SACW | 12 -16 March 2005

[sacw]

South Asia Citizens Wire   | 12 -16 March,  2005
via:  www.sacw.net

[1]  Nepal: Hundreds Arrested in Nepal at Rallies 
Urging Return to Democracy (Reuters)
[2]  Pakistan: Ismailis in deadly education spat (Sudha Ramachandran)
[3]  Fuelling The [India-Pakistan] Arms Race (Praful Bidwai)
[4]  India:  Genocide in Gujarat: The Sangh 
Parivar, Narendra Modi, and the Government of 
Gujarat (Angana Chatterji, Lise McKean and Abha 
Sur)
[5]  India: Women Reservation Bill: A Test of Political Will (Rajindar Sachar)
[6]  India: Many Lives of S. A. R. Geelani ! J' Accuse ! (Subhash Gatade)
[7]  India: Citizen's March Against War and 
Occupation of Iraq (New Delhi, 19 March)
[8]  Just Published:  'Making Peace with Partition By Radha Kumar'
[9]  "Policies and Practices"  - MCRG's research paper series
[10] Public Meeting on Genocide in Gujarat (London, 18th March 2005)


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

[1]

Washington Post - March 15, 2005; Page A17

HUNDREDS ARRESTED IN NEPAL AT RALLIES URGING RETURN TO DEMOCRACY

Reuters
KATMANDU, Nepal, March 14 -- Security forces 
arrested hundreds of people calling for the 
restoration of democracy in the biggest protests 
since King Gyanendra imposed emergency rule last 
month, according to Nepali political parties and 
witnesses.

The Himalayan kingdom's five main political 
parties had called on their members to defy a ban 
on protests to register their opposition to 
Gyanendra's assumption of absolute power, which 
has been condemned by the governments of India, 
the United States and Britain.

The biggest protest was in the eastern town of 
Janakpur. The Communist Party of Nepal said 500 
activists were arrested there, while Brij Kumar 
Yadav, a Janakpur journalist, estimated there had 
been 300 arrests. A crackdown by security forces 
muted the response elsewhere.

After Gyanendra declared a state of emergency on 
Feb. 1, he moved to stifle dissent, saying Nepali 
leaders had failed to crush a Maoist revolt in 
which more than 11,000 people have been killed 
since 1996.

There were at least 100 other arrests around the 
country, party sources and witnesses said.

In the capital, Katmandu, a planned protest 
fizzled before it began, with riot police and 
reporters outnumbering protesters in the city's 
Asan bazaar, but there were sporadic gestures of 
defiance, resulting in 15 arrests.

"We are fighting for democracy," said Bir Bahadur 
Singh, a gray-haired man wearing glasses. "This 
is just a beginning. We will continue the 
protests until our demands are met."

Police led him away. Minutes later, two elderly 
men were also taken away. "Under the emergency, 
assembly is prohibited," said police official 
Ramesh Kharel.



______

[2]

Asia Times - March 11, 2005

Ismailis in deadly education spat
By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE - An alliance of Sunni religious 
organizations in Pakistan proposes to have the 
Nizari Ismaili community, also known as Aga 
Khanis, declared infidels. The proposal comes 
amid increased targeting of members of the 
Ismaili community and criticism of the 
educational institutions they run in Pakistan.

The Nizari Ismaili community is an Islamic sect 
whose members are followers of the Aga Khan. The 
Koran is their primary religious text. They could 
be described as a Shi'ite sub-sect, as like the 
Shi'ites they regard Ali as the Prophet 
Mohammed's successor. However, they broke away 
from the Shi'ite mainstream centuries ago when 
they adopted Ismail as their seventh imam, 
instead of his younger brother. Another 
difference between Shi'ites and Ismailis is that 
the latter consider the Aga Khan's birthday and 
the anniversary of his inauguration as more 
important than Muharram - the most important 
event on the Shi'ite calendar, when the battle of 
Karbala and the death of Hussein are 
commemorated. Ismailis, unlike other Muslims, 
rarely undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ismailis regard themselves as "proper Muslims". 
However, Sunnis and Shi'ites in Pakistan (and 
other countries where Ismailis live) believe they 
are "different". For one, they seem quite 
"Westernized". Ismaili women are not expected to 
wear the burqa (veil). In their congregation 
halls, women pray alongside men - on separate but 
similar and adjacent carpets, denoting equality 
between the sexes. The schools run by Ismailis 
are co-educational. A distinct Hindu influence is 
also discernible in their style of worship. They 
sing hymns while praying and believe in 
reincarnation.

