SACW | Nov 27-28, 2008 / Sri Lanka: Human Rights / India: Horror in Bombay - Nov 27, 2008 ; Censoring MF Husain

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | November 27-28, 2008 | Dispatch No. 2586 -  
Year 11 running
From: www.sacw.net

[1] India: November 27, 2008 Bombay's night of terror
(i) Once was Mumbai (Kumar Ketkar)
(ii) India's peaceful illusion has been shattered (Dibyesh Anand)
(iii) The Assault on Mumbai (Tariq Ali)
(iv) The carnage in Mumbai (Editorial, The Daily Star)
(v) Zero tolerance time (Zafar Sobhan)
(vi) Mayhem in Mumbai (Editorial, The News)
(vii) Terrorism in Mumbai and its fallout (Editorial, Daily Times)
(viii) Behind the Mumbai attacks (Savi Hensman)
(ix) Hemant Karkare! A tribute to a hero (Mustafa Khan)
[2]  Sri Lanka: Human Rights Situation Deteriorating in the East  
(Human Rights Watch)
[3]  India:  When Freedom of Expression is Dictated by the Far Right
(i) Protest Letter against cancelling the screening of documentary by  
MF Husain (SAHMAT)
(ii) Editorial: Who Is In Charge? (Times of India)
(iii) Modern Hurt (Editorial, The Telegraph)


-----

[1]

(i)

Indian Express
28 November 2008

ONCE WAS MUMBAI

by Kumar Ketkar

Even otherwise, the city of Mumbai is explosive. But everytime there  
is a terrorist attack, the metropolis is gripped by a kind of fear  
psychosis. The attack on “A Wednesday” (what a morbid coincidence!),  
proved yet again that the so-called “courageous” and “resilient”  
Mumbaikar is rapidly getting used to mayhem and murder. That is not a  
reflection of courage or of collective sanity, but of the  
desensitisation of the mass mind.

That the terrorist attack took place just when the media was full of  
stories of “saffron terrorism” may be a coincidence, but the killing  
of Hemant Karkare, the chief of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), gives  
the event an anti-climactic turn. The Sangh Parivar and the Shiv Sena  
had gone to town for almost a month, aggressively campaigning against  
the ATS and virtually running a propaganda drive to condemn Karkare  
as an anti-Hindu and anti-national officer. Karkare was known for his  
upright character and courage, as well as for his patriotism. With  
his long experience in RAW, he strongly believed that terrorism has  
no colour and creed. He worked tirelessly, and arrested those who  
were engaged in terrorist acts, irrespective of faith. As long as the  
suspects arrested were Muslims, he received applause. But the moment  
he caught extremist Hindus, and collected evidence against them, he  
became a villain in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar and the Sena.

Now that he has lost his life fighting the terrorists — who are  
believed to be part of the global Taliban-ISI-Al Qaeda network — the  
sinister campaign against him has turned on its head. Karkare had  
monitored international terrorist operations and splits, as well as  
“splits within splits” in the ISI, and was following the threads of  
the groups who were also working against the Pakistani state. The  
tragedy is that along with him, two other brave very senior police  
officers, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, have also been killed by  
the terrorists. Intellectuals, talking heads and the media will now  
routinely condemn the state and central governments for failure in  
gathering intelligence and not having a “disaster management plan”.  
But the fact is the city of Mumbai has gone beyond any disaster  
management plan. This is because disaster is a way of life in this  
vast, totally disconnected and uncontrollably grown metropolis, where  
there are a crore and a half people, but no social and community  
life. That is why...

any appeal for a sectarian and identity-based movement instantly  
galvanises those groups. They then go on a rampage to prove their  
otherwise lost and neglected socio-psychological existence. Sometimes  
it is Marathi, at other times it is “Maratha’, then it is Dalit and  
then this sudden rise of the “Brahmin”. Hundreds and thousands of  
Brahmins have been organising huge, purely caste-based mass  
conferences, taking a cue from Dalits and Marathas. Their language is  
militant, and they claim their interests are being “criminally”  
neglected by the political class.

Almost everyday there is a “rasta rok” or stone-throwing, railway  
service disruption, bandh or straight forward arson and looting. No  
Mumbaikar can plan his day, nor is he sure of reaching home in one  
piece. If this is routine, the terrorist attack just multiplies the  
insecurity and uncertainty of life. In such explosive conditions,  
where the police and the politicians are both distrusted by the  
people, it is not easy to collect intelligence. The so called  
intelligence failure is an inevitable result of the fractured police,  
political skullduggery, and destruction of community life.

The terrorist attack of March 1993 followed the destruction of the  
Babri Masjid, and large-scale communal riots ensued. But it must also  
be remembered that the January 1993 communal inferno was limited to  
Mumbai and the systematic killing of Muslims in the city. Since then,  
there has been a cycle of terrorist attacks almost every year, and  
every time there is this benumbing of mind and body. The only  
difference is in the methods used by the terrorists. It is difficult  
to say whether the “Hindu terrorism” is a reaction to “Muslim  
terrorism”, or the whole cycle began with extremist Hindus destroying  
the Babri Masjid.

Mumbai did not have either a communal history or this kind of  
terrorist cycle before the nineties. Mumbai was known for gang wars  
and mafia chains. Normal city life was not disturbed by those gang  
wars. Moreover, cynically speaking, the mafia was “secular”, in the  
sense that Hindu and Muslim mafiosi worked in perfect tandem. The  
growth of the real estate and the builder-contractor lobby slowly  
brought the mafia into the life of the city’s middle-class. Selling  
or buying flats could not be done without those “service providers”.  
So the city’s sprawling middle-class not only tolerated the dons —  
small or big — but also used them to sort out their problems. It was  
not... exactly bonhomie, but a kind of co-existence.

The first stage was communalisation of the mafia, during the movement  
against Babri Masjid. Then came the legitimacy given to communal  
politics. That was followed by the nexus between the Muslim or Hindu  
politicians with their respective “friendly” mafia. This divisive  
politics was further vitiated by the politics of language, caste and  
religion. Today, no Mumbaikar swears by the city he lives in. He  
swears by his “identity”. The so-called intelligence wing of the  
police, which is nothing more than an extension of the police force,  
has also been infected by this sectarian virus. One does not yet know  
the mastermind behind this terrorist attack. But surely, he knows the  
fractured fabric of life in this city. He knows that even about two  
dozen organised terrorists can hold a city of one and a half crore  
people to ransom. The hostages counting their minutes under the guns  
were a most bizarre manifestation of the people of Mumbai, who are  
hostages to the anarchy that is Mumbai.

