SACW | Jan. 18-19, 2008 / Growing Hindutva Student Network in the US / Sri Lanka Civil Society groups speak up / Nepal Press / India Burma
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at gmail.com
Wed Jan 23 22:22:30 CST 2008
South Asia Citizens Wire | January 18-19, 2008 |
Dispatch No. 2490 - Year 10 running
[1] Sri Lanka: Civil Society Solidarity with
International Humanitarian Organisations - A
joint statement
[2] US / India: New Report Points To Growing
Sangh Student Network in the US (Campaign to Stop
Funding Hate)
[3] Statement of the International press freedom mission to Nepal
[4] India and Burma: time to choose (Meenakshi Ganguly)
[5] Jammu and Kashmir: Curse of mining, fencing (Editorial, Kashmir Times)
[6] India - Freedom of Expression:
(i) 'Don't allow religious hooligans to
dictate terms' - Salman Rushdie (Dina Vakil)
(ii) MF Hussain exhibit :Treat amid threats (Partha Chatterjee)
[7] India: Anti christian violence and the Sangh strategy of reconversions
(i) Attack on Christian institutions
pre-planned (National Commission for Minorities)
(ii) Reconversion of Dalit and Adivasi
converts by the Sangh (Biswamoy Pati)
[8] India: Stereotyping the 'Other': Shiv Sena
accuses 'outsiders' for Juhu molestation (Ram
Puniyani)
[9] India: Tamil Nadu - Dangers of mixing
politics with religion (Editorial, The Tribune)
[10] Announcements:
(i) screening of the documentary film, There was
a Queen (Karachi, 22 January 2008)
(ii) Campaign against Militarization, Impunity
and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (New Delhi,
25 January 2008)
______
[1] Sri Lanka:
Please find below a joint statement by the
Association of War Affected Women, Centre for
Human Rights and Development, Centre for Policy
Alternatives, Equal Ground, Sri Lanka, Free Media
Movement, INFORM, International Centre for Ethnic
Studies – Colombo, International Movement Against
Discrimination and Racism, Law & Society Trust,
Mothers and Daughters of Lanka, Muslim
Information Centre - Sri Lanka, National Peace
Council of Sri Lanka, Rights Now Collective for
Democracy
Joint Statement
CIVIL SOCIETY SOLIDARITY WITH INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS
In recent months, there has been a concerted
effort by sections of the polity and media to
discredit international humanitarian
organisations and UN agencies by accusing some of
them of being supporters of the LTTE. As members
of civil society we are very concerned about
these allegations and the manner in which these
agencies have been treated, which seemed to be
aimed at damaging the credibility of these
organisations and of other NGOs that have a long
track record of service to the war,
disaster-affected, and poverty stricken sections
of the Sri Lankan population.
Where it concerns the war affected civilian
population in the north and east, it is these
humanitarian organisations that have often been
the main source of institutional solace to the
people. We have witnessed first-hand people in
internally displaced camps in the north and east,
who affirm that their main if not only consistent
source of support has been these international
humanitarian organisations.
Last month, UNESCO, which aided reconstruction of
schools in the south after the Tsunami, was
criticised for condemning an attack against
civilian the Voice of Tigers radio station in
Kilinochchi. Other media freedom agencies too
condemned this attack, on the basis that it was
not a military target. 3 staff members of VoT and
6 civilians were killed in the attack. Likewise,
the Berghof Foundation, which has given
considerable support to government and civil
society staff at all levels, has sustained harsh
criticism, to the point where its director has
had his visa twice-revoked.
Two more international organisations that have
endured focused criticism are UNICEF and Save the
Children in Sri Lanka (SCSL). UNICEF staff
members both international and local have been
criticized for attending a protest against the
abduction and killing of two SLRC workers in June
2007. UNICEF is a driving force to build a world
where the rights of every child are realized and
believes that everyone has a responsibility to
see that children are safe. SCSL is part of the
world's oldest, independent international
alliance for children (formerly known in Sri
Lanka as Save the Children Fund, SCF) working for
the protection and full realization children’s
rights. UNICEF and SCSL work very closely with
the National Child Protection Authority of Sri
Lanka which aims for the prevention of child
abuse, protection and rehabilitation of victims
of abuse. Both SCSL and UNICEF have long track
records of humanitarian assistance and promoting
the rights of children in this country. In
particular they have taken many measures to bring
the problem of child recruitment by the LTTE, and
more recently by the Karuna group, to
international scrutiny. Both agencies also play a
vital role in providing other essential services
including supporting educational services for
children and water and sanitation for the
displaced.
Among other accusations, UNICEF and SCSL have
been charged with working in collaboration with
the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO),
which was recently banned in the United States
and Sri Lanka for having been a conduit for the
raising of funds for LTTE arms purchases. Both
agencies have worked with the TRO on a number of
projects but ceased their relationship in 2006
when TRO came under increased government scrutiny
and its bank accounts in Sri Lanka were sealed.
However, prior to this, and particularly in the
period of the two previous governments when the
peace process was at its height, as well as after
the tsunami, the government itself encouraged
humanitarian organisations to work in partnership
with the TRO, which itself had been a duly
registered NGO. Both organisations have invited
the government to investigate all of the
allegations against them which is a sign of good
faith and also an example of transparency that is
a model for others in the country. However, the
ongoing investigations have led to a near
paralysis of these organisations. They are
pre-occupied in supplying the government with
information dating back several years and their
staff is being demoralized by the constant
propaganda attacks against them.
Recently, the government’s Consultative Committee
on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA) committee
joined with international donors to condemn
public criticism until pending investigations
have concluded and parties have presented their
cases. We appreciate that the government and the
CCHA, in making this move of support for the
United Nations and other international
organisations providing humanitarian assistance,
seemed to have accepted that the past criticism
was not warranted.
Disparaging UNICEF and SCSL hurts the most needy
and vulnerable sections of the people in Sri
Lanka, including a large number of people for
whom the government is obliged to provide basic
needs and essential services and is unable and
unprepared to reach at the present time. The
criticisms of agencies such as UNICEF and SCSL
compromise their ability to carry out
humanitarian and development work and put the
safety and security of their staff at risk. The
naming of staff members by politicians and the
media has increased the sense of fear as well as
demoralize other humanitarian workers in other
organisations. The attacks on UNICEF and SCSL are
part of a series of attacks on humanitarian
agencies. Over the last two years humanitarian
agencies have faced multiple incidents of
violence including killings and disappearances of
humanitarian staff, attacks against offices and
vehicles, and threats and intimidation which has
made working in Sri Lanka all the more
challenging.
