SACW | Oct 8-9, 2009 / Sri Lanka: Talibanization? / Bangladesh: War Crimes / India: Counterinsurgency and Human Rights / K Balagopal a towering human rights activist passes away

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | October 8-9, 2009 | Dispatch No. 2659 -  
Year 12 running
From: www.sacw.net

[ SACW Dispatches for 2009-2010 are dedicated to the memory of Dr.  
Sudarshan Punhani (1933-2009), husband of Professor Tamara Zakon and  
a comrade and friend of Daya Varma ]

____

[1]  Sri Lanka: ’Covering Up’- Creeping Talibanization? (Cat's Eye)
       + Sri Lanka is ducking human rights issues (Julian  
Filochowski, John Battle, Edward Mortimer, Andrew Rigby, Clare Short)
[2]  Prosecute Bangladesh's war criminals (Delwar Hussain)
[3]  Pakistan:
       (i)  Obama's Options In Pakistan (Ahmed Rashid)
       (ii) Naysayers of Kerry- Lugar Bill Mistaken (Najam Sethi)
[4]  'To end Indo-Pak dispute, make Siachen a peace park' (Harish  
Kapadia)
[5]  India administered Kashmir: Myth and reality - J&K enjoys far  
less functional autonomy than other Indian states (Editorial, Kashmir  
Times)
[6]  India: Counterinsurgency Spectacle & Democratic Rights
      - Why the Green Hunt rhetoric rings so hollow (Mukul Kesavan)
      - 5 Videos - Human Rights Activists / Free Speech / Operation  
Green Hunt (CNN / IBN)
      - Northeast Echoes [what has turned Manipur into a killing  
field] (Patricia Mukhim)
[7]  India: Resources For Secular Activists - Commentary / Books /  
Reviews
       - Karnataka govt begins work to alter architecture of the Sufi  
Shrine
       - Secular Ideals Go to Dogs: Left Run Govt of Kerala goes for  
Sharia Compliant Banking
       - Hydel Projects in Uttrakhand: Objections by ecologists may  
be well placed but they should take distance from the Hindu Right groups
       - Shun Western Music and English! Retrograde demands of BJP  
and Samajwadi Party
       - Key Recommendations from Anhad's National Meet on Status of  
Muslims Delhi 3 to 5 October 2009
       - RSS and Minorities by Ram Puniyani
       - Media reports on Anhad Convention National Meet On The  
Status Of Muslims In India
[8]  Tributes:
       - Rights activist Balagopal passes away
       - Soft As A Lotus Hard As A Rock : A Tribute to Maharaj Kaul  
(Ved Prakash Vatuk)
[9]  Miscellanea:
      - The Age of Adaptation:  on-line documentary by Global Reboot
      - Autonomy or New Forms of Domination? The Complex Relationship  
Between Governments and Movements (Raul Zibechi)
_____


[1] Sri Lanka

(i)

SRI LANKA: ’COVERING UP’- CREEPING TALIBANIZATION?

Cat’s Eye —UNCUT, September 20, 2009

Cat’s Eye has noticed an increasing emphasis on a particular form of  
morality in the guise of a post-war resurgence of society. This is  
evident on the part of all sectors of society – not only by those in  
power but religious leaders, key officials in the police force and  
leaders of educational institutions as well as the media. At times,  
the rhetoric is transformed into action. Take for example, the  
continuing censorship of adult-only films (obviously there are some  
adults/ censors who are more adult than others who have the dubious  
honor of taking these decisions); images of alcohol consumption,  
affection and human sexuality in TV programmes; and the archaic  
prohibition on women purchasing alcohol (Why discriminate? Why not  
prohibit men too?).

A dress code is also imposed on women, especially in educational  
institutions. Apparently mothers have to wear sari to enter the  
premises of their children’s schools and mothers who wear even long  
skirt and blouse are kept out of bounds. Thus the country’s ‘return  
to normalcy’ after the war is reliant on a discourse of blaming and  
shaming; advocacy of self-restraint and responsibility; as well as  
moral authoritarianism in imposing codes of conformity and so called  
respectability.

Back to the Kitchen

This ‘moral’ turn, we are told, is towards building a new, post-war  
Sri Lanka. It has been a common experience of many communities at war  
that once the armed struggle is over, there is a scramble to return  
its women, in particular, to traditional roles. The current peace- 
time emphasis in the south of the country on the morality and  
respectability of women is not far in spirit from the diktats of the  
LTTE. In 2002, during the peace process, the LTTE issued a leaflet  
proclaiming its ‘ten commandments’ on Tamil women in the East. In the  
leaflet the LTTE declared that Tamil women should not ‘spoil the  
dignity of Tamil culture’ by ‘behaving in an anti-Tamil manner’. They  
were ordered not to wear housecoats when coming out of their houses  
onto the roads. Married women were asked to wear national dress  
(presumably sari.) Amongst the ‘anti-Tamil’ behaviour proscribed was  
the consumption of alcohol. Women were warned against ‘mixing with  
men on beaches after losing their senses with alcohol and drugs.’ The  
leaflet ended with a veiled threat: ‘Freedom of women is in the hands  
of women, and they should think realistically rather than falling  
into the hands of anti-Tamil movements, which indeed will bring an  
end to their life and community as well.’

At the time (in 2002) Cat’s Eye wrote strongly condemning the LTTE  
for its threatening moral edicts selectively directed at women. Cat’s  
Eye stated that these diktats ‘send a critical message to all those  
who are concerned about the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement  
with respect for human rights and human dignity.’ Cat’s Eye demanded  
that ‘All attempts to control dissent and individuality, all attempts  
to impose rules and regulations that deny people the right to choose,  
all attempts to once more oppress and discriminate against members of  
marginalized communities, whether they be women, children, religious  
or ethnic minorities…must be fought against rigorously.’
Thus in the aftermath of war and political upheaval, diehard  
traditionalists of all countries use the occasion to whip up cultural  
frenzy to advocate a return to the past. Local society has always had  
its share of such old (and young) fogeys with their bamunu matha ?  
namely, ‘brahmin’ or obscurantist patriarchal views as reflected in  
Sinhala and Tamil proverbs against women (‘a woman’s brain cannot  
think beyond the handle of a spoon’). Even our women Ministers often  
speak of a nisi thana (appropriate place) for women which is not far  
from Hitler’s prescription for women – children, kitchen and church  
( Kinder, Küche, Kirke). In every era and in every country there has  
been resistance to such attempts to undercut the political, economic  
and social gains that women have made over the years.

