SACW | 11 Feb 2005
sacw
aiindex at mnet.fr
Thu Feb 10 20:07:46 CST 2005
South Asia Citizens Wire | 11 Feb., 2005
via: www.sacw.net
[1] Pakistan: The Dr. Shazia Case - Press
Statement by Joint Action Committee for People's
Rights
[2] Bangladesh: The Killing of Shah A.M.S.
Kibria: Mounting Evidence of the Government's
Ill-Intent
(Reza Kibria)
[3] Aftershocks of "Anti-Terror" Tsunami in South Asia (J. Sri Raman)
[4] India: Outrageous Assault [on S.A.R. Geelani] (Editorial, The Hindu)
[5] India: For India's daughters, a dark birth day (Uma Girish)
[6] India: Hindu Far Right at Work !
(i) Catholic Village Under Fundamentalist Siege
(ii) For Jhabua tribals, Sangh dams come with a check: Shivlings first
(iii) Culture cops geared up to strike this
Valentine's Day . . . (Anjali Singh Jaiswal)
[7] SANSAD Forum on recent goodwill mission to
Pakistan and India (Vancouver, 26 Feb., 2005)
--------------
[1]
sacw.net | 9 Feb 2005
URL www.sacw.net/Wmov/JACstatement08022005.html
Joint Action Committee for People's Rights [Lahore, Pakistan]
Press Statement | 8 February 2005
THE DR. SHAZIA CASE
Once again, a Pakistani woman has been subjected
to rape and torture. Once again attempts are
being made to spare the real culprits. Once
again, a woman, traumatized, her life endangered
may be forced to leave her country. The woman is
Dr. Shazia Khalid.
The Joint Action Committee is deeply disturbed at
what appears to be concerted efforts to defeat
justice in the Dr Shazia rape case by covering up
matters and delaying the recording of evidence
that is tantamount to its destruction.
We are concerned that now that the matter is
being pursued at multiple forums including a
Tribunal, will cause further delays, impeding the
actual legal case of rape.
Joint Action Committee believes those culpable in
this crime include the rapist, those who have/are
concealing the facts and those providing
"protection" to the people implicated.
Facts of the case
Dr. Shazia Khalid, an employee of Pakistan
Petroleum Limited, has been working at the
company's Sui hospital for the past 18 months and
lived in accommodation provided by PPL. Security
services for the entire facility is provided by
the Defence Services Group (DSG).
On the night of 2 January, a masked intruder
attacked and raped Dr. Shazia, threatening to
call in an accomplice if she raised an alarm. She
was severely injured on resistance and left tied
up with telephone wires. When she finally freed
herself from her bonds she related what happened
to Sister Sakina of the PPL medical staff (who
informed the administration) and several other
doctors, including the PPL Chief Medical Officer,
Dr Usman Waddah, and Deputy Medical Officer, Dr
Mohammad Ali (two doctors subsequently accused
and arrested for concealing/destroying evidence).
Shazia was stopped from returning to her room
where the incident took place to even recover her
clothes and the staff did not comply with her
plea to have her brother and his wife flown in
from Karachi to be with her. No medical
examination was carried out, nor was the police
called by the PPL staff.
Shazia was kept sedated by PPL officials and
doctors who did their level best to conceal the
incident of rape. In the meantime, the police of
the Sui Police Station learnt of the incident and
came to investigate on the 3rd evening, but when
the police party reached the PPL hospital, they
found Dr Shazia unconscious. On searching Dr
Shazia's room, the police did recover evidence of
likely rape but no proper a medical examination
of Dr. Shazia took place despite the police
request.
PPL officials and doctors also obstructed the
police from recording Dr Shazia's statement
subsequently when the police returned on the
morning of January 4th. Then, despite the
specific request of the police that Dr. Shazia
not be shifted before her statement could be
recorded, PPL personnel shifted Dr. Shazia to
Karachi before the police returned that afternoon
and feigned ignorance of where she had been
shifted. In fact, PPL officials had admitted Dr.
Shazia into Asghar Psychiatric Hospital, Karachi
claiming she was mentally disturbed and needed
medical attention. It is only on the 4th that her
family was contacted by PPL officials and wrongly
informed that a "dacoity had taken place". The
Police could not record Shazia's own statement
until January 9th in Karachi.
Dr Shazia was later shifted to another location
where she is being held incommunicado, denied
access to all support, even legal.
During this time the PPL Company representatives
tried to dissuade Dr Shazia and her family from
registering a case of rape, and kept denying to
the media that rape took place. However Shazia's
medical examination in Karachi by the police
surgeon confirmed rape. Only when PPL doctors
were accused of concealing/destroying evidence
and arrested by the police, did the PPL GM
acknowledge the rape.
The police allegations of non-cooperation are
very serious and support the contention of there
being concerted efforts to subvert the whole case
and protect the perpetrators.