The channeling of humanitarian aid via NGOs has
been a dominant problem of aid flow globally. We
agree that it is essential for INGOs and NGOs to
be publicly accountable and transparent in terms
of the funds and practices. Charges alleging the
misuse of funds must be investigated, and we
recommend that the Government strengthen its
monitoring mechanisms and make its NGO
Secretariat more effective. We oppose efforts to
make these efforts at inquiry into a witch hunt
with the sole purpose of discrediting these
agencies without granting them the space to
respond to the particular charges, as ultimately
it is the most needy and vulnerable people of Sri
Lanka that suffer the consequences. On the basis
that some NGOs are accused of misappropriating or
misusing funds, we cannot condemn and discredit
all associated agencies and reject international
support, especially from the UN, that continues
to benefit the most needy and vulnerable people
of Sri Lanka. While upholding the principles of
accountability and transparency, we call on all
actors, including the Government, political and
armed groups and the media to be responsible in
their efforts to making charges against agencies.
As local civil society actors who believe in
partnership with international civil society, we
stand in solidarity with the staff of all
national and international agencies and
organisations that are committed to strengthen
initiatives for peace, development, democracy,
and respect for human rights in Sri Lanka. We
welcome the courage of those who have joined us
in protests against the very visible human rights
violations presently taking place in our country,
and regret that they were subjected to criticism
for that reason.
Association of War Affected Women
Centre for Human Rights and Development
Centre for Policy Alternatives
Equal Ground, Sri Lanka
Free Media Movement
INFORM
International Centre for Ethnic Studies- Colombo
International Movement Against Discrimination and Racism
Law & Society Trust
Mothers and Daughters of Lanka
Muslim Information Centre - Sri Lanka
National Peace Council of Sri Lanka
Rights Now Collective for Democracy
_______
[2]
Campaign to Stop Funding Hate
17362 Boston Road, Hayward, CA 94541
hsctruthout at gmail.com
For Immediate Release
UNCOVERING THE GLOBAL SANGH
New Report Points To Growing Sangh Student Network in the US
For Info: Bala Murli N. or Biju Mathew-9848470907
hsctruthout at stopfundinghate.org
New Delhi, Thursday, Jan 17, 2008 : The Campaign
to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) will release its
latest report "UNMISTAKABLY SANGH: THE NATIONAL
HSC AND ITS HINDUTVA AGENDA" on the growth of the
Sangh Parivar's student wing in the USA - the
Hindu Students Council (HSC). The press
conference and report release are scheduled at
the Press Club, Raisina Road, at 3 PM today. The
report documents a long and dense trail of
connections between the HSC and the Sangh from
1990 to the present. Ironically, the HSC exists
on US American university campuses because of the
liberal policy of multiculturalism that allows
for diversity of cultures and tolerance. Yet HSC
has promoted divisive and sectarian speakers such
as Ashok Singhal and Sadhvi Rithambara. Indian
American youth many times join the HSC without an
awareness of the "invisible" connections between
HSC and the Sangh.
The HSC was founded in 1990 as a project of
the VHP of America. In 1993, Ashok Singhal, the
then General Secretary of the VHP declared, "Now,
the first project we have in mind is
strengthening the Hindu Student Council".1 The
report Unmistakably Sangh, provides the first
comprehensive documentation of the origins,
methods and practices of the HSC and directly
counters the claims of the HSC that it "has been
independently run since 1993".2 The report uses
documents from Sangh sources - VHPA tax returns,
filings with US Patents Office, Internet domain
registry information, archives of the HSC, and
publications of the Sangh Parivar in North
America and elsewhere, to establish that the HSC
was and remains an arm of the global Sangh
Parivar.
Between 2002 and 2004, two reports, "The
Foreign Exchange of Hate", and "In Bad faith"
exposed the siphoning of funds by the Sangh in
the US and UK respectively. This new report
establishes that the Sangh's interests and
activities in the US go far beyond funding, and
that the HSC represents a grooming space for
young Sangh leadership and the entry of the Sangh
ideology into second generation Indian American
spaces. "The Hindu Students Council claims to be
an independent organization with no links to any
Hindutva organization or movement. This is
patently unfair because most of those who join
HSC do not know of the strong ties between HSC
and the Sangh," says Ashwini Rao, a campaign
coordinator for CSFH. Several of the HSC's early
recruits on American campuses are leaders in the
Global Sangh operations today. "How important the
HSC is to the Sangh can be seen from the fact
that the HSC built and operated a significant
part of the Sangh's electronic infrastructure out
of a server cluster in California" Raja Swamy,
another CSFH coordinator pointed out. This runs
counter to the policy of multiculturalism that
allows organizations such as HSC on American
campuses.
The latest report is part of CSFH's Truth
Out on HSCs3 Campaign aimed at educating
Indian-Americans on the Sangh Parivar and its
operations in the US. For more information on
the press conference write to:
hsctruthout at gmail.com or call +91-9848470907.
Summary and full versions of the report will be
available at the press conference and online at
www.stopfundinghate.org after 3:00 PM IST on
January 17.
-end-
[The complete report 'Uncovering the Global Sangh' is available at:
http://stopfundinghate.org/Unmistakably_Sangh.pdf
and
http://tinyurl.com/3xnx7z ]
______
[3] STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS FREEDOM MISSION TO NEPAL
MISSION STATEMENT
International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal
At a press conference today in Kathmandu marking
the end of the fourth International Press Freedom
and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal, the
mission members welcomed the progress on
reforming the media environment since April 2006,
whilst noting that much remains to be done and
support must be made available for the continued
development of the media. Moreover, the
International Mission raised serious concerns
about press freedom violations taking place
throughout the country, particularly as impartial
and independent media coverage will be essential
for holding free and fair elections and promoting
the democratic process.
Press Freedom Violations
Journalists, media workers and media institutions
continue to be harassed and threatened within a
growing culture of impunity. The Federation of
Nepali Journalists has recorded 652 incidents of
press freedom violations between April 2006 and
December 2007. The International Mission condemns
the murders of Birendra Sah and Pushkar Bahadur
Shrestha, and the disappearance of Prakash Singh
Thakuri, and calls for the prompt and thorough
investigation of these cases by the judicial
authorities with full assistance of all relevant
individuals and groups, in order to bring those
responsible to justice. In particular, the
Mission urges the Maoist leadership to form a
committee of investigation into the disappearance
of Prakash Singh Thakuri, as was done in the case
of Birendra Sah. The International Mission
stressed the crucial importance of the trials of
those accused in these cases being fair and
transparent.
