SACW | 04 March 2005

[sacw]

South Asia Citizens Wire   | 04 March,  2005
via:  www.sacw.net

[1]  Nepal: Censorship and attacks on journalists worsen - IFJ report
[2]  Plight of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh (Mahfuzur Rahman)
[3]  Bangladesh: A Marriage of Convenience (Ahmede Hussain)
[4]  India: Three Years After Genocide in Gujarat (Asghar Ali Engineer)
[5]  India: Cop Nails Gujarat Lie - Tape transcripts by Tehelka
[6]  Announcements:
(i)  Oppose the Relentless Mining of People's 
Resources - Sit in (New Delhi, March 4-5)
(ii) 'U-Special ' A new bookstore at Delhi University
(iii) India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch Compilation # 150
(iv) "Re-take of Amrita" : Photographs by Vivan 
Sundaram (Chicago, March 4 - April 23)



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

[1]


Media Release: Nepal 
3 March 2005

NEPAL: CENSORSHIP AND ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS WORSEN - IFJ REPORT

Censorship and attacks on journalists were 
getting worse as the Nepal coup moved into its 
fifth week, the International Federation of 
Journalists said today at the release of their 
report on Nepal: Coups, Kings and Censorship.

Just this week, the regime has released new 
regulations prohibiting the media from 
disseminating any information or publishing news 
related to security matters without obtaining 
prior information from the security forces.

This appears to follow the widespread reporting 
by the Kathmandu media of the Maoist looting and 
burning of a Television Nepal program centre in 
the west of the country.

The new regulations coincide with reports of 
increased violent attacks on the media by 
security forces. Journalists have been held and 
interrogated or beaten for their reporting. In 
once instance, a Nepal TV reporter was beaten for 
photographing bodies of soldiers killed in a 
Maoist attack.

Newspaper reports also suggest that curfews are 
being imposed in some districts.

The IFJ report arose from an urgent mission of 
inquiry to Nepal by its President Christopher 
Warren and IFJ South Asia Program Manager Laxmi 
Murthy. The mission was made possible with the 
support of International Media Support.

The mission followed the coup by King Gyanendra 
on February 1 which suspended almost all 
fundamental human rights, including freedom of 
the press and expression.

As a result, journalists are increasingly finding 
themselves trapped between a resurgent Maoist 
rebellion and the security forces.

In the report, the IFJ calls on the international 
community to pressure the coup leaders to 
immediately restore democracy by suspending 
military aid and carefully consider all direct 
government-to-government aid.

The report finds that:

· 11 journalists have been detained for more than 
48 hours since the coup, with three still being 
held and about a hundred in hiding or exile
· censorship of the media has reached 
unacceptable levels, with newspapers prevented 
from reporting the political events surrounding 
the coup
· the Nepali people have been denied access to 
information by the banning of news on FM radio
· about half of all publications have ceased 
publication, particularly outside the Kathmandu 
valley
· Hundreds of journalists have already lost their jobs, with many more at risk

“Despite all this, journalists are fighting back,” Warren said.

“They are attempting to keep their communities 
informed of these momentous events, even to the 
extent of publishing an underground newspaper,” 
he said.

“During the visit, we were constantly impressed 
by the strength and solidarity shown by Nepali 
journalists – to each other and to a free press.”

The mission also found freedom of association 
under threat, with the Federation of Nepalese 
Journalists pressured over its campaign to 
sustain press freedom.

Trade union rights have also been suspended, with 
senior trade union leaders from the Nepal Trade 
Union Congress in jail.

Click here to read the report online: 
<http://www.ifj.org/gifs/Nepal%20coups%20kings%20and%20censorship.pdf>http://www.ifj.org/gifs/Nepal%20coups%20kings%20and%20censorshippdf
For more information on the Nepal Crisis and to 
view the report see 
<http://www.ifj-asia.org/nepalcrisis>www.ifj-asia.org/nepalcrisis

______


[2]


The New Nation - March 3, 2005

PLIGHT OF THE STRANDED PAKISTANIS IN BANGLADESH
By Mahfuzur Rahman

Over 2.5 lakh stranded Pakistanis living in 66 
camps across Bangladesh are the world's most 
forgotten refugees. The plight of the refugees - 
better known as Biharis worsens each day.

