SACW | Oct. 15-16, 2006 | Pakistan Military Rule illegit; Nepal Ethnic danger; India: communal danger
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Sun Oct 15 20:42:38 CDT 2006
South Asia Citizens Wire | October 15-16, 2006 | Dispatch No. 2302
[1] Pakistan: "We are tired of military rule" - A statement by some
concerned citizens
[2] Nepal: Ethnic-based federal autonomy may open up another can of
worms (JB Pun)
[3] India: Kashmiriyat to fight against the communal assault by
religious fanatics (Madanjeet Singh)
[4] India - Hindutva: Gujarat 2006 is deadlier than 2002.(Prashant Jha)
[5] India: Mangalore communal violence - Appeal for Support
(Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum)
[6] India: Malegaon Bomb Blasts: Who Is to Blame? (SANN Press Release)
[7] India: Ganesh Devy and The Battle For The Gujarati Mind (Apoorvanand)
[8] Upcoming Events:
(i) Religious Absolutism / Antinomian Lives
perspectives on women, fundamentalism and freedom - a seminar
(London, 26 October 2006)
____
[1]
sacw.net - October 16, 2006
http://www.sacw.net/free/PakcitizensOct2006.html
"WE ARE TIRED OF MILITARY RULE"
A statement by some concerned Pakistani citizens
Greatly alarmed at the current state of affairs in the country, we,
the undersigned, members of civil society, are addressing the people
of Pakistan.
It is sad that even after 48 years after the first military coup, we
are back to square one. Civil society lies at the feet of the army.
At a time when leadership is desperately needed to cope with matters
of vital importance and put the country back on the democratic path,
Pakistan is ruled by a General in uniform who lacks both legitimacy
and credibility.
Seven years after General Musharraf toppled an elected government and
captured political power, the nightmare is not over yet. The result
is the mess we are in today. A sense of defeat hangs over Pakistan.
Today Pakistan has a disjointed, lopsided, topsy-turvy, hybrid
political system - a non-sovereign rubber stamp parliament, a General
in uniform as "President", and a figurehead Prime Minister - General
Musharraf's calls "pure democracy". The people of Pakistan did not
deserve this government because they had no choice in the matter.
The bottom line is becoming inescapable: thanks to corrupt,
unprincipled politicians, ever ready to do business with the military
ruler, General Musharraf will continue to rule 160 million people of
Pakistan as a dictator with a democratic fatade.
The foundations of the 1973 Constitution have been shaken by a
power-hungry General with the help of corrupt politicians and a
pliant judiciary. He has turned the parliament and the judiciary into
a
fig-leaf for unconstitutional and illegal practices.
In an effort to acquire political support, General Musharraf, has
openly identified himself and the Pakistan army with one political
party. The Pakistan army is a people's army. It is not so much an arm
of the Executive branch as it is an arm of the people of Pakistan. It
is the only shield we have against foreign aggression. It is the only
glue that is keeping our fragile federation together. Why politicise
it? Why expose it to the rough and tumble of politics? Why use it as
an instrument for grabbing and retaining political power Today the
biggest single burning issue before the country is how to reclaim the
army from its abuse by a power-hungry junta who want to use it as an
instrument for retaining political power.
Instead of extricating the army from the Waziristan quagmire where
the American-led war against "terrorists" has resulted in the killing
of innocent men, women and children, including security personnel,
and the permanent alienation of Wazir and Mahsud tribesmen, General
Musharraf jumped into the Baluch quicksand and opened a second
"Front" against his own people in Baluchistan resulting in the tragic
death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Similarly the much trumpeted
accountability is a farce. Today, known corrupt holders of public
office are General Musharraf's political allies and members of his
cabinet. Even the economy shows little perceptible sign of recovery.
Poverty has deepened. Educated unemployment is on the rise.
Investors' confidence has not been restored, partly because the law
and order situation shows no sign of improvement and nobody knows
what the future shape of things will look like.
It is now abundantly clear that free, fair and impartial elections
cannot be held in this country, if General Musharraf remains in
power. We believe that Pakistan cannot survive except as a democratic
state based on the principle of sovereignty of the people. Pakistan
cannot survive except under a constitution which reflects t he
sovereign will of the people, not the whims of one individual person.
Pakistan cannot survive except under a system based on the supremacy
of civilian rule.
Pakistan cannot survive except as a federation based on the willing
consent of all the federating units. Pakistan cannot survive if the
rule of law gives way to the rule of man. Pakistan cannot survive
under military rule, with or without a civilian fatade, because
military rule lacks legitimacy and is an anachronism in the 21st
century. There are times in the life of a people or a nation - when
the political climate demands that we overtly take sides. We believe
that such times are upon us. A time bomb is ticking in Pakistan. The
country is in deep, deep trouble. General Musharraf is not in tune
with the zeitgeist of Pakistan. There comes a time when people get
tired. We say today to those, who have ruled us so long without our
consent, that freedom from army rule is not negotiable; that their
interest and the interest of Pakistan do not coincide, that we are
tired of military rule, tired of tyranny, tired of being humiliated,
tired of being deprived of our right to elect our rulers. We say to
them: enough! enough!
