SACW | Nov. 29, 2006

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  | November 29, 2006 | Dispatch No. 2328 - Year 8

[1]  Sri Lanka: Stop Child Abductions by Karuna 
Group-Government Forces Complicit in Forced 
Recruitment (Human Rights Watch)
[2]  Pakistan:  Can MMA revive ideological politics? (Hasan-Askari Rizvi)
[3]  Bangladesh: Police and Islamic zealots 
prevent baul singers from performing in public 
places
[4]  India: Look forward to the past (Jyotirmaya Sharma)
[5]  India - Book Review: Societal fault lines (V. R. Lakshminarayanan)
[6]  India - Gujarat: [2002 Pogrom] Relief 
package fine, but many still wait for justice (D 
P Bhattacharya & S K Ahmed)
[7]  India: Irom's Iron In The Soul (Kavita Joshi)
[8]  Mobilisation for Forest Rights and Tribals
(i) Sansad Gherao!   Rally (Delhi,  29th November 2006)
(ii) Sansad March by Tribal Women (New Delhi, 4rth December, 2006)
____


[1] 

Human Rights Watch

Press Release

28 November 2006

SRI LANKA: STOP CHILD ABDUCTIONS BY KARUNA GROUP
GOVERNMENT FORCES COMPLICIT IN FORCED RECRUITMENT

(New York, November 28, 2006) - The Sri Lankan 
security forces must immediately stop assisting 
abductions of boys and young men by the Karuna 
group and help those abducted return safely to 
their families, Human Rights Watch said today.

A Human Rights Watch report to be published next 
month finds that the Sri Lankan military and 
police are complicit and, at times, directly 
cooperating with the Karuna group, an armed 
faction that split from the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2004. Led by V. 
Muralitharan, a former Tamil Tiger commander 
known as Karuna, the group has abducted hundreds 
of boys and young men in eastern Sri Lanka this 
year. 

"We have clear and compelling evidence that 
government forces are helping Karuna forces 
abduct boys and young men," said Jo Becker, 
children's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. 
"The government should stop the abductions and 
help kidnapped children go home." 

The allegations of government involvement gained 
major media attention on November 13, when 
Ambassador Allan Rock, a United Nations advisor 
on children and armed conflict, reported in 
Colombo that the Karuna group was abducting 
children in government-controlled areas of the 
east. Concluding a 10-day visit to Sri Lanka, 
Rock found "strong and credible evidence that 
certain elements of the government security 
forces are supporting and sometimes participating 
in the abductions and forced recruitment." The 
ambassador also condemned the Tamil Tigers for 
continuing to recruit children as fighters. 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he 
would order an immediate investigation into 
whether abductions with government involvement 
were taking place. The government would hold 
accountable those found to have violated the law, 
he said. But the military dismissed the charges 
as "biased" and the foreign minister called them 
"unfounded." At a demonstration last week outside 
UN headquarters in Colombo, protesters accused 
Rock of sympathy for the Tamil Tigers. 

Human Rights Watch has long criticized the Tamil 
Tigers, including in a 2004 report "Living in 
Fear," for abducting thousands of boys and girls 
for use in its forces. On Monday November 27, 
Human Rights Watch urged the UN Security Council 
to impose sanctions against the Tamil Tigers and 
armed groups in other countries long known to 
recruit and use child soldiers. The Security 
Council debates the issue today. 

In October, researchers from Human Rights Watch 
found that, by cooperating with the Karuna group 
on abductions, the Sri Lankan government has been 
complicit in the same illegal methods long used 
by the Tamil Tigers. 

The UN children's agency UNICEF has recorded more 
than 130 child abductions by the Karuna group in 
eastern Sri Lanka's Batticaloa district alone 
this year. Other abductions are reported in the 
districts of Ampara and Trincomalee. UNICEF 
estimates the real number of child abductions is 
three times higher, because many families are too 
afraid to report the kidnappings for fear of 
reprisals. 

Human Rights Watch investigated more than 20 
child abduction cases by interviewing witnesses 
and the parents of abducted children in 
government-controlled areas. In one case, the Sri 
Lankan army surrounded a village, gathered the 
young men and boys, recorded their names, and 
took their photographs. Karuna forces came later 
that day and abducted eight of the boys and young 
men. 

Parents frequently saw their children, just after 
they had been kidnapped, in the local offices of 
the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), the 
political party recently founded by the Karuna 
group. In Batticaloa and Ampara towns, the TMVP 
offices are guarded by police. In other places, 
they are situated less than 100 meters from a Sri 
Lankan military camp. Government forces would 
therefore have seen the children in these offices 
and camps. 

Some parents told Human Rights Watch they were 
allowed to see their children in Karuna camps, 
which are mostly located north of Welikanda town 
in Polonnaruwa district. Some had traveled 
through more than 10 Sri Lankan police and 
military checkpoints to reach the camps where the 
children were held, including one at the 
intersection of the main road and the road that 
leads to the camps. 

"There's no way the Karuna forces could transport 
vanloads of abducted children along these roads 
without government forces knowing," said Becker. 

Human Rights Watch's report will include maps of 
the area, with camp and checkpoint locations to 
illustrate the point. 

The government has known about Karuna child 
abductions since at least June 2006, Human Rights 
Watch said. That month UNICEF issued a public 
appeal, saying the forced recruitment of children 
by Karuna forces had increased since March. The 
agency appealed to the government "to investigate 
all abductions and ensure that children in 
affected areas are given the full protection of 
the law," a UNICEF statement said. 