Even though they are without a homeland, neither 
the United Nations nor the International Red 
Cross and Crescent Society recognise them as 
refugees. Bangladesh can ill afford these 
refugees but yet it has been taking care of these 
people for nearly three decades. The burden is 
becoming too much for Bangladesh to bear.

"...the stranded Pakistanis have become a burden 
for us...our people do not accept them either. 
Absence of proper initiative from the government 
is an impediment to the process of solving this 
longstanding humanitarian problem," former 
President HM Ershad was quoted by a study 
conducted by NewsNetwork.

The camps where these stranded people are staying 
over three decades are the classic examples of 
subhuman living that has hardly any difference 
with animal life. Dingy and stinky atmosphere, 
merger of both water and sewerage lines, lack of 
latrines and clean water are constant threats to 
health. Fever, diarrhoea and other diseases are 
common phenomenona in the camp life.

Malnutrition of children in absence of proper 
food and medicine threatens their usual physical 
growth on one hand and absence of education turns 
them into dark generation on the other. There is 
no maternity care for mothers and no healthcare 
for elderly people.

Each family has been given one room -- 6 feet by 
6 feet. But who wants to know that these families 
have grown in size over the years. Sometimes, 10 
people live in one room, spanning three 
generations. The question of privacy never comes. 
Some of the camps at Mohammadpur and Adamjee have 
become crime valleys. Theft, mugging, trafficking 
in drugs and prostitution continue with the 
placid support of local influential people, 
police and goons. Outsiders have easy access to 
these camps and get involved in criminal 
activities like selling drugs, illegal weapons 
and prostitution.

Life in the camps is fraught with insecurity, 
threat of vandalism and physical violence. At 
Mohammadpur and Mirpur camps, there were some 
incidents of murders for various reasons. One 
such murder took place at Mohammadpur Geneva Camp 
in July 2004 when a video shop owner was 
slaughtered in broad daylight.

Most of the men from the camps work as 
rickshaw-pullers, technicians, drivers, tailors, 
cooks and weavers. Mirpur Banarasi saree is all 
their contribution to the wedding market. Women 
work in garment factories and as domestic helps.

Another acute problem being faced by these 
stranded people is frequent moves of eviction 
from their camps by vested interest groups, local 
politicians and musclemen who sometimes enjoy the 
support of the local administration.

Since the cost of lands in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, 
Narayanganj, Syedpur or Chittagong where these 
people living has increased manifold, the rich 
people with the help of musclemen want to grab 
these lands to make housing plots or build 
multistoried buildings.

Sometimes the greedy people make arson attacks on 
the camps in a bid to evict them. Sometimes they 
apply force to displace them to clear the lands 
in violation of previous decisions or orders of 
the government. Consequently, the leaders of 
stranded Pakistanis are to frequently move to 
court, seeking justice.

Many cases against the evictions are lying in the 
higher courts for disposal. However, they keep on 
living in their camps by getting temporary court 
injunctions and by overcoming many odds and 
obstacles. What is the underlying reason behind 
the stalled repatriation of these stranded 
Pakistanis?

As per a tripartite agreement signed by India, 
Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1974, all the 
remaining Pakistanis staying in camps were to be 
taken back by Pakistan.

Since the repatriation process got stalled, late 
President Ziaul Huq, former Prime Minister Nawaz 
Sharif and incumbent President Pervez Musharraf 
never declined to accept these Pakistanis. 
Instead Nawaz and Musharraf made categorical 
assurances to the governments in Dhaka for 
initiating the process of repatriation. Some may 
point their finger to the "Mohajir (Bihari) 
problem" in Karachi as Sindhis do not accept them 
in their province. But perceiving this reality, 
the Pakistan government built tin-shed houses at 
Mia Chunnu in Punjab for their rehabilitation 
with financial support from Saudi-based voluntary 
organisation Rabita-al-Alam-al Islami.

Former Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he 
was the Punjab Chief Minister said, "I, on behalf 
of the people of Punjab, urge to accommodate in 
Punjab all the Pakistanis presently stranded in 
Bangladesh. However, for obvious reasons the 
responsibility to arrange funds for their 
repatriation and resettlement is of the federal 
government (of Pakistan)." After assuming office 
of the Pakistan Prime Minister, Sharif had 
assured both the Bangladesh government and the 
SPGRC delegation, led by Nasim Khan, of taking 
back their citizens.

Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf during 
his official visit to Bangladesh also gave 
assurance to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's 
government to take up this humanitarian issue on 
priority basis, but no initiative is still in 
sight.

