SACW | August 26-27, 2008 / Nepal Child Soldiers / Orissa Burns: Arrest Hindutva Now

Harsh Kapoor aiindex at gmail.com
Tue Aug 26 22:14:56 CDT 2008


South Asia Citizens Wire | August 26-27, 2008 | Dispatch No. 2557 -  
Year 10 running

[1] Nepal: UN seeks release of some 3000 children still in Maoist  
cantonments (Radhika Coomaraswamy
[2] Bangladesh: Islamist Leader to Walk Free
[3] Pakistan: Taliban outlawed in wake of suicide bombings (Farhan  
Bokhari  )
[4] India: Hindutva Wave of Murder and Mayhem in Orissa
    (i) Media Commentary (Editorials and Reports)
    (ii) Appeals for Urgent action by Church, Rights groups and  
Individuals Citizens
[5] India Administered Kashmir:
    - Latest Episode in J&K Conundrum: A Chronology and Initial  
Analysis (Siddiq Wahid)
    - Statement on Censorship and Violence against Press in Kashmir  
(Reporters Without Borders)
[6] India: Freedom of Speech
  - The harassment of Husain (Edit, The Hindu)
  - Don't Give In (Edit, The Times of India)
[7] India: Press Release - People’s Tribunal on the Atrocities  
against Minorities in the Name of Fighting Terrorism
[8] Bomb Makers of the Hindu Right : Two reports
  - Sangh activists blow themselves up planning revenge attacks  
(Piyush Srivastava)
  - 'Cops & govt ignore Hindu[tva] terror in Nanded' (Krishna Kumar  
in Mumbai)
[9] Legislating against civil interests in India (Mandeep Tiwana)

______


[1]

NEPAL: IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR SOME 3000 CHILDREN STILL IN MAOIST  
CANTONMENTS

New York, 25 August 2008 – Ms. Coomaraswamy, Special Representative  
of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict calls upon  
the Nepali Authorities and Maoist army to immediately free all  
children previously associated with the Maoist forces.

In 2007, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and UNICEF  
identified 2,973 Maoist Army members under 18 years of age on 25 May  
2006, in the ranks of the Maoist forces.  “Today they are still in  
the Maoist cantonments and they must be released immediately. UNMIN  
child protection advisers, UNICEF and its partners should have access  
to these children to make sure that they receive their rights to  
recovery and reintegration,” MS. Coomaraswamy said.

The Special Representative reiterated that the Comprehensive Peace  
Agreement called for the immediate release of all children associated  
with Maoist forces once they entered the cantonments.  No progress  
has been achieved to date in securing their formal discharge,  
although many have been released informally.

“The successful elections signal that the people of Nepal are  
entering a hopeful phase for peace and prosperity. However the  
promise of peace has not come to fruition for these children, whose  
lives have been adversely affected by the conflict”, said Ms.  
Coomaraswamy.  She argued that a key element of such a peace is to  
ensure that children formerly associated with armed forces or groups  
share the peace dividends and receive suitable support for their  
reintegration into society.

The Secretary-General’s report on the situation of children and armed  
conflict in Nepal (S/2008/259) highlighted the plight of these  
children and thousands more informally released after the signing of  
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  The Security Council Working  
Group on children and armed conflict will issue its conclusions and  
recommendations shortly.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Laurence Gérard, Liaison Officer, Office of the Special  
Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed  
Conflict. Phone: +1 212 963-0984- gerardl at un.org

Mr. Luca Solimeo, Associate Communication Officer - Office of the  
Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and  
Armed Conflict – solimeo at un.org  - +1917-367-3563

______


[2]

The Daily Star
August 26, 2008

Galib may be freed in a few days
BOGRA COURT GRANTS BAIL IN SHAHJAHANPUR JATRA BOMBING CASE AS PER AN  
EARLIER HC ORDER

by Anwar Ali, Rajshahi

Spiritual leader of Jama'atul Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) Dr  
Asadullah Al Galib may be freed in a few days.

Galib, Arabic teacher at Rajshahi University and also chief of Ahle  
Hadith, Bangladesh (Ahab), was granted bail by Bogra Session Judge's  
court in Shahjahanpur theatre (jatra) bombing case in pursuance of an  
earlier conditional bail by the High Court. Now there is virtually no  
legal barrier in his release, said his lawyers.

His release would take a few days more as there were two warrants for  
producing him before courts in under-trial cases, they said adding  
that recalling warrants are a matter of time.

Out of total nine cases filed against him by the state since his  
arrest, he was acquitted in one case while final reports were given  
in five cases, relieving him of charges. He was granted bail by High  
Court in three other cases.

However, acquitting Galib in Polashbari jatra blast case in  
Gaibandha, the judge had said, the prosecution failed to prove  
charges against him.

Final reports in the five cases against Galib were given at the fag  
wend of BNP-Jamaat coalition government.

The cases include Brac and Grameen Bank office robbery cases in  
Kotalipara of Gopalganj, Govindaganj of Gaibandha, Ullapara of  
Shirajganj, Porsha of Naogaon districts and Khejur Ali murder case in  
Raninagar of Naogaon district.

Among the three cases still under trial in Bogra, Galib was granted  
bail by High Court in Gabtali blast case before the present caretaker  
government assumed power.

Six months ago, the High Court ordered Galib's bail in two other  
cases (one for Shahjahanpur blasts and another filed death of a  
person in the blast) on condition that trial of the murder case  
should be completed in three months and that of explosion case in six  
months.

As the trials could not be held in time, Galib was granted bail  
following a HC order.

After yesterday's bail, Ahab leaders said Galib was being harassed by  
the government in false cases.

Galib was arrested in February 2005 from Nawdapara in Rajshahi city  
after JMB leaders arrested earlier named Galib to be their spiritual  
leader.

Law enforcers also seized a huge quantity of documents including  
audio cassettes of Galib's Jihadi speeches during his arrest.

Intelligence agencies were reporting on Galib's underground  
activities since 1997, but bigwigs in both Awami League and BNP- 
Jamaat governments protected him. Rajshahi Mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu  
have a certificate in 2004 that he was not engaged in militancy.

Galib's name came in 2000 when militant organization 'Qital Fee  
Sabilillah' circulated leaflets terming Ahab to be their ally.

He was blamed for maintaining relations with overseas militants and  
abetting local militants under cover of Ahab and his AL Markajul  
Islami Salafia Madrassah.

Intelligence sources said Galib started receiving foreign funds  
through an Indian Islamist leader named Moulana Abdul Matin Salafi  
who was expelled from Bangladesh in 1988 for anti-state activities.

In mid 90s, JMB was formed headed by Shayakh Abdur Rahman. With  
Galib's help, Rahman's JMB militants used facilities of some 700  
mosques built across the country by the RIHS.

______


[3]

TALIBAN OUTLAWED IN WAKE OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS

by Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad

Published: August 26 2008 03:00 | Last updated: August 26 2008 03:00

Pakistan yesterday banned the Taliban movement in a symbolic gesture  
that evoked a mix of support and criticism.

The ban followed last Thursday's twin suicide attacks at an arms  
factory in Wah, 30km north of Islamabad, which killed 67 people and  
injured more than 100.

Local media reports quoted a representative of the Taliban later  
claiming responsibility for the attacks, which he said were in  
retaliation for military action in the tribal region along Pakistan's  
border with Afghanistan.

"This [Taliban] organisation is a terrorist organisation and created  
mayhem against public life," said Rehman Malik, adviser to the prime  
minister and the de facto interior minister, while announcing the ban.

Some observers criticised the move. "What is the meaning of this  
ban?" asked Irfan Siddiqui, a prominent newspaper columnist. "As far  
as I can tell, it is just meaningless. How do you ban something which  
doesn't exist legally? The Taliban movement have never been formally  
registered so how do you ban them?"

