SACW | Nov 18-19, 2008 / Pakistan: Talaq reform / Wake-up call for India / Election n detention in Kashmir
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at gmail.com
Tue Nov 18 22:47:35 CST 2008
South Asia Citizens Wire | November 18-19, 2008 | Dispatch No. 2582 -
Year 11 running
From: www.sacw.net
[1] Pakistan:
(i) CII’s ‘historic’ recommendations on ‘talaq’ (edit, daily times)
(ii) The right to divorce
(iii) Int'l Performing Arts Festival Spotlights Liberal Pakistan
(Beena Sarwar)
[2] Bangladesh: Four-party plays on ‘religious sentiment’ (Shakhawat
Liton)
[3] India: Protect what remains of secular institutions !
(i) A Saffron Terror Network Surfaces - Wake-up call for India
(Praful Bidwai)
(ii) Hindutva’s Terrorism Links (EPW)
(iii) The President-Elect and India (Martha C. Nussbaum)
[4] India administered Kashmir
- Not a democratic exercise (Kashmir Times)
- India: Arbitrary detention of human rights defenders monitoring
elections in Jammu & Kashmir (Amnesty International)
[5] India: Further Thoughts on Why I Criticize Hinduism (Meera Nanda)
[6] Announcements:
- Seminar: Setting the agenda to counter 'The Fascist
State' (Ahmedabad, 23 November 2008)
- A Conference on Nuclear Energy (Ahmedabad, 6 December 2008)
-----
[1] Pakistan:
(i)
Daily Times,
November 17, 2008
EDITORIAL: CII’S ‘HISTORIC’ RECOMMENDATIONS ON ‘TALAQ’
The Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) under the chairmanship of one
of Pakistan’s top scholars of Islam, Dr Khalid Masud, has recommended
that divorce laws in the country be brought in line with the edicts
of the Quran by giving the right of divorce to wives too. It says
that a woman has the right to demand divorce and such a divorce would
be deemed to go into effect 90 days after “a woman has filed for
separation, even if the man does not respond by that time”.
Next, the CII has recommended the registration of divorce proceeding
the same way as nikah on a new form that would safeguard the right of
the woman under Quran. It wants the nikahnama amended too in order to
describe in it the right of the wife to ask for divorce without being
bequeathed the right to do so by the husband. The CII report says the
husband must be made to register the “first divorce” too instead of
the current practice of sending the woman a notice of three
simultaneous talaqs. Only after the registration of the first talaq
would the later talaqs become valid.
Another drawback for women has been addressed by the CII. A woman
demanding divorce has to surrender assets given to her by the husband
but not her dowry. The bridegroom should declare his assets at the
time of his first marriage and give full details about his first wife
and children in the nikahnama in case of a second wedlock. The
practice today is that a woman approaching the court for khula
(asking for divorce) is accused of possessing assets that were not
given to her. Some husbands force wives to surrender their dowries too.
A CII delegation called on President Asif Ali Zardari, the
constitutional appointer of the Council, and told him that only
around 10 percent of the current Islamic legal provisions would need
to be amended. The President responded by setting up a committee
under Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mr Babar Awan to look into
the report and plan its implementation. This is where the battle for
Quranic law will be fought and political reactions from the
opposition would be carefully examined before going ahead with a
truly revolutionary reform.
Of course, the PPP government will immediately come under pressure
from a number of quarters. The non-religious political parties in the
opposition may secretly agree with the CII recommendations but they
will issue threatening statements against implementing them, calling
the CII an extension of the Musharraf period. The religious parties
will start issuing equally dangerous statements which the “media
mujahideen” will highlight since the clergy of all stripes is
considered a de facto authority on Islam. On top of it all, the
Taliban and Al Qaeda will declare themselves opposed to the reform
and vow to kill anyone who favours it.
But the truth is right there if you want to know it. Women must have
rights given to them by the Holy Quran. This has been highlighted in
the past by Islamic scholars and by lawyers. It is no accident that
the recommendations of the CII, without being aware of it, conform to
the findings of a Pakistan activist, Ms Rashida Muhammad Hussain
Patel, the founder in 1985 of the Pakistan Women Lawyers Association
(PAWLA), a pressure group for the reform of laws discriminating
against women.
In her book “Woman versus Man: Socio-Legal Gender Inequality in
Pakistan” (2003), Rashida Patel had demanded reforms that the CII has
now adopted. She objected to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961
on the grounds that it asked the bride to declare whether or not she
was married earlier whereas no such provision was applied to the
bridegroom. The chapter on divorce discusses the three ways of giving
talaq to a wife. The good way is according to the Quran but
simultaneous three-time divorce (talaq bidat) is not according to the
Quran even though it is acceptable to the court of law. Ms Patel
asked: how can a husband who is just one party to the contract of
marriage annul the marriage unilaterally without the consent of the
other signatory to the contract? She called it a misinterpretation of
Islam.
The Family Laws Ordinance of 1961 never became law because the clergy
rejected it. Since 1961, clerics have been going to court asking for
the annulment of the provision of registration of nikah and talaq. In
2003, in a discussion on TV, a cleric bluntly told Pakistan’s
renowned Islamic scholar Javed Al Ghamidi that the practice of the
old jurists was to be held above the Quran, despite the fact that the
practice of talaq is not uniform in the Islamic world.
Will the PPP soon get cold feet and will Mr Babar Awan, himself a
popular orator on Islam, tell the CII to “cool it”? It would be a
great day in the history of Pakistan when its women get their rights
from its parliament. *
o o o
(ii)
The News
November 18, 2008
Editorial
THE RIGHT TO DIVORCE
The Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) has come forward with a
proposal for radical changes in family laws, under which divorce will
come into effect 90 days after a woman has filed for separation. Till
now, even though family courts have over the past few years granted
women seeking divorce their right to annul a marriage more often than
before, the long drawn-out procedure for 'khula' has meant repeated
visits to courts and the airing of all kinds of messy matters in
public. In some cases, women have been pressurized by judges to
return to husbands they wish to leave. The CII's suggestion will make
the matter a much simpler one for women. The landmark step also goes
a long way towards granting rights set down for them in the Holy
Quran, but denied due to the patriarchal traditions that bind our
society. As they have done before, religious parties are likely to
oppose the CII's recommendations. A storm will be stirred up. In an
environment where 'opposition for the sake of opposition' is the
norm, other groups may join the clerics. This is especially so as the
Council has also proposed amendments in others areas, including
recommendations that an application for divorce be registered the
same way as a 'nikahnama', that a husband register the 'first
divorce' rather than sending his wife three simultaneous notices of
'talaq' and that he declare his assets at the time of marriage
avoiding controversy over what a wife can claim if she files for
divorce. The inclusion of a clause in the nikahnama granting women
the right to divorce has also been recommended. At present, even the
clause that allows a man to grant this right to his wife is in
practice often struck out by 'nikah khawans'.
