South Asia Citizens Wire - 26 April 2012 - No. 2744
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Contents:

1. Sri Lanka: Dambulla Mosque attack - Concerned Citizens’ Statement Against
Religious Intolerance
2. Anti-Terror’ Laws Haunt Pakistan’s Trade Unionists (Irfan Ahmed)
3. India: The Spectre of Fascism (Rohini Hensman)
4. India: Cloaked daggers [The intrigue and disinformation campaign endangers
integrity of the armed forces (Praful Bidwai)
5. India: Siachen summit (Jug Suraiya)
6. India: BJP in Karnataka - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
(Shivasundar)
7. India - Gujarat: A Conversation With Zuber Jafri (Sruthi Gottipati)
8. India: Guns and India's Samajwadi Party
9. India: The Pakistani revolutionary rock band, Laal, rocks Delhi
10. India: PMANE Appeal to Maoists for Immediate Release of Mr. Alex Paul Menon

International:
11. French Presidential Elections - Round 1: Economic Crisis and The
Democratisation of Xenophobia
12. Announcements:
(i) A Public Seminar In Solidarity With The Hazara Community In Balochistan
(Islamabad, 28 April 2012)

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1. SRI LANKA: DAMBULLA MOSQUE ATTACK - CONCERNED CITIZENS’ STATEMENT AGAINST
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE
=======================================
http://www.sacw.net/article2659.html
sacw.net - 25 April 2012

Concerned Citizens’ Statement Against Religious Intolerance

It is with great concern that we the undersigned protest against the growing
trend of increasing religious intolerance in Sri Lanka with regard to minority
religions. We specifically condemn the recent violent attack on the Mosque in
Dambulla by a group of anti social actors. The Hindu community has also been
asked to move their temple from the vicinity. The Dambulla Khairya Jummah Mosque
had been in existence for over 60 years [1] and the mosque trustees have legal
documents regarding its construction. On Friday the 20th of April 2012 a tense
situation arose as regular Friday prayer at the Mosque was prevented by a gang
led by Buddhist monks who claimed that it was an illegal construction. The group
stated that both the Mosque and Hindu shrine were built on sacred Buddhist
ground. It is further regrettable that law enforcement authorities could not
take appropriate action to stop the forceful entry into the mosque and the
intimidation of the community.

On the 23rd after a discussion with the Buddhist monks deputy minister Hizbullah
made a public announcement to the media that the monks have agreed to give three
months to identify alternative land and relocate the Mosque. However the very
affected members of the community have not been part of this discussion and are
still unable to express their opinion freely. While we are in support of
reaching a solution through negotiations with the Muslim community, we would
like to stress that any decision taken on this issue should not be unjust
towards the minority communities in the context of post-war Sri Lanka.

The mosque has been in existence for over 60 years and the Sinhala, Tamil and
Muslim persons in the region had been living together in a spirit of amity for
decades, if not centuries. Yet, today we see that that religious intolerance is
on the rise and the state has done little to check this. The incident in
Dambulla is not an isolated one. Last year a Muslim shrine (Dargha) was
destroyed in Anuradhapura. [2] In Ashraf Nagar the military has taken over land
that belongs to 69 Muslim families, including land that was allotted for a
Muslim burial ground. In Illangaithurai Muhathuwaram (now renamed Lanka Patuna)
a Shivan shrine was removed and a Buddhist statue was built in its place. A
group of Buddhist monks and people attacked the four Square Gospel Church in
Kaluthara North last year. The Police have prevented the church from functioning
claiming that it would lead to a breach peace. In Ambalangoda the Assembly of
God church was attacked in February this year. A pastor in Kalutara was attacked
and a house belonging to a Christian was vandalized by Buddhist monks alleging
that the church was engaged in conversions. The police failed to frame charges
against Buddhist monks. Recently the government has also tried to pass the Town
and Country Planning bill which allows for religious land to also been acquired
in municipal and urban areas for economic, social, historical, environmental or
religious purposes. [3] Even though the bill has been challenged in court and
withdrawn there is a move to bring the bill back as law through other avenues.
Such acts increase the sense of insecurity that minorities in general feel in
this as regards the practice of worship and co existence.

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious community in which religious
acceptance and protection of religious and cultural rights and the freedom to
practice their religion anywhere in the country is a basic tenet of the
Constitution and a protection assured to all citizens.

We appeal to the President, state institutions and officials, and those in the
executive to take appropriate action on the incident in Dambulla that serves to
build confidence among minority communities in the state structure and
mechanisms. We strongly believe that the people of this country, Sinhala, Tamil,
Muslim, Christian and Burgher wish to live in harmony with each other. We also
strongly believe that it is a marginal amount of people who take to violence in
riding rough shod over the rights of others. We strongly urge the state to take
measures to curb the growing trend of intolerance and to do its utmost to make
minorities feel in every way people of this country. In the post war context
this is of the utmost importance for reconciliation and peaceful co-existence.
We also appeal to religious and community leaders to initiate dialogue at all
possible levels so that minority communities feel secure. We pledge our support
for a pluralist Sri Lankan society.

[1]
http://www.nation.lk/edition/todays-news/item/5268-dambulla-fiasco-normalcy-retu\
rns.html
[2]
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/09/18/muslim-shrine-in-anuradhapura-destroyed\
/
[3] http://epaper.dailymirror.lk/epaper/viewer.aspx

1. Affected Women's Forum (Akkaraippattu)
2. Association of War-Affected Women
3. Centre for Human Resource Development (Viluthu)
4. Centre for Human Rights and Development
5. Centre for Mass Communication and Media (Mannar)
6. Centre for Policy Alternatives
7. EQUAL GROUND
8. Families of the Disappeared
9. Human Rights office Kandy
10. IMADR- Asia
11. INFORM
12. Jaffna Civil Society for Equality
13. Lawyers for Democracy
14. Mannar Women’s Development Federation
15. Mothers and Daughters of Lanka
16. Mullaitheevu Women Development and Rehabilitation Trust
17. Muslim Women’s Trust – Puttalum
18. Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum
19. National Peace Council
20. Red Flag Movement
21. Resources for Peace and Reconciliation (Mannar)
22. Right to Life Human Rights Center
23. Rights Now Collective for Democracy
24. Sakhi Collaboration
25. Stand Up Movement
26. Voluntary Service Development Organization
27. Women’s Action Network
28. Women and Media Collective
29. Women’s Support Group

[individuals]
1. A.L.M Bashir- NESAM, Nindavaur 2. A.Perinpanayagam 3. A.Rajasingam 4. A.C.
Mohamed Mahir ( Kattankudy) 5. A.L. Mohamed Irfan (Kattankudy) 6. A.S.Mohamed
Rayees 7. Ashila Dandeniya 8. A.W.A. Jihad (Muthur People’s Forum) 9. Aliyar
Hazarat (Sammanthurai) 10. Ameena Hussein 11. Anberiya Hanifa 12. Ann Jabbar 13.
B. Skanthakumar 14. B.Gowthaman 15. B.F. A. Basnayake 16. Beryl Perera 17.
Bhavani Fonseka (Attorney-at-Law) 18. Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe 19. Brito
Fernando 20. C.De Silva 21. Cayathri Divakalala 22. Chandragupta Thenuwera 23.
Chathurika Senanayake 24. Chulani Kodikara 25. Damaris Wickremesekera 26.
Darshan Ambalavanar 27. Darshana Liyanage 28. Dayapala Thiranagama 29. Dileepa
Witharana 30. Dishani Jayaweera (Attorney-at-Law) 31. Divakalala Sundaram 32.
Dr. Camena Guneratne 33. Dr. D. H. S. Maithripala 34. Dr. Danesh Karunanayake
35. Dr. Dharmasena Pathiraja 36. Dr. Farzana Haniffa 37. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
38. Dr. Kumar David 39. Dr. Liyanage Amarakeerthi 40. Dr. M. Vethannathan
(University of Jaffna) 41. Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan (Point Pedro Institute
of Development) 42. Dr. Nishan de Mel 43. Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu 44. Dr.
Philip Setunga 45. Dr. Ranil D. Guneratne 46. Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe 47. Dr.
Selvy Thiruchandran 48. Dr. Shamala Kumar 49. Dr. Sumathy Sivamohan 50. Dr. T.
Jayasingam 51. Dushiyanthi Kanapathipillai 52. Ethayarani 53. Faizun Zackariya
54. Francis Devarani (Ampara) 55. Fr. Jeyabalan Croos 56. Fr. Nandana Manatunga
( Human Rights Office Kandy) 57. Fr. S. Maria Anthony, S. J. 58. Fr. T. S.
Josuwa (Kavithalaya Kala Mandram) 59. Fr. Terence Fernando 60. Fr. V. Yogeswaran
61. F. Solomantine 62. Gamini Viyangoda 63. Godfrey Yogarajah (General
Secretary, National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka) 64. Gowrie
Ponniah 65. Harean Hettiarachchi (Programme Manager) 66. Harshana Rambukwella
(Senior Lecturer- Open University) 67. Hashintha Jayasinghe 68. Hilmy Ahamed 69.
Himali Nawalage (Sales Manager) 70. I.Malwatta 71. J. C. Weliamuna (Attorney at
Law) 72. Jagath Weerasinghe (Artist) 73. Jake Oorloff 74. Jeevaratnam Kennedy
75. Jehan Mendis (Teacher) 76. Jehan Perera 77. Jensila Majeed 78. Jeyasankar
Sivagnanam 79. Jezima Ismail 80. Jovita Arulanantham 81. Juweriya Mohideen 82.
K.Arulanandarajah (Kalmunai) 83. K.Arumugam Asoka (Mahashakthi Foundation,
Akkarappattu) 84. K.E.Tharagowri (Kalmunai, Ampara) 85. K. L. Shafi Hatheem (
Kalmunai) 86. K.Nihal Ahamed (Humanitarian Elevation Organisation,
Addalaichenai) 87. K.Niroshan (People’s Progressive Development Society,
Akkaraippattu 88. K.Praba (Thambiluvil) 89. K. R. M. Wickremesinhe (Attorney at
Law) 90. K.S Ratnaval (Attorney at Law) 91. K.Sukirtha (Ampara) 92. Kasun
Pathiraja 93. Krishna Velupillai 94. Krishni R. Sourjah 95. Kumudini Samuel 96.
Kusal Perera 97. L. Perinpanayagam 98. Lakshan Dias 99. L. Yaseen Bawa ( Baker,
Oluvil) 100. Lal Wijenayaka (Lawyers for Democracy) 101. M.A.C. Humaid ( Health
Education, Social and Sports Organisation, Akkaraippattu) 102. M.A.M. Rifaz
(Addalaichchenai) 103. M. Casim Kulanthahi Mararaikar ( Kalmunai) 104. M.I.
Haidar (Akkaraipattu) 105. M.I. Rezard (Muthur Youth Social Development
Organisation) 106. M. M. Nazeer ( Oluvil) 107. M.M. Saburudeen (Attorney at Law-
Mannar) 108. M.R.M Naufil (Mannar Grand Mosque) 109. M. Thiruvarangan 110.
Mahaluxumi Kurushanthan (Mannar) 111. Mahesh De Mel (Director, Waves of Hope)
112. Mahinda Hattaka 113. Mahisha Warusavitharana 114. Malcolm Peter (Alliance
Development Trust) 115. Manjula Gajanayake 116. Mano Ganesan, (Civil Monitoring
Commission) 117. Manzoor A Cader. (Rtd Registrar Sammanthurai) 118. Marisa de
Silva 119. Mawlavi Bazeer (Sammanturai) 120. Melani Manel Perera (Christian
Women Journalist) 121. Melanie Perera (Alliance Development Trust) 122. Melisha
Yapa (Marketer/Banker) 123. Menaha Kandasamy 124. Minna Thaheer 125. Mirak
Raheem 126. Mohammed Mahuruf 127. Mohideen Bawa Parikari Ibralebbai. (Oluvil)
128. Monroe Jayasuriya (National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka)
129. Mujeeb Rahman 130. N. L. Pakeer Ali (Oluvil) 131. N.Shanthi (Akkaraipattu)
132. Nadya Perera 133. Nandala Maduranga Kalugampitiya 134. Navin Weeraratne
135. Nawaz Mohammed 136. Nicola Perera 137. Nilanjana Premaratne 138. Nimalka
Fernando 139. Niyanthini Kadirgamar 140. Pala Pothupitiya (Artist) 141. P.
Thanbirajah 142. P.N. Singham 143. Padmini, Women’s Centre 144. Peter Rezel
145. Priya Thangarajah (Law Student) 146. Prof. Jayantha Seneviratne 147. Prof
Maithree Wickramasinghe 148. Prof. Priyan Dias 148. Prof. S.H. Hasbulla 150.
R.M.B. Senanayake 151. Radhika Hettiarachchi 152. Raghu Balachandran (Methodist
Church of Sri Lanka) 153. Rajany Chandrasegaram 154. Rajasingam 155. Rajith
Keerthi Tennakoon (Campaign for Free and Fair Elections) 156. Rajiva Godagedara
(Accountant) 157. Ralston Weinman 158. Ramyadarshanie Vithanage 159. Rev. Daisy
Aseervatham 160. Rev. Oswald Firth 161. Rifana Buhary 162. Rohan Salgadoe 163.
Romola Rassool 164. Rukaiya Mohideen 165. Ruki Fernando 166. Rukshani Attygalle
Abeyeratne (Attorney at Law) 167. Ruwani Botheju (Alliance Development Trust)
168. S. Mohamed Rayees 169. S.C.C.Elankovan 170. S.N.S.Rizli (Addalaichchenai)
171. S. S . Ramakrishnan (Engineer- Mannar) 172. S. Sivathasan 173. S.Yoga
(Ampara) 174. S.Ziyath, (Addalaichchena) 175. Sam Perera 176. Sanathanan
Thamotharampillai (Artist) 177. Sandamali Herath (Marketer) 178. Sanjaya
Senenayake 179. Sanjayan Rajasingham 180. Santhasilan Kadirgamar 181. Shafinaz
Hassendeen 182. Shanaka Cooray ( Lawyer) 183. Sheik Thajudeen 184. Shifan Ahmed
185. Silma Ahamed 186. Shreen Saroor 187. Sr. Kathleen A.C. 188. Sr. Rasika
Pieris 189. Sriya, Women’s Centre 190. Sultan Mohamed Faizal (Mannar Mosque
Federation) 191. Surangi Ariyawansha (Center for Human Rights) 192. Suren
Raghavan 193. T. Sivapalan 194. T.Pakiyawathi, Aalaiyadivembu (Ampara) 195.
Tuan. Dilshan 196. U.K. Abdul Raheem (Naleemi, Oluvil) 197. U. P. S. A. Gafoor.
(Rtd, RM Coconut Cultivation Board.- Oluvil) 198. Udan Fernando 199. V.K. Perera
200. V.K.Ranjani (Thandiyadi, Akkaraippattu) 201. Vamadeva Kurukkal (Uduvil)
202. Vasuki Jeyasankar 203. Visaka Dharmadasa 204. Wijith Rohan Fernando (Senior
Lecturer, University of Kelaniya) 205. Y. D. Ravindran (Attorney at Law)

=======================================
2. ‘ANTI-TERROR’ LAWS HAUNT PAKISTAN’S UNIONISTS
by Irfan Ahmed
=======================================
From: Labour Notes South Asia - Post No. 1120

LAHORE, Apr 23, 2012 (Inter Press Service) - As International Labour Day
approaches, rights groups in Pakistan are redoubling their efforts to win
freedom for six incarcerated union leaders in Faisalabad, the country’s
textile hub, who are currently serving a combined jail term of 590 years for
supposedly violating the country’s ‘anti-terror’ laws.

The representatives of power loom workers – namely Akbar Ali Kamboh, Babar
Shafiq Randhawa, Fazal Elahi, Rana Riaz, Muhammad Aslam Malik and Asghar Ansari
– were charged with attacking a factory, injuring its owners and burning it
down on Jul. 20, 2010, charges that all six individuals have denied.

Still, police were forced to add clauses from anti-terror laws to the report and
the court ruled based on evidence and witnesses made available by the
complainants, and now the labour activists are languishing behind bars.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) accepted an appeal against their conviction but so
far no hearing date has been announced.

To keep the issue in the public eye, the Labour Party of Pakistan (LPP)
organised a lecture at the prestigious Lahore University of Management Sciences
(LUMS) on Apr. 16 to present the details of the case to a larger audience.

Meanwhile, the Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM), the party to which the jailed
leaders belong, is gearing up for a massive rally in Faisalabad on May 1 to
demand that the case be repealed.

In actual fact, the six unionists were not terrorists but leaders of the
LQM-sponsored strike involving roughly 100,000 power loom workers who were
demanding a 17 percent wage hike, says Farooq Tariq, spokesman for the LPP.

He claims only a godown of the said factory was purposely burnt (some allege by
the factory owners themselves) to teach the striking workers a lesson.

Still, it was the workers who were arrested, supposedly for indiscriminate
firing to create fear, destroying public property and kidnapping people for
ransom, all acts punishable under anti-terrorism laws in Pakistan.

"The message was clear: if this can happen with LQM leaders, anyone daring to
assume this role in future must be ready for similar treatment," Tariq said.

He laments the fact that dictators, the ruling elite, feudal lords and a host of
other actors are manipulating the country’s anti-terror laws with impunity to
silence voices of dissent, target groups demanding their rights and punish
rivals in politics.

Thousands of lawyers were arrested for terrorism charges during former president
Pervez Musharraf’s regime for participating in the movement for restoration of
the judiciary, Tariq said, adding, "I myself was booked under terrorism charges
four times just for organising protests. Today, I stand cleared in all of them."

Families of the jailed leaders are in distress and LPP is raising 5,000 rupees
(about 55 dollars) per month for each family’s sustenance.

No labour rights

The power looms sector in Faisalabad city, also known as the Manchester of
Pakistan, is the backbone of the country’s economy, which is overwhelmingly
dependent on the textiles sector.

Of the estimated 300,000 power looms, 200,000 are based here and set up mostly
in the form of small units in houses.

Workers operating these units are paid per ‘pick’, a unit of measurement for
the cloth produced, rather than a fixed wage, explained Anis-ul-Haq, spokesman
for the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

He said the situation worsens when there is no electricity to power the looms
for 14-16 hours each day, meaning zero income for the workers.

This sector cannot afford to make alternative arrangements, like captive power
plants and generators, for the simple reason that a typical power loom owner has
as many as four to eight power looms at his disposal.

The prolonged electricity load-shedding and inflation has a lot to do with
protests organised by workers, claims Rana Tahir, Faisalabad president of LQM.
He condemned the labour leaders’ harsh sentence, saying power loom owners and
political leaders prepared this ploy to weaken LQM, which had supported an LPP
candidate in by-elections for a provincial assembly seat in April 2010.

Tahir challenged the contents of the First Information Report (FIR) registered
against the six leaders and clarified that, in fact, guards at the factory shot
at protesters first.

The demonstrators’ subsequent reaction caused a bullet to hit a nearby
motorbike, sparking "a fire that spread and burnt the cloth lying in the
godown."

Tahir also told IPS that it took police three days to add anti-terror clauses to
the complaint, while the factory allegedly burnt by the accused took almost the
same time to start fully functioning again. "Doesn’t this show things are
doubtful?" he asked.

Akram Ghauri, chairman of the All Pakistan Cotton Power Looms Association, is
not convinced by this version of events and has no sympathy for the jailed
labour leaders.

"What they did to the factory and its owners is worth condemnation," he said,
calling the leaders blackmailers who effectively held power loom owners and
workers hostage by refusing to agree to any proposals.

Ghauri says LQM even threatened workers willing to work on weekends for wages 50
percent higher than those offered during weekdays.

"Now we are in peace, and hold talks with the genuine labour body – the
Workers Union of Faisalabad – whenever required."

Despite his reaction, the registration of a case against the unionists under
anti-terrorism law is a phenomenon backed by little public support.

Zulfiqar Shah, joint director of the Pakistan Institute for Labour Education and
Research (PILER) believes commercial and industrial disputes should be decided
in appropriate fora.

He believes there were certain circumstances that led to the clash between
Faisalabad workers and the factory owners and the strike was not a premeditated
move.

Now, the same anti-terror laws are being invoked in the case of protesting power
loom workers in the port city of Karachi. Shah told IPS the only difference is
that these workers have been booked under extortion charges.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Director I A Rehman has also
condemned the misuse of anti-terror laws against labourers and the
administration of such a severe punishment.

Even hardened criminals involved in heinous crimes have never been awarded such
severe punishments, he said, and urges the state to give people their
constitutional right under Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which
promises, "Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions
subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of
sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public order or morality." (END)


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3. INDIA: THE SPECTRE OF FASCISM
by Rohini Hensman
=======================================
(Economic & Political Weekly, March 3, 2012)

BOOK REVIEW

Godse’s Children: Hindutva Terror in India by Subhash Gatade (New Delhi:
Pharos Media and Publishing), 2011; pp. 400, Rs 360.

The Saffron Condition: Politics of Repression and Exclusion in Neoliberal India
by Subhash Gatade (Gurgaon: Three Essays Collective), 2011; pp. 475, Rs 500

If the message of both these books had to be summed up in one sentence, it would
be this: The spectre of fascism is haunting India. Godse’s Children (hereafter
GC) concentrates on the phenomenon of Hindutva terrorism, while The Saffron
Condition (hereafter TSC) is divided into three sections: Saffronization and the
Neoliberal State, Logic of Caste in New India, and State and Human Rights. There
is thus an area of overlap between the two, with Hindutva terror also appearing
in TSC, but treated in far greater detail in GC.

‘What could be said to be the first act of terrorism in independent India?’
asks Gatade, and replies, ‘Everybody would agree that the killing of Mahatma
Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by a Hindu fanatic called Nathuram Godse constitutes
the first terrorist act in independent India’ (GC 41). If ‘terrorism’ is
defined as violence or threats of violence against civilians in pursuit of a
political goal, then the assassination of Gandhi could indeed be seen as a
terrorist act. The point being made here is that terrorism is not something new
for the Hindutva agenda of creating a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in India: it was
always part of it. The author outlines the conspiracy between members of the
Hindu Mahasabha, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and V.D.Savarkar to eliminate
Gandhi. An interesting fact that emerges is that the successful assassination
was only the last of at least five attempts starting in 1934. This lays to rest
the idea that it was Gandhi’s support for Partition that motivated the
killing. Gandhi was a devout Hindu and fairly conservative socially; what made
Hindu nationalists hate him so much that they made repeated attempts to kill him
and finally succeeded? ‘In fact, the idea of people’s amity cutting across
boundaries of race, religion, sex, etc., which Gandhi upheld all his life
was..anathema to the exclusivist, Hindu supremacist world view of the members of
RSS and Hindu Mahasabha. And, while “nation” was a racial/religious
construct in the imagination of the Hindutva forces, for Gandhi and the rest of
the nationalists it was a territorial construct or a bounded territory
comprising of different communities’ (GC 44).

The assassination of Gandhi could not prevent India from adopting a
predominantly secular, democratic constitution. Another way of working for a
Hindu nation was to launch periodical massacres of Muslims and, more rarely,
other minorities, including the Nellie massacre of 1983 in which an estimated
3,300 Muslim men, women and children were killed. These have in popular parlance
been called ‘riots’, but this is a misnomer since it suggests a spontaneous
outbreak of violence, whereas all investigations show these events to be
carefully planned and executed; ‘pogroms’ would be a more accurate
description. As Gatade points out, one of the most disturbing aspects of these
pogroms is that the ringleaders and all but a very few of  the lower-level
perpetrators have never been punished. Furthermore, ‘the same citizenry which
is categorically opposed to terrorism would exhibit a strange sense of
ambivalence towards such indiscriminate violence and arson’ (GC 62). Where the
victims of terror are minorities or Dalits, impunity has been the rule.

This is the background against which Hindutva terror in the narrower sense
emerges. The incidents mentioned in GC (including those where the terrorists
killed themselves by accident, training was imparted to would-be terrorists, and
blasts were designed to frame Muslims) are numerous. Including instances quoted
from S.M. Mushrif’s book Who Killed Karkare? the list would go something like
this: training camp in the use of gelatin sticks (Pune, Maharashtra, 2000);
training camp in handling weapons and making bombs (Bhonsala Military School,
Nasik, Maharashtra, 2001); a series of bomb attacks on mosques and madrasas
(Saharanpur, U.P., 2002); firearms training camp (Bhopal, M.P., 2002); bombs
planted at a Muslim gathering (Bhopal, 2002); manufacture and use of bombs in
the Gujarat carnage (2002); weapons training camp for women (Kanpur, U.P.,
2003); bombing of mosque (Parbhani, Maharashtra, 2003); bombing of madrasa and
mosque (Purna, Maharashtra, 2004); bombing of mosque (Jalna, Maharashtra, 2004);
accidental blast while handling explosives (Nanded, Maharashtra, 2006); deadly
bombing of a Muslim festival (Malegaon, Maharashtra, 2006); deadly bombing of
the India-Pakistan Samjhauta Express (Haryana, 2007); Mecca Masjid blast
(Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 2007); Ajmer Sharif blast (Ajmer, Rajasthan, 2007);
detonators delivered to Muslim merchants (Wardha, Maharashtra, 2007); another
accidental blast (Nanded 2007); bomb planted outside mosque (Pen Highway,
Maharashtra, 2007); explosion at New Bus Stand (Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, 2008); bomb
attack on RSS office (Tenkasi, 2008); explosion at auditorium (Thane,
Maharashtra, 2008); bomb discovered and defused at auditorium (Vashi,
Maharashtra, 2008); bomb at cinema (Panvel, Maharashtra, 2008); accidental
explosion (Kanpur, 2008); live bomb recovered from Belgaum-Hubli road
(Karnataka, 2008); bomb blast at court (Hubli, Karnataka, 2008); bombing of
marketplace (Malegoan 2008); bomb blast in marketplace (Modasa, Gujarat, 2008);
low-intensity blast (Kanpur, 2008); bombing of church (Lalitpur, Nepal, 2009);
explosion at Margao (Goa, 2009); live bomb defused (Sancole, Goa, 2009); bomb
blast at primary health centre (Kanpur, 2010).

For anyone who has not been following the news about Hindutva terrorist attacks,
the sheer number and wide geographical distribution of these attacks is
astonishing, and indicates, as the author suggests, a turn from communal pogroms
to terror attacks as the favoured strategy for ‘the reactionary political
project of building fascism’ (GC 320-21). It is apparent that at least in the
21st century, Hindutva terror has been far more active in India than Islamist
terror. Why, then, has this fact not been appreciated more widely? The answer to
this question is extremely disturbing, and opens up the possibility that other
terrorist attacks too that have been attributed to Muslims have actually been
perpetrated by Hindutva terrorists.

In the overwhelming majority of these cases, Muslims were the first to be blamed
for the terror attacks. Here is one instance of the Kafkaesque manner in which
innocent Muslims have been framed by the police: ‘The prosecution had claimed
that the accused were arrested following a gunfight near Gurgaon-Delhi road on 1
July 2005. Delhi police had informed the court that the four accused in the car
had tried to flee when they were asked to stop. It was also claimed that the
accused opened fire on the police team. After the encounter, which lasted for a
few minutes, the team was arrested by the police and an army combat uniform,
fake currency of Rs 50,000 and a sketch of Palam Air Force Station were
“recovered” from their possession. The judge discovered to his utter
surprise that there was no such encounter on the intervening night of 1-2 July
2005, and an absolutely fake encounter story had been manufactured sitting in
the office of the Special Staff led by Sub-inspector Ravindra Tyagi’ (GC 276).
Similar stories are repeated in case after case: police personnel, often acting
in collusion with intelligence agencies, arrest, incarcerate and torture
innocent Muslims. (Appendix VI, GC 359, is an account of what was done to one of
these victims.) Years later, when their cases finally come to trial, they are
acquitted, but not before their lives have been ruined and their families
devastated. Meanwhile, the real culprits are left free to kill again.

The honorouble exception to this rule was Hemant Karkare, chief of the
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad from January 2008. Meticulously following the
clues in a spate of terrorist attacks, including especially the 2008 terror
attack in Malegoan, Karkare began to unearth evidence against and arrest members
of a Hindutva terrorist network comprising sadhvis and swamis, former and
current military personnel, and other right-wing activists. One would think that
he would be honoured for helping to make Maharashtra safe by putting terrorists
behind bars, and there were indeed some who treated his work with the greatest
respect and admiration. But leaders of the BJP, RSS, VHP and Shiv Sena called
him a traitor, demanded that he be dismissed as ATS chief, and issued him with
death threats (GC 141-44, 148-49).

Karkare was killed during the 26 November 2008 terror attacks in Bombay, and
evidence uncovered by his widow Kavita, Vinita Kamte (the widow of Ashok Kamte,
another police officer killed along with him) and S.M.Mushrif revealed that the
official account of his death was completely unreliable, fuelling speculation
that he had been assassinated by Hindutva activists. Gatade quotes from an
article in Hardnews which emphasises that the bullets which killed Karkare were
never identified, and their trajectory – from the top of the shoulder
downwards rather than from the front, back or side – suggests that they were
fired by one of the police personnel inside the vehicle with him rather than by
any terrorist outside (GC 152-53). He concludes that it is crucial there should
be a separate commission of enquiry into the death of Karkare and the other
police officers killed with him, a demand that has been echoed by others.

Thus there is abundant evidence that the police and intelligence agencies are
heavily infiltrated by accomplices in Hindutva terror. But the rot goes higher.
The author points out that many bomb blasts (e.g. the Samjhauta Express blasts)
are timed to sabotage India-Pakistan talks, the timing of which would not be
known to lower-level functionaries; these planners and masterminds would be much
higher in the state apparatus. He also observes that in BJP-ruled states, the
trail of Hindutva terror inevitably goes cold even when policemen pick it up,
demonstrating political involvement of the Hindutva forces at the highest
levels. Among ‘disguised terrorists’ the author includes elements in the
media who ‘take the handouts of intelligence agencies as gospel truth’
instead of pointing out the ‘inconsistencies and loopholes galore in them’.
‘Honourable exceptions apart, the dominant media is hugely biased in favour of
Hindutva’ (GC 336-37). Bar associations too have engaged in the unethical
practice of refusing to represent Muslims accused of terrorism, even when these
cases have been patently false. Gatade mentions two courageous lawyers who
challenged this ban and faced physical violence as a consequence (GC 169-70),
but strangely leaves out Shahid Azmi, who was shot dead in Bombay in 2010 after
he had proved to the satisfaction of the court that his client, Fahim Ansari,
had been framed by the police in the November 26 terror attacks.

Supposedly secular political parties have not taken up the challenge either. The
only senior Congress Party leaders who have spoken out openly against Hindutva
terror – Digvijay Singh and P.Chidambaram – were not supported by others in
the party, supposedly in order not to antagonise ordinary Hindus (GC 325-26,
329-30). But it is hard to believe that the party is unaware of the distinction
between the religion, Hinduism, and the political ideology of Hindutva. The
result of Congress softness on Hindutva terror is that in Congress-ruled states
too, innocent Muslims have been incacerated and tortured for terrorist acts they
did not commit, while the perpetrators have been free to kill again. ‘The most
disturbing aspect of this phenomenon,’ writes the author, ‘is that even the
Left, especially its mainstream version, failed to rise to the occasion’ (GC
24).

There is a striking resemblance between this situation and pre-Nazi Germany as
described by Arthur Rosenburg in his essay ‘Fascism as a Mass Movement’
(translated by Jairus Banaji in Historical Materialism 20(1), 2012). Here it is
pointed out that the fascist ideology which was later exploited by Hitler and
the Nazis was widely prevalent decades earlier. In the case of India, the
corresponding ideology is communalism. Unless Gatade’s urgent call for ‘an
uncompromising struggle against communalism’ (GC 342) is heeded, India could
be heading in the same direction.

The resemblance with Nazism is even more striking in Gujarat under Narendra
Modi, as the author points out in chapters entitled ‘Auschwitz of Our Times’
(TSC 42) and ‘Modi’s Gujarat’  (TSC 52). The horrific gang rapes and mass
murders of Muslims in 2002, accompanied by arson attacks on everything owned by
them or associated with them including places of worship, would qualify the
statewide pogrom as a crime against humanity if not genocide as defined in the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The continuing ghettoisation
and persecution of Muslims, the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators (which is
being challenged in court by courageous survivors and their supporters), and
‘the absence of remorse among people of the state’ (TSC 59) are all
indicators of fascism as a mass movement. The indocrination of children by means
of falsified history text-books (including the glorification of Hitler) (TSC
109-111) constitutes an attempt to pass on this ideology to a new generation.
The inevitable destruction of the rule of law is exemplified by the failure of
the authorities to intervene when a young dalit woman student was gang-raped
repeatedly by six of her teachers at a government teacher training college (TSC
60-65). We might add that prominent industrialists hailing Modi as a future
prime minister and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan acting as brand ambassador
for Modi’s Gujarat indicates that certain sections of the elite favour
fascism.

The author repeatedly makes the point that while fully-fledged fascism might be
the preserve of the Sangh Parivar, the soft communalism of other parties
including Congress (the hostility of some members to religious conversions, for
example) provides fertile soil for extremism to grow. Almost universal
acceptance of a society hierarchically structured by caste is another factor
facilitating this growth. Systematic discrimination against Dalits, forcing them
to engage in demeaning occupations like manual scavenging, and frequent
gang-rapes, mass murder and arson attacks, indicate that the evils of
untouchability and caste oppression are far from being eradicated. But what
could the remedies be? The section on the logic of caste (TSC 207-324) examines
this question.

The author also asks why, despite facing very similar oppression, Dalits and
Muslims have failed to unite. On the contrary, Dalits and Adivasis have in some
cases been recruited as storm-troopers in communal pogroms (e.g. in Gujarat),
although others have acted in solidarity with Muslims. Dalit intellectual Kancha
Illiah has blamed this on Muslim intellectuals who have been indifferent to the
issues of caste and untouchability, but Gatade correctly observes this cannot
explain how the same Dalits who had been the targets of casteist Hindutva
violence since the anti-reservation riots of the early 1980s could find common
cause with their oppressors (TSC 223). He suggests this is a classic case of the
submergence of the Dalit identity within the ‘larger canopy’ of Hindu
identity, and points out the parallel with the large-scale participation of
Hindu women in the pogroms following the demolition of the Babri Mosque, despite
the fact that Hindutva is similarly oppressive towards women. Dalits, he
explains, have only two paths to social mobility: either to reject the religious
edifice that sanctifies the caste system and seek an alternative identity, or to
climb the social hierarchy by imitating the dominant castes. Their absorption
within the ‘Brahminical-Fascist project of the Parivar’ (TSC 230) is an
example of the latter.

Gatade examines the experiment of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in a
particularly nuanced and illuminating way, showing that it has genuinely
improved the position of Dalits in UP, and yet, by forming alliances with the
BJP, soft-pedalling the activities of the Sangh Parivar, and Mayawati’s
endorsement of Modi, has also served the Hindutva agenda. The conclusion seems
to be that although state power can indeed be used to advance the interests of
Dalits, the drive to capture it at any cost leads to adjustments that in the end
undermine the cause of Dalit empowerment. The transition from a ‘Bahujan’ to
a ‘Sarva Jan’ identity exemplifies the way in which electoral politics have
affected the party’s agenda.

The continued prevalence of atrocities against Dalits and the ways in which the
Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955) and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989) are routinely subverted are eerily
reminiscent of the ways in which those who rape and kill Muslims manage to get
away with it. And in this case too, the role of ‘civil society’ is not
edifying: ‘Civil society…is complicit in perpetuating caste based
inequalities, indignities and violence against SCs’. The author comments that
so long as ‘caste inequality is accepted both in theory and practice, a legal
constitution has no bearing on the ethical foundation of caste-based
societies’ (TSC 270). It seems to follow that abolition of caste is the only
solution, and reservations as a form of affirmative action were instituted in
this belief. Yet sixty years later, not only do Dalits still suffer
discrimination and violence, but they are themselves split along caste lines and
caste remains all-pervasive. A weakness of the book is that it does not discuss
possible alternative strategies such as a campaign for equal opportunities
legislation, which would also have the merit of bringing together Dalits,
Adivasis and Muslims.

The last section of TSC deals with a variety of ways in which the state attacks
human rights: through legislation like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA), which allows the armed forces to violate human rights with impunity,
extra-judicial killings, torture, clamping down on social protests,
incarcerating human rights defenders and so on. The struggles of Irom Sharmila,
on hunger strike against AFSPA for over a decade, and Binayak Sen, a human
rights defender and doctor serving the poor, are described.

Gatade belongs to the small section of left-wing writers and activists who take
the task of combating the growth of fascism in India seriously. These important
books should be read widely. However, a detailed index with sub-sections would
have been helpful in both, since they are collections of articles, and pursuing
a theme becomes difficult if the researcher has to go through several items in
order to find a particular one. Hopefully this will be remedied in future
editions.

[The above paper is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2658.html]

=======================================
4. INDIA: CLOAKED DAGGERS [INTRIGUE AND DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN ENDANGERS
INTEGRITY OF THE ARMED FORCES]
by Praful Bidwai
=======================================
Frontline Column: Beyond the Obvious

The intrigue and disinformation campaign against the army chief is discrediting
the institution itself.

So it now turns out, as many had suspected, that The Indian Express story
alleging that there was unusual and un-notified movement on January 16 of two
army attack formations towards the national capital, which “spooked New
Delhi”, was a complete fabrication. The barely hidden suggestion in the story
was that the troop movement ominously took place the night before Chief of the
Army Staff (COAS) VK Singh moved the Supreme Court on the date of birth issue;
it was a not-too-subtle way of the army flexing its muscle against civilian
authority.

The troop movement violated no protocol of standard operating procedure. Such
movements need to be notified to the defence ministry only if they involve
corps-level strength. The story appears to be wrong on other details too, and
has been dismissed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister AK Antony,
and Gen Singh.

However, the real question is who fed or planted the story, and with what
motive. We may never know for certain the answer to the first question, but the
plausible motive seems to have been to discredit Gen Singh. One of his
detractors, former Northern Army Commander Lt Gen HS Panag, said that the troop
movement was an attempt by a “compromised [military] hierarchy” to
“pre-empt” a likely decision by the defence ministry to sack the COAS. Gen
Panag was relieved of his command after an anti-corruption inquiry in 2008, and
has since retired. But he is a member of the Armed forces Tribunal. Thus, it was
totally out of order for him to make these remarks.

A similar story was planted earlier about Gen Singh having ordered the
clandestine interception of telephone conversations involving top defence
ministry officials. This pointed to grave indiscipline. But the charge was never
substantiated.

Even more important, the “controversy” about his year of birth (1951 or
1950) was raked up without any reference to the record pertinent to his
promotion first as Lt General and later as a full General. The sole basis for
regarding the date as 1950, which would entail the end of his tenure this year,
was another document concerning his application to the National Defence Academy.
A confidential letter from the COAS to Manmohan Singh, pointing out serious
deficiencies in the army’s war preparedness, was also mysteriously leaked.

Clearly, a great deal of intrigue and disinformation has been at play in an
institution which is supposed to follow exemplary standards of truthfulness,
discipline and integrity. A possible clue to its source is provided in a writ
petition moved before the Supreme Court by former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral L
Ramdas, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and three ex-generals,
among others.

This reportedly alleges that a process or line of succession was launched by
former COAS Gen JJ Singh by initiating something new called “the look-down
policy”, which was calculated to favour certain officers and rig their
promotions above the rank of brigadier. As a result, many likely contenders to
army commanders’ positions were “eliminated” to ensure that Gen VK Singh
would remain COAS only till May 2012 and that Lt Gen Bikram Singh, currently the
Eastern Army Commander, would succeed him.

The petition also alleges that there was a “communal conspiracy” behind the
rejection of Gen VK Singh’s claim for a revision in his date of birth, in
particular, lobbying by Sikh organisations, and support from certain high
government officials. Even if this allegation is discounted, the petition, which
prima facie appears broadly truthful, raises disturbing questions about the
process through which high-level army promotions and seniority lists were
determined.

On March 3, Lt Gen Bikram Singh was designated as the next COAS—three months
in advance, instead of the usual two months. But Gen Bikram Singh has two court
cases pending against him: the first involving a fake “encounter” killing in
Jammu and Kashmir in 2001, and the second concerning Indian troops’
misconduct, including rape, during a United Nations peacekeeping mission in
Congo under his charge in 2008. Surely, both propriety and convention demand
that he should not have been designated the next COAS until he is cleared of
these.

The defence ministry has also just cleared the names of Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag,
head of Dimapur-based 3 Corps, and Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra, military secretary,
for promotion as army commanders. Gen Suhag was recently at the centre of a
controversy triggered by the forwarding to the CBI of a complaint about his role
in the purchase of parachutes as the head of the Special Frontier Force.

The CBI refused to investigate the complaint, made by Trinamool Congress MLA
Ambica Banerjee, on the ground that Suhag had already been cleared by another
government agency. As for Gen Chachra, his appointment as military secretary, in
charge of transfers and postings, was reportedly opposed in the past by the
defence ministry.

Evidently, there is very little coordination, accord or harmony between the
armed forces and the civilian leadership, which is supposed to exercise
supremacy over them in a democracy. Indeed, their relations are extremely
strained, and marked by suspicion, distrust and a crisis of confidence. This
does not generally bode well for the nation’s defence.

Particularly worrisome is the recent trend of the armed forces pronouncing
themselves on policy matters, or speaking at cross purposes with the government
on issues such as a resolution of the Siachen glacier dispute with Pakistan
which has festered since 1984, and repealing or suspending the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Siachen, the world’s highest-altitude military conflict, has taken a huge toll
on the army, including the loss of an estimated 2,000 lives mainly thanks to
frostbite, while driving thousands of soldiers into acute psychological
disorders, and inflicting a daily expense of Rs 3 to 5 crores. India and
Pakistan came close to resolving the dispute by agreeing to withdraw their
troops from the glacier at least three times, in 1989, 2006 and 2011.

This was vetoed by the army—although occupying the icy heights confers no
obvious strategic advantage In 2006, Gen JJ Singh publicly ruled out his
army’s withdrawal until its positions on the glacier are marked and recorded.
As former U.S. ambassador David Mulford put it in a cable disclosed by
WikiLeaks, “Army Chief JJ Singh appears on the front page of the “Indian
Express” seemingly fortnightly to tell readers the Army cannot support a
withdrawal from Siachen.  Given India’s high degree of civilian control over
the armed forces, it is improbable that Gen. Singh could repeatedly make such
statements without MoD civilians giving at least tacit approval.”

In a democracy, it is illegitimate for the armed forces to defy civilian
authority in this manner. Similarly, in the recent debate over AFSPA, whose
withdrawal is demanded by the J&K government—not least because of a dramatic
reduction in cross-border infiltration amidst declining militancy—several army
commanders lobbied against the move and even threatened to stop
counterinsurgency operations if the “indispensable” Act is lifted. It is the
same story in Manipur.

AFSPA is a draconian law unworthy of a civilised society. It grants impunity to
an officer who kills civilians on the mere suspicion that they may be about to
commit a violent act or even violate prohibitory orders which are imposed at the
drop of a hat. To top it all, the government is taking refuge behind AFSPA in
refusing to sanction the prosecution of military personnel found by the police
to have committed murder, culpable homicide or rape.

In J&K alone, the home ministry refused such sanction in 42 cases in recent
months, provoking the Supreme Court to remark: “You go to a place in exercise
of AFSPA, you commit rape, you commit murder, then where is the question of
sanction?” Among the cases is the Pathribal killing of five innocent civilians
in March 2000, on the palpably false ground that they were Lashkar-e-Taiba
militants responsible for the massacre of 36 Sikhs at Chhittisinghpura.

Army units have been recently implicated in a number of fake “encounters”
such as the cold-blooded execution of villagers at Ganderbal in 2007, and at
Macchel in 2010. More details of excessive use of force and torture by them are
available at the Asian Centre for Human Rights website:
http://www.achrweb.org/ihrrq/issue1/indian_army.html.

Corruption is now rampant in the army, as scandals involving numerous arms deals
since Bofors and HDW submarines in the 1980s to the more recent Tatra trucks
case, and the Sukna land scam and Adarsh Housing Society scandal, all
demonstrate. The biggest cases are related to India’s growing participation in
the super-corrupt global arms bazaar since the Kargil conflict (1999), which has
made it the world’s biggest arms importer in 2007-2011. More corruption can be
expected as India spends an estimated $80 billion on armaments acquisition over
the next five years.

While there is no direct link between corruption and the armed forces’
defiance of civilian authority or outright lawlessness and “encounter”
killings, a culture of impunity is common to all. Despite his faults and
mistakes, VK Singh deserves support for opposing this and fighting corruption.
We must not tolerate or condone impunity in the name of defending the forces’
morale.  What is at stake is the institutional integrity of the armed forces, no
less.—end--

=======================================
5. INDIA: SIACHEN SUMMIT
Jug Suraiya
=======================================
The Times of India, 24 April 2012

Siachen – the world’s highest battlefield at an average altitude of some
20,000 feet above sea level – both literally and metaphorically represents the
height of human folly. In the ice fields of Siachen, war is not just hell; it is
hell frozen over. The high altitude and sub-zero temperatures of that bleak
landscape will not permit any form of life to exist there except the seemingly
expendable lives of the Indian and Pakistani troops who, since 1984, have been
engaged in a military stand-off in what is not only the world’s highest
theatre of conflict but also one of its most costly.

It is estimated that maintaining a presence in Siachen costs India and Pakistan
some 3 crore to 3.5 crore a day each. But Siachen exacts a much heavier toll
than mere money. Between 1984-1997, nearly 2,000 Indian soldiers died on the
frozen wastes of Siachen, more of them killed by the cruel environment than by
enemy action. On the Pakistani side the toll, till 1999, is estimated at over
1,300.

The latest victims of Siachen were the 130-odd Pakistani soldiers who were
buried alive by an avalanche that once again catapulted a forgotten war back
into the media headlines. As Pakistanis mourned the senseless loss of their
compatriots, Pakistan’s army chief, General Kayani, called for a resolution of
the Siachen dispute. Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif also made a
similar appeal to reach a negotiated settlement. So, is a solution for Siachen
in sight? No way. Immediately following Kayani’s and Sharif’s proposals,
spokesmen from both sides dispelled hopes of an early thaw in Siachen’s
militarised status quo.

A Pakistani foreign office representative made it clear at a press conference
that, while Islamabad was ready to hold talks with New Delhi on the issue, there
was no basic change in Pakistan’s stance on Siachen. Similarly, while
India’s minister of state for defence, Pallam Raju, regretted the ‘economic
toll’ the conflict was taking on both sides, defence analysts reaffirmed the
unchanged nature of the deadlock.

The Indian defence establishment claims that India has an advantage over
Pakistan in Siachen which it doesn’t want to give up lest Pakistan attempt
another Kargil-like incursion. Are such fears justified? Perhaps. But the real 
problem with Siachen is not just Pakistan and its possible motives. The real
problem with Siachen – as is the case with all armed conflicts – is that it
is a self-perpetuating absurdity. The first casualty of any war – before a
single shot is fired or a single soldier is sent to the front – is the human
capacity to reason and negotiate.
FUUL TEXT AT: http://goo.gl/y1c3W


=======================================
6. INDIA: BJP IN KARNATAKA - BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
by Shivasundar
=======================================
From EPW, 17 April 21 - April 27, 2012

In Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been essentially thriving by
working through caste – specifi cally on the consolidated support of upper
caste Lingayats – and not on the basis of a broader Hindutva ideology. The
irony is that the tenets of Lingayat ideology are inspired by the liberal
humanism espoused by the 12th century poet-philosopher-reformer Basavanna and
his followers and this philosophical position is in direct antagonism with the
Hindutva ideology. But then “Basava Dharma” as practised and preached by
most of the Lingayat maths in Karnataka today is in tune with Hindutva.

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/04/bjp-in-karnataka-between-devil-and-deep.h\
tml

=======================================
7. INDIA - GUJARAT: A CONVERSATION WITH ZUBER JAFRI
=======================================
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/a-conversation-with-zuber-jafri/
April 24, 2012, 4:02 am

By Sruthi Gottipati
Ahsan Jafri, center, addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 1977.Courtesy
of Zuber JafriAhsan Jafri, center, addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad, Gujarat,
1977.

A decade ago, Ahsan Jafri, a former member of parliament, was killed in the
riots that besieged the state of Gujarat. On Feb. 28, 2002, witnesses said that
Muslim women and children sought refuge in Mr. Jafri’s home in the Gulberg
Housing Society, and that he made frantic phone calls seeking help because a mob
that had gathered outside. The police arrived too late, survivors had said, and
Mr. Jafri was killed along with 69 others when the mob set fire to his home. His
widow, Zakia Jafri, filed suit in court in an effort, she says, to find justice.

Earlier this month, a Supreme Court-appointed investigative team said it had
found no evidence against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, whom Ms. Jafri
and others hold accountable for the carnage. Zuber, the youngest of Mr.
Jafri’s three children, lives in the United States with his wife and children.
He recently shared his family’s reactions to the investigative team’s
report, his thoughts on the Indian judicial system, and on his father’s
legacy, with India Ink.
Q.

When did you move to the U.S.? Where do you work?
A.

I moved to the U.S. in 1999. I am the CTO (chief technology officer) for a
private firm in Delaware.
Q.

Are your siblings here with your mother or in the U.S.? Could you tell me a
little bit about them?
A.

My elder brother, Tanveer, is in Surat [a city in Gujarat] and my mother is with
him. My elder sister, Nishrin, is in the U.S. Tanveer is deputy general manager
with L&T while Nishrin is a comptroller with a private company in Delaware.
Q.

What was your reaction to the Special Investigative Team findings?
A.

I think SIT was assigned a task of investigation and they have collected a lot
of data and now it is the court who will decide the future course. The phone
call data collected by [police] officer Rahul Sharma needs to be analyzed
properly to investigate the presence of criminals and officers in the places of
mass killings.

The government of Gujarat, instead of awarding the bravery of Rahul Sharma, has
started a false investigation against the officer. This clearly shows the motive
of the government. It’s trying to hide the truth and is harassing officers
trying to reveal the truth. Interrogation of Modi was a totally one-sided
affair, allowing him to give a false portrait of what happened in 2002 in front
of the world. No counter questions were asked by the officer involved in the
interrogation.

My family has not seen the SIT report or [the amicus curiae, or impartial legal
expert, on the case] Raju Ramachandran’s report so we don’t know the
details. What we understand from the court order is that SIT has found no
evidence against 62 accused, including Modi. This in no way stops the struggle
for justice for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots. Now, the court will have to
decide on the basis of the data collected whether to accept SIT’s
recommendation or start a fresh investigation.
Q.

What are the next steps forward for you and your family?
Zakia Jafri sits inside the remains of her former residence at Gulbarg Society
in Ahmedabad, Feb. 27, 2012, which was one of the worse affected neighborhoods
during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. Ms. Jafri's husband, Ahsan was killed
during the massacre on February 28, 2002.Sam Panthaky/Agence France-Presse —
Getty ImagesZakia Jafri sits inside the remains of her former residence at
Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad, Feb. 27, 2012, which was one of the worse affected
neighborhoods during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. Ms. Jafri’s husband,
Ahsan was killed during the massacre on February 28, 2002.

My mom is a very brave woman, very strong, and she has dedicated this struggle
for truth and justice to my father. Tanveer, my brother, is standing strong
along with her, the entire family is along with her. Teesta Setalvad and
CJP[Citizens for Justice and Peace], along with so many lawyers, have been part
of the struggle for the last 10 years. The resolve has only gotten stronger
after the SIT report. She is not alone in this struggle. There are thousands of
people who have reached out to her for support and are standing up for truth to
come out.

One of the books in my father’s library that got burnt in 2002 was of Martin
Luther King and I still remember him reading to us a quote of King’s: “The
moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We believe
justice will not elude thousands of victims of 2002 riots.
Q.

What have you struggled with since your father has been killed? How have your
initial perceptions changed over the last decade?
A.

While growing up, we were aware of the spreading problem of communalism. Our
house was burnt in 1969 before I was born. My family along with Tanveer and
Nishrin were in camps for a month before my father built the house again and
returned to the same neighborhood. We saw him working tirelessly against the
forces of communalism and ultimately he paid the highest price with his life. I
believe the task of building bridges between different communities affected by
riots has become that much harder because of a lack of remorse and justice in
Gujarat.
Ahsan Jafri with grand children Aniqua (L) and Wasim along with daughter-in-law
Duraiya Jafri in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 1994.Courtesy of Zuber JafriAhsan Jafri
with grand children Aniqua (L) and Wasim along with daughter-in-law Duraiya
Jafri in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 1994.
Q.

What has helped you through this period?
A.

My father’s poetry and the goodness he represented has kept me going. My
mother and my family have given me strength to continue. I always listen to his
poetry in his own voice. It gives me inspiration when feeling alone. He was a
nationalist and his poems reflect his thoughts on nation and the problem of
communalism. These are a few lines from his poem “Mera Watan” [My Country]
and “Qaumi Yakjehti,” [National Unity].

“Mera Watan”

    Geeton Se Teri Zulfon Ko
    Meera Ne Sanwara

    Gautam Ne Sada Di
    Tujhe Nanak Ne Pukara

    Khusro Ne Kai Rangon Se
    Daaman Ko Nikhara

    Har Dil Mein Mohabbat Ki
    Ukhuwat Ki Lagan Hai

    Ye Mera Watan, Mera Watan
    Mera Watan Hai

“Qaumi Yakjehti”

    Apni dagar pe usne kante bicha diye hain
    Khwabon ke sare kheeme us ne jala diye hain
    Ulfat ke sare qisse usne mita diye hain
    Minar dosti ke usne gira diye hain
    Mere watan ke logo bipta bari padi hai

    Mil jul ke sath rehna ellane zindagi hai
    Khushyon ko baat dena farmane zindagi hai
    Ghairon ka dard sehna unwane zindagi hai
    Sab ke kiye ho jeena armane zindagi hai
    Mere watan ke logo bipta badi padi hai

(You can listen to his poems here.)
Q.

Do you believe in the Indian judicial system?
A.

I do and I believe justice will be served ultimately. My father served his
country’s judicial system with distinction as a member of parliament and as a
lawyer all his life. We believe justice has been delayed but justice will not be
denied.
Q.

Do you think the media has got anything wrong in the coverage of your mother’s
case?
A.

I think Indian media has played mostly a positive role in keeping the issue and
struggle for justice alive for the victims. Gujarat government would have closed
all the cases within months if it weren’t for the activists and media bringing
the real facts in front of the people after the riots.

(The interview has been lightly edited.)

=======================================
8. INDIA: GUNS AND INDIA'S SAMAJWADI PARTY
=======================================
Ninan's World
24 Apr 2012
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cartoonpics/12850906.cms
‘Gun culture’ hard to shed for SP
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/244359/gun-culture-hard-shed-sp.html
SP worker fires at official
www.telegraphindia.com/1120327/jsp/nation/story_15300098.jsp
27 Mar 2012 – Lucknow, March 26: A Samajwadi Party worker barged into a Jhansi
district ... Then he asked me if he could show me how to fire a gun.
Samajwadi Party supporters shoot into the air - India - DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_samajwadi-party-supporters-shoot-into-the-a\
ir_1665958
Child dies in Samajwadi candidate's victory celebration firing ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHWxWLMC2RE

=======================================
9. INDIA: THE PAKISTANI REVOLUTIONARY ROCK BAND, LAAL, ROCKS DELHI
=======================================
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2012/04/5030

Hardnews Bureau Delhi

Young Pakistani revolutionary rock band Laal took Delhi by storm even as
hundreds of men and women, young and old, rocked and danced to songs of
legendary rebels and genius Pakistani poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib, who
were jailed for their outspoken verse against military dictatorships, and
injustices of all kinds. Faiz, himself an ardent communist, came alive across
the Delhi landscape, from Hardrock Café in South Delhi on April 19, to the
Press Club of India in Lutyens’ Delhi on April 22, and at the jam-packed amphi
theatre in Habitat Centre the next day.

The amphi theatre show by the fabulous non-conformist band was called
Shaam-e-Laal – A Red Evening, celebrating the great legacy of the struggles by
communists across the many spectrums, with songs for workers, peasants, ordinary
people, and songs of revolution. Like the song which says, “Do what you have
to do, don’t worry about the consequences,” with loud clapping from across
the audience, and young girls and boys dancing, moved by the compassion and
dialectic of the idea of revolutionary transformation in society. Even the Press
Club was packed with journalists and others, with slogans of Laal Salaam
resonating in the night.

Indeed, Laal carries no baggage of the communist past, its orthodox dogmatism or
factional sectarianism; it reinterprets realism of struggle and the continuous
narrative of contemporary times with stunningly modern symbolism, using rock and
fast music to appeal to a refreshing young sensibility. With flute and drums
making a magical synthesis, the sounds of the night were fiery and furious, even
as there was much laughter and happiness. “We are always facing tragedies. So
why not smile a bit, and laugh, and dream, and dance, and rock,” said Taimur
Rahman, lead vocalist of Laal. “Karl Marx said, ‘Revolution is a festival of
the masses’. So why shouldn’t we celebrate this festival.”

    Clearly, the ambience, for instance at the amphi theatre, was that of non
conformism with the performer and the audience becoming one in unision, with no
hierarchies, and no celebrity gimmicks; this was no antiseptic show from the
pulpit

Clearly, the ambience, for instance at the amphi theatre, was that of non
conformism with the performer and the audience becoming one in unision, with no
hierarchies, and no celebrity gimmicks; this was no antiseptic show from the
pulpit. The singer would enter the audience space, and the audience would sing
with him, as the open to sky courtyard resonated with Laal’s favourite songs,
including that of legendary Sufi icon Baba Farid, who walked from Bukhara to
Badaiun in UP, and became a prophet of humanism. The songs celebrated the
synthesis of cultures and communities, opposed religious fundamentalism of all
varieties and stood in solidarity with the struggles of the poorest of the poor.

The evening was rocking from the beginning. A simple banner welcomed Laal while
e-mail messages spread across networks of lovers of the band. Witness the e-mail
message, and the tone of the evening was set: “The Pakistan India People’s
Forum for Peace and Democracy invites you to Shaam - e – Laal,  an evening of
music, poetry and verses to rethink, revive and reinvigorate the poems, music
and voices that steadfastly stand for the rights of the oppressed.” And as
Taimur sang a song of love, asking his beloved to never leave him, because the
path of struggle they have chosen is the path of revolution; he also said that
this song was for peace between India and Pakistan.

    With slogans of Laal Salaam and Inquilab Zindabad rocking the theatre, the
band finally performed the Communist Internationale, their famously fabulous
original adaptation, and every person in the audience sang along, celebrating
the song of revolution and liberation

“Why look for differences all the time? Why not for similarities? I find we
share so much culturally and socially, there is so beauty in this sharing. There
is more difference between Peshawar and Lahore, indeed, while Delhi and Lahore
look and feel so similar.”

With slogans of Laal Salaam and Inquilab Zindabad rocking the theatre, the band
finally performed the Communist Internationale, their famously fabulous original
adaptation, and every person in the audience sang along, celebrating the song of
revolution and liberation. Clapping, dancing, singing, celebrating life and
beauty and the relentless, epical struggles for equality and justice, this was
truly an evening of many colours, especially red. Laal.

=======================================
10. INDIA: PMANE APPEAL TO MAOISTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF MR. ALEX PAUL MENON
=======================================

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
April 25, 2012
Idinthakarai & P. O. 627 104
Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu
Phone: 98656 83735; 98421 54073
koodankulam@...
pushparayan@...

Press Release

PMANE Calls for Immediate Release of Mr. Alex Paul Menon

The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) calls for the immediate
and safe release of Mr. Alex Paul Menon, the District Collector of Sukma in
Chattisgarh, and Mr. Jhina Hikaka, the BJD MLA from the state of Odisha. This
kind of political kidnapping and high-handed behavior is no way to conduct
public affairs in a democratic polity such as ours.

It is our earnest appeal to the various Maoist and Naxalite outfits in the
country to shun violence, join hands with like-minded democratic forces and
channelize their political energy to provide an alternative to the corrupt,
communal and confused mainstream national political parties in India. India is
in dire need of sincere, selfless and committed political workers who have a
clear understanding of popular democracy, independence, sovereignty,
development, and nation’s future.

The Government of India and the state governments should refrain from pursuing
anti-people and pro-corporate policy stance. They should not design and
implement projects that help Indian and foreign capitalists and undermine the
interests of the weaker sections of the national society. These governments
should not shrink the democratic space available to express political dissent
and democratic opposition.

Our ongoing struggle against the Koodankulam nuclear power project (KKNPP) is a
case in point. Our open, transparent, popular and nonviolent struggle has been
treated as something dangerous and anti-national, and more cases have been filed
against our leaders and people than any Maoist or Naxalite group in India today.
More than 56,000 people have been charged with false cases until December 31,
2011 including some 6,000 sedition cases. More cases are being filed every day
even now. It is strange the Indian State deals with the violent and nonviolent
groups in the same way with the same vehemence, vengeance and violence.

Instead of giving in to the machinations of State terrorism and yielding to the
temptations of paying back in the same currency, it may be prudent to enhance
the democratic space that is available to us in India and use it more actively,
creatively and collectively. Only such massive public campaigns of increasing
people’s awareness on public policy issues can bring about the desired changes
in our polity than armed struggles in isolated pockets.

It is all our joint responsibility to increase value and dignity to the life of
all Indians through nonviolent struggles, and nonkilling policies and projects.

The Struggle Committee
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)


INTERNATIONAL
=======================================
11. FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - ROUND 1: ECONOMIC CRISIS AND THE
DEMOCRATISATION OF XENOPHOBIA
=======================================
[translated content from Le Monde and Liberation]

France: The crisis has voted against Sarkozy
by Erik Izraelewicz

(from Le Monde Paris, 23 April 2012)

The first round of the presidential election, which was billed as a referendum
on the fate of outgoing president, was marked by an unprecedented protest vote:
a development which will be a godsend for the far right and a major challenge
for the socialist favourite to win the contest, François Hollande.

The crisis has voted, making its voice heard on a massive scale. The French have
not succumbed to democratic disenchantment. On Sunday 22 April, they went to the
polls in large numbers  [79.47% cast their ballots] on a day which was not
marked by the low turnouts for the European and regional votes of recent years.

We should interpret their actions as an expression and  renewed confirmation of
the predominant role played by the presidential election in our institutional
system and the increasing weight attributed to the presidency in French
politics. In recent years, this has been buoyed not only by the adoption of a
five year presidential term and the decision to have the race for the Elysée
coincide with general elections, but also by the concentration of power which
has been a feature Nicolas Sarkozy’s hyperactive mandate.

Having said that, the high turnout was mainly prompted by dismay and
exasperation at the ongoing economic crisis, rather than enthusiasm for the
political programmes on offer. In his bid for a second term, the current tenant
of the Elysée Palace was desperate to avoid an anti-Sarkozy referendum in the
first round of voting. However, the results speak for themselves: the outgoing
president was unable to mobilise the voters who supported him in 2007, or to
emerge as the leader after the first ballot.

Like the peoples of the Arab world, the French have opted to send a polite but
firm message to their head of state. Let the outgoing outgo: a sentiment that
the crisis has also made a feature of the political landscape in most European
countries in recent years. In France, our compatriots voiced their
dissatisfaction with an imposing surge in support for Marine Le Pen.
Left still not assured of victory on 6 May

The record-breaking performance by the leader of the Front National (who took 
more than 18% of the vote) was clearly the main development in Sunday’s
ballot. The extreme right party has passed another milestone. With her
personality, her style and her proposals, the daughter of the FN’s founder has
succeeded in the drive to detoxify her party’s image which has been one of her
main objectives.

She has also demonstrated a talent, even greater than Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s
[the radical left candidate], for surfing the wave of fear that has swept over
the working class, which has been hardest hit by the crisis, and to take
advantage of an electorate that was seeking a means to voice a resounding
protest. It is certain that she aims to build on this success, and regardless of
who is returned on 6 May, the final winner will have to take this into account.

François Hollande, who topped the first round poll, was another beneficiary of
the popular rejection of Sarkozy, and a trend for tactical voting, which
diverted support from the Front de gauche as well as François Bayrou [the
centrist candidate]. However, it was by no means a runaway victory. The left has
been reinforced by Sunday’s score, but is still not assured of victory on 6
May.

As Nicolas Sarkozy remarked on Sunday night, another campaign is set to begin on
Monday. In the run-up to the second round, the two contestants will attempt to
win over protest voters and in particular the significant number that gave their
backing to the discourse espoused by Marine Le Pen. The best method of
accomplishing this goal is, of course, not to appropriate Le Pen’s ideas, but
to respond to the real fears and real anger expressed by her supporters.

Translated from the French by Mark McGovern
On the web

    Original article at: lemonde.fr

0 0 0

Extreme-right
Marine Le Pen outdoes her father

“Hollande leads, while Le Pen spoils the party”, announces Libération, in
the wake of the first round vote for the French presidential election on Sunday
22 April.

In its editorial, the left wing daily points out that with 6.4 million votes
cast for Marine Le Pen, “the extreme right has achieved an unprecedented level
of strength in France.” Ten years after Jean-Marie Le Pen obtained 4.8 million
votes, which took him into the second round of the presidential election, the
situation is “not as tragic but certainly as worrying. Perhaps even more
worrying”.

For sociologist Sylvain Crépon, interviewed by Libération, Marine Le Pen’s
success, “which is unprecedented on the level of national politics”
demonstrates the impact of the strategy to  “detoxify” her party, involving
the announcement of “a republican basis” for its policies, and a decision to
break “with the old guard of the Front National”.

    Having launched a process of normalisation, she succeeded in presenting the
Front National as an anti-system party which nonetheless wants to be like other
political parties, and thus dispelled its sulphurous image. Thereafter, she
refocused attention on the core concerns – fear of immigration, and a
breakdown in law and order – which have figured large in the provocative
noises made by her father. Two tried and trusted ingredients in a recipe that
has proved to be remarkably successful.

[original source:
http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/2012/04/22/la-presidente-du-front-national-d\
emocratise-la-xenophobie_813633]

==================================
12. Announcements:
==================================

(i)

    STOP THE ORGANIZED KILLING OF THE HAZARA PEOPLE!

    A PUBLIC SEMINAR IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE HAZARA COMMUNITY IN BALOCHISTAN

    Saturday, 28 April, 3:00pm,

    Islamabad Press Club.

    The recent spate of cold-blooded killing of the Hazara community in Quetta is
but one in a series of attacks by sunni militant groups on the largely Shi’a
community of ethnic Hazaras in recent years, particularly since 9/11. In the
already war-torn land of Balochistan, where mutilated bodies of Baloch civilians
are found virtually every day, the consistent targeting of ethnic Hazaras and
the absence of any definitive state action to curb these attacks (despite the
heavy presence of military forces in the province and particularly in Quetta) is
a matter of grave concern for the Hazara people as well as for the future of the
Balochistani peoples- Hazaras, Baloch and Pashtun, all of whom are victims of
this seemingly unending orgy of violence in the Balochistan region. The
systematic nature of these attacks against the Hazara community raises serious
questions about the state’s policy vis-à-vis radical islamist groups and the
use of these groups as counter-weights to radical secular ethnic-nationalist
resistance particularly in the case of Baloch- and potentially Balochistani-
nationalism.

    Though many Pakistani observers see the targeting of the Hazara community as
‘sectarian’ in character, there is reason to be cautious of lumping it
together with recent attacks on the Shi’a community elsewhere in Pakistan. The
Hazara community, residing largely in Quetta but also present in surrounding
districts of Balochistan, has co-existed peacefully with the Baloch and Pashtun
communities in Balochistan since long before the creation of Pakistan. The
attacks on the Hazara community must be placed in the Balochistani context,
particularly in the post-9/11 context as well as in the context of the Baloch
national movement, which the state has been struggling to crush particularly
since its recent upsurge over the last decade.  The persistent violence against
the Hazara community by radical sunni militants who are being allowed to kill
with impunity, and the targeted killings of Hazara leaders, appears then to be
an attempt to further radicalize and fragment Balochistani society along ethnic
and sectarian lines.

    In this time of blood-letting and orchestrated chaos designed to foment
division and hatred, we must stand together to condemn the violence with a
strong message of solidarity and brotherhood across ethnic, sectarian, and
provincial lines. In response to the Hazara community’s worldwide call for
solidarity with the Hazara people, the National Students Federation and Hazara
Students Federation are holding a public seminar to bring to light the plight of
the Hazara community and build the foundations for meaningful, collective
action.

    Speakers:
    Mr. Ahmed Kozhaad, General Secretary, Hazara Democratic Party

    Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, security analyst

    Mr. Sajjad Changezi, Hazara Students Federation

    Ms. Alia Amirali, researcher on Balochistan and General Secretary, National
Students Federation (Punjab)

    Join us!

    On Saturday, 28 April, 3:00pm,
    Islamabad Press Club,
    F-6/1 (near Super Market).

    For more information, please call:
    Sajjad Changezi: 0345-8521901
    Alia Amirali: 0332-5240283


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 28 April 2012 - No. 2745
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Online Petition: Not In Our Name - Against religious extremism in Sri Lanka
2. Pakistan: Goodlooking Jamaat e Islami (Nayyer Khan)
3. Pakistan: HRCP for end to confrontation
4. India: "We condemn the attempt of bodies like Deoband to encroach on our
academic space" - Press Statement by concerned citizens
  + On intimidation of the academia - this time by the Deobandi Ulema (Dilip
Simeon)
5. India: Continuing decline the child sex ratio - draft recommendations of the
NAC Working Group
6. India: Climate of touchiness augurs ill for India (Palash Krishna Mehrotra)
7. India: Petition: Justice for Bathani Tola
8. USA: No visa for Narendra Modi

International:
9. Tunisia: Salafis call for death of Tunisian TV boss after "Persepolis" airing
10. Moroccan Muslim Brotherhood PM refuses to talk with female Belgian minister
11. UK: Don’t ban alcohol �" we'll get blame, say Muslim students (Anna
Davis)
12. USA: Mississippi law may force its last surviving abortion clinic to shut
(Rupert Cornwell)
13. USA: Arizona Sets Dangerous New Standard for Hostility to Women, Doctors,
and Reproductive Rights
14. The US Labor Movement and China (Alberto C. Ruiz)

=======================================
1. ONLINE PETITION: NOT IN OUR NAME - AGAINST RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN SRI LANKA
=======================================
https://notinournamesl.wordpress.com/category/english/

What happened

A week ago, a violent a mob of about 2,000 Sinhalese, including a group of
Buddhist monks led by the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu chapter Inamaluwe
Sumangala thero, stormed and vandalised a mosque in Dambulla. The mosque was
declared an illegal structure, but it is unclear how this far this is accurate.

Several videos, broadcast on national TV in Sri Lanka and now circulating
globally on YouTube capturing the violence beggars belief. There are members of
the sangha engaged in physical violence and verbal abuse. There is a member of
the sangha who disrobes and exposes himself, in public, in front of the mosque.
In one video, Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala thero suggests that the maniacal mob is
actually a shramadaanaya, and that destroying the mosque is something that they
should in fact be helped by the government.

Aside from the physical violence, which includes scuffles with Army and Police
personnel, the derogatory and racist language employed by Ven. Inamaluwe
Sumangala thero and other Buddhist monks during the attack against the mosque,
and a nearby Hindu kovil, is appalling. Though the violence of the Sinhala idiom
employed loses much in translation, Groundviews put into English the most
disquieting comments for a wider appreciation. More startling are anti-Muslim,
Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist Facebook groups that have thousands of active
members and with content too inflammatory to even translate.

A week after this violence,it has not received the condemnation it deserves from
the President, government or mainstream media. Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala thero,
perhaps reacting to the indelible record of violence captured in film, attempted
to suggest to the BBC that the footage of the mob broadcast on TV was doctored.
Ironically, his own media websites showcase the same violence, in greater
detail.  A Press Release issued on 25th April from the Government Information
Department, only in Sinhala, strangely referred to the violence as a ‘minor
misunderstanding’, yet reiterated that Sri Lanka is “a multi-religious,
multi-ethnic society” and that “in addition to respecting their
constitutional obligations, as well as the policies and principles of the
government, all Sri Lankans have a long standing tradition of being respectful
of each other”.

What is the fall-out?

The photographs, audio and video recordings of the violence in Dambulla have
gone global. They cannot be erased. Incensed by this incident and those who led
it, there are now growing threats of violence by sections of the Muslim
community, though there are many voices, including the Muslim Council, who are
calling for calm, and a more reasoned approach to the transformation of this
conflict, noting that the actions of a few are not indicative of the nature of
the majority.

There is a real danger that unaddressed or if simply glossed over, this militant
religious extremism can very quickly and very seriously undermine Sri Lanka’s
post-war reconciliation, and contribute to new, more geographically dispersed
violent conflict. Extremists from both the Sinhala-Buddhist community and the
Muslim community can also use this incendiary incident in Dambulla to stoke up
communal tensions, leading to heightened fear and anxiety.

What can we do?
The shameful behaviour and expression employed by the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri
Dambulu chapter, along with the monks he led and the crowd of thugs is not
remotely associated with or reflective of the philosophy of the Dhamma, the
teachings of the Buddha, or the way in which a Buddhist monk is supposed to
behave and speak. Many online have already expressed their dismay and deep
concern over the actions of a few, placing Sri Lanka in the media spotlight
again for all the wrong reasons.

We have a choice, but time is running out. Speak up. Put your name in a comment
below, in English, Sinhala or Tamil. Say that last week’s violence was not in
your name. Renounce a fringe lunacy and resist extremism. By putting your name
below, oppose mob violence and bigotry as ways to resolve disputes.

If we have to fight, let’s fight to keep Sri Lanka free of extremists who
threaten not only what they seek to destroy, but also who and what they claim to
represent.

Put your name down, resist violence, pass on the message

https://notinournamesl.wordpress.com/category/english/


=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: ‘GOOD LOOKING JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI’
by Nayyer Khan
=======================================
(Viewpoint)

Both Jamat-e-Islami and Pakistan's deep state were looking for a charismatic
character, who had a glitz of the Western culture and a mindset of an Islamist.
One senior memeber of Jamat-e-Islami, namely Hafeea ullah Niazi effectively
solved this problem by finding the right person for this job. He happened to be
the brother-in-law of Cricket's super star, male sex symbol and Casanova of
International repute, Imran Khan.

The Jamaat Islami (JI) won Pakistan state’s patronage to be given a role in
home politics for the first time during the brief, yet eventful tenure of
military ruler Yahya Khan, when designing of state’s vital policy matters was
assigned to then minister for Information and National Affairs, Major General
Sher Ali Khan. Yahya Khan was no different from his predecessors �" starting
from Jinnah to Ayub Khan �" who were hardly observant of Islamic practices in
their personal lives; but had used political Islam as a major tool for defining
national identity and nation-building. They wished to keep militant Islamism
under control to prevent it from destabilizing domestic politics; yet direct it
against India and also to use it to counter the leftist and nationalist dominant
trends that were at the time working against what they deemed the Islamic
ideology underpinning the state. In Sher Ali’s scheme of things the
“ideology of Pakistan and glory of Islam” became pet words of our military
leadership, which projected the army itself as ultimate defender of the
‘ideology of Pakistan’. Learning the lesson from public agitation against
Ayub Khan, Sher Ali convinced Yahya that army should maintain its mythical image
before the people as a final savior of the nation whenever national interests so
demanded and, therefore, control the national politics from behind the scene; to
avoid any situation in which people of Pakistan would ever confront the army
directly. For this purpose a weak political government was needed to arise from
the first general elections in Pakistan, scheduled to take place by the end of
1970, to be used as a fig leaf to army's oligarchy.

As per Sher Ali plans the results of the polls were not to be manipulated
during; but before the polls by providing the state’s assistance to
religio-political parties - especially JI �" in shape of financial and
propaganda support. The substantial funds of Ayub Khan’s faction of the Muslim
League confiscated by the Yahya’s Martial law regime were diverted to JI, in
addition to money raised by IB from the industrialists and business class to
fund the election campaign of Islamic parties (Hasan Zaheer ‘The Separation of
East Pakistan’ Oxford University Press. pp 124-125). Funds were also poured in
JI’s pouch by the Saudi government as well as Saudi sponsored Rabita al-Alam
al-Islami.

Following the journalists strike in April-May 1970, media purification and
purging was carried out by Sher Ali to replace leftist and secularist media
persons with those from JI’s cadres, both in state and private owned media,
thereby amplifying Islamic overtones. Emphasis was made by JI, backed by state
propaganda machinery, that Pakistan’s ideology was threatened by
‘non-religious’ socialist and secularists like Z.A. Bhutto and Sheikh
Mujeeb-ul-Rahman.

By doing all this, Pakistan’s deep state was trying to kill two birds with one
stone viz preventing emergence of a strong popular government by ensuring a
split mandate in the polls, so that army could always play the role of a
moderator or a referee amongst wrangling politicians, and keep Islamists’
influence in the state’s matters to maintain the national ideology which had
little room for secularist views. (For details see Ayesha Jalal’s ‘State of
Martial rule’ Cambridge University Press, 1990).

However, against all the speculations of intelligence agencies, the results of
the election astonished everybody. The secularist ultra-nationalist Awami League
and centrist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) swept the elections in East and West
Pakistan respectively. The JI altogether secured only 7 out of 440 National
Assembly seats. The Jamiat Ulema Islam �" which was a less favored Islamist
party for the establishment �" did little better due to its alliance with
left-wing parties instead of other Islamists.

The chief architect of the election plans, General Sher Ali, was extremely
disappointed with election results and resigned in disgust. The establishment
had miserably failed to foresee that the bearded bespectacled oldies of JI with
flat expressions were no match for mesmerizing personalities of flamboyant
Bhutto and firebrand Mujeeb, to attract the populace of Pakistan.
During Z.A. Bhutto’s reign JI remained opposed to the political government;
but maintained its cooperation with the security establishment. Bhutto was an
Islamist too like preceding rulers of Pakistan. Islamism is a term given to
political Islam in which its protagonists do not necessarily have to be
practicing Muslims. With his ambitions for Pan-Islamic world and ‘Islamic
bomb’ and his coupling of religion with state in the 1973 constitution, there
is no doubt that Bhutto was one of the greatest Islamists ever. However, while
he wanted to use both Mullah and Military for strategic depth and other covert
plans at the international level, he was not willing to allow either of them to
have any say in domestic affairs. This deepened the rivalry between the security
establishment and PPP, while drawing JI closer to the former. The JI was an
important tool of deep state of Pakistan in its Central Asia plans, starting
from Afghanistan and extended to Muslim majority Central Asian states, which
were the part of the USSR and even to East Turkistan (Xinjiang). Xinjiang became
a lower priority though, in consideration of the growing Pak-China relationship.
Afghanistan was on the top of the list. Following Daud’s crackdown on
Jamaat-e-Islami Afghanistan in 1973, its leadership fled to Pakistan, where it
was initially hosted by JI Pakistan. Shortly after, however, both the security
establishment and political government of Pakistan welcomed and patronized it
for Islamist insurgencies in Afghanistan.

Qazi tries to make JI a populist party of the people

After Zia-ul-Haq’s coup, the JI entered the corridors of power through the
backdoor by having strong representation in his hand-picked cabinet. It
supported and campaigned for ‘yes’ vote in Zia’s infamous referendum of
Dec, 1984. However, in the election of Feb, 1985 held on nonparty basis the
members of JI contesting as individuals, once again bit the dust, this time at
the hands of locally influential politicians.

Nevertheless, Zia’s tenure totally transformed JI from a meek looking and
docile bunch of molvies into violent, aggressive and hostile group of people
always ready to wage armed Jihad by virtue of its joint operations with the
Pakistani establishment in the Afghan Jihad (1978-88). Although JI student wing
Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) always had these tendencies, which it had, besides
other occasions, demonstrated to the fullest during 1971 Pakistan Army
operations in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Now the JI got even closer to
Pakistan’s security establishment.

Under Maududi and Mian Tufail Mohammad the JI maintained a very stringent and
restricted procedure for qualifying as its member. It would not go after cheap
popularity at the cost of its orthodoxy and inflexible principles. However, it
all started changing after Qazi Hussain Ahmed was elected as JI Ameer (Chief) in
1987. Qazi wanted to shed off JI’s image as a party with limited appeal and
circumscribed entry for general public. He sought to become a leader of masses.
He would not mind resorting to vulgar publicity and cheap means to popularize
himself and JI, which his predecessors would never like to do. This was the time
when aging JI veterans were giving way to fresh blood of IJT old boys. Qazi and
his team planed and implemented publicity and promotion tactics laced with
catchy slogans and political gimmicks. For instance, before the 1988 elections
every other wall in the country was chalked with the slogan “Zalimo! Qazi
a’a raha hai” (Oh oppressors! Qazi is approaching). In 1990 the election
symbol of IJI (right wing multi-party alliance of which JI was a part) was
bicycle. During election campaign, Qazi led bicycle rallies in various cities by
riding a bicycle himself. However, a moulvi wearing shalwar and Jinnah cap with
his beard swaying in the breeze while paddling bicycle hardly looked attractive
to the general public of Pakistan, which has strong tendency towards the
personality cult. In 1997, Qazi launched a nationwide campaign to expand the
party membership, which was now open for almost everyone.

However, despite all efforts by Qazi to win popularity in the masses, the JI
failed to make an impressive show in each election that it participated in, with
the exception of one held in 2002 in which the leadership of both mainstream
parties viz PPP and PML-N were forced to stay out of the scene by General
Pervaiz Musharaf.

JI has a significant influence in Pakistan’s domestic politics due to its
strong representation in the media, ability to show street power and its
connection with both the security establishment and militant outfits. However,
as far as its vote bank is concerned, it remains on the lower side. The main
reason inter alia could be that the JI carries a tag of Deobandi Islam, which
majority of Pakistani’s population is not the follower of. The other major
reason is that although general public in Pakistan is very narrow minded and
conservative in its religious outlook; yet it is very liberal and secular when
it comes to personal life style. It wishes death on ‘Kafir’ (infidel) India;
but cannot stop watching Indian movies. It likes to hate the USA with a passion;
but has a similar passion for an Americanized way of living.

Mutation of JI

Both Pakistan’s establishment and JI have been realizing the need of a front
organization with a moderate semblance for quite some time now, which has the
potential to win popularity in the masses. This desire is reflected in JI’s
creation of Pasban in the early 1990s. Its name was changed to Shabab-e-Milli
when Pasban was banned in 1995 after its involvement in violent acts by the then
government of Nawaz Sharif. Apparently these were independent organizations; yet
it was but too obvious that they were JI protégés. The public postures of
these organizations were more of a Pakistani nationalist than Islamic. To arouse
public enthusiasm, patriotic songs were played with music in Pasban’s rallies,
which was against the traditional JI culture. Cricket world cup victory of 1992
was celebrated by Pasban all over Pakistan by holding Junaid Jamshaid’s
Pepsi-Pakistan music shows. Pasban was publicized in all possible ways. It,
however, lacked a leader possessing magnetism necessary to attract the general
public. Both the JI and Pakistan’s deep state were looking for a charismatic
character like Jinnah and (Z.A) Bhutto, who had a glitz of the Western culture
and a mindset of an Islamist. One senior JI member, who had previously been the
Nazim (head) of IJT at the Punjab University namely Hafeez ullah Niazi
effectively solved this problem by finding the right person for this job. He
happened to be the brother-in-law of cricket’s super star, male sex symbol and
Casanova of International repute, Imran Khan.

JI’s early nurturing of Imran

It was easy for Hafeez Ullah to preach Maudaudi’s Islamic ideology to Imran,
who, after overly enjoying the best of this world was seeking the same for the
other too. Imran retired from cricket first time in 1987, after his team’s
defeat in world cup’s semi final at Lahore, but reversed his decision at the
insistence of General Zia ul Haq. After winning the world cup of 1992 as captain
of Pakistan’s cricket team he attained the status of a national hero, after
which he finally hung up his cricket shoes. A series of articles written by
Imran from 1987 to 1992, in which he criticized the Western culture and British
Empire and emphasized on promotion of one’s own Islamic-Nationalistic
identity, reflected a deep influence of JI’s brainwashing. The JI got hold of
Imran in the early stages of his reversion to his native culture.

Imran, who wished to remain in the public eye even after retiring from cricket,
started building a non-profit cancer hospital in Lahore. Pasban helped him in
organizing the fund raising campaign for this purpose, after Punjab government
of Nawaz Sharif donated free land for the proposed project. Here an event
exposed yet another traditional hypocritical double standard of the JI. Since
the mid 1980s, Pakistani artists had been performing in shows in India. In
return, a few event organizers and show biz promoters in Pakistan tried to
invite Indian artists to perform in Pakistan too. However, those proposed events
had to be cancelled due to vociferous threats by Pasban to forcibly stop any
such programs. But, when in 1995, Imran invited Indian movie stars such as
Rekha, Vinod Khana, Sonu Walia, Kabir Bedi etc to perform in Lahore for the fund
raising for his hospital, Pasban did not object to it even a bit. Similarly, JI
has always been doing character assassination of its rivals, by finding faults
in their personal lives. For instance, in 1970s the JI targeted “un-Islamic
life style” of Z.A. Bhutto. In public speeches and slogans in rallies; it
called Bhutto “sharabi” and “za’ni” (buzzer and adulterer). However,
Imran’s colorful life and his established love-child never bothered the JI. In
the case of Bhutto, however, the JI went so below the dignity as to allege that
his mother was a Hindu. When in 1994 the critic of Western culture and British
aristocracy, Imran married a lady from British Jewish elitist back ground, it
did not raise JI’s eyebrow.

Making of PTI under JI’s fostering

There is little doubt about it that PTI is a hybrid of JI and the security
establishment in general and its strong Jihadist segment in particular.
Imran’s links with the JI are too obvious. Initially Qazi deployed expert
campaign designers of JI, Mansoor Siddiqui (creator of “Zalimo….” slogan
for Qazi), Shams Raza Khan and Mohammad Ali Durrani along with two of the
founding members of Pasban, Shabeer Sial and Mahmood ul Raheed (elected as
member of the Punjab Assembly on JI/IJI ticket in 1988), to help Imran organize
his campaign for 1997 election. The JI itself boycotted that election. Shabeer
Sial later served PTI as its president of Lahore, while Mahmood ul Rasheed
presently holds this position.

Ejaz Chaudhry, Vice President and Incharge Youth Affairs of PTI, considered to
be the closest adviser to Imran, is an ex-JI man and son-in-law of Madudi’s
immediate JI successor, Mian Tufail Muhammad. Another VP of PTI Abdul Hafeez
Khan too is an ex-IJT Nazim (head) of Punjab University.

Since its inception till present day, the governing body of PTI has been overly
populated by ex-members or sympathizers of the JI. Usually two parties develop
rivalry, if members of one are snatched by the other. However, PTI and the JI
are hand in hand together as JI members left the JI and joined PTI on the behest
of JI, under an orchestrated infiltration of an up and coming party. Not only
was Imran quick to forgive IJT when its workers manhandled him at the Punjab
University in Nov. 2007; but the person he appointed as Chief of PTI’s student
wing (ISF), Ehsan Niazi, is also an ex-IJT man. Therefore, the students running
from IJT because of its hoodlumism and joining ISF will once again find
themselves under an ex-IJT man.

As elections draw near, the growing popularity of PTI will attract opportunists
from all political backgrounds. However, PTI will most likely retain its core
group that has JI’s ideology deep seated in its heart and mind.

PTI connections with the Jihadists

During 1995-1996, just before the launching of PTI, Imran had numerous meetings
with General Hamid Gul. On one’s reviewing leading news papers of that time,
one finds them full of speculations that Imran and Gul were jointly launching a
party to provide alternative leadership to those fed up with bipartisan
politics. It did not happen after all, probably to avoid exposure of Imran’s
close links with former members of the security establishment who were still
close to Jihadi outfits.
However, Lt. General Mujeeb-ul-Rehman, who had served as secretary information
during Zia-ul-Haq’s regime and said to have close links with the security
establishment and Gul Hameed, was one of the founding members of PTI who went on
to become its secretary general. Presently one of the central PTI leaders, Ahmad
Awais is Gul Hameed’s nephew (one who lost Supreme Court bar election to Asma
Jahangir).

In 1997, soon after the launching of PTI, Imran Khan toured Chechnya where, for
one week, he was the guest of Mujahideen rebel Leader Aslan Maskhadov, who would
later in 1999 go on to institute full sharia law in Chechnya and who was at that
time the President of Chechnya.

The soft or apologetic stance of PTI on the Taliban issue is also a well known
fact. Imran has been opposing Military operations against the Taliban and trying
to justify the Taliban movement as “Pushtoon nationalist resistance against
occupation forces.” He is also on record defending Taliban’s way of
‘justice’. He has been one voice with Islamist parties on the issues of war
on terror, drone attacks, Aafia Siddiqui, Raymod Davis etc.

Imran’s right hand man Ejaz Chaudhry has close links with fanatic sectarian
organizations like Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP aka LeJ). Recently, he was one
of the speakers at their seminar on Usman-e-Ghani Martyrdom Day at the Lahore
Press Club on Nov 15, 2011. He actively participated in the rallies of another
extremist organization Aalmi Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatem-e-Nabuwat (AMTKN),
notorious for its extreme hatred and incitement to violence against Ahmadiyya
minority. Ejaz Chaudhry took the podium at a rally held by AMTKN in favor of
Mumtaz Qadri (the self-confessed killer of Salman Taseer) “where he declared
that he speaks for Imran Khan when he says that 295 C is a settled matter in
Pakistan and is a godly law that no one should dare touch”. His discourse on
alleged involvement of the CIA and RAW in the PNS Mehran attack is identical to
TTP-SSP-LeJ-JI rhetoric.

When in Nov 2007 Imran was arrested protesting against the declaration of
emergency by Gen. Musharaf and detained in D.I. Khan Jail, then TTP’s
President Baitullah Mehsud threatened Pakistan government that Taliban would
blow-up the D.I. Khan Jail if Imran was not released in 24 hours. His statement
appeared in all leading news papers. Imran actually did get released by GOP
within 24 hours of Mehsud’s statement. Later on Oct 02, 2008 when Baitullah
Mehsud made a public appearance in South Waziristan, the local president of PTI
Toofan Burki garlanded him and put a traditional pagri (turban) upon his head.