Defining Tamil Culture

In the past few months, following the end of the armed conflict  
between the government and the LTTE, concern has been voiced about  
the ‘deterioration’ of Tamil culture during the conflict, mainly due  
to the actions of the LTTE. Most often this ‘degradation’ of Tamil  
culture is illustrated by examples of the behavior of women who have  
acted in ways construed to be contrary to accepted norms. These  
statements however are not made by members of the Tamil community but  
by state actors of the majority community. For instance, an official  
of the Sri Lankan army is quoted as saying that lessons on the  
traditions and culture of the Tamil community will be part of the  
curriculum of the rehabilitation process of ex-LTTE cadres. Does this  
mean that these lessons will represent Tamil culture and tradition as  
understood by members of the majority community? What will be  
incorporated in these lessons? Will it be only Bharatha Natyam,  
cookery, and veena lessons? Who then has the power to define culture?

Defining Buddhist Culture

A Sinhala newspaper recently carried an interview with a Buddhist  
monk who, supposedly, was speaking on Buddhist values and material  
ones. Curiously, the article headline read, ‘Even 60 year old women  
come to temple dressed like sixteen year olds’ (‘Hata pannath,  
dahasaye kello vage pansalata enava’). The article further quoted the  
priest as noting disapprovingly of a new breed of women devotees  
(upasaka palenthiya) who come to temple with hairstyles (hair piled  
on top of the head), with painted lips, looking very ‘mod’. Not  
surprisingly, given the current thinking on culture and morality as  
being the sole responsibility of women, there is no mention of a  
dress code for men, in fact, no mention of men at all. It seems that  
whether it is in the field of religion, politics or education,  
women’s dress and personal relationships take centre stage for  
vilification. Take the sexual nature of the debates and circulating  
internet images around the recent entry of a young actress into the  
political field in the South in order to denigrate her. They point to  
a society reluctant to acknowledge women as persons who can engage  
with any section of society in their own right, and permit only women  
who conform to the notion of the respectable ‘Sinhala kula kanthava’  
as fit to be in positions of responsibility and the public realm.

Covering Up

While the moral rhetoric about discipline and respectability which  
women are singled out to embody has risen to a high pitch, the  
reality is that in every sphere violence, authoritarianism and sexism  
are condoned. The recent comments of a senior government Minister who  
observed that there are now laws that restrain men especially with  
regard to domestic violence is a case in point. The politician told/ 
comforted the men around him by saying, ‘you can hit your wife, but  
don’t hit to hurt’. The inter/ intra political violence by candidates  
at elections – the nasty ‘boy’s fights’ in the south in which the  
offices of political opponents have been smashed and looted – is  
another example. So far, we have not heard public condemnation of  
this sort of behaviour from political, religious or educational leaders.
In a country where the rule of law is under stress, where violence,  
corruption, crime and sexual harassment of women appears to be at an  
all-time-high, focusing on women’s dress and behaviour is absurd and  
hypocritical. So what is the real function of this moral address to  
women? Is it a literal and metaphorical cover-up of what is actually  
happening in society? If we want to build a true democracy in the  
aftermath of war, public officials, community and religious leaders  
as well we citizens should be focusing on what is really wrong with  
our society. The denial of freedom of speech/ expression – of which  
access to art, film, forms of dress are a part – goes against the  
basis of any democratic society. Intolerance of any kind, abuse of  
the rule of law, use of violence and corruption to get ahead, and  
archaic attitudes to women must be highlighted and condemned. Should  
women lose the civil and political rights that acknowledge their  
capabilities as professionals/workers (won through hard struggle) to  
some outmoded medieval attitudes? Are we on the road to cultural  
Talibanization?

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/ 
article1167.html ]

o o o

(ii)

srilankacampaign.org
08/10/09

  SRI LANKA IS DUCKING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

To The Editor of The Times

 From Mr. Julian Filochowski, John Battle, MP, Edward Mortimer,  
Professor Andrew Rigby, Clare Short, MP


Sir, Since your report on September 15 ("EU sanctions on Sri Lanka to  
hit 'cheap' clothing over human rights abuses"), diplomats in Colombo  
have been quoted (Reuters, Sept 29) as saying that the EU is likely  
to let Sri Lanka keep its "GSP Plus" concession, while recommending  
it be revoked if the country does not improve its human rights  
record. Meanwhile, on October 1, Sri Lanka's Ambassador told the  
Human Rights Sub Committee of the European Parliament that his  
country will not respond to the "damning" human rights report (which  
concluded, as your correspondent said, "that the island no longer  
qualified for GSP Plus") but "will instead continue to engage on the  
issues of concern with the European Commission".

Clearly there is a lot of "spin" going on here. The government hopes  
it can bounce the EU into extending the concession simply by  
promising to keep talking, without directly addressing the very  
serious issues raised in the report. The Commission, which is due to  
discuss the matter next week (October 15), must not fall for this  
transparent gambit.

It is now five years since the EU granted GSP Plus terms to Sri Lanka  
- the only country in Asia and one of only 15 in the world that  
enjoys this unilateral trade concession - in the wake of the Indian  
Ocean tsunami. During those five years, the country has moved further  
and further from the rule of law, and the rights of its people have  
steadily deteriorated.

In order to renew GSP Plus, Sri Lanka has to show it has ratified and  
implemented 27 international conventions on core human rights, labour  
rights, the environment and good governance. The report, commissioned  
specifically by the EU to assess implementation, details the  
country's systematic failure to protect human rights, including  
freedom of expression, and to adhere to basic humanitarian standards.  
Journalists, writers, academics, political and human rights activists  
have been assassinated, imprisoned or forced into exile; the UN is  
prevented from fulfilling its humanitarian protection mandate; the  
International Committee of the Red Cross is not allowed into some of  
the camps where 280,000 civilians are being detained; and Amnesty  
International is not even allowed into the country.