Mr Siddiqui said the ban was aimed at impressing the US at a time  
when concerns were mounting in Washington at the growing activities  
of the Taliban in Pakistan.

Western diplomats said the ban, though symbolic, was nevertheless a  
significant example of the new government's determination to take  
controversial positions at the risk of exposing itself to new attacks  
from the Taliban and their supporters.

"Even if the Taliban doesn't exist formally, it is nevertheless  
important that somebody has finally moved to proscribe them in this  
country," said one. "They have existed for a long time and no one  
previously has banned them."

"The ban would need to be followed up by much tougher action on the  
ground," said another. "This ban is a step which needs to be  
appreciated but there is much more which needs to be done."

Pervez Musharraf, the former president, resigned last week rather  
than face impeachment in a parliament dominated by his political  
foes. The Pakistan Peoples party (PPP), which has led a ruling  
coalition, has nominated Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the late prime  
minister Benazir Bhutto, as its candidate to run for president.

Diplomats said that Mr Zardari's biggest challenges if he became  
president would include overseeing a new push to confront the fast- 
spreading influence of the Taliban.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

______


[4]

Hindutva Wave of Murder and mayhem in Orissa: Media Commentary
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2008/08/hindutva-wave-of-murder-and- 
mayhem-in.html

a) Media Commentary - The Telegraph, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, The  
Tribune, Economic Times, New York Times

#1.

The Telegraph
August 27 , 2008

Editorial

LOVE FOR HATE

When the caretaker of an orphanage run by Christian missionaries is  
burnt alive by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad mob in the Bargarh district of  
Orissa, the obvious reference point is the Graham Staines murder. Yet  
even that was the result of the ruthless hate campaign against  
Christians conducted by the VHP and its sangh brethren in Orissa.  
Nothing has changed since the United Progressive Alliance came to  
power; the conflict seems to have intensified with the coalition of  
the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party running the state  
government. The government seems blind to the numerous instances of  
vandalism on churches, homes and orphanages, as well as of violence  
against Christians. In October 2006, the India Peoples’ Tribunal on  
Communalism in Orissa had given 13 recommendations to the state and  
Central governments to check growing communalism. That has been useless.

The story is the old one, and is most forceful in Kandhamal district.  
The sangh parivar claims to be opposing conversion by force or  
allurement by Christian missionaries. The old plot has been given a  
new twist by the fact that tribal Kandhs and Dalits are ranged  
against one another. Many Dalits are Christian, and, according to the  
controversial Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, they have  
lost the advantages due to SCs. The Kandhs retain scheduled tribe  
status whatever religion they choose. So Kui-speaking Dalits,  
linguistically and culturally similar to the Kandhs, are fighting for  
ST status. Meanwhile, the sangh is busy “reconverting”, by both force  
and allurement, tribal people to Hinduism, even though they were  
nature-worshippers in the first place. That the Dalits are improving  
economically has added urgency to the VHP’s campaign. It was led most  
successfully by Laxmananda Saraswati, whose call to destruction  
caused numberless violent incidents, murders and work-stoppages in  
the district, although they left the government and the police  
remarkably unperturbed. His murder, presumably by Maoists, was the  
cause for the bandh during which the VHP went on a destructive spree,  
and burnt to death an innocent woman in an orphanage. But what is  
amazing is that the Central and state governments have allowed the  
violence of a religious hate campaign to become routine in the heart  
of a secular republic.

o o o

#2

The Hindu, August 27 2008

Editorial

DANGEROUS TURN IN ORISSA

No words can adequately condemn the cycle of murder and mayhem in  
Orissa that led on Monday to the burning alive of a young woman at a  
Christian orphanage. The 20-year-old perished in violence that  
recalls the fiendish lynching in 1999 of Graham Staines and his two  
little sons. It is not just that Orissa has been the staging ground  
for both atrocities. The suspects belong to the same ideological  
persuasion. This time the thuggery is sought to be justified as  
retribution fo r the horrific killings, on Saturday, of Vishwa Hindu  
Parishad leader Swami Lakshmanananda and four others. Mobs affiliated  
to the VHP have since unleashed a retaliatory wave of terror across  
the State, calling a bandh in defiance of curfew orders, paralysing  
rail and road traffic, torching Christian homes, and attacking  
churches, prayer halls and other Christian institutions. The  
circumstances leading to Saturday’s killings are not fully  
established. As of now, there is no evidence pointing to a Christian  
missionary involvement, as is being claimed by the VHP and the  
Bharatiya Janata Party. The VHP priests fell to an armed attack on  
their ashram in Jalespata in the communally sensitive district of  
Kandhamal. A day earlier, the ashram reportedly received a letter  
carrying a threat to eliminate the Swami. The Orissa police deduced  
from the manner of the attack — especially the threat letter, the  
automatic weapons carried by the assailants, and the claiming of  
responsibility by an entity styling itself the People’s Liberation  
Revolutionary Group — that it was probably spearheaded by Maoists.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has come under attack from the  
saffron fringe, has ordered a judicial probe into the ashram murders.  
The VHP’s sense of loss and outrage at losing five of its followers  
might have resonated with the public at large had the organisation  
not so brazenly taken the law into its own hands. It points to a  
December 2007 murder attempt on Swami Lakshmanananda to buttress its  
claim that he was eliminated as part of a larger Christian missionary  
agenda. That incident set off widespread communal clashes in the  
State. Given all this, the best option before the sangh parivar was  
to await the findings of the judicial probe. Of course, to ask that  
of the VHP is to ask for the impossible. Witness the lawlessness  
unleashed by parivar affiliates in Jammu and, in tandem, by Islamist  
activists in the Kashmir Valley. Recklessness comes naturally to  
fanatics. But with the 15th general election just months away, the  
BJP must weigh the political costs of alienating its non-communal  
allies — which it has in Orissa as well as in other States.

o o o

#3

Deccan Herald
August 27, 2008

Editorial

SPECTRE OF HATRED
A civilised society must protect constitutional rights.

Serious cases of violence, inspired by communal hatred and  
intolerance, have been reported from different parts of the country  
in the last few days. The incidents in Orissa where attacks have led  
to loss of lives are more serious. The chain of violence started with  
the killing of a VHP leader,and four others, allegedly by Maoists in  
Orissa’s Kandhamal district. The district was known for Hindu- 
Christian clashes and the incident became a trigger for widespread  
VHP violence in a number of districts. A number of churches and  
Christian institutions have come under attack and five people have  
been killed. The killings were reminders of  the killing of an  
Australian missionary Graham Staines in 1999.  Two people have died  
in police firing too.

As Maoists were suspected to have been behind the VHP leader’s  
killing, there was no reason to target Christian institutions and  
people for attacks. The state police had failed to protect the VHP  
leader who had received threatening letters. The state government is  
also to be blamed for failing to check the VHP cadres, who took it as  
an opportunity to unleash violence on Christians.  A number of  
districts are in the grip of violence and the VHP and Bajrang Dal  
mobs are having a free run. The attacks deserve to be strongly  
condemned and the government should immediately bring the situation  
under control. Intolerance of minority communities and attacks  
against them have marked the attitude and activities of the Hindu  
fundamentalist groups. They are too blinded by hatred to realise that  
their actions only weaken and bring into disrepute what they are  
claiming to protect.