Shireen Mazari (also known as Lady Taliban), the Spokesperson and Adviser on
Foreign Affairs for PTI, is a paranoid anti-US and anti Indian academic. She is
a female version of Hamid Gul and Zaid Hamid for her advocacy of conspiracy
theories in the media. She writes a regular column for the website run by Ahmed
Quraishi who being a close soul brother of Zaid Hamid gives him a run for his
money in promoting baseless conspiracy theories to blame atrocities and actions
of the Taliban on others. Currently they are blaming the Rabbani’s
assassination on the CIA and RAW. Quraishi is also infamous for promoting the
faked wikileaks cables, getting caught out in that scam. Hosted on that website
it is no surprise that she has been pushing the conspiracy theory of the
involvement of CIA and/or RAW in attacks on Mehran base, which is contrary to
the finding of slain journalist Saleem Shahzad, who exposed the involvement
Al-Qaida and its secret cell in Navy in that whole episode �" a revelation that
cost him his life.

Shireen Mazari is said to have close connections with the security
establishment. She is a regular lecturer at the National Defense College (NDC);
where her specialized subject is Islamic ideology. If the curriculum of the
‘educational revolution’ that Imran Khan is talking about to bring in
Pakistan, is going to be designed by likes of Mazari, then our schools will
produce more Taliban than even madrasas could do.

Will PTI deliver?

In his most-talked-about recent rally in Lahore, Imran Khan said nothing new;
but pushed the single-point thesis of the establishment in which the entire
problems of the country are attributed to the corruption of the politicians.
This is the agitprop that the deep state of Pakistan has been amplifying through
media since restoration of the democratic system in 1988 and on the pretext of
which many elected governments were dismissed half way through their mandated
period to rule the country during the 1990’s. Imran Khan only strengthened the
belief of a common man that corruption of politicians really is the actual cause
of all his miseries, which is only a quarter of the truth. The hyperbole of this
overstatement has always been aimed at playing down and concealing the root
cause of the country’s actual distress, which in fact is the jingoism and
martial plans of our establishment, eating up the country’s limited resources.
Also, bigot Mullah, is the other big obstacle in nation’s progress. Imran Khan
represents the elements responsible for these evils. This disparate nation is
once again seeking remedy of its problems from the source of the problems
itself. If Imran Khan now has the cure of the problems of the country, then the
JI always had it. In that case people of Pakistan have been fools not to have
ever elected the JI to power.

[The above post is also available at:
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/04/pakistan-good-looking-jamaat-e-islami.htm\
l]

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: HRCP FOR END TO CONFRONTATION
=======================================

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:54 AM PDT

Lahore, April 26: While commenting on the Supreme Court verdict in the contempt
case against the Prime Minister, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
has called for an end to confrontation between the state organs. In a statement
issued today the commission said:

“While it is gratifying to note that the Supreme Court held its hand while
sentencing Prime Minister Gilani, nobody can be happy that matters came to the
point that the head of an elected government was convicted of and sentenced for
contempt of court and that the court could not avoid making its decision
controversial. That the situation resulted from the maximal and rigid positions
taken by the two essential pillars of the state �" the executive and the
judiciary �" can only be regretted. The executive earned no credit by
apparently defying the apex court’s orders, which must be accepted even when
they do not seem to be correct or sound, and only time will tell what cause has
been promoted by the judiciary by belabouring the executive, out of the hundreds
of issues on which it is liable to be chastised, on the issue of its own
contempt. ‘The tendency to treat what is legally permissible as mandatory
needs to be reviewed and greater reliance placed on the principle that all
institutions must work not only within their constitutional limits but also
adopt policies and postures that strengthen each other. Unfortunately the matter
between the state institutions does not look like ending soon. It is hardly
necessary to point out that Pakistan needs both justice and democracy in ample
measure and that justice without democracy will be as inadequate a dispensation
as democracy without justice. The people who have been kept on tenterhooks for
week after week only wish to see the end of a confrontation that is looking more
and more ungainly. They must not be disappointed.

(Zohra Yusuf)
Chairperson

=======================================
4. INDIA: "WE CONDEMN THE ATTEMPT OF BODIES LIKE DEOBAND TO ENCROACH ON OUR
ACADEMIC SPACE" - PRESS STATEMENT
=======================================
(i) http://www.sacw.net/article2662.html

27 April 2012

Resist the Climate of Intimidation in Academics

It is a matter of deep distress that a threat from Darul Uloom Deoband has
forced Prabha Parmar , a research scholar at the Chaudhary Charan Singh
University to change the topic of her post-doctoral research: Use of magic and
realism in the major novels of Salman Rushdie,Amitav Ghosh and Vikram Seth.
Taking strong exception to the UGC's decision to award a post-doctoral
fellowship to the scholar on a topic that included Rushdie’s writings, Darul
Uloom Deoband demanded “immediate remedial steps to correct the high
impropriety.” Terming the award an act of ‘glorification’ of Salman
Rushdie, the seminary asked for the writer to be blacklisted and for the award
to be cancelled with immediate effect.

The atmosphere of fear and intimidation created by this statement led Meerut
University to cancel the fellowship. Later the scholar withdrew her research
proposal.

This is yet another assault on the space of scholarship and free enquiry which
represents the essential character of a university. In recent months there have
been many instances of academic institutions succumbing to threats issued by
religious and sectarian bodies and withdrawing texts and films or modifying
syllabi or curricula to please them. The point at issue is not the controversial
nature of the text, because freely debating such texts is the very purpose of
intellectual inquiry. Rather, the crucial point is the climate of intimidation
and the thinly-disguised threat of violence that informs the language of those
making such demands. They constantly remind us that their sentiments are
inflamed enough to spark off bloodshed. They crush the spirit of inquiry by
intimidating those who disagree with them. They assume the fake title of
representatives of this or that community to enforce their claims. And our
spineless authorities allow them to do this with impunity. This time it is the
Deoband ulema who have claimed yet another academic victim.

We condemn the attempt of bodies like Deoband to encroach on our academic space.
It is time for all Indian academicians and intellectuals who believe in the
freedom of thought to firmly defend our right to free enquiry and the pursuit of
knowledge. We appeal to Meerut University and the UGC to stand by the scholar
and encourage her to pursue her research on a topic of her choice.

1.      Aditya Nigam, CSDS

2.      Amlan Dasgupta, Jadavpur Unv

3.      Aniket Alam, Senior Assistant Editor, Economic and Political Weekly.

4.      Anita Cherian

5.      Apoorvanand , Professor, DU

6.      Arma Ansari, ANHAD

7.      Arshad Ajmal, Sahulat, delhi

8.      Asha Bhagat

9.      Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, writer

10.  Biraj Patnaik, Right To Food campaign

11.  Dhruva Narayan, Managing Editor, Daanish Books

12.  Dilip Simeon

13.  Furqan Qamar, VC Central Unv of Himachal Pradesh

14.  Gauhar Raza, scientist, poet

15.  Gautam Bhan

16.  Harsh kapoor

17.  Irfan Khalifa, television journalist

18.  Ishwar Dost , Asst. Prof., CSSEIP, Goa University.

19.  J Devika, Centre for development studies, Trivandrum, Kerala.

20.  Jairus Banaji

21.  Jamal Kidwai

22.  Jyoti Punwani

23.  Jyotirmay Sharma

24.  Kausar Wizarat

25.  Kavita Panjabi, Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla

26.  Kavita Srivastava, PUCL National Secretary

27.  Khairunnisa Pathan, Parwaaj

28.  Khurshid Anwar

29.  Mahmood Farooqui, Dastango

30.  Mahtab Alam, civil rights activist and journalist

31.  Manoj Mitta, Journalist

32.  Mary E John,

33.  Mehtab Alam

34.  Moinak Biswas

35.  Momin Latif

36.  Mukul Sharma, Writer and Researcher

37.  Musab Iqbal, Editor, newzfirst.com

38.  Naseem Mansuri, Niswan

39.  Naseem Shaikh, Niswan

40.  Nasiruddin Haider Khan, Journalist

41.  Naveen Kishore

42.  Nayanjot Lahiri, professor, DU

43.  Nilanjana Gupta, Professor of English, Jadavpur University, Kolkata

44.  Nirantar, Resource Centre for Gender & Education

45.  Nivedita Menon, JNU

46.  Noorjahan Ansari, Niswan

47.  Noorjahan Diwan, ANHAD

48.  omair anas
,cwas/sis jnu

49.  Parthasarthi Bahumik, Jadavpur Unv

50.  Prof Rama Kant Agnihotri (Rtd., Univ of Delhi)

51.  Purwa Bharadwaj

52.  Ramchandra Guha

53.  Rehana Qureshi, Nyayagrah

54.  Rohan D'Souza

55.  S.Irfan Habib, historian

56.  Satya Shivaramn

57.  Satish Deshpande, DSE, DU

58.  Semeen  Ali

59.  Shabnam Hashmi, social activist, Anhad

60.  Shakeel Shaikh, Ahmedabad

61.  Shamina Diwan, Parwaaj

62.  Sharifa Chhipa, Niswan

63.  Sheba george, Sahr waru, Gujarat

64.  Shivam vij, journalist, delhi

65.  Shuddhabrata Sengupta, artist/writer

66.  Sohail Hashmi, Writer, Film Makerli

67.  Sucheta Bhattacharjee

68.  Usman Shaikh, Nyayagrah

69.  Waqar Qazi, Social Activist, Anhad, Gujarat

70.  Zafar Syed, banker, Mumbai

o o o

(ii) On intimidation of the academia - this time by the Deobandi Ulema (Dilip
Simeon)

Dear friends, this is a note I've written on the latest act of academic
intimidation - this time by the Deobandi Ulema.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2135170/Deoband-heat-forc\
es-university-scrap-paper-controversial-author-Salman-Rushdie.html?ito=feeds-new\
sxml

NB: Over the past four months, the Deoband Ulema has contributed to the climate
of intolerance and religious bigotry in India. First by opposing Rushdie's
presence at the Jaipur Literature Festival, and now by sabotaging a perfectly
legitimate subject for research. In the first instance they succeeded by riding
on the backs of various hooligans disguised as 'Muslim leaders', and now by
presenting themselves as the self-appointed representatives of 'hurt sentiment'
- that tried and tested weapon of communal politicians of all colours. (Witness
the hue and cry over AK Ramanujan's Many Ramayanas). They want Rushdies work to
be excluded from bona-fide literary research, even if the research does not
explicitly take up The Satanic Verses. In Jaipur, there were threats of violence
- with talk of 'rivers of blood' etc. The Ulema ought to have condemned such
statements in clear and explicit terms, but we did not hear of it. We only heard
of their sentiments. After this precedent, the Deoband Ulema can continue
dictating our research programmes indefinitely.

By any sensible standard of reasoning, to research something does not imply
'glorification'. If I study various versions of the Ramayana, this does not
imply that I'm glorifying this or that version. If I study the bombardment of
Hiroshima, this does not mean I approve of atomic warfare. The study of Mein
Kampf does not imply an admiration of Adolf Hitler. If I read Golwalkar's or VD
Savarkar's writings, it does not follow that I sympathise with the RSS. Studying
Pol Pot does not make the researcher a proponent of genocide. The Deoband Ulema
should reflect on the damage they are doing to the very basis of academic
research by citing 'hurt sentiment' to oppose a legitimate literary research
programme.

It's ironic that in India today we can study the ideas of mass murderers, Nazis,
fascists, racists, imperialists, communalists etc etc., but Deoband will not let
us study Rushdie. Wonderful! I suggest the Ulema examine the compatibility of
their religious norms and sentiments with the brutal treatment of Asiya Bibi, a
worker and mother of five children, condemned to hang on mere hearsay; and the
acquittal of the men who assaulted Mukhtar Mai. The intellectuals of Deoband
need to understand that by raising such issues repeatedly, they contribute to
the fascist degeneration of the Indian polity - Dilip

http://dilipsimeon.blogspot.in/2012/04/academic-research-on-rushdies-literary.ht\
ml

=======================================
5. INDIA: THE DECLINE IN THE CHILD SEX RATIO - DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NAC
WORKING GROUP
=======================================

Government of India
National Advisory Council

20th April, 2012

The decline in the child sex ratio (0-6 years), as reported by the Census of
India, from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 914 females per 1,000
males in 2011 - the lowest since independence - is cause for alarm and urgency.
The situation has worsened, despite the existence of a law
banning the use of medical diagnostic technology for sex selection., several
cash incentive schemes, and some mass media messages on the issue.
Taking note of this development, the NAC constituted a Working Group of its
Members on the subject. The NAC Working Group held three national consultations
on different aspects of this issue.
---

To download the draft recommendations of the Working Group.
(English Version http://nac.nic.in/pdf/gsr_draft.pdf> )
Comments may be sent to the Convenors of the Working Group of NAC by 6th May,
2012 by email at [image: wgs-gsr[at]nac[dot]nic[dot]in]

or by post to
Secretary,
National Advisory Council
2 Moti Lal Nehru Place,
Akbar Road, New Delhi -110011.

=======================================
6. INDIA: CLIMATE OF TOUCHINESS AUGURS ILL FOR INDIA
by Palash Krishna Mehrotra
=======================================
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/climate-of-touchiness-or-new-hypersensitivity\
-in-india/1/185534.html

New Delhi, April 22, 2012 | UPDATED 11:07 IST

Mamata's West Bengal is getting itself a reputation. First, a political
scientist was imprisoned for the cardinal crime of sharing cartoons of the CM on
Facebook.

A few days later, the West Bengal Board of Censorship banned posters of the
film, Hate Story. One poster, deemed to be 'obscene and provocative', featured
the bare back of an actress with a pistol dangling in the foreground.

The ban was upheld by the Calcutta High Court; six other posters of the film
were passed, provided the image of the back was blotted with blue ink. Vivek
Agnihotri, the bewildered director of the film, is on record saying: "I'm
surprised by the choice of blue ink over black. I guess these people had 'blue'
film on their minds or maybe blue ink is cheaper".

Phenomenon

But this column is not about Mamata's Bengal, though her state has been at the
forefront of this 'movement' I call The New Hypersensitivity. As we speak, her
crack team is busy infiltrating social networking sites, looking for images and
content that lampoon the leader. The Congress too banned The Red Sari, a novel,
for it was felt that it portrayed the Supreme Leader, in a bad light. Peter
Heehs was kept on tenterhooks for his visa - one of several examples of our
intolerance, in this case, regarding Sri Aurobindo. The Indian government has
repeatedly asked sites like YouTube to remove 'objectionable content', and
backed it with the threat that in case of noncompliance, it will ask the sites
to relocate their servers to India, a move that will enable the government to
exercise tighter control.

The New Hypersensitivity is everywhere. It seems that our touchiness is directly
proportionate to economic liberalisation. The more liberalised the economy gets,
the more hypersensitive we are to remarks about our lives. At this rate, our
touchiness will go through the roof once third generation reforms are
introduced. Thankfully, according to Kaushik Basu, such reforms are not due
until 2014; we can rest easily for the time being - our sensitivity levels
should remain stable for now.

Ironically, in this climate of touchiness, the Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi, has
emerged as an unlikely beacon of liberalism, both economic and moral. Modi has
not bothered about what venom people are spewing against him on Facebook and
other social networking sites. He has not gone on a banning spree. Maybe he is
too thick skinned to bother about caricatures and cartoons and limericks - and
that is the way it should be. It's a lesson other Indian politicians can learn
from him.

On a serious note, the New Hypersensitivity raises some important questions
about the kind of people we are. What are the implications for writers, artists,
musicians, filmmakers and academics that live and work in a society like ours?
Are we really touchy as a people, more so than other societies?

To start with the last question first, I don't think we are touchier than people
elsewhere. In a country of a billion plus, where we are all fighting for scarce
resources, does the ordinary person have the time to be prickly? I doubt it.
This constant struggle- whether to find good schools for our children, or a flat
to live in, or a water or gas connection, makes us selfish, loud, aggressive,
and insensitive to the needs of others. The facts of our circumstance and
environment affect our personalities, both collective and personal, but it
doesn't really make us insecure about our religion or community. To put it
bluntly: we simply don't have the time.

The argument from sentiment, that the 'sentiments of a community' have been hurt
(though in Oxford I was taught that the word 'feelings' is more appropriate than
'sentiments'), is more a ploy used by cynical politicians to extract political
mileage, or as in the case of Mamata, to protect their own image. And if it's
not politicians, it's very often a crank somewhere, most often a crazy mofussil
advocate, who decides that his sentiments have been mauled, and the media then
duly follows, blowing it up into a national controversy, like with the Shilpa
Shetty-Richard Gere kiss. On paper, it looks like an entire community or nation
is up in arms because 'Indian values have been transgressed', but in reality it
is only one crank who is making an inordinate amount of noise. Our laws are
faulty - how can a man be imprisoned for sharing a cartoon? How can some random
individual somewhere be powerful enough to throw a spanner in the works of a
filmmaker? It seems too easy - filing a case in a lower court in a far-flung
town is good enough to make life difficult for the creative person.

Rules

At this stage, it might be useful to move the debate from the general to the
specific. Let's talk about what this climate of touchiness means for creative
individuals, with particular reference to obscenity.

For one, those of us who are involved in creative pursuits don't know what the
rules are. This makes it confusing, for we don't know what's acceptable and what
is not. There are no fixed rules which this society has evolved over the years.
What was passed by the censor board in 1970 is suddenly not acceptable in 2012.
What is obscene one Monday is not obscene the next Monday. Instead of having a
debate and fixing things once and for all, we change our minds every week. We
are not sure if we're moving forward in time or backwards. There isn't any
pattern to our collective morality.

Let's take the example of books and obscenity in the Western context. The
decision by Allan Lane, Penguin's founder, to publish an unexpurgated edition of
the previously banned Lady Chatterley's Lover, provoked intense debates about
obscenity. Maurice Girodias, whose father had published the likes of Henry
Miller, started Olympia Press in 1953, in order to publish books in English that
couldn't be published in America or England because of censorship.

Contrast

Those were conservative times; when Norman Mailer's Naked And The Dead came out
in America, his publisher replaced the f- word with fug, all the way through the
book. From Nabakov's Lolita to Donleavy's The Ginger Man to Burroughs' Naked
Lunch , Girodias set a standard by publishing books in English in Paris long
before their authors could publish them in US. A seminal movie on Allan
Ginsberg's epic poem 'Howl', starring James Franco, provides us with a glimpse
into the protracted court case fought by his publishers against charges of
obscenity.

Where the West is different from us is that the issue of obscenity was sorted
out after these trials. Western society had moved on permanently. Unlike us, it
wasn't going to spend the next few decades in déjà vu mode, revisiting the
same old issues. We need to fix the limits of our morality in cement and
concrete.

Every time a cartoon comes out, or a film poster is splashed all over a city, we
cannot start wondering what is obscene and what offensive. Given the current
climate, I'd rather be a cartoonist in North Korea, or a filmmaker in Iran,
where there is little freedom, but at least the boundaries are etched in jagged
glass. Clarity is better than confusion, and oppression more preferable to
watery freedoms.

- The writer's new book The Butterfly Generation was published recently.


Read more at:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/climate-of-touchiness-or-new-hypersensitivity\
-in-india/1/185534.html


=======================================
7. INDIA: PETITION: JUSTICE FOR BATHANI TOLA
=======================================
Please sign and circulate:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice-for-bathani-tola/

"One of the survivors of the Bathani Tola massacre who lost six members of his
family, responding to the acquittal by the Bihar HC, asked, “Who, then, killed
21 people that day?” We, the undersigned, believe that the entire country and
our system of justice, owes the people of Bathani Tola an answer to that
question. And we write to you in the hope that the Supreme Court will correct
the deep injustice to victims and survivors of Bathani Tola, and will take all
possible measures to ensure that the perpetrators of this and other heinous
massacres of the poor and oppressed in Bihar are tried and convicted."

=======================================
8. USA: NO CHANGE IN VISA POLICY ON NARENDRA MODI
=======================================
From: ibnlive.in

CNN-IBN

New Delhi: The US has has said there is no change in its visa policy with regard
to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "Our position on the visa issue hasn't
changed at all," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at
her daily news conference on Wednesday.

Nuland was responding to questions on the letter written by Congressman Joe
Walsh to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, that the US Government reverse
its 2005 decision not to issue a US visa to Modi.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid said, "US must have looked at all their policy
details. It is not for us to comment but it is sad for the country that a Chief
Minister of one of the leading states is thought of so poorly. He should reflect
upon it."

The letter by Walsh was written about a fortnight ago. "If we do respond, it ll
be along familiar lines," Nuland said.

In a statement, the Indian American Muslim community demanded the State
Department should not change its 2005 policy on Modi's visa.


INTERNATIONAL
=======================================
9. TUNISIA: SALAFIS CALL FOR DEATH OF TUNISIAN TV BOSS AFTER "PERSEPOLIS" AIRING
=======================================
(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

21-04-2012

Secularists have accused Salafi radicals of attacking free speech in Tunisia, as
a court said it will issue on May 3 its verdict in a blasphemy trial against
Nessma TV over its broadcast of the award-winning film "Persepolis."

The broadcast prompted calls by Salafi Islamists for the station chief to be put
to death.

The trial of Nabil Karoui, who faces charges of violating sacred values and
disturbing public order by showing the animated movie, resumed amid tight
security on Thursday.

Dozens of conservative Salafi Islamists gathered outside the courthouse, some
waving black flags inscribed with Islamic verses and placards calling for
Karoui's execution.

"Persepolis" is based on an account of a woman growing up in Iran under
religious rule following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Its broadcast ahead of the country's elections in October was seen by many as an
attack on the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that went on to win Tunisia's
first vote after last year's revolution sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.

Some religious Tunisians were also angered by a scene which they said
contravened an Islamic ban on depictions of God.

The trial has pit the religious right against Tunisia's secularist elite, which
has denounced the trial as an attack on free expression and accused Salafis of
seeking to turn back the clock in a Mediterranean nation known for its
moderation.

Salafis, jailed and persecuted under Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, have become more
assertive since last year's uprising ousted the dictator from power.

"Free expression is on trial in Tunisia after the revolution and this poses a
danger to Tunisians who call for the right to express themselves without
permission from religious leaders," Karoui told reporters on Thursday.

"I hope that we can turn a page on this once and for all and return calmly to
work at Nessma."

Tunisian prosecutors launched their inquiry after members of the public filed
complaints over Nessma's airing of the film.

Prosecution lawyers argued that there should be limits to freedom of expression
and that the airing of the film was an attack on religious sensibilities.

The charges against Karoui carry a three-year jail term but observers said it
was unlikely he would be incarcerated as the case appeared weak and a tough
sentence would stir controversy in Tunisia, where political tensions are running
high.

"The judiciary was used in Ben Ali's day to attack freedom of expression and we
hope that it will not be used now to attack freedoms but to protect them," said
Radhia Nasraoui, a human rights lawyer who is part of the defense team for
Nessma.

Amnesty International called on Wednesday for the charges against Karoui to be
dropped, echoing demands by secular politicians who have defended Nessma
throughout the trial.

"A trial over a film damages the image of Tunisia abroad," said Nejib Chebbi, a
veteran secular politician.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/salafis-call-death-tunisian-tv-boss-after-p\
ersepolis-airing

=======================================
10. MOROCCAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PM REFUSES TO TALK WITH FEMALE BELGIAN MINISTER
=======================================
http://pointdebasculecanada.ca/actualites/10002604-moroccan-muslim-brotherhood-p\
m-refuses-to-talk-with-female-belgian-minister.html

Point de Bascule on 25 Avril 2012.

Abdelilah Benkiran does not seem to conceive that a foreign government could
send a female representative to talk with him. During the whole meeting he
talked strictly with Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders and
refused to speak with the Belgian minister of Justice.

Original French version HERE :
http://blogs.rtl.be/carnetpolitique/quand-le-premier-ministre-marocain-snobbe-an\
nemie-turtelboom-a-la-limite-de-lincident-diplomatique/

English translation by Point de Bascule


Fabrice Grofilley (RTLinfo.be �" April 25, 2012): Moroccan PM snubs Annemie
Turtelboom and almost provokes a diplomatic incident (Quand le premier ministre
marocain snobe Annemie Turtelboom, à la limite de l’incident diplomatique)

Rabat (Morocco) �" April 11, 2012

On that day the Moroccan Prime minister, Abdelilah Benkiran, received in
audience Didier Reynders, Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs and Annemie
Turtelboom, minister of Justice. Both Belgians got a cold reception.

Abdelilah Benkiran does not seem to conceive that a foreign government could
send a female representative to talk with him. During the whole meeting, he
talked strictly with Didier Reynders. Worse, the Moroccan PM explained to his
visitor that he speaks French very well and that it was “useless to bring an
interpreter with him”. The message is clear: I do not speak with a woman.
Annemie Turtelboom could not believe it. All the dossiers she is responsible of
(and they are not light ones: equality between men and women, forced marriages,
return of convicted prisoners in their home country) were eventually tackled by
Didier Reynders. Facing them, the Moroccan held to his prayer beads during the
whole meeting.

After the meeting, Annemie Turtelboom was furious. If Didier Reynders had not
been there and if she had not feared to provoke a major diplomatic incident, she
would have left and slammed the door, she said.

The anecdote is significant. Abdelilah Benkiran is a member of the Justice and
Development Party, the Islamist party that won the last elections. In the last
few days, he even criticized the Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, something never
seen before. “The Arab Spring is not over yet. It is still here and could well
come back”, he said according to Reuters.

Two weeks after the incident, the Belgian side has not done anything yet.
Annemie Turtelboom’s spokesperson now claims that the Moroccan PM was joking
around and that he ended up apologizing. Unofficially though, those who told me
the anecdote are not sure that these apologies were expressed.


========================================
11. UK: DON’T BAN ALCOHOL �" WE'LL GET BLAME, SAY MUSLIM STUDENTS
by Anna Davis
========================================
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/london/dont-ban-alcohol--well-get-blame-say-m\
uslim-students-7660654.html

London Evening Standard

Drink row: Syed Rumman, opposes proposals for a ban on alcohol in parts of
London Metropolitan University

"Why are we not banning pork from the canteen as well?" - Syed Rumman

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent

19 April 2012

Muslim students at a university considering banning alcohol from parts of its
campus have hit out at the plan �" fearing they will be blamed for the move.

Students at London Metropolitan University said banning alcohol in the name of
Muslims will cause tension on campus, divide the community, and could be
exploited by far-Right groups such as the English Defence League.

Malcolm Gillies, Vice Chancellor of London Met, has said he might stop alcohol
being served in parts of the university because some religious students view it
as “immoral”.

But Syed Rumman, vice president of the Student Union, warned that any ban would
be “catastrophic”.

Mr Rumman, who is a Muslim, said: “I do not drink, but it doesn’t mean that
I will deprive another student from having alcohol.”

He added: “It is unethical, catastrophic and it will isolate Muslims further
in society. This will go against the ethos of London Met where students are so
diverse but also socialise together. Students who do drink will resent Muslims.
It will divide the student body. We must not allow this to become a religious
issue. Muslim students never asked for this ban.”

The debate began after a decision was made to close The Hub, a student bar on
the university’s Aldgate campus.

Mr Rumman, originally from Bangladesh, is leading a campaign for it to be
replaced with another licensed venue. He said: “If the university wants to ban
alcohol it should be because of its own agenda, it should not include religions.
If this is all about religious beliefs then why are we not banning pork from the
canteen as well?

“Some Muslim students do drink, but none eat pork. And most of our
international students come from India and do not eat beef.”

Claire Locke, Student Union president, said: “In all the time I have been here
I have never heard of a student who wanted alcohol-free zones. It is completely
ridiculous.

“Some of our Muslim students drink and some don’t. Because we are a
metropolitan university we are tolerant of other people’s cultures.

“It is quite dangerous to be making these assumptions about students
especially when Islamophobia is a big problem in the community. Groups like the
EDL will jump on something like this and use it for their own ends.”

In an open letter, Ellie May, president of the university’s Unite Against
Fascism Society, said: “We believe that the Vice Chancellor’s comments are
insensitive and dangerous, provoking hostilities among students and the wider
community.” Speaking to the Evening Standard, Professor Gillies said that
about 30 per cent of London students do not drink alcohol. He added: “Nobody
is talking about banning alcohol. We are talking about the ways we use space.

“We are interested in catering for all of our students. London Met talks about
being a university for the whole community. We are not interested in catering
for 60 per cent, we want to cater for 100 per cent so students feel as
comfortable as possible.”

=======================================
12. USA: MISSISSIPPI LAW MAY FORCE ITS LAST SURVIVING ABORTION CLINIC TO SHUT
by Rupert Cornwell
=======================================
(The Independent, UK)

Republican bill could end abortions in state, despite 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme
Court ruling

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Mississippi has become the latest Republican-run US state to bring in tough new
anti-abortion legislation, which could shut down its one remaining clinic
offering the procedure and thus effectively end abortions in the state.

Signing the measure this week, Governor Phil Bryant called it a major step to
"ensure the lives of the born and unborn are protected". For pro-choice
advocates however, the step directly threatens a woman's basic right to an
abortion, enshrined in the US Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade ruling of
1973.

Under Mississippi's new law, all doctors at abortion clinics must be
state-registered obstetrician-gynaecologists, who can send a patient to a local
hospital in the event of complications. But almost all the physicians at the
clinic, in the capital Jackson, are from outside Mississippi and its owner,
Diane Derzis, warned last week if the law went into effect, the clinic could be
forced to close.

Mississippi's move is further proof that 40 years after the landmark Supreme
Court decision, abortion is as polarising an issue as ever, and one set to
feature in November's election that pits a Democratic president committed to
abortion rights against near-certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who has
called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

Roe v. Wade's fate of course depends not on the politicians, but on the
country's highest court. However the latter has turned markedly to the right
over the last few decades. Although the conservative majority of justices has
stopped short of overturning the 1973 ruling, based on the right of privacy
contained in the US Constitution, a string of narrower rulings have chipped at
its edges.

Last week, Arizona became the seventh state since 2010 to pass a measure all but
outlawing abortions after 20 weeks, based on the five-month "fetal pain"
principle. According to Arizona governor Jan Brewer, the Women's Health and
Safety Act, "recognises the precious life of the pre-born baby".

Proponents insist the 20-week cut-off point does not apply in medical
emergencies, but according to the pro-choice Center for Reproductive Rights,
women at risk of complications "will be forced to decide whether to proceed with
their pregnancies in the dark, before they have the information they need".

In a separate move to make an abortion more difficult, Virginia last month
passed a law requiring women to have an ultrasound before the procedure.
Governor Bob McDonnell rejected a first version of the bill that mandated a
transvaginal ultrasound, amid an outcry the procedure violated womens' rights.

Mr McDonnell, who has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential candidate
for 2012, is pro-life. But he is also aware how the party's rigid stance on
abortion and birth control, is costing it dear among women voters, who favour Mr
Obama by a 55-39 margin, says a poll yesterday.

Both Mississippi and Virginia were also in the forefront of the "personhood"
challenge to abortion, based on the premise that life begins not at birth but
conception, and that a fertilised egg is legally a human being. The notion was
rejected by Mississippi in a 2011 referendum, but Virginia's legislature
approved a personhood bill this year. However it is on hold until 2013, after
the election in which Virginia will be a vital swing state.

=======================================
13. USA: ARIZONA SETS DANGEROUS NEW STANDARD FOR HOSTILITY TO WOMEN, DOCTORS,
AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
=======================================
Center for Reproductive Rights

Newly-signed omnibus legislation enacts most extreme abortion ban in U.S., other
severe restrictions

04.13.12 - (PRESS RELEASE) Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the
country’s most extreme anti-reproductive rights law of its kind�"banning
abortion procedures before the time most women undergo critical prenatal testing
to evaluate their own health and the health of their pregnancy. The law also
severely restricts a safe alternative to surgical abortion and increases to 24
hours the time women must wait after undergoing a mandatory ultrasound before
they may terminate their pregnancies.

The omnibus law�"which in large part could take effect as early as
July�"includes only one extremely narrow exception for dire medical emergencies
to its abortion ban. The law does not include any protection for women’s
lives, or their physical and mental health, in any other circumstance. The law
also makes zero exceptions for women carrying fetuses with even the most severe
abnormalities.

Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“To call this an extreme assault on reproductive rights would be a massive
understatement. In its cruelty and its callous disregard for women’s lives, it
is downright appalling.

“Women facing life-threatening pregnancy complications will be forced to wait
until they are bleeding to death before doctors are able to provide the
emergency care they need.

“Some women at risk of grave complications will be forced to decide whether to
proceed with their pregnancies in the dark, before they have all the information
they need to arrive at their choices.”

The measure will ban abortions in Arizona at 20 weeks after “the first day of
the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman,” also known as LMP�"thus
prohibiting abortion 18 weeks after fertilization. This is the precise time the
vast majority of women undergo a comprehensive scan that uncovers most major
abnormalities that pose risks to the health of women and the fetuses they are
carrying.

For example, this routine scan has resulted in some women receiving a diagnosis
that their fetus has lethal skeletal dysplasia, a severe bone growth disorder
which causes many newborns to die immediately after birth. Other women have
learned of open neural tube defects for the fetus, a disorder that could cause
infants to be born blind, deaf, unconscious, and die within a few hours or days
after birth.

“Every pregnant woman’s circumstances are different,” said Northup. “A
woman facing devastating complications in her pregnancy must have every medical
option available to her. That is why the Supreme Court has said repeatedly that
restrictions on abortion must have an exception for women’s life and physical
and mental health.”

Arizona’s legislature has considered a number of extreme bills assaulting
women’s reproductive rights, including a measure that would have allowed
employees to limit insurance coverage of birth control to only non-contraceptive
use, and even allow those bosses to fire women found to be using contraceptives
to prevent pregnancy.

=======================================
14. THE US LABOR MOVEMENT AND CHINA
by Alberto C. Ruiz
=======================================
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
(counterpunch.org - Weekend Edition April 27-29, 2012)

The statistics are chilling.   In a country where workers have no real right to
organize a union, they face an ever falling standard of living.   The workers’
attempts to organize independent unions are faced with repression �" 25% of the
companies illegally fire workers who try to organize; active union supporters
indeed have a 1 in 5 chance of being fired; over half of the companies threaten
to have undocumented, foreign laborers deported during organizing campaigns;
over half of the companies threaten to close the plant if it is organized; and
nearly half of companies that are unionized never reach a labor contract with
the union.   Of course, this country is not China, but rather, is, according to
the AFL-CIO, the United States.

Notwithstanding this dismal situation for labor rights in this country, the U.S.
labor movement is fixated on vilifying China and its human and labor rights
situation as a cover for protecting U.S. workers from competition from albeit
much lower paid Chinese workers.  Of course, U.S. labor has every right, and
indeed a duty, to protect the workers it represents.   However, the obsession
with China as an economic rival �" an obsession which sometimes devolves into a
racist stigmatization of the Chinese people themselves �" is a distraction from
the real and most pressing problems of U.S. workers:  the ever growing economic
and power disparity between capital and workers in this country, and a legal
regime in the U.S. which only encourages this disparity.

This was brought home for me by a recent meeting at my union with visiting labor
law professors from China.    Very tellingly, it was our Chinese guests who were
much more candid about the problems facing their working class than their
American hosts.

The master of ceremonies (MC) who led the discussion for the U.S. trade
unionists �" a quite typical labor leader who harbors profound anti-Chinese
resentments �" met in advance with all of us who would be attending the meeting
to go over the ground rules, the primary rule being that, notwithstanding the
shortcomings we know to exist in U.S. labor law, we were not to share those
openly with our Chinese visitors lest they go back home and use this as
propaganda against us.

Then, during the meeting itself, our MC gave a revealing history of the U.S.
labor movement, though it was most revealing in the details and large time
period it left out of the history.   Thus, he started the meeting discussing the
struggles of workers to organize in the late 19th Century; the critical strikes
of the early 20th Century which eventually gave rise to the CIO and the
unprecedented union drives in the U.S.; the passage of the Wagner Act in 1935
which gave workers’ the right to legally organize; and the post-war period
which was punctuated by a strike wave motivated by workers’ attempts to get a
fair share of the growing economic pie as well as the pent-up frustration they
felt as a result of the strike ban during World War II.   He then stated that
all of this led to the period of the 1950’s which saw unparalleled prosperity
for this country and a workforce which was 40% unionized.   He concluded his
oral history there, and asked if there were any questions.

Of course, what was not discussed was the period from the 1950’s till the
present day during which time union density shrunk to around its present figure
of 12%.    Also not mentioned was the outlawing of Communists in the labor
movement �" though, without a doubt, Communists were critical to the founding
of the CIO, to the organizing drives of the 1930’s and to the New Deal itself
�" and the disarming of the labor movement which flowed from the patricidal
purge of the Reds who had helped build it.   Also missing was any discussion of
the AFL-CIO’s decades-long period of prostrating itself to the foreign policy
aims of the U.S. government �" regardless of which party was in power �" and
its activity abroad in helping the CIA overthrow democratic governments (such as
those of Arbenz in Guatemala and Allende in Chile) and install military
dictatorships in their stead which were anti-labor and indeed fascist.

These facts are undoubtedly inconvenient, for they underscore how the U.S. labor
movement is not so different from the caricature it has painted of the official
labor movement of China.   Thus, while U.S. unions criticize the Chinese labor
movement, known as the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), as being
government-captive and controlled, the AFL-CIO itself can be similarly
critiqued.   Indeed, the AFL-CIO’s interventionist foreign policy in support
of U.S. expansion is the starkest example of this, and no other union movement
in the world can be accused of such thoroughly pro-government and treacherous
anti-labor policies.

And, while this period ended largely with the end of the Cold War �" though not
entirely, as can certainly be seen in the labor movement’s anti-communist
rhetoric against China itself and the AFL-CIO’s complicity in the coup against
Chavez in 2002 �" the AFL-CIO’s unquestioning linkage to the Democratic Party
continues unabated.   And, this linkage continues even though the Democratic
Party is more and more indistinguishable from its ostensible rival and even
though the Democratic Party has delivered nearly nothing to the American working
class for over three decades except job-killing trade deals and the assault on
the social safety net.  Moreover, I would suggest that the AFL-CIO’s
uncritical support of the Democratic Party with millions of dollars of its
members’ contributions, as well as its keeping its ranks mollified by fixing
their focus and energies on an electoral process which produces nearly no return
for them, rivals any service the ACFTU performs for or at the behest of the
Communist Party of China.

Meanwhile, the fascinating fact we discussed about China is the unprecedented
strike and protest wave occurring throughout that country and being led by
workers �" 90,000 of such “mass incidents” taking place last year alone.  
And, as the labor professors from China explained, much to our surprise, these
strikes are being led by workers with no unions at all, are indeed uncoordinated
(leading our MC to candidly compare these strikes to those in the U.S. which
were led by the Wobblies in the 1920’s), and are being tolerated by both the
Chinese government and the ACFTU.   The result of this is an increase in wages
for workers in China.   We also discussed, quite ironically, that if, as the
labor professors do in fact desire, China adopts some type of U.S.-style labor
law, it will be done for the very reason that the U.S. government and employers
acquiesced to our labor law in the first place �" because it will lead to
“industrial peace” and quell the strike wave now impacting China.

In other words, China needs a U.S.-style labor law, the argument goes, in order
to control its workers better and to obtain the type of compliant and
acquiescent work force we see in this country �" a workforce which continues to
see its standard of living drop further and further with barely a peep in
response.

Finally, at the end of the meeting, our Chinese guests were asked what we could
do to help them with their struggle in China.  They answered that we could put
pressure on U.S. companies doing business in China to treat their Chinese
workers better and to provide them with better wages and benefits.   They
explained that, while workers in the U.S. may view the Chinese as taking their
jobs, the Chinese view the situation differently �" as U.S. companies coming
over to China to exploit them and to pay them low wages to manufacture goods
which Americans can then buy at cheap prices.

Our guests then looked at us and asked, in relation to the hostility they know
the U.S. people have towards China, “didn’t Marx say something at the end of
the Communist Manifesto about the workers of the world uniting?”  And all we
could say was, “yes he did, yes he did.”

Alberto C. Ruiz is a long-time unionist, peace activist and associate member of
the left-wing World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).   He recommends the
following website for serious reading on the struggles of labor in China:
http://chinastudygroup.net/


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 1 May 2012 - No. 2746
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Pakistan: Free laptops is not the answer. What is? (Pervez Hoodbhoy)
2. India: Missiles, missiles everywhere (Kanti Bajpai)
3. India: Regulating cultures through food policing (Kalpana Kannabiran)
4. India : Superstition continues to Kill
5. India: 1984 Anti Sikh Pogrom in New Delhi: The case against Sajjan (Harinder
Baweja)
6. India: Upper caste male Hindu iconography in Alphabet Sheets in Education Ad
- Open Letter to Hindustan Times
7. Publication Announcements
(i) Human rights in South Asia and the functions of SAARC
(ii) Shahzad Bashir and Robert D. Crews, eds., Under the Drones: Modern Lives in
the Afghanistan-Pakistan Borderlands
8. Upcoming Events:
(i) PILER International Conference Labour in the Age of Globalization (Karachi,
2-3 May 2012)
(ii) 32nd Bhimsen Sachar Memorial Lecture by Shri Ashish Nandy (New Delhi, 3rd
May 2012)

International:
9. An Imperialist Springtime? - Libya, Syria, and Beyond - Samir Amin
Interviewed by Aijaz Ahmad
10. USA:  We Japanese Americans must not forget our wartime internment (George
Takei)

=======================================
1. PAKISTAN: FREE LAPTOPS IS NOT THE ANSWER. WHAT IS?
by Pervez Hoodbhoy
=======================================
(Express Tribune, 30 April 2012)

To loud applause at a special distribution ceremony on Pakistan Day, PML-N chief
Nawaz Sharif declared: "We do not give weapons in the hands of youngsters, we
give them laptops; we give them education". The laptop scheme is the brainchild
of kid brother Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab. He says that the Punjab
government plans to distribute a further 300,000 laptops - in addition to the
100,000 already distributed - as a "weapon against poverty and ignorance".

The Sharifs are surely to be commended for preferring computers over
Kalashnikovs (some of their political rivals would want it the other way
around). But laptops are not silver bullets that can transform Pakistan's
education. Cost is not the main issue. Of course, we do know that Dell laptops,
purchased at Rs 37,700 apiece, are more expensive than the Rs 2,200 indigenous
product developed by Tata for use in India's schools. Possible cuts and
commissions by middlemen, and allegations of unfair distribution, also cannot be
ruled out. But this too is a peripheral matter.

Instead, the central question is: how exactly are these laptops to combat
poverty and ignorance, or improve education? The answer is not clear in any
developing country but is even muddier in Pakistan. The purchased computers did
not come loaded with school books, supplementary educational materials, or
programmes like "Comic Life" which make math learning fun. There are no
locally-developed programmes, and none in Urdu or any local language. Nor have
schoolteachers been trained to deal with computers as a teaching tool. Of
course, there will be some Google searching and perhaps some educational
material will be downloaded. But overwhelmingly they will be used for chatting,
surfing, or video games.

The false notion of technology as a magic wand has made our rulers euphoric from
time to time. Few Pakistanis will remember the bulk purchase of Apple-II C
computers for schools at the end of the 1980s. General Ziaul Haq's minister of
education, Dr Muhammad Afzal, (now deceased), was a progressive man in a
religiously-charged government. Somehow he was seized with the notion that
computers would revolutionise everything. In one of my occasional meetings with
him, I unsuccessfully sought to persuade him that his idea was fundamentally
flawed. Sadly, the warning turned out to be correct: it is likely that many
machines were not even turned on before they were junked en masse 10-15 years
later.

Earlier on, a still bigger revolution had been promised. Pakistan Television was
founded on the premise that its core purpose would be education. At the
invitation of the Pakistan government, a Unesco team visited Pakistan and met
with the ministers of law, broadcasting, and education. In a subsequent report
the team leaders, HR Cassirer and TS Duckmanton, wrote:

"We arrived in Lahore on October 10, 1960, where we were the guests of the
Regional Director of Radio Pakistan, as well as the Provincial Department of
Education. We pursued our consultations with officials concerned with the
following: university and college education, primary and secondary education,
vocational education, village aid, broadcasting, the Arts Council". The report
document does not even mention entertainment or news broadcasts, but has
paragraphs on how telecourses should be conducted.

But PTV never made a sizable contribution to education. For 50 years its
broadcast content has been almost exclusively entertainment and news. In this
period PTV has produced only two documentary serials that sought to popularise
science for the general public, one in 1994 and the other in 2002. I can testify
that these had the lowest priority accorded to any programme series; for months
I was given the midnight shift and would work through on the editing until
morning arrived, at which point I would go bleary-eyed to teach my classes at
Quaid-e-Azam University.

These negative examples do not mean that technology is valueless for education.
Far from it! Distance education, conveyed via laptops and notebooks, is clearly
the future. Open Course Software (OCS) from the world's best universities brings
a wealth of knowledge to those who can absorb it; the clever instructional
techniques of the Khan Academy helps millions of students across the world; and
increasing interactive learning programmes are becoming more effective learning
tools.

But students who benefit from internet resources already know what they are
looking for; they have already achieved a certain level. A digital utopia cannot
be constructed on a shaky educational base such as ours. Most Pakistani schools
do not have the bare minimum infrastructure like blackboards, toilets, library,
or wall posters. More importantly, they do not have competent teachers.
Expectedly, the recently released Annual Status of Education Report paints a
dismal picture of basic reading and writing skills. Laptops can do nothing to
improve things here.

What about well-off city schools that do have reasonable infrastructure?
Unfortunately here too, the laptop can presently play only a marginal role
because, with some honourable exceptions, students mostly study for grades. If
grades were awarded on the basis of real learning, it would be a different
matter. But where money buys marks and cheating is rampant, the incentive for
self-improvement diminishes. Moreover, exams test little beyond that contained
in guidebooks or prescribed textbooks. They stress memorisation rather than
internalisation of concepts. I think revamping the examination system will do
more good than buying a million laptops.

Of course some good does come from merely connecting children to the internet.
Nicholas Negroponte of MIT, who fathered the idea of one-child one-laptop,
argues that children are naturally inquisitive and access to an internet-enabled
computing device is sufficient to release their creative faculties. He says
somehow they will "figure it out" and "learn to learn". But this view is
excessively optimistic.

Connectivity and access, already provided by cellphones, alone does not create a
thinking mind. For example, consider Darul Ulum Haqqania at Akora Khattak. This
"Harvard of madrassas" has produced Mullah Omar as well as other such
luminaries. It is awash in computers but, even in a hundred years from now,
shall not have added an iota to the stock of human knowledge.

The bottom line: good education requires planning, organisation, integrity,
resources and, above all, a mindset that is oriented towards the future and not
the past. Techy hi-fi stuff has glitz, but it's really the sub-stratum of
thought that matters.

=======================================
2.INDIA: MISSILES, MISSILES EVERYWHERE
by Kanti Bajpai
=======================================
(Times of India)

Apr 28, 2012, 12.00AM IST

Why can't we in India be more business-like? When we tested nuclear weapons in
1998, the government, the media, and the Indian public were spectacularly
undignified. A lot of vulgar and foolish things happened in the ensuing months -
intemperate statements by our leaders, media coverage that was adulatory and
clownish, and public behaviour that was childish (handing out sweets in the
streets).

Predictably, the Pakistanis punctured our bubble. They tested immediately and
then attacked in Kargil to show that nuclear weapons did not scare them.
Pakistan's public reactions were as juvenile as ours, if not more so, which
shows that South Asians are cut from the same cloth.

With India's Agni V missile test two weeks ago and Pakistan's Hatf IV Shaheen-1A
test, we have had a replay of 1998. Missiles are not as big a deal as nuclear
weapons, so our leaders were more restrained this time round. The media, though,
was pretty much as bad as before, thinking it appropriate to talk a lot of
nonsense about India's ability to project power (to Europe, amongst other
destinations). Unlike 1998, the public did not rush out into the streets to
party, which was a relief; instead, the blogosphere, the new public square, lit
up with commentary, most of which would shame a nine-year-old.

When the Agni V has been properly tested, it will certainly strengthen India's
deterrent with respect to China. Having said this, the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP) goes back to the 1980s. That it managed to produce
a missile which can carry a nuclear warhead 5,000 km is noteworthy but hardly
the stuff of national celebration. After all, it took nearly 30 years to produce
a missile of that range.

Any one of a dozen countries today could do it - and in short order. These
include Japan and both the Koreas, just in Asia, and surely it would not take
Australia very long. Pakistan's latest Shaheen already has a range of 3,000 km,
so it is not technologically beyond our next-door neighbour's capabi-lity
either. And Iranian missile technology is catching up fast.

The point is that missiles, as much as nuclear weapons, are old technology.
Hopping up and down about them is silly. India's scientists have not
particularly distinguished themselves (nor have Indian social scientists). If we
look at the number of scientific papers published in leading journals, patents
filed, and inventions credited to Indians, our scientists do not rank high.
China ranks well ahead, as do Japan and South Korea. Britain, with 60 million
people, has had 76 Nobel laureates in science and technology.

India has had only one that worked in India (C V Raman, who worked in British
and not independent India) and three that worked outside India (Har Gobind
Khorana, Subramanyan Chandrashekhar and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, all in the
US). There are probably only two Indian technologies that have international
name-recognition - the Jaipur leg prosthetic device and the Nano mini car -
which are home-grown.

Why are we so undignified over things like the missile test? The answer most
likely is that we have so little to celebrate, with human development indicators
lower in key areas than our South Asian neighbours and sub-Saharan Africa.
Indians are eating less in calories terms than a decade ago. We have millions of
more males than females in our population: the social consequences of this male
surplus will be massive. Our education system is in a shambles. Our
infrastructure is scarily bad. The only town in India with clean drinking water
is Jamshedpur. We have a fiscal crisis looming, stuttering growth, rising
prices, stagnating agriculture, caste and religious discrimination, partisan
politics to the maximum, and policy paralysis. Governance, particularly at the
state-level, where one absurd chief minister replaces another, is so awful that
you run out of adjectives.

If India wants to be respected and secure in the long run, it should celebrate
clean renewable energy and the eradication of polio far more than the launching
of a new missile. That would be worth many sweets in the streets.

=======================================
3. INDIA: REGULATING CULTURES THROUGH FOOD POLICING
by Kalpana Kannabiran
=======================================
(The Hindu, May 1, 2012

Organising a food festival can hardly be described as an act promoting hatred
between students or communities.

The controversy over the Beef Festival recently organised on the campus of
Osmania University in Hyderabad and the threat of professors being investigated
by the police for “instigating” the organisers needs to be understood in the
context of the larger politics of food and policing of food practices.

Across the country, different communities in different regions have widely
varying food habits. It is also well known that food is closely linked to ideas
of the sacred and the profane — and must vary along the scale of social
diversity. The dense nesting of beliefs related to food extends from what
vegetables may be consumed, whether meat may be consumed or not, which kinds of
meats are food and which not, which kinds of meat are deemed vegetarian, and
whether animal products come within the definition of meat or not.
Ideas about eating

Ideas about food also extend to who can eat together; within a family, who
consumes which parts of an animal's body; what is the sequence in which people
in a family eat, depending on gender, generation and social status; whether vice
chancellors, judges and peons can partake of the same feast at the same time —
or in earlier times or even today in more self declaredly caste ridden locales
whether the “chuhri” can even dare to ask for fresh cooked food from
“chowdhriji” — to recall Omprakash Valmiki's Joothan. And further in the
caste context, who must not be sighted by a Brahmin man while he is in the
vulnerable state of ingesting food — the shudra, a menstruating woman, pigs,
dogs — all to be equally banished from sight.

Because food is surrounded by thick religiosity, there are days and times of the
year and cycles in a month or in a reproductive lifetime when certain foods are
proscribed and others mandatory. There are also rigid rules around the slaughter
of animals and the preparation of meat for consumption — meat consumers do not
eat all meats and do not eat the same meat at any place. The acceptance of meat
as food is determined by whether the slaughter of the animal has been
appropriate. And there are castes who were condemned to eat only carrion, not
animals freshly slaughtered for consumption. There are communities in Andhra
that share the hunt with the tiger — they believe the tiger leaves enough of
its prey for its human kin — with a delicate balance in mutual food security
in the deep forests. When religions proscribe the killing of animals,
communities of believers who live in hostile and difficult mountainous terrain
may drive a herd off a cliff and strip and dry the meat to meet a year's supply
of meat. Even with people and communities that eat meat, there are places and
times when meat may be eaten — and these vary widely as well. While a
religious occasion for some may be marked by the abstinence from meat, for
others it is marked by the sacrifice of an animal, its ceremonial preparation
and its distribution in a prescribed manner among kin.
Attitude

Ideas of purity, danger, potency, malevolence, uncleanness, tastes (not
individual but social) and aesthetics thickly overlay our attitude to food.
Faint hearted but brahmanical consumers of meat can swoon or get terribly sick
at the sight of a butcher at work, or the sight of “unclean” parts of the
animal body — entrails, head, hooves and so on. The same could be the case
with lovers of fish when they see a beach overlaid with dry, pungent fish or the
baskets of fish vendors on the train on their way to the market. Similarly too,
it is not uncommon to find strong negative reactions to snake gourd, bitter
gourd, and several other vegetables, not to speak of cooking oils from
vegetarians. There are of course caste hierarchies in vegetables and oils too.

Its life giving and life sustaining quality also makes food the medium through
which faith is expressed, through sharing on particular auspicious, festive
occasions. Whom food is shared with and how is determined by status and social
location ranging from “poor feeding” to mutual exchanges of festive food.
There is then the renunciation of certain foods as acts of faith (temporarily or
permanently) or as an acknowledgement of loss and mourning. It is not uncommon
to hear of people giving up their favourite food on the death of a loved one.
And of course giving up food is a way of renouncing life itself.
Change in habits

There are also histories of food habits that show that they change over time:
the beef eating Vedic brahmin is a well known example.

Among the meats that are consumed in India are chicken, goat, fish and other
aquatic creatures, frog, dog, pork, monkey, beef, buffalo, a variety of insects,
field rats, deer, a range of birds, some reptiles and many, many more. Across
this entire range of food, there are some we might love and relish, and others
we might recoil at the mention of. What we relish and what we find unthinkable
depends on religion, caste, tribe, and social location, after which individual
taste plays a role. The diversity in food habits is part of the plurality of
cultures and the right to consume, accept and share food, privately and in
festivity, is part of cultural expression.

To the extent that culture is a matter of politics, food becomes the mobilising
point for politics. The ubiquitous blessed food that believers partake in at
places of worship now gets distributed in street-corners to believers and
non-believers alike in every neighbourhood. This is part of an aggressive
proclamation of religiosity demanding acceptance as an act of faith from all —
often spreading tension that has the police in full force out on the streets for
days.

We have sizeable communities in India who eat beef and pork — and these are
the two meats on the Indian subcontinent that are used to stoke collective
emotions in ways that present polarised stereotypes. Yet we know that the
realities of beef and pork consumption defy these stereotypes. There is,
however, a distinction between the two: beef is traditionally consumed not just
by non-Hindus but by subaltern castes as well, a reality that is denied by the
dominant castes.

In this context, if there is a hegemonic cultural formation across or within a
religious group that proscribes or stigmatises the consumption of certain kinds
of foods, a central part of resistance and of cultural assertion is to share
that food publicly. Acquiescing to one proscription will pave the way for
another, and the intolerance to diversity in food habits and through food to
plural cultures will spiral upwards.

The choice of whether or not to partake of the feast is one an individual makes.
In the recent beef festival organised on the campus of Osmania University, there
were no reports of any coercion or force-feeding of beef to unwilling people.
The people who were there went because they wanted to be there and were people
for whom beef was not taboo. The argument on the need to take action against
spreading hatred can scarcely be sustained. Even more irrelevant is the
suggestion that professors were instigating students — it was a gathering of
consenting, free thinking adults.

The organising of a food festival is not a matter for courts to interfere with
or order an investigation into. There are more pressing matters related to life
and liberty that wait endlessly to get a hearing.

(The author is Professor and Director, Council for Social Development,
Hyderabad. Email: kalpana.kannabiran@...)

=======================================
4. INDIA : SUPERSTITION CONTINUES TO KILL
=======================================
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-sathya-sai-baba-used-miracles\
-to-dupe-people/20120425.htm
(Rediff, April 25, 2012 )
'IT IS DIFFICULT TO BE A RATIONALIST IN A COUNTRY WHERE SUPERSTITIONS ARE
RAMPANT'

The Velankanni church in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district where a miracle is
said to have taken place. (Inset) Sanal Edamaraku, president, Indian
Rationalists Association

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru

In a country where most people are religious and believe in superstitions and
miracles, the toughest profession to take up is that of a rationalist. Be it the
miracles proclaimed by the church or holy men and their remedies, even though
many of them have been proven wrong, people continue to flock to these people
and places.

Recently, a huge controversy had erupted over the claim that the water flowing
from the statue at the Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district
was caused by a leak in the sewage system and not a miracle as claimed by the
church.

The revelation was made by Sanal Edamaraku, president, Indian Rationalist
Association. What followed was a series of threats from the church and also a
case under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code -- outraging religious feelings
by insulting religion or religious beliefs.

Edamuruku, the author of 25 books, has spoken out against miracles and god men
in the country. In this interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Edamuraku
says he has sought to exercise his constitutional right to develop scientific
thinking, while lashing out at the churches, Sathya Sai Baba and Baba Ramdev for
the miracles and so-called magic theories that they promote.

How does it feel to be a rationalist in India -- a country that thrives on
magic, miracles and beliefs?

It is a question of choice, and the more difficult the choice is, the more
important it is. No doubt it is a difficult task when one is a rationalist in a
country where superstition is rampant.

Which religion according to you has the highest element of superstitions?

I would say every religion. However, there are a many that have a modern thought
and others who have fanatics.

You claimed that there was no miracle in Velankanni, but sewage water. How has
the reaction been?
They were shocked and outraged. They were trying to make a miracle out of that
thing. The priest himself was leading the prayers and trying to show that it was
a miracle.
They were collecting that water in a bucket and giving it to devotees. I had
asked for a sample of the water, but they refused to give it to me. I found that
there were hardly one or two drops which had come from the statue and the Church
had mixed it with extra water and were distributing it to the people.

Later, I went ahead and touched the nail on the crucifix and found that there
were drops of water on it. On further examination, I found that there was a
sewer pipe behind the statue which had a leak. The church obviously did not like
my findings and what followed was outrage.

People have a right to follow a religion of their choice. Is it right on your
part to come in the way of that?
I am not abusing any religion. I just feel that no one has the right to fool
people in the name of miracles. I do believe in the right to belief.

You have written and spoken about Sathya Sai Baba as well.

Yes I have. Sathya Sai Baba used miracles to dupe people. He gave the impression
that he was God. As a result, many bigwigs flocked to his ashram, and liberally
donated large sums of money. I have been speaking on and also demonstrating how
he did magic to rope in disciples, and trust me, it is very easy to do that
magic.
But the other aspect to Sathya Sai Baba is his philanthropy.

Yes, that is there. However, the amount spent on philanthropy was only four per
cent of the donations. The rest of the money was spent on extravagance, which is
not needed for a human being.

So why do you think miracles are being promoted?
In the churches miracles are promoted so that it becomes a pilgrimage centre.
There is a lot of money in such things. Once it becomes a pilgrimage centre then
it automatically brings in the people who pump in a lot of money.
This is why churches artificially create miracles. What can one say about
churches creating miracles when the Vatican itself has a policy of creating
miracles? We have around 10,000 saints and a miracle has been attributed to each
one of them.
Take the case of Sister Alphonsa from Kottayam. It is said that a boy with
upturned feet was cured after he started to pray to her. Her tomb, in
Bharanagaram in Kottayam, has now become a place of pilgrimage.
They are trying the same thing at Velankanni. There was also a failed attempt at
the church in Mahim (in Mumbai) where they tried to say that blood was oozing
out of Mother Mary's picture.

What about Baba Ramdev?
Baba Ramdev does not speak about miracles, but about magical remedies. He has
been trying to say that yoga can work like magic. He says that he has the
results, but his claims are not substantiated. I feel sad when I see people in
parks rubbing their fingers to prevent themselves from growing old faster.
Ramdev has also said that tulsi (basil) leaves give protection from the H1N1
virus and also claimed that yoga can also protect one from HIV. These are
baseless, and more importantly very irresponsible statements.

These people continue to have a very big following. Are people then basically
stupid?

Yes, they do have a following. However, take the population of the country as a
whole and compare the following these people have. The number of followers is
not all that great.
Yes, Sai Baba was an exception. That is because it was systematic. They had
identified loopholes in religions and exploited that. For instance, not everyone
can enter a mosque or some other place of worship. That was never the case in a
Sai Baba ashram.

How has the response been to your campaign against miracles been?
I have had a very good response. There are people who are interested in what I
am trying to say. Many others agree with me, but have been either too oppressed
or scared to speak.

Are there are threats to your life?
When I embarked on this mission, I was aware of the threats that would follow,
especially in the case of the church which has been intolerant right from the
time of Galileo.
On Tuesday, one Catholic organisation had even said that I need to put into a
mental asylum and not sent to jail because I am talking rubbish. However, I will
continue with my work, since I do not care about the consequences.

o o o

(The Hindu)

Madurai, April 29, 2012

HAPLESS DALIT GIRL CHILD A VICTIM OF SUPERSTITION
by D. Karthikeyan

The life of the five-year-old Dalit girl was sacrificed based on the
superstitious belief that the sprinkling of her blood at the construction site
will give the proposed structure life and enduring strength.

Rajalakshmi, daughter of poor agriculture laborers Thotthan and Annakili of
Kachakatti, was killed on new moon day. The state of the body and the manner in
which the child was murdered had sent shockwaves among the villagers.
Construction sacrifice

Dalit activists who spoke about the issue said that as the victims of human
sacrifice were often strangers or marginal members of the community the practice
was rarely challenged. It was based on “construction sacrifice,” a practice
done during the execution of building projects.

There are two categories: a sacrifice made to please supernatural possessors of
the land for obtaining the title of the land; and another to bring the proposed
structure to life by warding off evil spirits. This case belonged to the second
category.
PUCL, CPI (ML)'s role

A People's Union for Civil Liberties team led by R. Murali, principal, Madura
College, found that the murder could have had no economic or social reason as
all people in the colony were Dalits.

Mr. Murali said that they concluded that it must have been a case of human
sacrifice as the child was found missing a day before Amavasai. Also, a person
who indulged in black magic in the area was missing since the day of the murder.
The PUCL found that there was not a single drop of blood in the body and the
flesh near the child's face had been cut using a sharp weapon.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) demanded Rs.10 lakh compensation
for the family of the victim.

C. Mathivanan, district secretary, CPI (ML), said those protecting the offenders
and destroying evidence should be brought to book. The government should take
strong action to end ensure that no one involved in such practices hereafter.

=======================================
5. INDIA: 1984 ANTI SIKH POGROM IN NEW DELHI: THE CASE AGAINST SAJJAN
by Harinder Baweja
=======================================
Hindustan Times

New Delhi, April 28, 2012

The skyline was dark; it was uncomfortably grey and it stayed that way. For
three long days and nights, the Capital resembled a huge funeral pyre to its
west and east, and the stench of burning rubber and bodies started filling the
air. Word had spread that Indira Gandhi had been shot dead by her Sikh
bodyguards and a motley crowd of angry blood-thirsty protestors roamed the
streets, hunting down turbaned men and their children; sprinkling them with
kerosene or simply throwing burnt tyres around their necks.

That time, from late-evening of October 31 to November 3 in 1984, a daughter saw
her father being set on fire, a wife looked on helplessly as her husband and son
were dragged by lumpens and bludgeoned to death with iron rods and a brother
lost three siblings. He identified them from the watch one was wearing and the
other two, from their half-burnt clothes.

Daughter Nirpreet Kaur, wife Jagdish Kaur and brother Jagsher Singh have lived a
wretched life in the pursuit of justice, perhaps because they had seen a
powerful Congressman and Member of Parliament of the area, Sajjan Kumar, exhort
the mob and order the killing of Sikhs in the Raj Nagar locality, in Delhi
Cantonment. For 27 of the 28 years, each of the three have variously approached
the police and the many commissions of inquiry (see box) to give a first-hand,
‘I witnessed the carnage’ account, but it stayed buried in affidavit after
affidavit.

For them, revisiting 1984 is always a painful memory; the denial of justice a
second stab in the heart. They had seen Sajjan Kumar, and heard him, saying,
“Ek bhi sardar zinda nahi bachna chahiye… en sardaron ko maro, enhone hamari
maa ko mara hai,” but till June last year, no court of law had ever heard
their testimonies. Says HS Phoolka, their lawyer, “Whenever it came to the
commissions of inquiry, Sajjan Kumar’s name appeared prominently, but whenever
it went to the police, his name disappeared.”

If today, the noose is tightening around Sajjan Kumar’s neck, it is because
the CBI, and not the police, is the investigating and prosecuting agency. If
today, public prosecutor RS Cheema, has, in his concluding remarks in the
sessions court, said that the riots were a conspiracy of terrifying proportions
that indict the police, it is because the men in uniform sided with the rioters.
The police’s daily diaries of that time are blank. Ironically, there are only
two entries and they pertain to complaints against the Sikhs; of them assembling
with kirpans.

Nobody knows the abysmal conduct of the police better than former police
commissioner and governor, Ved Marwah. Soon after the riots, he was asked to
inquire into the role of police officers and give a report in three months. He
spent, day and night, examining a number of persons and seizing all records of
the police stations, including the one at Delhi Cantt. That sent alarm bells
ringing and because the daily diaries could not have been challenged. It was
obvious that the men in uniform had vanished from their police stations

According to police rules, all movements of police officers are recorded minute
by minute in the thana daily diary and the diaries were totally blank. Police
officers, whose names figured prominently, filed a writ against the inquiry in
the High Court, but when the court refused to stall the inquiry, Marwah received
an order to stop the inquiry — and tear all his notes. In Raj Nagar,
specifically, Jagdish saw the chowki in-charge applaud the mob and ask them,
‘kitne murge bhun diye’ (how many Sikhs have you roasted). All this, while
the bodies of her husband and son lay nearby.

The policemen had also colluded in Delhi Cantt, tagging over 30 deaths,
including Nirpreet’s father, Nirmal Singh, into a single FIR. Sajjan Kumar’s
name was never put in the list of the accused and the summons for Nirpreet, in
yet another act of treachery, were sent to an address that never belonged to her
(see Page 1). Respite for Sajjan’s victims came only after the Nanavati
Commission submitted its report in 2005 and concluded that there was ‘credible
evidence’ against the Congressman. Affidavits filed by Jagsher and Jagdish
finally counted for something. After tremendous pressure from the Opposition —
for now too the government tried to exonerate him in their action taken report
— Prime Minister Manmohan Singh relented after a stirring speech in
Parliament.

“On behalf of our government, on behalf of the entire people of this country,
I bow my head in shame,” he told the House, adding, “But, Sir, there are
ebbs, there are tides in the affairs of the nation. The past is with us. We
cannot rewrite the past. But as human beings, we have the will power, and we
have the ability to write a better future for all of us.” The case against
Kumar was entrusted to the CBI and perhaps, a better future had been scripted
for Nirpreet, Jagdish and Jagsher.

But 2005 to 2012 is a long time. Each of the three claim they were under immense
pressure to turn hostile — in return for land and money, but they held out.
Nirpreet went through a vilification campaign — she was charged under TADA,
the defense lawyers said but failed to add that she had been discharged in two
cases and acquitted in one. The pressure was so acute and the frequency of
threats so alarming, the victims had to apply for police protection; and
couldn’t be from the Delhi police, whose men stood condemned for siding with
the perpetrators. The CBI director wrote to the DGP Punjab and got them the
gun-toting policemen who shadow them to court.

The eye witness accounts and the daily diaries form good evidence but the CBI
has more — the testimony of a joint secretary in Delhi government’s home
department, who told the court that the director of prosecution had signed off
on a file, saying, the sanction to prosecute Kumar should not be granted. It
finally was, by Delhi’s lieutenant governor and the sessions court in Delhi
framed charges against him — of murder, rioting with deadly weapons and
promoting disharmony amongst communities. His lawyers contested the framing of
charges but his revision petition was struck down both by the High Court and the
apex court.

Finally, hope peeps faintly through the legal and psychological debris. With a
judgement due in a few months from now, it still might be time for history to
write a better future. And give them a tomorrow.

Enquiries over the years

Various committees and commissions that have probed the 1984 riots

Nov 1984
MARWAH COMMISSION: Set up to look into role of police in the riots but suddenly
stopped by the central govt. Records selectively passed on to next commission

May 1985
MISHRA COMMISSION: Formed to find out if the violence was organised. The August
1986 report recommended the formation of three new committees: Ahooja,
Kapur-Mittal and Jain-Banerjee

Nov 1985
DHILLON COMMITTEE: Set up to recommend rehab for victims. Asked that insurance
claims of attacked businesses be paid, but the govt rejected these claims

Feb 1987
KAPUR-MITTAL COMMITTEE: Set up to probe, again, the role of police. 72 cops
identified for connivance/ gross negligence, 30 recommended for dismissal, none
punished

Feb 1987
JAIN-BANERJEE COMMITTEE: Looked at cases against Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar.
Recommended cases be registered against both. Later, the Delhi HC quashed the
appointment of this committee

Feb 1987
AHOOJA COMMITTEE: Set up by the Misra Commission to ascertain the number of
people killed in the Delhi massacre. In August 1987, Ahooja’s report put the
figure at 2,733 Sikhs

Mar 1990
POTTI-ROSHA COMMITTEE: Appointed as a successor to the Jain-Banerjee committee.
Potti-Rosha also recommended registration of cases against Kumar&Tytler

Dec 1990
JAIN-AGGARWAL COMMITTEE: Appointed as Potti-Rosha’s successor, also suggested
cases against HKL Bhagat, Tytler&Kumar. No case registered, probe stopped in
‘93

Dec 1993
NARULA COMMITTEE: In its Jan 94 report, it was the 3rd committee in 9 years to
repeat the recommendation to register cases against Bhagat, Tytler and Kumar

May 2000
NANAVATI COMMISSION: One-man commission appointed by the BJP-led government.
Found ‘credible evidence’ against Tytler and Kumar. The CBI tried to give a
clean chit

January 2010
CBI finds case against Sajjan, framed charges that included murder and rioting
with deadly weapons

=======================================
6. INDIA: UPPER CASTE MALE HINDU ICONOGRAPHY IN ALPHABET SHEETS IN EDUCATION AD
- OPEN LETTER TO HINDUSTAN TIMES
=======================================
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/04/upper-caste-male-hindu-iconography-in.htm\
l

An Open Letter

To

The Editor In Chief

The Hindustan Times

We were attracted by the announcement made by the Hindustan Times that it
intends to spend 5 Paisa earned from the sale of each copy on educating the
children of India. It did not however tell us how it intends to spend this
money. That is important since education of a child is not a sum of random acts.
Schooling is a holistic experience composed of several components identified and
selected through a Curricular Design which seeks to attain the education goals
which a society sets for itself from time to time.

The issue of 19 April, 2012 of the Hindustan Times carried on its pages alphabet
-sheets in English and Hindi with pictures. It asked its readers to cut all the
sheets, staple them together to make a pictorial alphabet book and give it to a
poor child to motivate her to read. This move seems to be driven by good
intentions, however, it is clearly a misconceived , directionless and futile
investment which does not help the poor child at all. There are social as well
as educational reasons to say this. The Right to Education Act has made
education a right, an entitlement for each and every child of India. It is not
realized through some disparate acts of benevolence of some well meaning people.
It is based on the principle of equity meaning thereby that the child is
entitled to get education of equitable quality. It is to be done though a well
defined institutionalized mechanism. What the HT does is to appeal to the
conscience of its readers who , out of compassion for the poor children should
find time to prepare a first language textbook for them by cutting and pasting
these sheets. This is an act of pity which no self respecting individual would
accept. The campaign designers must ask themselves this question: would they do
this for their own children? If not, how is it right for a poor child? It would
also be interesting for the managers of this campaign to do a survey to find out
how many of its readers have actually indulged in this act of charity.

This campaign, apart from showing its insensitivity to the issue of equity and
equality is also faulty in its design from the point of view of language
pedagogy. In 2012 no language teacher ought to prescribe alphabet-books as the
first learning tool. Language pedagogy has moved far ahead from the days when
alphabets used to be the first step in language learning. Had the campaign
designers taken care to read the National Curriculum Framework 2005 and the
focus group papers on language teaching, they would have realized that now
language teaching has become much more sophisticated. If the argument is that
children deprived of the latest language teaching methods should at least be
given this much, it again violates the constitutional principle of equality.

We have moved away from the ‘A for Apple’ nonsense after considerable
effort, and it is disconcerting to see a major media agency reviving it without
much thought.

Textbooks are only one part of it, significant and crucial though they are.
Textbooks are held together by integrity of content and design, they are not
merely a cut-paste- sew job. Designing of a first language book for a child in a
multi-lingual context, requires a lot of responsible thinking which minds
uneducated in the issues of language learning and unaware of the latest research
in this field should not do. The first book in the hands of a child is a total
experience. It should be able excite and stimulate all her/ his sensory
perceptions. Moreover, the act of reading at the very first stages is now taken
very seriously. It would do well to the designers of this campaign to have a
look at the reading programs initiated by the NCERT and many states for the
first and second grade children. Poor children deserve quality textbooks and
reading material designed and produced well to last a full term, and printed on
good quality paper and not on newsprint.

Seen even from the angle of social diversity, the pictorial alphabets sheets use
images which leaves out a large population of children who have not been brought
up in the tradition of upper caste male Hindu iconography .

The cavalier manner in which the whole campaign is designed again leads one to
question the minds behind it: are they serious in their intention to support the
educational system? If yes, they should give the money to the professional
agencies involved in the business of schooling rather than squandering it on
such tokenistic gestures which is also bad investment.

Sincerely

Apoorvanand, Professor, Delhi University, Member, Focus Group On Indian
languages, National Curriculum Framework, 2005
Krishna Kumar, Professor, CIE, Delhi Unv, Former Director, NCERT
Kumar Rana, Pratichi, Kolkata
Shabnam Hashmi, Member, MAEF, NLMA
Vinod Raina, Member, NAC- RTE


=======================================
7. PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
=======================================
(i) HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE FUNCTIONS OF SAARC

The purpose of this publication is to serve as a baseline study of human rights
situations in South Asia in relation to the functions of SAARC as a regional
grouping. We hope this publication and the subsequent monitoring reports will
help track the development of the role of SAARC in the promotion and protection
of human rights in the coming years and generate wider interest and discurrion
in following this development.
http://www.sacw.net/article2664.html

o o o

(ii) SHAHZAD BASHIR AND ROBERT D. CREWS, EDS., UNDER THE DRONES: MODERN LIVES IN
THE AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN BORDERLANDS
(http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674065611)

Table of Contents:
Introduction / Shahzad Bashir and Robert D. Crews
1. Political Struggles over the Afghanistan–Pakistan Borderlands / Amin Tarzi
2. The Transformation of the Afghanistan–Pakistan Border / Gilles Dorronsoro
3. Religious Revivalism across the Durand Line / Sana Haroon
4. Taliban, Real and Imagined / James Caron
5. Quandaries of the Afghan Nation / Shah Mahmoud Hanifi
6. How Tribal Are the Taliban? / Thomas Ruttig
7. Ethnic Minorities in Search of Political Consolidation / Lutz Rzehak
8. Red Mosque / Faisal Devji
9. Madrasa Statistics Don’t Support the Myth / Tahir Andrabi, Jishnu Das,
and Asim Ijaz Khwaja
10. Will Sufi Islam Save Pakistan? / Farzana Shaikh
11. The Politics of Pashtun and Punjabi Truck Decoration / Jamal J. Elias
12. The Afghan Mediascape / Nushin Arbabzadah
13. Women and the Drug Trade in Afghanistan / Fariba Nawa
Epilogue / Shahzad Bashir and Robert D. Crews

=======================================
8. UPCOMING EVENTS:
=======================================
(i) PILER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE LABOUR IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION
2-3 May 2012

Conference Day One

Wednesday 2 May 2011

Inaugural Session 09:30 am – 11:00 am

Welcome Address  Dr. Syed Jaffer Ahmed
				 Director, Pakistan Study Center, University of Karachi

Introduction to the  Karamat Ali
Conference 	 Executive Director, PILER

Keynote Speech  Labour and Poverty in Pakistan
Professor Dr. Jan Breman
				 University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Chairperson’s Remarks Professor Dr. Muhammad Qaiser,
Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi

	 Concluding Remarks Rasheed A. Rizvi, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan &
				 President PILER Board

Tea Break  11:00 am – 11:30 am


11:30– 1:30 pm  Session One: Growth Paradigm and Decent Work Crisis
			 Chair:

The Plight of the Non-Labouring Poor, Prof. Jan Breman
Employment security: lessons from India, Dr. Amrita Chachhi
Creating spaces for decent work in urban centres,  Arif Hasan
Global Capitalism and the Negation of Democracy: The Case of Labor Rights, Dr.
Rubina Saigol
Social Protection in Times of Crisis, Dr. Asad Saeed
Question and answer

     	 1:30 – 2:30 pm  Lunch

2:30-5:30 pm  Session Two – Unions and the Crisis: Rethinking Strategies
				 Chair: Karamat Ali

Unions in the informal sector, Ashim Roy, India (NTUI), & Pakistan, Mian Abdul
Qayyum, Labour Qaumi Movement
Labour relations and the state in the post-18th Amendment era, Faisal Siddiqui
Decentralizing labour legislation: Workers’ perspective, Farid Awan
				 Public Sector Unions: Workers’ response to privatization,
Case studies: Pakistan Railways, Manzoor Razi and Karachi Electric Supply Corp,
Lateef Mughal
				 Peasants’ movement for land rights: Post-victory struggle, Aqeela Naz
				 Question & answer

Conference Day Two
Thursday, 3 May 2012

	 10:00-1:00 PM  Session Three -- Climate Change: Impact on Livelihood & Labour
				 Chair:

Climate Change Induced Disasters: Vulnerabilities and Impacts on the Poor,
Nikhat Sattar
Disaster Management, Development Planning and Role of the State, Kaiser Bengali
Women and crisis management in times of disasters, Mariam Bibi
Post-floods implications on labour: bonded labour,  Bisharat Ali
Climate change and disaster preparedness: role of the community, Mohammad Ali
Shah

	 Lunch Break
	 1:00 – 2:00

2:00 – 4:00 pm  Session Four: South Asian Labour: Emerging Trends & Challenges
(Thematic areas: legislation, trade unionism, social protection, state policies)
			 Chair:
Country presentations:
			 Bangladesh, Abul Hossain
Pakistan, Harris Gazdar, Globalisation, Labour Non-Markets and Conflict
			 Sri Lanka, Arumugum Muthulingum
			 Nepal, Ramesh Badal

4:00- 5:00 pm  Plenary/Open discussion
Resetting the Agenda: Informalization of Labour--The Coping Strategies, Jan
Breman
				 Recommendations from the informal labour
				 Recommendations from the formal unions
				 Discussion
				 Resolution
				 Note of thanks

o o o

(ii) 32nd Bhimsen Sachar Memorial Lecture by Shri Ashish Nandy on 3rd May 2012
at 5.30 P.M. at Constitution Club (Speaker Hall) Vithal Bhai Patel House, Rafi
Marg, New Delhi.


INTERNATIONAL
=======================================
9. AN IMPERIALIST SPRINGTIME? - LIBYA, SYRIA, AND BEYOND
Samir Amin Interviewed by Aijaz Ahmad
=======================================
http://bit.ly/IDA02C

Samir Amin: You see, the US establishment -- and behind the US establishment its
allies, the Europeans and others, Turkey as a member of NATO -- derived their
lesson from their having been surprised in Tunisia and Egypt: prevent similar
movements elsewhere in the Arab countries, preempt them by taking the initiative
of, initiating, the movements.  They have tested their experience in Libya, and
they have tested it in Libya with success, in the sense that, in Libya, at the
start we had no [broad popular] movement . . . against Gaddafi.  We had small
armed groups, and one has to question immediately . . . where those arms were
coming from.  They were -- we know it -- from the beginning, from the Gulf, with
the support of Western powers, and the US.  And attacking the army, police, and
so on.  And the same day, not even the next day, those very people who qualified
themselves as "liberation forces," "democratic liberation forces," called upon
NATO -- the French and then NATO -- to come to the rescue, and that allowed for
the intervention.  That intervention has succeeded in the sense that it
destroyed the regime of Gaddafi.  But what is the result of the success?  Is it
democratic Libya?  Well, one should laugh at that when one knows that the
president of the new regime is nobody else than the very judge who condemned to
death the Bulgarian nurses.  What a curious democracy it is!  But it has also
led to the dislocation of the country on a Somalian pattern: that is, local
powers -- all of them in the name of so-called "Islam," but local warlords --
with the destruction of the country.  One can raise the question: was this the
target of the intervention -- that is, the destruction of the country?

I'll come back to this main question, because they tried to implement the same
strategy immediately afterward on Syria -- that is, introducing armed groups
from the very beginning.  From the north through Turkey, Hatay particularly. 
The so-called "refugee camps" in Hatay are not refugee camps -- there are very
few refugees -- they are camps for training mercenaries to intervene in Syria. 
This is well documented by our Turkish friends.  And Turkey as a NATO power is
part of the conspiracy in that case.  And similarly with Jordan, introducing
from the south, with the support -- not only neutrality but, I think, active
support -- of Israel, through Daraa, southern armed groups.

Facing that in Syria we have objectively a situation similar to the one of
Egypt: that is, a regime which a long, long time ago had legitimacy, for the
same reasons, when it was a national-popular regime but lost it in the time of
Hafez Assad already -- it moved to align itself with neoliberalism,
privatization, etc., leading to the same social disaster.  So, there is an
objective ground for a wide, popular, social-oriented uprising.  But by
preempting this movement, through the military intervention of armed groups, the
Western imperialist powers have created a situation where the popular democratic
movement is . . . hesitating.  They don't want to join the so-called
"resistance" against Bashar Assad; but they don't want to support the regime of
Bashar Assad either.  That has allowed Bashar Assad to successfully put an end,
or limits, to external intervention, in Homs and on the boundary of Turkey in
the north.  But opposing state terror to the real terrorism of armed groups
supported by foreign powers is not the answer to the question.  The answer to
the question is really changing the system to the benefit of, through
negotiations with, the real popular democratic movement.  This is the challenge.
And this is the question which is raised.  We don't know, I don't know, I think
nobody knows how things will move on: whether the regime, or people within the
regime, will understand that and move towards real reform by opening, more than
negotiations, a re-distribution of the power system with the popular democratic
movement, or will stick to the way of meeting explosions just brutally as they
have done until today.  If they continue in that direction, finally they will be
defeated, but they will be defeated to the benefit of imperialist powers.

Now, what is the real target of imperialism, in Syria and in the region?  It is
not at all bringing democracy.  It is destroying societies just as they have
destroyed the society of Libya.  If you take the example of Iraq, what have they
done?  They have replaced the real dictatorship of Saddam Hussein by three
uglier dictatorships: two in the name of religion, Shia and Sunni, one in the
name of so-called "ethnicity," Kurds, which are uglier even than Saddam
Hussein's dictatorship.  They have destroyed the country by systematic
assassination -- I have no other word for that.  In addition to hundreds of
thousands of people who were bombed in humanitarian bombings and so on, the
systematic assassination of the cadres of the regime: scientists, doctors,
engineers, professors of universities, even poets, and so on -- all the real
elite of the nation.  That is destroying the country.  This is the target of
imperialism in Syria.  What does the so-called "Liberation Army of Syria" claim
to have as its program?  That we should eradicate the Alawis, the Druzes, the
Christians, the Shia.  When you add those four "minorities," you come to 45% of
the population of Syria.  What does it mean?  It means democracy?  It means the
ugliest possible dictatorship and the destruction of the country.

Now, who has interest in that?  This is the common interest of three intimate
allies: the US, Israel, and the Gulf countries.  The US.  Why?  Because the
destruction of the societies of the region is the best way to prepare the next
stage, which is the destruction of Iran, with a view of the containment and
possibly rolling back of major "emerging" countries, the dangerous ones, China
and Russia (and potentially, if India is naughty, India -- but India is not
naughty, for the time being).  That is the target.  It implies the destruction
of the societies of the Middle East, including that of Iran, as a major target. 
This project of destruction of societies, accompanied with the continuation of
lumpen-development, is also the target of Israel.  Because, if Syria is split
into four or five insignificant, confessional, small states, it allows for
further easy expansion of the process of Israel's colonization.  It is also the
target of the Gulf.  Well, it is almost a farce to see today the Emir of Qatar
and the King of Saudi Arabia, standing with the Westerners Obama, Sarkozy, and
Cameron, as the leaders of the struggle for democracy.  One can only laugh.  But
their hegemony in the region in the name of Islam -- in the "name," because
there are different possible understandings of Islam of course -- implies the
destruction of countries like Egypt basically, because, if Egypt is standing on
her feet, then the hegemony of the Gulf is, you know, what was the Gulf in the
time of Nasser, in the days of Nasser?  So they have this in common.

And they are supported, within the societies, by the Muslim Brotherhood. 
Therefore, I would conclude by that.  We should look at the Muslim Brotherhood
not as an "Islamic" party.  The criterion for qualifying and judging
organizations, parties, is not whether they are "Islamic" or whether they are
"secular," but whether they are reactionary or progressive.  And when we look at
the Muslim Brotherhood, on all real issues, they are against the strikes of the
working class, they are against the resistance of poor peasants, they are for
privatization, they are in favor of the dismantling of public service, which
means that they are fully aligned with the most reactionary forces.  This is a
reactionary party using Islam as a front.  This is the real criterion.

This is the global picture of what are the strategic targets of imperialists and
their internal allies, reactionary forces, within the societies of the Middle
East.

[Samir Amin is an Egyptian Marxist economist.  Aijaz Ahmad is an Indian Marxist
critic.  The above text is an edited partial transcript of a video interview
released by NewsClick on 24 April 2012. ]

=======================================
10. USA:  WE JAPANESE AMERICANS MUST NOT FORGET OUR WARTIME INTERNMENT
by George Takei
=======================================
(The Guardian, 27 April 2012)

The degrading treatment of Japanese American families like mine is the theme of
my new musical, Allegiance

[Photo]
[Caption] Japanese American children outside California internment camp
Two Japanese children stand underneath a notice detailing 'Civilian Restrictive
Order No 1' outside the Pinedale assembly centre, California, in 1942.
Photograph: Us Army Signal Corps/ CORBIS

Seventy years ago, US soldiers bearing bayoneted rifles came marching up to the
front door of our family's home in Los Angeles, ordering us out. Our crime was
looking like the people who had bombed Pearl Harbor a few months before. I'll
never forget that day, nor the tears streaming down my mother's face as we were
forcibly removed, herded off like animals, to a nearby race track. There, for
weeks, we would live in a filthy horse stable while our "permanent" relocation
camp was being constructed thousands of miles away in Arkansas, in a place
called Rohwer.

I recently revisited Rohwer. Gone were the sentry towers, armed guards, barbed
wire and crudely constructed barracks that defined our lives for many years. The
swamp had been drained, the trees chopped down. Only miles and miles of cotton
fields. The only thing remaining was the cemetery with two tall monuments.

Because I was a child, I didn't understand the depth of the degradation and
deprivation my parents suffered, or how courageous and foresighted my mother had
been to smuggle a sewing machine into camp, which permitted her to make modest
curtains for our bare quarters. I didn't grasp what a blow the ordeal was to my
father's role as provider, as he struggled to keep our family together. The
family ate, bathed and did chores along with a whole community, pressed together
in the confines of a makeshift camp, in the oppressive heat and
mosquito-infested swamps of Arkansas.

Later my family would be shipped to a high-security camp in Tule Lake,
California, constructed in a desolate, dry lake bed in the north of the state.
Three layers of barbed-wire fences now confined us. Out of principle, my parents
had refused to answer yes to a "loyalty" questionnaire the government had
promulgated. It had asked whether they would serve in the US army and go
wherever ordered, and whether they would swear allegiance to the US government
and "forswear" loyalty to the Japanese emperor – as if any had ever sworn such
loyalty in the first instance.

Because the government had already taken so much from us, and broken its promise
of "liberty and justice for all", how could my parents give them the
satisfaction of a forced oath? I still remember the irony of holding my hand to
my heart and pledging allegiance to the US flag in the tar-paper barrack
schoolroom, even as armed guards watched over us and barbed wire kept us locked
inside that prison, without charge, trial or due process.

My father once said: "America is a democracy as great as the people can be, but
also as fallible." When I was a teenager, I began to understand better what had
been done to us, and to question my own father about it. In one heated exchange,
I said to him angrily: "Why didn't you do anything, Daddy? You led us like sheep
to slaughter!" And for the first time, I saw the great sadness in his eyes as he
said simply,: "Maybe you're right" – and turned and walked from the table,
shutting his bedroom door behind him.

I will always regret those words. The tragedy of the internment of 120,000
Japanese Americans was not only that it was the greatest violation of our
constitutional guarantees, but that it broke apart families and whole
communities, and left scars that today remain unhealed, even after the
government later apologised and issued reparations. It was almost a half-century
too late. President Ronald Reagan only reluctantly signed the Civil Liberties
Act of 1988. It expressed regret for the injustice and paid a token redress of
$20,000 to those survivors still alive. My father had already passed away in
1979, never to know of the apology or receive the redress money. I donated the
sum to the most fitting institution, the Japanese American National Museum,
which tells the story of the experience of Americans of Japanese ancestry.

When I returned to Rohwer this year, it was not in anger or sadness, but with a
deep resolve to help ensure such a thing never happens again within our shores.
I will soon be appearing in Allegiance, the first piece of American musical
theatre to ever address the subject of the internment, which remains one of the
darkest and most little-known chapters of our history. We also plan to bring the
show to the great stage of Broadway next year, so that the world can hear the
story and our profound message: "Never forget, never again."


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 6 May 2012 - No. 2747
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Pakistan - India: High on grass (Jawed Naqvi)
2. India: A dangerous high   (Praful Bidwai)
3. Pakistan: A New Report on Curriculum of hatred in schools
4. Sri Lanka: A Monk On The Rampage (Niranjala Ariyawansha)
5. Sri Lanka: Australia Should Raise Torture Concerns (Human Rights Watch)'
6. India: ”It’s a girl!” ”Kill her” (Taslima Nasreen)
7. India: Pathribal ruling a setback for justice in Jammu and Kashmir (Amnesty
International)
8. India: Lumpenland - The cause of West Bengal’s gloom lies in its people’s
naiveté (Ashok Mitra)

International:
9. Tunisia: Persepolis trial verdict signals 'erosion' of free speech (Amnesty
International)
10. China: Beijing Leaders Considering End of Communist Rule (Li Heming)
11. Announcements:
- Tribute to Saadat Hassan Manto (Lahore, 14th - 17th May 2012)

=======================================
1. PAKISTAN - INDIA: HIGH ON GRASS
by Jawed Naqvi
=======================================
(Dawn, 26 April 2012)

Z.A. BHUTTO prescribed grass as the food that his people would merrily eat to
mobilise resources for Pakistan’s bomb project, but he was not being original.

