SACW | Jan. 16-17, 2007

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  | January 16-17, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2349 - Year 8

[1]  Sri Lanka:
    - The costs and consequences of `clearing' the 
east (Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu)
    -  Independent voices being silenced in Sri 
Lanka (International Federation of Journalists)
[2]  Pakistan: Intimidation of the Press
    - State of the press (Editorial, The News International)
    - Journalists persecuted in Pakistan, says Safma report (Mariana Baabar)
[3]  India - Assam: Journey To Nowhere (Sanjib Baruah)
[4]  India - Rajasthan: Return of the Rightwing Textbook (Apoorvanand)
[5]  India: Alert / Sign on Petition: 
Radioactive Waste Leak in Chattisgarh - Demand 
Investigation and Remediation

Notice board  :
[6]  India: Pledge for "Right to Basic Services" 
in Mumbai Marathon 2007! (21 January 2007)
[7]  Independent Peoples' Tribunal On Fascism's 
Rise and the Attack on the Secular State
(New Delhi - March 23-25, 2007)


____


[1]

Morning Leader
10 January 2007

THE COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF `CLEARING' THE EAST

Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

Last week this column ended with the statement 
that there was a lot to be learnt and
unlearnt in 2007. The new year is now with us and 
with it the unfolding of an endgame.
As to who will be left standing and how and as to 
how long it will take remains to be
seen. The point about the learning and unlearning remains, however.

Last year saw an escalation of violence resulting 
in civilian misery through death,
displacement and abduction that put us down there 
in the catalogue of human suffering
with Darfur, Palestine and Lebanon. Presidential 
commissions, international eminent
persons, food consignments from Colombo and 
Chennai, pseudo °©patriotic vitriol and
diatribes against the Norwegian facilitators, the 
SLMM, Ambassador Alan Rock, NGOs
and INGOs cannot erase or obscure this fact. The 
war began and with little regard for
human rights and basic humanitarian norms. And on 
the evidence of the indiscriminate
bombing and cowardly bus bombs, the horrendous 
human shield and siege tactics in
Vaharai, it will continue in this vein, until and 
unless victory is won by one side or the
other.

This needs unpicking.

It is now on record that the strategy of the GOSL 
is to `clear' the east of the LTTE and
then move on to do likewise in the rest of the 
territory under complete or partial LTTE
control. Nothing it would seem will stand in the 
government's way short of international
intervention or military defeat °© both 
eventualities being subject to varying degrees of
improbability at present. Talk of little herds of 
elephants crossing over and thereby
obviating the need for another general election 
notwithstanding, it is also highly probable
that were the government to succeed in `clearing' 
the LTTE from the east °© it is highly
likely that a considerably weakened LTTE will 
effect a strategic withdrawal to avoid
defeat°© a provincial election there and a 
general election in the country will surely
follow. A likely victory for the government in 
this electoral contest will in turn obviate
the need for dependence on the JVP and/ or the 
UNP °© two parties it does not trust - for a
secure majority in parliament. And trust him or 
not, Colonel Karuna will triumph at the
provincial level.

The government will then be riding high or more 
likely, it will ride high for a while,
numbered perhaps in months, before guerilla 
attacks against its defending forces
commence and the costs of military victory are 
fully registered on the cost of living.
Defence estimates stand at approximately Rs 140 
billion and climbing. The government's
proposals for a political settlement, which we 
are told will be ready in two months, may
not be the subject of negotiation on this 
reckoning, for two years or more °© that is of
course if the two month deadline is to be met in 
the first instance. It is highly unlikely
that the LTTE will come to the negotiating table, 
sans a politico-military presence in the
east and with their pretension of sole 
representation of the Tamils of the north and 
east,
demonstrably and conclusively busted.
The war will go on or as it is characterized in 
the jargon °© a period of protracted conflict
will ensue. Or more accurately, the period of 
protracted conflict will continue as it has
for three decades with the brief exception of the early days of the CFA.

Of course this may well be totally off the mark, 
the wishful thinking of an LTTE
apologist and traitor as this columnist is 
frequently labeled by our mala fide patriots. The
unremitting rationale and relentless logic of the 
current government strategy is, has to be,
must and will be, total victory. The LTTE will be 
`cleared' from the east, given no
respite and therefore `cleared' from the north as 
well. It would be fatal to give them a
break; they will be reeling and it will be time 
to go for the kill. Besides, would it be fair
to allow only Colonel Karuna to inherit in the 
east and not Minister Devananda in the
north ?

The Rajapakse government has to think long and 
hard about this. Whatever it may say,
the logic and rationale of what is has embarked 
upon is that of war unto victory. It is a
huge risk taken at even greater cost. It is a 
trap. In the first instance, can Colonel Karuna
be trusted ? What will he do if he is and just as 
pertinent and probably more dangerous,
what will he do if and when he finds out that he is not ?

We have gone back to the future. As demonstrated 
on the battlefield and by the logic of
the military strategy adopted, we are back to the 
dominant position of "there being no
ethnic conflict" but rather a "terrorist 
problem". Majoritarianism is at the heart of this
government with the JHU ensconced as its high 
priests. This government gives greater
priority to defeating the LTTE in the east than 
to designing its proposals for a political
settlement of the conflict. The clearest, 
unambiguous statement of the government's
strategy for conflict transformation is surely 
that of the Army commander with regard to
the defeat of the LTTE in the east and elsewhere. And the manner in which the
government conducts the war, confirms that 
through siege and ceaseless bombardment
and the sustenance of a climate of impunity, it 
seeks to depopulate the north and east to
effect demographic change and thereby consolidate 
majoritarian political hegemony.

