SACW - 16 Aug 2011 | Abu Taher and The Supreme Court of Bangladesh / Pakistan Bigotry / India: injustice in Kashmir; Salwa judam; Forgotten Tribals; Arakshan ban, Jan Lokpal bill, RSS in Madhya pradesh Govt

Harsh Kapoor aiindex at gmail.com
Mon Aug 15 19:30:06 EDT 2011


South Asia Citizens Wire - 16 August 2011 - No. 2725
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[This issue of SACW is dedicated to Tareq Masud. Tareq Masud, the
celebrated film maker from Bangladesh died in a car crash on the 14th
August 2011. The death of Tareq Masud is a devastating blow to cinema
lovers, independent documentary film makers and secular democrats in
South Asia and beyond. See below URLs for news reports:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041289?refCatId=19
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=198700
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=198555 ]

============================================
Contents:
1. Pakistan: Extreme injustice — a legal mandate for bigotry (Samira Shackle)
2. Pakistan: Constructing a Portrait of Pakistan Through the Stories
of Its People (Jane Perlez)
3. Pakistan: Violence by cops at Nairang appalling  (HRCP)
4. Letter to the Pakistan Authorities re attack on Nairang Art
Galleries (Nayyar Ali Dada)
5. Lost in the woods (Ramachandra Guha)
6. PDS leakages: the plot thickens (Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera)
7. Preempt a Telangana like crisis in Bengal (Ranabir Samaddar)

Content updates from sacw.net
8. Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere: Abu Taher and
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh (Lawrence Lifschultz)
9. New truths, or biases on Bangladesh’s war of liberation
10. Salwa Judum: When the government defends the indefensible (Nandini Sundar)
11. The Norway massacre and the Indian connection (Meera Nanda)
12. To market with terrorism (Jawed Naqvi)
13. India : Mob violence and curbs on the film Arakshan
14. Freny Manecksha on why securing justice in Kashmir has become impossible
15. India: An alternative approach to the Anti Corruption Watchdog
’Jan Lokpal’ Bill
16. Recent content on Communalism Watch:
  - Colour me saffron
  - 2002 Riots Truth is an ‘official secret’ in Gujarat
  - Hindutva Fanatics haunt MF Husain in death
  - Terrorism has political goals
  - Gujarat: Intimidation of cops who choose to speak up
  - Madhya Pradesh government order allowing its employees to take part in RSS
  - When friends begin to speak like foes
  - Don't hide the sins of guilty cops
17. International:
   - Why here, why now ? (Tariq Ali )
   - Aiding Egypt's Salafists - Editorial, The Hindu
   - Political groups denounce violation of unity agreement in Egypt
   - Editorial: Egypt's Salafis: Enter the dragon

================================================
1. PAKISTAN: EXTREME INJUSTICE — A LEGAL MANDATE FOR BIGOTRY
by Samira Shackle
================================================
New Statesman, 08 August 2011

Why the religious persecution of minorities in Pakistan is getting worse.

A Pakistani Christian woman lights candles in front of a picture of
Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minorities who was killed in March.

Standing on a dusty street under the Karachi sun, already blazing at
9am, it strikes me that I am being rejected. I am at a Christian-run
school, amongst a crowd of parents vying for appointments to secure
admission for their children. The reception, if that is the word for
it, is a hatch in the brick wall, behind which sits a harried looking
man with a stack of papers and a phone. After wrestling my way to the
front, I explain that I am here to talk to the headmaster about
religious discrimination.

The man phones the headmaster's personal assistant. I explain my
connection to the acquaintance that told him to expect me, and tell
her that I'm researching Christians in Pakistan. After nearly 10
minutes, standing on the pavement with the phone cord pulled awkwardly
out into the street, I realise that the line has gone dead and she's
hung up the phone. The man behind the desk is distinctly unimpressed,
given the crowd amassing behind me. Convinced the line has been
accidentally cut off, I ask him to call again. The PA's tone is
markedly different. "You're not the only person I'm dealing with," she
snaps. "The father doesn't have time for all this."

When I speak to my acquaintance later that day, he shrugs. "Don't be
offended," he says. "He is prominent so he is easily identifiable. Are
you surprised he is scared to talk?"

Pakistan was conceived as a secular state with Islam as its main
religion. "We have many non-Muslims -- Hindus, Christians, and Parsis
-- but they are all Pakistanis," said the country's founder, Muhammad
Ali Jinnah in a celebrated speech. However, in the late 1970s and
1980s, the military dictator General Zia-ul-Huq engaged in a
repressive programme of 'Islamisation'. Among his actions was the
introduction of a set of blasphemy laws, under which a person can face
indefinite imprisonment or even the death penalty for criticising the
Prophet Muhammad or the Qur'an.

The current debate is not about the existence of the law itself (many
countries have blasphemy laws, as did the UK until 2008), but about
the exceptionally harsh penalties and the very light burden of proof.
Hardly any evidence is required - the accuser can even refuse to
repeat the blasphemy in court for fear of committing the crime himself
- and so the law is frequently used as a means of settling personal
scores or stirring up sectarian tension.

The issue came to international attention last November, when Aasia
Bibi, a Christian mother of five, was sentenced to death for
"insulting the Prophet". The remarks were allegedly made after
co-workers refused to share water that she had carried, on the basis
that Christians are unclean. Throughout her trial, she did not have
access to a lawyer.

Aasia's case was taken up by three politicians in the ruling Pakistan
People's Party, who called for reform: Salman Taseer, the governor of
Punjab (Pakistan's most populous state), Shahbaz Bhatti, the
Minorities Minister, and Sherry Rehman, a prominent backbencher.

The consequences speak for themselves. On 4 January, Taseer was shot
dead by his own bodyguard outside a coffee shop in Islamabad. On 2
March, Bhatti too was shot by assassins from the Pakistani Taliban.
Rehman is living in semi-hiding in fear for her life. And on 2
February, soon after Taseer was killed, the prime minister, Yousuf
Raza Gilani, told his government that he would not touch the law and
that all reform would be shelved: "We are all unanimous that nobody
wants to change the law."

It is easy to see why people might be afraid to speak out in favour of
change. Taseer's daughter Shehrbano is a recent graduate working as a
journalist for Newsweek in Lahore. "Very few people condemned my
father's murder," she tells me when we speak on the phone. "Everyone
was so petrified that they'd be next. That's how terrorists operate.
The night that my father died, I thought, OK, this is going to be a
huge watershed moment in the history of Pakistan. But the complete
opposite happened. We went ten steps back."

This anger at the government's handling of the assassinations is
shared by many. "I feel very strongly about it, of course I do. But I
won't say anything because I don't want to get shot," a diplomat tells
me. "Even my servants could betray me. It was his bodyguard - a
servant - who shot him."

There is a real sense of fear among the ruling classes. One evening, a
PPP former minister tells me that he hates the idea of having an armed
guard and drives himself everywhere - but keeps this fact to himself,
and makes sure to take different routes and not to travel at the same
time every day.
Caste out

About 96 per cent of Pakistan's population is Muslim. However, the 4
per cent minority of Christians, Hindus and Islamic sects such as the
Ahmadis (regarded as non-Muslims) translates to nearly ten million
people, the equivalent of the population of Tunisia.

Well before the Taliban became a political force in the country,
minorities faced serious social discrimination. I speak to Sujawal
Massey, a Christian man who works as a sweeper - one of the
lowest-status jobs there is. Aware of his position in this acutely
class-bound society, he does not sit down, but hovers awkwardly as we
talk in the living room of the lavish house where he works, looking at
the floor except when spoken to.

He tells me it is difficult to find work. "They don't let us move
ahead. We get no chances. If they know you're a Christian they say:
there's no room here for you."

I ask what impact this has on a day-to-day level. "If we end up
somewhere where there are Muslims, we're in trouble if they discover
we're Christian," he says. "We don't tell them we're Christian in the
market, because they won't give us anything. They won't even let us
drink from a glass."