Reports from North Korea hinted at widespread starvation in what was then an
aspiring nuclear weapons state. With the bomb in hand, the country is said to
live on food dole from some of its perceived foes.

In Bhutto’s neighbourhood, when Indira Gandhi first tested the bomb in 1974,
thousands of impoverished Indians were already scraping hybrid tree roots for a
meal, which would become more precarious with seasonal drought and floods.
Credible studies have likened populous Indian states — despite Manmohan
Singh’s economic wizardry, or perhaps because of it — to sub-Saharan Africa.

Pakistan’s test of the Shaheen-1A nuclear missile on Wednesday followed a
pattern of destitution. The government has not been able to rehabilitate victims
of recent floods and earthquakes but it feels no shame boasting of a missile
that can hit more parts of India but not do much more for its own people.

India’s successful launch of Agni V a few days earlier means it can target
every part of China. As if on cue, the Indian media went out of its way to
emphasise that the new missile would not reach America or Western Europe — so
much for claims of nuclear sovereignty.

Indians are evidently unconvinced that ceaseless self-congratulation can be a
sign of myopia. If TV-watching audiences in Delhi and Mumbai have been led to
see Pakistan as a failed state, should they at least not be apprised also of the
flip side to the assumption — that a supposedly failed state is still capable
of showing off its ‘scientific’ achievements?

Does it do India credit to exult over a technology, which in theory or even in
practice a North Korea or an Iran can replicate with equal ease? What Indians
can boast of, if that is what they must do, is that the world in its strange
wisdom has turned a blind eye to South Asia’s dangerously poised arsenal of
bombs and missiles.

In any equitable democracy, with over a billion people to feed, 80 per cent of
them living on less than a dollar a day, each Indian paisa spent on the military
should be deemed a serious criminal offence. And that is only one part of the
picture.

A new study sponsored by the Swiss foreign ministry has warned that even a diet
of grass recommended by Bhutto and accepted in practice by Indians may not be on
offer to survivors of a nuclear exchange not only in the subcontinent but across
the oceans.

I was working with a newspaper in Dubai when the Chernobyl disaster happened in
the Soviet Union. And I remember that milk powder from Turkey was banned because
of its high radiation content. Contaminated rain clouds impacted the grass in
neighbouring countries, which the cattle ingested. But that was a mild fallout.
What lies ahead for the agricultural economies of not only India and Pakistan
but all the way to the United States is mind-boggling in its enormity.

Swiss-backed studies published this year have examined the impact on
agricultural output that would result from climate disruption alone.

Consider the fact that at the time of the Bengal famine of 1943, during which
three million people died, food production was only five per cent less than it
had been on average over the preceding five years.

But in 1943, after the Japanese occupation of Burma, which had historically
exported grain to Bengal, the decline in food production was coupled with panic
hoarding, and the price of rice increased nearly five-fold, making food
unaffordable to large numbers of people.

These two factors — hoarding and the severe increase in rice prices, in which
India and Pakistan excel — caused an effective inaccessibility of food far
more severe than the actual shortfall in production.

We would have to expect panic on a far greater scale following a nuclear war,
the studies say, even if it were a ‘limited’ regional war, especially as it
became clear that there would be significant, sustained agricultural shortfalls
over an extended period.

In the United States, corn production would decline by an average of 10 per cent
for an entire decade, with the most severe decline about 20 per cent in year
five.

A second study found a significant decline in Chinese middle-season rice
production. The decline in available food would be exacerbated by increases in
food prices, which would make food inaccessible to hundreds of millions of the
world’s poorest.

Even if agricultural markets continued to function normally, 215 million people
would be added to the rolls of the malnourished over the course of a decade.

However, markets would not function normally and in South Asia we know better.
Significant, sustained agricultural shortfalls over an extended period would
almost certainly lead to panic and hoarding on an international scale as
food-exporting nations suspended exports in order to assure adequate food
supplies for their own populations. This turmoil in the agricultural markets
would further reduce accessible food, the studies conclude.

The 925 million people in the world who are chronically malnourished have a
baseline consumption of 1,750 calories or less per day. Even a 10 per cent
decline in their food consumption would put this entire group at risk.In
addition, the anticipated suspension of exports from grain-growing countries
would threaten the food supplies of several hundred million additional people
who have adequate nutrition today, but who live in countries that are highly
dependent on food imports.

The number of people threatened by nuclear-war induced famine would be well over
one billion. Bhutto may have grandly prescribed a recipe of grass to build the
bomb. But there may not be enough grass left to save the survivors of the bomb.

Clearly, the Swiss-sponsored studies underscore the urgent need to move with
speed to the negotiation of a nuclear weapons convention that will eliminate the
danger of nuclear war. It is more a question of collective survival than a
matter of choosing a desperate cuisine. Let’s not be high on grass.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi.

=======================================
2. INDIA: A DANGEROUS HIGH
by Praful Bidwai
=======================================
Frontline, Volume 29 - Issue 09, May. 05-18, 2012

Euphoria over the Agni-V test flight reflects hypernationalism and jingoism, not
rational concern for adequate security.

SO radical was the conceptual and doctrinal break that India made when it
overtly crossed the nuclear weapons threshold in May 1998 that the architects of
the new jingoist policy had to invent all kinds of rationalisations, subterfuges
and pretences to “normalise” the rupture. The need to do so was all the more
acute because no actual security threat or even a halfway serious indication of
one justified the break. India, then under Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule,
acquired these mass-destruction weapons largely for (false) reasons of global
stature and prestige.

Four such rationalisations were important: nuclear weapons would promote
strategic stability in the region; second, nuclearisation would help India
limit/reduce its expenditure on conventional armaments; third, India would now
have better leverage to fight for the ultimate and worthy objective of global
nuclear disarmament; and fourth, India would act with exemplary restraint as a
“responsible” nuclear weapons state (NWS) and avert the blunders the Great
Powers committed during the Cold War, including sustaining a runaway arms race.
Thus, India offered a no-first-use assurance and declared a moratorium on
further tests.

All these rationalisations have come unstuck. The earliest to collapse was the
first. India’s nuclear tests provoked a hysterical reaction in Pakistan,
aggravated by Home Minister L.K. Advani’s hubris-driven warning to Pakistan
against messing about in Kashmir because the “geostrategic” context had
decisively changed in India’s favour. This showed the alarming mis-assessment
at the highest levels of Pakistan’s nuclear capability. Pakistan conducted six
nuclear blasts on May 28 and 30, 1998. A nasty exchange of threats and outright
abuse followed between the two governments. Worse, a year after the tests, India
and Pakistan fought a bitter conflict at Kargil. This was a mid-sized shooting
war by global standards, involving tens of thousands of troops, top-of-the-shelf
weaponry and hundreds of casualties, with a potential for escalation to the
nuclear level, for which both states made preparations.

Each challenged the other to a nuclear duel, which stressed the conflict’s
hair-raising nature. So much for the idea that nuclear weapons would promote
strategic stability or induce sobriety and maturity among South Asia’s
leaders. And so much for nuclear weapons deterring conventional conflicts.
Contrary to the atomic apologists’ claims, nuclearisation has not slowed down
the conventional arms race between India and Pakistan, and increasingly between
India and China. India’s military spending has risen more than fourfold since
1998 to $48.9 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute. India became the world’s largest importer of arms in the 2007-11
period. Pakistan is bleeding itself to compete with India’s new,
sophisticated, pricey weapons systems.

India promised to fight for global nuclear weapons elimination. The United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) even pledged to update the 1988 Rajiv Gandhi plan for
nuclear disarmament. These promises have proved hollow. A central feature of the
United States-India nuclear deal is that it legitimises India’s nuclear
weapons by resuming civilian nuclear commerce with India – although the
country has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or any other nuclear
restraint agreement. In the process of joining the global nuclear club, India
has legitimised all the NWS’ weapons and bid goodbye to disarmament.

The final rationalisation, offering restraint and “responsibility”, began
fraying just a year after the tests when India issued the Draft Nuclear
Doctrine, which duly mentioned a “credible minimum deterrent” and
no-first-use, and pledged not to use nuclear weapons against non-NWSs unless
they were aligned to NWSs. But operationally, it emphasised maximum credibility,
effectiveness, survivability and the ability to deter any NWS through effective
punitive retaliation.

The doctrine dismissed the idea of fixing the size of the deterrent and
committed India to a “triadic” (land-, water- and air-based) nuclear arsenal
with multiple redundant systems – that is, more than a bare minimum. It also
declared that India would accept no limitation/restriction on its research &
development capabilities or activities in regard to nuclear weapons and related
areas.

In 2003, the government added the term “massive” to the nuclear retaliation
proposition. It also diluted the no-first-use concept and the pledge not to
attack non-NWSs: India would use nuclear weapons in response to a “major
attack” on India or on Indian forces anywhere with chemical or biological
weapons as well as nuclear arms. Soon “credible minimum deterrent” degraded
into an obsession with a second-strike capability, which makes nonsense of
nuclear restraint.

DEGENERATIVE LOGIC

The development of the Agni series of missiles, culminating in the Agni-V with a
range of 5,000 kilometres, as well as the recent acquisition, on lease, of a
nuclear-propelled submarine from Russia, was a consequence of the way the
doctrine of nuclear deterrence has evolved in India, with all its degenerative
logic on full display.

Ironically, for half a century until 1998, India itself had warned against this
logic and condemned nuclear deterrence in a principled fashion. The nuclear
deterrence doctrine holds that security is best achieved not through the
elimination of nuclear weapons but through a “balance of terror” –
deterring an adversary’s nuclear attack by threatening him with
“unacceptable damage” with your own nuclear armaments.

India termed nuclear deterrence “morally abhorrent” because underlying it is
pitiless disregard for human life, and preparedness and readiness to kill
millions of civilians in the “enemy” country. India also argued that
deterrence is strategically irrational because nuclear weapons do not provide
security and are not instruments of defence but only of aggression. Deterrence
leads to an arms race, which creates greater insecurity and is potentially
ruinous economically as well. This captured the essential truth about the Cold
War, with its furious build-up of nuclear warheads, missile rivalry, and
spiralling spending on mass-destruction as well as conventional armaments in the
rival blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union.

This made the world even more unsafe, causing hundreds of accidents, strategic
misperceptions, false alarms, near-combat situations and confrontations such as
the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. We now know from declassified documents that
the Cuban crisis was much worse than thought earlier. More scarily, neither the
Kennedy nor the Khrushchev leadership was aware of its true gravity. There were
hundreds of other occasions when deterrence very nearly broke down.

Nuclear deterrence assumes that there will be perfect transparency about the
nuclear capabilities and doctrines of all adversaries, that there will be no
accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons and no strategic
misperceptions, and that command and control as well as early warning systems
will work efficiently at all times.

In reality, there is very little transparency or clarity about adversaries’
intentions or actions. They strive to maintain elements of surprise and
deception. All kinds of accidents happened during and after the Cold War despite
the expenditure of trillions of dollars on command and control systems. Early
warning systems often proved unreliable. Nuclear submarines collided with ships
carrying nuclear weapons. Weather rockets were mistaken for missiles.
Counter-strikes were ordered – to be called off in the nick of time only
because a technician detected the misperception.

As a statement of 1996 by 60 generals and admirals from different countries
said, deterrence was always unstable and unreliable. The probability of
accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons always remained significant.
Deterrence is a deadly delusion. It represents a slippery slope to disaster.

RAUCOUS CELEBRATION

The Agni-V was greeted in India with raucous celebration and sabre-rattling
rooted in chauvinist hypernationalism. Political parties vied with one another
to lavish praise on Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
personnel for their “scientific achievement”. They ignored the hostile
reaction from the Chinese state-owned Global Times newspaper, which noted
Agni-V’s China-specific nature and said India was being swept by a “missile
delusion”, but stood “no chance in an overall arms race with China” and
would “gain nothing by stirring further hostility”.

Some of our commentators are happy that the U.S., which had pressed India to
suspend Agni test-flights in 1994 and then again in 2003-5, has not reacted
unfavourably to the latest test flight and praised India’s non-proliferation
record. But that is because India is being drawn into the U.S.’ China
containment strategy. There will be a price to pay for rushing headlong into a
missile and nuclear arms race with China, which is three times bigger in both
economic size and military expenditure. Amidst the euphoria, nobody talks about
the price. The most sober advice being offered is that India should not equip
Agni-V with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRV), or
numerous warheads which can hit different targets. It should only treat Agni-V
as a “deterrent”.

This only caters to the growing smug faith among our leaders in nuclear
deterrence and the notion of a “responsible nuclear state”, itself an
oxymoron. The greatest tragedy is that New Delhi has erased from its
consciousness the truth about deterrence. India must pause and rethink. It must
explore peaceful diplomatic approaches to defuse rivalry with its neighbours,
while returning to the global nuclear disarmament agenda.

[The above is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2665.html ]

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: A NEW REPORT ON CURRICULUM OF HATRED IN SCHOOLS
=======================================

For decades the textbooks used in Pakistan’s educational institutions,
especially the ones used in the public sector, have drawn serious criticism from
experts and concerned citizens. Besides being shoddily produced, the textbooks
lack creativity and fail to stimulate a child’s imagination. The most serious
charge against them is that the content, wholly or partially, is biased,
selective and inculcates in the child a parochial and subjective outlook. The
charge is primarily levelled against the textbooks for the disciplines of
History, Pakistan Studies and Islamiat, but is not confined to these subjects.
For the most part the content of these textbooks seeks to stem analytical
thinking and follows what some have described as the “curriculum of hatred”.
In addition to creating a sense of nationhood grounded in religion, these
textbooks have served to entrench denominational thinking that leads to
religious bigotry.

http://www.sacw.net/article2666.html

=======================================
4. SRI LANKA: A MONK ON THE RAMPAGE
by Niranjala Ariyawansha
=======================================

Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero, the Chief Priest at the Rangiri Dambulla
Viharaya was in the forefront in recent times leading a protest at Dambulla to
relocate a mosque which was within the sacred Vihara land, disputed by the
Muslim fraternity. The issue is yet on the boil and the government has not
resolved this sensitive stand off.
Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero is no stranger to controversy and has time and again
led protests against the administrative and political structure. Our reporter
Niranjala Ariyawansha interviewed the Chief monk. At the conclusion of this
interview Sumangala Thero warned our reporter of dire consequences if she ever
stepped foot into Dambulla.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2012/05/06/a-monk-on-the-rampage/

=======================================
5. SRI LANKA: AUSTRALIA SHOULD RAISE TORTURE CONCERNS
=======================================
(Human Rights Watch)

Cooperation on People-Smuggling Risks Further Abuses
April 30, 2012

Rejected asylum seekers returned to Sri Lanka have been subject to arbitrary
detention, torture, and other serious human rights abuses. Efforts to counter
and prevent people-smuggling should seek to protect asylum seekers, and
shouldn’t interfere with their right to seek asylum.
Phil Lynch, executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre

(Melbourne) – Australia’s immigration minister should raise concerns with
Sri Lankan officials about alleged arbitrary arrest and torture of people who
were refused asylum and sent back to Sri Lanka when he visits this week, the
Human Rights Law Centre and Human Rights Watch said today.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from May 2 to
4, 2012, to discuss migration issues, including preventing people smuggling from
Sri Lanka to Australia. Bowen has said, “Australia will continue working
closely with Sri Lanka on issues relating to people smuggling, including
preventing and disrupting people smuggling ventures by air and sea.” The Human
Rights Law Centre and Human Rights Watch called on Bowen and all senior
Australian officials to ensure that respect for human rights and accountability
for human rights violations are central to all discussions with their Sri Lankan
counterparts.

“Rejected asylum seekers returned to Sri Lanka have been subject to arbitrary
detention, torture, and other serious human rights abuses,” said Phil Lynch,
executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre. “Efforts to counter and
prevent people-smuggling should seek to protect asylum seekers, and shouldn’t
interfere with their right to seek asylum.”

Australia cooperates closely with Sri Lanka on addressing people-smuggling. The
Sri Lankan Department of Immigration and Emigration receives Australian aid, and
Australia’s last federal budget included almost AU$11 million to deploy
Australian federal police officers to Sri Lanka and other countries to “combat
people smuggling.”

The Human Rights Law Centre and Human Rights Watch urged both governments to
make certain that they do not undermine legal protections for asylum seekers in
their efforts to counter people-smuggling. Human Rights Watch has documented at
least eight cases in which people who had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the UK
were returned to Sri Lanka and endured serious human rights abuses, including
torture and rape. Some said they were beaten with batons and burned with
cigarettes.

The Edmund Rice Center in Australia similarly documented in May 2010 that asylum
seekers returned to Sri Lanka were handed over to the Criminal Investigation
Department, the Sri Lankan police, and taken into custody. Some have been
detained and assaulted.

In March an Australian citizen, Premakumar Gunaratnam, who was trying to form a
political party in Sri Lanka, alleged that he was picked up and tortured in
custody. Sri Lankan authorities subsequently deported him to Australia.

The United Nations Committee against Torture found in November 2011 that torture
and ill-treatment in Sri Lanka are “widespread and persistent.” It stated
that, “[The] continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture
and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of suspects in police custody,
especially to extract confessions or information to be used in criminal
proceedings. The Committee is further concerned at reports that suggest that
torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by state actors, both the military and the
police, have continued in many parts of the country after the conflict ended in
May 2009 and is still occurring in 2011.”

“Australia should ensure that human rights concerns and safeguards are
paramount in any security, intelligence, and migration cooperation with Sri
Lanka,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Australia is prohibited under the Refugees Convention and international human
rights law from sending anyone to a country where they face torture and
ill-treatment.”

Immigration Minister Bowen should also raise Australia’s broader concerns
about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka during his visit, the
organizations said. Specifically he should ask what the Sri Lankan government is
doing to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka’s
26-year-long conflict, which ended three years ago.

In March the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka showing
strong international support for accountability for abuses committed by all
sides to the conflict. The resolution calls upon the Sri Lankan government to
fulfill its legal obligations toward justice and accountability, to
expeditiously provide a comprehensive action plan to carry out the
recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to
address alleged violations of international law. It also encourages the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN human rights envoys to
assist Sri Lanka in implementing these steps.

“Bowen should make it crystal clear though public and private statements that
Australia supports international efforts at accountability, and that Sri Lanka
has failed to deliver,” Lynch said. “In particular, Bowen should ask what
efforts have been made to implement the UN Human Rights Council resolution to
ensure justice for the numerous atrocities that occurred during the conflict.”


=======================================
6. INDIA: ”IT’S A GIRL!” ”KILL HER”.
by Taslima Nasreen
=======================================
freethoughtblogs.com

April 30, 2012

We fought against  patriarchy and religion for  our sexual freedom.  We now 
fight against multi-billion dollar sex industries to stop sexual exploitation of
women. We fought against  religion for our abortion rights. We now fight against
misogynistic patriarchal societies to stop  sex-selective abortion. It seems it 
is a  never-ending fight.

”The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when
the doctor says, ‘It’s a girl’  ”– Shirley Chisholm

Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning economist said in 1990, that   more than
100 million women are missing.  ‘In India, China and some other countries in
the world , girls are killed, aborted & abandoned  because they are girls. The
United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world
today because of  gendercide. 50 million missing campaign  fighting  gendercide 
in India.  Gendercide is war on women.

We know at  birth boys outnumber girls, there are  105 or 106 male children for
every 100 female children. But later women  outnumber  men  because  women are 
more resistant to disease, and tend to live longer than men  even if men and 
women receive similar nutritional and medical attention and general health care.
India and China are having skewed sex ratio at birth.  In some places of India
there are  even less than  700  girls for 1000 boys.

Abortion is legal, but  sex-selective abortion is not legal in India. Some
people have tried to talk about law. Those women who have killed their own
female fetuses, cried out, ‘law, what is law? Will the law come to my aid when
my husband throws me out of the house or kills me for giving birth to yet
another girl! Will the law help me when my husband marries again in the hope of
a son? Can the law change the way society looks at me because I have no son! ‘

If the woman cannot provide a son, her life is torn asunder by strife. To put it
bluntly, the message flashed by society – and this is what people really
think, no matter what they say – is that, if you have two sons, you have two
eyes. If you have one son, you are blind in one eye. And if you have two
daughters, you are completely blind.

The women who support female feticide also say, ‘why should we let them live?
We do not want any girl. Should we let girls be born so that they suffer the way
we are suffering? They say, what good does being alive do to us? It is better
that an insufferable life ends before it can begin. It is better to go straight
to heaven than stay alive and endure the kicks and blows of the world.’ Are
they wrong in saying this?

Once upon a time, people in patriarchal society would run temple to temple and
pray to god    for a son, they would spend extravagantly on saints and hermits,
but now there is no need of  magic charms and spells, a medium even stronger
than god has come to India –  science. Scan machines, amniocentesis and other
scientific tests reveal the sex of the embryo in the womb – if the sex is not
right then it is got rid of. The right sex is masculine, the wrong sex feminine.
The healthy sex is masculine, the disabled  sex feminine.

Girls are quickly disappearing. Anti-women traditions  have been carefully
preserved over the ages. There are quite a few communities, which regard   sons
as  only offspring, and not daughters. Till 1980, infant girls used to be killed
after they were born. Feticide had not caught on. Despite being banned, the
incidence of feticide is on the rise. It makes one afraid that as long as the
status of girls in society does not improve, there is no way these murders, this
bloodshed, can be prevented.

We say,  if women are educated and self-reliant, then female infanticide and
female feticide will stop. Most people believe that these occur among the poor
and the uneducated. But, in fact, the opposite is true. The study shows  in
India the ratio of girls to boys is the most skewed in South Delhi, a place
where the rich and the educated live. It is here that the maximum number of
girls go missing. Down from 904 to 845 in just 10 years. 24,000 girls disappear
from South Delhi every year. The Patels of Gujarat are a wonder. Traditionally
rich peasants, there is no trace of girls in their villages. It’s femicide,
the systematic killing of women.  A holocaust going on against girls across the
country. A pogrom.

Sometimes I think ‘educated’ people  can plan the murder of their fetuses
with much more skill than uneducated people. ‘Educated’  girls can learn
patriarchal system much better than  uneducated  girls. They sure have better 
learning ability. They even practice it better.  Misogyny can not be wiped out
through conventional education that  does not teach gender equality.

Girls are fast becoming disappearing.  Anti-women traditions  have been
carefully preserved over the ages. There are quite a few communities, which
regard only sons as offspring, and not daughters. Till 1980, infant girls used
to be killed after they were born. Feticide had not caught on. Despite being
banned, the incidence of feticide is on the rise. It makes one afraid that as
long as the status of girls in society does not improve, there is no way these
murders can be prevented.

Since infant girls have been murdered over the ages, female feticide today does
not go against anti-women tradition. It is like weeding – plucking off girls
from the soil of the womb reserved for the production of sons. There is nothing
surprising about murdering daughters in a race that has always been thirsty for
sons.  Killing of girl children was probably in vogue from the ancient Vedic
age. The Atharva Veda says, Let girls be born elsewhere, let boys  take birth
here. Son is wealth. Son is a blessing. The son will be the father’s strength
in old age. The father will go to heaven if the son lights his funeral pyre. It
is the son who will rescue the father from hell.

Female feticide is causing social imbalance.  Now brothers share a wife. The
murder of girls has led to such an acute shortage of girls that an exchange
system has been initiated. According to this system, parents agree to give their
daughter in marriage on the condition that the groom’s sister marries the
bride’s brother. “Bride Trafficking” has started. Men  are  now
‘recycling’ the use of women for sex and reproduction. .

Now a days men  want educated wives. So  girls are getting educated so that they
can sell well in the marriage mart. An educated wife can do the shopping, pay
the bills, look after the children’s studies, and solve problems at school,
all on her own. A man said,  my wife has a postgraduate degree in Maths, all the
better since she can help the kids with the homework. So I don’t need to
engage a tutor for them. And why should my wife work outside the home? We
don’t need any extra money in the family. She has a lot to do at home.

The money women  earn is known as extra money. University degrees are meant to
help the kids with their homework, nothing else. The norm is that middle class
girls will not work after marriage.Only those girls, who badly need money for
survival or those girls whose money  husbands want,  get permission to work
outside the house.

Alas! So much for education! Educated girls have to pay more dowry. The more
educated a girl is, the more educated husband she demands. And thus the amount
of dowry required also escalates. Many people think that a handsome dowry
enhances the dignity of the girl. However, dowry never improves the status of a
girl in her in-laws’ house, rather it results in loss of dignity. The more
dowry is paid, the more the girl’s status at her in-laws will deteriorate. The
husband is not supposed to pay dowry, no matter how educated the girl is, no
matter how grand the job she holds. The ‘Brides Wanted’ column is clear
testimony to the value of girls in this society. Wanted: A fair complexion,
beautiful, educated, homely girl from a respectable family. ‘Homely girl’
means a girl who will spend all 24 hours of the day on domestic chores, one who
will not hold a job. ‘Respectable family’ means a family that will pay a
handsome dowry. If the groom comes from an affluent family, it does not mean
that a poor dowry will do, rather the dowry must be all the more generous. When
this is the condition, why will people not believe that the birth of a girl
means entails huge expenses! Girls are an inferior race – this belief is
ingrained in both men and women across India. And since a girl belongs to an
inferior race, dowry is needed to get rid of her.

The abortion clinics display an advertisement. Spend Rs 500, you’ll save Rs.
50,000. In other words, kill this one. If this one lives, you’ll lose Rs.
50,000 in dowry.  For those yearning for a son, the sex determination clinics
are modern temples.

Women have had to struggle for decades for the right of abortion. Acquiring the
right of abortion was a huge event in the history of women’s emancipation.
However, when in India, a foetus is aborted by virtue of belonging to a certain
gender, and that gender is the feminine gender, then such abortion has no
relation whatsoever with women’s liberty, but is inseparably related with the
tragedy of women’s subjugation.

The law has not been able to eradicate the dowry system. It can never be
eradicated as long as every member of the family continues to believe that a
girl cannot be as economically powerful as a boy. Society needs a lot of change.
Society must understand that girls are very important members of the society,
not burdens for whom dowry must be paid, not machines  for the production of
sons.   If women and men do not unite in the attempt to transform society,
female feticide will continue unabated.

This society is not a fit place for girls, so it is better not to allow them to
be born. This logic is something like this: there is too much shouting and
screaming all around, the noise pollution is giving one a headache, so it is
better to chop off the head. Many claim that if women themselves choose the
gender of the child before giving birth, then they will be saved from many
undesired pregnancies.   How helpless she must be not to have the slightest
control over the fetus growing inside her womb! Women are compelled to yield to
societal as well as many kinds of family pressure and opt for abort a female
fetus. An undesired pregnancy is not as terrible as this forsaken, helpless,
undignified, disgraceful condition of women.

If the practice of female feticide  continues  as they are now, it will not be
very many decades before there will be not a single girl in the country, only
men. The good thing will be that men will find no more girls to torture,
trample, rape and kill.

=======================================
7. INDIA: PATHRIBAL RULING A SETBACK FOR JUSTICE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
=======================================
Amnesty International

Press releases
1 May 2012

Special powers that allow India’s armed forces suspected of involvement in
extra-judicial killings to sidestep the civilian courts have been reinforced in
a disappointing court ruling over the notorious killings of five Kashmiri
civilians 12 years ago.

India’s Supreme Court has contradicted a reported statement by its Justices in
February 2012 that army personnel suspected of murder should be placed in front
of a civil judge.

Instead it opted to give military authorities eight weeks to bring about the
court martial of eight army officials allegedly responsible for the unlawful
killing of five youths in Pathribal, in March 2000. Failing that, the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI), may apply to prosecute the army personnel.

“Today’s ruling is a major setback – not only for victims in this case but
for other victims unlawfully killed by army or paramilitary forces in Jammu and
Kashmir,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan, Amnesty International’s India
Researcher.

“The option of a court martial allows these army officials to continue to
avoid judgment in court of law.”

The CBI, which investigated the Pathribal killings, has contended it has
sufficient evidence to show that the killings were extrajudicial executions and
‘cold-blooded murder’. It filed charges against the eight army officials in
local courts in Jammu and Kashmir. In response army officials invoked special
powers stating that they need not appear for trial in a civilian court of law.

The Armed Forces J & K (Special Powers) Act, 1990 requires the CBI to seek
official permission to initiate criminal proceedings against the eight accused
officials.

“Today’s ruling should have taken into account the evidence provided by the
CBI; by giving the first option to the army for a court martial, this ruling
reinforces immunity from prosecution in other cases of alleged extra-judicial
killings in Jammu and Kashmir,” said Gopalakrishnan.

“Instead of upholding the universal and constitutional right to life, the
Supreme Court chose to rely on emergency laws which provide excessive powers, as
well as impunity, to the army.

“The families of the victims must have their day in court. The Indian
authorities must restore public confidence in the rule of law, and ensure
justice for the victims of the Pathribal killings.

“Impunity for human rights violations by the army and paramilitary forces
under “special powers” legislation must stop.”
AI Index: PRE01/231/2012
Region Asia And The Pacific


=======================================
8. INDIA: LUMPENLAND - THE CAUSE OF WEST BENGAL’S GLOOM LIES IN ITS PEOPLE’S
NAIVETÉ
by Ashok Mitra
=======================================
(The Telegraph, May 4 , 2012)

Milieu makes the mood; if you are rooted in Calcutta and West Bengal, it would
be impossible for you to escape the gloom and apprehension rending the air. It
would be equally difficult to evade the onus of co-authoring the circumstances
that have led to the present state of affairs.

The Left Front — or maybe the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or maybe the
party’s state leadership — took, during the seventh term of the front’s
regime in the state, certain decisions and condoned certain activities which
totally alienated important sections of people. The regime, besides, was
patently inefficient. One reason for this was its over-dependence on party hacks
who lacked even the minimum competence. The ambience bred both sycophancy and
corruption. Nepotism grievously impaired the working of the panchayats, with the
result that what was initially considered to be the bastion of Left strength
turned into a noose round its neck. The bush telegraph works with expedition in
the countryside; disaffection spread like wildfire.

Come poll time 2011, large groups of voters did not care for whom they were
voting as long as they were voting against the Left. The lady whom the Time
magazine has now canonised was biding her time; that moment arrived. She had
been relentlessly campaigning against the Left and its ideology and praxis for
years on end. She was at the spot whenever and wherever the Left or its
government, whether purposely or absentmindedly, happened to do something that
hurt the sentiments of the people; she would organize, pronto, massive protests.
She had a kind of charisma which captivated the lower echelons of society, which
in turn evoked the admiration of upper middle-class categories. Ensuring that
the vote against the Left did not get dissipated, all these sections solidly
opted for the candidates picked by the lady. Even segments of the electorate
representing, so to say, the literati swelled this crowd. Few, very few, were
interested in digging into the lady’s antecedents. She was vowing to demolish
the CPI(M) and vindicate the people’s will; she was promising to restore
democratic norms and the rule of law; she dripped sincerity; there was
apparently no reason not to take the contents of her poll manifesto at their
face value.

The lady annihilated the Left. The literati rejoiced. Euphoria took over. Once
she had accomplished the big miracle, the sequels, it was taken for granted,
were bound to follow. Law and order would return to the state. Snatchings,
killings, odious offences against women would stop. Nepotism would vanish in the
educational sphere and merit would once again prevail over mediocrity. The
panchayats and civic bodies would be rid of big and small corruption, farmers
would begin to get fair prices for their crop, factories would reopen, even if
it would not quite be the ushering in of the ethereal season of milk and honey,
it would at least be a modest version of it.

Destroying the Front, especially the CPI(M), was in any case the common
objective of a wide spectrum. The ruling party at the Centre nurtured a deep
anathema for the CPI(M), the central leadership of which had proved to be an
infernal nuisance. Here was a golden opportunity to discomfiture that beastly
party. The Congress mobilized all its resources to help the lady, streetfighter
par excellence, who in fact, not long ago, was very much in the parent party.
Big business was known in the pre-poll weeks to have invested generously for the
lady; its rationale for backing her was nothing very specific, simply that the
inordinately long reign of a communist formation in a strategically important
part of the country was thought to be bad for the health of industry and
commerce. Extraordinarily enough, poll-eve support for the lady was not lacking
from the far-out Left either. Not just the Maoists, several Naxalite and
neo-Naxalite factions also devoutly wished for the electoral defeat of the
CPI(M) for what they judged to be its unforgivable betrayal of the revolutionary
cause and its evident endorsement of the capitalist path of development. If this
Rosa Luxemburg of the Right was the appropriate deus ex machina to achieve the
purpose in view, there should be no holding back from offering her some, if not
material, at least symbolic, support. The attitude of these stray groups was not
far different from that of a substantial number of ordinary householders who
were till then habituated to think of themselves as integral constituents of the
Left mainstream, but who, on this occasion, were determined to give the Left
Front leadership a hiding so that it learned the lesson and returned to good
behaviour.

The events of the last few weeks, with the new administration in the state, and
particularly its chief minister, on the rampage, have been a rude awakening. A
great many among those who rooted for the lady are scandalized; they have not
been at all prepared for this kind of denouement of the dream they dreamt barely
a year ago. Once more they are having recourse to the modus operandi they chose
when they were protesting against the Left Front: rallies, processions,
signature campaigns, television interviews, poster exhibitions, songs and poetry
writing, street corner skits. Restoring democracy and the rule of law, resisting
authoritarianism, opposing one-party hegemony in the educational field,
asserting the people’s right to read what they like and write and speak what
they have in their minds — these and similar other incantations are choking
the concourse.

Pardon the impertinence, but are not the protestors back in the streets really
paying for their own naiveté? They were under no compulsion to vote for the
lady. They nonetheless did, for their own reasons and without taking into
account the likely consequences. If she is now reckoned to be failing them, that
is no business of hers, but of those who voted in the manner they did.

The literati would presumably express surprise at the statement. The lady had
promised certain things, they would post the complaint, which she is now
disavowing in a flagrant manner. Is this though not precisely where their
blunder lies? They did not bother to do some elementary research into her
bio-data. From the very beginning of her career, the lady had been contemptuous
of the dividing line between fact and presumption. She has over the years
trained herself to make the most outrageous statements and proceed as if these
were beyond challenge. In other words, she has never owned responsibility for
her words. One of her major capital assets is her dogged will to succeed in
life. She has been unhesitant to cut whatever corners it was expedient to cut in
the pursuit of this goal. The so-called moral issue has never detained her.
Perhaps even as late as today, she is unable to understand why all that fuss was
created over her bogus doctorate from a non-existent American university. Her
pre-poll pledges last year were for the birds; she does not lose any sleep on
account of her lightheartedness.

Make no mistake though, she has one basic loyalty. That is to her primal
constituency, the formidable army of lumpens made up of the various underclasses
in Calcutta and across the state; slum dwellers leading a wretched existence
under the most unsanitary conditions and with uncertain, often shady, means of
livelihood, laid-off workers out of a job for years on end, petty office-goers
and teachers of diverse academic streams who are convinced society has been
deliberately unfair to them, second or third generation migrants from what was
once East Pakistan barely scraping a living and unable to get reconciled to
their immiserized conditions, the multitude of frustrated youth who try to earn
some money by hawking whatever they can lay their hands on, shirkers and
lazybones, misfits and misanthropes of all descriptions and, finally, thugs and
rowdies. A persistent feeling of hostility towards the system — any system —
binds these elements together. Afflicted by a restless turbulence, they love to
hate whomever they consider hate-worthy. This heterogeneity is instinctively
against any organization or discipline. They, therefore, abhor organized
political parties, which preach the necessity of long, united struggle to attain
desired ends. The lady, reared by streetfighting, speaks a language and uses a
vocabulary that bewitch them. She has an ample stock of foul abusive words to
run down the organized Left. They roar in approval. The lady promises them the
moon which, she assures, involves no pain; they just have to stand by her. They
believe her because she is so much like them. They have sworn undying allegiance
to her. She too is resolute never to disown their company, she is for them; they
are for her. The freebies she is distributing are her way of requiting their
love and loyalty.

True, about every political party in the neighbourhood believes in retaining a
reservoir of lumpens. The services of these toughies are occasionally called for
in delicate situations. But the party bosses generally feel somewhat bashful
about the phenomenon and take care to keep the lumpen elements under cover. In
the loose organizational structure the lady is experimenting with, things are
the reverse: while this is a veneer of the bhadralok tribe here and there, the
lumpens are to the fore, they are the lady’s closest confidants cum advisers.
They know, thanks to her, their kingdom has come and they would now get even
with all those who, in the past, used to sneer at them.

There is possibly a little bit more. The run of her continuous successes in
various political battlefields — mainly because of the current precarious
state of being of the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre —
has convinced many of the lumpen brigade that she is no less than a goddess. The
lady herself, symptoms suggest, has begun to half-believe in her divinity. The
autocratic demeanour she is increasingly betraying lends credence to the
surmise.

The arithmetic of the budget is no respecter of divinity. That apart, an
administration cannot be run with any degree of efficiency by lumpens, or their
proxies. The people of West Bengal cannot gauge the fate awaiting them in the
coming days. But is the goddess of a chief minister herself sanguine what lies
ahead of her?



INTERNATIONAL
=======================================
9. TUNISIA: PERSEPOLIS TRIAL VERDICT SIGNALS 'EROSION' OF FREE SPEECH
=======================================
Amnesty International Press release
3 April 2012

A Tunis court’s decision to fine a TV boss for “spreading information which
can disturb the public order” after he screened an animated French movie is a
sign of the continuing erosion of free speech in Tunisia, Amnesty International
said.

Nabil Karoui was fined 2,400 Tunisian Dinar ($1,500) after his station broadcast
the animated French film Persepolis dubbed into Tunisian Arabic dialect in
October 2011. The film was criticized for being blasphemous because of a scene
showing a representation of God. Karoui’s lawyers have confirmed that he will
be appealing the verdict.

“On a day that is meant to celebrate world press freedom, Tunisia has shown
its failure to respect the basic right of freedom of expression. Nabil Karoui
should not have been tried to begin with, let alone found guilty for exercising
his right to peacefully express his views”, said Ann Harrison, Amnesty
International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa
programme.

Two others have also been found guilty of participating in the crime: Nadia
Jamal, head of the organization that dubbed the movie into Tunisian dialect, and
Alhadi Boughanim, responsible for monitoring programs. Both have also been
fined.

Others have been found guilty previously on similar charges. For example, the
editor of Arabic daily Attounissia was found guilty of ‘spreading information
which can disturb the public order” on 8 March 2012 and fined 1000 Tunisian
Dinar ($US 650). The daily had published a photograph of a German-Tunisian
football player and his girlfriend who appears naked with his hand covering her
breasts.

“While protecting public morals or public order may sometimes be a legitimate
reason for restricting freedom of expression, such restrictions may only be
imposed if absolutely necessary. This is clearly not the situation in these
cases – people should not be convicted and sentenced for their views, even if
these views are seen as controversial or offensive,” said Ann Harrison.

The convictions come amid growing complaints against what is seen as the
government’s lack of will to implement freedom of the press and other media.

Journalists and activists have criticized the government for not enforcing new
press and audiovisual laws passed in November 2011 which amend repressive
provisions found in the old Press Law.

Instead they are resorting to articles in the Penal Code such as “spreading
information that disturbs the public order” to prosecute journalists and
others for peacefully expressing their opinions. The failure to implement the
new laws is widely regarded as an attempt by the government to control and
restrict the media.

A report issued by the National Committee of Information and Communication
Reform last month highlights the problems that continue to face the media sector
and the need for reform.

“At a time when Tunisia should be leading the way by showing its commitment to
free and open debate and setting an example in its respect for human rights, it
is disappointing to see the authorities resorting to these tactics to repress
freedom of expression,” said Ann Harrison.


=======================================
10. China: Beijing Leaders Considering End of Communist Rule
by Li Heming
=======================================

According to a high-level source in Beijing, key leaders in the Chinese
Communist Party’s (CCP) Politburo have reached four points of consensus that
will be announced on or around the 18th Party Congress. The tenor of the
decision is that China will take the path of democracy. The news has been
circulated hurriedly in Beijing. According to the source, the four points of
consensus are:
1. People from all walks of life, political parties, and social organizations
should send representatives to form a preparatory committee for a new
constitution. They will draft a new constitution that protects the rights of
citizens to freely form associations and political parties.
2. It will be announced that the Chinese Communist Party has finished its
historical mission as the ruling party. Party membership will need to be
re-registered, with the free choice to re-enter the Party or leave it.
3. “June 4,” Falun Gong, and all groups who have been wrongly persecuted in
the process of devoting themselves to China’s realization of democracy will be
redressed and receive compensation.
4. The military will be nationalized.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/beijing-leaders-said-to-reach-four-co\
nsensuses-before-18th-congress-230394.html

=======================================
11. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
=======================================

Celebrating 100 years of Saadat Hassan Manto (May 1912-2012)

AJOKA THEATRE

in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council

presents a

Tribute to Manto

on 14th, 15th , 16th & 17th May 2012 at 7pm

VENUE: Hall #2, Alhamra the Mall, Lahore.

You are coordially invited to the following events

Programme:

Dates

Performances

Dramatised Readings


14th & 15th May

Siyah Hashiye,

Toba Tek Singh,

Khol Do

adapted by: Shahid Nadeem
directed by: Madeeha Gauhar

Akhri Salute

by Naeem Tahir

16th & 17th May

Naya Qanoon

adapted by: Shahid Nadeem
directed by: Naseem Abbas

· Sawerey Jo Kal Ankh Mairee Khuli
· Pardey ki Baatain
· Dekh Kabira Roya
· Uncle Sam Ke Khatoot

by Naveed Shahzad, Naseem Abbas & Furqan Majeed


For further Information:-

Ajoka: 042-36686634, 36682443, 36677047 Alhamra: 99200917-8

Note:

· Children under 12 are strictly not allowed
· Mobile phones must be switched off before entering the hall
· Doors shall be closed upon commencement of the performance
· Consumption of eatables & drinks in the hall is not allowed

Website: www.ajoka.org.pk
Email: ajokatheatre@...
Facebook: AjokaTheatrePakistan



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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 10 May 2012 - No. 2748
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Pakistan: Let us become - proudly - bayghairat (Pervez Hoodbhoy)
2. India - Pakistan: Peace demands an educated imagination (Krishna Kumar)
3. Memorandum to India’s Prime Minister on the eve of his upcoming visit to
Burma
4. India’s god laws fail the test of reason (Praveen Swami)
5. India : ‘Winning Hearts and Minds’: emotional wars and the construction
of difference (Nandini Sundar)
6. India: recent content from Communalism Watch
- Pilgrims’ progress - Indian Express, Editorial on court ruling against Haj
Subsidy
- Tommaso Bobbio on Making Gujarat Vibrant: Hindutva, development and the rise
of subnationalism in India
- VHP, Bajrang Dal men purify Osmania University campus
- Hindutva's 'Ram dhun' campaign to sabotage Muslims buying real estate in Hindu
dominated areas
- Tripti Lahiri on India's Battle Over Beef
- Uttarakhand BJP MLA booked for inciting communal violence
- The dreadful afternoon of March 1, 2002
- Full Text of Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran's report on the 2002 Gujarat
riots
- MP: Christian Names Deleted From The Voter List
- The World Before Her: A documentary by Nisha Pahuj
-  Kashmir cleric asks govt to declare Ahmadis

7. Books of Note:
(i) Churning the Earth: The Making of Global India  by Aseem Shrivastava and
Ashish Kothari
(ii) The Peacemakers: India And The Quest For One World by Manu Bhagavan

International:
8. Will secularists be given recognition and rights in Lebanon? (Nay El Rahi)
9. The Long View: Migrant workers from the subcontinent often live eight to a
room in slums – even in oil-rich Kuwait (Robert Fisk)
10. Announcements:
(i) Invitation for a public meeting on the 14th Anniversary of the Pokharan
nuclear tests (New Delhi, 11 May 2012)
(ii) Upcoming events at Studio Safdar and May Day Bookstore and Café (New
Delhi, May 20102)
(iii) Invitation - book release and discussion on 'Churning the Earth' (19 May
2012)
(iv) Call for Nominations for the 2012 Meeto Memorial Award
(v) Call For Nominations 2012 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award


=======================================
1. LET US BECOME - PROUDLY - BAYGHAIRAT
by Pervez Hoodbhoy
=======================================
(The Tribune, 7 May 2012)

Pakistan's current and aspiring political leaders can rarely give a public
speech these days without invoking ghairat (honour) in some shape or form.
Rather than present plans for reducing unemployment or providing electricity,
they talk about shame and honour. The ultimate insult "bayghairat" (without
honour) is sometimes hurled onto an opponent. Adrenalin levels shoot even higher
when they speak of America and "breaking the chains of slavery". The more
morally and intellectually bankrupt a leader, the louder he thunders about qaumi
ghairat (national honour).

This time-tested formula has worked wherever a people have been dispirited and
dejected. For example, Hitler's meteoric rise to power, culminating in the most
destructive war of history, came from appealing to the collective ghairat of the
German nation and to the alleged cowardice and corruption of its rulers.

Hitler's famous Munich beer hall speeches were followed up in Mein Kampf: "A
nation without honour will sooner or later lose its freedom and independence - a
generation of poltroons is not entitled to freedom. He who would be a slave
cannot have honour."  Translated into Urdu, these lines are exactly what one
hears on TV these days from men like Imran Khan and Hamid Gul.

The real implication of ghairat hit me for the first time some twenty years ago.
A group of seven senior military officers, then studying operational matters at
the National Defence College, had come to meet me at the physics department of
Quaid-i-Azam University. Nuclear weapons were new at that time and, quite
sensibly, they were keen to learn technical details from every available source.
Although Pakistan did not officially acknowledge possessing such weapons then,
the process of inducting them into the forces had already begun.

We had a good discussion on everything from blast radii and firestorms to
electronic locks and PALS (Permissive Action Links). The officers took copious
notes and appeared satisfied. As they prepared to leave I asked what
circumstances, in their opinion,would warrant the use of nuclear weapons by
Pakistan.

After some reflection one officer spoke up: "Professor," he assured me, "they
shall be used only defensively if at all, and only if the Pakistan Army faces
defeat. We cannot allow ourselves to be dishonoured." Around the table, heads
nodded in agreement. Significantly, the calculus of destruction - that cities
would be obliterated on both sides - was not what mattered. Ghairat did.

The same question put to Indian military officers would probably elicit the same
answer. Historically, honour has driven armies to fight battles. Even as the
officer spoke, my thoughts wandered to The Charge of the Light Brigade. During
the Crimean War of 1854, wave after wave of honour-charged British soldiers rode
their horses into the mouths of Russian guns which, of course, promptly mowed
them down. Tennyson later immortalised the slain men in his famous poem: "All
the world wonder'd. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade."

The honour-driven Japanese samurai were even more extreme. As agents for various
lords, shoguns, and the Emperor, their duties involved keeping peasants in line
as well as fighting wars. Honest and dedicated, they were a model for ordinary
Japanese. When a samurai lost honour, he could save his dignity only through
hara-kiri (cutting open his belly).The last days of World War II turned samurais
into suicide bombers who (unsuccessfully) flew planes into US aircraft carriers.
Their actions ultimately brought the atom bomb to Japan.

A curse upon honour! It brings to a nation nought but militarisation, conquest,
conflict, and the pain of war. On the other hand, where reason has defeated
honour, the results have been spectacular. For example, in the ashes of WW II
lay two thoroughly defeated and dishonoured nations: Germany and Japan. Had they
remained stubbornly defiant, they would still be squatting there today. But,
overcoming pride and honour, the vanquished accepted defeat and made peace with
the victors. Today they are among the most advanced of nations, and major aid
donors to Pakistan.

Vietnam is another amazing example. After 20 bitter years of war it won but was
devastated. American B-52s had flattened its cities, while napalm and Agent
Orange had devastated its villages and jungles. Yet, tossing aside honour and
vengeance, Vietnam today reaches out to its former tormentors and invites their
companies and investment. It is a country with a future.

Compare the bayghairat Vietnamese to Afghanistan's ghairat-obsessed people.
Proud and unconquerable, they had earlier fought off the British and the
Soviets; soon the Americans will too be gone. But, post-2014, what awaits them?
Only more blood and sorrow, and yet another civil war.

Anthropologists tell us that honour is a concept that originated in herding
societies because a tribal man's animals and women were protected from other
tribesmen by a code of honour. But then, as tribes amalgamated and merged into
the larger stream of civilisation, differing notions of honour led to strife.
Traditional societies of the present era, in which honour plays a larger role,
are relatively more violent than modern ones. The ease with which men kill their
wives and daughters for sexual misconduct is but one example; there are scores
of others.

Still, there are some in the West (see Sacred tribal values by J Gold & C
Kammen, 1998), as well as here in Pakistan, who call for a return to tribal
values. Perhaps one must hear them sympathetically because not all of what they
say is bad. They hark back to the days when life was simple, good could easily
be separated from bad, there was a spirit of community, and science had not made
us into "One Dimensional Man" (in the words of the German philosopher Herbert
Marcuse). They are nostalgic about what the world looked like centuries ago, all
without having seen it or being aware of the downsides. Alas, they imagine false
utopias.

A culture of honour is fine for the herders of goats and camels, or those who
live in unpoliceable mountainous areas. But a culture of honour is disastrous
for us, a nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people who want jobs, electricity,
and the fruits of modernity.So, to hell with the fakery of meaningless honour!
Instead, let us create a culture of law and reason, of compassion and tolerance.
Let us become - proudly - bayghairat.

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2675.html ]

=======================================
2. INDIA - PAKISTAN: PEACE DEMANDS AN EDUCATED IMAGINATION
by Krishna Kumar
=======================================
(The Hindu, May 7, 2012)

Reforming school textbooks will enable India and Pakistan to build a larger
South Asian identity that does not threaten national identities.

The narrow, meandering path that India-Pakistan relations have followed since
the early 1970s appears to have suddenly widened this summer. Pakistan President
Asif Ali Zardari's visit to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and the
luncheon meeting between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated that
the two countries need not wait for politically perfect moments to focus on
sensible thoughts. Then, on Baisakhi day, an integrated checkpoint at Attari was
inaugurated, marking a substantial step forward in trade relations. The
significance of this modern facility at the border can now be enhanced by a
decision to terminate the medieval display of mutual suspicion and disdain
staged every evening by the armed forces guarding the gates on the two sides of
the no-man's-land. Whose morale this ceremony boosts and for what purpose are
questions that will not consume much time if anyone claiming to represent the
two countries — either their people or the states — ponders on them from a
peace perspective. The decision to discontinue the evening charade will
potentially hurt the minor financial interests of the transporters who bring the
jeering public from Amritsar and Lahore to the border gates at Wagah. Closing
down this ugly routine show of animosity and stiffness will express a shared
resolve of two mature nations to walk towards peaceful coexistence.

No small role

Improved ethos, trade and political relations are fine and necessary but they
cannot substitute the role that a slow-acting medium like education alone can
perform to ensure that pleasant weather patches come more frequently and last
longer. Ironically, education has played no small role in making India-Pakistan
relations so poor and brittle. A few years ago I had the opportunity to study
the school textbooks used in the two countries for the teaching of history. My
research presented in Prejudice and Pride (Viking, 2001) and Battle for Peace
(Penguin, 2007) also enabled me to find out how children — in both countries
— perceive the neighbourly hatred prevailing between the two countries. My
textbook analysis was confined to the portrayal of the freedom struggle and the
sample included textbooks of all kinds — those used in English-medium private
schools as well as the ones used in government schools in different States. The
idea was to trace the frames of perceptions that schools assiduously promote.

Officially approved history books shape collective imagination about the past.
It is a shared past but the treatment it receives in the two countries is
remarkably different. This need not startle us, for the two nation-states are
built on contrasting visions. What alarmed me, however, was the extent to which
consciousness of the “other” and deep-rooted conceptions of the self shape
the narratives of the past. The choice of events and heroes opens a rare window
to the collective mind the two nations wish to construct. Pakistani textbooks,
for instance, did not dwell on the Quit India movement; Gandhi's portrayal in
Pakistani textbooks and Iqbal's in Indian textbooks were quite problematic. The
most important site of contrasting interpretations of the past was, of course,
Partition. Indian textbooks viewed it as a tragedy, whereas Pakistani textbooks
celebrated it as a moment of birth. Both displayed a reluctance to go into the
details of the human misery that Partition had caused.

In India, recent years have witnessed a radical reform in all aspects of the
school curriculum, both in perspective and structure. Freshly conceptualised
syllabi and textbooks marking a sharp departure from old styles and content have
been introduced at all levels. These reforms are particularly deep in history
and politics. Instead of presenting flat narratives, the new history textbooks
attempt to introduce children to the historian's task. Children learn how
problems of interpretation arise, and why certain debates persist.

In the context of South Asia, the new approach means a wide and variegated
representation of the nationalist movement and its aftermath. The new textbooks
give children the opportunity to engage with ideas and movements, not just
personalities. Partition is represented as people experienced it on both sides
of the newly created border. No such reform has taken place in Pakistan. There,
the teaching of history has remained the transmission of an allegory that allows
only the official ideology to be transmitted.

How strong and lasting the impact of this approach can be was illustrated by a
three-part documentary on Gandhi recently telecast by BBC. Mishal Husain, the
presenter of this series, is a highly respected BBC journalist of Pakistani
origin. The series shows her travelling through India, meeting people and
experts as she attempts to make sense of Gandhi's politics and vision. Though
made with sensitive curiosity, the trilogy fails to escape the grooves of
thought and ideologised memory that my research had found in all Pakistani
textbooks. For example, the third episode, which traces progress towards freedom
from colonial rule, completely misses the Quit India movement. Gandhi's personal
eccentricities take precedence over his committed efforts to avoid Partition. Of
course the bias evident in the selection of content and its treatment may not be
all attributable to the subtle impact that Pakistan's collective imagination
might have had on the presenter; it may well be BBC's. The point is that the
tendency to treat Partition as a mould to shape any discussion concerning India
has stayed intact for a long time. Nor has the approach to Partition changed
much: it remains stuck in the search for a cause, as if there was just one.

SAARC was expected to break this mould, but it hasn't. Nearly two decades after
its birth, SAARC lacks the energy to pursue its own ideals. Among the many wise
goals articulated at various SAARC summits is the goal of textbook review and
reform. One had hoped that the South Asian University would pursue this goal but
such a beginning is yet to be made. It is a bit surprising that this university
has not considered setting up a school of teacher education. Quality of
textbooks apart, both India and Pakistan — and the rest of the region too —
are facing the challenge of overcoming teacher shortages at all levels and
reforming the obsolete procedures used for the training of teachers. Not just
schools but colleges and universities also require teachers who can appreciate
futuristic visions of a South Asia in which nations and communities relate to
each other in an open, friendly environment. Teachers play a vital role in
shaping the social ethos in which the young develop their values and attitudes.

Psychological agenda

Indian and Pakistani leaders know only too well how tricky it usually is for
them to make soft statements that might indicate a departure from the stated
positions. One hopes that they are also aware of the importance of placing
India-Pakistan concerns and sensitivity in a larger, regional and global
context. The idea of South Asia provides that context, but so far that awareness
has remained mainly theoretical. South Asia is slowly emerging as an economic
agenda, and even more slowly as a political agenda, but it has yet to start
emerging as a psychological agenda. The few attempts that have been made in that
direction are in the domain of culture. It is typical of such attempts to take a
sentimental line which offers little more than an evening of nostalgia for the
past. Singing and drama are used to evoke the memory of an undivided
subcontinent, conveying the message that culturally ‘we' are still one. This
approach does perhaps serve some vague purpose and offers business to a handful
of artists, but it does little to create a future vision.

That task calls for a bolder, purposive imagination. A key feature of such a
vision is to enable a larger collective identity of South Asia to take shape
without posing a threat to national identities. Ultimately, the roots of endemic
conflict that we see in our region, both at international and sub-national
levels, lie in the rigid, aggressive identities to which the unreformed systems
of education actively and copiously contribute. No country in the region can be
said to form a solid exception to this tendency even though efforts to reform
the system of education have been initiated in limited ways in all the
countries. A subtly articulated, collective strategy can help at this stage.
Such a strategy will gain if the boundaries of SAARC are also revisited, so as
to consider including Burma in it. At a point when that country is experiencing
an impressive movement towards recognition of the urge for democracy, an
educational endeavour aiming at the psychological construction of an inclusive
South Asia will form a positive step forward.

(The writer is Professor of Education at Delhi University and a former Director
of NCERT.)

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2673.html]

=======================================
3. MEMORANDUM TO INDIA’S PRIME MINISTER ON THE EVE OF HIS UPCOMING VISIT TO
BURMA
=======================================
http://www.sacw.net/article2674.html

May 8, 2012
To

Dr. Manmohan Singh
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

Respected Prime Minister,

We heartily welcome your proposed landmark visit to Burma from 10-12 May 2012
which is taking place at a time when the country is going through political
reforms and not long after the country witnessed the thumping victory of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for
Democracy in the April 1 Parliamentary by-elections. You are also aware that
these political developments are welcomed by other international communities as
is evident from the series of visits made by prominent dignitaries from
governments around the world including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
British Prime Minister David Cameron and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

This much-awaited political reform will enhance Burma’s engagement with other
countries like EU, US and ASEAN. Thus, at this important turn of events in its
immediate strategic neighbour, India should also take an opportunity and play a
significant role by strengthening its historical relations and engage with
pro-democracy groups led by Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League
for Democracy and other ethnic political parties.

As this landmark visit will strengthen bilateral ties between the two
neighboring countries, it is pertinent for India to develop a fresh thinking in
this new political scenario in Burma. Alongside its national interest, India
must be sincerely committed to strengthen democracy and facilitate the process
of national reconciliation in Burma.

We the Civil Society Groups and citizens of India would like to draw your kind
attention before your upcoming landmark visit to Burma on the following crucial
issues that urgently need your kind intervention and action.

1. The issue of ethnic nationalities remains a serious concern and must be made
a priority while engaging with President Thein Sein’s government in order to
secure a durable political settlement. India should also press for an end to
atrocities targeting ethnic areas particularly in Kachin state, restoration of
the civil and democratic rights of the Rohingya, end of atrocities in Arakan and
safe repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.

2. The ongoing developmental joint ventures implemented by the two countries for
which a standard Environmental Impact Assessment, implementation process such as
public consultation should be conducted as envisaged in the project to ensure
the desired vision is achieved. Project related documents should also be made
public. That these developmental projects should not have undesired effect such
as displacement of the communities in both the countries.

3. Construction of Tamanthi Hydroelectric Power Project (THPP) on the Chindwin
River in northwest Burma’s Sagaing Division is another serious concern. The
water current due to construction of this proposed Dam is estimated to wipe out
an area of approximately 1,400 sq km. (the size of Delhi) displacing over 45,000
people living nearby. Over 2,400 villagers have already been forcibly evicted in
2007 from the Dam site, with a mere compensation of US $ 5 (Rs 500 INR).

4. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Project, developed by India in 2008 to improve
connectivity between the two countries has raised several concerns in border
areas of Burma and India. The project requires an estimated 196.75 hectares of
forest land to be cleared. The development along the port and river will
displace thousands of people from their homes and livelihood. While an
environmental and Social Impact Assessments have not been conducted till date,
the project implementation is already way behind its stipulated time frame of
2010. Communities specifically beneficiaries inhabiting border areas in Burma
and India have no information about the proposed project.

We strongly urge the Honourable Prime Minister to take these matters into utmost
importance while meeting with President Thein Sein.

We urged Hon’ble Prime Minister to ensure democratic process and people’s
participation in the development process of the two countries, whereby
developing strong ties and strengthening neighbourly relations.

We are confident that the visit of our Honorable Prime Minister to Burma will
bring encouraging results and strengthen ties not only in trade and security but
also enhance co-operation at the people-to-people level.

Sincerely,

Indian Civil Society Groups

Endorsed by:

1. Burma Centre Delhi
2. Grassroot Development Network
3. Zo Indigenous Forum
4. MANUSHI
5. Vinish Gupta
6. Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur)
7. Arun Khote
8. Peoples Media Advocacy & Resources Center- PMARC
9. Dalits Media Watch
10. Anand Bala – Bangalore
11. Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)
12. Vidya Bhushan Rawat
13. Journalists’ Forum Assam, Guwahati
14. CACIM
15. Dr. Vandana Shiva, Navdanya/Research Foundation for Science Technology &
Ecology
16. Himalayan Peoples Forum
17. Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UKPP)
18. Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Editor, The Milli Gazette, New Delhi
19. Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights Activist and Journalist
20. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Human rights lawyer and activist, Mumbai
21. Amar Kanwar
22. Anjuman Ara Begum, Guwahati
23. Pradeep Esteves, Context India, Bangalore
24. Dr. Subash Mohapatra, Journalist
25. Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
26. Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum
27. Hiren Gandhi and Saroop Dhruv, DARSHAN, Ahmedabad

Contact:
Burma Centre Delhi
Vikaspuri, New Delhi 110018
Tele: +91 11 45660619
Email: office@...
www.burmacentredelhi.org

=======================================
4. INDIA’S GOD LAWS FAIL THE TEST OF REASON
by Praveen Swami
=======================================
(The Hindu, May 7, 2012)

Police investigation of Sanal Edamaraku for debunking a “miracle” at a
church is a crime against the Constitution.

Early in March, little drops of water began to drip from the feet of the statue
of Jesus nailed to the cross on the church of Our Lady of Velankanni, down on to
Mumbai’s unlovely Irla Road. Hundreds began to flock to the church to collect
the holy water in little plastic bottles, hoping the tears of the son of god
would sanctify their homes and heal their beloved.

Sanal Edamaruku, the eminent rationalist thinker, arrived at the church a
fortnight after the miracle began drawing crowds. It took him less than half an
hour to discover the source of the divine tears: a filthy puddle formed by a
blocked drain, from where water was being pushed up through a phenomenon all
high-school physics students are familiar with, called capillary action.

For his discovery, Mr. Edamaruku now faces the prospect of three years in prison
— and the absolute certainty that he will spend several more years hopping
between lawyers’ offices and courtrooms. In the wake of Mr. Edamaruku’s
miracle-busting Mumbai visit, three police stations in the capital received
complaints against him for inciting religious hatred. First information reports
were filed, and investigations initiated with exemplary — if unusual —
alacrity.

Real courage

Mr. Edamaruku isn’t the kind to be frightened. It takes real courage, in a
piety-obsessed society, to expose the chicanery of Satya Sai Baba and packs of
lesser miracle-peddlers who prey on the insecurities of the desperate and
gullible. These actions have brought threats in their wake — but never from
the state.

India’s Constitution obliges all citizens to develop “scientific temper,
humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. India’s laws, though, are
being used to persecute a man who has devoted his life to doing precisely that.

Like dozens of other intellectuals and artists, Mr. Edamaraku is a victim of
India’s god laws — colonial-era legislation obliging the state to punish
those who offend the faith of others. Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code
criminalises the actions of “whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of
worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons”. Its sibling,
Section 295A, outlaws “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage
religious feelings of any class”. Section 153B goes further, proscribing
“any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different
religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities”.
Alarmingly, given the sweeping generalities in which these laws are written,
truth is not an admissible defence.

In the decades since independence, these laws have been regularly used to hound
intellectuals and artists who questioned religious beliefs. In 1993, the New
Delhi-based progressive cultural organisation, Sahmat, organised an exhibition
demonstrating that there were multiple versions of the Ramayana in Indian
culture. Panels in the exhibition recorded that in one Buddhist tradition, Sita
was Ram’s sister; in a Jain version, she was the daughter of Ravan. Even
though the exhibits drew on historian Romila Thapar’s authoritative work,
criminal cases were filed against Sahmat for offending the sentiments of
traditionalist Hindus.

Punjab has seen a rash of god-related cases, mainly involving Dalit-led
heterodoxies challenging the high traditions of the Akal Takht. In 2007, police
filed cases against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of the syncretic Saccha
Sauda sect, for his purportedly blasphemous use of Sikh iconography. Earlier, in
2001, similar charges were brought against Piara Singh Bhaniarawala, after he
released the Bhavsagar Granth, a religious text suffused with miracle stories.

Islamic chauvinists have shown the same enthusiasm for the secular state’s god
laws as their Sikh and Hindu counterparts. Earlier this year, FIRs were filed
against four writers who read out passages from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic
Verses — a book that is wholly legal in India. Fear of Islamic
neo-fundamentalists is pervasive, shaping cultural discourse even when its
outcomes are not as dramatic as Mr. Rushdie’s case. In 1995, writer Khalid
Alvi reissued Angaarey — a path-breaking collection of Urdu short works banned
in 1933 for its attacks on god. The collection’s most-incendiary passages were
censored out. India’s feisty media didn’t even murmur in protest after the
magazine India Today was proscribed by Jammu and Kashmir in 2006 for carrying a
cartoon with an image of the Kaaba as one among a metaphorical pack of political
cards.

Even religious belief, ironically enough, can invite prosecution by the pious.
Last year, the Kannada movie actress, Jayamala, was summoned before a Kerala
court, along with astrologer P. Unnikrishna and his assistant Reghupathy, to
face police charges that she had violated a taboo against women in the
menstruating age from entering the Sabrimala temple.

For the most part, judges have shied away from condoning criticism of the pious,
perhaps fearful of being held responsible for public disorder. In 1958, the
Supreme Court heard litigation that grew out of the radical politician, E.V.
Ramaswamy Naicker’s decision to break a clay idol of Ganesha. Lower courts had
held, in essence, that the idol was not a sanctified object. The Supreme Court
differed, urging the lower judiciary “to pay due regard to the feelings and
religious emotions of different classes of persons with different beliefs,
irrespective … of whether they are rational or otherwise”.

‘Insult to religion’

Earlier, in 1957, the Supreme Court placed some limits on 295A saying it “does
not penalise any and every act of insult to or attempt to insult the
religion”. Instead, it “only punishes the aggravated form of insult to
religion perpetrated with deliberate and malicious intention” (emphasis
added). The court shied away, though, from the key question, of what an insult
to religion actually was.

Hearing an appeal against the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to
confiscate Naicker’s contentious Ramayana, the Supreme Court again ducked this
issue. In 1976, it simply said “the law fixes the mind of the Administration
to the obligation to reflect on the need to restrict and to state the grounds
which ignite its action”. “That is about all”, the judges concluded.

That hasn’t, however, been all. In 1998, the Supreme Court upheld
Karnataka’s decision to ban P.V. Narayanna’s Dharmakaarana, an award-winning
re-reading of the Hindu saint, Basaveshwara. In 2007, the Bombay High Court
similarly allowed Maharashtra to ban R.L. Bhasin’s Islam, an aggressive attack
on the faith. There have been several other similar cases. In some, the works
involved were scurrilous, even inflammatory — but the principles established
by courts have allowed State governments to stamp out critical works of
scholarship and art.

Dangers ahead

Indians have grappled with these issues since at least 1924, when Arya Samaj
activist Mahashe Rajpal published the pamphlet that led the state to enact
several of the god laws. Rangila Rasul — in Urdu, ‘the colourful prophet’
—was a frank, anti-Islam polemic. Lower courts condemned Rajpal to prison. In
the Lahore High Court, though, Justice Dalip Singh argued that public outrage
could not be the basis for legal proscription: “if the fact that Musalmans
resent attacks on the Prophet was to be the measure [of legal sanction]”, he
reasoned, “then an historical work in which the life of the prophet was
considered and judgment passed on his character by a serious historian might
[also] come within the definition”.

In 1927, when pre-independence India’s central legislative assembly debated
the Rangila Rasul affair, some endorsed Justice Singh’s message. M.R. Jayakar
likened religious fanaticism to a form of mental illness, and suggested that
those who suffer from it be segregated “from the rest of the community”.
This eminently sane suggestion wasn’t, however, the consensus: the god laws
were expanded to expressly punish works like Rangila Rasul.

Perhaps Indians can congratulate themselves that the god laws have not been used
to persecute and kill religious dissenters, as the ever-expanding blasphemy laws
which sprang up in Pakistan. Mr. Edamaruku’s case ought to make clear, though,
just where things are inexorably headed. If Indians wish to avoid the fate of
the dystopia to the country’s west, its citizens desperately need to accept
the right of critics to attack, even insult, what they hold dear.

In 864 CE, the great physician, Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakaria al-Razi, wrote:
“The miracles of the prophets are imposters or belong to the domain of pious
legend. The teachings of religions are contrary to the one truth: the proof of
this is that they contradict one another. It is tradition and lazy custom that
have led men to trust their religious leaders. Religions are the sole cause of
the wars which ravage humanity; they are hostile to philosophical speculation
and to scientific research. The alleged holy scriptures are books without
values”.

Following a rich scholarly life, and a tenure as director of the hospital in
Baghdad patronised by the caliph Abu al-Qasim Abd ’Allah, al-Razi died quietly
at his home in Rey, surrounded by his students. In modern India, his thoughts
would have led him to a somewhat less pleasant end.

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2668.html ]

=======================================
5. INDIA : ‘WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS’: EMOTIONAL WARS AND THE CONSTRUCTION
OF DIFFERENCE
by Nandini Sundar
=======================================
Third World Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 4, 2012, pp 701–717

ABSTRACT Exploring an ongoing civil war between Maoist guerrillas and the Indian
government, this article looks at how emotions are mobilised, conscripted and
engendered by both sides. The focus is, however, on the state’s performance of
emotion, including outrage, hurt and fear-inducing domination, as part of its
battle for legitimacy. Intrinsic to this is the privileging of certain kinds of
emotions—fear, anger, grief—and the emotions of certain kinds of people over
others. Subject populations are distinguished from citizens by the differential
public acknowledgement of their emotional claims.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2012.657428

=======================================
6. INDIA: RECENT CONTENT FROM COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================
Pilgrims’ progress - Indian Express, Editorial on court ruling against Haj
Subsidy
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/pilgrims-progress-indian-express.html

Tommaso Bobbio on Making Gujarat Vibrant: Hindutva, development and the rise of
subnationalism in India
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/on-hindutva-development-and-rise-of.html

VHP, Bajrang Dal men purify Osmania University campus
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/vhp-bajrang-dal-men-purify-osmania.html

Hindutva's 'Ram dhun' campaign to sabotage Muslims buying real estate in Hindu
dominated areas
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/hindutvas-ram-dhun-campaign-to-sabotage.h\
tml

Tripti Lahiri on India's Battle Over Beef
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/tripti-lahiri-on-indias-battle-over.html

Uttarakhand BJP MLA booked for inciting communal violence
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/uttarakhand-bjp-mla-booked-for-inciting.h\
tml

The dreadful afternoon of March 1, 2002
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/dreadful-afternoon-of-march-1-2002.html

Full Text of Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran's report on the 2002 Gujarat riots
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/full-text-of-amicus-curiae-raju.html

MP: Christian Names Deleted From The Voter List
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/mp-christian-names-deleted-from-voter.htm\
l

The World Before Her: A documentary by Nisha Pahuj
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/world-before-her-documentary-by-nisha.htm\
l

India: Kashmir cleric asks govt to declare Ahmadis
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/05/india-kashmir-cleric-asks-govt-to.html

=======================================
7. BOOKS OF NOTE
=======================================
(i) Penguin Books India

CHURNING THE EARTH: THE MAKING OF GLOBAL INDIA

by Aseem Shrivastava and Ashish Kothari

"The world stands so dazzled by India’s meteoric economic rise that we
hesitate to acknowledge its consequences to the people and the environment. In
Churning the Earth, Aseem Shrivastava and Ashish Kothari engage in a timely
enquiry of this impressive growth story. They present incontrovertible evidence
on how the nature of this recent growth has been predatory and question its
sustainability. Unfettered development has damaged the ecological basis that
makes life possible for hundreds of millions resulting in conflicts over water,
land and natural resources, and increasing the chasm between the rich and the
poor, threatening the future of India as a civilization. Rich with data and
stories, this eye-opening critique of India’s development strategy argues for
a radical ecological democracy based on the principles of environmental
sustainability, social equity and livelihood security. Shrivastava and Kothari
urge a fundamental shift towards such alternatives—already emerging from a
range of grassroots movements—if we are to forestall the descent into
socio-ecological chaos. Churning the Earth is unique in presenting not only what
is going wrong in India, but also the ways out of the crises that globalised
growth has precipitated.

‘A majestic work on society’s future’
Ashis Nandy

‘Cuts through the hype to tell you what is going on’
Amitav Ghosh

http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/content/churning-earth

o o o

(ii) THE PEACEMAKERS: INDIA AND THE QUEST FOR ONE WORLD
by: Manu Bhagavan
published by HarperCollins India, 2012
http://manubhagavan.wordpress.com
http://facebook.com/HistorianManuBhagavan
http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=3179

Explore the extraordinary passion with which a remarkable group of men and women
dared to dream of ‘One World’!

‘A compelling challenge to sterile consensus about the kind of ideas that
guide India’s world view’—C. Raja Mohan

•       Uncovers India's original grand strategy in foreign relations
•       Changes our thinking about Gandhi and Nehru
•       Dramatically alters India's role in the Cold War
•       Speaks to current world events, from Libya and Syria and the Arab
Spring,
to climate change and global health pandemics

The Peacemakers: India and the Quest for One World is the gripping story of
India’s effort to create a common destiny for all people across the globe
based on the concept of human rights. In the years leading up to its
independence from Great Britain, and more than a decade after, in a world torn
asunder by unchecked colonial expansions and two world wars, Jawaharlal Nehru
had a radical vision: bridging the ideological differences of the East and the
West, healing the growing rift between capitalist and communist, and creating
‘One World’ that would be free of empire, exploitation and war.

Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru’s sister, would lead the fight in and
through the United Nations to turn all this into a reality. An electric orator
and outstanding diplomat, she travelled across continents speaking in the voice
of the oppressed and garnering support for her cause. The aim was to lay the
foundation for global governance that would check uncontrolled state power,
address the question of minorities and migrant peoples, and put an end to
endemic poverty. Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy would go global. All that stood
between the Indians and success was their own fallibility, diplomatic intrigue,
and the blinding haze of mistrust and fear engendered by the Cold War.

As Manu Bhagavan recounts the story of this quest, iconic figures are seen
through new eyes as they challenge all of us to imagine a better future. Based
on seven years of research, across three continents, and written in a crisp and
riveting style, this is the first truly international history of newly
independent India.

‘The book combines dramatic flair with rigorous and path-breaking scholarship.
It is a must read for anyone interested in India’s role in global
affairs’—Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and Chief Executive, Centre for
Policy Research, New Delhi

‘In this vividly written page-turner, Manu Bhagavan recovers a moment of
extraordinary possibilities … [and] renews the study of how human rights norms
were put on paper, with great consequences for their revival today’—Samuel
Moyn, Author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History

‘[A] book that should be required reading for all who care about the potential
of India to advance human rights and international justice’—Jonathan Fanton,
Emeritus Chair of the Board of Human Rights Watch and President Emeritus of the
MacArthur Foundation

‘Brilliantly researched and vividly written, Manu Bhagavan’s study of
India’s role in the ongoing quest for human rights is a life-enhancing book
urgently needed now … As we contemplate this moment of violent insanity on
every continent, alternative paths toward peace in a world united for justice
are herein profoundly illuminated’—Blanche Wiesen Cook, Author of Eleanor
Roosevelt, vols 1–3

Manu Bhagavan is a historian and the author or (co-) editor of 5 books, most
recently THE PEACEMAKERS: INDIA AND THE QUEST FOR ONE WORLD (HarperCollins
India, 2012). He teaches at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City
University of New York, where he is an Associate Professor. Manu has been a
fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and President of the Society
for Advancing the History of South Asia. He lives in New York with his wife and
daughter.


THE PEACEMAKERS: INDIA AND THE QUEST FOR ONE WORLD
By:     Manu Bhagavan
ISBN:   9789350292273
Cover Price:     Rs. 499.00
Format: Demy Hard Back
Extent:  256  pages
Category:       Non-fiction
On Sale:         February 2012

http://manubhagavan.wordpress.com
http://facebook.com/HistorianManuBhagavan
http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=3179


INTERNATIONAL
=======================================
8. WILL SECULARISTS BE GIVEN RECOGNITION AND RIGHTS IN LEBANON?
=======================================
(guardian.co.uk, Sunday 6 May 2012)

Activists are marching again today for citizenship and law changes on domestic
violence, rape and censorship

by Nay El Rahi

In Lebanon, marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and citizenship are
all governed by membership of religious groups. Photograph: Ramzi
Haidar/AFP/Getty

You don't become a Lebanese citizen by being born in Lebanon. Nor is having a
Lebanese mother enough – or even living in the country for your whole life. In
fact, you're only recognised as a Lebanese citizen if you belong to one of the
country's 18 legally recognised religious groups. Without belonging to one, you
can't get married or divorced, or resolve child custody or inheritance issues.

Back in 2010, a group of Lebanese friends who wished, they said on the group's
Facebook page, to "live in dignity and equality with other co-citizens", decided
they had had enough. They called on fellow secularists from across the country
to take to the streets, to "make their voices heard and put faces behind
demands", say the organisers on Facebook, but most important to celebrate
secularism with joy, music and colours bright enough for everyone to notice.

Thus was created Lebanese Laique Pride, a movement that sought to gather the
different shades of Lebanon's secular fabric. The 2010 march marked the start of
a campaign for a secular civil state founded on citizenship, that guarantees the
expression of the country's diversity and secures social justice. Their demands
included a unified civil personal status law, a non-confessional electoral law
and the abolition of institutional sectarianism.

On Sunday secular Lebanese will take to the streets for the third consecutive
year, marching from Hamra, a main street in Beirut, to Ain el Mraisse for a
rally by the sea where they will discuss the changes they want to see. "It will
be an open citizen space dedicated to the practice of free speech, fearless
listening, nonviolence, mutual respect and tolerance," says Yalda Younes, one of
the organisers.

"Confessionalism" – a power-sharing measure that distributes government
appointments among different religious groups and allows communities to be
governed by their own religious laws – runs deep in Lebanon's history. When
the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 delineated the borders of what is now called
the Lebanese Republic (mostly without the will of its citizens), it distributed
power equally among the different confessional groups, planting the seeds of
modern-day Lebanon: a constitutional republic with 18 legally recognised groups,
an elected and (supposedly) representative parliament and government, and an
independent judiciary.

Decades later, when Lebanon gained independence in 1943, confessionalism
endured, remaining the basic principle of Lebanese life. In practice, it means
the president has always been and always will be a Maronite Christian, the prime
minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. This also
means that seats in parliament are apportioned between Christians and Muslims,
and civil service posts follow similar sectarian formulas.

But it also means chronic instability, flagrant inequalities, and a weak,
corrupt and dysfunctional central government continuously failing to provide
basic services and security to citizens – and incessantly failing to assert
sovereignty over its own territories. Yet, furtive attempts to abolish political
sectarianism by leftist and secular political parties and activists in the 1950s
and 1960s have fallen on deaf ears.

So has the explicit call in the Taif agreement (which brought an end to
Lebanon's 15-year civil war in 1989) to "abolish the sectarian representation
base and rely on capability and specialisation in public jobs". But while most
political parties in the country have acknowledged the benefits of a merit-based
system of governance, none has proposed a workable alternative system.

The Laique Pride activists, on the other hand, know exactly what they want:
first and foremost, a unified civil personal status law. This year's march is
also demanding stronger protection of women from domestic violence, the
abolition of article 522 of the penal code (which exempts rapists from
punishment if they marry their victims), amendment of the nationality law to
grant Lebanese women the right to pass their nationality to children and
spouses, the enactment of the draft law against prior censorship on cinema and
theatre, and withdrawal of the draft law regulating cyberspace, the Lebanese
internet regulation act proposed by the information ministry.

It remains to be seen if the movement will become Lebanon's new hope for a
better tomorrow. Yalda Younes, for instance, would be satisfied to have her
children and grandchildren say, 20 or 30 years from now, that "there were
secularists who demonstrated in Lebanon every year … that they were there,
every single year, nothing stopped them". Resistance is mostly needed when it's
dark, she says, and that's why she's marching.


=======================================
9. THE LONG VIEW: MIGRANT WORKERS FROM THE SUBCONTINENT OFTEN LIVE EIGHT TO A
ROOM IN SLUMS – EVEN IN OIL-RICH KUWAIT
by Robert Fisk
=======================================
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-arab-spring-h\
as-washed-the-regions-appalling-racism-out-of-the-news-7718707.html
Robert Fisk: Arab Spring has washed the region's appalling racism out of the
news
The Long View: Migrant workers from the subcontinent often live eight to a room
in slums – even in oil-rich Kuwait

Monday 07 May 2012

How many tracts, books, documentaries, speeches and doctoral theses have been
written and produced about Islamophobia? How many denunciations have been made
against the Sarkozys and the Le Pens and the Wilders for their anti-immigration
(for which, read largely anti-Muslim) policies or – let us go down far darker
paths – against the plague of Breivik-style racism?

The problem with all this is that Muslim societies – or shall we whittle this
down to Middle Eastern societies? – are allowed to appear squeaky-clean in the
face of such trash, and innocent of any racism themselves.

A health warning, therefore, to all Arab readers of this column: you may not
like this week's rant from yours truly. Because I fear very much that the video
of Alem Dechasa's recent torment in Beirut is all too typical of the treatment
meted out to foreign domestic workers across the Arab world (there are 200,000
in Lebanon alone).

Many hundreds of thousands have now seen the footage of 33-year-old Ms Dechasa
being abused and humiliated and pushed into a taxi by Ali Mahfouz, the Lebanese
agent who brought her to Lebanon as a domestic worker. Ms Dechasa was
transported to hospital where she was placed in the psychiatric wing and where,
on 14 March, she hanged herself. She was a mother of two and could not stand the
thought of being deported back to her native Ethiopia. That may not have been
the only reason for her mental agony.

Lebanese women protested in the centre of Beirut, the UN protested, everyone
protested. Ali Mahfouz has been formally accused of contributing to her death.
But that's it.

The Syrian revolt, the Bahraini revolution, the Arab Awakening, have simply
washed Alem Dechasa's tragedy out of the news. How many readers know – for
example – that not long before Ms Dechasa's death, a Bengali domestic worker
was raped by a policeman guarding her at a courthouse in the south Lebanese town
of Nabatieh, after she had been caught fleeing an allegedly abusive employer?

As the Lebanese journalist Anne-Marie El-Hage has eloquently written, Ms Dechasa
belonged to "those who submit in silence to the injustice of a Lebanese system
that ignores their human rights, a system which literally closes its eyes to
conditions of hiring and work often close to slavery". All too true.

How well I recall the Sri Lankan girl who turned up in Commodore Street at the
height of the Israeli siege and shelling of West Beirut in 1982, pleading for
help and protection. Like tens of thousands of other domestic workers from the
sub-continent, her passport had been taken from her the moment she began her
work as a domestic "slave" in the city; and her employers had then fled abroad
to safety – taking the girl's passport with them so she could not leave
herself. She was rescued by a hotel proprietor when he discovered that local
taxi drivers were offering her a "bed" in their vehicles in return for sex.

Everyone who lives in Lebanon or Jordan or Egypt or Syria, for that matter, or
– especially – the Gulf, is well aware of this outrage, albeit cloaked in a
pious silence by the politicians and prelates and businessmen of these
societies.

In Cairo, I once remarked to the Egyptian hosts at a dinner on the awful scars
on the face of the young woman serving food to us. I was ostracised for the rest
of the meal and – thankfully – never invited again.

Arab societies are dependent on servants. Twenty-five per cent of Lebanese
families have a live-in migrant worker, according to Professor Ray Jureidini of
the Lebanese American University in Beirut. They are essential not only for the
social lives of their employers (housework and caring for children) but for the
broader Lebanese economy.

Yet in the Arab Gulf, the treatment of migrant labour – male as well as female
– has long been a scandal. Men from the subcontinent often live eight to a
room in slums – even in the billionaires' paradise of Kuwait – and are
consistently harassed, treated as third-class citizens, and arrested on the
meanest of charges.

Saudi Arabia long ago fell into the habit of chopping off the heads of migrant
workers who were accused of assault or murder or drug-running, after trials that
bore no relation to international justice. In 1993, for example, a Christian
Filipino woman accused of killing her employer and his family was dragged into a
public square in Dammam and forced to kneel on the ground where her executioner
pulled her scarf from her head before decapitating her with a sword.

Then there was 19-year old Sithi Farouq, a Sri Lankan housemaid accused of
killing her employer's four-year-old daughter in 1994. She claimed her
employer's aunt had accidentally killed the girl. On 13 April, 1995, she was led
from her prison cell in the United Arab Emirates to stand in a courtyard in a
white abaya gown, crying uncontrollably, before a nine-man firing squad which
shot her down. It was her 20th birthday. God's mercy, enshrined in the first
words of the Koran, could not be extended to her, it seems, in her hour of need.

o o o
[SEE ALSO]

THE DARK SIDE OF DUBAI
Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab
enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state
that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging. Johann Hari
reports

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-d\
ubai-1664368.html

o o o

London Review of Books, Vol. 34 No. 9 · 10 May 2012
pages 13-14 | 2531 words

THE RUMOUR MACHINE: WANG HUI ON THE DISMISSAL OF BO XILAI

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n09/-wanghui/the-rumour-machine

=======================================
10. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
=======================================
(I) INVITATION FOR A PUBLIC MEETING ON THE 14TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POKHARAN
NUCLEAR TESTS (NEW DELHI, 11 MAY 2012)

Dear Friends,

The Pokharan-II nuclear tests of 1998 remain a black mark on our democracy and
traditions of peace and independent foreign policy. The vulgar jingoism
associated with nuclear weaponisation is a dangerous form of right-wing
militarism and chauvinism.  India’s nuclearisation is a setback to the cause
of global nuclear disarmament and will impede India from playing an active role
in promoting the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the world.

Millions of non-combatant civilians in India and Pakistan have become vulnerable
to attacks by fast-flying missiles carrying nuclear warheads, against which
there is no defence. Nuclearisation has further destabilised South Asia and
ignited a nuclear and missile arms race in the region. The recent long-range
nuclear-capable missile test by India, followed by Pakistan in the same week, is
yet another sign of this.

Growing political instability, and deeper penetration and increasing militancy
of right-wing forces in our societies, enlarge the risks of accidental or
unauthorised use of nuclear weapons in our region. A recent international report
on nuclear modernization has also highlighted increased nuclear risks in South
Asia.
The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) is holding a seminar on
the 14th anniversary of the Pokharan-II nuclear tests, on May 11, 2012, at the
Indian Social Institute (Lodhi Road, New Delhi) starting 5.30 pm.

The speakers are:

Mani Shankar Aiyar, Member of Parliament, Head, Advisory Group on Rajiv Gandhi
Action Plan for a nuclear-free world order
Nilotpal Basu, Member, Central Secretariat, CPI(M)
Amarjeet Kaur, National Secretary, CPI
Praful Bidwai, Columnist and Nuclear Affairs Analysts
Achin Vanaik, Political Scientist and Peace Activist

We hope you will be able to attend and we look forward to meeting with you at
the seminar.

With best regards,
Achin Vanaik,
Anil Chaudhary
P K Sundaram (9810556134)

Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)
A 124/6 Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-16
Telefax: 011-26517814
Web : www.cndpindia.org

----------

(ii) UPCOMING EVENTS AT STUDIO SAFDAR AND MAY DAY BOOKSTORE AND CAFÉ

Saturday 12th, 6.00 p.m. ‘Meetings in Music’, performance by Moushumi
Bhowmik (vocals; Kolkata), Satyaki Banerjee (vocals, dotara, oud; Kolkata),
Rosalind Acton (cello; London), members of the larger Anglo Bengali band
Parapar, www.parapar.co.uk. The repertoire in this event will include
Moushumi’s own compositions in Bangla, other forms of Bengali art and folk
music, cello solos by Rosalind, and Satyaki’s repertoire of the mystical
poetry of Bengal and beyond. Approx. 70 mins.

Sunday 13th, 6.00 p.m. Ek Mulaqat Manto Se, a one-actor piece conceived and
performed by Ashwath Bhatt, on the occasion of Saadat Hasan Manto’s birth
centenary. A Theatre Garage production. 70 mins. Closed door.*

Middle of the Month at May Day. The third weekend of every month, and the
Thursday-Friday preceding it. The bookstore will offer special discounts on all
books during these 4 days.
Thursday 17th, 6.00 p.m. Screening of Mera Apna Sheher (‘My Own City’) by
Sameera Jain. The film explores whether there is a sense of belonging, of
ownership of the city. Can a woman in the city, as she continuously negotiates
the polarities of anxiety and comfort – be free? English subtitles; approx. 70
mins. Filmmaker will be present for discussion. Presented by the Magic Lantern
Foundation.
Friday 18th, 6.30 p.m. Poetry for Palestine. Ujle Safed Kabootar: Kuchh Nazmein
Philisteen ke Naam, read by Janam actors, accompanied by a visual essay by
Sherna Dastur. 45 mins.
Saturday 19th, 4 p.m. ‘Women at Work’. A series of conversations with women
workers, conceived and conducted by Albeena Shakil. In the opening conversation
in this series, Albeena will speak with Sonia Verma (b. 1955) who worked as a
child domestic help; as an agricultural worker; and in her school canteen; all
along supporting her schooling. Subsequently, she worked as a nursery school
teacher; domestic help; worker in a hosiery factory; home-based worker stitching
clothes; as a hand-pump mechanic; in the Saksharta Mission; as a milk delivery
person; and doing picot and interlocking of clothes. A resident of Kusumpur
Pahadi, Sonia joined the Janwadi Mahila Samiti in 1990, and is currently its
Delhi State President.
Sunday 20th, 9.30 a.m.-12 noon. Breakfast at May Day. Buffet with an
eat-all-you-can menu. Limited seats. Advance booking recommended. Email
cafemayday@....
Sunday 20th, 12 noon. ‘Coffee’s Many Pasts’: Mukul Mangalik in
conversation with K.K. Mukherjee, Assistant Secretary of the Coffee Board of
India. The conversation will explore the social relations and struggles that
have shaped the long history of coffee, and in particular the struggle of coffee
board workers, under the leadership of A.K. Gopalan, to take over and run the
Coffee Houses as cooperatives.

Thursday 31st, 6.30 p.m. Govind Deshpande’s Satyashodhak, produced and acted
by the Pune Safai Karmacharis’ Union, directed by Atul Pethe. This is a
landmark production, and has created waves in Maharashtra. 90 mins, followed by
30 mins discussion with the cast and director. Closed door.

* ‘Closed door’ means you cannot enter after the event begins, unless there
is a break. We give a grace time of precisely 15 mins after the scheduled time.
In any case, both Studio Safdar and May Day are small spaces with limited
seating, so best to arrive early.
None of the events are ticketed. We are unable to pay anything to the artists
who enrich our lives, unless you contribute. We’ll spread the chadar at the
end of the performance. These contributions will be shared 50:50 with the
artists.
Studio Safdar has been made possible by hundreds of voluntary donations from
across the country and beyond. Please consider making a donation that will help
us equip and maintain the space better.
And if you can’t make it for any of these events, do still drop in for books
and coffee. The bookstore opens Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. — but note
that the café will begin serving only at 3.