Ismailis, who had escaped by and large the 
attention of Pakistan's Sunni hardliners, are now 
under attack. About 22 Sunni organizations have 
come together as the Difa-e-Islam Mahaz (Front 
for the Defense of Islam) to spearhead the 
anti-Ismaili campaign.
In 1947, Pakistan was created as a home for the 
subcontinent's Muslims. It is overwhelmingly 
Muslim; 70% of the population is Sunni and 20% 
Shi'ite. The Sunni-Shi'ite rivalry, which goes 
back centuries, exploded into violent 
bloodletting since the 1980s. More than 4,000 
people have been killed in the sectarian violence 
in Pakistan. While Pakistan has not witnessed 
Hindu-Muslim riots - some would suggest that this 
is because Hindus have either fled to India or 
keep a very low profile in the country - 
sectarian violence has occurred often with 
various minority sects being targeted. For 
instance, Ahmadiyyas have been persecuted from 
the 1950s onwards.
A Karachi-based Ismaili businessman told Asia 
Times Online via e-mail that the current campaign 
of Sunni hardliners to declare Ismailis infidels 
might be in its preliminary stage, but it has 
already triggered considerable alarm within the 
community. "There are fears that we will suffer 
the fate of the Ahmadiyyas," he said.

Like the Ismailis, the Ahmadiyyas have a liberal 
interpretation of Islam. In 1953, anti-Ahmadiyya 
violence in Pakistan resulted in the deaths of 
thousands of Ahmadiyyas. In 1974, the Pakistani 
constitution was amended to declare Ahmadiyyas 
non-Muslims, because they do not consider 
Mohammed to be the last Prophet of Islam. They 
were subsequently threatened with death if they 
tried to pass themselves off as Muslims. It is 
illegal for Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan to pray in 
mosques or inscribe Islamic prayers on their 
gravestones.
Ismailis now fear that they, too, will be 
declared non-Muslims and, worse, be targets of 
mob violence. They have bitter memories of Sunni 
mob violence. In 1982, in the Chitral area in 
northwestern Pakistan, about 60 Ismailis are 
reported to have been killed and their community 
buildings burned down. In recent years, employees 
of the Aga Khan Foundation have been attacked.

The Aga Khan Foundation is involved in extensive 
development work in Pakistan, especially in the 
fields of education, health, socio-economic 
development and so on. In January, Sunni 
extremists gunned down a prominent Ismaili leader 
and scholar in Gilgit. The killing was aimed at 
stoking sectarian tension in the region and it 
was successful in doing so for violent riots 
raged in the area for days.

The violent targeting of Ismailis comes against a 
backdrop of growing anti-Ismaili feelings. This 
should be viewed in the context of post-September 
11, 2001, anti-Western/Christian feelings among 
Sunni hardliners in Pakistan. Sunni militant 
groups have targeted Christians several times in 
recent years. Sunni hardliners have often accused 
the Aga Khan of working with Israel and the US 
against the interests of the Pakistani state.

While the "Western" lifestyle and the 
"blasphemous beliefs" of the Ismailis might have 
provoked to some extent Pakistan's Sunni 
hardliners, their anger appears to have more to 
do with concern over the Ismailis' growing 
secularizing influence in the educational arena 
in Pakistan. In addition to innumerable hospitals 
and charitable organizations, the Aga Khan 
Foundation runs a network of schools that provide 
quality education to young Pakistanis.

In 2002, the Pakistani government signed an 
executive order inducting the Aga Khan University 
Examination Board (AKUEB) into the national 
education system. The AKUEB follows the British 
O-level and A-level system of education. So far 
access to this system has been limited to the 
rich. The induction of the AKUEB into the 
national education system would make it 
affordable and therefore accessible to a larger 
number of people.

The Pakistani government's announcement that it 
would allow schools to adopt the system of the 
AKUEB triggered angry criticism from the 
Islamists. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain 
Ahmed issued a warning to the Ismailis that he 
would launch a campaign against them similar to 
the one against the Ahmadiyyas. Over the past 
year, Sunni extremist outfits have launched a 
virulent smear campaign against the Aga Khan 
Foundation, its work and the Ismaili community. 
They have accused the foundation of receiving 
money from the "enemies of Islam", ie the US, 
Israel and India, to spread anti-Muslim ideas 
among the people.

They have criticized the curriculum of the AKUEB 
as undermining the tenets of Islam. The Sunni 
hardliners have misrepresented the work the Aga 
Khan Foundation is doing with regard to women's 
reproductive health. They have accused it of 
encouraging "immoral lifestyles" and introducing 
"a free-sex environment".

The Jamaat has accused the AKUEB of secularizing 
the country through the introduction of this 
system. However, the ordinance allowing the AKUEB 
system states that it would follow the national 
curriculum and syllabus. So what are the Sunni 
hardliners scared of, especially since the 
adoption of the AKUEB system is voluntary?

The Ismaili businessman argues, "Sunni hardliners 
fear that the AKUEB system being more efficient, 
more people - including those who have hitherto 
been forced to opt for the madrassa education the 
Islamic fundamentalists offer - will now go for 
the AKUEB education."
The battle is for control of the minds of young 
Pakistanis. And the Sunni extremists are fighting 
in the only way they know - violence, death 
threats and intimidation.

