SACW | 13 Apr 2006 | WSF Karachi; Letter to Nepali Democrats; Victims of Bhopal, Damned of Narmada, Goa communal violence, Gujarats adivasis and the hindu right

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 13 April, 2006 | Dispatch No. 2235

[1]  WSF in Pakistan (Tariq Ali)
+ World Social Forum leaves organisers in upbeat mood (News report)
[2]  An Open Letter to Nepali democrats (Dilip Simeon and Madhu Sarin)
+ Beginning of the end? (Editorial, The Hindu)
[3] India: Forgotten People (Joe Athialy)
[4] India: Salt, Dams, Nuke Sites: India's Struggle (J. Sri Raman)
[5] India: Bhopal victims step up agitation
[6] India - Goa: Sign the Petition Demanding 
Inquiry Committee Into Sanvordem Violence
[7] India - Gujarat: Adivasis: A Cultural Cooption (Ram Puniyani)
[8] Upcoming Events:
(i) Seminar on Shwe Gas Pipeline Project - 
Implications on India and Burma (New Delhi, 17-18 
April)
(ii) "Self Determination Day"   (Srinagar, 20 April)

___

[1]

ZNet - April 01, 2006

WSF IN PAKISTAN
by Tariq Ali

While we were opening the World Social Forum in 
Karachi last weekend with virtuoso performances 
of sufi music and speeches, the country's rulers 
were marking the centenary of the Muslim League 
[the party that created Pakistan and has ever 
since been passed on from one bunch of rogues to 
another till now it is in the hands of political 
pimps who treat it like a bordello] by gifting 
the organisation to General Pervaiz Musharaf, the 
country's uniformed ruler.

The secular opposition leaders, Nawaz Sharif and 
Benazir Bhutto, who used to compete with each 
other to see who could amass more funds while in 
power, are both in exile. To return home would 
mean to face arrest for corruption. Neither is in 
the mood for martyrdom or relinquishing control 
of their organizations. Meanwhile, the religious 
parties are happily implementing neo-liberal 
policies in the North-West Frontier province that 
is under their control. Incapable of catering to 
the real needs of the poor they concentrate their 
fire on women and the godless liberals who defend 
them.

The military is so secure in its rule and the 
official politicians so useless that 'civil 
society' is booming. Private TV channels, like 
NGOs, have mushroomed and most views are 
permissible (I was interviewed for an hour by one 
of these on the "fate of the world communist 
movement") except a frontal assault on religion 
or the military and its networks that govern the 
country. If civil society posed any real threat 
to the elite, the plaudits it receives would 
rapidly turn to menace.

It was, thus, no surprise that the WSF, too, had 
been permitted and facilitated by the local 
administration in Karachi. It is now part of the 
globalized landscape and helps backward rulers 
feel modern. The event itself was no different 
from the others. Present are several thousand 
people, mainly from Pakistan, but with a 
sprinkling of delegates from India, Bangladesh, 
Sri Lanka, South Korea and a few other countries.

Absent was any representation from China's 
burgeoning peasant and workers movements or its 
critical intelligentsia. Iran, too, was 
unrepresented as was Malaysia. The Israeli 
enforcers who run the Jordanian administration 
harassed a Palestinian delegation. Only a handful 
of delegates managed to get through the 
checkpoints and reach Karachi. The huge 
earthquake in Pakistan last year had disrupted 
many plans and the organizers were not able to 
travel and persuade people elsewhere in the 
continent to come. Otherwise, insisted the 
organisers, the voices of Abu Ghraib and 
Guantanamo and Fallujah would have been heard.

The fact that it happened at all in Pakistan was 
positive. People here are not used to hearing 
different voices and views. The Forum enabled 
many from repressed social layers and minority 
religions to assemble make their voices heard: 
persecuted Christians from the Punjab, Hindus 
from Sind, women from everywhere told 
heart-rending stories of discrimination and 
oppression.

Present too was a sizeable class-struggle 
element: peasants fighting against the 
privatization of military farms in Okara, the 
fisher-folk from Sind whose livelihoods are under 
threat and who complained about the great Indus 
river being diverted to deprive the common people 
of water they had enjoyed since the beginning of 
human civilization thousands of years ago, 
workers from Baluchistan complaining about 
military brutalities in the region.

Teachers who explained how the educational system 
in the country had virtually ceased to exist. The 
common people who spoke were articulate, 
analytical and angry, in polar contrast to the 
stale rhetoric of Pakistan's political class. 
Much of what was said was broadcast on radio and 
television with the main private networks---Geo, 
Hum and Indus--- vying with each other to ensure 
blanket coverage.

And so the WSF like a big feel-good travelling 
road show came to Pakistan and went. What will it 
leave behind? Very little, apart from goodwill 
and the feeling that it has happened here. For 
the fact remains the elite dominates that 
politics in the country. Little else matters. 
Small radical groups are doing their best, but 
there is no state-wide organisation or movement 
that speaks for the dispossessed. The social 
situation is grim, despite the massaged 
statistics circulated by the World Bank's 
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The NGOs are no substitute for genuine social and 
political movements. They may be NGOs in Pakistan 
but in the global scale they are WGOs (Western 
Governmental Organizations), their cash-flow 
conditioned by restricted agendas. It is not that 
some of them are not doing good work, but the 
overall effect of this has been to atomize the 
tiny layer of left and liberal intellectuals. 
Most of these men and women (those who are not in 
NGOs are embedded in the private media networks) 
struggle for their individual NGOs to keep the 
money coming; petty rivalries assumed exaggerated 
proportions; politics in the sense of grass-roots 
organisation is virtually non-existent. The Latin 
American model as emerging in the victories of 
Chavez and Morales is a far cry from Mumbai or 
Karachi.