Studio Safdar and May Day Bookstore and Café
2254/2A Shadi Khampur, New Ranjit Nagar, New Delhi 110008
For directions, mail cafemayday@... or studiosafdar@..., or call
(only on event days) 011 2570 9456.

(iii) Penguin Books India and India Habitat Centre

cordially invite you to the book release and discussion on Churning the Earth by
Aseem Shrivastava and Ashish Kothari

on Saturday 19 May, 2012 at 7.00 p.m.
at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre
(Entry from Gate No. 3), Lodhi Road, New Delhi

The panel comprises of Ashis Nandy, Amita Baviskar and Ramaswamy Iyer

RSVP: Priyanka Sharma 011 4613 1413

(IV) CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2012 MEETO MEMORIAL AWARD
ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) and Sangat, a South Asian feminist
network, are now inviting nominations for the Meeto Memorial Award for the year
2012.

The Award comprises of Indian Rupees one lakh, a citation and a memento. If more
than one person is selected, the money will be shared. The recipients will be
invited to present their work at the award ceremony. The Award will be announced
in October every year. The recipients of the Award will be chosen by a selection
committee whose decision will be final.

To be eligible, nominees must be:

* Under the age of 40
* Citizens of a South Asian country (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka)
* Working on issues of communal harmony, peace, justice and/or human rights,
broadly conceived; the nominee may be working anywhere in the world, but the
focus of the work should be on South Asia as defined above
* Working in any capacity in the field of activism, advocacy, academia, and
journalism, and in any medium such as writing, art, dance, music, film, and
theatre.

Individuals can nominate themselves or other eligible people.

Nominations must be sent in writing, and accompanied by a detailed CV of the
nominated person, a note on reasons for nomination and a duly filled form
Nominations must be received before 30 June 2012 and should be sent to:

Email : contact@...

or be posted at
Meeto Memorial Award Secretariat
C/o ANHAD
23, Caning Lane, New Delhi 110001 (India)

For more information see: http://meetomemorialaward.org/article33.html

(v)  2012 ASIA DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Each year, the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award is awarded to one
individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the
advancement of democracy or human rights in Asia through peaceful means. As the
first national democracy assistance foundation in Asia, the Taiwan Foundation
for Democracy is committed to supporting courageous individuals and groups who
build democracy, stand up for justice and defend human rights, especially those
in our home region.

The Award consists of a sculpture and a US$100,000 grant from the TFD to support
the ongoing work of the laureate, to be presented at an official ceremony in
Taipei on December 10th, International Human Rights Day.

Nominations are open to the public from April 1st, and TFD Chairman Wang
Jin-pyng invites you to send us your nomination for the 2012 Asia Democracy and
Human Rights Award.

To submit a nomination, please download
[http://www.tfd.org.tw/docs/ADHRA%202012%20nomination%20form.doc] the official
2012 ADHRA Nomination Form and refer to the enclosed instructions. All
nomination materials are due no later than June 30, 2012.

For more information, please contact the TFD at award@... or
+886-2-2708-0100 ext. 218.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 20 September 2012 - No. 2749
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Nepal: Maoist's split and the long march backwards
2. Pakistan: State patronage for the Hijab? Why compete with Fundamentalists?
(Tazeen Javed)
3. Pakistan worker’s 9/11 - massive factory fires of Karachi and Lahore -
selected media reports, edits and statements by labour organisations
4. India: Suspend work at Koodankulam, talk to protesters - concerned citizens
statement
5. Sri Lanka: Heard of a Sinhala Buddhist ’Khomeini’?
6. India: Armies of the Pure - the question of Indian fascism (Dilip Simeon)
7. India: Dirty Tricks of Special Cell of Delhi Police Revealed (JTSA)
8. India: Hindutva Chauvinism and Patriarchy in Gujarat (Archana Prasad)
9. India: Hurt sentiments unlimited everyday
- India: Class XI history textbook 'Themes in World History' in divine trouble
- No beef & pork festival in JNU campus: Delhi High Court
- Meghnad Desai’s take on Gita irks Bihar Religious Trust
INTERNATIONAL:
10. No Spring for Arab Women: Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas
11. South Africa: Violated Hopes - A nation confronts a tide of sexual violence 
(Charlayne Hunter-Gault)
12. Anti-intellectualism is taking over the US (Patricia Williams)
13. Don't let internet video's drive you to violence: Tell your govt. not to
nurture fundamentalist groups for short term gain
(i) Muslim Outrage and Western shock (As'ad AbuKhalil)
(ii) Peace Be Upon You: Internet videos will insult your religion. Ignore them
(William Saletan)

=======================================
1. NEPAL: MAOIST'S SPLIT AND LONG MARCH BACKWARDS (RECENT EDITORIALS)
=======================================

(a) NEPAL: LONG MARCH, BACKWARDS

Editorial, The Hindu
June 20, 2012

The churning in Nepali politics has entered a new stage with a split in the
Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Prachanda’s ideological mentor and senior leader, Mohan Vaidya ‘Kiran’,
has walked away to form a new party. He was supported by four other major
leaders, about one-third of the party’s central committee, and a segment of
the former Maoist fighters who recently retired from cantonments. Kiran was in
an Indian prison in 2005 when the Maoist party decided to engage with democratic
parties against the monarchy, work with the Indian establishment and enter open
politics. Even though it was precisely the success of this political line —
advocated by Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai — that ensured Kiran’s release,
the latter never felt any ownership over the process. The peace agreement was
based on a quid pro quo. The Maoists were considered a legitimate force, and
their key demands — of elections to a Constituent Assembly and proclamation of
a republic — were accepted. In return, the rebels gave up violence and agreed
to integrate and rehabilitate the combatants of the ‘People’s Liberation
Army’. Kiran and his supporters felt these compromises were tantamount to
surrender. They put up impossible demands, pushed the line of ‘people’s
revolt’, opposed India, flirted with royalists under the garb of
‘nationalism’, and were ambivalent about a democratic constitution. This
gave ammunition to conservative parties and Indian security hardliners who used
Kiran’s rhetoric to paint the entire Maoist party as one seeking to ‘capture
the state’. The moderate Maoist leadership was squeezed between these
extremes.

The split, while unfortunate, brings an end to the artificial unity of the
Maoist party and was inevitable given the wide gulf. But in the immediate
context, where the Constituent Assembly has expired without delivering a
constitution and the country stares at a political-constitutional vacuum, it
will complicate politics. Kiran’s party is expected to join the Nepali
Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) on the streets
against the government. The new Maoist party has rejected elections, and kept
open the option of resorting to ‘people’s revolt’ or even ‘people’s
war’. Its core plank is a mix of ultra nationalism and ideological dogmatism.
Its rhetoric and activities can only help the far-right forces and royalists who
seek to undermine the gains of the 2005-06 people’s struggle. The need of the
hour is a broad political consensus on framing a new constitution. By diverting
attention from that crucial goal, Kiran and his ultra-left comrades have
weakened the sacred cause of bringing progressive changes in Nepal’s state
structure.

o o o

(b) WITH SO MANY UNFULFILLED ASPIRATIONS, THE RECENT DIVIDE IN THE MAOIST PARTY
IN NEPAL IS DEPRESSING.

Editorial, Economic and Political Weekly, September 22, 2012

Tremendous hope coupled with so many unfulfilled aspirations had drawn the
Nepali people to the Maoists, but their dreams now seem to be in the process of
being prematurely shattered. Washington’s decision on 6 September to remove
the Maoist party from its list of “terrorist organisations” had been on the
anvil for the last two years, and it came just when the party seems no longer in
a position to upset the status quo any further. The “two-line struggle”,
underway within the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [UCPN(M)], reached
a point earlier this year when the party’s central committee reconciled itself
to the reality of “one party with two lines” and it was only a matter of
time when the faction led by the party’s erstwhile vice-chairperson Mohan
Baidya “Kiran” would form a new party, which it did on 19 June.
[. . .]
http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2012_47/38/Nepals_Maoists.pdf


=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: STATE PATRONAGE FOR THE HIJAB? WHY COMPETE WITH FUNDAMENTALISTS?
=======================================
The Express Tribune, 18 September 2012

A woman’s clothing is her own business
by Tazeen Javed

The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance communications consultant. She tweets
@tazeen and blogs at http://tazeen-tazeen.blogspot.com

Barring random news items and a few opinion pieces, the hijab debate has never
really been part of the national narrative of Pakistan. Those who wanted to wear
hijab/niqab/burqa wore it and those who preferred the traditional shalwar kameez
and dupatta chose that without any problem. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran or Turkey,
there never was governmental coercion or pressure on women to wear a particular
type clothing or to ban them from wearing a particular type of clothing in state
institutions. A woman’s clothing was her own business as it should be anywhere
in the world. However, things are changing. With the celebration of the World
Hijab Day, which had tacit approval of the government and the patronage of the
first lady, Nusrat Pervaiz Ashraf, of the Hijab Conference organised by the
Jamaat-e-Islami, things are moving in the direction where the state is turning
partisan.

The first lady of Pakistan, during the aforementioned conference, exhorted
Muslim women to wear a hijab, saying that women could do what they wanted as
long as they respect the “limits set by Islam”.

The first lady’s speech encourages women to follow the limits set by Islam but
no one can agree on what it entails; one school of thought believes that there
should be no hindrance to anyone’s education — including women — while the
other believes that women should only be allowed access to education if there
are segregated educational institutions for them, right up to higher education.
Another school of thought believes that women need no access to higher education
as their true calling lies in maintaining a household and raising children. If
the speech of the first lady is carefully viewed, perhaps, she supports the
third version of  ‘limits set by Islam’. In her speech, she urged women to
strengthen the family unit, which she said was central to Islamic teachings. As
if this was not all, she also deplored that Pakistani women were starting to
forget how important family and hijab were.

For starters, there is no direct relationship between a woman’s hijab and her
caregiving responsibilities towards her family. Secondly, Pakistani women have
not forgotten how important family is for them. If anything, family interferes
with their performance at work because of the overwhelming demands by families
for their time. Thirdly, positioning hijab with better motherhood and a more
fulfilled family life puts the women who do not wear hijab but are just as —
if not more — concerned about their families, in an uncomfortable situation.
If such views gain official state patronage, it can and will act against the
women who do not abide by this particular view.

The first lady ended her speech by calling Fatima Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto
“role models” for Pakistani women. However, she failed to point out that
neither Benazir Bhutto nor Fatima Jinnah followed those particular limits she so
favoured in her speech. Both Ms Bhutto and Ms Jinnah were highly educated women
who studied with men; they did not limit themselves to raising children and
families and had highly visible political careers. Ms Jinnah was so dedicated to
her political career that she did not even marry and have a family of her own
and Ms Bhutto was back in her office a fortnight after giving birth to her
second child. Last but not the least, neither woman wore a hijab but favoured
the traditional Pakistani dupatta.

There are many issues that plague Pakistani women that can do with the attention
of the first lady; it would be advisable if she focuses on those issues instead
of the hijab/dupatta debate.

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN WORKER’S 9/11 - MASSIVE FACTORY FIRES OF KARACHI AND LAHORE -
SELECTED MEDIA REPORTS, EDITS AND STATEMENTS BY LABOUR ORGANISATIONS
=======================================
a) Fires at Karachi and Lahore factories kill more 310 people
b) Deadly Karachi blaze was ’waiting to happen’
c) Editorial : Karachi’s inferno
d) Statement on the press conference by labour leaders and trade union activists
at Karachi Press Club on 12 September 2012
e) Statement by International Labor Rights Forum

http://sacw.net/article2852.html

=======================================
4. INDIA: SUSPEND WORK AT KOODANKULAM, TALK TO PROTESTERS, URGE CONCERNED
CITIZENS
=======================================

The movement against the Koodankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu has
entered a new phase with a Jal-satyagraha following the repressive police action
of September 10.

More than 120 eminent citizens from different walks of life have signed the
following statement expressing solidarity with the protesters, and calling for
serious engagement with them on vital issues of safety.

The signatories include former Chief of Naval Staff L Ramdas, former Cabinet
Secretary TSR Subramanian and former Planning Commission member SP Shukla,
former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman A Gopalakrishnan, former Chief
Justice of Delhi High Court AP Shah, former Ambassador to the United Nations
Nirupam Sen, scientists PM Bhargava, D Balasubramaniam, Satyajit Rath, MV Ramana
and Suvrat Raju, social scientists Romila Thapar, Sumit and Tanika Sarkar,
Rajeev Bhargav, Amit Bhaduri, Manoranjan Mohanty, Gyanendra Pandey, Achin Vanaik
and Zoya Hasan, writers Adil Jussawalla, Arundhati Roy and Arvind Krishna
Mehrotraq, dancer Leela Samson, artists Ghulam Shaikh, SG Vasudev, Vivan
Sundaram and Sheba Chhachhi, and many other scholars and social activists such
as Vandana Shiva, Aruna Roy and Ashish Kothari.

http://www.sacw.net/article2855.html

=======================================
5. SRI LANKA: HEARD OF A SINHALA BUDDHIST ’KHOMEINI’?
=======================================

The present Rajapaksa regime proves, extremist forces consisting of Sinhala
Buddhist political elements and the Sinhala business and trader community that
helped prop this government, do not allow such rule of law, social justice and
democracy for all. During the past few years, during the war and post war years,
this regime has basically numbed social structures that could take dissenting
positions and established an authoritarian State, entrenching the Sinhala armed
forces in civil life, in satisfying the Sinhala politics that back the regime.
The all powerful Executive President has been given the Constitutional right to
continue through any number of terms, provided he or she could nudge voters to
do what he or she wishes. This whole process was justified by war based Sinhala
sentiment and was backed by extremist forces in the regime, the remnant
“Left” within the government also adding their two pennies worth, into it.

http://www.sacw.net/article2789.html


=======================================
6. INDIA: ARMIES OF THE PURE - THE QUESTION OF INDIAN FASCISM
by Dilip Simeon
=======================================

Is the term fascism relevant to India? The answer lies in what we understand by
the term. I use it generically, to refer to the emergence of right-wing
dictatorships marked by ultra-nationalist ideologies, the abolition of the rule
of law and the destruction of democratic institutions. Fascism invades the
public sphere with controlled mobs, and possesses a genocidal instinct towards
imaginary “internal enemies.” There were many ingredients to this
exterminism, including Social-Darwinism and eugenics. But the articulation of
national unity via the bestowal of an inferior status upon an entire community
was a central feature.

Fascism represents an assault on politics, a substitution of democratic dialogue
by violent intimidation, spectacular acclamation and automatic behaviour
patterns. The link between nationalism and war-mongering, evident in the
emergence of nation-states, is vastly extended in fascism. It is an
ideologically enforced project which criminalises the State and aims at the
militarization of civil society. Hence beyond a point it cannot be understood in
utilitarian terms, as an instrument of the bourgeoisie etc. Fascism is a
powerful expression of the annihilationist drive endemic in capitalist modernity
(there are others). More ominously, it is a populist movement, one that
mobilizes the most base and destructive elements in mass psychology. In the
words of the ex-Nazi Herman Rauschning, it is the revolution of nihilism.

Historical events do not replicate themselves in pre-determined fashion. But to
begin with, fascism was not an event, but a prolonged process with political and
institutional features that remain visible despite contextual differences.
Fascism was not always marked by seizures of power or the advent of war.
Identifying it requires an eye to political tendencies. These tendencies are
visible in colonial India and its successor states, although with distinctive
features. The common feature is that its successes depend more on ideological
influence than organizational affiliation. In India this ideology is manifested
in what we call communalism; and it includes the demonisation of entire
communities that emerged in the West as anti-Semitism. In my view, communalism
is India’s version of fascism.

http://www.sacw.net/article2820.html

=======================================
7. INDIA: DIRTY TRICKS OF SPECIAL CELL OF DELHI POLICE REVEALED
=======================================
Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association released a 180 page report — ’Framed,
Damned and Acquitted: Dossiers of a Very Special Cell’ — at a widely
attended public event on 18 September 2012 at the Jamia Milia University in New
Delhi. This document reveals 16 cases in which those accused of being operatives
of various terrorist organizations arrested mostly by the Special Cell of Delhi
Police, were acquitted by the courts, not simply for want of evidence, but
because the evidence was tampered with, and the police story was found to be
unreliable and incredulous.
http://sacw.net/article2862.html

=======================================
8. INDIA: HINDUTVA CHAUVINISM AND PATRIARCHY IN GUJARAT (Archana Prasad)
=======================================
From: Peoples Democracy, Sep 9, 2012

On August 29, 2012 the Washington Post published Narendra Modi's now famous
statement that the increasing rates of malnutrition in Gujarat could be
attributed to the beauty conscious middle class girls and dieting habits. He
also reiterated that he "would not apologise for the Gujarat violence (2002)". A
day later Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and 27 others were convicted for the
Naroda Patiya massacre in the 2002 Gujarat genocide. The witnesses deposing
before the courts emphasised on the mass atrocities against Muslim women and
children, thus, highlighting the nature of the conviction. In the same week, the
RSS weekly Panchjanya (August 25, 2012) also reported a comment by Shanta Akka,
the newly appointed president of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, who stated that the
events in Assam were representative of the "evil designs" (rakshasi sanskriti)
against Indian culture and therefore it was necessary that the forces of
Hinduism be advanced. These seemingly unrelated incidents are bound together by
an understanding that women and their organisations are carriers of the Hindutva
ideology and the vision of a Hindu Rashtra that forms the basis of the Gujarat
model of development. Here women become both, agents of Hindutva politics, as
well as targets of violence perpetrated by Sangh Parivar organisations.
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/hindutva-chauvinism-and-patriarchy-in.htm\
l

=======================================
9. INDIA: HURT SENTIMENTS UNLIMITED EVERYDAY
=======================================

India: Class XI history textbook 'Themes in World History' in divine trouble
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/india-class-xi-history-textbook-themes.ht\
ml

No beef & pork festival in JNU campus: Delhi High Court
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/no-beef-pork-festival-in-jnu-campus.html

Meghnad Desai’s take on Gita irks Bihar Religious Trust
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/meghnad-desais-take-on-gita-irks-bihar.ht\
ml

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
10. NO SPRING FOR ARAB WOMEN: Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas
=======================================

Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas on the Arab Spring which was ‘neither a
socialist nor a feminist revolution’ but more a victory of the extreme right
and religious fundamentalists and argues that it is essential for women’s
rights that feminists fight for secularism.
http://www.sacw.net/article2787.html

=======================================
11. SOUTH AFRICA: VIOLATED HOPES - A NATION CONFRONTS A TIDE OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE
by Charlayne Hunter-Gault
=======================================
(The New Yorker, May 28, 2012 Issue)

Letter from South Africa

ABSTRACT: about corrective rape and violence against women and homosexuals. On a
recent Sunday morning in the Johannesburg township of Kwa Thema, a young lesbian
couple went to church. Kwa Thema, one of many settlements created by the
apartheid regime to contain and control the black majority population, remains
isolated today. The two women, Bontle Khalo and Ntsupe Mohapi, are leaders of a
gay-rights organization called the Ekurhuleni Pride Organizing Committee, or
EPOC. The couple formed the group, three years ago, to combat rising violence
against gays in the Ekurhuleni municipality. They were concerned in particular
about a gruesome crime known as “corrective rape”—an assault in which a
man rapes a lesbian in an attempt to “cure” her sexual orientation. A
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist organization in Capetown says
that it deals with as many as ten such incidents every week. Since 1998, at
least thirty-one lesbians have been killed in attacks that were motivated by
their sexual orientation and many of which began with corrective rape. Few
arrests have been made. Members of South Africa’s L.G.B.T. community encounter
widespread discrimination, even though the country’s constitution was the
first in the world with a clause explicitly forbidding discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation. The language was included in the 1996 Bill of
Rights, introduced two years after the transition from apartheid rule to
democracy, and intended to address South Africa’s history of prejudice and
legally enshrined segregation. But, with few policies in place to reduce high
levels of poverty and inequality, hostility toward “difference” has barely
slackened, and crimes against gays, and women, have increased. South Africa,
with a population of fifty million, has one of the highest rates of violence in
the world—more than forty murders a day, on average—and the highest rate of
rape. In 2009, statistics from the International Criminal Police Organization
indicated that a woman is raped in South Africa every seventeen seconds, and
that nearly half the victims are under eighteen. One woman in two can expect to
be raped at least once in her lifetime. A study by the South Africa Medical
Research Council, also published in 2009, said that one in four men admitted
that they had committed rape at one time or another. South Africans first became
widely aware of the violence against lesbians in April, 2008, when Simelane, a
thirty-one-year-old former member of the national women’s soccer team, was
brutally murdered. Simelane was one of the first openly gay women in Kwa Thema,
and was training to be the first female referee at the Men’s World Cup, in
2010, in South Africa. Discusses other cases of rape and violence against women
and homosexuals in South Africa. Tells about the campaign for hate-crime
legislation to be passed.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Letter from South Africa, “Violated Hopes,” The New
Yorker, May 28, 2012, p. 40

Read more
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/28/120528fa_fact_huntergault#ixzz1wOW\
NYljP


=======================================
12. Anti-intellectualism is taking over the US
by Patricia Williams
=======================================
(guardian.co.uk, 18 May 2012)

The rise in academic book bannings and firings is compounded by the US's growing
disregard for scholarship itself

Isabel Allende is among writers whose work has been removed from Arizona schools
under an anti-ethnic studies initiative. Photograph: Koen Van Weel/AFP/Getty
Images

Recently, I found out that my work is mentioned in a book that has been banned,
in effect, from the schools in Tucson, Arizona. The anti-ethnic studies law
passed by the state prohibits teachings that "promote the overthrow of the
United States government," "promote resentment toward a race or class of
people," "are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,"
and/or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as
individuals." I invite you to read the book in question, titled Critical Race
Theory: An Introduction, so that you can decide for yourselves whether it
qualifies.

In fact, I invite you to take on as your summer reading the astonishingly
lengthy list of books that have been removed from the Tucson public school
system as part of this wholesale elimination of the Mexican-American studies
curriculum. The authors and editors include Isabel Allende, Junot Díaz,
Jonathan Kozol, Rudolfo Anaya, bell hooks, Sandra Cisneros, James Baldwin,
Howard Zinn, Rodolfo Acuña, Ronald Takaki, Jerome Skolnick and Gloria
Anzaldúa. Even Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Shakespeare's The Tempest
received the hatchet.

Trying to explain what was offensive enough to warrant killing the entire
curriculum and firing its director, Tucson school board member Michael Hicks
stated rather proudly that he was not actually familiar with the curriculum. "I
chose not to go to any of their classes," he told Al Madrigal on The Daily Show.
"Why even go?" In the same interview, he referred to Rosa Parks as "Rosa Clark."

The situation in Arizona is not an isolated phenomenon. There has been an
unfortunate uptick in academic book bannings and firings, made worse by a
nationwide disparagement of teachers, teachers' unions and scholarship itself.
Brooke Harris, a teacher at Michigan's Pontiac Academy for Excellence, was
summarily fired after asking permission to let her students conduct a fundraiser
for Trayvon Martin's family. Working at a charter school, Harris was an at-will
employee, and so the superintendent needed little justification for sacking her.
According to Harris, "I was told… that I'm being paid to teach, not to be an
activist." (It is perhaps not accidental that Harris worked in the schools of
Pontiac, a city in which nearly every public institution has been taken over by
cost-cutting executives working under "emergency manager" contracts. There the
value of education is measured in purely econometric terms, reduced to a
"product," calculated in "opportunity costs.")

The law has taken some startling turns as well. In 2010 the sixth circuit upheld
the firing of high school teacher Shelley Evans-Marshall when parents complained
about an assignment in which she had asked her students in an upper-level
language arts class to look at the American Library Association's list of "100
most frequently challenged Books" and write an essay about censorship. The
complaint against her centered on three specific texts: Hermann Hesse's
Siddhartha, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit
451. (She was also alleged, years earlier, to have shown students a PG-13
version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.)

The court found that the content of Evans-Marshall's teachings concerned matters
"of political, social or other concern to the community" and that her interest
in free expression outweighed certain other interests belonging to the school
"as an employer." But, fatally, the court concluded that "government
employees… are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes." While
the sixth circuit allowed that Evans-Marshall may have been treated "shabbily",
it still maintained (quoting from another opinion) that "when a teacher teaches,
'the school system does not "regulate" [that] speech as much as it hires that
speech. Expression is a teacher's stock in trade, the commodity she sells to her
employer in exchange for a salary.'" Thus, the court concluded, it is the
"educational institution that has a right to academic freedom, not the
individual teacher."

There are a number of factors at play in the current rash of controversies. One
is a rather stunning sense of privilege, the confident sense of superiority that
allows someone to pass sweeping judgment on a body of work without having done
any study at all. After the Chronicle of Higher Education published an item
highlighting the dissertations of five young PhD candidates in African-American
studies at Northwestern University, Chronicle blogger Naomi Schaefer Riley wrote
that the mere titles of the dissertations were sufficient cause to eliminate all
black studies classes. Riley hadn't read the dissertations; they're not even
published yet. When questioned about this, she argued that as "a journalist…
it is not my job to read entire dissertations before I write a 500-word piece
about them," adding: "there are not enough hours in the day or money in the
world to get me to read a dissertation on historical black midwifery." Riley
tried to justify her view with a cliched, culture-wars-style plaint about the
humanities and higher education: "Such is the state of academic research these
days…. The publication topics become more and more irrelevant and partisan. No
one reads them." This is not mere arrogance; it is the same cocooned "white
ghetto" narrow-mindedness that allows someone like Michael Hicks to be in charge
of a major American school system yet not know "Rosa Clark's" correct name.

Happily, there is pushback occurring against such anti-intellectualism. One of
the most vibrant examples is a protest group called Librotraficante, or Book
Trafficker. Organised by Tony Diaz, a Houston Community College professor, the
group has been caravanning throughout the south-west holding readings, setting
up book clubs, establishing "underground libraries," and dispensing donated
copies of the books that have been removed from Arizona's public school
curriculum. You can donate by visiting librotraficante.com.

============================
13. DON'T LET INTERNET VIDEO'S DRIVE YOU TO VIOLENCE: TELL YOUR GOVT. NOT TO
NURTURE FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS FOR SHORT TERM GAIN
============================

(i) Muslim Outrage and Western shock
By As'ad AbuKhalil

Yet again, Western governments and media are shocked. A group of fanatic Salafi
and Ikhwan types attacked the US embassy in Cairo and the US consulate in
Benghazi, and the US ambassador was killed. The US through Hillary Clinton spoke
on behalf of the Libyan people – no less – and decided that those deeds are
unrepresentative of the Libyan people. Her statement, however, did not inform
the American public that the killers were probably fighting alongside NATO only
a few months ago.
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/muslim-outrage-and-western-shock-asad.htm\
l

(ii) Peace Be Upon You: Internet videos will insult your religion. Ignore them
by William Saletan (Sept. 14, 2012)
Dear Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Jews,
You’re living in the age of the Internet. Your religion will be mocked, and
the mockery will find its way to you. Get over it.
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/peace-be-upon-you-internet-videos-will.ht\
ml

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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 22 Sept 2012 - No. 2750
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. NDTV’s interview with Salman Rushdie (17 Sept 2012)
2. Pakistan: Our ‘America’ problem (Aasim Sajjad Akhtar)
3. Pakistan: The Undercities of Karachi (Jan Breman)
4. Sri Lanka: A picture of the north three years after war’s end (Jehan
Perera)
5. India - Kashmir: The obstacles in the amnesty policy for surrendered former
militants (Editorial, Kashmir Times)
6. India: Savarkar and Gandhi’s murder (A.G. Noorani)
7. Nationalism and Fear of Foreign Capital: The Indian capitalists in organised
retail are angels are they? (Harsh Kapoor)
8. India: Karnataka Government’s Unconstitutional Action (Vidya Bhushan Rawat)
9. France: No to Permanent Austerity: Reject the Fiscal Pact -- Open Up the
Debate in Europe !
10. Egypt's women have had enough of being told to cover up (Mariz Tadros)
11. How Satan Is Destroying Russia (Victor Davidoff)

=======================================
1. TRANSCRIPT OF NDTV’S INTERVIEW WITH SALMAN RUSHDIE (17 SEPT 2012)
=======================================

[Large excerpt from] the transcript of NDTV’s exclusive interview with Salman
Rushdie follows

NDTV.com | Updated: September 18, 2012 00:34 IST

New Delhi: India a more intolerant country today, than when it first gained
independence? Author Salman Rushdie says yes it is. Speaking to NDTV, just ahead
of the launch of his memoirs on the Fatwa years, Mr Rushdie says the ban on
’Satanic Verses’ that India was the first country in the world to ban the
book and that set the tone. Since then, the State has failed to protect artistes
or free speech. From attacks on art galleries to recent sedition cases against
cartoonists, Mr Rushdie says India is no longer Nehru’s country. Nehru was a
liberal, he says, who always argued against government censorship.

Here is the full transcript of the interview:

NDTV: Salman, It has been more two decades since the Satanic Verses was first
published and then you found yourself literally living on the run after a
’fatwa’ was declared against you. Why did it take you so long to write about
what happened in those years?

Salman Rushdie: Because I did not want to for a long time. First of all the
whole saga lasted almost 12 years really, and by the time I finally came out of
the tunnel, and had a sort of ordinary life back, frankly the last thing I
wanted to do was to go back into the tunnel and to write about it. I mean a lot
of people suggested that I should write about it but I just said that I don’t
want to do it. I’m a novelist, I would write novels and I want to get back to
my real life and so for long time that’s what I did, I wrote novels and
stories and so on but I always knew that I would write about it. That’s the
only reason I kept journals through those years, because I’m normally not
somebody who will keep journals, I’m not one of those writers who keep a diary
everyday about their lives. But in this period I thought so much is happening
with such intensity that there is no way to bring it, so write it down!

NDTV: The memoir is called Joseph Anton, named after Joseph Conrad and Anton
Chekhov, but before you were going to be Joseph Anton, you wanted to be ’Ajeeb
mamuli’. Now because I’m an Indian, you don’t have to translate that into
English for me, you know I get what it means, Ajeeb Admi who is also an ordinary
Admi. Now, people might call you ’Ajeeb’, but you are not ’mamuli’!

Salman Rushdie: I don’t know, I felt pretty ’Mamuli’ at that time. That
was really just a joke; I did never think it was going to seriously catch on. I
actually thought it might be a name for a character in the story really more
than me but I never used him. So maybe he is still lurking somewhere to be used.
I mean the reason I made this title of the book is to just give a sense to
people how weird those days were. You know first of all to be asked to give up
your name is very strange, especially if you are the author of the books which
have your name on them, and also to be asked to give up the ethnicity of your
name, don’t choose an Indian name that is too obvious, people can put two and
two together etc. Then I thought well if I can’t have Indian names I can
retreat it into literature which is sort of my other country I guess. That’s
why I finally picked up these first names of Conrad and Chekhov in order to make
this name.

NDTV: Except much to your annoyance, not just that you have these false names
which are not your ethnicity or your cultural background but Joseph becomes
Joe...

Salman Rushdie: Yes, it really annoyed me
[. . .]
FULL TEXT AT:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/full-transcript-ndtv-s-exclusive-interview-wit\
h-salman-rushdie-268418

=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: OUR ‘AMERICA’ PROBLEM
by Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
=======================================
(Dawn - 21 september 2012)

THE predictable unfolding of events since the inauspicious ‘release’ of an
amateur film that has offended the sensibilities of Muslims across the world has
once again underlined the major divisions that exist in our society.

While conservatives with a virtual monopoly on the vernacular press and TV media
play their inexhaustible ‘anti-West’ card, progressives restricted mostly to
the English-language press are lamenting the irrationality of the Pakistani
mind.

The fact that this article is being read on a hastily declared public holiday,
and that the major party in government has put in its two cents with the
protesters would suggest that the conservatives have won this particular battle.
The more pessimistic amongst the progressives would likely venture that the
‘other’ side is also winning the war.

As in all such cases, the polemic tends to focus on the ‘anti-Islam’ posture
and actions of ‘America’. In this simplistic narrative, ‘America’ is
somehow responsible for every negative thing said or done against ‘Islam’.

I share the frustration of those progressives who worry about the incredibly
insular worldview of many ordinary Pakistanis. But I find the desperation and
even nihilism of at least a segment of progressives rather incongruous, because
surely the point is not only to harp on about our ‘America’ problem, but to
try and address it.

The panic sets in only when one becomes convinced that the problem cannot be
addressed at all, that ordinary Pakistanis are somehow incapable of moving
beyond the polemic and seeing the world for what it really is. And therein lies
the quandary: just as the conservatives are convinced that their worldview is
the right one, some of the progressives feel that their worldview must be
adopted by all Pakistanis if we are to move beyond our ‘dark ages’.

Such a diagnosis is dangerously close to an orientalist account of the
‘other’, particularly inasmuch as the ‘rationalists’ view the common
hordes with suspicion at best, and contempt at worst. If nothing else, the
‘common hordes’ are anything but a monolith.

Is it true that those involved in the protests in major urban centres are
representative of Pakistani society? Is there outrage being expressed in the
tens and thousands of villages across the country? Is the government trying to
appease its voters or the small but powerful rightist lobby?

And if we do assume that a vast majority of Pakistanis that have not been
touched by the magic wand of rationality represent a threat to themselves and
the rest of us civilised lot, then what are we doing about it (other than
fearing an imminent takeover by the mullahs)?

My humble submission is that if — and I emphasise if — progressives want to
challenge the siege mentality that is an increasingly prominent feature of our
social landscape, then they need to first change their own siege mentality about
the ‘other’ in their own society.

In short, the rationalists need to spend less time reacting to, and more time
engaging with, ordinary people. Whomsoever believes that there is a set of
rationalist principles that should inform the functioning of modern society must
actually go out and tell that to those who have not yet been enlightened.

Some context might assist in clarifying my point. I have written a number of
times about a bygone era in which progressive politics and ideals occupied a
prominent place in society. Many white-collar professionals of a progressive
bent were deeply involved in organising workers, peasants, students, and the
like. That many of these one-time revolutionaries are no longer excited by the
idea of radical transformation is by the by. The problem is that other would-be
revolutionaries have taken their place.

Indeed, the 1980s marked not only the eviction of progressive ideals and
politics — along with individuals and organisations — from the social and
intellectual mainstream, but the attendant propagation of a competing set of
ideals and politics.

Conservatives were inducted into educational institutions, the media, and all
government departments. Much is made of the role of madressahs in facilitating
the rightist shift, but overstating this case actually distracts from how deep
the Ziaist transformation was.

Meanwhile the same worker, peasant and student stomping grounds that were once
the exclusive preserve of progressives were literally handed over to the right.
At least 110 million out of Pakistan’s 180 million people were born after
1977. This population has never known anything other than the conservative
worldview.

I want to emphasise, however, that the Pakistani establishment has peddled a
siege mentality amongst its people since the inception of the state. The
difference between the post-1977 period and that which preceded it is that in
the past progressives resisted this mentality, and the politics associated with
it, in an organised, holistic manner. Now there is only lament, isolation and
contempt.

Screaming until one is hoarse about our ‘America’ problem betrays the fact
that progressives have not managed to reorganise themselves as a force to be
reckoned within Pakistani politics and society at large.

Having said this, it is never too late. The exclusion and exploitation that runs
rife throughout Pakistani society in the past still blights us. There is no
shortage of avenues for progressives to once again make common cause with
ordinary people.

Of course, this means that we have to do away with our irrational fear of the
common hordes and recognise that human beings are not progressive or
retrogressive by birth, but that their socialisation explains the values they
espouse and the actions they take.

We have a problem, yes, but it existed back in the day when our now ex-leftists
were also happy and willing to decry the excesses of American imperialism, while
the mullahs were celebrating the alliance with ahl-i-kitab against the godless
communists. The problem continues to exist today and is likely to do so in the
future, regardless of whether conservatives remain true to their currently
favourite pastime of America-bashing.

Progressives, now confined to their four walls, English-language newspapers and
computer screens, need to remind themselves what the crux of the matter really
is. The Pakistani state and those that claim to defend its ideological frontiers
will do what they do. If we once again start to do what we once used to do
without hesitation, our ‘America’ problem will eventually work itself out.

The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: THE UNDERCITIES OF KARACHI
by Jan Breman
=======================================
(New Left Review 76, July-August 2012)

The largest port on the Arabian Sea, Karachi today has a population over 20
million, on a par with Mumbai, and ranks as the world’s eighth biggest city.
Commanding the north-east quadrant of the ocean, with a hinterland stretching up
the Indus Valley to Afghanistan, it has been the principal entry-point for us
arms and supplies in the ‘war on terror’, while refugees—and heroin—have
flowed in the opposite direction. From the bloodstained birth of Pakistan with
the Partition of British India, the city’s explosive growth has more often
been fuelled by the ‘push’ of geopolitical, agrarian and ecological crises
than by the ‘pull’ of economic development. Life in its sprawling katchi
abadis, or ‘unpaved settlements’, has much in common with that of other
giant undercities, such as Mumbai’s, with the exception that violence plays a
significantly greater role here. The vast majority of Karachiites are not only
entangled in competition with each other, in a desperate struggle for survival,
but must also contend with a brutal climate of aggression fuelled by
gangsterized political groupings, the most influential of which also control the
armed force of the state. In what conditions do its inhabitants live and what
could drive increasing numbers of newcomers to try to survive here?

http://www.sacw.net/article2839.html


=======================================
4. SRI LANKA: A PICTURE OF THE NORTH THREE YEARS AFTER WAR’S END
by Jehan Perera
=======================================
(The Daily Star, 16 May 2012)

There is no doubt that the government is spending heavily on improving the
infrastructure in the north and elsewhere in the country. The problem is that
the majority of the people do not get the direct benefits from these projects
while they are in the process of being constructed. In these circumstances, it
is natural that they will look to non-governmental sources of assistance. ...
But instead of encouraging the NGOs to play a bigger role in supplementing the
shortfalls of the government, the government is adopting a restrictive approach
to them, writes Jehan Perera from Colombo

THE first green shoots of new life are emerging after a long period of drought
in the north of the country, parts of which were not under government control
for close on three decades, and where a terrible war was fought to its bitter
end three years ago. Visiting the Vanni after a year it was wonderful to see the
new life beginning to bloom, not only in the fertile agricultural lands but also
in the towns. There are mid-sized concrete structures in which there are rows of
shops that are being built along the side of the main roads. They shone like
little jewels in the night as we drove past after darkness had fallen and there
was a sense of security whether or not there were soldiers present.
On most roads in the Vanni there continue to be army sentries on duty. But they
rarely stop passing vehicles and when they do it is only to ask where the
travelers are going. This seems to be done more to do something, and make their
presence felt, than for any other purpose. Not only are the soldiers courteous
there seems to be no more danger of being turned back at the checkpoints on the
grounds that prior permission to travel down those roads was not obtained. This
is a sign that overt military control has diminished. Whether the visible
military presence is any more needed in the peaceful environment of rural Vanni
needs to be considered.
There are also long still unpaved stretches of road off the main road that do
not have soldiers and it was on one of them in Kilinochchi that I took an early
morning stroll. There were more people living down that road than were resident
last year. More land has also been reclaimed for agricultural purposes and more
war-destroyed or damaged houses were being reconstructed. Although it was very
early in the morning, there was a man planting a coconut sapling and another
putting up an agricultural shed. The military shops by the side of the road that
sprang up everywhere in the immediate aftermath of the war’s end have been
closed. There was much criticism that they were depriving the Vanni people of
one source of livelihood. They have now been replaced by shops run by the people
of the area.

Giving credit
DESPITE these significant changes for the better there was reluctance amongst
the people I met to give credit to the government for contributing to these
improvements. When I asked a group of young women receiving vocational training
by a religious institution whether they considered the government to be their
friend they replied in the negative. Those amongst the intelligentsia I met were
quick to attribute improvements, such as the non-intrusive sentry points and the
closure of military shops, to the Geneva resolution. They preferred to believe
that it was external pressure that was inducing the government to improve its
conduct rather than goodwill that was internal to the government.
A Buddhist monk at one of the meetings I attended made the same point in a
different manner. He said he had tried to organise a signature campaign against
the Geneva resolution in Jaffna. The petition he wished the people to sign
stated that they were opposed to international interference in the affairs of
the country. However, most of the people he had approached had refused to sign
the petition. They had chided him for wearing a robe and trying to get them to
sign such a petition. They had told him it was the Western countries that were
protecting the Tamil people and interested in their welfare. The monk bemoaned
this attitude as he believed that the government meant well by the Tamil people.
At other meetings there were different manifestations of estrangement of the
Tamil people from the government. A community leader said that when vacancies
arose in government departments in the Mannar district, at least 80 per cent of
the jobs were given to Muslims with only the balance going to Tamils. This was
due to the powerful role played by a Muslim government minister. The group of
young women who were receiving vocational training said that they received no
support from the government. The widows in Kilinochchi who were attending a
livelihood development session said the same. The absence of governmental
assistance that directly improves the lives of the people was a recurring theme
in the Vanni.

Root problem
THE people in the north have suffered very much due to the war. Many of them
lost their loved ones who are either missing or dead. Many of them also lost
their houses and properties. Many of them lost the savings of generations due to
the war. Therefore, they feel justified in believing that the government should
show them special solicitude and provide them with direct personal assistance.
But instead of receiving such assistance they see the government spending
heavily on road building and government buildings. As the contracts go to
companies outside of the north, most of the labourers who are recruited to work
on those infrastructure projects are from the south of the country and not the
people of the area.
There is no doubt that the government is spending heavily on improving the
infrastructure in the north and elsewhere in the country. The problem is that
the majority of the people do not get the direct benefits from these projects
while they are in the process of being constructed. In these circumstances, it
is natural that they will look to non-governmental sources of assistance. Sri
Lanka has a well developed NGO sector with organisations like the Sarvodaya
Movement being taken as models for other developing countries in the world. But
instead of encouraging the NGOs to play a bigger role in supplementing the
shortfalls of the government, the government is adopting a restrictive approach
to them. As NGOs are generally closer to the community than the governmental
bureaucracy, this is not seen as a pro-people measure.
Those NGOs that wish to do work in the north are expected to register with the
Presidential Task Force on Northern Development and to obtain approval from that
body in order to implement activities. Unfortunately, there is hardly any
representation of the northern Tamil people in that government body. According
to the local NGOs in the North, this Presidential Task Force decides on what the
priority areas for NGOs will be and will not give them permission to work
outside of its priority areas. It appears that the current priority area that is
set for NGOs is that of visible development, such as putting up houses,
latrines, wells, community halls and providing income generating opportunities.

Creating resentment
HOWEVER, not all NGOs are proficient in those areas of work that the
presidential task force deems necessary, and some have different priorities,
such as providing leadership training and trauma counselling. They are not given
permission which has led some of them to leave the north to the detriment of the
needy people there. When the government does not permit non-governmental
agencies to fill in the gaps in people’s needs, it is no surprise that the
people think of the government as an obstacle to their well-being, and not as a
source of support. In particular, the restriction placed on community building
activities such as trauma counselling and reconciliation is a source of great
resentment as it prevents the memories of the past to be healed.
Civil society groups in the north report that government authorities have
indicated to them that the past should not be re-visited for the purpose of
mourning and that the focus should be on the future. This may account for the
restrictions placed on trauma counselling and sharing of memories by
communities. A crisis now looms with the approach of the third anniversary of
the end of the war which will be celebrated by the government in the coming
week. In the past two years this has taken place with victory parades and with
public commemorations of war heroes. At the same time it is important to
remember that the end period of the war was one in which large numbers of
civilians who were trapped along with and by the LTTE also died or went missing.
In the past two years memorial services conducted by the people of the north
have been viewed with suspicion and even been prevented by governmental
authorities due to the perception that such memorial services are meant for the
LTTE. However, the mourning and remembering of lost ones in the month of May is
an important and indispensable part of the process of coming to terms with the
past. If this part of the healing process is blocked there can be no moving
forward to the future and to reconciliation that transcends the past. The
government needs to show more trust in the Tamil people and more care for their
concerns if is to win their hearts and minds.
Jehan Perera is media director of the National Peace Council in Colombo, Sri
Lanka.


=======================================
5. INDIA - KASHMIR: THE OBSTACLES IN THE AMNESTY POLICY FOR SURRENDERED FORMER
MILITANTS
=======================================
Editorial, Kashmir Times [?, 2012]

CONCEPTUALLY FLAWED RETURN
Amnesty scheme lacks firmly grounded mechanism and Delhi-Islamabad agreement

The obstacles in the amnesty policy for surrendered former militants who crossed
the Line of Control in the last two decades are far more than the officially
doled out reasons of non-co-operation of the Pakistan government. Jammu and
Kashmir government which announced the policy in 2010 maintains that it has
received over 1,000 applications from youth who crossed over and are willing to
return, most of them with wives they married there and children who were born
out of the wedlock, and that they have already cleared over 500 applications. It
is also reported that over a hundred of them have returned ever since by
crossing the forbidden LoC or via the Nepal border and the government believes
that the numbers are steadily increasing. However, given the vast gap between
what has been promised to the returnees and what is actually offered on ground
is something that may obstruct the trickle of those willing to take benefit
under this policy. Those returning are complaining of harassment and ticklish
problems in their resettlement with court cases pending against them, the legal
status of their wives and children in a limbo and their children being refused
admission in schools. The statelessness is not simply restricted to the families
since last month the courts even questioned the citizenship of atleast one of
the returnees who crossed the Nepal border, maintaining that entry of a
Pakistani citizen into Indian territory via Nepal border would amount to an
illegal move. Such charges tend to deflate the balloon of the amnesty policy
claims that the Jammu and Kashmir has been celebrating about. Besides, some of
those who have crossed over and the other prospective beneficiaries of the
scheme have also reportedly talked about their vulnerability with security and
intelligence agencies on either side forcing them to engage in spying
activities.
Evidently, the basic problem with the amnesty scheme is the absence of a firmly
grounded mechanism, whose first and foremost requirement should be a clear
agreement between the Indian and the Pakistani governments. This is entirely
missing even though all indications point out to a tacit understanding between
the two sides, paving way for the return of over 150 returnees, mostly along
with families. It is hardly unlikely that Pakistan’s agencies are totally
ignorant of the fact that people are traversing either the Line of Control to go
back to their homes or taking the longer route on Pakistani passports via Nepal.
However, such hush hush manner of an understanding is what jeopardizes the
interests of the people who are expected to gain from the much publicised open
policy. But then safeguarding the interests was probably never the aim of the
policy which simply put is an Indian endeavour to offer a picture of normalcy to
the world through a symbolic display of return of those deemed as misguided
youth, those who crossed the borders to join militant groups are fed up with
‘jehad’, are disgruntled in Pakistan administered Kashmir and want to lead
normal lives. If their interests were paramount, then why does the policy not
cover those people who crossed over, not because of some mesmerisation with the
gun or out of political reasons, but because of fear? Questions may also be
asked as to why this policy fails to cover those whom Indian army made to flee
or even those whom Pakistani agencies kidnapped from their homes in the
borderland, only because the respective forces wanted a better stronghold over
their land for strategic military gains. A genuinely designed policy may even
have facilitated a more foolproof mechanism which Pakistan could not have shied
away from inking to pave way for actual relief for those who wish to return. The
problems with the amnesty policy, therefore, do not simply lie in an unmoved
Pakistan, not even in the way it is being implemented with a half-hearted
approach with no meaningful efforts to allow these returnees to settle
honourably. There are conceptual flaws in the very design of the policy that is
simply a ploy to score brownie points and such political gimmicks have always
been known to have a rebound effect that can have dangerous consequences.


=======================================
6. INDIA: SAVARKAR AND GANDHI’S MURDER
by A.G. Noorani
=======================================
(Frontline, Sep. 22-Oct. 05, 2012)

If only Savarkar’s bodyguard and his secretary had testified against him in
court, he would have been convicted for Gandhi’s murder.

On July 12 Swapan Dasgupta made an interesting disclosure in the evening on
television. L.K. Advani had told him that according to Morarji Desai, V.D.
Savarkar was complicit in Mahatma Gandhi’s murder but got away with it.
Morarji was Home Minister in the Province of Bombay and he had once stated on
oath, “[I] kept myself in touch with the investigation that was going on in
the Bombay Province.” He knew the truth. So did Jamshed Nagarvala, Deputy
Commissioner of Police in charge of the Bombay Criminal Investigation
Department’s (CID) Special Branch Sections One and Two. He was responsible for
the gathering of political intelligence and was close to the Home Minister.
[. . .]
FUUL TEXT AT: http://frontline.in/stories/20121005291911400.htm

o o o

SEE ALSO:
1969 Report of Jeevan Lal Kapur Commission of Inquiry in to Conspiracy to Murder
Mahatma Gandhi
http://www.sacw.net/article2611.html

=======================================
7. NATIONALISM AND FEAR OF FOREIGN CAPITAL: THE INDIAN CAPITALISTS IN ORGANISED
RETAIL ARE ANGELS ARE THEY?
by Harsh Kapoor
=======================================
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/nationalism-and-fear-of-foreign-indian.ht\
ml

[Photo Caption] BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, CPI leader Amarjeet Kaur, JD(U)
leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and BJP president Nitin
Gadkari share the dias during a rally organised by Confederation of All India
Traders against FDI in retail and other anti-people policies of the UPA
government, in New Delhi on Thursday.
Photo: V. Sudershan
(http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01214/ALL_PARTY_1_1214120f.jpg)

see the news report in The Hindu
(http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3918094.ece?homepage=true)

A platform called Confederation of All India Traders against FDI in retail, i.e.
small traders fora part of the unorganised retail (a heavy support base of the
communal Hindu right) organised the big rally in Delhi on [20 septumber 2012]
uniting the Left and the Right wing parties. One can understand the left
opposing rise in price of fuel and gas but opposing FDI in big retail beats all
logic other than rabid nationalism.

I am writing this to neither defend the interests of foreign multinationals that
may or may not come to India with their foreign direct investment in organised
retail, nor this elitist policy decision of the UPA govt. This decision by the
'golden boys' of the UPA govt to open the gates to FDI in retail will in all
probability be a damp squib and not lead to any deluge of foreign firms entering
India. The foreign firms heading to India to enter retail may not lead to a
million jobs but certainly to a few thousand. The point is why is the left not
willing to confront capitalist retail head-on, why is it burying its head in
nationalism. Left's opposition to FDI in retail comes over as a preference for
Indian capital as opposed to devilish foreign capital - i.e., as a nationalist
rather than class critique. The left could present a cogent alternative economic
proposals that they take to the public along with a critique of prevailing
economic policy. But, they must take a clear social distance from right wing BJP
opposition party.

Reliance, Godrej, RPG, Birlas, Kishore Biyani's Big Bazar are major domestic
capitalist firms in India's organised retail and they have been there for the
past 10 - 15 years, still these groups control just 5% of India's retail market.
The omnipresent local corner stores, street vendors, thela-wallah outlets that
often employ child labour and dont pay minimum wages in India's cities havent
dissapeared because of the arrival of Indian capitalists in organised retail.
This unorganised sector forms the majority of all retail. The WalMarts and the
Carrefours if they do manage to come to India will not decimate the small
retail. The arrival of big firms in retail will provide an opportunity to
organise workers for better rights and working conditions. The left should go
whole hog to unionise these workers instead of peddling a nationalist posture
that fuels xenophobia.

This nationalist opposition to FDI, seems to come from a shared language of the
Left and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch type fora.
- Harsh Kapoor /sacw.net

======================================
8. INDIA: KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL ACTION
by Vidya Bhushan Rawat
======================================
The Karnataka Government’s order asking the temples of the State to perform
rituals so that rain comes to save the farmers and cattle of the State is a
blatant violation of the Constitution. Can a State Government of a secular
country invest huge amount of money on performing puja to bring rain? How will
this influence the minds of our children? The Karnataka Government’s Revenue
Department has issued a circular to nearly 34,000 temples of the State to
conduct several rituals to bring rains in the State so that the farmers may be
saved from the severe drought situation prevailing there. It is not that these
rituals would be performed free of cost. The State Government has made elaborate
arrangements to fund these ‘projects’ but, according to political leaders of
the State, it might come from other schemes. The government, it seems, is
determined that once these rituals are performed, the Gods will be pleased and
rain will pour in the State for the welfare of the people and cattle. According
to news published in The Hindu, the government has sanctioned a maximum of Rs
5000 for each temple and the amount costing the event would be around Rs 17
crores. The government has too much faith in some of the temples which are
mentioned in the circular. This GO is a serious violation of India’s
Constitution which, as per Article 51A, asks the government to promote humanism
and scientific temperament. The other noted violation is the secular Preamble of
our Constitution. If the government believes in different powers of Gods, then
it must give support to all the religious institutions so that it is not charged
with blatantly violating the secular Constitution of the country and promoting
the activities of a particular faith.
http://www.sacw.net/article2870.html


INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
9. FRANCE: NO TO PERMANENT AUSTERITY: REJECT THE FISCAL PACT -- OPEN UP THE
DEBATE IN EUROPE !
=======================================

(a broad alliance is preparing an important demonstration, whose goal is the
delegitimization and the rejection of the Fiscal Pact as the opening of a public
and democratic debate in France and in Europe. Posted below is the english
translation of a leaflet that is to be circulated at a large unified
demonstration in Paris called by progressive platform on sunday 30 september
2012)


No to Permanent Austerity: Reject the Fiscal Pact -- Open Up the Debate in
Europe !

The President of the Republic would like to have the Parliament ratify as
quickly as possible the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (TSCG)
of the Eurozone, better known by the name "Budgetary Pact", which was signed by
Nicolas Sarkozy on March 25. However, the feeble "growth" measures announced on
May 29 in no way constitute the "renegotiation" promised during the electoral
campaign by Francois Hollande, which "adds austerity to austerity".

This Budgetary Pact will aggravate the neoliberal policies advocated for years
now and which have led to the current problems of the Eurozone. It is, in the
first place, an economic absurdity. By stipulating that the "structural deficit"
of a country has to be less than 0.5 % it will oblige the states to make drastic
cuts in public expenditures. It will deprive public power of indispensable means
for carrying out policies allowing a social and ecological transition. Instead
of this, we need to develop and renew public services and social protection to
respond to the many unmet needs, reduce social inequities and establish equality
between women and men. We need considerable public investments to finance energy
transition, reduce pollution, ensure the ecological conversion of the modes of
production and consumption and create millions of jobs. An obligation to achieve
permanent balanced budgets will be a major restraint on attacking the social and
ecological crisis.

In a Europe in which the customers of one country are the suppliers of the
other, the orientation begun two years ago is today leading to generalised
recession. The difficulties with PSA (The Peugeot-Citro?n group) and other
companies flow directly from the collapse of demand in southern Europe. Today
purchasing power is stagnating or declining and enterprises and local
governments are reducing their investments: In this context, cutting public
expenditures can only aggravate unemployment. Starting in 2013, according to a
study undertaken by the IMF itself, bringing France's deficit in line with the
target of 3 % of GDP announced by the government will automatically create
300,000 more unemployed workers. The resultant reduction of tax revenues will
make reducing debt -- the alleged purpose of austerity -- still more difficult,
thus "justifying" a new turn of the screw.

Economically stupid, this Budgetary Pact is socially unbearable, seeing as the
"structural adjustment programmes" currently imposed on Greece and other
countries in difficulty reduce social protections, increase illegal practices
and most badly hit the precarious populations -- women, youth, workers and
immigrants. Far from protecting northern European countries from suffering the
same fate as those in the south, this Pact drags the whole Union into a
depressive spiral that threatens to spread poverty. This would mean a decline
without precedent in the entire period after World War II.

Finally, this Budgetary Pact represents a denial of democracy. Not only does it
provide for quasi automatic sanctions in the case of non-adherence, but it
marginalises the national and European parliaments and makes of the Commission
and the European Court of Justice -- non-elected organs -- the judges of
national budgets. It puts in place an authoritarian federalism that negates
popular sovereignty. It puts the economy on automatic pilot, subordinated to
norms intended to reassure the financial markets whose power is not
challenged.We do not accept this.

The social, ecological and financial world crises are worsening. They present
many dangers, which can be seen in the growing strength of extreme xenophobic
and nationalist right groups. These crises require a Europe-wide mobilisation
but in a Europe based on solidarity and democracy, a Europe that frees itself
from the grip of the financial markets. However, the Budgetary Pact will instead
reinforce the contradictions within the Eurozone and could lead to its
disintegration. France's refusal to ratify this treaty would be a strong signal
to send to the other peoples of Europe to open up the discussion on constructing
another Europe.

This is why we, the signatory organisations of this text, reject this Budgetary
Pact that concerns everyone's future. We demand that a broad democratic debate
be initiated in order that citizens may take possession of this decisive issue
and speak out on it. We want to make the President of the Republic, his
government and the parliamentarians face their responsibilities.

To create this democratic debate, we call for the strengthening of already
extant local collective structures -- notably those involved in a citizen's
audit of the public debt --, and for the creation of new structures if need be;
together, we will organise a series of public debates throughout France; we will
speak to every deputy and senator of the parliamentary majority and invite
citizens to do the same, and we will organise demonstrations, including a large
unified demonstration in Paris on Sunday, September 30. An organisational
committee has already been put in place to assure the success of these
initiatives.

First signatories:
Aitec-IPAM, AC !, ANECR, Attac, CADTM, Cedetim-IPAM, CDDSP, CFDT CFF, CGT
Finances, CGT Educ'action, CGT Livres (Filpac), CGT Personnels des Organismes
Sociaux, CGT-FSA, CGT UGFF, URIF CGT, CNDF/CADAC, Democratie Reelle Maintenant
!, DIDF, Collectif des Associations Citoyennes, Les Economistes Atterres,
Fondation Copernic, Front de gauche - Parti communiste francais - Parti de
gauche - Gauche unitaire - FASE - Republique et Socialisme - PCOF - Convergences
et Alternative - Gaucheanticapitaliste, FSU-Ile de France, SNESUP-FSU, SNU Pole
Emploi FSU,SNU-tefi FSU, SNU-clias FSU, EE(Ecole Emancip?e) FSU, Jeunes
Communistes, Les Alternatifs, Les efFRONT?-e-s, M?moire des luttes, M'PEP,
Marches Europeennes, NPA, Parti de la gauche Europeenne, Parti Federaliste
Europeen, Parti pour la decroissance, Reseau Education Populaire, Resistance
Sociale, Solidaires Finances Publiques, Solidaires Douanes, Sud BPCE,
Transform!, Union Syndicale de la Psychiatrie, Union syndicale Solidaires, UFAL,
Utopia.

Demonstration -- Nation-Place d'Italie - Septembre 30  -- 13h30

www.stopausterite.org


=======================================
10. EGYPT'S WOMEN HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF BEING TOLD TO COVER UP
by Mariz Tadros
=======================================
(The Guardian, 29 May 2012)

Politically charged calls from a Coptic bishop to follow a Muslim example have
infuriated women already suffering harassment

Woman in front of election poster
'The political battles over who reigns over Egypt are not only being fought over
presidential and parliamentary seats, but also over who can claim more control
over a woman’s body.' Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP

While all eyes are focused on the presidential race, on the streets of Egypt,
inch by inch, bit by bit, women's rights are shrinking. Women, Muslim and
Christian, who do not cover their hair or who wear mid-sleeved clothing are met
with insults, spitting and in some cases physical abuse. In the urban squatter
settlement of Mouasset el Zakat, in Al Marg, Greater Cairo, women told me that
they hated walking in the streets now. Thanks to the lax security situation,
they have restricted their mobility to all but the most essential of errands.
Whereas a couple of years ago they could just inform their husbands where they
were going (visiting parents, friends or going to the hairdresser for example),
now they have to get their husbands or older sons to accompany them if they go
out after sunset.

And the Islamists have made it worse. A Coptic Christian woman said to me "we
and our Muslim friends who do not cover our hair get yelled at by men passing by
telling us 'just you wait, those who will cover you up and make you stay at home
are coming, and then there will no more of this lewdness'". It was, she said, as
if they were gloating over the fact that we were being pushed off the streets.
Another woman told me that girls and women wearing mid-sleeved clothing had been
slapped on their bare arms by men on bicycles shouting slurs. Another told me
she had been spat on by men telling her to cover up. Another told me that she
had her hair up in a pony tail and a young man pulled it so hard that she
thought her head was going to fall off. Another recounts how she was pushed and
elbowed by a passerby telling her to cover her nakedness (she was wearing a
mid-sleeved blouse and trousers).

The political battles over who reigns over Egypt are not only being fought over
presidential and parliamentarian seats, but also over who can claim more control
over a woman's body. Take the example of Bishop Bishoy, one of the nominees for
the papal seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic Christians in Egypt account
for roughly 12% of the population). In a recent religious event which was
attended by the governor of Damietta, high-ranking officials and politicians, he
said that Christian women should dress more modestly like their Muslim sisters
and that they should follow their example. In view of the fact that the great
majority of Muslim women are now veiled, this can only mean that he wishes
Christian women to cover their hair too. In the streets of Egypt, many Coptic
women have been told "Our Lady Mariam [referring to St Mary] used to wear a
tarha [long scarf covering the hear], why can't you follow her example and cover
up?".

Many Coptic women were infuriated. It is bad enough that thanks to the Islamists
and a hostile government, they are now subjected to the most virulent of
anti-Christian sentiment in their day-to-day life but to also get it from a
high-ranking authority in the Coptic church is too much. They had no illusions
why Bishoy made such a statement: he wants to win over the Islamists by showing
he is willing to comply with their dress code for women.

To express their opposition to the political instrumentalisation of Coptic women
by Bishoy for his own political ends, about 50 Coptic women and men staged a
protest in the Coptic Patriarchate in Abbassiya on 18 May. This was the first
time in the modern history of Egypt that Coptic Christian women had risen
against a member of the clergy in protest. It is the first time they had
collectively raised their voice to demand their rights as Coptic Christian
women. The protests did not go well with all Christians: what's wrong with
modesty many said, why attack the church now? Others said that while they
completely sympathised with the cause of the protesters, this was not the time.

As one of the organisers of this protest, I tried to explain why we couldn't
wait. I explained that if there is talk of women's modesty today, tomorrow there
is more pressure on veiling, the day after it is going to be a socially imposed
ban on trousers, after that a ban on women's freedom of mobility, until bit by
bit, inch by inch we are driven back home.

We, as Coptic Egyptian women, will not allow ourselves to be used as pawns by
any leader inside the church or out to achieve his own political ends.

=======================================
12. HOW SATAN IS DESTROYING RUSSIA
by Victor Davidoff
=======================================
(The Moscow Times - 17 September 2012)

Welcome to 1598. In this year, King Henry IV of France proclaimed the Edict of
Nantes, which regulated relations between the country's Catholics and
Protestants and put an end to a religious war that had been raging for decades.
Four centuries later, in Russia, in September 2012, billionaire and former
presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov proposed a federal religious code to
prevent an all-out religious war.

"In recent months, the relationship between citizens and the state and church
has already led to a schism in society that threatens Russian culture,"
Prokhorov wrote in a comment published in Kommersant on Sept. 12. He noted that
despite the secular government clause in the Constitution, "the majority of
politicians, including the leaders of parties in parliament, prefer to ignore
what's written there. Cozying up to the church … undermines the basic
principles of the country's supreme governing document and creates a multitude
of dangers."

The words "threat" and "danger" are bandied about by just about every Russian
politician and public figure these days. But leaders have vastly different
notions of what exactly the danger is. In a meeting with the public in Krasnodar
on Sept. 12, President Vladimir Putin said the main danger for the country is
insufficient patriotism and a lack of "respect for our history and traditions
and the spiritual values of our peoples."

Putin also said Russia has become the "focus of an overt information war … and
certainly of a well-directed propaganda attack."

Putin's speeches often sound like they have been written by professional
diplomats, and their ambiguity raises more questions than his statements answer.
For example, what "spiritual values" does Putin have in mind? This is, after
all, the man who used the phrase "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th
century" to describe the dissolution of the Soviet Union, one of the most
militantly anti-religious regimes in history. And who is "directing" these
attacks against the spiritual values of Russia's nations?

Perhaps the key to understanding Putin's speech can be found in a recent
television program by Arkady Mamontov, "Provocateurs. Part Two," aired on Rossia
1 state television a day before Putin spoke in Krasnodar. Mamontov, who has
already established himself as a politically sensational filmmaker, revealed in
his latest program that the United States has developed a plan for revolution in
Russia. The foot soldiers in this revolution are members of the punk-performance
group Pussy Riot. We were told that the main organizer of the revolution,
including the Pussy Riot stunts, is billionaire Boris Berezovsky, who is pulling
the revolutionary strings from his self-exile in London.

Neither Mamontov nor his interview subjects, professional Putin-lovers, produced
a single fact proving contact between Berezovsky and the punk musicians. Nor did
Mamontov interview Berezovsky, although the tycoon immediately responded with a
categorical denial of having anything to do with Pussy Riot.

The film was harshly criticized not only by the liberal end of the political
spectrum but even by some members of the Russian Orthodox clergy. Deacon Andrei
Kurayev, whose views are hardly liberal, wrote on his LiveJournal blog: "I am
not a supporter of Pussy Riot or Berezovsky. But why lie? Why pass off
licentious animal instincts for the norms of Christianity?"

Perhaps Kurayev and Mamontov have different notions about Christianity and its
norms. In an interview with the Internet portal Orthodoxy and the World,
Mamontov spun out a truly apocalyptic picture: "The devil really wants to
destroy Russia and its people, to build something else on its territory," he
said.

Mamontov isn't the only one seeing dark visions. A statement issued by the
Eurasian Youth Union, headed by the pro-Kremlin ideologue Alexander Dugin,
reads: "Everyone who sympathizes with liberals, Pussy Riot and the West belongs
to Satan. This is the army of hell."

In the days leading up to Saturday's opposition march, the Eurasian union called
upon its supporters to take to the streets to defy them: "On Sept. 15, the
devil's spawn will crawl out on the streets. Eurasians will go out with crosses,
daggers and silver bullets to stop hell."

Satan, evil oligarchs and punk rockers who have sold their souls to the devil,
silver bullets, daggers and crosses. It sounds like a script for another
Hollywood film about the eternal war between mortals and vampires.
Unfortunately, in Russia this is simply a description of public opinion, which
exists alongside the Internet and digital television. In fact, technology just
spreads the paranoia.

Society has become split between the liberals and the Orthodox fundamentalists,
who are locked in a Cold Religious War. There are no fatalities in this war yet,
but there are casualties and prisoners of war. Take, for example, the three
Pussy Riot members locked up for two years in prison.

In this context, Prokhorov's proposal to ratify a religious code likely won't go
anywhere, at least in the near future. If we are lucky, the cold war won't turn
hot, and virtual silver bullets won't be transformed into real bullets fired
from a Kalashnikov rifle.

Victor Davidoff is a Moscow-based writer and journalist who follows
the Russian blogosphere in his biweekly column.



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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 24 Sept 2012 - No. 2751
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. The exemplary struggle of Sri Lanka’s teachers against authoritarianism and
neoliberalism
2. Pakistan: The curse of sectarianism (Kamila Hyat)
3. The Talibanisation of Society in Pakistan (Jan Breman)
4. Pakistan: Labour and rights groups petition the Sindh High Court on the
factory fire incident on Sept 11, 2012, in Karachi
5. India: Challenges for Left (Praful Bidwai)
6. Nehruvian Till The End - Verghese Kurien believed in India (Ashok Mitra)

International:
7. Turkey and Syria: The nervous wait (The Economist)
8. Rape, abortion and the fight for women's rights in Turkey (Elif Shafak)
9. Egypt draft constitution article raises fears for women's rights
10. South African Miners Win through Wildcats (Mischa Gaus)

=======================================
1. 6% FOR STATE EDUCATION: THE EXEMPLARY STRUGGLE OF SRI LANKA’S TEACHERS
AGAINST AUTHORITARIANISM AND NEOLIBERALISM
=======================================
An incredible and courageous struggle by Sri Lanka’s university teachers for
the defence of the state education system is underway. This started as a pay
dispute and has expanded itself to raise key questions about the role of
education in society, university autonomy, role of intellectuals to promote
public debate. The teachers are not backing down despite having gone without pay
for several months and facing all kinds of intimidation. University teachers
across south asia and beyond need to extend a hand of solidarity and support to
Sri Lanka’s teachers.

http://www.sacw.net/article2874.html

=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: THE CURSE OF SECTARIANISM
by Kamila Hyat
=======================================
It seems than no minority sect, group, or community is safe from the sectarian
horrors that have cut across our country, leaving behind a trail of blood and
gore.

The tiny Bohra community of Karachi, known as among the most peaceful of groups,
had for years been able to avoid getting caught up in the bloodshed.

But they have finally failed.

The two home-crafted devices, laden with pellets, which went off in quick
succession of each other near Karachi’s Hyderi market clearly targeted the
community.

The first blast took place as Bohras left their Jamaat Khana after prayers. The
second, also controlled by a remote device in the hands of unknown operators,
was detonated only minutes later as the shocked community gathered in the
crowded street.

The attack had obviously been well planned and carefully executed. There had
been a similar attempt in August which failed only because the bomb was
diffused.
This time there was no escape. Eight persons, including a child died, while 24
were injured. As a stunned community mourned its dead, familiar post-blast
scenes were witnessed at hospitals.
We can fairly safely assume that responsibility for the attack lies with one of
the extremist groups who have expanded through the decades.

They have targeted Ahmadis and Shias before, and now appear to have come for
even more helpless groups – completely unable to defend themselves. Others too
may fall prey next.
It appears there is no end in sight to the sectarian evil spread out all around
us like a giant trap that more and more people are falling into.

No matter how hard they try to keep themselves safe, they simply have no means
of succeeding given the ruthlessness of the predators stalking them.

It is clear that the state needs to act now. It cannot afford to watch its
citizens mowed down by men who know no morality and no humanity.

Such killings also raise fears of further departures from the country by
communities who have contributed a great deal to it in terms of business,
economy, development and diversity.

There is only one answer: extremists need to be targeted with all the force we
can muster.

At present they are terrifyingly strong and determined to leave no group in
peace.

This simply cannot be allowed to continue, given the degree of destruction that
has already been inflicted on us. Our country simply cannot sustain more.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.


=======================================
3. THE TALIBANISATION OF SOCIETY IN PAKISTAN
by Jan Breman
=======================================
(Economic & Political Weekly, August 25, 2012)
Abandoned by their government, the poor of Pakistan have turned to the Taliban
and other fundamentalist groups for support and solace. At the same time, a
growing pressure for emancipation presses against fundamentalism. Which force
will triumph? A report based on travel in rural Sindh.
http://sacw.net/article2792.html


=======================================
4. PAKISTAN: LABOUR AND RIGHTS GROUPS PETITION THE SINDH HIGH COURT ON THE
FACTORY FIRE INCIDENT ON SEPT 11, 2012, IN KARACHI
=======================================
details of a petition filed with the Sindh High Court on the tragic Baldia Town
factory fire incident on Sept 11, 2012, in Karachi. The Petition has been filed
by the Pakistan Institute of Labour and Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan
Fisher Folk Forum, National Trade Union Federation, Hosiery Garments Textile,
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and legal activist Javed Iqbal Burki and
others.
http://www.sacw.net/article2873.html


=======================================
5. INDIA: CHALLENGES FOR LEFT
by Praful Bidwai
=======================================
(Frontline, Sep. 08-21, 2012)
The Left parties can reverse their decline and strengthen themselves only
through candid self-criticism and by returning to mass work.

THE mainstream Indian Left, which has contributed richly to the nation’s
social and political life for over 80 years, today finds itself in crisis and
decline. The Left – the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist
Party of India, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the CPI (ML-Liberation) and
other smaller parties – successfully withstood the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the global and domestic onslaught of neoliberalism and even grew in
strength for almost two decades. This was a remarkable achievement given that
many communist parties elsewhere in the world disintegrated.

However, the Indian Left has suffered numerous setbacks and reverses in recent
years. These manifest themselves not only in its reduced parliamentary strength
(down from 61 to 24 seats in the Lok Sabha), an electoral rout in West Bengal
after 34 years, and a narrow defeat in Kerala, but, more importantly, in its
declining national influence, prestige, moral-political authority, internal
morale, and ability to forge a radical alternative to bourgeois politics,
besides some weakening of Left unity.

Put starkly, the Left faces a number of crises and challenges: an
ideological-programmatic crisis, a crisis in defining its policies vis-a-vis the
state and ruling classes and in formulating political mobilisation strategies,
and an organisational crisis, including factionalism and alienation of cadres.

The Left’s presence in mass movements and grass-roots mobilisations on
people’s livelihood issues, while still substantial, has decreased. It is not
taking up with enough vigour and tenacity burning issues such as gross income
and wealth inequalities, which have reached obscene proportions in India, or the
grave agrarian crisis, which has led to 250,000 farmers’ suicides. Its
influence within the progressive intelligentsia is also on the wane.

Regrettably, this is happening just when global capitalism is in deep crisis,
neoliberalism has proved utterly bankrupt, and popular disenchantment with the
Indian state is at its peak. It is of the utmost importance for the health of
Indian democracy that the Left resolves its crises and rejuvenates itself.

After all, it is the only current in mainstream politics which has a deep
commitment to India’s underprivileged and an agenda of egalitarian social
transformation. As this column has argued for two decades, if the Left did not
exist in India, we would have to reinvent it. This must be done on a firmly
Marxist foundation.

Many of these issues were discussed between top Left party leaders, eminent
progressive intellectuals and civil society activists at a seminar organised by
the Council for Social Development in New Delhi on August 8, which this writer
coordinated. Although no overarching consensus emerged, this was the first
dialogue of its kind, which all the 120 participants welcomed, not least because
it highlighted the challenges facing the Left in a constructive, non-sectarian
manner.

I also visited Kerala in mid-August to deliver the C. Achutha Menon Birth
Centenary Lecture and met a good cross section of Left leaders, cadres and
scholars in Thrissur, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram with whom I discussed the
state of the Left. What follows is partially based on these two rounds of
discussion, besides my own political orientation and analysis. In part, it is
also a somewhat expansive wish list, albeit from a well-wisher. Consider a few
propositions.

Ideologically, the Left is the sole consistent opponent of neoliberal policies
in India’s mainstream political spectrum. This opposition must be reflected
more adequately than it currently is in its own policies and practices,
especially at the State level. More crucially, the Left must recognise and
emphasise the cardinal truth that the neoliberal state is fundamentally
authoritarian and must necessarily dispossess people and suppress or limit their
social, economic and civil-political rights.

Opposing neoliberalism effectively thus also means fighting the Indian state,
which is becoming increasingly repressive, and defending the citizen’s
fundamental rights and liberties. This poses two dilemmas for the Left. How can
it play a dual role as a party of governance (if only in a few States) and as a
national party of opposition without the risk of being seen as part of the
Indian establishment and partly losing consistency or credibility? Second, how
can the Left achieve a balance between parliamentary politics and the politics
of mass mobilisation to further its cause, which goes beyond capturing
provincial power?

Resolving these dilemmas demands creative theorising and imaginative praxis. The
Left can rise to these and the other challenges it faces only if it enunciates a
distinctly emancipatory vision of social transformation based on Marxism, offers
a cogent alternative to neoliberal economic and retrograde social policies,
fights for an egalitarian income policy and income and wealth redistribution
through higher taxes on the rich, devises innovative political mobilisation
strategies, and widens its appeal by participating in struggles on issues that
deeply concern working people.

To do this, the Left needs to update its analysis of Indian society and evolve a
contemporary vision of development and relate this to its political programmes
and policies. It must also develop a sharp analysis of the causes of the
setbacks it has recently suffered, including through the social and economic
policies pursued by its State governments, and its deficiencies in providing
alternative perspectives and creating a pole of attraction for the classes and
social groups it seeks to represent.

This calls for a number of changes, including a shift away from a literal belief
in the inevitable development of the productive forces and the idea of a
“two-stage” revolution. This is itself rooted in the axiom that India is
some kind of semi-feudal semi-colonial society, rather than a capitalist one,
even if it is a backward, poverty-stricken capitalist society that incorporates
oppressive forms of gender and caste hierarchy and social exploitation,
classically associated with pre-modern societies, into the bourgeois economic
and social relations that prevail today.

This is not an academic distinction. Different characterisations of the state
and the ruling class lead to divergent priorities, strategies and social
coalitions. The central task before the Left is to oppose and weaken Indian
capitalism and the neoliberal state while empowering working people to make
inroads into, and eventually take over, governance structures to radicalise them
along socialist lines.

This means combining a range of transitional demands based on a comprehensive
charter of rights, which reflect mass aspirations for a life with human dignity,
with a transformative politics and relating day-to-day mass struggles to that
larger long-term goal.

Equally necessary is a rejection of the presumed inevitability and intrinsic
desirability of industrialisation, especially along the classical Western
pattern, which can lead to slippage into an “industrialisation at any cost”
position.

This approach was at least partly responsible for the land acquisition and
industrial promotion policies followed in West Bengal by the Left Front since
2006, which led to the Singur and Nandigram disasters and to the neglect of
vital social agendas, reflected in the State’s slipping or stagnant human
development indices.

Closely tied up with this is the dominant view of nature and natural resources
as externalities rather than as something central or pivotal to an alternative
radical perspective which makes a clean break with GDPism and incorporates
environmental protection into development and social transformation agendas.

The Left has to “green” itself and address issues such as climate change and
defence of the commons (common property resources) not just in global terms,
which emphasise differential North-South responsibilities. It must do so
domestically, too, in ways that conventional thinking simply cannot do and
acknowledge that ecologically India’s growth trajectory is profoundly unsound.
These issues must become organic to the Left’s emancipatory development
vision.

True, the Left has shed its obsession with “development” of the productive
forces counterposed to environmental protection, which was evident in its
support for the Silent Valley project in the 1970s and its suspicion of the
radical environmental movements of the 1980s and 1990s.

The Left does recognise neoliberal capitalism’s depredations and plunder of
natural resources. But it has still not made ecology a central component of the
development model it advocates. Even after Fukushima, the growing popular
opposition to nuclear energy worldwide – inherently accident-prone and fraught
with radiation and intractable problems of storing wastes that remain hazardous
for thousands of years – and the emergence of safe, climate-friendly and
cost-effective renewable alternatives, the Left still maintains a largely
ambivalent position on nuclear power.

The Left has a unique opportunity to bring ecology centre stage amidst the
explosion of grass-roots mobilisations in virtually every Indian State against
destructive irrigation, power and industrial projects and on the issue of
control over land, water, minerals and other natural resources. It must
participate wholeheartedly in these and take on board their concerns to broaden
its own agendas.

Above all, the Left should include these issues in a charter of people’s
rights to the fulfilment of their basic needs and aspirations, including
equitable provision of food, water, employment and social security, universal
good-quality health care, education, energy and other public services.

Besides outlining such programmatic perspectives and strategies as an integral
part of a humane politics which empowers working people, the Left can greatly
gain in credibility and popular acceptance by developing sector-wise
alternatives on issues such as land, water and shelter rights, equitable access
to energy sources, sustainable agriculture, rural job generation, urban
development, ecologically sound housing, transportation, neighbourhood schools,
culture, and egalitarian education and skill-generation programmes.

Equally important are issues such as pensions for the old, special programmes
for unorganised workers, and affirmative action in favour of underprivileged,
dispossessed and marginalised groups, including single-women-led households and
homeless people, besides religious and ethnic minorities.

Central to such a comprehensive charter or grand agenda would be a programme of
combating gender discrimination and fighting for women’s rights, which goes
beyond equal wages or 33 per cent political reservation and which recognises
that patriarchy is a critical and integral component of the entire system of
social oppression on which Indian capitalism is based. Fighting patriarchy
cannot be left to the future; it must be integrated into the Left’s core
agenda.

No less important are the “old” issues of caste, religion, ethnicity, tribal
identity and regionalism, which the Left has self-confessedly neglected, and
certainly not theorised to generate a multifaceted understanding of Indian
reality. Some of these issues have been muddied by identity politics and its
emotive appeal. But that makes it all the more pressing for the Left to address
them in both theory and practice.

Of critical importance here would be a sustained, continuous dialogue between
the Left parties and radical/progressive scholars and social activists devoted
to expanding people’s rights and entitlements to a humane existence. A
substantial base of knowledge, analysis and insight exists among the latter,
from which the Left stands to gain handsomely through such interaction.

Among the “emerging” issues the Left must grapple with are the new
authoritarian and communal structures growing within the Indian state as it
evolves an Islamophobic “counterterrorism” strategy and deludes itself that
“left-wing extremism is India’s greatest internal security threat” and
then uses a militarist approach to deal with it.

Militarisation of state and governance in India’s tribal heartland, where the
bulk of the country’s mineral and forest resources are located, is a great
menace to democracy, perhaps greater than the crises in Kashmir or the
north-eastern region were at their peak. Closely connected with militarism is
nuclearism, or the government’s growing addiction to nuclear weapons and its
tight embrace of nuclear deterrence, a doctrine India rightly described for half
a century as “morally repugnant” and strategically irrational.

The Left must resolutely oppose militarism and actively return to the principled
nuclear disarmament agenda it adopted after the Pokhran-II tests in 1998 but
which it did not quite pursue during the 2005-08 debate on the United
States-India nuclear deal.

Another battle the Left has to wage is over the belligerent and chauvinist
nationalism growing in India, based on hubris and domination and on a perverse
notion of Indian exceptionalism, which deeply influences our ultra-individualist
middle-class elite. This nationalism is located in a Hobbesian world view where
might always prevails and nations forever compete fiercely; they never
cooperate.

The Left will not find it easy to radically transform its theoretical framework,
analysis of strategic issues and its political practices given the indifferent
or poor culture of internal (and external) debate that prevails in its
organisation. Underpinning this is the doctrine of democratic centralism,
interpreted along Stalinist lines, which stifles free debate. There has also
been an erosion of the quality of discussion in party forums in relation to the
1950s or even the late 1970s.

If the Left wants to overcome its decline, it will have to reaffirm a firmly
Marxist orientation but rethink the political framework, or paradigm, within
which it works. It will have to swallow the bitter pill of painfully candid
self-criticism and admission of strategic errors, theoretical inadequacies and
flawed practices through open and free debate. Without such debate, there can be
no course correction and stemming of the Left’s decline.

One last word: “Beyond the Obvious” will go beyond the visible range in
these pages. But it will continue to fight in other forums for the ideas and
causes it has championed since 1993.

=======================================
6. NEHRUVIAN TILL THE END - VERGHESE KURIEN BELIEVED IN INDIA
by Ashok Mitra
=======================================
(The Telegraph, 21 September 2012)
Verghese Kurien believed in creating his own ambience. No letters or telephone
messages in advance, flowers would arrive at your doorstep in the early morning
to announce his presence in the city; you would wait confidently for him to turn
up at the end of the day’s chores; the session that would ensue would stretch
late into the night, sparkling with argument, humour, banter and outspokenness.
Now he is gone. Advancing age evolves its own mechanism to absorb the shock of
harsh realizations such as this: ah, well, there had been no encounters with him
for the past few years, there would be no further encounters, period.

Kurien loved the epithet that stuck to him, the nation’s dudhwala. Come to
think of it, he could have filled the role, equally capably, of a haughty
corporate boss or, as easily, that of a blustering, crowd-pulling trade union
leader. This born-to-be innovative man could have even been a rollickingly
successful film director or, for that matter, an army general. To organize, to
build or to put disparate things together was his particular forte. What he
actually became was an accidental detail. Had he chosen to apply himself, he
could have emerged as an all-conquering ruling politician. Verghese Kurien, an
intensely moral man, chose with a moral purpose in mind. His morality in turn
was governed, overwhelmingly, by his sense of patriotism.

In that broadcast on the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru was
perhaps a bit carried away while soliloquizing: even as the rest of the world
slept, India was embarking on a tryst with history. Even if only a handful of
youngsters took Nehru’s evocation at its face value, Kurien was one amongst
them. An executive trainee at Jamshedpur with the Tatas, he had just been
offered a government scholarship for higher studies overseas. It would have been
natural for him to opt for steel technology or some thing similar for further
studies in the United States of America, but, free will at work, Kurien chose
refrigeration engineering. It would have been scarcely surprising if, returning
home, he had stayed on at Jamshedpur; he could have looked forward to moving
rapidly up the corporate hierarchy: his uncle was John Mathai, then a director
of the Tatas and soon to be the country’s finance minister.

Instead, Kurien took an extraordinary decision; it was his way of joining
India’s tryst with history. A chance encounter with a young Patel — of
sturdy, impeccable patidar background from Anand, Gujarat — had set him
thinking. The study of cooling engineering had filled him with plenty of insight
on how to preserve milk over a length of time. Why not use that knowledge in the
country’s cause? His Patel friend had casually mentioned his father’s
venture to start a milk producers’ cooperative society at Anand. Whatever
other blemishes might be laid at the door of Lord Curzon’s viceregal tenure in
the opening decade of the 20th century, it had at least bequeathed the country
one gift full of rich possibilities: Curzon introduced a statute which aimed to
spread the cooperative movement across the empire. The Bombay Presidency’s
record of performance in cooperative activities was fair enough. Most of the
experiments, though, were with credit cooperative societies. Producers’
cooperatives were few and far between; the Maharashtra sugar cooperatives were
still in the embryonic stage.

Kurien proceeded to Anand and had a long session with the middle-aged,
kind-hearted patidar father of his friend. Judged externally, the two were as
different as chalk from cheese. But they were keen to learn from each other and
appreciated each other’s point of view. A grim phase of interaction and
exchange of ideas followed, which also involved hours of learning by doing.
Cattle, the patidars knew, yielded milk that was saleable as a nourishing
liquid. But they had to be persuaded to believe that milk could be preserved for
long periods, and preserved in bulk, thereby vastly enlarging the prospect of it
being sold not just as liquid nourishment, but as dairy products in various
forms, and, again, not just in the immediate neighbourhood and within the next
24 hours or thereabouts. Preservation in bulk however entailed collection in
bulk. This was where cooperatives entered the picture. Milk from your own cattle
was just piffle to run economically a refrigerating plant; therefore invite your
neighbours to join the cooperative you and some of your close friends have
sponsored; the cooperative would now have to don the role of purchasing agent;
in due course, invite all the cattle farmers in the village to join the
cooperative: the milk producers would simultaneously be milk purchasers, each
seller of milk receiving hard cash at the end of the day from the purchasing
agent, which was again the cooperative of which each seller of milk happened to
be a shareholder. That was not all. The cooperative would not be only a distant,
aloof seller-cum-purchaser of milk; it would engage veterinarians and other
experts to dispense advice on how to take care of the animals and what animal
husbandry practices to follow to raise milk productivity. It was a long day’s
journey into the night, but, at the end of it, Kurien could convince each and
all that the key to success in cooperative ventures was integrity, understanding
the points of view of one another and ruthless suppression of the instinct for
bossism. Once the little fellow discovered that the cooperative society he had
joined treated him on equal terms with the village hoity-toity, he took very
little time to get involved in the cause, he began feeling he belonged, he was
the society. He, besides, was a co-owner of the big plant which preserved the
milk as well as of the several dairy producing units which converted milk into
butter, cheese, chocolates, misti doi, puranpoli, et al. He was also one of the
owning angels of the marketing unit of the cooperative society; the size of the
society’s various dairy outputs had reached a level where it could set terms
to the most formidable purchasing corporate bodies.

That, in brief, is the story of Amul, the Anand Cooperative Milk Union Limited,
a story of grit and perseverance, straddling the middle decades of the last
century. True, it is not a one-man story; it is equally true, though that, leave
out Verghese Kurien, there would be no story. Three elements were at work to
render the miracle of Amul possible; these elements defined Kurien too:
commonsense, courage to be brutally blunt and a Malayali wit which, despite its
severity, still breathed a charm capable of washing away the hurt caused by
Kurien’s bluntness of expression.

Once he won Anand, the rest of Gujarat was easy take, Amul and the Gujarat
Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation soon became indistinguishable. Amul grew
and grew, became rich and richer, the prosperity was shared by thousands of its
members. Several points got established: cooperation works if it is allowed to
work; a near-arid environment is no hindrance, animal husbandry, including
scientific breeding, can do wonders for milk productivity; even the humblest
farmer can be a factory owner. The sprawling Amul factory sites at Anand consist
of huge plants with arrays of cooling and refrigeration units manufacturing this
or that dairy product, research laboratories, animal husbandry and agronomy
divisions, the ever busy public relations units. Everything in apple-pie order,
an aura of quiet, efficiency and discipline, the whole lot owned by thousands of
peasantry, a beautiful dream come true, the fulfilment of Kurien’s personal
pledge to the nation.

It was finally the helmsmanship of the National Dairy Development Board. Kurien
had at his disposal surplus milk gifted by the United Nations, which he used as
bait to entice other states into accepting the Amul concept. The response was
mixed. Cooperation as an acceptable functional premise cannot be thrust from
above, nor can it be the outcome of a bargaining counter. In a number of states,
the Mother Dairy units Kurien arranged to start through the intermediary of the
NDDB got enmeshed in bureaucratic or political wrangles. At a certain point,
Kurien all but gave up.

Success made him happy, perhaps a bit proud too, but never insufferable.
Accolades piled up during the day in the concourse outside. As the evening’s
shadow fell, Kurien would withdraw to the tranquillity of his middle-class
Malayali household in the company of wife and daughter. In spite of more than
half a century in Anand, his Gujarati remained rudimentary. No matter, his heart
knew how to communicate, he could get along with his rugged Hindi and the
sharpness of his wit. No greater hero ever belonged to Anand. A milling crowd of
visitors would be always there, many from overseas, some of whom Kurien would,
with flourish, install in the Kosygin Room of Amul’s guest house, to pay
homage, as it were, to the heyday of the non-aligned movement India once
provided the leadership of; he was perhaps the last of the Nehruvians.

Not that there were no occasional irritations. Gandhi’s Gujarat turned out to
be fertile ground for religious fundamentalism. Kurien would now and then face
turbulence because of Amul’s principled stand on the issue of cow slaughter.
It was far nobler, he would tell the holy-cow rabble, to eliminate cattle in a
selective manner than to starve them and otherwise treat them inhumanely for
days on end. He was determined to expose the crass hypocrisy of certain types of
people. There was that episode when one rabid religious leader invaded
Kurien’s citadel at Anand to campaign against cow slaughter. Kurien was the
most gracious of hosts, took the guruji round the different units of the Amul
works and, getting to know of the religious leader’s fondness for cheese,
presented him with one huge carton of the best cheese Anand was producing at the
moment. The guruji was duly appreciative. His pleasure was, however,
short-lived: in a casual aside, Kurien let drop the information that the
excellence of the cheese the guruji had just been presented with was on account
of the use of a fluid extracted from the seventh — or was it the ninth —
intestine of calves.