The writer is editor, ‘Loksatta’

o o o

(ii)

The Guardian
November 27 2008

INDIA'S PEACEFUL ILLUSION HAS BEEN SHATTERED
The attacks in Mumbai raise the question: is a secular democratic  
setup sufficient to tackle religious extremism?

by Dibyesh Anand

Yet another terrorist attack in an Indian city punctures any  
illusions Indians and foreigners may harbour about economic growth  
leading to more peace and stability. The coordinated violence  
directed at symbolic targets and real people reflect careful planning  
of a kind hitherto unseen from indigenous extremist movements. The  
primary aim was to instil overwhelming terror and get maximum  
publicity. Why target UK and US passport holders and not all westerners?

We need to wait for more confirmation but one can guess that the  
backers of the perpetrators would be using the invasion of Iraq as a  
defining moment for themselves. The clearest example of the  
international character of terrorism is not so much the two luxury  
hotels frequented by foreigners, but holding hostage a Jewish Rabbi  
and reportedly many other Israelis. In India's domestic scenario, it  
makes no sense for terrorists to target Jews or Israelis; Israel is  
not a factor within Indian politics and India has always had close  
relations with Arab countries.

The only conclusion one can hazard is that like most other Islamist  
radicals, the actors sought to scavenge upon real and imaginary  
grievances of Muslims throughout the world. This international jihadi  
nature of violence, which cannot be described as anything except  
terrorism, has never manifested itself so visibly in the world's  
largest democracy. How can any state respond to extremist movements  
who see their struggle merely as a local chapter of a global war?

India's political system has had many problems including anti- 
minority violence. Pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 and  
recent killing of Christians in Orissa served as a rude reminder of  
the frequent failures of Indian democracy when it comes to protection  
of minority rights. Such failures may feed grievances but do not  
explain or justify extremism. Muslim extremism – I deliberately use  
Muslim, not Islamic, extremism because the terrorists claimed to  
speak on behalf of oppressed Muslims and not the beleaguered religion  
of Islam – of the kind witnessed in Mumbai raises three fundamental  
questions.

First, how should people in whose name the violence is perpetrated  
respond? Is it sufficient to point out that religion does not preach  
violence and hence these terrorists do no represent true Islam  
(denial mode)? Or should one remind oneself of legitimate grievances  
(Kashmir, Gujarat, Islamophobia, and so on) which these extremists  
highlight (rationalising mode)? Or should the focus shift from denial  
and rationalising to shame (confrontation mode)? Shame as how in the  
name of one's identity, such indiscriminate violence can take place.

Islamist discourses of sympathy which privilege pain suffered by  
Muslims over that by non-Muslims have to be confronted by Muslims  
themselves. If Muslim dissenters do not wrest the control back from  
extremists, they'd lose any moral authority and only validate the  
views of Islamophobes. Recent attempts by Muslim religious leaders to  
denounce terrorism in public in India are steps in the right direction.

Second, what is the main crisis faced by Indian society? It is not  
terrorism even though it kills. It is intolerance of dissent on the  
part of people and these terrorists are extreme manifestations of  
this intolerant ethos. India's secular democratic state is a site of  
contestation as it is accused by rightwing Hindu nationalists of  
pandering to the minorities while the progressives rightly lament its  
frequent failures to combat anti-minority extremism. The state has  
clearly not been neutral.

But extremist violence undermines any legitimate criticism of the  
Indian state for failing to protect the minorities. Did the  
perpetrators of spectacular terrorism in Mumbai not know that their  
action will further polarise Hindus and Muslims in India and thus  
harm the interests of all? Surely they knew but this is what the aim  
of extremism is – to polarise and radicalise and hence expand the  
recruiting pool. Any backlash against Muslims (and modern India's  
history is replete with these) will be the ultimate victory for the  
terrorists. The loser from this carnage, which even Bollywood could  
not have fantasised, will be all Indians if there is a further rise  
of intolerance.

Third, is a secular democratic setup sufficient to tackle religious  
extremism? The jury is out in this case. Religious extremists  
conceptualise violence as a purification of recent collective  
humiliations and regaining of historical pride. Democracy implies  
acceptance of different views, but can it deal with movements and  
actors who refuse to even play the democratic game, such as the  
Mumbai terrorists? The state has no option but to reject and police  
them. But vigilance, intelligence, and militant adherence to secular  
and democratic norms is the only way in which Indian state can ensure  
that religious extremism remains an exception rather than a norm.

o o o

(iii)

counterpunch.org
November 27, 2008

India's Leaders Need to Look Closer to Home
THE ASSAULT ON MUMBAI

by Tariq Ali

The terrorist assault on Mumbai’s five-star hotels was well planned,  
but did not require a great deal of logistic intelligence: all the  
targets were soft. The aim was to create mayhem by shining the  
spotlight on India and its problems and in that the terrorists were  
successful. The identity of the black-hooded group remains a mystery.

The Deccan Mujahedeen, which claimed the outrage in an e-mail press  
release, is certainly a new name probably chosen for this single act.  
But speculation is rife. A senior Indian naval officer has claimed  
that the attackers (who arrived in a ship, the M V Alpha) were linked  
to Somali pirates, implying that this was a revenge attack for the  
Indian Navy’s successful if bloody action against pirates in the  
Arabian Gulf that led to heavy casualties some weeks ago.

The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has insisted that the  
terrorists were based outside the country. The Indian media has  
echoed this line of argument with Pakistan (via the Lashkar-e-Taiba)  
and al-Qaeda listed as the usual suspects.

But this is a meditated edifice of official India’s political  
imagination. Its function is to deny that the terrorists could be a  
homegrown variety, a product of the radicalization of young Indian  
Muslims who have finally given up on the indigenous political system.  
To accept this view would imply that the country’s political  
physicians need to heal themselves.

Al Qaeda, as the CIA recently made clear, is a group on the decline.  
It has never come close to repeating anything vaguely resembling the  
hits of 9/11.

Its principal leader Osama bin Laden may well be dead (he certainly  
did not make his trademark video intervention in this year’s  
Presidential election in the United States) and his deputy has fallen  
back on threats and bravado.

What of Pakistan? The country’s military is heavily involved in  
actions on its Northwest frontier where the spillage from the Afghan  
war has destabilized the region. The politicians currently in power  
are making repeated overtures to India. The Lashkar-e-Taiba, not  
usually shy of claiming its hits, has strongly denied any involvement  
with the Mumbai attacks.

Why should it be such a surprise if the perpetrators are themselves  
Indian Muslims? Its hardly a secret that there has been much anger  
within the poorest sections of the Muslim community against the  
systematic discrimination and acts of violence carried out against  
them of which the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in shining Gujarat was only  
the most blatant and the most investigated episode, supported by the  
Chief Minister of the State and the local state apparatuses.

