarmament to be no more than a pipe
dream of peace activists. Admittedly, given the
state of India-Pakistan relations and the
proximity of a nuclear China, the prospects for
ridding our country of these weapons do seem
bleak. But I do not believe they are hopeless.
However in order to achieve disarmament people
advocating it have to go about it in graduated
steps, rather than demand immediate disarmament
on an all-or-nothing basis.
Taking on the task of full disarmament of South
Asia at this stage may be forbidding . But the
more modest goal of capping the arsenal at
existing levels may be achievable. As of now,
South Asian nuclear forces and their associated
infrastructure are still relatively small
compared to those of other nuclear powers. If
further growth and consolidation could be stopped
soon, it may be possible eventually to roll back
the arsenal. It is the first step on the road to
full disarmament. Keeping the arsenal from
becoming larger also lowers the various risks
attendant with the possession of nuclear weapons.
These risks include the possibility of accidents,
fires, launch through human and instrumental
error, and theft by non-state actors.
Therefore a concerted effort should be made by
peace lovers and arms controllers to demand the
capping of South Asian nuclear arsenals at
current levels as soon as possible. We in India
should do this unilaterally, in our own
enlightened self-interest. Even this smaller goal
of capping the arsenal will not be easy to
achieve. It can only be done by evolving a broad
consensus among people with different shades of
opinion on the nuclear issue. There are some in
the subcontinent who, like me, strongly believe
that nuclear weapons are not essential for
national security. But there are others, many
more in number and most of them not hawks by
nature, who genuinely feel that nuclear weapons
are a necessary evil to deter our nuclear
neighbours. Their concerns must be addressed if a
consensus is to be evolved to stop the onward
march of nuclearisation.
The concept of nuclear deterrence is based on
shaky foundations that are as much psychological
as they are logical. Nevertheless, in order to
address the concerns of those who believe in it,
let us accept the notion of deterrence for the
sake of argument. That raises the question of how
large an arsenal of warheads is really needed for
that purpose. The strategy of deterrence relies
on possessing a nuclear capability that can still
inflict, even after a first attack by the enemy,
unacceptable damage to the other side. This, it
is argued, would deter them from attempting a
nuclear first strike.
Now, just a couple of modest 15-20 kiloton
weapons dropped on Lahore and Karachi or New
Delhi and Mumbai would kill half a million
people. Surely, that should already be
"unacceptable damage" to an even remotely
responsible leadership. A leadership that finds
this "acceptable" is beyond the pale of
rationality and cannot be relied upon to feel
deterred even by the prospect of a larger attack.
Given that a successful attack on a few major
cities with a couple of 20 kiloton weapons each
would inflict unacceptable damage, it is not
clear why the notion of deterrence should call
for dozens, let alone hundreds, of weapons.
All one needs are a few surviving deliverable
weapons. With clever camouflaging techniques,
mobile launchers, and submarine-based missiles,
losses due to limitations of reliability,
accuracy, and survivability in the event of a
first attack would at most be about 50 per cent.
Altogether then, about a dozen safely stored
warheads should really be sufficient for such
deterrence.
Now, a conservative estimate based on most
reports would suggest that India and Pakistan
already have 40 or more nuclear weapons each -
more than sufficient to serve the requirements of
deterrence. Unfortunately, even with so many
weapons already in hand, they see their nuclear
arsenals as still being at some incomplete stage.
Despite the fact that relations between the two
countries have improved over the past year and a
dialogue is proceeding on different fronts, there
has been no interruption in the further build-up
of their respective nuclear forces.
In fact not too long ago Pakistan's President,
Pervez Musharraf, assured his nation, in
connection with the Dr. A.Q. Khan episode, that
its nuclear assets and its missile programme
would not be rolled back. On the Indian side too
one has not heard any person in authority talking
of stopping or even slowing down further growth
of nuclearisation. India's nuclear doctrine,
which is presumably still the blueprint for its
nuclear strategy, speaks of a triad of aircraft,
mobile land-based missiles, and sea-based assets
with multiple redundant systems. So the present
thaw in India-Pakistan relations notwithstanding,
if no decisive steps are taken to reverse the
existing policies of nuclear build-up there may
be well over a hundred nuclear weapons on each
side within a decade. Certainly I know some
influential voices in India that would want even
bigger arsenals.