The LTTE are perversely complicit in this. 
Imprisoned in their comfort zone of violence
they have banked on civilian suffering and misery 
to be the catalyst for international
intervention to their advantage. This is a 
measure of their limited and limiting
understanding of the international community and 
international power politics. It may
now be too late for their supporters and 
sympathizers who condone their every error and
attempt to obfuscate their every atrocity, to 
convey to them that the enormous sacrifice of
lives and livelihoods they have demanded from the 
Tamil people is in danger of also
becoming synonymous with the sacrifice of the 
political rights and aspirations of a
people. The LTTE too is in a trap, largely of its 
own making. Given the government's
stated objective, they have no option but to 
resist, to ensure that they are not defeated but
live to fight another, more propitious day. This 
will mean unconventional warfare and
the widening of the theatre of war through acts 
of terrorism in response to the bombing
campaign in the north and east.

In the meantime, in camp, bus or hospital, 
civilians will be killed, maimed and starved.
Set a thief to catch a thief; terror to combat terror....

Can national security and liberation be so miserable ?


o o o

International Federation of Journalists - Release

January 9, 2007

INDEPENDENT VOICES BEING SILENCED IN SRI LANKA

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) 
is deeply concerned about the steady erosion of 
press freedom in Sri Lanka, following reports of 
the media being denied access to war zones, 
incidents of self-censorship and intimidation, 
and news journalists were forced to flee the 
country out of fear for their safety.

"The Sri Lankan media is increasingly struggling 
to operate freely and without fear in recent 
months, which is resulting in a significant 
decline in the number of independent voices in 
the country," IFJ President Christopher Warren 
said. 

According to local reports, the Sri Lankan army 
has prevented the press on several occasions from 
entering combat zones and regions controlled by 
the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), 
including strategic towns in North and East, for 
the past several months.

"When journalists are unable to provide 
on-the-ground reports, their ability to report 
accurately and objectively is compromised," 
Warren said.

"With the overwhelming amount of rumour and 
propaganda coming from all sides of the conflict, 
the restriction on journalists' access is only 
resulting in an uninformed public," he said.

The IFJ calls on all parties to ensure 
journalists are able to move freely and safely 
throughout Sri Lanka, including war zones.

  Journalists have also reportedly been forced to 
flee the country out of fear for their safety.

According to an IFJ affiliate, the Free Media 
Movement (FMM), continuous death threats have 
forced three prominent journalists - Anurudha 
Lokuhappuarrachi, a senior photographer for 
Reuters, Rohitha Bashana Abeywardane, a freelance 
reporter, and S. Rajkumar, president of the Sri 
Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLMTA) and Colombo 
news manager of the UK-based Theepam TV- to leave 
Sri Lanka in the latter part of 2006.

Their return is uncertain due to the 
deteriorating security situation in the country.

  Furthermore, fears the Emergency (Prevention and 
Prohibition of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist 
Activities) Regulations, enacted last month, 
would be used to restrict freedom of expression 
are proving to be valid with new reports of 
arrests and the interrogation of journalists 
under these laws.

According to the FMM, three state journalists - 
Sunday Observer associate editor Lionel 
Yodasinghe and news editor Ranga Jayasuriya, and 
Silumina journalist Prasanna Fonseka - were 
interrogated under these new laws on December 21 
after they published reports on defence issues.

The FMM reports the new anti-terrorism laws are 
also encouraging self-censorship. Leading 
investigative journalist Iqbal Attas reportedly 
admitted to censoring himself from writing 
critically on "security issues" in his column in 
The Sunday Times on December 17.

"Fears of being arrested under these laws are 
having a chilling effect on journalistic 
integrity, which means the truth is often getting 
buried, and critical journalism is suffering," 
said the president of the IFJ, the organisation 
representing more than 500,000 journalists in 
over 115 countries.

Additionally, government inaction and the 
continued conflict have resulted in the closure 
of the A9 highway between Colombo and Jaffna, 
which has had a damaging effect on the media in 
the North.

According to the FMM, the price of newsprint has 
reportedly tripled in recent weeks due to the 
road closure, and the Tamil dailies Uthayan, 
Valampuri and Yarl Thinakkural have been forced 
to cut their pages by half.

Despite appeals from the Government Agent of 
Jaffna, the defence ministry has reportedly 
refused permission to bring in the much-needed 
newsprint, without which the newspapers may be 
forced to cease publication altogether.

"It is absolutely disgraceful that the government 
can allow the closure of such vital publications 
simply because of the price of newsprint. By 
denying access to newsprint the government is 
denying the Sri Lankan people access to a 
plurality of voices; and this is simply 
unacceptable," Warren said.

  Additionally, many of the journalists working 
for Valampuri and Yarl Thinakkural have 
reportedly been threatened because of their 
coverage of the situation in the Jaffna peninsula.

"Restricted access to information, 
self-censorship, editorial interference and 
intimidation are all enemies of press freedom, 
and this is only exacerbating the already fragile 
environment in Sri Lanka," the IFJ president said.