Another incident which also exposes such hatred and intolerance was  
the attack on the prints of celebrated artist M F Husain’s paintings  
at an exhibition in Delhi. Husain has been a target of Hindu fanatics  
for long. His works have been destroyed and he has been threatened  
and harassed in many ways in the past. He was hounded out of the  
country and is living in exile now. It is shameful that the country’s  
greatest artist is so humiliated on the specious ground that his  
works have offended religious sentiments. His works were not included  
in the first India Art Summit and the attack came when an  
organisation arranged a separate exhibition in protest against the  
exclusion. A society which cannot protect its minorities and artists  
against majoritarian intolerance and violence cannot claim to be  
fair, just or civilised. Democratic freedoms and constitutional  
rights have no meaning in such an environment of hatred.

o o o

#4

The Tribune
August 27, 2008

MURDER OF PLURALISM
End this insanity in Orissa

THE VHP protesters who torched 12 churches in Orissa on Monday,  
killing two persons, including a woman, and critically injuring a  
pastor, also killed the secular image of India. Suddenly, they have  
made the country open to the criticism that minorities are not safe  
here. The naked dance of violence they indulged in was too macabre to  
be justified by any reasons, although it was in retaliation for the  
equally gruesome murder on Saturday of 84-year-old VHP leader  
Laxmanananda and his four followers who had been resisting the  
forcible conversion of tribals to Christianity in Orissa. Their  
brutality has opened the wounds caused earlier by the murder of  
Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons. With such  
“nationalist” forces wrecking the country from within, there is no  
need for external anti-India elements to ruin it.

The blame lies at the door of the Naveen Patnaik government too. It  
has allowed the law and order situation to worsen to such an extent  
that there in several parts of the state it is the law of the jungle  
that prevails. Whether it was Saturday’s attack on the ashram of  
Swami Laxmanananda or Monday’s targeting of the churches, the  
authorities played a passive role. When the state withdraws, lumpen  
elements are bound to fill the vacuum and have a field day.

Tremendous damage has been done by these bouts of sectarian violence.  
While the government has to bring the criminals to justice at once,  
the least that the Sangh Parivar must do to atone for the atrocities  
is to express regret over the attacks and restrain those causing  
mayhem. The same holds true for leaders like Mr L. K. Advani who must  
condemn the incident and intervene to restore peace and order. How  
can a party which is part of the ruling coalition in the state let  
such a shocking outrage go unchecked? Silence on the issue will only  
make the entire Parivar politically culpable. Such violence is  
unacceptable, whether from the majority community or the minority  
community.

o o o

#5.

Economic Times
27 August, 2008

Editorial

DARA SINGH'S ORISSA?

The largescale anti-Christian rioting and arson provoked by a state- 
wide bandh called by the VHP and Bajrang Dal — in the tribal  
districts of Orissa signals an unacceptable collapse of the state. We  
endorse the Opposition Congress’ decision to move a no-confidence  
motion against the Biju Janata Dal-BJP government.

The motion is unlikely to result in its fall, but it would constitute  
a crucial indictment of the divisive socio-political consensus on  
which the current Orissa government thrives. This perverse will is  
the source of the ineptitude displayed by the state’s police- 
administrative apparatus in preventing the bandh from turning into a  
vicious communal campaign.

Considering that Kandhamal is known to be communally sensitive, the  
state apparatus ought to have done much more than merely air its  
suspicion of Maoist involvement in the murder of VHP leader Swami  
Lakshmananda and his four disciples. The allegation against the  
Maoists gives the BJD-BJP government an alibi to step up its ongoing,  
and under-reported, project of repressing various grassroots  
movements in tribal areas in the name of containing Maoism.

Its inability to swiftly authenticate the suspicion has, on the other  
hand, left the field wide open for the VHP and Bajrang Dal to indulge  
in incendiary provocation with a view to sharpen the already existing  
communal polarisation.

The anti-Christian animus in Kandhamal is the consequence of these  
organisations communally exploiting the existing competition between  
the non-Christian Kui tribal community and the Dalit Christians for  
quotas in jobs and educational institutions. The resulting  
polarisation has, needless to say, helped the BJP garner votes for  
the ruling alliance.

And the current violence, a few months ahead of the assembly polls,  
is without doubt meant to serve that purpose even better. Both  
cynical attempts to mobilise votes on communal lines and failure on  
the part of ‘secular’ parties to counter such divisive politics would  
serve to deepen the pall of insecurity that hangs over many parts of  
Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Secularism and empowerment  
are not just catchy slogans but essential means to social stability  
and sustained prosperity.

o o o

#6.

New York Times
August 25, 2008

HINDU-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE FLARES IN INDIA

by Somini Sengupta

NEW DELHI — The remote, destitute state of Orissa, marred for years  
by Hindu-versus-Christian violence, erupted in a retaliatory killing  
on Monday after the murder of a Hindu leader led a mob to burn small  
Christian churches, prayer halls and an orphanage that had housed 21  
children.

The police said a woman’s body, charred beyond recognition, was found  
inside the church orphanage. The church’s pastor, whom the police did  
not identify and who was injured in the fire, told the authorities  
that the body was that of a nun working there. No children were injured.

The attack on the orphanage on Monday, in an isolated district called  
Bargarh, came after the killing Saturday of a Hindu leader who had  
been associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu  
Council, and who was leading a drive to wean local villagers from  
Christianity. Radical Hindu groups like the council are vehemently  
opposed to conversions to Christianity, which in India tend to focus  
on traditionally downtrodden lower-caste and indigenous groups, and  
have lately taken to conducting mass ceremonies to convert them back  
to Hinduism.

The Hindu leader who was killed, Laxmanananda Saraswati, was among  
five people slain by unidentified armed men who stormed a Hindu  
school in the nearby district of Kandhamal. The police blamed Maoist  
insurgents who prevail in the area. Mr. Saraswati’s followers,  
however, blamed Christians, and called for a statewide strike on  
Monday. The state government ordered all schools closed.

The Press Trust of India reported that Hindu activists, defying an  
official curfew in the area, paraded through the streets, attacking  
Christian churches and homes.

Fights broke out in Orissa last Christmas Eve, when one person was  
killed and churches and temples were damaged. In 1999, a Hindu mob  
burned an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two children  
while they slept inside their car. A Hindu has been sentenced to life  
imprisonment in their deaths. Eleven others who had been convicted  
were freed by an appeals court in 2005 because of insufficient  
evidence. Mr. Staines ran a hospital and clinics for leprosy patients.

  A version of this article appeared in print on August 26, 2008, on  
page A11 of the New York edition.

o o o

#7.

The Hindu
August 26, 2008

VHP bandh turns violent in Orissa, churches attacked

by Prafulla Das

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/26/stories/2008082657320100.htm



o o o

b)

http://communalism.blogspot.com/2008/08/communal-violence-in-orissa- 
appeals-for.html

Communal Violence in Orissa: Appeals for Urgent action by Church,  
Rights groups and Individuals Citizens
#1. Message from John Dayal/Fr. Cedric Prakash
#2. Message from Annonymous

______


[5]

On South Asia Citizens Web
http://www.sacw.net/peace/aug2008wahid.html

LATEST COMPLICATIONS IN THE J&K CONUNDRUM: A CHRONOLOGY AND INITIAL  
ANALYSIS

by Siddiq Wahid

Ladakh House
August 22, 2008

In situations like the latest imbroglio in Kashmir, it is always best  
to try to first recount as objective a chronology as is possible of  
the latest events, followed by analysis rather than try to present  
both ingredients in simultaneous mix. It serves the purpose, I feel,  
of keeping one honest in any attempt at analysis and also allows the  
readers (assuming a certain familiarity on their part with the  
overall political conditions apropos of Kashmir) to form their own  
opinion. Let me therefore try to address these two exercises separately.

A Chronology

    1. There is an annual event in Kashmir known as the Amarnath  
Yatra, or pilgrimage. It is a Hindu pilgrimage to a Shiv Ling in a  
cave in the north-eastern part of the Kashmir valley. It has been  
extant for over 160-years now and is described as an event that is  
“quintessentially Kashmiri” in that the cave was discovered by a  
Muslim family, tended to by its descendants since the beginning and  
this for an exclusively Hindu clientele.