We have no alternative but to stand up and fight. for a new Pakistan
- free, open, democratic, and a dynamic, developed, and steady
country, standing on its own feet, in control of its destiny,
genuinely respected by its neighbours and the democratic world. A
country with a future. We can wake up today or we can have a rude
awakening sooner than we think.
1. Sher Baz Mazari
2. Justice (Retd.) M. A. Samdani
3. Justice (Retd.) Tariq Mahmood
4. Hamid Khan, Former President Supreme Court Bar Association
5. Dr.Pervez A. Hoodbhoy
6. Dr. Kaiser Bengali
7. Ahmad Faraz
8. Mairaj Muhammad Khan
9. Masood Mufti, Civil Servant (Retd.), Author
10. Barrister Baachaa
11. Ambassador Amir Usman
12. Ambassador Mansoor Alam
13. Safdar Siddiqui, Author
14. Roedad Khan, Civil Servant (Retd.), Columnist, Environmentalist
_____
[2]
Nepali Times
No 318 - October 6, 2006
NEPAL: RACE FOR IDENTITY
ETHNIC-BASED FEDERAL AUTONOMY MAY OPEN UP ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS
by JB Pun
The restoration of democracy in April has prompted Nepal's plethora
of ethnic, regional and linguistic groups to press for
self-determination and autonomy. But political scientists warn that
identity-based federalism may lead to fragmentation and perhaps even
ethno-separatist conflict in future.
The Maoists, who felt sidelined by the restoration of parliament and
the pace at which it passed dramatic legislations since April, have
tried to remain relevant by strongly pushing for autonomous ethnic
regions. Even non-Maoist indigenous organisations, ethnic minorities
and marginalised groups have found common cause with the rebels.
Together, they tried unsuccessfully to push elements of ethnic
regionalism into the draft interim constitution, and various groups
struggling for indigenous autonomy have been holding public meetings
calling for radical state restructuring along ethnic lines.
But neither the Maoists nor the various ethnic-based groups seem to
be clear about how ethnic regionalism will work in practice in a
country with such racial and caste heterogeneity within districts and
regions.
For instance, when the Chepang Union held its conference in Chitwan
in July it said it wanted 'self-determination with ethnic autonomy'
in the 29 VDCs where an estimated 52,000 Chepangs live in Chitwan,
Gorkha, Dhading and Makwanpur. But some of these are districts are
also claimed by the Tamang Autonomous Region.
Similarly, there are misgivings among the Tharu and other tarai
communities about the Maoist Autonomous Madhes region that would
encompass the entire tarai from east to west. Even the use of the
word Madhes has generated debate among the tarai communities. Madhya
desh is the area between Ganga and Jamuna rivers and over time, the
people from this region started being referred to as Madhesis, which
does not indicate any 'national' or 'ethnic identity', says Khem
Narayan Chaudhary, president of the Tharu Kalyankarini Sabha. In fact
a Maoist-breakaway faction called the Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha
is already fighting both the Maoists and the state, and assassinated
RPP MP Krishna Charan Shrestha just before Dasain.
The ethnic regions carved out by the Maoists for the Gurungs, Magars,
and Kirats also overlap, and autonomy could lay the seed of
unprecedented inter-ethnic conflict in future, experts say. The
communal riots that followed the massacre of 12 Nepali workers in
Iraq in September 2004 proved that ethnic violence can easily be
stoked.
In fact, in many of the regions set aside for particular ethnicities,
those groups are themselves minorities. Magars, Tharus, Tamang, Newar
and Gurungs each have majorities in only one district each within
their regions, for instance.
In an interview before he was killed in the helicopter crash last
month, ethnicity expert Harka Gurung told us: "It's not enough to say
'Limbuwan' or 'Tamuwan'. You have to decide where to demarcate the
borders of these regions. So you can have endless debates for
political reasons about whether these divisions are ethnic or
geographic, but the key question is whether these regions can be
truly autonomous."
There is no denying that successive governments in Nepal ever since
unification have refused to devolve power. There was extreme
marginalisation of certain ethnic and caste groups, and centuries of
neglect of remote regions and exploitation of tarai resources by
feudal rulers in Kathmandu.
Some, like political scientist Krishna Bhattachan, believe that
ethnic autonomy should not be seen as synonymous with separatism. "If
you offer genuine autonomy it won't bring separatism, in fact it will
prevent it" he says.
KIRAN PANDAY
WARNING: Various janjati organisations demonstrate outside
Singha Darbar on 31 May to caution the government to pay serious
attention to indigenous rights.
The sudden upsurge in demands for ethnic autonomy after the collapse
of the royal regime is partly political posturing by various
identity-based groups. Political parties have also been tempted by
ethnic populism and are trying to take advantage while the Maoists
are using the ethnic card as a bargaining chip. All this could be
dangerous, analysts say, because it threatens to turn Nepal's class
war into a caste war.
There is near-unanimity among academics and politicians that some
form of federalism is needed to correct historic Kathmandu-centric
governance.
But the question is whether a future federal structure should be
demarcated along ethnic lines or by regions. At the moment, the
voices of those calling for non-ethnic autonomous regions are muted.
Yet, true regional autonomy would kill two birds with one stone:
guaranteeing political devolution while giving proportional
representation to marginalised groups.
Bahun-Chhetris have dominated the political process, but still
account for more than 50 percent of the population in 18 districts
and more than 20 percent in 62 districts. Regional federalism would
be fair to everyone, some experts feel, without swinging to the other
extreme and sowing the seeds of future conflict by creating new
exclusions.