As it has done before, the CII has suggested measures that promise
progressive change. On the recommendation of the body, the president
has also set up a committee to review laws repugnant to Islam. It
seems likely that, in the true sense of the word, an 'enlightened'
attitude may be taken to this. The CII has indicated it may give its
view regarding suicide bombings, 'jihad' and madressahs. Perhaps
these proposals can help usher in changes in thinking necessary to
eradicate the evils extremism has brought to our society and to offer
women, who of course form 50 per cent of the population, rights that
have repeatedly been denied to them. One must hope the Council, under
the leadership of a chairman who has a reputation as a true scholar
of Islam, receives the governmental support it needs. The CII and the
law ministry must work together to achieve the vision laid out.
o o o
(iii)
INT'L PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHTS LIBERAL PAKISTAN
by Beena Sarwar (Inter Press Service, November 18, 2008)
LAHORE, Nov 18 (IPS) - Some 370 foreign actors, musicians, dancers
and puppeteers have defied the warnings of their friends, families
and governments to participate in an international performing arts
festival in Lahore, cultural capital of the world’s ‘most dangerous
country’.
The privately organised 12th World Performing Arts Festival, Nov
13-23, showcases Pakistani and international dance, theatre, film,
music, and puppetry in the largest such event in the region.
This is the 26th international festival organised by the Rafi Peer
Theatre Workshop (RPTW), a group launched in Karachi in the early
1980s by the family of the late Rafi Peer, the Germany-educated
‘grand old man’ of modern Pakistani theatre who died in 1974. His
youngest sons, twins Faizaan and Sadaan, started out with puppet and
theatre performances in Karachi.
In 1992, they organised the first international festival in their
native Lahore, springing from artist Faizaan’s passion for puppets,
bringing together puppeteers from around the world. Since then, the
Peerzadas (literally, ‘Peer’s sons’) as the family is called, have
organised up to three international festivals a year, showcasing
puppetry, dance, music, and theatre.
The World Performing Arts Festival brings together all these
disciplines, plus film.
Security concerns made this year’s festival the ‘toughest ever’ as
crucial sponsors backed off, Faizaan, 50, told IPS. "Before, foreign
governments were telling their nationals to travel to Pakistan only
on business. Now they are telling them not to travel here at all."
Given the negligible government support (only venue and security),
the group relies heavily on private sponsors to meet their Rs 40
million (500,000 US dollars) budget. "For example, the Swiss Council
for Cultural Relations, Pro Helvetia, would pay for the travel of our
French and German speaking delegates. Not this year," explained Faizaan.
"Other organisations used pitch in, so if it cost 15,000 dollars to
bring in a group, we would only have to bear 3,000 dollars of that
cost. Now, Pakistan isn’t a country they want to invest in. We’ve
lost some 250 performers from Europe because of this," he added.
"Two years ago, we had 800 foreigners. Those who are here now came
because of their personal commitment and our huge personal efforts. I
wrote to all of them saying that in good times you can travel
anywhere, but it is when times are tough that you need to stand with
us."
The foreign delegates representing countries including Iran,
Afghanistan and India in the region and the Czech Republic, United
States, Britain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Norway,
Netherlands and France further afield mingled with about 700
Pakistani colleagues to affirm that the language of music, art and
culture has no barriers.
Walking around the circular red-bricked venue with its open-air
theatre and temporary marquees before show-time, it is easy to spot
foreign participants as they come to the venue from various hotels
where they have been lodged.
Adriano of Jack and Joe Theatre (Italy/Germany) has attended this
festival since 2005. "Pakistan does look very dangerous," he
admitted. "But it’s ok for us," he said, gesturing to his colleague
as they headed to the Festival office to collect their name cards.
"The people at the organisation are very nice, and it’s a nice
atmosphere. We get to meet artists from other countries. It’s a
pleasure to be here again."
This is the fifth time for Guillame de Remusat, a manager and
producer from France. "The Peerzadas are my Pakistani family," he
told IPS in the crowded Festival office as staff scrambled to put
together the performers’ identity cards and adjust complicated
schedules.
He has always "found friendly, polite people, eager to learn about
other cultures and people. So I don’t feel scared. I feel comfortable
here despite all the trouble. But it is not always easy to convince
others to join me. They are used to a different level of security and
accommodation."
Still, he has managed to bring many artists to previous festivals,
and this year, two performances from France: Abaji, a Lebanese-born
multi-instrumentalist and Mano Santa, an Argentinean music band, both
here for the first time.
"I am spreading the spirit of the festival in Europe," grinned de
Remusat. He is working to link this festival with the annual music
festival of Les Suds a Arles in the south of France in July, "like a
sister festival".
"Everyone is very friendly," the dread-locked Marcho Jabea who plays
bass guitar in Mano Santa told IPS in French-accented English. "It is
very important to come here and meet other performers from around the
world".
Abaji likes to travel around the world mainly to meet other
musicians. He feels he is "back home" in Lahore and is thrilled about
his collaboration with Sania Noor, an obscure Pakistani folk singer.
"We just met and it was like we were close friends. We rehearsed out
here, completely impromptu. She sang an Urdu song over my music. It
was fantastic."
Norwegian keyboard instrumentalist and composter Ingrid Kindem is
visiting Pakistan for the third time. Three years ago the Norwegian
cell phone giant Telenor flew her over for their launch in Pakistan,
at which she collaborated musically with the popular Pakistani band
Fuzon.
"I came back the next year and recorded with them. The musicians and
the music here are so inspiring, it’s great to see such young
musicians who are popular," she told IPS. "It’s wonderful to work
with them. I like how they use vocals, very rooted in their own way
of singing, but also able to create inter-popular music."
She shrugged off a question about the security situation. "I feel
completely secure. A lot of people (back home) tell me not to go. The
media shows us a Pakistan that is very different. I have never seen
any furious people here."
"Look, things can happen anywhere," she added. "I really enjoy coming
back here. I am overwhelmed by how friendly people are, they treat me
like a gift from God."
Kinden said she tries to get Pakistani musicians over to Norway, but
there are always visa problems. "It’s very unfair, because when I
want a Pakistani visa, I get it in just three days."
Chicago-based American stand-up comic Azhar Usman, a lawyer in his
previous life who tours with the ‘Allah Made Me Funny’ show back home
with other Muslim American comics, echoed Kinden’s words. "There’s a
lot of media hype about Pakistan. It’s like a fabricated reality on
television. I don’t pay attention to all that garbage. There are
crazy people everywhere."
The only problem he had was getting his visa because of his parents’
Indian origin -- a problem all the over 150 Indian participants
faced, thanks to ongoing bureaucratic restrictions that Pakistani and
Indian visitors to each other’s countries continue to face despite
the ongoing peace talks.