Furthermore, reports in a section of the media
and the statements of the local and elected
representatives from Balochistan and Sindh
indicate the involvement of an officer of the
Pakistan Army serving in the DSG at Sui. It is
not known whether he has been questioned or
apprehended. The fact that, according to Shazia's
statement before the Tribunal, a colonel of the
Military Intelligence contacted her brother and
met the brother and her husband on the 11th
suggests the implication of some army personnel.
The case may have been hushed up by the company
and the security agencies, if it had not become
embroiled with the ongoing agitation by the
Baloch nationalists for a fair share of resources
controlled by the center. Protest campaigns and
pressure by various leaders, media and civil
society finally led to the institution of a
judicial tribunal on 11 January to inquire into
the case and to submit a report within fifteen
days. The tribunal recorded Dr. Shazia's
statement in Karachi on 24 January. Three
officials of PPL, including two doctors, have
been held for interrogation.
The different actions taken lack cohesion and
transparency, suggesting that the attempts to
cover up the facts may go up to the highest
echelons.
The persistent efforts to defeat justice in the
case reflect the existing tendency to further
repress people of the smaller provinces.
We fear that vested interests will once again
ensure the denial of justice to a Pakistani
woman, a survivor of violence.
We therefore demand:
- The safety and security of Dr Shazia and her
family be ensured and that Dr. Shazia be allowed:
* to exercise her fundamental rights of legal
counsel of her own choosing in all proceedings
related to the case;
* to avail of all medical care required for her wellbeing;
* to interact freely with women's rights and
human rights organizations and with doctors'
associations.
- An inquiry be held to establish why the police
is being prevented from doing its job
- All proceedings be made transparent, allowing
observers from women's rights and human rights
organizations and doctors' associations;
- The contents of the FIR be made public and the
names of those accused revealed;
- Those obstructing justice be apprehended and prosecuted under the law;
- Dr Shazia's case not be made an excuse for
intensifying militaristic operations in
Balochistan.
We urge
- the Pakistan Medical Association to take
immediate steps to ensure that none of those
doctors and medical practitioners found to be
responsible of obstructing justice are allowed to
continue in the medical profession.
Joint Action Committee for People's Rights
______
[2]
[BANGLADESH] THE KILLING OF SHAH A.M.S. KIBRIA: MOUNTING
EVIDENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S ILL-INTENT
by Dr. Reza Kibria
February 10, 2005
Recent statements by senior BNP-Jamaat leaders -
at public meetings and in the Press - as well as
certain actions of the Government have raised
some disturbing questions in the minds of many
people in this country and abroad. It seems that
the BNP-Jamaat have not been able to "get their
story straight" regarding the assassination of my
father on 27 January, 2005. The obvious lies and
contradictory statements of individuals such as,
for example, Mr. Sircar, "the third most
important personality of the country", have
damaged the image of this "failed government",
perhaps irreparably.
There are three distinct sets of issues involved.
The first set of issues that need to be
considered involve the unsubstantiated
allegations by senior Ministers and others in the
Government as to the identity of those who
carried out the grenade attack on my father, Shah
A.M.S. Kibria, M.P., at a public meeting in his
constituency on 27 January, 2005.
There is also a second, quite distinct set of
issues relating to the events in the aftermath of
the attack, including the failure to arrange
proper medical attention or helicopter
transportation to Dhaka for my father. He died
after about 4 hours, apparently without receiving
even the most minimal medical attention.
The third set of issues relates to the
Government's handling of the local investigation
so far (and the attempts to free some of the
local BNP leaders that have been initially
arrested) and the Government's failure to quickly
arrange for a credible and thorough investigation
led by a reputed international agency (the FBI of
the United States).
First: the allegations of Government ministers
regarding the attack. It seems that BNP-Jamaat
Ministers have a predilection for immediately
assigning blame (to the Opposition) without
bothering to obtain the results of any proper
investigation. This is not the type of behaviour
one expects from any responsible public
representative. What worries me is that perhaps
there is something much more sinister at work
here. Mr. Saifur Rahman has made a statement
about the possible nature of the attack that will
no doubt interest investigators (see my
commentary of February 7, 2005). Mr. Nizami also
has made a statement indicating that he has
information about the perpetrators of the attack.
My father's activities during the 1971 War of
Liberation and Mr. Nizami's rather different role
are very well-documented, suggesting probable
cause, or at least that there may be a connection
here. Finally, we note with interest the
statements of Mr. Mannan Bhuiyan on 7 February,
in which he accused the Awami League (AL) - the
party whose Government my father served in as
Finance Minister - of carrying out the attack.
This is a very serious charge, and I am sure that
we all would like to know the basis of this
allegation. I have a cursory knowledge of the
nature of libel and defamation laws in this
country, but unless he provides proof of these
allegations, would not the AL have good grounds
to sue Mr. Mannan Bhuiyan for libel?
Second: the events after the attack. It appears
be a case of the "dog that didn't bark". Before
anyone with the word "Honourable" in front of
their name gets agitated - No, I am not calling
anyone a dog, it is merely a figure of speech.
