SACW | 16 Feb 2005

sacw aiindex at mnet.fr
Tue Feb 15 20:21:12 CST 2005


South Asia Citizens Wire   | 16 Feb.,  2005
via:  www.sacw.net

[1] Bangladesh:  Valentine's Day blast (Editorial, The Daily Star)
[2] Pakistan: Our very own tsunami (Rashed Rahman)
[3] Pakistan: Educational reform vs fundamentalist fury (Mohammad Shehzad)
[4] India:  Sex Choice as Advertisement, Rape as Infotainment ! 
Corporate vultures ? (Subhash Gatade)
[5] India: More facts needed in Geelani case (Siddharth Varadarajan)

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

[1]

The Daily Star - February 16, 2005
Editorial

VALENTINE'S DAY BLAST
Illiberal propensities must be stemmed at all costs
We note with utter dismay the unfortunate exploding of bombs on 
Valentine's Day at the DU campus, which injured several persons. The 
incident raises far deeper questions than merely the inefficacy of 
the security arrangements made at the campus and the Book Fair area.

We note with serious consternation the unholy grip that is being 
attempted to be applied by forces of illiberality, extremism, 
intolerance and bigotry on our society that is known for its rich 
cultural heritage made even richer by the infusion of new but healthy 
influences over the years. We cannot but be seriously apprehensive of 
the onset of a deep-seated malaise in the fabric of our society.

Very recently a caveat was put on the performance of 'Jatra' 
ostensibly for reasons of security, to us quite unbelievably so. In 
the past obscurantist elements had targeted cinema halls. Now it is 
the turn of a Valentine's Day function and the object of the 
bomb-attack was actually an event organised by the Dhaka University 
Debating Society

It is not difficult to fathom the intention of these elements. It's 
time we registered in our minds the grave implications of these acts 
and the harm that the monstrosity of intolerance can bring to our 
image of 'a moderate Islamic country'.

Unfortunately, it appears that we are faced with the forces of 
anti-modernism bent upon resisting by force our liberal and tolerant 
outlook. What is being seen as 'alien' is merely a recreational and 
light-hearted occasion that has added a colourful dimension to our 
cultural milieu.

We urge upon the government not to take this incident as an isolated 
event but to take a holistic view of what we regard as part of a more 
sinister and bigger phenomenon that has the potential to strike at 
the very core of our time-honoured ethos and traditional respect for 
cultural diversities.

As Bengalis we must take pride in the multiple facets of our society. 
The cultural diversity that enriches it is but its mirror-image. 
Failure to defend it will imperil our existence.

_______


[2]

Daily Times - February 15, 2005

OUR VERY OWN TSUNAMI
by Rashed Rahman

Unprecedentedly heavy winter rains and snow have hit the southern and 
northern regions of the country. About 120 people so far have died in 
the NWFP and Northern Areas. The death toll in Balochistan has 
reached 250, with thousands still missing. The damage to life and 
property in Mekran has been made worse by the bursting of dams, 
starting with the Shadi Kor Dam in Pasni. This disaster has been 
followed by the Chalvi Dam in Kolach union council, Pasni tehsil, 
Gawar Bagh Dam in Turbat district, the Chillery Dam in Kolach Gwadar 
union council, and Gaggo Dam in Lasbela. The Jantry Dam in Buleda and 
another small dam in Dalbandin are overflowing and may burst if the 
rains continue. People are said to be fleeing these areas to safe 
ground.
The heavy rains and bursting of dams all over southern Balochistan 
have, according to Chief Minister Jam Yousuf, damaged 6,000 houses 
and destroyed a vast area under crops. Displaced villagers, about 
40,000 in Mekran district alone, are living in the open in dire need 
of shelter, medicines, food and clothing. The chief minister has 
ordered an inquiry into the bursting of Shadi Kor Dam. He may now 
have to expand the scope of that inquiry to the other dams that have 
followed suit all over the southern reaches of the province. It is 
said that some of these dams were constructed by the army. 
Accountability must enfold both military and civilian contractors 
responsible for sub-standard construction that has led to such loss 
of life and property. If this is the quality of 'development' being 
brought to Balochistan, it can only increase the reservations of the 
local populace about the government's tall claims of bringing 
prosperity to the province through mega-projects.
The United Nations has pledged $100,000 for relief for the victims of 
the disaster in Balochistan. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is 
warning of the risks of disease after the deluge, especially because 
drinking water is scarce. The rains so far are unrelenting, hampering 
relief work being carried out largely from the air since roads 
infrastructure has been badly damaged in the entire southern region. 
Forecasts predict more rains, suggesting the plight of the people of 
the area is by no means over yet.
The seriousness of the disaster has prompted General Musharraf and 
some ministers to visit the affected areas. They have tried after 
their visits to downplay the death toll and destruction, accusing the 
media of exaggeration. The fact, however, is that the death toll and 
other damage is likely to have been underestimated, given the 
remoteness and lack of access to the areas affected.
The president has used the photo opportunity of his visit to praise 
the efforts of the armed forces in disaster relief. He has also tried 
to justify the presence of the armed forces in the affected areas, an 
issue of conflict with the nationalists, by saying if the army had 
not been present, relief would not have reached the victims. The 
interesting aside on this is that there is a central Crisis 
Management Cell, set up precisely to deal with natural (and partially 
man-made) disasters such as this one. That Cell always has the option 
to call in the armed forces in cases of emergency. Perhaps the 
political necessity of justifying the military's presence in an area 
where its welcome is weak, to put it politely, has over-ridden 
General Musharraf's awareness of his own government's creation of a 
Crisis Management Cell.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recently been tilting 
against corrupt builders charged with constructing faulty high-rise 
buildings. Can it be persuaded to also look into faulty construction 
of dams in Balochistan? And will it have the courage - even if army 
engineering units are involved - to take culprits to task, 
irrespective of their uniforms?
This question is not unimportant. The footnote to this piece will 
indicate why. After humming and hawing for weeks, the authorities 
have announced restrictions on the movement of Captain Hammad and 
five other military personnel in the Sui rape case. This is not a 
case of better late than never. 'Late' has produced the widening of 
the insurgency in Balochistan, driven even moderates into the arms of 
the militants, and reinforced nationalist alienation from the Centre. 
What price protection of the military's own?
The writer, currently a freelance contributor, has held editorial 
positions in various Pakistani newspapers