Kurien believed in India, perhaps one of the last of the friends one could
debate the issue with. He too is now gone: no more flowers at the door in the
early morning.



INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
7. TURKEY AND SYRIA: THE NERVOUS WAIT
- The Economist
=======================================
Sep 20th 2012, 16:53 by The Economist online | ANTAKYA

IN THE dingy lobby of the Orontes Hotel in the southern Turkish town of Antakya,
a 20-minute drive from the Syrian border, Syrian men—some smartly suited and
booted, others bearded and in tracksuits—sit on ragged leather chairs around a
low table, cigarettes smouldering in the ashtray. A defector from Homs shakes
hands with a sheikh from the city. A fighter from the port of Latakia sidles up
to a businessman sliding prayer beads the colours of the Syrian freedom flag
between his fingers.

Here in the hotels and cafés of Antakya, once part of Syria, friendships are
forged and rebel rivalries wrought that will affect the future of the
war-ravaged country over the border. Well-heeled holidaymakers have gone,
replaced by Syrians trailed by other foreigners—journalists, wheeler-dealers
and spies.

Abu Hassan, a Syrian trader from Dubai who flew in with a fat wallet, passes a
plastic bag of cash across the table to an activist to give to the needy. The
businessman says he has given away $400,000 since the revolution started. Other
donors are less open, says a Turk from Istanbul, who insinuates he is a Muslim
Brother.

In Antakya's hospitals lie young girls and fighters with sniper wounds who have
been rushed over the border to be treated or, as often as not, to die. Comrades
from north-western Syria pull up in battered vans and shiny Mercedes to wait for
news of a rebel commander who was struck in the head by a piece of shrapnel. His
weary-looking father's shell-suit rustles as he paces up and down. Sick Turks
eye them warily: the queue for treatment has got longer. Arabic, already spoken
here, has replaced Turkish as the lingua franca. Out in the streets,
demonstrations against the influx of Syrians have got louder in recent weeks.

Come nightfall, people cross into the farms and border villages where Turkish
territory blurs seamlessly into Syria. Spotty young foot soldiers with wispy
beards linger on the streets sipping coke, while their rebel commanders in safe
houses drink tea, their bloodshot eyes glued to a television showing non-stop
videos of the grisly war across the border. In a corner shop a Syrian man buying
cigarettes is jolted by the thud of shells landing on a nearby hillside, where
the lights of a Syrian village flicker. “My country, my country,” he groans.

Surrounded by the scent of rosemary and the sound of chirruping crickets,
another wave of women and children follow smugglers across the olive groves to
the safety of Turkey. They know they may never see their menfolk again, as they
add to the burgeoning mass of Syrians sitting in limbo in refugee camps and
cramped houses on the Turkish side of the border.


=======================================
8. RAPE, ABORTION AND THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN TURKEY
by Elif Shafak
=======================================
(The Guardian, 9 September 2012)

A controversial rape case has shown how in this patriarchal country it is always
women who pay the price

In Turkey, outside big cities, social life concentrates on coffee houses, that
is, if you are a man. This week, the customers of a coffee house in a village in
the Mediterranean region saw a young woman carrying a bloody sack. Inside was a
severed head. She hurled the sack towards them and said: "I saved my honour. Do
not talk behind my back any more."

The woman was 26-year-old Nevin Yildirim, a mother of two. Her husband had been
away working at a seasonal job in another town. In his absence Nurettin Gider,
aged 35 and a father of two, had raped her repeatedly, taken photos of her
naked, and blackmailed her. She had become pregnant. He had been boasting about
his visits to her house to his drinking buddies, and there were people in the
village who knew what was going on.

She shot him 10 times, stabbed him in the abdomen and cut off his head. She
turned herself in, and told the police she would rather die than have the baby.
Her seven-year-old daughter was about to start school this autumn. She said she
didn't want anyone to call her children "the whore's kids". Instead, they would
be seen as "the children of a woman who had cleansed her honour".

The case has caused an uproar in Turkey. Women's organisations have rallied to
her support, her story has received wide coverage in the media, the social media
has buzzed with remarks, and an appeal has been made for her to have an
abortion. As I write, the court has announced its decision against the appeal.
Yildirim turned out to be 29 weeks pregnant, past the legal limit to terminate a
pregnancy, which is 10 weeks. In cases where a woman's health is endangered,
abortion can be allowed at up to 20 weeks.

The court's decision sparked a debate with deep moral, social and political
implications. Not long ago, members of the government discussed limiting, if not
banning, both caesarean section and abortion rights in Turkey. The health
minister, Recep Akdag, had said that should any children be born as a result of
rape or violence, the government would take care of them. The proposal on
abortion was fiercely opposed across society, as a result of which it was
shelved. The laws regarding C-section, however, have been changed and the
procedure greatly limited.

The truth is, recent debates on women's bodies and reproduction rights have left
a bad taste in the mouths of us Turkish women. The suddenness of the proposal
and the lack of a genuine, pluralistic debate left many women uncomfortable and
worried about the future. Turkish women have enjoyed greater rights than their
sisters in other parts of the Muslim world. But all of a sudden, women realised
the rights they had taken for granted could one day be taken away.

For women in Turkey who are victims of domestic or sexual violence, there are
few doors to knock on. There are few women's shelters, and too often society
tends to judge the victim, not the perpetrator. Every year women are killed or
forced to commit suicide in the name of honour. In a context as unfair as this,
we need politicians who are sensitive to women's problems and dedicated to
solving them. However, unlike other areas of life in Turkey, local and national
politics remains stubbornly patriarchal.

Yildirim's baby needs to be treated as a free individual and raised with love
and care in a healthy environment where he or she won't be stigmatised. Yet
Turkey is far from there. This is a male-dominated country where codes of honour
run deep and it is always women who pay the price – women, and at times their
innocent children.


=======================================
11. EGYPT DRAFT CONSTITUTION ARTICLE RAISES FEARS FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS
=======================================
((Ahram Online, Sunday 23 Sep 2012)
Leftist and liberal parties, groups voice 'deep concern' after draft
constitution article promises gender equality 'without contradicting precepts of
Islamic Law'

Following publication of Article 36 of the 'Rights and Duties' section of
Egypt's draft constitution, a number of political parties, coalitions and public
figures have issued a joint statement expressing their "deep concern" for the
draft article's wording, which, they say, could compromise women's historical
rights.

The wording as it currently stands reads: "The state is committed to taking all
constitutional and executive measures to ensure equality of women with men in
all walks of political, cultural, economic and social life, without
contradicting the precepts of Islamic Law."

The article adds: "The state will provide all necessary services for mothers and
children for free, and will secure for women protection, along with social,
economic and medical care and the right to inheritance, and will ensure a
balance between the woman's family responsibilities and work in society."

Critics fear that the wording of the draft article is a convoluted detour around
equal rights between men and women, due to the ambiguity over the phrase
"without contradicting the precepts of Islamic Law."

The statement was issued by the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and endorsed by
the Popular Socialist Coalition, the Free Egyptians party, the Popular Current,
the New Woman Organisation, the Woman and Memory Organisation, Al-Nadeem Centre
and a number of others. The statement was also signed by several public figures,
including Mohamed Abul-Ghar, George Ishaq, Khaled Youssef and Sakina Fouad. More
signatures are currently being collected online and via petitions.

The statement also stresses that such unclear wording "endangers the democracy
that everyone aspired for and sacrificed for," stating that the struggle of
Egyptian women throughout history should guarantee them the rights they had
already gained historically on the basis of equal citizenship. Such rights
should not be reduced, the statement added, noting that such a reduction would
contradict Egypt's commitments to international charters and agreements.

The reason behind this stipulation, the statement warned, is the Constituent
Assembly's largely Islamist representation, which, it claimed, was willing to
bargain on the rights of women. The statement went on to say that the
constitutional referendum should not be put up to a single yes-or-no vote, but
rather be voted upon section-by-section. It added that the approval rate for
amendments to pass should also be raised to 75 per cent, and that public debate
on the constitution should be increased beyond the 15 days currently planned
after the draft constitution is completed.

The statement goes on to urge that, if the article is passed as is, then all
women and independent Constituent Assembly members should resign to protest
"this unacceptable inequality."

The constituent Assembly has already suffered a number of withdrawals, when the
'Egyptian Bloc' parties – including the Free Egyptians, the Egyptian Social
Democratic Party and the leftist Tagammu Party – initiated a walk-out, 
followed by the Karama Party, the Socialist Popular Alliance Party and the
Democratic Front Party, to allow greater representation for women, young people
and Coptic-Christians, while also registering their objection to "Islamist
monopolisation" of the assembly.

Meanwhile, the troubled assembly still faces the risk of dissolution by court
order in September on grounds that it was drawn up by the People's Assembly, the
since-dissolved lower house of Egypt's parliament.


=======================================
12. SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS WIN THROUGH WILDCATS
by Mischa Gaus
=======================================
(The Indypendent, September 22, 2012)

South African miners won a dramatic pay increase in September, following a wave
of strikes that spread to many gold and platinum mines.

But their struggle exposed fractures in South African society that won’t heal
soon.

The miners demanded a rise in wages to $1,500 a month, from the $500 to $1,000
they earn now. At the Marikana mine at the heart of the conflict, they won
$1,350.

The strikes grew after an August massacre by police that left at least 34 dead.
Human rights advocates have brought forward evidence and eyewitnesses saying
police shot miners as they attempted to surrender or flee.

Tens of thousands of miners suspended work for six weeks in wildcat strikes,
halting production in a platinum industry responsible for 80 percent of global
output. The government put the military on alert and cracked down on “illegal
gatherings,” halting a march.

Platinum miners returned to work in mid-September, but 15,000 gold miners
continued their wildcat as a mine owner resisted the wage trend.

The conflict has its roots in tectonic shifts in South African society, its
union movement, and its crucial mining sector. Almost two decades after
liberation from white minority rule, unemployment hovers around 25 percent, old
forms of exploitive migrant contract labor persist, and the country has been
convulsed by near-daily protests over the government’s failure to deliver
basic services.

For some observers, the mine massacre has become a turning point for a country
struggling to make its way since a movement fusing Black liberation, radical
politics, and militant unionism upended apartheid in 1994. They have called into
question the legitimacy of the ruling African National Congress.

“By sending police to attack workers, the ANC moved to defend the new elite in
South Africa: old white business owners garnished with a sprinkling of
politically connected Blacks,” said Leonard Gentle, director of the
International Labour Research and Information Group in South Africa. “The ANC
is stepping squarely into the shoes of its apartheid predecessors, acting to
secure the profits of corporate mining interests through violence.”

CONFLICT BETWEEN UNIONS

Others trace the origin of the conflict to the mine corporations’ plans to
divide union strength.

Mine bosses have acted to undermine the master agreement that coordinated
bargaining in the minerals sector by aiding the breakaway Association of
Mineworkers and Construction Union, said Sidumo Dlamini, president of COSATU,
the major union federation in South Africa, in a speech.

Dlamini accused mine bosses of fomenting the split by ignoring contracts and
“developing a resignation form, parading and forcing members to resign” from
the COSATU-affiliated National Union of Mineworkers. The AMCU now claims a
membership of 30,000 workers at coal, chrome, and platinum mines, and is
recruiting at gold mines. Before the recent strikes, NUM’s membership was
300,000.

Dlamini accused “individuals” affiliated with the breakaway union of
coercion and violence, saying NUM officials have been “attacked in their
office, forcefully removed, the offices keys handed over to management.” AMCU
officials called that a lie and defended their willingness to strike as more
effective for workers than NUM’s more cooperative approach.

COSATU and its allies have charged the rival with being a company-financed
“yellow union,” pointing to a history of shadowy groups in the mining camps
that try to play off different unions and workers against each other.

But COSATU’s own founding president, Jay Naidoo, has rejected such claims.

“Let us ask ourselves if splinter unions are just the work of opportunists,”
he wrote in an open letter to his former colleagues. “Are we saying that
seasoned trade unionists are so weak, pliant and intellectually inferior that
they will risk losing their jobs and their lives—and for what?”

Naidoo said established unions like the NUM are no longer a visible force in the
workplace, adding, “The fact is that there is a deep and growing mistrust of
leaders in our country, and the expanding underclass feels it has no voice
through legitimate formal structures.”

SHIFTING MEMBERSHIP

Gentle says changes in mine work and union membership have generated friction.

Much of the hard work underground is now done by contract workers, he says.
These are the most exploited and insecure workers, who work the longest hours
and have short-term, unstable jobs. The mine companies exploit divisions by
recruiting along tribal and regional lines.

NUM grew out of the less-skilled job categories of South African mineworkers,
Gentle says. But they make up just 40 percent of the membership now. An
increasing portion of the NUM’s membership is skilled, higher-level mining
staff, who dominate the union’s structures.

The shifting composition of the workforce affected union decision-making.
According to the trade journal Miningmx, NUM stipulated a 50 percent plus one
member threshold for recognition in 2007 contracts, foreclosing any way for
workers to form new unions and challenge the company-recognized NUM.

NUM has also struck deals that benefited more skilled workers. One such
agreement sparked a strike at another platinum mine earlier this year, after
rock drillers learned they had been denied an 18 percent bonus granted to other
workers.

Gentle says NUM is becoming a union of white collar above-ground technicians,
which led to the formation of the AMCU in 2001.

The breakaway sped up when NUM ousted a popular leader in the platinum sector
who now heads the AMCU.

COSATU says it faces a “coordinated political strategy to use intimidation and
violence, manipulated by disgruntled former union leaders.”

Critics, like South African analyst Dale McKinley, say it is hypocritical of
COSATU and its allies to call for organizing vulnerable contract workers and
then slam another union for actually attempting to.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 27 Sept 2012 - No. 2752
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:

1. Sri Lanka: Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz sacked (Charles Haviland)
2. Bangladesh: Communal attack in Rangamati
3. Pakistan: The bounty business (Edit, The Express Tribune)
4. The story of the Rationalist Movement in India (Review by Dilip Simeon)
5. India: Blood and Belonging (Basharat Peer)
6. India: A children’s magazine, newspaper, Urdu poetry – anything can land
you in jail (Muzamil Jaleel)
7. India: The Unreality of Wasseypur (Javed Iqbal)
9. India: Selected posts on Communalism Watch

International:
9. Fundamentalist Salafis pose a grave threat to citizens of Middle East and
North Africa
10. USA: How evangelicals are making children their missionaries in public
schools (Katherine Stewart)
11. International campaign One Billion Rising: Eve Ensler, Kamla Bhasin

=======================================
1. SRI LANKA SUNDAY LEADER EDITOR FREDERICA JANSZ SACKED
by Charles Haviland
=======================================
(BBC News, 21 September 2012)

The editor of Sri Lanka's most outspokenly anti-government newspaper says she
has been dismissed after it was was bought by a businessman who wanted it to
change its editorial line.

Frederica Jansz said that she left after refusing to curb her writing style or
compromise her credibility.
The previous editor of the the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was
assassinated three years ago.
His murder by four masked men on motorbikes has never been solved.
The Sunday Leader has always been controversial in a country where most media
censor themselves.
Many fear an adverse government reaction from the government if they do not do
so.

'Telephone tirade'

Ms Jansz has been blunt in explaining her sudden departure.
Offices of the Lankaenews.com website that were attacked in January 2011 News
organisations critical of the government say that they have been targeted for
several years
She told the BBC that after an associate of the family of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa bought a 72% stake in the paper, he asked her to stop carrying
articles critical of the Rajapaksas - several of whom occupy senior government
positions.

Ms Jansz said the new owner, Asanga Seneviratne, wanted her to "curb her style
of writing and compromise her credibility".

She says that when she refused he terminated her contract.
Mr Seneviratne was not immediately available for comment.

The Sunday Leader is known for doggedly pursuing stories alleging government
misdeeds.
It shot to fame towards the close of the war when Mr Wickrematunge was
assassinated by men who have never been caught.
Last year Ms Jansz testified for the government against opposition politician
Sarath Fonseka over a highly controversial interview which he gave.
In July, however, she openly accused the defence secretary, who is also the
president's brother, of launching an obscene tirade against her on the
telephone.

Media rights campaigners will be watching closely to see what direction The
Sunday Leader now takes.

=======================================
2. BANGLADESH: COMMUNAL ATTACK IN RANGAMATI
=======================================
Bengali settlers conducted communal attacks upon indigenous Jumma peoples in
Rangamati on 22 September 2012. At least 40 Jumma students, 1 government
physician, 12 Union Parishad chairmen, 2 college teachers and 5 Bengali students
received wounds while severe damage was brought to the office and rest house of
the CHT Regional Council, shops and houses of the Jumma people. Even though the
army and police reached the spots much later, the security forces did not beef
up proper measure. Despite the army took their positions at different locations
along the main road (Rangamati-Chittagong road), the Bengali settlers conducted
attacks upon the Jumma peoples and their localities either side causing wide
damage upon Jumma-owned shops and houses.

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/bangladesh-communal-attack-in-rangamati.h\
tml

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: THE BOUNTY BUSINESS (EDIT, THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE)
=======================================
(The Express Tribune, September 24, 2012)

Bilour deserves to be penalised, though danger following this would be that he
will be upheld as a hero by extremists. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE

Why does so much controversy always seem to be stemming from our country? This
time around, Railway Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour’s offer of a $100,000
bounty for the head of the man who made the controversial video, Innocence of
Muslims, finds us in the eye of the storm.

Bilour, a veteran ANP leader, should know better. As he himself has accepted, he
is, in fact, instigating murder and thereby committing a crime. The fact that he
is aware of this and willing to bear the consequences does not alter his
intended-to-incite statement. At a time when we need the frenzy over the video
to fade away, Bilour has created more hype by calling on elements of al Qaeda
and the Taliban to kill the film-maker and also appealing to the ‘rich
people’ to donate money for this cause.

Fortunately, the federal government has had the good sense to completely
dissociate itself from the ‘bounty’ offer. A spokesman said an explanation
would be sought and the ANP leader spoken to. Indeed, members of the ANP
themselves seem stunned by Bilour’s comment and his assertion that he is
answerable only to the Holy Prophet (pbuh), They have asserted that his
statement reflects his views alone and not the party’s. An ANP MNA, Bushra
Gohar, has described Bilour’s statement as a criminal act. Bilour deserves to
be penalised, though the danger following this would be that he will be upheld
as a hero by extremists, creating further problems for taking such an action.

No one with any degree of wisdom condones the film. But what we do need to
understand is that its makers would be hit hardest if Muslims simply chose to
ignore it and refused to further its publicity. Bilour has done just the
opposite; his ‘reward for head’ saga will only complicate matters. It seems
obvious that, at the very least, he needs to be removed from his cabinet post
and persuaded to refrain from making any further calls to seek death or demand
extremist acts in this fashion. Such actions only push our country further away
from a place in the civilised world.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2012.

=======================================
4. THE STORY OF THE RATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Review by Dilip Simeon
=======================================
[Book Review]

Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India
By Johannes Quack
Oxford University Press, New York, 2012
ISBN 978-0-19-981260-8; 978-0-19-981262-2 (pbk)

Review by Dilip Simeon, for H-Asia, a part of H-Net: http://www.h-net.org/ asia/

On March 10, 2012, Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Indian Rationalist
Association inspected a crucifix in front of a suburban church in Mumbai. The
crucifix had attracted hundreds of devotees on account of droplets of water
trickling from Jesus’ feet. Edamaruku identified the source of the water (a
drainage near a washing room) and the capillary action whereby it reached Jesus
feet. Later, in a live TV program he explained his findings and accused Church
officials of miracle mongering. A heated debate began, in which priests demanded
an apology. Upon his refusal, the police charged him under section 295 of the
Indian Penal Code for hurting religious sentiments.

This book is an account of the broader rationalist movement in India of which
Sanal Edamaruku is a prominent member, and a vivid description of its origins,
practices and beliefs. A monograph on the radical avowal of scientific reason,
it fills a much needed lacuna in the annals of modern India. The clubbing
together of reason and science, is of course, a problem in itself, one that the
narrative enables the reader to discern. Borrowing partly from Charles
Taylor’s book A Secular Age (2007), the author coins the term ‘modes of
unbelief’ to refer to the rationalists’ questioning of India’s endemic
religiosity.

The story of Indian rationalism has an illustrious cast in Quack’s telling. It
includes Jotiba Phule, G.G. Agarkar, Shahu Maharaj, Annie Besant, Ramaswami
Naicker, Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, M.N. Roy, Goparaju Rao ‘Gora’,
Annadurai and a host of others. Much of the activism that the study focuses on
derives inspiration from Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj. This is because an
important dimension of organized rationalism was and remains the challenge to
sacralised social injustice. The roots of this challenge lie in diverse
intellectual currents such as the Bengal Renaissance and the religious and
social reform movements of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra. The
rationalists trace their roots to ancient Indian materialism and the medieval
Bhakti movement – this claim is a counter to the traditionalist charge that
the reformers were westernisers and intellectual slaves.

Many Indian rationalists were strongly influenced by Western intellectuals such
as the nineteenth century American thinkers Robert Ingersoll and George
Holyoake. They also had personal ties with such figures as the MP Charles
Bradlaugh and his ally Annie Besant (who played a strong role in propagating
rationalism in India before she became a Theosophist). Organizational links were
established early on with the English Rationalist Press Association (RPA), whose
publications had great influence, and encouraged the advent of Indian journals
such as the Anglo-Tamil Philosophic Inquirer and Free Thought. Organised
rationalism dates from the founding of the Rationalist Association of India in
Bombay (1930) that merged with the Indian Rationalist Association in 1950. The
latter body was founded in 1949, with a leading role being played by R.P.
Paranjpe, a former Vice Chancellor of Bombay University. Among its members were
C.N. Annadurai (sixteenth Chief Minister of Tamilnadu) and the well-known
maverick communist M.N. Roy. Even though not all these personages remained
within the loosely-defined doctrinal fold of rationalism, all of them
contributed to the propagation of what came to be defined in the Indian
constitution as a scientific temper.

The core of the book is an ethnographic study of the Andhashraddha Nirmulan
Samiti, (Organization for the Eradication of Superstition, ANiS, better known in
the province of Maharashtra as MANS). Established in the late 1980’s, Quack
describes it as one of the most active rationalist organisations in India. ANiS
has branches in most districts in Maharashtra, publishes monthly magazines and
conducts regular programmes in schools, colleges and villages to combat
superstition and educate people on matters pertaining to sex, the environment,
addiction and black magic. Led by ANiS, rationalists in Maharashtra have also
initiated an anti-superstition Bill, that has been approved by the Cabinet five
times but not yet (2012) passed into law. (Quack errs in stating - p 13 - that
it was passed in the legislative assembly in 2005).

The book undertakes an in-depth study of ANiS, its organisational structure and
practices. The relevant section begins with extensive interviews with its
president, Dr Narayan Dabholkar, who also edits the respected Marathi weekly,
Sadhana. ANiS’ approach – representative of a broad range of Indian
rationalists - amounts to an ideology of humanism, and is exemplified in a
statement made by one of its activists: ‘The task is to link humanism,
rationalism, atheism, science, and the fruits of science – that is technology
– the scientific temper and the power of reason, in order to live a happy and
fulfilling life, both emotionally and physically.’(p 12) Chapter 13 contains
an account of what rationalism means to its various proponents. The account in
this section evokes interesting tensions on matters of accommodation to
astrology and Ayurveda.

The author discerns that ANiS’s and Dabholkar’s ‘position with respect to
religion grew less confrontational over the years’ (187) and that its main
critical focus was on superstition and the misuse of religion to exploit people.
Thus, Dabholkar avers that ‘the caste system is the oldest superstition of
mankind’ (185) and Sanal Edamaruku describes superstition as a kind of
enforcement of ignorance (189). There are small sketches of other agnostic
intellectuals, such as Gogineni Babu, former director of the International
Humanist and Ethical Union, who in an interview with Quack, cited art and music
as exemplars of a spirituality without religion. We also come across
philosophical problems posed by the fact of scientists holding apparently
irrational beliefs and indulging in religious rituals and practices. He cites in
this regard the late Professor A.K. Ramanujan’s remembrance of his father, the
astronomer Srinivas Ramanujan, who along with his scientific work, also
practiced astrology, held on to caste rituals and reminded his son that the
brain has two lobes (194).

The author makes an effort to understand the personal motivations of ANiS
activists. An interesting observation is that their most characteristic stance
lies in seeing rationalism as ‘primarily a moral category’ (215). Social
justice is seen as accompanying rationality. Thus, the activist Sushila Munde
asks him: ‘can any rational person say: I believe in injustice?’ In another
interview, Vandana Shinde stressed that non-violence was part of rationalism,
which for her meant ‘to avoid violence and to try to find the truth’ (215).

The rationalist movement and its efforts to dispel superstition have been the
source of controversy. Hindu nationalist groups have attacked them (and this
includes attempts at physical disruption of their events) for undermining Hindu
culture and hurting Hindu sentiments. Others have criticized the
anti-superstition Bill for attempting to deprive ordinary people of a rich
source of traditional healing practices.

The book is a rich source of information about what may be called the
progressivist spectrum of Indian thought – along the way providing the reader
with references to theoretical studies of secular modernity and enlightenment
rationality. These include Max Weber’s concept of disenchantment and more
recent work by Charles Taylor, Ashis Nandy and Gyan Prakash, among others. We
gain access to material about and web-links to rationalist groups across India,
and not just in Maharashtra. It provides the reader with food for thought on
complex questions such as the relation between the aspiration for social justice
on the one hand and the struggle for rational thought on the other. In India it
was never a straightforward battle between science and organized religion.
Rather, in the words of G. Vijayan, head of the Atheist Centre: ‘In India we
find that the conflict is between religion and social reform. In India we find
philosophical freedom on the one side and social ostracism on the other’(53).
The narrative is engaging and full of ethnographic detail about personal
dilemmas, doctrinal conflicts and rationalist performances. Disenchanting India
is a major contribution to and entry-point for the study of complex and
long-standing problems of Indian society.

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2836.html ]

=======================================
5. INDIA: BLOOD AND BELONGING
by Basharat Peer
=======================================
The tensions over immigration and the subsequent competition between ethnic
groups for resources and political power have driven politics in Assam since the
late nineteen-seventies, but have been exacerbated in recent years, ever since
the 2003 peace deal between the Bodo insurgents and the Indian government that
created autonomous districts for the Bodos within Assam. The establishment of
those districts brought in state and federal funding—the biggest source of
revenue in a place with almost no industry—and Kokrajhar, the capital of
Bodoland, soon became relatively prosperous.
http://www.sacw.net/article2877.html

=======================================
6. INDIA: A CHILDREN’S MAGAZINE, NEWSPAPER, URDU POETRY – ANYTHING CAN LAND
YOU IN JAIL
by Muzamil Jaleel
=======================================
(Indian Express, September 25 2012)

In the story of men getting branded “SIMI activists” and charged under the
stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), innocuous objects take
the form of “incriminating material”. The list of such “material”, in
which anything written in Urdu or Arabic comes right at the top, is by now
predictable — and includes Urdu poetry, pamphlets issued by Hindu groups,
newspaper articles about the Sangh Parivar, pictures and videos of the Gujarat
riots, books on Islam, complaints against discrimination, as well as verses of
the Quran.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-children-s-magazine-newspaper-urdu-poetry---\
anything-can-land-you-in-jail/1007411/

=======================================
7. INDIA: THE UNREALITY OF WASSEYPUR
by Javed Iqbal
=======================================

The ending of the film was shown properly,’ speak unanimous voices, the
well-known folklore of Wasseypur, Dhanbad, ‘Gangster Shafiq Khan was really
gunned down at the Topchachi petrol pump like it was shown in the first part of
the film.’
‘That’s how it’s done in Dhanbad.’
And there are long lists of assassinations and murders in Dhanbad. MLA Gurdas
Chaterjee of the Marxist Co-ordination Committee was gunned down on the highway.
Superintendent of Police Randhir Verma was murdered by dacoits during a botched
bank robbery. Santosen Gupta of the Forward Bloc was gunned down. Mukul Dev of
the RJD was murdered. S K Rai, a union leader is murdered. Samin Khan, a
gangster, gets bail and leaves court and is shot to death, while still in the
custody of the police. Sakel Dev Singh of the coal mafia is killed at the
bypass; his brother who works with him, is killed at Shakti chowk, gunned down
by an AK47. Manoj Singh alias Dabloo from Matkuria village, who allegedly
terrorised the Muslims of Wasseypur was gunned down. Chottna Khan, 18 years old,
the son of Shafiq Khan was gunned down. Mohd. Irfan a railway contractor was
killed by a gang. Najeer Ahmed, a ward commissioner, is murdered. A woman home
guard who once shared a love with a police officer, who would eventually take
him on after their affair turned bitter, would find the dead body of her cut-up
nephew in a well at the Dhanbad Polytechnic.
These are just a few high profile murder cases, say the locals, who on one level
shy away from the violence that represented their city and on another level take
pride in the knowledge of who was gunning down who at what point. Wasseypur, now
a part of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, has grown, over the decades from a
culture of violence and gang warfare, parts of which are depicted in the film
Gangs of Wasseypur.
The film tells the story of three generations of a family, starting with a
backdrop to mining in Dhanbad, with the murder of Shahid Khan in the hands of
coal mafia leader Ramadhir Singh, and the revenge promised by his son Sardar
Khan (in reality Shafiq Khan), and his sons Faisal Khan (in reality Faheem
Khan).
‘There was never any revenge story,’ said Iqbal (24), the son of Faheem Khan
(50), grandson of Shafiq, sitting in the very room where a rival gang had
attacked late at night, and even fired onto a police check post as shown in the
opening sequence of the film. ‘My great grandfather died of natural causes, he
was never murdered by any Singh. And there was another thing, a twist. I had a
grand uncle Hanif, who had wanted my father Faheem dead and who had hired a man
called Sagir.’
‘And it’s for the murder of Sagir that my father is in Hazaribagh jail.’
‘None of this is in the film,’ continued Iqbal, who adds that the sequence
where Sardar Khan would call for the rescue of an abducted woman, fictitious, as
well as one-time affair of Sardar Khan’s wife, or the Romeo-Juliet type
inter-gang marriages, or the arbitrariness of names of characters such as
‘Perpendicular’ and ‘Definite’. There are instead, Prince Khans and
Goodwin Khans.
‘There are two kinds of laws in Dhanbad. There’s the law to arrest for the
Faheem Khan Family and there’s the law to investigate for the Singh
Mansion,’ says Iqbal, himself just released on bail for murder, referring to
the fact that the Singh family is still at large.
Dhanbad is an unreal place. A small mining town with extreme poverty and a rich
labour history. A small town with a bustling middle class bursting through the
one main road. You can expect to be stuck in an hour long traffic jam in Dhanbad
over Wasseypur, you can find shopping complexes, or remnants of a burnt truck
where four people were killed in police firing last year on the 27th of April,
or you can find the dead body of a lawaris young man in a seedy hotel near the
bus stop. It’s a city of myths, half-truths, and blatant lies. A city where a
man called Suraj Deo Singh is also Suryadev Singh, or A K Rai, is also A K Roy.
Now an old mansion of a private mine owner who owned 85 mines lay in ruin while
the police still continues to extort money from the poorest who pick off scraps
of coal to sell. A district partially affected by Maoists, two blocks –
Topchachi and Tundi, have been sights of arrests and ambushes. It’s a town
with massive migration, massive amounts of pollution owing to the coal mines,
many left abandoned and unfilled, others now open-cast, and massive amounts of
exploitation by the mafia that literally sells labour across the district
border.
Dhanbad is where the Chasnala mining accident took place in December 1975 that
claimed over 380 lives. A lake vanished into the mines. No one survived. Kala
Patthar was made and still remembered. And in September of 1995, the Gazlitang
mining accident claimed 96 lives...
Read more:
http://kafila.org/2012/09/17/the-unreality-of-wasseypur-javed-iqbal/

=======================================
8. HEADLINES OF SELECTED POSTS ON COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================

Catholics in Mumbai upset over film showing priest dancing with a rosary around
his neck
India: VHP and Bajrang Dal oppose Ganesha in Mother Mary’s arm
India: The Hindu Far Right VHP sees US hand behind anti-nuclear protests
India: Intelligence Bureau claims possibility of more communal flare-ups in
Uttar Pradesh in the coming days
BJP to use Uma Bharati's yatra for pushing Hindutva in the build-up to the 2014
elections
'Muslims in Indian Cities' : Tehelka Interview with Chritophe Jaffrelot

SEE: http://communalism.blogspot.com

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
9. A SHORTSIGHTED VIEW ABOUT THE FAR RIGHT SALAFIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST & A
CRITICAL RESPONSE
=======================================
(Foreign Affairs - September 19, 2012)

The Sources of Salafi Conduct: Harsh Politics in the New Middle East
by William McCants

If the Arab Spring uprisings were an earthquake in Middle Eastern politics, last
week was a major aftershock. The rumbling began in Cairo, where a satellite TV
station run by Salafis played clips of an inflammatory film about the Prophet
Muhammad. Soon after, Salafi religious leaders called for protests at the U.S.
embassy in Cairo, blaming Washington for not censoring a film made in the United
States. The pattern was repeated in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Although much has been made of the riots as a response to the film, they are
more fundamentally about the nature of the post-Arab Spring regimes, and
specifically about who gets to police public morality. Salafis across the region
see themselves as the rightful guardians of the public sphere -- and are acting
to ensure that others see them that way, too.

Although Salafis do not make up a majority of the population in any of these
countries, they were able to set the political agendas there for the past week
for several reasons. They punch above their weight because of the vast funding
they receive from fellow travelers in the wealthy Gulf monarchies, particularly
in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Each year, millions of dollars flow out of
the Gulf and into Salafi charities and satellite channels like the one that
touched off the riots. (By comparison, liberal NGOs receive far less support
from the wealthy countries in the region.) Salafi leaders spend this money on
social programs and proselytizing, handy tools with which to gin up votes or
whip up anger at perceived slights to Salafism or Islam.

Indeed, most of the Salafi groups do not aspire to take over the state through
violence or even elections -- their numbers are too small. Instead, they seek to
use public anger to pull these states to the right. Where they have strong
political and cultural institutions behind them, as in Egypt, they can do so
through political pressure and shows of strength in the street. Where such
institutions are lacking, Salafis instead use vigilantism or preaching to
challenge the powers that be.

It is unclear what percentage of Egypt's population Salafis make up, but they
control a quarter of the parliament. This means that the less conservative
Muslim Brotherhood, which won both the parliamentary and presidential elections,
cannot ignore them. In parliament, Salafis have agitated for a constitution that
recognizes the paramount authority of Islamic law. They have also pushed for
legal codes that reflect the Koran's commandments.

Like the religious right in Israel, Egyptian Salafis hold the feet of less
conservative politicians to the fire. They demonstrated the full extent of their
power to do so last week as protests raged. On September 13, the deputy head of
the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat el-Shater, sent a conciliatory letter to the
American people via The New York Times. In it, he wrote that "the breach of the
United States Embassy premises by Egyptian protesters is illegal under
international law. The failure of the protecting police force has to be
investigated." Presumably, he did not want to provoke Western anger and put U.S.
financial assistance at risk. But Cairo had to worry about domestic politics,
too, and so Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi embraced the protests and turned a
blind eye to their excesses, either hoping for the Salafis' praise or fearing
their wrath.

In other countries, Salafis make up even smaller percentages of the population
and have less institutional clout, but their penchant for vigilantism makes them
feared nonetheless. In Tunisia, the moderate Islamists in power only recently
allowed the Salafis to establish a political party leaving the Salafis without
representation in the new Constituent Assembly. To push their conservative
agenda, Salafi activists have taken to the streets, where they have ransacked
alleged symbols of Western decadence such as bars and art exhibits and clashed
with police in protests against the secular state. Salafi rioters also burned
cars and smashed windows at the American embassy, allegedly encouraged by a
jihadi Salafi cleric in Tunisia. The Tunisian government has since sought his
arrest.

Organizationally, Libya's Salafis fall somewhere in between those of Tunisia and
Egypt. Their number is reportedly greater than in Tunisia but they do not have
the centralized institutions of the Egyptian Salafis, which makes it hard for
them to mobilize politically. Their three political parties fared poorly in the
recent elections, winning only one seat between them. Like their Tunisian
counterparts, Libyan Salafis are noteworthy for their vigilantism, particularly
for attacking the shrines of local saints. It seems likely that Salafi jihadis
led the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the death of
several American citizens, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher
Stevens. The government responded quickly by condemning the violence and vowing
to track down the culprits. Libyan citizens also protested against the
perpetrators of the attack.

As the United States considers how to respond to the protests, it would do well
to consider the varied national circumstances underlying them. In Egypt, after
all, Salafis who participate in politics have shown that they are not
necessarily hostile to U.S. security interests in the region. As shown by their
political platforms, they care more about cultural issues. Yet it is precisely
their anger over a cultural issue that led to their assault on the U.S.
consulates and embassies. If Salafis become involved in electoral politics
across the region, their cultural views will not change. At the very least,
though, they would become more answerable to their fellow citizens.

The best course for the United States is to address its concerns about Salafi
groups to their respective governments and to make it clear that these concerns
have to do with security and not religion. Washington must emphasize that it
expects governments in the region to prevent the most extreme of its Salafis
from resorting to violence. Withholding aid from these countries would be the
most drastic measure; the United States can also issue travel alerts, which hurt
the tourism and foreign investment that these governments depend on. Calling
attention to the double talk of political and religious leaders in the region
also helps hold them accountable. Even raising doubts about the status of an
ally, as Obama did in an interview with Telemundo last week, can give more
leverage to Islamists working to improve relations with the West.

If Middle Eastern governments respond by punishing those who harmed American
property and citizens, protecting U.S. embassies during future protests, and
discouraging violent reprisals for cultural insults, the United States will not
have to act on its threats. Indeed, Tunisia and Libya are already doing so,
which the United States should reward with security assistance if those
countries require it. But if those same governments pander to the protestors or
continue to allow them to destroy American lives and property, then the United
States should respond quickly. A U.S. failure to enforce its redlines hurts
non-Salafi Islamists as much as it hurts the United States. The non-Salafi
Islamists appear weak, dancing to someone else's tune. They also appear
incapable of policing their own citizens.

Salafis also stand to gain by reining in their vigilantes. The movement is too
closely associated with violent excess, which has hindered Salafism from
becoming a majority movement outside the Gulf. During the recent protests, the
self-described "jihadi trend" was in full view. Al Qaeda's flag flew prominently
at several demonstrations; protesters even raised it over the U.S. embassy in
Cairo in place of the American one. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's brother,
a self-professed jihadi, also played a prominent role in the Cairo protests. The
refrain "Obama, all of us are Osama" was written on nearby walls, and it echoed
around the protest. Such slogans scare moderates in the region, regardless of
ideology, and likely worry outside Salafi funders who would rather avoid
association with an international pariah such as al Qaeda.

The embassy protests will not be the last aftershock of the Arab uprisings.
There are simply too many extremists and provocateurs on both sides of the
Atlantic. As the region continues to rebuild itself, the Salafis will not likely
come to power but will certainly continue to press those who do. Until moderate
Islamists take them to task, Salafis will continue to erode their authority and
jeopardize their alliances.

:::

[ A VERY VALUABLE COMMENT BY ABEL ASHES ON THE ABOVE ARTICLE

    As someone with loved ones in Tunisia, I have to say the first page of this
article is excellent, but the second page is a horrible disappointment. It's as
if the only issues that matter are US security and not Tunisian security, the
rights of US citizens and not those of Tunisians. Perhaps more disturbing is
that there is no mention of supporting liberals, feminists, atheists, agnostics,
human rights advocates, free speech advocates, free press advocates, pluralists,
religious minorities, and others who support a secular society with freedom of
religion and freedom to not be religious. Instead we have advice for "moderate
Islamists" on how to deal with Salafists and other extremists. Until the the
world wakes up to the fact that theocracy, even so-called "moderate" theocracy,
is a grave threat to equal rights, the progress of mankind, and to world peace,
security, and stability we will keep creating monsters that will work to send us
all back to the Dark Ages. ]


=======================================
10. USA: HOW EVANGELICALS ARE MAKING CHILDREN THEIR MISSIONARIES IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
by Katherine Stewart
=======================================
(guardian.co.uk, 25 September 2012)

Adults can't proselytise in schools – but kids can. Hence a new scam by
fundamentalists to circumvent church-state separation

A gathering of evangelical Christians in Washington
Annual 'See You at the Pole' prayer events, where youths are expected to
organize a demonstration of prayer by their school's flagpole, are primarily
tended to and hosted by adults. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Reuters

When he was 15, Jim ran drugs for a cult group. When I first heard his story, I
was shocked – not just that the group was running drugs, but that they had
directed one of their youngest recruits to do the dirty work for them. Then I
learned why it made sense in a technical sort of way: the cult leaders reasoned
that the older members, if caught, would face serious sentences and lifetime
records, whereas the kids could get away with an unpleasant but not
life-altering juvenile detention. It was a matter of using kids to do what the
grown-ups didn't want to risk doing themselves.

In a tactical sense, religious fundamentalists in America appear to have taken a
page from the same book. The constitution and the law prohibits adults from,
say, establishing ministries within public schools aimed at proselytizing to the
children during school hours. But a growing number of religious activists have
come to realize that it's technically legal if they get the kids to do their
work for them. OK, so religious proselytizing is not the same thing as running
drugs – but manipulating kids to exploit legal loopholes isn't pretty wherever
it happens.

This tactic has been tested and deployed in a great number of situations already
in schools across the country. Right now, a large group of fundamentalist
organizations and church denominations is making a big bet that they will be
able to pull it off on a national scale, starting in 2013.

If you go to the Every Student Every School website, you'll see that their
dozens of promotional videos are first-rate. The music is great, the cameras are
professionally handled, the sound bites are short and snappy. Their message is
very clear.

As ESES's name implies, their idea is to proselytize every student in every
public school in America through an aggressive "Adopt-a-School" campaign. And
the way to do it is to have the kids do what grownups are not allowed to do –
establish full-fledged missionary operations inside the schools. A clever map
allows viewers to click on their state and type in their area code, revealing
every school in the district and determine whether it has been "adopted" by
churches or other religious organizations. Kids from those entities are
instructed to conduct daily prayer groups during the school day, distribute
religious literature and are given numerous other ideas for practicing or
promoting their religion at school.

"We must help our teenagers get serious about sharing their faith with those God
has place in their lives," an article on the ESES website advises. According to
ESES's Campus Prayer Guide, evangelical Christian students are in a "strategic
position" to proselytize "unchurched" peers, and advises these students to
"consider every school a PRAYER ZONE."

Who is behind ESES and its sponsoring group, Campus Alliance? It is backed by
nearly 60 large-scale fundamentalist initiatives and church denominations,
including the Fellowship for Christian Athletes, Young Life, Youth with a
Mission, Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) and the Life Book Movement, a project
of the Gideons International.

ESES is the fulfillment of a strategy that has been unfolding for the past few
decades. It started with student groups rightfully claiming certain free speech
rights in public schools. After all, kids can and should be allowed to talk
about their religion with their friends at school. It led to a legal distinction
by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that seems more simple on the
surface than it is in practice – the distinction between private speech by
students and speech that is linked to school authorities or the authority of the
school.

This distinction was perhaps too simplistic. After all, when students give class
presentations, they don't have a right to express just any views on any subject
they choose. Schools routinely restrict student speech – directing kids to
speak politely, or speak in turn, for instance – when it makes sense for
educational purposes, and even sometimes when it doesn't. This distinction
ultimately led to what some fundamentalist activists took to calling a
"God-given loophole".

Tomorrow, 26 September, for instance, marks the 22nd annual "See You at the
Pole" prayer event, in which children nationwide gather around the flagpole at
their schools and pray in as ostentatious a manner as possible. The event is
purportedly "student-led". But at the SYAP I attended, local pastors directed
kids in their youth groups to join, told them what to do, loaned them sound
amplification equipment, participated in the event and hosted an after-party at
a local mega-church, which was staffed with adults wearing t-shirts with the
SYAP logo.

These initiatives are "student-led" in the same sense that a pee-wee soccer
league is student-led. Yes, it's the kids kicking the ball, but you have to be
pretty detached from reality to imagine that there would be kids on that playing
field in the first place without the grown-ups organizing and funding their
activities, and cheering them from the sidelines.

Bible distribution programs are pursuing the same tactic. For years, adult
missionaries with the Gideons International sought to distribute Bibles in
public schools – with limited success, as adults are not allowed to hand out
religious literature on public school grounds. But give a stash of evangelical
tracts to a kid, and the kid is allowed to do it for them. In the past three
years since its inception, the Life Book movement, a "peer evangelism" project
of the Gideons International, claims to have distributed over 3.4m evangelical
tracts, written with teens in mind, to kids on school campuses nationwide.

In many instances, such activities like this will appear as a nuisance at the
margin, one of those violations of the spirit of the constitution, if not the
letter, that would seem to be more about symbolism and principle than anything
else. But in this case, it would be naïve to imagine that that is the end game.
The goal of such initiatives, quite clearly, is to normalize the idea that
public schools should be venues for religious activity. Once you've got churches
entangling themselves in the schools, it is very hard to remove them.

New York City's department of education found this out the hard way. After being
forced by the courts to allow churches rent-free access to space within public
schools, a new constituency was created: namely, churchgoers and church leaders
accustomed to having state-subsidized houses of worship. Even though the second
circuit court of appeals recognized that there was a serious constitutional
concern here, the department of education has run into heavy political
resistance, which they are still battling today.

Defenders of such religious initiatives call their efforts a fight for
"religious freedom." But largely what they seek are special privileges for their
religion alone. The normalization of the integration of church and school comes
from very particular strands of the Christian faith; not every Christian
denomination, or every religion, is involved in this kind of activity. Mainline
Christian denominations, to give just one example, are largely excluded. The
work of ESES and its friends creates precisely those ills against which the
constitutional principle of the "separation of church and state" was intended to
defend.

Such mixing of church and school is sure to cause conflict and division –
especially among parents who are not represented by the school-churches. It will
burden public school officials who already have enough to deal with in terms of
instruction and management, and are frankly not equipped to handle sectarian
conflicts in school communities. But the groups involved in these efforts won't
be deterred by that division. In fact, many of them welcome it. Many
fundamentalists simply do not accept public schools as legitimate enterprises in
the first place. They see public education as secular education, and therefore
intrinsically hostile to their religion.

At their core, they do not accept that we live in a diverse society with a
secular form of government. If their activities degrade support for the public
schools or even destroy them, they will not be sorry to see them go.

=======================================
11. INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN ONE BILLION RISING: EVE ENSLER, KAMLA BHASIN
=======================================
One Billion Rising: Eve Ensler, Activists Worldwide Plan Global Strike to End
Violence Against Women
http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2012/9/24/one_billion_rising_eve_ensler_activist\
s

One Billion Rising Regional Coordinator for South Asia, Kamla Bhasin Shares a
Rousing Slogan
June 11, 2012
http://youtu.be/fPoepcPhl4Q


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 1 Oct 2012 - No. 2753
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Afghanistan: Women Who Fight for Freedoms & The Taliban’s War on Women
(Yalda Hakim)
2. Bangladesh: Separate personal laws for Muslims, Hindus, and Christians
discriminate against women - HRW report
3. Sri Lanka: Hector Abhayavardhana - The last of the Old Left and the end of an
era (Rajan Philips)
4. Letter from Japanese Anti Nuclear Activists and their experience of being
deported from India
5. India: Arbitrary arrests and intimidation used against Maruti Suzuki workers 
- PUDR Press Release
6. India: Not vegetarianism or dieting, Mr. Modi (Indira Hirway)
7. India: Survivors, not victims (Namita Bhandare)
8. India: The ISRO Spy Case Test (Shekhar Gupta)
9. Selected content from Communalism Watch

International:
10. Aggressive Salafist Islamists threaten Tunisia's dream of freedom (Nick Meo)
11. Freedom to criticize religion is a touchstone of free expression’ -
Gilbert Achcar Interview
12. Italian director slams Church's political role
12. Spain:  “Democracy has been kidnapped. On 25 September we are going to
save it" - Coordinadora #25S’s manifesto


=======================================
1. AFGHANISTAN: WOMEN WHO FIGHT FOR FREEDOMS & THE TALIBAN’S WAR ON WOMEN
=======================================
Afghan women who fight for freedoms by Yalda Hakim
+ The Taliban’s War on Women - Transcript of reportage by Yalda Hakim

http://www.sacw.net/article2887.html

=======================================
2. BANGLADESH: SEPARATE PERSONAL LAWS FOR MUSLIMS, HINDUS, AND CHRISTIANS
DISCRIMINATE AGAINST WOMEN - HRW REPORT
=======================================
Bangladesh’s personal laws for Muslims, Hindus, and Christians have not been
reformed in decades. Personal law reform has often been fraught with problems,
with some opponents invoking discriminatory interpretations of religion. The
separate personal laws for Bangladesh’s Muslims, Hindus, and Christians
discriminate in overlapping but distinctive ways. Each erects barriers to
divorce and economic equality during marriage and after, and none of the laws
provides for women’s equal right to marital property.

http://www.sacw.net/article2889.html

=======================================
3. SRI LANKA: HECTOR ABHAYAVARDHANA - THE LAST OF THE OLD LEFT AND THE END OF AN
ERA
by Rajan Philips
=======================================
Hector Abhayavardhana passed away on Saturday, September 22, at the ripe old age
of 93. He was a lifelong and loyal member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party.Almost
from the time he joined the Party as a young University student, Hector belonged
to the top echelon of the Party – that formidable political pantheon of Philip
Gunawardena, N.M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonewardene, Edmund
Samarakoddy, Bernard Soysa and Doric de Souza. With his death the curtain
finally falls on Sri Lanka’s oldest political party, but its contributions
over fifty years are a huge part of the island’s 20th century politics and
society.

http://www.sacw.net/article2885.html

=======================================
4. LETTER FROM JAPANESE ANTI NUCLEAR ACTIVISTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE OF BEING
DEPORTED FROM INDIA
=======================================
We could not see people in Koodankulam and those sympathized with them. It is
truly regrettable that we could not meet them. However, after being denied
entrance, our concern has become more serious and our solidarity has been
stronger. Those who push for nuclear energy are closely connected. Globally,
there are no boarders when it comes to nuclear devastation. Then let us overcome
the difference of nationalities and languages and make thousands of, ten
thousands of comrades to fight for our future without nukes together. We hope to
see you in India on next opportunity.

http://www.sacw.net/article2886.html


=======================================
5. INDIA: ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND INTIMIDATION USED AGAINST MARUTI SUZUKI WORKERS
PUDR Press Release
=======================================
PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS
26 September 2012
Press Release
Based upon its preliminary investigation, PUDR asserts that instead of a
thorough investigation into the alleged murder of Awanish Dev, Manager, Maruti
Suzuki Ltd’s Manesar plant on 18 July 2012, the Haryana police have been
responsible for arbitrary arrests of workers, illegal detention and harassment
of their family members as well as custodial violence. Our findings reveal how
miscarriage of justice has occurred and continues at many levels:

http://www.sacw.net/article2884.html

=======================================
6. INDIA: NOT VEGETARIANISM OR DIETING, MR. MODI
by Indira Hirway
=======================================
Low wage rates, poorly functioning public schemes and patchy access to water and
sanitation are the real explanation for Gujarat’s persistent malnutrition
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/not-vegetarianism-or-dieting-mr-modi/artic\
le3939379.ece?homepage=true

=======================================
7. INDIA: SURVIVORS, NOT VICTIMS
by Namita Bhandare
=======================================
(Hindustan Times, September 29, 2012)
This we know: On September 9, a 16-year-old Dalit schoolgirl in Dabra village,
Hisar was kidnapped, raped and photographed allegedly by a group of upper caste
Jat boys. This we know: The girl complains to her father. The photographs are
circulated in the village. The father tries to
lodge a complaint, fails, and kills himself nine days after his daughter was
raped.

This we know: It takes media outrage, street processions and the threat of job
suspensions by the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes before the
Haryana police arrest nine of the 12 accused (one is the nephew of the INLD
district chief and three are said to have links to the Congress). But even
before interrogation can begin, comes news of a copycat rape: another Dalit
woman, also gangraped, also filmed, also in Haryana, only this time in Jind
district.

The silence in Hisar has an echo in Jind. At the time of writing, the National
Commission for Women is yet to rouse itself. Leave alone a visit to Hisar, it
has not even bothered with a statement laced with the mandatory clichés of
outrage, shock etc.

http://www.sacw.net/article2882.html


=======================================
8. INDIA: THE ISRO SPY CASE TEST
by Shekhar Gupta
=======================================
. . .The real issue was the general opprobrium among sections of the
intelligentsia, and certainly within the journalistic community who had spent
months building the fiction of this allegedly greatest spy story ever.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/national-interest-the-isro-spy-case-test/10094\
51/


=======================================
9. RECENT CONTENT FROM COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================

Jamaat e Islami in deep mourning for Hindutva topgun Sudarshan
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/muslim-right-jamaat-e-islami-full-of.html

Missing the soft notes - Jawed Naqvi
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/missing-soft-notes.html

What, exactly, unites Indian Muslims and what divides them? - Christophe
Jaffrelot
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/what-exactly-unites-indian-muslims-and.ht\
ml

Who is in Whose Land? - Thackeray Family’s Bihar Connection - Ram Puniyani
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/who-is-in-whose-land-mr-thackeray.html

Postmodern Gandhians And Hindu Nationalism - Part I and II  - Michael Barker
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/09/michael-barker-postmodern-gandhians-and.h\
tml

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
10. AGGRESSIVE SALAFIST ISLAMISTS THREATEN TUNISIA'S DREAM OF FREEDOM
by Nick Meo
=======================================
http://alturl.com/aitmm

In Sidi Bouzid, birthplace of the Arab Spring, there is disillusion with the
aftermath of the revolution and growing support for hardline Salafist Islamists

Luckily there were no sunbathers at the swimming pool when the mob of 80 Islamic
hardliners arrived to smash up the Horchani Hotel, the only place in Sidi Bouzid
where you could buy a cold beer.

Bearded, angry young men threatened the few staff who were around at lunchtime
with iron bars, broke windows, smashed up ornamental fountains and threw bottles
of wine and spirits into the empty pool, which is now full of shattered glass.

"They said if I serve alcohol again they will come back and burn down the
hotel," said Jamil Horchani, 64, whose family has run the place since 1976.

The birthplace of the Arab Spring is a few streets away in the flyblown,
ramshackle town four hours drive south of Tunis, the capital. A desperate young
street vendor, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself alight in December 2010, sparking
protests which grew into an uprising and toppled the autocratic leader Zine el
Abidine Ben Ali before spreading beyond Tunisia's borders.

The revolution, started by an act of despair, raised high hopes in Tunisia, a
nation of 11 million which is has as much in common with the northern
Mediterranean countries as the Arab ones on the southern shore; lively bars,
beaches where Tunisian women wear bikinis, and universities which turn out
well-educated young people who struggle to find work in the depressed
post-revolution economy.

Sidi Bouzid, a backwater and unemployment blackspot, doesn't enjoy much of the
capital's Tunisian dolce vita, and since its brief moment of glory last year not
much has changed. At least the police who hounded Mr Bouazizi to his death have
been withdrawn from the streets – their place filled by earnest young men in
traditional robes with long beards.

They organise street cleaning teams to sweep away rubbish, and vigilante groups
who patrol for the criminals who have become bolder since the revolution.

Many traders and shoppers in the souk are glad of the Salafists, as the
hardliners are called. But there are those who fear that the town has swapped
one group of persecutors, the police, for another.

"There are two types of Salafists," said a 44-year-old widow who would only give
her first name, Fatima. "Those that are peaceful and spiritual, and the
aggressive ones. They attack people in the streets for not going to say their
prayers, and they start fights in the mosque with people they don't like."

They are the men who smashed up Mr Horchani's bar. The businessman is former
captain of the town's football team and a leading member of the business elite
which prospered under Ben Ali's rule.

In other Tunisian towns customers and bar staff have grabbed bar stools and pool
cues and sent squads of self-appointed religious enforcers packing. But Sidi
Bouzid is a conservative place with many Salafists and only a few drinkers, who
are now a persecuted minority.

It's not only Tunisia's imbibers who have suffered: in recent weeks Salafists
have harassed artists whose work they don't like and threatened journalists who
write unfavourably about them. They have pressured women to wear the headscarf,
especially in universities which have become cultural battlegrounds.

"It was terrifying, they were a tough bunch and they knew they would get away
with it – none of them has been arrested," Mr Horchani said.

"I was not surprised at all when they attacked the US embassy in Tunis. The
interior minister has made it clear that the police will not arrest them, and
anyway the government and the Salafists are all Islamists together."

The Salafists were mainly regarded as a nuisance until they broke into the US
embassy in Tunis nine days ago, setting fire to the gym and looting the American
school nearby. Now ordinary Tunisians are becoming frightened of them.

"Salafists are maybe two per cent of the population and cause 90 per cent of the
trouble," said one young man in the capital, who said he was scared to go for a
beer after work.

Partly it is fear of the unknown. Under Ben Ali's rule Salafists were locked up
– often sharing prison cells with members of the current governing Ennahda
party, who are moderate Islamists.

After the revolution, thousands were let out, and promptly set about organising
political parties and making converts. The Salafist message of equality and
moral reform is simple and powerful. After years of corrupt government it is
particularly appealing to the young and desperate who expected much from the
revolution and feel disappointed. The unemployment rate is 18 per cent, and
nearer 50 per cent for graduates in towns like Sidi Bouzid.

Ben Ali's bans on men growing beards and women wearing headscarves or veils were
lifted in the spirit of liberty after the revolution. Now, for the first time,
there are Islamic-looking men and women everywhere, to the dismay of
middle-class Tunisians who prefer jeans and T-shirts, or skirts and revealing
dresses. They increasingly complain that the government's moderate Islamists are
soft on the hardline Islamists.

In June Salafists started riots after invading an art gallery in an upmarket
Tunis suburb in the same week the government brought in a delegation of would-be
foreign investors from abroad - who instead of looking at business opportunities
were forced to stay in their hotel rooms.

A few weeks ago a French councillor of Tunisian ancestry warned tourists to stay
away for their own safety, after he was attacked by Islamic extremists with
swords because his wife and daughter were wearing shorts. It was a fresh setback
for the crucial tourism sector, which had finally begun to revive, with a third
more British visitors in May than in the same month last year. Television
pictures of the burning embassy and bearded protesters are likely to deter
tourists further.

Last week, after the attack on the US embassy in which four rioters died, police
launched an unconvincing crackdown on hardliners in the capital. Armed officers
in balaclavas gathered outside the El Fatah mosque, taken over now by the
Salafists, on Avenue de Liberte, with its smart boutiques and airline offices.

Inside was Abu Iyadh, a notorious preacher, allegedly with combat experience in
Afghanistan, who was accused of whipping up the mob outside the US embassy.

The bourgeoisie of Tunis, the women in smart, skimpy clothes, the men in suits
and nice shoes, emerged from shops and offices to watch in horrified fascination
as a mob of Salafists, many wearing scraps of camouflaged military uniforms,
formed a wall of howling bodies to keep the police out of the mosque.

"The genie is out of the bottle," one man murmured as he gazed at them. "What
they did at the US embassy damaged the image of Tunisia in the world. And they
got away with it. There will be a lot more trouble to come."

The real nightmare for middle-class residents of Tunis are the so-called
Jihad-Salafists, who number only a few thousand individuals but who are
determined, tough and well organised. Some were caught in February with a
lorry-load of guns being smuggled in from Libya. Their hard core has experience
fighting the Russians in Afghanistan and the Americans in Iraq, and more are
heading to Syria for the latest jihad.

Chokri Abdelfattah, 40, fought in Libya against the Gaddafi regime, then
returned home to rejoin the struggle to turn Tunisia into an Islamic state. He
arrived for an interview with The Sunday Telegraph wearing a T-shirt with
"Al-Quida" written on it and a graphic showing a jet flying into a skyscraper.
It would have been enough to get him jailed under Ben Ali, but nobody will
arrest him for it now.

A few weeks ago his nose was split open and his front teeth smashed by a tear
gas cylinder fired by police during a demonstration, and he boasted that his
brother had just been arrested. Police had filmed the brother driving outside
the US embassy with a Stars-and-Stripes tied to the back of his car, dragging
the flag in the dust.

"I am proud to be a jihadist, it is my duty to protect Muslims," he said.
"America is our enemy. It kills our brothers. We don't want their embassy here."

But although he was delighted with the embassy invasion he added that Tunisia
was not yet ready for holy war. "It's not the time for Kalashnikovs at the
moment. In Libya I had 10, but I didn't bring them back to Tunisia, I gave them
up to the authorities."

The Jihad-Salafists are concentrating their efforts on dawa, educating and
converting Muslims, for the time being. Mr Abdelfattah said that growing
disillusion with the moderate Islamist government was making that task easy,
especially with poor young men.

"Ennadha was elected because the voters thought it was an Islamic party, but now
the voters are starting to realise that it is just like Ben Ali's party," he
said.

"We are patient. Tunisians will turn to our way. Then they will choose the
Caliphate."

=======================================
11. FREEDOM TO CRITICIZE RELIGION IS A TOUCHSTONE OF FREE EXPRESSION
Gilbert Achcar Interview
=======================================
We are reaping today the result of the left’s failure over many decades to
raise the basic secular demand of separation of religion from state. Secularism
– including freedom of belief, religion, and irreligion – is an elementary
condition of democracy. It should be, therefore, an elementary part of any
democratic project, let alone a left project. But most of the left in my part of
the world, the Arab region, has capitulated on this issue.
If the left wants to challenge the hegemony of Islamic forces and develop a
counter-hegemonic movement in the political, social and cultural spheres, it
must fight resolutely for secularism as well as against gender oppression –
another fight from which many on the left also shy away in fear of ‘hurting
the feelings’ of the believers. This is a self-defeating strategy.
http://www.sacw.net/article2888.html

=======================================
12. ITALIAN DIRECTOR SLAMS CHURCH'S POLITICAL ROLE
(AFP report)
=======================================
06 Sep 2012 VENICE, Italy (AFP)
Italian director Marco Bellocchio on Thursday condemned the Catholic Church's
interference in politics after the premiere of his new controversial film about
a high-profile euthanasia case.

"As long as Catholics can condition Italian political life, things are not going
to change," said the 72-year-old Bellocchio, whose "Bella Addormentata"
("Dormant Beauty") is one of 18 films vying for this year's Golden Lion.

"It is impossible to pass a law on end-of-life decisions, even one that is
respectful," the director told a group of journalists after some centre-right
politicians and clergymen voiced strong criticism of the film.

Bellocchio's plot revolves around three fictional characters in the momentous
days leading up to the death of Eluana Englaro at the age of 38.

Englaro had been in a coma for 17 years and her family won the right in court to
switch off life support, a ruling that unleashed a fierce backlash.

"Italy tore itself apart over the fate of this poor young woman. There was a lot
of media tension, a clash between Catholics and lay people," he said.

[Photo Caption] Italian film director Marco Bellocchio (L) and actor Toni
Servillo pose during the 69th Venice Film Festival. Bellocchio condemned the
Catholic Church's interference in politics after the premiere of his new
controversial film about a high-profile euthanasia case.

The Catholic Church waged a campaign against the suspension of life support for
Englaro, with support from then prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who tried to
rush an emergency law through parliament to stop Englaro's family.

Three years later "the problem has not been resolved," said Bellocchio, pointing
out that a draft law on end-of-life decisions is stuck in parliament.

A small demonstration at the Venice film festival drew around 50 people, who
distributed pamphlets saying Bellocchio had "killed Eluana a second time."

"They have the right to do it (but) I think they represent a tiny minority of
the Catholic world, where there are also more open positions," he said.

Bellocchio chose not to portray the Englaro family directly but to explore it
through the eyes of a mother (Isabelle Huppert) whose daughter is also in a coma
and a senator (Toni Servillo) who is called on to vote for the law.

The third central character is a drug addict who is desperate to kill herself
but is rescued by a doctor and eventually chooses to live.

=======================================
13 SPAIN:  “DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED. ON 25 SEPTEMBER WE ARE GOING TO SAVE
IT" - COORDINADORA #25S’S MANIFESTO
=======================================
A translation of Text of Coordinadora #25S’s manifesto is posted below (Este
manifiesto es fruto del debate en las asambleas de esta Coordinadora 25S)

Manifesto

We, ordinary people are fed up to live with the consequences of a system
conditioned by and forced to adapt itself to the markets, which is in every
respect insupportable, and has led us to be victims of a large scale scam which
has caused this crisis. We unify in order to edit this manifesto. We invite
every citizen to unify themselves with the claims we are making in this
manifesto.

We perceive that the current situation has exceed all tolerable limits and that
we are victims of an attack without former precedents from the side of
economical powers, who are using the crisis as an excuse. This is ruining our
lives and those to blame are them who present themselves as an untouchable
oligarchy. This with the complicity of all political forces represented in the
parliament, who are manipulating the powers of the State by maintaining their
privileges and excessive and illegitimate enrichment.

There is no way to hide that we live in a gigantic social fraud, with
governments systematically betraying us by doing exactly the opposite as
promised in their electoral statements, just as there isn’t any justice in the
tribunals against bankers, politicians and business men who are guilty of the
current situation. We just have to look in order to see how this structure of
vicious and immoral power creates policies that end our rights and destroy our
lives, and in order to see how we are victims of an unfair repression when
demanding a change of the situation.

We believe that the problem is of such a big seize and the roots such profound
that any solution will not be founded in reforms based in the actual political
system. Therefore we demand:

– The dismissal of the entire government, as well as the dismissal of the
Court and the Leadership of the State, because of betraying the country and the
whole community of citizens. This was done in premeditation and is leading us to
the disaster.

– The beginning of a constitutional process in a transparent and democratic
way, with the goal of composing a new Constitution. We want to do this with the
participation of the whole community of citizens, in such a way that the result
will be their own, because we don’t recognize any democratic character in the
actual constitution and laws. On the contrary these are drawn by a selected
group behind the people’s back and confirm the domination of the heirs of the
Franquismo era (the period during dictator Franco ruled) and those agreeing with
them. It has to be the people who determine the model of social organization in
whom they desire to live – not the opposite way.

– The audit and control of the public debt of Spain, with moratorium (delay)
of debt’s payment until there is a clear demarcation of the parts which not
have to be paid by the nation, because they have been served private interests
using the country for their own goals, instead the well being of the whole
Spanish community. Equally we demand the prosecution of all this persons who
show and present themselves as suspicious of such moves, and we demand that they
guarantee and pay with their own goods in the case they appear to be guilty.

– The reform of the electoral law, with the design of a new electoral process,
in order to really represent the people’s will before any election which will
be necessary to supply the development of a constitutional process of democracy.

– The immediate abolition of all cuts and all reforms taken against the well
fare state with the excuse of the crisis, which set up limits to the
population’s rights and freedoms, not only because they mean a disaster for
the country, but also because they have been consisting out of taxes betraying
the will of the people.

– A profound tax reform, which is making to pay more by those gaining more
benefits of society. We equally demand the abolition of the fiscal amnesty
ordered by the government, since these injustice is a real mockery for those who
pay honestly.

– The abolition of all the privileges of those holding a political or public
position, and the introduction of efficient mechanisms controlling the
performance of those positions.

– The immediate paralysis of all forced evictions (forced leaving of homes),
and to put at the population’s disposal those houses belonging to the banks
and companies who have been helped by public funds.

– The creation of new jobs, which first premise will be the sustainability,
and whose goal will be the development of humanity, as well as a form of
management appropriate and adapted to the disposable jobs such that populations
can work in order to live – instead of being forced to live in order to work.
It is a tremendous hoax when over and over saying we have to work more, a
fallacy supported by the greed of the big interests but contrary to the
interests of the ordinary people.

For all this above explained we make a call to the population on the 25 of
September 2012 to manifest in an undefined form at the gates of the Congress in
order to obtain the dismissal of the Government and to make the beginning of a
Constitutional Process, by making this call of unification of all the fights,
strives and wrestling for a more fair Society.

We are the overwhelming majority, we are the people, we are right, we will not
tolerate this and we will not be walked all over.

:::

SEE ALSO:

Will the Occupy movement dissolve Spain's parliament? (+video)

Some 6,000 of protesters gathered outside Spain's parliament in Madrid to
protest austerity measures and to call for the ouster of Spain's current
government .
by Alan Clendenning, Associated Press / September 25, 2012
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0925/Will-the-Occupy-movem\
ent-dissolve-Spain-s-parliament-video

:::

Anonymous Operation Spain - Press Release

Tuesday - September 25, 2012 6:00 PM ET USA

Greetings World --

Anonymous sends it's solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Spain who at this
very moment have completely surrounded the Parliament Building in Madrid. They
are calling for the resignation of a government that like so many in our world
today has failed to serve the needs of it's people. We encourage our comrades in
Spain to remain steadfast until their demands are met, and we promise to do all
we can to assist them.

Anonymous watched on the independent livestreams the horrendous brutality on the
part of the Spanish National Police. It is always intolerable to us, but it is
especially deplorable when we witness this level of senseless violence used
against peaceful protesters in a supposedly western and modern "democracy". In
response to this wanton violence by the Spanish National Police against our
brothers and sisters in Madrid, Anonymous has removed from the Internet the web
site of the Spanish National Police located at http://www.policia.es - and we
will keep it offline so long as we continue to watch scenes of brutality.

Beginning tomorrow, Anonymous will also begin an attack on the primary website
of the Parliament of Spain. This attack will include not only DdoS and hacking,
but also Black Fax & E-Mail bombs - effectively removing the Parliament of Spain
from the Internet entirely.

We Are Anonymous
We Are Everywhere
We Are Legion
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget
Government of Spain, it's to late to Expect Us.

SIGNED -- Anonymous

:::

[See also: Spaniards rage against austerity in march to Parliament
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/hundreds-of-police-seal-off-spanish-parli\
ament-ahead-of-protest-against-crisis-measures/2012/09/25/fcce6fa2-06e2-11e2-9ee\
a-333857f6a7bd_story.html]


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 5 Oct 2012 - No. 2754
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Bangladesh: Mob attack in Ramu on Buddhist shrines: media commentary and
citizen groups response, statements
    - Ramu massacre a blot on nation’s conscience (Edit, Daily Star)
    - Nip intolerance in the bud (Mahfuz Anam)
    - BNPS Protests Communal Attacks on Buddhists (news report + related URLS)
    - Bangladesh: Minority communities must be protected and arsonists face
justice (Amnesty International)
2. Pakistan: Rule of the ‘danda’ (Aasim Sajjad Akhtar)
3. Sri Lanka: The FUTA strike and the survival of democratic dissent (Kumar
David)
4. India - Gujarat: Secular groups condemn violence by miscreants in Old
Ahmedabad
5. India: Fear is the way to voters’ hearts (A N Siddiqui) '
§. India: The Kinship of Impunity (Mukul Dube)
7. India: 1,528 victims of fake encounters in Manipur: PIL (Dhananjay Mahapatra)
International:
8. Madhavan Palat’s Essay on Alexander Solzhenitsyn
9. UK: Whose Archive? Whose History? Destruction of Archives at Ruskin College,
Oxford (Hilda Kean)
10. Announcements:
Memorial to a Genocide - Gulberg Gujarat 2002-2012 (New Delhi, 9 - 13 Oct 2012)


=======================================
1. BANGLADESH: MOB ATTACK IN RAMU ON BUDDHIST SHRINES: MEDIA COMMENTARY AND
CITIZEN GROUPS RESPONSE, STATEMENTS
=======================================
sacw.net - 4 October 2012 | http://www.sacw.net/article2896.html

RAMU MASSACRE A BLOT ON NATION'S CONSCIENCE
GO ALL OUT TO HEAL THE VICTIMS' WOUND
Editorial - The Daily Star, October 3, 2012

The facts coming out from our on-the-spot investigations into the Ramu
desecration of sacred religious sites, a prized part of our heritage and the
symbol of communal harmony are more disturbing and insidious than the first
reports indicated on Monday. What was confined to the realm of speculation and
came to be known in fragmentary and piecemeal manner have now fallen into a
pattern. Thanks to information gathered firsthand and presented as a connective
narrative, an unprecedented act of subversion has come to light. Penetrating the
smokescreen around the circumstances, our findings reveal an entirely
unprovoked, premeditated, well-orchestrated operation by a gang in a pillaging
and burning orgy. What is however left to be unravelled is the identity of those
who masterminded the worst subversive and unprecedented desecration since
independence.

Particularly inexplicable and dubious appears to be the role of the police.
Despite being tipped off with the news of the brewing storm, the lack of police
initiative was utterly inexplicable. Indeed, as we are now aware, residents had
appealed to Ramu police chief to take preventive measures as tension was
building from September 29, but it was largely ignored. We are aghast at the
failure of intelligence when the surrounding ambiance had been tensed up already
not to have taken adequate precautions to protect such important religious
sites. That a piece of information planted in the social network facebook got
displayed and yet the police had no inkling of the scheme being afoot is simply
unacceptable. Had pre-emptive measures been taken in the early hours of the
rapidly escalating situation, perhaps the unfolding disaster could have been
contained.

Our heads hang in shame. We apologise to the community as our heart goes out in
sympathy for the victims.

We believe the home minister has his job cut out. Even though initial signs were
to the contrary, there should be no politcisation of the issue because it would
not only derail investigation but also divert attention away from the culprits.
As we must be earnest in our endeavours to heal the mental scars of the Buddhist
community, in truth one cannot see any redemption without identifying the
ringleaders and perpetrators and meting out severely deterrent punishment to
them.

o o o

NIP INTOLERANCE IN THE BUD
POLITICAL BLAME-GAME WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN EXTREMISTS
by Mahfuz Anam

There should be no doubt in anybody's mind as to the enormity and gravity of the
meaning of what has happened at Ramu and in the adjoining areas. Never before in
our history have places of worship of a religious minority been ravaged on such
a large scale and in so deliberate a manner. Twelve Buddhist temples and more
than 50 houses were burnt down and vandalised in a pre-planned manner. And these
people are among the most peaceful, docile and non-violent that we have.

Just imagine the feelings of the Buddhist community and of the monks seeing
their religious books and Holy Texts torn to bits and burnt, evidence of which
was lying all around the destroyed temples for all to see. The best way to
understand the agony of our Buddhist compatriots is to imagine how we would have
felt if our Holy Book had been desecrated in any manner.

As The Daily Star and other print and electronic media reports make it clear,
the whole tragic event was premeditated and carefully planned.

The natural question is: Who did it and for what purpose? Is it just to create
unrest and tension in a disturbed region of our country? Is it to embarrass the
government? Is it just to spoil the image of Bangladesh? Is it only to create
misunderstanding between the majority Muslims and the Buddhists? The purpose, in
our view, is far more sinister.

It is to weaken us as a people, as a country and as a culture. It is to hit at
the very ethos of Bangladesh. It has been an attack on the very foundations of
our state, our values and the principles of our Liberation War. And it has been
done through using the religious sentiments of the majority Muslims.

It started with a posting on the social media Facebook. In the account of Uttam
Kumar Burua, 25, an unknown Buddhist man, someone 'tagged' a picture that was
insulting to the Muslim Holy Book. Facebook works on developing and enlarging
the circle of online 'friends' who share messages, pictures, etc., between
themselves. This 'circle' of friends grows exponentially as 'friends' of
'friends' and their 'friends' all become part of an ever widening group that
grows all the time. In this scenario, anyone within a 'circle of friends' can
'tag' a picture on another's account. In fact, that is how this social media
links people.

That is how someone 'tagged' a picture that was insulting to us, the Muslims.

As it is evident that the whole attack on the Buddhists was premeditated,
pre-planned and quite meticulously organised, it is reasonable to conclude that
even the 'tagging' of the picture in the account of a Buddhist youth was part of
the plan. Otherwise how so many people could come to know about it in such a
short time? We have reports that the offensive picture was sent from one mobile
phone to another using Bluetooth technology and through the internet.

The situation raises serious questions about the role, mindset and capabilities
of the law enforcement agencies. The police inaction in the early hours of the
tragedy, when prompt action could have prevented the burning down of 12 temples,
raises doubts about their efficiency, and even their intentions. Can we really
brush aside the possibility of local police being complicit? What about our
intelligence agencies? We spend hundreds of crores of taka on them, and often
see how they harass ordinary citizens over their slightest of 'mistakes'; and
yet when it comes to such serious incidents of national security they fail us
totally.

What about the ruling party's front organisations, some of whose leaders and
activists were seen in the early processions that were inciting people to attack
the Buddhists and their temples? The opposition MP was conspicuous by his
absence from the scene. Given our propensity to try to cash in on any religious
issue they could have well nigh participated in these activities.

What makes the situation highly complex and worrisome is the presence of a large
number of Rohingyas in the area. Given the background of the movement for a
Rakhaine state on the Myanmar side of the border and their possible and
potential links with international and regional extremist groups, this might
well emerge as a national security issue for Bangladesh.

What is of utmost importance at this stage is national unity. We must all work
together to prevent our state from being weakened, our national purpose for a
democratic polity being distracted, our core values of religious tolerance being
subverted, our culture of celebrating diversity being destroyed and the
principles of our Liberation War of establishing a multi-religious, multi-ethnic
democratic state being defeated.

But at this very crucial stage we are, regrettably, witnessing a politicisation
of this national threat. No sooner did the Buddhists have had their temples
burnt and their houses gutted our political leaders went on a quick march to
blame their opponents. The first salvo was fired by our newly appointed home
minister alleging, without the slightest shred of evidence, the possible
involvement of the local MP who, surprise, surprise, belonged to the BNP. The
BNP secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul, soon accused the ruling party of being
involved, followed by the BNP chairperson parroting the same. Then both parties'
propaganda machinery went into overdrive and the blame game began to be played
in full swing. All this while the extremists were safely nestled somewhere and
were having a good laugh at our expense.

It will be suicidal to politicise this very serious threat to the religious
harmony that characterizes Bangladesh before the world. We repeat, never in our
history has such a massive attack been carried out on the minorities. Only a few
days ago we saw massive unrest in Rangamati area that flared up because of an
incident involving some boy talking to some girl of a different ethnic group.

When the situation is so fragile that minor inter-personal incidents have the
potential of becoming inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts, politicising
these issues is a sure formula for disaster and a sure chance for the culprits
to escape and repeat their heinous crimes.

Will our political leaders listen? Or will they be so overtaken by mutual hatred
and so consumed by their thirst for power that they will ignore such a grave
threat to what Bangladesh should, must and does, mostly, stand for?

READ MORE AT/ http://www.sacw.net/article2896.html

=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: RULE OF THE ‘DANDA’
by Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
=======================================
AS Pakistan’s love-hate relationship with the mythical ‘rule of law’
unfolds, the very real rule of the danda continues to manifest itself in
virtually every little nook and cranny of society, unnamed if not unnoticed.
Every thana and katcheri in this country — the very institutions that purport
to uphold the rule of law (while epitomising the rule of the danda) — is a
theatre of suffering for the millions of minions who pose as the state’s
citizens.
The marketplace for goods and services of all kinds, including human labour, is
mediated by a healthy dose of coercive force, or, at the very least, the threat
of it. In our homes, physical and emotional abuse is commonplace, justified
sometimes in the name of tradition or religion, and sometimes not justified at
all.
While too much is made of the spectacular political violence that enters our
homes every day via cable TV, it is difficult not to sit up and take notice of
the full force of the state unleashed in Lyari, in much of Balochistan and in
large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. Here too the rule of the danda poses
as the rule of law; it is in the name of reestablishing law and order that the
state undertakes its unending military operations.
While it is true that the most brazen examples of the rule of the danda feature
the state’s security apparatus as chief protagonist, I want to emphasise that
there is something much deeper at work here, an authoritarian ethic that is
evident across much of our social terrain.

http://sacw.net/article2727.html


=======================================
3. SRI LANKA: THE FUTA STRIKE AND THE SURVIVAL OF DEMOCRATIC DISSENT
by Kumar David
=======================================
If the FUTA strike is crushed it will resemble the crushing blow that JR
inflicted on the working class and independent political activity in July 1980.
I do not want to over dramatise, it is only in retrospect that we can make
secure historical judgements, but it is possible that this is one of the final
chances the nation will get to throw back the executive power of an
authoritarian menace. The state is primed for the offensive, but public opinion,
the working class and trade unions, and the educated classes and left opinion
are half asleep, but fortunately, also half awake.
http://www.sacw.net/article2894.html

=======================================
4. INDIA - GUJARAT: SECULAR GROUPS CONDEMN VIOLENCE BY MISCREANTS IN OLD
AHMEDABAD
=======================================

Thursday 4 October 2012

PRESS STATEMENT

We are shocked at yesterday’s [3 October 2012] incidents in the old city
[Ahmedabad] and we strongly condemn the violence perpetrated by miscreants
during yesterday’s protest rally. Attacking and burning of vehicles, police
personnel and the only women police station in the old city is highly
condemnable and unaccepted behaviour. While every citizen has a right to protest
peacefully indulging in violence is a criminal act and it only helps the
divisive forces.

The Muslim community has struggled for ten years peacefully against the
atrocities which were perpetrated against them in 2002 and it is an insult to
the peaceful struggle of the of the ordinary people who have fought within the
norms of the law and Indian constitution without ever resorting to violence.

Coming on the next day of Gandhi Jayanti, when everyone is celebrating
Mahatma’s message of non-violence, it could have been done by only those who
do not believe in the teachings of the Mahatma.

While there have been protests across the globe against the film in question,
they all happened earlier in the year, when a 15 minute clip was released on you
tube in June 2012 made by amateurs in 5 days in a studio in California.

Senior members of various sects from the Muslim community had appealed against
the bandh and procession. The community does not have a history of defying the
appeals from senior religious leaders.

It is very clear that the protest yesterday was instigated by certain people
with vested interests, with the help of certain miscreant elements from the
Muslim community, who have been wooed over the past year.

We have a hunch that with elections already announced and no other way of
creating trouble probably this is a route which has been taken by those who want
to polarise the voters.

We demand a magisterial enquiry into the whole incident and a stern action
against those who participated in the violence and all those who are responsible
for it .

Common people everywhere in Gujarat want peace and harmony and they dream of a
society where interests of the marginalised are kept in mind as enshrined in the
Indian constitution. We appeal to all communities across Gujarat to remain vigil
against the vested interests so that similar situation is not created anywhere
else in the coming months.

Released on behalf of:

Dev Desai - Anhad Yuva Manch
Fr. Cedric Prakash - Prashant
Gagan Sethi - Centre for Social Justice
Gautam Thakker - PUCL
Hanif Lakdawala - Sanchetna
Indu Kumar Jani – Naya Marg
Mallika Sarabhai - Darpana
Manan Trivedi - Anhad
Manish Dhakad - Anhad
Manisha Trivedi - Anhad
Mahila Manch Nafisa Barot - Utthan
Prakash N Shah - Nirikshak
Shabnam Hashmi - Anhad
Sheba George – SAHRWARU, NAWO
Sofiya Khan - Safar
Zakia Soman – BMMA

=======================================
5. INDIA: FEAR IS THE WAY TO VOTERS’ HEARTS
by A N Siddiqui
=======================================
Fear is strategically deployed as a powerful mobilising political strategy to
keep the support of the minorities, particularly Muslims. The parties belonging
to the “Secular Camp” give some token benefits and sops to the minorities
just before elections to keep them in good humour but do not try to genuinely
address or alleviate their socio-economic problem. They know in their hearts
that the politics of fear will do the trick instead, writes A N Siddiqui

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/fear-is-way-to-voters-hearts.html

=======================================
6. India: The Kinship of Impunity
by Mukul Dube
=======================================
(sacw.net - 3 october 2012)
A Supreme Court decision of 26 September 2012 was reported in the newspapers in
a manner that suggested wishful thinking. Headlines are necessarily abbreviated,
and those in this instance said that the SC had sent a message to "the police"
about branding people on the basis of religion. The message, in fact, was
specifically to the Gujarat Police: "District Superintendent of Police and
Inspector General of Police and all others entrusted with the task of operating
the law must not do anything which allows its misuse and abuse and [must] ensure
that no innocent person has the feeling of sufferance only because ’My name is
Khan, but I am not a terrorist.’”

http://www.sacw.net/article2895.html

=======================================
7. India: 1,528 victims of fake encounters in Manipur: PIL
=======================================
The Times of India

by Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN | Oct 2, 2012, 01.43AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday took serious note of a PIL alleging that
there had been apathy on the Centre and Manipur government's part to bring to
book the guilty among armed forces and state police, which allegedly were
responsible for 1,528 extra-judicial killings in last 30 years.

The impact of the magnitude of extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens in
Manipur was visible on a bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Ranajana P Desai, which
had been instrumental in getting the CBI to go full throttle and unearth larger
conspiracy behind two such fake encounters in Gujarat, where alleged criminals
Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati were killed by police officers.

The bench took judicial note of the PIL by NGOs — Extra-judicial Execution
Victims families Association of Manipur through Neena N and Human Rights Alert
through Babloo Loitongbam - and issued notices to the Centre and the Ibobi Singh
government. It asked the Centre and state to file their responses by November 5.

Asking petitioner's counsel senior advocate Colin Gonsalves to make other
required officials party to the PIL, the court requested the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) to respond to the macabre incidents and appointed
advocate Menaka Guruswami as amicus curiae to assist the court in the case.

The petition gave details of each of the 1,528 people killed in fake encounter
since 1979. It said though the SC upheld the constitutional validity of Armed
Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 15 years ago, it had issued certain dos and
don'ts to the security forces. But, these guidelines were seldom followed, it
alleged.

"By way of example, petitioner cites details of 10 cases where eyewitnesses
exist, but the killings had been justified as encounters with militants," the
petitioner alleged. Even though the PIL detailed the killings by the security
forces and police, it did not reflect on the killings resorted to by militants
in the state, which could have resulted in eliminating an equal number of
persons in the state.

"In almost all cases, young boys attending to their daily chores were picked up
randomly by security forces and killed in cold blood. In several of these cases
eye-witnesses, parents and neighbours were present when the victims were gunned
down," the petitioner said.

"What are even more frightening are the breakdown of the criminal justice system
and a complete denial of the protection of right to life guaranteed under
Article 21 of the Constitution. There is not a single instance where the
perpetrators of the heinous crimes - torturing and killing of young in cold
blood - have been brought to justice," the petitioner said.

"Out of the 1,528 killings, petitions relating to 20 murders were taken to the
Guwahati High Court where these are still pending. The cries of anguish had
fallen on deaf ears," it said and alleged that not a single investigation or
departmental inquiry against the alleged perpetrator had been taken to logical
end.

The petitioner said in a functioning democracy eyewitness accounts would be
immediately acted upon leading to registration of murder cases, but "in Manipur
such FIRs are not accepted at the police station, no investigation is done and
no disciplinary action is taken".


INTERNATIONAL / Miscellaneous

=======================================
8. MADHAVAN PALAT’S ESSAY ON ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN
=======================================
In the well-established tradition of the Russian intelligentsia, Solzhenitsyn
reflected on Russia’s past, her relation with the West, and the crisis of
modern civilization; but he departed from that tradition in significant ways.
http://www.sacw.net/article2892.html

=======================================
9. UK: WHOSE ARCHIVE? WHOSE HISTORY? DESTRUCTION OF ARCHIVES AT RUSKIN COLLEGE,
OXFORD
by Hilda Kean
=======================================
(History Workshop Online)
Sign the petition at Care2 now to stop further vandalism:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/120/...

I remember being impressed by the diary of John Ward, a nineteenth century
weaver from Lancashire, who had written daily accounts in a cash-book of the
effects of the cotton famine caused by the American Civil War. There would be
readers who may have thought these entries trivial: ‘A clear frosty day but
now tonight is raining. I have joined the Low Moor Mechanics’ Institute and
Reading-room. It is a penny per week, so I will see a daily paper regular.’i
But the students whom I then taught at Ruskin College (and I) thought otherwise.
These tiny glimpses and traces of a past evoked another world. What added to the
interest were the circumstances by which the diary had been handed down to us.
This possibly unique diary of a working weaver from the 1860s had been retrieved
in 1947 from a heap of rubbish by a labourer who was feeding the furnace at the
Clitheroe destructor. While someone had seen fit to discard it, another, also a
working man, had realised its value. Without the binman’s intervention, the
wider social history community would never have known that the diary – and, of
course, its author – even existed.
http://www.sacw.net/article2897.html

=======================================
10. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
=======================================
Citizens for Justice and Peace & Jamia Millia Islamia

MEMORIAL TO A GENOCIDE - GULBERG GUJARAT 2002-2012

Photo Retrospective
Statistics
Missing Person’s Wall
Acknowledgements
Survivor’s Conversations

OCTOBER 9-13, 2012

M.F. Hussain Art Gallery, jamia millia islamia, New Delhi


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 8 Oct 2012 - No. 2755
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Bangladesh: A Question of Identity (Sushmita S Preetha)
2. Nepal: Truth and memory (Ram Kumar Bhandari)
3. An Appeal to Address the Education Crisis in Sri Lanka - Academics and
scholars
4. Rise of Buddhist Extremism in Sri Lanka and Response of Sri Lankan Muslims
(Raashid Riza)
5. Brief History of India - A secular republic founded on a religious metaphor
(Ashok Mitra)
6. India: Using hate to challenge modernism (Praveen Swami)
7. ‘Islamic science is a creation of Euro-American universities’ - interview
with S Irfan Habib
8. India: Does art have boundaries? (Vatsala Vedantam)

International:
9. USA: What's the Matter With Creationism? (Katha Pollitt)

=======================================
1. BANGLADESH: A QUESTION OF IDENTITY
by Sushmita S Preetha
=======================================
(The Star / The Daily Star, October 05, 2012)

It bewilders me, frustrates me, saddens me, but more than anything, it angers
me. How can it be that in a state that claims to be secular, our minorities are
subjected to such atrocious and malicious acts of violence? Only a few days ago,
violence erupted in Rangamati and nearby areas after a clash between a Bengali
and indigenous student of Rangamati Government College. Systematic attacks were
carried out on the already-oppressed indigenous population of the region, in
plain view of members of law enforcement agencies.

Even before the flames of that fire could die down, thousands of rioters
attacked the Buddhist population in Cox's Bazar, torching and looting Buddhist
temples, innumerable homes and hundreds of years of history in what is now
considered one of the worst cases of communal violence in the country. The
protesters gathered, apparently, to protest a derogatory image of the Quran on
Facebook posted by a Buddhist youth. It was later found that he had been tagged
in the picture by a group called “Insult Islam” and had played no part in
actually posting the picture.