Tariq Ali is author of the recently released 
Street Fighting Years (new edition) and, with 
David Barsamian, Speaking of Empires & Resistance.


o o o

tmcnet.com
[March 30, 2006] 

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM LEAVES ORGANISERS IN UPBEAT MOOD

(Gulf News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Karachi: 
The six-day World Social Forum ended in Karachi 
yesterday.

Thousands of activists attended the concluding 
ceremony and a musical concert in which 
performers sang and danced almost all night to 
the delight of the cheering crowd.

The forum, with peace, democracy and women and 
workers' rights on its agenda was a huge success, 
said organisers. "The World Social Forum [WSF] 
was a success beyond our expectations," said 
Karamat Ali, one of the main organisers and a 
senior labour leader.

"We were expecting a modest participation, but 
more than 20,000 delegates participated in the 
WSF, including 3,000 foreigners," he said. 
"Though the forum did not pass any resolutions, 
the organisations and individuals raised several 
key issues."

Farmers, industrial workers, fishermen, human 
rights and political activists and youngsters 
from all over the world attended the forum which 
included more than 400 events. It gave Pakistani 
leftist groups a platform to air their views.

"One of the major achievements of the forum was 
that for the first time leaders from both sides 
of Kashmir met and discussed the issue at 
length," Ali said.

Anti-US sentiment dominated the forum where every 
day participants condemned the American 
occupation of Iraq. Labour rights, environmental 
degeneration, and globalisation attracted the 
most heated debates led mostly by the Indian 
delegation, which was the biggest with about 700 
people.

But the biggest winner was Karachi, which is seen 
as a dangerous place for foreigners because of a 
string of terrorist attacks and its history of 
political and religious violence.

"My impressions about Karachi have changed," said 
Marjan Lucas, a delegate from Holland. "It is a 
very vibrant city with friendly people. The 
reality is different from whatever is being 
portrayed in the media."

Organisers said despite its anti-establishment 
agenda, the government went all out to facilitate 
the event, which would go a long way in building 
Karachi's image.

____


[2]

www.sacw.net - April 5, 2006 > Citizens Action & Ideas for Peace in South Asia
http://www.sacw.net/peace/Dilip_Madhu_Apr2006.html

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEPALI DEMOCRATS

Dear comrades,

We are Indians, and supporters of the Nepali 
people's struggle for democracy. Rather than a 
bearer of a national identity, we speak as world 
citizens who believe in the shared values and 
solidarity of all democratic movements. What we 
have to say is urgent, because it is painful to 
observe the agony of the Nepali people, 
especially the most vulnerable, such as children 
and the poor. These humble millions are caught in 
a political storm, whose contenders all claim to 
speak in the name of 'the people' with little 
concern about the consequences of their actions 
on the peoples' lives and livelihood. We are 
living through an important moment, when a step 
back from deeply-held positions can bring about 
far- reaching changes for the better. It is a 
sign of hope that this seems to be occurring at 
the present time.

Friends, it is clear that the traditional Nepali 
ruling elites have seized absolute power and 
continue to maintain this shamelessly, in the 
face of national and international condemnation. 
It is also clear that the absolutists will not 
understand or act upon globally accepted ideals 
of human liberty, democracy, equality before law 
and constitutional limits to state power. Despite 
their slogans hailing the unity of the monarch 
and the praja, the ruling elite has no concern 
for the welfare of its own citizens, millions of 
whom are obliged to work in degrading conditions 
in India and other countries.

International Opinion

Except for the US, the dominant powers of the 
Western alliance and countries such as India, 
have expressed their scepticism about the 
intentions of the Nepali monarch or his potential 
for unifying the polity. Even other autocracies, 
such as China who had previously supported the 
monarchy are distancing themselves from its short 
sighted and politically bankrupt acts. The latest 
statements of the US ambassador express concern 
that a Maoist revolution would be a greater 
danger to the people than an uncaring monarchy, 
although the evidence indicates that the Royal 
Nepal Army has killed more innocent civilians 
than the Maobaadis in the last 10 years. The 
American administration is motivated by 
self-interest rather than principle. They are 
even now in occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq in 
defiance of international law, and have shown no 
love for democracy in South Asia where, over the 
decades they have supported dictators and 
religious fanatics of all colours. They support 
democratic movements when and where this suits 
them, and contemptuously disregard democratic 
values when it doesn't. Hence, while welcoming 
the warm words of certain Western leaders and 
representatives, we should be sceptical of their 
intentions and the stability of their 
commitments. In India, a wide range of Indian 
political opinion supports the cause of democracy 
in Nepal although there is support for the 
monarchy among some sections of the army, 
bureaucracy, the old princely families and the 
RSS-VHP.

However, this letter is not addressed to the 
Nepali rulers, nor is it an analysis of political 
opinion with regard to Nepal. It is primarily an 
appeal to all Nepali democrats, including 
Maobaadis (who say they have a new commitment to 
democracy), to recognise the current moment for 
its great potential. The ruling clique is 
isolated as never before, nationally and 
internationally. And the mainstream Nepali 
democrats have come to an understanding with the 
Maobaadis, who for their part have stated their 
support for an elected Constituent Assembly, and 
the concept of multi-party democracy. The issues 
are becoming simplified, and the enemies of 
democracy are becoming isolated.