A more-inclusive politics will, however, first need the political
parties to have greater internal diversity. The Nepali Congress and
UML are both dominated by so called high-caste figures and even the
top Maoist leadership doesn't reflect ethnic or gender diversity.
Krishna Khanal, professor of political science at Tribhuban
University, is convinced that given Nepal's ethnic and linguistic
diversity ethnic-based federalism would be a mistake. A better way
would be to set up a federal structure for regional autonomy that
would guarantee ethnic representation. He adds: "This way you don't
risk communal conflict, and you provide indigenous groups with the
chance to govern. The issue should be equity, not race politics."
Such a structure could be based on King Birendra's five 'development
regions', which could serve as federal units for regional governance.
The indigenous and marginalised groups would have a say within these
autonomous regions and also be present in a future federal parliament
under proportional representation mechanisms.
Nepal's past experience shows that whenever governance has been
takeaway from Kathmandu to the districts and the grassroots, it has
worked better. So future federal structures have a better chance of
ensuring accountability and good governance by giving hitherto
neglected groups a say in the decision-making process.
"It is past exclusion in the political process that has given rise to
this demand for ethnic autonomy," explains geographer Pitambar
Sharma, "it is certain we now need federalism. But it should be
geographical federalism, not ethnic-based federalism and these
federal units should have a mechanism to give indigenous groups fair
representation."
_____
[3]
KASHMIRIYAT TO FIGHT AGAINST THE COMMUNAL ASSAULT
Keynote message by Madanjeet Singh to be read at the international
seminar (29-31 october), organized by the Centre for Kashmir Studies,
Srinagar.
I am greatly honoured by the invitation from the recently established
Centre for Kashmir Studies, Srinagar, and the kind suggestion by Lt.
Gen. S. K. Sinha, Governor, Jammu and Kashmir, asking me to send a
message to this very important seminar which I am unable to attend
for health reasons.
For many years I wondered about India's unity in diversity. I was
born in Lahore, now Pakistan, and went to primary school in Benares
where my father served as a professor at the Hindu University before
moving to high school in Trivandrum (where my father was later
employed by the Maharaja of Travancore). My childhood impressions
clashed with one other as I tried to make sense of the subcontinent's
common culture. The students at the Benares Hindu University came
from all parts of South Asia, including present-day Bangladesh and
Pakistan, as well as from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Mostly we lived in
groups, speaking our own language, wearing our own regional clothes
and eating our own food in separate mess halls. The classroom and the
sports fields were the only common areas where we met and interacted.
BHU seemed like a microcosm of South Asia , a huge banyan tree whose
branches and roots represented many ethnic cultures.
It was not until I came to Kashmir in 1948, from where my ancestors
originally hailed, that I began to truly understand that the fulcrum
of our common culture was our oral and intangible heritage. Here I
had the good fortune to meet the 'coolie poet' Aasi, an illiterate
labourer performing menial jobs in Srinagar. His secular poetry had
inspired all communities, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, to
form a cultural front against the kabaili (tribal) terrorists who
invaded the valley in 1948. He was the devotee of Kashmir's patron
Sufi saint, Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani, and often went to pray in his
shrine, one floor of which was used as a temple and the other as a
mosque.
My Kashmir experience was further enriched when I became a director
of the Culture Sector of UNESCO in Paris, briefly in charge of the
History of Mankind, conceived by Julian Huxley in 1946. At this time,
a large number of developing countries wanted to highlight their oral
heritage. They felt that the largely Western-oriented history needed
to be revised 'to ensure that traditional methods of historical
research, based on written sources, were used side-by-side with
critical methods adapted to the use of oral sources and contribution
from archaeology'. Since this time, the history has been revised and
renamed the History of Humanity.
Historically, India covered the whole of South Asia. The early
inhabitants of the subcontinent named it after the mighty river
Sindhu, which in Sanskrit means 'like an ocean'. Later, the Greeks
named it Indus, and thus in the course of time the whole of South
Asia came to be known by the generic name of India.
Dr. Khawaja has rightly stated that Kashmiriyat cannot be studied in
isolation without relating it to its broader historical and
geographical context, particularly the deeply-rooted cultural links
with Central and South Asia.
In Kashmir, as in much of India, it was not until the widespread
Bhakti movement interacted with the Islamic mysticism of Sufism that
an Indian 'renaissance'flourished, inspiring superb poetry and
literature in regional languages. Many Kashmiri poets were women like
Lalla, or Lal Ded (from the fourteenth century), Hubb Khatun (from
the sixteenth century), and Arani-mal (from the eighteenth century).
They were famous for their hauntingly beautiful lyrics. There is much
Sufi literature written by Muslims in Kashmir, commencing with the
Islamic invocation of Allah, which nevertheless betrays strong Bhakti
influences.
Fearing a Muslim backlash, Germany's most prestigious opera house
recently cancelled all performances of Mozart's 'Idomeneo' an opera
featuring a scene with the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad. This
followed in the wake of protests against both the publication of a
cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a headdress packed with
explosives and remarks made by the German-born pope, Benedict XVI,
about Islam and violence. The decision to cancel the opera provoked a
barrage of criticism from the public as well as from Chancellor
Angela Merkel. They accused the opera house, which opened in 1912, of
bowing to intimidation, and thereby dealing a blow to Berlin's
long-standing tradition of artistic freedom and cultural expression.