His employer tells me that while she insists that he is fed with the
other servants (most of whom live in quarters in the house) many of
her friends do not do the same for Christian members of staff. She
keeps separate utensils for him to eat with, because her Muslim
servants are unwilling to share theirs with him.

The reluctance to share water was also central to the Aasia Bibi case.
"It is a carry-over from the Hindu caste system - the idea of
untouchability," explains Dr Theodore Gabriel, a University of
Gloucestershire academic and author of a study of Pakistan, Christian
Citizens in an Islamic State. "Most of the Christians in Pakistan come
from a low caste. The 'untouchable' or Dalit class were targets of
missionary activity during colonisation, so they have come from a low
economic and social background."

This social persecution remains in place even for those who have
worked their way out of typical 'untouchable' jobs. I visit a beauty
salon in an affluent suburb of Karachi, owned by a Christian Pakistani
woman, Jane Peters. The shop is busy, with several Muslim women
waiting to be seen.

However, all is not well behind the scenes. "There are terrible
problems," she tells me. "I pay my bills, I pay my taxes, but the
neighbours have had the water supply cut off." This means that she
cannot get running water to the shop, and instead has to buy it in
tankers each morning and manually heat the water required for
hair-washes and manicures. The process of giving treatments is delayed
by staff having to carry kettles and basins of hot water up and down
stairs.

The shop is staffed entirely by Christian girls - "otherwise there are
quarrels," explains Peters - and so it provides a rare employment
opportunity for those who would otherwise end up in menial positions.
One of the girls tells me that she quit school prematurely so that she
could take the job, and is trying to complete her education part-time.
"It is very hard for us to find employment," she says.
No change

It goes beyond sharing water. Gabriel describes school textbooks which
claim that Christians worship three Gods, and define citizens of
Pakistan as Muslims. "That means Christians are not regarded as
citizens - if a textbook says that, then that is what children are
learning. It's not going to foster tolerance, is it?"

Speaking to Christians, I am struck by their acceptance. "People are
afraid," explains Peters' daughter, Sabiha, an articulate young woman
who speaks fluent English. "If we make a fuss, it's very easy for
someone to accuse us of blasphemy. It affects the poorer communities
more, but it is a worry for everyone."

This type of discrimination is deeply entrenched, given that it
pre-existed the formation of Pakistan by more than a thousand years.
But is it worsening given the increasing influence of extremist ideas?
Many view the decision to shelve reform of the blasphemy law as a
victory for the militants. The women in the beauty salon - educated
and politically aware - share this view. Yet when I asked Massey
whether he was afraid and if he felt his situation could be improved,
it was clear that the world of law and reform was alien to him.

"We are very few in a big nation, so we try to stay out of trouble,"
he says. "Maybe someone can help but we don't know who there is or is
not. Politicians don't give us any importance." During the interview,
my interpreter wells up. Later, she tells me that she was distressed
by his total acceptance of the status quo.

This social discrimination is intensifying, says Ali Dayan Hasan,
country director for Human Rights Watch in Pakistan. "Empowered
extremists are making more frequent use of the legal tools at their
disposal to persecute minorities. They are also killing them with
impunity in a way they haven't done before."

He explains that rising extremism means that minorities are
increasingly targets. "The militancy is contributing to it, but the
fact of the matter is that the structure of these legal frameworks
essentially makes the Pakistani state a partisan, sectarian actor,
rather than a neutral arbiter between citizens. That tilts the balance
in favour of the persecutor rather than the persecuted."

It appears that there is no real appetite for change. Most of the
Muslim Pakistanis I speak to agree that there are problems with
community relations, but prioritise other concerns.

"We have no human rights," says Iqbal Haider, a human rights lawyer
who served in both Benazir Bhutto's governments, slamming his glass
down on the table. "If I don't have the right to survive, all other
rights are meaningless. And if the majority is not safe, then how can
you expect the minorities to be? Nobody is safe."

He draws attention to the thousands of lives lost to terrorist attacks
in the country since the beginning of the 'war on terror'. The death
toll is rising each year and currently stands at record levels. "The
Muslim places of worship are not safe. This is the greatest tragedy of
Pakistan," he shouts. "Forget about the Christian church, forget about
the Hindu temples. Muslim mosques are unsafe." Several days later, a
big attack on a Sufi shrine in the Dera Ghazi Khan district kills 40
people.

While many Pakistanis brush over the impact that the government's
retreat over the blasphemy law will have on religious minorities, most
acknowledge that this refusal to stand behind the reformers handed the
extremists a symbolic and practical victory.

"Salman Taseer was not just an ordinary citizen, "says Haider. "He was
a representative of the federation. Shahbaz Bhatti was not just a
Christian leader. He was a minister of Pakistan. It was an attack on
the government. It is a matter of shame that the government is
succumbing to this violence, and does not take these attacks as an
attack on their existence."

The government's retreat leaves little hope for reform of these
repressive laws, or for the introduction of legal steps to penalise
discrimination. Moreover, the legislation is just one part of the
complex Pakistani state system. "You have a judiciary that is in
sympathy with many extremist views, that feels that it is its duty to
uphold discriminatory laws," Dayan Hasan explains. "You also have a
military that has a historical alliance with extremist groups and
tends to view them with a higher level of tolerance. So when we
criticise the government and its inaction, which absolutely needs to
be done, we have to contextualise it within the framework of the
forces arrayed on the tide of intolerance and extremism."

Yet Shehrbano Taseer sees some cause for optimism. "These laws won't
go away tomorrow, but something huge has happened from my father's
murder - these laws are being talked about. Nobody knew the cases, the
stories, the numbers, the origins of the laws. All of this has come
forward. It's important that the debate and criticism should not die
with him. My father always said it's not about religion, it's not
about politics: it's about humanity. He was genuinely concerned about
the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan."

Some names have been changed to protect identities

Samira Shackle is a staff writer for the NS

================================================
2. CONSTRUCTING A PORTRAIT OF PAKISTAN THROUGH THE STORIES OF ITS PEOPLE
By Jane Perlez
================================================
The New York Times, August 8, 2011

During her travels across Pakistan, Pamela Constable, a veteran
foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, dropped in on the
campus of Punjab University in Lahore, a city of 10 million, the scene
of terrorist bombings and the cultural capital of the nation. By
cultural capital, residents generally refer to the fading Mughal
monuments and, to a lesser extent, the lively contemporary art scene
at the National College of Arts.

PLAYING WITH FIRE
Pakistan at War With Itself
By Pamela Constable
Illustrated. 326 pages. Random House. $28.

The university, the country’s largest, has little to do with these two
attributes of Lahore.   The campus has been a crucible of Islamic
radicalism for a decade. Ms. Constable’s visit, she recounts in her
new book, “Playing With Fire: Pakistan at War With Itself,” was
spurred by the news that students belonging to Jamiat-e-Tulaba, a
radical Islamic group affiliated with a national religious party, had
beaten a dean who dared to expel some of its members.

She had not been on the campus for two years. When she arrived in the
spring of 2010, she was amazed, she writes, by how much power the
group wielded. A student told her: “We are good Muslims, so when on
campus boys cross the limits, we have to check them. Some of the
values that come from the West do not belong in our society, and we
cannot allow them to be practiced on our campus.” When pressed, the
student listed: “Things like drugs, music, media, relations with
girls.”

This was not the secular place Ms. Constable once knew. The student’s
argument, she noted, “came straight from the Taliban worldview.” Less
than a year later an extremist bodyguard assassinated the governor of
Punjab, Salman Taseer, a man who belonged to the old Lahore of
tolerance.

The killing was bad enough. More disturbing was the celebration of the
killer among lawyers, police officers and clerics as a defender of the
faith. “A so-called moderate Muslim society was proving far more
fanatical than either its political elite or Western backers had
suspected, while its authorities were too intimidated to take on the
religious mob,” she writes.