The Opposition

The problem remains of overcoming mutual distrust 
among all the mainstream democrats, of 
pre-empting the autocratic ambitions of the 
Nepali Army, and of stopping the bloodshed. As 
regards the parliamentary opposition, strong 
political will is needed to maintain a 
self-critical approach to old ways of thinking 
and acting, to overcome old animosities, and to 
maintain a dialogue not only among themselves, 
but with millions of ordinary Nepalis who want a 
democratic republic. A new vision is necessary, 
along with institutional and political 
preparation for a constitutional order, and fresh 
initiatives towards these aims - such as ensuring 
democracy within their own parties, devising a 
plan of action for the Constituent Assembly, 
ensuring neutrality, protecting citizens lives, 
etc. As for the Army generals, one can only hope 
that some of them have the sense to see that 
democracy is good for Nepal. There must be many 
army jawans/soldiers and some officers, who would 
sympathise with democratic ideals. We must 
welcome them and address them politically rather 
than push them away.

But above all, democrats must develop the 
confidence in their own strength, vision and 
ability to engage with the Maobaadis to ensure 
that they uphold the alliance. There must be a 
continuing dialogue with them to encourage them 
to give up violence. Many Nepalis, while not 
being Maoists themselves, sympathise with them, 
participate in their activities, and have 
ambivalent positions on the question of "people's 
war". This situation has been brought about by 
anger and helplessness in the face of a selfish, 
autocratic and cruel governing authority, with no 
vehicle to express grievance or seek social 
justice through peaceful methods. We can 
understand the origins and force of this anger 
but we must remember that (apart from the moral 
issues), if anger is not restrained and 
harnessed, it becomes a spiral of violent revenge 
and creates a political system that is the mirror 
image of one that is overthrown. The pent up 
emotions and energies of the Nepali people can 
find a more creative and optimistic expression in 
non-violent social movements and activities which 
will serve as the foundation of a democratic 
state structure.

The creation of democratic party structures, mass 
social and political movements, and democratic 
civil institutions at district and community 
levels, are the only foundations for a stable and 
viable democracy. We may understand Prachanda's 
anger at the callousness of the absolutist 
monarchy but we can also understand the fear and 
scepticism evoked amongst democratic forces in 
Nepal when he says that he expects a people's 
court to execute the king. Nepal has abolished 
the death penalty and has an active and well 
functioning judiciary. Prachanda's statement will 
undermine rather than help consolidate the 
process of democratic unity.

The Urge for Peaceful Change

We appeal to all of you to think about the strong 
urge for peace among your fellow Nepalis. People 
want an end to tyranny, but not at the cost of so 
much bloodshed and cruelty. To kill a single 
person, no matter how bad he is, without due 
process of law, violates democratic principles. 
We cannot fight for democracy by using 
anti-democratic procedures, or preaching 
autocratic values. We cannot complain that the 
state indulges in extra-judicial killings and 
then do the same thing ourselves. How can we 
encourage young revolutionaries to kill not only 
the soldiers (who are mostly poor people like 
themselves), but also a taxi-driver who violates 
a 'bandh', a telephone booth operator who was 
forced to allow the Army to use his telephone, or 
ordinary bus passengers, as in Chitwan last year? 
Is it enough to say, sorry, these are 'accidents' 
and then expect the victims' near and dear ones 
to wipe their tears and support the revolution? 
In late January, at Kathmandu airport, we saw a 
young working-class Nepali woman see off her 
husband - maybe he was joining a job in a foreign 
country. She was weeping silently, and we thought 
how much more would be her sorrow if he were to 
be killed in some encounter, some cross-fire, 
some bandh?

Friends, brutality operates in a cycle. The Army 
and police have been brutal, and the 
revolutionaries have also been brutal. How does 
it make any difference to the victims of cruelty 
that the State has killed 8000 people and the 
revolutionaries only 4000? Is the pain of their 
relatives lessened because they died while 
comrades fought for a good cause? So much 
accumulated tragedy and pain and tears! Do the 
Nepali people deserve so much suffering on top of 
all the tragic consequences of autocratic rule? 
Organised killing develops autocratic modes of 
thought and totalitarian politics. It destroys 
the human conscience, encourages lawlessness and 
disrespect for human life. The people who survive 
such a bloody revolution will be emotionally and 
psychologically damaged people. Precedents will 
have been set that will endanger the future of 
democracy.

An Appeal to the Comrades

Many of the Maobaadis are inspired by pure ideals 
and sincere beliefs. But unfortunately the 
politics of violence is a slippery road that can 
change human character, and transform lofty goals 
into current nightmares. Democrats need to start 
a dialogue to bring about lasting democracy in 
Nepal. If they are far-sighted, the Maobaadis can 
make a historic contribution to this dialogue. 
With due respect we must tell Comrade Prachanda 
and all the comrades: your anger is justified, 
but your violence is not. Instead of venting your 
anger in ways that often harm your own citizenry, 
subjecting them to yet more cruelty, it would be 
more fruitful to build democratic structures and 
practices (both within and outside the political 
parties) which will become the foundations for a 
future democratic Nepal.

Friends, we strongly believe that peace and 
security and freedom from fear is as much of a 
popular aspiration as a democratic constitution 
or improved working conditions. The sooner the 
comrades realise this, the better it will be for 
the socialist cause. Violence and cruelty is the 
language of the exploiters and oppressors - if 
socialists also use this language, what hope 
remains for humanity? All kinds of non-violent 
protests and constructive programmes can be 
organised. Popular committees could be started in 
localities to start democratisation even before 
constitutional change. After all, democracy means 
not just rule with the consent of the governed, 
but the participation of the people in 
governance. We appeal to you to consider this:

A PUBLIC DECLARATION BY THE MAOBAADIS THAT THEY 
WILL STICK TO THEIR DEMANDS BUT WILL GIVE UP 
VIOLENCE, CAN ELECTRIFY THE SITUATION.