Frankly, at this point we do not know who carried
out the initial grenade attack - that must await
the results of a proper FBI-led investigation.
What we do know is that there appears to be a
consistent pattern of action - or inaction - on
the part of this Government that suggests more
than willful negligence. The remarkable public
admission of ignorance on the part of the "third
most important personality of the country" is a
case in point. Moreover, Mr. Mannan Bhuiyan has
publicly made the claim that an offer of a
helicopter was made but that it was declined. To
whom was this offer made? Who declined this
offer? We want to know.
Third: the investigation of the attack. That the
Government has been dragging its feet on the
issue of permitting the FBI to begin its
investigations without restrictive conditions is
already well-known. When was the request for FBI
assistance made? What conditions is the
Government trying to impose? Given the record of
the Government with regard to past
investigations, the extremely professional
officials of the FBI have figured out that they
should refuse to come here as a "token" presence
under the direction and control of the
Government. Such a practice has clearly not
worked in past investigations.
There are competent and conscientious people
within all agencies of the current Government -
people who place their duties to the Republic
above all else. But they are hampered by powerful
forces within the Government, as has been
reflected in the course of the local
investigation so far. The Janakantha of Feb 9
reports that investigators have told them (on
condition of anonymity) "They have tied our hands
and feet and then ordered us to run". Police have
been told not to move against anyone without
obtaining permission. There are "unwritten rules"
(imposed from above) about whom they can arrest
and those they cannot touch. After a local BNP
leader called Qayum was arrested in Habiganj
there has reportedly been strong pressure from
"higher authorities" to have him released. Five
individuals have been arrested so far - they are
to be jointly interrogated. The focus of the
investigation has been on the possible
beneficiaries of the killing, notably a powerful
local BNP leader who has become rich very quickly
under the patronage of a powerful minister of the
Government. It is reported that this local leader
went overseas just prior to the killing, but his
unsavoury record, his influence over the local
administration and his connections have
reportedly made him the focus of police
enquiries. This and other reports suggest that
those behind the assassination may have links
that may extend quite wide - and reach high
levels within this Government.
One must always fear the "plausible rogue" much
more than the person who is so very obviously
vicious and malevolent. The "gentlemen" in fancy
suits able to mouth the right phrases - with
frequent mentions of "transparency",
"accountability", "rule of law", "dialogue", and
"adherence to the Constitution and democratic
processes" are those against whom the nation must
remain vigilant. The avarice, ruthlessness and
arrogance of these leaders have brought the
entire political system into disrepute. They are
clever people but they have made mistakes before
- as the farce of the February 15 "elections" of
1996 demonstrated. These same people now
complacently believe that they have built up an
unassailable framework for rigging the next
elections - by filling the administration and
Election Commission with their agents. They are
under the impression that they can act with
impunity because their return to power is assured
through systematic electoral fraud. Certainly, in
the past these individuals have been able to dupe
some of the less perceptive of our citizens both
here and abroad. But I feel that they
underestimate the intelligence of the people of
our country. I don't think too many people these
days are taken in when they see large meetings
addressed by these BNP-Jamaat "leaders" -
gatherings attended largely by people who have
been "trucked in" in exchange for 50 taka and a
plate of biriyani. Not that there is anything
wrong with giving these poor people a free meal.
That is the least that this Government could do -
given its abject failure in keeping down the
price of rice and other essentials. I will write
about the Government's warped economic priorities
in another commentary.
What is fascinating is that some important
BNP-Jamaat leaders have chosen to expose their
true natures in the aftermath of my father's
assassination. Has not their "willful negligence"
or even connivance in the death of my father
become increasingly obvious? When an FBI-led
investigation is completed, would not the true
roles of these leaders become known to all? Their
public denials and protestations of innocence
fool no one. I do believe that a time will come
when the failure of this Government to
successfully prosecute a single investigation of
the numerous bomb, grenade and other attacks
during their tenure will no longer remain a
"mystery". The "charitable view" - that this
Government is merely grossly incompetent - may
then no longer be tenable.
Ironically, the campaign of lies, deception and
unsubstantiated charges that senior BNP-Jamaat
leaders (notably Messrs. Saifur Rahman, Nizami
and Mannan Bhuiyan) have launched in the wake of
my father's assassination have failed miserably
as a subterfuge. Their statements have perhaps
revealed much more than they intended. In this
regard, I would recall Abraham Lincoln's famous
words, "You can fool some of the people all of
the time, and all of the people some of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all of the
time".
______
[3]
truthout.org
09 February 2005
Aftershocks of "Anti-Terror" Tsunami in South Asia
By J. Sri Raman
Aftershocks, Asia has learnt, continue long after
a tsunami. Washington launched its crusade against
"global terror" with wars on Afghanistan and Iraq way
back in October 2001 and March 2003, but tremors were
felt again in South Asia over the last two weeks.