It is beyond me how, in a country that has less than 0.2 percent Facebook users,
a tagged picture can give rise to such irreparable and reprehensible damage to a
community and to the nation as a whole. For argument's sake, let's assume that
the said youth was actually responsible for posting a derogatory image on the
Internet; even then, is there any justification for deliberately targeting and
attacking an entire community -- its history, heritage and people -- over the
imprudent action of one individual?

But that is really a moot point now. From what we know already, it is clear that
the attacks were not spontaneous reactions to an image, but rather actions that
were meticulously planned and executed. Thousands of rioters gathered at night,
chanting anti-Buddhist insults and slogans, with machetes, sticks, iron rods and
tomahawk. They ransacked every home in the Buddhist neighbourhood in Ramu,
leaving the Muslim houses unscathed. The attackers knew exactly who they wanted
to target. They not only demolished the homes of the Buddhists, and along with
that their dreams and any sense of security, but they also ruthlessly violated
the Buddhist's scared place of worship: their monasteries and temples. They set
fire to pagodas, statues and scriptures, effectively destroying the communal
harmony that has existed for years between Buddhists and Muslims.

We hear they arrived in trucks, hundreds and hundreds of them, and carried out
the attacks in the dead of night. The police just stood back and watched; there
was nothing we could do, they say, with only 10-12 personnel on duty that night,
to stop 10,000 angry people. We asked them to stop, but they didn't listen, they
meekly offer as an excuse -- the same force that, in a different time and place,
wouldn't think twice before attacking, with batons and tear gas, peaceful
protesters demanding justice or an end to price hikes of electricity.

In Rangamati, too, the law enforcement agencies did very little to control the
damages caused to the indigenous communities. Their inaction was so blatantly
visible that even the government couldn't deny it. Rashed Khan Menon, MP and
chair of the parliamentary caucus on indigenous affairs, even admitted that
security forces, “especially the army, were linked with this.” Not a
surprising revelation, of course, to those aware of the long history of
oppression in the Hill Tracts region; over the years, the army has played an
instrumental role in establishing the hegemony of Bengalis in the region,
actively engaging in land grabbing, torture and killings of indigenous people
and rape and harassment of their women.

Does it matter which party is in power? To some extent, it does. After all, the
two parties' philosophies regarding minorities vary greatly -- at least as far
as public discourses are concerned. One of them has close links with groups that
foster communal mistrust and religious fundamentalism; the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) clearly privileges Islam over secularism in its
conceptualisation of Bangladeshi nationalism. However, it would be simplistic to
assume that the Awami League (AL) always has the best interests of minorities in
mind. After all, both the parties have used minorities for their own political
agendas, albeit in different ways and in different degrees. State-sanctioned
violence in the Hill Tracts has occurred under both regimes, as have systematic
persecution of Hindus, especially in regards to vested properties.

Marginalisation and manipulation of our minorities are neither new concepts nor
recent practices. We might have had secularism as one of the pillars of the
Constitution, but even Bangabandhu himself made considerable concessions to
safeguard the interests of the majority at substantial cost to our minorities.
The two military dictators, General Ziaur Rahman and General H.M. Ershad further
solidified this practice of using Islam to legitimise their positions in power,
and thus began a gradual but consistent process of de-secularisation in
Bangladesh. Secularism was dropped by Zia from the Constitution, to be replaced
by the words, “Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the
basis of all action.” Ershad declared Islam as the state religion during his
regime.

Even the mouth-piece of so-called secular politics, the AL, couldn't quite bring
itself to install secularism as one of the fundamental pillars of the
Constitution when it came to power. Fearing that it would lose the sympathy of
Muslim voters, it agreed to have Islam as the state religion... yes, of a
secular country. The irony is obvious to all, except to those making the
decisions.

Coming back to the present (as if you can ever really separate the past from
it), it is interesting to see how the two parties are approaching the communal
riot. In typical fashion, they are pointing fingers towards each other in their
show of self-righteous indignation! Will there be a fair probe into the matter
and perpetrators brought to justice? Not if history teaches us anything. But it
is imperative that a judicial enquiry be formed immediately before the recent
incidents become yet another pawn in the two parties' electoral campaign.

How difficult can it be to identify the perpetrators, thousands and thousands of
them, if we really put our mind to it? How is it that no one -- Bengalis or
Buddhists in the area alike -- is willing to name the attackers or organisers?
Were there no recognisable faces? Are the local people really so oblivious of
what went on that night, or are they afraid to talk for fear of backlash? What
was the attackers' relationship to people in positions of power? On a broader
level, we must ask ourselves what the implications are of this attack on the
country's quasi-secular status, and how we, as citizens, are complicit in this
process of de-secularisation (and conversely, what we can do to counter it).
These questions must be addressed without delay if we want to retain some shreds
of a secular identity.

[also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2901.html]

=======================================
3. Nepal: Truth and memory
by Ram Kumar Bhandari
=======================================
(Nepali Times, 05 - 11 Oct 2012)

One of the buzzwords of Nepal's prolonged peace process is 'transitional
justice'. But most people, even victims of conflict violence and their
relatives, do not understand exactly what it means.

But after six years, most relatives of victims know they want more than just a
token compensation amount: they want to know the truth, and they want
acknowledgement from the state about why it happened. They are realistic enough
not to expect justice right away.

At a recent conference in India on Asian Sites of Conscience on Transitional
Justice, Nepali participants like me were forced to relive the memories of the
relatives who were killed or disappeared during the conflict. How we can connect
the past to present, and convert memory into action? What happens to a family
that loses a member? How is it different when the relative has been disappeared?
How do people cope with that loss or ambiguity, and move on? How do they feel
when they do not get a response or recognition by the state?

There are many sites in Nepal where citizens were illegally detained,
disappeared, tortured or killed in army barracks, in police custody, in village
squares, school playgrounds, in forests. We have not been able to link past
violence with the sites because in many cases we don't have access to them.

There is no systematic archiving process, and many of the evidence are either
forgotten or being obliterated. The state is in denial mode, and has tried to
push through an ordinance on the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission that would pardon perpetrators, and gloss over their crimes. There is
collusion between the former state and the former rebels because both are now in
the administration.

This is the reason that the government has never made a move to support the
establishment of 'memory places' and to create a space for dialogue not only to
the victims' community, but for general public to respect their legacies.
Cambodia established the Tuol Sleng museum at a lycee in Phnom Penh where
thousands of people were tortured and executed during the Khmer Rouge genocide.
In Bangladesh, a pit where the bodies of massacre victims were dumped in 1971 is
now a small museum.

The objective of identifying historic sites is to locate the places of
detainment, enforced disappearances, and killings, and to create historic
structures that preserve both visual and narrative memorials showing the
suffering of people.

Memorials can speak about the past and show younger generations how such
incidents happened and why they must not be repeated. More important of all,
they keep the issue of truth and justice alive. Once we establish truth and
public memory, society can move further peacefully in a respectful way, with no
sense of revenge.

Reviving public memory and revealing truth automatically generates a certain
moral ground for justice in a post-conflict environment. The continuous denial
of justice and the politics of memory in Nepal have created a vacuum for
truth-seeking and the justice process. Political parties have cynically
manipulated truth and justice, applied it selectively, or have tried to sweep
past crimes under the carpet.

For example, the ruling Maoist party is creating several memorial gates only for
victims of state violence, such memorials do not create peace, tolerance, and
reconciliation and instead glorify violence and politicise the cult of
martyrdom.

On the other hand, the army and police bases that became infamous centres for
detention, torture and executions like the Bhairabnath Battalion on Lazimpat
road, Charali Barracks in Jhapa, the Chisapani Barracks in Bardiya are out of
bounds. Scenes of massacres and terrorism, like Doramba in Ramechhap and Madi in
Chitwan, will have memorials, but erected by one side or the other.

Fortunately, women groups made up of relatives of victims who suffered at the
hands of both sides have got together in many places to create peace memorials,
plant trees, and collect testimonials. Like with a lot of areas in Nepal,
communities have stepped in where the national government has dragged its feet.

The people have forgotten their past enmity and shunned vengeance to work for
truth and reconciliation by remembering. The politicians could learn from them.

Ram Kumar Bhandari, whose father was disappeared in 2001, is a human rights
activist and chair of the National Network of Families of Disappeared and
Missing (NEFAD)

=======================================
3. AN APPEAL TO ADDRESS THE EDUCATION CRISIS IN SRI LANKA
- Academics and scholars
=======================================
(sacw.net - 7 October 2012)

We, as economists, academics and social activists are deeply concerned about the
continuing crisis in the education sector in Sri Lanka. Austerity measures and
attacks on social welfare in many countries have been disenfranchising children
and youth from education as a central avenue for social equity. This has led to
protests and social unrest in many countries across the board.

In decades past, we saw social and human development with free education and
health in Sri Lanka, to be a model worthy of emulation by other countries. But
insurrections, civil war, increasing militarisation and authoritarianism over
the years, have made a deep dent in the democratic structure of society.

Today, in the post war era in Sri Lanka, we look to the country to rebuild its
social foundations that would serve to democratise and further improve the
quality of life for people. Investing in a robust education system, as is well
known, will leave an indelible mark on this rebuilding process.

However, to the contrary, investment in education has been decreasing to where
state expenditure in education is now 1.86% of the GDP; the lowest in South Asia
and one of the lowest in the world. Such drastic declines in state investment
are related to the mounting issues in the education sector in Sri Lanka. This
crisis is compounded by reports of rural school closures, problems in schools
and university entrance exams and the politicisation and militarisation of the
education space. [. . .].

FULL TEXT HERE: http://www.sacw.net/article2900.html

=======================================
4. RISE OF BUDDHIST EXTREMISM IN SRI LANKA AND RESPONSE OF SRI LANKAN MUSLIMS
by Raashid Riza
=======================================
(dbsjeyaraj.com)

The last few months have seen a rapid increase in anti-Muslim sentiment amongst
sections of the political class in Sri Lankan society. The situation has yet to
deteriorate to the extent that the default image of a Sri Lankan Muslim is one
represented by an anti- Sri Lankan or anti-Buddhist element. But the trend that
is developing is truly alarming and surely points towards such an inaccurate
mental image.

The rise of extremist Buddhists in Sri Lanka is truly disturbing and does not
bode well to the sense of national resilience that the government is trying to
foster, at least in its rhetoric.

There is to be a protest march in Colombo today that is supposedly against
‘Islamic Extremism’. The leaflet however, unable to find tangible examples
of Islamic extremism in Sri Lanka, instead highlights international examples.

The leaflet was first tweeted by Groundviews and was then picked up by other
bloggers. The language used in the leaflet is particularly confrontational and
is written in jargon generously peppered with phrases such as ‘enough of being
silent’ as a precursor to the more confrontational language that follows.

The leaflet speaks of numerous instances where it alleges that Islamic extremism
has acted malevolently towards Buddhists and Buddhist holy sites in many parts
of world, including in Burma, Thailand, Afghanistan and even the eastern parts
of Sri Lanka. The leaflet is clearly designed to fuel the ignorance of the
apolitical (usually innocent) Buddhists against the Muslims and is therefore
composed of materials that are innate historical inaccuracies at best and
factually vacuous at worst. It specifically refers to the recent incidents in
the south of Bangladesh where there have been attacks on Buddhists by groups of
Muslims. Of course nowhere is the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims by
Buddhist extremists in adjacent Burma mentioned.

The last paragraph of this leaflet quite explicitly states something on the
lines of; it is time to show that this (Sri Lanka) is a Buddhist country by word
and deed; many have forgotten that this is a Buddhist country, this notion
should be reawakened. Extremists should be struck down as they flee. When cruel
Islamic extremists prey on other innocent Buddhists, and when the entire world
remains silent in the wake of it, it is time that we reawaken our race (Sinhala
Buddhists) to respond to this.

The implications of the call to “reawaken” invoked in this context is
particularly disturbing.

Sri Lankan Muslims have absolutely nothing to do with the alleged crimes against
Buddhists or Buddhist interests in Bangladesh. Similarly Sri Lankan Sinhalese
and Buddhists have absolutely nothing to do with the heinous crimes committed
against the Muslims of Burma.

What these Buddhist extremists seek to achieve for the alleged benefit of their
Buddhist compatriots abroad remains to be seen. For Buddhists who feel that they
are persecuted in other parts of the world, this exercise by minute sections of
the Sri Lankan Buddhist community will be futile. Surely the Buddhist leadership
in Sri Lanka is intelligent enough to grasp this fact. What exactly then does
this exercise seek to achieve? The result of these sorts of protests (yes,
plural, this is to be one of a series of protests) are multiple.

Sinhala – Muslim relations have always been cordial and strong. The current
generation of Sri Lankans cannot easily be buoyed into buying an argument that
Sri Lankan Muslims are a bane on the nation’s social fabric. Buddhism as a
faith has thus far survived the vulture-esque assault by sections of a largely
secular media that paints most religious faiths as violent, something that
protests such as these threaten to undo.

Moreover, Sri Lanka is rebuilding itself as a nation after decades of conflict
that not only curtailed and stunted growth but also damaged it. Creating an
environment that will marginalise Muslims can sow the seeds of future conflict.

Yesterday, the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU), the main decision-making
theological body for Sri Lankan Muslims, released a media communiqué condemning
the attacks on Bangladeshi Buddhists. The wisdom of releasing this communiqué
is certainly questionable.

Whether the ACJU has released statements for similar causes previously is
anybody’s guess. There is no doubt that the body acted in the best interests
of Sri Lankan Muslims and of Sri Lanka as a whole. Yet the timing or indeed
decision to make such an overture seems hasty.

The despicable acts on Bangladeshi Buddhists have absolutely nothing to do with
Sri Lankan Muslims. However, such a press release can create the impression
amongst wider Sri Lankans of a sense of guilt amongst Sri Lankan Muslims when
there is none due to there being no grounds for guilt.

Additionally, the release of such a statement can institutionalise the necessity
to release communiqués almost every time a Buddhist place of worship is
attacked anywhere in the World, thereby creating an undue burden of
responsibility.

Elie Appelbaum of the York University in her research paper Extremism as a
Strategic Tool in Conflicts argues –

“as a country becomes wealthier, more powerful, or more democratic, its level
of extremism decreases, but at the same time, its rival’s level of extremism
increases. Similarly, higher stakes in the conflict tend to increase the level
of extremism in the relatively poorer, weaker, and less democratic country, but
decrease the level of extremism in the other country. The countries can use
extremism as a strategic tool in the conflict. The use of extremism is a
double-edged sword: extremism provides a credible threat, but it also involves a
risk. Similarly, when the countries are sufficiently asymmetric, higher stakes
in the conflict tend to increase extremism in the country that is relatively
poorer, weaker, or less democratic.”

Now, replace the word ‘countries’ with ‘communities’ in the paragraph
above, and see how it reads. The roots of extremism rest in vested interests of
various interest groups as much as it does on the absence of law & order and the
socio-economic state of the parties in conflict. The Sri Lankan economy at the
grassroots is in turmoil and the Sinhalese community, as the larger ethnic
group, is the most affected.

An economically weak nation with near bankrupt sections of the public can foster
groups that are represented by intellectually bankrupt individuals who posture
as leaders at a local or national level patriotism for their ends. As Samuel
Johnson wrote, “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”. One only
need observe a group of scoundrels against a group of self-confessed patriots to
realise that there is too often much in common.

The 1915 riots are commonly known as the ‘Sinhala – Muslim’ riots, not by
the name of individuals. The way in which the Sri Lankan Muslims react now will
determine how history will testify for or against them. In the future, no matter
what the political situation in Sri Lanka, the Muslim community will continue to
exist in every strata of society.

Muslims in Sri Lanka are living in politically perilous times; they reside
amongst a largely accommodative Sinhalese and Tamil population, apart from the
odd elements that opportunistically seeks to whip up racial tensions. In the
short term the Muslims should act prudently and actively within the framework of
Sri Lankan law. They would do well to deal indifferently towards bankrupt
extremism and not dignify it by seeking to confront it, except with a pragmatism
that respects legal and constitutional norms.

In the long term they should be conscious that Sri Lankan Muslims are more
tangible as a constituent element of Sri Lankan nationhood than a transient
Buddhist extremism. The latter not only misrepresents Sri Lankan Buddhists at
large but is against a unified vision of Sri Lankan nationhood

SEE ALSO:

Bangladesh embassy stoned during monks' protest
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\10\05\story_5-10-2012_pg14_6

=======================================
5. BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIA - A SECULAR REPUBLIC FOUNDED ON A RELIGIOUS METAPHOR
by Ashok Mitra
=======================================
http://www.sacw.net/article2903.html

Should the culpability for the original sin be pinned exclusively on Mahatma
Gandhi? He, of course, chose the easy way out and used the religious metaphor to
rouse the passion of millions of patently listless countrymen afflicted by the
pangs of hunger and sunk in the deepest morass of ignorance: Ye and all please
do gather the courage to join me, we shall together remove the foreign yoke.
Once that task was accomplished, the bliss of Ram rajya was bound to descend on
us. The concept of Ram rajya was, however, integral to the Hindu ethos. It was
impossible to convince a starving, illiterate peasant that a Ram rajya was only
an allegory or that it could function in a vacuum, without dependence on the
fervour of Hinduism. A Muslim peasant, equally illiterate and equally suffering
from the blight of hunger and malnutrition, could not but feel somewhat left out
from the ambiance of Ram rajya.

Muslim leaders associating with the Indian National Congress during its early
days, such as the Ali brothers or Dr Ansari, must have felt disturbed over the
matter. For whatever reason, they chose to be polite, at least initially. There
was one exception amongst them though, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Not that Jinnah was
not a liberal-minded gentleman with a catholicity of taste, including a weakness
for ham sandwich in his spare hours. But his more pertinent identity was that of
a practising politician and a leader of the Muslim community. Muslims, he was
adamant in his assertion, could have no locus standi in Gandhi’s Ram rajya.
The battle was joined; India’s political fate was also sealed at that fairly
early juncture.

Before sending Mahatma Gandhi to, so to speak, the gallows, should we not
consider the curious case of the first contingent of Bengali terrorists at the
dawn of the last century? Was their culpability for the juxtaposition of
political and religious issues any less? Both individual forays and action
through collective ventures were the preferred modus operandi of these idealists
in their war against foreign rulers. Before proceeding on a secret operation, it
was obligatory for them to observe a standard ritual. They would seek the
blessings of the goddess, Kali, and, at the same time, swear by the Gita or read
evocative passages from Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Anandamath.

This is no hearsay or lazy anecdote. Memoirs written in their later days by
several of these revolutionaries meticulously describe the routine they
followed. Quite a few scholars regard the Gita to be a breathtaking compendium
of cynicism, lack of scruples and obiter dicta at high places. Maybe that
controversy deserves to be shelved. Even so, the close association of this tract
with Hindu religious practices can hardly be wished away. The preachings strewn
across the Gita do not also quite convey anything approaching the grace and
grandeur embedded in the Upanishads or the Vedas. Anyway, the choice of
Anandamath, too, as an object of reverence by these dedicated groups of
revolutionary youth plotting a fiery uprising against the British appears to be
altogether odd. The message this historical fiction attempts to put across is
that the British had arrived in India to deliver the Hindus from the tyrannical
rule of the detestable Muslims; it was the sacred duty of all Hindus to welcome
with open arms the benign foreigners from European shores.

No question the Gita and Anandamath-loving crowd of revolution-mongers exercised
a major influence on the radical wing of the fledgling Indian National Congress
in the opening decades of the 20th century. Call it misjudgment, or invest it
with a more distilled epithet, some strange alchemy was the end-product. The
ideological position of the Congress on the issue of secularism acquired a
fuzziness that was never shaken off subsequently. World War II ended, British
imperial power ebbed, the Congress leaders were itching to occupy the seats of
power.

The British would agree to transfer power only if the terms arrived at via
negotiations were satisfactory to the representatives of the minority community.
Rather than share power with the cantankerous, constantly bickering Jinnah, both
Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel preferred to accept the proposal of a
truncated India. It was decided to divide the country along communal lines with
a major chunk going out of the main corpus towards the dominion of Pakistan.

It is little use quibbling over spilt milk. Whether the Congress bosses should
not have agreed to a constitutional arrangement, which, despite the presence of
stipulations easily exploitable by troublemaking politicians, maintained the
integrity of the country and adhered to secularism, is now an academic issue of
zero practical significance. What is interesting though is that, while
surrendering on the question of secular ideology during the pre- Independence
parlays, those heading the new regime in New Delhi were nonetheless determined
to build India as a republic secular to the core, where religiosity will have no
place in governance.

With no Muslim League henceforth to interrupt the agenda, and the horrifying
holocaust accompanying the Partition over, it was now daybreak for an
independent India that would spell secularism. The new Constitution declared,
with great éclat, the country to be a secular republic. What mattered, though,
was the empirical correlate of the declaration. Under a secular dispensation,
the State, one would have thought, will be totally indifferent to, and
maintaining an equal distance from, all religions. What eventuated was nothing
of the sort. The nation’s new leaders, with the prime minister donning the
principal role, interpreted secularism to mean maintenance of equal proximity
with each and every religion. The vibe went out that the State was not
indifferent to religiosity; on the contrary, it reveres all religions and will
protect the prerogative of a citizen to practise whatever religious faith he or
she opts for. Jawaharlal Nehru put the seal of formal recognition on this
meaning of secularism by constant rounds of temple-hopping, dutifully followed
by constant hoppings of mosques, dargas, gurdwaras, churches, synagogues, et al.

Each of his descendants who have occupied the prime ministerial office has
scrupulously copied the ritual. A number of developments, gestures and
counter-gestures became part of a natural sequence, such as subsidy for the
Amarnath trekkers being balanced by air-freighting haj pilgrims at the State’s
cost. India, the hoity-toity secular republic, was rapidly transformed into a
State that cares for, and encouraged, religious practices. Problems, however,
did not disappear; in fact, they multiplied. Given the numerical preponderance
of Hindus, temple-hopping by ministers got etched in the national consciousness,
hopping of other ecclesiastical arenas did not have the same impact. Equally
ominous was the introduction of out-and-out Hindu rituals like bhoomi puja and
the breaking of a coconut as compulsory elements of official ceremonies. In this
climate, it was child’s play for Hindu fundamentalists to appropriate the
concept of Ram rajya for furthering their specific objective. They are now
claiming, never mind Gandhi, to have established a Ram rajya in Gujarat, which
has the stamp of religious intolerance all over.

It did not take long for the Great Indian Consensus to take shape. Rail against
everything else under the sun, but for dear life stay away from attacking the
institution of religion. India is a secular republic, but only in a special
sense is it ‘religious-secular’. Everybody fell in line. Just look at the
plight of the Left, which had started its innings with impeccable anti-sectarian
credentials. There have been two states where it has wielded substantial
influence. In Kerala, it had long fought blatantly communal formations
entrenched in positions of privilege, but ultimately had to enter into an
understanding with some of the same species it had so consistently opposed. In
West Bengal, it was worse. A public holiday had to be declared by the Left Front
regime on a date on which the world, according to a prediction published in a
Hindu almanac, would come to an end. Small wonder that the Left came round to
advocating ‘reservations’ in different spheres for disadvantaged sections of
the minority community.

Once the belief gained ground that the State was the protector and defender of
religious privileges, sectarian forces could not be blamed too much for thinking
their kingdom had arrived. From the theme of ensuring religious rights to that
of protecting caste interests is a very short interval to cover. Therefore, it
is pointless to castigate the short-lived V.P. Singh regime or the Mandal
Commission for the reservation mayhem that has been the dominating theme of
India for the past couple of decades alongside economic liberalization. After
all, for overwhelming numbers in different parts of the country, the identity of
caste is no less important than the religion one belongs to; just check with a
Yadav in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.

On the theoretical plane, reservation can claim to cover anything and
everything, including the list of the top 100 successful candidates in the All
India Civil Service examination or that of the judges constituting the Supreme
Court of India. It can be a ruthless means of conserving and extending the
interests of any group that feels, or claims to feel, vulnerable.

Such is for now, in a nutshell, the story of post-Independent India.

[Also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2903.html]

=======================================
6. INDIA: USING HATE TO CHALLENGE MODERNISM
by Praveen Swami
=======================================
(The Hindu, October 6, 2012)

The recent violence over an anti-Islam film is part of a wider clash with the
idea of the modern republic

Last month, two men stood on a Mumbai sidewalk, holding up posters to a furious
mob that was demanding a ban on a movie said to have blasphemed against the
Prophet. The counter-protesters’ hand-written placards had some simple advice:
“Don’t watch it”. For their pains, the men were threatened and then
roughed up.

Familiar with the story? Probably not. The counter-protesters go by the name of
Dileep D’Souza and Naresh Fernandes. The protesters were pious Bandra boys —
not the Kalashnikov-waving Muslims who have ably helped television stations rake
it in these past weeks. The film in question was Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, a
Bollywood flop that appalled the faithful because, according to the Vatican news
agency Agenzia Fides, “a priest is portrayed as a lottery maniac”. The
church withdrew its objections after cuts were made; to no one’s surprise, the
Mumbai Police hasn’t been falling over itself to prosecute the assailants.

Breakdown

India’s outrage industry has had a busy few weeks. The Shiromani Gurdwara
Prabandhak Committee has threatened to seek a ban on Harry Potter author J.K.
Rowling’s new book, which includes “a hairy man-woman” Sikh character.
Hindu priest Rajan Zed, tireless in his pursuit of publicity, has held out dark
warnings about Kevin Lima’s forthcoming Mumbai Musical, which tells the
Ramayana from the point of view of monkeys.

Large swathes of tropical forest have been expended, in recent weeks, to
printing commentary seeking to explain “Muslim rage” — the wave of anger
that is purported to have gripped believers from North Africa to Indonesia,
because of the release of the crude anti-Islam film, The Innocence of Muslims.

From an Indian optic, as this autumn’s epidemic outbreak of clerical madness
demonstrates, it is far from clear that the problem is centred around either
Muslims or rage. There is a far larger crisis unfolding in what used to be
called the Third World, a breakdown of the modernist project that has empowered
a variety of politics based around narrow ethnic and religious identities.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of “Muslim rage” is the absence of
evidence that it exists; that is, as a force that shapes the political actions
of believers, as opposed to a propagandistic tool useful to Islamic
neoconservatives, anti-Islam bigots and confused liberals alike. The Innocence
mobilisation was propelled, in each case, by reactionary politics, not
spontaneous outrage. In Egypt, competition between establishmentarian and
revolutionary Islamists, combined with anti-police hooliganism, fanned the
riots; in Libya, warlords sought religious legitimacy; in Pakistan, the vanguard
was made up of jihadists backed by the military establishment to undermine the
civilian order. The bulk of the 23 people reported killed in Pakistan died at
the hands of riot police; their targets in Karachi included liquor stores.

Yet, the Innocence violence is hardly exceptional. Ethnic and religious
conflicts routinely claim a far larger toll of lives on a regular basis: Sri
Lanka’s Buddhist chauvinists, Indian Hindutva groups, and African ethnic
groups all have records rivalling the Islamists. Many of these movements have
been as successful as the Islamists in transcending geography. The malaise
cannot therefore be seen as something intrinsic to what is carelessly called
“the Muslim world”; there are larger forces at work here.

In 2002, the British Marxist, Kenan Malik, shocked many with this proposition:
“all cultures are not equal”. The real crisis flagged by 9/11, he argued,
was not the rise of religious fundamentalism; it was instead growing liberal
pessimism about the prospect of a better world. Mr. Malik argued that
“scientific method, democratic politics, the concept of universal values —
these are palpably better concepts than those that existed previously, or those
that exist now in other political and cultural traditions”. These ideas, he
went on, were “western”— but emerged there not “because Europeans are a
superior people, but because out of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the
scientific revolution flowed superior ideas.”

Post-colonial radicals of an earlier generation would, more likely than not,
have been entirely comfortable with this argument. The radical C.L.R. James, Mr.
Malik noted, condemned imperialism, but applauded “the learning and profound
discoveries of [the] western civilisation.”

Frantz Fanon, despite his trenchant criticism of colonialism, conceded that
“the elements of a solution to the great problems of humanity have, at
different times, existed in European thought”.

Precisely these emancipatory ideas guided the great tide of change that swept
nationalists to power across the world in the middle of the last century. In a
magnificent speech now available online, Egypt’s former President Gamal Abdel
Nasser recalled that the Muslim Brotherhood had offered peace in 1953 — if
only the government made women wear the tarha, or headscarf. Nasser’s audience
laughed uproariously at what then seemed surreal; “let him wear one”, a man
shouted.

Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, the wife of the Kashmiri politician, Sheikh Muhammad
Abdullah, urged women to leave purdah; her successors, like the People’s
Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti, cannot but seem to endorse it.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s atheism; Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s savage attacks on caste:
these are almost inconceivable for a modern Indian politician.

No great insight is needed into why this retreat came apart — and the
religious right became resurgent. Post-colonial societies have been through an
extraordinary ripping-apart of their cultural fabric over the past century and
more. “English steam and English free trade,” as Karl Marx noted in his now
unfashionable but remarkable 1853 essay on colonial India, had produced a social
revolution; post-colonial industrialisation and neoliberalism have accentuated
it. In the context of countries like Egypt, Libya and Pakistan,
authoritarianism, and its opportunistic alliances with religion, further
de-legitimised the secular-nationalist project.

Large doses of metropolitan liberalism, as well as establishmentarian
politicians, have confused the inequities of capitalism with the modernist
project itself — thus legitimising, as scholars like Meera Nanda have pointed
out, the worst kinds of political reaction which emerged out of the
post-colonial crisis. Instead of building a political vocabulary based on
citizenship, the republic degenerated into a series of political claims based on
identity. Not giving offence to these identities was valorised as a means of
engaging with the tide of hate washing across India. The defenders of M.F.
Husain, for example, were compelled to argue that his paintings were deeply
respectful of the Hindu tradition — not that he was entitled to offend who he
chose.

Veto over intellectual life

Ever since the 1970s, Indian ethnic and religious reactionaries have thus come
to enjoy a veto over India’s intellectual life. The Hindu’s Hasan Suroor has
ably documented the huge volume of literature and knowledge, from Aubrey
Menen’s Ramayana to James Laine’s Shivaji or the anonymously-authored
al-Furqan al-Haqq. It is hard to imagine that a mainstream press would today
publish a popular version of D.N. Jha’s work on beef-eating in Vedic India, or
Maxime Rodinson’s speculations on the roots of prophetic revelation in
epileptic disorders. Each of these acts of censorship represents an act of
assault on critical inquiry.

The triumph of this vicious anti-politics has been to comprehensively shape our
political imagination and language. There are closer affinities between the
upmarket metropolitan liberals who coo over handicrafts and the aesthetic world
of the communal terrorist than we care to acknowledge.

Lucius Seneca, the great stoic philosopher and statesman, spoke of the perils of
the poisonous culture we find ourselves mired in. He pointed, wryly, to a
populace which, “defending its own iniquity, pits itself against reason”.
The relentless march of unreason, he went on, meant “a mistake that has been
passed on from hand to hand finally involves us and works our destruction. It is
the example of other people that is our undoing”.

India desperately needs a new modernist project — not the backward-looking
search for authenticity which has so impoverished our public life. This ought to
be the real lesson of the Innocence riots, though such reflection is improbable;
there have been no shortage of opportunities to awake, and none of those was
heeded.

[also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2904.html]

=======================================
7. ‘ISLAMIC SCIENCE IS A CREATION OF EURO-AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES’ - INTERVIEW
WITH S IRFAN HABIB
=======================================
(Tehelka, Vol 9, Issue 41, Dated 13 Oct 2012)

Q&A S Irfan Habib, Historian/Author

‘Islamic science is a creation of Euro-American universities’

THERE WAS a time when the Islamic world was at the forefront of scientific ideas
and discoveries. Today, the narrative has been turned around to cast the
religion as a hindrance to modernisation and free thought. In his new book Jihad
or Ijtihad, historian of science S Irfan Habib, 59, examines the uncomfortable
relationship between Islam and science. He tells Kunal Majumder why the two must
co-exist.

Jihad Or Ijtihad
S Irfan Habib
HarperCollins
200 pp; Rs 299

EDITED EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW

Your book talks specifically about Islamic science. What made you choose the
subject?
The book is a critique of ‘Islamic science’, which I find an exclusivist and
essentialist project. There are people in the Euro-American universities who are
trying to project a category called Islamic Science, which according to them, is
a counter to Eurocentrism. Science, unfortunately, spread into the non-European
world as part of the colonial baggage. For example, in India or South Asia, it
came as part of the colonial empire.

You talk about how Greek knowledge spread worldwide through Islamic
translations. Wasn’t the Islamic world carrying colonial baggage then?
I have built this background to talk about the essentialisation of science that
is taking place today. Philosopher Seyyid Hossein Nasr actually came up with it
in 1968-69. It didn’t pick up that much, but after the Islamic Revolution of
1979 in Iran, there was a sudden surge in the Islamic world. People felt this
revolution would change things. In India, for example, parties like Jamaat-e-
Islami were enthused by Ayatollah Khomeini’s call for Islamisation, though he
stood for Shia Islam. They saw it as something that will change the Islamic
world, however, it just ended up as a challenge to the longstanding Saudi
control.

‘Ijtihad’ is free thinking. But free thinking must also be extended to
politics and society. Isn’t it then detrimental to autocratic regimes like
Saudi Arabia and Iran?
Of course, it is. That is why they want to control. Ijtihad is a challenge to
taqleed or tradition. These are actually binaries. Ijtihad was not switched off
suddenly. It took about two centuries before it was marginalised in Islam. And
it was not only marginalised in the realm of science; it was marginalised in the
realm of fiq or jurisprudence of Islamic intellectual realm, and replaced by
taqleed. The cleric stronghold suddenly came up. Islam didn’t come into this
world with any mosque or clerics commanding any special position. There was a
book and there was Hadith (teachings of the Prophet). People were asked to read
them and follow Islam. It remained like this for 150-200 years. Lots of things
happened in the Islamic history after this.

Is the post 9/11 turmoil in the Islamic world a part of the conflict between
religion and science?
To some extent, yes. This whole control of Wahhabism started in late 18th
century. Saudis had their influence, but for the past 25-30 years, Saudi money
and power have been used consciously to spread medieval Islam into all parts of
the world. They have succeeded in propagating this monstrous phase to an extent
that any deviation from this is seen as deviation from Islam.

What about Iran? While on the one hand, many women study in Iranian
universities, on the other, some cannot leave house without male relatives.
Persian and Arab are two different traditions. There has been a conflict between
them as they’ve had a totally different approach towards culture, life and
world. Before 1979, Persian tradition was always strong in sciences, mathematics
and physics. Now if you come in with repressive regimes or measures, you can put
in some controls but that tradition cannot die. It has to continue, and it is
continuing. There are large numbers of people who have migrated to Europe and
America, many scientists, who were critical of this regime. There are about 67
percent women in Iranian universities, much more than men. This is a positive
sign. This is also the difference between the Arabs and the Persian world. Both
have restrictions, but still there is a difference. Persian women have access to
universities, to modern subjects, sciences as well as social sciences.

Kunal Majumder is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka.

[also at: http://www.sacw.net/article2905.html]

=======================================
8. INDIA: DOES ART HAVE BOUNDARIES?
by Vatsala Vedantam
=======================================
(Deccan Herald, Oct 7, 2012)
If one state cannot tolerate persons from another, this country is far from
becoming a “melting pot”.

Newspapers have carried two interesting stories and viewpoints recently. The
first one comes from a far away country. It tells us that the Norwegian prime
minister has appointed a Muslim woman from Pakistan as the new minister for
Culture in Norway. The second one is nearer home and talks about eminent Kannada
writers opposing a memorial for India’s one and only R K Narayan because he is
not a Kannadiga.

While the first story conveys a deep sense of inclusiveness at a time when
communal passions are riding high in the world, the second leaves us stunned by
its narrow conviction that a writer who wrote in English has no place in the
city that he loved and immortalised.

Read Mysore for Malgudi, and RKN immediately becomes a more loyal Kannadiga than
anyone else. If the Town Hall, the Market place, Lawley Extension, the Sarayu
river and the Memphi forest are not quintessential Mysore, what else are his
novels all about?

To disown their creator would be disowning our own Kannada way of life.

Yes. R K Narayan was a Tamilian by birth who made English language his own. But
so were Kannada’a greatest playwright, T P Kailasam, novelist Masti Venkatesha
Iyengar, poets G P Rajaratnam and and P T Narasimhachar and many others who
spoke in Tamil, studied in English and wrote in Kannada.

Why, our most renowned Kannada intellectuals like A N Moorthy Rao and L S
Seshagiri Rao cut their teeth on English literature which they studied and
taught before branching into Kannada writing. Moorthy Rao used to humourously
describe Mysore in the 1930s, when there was a wave of Kannada revival in that
city, with agitators shouting in English “Please speak in Kannada only!”

Not outsiders

When we see the number of Tamilians, Malayalis, Bengalis, Maharashtrians and
Telegu speaking people in Karnataka, who have made significant contributions in
various fields, who are ‘we’ to call them ‘outsiders’ or to deny them
honours? If Raja Ramanna spoke in Tamil, studied in English and went on to
become an international scientist in nuclear physics, have we not proudly
claimed his achievements as ‘ours?’

Our best scientific institution was established by a Parsi. Our popular dance
and music genres originated in Andhra and Tamil Nadu. Some of our literary gems
were written in English.

The poet, essayist and translator AK Ramanujan who was a Tamilian born in
Mysore, majored in English and migrated to America at the age of 30, where he
lived and died, after an illustrious career as a scholar in Tamil, Telegu,
Sanskrit and English. He is still revered as a son of Karnataka. Shall we deny
them all honours when the world has recognised their genius?

Why, the first Kannada-English dictionary was produced in 1894 by a Christian
missionary, Rev Kittel.  He was a scholar in Kannada who dedicated his life to
studying Kannada literature, art and customs.

Should we obliterate his memory because he was a “foreigner”?  Or, throw
away a painter of the staure of Yusuf Arrakkal because he is Malayali/Muslim?
Our narrow boundaries have to give way to “boundlessness” if we desire our
state to progress.

If one state cannot tolerate persons coming from another state in India, this
country is far from becoming a “melting pot” like America where so many
immigrants from so many countries and cultures have all come together to live in
harmony.

When we consider the flow of people long ago from England, Ireland  and other
European countries who came to the two Americas in search of a living  – added
to the more recent rush of educated immigrants from Asian countries -  we may as
well ask where are the original inhabitants of those great continents?

The native American Indian has become a small minority in his own land which has
absorbed and assimilated so many languages, dialects and cultures. The Nobel
Laureate Chandrashekar did not go unrecognised in the country of his adoption
just because he was born in India.

Sweden gave him the highest scientific award, while America showered honours on
him. Similarly, the mathematical genius of Ramanujan went unrecognised in his
own country but hailed by mathematical societies world wide as a scientific
marvel.

So, let us not grudge or deny recognition to an eminent writer simply because he
was born in another state. On the other hand, we can prevail on our state
government to award similar honours on Kannada writers and artists of eminence.
We have had such abundance of talent, now and in the past.

Whether it is our rashtrakavi Kuvempu, theatre wizard Gubbi Veeranna, film maker
Puttanna Kanagal, legendary sculptor Jakanacharya or even the 12th century
mystic poet Akka Mahadevi – the state should feel proud to preserve and honour
the rich heritage they have left behind.

We must also learn to view all creative artists and geniuses through ‘a
different mirror.’ Art has no boundaries or walls. It is a bridge where
everyone should feel free to walk cross.

[also available at:
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/does-art-have-boundaries-kannada.html ]

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
9. USA: WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH CREATIONISM?
by Katha Pollitt
=======================================

(The Nation, July 2-9, 2012)
 
Do you know what the worst thing about the recent Gallup poll on evolution is?
It isn’t that 46 percent of respondents are creationists (“God created human
beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last ten
thousand years or so”). Or that 32 percent believe in “theistic evolution”
(“Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms
of life, but God guided this process”). Or that only 15 percent said humans
evolved and “God had no part in this process.” It isn’t even that the
percentage of Americans with creationist views has barely budged since 1982,
when it was 44 percent, with a small rise in the no-God vote (up from 9 percent)
coming at the expense of the divine-help position (down from 38 percent). Or
that 58 percent of Republicans are creationists, although that does explain a
lot.

It’s that the proportion of college graduates who are creationists is exactly
the same as for the general public. That’s right: 46 percent of Americans with
sixteen long years of education under their belt believe the story of Adam and
Eve is literally true. Even 25 percent of Americans with graduate degrees
believe dinosaurs and humans romped together before Noah’s flood. Needless to
say, this remarkable demonstration of educational failure attracts little
attention from those who call for improving our schools.

My brilliant husband, a sociologist and political theorist, refuses to get upset
about the poll. It’s quite annoying, actually. He thinks questions like these
primarily elicit affirmations of identity, not literal convictions; declaring
your belief in creationism is another way of saying you’re a good Christian.
That does rather beg the question of what a good Christian is, and why so many
think it means refusing to use the brains God gave you. And yes, as you may have
suspected, according to the Pew Research Center, evangelicals are far more
likely than those of other faiths to hold creationist views; just 24 percent of
them believe in evolution. Mormons come in even lower, at 22 percent, although
official church doctrine has no problem with evolution.

Why does it matter that almost half the country rejects the overwhelming
evidence of evolution, with or without the hand of God? After all, Americans are
famously ignorant of many things—like where Iran is or when World War II took
place—and we are still here. One reason is that rejecting evolution expresses
more than an inability to think critically; it relies on a fundamentally
paranoid worldview. Think what the world would have to be like for evolution to
be false. Almost every scientist on earth would have to be engaged in a fraud so
complex and extensive it involved every field from archaeology, paleontology,
geology and genetics to biology, chemistry and physics. And yet this massive
concatenation of lies and delusion is so full of obvious holes that a pastor
with a Bible-college degree or a homeschooling parent with no degree at all can
see right through it. A flute discovered in southern Germany is 43,000 years
old? Not bloody likely. It’s probably some old bone left over from an ancient
barbecue. To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Creation Museum in Petersburg,
Kentucky, has installed a holographic exhibit of Lucy, the famous proto-human
fossil, showing how she was really just a few-thousand-year-old ape after all.

Patricia Princehouse, director of the evolutionary biology program at Case
Western Reserve University, laughed when I suggested to her that the Gallup
survey shows that education doesn’t work. “There isn’t much evolution
education in the schools,” she told me. “Most have no more than a lesson or
two, and it isn’t presented as connected with the rest of biology.” In fact,
students may not even get that much exposure. Nationally, Princehouse said, at
least 13 percent of biology teachers teach “young earth” creationism (not
just humans but the earth itself is only 10,000 years old or thereabouts),
despite laws forbidding it, and some 60 percent teach a watered-down version of
evolution. They have to get along with their neighbors, after all. In Tennessee,
home of the Scopes trial, a new law actually makes teaching creationism legal.
“No one takes them to court,” Princehouse told me, “because creationism is
so popular. Those who object are isolated and afraid of reprisals.” People
tend to forget that Clarence Darrow lost the Scopes trial; until the Supreme
Court ruled otherwise in 1968, it was illegal to teach evolution in public
schools in about half a dozen states.

Kenneth Miller, a biology professor at Brown University and practicing Catholic
who is a leading voice against creationism, agrees with Princehouse. “Science
education has been remarkably ineffective,” he told me. “Those of us in the
scientific community who are religious have a tremendous amount of work to do in
the faith community.” Why bother? “There’s a potential for great harm when
nearly half the population rejects the central organizing principle of the
biological sciences. It’s useful for us as a species to understand that we are
a recent appearance on this planet and that 99.9 percent of all species that
have ever existed have gone extinct.” Evangelical parents may care less that
their children learn science than that they avoid going to hell, but Miller
points out that many of the major challenges facing the nation—and the
world—are scientific in nature: climate change and energy policy, for
instance. “To have a near majority essentially rejecting the scientific method
is very troubling,” he says. And to have solidly grounded science waved away
as political and theological propaganda could not come at a worse time.
“Sea-level rise” is a “left-wing term,” said Virginia state legislator
Chris Stolle, a Republican, successfully urging its replacement in a
state-commissioned study by the expression “recurrent flooding.”

The group Answers in Genesis, which runs the Creation Museum, has plans to build
a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark as part of its Ark Encounter theme park. If
that “recurrent flooding” really gets going, you may wish you’d booked a
cabin.
Katha Pollitt
June 14, 2012


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 11 Oct 2012 - No. 2756
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Afghanistan: Violence stalks women workers in Afghanistan (Amie
Ferris-Rotman)
2. Afghanistan: The Long, Hard Road to the 2014 Transition (International Crisis
Group)
3. Bangladesh: the forgotten template of 20th century war (Gita Sahgal)
4. Bangladesh: Weapon Producer Concerned About Food Insecurity In Bangladesh?
by Farida Akhter
5. Myanmar’s Rohingya Face “Permanent Segregation”, Activists Warn (Carey
L. Biron)
6. Sri Lanka: Assault on Judiciary - statements by Friday Forum and by ICJ
7. India: Appratchiks of National Commission of Women Forced to Reopen the Soni
Sori Case
8. India: Future Perspectives for the Mainstream Indian Left (Achin Vanaik)
9. India: Our Linus Blanket - Fear of the foreigner is what helps the
nation-state survive (Shiv Visvanathan)
10. 10. Tribute: Between Clio And Party - Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012) (Rudrangshu
Mukherjee)
11. Recent content on Communalism Watch:
- When is forgiveness right? by Martha Nussbaum
- Maharashtra: Ekal Eklavya Schools run by Hindu Right Vishwa Hindu Parishad are
mushrooming
- Bihar Police: United in khaki, divided by caste barracks
- Jain temple builders Vs Archaeological Survey of India
International:
12. Honour The Dissenters (Marieme Helie Lucas)
13. After Pussy riot trial, Russia moves to criminalise religious insults
(Grigorii Tumanov, Alexander Chernikh, Pavel Korobov)
14. Egypt women face uncertain future as constitution draws near (Manar Ammar
with Joseph Mayton)
15. South Africa: Wildcat strike wave (sept-oct 2012) despite gate keepers of
the labour movement - analysis and reports (LNSA mailing list)

=======================================
1. AFGHANISTAN: VIOLENCE STALKS WOMEN WORKERS IN AFGHANISTAN
by Amie Ferris-Rotman
=======================================
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/29/afghanistan-women-security-idINDEE88S03\
\
F20120929
KABUL | Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:22pm IST
(Reuters) - Muzhgan Masoomi's attacker stabbed her 14 times with a thick blade
used to slaughter animals, tearing wide gashes in her flesh before leaving the
government worker for dead on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.

With a severe limp and no control over her bladder - caused by the blade
scraping her spinal cord - the 22-year-old can no longer work at the Ministry of
Public Works, where she was a financial assistant before the assault.

Women who pursue careers in ultra-conservative Afghanistan often face opposition
in a society where often they are ostracised - or worse, brutalised - for mixing
with men other than husbands or relatives.

Despite commitments to better the rights of women 11 years into the NATO-led
war, some say the authorities need to do more to prevent violence against women
who work, particularly in government roles.

There are now fears that as the 2014 deadline looms for most foreign troops to
leave, opportunities for women in the public sphere could shrink as confidence
weakens in the face of continuing violence.

"I have no enemies, no links to gangs, and look what has happened to me. The
situation for women in this country is getting worse day by day," Masoomi told
Reuters in her brightly lit home, a few minutes' walk from where she was
stabbed.

Shaking her long black ponytail, Masoomi said of her assailant: "He didn't like
women working out of the house". He threatened her with menacing phone calls and
text messages in the months leading up to the attack.

Her parents said the attacker, a relative who worked as a policeman, was now
behind bars over the stabbing.

The security concerns of male government workers are taken more seriously than
those of women, said Colonel Sayed Omar Saboor, deputy director for gender and
human rights at the Interior Ministry.

"Women who work are much bigger targets than men and the government needs to
acknowledge this," Saboor said.

How well female government workers are protected was called into question in
July when a suicide bomber targeted and killed Hanifa Safi, regional head of
women's affairs in eastern Laghman province.

Authorities ignored repeated requests for protection, her family said
afterwards. Laghman officials declined to comment.

"She was so worried about her future. The only time someone in the police even
addressed the issue of her security was once the Taliban had killed her," said
her son, Mohammad Tabriz Safi, 30.

NO SUPPORT

Officially the government must provide security - usually two bodyguards - for
ministers, members of parliament and tribal elders, said Interior Ministry
spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

But women not in those senior roles, such as Safi or Masoomi, are in dire need
of protection simply because of their gender, Saboor said.

But Sediqqi said it would be "very difficult" for the police to provide security
and guards for everyone who works in government. There area about 74,000 women
out of 363,000 state employees.

Muzhgan has only recently gathered enough strength to talk about her ordeal,
which happened in late March.

With a degree in accounting and some English, Masoomi was a valuable asset to
her ministry, where she worked on a UN-funded Afghanistan Peace and
Reintegration Programme, bringing former Taliban fighters from the battlefield
back into jobs.

But she said not a single person from her ministry came to help her, or gave
encouragement after the attack.

"They didn't even come to see me. Financially, morally, I got nothing," she
said, adding that members of NATO's International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) took her to the hospital.

If she does not soon go abroad for surgery, she may never be able to work again.
The ministry's deputy, Ahmad Farhad Waheed, said it had asked ISAF to look after
her treatment, but the force said it was not down to them.

Afghan women have won back basic rights in education, voting and employment
since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, but there is concern such
freedoms will not be protected and may even be traded away as Kabul seeks a
peace deal with the group.

"If a political solution between the Taliban and the government is reached,
there is no doubt that women will need to be better protected," said Maria
Bashir, the chief prosecutor for Herat province bordering Iran.

The only female prosecutor general in the country, Bashir has been threatened
repeatedly and come under attack twice, when her house was set alight and
another one firebombed.

Eight bodyguards escort Bashir to work each day, and six live in her house. All
are paid for by the international community, she said.

(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni and
Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Rob Taylor and Robert Birsel)

=======================================
2. AFGHANISTAN: THE LONG, HARD ROAD TO THE 2014 TRANSITION
by International Crisis Group
=======================================
Asia Report N°236 8 Oct 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Plagued by factionalism and corruption, Afghanistan is far from ready to assume
responsibility for security when U.S. and NATO forces withdraw in 2014. That
makes the political challenge of organising a credible presidential election and
transfer of power from President Karzai to a successor that year all the more
daunting. A repeat of previous elections’ chaos and chicanery would trigger a
constitutional crisis, lessening chances the present political dispensation can
survive the transition. In the current environment, prospects for clean
elections and a smooth transition are slim. The electoral process is mired in
bureaucratic confusion, institutional duplication and political machinations.
Electoral officials indicate that security and financial concerns will force the
2013 provincial council polls to 2014. There are alarming signs Karzai hopes to
stack the deck for a favoured proxy. Demonstrating at least will to ensure clean
elections could forge a degree of national consensus and boost popular
confidence, but steps toward a stable transition must begin now to prevent a
precipitous slide toward state collapse. Time is running out.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/236-afghanista\
n-the-long-hard-road-to-the-2014-transition.aspx

=======================================
3. BANGLADESH: THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLATE OF 20TH CENTURY WAR
by Gita Sahgal
=======================================
In 1971 the Jamaat e Islami supported the Pakistani army against the nationalist
Awami League: now their leaders are being indicted by an international crimes
tribunal and secularism is back on the agenda. It’s time to discuss the
forgotten role of the fundamentalist militias in the war of liberation of
Bangladesh
http://sacw.net/article2912.html

=======================================
4. BANGLADESH: WEAPON PRODUCER CONCERNED ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY IN BANGLADESH?
by Farida Akhter
=======================================
(New Age, 3 October 2012)

It is also interesting to see that the concern of food ‘insecurity’ is not
based on right to food, or more ecologically and politically grounded notion
such as food sovereignty. The major ground of concern the EIU report expressed
is ‘political’ insecurity, writes Farida Akhter

On August 10, 2012, a news item appeared on various news media which was quite
disturbing. It said that Bangladesh has the lowest ranking in food security
among the six South Asian countries, according to Global Food Security Index
2012, released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Now the question is, since raising such concerns should rather be appreciated,
why should such information be disturbing? Isn’t it true that Bangladesh needs
to address the issue of food security? The disturbing element is not in
addressing the issue, but in how such general concern is used by transnational
companies for inducing food production policy to their favour, such as through
industrialization of food production. From chemical and poison based system,
companies are now obtaining bio-industrial character to ensure the dominance of
biotechnology and genetic engineering.
The report is an assessment of food affordability, availability and quality of
105 countries around the world. Bangladesh scored only 34.6 on a scale of 100
and was placed 81st among 105 countries. Amongst South Asian countries, Sri
Lanka is the most food secure (ranking 62nd), followed by India (66th), Pakistan
(75th) and Nepal (79th); the position of Bangladesh is definitely very
disappointing. However, the report said Bangladesh was doing well in three
fields –- ensuring standards of nutrition, agricultural productivity and loans
to farmers — in its steps towards improving food security.
Because of the political sensitivity of this assessment, Bangladesh government
rejected the report on August 13. The Food Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque
said, ‘The Economist Intelligence Unit report used old data. Bangladesh has
improved a lot in food security since 2009.’ The government did not contend
the report on any other grounds, lacking prudence to even raise question why the
EIU would make such a report on ‘old date.’ Any  assumption by any
government  that  such assessment is innocent, would at best be considered too
naïve.   The government’s insensitivity to issues such as food security is
equally disturbing. The issue is not merely of whether data is old or new but,
among others, why has food security suddenly become an issue for EIU?
According to the news, the index was made based on researches on food security,
including the Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nation (FAO)’s
annual State of Food Insecurity in the World report, the Global Hunger Index of
the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Maplecroft
Food Security Risk Index.
It is also interesting to see that the concern of food ‘insecurity’ is not
based on right to food, or more ecologically and politically grounded notion
such as food sovereignty. The major ground of concern the EIU report expressed
is ‘political’ insecurity. It says ‘food insecurity also threatens
political stability and lack of food is correlated with a substantial
deterioration of democratic institutions in low-income countries, as well as a
rise in communal violence, riots, human rights abuses and civil conflict.’
The Executive Summary of the report states ‘The world, on balance, is richer
and better fed than it was 50 years ago, but those gains are under threat. The
global population is growing, and is expected to reach 9bn by 2050. Consumers in
emerging markets are wealthier, and are spending more of their income on meats
and processed foods—driving up demand and straining supplies. High prices for
oil and other agricultural inputs are making production more expensive.’
The report also claims that ‘extreme weather increasingly threatens harvests,
and agricultural productivity gains are waning as investment falters. Competing
demands for crops add to the pressure. All of this suggests that high
prices—and price volatility—will threaten global food security for at least
the next decade.’
As citizens, we should not take such reports as innocent gestures to raise
concerns on food security. We therefore should find who are sponsoring such
studies and why? According to the report, it is sponsored by E. I. DuPont de
Nemours and Company (DuPont), a multinational corporation which is interested in
three aspects: affordability, availability and utilization. For DuPont, common
food security metrics are key to increasing global food security. As Chair and
CEO Ellen Kullman of DuPont puts it, ‘We’ve always known that what gets
measured, gets done.’ DuPont commissioned the Global Food Security Index that
was launched by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).  The question here is,
why DuPont? According to the DuPont Global website, the DuPont CEO says, ‘As
we talked to governments, NGOs and farmer organizations around the world,
we’ve come to realize that while we share a common goal of food security, we
do not share a common language. To truly address the root cause of hunger, we
must have a common path forward to tackle such pressing issues as food
affordability, availability, nutritional quality and safety.’ According to
her, ‘literally billions are being invested to address food security, but
until today, we had no comprehensive, global way to measure food security and
the impact of investments and collaborations at the local level.’
DuPont is at present more concerned about malnutrition in Africa and therefore
the DuPont website (www.foodsecurity.DuPont.com) talks about malnutrition but it
has the title ‘DuPont’s commitment to Food Security in Africa.’  It refers
to a report by UNICEF claiming that almost 20 million children under the age of
five suffer from severe acute malnutrition, which is the cause of over one
million deaths in children each year.  To address this major global crisis,
DuPont is working with UNICEF to feed malnourished children in countries like
Sudan with ‘Ready-to-Eat Therapeutic Food.’  This high-protein peanut-based
paste does not require water and is delivered in a ready-to-use packet.  Made
with DuPont emulsifier technology that prevents oiling to provide a longer
product shelf life, UNICEF has delivered ready-to-use food to hundreds of
thousands of children in Sudan and other countries around the world. One can
easily see that upon identifying a country as food insecure, DuPont grabs the
opportunity to reach a market for their product. It is just a marketing
exercise.
Dupont claims that emulsifiers ensure healthy, tasty and convenient food
products with an attractive appearance. Produced from natural raw materials such
as vegetable oils and fats, emulsifiers reduce the surface tension between
oil/water/air interfaces. This is of benefit in dressings to increase emulsion
stability and in margarine to reduce spattering during frying. Emulsifiers can
also act as crystal modifiers in liquid oil, destabilizing agents in aerated
emulsions, or as starch complexing lipids that counter staling in cereal-based
foods. Dupont-Danisco emulsifiers are often tailor-made to satisfy specific
customer needs, and most are available with a kosher or halal certificate. New
emulsifiers are continuously developed to help customers differentiate their
products and improve their production efficiency (see Du Pont Food Innovation).
Let’s now look at the background of DuPont. As a company which works on
biotechnology and is also monitoring the global seed market, DuPont is among the
first three top Seed Companies who control over 47% GM seed market. Having
acquisitions with Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl. USA, Australia and a number of other
countries, the annual sale of seeds was 3,300 million dollars in 2007, ranking
second among the 10 top seed companies in the world (see Du Pont) 2 (see
gmwatch).3
Although DuPont is now known as a global science and technology company and is
the largest seeds company, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the
US. Chemicals provide the main focus of DuPont’s operations. According to the
company’s annual report, it is the global leader in the sale and manufacturing
of nylon and is the world’s largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide, elastane
and fluropolymers. Since acquiring Pioneeer Hi-Bred in 1999, DuPont has become
the world’s largest seed company, with sales of more than $1.9 billion in 2000
(see RAFI).4  Dupont sells hybrid seeds principally for the global production of
corn and soybeans, and thus directly competes with other hybrid seed suppliers.
DuPont’s Agriculture & Nutrition segment also provides crop protection
chemicals. In addition, the segment provides soya based food ingredients and
food safety equipment in competition with other major grain and food processors
(see Du Pont E I Nemours& Company). 5
The history of DuPont reveals that it is one of the war and weapon companies.
E.I. Dupont founded the company as an explosives manufacturer by opening his
first gun powder mill on the Brandywine River on July 19, 1802. DuPont powder
had earned a good reputation among sportsmen and the company had become the
leading powder supplier to the US government. The company became the world’s
largest supplier of gunpowder during World War I. According to Corporate Watch,
World War II brought even more profits for DuPont (see Corporate Watch).6 Over
the course of the war, the company produced 4.5 billion pounds of military
explosives. The company was also heavily involved in weapons research, making
major contributions to the development of plastic and other forms of explosives,
gun and rocket propellants, and chemical warfare. From 1941 -1945 DuPont
contributed to the top secret Manhattan Project that was to produce the bombs
that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The company was also the principal mass
producer of plutonium in the US, having designed, built and operated the
world’s first plutonium production plant, the Hanford plant in Washington, at
the request of the federal government. During the war, DuPont managed a total of
25 US government plants, manufacturing mainly explosives, methanol, ammonia and
neoprene rubber. DuPont profited immensely from the war, emerging from the
fighting with a cash fund exceeding $196 million (see Industry and Ideology).7
DuPont is now a leading global company with reported revenues of $38 billion, up
from 20% from a year ago, and net income of $3.5 billion in 2011. The
company’s history starting from gun powder for wars, and coming to food and
nutrition for political security and for profit is certainly not good news for
the farmers and people in the third world. ‘We delivered exceptional full-year
results in 2011 despite significant market headwinds late in the year,’ said
DuPont Chair & CEO Ellen Kullman. ‘Our market-driven science continues to meet
customer needs in food, energy and protection. Acquisitions in Nutrition &
Health and Industrial Biosciences, coupled with robust and disciplined
productivity efforts across our businesses, contributed to our successful
performance. We remain well-positioned to serve customers and innovate as key
markets rebound and global population growth drives new opportunities.’
But, my question is, do we really need a weapon producer solving our food
security problem? Is it not synonymous to killing by gun powder and killing by
biotechnology?
Notes:
1.   
http://www2.dupont.com/Food__Innovations/en_GB/food-ingredients/emulsifiers.html
2.    http://nyjobsource.com/dupont.html
3.   
http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/10558-the-worlds-top-ten-seed-companies-who-owns\
-nature
4.    Institute for Applied Ecology (1999) DuPont acquires Pioneer, Genetic
Engineering Newsletter 1 & 2:August, September 1999, ETC Group (2002) DuPont and
Monsanto - ‘Living in Sinergy’? 9/5/02,
http://www.rafi.org/documents/nr2002apr9.pdf.
5.    [DuPont (2002) US SEC form 10-K, for the year ending 31st December 2001,
http://ccbn.tenkwizard.com/filing.php]
6.    http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=170
7.    Hayes, P. (1987). Industry and Ideology: JG Farben in the Nazi Era,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

=======================================
5. MYANMAR’S ROHINGYA FACE “PERMANENT SEGREGATION”, ACTIVISTS WARN
by Carey L. Biron
=======================================
WASHINGTON, Oct 9 2012 (IPS) - Following sectarian violence in the western
Myanmar state of Rakhine in June, human rights researchers are now warning that
the government appears to be attempting to permanently house parts of the
stateless Muslim-minority Rohingya in “temporary” refugee camps, segregating
them from the rest of the population.
http://bit.ly/Rd6dpf

=======================================
6. SRI LANKA: ASSAULT ON JUDICIARY - STATEMENTS BY FRIDAY FORUM AND BY ICJ
=======================================

SRI LANKA: ATTACKS ON JUDICIARY ARE ATTACKS ON PEOPLE - FRIDAY FORUM STATEMENT
10 October

The Friday Forum unequivocally condemns any attempt at violating the
independence and authority of the judiciary. We urge all sections of Sri Lankan
society to respond to this threat by reaffirming our commitment to preserve our
democratic rights. It is only an alert and active citizenry that can prevent
this type of abuse of power.

http://www.sacw.net/article2913.html

o o o

PRESS RELEASE
ICJ CONDEMNS ATTACK ON THE JUDICIAL SERVICES COMMISSION IN SRI LANKA
10 October

The Sri Lankan government must immediately provide justice for the physical
assault on Manjula Tillekaratne, Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission
in Sri Lanka, and cease public efforts to undermine the independence of the
country’s judiciary, the International Commission of Jurists said today.

http://www.sacw.net/article2906.html


=======================================
7. INDIA: APPRATCHIKS OF NATIONAL COMMISSION OF WOMEN FORCED TO REOPEN THE SONI
SORI CASE
=======================================
sacw.net - 10 October 2012: Today afternoon, activists from women’s groups and
several peoples’ organisations stormed the National Commission for Women
(NCW), protesting against the continued inaction for an year in the Soni Sori
case. It has been one year since the arrest of 36-year old Soni Sori, an adivasi
school warden from Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, and her custodial torture at the
behest of the then SP of Dantewada, Ankit Garg. Soni Sori’s right to life and
dignity have been violated by various jail and police authorities several times
over – from foisting false cases against her, sexually torturing and
humiliating her in the police station, denying her medical attention, and most
recently, humiliating her by publicly stripping her in prison in the name of
conducting physical search. It is also one year since women’s groups first met
the NCW to seek their intervention.
http://sacw.net/article2914.html

=======================================
8. INDIA: FUTURE PERSPECTIVES FOR THE MAINSTREAM INDIAN LEFT
by Achin Vanaik
=======================================
(EPW, October 13, 2012)
The keys for a rejuvenated and radical left in India must be its promotion of
alternatives to neo-liberal capitalism, formation of a united anti-capitalist
front, weaks in its organisational principles of "democratic centralism" to
allow for the fl owering of genuine democratic discussion and debate within
itself and constant involvement in struggles of and for the people.
This article is based on a presentation in a seminar on “The Indian Left:
Social Development Visions and Political Challenges” organised by the Council
for Social Development in New Delhi on 8 August 2012.
http://www.epw.in/commentary/future-perspectives-mainstream-indian-left.html


=======================================
9. INDIA: OUR LINUS BLANKET - FEAR OF THE FOREIGNER IS WHAT HELPS THE
NATION-STATE SURVIVE
by Shiv Visvanathan
=======================================
(Outlook Magazine | Oct 08, 2012)
Societies in moments of anxiety need a sense of order. They need to focus on an
enemy outside or a scapegoat within. Such objects of hate make a society
focused, give it a sense of solidarity. The danger begins when the object of
fear is a more anomalous creature, a person who resists classification or
violates categories.

The Polish emigre sociologist Zygmunt Bauman claimed that modernity always had
problems with the stranger. The stranger is one who is here today and gone
tomorrow. But what happens to strangers who are here today and stay tomorrow?
The exile, the migrant and the refugee become problematic categories. They
violate boundaries because they belong to both inside and outside. We treat them
as foreigners, aliens haunting our everydayness. What makes such a relationship
lethal and even genocidal is the nation-state.

India as a civilisation was naturally syncretic. It welcomed the outsider. Even
the British coloniser was invited to become another caste and the English would
have if the missionaries had not ruined the part. Even our national movement was
hospitable, allowing the likes of A.O. Hume, Annie Besant, C.F. Andrews and
Madeleine Slade to participate in it. Even Partition, which went on between 1947
and 1955, maintained a sense of openness, a condition which allowed Jinnah to
think he could settle in Bombay. It is only when our imagination froze along the
boundaries of the nation-state that the foreigner became an object of fear and
suspicion.

Once a nation-state crystallises, suspicion becomes a ritual against those who
are not citizens. They become threats to security, the visible hand that
threatens the integrity of our boundaries. Foreigners are necessary; the
nation-state could not exist without them. In a world of anxieties, they provide
an object of hate, a trigger for solidarity. Where would the US be without the
Communist or the Islamic terrorist? It is they who sustain the nation-state as
phenomena.

Indians too are susceptible to the ‘foreigner as virus’ metaphor.
Interestingly, our suspicions and our labelling of the outsider provide new
cartographies of time and space. When the Gujarat riots took place, riot-torn
areas in Gujarat were labelled India and Pakistan. Many a middle-class person
was found claiming that the Mughals had at last been defeated. But the suspicion
of the foreigner is not a communalist disease alone. Ideologies often survive on
it. Where would India be without the ISI or CIA? The foreign hand seems to be
even more powerful than the invisible hand. The invisible hand of the market is
an abstraction, but the foreign hand needs to be labelled and allowed to become
concrete as an object of violence. He is the necessary sacrifice nationalist
suspicion demands.

The theory of the foreign hand has a nuanced amplitude. The nation-state
believes that our local people can never reason for themselves. If they revolt
as a social movement, it is because of the foreigner, an alien who arrives
through an NGO. The fisherman of Koodankulam can fight for a decade but it is
only some helpless foreigner who is seen as a driving force. In a global world,
we seem to need the foreigner because without him our anxieties would be
nameless. We carry out wars against McDonald’s, KFC because they emphasise our
impotence. Their chicken seems more welcome than our local breed. We see Walmart
and Rupert Murdoch as threats to our civilisation, our way of life.

Suddenly, nationalism is not about loving your neighbour as fellow citizen but
of hating the foreigner as a continuous threat. The fact that the Indian
diaspora is spread across the world is seen in a separate register. We want the
world to be open to us but we in turn want to be selective about our openness to
the world. As our anxieties increase, the foreigner as a category becomes a
Linus blanket our sense of security needs and survives on.

The foreigner is not only the man from another country. He could be the man
across the street, the Bodo in the next village, the merchant in the market, the
domestic in search of a job. All it needs is the ritual of inside and outside.
Classifications kill and the availability of the outside becomes a permanent
invitation to violence and genocide. From Manmohan Singh to Indira Gandhi, from
Modi to Advani, the foreigner is that indispensable piece of sociology that no
leader can do without. No nation-state can survive without him. No security
state can allow him to live harmlessly. He is the secret of the social contract
that sustains order, the sacrifice that keeps the nation-state oiled. Without
the CIA, Americans, German NGOs, French multinationals etc, India as a
nation-state could not survive. The nation-state owes a toast to the foreigner.

(Shiv Visvanathan is professor at the Jindal School of Public Policy.)


=======================================
10. TRIBUTE: BETWEEN CLIO AND PARTY - ERIC HOBSBAWM (1917-2012)
by Rudrangshu Mukherjee
=======================================
The Telegraph, October 9 , 2012

Christopher Hill’s The English Revolution 1640 and Eric Hobsbawm’s The Age
of Revolution were the first two books by Marxist historians that I ever read. I
think that this is true of a large number of history students of my generation
and of those who were a little older than us. It is difficult to describe the
deep influence this kind of history-writing had on me in my formative years. In
this sense, the death of Eric Hobsbawm last week closes a significant aspect of
the past — the past as it influenced some of us and also the way we learnt to
interpret the past.

Hobsbawm was the last of that remarkable group of historians who were part of
the Historians Group of the Communist Party of Great Britain before 1956 —
Rodney Hilton, E.P. Thompson, Christopher Hill, John Saville, Victor Kiernan and
Dorothy Thompson. He was the only one of the group to retain his party
membership after the Soviet invasion of Hungary. This fact is of some
consequence.

I read the two books that I mentioned at around the same time. This was of
course a chronological coincidence. But in retrospect, it seems to me that the
books represented two very different trends in history writing. One was the
analysis focused on a single event or episode; the other, the grand sweep across
a whole continent, based on a synthesis of the works of other scholars.

Hobsbawm’s fame rests on the quartet of books in which he surveyed, with
enviable lucidity, European history from 1789 to 2000. He divided his survey
into four ages — those of Revolution, Capital, Empire and Extremes. This
limelight has somewhat obscured the pieces of solid historical research that
Hobsbawm did before he embarked on his great surveys. I believe that
Hobsbawm’s reputation as a historian — as distinct from a writer who made
history popular — rests upon these essays that brought together archival
research and analytical insight. Those surveys were possible because Hobsbawm
had learnt the historian’s craft through reading and interpreting documents.

There are many such essays, some of them available in the collection entitled
Labouring Men: Studies in the History of Labour (1964). I have in mind an essay
like “The Tramping Artisan” (1951), a pioneering attempt based on the
available material on various trades and their unions to recreate and analyse
the world of the migrant workman in the 19th century. It was a world in which
craftsmen tramped across a network of “stations” stretching from Exeter to
York. The tramping artisan’s work and movement were governed by a set of
customs and rituals. But for Hobsbawm’s essay this unique set of labouring men
would have been lost to history.

The same volume also includes Hobsbawm’s essays on “The Standard of
Living” debate which engaged many historians studying the Industrial
Revolution and its impact in England. In these essays, Hobsbawm marshalled
qualitative and quantitative evidence to make his argument that the standard of
living of vast sections of the population in the first half of the 19th century
had, in fact, declined. The articles were written in the late 1950s and Hobsbawm
left the argument open with the words, “It may be that further evidence will
discredit it [this argument].” The blending of qualitative and quantitative
evidence was also the hallmark of Hobsbawm’s Industry and Empire, which
remains even today the best short introduction to the Industrial Revolution in
England.

Perhaps a nodal point in Hobsbawm’s career as a historian was an essay he
wrote in 1954 on “The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century”. In this
essay, Hobsbawm drew on the histories of different parts of Europe and on books
and documents in various European languages. It sparked off one of the most
fertile debates in the historiography of early modern Europe in which many
eminent historians participated, including, Hugh Trevor-Roper. The essay was
important because it was one of the earliest instances of Hobsbawm venturing out
into comparative history. In this sense, it foreshadowed the surveys that made
him famous. But none of those four volumes had the sheer brilliance and
analytical fecundity of the “general crisis” hypothesis.

The three books that made Hobsbawm famous even before he wrote the four-volume
survey were Primitive Rebels, Bandits and Captain Swing (co-authored with George
Rude). In these books Hobsbawm, in a pioneering manner, looked at protests of
the poor and the marginalized against the emergence of capitalist forms of
production in agriculture and manufacturing. These began the trend of looking at
history from below which influenced many historians across the globe and
generated some very fine pieces of history writing.

I have kept the four volumes till the end because they lack the analytical
rigour and the depth of research that informed Hobsbawm’s earlier essays and
the work of his ideological peers like Hill, Hilton and the Thompsons. The Age
of Capital contained egregious errors about India which Hobsbawm failed to
correct in reprints even after they were pointed out to him. It is entirely
possible that historians of Latin America also noticed similar lacunae when he
referred to the histories of Latin American countries. Paradoxically, the
quartet made Hobsbawm a celebrity among Left historians; yet, perhaps, it did
irreparable damage to his reputation as a historian within his peer group.

But more severe harm to his integrity as an intellectual and scholar was
inflicted ironically by Hobsbawm himself. This was done by the political
positions he adopted and by the publication of his memoirs, Interesting Times.
Hobsbawm became a communist when, as a teenager, he witnessed the rise of Nazism
in Berlin. These convictions were strengthened in Cambridge where he took a
starred first in History from King’s College. He remained loyal to the party
he joined, to the cause of communism and to Stalin and the Soviet Union. A large
part of his memoirs is no more than an elaborate justification of these
loyalties. As a historian, he refused to face the reality of the brutality and
oppression of the Stalinist regime. Once, when Michael Ignatieff asked him if
the killing of 20 million people in Russia under Stalin would be justified if
communism had succeeded, Hobsbawm answered in the affirmative. There was more
than a hint of arrogance and smugness in Hobsbawm’s defence of the Soviet
Union and the violence it perpetrated. The party line and loyalty to Soviet
Russia could be more important to Hobsbawm than history. The historian in him
surfaced on issues regarding which the party had no position.

A similar turning away from history was manifest in Hobsbawm’s attitude to the
British Empire. He wrote in his memoirs that the saving grace of the British
Empire was that it was free from megalomania. This, about an empire whose
paladins believed in the permanence of Pax Britannica, and among whom many had
nothing more than contempt for the culture and civilization of India.

Hobsbawm’s death sees the passing of a certain type of intellectual: a man
with enviable gifts of language, intelligence and analysis who failed to
overcome his own blindness about the violence that his chosen faith had
perpetrated. Doubt everything — so Karl Marx said was his motto. In the
exercise of his intellect, Hobsbawm failed to live up to this high standard.


=======================================
11. RECENT CONTENT ON COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================
When is forgiveness right? by Martha Nussbaum
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. His truth
is marching on.” Reading the verdicts in the Naroda Patiya case, I found these
words of the US Civil War anti-slavery anthem coming to mind. Truth is indeed
marching on, even in Gujarat, thanks to the timely intervention of the Supreme
Court and the fine work of its Special Investigation Team.
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/when-is-forgiveness-right-martha.html

Maharashtra: Ekal Eklavya Schools run by Hindu Right Vishwa Hindu Parishad are
mushrooming
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/maharashtra-ekal-eklavya-schools-run-by.h\
tml

Bihar Police: United in khaki, divided by caste barracks
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/bihar-police-united-in-khaki-divided-by.h\
tml

Jain temple builders Vs Archaeological Survey of India
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/jain-temple-builders-vs-archaeological.ht\
ml


INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
12. HONOUR THE DISSENTERS
by Marieme Helie Lucas
=======================================
Source:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2012/10/10/honour-the-dissenters/

In the past few weeks, in several countries, groups of citizens have openly
taken a stand against Muslim fundamentalists, including armed ones.

In Mali, on a number of occasions, citizens attempted to stop public
amputations, stonings and floggings; Malian women also attacked AQMI (Al-Qaida
au Maghreb islamique) in an attempt to stand up against the imposition of a
so-called ‘Islamic dress code’ that is totally alien to their culture ( but
have you heard anyone in Europe stand up in defence of their right to preserve
their culture, their traditional way of dressing which is NOT the freshly
imported so-called ‘Islamic veil’ Saudi style?). In response, fundamentalist
armed groups fired at them with sub-machine guns.

In India, in the city of Ahmadabad, two citizens stood their ground facing
crowds demonstrating against the anti-Muslim video: The Innocence of Muslims.
They held posters saying ‘just don’t watch it!’. They were seriously hurt.

In Iran, a woman beat up a cleric who made comments about her supposedly
anti-Islamic outfit. She told him to look the other way, and when he persisted,
she beat him up. We can be sure she will pay a dire price for it.

In Libya, on the site of the attack in Benghazi, demonstrators held signs
apologising for the murder of the US Ambassador and expressing in various ways a
‘not in our name’ stance that distanced themselves from the killers. It was
also citizens who initiated the expulsion of the armed militia from the cities,
whilst government troops only came in later.

In Afghanistan, demonstrators physically confronted the authorities when they
renamed a university with the name of a religious-Right leader.

In Tunisia, women regularly take to the streets to defend their constitutional
rights and to oppose any setbacks on equality under the law between citizens
–men and women.

In Pakistan, women’s organisations have been demonstrating for a secular
state, with a clear separation of politics from religion, for several years now.

One could give many more examples from other countries.

These citizens are the future of their countries and of humanity. But when have
European media properly reported on these events? Where has such news been given
front-page attention?

How long will it take for the European Left and human rights organisations to
defend the courageous people who stand up to fundamentalists at risk to their
lives, rather than their oppressors and killers?

Why is it assumed that fundamentalists, i.e. neo-fascist religious
extreme-Right, represent and defend the ‘real Islam’?

Why is it assumed that all those who oppose fundamentalists are anti-Islam
renegades – and that therefore, if they get killed, well… they deserve to
die?

Why are secularists considered ‘Islamophobic’ when they are
anti-fundamentalist?

And why does the Left persistently use the terminology that has been coined by
the fundamentalists: ‘sharia law’, ‘Islamophobia’, ‘fatwa’, etc… a
terminology that secularists have persistently denounced and deconstructed.

The ten year long resistance to armed fundamentalism in Algeria and its 200,000
victims did not manage to change the views of the Left and human rights
organisations vis-a-vis fundamentalism. Nor, it seems, the internal resistance
that today, in many countries, is making itself visible.

But something may change their minds: the attempted assassination on a child in
Pakistan – Malala Yousafzai, the 14 year old supporter of education for girls.
They shot at her and took responsibility for the attack. They declared that they
would attack her again if she survives, and that anyone against the Taliban will
be executed. Must it not be clear at long last that a child demanding her right
to education is considered a supporter of ‘the West’, an enemy of Islam
(since the Taliban claims that they are the only legitimate representatives of
Islam), an ‘apostate’, and one that deserves to be physically eliminated? As
all us ‘kafirs’ deserve to…

We are today’s Chevalier Jean-François Lefevre de la Barre (September 12,
1745 – July 1, 1766) – the young French man who was atrociously tortured and
murdered before his body was burnt on a pyre along with Voltaire’s
“Philosophical Dictionary” for refusing to remove his hat while a religious
procession passed by.

No one in Europe would dream of justifying such ‘Christian’ atrocities in
the name of religion today. But it seems presumed ‘Muslims’ do not deserve
an equal access to universal human rights, freedom of thought and freedom of
conscience. Presumed ‘Muslims’ are ‘under cultural arrest’; they are
bound by customs and religion and should remain so, while the rest of humanity
enjoys universal rights.

We are today’s Chevalier de la Barre, demanding our right not to believe in
any religion without being tortured and killed.

We are today’s Chevalier de la Barre, demanding our right not to veil, to be
educated, to work for wages, to move freely and to enjoy all citizens’ rights.

Jean François de la Barre was 19; Malala is only 14. His legal assassination
prompted political changes in France towards secularism. Will hers be the price
to pay for our emancipation from state-sanctioned religion and its legal
implications on our lives?

=======================================
13. AFTER PUSSY RIOT TRIAL, RUSSIA MOVES TO CRIMINALISE RELIGIOUS INSULTS
By Grigorii Tumanov, Alexander Chernikh, Pavel Korobov [KOMMERSANT]
=======================================
Source: World Crunch - 2 Oct 2012

The Duma, Russia's parliament has proposed a new law that would punish anyone
who insults the feelings of religious believers with up to three years in jail.
Insulting a holy site would carry a penalty of up to five years.

MOSCOW - The Duma, Russia's parliament, announced a campaign last week to
“protect the rights of religious people.” Adding teeth to the initiative,
the parliament has also now proposed a new law that would punish anyone who
insults the feelings of religious believers with up to three years in jail.
Insulting a holy site would carry a penalty of up to five years.

Both the campaign to protect the rights of believers and the proposed changes to
the criminal code -- touted as sending a strong message to anti-religious
extremists -- have gotten support from representatives from all of the
traditional religions in Russia. In expressing their support, the country’s
religious leaders have mentioned the Pussy Riot scandal, the vandalism of
crosses around the country and the riots across the Muslim world in reaction to
the film “Innocence of Muslims.”

“To counteract insults to citizens’ religions beliefs and feelings, as well
as to protect holy objects, sites and ceremonies from insult,” the deputies in
the Duma want to put a new entry in the Criminal Code to make insulting
religious beliefs a criminal act.

Insulting the feelings of religious believers could be punishable by a fine of
some $10,000 and three years in prison; insulting churches, mosques or
synagogues would carry a higher fine and a five-year prison sentence.

According to the head of the human rights organization Aurora, Pavel Chikov, the
Pussy Riot affair is one of the most important motivations for this new law
project. The three young activists were sentenced to two years in prison for
"hooliganism" after holding a punk prayer in a Moscow cathedral.

Many lawyers who followed the trial said the conviction under the hooliganism
charge was tenuous, and that really all the women could be sentenced to was a
small administrative fine for disrupting the public order, given that they did
not cause any damage to the Cathedral. “If they had done something similar
after the adoption of this law, they would certainly have been tried for
insulting the feelings of religious believers,” Chikov explained.

Boomerang for Orthodox?

Russian Orthodox activists of varying degrees of radicalism have regularly acted
against those who they feel insult religious belief, and often those on their
black list are modern artists. Orthodox activists’ preferred method of protest
has been to disrupt their expositions, and they often file complaints against
artists and galleries under statutes that forbid religious hatred.

“It is very likely that the prosecutor, the Russian Orthodox Church and the
various nationalist-orthodox organizations will gain a major weapon against
modern art, and that will seriously increase the amount of self-censorship,”
said art curator Yuri Samodurov, who was tried under the religious hatred law
for an exposition in 2005.

The head of the association of Orthodox experts confirmed for Kommersant that
the church was getting just the kind of law that it wanted. “Those who slander
the church and the Patriarch will think twice now before they commit
blasphemy,” he said.

In fact, Orthodox leaders have decided not to wait until the law has actually
been adopted - having already filed a suit for "moral damages" against the
designer Artemi Lebedev for a post on his blog that they found insulting. In
part, the plaintiffs are disturbed that he wrote the word “god” in all
lowercase letters.

The Russian Orthodox Church welcomed the deputies' initiative, saying that the
current laws are insufficient to protect the feelings of religious believers.
The representative of the Council of Muftis in Russia agreed, saying, “We need
to have laws so that a person who is thinking about insulting believers will
think about the consequences.”

At the same time, if adopted, the new law could very well be used against the
Orthodox Church. “I have seen several videos where Orthodox believers destroy
the small bookshops of Seventh-Day Adventists or chase Hare Krishna followers. I
am sure that the first suits will come from the ‘small religions’ and will
be against the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church,” said the gallery
owner Marat Gelman, who has been a defendant in several suites brought by the
Church against art expositions.

Seventh-Day Adventists are already ready to take advantage of the new law. “Of
course we will use the new law every time that Protestants in Russia are
insulted,” said the head of the Russian Evangelical Council Sergei Ryakhovski.

Human rights activists fear that in the future believers will be made the
arbiters of what they deem is appropriate under the criminal code. “I am
convinced that it will be abused on a massive scale," said Alexander
Verkhovskii, head of the anti-extremism monitoring organization Sova. "There
were already more than enough laws to protect the feeling of believers. This law
is obviously just to stop all criticism towards the Russian Orthodox Church.”

=======================================
14. EGYPT WOMEN FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS CONSTITUTION DRAWS NEAR
by Manar Ammar with Joseph Mayton
=======================================
http://womennewsnetwork.net/2012/10/05/egypt-women-constitution/
– WNN Breaking
Woman speaks out in Tahrir Square, Cairo January 23, 2012

A woman speaks out with anger and conviction about those demonstrators who have
died in Egypt’s democracy movement as she is surrounded by security officers
in Tahrir Square, Cairo on January 23, 2012. Many progressive women in Egypt
today feel the post-uprising era in Egypt has now turned their backs on women
who are seeking equality and decision making power in the newly formed
government. Image: Sarah Carr

(WNN) Cairo, EGYPT: Many have called women’s status in the currently drafted
Egyptian constitution to be “disappointing and shocking” while others have
dubbed it a “male-only” constitution. It is a work in progress, but for
women here, it is all in the wrong direction to where women need to be in the
post-uprising Egypt.

The article causing a fury is Article 36 of the new Egyptian constitution (under
the duties and freedom section) that states that both genders are equal, but
there is a caveat, as long as Sharia law is not affected.

It reads, “The state is obliged to take all legislative and executive measures
to entrench the principle of women’s equality with men in the fields of
political, cultural life, economic, social and other areas without violating
Islamic law (Sharia).”

Feminists have come out in anger, saying no two people can have an agreement on
Sharia, making such a statement worrisome and threatening to gender equality.
Pessimists in Egypt argue it is the natural product of a religious state in the
making.

“The seriousness of the matter is the reference in this article to the Islamic
Sharia,” writes Nehad Abu Komsan, director of the Egyptian Center for
Women’s Rights (ECWR) in a recent article on the topic.

“Article 36 mentioning Sharia laws as the reference opens the door to the
imprisonment of women between conservative and liberal interpretations,” she
added.

On one hand, the second article of the constitution states “principles” of
Sharia as the reference to governing and on the other Sharia laws are inserted,
like in the case of article 36, as a roof for women’s freedoms and potentials.

Qomsan says having two conflicting references of Sharia is “constitutionally
flawed.”

Advocates argue there are many anti-women interpretations that have found their
way into Sharia, such as battering women as a tool to “correct their
behavior.” The ambiguity of the Sharia articles will allow, activists and
women’s leaders argue, “wrongful practices to find its way into the law,”
while contradicting other articles that protects the safety and dignity of all
citizens.

Many women are expressing their worries over the preliminary drafting of the
constitution, to be publicly put forward sometime in October. They find these
articles a desired loop hole in the constitution to keep the status quo of
oppressing women and imprisoning them in outdated social roles.

Amr Darrag, the Giza head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice
Party (FJP) highlighted this fact last year when discussing the constitution and
the FJP’s role in the new Egypt as a major political player. He said that
women should be a center for society and they should have access to jobs.

“But when they get married and begin having children, their role as mother
should be most important and they should not be working,” he said at his home
in Giza. For him, like many conservatives – the majority of whom make up the
drafting committee of the constitution – women are equal, as long as they
don’t disrupt the family.

“The family is the most important and women must be at home to raise their
children,” he argued.

In mid-September, groups of political organizations and NGOs put forward their
fears over article 36. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Popular
Socialist Coalition, the Free Egyptians party, the Popular Current, the New
Woman Organization, the Woman and Memory Organization, the Al-Nadeem Center and
others issued a statement that condemned the use of Sharia to curtail women’s
freedoms in the country.

The statement said that such unclear wording “endangers the democracy that
everyone aspired for and sacrificed for,” adding that the struggle of Egyptian
women throughout history, notably in recent years, “should guarantee them the
rights they had already gained historically on the basis of equal citizenship.
Such rights should not be reduced, [and] such a reduction would contradict
Egypt’s commitments to international charters and agreements.”

As a result of drafting these articles, the Muslim male-dominated constitutional
committee has come under fire. Not only does it have a small percentage of women
involved in the actual writing process, it is also the embodiment of the lack of
diversity and representation, reminding many of how women and Coptic Christians
have been used as a front to beautify the last regime, but now some in the
country say the new regime has a religious façade.

On September 24, activist Manal al-Tayibi resigned from the constitution
committee in objection to what she called “a set will to produce a
constitution that would be the cornerstone of a religious state, which will 
preserve the principles of the fallen regime and ignore the pillars of the
Egyptian uprising of freedom, dignity and social justice.”

Other committee members had resigned prior to al-Tayibi, only making the entire
process worse and giving more freedom to the conservative elements to push their
will, activists argue.

As the members of the committee left, the drafting of the new constitution has
fallen to conservative powers that will have a greater power over passing their
convictions without any real protest.

Advocates, rights groups and secular powers in Egypt came out and condemned the
article, but without any real representation inside the committee, it is
business as usual, leaving the country on what women believe is a highway to a
feared state of being for those who suffer the most socially and economically:
women.

Al-Tayibi said that Egypt is drafting the “worst Egyptian constitution
ever,” but it seems that the opposition’s efforts to mend it have done
little to succeed.

In order to get women rights back on track many steps are needed, Abu Komsan and
others say, starting with a different drafting committee that is not dominated
with Muslim men drafting what they “think is best for women.”

In many ways the committee, which to many activists has no legitimacy, is a
microcosm of` what Egypt is becoming. Muslim men on top, while the rest of
society battles to get heard or represented.