Constituent Assembly Elections
The International Mission spoke with government
ministers, political party leaders, community
leaders and the security forces about the
importance of the elections proceeding as
scheduled and supporting an independent and
unobstructed media to ensure a free and fair
vote. Attacks, threats and interference in the
media are unacceptable and deny the public's
right to access independent and diverse
information. The Mission calls for the government
and political parties to undertake and publicise
measures to ensure the safety of journalists and
media workers. The Mission will send a short-term
observation team during the elections to focus on
the media situation.
The International Mission urges the national and
local media to provide independent and impartial
coverage of the elections, avoiding biased
content. In this regard, the Mission calls on the
media to abide by professional standards in
accordance with international principles, and to
engage in an open and constructive dialogue with
the Election Commission and other relevant groups
for delivering fair and impartial content.
The International Mission is very concerned about
reported cases of hate speech and
violence-promoting content, and strongly appeals
to all media throughout the country to work
professionally, in a manner conducive to ensuring
lasting peace.
Legal Reform
The International Mission welcomes the amendment
of the Working Journalists Act and the enactment
of the Right to Information Act, noting the need
to ensure their prompt and proper implementation.
The International Mission also stressed the need
for strong constitutional protection of freedom
of expression and press freedom, as well as the
reform of the broadcast law and transformation of
the state media into public service media,
offering diverse programming serving the needs of
all in society. The Mission calls for the
recommendations of the High Level Media Advisory
Commission to be implemented, bringing clarity to
the management of broadcasting frequencies,
creating a three-tier (commercial, community and
public) broadcasting system, administration of
licenses, allocation of public advertising and
governance of public service media. An enabling
environment should also be created for
internet-based media.
Journalists' and Media Workers' Rights
The International Mission requests media
institutions to provide journalists and media
workers with fair and decent working conditions,
as well as calls for negotiations between trade
unions, media management and media workers to be
held in a constructive manner. The expression of
workers' demands should not unnecessarily
interfere with the public's right to information.
Inclusion of Marginalised Groups
The International Mission calls upon media
managers to ensure women are provided equal
opportunities for employment, pay and promotion.
The Mission also asks media institutions to
ensure staffing at all levels representing
diversity, including marginalised groups such as
Dalits, indigenous nationalities, Madhesi and
religious minorities.
Follow-Up to the Mission
The International Mission will be releasing a
full report in the coming weeks, including a list
of recommendations for media development as
discussed with the various stakeholders in Nepal.
Together with the national media actors, the
International Mission will work towards the
creation of a comprehensive coordinated 'roadmap'
for media development. Organisations represented
on the Mission are ready to provide support to
the Nepali stakeholders as requested in their
efforts to ensure press freedom and media
development and will call upon other media
support organisations to join.
Information about the Mission
The International Mission met with government
ministers, political party leaders, community
leaders, the election commission, police, armed
forces, civil society, international community
and a broad cross-section of the media in
Kathmandu. The Mission also visited the Bara and
Parsa Districts (where Birendra Sah and Pushkar
Bahadur Shrestha were murdered) and Kanchanpur
District (from where Prakash Singh Thakuri
disappeared). Prior International Missions to
Nepal occurred in July 2005, March 2006 and
September 2006.
The International Mission incorporates a dozen
international organisations, including UN
agencies, global media associations, freedom of
expression advocates and media development
organisations. Those organisations participating
in the January 2008 mission included ARTICLE 19,
Hirondelle Foundation, International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ), International Media Support
(IMS), International Press Institute (IPI),
Internews, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Open
Society Institute (OSI), UNESCO, World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
(AMARC) and World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC).
The International Mission thanks the Federation
of Nepali Journalists and other national
organisations involved in preparing and hosting
the visit, acknowledging the crucial importance
of close cooperation with national actors and
ensuring a nationally driven process.
For more information contact any of the
participating international organisations or IMS
at:
Jesper Højberg, IMS Executive Director, jh at i-m-s.dk, +45 25 31 00 15
Binod Bhattarai, IMS South Asia Consultant, +977 9851 025230
______
[4]
opendemocracy.net
14 January 2008
INDIA AND BURMA: TIME TO CHOOSE
by Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia for Human Rights Watch
India's prime minister Manmohan Singh once
despaired out loud that India was surrounded by
failed states. The rest of the sub-continent,
concerned about the military and economic might
of India, was outraged. Yet, the neighbourhood is
in more trouble than ever. Pakistan is in crisis,
Sri Lanka is at war with itself, Bangladesh
remains in a state of emergency under de facto
army rule, the peace process in Nepal has
stumbled and Burma's generals used abusive and at
times lethal force to put down a peaceful
campaign to demand democracy.
At the same time, India's claims that its
standing in the region and growing economic power
should give it more clout in global diplomacy are
under the microscope. India often calls for
peace, negotiations, or early elections. Oddly,
though proud of its standing as the "world's
largest democracy", when it comes to human-rights
violations in neighbouring countries, officials
in New Delhi describe the situations as "internal
affairs" of those countries. India does not want
to be seen as the regional bully, they explain.
When it is pushed to do more, New Delhi retreats
into belligerence. Its officials, told of
widespread "disappearances" in Sri Lanka, respond
by pointing to the secret renditions that have
been carried out by the United States during its
global war on terror. Allegations of torture in
Bangladesh are compared to the practices at Abu
Ghraib. The ill-advised support to the Burmese
junta draws comparisons to US support of
dictatorships in Pakistan and the middle east.
While these are satisfying debating points, they
do not make good or sensible policy. As with
every government that tries to hide behind the
faults of others, the Indian government should
certainly not emulate what it criticises.
Instead, India should show that it can take the
lead.
This is particularly crucial when it comes to the
repressive junta in Burma. Although Burma has
dropped off from network news-cycles and
newspaper editorials since the protests of
August-September 2007, the global community is
largely united on this issue, saying that
human-rights abuses are no longer acceptable. But
unless China, India and Thailand take a strong
stand, the regime will simply ride out the storm,
stuffing dissidents in jail and getting away with
the killings of unarmed protestors.