A summit conference of South Asian leaders,
scheduled for February 6 in Dhaka, capital of
Bangladesh, was called off in the wake of dramatic and
disturbing developments in two countries of the
region. The connection with the crusade, in both
cases, has not been lost upon long-time observers of
Nepal and Bangladesh.
India, in effect, called off the summit of the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) when its foreign ministry announced on
February 2 that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
canceled his visit to Dhaka. The events in the two
neighboring countries were cited as the grounds, with
emphasis, in the host-nation's case, on security
concerns. In the SAARC's scheme of things, no summit
could be held without the attendance of the heads of
governments of all the seven member-nations (the other
four being Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the
Maldives)
The Himalayan kingdom of Nepal shot into the
headlines on February 1, with King Gyanendra Bir
Bikram Shah Dev dismissing a quasi-representative
government and declaring himself a ruling monarch,
instead of a reigning one adorning a constitutional
post. Giving himself unqualified power for an
uninterrupted three years, he pronounced democracy
practically dead. Erstwhile government and political
leaders found themselves under house arrest, and the
press was politely and firmly told that its freedom
could "not be guaranteed."
Bangladesh did not exactly erupt into headlines
with an unexpected bout of bloodshed. The death of
former finance minister Shah A.M.S. Kibria and four
others in a grenade attack in Habiganj on January 27
did, however, send fresh shock waves through the
country and beyond. The opposition Awami League (AL)
has attributed the assassination to Islamic
"fundamentalists" enjoying the patronage of the
government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia of the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Nepal has waged a long and tortuous struggle for
democracy, but its most recent phase began last year,
when King Gyanendra dismissed multi-party democracy
and allowed parliamentary parties to form a proxy
government under appointed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur
Dueba. The King has now sacked this government on the
ground of its "incompetence." What has emboldened him
to declare a full-fledged war on democracy, as every
Nepal-watcher knows, is the opportunity he sees to
project it as part of a war on terrorism.
He has been promoting himself as the staunchest
opponent of the internal "terrorism" of a Maoist
insurgency that has found fertile ground in a feudal
setup that cries out for rudimentary land reforms. And
he has been running down the parliamentary politicians
as incapable of taming the "terrorists." This too may
seem a transparent a trick but, astonishingly, it has
found a taker in Washington.
Writes US journalist Conn Hallinan: "The Bush
administration has concluded that the civil war
threatens to make Nepal a 'failed state' and a haven
for international terrorists, leading it to place the
CPNM (the Maoist party) on the State Department's
'Watch List,' along with organizations like al Qaeda,
Abu Sayyaf, and Lebanon's Hezbollah." According to
Hallinan, US Ambassdor to Nepal Michael E. Malinowski
has been engaging in enthusiastic endorsement of the
King's line.
Result: the heavy influx into South Asia's poorest
nation of US weaponry and military equipment, along
with British helicopters and American advisers, to
aggravate a civil war that has taken a toll of
thousands of Nepali lives. The King's takeover can
only make matters worse - not only for Nepal, but also
for India and China, which have reasons to fear a
spillover of the war into their own regions of
separatist activity.
In the case of Bangladesh, Kibria's assassination
was hardly the first incident of its kind. Nor was
this the first time that the hand of fundamentalist
groups was seen in such terrorist strikes. Many see a
link between the growing fundamentalist rampage,
including violence against religious minorities
(notably the Ahmadaiyas and the Hindus) and liberal
writers and journalists, and the BNP's coexistence, in
the ruling coalition, with the far-right
Jamat-e-Islami.
Many, many - and not only in Bangladesh - see an
even more notable link between the growing phenomenon
of Bangladeshi fundamentalism and the war on "global
terror." Quite a few of the "jihadi" groups and
chieftains in Bangladesh claim to have returned from
Afghanistan to continue their "holy war" at home. "We
will all become Taliban, and Bangladesh will become
Afghanistan" - so runs their favorite slogan. Nothing
could have strengthened fundamentalism so much as the
Bush wars for "liberation" of Afghanistan and Iraq.
India has an additional ground for anxiety over
the bloody mess in Bangladesh. Here too, it has reason
to fear the role of the fundamentalist groups in
support of India's separatist forces. These include
the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), known to
have found bases in Bangladesh, ironically, despite
its official opposition to Bangladeshi "infiltration"
into Assam, an embattled State in the east of India.
Talking of the tremors from the Bush-unleashed
tsunami, India and Pakistan felt the first of these.
As strange partners in the US-headed "alliance against
global terror," they became more implacable
adversaries than ever before, each hoping and trying
to turn the alliance decisively against the other.
Their uneasy "alliance" led to the dangerous standoff
in Kashmir in the early months of 2002, when South
Asia did not see an improbable venue for the world's
first nuclear war.
India and Pakistan have, since then, initiated
talks and kept up the pretense of a "peace process"
without real progress on such nut-and-bolt items as
the nuclear issue. The SAARC summit was supposed to
have helped both sides find a way out of the stalemate
reached in the talks. The people of the two countries
- and the rest of South Asia with stakes in salvaging
the "process" - will have to wait for the next
opportunity to present itself.