Add to this the continuing sore of Kashmir which has for decades been  
treated as a colony by Indian troops with random arrests, torture and  
rape of Kashmiris an everyday occurrence. Conditions have been much  
worse than in Tibet, but have aroused little sympathy in the West  
where the defense of human rights is heavily instrumentalised.

Indian intelligence outfits are well aware of all this and they  
should not encourage the fantasies of their political leaders. Its  
best to come out and accept that there are severe problems inside the  
country. A billion Indians: 80 percent Hindus and 14 percent Muslims.  
A very large minority that cannot be ethnically cleansed without  
provoking a wider conflict.

None of this justifies terrorism, but it should, at the very least,  
force India’s rulers to direct their gaze on their own country and  
the conditions that prevail. Economic disparities are profound. The  
absurd notion that the trickle-down effects of global capitalism  
would solve most problems can now be seen for what it always was: a  
fig leaf to conceal new modes of exploitation.

Tariq Ali’s latest book, ‘The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of  
American Power’ is published by Scribner.

o o o


(iv)

The Daily Star
November 28, 2008

  Editorial
THE CARNAGE IN MUMBAI
It is time for all South Asians to fight terrorism unitedly

We strongly condemn the terror attacks that have left Mumbai reeling.  
This attack, vicious in its nature and with wide-ranging  
ramifications, has brought home to all of us in South Asia the lesson  
that a serious, purposeful and united effort toward combating the  
terrorist menace is now necessary. Indeed, the series of attacks that  
have occurred in India in recent months, together with the violent  
attack on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's Islamabad, were broad  
hints of how wide the network of terror was getting to be. With the  
Taj and Oberoi hotels in Mumbai (as well as other spots) now coming  
under attack, it is clear that terrorism is now no more a national  
but a broad regional menace. It is now anyone's guess as to where  
terrorism will strike next. But what is clear is that no one is safe  
and at this point it is for all South Asian nations to come together  
to combat the threat. At the same time, people everywhere must  
condemn the atrocity perpetrated in Mumbai. After having been claimed  
responsibility by the so-called Deccan Mujahideen, it is especially  
for Muslims everywhere, seeing that such atrocities are being  
perpetrated in their names, to condemn the killings loudly and make  
it clear that their faith abjures violence of all kinds.

The ramifications of the attacks, carried out in military precision  
by men coming in from the sea, and literally too, can easily be  
imagined. Those who perpetrated the attacks have clearly gone much  
farther than those who have in recent times been targeting people  
across the country. The fact that the attacks have been so  
coordinated and so easily carried out clearly raises the fear that  
not only India and Pakistan but the region as a whole is now in a  
state of severe vulnerability. In fact, the attacks have now  
introduced a strong feeling that unless drastic measures are taken to  
handle such terrorist acts on a regional basis, instability could  
become a real factor in South Asia and so leave societies open to  
depredations of the kind that have left Mumbai reeling. As we write,  
there are a large number of hostages still in the terrorists' hand  
and violence is still continuing as the terrorists continue to wreck  
havoc. We sincerely hope that no human life will be lost before the  
terrorists are captured.

It has been a sad day not only for the Indians but for people across  
the world as well and especially for us in South Asia. At this moment  
of trial what is important is the need to identify and apprehend the  
culprits. On a bigger scale, it is South Asian stability, which is at  
stake.

Our condolences go out to the families of the dead and injured.

o o o

(v)

The Daily Star
November 28, 2008

ZERO TOLERANCE TIME
by Zafar Sobhan

When will it ever end? Photo: AFP

What in God's name is going on in India? Pakistan and Sri Lanka have  
long been tinder-boxes, periodically erupting into welters of death  
and destruction, and recent years have added Nepal to the nations in  
the region beset by radical upheaval. Indeed, not long ago, it seemed  
as though even Bangladesh may have been heading in the direction of  
increasing violence and discord.

But, of late, it seems that India's tenure as the only long-standing  
and stable democracy in South Asia is coming to an end.

Of course, perhaps part of the problem is that we have simply not  
been paying sufficient attention as India has steadily descended into  
its present state of chaos and confusion over the past few years.

Perhaps we have not paid sufficient attention to the tensions in  
Kashmir, the north-east, and in vast swathes of the countryside along  
the country's central and eastern belt that are now under the de  
facto control of Maoist insurgents and their sympathisers.

Perhaps we have not paid sufficient attention to the implications of  
atrocities like the Gujarat carnage of 2002 and the recent pogroms  
against Christians in Orissa and surrounding areas.

Perhaps we have not paid sufficient attention to the steady increase  
of terrorist bombings over the past few years in locales as far  
ranging as Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Guwahati. In  
fact, since 2005, more than 520 people have been killed, and hundreds  
more injured, in 12 major bombings around the country.

Well, everyone is paying attention now.

The sheer scale, co-ordination, precision, and audacity of the Mumbai  
attacks is something unprecedented.

At time of writing, there were over 100 dead and hundreds more  
wounded. The attacks appear to have encompassed at least seven  
distinct locales, planned and co-ordinated with seemingly military  
precision. There is no report on how many terrorists were involved  
overall, but it cannot be fewer than 50.

It is hard to write insightfully with the shadow of carnage behind  
one's shoulder. The truth is that words are wholly inadequate to  
discuss and dissect the enormity of the tragedy that has transpired  
in Mumbai. At a time like this it is hard to break free of the  
clichés and the obvious, to do more than to express shock for the  
barbarity of the crime committed and sympathy for those affected.

When the dust settles, half of the talk will be about how this attack  
should serve as a wake-up call and demonstrates the need for India to  
redouble its anti-terror efforts.

Already the opposition BJP is suggesting that the ruling Congress-led  
government is soft on terror. In an already tough electoral climate,  
this atrocity and the apparently massive intelligence failure that  
allowed it to happen could be a devastating blow to the sitting  
government (though whether state or national government should bear  
the brunt of the blame remains an open question).

Others will argue that an atrocity of this scale means that India  
really needs to look at the root causes of terror and take  
affirmative steps to address the grievances of the disaffected and  
the marginalised.

It remains unclear at the time of writing whether the terrorists are  
a home-grown Indian outfit or whether they come from outside the  
country. Already fingers are being pointed at Pakistan and Lashkar-e- 
Taiba (although responsibility has been claimed by a hitherto-unheard  
of outfit by the name of Deccan Mujahideen), but it is too soon to  
know with any certainty who is behind the attacks, where and by whom  
they have been trained, and what their motives are.