Little was ever expected of China and Thailand,
but India is celebrated as a democracy, one that
accommodates religious and ethnic diversity,
boasts of its active civil society and free
media. So it has come as a great shock for many
around the world to see India continue with a
business as usual approach. Burmese foreign
minister U Nyan Win visited New Delhi on 2
January 2008, and Manmohan Singh apparently urged
political reform in a process that included
detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and all the various ethnic groups. However, a
$100 million project to provide a transit route
to India's northeastern states was also
discussed.
In December 2007, Human Rights Watch called upon
members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean), China, India, the European
Union, the United States and other countries that
have economic ties to Burma to suspend any
further development of Burma's oil and gas sector
and for targeted financial sanctions on companies
owned and controlled by the Burmese military or
whose revenues substantially benefit the
military. It is lucrative revenues from gas sales
that help allow the regime to ignore demands to
return to civilian rule and improve the country's
human-rights record. India's Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) is among the twenty-seven
companies based in thirteen countries as having
investment interests in Burma's oil and gas
fields.
Do the right thing
This is an opportunity for India to show
leadership. Under pressure from the international
community, India has suspended military
assistance to Burma. India should insist to the
generals that they show flexibility and begin
serious negotiations for a return to civilian
rule. The regime has allowed the United Nations
special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and human-rights
envoy Paulo Pinheiro to visit Burma. But these
tightly controlled visits will mean little for a
regime that is determined to consolidate its
repressive rule.
India can no longer afford embarrassing
friendships. It should say that without tangible
progress on democracy, release of political
prisoners and accountability for violations in
recent crackdown, all business deals (and not
just military sales) will be put on hold. Given
the massive poverty in Burma - remember, the
spark for the protests was a sharp rise in fuel
prices that meant that many were paying more than
half of their daily wage just to take the bus to
work - and the plundering of the country's wealth
by the country's leaders, it should be clear that
doing business with Burma is not helping average
Burmese. Instead, it is lining the pockets of the
elite.
The protests have been silenced for now. But the
clamour for freedom in Burma will re-emerge. This
is the fifth time in nineteen years that major
protests have erupted. Ultimately, the will of
the people will be heard.
Doing the right thing in Burma could be the
beginning for India to take a leadership role in
global politics. It will also send a message that
India will not support human-rights abuses,
whether in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Nepal. It
will put India on the right side of history.
_______
[5]
Kashmir Times
17 January 2008
Editorial
CURSE OF MINING, FENCING
PLIGHT OF BORDER MIGRANTS IGNORED BY GOVT, POLITICIANS
An incomplete and sketchy answer to a query in
the state legislative assembly about mined and
fenced areas in the border areas of Jammu region
is alone an indication of how adverse the plight
of the people living in these areas is, affected
by decades of India-Pakistan hostility and the
legitimisation of their deprivation with the
so-called larger 'security concerns'. Minister
for Revenue informed the state legislative
assembly on Friday that 28,000 kanals of
agricultural land has been occupied and mined
permanently in Chhamb sector alone since 1999.
While the statement itself challenges the
Centre's claim that there are no mined areas in
the country, it also calls the bluff of chief
minister Azad's rhetoric of de-mining all the
agricultural fields. The minister has also
admitted that no compensation is paid for the
land occupied by the army for mining or fencing
purposes, unless this is authorisedly acquired.
The compensation for the mined areas is given to
the rightful owners only after these lands are
de-mined. The minister has also admitted that
many of these cases for compensation have not
been settled even after a decade of being mined.
This is just a tip of the ice-berg. The areas
permanently mined in Akhnoor's border areas in
1999 and subsequently in 2002 were on a much
higher side as compared to the mining operations
that took place in previous years. Yet, land
mines have affected the lives of the people since
1947. In 1971, many of the agricultural lands
were heavily mined and landmines continue to be
buried there, dispossessing the owners forever.
Till 1999, before these people from the border
villages were displaced, the affected people were
getting nominal rent, which was a pittance, for
the mined lands. After that no money came till
the recent disbursement of claims, mainly on pick
and choose basis. 1999 deprived the people of
their lands like never before, followed by 2002
mining and fencing operations that further made
these lands forbidden and inaccessible. In
several villages, most of the villagers have
partially or fully lost their agricultural land,
which is their lifeline and the very basis of
their economy. Poverty, an unknown factor, has
started creeping into their lives. The case of
other border areas may only be a shade better
with de-mining operations having brought some
respite for them. But even in places like
Bishnah, it is fencing that has played havoc with
the lives of the people, usurping farms and
making agricultural fields inaccessible due to
the complexities that come with the fencing. But
far worse is the condition of the people who live
along the Line of Control where fencing and
mining has not just isolated villagers or played
havoc with their lives, it has deprived them of
development and kept the population totally
dependent on the army for their day to day needs,
which has its own limitations. The civilian
administration and even the politicians choose to
ignore their plight, often on the pretext of
security concerns, for which the hapless border
residents have always paid a price. At best if
the politicians of these areas do take up the
issue of the plight of these people torn between
hostility, border fencing, mining and lack of
development, it is due to compulsions of vote
bank politics. But even in these times, the needs
of the people are not effectively addressed, not
even in terms of rhetoric. Even those who evince
sympathy towards their cause do not think beyond
the stop gap arrangement of compensating them for
their lands that have been usurped for fencing or
mining.
It is an admitted fact that the economy of these
areas for years has largely been dependent on
agriculture. When lands are acquired or occupied
by the army or border security force, the
villagers either get nothing or a pittance which
is no adequate compensation keeping in view the
centrality of land in their lives. Besides, it is
not just a case of money. The fact that these
people are totally deprived of their livelihood,
which has long term social repercussions as well,
is not taken into account at all. Though India
has not acceded to the international mine ban
treaty, she is party to the Convention on
Conventional Weapons and its amended protocol on
landmines, which forbids use of land mines in
civilian areas. Therefore, being a signatory to
this convention, India should first of all begin
a process of de-mining all the lands that belong
to people. Secondly, if at all land has to be
occupied by the security forces for strategic
concerns, it cannot and should not be done
without peoples' consent and without involving
civil administration in the process. The job of
the civil administration should not only to be
ensure adequate compensation to the affected
people but also providing honourable
rehabilitation to the people, without rendering
them jobless and exposing these areas to the
vulnerability of poverty, unemployment and
related social evils. While the government has
its task cut out, the politicians who use the
issues of border migrants merely as a vote bank
slogan cannot wash their hands off the issue by
simply raking it up without a vision for future.