Celebrated British stand-up comedienne Shazia Mirza, whose parents
were born in Pakistan, had a packed hall roaring with laughter at her
politically incorrect, bawdy lines delivered with deadpan confidence.
She has been to Pakistan before, but this was her first time
performing here.
She told IPS she had been apprehensive about coming to Pakistan
"given the state it’s in" but all her fears were unfounded. "I was
also worried about whether they’d laugh at themselves. I was really
surprised. It’s been a fantastic experience. They understood all the
references and laughed and weren’t offended."
Heightened security caused problems for many locals at the festival.
"It was very intimidating to go through so much security. We had to
park really far away, my bag was checked three times," said Alefia T.
Hussain, who brought her daughter and two other girls to see the
Czech puppet show. "But it’s good that they’re taking so many
precautions," she added.
(END/2008)
____
[2] Bangladesh:
The Daily Star, November 19, 2008
FOUR-PARTY PLAYS ON ‘RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT’
Legal experts see manoeuvring as violation of electoral code of conduct
by Shakhawat Liton
The BNP-led four-party alliance is using religion as a political
weapon--violating the electoral code of conduct--to force the
caretaker government and Election Commission (EC) to reschedule the
December 18 parliamentary polls, said legal experts.
The alliance's demand for rescheduling the polls so that hajj
pilgrims can cast their votes is a clear violation of the electoral
code of conduct, which restricts registered parties and candidates to
using religion for political or election purpose, they said.
While an election commissioner told The Daily Star this requesting
anonymity, Ghulam Rabbani, former judge of the Appellate Division,
also said the electoral code of conduct says no propaganda should be
made in favour of a particular party or candidate in election
invoking the religious sentiment.
”So, saying the date of election fixed by the Election Commission
would not allow the hajis to cast their votes would infuriate voters
of the families of those hajis and thereby would fetch their votes in
favour of that party," Justice Rabbani said.
The electoral law experts said the four-party alliance is
discriminating against religions by speaking only for Muslims
performing hajj this year. The party has not said anything about any
non-Muslim voters staying outside the country during the polls, they
said.
According to a provision stipulated in the Representation of the
People Order, a registered political party cannot discriminate
against religions, they added.
On Monday, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia issued a 48-hour ultimatum to
the caretaker government to meet the alliance's four-point demand,
including rescheduling of the parliamentary election so that hajis do
not miss it, to ensure its participation in the polls.
A registered political party may be fined up to Tk 50,000 for
violating the code of conduct, which took effect on September 18 for
the ninth parliamentary election and will remain effective until the
election results are published in official gazettes.
However, the EC has remained silent over the matter.
The commission rather collected information of hajj pilgrims from the
religious affairs ministry yesterday to see when they return home
from Saudi Arabia, EC sources said.
According to ministry information, 48,876 hajis are performing hajj
this year but the EC is not sure how many of them are voters.
The total number of these hajj pilgrims is just .06 percent of total
voters.
According to records, a far greater number of votes were invalid in
the previous two polls--4,49,082 in the eighth parliamentary polls in
2001 and 4,62,302 in the seventh parliamentary polls in 1996.
On receiving the list of hajj pilgrims, the EC held a meeting around
12:30pm and discussed the existing political situation centring the
election.
In the afternoon, the commission met the chief adviser.
The hajj will be held on or around December 8 subject to sighting of
the moon.
The last two hajj flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudi
Airlines leave Dhaka on December 2 and 4. The return flights are
scheduled between December 13 and January 2.
____
[3] INDIA: PROTECT WHAT REMAINS OF SECULAR INSTITUTIONS !
(i)
sacw.net | 5 November 2008
http://www.sacw.net/article235.html
A Saffron Terror Network Surfaces
WAKE-UP CALL FOR INDIA
by Praful Bidwai
With the arrest of "Sadhvi" Pragya Thakur, Sameer Kulkarni and former
Major Ramesh Upadhye for the bomb blasts of this past September in
Malegaon in Maharashtra and Modasa in Gujarat, the police seem to
have unearthed what has all the makings of an organised, well-
ramified Hindutva terrorist network. The network may have been
involved in numerous other recent bombings outside mosques, whose
victims were primarily Muslims. The police are now questioning a
serving army officer too for his links with the network—the first
such instance ever.
The surfacing of the network marks a turning point. Not only does it
show that the sangh parivar will stoop to the meanest level of
criminality by targeting innocent civilians to advance its communal
agenda. It disproves the widely held assumption that terrorism in
India is solely the work of Muslims driven by jehadi extremism and
bigotry. Fanatical Hindus, inspired by intense hatred of secularism
and pluralism, and by ethno-nationalist politics, are equally capable
of and implicated in terrorist activities.
Clearly, the entire sangh parivar, in particular the Bharatiya Janata
Party leadership, has much to answer for. Its Hindutva-based campaign
of intolerance, hatred and Islamophobia since the mid-1980s has
contributed greatly to bringing India to this present pass. In the
light of this development, the Indian state too must radically revise
its understanding of terrorism.
Police from three different states are investigating the suspects,
their contacts and activities. Apparently, they have weighty evidence
of the network’s role in executing terrorist bombings not just in
Malegaon, both this year and in September 2006, but also elsewhere,
in particular in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region near which Malegaon
is situated. In all these cases, the targets were mosques, and the
victims mainly or wholly Muslims visiting them for prayers.
Given the suspects’ strong connections with various sangh parivar
organisations including the BJP, and the sensitive nature of the
case, it’s extremely improbable that the police would have acted
without abundant caution and a good deal of unimpeachable evidence.
According to highly placed sources, the police and Central agencies
also looking into the network’s role in other terrorist attacks, such
as the May 2007 Mecca masjid bombings in Hyderabad, the October 2007
Ajmer blasts, and possibly, the February 2007 Samjhauta Express
bombings.
The suspects under interrogation are inspired by the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh’s toxic ideology. They have all been members of the
BJP or of well-known sangh parivar organisations such as the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini and Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad, fired by anti-Muslim hatred. However, even more
interesting is the role of less-known groups like the "Sadhvi’s"
Rashtriya Jagaran Manch, Kulkarni’s Abhinav Bharat, and the Bhonsala
Military School at Nashik and Nagpur, where Upadhye has been an
instructor.
The genealogy of these groups is highly instructive. Abhinav Bharat
was recently created by RSS hardliners who wanted "real action"
against Muslims. Its agenda was to resuscitate an organisation with
an identical name, set up in 1904 by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to
fight British rule by violent means, including individual
assassination. Savarkar, it hardly needs recalling, was the original
ideologue of Hindutva, and coined that term for the title of a book
published in 1923, which first espoused the Hindu Rashtra idea.