An array of Sunni hardline groups that have 
otherwise been at loggerheads with one another 
have come together to fight their common enemy - 
the challenge posed by the system of education 
provided by the AKUEB. According to a report in 
the Daily Times, an English newspaper in 
Pakistani, the Difa-e-Islam Mahaz hopes to get 
other Islamic sects including the Shi'ites and 
Ahle Hadith on board its effort to have a fatwa 
(decree) declaring Ismailis as non-Muslims. 
Whether the Shi'ites join the effort to target a 
sub-sect of their own community remains to be 
seen.

There is little reason Shi'ite hardliners would 
want to hold hands with their Sunni counterparts. 
After all, relations between the two, which have 
been marked by violence and bloodletting over the 
past two decades, have deteriorated considerably 
over the past couple of years. Pakistan's Sunni 
majority largely considers Shi'ites as infidels.

However, Shi'ite hardliners are as insecure with 
the Aga Khan Foundation's work and the system of 
education it provides as are the Sunni hawks. 
They feel threatened that it would shrink the 
size of the turf over which they wield influence.

A new dimension has been added to sectarian 
violence in Pakistan, which has generally run 
along the Sunni-Shi'ite divide, with Ismailis 
emerging as the main targets of Sunni hardliners. 
On which side the Shi'ite hawks decide to jump - 
whether on the side of their Ismaili "brothers" 
or of their hardline counterparts in the Sunni 
fold - will significantly determine the contours 
of the conflict in the coming months.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

______


[3]

The News International - March 12, 2005

FUELLING THE ARMS RACE

Praful Bidwai

Peace activists have long warned that any process 
of India-Pakistan reconciliation, however 
buoyant, would remain incomplete, fragile and 
vulnerable, unless the two states address their 
military and nuclear rivalry upfront. India and 
Pakistan, they argue, must reduce their defence 
spending significantly, e.g. by 10 percent a 
year, and take their foot off the nuclear 
accelerator to sustain and deepen the present, 
welcome, and yet reversible, thaw.

However, not just peace activists, but all 
public-spirited citizens, should be alarmed at 
the recent increases in the military expenditures 
of both states. Ironically, these hikes coincide 
with their dialogue process. A particular cause 
for concern is the sharp increase in India's 
latest defence services budget by Rs 60 billion 
(7.8 percent) to a huge Rs 830 billion ($19 
billion).

This comes on top of Rs 120 billion hike in the 
United Progressive Alliance's first budget 
presented last June. In just nine months, then, 
the Centrist UPA has added 26 percent to the 
defence burden left by the National Democratic 
Alliance, known for its Right wing and hawkish 
postures! This has happened presumably despite 
changes in threat perceptions vis-a-vis Pakistan 
and China.

The rise in India's defence budget has evoked a 
hostile response from Pakistan. This could soon 
translate itself into acquisition of new weapons 
to blunt India's superiority and higher military 
spending. The likely second- and third-order 
responses spell a disastrous South Asian arms 
race, which will accelerate further as New Delhi 
and Islamabad acquire more nuclear weapons and 
missiles.

The latest increase has been called "phenomenal" 
even by hawks. But the Rs 830 billion figure 
doesn't tell the whole story-only what's spent on 
the defence services. However, the defence budget 
also includes establishment expenses (Rs 1.5 
billion) and "defence pensions" (Rs 12.4 
billion). With these, the budget rises to Rs 970 
billion-3.05 percent of GDP.

Even this is not the full picture. The government 
regularly uses public sector manufacturers of 
armament components like Bharat Electronics Ltd, 
BHEL, Hindustan Aeronauticals, BEML, etc. to 
contribute to defence purchases through hidden 
subsidies (estimated at Rs 30-70 billion).

The Indian public will now pay Rs 1,000 billion 
($22.7 billion) for defence. This is 3.2 percent 
of India's GDP, well above the officially claimed 
2.4 percent.

As in the case of Pakistan, such high military 
spending is unconscionable in relation to what is 
spent on essential public services.

Military spending devours about two-fifths of 
Pakistan's budget. It claims a seventh of India's 
budget-the highest head after interest payments. 
This is three times higher than what India 
invests in primary education in government and 
private schools, and 275 percent higher than her 
public expenditure on health.

It simply won't do to argue that "defence is 
important", or "adequate military spending is 
imperative". Equally important is adequate 
investment in the health and education of people. 
Submarines and fighter aircraft are necessaryin 
moderate and balanced numbers. But is culture not 
important? Is investment in agriculture not 
necessary? Isn't the Employment Guarantee Act 
(EGA) absolutely essential?

Yet, India's budget allocates a miserable Rs 8.65 
billion to culture, Rs 72.42 billion to 
agriculture, and Rs 110 billion for the EGA-small 
fractions of the defence budget. This 
disproportion is both morally and politically 
untenable. Societies that spend too much on 
"security" and starve the public of basic 
opportunities actually court insecurity.

Elitist neoliberal policies lead to collapse of 
public services and sharpen class and regional 
inequalities. The result is hunger, social 
strife, crime, and violent revolts, with loss of 
food security, employment security, income 
security, gender security, personal security and 
social cohesion. Predatory states treat such 
human insecurity as a law-and-order problem 
soluble with brute force. This becomes a 
self-serving argument for higher defence spending.