©2012 WNN – Women News Network

=======================================
15. SOUTH AFRICA: WILDCAT STRIKE WAVE (SEPT-OCT 2012) DESPITE GATE KEEPERS OF
THE LABOUR MOVEMENT - ANALYSIS AND REPORTS
A compilation for the LNSA mailing list
=======================================
sacw.net - 10 October 2012

Contents:

1. Wildcat strike movement may birth new political party (Mandy de Waal)
2. South Africa wildcat strikes spread to more mines (Ed Stoddard and Agnieszka
Flak)
3. 12,000 miners fired as South African strike wave grows (Bill Van Auken)
4. Some truckers suspend strike, bulk press on
5. It is time to pay miners a fair wage (Samuel Choritz)
6. The radical new face of labour relations in SA (Carol Paton)
7. COSATU and NUM statement on the current wildcat strikes in the mining
industry with the full support of the SACP
8. State’s credibility in tatters after Marikana - CASAC (Lawson Naidoo)
9. Marikana: Shaky start for the Farlam Commission (Khadija Patel)
10. Wildcat miners’ strikes in South Africa spread to iron ore firm (The
Guardian)
11. What’s mined is yours: the fall of capitalism in SA’s platinum belt
(Mandy de Waal)
12. Video: Toyota strike complicates South Africa’s crisis
13. Cosatu blames mine bosses for giving in to workers’ demands (Natasha
Marrian)
14. Mine workers march to NUM to cancel membership
15. Jay Naidoo’s An open letter to Congress of South African Trade Unions

http://www.sacw.net/article2915.html

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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 12-15 Oct  2012 - No. 2757
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Pakistan: Why Malala must live (Adnan Rehmat)
2. Goebbels lives on in Pakistan (Safiya Aftab)
3. Pakistan: Forked tongues of the holy armies (Ayaz Amir)
4. US - Pakistan: Code Pink, the Taliban, and Malala Yousafzai (Meredith Tax)
5. Pakistan: PILER, PPC condemn terrorists attack on Malala Yousfzai, call for
immediate arrest of culprits
6. India: Bhopal Gas victims stand up in solidarity with Malala Yousafzai who
was attacked by the Taliban
7. Threats and Violence undermine democratic governance in Sri Lanka (Shanie)
8. India: Don’t Impose The Koodankulam Reactors - Nuking protests mocks
democracy (Praful Bidwai)
9. India: Why The Bhopal Disaster Site, 28 Years Later, Is Still A Toxic Killer
(Julien Bouissou)
10. India: Hazard Concerns - MIC at Bhopal and Virginia and the Indian Nuclear
Liability Act (Nasir Tyabji)
11. Among recent posts on Communalism Watch:
- When is forgiveness right? (Martha Nussbaum)
- Waiting for Remorse in Gujarat (JS Bandukwala)
- Secularism and BJPs Dilemma (Ram Puniyani)
- [Book Review] Hate and The State: Hindu-Muslim Riot Politics in India (Ananya
Vajpeyi)
- India: Identities are Returning with a Vengeance (Kuldip Nayar)
- United against the 'Foreigner': Assam social movement leader's take on
'infiltration' and 'the influx problem' is standard fare
- A Preface to Racial Discourse in India: North-east and Mainland
- Bangladesh: most Hindu women want marriage registration to be mandatory

International:
12. International Peace Bureau Critical of Nobel Peace Prize For The European
Union
13. Iran: Ensure Equal Access to Higher Education - Scrap Policies That Ban
Students From Studies on Basis of Gender (Human Rights Watch)

=======================================
1. PAKISTAN: WHY MALALA MUST LIVE
by Adnan Rehmat
=======================================
The symbolism of what the outrageous attack on Malala Yousafzai represents
cannot be overstated. Malala on deathbed is really Pakistan’s soul on a
ventilator. And why is that so? Barely half of us 180m Pakistanis are literate.
Even those who are literate are generally a superstitious lot allowing
themselves to be hostage to all manner of dodgy dogmas and primal ideologies. A
staggering 25 million children are out of school. Barely four out of ten girls
have ever been to schools. The Taliban have blown up over 2,000 schools in the
last 5 years alone — that’s an astonishing average of 400 every year and
more than one school atomised daily. The state doesn’t consider this a
priority, sparing money to re-build these old schools, let alone build new ones
to outstrip the pace of those being destroyed. That we have dug in our pockets
deeper in the same period to find money to conduct over a dozen nuclear missile
tests is telling.
http://www.sacw.net/article2924.html

=======================================
2. GOEBBELS LIVES ON IN PAKISTAN
by Safiya Aftab
=======================================
One has suspected for some time that Goebbelsian minds are at work in Pakistan
and are active in pushing public discourse onto set paths. In particular, a
national consensus against religious extremism will just not be allowed to take
hold to any significant degree. Is that because the extremists remain strategic
assets? Or because ultra-nationalist ascendancy simply stops people from asking
too many questions about their fundamental rights and the role of the state?
Whatever the reason, the Malala case is proving that not much will change in
Pakistan. Eleven years on, this nation still refuses to identify the enemy, let
alone unite against it.
http://www.sacw.net/article2925.html

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: FORKED TONGUES OF THE HOLY ARMIES
by Ayaz Amir
=======================================
They just can’t say it straight, our blessed holy fathers, champions of
righteousness and clear winners of an international hypocrisy prize if one was
on offer. On supposed insults to the faith, insults real or imagined, their
fists go up and angry foam flecks their outraged lips. Rallies are mounted
across the country and the pillars of the republic, far from sturdy at the best
of times, are shaken. But come a Taliban-staged event like the shooting of
Malala and tongues begin to twist, churning out a fog of doubt-laced ambiguity.
To every crocodile tear shed is added a comparison with drone strikes and the
American war in Afghanistan.
http://www.sacw.net/article2926.html

=======================================
4. CODE PINK, THE TALIBAN, AND MALALA YOUSAFZAI
by Meredith Tax
=======================================
Most Pakistanis are so outraged by the attempted murder of Malala Yousafzai that
even Imran Khan had to condemn it, though it took him ten hours to do so and he
didn’t mention the Taliban.  Code Pink’s Washington office also did a hasty
press release Oct. 10 saying they prayed for Malala’s recovery and offering
$1000 to her school, while making “a connection between drone attacks and
growing extremism in Pakistan”—as if there were no Taliban before there were
drones. So why would Code Pink ally with Imran Khan rather than Pakistani
liberals?  Just to get press?  Because a nuanced analysis would complicate their
message? Perhaps the US antiwar movement is so small because of its failure to
develop a politics that is critical of both US imperialism and fundamentalist
movements like the Taliban.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/meredith-tax/code-pink-taliban-and-malala-yous\
afzai

=======================================
5. Pakistan: PILER, PPC condemn terrorists attack on Malala Yousfzai, call for
immediate arrest of culprits
=======================================
KARACI, Oct. 10: Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) and Pakistan Institute of Labour
Education and Research (PILER) have strongly condemned the terrorists attack on
a girl students’ van, injuring three girls including Malala Yousufzai, a peace
activist of Swat who has been struggling for girls education in Swat valley.
They demanded the government to immediately arrest the culprits and bring them
to books.
http://www.sacw.net/article2917.html

=======================================
6. INDIA: BHOPAL GAS VICTIMS STAND UP IN SOLIDARITY WITH MALALA YOUSAFZAI WHO
WAS ATTACKED BY THE TALIBAN
=======================================
The diverse peace movement groups in India are quiet, the women's movement
doesn't speak up, silence from the various social movements, the Left has other
things to do but the a platform of Bhopal gas accident survivors have done the
Indians proud by standing up in solidarity with Malala Yousafzai who was
attacked by the Taliban.
http://www.sacw.net/article2923.html

=======================================
7. THREATS AND VIOLENCE UNDERMINE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN SRI LANKA
by Shanie / Notebook of A Nobody
=======================================
Monks when they deliver a sermon at funerals quote this stanza to enable all
those present to reflect on the impermanence of life. But, our political leaders
and others in positions of authority seem to have no time for such reflections.
They obviously think they have a permanent divine right to rule and nobody
should have the audacity to challenge their actions. Woe betide the person –
journalist, cartoonist, trade unionist, rights activist, legislator, judicial
officer or an ordinary citizen – who dares to raise the voice of dissent. Such
‘traitors’ or ‘pawns of foreign conspirators’ will receive their just
desserts. Wimal Weerawansa, who sees conspiracies under every bush, has this
week told a group of public officials that the attack on Judge Manjula
Tillakaratne, Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission, was a result of a
political conspiracy. "A premeditated political conspiracy is being hatched in
many countries to tarnish the image of the government in the eyes of the people.
This type of situation is prevalent in countries governed by patriotic and
liberal minded rulers. Certain NGOs, Western missions and separatist forces are
drafting the agendas of these conspiracies. These elements are behind the FUTA
strike too", this "true patriot" has said.
http://www.sacw.net/article2927.html

=======================================
8. INDIA: DON’T IMPOSE THE KOODANKULAM REACTORS - NUKING PROTESTS MOCKS
DEMOCRACY
by Praful Bidwai
=======================================
Even the most zealous supporters of nuclear power generation should logically
concede three things to their opponents. First, after the grave disaster at
Fukushima, it is natural for people everywhere to be deeply sceptical of the
safety claims made for nuclear power, and for governments to phase out atomic
reactors. That’s exactly what’s happening in countries like Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, and now Japan.

Second, nuclear power, like all technologies and all development projects,
should be promoted democratically, with the consent of the people living in
their vicinity, and with scrupulous regard for the rule of law and civil
liberties. And third, safety must be given paramount importance in reactor
construction and operation, with strict adherence to norms and procedures and
full compliance with rules laid down by an independent safety authority.

The way the government has dealt with the opponents of the Koodankulam nuclear
reactors being built in Tamil Nadu violates all three red lines egregiously.
Rather than treat opposition to nuclear power for its hazards as natural,
logical and an indication of citizens’ engagement with the world, the
Department of Atomic Energy and its subsidiary Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Ltd see dementia in it—a pathological condition to be cured by
psychiatrists to be especially invited from the National Institute of Mental
Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore.
http://www.sacw.net/article2919.html

=======================================
9. INDIA: WHY THE BHOPAL DISASTER SITE, 28 YEARS LATER, IS STILL A TOXIC KILLER
by Julien Bouissou
=======================================
(Le Mmonde/Worldcrunch - 8 October 2012)

NEW DELHI - Who will be able to decontaminate Bhopal? During the night of
December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide pesticide plant exploded in the north Indian
city of Bhopal, releasing toxic gases that killed between 15,000 and 30,000
people.

Nearly 28 years after one of the worst industrial catastrophes in history, toxic
chemicals abandoned on the site are still contaminating the groundwater.

On September 17, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) announced
that it would not be removing 347 metric tons of waste to incinerate them in
Germany, in spite of having started negotiations at the beginning of the year
with the Indian government.

The reason given for the decision was that the Indian government's refusal to be
responsible in case of any accident in the transport and handling of these toxic
substances.

Another reason was the opposition of German activists and environmentalists to
the transport and incineration of the chemical waste in their country. "We do
not want highly toxic substances to travel across half the planet," Manfred
Santen of Greenpeace told Deutsche Welle.

The decontamination of the Bhopal site is a gigantic project. Between 4,000 and
12,000 metric tons of toxic products are thought to be present in the soil.
Removal of the 347 metric tons of waste stocked in the former factory would only
be the first step. However, no incinerating center in India is capable of
disposing of the waste safely. If Europe refuses to do it, the waste will have
to be buried in India.

Waste and toxic chemicals, used to make pesticides, had infiltrated the soil
long before the explosion. In 1982, two years before the disaster, Union
Carbide's internal notes reveal that there were leaks in 23 hectares (56.8
acres) of basins used for storing chemical waste. "The evaporation basins
continue to leak, which is very alarming," said a telex sent to the American
headquarters of Union Carbide in 1982, and seen by Le Monde. The same year,
farmers had complained of the sudden death of several cows that had been grazing
near the factory.

Ongoing health problems

Seven years later, Union Carbide took samples on the factory grounds and in the
waste treatment reservoirs. The analysis revealed high concentrations of
naphthol and naphthalene. During the tests, fish exposed to the samples of toxic
substances, even diluted, died instantly or within two days.

How many inhabitants of Bhopal were and still are contaminated by toxic waste?
How many of them have died because of it? It is hard to know the truth. No
independent study has evaluated the extent of groundwater contamination, nor the
effects of these products on human health. More worrisome is that these effects
are added to those of the gases emitted during the explosion of the factory, and
that these effects are being transmitted over generations.

The Center for Rehabilitation Studies for the state of Madhya Pradesh, whose
capital is Bhopal, stated in 2005 that, "the contamination of soil and
groundwater clearly increased the morbidity rate among the population living
around the factory." The results of an expert study ordered by the Indian
Supreme Court should be known this autumn.

Around the contaminated site, children continue to be born malformed. Many local
people suffer from anemia, skin ailments and cancer. Nothing has ever been done
to clean up the site. In 1994, Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary to a
purchaser who resold the property four years later to the State of Madhya
Pradesh. As the transactions multiplied, the question of soil contamination was
ignored. In 2009, the government of Madhya Pradesh maintained that the ground
was not contaminated. The regional minister in charge of the victims of Bhopal
even announced a plan to open the site to tourists.

It took a Supreme Court order in 2005 for local authorities to supply drinking
water to inhabitants so that they would stop using wells. But the tanks that
have been installed are not all connected to the homes. This August, 47% of the
at-risk population did not have access to them, according to a study carried out
by the associations for the defense of the victims of Bhopal.

Dow Chemical, which did not answer our requests for an interview, considers that
it has no responsibility for Bhopal. Dow bought Union Carbide in 2001, after
Union Carbide already detached itself from its Indian subsidiary. "However, it
is the principle of polluter-payer that should apply," says Karuna Nundy, a
lawyer for the associations of victims of Bhopal.

"It's important to distinguish the two tragedies," she says. "It’s as if
burglars were arrested for having robbed a bank, but later the police also
discover a corpse in the trunk of their car. Dow Chemical is responsible for
both the factory explosion, which killed thousands of people, and for the
groundwater pollution that continues to hurt new victims. "

Dow Chemical spends millions of dollars to show off its image as a company of
"integrity," "respectful of the individual" and "protecting the planet." It
spent 82 million euros to sponsor the London Olympic Games. Without such support
"there would be no goosebumps, no hearts beating fast... nor union of the whole
planet," the Olympic Organizing Committee said in its thanks.

Read the article in the original language.
[http://www.lemonde.fr/journalelectronique/donnees/protege/20121002/html/880983.\
html]

All rights reserved ©Worldcrunch - in partnership with LE MONDE


=======================================
10. HAZARD CONCERNS - MIC AT BHOPAL AND VIRGINIA AND THE INDIAN NUCLEAR
LIABILITY ACT
by Nasir Tyabji
=======================================
(Economic and Political Weekly, October 13, 2012)
Oblivious to the anger and outrage expressed throughout the world after the
methyl isocyanate leak in December 1984, the continued storage of MIC at the
parent West Virginia plant until 2011, despite several accidents, indicates the
limited effect of public safety concerns on corporate strategy. As in India,
neither the US executive nor the judiciary seemed capable of withstanding
pressures exerted by the chemical processing industry. This is an ongoing story
of struggle. What gave Bhopal a fresh salience in the public mind was the Indian
government's proposal to buy nuclear power reactors from the US, and to agree to
legislation which would satisfy US manufacturers of the limits to their
liability. Disconcertingly for the government, the Bhopal chief judicial
magistrate's judgment in 2010 led to an explosion of public fury, forcing the
government to introduce clauses in the nuclear liability legislation laying down
responsibility on the technology supplier. If organic chemicals have awakened
the world to the dangers of chemical substances, Bhopal brought home the fraught
nature of industrial processes involving exothermic reactions.

This paper was presented at the workshop on “Hazardous Chemicals:Agents of
Risk and Change (1800-2000)” organised by the Deutsches Museum Research
Institute, Department of History, Maastricht University, and Rachel Carson
Centre for Environment and Society, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, on
27-29 April 2012. The author is grateful to Jesim Pais for his comments on an
earlier draft.

http://www.epw.in/special-articles/hazard-concerns.html


=======================================
11. AMONG RECENT POSTS ON COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================

When is forgiveness right? (Martha Nussbaum)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/when-is-forgiveness-right-martha.html

Waiting for Remorse in Gujarat (JS Bandukwala)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/waiting-for-remore-in-gujarat-js.html

Secularism and BJPs Dilemma (Ram Puniyani)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/secularism-and-bjps-dilemma.html

[Book Review] Hate and The State: Hindu-Muslim Riot Politics in India (Ananya
Vajpeyi)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/book-review-hate-and-state-hindu-muslim.h\
tml

India: Identities are Returning with a Vengeance (Kuldip Nayar)
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/india-identities-are-returning-with.html

United against the 'Foreigner': Assam social movement leader's take on
'infiltration' and 'the influx problem' is standard fare
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/united-against-foreigner-assam-social.htm\
l

A Preface to Racial Discourse in India: North-east and Mainland
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/a-preface-to-racial-discourse-in-india.ht\
ml

Bangladesh: most Hindu women want marriage registration to be mandatory
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/bangladesh-most-hindu-women-want.html


INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
12. INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU CRITICAL OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR THE EUROPEAN
UNION
=======================================
“For a peacemaking bloc, this is a highly militarized one”

Geneva, 12 October 2012. The IPB finds the award of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize
to the European Union surprising in that it awards a prize not to a head of
state but to an entire bloc of states, thus making it difficult to identify the
real recipient. Is the EU really a 'champion of peace’, as Nobel conceived it?
Or is it a club of states with many contradictory impulses and interests?

The arguments given by the Norwegian Nobel Committee are not entirely false. The
EU has played the historical role that it describes. All forms of cooperation
contain some elements of peacefulness, and there is indeed a strong case for
regional approaches to peacemaking between states and peoples, and in this the
EU has been a pioneer. But what is worrying are the many aspects the Committee
leaves out, making it a highly selective accolade.

Warmaking: The EU - sometimes collectively and sometimes separately - has been
involved in several of the bloodiest conflicts of our time: Iraq, Afghanistan,
Kosovo, Libya. Debate has raged for years as to whether the military path is the
right one for overcoming dictatorships and oppression, and there is no doubt
that opinion is divided both within the EU and within member states. But one
cannot ignore the involvement of 'Europe' in these war-making activities.

Arms trading: The EU includes among its membership some of the world's biggest
arms trading nations: UK, France, Germany, Italy.
The collapse of the talks just this week between EADS and BAe - which would have
formed the world's largest arms company - underlines the sizeable role that
Europe plays in weapons-distribution. For a peacemaking bloc, this is a highly
militarized one.

Nuclear weapons: EU has two states with nuclear weapons: UK and France - and
there no signs of serious disarmament either by them or in terms of pressure
from their fellow members.

Military spending : The EU as a bloc spends each year over $250 billion - more
than China and over a third of the massive US total.

Peace keeping: Compared with the UN, the EU's peace keeping operations are
minor, though they have been helpful in certain localised conflicts.

Education for peace: where is the EU's commitment to peacemaking in schools and
communities across the whole region? Will it use the Prize money to start a new
fund for that purpose?

Democracy: While the EU claims democratic credentials, there is no mention here
of the European Parliament. Yet so often it is the Parliament that stands up
against the decisions made behind closed doors by the Council of Ministers and
the Commission bureaucrats.

The victory over fascism: the transformations in Spain, Portugal, Greece (and
indeed in Eastern Europe) were the fruit of people's struggles, not an EU
achievement, although the prospect of membership of the EU may have been one
factor in convincing their ruling elites to see their future in a
forward-looking democratic system rather than in the old repressive habits of
fascism.

What is Europe? It can be argued that the OSCE has a much better claim to
represent ALL the states of Europe, (and possibly a better candidate for Peace
Prize) since it has 56 States from Europe, Central Asia and North America -
compared to the EU's 27 -- a "Europe with the windows open" rather than the
"Fortress Europe" image associated with the EU.

The Prize raises deeper questions too: is peacemaking the role of states or
peoples ? and who will receive the Prize on behalf of the EU?

It is ironic that Norway, the Nobel Peace Prize’s host nation, refused (by
referendum) membership in the EU in 1972 and again in 1994, despite a strong
pro-EU campaign by the governing Labour Party. One may speculate that the Prize
is a further attempt by the country's old elite to draw Norway into Europe.

Once again, the money that goes with the Prize could have been put to much
better use. There are hundreds of worthwhile grass roots organisations and
individuals for whom the award of the Nobel Peace Prize would have made a huge
difference. As it is, the work of the EU will continue on Monday morning much as
usual.

(The International Peace Bureau is dedicated to the vision of a World Without
War. We are a Nobel Peace Laureate (1910), and over the years 13 of our officers
have been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. )

=======================================
13. IRAN: ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION - SCRAP POLICIES THAT BAN
STUDENTS FROM STUDIES ON BASIS OF GENDER
- Human Rights Watch
=======================================
(Human Rights Watch - September 22, 2012)
(Beirut) – The Iranian government should immediately reverse policies that
place unnecessary restrictions on academic freedom for university students, in
particular women. Some of these “Islamicization” measures are to be
introduced for the new academic year, which begins on September 22, 2012. Others
have been put in place in recent years and adopted by universities across the
country.

The measures include bans on female and male enrollment in specific academic
fields in many universities, but with the greatest number of restrictions on
women. They also include quotas that limit the percentage of women students in
certain fields of study, and segregation in classrooms and facilities.

“For decades, Iranian universities have offered high quality education to male
and female students,’’ said Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at
Human Rights Watch. “But as university students across Iran prepare to start
the new academic year, they face serious setbacks, and women students in
particular will no longer be able to pursue the education and careers of their
choice.”

Authorities are enacting “Islamicization” policies at universities within
the context of a wider crackdown on academic freedom that has taken place since
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president in 2005. Iran’s universities have
increasingly become targets of government efforts to stifle dissent and
“Islamicize” higher education, Human Rights Watch said.

The new restrictions provide evidence that authorities, spearheaded by the
Science Ministry, are carrying out longstanding plans to “Islamicize”
universities and institute programs that restrict the role of young women in
universities and their access to education, Human Rights Watch said. Since the
1990s, more than 60 percent of Iran’s university students have been women.

The most recent restrictions are outlined in an annual manual published in
August by the Science and Technology Ministry, which regulates higher education.
The manual lists the major fields of study available to applicants sitting for
the national entrance exam for public universities, which was held in June. It
reveals that 36 public universities across the country have banned female
enrollment in 77 fields, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. The
manual also indicates that universities have barred male enrollment in a number
of majors.

On August 6 Mehr reported that the 2012 manual published that month by Iran’s
National Education Assessment Organization (NEAO), a Science Ministry
department, provided a large list of majors at various universities across the
country that had been “single-gendered,” meaning that only males or females
will be permitted to study that subject. The process is carried out by
individual universities under Science Ministry authority. More than 60
universities across the country made the changes, with restrictions on around
600 majors according to Daneshjoo News, an opposition website that covers
academic freedom issues.

An August 4 Daneshjoo article says that this academic year Iranian universities
have “single-gendered” about 20 percent of mathematics and technical
sciences major fields of study (including engineering), more than 30 percent in
social sciences, 10 percent in traditional sciences, 34 percent in the
arts/humanities, and 25 percent in foreign languages. Some universities have
“single-gendered” majors for alternating semesters to enforce gender
segregation but have not entirely banned access to either male or female
candidates.

Banned majors for women include computer science, chemical engineering,
industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and materials engineering at
Arak University; natural resource engineering, forestry, and mining engineering
at Tehran University; and political science, accounting, business
administration, public administration, mechanical engineering, and civil
engineering at Esfahan University. At Emam Khomeini University, in Qazvin, all
14 social sciences majors were restricted to males.

“Single-gendering” also restricts choices for male students. For example, at
Esfahan University men are no longer allowed to major in history, linguistics,
theology, applied chemistry, Arabic/Persian language and literature, sociology,
and philosophy.

Some of the larger universities with substantial “single-gendering” of major
fields of study, Daneshjoo reported, are Arak University (88 percent), Esfahan
University (68 percent), Emam Khomeini University (82 percent), Lorestan
University (100 percent), Ardebil Research University (100 percent), Golestan
University (59 percent), and Alameh Tabataba’i University (43 percent). Shahid
Chamran University in Ahvaz has “single-gendered” all of its 47 majors for
men, even though it is officially a registered coeducational university.

Only 3 percent have been “single-gendered” at Tehran University, one of the
country’s premiere public universities.

Neither the universities nor the Science Ministry have explained why they
single-gendered certain majors. In an August 26 statement, NEAO criticized
coverage of the universities’ decision to “single-gender” majors, and
alleged that opposition media outlets and websites incorrectly reported that the
government had instituted wholesale bans on selected majors for women.

The agency alleged that the total number of majors at universities throughout
the country had actually increased by 14 percent, and that the vast majority
were still open to both male and female students. On September 11, Hossein
Tavakoli, head of the agency, announced that the results of the 2012-13 academic
year national entrance exams had been released and women make up 60 percent of
the entering class.

But a review by Human Rights Watch of the NEAO manual shows that the list of
banned majors includes a number of technical and applied science majors,
including engineering, some of the highest-paying fields for graduates. An
increasing percentage of women have been employed in these fields in recent
decades.

“Many of the gender restrictions placed on university courses do not seem to
follow a clear or particular pattern,” Gerntholtz said. “They show that
authorities and university administrators have imposed seemingly arbitrary
barriers that impede the access of both male and female university students to
the higher education of their choice.”

The right to education for everyone without discrimination is explicitly
guaranteed under international instruments, which Iran has accepted or to which
it is party, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Convention against Discrimination in Education. It is also guaranteed under
Iran’s Constitution.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which provides the
definitive interpretation of the covenant, has stated that it requires Iran and
other states parties to overcome institutional barriers and other obstacles that
prevent women from fully participating in science education. It also states
that, “Differential treatment based on prohibited grounds will be viewed as
discriminatory unless the justification for differentiation is reasonable and
objective.”

Background on the “Islamicization” Program at Universities
“Single-gendering” university majors is only the latest in a series of
repressive measures that the Science Ministry has put in place as part of its
“Islamicization” program at universities during the past few years, Human
Rights Watch said.

Kamran Daneshjoo, the science minister, has aggressively pursued this policy
since his appointment in September 2009 and has repeatedly cited a regulation
passed by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in 1987 requiring all
universities to implement gender separation in classes and throughout campuses
to the extent possible. In 2011, the Iranian Parliament’s Education Commission
announced that steps would be taken to implement gender segregation at a number
of universities.

Segregation of individual classes and public spaces has already been reported at
a number of public universities, including Allame Tabataba’i, Amir Kabir, and
Yazd. Students at these universities have complained that segregation has
resulted in disproportionately fewer courses being offered to women, and
overcrowding of the facilities used by women.

Plans to separate male and female students in classes and common areas have also
affected Iran’s private universities. In August 2011, a group of students at
various campuses of Azad Islamic University sent a letter to the university
president protesting plans for gender separation, accusing him of seeking to
limit the presence of women at those institutions.

Kamran Daneshjoo has pushed through gender separation policies with the support
of parliamentary allies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme
Council of the Cultural Revolution, and the Assembly of Experts, a body charged
with selecting the Supreme Leader, in spite of opposition from President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.

In January 2011 Ahmadinejad, in a letter to the Ministries of Science and
Health, which oversees admission to medical schools, asked the ministries not to
go through with policies to separate male and female university students.
Ahmadinejad referred to both the forcible retirement of professors and gender
separation in universities as “shallow and unwise.”

Since 2005, authorities have removed dozens of professors from some of Iran’s
most elite universities, claiming they were either past retirement age or were
unqualified. Critics allege that authorities purged professors to stem the
influence of secular and liberal thought from universities.

Over the past few years the Science Ministry has announced several other plans
that could adversely affect women’s access to higher education, including
gender quotas for major fields of study, restricting university application
based on geographical location, and increasing gender-segregated spaces on
university campuses, including in the classroom. Last year, for example, student
rights groups reported that several dozen universities had begun applying a
quota system that guarantees males a higher percentage of places in up to 40
university majors.

Quotas limiting the spaces and selection of majors for female university
students followed a recommendation by the Iranian parliament’s research center
that encouraged restricting female enrollment to universities in local provinces
to reduce the “destructive consequences” of female enrollment on family
life. But authorities at the NEAO and elsewhere claim that “Islamicization”
policies do not adversely impact female students, and cite as proof the
announcement that women still account for 60 percent of the 2012 entering class.

The wider campaign on academic freedom since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, in
addition to gender separation for forced retirement of professors, has included
imprisoning student activists and barring politically active students from
enrolling in or continuing higher education.

University disciplinary committees have been used to monitor, suspend, or expel
students. Pro-government student groups affiliated with the basij, a hard-line
Islamist paramilitary group, are an increasing campus presence. Universities
have reduced or limited social science curricula, which are often viewed by
authorities as a breeding ground for critical and “un-Islamic” thought. And
authorities have restricted activities of independent student groups, which are
often critical of government policies.

As recently as April, Daneshjoo, the Science Minister, announced that,
“Individuals who participated in the anti-government protests that took place
in 2009 “have no right to enter universities.”


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 16-17 Oct 2012 - No. 2758
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Pakistan: Taliban�s threat to media (Editorial Daily Times)
2. Pakistan: Malala is a mirror (Talat Farooq)
+ Statement by Afghan women�s rights activist Malalai Joya on the Pakistani
Taliban attack on Malala Yousafzai
3. Britain�s odious rapprochement with Narendra Modi (Praful Bidwai)
4. Bangladesh: Investigate failures to protect minorities in the South Eastern
region
- Statement by AHRC and Odhikar
5. The dangerous slide of Bangladesh (Garga Chatterjee)
6. Maldives: Jagged islands (C.H.)
7. The Partition of India: A story of love and hate (Ali Raza)
8. India: A trust betrayed - Without Apologies: The state cares little about the
lost years of our ethnic Chinese (S.N.M. Abdi)
9. India: Haryana�s Epidemic of Rape and Deep Patriarchy: A compilation of
reports and commentary
- Women organisations hit out at Hooda government (Report in The Hindu)
- The Haryana horrors (Rashme Sehgal)
- Just a number (by Kalpana Sharma)
- Don�t defend the indefensible (Namita Bhandare)
- Nothing consensual about rape (Amit Baruah)
- Fast Food Produces Heat Which Leads to Rapes: Khap
- No excuses (Editorial, The Indian Express)
10. Pushing boundaries for justice (Warisha Farasat)

International:
11. Tunisia: Investigate Attacks by Religious Extremists - Multiple Incidents,
No Arrests (Human Rights Watch)

=======================================
1. PAKISTAN: TALIBAN�S THREAT TO MEDIA
- Editorial Daily Times
=======================================
Editorial Daily Times, 15 October 2012

According to a BBC Urdu service report, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief
Hakeemullah Mehsud has issued �special directions� to his subordinates in
different cities of Pakistan to target Pakistani and international media groups.
This is the TTP�s response in anger at the critical coverage the media across
the board has given to the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai. On the
government�s part, the threat is being taken seriously. The Federal Interior
Ministry says intelligence agencies have intercepted a telephone conversation
between Hakeemullah Mehsud and a subordinate, Nadeem Abbas alias Intiqami, in
which the TTP chief directed Abbas to attack media organisations that denounced
the TTP after the Malala incident. The cities specified to be targeted are
Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and others. Clearly, this is as wide as
media targeting can get. The Interior Ministry in response has issued orders to
beef up security at the offices of media organisations by deploying additional
police. If needed, the government will deploy the Frontier Constabulary as
reinforcements. The ministry has also cautioned religious scholars who had
publicly denounced the Taliban following the attack.

The countrywide revulsion against the targeting by the TTP of a 14-year-old girl
whose only �crime� was standing up defiantly against the Taliban�s campaign to
bring a halt to education in general, and girls education in particular, in
areas under their influence was also reflected in media coverage of the event.
Our lively media rarely converges on such a consensus on anything. When it does,
things cannot remain the same and the pressure of public opinion generated as a
result of this media consensus tends to force the authorities� hand to respond
to the issue. To their credit, the authorities, from the government to the armed
forces, have unanimously come to the conclusion that enough is enough. Now what
remains to be seen is how this convergence translates into action. The reports
about finally firmly grasping the nettle that is North Waziristan, the hotbed
and safe haven of the Taliban, are a hopeful sign, despite the military�s
reiteration of the need for a political decision before an offensive can be
launched. The apprehension all along about military action in North Waziristan
has been the adverse asymmetrical effect in the form of a terrorist blowback
throughout the country. By its very nature, the protagonists of such warfare
retreat before overwhelming force deployed against them and strike elsewhere so
as to distract and stretch out the security forces, which inevitably produces
gaps in the security network. It is imperative therefore that unlike previous
military campaigns, including the ones in Swat and South Waziristan, any
campaign against the terrorists holed up in North Waziristan must take into
account and pre-empt the militants� ability to melt away into other areas in the
face of a military offensive, to live and fight another day. Any offensive in
North Waziristan therefore must treat the requirements of the theatre as a
whole, cut off retreat routes, and at the same time brace for terrorist attacks
elsewhere in Pakistan. Bitter as the harvest of a North Waziristan offensive has
the potential to reap, there is now no escape from taking out these fanatics and
cleansing the soil of Pakistan from such inimical forces that threaten the best
values of our state and society.

=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: MALALA IS A MIRROR
by Talat Farooq
=======================================
(The News, 17 October 2012)

Take a good look � here are the Taliban, here are the Taliban supporters, here
are the politicians and here are we, the common men and women of Pakistan. The
Taliban are gleeful, the Taliban supporters, bearded or clean-shaven, are
cautious; the politicians are alert, wondering how to manipulate the situation;
and we, the common men and women of Pakistan are shocked, as if what has
happened is a bolt from the blue.

As if innocent men, women and children are not being killed and maimed day in
and day out in this land of the pure for the last 11 years. All of us are
guilty. Malala is a mirror and this is what she reminds us of.

The army chief was vocal in his condemnation. Malala is the mirror in which
General Kayani can see the faces of those who bargained the lives and future of
generations of Pakistanis by creating a monster that continues to devour us.

None of these men had the foresight to look beyond their immediate interests and
none of them has ever been held responsible for devastating Pakistan in the name
of national security.

Shamelessly using religion to further their India-centric foreign policy
objectives, these men have made us more insecure than we have ever been in the
last 65 years. Determined to attain a nuclear arsenal, to outdo an external
enemy, these men failed to protect the people of this country from the internal
enemy.

An enemy that they themselves created, fattened, and nurtured. These men who
played with our lives are still around, still living in their dream world where
the good Taliban from Afghanistan will prove to be their assets and the local
militants will win Kashmir for them.

These men are responsible for the deaths of 40,000 innocent Pakistanis at the
hands of the militants, both local and foreign and therefore these men are
accountable to the people of this country. Will anyone ever have the guts to
take them to task? Malala is a mirror and this is what she is asking General
Kayani to do.

The conservatives, with and without beards, are groping for words as if the
scenario in which a 14-year-old child is fighting for her life needs some kind
of clarification.

Is Imran Khan going to stand up, address the TTP leaders by name, look them in
the eye and clearly tell them in as many words that they and their ilk, and not
the US, are Pakistan�s enemy number one? He is an upright man; he is not corrupt
and dishonest like most other politicians.

Therefore, can he admit that if the US drones obliterate the likes of Malala�s
killers from the face of this earth then Allah be thanked for this mercy? Does
he honestly think that all terrorists are terrorists because US drones have
killed their families?

Is Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman going to stand up and be counted? After his love for
diesel, military plots and Saudi riyals, is there room left for integrity? And
where�s the amir of Jamaat-i-Islami, Munawwar Hasan?

Does he have the guts to say that Malala is as important as Aafia Siddiqi? Or
that the killing of Muslims by the TTP is as heinous an act as the killing of
the Burmese Muslims?

Can Mufti Naeem take out rallies from Jamia Binoria in defence of Malala and the
right of all females to education? None of them can do that for none of them has
the courage to speak the whole truth. Malala is a mirror and this is what she
reminds them of.

Can the government do more than issue inane �condemnation� calling terrorists
�non-Muslim�? (They are Muslims, alright whether we like it or not.) Can it
admit that it is impotent and has failed to rise above its fear of the uniformed
elite?

That all it has done is fill its own coffers at the cost of this poor nation�s
blood and sweat? Can they admit that they have failed to ensure law and order
because their own ranks are full of cowards and greedy self-interested thieves �
criminals who in civilised countries would be put behind bars to ensure safety
of the neighbourhood?

Can the opposition in all honesty claim they are better than the incumbent
rulers in terms of integrity and uprightness? How many of them together can
claim that they believe in democracy and the rule of law and have lived their
lives accordingly? Can any of them guarantee that Malala will be safe in the
future? Malala is a mirror and she reflects their true faces.

And what about us, dear reader... what about you and me and other faceless
millions like us? What does Malala remind us of? Does she not ask us, �what if I
was your child? Your daughter? Your sister? Your grand-child? How soon would you
then forget me and move on with life?

Would I become a festering wound in your heart just the way your own child�s
pain would? Would you stand up for me and not forget ever again that my future
and the future of all the Pakistani children is in your hands? Will you pledge
this to be the turning point in the history of this grief-stricken nation?

Please will you not forget tomorrow what you remember with such passion today?
Will your efforts go beyond Youm-e-Duaa?� Malala is a mirror and this is what
she is asking us.

So then, do we have it in us to stand firm and change our destiny? Can we not
look to the military or the politicians or the mullahs to resolve our problems
but make them do it simply by taking responsibility for our own lives? Do we
have the guts to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves?

I think we do. Despite all our shortcomings I don�t think we can let down a
beautiful, brave, young child fighting for her life today because yesterday we
could not find the courage to jump into the fray and protect her. Tomorrow we
must.

The writer is a PhD student at Leicester, UK. Email: talatfarooq11@...

o o o

See Also:
STATEMENT BY AFGHAN WOMEN�S RIGHTS ACTIVIST MALALAI JOYA ON THE PAKISTANI
TALIBAN ATTACK ON 14-YEAR-OLD MALALA YOUSAFZAI
http://www.sacw.net/article2931.html

=======================================
3. BRITAIN�S ODIOUS RAPPROCHEMENT WITH NARENDRA MODI
by Praful Bidwai
=======================================
(guardian.co.uk, 17 October 2012)

About 1,000 Muslims died in the Gujarat riots, under Modi�s watch. Without
justice, there can be no reconciliation

Last week, the British government asked its high commissioner in India to meet
Narendra Modi, ending 10 years of international isolation for Gujarat�s chief
minister. Modi was delighted, of course, immediately tweeting "God is great".

His industries minister instantly promised to "fast-track" British investment
projects. But many Indian political parties, including the ruling Congress,
parties of the left, and Muslim organisations, have sharply criticised the
decision. Ever since the massacre of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in
2002, Modi has been accused by jurists, secular political leaders and civil
society in India, as well as by the governments of many countries, of taking no
action to prevent the violence, delaying the deployment of police to protect
victims and failing to investigate and punish those responsible for the
killings. Despite his repeated denials of each of these accusations, Modi is a
potent symbol of militant defiance of secularism and constitutional-democratic
principles, and remains greatly feared by Muslims.

The decision by the UK to resume contact with him is seen as a cruel blow to the
causes of justice for the massacre�s victims (which included three British
citizens), and of non-discrimination against India�s 180 million non-Hindus.

Up till now, British officials have followed a "working policy" of no contact
with Modi�s government "because of our concerns over what happened in Gujarat".
Modi was also refused a visa by the US and EU. Modi�s global isolation has
helped to sustain domestic civil society pressure to bring the massacre�s
perpetrators to justice. This in turn encouraged the Indian supreme court to
intervene, by asking the Gujarat government to reopen criminal cases closed for
"lack of evidence", and transferring some trials to Maharashtra.

The new British stand has been rationalised on the ground that it would allow
the UK "to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest and to explore
opportunities for closer co-operation, in line with the � objective of improving
bilateral relations �". In reality, it will deepen India�s social and political
rifts, and strengthen Modi�s Hindu-chauvinist Bharatiya Janata party, for whose
leadership he is making an aggressive bid.

Going by background briefings by British officials to the Indian press, the UK
is attracted to "dynamic and thriving" opportunities in Gujarat, especially in
"business", "science" and "education". Gujarat has emerged as a major investment
destination thanks largely to the sweetheart deals Modi offers to businesses.
Despite booming investments, Gujarat�s social indices and poverty ratios remain
appalling.

Evidently, the Cameron government doesn�t want to lose out on Gujarat�s business
opportunities or support from Britain�s prosperous Gujarati businessmen,
described by the Foreign Office as "one of the most successful and dynamic
communities in the UK" � even if that means sanctifying large-scale violence.
The Foreign Office lamely added that it wants "to secure justice for the
families of the British nationals who were killed � [and] support human rights
and good governance �" That cannot be done by relaxing moral-political pressure
on Modi.

The 2002 massacre was conducted by Hindu fanatics, who speared and burnt Muslims
to death, besides raping hundreds of women. Some particularly ghastly incidents
were documented by Human Rights Watch and an Indian magazine . A witness told
Human Rights Watch that the belly of a pregnant woman was slit open by a mob
with swords, and both she and her foetus were torched. At Naroda-Patiya, 97
people were massacred, including 35 children and 32 women, by a mob directed by
former minister and Modi confidante Maya Kodnani, who has just been sentenced to
28 years in jail. Police claim they recorded these cases but could not pursue
them because of lack of evidence. This is contested by eye-witnesses.

The collective barbaric vengeance against a religious minority couldn�t have
occurred, says India�s National Human Rights Commission , without "a
comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the
persistent violation of the rights to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the
people". Although many more Sikhs were killed in Delhi after Indira Gandhi�s
assassination, the state�s involvement was far deeper in Gujarat, making it the
worst massacre of its kind.

The massacre followed riots, which were themselves a reaction to a fire in a
train, declared accidental by a railway inquiry, in which 59 Hindus died.
According to well-corroborated accounts, including some 40 independent reports,
including one by the Concerned Citizens Tribunal, composed of former senior
judges, Modi had the bodies of the train-fire victims brought over a long
distance to Ahmedabad, and displayed in a procession. Unsurprisingly, this
provoked violence in Gujarat�s charged climate. Modi has denied this, saying
that the bodies were taken to a hospital to avoid any tensions, and that the
violence was simply a natural "reaction" to the train fire.

According to independent accounts, denied officially, police stood by as the
killing proceeded, and refused to register the crimes properly. The BJP, in
power nationally, did not use the constitutional powers they have which could
have helped restore confidence. (In India, if there is a breakdown of order in
any state, the central government can sack the provincial government and impose
its own rule until the situation improves and fresh elections can be held. In
March 2002, a majority of Indian parties demanded that Modi be sacked and
central rule imposed in Gujarat, but the BJP-led government refused.) Gujarat�s
climate has remained vitiated ever since, allowing Modi to win two state
elections.

Modi claims he�s innocent and has never expressed remorse for the violence. His
recent overtures to Muslims are viewed with suspicion.

Despite official efforts to shield the culprits, and corrupt or destroy
evidence, more than 110 people have been found guilty and sentenced by the
courts � a small fraction of the culprits� number. Some evidence, as in
Kodnani�s case, was provided by conscientious policemen, including a detailed
mobile-phone log that establishes frequent conversations between ministers,
Hindu fanatics and police at specific sites.

Gujarat�s victims have still not received justice. Thousands haven�t been
rehabilitated. Large numbers have been driven into ghettoes, and effectively
disenfranchised within a communally polarised climate. Without justice, there
can be no reconciliation or forgiveness.

Violence of this scale should be an international concern. It shouldn�t be
treated lightly simply because India has the trappings of a democracy with free
elections. What makes the British decision politically odious is its timing: the
Gujarat state election is just two months away.

[The above article is also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2929.html]

=======================================
4. BANGLADESH: INVESTIGATE FAILURES TO PROTECT MINORITIES IN THE SOUTH EASTERN
REGION
- Statement by AHRC and Odhikar
=======================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-204-2012
October 17, 2012

A Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission

BANGLADESH: State's unpardonable failures deserve credible investigation

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar

AHRC-STM-204-2012-04.JPG The entire governmental machinery of Bangladesh, with
its retinue of law-enforcement units, intelligence agencies, and security
forces, have totally and abysmally failed to protect minority communities in the
South Eastern region of the country.�  A large number of monasteries, temples,
houses and establishments of the Buddhist communities of the area, and even
those belonging to some of the Hindu communities, have been subject to open
arson and looting. Starting on September 29th, 2012 for 3 straight days the
rampage continued in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong districts. The devastating
attacks began at Ramu sub-district town on the evening of 29th September and
spread around the region in the following two days, virtually without even token
measures by the authorities to protect the assets and trust of the affected
communities. It is the local leaders of the ruling political party, in collusion
with few leaders of other parties, along with locally known and unknown
individuals, have been found to have provoked the hate-mongering and violence.

Victims and witnesses noted how local police acted as silent spectators to the
firestorms lit up and fanned by the attackers.

http://www.sacw.net/article2930.html

=======================================
5. THE DANGEROUS SLIDE OF BANGLADESH
by Garga Chatterjee
=======================================
Last month, in the Ramu area of the People�s Republic of Bangladesh (PRB), a
large crowd of the majority religionists destroyed 24 Buddhist and Hindu
temples. The crowd included many functionaries of three major political groups �
Awami League, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. Thus, it was not simply a Rohingya
response to the Buddhist-on-Muslim oppression in Burma.

When British India was partitioned amidst massive violence, the conception of
mutually assured security � that minorities would be safe because attacks on
them would risk retribution by their majority co-religionists elsewhere � was
blown to smithereens. Macabre minority-less zones were created in vast stretches
of the Punjab, Sindh and Rajputana. In Bengal, the story was different. Except
events in Kolkata, Noakhali and Barisal, mass-blood letting was not as prominent
as feature as it was in the west. But there was migration of epic proportions �
with more Hindus moving into the Indian Union than Muslims moving to Pakistan.
This, in part, indicated the difference in security and threat-perception of
minorities. The migration of persecuted minorities from East to West Bengal
still continues. East Bengal (as East Pakistan and later PRB ) has recorded a
continuous decade on decade decrease in the percentage of its Hindu and Buddhist
minority population since 1951 � a matter of no small shame.

This is especially tragic because the Liberation war of 1971 was also believed
by many to be a triumph of secularist forces against the forces of
religion-based politics. Valiant people like the famous Shahriar Kabir and the
lesser known Shamim Osman Bhulu, both belonging to the majority community of
East Bengal, have often risked their own lives to protect the minorities and
uphold the values of �71. But they are powerless in front of a crowd of 25,000,
a constitution that discriminates and a state that is apathetic to the plight of
the minorities, at best.

http://www.sacw.net/article2932.html

=======================================
6. MALDIVES: JAGGED ISLANDS
by C.H.| Male
=======================================
(The Economist, Oct 10th 2012)

EMERGING from their planes, tourists are whisked into lavishly equipped boats
which cross the turquoise sea to their resort islands, or onto seaplanes to get
to farther-flung islets. Those who visit the capital find a tiny city which
functions well and looks strikingly modern by South Asian standards.

Beneath the calm, there are bitter, highly personalised differences of view
regarding the former president, Mohamed Nasheed, who was arrested on October 8th
in the south, a week after fleeing the trial to which he had been summoned. He
was released from custody on October 9th, given 25 days to answer charges that
he overstepped his powers while president, and restricted from leaving the
capital.

His supporters extol him nonetheless. �For so many years he was the only one
fighting for our democracy, our freedom, our right to speak our mind,� says
Ahmed, a photographer in Male. He is not a member of Mr Nasheed�s Maldivian
Democratic Party (MDP) but praises the changes it has brought, ranging from
better transport between islands to a health-insurance scheme.

Adam, a young doctor, feels differently. He feels that under Mr Nasheed�s
presidency it became �not cool to say you�re a devout Muslim who prays five
times a day�. He says the ex-president was whimsical, and asks why he had to
spend a month personally overseeing the construction of a conference centre in
the southernmost atoll.

Those are the mild criticisms. Often the tone is harsher. Last December the
Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), then in opposition but now in government, issued a
pamphlet accusing the then president of trying to �wipe out Maldivians�
religious identity�. According to the constitution every Maldivian must be
Muslim, but the leaflet accused Mr Nasheed of seeking to build temples, elevate
Christians and Jews in public diplomacy, abolish punitive amputations and public
floggings (there are dozens each year, mainly of women) and promote the
consumption of drugs and alcohol.

On social media the comments are even more extreme. Recent anti-Nasheed tweets
(in a highly Twitter-conscious society) have called him, variously, a
kidnapper�in reference to his arrest of a judge whom he accused of
misdemeanours�a terrorist, a madman and an animal. He is accused of seeking to
�encourage corrupt music� and of giving credence to people who want to do such
things as remove God from the school curriculum, break traditional family bonds,
remove all restrictions on sex, encourage bestiality and orgies and debase all
art. An especially popular implication is that Mr Nasheed is something more akin
to a new-age cult leader than a politician�or even the human-rights campaigner
he once was.

The pro-Nasheed side tweet back shrilly, using the word baaghee�traitor�as often
as they can to describe figures from the new government and senior officials
from the security force. At the camp where they organise their regular protests,
photographs of the police accused of having organised the suppression of
demonstrators are pinned up and named.

Mr Nasheed�s resignation in February sharpened battle lines that were already in
place. The party of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, who ruled Maldives for 30 years until
2008, is back in power and government circles are referring to Mr Nasheed in the
same disparaging terms they used in the old days. Eva Abdulla, an MDP
parliamentarian, recently received a Tweet saying: �Do you know how you will
die? Allah willing, you will be paralysed.� She says that since the February
events life is dominated by �hate-mongering�. The recent murder of the MP
Afrasheem Ali, which the presidential media secretary implied was the work of
Nasheed supporters, has made things worse.

In light of the DQP�s pamphlet about religious identity, is a heightened
Islamist agenda part of the government�s programme? The MDP says it is. No,
replies the government. �In some areas we�re actually more liberal,� says Hassan
Saeed, the DQP leader and a special adviser to the current president. But
Ibrahim Ismail, a colleague and former adviser to Mr Nasheed, thinks Maldives is
moving in an Islamist direction and �the government isn�t doing anything about
it�. He says, for instance, that in every primary school several dozen children
are being pulled by their conservative parents from their gym classes, practical
arts and music, and that the trend is only growing.

=======================================
7. THE PARTITION OF INDIA: A STORY OF LOVE AND HATE
by Ali Raza
=======================================
dawn books and authors | 14 October 2012

THE PUNJAB BLOODIED, PARTITIONED AND CLEANSED: UNRAVELLING THE 1947 TRAGEDY
THROUGH SECRET BRITISH REPORTS AND FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS
by Ishtiaq Ahmed
Oxford University Press, Karachi
ISBN 9780199064700
640pp. Rs 2,100

Reviewed by Ali Raza

Alok Bhalla, in his introduction to the multi-volume Stories About the Partition
of India, writes that �there is a single common note which informs nearly all
the stories written about the Partition and the horror it unleashed � a note of
utter bewilderment.� Bhalla of course, was mostly referring to the vast corpus
of literary writing on Partition. Yet, one can also detect this sense of �utter
bewilderment� in the first hand testimonies of survivors and witnesses.
Testimonies that have been collected and presented in fine detail by Ishtiaq
Ahmed in The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed.

One could also argue that it is the state of bewilderment which drives
historians, writers, and artists, among others, to make sense of Partition.
Ahmed, it seems, is no different. Currently a professor of political science at
Stockholm University and born in the fateful year of 1947 in the fateful city of
Lahore, Ahmed writes movingly about growing up in an absence; an absence which
spoke in its silence of people that were no longer there. And yet, there were
visible reminders as well. Reminders such as Chacha Churanji Lal, also known as
Lal Din or Lal Mohammad, a refugee from East Punjab who was said to have gone
half mad after his only child was killed in front of him.

Both the visible and invisible signifiers spoke of millions of sufferers who
were mercilessly slaughtered, forcibly displaced, grievously wounded, and
eternally scarred by the loss, pain and trauma of Partition. For the most part,
their only fault lay in belonging to the wrong community on the wrong side of
the line dividing India and Pakistan.

Ishtiaq Ahmed brings these stories out in stark detail. In compiling this book,
to which he devoted more then a decade, he conducted hundreds of interviews, of
witnesses, victims and perpetrators, on both sides of the Punjab and beyond.
These stories speak for themselves. Their eloquence renders the historian�s
intervention unnecessary. And in this respect, Ahmed has done a commendable job
in allowing his interlocutors to dominate the narrative.

But he has done more then that. He uses his interviews to weave together a
broader narrative that is sensitive to detail, chronology and context. He
supplements those with official sources, memoirs, literary works, and
newspapers. Personal accounts, along with a superb analysis of the political and
social specificities of particular localities, are deftly woven together with
the �high politics� of Partition. Without doubt, this is where the book is at
its best. What emerges is an incredibly variegated and complex portrayal of
Partition, and taken together, this is a compelling way of telling a story.

Yet, for all its complexity, Ahmed attempts to explain it all under a broad
theoretical framework of �ethnic cleansing�. This is a brave attempt and one
that perhaps reflects his training as a political scientist. Full blooded
historians might be forgiven for being a bit sceptical. For one, his framework
might have been more convincing had he contrasted the Punjabi experience with
that of, say, Bengal. Ahmed, though, seems fully convinced about the explanatory
power of his framework and his book in general. As he puts it, this book �is the
first holistic, comprehensive and detailed case study of the Punjab partition�.
That is a bold claim, and one that many a historian would love to challenge.

To be sure though, there are many aspects which make this work somewhat unique.
For starters, Ishtiaq Ahmed, as a Swedish citizen, was able to visit both
Punjabs. That is a luxury that researchers on either side can only dream of. As
a result, Ahmed, for arguably the first time, brings forth detailed narratives
from �both sides�. To my mind though, what is more important is how he
systematically sets out the degree of official complicity in ethnic cleansing on
both sides of the Punjab. Most Partition accounts are silent on the active role
played by politicians, government officials, and administrative and military
personnel in organising and orchestrating Partition violence. Ahmed brings this
aspect out in minute detail. He notes, for instance, how M.G. Cheema, the city
magistrate of Lahore, masterminded a massive arson attack on Shah Alami gate, a
predominantly Hindu locality. As Ahmed says, this attack �broke the will of the
Hindus and Sikhs to hold onto [Lahore]�. Also important in this respect was the
role of organised paramilitary outfits like the Muslim League National Guards,
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and the Akal Fauj. It would have been wonderful
though, had Ahmed dwelled more on how these groups had been actively preparing
for civil war since at least the mid-1940s.

Given its wealth of detail, it is hardly surprising that this book has already
received rave reviews in India, Pakistan and beyond. And for the most part, it�s
easy to go along with the general consensus. The book though, is certainly not a
page-turner (in the literal sense of the term). Rather, each story, each
narration, demands attention and invites introspection. Its appeal lies in the
heart-rending testimonies of witnesses that stand as a mournful eulogy to a
world that was suddenly torn asunder.

The testimonies presented by Ahmed are striking in a number of respects. For
one, they underscore how little ordinary people knew about Partition and what it
potentially meant for them. This is where the state of �bewilderment� is most
acute. The Muslim community in Amritsar, for instance, was convinced that their
city would go to Pakistan until almost the very eve of Partition. Those in
Gurdaspur found out only a few days after independence that their district had,
in fact, gone to India. Criminal in this respect was the role of the British
themselves, who botched the whole process from start to finish. Also striking is
how the victims of violence were also often its perpetrators. Survivors and
refugees for instance, were often at the forefront of �revenge attacks�. At
times, it seems that all are victims and all are perpetrators. Perhaps an
untainted victimhood can only truly be claimed by the iconic figure of a hapless
and ravaged woman, whose body became the site where notions of community and
honour were inscribed and fought over.

Yet, alongside stories of hate, violence and dispossession are moving accounts
of love, compassion, heroism and unrequited generosity. Of people who risked
their lives to save their neighbours from rampaging mobs. Of men who bridged the
communal divide and escorted their fellow villagers to either India or Pakistan.
This, as Ashis Nandy points out, is the other part of the story, and one that is
not emphasised as much it should be in writings on Partition. As he argues, for
every story of death and dispossession there is also one that gratefully
recounts the assistance rendered by someone �on the other side�. Often, as in
many of Ahmed�s accounts, one finds both themes in a single testimony.

In this sense, Partition is about hate and about love. It is as much about
cruelty as it is about compassion. It is a testimony to the death as well as the
triumph of the human spirit. It�s a story of contradictions. In short, it�s a
story of �utter bewilderment�.

And so we have come full circle. Our conclusion has turned out to be the state
we started with. There will no doubt be many who will continue to try and
comprehend the incomprehensible. Ishtiaq Ahmed has tried his hand at it and he
has succeeded to a significant extent. This is, without doubt, a comprehensive
work that deserves to be read and reread. For the moment though, Ahmed has
passed on the torch and the onus is now on others to carry this work forward.

The reviewer has a PhD in South Asian history from Oxford University

[also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article2933.html]


=======================================
8. INDIA: A TRUST BETRAYED - WITHOUT APOLOGIES: THE STATE CARES LITTLE ABOUT THE
LOST YEARS OF OUR ETHNIC CHINESE
S.N.M. Abdi
=======================================
(outlook, Special Issue: 1962 The China Disaster, Oct 22, 2012)

Not too long ago, I visited a restaurant called Beijing in Tangra, Calcutta�s
Chinatown, for a Sunday brunch with friends. The Cantonese noodles and pepper
chicken, served in square, white plates, were so delicious that half-way through
the meal I wanted to compliment the owner. But Monica Liu, a waiter informed me,
had not returned from church. She turned up in a pantsuit while we were
savouring our dessert. �You are a God-fearing woman providing excellent food to
his hungry children,� I remarked. �You are welcome, sir,� she replied. Then she
muttered under her breath: �We have a lot to thank the Lord for. I have come a
long way from the concentration camp where I was baptised.�

People rub their eyes in disbelief. I couldn�t believe what I heard.
Concentration camp? �I am so sorry, but were you in a concentration camp in
China?� I asked Monica confusedly. �No sir. We are Indian citizens. We were
picked up from our home in Shillong and dispatched to a concentration camp at
Deoli in Rajasthan by the Indian government. We spent over four years behind
barbed-wire fences patrolled by soldiers whose rifles were always pointed at
us.�

I had thought that I knew my India inside out. But I was proved wrong that
Sunday. Like the vast majority of my countrymen, I was blissfully unaware of the
detention of a huge number of Chinese Indians in Deoli�s Central Internment Camp
during the 1962 India-China war. By New Delhi�s own admission, nearly 3,000 men,
women and children of Chinese descent�most of them Indian citizens�were
imprisoned in Deoli without trial. They were picked up on the pretext that they
posed a threat to India�s security. But the only �evidence� against them was the
colour of their skin and facial features. The war lasted barely a month, but
many internees were rotting in Deoli until late 1967�five years after the armed
conflict!

That Sunday, however, Monica had caught a seasoned journalist like me by
surprise. Fortunately, we struck up a conversation�if we hadn�t, this book
wouldn�t have been written.

Monica�s baptism certificate. She was baptised in the Deoli camp.
http://images.outlookindia.com/Uploads/outlookindia/2012/20121022/monica_baptism\
_certificate_20121022.jpg

I called on Monica after a few days to see her baptism certificate. The pale
green paper had cracked at the folds but it corroborated her stunning remark.
Born on October 14, 1953, she was baptised on March 23, 1965, in the Deoli camp,
according to the signed and stamped certificate No. 67. She recounted her
baptism in a makeshift chapel by Reverand Father Benedict Fernandez of the
Church of Saint Joseph in Kota. The visiting chaplain had signed Monica�s
baptism certificate with a flourish befitting the truly pious.

The baptism certificate is the only proof Monica has of her detention�and she
has preserved it. She was a bubbly nine-year-old when the Shillong police picked
her up along with her family and packed them off to Deoli in November 1962.
Prisoners without trial, they were released in February 1967, traumatised and
penniless. No document were ever issued to them. For a government, it�s
difficult to get more arbitrary than that.

My account of wartime abuse of Chinese Indians is based on interviews with
surviving internees in India and elsewhere. In their recollections, Deoli
emerged as a metaphor for state-sponsored oppression, racial profiling and
humiliation of persons with Chinese blood. Indian officials who dealt with the
Chinese then spoke to me at length. Some talked on record; others shared
information and views on the condition of anonymity. Without their version, an
objective appraisal was out of the question. I  examined hundreds of pages of
diplomatic correspondence between New Delhi and Beijing about the persecution of
people of Chinese origin in India just before, during and after the war, besides
classified home ministry files and records of the Intelligence Branch of the
West Bengal government.

The Indian government emptied the Northeast�close to the zone of military
operations�of Chinese in 1962. But they were also taken from Calcutta, Bombay,
Delhi, Kanpur, Jamshedpur and elsewhere by special intelligence units and
despatched by train to Kota, the nearest railhead from Deoli.

A concentration camp has horrible connotations. So, was the Deoli facility a
concentration camp?

Its antecedents were a dead giveaway. Its origins lay in a cantonment
established by the British army in Deoli in 1852; in 1942 its barracks were
converted into a POW camp for German, Italian and Japanese combatants and
nationals. In 1947, the military handed it over to the home ministry. When
busloads of Chinese families started arriving at the camp in November 1962, they
were subjected to regulations from an old military manual for administering Axis
POWs gathering dust in the commandant�s office. For instance, dinner was served
at 5 pm and lights were switched off at 7 pm, plunging the prisoners� wings into
darkness until daybreak. The rule was revoked when it was realised that, unlike
Axis POWs, 60 per cent of the internees were children or elderly persons.

According to Sunanda K. Dutta-Ray�former editor of The Statesman�the wartime
population of ethnic Chinese was around 60,000, with Calcutta accounting for
50,000. But Arun Chandra Guha, an MP representing Barasat, revealed during a
1962 parliamentary debate that there were between 20,000 and 30,000 Chinese in
India. The 1961 census pegged India�s population at 439,234,771, or about 440
million. Going by Dutta-Ray�s figure, ethnic Chinese then accounted for 0.013
per cent of India�s population; going by Guha�s, they accounted for between
0.006 and 0.004 per cent. Could this minuscule minority have posed a threat? By
no rational yardstick could such a tiny ethnic group have endangered India. But
ethno-phobia is triggered more often by hallucination than facts.

The Indian government spoke with a forked tongue while incarcerating persons of
Chinese descent. On December 13, 1962, it said it �became necessary to remove
all Chinese nationals from that region (Assam and West Bengal) along with others
who were security risks when Chinese aggressors had been moving threateningly
toward those areas�. On January 8, 1963, it called its  action �the minimum any
government would take under similar circumstances�. Justifying individual
arrests, India said �there were very clear reasons for their detention because
of their prejudicial and anti-Indian activities�. But after hurling accusations,
the government did a somersault: on February 27, 1963, Union home minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri gave the detainees a clean chit! He told Parliament that no
internee would be tried for spying or subversion. Shastri was true to his word:
nobody was prosecuted. But nobody was set free either: they simply languished
behind barbed wires like POWs.

Sadly, even 50 years later, the Indian state has no regrets. There are no pangs
of conscience, no symptoms of soul-searching. Questioned about excesses, Jagat
S. Mehta, retired foreign secretary who manned the China desk of the external
affairs ministry during the war, told an interviewer that India may have
overreacted. �Today we are talking from the benefit of hindsight. But during the
war Chinese were suspects, although they had been settled in India for a very
long time. They got caught in the crossfire when China attacked India.�

In the countdown to war, apparatchiks were cocksure about men of Chinese lineage
swelling the ranks of an advancing PLA. A jittery nation was warned that
distinguishing between invaders and their collaborators would be impossible
because of their identical features! Betrayal was imminent, they insisted: a
Fifth Column would suddenly spring into action at the appointed hour, inflicting
heavy losses. When nothing of that sort happened despite the PLA marching deep
into the Northeast, it was propagated that the Fifth Column was keeping its
gunpowder dry and waiting for India to drop its guard before blowing up
regimental headquarters, bridges and dams.

The Chinese internees at Deoli (above) were never
issued any documents. It�s difficult for a
state to be more arbitrary.
A case was systematically built against potential saboteurs, or subversives in
waiting. The unfolding reality rubbished every single intelligence report,
though. So, in the end, the internees remained just suspects�evidently innocent
and harmless�compelling a hard-boiled diplomat like Mehta to concede as much
after five decades.

Key Indian officials of that era said they feared a repetition of events in
Europe during WW-II. They claimed that Germany�s Blitzkrieg 22 years earlier
gave them sleepless nights when reports of China amassing its forces on the
border began to trickle in. Officials subscribed to the widely-held view that
Norway, Denmark and France wouldn�t have fallen in three months without internal
saboteurs. Indian officials, particularly those who had worked with British
defence strategists until 1947, believed that Germany�s lightning conquest and
rapid destruction of the three countries� armies was greased by a formidable
Fifth Column nurtured by the Third Reich. And they concluded that China had
taken a leaf out of Hitler�s book and raised a network of agents�particularly in
the Northeast�to help the PLA overrun India.

Moreover, Indian officials brazenly cite America�s treatment of ethnic Japanese
after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese navy bombers to
justify the internment of ethnic Chinese. Detentions in India, they said, paled
into insignificance before the world�s biggest democracy and a superpower like
the US throwing 1,20,000 Japanese Americans into concentration camps without
batting an eyelid. According to them, the two democracies were compelled to
intern persons with Chinese or Japanese genes in their national interest. To be
sure, India�s Foreigners (Internment) Order of November 3, 1962, was cast in the
mould of Executive Order No. 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on
February 19, 1942, authorising detention of the Japanese to prevent sabotage and
espionage. But the parallel goes no further because surviving internees in the
US eventually received a fat redressal cheque and a letter of apology from the
president.

In 2008, I suggested in an opinion piece published in The Times of India and
Khaleej Times that our government should at least say sorry to the Deoli
internees. I also wrote that India�s civil society is unlikely to allow a
repetition of such state-perpetrated atrocities unopposed in future. Thanks to
the internet, I was flooded with e-mails from Deoli victims and their families,
now settled in various countries. But the response of Mao Siwei, consul general
of China in Calcutta, to my initiative was rather intriguing. Siwei read my
piece and wrote back: �Thank you for standing up and speaking out for the
Chinese community in India. I remember that in the early 1980s when the
so-called Cultural Revolution was just over, there were two schools of thought
about what China should do. One was to check the history of the Cultural
Revolution thoroughly and making it clear what was right and what was wrong, and
get justice to everyone. The other was to Look Forward and not argue too much
about the past for the time being. Mr Deng Xiaoping adopted the latter approach.
The history of the last thirty years has proved that Deng was right. The former
Soviet Union kept checking its history of 70 years but the state collapsed.
China has allowed some of its historical issues to remain unsolved but the
Nation became stronger. I am afraid that you can get all the justice for the
Chinese but then you would find that the remaining 3,000 Chinese have left
Calcutta forever. Middle Path is the main feature of Chinese culture. Maybe I am
wrong.�

Siwei is indeed wrong, exclaims Paul Chung, Indian Chinese Association
president. Chung believes that an apology is a must, as the community�s wounds
have not healed. �Unless the government acknowledges that the Chinese were
unnecessarily targeted and tortured, how can there be healing? Nobody has owned
up responsibility for our suffering. It�s necessary for the Indian government to
publicly admit its guilt so that the victims feel reassured,� he advocates.

�Chinese culture hinges on harmony. And rebellion is the antithesis of harmony.
Importantly, destiny is supposed to penalise the perpetrators of injustice.
That�s why Chinese reaction to the grave injustices of 1962 was to leave India
and go away without protesting�without disturbing the harmony. But that�s a
typical Chinese approach. I have been brought up differently by Christian
priests. Western philosophy demands justice. It encourages people to fight for
justice. It�s not fair to wait for justice. The bully has to say sorry,
acknowledge his guilt and even offer financial compensation to remove
bitterness. While a typical Chinese would leave it to destiny, I would rather
pull out all stops to seek justice for harmony�s sake.�

(S. N. M. Abdi is deputy editor of Outlook. These are excerpts from the opening
chapter of his forthcoming book on the persecution of ethnic Chinese during the
Sino-Indian war.)

=======================================
9. INDIA: HARYANA�S EPIDEMIC OF RAPE AND DEEP PATRIARCHY: A COMPILATION OF
REPORTS AND COMMENTARY
=======================================
sacw.net - 18 Oct 2012
contents:
1. Women organisations hit out at Hooda government (Report in The Hindu)
2. The Haryana horrors (Rashme Sehgal)
3. Just a number (by Kalpana Sharma)
4. Don�t defend the indefensible (Namita Bhandare)
5. Nothing consensual about rape (Amit Baruah)
6. Fast Food Produces Heat Which Leads to Rapes: Khap
7. No excuses (Editorial, The Indian Express)

http://www.sacw.net/article2934.html

=======================================
10. PUSHING BOUNDARIES FOR JUSTICE
by Warisha Farasat
=======================================
(The Hindu, October 18, 2012)
People�s tribunals are more effective than official commissions of inquiry in
the investigation of rights violations and in formulating effective redress
mechanisms

When the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) held its latest hearing in New
York city between October 6 to 7, it once again affirmed that peace was
impossible without justice. A civil society initiative, this tribunal documents
and exposes the violations of international human rights law against the
Palestinian people. Similar sessions have already been held in Barcelona, Cape
Town and London on issues ranging from corporate complicity in the Israeli
Occupation to the crime of apartheid.

Though the recommendations of the Russell Tribunal are not legally binding on
the parties to the conflict, they have played an important role in laying out
the context and documenting the evidence of violations of international law by
the Israeli government. With a jury of eminent persons such as Mairead Corrigan
Maguire, a Nobel Peace Laureate, Alice Walker, American author and poet, and
Yasmin Sooka of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and now
with the Foundation for Human Rights, the findings of such a tribunal will be
hard to ignore. This high profile People�s Tribunal on Palestine has also
initiated a discussion regarding the role played by such unofficial or civil
society processes not only to document and highlight serious human rights
violations but also provide a larger basis for action against such crimes.

In South Asia

South Asia, particularly India has a tradition of official commissions of
inquiry, generally constituted to investigate communal violence, massacres and
other forms of human rights violations. The reports of these commissions of
inquiries have, however, repeatedly failed to break away from the legal
formalism associated with investigating and reporting crimes by quasi-judicial
bodies. Whether it is the Bhagalpur Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate
the communal riots of 1989 or the Tewary Commission to establish the violations
that occurred during the Nellie massacre in Assam in 1983, the government has
avoided implementing even the mild recommendations of these official
commissions. The government has not even made these reports public for a debate.
Besides, these official commissions of inquiry do not systematically record the
testimonies of victims or their families and their demands in their final
reports.

With the recent developments in transitional justice and international law,
there is growing recognition that victims and their testimonies must be central
while ensuring justice for gross human rights violations. Article 68 (3) of the
Rome Statute states that the Court shall permit the views and concerns of
victims to be presented and considered at stages of the proceedings. This is why
people�s tribunals become important.

Unlike governmental commissions of inquiries, these civil society initiatives
have broadened the investigation and documentation processes by drawing from
mass movements as well as incorporating testimonies of victims of human rights
violations themselves. Moreover, they present final reports that not only
reflect the legal violations but also the political or social contexts that may
have allowed for these violations to happen. For instance, in conflict
situations, torture or extrajudicial killings forms a part of the human rights
discourse. However, the impact of militarisation, unfair land acquisition or the
psychosocial aspects may not get adequate attention. A people�s tribunal or
civil society-led processes can contribute to understanding the enabling courses
for human rights violations and thus assist in formulating an effective
mechanism for redressal.

Even though these civil society initiatives cannot hold perpetrators
accountable, they create an exhaustive documentation that can be used for
subsequent legal processes. In conflict or post-conflict situations, civil
society tribunals add to the existing documentation on violations of civil
political rights such as torture, collective punishment, or enforced
disappearances, particularly when no genuine official commissions are involved
in investigation and documentation. Given the lack of accountability for serious
crimes in Sri Lanka, in January 2010, a Permanent People�s Tribunal conducted
investigations, heard first-hand testimonies, and held that the Sri Lankan
government was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity,
particularly during the last stages of the war against the LTTE in 2009.

Communal violence

Moreover, people�s tribunals can also help to disseminate the truth about
injustice or ongoing human rights violations at the time. The Iraq war and the
subsequent World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) organised by the �international civil
society� is an example. The moral indictment by the WTI through its public
hearings helped to substantiate the claims of gross violations and culpability
of the American coalition forces in Iraq.

In situations of communal violence, people�s tribunals can push the boundaries
of human rights advocacy and justice. In fact, a Concerned Citizens Tribunal was
formed even after the Gujarat pogrom, which documented exhaustively
transgressions of international human rights and criminal law committed during
the riots in 2002, and made concrete proposals to provide justice to the victims
and prevent a recurrence of such violence.

Mode of resistance

Finally, a people�s tribunal can also act as a mode of organised or symbolic
resistance. A recent tribunal on fabricated cases was organised in September
2012 by an umbrella of civil society groups in Delhi. It heard testimonies from
victims and family members of persons from Manipur, Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Uttar
Pradesh and other States besides lawyers, journalists and activists who have
been incarcerated for years without sufficient evidence of their involvement.
People�s tribunals or oral histories can be effective in bringing out these
issues and confronting them headlong in situations where State-led official
processes are either unwilling or unable to do so.

The history of people�s tribunals in India and elsewhere is replete with
interesting and important ways in which they have contributed to advancing
agendas of truth, justice and reparations.

When the RToP convened in New York to hear the testimonies of violations of
international law and the rights of the Palestinians, its resonance was felt
across the Atlantic to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. If Israel or its
supporters, especially the United States, choose to take note of the
recommendations this time around, it will provide essential guidance to move
forward towards a permanent peace.

At home, the government too needs to engage rather than ignore the legal and
policy recommendations of people�s tribunals and the civil society processes
because it would only help to deepen and institutionalise justice. For these
people�s tribunals are in some ways the upholder of our collective
consciousness.

(Warisha Farasat, a lawyer, is currently working with the Centre of Equity
Studies on issues of justice and reparations for victims of communal violence in
India.)



INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
11. TUNISIA: INVESTIGATE ATTACKS BY RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS - MULTIPLE INCIDENTS,
NO ARRESTS
- Human Rights Watch
=======================================
Human Rights Watch

October 15, 2012

(Tunis) � Tunisian authorities should investigate a series of attacks by
religious extremists over the past 10 months and bring those responsible to
justice, Human Rights Watch said today.

In a July 11, 2012, letter to the ministers of justice and interior, Human
Rights Watch described in detail six incidents in which individuals or groups
who appeared to be motivated by an Islamist agenda assaulted people � in most
cases artists, intellectuals, and political activists � because of their ideas
or dress. Human Rights Watch has received reports of another such attack, by a
radical religious group, against the organizers of a festival in August.

�The failure of Tunisian authorities to investigate these attacks entrenches the
religious extremists� impunity and may embolden them to commit more violence,�
said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights
Watch.

The letter to the justice and interior ministers documented the apparent failure
of authorities to respond to these assaults. Human Rights Watch asked the
ministers whether law enforcement and judicial authorities have responded to the
complaints filed by the assault victims and whether any suspects have been
charged or brought to trial. Human Rights Watch has received no response to the
letter.

The victims in the six cases are: Rajab Magri, a drama teacher and civil society
activist, assaulted on October 14, 2011, and again on May 25, 2012, in Le Kef;
his nephew Selim Magri, on May 7, 2012, in Le Kef; Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, an
activist and organizer for Doustourna, a social network, on April 21, 2012, in
Souk Al Ahad; Zeineb Rezgui, a journalist, on May 30, 2012, in Tunis; and
Mohamed Ben Tabib, a documentary filmmaker and philosophy professor, on May 25,
2012, in Bizerte.

In all six cases the victims filed complaints at the police stations immediately
after the assault, in most cases identifying the attackers. As far as Human
Rights Watch has been able to determine, police have not arrested any of the
alleged attackers or initiated formal investigations or prosecutions against
them.

Tunisian authorities are obliged under international law to investigate and
prosecute people who assault others, and provide effective remedies to victims.

In the most recent attack brought to the attention of Human Rights Watch, on
August 16, a group of bearded men attacked a festival to commemorate the
international day for Jerusalem in Bizerte, a city 40 kilometers north of Tunis,
injuring at least three activists.

Khaled Boujemaa, a human rights activist and an organizer of the festival, told
Human Rights Watch that he called the chief of police several times that day,
first to inform him about threats from people he identified from their beards
and clothing as salafists, Muslims who advocate a return to Islam as they
believe it was practiced in the days of the Prophet Muhammad. The men ordered
the organizers to cancel the festival and accused them of being Shi�a, Muslims
who are in the minority in Tunisia.

He called the police again after a large group of bearded men started tearing
down the photos and the flags posted for the event. Boujemaa made a third call
when about 60 assailants started attacking him and other festival participants.
He said the chief assured him that police would take the necessary measures for
their safety but that no police were sent to protect the festival and that the
police chief observed the attack from afar without intervening. Boujemaa was
severely beaten and taken to the hospital.

�The police came to see us in the hospital several hours later and we went on
August 21 to the police and identified some of the assailants,� Boujemaa told
Human Rights Watch. �After that I saw the individuals we identified leave the
police station from the back door. We have not heard since whether the trial
will take place and when.�

These attacks have taken place in the past 10 months in various parts of the
country by people having similar clothing and appearance, based on the victims�
accounts. The attackers have behaved violently and used weapons such as swords,
clubs, and knives to prevent festivals or celebrations and have beaten people,
apparently for their ideas, dress, or activity.

�The apparent lack of investigations � never mind prosecutions � can only
increase the sense of vulnerability by those who earn the ire of these gangs,�
Stork said.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 21 Oct 2012 - No. 2759
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. Bangladesh: Continuing incidence of [illegal] fatwas (Edit Daily Star)
2. US: Open Letter - Stop Racial Scapegoating
  + If the FBI Both Planned and Thwarted a Terrorist Attack, Who's the Hero?
(Adam Clark Estes)
3. Pakistan: What has Malala Yousafzai done to the Taliban? (Kamila Shamsie)
4. Pakistan: Killing polio workers (Editorial - The Express tribune)
5. Pakistan: Full Text of the Pakistan Supreme Court Order in the Ashgar Khan
Case
6. Sri Lanka: Govt. needs to shift economic policy, says citizen group
7. India: Kuldip Nayar on India’s media moguls - the Jain Brothers and
contract journalists
8. India: Haryana’s Khap Panchayats are unconstitutional (Vidya Bhushan Rawat)
9. India: Migrants from India’s northeast put focus on the dynamics of urban
change (Duncan McDuie-Ra)
10. The secular delusion (Farzana Versey)
11. “We are all Malala” Bandwagon (N. Jayaram)
12. The Grand Old Man (Dadabhai Naoroji) and His Miscellanea" (Dinyar Patel)
13. Madanjeet Singh, a great secular humanist donated one million U.S. dollars
to women’s education (Taslima Nasreen)
14. Text of Supreme Court of India order granting bail to Sayed Mohd. Kazmi

International:
15. Secular Egyptians protest Islamists’ role in drafting new constitution
(Abigail Hauslohner)
16. Afghan senators want 'friendship' axed from France pact [because Muslims and
infidels can't be friends]

=======================================
1. BANGLADESH: CONTINUING INCIDENCE OF [ILLEGAL] FATWAS
Editorial, Daily Star
=======================================
The Daily Star, October 18, 2012
Offences in the name of fatwa continue in the country despite their being
declared illegal by the courts is unacceptable. However, the continued proactive
role of the High Court on the issue is encouraging.

Recently, in response to a petition filed against a fatwa being imposed on a
homemaker in Chittagong, the HC ordered a case to be filed and for those
responsible to be arrested. The victim, who had filed a case of sexual
harassment against a local political leader and his associates, was sentenced by
him and his cronies at a village arbitration to be buried chest-deep into the
ground and stoned.

The problem here is manifold. Not only were the woman's grievances not addressed
by the local authorities, but the accused took upon themselves the
responsibility of punishing her for speaking out against them, with apparently
no action being taken by the local police. Such gross transgressions of justice
by the law enforcing agencies will discourage victims of crime from coming
forward and reporting them. Not only is justice not served but in addition, the
victims are re-victimised for reporting their perpetrators. The cycle of
violence against the most vulnerable in society -- rural, poor women --
continues.

In such scenarios, the local community has a vital role to play in preventing
such crimes from happening and reporting them when they do. In the above case,
too, the matter came into public discourse after it was reported in the media,
following which a human rights advocate filed the petition and the HC made its
ruling -- which we hope will be promptly implemented. While urging the
authorities to do the needful in preventing and punishing fatwa related
offences, we also appeal to the community at large to take a stand against such
barbarism, by protesting it, reporting it and supporting the victims in their
fight for justice.

===========================================
2. US: OPEN LETTER - STOP RACIAL SCAPEGOATING
===========================================
Fourth, we condemn the racial scapegoating of the entire Bangladeshi community.
When a violent incident targeting a public institution is carried out by a white
male, such as James Eagan Holmes, Anders Behring Breivik, Timothy McVeigh, Jared
Loughner, Andrew Joseph Stack, John Patrick Bedell, David Adkisson, Eric Robert
Rudolph, or James Von Brunn, the media calls him a “lone gunman,” explaining
the incident as individual pathology and “aberration,” not the product of
any particular culture. But when the alleged perpetrator is of non-white origin,
especially Arab or Muslim, then the analysis is framed solely in terms of
cultural or religious backwardness and lack of tolerance, and used as a
rationale for stereotyping, scapegoating, surveillance, racial profiling, and
discrimination against entire communities. Such scapegoating neither helps to
solve the problem of violence, nor do they move us toward a peaceful society.
Instead, they create a scenario of collective, racialized punishment for
individual crimes.

Read & Sign The Open Letter
https://www.change.org/petitions/world-media-stop-scaremongering-and-racial-scap\
egoating

o o o

SEE ALSO

IF THE FBI BOTH PLANNED AND THWARTED A TERRORIST ATTACK, WHO'S THE HERO?
by Adam Clark Estes
A 21-year-old Bangladeshi man tried and failed to blow up the Federal Reserve
Building in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, largely thanks to the efforts of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That "thanks" ought to be attached both to
the "tried" and the "failed" parts of that sentence, since it was the FBI that
not only coaxed the suspect, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, into moving
forward with the bombing but also supplied him with the means to do so. Don't
worry. The Feds know what they're doing. They do this all the time.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/10/if-fbi-both-planned-and-thwarted\
-terrorist-attack-whos-hero/58077/

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: WHAT HAS MALALA YOUSAFZAI DONE TO THE TALIBAN?
by Kamila Shamsie
=======================================
The attempted assassination of a 14-year-old girl was driven by pathological
hatred of women – not politics, as the Taliban claim
http://www.sacw.net/article3177.html

=======================================
4. PAKISTAN: KILLING POLIO WORKERS
Editorial - The Express tribune
=======================================
(The Express Tribune, October 17, 2012)
Polio eradication has come a long way, according to President Asif Ali Zardari.
However, on October 16, a worker from a team of polio vaccinators was killed in
Quetta, after the team came under attack by motorcyclists armed with guns. The
attack came one day after the president launched a three-day polio vaccination
campaign on October 15. While expressing his contentment with progress on the
issue, the president said he regretted the fact that the disease is still
prevalent in Pakistan, while neighbouring India is now polio free. Though
Pakistan and China signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in polio
vaccine manufacturing, the fight to overcome polio in the country is impeded by
other obstacles.

In efforts to carry out widespread polio vaccination campaigns, workers remain
threatened in areas like Fata and parts of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
where militants have warned parents not to allow their children to be
vaccinated. Polio has resurfaced in the areas but the fight to eliminate it
there still remains difficult. While the president said that we cannot allow
extremists from stopping vaccinations, it remains to be seen how this can be
achieved. Unless the state provides adequate security to health personnel, we
will lose our precious doctors, healthcare workers and volunteers, who the
country so desperately needs.

Furthermore, people need to be educated about the seriousness of the condition.
In one example, a woman working as a maid reported that her only son, out of
five children, got a fever after receiving the polio vaccination. Out of fear
that the fever was life-threatening, she discontinued his vaccination failing to
understand the seriousness of the consequences. Despite recent monetary
donations by the Islamic Development Bank and by the World Bank and Japan,
unless there is a proper security plan in place, polio will prevail. Now that
the gravity of the situation has been recognised by the president, the next step
is to implement security measures, perhaps by involving the military.
Additionally, we must also spread awareness and educate the public on what the
ramifications are if children are left unvaccinated.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2012.

=======================================
5. PAKISTAN: FULL TEXT OF THE PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT ORDER IN THE ASHGAR KHAN
CASE
=======================================
19 October 2012 Supreme Court of Pakistan short order in the petition filed by
Air Marshal (Retd) Muhammad Asghar Khan in 1996.
http://www.sacw.net/article3178.html

=======================================
6. SRI LANKA: GOVT. NEEDS TO SHIFT ECONOMIC POLICY, SAYS CITIZEN GROUP
=======================================
(The Island, October 18, 2012)
* Too much attention on infrastructure development, urbanisation, tourism
* Much more can be done for rural economy, poor
A network of citizen groups has sent in its proposals for the 2013 budget to the
President, asking the government to give more weight to developing a
macroeconomic and political strategy which would uplift the rural economy,
marginalised communities and urban poor, instead of pursuing a course favouring
infrastructure development, urbanisation, tourism and financialisation.
Organised in to the Active Citizenship for Development Network (ACDN) their
recommendations cover four sectors of particular concern to their larger
communities; agriculture, fisheries, estates, and state education.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&cod\
e_title=64044

=======================================
7. INDIA: KULDIP NAYAR ON INDIA’S MEDIA MOGULS - THE JAIN BROTHERS AND
CONTRACT JOURNALISTS
=======================================
What the New Yorker, an American fortnightly, has said about the Jain brothers,
Samir and Vineet, presiding over the Times of India Group, has been known to
most. The contribution by the New Yorker is that it has nailed the doubts and
confirmed that the biggest media moguls of the country believe that there is
nothing sacrosanct about news columns and can be sold for a price because a
newspaper for them is a commodity, like talcum powder or toothpaste.
http://www.sacw.net/article2958.html

=======================================
8. INDIA: HARYANA’S KHAP PANCHAYATS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
by Vidya Bhushan Rawat
=======================================
Haryana’s injustices are legitimized by the Khaps. When the Dalits were being
killed, it asserted its own identity in the name of Gotra as it justified
honored killings. It is the state where Honored killing are rampant, Khap as a
unified social unit are the backbone of spreading caste hatred and denying
justice to the people. If the powerful social mobilization in the name of Khaps
were not there, we would have seen the culprits being brought to book after
initial protests and media uproar in Delhi.
http://www.sacw.net/article2935.html

SEE ALSO:
Rape State - The Horrible Collusion in Haryana
Police indifference, panchayat interference and a regressive mindset ensure that
rapes in Haryana will never stop
by Sai Manish and Priyanka Dubey

=======================================
9. INDIA: DELHI’S ‘EXOTIC’ MIGRANTS
Migrants from India’s northeast put focus on the dynamics of urban change.
by  Duncan McDuie-Ra
=======================================
Neoliberalism takes on a variety of national and subnational forms. In the case
of India this has necessitated a shift from the role of the state as provider
under Nehruvian socialism, to the role of the state as a champion for private
investment and market penetration.
The role of the state in this process is varied at the federal and local levels,
and in different sectors of the economy and society. Attempts to transform Delhi
are driven by the desire to fashion a ‘global city’, set out explicitly in
the Delhi Development Authority’s Master plan for Delhi 2021, released in
2007.
The global city aspiration has necessitated a shift in urban logic resulting in
the privileging of planned and profit making uses of space and the vilification
of informality. The poor, including the working poor, are seen as threats to the
sanitised spaces of the global city.
Urban transformation is certainly creating new exclusions, yet scholars and
activists have rarely asked how these transformations can include groups that
have been historically marginalised or had little engagement with large cities.
Northeast migrants are one such group.

http://www.sacw.net/article3179.html

=======================================
10. THE SECULAR DELUSION
by Farzana Versey
=======================================
Forget about separation of religion and state. Can religion survive without a
state? Would it be orphaned without patriotic fervour?

I come from a country that is secular. Yet, its largest opposition party has
dreams of a Hindu Rashtra. The government offers sops to every faith. There are
regional groups that seek special status for language and ethnicity. Tribes and
scheduled castes have their own demands and the nation owes it to them, not
because the Constitution has failed them but the faith they were born in has.
The Constitution, in effect, is keeping belief systems alive.

Does India have a right to be called a secular republic? Is this not merely
about multiculturalism, the subsuming into an Axe effect that starts wearing off
once the pores start emitting sweat again? ‘Iftar’ and ‘pandal’ politics
are now so well-entrenched that it would be unthinkable for any political party
to upset this neo-status quo, which is quite precious for a status quo is
usually an established model. There appears to be only a repackaging of
tradition.

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/the-secular-delusion-farzana-versey.html

=======================================
11. “WE ARE ALL MALALA” BANDWAGON
by N. Jayaram
=======================================
The people of Pakistan and other parts of South Asia need to mount a sustained
campaign if they are to prevent more Malala Yousafzais from being shot or in
other ways ill-treated. Misogynists are hyperactive and not least in Pakistan
itself, mounting counter-campaigns following the groundswell of sympathy.
South Asians who have been busy exchanging photographs of Malala Yousafzai and
feel-good messages as well as articles on social networking sites, will need to
do more to counter such tendencies and defeat the Taliban, be they of the
Islamic, Hindu or any other variety.
N. Jayaram is a journalist now based in Bangalore. He writes a blog:
http://walkerjay.wordpress.com/

http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/we-are-all-malala-bandwagon-n-jayaram.htm\
l

=======================================
12. THE GRAND OLD MAN (DADABHAI NAOROJI) AND HIS MISCELLANEA"
by Dinyar Patel
=======================================
The paper trail leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji have left behind offers a rich
insight into the lives of early Indian nationalists and our understanding of
them
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-grand-old-man-his-miscellanea/article40\
13775.ece

=======================================
13. MADANJEET SINGH, A GREAT SECULAR HUMANIST DONATED ONE MILLION U.S. DOLLARS
TO WOMEN’S EDUCATION
by Taslima Nasreen
=======================================
Madanjeet singh, the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and the Founder of the South
Asia Foundation is one of the greatest secular humanists of our time. An attack
on Malala Yousafzai prompted him to donate one million U.S. dollars to women's
education and empowerment.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/10/18/madanjeet-singh-a-great-secular-h\
umanist-donated-1-million-u-s-dollars-for-womens-education/

=======================================
14. Text of Supreme Court of India order granting bail to Sayed Mohd. Kazmi
=======================================
http://www.sacw.net/article3181.html

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
15. SECULAR EGYPTIANS PROTEST ISLAMISTS’ ROLE IN DRAFTING NEW CONSTITUTION
by Abigail Hauslohner
=======================================
(Washington Post, October 19)
CAIRO — Egyptian liberal and secular groups gathered Friday in Cairo’s
Tahrir Square to protest what they say is the overreach of the country’s
Islamists in drafting a new constitution.

The groups, demonstrating for the second consecutive Friday, say the 100-member
drafting assembly, which is dominated by Islamists, lacks the legitimacy to
write the charter that will define the way Egypt is governed and represent the
values of its 85 million people. On Tuesday, a Cairo court is expected to rule
on their claim.

Previous court hearings on the case were adjourned because the Muslim
Brotherhood, which dominates the assembly, requested more information. Experts
say the case consolidates at least 43 lawsuits on the assembly’s legal
legitimacy.

Both Islamists and liberals said rising tensions between the two sides over
contentious drafts of the constitution — along with a simmering conflict
between the judiciary and President Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim
Brotherhood — have raised the specter of a verdict Tuesday to dissolve the
assembly, rather than another delay.