The Bhonsala Military School (BMS) was started in 1937 by the Central
Hindu Military Education Society at Nashik, itself set up by
Balkrishna Shivramji Moonje. Moonje, an important Hindutva figure in
Central Indian politics and one-time president of the Hindu
Mahasabha, was a major influence on RSS founder KB Hedgewar and well
to his Right.
Moonje was given the title "Dharamaveer" by his followers, and was a
firm admirer of contemporary European fascism. He personally met
Mussolini in Rome in 1931. The school’s stated aim is "to inculcate
military virtues in the Bhartiya Youth". Clearly, there’s only a thin
line of demarcation between "military virtue" and rabid, militant
Hindutva.
These organisations’ involvement in terrorist activities was first
discovered in 2006 when the Maharashtra police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad
investigated an accidental bomb explosion on April 6 in the home of
RSS member LG Rajkondwar in Nanded, in Marathwada. Two Bajrang Dal
activists, Naresh Rajkondwar and Himanshu Panse, were killed in the
incident while attempting to fabricate a bomb along with fellow-
extremists.
The ATS chargesheet filed in August 2006 established the existence of
a Bajrang Dal-centred network, which was responsible for a series of
terrorist bombings—beginning with blasts in November 2003 at a mosque
in Parbhani in Marathwada, and including explosions in August 2004 at
two mosques at Jalna and Purna, also in the same region. The bomb
which went off accidentally at Nanded was reportedly meant to be used
at a mosque in Aurangabad. The parivar extremists, said the ATS, were
trained in bomb-making near Pune, Goa and at the Bhonsala Military
School, where an RSS camp coached more than 100 participants in the
martial arts and in using firearms.
According to the ATS, the Nanded bomb-making operation was part of a
larger criminal conspiracy to target Muslims and create the
impression that Muslim extremists would not hesitate to kill other
Muslims. The motive was to sow disaffection, widen the communal
divide and help the Hindutva forces to blame Muslims for all acts of
terrorism, including diabolical ones directed at Muslims themselves.
The involvement of parivar activists in other bomb-fabrication
operations, revealed through recent accidental explosions in Tenkasi
in Tamil Nadu, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and again in Nanded in
February 2007, reinforces the same conclusion. Evidently, the parivar
has been part of a devilishly devious criminal conspiracy, aimed at
discrediting Muslims and diverting attention from its own nefarious
activities.
As this Column noted in October 2006, the September 2006 bombings in
Malegaon outside a crowded mosque after the Friday prayers were part
of this pattern. Ironically, the police arrested Muslims alone for
the blasts—although the victims were all Muslims observing Shab-e-
Barat, or remembrance of the dead, in an adjoining graveyard. The
bicycles on which the bombs were placed bore Hindu names and symbols.
The local police not only ignored material evidence and vital clues
concerning the Malegaon blasts. They tried to cover up Bajrang Dal-
VHP involvement in the earlier Nanded operation by planting fire-
crackers in the house—to suggest that the explosion wasn’t caused by
bombs. They also ignored the fact that the conspirators had planted
false beards to suggest that the bomb-makers were Muslims. They
played down the recovery of a second bomb in the house.
The police alleged that the explosive used in Malegaon was RDX’ this
"proved" the terrorists’ link to Pakistani agencies. However, the
Union Home Secretary, no less, contradicted the police claim about
RDX. As did two forensic laboratories.
After Nanded April 6 explosion, civil society groups—including
Secular Citizens’ Forum and People’s Union of Civil Liberties, Nagpur—
produced a scathing critique of the police version with photographic
evidence to expose the Bajrang Dal’s bomb-fabrication operation. They
specifically warned of an imminent attack by Hindutva militants, but
were ignored.
The Nanded case was soon transferred from the ATS to the CBI, which
indulged in some sordid manipulation. Anti-communal activist Teesta
Setalvad procured the CBI’s chargesheet through an RTI application.
This shows that the CBI greatly diluted terrorism-related charges and
presented the Nanded explosion as an isolated incident unconnected
with the sangh parivar or a larger conspiracy. It soon dropped the
investigation altogether, pleading its "inability".
It is imperative that the state police, and the concerned Central
agencies, get to the bottom of the saffron terror operation and
investigate it impartially and with thorough professionalism. The
time has come to name names and prosecute and punish the guilty.
The BJP either brazenly denies that the Malegaon suspects are linked
to the sangh parivar, or says they’re innocent. This won’t wash. The
artificial firewalls the BJP always creates between itself and its
more extremist parivar organisations have broken down in the present
case.
There are just too many connections between the BJP, the Bajrang Dal,
the VHP and other parivar outfits involved in the conspiracy for the
denial to stand. And these aren’t limited to photographs showing a
cosy relationship between BJP president Rajnath Singh, Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and "Sadhvi" Thakur. Thakur is
a former ABVP-Durga Vahini leader. She campaigned for the BJP in the
Assembly elections in Gujarat. Besides, bodies like the Bhonsala
School and Abhinav Bharat are implicated, as are BJP-RSS members.
Even more contemptible is the argument that "Hindutva terrorism" is a
contradiction in terms because Hinduism is a tolerant faith. It is
indeed tolerant, but Hindutva is the very opposite—an ideology of
divisiveness and extreme intolerance of diversity, pluralism and
secularism.
The Centre must pursue the Malegaon case seriously and urgently act
to ban the Bajrang Dal and the RSS, and to prosecute BJP members
connected with these organisations. Nothing less can reaffirm the
secular spirit of this society and the Indian Constitution at a time
when the minorities’ alienation has peaked after the Batla House
episode.
o o o
(ii)
Economic and Political Weekly
November 15, 2008
Editorial
HINDUTVA’S TERRORISM LINKS
What has long been suspected is now in the open. How will mainstream
politics deal with Hindutva terror?
Terror strikes, which randomly kill people who just happen to be in
the wrong place at the wrong time, unhinge all reason. They breed
intolerance and create conditions under which ordinary people are
willing to abandon common sense. Part of the intent of terrorism is
that it creates the conditions in which “quack” remedies gain
legitimacy. This comes in part from the seeming simplicity of these
remedies, as also from their conformity with an existing template on
terrorism. That template was created in India soon after the 11
September 2001 attacks in the United States. Though various authors
have contributed to the master-narrative, none has left as distinct
an imprint as Narendra Modi, then the principal spokesman of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Yet to become chief minister of Gujarat
and with the horrors of February 2002 still a distant glimmer, Modi
pronounced the mantra that has seemingly become the catechism for all
official investigations: even if all Muslims are not terrorists, all
terrorists are Muslims. This is the template that was broken late in
October by the discovery of an elaborate network of terrorism
involving the faithful of the Hindutva flock. The plot began to
unravel with the arrest of a retired army officer in Pune and a woman
from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, who was once active in the students’
wing of the BJP before she assumed the title of sadhvi. To great
consternation all around, the investigations soon identified a
lieutenant- colonel working with military intelligence and stationed
in Jammu as a key player in the network. And as the investigations
progressed into the bombings on 29 September, in Malegaon in
Maharashtra and Modasa in Gujarat, another saffron-robed religious
preacher, normally based in Jammu, was arrested from a village of
Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh.