This March 8, let us remember the ordinary 
Russian soldiers of the Tsar's army who refused 
to shoot women demonstrators on International 
Women's Day in St Petersburg in 1917. This single 
incident marked the overthrow of Tsarism and the 
advent of the Russian Revolution. Comrades! The 
greatest victory would be for you to prevail over 
the soldiers and policemen via their conscience 
rather than through fear. Let us experiment with 
the revolutionary potential of non-violence. Let 
us imagine a politics of love, rather than of 
hate. Once people stop fearing for their lives, 
and if the comrades demonstrate their sincerity, 
then fence-sitters (and maybe even elements of 
the armed forces) will join the ranks of 
democracy. The constant tension, fear, and enmity 
will subside and the ordinary people will be 
encouraged to participate in the historic task of 
constructing Nepali democracy.


With love, best wishes and fraternal regards to all of you

Dilip Simeon
Madhu Sarin

New Delhi
March 1, 2006

o o o

The Hindu
Apr 12, 2006

Editorial

BEGINNING OF THE END?

The tsunami of protest in Nepal against the 
brutally unconstitutional rule of King Gyanendra 
is virtually a rerun of the People's Movement of 
1990 - with an important difference. Sixteen 
years ago, the street protests were directed 
against the absolute monarchy of his elder 
brother, King Birendra; they helped usher in a 
multi-party democracy with a constitutional 
monarchy. Then, as now, the King used repressive 
tactics to protect his position, surrendering to 
the demands of the people only when it became 
clear that the protestors would not be 
intimidated into backing off from the palace 
doors. But King Birendra was a much wiser man 
than his business-minded brother. He was astute 
enough to cut his losses by forging a deal with 
the political parties that ensured the monarchy 
would continue in a diluted, constitutional form. 
It helped his case that those spearheading the 
protests also thought it unwise to do away with 
the monarchy. That has changed. After five years 
of King Gyanendra, more and more people in Nepal 
are questioning the wisdom of holding on even to 
a constitutional monarchy. The seven-party 
alliance for the restoration of democracy has 
acquired a distinct republican hue, to the extent 
of forging a loose political understanding with 
the Maoist insurgency whose avowed aim is to 
abolish the monarchy. The proliferating protests 
in Nepal despite a vicious Palace crackdown 
reveal that even those who initially bought the 
King's promise that he would restore democracy 
have completely lost faith.

King Gyanendra's shenanigans are shown up in 
stark contrast by the actions of other monarchs 
in the region. In Thailand, the people revere 
King Bhumibol Adulyatej; and he protects this 
status by a studied policy of non-interference in 
the day-to-day politics of his country. Leaving 
that to the politicians and steering clear of 
divisive ambitions, he has carved out for himself 
a role of such moral authority that in the recent 
political crisis, all it took was a word from him 
to make the discredited Thaksin Shinawatra resign 
as Prime Minister. In Bhutan, a sagacious King 
Jigme Singye Wangchuk is voluntarily preparing to 
change from an absolute monarch to a 
constitutional one. When Gyanendra ascended the 
Nepal throne on June 4, 2001 after an infamous 
massacre of the royals (with an unpopular Paras 
next in the line of succession), he needed badly 
to establish his credentials. He could have 
fashioned a role that was constructive for the 
country's fledgling democracy but has shown 
himself incapable of anything like that. 
Notwithstanding an international chorus for 
"constitutional forces" - meaning the democratic 
political parties and the monarch - to come 
together to resolve Nepal's political crisis, it 
is unlikely that this King will be acceptable to 
his people even in a constitutionally 
marginalised role. After all, what is the 
guarantee that his crude political ambitions will 
not rise to the top again?

____


[3]

The Times of India
11 April, 2006

FORGOTTEN PEOPLE
by Joe Athialy

India's two best known struggles are waging a battle for justice under the
trees of Jantar Mantar in the capital Ð the Narmada dam oustees and Bhopal
gas victims. Both have a 20-year history, albeit emerging from different
contexts. Having borne the brunt of state brutality and yet remaining
non-violent, they have been documented and recognised by the international
community.

The Bhopal gas tragedy killed more than 7,000 people and injured many within
two or three days. In the last 21 years, at least another 15,000 have died
and more than 1,00,000 suffer from chronic illnesses caused by exposure to
gas. Nobody has been held responsible for the leak till date. The plant site
has not been cleaned. As a result, toxic wastes continue to pollute the
environment and contaminate water that surrounding communities rely on.

In Narmada, the planners considered a geographical area without taking into
account the people and environment for making a cascade of dams, starting
with Sardar Sarovar at the west end of the river.

A considerably good rehabilitation package was prepared and integrated into
the law, but never implemented by the states in letter and spirit. In spite
of non-violent protests, the dam continued to go up. Emotions in favour of
the dam were flared up, sometimes to absurd levels, by the states.

It put the lives and livelihoods of over 44,000 families (or nearly 2.25
lakh people) at peril in western parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Gujarat, according to official figures. As the World Bank review committee
noted, another three lakh people still await the magic wand for being
recognised as project-affected.

The role of the judiciary in these two issues has been disappointing. It
dragged proceedings for years, its pronouncements on human rights actually
yielding little on the ground. Its refusal to hold people responsible for
violations of law encouraged more violations, and cemented the state's
conviction that they were not accountable to anyone. Calling Narmada Bachao
Andolan Publicity Interest Litigation or Private Inquisitiveness Litigation
was totally uncalled for.