Ms. Constable meets and talks with many different kinds of Pakistanis
— students, landowners, clerics, government ministers, poor women,
factory managers, even strangers at bus stops — in a book that she
says is designed to introduce the general reader to a complex, little
understood nation of immense importance to the United States. She does
not seek, she explains at the outset, to ferret out “the secrets of
powerful institutions or radical movements” or to delineate the
complex, and now rapidly sinking, relationship between Pakistan and
the United States.

Instead, she focuses on the main themes of Pakistani society. She
deals with feudalism, the deplorable situation of most Pakistani
women, the rotten justice system, the powerful military, the
relentless march of religious extremism, and she weaves in interviews,
news events and a touch of history.

For newcomers to Pakistan Ms. Constable’s method may well be
satisfying. With deft choices, she illuminates some of the shocking
truths about a Muslim country that emerged at the end of Britain’s
Indian empire in 1947 with the stated intention of honoring other
religions.

In the well-titled chapter “Hate,” she points out that only one
Pakistani has won a Nobel Prize. Abdus Salam, a theoretical physicist,
received the honor in 1979. But because he belonged to the Ahmadi
Muslim sect, a small minority that is basically outlawed in Pakistan,
Mr. Salam is an unknown in Pakistan. “To his homeland Salam’s
achievements were an embarrassment and a glitch in the official
narrative that Ahmadis are enemies of Islam — infidels to be avoided,
mistrusted, and despised.” In contrast A. Q. Khan, a scientist who
stole nuclear secrets and then peddled them to rogue states, is hailed
as a national hero.

An intrepid reporter, Ms. Constable is at her best when she ventures
among the underclass, the vast majority of the population trapped, she
notes, at the bottom of a deeply hierarchical society. At a brick kiln
she uncovers violence and desperation. In heat and dust the laborers
reap little but mounting indebtedness to the harsh owners. Some of the
workers resort to selling their kidneys to the underground organ
trade. One man said he was 45 but, after having sold his kidney,
looked 60. “The worst part,” he said, “is that I still haven’t paid
off my debt.”

Ms. Constable does not ignore the elite. She writes in general about
the corruption of President Asif Ali Zardari and the mixed signals of
the chief of army staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. She interviews
parliamentarians who for the most part are feudal landowners with an
interest in perpetuating the status quo rather than seriously working
toward a real democracy. She discusses the support given to
Lashkar-e-Taiba and other proxy militant groups that the military uses
against India and that foment extremism at home.

But her resolve to ignore the long, tortured Pakistani-American
relationship, and her decision to avoid drawing conclusions about why
Pakistan is on such a downward spiral, sells the reader short.
Pakistani society is important for Americans to understand because the
United States has a strategic interest in a country fraught with the
toxic mix of nuclear weapons and Islamic militancy. That radical Islam
is growing so rapidly has much to do with the refusal of the civilian
leaders to push back against extremism, to run government for the
benefit of the citizens rather than themselves. President Zardari was
too afraid to attend the funeral of his friend Mr. Taseer, the
murdered governor of Punjab. General Kayani did not appear either. It
was an ideal moment for one, or both, to appeal to sanity.

These two leaders have yet to take such a firm stand, and given the
anecdotal evidence of the gains of radical Islam accumulated with
energy and detail by Ms. Constable, it may be too late.

Jane Perlez is the chief Pakistan correspondent for The New York Times.
A version of this review appeared in print on August 9, 2011, on page
C4 of the New York edition with the headline: Constructing a Portrait
of Pakistan Through the Stories of Its People.


================================================
3. PAKISTAN: VIOLENCE BY COP AT NAIRANG APPALLING: HRCP
===============================================
03 August 2011

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious
alarm and disgust at a policeman ‘raiding’ a renowned art gallery in
Lahore

Lahore, August 03: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has
expressed serious alarm and disgust at a policeman ‘raiding’ a
renowned art gallery in Lahore, beating the woman curator there and
harassing others on the premises.

HRCP said in a statement: “HRCP is appalled by the vigilante actions
of the Shadman Police Station House Officer (SHO), who visited the
Nairang Art Gallery in Lahore on Tuesday, brutally assaulted the woman
curator there, accusing her of running a place of fahashi, and
harassed others present at the gallery. The SHO’s merciless beating of
a woman is something that cannot be expected of any civilized human
being and is all the more revolting because the offender is an officer
of a force tasked with protecting people from the sort of excesses he
committed. The policeman had no warrants, nor any legal authority to
barge into the art gallery like he did along with a police party,
which advised the curator to leave the room after her beating rather
than intervening to save her from the assault.

Excesses by policemen are hardly an anomaly in Pakistan but since when
have policemen assumed responsibility of the Taliban? HRCP sincerely
hope that its revulsion and contempt for the policeman’s actions is
shared by the Punjab government and hopes that a case would be
promptly registered against the offender, and that he would be
effectively prosecuted for his repulsive actions. Lack of due
punishment for such uniformed vigilantes would only encourage others
to follow suit. HRCP also urges the government to make a formal
apology to the curator for the actions of a government agent.”

Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson

================================================
4. LETTER TO THE PAKISTAN AUTHORITIES RE ATTACK
ON NAIRANG ART GALLERIES
by Nayyar Ali Dada
================================================
August 02, 2011

1. The Honorable
Chief Minister
Punjab

Mr. Mian Shahbaz Sharif

7 Club Road , GOR 1,
Lahore

2. Inspector
General Police
Punjab

Mr. Javed Iqbal
Police Head Quarters
Lahore

Re: Misconduct by a Police Officer (SHO Zulfiqar Ali, PS Shadman) with
Female in Public

Dear Sirs,
I would like to present to you on this dismal day the facts regarding
an extremely sad and revolting event where innocent people had to
suffer at the hands of a law Enforcement officer for absolutely no
reason whatsoever. Being a Pakistani citizen, I have an inalienable
right under Article 4 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973
(“Constitution”) to enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in
accordance with the law.

Your honour, facts narrated below will prove and show, that how our
fundamental rights- Article 14 (Right to dignity), Article 9 (Right to
life), Article 18 (Right to trade/business) conferred by the
Constitution have been infringed and violated by a Police Officer by
taking the law in his own hands without following the law, PPC and the
Police Order 2002.

Under Article 4 of the Police Order, 2002 it is a duty of a police
officer to be professional, service orientated and accountable to
people, to protect life, ensure rights and privileges are protected
and to prevent harassment of women in public places (Article 4(r)).

Sir, this event took place at Nairang Art Galleries, a place commonly
known and highly respected for its support and contribution to Lahore
’s valuable art and literary realm. People young and old, artists and
musicians and many who are inspired by such personalities frequent
this gallery and add value to it. Today was another normal day where
like minded people were at the Nairang premises when SHO Zulfiqar Ali
of the Police Station, Shadman, Jail Road, opposite Kinnaird College
walked in but not in normal condition i.e. found in a state of
intoxication, while on duty committing a misconduct under Article
155(e) of the Police Order, 2002. His demeanor was noticed by many as
one already agitated, hence, guilty of a misconduct of unbecoming of
an officer and a gentlemen under the Punjab
Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006.

He proceeded into the café and approached a husband and wife couple,
who are both lawyers and frequently have their lunch at the Gallery.
The SHO objected to them sitting together at a table deeming it
un-Islamic. The lawyers being lawyers responded well and brought to
his notice that move was inappropriate, unlawful and uncalled for.
After a short argument the SHO proceeded to move upstairs. His squad
followed him all this time.

Upstairs in the Gallery, the curator Ms Amal Fatima (an accomplished
graduate of the National College of Arts) and assisting staff
approached the SHO to inquire about his visit since he was clearly on
some mission. The SHO asked for whoever is responsible for the Gallery
at the time and the curator Ms Amal nominated herself. Upon inquiring
further about the SHO’s visit and his objections, he proceeded to do
what we civilized people consider unthinkable - he continuously hit
her while using abusive language at her, This was followed by him
ordering his squad to prepare to arrest her for running a place of
“Fahaashi”! Then he objected to Ms Amal’s dress (kurta pajama) that
she was wearing and started abusing her. The Gallery staff tried to
protect her and as a result they too were beaten up until some staff
and customers managed to distract the SHO and tried to cool him down.
SHO’s own staff “quietly” suggested that Ms Amal be removed from the
Room quickly as the SHO is acting very strange today and may attack
her again. Sir, the SHO was drunk. If not drunk, he was under the
influence of something abnormal that made his eyes bloodshot and
rolled up and him sweating profusely.

