SACW | Nov 25-26, 2008 / Pakistan: AQ Khan in chain reaction / Nepal Disappeared / India: Hindu supremacists /Binayak Sen /
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at gmail.com
Tue Nov 25 20:25:14 CST 2008
South Asia Citizens Wire | November 25-26, 2008 | Dispatch No. 2585 -
Year 11 running
From: www.sacw.net
[1] Letter to the Speaker of Nepal's Constituent Assembly (Human
Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum)
[2] Pakistan: Father of the Bomb Speaks Al Qaeda (Farhat Taj)
[3] India: Spineless and shameful censorship at International film
fest: Hussain film dropped fearing the Hindu right
[4] India: BJP is playing with fire (Praful Bidwai)
[5] India: Bomb Versus Bomb (Teesta Setalvad)
[6] India: Doctors and Dictators - Who jailed Binayak Sen? (Dunu Roy)
[7] India: Open letter to Election Commission of India re BJP (Jamia
Teachers’ Solidarity Group)
[8] India: appeal for contribution for survivors of communal violnce
in Orissa
[9] International : Self-censor and be damned! (Kenan Malik)
[10] Announcement: Two new books by Zubaan
[11] Upcoming events:
(i) T2F: Science Ka Adda - God on the Brain (Karachi, 27 November 2008)
(ii) Seminar: Socialism For the Twenty First Century (New Delhi, 30
November 2008)
(iii) Benjamin Zachariah will speak on The Invention of Hinduism for
Political Use (New Delhi, 1 December 2008)
(iv) Public Forum: Orissa: Another Hindutva Laboratory? (London, 5
December 2008)
(v) 11th North America Bangla Literature and Culture Convention (Los
Angeles, California 28–29 November 2008)
-----
[1] Nepal:
Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum Letter to the Speaker of
Nepal's Constituent Assembly
CRIMINALIZE ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
November 26, 2008
The Honourable Subash Nemwang
Speaker
Constituent Assembly
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu, Nepal
Re: Disappearances Bill
Dear Speaker,
Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum welcome the government's
efforts in tabling the Disappearances (Crime and Punishment) bill,
2065, to criminalize enforced disappearances and to provide for a
high-level independent Commission to investigate disappearances
during the 1996-2007 armed conflict.
Enforced disappearances are among the most serious of human rights
violations, as they not only violate the most basic rights of the
"disappeared" person but are also extremely traumatic for family
members and friends of victims. In 2003 and 2004 Nepal had the
ignominious distinction of having the highest yearly number of new
cases of "disappearances" reported to the United Nations Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in the world. In
total, 1,619 "disappearances" (1,234 attributed to the security
forces, 331 to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) and 54
unidentified) were reported to the National Human Rights Commission.
Perpetrators of "disappearances" have enjoyed total impunity, as not
one member of the government security forces or of the CPN-M has been
held criminally accountable and convicted for a case involving
enforced disappearance.
Passage of this bill would be an important step towards full and
impartial investigations into the thousands of cases of
unacknowledged detention, abductions and "disappearances" reported
over the period of the recent armed conflict as ordered by the
Supreme Court in its landmark judgment of June 2007 (Nepal Kanun
Patrika, Jestha 2064 Part 49-2). It is an encouraging step towards
ending impunity and bringing perpetrators to justice and to prevent
similar violations in the future.
We urge that the bill be rigorously scrutinized and debated in the
Constituent Assembly to ensure that it is consistent with the order
of the Supreme Court and the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention
against Enforced Disappearance), particularly those provisions in the
convention obligating states parties to address and sanction enforced
disappearances. A more detailed analysis of the bill is included in
the Appendix to this letter.
The government of Nepal should ensure that the elements of
"disappearances" as defined in the bill, in addition to the
provisions relating to unacknowledged detention and abductions
including by non-state actors, are consistent with those in the
definition of enforced disappearance as provided for in the
Convention against Enforced Disappearance. The bill should reflect
that enforced disappearances constitute a serious and continuing
violation of domestic and international law and that, when committed
in the context of a widespread or systematic attack directed against
the civilian population, it constitutes a crime against humanity. The
bill should address both individual cases of enforced disappearances
and also the wider practice and policy of enforced disappearances as
identified in several authoritative reports, including by the United
Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, and Human
Rights Watch.
We urge you to allow sufficient time for the members of the
Constituent Assembly to debate the bill and introduce amendments in
the interest of truth, justice and reparation for the victims of
enforced disappearances in Nepal.
Finally, as a sign of its commitment to ending the practice of
"disappearances," we urge the government to sign the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance and send it to the Constituent Assembly as soon as
possible for ratification.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you
soon.
Yours sincerely,
Brad Adams Mandira
Sharma
Executive Director Director
Human Rights Watch Advocacy Forum
____
[2] Pakistan:
The News
November 25, 2008
DR A Q KHAN AND THE LANGUAGE OF AL QAEDA
by Farhat Taj
In his article on Nov 19, Dr A Q Khan wrote that "mercenaries of Gen
Musharraf" killed children in the Lal Masjid operation. They were
soldiers of the Pakistani army, not mercenaries. They were ordered by
their commanders to relieve the mosque and the adjacent children's
literary from the illegal occupation of the militant Ghazi brothers
and they obeyed the order under the standard of the army. Some of
them even scarified their lives. To term them mercenaries is offensive.
No sane person can justify the killing of innocent children during
that operation. But the militant Ghazi brothers, not Gen Musharraf or
the Pakistani army, are responsible for the massacre. The Ghazi
brothers led the indoctrination of the children with the most violent
version of Islam, using them as a human shield against the army.
Then, one of the brothers even abandoned the besieged children and
tried to run away in a burqa.
The only thing Musharraf must be criticised for is his ignoring the
illegal activities of the madrasa for so long. I have been to the
madrasa before the operation and noticed the ignorance there. The
madrasa students even interpreted the poetry of Rehman Baba, the
famous mystic Pashto poet, in terms of violent jihad
Dr Khan wrote that the tribal leaders forming the tribal lashkars to
confront the Al Qaeda-Taliban gangs are corrupt. Dr Khan must know
that the major part of the tribal area has been taken over by the Al
Qaeda-Talibna jihadis--Arabs, Uzbeks, Chechens, Afghans, Punjabis and
others. The tribal area is no more Pakistan's territory and the
tribal people have been taken hostage by the savage jihadis. It is
now the responsibility of the Pakistani army to retake the area and
release the tribal people from the barbaric occupation of the
jihadis. The jihdis are committing the kind of brutality on the
tribal people that can easily parallel the brutality witnessed in
Karbala, and that displayed by Genghis Khan in the battlefield. It
takes extraordinary courage to stand up to such brutality. The tribal
leaders and their men are the heroes of the Pashtun and of Pakistan--
they have taken huge dangers upon themselves and their families by
resisting the jihadis. In a sense, the whole world should be thankful
to them, because they have taken up on an evil that threatens every
civilisation in the world. To term such people "corrupt" is deeply
offensive, even disgusting.
Dr Khan questions how a prime minister form Multan, a president from
Sindh and a chief of the army staff from Gujjar Khan can understand
the psychology of the Pashtun. The chief of the army staff does not
need to do psychoanalysis of the Pashtun. All he has to do is to
fulfil his professional duty--to clean up the jihadi mess in the
tribal area created by his predecessors. He must free the tribal
people and territory from the savage occupation of Al Qaeda-Taliban.