We are aware that India's nuclear strategy is not
just a bilateral matter involving Pakistan. It is
designed as much, if not more, with China in
mind. That we have three contiguous nuclear
nations certainly makes the de-nuclearisation of
this region a very complicated matter. But as far
as capping the Indian arsenal is concerned, the
preceding arguments for it hold just as much when
applied to China as the adversary. The assured
prospect of, say, Nanjing and Shanghai receiving
a couple of bombs that would kill half a million
people should be ample for deterring today's
China (we do not yet have the missiles to deliver
them that far, but no doubt we are working on
them). In China's perception its main external
threat comes from the United States and its
missile defence programme and not India.
Furthermore, China is now focussed strongly on
pursuing its economic growth and domestic
prosperity. It is extremely unlikely to initiate
any adventure against India that could invite
nuclear retaliation against any of its major
cities.
The fact that China possesses several hundred
nuclear warheads does not negate the argument for
capping the Indian arsenal at a much smaller
number. The tenets of deterrence do not require
that your arsenal match that of your adversary,
but only that it be capable of inflicting damage
that is unacceptable to any rational leadership
on the other side. Recall that China itself has
been content to stay with just a few hundred
weapons, even though the U.S. and Russia, which
it views as its main adversaries, possess several
thousands of them.
The call for capping the arsenal may be opposed
not just by pro-nuclear strategists but,
ironically, also by staunch anti-nuclear groups
for different reasons. The latter may feel that
in arguing that the existing arsenal is "more
than enough," the weapons are being rationalised
and sanctified. That is not the intention. We
must remember that the present arsenal is a
reality that is already there. Worse still, it is
growing with time. If you cannot even stop its
growth there is no question of eventually
achieving total disarmament.
Hard-headed strategists, on the other hand, may
view the suggestion for a cap as naïve and
impractical given the state of India-Pakistan
relations. But there are special situations when
governments have to rise above traditional
postures and diplomatic caution in order to
achieve special goals. The dangers of increasing
nuclear arsenals further are far too serious and
call for drastic measures immediately.
There is an urgent need to cap the nuclear
arsenals now. For, once deeply entrenched,
nuclear weapon systems will not go away so easily
even after political tensions get defused. We
only need to look at Russia and the U.S. 15 years
after the Cold War has ended. Each of them still
has several thousand weapons on alert with no
discernable threat left to justify them. If we in
South Asia do not act now we too will bequeath
our succeeding generations hundreds of nuclear
weapons, in the shadow of whose hazards they will
have to live for decades if not centuries.
(The writer is Professor Emeritus of Physics,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.)
_________________________________
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An informal information platform for
activists and scholars concerned about
Nuclearisation in South Asia
South Asians Against Nukes Mailing List:
archives are available @ two locations
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To subscribe send a blank message to:
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South Asians Against Nukes Website:
www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
______
[3]
Indian Express
January 23, 2005
SECULARISM AT STAKE
State involvement in religion may have been
inevitable, but there's a heavy price to be paid,
says Pratap Bhanu Mehta
THE possible takeover of the Kanchi mutt ought to
direct our attention to an extraordinary aspect
of the state-religion entanglement in India.
Across India, state governments have been using
some pretext to take over the running of hundreds
of Hindu temples and endowments. The extent of
regulation varies from appointing nominees to
oversee affairs to a wholesale takeover of temple
administration.
Just to get an idea of the scale involved,
consider the Andhra Pradesh department of
endowments. It controls 70,000 personnel and
claims to run approximately 33,000 temples and
religious endowments. Tamil Nadu has what amounts
to a parallel civil service for temple
administration.