______
[6] India: Freedom of Expression
(i)
Times of India
16 Jan 2008
'DON'T ALLOW RELIGIOUS HOOLIGANS TO DICTATE TERMS'
by Dina Vakil, TNN
MUMBAI: "I don't make my decisions based on 25
goondas at the gate," says Salman Rushdie tartly.
The original enfant terrible of Indo-Anglian
fiction, now a battle-worn but still feisty 60,
is referring to the handful of Samajwadi Party
workers and assorted agitationists who staged
their de rigeur protest against his recent visit
to the city. "In any case, in the Indian context,
two dozen people is actually nobody."
On Tuesday morning, Rushdie stands awash in the
sunlight streaming through the sheet glass
windows of what is arguably Mumbai's most famous
party salon - his friend Parmeshwar Godrej's Juhu
bungalow - and shmoozes with a posse of TV
cameramen. He is wearing blue jeans, ever so
slightly scuffed at the knees, and his shirt
sleeves are casually rolled. He pointedly chooses
to ignore the plainclothesmen circling the
grounds outside.
"I have been shown immense warmth by the people
of this city in very large numbers everywhere
I've gone," he says, "and I hope I don't have to
explain in Bombay that my work is serious and has
very little to do with the kind of criticisms
made of it by people who have not read it. Twenty
years ago I wrote a book they didn't like (The
Satanic Verses) because they didn't read it. I
mean grow up, this is my view." He is especially
kicked that the customs officials at the
airport-"all of them"-asked to have their
pictures taken with him.
Whether it's India or England or America, he
says, "we cannot allow religious hooligans to
place limiting points on thought". This, he says,
is as true about the American religious right as
it is about the Sikh mobs in Birmingham that
prevented the production of a play. "It's not
specific to any religion or any place," he adds.
"Original thought, original artistic expression
is by its very nature questioning, irreverent,
iconoclastic...it's really a decision about what
kind of culture we want to be in."
He recounts his meeting with India's most famous
contemporary exile, the artist M F Husain, who he
recently met in New York. "This is the grand old
master of contemporary Indian painting," Rushdie
declares, his well modulated voice rising with
outrage. "We're not talking about some pavement
artist. The idea that this man in his nineties
should be forced into exile by his own country is
a national disgrace. This is somebody who should
be given the highest state honours instead of
being treated like a pariah."
If India wishes to seem like a cultured country
by the rest of the world, he says emphatically,
it cannot treat its artists thus-"this has to
stop". So, too, in the case of Bangladeshi writer
Taslima Nasreen, he adds, it's clear that she has
the right to express herself. "Any country that
wishes to be seen as a modern democracy must
accept that fundamental right. If freedom of
expression does not exist, then all other
freedoms begin to die," he says darkly. "I think
we are in a dangerous position now in India where
we accept censorship by very small numbers of
violent people. Two things form the bedrock of
any open society - freedom of expression and rule
of law. If you don't have those things, you don't
have a free country."
o o o
(ii)
Frontline
Volume 25 - Issue 02 :: Jan. 19-Feb. 01, 2008
EXHIBITION
TREAT AMID THREATS
by Partha Chatterjee
MAQBOOL FIDA HUSAIN, India's premier artist, is
now living in exile in London and Dubai thanks to
the 1,200 cases slapped against him by
ultra-right Hindu fundamentalists. Their
principal complaint is that Husain has insulted
Indian culture by his depiction of Hindu gods and
goddesses. Obviously, they have neither seen nor
heard of the Didarganj Yakshi or the gorgeous
temple erotica of Khajuraho and other places. As
a result of this ban, in effect if not in law, he
cannot exhibit anywhere in India without fear of
reprisal.
When the India International Centre (IIC), New
Delhi, invited him to exhibit at their gallery
(December 18-28), the works on show were archival
prints on canvas, not the originals. In
retrospect, it was a wise move. Within hours of
the opening, the right-wingers started to call up
the IIC's programme office with threats to
disrupt the exhibition. They continued their
threats to the end.
On December 23, there was a strong possibility of
an attack from one or other of the factions of
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal or the
Shiv Sena. The exhibition closed down for half a
day amid speculation and rumour of capitulation
to the demands of the ruffians. The next morning
the exhibition opened amid tight security.
Slowly, art aficionados and lay citizens began
trickling in. Word-of-mouth publicity had
obviously been useful.
The timings of the exhibition were curtailed by
two hours. It had to close at 5 p.m. instead of 7
p.m. because of a somewhat eccentric request from
the police, who found it easier to identify
miscreants by daylight than by artificial light.
Despite this inconvenience, a steady stream of
visitors came to see the highly enjoyable show.
Abusive telephone calls from fundamentalists of
both sexes persisted. They kept repeating that
the IIC was deliberately trampling over the
sentiments of millions of Hindus. Repeated
requests to them from the IIC to come and see for
themselves fell on deaf ears.
The callers to the IIC too were just as
persistent. Husain, they kept raving, had
insulted Hindu gods and goddesses by painting
them naked. Somehow, they seemed to have
overlooked the fact that sensuality is an
integral part of the Indian religious and
cultural tradition. Perhaps, these people have
not seen with their own eyes the ancient temple
sculpture or their photographic reproductions.
These paeans in stone are a celebration of
living, timeless works of the Indian artistic
imagination.
On December 27, the penultimate day of the show,
two seemingly innocent looking men from the Shiv
Sena managed to elude the security at the gate
and enter the gallery. They raised slogans and
attempted to damage the paintings. They were
swiftly disarmed and handed over to the police
who held them in preventive custody. There was
widespread speculation about people known to the
IIC being actively involved in this scandalous
act.
Those who took the trouble to see the show were
amply rewarded, for they saw the work of a
joyous, vigorous youth rather than a
nonagenarian. One of the stills distributed to
the press is a jaunty self-portrait of Husain.
The gesture was apt and the picture signatory.
______
[7] ORISSA: Anti christian violence and the Sangh strategy of reconversions
(i)
The Hindu
Jan 18, 2008
"ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS PRE-PLANNED"
Special Correspondent
Finds Orissa government's response to violence inadequate
No attention paid to complaints by Christian organisations
"Situation in Orissa more complex than made out to be"
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Minorities
(NCM) has found the Orissa government wanting in
its response to the violence targeting Christians
and their institutions across four districts of
the State around Christmas.
Describing the attacks as "organised and
pre-planned," the Commission on Thursday said the
compensation announced was "meagre" and asked the
Orissa government to bring it on a par with the
amount given to victims of similar violence in
other States.