If the question of fund for repatriation and 
rehabilitation comes, it is not insoluble. It is 
understood that already there is some substantial 
fund raised for this purpose was learnt to have 
been deposited in a Pakistani bank (perhaps Habib 
Bank). Initiative could be taken easily to raise 
required fund from international voluntary 
organisations that are spending billions of 
dollars for humanitarian causes across the world. 
If the problem lies in the mindset of Pakistani 
politicians, then it needs to be solved by 
Pakistani politicians themselves. If Pakistan 
could show its magnanimity by giving shelter to 
refugees from different countries, including 
Afghanistan, why it would not take its own people 
to their homeland and ensure their legitimate 
rights to end their ordeal in camp life?

Dr Hossain, who signed the India, Bangladesh and 
Pakistan tripartite agreement in Delhi on April 
9, 1974 was quoted by the study as saying, "There 
should be a meaningful discussion aimed at 
resolving this humanitarian problem. We had made 
a framework to repatriate the remaining 
non-Bengalis. Perhaps, the two governments do not 
give sufficient priority to solve this problem."

______

[3]

Star Weekend Magazine
March 4 , 2005 | [The Daily Star - Dhaka]

Perspective

A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

The government woke up from a long slumber last 
week. In the wake of widespread local and 
international criticisms, it banned Jagrata 
Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul 
Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB), and arrested four 
leaders of the banned groups.

What took the government so long? With the 
shadows of its two fundamentalist allies pulling 
strings from behind, how capable is the 
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to rein in 
these militant outfits?

Ahmede Hussain

The BNP's reliance on religion as a political 
tool to gain popular support dates back to its 
birth. Born in the cantonment by a military 
ruler, the party gave shelter to a wide array of 
politicians. In fact Gen Ziaur Rahman's BNP was a 
classic example of unity of the opposites. From 
frustrated Maoists to dormant fundamentalists, 
the party had a place for practically each and 
everyone who sought its shelter.

That stance was hardly changed when the party 
surprised everyone by winning the 1991 general 
elections. As far as the paradigm of votes was 
concerned, 1991's general elections had shown 
that it would never go to power alone without the 
help of the religious elements of the society.

The Awami League, BNP's archrival, which was 
deemed to win the elections, soon followed the 
BNP's path. The party had always boasted on its 
secular credentials; but at the first party 
conference immediately after the defeat, the AL 
dropped socialism from its party manifesto; and 
Sheikh Hasina, the party leader started to wear a 
head-scarf, apparently to become more Islamic 
than her BNP counterpart.

To shrug off the centre-left brand that the party 
had been wearing since its formation around 50 
years ago, the party made an alliance with the 
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JI). In a move that 
irked most of its secular supporters, the AL even 
launched simultaneous programmes with the JI, who 
only a year ago had been a political pariah.

The AL eventually dumped Jamaat, and the party, 
which won 18 seats in the previous elections, did 
not fare well-- with every party fighting its own 
war, the JI only bagged two seats. That disaster 
taught the JI a harsh lesson: Without the help of 
BNP, the party would not be able to proceed 
further.

The BNP, on the other hand, which failed to get 
even the expected number of seats, had learnt 
something that is no less jarring for its polity. 
The BNP can lose JI's friendship only at its 
peril; thus a life-long marriage of convenience 
was born. In the general elections that followed 
the AL tasted the most humiliating defeat in its 
political history in the hands of the BNP-JI led 
Four-Party Alliance.

Immediately after coming back to power, riding on 
an electoral landslide, the Alliance blamed the 
opposition for the bomb blasts that had rocked 
the country during the AL's five-year term in 
office. In fact from the very first such blast, 
because of its sheer political insecurity, the 
BNP have been blaming the AL for hatching a 
conspiracy to tarnish the country's image in the 
eyes of the donors.

It remained conspicuously silent when newspaper 
reports suggested that a section of BNP members 
had been giving shelter to Bangla Bhai, the 
so-called operations commander of the recently 
banned JMJB. The party broke the silence at times 
only to deny the existence of the group.

Arrests, meanwhile, went on. Local police made 
some significant breakthroughs and the arrestees, 
who confessed carrying out a number of terrorist 
acts, were granted bail.