A freelance journalist and a peace activist of
India, J. Sri Raman is the author of Flashpoint
(Common Courage Press, USA). He is a regular
contributor to t r u t h o u t.
______
[4]
The Hindu
February 11, 2005
Editorial
OUTRAGEOUS ASSAULT
THE OUTRAGEOUS ATTACK on S.A.R. Geelani is not
merely "disturbing" as the Supreme Court has
observed. It also raises the gravest of
suspicions. It is well known that the acquittal
of the Delhi University lecturer in the
Parliament attack case - in which he was
implicated on the flimsiest of grounds - caused
considerable embarrassment and annoyance to those
who had hoped the prosecution's case would stand
up in its entirety. The identities of those who
shot and seriously injured Mr. Geelani are yet
unknown and their motives unclear. But the Delhi
police, who obstinately pursued the case against
him in the face of serious reservations expressed
by eminent people within and without the legal
fraternity, have a lot to answer for. Why did the
police fail to provide Mr. Geelani with security?
After all, the lecturer in Arabic was not
implicated in any ordinary case, but in an
extremely high profile one that aroused
tremendous (often irrational and jingoistic)
passions.
Moreover, as his lawyers have pointed out, Mr.
Geelani himself expressed apprehensions about a
threat to his life in an affidavit submitted
recently in court. It is pertinent to recall that
Mr. Geelani has repeatedly maintained he was also
the victim of several attacks "with blades, knife
and even poisoning" during the 23 months he spent
in Delhi's Tihar jail. The Delhi police's
explanation - that he was not provided with
security because he did not ask for it - is weak
and unconvincing. Security is offered on the
basis of threat perceptions; it is not something
that is handed out on request. The Supreme Court,
which has asked the Delhi police to submit a
report on the assault and the progress of the
investigation, has shown the required urgency
about getting to the bottom of this murky and
deeply disturbing incident. However, the Court
would have done even better had it accepted the
plea made by Mr. Geelani's counsel and entrusted
the investigation to the Central Bureau of
Investigation. The entire circumstances
surrounding the case call for a probe that is not
only sincere and independent but that is also
perceived, in the eyes of an increasingly wary
and suspicious public, to be so. It is arguable
that having failed to protect Mr. Geelani, the
Delhi police have morally forfeited the right to
investigate who attempted to kill him and why.
The All India Defence Committee for Syed Abdul
Rahman Geelani, which is headed by the
distinguished social scientist, Rajni Kothari,
and with dedicated human rights activists and
social workers as members, has been in the
forefront of highlighting the grave injustice
done to him. Its efforts were rewarded last year
when the Delhi High Court acquitted Mr. Geelani
on the ground that the prosecution had failed to
provide any evidence against him in critical
areas. There was nothing to suggest that Mr.
Geelani was in touch with the five terrorists
killed in the attack, nothing to show he had a
role in arranging hideouts or in procuring arms
and explosives used in pursuance of the
conspiracy. As a result, the Court concluded that
the prosecution's case "did not even remotely,
far less definitely and unerringly, point towards
the guilt of the accused S.A.R. Gilani" (State
vs. Mohd Afzal and Others, 2003). In arriving at
this conclusion, the Court overturned an
extremely ill-reasoned judgment of the designated
POTA court, which made a string of presumptions
in favour of the prosecution and convicted and
sentenced Mr. Geelani to death. The final verdict
in his case will be delivered by the Supreme
Court. Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the
state to keep him safe, secure, and out of harm's
way.
_______
[5]
The Christian Science Monitor
February 09, 2005
AIRBORNE: Girls play on a swing in Allahabad,
India. In some parts of the country, bias against
baby girls remains ingrained despite efforts to
counter such attitudes. The practice of
sex-selective abortion has exacerbated India's
gender imbalance.
RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/AP/FILE
FOR INDIA'S DAUGHTERS, A DARK BIRTH DAY
Infanticide and sex-selective abortion yield a more skewed gender ratio.
By Uma Girish | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
MADRAS, INDIA - The oleander plant yields a
bright, pleasant flower, but also a milky sap
that, if ingested, can be a deadly poison. It's
one of the methods families use to kill newborn
girls in the Salem District of Tamil Nadu, a part
of India notorious for female infanticide.
Though the government has battled the practice
for decades, India's gender imbalance has
worsened in recent years. Any progress toward
halting infanticide, it seems, has been offset by
a rise in sex-selective abortions. Too many
couples - aided by medical technology, unethical
doctors, and weak enforcement of laws banning
abortion on the basis of gender - are electing to
end a pregnancy if the fetus is female.
The consequence of female infanticide and, more
recently, abortion is India's awkwardly skewed
gender ratio, among the most imbalanced in the
world. The ratio among children up to the age of
6 was 962 girls per 1,000 boys in 1981, but 20
years later the inequity was actually worse: 927
girls per 1,000 boys.