India and Pakistan have both followed this 
pattern. Since the 1998 nuclear blasts, their 
military spending has doubled. As they acquire 
more nukes and missiles, their spending will 
skyrocket.

India and Pakistan belong to the bottom 
one-fourth of the world in human development 
indicators. But they are among the world's 10 or 
12 biggest military spenders. This is an 
unflattering comment on their rulers' obligation 
to the citizens. Societies that follow this model 
are like military giants with feet of clay. They 
can disintegrate-like the Ottoman and Tsarist 
empires, or the former USSR.

Much of the recent increase in India's military 
spending is attributable to highly expensive 
weapons systems, including an aircraft carrier, 
submarines, multiple rocket launchers, 
airplane-based radar systems, mid-air refuellers, 
light helicopters, and artillery guns.

These purchases have claimed $ 20-25 billion over 
the past four years and will claim another $ 7.8 
billion this coming fiscal. Only a fraction of 
this represents spending on modernisation. Many 
items are weapons which give no major strategic 
advantage. For instance, many naval experts have 
passionately argued against buying the discarded 
Russian air-defence ship Admiral Gorshkov.

These massive purchases are guided neither by a 
comprehensive and rounded analysis of security 
needs, nor by clarity about what is adequate 
defence. After South Asia's nuclearisation, India 
isn't likely to face a prolonged full-scale 
high-intensity conventional war with its 
neighbours (without the imminent threat of 
nuclear escalation). Yet, its defence planning is 
based on such a high likelihood. Pakistan too 
replicates such thinking, itself rooted in a 
pre-World War II strategic calculus.

For Indian and Pakistani strategic planners, 
modernisation isn't about judiciously, 
incrementally, adding to existing arms and 
ammunition. It's about throwing huge sums after 
costly weapons. Thus, Japan or Brazil can be 
secure with one percent GDP spending on defence, 
or most of Western Europe with less than two 
percent.

Such thinking must change. India and Pakistan 
must opt for minimal defence and systematically 
cut spending. The scope in India is staggering. A 
committee headed by former minister Arun Singh 
recommended a 10-15 percent reduction without 
loss of firepower.

More can be done. 85 percent of the Army's budget 
is spent on the enormous manpower of 1.25 
million. This can be easily reduced. Six years 
ago, the government announced it would reduce 
manpower by 50,000. Instead, it has added 200,000 
troops!

Another saving area is energy and materials 
consumption. Shaktiman, the Indian Army's main 
transport vehicle, has an appallingly low 
mileage-to-fuel ratio (about 1 km per litre). 
This can be raised fourfold. Similarly, wasteful 
expenditure on spares and components can be 
averted by reforming antiquated procedures.

India and Pakistan can reduce corruption in 
procurement of arms and supplies. Corruption 
flourishes because of lack of public oversight. 
The Comptroller and Auditor General's remit 
doesn't extend to defence. This must change.

India and Pakistan are in the early stages of 
their nuclear weapons programmes. As these 
proceeds apace, the pressure for funds will mount 
hugely. Nuclear weapons are extremely expensive. 
Warhead explosive assemblies are only a small 
part (10-15 percent) of the costs of nuclear 
weapons programmes. Other components, e.g. 
command and control, are far costlier. .

Nuclear weapons are always an addition to, never 
substitute for, conventional arms. This enlarges 
the danger of a serious nuclear arms race between 
India and Pakistan. To avert it, they must 
rethink their nuclear policies and move towards 
regional denuclearisation.


______


[4]

GENOCIDE IN GUJARAT: THE SANGH PARIVAR, NARENDRA 
MODI, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF GUJARAt
by Angana Chatterji, Lise McKean and Abha Sur.
A report prepared for the Coalition Against Genocide - March 02, 2005

http://www.sacw.net/Gujarat2002/GujaratReportCAG0305%202.pdf


______

[5]

February 26, 2005

WOMEN RESERVATION BILL: A TEST OF POLITICAL WILL
by Rajindar Sachar

             For over a decade now all the 
political parties have played games with 
sentiments of women by promising to pass Women 
Reservation Bill providing for 1/3rd of seats in 
Parliament and legislatures, but to no effect.

             It is well known that why Reservation 
Bill has not been passed is because of the 
hopeful though illogical assumption by women 
activists that the very same male members who 
they are expecting to pass  the legislation are 
so public spirited that will voluntarily and in 
self abnegation agree to reduce the male bastion. 

             I believe there is a alternative 
harmonious  solution to facilitate  the passing 
of the Women's Bill. The U.K. has over 600 
members of Parliament.  The present strength of 
Lok Sabha can legitimately  be raised by one 
third as recently suggested by Shiv Raj Patil, 
Home Minister and thus one-third  seats could be 
reserved for women.

             The further objection by male M.Ps 
that reservation of seats for women would mean 
rotation of seats at every general election with 
the result that members will not able to nurse 
the constituency being  uncertain of their 
constituencies can also be overcome if a third of 
the total seats in  Parliament/Legislatures are 
made double-member (male - female) 
constituencies.  This would ensure that 
inevitably one third of  members in 
Parliament/Legislatures will be women without in 
any manner affecting the present strength for 
male seats.