Bhopal or Narmada, by not being able to translate into significant vote
banks, failed to find a meaningful mention in common minimum programmes of
parties or political formations. Till a decade back, the Congress and
Bharatiya Janata Party lent unstinting support to the dam in their election
manifestos in Gujarat. In the case of both the struggles, the Centre and
state governments kept passing the buck, frustrating the people.
Politicians, once out of power, wholeheartedly supported the struggles. When
elected to power, they busied themselves with other things and avoided
taking action.

In the absence of an active media, these struggles would not have reached
out to a large multitude. In the initial days of the struggle, when sting
operations were confined to Bollywood movies and TRP ratings did not decide
the news, the media had more space and time to report and analyse these
issues. It helped generate a debate in civil society about development,
human rights and state's responsibilities.

But now media would rather devote space and time to details of 'wardrobe
malfunction', and heap scorn on these struggles as the very height of all
impediments. Hence, the over one lakh families rendered homeless due to
demolitions in Mumbai and Delhi, or the hundreds of farmer suicides in many
states, do not come under 'breaking news'. Two groups of protestors sitting
at a distance of a few metres from each other at Jantar Mantar do not invite
much media attention. Nor can they pose any political threat to the
government, though they are only a couple of kilometres away from
Parliament. Their presence in Delhi with demands for a just rehabilitation
speaks volumes for India's human rights record. Unless that record is set
straight, talk of 10 per cent growth or the Sensex crossing 11K does not
make India developed or, for that matter, even civilised.

(The writer is with Amnesty International. Views expressed are personal.)


____

[4]

truthout.org
06 April 2006

SALT, DAMS, NUKE SITES: INDIA'S STRUGGLE
by J. Sri Raman
   
     Today, India is witnessing a re-enactment of 
an episode of the country's freedom struggle and 
its most significant and inspiring saga. On this 
day, 76 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi launched his 
Salt Satyagraha, to assert the common Indian's 
right to manufacture his own salt, a right that 
the British colonial rulers sought to deny. 
Gandhi's memory and message have now created and 
catalyzed a movement to protest and resist a 
post-Independence ban on production and sale of 
common salt.

     Today, a 52-year-old woman, social activist 
Medha Patkar, continues her Gandhian fast in New 
Delhi's prestigious hospital, the All-India 
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), amidst 
administrations of saline water. She is 
protesting against displacement of thousands of 
people by a dam project in Gujarat, no less 
prestigious to the powers-that-be, and to 
reiterate her endlessly repeated demands for 
their dignified rehabilitation.

     Today, it is 18 days since an earthquake of 
undisclosed intensity shook, if only for a few 
seconds, an area in India's deep south that 
harbors a nuclear complex, to which major 
additions are being made shortly. Feeble voices 
have been raised over what this means for the 
people of the region, devastated by the tsunami 
not long ago, but questions from those concerned 
have been dismissed with a contempt that they did 
not deserve.

     The three apparently disjointed events 
together serve to illustrate a development 
strategy that directly threatens the people of 
India and the cause of peace within the country 
and in the sub-continent as a whole.

     The Mahatma's Salt Satyagraha was a conscious 
and a marvelously creative attempt to put the 
poor people at the center of the Independence 
movement. It is a sad irony that, after nearly 
six decades of independence, the poor salt 
farmers and salt consumers of India have to fight 
to protect their right from corporate masters in 
place of the colonial ones. The ban on 
non-iodized salt will spell ruin for salt farmers 
on the shores of Gandhi's Gujarat and elsewhere 
as well as at least a five-fold increase in the 
price of salt for the common man.

     The government and its experts, of course, 
have not cared to answer any of the questions 
from critics of the ban. Such as: why this hurry 
to ban common salt consumed through millennia 
with no disastrous health consequences when 
tobacco products suffer no trade restriction, 
when there is no plan even to consider pleas for 
controlling sale of pesticides found to be 
harmful, if only in cases of heavy use? Does lack 
of iodine alone cause the health disorders that 
non-iodized salt is blamed for? Is not 
over-iodized food, too, known to pose health 
hazards?

     The government and its experts have cared 
even less, over two decades, to answer questions 
over the project to build a network of dams over 
River Narmada flowing through three states of 
India - Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. 
The main question here has been about the 
displacement by the dam project of nearly 200,000 
people in all. Mostly aboriginals, tribal people, 
as the mainstream, middle-class India calls them, 
they had no one to speak up for them until Medha 
Patkar made their cause hers.

     Medha's Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada 
Movement), or the NBA, has seen many ups and 
downs in its struggle. But it has scored two 
major victories. The first was when it succeeded 
in forcing the World Bank, the original funder of 
the project, to withdraw. The second victory was 
the verdict of India's Supreme Court that asked 
the project authorities to rehabilitate the 
oustees, as required under approved guidelines, 
before proceeding with the project by increasing 
the dam's height. The current NBA protest follows 
an alleged violation of the court order.

     The question of dams and development - 
specially the optimum size of dams from the 
viewpoint of environmental and economic viability 
- can be debated endlessly. And it has been. 
Beyond all debate, however, is the imperative 
need to ensure the rehabilitation of the 
displaced, who, in this farm-dependent community, 
are also the dispossessed. As Arundhaty Roy, 
vilified even more for defending the displaced 
than for denouncing India's nuclear bombs, has 
pointed out, all the data about all the dams 
built since 1947 (including their dimensions, 
budgets and envisaged irrigation benefits) are 
available except in one respect. There is no 
record - none - of the number of those displaced 
by the dams, of where these people disappeared to.

     The famished and feverish Medha made the same 
point when she whispered to the media, before 
being whisked away to the hospital: "Perhaps they 
would not have bothered at all about these people 
waiting to be drowned (by the heightened dam), if 
I had not come and sat here (on a fast). It is a 
sad thought."