In July, a group of more than 40 mothers of 
abducted children filed a detailed petition to 
the chief justice of the Sri Lankan Supreme 
Court, seeking an inquiry. Copies went to the 
president and the minister for disaster 
management and human rights. 

"Official surprise at Ambassador Rock's 
allegations is not genuine," Becker said. "The 
government has known about Karuna abductions at 
least since June, if not earlier, and it has 
failed to stop the kidnappings or investigate the 
culprits." 

Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan 
government to take three immediate steps: 

       
     * Publicly order military and police forces 
to stop abductions by the Karuna group; 
     * Facilitate the release and safe return of 
all children and young men abducted by the Karuna 
group; and, 
     * Investigate and hold accountable all 
individuals found to have ordered or participated 
in the abduction of children and young men, 
including members of the Sri Lankan security 
forces, regardless of rank. 


Human Rights Watch called on the leadership of 
the Karuna group to cease abductions and release 
all abducted children and young men in its 
custody. 

"And routine promises are not enough: the Sri 
Lankan government must act now to protect its 
children," Becker said.

______


[2] 

Daily Times
Sunday, November 26, 2006

CAN MMA REVIVE IDEOLOGICAL POLITICS?

by Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi

The approval of the Women's Protection Bill by 
the Parliament shows that the Musharraf 
government is trying to distance itself from the 
Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a conglomerate of 
six Islamic parties. This is a significant shift 
in the policy initiated by the Musharraf 
government in 2002 to prop-up the MMA for 
neutralizing the role to the Pakistan People 
Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz 
(PMLN).

The MMA views this development as a 
two-dimensional challenge: an immediate challenge 
to its political clout built since 2002 and a 
long term challenge to its influence in and 
linkages with the ruling PML and the 
establishment - i.e., the military and the 
bureaucracy.

A number of other Islamic conservative and 
orthodox groups and leaders also view the changes 
in the Hudood Laws as the initiation of the 
process that would undermine their efforts to 
pursue their Islamic agenda. Non-MMA Islamic 
scholars and groups have issued statements 
condemning the WPB. Eleven Sunni Islamic parties 
met in Lahore to set up two forums called Ittehad 
Ahl-e-Sunnat Supreme Council and Sunni Ulema 
Board to protest what they described as the 
violations of the Quran and the Sunnah by the 
government. Some of the MMA leaders have 
described the recent changes in the Hudood Laws 
through the Women's Protection Bill as a license 
to vulgarity and free sex.

The WPB has revived the ideological discourse 
focusing on Islam. The MMA and other Islamic 
orthodox elements are projecting the issues as an 
ideological dichotomy of Islam versus secularism 
and Islamic identity versus western cultural 
domination. They also argue that the government 
is making these changes in order to satisfy the 
West, especially the United States. Their 
political campaign also emphasizes that 
secularists and pro-West elements are negating 
Islam and the Shariah laws.

The government and others who support either the 
total abolition of the Hudood Laws or the WPB 
question the exclusive right of the MMA and other 
Islamic elements to interpret Islam. They argue 
that these religious leaders do not understand 
the dynamics of modern age and thus oppose 
development on the basis of a flawed 
interpretation of the Sharia. It may be pointed 
out that some religious leaders do support the 
government on this issue but they appear to be in 
minority.

The MMA's polemical discourse of Islam versus 
secularism has revived the memories of the 
similar debate in the late sixties and their 
early seventies. At that time, the political and 
economic issues were projected as Islam versus 
Socialism or Islam versus Islamic Socialism. Most 
of the Islamic groups and organizations that 
vowed to fight for Islam in the early 1970s are 
now active again with the same old slogan of 
Islam in danger. However, in the absence of 
Marxist or socialist activists, they are 
targeting those labelled as liberals or the 
advocates of enlightenment and moderation in 
Islam.

There are clear differences in the two 
situations. First, in the early 1970s the major 
focus was on economic issues; the Islamic parties 
are now concentrating on cultural and political 
issues. The debate on the changes in the Hudood 
Laws pertains to interpretation of traditional 
Islamic injunctions. They are advocating a 
literalist or orthodox perspective with an 
emphasis on punitive and regulative aspects of 
Islamic laws. Others are emphasizing a liberal 
and modernist perspective on Islam with an 
emphasis on social justice and humanization of 
the Hudood Laws against the backdrop of 
operational problems.

Second, Islamic elements are more self-confident 
now than they were in the early 1970s. In the 
last few years, they have had opportunities to 
entrench themselves and muster enough material 
resources, mainly during General Zia's years who 
favoured them for domestic as well as foreign 
policy reasons. Some of these groups benefited 
from their involvement in the Afghan resistance 
against the Soviets. General Pervez Musharraf has 
also maintained a cautious cooperation with the 
MMA for protecting his power interests. The MMA 
emerged as a considerable political force after 
the 2002 elections which was not the case in the 
early 1970s. The confidence gained during the 
last four years has emboldened the party to adopt 
a tough posture on the WPB.

Third, they have more street power because 
Islamic seminaries have proliferated over the 
last two decades. Some MMA and other Islamic 
parties have direct linkages with Islamic 
seminaries and can field their students for 
street agitation. Some of them have strong 
student wings in the regular educational 
institutions, especially in the Punjab, which 
give them additional clout.

These advantages are partly compromised by some 
handicaps. The years in power have mellowed some 
Islamic parties in the MMA. Jamiat 
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman (JUIF) has become 
more pragmatic in its political disposition than 
the Jama'at-e Islami because it has been the 
major beneficiary of post-2002 arrangements. Its 
leadership would not easily surrender its 
privileged position in NWFP and Balochistan.