The Hindutva political fraternity, stung to the quick, reacted with
allegations of a frame-up. Modi joined the fray with dark
imprecations about a plot to undermine military morale. Propagandists
for Hindutva in the media in turn have sought to draw a distinction
between “terrorism” and “vigilantism” – the one born in the stated
desire to destroy the nation state, the other spawned by the growing
sense of frustration among the righteous majority at the State’s
failure to safeguard lives and liberties.
What all the sophistry fails to cover up is that the reflexive belief
– those of the Islamic faith alone are responsible for terrorism –
has created a cloak of impunity under which every manner of atrocity
has flourished. It is conveniently overlooked that places of Islamic
reverence have often been targeted in lethal bomb attacks -- as with
the cemetery adjacent to a mosque in Malegaon in September 2006 and
the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in May 2007. These incidents have been
easily subsumed within the master- narrative of jihadi terror by
invoking the visceral animosity that adherents of Wahhabi Islam
supposedly harbour towards the syncretism of subcontinental religious
practice. Police investigations, guided by this quack diagnosis, have
targeted innocent Muslims by the scores. As recently as 4 November,
four suspects held for varying lengths of time for supposed
involvement in the Mecca Masjid bombings were acquitted by a
Hyderabad court of all charges. They narrated sordid stories of
torture, forced confessions and finally, of trials that were they not
so tragic, could only be described as farcical. Similar stories of
arbitrary arrest and torture have emerged from Jaipur, Ahmedabad,
Malegaon, M umbai, Varanasi and Delhi, to name only a few cities that
have witnessed terrorist atrocities in recent years.
In few cases have the investigations into jihadi terrorism managed
to produce credible evidence that will stand judicial scrutiny. In
virtually all of them, the police have brought charges and pressed
for conviction almost solely on the basis of confessions obtained in
highly questionable circumstances. This includes the many charges
brought against the alleged perpetrators of the acts of terror
organised by the “Indian Mujahiddin”. These new expediencies in
investigation need to be read in the light of the growing clamour
from Hindutva political forces that a law specific to the menace of
terrorism needs to be brought in, which would make confessions in
police custody admissible as evidence in court. They need to be seen
in conjunction with the weak-kneed and amoral response of the
editorialists and the liberal fringe in politics: that the Indian
people should be prepared for an abridgement of their rights to
defeat terrorism. Few have so far paused to question why the Indian
people should surrender the freedom of which they have so little. But
with the discovery of Hindutva’s terrorism link, there is a
possibility, though still remote, of a paradigm shift in perceptions
– a shift of potentially far-reaching benefits for all. Needless to
say, this is a possibility that will only be realised if the
political apologists for Hindutva are subjected to the processes of
accountability demanded by the rule of law.
o o o
(iii)
http://www.sacw.net/article319.html
18 November 2008
The President-Elect and India
by Martha C. Nussbaum
President-elect Barack Obama will face many challenges in foreign
policy, but forging a productive relationship with India will be high
on that list. President Clinton took a keen interest in India, and,
especially, in issues of rural development. He visited rural
development projects with his usual zest and curiosity, taking a
particularly keen interest in the situation of women. After his
Presidency, Clinton has continued his work on issues of poverty and
development. He was also virtually the only major international
leader to stand up right after the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 and
publicly condemn the perpetrators.
President Bush, by contrast, focused his efforts on the nuclear deal,
more or less neglecting issues of poverty and development. One bright
spot in the generally dismal record of his dealings with India,
however, was the decision to deny a visa to Narendra Modi, who had
been invited to lecture here by a group of Non-Resident Indians
(NRI’s). The State Department cited his role in the Gujarat pogrom as
its reason for denying him a diplomatic visa and revoking his tourist
visa. This courageous stance in favor of human rights and against the
perpetrators of a genocide was surprising but highly welome to the
large number of U. S.-based scholars of India who had petitioned the
State Department in this matter.
What course will President Obama choose? Will he, like Clinton, focus
on poverty, quality of life, gender equality, and an end to the
politics of hate? Or will he follow the lead of the NRI community,
focusing on entrepreneurship and nuclear partnership? Much
discussion, this week, has focused on Obama’s appointment of Sonal
Shah to his transition team. I shall not add to the growing volume of
commentary on Shah’s links to the VHP-A, since she has already issued
one statement condeming the politics of hate, and will soon be
invited to clarify her position further. Shah personally is involved
with only the VHP-A’s relief efforts. There is room for concern,
however, that someone with such close ties to an organization that
has been complicit in terrorist activities against Muslims and
Christians should hold such a prominent place. The whole issue
deserves the further clarification that it will receive.
Instead of pursuing that question further, however, I should like to
focus on a letter written by then-candidate Obama to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, dated September 23, 2008, and published in India
Abroad, the October 10 issue. I address these remarks to my former
University of Chicago Law School colleague in the spirit of the type
of respectful yet searching criticism that I know he will recognize
as a hallmark of our faculty workshops and discussions.
The Obama letter has three slightly disturbing characteristics.
First, the letter gives lengthy praise to the nuclear deal, without
acknowledging the widespread debate about the wisdom of that deal in
both nations. Perhaps, however, this silence simply reflects
politeness: Obama is surely aware that Singh has been an enthusiastic
backer of the deal, risking much political capital in the process.
Second, the letter speaks of future cooperation that will "tap the
creativity and dynamism of our entrepreneurs, engineers and
scientists," particularly in the area of alternative energy sources,
but never mentions a future partnership in the effort to eradicate
poverty and illiteracy. This silence, unlike the first, cannot be
explained by politeness, since Singh has devoted a great deal of
attention to issues of rural poverty, and it is plausible to think
that he could have gotten a lot further had he had more help from
abroad.
Third, and most disturbing, the letter commiserates with Singh for
the Delhi bomb blasts, but makes no mention of Gujarat or Orissa.
Obama offers Singh:
"my condolences on the painful losses your citizens have suffered in
the recent string of terrorist assaults. As I have said publicly, I
deplore and condemn the vicious attacks perpetrated in New Delhi
earlier this month, and on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7. The
death and destruction is reprehensible, and you and your nation have
my deepest sympathy. These cowardly acts of mass murder are a stark
reminder that India suffers from the scourge of terrorism on a scale
few other nations can imagine."