Surprisingly, at a landmark Islamic conference which took place in
Berlin on 27 September 2006, thirty representatives drawn equally
from the government and Germany's Muslim population pushed for the
reinstatement of the Mozart opera, and even agreed to go together and
see the show. In some ways, the storm over the opera energized the
conference.
"There was general agreement that we would like to see the opera come
back," said Mehmet Yildrim, Secretary General of the Turkish-Islamic
Union, which represents the majority community comprising over 3
million of Germany's 81 million people. These people had immigrated
from Kemal Ataturk's secular Turkey, which has modernized its legal
and educational systems and raised the status of women.
Wolfgang Schauble, the interior minister who organized and led the
Islamic conference as part of the government's strategy to start a
dialogue with the community, supports the teaching of Islam in
schools. But he also insists that Muslim school girls be allowed to
take physical education, a practice that some conservative Muslim
families resist. He has warned Muslim leaders that they must abide by
the German Constitution and the principles of a democratic society.
This is a good example of a policy in tune with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's efforts to amicably solve communal problems through
dialogue among all sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, these efforts face continual opposition from communal
fanatics trying to destroy any chance for people to live in peace and
harmony.
This recalls the horrific communal violence that traumatized northern
India following Partition. During a visit to Srinagar in October
1948, Mahatma Gandhi saw for himself the secular ethos of Kashmir
culture. It prompted his historic remark: "In the darkness engulfing
the sub-continent the only ray of light came from Kashmir."This is
the cherished light that terrorists worldwide are trying to
extinguish and which, like the Olympic torch, must be kept alight and
held high. Institutions such as the Centre of Kashmir Studies can
help keep this light burning bright. It requires all the formidable
intellectual and cultural courage and strength inherent in
Kashmirieyat to fight back against the communal assault by religious
fanatics, whether Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Christian.
Madanjeet Singh
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
Founder, South Asia Foundation
_____
[4]
Hardnews.com
6 October 2006
EVERY MAN A LABORATORY:
GUJARAT 2006 IS DEADLIER THAN 2002. BECAUSE HINDUTVA HAS MANUFACTURED
A NEW DNA BEYOND THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
by Prashant Jha (in Ahmedabad)
Short, stocky, and balding, Babubhai Rajabhai Patel can pass off as a
normal, middle-class trader. Only, he isn't one. Babu Bajrangi, as
Patel likes to be called, says he runs an NGO, Navchetan Sangathan.
Sitting in his 'office' in Ajanta Ellora Complex in Naroda in
Ahemdabad, Bajrangi is surrounded by images of RSS ideologues KS
Hedgewar and Guru Golwalkar, a map of Akhand Bharat, and his own
photographs, with politicians or in public meetings.
Bajrangi claims to be a social worker. "I rescue Hindu women who are
lured by Muslims. I hate such marriages." As soon as Bajrangi gets to
know of any such union, he kidnaps and sends the girl back home; and
beats up the Muslim boy. "It's fun. Only last week, we made one such
man eat his own shit thrice," he says. Bajrangi's operation is
ruthless and effective. He claims to have 'saved' 725 Hindu women
this way. And what about the law? "What I do is illegal, but it is
moral. And anyway, the government is ours."
Perhaps that is the reason that Bajrangi, chief accused in the Naroda
Patiya murder case (during the Gujarat carnage), is out on the
streets and not behind bars. "People say I killed 123 people," says
Bajrangi with a grin. Did you? "How does it matter? They were Muslims
- bloody Pakistanis. They had to die. They are dead."
"The government is ours." Few will doubt Bajrangi's claim. Not
Muslims for sure, for they know Bajrangi might be more extremist than
most, but he represents a mindset that is widespread: the mindset of
the Gandhinagar government's ministers. The mindset of several
Hindus, from the waiter to the auto-driver and the middle-class,
across Gujarat.
The discourse among Muslims has a striking unity. There is no one who
speaks for us. This is not our government. This is their rule - Hindu
rule. What do we do? As an elder in Shah Alam, a Muslim area in
Ahmedabad, puts it, "Our crime is we pray to Allah."
The emotions of Muslims across Gujarat revolves around alienation,
helplessness, and anger. Understandably so, large sections of the
Hindu society, led on by the BJP government, ensure that Muslims
remain second-class citizens.
And that is the story of Gujarat 2006. A tale of a society that is
sharply polarised and prejudices about the 'other' deeply entrenched,
and a state that happily engineers everyday hatred. In its wake, lies
a community that lives in fear. The Gujarat of today is in some
senses more dangerous than the Gujarat of 2002. For here, the
violence is invisible. It operates systematically, as well as subtly,
at the establishment and social level.
The truth is, the Gujarat government has seceded from the Indian
Constitution. It did so in 2002, when the state sponsored mass
violence against Muslims. And contrary to what many think, it has
consistently done so and flaunted it since then. It has tried to
completely subvert the process of justice for 2002 victims, from
distorting FIRs and ensuring faulty investigation, to letting the
accused get away free. With office-bearers of the Sangh Parivar
affiliates doubling up as public prosecutors, it is little surprise
that only 13 out of the 345 cases decided so far have resulted in
convictions.