In the wake of a barrage of international 
criticisms, the prime minister ordered Bangla 
Bhai's arrest a few months ago. But the police 
have so far failed to nab the notorious criminal, 
who allegedly in connivance with some local BNP 
leaders, has established a reign of terror in 
northern districts of the country.

That double standard got a jolt last week when 
the government was excluded from a conference on 
"Good governance" jointly organised by the 
European Union, the World Bank and the US State 
Department. While the exclusion came as a slap in 
the face for the Alliance, M Saifur Rahman, the 
finance minister, cried innocence.

"If there is a meeting on Bangladesh's 
development process, this should be held in 
Bangladesh. We are a sovereign country," he told 
journalists a day before the conference begun.

Ironically the government started to clamp down 
on the JMJB and JIB from the day the Washington 
meet began. Four leaders of JMJB, JIB and Ahale 
Hadith Bangladesh (AHM) were arrested on February 
24 in a pre-dawn raid across the country. Both 
the JMJB and JIB were banned; and the press note 
that followed blamed the groups for carrying out 
some of the blasts that took place in the country 
in the last 10 years.

The Finance Minister's claptrap, meanwhile, has 
remained as vigorous as ever. Even the day his 
government slapped a ban on the JMJB and JIB, 
Saifur termed the newspaper reports on Bangla 
Bhai and cronies as "foul propaganda".

Immediately after the February 23 arrest, reports 
on these extremist groups started to flood the 
front pages of different local dailies. Eleven 
more activists of the banned outfits were 
arrested in Dinajpur and the police seized 
bomb-making materials, printers, acid, electric 
wires and batteries.


(From left to right) Begum Khaleda Zia, Motiur 
Rahman Nizami and Sheikh Hasina. Both the BNP and 
AL formed alliances with the Jamaat-e-Islami 
Bangladesh (JI).

The BNP's two religious partners in the alliance 
have reacted sharply to the clamp down. Of them, 
Fazlul Haque Amini, leader of Islami Oikko Jote 
(IOJ), a small constituent in the Alliance, said, 
"There is a conspiracy going on to prevent 
Islamic revolution in the name of taming Islamic 
militancy".

Maulana Abdur Rob Yousufi, general secretary of a 
faction of the IOJ) goes further. Asked to give 
his reaction about the banning, Yousufi told the 
BBC's Bangla service, "There is no Islamic 
militant organisation in the country."

The JI has remained dead-against the idea of a 
crackdown. "The government has launched the 
crackdown in the line with the US. The main 
opposition has also provoked the donor agencies 
to take anti-Bangladesh and anti-Islamic stance," 
JI MP Mufti Abdus Sattar Akon told the Daily Star.

Chances are high that the BNP's new-found zeal 
will die down when the attention of local and 
international media shifts to a different issue. 
Many observers have termed it as eyewash while 
the others want to wait and see if the BNP will 
walk down a path it has never taken before. If 
the party does change its attitude towards the 
issue of religious extremism, it will mark a 
major shift in the BNP's one-and-half decade old 
history. With the next general elections getting 
closer, only time will tell if the BNP is capable 
of taking a U-turn.

______

[4]

THREE YEARS AFTER GENOCIDE IN GUJARAT
Asghar Ali Engineer

(Secular Perspective March 1-15, 2005)

It was on 28 February 2002 three years before 
that genocide of Muslims started in Gujarat a day 
after train burning incident in Godhra on 27th 
February 2002, a day earlier. Every sensible 
person had condemned what happened at Godhra 
though it was far from clear as to who was 
responsible for train burning. Now the 
U.C.Banerjee report indicates that it was 
accidental fire which started from inside the 
compartment.

However, Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief 
Minister, a hardcore RSS man, asserted that it 
was done by Muslims to massacre the Ramsevaks and 
justified the genocide in Gujarat on Newton’s law 
of action-reaction. It is now well known that he 
had instructed top police officials in a meeting 
in Gandhinagar on 27th evening not to interfere 
with what rioters do on the streets next day. 
Harin Pandya, the assassinated minister of 
Narendra Modi Cabinet testified this before 
People’s inquiry Commission and also told his 
father what Narendra Modi had instructed police 
officers on 27th February. Harin Pandya’s father 
testified before the Nanavati Commission.