But the political power of the Islamic parties is 
compromised by the religious divide based on 
schools of fiqh. These divides have sharpened 
over the years and often cause violence and 
killings. The government can weaken the coalition 
of Islamic groups by subtly playing on sectarian 
differences. Another problem is that violence is 
more common in Pakistani politics now. 
Sophisticated weapons are easily available in 
many parts of Pakistan. Moreover, some militant 
groups use violent methods, including suicide 
bomb attacks, to pursue their agendas. Violence 
is a threat not only to the government but also 
to the MMA street agitation.

Given the peculiar context of the current 
political milieu, the recently revived 
ideological polarisation can be extremely 
threatening to internal harmony and stability. 
After having enjoyed power and influence over the 
last four years, the MMA and other Islamic groups 
feel that the government is trying to undermine 
their short- and long-term interests. The MMA 
decision to delay the submission of resignations 
of its members to the Speaker of the National 
Assembly is meant to leave some scope for 
dialogue. This also gives the MMA time to develop 
consensus among its ranks on the ways to deal 
with the government. They also want to invoke 
their connections in the ruling circles to 
rectify the situation.

Resigning from the parliament or assemblies is 
not going to be a difficult issue for the MMA 
after a couple of months. The current political 
arrangements have already entered their final 
year. Therefore, it would hardly matter to them 
if they resign after two or three months and the 
government calls for early elections. However, 
the MMA's decision to quit will be made on a 
political rather than an ideological basis. It 
will depend on the MMA leadership's perception of 
threats to their interests by government 
policies. Islam will continue to be the cover 
story for their purely political and power agenda.

Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi is a political and defence analyst


_____


[3]

Daily Star
November 29, 2006
  	 
BAULS' DESPERATE PLEA TO DEAF EARS
Police and Islamic zealots still prevent 
traditional baul singers from performing in 
public places; many singers pass days in extreme 
hardship while others shift profession to become 
rickshaw-van pul
Kausar Islam Ayon

Rubel Dewan dedicated himself to baul music since 
his childhood. At 15 he took one of most serious 
decisions of his life and left home to become a 
spiritual baul singer. After years of hard work 
Rubel became a well-known and busy singer. He 
soon excelled in his career and at 30 earned 
enough to lead a happy life, performing at 
different programmes all over the country.

But like hundreds of other bauls in the country 
Rubel's joy came to an abrupt end on April 14, 
2001, when series of bombs ripped through the 
traditional Ramna celebrations of Bengali New 
Year in Dhaka, prompting the government to 
enforce a ban on all sorts of outdoor cultural 
functions. The blasts had left ten dead and over 
50 injured.

Since the bomb blasts, an unofficial ban is still 
in force to keep public cultural functions, such 
as baul songs and traditional theatre jatra at 
bay. Rubel Dewan now pulls a rickshaw van in the 
city to earn his living. At places, according to 
other bauls Islamic zealots join the police to 
enforce the ban. Almost all traditional singers 
grow pony tails and beard. Now the bauls fear 
that time may not be far when they would be 
forced to sacrifice their hair and beard.

"Without any cultural functions hardship gripped 
me so much that I could not manage Tk 800 for my 
son's admission to a school. Finally my baul 
friends despite their own hardship collectively 
contributed to his admission," said Rubel Dewan.

Every evening, after a hard day's work, Rubel and 
his friends meet at the modest two-room 
Bangladesh Baul Shilpi Samity (BBSS) office at 
Anandabazar of the city. The BBSS has more than 
2500 registered members and the main income 
source of 90 percent of them was singing in 
functions.

Up to 50 traditional baul singers gather 
regularly on the BBSS premises with the hope that 
someone from somewhere would come with an 
invitation for a programme. Last Saturday more 
than 50 baul singers, flutists, drummers and 
other instrument players were passing idle time 
at the BBSS. Like most other days the bauls 
returned home with shattered hopes. Among them 
were Noor Karim, Reazuddin and Kuddus Sarkar who 
have chosen to wait for better days to come.

In 2001, Baul Bidhan Dewan became a cobbler, 
Kalachan started selling banana and flutist 
Khalil became an ice cream vendor.

At their Anandabazar office most bauls are found 
unhappy due to the ban enforced by local 
lawmakers and Islamic zealots, who wrongly 
interpret the religion and say it is forbidden in 
Islam to sing.

"Lyrics of all our songs involve the creator and 
his creations, such as nature and man. We have 
never been political or against the Almighty," 
said Rubel.

"We understand that the ban was withdrawn 
sometime after the Ramna blasts but still the 
authorities enforce an unofficial ban on baul 
show and jatrapala," said Alam Sarkar, joint 
secretary of BBSS.

The situation became more complicated after the 
bomb blast at the tomb of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) in 
2004 in Sylhet. Following that blast the 
government reinforced the unwritten law and 
suspended all urs (yearly festival surrounding a 
tomb of religious man) where the bauls mostly 
performed.

Mohammad Shah Alam Dewan, once a busy performer, 
did not get any work in the last six months. Six 
months back when he signed to perform at a show 
in Munshiganj, Srinagar police cancelled the 
permission at the last moment.

"We were earning up to Tk 30,000 in the month of 
Magh (the 10th month of Bangla calendar and 
season for traditional baul shows). This year I 
have hardly earned Tk 1,200," said Gonesh, a 
singer and drummer.

"Whenever any organiser goes to the police 
station for permission for a baul show, they are 
refused. Moreover, they harass the organiser in 
many ways so the organiser lose interest," said 
Shah Alam.