    2. In the early to mid 1990s the number of pilgrims began to  
grow. At about that time, there were a series of natural calamities,  
tragically killing several pilgrims. A special investigation was  
commissioned and it made many recommendations (20 to be exact) that  
addressed issues related to the environment and the logistics of  
pilgrim management.

    3. In 2000, under the then State Government headed by Dr. Farooq  
Abdullah, an Act was promulgated by the State Legislature providing  
“for the constitution of a Board for the better management of the … 
Yatra, upgradation (sic) of facilities for Holy pilgrim (sic) and  
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto and called the Shri  
Amarnath Ji Shrine Board Act 2000”, now known as the SASB. The  
Chairman of this Board was to be the Governor of the State, ex  
officio, and its members were to be nominated by him. It stipulated a  
membership of not more than ten members, including two Hindus of the  
State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Act was “enforced”, on February 2, 2001.

    4. Between the end of 2004 and May 2008, there was a palpable  
strain in the State’s governance structures, and not just between the  
two largest coalition partners, the Congress and the PDP; the Office  
of the Governor, through the coalescence of the latter office with  
that of the Office of the Chairman of the SASB, also began to  
directly impinge on the arguments about the yatra. The arguments were  
set off by the Chief Executive Officer of the SASB who, in October of  
2004, asked for the transfer of approximately 455 acres of forest  
land for use by the SASB. This order was rescinded in May of 2005 on  
the plea that it violated the J&K Forest Conservation Act of 1997. It  
went to court and, in May of 2008, resulted in the diversion of a  
hundred acres of land for the use of the SASB for the duration of the  
pilgrimage.

    5. At the beginning of this millennium the number of pilgrims was  
a trickle, as the site was not well-known and very far away for most  
people. However, in the last eight years the numbers have swelled  
dramatically to now consist of well over several hundred thousand  
from all over India. Like other pilgrimage spots, it is a source of  
very substantial income, with benefits for locals who earn  
substantial amounts by providing tourism services.

    6. Concurrently, given the dispute over Kashmir, there were fears  
that the yatra presented a security threat to the pilgrims with so  
many Hindus coming to the State. This resulted in rather elaborate  
and extensive army and security force arrangements. It was not  
entirely without reason, as there were some attempts by elements with  
an “Islamist” perspective to interpret the event as “cultural  
aggression” and some attempts at disrupting the pilgrimage.

    7. With the swell in the number of pilgrims and inadequate  
facilities, the event threw up issues related to the length of the  
period of the pilgrimage, the logistics of the arrangements for  
pilgrims and environmental considerations. The pilgrimage also proved  
to be an occasion for locals to become suspicions about this display  
of muscular nationalism. It made the yatra, like much of anything in  
Kashmir today, controversial to begin with and, soon, contentious.

    8. The length of the pilgrimage had been fixed at one month,  
double the original length. The SASB, led by then Governor Lt.  
General S. K. Sinha, (a retired General of the Indian army) argued  
that it should be for a longer period of two months; there was  
resistance from the PDP towards this extension. The Government  
continued to dither, however, and the PDP, also took up the issue  
publicly, arguably with an eye towards the State elections which were  
due in October – November of this year.

    9. This and others matters related to the yatra were allowed to  
be dragged, in part because of overt or tacit resistance to them and  
in part because of political undercurrents. As the Congress-led  
coalition of Ghulam Nabi Azad dithered over it, the term of the  
Governor was about to expire on June 3, 2008. As Chairman and  
Governor, Sinha had been particularly aggressive in his claims for  
the SASB, quite openly calling himself a “proactive governor”, when  
his political role is proscribed by the constitutions of the State  
and the country. It was under these conditions that matters came to a  
head about a month and a half ago.

   10. The occasion for the proverbial spark was a press conference  
given by his Principal Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar, a middle level  
Indian civil servant. During the press conference Kumar made three  
statements, presumably with the consent of the Governor: (i) that it  
was a forgone conclusion that the yatra, or pilgrimage, would be  
extended, (ii) that the structures that were going to be built were  
not necessarily temporary, (iii) that the land transfer was permanent  
and (iv) that the State Legislature did not have any authority to  
interfere in the matter. He also made some rather crude remarks about  
how “Hindu” pilgrims were not as bad a local “Muslims” in damaging  
the environment. It has come to be known as the “Hindu pollution  
versus Muslim Pollution” remark.

   11. Kumar’s remarks caused a furor and, predictably, all factions  
of Kashmiri society, including the religious right, were loud in  
their protests; they saw in these statements a vindication of their  
suspicions about a “larger agenda” in the Amarnath pilgrimage. All  
factions of the resistance took to the streets, being careful to  
assure pilgrims, with in situ visits, that the protests were not  
against them in any way, and that their safety was guaranteed. The  
gesture was appreciated by the pilgrims and so placed on the record  
by some national television stations and the local print media.

   12. The acuity of the problem and events associated with it  
coincided with the exit of Governor Sinha on June 25; he had tried to  
get an extension of his term in office. This was not successful,  
albeit his exit was delayed for several weeks. Enter the newly  
appointed Governor, Mr. N. N. Vohra who, arguably, inherited an  
impossible situation.

   13. One of the new Governor’s first acts, on the recommendation of  
the Government, and in the face of rather loud protests from the  
radical resistance (or “separatists”) was to reverse the government  
(or interim court?) order that allowed the temporary transfer of the  
land to the SASB. The agitation in Kashmir died down, amidst some  
rather crude claims to “victory” which understandably irritated Jammu  
province.

   14. This situation however, in turn, caused Jammu, the Hindu- 
majority province of the State, to revolt. One person committed  
suicide, strikes were called and the masses took to the streets.  
Significantly, the cause was patronized by the State unit of the  
Bharatiya Janata Party (or BJP), who further radicalized the demand  
by sloganeering against Kashmiri chauvinism, the appeasement of  
Muslims and the continued regional discrimination of Jammu.

   15. The intensity and the expansiveness of the protests to this  
action in Jammu, however, jeopardized the stability of the  
Government. Even as implications of all this were being debated, the  
PDP chose to withdraw support for it (on June 28, 2008) and call for  
a vote of confidence in the State Assembly. Ghulam Nabi Azad, the  
Congress Chief Minister of the State, sensing that he would lose a  
vote of confidence, resigned (on July 7, 2008) and the State was put  
under “Governor’s rule”.

   16. On June 27th, the Shiv Sena had threatened a blockade of the  
national highway between Jammu and Srinagar; this materialized  
between July 1 and 2, with active participation from the Sangh  
Parivar including the BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal.

   17. The protests in Jammu took an aggressively communal stand.  
Progressively, trucks carrying supplies to Kashmir were stoned and  
burnt, along the highway local Kashmiri vehicles bringing tourists  
and pilgrims were stopped and many Kashmiri drivers were severely  
beaten. (One of them, Muhammad Latief Wani of Pantha Chowk succumbed,  
to injuries sustained on August 5th, on August 17 and three others,  
Bashir A. Mir, Muhammad Abbas and Shah Sayar returned to Kashmir on  
August 15, 2008). As positions hardened, lost in the melee was the  
fact that land order diversion had always been temporary.

   18. In response to the blockade, the Fruit Growers Association,  
called for a march to through Muzaffarabad and Pakistan (this is the  
fruit harvest season and the blockade threatened huge losses for  
them). This slogan was seized upon by both the radical resistance and  
the PDP, and the agitation in Kashmir was renewed. The All Parties  
Hurriyat Conference, which had been fragmented over the last five  
years or so, reunited and fixed the date for a march to Muzaffarabad  
on August 11th, 2008.