It would be a flagrant abuse of the GSP Plus facility if the  
Commission were to extend it under these conditions.

Yours,


_____



[2]  Bangladesh:

The Guardian
7 October 2009

PROSECUTE BANGLADESH'S WAR CRIMINALS

British Bangladeshis are among those accused of war crimes in the  
1971 war of liberation. The nation needs justice

by Delwar Hussain

The war of liberation in 1971 is still a highly charged and emotive  
subject within Bangladeshi society. The event, through which the  
country was born 38 years ago, continues to be a polarising issue,  
haunting the present. The fact that the alleged war criminals – those  
who committed atrocities against innocent civilians during the nine- 
month war – have not been brought to justice is a major cause of  
contention.

It is a source of the ongoing paralysis in the country's democracy  
and the culture of impunity that dogs all sections of society. It is  
also at the root of the role of religion in contemporary Bangladeshi  
identity. Consecutive governments have made pledges to prosecute  
perpetrators and hold them accountable. None have so far delivered.

Sheikh Hasina, the current prime minister and the leader of the Awami  
League, the political party that swept to power in the 2008  
elections, has promised to hold long overdue war crime tribunals,  
seeking assistance from the UN. Throughout the country, there is  
growing optimism that the victims and survivors can finally receive  
restitution.

With the retreat of the British Raj and the partition of the Indian  
subcontinent in 1947, East Bengal became a part of Pakistan. Known as  
East Pakistan, it was separated from West Pakistan not only  
physically (with India in the middle), but also linguistically and  
culturally. It soon became clear that Islam, the raison d'être for  
the Pakistan project, could not unify these vastly different regions.  
Even the shared faith was practised in radically different ways: the  
east being far more liberal than the west. This division was  
heightened by Pakistani suspicion that Bengalis were only nominally  
Muslim. Their relatively recent conversion from Hinduism (albeit a  
century or so ago) made them, in the eyes of the West Pakistani  
ruling elite, unreliable coreligionists.

To pave over the cracks, in 1952 it was ordained that Urdu, with its  
echoes of the sacred language, Arabic, would be the official language  
of the two sides. There was widespread resistance to this in East  
Pakistan and when student protesters were shot dead, the first  
martyrs of what was to become the liberation movement were created.

The two wings hobbled along together until 1970 when, after 12 years  
of military rule, East and West Pakistan went to the ballot. The  
outright winner of the election was the Awami League. However, the  
West Pakistani administration refused to allow the party's then  
leader, Mujibur Rahman (father of the current prime minister), a  
Bengali from East Pakistan, to form the government. Their chosen man  
was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. As negotiations between both sides broke  
down and Bengalis launched a campaign of civil disobedience, the  
Pakistani army launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Up to  
three million Bengalis were murdered in the crackdown and more than  
200,000 women were raped or sexually assaulted. To escape the  
genocide, 10 million people crossed the border into India.

Atrocities were committed by the occupying Pakistani soldiers and  
their Bengali collaborators. The latter, known as razakars, were  
against the break-up as it was contrary to their vision of building  
an Islamic khilafat, or state. Thus the idealism of a secular  
identity, based upon Bengali nationalism as articulated by Mujibur  
Rahman was abhorrent to them. The razakars were in the main members  
of Islamist parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which is  
allied to Wahhabism and to the fundamentalist Deobandi sect.

Using local knowledge, they perpetrated the worst brutalities and  
massacres of the war. They rounded up and executed people who they  
thought were colluding with India to divide Pakistan. This included  
members of the Awami League party, intellectuals, guerrilla fighters  
who were involved in skirmishes against the army and Hindus. In  
reality, much of the killing was indiscriminate. The carnage of those  
few months has been collected in rooms full of black and white  
photographs in the Liberation Museum in Dhaka.

They depict chilling images of mass burial pits with decomposing  
bodies, the remnants of the slaughter of entire villages.

Mujibur Rahman did initiate trials against war criminals but he was  
assassinated in 1975. Last year, the War Crimes Fact Finding  
Committee, a civil society initiative in Bangladesh, released the  
most comprehensive list of alleged suspects to date.

It includes the late Yahya Khan, president of Pakistan at the time,  
but the majority are Bengali razakars as well as previous and current  
leaders of JI. Many of these fled in the aftermath of the war and  
some came to the UK.

A Channel Four documentary from 1995 made allegations of involvement  
by British Bangladeshis in the genocide. Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin,  
director of Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the NHS, who was until  
recently vice-chairman of the East London Mosque and London Muslim  
Centre and was involved in setting up the Muslim Council of Britain,  
is one of the most prominent people to be accused of having carried  
out war crimes.

Mueen-Uddin is alleged to have been part of a group that abducted and  
"disappeared" people. Witnesses at the time describe seeing him  
kidnapping a university professor and a journalist in Dhaka during  
the war. Mueen-Uddin told the documentary makers "all the accusations  
being made against me are … utterly false and malicious, and either  
politically motivated or instigated otherwise".

Having left the newly created country of Bangladesh for London, Mueen- 
Uddin, along with other members of JI set up Islamic Forum Europe, an  
avowedly Islamist organisation connected to the East London Mosque.

Among the numerous ways in which consecutive Bangladeshi governments  
have lagged behind public opinion, the inaction with regard to trying  
the alleged war criminals is the least forgivable for many.  
Undeterred, Bengali civil society has continued to be vociferous in  
making sure this issue does not disappear.

Unless trials are seen to be free and fair, they will be perceived as  
political point-scoring by the Awami League. It is incumbent on the  
British Bangladeshi community, together with wider British society,  
to join the demands to bring the Bangladeshi war criminals to  
justice. It is also time to rethink a period of history which has  
continuing ramifications for today.


_____


[3] Pakistan:

(i) AHMED RASHID: OBAMA'S OPTIONS IN PAKISTAN
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113378138


(ii)

Mail Today, October 9, 2009

NAYSAYERS OF KERRY- LUGAR BILL MISTAKEN

by Najam Sethi

THE Kerry- Lugar Bill commits US$ 1.5 billion a year for five years  
from the US taxpayers’ pocket to Pakistan.