He must fully support, through his soldiers and weapons, the tribal
people who have stood up to the jihadis.
The Pashtun voted for the party of the prime minister form Multan and
the president from Sindh. At the time of the election, the Pashtun
who voted for the PPP did not make a fuss about whom the party should
appoint as prime minister and president. They had trust in the party,
like other PPP voters in the rest of Pakistan. The PPP must now
deliver on the promises it made to their voters, Pashtun or non-
Pashtun, in terms of education, health and jobs.
Dr Khan suggested that a group of Pashtun men make up a committee to
propose a solution to the problem in the tribal area. There is no
doubt that the men he mentioned are all intelligent people of high
repute. They are all experts in their fields. But the task Dr Khan
suggested is not their right or their duty. It is the right and
responsibility of the parliamentarians. If the parliamentarians wish,
these gentlemen may be invited to the parliamentary committees or any
other parliamentary forum for their advice. The Pashtun have elected
their representatives to the Parliament. The ANP, which represent the
"essence" of Pashtun culture, holds most Pashtun seats in Parliament.
The second-largest holder of the Pashtun seats is the PPP. The other
party which represents a part of the Pashtun is the JUI-F. All the
three parties are in the ruling coalition. Moreover, MNAs elected
from FATA are cooperating with the ruling coalition. It is the right
and duty of the ruling alliance to make and implement plans to solve
the problem in the tribal area. I wonder why so many people in
Pakistan are ever so ready to encroach on the rights and
responsibilities of the elected leaders.
I wonder why Dr Khan is writing in the language of Al Qaeda. He
wrote: "They (the Muslims) ignored Allah's edict that Christian and
Jews can never be their true friends." This edict of Allah is open to
multiple interpretations, as has been demonstrated by various
scholars of Islam. Why does Dr Khan pick up the interpretation that
Al Qaeda would prefer? I wonder why Dr Khan condemns the Pashtun who
took up arms against Al Qaeda as "corrupt," just like Al Qaeda would
do. Why does he denounce as mercenaries the soldiers of the Pakistani
army who freed the mosque and the library from the illegal occupation
of the Lal Masjid militants, just as Al Qaeda would do? Why does he
let down the political parties the Pashtuns elected, the ANP and PPP,
just as Al Qaeda would do? Al Qaeda, as we know, is thirsty for even
ANP blood.
I respect Dr Khan. I believe he deserves an opportunity, free of
duress, to explain his alleged role in the spread of weapons of mass
destruction. But I request him not to use the language of Al Qaeda,
especially when it comes to the Pashtuns -- the biggest causality of
Al Qaeda's terrorism.
The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary
Gender Research, University of Oslo.
_____
[3] PROTEST AGAINST EXTRA LEGAL CENSORSHIP AND THE DROPPING OF MF
HUSAINS FILM FROM INDIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
[Despite a long running and widespread national campaign by India's
artists community to defend the famous painter M F Husain, under
attack from the Hindu right; despite the courageous judgement of
Delhi High Court that squashed all the cases filed against him by the
Hindu right extremists; the officials state and culture czars just
dont have the balls to take on the fundamentalists. Earlier this year
at India's big state supported Art summit, works of Hussain were out
of bounds for fear of the Hindu right (see: http://tinyurl.com/
6couor) and now the 'Culture' officials have sunk to lower depths.
Thugs of the Hindu right wrote letters complaining against the
screening of a film by Husain at the India's most prestigious film
festival in Goa, that was it . . . the spineless officials caved in
right away and the film screening was dropped. (see news reports below)
Here is what Shyam Benegal, one of India's best known film makers had
to say: "My reaction is of horror, because here's a film which won
the highest award ever that a documentary film can win anywhere in
the world,". "It was supposed to be screened here, but because a few
groups of people don't want it, the Directorate of Film Festivals
including the government of Goa are following them. It's ridiculous,"
he added.
It is high time now that this trend of state inaction against and
constant giving in to fundamentalist demands is punished. All SACW
subscribers are requested to write letters of protest to the festival
officials and to the Minister(s) @ Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting to re-instate the screening of MF Husain's film.
Addresses of officials are posted below
The Directorate of Film Festivals
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting , G o v e r n m e n t
o f I n d i a
Maquinez Palace Annexe ,
Ground Floor
Near Old GMC Building
Panaji, Goa 403001
T e l : 9 1 8 3 2 2 4 2 8 0 5 9
Email : dir.diff at nic.in or sdd.dff at nic.in
Web site : http://iffi.nic.in
Priya Ranjan Das Munshi - Minister of Information and Broadcasting -
Fax: (011) 24653727
and Shri Anand Sharma - Minster of State - Information and
Broadcasting - Fax: (011) 23782118
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of India ]
o o o
Hindu, 25 November 2008
HUSAIN’S FILM DROPPED FROM PUBLIC SHOW
by Ziya Us Salam
Decision follows pressure from activists of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti
‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ was made in 1967
Artists should not suffer because of politics: Adoor Gopalakrishnan”
PANAJI: After a day of flip-flops, M.F. Husain has lost again. After
struggling to exhibit his paintings in the country, the legendary
artist now finds that he cannot screen his film at the ongoing
International Film Festival of India here. As the authorities have
taken refuge in technicalities, Husain has again been banished from a
public show.
The short film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, is a 40-year-old
venture that has won international awards.
With activists of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti mounting pressure for
its withdrawal, it was finally decided that Husain’s film, originally
scheduled for screening this Tuesday as part of the Film Divisions’
Framing Time section, would not be shown. The browbeating tactics of
the radical Hindu outfit that has sought a total boycott of Husain
have worked, as earlier in the day the officials claimed that the
film would be shown.
The Samiti activists, in a representation to CEO of the Entertainment
Society of Goa (ESG) Manoj Srivastava, said: “M.F. Husain has hurt
the religious sentiments of Hindus with his nude paintings of Hindu
gods and goddesses. There are 1,250 cases pending before various
police stations across the country, of which 900 are in Goa.”
Besides writing to the ESG and the Chief Minister, the activists are
said to have staged a protest in Mumbai too. Buckling under the
demand, the authorities decided to withdraw the film and go on with
the rest of the screenings “in a peaceful manner.”
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat refused to acknowledge the presence of
the film or its cancellation at the last hour. Claiming that the film
was not at all scheduled for screening, he said, “I don’t have the
details. I have not seen the film or any such schedule where it is
marked for a show.”
The late evening decision comes on the heels of the assurance by the
Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) that the film would go on.
A senior official had stated Husain’s “beautiful film,” which
presents his view on Rajasthan, would be shown and there “will be no
problem in screening it.”
The directorate was apparently in favour of screening the film but
had to submit to the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring of the ‘samiti.’
DFF director S.M. Khan said, “It was decided not to show the film.
Technically speaking, it was not part of IFFI. It was a part of the
Framing Time section of the Films Division.”
Ace filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan came out in support of Mr. Husain
and said, “By all means the film should be shown. If anybody has any
objection it is due to interpretation which is a personal matter.
Artists should not suffer because of politics.”