_______


[3]

Asia Times
Feb 16, 2005

EDUCATIONAL REFORM VS FUNDAMENTALIST FURY
By Mohammad Shehzad
ISLAMABAD - After seizing power through a dramatic coup d'etat, 
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf initiated several reforms 
in various areas, including the country's educational system. To 
improve it, Musharraf signed an executive order in 2002 inducting the 
Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKUEB) into the national 
education system.
The AKUEB was selected for this assignment due to its outstanding 
track record. Over the years, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) 
has emerged as one of the most effective associations of 
community-based organizations in Pakistan, and has changed the lives 
of large numbers of people in the remotest areas of the country, 
including the Northern Areas, where no government agency has ever 
undertaken any development work.
The AKUEB has been given the task of upgrading and modernizing the 
declining standards of education and of holding examinations for 
private educational institutions. The affiliation of these 
institutions to the board is voluntary. The board has not been given 
any role in government schools, and the system is also intended to 
help groom teachers in private educational institutions with 
excellent skills through training. The AKUEB would bring in modern 
examinations, both in English and Urdu, at an affordable cost to a 
much broader section of society, providing parents and schools with 
the option to choose the style of education they desire from classes 
four to 12.
Until now, such a choice was confined to the very few who could 
afford the "O level" fees. The AKUEB follows the British education 
system of "O" and "A" levels. "O" levels are designed for students 
from 14 to 16 years of age and are aimed at preparing them for 
academic progression and equipping them with the skills necessary for 
employment. "A" levels are designed to prepare them for university 
and other professional fields of study. Both levels emphasize a broad 
range of subjects, covering the humanities, social sciences, natural 
sciences and other creative technical and vocational qualifications. 
A National Examination Testing Service has been constituted and the 
government educational boards have agreed to entertain applications 
from students who take examinations under the AKUEB. These 
examinations are expected to start in 2006.
Musharraf's initiatives on this count have been greeted as a step in 
the right direction by the enlightened section of Pakistani society. 
However, the right-wing groups (jihadis, Islamists, clerics, 
fundamentalists, and religious extremists) - a powerful minority in 
Pakistan by whom the mainstream is held hostage - have launched a 
virulent campaign against these reforms. A wide range of facilities 
are available to these groups for the propagation of their venomous 
propaganda, including the jihadi media, pulpits and loudspeakers at 
mosques, and public rallies, which are not allowed for mainstream 
politics but are permitted for jihad and fassad (evil).
The Jihadi press - comprising dozens of publications with a 
collective circulation in millions - has started a concentrated smear 
campaign against the Ismaeli (Aga Khan) community, with at least some 
mainstream publications, such as Nawa-i-Waqt and The Nation, 
supporting the fundamentalists in this campaign. The Jihadi press is 
cranking out highly inflammatory and provocative material against 
Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Ismaelis, AKUEB and AKDN in an attempt to 
present the Ahmadis and the Ismaelis as two sides of the same coin. 
Jihadi leaders have issued statement after statement demonizing the 
Ahmadis and the Ismaelis. Crossing all limits of decency and 
diplomacy, the rabid Islamist Qazi Hussain Ahmad - often referred to 
as a "Pakistani Bal Thackeray" - launched a direct attack on Prince 
Karim Aga Khan. The Qazi was the first to spearhead the campaign 
against the Ismaelis, linking them to the Ahmadis, the most 
persecuted sect in Pakistan. The Weekly Ghazwa - a publication of the 
defunct Lashkar-e-Taiba - in its May 6, 2004, issue quoted Qazi as 
saying: "If the Prince Karim Aga Khan tried to interfere in our 
curriculum, I will make his end miserable. In fact, his end would be 
even worse than the Ahmadis." A diplomat chastised Qazi at a social 
gathering for this threat.
The jihadis accuse the AKDN of receiving a bribe of US$45 million as 
a grant from the US for "perverting" Pakistan's education system by 
"spreading nudity and obscenity" and "introducing a free-sex 
environment". To support their claim, the jihadis have distorted and 
exaggerated a health survey issued by the Aga Khan Nursing School. 
The Daily Jasarat, on May 9, 2004, declaimed:

Aga Khan Foundation [AKF] has distributed a questionnaire among 
schoolgirls aged between 11-15 that asks sensuous and objectionable 
questions. For example, has a man ever touched your body? If so, who 
is that person? Has anyone touched your breasts? Do you know about 
self-breast examination? If so, how do you feel about discussing it 
with other people? Most of the questions pertain to menstruation, 
asking girls whether they feel pain during the periods. The 
questionnaire has frightened the parents. What could be the purpose 
of asking such questions? It is a US conspiracy to spread perversion 
in the society. The US is using our education minister, Zobaida 
Jalal, to achieve this objective. At her behest, these questions have 
been included in the schoolbooks of class VIII.
Every jihadi publication has been distorting this questionnaire 
according to its own indoctrination policy. Outperforming all others, 
the Weekly Ghazwa in December, 2004 reported:

Aga Khan Board has circulated a questionnaire among the students 
under the title, 'Health Survey'. The questionnaire asks the students 
the following obscene and immoral questions: Should a girl have sex 
before the marriage? If yes, at what age? AIDS is transmitted through 
unsafe sex, prostitution and homosexuality, therefore, ensure that 
you practice safe sex. Have you ever had sex? If yes, at what age? Do 
you drink? If yes, how much quantity? Do you take drugs or other 
intoxicating things? When did you have sex first time in your life? 
Should a boy and a girl in love have sex before the marriage? How to 
derive maximum pleasure from sex? Have you seen your sister naked? If 
yes, what type of feelings you had in your mind? Did you ever think 
of having sex with her? Is your father having sex with you? Is your 
brother having sex with you? Have you been sleeping with your mother 
in the childhood? Did you ever see her naked? If yes, what type of 
feelings you had in your mind? When was the last time you saw your 
mother naked?
These questions pervert the young minds. These questions are asked 
from the students of the 9th and 10th grade. You can well imagine 
from the above questions that it is a conspiracy to introduce immoral 
values in our Islamic society. There is no doubt that the Aga Khan 
Board is working at the behest of the Jews, Hindus and Christians and 
its mission is to pervert our coming generations.
The scope of the education reforms controversy widened when Hafiz 
Mohammad Saeed - the supremo of the defunct Laskhar-e-Taiba - joined 
the issue. In the Internet edition of the Weekly Ghazwa in November, 
2004, Saeed said: "Musharraf is working on making the Northern Areas 
an Aga Khani state. He has been pressured by Christina Rocca 
[assistant secretary of state for South Asia] to hand over Kashmir to 
Prince Karim Aga Khan so that he could annex it with the Northern 
Areas and make it his fiefdom."
The propaganda against the Ismaelis has intensified to such an extent 
that now Aga Khanis are being condemned for most of the developments 
taking place in Pakistan, including Pakistan's privatization policy. 
The Daily Jasarat last month said:

America is behind sectarian violence in many countries including 
Pakistan. The biggest proof of General Musharraf's inefficiency is, 
he has allowed the AKF to act as the agent of the US. Habib Bank has 
been sold to the AKF at throwaway price. AKF has been allowed to 
tamper with the education system of Pakistan. The AKF has secularized 
Pakistani education system. This has resulted into a backlash against 
the Aga Khanis and it has happened first time in Pakistan's history. 
If a better sense did not prevail upon Prince Karim Aga Khan or 
General Musharraf then Pakistan will be in the grip of a fire. 
Musharraf has masterminded hatred against Aga Khanis in the Pakistani 
society. He is pushing Pakistan into the 1971-like situation.
The jihadis have also begun to blame Prince Karim Aga Khan for the 
sectarian violence in Gilgit, in the Northern Areas. Thus, the Weekly 
Takbeer in its cover story last last month wrote:

Two elements are involved in trouble in Gilgit - internal 
conspiracies and those who want to secularize the Northern Areas and 
isolate it from Pakistan. The latter are the pro-Hindu elements and 
Aga Khanis are on the top of it. The Aga Khani lobby is behind Aga 
Ziauddin's murder. He was the only hurdle in the preaching of the Aga 
Khanis' religion. The majority of the people in Gilgit are Shi'ites 
and Aga Ziauddin was their sole spiritual leader. He was an 
uncontroversial figure. Even his opponents also admired him. Ziauddin 
struggled for the rights of Shi'ites on many fronts. He was against 
the increasing influence of Aga Khan Foundation in the Northern 
Areas. He also wanted the Government to introduce separate curriculum 
for the Shi'ites in the Northern Areas. He had opponents too in this 
regard.
The increasing influence of the Aga Khan Development Network [AKDN] 
in Gilgit and Baltistan was the basic reason of Ziauddin's murder. 
For the last some years, the AKDN was preaching secularism and 
apostasy in Gilgit and Baltistan under the cover of development work. 
The Aga Khanis were in majority in Hunza only. They wanted to capture 
Gilgit and Baltistan where the majority of the population was 
Shi'ite. To gain popularity among the Shi'ites, the AKDN offered them 
loans. Under a conspiracy, the AKDN promoted the cultivation of 
potatoes and provide defective seeds in this effect. When the Shi'ite 
farmers bought the defective potato seeds on loan on the advice of 
AKDN, their yield reduced to a significant extent and their financial 
condition started deteriorating. Banks confiscated their land and 
their land was purchased by AKDN at throwaway prices.
Similarly, AKDN has set up some Basic Health Units [BHUs]. The 
purpose of these BHUs is to spread obscenity, liberalism and 
apostasy. The US is behind the AKDN. Ziauddin understood this move. 
He wanted the AKDN to limit its activities to the Aga Khani 
community. He struggled against secularism from the platform of 
Ittehadul Muslimeen. In practice, he had waged jihad against the AKDN 
and mobilized the community in this effect. This was not acceptable 
to the Aga Khanis as well as the US.
The US wanted to give Prince Karim Aga Khan a special role in 
Kashmir. The plan was to give Kashmir to the prince's trusteeship. 
But there were a few big hurdles in this plan - the Shi'ite 
population and Ziauddin. The US thought by serving the poor 
community, they could be subjugated. Ziauddin did not let it happen. 
Thus Ziauddin became a challenge for the US. That is why, Ziauddin 
was removed from the scene.
The jihadis have also fabricated a number of opinion polls against 
the Ismaelis. Thus the Daily Jasarat reported on December 19, 2004:

According to a survey by the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba [IJT], 854,000 
people have rejected the AKB. There were only 64,000 votes in AKB's 
support. IJT arranged a special referendum to ascertain the 
popularity of AKB in Sindh. It set up 140 camps and collected the 
public opinion. Around 918,855 people took part in the referendum - 
93.02% rejected the AKB. IJT has decided to run a countrywide 
campaign against AKB. It will demand that the government should take 
back its decision of giving the educational system to AKB.
The United Students Front (USF) - a union of jihadi students - has 
threatened to attack Parliament if AKF's involvement in education is 
not ended. The USF's president, Sahibzada Babar Farooq Rahimi, has 
said that the students will not hesitate to sacrifice their lives if 
the decision to hand over the education board to AKF was not reversed.
It is useful to note that the Aga Khanis have nothing to do with the 
curriculum or with the Ahmadia community. But the jihadis have 
launched a massive propaganda war to demonize them, and the result, 
in at least one case, was that the AKDN's offices and its aid workers 
have been attacked in Gilgit and North West Frontier Province in the 
recent past. Pakistan's poorly educated people are so influenced by 
this propaganda that they have come to view the government's 
education reforms as a conspiracy against Islam. The extremists' 
propaganda has substantially succeeded in projecting the following 
perspectives:
*	The Ahmadis are a scourge and the Ismaelis are their 
twin-brothers. They are infidels. The US wants to bring them into the 
mainstream, which is possible only through indoctrination. Therefore, 
General Musharraf at the US's behest has "pledged" the entire 
education system to the Prince Karim Aga Khan who is an agent of the 
"evil powers" - the US, Israel and India.
*	The above motive cannot be achieved without restructuring the 
current educational system, which protects the two-nation theory. 
Therefore, the AKUEB will be reforming the curriculum under the cover 
of conducting exams for the private schools.
*	Pakistan in the years to come will get away with the 
constitutional clause that declares Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. As a 
first step in this direction, the Ismaelis have coerced General 
Musharraf not to restore the column of religion in the new passports.
The jihadis have long considered America, India, Israel and Ahmadis 
as the worst evils. Musharraf's education reforms have given them a 
new entity to demonize: the Ismaelis, and there is urgent need to 
counter their venomous propaganda. Unfortunately, the government's 
own orientation has compounded the problem. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a 
civil society representative who heads one of the largest networks 
for sustainable development in Pakistan, LEAD (Leadership for 
Environment and Development), notes:

AKUEB is not a conspiracy. It will add quality to our declining 
education standards. The jihadis and maulvis have portrayed it as a 
conspiracy because the government has failed to involve the civil 
society in this initiative. We still have to see the terms of 
references of the agreement that the government of Pakistan has 
signed with the AKUEB. This entire issue could be cleansed of 
conspiracies and controversies once it is opened for stakeholders' 
debate. The question is not, why the government has done so? We all 
support this initiative. The question is how it would be done. The 
civil society is still in darkness about this issue.
(Published with permission from the South Asia Intelligence Review of 
the Educational reform vs fundamentalist fury
By Mohammad Shehzad
ISLAMABAD - After seizing power through a dramatic coup d'etat, 
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf initiated several reforms 
in various areas, including the country's educational system. To 
improve it, Musharraf signed an executive order in 2002 inducting the 
Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKUEB) into the national 
education system.
The AKUEB was selected for this assignment due to its outstanding 
track record. Over the years, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) 
has emerged as one of the most effective associations of 
community-based organizations in Pakistan, and has changed the lives 
of large numbers of people in the remotest areas of the country, 
including the Northern Areas, where no government agency has ever 
undertaken any development work.
The AKUEB has been given the task of upgrading and modernizing the 
declining standards of education and of holding examinations for 
private educational institutions. The affiliation of these 
institutions to the board is voluntary. The board has not been given 
any role in government schools, and the system is also intended to 
help groom teachers in private educational institutions with 
excellent skills through training. The AKUEB would bring in modern 
examinations, both in English and Urdu, at an affordable cost to a 
much broader section of society, providing parents and schools with 
the option to choose the style of education they desire from classes 
four to 12.
Until now, such a choice was confined to the very few who could 
afford the "O level" fees. The AKUEB follows the British education 
system of "O" and "A" levels. "O" levels are designed for students 
from 14 to 16 years of age and are aimed at preparing them for 
academic progression and equipping them with the skills necessary for 
employment. "A" levels are designed to prepare them for university 
and other professional fields of study. Both levels emphasize a broad 
range of subjects, covering the humanities, social sciences, natural 
sciences and other creative technical and vocational qualifications. 
A National Examination Testing Service has been constituted and the 
government educational boards have agreed to entertain applications 
from students who take examinations under the AKUEB. These 
examinations are expected to start in 2006.
Musharraf's initiatives on this count have been greeted as a step in 
the right direction by the enlightened section of Pakistani society. 
However, the right-wing groups (jihadis, Islamists, clerics, 
fundamentalists, and religious extremists) - a powerful minority in 
Pakistan by whom the mainstream is held hostage - have launched a 
virulent campaign against these reforms. A wide range of facilities 
are available to these groups for the propagation of their venomous 
propaganda, including the jihadi media, pulpits and loudspeakers at 
mosques, and public rallies, which are not allowed for mainstream 
politics but are permitted for jihad and fassad (evil).
The Jihadi press - comprising dozens of publications with a 
collective circulation in millions - has started a concentrated smear 
campaign against the Ismaeli (Aga Khan) community, with at least some 
mainstream publications, such as Nawa-i-Waqt and The Nation, 
supporting the fundamentalists in this campaign. The Jihadi press is 
cranking out highly inflammatory and provocative material against 
Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Ismaelis, AKUEB and AKDN in an attempt to 
present the Ahmadis and the Ismaelis as two sides of the same coin. 
Jihadi leaders have issued statement after statement demonizing the 
Ahmadis and the Ismaelis. Crossing all limits of decency and 
diplomacy, the rabid Islamist Qazi Hussain Ahmad - often referred to 
as a "Pakistani Bal Thackeray" - launched a direct attack on Prince 
Karim Aga Khan. The Qazi was the first to spearhead the campaign 
against the Ismaelis, linking them to the Ahmadis, the most 
persecuted sect in Pakistan. The Weekly Ghazwa - a publication of the 
defunct Lashkar-e-Taiba - in its May 6, 2004, issue quoted Qazi as 
saying: "If the Prince Karim Aga Khan tried to interfere in our 
curriculum, I will make his end miserable. In fact, his end would be 
even worse than the Ahmadis." A diplomat chastised Qazi at a social 
gathering for this threat.
The jihadis accuse the AKDN of receiving a bribe of US$45 million as 
a grant from the US for "perverting" Pakistan's education system by 
"spreading nudity and obscenity" and "introducing a free-sex 
environment". To support their claim, the jihadis have distorted and 
exaggerated a health survey issued by the Aga Khan Nursing School. 
The Daily Jasarat, on May 9, 2004, declaimed:

Aga Khan Foundation [AKF] has distributed a questionnaire among 
schoolgirls aged between 11-15 that asks sensuous and objectionable 
questions. For example, has a man ever touched your body? If so, who 
is that person? Has anyone touched your breasts? Do you know about 
self-breast examination? If so, how do you feel about discussing it 
with other people? Most of the questions pertain to menstruation, 
asking girls whether they feel pain during the periods. The 
questionnaire has frightened the parents. What could be the purpose 
of asking such questions? It is a US conspiracy to spread perversion 
in the society. The US is using our education minister, Zobaida 
Jalal, to achieve this objective. At her behest, these questions have 
been included in the schoolbooks of class VIII.
Every jihadi publication has been distorting this questionnaire 
according to its own indoctrination policy. Outperforming all others, 
the Weekly Ghazwa in December, 2004 reported:

Aga Khan Board has circulated a questionnaire among the students 
under the title, 'Health Survey'. The questionnaire asks the students 
the following obscene and immoral questions: Should a girl have sex 
before the marriage? If yes, at what age? AIDS is transmitted through 
unsafe sex, prostitution and homosexuality, therefore, ensure that 
you practice safe sex. Have you ever had sex? If yes, at what age? Do 
you drink? If yes, how much quantity? Do you take drugs or other 
intoxicating things? When did you have sex first time in your life? 
Should a boy and a girl in love have sex before the marriage? How to 
derive maximum pleasure from sex? Have you seen your sister naked? If 
yes, what type of feelings you had in your mind? Did you ever think 
of having sex with her? Is your father having sex with you? Is your 
brother having sex with you? Have you been sleeping with your mother 
in the childhood? Did you ever see her naked? If yes, what type of 
feelings you had in your mind? When was the last time you saw your 
mother naked?
These questions pervert the young minds. These questions are asked 
from the students of the 9th and 10th grade. You can well imagine 
from the above questions that it is a conspiracy to introduce immoral 
values in our Islamic society. There is no doubt that the Aga Khan 
Board is working at the behest of the Jews, Hindus and Christians and 
its mission is to pervert our coming generations.
The scope of the education reforms controversy widened when Hafiz 
Mohammad Saeed - the supremo of the defunct Laskhar-e-Taiba - joined 
the issue. In the Internet edition of the Weekly Ghazwa in November, 
2004, Saeed said: "Musharraf is working on making the Northern Areas 
an Aga Khani state. He has been pressured by Christina Rocca 
[assistant secretary of state for South Asia] to hand over Kashmir to 
Prince Karim Aga Khan so that he could annex it with the Northern 
Areas and make it his fiefdom."
The propaganda against the Ismaelis has intensified to such an extent 
that now Aga Khanis are being condemned for most of the developments 
taking place in Pakistan, including Pakistan's privatization policy. 
The Daily Jasarat last month said:

America is behind sectarian violence in many countries including 
Pakistan. The biggest proof of General Musharraf's inefficiency is, 
he has allowed the AKF to act as the agent of the US. Habib Bank has 
been sold to the AKF at throwaway price. AKF has been allowed to 
tamper with the education system of Pakistan. The AKF has secularized 
Pakistani education system. This has resulted into a backlash against 
the Aga Khanis and it has happened first time in Pakistan's history. 
If a better sense did not prevail upon Prince Karim Aga Khan or 
General Musharraf then Pakistan will be in the grip of a fire. 
Musharraf has masterminded hatred against Aga Khanis in the Pakistani 
society. He is pushing Pakistan into the 1971-like situation.
The jihadis have also begun to blame Prince Karim Aga Khan for the 
sectarian violence in Gilgit, in the Northern Areas. Thus, the Weekly 
Takbeer in its cover story last last month wrote:

Two elements are involved in trouble in Gilgit - internal 
conspiracies and those who want to secularize the Northern Areas and 
isolate it from Pakistan. The latter are the pro-Hindu elements and 
Aga Khanis are on the top of it. The Aga Khani lobby is behind Aga 
Ziauddin's murder. He was the only hurdle in the preaching of the Aga 
Khanis' religion. The majority of the people in Gilgit are Shi'ites 
and Aga Ziauddin was their sole spiritual leader. He was an 
uncontroversial figure. Even his opponents also admired him. Ziauddin 
struggled for the rights of Shi'ites on many fronts. He was against 
the increasing influence of Aga Khan Foundation in the Northern 
Areas. He also wanted the Government to introduce separate curriculum 
for the Shi'ites in the Northern Areas. He had opponents too in this 
regard.
The increasing influence of the Aga Khan Development Network [AKDN] 
in Gilgit and Baltistan was the basic reason of Ziauddin's murder. 
For the last some years, the AKDN was preaching secularism and 
apostasy in Gilgit and Baltistan under the cover of development work. 
The Aga Khanis were in majority in Hunza only. They wanted to capture 
Gilgit and Baltistan where the majority of the population was 
Shi'ite. To gain popularity among the Shi'ites, the AKDN offered them 
loans. Under a conspiracy, the AKDN promoted the cultivation of 
potatoes and provide defective seeds in this effect. When the Shi'ite 
farmers bought the defective potato seeds on loan on the advice of 
AKDN, their yield reduced to a significant extent and their financial 
condition started deteriorating. Banks confiscated their land and 
their land was purchased by AKDN at throwaway prices.
Similarly, AKDN has set up some Basic Health Units [BHUs]. The 
purpose of these BHUs is to spread obscenity, liberalism and 
apostasy. The US is behind the AKDN. Ziauddin understood this move. 
He wanted the AKDN to limit its activities to the Aga Khani 
community. He struggled against secularism from the platform of 
Ittehadul Muslimeen. In practice, he had waged jihad against the AKDN 
and mobilized the community in this effect. This was not acceptable 
to the Aga Khanis as well as the US.
The US wanted to give Prince Karim Aga Khan a special role in 
Kashmir. The plan was to give Kashmir to the prince's trusteeship. 
But there were a few big hurdles in this plan - the Shi'ite 
population and Ziauddin. The US thought by serving the poor 
community, they could be subjugated. Ziauddin did not let it happen. 
Thus Ziauddin became a challenge for the US. That is why, Ziauddin 
was removed from the scene.
The jihadis have also fabricated a number of opinion polls against 
the Ismaelis. Thus the Daily Jasarat reported on December 19, 2004:

According to a survey by the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba [IJT], 854,000 
people have rejected the AKB. There were only 64,000 votes in AKB's 
support. IJT arranged a special referendum to ascertain the 
popularity of AKB in Sindh. It set up 140 camps and collected the 
public opinion. Around 918,855 people took part in the referendum - 
93.02% rejected the AKB. IJT has decided to run a countrywide 
campaign against AKB. It will demand that the government should take 
back its decision of giving the educational system to AKB.
The United Students Front (USF) - a union of jihadi students - has 
threatened to attack Parliament if AKF's involvement in education is 
not ended. The USF's president, Sahibzada Babar Farooq Rahimi, has 
said that the students will not hesitate to sacrifice their lives if 
the decision to hand over the education board to AKF was not reversed.
It is useful to note that the Aga Khanis have nothing to do with the 
curriculum or with the Ahmadia community. But the jihadis have 
launched a massive propaganda war to demonize them, and the result, 
in at least one case, was that the AKDN's offices and its aid workers 
have been attacked in Gilgit and North West Frontier Province in the 
recent past. Pakistan's poorly educated people are so influenced by 
this propaganda that they have come to view the government's 
education reforms as a conspiracy against Islam. The extremists' 
propaganda has substantially succeeded in projecting the following 
perspectives:
*	The Ahmadis are a scourge and the Ismaelis are their 
twin-brothers. They are infidels. The US wants to bring them into the 
mainstream, which is possible only through indoctrination. Therefore, 
General Musharraf at the US's behest has "pledged" the entire 
education system to the Prince Karim Aga Khan who is an agent of the 
"evil powers" - the US, Israel and India.
*	The above motive cannot be achieved without restructuring the 
current educational system, which protects the two-nation theory. 
Therefore, the AKUEB will be reforming the curriculum under the cover 
of conducting exams for the private schools.
*	Pakistan in the years to come will get away with the 
constitutional clause that declares Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. As a 
first step in this direction, the Ismaelis have coerced General 
Musharraf not to restore the column of religion in the new passports.
The jihadis have long considered America, India, Israel and Ahmadis 
as the worst evils. Musharraf's education reforms have given them a 
new entity to demonize: the Ismaelis, and there is urgent need to 
counter their venomous propaganda. Unfortunately, the government's 
own orientation has compounded the problem. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a 
civil society representative who heads one of the largest networks 
for sustainable development in Pakistan, LEAD (Leadership for 
Environment and Development), notes:

AKUEB is not a conspiracy. It will add quality to our declining 
education standards. The jihadis and maulvis have portrayed it as a 
conspiracy because the government has failed to involve the civil 
society in this initiative. We still have to see the terms of 
references of the agreement that the government of Pakistan has 
signed with the AKUEB. This entire issue could be cleansed of 
conspiracies and controversies once it is opened for stakeholders' 
debate. The question is not, why the government has done so? We all 
support this initiative. The question is how it would be done. The 
civil society is still in darkness about this issue.