Infanticide is illegal in India (though never
prosecuted), and laws are also in place to stop
sex- selective abortions. But in some places,
national rules don't hold enough sway to overcome
local religious and social customs - which remain
biased in favor of sons over daughters.
"Factors like dowry, imbalance in the employment
sector whereby the male is seen as breadwinner,
and societal pressure to abort female fetuses
conspire to increase the antigirl bias," says
Ajay K. Tripathi of the Advanced Studies in
Public Health Programme, of the Institute of
Health Systems in Hyderabad. Government and the
medical profession, he says, need to put more
resources - and more political will - into
strengthening and enforcing the laws.
A case in point is legislation - introduced last
year but now stalled - that would prohibit all
genetic-counseling facilities, clinics, and labs
from divulging the sex of the fetus. The hope is
that if parents don't know "it's a girl," fewer
will resort to abortion. But the proposal, which
would amend a 1994 law, is opposed by medical
groups. They argue that technology used to
monitor fetal health - such as ultrasound scans
and amniocentesis - cannot be put under such
intense scrutiny.
Others, though, see another reason for the
opposition: Abortion is a lucrative business that
many doctors do not want to see curtailed.
"Abortions are a low-risk, high-profit business.
As a specialist in fetal medicine, I can tell you
that no pregnant woman would suffer if the
ultrasound test were banned," says Puneet Bedi, a
gynecologist at Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi.
"Right now, it is used to save 1 out of 20,000
fetuses and kill 20 out of every 100 because [it
reveals that the baby] is the wrong gender."
India stipulates that only a government hospital,
registered facility, or medical practitioner with
appropriate qualifications may perform an
abortion. The reality, however, is that only
about 15 percent of all abortions take place
under such circumstances, according to the Indian
Medical Association. About 11.2 million illegal
abortions are performed each year off the record.
Such abortions are often "female feticide,"
experts say.
In Salem district, for instance, signs posted in
towns reinforce the societal message: "Pay 500
rupees and save 50,000 rupees later," a
suggestion that aborting a female fetus now could
save a fortune in wedding expenses in the future.
Salem district, a mostly rural part of Tamil
Nadu, has a longstanding reputation as a
deathtrap for baby girls. The Vellala Gounder
community, the dominant caste there, owns most of
the land and is intent on retaining property
rights within the family. Sons represent lineage;
daughters marry and relocate to their husbands'
homes. As a result, local women, like Lakshmi,
who gave birth to a girl early last year, may
refuse to nurse their newborns. They leave it to
midwives or mothers-in-law to administer the
oleander sap, say anti-infanticide activists.
Nearly 60 percent of girls born in Salem District
are killed within three days of birth, according
to the local social welfare department. That
doesn't count the growing number of abortions
there to ensure a girl baby won't be carried to
term.
Amid such stubborn statistics, activists are at
work to counter the forces of tradition. A focus
of their work: improving the standing and
self-image of women themselves.
Community Services Guild (CSG), a nongovernmental
organization, works with rural women in
particular to discourage female feticide. One of
CSG's interventions targets women who already
have at least one girl. Now 20 years old, the
program sends workers to visit these mothers,
teaching them and their daughters skills that
contribute income to their families (such as
basket-weaving or selling produce) and
reeducating them about the value of girls to
society.
"Educating the new-generation girl - and
empowering her with the skills necessary for
economic independence - is the only long-term
solution," says G. Prasad, CSG deputy director.
Though CSG works in a patriarchal culture where
female inferiority is ingrained, the group
encourages women to become decisionmakers.
In pockets of India where female infanticide
persists, the practice is rooted in a complex mix
of economic, social, and cultural factors.
Parents' preference for a boy derives from the
widespread belief that a son lighting his
parents' funeral pyre will ensure that their
souls ascend to heaven; that he will be a
provider in their later years (India has no form
of social security); and that he will preserve
the family inheritance.
Conversely, a daughter is considered an economic
burden. Pressure to conform can be intense in
rural areas, and some families borrow heavily to
pay for the rituals prescribed for a girl - the
ear-piercing ceremony, wedding jewelry, dowry,
and presents for the groom's family on every
Hindu festival.
The Tamil Nadu government has started several
programs to protect girls - with mixed results.
One urged families to hand over their baby girls
to local officials, who saw that they were
adopted by childless couples. Between May 2001
and January 2003, officials received 361 baby
girls. An informal survey by CSG, however, found
that many women would abort rather than have a
baby and give her up for adoption.
Tamil Nadu's "Girl Protection" program may be
more practical. Here, the government opens a bank
account in a girl's name at her birth, depositing
between 15,000 and 22,000 rupees during her
childhood, depending on the number of girls in
the family.
"The only way to wipe out this evil is by an
attitudinal shift," says CSG's Mr. Prasad.
"Educate a girl beyond eighth grade and encourage
her to find her voice."
______
[6] [Hindu Far Right at Work !]