"The IFJ demands the Sri Lankan government put an 
end to the climate of fear that is engulfing the 
country, and thereby ensure the Sri Lankan 
people's right to a free and independent media is 
preserved."

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0919

The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 115 countries

____


[2]

The News International
14 January, 2007

Editorial

STATE OF THE PRESS

An annual report by the South Asia Free Media 
Association (SAFMA) on the state of the media in 
the region presents a mixed picture. On the one 
hand, it takes note of the rapid rise in the 
number of television channels in South Asia, it 
also speaks at some length about the dangers that 
journalists of the region have to face in the 
course of carrying out their professional duties. 
All the countries that make up the region are not 
exactly havens for press freedom but that is 
probably true for many developing countries. Of 
course, that doesn't justify the imposition of 
curbs on the media, which are often placed by 
governments in the name of national security, 
maintenance of law and order and other such 
amorphous (and hence malleable) reasons.

Quite disturbingly, 2006 saw, according to SAFMA, 
the largest number of journalists being killed in 
Pakistan. Almost all the four cases where 
journalists lost their lives have yet to be 
resolved by the police and those behind the 
murders have yet to be brought to book. Failure 
to solve these murders has put a dent in the 
government's claim of press and media freedom. Of 
course, it would be unfair and inaccurate not to 
admit that the media by and large in Pakistan is 
vibrant, that in both newspapers and on 
television one will find vigorous levels of 
debate and that quite often there is considerable 
criticism of government policies. Both print and 
electronic media carry commentary and articles 
and air programmes that take a critical look at 
what the government does and there is by and 
large a variety of opinion, ideologies and 
comment being discussed and debated. But - and 
this is again true for many developing and even 
developed countries - there are certain holy cows 
which are usually not reported and/or commented 
upon. Those journalists who do report and comment 
on these holy cows realise that they face the 
very real risk of threat to their personal 
security from various quarters, particularly the 
state's intelligence agencies. That said, it is 
encouraging to see that some news stories and 
articles reporting excesses or abuse of authority 
committed by these holy cows are beginning to 
appear, particularly in sections of the print 
media.

However, the question that comes to mind is that 
has this degree of relative freedom been won by 
the media for itself or is it something that the 
government has granted, out of a belief in the 
maxim that a free press/media is a cornerstone of 
democracy? The answer to this question may vary 
depending on one's perspective and vantage point 
but given a look at the past and how the media 
has fared under various governments, it would be 
safe to say that the press itself often pushed 
the boundaries, setting aside in the process 
unreasonable restrictions placed on it by the 
state. Sometimes, however, the press itself is to 
blame for becoming too much hand-in-glove with 
institutions it is supposed to monitor and report 
on - a case in point being the recent allotment 
of plots at subsidised rates by the Punjab 
government which was readily accepted by many in 
the journalist fraternity. With regard to other 
press-related matters, it has to be said with 
considerable regret that the much-hyped freedom 
of information law passed by this government has 
so far failed to have any effect in terms of 
freeing up officialdom's iron grip on the flow of 
information. The law carries so many conditions 
and provisos on the public release of an official 
document that whatever good aims it was enacted 
to further have still to be realised. In addition 
to this, curbs on movement of journalists in the 
troubled regions of FATA and Balochistan and 
stringent official control of information 
regarding government operations in these two 
troubled spots are a further reminder that the 
press is not as free as it appears to be in this 
country.


The News International,
12 January, 2007

JOURNALISTS PERSECUTED IN PAKISTAN, SAYS SAFMA REPORT
by Mariana Baabar

ISLAMABAD: A stunned audience at the South Asia 
Free Media Association (Safma) on Thursday heard 
first-hand reports of the extraordinary lengths a 
state can go, to keep journalists from freely 
performing their duties.
Diplomats and members of the civil society shook 
their heads in disbelief as reports from 
Balochistan and FATA areas were brought to 
Islamabad by Safma with first-hand reports. "Yes, 
it is true that there is a cell of Pakistan 
security agencies that has been set up in Quetta 
which on daily basis regulates the media.
Not only does it issue press advice but also 
orders the media what to report and what not to 
report.
Besides threats hurled at the media they also 
harass the media and ask them to get 
advertisements for certain publications," Imtiaz 
Alam, Secretary-General Safma told The News.
Meanwhile, an outstanding report on the 
conditions of journalists working in the Fata 
areas was presented by Sadaf Arshad at the launch 
of the South Asia Media Monitor 2006. "Unknown 
people kidnapped an unknown person from an 
unknown place and released him at an unknown 
place", this is how journalists have been coerced 
to report in an extremely hostile atmosphere. 
They can't give names, nor can they file stories 
about the atrocities being perpetrated by various 
militias and tribal lashkars (armies). Most of 
the journalists from the tribal areas have been 
forced to leave for safer places and some of them 
are still followed or kidnapped for their 
professional indulgence," writes Sadaf in the 
report.
"In tribal areas writing truth is equal to 
inviting your own death," the journalists from 
tribal areas complained. Most journalists are 
under threat. The tribal areas of Pakistan have 
virtually been turned into no-go areas for 
journalists. The pressures from local militias, 
tribal chiefs, maliks, mullahs, political agents, 
intelligence services and various other powerful 
quarters are so numerous and lethal that none 
would dare to file independent reports for his 
media organisation. On the other hand, the 
powerful mullahs have now their own FM radio 
stations to spread hate, intolerance and 
obscurantism.  Independent journalists are 
threatened and harassed on these FM radio 
stations. The journalists are in fact surrounded 
by threats from all quarters. They can't report 
against the excesses of the army, nor can they 
file a single word against the self-appointed 
guardians of faith."
Absolutely outlandish and unbelievable are the 
different laws that govern Fata since Pakistani 
laws are not applicable there.