             The law of double-member 
constituencies prevailed upto the 1957 general 
election for general and reserved candidates.  An 
interesting situation arose in the general 
election of 1957 when the late V.V. Giri who 
contested a Parliamentary seat from a double 
member constituency could not be declared elected 
because one Scheduled Tribe candidate got more 
votes than  him with the result that reserved 
candidates were declared elected to both the 
general and reserved seats.  The same analogy 
would ensure that in a double member 
constituency, one woman will inevitably be 
declared elected as a matter of right, but it is 
possible that both the seats may go to woman.

             In case there is a double-members 
constituency, the question of rotation of the 
constituency every general election will not 
arise because the same double member constituency 
could legitimately be retained for at least two 
to three general elections.

             The argument that the women's quota 
will be monopolized by urban women is a red 
herring.    There are over 200 OBCs in the Lok 
Sabha.  It is a stark reality that it is not 
their public service, but merely the caste 
configuration that has preferred them.  Similar 
results will follow even after reservation for 
women.  The only difference will be a big chink 
in the male bastion.  That is the real reason for 
opposition by male MPs.

             The suggestion of a sub-quota for 
backward and minorities in the women quota, is 
constitutionally improper.  Reservation of seats 
is guaranteed only for SC/STs in Article 330. 
The framers of the Constitution did not intend 
further fragmentation of the legislatures on the 
basis of caste or religion. In the Poudyal case 
the Supreme Court, while upholding the 
constitutionality of seat reservation for the 
Buddhist Sangha in the Sikkim legislature, has at 
the same time warned:  "it is true that the 
reservation of seats of the kind and the extent 
brought about by the impugned provisions may not, 
if applied to the existing states of the Union, 
pass constitutional muster."  It was emphasised 
that it would amount to discrimination because a 
person would be denied the right to be included 
in the rolls because of religious affiliation and 
would for similar reasons be ineligible to 
contest from that seat.

             Women's organizations should not 
allow themselves to be divided by sub-quotas.  A 
split in the women's rank will only make it 
easier for males to retain their dominance and 
defeat the laudable objective of developing a 
women-oriented political agenda.  Opponents of 
the Bill refuse to treat women as equals.  It is 
this mindset that is sought to be destroyed by 
the Bill, which selfish politicians are resisting 
while pretending to fight for social justice.

In my view, the introduction of the Bill will 
unleash a powerful agent of social change.  But, 
I am afraid, the strategy of women's 
organizations has been somewhat faulty from the 
start.  Holding seminars or lobbying political 
leaders in their offices or on television will 
not help.  All women's organizations, 
irrespective of political affiliation, should 
form a common platform with a single agenda.  It 
must become a mass social movement and send out a 
clear message to all political parties that 
failure to support the Bill will have serious 
consequences on the political fortunes of the 
parties.

             Women activists have a ready made 
army in over a million women Panchyat members. 
Let this instrument be sharpened and made 
effective to bring in women empowerment.


______


[6]

sacw.net
March 15, 2005

MANY LIVES OF S. A. R. GEELANI !

J' ACCUSE !

by Subhash Gatade


It was one of the finest hours of the human 
rights movement in the country. The little Davids 
had once again won the unequal battle against 
Goliaths of the communal fascist variety.

The whole episode, which has been repeated 
umpteen times need not be recounted ab initio. 
But a recap would be in order.

We had a young professor of Arabic who taught in 
a prestigious college in the capital who was 
confronted with a mightly communal fascist 
regime, which wanted to satiate its lust for 
revenge when faced with a terrorist attack on the 
parliament. The only way open before the regime 
which was burning with vengeance was to 'legally' 
kill him or rather 'deport' him to some faraway 
place.

Apart from the fact that he was a born and 
practising Muslim the only 'crime' committed by 
the young professor was that he did not limit 
himself to his course. He joined together with 
people who talked of violations of civil 
liberties in our country and didn't hide his 
concern over developments in his homestate i.e. 
Jammu and Kashmir when cases of throttling of 
democratic rights made headlines.

The then government, whose own hands were soaked 
with the blood of the innocents and was 
fulminating over the exposure of its own 
ineptness in the attack, tried all possible ways 
to indict him as the mastermind of the attack. 
All sorts of fake stories were planted in the 
pliant media about the alleged sudden wealth this 
professor had gathered. The police were happy 
that to use the new antiterror law drafted by the 
parliament on this 'guineapig' of a different 
kind. He was badly tortured so that he gave a 
confession against himself before any police 
officer (which then could be admitted against him 
as a evidence under the new law). But the young 
professor did not budge.