Thus complicity of the Gujarat Government in 
supporting the genocide is hardly in doubt. By 
any account it was the most horrible massacre of 
innocent citizens belonging to minority community 
in Gujarat in the post-independence period. The 
only other parallel is anti-Sikh riots of 1984. 
The BJP had often boasted that no communal riots 
take place when it is in power. And Gujarat saw 
one of the worst genocide of Muslims when it was 
in power with great majority in the Gujarat 
Assembly.

What was worse that even then Prime Minister 
Shri. A.B.Vajpayee justified the massacre saying 
that had Muslims condemned Godhra incident 
enough, such a massacre in Gujarat would not have 
taken place. Though Mr. Vajpayee had reminded 
Modi of his ‘Rajdharma’ also (though without 
taking any action against him), he is too 
well-known for his flip flops. Mr. L.K.Advani, 
the then Home Minister, even gave clean chit to 
Narendra Modi that he has ‘maintained’ law and 
order in Gujarat effectively after the Godhra 
incident.

Thus if the top functionaries of the Government 
of India were backing Narendra Modi why should he 
not have done what he did. So much for BJP’s 
claim of maintaining communal peace when in 
power. What is worse, the victims of the worst 
massacre in Gujarat could not hope for any 
justice. Modi even tried to wind up all relief 
camps, something which had never happened before. 
His administration even threatened to cut off 
water and food grains supply if the relief camps 
were not wound up. He had no mercy for the 
victims of brutal violence. And all this in the 
land of Gandhi who lived and died for peace and 
communal harmony.

All the institutions of the state – legislative, 
executive, and judiciary have been communalised. 
Who then could come to the rescue of the poor 
victims? Both bureaucracy and police were deeply 
affected (with honourable exceptions). The 
Amnesty international impartial keepers of the 
rule of law has also recently compiled the report 
“India – Justice the Victim – Gujarat State fails 
to Protect Women from Violence.” It has been 
compiled in 2005 and released just a month ago. 
Like other reports on Gujarat genocide it makes 
horrible reading. The genocide in Gujarat was not 
only failure of law and order. It would be 
understatement to say so.  It was deliberate and 
planned genocide.

The Amnesty Report under the title “Police 
connivance in the violence” says, However, police 
not only withheld assistance” and then quotes 
Concerned Citizen’s Tribunal, “Worse still [than 
the failure to prevent violence] is the evidence 
of their [the police force’s] active connivance 
and brutality, their indulgence in vulgar and 
obscene conduct against women and children in 
full public view. It is as if, instead of 
impartial keepers of the rule of law, they were 
part of the Hindutva brigade targeting helpless 
Muslims.”

Further the Amnesty report states, “Local inquiry 
reports list testimonies of police providing 
diesel from their official vehicles to burn down 
Muslim homes. Similarly witnesses told the 
Nanavati–Shah Commission that the Rapid Action 
Force had supplied petrol from their official 
vehicles to the mob to set ablaze houses 
belonging to the minority community. Another 
witness told the Commission in Ahmedabad that a 
police inspector encouraged the mob to attack the 
Muslims in her area. “The inspector directed that 
petrol be taken from his vehicle and it was used 
by the mob to set our society on fire.’”

*It should be noted that the Rapid Action Force 
had been specially set up by the Home Ministry at 
the Centre to control communal violence. It has 
been set up out of CRPF (Central Reserve Police 
Force) which generally had good reputation in 
controlling communal violence. And earlier it had 
established good name in several other riots by 
handling them efficiently. In Gujarat under the 
surcharged communal atmosphere even RAF was 
communalised – a matter of great shame for it. 
Its fair name was tainted.

The police behaviour is not surprising if we keep 
in mind that many officers of Gujarat police 
force are reportedly members of Hindu right wing 
organisations and in their actions may have 
sought to further the objectives of those 
organisations rather than impartially carry on 
their professional duties, remarks Amnesty 
International report. This by itself is highly 
objectionable that members of police force be 
members of such rightwing organisations but in 
Gujarat such things are not only permissible but 
even desirable and hence one finds complicity of 
the police in such flagrant manner. In any other 
civilised society police officers will be 
dismissed if they join any such force. 
Independence of police from all such political 
outfits is an essential requirement.

The other horrifying aspect of the Gujarat 
carnage was violence against and rape of women. 
It was as if rape of all human values. Under the 
title “Violence Against Women” the Amnesty report 
says that in all violence communal, racist or 
ethnic violence against women is specific one. 
The report says, “In one of the earlier incidents 
of violence in Gujarat or other parts of the 
country had sexual violence against girls and 
women, committed in public, been such a key 
feature.”