   19. The administration was caught off guard on the 11th, when by  
all accounts well over one hundred thousand people began to march  
towards the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between its Indian  
and Pakistan Administered parts. The police and the paramilitary  
unit, known as the Central Police Reserve Force, (CRPF) panicked and  
shot and killed four people, including the Hurriyat leader Sheikh  
Abdul Aziz, and injured scores of others.

   20. This caused an outpouring of sympathy for the resistance and  
over the next few days more than twenty people were killed during  
peaceful marches and hundreds more were injured with bullet wounds,  
many if not most, in the upper half of their torso.

   21. On 16th of August, a crowd, by all accounts of well over one  
hundred thousand Kashmiris (some placed the figure at over two  
hundred thousand) marched towards Pampore, the village of the slain  
Hurriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, to attend a traditional memorial  
service. The police did not attempt to stop the marchers and there  
was no violence reported.

   22. It is important to note here the formation of a “Coordination  
Committee”, the circumstances of the genesis of which is as yet not  
entirely clear, consisting of individuals from all walks of life in  
Kashmir. It is this coordination committee that is charged with  
deciding the future course of actions to be taken, including calls  
for strikes and marches.

   23. On August 18th, the people of Kashmir staged a march to the  
United Nations offices to present a memorandum. This time the crowds  
had swelled to over three hundred thousand (and some place the figure  
at over five hundred thousand), there was no police action and there  
was no violence. The huge crowd consisted of all factions of society  
and different communities as well. It is worth mentioning here that  
during this time, there was also a march expressing solidarity with  
the Kashmiris in Kargil.

   24. In a significant development, during a public speech on the  
18th, the Hurriryat leader Mr. Geelani declared that contrary to most  
perceptions that Kashmiris did not have a leadership, the huge  
turnout demonstrated that it did and that it was him, alone. Late on  
the same evening, in a press conference, he apologized for his “slip  
of tongue” and acknowledged that no individual was greater than the  
movement.

   25. Inter alia the Hurriyat leadership, in previous public  
statements made by the Mirwaiz, has made a set of three demands  
before the Government of India before they consider calling off the  
agitation: (i) that the notorious Armed Forces Special Powers Act  
should be revoked, (ii) that the Government must release all  
political prisoners and (iii) that the Government open the  
Muzaffarabad road for trade.

   26. Meanwhile, Jammu remains uncompromising in its demand for  
revocation of the SASB “land right”. In the last one month it has  
formed something called the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti which is  
leading the agitation and among its demands is the sacking of the  
Governor, whom they see as being too Kashmir centric in this approach  
to the problem. In competition against the Kashmiris, they have  
called for a “jail bharo” or “fill the jails” march tomorrow, March  
18th.

   27. Another dimension of this imbroglio is the expansion of the  
controversy to the rest of the country under the auspices of the BJP.  
The latter, in a significant shift in tactics, has sought to shift  
the focus from communalism and regionalism to the question of  
loyalty. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani notes:   
“The problem in J&K today is not Hindu versus Muslim; nor is it even  
Jammu region versus the Valley. It is essentially nationalists versus  
the separatists.” (Emphasis in the original).

   28. Almost mirroring this approach is the position of the  
resistance in the valley. They have been declaring that the protests  
no longer reflect the controversy over the land. That it has gone  
beyond that and that they will not settle for anything less than a  
resolution on the J&K conundrum in its entirety. This is, in part,  
reflected by the central position given to the demand to throw open  
the road from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad to trade.

   29. Meanwhile offices, schools, colleges, universities and shops  
were closed for the better part of two weeks, inconveniencing the  
general populace who, it must be noted, are not opposing these  
strikes although some voice skepticism as to whether it will  
accomplish anything in the face of a lack of real leadership. Life  
limped back to “normal” on August 19th and remained so until Friday  
the 22nd, on which day the Coordination Committee called for another  
march to Eidgah for the Friday congregational prayers, after which it  
would outline its next steps in the protests.

   30. Following an August 17th meeting of the Coordination Committee  
of the resistance, there were reports of a rift amongst the members.  
This was denied by all the members, although two of its members,  
Shabir A. Shah and Naeem Khan were excluded at a later meeting the  
same day.

   31. On Friday August 22nd the Coordination Committee of the  
Hurriyat called for the Friday congregational prayers to be held at  
Eidgah. Informal reports put the number of people in the congregation  
at one million, although even half that number would be an enormous  
gathering.

   32. On August 22nd, Mr. Omar Abdullah, the President of the  
National Conference, suggested that Delhi call “Islamabad’s bluff”  
and offer a referendum on the Kashmir dispute. It was reported more  
sensationally in the mainstream media, however. It is a step that has  
been suggested by others several years ago.

   33. On August 22nd, the Central Government announced that Sheikh  
Abdul Aziz had not been killed by the security forces, suggesting  
that he had been a victim of internecine rivalry. This was  
immediately and roundly denied by the Hurriyat and its allied parties.

An Initial Analysis

It is common place to hear, in some of the immediate analysis, that  
the controversy has made “an issue out of a non-issue”. But this is  
to be disingenuous; the situation has assumed critical proportions  
for some very real reasons, without prejudice to the benign nature of  
text and context of the actual order in relation to the land. The  
first of these is that the Arun Kumar remarks were symptomatic of  
Delhi’s neglect of the resistance and preoccupation with the economy  
when addressing the Kashmir problem. It is impossible not to see in  
this predisposition a kind of arrogance in the wake of India’s  
“emerging” status. Second, the controversy has given the religious  
radicals on both sides of the divide in the State (and now it seems  
the country) an issue to peg their arguments on. Issues of identity  
quickly lead to a willingness to shed blood, as events since the end  
of the old cold war have so starkly shown us. Third, events have  
coincided with elections in J&K State, huge political flux in  
Pakistan and “larger issues” at hand for India. Despite all this, it  
is important that J&K not be given the short shrift again. Fourth,  
the issue of land being appropriated by the security forces, at the  
expense of Kashmiris, is not a new issue and one that has been  
aggravating Kashmiris for a long time now. It has been all but  
ignored. Fifth: an important lesson from this agitation is that the  
average Kashmiri is much more politically schooled, aware and savvy.  
They will not brook easy or opaque compromises. So if Delhi fails to  
engage the radical resistance in dialogue at this time, it will not  
be surprising if the current agitation throws up an even more  
radicalized leadership, be it political or religious, or both. It  
will be a long battle, for it is obvious that the overwhelming  
majority of the people who are out on the streets these days are in  
the under 30 group, have grown up under the shadow of a siege  
mentality and are inured to violence. With these biases in  
perspective, let me try to identify some critical factors that will  
need to be taken into consideration when addressing the situation in  
a focused, comprehensive and transparent manner.

     * At the outset, it is critical to note three things here that,  
on the one hand, add fuel to the fire and, on the other hand, mark a  
qualitative shift in the resistance. These are: (i) that the  
casualties in Kashmir were in marked contrast to over three weeks of  
similar demonstrations in Jammu where the proportion of casualties  
have been considerably less, despite assaults on the police, before  
live television cameras. This contrast between the two regions should  
not be belittled against the facile and inaccurate cries of “regional  
discrimination” being heard from Jammu. On this latter, see the  
latest series of articles in Greater Kashmir by Alee Andrabi. (ii)  
that though out the demonstrations in Kashmir there has been no use  
of weapons by the “separatist” and “militant” factions of the radical  
resistance and (iii) that the people of Kashmir are identifying a new  
form of accountability for the resistance leadership in the formation  
of a “Coordination Committee” which is watched by various wings of  
civil society, business interests, political factions and  
professional groups. It has become a truly people’s movement, despite  
the tendency to trivialize or ignore this development on the part of  
the mainstream media in Delhi.