According to the two-member NCM team which
visited the affected areas between January 6 and
8, the Christian organisations had approached the
administration expressing fear of attacks on
their institutions around Christmas but no
attention was paid to the complaints. And, after
the attacks, the road blockades were used as an
"excuse" by the administration for the delay in
police response.
Briefing mediapersons here, the members - Dileep
Padgaonkar and Zoya Hasan - said what happened in
Phulbani, Daringbadi, Bamunigaon and Baliguda was
an "organised, pre-planned" attack on the
Christian community and its institutions.
Asked who was behind these attacks, Prof. Hasan
said: "What we gathered from the people we met is
that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was involved in
vitiating the political atmosphere of the area."
Mr. Padgaonkar pointed out that in a matter of a
couple of hours in the dead of night, huge trees
were felled and roads blocked. "This is an
indication of organisation on a massive scale.
Besides, how could there be simultaneous attacks
across the districts soon after Swami
Lakshmananda of the VHP was attacked."
Stating that the situation in Orissa was "far
more complex and serious than it is made out to
be," the members said they got the impression
that the State wanted to see it as an ethnic
conflict between two social groups and not a
communal issue.
While conceding the existence of a "long
simmering" Koi-Pana conflict over extending
Scheduled Tribe status to the Christian Pana
community, the NCM team said an equally important
component of "the communal disturbance was the
anti-conversion campaign conducted by the VHP and
Sangh Parivar organisations for the last few
years."
Of the view that the administration could have
taken more effective steps to prevent the two
bandh calls given by different groups or ensure
peace during the protest action, the NCM also
questioned the anti-conversion movement carried
out by Swami Lakshmananda .
Pointing out that Orissa has had a stringent
anti-conversion law since 1969, they said the
administration had not received a single
complaint of conversion by inducement or force.
To improve the situation in the area, the
Commission has suggested that the government
examine the entire issue of classification of
people and inclusion/exclusion of disadvantaged
groups from official categories of Scheduled
Castes and STs.
(ii)
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 2,
January 19, 2008
RE-CONVERT OR DIE
What's happening in Orissa is a brute
reconversion of Dalit and Adivasi converts by the
Sangh. Biswamoy Pati explains the history
Most reports on the communal violence in
Kandhamal highlight the obvious: that the
Hindutva outfits have targeted the Christians.
Nevertheless, the history of caste formation over
the last two centuries in Orissa could provide
insights into some complexities.
It might sound strange but a major effort to
Hinduise the Kandhamala-Phulbani tract was made
by the colonial and "internal" Oriya exploiters
in the 19th century. This was the logical fallout
of a drive that was aimed to tap the natural
resources of this tract and harness it to the
machinery of colonial and feudal exploitation. It
was closely linked to the enterprise of building
Siva temples in this tract and can be traced back
to 1855. Thus, colonial officials like Dinabandhu
Patnaik (tahsildar - headquarters, Bisipara)
recruited forced labour from the Kandhamal region
for the purpose. This drive ensured the
conversion of tribals into Hinduism.
The colonial context meant a suspicion of
Christianity. Consequently, in some cases this
prevented conversions to Christianity. However,
by 1950 we find a large section of the tribal
Kandhas of the region accepting Christianity as a
means to get protection from exploitation by the
Hindus. Interestingly, the Kandhas who had got
Hinduised through the land settlements over the
19th century began to assert their majoritarian
identity.
Thus, by 1994 we come across some of them
preventing the Panas -- outcastes from entering a
Siva temple at Phulbani. This had led to clashes
between the Kandha converts to Hinduism and the
outcaste Panas. In this sense it is clear that
the "Hindus" of today or even those of 1994 need
to be located as tribal converts to Hinduism.
The other side of the story relates to the Panas,
classified by the colonialist, in close
collaboration with Orissa's brahminical order, as
a "criminal caste". The colonialists negotiated
the hill people of Orissa through terror strikes
in the first half of the 19th century. Working
alongside was the classification strategy that
hierarchised and incorporated tribal people to
generate a workforce in agriculture. A mass of
humanity comprising hill (pahariah) people were
clubbed under categories like Panas, with
systematic efforts to obliterate their history.
Unlike the sections of the affluent Kandhas and
other tribal groups who could get integrated into
the caste formation, the poorer sections were
"integrated" through terror as outcastes.
Over the 1950s and later, sections of Panas have
converted to Christianity. In fact, such
conversions need to be seen as a form of protest
against brahminical Hinduism's oppressive
features and as a part of a survival strategy, as
has been noted earlier in the case of the Kandhas.
It is this problem that causes insecurity and
fears of the fascist Hindu forces and explains
their ire against Pana converts to Christianity
in Orissa, Hindu fascism's
post-Gujarat laboratory. What is being witnessed
in the name of re-conversion in Orissa is the
attempt by fascist forces to convert tribals to
Hinduism. The attack on Pana converts to
Christianity is aimed at terrorising them into
submission.
Pati is the author of Identity, Hegemony,
Resistance: Towards a Social History of
Conversions in Orissa, 1800-2000
______
[8]
Issues in Secular Politics
January 2008 II
STEREOTYPING THE 'OTHER': SHIV SENA ACCUSES 'OUTSIDERS' FOR JUHU MOLESTATION
by Ram Puniyani
The shameful molestation of two girls on the New
Year eve 2008, in Juhu Mumbai, came to be seen in
different lights by various sections of society.
What was interesting is that the Shiv Sena
leaders blamed 'outsiders' for this act. Saying
that it is not the local Maharashtrians, but it
is the outsiders who have done this. The thesis
of Shiv Sena all through has been that the ills
of Maharashtra are all the making of outsiders.
As the matters turned out when the whole lot of
abusers was apprehended most of them turned out
to be with Marathi names! To add to the falsity
of Shiv Sena's argument, several cases of sexual
abuse by Maharashtrians, including the one of
rape in the police chowkie (outpost), by one
police constable, who has Marathi name, were also
cited. So much for Shiv Sena pet thesis!
Shiv Sena is a close ideological cousin of BJP,
the political wing of RSS combine. For decades it
has been riding its politics by blaming the
'other', the 'outsider', it is the classic
example of surviving on 'Hate other'ideology.
Shiv Sena's political career began with targeting
South Indians, *lungiwallas* as they were called,
then it went on to blame north Indians, and later
it targeted the Gujaratis for the woes of
Mahrashtra. Finally it jumped on to the bandwagon
of Hindutva in the wake of Advani's rath yatra
and post Babri violence and targeted Muslims as
the 'other'. Most of this 'labeling other' comes
from the political mindset and contingencies of
the political goals.