There is no happy answer to these questions. On the one hand, the  
negative repercussions in terms of regional stability if the  
attackers are found to have significant links outside India, are too  
great to even contemplate. On the other hand, if the attackers were  
home-grown in India, then this is hardly reason for anyone either  
inside the country or out to breathe a sigh of relief, and in fact  
raises a host of new and uncomfortable issues with respect to the  
radicalisation of Indian Muslims.

If there is a lesson to be learned for the region I think that it is  
this: we have a regional problem on our hands, and there is no way to  
address the threat of terrorism except on a regional basis.

It is unclear what, if any, links exist between terrorists in India,  
Pakistan, and Bangladesh (to say nothing of links between Maoist  
extremists across South Asia), but what is incontrovertible is that  
all three countries of the Indian sub-continent have active terrorist  
networks, and given the porosity of our borders and the ideological  
affinities of many of the groups, it would be unlikely if cross- 
border networks and support structures did not exist.

There is no question, for instance, that the terrorist groups in  
Bangladesh receive the bulk of their training, support, and financing  
from outside the country. There is thus no question that counter- 
terrorism efforts in Bangladesh need to be focused outside the  
country as well as inside.

We can take satisfaction in the fact that the last two years have  
seen a marked diminution of terrorist activity in Bangladesh, but we  
should not let ourselves get complacent. It seems to me that as long  
as terrorist activity remains high in the region then we continue to  
remain vulnerable.

The next lesson we need to put in place, both nationally as well as  
regionally, is that there must be zero tolerance for terrorism. I  
believe that the current mantra is "tough on terror; tough on the  
causes of terror." Now this may sound trite and sloganeering, but it  
does succeed in neatly encapsulating the dual approach that is our  
only hope of successfully countering terrorism. Indeed, the two  
approaches are inextricably linked.

Let us start with the root causes of terror. It is axiomatic that the  
fewer genuine grievances that the dispossessed and the marginalised  
have, the fewer terrorists will be engendered. This is not to in any  
manner justify, excuse, or rationalise the targeting of innocent  
civilians, which can never be condoned whatever the provocation, but  
merely to point out the obvious.

In addition, addressing issues of dispossession and marginalisation  
and genuine grievance also has immense operational benefit when it  
comes to counter-terrorism. The only successful method of actually  
countering a terrorist insurgency is through infiltration or building  
a network of informants. This, in turn, is only possible if there is  
good will towards the authorities on the part of the communities from  
which the terrorists spring and where they find shelter. I believe  
that this is known as "draining the swamp so there will be no  
mosquitoes."

Terror begets more terror. Pogroms against Muslims in Gujarat lead to  
the radicalisation of Indian Muslims and, indeed, Muslims all across  
the sub-continent. Targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh or Pakistan  
provides a tailor-made excuse for Hindu extremists in India to commit  
atrocities in return.

If moderates all across the region and from every community do not  
come together to address this issue then it is all over for us. The  
policy must be zero tolerance. But we need to join hands across  
national borders and across communities and understand that our enemy  
is not another country or another community, but those who would  
foment communal discord and perpetrate atrocities in order to sow  
hatred and to drive a permanent wedge between the different peoples  
of the region. They are the enemy, and they must be stopped.

Zafar Sobhan is Assistant Editor, The Daily Star.

____

(vi)

The News,
November 28, 2008

Editorial

MAYHEM IN MUMBAI

No words can ever be enough to condemn the horror of what has  
happened and continues to happen in Mumbai. Fear walks down every  
street in the stricken city and lurks in every building. The costs of  
what is being termed India's worst-ever terrorist attack will be  
many; the burden a fearfully heavy one to bear. A day after young  
terrorists, who struck almost simultaneously in at least seven places  
including the city's top restaurant and its two best-known hotels,  
wreaked havoc across the city of 15 million, killing at least 101,  
wounding some 300 others and taking hostage hundreds at top hotels  
where rescue efforts were continuing at the time of writing, fingers  
are already being pointed towards Pakistan. The accusations come not  
only from within India but from international media channels too.  
They may well be inaccurate, but the suspicion has been raised and  
Pakistan's past track record on terrorism mean they may well stick.  
This is especially true as a previously unknown group, the Deccan  
Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility, according to a section of the  
Indian media. This may well be jumping to conclusions as there could  
be any number of identities of the perpetrators of the atrocity,  
given the complex make-up of India's society and politics. But  
reports from India insinuate the guns and bombs used by the  
terrorists reached India aboard a ship that set sail from Karachi.  
Other similar accusations are too coming in only hours after  
Pakistani and Indian officials agreed in Islamabad that there would  
be no finger-pointing without evidence. Parallels are being drawn  
with the bombing at the Marriot Hotel. Indian intelligence, under  
fire for failing to pick up on the threat, is anxious to lay blame  
elsewhere. The awful reality of our time is that Pakistan has become  
the world's centre of terrorism; attacks staged around the world

- whether in the US, or Europe or India - seem to link up with  
players within the country. Our northern areas have become a  
favourite refuge for men such as Rashid Rauf, recently killed in a  
drone strike, and for others who favour violence. From our cities,  
from our towns, we are accused of exporting terror around the world,  
acting as a source of weapons, knowhow and moral support.

This reality is a curse for Pakistan. Whereas we may only be a  
convenient scapegoat, it is not mere accident that has cast us in  
this damning role. Already, we are a nation regarded as the most  
dangerous in the world by some assessors. Foreign missions and  
agencies have deemed Islamabad too unsafe a place to station the  
spouses and children of staff; businessmen hesitate to come to our  
shores. Sportsmen now rarely visit. Condemnation from around the  
world is pouring in for what happened in Mumbai. Our leaders too have  
added their voice strongly to this but this cannot disguise the fact  
that in the aftermath of what has happened Pakistan may be cast as  
the key culprit. The assault on the unsuspecting city of Mumbai,  
India's business centre and of course the focal point of its film  
industry comes as the peace process between the two sides was warming  
up. Just days before Pakistan's president had made a daring set of  
offers to India. But the terrorist scourge goes beyond this effort at  
reaching greater accord. It is today the biggest threat to the  
security and sovereignty of Pakistan itself. While terrorists still  
lurk in our hills, they will indeed be drone attacks by the US; when  
it is alleged ships carrying loads of ammunition for militants set  
sail from our shores there will be attributions of blame. There is no  
escape from this.

The question is what we, as a nation, can do to alter this situation  
and save ourselves. Too much time has already been lost. The costs --  
to reputation, to investment, to the welfare of the country have been  
immense. Pakistanis struggle to obtain visas; colleges overseas  
hesitate to admit students for fear that they are terrorists. People  
who are entirely innocent suffer. So, what is to be done? In the  
first place Pakistan must remind its western allies that, once upon a  
time, it played an active part in building the extremist networks  
that have now established deep roots in our country. Powerful  
elements inside Pakistan of course assisted them and backed their  
cause through the decades, for reasons both strategic and  
ideological. Today, we must find the strength to beat them back. For  
this we must urge the US and other powers to help us. We must show  
true zeal, commitment and purpose. There is no alternative. For  
otherwise, the anger directed against in the aftermath of what  
happened at Mumbai will grow stronger and assume the form of a  
ferocious storm we may not be able to withstand.