Sir, please note that people were present at the gallery and are
willing to be witnesses, and some of the customers are female staff
from the DCO’s office who were present at the time. The Gallery is
owned by myself as you probably know and I was not present there. My
younger son Amir Ali Dada was present in the area and rushed to speak
to the SHO who was by now calmly seated and wanted to know who the
owner was. When informed of myself and the fact that I was on my way
to speak to the SHO, he proceeded to leave the Gallery. When Amir
asked, or rather requested him to stay until the owner arrives so that
we can fully understand the idea behind the “raid”, the SHO again lost
it and ordered his crew to throw Amir in the back and take him to the
Police Station and hang him upside down. Amir was quickly taken to the
Police Station and removed from the Gallery -obviously using force.

I reached the Police Station along with some friends and staff and
tried to reason with the SHO .After some deliberation and support of
various people including other law enforcement officers who rightfully
respect the venue and its ownership, the SHO was prepared to let Amir
go. No case was registered - there was no case. We are thankful to
many friends who supported us during this tough time specially some
lawyers who personally arrived at the Police Station, and was able to
witness firsthand the objectionable behavior of the SHO who misbehaved
with them too.

Sir, it is our request and our plea that this matter be pursued with
appropriate action such that future law enforcement officers have a
precedent to keep them in line and so that some parents who are living
through this sickening episode can find some peace, and no such event
takes place in the future.

In view of the above, I request the Honourable Chief Minister and the
IGP to take action against the SHO under the Section 155 of the Police
Order, 2002 and to initiate proceedings committing a misconduct under
the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act,
2006.

Thank you
Yours
Sincerely,
Nayyar Ali Dada

================================================
5. LOST IN THE WOODS
by Ramachandra Guha
================================================
(Hindustan Times, 14 August 2011)

In August 2010 — that is, exactly a year ago — Rahul Gandhi told a
group of tribals in Orissa that he would be their soldier in New
Delhi. There is no record of his having acted on that promise. The
Dongria Konds of Niyamgiri forgotten, his attention has more recently
been focused on the
Jats of Noida, and other such groups that might help the Congress make
a strong showing in the Uttar Pradesh elections.

Rahul Gandhi’s behaviour is characteristic of the political class as a
whole, which — regardless of party or generation —  has treated
tribals with condescension. The neglect goes back to Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi worked hard to abolish untouchability, and harder to bring
about Hindu-Muslim harmony.

He inspired tens of thousands of women to enter public life. Somehow,
however, the adivasis never figured seriously in the Mahatma’s
programmes of social reform. This failure was reproduced by his
colleagues and successors in the Congress party.

Despite their neglect by the national movement, tribals were one of
two groups recognised by the Constitution as needing special
consideration. The other were the Dalits, whose problems were given
great visibility by their own leaders, such as BR Ambedkar, and by
upper-caste reformers such as Gandhi.

As for the tribals, where the Congress had failed, it was activists
like Jaipal Singh and Verrier Elwin who brought their problems to
wider attention. Hence the reservation of seats in Parliament and of
jobs in government for adivasis as well as Dalits.

As we mark our 65th Independence Day, how many Indians, I wonder,
recognise the fact that tribals have gained least and lost most from
India being a free and democratic country?  Viewed historically, the
tribals have faced seven successive (and overlapping) tragedies:

First, they live in India’s densest forests, along its fastest-flowing
rivers, and atop its richest veins of iron ore and bauxite. As the
country has industrialised, the tribals have lost their homes and
livelihoods to logging projects, dams, and mines which are directed by
and benefit more powerful social forces;

Second, there has never been an adivasi Ambedkar, a leader of
pan-Indian significance who could give hope and inspiration to tribals
everywhere;

Third, the tribals are demographically concentrated in a few hill
districts, and hence do not constitute a vote bank whose voice can, at
least symbolically, be attended to by the political class. There is a
striking contrast here with Dalits (as well as Muslims), who are more
evenly distributed across India, have a far greater impact on the
outcome of state and national elections, and are hence treated with
far greater respect by national parties;

Fourth, a large share of officers’ jobs under the ‘Scheduled Tribes’
quota, as well as reserved seats in the more prestigious colleges, go
to the tribals of the North-east, who have a greater facility with the
English language as well as access to better schools. This
geographical distortion in the distribution of benefits calls perhaps
for a revision of the category of ‘Scheduled Tribes’, to privilege the
adivasis of central India;

Fifth, since they are without adequate representation in the higher
civil service and without a political voice anyway, the tribals are
subject to harsh treatment by the officials of the forest, police,
revenue, education and health departments, who are obliged by law to
serve the adivasis but oriented in practice to harass and exploit
them. One consequence of this, as the demographer Arup Maharatna has
shown, is that while Dalits have poor access to education and
healthcare, adivasis are even worse off in these respects;

Sixth, the livelihood skills of the tribals, based on an intimate
knowledge of the natural environment, cannot be easily transferred to
the industrial economy (here again, the Dalits are somewhat better
placed, since their artisanal and craft traditions can be incorporated
into some modern sectors).

Seventh, since, except for Santhali, tribal languages are not
officially recognised, they are not taught in government schools. With
the medium of instruction being a language not their own, tribal
children are at a disadvantage from the time they enter school.

In the past two decades, to these seven continuing tragedies has been
added an eighth — the rising influence of Maoist extremists in tribal
areas. While presuming to be the protectors of the adivasis, the
Maoists offer no solution to their problems.

In fact, by escalating the level of violence, they intensify their
suffering in the short and medium term. In any case, the
revolutionaries have no long-term commitment to the adivasis, seeing
them rather as a stepping-stone en route to the capture of State
power.

There may even be a ninth tragedy — the relative invisibility of the
tribal predicament in the so-called ‘national’ media. This media —
both print and electronic — feature intense debates on (among other
matters) the problems of the Dalits and the predicament of the
Muslims, on female foeticide and khap panchayats, on scams relating to
telecom licences and infrastructural projects.

These are all real problems, which must be discussed, and addressed.

But so must the situation of the adivasis who lose their lands to
mines and dams, the adivasis deprived of access to schools and
hospitals, the adivasis who are ignored by the media and the political
parties, the adivasis who are massively under-represented in the
professional classes and in the upper reaches of the bureaucracy, the
adivasis subject to violence by State and insurgent alike.

The adivasis are the most vulnerable, the most victimised of Indians,
a fact recognised by Rahul Gandhi on one day last year, this fleeting
interest an advance on his political colleagues, who do not appear to
have ever recognised this fact at all.

Ramachandra Guha is the author of India After Gandhi: The History of
the World’s Largest Democracy

(The views expressed by the author are personal)

================================================
6. PDS LEAKAGES: THE PLOT THICKENS
by Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera
================================================
The Hindu, August 12, 2011

Labourers stack bags of wheat at an open FCI godown at Sonepat in
Haryana. File photo

While diversion rates still remain high, evidence seems to point to
substantial improvements in the public distribution system around the
country.

It is well understood that a substantial proportion of the grain,
mainly wheat and rice, that is meant to be distributed to eligible
families under the Public Distribution System (PDS) ends up being sold
in the open market by corrupt intermediaries, including some dealers
who manage PDS outlets. The extent of this “diversion” of PDS grain
has been a matter of speculation for some time. Two recent surveys
shed further light on the matter.