"When the question of survival came the bauls had 
to start some other jobs. Those who still dream 
of surviving as a baul are definitely passing 
days in extreme hardship," said Kalam Dewan, 
secretary, BBSS.

"The last five years were the hardest time for 
us. Whenever an organiser tried to hold a baul 
show there were objections from the Islamic 
zealots and the police," said Kalam Dewan.

Haji Mohammad Shahidullah, a former ward 
commissioner of Dhaka City Corporation and a 
lover of baul songs said he could not hold urs at 
his Khanka-e-Madina Darbar at Kamrangirchar for 
the last two years.

"The traditional urs where a good number of bauls 
perform had been taking place for years but the 
Jamaat-e-Islami activists forced us to cancel the 
programmes," said Shahidullah.

The leaders of BBSS said they formed human 
chains, gave memorandum to the home and cultural 
affairs ministries to remove the ban and allow 
them to perform but the situation has remained 
unchanged.

"The bauls or jatra organisers have to undergo 
the same procedure to obtain permission as in the 
case for a public programme," said Mahbubur 
Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC), Ramna Police 
Station.

"I cannot remember any such occasion which we did 
not permit only because it was a baul show," said 
Kamrul Islam, OC, Tejgaon Police Station.

_____


[4]

Hindustan Times
November 27, 2006

LOOK FORWARD TO THE PAST

by Jyotirmaya Sharma

The story in Uttar Pradesh is certainly not what 
everyone seems to think. It is not about the 
incumbency disadvantage staring Mulayam Singh 
Yadav and his Samajwadi Party in the face. It is 
also not about the Congress having won the 
municipal corporation elections in Allahabad, 
Bareilly and Jhansi, while losing the 
all-important Amethi. And it is not even about 
the BSP's absence in the elections to the local 
bodies. The large share of seats that has gone to 
the independents is not unusual as well. Even 
when the BSP contested these elections in 2000, 
the independents formed a significant number. The 
erroneous impression this time round is that most 
independents were supported by the BSP.

Too much is being made of the recently-concluded 
elections to municipal corporations, nagar palika 
parishads and nagar parishads. It is true that 
the BJP did significantly well in the mayoral 
elections, winning eight of the 12 seats. But the 
SP did fairly well in the nagar palika parishads 
and nagar panchayats, a fact clouded by the 
sudden 'resurgence' of the BJP and the marginally 
better performance of the Congress.

To perceive these results as a dress rehearsal 
for the forthcoming assembly elections would be 
overstating the issue. The social alignments 
within the state's political spectrum are still 
very fluid. More than anything else, the BSP's 
strategy remains shrouded in mystery. The 
Congress is in the most unenviable position. 
Despite having supported the Mulayam government 
this long, the festering antagonism between the 
two parties forecloses the possibility of any 
future truck between them. Its only option then 
is to align with the BSP - but this will be 
guided by the calculations and caprice of the BSP 
supremo, Mayawati.

The text and the sub-text of the local elections, 
however, are about the BJP. It is not so much 
about its moribund party organisation coming to 
life again in UP, but about these elections being 
the first step towards attempts by the BJP to 
stage a national revival and fabricate an overall 
strategy. In this, the BJP is being led entirely 
by a strategy devised by the RSS and the VHP. It 
is no coincidence that six organisational 
secretaries and two senior pracharaks of the RSS 
prepared the ground for the BJP's recent reversal 
of fortunes in UP.

The foundation for the RSS' strategy was laid at 
the VHP's meeting in Delhi on September 16-17. 
Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, the president of 
the Ram temple movement's highest body, the Ram 
Mandir Nirman Uchchadhikar Samiti, announced the 
decision to hold meetings in every district 
headquarter of the country between December 1 and 
6 in order to mobilise Hindus for the speedy 
construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The 
Ram temple movement committee also resolved that 
the temple will be built at the spot where the 
Ramlala idol is currently located, and no mosque 
"will be allowed within the cultural boundary of 
Ayodhya". The resolution further reiterates the 
Sangh parivar's resolve not to allow any mosque 
to be built in the country in the name of Babur. 
Finally, the resolution expresses the Sangh 
parivar's determination to build the Ram temple 
with the stones that were collected from 300,000 
villages in 1989-90.

Plans for the revival of the Ram temple movement 
were given an enthusiastic and unequivocal 
support by the RSS during its central committee 
meeting in Varanasi between October 13-15. 
Interestingly, the endorsement of the revival of 
the Ram temple movement figures as 'resolution 3' 
of the meeting. The first two resolutions deal 
with questions of terrorism, internal security, 
Islamisation, appeasement of minorities and of 
Pakistan by the UPA and by the Mulayam government 
in UP, conversions and the question of Mohammed 
Afzal's hanging. The RSS and the Sangh parivar 
are hoping that these issues will do for them 
what the Shah Bano case did for the BJP in the 
Eighties and the Nineties.

The VHP also organised a meeting of saints who 
support the organisation in Ayodhya in November 
to devise further strategy. The VHP is also at 
loggerheads with the Shankaracharya of Dwarika, 
who it brands as a Congress sympathiser. The 
Dwarika seer has come up with a formula for the 
resolution of the Ram temple issue, an initiative 
that the VHP rejects. Central to the VHP's 
opposition is the fact that the Dwarika 
Shankaracharya has suggested a dialogue with the 
Muslims.