____

(vii)

Daily Times - November 28, 2008

EDITORIAL: TERRORISM IN MUMBAI AND ITS FALLOUT

Even as India was facing the unfolding saga of Hindu terrorism whose  
tentacles seem to go into its armed forces, the country has been  
struck by another terrorist attack in Mumbai. The Wednesday mayhem  
will change the political paradigm in India and therefore also in  
South Asia. Heavily armed terrorists calling themselves the Deccan  
Mujahideen, a group unknown thus far, stormed luxury hotels, a  
popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least  
seven attacks in India’s financial capital, killing over 100 people  
by latest count including the Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad chief.  
Analysts have cautioned against jumping to any conclusion but say the  
group might have some linkage with Al Qaeda or its ideology — even  
though until now investigators have not found an Al Qaeda spoor in  
the many terrorist attacks in India since 2003.

It is significant that the terrorists have targeted British and  
American visitors too and were holding foreigners hostage, including  
some European parliamentarians. Reports indicate 9 foreigners are  
among those killed. The grievance on the basis of which the Indian  
Muslim terrorists usually own up their acts has thus expanded to  
include a global agenda. The Deccan Mujahideen — whoever they are —  
while talking about atrocities in Kashmir have also thrown in  
references to places other than India where the Muslims are said to  
be suffering at the hands of America and Britain. The hidden  
reference is to Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the past, the reference was clearly inferred. Everything went back  
to the Muslim carnage in Gujarat in 2002 in which 1,100 men, women  
and children were killed and over 150,000 ousted from homes. At the  
local level, every time an act of terrorism was committed in India,  
Pakistan was somehow named. Ongoing investigations into some  
terrorist attacks that were alternately blamed on Indian Muslims and  
Pakistan have shown that they were actually carried out by a Hindu  
terrorist network. But facts aside, this is how the collective psyche  
of fear works. One credible event is remembered and then myths are  
attached to it. The same sort of thing happens on the Pakistani side.  
Taken together, this trend forms the brick-wall against which all  
efforts at normalising Indo-Pak relations come to a halt.

Luckily, when the Mumbai mayhem occurred, the two countries were  
engaged in a dialogue at two levels. The foreign ministers were  
meeting in New Delhi and the interior secretaries were meeting in  
Islamabad, trying to resolve disputes and raising the level of  
cooperation against terrorism. Pakistan was among the first countries  
that sent messages of solidarity to New Delhi after the Mumbai  
outrage by the Deccan Mujahideen. The message from Islamabad is  
entirely credible but will it be convincing too? There is no doubt  
that Pakistan is under attack from the same kind of “mujahideen”. The  
latest message emanating from South Waziristan is that the Taliban  
will now be targeting President Zardari “and his political allies”.  
The reason for this threat is America whose supplies through Pakistan  
will be disrupted, according to a deputy of Baitullah Mehsud.

The need is to work out cooperative strategies because all states are  
under threat from the scourge of terrorism. Unfortunately this is  
made nearly impossible by domestic political oppositions and their  
desire for point scoring. In India, the Mumbai attacks will give the  
rightwing parties the stick to beat the government with. The BJP was  
already getting jittery over investigations that were spreading into  
the underground labyrinth of the Parivar’s terrorism. It will now get  
the opportunity to accuse the UPA government of being soft on  
terrorism (read: Muslims). Somewhere along the line it may also throw  
in the reference to Pakistan. The speech by Indian prime minister  
Manmohan Singh and his assertion that New Delhi will “take up  
strongly” the use of neighbours’ territory to launch attacks on India  
could be a reference to Pakistan or Bangladesh or both. At the  
minimum it seems to be an attempt by Dr Singh to pre-empt criticism  
from the Hindu rightwing.

At home, reactions are rendering the credibility of the PPP  
government doubtful. In fact, Prime Minister Gilani is under attack  
from the opposition in parliament which says that President Zardari  
has more powers than the prime minister and that the system under the  
PPP government is an extension of the Musharraf presidential regime.  
However, what is eschewed are constitutional and conceptual nuances.  
Pakistan has seen two extremes, all-powerful prime ministers that  
render presidents useless and all-powerful presidents that make prime  
ministers look like puppets. The debate should have focused on how to  
work out the correct balance but, predictably, has been informed by  
petty politicking rather than any intellectual effort. The animus is  
fired further by allegations and counter-allegations about promises  
made and broken.

These internal imbalances are not good for Pakistan and India.  
Pakistan is in dire economic straits and needs assistance from its  
friends abroad; Indian markets are already down 56 percent on back of  
the global downturn. Both countries need to cooperate in the new  
environment of terrorism; neither is ideally placed to do so

____


(viii)

Ekklesia,
27 November 2008

BEHIND THE MUMBAI ATTACKS

by Savi Hensman

The carnage in Bombay (officially known as Mumbai), in which gunmen  
have killed over a hundred people, injured many more and taken  
hostages, has shocked the world. It has thrown a spotlight on  
religious extremism of various kinds.

While a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed  
responsibility, the most high-profile victim was anti-terrorist unit  
head Hemant Karkare, who just two days before had received a death  
threat for his investigation of violent Hindu supremacists. His  
death, along with two other senior police officers, Ashok Kamte and  
Vijay Salaskar, is a blow to efforts to make Bombay safe for  
residents and visitors from all creeds and communities.

The rise of the extreme right in Bombay, the surrounding state of  
Maharashtra and India as a whole has dismayed more moderate Hindus,  
and resulted in widespread violence against Muslims and, in some  
areas, Christians. Many in the police and armed forces are connected  
with, or afraid to confront, powerful hardliners.

But Karkare was willing to probe more deeply, and his investigation  
into a bomb blast in Malegaon led to the arrest last month of a  
number of Hindu extremists. This was an embarrassment to a movement  
which has sought to portray itself as respectable while pursuing  
electoral success. The death of Karkare and his colleagues will be a  
setback to those seeking to bring to justice the perpetrators of  
terrorism of all kinds.

However, his killing at this time may be coincidental, a result maybe  
of his willingness to share the risks of those he led. Media  
photographs show him shortly before his death, with helmet on,  
directing operations from the frontline, and reports of his death  
give some indication of his courage, as well as his reputation for  
professionalism.