(i)
CATHOLIC VILLAGE IN INDIA UNDER FUNDAMENTALIST SIEGE
Bishop of Amravati Calls the Situation "Very Serious"
AMRAVATI, India, FEB. 7, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Hindu fundamentalists are
subjecting the people of a Catholic village to threats and attacks,
says a bishop in the state of Maharashtra.
Rajura is the only Catholic village in Amravati, one of the six
divisions of Maharashtra with an independent municipal administration.
The Catholics, all tribals, are descendants of migrants from Madhya
Pradesh; their families have been in the village for centuries. They
now live in fear for their lives, if they do not reconvert to the
Hinduism of their ancestors.
"All the people in the village are Catholics, very poor, illiterate,
mainly agricultural laborers, but very faithful to the religion,"
Bishop Edwin Colaço told AsiaNews.
"A few days ago, a Munni, or Hindu holy man, from Ayodhya ... held a
huge religious meeting here; it was well attended" by Hindus, the
bishop said.
"The saffron-clad, spear-bearing Munni attacked the Catholic Church
and denounced the missionaries," he said. "He launched into a tirade
against the Adivasi [tribals] of Rajura, alleging that missionaries
had originally converted them by force, and said that it was his
mission to reconvert them to Hinduism."
Bishop Colaço, 67, believes that the event was "very well planned by
the Hindu Religious Convention. The Munni had done his homework well
and knew the place. ... He urged Hindu villagers to 'kill the
Christian Adivasi with swords.'"
The group "drove into the Christian village in jeeps, carrying swords
and shouting fanatical Hindu slogans. But they found only women,
since the men were away at work," the bishop said.
"They threatened to kill the women if they did not follow them to the
Hindu meeting. The terrified women were then huddled into the jeeps
and forcibly brought before the Munni," continued Bishop Colaço.
The prelate said that the "situation is very serious. The Munni has
threatened the people of neighboring villages, saying they would be
ostracized and would be fined 10,000 rupees if they maintained any
contact with tribal Christians."
For Bishop Colaço of Amravati, "this is a violation of human rights.
Christian Adivasi are poor and illiterate and depend on Hindus for
employment. If they are ostracized, they will be denied their means
of livelihood. Worse still, many Adivasi have daughters and sisters
married to Hindu men and living in other villages. Now the
fundamentalists have forbidden any contact with their families."
Bishop Colaço said he wrote the Union Home Minister and the chief
minister of Maharashtra asking them to investigate the escalating
violence against Christians in Amravati. He also approached the
Indian bishops' conference requesting that it intervene.
(ii)
The Indian Express, February 08, 2005
FOR JHABUA TRIBALS, SANGH DAMS COME WITH A CHECK: SHIVLINGS FIRST
Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad: Ganga flowed through
Shiva's jata, now Shivlings will not let water
flow out of villages
Rohit Bhan
JHABUA, FEBRUARY 7: Deep inside Madhya Pradesh's
Jhabua, where the Sangh Parivar battles Christian
missionaries for the attention of tribals, a new
factor has been thrown into the equation: check
dams.
On March 8, Shivratri day, Vanvasi Kalyan
Parishad, a Sangh affiliate, will launch its
Shivganga project to set up talavs (ponds), check
dams and stop dams in 131 tribal villages.
On the surface, it looks like another
well-intentioned scheme to manage rainwater
better.
But this one comes with a catch. Each village
that launches the project must first instal a
Shivling-so what if the local administration says
these villages already have enough talavs and
dams.
Says Mahesh Sharma, general secretary of the
Parishad: ''The Ganga flowed through the jata
(mane) of Lord Shiva. We want the rainwater to
stop here and the jata of Lord Shiva will stop
the water from flowing out of the villages.''
However, the project organisers are silent on
whether Christian tribals will be allowed to reap
its benefits.
The 131 Shivlings have already been moved from
Indore to Jhabua and will be installed on
Shivratri when the project gets underway. But the
Sangh Parivar sees this only as a starting point.
Eventually, it wants to extend the programme to
some 2,500 tribal villages in the Jhabua-Dhar
belt, says Harsh Chauhan, the Parishad's state
president. Nor will the process of reaching out
to the tribals stop at installing Shivlings. On
Friday, 20 tribals youths from each village were
invited to a camp where they took a pledge to
contribute to the success of the project.
''The tribal boys will be asked to do shram daan
(manual labour) for two months while money will
be raised in the cities,'' says Laxman Goud, BJP
MLA from Indore.
Some Christian tribals in the area are worried.
''For obvious reasons, Christians cannot take
part in a programme to instal a shivling,'' says
Joseph Peter Mandoria, a villager from Pipalia.
''But there could be friction if the Hindus try
to monopolise the talavs and check dams.''
K T Chacko, the Jhabua Bishop, picks his words
carefully. 'There is nothing wrong with the
programme as long as it does not interfere with
someone's religious beliefs,'' he says.
Some fear it could do precisely that. And the
district administration questions the basic
rationale behind the project.