Husain’s short film, made way back in 1967, was part of a larger
bouquet on illustrious artists, writers and poets like Raja Ravi
Varma, Amrita Shergil, Picasso, Rabindranath Tagore, Mohammed Iqbal
and Mirza Ghalib.
o o o
Times of India
HUSAIN FILM SCREENING DROPPED UNDER HINDU GROUPS PRESSURE
25 Nov 2008, 1905 hrs IST, PTI
PANAJI: Legendary painter M F Husain's short film was not screened at
the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Tuesday after it was
withdrawn following pressure from Hindu right wing groups sparking
angry condemnation from eminent filmmakers. ( Watch )
"The screening of the documentary has been deferred. It may be shown
some other time," Director of film festival S M Khan said. The
information and broadcasting ministry had decided to defer the
screening of the documentary on Monday night.
The 40-year old documentary, 'Through the Eyes of a Painter', about
Husain's experience in Rajasthan, was a part of I and B Ministry's
Films Division's 'Framing Time section' and was due to be screened on
Tuesday.
Hindu organisations 'Sanatan Sanstha' and 'Hindu Janajagruti
Samiti' (HJS) had objected to the screening of the documentary by the
nonagenarian painter, citing that there were several cases pending
against him in India.
"This is ridiculous. Just because some people have problems with a
filmmaker, it(the documentary) cannot be treated like this," veteran
filmmaker Jahnu Barua said.
Alleging that the move to drop the documentary was against the
freedom of expression, Barua said that he had seen the film six times
and had found nothing objectionable in it.
"An artist should not suffer because of politics," Dadasaheb Phalke
award winning filmmaker Adoor Gopalkrishnan said, adding that the
film should be shown by all means.
HJS functionaries had written to Goa chief minister Digamber Kamat
and the DFF, on the first day of the festival, to withdraw the
documentary. The members had also met Kamat personally with a
memorandum.
"The chief minister requested the organisers to defer the screening
as it might create law and order problem in the state," highly placed
sources said.
____
[4]
http://www.sacw.net/article340.html
INDIA: BJP IS PLAYING WITH FIRE
by Praful Bidwai, 24 November 2008
Nothing speaks as eloquently of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive
Rightwards shift as the fact that even Prime Ministerial-hopeful LK
Advani has had to fall in line with his party colleagues’ hard-
Hindutva position on the Malegaon blasts issue. His November 18
statement attacking Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad for being
"politically motivated" and making "unsubstantiated allegations"
against "Sadhvi" Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant
Purohit is a major departure from his earlier attempt to appear
moderate or middle-of-the-road and saying that "terrorism has no
religion" and the law must take its own course. As the sangh parivar
feels the heat from the ATS investigation into the Hindutva terrorist
network, the BJP has turned hysterical and termed the probe a "huge
conspiracy" by the United Progressive Alliance. It has abandoned all
pretence of political decorum and decency in venomously branding its
opponents terrorist sympathisers and "ISI agents". Party spokesperson
Prakash Javadekar is outdoing even normally abusive sadhus by
claiming that the Congress "encourages terrorism", and has no right
to accuse sadhus and the Army "of being involved in terror blasts"-
regardless of the evidence, too elaborate to recount here. Besides,
it’s ludicrous to confuse one stray officer with the entire Army.
VHP leader Pravin Togadia has expectedly gone further by alleging
that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is "supervising" the ATS
investigations out of "revenge against the Hindus": "Is the ATS going
to subject even God to narco tests?" Although the BJP falls shy of
this, its line of demarcation from the VHP-Bajrang Dal has got
blurred. BJP president Rajnath Singh insists that the votaries of
"cultural nationalism" (Hindutva) can never be terrorists-by
definition. He clams to possess "certain facts" which exonerate
"saints" like Thakur and Amritanand.
Let’s leave aside for the moment all the evidence, including the use
in Malegaon of a motorcycle registered in Thakur’s name, numerous
other links between the network and bomb blasts since 2002, or the
fact that Army personnel present at Purohit’s interrogation have
endorsed the ATS version.
Let’s also not ask why Mr Singh hasn’t disclosed the relevant "facts"
or moved a court against the arrests. What matters is that the BJP
demands that the law of the land shouldn’t apply to sadhus and
sadhvis, and argues that the detention of a handful of shady sadhus
like Amritanand alias alias Dayanand Pandey is a conspiracy against
an entire community! This is deeply offensive to the idea of justice
and fairness.
The absurdity of the BJP defending terrorism after making it a
central plank of its election campaign should be self-evident. Yet,
that’s the unmistakable message that emanated from the sangh
parivar’s November 16 Panipat conclave, at which Mr Rajnath Singh and
Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri joined hands with viciously
anti-secular sadhus and resolved to launch a campaign against the UPA
for its "vilification of Hindu saints and Army officers".
Nothing can condone, leave alone justify, the presence of these two
leaders, one an elected public official with Constitutional
responsibilities, and the other the topmost office-bearer of one of
India’s biggest political parties, at a meeting with an outrageously
communal agenda, which launched the "Hindu Dharam Raksha Manch" and a
"Save the sant samaj" agitation.
There is a real danger that the Panipat meeting will go down as a
rabid version of the BJP’s Palanpur conclave of 1989 which resolved
to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya. This is precisely what the parivar
achieved three years later by razing the Babri mosque. It is utterly
shameful that the BJP became part of the disgustingly communal
Panipat venture. The parivar has decided to brazenly defend Hindutva
terrorism in the belief that the public buys into its propaganda that
it’s a patriotic force and means well by the Indian nation. In
reality, the parivar seeks to destroy the essential character of this
society as a plural, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious
entity through an anti-secular counter-revolution. It is driven by
prejudice, hatred, and blind revenge against real or imagined past
injustices.
Crass militarism and violence against non-Hindus have been integral
to "cultural nationalism"-decades before the Ramjamnabhoomi
mobilisation began in the mid-1980s. Hindutva’s history is one of
assassinations, bloody riots and pogroms targeting the religious
minorities, whom it brands as foreigners with allegiance to "alien
Gods".
Who can forget that Nathuram Godse killed Gandhi because for the
parivar, to which he belonged, the Mahatma a "pro-Muslim" because he
tried to prevent communal riots? If the Godses and Narendra Modis are
"patriots", this nation will only breed assassins and terrorists
acting in the name of a community whom they don’t represent. India
will be doomed. For years, the RSS-Jana Sangh-BJP tried to distance
themselves from Godse by claiming he was not an RSS member in 1948-
although he had been one earlier, for years; as a Hindu Mahasabhaite,
he was inspired by the same ideology of communal hatred. Today, not
just the RSS, but even the BJP, blatantly defends Abhinav Bharat’s
Himani Savarkar, daughter-in-law of VD Savarkar’s brother Babarao,
and daughter of Gopal Godse, brother of Nathuram.
The principal difference between Hindutva extremism and other forms
of religious extremism is that the former tries to pass itself off as
nationalist by virtue of claiming to speak for a majority of the
population, which by definition cannot be separatist. This view is
dangerously majoritarian and exclusivist, and hence anti-democratic.
Majoritarian extremism is also more widespread and enjoys a degree of
state patronage and indulgence. The emergence of the Hindutva
terrorist network cannot be seen in isolation from the climate of
divisiveness, parochialism and chauvinist nationalism and the culture
of hatred that the BJP has promoted in its cynical pursuit of power.