____


[3]

Times of India,
January 16, 2007
<>
JOURNEY TO NOWHERE

by Sanjib Baruah

One does not have to spare words to condemn the 
atrocities against Hindi-speaking migrant 
labourers by ULFA. But it is far from obvious 
that the politics of condemnation produces the 
best public policy. The government's knee-jerk 
response so far -- tougher counter-insurgency 
operations -- is not exactly a sign of thoughtful 
policy-making.

There is hardly a word on why this approach would 
work this time, and how exactly it would pave the 
road to a peaceful Assam. One would have thought 
that after the failures of past policies our key 
decision-makers would be asked to provide some 
justification for why 'more of the same' would 
work this time.

US president George Bush might wish that he were 
as lucky vis-à-vis his Iraq policy. There is 
little room in the Indian style of 
decision-making on the north-east for 
accountability and for learning from policy 
mistakes. Are the principal perpetrators the only 
ones responsible for the atrocity in Upper Assam?

British philosopher Ted Honderich makes the case 
for apportioning responsibility for atrocities 
between those who supply the necessary conditions 
and the final agents. International jurisprudence 
on crimes against humanity is premised on this 
notion of accountability.

But by concentrating on the perpetrators, the 
politics of condemnation lets every one else 
bureaucrats, politicians and military men off the 
hook and permits ostrich-like behaviour vis-a-vis 
policy failures.
Perhaps a domestic equivalent of a system to try 
crimes against humanity would produce more 
accountability in our north-east policy and a 
less knee-jerk style of decision-making.

It is about time we acknowledge that there is 
something dreadfully wrong with our north-east 
policy and think beyond the crude carrot and 
stick approach blame insurgents and the ISI and 
on the carrot side, spend huge amounts of money 
in the name of development and complain about 
corruption.

India has a dreadful record of resolving internal 
armed conflicts. Internal civil wars in South 
Asia are unusually protracted. Studies have found 
that a much larger percentage of such conflicts 
go on for more than 10 years in our part of the 
world than the global average.

The nearly five-decades-old Naga war is one of 
the longest wars in the world. There is now a 
virtual revolution in the academic study of armed 
conflicts.

But we have insulated ourselves from those 
insights by adopting a closed-door approach to 
foreign scholarship. Thus on north-east India on 
which some of the classics of anthropology were 
written before Independence, there is almost no 
major work by a foreign scholar since 
Independence.

This is not because of a lack of interest, but 
our restrictive policy on research visas. It is 
hard to avoid the impression that the fear about 
the 'foreign hand' causing trouble is only an 
excuse. A desire to avoid an unfavourable 
comparison of our record of conflict resolution 
in the north-east may better explain this 
paranoia.

On those rare occasions when foreign observers 
have looked at north-east India's predicament, 
their diagnosis and policy prescriptions have 
been radically different from those of our 
security and development establish-ments. 
Consider a report done last year by the World 
Bank not exactly a bastion of radicalism.

It describes the region as "a victim of a 
low-level equilibrium where poverty and lack of 
development (compared with the remainder of India 
and other South East Asian nations), lead to 
civil conflict, lack of belief in political 
leadership and government, and, therefore, to a 
politically unstable situation.

This in turn leads to further barriers to poverty 
reduction, accelerated development and growth". 
The report does not say that spending more money 
for development or greater militarisation are the 
answers to this condition.

Instead it sees institutional arrangements as the 
major obstacle to utilising the region's vast 
water resources for sustainable development. Our 
highly centralised approach, it finds, suffers 
from "the paternalism of central-level 
bureaucrats, coercive top-down planning, and 
little support or feedback from locals".

Local stakeholders in north-east India have such 
distrust of these centralised structures that no 
one believes that developmental initiatives are 
actually meant for bringing about real benefits.

So deep is the mistrust that the study team found 
to its astonishment that even an embankment 
project designed to benefit the people of an 
area, is opposed by its intended beneficiaries.

This is the cumulative legacy of five decades of 
bad policy. The World Bank study was done in 
collaboration with government's Department of 
Development of North Eastern Region. Yet there is 
little interest in focusing on this aspect of the 
report on the part of our bureaucrats.

The report warns of the dangers of path 
dependency of being locked into bad choices even 
when better alternatives are quite obvious. It 
calls for "strong political will to counteract 
the tendency of a society to follow the path it 
has already taken due to the political or 
financial costs of changing it".

This applies not just to managing water 
resources: but to our entire approach to the 
north-east. We need to ask some hard questions 
about how we have come to this point, recognise 
errors in old policy and begin the process of 
rectifying those mistakes.
The politics of condemnation currently shaping 
the response to ULFA's atrocities is only the 
latest illustration of a dysfunctional policy 
process that stands in the way of a radical 
course reversal needed to bring about peace and 
prosperity to the north-east.