Regulation is often not confined merely to
management of property or financial matters; it
extends to appointment of priests and regulation
of religious routines in the temple. The Andhra
Pradesh department of endowments proudly
announces that one of its functions is to
''ensure the proper performance of pujas''.
The increasing involvement of the state in
thousands of temples raises questions about the
nature of Indian secularism and the prudence of
government policy. Why should the state
progressively get more entangled in religion?
What are the political consequences of this
entanglement?
The involvement of the state in the regulation of
temple affairs was, to some extent, inevitable.
Issues such as temple entry and lifting of
restrictions on who could become a priest were at
the heart of debates over social reform within
Hinduism. The vast assets of temples seemed to
cry out for regulation. But these plausible
justifications for occasional state involvement
in the affairs of temples have now become
pretexts for the state to take over temples
indiscriminately.
The practical takeover of thousands of temples
was facilitated by the report of the Hindu
Religious Endowments Commission (1960-162). It
recommended that legislation be used to treat all
mutts as if they were public. A series of
incautious judicial pronouncements-from the
Religious Endowments case to the recent case
allowing for the takeover of Vaishno Devi-have
greatly facilitated this trend.
The courts make a distinction between the secular
aspects of a religious endowment and its
religious aspects. They have rationalised
regulation on the ground that such takeovers do
not interfere with essential practices of the
religion. But, as Rajeev Dhavan and Fali Nariman
wrote, ''In this process both the government and
the judiciary tend to overlook the simple fact
that under the guise of regulatory control,
religious endowments are, and have been,
nationalised on a massive scale''.
Such takeovers fuel the politics of resentment
amongst Hindu organisations. They argue that it
is vastly easier for the state to take over Hindu
temples and endowments than it is for the state
to encroach on similar minority institutions.
Members of the Sangh Parivar object to state
entanglement in religious affairs, but defenders
of secularism turn a blind eye to the
legitimisation of state spending on temples in
Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
Strictly speaking, this may not be entirely true.
The state does exercise supervisory authority
over Wakf Boards. Following the Ismail Faruqui
case, the courts have also ruled that there is no
constitutional bar to the state acquiring
mosques. The 1984 Wakf Amendment Act allowed for
more state regulation of Wakfs, but the general
impression is that the 1995 Amendment Act, while
retaining the possibility of state regulation,
considerably weakened it. Therefore the
impression has gained ground that Hindu temples
and endowments are less immune from state
takeover and interference.
But takeovers also increase the financial
entanglement of state and religion in
contradictory ways. On the one hand, the state
has been empowered to re-allocate the money
generated from temples in which ever way it
chooses. On the other hand, it has legitimised
state spending on temples. The Andhra, Tamil Nadu
and Pondicherry governments routinely subsidise
the construction of temples. It is ironical that
members of the Sangh Parivar object to this kind
of state entanglement in religious affairs,
whereas defenders of secularism have been turning
a blind eye to this phenomenon.
State takeover of temples violates the freedom of
communities to manage their affairs. It is also
an imprudent policy. Having politicians and civil
servants sit on the board of these temples is not
a recipe for either healthy politics or healthy
religion.
It is often claimed that religious endowments are
corrupt and need regulation. But it is not clear
that the state will be any less corrupt. On the
contrary, the government could be taking over
temples in order to enhance the state's power of
patronage.
Besides, if the ''corruption'' is not at the
taxpayers' expense, there is no reason for the
state to intervene. Indeed, by treating trusts as
analogous to sick industries to be taken over at
will, the state simply prevents civil society
from taking responsibility for its actions.
There is something amiss when a secular state
gets into the business of appointing priests,
regulating pujas and taking over temples. The
Andhra Pradesh endowments department can openly
proclaim its function is ''to promote Hindu
religious activities''. Given the systematic
nature of departments dealing with endowments and
temples in many states, the day is not far where
we may need a Union Public Service Commission for
appointments of priests, a minister for religious
affairs and a financial regulator for religious
endowments!