______


[4]

http://www.sacw.net/Wmov/gatade14022005.html
www.sacw.net | February 14, 2005

SEX CHOICE AS ADVERTISEMENT, RAPE AS INFOTAINMENT !
CORPORATE VULTURES ?

by Subhash Gatade

It was early eighties when aminocentis tests arrived on the Indian 
scene. Primarily devised for detection of genetic diseases in the 
foetus and to assist in delivery they soon metamorphosed themselves 
into determination of sex of the foetus in the craving for a son in 
the Indian familities. "Better Rs 500 now than Rs 5 lakh later" One 
could see billboards advertising these 'tests' in a blatant manner 
provoking expectant parents to resort to these 'tests' and eliminate 
'unwanted foetus' (another acronym for doing away with female 
foetuses). For a layperson also it was clear how one could save 
oneself from paying hefty amount as dowry if one could get an idea of 
the sex of one's child at such a low cost.

Two decades later and with the figures of the 2001 census staring us 
in our face ( which further confirmed the skewed gender ratio) one 
expected that the corporate world which keeps patting itself on the 
back for its 'social responsibility' would show more sensitivity 
towards this issue. But looking at the recent case of a leading 
telecom firm ( Reliance Infocomm) against whom a case under the Pre 
Natal Diagnostic Techniques ( Prohibition of Sex Selection) act has 
been registered it becomes clear that for bigwigs in the corporate 
world all talk of gender sensitivity is only for public consumption. 
The company in question Reliance Infocomm has been charged for 
'displaying an advertisement on its website pertaining to sex 
determination of the foetus.' The ad talked about chinese tips for 
predicting the gender of the child. It also talked about techniques 
ensuring and increasing probability that an embryo will be of a 
particular sex." ( HT, Feb 1, 2005)

Ofcourse the only consolation Reliance Infocomm can have at this 
juncture is that it is not the only one from the corporate world 
which can be singled out for engaging in such practice.The process of 
sanitising violence against women to enhance one's business prospects 
can be said to be a effective marketing strategy the world over and 
media has been a party to this.

In this connection the ad series launched by the Maruti-Suzuki people 
year before last for their new car model Zen was representative of a 
trend which is in vogue. ["ECONOMICTIMES.COM, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 
2003 05:01:16 PM ] The controversial ad showed a young beautiful 
blonde being stalked by a tiger through the city at night. The girl 
passes through the various areas of the city. ...Whenever she is on 
the road, it is the new look car that follows her. The moment she is 
on stairs or overbridge, the car is transformed into a tiger. The TVC 
ends with the girl finally giving up the chase with a deep male 
voiceover 'Surrender, to the new ... The advertisement fashioned on 
the "predator concept" was chosen to attract young consumers below 
the age of 35, and it was deliberately selected to "build excitement 
around the brand in a completely different manner". Only a persistent 
protest by a small but determined group of gender activists and 
intellectuals compelled the company to withdraw this ad which '.. had 
converted rape into a commodity.'.

In the petition which this group sent to the big bosses of the 
company as well as diffrent concerned organisations it was cleary 
stated that the said ad 'completely ignored the campaign against 
carjacking and rape.' It also overlooked the fact that cars in 
general had become a weapon for men, who abduct and rape women. It 
has been repeatedly argued that the projection of cars as predators, 
women as sexual objects and travel as a hunt constitutes rape 
culture. .. "

Explaining the rationale behind presenting titilatting violence 
before its viewers or concealing the routinesed violence Jennifer L. 
Pozner (former director of the FAIR Women's Desk) makes clear that , 
controversy rather than facts sells in a "media climate that 
considers news a "product" and readers and viewers "consumers"." As 
an example, female genital mutilation affects millions of women 
worldwide, yet you rarely hear about this. ..Ofcourse according to Ms 
Pozner the 'economic benefits' of 'rape - the most titillating crime' 
are immense. According to her " The sexual brutilization of women is 
a highly marketable business, bringing in some $10 billion in profits 
in the U.S. every year. As lucrative as the portrayal of rape is in 
the adult entertainment industry, it stands to reason that it is also 
a profitable story for the news media as well."

The UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) published a 
report in Nov 2003 that one out three women are likely to be sexually 
assaulted during their lifetimes.We know that in many such cases the 
perpetrators of such crimes have stated in an unambigous manner the 
way the 'media' has played a role in it.

In her well researched piece Media Culpability In The Continuum Of 
Violence Against Women, Lucinda Marshall ( feminist artist, writer 
and activist, founder of the Feminist Peace Network, 
http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/) critically examines the issue. 
(30 September, 2004 Countercurrents.org) "..[M]ost disturbing is the 
disproportionate coverage of sensationalized violence. Invariably, 
rape stories get far more coverage than domestic violence stories. In 
all likelihood, this is because rape stories usually focus on one 
individual woman. If she is attractive, and particularly if she is 
white, she is a very marketable victim." While Ms Marshalls' studies 
must have been based on the way media in the west presents women, it 
cannot be said that her observations are irrelevant for Indian 
conditions.Even a random look at the programmes or ads on the media 
circuit in this part of the world makes it clear that things are 
unfolding here in a much vulgar manner.

Few months back a programme in Hindi modelled on the famous 'Hard 
Talk' demonstrated the depths to which the media here can reach 
supposedly for providing titilatting infotainment to their 
viewers.Interestingly the great villain of yesteryears who was a 
guest on the programme had not expected that the compere would put 
him in jeopardy. ( Seedhi Baat, Aaj Tak, 5 Sep 2004, Prabhu Chawla 
interviewing Pran) Discussing his track record in films and 
presenting before him some interesting queries about his life and 
career, all of a sudden the wellknown compere broached the topic of 
the 'rapes committed by the villain' in many of the films he had 
enacted.Despite visible discomfirture on the 'villain's' face he 
unashamedly asked him, looking at the galaxy of 'sexy heroines' in 
the industry today ' whom would you 'prefer' in the upcoming film if 
given a chance' ? Taken aback, the 'great villain' who had carved out 
a niche for himself in the industry then with his acting, somehow 
wriggled himself out of this situation. Ofcourse the compere went on 
with his chimpish smile.