The lower court judge, did not blink, an eye when 
he was told that the only 'evidence' against this
Professor presented by the police was a 
telephonic exchange he had with his brother in 
Kashmiri, which has not been even properly 
transcribed. But the judge who according to his 
own admission 'had become expert in Kashmiri 
within a span ofŠ' did not bother to get a proper 
transcript. He was so overwhelmed with this 
ghastly attack that he conveniently forgot the 
basic principle of any jurisprudence that ' a 
hundred guilty may be acquitted but an innocent 
should not be punished'.

Events were going according to the written script 
only. A TV channel throwing all norms of decency 
to the winds had even beamed a programme a few 
days before the judgement showing the young 
professor as the real culprit. It even engineered 
an 'attack' on the producer of the programme 
supposedly to increase the TRP rating. And when 
the judge handed out death sentence to the young 
professor alongwith other three accused the 
special cell people did not hide their 
jubilation. Fires were cracked in the vicinity of 
the court also.

Onlookers felt that it was the end of the story. 
Some overenthusiastic bollywood people were also 
contemplating a film with enough mix of Paki 
bashing and demonising of Islam.

But the committed group of civil libertarians who 
had spent their prime of lives in defending the 
innocents brutalised and traumatised by the state 
and its various agencies and who had coalesced 
together to fight another battle of their lives 
by forming an All India Defence Committee for 
this young professor were rather sure about the 
many lives of this young activist-scholar. Death 
was at the doorsteps but they were rather sure 
that they would snatch life from the jaws of 
death.

And to the utter surprise of the nikkerdharis 
slowly the campaign caught up. Thousands came out 
from the cold to sign the petition demanding that 
justice be done and the life of a young promising 
professor should not be snatched supposedly to 
cover up the ineptness of the 'law and order' 
people. Led by one of the leading lights of the 
civil liberty movement Prof Rajni Kothari the 
'All India Defence Committee' received support 
from unknown quarters. Intellectuals, activists, 
cultural workers and people from different walks 
of life unhesitatingly signed the petition.

One cannot decipher the mind of the court. But 
the high court must have had enough hint about 
the raging storm outside. And after verifying the 
flimsy evidence against Prof Geelani , it had no 
qualms in overturning the decision of its lower 
court.

The young professor was absolved of all the 
charges. He was a 'normal citizen' once again 
with equal rights. For all practical purposes the 
matter should have ended there. The arbiters of 
the law and order should have candidly admitted 
their mistakes and then opened a new chapter.

But it was not to be! They wanted to keep the 
spirit of vengeance alive. It was the same people 
who have coined a slogan for their own 
selfpromotion. 'Delhi Police, Aapke Liye, Aapke 
Saath' and in this case they wanted to 
demonstrate how they remain 'aapke saath' always. 
Despite acquittal by the courts they followed 
young professor alongwith his wife whereever he 
went. When the Geelanis with their the sweet kids 
went to Goa for visit there also the 'aapke liye' 
police was there. They rather wanted a clue so 
that the yound professor could be hauled up 
again. He complained to the authorities that he 
is being followed. Last year in one of his 
interviews to Times of India he even told them 
that he fears for his life if the Delhi police 
did not mend its ways.

And then came 8 February. There was a mysterious 
attack on the young professor just infront of the 
gates of his lawyer. If hundreds of people would 
not have gathered at the hospital to show their 
anger about the law and order machinery and their 
concern for the young professor it was sure that 
the way the whole case was handled he would have 
succumbed to his injuries.

Interestingly the aftermath of the attack further 
exposed the vengeance of the police even infront 
of the cameras. The victim was lying on the bed 
of the hospital and the police people instead of 
trying to figure out who could be the culprit 
rather unleashed its fury against the near and 
dear ones of the professor only. His car was 
taken away. His passbooks and other bank 
documents were seized, the computer used by his 
daughter was snatched away supposedly to decipher 
any vital information as if attacker had emailed 
him his plans. Many of his friends and relatives 
were interrogated for hours together. The police 
people also yelled 'Eureka' when they 
'discovered' the sweater worn by the victim at 
the time of the attack from his house only. 
(Instead of firing one of their own for showing 
laxity in his/her work they used this 'discovery' 
as an added proof which necessiated this 
withchhunt). One fine evening when the wife of 
the young professor was sharing her plight with 
the Delhi Uni community came a message that her 
husband would be discharged within next 
twenty-four hours.

All these things happening in the capital of the 
largest democracy on the face of earth may sound 
unbelievable to any outsider. India is no Banana 
Republic from Latin America under the boots of 
some dictator where such things were usual 
practice. And we are also witness to the 
overthrowing of the communal fascist regime from 
the citadels of power in the intergennum. But for 
the police it seems there is no change at the 
ground level.

There is no doubt that the whole episode and the 
way a section of the pliant media has been used 
to spread all sorts of stories about the young 
professor shows how it is easy (in the words of 
Praful Bidwai) to 'revictimise the victim' while 
singing paens to glorious traditions of democracy.

The unfinished saga of the young professor 
reminds one of the historic Dreyfus case in 
France. It was early eighteen nineties when this 
young Jewish military officer was arrested 
supposedly for 'treason ' and was sent to St 
Helena. Captain Dreyfus was caught while he was 
playing with his young son in the house. The 
police people had made such a watertight case 
against the officer that it seemed that 
everything was lost.