The future of secularism is being put at risk by
the machinations of state governments that cannot
keep their hands off religious institutions.
______
[4]
Tsunami relief and secularism : Needed a
progressive outlook in Charity
By V.B.Rawat in Nagore and Parangipattai ( Tamilnadu)
[24 January 2005]
December 26th, 2004 when Tsunami waves hit the
coastal regions of Tamilnadu, Pondichery,
Andhra-Pradesh and Kerala, nobody would have
imagined that these waves are weaving a new India
in grief. An India where the people care for
their neighbor and that their God was the agony
of the people. In adversity people found their
best pluralistic practices. People thronged to
Tamilnadu and other affected areas with their
teams. A fairly large number of religious
charitable organizations have been working in the
area to provide relief operations.
One of the worst affected districts in Tamilnadu
was Cuddulore where the Tsunami devastated
several villages. The villages of Pudukuppam,
Saamiyar pettai and Chinnoor felt the tremor of
water. Within seconds the villages were almost
out of the map. Parangipattai is a small town (
though calling it a town is still not proper)
with a fairly impressive Muslim population. It is
quite far from the seashore and hence the waves
did not have any impact in the area but the
tremor of the killer waves had been felt in this
village. In the small office of United Islamic
Jamaat, its
head were discussing their usual office meeting
when the news came from running villagers about
the devastation. With in a few moments, the
Jamaat decided that it must keep aside all its
work and immediately rescue the people
irrespective of their religion. With in half an
hour the volunteers of the Jamaath rushed to the
affected areas. Children, aged, women were first
taken care of and given shelter in the Masjid of
the area. Over 100 people were saved by the quick
rescue operation by the United Islamic Jamaath
volunteers. They even called private doctors to
treat people. When the information of the
devastation started trickling in, the Jamaath
rushed ambulances and six buses to over 10
villages to pick up dead bodies. About 400 bodies
were collected by the Jamaath and buried
according to local traditions. Most of these
bodies belonged to Hindu fishermen and women.
About 50 people were still missing by the time we
had made a visit to these areas.
More then 15000 people took shelter in the
Masjid, cinema halls, schools owned by the
Muslims in the area. The Jamaath also arranged
community kitchen for the displaced people. About
4000 people were continuously staying at the
Jamaath’s different centers as many of them went
back after one or two days. The community kitchen
ran for 10 days. In their Mummadhia marriage
hall, a huge amount of relief material was being
collected and the quality of the material seemed
much better. It included Sarees, mats, stoves,
buckets, rations and other important material.
The Jamaath says it has over twenty thousands
volunteers all over Tamilnadu and they have been
collecting funds and donation from the Muslim
community. Some of their friends from Karnataka
also send them relief.
According to the leader of Jamaath, they have
been helping poor Muslims to over come their
problems particularly in relation to education.
They help two-three graduates in their higher
education while over 200 students and their
expenses are being taken care off by the Jamaath.
The organization offers Ambulances to help the
accident victims of the area. During Ramadan holy
month, over 800 families are helped by collecting
donation in the form of Jakat. The collection is
in the range of between 2 to 2.5 lakh rupees on
the last day of Ramadan.
The Jamaat has been highly appreciative of the
collector Mr Gagandeep Singh, who has been
referring to Jamaath to all those who were
visiting from other parts of the country to tell
them that they must get out of stereotyping the
Muslim community. That Muslims cannot stand for
others is another myth being spread by the
Hindutva fanatics has been exposed here.
As we move on towards Nagpattinam, which has been
totally davastated by the fury of nature. The
train link between the historic town of Nagore
and Nagpattinam collapsed due to Tsunami. The
train standing at the Nagore Railway station
saved the day of the big Muslim population of
Nagore. But all those areas which came on the
route of Tsunami got wiped off. Nagore is a very
historic town and culturally different. It
reflects the Islamic culture, as the presence of
Muslim women is clearly visible. Unlike other
parts Muslim women wear colorful burquas and
white seemed to be the most visible among them.