     It was even less surprising when the 
concerned authorities refused to answer any 
question about an earthquake that shook an area 
including Koodankulam, site of a nuclear complex, 
on March 19. The event was described only as a 
"mild tremor" in English-language newspapers that 
cared to cover it at all. Dailies of the local 
Tamil language described the cracks in houses 
caused by the quake, but this section of the 
media has very little influence in India's 
corridors of power, yet to recover from a 
colonial hangover.

     The tsunami devastated the same region, but 
the disaster was dismissed then as too unusual to 
warrant a concern about nuclear safety. The 
tremor of March should have compelled the 
authorities to wonder if the area could now be 
considered quake-prone. They, however, could not 
even be persuaded to disclose the intensity of 
the tremor. Just as they did not care to allay 
fears caused by the tsunami havoc in the area of 
the better-known Kalpakkam nuclear complex, now 
officially acknowledged as one of "strategic" 
importance.

     The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, 
active in the area, has voiced added concern over 
the plans to build two more nuclear power 
reactors in Koodankulam. It is being ignored, 
however, as an odd group out of sync with the 
times, when India looks forward to a luminous 
nuclear future as a direct result of the deal 
with the USA under the George Bush 
administration. What does a possible nuclear 
calamity matter, when the deal puts no cap on the 
nuclear-weapon program either, and keeps alive 
all those alluring prospects of a deadly arms 
race in the sub-continent?

     The three events together illustrate a 
development strategy that has no place or thought 
for the defenseless people it threatens. The 
re-enactment of the Mahatma's salt march, the 
countrywide response to Medha's fast, and the 
questions that belie claims of a national 
consensus over the nuclear issue illustrate 
something else: determination of the people not 
to stay silent spectators of the unfolding 
strategy.

     A freelance journalist and a peace activist 
of India, J. Sri Raman is the author of 
Flashpoint (Common Courage Press, USA). He is a 
regular contributor to t r u t h o u t.


____


[5]

The Hindu
April 11, 2006

BHOPAL VICTIMS STEP UP AGITATION

Dance of Death: Bhopal gas victims holding a demonstration on Parliament
Street in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: S. Subramanium

NEW DELHI: Over 400 survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster and their
sympathisers who on Monday organised a huge "die in" here, covering
themselves in white shrouds and lying on the road while symbolic figures of
death danced through the "corpses". The gas victims and their sympathisers,
who have been demonstrating here for the last fifteen days, announced that
six persons (three survivors and three sympathisers) would go on an
indefinite hunger strike from Tuesday.

Demonstrators said that though the Ministry of Chemicals had been
sympathetic to their demands, it was up to the Prime Minister to clear any
decision related to the Bhopal victims. They said the Union Cabinet's
approval for the implementation of the Supreme Court orders of 2004 for
disbursement of pro-rata additional compensation on a one-to-one basis to
the victims did not address their present demands. "This money was long due
and a result of an agreement between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the
Central Government that any shortfall in converting the money payable from
dollars to rupees would be taken care by the Central Government. It has
nothing to with our present demands," said Nityanand Jayaram, environmental
activist and writer.

In a statement issued on Monday, four organisations, Bhopal Gas Peedit
Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush
Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action, and Bhopal ki
Awaaz cited a 2001 study published by the Madhya Pradesh government's Centre
for Rehabilitation Studies that has attributed at least 350 deaths annually
to gas-related ailments.

____

[6]

PLEASE SIGN PETITION DEMANDING INQUIRY COMMITTEE INTO SANVORDEM VIOLENCE

Despite repeated demands, there has been no action by the government to
set up an inquiry committee into the violence at Sanvordem and bring the
perpetrators to book. The government will respond only when there is a
concerted demand from citizens to do so.

There is an online petition on the subject at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/goasan06/petition.html

Please go to the URL and sign the petition. Circulate this widely and
request people to sign.

For additional background on the communal violence in Goa in the month
of March 2004, you can download the fact-finding report released by a
committee headed by Nandita Haksar, Supreme Court advocate and noted
human rights lawyer, from the following URLs:

PDF version (with annexures):

http://mum1ww1-a.sancharnet.in:83/vgad/brpeace.pdf

Plain-text version (without annexures)

http://mum1ww1-a.sancharnet.in:83/vgad/brokenpeacerep

It is also available at:

http://www.goa-india.org/haksar#attachments


____

[7]

Issues in Secular Politics
April 2006

ADIVASIS: A CULTURAL COOPTION
THE FALLOUT OF SHABRI KUMBH IN GUJARAT

by Ram Puniyani

From 1987 Sangh (RSS) has activated its offshoot 
Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) into higher gear of 
activity. Adivasis, the most neglected part of 
society are being wooed through newly devised 
cultural mechanisms.
To begin with Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram used the word 
Vanvasi, instead of the correct nomenclature, 
Adivasi.  The claim put forward by Hindutva is 
that these are parts of Hindu society who went to 
jungles to escape the conversion by Muslim kings. 
Due to their long stay in jungles they became 
untouchables and drifted away from the fold of 
Hindu society. This assertion kills many birds in 
one stone. On one side it tries to project that 
despite Aryans coming here from outside, Arctic 
zone, are not foreigners like the Muslims and 
Christians. Then aggressiveness of Muslim Kings 
is restated and the inner cruelty of Brahminical 
Hinduism is hidden as Adivasi 'problem' is 
projected to be coming from outside. A shifting 
of the 'blame' of inner ills to outside forces! 
Another aim achieved through this formulation is 
to bring Adivasis to Hindu fold and claim that 
its not a conversion but mere Ghar Vapasi, 
returning home, of these wretched of the earth. 
At the same time for the political project of 
intimidating the Christian missionaries working 
in the villages a ground is prepared to attack 
them as foreigners.