The diversion ratio (proportion of PDS grain “diverted” to the open
market) has been estimated by several researchers in the past by
matching National Sample Survey (NSS) data on household purchases with
Food Corporation of India (FCI) data on “offtake.” The former tell us
how much grain people are buying from the PDS. The latter tell us how
much grain has been lifted by State governments from FCI godowns under
the PDS quota. The difference is a rough estimate of the extent of
diversion.

Based on this method, the estimated diversion ratio was around 54 per
cent in 2004-05, the last year for which detailed data are available
from a “thick round” of the NSS. Needless to say, this is an alarming
figure. Tamil Nadu had the lowest diversion rate (around 7 per cent);
the rate was well below the national average in the other southern
States also (around 25 per cent in each case). By contrast, the
estimated diversion rates ranged between 85 and 95 per cent in Bihar,
Jharkhand, Assam, and Rajasthan. These estimates, if proved correct,
suggest a comprehensive breakdown of the PDS in these States at that
time.

Having said this, the reliability of NSS figures with respect to PDS
purchases is not clear. There are two reasons to assume that they are
not wildly off the mark. First, the State-wise averages for 2004-05
are broadly consistent with corresponding figures from the India Human
Development Survey (IHDS) for the same year. Second, the inter-State
patterns are more or less as one would expect, with, for instance,
very little diversion in Tamil Nadu and a huge amount of it in Bihar.
Nevertheless, this approach requires independent corroboration, not
just because of the uncertain accuracy of NSS data, but also because
of other difficulties in this method. Incidentally, among these
difficulties is the utter lack of transparency in data on “offtake”:
both the FCI and the Food Ministry seem to be doing their best to
divulge as little as possible of it — they would do well to read
Section 4 of the Right to Information Act.

Further evidence on these matters is available from a recent survey,
conducted in June 2011 by student volunteers under our guidance
(hereafter “PDS Survey”). The survey covered about 1,200
randomly-selected BPL households in nine sample States (Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh). The investigators were
carefully trained to record the respondents' PDS purchases, in three
different ways. The purchases were then compared with “entitlements” —
what BPL households are supposed to get from the PDS in different
States. For instance, BPL households are entitled to 25 kg of grain a
month in Orissa and Rajasthan, and 35 kg a month in Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand. It turned out that in most States (with the notable
exception of Bihar), BPL households were getting the bulk of their
entitlements. The ratio of purchases to entitlements was 84 per cent
in the sample as a whole. Here again, there were significant
inter-State variations: this ratio was above 90 per cent in Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, but as
low as 45 per cent in Bihar. The sample average of 84 per cent,
however, suggests much lower rates of diversion (even in Bihar) than
emerged from the earlier method — at least under the BPL quota.

The findings of this survey confirm other recent evidence of
substantial improvements in the PDS around the country. In most of the
sample States, there have been major initiatives in the recent past to
improve the PDS, and it seems these efforts are showing results.

Also of interest are provisional figures on PDS purchases for 2009-10
(the latest “thick round” of the NSS) computed by the National Sample
Survey Organisation. Starting with the good news, these figures
suggest that on average PDS purchases of wheat and rice have more or
less doubled between 2004-05 and 2009-10. This, again, is consistent
with independent evidence of a revival of the PDS in recent years.

NSS-based estimates of diversion rates, however, remain high. Applying
the method described earlier to these provisional figures, the
diversion rate for 2009-10 seems to be around 41 per cent. This is 13
percentage points lower than in 2004-05, but still very high. The
diversion rates improved (that is, declined) in almost every State,
with big improvements in some States: down from 23 per cent to 8 per
cent in Andhra Pradesh, from 85 to 47 per cent in Jharkhand, from 76
to 30 per cent in Orissa, and from 52 to 11 per cent in Chhattisgarh.
Interestingly, these are four States where the PDS Survey also found
evidence of major improvements. In 2009-10, none of India's major
States had an estimated diversion rate higher than 75 per cent (the
top rate, found in Bihar), in contrast with 2004-05 when as many as
eight major States had that distinction.

This broad-based improvement is good news, but needless to say
diversion rates remain unacceptably high. The question remains how
these high diversion rates (41 per cent at the national level) square
with the fact that BPL households in the PDS Survey were able to
secure 84 per cent of their PDS entitlements. Even if the comparison
is restricted to the nine sample States, a similar contrast applies.

There are at least two possible explanations. First, the PDS Survey is
more recent: it took place two years after the NSS survey. And as
mentioned earlier, there is consistent evidence of steady improvement
in the PDS in recent years in many States. However, it is difficult to
believe that progress has been so rapid as to explain, on its own, the
full contrast between the two surveys. Second, the PDS Survey is
restricted to BPL households in rural areas.

Diversion rates may be higher (possibly much higher) under the APL
quota, and perhaps also in urban areas. Indeed, the APL component of
the PDS, which has expanded steadily since 2004-05 (with a big upward
jump in 2009-10), is devoid of any transparency. There are no specific
entitlements for APL households, and no clear allocation norms. This
segment of the PDS remains highly vulnerable to corruption, as it is
possible for large quantities of grain to disappear without anyone
feeling the pinch.

If this tentative line of explanation is correct, two conclusions can
be drawn. First, both surveys (the PDS Survey, and the 66th Round of
the NSS) add to growing evidence of steady improvements in the PDS in
recent years. There is still a long way to go in achieving anything
like acceptable levels of functionality, especially under the APL
quota, but recent progress shows that the PDS is not a “lost cause” —
far from it. Second, one thing that really helps to prevent corruption
is to give people a strong stake in the system (large quantities, low
prices), and make sure that they are clear about their entitlements.
That has already happened, to a large extent, with the BPL quota: it
has become much harder to cheat the recipients, because they know
their due and clamour for it if need be. As Bhukhan Singh, a resident
of Kope gram panchayat in Jharkhand, put it, when the price of PDS
rice for BPL households in Jharkhand was slashed to Re. 1 a kg,
awareness of the new entitlements spread quickly and people made up
their mind that they “would not let this go.”

The recent turnaround of the PDS in Chhattisgarh (or, for that matter,
Orissa) also built largely on this simple insight, as well as on the
related fact that broad coverage strengthens public pressure for a
functional PDS. There is an important lesson here for the proposed
National Food Security Act.

================================================
7. PREEMPT A TELANGANA LIKE CRISIS IN BENGAL
by Ranabir Samaddar
================================================

Mail Today, 12 August 2011

THE BATTLE for democracy in India is being fought in the states. It
will be significant therefore to see how we can handle the issue of
what can be called “ sub- regional imbalances” within a state. In
2000, three states were born as a consequence of these imbalances.
Uttaranchal was created to address the neglect of the hill regions of
UP, Chattisgarh was created in the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, and
Jharkhand in the southern part of Bihar.

The demands for more states continue. The most prominent of these
demands is that for a separate Telangana state. In fact on 9 December
2009, Mr. P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs, had
announced that the process for the formation of a separate Telangana
state would be initiated. But a separate Telangana state has not as
yet materialised.

The struggle continues. Violence persists. Commissions prove ineffective.

The Telangana agitators say that only the path of selfkilling remains.
We can only hope that the issue of justice will be addressed amicably.

Lessons

>From all these, the rulers have two lessons for themselves. First,
these demands grow out of neglect and discrimination over a long
period, which cannot be undone overnight. Therefore efforts at
addressing the imbalances have to start early, much before they
explode on the faces of rulers. Second, since the form of statehood
occupies the imagination of those who think that separate statehood is
the only way out in order to develop, the demand for statehood becomes
intransigent. The route of dialogue therefore has to be taken likewise
early.

For democracy, the lesson is deeper. The lesson is namely one of
correctly handling relationships, such as between productive and non-
productive classes, town and the countryside, wellirrigated areas and
dry areas, coastal areas and the inaccessible interior, and relation
between castes and genders. Of similar importance is the issue of
democratising relation between different regions in a state, between
the prosperous capital region and the distant areas, between thrice
cropped lands and dry lands, coastal wealth and the starved interior.