If the bogey of national security, terrorism, 
Islamisation, appeasement of minorities and 
conversions works for the BJP in UP, coupled with 
a symbolic revival of the Ram mandir issue, then 
the saffron party would like to replicate it 
elsewhere. Mulayam Singh's refusal to ban 
Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) despite 
a ban by the UPA government, reports of his 
willingness to give Abu Salem a ticket and his 
cynical support to the candidature of Haji 
Yakub's wife for the mayoral polls from Meerut 
(Yakub had offered a Rs 50 crore prize for the 
killing of the Danish cartoonist who had 
ridiculed the Prophet) is easy fodder for the 
BJP's communal agenda.

Most commentators have seen the UP results as a 
personal triumph for Rajnath Singh, who was 
re-confirmed as BJP president this week. Rajnath 
Singh's real victory, however, is to have won the 
support of the RSS and its 'inspired' 
organisations. The RSS, we are told, worked 
tirelessly during the local bodies elections to 
consolidate the so-called Hindu vote.

The days of the 'India Shining' rhetoric seem a 
thing of the past. The Sangh parivar seems to 
have once again found comfort in a divisive 
communal agenda, which had propelled the BJP to 
the mainstream of Indian politics not too long 
ago. A return to the path of jehadi Hindutva, 
then, seems inevitable. The assembly elections in 
UP next year will severely test this article of 
faith.


_____


[5]

Book Review / The Hindu
28 November 2006


SOCIETAL FAULT LINES

by V. R. Lakshminarayanan


Communal Violence -- A Sociological Study of 
Gujarat: V. Kannupillai; Shipra Publications, 
115-A, Vikas Marg, Shakarpur, Delhi-110092.

Rs. 495.

Kannupillai's sociological study of communal 
violence in Gujarat is a valuable document that 
merits serious attention. Communal conflicts 
militate against constitutional injunctions to 
promote harmony and a spirit of common 
brotherhood and for that reason alone this work 
is essential reading. The downside is that this 
book reads like a classroom essay, pedagogic and 
full of percentages and cluttered with 
statistics, when it should have throbbed with 
life.

This is not a comprehensive work. No doubt much 
pains have been taken in collecting the details 
about what happened in Gujarat in the last 20 
years, though Godhra is a shocking omission. In 
putting the issue of Hindu-Muslim relations in 
perspective, the author has rightly and 
repeatedly focussed the lens on political 
exploitation of what are purely religious 
differences among communities, mostly tolerant of 
each other in daily life. The old conventional 
riots are now a thing of the past. Surprisingly, 
the Partition riots did to some extent exile 
these exhibitions of barbaric tribalism except 
for an occasional festival flare-up during 
Moharram or Ganesa Chathurthi. The Babri Masjid 
dispute and consequent violence is an aberration 
and it is illustrative of political exploitation.

Adventurism

A society exploited by political adventurers will 
have to pay a price. When both sides are 
militant, and backed by religious fundamentalism, 
encounters are bound to arise and carnage a sure 
consequence. It has happened the world over and 
is happening here.

One does not know why the author restricted 
himself to Gujarat for his study. Gujarat has its 
peculiar problems because of its proximity to a 
hostile neighbour interested in stirring up 
troubles. And Gujarat is no mirror of India. So 
too Jammu & Kashmir!

As we run through these pages, some of Pillai's 
wise observations merit serious attention. Police 
apathy, lack of intelligence resources, halting 
follow-up action form the bane of our law and 
order machinery. It is unfair to fault the police 
alone. They are not "Masters of their fate or 
captains of their soul." In most cases, "Pensive 
policemen, painful vigils keep, sleepless 
themselves, to let the community sleep in peace." 
That such instances are becoming rare is too 
grave to be ignored.

The issues

There are certain other issues which should have 
been highlighted in this study. One hundred per 
cent education, a constitutional mandate is 
talked about but ignored in practice. In a 
secular state, illiterate young men unemployed 
and unemployable pose a grave threat to internal 
peace and when faced with the alumni of 
`Madrassas', adherents of Al-Qaeda, Talibans and 
jihadis, and hordes of Bajrang Dal and men of 
their ilk, conflagrations of seismic dimension 
follow. Somehow, the author's eyes do not fall on 
these aspects. The problems shattering and 
splintering the nation stretching from 
Swaminarayan Temple and Srinagar to the streets 
of Coimbatore and the railway stations of Mumbai 
have to be met with firmly and but not as a pure 
law and order issue.

India will have to inaugurate its own new 
philosophy hinted long ago by Swami Vivekananda. 
Vivekananda said India has Hindu spiritualism and 
the strength of the Islamic body. Unfortunately, 
Kannupillai has dismissed Vivekananda with less 
than a line. But that does not matter. Educated 
Indian youth will rise to the occasion and carry 
on its shoulders a brave new Bharath where 
cricket can be played as a gentleman's game and 
Imran Khan's captaincy will be lauded, 
Tendulkar's century will be celebrated, we rub 
our eyes at Abdul Qadir's magical wiles. People 
will have no patience for riots or to run amuck. 
All these need political statesmanship.

The Supreme Court has recently shown the green 
light on the unread National Police Commission 
Report lying in the Home Ministry, a few more 
pages added by retired Attorney Generals, former 
Supreme Court Judges and ancient bureaucrats. The 
secret of maintaining security is a vibrant 
police force accountable to the law and not 
manipulated by politicians. That is also the 
observation of Kannupillai on which the apex 
court has delivered its verdict. The only 
question is, when will the politicians get off 
the back of police. Do we have to shed more blood?