The writer is currently at IIT, Guwahati.

_____


[4]

http://www.sacw.net/HateEducation/apoorvJan07.html
www.sacw.net
17 January 2007

RETURN OF THE RIGHTWING TEXTBOOK

A new Rajasthan book equates Indianness with the 
Hindu identity and trashes Muslims and other 
communities. Is anyone listening?

by Apoorvanand *

Textbooks are back in news. This time it is the 
turn of the Social Sciences book for Class x 
students prepared by the Rajasthan Madhyamik 
Shiksha Board, Ajmer. One needs to remember that 
this book results from the decision of the 
Rajasthan government to reject the new National 
Curriculum Framework for School Education 2005 
evolved by the National Council of Educational 
Research and Training (NCERT). All bjp-ruled 
states had declared that they would prepare their 
own textbooks as the books prepared by the NCERT 
were biased according to them. It would be 
interesting to see, therefore as to how they 
fight out the bias of the NCERT books in the 
books prepared by their own objective teams.

This is how the Rajasthan social sciences experts 
do it. The first chapter of the book seeks to 
introduce the students to the basics of the 
Indian Culture: Our culture is known as Arya 
sanskriti, Bharatiya sanskriti and Hindu 
sanskriti. Lest there be any confusion in the 
minds of the readers, the book explains it 
further: in fact these three nomenclatures are 
synonyms. What happens to the non-Aryans then? 
Where would the Adivasis, dalits go? The book 
does not forget them. Adivasis are called Vanya 
Jatis who were once organised and reformed by 
none less than Ramchandraji himself. Elsewhere 
you find Baba Ramdeo (a folk guru of Rajasthan) 
inculcating good habits in them. The assumption 
is that they are essentially backward and 
repository of many ills and they need one 
Ramchandra or Ramdeo to be cured of these 
ailments. After extolling the virtues of 
Bharatiya sanskriti in great detail, which you 
know is nothing but Hindu and Arya sankriti, it 
goes on to ask the students to answer these 
questions:

* (Choose any one) The ultimate goal of human 
life is: 1. Dharma, 2. Artha, 3. Moksha, 4. Kaam;

* Write the names of the four Ashramas;

* Write the definition of Bharat and Bharatiya on the basis of Vishnu Puran.

Uzma Mohsin
India is superior to other countries (or nations) 
because elsewhere they have only two-three 
seasons, whereas in India we have six of them. 
India is great because, can there be any doubt, 
astronomy, mathematics, medical science, surgery 
and even plastic surgery originated here only 
(Don't you remember the famous case of the head 
of an elephant transplanted on Ganesh?). Biology, 
metallurgy, name any science or branch of 
knowledge, we had everything here before any 
other nation or culture, that is what makes us a 
great nation and culture. Since everything was 
already here, how can trade unionism be something 
we learnt from the West? The book informs its 
readers that workers revered Vishwakarma and 
exploitation was always fought with organisation.

Since the book has this "objective" view of what 
actually constitutes Indianness, in all the 
chapters it seeks to give the students an 
overdose of Hindu religion. Description of Hindu 
Gods and Goddesses, religious festivals, places 
of pilgrimage cover three-fourths of the book. If 
you ask as to how and why it should be called a 
Social Sciences book at all, you would be 
labelled as anti-Bharat.

The writers of the book have no ambiguity about 
the enemies of Bharat. On more than one occasion 
they are identified as a Samudaya Vishesh (a 
particular community) which lives on the borders 
of Rajasthan, pampered by both Pakistan and 
India, who keep going (where?) and coming back. 
This Samudaya Vishesh has been encouraging 
infiltration and there was also rampant 
trafficking of cows and minor girls before the 
good Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti (SJS) informed Rajiv 
Gandhi about the irregular allocation of land to 
the illegal infiltrators who then got them 
cancelled. sjs, incidentally, is one the many RSS 
outfits. Readers are informed that the people who 
live on the international borders are poor, 
uneducated, and superstitious owing to their 
dharmic shraddha. But Hindus can never be 
superstitious as Hindu religion is very 
scientific. Is it difficult then to guess who 
form this Samudaya Vishesh? When the chairman of 
the Board was told by a journalist that Muslims 
were very upset with this description, he 
retorted that the book had never named them and 
if they felt upset then it is what you say in 
Hindi: Chor ki daadhi mein tinka.

The book violates the basic principles of the 
Constitution and can't be allowed to be inflicted 
as school knowledge on the defenceless children 
of Rajasthan. Some of us who have been 
trivialising the debate on textbooks need to take 
a hard look at it
The book also suggests that the growth in 
population of this community needs to be 
monitored closely, steps be taken to stop 
conversion and its appeasement.

The book dwells at length on the problem of 
terrorism. It states that in Jammu and Kashmir 
(J&K) there are more than 100 terrorist 
organisations (Do not ask for the source of the 
data, it is more a matter of astha). It goes on 
to claim, without batting an eyelid that the J&K 
government works under pressure from terrorists 
and some leaders are in league with them which is 
why the Rehabilitation Act got passed (do not ask 
what exactly the "Act" is called), a temporary 
provision in the form of Article 370 was made in 
the Constitution which is being kept alive under 
the policy of appeasement. It says that there is 
an imbalance in the number of Lok Sabha and 
Assembly seats allocated to the Kashmir Valley, 
Jammu and Ladakh.