As in the case of several other states, in West Bengal also such
unequal relationships obtain, in particular the relation between the
centralised political and economic power of the capital city and the
capital region and the disempowered far flung areas of North Bengal,
specifically the Darjeeling Hills, and the Junglemahals in South West
Bengal. And, as in all other cases, here too we need a restructuring
of relations initiated through dialogues towards that restructuring.

>From this point of view, what is happening in West Bengal is
significant to the entire nation.

As a very first step, on the issue of Darjeeling Hills an accord has
been signed between the West Bengal Government, Gorkha Jana Mukti
Morcha ( GJMM), and the Central government.

Yet there are risks. Those who mediate have to walk on a narrow strip.
Those who campaign for the right to self- government have to face
immense difficulty in agreeing to co- live in the same state.

For the government the task is even more difficult, namely, to persist
on the path of dialogue, because this is not a populist path, and
failure can only bring down its legitimacy. The rules of the game are
intricate. That in West Bengal notwithstanding the difficulties,
uncertainties, and the long standing Bengali upper caste chauvinism
there is now dialogue or talk of dialogue over the crying need for
autonomy in two areas — Darjeeling Hills and Junglemahals — calls for
appreciation.

Yet, as in every call for democracy there is hidden majoritarianism
and an element of coercion here. In the case of the current accord
over the establishment of Gorkha Territorial Administration, the GJMM
lays claim to some parts of the Terai ( the foothills and adjoining
plain land) also. In this case how are we to ensure the rights of
other groups, such as the adivasi plantation labourers and poor
peasants, also the non- Nepali hill people such as the Lepchas? The
point is that there must be guarantee of the rights of other hill
communities and the indigenous tea plantation labourers within an
autonomy framework.

This can be at least partially achieved through reservation of seats
in the Gorkha Territorial Administration and the Council.

There can be an arrangement of autonomy within an autonomous
arrangement. Also the arrangement has to be wide enough to secure the
consent of the minorities, say at least 70 per cent of the minority
populations.

Autonomy

In the context of population mobility in the terai region we need to
innovate ways of co- existence.

The Darjeeling movement appreciably has been a broad secular movement
and never indulged in ethnic killings or ouster, unlike the Bodoland
movement. Yet there is no room for complacency. In order to ensure
autonomy democracy must go deep. Autonomy of minorities within
minorities is one way to deepen democracy.

In the second case, that is, in Junglemahals the task of ensuring
autonomy is more difficult. This is because the issue of justice to
one of the most deprived sub- regions is direct and immediate. Any
agenda for autonomy in Junglemahal areas has to traverse a long path.
It has to begin with release of prisoners, cessation of hostilities,
guarantee of stopping all extra- judicial killings, withdrawal of
joint forces, demilitarisation of the area, and return of minimum
human rights.

But it has to address then the issues of access to resources, forest
based wealth, of common property resources, in short autonomy of the
Junglemahals.

Before putting institutional arrangements in place what is first
needed is to think imaginatively.

The challenge is bigger because the central government will not want a
return to peace through dialogue and establishment of an autonomous
arrangement of self rule there.

Its only looking glass is that of security, and the only model is the
Chattisgarh model of bloodbath.

The call in West Bengal is on both sides. In case of Junglemahals the
government strangely thinks that relief and development measures can
be enough, and autonomy is not required. It also thinks that inducting
thousands of local youth into a local constabulary is a step towards
peace. The Supreme Court judgement on 5 July this year on Salwa Judum
or “ Koya Commandos” should open our eyes to the dreadful consequences
of raising such vigilante groups.

Such a step can only increase killings. Mere relief packages such as
distributing bicycles are never enough. They only invite the wrath of
the people. If the Mamata Bandopadhyay led government thinks that by
introducing a Tripura type pacification strategy it will first pacify
the area and then agree to peace, it is severely mistaken.

Danger

One has to ask: Why does the government treat the two local movements
with two different yardsticks? Why the “ soft” treatment towards the
rebels of North and the hard attitude towards the rebels of the South?
Why does it not recognise the villagers’ forum in Junglemahals, namely
the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities, and its demand
relating to the core issues of autonomy, such as tribal rights and
identity, which is crucial for about 50 per cent of the population
there? On the other hand the rebels also have to be asked: Do they
have a vision to co- exist? Do they have a vision of autonomy? Can
they allow the peasants belonging to indigenous population groups to
self- govern, ensured through an autonomous arrangement in
Junglemahals? Autonomy after pacification is the goal of the counter-
insurgency method of governance.

Autonomy through dialogue is the method of deepening democracy.

If dialogue fails there will be Telanganas elsewhere too in India. If
there is no autonomy, the capital- centric economy will destroy the
inner land, as Mumbai has done to Vidarbha: Prosperity in the capital
region, deaths in the faraway lands.

The writer is Director, Calcutta Research Group

o o o

content updates from sacw.net
================================================
8. INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE:
ABU TAHER AND THE SUPREME COURT OF BANGLADESH
by Lawrence Lifschultz
================================================
Keynote address on the 35th Anniversary of Abu Taher’s Execution.
Thirty-five years ago today a man who many of us knew, respected and
admired was executed at Dhaka Central Jail. As in years past we have
gathered—some for the first time and others who have previously
attended memorials—so that we can remember Abu Taher, his principles
and how the rule of law was turned into a set of arbitrary and ad hoc
procedures by a regime determined to rule by criminal methods.
http://www.sacw.net/article2218.html

================================================
9. NEW TRUTHS, OR BIASES ON BANGLADESH’S WAR OF LIBERATION
Book reviews by Urvashi Butalia and Salil Tripathi
================================================
Two book reviews of ’Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh
War by Sarmila Bose’
http://www.sacw.net/article2225.html

================================================
10. How much longer will the State fight against its own citizens,
inside and outside court?
SALWA JUDUM: WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DEFENDS THE INDEFENSIBLE
by Nandini Sundar
================================================
Can the governments which consistently let their lawyers down, be
trusted to uphold the rights of their people? How much longer will the
State fight against its own citizens, inside and outside court, asks
Professor Nandini Sundar, the lead petitioner in the Salwa Judum case.
http://www.sacw.net/article2223.html

================================================
11. THE NORWAY MASSACRE AND THE INDIAN CONNECTION
by Meera Nanda
================================================
Even though Anders Breivik alone pulled the trigger, the massacre in
Norway was by no means the work of Breivik alone. He is a product of
years of immersion in a worldwide web of anti-Islamic ideas espoused
by cultural purists and nationalists of all stripes. India, it turns
out, figures quite prominently in this web of hate. So far, the India
connection has been limited in media reports to the 100-odd references
to India that appear in Breivik’s massive manifesto, including his
ringing defence of ‘Sanatan Dharma movements’.
http://www.sacw.net/article2221.html

================================================
12. TO MARKET WITH TERRORISM
by Jawed Naqvi
================================================
Osama bin Laden who became a global symbol of religious terror after
September 2001 and Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi in 1948,
though imbued with messianic zeal of a high order were both creatures
of the modern market, products of modern ideologies even if they were
clothed in mediaevalism.
http://sacw.net/article2233.html

================================================
13. MOB VIOLENCE AND CURBS ON THE FILM ARAKSHAN
India: "Formulate a decisive response, this danger to everyone’s
freedom of expression will only escalate"
================================================
It has been difficult not to be reminded of Satanic Verses since news
items started trickling out —first, a few days back, about demands for
a ban on Aarakshan and then, even more bizarrely, about actual bans
being imposed in UP, Punjab and now AP — ruled respectively by the
BSP, the Akalis and the BJP, and the Congress. No one is questioning
the right of these groups to be concerned about the political content
of Aarakshan. But when the freedom to express this manifests itself as
mob fascism, and there is no quick and effective statutory response to
it, then filmmakers will be left at the mercy of any group that
chooses to threaten a film’s release on the pretext of being
apprehensive about its politics. Unless the state, the film industry,
artists, thinkers, and civil society formulate a decisive response to
it, this danger to everyone’s freedom of expression will only
escalate.
http://www.sacw.net/article2226.html