It is really disturbing that this trivialisation of rape in full 
glare of the cameras largely went unnoticed.Barring a single 
commentator in Hindi none from the fraternity of media watchers even 
deemed it necessary to comment on the way in which the most obnoxious 
and inhuman violence against women was made a butt of joke. (Anil 
Chamadia, Kathadesh, Hindi Magazine, Oct 2004) Looking at the 
detailed description the question naturally arises, where do we go 
from here? We have a corporate world which has yet to come out of its 
patriarchal mindset.We have a civil society whose majority has been 
an important party in perpetuating this institution of male dominance.
Is not it high time that one really understands the myth of corporate 
social responsibility which is being peddled with frightening 
regularity these days Looking at the gravity of the situation nobody 
can deny that it is high time that everybody also becomes more aware 
of the role media can play in ameliorating the condition. Coming back 
to the successful intervention by a small group in compelling the 
company to withdraw the ad the movement to 'empower the viewer' and 
make her/him 'media literate' needs to be strengthened. Is not it 
true that with the growing importance of media in politics as well as 
public life in contemporary democracy the importance of having such 
'watchdogs' is being felt more urgent than ever.



______


[5]

The Hindu -  February 16, 2005

MORE FACTS NEEDED IN GEELANI CASE

By Siddharth Varadarajan

NEW DELHI, FEB. 15. In any high-profile case of attempted or actual 
murder, it is normal for the police to come under pressure to show 
quick results. When the victim is a man like the Delhi University 
lecturer, S.A.R. Geelani, whom the Delhi police once targeted for 
prosecution in the Parliament attack case, the pressure increases 
many times over because the investigating agency has the added burden 
of being among the list of probable suspects.

When results are not forthcoming, either for lack of evidence or the 
inadequacy of investigative skills, it is not uncommon for the police 
to try and deflect criticism by spreading rumours and raising 
"questions" to discredit the victim and erase the natural sympathy 
the public at large may feel for him. This was the pattern in the 
Pushkin Chandra murder investigation and is now fully evident in the 
manner the police is approaching the Geelani case.

If the aim of the police campaign in the early days of the Pushkin 
case was to suggest the murder victim's lifestyle was to blame for 
the crime, the fact that Mr. Geelani was lucky enough to survive the 
assassin's bullets has itself become a point of suspicion.

Going by the theories retailed by the investigating team and 
faithfully circulated by gullible reporters this past week, one would 
almost believe Mr. Geelani shot himself at his own home in an 
elaborate conspiracy involving his lawyer and family - with the aim 
of discrediting the police.

The police has questioned the fact that Mr. Geelani's counsel, 
Nandita Haksar, a senior and highly respected lawyer and human rights 
activist, did not immediately inform "100" that her client had been 
shot. However, Ms. Haksar, who rushed Mr. Geelani to hospital along 
with her husband, clearly felt saving his life was the most important 
thing to do. Besides, neither she nor her husband carries a mobile 
phone.

The police, which learnt of the attempted murder about an hour after 
it happened, says the delay led to the destruction of vital clues. 
But they have no explanation for why the crime scene was not 
immediately cordoned off when the first policemen arrived and why, 
for hours later, members of the public were allowed to walk over the 
area where Mr. Geelani had been attacked.

The most curious of all questions raised by the police concerns the 
"recovery" of Mr. Geelani's blood-stained sweater from his brother's 
residence several days after the crime. When an accident or crime 
victim is taken into the ICU at any hospital, it is customary for 
doctors to remove the clothes he or she is wearing at the time. 
Typically, the clothes are handed over to the victim's relatives, who 
take them home - especially if the police make no request for them. 
This is obviously what happened in the case of Mr. Geelani's clothes. 
Now, in order to hide their own incompetence in failing to examine 
the clothes on the first day itself, the police have floated the 
silly suggestion that the fact that the sweater was recovered from 
his brother's home means he probably was not shot at at the spot 
where he said he was.

The victim's computer has been seized and sent for forensic 
examination to Ahmedabad, allegedly to see if he had received any 
threats (one wonders why there is no capability in Delhi to scan a 
hard drive), his car has been seized, and his phone and credit card 
records are being scrutinised. It is almost as if the police have 
forgotten that Mr. Geelani is the victim here, not the suspect.

Mr. Geelani was acquitted by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 
after the trial judge, in what was India's first anti-terrorism case 
under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, found him guilty and sentenced 
him to death. The Delhi Police moved the Supreme Court in appeal and 
that is where matters are pending. In the eyes of the law, if not in 
the eyes of those who enforce it, however, Mr. Geelani is still an 
innocent man.

Whether the Delhi police or some unknown arm of the State was 
involved in the assassination attempt - as Ms. Haksar and others have 
alleged - is besides the point here. What is relevant is the 
depressingly familiar pattern of sloppy forensics, poor crime scene 
investigation and the planting of stories in the media. These do not 
augur well for the case to be solved. Though it is late in the day, 
the gravity of the case is such that the Government should transfer 
the investigation to an agency such as the CBI working under the 
supervision of a judge.


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

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on matters of peace 
and democratisation in South Asia. SACW is an independent & 
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