But incidentally the legendary French writer 
Emile Zola came to know about his case and wrote 
a series of articles in the newspapers ( titled 
J'accuse meaning I accuse!) explaining the Jewish 
officers innocence and the way he was framed by 
the powers that be.  He exposed how the people 
who have fabricated the case against Dreyfus 
'hated jews'. Suddently the move to release 
Dreyfus gained such a momentum that within a 
short time the government was forced to release 
him.

As far as Prof Geelanis' case the 'never say die' 
activists have spoken up umpteen times but where 
are our 'Emile Zolas' who can roar  'J'accuse !'

-SUBHASH GATADE

_______


[7]

Citizen's March Against War and Occupation of Iraq

Subject: Decisions of the Meeting on 9th March for
Iraq War Protest Day of 19th March (Saturday), Mandi
House, 11.00 AM

Friends,

As you are aware, 20th March is the 2nd Anniversary of
the US lead invasion of Iraq for which worldwide
protests have been planned on 19th-20th March. For the
Delhi program, there was a preparatory meeting on 9th
March (Wednesday), in Indian Social Institute
consisting of about 30 organisations. The following
decisions were taken in this meeting:
1.	There would be a protest march on 19th March. The
people would start gathering in front of JNU City
Centre (near Mandi House) at 11.00 AM and would march
to the American Centre. The protest program will
finish by 2.00 PM. The March would be under the aegis
of 'Citizen's March Against War and Occupation of
Iraqî.
2.	Each of the groups can come with their banners.
There should be a large number of placards with
preferably common slogans focussing on Iraq
Occupation, and also against US intervention in West
Asia including Palestine, Syria and Iran. The common
slogans will be circulated by email.
3.	There would be a poster in Hindi (100-1500 copies)
and a leaflet (5,000-10,000 copies) brought for this
occasion. Some of the posters will be sent to the
participating groups (or the groups can pick it up
from a central location) for offices, factories,
colleges, institutions, etc. The leaflet will be
distributed during the march.
4.	There will be no speeches, only a resolution read
out at the end by a leading cultural figure such as
Habib Tanvir. Some cultural program and effigies etc.,
can also be there, but the cultural program done by
any group should be short skits or songs.
5.	Contributions were sought from the participating
organisations. It was suggested that organisations
could give Rs.500-1000 and individuals Rs.100-500.
6.	Responsibility for the police permission for the
route will be done by Siddheshwar, the poster by
Prabir and Himmat, the leaflet by Qamar Aga, Seema
Mustafa, Kamal Chenoy and Achin Vanaik. The leaflet
will be one side in English and the other side in
Hindi. All participating groups will circulate the
call for the march within their networks and no
further meeting will be held, unless there is some
immediate issue.
7.	The money can be given to Amit Chackraborty, phone
no: 51664734.
  We are sure that we can all work towards a successful
Delhi protest for 19th March.

In Solidarity,

(Prabir Purkayastha)


_______

[8]

Making Peace with Partition
By Radha Kumar

Published by Penguin Books India
Published: 1 March 2005
ISBN: 0143033492
Paperback
136pp


The Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 
left a legacy of hostility and bitterness that 
has bedevilled relations between India and 
Pakistan for over fifty-five years. The two 
countries, both nuclear powers now, have fought 
three wars since Independence and have twice come 
to the brink of war in recent years. Each of 
their attempts to make peace has failed, and each 
failure has added a new layer of anger and 
mistrust to existing animosities.

So what will it take for India and Pakistan to 
put the long shadows of Partition behind them, 
once and for all?

Reviewing the turbulent history of their past 
relationship, Radha Kumar analyses the chief 
obstacles the two countries face and looks 
afresh, in particular, at the Kashmir conflict, 
in the light of the new opportunities and 
challenges that the twenty-first century 
presents. Kumar's comparisons with 
partition-related peace processes in Bosnia, 
Ireland, Cyprus and Israel-Palestine offer a 
radically different perspective on the prospects 
for peace between India and Pakistan, and 
illuminate the key elements that go into a 
successful peace process.

Lucid, incisive and optimistic, Radha Kumar's 
essay, written at a time when a new peace process 
between India and Pakistan has begun to unfold, 
challenges received wisdom as it argues 
persuasively that the South Asian neighbours are 
today better placed to make peace than ever 
before.
'A refreshingly new look at India-Pakistan 
relations from their inception to the present 
times Š Accurate, unbiased and lucid' -Khushwant 
Singh

_______

[9]

MCRG announces publication of its research paper 
series under the title, "Policies and Practices".


1.	People on the Move : How Governments 
Manages Its moving Populations, Paula Banerjee, 
Samir Kumar Das, and Madhuresh Kumar

Focuses on the issue of displacement in India due 
to numerous reasons and shows how the problems 
related with the displacement are gendered in 
nature. It also includes a comprehensive critique 
of the Indian government's policy of 
rehabilitation and resettlement.