================================================
14. FRENY MANECKSHA ON WHY SECURING JUSTICE IN KASHMIR HAS BECOME IMPOSSIBLE
================================================
In Kashmir the conduct of state or panchayati raj elections are often
touted as indicators of normality, of people’s willing participation
in a democratic exercise. But these exercises signify nothing if the
people themselves are denied access to justice and consequently lose
faith in the state’s judicial institutions. A report based on two
studies and a visit to the state.
http://www.sacw.net/article2222.html

================================================
15. INDIA: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE ANTI CORRUPTION WATCHDOG
’JAN LOKPAL’ BILL
================================================
The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI) have
suggested an alternative approach to the  Jan Lokpal. Shankar Singh,
Nikhil Dey and Aruna Roy of MKSS and NCPRI have critiqued the
government draft of the Lokpal now in Parliament and also the Jan
Lokpal bill for its lack of accountability and concentration of power
in a single body.  They have suggested an alternative framework that
takes a multi-pronged approach to tackling corruption through
concurrent anti-corruption and grievance redress measures.
http://www.sacw.net/article2228.html

[Some links to relevant discussions and documents, below.

Shoma Choudhury,  The Third Flight Path
The Jan Lokpal requires more discussion with Jan‚ interview with Aruna Roy
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ne130811COVERSTORY.asp

Nikhil Dey & Ruchi Gupta, Putting the "Jan" in Lokpal Bill
http://bourgeoisinspirations.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/putting-the-jan-in-the-lokpal-bill/

Aruna Roy & Nikhil Dey, Make Sure the Cure Isn't Worse than the Disease
http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?271400

Aruna Roy & Rakshita Swamy, Lokpal Must Lead by Example
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/analysis_lokpal-must-lead-by-example_1544616

NCPRI, Background Documents on Jan Lok Pal Bill
Website of the NCPRIhttp://righttoinformation.info/ ]

-------

16.RECENT CONTENT ON COMMUNALISM WATCH:
================================================
COLOUR ME SAFFRON
Editorial (Aug 5, 2011, Indian Express)
================================================
The Centre has finally taken long-overdue action, asking Madhya
Pradesh to disable the participation of public employees in RSS
activities. There has been a longstanding ban across India on public
officials being affiliated with the RSS (as with any political
organisation). In January 2000, when the Gujarat government lifted the
ban for the RSS, the then president, K.R. Narayanan, took up the issue
with the government, and the idea was withdrawn. However, by revoking
the ban on RSS participation in 2006, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan only formalised what was already an entrenched practice in the
state. In fact, in March, the CM publicly exhorted government
employees to join the RSS.

The BJP's explanation is that the rules don't apply to the RSS, which
is a "cultural organisation". That is merely finessing the line
between "culture" and "politics". It's common knowledge that the RSS
often remotely controls the party, makes high-level appointments and
dictates the party's course. The BJP is only one of the spokes in the
Sangh Parivar wheel, meant to participate in formal politics. The MP
government has made no attempt to disown its connection with the RSS.

However, our Constitution expects civil servants to be scrupulously
neutral. Apart from voting, they are meant to refrain from any
political movement or party, and there are strong constraints even on
expressing opinion in a public forum. Though it's difficult to be
entirely value-free, it's essential to be non-partisan. The
administration is meant to keep governance stable through all changes
in political weather, and any impression of bias would be deeply
destructive to the institution. The MP government has undermined that
code for too long.

o o o

2002 Riots Truth is an ‘official secret’ in Gujarat
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/2002-riots-truth-is-official-secret-in.html

Hindutva Fanatics haunt MF Husain in death
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/hindutva-fanatics-haunt-mf-husain-in.html

Terrorism has political goals
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/terrorism-has-political-goals.html

Gujarat: Intimidation of cops who choose to speak up
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/gujarat-intimidation-of-cops-who-choose.html

Madhya Pradesh government order allowing its employees to take part in RSS
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/madhya-pradesh-government-order.html

When friends begin to speak like foes
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-friends-begin-to-speak-like-foes.html

Don't hide the sins of guilty cops
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/dont-hide-sins-of-guilty-cops.html

Farah Naqvi : we as a nation cannot hope to solve a problem we refuse to name
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/farah-naqvi-we-as-nation-cannot-hope-to.html

Gujarat riots report leaked to RSS man
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2011/08/gujarat-riots-report-leaked-to-rss-man.html

--------

17. INTERNATIONAL :

================================================
WHY HERE, WHY NOW?
Tariq Ali
================================================
London Review of Books Blog - 9 August 2011

Why is it that the same areas always erupt first, whatever the cause?
Pure accident? Might it have something to do with race and class and
institutionalised poverty and the sheer grimness of everyday life? The
coalition politicians (including new New Labour, who might well sign
up to a national government if the recession continues apace) with
their petrified ideologies can’t say that because all three parties
are equally responsible for the crisis. They made the mess.

They privilege the wealthy. They let it be known that judges and
magistrates should set an example by giving punitive sentences to
protesters found with peashooters. They never seriously question why
no policeman is ever prosecuted for the 1000-plus deaths in custody
since 1990. Whatever the party, whatever the skin colour of the MP,
they spout the same clichés. Yes, we know violence on the streets in
London is bad. Yes, we know that looting shops is wrong. But why is it
happening now? Why didn’t it happen last year? Because grievances
build up over time, because when the system wills the death of a young
black citizen from a deprived community, it simultaneously, if
subconsciously, wills the response.

And it might get worse if the politicians and the business elite, with
the support of the tame state television and Murdoch networks, fail to
deal with the economy, and punish the poor and the less well-off for
government policies they have been promoting for more than three
decades. Dehumanising the ‘enemy’, at home or abroad, creating fear
and imprisonment without trial cannot work for ever.

Were there a serious political opposition party in this country it
would be arguing for dismantling the shaky scaffolding of the
neo-liberal system before it crumbles and hurts even more people.
Throughout Europe, the distinguishing features that once separated
centre-left from centre-right, conservatives from social democrats,
have disappeared. The sameness of official politics dispossesses the
less privileged segments of the electorate, the majority.

The young unemployed or semi-employed blacks in Tottenham and Hackney,
Enfield and Brixton know full well that the system is stacked against
them. The politicians’ braying has no real impact on most people, let
alone those lighting the fires in the streets. The fires will be put
out. There will be some pathetic inquiry or other to ascertain why
Mark Duggan was shot dead, regrets will be expressed, there will be
flowers from the police at the funeral. The arrested protesters will
be punished and everyone will heave a sigh of relief and move on till
it happens again.

================================================
AIDING EGYPT'S SALAFISTS - EDITORIAL, THE HINDU
================================================
The Hindu, August 11, 2011

The advance of Egyptian Salafism highlights the country's deepening
religious divisions and the dangers posed by powerful external
influences. Several violent clashes have occurred in the last
year-and-a-half. In one of the worst attacks, 12 people died when a
church and other buildings used by Christians, who constitute 10 per
cent of Egypt's 85 million population, were set ablaze in May.
Christians are not the only targets; there have also been attacks on
Sufi shrines. Salafism, a rigid version of Islam modelled solely on
the lives led by the first three generations of Muslims, is
metamorphosing into a potent form of political fundamentalism in
Egypt. Salafist leaders disclaim responsibility for the violence but
their increasing influence on the Egyptian public sphere was shown
when they took over a “Day of Unity” demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir
Square on July 29. The process, aided by lucrative Salafist TV
stations, is causing alarm, particularly among the younger protesters
who so inspiringly forced the dictator Hosni Mubarak out in February;
it is also dividing the Muslim Brotherhood into moderate and extreme
factions.