Obama’s use of the word "terrorism" to describe acts thought to be
perpetrated by Muslims, while not using that same word for acts
perpetrated by Hindus, is ominous. Muslims suffer greatly in India,
as elsewhere, from the stereotype of the violent Muslim, and both
justice and truth demand that we all do what we can to undermine
these stereotypes, bringing the guilty of all religions to justice,
and protecting the innocent. (The recent refusals of local bar
associations in India to defend Muslims accused of complicity in
terrorism, under threat of violence, shows that the rule of law
itself hangs in the balance.) Particularly odd is Obama’s omission of
events in Orissa, which were and are ongoing. His phrase "the scourge
of terrorism" is virtually Bushian in its suggestion that terrorism
is a single thing (presumably Muslim) and that many nations suffer
from that single thing. (Note that it is not even true that most
world terrorism is caused by Muslims. Our University of Chicago
colleague Robert Pape’s careful quantitative study of terrorism
worldwide concludes that the Tamil Tigers, a secular political
organization, are the bloodiest in the world. Moreover, Pape argues
convincingly that even when religion is used as a screen for terror,
the real motives are most often political, having to do with local
conflicts.)
Obama’s letter was written during a campaign. Perhaps it reflects
awareness of the priorities of NRI’s who were working hard in that
campaign. At this point, however, he can start with a clean slate and
decide how to order his priorities regarding India. Let us hope that,
like Bill Clinton, he will give the center of his attention to issues
of human development (poverty, gender equality, education, health),
and that, when discussing the issue of religious violence, he will
study carefully the violence in Gujarat and Orissa, learn all he can
about the organizations of the Sangh Parivar, and adopt a policy that
denounces religious violence in all its forms. To mention one
immediate issue, it would be a disaster for global justice if Obama,
as President, were to heed the demands of the diaspora community to
grant Narendra Modi a visa — especially since the Tehelka expose has
made so clear the cooperation of the government of the state of
Gujarat in those horrendous acts of violence.
President Obama has repeatedly shown a deeply felt commitment to the
eradication of a politics based upon hate. Can we have confidence
that he will carry that commitment into his relationship with India,
even when the demands of powerful leaders of the NRI community make
that difficult? I certainly hope so.
Martha Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor
of Law and Ethics at The University of Chicago, and the author of The
Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s Future.
------
Read also:
ATS retracted RDX claim under pressure
Times of India, 18 November 2008
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
ATS_retracted_RDX_claim_under_pressure_/articleshow/3725212.cms
Advani joins Sangh chorus for sadhvi
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Advani_joins_Sangh_chorus_for_sadhvi/articleshow/3729357.cms
_____
[4] Kashmir : Election Graffiti
(i)
Kashmir Times
November 19, 2008
NOT A DEMOCRATIC EXERCISE
Misplaced optimism over first phase of polling
The euphoria displayed by the official circles over what has been
claimed as brisk polling in the first phase of the elections for
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly appears to be quite misplaced. It will
indeed be naivety to jump to the conclusion merely on the basis of
claimed 55 per cent polling in four districts of Leh, Kargil,
Bandipora and Poonch. The report that New Delhi has heaved a sigh of
relief over the " respectable" polling in the first phase of
prolonged electoral exercise makes it obvious that those at the helm
had initially doubts about the participation of the electorate in
large number in the elections. It will be a wishful thinking, as some
official circles have claimed, that the people of Kashmir have
rejected the separatist's call and disapproved their stance on the
disputed nature of Kashmir by turning out in large number at the
polling stations. Firstly, the separatists had not much hold in the
areas selected for the first phase of polling, particularly Ladakh
region and Poonch. Secondly, there was large presence of the security
forces in these areas including Gurez and Bandipora and the
allegations of coercion to ensure reasonable turnout of voters cannot
be ruled out. Unlike in 2002 the Election Commission or the State
authorities had not provided for independent national or
international observers to oversee the election process. In the
absence of such observers it is difficult to digest that element of
coercion, booth capturing or bogus voting was totally absent in the
election. Even some of the observers from the civil society were
obstructed while they had gone to some parts of Bandipora to ensure
that the polling is free and fair and without any kind of coercion.
The noted human rights activist and chairman of the J&K Coalition of
Civil Societies. Pervez Imroz, was not only beaten by the police but
was also taken into custody while overseeing the polling process.
Even a section of the Indian media has reported incidents of booth
capturing and bogus voting during the first phase of polling. In
Bandipora and Sonawari constituencies of Kashmir there were reports
of double voting by a number of voters. According to a report in The
Tribune, based on the visit of its team to Sonawari and Bandipora
constituencies, there was hardly a polling booth where under-age
voters were not detected. While the primary and high school students
were found to have cast their votes, several others had queued up
with voting slips in hand. The Election Commission had failed to
issue voters identity cards in Jammu and Kashmir. That makes the
casting of bogus votes easy.
While expressing his happiness over the polling percentage in the
first phase, Governor N.N. Vohra claimed that participation of the
people in large numbers despite cold weather on account of the recent
snowfall reflected " their deep faith in democracy which has
flourished in Jammu and Kashmir during the past six decades." This
kind of illusion and attitude of make-believe that the rulers in New
Delhi have been displaying for the past six decades is responsible
for the increased alienation of the people of Kashmir from the
national mainstream. The people of the State have only witnessed the
ugly face of Indian democracy with rigged elections, imposition of
pliant governments on them, repression and intimidation, denial of
civil liberties and enforcement of draconian laws. Even the ongoing
electoral process cannot be described as a democratic exercise in any
way. With a large number of security forces present, a large number
of alienated people excluded from the process, those giving a call
for boycott of the elections, a democratic right even recognized by
the Election Commission, prevented from taking out peaceful rallies,
the pro-boycott demonstrators frequently lathi charged, tear gassed
and beaten, their plans for march thwarted by enforcing official
curfew or even by undeclared curfew how can the poll process be
claimed as a democratic exercise. How can one imagine that the people
any where can repose their faith in this kind of democracy ? Even
those participating in the polls have been saying that the election
for the state assembly is only for the governance and has nothing to
do with the solution of the Kashmir problem. On that issue they still
support the pro-freedom elements. If they are joining the poll
process it is only for the redressal of their day-to-day problems.
Even the major mainstream political parties like the NC and PDP have
been asserting that a solution of the Kashmir problem is necessary
for peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
o o o
(ii)
Amnesty International
Public Statement
AI Index: ASA
17 November 2008
INDIA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS MONITORING
ELECTIONS IN JAMMU & KASHMIR
Amnesty International calls upon authorities in India to immediately
release Pervez Imroz, a Srinagar-based senior advocate, and two other
human rights defenders - Firdouz Ahmed Sofi and Aijaz Ahmed Mir - who
were apparently arbitrarily detained at Bandipura where they were
monitoring polling during the ongoing elections in Jammu & Kashmir
today, 17 November.