     * Next, in my opinion, there is a need to separate the short- 
term problem of the SASB imbroglio from the long-term one of the  
Kashmir conundrum, despite the fact that, as I have just suggested,  
they are not unconnected. But for the moment let us just recall that  
both, the resistance in Kashmir and the BJP-led agitation in Jammu,  
tend to link the short and long term issues. This de-linking,  
however, is easier said than done!

     * The need to focus on the short-term measures, in order to show  
progress or be successful, must be without prejudice to the long term  
solution to the complex J&K problem, and must be overtly so stated  
with a timetable for the resumption of serious talks with the  
resistance. This need for a solution to the short-term problem  
asserts itself because what is at stake is communal harmony, dialogue  
rather than degenerating radicalized arguments on issues of identity  
and trust building measures between the two regions, without which a  
solution to the longer term problem will be further distanced.

     * Delhi, for a long time now, has been playing a cat-and-mouse  
game about talking to the “separatists”. In the light of the current  
developments, this cannot continue. It must invite the Hurriyat in a  
transparent and open discussion, which must be then shared with the  
peoples of J&K, the country, South Asia and indeed the world at  
large. Such accountability for Delhi and the Kashmiri resistance is  
long overdue.

     * Pakistan may be in a rather messy stage in its history at the  
moment. But this cannot be a reason to sweep the discussion on  
Kashmir under the carpet; or, indeed, other bilateral issues between  
India and Pakistan. Delhi needs to engage with Islamabad on both  
issues, appraise it of the facts on SASB controversy and ask for its  
neutrality towards the solution to this immediate fire, rather than  
react to the standard homilies that have been coming from Islamabad  
about the current imbroglio in Kashmir.

     * The SASB controversy has successfully deepened alienations  
within the State, quite apart from the alienation of the ethnic and  
linguistic Kashmiri which has been galloping apace. Jammu now is  
firmly on the map of regional aspirations in a loud and radicalized  
fashion. On the other hand, it must be noted that there was a march  
in favor of the Kashmiris in Kargil during this debacle, and reports  
from Leh state that even the Ladakhi Buddhists, whose skepticism of  
the Sindhu Darshan project has caused it to be scrapped and renamed  
the Sengge Kha Babs Festival (Sengge Kha Babs is the Ladakhi name for  
the Indus River) are expressing muted solidarity for the Kashmiri  
fight against what is seen as an increasingly assertive Hindutva  
project in the State.

     * Delhi and Islamabad need to recognize that nothing is  
irreversible in the face of any controversy that is mired in  
historical idiosyncrasies, legal ambiguities and political inequity  
as is the J & K conundrum. The SASB imbroglio is proof if it, if  
proof is needed. It cannot afford to be ignored or solved in a  
haphazard manner, as has been the habit until now.

     * In the face of the above, it is difficult not to see this  
spinning-out-of-control of the SASB imbroglio as a by-product of the  
unfortunate muscular nationalist ambitions of an exiting Governor, a  
communications failure that occurred in the context of the change- 
over between two governors and the opportunistic invitation to the  
national level BJP to patronize the grievances of Jammu.

     * Regardless of the above complication that add yet another  
layer to the J&K conundrum, it is my belief that such painful  
experiences also present opportunities. All the stakeholders in the  
problem would do well to recognize that the current phase presents an  
opportunity for a giant step towards resolution. Consider this: over  
the last year or so, the radical resistance or “separatists” have  
been moderating their stand. On the other hand, the more “mainstream  
parties” have radicalized their positions. This situation represents  
a window for New Delhi and Islamabad to find a solution that will  
respond to this emerging broad, or not necessarily diffuse, unity  
that Kashmir is witnessing.


Siddiq Wahid, PhD
Vice Chancellor
Islamic University of Science & Technology
One University Avenue
Awantipora, Kashmir 192122
J&K State, India

o o o

See also:

STATEMENT ON CENSORSHIP AND VIOLENCE AGAINST PRESS IN KASHMIR
Reporters Without Borders
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28297
25 August 2008


_____



[6] India: Freedom of Expression at continued risk

The Hindu
August 26, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/26/stories/2008082655230800.htm
Editorial

THE HARASSMENT OF HUSAIN

It is distressing that the intolerant should continue with their  
harassment of M.F. Husain and the state should be so ineffective in  
giving protection to the works of the nation’s most celebrated  
artist. The attack on the exhibition showcasing prints of his works  
in New Delhi is proof that the mindless and bigoted hate campaign  
against him continues unabated. Since the controversy over some  
paintings he did of Hindu goddesses erupted in the mid-1990s, Husain  
— who deserves to be treated as a national treasure — has been  
hounded and eventually forced to go into exile. His Mumbai residence  
was attacked by the Bajrang Dal; he has received numerous death  
threats; and his art works have been vandalised on a few occasions,  
one of them in London in 2006 when a major exhibition of his early  
masterpieces was forced to shut down after three men sprayed black  
paint on two of his paintings. Side by side, he has been a victim of  
legal harassment. The string of court cases slapped on him for  
‘promoting enmity’ and ‘outraging religious feelings’ resulted in the  
issuing of non-bailable arrest warrants, the declaration that he is a  
proclaimed offender, and an order to attach one of his properties,  
thanks to the lower courts being extraordinarily accommodative of  
vexatious complaints.

The irony about the most recent act of vandalism in Delhi — carried  
out by a virtually unknown outfit that calls itself the Shri Ram Sena  
— relates to the circumstances in which the exhibition was held.  
Organised by SAHMAT, it was a parallel event to protest against the  
exclusion of the 92-year-old artist’s works in the first India Art  
Summit, which displayed 400 works of 200 artists and saw the  
participation of 34 galleries. Paintings of Husain were said to have  
been kept out for reasons of security, which raises the question —  
why couldn’t the country’s biggest art fair institute measures to  
exhibit the paintings safely? The question assumes an additional edge  
given that the Union Ministry of Culture was a sponsor of the summit.  
Rather than regret the absence of Husain’s works and say it was not  
consulted about which works were to be displayed, the Ministry —  
which recently invited Husain to be a member of its National Culture  
Fund Council — should have used its clout to see that the works of  
India’s greatest contemporary artist were on view, and with full  
security. In face of the continued onslaught against Husain, it was  
an opportunity for the Central government to show it was prepared to  
stand up for cultural freedom and liberal thought. Allowing the art  
summit to take place without his works is an indirect capitulation to  
rank communalism and moral vigilantism.

o o o

Times of India
26 August 2008
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/ 
TODAYS_EDITORIAL_Dont_Give_In/articleshow/3404816.cms

Editorial

DON'T GIVE IN

It’s happened once again. Vandals smashed prints and photographs of M  
F Husain’s paintings which were on display at an exhibition in Delhi.  
The culprits were members of a little-known outfit called the Shri  
Ram Sena. This is, of course, not the first time that the 92-year-old  
artist’s works have been targeted by Hindu extremists. In 1996,  
members of the Bajrang Dal stormed into an art gallery in Ahmedabad  
and destroyed several paintings and tapestries by Husain. The pretext  
was Husain’s controversial painting of Saraswati. Two years later,  
vandals broke into Husain’s Mumbai home and damaged it to protest  
against his depiction of Hindu deities. These incidents and several  
court cases against him in different parts of the country prompted  
Husain to go into exile.

The latest instance of vandalism could have been prevented if  
adequate security had been provided. Since the police had been  
informed of the exhibition they should have arranged for security.  
One doesn’t have to be a Sherlock Holmes to figure out that a Husain  
exhibition is likely to be targeted. If the police are guilty of  
looking the other way, the violent attacks on Husain’s paintings show  
up a worrying erosion of tolerance and freedom of expression, values  
that are deeply ingrained in India’s Constitution. Those who disagree  
with Husain are welcome to oppose exhibition of his works. But they  
must do so peacefully as is done in most other democracies. When the  
‘Last Temptation of Christ’ was released in the US, some Christian  
groups were opposed to it. They protested in front of cinema theatres  
but did not try to stop screening of the film.