The forays of Sangh in Adivasi areas intensified 
from mid eighties when it was realized that by 
directly attacking dalits, the way they were 
attacked in 1980 and 1986 in Gujarat through 
caste violence, will be counterproductive at 
electoral level. The strategy evolved was to 
'use' them as foot soldiers against Muslim 
minorities. At the same time electoral arithmetic 
brought to their attention this substantial chunk 
of population of Adivasis trying to come up 
through modern education and thereby disturbing 
the status quo, prevalent in the far off 
villages. Its here that the Christian 
missionaries were perceived as a big threat to 
the project of Sangh, which wants to maintain 
status quo vis a vis Adivasis dalits and women. 
Through the network of schools spread in the far 
off areas these Missionaries, whatever be their 
own motives, were instrumental in getting a 
section of Adivasis empowered and in the process 
the upper caste affluent base of Sangh was 
getting jittery.
The posting of RSS volunteers into the forest 
work was very systematic. Apart from attacking 
the Christian missionaries as foreigners the Ghar 
vapasi was brought in at a big scale in all the 
Adiviasi areas scattered from Gujarat to MP to 
Orissa. Around this time many a swamis, descended 
in these areas, Lakkhanand in Phulbani area, 
Aseemanand in Dangs, Asaram disciples in Jhabau 
and many other such efforts were unleashed.  In 
Adivasi areas they resorted to intimidation, you 
are Hindus, Hindu rituals are like this and so 
these have to part of your life. Dilip Singh 
Judeo, of the 'God is money' fame, of 
Chattisgarhg, had the record number of Adiviasis 
converted in to Hinduism by newly devised 
baptizing techniques.

At the same time Hanuman was popularized as the 
God in this area and lately Shabri, the destitute 
women who had the privilege of offering wild 
berries to Lord Ram is being projected as the 
Goddess of Adivasis. The cultural symbolism 
cannot be missed in the selection of these 
deities. Hanuman was the unquestioning devotee of 
Lord Ram, with muscular power as the main virtue. 
He is capable of flying while carrying a huge 
mountain. But all the more he is carrying the 
mountain because he cannot identify the herb 
needed for treatment of Laxman, Lord's younger 
brother. This is what is the signal to Adivisis, 
unquestioning loyalty to Lord Ram, no need to 
have education. So what are the Christian 
missionaries doing here? Why should they be 
trying to educate you? They are foreigners. So 
Pastor Stains is picked up for the treatment 
which they want to meted out to the white robed 
priests and nuns.

Shabri, the embodiment of poverty is being 
glorified on purpose. Your great ancestress had 
the privilege to offer wild berries to the Lord. 
She is your role model, poor, powerless and with 
blind reverence and devotion for the upper caste. 
The recently held festival in Subir, Dangs 
district of Gujarat, celebrated Shabri and lakhs 
of Advasis were brought from neighboring Adivasi 
areas for the festival. The local people were 
scared that Sangh's festival may create the 
trouble and they may try to forcibly do the 
conversions to Hinduism. It was declared that 
Christians and Muslim are foreigners and are a 
threat to Hindu religion. This Kumbh is meant to 
protect the Hindus from the foreigners. In the 
beginning it was announced that conversions are 
the aim of Kumbh and than silence was kept on 
this point once various groups questioned their 
motives. This was boldly stated in the CD 
produced by Shabri Kumbh organizers.  By the time 
the court ruling came to ban this CD was given, 
lakhs of its copies were already circulated and 
had the desired effect of threatening the 
Christianity community.
The Shabri samiti distributed saffron flags to 
the villagers and spread the word that those who 
do not put the flag will be regarded as anti 
Hindu, those who do not visit the Kumbh will also 
be regarded as anti Hindu. In this intimidating 
atmosphere the intervention of Human rights 
groups resulted in the Central government sending 
its observers. Also the Adivasi leaders realized 
the game being played by Sangh and mercifully a 
large section of native adivasis kept away from 
the festival. But Sangh has succeeded in 
spreading the seeds of hate and intimidation far 
and wide.

During Kumbh the inflammatory speeches were 
delivered by different leaders of Sangh. It 
remains to be seen as to what will be the long 
term impact of this festival. One thing is sure 
that the whole Adivasi area at some level has 
been shaken by this festival in which the major 
organizers were the city based traders, 
contractors and other supporters of Sangh.  The 
native Adivasi festivals and gods are being 
undermined in various ways. Adivasis never used 
to have the temple or place of prayer within the 
four walls, most of their Gods were in the open. 
The festivals, dancing and feasting also were 
held in the open. With the new influence things 
are changing. The rift between the 'Hindu' and 
'Christian' Adivasis is widening which surely 
will have adverse impact on the life in the area. 
In pursuance of the same tactics, now summer 
festival and Anjani mahotsav (festival) are being 
planned. Anjani, mother of Hanuman was never the 
object of veneration. Now she will be occupying a 
place amongst the deities.