To regard the effects of Salafism purely as an internal matter is to
overlook the international interests that exacerbate them. To start
with, there has been no significant change in the United States'
policy attitude to Egypt, which has received civil assistance
totalling $50 billion from the US Agency for International Development
(USAID) over the last 40 years, and continues to receive $1.3 billion
every year in military aid. Secondly, the military government in Cairo
ensures that NGOs which promote democracy are excluded from U.S.
civilian aid. Successive administrations in Washington have rejected
tying military aid to human rights improvements in Egypt. In effect,
U.S. arms manufacturers gain, Egypt rocks no Israeli boats, and the
junta is relatively free to intensify its authoritarian tendencies.
This means less transparency and more opportunity for corruption and
abuse of power — the very factors that rejuvenated the Muslim
Brotherhood as a then hard-line form of resistance to Mr. Mubarak in
the 1990s. This time the main beneficiaries will be the Salafists. A
further complication is the attitude of Saudi Arabia, which denies
providing funds but may well regard Egyptian Salafism as a
counterweight to any Iranian Shia influence in the region. There could
be few better examples of international double standards over West
Asia and North Africa; the greatest losers will be those brave
Egyptians who have made a principled stand for nothing less than
representative democracy.

================================================
POLITICAL GROUPS DENOUNCE VIOLATION OF UNITY AGREEMENT IN EGYPT
================================================
Thirty-three political groups have withdrawn from Tahrir
demonstrations saying the agreement to unify demands was violated,
while hundreds of thousands of Islamic groups uphold the demand to
implement Sharia, denying agreement
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/1/64/17654/Egypt/Politics-/Political-groups-denounce-violation-of-unity-agree.aspx
================================================
EDITORIAL: EGYPT'S SALAFIS: ENTER THE DRAGON
By   Rania Al Malky
================================================
http://thedailynewsegypt.com/editorial/egypts-salafis-enter-the-dragon.html

------

ANNOUNCEMENTS:


ENTRY OF 54th YEAR
of ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT
18 August 2011
Manipur Press Club
Organised by Just Peace Foundation

INVITATION
On 18 August 1958, the Indian Parliament passed the Armed Forces
(Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA) despite
opposition from many Members of Parliament (MP) including the two lone
MPs of Manipur. Even though the people of Manipur, human rights group
across the world and even Government of India's own committees and
commissions demands its repeal, the AFSPA continues to be in
operation.
To mark the entry of 54th years of AFSPA in Manipur, the Just Peace
Foundation (JPF) is organising a simple function at the Manipur Press
Club at the following co-ordinates:

    Date : 18 August 2011
    Time : 1:00pm
    Venue : Conference Hall, Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul, Imphal

Your solemn presence is highly solicited.

Yours sincerely

Jyotilal Longjam
Co-ordinator

o o o

FORUM FOR PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
              You are cordially invited to a Lecture on
            " PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS "
Speakers:
1. Dr. Binayak Sen ( Human Rights Activist )
2.Dr. Nandini Sundar ( Professor of Sociology, DU )
Venue:       INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE
                  Bhagwan Das Road, New Delhi
                  ( Opp. Supreme Court )
Date:           Friday, 19th August, 2011
Time:          3:30 to 5:30 PM

Issued By:
Devraj Singh , Advocate
( Convenor )
121, Western Wing,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi- 110054.
P.S. : Kindly circulate. From- Aurobindo Ghose (M- 09312713798 )

o o o

PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
INVITATION
15th August 2011
This is to invite you all to a day long programme, “ Safarnama: Rahein
Sangharsh Ki” on the 3rd of September 2011 at the Indian Society for
International Law, 9 Bhagwan Dass Road (opposite Supreme Court),
Delhi. Each year on this day PUDR holds an annual lecture in memory of
Dr. Ramanadham, noted civil rights activist from Warrangal; however
this year we decided to do something more.
'Safarnama' is our effort at gathering collectively to chronicle and
celebrate the struggles and determination of the many pathfinders and
fellow travellers on the road to democratic rights, who are no longer
with us.
For us in PUDR Sudesh Vaid, CV Subba Rao (founding members, PUDR) and
Gobind Mukhoty (PUDR President) continue to be figures of strength
despite the fact that most of us have not known them individually. We
believe that through their work they have helped enrich the
understanding of democratic rights not only for us but for the
democratic rights movement as a whole. Through fact-findings, reports,
cases  like  Inside the Family on Dowry Deaths, Lawless Roads on TADA,
and the Asiad Judgement,  they addressed the rights of a cross-
section of society -women, backward castes, contract labour -
extending  the ambit of democratic rights to the home and the family
as well as political and economic structures.
'Safarnama' is also an occasion for us to remember all those persons
from various organizations whose commitment, strength and struggles,
are what inspire us today on our journey in these troubled times.  Dr.
Ramanadham(APCLC),  Puroshattam (APCLC), Azam Ali (APCLC), Jalil
Andrabi,  Asiya Geelani (JKCCS), Xiao Pi (NPMHR), Parag Das (MASS),
Jaswant Singh Khalra , Balagopal (HRF) and R. S. Rao, among others and
the unknown many who have worked and passed on in silence.
The day long programme will start at 10 AM on Saturday, 3rd September
and together with the cultural programme will go on till 6 PM .
With best wishes
Harish Dhawan (9811667776)
Paramjeet Singh (9910262062)
(Secretaries PUDR)

o o o

South Asian Women’s Community Centre Montreal
1981-2011
celebrates Thirty Years of Sisterhood, Strength, Struggle and Success

with a

Conference and Forum

4- 6  NOVEMBER  2011

Migrant Feminisms in the New Millenium

Montreal

To celebrate our thirty years of work, to highlight lessons we have
learned, as well as to look to the future, the South Asian Women's
Community Centre (SAWCC)  is holding a conference and forum from 4-6
November.  We are inviting all who are interested to attend -- from
Montreal, the rest of Canada, USA, other areas of the South Asian
diaspora and South Asia.  You do not have to be South Asian, or of
South Asian origin to attend.  We do not have funds to support travel
and accommodation, but can send letters of invitation if this will be
of assistance.

The world is at a critical juncture.  We live in a unipolar world of
imperialist wars and market-driven economic policies, ever-widening
gaps between haves and have-nots, the decline of independent and
autonomous women’s organizations as they get NGOized, the
multifarious issues that occupy us and leave little time and energy
for our work in the areas of feminism and gender, and new generations
of young women facing challenges that are significantly different than
they were when we began thirty years ago.

Unfortunately, some things remain the same.   Violence against women
is endemic and as the backlash against feminism continues, (or for
some it seems there is no longer a need for feminism), the danger to
women and girls has never been greater in our communities here and
elsewhere.

In Canada we have a majority conservative government who in its first
months in office has thrown down the gauntlet to challenge the
hard-won rights of working people.   And in their previous term as a
minority government they introduced changes that had a very negative
effect on women and the marginalized  -- slashing and burning programs
and funding.  In Canada for many years now, we no longer have a
viable, coherent Canada-wide voice for women that can challenge these
losses.

We see our Conference & Forum as a rallying point to re-group, as
women of South Asian origin, of various generations, feminists and
activists  ‚ to celebrate, learn from our past and plan to act for the
future; to continue what we have been doing so well and to develop new
and innovative ways that will help us tackle the huge challenge to
keep feminism and feminist activism alive. And to galvanize momentum
that can have an impact Canada-wide and elsewhere.   We have been
catalysts for change.  We must continue.

This will be a hands-on working conference-forum. We have a great deal
of experience and we can learn from one another.  It will be
action-oriented and structured to facilitate a lot of interaction and
participation.

Some of the topics that will be addressed:
Violence, teen dating violence ---lived realities ---Canadian
situation/Canada-wide voice---sexual politics---mental health---sexual
orientation & identity---elders---political situation and impact on
our work---sex-sexuality---generational differences---situations of
precariousness:migration/ immigration,refugee,status---cutbacks

Contact:  sawcc.30th.anniversary at gmail.com
dolchew at hotmail.com

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

South Asia Citizens Wire
Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. Newsletter 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.



More information about the SACW mailing list