The Parishad says it is launching the scheme
because tribals are forced to leave their
villages in search of work as there is a shortage
of water for irrigation. Says Jhabua additional
collector P R Katrolia: ''In every village, there
are at least half-a-dozen check dams and talavs
already in operation. So why start more?''
The truth is that the Sangh does not want to give
any quarter. It has become particularly active in
the area after the Gujarat riots and has been
distributing pictures of Lord Hanuman and Ganesha
in the villages. The BJP managed to bag all five
Assembly segments in the 2003 polls.
And although infighting saw the party lose the
Parliamentary elections here last year, it is
hoping that check dams will check the slide.
(iii)
The Times of India, February 11, 2005
THE RUMBLE WITHIN...
Anjali Singh Jaiswal
Times News Network[ Friday, 12:00:28 Am ]
Culture cops are all geared up to strike this
Valentine's Day and oppose celebrations everywhere
Call them spoilsports or kabab mein haddi but
culture cops are gearing up again this year to
dampen Val Day spirits. With Shiv Sena, Vishwa
Hindu Parishad and even the Akhil Bhartiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) all having already
planned their strategy to tame those hit with
cupid's love darts, it seems young lovers in the
city will really have to try hard to express
their fondness for their sweetheart this year.
Says Uday Nath, deputy chief and spokesperson UP
wing of Shiv Sena, "Valentine's Day is a symbol
of decadent western culture. Gifting of cards,
flowers, presents and making a public show of an
emotion that is meant to be very private and
personal will not be accepted by us. Love should
be expressed behind closed doors and if it is
not, people will be taught to do so."
BN Shukla, acting president, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad UP on the other hand feels, "There is no
point in celebrating festivals that do not
reflect the Indian culture and ethos. Christmas,
Good Friday and Valentine's Day must not be
celebrated at all. Videshi tyoharon ko manane ka
matlabkya hai? Do the western countries celebrate
Diwali, Holi or Dussehra? This Valentine's Day
too we will oppose celebrations. Such days are
also misused by all to take advantage of the
vulnerability of our youth who are exploited in
the name of love. Markets are flooded with gift
items and also buyers. There is no such scope in
Indian festivals which are purely divine and
spiritual."
Shiv Bhushan Singh of ABVP concedes, "Being in
love is the ultimate emotion, the purity of which
is demeaned by occasions like Valentine's Day,
Rose Day etc. This year ABVP plans to have a
Saraswati Puja on Feb 14, Valentine's Day too, a
day after Basant Panchami, and distribute sweets
to all. Hum ashleel dikhawe ke virodh mein
campaign chalaenge ."
The need to focus on other similar issues round
the year is also felt by these groups. Uday Nath
agrees that there needs to be more concerted
efforts against obscene videos and remixes. He
maintains, "Our women's wing is planning to
launch a stir against vulgarity on TV channels. A
statewide meeting will be held to discuss the
issue on Feb 28."
While BN Shukla of VHP prefers to focus on other
ghambir samasyas facing the nation all through
the year, ABVP is very clear of its objective.
"Days like Valentine's Day need to be focussed on
more ardently," avers a spokesperson.
_______
[7]
SANSAD
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy
Suite 435, 205 - 329 North Road, Coquitlam, BC, Canada. V3K 6Z8
phone : (604) 420-2972; FAX: (604) 420-2970
Electronic mail : sansad at sansad.org
SANSAD
invites you to an afternoon Forum to hear the
experiences in Pakistan and India from
Mr. Muhammad Mahtab of Vancouver (formerly Capt. in Pakistani Navy)
and
Drs. Pritam and Kundan Rohila, of Portland, Oregon
on their recent trip to Pakistan and India.
The three were part of a 21-member delegation of
Non-Resident Indians and Non-Resident Pakistanis
living in Canada, the USA and UK, which recently
went on an unprecedented
Peace and Goodwill Mission to Pakistan and India.
The two week trip took the delegation to Peshwar,
Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore in Pakistan, and
Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu and Mumbai in India. They
met government leaders, leaders of political
parties, grass-root organizations, academics,
journalists, artists, and of course lots of
ordinary people.
And the Delegation conveyed the message to the
rulers of the two countries that good, peaceful,
neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan,
and the well-being of the people in the two
countries, are matters of as much concern to the
Indians and Pakistanis living abroad as they are
to those living within the countries.
Participatory, interactive, discussion will be
followed by recital of poems and ghazals by the
local artists.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
2-5 p.m.
Collingwood Neighbourhood House
5288 Joyce Street, Vancouver.
The Collingwood Neighbourhood House is located
about two blocks south of the Joyce Street
Skytrain station. Plenty of free parking is
available on the street; as well as in the
underground parking lot (entrance to the lot is
from Euclid Ave.)
Co-sponsored by Canada Urdu Association.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
Sister initiatives :
South Asia Counter Information Project : snipurl.com/sacip
South Asians Against Nukes: www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
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DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.
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