Violence is integral to this culture. Indeed, it is part of the
party’s strategy of political mobilisation. This culture has
percolated over the years into police forces and the national
security apparatus, which views terrorism through an Islamophobic
prism. All governments are affected by this to some extent or other.
As hate speech and hate crimes are increasingly granted impunity, and
ethnic hatreds become part of normal public discourse, civil servants
and the police no longer feel constrained not to air their communal
views, or worse, to act on them without fear of anything more than a
transfer of posting. Take the crass communalisation of the
Maharashtra police, who moved a application in a Dhule court in the
October 5 case of communal rioting, which brazenly stated: "It is an
established fact that Muslims are the masterminds behind all
terrorist activities across India." They also exonerated the Hindu
Rakshak Samiti, which participated in the violence, in which seven of
the 10 people killed were Muslims, by saying its activities were
"mere retaliation to what has been happening in the country for the
past few years." The BJP is now hardening its rabid Hindutva posture.
If the Rajnath Singh line prevails, as is happening, and if the BJP
does relatively well in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, it will see its victory as a
vindication of its defence of the saffron terror accused. This will
encourage it to mount a grossly communal and divisive campaign in the
Lok Sabha election, the like of which India hasn’t seen, with
potentially terrible consequences for this society and polity.
Already, disturbing signs are discernible in the BJP’s evolution. Mr
Narendra Modi has emerged as the undisputed successor to Mr Advani.
He has gained legitimacy through Tata Motors’ decision to shift the
Nano project to Gujarat, and been lionised by Big Business. The RSS
has tightened its grip on the BJP. As membership and attendance in
its shakhas plummets, the RSS will try to play a more active role in
other parivar outfits, including the BJP, and of curse the VHP-
Bajrang Dal. After the Panipat conclave, the BJP’s stance is set to
harden.
This demolishes the wishful argument that incumbency in power would
impel the BJP towards "moderation" and sobriety. The BJP, quite
simply, isn’t that kind of party. It will always occupy the dark
region between parliamentary politics as an instrument of power, and
its foundational loyalty to the sangh parivar and its hate-driven
ideology and violent politics. It’s now playing with fire. It must be
stopped.
It goes without saying that the unearthing of the Hindutva terrorist
network presents a major challenge to the Indian state. It has become
a litmus tests for its secular credentials, indeed its loyalty to the
Constitution. The police must investigate the network impartially and
professionally. They must refrain from making premature statements to
the media before the investigations are completed and solid evidence
is obtained. The Union home ministry has done well to ask the states
to furnish reports on the activities of Hindutva groups. It should
now act on them by banning the VHP-Bajrang Dal and the RSS. True,
bans have their limitations. But their value in delegitimising
extremists must not be underrated. They can put the more dangerous
organisations in the parivar on the defensive and enable the
government to prosecute BJP members connected with them.
_____
[5]
People's Democracy
November 23, 2008
BOMB VERSUS BOMB
by Teesta Setalvad
WITH the much debated investigation trends in the recent Malegaon and
Modasa blasts of 2008, that reveal the conspiracy by extremist
outfits who claim to represent and fight for the Hindu cause to
manufacture and place bombs, a trend that was apparent after the
first Nanded blasts of early 2006 can be concealed from public
visibility no longer.
Ironically, the investigations into the first Nanded blasts conducted
by ATS Maharashtra were tracked by us zealously but it found
reluctant takers --- not just among the political class but the
omnipresent Indian media. In June 2006, we had interviewed the then
ATS chief of the state who admitted to the fact that now the
authorities had to deal with the Hindu bomb as much as the Muslim bomb.
Three months ago, we exclusively analysed the three different
chargesheets filed in the case (two by the ATS and one by the CBI);
the sinister role of the central investigation agency, CBI, in
ignoring major conclusions found by the ATS investigation and in
actually exonerating the accused not only became clear. The media too
ignored this exposure until the recent Malegaon revelations.
The politicisation of our investigation agencies, our law and order
agencies has been the subject of much national debate and lofty
sermonising. But, strangely, such opinions are absent in the current
coverage of the Malegaon and Modasa blasts. The logical comparison to
the Malegaon incidents and the investigated conclusions of the ATS in
the Nanded 2006 blast need to be re-visited.
Investigations have so far revealed dangerous trends. Through the
present rigorous efforts of the Maharashtra ATS, we are informed of
the influence of a Sadhvi, with connections to the ABVP (student wing
of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh). There is also evidence of a thickly veiled but clear
operational nexus between all these organisations, financial and
ideological support for their actions, a cheeky brazenness that comes
with the knowledge that impunity from prosecution and sentence is
their birthright and more.
Two most dangerous trends, revealed by the Nanded investigations and
reconfirmed now with the Malegaon probe, are regarding the
involvement of both serving and retired officers of Indian
intelligence and the army in training outfits that are ideologically
opposed to the Indian constitution, in the making of bombs, in
generating terror and in spreading bitter communal poison.
In law, these acts amount to sedition and war against the Indian
state. If it is proven that this war is being waged from the inside,
from a section, however small, of our army, and this fact has escaped
the attention of the top echelons of the armed forces so far, it is
logical to assume and conclude that the infiltration into our forces
runs close and deep. Just as an ideologically fanatic ISI of Pakistan
will have to shoulder more than a fair share of the responsibility,
and blame for the disintegration of that country into violence and
chaos, the trends that both Nanded and Malegaon reveal have the
potential, if allowed to pass casually and unchecked, of driving
India to serious disintegration, if not destruction. For years now,
many of us have spoken of how perpetrated communal violence and
festering wounds caused by absence of reparation and justice are
eating into the body politic of the nation. The political class, the
media and the judiciary are together responsible for the total
impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of mass violence. As communal
violence pinnacles into a more sinister form, bomb versus bomb, let
it not be said that even the Indian army and intelligence had a role
to play in the disintegration.
Malegaon investigations reveal yet another rather frightening trend.
The leakage and consequent availability of highly controlled and
dangerous substances like the RDX into the market place for easy use
by any outfits that wish to make a career out of bomb making.
RDX is available only with the Indian army. There have been reported
cases of RDX leakages in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana
which have been treated casually by the state police. Gelatine sticks
and ammonium nitrate, volatile substances used in the making of bombs
in many instances, are carefully controlled in law, and leakages from
either the industrial or retail users should be very easy to trace.
The fact that this has not been done, be it related to the blasts on
the Samjhauta Express, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Thane or Panvel,
establishes the laxity in our probing agencies but worse, a cynically
low premium on life itself by a political class, across party hues
that has grown to using communalism of all shades to further
electoral gains.
Neither the availability of RDX nor poverty or unemployment by itself
could, should and would generate bomb makers among our midst. The mix
is just not potent enough. But spice this reality with the ever
present, never debated and increasingly vicious use of hate speech as
a weapon of communal cleavage that helps turn a mind towards violence
against the hate object, and you have a heady potion. Investigations
into Nanded reveal not just that anti-Muslim poison was the stuff
that indoctrination was made off, but that both Praveen Togadia and
Giriraj Kishore had been the indoctrinators.
Similarly, the Sadhvi Pragnya, arrested for her role in the Malegaon
blasts, was well known and popularly used on the campaign trail. She
was popular for her poisonous use of words.
Though hate speech is not simply a crime under Indian criminal law
but also an ingredient to define a terror act, and terrorism under
the Unlawful Practices (Prevention) Act, the authorities rarely give
the sanction to prosecute these offenders. This is yet another
example of the non-existence of the rule of law.