But there is an uproar in Pakistan because of the conditions attached  
to it. Critics say these are an “ insult” to Pakistan — no less than  
a “ surrender” — because they violate its “ sovereignty”. But anti-  
American passion and rage aside — for which there is some  
justification on other counts — the Bill is nothing of the sort.  
Here’s why.

The “ objectionable” conditions, for which the US Secretary of State  
must provide certification to Congressional Committees, are as  
follows: ( 1) The Government of Pakistan is continuing to cooperate  
with the United States in efforts to dismantle supplier networks  
relating to the acquisition of nuclear weapons- related materials,  
such as providing relevant information from or direct access to  
Pakistani nationals associated with such networks. This means that if  
Washington wants to question Dr A Q Khan and the GoP refuses access  
to him, the aid will stop.

BUT THE GoP under General Pervez Musharraf and under President Asif  
Zardari has already made a policy statement that this will not be  
allowed under any circumstances. So what’s the problem? ( 2) The  
Government of Pakistan… has demonstrated a sustained commitment to  
and is making significant efforts towards combating terrorist groups…  
including taking into account the extent to which the Government of  
Pakistan has made progress on matters such as ( A) ceasing support,  
including by any elements within the Pakistan military or its  
intelligence agency, to extremist and terrorist groups, particularly  
to any group that has conducted attacks against the United States or  
coalition forces in Afghanistan, or against the territory or people  
of neighbouring countries; ( B) preventing al- Qaeda, the Taliban and  
associated terrorist groups, such as Lashkar- e- Taiba and Jaish- e-  
Mohammed, from operating in the territory of Pakistan, including  
carrying out cross- border attacks into neighbouring countries,  
closing terrorist camps in the Fata, dismantling terrorist bases of  
operations in other parts of the country, including Quetta and  
Muridke, and taking action when provided with intelligence about  
high- level terrorist targets; and ( C) strengthening  
counterterrorism and anti- money laundering laws; and ( 3) the  
security forces of Pakistan are not materially and substantially  
subverting the political or judicial processes of Pakistan.

But the Obama administration has already praised the GoP’s  
commitments in this regard. Indeed, far from materially and  
substantially subverting the political or judicial processes of  
Pakistan, the security forces of Pakistan ( the army and ISI) helped  
to restore the independent judiciary and avert a political crisis  
last March. They are also going after the Taliban and Al- Qaeda and  
have lost hundreds of soldiers in the military operations.

So what’s the problem? A look at earlier US conditions on aid to  
Pakistan should put matters in historical perspective. The Symington  
Amendment in 1976 prohibited Pakistan from enriching nuclear  
equipment outside international safeguards. But that didn’t stop  
Pakistan from going ahead anyway at Kahuta in its own national  
interest and the US “ waived” the condition and gave aid to Pakistan  
from 1982- 90 in its own national interest. Similarly, the Glenn  
Amendment in 1977 prohibited countries receiving US aid from testing  
nuclear devices. Therefore it was applied to Pakistan and India in  
1998 after both conducted nuclear tests. But the condition was “  
waived” for Pakistan by the Bush administration after 9/ 11 in the US  
national interest. Much the same applied to the Pressler Amendment  
adopted in 1985 which prohibited aid to countries outside the NPT  
( like Pakistan) possessing nuclear devices or trying to acquire one.  
Again, it was “ waived” for Pakistan from 1982- 90 in the US national  
interest.

The waivers for restoration of “ economic assistance” were granted  
under the Brownback amendments in 1998 and 1999. The most interesting  
US Bill was the 9/ 11 Commission Recommendation Act and Consolidated  
Appropriation Act which stipulated US aid to Pakistan from 2005-  
2008. The conditions in it required Islamabad to ( i) close all known  
terrorist camps in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir ( ii) prevent  
infiltration across the LoC into India ( iii) stop transfer of  
weapons of mass destruction to third countries or actors ( iv)  
implement democratic reforms. When Islamabad said it was complying  
with these conditions, the US took it at its word and allowed the aid  
to continue.

If all those US conditionalities did not “ violate Pakistan’s  
sovereignty” under the military regimes of General Zia ul Haq and  
General Pervez Musharraf and were embraced by the national security  
establishment in Pakistan, why aren’t the same sort of restraints  
acceptable under a democratic civilian government in Islamabad?

INDEED, the Kerry- Lugar Bill is superior from Pakistan’s point of  
view in two significant ways: first, it provides for US 7.5 billion  
in five years to the Zardari government compared to US$ 5 billion  
under the Bush administration to General Musharraf and US$ 6 billion  
to General Zia under the Reagan administration; second, the aid is  
non- military aid aimed at improving the Pakistan economy,  
alleviating poverty, promoting education, providing for social  
infrastructure and popular welfare rather than bombs and jets and  
missiles and tanks.

Isn’t that what the popular demand in this country is all about, that  
we want bread and not guns, that we want economic development and not  
an arms race? Indeed, the US condition warning the military from “  
materially and substantially subverting the political or judicial  
processes of Pakistan” should be the most welcome of all. Isn’t that  
what the heroic struggle for the restoration of Chief Justice  
Iftikhar Chaudhry and his colleagues and the striking down of the  
military- imposed PCO of November 3, 2007, was all about? It is  
instructive to comment on the sources of the opposition to the Kerry-  
Lugar Bill in Pakistan. First, it emanates from those sections of the  
religio- nationalist media who were pro- Taliban and pro- Al Qaeda  
not so long ago and refused to accept the war against them as  
Pakistan’s war. Second, it comes from the military establishment that  
is angry because the aid is exclusively for bread and not guns. The  
link between this military establishment and sections of the media  
that came to adulthood either during the Zia era or during the  
Musharraf years is well known. Third, it is most significant that the  
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, which is scrambling for a midterm  
election and drummed up the “ Minus- Zardari” formula recently,  
thought fit to criticise the Kerry- Lugar Bill only after its  
stalwarts Shahbaz Sharif and Nisar Ali Khan met with COAS Gen Ashfaq  
Kayani recently!