Even as it fulfils its promise that no harm should come the way of
rioters, the government continues its campaign to harass innocent
Muslims. The fact that the UPA government in Delhi did not ban the
draconian legislation, Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA),
retrospectively has meant that those charged under that law in
Gujarat before 2004 remain in jail. This effectively means that the
secular UPA government, backed by the Left, is playing Narendra
Modi's game.
Maulana Omarji's house is, ironically, on the Station Road in Godhra.
But he doesn't live there. Along with others accused of hatching the
conspiracy and burning the train compartment at the Godhra railway
station on February 27, 2002, he stays some distance away - in
Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. Omarji was arrested one year after the
incident took place - a period in which he was active in organising
relief camps for Muslims, and petitioning national leaders who came
visiting about the injustice meted out to minorities in the state.
Clearly, someone powerful did not like that. A well-respected man and
community leader against whom there is no evidence, Maulana Omarji is
charged with POTA.
His young and articulate son, Saeed, is quite frustrated. "What is
the fault of Muslims in India? I am so angry with the system here,
including the judiciary." Everything is stacked up against Muslims in
India, feels Saeed. "I am an Indian and will never be disloyal to my
country. But I feel our parents and grandparents made a mistake by
staying on here. We should have gone to Pakistan." It is a striking
comment, revealing the manner in which a fascist state is pushing
people into a corner.
Half-an-hour from Godhra lies Kalol -- a site of major violence in
2002. This reporter met Mukhtar Mohammad at the Kalol police station.
Active in organising relief camps, Mukhtar has been working to get
justice for the victims. Something that did not go down too well with
the state authorities. Framed under, what by all accounts, is a false
'rape case', he is stuck making rounds of police stations and
magistrates and has to spend occasional nights, and at times,
extended periods in jail. He says, "They want to break any kind of
leadership that emerges among the Muslims, especially those who are
moderate, and want to fight politically, constitutionally and
legally."
Indeed, there is a pattern in which the Gujarat government is acting
against Muslims. The Hindutva forces have no problems if the
influence of the Muslim conservative religious organisations
increases because it helps strengthen their stereotypes about
Muslims. What they do not want is an articulate, liberal voice among
Muslims that speaks the language of democratic rights and claims
equal citizenship.
The regime targets innocent Muslims not just by framing false cases.
Discrimination is spread across all realms. Juhapura is the largest
Muslim ghetto in Ahmedabad with more than 300,000 people. Yet, it has
no bank, state transport buses take a detour to avoid crossing
through it, and there are no public parks or libraries. OBC
communities among the Muslims in Gujarat find it difficult to get
certain certificates. The saffronisation of the bureaucracy and local
power structures, points out scholar Achyut Yagnik, has meant that
panchayats, co-operatives, agrarian produce markets and government
schemes have become sites for discrimination against Muslims.
What is more alarming is the fact that this discrimination has larger
social sanction. There is pride about the 2002 toofan among many
Hindus - we taught them a lesson, crushed; the world should learn how
to deal with miyas from us, are oft-heard remarks. And the increasing
distance between the two communities, both in the minds and
physically, has not helped matters.
Most cities and towns in Gujarat are completely divided into Hindu
and Muslim areas; a street corner, a divider in the middle of the
road, a wall, or just a turn acting as borders. If it was difficult
for a Muslim to find a house in Hindu areas before the killings, it
is impossible now.
Sophia Khan is a well-known woman activist in Ahmedabad. Her office
was in Narayanpura, an upmarket Hindu area. A month ago, when
neighbours in her office complex got to know of her faith, they asked
her to vacate immediately. Putting up a fight was no use in the face
of constant harassment. She has now shifted to Juhapura. "My house is
in a Muslim area. My office is now in a Muslim area. My Hindu
employee is being pressurised by her family to resign, because they
don't like her coming to a Muslim area. And my work revolves around
Muslim women. This is how they want to push an entire community into
a corner," says Khan.
The segregation has spread to other realms as well, leading to
absence of contact and interaction between the two communities and
breeding stereotypes and intolerance. The most visible realm is the
fewer number of mixed schools in Ahmedabad which have a fair number
of Hindus and Muslims. Discrimination on religious lines, coupled
with the desire of parents to send children to schools where there
are 'more of our people' has further boosted this trend. Pankaj
Chandra, professor at Indian Institute of Management, is worried.
Brought up in the composite Ganga-Jamuni culture of Allahabad in
Uttar Pradesh, he says, "My children may graduate from school without
knowing a single Muslim. Imagine how easy it will be to build
stereotypes then."
When this reporter, with his long, unkempt beard, walked into an
elite government colony in Ahmedabad to meet a senior official, three
kids parked their bicycles right in front. One screamed aloud,
"Terrorist." Why? "Because you are a Musalman," he responded. So?
"All Muslims are terrorists. My father is a judge. He will call you
terrorist in court." Really? "Yes. And get out of here. This is a
Hindu area." Sauyajya is 12-year-old and has not met a single Muslim
in his life. No one knows how many Sauyajyas are in the making in
Gujarat.
The writer is Assistant Editor, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu.