In the end, different forms of extremism feed off each other, using  
others’ atrocities to justify still more abuses. However, in  
multicultural Bombay and beyond, there are many people – high-profile  
figures like Karkare and ordinary residents of whom few have heard –  
who work hard to counter destructive ideas and prevent violent acts,  
whose efforts deserve to be recognised.


Savitri Hensman was born in Sri Lanka. She works in the voluntary  
sector in community care and equalities in the UK, and she is also a  
respected writer on international issues and on Christianity and  
social justice. An Ekklesia associate, Savi has contributed several  
chapters to the recent book Fear or Freedom? Why a warring church  
must change, edited by Simon Barrow (Shoving Leopard / Ekklesia, 2008).

____


(ix)

HEMANT KARKARE! A TRIBUTE TO A HERO

by Mustafa Khan

If any Indian distinguished himself by writing history by his sweat  
and while doing so made history by writing it in his blood, it is  
this modest looking man. This assistant commissioner in charge of  
Anti Terrorist Squad of Maharashtra will be remembered for good.  
Those who were breathing down his neck will breathe a sigh of relief  
but all others will have grief.

LK Advani and Rajnathsingh had tried to run down one of the most  
impeccable and distinguished men of probity. They were doing what the  
poet Alexander Pope penned three centuries ago: 'willing to wound but  
afraid to strike.' That hurt him deeply: "when allegations are made  
anyone (we) will feel hurt.". Indeed the Pune ATS had received a  
telephonic message threatening to kill Karkare and blow up his house  
'within a few days.'

It was painstaking work that he undertook when the bombs went off in  
Gadkari auditorium in Thane and another theatre in Vashi, Mumbai, by  
vowing to leave no stone unturned in search of clues. That paid off  
immediately. But then came Malegaon September 29, 2008 blast. The  
crowd had gone berserk in Bhiku chowk and had almost threatened to  
destroy the evidence by their over reaction. But Karkare's reaching  
the spot with his team salvaged the dreadful proof of Sadhvi  
Pragyasingh Thakur's motor bike, the LML Freedom. Then came the  
forensic report and the number of the bike. Given the state of the  
political situation and the communal fragility it was most dangerous  
to lay one's hand on a sadhu let alone a sadhvi.

That was like wearing the burning shirt of Hercules. But this valiant  
man did it.

He worked in private companies including Hindustan Lever and the  
National Productivity Council before joining IPS in 1985. He worked  
in Akola, Bhiwandi, Thane and Mumbai. A most daring stint in very  
difficult district infected by Naxalites, Chandrapur, was also in his  
lot. He had rich experience with the ace intelligence agency of RAW  
by serving a stint in Austria and then he took over in January this  
year as the chief of ATS.

The imprint of his sang froid manner  is the subtext of what he said  
during Malegaon investigation: "We should do our job and it is for  
the court to decide."

Of course, under the tremendous tension and pressure he carried on  
his work. Only the other day the court denied police custody of Lt  
Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragyasingh etc. karkare did not feel brow  
beaten: "police custody would have helped investigations to proceed  
faster but still we will see how best to deal with it in a legal  
way". This is ironclad perseverance.
Karkare in his crisp blue shirt wore the helmet and took a call on  
his mobile before he advanced towards the Metro cinema and the Cama  
hospital. The security circle around him moved. His eyes shone  
brightly and went forward to attend the call of duty.

____


[2] Sri Lanka:

Human Rights Watch
November 24, 2008

SRI LANKA: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION DETERIORATING IN THE EAST
Armed Faction Is Killing, Kidnapping Civilians

(New York, November 24, 2008) – The Sri Lankan government should take  
immediate steps to address the deteriorating human rights situation  
in the country’s Eastern Province, where there has been an increase  
in killings and abductions in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch said  
today.

Many abuses in the Eastern Province appear to have been carried out  
by armed elements of the Tamil Makkal Vidulthalai Pulikal (TMVP). The  
TMVP was originally the political wing of the armed faction earlier  
known as the Karuna group. It enjoys the strong backing of the  
government of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Karuna broke away from the  
rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2004.

“The Sri Lankan government says that the ‘liberated’ East is an  
example of democracy in action and a model for areas recaptured from  
the LTTE,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But  
killings and abductions are rife, and there is total impunity for  
horrific abuses.”

Human Rights Watch investigations have found that there have been at  
least 30 extrajudicial killings in the Eastern Province since  
September. In one recent case, the bodies of two young Tamil men who  
had been detained by the police on October 3, 2008, during a security  
roundup in the town of Batticaloa were found on a beach six days  
later with their hands and legs tied to a concrete pole, and showing  
signs of severe torture.

The police claimed that the men, Kandasamy Kugathas, 18, and A.  
Gunaseelan, 26, were released on the morning of October 4. But a  
family member of one of the men saw them at the police station that  
evening. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that the two were  
taken from their cells at about midnight by men in civilian clothing  
who had demanded the two by name. Since the killings, the police have  
intimidated witnesses into changing their account of the killings and  
falsified important evidence.

On November 2, unidentified gunmen shot and killed five Tamil youth  
at Kalmunai beach in Ampara district. On October 20, three Sinhalese  
contractors working in Kokakaddichchoalai in Batticaloa district were  
shot dead. On October 16, four farmers, two of them Tamils and two  
Muslims, were shot dead near their land. The killings were in a  
restricted area near a Tamil Makkal base, accessible only with a  
police pass. In Trincomalee on September 21, Sivakururaja Kurukkal,  
chief priest of the Koneswaram Temple, was shot dead in broad  
daylight while riding his motorcycle in a high-security area near  
several government checkpoints.

In addition to the recent killings, Human Rights Watch has learned  
from credible sources of at least 30 abductions in Akkairappatu and  
Adalachennai divisions in Ampara district in September and October.  
Witnesses said the abductions were carried out by armed men in  
civilian clothes who spoke Tamil, suggesting they belonged to the  
TMVP or other paramilitary groups.

In a case investigated by Human Rights Watch in Ampara in October, a  
young man previously detained, beaten, and released by the group was  
reported missing soon after his release. As in a number of other  
cases, family members did not report the case to the authorities out  
of fear that harm would come to the victim.

Members of civil society organizations and journalists in the East  
have also been threatened and attacked. On October 29, Sankarapillai  
Shantha Kumar, a member of the NGO Consortium in Akkaraipattu, was  
abducted around midnight from his home. Although a complaint was  
filed, there has been no credible investigation and he is still missing.