The report says that they (women) became victims 
of grave abuses because their identities as both 
women and Muslims intersected. For right wing 
Hindus attacking the Muslim minority, Muslim 
women became the hated symbols of the community, 
which they sought to threaten, humiliate, hurt 
and destroy. The women, even if not direct 
victims of assault and rape suffer most 
emotionally and psychologically, as they have to 
care and nurture families torn apart by violence 
and mayhem.

In Gujarat, women were subjected to large scale 
sexual abuse, apart from physical violence. The 
cases of Kausar Bano and Bilquis Begum are most 
talked about. Kausar Bano in Naroda Patia 
locality of Ahmedabad worst affected by communal 
frenzy, was eight month pregnant. Her abdomen was 
split open, the foetus extracted and killed. Such 
brutalities were unheard of in the history of 
communal violence in India. Bilqis Begum is 
another case in point from Randhikpur village of 
Dahod district.

She was six months pregnant and gang raped by the 
VHP hooligans and nine of her relatives were 
killed before her eyes. She was taken as dead by 
the mobsters but she fortunately survived to tell 
her story. The police officers and doctors also 
became part of this abominable crime. They added 
and abetted.

And these were not isolated cases. According to 
Amnesty report several hundred Muslim girls and 
women were reportedly stripped and dragged naked 
before their own families and thousands of 
violent Hindu attackers who taunted and insulted 
them with obscene words and threatened them with 
rape and murder. They were then raped, often 
gang- raped, beaten with sticks or trishuls and 
swords, had breast cut off and wombs slashed open 
by swords and rods violently pushed into their 
vaginas before a large number of them were cut 
into pieces or burned to death.

What was worse, due to state complicity in all 
this, the victims had no way to get justice 
within the state of Gujarat. The Supreme Court 
had to intervene and transfer the cases out of 
the state and these cases are now going on in the 
state of Maharashtra. More than 3000 cases closed 
by the state police for ‘want of evidence’ had to 
be reopened as per directive of the Supreme 
Court. The Bilqis Bano case was one of them. The 
CBI was asked to take over these cases. These 
helpless victims had otherwise totally despaired. 
The lower judiciary was totally communalised and 
higher judiciary in Gujarat is also partly 
contaminated with communal ideologies. What was 
more shocking was that the state appointed 
prosecutors were members of VHP. How on earth 
could these victims ever get any justice?

We must remember all this not for promoting any 
negative feeling but so that such things are not 
repeated in future in India. It would keep us 
reminding that when communal and fascist forces 
come to power what happens to our country. The 
fight against communal forces should go on 
through democratic methods. They must be isolated 
and weakened. Intolerance and hatred can never be 
part of democratic culture. Democracy thrives 
only when culture of peace and tolerance 
prevails. There is great need in democracy for a 
vibrant and healthy civil society. Such a society 
can be born only out of well informed and 
committed citizens.

(Centre for Study of Society and Secularsim, Mumbai)



______


[5]  [The full text of 4 detailed reports in the 
form of tape transcripts from Tehelka the 
investigative paper, are available in public 
interest on SACW's communalism blog .
The original Tehelka reports are only available 
to its subscribers at the URL: 
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main11.asp?filename=ts031205Cop_Nails.asp 
]

Tehelka - March 12, 2005

COP NAILS GUJARAT LIE
Gujarat Home Secretary and the government pleader wanted
Additional Director General of the state police RB Sreekumar
to conceal the truth from the Nanavati-Shah Commission
inquiring into the 2002 genocide. The top cop taped the
conversation. Hartos Singh Bal and Mahesh Lunga got the
tapes. Their report  [...].

[ FULL TEXT AT URL:
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2005/03/cop-nails-gujarat-lie-tape-transcripts.html 
]

______


[6]  [Announcements]


(i)

Please pass this info on, and post in on any 
relevant email networks that you may be a part 
of. Thank you.

OPPOSE THE RELENTLESS MINING OF PEOPLE'S RESOURCES

Friends,

The people's resistance to large Indian and 
foreign mining companies has widened and 
deepened. Their experience and understanding is 
that even as companies, mining mafias and urban 
elites have benefited, people at large have only 
suffered the devastation of their livelihoods, 
environment and way of life.