_____
[5]
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2006/10/mangalore-violence-appeal-_116094619332094351.html
Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike
(Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum)
c/o K.L Ashok, Secretary, Durga Nilaya, 2nd cross, Bapuji Nagar,
Shimoga. Ph: 94482 56216. Email: souharda.vedike[at]gmail.com
------------ ---------
Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike is a coalition of over 200
organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and
fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka.
------------ ---------
10 October 2006
APPEAL FOR SUPPORT
Dear Friends,
The recent spate of communal violence in Mangalore and surrounding
areas in the Dakshin Kannad district in Karnataka has left 2 Muslims
dead and several hundreds fatally injured. The BJP-JD(S) coalition
government took over a week to control the violence.
This is an urgent appeal to all concerned secular voices in India to
react and to come to the aid of people terrorized by the communal
violence unleashed by the Sangh Parivar forces.
Ananth Kumar, the BJP MP from Karnataka, had declared in 2002 that
the Bababudangiri was the Ayodhya of the South. Against the backdrop
of the Gujarat riots in 2002, the implicit reference was to transform
Karnataka into Gujarat. That today has received a boost in Mangalore
and Dakshin Kannad district and is beginning to turn into a
horrendous reality. Clear targeting of the Muslim community through
physical attacks, looting of their shops, stoning mosques,
restaurants and businesses owned by Muslims was in evidence
throughout. Though curfew was imposed, the police refused to
intervene in several instances, and when they did, Muslims were
specifically arrested. The Home Minister of the State, M.P. Prakash,
brushed aside the incidents by saying that communal voices exist
within the police forces as well and there was little that the
Government could do about it.
What adds to the alarm is that the recent spate of violence follows
years of communal tension created by the Sangh Parivar in the entire
coastal belt. Under the excuse of upholding the ban on cow slaughter,
the Sangh Parivar have repeatedly taken the law into their hands over
the years. They have attacked Muslims, stripped them, paraded them
naked, beaten them up, harassed women and looted their shops - all in
the name of religion. Despite this history of communal tension that
existed in the district, the Police and the State Government have not
taken any serious action. Though cases have been filed in police
stations, hardly any have resulted in the convictions of the accused
persons further endorsing the communal nature of the police.
The immediate provocation for last week's violence was the assault by
Bajrang Dal members' of five people who were transporting cattle to a
slaughter house. The Sangh Parivar immediately announced a bandh the
next day when the actual rioting began. The fact that such violent
bandhs are announced and enforced in our democratic and secular India
is astonishing. This week also saw retaliation by Muslims against the
Sangh Parivar forces. The communal clashes that took place could
havealore been avoided had the Police acted on time.
Over the last few years, Sangh Parivar has attempted to destroy the
secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on
Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur. An example of syncretic traditions in
the state, the shrine attracts people of different faiths seeking
their God in a common shrine. Baba-Datta shrine is a unique and
glorious symbol of secularism and tolerance.
The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the cave shrine on Bababudangiri
with the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of
'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their
narrow sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes,
putting up historically untenable and legally unsubstantial
arguments. To prove their point that the shrine once belonged only to
Hindus, they have introduced previously non-existent religious
practices like Datta-Male, Shobha Yatre and Datta Jayanthi every year
in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious that
their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the
Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent on destroying the
'Hindu' tradition and culture.
Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike has consistently thwarted the
intentions of the Sangh Parivar, countering their agenda and exposing
their farcical claims about the shrine.
It appears now as if the Sangh Parivar is seeking fresh grounds to
implement their ideology of hatred. With the BJP in the government as
a coalition partner, the need for action becomes even more urgent.
We request you all to:
write to the President to intervene and advise the Central Government
to take necessary action against a State government which remains a
mute spectator to the communal clashes, silently supporting the Hindu
right wing forces in Mangalore.
write to the Prime Minister to remind him as the leader of the
country and in the event of failure of the State Government to
maintain law and order, it is his duty to accord protection to all
sections of society.
Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike calls for:
A ban on the Hindu right-wing organizations such as Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Bajrang Dal and other for continually provocating communal
violence and disturbing the law and order of the society.
A judicial inquiry into the riots to look into and take cognizance of
the violence that has left 2 people dead and injured several others.
This is the only way we can ensure that the victims are assured
justice.
Adequate compensation to be provided to all the victims of the
communal violence in the districts immediately.
_____
[6]
Sabrang Alternative News Network
October 13, 2006
Malegaon Bomb Blasts: Who Is to Blame?
PRESS RELEASE
'My son, who was scheduled to complete his MBBS was one of the
victims who's life ended on September 8, 2006. It is not only my
loss, but a loss to the nation.' Said Shafiq Ahmed of his son, Sajid
who was meant to leave for China in a few weeks where he was to
pursue his MBBS. Mr. Shafiq Ahmed, was the first speaker, " Malegaon
Blasts: Who Is to be Blame ?" a public meeting organised at the KC
College Mumbai on October 10. Mr. Ahmed had recently rejected the
cheque offered by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. In his opening
remarks, he vociferously accused successive governments of neglecting
Malegaon, which has become a laawaris city, lacking not only in
industrial and educational development but basic civic infrastructure
such as adequate public hospitals. He demanded justice for the
citizens of Malegaon.