The writer is the editor of Friday Times and The Daily Times ( Lahore)

_____


[4]  Pakistan - India:

The Times of India
7 October 2009

'TO END INDO-PAK DISPUTE, MAKE SIACHEN A PEACE PARK'
	
Having seen plastic bottles, polythene covers, kerosene cans, human  
waste and artillery shells strewn around on the white snow and 800 army
personnel, including his friends, fighting frostbite and guarding  
against unknown enemies, Harish Kapadia has started a new mission a  
peace park at Siachen. The 65-year-old mountaineer tells Sruthy Susan  
Ullas about his passion:

Why do you want to set up the peace park?

Peace parks are solutions for regions of dispute between two  
countries. There are 170 such parks around the world today, where the  
area is given for rejuvenation and for tourists to visit. The best  
way to end the Indo-Pak dispute is to withdraw the army from the land  
and make it a peace park. The park will come up at the Sino-Indian  
border to be extended till the Siachen.

Besides resolving disputes, what is the objective of setting up this  
park?

It is the recent degradation of the land that requires immediate  
attention. The pollution level will come down once human habitation  
goes down.

How about the pollution in other areas of the Himalayas? Don't  
mountaineers also play a role in it?

In other areas, villagers themselves are responsible for the  
pollution rather than the mountaineers. Their changing lifestyle is  
becoming an increasing menace. If a family was using one bottle of  
kerosene earlier, now it uses one can. They throw the empty can down  
the nullah, which joins the rivers. This year there is a dangerous  
water shortage in the mountains. All the streams have dried up due to  
the absence of afternoon rains and lack of snowfall. The rivers are  
of not much use to villagers as they flow down into the valleys and  
villagers depend on the streams.

How do you plan to change these?

In order to sensitise villagers, a three-day workshop was organised  
for them in the last week of August with experts from Canada training  
them. I go up to the mountains regularly to keep an eye on the  
changes. Mountains have been a part of my life since i was 14. It  
disturbs me when i see them in such a pathetic stage. I'm travelling  
across the world and speaking on the need to set up the peace park. I  
began with the Cannes film festival and covered over a hundred  
meetings. I write about it regularly in the Himalayan Journal. I've  
also spoken to the environment secretary and government officials.

What is the hindrance to the park project?

The real problem is the lack of trust between the two countries.  
Given the current political scenario in Pakistan, we do not even know  
who to talk to. There have been talks earlier, but nothing worthwhile  
has come out of them because of the zero trust.


_____


[5]  India administered Kashmir:


Kashmir Times
7 October 2009
Editorial

MYTH AND REALITY: J&K ENJOYS FAR LESS FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY THAN OTHER  
INDIAN STATES

Shiv Sena's demand for introducing permit system for those visiting  
Maharashtra from outside the State to prevent large-scale immigration  
from other states is in tune with this communal chauvinist outfit's  
slogan of Maharashtra for Maharashtrians. The party in the past has  
earned notoriety for inciting regional and communal passions and  
resorting to killing of Muslims and harassing non-Maharashtrians  
living in the region. What is surprising is that New Delhi has not  
taken any serious note of the latest Sena demand for issuing permits  
for outsiders. Hell would have broken had a similar demand been  
raised by some one in Kashmir for restricting the entry of outsiders  
to the State. Unlike many other states, such permit system for entry  
existed in Jammu and Kashmir, which enjoys special status in the  
Indian Union and has a separate constitution of its own 'till it was  
abolished in 1952. Contrary to the claims of New Delhi and its pliant  
regimes in the State the hard fact is that J&K enjoys far less  
functional autonomy than other states in the country. The State's  
special position or greater autonomy is simply a myth, far from  
reality. While the constitutional autonomy, granted initially to J&K,  
has since been eroded, in practical sense of the term the ruling  
elite in the State has always been subservient to the rulers in New  
Delhi. The states ruled by the parties other than the ruling party at  
the Centre have been exercising more powers and authority than the  
pliant governments in J&K. Whether it is the DMK government in  
Tamilnadu or Left Front governments in West Bengal, Tripura and  
Kerala or even the BJP government of Narendra Modi in Gujarat, on  
several occasions they managed to assert for their autonomy and  
defied New Delhi's directions on different issues. Modi was naturally  
protected by the erstwhile BJP-led NDA government after the genocide  
of Muslims in Gujarat, planned and executed by him and despite the  
court strictures against him. He even survived under the Congress-led  
governments which failed to bring him to book for his acts, which  
went against the Constitution of India and Indian state's concept of  
secularism. These states have asserted for preserving and protecting  
whatever autonomy they enjoy under the Constitution and in some cases  
have even managed to go beyond that. Whether it is the question of  
the appointment of governors, formulation of plans or setting up of  
central projects the consent and participation of these states on the  
basis of equality has been assured. Even on the question of law and  
order, which is a state subject, these states have not allowed  
Centre's interference and have resisted its moves to send  
paramiltaries on its own successfully.

In quite contrast to the Centre's attitude towards other states, J&K,  
despite having larger degree of autonomy constitutionally in actual  
practice has always been treated as New Delhi's colony. Its position  
in this regard is even worse than that of central- ruled states. The  
rulers in the State cannot survive unless they follow the diktats,  
policies and directions of the rulers in New Delhi. While the state  
plans and projects are determined and formulated by New Delhi even  
the in the matter of law and order the Centre has a major say. During  
the past two decades, in particular, the matters relating to law and  
order have been virtually handed over to the Centre. Even the tallest  
of Kashmiri leaders, Sheikh Abdullah, had to pay the price for  
defying New Delhi in 1953 when he was undemocratically and  
unconstitutionally deposed as the Prime Minister and arrested. Having  
learnt the bitter lesson, he returned to power in 1975 through  
backdoor on New Delhi's terms and agreed to function at the same  
wavelength as that of New Delhi. Farooq Abdullah too realized the  
need to faithfully follow New Delhi's diktats for survival, first by  
joining the BJP-led NDA when it was in power and now the Congress.  
The manner in which he and his party were humiliated when the  
Vajpayee government contemptuously rejected the near unanimous demand  
of the state legislature for the restoration of State's eroded  
autonomy to pre'1953 level is a case in point. The State rulers  
subservience to the rulers at the Centre is evident from the manner  
in which the chief ministers frequently visit the Union capital,  
unlike some of their counterparts in other states, to pay their  
obeisance at Delhi durbar. The State governments find themselves  
helpless even on the issues of enforcing or scarpping laws, releasing  
prisoners, reducing the level of troops deployment or even getting  
the illegally occupied land vacated by the security forces. While the  
State's autonomy has been fully eroded during the years another  
painful reality is that the benefits of whatever autonomy the state  
enjoys have never percolated at the lower levels in view of a highly  
centralized system of governance. Worse, in most matters the people  
of the state are considered and treated as second class citizens.