Nagore has a linkage with the north. Nagore’s
famous Dargah Hazarath Syed Abdul Kadir Shahul
Hameed Nagore ( Rali) is one of the most revered
shrine in the South. It is a different shrines
then other dargahs in various aspects. Normally,
Dargah culture of Islam attracted people from
different faiths and Nagore is not an exception.
What differentiates Nagore from other shrines is
symbolic secularization process in its
architecture. The northern link is that Hazarath
Sayed was born in Manikpur. Though the head of
the Dargah trust informed me that it is a place
near Avadh and not known to him as they feel that
this place might not even exist. For me it was an
interesting thing because I am well aware of
Manekpur which is in the Chitrakoot district of
Uttar-Pradesh and famous for various temples.
This Manekpur also break some other myths of the
Hindutva historians who have been demonizing the
Mughal kings. Some of the temples in Manekpur got
handsome compensation and land from much maligned
Mughal King Aurangjeb and the temples still have
those papers with them.
It is said that King Achuthappa Naicker of
Thanjavur granted a piece of land for the
construction of Dargah. The importance of this
huge structure is its architecture and the faith
of the people who throng it. In the sanctum
sanctorum there are a few things which are
hallmark of great secular tradition that this
dargah carries. The burial place of Hazarath is
encircled in Islamic architecture. After that a
large number of lamps, beautiful decorated around
the structure. According to the town Kazi of
Nagore Dargah, this reflect the Hindu influence
on us. These lamps have ¾ water and ¼ oil. They
make the shrine look more beautiful. Outside it
is a greater circle having a big cross,
reflecting the influence of Christian faith. I am
surprised and pleasantly so to find how the
symbols of various faiths have been incorporated
here in the glorious architecture of Nagore. And
if you visit and see the number of people
visiting the Dargah, you will be surprised.
To further my trip in the Tsunami affected areas
and see the work of Islamic institutions. Dargah
Nagori’s role has been of great importance. Not
only people took shelter in huge campus of
Dargah, the Dargah also cremated more than 345
bodies and provided its own space for the
cremation. For days, people ate at the community
kitchen provided by the Dargah. It became a
soothing balm for those women who lost everything
in the Tsunami. Relief material was distributed
among the people and mentally disturbed people
got a place for themselves to relieve. The Dargah
has several ambulances and send it to pick up the
victims in different places. It was the only
place with in the six-kilometer of the
Nagpattinam town, which survived. It provided a
healing touch to all those who visited it.
Despite their wholehearted work which got wide
media attention, certain things need reform if we
want ourselves to be called progressively
secular. The discrimination against Dalits and
women was visible in these areas, not in the
Dargahs but my feeling was that there was no
specific effort to reach to them. We generalize
the entire process ignoring the facts that Dalits
were not getting even the relief material and
there was a need to use protective mechanism so
that they get the material. Perhaps it was
because of the apolitical nature of these
institutions who wanted to look more secular then
others. Secondly, Jamaat was not willing to work
more. I pressed its president what next and he
said they have done what they should have done. I
even asked that organizations like theirs need to
come out more in rehabilitation material where
there is a danger of corrupt practices and
rehabilitation is a big issue because relief is
done and gone. The president of Jamaat said that
they would not go beyond the relief as their work
is mainly among the Muslims.
One of the disgusting scene for me was the
condition of women. Though Jamaath leader said
that they have opened up Madrasas for girls, I
could visualize his discomfort from my question
on the issue of women. It is important for
organizations like Jamaat to involve more and
more Muslim women in their work and focus on
their education. No community can progress if
they want to not address the issue of such an
importance.