In Indian context the 'Hate other' ideology has
been constructed by Hindu Mahasabha RSS, around
the atrocities on women by Muslims. The RSS
ideology picked it up as the major theme since
its formation in1925. Around that time Muslim
League was constructing 'hate other' ideology
against Hindus, both
these political formations were deriving from
communal interpretation of history. It is
surprising that while RSS ideology in the main is
targeting Muslim minorities, its cousin Shiv Sena
is trying to put the blame on the 'outsiders'.
The manufacture of its ideology took shape over
some time and it was presented as if the Muslims
have done these despicable acts on Hindu women.
The whole way of looking at history through the
prism of religion was used to give effect to hate
politics.
The molestation, violation of the being of women,
is essentially a gender question. It is related
to the patriarchal notions, the prevalence of men
oriented values, it being part of men centric
society. During the period of slave society the
women slaves were used as sex slaves. Polygamy
prevailed for powerful men, kings and feudal
lords having many women as wives or concubines
was nothing unusual. Even many a mythological
Gods were blessed with multiple marital
alliances. The victor armies were taking the
women from defeated society as captive, as a part
of the loot. This latter was presented
selectively as if kings belonging to 'our' enemy
religious communities were doing it. By inference
what is propagated is that people from that
religious community are lecherous while 'we' are
virtuous angels. The major ideologue from whom
RSS combine draws, Savarkar, came down heavily
criticizing Shivaji, for his act of sending back
the Muslim daughter in law of Subhedar (small
ruler) of Kalyan on the ground that Shivaji
should have taken 'revenge' of so many Hindu
women molested by Muslim Kings/armies. Here the
sense of' 'our women' 'their women', women as a
vehicle of community honor stands out clearly.
For Savarkar type of thinking it is not that the
guilty should be punished but communal revenge is
what is needed. And here again the community is
held responsible for individual action.
This is the type of indoctrination which leads to
cases of mass rape witnessed in Surat, Post
Babri, and the type of sexual violence witnessed
in the Gujarat. BJP ally, George Fernandez, was
not wrong when he said that rape is nothing new,
what was despicable was the subtle endorsement of
the politics of sexual abuse, inherent in his
statement. In the build up to Gujarat carnage, it
was propagated that Muslim boys are luring away
'our' Hindu' girls. Recently in the polarized
community of Gujarat, Modi used the same
propaganda with tact and shrewdness. In the
public meetings he said that now women in Gujarat
are safe, as they do not have to fear from Alia,
Malia, and Kamalia. The hint to Muslim youth was
more than clear. It is the same Gujarat where the
sex ratio is falling drastically, it is the same
Gujarat where the cases of atrocities on poor
women, is no less than at other places. It is the
same Gujarat which set the abominable standards
of humiliation of the bodies of women.
As such the projection of 'other' as the threat,
the danger is hallmark of all sectarian
ideologies. This also acts to cover up the real
problems of society. During the rise of fascism,
Hitler deflected the inner problems to the
'outsider', Jews. Here the definition of insider
and outsider is exclusionary and generally
against the grain of democratic constitutions.
The notion of we, the particular race or
religion, and they, the particular race or
religion are constructed in popular psyche, are
made the part of social common sense and this
imaginary divide is used to crystallize different
religious or racial groups. Here the 'we' and
'they' becomes the base of hate other and it
serves to create a hysterical atmosphere in which
the suspension of democratic rights is the major
casualty. The sectarianism flourishes with
exclusionism. In fundamentalist political outfits
sometimes even the women are projected as the
other and targeted as the source of evil in
society, like many a countries where Muslim
fundamentalism e.g. Saudi Arabia, dominates. As
such what is common in all anti-democratic
ideologies is that they stand opposed to the
equality of caste and gender. The word caste is
being used here in a broader sense to indicate
feudal social hierarchies in different set ups.
During the Shiv Sena-BJP rule in Maharashtra this
divisiveness was promoted and exclusionism was
the core of politics. It has also been the base
of BJP politics all through. In different
degrees, it creates this wedge in the society and
rides to power through this. While dubbing
outsider may have escaped the attention of most
of the people in the overall shame of the Juhu
molestation incident, it cannot be forgotten that
such constructed divisions are the fodder on
which the fascist animal grazes. In this
particular case it is also clear that truth is
the first casualty. Shiv Sena leaders are least
bothered as to who did it. As a matter of
political expediency they do state what is useful
to them in the first instance. Truth is either
sacrificed or bypassed by constructing something
which is politically more useful. How political
ideologies construct explanations is best
exemplified by the Modi's explanation of Godhra
train burning. One remembers that Modi was least
interested in finding the truth, as even before
investigating the incident he stated that it is
the local Muslims who have done it. And this
falsehood became the base of massive carnage
which he launched in the aftermath of the train
burning.
With communalization, polarization, use of sexual
abuse as a weapon to attack the minority
community, the other, has gone to such an extent
that even the women from majority community, as
witnessed during Mumbai riots and during Gujarat
carnage, helped the abusers in violating the
being of minority women. That it is primarily a
gender issue becomes clear when we see the parts
of state machinery resorting to same type of
activities. Be it the case of Manorama in North
east, or the atrocities on Kashmiri women by
army, the gender equations become apparent.
While such acts have to be punished as per the
law, the question of gender equation, and
changing the social situations and mindset which
results in such acts also needs to be addressed.
The political ideology which 'uses' the incidence
of such acts being due to 'other', 'outsider' the
one belonging to 'other religion' needs to be
quashed at ideological and political level.
______
[9]
The Tribune
18 January 2008
Editorial
TN DOUBLESPEAK
DANGERS OF MIXING POLITICS WITH RELIGION
YOU can't hunt with the hound and run with the
hare. The Tamil Nadu government would have
realised the meaning of these sane words when it
argued against the blanket ban imposed by the
Supreme Court on jallikettu, the traditional
bullfights organised in many villages in the
state on the occasion of Pongal. The ban did not
go well with the traditionalists, who even
threatened to defy the ban if it was enforced.
Caught between the bulls of tradition and the
court order of modernity, the DMK government
tried to wriggle out of the situation by seeking
a modified ban. It succeeded when the court
allowed the traditional bullfights subject to
some conditions - the bulls should not be
intoxicated and the district administration
should certify that there was no cruelty towards
the animals.