The three were detained when they were involved, on behalf of the
Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), in monitoring of
the polling at Bandipura Elections to the Jammu & Kashmir state
assembly which are being held in seven phases till 24 December.
Speaking to Amnesty International from the Bandipora police station
where he and the two others were held, Imroz said they were detained
after paramilitary forces and police personnel baton-charged a
demonstration by around 100 persons, mostly women, who were
protesting against the elections. Imroz said he and others were
witnessing the demonstration; he and six persons including a
photojournalist sustained injuries in the baton-charge; he received a
blow on his head as he was dragged. While the others were shifted to
hospital, he and the two other human rights defenders were detained
and taken to the police station, he added.
Imroz said the police had not charged him and the two others with any
offence; also, he was given no medical treatment; nevertheless, the
police allowed him to make and receive telephone calls and allowed
one of the JKCCS’ election observers, Prof. K. Babiah from Bangalore,
and a local journalist to meet him, he added.
In the wake of recent volatility in Jammu & Kashmir, Amnesty
International continue to call upon India’s security forces to act
with restraint and avoid excessive use of force and ensure free and
fair elections; the organization has also appealed to all
organisations in the state not to commit or condone acts of violence
against political opponents, or make statements or undertake actions
that would constitute incitement to such violence.
Amnesty International calls on the authorities in India and Jammu &
Kashmir to:
immediately release the three human rights defenders - Pervez Imroz,
Firdouz Ahmed Sofi and Aijaz Ahmed Mir.
initiate a prompt, independent and impartial inquiry into all
complaints and reports of harassment, arbitrary detentions and
violations of the rights of human rights defenders, in Bandipora,
make the results public and make those responsible for such
violations, including those who ordered or acquiesced, accountable
for their actions; [I think we should go beyond the particular
persons as what happened]
· take steps to ensure take steps to ensure that it is
possible for human rights defenders to carry out their tasks without
fear of harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention.
BACKGROUND
Amnesty International has been concerned with the harassment faced by
human rights defenders in the state of Jammu & Kashmir which faces an
armed conflict with separatist guerrillas based in Kashmir valley
since 1989.
In June 2008 Pervez Imroz, who has been actively involved with the
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) to ascertain the
disappearances of people in the Kashmir valley during the armed
conflict, was attacked by suspected Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) personnel. This attack, which is yet to be fully investigated,
followed the discovery of unmarked graves brought to light by the
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in March 2008.
JKCCS, a coalition of civil society organizations in the state, had
invited organizations from other parts of India to monitor the
elections.
END/
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office
in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press at amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St.,
London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
o o o
(iii)
The Tribune
17 November 2008
Freedom for some, jail for others
Human rightist Imroz arrested
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
Bandhipora police picks up human rights defender Pervez Imroz. — AFP
photo
Bandipora, November 17
It was not such a red-letter day for democracy in the valley. Just
when it seemed everything was going fine, with both the pro-election
and the anti-election forces enjoying their space, the Bandipora
police cracked down heavily, and on the wrong people, apparently.
It was around 12 noon when Pervez Imroz, a well-known human rights
activist in Kashmir, had come out of the polling station in the main
Bandipora town. In less than five minutes of his exit from the
station, where he had gone to monitor the “freeness and fairness of
polls”, Imroz was behind bars. He was alleged to have been leading an
anti-election rally, which was attended by over 50 women among others
from the area.
Whereas SP Bandipora Junaid Mehmud told The Tribune that Imroz had
been picked up because he was “fanning the pro-freedom and anti-poll
sentiment and was asking people not to vote”, the real seemed
different. Imroz, along with six local volunteers (two of whom —
Aijaz Mir and Firdaus Sofi were later detained with him), was moving
behind the boycott rally in the town just before he was taken in. The
police, however, came up to him, and thrashed him after finally
making the arrest.
Till filing this report, Imroz, who heads the J&K Coalition of Civil
Societies (CCS), had not been let off. “He has been detained without
any FIR or charge. The police will have to explain this,” said
Khurram Pervez, second-in-command at the coalition. Junaid Mehmud
later said the police would let Imroz go, as his offence was bailable.
Important here is the history of detentions that Imroz has faced in
the past. The leader of human rights campaign in the valley, he has
long been espousing the cause of the voiceless — especially those
killed in custody and those who disappeared over the past several
years of conflict in the valley. Very recently, Imroz’s house was
under attack from people who are yet to be identified and punished.
That apart - the man has been of late been in news for his
Coalition’s interest in monitoring elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Since 2002, J&K CCS has been monitoring elections in the state. Their
2002 Assembly election report and later the 2004 parliamentary
election report was not taken well by the powers-that-be because it
contained several references to how the police and the Army had
coerced people to vote.
Significantly, the coalition even lost one of its volunteers — Asia —
during the 2004 elections when the vehicle, in which she was
traveling, was targeted in a mine blast. Kurram Pervez lost his leg
in the accident. He had to get it amputated.
“We feel this is just another attack on our freedom to monitor
elections and reveal the truth,” Khurram today told The Tribune.
While he worried for his president, detained in the Bandipora police
station, the local police and the civil authorities were contacted by
several international human rights groups who sought to free Imroz.
Among the first to get in touch with the administration was Frontline
Defenders from Ireland, an international human rights protector.
Amnesty International is also posted on the matter.
_____
[5]
Ninmukta,
15 November 2008
FURTHER THOUGHTS ON WHY I CRITICIZE HINDUISM
by Meera Nanda
http://nirmukta.com/2008/11/15/further-thoughts-on-why-i-criticize-
hinduism/
_____
[6]
Announcements:
(i)
Ahmedabad Seminar: 'The Fascist State' (23 Nov 2008)
Dear All,
We are living in extremely distressing times; we have seen the
Gujarat genocide and the emergence of a state with strong fascist
characteristics. The continuous hounding of the minorities, the
creation of the ‘enemy’, fostering a fear psychosis, mobilization on
the basis of an agenda of hatred – we have seen these disturbing
processes over the past few years. The reaction of the Indian state
following the recent bomb blasts also reveals the tendency to
appropriate more and more draconian powers, indiscriminate detention
of minority youth, and violation of civil and political rights of its
citizens with impunity.
The attacks on the Christian minorities in Orissa and Mangalore have
further exposed the hideous agenda of the Hindutva forces to
strengthen their agenda of fascist mobilization, and the acquiescence
of the Congress led government in the Centre in fomenting this
process. In this context the civil society needs to understand the
nature of the emerging fascist state and strategize on methods to
counter this tendency. A one-day seminar has been organized by many
concerned civil society organizations to deliberate on this issue and
evolve strategies for action, on the 23rd of November, 2008. All of
you are invited to this seminar. Kindly note the venue and time of
the seminar.