During the festival of Shabri (Feb 11-13) in 
Ghubadiya, a place near Subir, the graveyard was 
dug up, the crosses on the graves were burnt. Not 
much notice of this has been taken in the local 
media and administrative circles. The increasing 
influence of Sangh and the religiosity is taking 
deeper turns. One understands that from the 
villages young girls in the age groups of 14-15 
are being picked up to be trained as Sadhvis who 
can give recitation of Ramayana and other Hindu 
scriptures. The whole emphasis is on the cultural 
manipulation and the basic issues of Adivasis 
like land, education and health are being 
cleverly sidetracked through this 
culturo-religious manipulation.
One can see the social engineering in practice. 
The positive experience is that it seems that 
intervention of Human rights groups can partly 
change the direction of events in a healthy 
direction. Just before the Kumbh, human rights 
teams had investigated and put out a reort, which 
was taken note of by the authorities and local 
leaders. This put the Gujarat Government and 
Hindutva forces on the defensive. THeexpected 
turn out did not materialize and even the Ghar 
Vapasi was muted. The scare amongst the 
minorities was a bit less and the event passed 
off relatively peacefully as Hindutva forces had 
to be restrained. Question is, are the human 
rights groups willing, do they want to bring the 
real Adivasi issues on the social focus? Can we 
ask for social auditing of the activities of the 
religio-cultural groups working in these areas? 
Can we halt the process of spreading hate against 
the minorities in these areas?


____

[8]    UPCOMING EVENTS:

(i)

The Other Media
A- 1 / 125,  Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi 110029
E-mail: advocacy at theothermedia.org

and

Shwe Gas Pipeline Campaign Committee (India)
       

7th April 2006


Subject: Invitation to Two - Days Seminar on Shwe 
Gas Pipeline Project - Implications on India and 
Burma

Dear Sir/ Madam

Burma has been confronted with brutal military 
regimes and its people have been at the receiving 
end of the most barbaric repression and systemic 
violence by successive military regimes. The 
distress of people of Burma have been compounded 
by the indifference of the international 
Community with most states choosing geo-political 
expediency over human rights and aligning with 
the ruling military junta. The growing bonhomie 
between the military junta and the neighbouring 
governments and giant multinational corporations 
has proved to be a major stumbling block in the 
quest for democracy in Burma.

Shwe Gas Pipeline Project conceived in August 
2000. India got involved in the project when in 
January 2002, Indian PSUs ONGC Videsh and GAIL, 
Ltd agreed to purchase 20% and 10% respectively 
of the stake. Indian involvement and interest in 
the Shwe Gas project is a reflection of its 
growing clamour for energy.

However, there is a need to reconcile the 
imperatives of energy with our commitment to 
questions of human rights, democracy, 
participatory decision-making and environmental 
health. The project for pipeline from Burma to 
India is likely to have tremendous 
socio-political ramifications in the region of 
Arakan State in Myanmar and the states of Mizoram 
and Tripura. As experience with two previous 
international Burmese gas pipeline projects -- 
the Yadana and the Yetagun -- suggest, the Shwe 
Project is likely to result in increased 
militarization, forced relocation of villagers, 
forced labour, torture, rape and extra judicial 
killings and other forms of human rights 
violation.

Delhi based The Other Media and Shwe Gas Pipeline 
Campaign Committee (India) are jointly organizing 
a Two - Days Seminar on "Shwe Gas Pipleline 
Project - Implications on India and Burma" at 
Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi on 17th & 18th 
April 2006 (Mon & Tue) from 9:00 a.m. onwards 
with the aim of analyzing the history of previous 
energy projects in Burma, their impact on the 
military junta and the democratic space in the 
country. The Seminar would examine the impact of 
energy projects on communities and juxtapose 
these stark realities against the imperative of 
international politics of energy and aim to 
create a coalition of activists and 
socio-political actors and a durable platform 
that would set the ball rolling for a sustained 
advocacy and campaign programme against the 
continued Indian involvement in the Shwe Gas 
Pipeline Project.

We are happy to invite you to the seminar. We 
solicit your participation in view of your vast 
expertise and experience and hope to benefit from 
your valued suggestions and comments.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Ravi Hemadri
Executive Director
The Other Media


o o o

(ii)

J&K Coalition of Civil Society  
Office: The Bund Amira Kadal, Srinagar - 190001
Jammu and Kashmir

   
      "Self Determination Day"  
   The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil 
Society is observing April 20th as "Self 
Determination Day" this year. On April 20th  2004 
we lost our colleague Aasia Jeelani in a landmine 
blast. We observe this day each year to remember 
the martyrs and victims who died in the course of 
the struggle to realize our people's inalienable 
right to self-determination. It is also an 
occasion when we reiterate our commitment to 
carry on the struggle for its realization.
   
   In 2005, the JKCCS observed April 20th as 
"Kashmir Solidarity Day", in which people 
associated with various movements and civil 
society groups from across India and J&K 
participated. Being, first such observance we 
wanted people to reaffirm their commitment to the 
struggle to realize the right of 
self-determination and to invite support from 
outside J&K to our cause. Thirty-nine people from 
India participated then. Amongst the participants 
were poet and writer Varavara Rao from Hyderabad 
(AP), Prof. Babbiya from Bangalore (Karnataka), 
Nawkiran Singh (Punjab) etc. Local representation 
was marked by the presence of Trade union 
leaders, Teacher's union, Members of Bar 
Association and several social organizations from 
different regions of J&K, as well as prominent 
personalities such as Ved Bhasin, were 
noteworthy. 
   
   This year, however, the focus is on the 
prospects of Indo-Pak 'peace process' from the 
perspective of realizing our right of 
self-determination. Therefore, the theme of the 
seminar this year will be: "Can the Current Peace 
Process Help Realize the Right of 
Self-Determination"? Our intention is that all of 
us who uphold this right of our people, or those 
from outside J&K, who support this demand, 
discuss this subject. 
   
   We expect you/your organization to participate in the daylong seminar.

Parvez Imroz
President
J&K Coalition of Civil Society

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

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