There is an urgent need for the appointment of a three-member
tribunal consisting of sitting judges of the apex court to
permanently and consistently monitor all terror investigations. This
is imperative.
Such a judicial scrutiny, with a strictly time-bound mandate and
accountability, could go a long way in arresting the tendency in all
blast investigations that allow the guilty to go scot free.
The world's largest democracy is a nation of mixed people, different
languages and religions and is also, some would argue, defined and
torn apart by caste. The political manipulation of religion for
political ends has cost us dear since the mid-'eighties.
The battle against the menace of bomb terror, the Hindu bomb v/s the
Muslim bomb challenges each one of us, especially our leaders and our
institutions of governance.
The challenge is to be able to rise above the politics of them and
us. Justice must be seen to be done regardless of who the criminal
mastermind is and what position he or she occupies.
(Teesta Setalvad is co-editor, Communalism Combat, and secretary,
Citizens for Justice and Peace.)
_____
[6]
http://www.freebinayaksen.org/?p=224
DOCTORS AND DICTATORS: WHO JAILED BINAYAK SEN?
The good doctor is modern India's historic victim of organised
injustice and State terror driven by big profit and the poison of
communal politics
Dunu Roy Delhi
In his evocative essay ‘Dr Binayak Sen, My Brother, My Hero',
(Hardnews, September 2008) Dipankar Sen wonders towards the end, "Now
that we are convinced that his imprisonment is based on false and
trumped up charges, we will want to know who would want to inflict
such a fate on this man and above all why? Then we could have a
possible basis and a clue to engage in a sensible dialogue with them
to secure his release."
Who has imprisoned Dr Binayak Sen? The answer seems fairly direct: It
is the state government of Chhattisgarh acting through its loyal and
dedicated servants, including the higher officials in the police, the
public prosecutors office, and the associated branches of the
executive and judiciary. Why has he been imprisoned? The charges
against him, under Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Act 1967, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, and the
Indian Penal Code, are that he is a member of an unlawful
association, gang, or organisation, gives support and aid to and
solicits contributions for such organisation, and is guilty of
sedition and waging war against the State.
Does the evidence support these charges? Dr Sen was arrested in mid-
May 2007 and the first hearing on his bail application took place
shortly thereafter. The Sessions Court rejected the bail, saying that
there was reason to believe that Dr Sen was acquainted with
individuals associated with Naxalite (or Maoist) organisations - even
though these individuals were not charged under the relevant Acts at
that time. When his bail application came up for hearing in the
Chhattisgarh High Court in late July, the judge again denied bail
because he was convinced by the prosecution's arguments that Dr Sen
had been frequently meeting a prisoner in the jail who was alleged to
be a Naxalite and carrying secret letters from him, and there were no
provisions for grant of bail in the sections under which he had been
charged.
Five months later, in December 2007, the bail application came before
the Supreme Court, where it was dismissed without giving any reason.
Thus, the opposing arguments by the defence that Dr Sen had been
meeting the alleged Naxalite prisoner with the permission of the jail
authorities and in his capacity as the vice president of the People's
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL); that there was no evidence to
suggest he was a member of an unlawful organisation or even
supporting one; that he could not be charged on the basis of
statements made to the police by persons in the custody of the
police; that none of the material seized from his house had been
proven as prima facie evidence against him: were all repeatedly
disregarded by the courts.
Hence, even after knowing who has formally imprisoned Dr Sen and why,
the expectation of a "sensible dialogue" to secure his release has
not materialised. In other words, there is probably more to this
whole series of incidents than meets the eye.
There are several schools of thought hovering around this. One school
firmly believes that Dr Sen was arrested because his organisation,
the PUCL, was drawing too much (embarrassing) attention to unlawful
killings by the authorities under the "Black Laws" (the Unlawful
Activities Act and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act). Another
group of supporters is equally firm in holding that it is because
PUCL-Chattisgarh has been one of the few organisations to draw
attention to the excesses committed by the BJP-led state government
under its Salwa Judum campaign. Yet another view is that Dr. Sen's
"crime" consists of selfless, fearless and uncompromising pursuit of
truth, and dedication to his work of pursuing an alternative public
health approach.
Others have expanded the context by stating that the Indian State is
threatening all those opposed to its neo-liberal development paradigm
and Dr Sen was challenging the opening up of the economy by the
Chhattisgarh government to large private sector players, the forcible
acquisition of native lands, the consequent oppression of tribals and
Dalits, and the exploitation of workers in the industrial belt. And a
few insist that Dr Sen is paying the price of being branded as a
‘Maoist by association' because he did not shy away from making the
point that the draconian laws should not be and cannot be used to
target human rights activists or journalists who are in contact with
members of ‘unlawful organisations', for their human rights or
journalistic activity.
Perhaps one has to move a little further away from Dr Sen's immediate
case to understand which of these views is correct and what is the
larger context within which Dr Sen has been languishing in jail for
almost 19 months.
Firstly, as PUCL itself has documented, Dr Sen is not alone in being
harassed in Chhattisgarh. By July 2008, the Chhattisgarh Public
Security Act alone had been used to detain 137 citizens, including
traders, professionals, farmers, cultural activists, and human rights
activists, and only seven members of Maoist parties - mostly under
the charge of having "collaborated with the Maoists' organisations,
and provided food, water etc. to its members, and illegally collected
funds on their behalf". The state government has also banned Medecins
Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), and served an eviction
notice on the Vanvasi Chetana Ashram, for providing assistance to the
Maoists.
In other words, the thrust of the campaign against Dr Sen and these
137 citizens is the same - the allegations are of being associated in
some way with the Maoists (or Naxalites) who come under the rubric of
"unlawful" or "terrorist" organisations. Under the law, this
association seems to require little evidence to be provided by the
prosecuting agency and, in fact, the onus is on the detained person
to prove his or her innocence - something that goes against the basic
tenets of justice. Thus, the illegality of the State's ability to
terrorise ordinary (and perfectly lawful) citizens has been
legitimised by manufacturing consent within various parts of civil
society of the urgent need to "wage war against terror" by whatever
means possible.
This illegality can be clearly observed in the case of the petition
against Salwa Judum filed in the Supreme Court. Under the directions
of the apex court, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
appointed a committee composed entirely of police officers. When they
visited the villages they were accompanied by anti-mine tanks and a
huge contingent of security forces, including armed Salwa Judum
‘officers' - which was obviously their interpretation of an
‘appropriate' mode of unbiased investigation. It should, therefore,
come as no surprise that they have selectively chosen what to
highlight and have justified the government-sponsored arming of the
Salwa Judum by calling it a "spontaneous revolt of the tribals
against years of atrocities and harassment suffered by them at the
hands of the Naxalites".
Such targeting of a particular group or sect is not unique to the
Naxalites. The Muslims have been equally vilified in the "war against
terror". The Srikrishna Commission investigating the Mumbai blasts of
1993 put the blame squarely on the role of the police, the Marathi
newspapers Saamna (Shiv Sena's mouthpiece) and Navakaal, and the Shiv-
Sena-BJP combine. Yet, most of the people apprehended in the case
were Muslims - as were most of the victims. When the accused Memons
returned to India in 2004 because they had faith in India's judicial
system, they were immediately prosecuted and sentenced on the same
logic of association since the prosecution could not establish a
direct link to the conspiracy involving a single one of them.