The book actually makes a prescription for 
abolishing terrorism. It asks for tough laws to 
prevent religious conversion and infiltration, to 
abolish all kinds of appeasement, political 
vested interests (whatever that means). It calls 
for the destruction of the bases of organisations 
like the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) 
and removal of the names of infiltrators from 
electoral rolls, among other things.

After seeking an immediate repeal of Article 370, 
it demands poori chhut for the armed forces to 
finish off terrorism. And you thought that there 
are populations fighting for the repeal of Acts 
like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 
and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. It calls 
for an end to the discrimination against the 
Jammu and Ladakh regions and suggests that we 
need to talk to Pakistan in a language of power.

While discussing political philosophies, it is 
stated that fascism is significant as it removes 
the deficiencies of democracy, spreads the spirit 
of patriotism, allows a leader of strong will to 
take firm decision immediately without any 
hesitation.

Somebody said that this book is a crude copy of 
an rss pamphlet and need not be taken seriously. 
Written in a pedestrian language and full of 
howlers on almost every page, this book does need 
to be taken seriously as it is going to be 
imparted as the official and final knowledge to 
lakhs of students of Rajasthan who do not have 
the resources to go for any source of knowledge 
other than this State-sponsored textbook. It has 
been written in a very offensive manner 
belittling Adivasis, dalits and casts aspersion 
on the governments of J&K and Muslims. Its 
approach is militarist and it seeks to realise 
the project of an upper paste Hindu male 
nationalism. It violates the basic principles of 
the Constitution and cannot be allowed to be 
inflicted as a respectable school knowledge item 
on the defenceless school children of Rajasthan. 
Some of us who have been trivialising the debate 
on school textbooks by asserting that all 
governments seek to propagate their ideologies 
through textbooks need to take a hard look at the 
Class x Samajik Vigyan book discussed above. 
Parliamentarians, civil rights activists need to 
ask for its immediate withdrawal. Courts of the 
land need to take suo motu cognisance of this 
blatant violation of the right of an average 
Indian to live in dignity by the Rajasthan 
Madhyamik Shiksha Board and hold them 
accountable. Let us not allow ourselves to suffer 
from textbook controversy fatigue and keep 
talking about it.

* Apoorvanand teaches at the Delhi University

[Reproduced from: Tehelka, 20 January 2007 | Copyright - tehelka.com]

_____


[5]

RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK IN DUGRIDIGH- WE DEMAND 
FULL INVESTIGATION AND REMEDIATION

[All SACW subscribers are invited to take a 
minute and sign on the below petition to the 
authorities in India.
Petition URL: 
http://petitions.aidindia.org/jadugoda-tailing-pipe-leak/index.php 
]

o o o

www.jadugoda.net
[Text of Sign on Petition]

RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK IN DUGRIDIGH- WE DEMAND 
FULL INVESTIGATION AND REMEDIATION


Mr. Ramendra Gupta
Chairman and Managing Director
Uranium Corporation of India, Limited
P.O. Jaduguda Mines, Dist. : Singhbhum (East)
Jharkhand - 832102
Phone : 0657-2730122/222/353
Fax : 0657-2730322
E-mail : uranium at ucil.gov.in


Dr. Anil Kakodkar
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) & 
Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, 
Government of India
Anushakti Bhavan, Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Marg,
Mumbai- 400001, India
Phone: +91-22-2202 6823 / 2202 8917 / 2202 8899 / 2286 2500
Fax: +91-22-22048476
E-mail : chmn at dae.gov.in


Mr. A. Raja
Union Minister of Environment and Forests
Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi - 110 003
Phone: +91-11- 2436 1727/ 3958
Fax: +91-11-2436 2222
E-mail: mef at menf.delhi.nic.in


Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss
Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Nirman Bhavan, Maulana Azad Road
New Delhi - 110 001
Phone :+ 91-11-2306 /1751/1661
E-mail: hfm at alpha.nic.in


Mr. Madhu Kora
Chief Minister of Jharkhand
Jharkhand Mantralaya, Dhurwa
Ranchi 834 004
Jharkhand
Phone: + 91 - 651- 2403233, 2307172, 2281500, 2281400
Fax : +91- 651-2205100
E-mail: cm-jhr at nic.in


We, the undersigned, express our deepest concern 
at the leak of toxic radioactive waste in 
Dugridigh(Jharkhand State, India), as a result of 
an accident at a facility owned and operated by 
UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Limited).

According to news reports - on December 24, 2006, 
one of the pipes carrying radioactive waste from 
the uranium mill operated by UCIL in Jadugoda to 
a storage dam burst, discharging highly toxic 
wastes into a nearby creek. When released into 
the environment in such a hazardous manner, the 
radioactive and chemical wastes are deadly to the 
people living in the surrounding area as well as 
their land and water.

The accident occurred in Dugridigh a small 
village inhabited largely by displaced families 
whose lands were acquired to construct two of the 
three storage dams, also known as tailings ponds. 
The tailings ponds store all the radioactive 
wastes generated by the milling of uranium ore in 
Jadugoda. Based on the experience of similar 
accidents in other countries, the negative 
effects on human and environmental health will 
impact not just Dugridigh, but several 
communities living downstream, perhaps even 
hundreds of kilometers away.