The state's only response to their resistance has 
been raw repression. Nearly fifteen years ago, 
Shankar Guha Niyogi was murdered and the Supreme 
Court has recently let the industrialists 
responsible scot-free. In Kashipur, Orissa, the 
police and paramilitary has over the last few 
weeks been attacking peaceful protestors, and 
detaining activists and supporters. Twenty people 
are still in custody.

To demand that the police and paramilitary forces 
be withdrawn from these areas; that the killers 
of Niyogi be punished; that all mining MOUs be 
cancelled in Orissa, Chattisgarh, MP; that people 
regain control over their lives and their 
resources, a 2-day dharna is being held before 
Parliament by numerous activists from 
Chattisgarh, Orissa and MP.

Please participate, and stand 
shoulder-to-shoulder with these movements and 
peoples. Come let us raise our voice together 
against the repression these movements face and 
against this anti-people development process.

Programme;
4th March
Dharna at Jantar Mantar, 11 am onwards
Press Conference: 4 pm, Indian Women's Press 
Corps, 5 Windsor Place, Ashoka Road

5th March
Dharna at Jantar Mantar continues, 10 am-6 pm
Candlelight march to India Gate, 6 pm

PSSP
Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha
Jan Sangharsh Morcha


o o o o o

(ii)

2 Mar 2005 16:57:42 +0530
Subject: The U-Special

Dear Friend,
The Independent Publishers' Group is delighted to 
announce the opening of a new bookshop, 
U-Special, on March 3, 2005, at 3 pm, at the 
University Students' Centre (opp. the Arts 
Faculty, adjacent to the Central Reference 
Library) Delhi University, North Campus.  Named 
after the buses that students from all over the 
city take to get to their various colleges in 
Delhi University, U-Special is not only a 
bookshop, but a place which will host 
discussions, book events, readings and meetings 
with authors. It's the kind of happening 
book-place that Delhi University needs, offering 
books and periodicals, initially in English and 
Hindi, to students and faculty, as well as to 
residents and visitors in the University area.

·        U-Special has something for everyone: 
textbooks that students and faculty will need to 
use to study and teach, books that people will 
want to read for pleasure, entertainment and 
learning.

·        U-Special will be open throughout the 
year, six days a week, eight hours a day, but 
will remain closed on Sunday. 

·        U-Special has been set up by the 
Independent Publishers' Group, a partnership 
project of twelve small and medium sized 
publishers and distributors based in Delhi. They 
are The Book Review Literary Trust, Tulika Books, 
Seagull Books, Leftword Books, Daanish 
Distributors, Rainbow Publishers, Women 
Unlimited, Zubaan, Three Essays Collective, 
Social Science Press, The Little Magazine and 
Samskriti.  U-Special will, however, stock books 
from all publishers in Delhi and other parts of 
India, and will undertake to procure books both 
from within India and abroad, as quickly as 
possible.

·        U-Special offers to source and supply 
books to libraries within and outside Delhi 
University. 

·        U-Special is the first bookshop of this 
kind in Delhi, and the IPG looks forward to 
setting up similar stores in other university 
areas in the city.

U-Special is an exciting, new venture, providing 
a facility that Delhi University has not had so 
far: a much needed bookshop stocking not only 
textbooks but books for the general reader. We're 
banking on your support.

The Independent Publishers' Group.
c/o Tulika Books, 35A/1 Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110049
Tel: 26497999, 26491448
Email: tulikapublishers at vsnl.com and leftword at vsnl.com

______

(iii)

India Pakistan Arms Race and Militarisation Watch Compilation # 150
( 01 March,  2005)
URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/message/161