The recent Batla House/Jamia Nagar shootout in the capital has
already been widely criticised in the media for this kind of
association and weak, concocted evidence. Questions are already being
raised about the alleged seizure of weapons, laptop, etc, being done
in the absence of any witnesses. None of the members of the flat or
the locality said they were witness to the high profile ‘seizure'.
Even the story about the escaped ‘dreaded terrorists' does not appear
to hold water because there was only a single entrance which the
police had already covered and it was patently impossible for anyone
to jump from the fourth floor flat. Inexplicably, one of these young
‘terrorists', surrendered to a TV news channel within hours of the
encounter, another was regularly being quoted on TV, while another
went with his father to the police station.
A People's Tribunal on Atrocities organised in mid-2008 at Hyderabad,
received depositions and statements in over 40 cases and found that a
large number of innocent Muslims were arrested on charges of
‘terrorism' but were not shown to be arrested until many days later,
their families were not informed, they were tortured in police
custody, and made to "confess". Courts were routinely allowing police
remand and not granting bail, while the media uncritically publicised
the charges and allegations levelled by the police. And Human Rights
Commissions were, by and large, treating complaints with casual
indifference.
A similar People's Tribunal on Torture held at Kolkata received 82
depositions, but the police subsequently raided the office of the
organisers and registered a criminal case against them.
In sharp contrast, the CBI chargesheet into the Nanded Blasts of 2006
completely covered up the role of the Sangh Parivar's network that
was training youth in the manufacture of explosives and bombs after
indoctrinating them in hate propaganda against India's Muslims. These
were the same persons who had been involved in bursting bombs at
Parbhani and Jalna. The same pattern can be seen in Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur, Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi,
Tamilnadu and, now, Orissa.
Thus, it is estimated that the violence in Orissa affected 14
districts and 300 villages. Almost 4,300 houses, 149 churches, and 13
schools/colleges have been destroyed, 50,000 turned homeless, women
raped and burnt alive, and 57 people killed. Yet, superficial action
has been taken against the Hindutva activists and RSS/VHP/Bajrang Dal
leaders (Praveen Togadia and others) who orchestrated the brutality.
What the above indicates is that a "sensible dialogue" between those
who imprison and those who are imprisoned is no longer a possibility
in the real world of ‘shining India'. The supporters of Dr Sen and
others like him have to, therefore, deal not only with the ‘truth' as
it should be but the ‘reality' as it is. And while that reality
appears to be fractured, in fact, it is the reflection of a society
rapidly retreating from openness, justice, and equality.
In a curious twist of history, the "evil" face of the rich exploiter
has been replaced by the "terrorist" face of the exploited. Hence,
the call for a more "disciplined" society governed by an
"enlightened" elite. This is the benevolent face of fascist brutality.
The writer is a chemical engineer, development researcher and
political ecologist
_____
[7]
http://www.sacw.net/article338.html
Open letter to Election Commission of India
Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Group
November 20, 2008.
To
Mr. N. Gopalaswami
Chief Election Commissioner of India
Nirvachan Sadan
Ashoka Road
New Delhi 110001.
Subject: Demand to Restrain Bhartiya Janta Party targeting the Muslim
community in Jamia and Batla House area in their election campaign.
Dear Sir,
Following the incident of encounter at L-18 in the Batla House area
on September 19, 2008 where a MA Previous year student of Jamia
Millia Islamia and a 17-year old boy were killed by the Special Cell
on the ground of their involvement with the bomb blasts in Delhi and
other cities of the country, Bhartiya Janta Party had been actively
engaged in a virulent hate campaign fomenting communal sentiments in
the country to garner votes in their favour. Two of the five young
men who are in police custody for their alleged involvement in
seditious activities are students of Jamia Millia Islamia, while the
other three were young men seeking out a career in the city. The
recent findings of the CBI regarding the activities of the Delhi
Police Special Cell has cast a serious aspersion over the credibility
of their findings and since the issue of Batla House ‘encounter’ is
yet to be produced before the court of law, one cannot pronounce them
as guilty. Thus, the constant reference by the BJP to the deceased
(one of whom was a minor) and the five arrested as terrorists is not
only malicious and politically motivated but also legally invalid.
We urge your office to immediately intervene in the matter and take
necessary action against a political party like the Bhartiya Janta
Party who have been campaigning for the forth-coming elections in a
language that is contrary to the secular, democratic spirit of the
Indian Constitution.
Thanking you,
Yours’ truly,
Anuradha Ghosh 9868881756
Sreerekha 9868120339
Manisha Sethi 9811625577
Adil Mehdi 9990923027
Neshat Quaiser 26952309
Tanvir Fazal 9968822925
Ahmed Sohaib 9899462042
_____
[8] India:
CONTRIBUTION FOR KANDHAMAL SURVIVORS
(An appeal on behalf of some friends in Orissa)
Dear friends,
You are aware of the carnage against the Christian community, mostly
Dalits and Adivasis, in the Kandhamal district of Orissa since 23rd
August 2008 following the killing of the VHP leader Swami
Lakshmananada Saraswati, reportedly by Maoist groups. The Sangh
Parivar and its outfits carried on sustained assault on thousands of
Christians forcing then to flee their villages leaving behind
everything they owned including their houses, belongings, livestock,
crops and harvests, means of livelihood, etc. The Orissa government
was a mere spectator of this violent saga.
While over 50,000 people have been displaced, only 23,000 are
reported to be in relief camps. Hundreds of families are living in
terror in surrounding district towns in clandestine manner. Many are
reportedly leaving Orissa itself. The conditions in relief camps are
miserable. The Orissa government and local administration has taken
no proactive measures to restore confidence and encourage people to
return to their villages. Many are yet to file FIRs.
We strongly believe that we need to stand by the Christian community
to also
affirm our secular beliefs for a just society where no minority is
persecuted in the name of caste or religion. It will take years to be
able to restore normalcy, if ever. Meanwhile, food and essentials are
in big demand on a daily basis. We hope to be able to reach out some
relief to families living outside relief camps.
Some friends in Orissa have identified 150 families to begin with and
have made arrangements to buy blankets and mosquito nets that the
families have asked for. If this effort picks up more support, they
will carry on this for the next 2-3 months at least. We urge all our
friends and supporters to reach out to the survivors of the Kandhamal
violence by making a financial
contribution.
Cheque/ demand draft to be made in favour of 'Saheli Women's Resource
Centre'. At the back of the cheque, please write 'for Kandhamal
survivors'and send us your postal address as well, so we can send you
a receipt.
Please circulate this appeal to all your contacts.
In solidarity,
All of us in Saheli.
Saheli Women's Resource Centre
Above Unit 105-108
Defence Colony Flyover Market
New Delhi 100 024
_____
[9] International:
The Times (UK)
September 29, 2008
SELF-CENSOR AND BE DAMNED!
Rushdie's critics lost the battle to ban his book but they have won
the war
by Kenan Malik
It was probably just an eerie coincidence. On Friday night the
Islington home, and office, of a publisher were firebombed. It was 20
years to the day since the publication of The Satanic Verses.