_____


[6] 

Ahmedabad Newsline
November 28, 2006

2002 SCAR: FOR SOME, RS 7-LAKH PACKAGE MEANS A 
NEW BEGINNING, FOR SOME IT'S JUST SOLACE
Relief package fine, but many still wait for justice

by D P Bhattacharya & S K Ahmed

Ahmedabad/Vadodara, November 27: MOHAMMED Sadique 
Qureshi feels relieved. After all, when the money 
comes to his hands, he can use it for the 
occasion which the post-Godhra riots had snatched 
away from his family more than four years ago.

Qureshi lost his wife Zareena and youngest 
daughter Naseen in the infamous Naroda-Patia 
massacre of February 28 in 2002. At that time, 
the family was looking forward to the day in 
March that year when Qureshi's other two 
daughters were supposed to get married.

Now, the Central Government's announcement of Rs 
7-lakh relief to the kin of each riot victim has 
made Qureshi become hopeful about his two 
daughters who survived the riots. ''When I get 
the money, my priority will be to get these two 
daughters married,'' he says, pointing at Ruksana 
(28) and Shabana (27).

Ruksana says the rioters took away everything 
they had and destroyed all that they had. ''They 
took away every thing...and whatever our father 
had collected for our dowry was looted,'' she 
recalls about that fateful day.

For Shamima Bano, who had lost four members of 
her family, the relief package means a fresh 
lease of life. ''We had lost everything. Our 
bakery was burnt down. Now, we feed on the income 
generated by my brother-in-law who drives a 
autorickshaw. We can start a business with the 
money,'' she says.

Meanwhile, Civil society organisations (CSOs) are 
jubilant over the Centre's relief package.

''Finally they have done it. The Citizens for 
Peace and Justice had filed as many as 700 
affidavits for compensation. We had also proposed 
a compensation package to the Union Home Ministry 
and the Minority Commission,'' said noted right 
activist Teesta Setalvad, adding that ''now, the 
government should engage all groups in disbursing 
the compensation''.

Jamat-e-Islam-e-Hind (Gujarat) president Mahammad 
Madani said: ''Now that the package has been 
announced, the government would be careful to 
ensure that such incidents never happen again as 
that would cost the exchequer dearly.''

Like Setalvad, Madani also cautiond that the 
Central government should monitor the 
disbursement of the relief. ''The State 
Government had failed to distribute the earlier 
package of Rs 150 crore and returned it to the 
Centre,'' he pointed out.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmed of Islamic Relief Committee, 
however, sounded optimism about the disbursement. 
''The money would reach the victims directly,'' 
said Ahmed, adding that the legal cell of the 
committee would be involved in the distribution 
process.

For some victims, however, what matters more is 
justice- not money. Saleem Sindhi from Kidiyad, 
who had lost 18 members of his family, including 
his wife and son, says the money cannot bring the 
dead back. ''The money can prove just some kind 
of solace,'' he says, adding that ''quick and 
stern punishment to the accused can prevent such 
incidents from happening in future.''

A total of 74 persons - 30 women, 34 children and 
10 men- were killed in Kidiyad. Sindhi says 
besides economic assistance, the government 
should make arrangement for the education of 
children belonging to riot-hit families and make 
speedy rehabilitation of those yet to be given 
houses.

People Union for Civil Liberties' activist Prof. 
J S Bandukwala said: ''I will be satisfied only 
if people get justice. More than money, what is 
important is justice.''

Central team to visit State on disbursement
AHMEDABAD: ABOUT 5,000 riot-hit families would 
benefit from the relief announced by the Central 
Government. At the rate of Rs 7 lakh per family, 
the package would cost the public exchequer Rs 
350 crore. A team of officials from the Union 
Home Ministry would soon visit the State to 
finalise the disbursement procedure. In case of 
those who have already received compensation 
earlier, that amount would be deducted from Rs 7 
lakh. Eariler, those who had lost their kin had 
received Rs 1.5 lakh each. Ahmedabad District 
Collector D Tara, when contacted, said that the 
collectorate was yet to get any official 
communication about the package.


_____


[7]

28 Nov 2006

IROM's IRON IN THE SOUL
by Kavita Joshi

(updated version of the article as published in Tehelka)

UPDATE:
On 24th November 2006, Irom Sharmila refused all medical attention. Sitting
in her tiny hospital room in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS, Delhi), she resolutely withdrew the force-feed tube from her nose
against all medical advice.

Sharmila Irom has been on a fast-to-death for over six years now. Six years
without food, without a drop of water touching her lips. Six years of being
held under arrest repeatedly on charges of "attempted suicide" by the
government, and being forcibly nose-fed.

Sharmila's demand is simple - repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
1958. But this is a demand the Indian government is not prepared to listen
to. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is a drastic piece of legislation
that gives the authority to India's armed forces, to arrest, search or
destroy property without warrant; to shoot - and even kill - on suspicion
alone. What's more, it gives the armed forces near-total immunity against
any judicial action. Sharmila's home state of Manipur has been reeling under
this act for decades now. So have large parts of North-Eastern India.

On 4th October this year, once she was released from custody, Sharmila came
from Manipur to Delhi in secret, under an assumed name; only to continue her
epic fast on the streets of Delhi. For days and nights, she camped and slept
and fasted on the footpaths at Jantar Mantar. Thereafter, in a
characteristic midnight swoop, a force of over a 100 police personnel picked
up Sharmila and detained her at AIIMS. Once again, her crime was - attempted
suicide.

Sharmila is currently under arrest in Delhi, at AIIMS. To date since her
arrest, she has not been produced in court.