Most speakers including Javed Akhtar, lyricist, Justice Kolse Patil,
Vilas Sonawane, responsible for setting up the Muslim OBC front in
the state, SM Mushrif, former Commissioner of Police, Pune and Teesta
Setalvad, co-editor, Communalism Combat, repeatedly accused the
investigating agency of communal bias and also criticized the media
for perpetuating the Muslim equals terrorist myth and not acting
responsibly in reporting events.
Malauana Azhari directed sharp criticism towards police in Malegaon
who maintained high vigilance in patrolling the town during the
Ganpati festival, but failed to provide similar security after Ganesh
Visarjan on 6th September. On Shab-e-baraat, Friday, 8th September
there were no police patrolling or security measures in place.
Maulana Azari said he was in favour of keeping a close watch on SIMI,
however, he demanded that the police also keep an equally close watch
on the activities of VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS. Mr. Naseem Siddiqui,
State Minorities Commission Chairman, suggested that there be
mechanisms involving NGOs and/or Human Rights bodies for monitoring
of police investigations while they were taking
place.
Mr. S. M. Mushrif, a retired IPS officer, spoke at length about the
need to revamp the Intelligence Bureau wing of the police,
nationally. The IB he said was one of the most powerful agencies
that fed disinformation to the executive and according to him was
also victim of deep-seated bias in recent years. The role of the IB,
he said, must be to provide specific intelligence on events and not
be a vehicle of general rumour-mongering against sections of the
people. Instead he stated, the IB was often the source of spreading
unsubstantiated rumours that led to these reports then being quoted
in the media. The media too must not be an instrument of the police
or the government disinformation but work to investigate and provide
different perspectives and substantiated theories.
Ms. Teesta Setalvad's said that durable peace was not possible
without justice. She drew attention to her stody of towns like
Godhra, Mumbra and Malegaon wherein she had observed that such
locales -and wards A,D and E within the city of Mumbai with distinct
Muslim majorities-were victims of socio-economic exclusion that faced
discrimination by administrative authorities. She said that she had
observed that whenever a town or area became a Muslim majority an
'institutionalised prejudice' began working against it.
Ms Setalvad also spoke at length on the issue of discriminatory
justice and pointed out that despite the recommendations of the
Justice Srikrishna Commission report into the 1992-1993 post-Babri
Masjid demolition, no serious prosecutions had been pursued by the
state of Maharashtra despite electoral promises to the contrary. The
media too remained silent on the issues of discriminatory justice,
she said.
Mr. Javed Akhtar expressed bitter disappointment at the state of
affairs in India. The police investigating the Malegaon Blasts were
quick to rule out the possibility that the bombs might have been the
handiwork of Bajrang Dal, which has been active in the Marathwada
region. 'Does RDX have a special stamp establishing its link to
Muslims?' Mr. Akhtar asked. Responding to the recent SMS that has
been circulating since 7/11, which states, "Every Muslim is not a
terrorist, But every terrorist is a Muslim," he asked whether
Naxalites, Maoists, ULFA and LTTE were all Muslims. 'And those who
are responsible for Gujarat riots, were those just firemen then?'
Justice Kolse Patil referred to the 195 kilogram haul of RDX in
Ahmednagar town on September 2 and the strange facts around this
affair. The man who's godown had stocked this was found dead on
September 10 and an employee of his was absconding. He said that the
one-sided attitude of the police and administration itself was proof
that the truth would not be arrived at.
The meeting had been jointly organised by the Maulana Azad Research
Centre, Malegaon, National Awakening for Development of Youth,
Malegaon, Communalism Combat, Citizens for Justice and Peace and
Muslims for Secular Democracy.
o o o [Related News Report]
Asian Age
15 Oct 2006
'POLICE DID NOT PROBE VHP, BAJRANG'
by Our Correspondent
Mumbai, Oct. 14: Most speakers at a seminar on "Malegaon Bomb
Blasts: Who is to Blame?" felt the police would never get at the
truth because of its one-sided attitude: it did not investigate
organisations like the Bajrang Dal, VHP or RSS.
Justice Kolse Patil referred to the haul of 195-kg of RDX in
Ahmednagar town on September 2 and the strange facts surrounding
this affair. "The man whose godown had stocked this was found dead
on September 10 and an employee of his was absconding," he said,
adding, "The one-sided attitude of the police and administration
itself was proof that the truth would not be arrived at."
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said the police officers investigating the
Malegaon blasts were quick to rule out the possibility that the
bombs might have been the handiwork of the Bajrang Dal, which has
been active in the Marathwada region. "Does RDX have a special stamp
establishing its link to Muslims," Mr Akhtar asked. Referring to the
SMS circulating since 7/11 that said "Every Muslim is not a
terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim," he asked whether
Naxalites, Maoists, ULFA and LTTE militants were all Muslims. "Are
those responsible for the Gujarat riots just firemen then," he asked.
The meeting had been jointly organised by the Maulana Azad Research
Centre, Malegaon; National Awakening for Develop-ment of Youth,
Malegaon; Communalism Combat; Citizens for Justice and Peace; and
Muslims for Secular Democracy.
Maulana Azhari said he was in favour of keeping a close watch on
SIMI. However, he demanded that the police also keep an equally
close watch on the activities of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS.