It is troubling that UCIL did not have its own 
alarm mechanism to alert the company in cases of 
such a disaster. Rather, the villagers that had 
arrived at the scene of the accident soon after 
the pipe burst informed the company of the toxic 
spill. Even more reprehensible is the fact that 
the toxic sludge spewed into creek for nine hours 
before the flow of the radioactive waste was shut 
off. Consequently, a thick layer of toxic sludge 
along the surface of the creek killed scores of 
fish, frogs, and other riparian life.

According to local news reports, UCIL has begun 
repairing the pipe and removing sludge from the 
creek. This is an important step, but far from 
adequate. There must be a comprehensive disaster 
recovery and remediation plan for cleaning up the 
affected sites in Jadugoda and elsewhere. In 
addition, comprehensive monitoring, alerting and 
reporting procedures must be introduced in order 
to prevent such incidents in the future.

WE DEMAND:

(1) Full disclosure by UCIL of all facts about 
the accident, and corrective measures taken thus 
far.

(2) A thorough, independent investigation of the 
causes and impacts of the disaster, involving 
UCIL, appropriate state and non-governmental 
agencies, and representatives of local community 
organizations such as JOAR (Jharkhandi 
Organization Against Radiation)

(3) Decontamination of the soil, streams and 
riverbeds that have been affected by the bursting 
of the pipe

(4) Provision of alternate sources of clean and 
usable water for communities that are dependent 
on water from the contaminated creeks

(5) Adequate compensation for the people who have 
been harmed and whose livelihoods have been 
affected by the hazardous discharge of the 
radioactive waste into the environment

(6)Regular, independent monitoring of the quality 
and safety of UCIL's sites, processes and 
equipment.

(7) Regular monitoring of the exposure of workers 
and area residents to the radioactive and 
hazardous chemical contaminants that are 
generated by the mining and milling of uranium

(8) Creation and establishment of emergency 
response programs in order to ensure the safe, 
effective, and timely response to such disasters 
in the future

For more information, including a backgrounder on 
Uranium tailings and other hazards associated 
with Uranium mining, information on similar 
disasters in other parts of the world, news 
reports of this disaster,etc., please visit 
http://www.jadugoda.net.


_____


N O T I C E   B O A R D :

o o o

[6]

PLEDGE FOR "RIGHT TO BASIC SERVICES" IN MUMBAI MARATHON 2007!

Change the condition of millions living in sub-human conditions.
Collaborate to make Basic Services a RIGHT!


Dear Friends,

We are writing this mail to seek your 
contribution and collaboration for a National 
Campaign we propose to launch for Right To Basic 
Services (RTBS) and the participation of COVA in 
the Mumbai Marathon on 21st January 2007 to raise 
resources for the cause.

The Mumbai Marathon is scheduled on 21st January 
2007. The Last date for giving your pledges is 
23th January 2007.

Conditions Today

Data available for India shows that there is no 
adequate sanitation facility for 70% of the 
population (82% in Rural areas); 14% people lack 
access to proper drinking water source; and the 
gross enrollment for education is only 60% 
(UNICEF and UNDP). In a country with a population 
of over one billion of which about 300 million 
are living in extreme poverty (35% of the 
population living on less than $1 per day) the 
total combined expenditure on education and 
health during 1992 to 2004 was less than 4% of 
the GDP (UNICEF). 

Right to Basic Services

COVA and PUCAAR plan to facilitate the initiation 
of a National Campaign for Right to Basic 
Services (RTBS) in collaboration with other Civil 
Society organisations and peoples movements 
throughout the country from February 2007. This 
Right could enable the poor and the marginalised 
to obtain from the state an assured access to the 
very basic services like water, sanitation, 
education, health, housing, civic amenities etc 
that are essential for a dignified human 
existence.   In the absence of such a 
Constitutional obligation on the part of the 
Indian State, the poor remain entirely vulnerable 
to unaffordable market-driven systems.

COVA and PUCAAR expect that such a campaign would 
also help in reducing communal and caste 
conflicts by bringing together different 
communities on a common platform in a spirit of 
partnership and foster social integration and 
harmony.

For more information on COVA and PUCAAR please 
visit the websites: 
<http://www.covanetwork.org/>www.covanetwork.org 
and 
<http://www.kashmirquakerelief.org/>www.kashmirquakerelief.org

Contribution for the Cause

As a fundraising effort for this cause, Dr Mazher 
Hussain, Director, COVA, is running in the 
forthcoming Mumbai Marathon on 21st January 2007. 
We seek pledges for him in the form of donations 
from all concerned persons in support of the 
cause.

How Much to Contribute
You may contribute any amount of your choice from 
rupees five hundred onwards. All donations in 
India, US and UK have tax exemption benefits. 
Funds collected through the pledges will be spent 
for the National Campaign for Right To Basic 
Services (RTBS).

How the Funds will be used
All donations received will be used to launch and 
carry out the RTBS Campaign by organizing mass 
awareness campaigns throughout the country and 
lobbying with elected representatives and the 
government to make provision of basic services 
like safe drinking water, sanitation, health, 
education and housing to all the people of India 
a constitutional responsibility of the 
government.  

Reporting
All donors will receive a brief update every 6 
months on the status of the progress of the 
Campaign along with a statement of accounts.