2.	Resources for Autonomy, Ratan Khasnobis

Provides a detailed analysis of the decentralised 
governance structure in India and the financial 
autonomy of these institutions. In particular the 
author studies the Eleventh Finance Commission 
data to look at government's efforts of financial 
decentralisation and the role allocated to 
panchayati raj institutions and urban local 
bodies.

3.	Peace Accords as the Basis of Autonomy, Samir Kumar Das

Focuses on the evolution and performance of 
various peace accords signed between people's 
movement demanding autonomy and Indian state. In 
particular author deals with the peace accords in 
North East India between Indian state and ULFA, 
NSCN etc.

4.	Debates over Women Autonomy, Paula Banerjee

Traces the debates over the question of women's 
autonomy since the time of drafting Indian 
constitution in the legal framework. It also 
examines this question in the context of 
autonomous women's movement and their engagement 
with the law.

5.	Unequal Communication : Health and 
Disaster as issues of public sphere, Nilanjan 
Datta, Dulali Nag, and Biswajit Roy Choudhary

An output of CRG's Media Research Fellowship, 
this volume is aimed at media audit and its 
coverage of issues of public health and natural 
disasters such as floods, quakes and river 
erosion. One of the essays analyses the Muslim 
women's response to pulse polio campaign in West 
Bengal and the reasons for their resistance to it.

6.	Globalisation, State Policies and 
Sustainability of Rights, Madhuresh Kumar

Takes a critical look at the policy explosion in 
past one decade and analyses the question of 
sustainability of rights of marginalised 
communities in the age of globalisation.

Born as a facilitating group in support of the 
peace movement in West Bengal in Calcutta in 
1996, the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group has 
carved out a niche for itself amongst young 
activists and socially committed researchers, in 
the field of policy studies on autonomy, human 
rights, women's dignity, issues of forced 
displacement and migration, peace and conflict 
resolution, citizenship, borders and 
border-conflicts, and other themes relevant to 
democracy.  The emphasis that CRG places on the 
East and the Northeast in its research and 
dialogues has now resulted in a strong network of 
scholars, activists, and institutions in the 
region.

To procure the volumes in research papers series 
please write to us at 
<mailto:mcrg at mcrg.ac.in>mcrg at mcrg.ac.in or visit 
<http://www.mcrg.ac.in/>www.mcrg.ac.in or call at 
91 33 2337 0408

Madhuresh Kumar

Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group
Sector-3, FE-390, Ground Floor
Salt Lake, Calcutta - 700 106
Ph: +91-33-23370408 Mobile : + 91 9433 171669
Fax: +91-33-23371523
Email: <mailto:kmadhuresh at hotmail.com>kmadhuresh at hotmail.com
<mailto:madhuresh at mcrg.ac.in>madhuresh at mcrg.ac.in
Web: <http://www.mcrg.ac.in>http://www.mcrg.ac.in

______


[10]

PUBLIC MEETING

GENOCIDE IN GUJARAT

Exactly three years ago, in February and March 2002, Gujarat witnessed
horrific incidents of unparalleled violence that can only be described as
genocide of innocent Muslim people.

Over 2000 people, including British Asians, were slaughtered with more than
100,000 people displaced in under-resourced refugee camps. Houses were
systematically looted, businesses burnt down, hundreds women gang raped and
many children murdered.

All the evidence suggests that the Gujarat state government, led by the
current Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and the police orchestrated the
violence and were responsible for the carnage. Yet, despite domestic and
international public pressure, not a single prominent individual has been
held to account or brought to justice.

Speakers include:

Indira Jaising

An eminent human rights lawyer from India; Senior Advocate of the Supreme
Court of India representing many victims in Gujarat; Chairperson of the
Lawyers Collective (India); Director of The Womens Rights Initiative (New
Delhi); and Recipient of the 2005 PADMA SHREE, the highest Presidential
Award in India, for services to the public.

Angelika Pathak

Researcher at Amnesty International's South Asia Team (International
Secretariat), the department responsible for issuing Amnesty's report on
Gujarat in January 2005

Bilal Dawood

Family campaigner representing the Dawood Family, British Asians killed
during the Gujarat carnage.

Chetan Bhatt

Reader, Goldsmiths College who will speak on the Gujarat Carnage and global
networks of hate

Friday 18th March 2005: 7pm to 9pm
Indian YMCA 41 Fitzroy Street, London WC1
(nearest underground/s: Warren Street and Goodge Street)

For more information on the meeting, Ring 020 8843 2333

ORGANISED BY AWAAZ- South Asia Watch

AWAAZ- South Asia Watch is a secular network of individuals who wish to be
inclusive and build a broad based alliance that challenges religious hatred
and fascism. We would welcome others to join us. If you would like to lend
your voice or become active, please us on 020 8843 2333.

AWAAZ-South Asia Watch, PO BOX 304, Southall, Middx UB2 5YR



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

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 :
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South Asians Against Nukes: www.s-asians-against-nukes.org
Communalism Watch: communalism.blogspot.com/

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