On September 8, Radhika Thevakumar, a journalist with Thinakaran, who  
at the time was working for the Pillayan faction of the TMVP, was  
shot and severely wounded in Batticaloa. On September 10, K.  
Kunarasa, provincial correspondent for the Thinakaran Tamil-language  
daily in Ampara, received death threats that caused him to limit his  
reporting. These and other threats and attacks against journalists  
have caused the media to curtail reporting on the security situation  
in the East.

“Many in the East believe that the government has given its blessing  
for these abuses,” said Adams. “It is important for the government to  
take action against perpetrators to demonstrate that this is not the  
case.”

Reports of these killings and other abuses come at a time of  
deepening tensions and violent infighting within the TMVP,  
particularly between factions loyal to Karuna Amman, the founder, and  
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, who was appointed  
the chief minister of Eastern Province in May.

Karuna returned to Sri Lanka in July, after serving a six-month  
sentence for immigration fraud in the United Kingdom, and has  
reclaimed the leadership of the group. On October 7, the government  
appointed Karuna to Parliament. Both men have been implicated in  
serious human rights abuses, both while with the LTTE and after they  
left. The abuses included abducting large numbers of children and  
forcing them to serve as soldiers.

A clash between the two TMVP factions on October 28 in Chenkalady, in  
Batticaloa, resulted in the death of four members, including a 16- 
year-old who had been forcibly recruited by the group. Five others  
were reported missing after the incident, including another boy. On  
November 14, the president of the TMVP party and Pillayan’s private  
secretary, Kumaraswamy Nandagopan, known as Ragu, and his driver were  
shot dead in the capital, Colombo.

Human Rights Watch has recently documented several cases of forcible  
recruitment of children by the TMVP. There have been three recent  
escapes from the group’s Valachennai site in Batticaloa – a 15-year- 
old who had been held since April on October 31; a 15-year-old who  
was taken in 2006 from Kiran on November 3; and a 17-year-old held  
since October 2006 on November 10. Escapees often must go into hiding  
to prevent being abducted again. In some instances, their families  
have faced pressure to give a “replacement” child soldier to the group.

“Far from being a reformed and responsible party ready for  
government, the TMVP is still actively involved in serious human  
rights abuses,” said Adams. “Instead of holding the group  
accountable, the Rajapakse government has provided unqualified  
support. The government needs to open independent investigations into  
all serious human rights violations and hold perpetrators accountable.”


____


[3] INDIA:  WHEN FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS DICTATED BY THE FAR RIGHT

(i)  http://www.sacw.net/article343.html

SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg
New Delhi-110001
Telephone-23711276/ 23351424
e-mail-sahmat at vsnl.com

26.11.2008


Minister of Information & Broadcasting
Govt. of India

Dear Minister,

We are deeply shocked at the decision to cancel the screening of a  
documentary made by the eminent Indian painter M.F. Husain, after it  
had been scheduled for November 25 at the ongoing International Film  
Festival of India in Goa. We are also profoundly alarmed at the wider  
implications of this act of blatant censorship imposed on artistic  
production.

You are surely aware of the background to this decision by the  
Directorate of Film Festivals. On November 22, the Hindu Janajagruti  
Samiti (HJS) and an affiliated body that calls itself the Sanatan  
Sanstha, petitioned the chief minister of Goa and the director of the  
film festival, urging that the screening be cancelled since it  
involved a person who had allegedly caused offence to the "religious  
and National sentiments of crores of Hindus and Indians (sic)".

Almost at the same time, activists of the same two bodies carried out  
a series of protests in the city of Mumbai, in the vicinity of the  
Films Division office. As the website of the HJS puts it: they made a  
"representation with a warning" to the Films Division officials,  
about the plan to screen the Husain documentary.

Then, in the narration on the HJS website: the official at Mumbai had  
"a long discussion with the Chief Officers in the Film Division",  
"tried to contact the officers in Goa and New Dehli (sic) again and  
again and finally told the delegation at 3.30 in the evening that the  
screening of the abovementioned film was cancelled".

The craven and unprincipled capitulation by the film festival  
organisers has been portrayed by the HJS as "one more feather" in its  
cap (http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/5830.html).

At the same time, the official response has been to either feign  
ignorance or pretend that the issue is of little consequence. The  
chief minister of Goa has reportedly said that he had no knowledge of  
the entire process and the director of film festivals has taken the  
position that the screening was being "deferred".

Frankly, we are appalled at this abject failure of principle and the  
thorough abdication of responsibility by officials entrusted with  
safeguarding the autonomy of cultural and artistic production.

The HJS and its affiliated organisation, the Sanatan Sanstha are, as  
you would know, under investigation by police and intelligence  
agencies for their possible complicity in a number of terrorist  
actions in the country. Indeed, the option of declaring them  
"unlawful" organisations, is reportedly under active consideration.

You would also be aware that the HJS has for years been the central  
switching-board for a number of cases against M.F. Husain, lodged on  
the grounds of "obscenity", "causing ill-will on grounds of religion"  
and "incitement". This entire range of charges was considered by the  
Delhi High Court and in a historic verdict of May 8, held to be  
completely without substance.

The Delhi High Court finding was upheld by the Supreme Court.

However, the HJS and its associates have managed to effectively  
mobilise a sufficient number of complainants scattered all over the  
country, and the Supreme Court is yet to decide on a petition  
requesting that all cases be brought within its jurisdiction.

You would appreciate then, that the continuing harassment of one of  
India's greatest living artists, is a consequence of technical  
procedures involved in the administration of justice and most  
importantly, the failure of the administrative authorities to stand  
up to the coercive strategies of bodies that are currently under  
investigation for terrorism offences.

We urge you to reflect upon the consequences that this would have,  
for the faith that the common man places in the system of  
administration he lives under. We urge you moreover, to reflect upon  
the consequences for artistic production in this country. Husain's  
documentary was produced in 1967 and has been widely recognised and  
awarded by the most discerning judges. It is a sad day for creative  
activity everywhere, when work of such calibre is deprived of an  
audience, because of the power of the mob.

In the interests of cultural freedom, we urge you to rescind the ban  
on Husain and allow his documentary to be screened at the ongoing  
film festival.

In anticipation,

Yours,

Vivan Sundaram, Ram Rahman

o o o

(ii)

The Times of India - 27 November 2008

EDITORIAL: WHO IS IN CHARGE?


A small sectarian group going by the name of the Hindu Janajagruti  
Samiti (HJS) has forced organisers of the International Film Festival  
of India
(IFFI) to cancel a public screening of `Through the Eyes of a  
Painter', M F Husain's much-acclaimed documentary on Rajasthan. This  
Thane-based outfit has been running a campaign against Husain since  
2002 under the pretext of guarding Hindu sentiments.