___


[6] India

livemint.com, 2 October 2009

WHY THE GREEN HUNT RHETORIC RINGS SO HOLLOW

The advertising campaign, the home minister’s bid to prepare us for  
the intensity of Operation Green Hunt, the reports that some 75,000  
paramilitary personnel had been mobilized, suggests an operation  
planned on an unprecedented scale

by Mukul Kesavan

The government of India recently aired half-page advertisements in  
the newspapers, featuring corpses with boxed names and a declaration  
that “Naxals are nothing but cold-blooded murderers”. Around the same  
time, the home minister began to talk about an imminent counter- 
insurgency operation in Chhattisgarh and other states. This, the home  
minister explained, was the government’s concerted response to the  
violent challenge posed by the Naxals to state authority. As a token  
of the seriousness of the state, he revealed that the paramilitary  
forces involved in the action would be allowed to call upon the  
special operations units of the Indian Army and the helicopters of  
the Indian Air Force for logistical support.

The advertising campaign, the home minister’s bid to prepare us for  
the intensity of Operation Green Hunt, the reports that some 75,000  
paramilitary personnel had been mobilized, suggests an operation  
planned on an unprecedented scale. For perspective it’s useful to  
remember that the current strength of Nato forces in Afghanistan is  
just under 100,000 soldiers. The deployment indicates that the  
government of India sees the Naxalite insurgency in Chhattisgarh and  
elsewhere as a menace comparable to the terrorism of the Taliban and  
its sponsorship of jihad. This is consistent with Prime Minister  
Manmohan Singh’s much-quoted statement that violent, Left-wing  
insurgencies are “the gravest threat to India’s internal security”.

This should remind us that large counter-insurgency operations in  
India have so far been confined to India’s borderlands and directed  
against secessionist movements: Punjab, Kashmir and the North-Eastern  
states are cases in point. Operation Green Hunt, on the other hand,  
is to be staged in central India in a poor, rural, landlocked  
province surrounded by six other states.

The government of India argues that large parts of Chhattisgarh,  
indeed scores of districts spread over a dozen states, have, in fact,  
seceded from India; that Operation Green Hunt is needed precisely to  
reassert the first responsibility of any state, its sovereign control  
over its territory.

Put like that, Operation Green Hunt seems like a justifiable  
initiative. How can the Indian republic call itself a State if its  
writ doesn’t run in its heartland? In the first round of television  
discussions after the home minister announced his counter-insurgency  
plans, anchors and moderators asked the critics of Operation Green  
Hunt the obvious questions: What choice does the Indian government  
have when its authority is usurped by insurgents who reject the  
legitimacy of a democratically constituted state? Isn’t the liberal,  
civil rights critique of insurgency naïve at best and treasonous at  
worst, given that it limits the government’s freedom of action and  
challenges its legitimate authority at the very moment when its  
energies should be focused on defeating those who would subvert it?

There are two ways of responding to this rhetorically powerful  
argument. One is to say that a citizen’s or a pundit’s brief isn’t,  
and shouldn’t be, limited to articulating reasons of state. Instead  
of ventriloquizing for a government perfectly capable of getting its  
message across (think of the half-page newspaper advertisements),  
commentators, reporters, even television anchors, could put their  
skills to better use by exploring the predicament of those likely to  
be collateral damage in this war, who don’t routinely command the  
headlines or prime time: the rural poor of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand  
and Andhra Pradesh and every other state and district where  
insurgency feeds off the desperation of violently exploited Indians.

A perspective on Operation Green Hunt that concentrates on the costs  
of counter-insurgency (always borne disproportionately by the poor)  
might give us something to set against the government’s  
justifications for this war. Adversarial journalism, far from being  
treasonous, is the mark of the patriot: If more American journalists  
and intellectuals had been sceptical of George Bush’s reasons for the  
invasion of Iraq, both the US and Iraq would have been spared a  
murderous, catastrophic and futile war.

The second way of testing the government’s good faith in setting in  
motion this massive confrontation is to examine the consistency of  
its own arguments. The home minister’s primary justification for  
Operation Green Hunt is that the State can’t allow its authority, its  
monopoly over violence, to be flouted with impunity. This begins to  
seem less plausible when a cursory survey of Chhattisgarh’s recent  
history reveals that the Congress party in that state pioneered the  
strategy of raising and arming a vigilante army (the Salwa Judum)  
whose members were given special police officer status and granted  
the leeway to kill pretty much whoever they wanted in the name of  
anti-Naxal operations.

The Salwa Judum wasn’t just criticized by liberals, civil rights- 
wallahs and the usual bleeding heart suspects: It was censured by the  
higher courts of the republic. The Congress government at the Centre  
has now backed away from its sponsorship of this mob, but it’s worth  
remembering that a government that claims to be so mindful of its  
monopoly over violence that it will go to war against those of its  
citizens who would challenge that monopoly, shouldn’t have been in  
the business of subcontracting its licence to kill to civil society  
militias.

In 1942, during the Quit India Movement, the colonial government  
used, for the first time in its history, air power to strafe  
nationalist rebels. But even in the middle of this ferocious campaign  
of repression, there were officers of the colonial state who  
remembered that they were going after human subjects of the British  
Empire. One ICS head of a district famously warned his policemen  
against being trigger-happy: “Remember,” said Mr Niblett, ICS,  
“you’re not on shikar.”