To buttress its stand that a total ban was
neither feasible nor desirable, the state
government argued that it would be difficult to
trample upon the religious practices and beliefs
of the common people. Obviously, it did not
realise that such an argument flew in the face of
its own stand on the Sethusamudram project. The
government had argued in the court that the
project should be given clearance irrespective of
the belief by a section of the people that Adam's
bridge or Ram Sethu was built by the Vanar Sena
during the Ramayana period. It was left to the
Supreme Court to point out the dichotomy in the
positions the TN government has taken on both
jallikettu and Sethusamudram.
The government's embarrassment on this count is
reflective of the dangers of mixing religion with
politics. Three months have passed since the
Central government was granted time to file a
fresh affidavit after its previous affidavit
which contained a mischievous statement that Ram
was not a historical figure and, therefore, he
never existed, was withdrawn. Now it has been
granted a fortnight to submit the affidavit.
Thanks to the mischief-makers in the government
and outside, the Sethusamudram project has
already become so divisive that the government is
in a dilemma on drafting an affidavit. What all
this implies is that it is easy to mount the
religious tiger but difficult to dismount it.
Yet, political parties and leaders are never wary
of mounting it.
______
[10] Announcements:
(i) Join us at t2f on Tuesday 22nd January for
the screening of the documentary film, There was
a Queen.
Directed by Kavita Pai and Hansa Thapliyal, this
powerful documentary highlights women's
initiatives in Kashmir's 17-year conflict, in
which women have been the worst sufferers. From
looking into the brave fight many women have put
up, to the efforts of others who joined
empowerment avenues, the film stresses how the
brunt of the struggle is faced by women, as
mothers, daughters, sisters and wives.
Fahana's sister Shahnaza, and her friend Ulfat,
victims of 'crossfire', would have been adult
women today. When they died, they were seventeen,
as old as Tehreek, that exploded into existence
in 1989, shattering forever the peace of the
Valley, turning it into one of the most critical
conflict zones in the world.
Gauri Patwardhan, the editor of the film, will be
available after the screening to answer questions.
About the Directors
The two film makers started this film looking for
peace initiatives in the conflict-torn region of
Kashmir. Their search took them to different
parts of Kashmir where they met many women who
were eager to talk about their lives under siege
and how difficult it was for them to think of
'Peace'.
Kavita Pai is a documentary filmmaker who lives
and works in Mumbai. This is her first full
length documentary.
Hansa Thapliyal is a Mumbai-based short and
documentary filmmaker. She has been keenly
involved in the setting up of Godaam, an archive
on Mumbai and Kashmir, at the Majlis Cultural
centre.
Language and Duration: Kashmiri / Urdu with English subtitles, 124 minutes
Date: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008
Time: 6:30 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 100 [Please support the
PeaceNiche platform for open dialogue and
creative expression generously]
Venue: The Second Floor
6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Karachi
Phone: 538-9273 | 0300-823-0276 | info at t2f.biz
o o o
(ii)
CAMPAIGN AGAINST MILITARIZATION, IMPUNITY AND ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT
On the Eve of Republic Day
25th January 2008
On July 15 2004, for the first time in its history, the Indian "democracy"
witnessed an unusual mode of protest against its government. About a dozen
women came out on the street and disrobed themselves, protesting against the
AFSPA and rape/murder of Thangjam Manorama, in front of an occupied historic
place, the Kangla Fort in Manipur, (where the 17 th Assam Rifles Battalion
is stationed).
The message of the protest was "INDIAN ARMY RAPE US". This novel agitation
sparked the awakening of many citizens inside the country as well as people
in other parts of world, on the plight, sufferings and atrocities on Manipur
people under the military boots.
These brave and noble women from Manipur are coming to Delhi to stir up the
claustrophobic Government of India, on the eve of Republic Day and going to
continue for a month time. The protest is being organized against the
Central Government's arrogant behavior, blatant propaganda and insensitivity
towards the plight of people of Manipur
* *
The Indian Government has actively encouraged violence committed by the
security forces under the draconian law -- Armed Forces Special Powers Act,
1958 (AFSPA, 1958), which legitimizes any army personnel to shoot, kill and
destroy a person or a property on mere "suspicion". This Act has also
promoted militarization in the entire North East, where possibility for any
genuine legal proceedings to take place for justice or accountability has
become an impossibility and use of extra-judicial killings by state-promoted
renegade groups like the SULFA in Assam and Ikhwaanis in Kashmir with
complete impunity has become endemic.
The country is proud to claim itself as the world's largest democracy, but
how it is defining it, is a real question and a mockery, when there is
martial law functioning (AFSPA 1958) in North East and J&K regions for
nearly last fifty years.
Friends, this kleptocratic government is a clear and present danger to every
citizen of this country. We need to protest fiercely until the system is put
in place, in order to ensure the security of common citizens.
*We are inviting every citizens of this nation to participate in the
campaign to strengthen our long overdue peaceful struggle as many days as
you would be able to. This is the least we can do to protest against this
injustice system which saddens our hearts yet the government ignores to
listen our plight. We are confident that truth will emerge victorious one
day through your esteem support.
Looking forward for your kind presence.
Please come and join on the
Campaign against Militarization, Impunity, and the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act.
* *
Date: 25th January 2008
Place: Jantar Mantar [New Delhi]
Time: 1:00 pm
Recommendation for the repeal of AFSPA 1958 from government committees and
international organizations:
· 1991, UN Human Rights Committee
· 2005, Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee
· 2006, India UN CEDAW Report
· 2007, UN CERD
· 2007, Administrative Reform Committee
Campaign Coordinator
Onil
Reachout
+91-9818781767
Email: onilrights at gmail.com , reachout2006 at gmail.com
Sundara Babu Nagappan
Independent Researcher
+91-9311744919
Email: babuubab at gmail.com
Sapamcha Kangleipal
NE Youth Coordinator
+91-9862096539
Email: kangleipal at yahoo.com
Vani Subramanian
Saheli
+91-9891128911
Email: saheliwomen at hotmail.com
Kavita Joshi
Impulse
+91-9868888642
Email: kj.impulse at gmail.com
Tanya Mathan
Coordinator, Voluntary Agency Placement Programme (VAPP),
Lady Shri Ram College
+91-9891703465
Email: vapp.lsr at gmail.com
*(Esteemed supporters please endorsed your organization name and bring your
organization's name banner on the day of protest) *
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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/
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