Whether the alleged perpetrators of the attack knew the significance
of the date I do not know. What seems certain is that Martin Rynja,
the director of Gibson Square, was targeted because he is about to
publish The Jewel of Medina, a romantic tale about Aisha, the Prophet
Muhammad's youngest wife. Written by an American journalist, Sherry
Jones, the novel was originally bought by the American publisher
Random House for a $100,000 advance. But earlier this year it pulled
out of the deal for fear of sparking another Rushdie affair.
As works of fiction, the two books have little in common. The Jewel
of Medina is a breezy historical romance, The Satanic Verses a
complex, chaotic exploration of “migration, metamorphosis, divided
selves, love, death”, as Salman Rushdie put it. What links them is
Islam and free speech - and 20 years of weakening liberal resolve to
defend freedom of expression.
The Satanic Verses was not just a novel about migration but also a
satire on Islam, “a serious attempt”, in Rushdie's words, “to write
about religion and revelation from the point of view of a secular
person”. For some that was unacceptable. Five months after
publication, on February 14, 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini issued his
fatwa. “I inform all zealous Muslims of the world,” he proclaimed,
“that the author of the book entitled The Satanic Verses and all
those involved in its publication who were aware of its contents are
sentenced to death.”
In 1989 even the Ayatollah's death sentence could not stop the
publication of the novel. Rushdie was forced into hiding for almost a
decade, translators and publishers were killed, and bookshops bombed.
Yet Penguin never wavered in its commitment to The Satanic Verses.
Today all it takes for a publisher to run for cover is a letter from
an outraged academic. In March, Random House sent galley proofs of
The Jewel of Medina to various academics, hoping for endorsements.
One of them, Denise Spellberg, an associate professor of Islamic
history at the University of Texas, condemned the book as
“offensive”. Random House immediately dropped it. No other big
American publishing house would touch it. Martin Rynja, a fierce
advocate of free speech, eventually picked it up in Britain.
What the differing responses to the two novels reveal is how
Rushdie's critics lost the battle but won the war. They never
prevented the publication of his novel. But the argument at the heart
of the anti-Rushdie case - that it is morally unacceptable to cause
offence to other cultures - is now widely accepted. In the 20 years
between the publication of The Satanic Verses and the withdrawal of
The Jewel of Medina, the fatwa has in effect become internalised.
“Self-censorship”, Shabir Akhtar, a British Muslim philosopher,
suggested at the height of the Rushdie affair, “is a meaningful
demand in a world of varied and passionately held convictions. What
Rushdie publishes about Islam is not just his business. It is
everyone's - not least every Muslim's - business.” Western liberals
have come to agree.
In the past, free speech was viewed as an inherent good, to be
restricted only in exceptional cases. Today it is seen as an inherent
problem, because it can offend as well as harm, and so has to be
restrained by custom, especially in diverse societies. These days not
only do publishers drop books deemed offensive, but theatres mutilate
plays, opera houses cut productions, art galleries censor shows, all
in the name of cultural sensitivity.
Last week, before the firebomb attack, I spoke to Sherry Jones. “If
Random House had simply published my book”, she told me, “I don't
think there would have been any trouble. The real problem is not that
Muslims are offended but that people think they will be. I was
disgusted by the inflammatory language Random House used to describe
the potential Muslim reaction.”
There will always be extremists who respond with fire. There is
little we can do about them. The real problem is that their actions
are given a spurious legitimacy by liberals who proclaim it morally
unacceptable to give offence.
Shabir Akhtar was right: what Salman Rushdie or Sherry Jones says is
everybody's business. It is everybody's business to ensure that no
one is deprived of their right to say what they wish, even if it is
deemed by some to be offensive. In a plural society it is both
inevitable and important that people offend others. Inevitable,
because where different beliefs are deeply held clashes are
unavoidable and these should be dealt with openly rather than
suppressed. Important because any kind of social progress requires
one to offend some deeply held sensibilities. “If liberty means
anything,” as George Orwell put it, “it means the right to tell
people what they do not want to hear.”
Kenan Malik's Fatwa to Jihad: the Rushdie Affair and its Legacy is
published in the spring
______
[10] Publication announcements:
zubaanbooks.com
The Gender Politics of Development
Shirin M. Rai
In The Gender Politics of Development, Shirin Rai provides a
comprehensive assessment of how gender politics has emerged and
developed in post-colonial states.
In chapters on key issues of nationalism and nation-building, the
third wave of democratization, and globalization and governance, Rai
argues that the gendered way in which nationalist state-building
occurred created deep fissures and pressures for development. She
goes on to show how women have engaged with institutions of
governance in developing countries, looking in particular at
political participation, deliberative democracy, representation,
leadership and state feminism. Through this engagement, Rai claims,
vital new political spaces have been created. Though Rai focuses in-
depth on how these debates have played out in India, the book’s
argument is highly relevant for politics across the developing world.
This is a unique and compelling synthesis of gender politics with
ideas about development from an authoritative figure in the field.
“This rich collection is full of hope as well as despair. How should
we evaluate women’s increased visibility and political empowerment in
the world today, when at the same time women’s socio-economic
marginalization continues or even increases? In this proof of her
powerful scholarship, Shirin Rai combines discussions of key concepts
in feminist and development studies, with studies of actual gender
politics of development, from grass roots to global institutions.”
Drude Dahlerup, Stockholm University
“Lucidly written, Shirin Rai’s essays are insightful contributions to
recent feminist debates on democratization and globalization.” Bina
Agarwal, Institute of Economic Growth, University Of Delhi
Shirin M. Rai is a professor in the Department of Politics and
International Studies at the
University of Warwick.
Rs.595
ISBN 978-81-8988-454-3 Hb
Visible Histories, Disappearing Women
Producing Muslim Womanhood
in Late Colonial Bengal
Mahua Sarkar
Mahua Sarkar examines how Muslim women in colonial Bengal came to be
more marginalized in nationalist discourse than their Hindu
counterparts. She considers how their near-invisibility, except as
victims, underpins the construction of the ideal citizen-subject in
late colonial India. She argues that the nation-centredness of
history as a discipline, and the intellectual politics of liberal
feminism, have together contributed to the production of Muslim women
as the oppressed, mute, and invisible ‘other’ of the normative modern
Indian subject.
Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Sarkar
traces Muslim women as they surface and disappear in colonial, Hindu,
nationalist and liberal Muslim writings. This compelling study
concludes by tracing the complex links between past constructions of
Muslim women, current representations, and the violence against them
in contemporary India.
“… an analytically insightful, genuinely original work that breaks
new ground in South Asian history, gender and women's studies,
postcolonial theory, and historical sociology.”
—Antoinette Burton, editor of Archive Stories,
Facts, Fictions and the Writing of History
May 2008
Royal 8vo | 336pp Hb
Rs 595
ISBN 978 81 89884 43 7
Mahua Sarkar is Associate Professor of Sociology, Women’s Studies and
Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghampton University, USA.
_____
[11] Announcements:
(i) T2F: Science Ka Adda - God on the Brain [27 Nov]
Join us at T2F's Science Ka Adda as we explore whether a part of our
brain is
hardwired to generate religious feelings.
Date: 27th November 2008 | Time: 7:00 pm
Rudi Affolter and Gwen Tighe have both experienced strong religious
visions. He is an atheist; she a Christian. He thought he had died;
she thought she had given birth to Jesus. Both have temporal lobe
epilepsy.