Unfortunately, the government seems to be giving in to the  
extremists. Husain’s paintings have not been included in the ongoing  
India Art Summit in Delhi, supported by the Union ministry of  
culture. The parallel exhibition of Husain’s works was organised to  
protest against his exclusion. This is not the only instance of the  
government succumbing to pressure. Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen  
was virtually hounded out of the country by Muslim radicals and the  
government did precious little. Now that she’s back, security  
agencies have restricted her movement prompting her to consider  
leaving India once again.

Those who violently target artists or writers for their works have no  
place in a democracy. They must be arrested and punished. But what is  
more disturbing is the government’s ambivalent stand on freedom of  
speech and expression. If the government cannot ensure that Husain or  
Nasreen have the freedom to express themselves or even live in India,  
then it ends up undermining some of the basic tenets of our  
Constitution.


______


[7] BAJRANG DAL's BOMB MAKERS

Mail Today, 26 August 2008

Sangh activists blow themselves up planning revenge attacks
by Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow


IT'S OFFICIAL. The Sangh Parivar members have now joined in plotting  
terrorist attacks. On Sunday afternoon, a bomb accidentally went off  
in Kanpur killing a former Kanpur city convener of the Bajrang Dal  
and his associate while they were assembling a bomb in a private  
hostel room.
The police suspect that the two were planning retaliatory attacks in  
the aftermath of the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and could be part of a  
larger conspiracy. They were reportedly making six to seven bombs to  
trigger off a serial blast in the Muslimdominated areas of Ahmedabad.
The hostel room was badly damaged in the explosion. The police  
stumbled on substantial quantity of bombmaking material from the  
spot.  They recovered three kg of lead oxide, 500 gm of red lead, one  
kg of ammonium and potassium nitrate, 11 hand grenades, seven timers,  
over two kg of bomb pins and pellets, seven batteries, 12 bulbs and  
about 50 m of wires. Two of the timers found at the spot were  
attached to batteries with wires.
The dead men have been identified as 25- year-old Rajeev Mishra and  
31-year-old Bhupendra Singh Chopra. The explosion was so intense that  
both the legs of Chopra and Mishra were blown off and they died  
within minutes. Two other youths, who were in the adjoining room,  
sustained serious injuries when the room's wall collapsed due to the  
explosion.
Identifying the slain bombers as part of the Sangh Parivar, Kanpur  
senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashok Kumar Singh told MAIL  
TODAY, "I am told Bhupendra Singh Chopra was a Bajrang Dal member.   
Even earlier, Bajrang Dal activists were found to be indulging in  
antisocial activities in Kanpur." A resident of Shastri Nagar in the  
city, Chopra was the convener of the Bajrang Dal in Kanpur city  
between 1998 and 2000.
Prakash Sharma, the national convener of Bajrang Dal, is from Kanpur  
and knew the duo pretty well. Talking to MAIL TODAY, Sharma said  
Chopra and Mishra were members of his organisation. "I don't deny  
they were active in the Bajrang Dal a few years ago. But, they were  
inactive these days," he said.
The injured have been identified as Vikas Singh, 21, of Fatehpur and  
Bupendar, 20, of Chitrakoot. They are students of a Kanpur  
polytechnic institute. The condition of the two was said to be serious.
Sharma feigned ignorance of the activities Chopra and Mishra were  
involved in. About the explosives Sharma claimed, "Such things can be  
bought from the market any day during Dussehra and Diwali. Though  
both Bhupendra and Rajeev used to meet me, I didn't know what they  
were planning to do."
Kanpur range inspector general of police S.N. Singh pointed towards  
the possibility of serial blasts. "It was meant for a larger  
conspiracy. Most probably these people had planned serial blasts. We  
are investigating their links."
Another officer said the police had information about more explosives  
that had been dumped by the two Bajrang Dal members and hoped to  
recover them soon.
Mithilesh Kumar Pandey, the officer in charge of the bomb disposal  
squad of Kanpur said he found enough material at the blast site for  
assembling seven bombs of high intensity. They had used bulb  
filaments in place of detonators to ignite the explosives. The hand  
grenades recovered from the spot were improvised and could be opened  
from both sides on which iron panels were fixed. The scene suggested  
that the bombmakers were well trained in their job.
The incident took place around 3 pm in the room of a private hostel  
in Rajiv Nagar colony of Shardanagar area in Kanpur city. The hostel  
is run by Shiv Saran Mishra, Rajeev's father. A retired employee of  
Kanpur Electric Supply Company (KESCO), he had reportedly severed his  
links with his son two years ago and was living in his ancestral  
village of Nankari on the outskirts of the city. Shiv Saran had  
rented out six hostel rooms to students of a polytechnic but Rajeev,  
an executive with a private firm in Lucknow, had forcibly occupied  
one of the rooms two months ago, apparently against his father's wishes.
Shiv Saran said Bhupendra and his son had attended a Bajrang Dal  
training camp in Lucknow on June 13, 2001 in which they were taught  
martial arts and the use of arms and ammunitions.
Police officers said Bhupendra and Rajeev were upset after the  
Ahmedabad serial blasts and would talk about their plans for visiting  
Gujarat to take revenge. "Both the men had left their parents'  
homes.  Their relatives knew they were involved in serious criminal  
activities since 2001," an officer said.
SSP Singh said Rajeev, who was a bachelor, used to visit Kanpur every  
Sunday and used to spend a few hours in the hostel room with his  
friends. This Sunday, he arrived at around 2:30 pm. Bhupendra reached  
there 15 minutes later. The explosion was heard around 3 pm.
Vinay Katiyar, a Rajya Sabha member, national general secretary of  
the BJP and founder of the Bajrang Dal, said, "I have no connection  
with the organisation (Bajrang Dal) since 1996. They do not report to  
me and I do not chalk out their programmes."
piyush.srivastava at mailtoday.in

o o o

Mail Today
26 August 2008

'COPS & GOVT IGNORE HINDU TERROR IN NANDED'

by Krishna Kumar in Mumbai


SINCE 2006, at 1.30 am on April 6, Bajrang Dal cadre celebrate  
'Shahid Diwas' in Nanded by bursting crackers. They observe the  
'martyrdom' of two colleagues, who died while making bombs meant to  
be planted outside a mosque in Maharashtra.
Besides the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Bajrang Dal  
workers, too, have been involved in perpetrating terror, said Feroze  
Khan Gazi, a functionary of the Movement of Justice and Peace in  
Nanded. But, he adds, Bajrang Dal workers do not get charged with the  
blasts and when they do, as in the Nanded case, they get bail.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad in Maharashtra was puzzled when a low- 
intensity bomb went off in a theatre screening Jodha Akbar in Panvel  
on February 20 this year. On May 31, a blast took place at the  
Vishnudas Bhave auditorium in Vashi and on June 4, a bomb exploded at  
the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane. Both auditoriums were  
screening the controversial Marathi play Amhi Panchpute, which  
allegedly mocked Hindu gods and goddesses.
It was only after the arrest of two men from the Sanathan Sanstha (an  
organisation which claims to be working for the uplift of Hindus)  
that the police realised it was the work of people who wanted to  
'market their own brand of Hindu terror'.
In the Nanded incident, cadres of the Bajrang Dal were planning a  
blast outside an Aurangabad mosque when one of the bombs exploded,  
killing two men (Naresh Lakshman Rajkondawar and Himanshu Venkatesh  
Panse) and injuring four others. All six were Bajrang Dal workers who  
had formed a hit-list of mosques to be targeted.
Shankar Gaikar, state convener of Bajrang Dal, however, claims the  
men were not part of his organisation. "The police can say anything  
but they were not our members," he said even though RSS and Bajrang  
Dal literature was seized from Rajkondwar's house, where the blast  
took place.
The police initially tried to dilly dally but had to arrest the  
accused after intense pressure. "We hoped with the CBI probing the  
case, we could get justice. But the accused are out on bail," said Gazi.
Maharashtra DGP A.N. Roy defended his men, saying "The chargesheet  
has been filed. What more do you expect us to do?"
Gazi said, "There was another blast in a go-down in Shastri Nagar  
near Nanded. Two people died in the incident. The police initially  
told us there was a short circuit but the go-down did not have any  
electricity connection."
Gazi accused the police of shielding the accused and said the state  
and Centre let the accused go scot free.
"They only want to portray Islamic terrorism. What about what is  
happening in Nanded?" he asked.