The demand to scrap Husain's film from IFFI was made on two counts.  
One, he has hurt religious sentiments with his nude paintings of  
Hindu gods and goddesses. Two, 900 of the 1,250 cases pending against  
Husain in various police stations across the country are in Goa. The  
observations made by Justice S K Kaul of the Delhi high court while  
quashing criminal proceedings against Husain ought to guide the  
government in this matter. Justice Kaul labelled the charges against  
Husain baseless and said nudity is not only part of contemporary art  
but was central to Indian art. He described the petitioners against  
Husain as "ignorant puritans'' who were threatening to take the  
nation back to the "pre-Renaissance era''. All that the HJS had to do  
was to make a representation to the chief minister of Goa and the CEO  
of the Entertainment Society of Goa demanded a cancellation of the  
screening. Does the Indian state get bullied this easily?

Husain is, by general acknowledgement, one of India's greatest  
artists. The film in question was made in 1967 and has won many  
international awards. It deserved to be showed at the IFFI, the  
country's premier film festival organised with public funds. There is  
no reason why the organisers should be cowed down by a fundamentalist  
group and hold back the screening. Did they fear disruption of the  
screening? If so, the organisers ought to have sought police  
protection. Surely, the Goa government has the resources to ensure  
that unruly activists do not disrupt film screenings. The permanent  
venue of the IFFI must be a place that cherishes liberal values and  
the artist's right to freedom of expression. It can't be held hostage  
by radical elements who are enemies of art and culture.

Instead, the Goa government should inquire who has filed the 900  
cases against Husain in the state police stations. Should the state  
police be burdened with so many cases if they all make similar  
specious claims about Husain's art?


o o o

(iii)

The Telegraph
November 27, 2008

Editorial

MODERN HURT

The two words that any self-respecting film festival likes to be  
linked with are ‘independent’ and ‘international’. So it is doubly  
shameful that the screening of Maqbool Fida Husain’s documentary,  
Through the Eyes of a Painter, made in the Sixties and awarded a  
Golden Bear in Berlin, has been ‘deferred’ indefinitely at the  
International Film Festival of India going on in Goa. This  
immediately makes the independence of such an event highly suspect,  
and in an arena that is rather embarrassingly international. A couple  
of right-wing Hindu outfits have reiterated their usual objections to  
Mr Husain’s paintings to Goa’s chief minister, and this seems to have  
had a trickle-down effect through the festival director to bring  
about such a deferral. The documentary, incidentally, has nothing to  
do with divinity.

The best way to give in to, without endorsing, such a bigoted  
position is to invoke, as the director has done, “a law-and-order  
problem”. In India, the secular State as guarantor of the artist’s  
freedom of expression seems to be entirely dependent on a police  
force that it has no control over, and a judiciary whose sentences  
and orders can be ignored with impunity by citizens organizing  
themselves into offended communities. Mr Husain is an exile from his  
own country because of the “law-and-order problem” around his  
paintings that the government and its law-keepers have not been able  
to protect him from for more than a decade. More than 1,250 police  
complaints have been lodged against him by outraged Indians. Most of  
them are on charges of obscenity and sectarian provocation. The  
measure of the irrationality that drives the protesters is in the  
fact that there are no goddesses in this documentary.

o o o

(iv)

Herald, 26 Nov 2008, Editorial

Cinema held hostage

Just how short-sighted can the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF)  
be?  The body that controls the International Film Festival of India  
(IFFI) has decided in its ‘wisdom’ that it will not show renowned  
artist M F Husain’s award winning documentary ‘Through the Eyes of a  
Painter’ - an 18-minute film based on the artist’s impressions about  
the beauty of Rajasthan - because an organisation called the Hindu  
Janajagruti Samiti has protested against it.

The Samiti claims that Husain has depicted Hindu Goddesses in the  
nude in his paintings, and that this is an insult to Hinduism, so his  
film should not be shown at IFFI. However, when this very issue came  
up before the Supreme Court of India in September this year, a bench  
of the apex court headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan observed:

“There are many such pictures, paintings and sculptures, and some of  
them are in temples also.” The bench, also comprising Justices P  
Sathasivam and J M Panchal, was not impressed with the argument that  
Husain was taking advantage of his age and reputation to get away  
with the law by painting obscene pictures. It dismissed a petition  
filed by Maharashtra-based Dwaipayan Venkateshacharya Varkhedkar,  
challenging a judgment of the Delhi High Court quashing criminal  
proceedings initiated against the painter in Maharashtra, Madhya  
Pradesh and Gujarat over these very paintings.
Is it that in the eyes of the DFF, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti  
carries more weight than the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court  
of India?

Let us take a closer look at the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti itself. It  
is an umbrella organisation comprising a number of Hindu  
fundamentalist groups, including the Sanathan Sanstha, the Bajrang  
Dal and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The first two of these  
organisations are presently under the scanner for terrorist  
activities; the first because some of its members were held for  
setting off bomb blasts in Thane and Navi Mumbai, and the second  
because its activists were involved in accidental bomb explosions in  
Nanded in Maharashtra and Kanpur in UP!

Their objections might have made even the teeniest-weeniest bit of  
sense if the film that is at the centre of this controversy had  
anything at all to do with their complaint against the artist. But  
even this is not so. ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ is a film made  
more than 40 years ago, decades before any controversy on the issue  
came up. In fact, the film won the top prize - the Golden Bear - at  
the Berlin Film Festival in 1967. Withdrawing it from the festival is  
depriving film buffs the opportunity to see a classic.  In any case,  
one would assume that the final authority for deciding on whether a  
film is suitable for screening in India is the Central Board of Film  
Censors (CBFC). Husain’s film has a certificate from the censor  
board. Then who are these ‘super censors’ whose verdict is taken by  
the DFF to be the last word on what can be shown at IFFI and what  
can’t? Little wonder that the film fraternity has almost unanimously  
condemned the decision.

The DFF has several versions of why the film will not be shown. DFF  
director S M Khan told this newspaper that the film was not part of  
IFFI, but of the Framing Time section of the Films Division, which  
had decided to withdraw it. But he later said that Goa ‘state  
authorities’ had requested the organisers to defer the screening as  
it might create law and order problem in the state. IBNLive.com, the  
website of TV news channel CNN-IBN, has reported that the Chief  
Minister requested the screening to be deferred. But according to The  
Hindu, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has denied having any hand in  
this entire exercise.

If the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti is aggrieved with the film, let it  
exercise the democratic rights guaranteed to it by the Constitution  
of India and peacefully demonstrate against the showing of the film,  
just as it did against the Hindi blockbuster ‘Jodhaa-Akbar’. But it  
is nothing short of a scandal that the DFF is depriving other  
citizens of their Constitutional right to see the film owing to empty  
threats that have no justification.


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

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