With paramilitary forces called CoBra (Commando Battalion for  
Resolute Action), kitted out with mortars, rocket launchers and  
sniper rifles, for a campaign called Operation Green Hunt, it’s clear  
that their republican successors haven’t been given the same caution.  
They’re loaded for bear and print and broadcast journalists who hitch  
a ride on this armed safari might consider the credibility of their  
embedded American counterparts who whistled their way in chorus into  
a criminal war.

Mukul Kesavan, a professor of social history at Jamia Millia Islamia,  
is the author of The Ugliness of the Indian Male and Other  
Propositions. Mukul is taking a sabbatical from op-ed writing. This  
is his last column.

o o o

Human Rights Activists / Free Speech / Operation Green Hunt (CNN /  
IBN Videos)

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/102891/10_2009/ftn0710_1/ftn-activists- 
vs-govt-on-fighting-naxals.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/102891/10_2009/ftn0710_1a/ftn-activists- 
vs-govt-on-fighting-naxals.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/102891/10_2009/ftn0710_1b/ftn-activists- 
vs-govt-on-fighting-naxals.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/102891/10_2009/ftn0710_2/ftn-activists- 
vs-govt-on-fighting-naxals.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/102891/10_2009/ftn0710_2a/ftn-activists- 
vs-govt-on-fighting-naxals.html

o o o

NORTHEAST ECHOES [WHAT HAS TURNED MANIPUR INTO A KILLING FIELD]

by Patricia Mukhim (The Telegraph, 5 October 2009)

Politics of degeneration

Academicians and theorists of democratic politics have defined  
Manipur as a failed state. It is difficult to think of other  
adjectives to describe a state where even high school students are  
out of their classrooms and on the streets protesting against gross  
violations of human rights by both state and non-state actors.

In recent times, the state, whether represented by the police or the  
armed forces, has been ruthless in its attempt to short-circuit  
militant activities. Unfortunately, the methods adopted by state  
forces are self-defeating. Using more violence to scale down violence  
only has a detrimental effect.

Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh is now in his eighth year. He  
presided over the government of Manipur for five years and was re- 
elected for the second term. In these eight years, violence has  
escalated and fake encounters have become the order of the day.

A brutish Act

In 2004, when Thangjam Manorama, alleged to be a member of a militant  
outfit, was gunned down by the Assam Rifles on the plea that she  
tried to escape from custody, the ghoulish action led to a spate of  
agitations. The ultimate expression of anguish and frustration  
against this ruthless murder was when a group of women protesters  
stripped themselves naked with a banner that screamed “Assam Rifles,  
rape us.” This scene is etched in our collective memory. The national  
and international media picked up the images which in one sense was a  
slur on womanhood even while it depicted the scale of human anger and  
disgust at the impunity of a repressive state force whose actions are  
legitimised by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

After all these unprecedented acts of horror committed by men in  
uniform there was a huge public uproar that the AFSPA should be  
rescinded. A Central fact-finding team headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy  
visited all the north eastern states to gather public opinion. In  
every state the Commission was told that this imperialistic  
instrument of oppression should be repealed. The Commission  
recommended that the Act be done away with and that other methods and  
strategies be developed to tackle militancy in the Northeast.

Sadly, the Jeevan Reddy recommendation is now in cold storage. One of  
the most vociferous opponents for repealing this Act is none other  
than Ibobi Singh himself who was probably briefed by the Assam Rifles  
that containing militancy would be well nigh impossible without the  
extraordinary powers granted by the AFSPA.

Electorate error?

What is even more surprising is that Ibobi Singh, who is a  
protagonist of the AFSPA, was re-elected in 2006, this time with a  
larger margin. In his second term Ibobi Singh has become a symbol of  
“nationalism” and the Centre’s points-man in Manipur. At least that  
is the perception of a section of people in his state. From the  
second year of his second term things have gone horrible wrong in  
Manipur. Chilling accounts of daylight murder by non-state actors who  
targeted a certain community was followed by state reprisals.  
Pharmacies became targets of hefty extortion bids by militants,  
leading to their subsequent closure. Lifesaving drugs were not  
available for days on end. Even hospitals were targeted and doctors  
were threatened.

The irony is that Ibobi Singh himself gave the casting vote on  
Manipur’s state of health. He said, “Manipur is unliveable.” Coming  
from a chief minister, the words are appalling. He was indicting  
himself. In other circumstances, and if the Indian Constitution  
permitted a recall, Ibobi Singh should have been asked to step down  
on account of his abject failure to run the state. But India being  
India and the Congress party being the sine qua non that drives  
politics in this country a failed chief minister is allowed to  
continue to preside over the rapid degeneration of his state bringing  
it to the precipice it now finds itself in.

However, there are some questions that remain unanswered. The most  
probing one being — Why did the electorate get it so wrong? Why was  
Ibobi Singh re-elected even though he staunchly represented “Indian”  
interests, which from all indications is anathema to the people of  
Manipur? Are the strident voices of protests against the present  
chief minister’s rule of terror a minority, represented by a small  
section of his detractors? Is the larger section of Manipur’s  
population ready to repose faith on a chief minister who is seen to  
be giving unbridled powers to the armed forces and police? Is this  
silent section of voters not in sync with what the vocal section  
want? Is this division politically induced or socially engineered?  
Indeed, Ibobi Singh’s election for the second term was a baffling  
mandate that requires some insightful analyses.

A state in disarray

Manipur has not had time for development. Each day is spent fire- 
fighting to keep the government alive. Things are in state of utter  
disarray and this is visible in Imphal where not a day passes without  
some form of protest or another. One marvels at the energy of the  
protesters who are evidently fighting an obstreperous state. Those  
observing the bizarre politics of Manipur from the outside cannot but  
wonder at the nonchalance of the government. The dissenters have not  
gained an inch. The state is as adamant in carrying out its  
stupefying agenda as the protesters are in coming out to the streets.  
So, who is Ibobi Singh representing? Judging by the number of  
protests against him and the effigies of his that are burnt at  
regular intervals he seems to have alienated every right thinking  
citizen. But is that the reality? Or have we misread the politics of  
Manipur?