Web Page
For more information and easy procedure for 
giving your pledges / donations online for the 
cause please visit the Web Page:
<http://www.giveindia.org/give/common/marathon/scmm07/dt/mazherhussain.jsp>http://www.giveindia.org/give/common/marathon/scmm07/dt/mazherhussain.jsp


How you can Support the Cause
To support the cause, Team COVA appeals to you to pledge for the runner.

Please Note
·          Tax benefits are available in India, the US and UK.
·          Your pledges (donations) made in 
favour of 'GiveIndia' will be sent to COVA.
·          We will send you the receipts & 80G Certificates soon after the run.
·          Donors' names will be displayed on Give India website.
·          Your donation will be exempted under 
80 G of IT Act. (For Indian Donors, any donation 
you make will enable you 50% tax exemption- If 
you pledge a donation of Rs. 1,000 you will get a 
tax exemption of Rs. 5,00. So you will be 
actually paying only 500 while making an 
effective contribution of Rs. 1,000!). Different 
exemption rates may apply for donors from US and 
UK.

The Mumbai Marathon is scheduled on 21st January 
2007. The Last date for giving your pledges is 
20th January 2007.

You may use either of the following methods to pledge

1.	You can pledge for Mazher Hussain by 
giving us a Cheque / DD for an amount of your 
choice drawn in favour of GiveIndia.  Cheques / 
D.D. can be sent to COVA, 20-4-10, Charminar, 
Hyderabad, A.P. India- 500002.
2.	You can pledge online for Mazher Hussain. 
US taxpayers should pledge online 
at <http:///>www.giveworld.org/pledge.htm. All 
others including Indian and UK taxpayers can 
pledge online 
at <http:///>www.giveindia.org/give/pledge.jsp, 
entering the name of Mazher Hussain, his email ID 
and the amount you wish to pledge.
3.	US cheques should favor "GIVE 
Foundation Inc." and should be sent with all 
donor details to:

GIVE Foundation, Inc.
85 Rio Robles East, # 3202
San Jose, CA 95134
USA

4.       UK cheques should favour "Giving Impetus 
to Voluntary Effort" and should be sent with all 
donor details to:

55c Cavendish Road, 
London, SW12 0BL 
U.K

5.	Cheques written by foreigners from other 
parts of the world and even within India should 
favour "GIVE Foundation" and should be sent to 
Mazher Hussain. Domestic cheques should favour 
"GiveIndia" and also be sent to him.

Do note that beginning April 1, 2006, the Income 
Tax Department requires us to maintain full 
postal addresses of all donors failing which 
donations become taxable at a flat 30% rate. 
(Therefore do ensure that your full postal 
address is recorded along with the pledge.)

Change the condition of millions living in sub-human conditions.

Collaborate to make Basic Services a RIGHT!


Required Information
·          Name of person you are pledging for:  Mazher Hussain
·          His Email ID is: 
<mailto:mazherhussain11 at gmail.com>mazherhussain11 at gmail.com
·          His mobile no: 09849178111
·          For any queries, please contact: Mr 
Srinivasulu Reddy, Coordinator, Resource 
Mobilisation, COVA (Mobile No: 09849216966). 
Address: 20-4-10, Charminar, Hyderabad-A.P. 
500002. India. Email: 
<mailto:cova at sancharnet.in>cova at sancharnet.in

We Look forward to your personal contribution and 
collaboration in the RTBS Campaign and would be 
grateful if you could forward this appeal with 
your recommendations for support to your 
relatives and friends.

Team COVA and PUCAAR thank you for your generous support and collaboration!


_____


[7]

INDEPENDENT PEOPLES' TRIBUNAL

ON

FASCISM'S RISE AND THE ATTACK ON THE SECULAR STATE

March 23-25, 2007

Venue: Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road Institutional Area, New Delhi

Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) and 
Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) have taken the 
initiative to organise INDEPENDENT PEOPLES' 
TRIBUNAL ON FASCISM'S RISE AND THE ATTACK ON THE 
SECULAR STATE.

The task is stupendous. Obviously it cannot be 
undertaken by one or two organisations. We need 
to make it a collective national level effort. We 
would therefore request you/ your organization to 
participate in this effort. Participation would 
involve all or at least some of the following:

1.	Being a joint co organiser of this process
2.	Identifying issues nationally as well as 
locally which need to be taken up by the Tribunal
3.	Identifying and contacting other groups 
which can be part of this process as also names 
of panel members
4.	Helping to identify 15-20 individual/ 
groups from your state to depose at the Tribunal.
5.	Volunteering to compile the existing material on the issue.
6.	Being a co-ordinator for one of the 18 
proposed areas to be addressed during the 
tribunal.
7.	Assisting in Report preparation
8.	Fund raising for the project

A detailed note on the proposed tribunal is enclosed.

We request you to kindly respond to the following 
id for better co-ordination: 
<mailto:iptindia at gmail.com>iptindia at gmail.com

Sincerely

Shabnam Hashmi
tel- 23070740/ 22

March 23
Bhagat Singh's 76th Martydom Day

''Social progress depends not upon the 
ennoblement of the few but on the enrichment of 
democracy; universal brotherhood can be achieved 
only when there is an equality of opportunity - 
of opportunity in the social, political and 
individual life." - from Bhagat Singh's prison 
diary, p. 124


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

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

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