Kindly see the attachments for more details.
'DARSHAN' – An Organization Committed to Cultural Transformation
B-2/1, Sahajanand Towers, Jivraj park, Ahmedabad – 380 051, Gujarat,
India.
PHONE: +91-79-26815484, 65413032.
THE FASCIST STATE:
Setting the agenda to counter
[A Seminar on Orissa-Karnataka experiences and lessons from Gujarat
Genocide]
Time: 9-00a.m. to 5-00p.m.
Date: Sunday, 23rd November, 2008.
Venue: Ahimsa Shodh Bhavan, Gujarat Vidyavith, Ahmedabad.
SCHEDULE
SESSION-1. Time Programme/Resource Persons
9-00 am to 9-30 am Registration & Tea
9-30 am to 10-15 am Keynote Lecture on ‘Politics of Communal Fascism
and Indian Democracy’ by
Girishbhai Patel
[Senior Advocate and Human Rights Activist]
10-15 am to 11-15 am Facts and Realities of Orissa (Kandhmal) experience
Speakers:
- Saroop Dhruv
- Dwarika Nath Rath
- Chittaranjan Singh
11-15 am to 11-45 am Open Session on Orissa experience
11-45 am to 12-15 pm Video Presentation on Karnataka [Manglore]
experience.
12-15 pm to 1-00 pm Facts and Realities of Karnataka (Manglore)
experience
Speaker:
- Fr. Cedric Prakash (To be decided)
1-00 pm to 1-30 pm Open Session on Karnataka experience.
1-30 p.m. to 2-30 p.m.
Lunch Break
SESSION-2 Chairperson: Ghanshyam shah (Sociologist and Political
Scientist)
2-30 pm to 3-45 pm Key questions posed by Gujarat Genocide and
Realities of Democratic set-up
Sepakers:
- Prakash Shah
- Gagan Sethi
- Mukul Sinha
- Mallika Sarabhai (To be confirmed)
3-45 pm to 4-00 pm
Tea Break
4-00 pm to 4-30 pm Open Session on Lessons from Gujarat Genocide
4-30 pm to 5-00 pm Chair Persons Comments and Resolution Passing
ORGANAISED BY:
* Action Aid
* Aman Biradari
* Aman Samuday
* Antarik Visthapit Haq Rakshak Samiti
* Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
* Centre for Development
* Documentation and Study Centre for Action
* Himmat
* INSAF
* JanVikas
* Lok Kala Manch
* Mahila Swaraj Abhiyan
* Movement for Secular Democracy
* National Alliance for Women
* Niswa
* Prashant
* PUCL
* Safar
* SAHR WARU – Women’s Action and Resource Unit
* Samarpan
* Samerth
* Samvedan Cultural Program
* Sanchetna
* Saurashtra Dalit Sangathan
* St. Xavier’s Social Service Society
* Swabhimaan Andolan
* URJAGHAR
* Please confirm your participation before 21st November-2008.
* Registration Fees Rs. 10/- per person.
* Contact No: 079- 2681 5484 / 6541 3032.
09426181334 (Hiren Gandhi)
- - -
(ii)
A CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR ENERGY
India once a ‘propagator’ of ‘Atom for Peace’ has slowly shifted to
Nuclear Weaponisation. After the Nuclear tests and the Nuclear bombs,
it has gone to make weapons to help take these bombs far and wide.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the help of outgoing US president
has got a licence to increase India’s Nuclear base. Nuclear power
plants are coming up on a large scale at Jaitapur (Maharashtra),
Haripur (West Bengal) and also at Mithi Virdi (Gujarat).
Due to this Uranium mining activities have increased at Kadappa
(Andhra Pradesh), forest are being destroyed in Jharkhand to
facilitate uranium mining, uranium mines are coming up in Meghalaya too.
Existing Nuclear Plants may also be expanded. Government aims to
achieve a target of 63000 MW of Nuclear Energy by 2032. People
affected by mining or people living near the Nuclear Power Plants
have been raising voices of oppositions for long.
The conference will include discussions on Nuclear Power, Nuclear
Bombs, Nuclear War, International treaties, the recent Nuclear deal
with the US. Various issues arising due to Nuclear Energy,
possibilities in alternative sources of energy and ways to encourage
them would also be taken up. Affected people and activists from other
parts of the country will also participate and share their experiences.
Subject: Nuclear Energy - It is not CHEAP, CLEAN or even
SAFE !!!!!
Venue: Ahimsa Bhavan, Gujarat Vidyapith, Ashram Road,
Ahmedabad.
Dates: Saturday 6th December 2008, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Speakers: Praful Bidwai, M. V. Ramana, Girish Sant, Sandeep
Pandey, Jayesh Rathi, Surendra Gadekar, Sanghmitra Gadekar.
Supporting organisations:
Gujarat Vidyapith, Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal, Sampoorna Kranti
Vidyalaya – Vedchi, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Anu Urja Abhyas Juth
– Bhavnagar, Manaviya Technology Forum, NAPM – Gujarat, Kinara Bachao
Sangharsh Samiti – Umergaon, Paryavaran Mitra – Ahmedabad, Paryavaran
Santri – Ahmedabad, Jatan – Vadodara, Gujarat Biradari, NCPDP –
Ahmedabad, Sarvodaya Parivar Trust – Pindval, Charkha – Ahmedabad,
Jivan Tirth Koba – Gandhinagar, Action Aid – Ahmedabad, Vyavasayik
Swasthya Suraksha Mandal – Vadodara, Shantigram Nirman Mandal –
Tancha (Amod), Manav Vikas Kendra – Vallabhvidya Nagar, Yoganjali
Parivar – Sidhpur, Gandhi Shanti Pratisthan – Ahmedabad, Uthan –
Bhavnagar, Loknad – Ahmedabad, Janpath – Ahmedabad, Prasad Chako –
Ahmedabad, Cultural Central Forum (Meenakshiben) Narmad Library –
Ahmedabad, Bombay Sarvodaya Friendship Centre – Mumbai, Nasa
Foundation – Ahmedabad, Sadbhava Sangh – Mumbai/Gujarat, Ravi Krupa
Trust (Arun Dave) – Sanosara, Arch – Vadodara, Gujarat Loksamiti –
Samiti, Vichar Valonu Parivar – Ahmedabad.
(Some supporting organisations have other or opposing views, but have
agreed to participate in the conference.)
All interested people/organisations are invited. Contributions
towards the conference are voluntary and welcomed.
Contact: Rajni Dave, A/302, Sharan-1, Vasana, Ahmedabad – 380007.
[Gujarat, India] Tel: - 079-29296413
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Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
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