Recent attempts at setting alight the Raj Bhavan, is perhaps another  
assertion of hostility towards a symbol of “Indian” authority. After  
all, the Governor is the repository of Central powers. So, are these  
the acts of a thinking civil society or of a group or groups that are  
the front-liners of insurgent outfits? It would be difficult to  
arrive at any definite conclusion since there is clearly an invisible  
dividing line between underground outfits and over-ground  
sympathisers. And no one can be blamed for this lack of clarity.

No sign of change

Manipur’s descent into chaos started some decades ago. Things have  
only got worse. In another two years the state will have another  
election despite the political and social turmoil. Lack of  
development would, in normal circumstances, have been the clamour of  
the electorate. But knowing Manipur, the discourse will veer towards  
the acts of omission and commission of the present government. The  
yardstick used is not that of “development”, as we understand it.  
Ibobi Singh has blood in his hands. He will be put in the docks for  
the brutal murder of Sanjit Singh and Rabina Devi a pregnant woman,  
in fake encounters.

But will people remember these incidents two years hence? Will Ibobi  
Singh be replaced? Are we sure that some underground outfit is not  
with him to ensure his success? It would be simplistic to surmise  
that all insurgent groups are on one side of the fence and the state  
is on the other. There are fierce battles of attrition among the  
militants for control of resources. This is perhaps what has turned  
Manipur into a killing field and why the problem is intractable.


_____


[7] India: Resources for Secular Activists

Karnataka govt begins work to alter architecture of the Sufi Shrine
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/karnataka-govt-begins-work-to- 
alter.html

Secular Ideals Go to Dogs: Left Run Govt of Kerala goes for Sharia  
Compliant Banking
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/secular-ideals-go-to-dogs- 
left-run-govt.html

Hydel Projects in Uttrakhand: Objections by environmentalists may be  
well placed but they should take distance from the Hindu Right groups
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/hydel-projectsin-uttrakhand.html

Shun Western Music and English! Retrograde demands of BJP and  
Samajwadi Party
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/shun-western-music-and- 
english.html

Key Recommendations from Anhad's National Meet on Status of Muslims  
Delhi 3 to 5 October 2009
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/key-recommendations-from- 
anhads.html

RSS and Minorities by Ram Puniyani
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/10/rss-and-minorities.html

Media reports on Anhad Convention National Meet On The Status Of  
Muslims In India
http://www.anhadin.net/article88.html

_____


[8] Tributes:

[K Balagopal's death is a devastating blow to the human rights  
movement in India. I convey my condolences (and those of many sacw  
subscribers) to his family, friends and colleagues in the human  
rights circles. Let us celebrate this man's work and keep him alive  
in our collective memory.
--Harsh Kapoor ]

---

expressbuzz.com, 9 Oct 2009

RIGHTS ACTIVIST BALAGOPAL PASSES AWAY

Express News Service

Hyderabad: K Balagopal, who was at the forefront of the human rights  
movement in Andhra Pradesh for over a quarter of a century, is no more.

He died here tonight following a heart attack.

Around 9:45 p.m., the 57-year-old experienced discomfort at his home  
in Priya Colony, Mehdipatnam, on account of incessant hiccups, and  
this was shortly accompanied by chest pain. He was rushed to a  
hospital in the vicinity but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Friends and acquaintances rushed over on receiving the news.

Balagopal is survived by his wife, Vasanta Lakshmi, a journalist, and  
son, Prabhata, an Intermediate student.

A social scientist, Balagopal was the most visibl e civil rights  
activist in the State, taking up varied issues, from the killing of  
Naxalites in fake ‘‘encounters’’ and the arrest of villagers on the  
pretext that they gave shelter or food to Maoists, to the plight of  
those displaced by Special Economic Zones.

A brilliant mathematician, Balagopal began his career as a teacher in  
Warangal but soon turned full-time human rights activist. Along with  
another well-known civil libertarian, KG Kannabiran, he led the AP  
State Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) for many years. Later, he  
floated the Human Rights Forum (HRF).

Balagopal was arrested several times (and was once even kidnapped by  
Green Tigers, a self-styled outfit — allegedly supported by the  
police) during the course of his long innings as a civil liberties  
activist when he toured almost every part of the State championing  
the cause of the poor and those oppressed by the state machinery.

A decade ago, Balagopal took a legal turn, so to speak. He became a  
lawyer and fought hundreds of cases in both the High Court and lower  
courts on behalf of the poor, without charging a paisa. He was among  
those who argued before the High Court that cases be booked against  
policemen in every instance of ‘‘encounter’’ death and a bench  
concurred with the view.

The sudden demise of Balagopal came as a shock to a large number of  
his admirers and civil libertarians.

Prof G Haragopal, Balagopal’s long-time associate, described him as  
an uncommon personality.

The void created by his untimely demise cannot be filled, he said.  
Other rights activists like Varavara Rao conveyed their condolences  
to the bereaved family and recounted their association with Balagopal  
who they said symbolised the struggle for civil liberties.


o o o

SOFT AS A LOTUS HARD AS A ROCK : A TRIBUTE TO MAHARAJ KAUL (1940-2009)
Ved Prakash Vatuk bids a fond farewell to Maharaj Kaul, a  
passionately committed activist who worked for progressive causes for  
decades. Kaul died Sept. 30, 2009
http://www.sacw.net/article1168.html


_____


[9] Miscellanea:


Global Reboot presents the on-line documentary THE AGE OF ADAPTATION,  
which argues that global warming, social inequality and economic  
instability are converging into a 'systemic crisis' affecting the  
whole planet.

The Age of Adaptation also uncovers the rhetoric behind many alleged  
techniques to resolve climate change, from clean coal to carbon  
offsetting, and concludes that only a general 'reboot' of our social  
and economic model can help us adapt to the challenges lying ahead.

Check all of this at: http://www.globalreboot.org/english/english.html

o o o

(ii)

AUTONOMY OR NEW FORMS OF DOMINATION? THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  
GOVERNMENTS AND MOVEMENTS
by Raul Zibechi
Monday, 23 February 2009
Translated by Monica Wooters from: ¿Autonomía o nuevas formas de  
dominación?  [http://www.ircamericas.org/esp/5807]

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1731/1/


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

S o u t h      A s i a      C i t i z e n s      W i r e
Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. An offshoot of South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.