Ms Teesta Setalvad, co-editor of Communalism Combat, said, "Many
questions need to be answered, and one issue is that even the VHP,
Bajrang Dal and RSS were making bombs and were responsible for bomb
blasts in mosques in 2004 and 2005. We are not trying to say Muslims
are not involved in bomb blasts, but an investigating agency cannot
close its eyes and ears to Hindu organisations creating another kind
of terror. We have a right to ask them."
_____
[7]
Tehelka
Oct 14 , 2006
GANESH DEVY AND THE BATTLE FOR THE GUJARATI MIND
Anything Muslim is an encroachment for popular will to raze
by Apoorvanand
A new controversy has arisen in Gujarat. This time around Ganesh
Devy. That the soft-spoken Devy could cause a controversy would
surprise many. But this does not startle those who know the way the
Gujarati mind functions - news like this is yet another instance of
the growing fascistic tendency in the state. The word "Fascism" is
being used here with full responsibility. The Germans had to discover
it for themselves that Hitler was no freak, he was a product of the
German body polity. Narendra Modi is also not an aberration.
The controversy started after Sankarshan Thakur of Tehelka spoke to
Devy after the demolition of a mazar of a Sufi saint in Vadodara by
municipal authorities who claimed they had only razed an
encroachment. Riots broke out. Tracing the source of the growing
violence in Gujarat, Ganesh Devy told Tehelka that there was a
relationship between a society's acquisitive tendency and the
emergence of violence. He also talked about the role of the 'decent'
people in breeding hatred.
Tehelka is not read widely in Gujarat but alert eyes did not fail to
spot the hate campaign against Gujarat by Ganesh Devy. Photocopies
of the piece were circulated and nearly everybody in Gujarati
literature reacted angrily to Devy's comments. Articles appeared in
newspapers and writers made statements demanding that Devy tender a
public apology.
Devy wrote to his friends to keep them informed about this
development but did not want any campaign in his solidarity. We
wanted to respect his decision. He is leading a precarious life in
Gujarat. He has created The Tribal Academy in Tejgadh, 92 km from
Vadodara. He was instrumental in publishing Dhol, a magazine brought
out simultaneously in 10 tribal languages. Through his writing, he
explains to non-tribals why we should get rid of our obsession with
the mission of bringing tribals to the mainstream.
The Tribal Academy is creating a mass of tribal intellectuals who are
defining their own identity - which means that it would not be easy
to integrate them in a larger Hindu identity. The academy is,
therefore, an irritant for the rss, the vhp and for the flag-bearers
of Gujarat Asmita. But Devy believes in a society where cultures
interact. As a strategy, he managed to convince the apex Gujarati
literary body to hold its annual meet at the academy. Now, literary
personalities are demanding that either Devy withdraw his remarks and
apologise failing which the meet would be called off.
This is a not-so-veiled threat to the academy that it would be
ostracised for Devy's remarks. This is also a clever move by the
mainstream intellectuals to create a rift between Devy and the
tribals by conveying to them that he is coming in the way of them
being recognised by the Gujarati mainstream?
This attack on Devy reminds me of a meeting at the Gujarati Sahitya
Parishad in Ahmedadabad in June 2002. We were happy that finally
literary personalities had decided to speak out against the genocide.
Speaker after speaker sang praises of the tolerance religion
preaches. After a while it became unbearable. We were not far from
the spot where Wali Dakani's tomb stood a few days ago, it was
flattened and a road laid on it. And here we were, being served the
lesson on how to be tolerant. The hypocrisy of the whole exercise was
glaring. To puncture it, a proposal was moved asking for the
restoration of the tomb and speedy compensation and rehabilitation of
the genocide victims. The moment these proposals were forwarded, all
hell broke loose. Accusations were made against our intentions. We
were out to vitiate the situation that was returning to normal!
Rationalist writers claimed that the tomb was an encroachment and
angry voices asked us if the quake victims had been compensated
adequately. If not, why were we so worried about the delay in giving
relief to the Muslims. The faces of the very people, who sang paeans
to tolerance, were now distorted by hatred.
Wali's tomb was an encroachment, the Sufi mazar was an encroachment,
anything which comes in the way of a seamless Hindu Gujarati identity
would be stigmatised as an encroachment and then it would be easy to
remove it by popular consent. Wali's tomb is no more, the Vadodara
mazar does not exist anymore. Would the democratic world keep
watching till something similar happens to Ganesh Devy?
Apoorvanand teaches at the Delhi University
_____
[8] Upcoming Events
(i)
XENOS - movement * conflict * dystopia
Department of Sociology, Goldsmiths College, London SE14 6NW
Religious Absolutism /
Antinomian Lives
Key perspectives on women, fundamentalism and freedom - a seminar
5.00pm, 26 October 2006, Room MB 137A,
Goldsmiths College, New Cross, London SE14 6NW.
All welcome - please register and reserve a place by emailing
xenos at gold.ac.uk.
What's God got to do with it? Antinomian resistance and secular feminism
GITA SAHGAL, Women Against Fundamentalism
The Double Discourse: 'Moderate' Muslims and their audiences
CASSANDRA BALCHIN, Women Living Under Muslim Laws
Claiming Spaces: Muslim women speak out
MASJALIZA HAMZA, Sisters in Islam
Faith in the State? Multiculturalism and minority women's rights in the UK
PRAGNA PATEL, Southall Black Sisters
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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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