*

MANIPUR, SEPTEMBER 2005:
An eye: piercing, intent. A nose, covered by a swatch of medical tape, as a
yellow tube forces its way in. Lips, stretched tight as if in pain. A woman
sits against a bare wall, huddled under a blanket, tightly hugging herself.
This is my first impression of Irom Sharmila as I walk to her hospital bed.
She is incarcerated at the security ward of JN Hospital in Imphal, Manipur,
in custody of the Central Jail, Sajiwa. It takes her immense effort to
speak, but she tries her best. "How can I explain? This is not a punishment.
It is my bounden duty at my best level."

Irom Sharmila has not eaten for 5 years now. For this, she has been locked
up in jail by the government under very dubious charges and is being
forcibly nose fed. Since November 2000, Sharmila has been on a
fast-unto-death, demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act 1958 (AFSPA). AFSPA is a law that can come into force in any part of
India declared as "disturbed". The act allows anyone of any rank in the army
or a paramilitary force under its operational command to shoot, arrest or
search without warrant; and to kill on suspicion alone. Furthermore, there
is little scope for judicial remedy. The whole of Sharmila's state -
Manipur - has continuously been under this law since 1980 (with minor
exceptions in recent times).

It's been many years since that day which changed her life. November 2, 2000
was just another Thursday. Till, that is, a convoy of Assam Rifles was
bombed by insurgents near Malom in Manipur. In retaliation the men in
uniform went berserk: 10 civilians were shot dead. You could say that
neither the killings nor the brutal combing operation that followed were new
to the people. Manipur had been ravaged by umpteen number of such incidents
in the past. But for Sharmila, Malom was the proverbial straw that broke the
camel's back. "There was no means to stop further violations by the armed
forces," she says. She began her epic fast.

>From then to now, Sharmila's frail body has become a battlefield. Within
days of her fast, she was arrested on charges of 'attempted suicide' and put
in jail. She refused bail; she refused to break her fast. For five years
now, she has been in custody, being forcibly nose-fed. Time and again, the
courts have - rightly - released her. But she resumes her fast and is
invariably re-arrested each time.

In the years that she hasn't eaten, Sharmila's body has begun to get
damaged. She lives with the nagging pain of a tube thrust into her nose. She
is 35 but has become feeble and looks older. What's more, for five years,
Sharmila has not seen her ageing mother. In her mother's own words, "I am
weak-hearted. If I see her, I will cry. I do not want to erode her
determination, so I have resolved not to meet Sharmila till she reaches her
goal."

In times that are inured to violence, Sharmila's protest is remarkable for
its insistence upon the Gandhian ideals of ahimsa and satyagraha. And though
her protest is ignored every day in the world's largest democracy, Sharmila
is resolute - "Unless and until they remove the AFSPA, I shall never stop my
fasting."

In a rare interview to Kavita Joshi for the film Untitled: 3 Narratives - On
Women and Conflict in Manipur, Sharmila unravels her heart, slowly, like a
stream of amazing struggle and hope amidst intense despair.

KJ: Why did you start upon this fast?
IS: For the sake of my motherland. Unless and until they remove the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, I shall never stop my fasting.

KJ: Could you tell me something about the incident that sparked this off for
you?
IS: I had gone there (to Malom) to attend a meeting. The meeting was towards
planning a peace rally that would be held in a few days. (pausesŠ after a
gap)
I was very shocked to see the dead bodies on the front pages of the
newspapers. That strengthened me to step on this very threshold of death.
Because there was no other means to stop further violations by the armed
forces against innocent people.
I thought then, that the peace rally would be meaningless for me. Unless I
were to do something to change the situation.

KJ: But why choose this particular method? Why a fast unto death?
IS: It is the only means I have. Because hunger strike is based on
spirituality.

KJ: What about the effect this has on you, your health, your body?
IS: That doesn't matter. We are all mortal.

KJ: Are you certain that this is really the best way? To inflict this upon
your body?
IS: It is not an 'infliction'. This is not a punishment. I think this is my
bounden duty.

KJ: How does your family react to your fast?
IS: My mother knows everything about my decision. Although she is
illiterate, and very simple, she has the courage to let me do my bounden
duty.

KJ: When did you last meet your mother?
About five years ago. There is an understanding between us. That she will
meet me only after I have fulfilled my mission.

KJ: It must be very hard on both of youŠ
IS: Not very hardŠ (pauses). Because, how shall I explain it, we all come
here with a task to do. And we come here alone.

KJ: Just why are you in custody? Why exactly?
IS: It is not my will. But the State insists it (the hunger strike) is
unlawful.

KJ: But the government is saying that your fast-unto- death is attempted
suicide, which is an offenceŠ
IS: Although they may think so, I am in no mood for suicide. In any case, if
I were a suicide-monger, how could we communicate like this, you and I? My
fasting is a means, as I have no other.

KJ: How long are you prepared to go on like this?
IS: I don't know. Though I do have hope. My stand is for the sake of truth,
and I believe truth succeeds eventually. God gives me courage. That is why I
am still alive through these artificial means. (Indicates the tube going
into her nose.)

KJ: How do you spend your day in the hospital?
IS: A lot of the time I practice yoga. It helps me keep my body and mind
healthy. (She points to the tube again.) It is circumstances that make
things natural. Though this (tugs the tube) is unusual, it is natural to me.

KJ: What do you miss the most?
IS: The people. As I am a prisoner here (in hospital), everyone is
restricted from meeting me without permission. So I miss people a lot.

KJ: If you had one wish that was yours for the asking, what would it be?
IS: My wish? We must have the right to self determination as rational
beings.