Contents:
1 Our man sold secrets to Iran, admits Pakistan (Massoud Ansari)
2  Jack of Arms Trade in India and Pakistan  (J. Sri Raman)
3  Pakistan in cash-for-arms offer (BBC)
4  Pakistan, Spain to boost defence ties (Dawn)
5  Pakistan feels alarmed by US talks with India
on Patriot Missiles (Pakistan Times)
6  Anatomy of folly: not for robust souls (Ayaz Amir)
7  City life: Blood, sweat and fears (Declan Walsh)
8  The people's right to know (Editorial, The News)
9  Pakistan leaves arms calling card (Kaushik Kapisthalam)
10 U.S. Still Considering Sale of F-16 Jets To Pakistan (Rana Jawad)
11 Senior U.S., Pakistani officials enter arms
talks including F-16 fighters (Sadaqat Jan)
12  Pakistan to get $300m for military programmes (Dawn)
13 Pakistan seeks US help to stop alleged arms smuggling from Afghanistan
14 Making the police even less accountable (Afzal A Shigri)
15 The Patriot is coming (Farrukh Saleem)
16 Tehelka tapes: Maj Gen dismissed; gets RI
17 India takes its arms beefs to the UN (Ramtanu Maitra)
18 Re-victimising the victim (Praful Bidwai)
19 IB and RAW too play politics (Kuldip Nayar)
20 India, France begin joint naval exercises
21 1984 anti-Sikh riots were organised (Kuldip Nayar)
22 Victims of Armed Forces Act dub it a `black law'
23 Trigger-Happy - In India, heightened security
tends to reduce civil liberties (Ashok Mitra)
24 India tests Akash missile
25 Tamil Nadu : STF to become jungle training school (V.S. Palaniappan)
26 India: Defence spending on the rise again
(i)  Toys for Boys  (Editorial, The Times of India)
(ii) India's military hungry for more
(iii) Higher defence outlay likely (Sandeep Dikshit)
(iv) Allocation for security up by Rs. 9,000 cr.
(Vinay Kumar and Sandeep Dikshit)
(v) India's defense spending to rise 8 percent (Rajesh Mahapatra)
27 US arms sales to India tripled in 2004
28 Missile shield heading for completion (Srinjoy Chowdhury)
29 Israeli firm to arm Sea Harriers with Derby missiles
30 India makes a play for F-16 fighters (Siddharth Srivastava)
31 Israel dumps Lakshya for US' free Chakor system
32 India Aims Defence Exports Of $130 Mn This Fiscal
33 India Eyes F-16 Fighter Purchase; U.S. Undecided
34 BEL begins export of Radars to Indonesia & Sudan
35 Mumbai underworld buys arms from abroad: police
36 Indian Hawk to fly at next aero show:
37 RAFAEL wins $25m Indian missile tender
38 Russia to Sell India Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems Worth $450M
39 India, Russia to Sign $450m Arms Deal
40 Indian Air Force To Buy 126 Multi-Role Planes
41 Cash-Strapped MiG Foresees On-Time Deliveries to India (Lyubov Pronina)
42 India preparing to test long-range missile
43 Astra missile to be tested this year (Sridhar K Chari)
44 Akash Seeks Piece Of Patriot Market (Vivek Raghuvanshi)
45 India Picks Israeli Missiles for Fighters (Vivek Raghuvanshi)
46 IAF for Su-30s to launch BrahMos (Shiv Aroor)
47 Kashmir bus route is a minefield
[Bangladesh /  Nepal  ]
48 Bangladesh:
(i) Brac, Grameen Bank under bomb attack
(ii) Welcome move against extremists (Editorial  - Daily Star)
(iii) Jane's Report on Ctg Arms Haul
49 Nepal: Security Forces "Disappear" Hundreds of Civilians

[INDIA PAKISTAN ARMS RACE & MILITARISATION WATCH
A joint project of South Asia Citizens Web 
(www.sacw.net) and South Asians Against Nukes 
(www.s-asians-against-nukes.org) since November 
1999.]

o o o o o

(iv)

Walsh Gallery presents:

"Re-take of Amrita" : Photographs by Vivan Sundaram

MARCH 4 - APRIL 23
opening reception: March 4, 5-9 pm

Vivan Sundaram has been one of India's premiere artists since the early
1960's. This exhibition examines the intersection of autobiography and
history. Presented are a fifty-five piece photography series as well as a
new media installation with a piano. In his photography series "Retake of
Amrita", time and space are reinvented using intimate family photographs.
Mr. Sundaram recombines two legendary figures (his aunt Amrita [Pritam] and her
father Umrao) into fictitious, digitally manipulated settings. Sundaram's
family members go through a time warp, appearing together despite the
constraints of death and place. The show will run from March 4 through April
23. The opening reception is on Friday, March 4 from 5-9 p.m. Mr. Sundaram
will be coming from Delhi for the opening reception.
For more information:
http://www.walshgallery.com/exhibitions.html or call 312.829.3312.

WALSH GALLERY :
118 N. Peoria Street, F2
Chicago, IL 60607 [USA]



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Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on 
matters of peace and democratisation in South 
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit 
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South 
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
SACW archive is available at:  bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/

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DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.