Like other forms of epilepsy, the condition causes fits but it is
also associated with religious hallucinations. Research into why
people like Rudi and Gwen saw what they did has opened up a whole
field of brain science: neurotheology.
The connection between the temporal lobes of the brain and religious
feeling has led one Canadian scientist to try stimulating them. 80%
of Dr Michael Persinger's experimental subjects report that an
artificial magnetic field focused on those brain areas gives them a
feeling of 'not being alone'. Some of them describe it as a religious
sensation. His work raises the prospect that we are programmed to
believe in god, that faith is a mental ability humans have developed
or been given. And temporal lobe epilepsy could help unlock the mystery.
Find out more at T2F's Science Ka Adda ...
Horizon: God on the Brain - A BBC 2 Documentary
Running Time: 50 minutes
Date: Thursday, 27th November 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 50
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Karachi
538-9273 | 0300-823-0276 | info at t2f.biz
Map: http://www.t2f.biz/location
Seats are limited and will be available on a 'first come, first
served' basis. No reservations.
- - -
(ii)
Seminar: Socialism For the Twenty First Century
Speakers :
Journalist Mr. Anand Swaroop Verma
Scholar Prof. Achin Vanaik
Thinker-activist Dr Ravi Sinha
Sunday 30 th Nov at 4 P.M.
Venue :
Conference Hall
Rajendra Bhavan
210 Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg
New Delhi 110002
Friends
Humanity stands at the threshold of new crises and new possibilities.
As global capitalism takes humanity through another round of economic
crisis, increasing unemployment, and poverty, a simple and stark
question raises its head. Is humanity condemned to live with
exploitation, oppression, dehumanising working conditions, wars and a
looming ecological catastrophe, or is it capable of building a
society without class, caste, and gender injustices, a society where
the path to growth is not paved with poverty, hunger and overworked
human bodies, where competitive greed is not the most rewarded human
emotion. Rulers of the world since times immemorial, form Egyptian
Pharoahs to Greek slave owners to Chinese Emperors to the current
capitalist breed have always believed that they rule over the best of
the world. The question raised above would scare them. For the people
on the other hand, this question offers a stark choice. Either they
succumb to ruling class ideologies, their obfuscations, allurements
and sedation, and remain blind to it. Or, they doubt, critique and
ask questions; if humanity is to make a better world, how should it
go about it? What lessons does history teach in this regard?
Ever since capitalism became the dominant social system, socialism
has been integral to humanity's endeavours to imagine and achieve a
better social world. Against the private profit greed of capitalism,
socialism pitted the ideal of collective well-being; against a
discouraged and alienated mass of humans created by capitalist profit
machines, socialism envisioned an active and organized humanity that
is fully aware of historic capabilities and tasks; against the
freedom to make profit by one that leads to the misery of many,
socialism raised the banner of a society in which the 'the free
development of each is a condition for the free development of all.'
To imagine socialism will become irrelevant even while capitalist
injustices continue, is to believe humanity to be a condemned
species. On the other hand to imagine that specific answers to the
above questions provided by socialist visionaries like Saint Simon,
Fourier and Owen, or by Marx and Engels, who put socialist theory on
a firm scientific basis, or by practitioners of socialism like Lenin
and Mao, will be correct in every aspect in the context of current
too will be incorrect. For, capitalism has changed. It has changed,
through trial and errors while dealing with its own crises, and by
its efforts to counter and deflect mass movements against its rule.
The most significant changes have occurred in the political and
ideological domain. Liberal bourgeois democracy has become the norm
of state rule, not just in economically advanced countries, but in
underdeveloped countries like India too. Feudal ideologies based on
ideas of natural hierarchy and blind faith in the super natural have
been replaced by individualism and consumerism of a mass society,
which while freeing humans of hierarchical constraints also dis-
empower them by obfuscating the social context of their life.
Revolutions of the twentieth century, the Russian, the Chinese, the
Vietnamese, or the Cuban, managed to rid a segment of humanity from
direct capitalism. History has shown that their success was only
partial. While they succeeded in saving their societies from the
crises they were in, they failed to put them irreversibly on the path
to socialism. Our current context in the twenty first century demands
a critical engagement with the history and legacy of these
revolutions. Interestingly, it is also in the current context, at a
stage of history already shaped by two centuries of capitalist rule
and at a time when capitalism as a social system reigns unopposed for
the first time globally, that one also hears renewed stirrings for
socialism in settings as diverse as hills of Nepal in South Asia, and
favelas of Venezuela in Latin America. What do experiences of these
countries tell us about prospects of socialism?
We feel that it is time that we revisit these ongoing stirrings for
socialism and also start the process of reenvisioning socialism for
our times. To start a meaningful discussion New Socialist Initiative,
which is a collective committed to the regeneration of revolutionary
socialist politics has invited eminent journalist Anand Swaroop
Verma, scholar-activist Achin Vanaik and thinker Ravi Sinha to share
their ideas on the theme.
New Socialist Initiative
a collective committed to the regeneration of revolutionary socialist
politics
- - -
(iii)
Monday, 1st December, 2008
Benjamin Zachariah will speak on The Invention of Hinduism for
Political Use
at 2:30 PM in the Seminar Room, CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi – 110 054
Benjamin Zachariah is Reader in History at the University of
Sheffield and is currently on secondment to the Zentrum Moderner
Orient, Berlin.
His research interests centre on the social and intellectual history
of colonial and postcolonial South Asia, in particular the
intellectual history of development in its late colonial,
postcolonial and Cold War contexts; interactions between metropolitan
and Indian ideas; and political culture, political rhetoric and
standards of political legitimacy in colonial and postcolonial India.
His current project is on Indian exiles in Berlin in the interwar
period.
His publications include Developing India: An Intellectual and Social
History, c. 1930-50 (OUP; 2005) and Nehru (Routledge; 2004), a new and
offbeat biography. A forthcoming book is The Ambiguities of
Nationalism in India: Essays in Antinationalism (Yoda Press).
- - -
(iv)
Orissa: Another Hindutva Laboratory?
An Awaaz – South Asia Watch Public Forum
On the eve of the 16th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri
Masjid in Ayodhya, Awaaz South Asia Watch invites you to a public
meeting on the anti-Christian violence in Orissa and in other parts
of India.
5 December 2008, 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Room B111, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS)
University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H
0XG
Nearest tube: Goodge Street / Russell Sq
Attendance is free
Speakers:
Baroness Caroline Cox (recently visited Orissa)
Ramesh Gopalakrishnan (Amnesty International)
Bipin Jojo (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)
Merely six years after the Gujarat massacres of Muslim citizens,
Christians in Orissa and elsewhere in India are facing attacks from
Hindutva groups. Numerous Christian men and women have been killed,
injured or raped; several thousand churches have been destroyed, and
more than 50,000 people have been rendered homeless in Orissa alone.
What explains this latest and ongoing outbreak of violence against
another religious minority in India?
What has been the role of the police and state governments in these
episodes of violence?
Is the Hindu Right (specifically the Sangh Parivar) renewing its
project of Hindutva by creating new objects of hate?
The meeting will be chaired by Rosemary Morris and Dr. Rashmi Varma
of Awaaz-South Asia Watch
More info: www.awaazsaw.org
- - -
(v)
The 11th North America Bangla Literature and Culture Convention
(NABLCC) will be held in Los Angeles, California on 28–29 November 2008
http://www.banglashahitya.org/
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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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