At the Nagore Dargah, the scene was more
shocking. There was a big presence of women,
crying weeping and kissing the floor or the walls
yet they were kept on safe distance. The Dargah
has seven gates and women are not allowed to
enter any of these gates. They worship outside
the seventh gate though these gates are just on
distance of 100 meter and women pray in a hall
from where they can have a glimpse of the person
distributing prasadam like a Hindu priest. I
questioned the head Qaji of the Dargah as why
they have kept women outside the Dargah and his
answer was that due to menses and other dirt,
women were not allowed to venture inside these
gates. When I asked him why shouldn’t they change
this, he was sarcastic and said that it was a
tradition and they follow these traditions
strictly.
The roles of religious groups have been good in
distributing relief material. There are huge
tents and relief material of Sai Baba trusts,
Amritamayee Ashram, Swami Chidananda, Christian
groups. But it is not just Muslims but all of
them have not felt to challenge the status quo.
At one of the Swami’s ashram famous for his
disciple Vivek Oberai at Devanpattinam, the Swami
allegedly had 6 community kitchen and when some
of the fisher folks saw the Dalits of other
bustees eating, they opposed and violently. The
Swami has to start a seventh kitchen separate for
the Dalits.
Speaking to a number of Christian groups working
among the fishermen reflected the same story.
When I tried to ask the question of Dalits and
their discrimination, most of them clearly said
that there was no such thing and relief material
was being distributed in the best possible way.
The activities of religious groups reflect our
joint concern for the victims. It tore the myths
of the Sangh Parivar that religious groups are
all for conversion while it has been involved in
hate mongering. The painful aspect is that most
of the religious charitable organizations, though
doing great work are not really keen on
challenging the status quo. They want to be a
part of the status quo. We are good, you are good
as long as we don’t questions each other. This
tragically is secularism of our country and
sooner we get out of it the better it is for the
society.
______
[5]
People's Democracy
January 16, 2005
ORISSA: Agenda Of Desaffronisation A Casualty
by Santosh Das
THE brutal killing of Graham Stains, an
Australian missionary, who was burnt alive along
with his infant sons, was justified by the Sangh
Parivar on the grounds, that he was committing
the 'sin' of organising conversion. One member of
parliament belonging to BJP with audacity
conveyed his salute to the killer Dara Singh,
conferring him the title of "Crusader Against
Conversion".
Surprisingly, another person called Dr V N
Mishra, who converted his citizenship from Indian
to Australian, was rewarded with the Directorship
of Bhubaneswar based Regional Research
Laboratory, a unit of CSIR, that operates under
the ministry of Science & Technology, government
of India during the NDA rule in January 2001 when
the then HRD minister Murali Manhoar Joshi was
pioneering the agenda of saffronisation. This was
a clear violation of the law of the land and
government of India rule. Under the law a foreign
citizen could not be appointed to such post.
Thanks to the patriotism of Sangh Parivar that
encourages such unlawful appointment. This is the
true colour of their cultural nationalism.
This appointment of Australian convert Dr V N
Mishra was followed by the saffronisation of the
premier research institute of Orissa where
Sadhus/Babas/Mahantas were invited at the
institute's cost to deliver religious prabachans
and scientists were asked to suspend research and
laboratory activities to listen to the Babas in
order to promote their Hindutva consciousness!
Corruption has been observed as an important
ingredient campaign of saffronisation. Out of the
purchase and recruitment, black money has been
minted. Favours have been done to relatives in
appointment, and property of the institute was
used to provide luxury and comfort to the
Director.
Never did the CSIR attempt to check such
malpractices. The Director, R A Mashelkar was
busy attending the RSS shakhas - and defending
his in action. The HRD minister, who happened to
be the vice-president of CSIR was busy
implementing the agenda of saffronisation. The
prime minister, the ex-office president of CSIR
was proclaiming himself to be a Swayamsevak!
The research standard of this premier institution
deteriorated to its lowest ebb because of the
poor academic background of the Director and his
preoccupation with Hindutva rather than
scientific & research activities.
Following the end of the NDA regime, the
announcement of the UPA in its Common Minimum
Programme (CMP) to desaffronise the educational
scientific and research institutes generated hope
among the scientists and the secular people.