KJ: Do you think the AFSPA will be repealed? Will you get what you are
fighting for?
IS: I realise my task is a tough one. But I must endure. I must be patient.
That happy day will come some day. If I am still alive. Until then, I must
be patient.

(Our time was over, and the crew and I were preparing to leave,
when Sharmila stopped us.) Will you help me? I would like to read about the
life-history of Nelson Mandela. I have no idea about his life. Will you send
me a book about him? It is full of restrictions here. Make sure you address
it to the security ward. If not, I may not receive it.

          (We sent Sharmila the book from Delhi. Her friends tell us that it
has reached her.)

______


[8]  Upcoming Public Rallies on Forest rights:

o o o o

(i)

CAMPAIGN FOR SURVIVAL AND DIGNITY

National Convenor: Pradip Prabhu, 3, Yezdeh 
Behram, Kati, Malyan, Dahanu Rd. 401602.
Delhi Contact: SRUTI, Q-1 Hauz Khas Enclave, New 
Delhi 110 016. Ph: 9968293978, 26569023.


PRESS RELEASE


SANSAD GHERAO!  MAHA RALLY

TOMORROW

The forest rights dharna began on November 22nd 
and has received political support across the 
political spectrum.  Tomorrow, there will be mass 
demonstrations in six cities - Delhi, Mumbai, 
Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Chennai and Bangalore.


We expect around 13,000 - 15,000 people to march in Delhi on the 29th.


The Delhi rally will begin at 10 am and proceed 
from Ambedkar Bhavan in Jhandewala to Jantar 
Mantar, via Paharganj, Ajmeri Gate, Ranjit Singh 
flyover, Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg.  We 
will reach Jantar Mantar around 1 pm.


Our demands are simple:

PASS THE FOREST RIGHTS BILL WITH JPC AMENDMENTS

Strengthen transparency and democracy by 
empowering the gram sabha to decide rights
Give us the powers to protect our forests against 
the mafias and against industry
Remove the unjust 1980 cutoff date
Accept the JPC position on effective and transparent wildlife protection
Include genuine non-ST forest dwellers

We also demand that the government repeal the SEZ 
Act, the new EIA notification and privatization 
of forests policies.

Few are the times in India's history when tribals 
or forest dwellers have come out on to the 
streets across the country.  One of those times 
is now.  We hope all citizens will support us.

Bharat Jan Andolan, National Front for Tribal 
Self Rule, Jangal Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti (Mah), 
Adivasi Mahasabha (Guj), Adivasi Jangal Janjeevan 
Andolan (D&NH), Jangal Jameen Jan Andolan (Raj), 
National Forum of Forest Peoples and Forest 
Workers, Madhya Pradesh Van Adhikar Abhiyan (MP), 
Jan Shakti Sanghatan (Chat), Peoples Alliance for 
Livelihood Rights, Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, 
Orissa Jan Sangharsh Morcha, Campaign for 
Survival & Dignity (Ori), Orissa Adivasi Manch, 
Orissa Jan Adhikar Morcha, Adivasi Aikya Vedike 
(AP),  Budakattu Krishikara Sangha (Kar), 
Campaign for Survival and Dignity - TN, Bharat 
Jan Andolan (Jhar).

o o o o

(ii)

SANSAD MARCH
By Tribal Women
  On 4rth December, 2006
for adoption of Tribal Bill with JPC recommendations

Demanding for

·        Cutoff date for 13 December 2005
·        Inclusion of Non-Schedule Tribe forest dwellers
·        Eliminating  sealing provisions from proposed bill
·        Empowering the Gram Shabha to decide land rights
·        Accept JPC position on effective and transparent wild life protection

Two thousand tribal women from Gujarat and 
Maharastra are expected to come at Delhi as the 
part of their on going struggle for pro-people 
amendments in Schedule tribes (recognition of 
forest rights) bill, 2005 under the banner of Lok 
Sangharsh Morcha, since its inception. A chain of 
intervention through the powerful mass rallies 
has been organized from gram level to National 
Level. More than 5 thousand people from 
Maharastra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar 
Pradesh had been marched at Parliament for the 
same on 7th December, 2005 and submitted their 
demands to Tribal Minister after organizing a 
chain of rallies in Nandorbar (4 thousand 
participants on 16 Augaust, 2005), Surat (10 
thousand participants, 19 September, 2005), 
Rajpipla of Narmada district (3thousand 
participants on 20th September,2005), Jalgaon (6 
thousand participants on 27th November,2005) and 
Nasik (5 thousand participants on 28th 
November,2005 ). A delegation of LSM along with 
the grass-root leaders had represented to JPC 
too, for the same on 10th March, 2006.

1500 tribal people had been arrested by Gujarat 
police in Dediapada (Narmada district) on 28th 
September, 2006, while they are celebrating the 
birth centenary of Shahid Bhagat Singh with the 
demand for adoption of tribal bill, fundamental 
right to work and bringing the right to education 
bill in the Parliament.
Rally will strengthen to all efforts for bringing 
the tribal bill into Parliament with JPC 
recommendations. It is requested to all of you, 
kindly join us and strengthen the campaign.

Thanking you,
With revolutionary greetings,
Pratibha Shinde, Yamunabai Padavi, yashoda Gamit, 
Zilabai vasawa, Sitabai Tadavi
Ambarish Rai, Suman Vasava, Ramdas tadavi, 
Amarnath,Pirsing vasava, kathya Vsava


Lok Sangharsh Morcha
(LSM)

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

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
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