______


[8]


guardian.co.uk,
August 26 2008

LEGISLATING AGAINST CIVIL INTERESTS IN INDIA
The country's draconian anti-terrorism laws, clamping down on freedom  
of expression and journalists' rights, must be challenged

by Mandeep Tiwana

In India, anyone considered a threat to public order or security of  
the state can be preventatively locked up under the National Security  
Act for up to one year without trial or the requirement for the  
police to produce formal charges in court. The Armed Forces Special  
Powers Act, operational in areas declared "disturbed" (for instance,  
Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir) gives soldiers licence to shoot to  
kill anyone breaching a law or official order prohibiting the  
assembly of five or more persons. Under the Unlawful Activities  
Prevention Act, an accused can be denied the right to proceedings in  
an open court, which is an essential element of a fair trial.  
Moreover, the criminal procedure code – the police officers' and  
judges' rule book – prevents courts, without prior permission of the  
government, from prosecuting public servants for offences committed  
while "acting or purporting to act" in the discharge of official  
duty. Government permission to prosecute members of law enforcement  
agencies accused of torture and extrajudicial killings is often,  
however, not forthcoming.

Every year at its World Assembly, Civicus draws attention to  
activists imprisoned because of their work as part of the Civil  
Society Behind Bars campaign. This year, the case of Dr Binayak Sen,  
vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, one of  
India's most well-respected human rights groups was highlighted  
before the international community. Sen, detained since May 2006, has  
worked to expose extrajudicial killings by the police and excesses  
committed by Salwa Judum, the government sponsored militia in the  
conflict-ridden state of Chhattisgarh. He stands accused of passing  
messages to Naxal/Maoist insurgents in prison whom he used to visit  
as part of his civil society work.

The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, one of the laws under  
which Sen is charged, contains an overbroad definition of what  
constitutes an unlawful activity, which can be conveniently invoked  
to clamp down on the freedom of expression and journalists' rights.  
Draconian punishment of up to seven years' imprisonment is prescribed  
under the law for uttering words, writing or making visual  
representations that create "risk or danger for public order, peace  
or public tranquillity". Moreover, any organisation can be declared  
unlawful by issuing a government notification. Although, the  
government is obliged to specify the reasons for declaring an  
organisation unlawful, it may dispense with this requirement if, in  
its opinion, it is against the public interest to do so. In May 2008,  
Ajay TG, another leading civil liberties activist and journalist who  
has made a number of films around the themes of poverty and human  
rights violations was arrested under this law for making contact with  
an unlawful organisation because he wrote a letter to Maoist  
insurgents requesting return of his camera, which had been snatched  
by them on one of his field trips. That the grounds of his arrest  
were flimsy is borne out by the fact that despite the passage of  
three months, the police were unable to collect enough evidence to  
file charges against Ajay, leading to his automatic release on bail  
on August 5 this year.

Although the cases against Sen and Ajay are still pending, a debate  
on the utility of draconian laws enforced in the name of "protecting"  
the Indian state is long overdue. Proponents of these laws often  
argue that the country is in the grip of multiple insurgencies  
seeking to dismember the country, which has also been the target of  
both indigenous and global terrorist networks. Most civil society  
groups wholeheartedly agree that terrorism in all it forms must be  
resolutely countered, but the means employed by constitutional  
democracies must not violate the core rights and freedoms that are  
the bedrocks of their society. Only if the means are just can  
governments hope to defeat those who employ terrorist tactics, while  
also encouraging disaffected peoples to join the democratic political  
process.

______


[7]

http://www.anhadin.net/article45.html

Peoples Tribunal On The Atrocities Committed Against Minority In The  
Name Of Fighting Terrorism
22-24 August 2008 at Hyderabad

Press Release

Hyderabad, August 24, 2008: A three-day People’s Tribunal concluded  
here today after recording testimonies of over 40 victims who have  
been arrested, harassed and tortured by police and State security  
agencies in violation of standard legal procedures in the name of  
fighting terror.

This fight against terrorism, victims emphasized, has veered more  
around witch hunting of Muslims rather than curbing terrorism, thus  
robbing people of their liberty and freedom and making them more  
insecure than ever before. The real culprits, they said, often roam  
freely whereas the poor and gullible Muslims are picked up and thrown  
into jails at whims and fancies of the powers that be. Victims after  
victims, who have undergone harassment and torture without any  
evidence permissible in the court of law against them, deposed before  
the tribunal — comprising country’s eminent personalities including  
former judges, lawyers and renowned social activists – and narrated  
their tales of woes to the shock and anguish of hundreds of audience.

The security-centric State is empowering itself ever more while  
robbing citizens of freedom and security. The underlying theme  
emerged that invariably, only people from one community are arrested;  
only organisations of one sort are blamed and motives too similar are  
rattled most of the times. The State agencies responsible for such  
crimes exercise incredible impunity and are never questioned.

The deponents comprised primarily those who were arrested by the  
police on various charges of acts of terrorist violence and related  
crimes, but were later let off due to lack of evidence. Those who are  
accused of such crimes and are in jails were represented by their  
close relatives. Invariably, all those who deposed, belonged to  
Muslim community. In addition to verbal testimonies, some of the  
deponents also submitted copies of documents pertaining to the cases.

After hearing them carefully, the jury issued its interim report  
emphasizing that a large number of innocent young Muslims have been  
or are being victimized by the police on charges of terrorism in  
gross violation of law. The People’s Tribunal showed that police,  
intelligence agencies and even judiciary are constantly compromising  
civil liberties and constitutional rights all over India. Innocent  
people are being arrested, illegally detained, tortured and forced to  
confess complicity in terrorist acts with which they have no  
connection whatsoever. It seems that the Indian state has become an  
apparatus that willfully ignores the basic human rights of minorities  
in the country.

It would also appear from the testimonies, that many times the police  
rushed to the press immediately after nabbing some person and dole  
out the stories of their success and relate the progress of the  
investigations. The media without any means or wherewithal to check  
the stories and racing against deadlines reproduced this police  
version ad verbatim. The result of this was that the public would  
often get the impression and assume that the culprits and even the  
mastermind of an act of terrorist violence had been arrested. They  
would thereby reach the conclusion that they were safe from further  
acts of violence. This myth would only be shattered after another  
fresh bout of terrorist act.

The direct fallout of this high voltage publicity, it would seem from  
the testimonies, is that the accused would often times fail to get  
proper legal support. At least two lawyers appeared before the  
tribunal narrating their tales of woe after they took up the case of  
persons who were accused of acts of terrorism by the police. The  
lawyers told the jury that at the local bar association passed  
resolutions that no one from the local bar would represent the  
accused and neither would any one from outside come and do the same.  
These two lawyers who defied the ban were beaten up.

It is the collective responsibility of society, the tribunal  
emphasized at the end of three days, to ensure that the merchants of  
terror are punished but at the same time society has to take care  
that deep rooted prejudices do not develop against certain sections -  
so much so that these sections start wondering whether they are part  
of this society at all or not.


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

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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