Petitions addressed to the minister of state for
science and technology by the CPI(M), Orissa
state committee were recommended by Basudev
Acharia and A Vijayaraghavan; Nilotpal Basu and
Sarala Maheswari too talked to the minister in
this respect. Kapil Sibbal, the minister ordered
a departmental inquiry to be conducted by the CVO
who, in turn, submitted the interim report by the
end of September 2004.
It is now learnt that the CVO's interim report
has established direct involvement of the
director, V N Mishra, in several gross
irregularities including (1) spending huge amount
of RRL funds for saffronisation activities by
inviting Sadhus/ Babas/ Mahantas for religious
propaganda, (2) purchasing equipments from M/s
Humboldi Wedag worth a crore of rupees by
directly violating the purchase rules. Being a
consultant to the said firm the director could
not make purchases from this firm. (3) recruiting
his blood relation without declaration, (4)
appointing inferior candidates as scientists
through manipulation of selection procedure, (5)
falsely declaring his nephew as his adopted son
and availing benefits for him from RRL, (6)
fixing 9 air conditioners, which were purchased
for guest house, in his official residence for
the last three and half years and tampering with
energy meters fitted in his residence to avoid
huge electricity bill, (7) protecting the corrupt
civil engineer of RRL despite CBI's instruction
to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him,
(8) misuse of funds, (9) false claims in his
curriculum bio-data, (10) violation of government
of India rules for self benefits, (11) unethical
R&D practices etc. Besides the above, CVO's
report confirms gross violation of rules in
purchase of equipments worth more than Rs 200
crore in last 4 years with involvement of the
director V N Mishra as the king pin.
Unfortunately, no action so far has been taken
against the tainted director. This inaction on
the part of UPA government brings frustration
among the secular people and the scientific
community. On the other hand, it encourages the
director to continue his corrupt practices
unhindered tarnishing the reputation of the
Scientific and Research Institute.
______
[6]
The Telegraph
January 25, 2005 | Editorial
FACTS AND FEARS
Gathering data is an important part of some
experiments. Hence, from the present look of
things, the "Gujarat experiment" is still, in a
sense, going on. Quietly and systematically, a
new "survey" is being carried out in the village
schools. And all the sinister euphemisms are in
place. This time, the Gujarat government has
suddenly sat up to the fact that schoolchildren
in the state's 18,000 villages have to be made
socially and culturally aware. So district
education officials are going around all the
schools making the children fill in a
questionnaire, most of which concerns the
student's religious background, with a few token
questions on educational matters. Writing out the
answers to these questions is also supposed to
improve the students' writing skills. The survey
is being supervised by the minister of education,
who claims that this is a secular gathering of
information. She has also invoked child rights -
children have a right to know the religion of the
people they live with.
This has happened before, several times, in
Gujarat, and it is important to remember when and
how. The burning of churches and violence against
tribal Christians in the Dangs district was
followed by a survey of Christians in 1999. That
time the police were virtually acting as census
officers, and this was repeated at least three
more times, most importantly during the run-up to
the passing of the anti-conversion bill in the
state assembly. In all these instances, the
police had gone around trying to enumerate
Christian families, asking converts why and when
they converted, and the sources of income of
Christian institutions undertaking welfare
schemes in the villages. Christian bodies had
moved the courts in each case, and the high court
had forbidden these surveys. The police would
keep off for a while, and then it would begin
again - more or less covertly, but still managing
to intimidate the minority communities. From the
police to education officials, the role of the
administration and the bureaucracy ought to be
subjected to the highest vigilance in Gujarat.
This is one of the most crucial lessons of the
2002 genocide. To regard such "gathering of
information" as politicized paranoia would be
foolish after the disclosure of how systematic
the preparations for the "riots" were in 2002.
There is much that would remain unknown about
Godhra and its aftermath, but also much that has
been revealed about how it had all come about.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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