Last week, tensions between Morsi and the country’s largely secular judges
spiked when Morsi tried to fire Egypt’s powerful general prosecutor. Like most
of the judges, the prosecutor is a holdover from the era of president Hosni
Mubarak, who was ousted in February 2011.

The conflict exacerbated preexisting strains over the constitution, said Mohamed
el-Beltagy, a high-ranking member of the Muslim Brotherhood and the
constitution-drafting assembly. “The fallout, without a doubt, gave the court
a chance to move, despite the fact that Egyptian popular opinion is not
convinced” that the court needs to, he said.

But liberal groups, arguing that the Islamist-dominated assembly is pushing
constitutional articles that would roll back the rights of women and minorities,
said Friday that the assembly’s makeup demands a revision — at the very
least — and fast.

“What we know is this is not the right path, so we are trying to rectify
it,” said Raafat Wagdy, a physician. “The message we want to convey is you
[the Brotherhood] are not alone, and we are not just a small minority that can
be ignored.”

The dispute between the Brotherhood and its opponents escalated into violent
clashes last weekend. At Friday’s protest, many liberals and secularists
called for the downfall of Morsi’s government and said they want the
constitution-drafting process to be restarted.

Members of the drafting assembly have said they aim to finalize the constitution
and bring it to a national referendum by the end of the year. But experts said a
sudden annulment of the assembly would set the clock back on what has already
been a turbulent political transition.

An earlier assembly was dissolved by court order in April. This time, Morsi
would have the power to appoint a new one — a prospect that neither Islamists
nor liberals seem to welcome.

“We would go back to having the same people and the same problems,” said
Kamal Habib, an Islamist scholar and political activist. “You’re not going
to bring in angels. You’ll bring in people whom other people object to.”

Moreover, he said, the delay would mean the Arab world’s largest country would
continue to function without a central governing charter, potentially slowing
the pace of badly needed economic and political reforms and fueling popular
discontent.

Without a constitution in the near future, Egypt would become “an
institutional vacuum,” Beltagy said.

But liberals said they were willing to pay the price for a more representative
body of laws.

“Even if the assembly is dissolved, Morsi will form a new one,” said Fatem
Wagdy, a university professor. “Our role is to say we want a different new
one.”

Ingy Hassieb and Amer Shakhatreh contributed to this report.

=======================================
16. AFGHAN SENATORS WANT 'FRIENDSHIP' AXED FROM FRANCE PACT
- AFP report
=======================================
(AFP) – Oct 2, 2012
KABUL — Afghanistan's senate voted to cut the word "friendship" from a pact
with France because Islamic texts say it cannot be used to describe relations
between Muslims and infidels, senators said Tuesday.

France, which has seen 88 of its troops killed as part of the NATO coalition
backing the Afghan government against Taliban insurgents, signed the 20-year
"friendship and cooperation treaty" earlier this year.

"Some senators said that based on Sharia rulings we cannot use the word
friendship with infidels, so after voting the word friendship was replaced with
relationship," Senator Zahra Sharifi told AFP.

The move, which amounts simply to a recommendation as the senate has the power
only to approve or reject the document, not to amend it, apparently embarrassed
some senators.

"We argued, we said that France has been a close friend of Afghanistan for a
very long time," said Mohammad Alam Ezedyar, who chaired the senate session.

"Some senators disagreed, but the important thing is that the pact was approved,
and will be sent to the foreign ministry."

A foreign ministry spokesman, Faramerz Tamana, said that after it received the
document from the senate, "we will send the treaty to the government of France,
and they will decide whether or not they accept any possible change in the
document".

The treaty was signed in January by then French President Nicholas Sarkozy and
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was ratified by the French parliament on July
25.

It was also ratified by the lower house of the Afghan parliament before going to
the senate.

Afghanistan has signed partnership agreements with several countries, including
the United States, but none of the others had included the word "friendship",
said Senator Nesar Ahmad Haress.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.

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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 24 Oct 2012 - No. 2760
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:
1. The Girl Who Changed Pakistan: Malala Yousafzai (Shehrbano Taseer)
2. Pakistan: Malala’s journey, and mine (Foqia Sadiq Khan)
3. Pakistan: Lahore university students petition for Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy ...
Please sign
4. Sri Lanka: Two Online Petitions Against Intimidation of Prominent Activists
and Journalists
5. Sri Lanka: Landmark Supreme Court Judgment Upholds Journalist’s Ownership
of his Photographs (Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria)
6. Culture Worship by Indian Feminists is Killing India’s Women
7. India:  Shame, not honour (Syeda Hameed)
8. India: Some Thoughts on the Syed Kazmi Case (Mukul Dube)
9. India - Kashmir: The truth lies six feet under (Baba Umar)
10. India: Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy (Chaired by Justice A P
Shah, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court)
11. India: Everything is at stake at Delhi University (Mukul Mngalik)
12. Israeli poll finds majority in favour of 'apartheid' policies (Harriet
Sherwood)

=======================================
1. THE GIRL WHO CHANGED PAKISTAN: MALALA YOUSAFZAI
by Shehrbano Taseer
=======================================
For months a team of Taliban sharpshooters studied the daily route that Malala
took to school, and, once the attack was done, the Tehrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan
gleefully claimed responsibility, saying Malala was an American spy who idolized
the “black devil Obama.” She had spoken against the Taliban, they falsely
said, and vowed to shoot her again, should she survive. The power of ignorance
is frightening. My father, Salmaan Taseer, was murdered last January after he
stood up for Aasia Noreen, a voiceless, forgotten Christian woman who had been
sentenced to death for allegedly committing blasphemy. My father, the governor
of Punjab province at the time, believed that our country’s blasphemy laws had
been misused; that far too frequently, they were taken advantage of to settle
scores and personal vendettas.

http://www.sacw.net/article3208.html

=======================================
2. PAKISTAN: MALALA’S JOURNEY, AND MINE
by Foqia Sadiq Khan
=======================================
Echoes of "Bandookon Walay Dartay Hain Aik Nehatti Larki Say" (’Those with
guns are scared of an unarmed young girl’) were reverberating in the air of
Islamabad’s F-6 Super Market on the evening of 10th October, 2012. A sizeable
crowd had gathered to vent their anger the day after the barbaric shooting of
Malala Yousafzai in Swat. I have attended many such protests since the
mid-1990s. But the kind of frustration, anger and helplessness that had charged
the crowd for Malala was unprecedented.

http://www.sacw.net/article3210.html

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: LUMS PETITION FOR DR. PERVEZ HOODBHOY ... PLEASE SIGN
=======================================
It has recently come to our knowledge that Dr Hoodbhoy will be leaving LUMS at
the end of this term. Before any decision could be finalized, we, the student
body, wanted to ensure that our voices regarding this matter are heard. As his
students, Dr Hoodbhoy holds a very esteemed station for us. Not only is he an
invaluable asset as an instructor but continues to be a mentor par excellence to
all those students who seek his advise. His every lecture and talk has displayed
his academic excellence and losing him would be a great loss for LUMS,
especially for students.
We would like to respectfully request that his term be extended without any
adverse change in conditions of his employment. Hopefully our opinions will also
be taken under consideration.

http://chn.ge/Polchf

=======================================
4. SRI LANKA: TWO ONLINE PETITIONS AGAINST INTIMIDATION OF PROMINENT ACTIVISTS
AND JOURNALISTS
=======================================
Contents:
- Stop Targetting Sri Lankan Human Rights Activists [regarding safety of Sunila
Abeysekera and her targeted colleagues]
- Sri Lanka: Public threats and harassment against human rights defender Dr
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

http://www.sacw.net/article3207.html

=======================================
5. SRI LANKA: LANDMARK SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT UPHOLDS JOURNALIST’S OWNERSHIP
OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHS
by Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria
=======================================
In a ground breaking judgment – the first of its kind in Sri Lanka – which
will especially interest proprietors and editors of newspapers, photographers
and the media – a three judge bench of our Supreme Court recognized the
"Economic Rights" of a newspaper journalist to nine exclusive photographs taken
by him.

http://www.sacw.net/article3202.html

=======================================
6. CULTURE WORSHIP BY INDIAN FEMINISTS IS KILLING INDIA’S WOMEN
=======================================
Banerji argues that the De-politicization of of Indian women’s oppression
stems from India’s own feminist movement. She asserts thatthe globally
prominent Indian feminists, who are at the van-guard of India’s feminist
movement have insisted to the world that the state of women in India cannot be
interpreted in light of a political power struggle, like in the west, but need
to be accepted and dealt with in a cultural context.

http://www.sacw.net/article3195.html

=======================================
7. INDIA:  SHAME, NOT HONOUR
by Syeda Hameed
=======================================
We need a standalone law to deal with honour killings
A beleaguered father walks up to a police officer to file a complaint about his
missing daughter. What he is met with has shocked the nation. It has made
headlines, attracted condemnation from notable institutions, raised demands for
an immediate resignation — and rightly so. The suggestion of the DIG of
Saharanpur, Satish Mathur, to Kaserwa village resident Shaukeen Mohammad, to
shoot his minor daughter or commit suicide instead of trying to bring her back,
is outrageous. It is reflective of a deeply institutionalised patriarchy that
colours the khaki with hatred and prejudice, making gender-based stereotypes,
discrimination and violence a subtext of every thought and action on the field.

http://www.sacw.net/article2684.html

=======================================
8. INDIA: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SYED KAZMI CASE
by Mukul Dube
=======================================
. . .that the granting of bail by the Supreme Court is being hailed as a victory
by those who have spoken up for Kazmi. Others are thinking more carefully,
however, and say that this "victory" is no more than Kazmi’s getting what is
his right under the law. Some go beyond this and argue that the real victory
will be to demand and ultimately force action against the policemen who arrested
and detained a man without adequate reason or for no valid reason.

http://www.sacw.net/article3186.html

=======================================
9. KASHMIR: THE TRUTH LIES SIX FEET UNDER
by Baba Umar
=======================================
2,156 unidentified bodies in north Kashmir. The families want answers, but the
J&K government is trying to give the issue a quiet burial.

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main54.asp?filename=Ne271012TRUTH.asp

=======================================
10. INDIA: REPORT OF THE GROUP OF EXPERTS ON PRIVACY
(Chaired by Justice A P Shah, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court)
=======================================
Group of Experts Report on Privacy proposes a detailed framework that serves as
the conceptual foundation for the Privacy Act for India. It identifies key
privacy issues, while keeping in view the international landscape of privacy
laws, global data flows and predominant privacy concerns with rapid
technological advancements.

http://www.sacw.net/article3209.html

=======================================
11. INDIA: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE AT DELHI UNIVERSITY
by Mukul Mngalik
=======================================
It’s shock and awe as administrators, bureaucrats and capital are savaging the
institution, destroying teaching, learning and research

http://tinyurl.com/9ng9o4w


INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
12. ISRAELI POLL FINDS MAJORITY IN FAVOUR OF 'APARTHEID' POLICIES
by Harriet Sherwood
=======================================
(The Guardian, 23 October 2012)
Two-thirds say Palestinians should not be allowed to vote if West Bank was
annexed, while three in four favour segregated roads
More than two-thirds of Israeli Jews say that 2.5 million Palestinians living in
the West Bank should be denied the right to vote if the area was annexed by
Israel, in effect endorsing an apartheid state, according to an opinion poll
reported in Haaretz.

Three out of four are in favour of segregated roads for Israelis and
Palestinians in the West Bank, and 58% believe Israel already practises
apartheid against Palestinians, the poll found.

A third want Arab citizens within Israel to be banned from voting in elections
to the country's parliament. Almost six out of 10 say Jews should be given
preference to Arabs in government jobs, 49% say Jewish citizens should be
treated better than Arabs, 42% would not want to live in the same building as
Arabs and the same number do not want their children going to school with Arabs.

A commentary by Gideon Levy, which accompanied the results of the poll,
described the findings as disturbing. "Israelis themselves … are openly,
shamelessly and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists," he
wrote.

"It's good to live in this country, most Israelis say, not despite its racism,
but perhaps because of it. If such a survey were released about the attitude to
Jews in a European state, Israel would have raised hell. When it comes to us,
the rules don't apply."

The poll was conducted by a public opinion firm, Dialog, and commissioned by the
New Israel Fund, an organisation accused by rightwing critics of having an
anti-Zionist agenda. Dialog interviewed 503 people out of an Israeli Jewish
population of just under 6 million.

Talk of the possible annexation of the West Bank, or the main settlement blocks
within it, has increased in recent months as expectations of a negotiated
settlement to the conflict have sunk to an all-time low. Israel's defence
minister, Ehud Barak, recently argued for the annexation of land between the
internationally recognised Green Line and the Israeli-built separation barrier.

The poll results will bolster the claim of Israel's Arab citizens, who make up
20% of the population, that they suffer from racist discrimination. Almost half
the poll's respondents said Israeli Arabs should be transferred to the
Palestinian Authority, and a third said that Arab towns in Israel should be
moved to the PA's jurisdiction in exchange for Jewish settlements in the West
Bank.

According to the Haaretz report, the survey found that ultra-Orthodox Jews held
the most extreme views about Arabs, with 70% supporting a legal ban on voting
rights and 95% backing discrimination against Arabs in the workplace.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 28 Oct 2012 - No. 2761
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:
1. Bangladesh - India: Indian secretary's existential crisis (Mohammad Badrul
Ahsan)
2. Bangladesh - discriminatory family laws: Marriages - Made in Heaven, Living
Hell for Many
3. The absent piece of skin: Gendered, racialized and territorial inscriptions
of sexual violence during the Bangladesh war
4. Taliban and the government of Pakistan compete with each other in marketing
their respective brands of Islam
by Naeem Sadiq
5. Rejoinder to Official Report by Pakistan to UN Human Rights Council by Civil
Society Networks
6. India: RSS Affiliation No Guarantee of Good Values (Badri Raina)
7. India: ‘Disappeared’ in Kashmir (A.G Noorani)
8. India - Kashmir: A question of accountability and memory (Dilnaz Boga)
9. India: In the eyes of the beholder (Kavitha Shanmugam)
10. India: selected posts from Communalism Watch
11. India: Letter to Newspapers (Mukul Dube)
12. Tilak Ranjan Bera.  Ladakh: A Glimpse of the Roof of the World.
Reviewed by Madhu Sarin
13. Socialist Identity and the Fog of History in East Germany (Dolores L.
Augustine)
14. Thank you Vasili Arkhipov, the man who stopped nuclear war (Edward Wilson)
15. USA:  Polarized Election Season Marked by Extremist Candidates (Posted by
Evelyn Schlatter)

=======================================
1. BANGLADESH: INDIAN SECRETARY'S EXISTENTIAL CRISIS
by Mohammad Badrul Ahsan
=======================================
(The Daily Star, October 26, 2012 |OP-ED)

The Indian home secretary was in town lately, when he supposedly said more than
he was willing to listen. He talked about terrorism, extradition treaty, border
security and other issues of interest to two countries. But he left us in the
no-man's land when the journalists asked him about the border killings. What the
secretary said in response was obtuse jugglery of words. He said that when the
Bangladeshis are gunned down by BSF, it should be called death instead of
killing.

Who knows why on earth he came up with that distinction, but a matter of life
and death for us was play of words for the Indian civil servant. It was as if
death was lesser dying compared to killing. That reminds us of the moral of a
fable written by Aesop 2,500 years ago. Some mischievous boys were playing on
the edge of a pond, and they began to amuse themselves by pelting frogs with
stones. After several of these creatures got killed, one of them pleaded that
what was sport to the boys was death to them.

May be the Indian secretary slept better that night after his scurrilous
comment. His superiors must have congratulated him on his presence of mind, on
how quickly he mustered a ridiculous riposte without so much as a twitch in his
face. It was also no less amazing how his Bangladesh counterpart swallowed that
insult in an exalted state of intellectual equivocation. And our journalists,
who had asked the question, readily froze. It was as if a strutting horse was
abruptly numbed with tranquilizer shot.

Any Indian high official visiting Bangladesh should know that border killing
would be the first thing on the minds of the journalists in a room with him. The
fact is that the secretary didn't come prepared for that burning issue and it
showed he didn't give much thought to it either. That explained why he tried to
tackle it with a misplaced sense of humour. His absurd distinction between death
and killing sounded like the punch line of a sick joke.

The size of a country is always inversely proportionate to its share in a
bilateral crisis. The big country has the smaller percentage of the problem,
while the smaller country has the bigger percentage of it. Border killing isn't
a problem for India because all the killings are done by BSF. Our BGB have been
goody two-shoes, who never had anything to shoot in their crosshairs.

How does it change BSF atrocities whether we call it death or killing? Perhaps
the Indian secretary was hinting that BSF didn't take any life just because they
were trigger happy. Okay, many of those who were killed were trespassers or
smugglers. May be, at times some of these people get pesky or cheeky. May be, at
times they get on the nerve of BSF men and ask for it. But they are not by any
means subversive of Indian interests, surely not terrorists.

Then why should they get killed? They can be punished with fines or prison terms
or even instant justice of a few slaps or beatings. But is it justifiable to
shoot and kill them when they are mostly innocent farmers, cattle traders or
often emotional folks who would like to frequently visit their relatives living
on the Indian side of the border? Although one wonders why none of these ever
happens between Indian citizens and BGB.

Death is a generic name for the cessation of life, whether it's due to natural
causes or accidental killing or cold-blooded murder. Accidental killing
resulting from lawful acts of violence is excusable as homicide. But accidental
killing resulting from unlawful acts of violence not directed at the victim is
punishable as manslaughter. Where the BSF killing comes in between these two
extremes is for their conscience to tell.

Even if the Indians choose to call it death on their side of the border, it's
still killing on our side because we carry the dead bodies on our shoulders. If
that isn't enough to convince him, the Indian home secretary should ask families
in his country, whose sons get killed in Siachen or Kargil. They will tell how
the killer's cruelty hurts immensely more than the victim's fate. Death is end
of journey, but killing is when that end comes at gunpoint.

It is common sense that watering a sapling is futile when chopped at the base.
If India truly wants to secure its borders with Bangladesh and discourage
terrorism, it shouldn't only deal with the downstream but also work on the
upstream. It doesn't help to send negotiators suffering from existential crisis,
because the same despondency also makes the terrorists.

The Indian secretary's poor sense of humour should get us worried. Anybody, who
can diminish death, can diminish anything.

The writer is Editor, First News, and an opinion writer for The Daily Star.

Email: badrul151@...

=======================================
2. BANGLADESH - DISCRIMINATORY FAMILY LAWS: MARRIAGES - MADE IN HEAVEN, LIVING
HELL FOR MANY
=======================================
ARUNA KASHYAP describes the visible as well as intangible forms of gender
violence that result from discriminatory family laws
http://www.sacw.net/article3224.html

=======================================
3. THE ABSENT PIECE OF SKIN: GENDERED, RACIALIZED AND TERRITORIAL
INSCRIPTIONS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE DURING THE BANGLADESH WAR
by Nayanika Mookherjee
=======================================
Modern Asian Studies, Volume 46, Issue 06, November 2012, pp 1572 - 1601
doi:10.1017/S0026749X11000783 Published online by Cambridge University
Press 04th January 2012
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0026749X11000783

=======================================
4. TALIBAN AND THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER IN MARKETING
THEIR RESPECTIVE BRANDS OF ISLAM
by Naeem Sadiq
=======================================
Both claiming to be defenders of Islam, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the
savage militants operating from what they term as Islamic Emirate of Waziristan,
are locked in a bloody war of survival. What are the strengths, weaknesses,
differences and commonalities of the two warring sides, and what are the chances
of success for Pakistan? Let us look at a few key performance indicators.
http://www.sacw.net/article3238.html

=======================================
5. REJOINDER TO OFFICIAL REPORT BY PAKISTAN TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL BY CIVIL
SOCIETY NETWORKS
=======================================
Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review Working Group is holding its
fourteenth session in Geneva from 22 October to 5 November 2012. Civil society
networks in Pakistan have come up with a critique of the official report being
presented by the Government of Pakistan to the UN Human Rights Council.
http://www.sacw.net/article3226.html

=======================================
6. INDIA: RSS AFFILIATION NO GUARANTEE OF GOOD VALUES
by Badri Raina
=======================================
(Mainstream, VOL L No 44, October 20, 2012)

Anjali Damania, the anti-corruption volunteer, is the daughter of an RSS worker
of long, and brought up to believe in the values of clean and patriotic 
conduct.  Such are the facts she has revealed in her long sms sent to Shri Nitin
Gadkari, the RSS scion, after, as per her averment, her meeting with him on
August 14.  Shri Gadkari has since denied meeting Anjali, and issued her a legal
notice.

In that sms message, and subsequently in  a number of television interactions,
she has expressed shock that the good    clean values taught by the RSS  should
not have  percolated to Shri  Gadkari, a reputed RSS pracharak.

Anjali Damania has claimed that she went to see Shri Gadkari  upon hearing that
a godman  named Bhayuji Maharaj  had intervened with him to discourage Shri
Kirit Saumaya of the BJP from filing a PIL  in the matter of the irrigation
scandal in Maharashtra.

Certain that Shri Gadkari  would take up the anti-corruption cause against the
Congress-NCP combine, Anjali has said how distraught she was to be told by Shri
Gadkari  that he could do no such thing since, as per Anjali’s  statement
broadcast  repeatedly now on the channels, he and Shri Sharad Pawar had good
relations, and often did each other favours.  As well as  the possibility that
the BJP  could be headed for a seat-sharing arrangement with the NCP.  About
Kirit Saumaya, Shri Gadkari  is reported to have  said, according to her, that
the former is an eccentric and an arrogant person, and should not be doing what
he is doing.  At best, Gadkari advised, Saumaya could raise the matter in the 
party forum, or take a press briefing on the issue.

This has clearly been a moment of painful recogniton for Anajali Damania, and
she  has challenged Gadkari to a face-off on the issues, including his denial
that he ever met her.  Further, she says she means to take up the legal
challenge through due process as well.  Needless to say how very significant
this occurrence is:  not only is the credibility of the two antagonists,
although both from  the RSS, at stake, but  the  great pretence that the RSS/BJP
is at the forefront of the anti-corruption crusade  could be slated to come
apart decisively, and at the hands of  a good and well-meaning RSS-affiliated
activist.

♦

INDIA’S  hoi polloi, of course, needs little proof that the regime of  crony 
money-multiplication  plays no favourites and spares  few in public life from
its all-encompassing tentacles.  Indeed, it is now a common experience that  the
loud and  aggressively demonstrative assertions of public religiosity graced by
important plenipoten-tiaries  that are often   on display  are deployed  as
camouflages to keep the nittygritty hidden away under layers of piety and 
nationalist or community sentiment.

It will be interesting to see how  the  Anjali Damania-Nitin Gadkari contention
will  turn out in the days ahead  (there is of course the other matter of the
coal allocation to a Gadkari  favourite  in Chhattisgarh also doing the rounds).
What seems clear enough is that  unregulated and unbridled capitalism rules over
all forms of  value-orientation, not excluding  the holier-than-thou 
protestations of the RSS.

Speaking of which, political parties seem to score over religious organisations
in this one respect though:  however crookedly, some accounts are maintained of
the moneys they receive, and some audits are done, despite the shameful fact
that, barring the  CPI,  all other parties are currently battling the obligation
to come under the RTI regime.

Religious organisations  on the other hand seem to have a clear mandate from 
above never to furnish any account of where their moneys come from, and what
they do with the same.  In that respect, clearly, religious organisations that
seem forever at communal loggerheads  belong to one and the same genre.

As  Lawrence would have said:  no goddess greater than  “money, the bitch
goddess”.


=======================================
7. INDIA: ‘DISAPPEARED’ IN KASHMIR
by A.G Noorani
=======================================
(Dawn, 27 October, 2012)

IT is not surprising at all that the chief minister of Indian Kashmir, Omar
Abdullah’s written statement on the disappeared persons, in the assembly on
Oct 8 should have been received with complete disbelief.

He said, “Till ending July 2012, 2,305 persons have been declared missing.”
FIRs were lodged only in 182 cases. In the rest of the cases, “missing reports
and complaints have been lodged”.

Sana Altaf of the Srinagar daily Greater Kashmir noted “even after 23 years of
armed conflict, no authentic official data exists on the number of disappeared
persons in Kashmir valley while successive governments continue to come up with
contradictory figures”.

According to the National Conference government headed by Farooq Abdullah the
official figure of disappeared persons stood at 3,184. The then People’s
Democratic Party government headed by Mufti Sayeed informed the assembly in
February 2003 that 3,744 persons went missing between 2000 and 2002.

According to the Srinagar-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons
(APDP) which has rendered yeoman service all these years, at least 8,000 persons
have disappeared since the militancy began in 1989. Punjab witnessed a similar
pattern of abuse and cover-up during the counter-insurgency operations from 1984
to 1995.

An inquiry by the police investigation team of the Jammu and Kashmir State Human
Rights Commission (SHRC) has found 2,730 bodies dumped into unmarked graves in
four districts.

The Inquiry Report of Unmarked Graves in north Kashmir, submitted by the
investigating police team to the SHRC on July 2, 2011, said that the
unidentified bodies had been buried in 38 sites in the Baramulla, Bandipora,
Handwara and Kupwara districts. At least 574 were identified as the bodies of
local Kashmiris. The government had previously said that the graves held
unidentified militants.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said: “For
years, Kashmiris have been lamenting their lost loved ones, their pleas ignored
or dismissed as the government and army claimed that they had gone to Pakistan
to become militants. But these graves suggest the possibility of mass murder.
The authorities should immediately investigate each and every death.”

The Inquiry Report recommended that the SHRC call for immediate DNA sampling and
other forensic tests to try to identify the bodies by matching them with the
next of kin of the people who have disappeared. Seventeen of the bodies found in
the four districts have already been reburied by relatives in family graveyards.
The investigation found that 18 of the graves contained more than one body. But
the Kashmir government has refused to conduct DNA tests to identify the bodies.

New terms have come into vogue. The wife of a ‘disappeared’ man is called
‘half-widow’. International law, especially international humanitarian law,
has begun to grapple with the problem. For long the chairperson of the Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances studied the record in some
countries and reported to the then UN Human Rights Commission at Geneva now
replaced by the Human Rights Council.

The International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearances defines enforced disappearances as “the arrest, detention,
abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or
by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorisation, support or
acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation
of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared
person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law”.

The convention grants all persons directly harmed by an enforced disappearance,
such as family members of the disappeared, a “right to know the truth
regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and
results of the investigation and the fate of the disappeared person”. India
signed the convention in 2007 but has not ratified it.

The convention prohibits states from claiming a lack of resources to justify
refusing to investigate a possible enforced disappearance by placing a duty on
states to guarantee those resources. ‘Security’ cannot justify refusal to
release information related to enforced disappearances. No “exceptional
circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal
political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a
justification for enforced disappearance”.

Mr Ravi Nair, executive director of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation
Centre in New Delhi, to whom this writer is much indebted for his assistance,
rightly holds that the law is violated if governments impose on the families of
the victims the burden to provide information before attempting to identify
whether any of the bodies belong to disappeared persons.

The UN Human Rights Committee places the burden of implementing the right to the
truth on the state, not the victim’s family: “In cases where allegations are
corroborated by credible evidence … and where further clarification depends on
information exclusively in the hands of the state party, the committee may
consider … allegations substantiated in the absence of satisfactory evidence
or explanations to the contrary presented by the state.”

Disappearances blight the lives of whole families. In Kashmir they spread what
The Economist aptly called “a war-borne epidemic of mental illness”.

The writer is an author and a lawyer.

=======================================
8. INDIA - KASHMIR: A QUESTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEMORY
by Dilnaz Boga
=======================================
(DNA, October 2, 2012)

We live in strange times where a query to the state about promotions and awards
to policemen in anti-militancy operations in one of the world’s highest
militarised zones elicits a cold response… that being, that its disclosure
would "pose as a threat to national security and the strategic interests of the
state and may lead to the incitement of an offence".

This essentially provides a shield to the guilty in case of human rights
violations by security personnel and offers immunity/impunity from prosecution
to those “defending our national security and the strategic interests of the
state”.

Imagine if all of us lived in a world where there was no accountability like the
men in uniform. Would there be any law and order? Or would we all be prisoners
of our own conscience? Wouldn’t we spare a thought for those we harmed in our
bid to get what we want? What kind of people would we be if the country’s laws
did not apply to us?

The least one should expect in this situation is anarchy. Only the fit will
survive. So, men with guns will triumph over young boys with stones. Men who run
torture centers will sleep better than the fathers whose sons are broken and
killed in the same centers. Women will never feel safe as investigative reports
and toothless commissions are primed to fail in the delivery of justice. Such is
life for some in militarised states in the country.

When Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a Srinagar-based
non-government organisation, applied for to the Department of Home, Jammu and
Kashmir government, about awards and promotions to the police personnel for
anti-militancy operations since 1989 to 2012, the RTI application was
transferred to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Police Headquarters
40 days later.

“This denial is an admission by the Jammu and Kashmir Police that the state
does have a policy of incentivising the arrests and killings of militants. It
has been from a long time argued by the human rights defenders that this policy
of awards and promotions has encouraged the personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir
Police and the personnel of the army, CRPF and BSF to carry out extra-judicial
killings. This denial sustains the institutional impunity and encouragement
provided by the government to the soldiers and police personnel operating in
Jammu and Kashmir,” JKCCS’s press release stated.

Khurram Parvez, co-ordinator of JKCCS, said, “It is alarming that the
Department of Home does not keep the record of, and chooses not to make a
decision on such a sensitive issue which is actually their jurisdiction and has
instead relied on the Police Department, a subordinate to the Home Department,
for both the record and decision to provide the information. This shows how
mechanisms of accountability within the state structures have been deliberately
disregarded, where the possible human rights violations and the allegations of
corruption amongst the Police personnel could have been checked. This disregard
or possible complicity highlights the fact that Jammu and Kashmir Police is not
accountable to the superior authorities and also does not believe in having any
transparency in the work they do. It is noteworthy that this denial of
information from the Police Headquarters suggests that the Department of Home,
which is the premier state authority vis-à-vis security, may not at all be
involved in the policy and decision making on the issue of awards and promotions
to the personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police for anti-militancy operations.”

Perhaps the Home Department in the Valley is busy with more important tasks like
the inauguration of a T-20 cricket contest in Sopore on a sunny Sunday.
“Minister of State for Home Affairs Nasir Aslam Wani, the Chief Guest at the
event, set pigeons free and helium balloons into the blue sky,” stated the
police’s press release. IGP Kashmir SM Sahai, GOC Kilo Force, DIG North
Kashmir (Baramulla) and several other officers from the police, the army and
various other departments including J&K Sports Council, Education, Revenue,
Forest, R&B, Department of Flood Control, etc, graced the occasion. Strange that
such dignitaries don’t grace other mortals like us with their presence at T-20
matches in other parts of India.

If people could be won over by the state-sponsored quiz contests, medical camps,
sports meets, Bharat darshan trips, drug rehabilitation camps, community
outreach centers, job recruitment drives and religious conferences, then Kashmir
would have had a very different past. For now, the state has asked telecom
companies to block Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for the fate of our fragile
national security for them, hinges on verdicts of the people on social networks!
Only if that were true of our flailing democracy.

For these psy-ops to work, the Kashmiris would firstly need to obliterate not
only their recent memories of the killing of 124 men, women and children in
2010, but also their past, where thousands of lives were lost to massacres, fake
encounters, torture, mass rapes and enforced disappearances for almost 70 years.
These horrors never fail to rise like a Phoenix, making a home in almost every
Kashmiri’s consciousness every time innocent blood is spilled.

=======================================
9. INDIA: IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
by Kavitha Shanmugam
=======================================
(The Telegraph, 17 October 2012)

Few are enthused by the amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women
(Prohibition) Act. Kavitha Shanmugam finds out why indecent exposure? Obscenity
is subjective

The amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (IRWA),
1986, languishing with the government for the last three years, were finally
cleared by the Cabinet last week. However, by and large, the much-awaited
amendments have left women’s groups and activists cold. Most feel that they
are too little, too late and that no matter how important the changes they will
be of scant use without proper implementation.

The amendments, which will soon be tabled in Parliament, have extended the scope
of the IRWA to include not just advertisements, print, electronic media or any
other form of visual representation, but also the Internet, satellite
communication, multimedia messaging and cable television.

Punishments for offences under the law have been made more stringent as well.
Imprisonment of up to two years has been raised to three years and fines have
been raised from Rs 2,000 to between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. For second
convictions, the penalty is now sizeable — imprisonment of up to seven years
and fines between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

This may sound impressive, but experts say that given the fact that there have
been very few convictions under the IRWA so far the enhanced punishments may not
amount to much. In fact, Geeta Ramaseshan, a Chennai-based women’s rights
lawyer, is frankly sceptical. “IRWA has been a fairly ineffective legislation
and basically an add-on to penal law,” she says. Agrees Dr N. Hamsa of Women
Power Connect, a Delhi-based women’s organisation, “There are many laws for
crimes against women. What we have to see is whether the mechanisms to implement
them are effective.”

The National Commission of Women (NCW), the architect of the amendments, was
prompted by the irrational and “indecent” portrayal of women in
advertisements and on TV shows to revisit the IRWA, reveals former NCW chairman
Girija Vyas.

“Why show a semi-clad woman in an ad for a chocolate or a banian? We sent
notices to advertisers and television serials but we needed stronger laws to
move against them,” she says.

So do we have a stronger IRWA now? That is debatable, say experts. They point
out that some of the amendments merely duplicate provisions contained in
existing laws. In fact, even the big ticket amendment — that of bringing
obscene representation of women in cyberspace under the purview of the law —
is not so significant as there are provisions under the Information Technology
(IT) Act which are similar.

“IRWA is good in intent, but there is no point in having multiple laws for the
same thing. For example, Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code and
Section 67 of the IT Act make obscenity in any form a punishable offence,”
says Pranesh Prakash, manager of the Bangalore-based NGO, Centre for Internet
and Security.

Section 67 of the IT Act states, “Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to
be published or transmitted in the electronic form, any material which is
lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to
tend to deprave and corrupt persons…” will be considered culpable under the
provisions of the law. Which, say experts, is not significantly different from
what the IRWA now states.

Siddharth Narain of Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, and an expert on obscenity
laws believes that Section 67 of the IT Act is worded “widely” enough to
cover indecent representation and obscenity on the Internet. “These amendments
just cloud the distinction between existing laws and the IRWA relating to
obscenity,” he says.

Others feel that the amendments ought to have made offences under the act
non-bailable. As cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pawan Duggal points
out, “Though the amendments were made to sync the IRWA with the IT Act in
terms of punishments, the offence is still bailable and hence will not act as a
potent deterrent.”

In any case, many feel that regulating pornography or any form of indecent or
degrading representation of women on the Internet is next to impossible.
“While Indian broadcasters and newspapers can be regulated, there is no such
thing as the Indian Internet,” says Prakash. “Take the case of the Indian
site that showed the exploits of porn cartoon star Savita Bhabhi. When it was
banned in India, the creators just launched the website from another country.”

However, Duggal feels that the IRWA amendments score over Section 67 of the IT
Act in that it brings social media under its ambit. He gives the example of a
woman executive mentioned in a social media website as a woman who wants to
further her career prospects by “warming beds”.

“The woman faced a lot of harassment after this reference on a public social
medium. Such cases can be probably taken up under the IRWA,” says Duggal.

The IRWA is also criticised for extending its ambit to television, which is
already regulated by the Cable Television Networks Act and Rules, the ministry
of information and broadcasting’s content code.

Siddharth quotes the rules under this code to emphasise that television channels
are already forbidden from broadcasting “the figure of a woman, her form or
body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent
or derogatory to women or depict women as mere objects or symbols of sexual
desires or behaviour.”

Of course, the basic problem with the law is that “obscenity” is a
subjective concept and what is obscene to one may not be obscene to another.
This leads women’s rights activists like Ramaseshan to stress that issues such
as filming women without their permission or sending obscene messages to them
violate their privacy. Hence they need to be strongly addressed with a law
without bringing in the issue of obscenity. “Instead of getting into
subjective and grey areas such as indecency and morality, one has to focus on
the rights of women,” she says.

An effective IRWA could do that too. But whether it will manage to uphold the
rights of women as it struggles to protect society’s idea of indecency is
moot.


=======================================
10. INDIA: SELECTED POSTS FROM COMMUNALISM WATCH
=======================================
25.10.2012 - Press Release - CJP Rebuts Malicious Campaign by The Pioneer

The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a Mumbai based registered trust
strongly rebuts the malicious campaign once again launched by the Pioneer a
newspaper edited by Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), Chandan Mitra. In a story laced with outright falsehoods the
newspaper has alleged that the CJP has violated the law, namely the Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Since we work in the public domain we place
the following facts for your information while emphasising that what the Pioneer
has been resorting to since 2010 constitutes unprofessional journalism: not once
were we contacted before this or other stories was carried. In October 2010 we
had through our lawyers issued a legal notice to the newspaper (pasted below)
following a spate of articles which visibly toned down that newspaper’s
coverage after the notice. This time too legal action will follow.
FULL TEXT AT:
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/malicious-campaign-by-bjp-run-pioneer.htm\
l


Gadkari in Shit - The BJP president’s financial dealings could jeopardise his
political career
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/gadkari-in-shit-bjp-presidents.html

RSS talk of 'impartial probe', ominous signs for Nitin Gadkari's second term
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/rss-talk-of-impartial-probe-ominous.html

BJP chief Gadkari in RSS uniform
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/bjp-chief-gadkari-in-rss-uniform.html

India: Times of India report on the funding of a firm run by the president the
right wing Bharatiya Janata Party
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/india-times-of-india-report-on-funding.ht\
ml

All India Secular Forum statement condemning violence in Faizabad
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/all-india-secular-forum-statement.html

Photo Exhibition on 1984 riots seeks justice for victims
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/photo-exhibition-on-1984-riots-seeks.html

UK decision to end boycott of Narenda modi is about how human rights are
sacrificed at the altar of commerce
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/uk-decision-to-end-boycott-of-narenda.htm\
l

=======================================
11. INDIA: LETTER TO NEWSPAPERS
=======================================

25 October 2012

The late Sunil Gangopadhyay had pledged his body to medical science. His son and
perhaps other members of his family disregarded his wishes and opted for the
cremation of his remains. Their argument was, apparently, that rights over his
corpse vested in those who were charged with disposing of it.

I do not wish to argue absurdly that the dead man continued to own the body he
once inhabited. I do say, however, that his family's action is a slap in the
face of all those who speak in favour of organ donation.

Medical science today is in a position to help many, many people by using organs
retrieved (I dislike the term in use, "harvested") from corpses. It is people
like the younger Gangopadhyay who cause many to die because no kidneys are
available for them and many to remain sightless because there are no corneas for
them.

This mediaeval thinking is not tragic so much as it is disgusting. So what if it
coincides with the supposed triumph of Good over Evil?

Mukul Dube
D-504 Purvasha (Anand Lok) Apts.
Mayur Vihar 1
Delhi 110091
India


=======================================
12. TILAK RANJAN BERA.  LADAKH: A GLIMPSE OF THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.
Reviewed by Madhu Sarin
=======================================
Tilak Ranjan Bera.  Ladakh: A Glimpse of the Roof of the World.
Kolkata  Woodland Publishers, 2012.  Illustrations. 253 pp.  $133.00
(cloth), ISBN 978-81-906121-6-6.

Reviewed by Madhu Sarin (Psychoanalyst and independent scholar)
Published on H-Asia (October, 2012)
Commissioned by Sumit Guha

There are some parts of the world that beg to be photographed. Ladakh is one
such place. The strength of this book lies in its use of magnificent and graphic
photographs that illuminate the region and its people during different times of
year. Tibet has long retained a powerful hold on the Western imagination--with
its remote location, high altitude terrain, nomadic peoples, and esoteric
monastic traditions that married ancient magical practices with Buddhism.
Perennially cut off and relatively inaccessible because of its geographical
location, once China asserted its sovereignty over Tibet, the region became even
harder to reach. Ladakh, now in India, was part of the Changthang plateau of
Tibet. It remains one of the few parts of the world where the landscape and
traditional way of life associated with Tibet continue to exist relatively
unaltered. Ladakh lies at the northern extremity of India wedged amid a series
of high Himalayan ranges and between two contested areas of geopolitical
conflict--Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on the West and Akshai Chin on the East.

The author, Tilak Ranjan Bera, covers more ground pictorially and logistically
than is usual in coffee-table books of this kind. His extensive and stunning
photographs accompanied by lively, informative text vividly portray this part of
the world. Lying along the ancient Silk Route, Ladakh is peopled by groups from
Central Asia, Tibet, and India who still retain age-old Bon, Buddhist, and
Islamic religious traditions. The author is a doctor by profession. His love for
nature, landscape, and ethnography has led him to photograph and investigate
many scenic parts of India. Readers are lucky that his interests drew him to the
mountain deserts of Ladakh--his photographs are a compelling and mesmerizing
tribute to the stark beauty of this region.

The book begins by providing a historical, geographical, and sociological
background to Ladakh, and then it details the origins, history, and traditions
of the different peoples who have made it their home. The book proceeds to
document two of the road journeys to the capital of Ladakh, Leh, from India--Via
Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Srinagar in Kashmir--both of which are considered
among the most scenic and beautiful road journeys of all time or any place. The
author then highlights and documents five distinct areas of Ladakh: Leh, the
capital; Nubra, which lies along the Silk Route and is near the Siachen Glacier;
Dan Hanu where people of Aryan descent continue to live; Suru, a particularly
beautiful valley; and the remote area of Zanskar, which is an important living
site of ancient Buddhism. There are two additional chapters, with one focusing
on different Buddhist and Bon monasteries that dot the landscape and the
country; and the other on the magnificent turquoise blue lakes of Ladakh along
with the plant, bird, and animal life that surround them. Some additional short
chapters and remarks on the personal meaning that the Himalayas and this remote
region have for the author complete the book. Bera has painstakingly and
brilliantly documented the stark, dramatic landscapes often likened to lunar
moonscapes with startling rock formations, and has beautifully depicted
variegated hues, dazzling turquoise blue lakes, the flora, the fauna, religious
monuments, artifacts, rock carvings and buildings, and the different peoples who
inhabit Ladakh.

The shortcomings of the book are similar to those of other coffee-table books.
Bera does not include references to sources for historical, geographical,
political, or anthropological information. The quality of the photographs and
textual material whet the reader's curiosity in this amazing part of the world.
The book entices the reader with the images and narrative it provides; its a
pity that there are no references--because having entered Ladakh through Bera's
mind and imagination, one would wish for further anchoring in fact and
bibliography.

Citation: Madhu Sarin. Review of Bera, Tilak Ranjan, _Ladakh: A
Glimpse of the Roof of the World_. H-Asia, H-Net Reviews. October,
2012.
URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=36489

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.


INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
13. SOCIALIST IDENTITY AND THE FOG OF HISTORY IN EAST GERMANY
by Dolores L. Augustine
=======================================

Sandrine Kott. Histoire de la société allemande au xx. siècle: III La RDA
1949-1989. Paris: Editions La Decouverte, 2011. 126 pp. ISBN 978-2-7071-6911-2;
EUR 9.50 (paper), ISBN 978-2-7071-6906-8.

Reviewed by Dolores L. Augustine (St. John's University)
Published on H-German (October, 2012)
Commissioned by Benita Blessing

Socialist Identity and the Fog of History in East Germany

This slender volume provides an excellent introduction to Francophone research
on the GDR, of which Sandrine Kott (of the University of Geneva) is the most
prominent representative. Rejecting totalitarianism theory, she focuses on
social history. Though the East German leadership had totalitarian impulses,
society was able to establish limits to dictatorship.[1] Nonetheless, the SED
(the Socialist Unity Party, or Communist Party of East Germany) "colonized"
society. An interpenetration of society and state took place, described in an
untranslatable turn of phrase as a "socialisation de l'Etat" and "etatisation du
social." Her study combines a "history from below" with a
historical/sociological analysis of the SED and major organizations and
institutions.

In 1949, a "socialist Germany" (p. 6) was created with some German support; for
example, that of antifascist groups. Kott argues that those mass organizations
that looked back to an older tradition enjoyed a fair degree of
legitimacy--unlike those organizations created by the SED to take control of
society. The FDJ (Freie Deutsche Jugend, "Free German Youth"), founded in
Czechoslovak exile during WWII, pursued, according to Kott, a rather independent
course vis-à-vis the SED in the years after 1946. The FDJ was reorganized in
1953 and made into a recruiting grounds for party officials, a prerequisite for
admission to university studies, as well as an instrument of political
indoctrination. Similarly, the FDGB (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, "Free
German Trade Union Federation") was subordinated to the SED. Strikes were
criminalized. Local union officials were surprisingly nonconformist, though they
were co-opted and robbed of any ability to negotiate on behalf of workers by
1970.

Chapter 1 focuses on social engineering, which was vast in scope, yet not always
predictable in its impact. The complete redesigning of society ran into some
opposition, but not civil war. Owners of large farms lost their land, and were
often replaced by "new farmers." The latter were beholden to the SED, but also
used the opportunities provided by the SED to their advantage. Their tenuous
hold on land often ended in the face of the creation of collective farms. The
process of collectivizing agriculture involved violence, and led to deep
antagonisms, particularly between established and "new" farmers, as well as
between farmers and factory workers. Urban factory workers, sent as "volunteers"
into the countryside to promote collectivization, incurred the hostility and
resentment of the farmers they were supposed to assist.

Vaunted as socialist "heroes," factory workers were in fact expected to
participate in competitions that intensified exploitation. Frustrated by a lack
of real rewards, as well as by the piece-work system in use in GDR factories,
workers rebelled in a series of strikes, culminating in the 1953 uprising. The
Communist leadership developed a distrustful attitude towards workers.

Traditional elites were supposed to be replaced by a "new intelligentsia."
However, the SED had a rather "indulgent" attitude towards doctors, economic
experts, engineers, scientists, and (until 1972) small businessmen. This
toleration of a more traditional professionalism is due to three factors: the
centrality of technical and scientific innovation in the SED's economic
strategies, loss of elites due to postwar de-Nazification, and the danger of
losing elites to the West (even after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961).
A "new intelligentsia" eventually did take over from older elites, but,
ironically, did not enjoy the privileges and higher income of its predecessors.
It found itself working under incompetent political appointees.

Chapter 2 undertakes an analysis of the "social nexus" of power. Kott argues
that society itself "was used as an instrument and site of control" (p. 44). SED
members kept each other in line and participated in the "political, social and
even moral repression of their fellow citizens" (p. 35). Among party members,
ideological commitment was replaced by outward conformism in the 1970s and
1980s. On the other hand, party members increasingly expected the party to
assist them with personal difficulties, leading to "privatization" of the party.
Similarly, members of Communist mass organizations behaved like "consumers,"
using membership for their own purposes rather than really participating with a
sense of inner conviction. Forced to participate in paramilitary organizations
and to serve in the military, young East Germans became increasingly pacifistic.
Pacifism became the focal point of opposition to the SED. Nonetheless, mass
organizations did help to create a sense of "community of the people" (p. 38).

The GDR upheld the Marxist view of work as essentially liberating. This view of
human nature harmonized well with the needs of a planned economy that suffered
from chronic labor shortages. In theory, socialist citizenship was centered on
the factory, particularly the work brigade or work collective. In reality, the
brigade was an instrument for disciplining workers. It also was a working unit
that had to deal with the problems of the planned economy. Desperate attempts to
deal with these problems helped create a deep sense of solidarity among its
members. On the other hand, in accordance with the Leninist principle of "To
each according to his contribution," those who did not work were not considered
members of the socialist community and were ostracized, and sometimes
imprisoned, as "asocials."

The Stasi was also deeply involved in organizing the policing of society from
within, whereby those higher up in the hierarchy were more heavily involved in
surveillance and oppression. The Stasi had a vast knowledge of what was going on
in East German society, but it was the SED that had to act on that knowledge.
The party became incapable of effective action. Thus, society was "tightly
controlled but not really guided or governed by the SED in the 1980s" (p. 45).

Chapter 3 turns to the topic of social inequality. Though the official discourse
was egalitarian, inequalities in pay, working conditions, and access to goods
persisted and grew, particularly those between manual labor, office workers, and
managers; between men and women; and between the generations. Opportunities for
social advancement greatly decreased in the late 1960s. Inequalities in
consumption were tied to the subordination of consumption to production. In the
early years, for example, workers in priority sectors received larger rations.
By the late 1950s, attempts were made to create a socialist model of
consumption; for example, by promoting an East German fashion industry. This
endeavor was abandoned in the wake of the oil crises of the 1970s. This economic
downturn engendered austerity, as well as growing inequality. Better housing and
goods were available to the intelligentsia (which became like an upper-middle
class), inhabitants of big cities, those in possession of Western currency,
people with West German relatives, skilled workers in favored industries,
skilled handworkers who could offer their services in exchange for goods and
services, and people with "connections."

Kott agrees with Rudolf Bahro--and, though not mentioned here, Milovan
Djilas--that the Communist elite was a ruling class in the Marxist sense, a
class (analogous to Djilas's "new class") that exploited the economic and social
resources of society as it saw fit.[2] She sees the professional class as
divided by rivalries and disagreements. She in fact revives the idea of a
"counter-elite," first formulated by Peter Christian Ludz.[3] She seems to see
the main cause for this rift in the rivalry between younger members of the elite
and older, more senior members who rose to positions of power in the 1950s and
1960s, and who proved unable to deal with the increasingly dire economic and
political problems of the 1980s. Her account here is somewhat confusing (p. 61)
because she also writes that the intelligentsia (i.e., university-educated
professionals) rose into positions of power in the 1980s. She hints at a more
psychological and cultural analysis in her remark that individuals also had to
deal with their own internal contradictions, arising from tensions "between
political loyalty and professional competence" (p. 60).

Chapter 4 explores the contours of private and public identity in the GDR. A
distinct East German identity emerged, though it diverged from what political
leaders envisioned. Intent on creating a "socialist personality," the SED placed
more emphasis on education than was the case anywhere else in the East bloc.
Though the school system was modernized in the 1940s and 1950s, schools
continued to be dedicated to the "reproduction--not production--of knowledge,"
as well as to social reproduction (p. 65). The children of cadres enjoyed the
greatest successes in school. Children of the working class were, on the other
hand, shunted off into technical careers. In theory, apprenticeships were
supposed to further the development of class consciousness, but in fact the
conditions under which apprentices were trained were wretched. (Here she
somewhat understates the opportunities provided to members of the working
class.) Despite "extreme politicization," schools "were hardly capable of
bringing about the emergence of 'socialist man,' who looks with optimism to the
future" (p. 67). A process of "reappropriation" emptied the Jugendweihe (a
secular, socialist alternative to confirmation) of socialist content, turning it
into a simple "rite of passage."

The GDR also placed greater emphasis on bringing high culture to the masses than
did most socialist countries. Workers were encouraged to write literature and
perform in theater groups. These endeavors ultimately could not overcome
traditional divisions between "serious" and popular culture. However, average
East Germans became voracious readers with a taste for fine literature. This was
in part thanks to the endeavors of factory librarians, who brought book carts
into factory halls.

Kott rightly points out that attempts in the GDR to overcome the public/private
divide cannot be solely ascribed to the SED's totalitarian instincts (which the
author fully acknowledges). They are also the expression of the Marxist ambition
to overcome the bourgeois isolation of the individual and the family. Successful
attempts in this direction included state-run daycare and nursery schools and
after-hours socializing of work brigade members. Other experiments fizzled out,
notably the inclusion of public facilities in housing complexes and attempts at
socializing housework. In the 1970s and 1980s, the SED encouraged a retreat back
into the family; for example, through the introduction of the "baby year" (a
year-long, paid hiatus in employment after the birth of a child). A
re-privatization of free time also took place, accompanied by an increase in TV
viewing. In Kott's view, women did not lose ground as a result of these
developments, however. Marxism claims that gender equality is best achieved
through the employment of women. She is little inclined to disagree, nor to
question the claim that East German women were more sexually liberated than West
German women. However, as she points out, attempts to question inequitable
gender roles in the private realm were nipped in the bud. Here, the lack of
freedom of expression made itself felt.

Chapter 5 turns to those excluded from the socialist community, or at least
pushed to its margins.  Despite official proclamations of international
solidarity, immigrants were segregated and treated as if they were suspected of
being "serious criminals" (p. 85). As a result, the population became
distrustful of them. But not until after 1989 did the full extent of the fallout
from these xenophobic policies become clear. Worse off until 1989 were those
East Germans defined as "asocials" because of supposed moral or psychological
deviance, perceived, for example, in their lack of desire to work, alcoholism,
sexual promiscuity (in the case of women), homosexuality, or contacts with the
West. A multiplicity of institutions were mobilized to control and reeducate
them, but many served long prison sentences. Few escaped the label of "asocial,"
and in fact they seem to have been part of an emerging underclass. The author
believes that many were dropouts who could or would not live according to the
very narrow dictates of the East German system.

Political dissidents were also marginalized, and at times were defined as
"asocials" because they were unable to find stable employment. The Protestant
Church provided "a kind of substitute public space" (p. 100) by the 1980s, but
also contributed to a "ghettoization" of opposition. Youthful nonconformism was
viewed with utmost suspicion by the SED. In the mid-1960s, those who adopted
Western youth culture were branded as traitors, and were subject to
incarceration and re-education. Thus, East German society was not only confined
within "geographical, but also political and moral borders" (p. 103). The SED
succeeded in creating an alternate German society that was "centered on work,
more homogeneous, more communitarian, but also closed, intolerant and
self-supervising" (p. 104). Nonetheless, the Communist leadership did not get
the society it expected. Unable to properly respond to popular wants, the SED
"dominated" society without truly "governing" it. Kott sees the end of the GDR
as caused by the failure and collapse of the system.

This is without a doubt the best short summary of GDR history available in any
language. Largely steering clear of scholarly controversies, Kott's book
provides an excellent synthesis of current research. Her bibliography provides a
good, brief overview of recent literature, including German, English, and French
titles. She has done a fine job of mining empirical studies and providing
salient factual information, while also providing analysis and insightful (if
brief) examples that illuminate culture and psychology. The value of this work
is greater than the sum of its parts because of the sophisticated manner in
which she weaves together accounts of ideology, policy, and (messy) reality. She
does somewhat underestimate conflicts within GDR society.[4] However, this study
is highly recommended for those interested in twentieth-century German history.
Its clear language should be accessible to all who have a reading knowledge of
French. Those who do not are left to hope for an English translation.

Notes

[1]. See Ralph Jessen and Richard Bessel, eds., Die Grenzen der Diktatur. Staat
und Gesellschaft in der DDR (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996).

[2]. Milovan Djilas, The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System (New
York: Praeger, 1957).

[3]. Peter Christian Ludz, Parteieliten im Wandel (Cologne and Opladen:
Westdeutscher Verlag, 1968).

[4]. For an in-depth analysis of these conflicts, see Andrew Port, Conflict and
Stability in the German Democratic Republic (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2007).

If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the
list discussion logs at: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl.

Citation: Dolores L. Augustine. Review of Kott, Sandrine, Histoire de la
société allemande au xx. siècle: III La RDA 1949-1989. H-German, H-Net
Reviews. October, 2012.

URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=34694

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

=======================================
14. THANK YOU VASILI ARKHIPOV, THE MAN WHO STOPPED NUCLEAR WAR
by Edward Wilson
=======================================
(The Guardian,  27 October 2012)
Fifty years ago, Arkhipov, a senior officer on the Soviet B-59 submarine,
refused permission to launch its nuclear torpedo
If you were born before 27 October 1962, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov saved
your life. It was the most dangerous day in history. An American spy plane had
been shot down over Cuba while another U2 had got lost and strayed into Soviet
airspace. As these dramas ratcheted tensions beyond breaking point, an American
destroyer, the USS Beale, began to drop depth charges on the B-59, a Soviet
submarine armed with a nuclear weapon.

The captain of the B-59, Valentin Savitsky, had no way of knowing that the depth
charges were non-lethal "practice" rounds intended as warning shots to force the
B-59 to surface. The Beale was joined by other US destroyers who piled in to
pummel the submerged B-59 with more explosives. The exhausted Savitsky assumed
that his submarine was doomed and that world war three had broken out. He
ordered the B-59's ten kiloton nuclear torpedo to be prepared for firing. Its
target was the USS Randolf, the giant aircraft carrier leading the task force.

If the B-59's torpedo had vaporised the Randolf, the nuclear clouds would
quickly have spread from sea to land. The first targets would have been Moscow,
London, the airbases of East Anglia and troop concentrations in Germany. The
next wave of bombs would have wiped out "economic targets", a euphemism for
civilian populations – more than half the UK population would have died.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon's SIOP, Single Integrated Operational Plan – a
doomsday scenario that echoed Dr Strangelove's orgiastic Götterdämmerung –
would have hurled 5,500 nuclear weapons against a thousand targets, including
ones in non-belligerent states such as Albania and China.

What would have happened to the US itself is uncertain. The very reason that
Khrushchev sent missiles to Cuba was because the Soviet Union lacked a credible
long range ICBM deterrent against a possible US attack. It seems likely that
America would have suffered far fewer casualties than its European allies. The
fact that Britain and western Europe were regarded by some in the Pentagon as
expendable pawn sacrifices was the great unmentionable of the cold war.

Fifty years on, what lessons can be drawn from the Cuban missile crisis? One is
that governments lose control in a crisis. The worst nightmare for US defence
secretary Robert McNamara was the unauthorised launch of a nuclear weapon.
McNamara ordered that PAL locks (Permissive Action Links) be fitted to all
ICBMs. But when the PALs were installed, the Strategic Air Command had all the
codes set to 00000000 so that the locks would not impede a quick launch in a
crisis. Nuclear weapons security will always be a human issue – at all levels.
On one occasion, Jimmy Carter, the sanest of US presidents, left nuclear launch
codes in his suit when it was sent to the dry cleaners.

The cold war has ended, but the thermo-nuclear infrastructures of the US and
Russia are still in place. And the risk of a nuclear exchange between the
superpowers remains very real. In 1995 Russian early warning radar mistook a
Norwegian weather rocket for a ballistic missile launched from an American
submarine. An emergency signal was sent to President Yeltsin's "Cheget", the
nuclear suitcase with launch codes. Yeltsin, presumably with vodka close at
hand, had less than five minutes to make a decision on a retaliatory strike.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist, the chances of survival of the human species
are quite slight." Every study of long-term risk analysis supports Noam
Chomsky's claim. Ploughshares estimates there are 19,000 warheads in the world
today, 18,000 of which are in the hands of the US and Russia. Whatever the exact
numbers, the American/Russian nuclear arsenals are the only ones capable of
totally destroying all human life. As security analysts Campbell Craig and Jan
Ruzicka point out: "Why should Iran or North Korea respect non-proliferation
when the most powerful states lecturing them possess such enormous arsenals?"

Most of all, the Cuban missile crisis showed that the weapons themselves are the
problem. Britain is now in pole position to lead a "nuclear disarmament race".
In a 2009 letter to the Times, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Generals Lord
Ramsbotham and Sir Hugh Beach denounced Trident as "completely useless".
Ditching the system may be a no-brainer for the generals, but not for
politicians afraid of a public opinion that equates nuclear weapons with vague
notions of "being strong". And yet getting rid of Trident would gift the
Treasury a windfall of more than £25bn – enough to finance a million
affordable homes.

The decision not to start world war three was not taken in the Kremlin or the
White House, but in the sweltering control room of a submarine. The launch of
the B-59's nuclear torpedo required the consent of all three senior officers
aboard. Arkhipov was alone in refusing permission. It is certain that Arkhipov's
reputation was a key factor in the control room debate. The previous year the
young officer had exposed himself to severe radiation in order to save a
submarine with an overheating reactor. That radiation dose eventually
contributed to his death in 1998. So when we raise our glasses on 27 October we
can only toast his memory. Thank you, Vasya.


=======================================
15. USA:  POLARIZED ELECTION SEASON MARKED BY EXTREMIST CANDIDATES
Posted by Evelyn Schlatter
=======================================
Southern Poverty Law Center - October 19, 2012

It’s well known that in recent years, this country has seen its electoral
politics polarized to an extent that has only rarely been paralleled in American
history. But that polarization in many cases goes far beyond anything resembling
mainstream discourse, extending to men and women who are linked to hate groups
and racial, ethnic, religious, anti-gay and antigovernment extremism, or who
promote extremist propaganda. Their baseless claims typically include demonizing
propaganda about certain minority groups, or conspiracy theories that have the
same demonizing subtext. What follows is a look at 15 political candidates,
including Democrats, Republicans, independents and members of extremist
political parties, who are running for office this fall or ran earlier in the
year. Research on these candidates was carried out by the SPLC Task Force on
Hate in the Public Sphere.

Virgil Goode Jr. (Va.)

Office sought: President of the United States

Virgil Goode Goode got his political start in Virginia as a conservative
Democrat. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, he
switched to independent in 2000 and then Republican in 2002. He lost his seat in
2008 by just over 700 votes. In November 2010, Goode joined the executive
committee of the Constitution Party, after serving as a member of the party’s
larger national committee. Formed in 1991 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party by
hard-line conservative and Christian Right backer Howard Phillips, the
Constitution Party’s planks include opposition to hate crimes legislation;
opposition to the so-called “New World Order,” a much-feared global
government said to be imminent; support for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act;
and support for “well regulated militias” at the state level and unorganized
militias at the community and county levels. During his years in Congress, Goode
also developed a reputation for his hard-line stance on immigration. In 2006,
Goode claimed, in the wake of U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) using the
Koran to take his oath of office, that if Americans didn’t wake up to the
Goode point of view on immigration, “there will likely be many more Muslims
elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.” In February 2011, he
spoke on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Committee organized by
Youth for Western Civilization, a now-defunct student group with ties to racist
groups, calling for an end to all illegal immigration and most legal
immigration, which, he warned darkly, will eventually lead to socialism. Goode
also promises to defend Americans from the North American Union, a non-existent
entity that conspiracy theorists claim the U.S., Canada and Mexico are secretly
planning to form.

Merlin Miller (Tenn.)

Office sought: President of the United States

Merlin Miller Miller is an independent filmmaker who is running on the white
nationalist American Third Position (A3P) ticket. (The party’s chairman,
William Daniel Johnson, once proposed a constitutional amendment to deport any
U.S. citizen with an “ascertainable trace of Negro blood.”) In his 2012
book, co-authored with A3P board member Adrian Krieg, Miller states that “A3P
stands to protect traditional White American interests, as no other political
party has shown interest in doing.” Miller has also written pieces for the
Holocaust-denying Barnes Review, founded by notorious anti-Semite Willis Carto,
and The Occidental Observer, founded by anti-Semitic California State University
psychology professor Kevin MacDonald. (The Observer focuses on white identity
and white interests.) In 2011, Miller wrote an article in the Barnes Review
about Walt Disney, described by Miller as a “Christian Patriot and
anti-Communist” who, Miller says, built a major motion picture studio that was
not controlled by Jews. In September 2012, Miller — who has addressed meetings
of the white nationalist Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that once
described black people as a “retrograde species of humanity” — was
interviewed by Press TV in Iran, where he was attending an international film
festival. During that interview, he claimed that charges against him of racism
stemmed from his criticism of Zionism and the Jewish-controlled media. He also
stated that he believes 9/11 was a Mossad-orchestrated event carried out with
“considerable inside help.”

Mark Clayton (D-Tenn.)

Office sought: U.S. Senate

Mark Clayton Clayton won the Democratic primary for a Tennessee Senate seat in
August 2012, after competing in a field of seven other candidates. Clayton, an
anti-gay fringe conspiracy theorist who served a stint in the Army reserve and
has worked a variety of odd jobs, won 26% of the vote despite raising no money.
The Tennessee Democratic Party disavowed Clayton the day after the primary, but
his name will remain on the ballot opposing GOP Sen. Bob Corker. Clayton’s
views align more closely with those of the John Birch Society, which once called
President Dwight D. Eisenhower a c ommunist, than the Democratic Party —
though some of his ideas might be a little much even for JBS. He believes the
government is building concentration camps to imprison Americans and that elites
in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are conspiring to form a “North American
Union” (NAU) merging the three nations — both conspiracy theories common in
the antigovernment “Patriot” movement. When he ran for a Senate seat in
2008, Clayton accused Google of censoring his campaign website on behalf of the
Chinese government. That website, which has since been taken down, thanked
supporters for helping defend Tennessee against the NAU, national ID cards and
“radical homosexual lobbying groups who want to get in the Boy Scouts.”
Clayton also claimed that Austrian-born California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
was planning to amend the Constitution so he could run for president and
“fulfill Hitler’s superman scenario.” Clayton’s current site is tamer,
though he wants to eliminate “secret national ID cards” from Tennessee
drivers’ licenses and to stop the government from mandating that
“transexual[s] and homosexuals” grab children in “stranger-danger zones”
in airports.

Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

Office sought: U.S. Senate

Ted Cruz Tea Party-backed Cruz is running as the GOP candidate for the Senate
seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchinson. The Harvard-educated attorney, a former
solicitor general of Texas and law clerk for Supreme Court Justice William
Rehnquist, claims that the U.N.’s 1992 non-binding resolution and general
guidelines for sustainability and ending poverty is a plot led by liberal
billionaire George Soros to “abolish” unsustainable environments, including
golf courses and grazing pastures. He co-authored a proposal that would open a
way for states to nullify federal laws. Cruz thinks the imposition of Shariah
Islamic law in the U.S. is “an enormous problem” (it’s not even possible
under the Constitution, let alone a big problem). In his first campaign ad in
the GOP primary, he encouraged people to vote for him because he once fought to
ensure the execution of an undocumented immigrant in a murder case. He’s tough
on LGBT people, too. At the 2011 Values Voter Summit, hosted by the gay-bashing
Family Research Council, which the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as a hate
group for its defamatory and false propaganda, Cruz railed against the “gay
rights agenda” and warned about new threats to “religious liberty.”

Michele Bachmann (R-Minn., incumbent)

Office sought: U.S. House of Representatives (6th District)

Michele Bachmann Since her election to Congress in 2006, Bachmann has become
better known for her controversial statements than for her legislation. A
staunch Christian evangelical influenced by the writings of Christian
Dominionists like Francis Schaeffer, she is also known for conspiracy-laden
claims about things like vaccines (they cause children to become retarded) and
people like Muslims (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin is
part of the Muslim Brotherhood). She claims that President Obama is somehow
responsible for the swine flu outbreak in 2009. She also has said that if LGBT
people get rights, everybody else will lose theirs, adding that LGBT people are
“target[ing] your children.” Bachmann announced that she wouldn’t fill out
her 2010 census forms completely because data from it is shared with the FBI and
other groups. As proof, she claimed that census data was used by the Roosevelt
administration to round up Japanese Americans in World War II (it wasn’t).

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C., incumbent)

Office sought: U.S. House of Representatives (3rd District)

Walter Jones Originally a Democrat, Jones switched to the Republican Party in
1994 and has won every election in his district handily since then. He has
moderate views on some issues – he has sided with Democrats in the past to
raise the minimum wage, for example, and is known as anti-war — but on others,
like immigration, he is much further to the right. He introduced the Illegal
Alien Crime Reporting Act of 2011, which would have required federal agencies to
report on crimes committed by undocumented workers, earning him accolades from
hard-line nativist groups like the FIRE Coalition. Another key player in the
U.S. anti-immigrant network, NumbersUSA, gave Jones one of its top 10 scores for
his stands on immigration enforcement. Jones, a strong supporter of Arizona’s
draconian S.B. 1070 anti-immigrant legislation, has also co-sponsored
legislation to end the citizenship of children born in the U.S. to parents who
are not citizens, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. But he probably
attracted the most attention when he was a guest in September 2012 on the
Memphis-based radio talk show “Political Cesspool,” which is hosted by white
nationalists James Edwards and Eddie Miller. Jones went on the show to talk
about legislation he has co-authored that accuses President Obama of impeachable
offenses regarding events in Libya. Jones later said he didn’t understand the
political leanings of the show’s hosts, who have had a parade of white
supremacists, neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers and others on the extreme political
right as guests, despite the fact that the show’s plain-spoken mission
statement is, “We represent a philosophy that is pro-White.”

U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa, incumbent)

Office sought: U.S. House of Representatives (5th District)

Steve King King has been in Iowa politics for more than 15 years now. He served
as a state senator from 1996-2002 and, when a new congressional district was
created in 2002, he ran for and was elected to the U.S. Congress. King has
supported anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and expressed support for racial
profiling in law enforcement, claiming that it’s not discriminatory. He has
spoken at events with Tom Tancredo, the immigrant-bashing former Colorado
congressman, and ardently defended nativist Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2010,
he opined that U.S. immigration policy should be like picking the best dogs out
of a litter. Two years later, he backed U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (see above)
in her baseless claim that State Department official Huma Abedin was an
operative of the Muslim Brotherhood, saying Abedin’s family was “deeply
entrenched” in the organization. When Obama was running for president in 2008,
King said that because Obama’s middle name is Hussein, if he were elected
“the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing
in the streets.” Also in 2012, at the Conservative Political Action
Conference, the premier annual conference for conservatives, King spoke at a
panel sponsored by the nativist group ProEnglish that dealt with the purported
evils of multiculturalism and how it weakens American identity. King was in
interesting company: Bob Vandevoort from Chicago, who once led the white
nationalist group Chicagoland Friends of the American Renaissance, a magazine
whose editor has said that black people are incapable of sustaining
civilization; and Peter Brimelow, founder of the racist website VDARE, which is
named after Virginia Dare, the first English (read: white) child born in
America. King spoke about his bill to make English the official language of the
U.S. and said that Brimelow, who seeks a whiter United States, “wrote
eloquently about the balkanization of America.”

U.S. Rep. Allen West (R-Fla., incumbent)

Office sought: U.S. House of Representatives (18th District)

Allen West Backed by the Tea Party, the anti-Muslim and anti-gay West has made a
name for himself with controversial statements and actions. He first ran for
office in 2008 (he was not elected) after retiring from the U.S. military in
2004 as a lieutenant colonel. Prior to his retirement, he was fined $5,000 and
relieved of his command without a court martial in connection with his
interrogation of an Iraqi police officer. West was unrepentant and was supported
by various far-right groups, including David Horowitz’s Muslim-bashing, online
FrontPage Magazine, which named him 2003 “Man of the Year.” In 2007, West
wrote monthly columns for Pam Geller’s anti-Muslim hate blog, Atlas Shrugs,
while he was in Afghanistan doing military contracting. Finally elected to
Congress in 2010, he attempted to hire Joyce Kaufman, an immigrant-bashing radio
host, as his chief-of-staff. But Kaufman resigned amidst a major controversy
generated by her nativist comments. During his two years in Congress, West has
claimed that women who support Planned Parenthood are “neutering American
men”; said that the Congressional Progressive Caucus is made up of secret
members of the Communist Party; described people with pro-Obama bumper stickers
as a threat to the gene pool; and demanded that President Obama, Nancy Pelosi
and Harry Reid, all top Democrats, “get the hell out” of America.

Harry Lyon (D-Ala.)

Office sought: Chief Justice, Alabama Supreme Court (ejected)

Harry Lyon Lyon was running for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court but
was removed from the ballot in August 2012 by the state Democratic Party for
“increasingly erratic behavior” and statements he made regarding LGBT people
and his opponent, who he had claimed engaged in “devil worship.” Lyon was
also quoted in the Montgomery Advertiser suggesting that it might be a good idea
to publicly execute a few undocumented immigrants as a warning to the rest. He
posted anti-gay statements on his Facebook page, including the claim that
“only sick and perverted persons believe in homosexuality or lesbianism,
though there are a lot of them.” Inflammatory statements aren’t his only
problem. Lyon has been suspended by the Alabama Bar Association twice and
reprimanded once for violation of ethical principles. The Democratic Party also
pulled him off the ballot once before; in 1994, he was removed from the
gubernatorial race for violating party rules. The irony is that, although the
Democratic Party replaced Lyon as its chief justice candidate with a local
circuit judge, the much-favored Republican candidate, Roy Moore, is himself
marked by history as an extremist. Moore won election as chief justice earlier,
starting his term in 2001, and soon drew attention with an opinion that said,
citing the Bible, that the state could impose penalties up to and including
execution to protect children from gay people. Moore later sneaked a two-ton Ten
Commandments monument into the Supreme Court building. After he disobeyed a
federal court’s order to remove the monument in 2002, he was stripped of his
judgeship by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. He is now trying to reclaim
that seat.

Harry Bertram (W.V.)

Office sought: West Virginia House of Delegates

Harry Bertram Bertram is trying once again for the state House of Delegates,
after three previously unsuccessful campaigns and a losing bid for governor in
2011. He is running as a candidate of the American Third Position (A3P), a
political party originally founded by racist skinheads in southern California in
2009 whose goals include deporting immigrants and placing the U.S. under white
rule. The group’s mission statement claims that the U.S. government
discriminates against white Americans and warns that whites will soon become a
minority. In 2010, the group’s chairman, William Daniel Johnson, told the
white nationalist “Political Cesspool” radio show that the foundation of the
party is the “racial nationalist movement.” Nevertheless, Bertram dismisses
the idea that the A3P is a racist party, insisting instead that it is merely
“nationalist.” That’s a noteworthy claim, given that Bertram is listed as
a “senior moderator” on WhiteNewsNow, a website run by Jamie Kelso, a
longtime racist activist and former member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In
addition, during his run for governor, Bertram released a television campaign ad
in which he called himself “the voice for white American issues.” A3P chief
Johnson’s proposed radio ad for Bertram — the text of which included, racist
websites reported, “Vote Harry Bertram for Governor because we must secure a
future for White America and our children” — was rejected by the West
Virginia station he approached.

Daniel Johnson (Mich.)

Office Sought: Michigan House of Representatives

Daniel Johnson William Daniel Johnson is a longtime white supremacist running
under a name he does not normally use — dropping his first name in favor of
his middle name —on the ticket of a party other than the racist one he leads.
In California, where he lived recently, Johnson was known as the chairman of the
white supremacist American Third Position (A3P; see also above profiles of
Merlin Miller and Harry Bertram) and the person who once called for the
permanent deportation of all American citizens with an “ascertainable trace of
Negro blood.” But in Michigan, he is running on the ticket of the Natural Law
Party, not an obvious choice given that party’s planks of seeking to reduce
racial prejudice and revitalizing inner cities via a strategy that includes
using transcendental meditation to relieve social stress. Johnson makes no overt
references to his A3P affiliation on his campaign website, but clicking the
Facebook or Twitter links there will take you to the A3P pages for each. He does
say that he seeks to preserve the environment, help businesses to provide a
living wage, and protect civil liberties – particularly of white European
Americans. He also wants to promote eugenic policies, meaning policies that
favor “good” genes over “bad” ones in human reproduction. Calling his
campaign phone line produces a recorded voice saying that “the white race is
dying out in America and Europe,” because the policies of Democrats and
Republicans alike have “caused whites worldwide to be ashamed of their race
and history.” In 1985, Johnson, a corporate attorney, wrote a book under the
pseudonym James O. Pace, calling for a constitutional amendment to limit
citizenship to whites and deport all black people. He already has run
unsuccessfully for two congressional seats, in Wyoming and Arizona, as well as a
judgeship in California. He used a 19-year-old Klansman as his campaign manager
in Wyoming and brought in a nativist extremist with a felony conviction for
grand theft to work on his Arizona campaign.

Loy Mauch (R-Ark., incumbent)

Office sought: Arkansas House of Representatives

Loy Mauch Mauch, who was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives
in November 2010, is known for a series of extreme pro-Confederate statements
over the years, many published as letters to the editor of the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette. He has repeatedly excoriated Abraham Lincoln (“this Northern
neurotic war criminal”), comparing him and Northern Civil War generals to
“Wehrmacht leaders.” He defends the Confederacy, saying that the Confederate
battle flag is “a symbol of Christian liberty.” In 2010, Mauch claimed that
the 14th Amendment — which granted citizenship to all persons born or
naturalized in the U.S., notably including the freed slaves — was never
legally ratified and is “essentially a Karl Marx concept.” In 2009,
repeating a point he first made in 2003, Mauch asked in one letter to the editor
of the Arkansas paper, “If slavery were so God-awful, why didn’t Jesus or
Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn’t there a war
before 1861?” In 2004, Mauch organized a conference in Hot Springs, featuring
a keynote speech entitled “Homage to John Wilkes Booth,” that called for the
removal of an Abraham Lincoln statue. In his last run for re-election, in 2010,
the Arkansas Times reported that Mauch was then a member of the League of the
South, a neo-secessionist group that wants to create a theocratic society
legally dominated by white “European Americans.”

State Rep. Matt Shea (R-Wash., incumbent)

Office sought: Washington House of Representatives

Matt Shea First elected in 2008, Shea serves as the minority floor leader for
the Washington House of Representatives. Shea has distinguished himself by
appearing in 2009 on the conspiracist “Alex Jones Show,” where he claimed he
knew about the existence of concentration camps built by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to imprison Americans. “And most particularly disturbing
about that,” Shea said, parroting conspiracy theories popular in the
antigovernment “Patriot” movement, “is that they’re gonna be on former
military bases.” He went on to say that there were “some very eerie
similarities between using pastors to pacify people now as happened in Nazi
Germany.” Later in the interview, after Jones claimed that the Wall Street
Journal had “called for a world government,” Shea said, “It’s shocking.
… This is looking too much like the precursor to Nazi Germany and communist
Russia.” Discussing federal measures to combat climate change and identify
animals, Shea said, “Their goal, again, I think, is about control. I don’t
think it has anything to do with them protecting the environment or preventing
diseases among animals.” In 2010, among other proposed state “sovereignty”
laws that would allow “nullification” of some federal mandates, Shea
sponsored the so-called “Sheriff First Act,” which would require federal law
enforcement agents to get the permission of local sheriffs before operating in
their counties. Even with that permission, the bill would allow the federal
agents only to arrest people on federal lands in the state.

Frank Szabo (R-N.H.)

Office Sought: Hillsborough County Sheriff (defeated)

Frank Szabo Szabo, a former businessman who moved from Pennsylvania to become an
organic farmer, ran as “a constitutional sheriff” who would protect citizens
against “rogue agencies” and “rogue bureaucrats” but lost by huge
margins in the September 2012 Republican primary. (The idea of a constitutional
sheriff is rooted in groups like the violently anti-Semitic Posse Comitatus,
although it also has been adopted by many hardline antigovernment “Patriot”
groups more recently.) Earlier, in 1994, Szabo ran unsuccessfully for Congress
in Pennsylvania as an independent. Szabo is a member of the Oath Keepers, a
Patriot group given to conspiracy theories about secret government plans to
impose martial law and various other perfidies. He made headlines in August
2012, during his campaign, when he suggested that deadly force should be used to
prevent legal abortions. “Just because a law is on the books doesn’t make it
lawful,” he said, adding, “[W]hy would anyone object to the use of deadly
force to prevent the murder of an unborn human?” He retracted those comments
under pressure, but still stated, in a press release, that abortion is
“murder” and that, if elected, he would arrest anyone involved in the murder
of a county citizen.

Shaun Winkler (R-Idaho)

Office sought: Bonner County Sheriff (defeated)

Shaun Winkler Winkler has a long history of white supremacist activity, from his
days as a young racist skinhead in Pennsylvania to his later work as a staffer
for the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations, where he was a trusted aide to the group’s
late leader, Richard Butler. He also joined a faction of the Ku Klux Klan.
Earlier this year, he decided to run for sheriff of Bonner County despite all
that baggage and more. Winkler has publicly derided African Americans and Jews.
In May 2012, he held a cross-burning on his recently acquired Idaho property;
questioned about it, he claimed that it was “more of a religious symbol”
than a racist ceremony. “Most people don’t know that we don’t just oppose
the Jews and the Negroes,” he told the Bonner County Daily Bee. “We also
oppose sexual predators and drugs of any kind.” In the end, Winkler got 182
votes, coming in a distant third in a three-way race.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 1 Nov 2012 - No. 2762
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:
1. Bangladeshi sculptor spends eight years in Indian jail without trial
(Editorial, The Daily Star)
2. Islamic extremism in the Maldives: alive and killing (Azra Naseem)
3. Pakistan: For and against Malala Yousafzai (Ishtiaq Ahmed)
4. India - Pakistan: A visit Manmohan must make (A. G. Noorani)
5. Sri Lanka: Appeal to the UN HRC regarding the Universal Periodic Review in
Nov, 2012 on Sri Lanka
6. India: Public religious festivals are a ready resource for reactionary
politics. Can they be secularised? (Editorial, Economic and Political Weekly)
7. India: The Empire Begs Back - What does it mean when the UK High Commissioner
visits Modi? (Badri Raina)
8. India: Open letter to Chief Minister Narendra Modi regarding deaths of
migrant workers at Alang shipbreaking works (Gopal Krishna)
9. Pakistan: Tributes to Asad Rehman ’Chakar Khan’
10. India: Tribute to Comrade Sitaram Shastry  (T. Vijayendra)
11. India - Endless Communalism
- Savarkar's advocacy of rape as revenge
- Symbol of Communal Harmony In Faizabad Attacked by Sandeep Pandey
- Bajrang Dal activists display arms, take out rally
- Kerala: VHP to provide Hindu nurses, Hindu car drivers and cars owned by
Hindus for the needy
- UP: Communal Violence in the past seven months of 2012
- RSS functionaries linked with Nitin Gadkari's firm
- India: laws on hate speech ought to be toned up
- India: Sena, MNS oppose Pak cricket team's tour
- India: Billboard of “Hitler” men’s wear store in Ahmedabad taken down
[possibly because Modi wants appear sensitive to international image]
- Travelling exhibit on anti-Sikh riots

International:
11. Egypt: Fascism in our new constitution (Sherif Younis)
12. The European Left and Its Trouble With Jews (Ed Alcock)
13. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Time for Republika Srpska to make reparations for
war-time rape, says Amnesty
14. Madonna and Milk Cartons Russia's War on Gays and Lesbians Intensifies
by Benjamin Bidder
15. How Christian fundamentalism feeds the toxic partisanship of US politics
(Katherine Stewart)

=======================================
1. BANGLADESH SCULPTOR SPENDS EIGHT YEARS IN INDIAN JAIL WITHOUT TRIAL
- Editorial, The Daily Star
=======================================
(Editorial, The Daily Star, October 31, 2012)

Eight years in Indian jail
Plight of the sculptor and his family warrants explanation

We have no words to express our utter shock at the way sculptor Rashid Ahmed and
his daughter-in-law Nurun Nahar suffered in an Indian jail without trial for
some eight years. Had it not been for the exposé in the media and payment of
the fines as part of the court sentence by some kind businessmen their release
might well have been further delayed.

According to Rashid Ahmed, barring two visits from the Bangladesh High
Commission in New Delhi during the eight years in question, no effective
measures were taken in providing legal support to the two Bangladeshis. They
needed special attention if only because they

were put through the legal system in a country they were visiting.

As the report goes, the tragedy befell them after they checked in a New Delhi
hotel while on a pilgrimage to Ajmer in India in December 2004. Indian
intelligence officials arrested them on charge of what they alleged carrying
fake Indian currency.

One wonders how two Bangladeshi nationals were allowed to languish without trial
for such a long time? Add to this the fact that having been involved in the
case, they had no access to finance or legal aid.

It appears whereas the Indian authorities treated them with sterness, it was
through the kindness of some private citizens that he and his daughter-in-law
could taste freedom, even though belatedly.

Now who will compensate for the years lost from the lives of the aging sculptor
and his eldest son's wife, whose family members also suffered hardships
inordinately? Actually, the man and his family have been rendered pauper after
they had to sell their house in Dhaka to meet the contingencies.

The government needs to seek clarification from the Bangladesh High Commission
in New Delhi on the matter and take issue with the Indian authorities so that
such incident does not recur in the future.

Meanwhile, some ways may be found to rehabilitate the sculptor and his family.

=======================================
2. ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN THE MALDIVES: ALIVE AND KILLING
by Azra Naseem
=======================================
(sacw.net - 29 October 2012)
Islamic extremism is very real in the Maldives. It affects the daily lives of
every Maldivian, and is gaining in scope, intensity and violence every day with
the pseudo-democratic government that came to power on 7 February.

This is not to say that Islamic extremism did not exist during the three short
years in which the Maldives was a democracy. On the contrary, it was during
democratic rule that extremism gained its strongest foothold in Maldivian
society. It is a myth that democracy is an antidote to extremism, as is widely
proposed in much of the existing anti-radicalisation literature. Democracy, with
its many freedoms, provides a much more conducive environment for radicalisation
than does an authoritarian regime, as has been seen in the Maldives.

When Islamic extremism began to be imported into the Maldives in the late 1990s
with the advent of the so-called international ‘religious terrorism’; and
when the export of extremist ideologies intensified globally with the War on
Terror, the Maldives was under the dictatorial regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

http://www.sacw.net/article3254.html

=======================================
3. PAKISTAN: FOR AND AGAINST MALALA YOUSAFZAI
by Ishtiaq Ahmed
=======================================
(Daily Times, Sunday, October 21, 2012)
The world at large and  particularly the majority of the people of Pakistan are
holding their breath as the 14-year old Malala Yousafzai struggles for her life
after suffering grievous injuries at the hands of Taliban gunmen, who on October
9, 2012, stopped her school bus, in Mingora, Swat and shot her in the head and
neck. Two other girls in the bus were also injured. Malala received the best
medical care that Pakistan could offer, and once her situation allowed, she has
been sent to a specialist hospital in Birmingham, UK, where the reports suggest
that she is slowly but steadily recovering. Other victims of Taliban terror have
not received the same attention. Thus she is lucky because her activities in the
international media, beginning with the blog at the BBC in early 2009 that
exposed Talban atrocities, had made her famous.

Government and the middle of the road political opposition have been quite vocal
in condemning the assassination attempt. Army chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz
Kayani went to the hospital to express his sympathy for Malala. Prime Minister
Raja Pervez Ashraf also visited her in the hospital and President Zardari has
described her as a symbol of Pakistan’s resistance to ‘Talibanisation’.

With regard to the Islamists of different varieties, the situation is, as
always, full of circumlocutions. Thus for example, 50 clerics of the
Barelvi-Sufi Sunni Ittehad Council have issued a fatwa (religious edict) against
those who tried to kill her. They have opined that Islam does not prohibit
females from acquiring education. In the same fatwa, however, they have declared
the United States as an enemy of Islam and Pakistan.

The logical connection between the two stands is difficult to figure out, but it
seems to be a way of saying that all the troubles in Pakistan originate from its
alliance with the Americans, who have been firing missiles from their drones,
thus killing many innocent Pakistanis. The Jamaat-e-Islami’s Syed Munawwar
Hassan and the head of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and many other
Deobandi-Wahabi clerics have also spoken in similar terms.

However, the Taliban seem undeterred and unrepentant. They have found support
for their vile crime from sacred sources. They have asserted that a female who
plays a role in the ‘war against the mujahideen’ can be and should be
killed. They invoke an example of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

“[W]e can see the incident of the killing of his wife by a blind companion of
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because she used to say demeaning words for the Prophet
(PBUH) and the Prophet (PBUH) praised that act.”

Moreover, they refer to a Quranic verse, which according to them justifies their
decision to eliminate her: “If anyone argues about her young age, then the
story of Hazrat Khizar in the Quran (states that) while travelling with Prophet
Musa (AS), (he) killed a child. Arguing about the reason for his killing, he
said that the parents of this child were pious and in the future he (the child)
would cause a bad name for them.”

Now, if both sides can refer to the same sources to reach diametrically opposite
conclusions then how on earth can such controversies now or in the future be
resolved through discussion and consensus? For 1,400 years, this mode of
argumentation has effectively killed self-criticism and independent thinking.

However, far more worrisome is the Pakistani ruling class’s ambivalence and
indecisiveness. Pakistan has been shocking the world by recurring acts of
terrorism carried out by the Taliban and their associates and the power elite
remaining paralysed and apathetic. Who can forget that when Punjab Governor
Salmaan Taseer was mercilessly gunned down by his own police bodyguard, Mumtaz
Qadri, some of his own colleagues in the federal and provincial cabinets issued
statements that seemed to condone the action of that culprit. The presiding
judge, Pervaiz Ali Shah, who found Qadri guilty of murder, has since then been
on a visit to the holy land, and as far as I know has not returned. The killers
of the federal minister for minority affairs, the Catholic Shahbaz Bhatti, have
similarly not been punished for their crime yet. Then, of course, gruesome
attacks on religious and sectarian minorities have been going on for years. Much
worse, the Taliban recently beheaded Pakistani military personnel and yet
nothing decisive happened. One can see on YouTube the shocking execution of
these men being carried out in a barbaric manner.

So, how can one explain that a nuclear weapons state possessing one of the
biggest and best trained militaries in the developing world is unable to strike
and destroy the scourge that brutalises its citizens and has the temerity to
kill its military personnel with such unmitigated savagery? I have no answers or
explanation. To believe that these demented killers please God through their
crimes against humanity and are somehow strategic assets that in a post-US-NATO
Afghanistan will help restore our ascendance in that country is sheer lunacy. At
some point, the whole system will explode. If there is a will not to let this
happen, then the Taliban-al Qaeda enclaves in North Waziristan and elsewhere
must be destroyed.

It may be noted that on facebook, fans of the Taliban are busy pedalling
theories that the army has itself masterminded the assault on Malala Yousafzai
in order to justify an invasion of North Waziristan! More ludicrous conspiracy
theories cannot be imagined, but in Pakistan, perverted imagination has been
having a field day since a long time.

The writer has a PhD from Stockholm University. He is a Professor Emeritus of
Political Science, Stockholm University. He is also Honorary Senior Fellow of
the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. His
latest publication is The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling
the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts
(Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2012; New Delhi: Rupa Books, 2011). He can be
reached at billumian@...

=======================================
4. INDIA - PAKISTAN: A VISIT MANMOHAN MUST MAKE
by A. G. Noorani
=======================================
(The Hindu, October 30, 2012)
Only a summit between India and Pakistan at the highest political level can lead
to a forward movement on Sir Creek, a no-war pact, and the Kashmir formula

The pre-condition Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been insisting on for a
visit to Pakistan — that there must first be “something solid” to achieve
— defies the sound rules of diplomacy and is one which the self-consciously
powerful impose unwisely. History has vindicated Churchill and proved Truman
wrong in rebuffing Stalin’s pleas for a summit. Doables are more clearly
determined at the summit level itself and Dr. Singh knows what they are. It
seems that he has all but abandoned the agenda on which he so bravely worked
during his first stint as Prime Minister.

What message is he seeking now to convey to Pakistan and Kashmiris? Expect
“nothing from me?”
Ideal atmosphere

Ironically, the atmosphere for a visit to Pakistan was never better and there is
something which he alone, at the highest political level, can accomplish —
finalise an agreement that settles the Sir Creek dispute. Though it is of
limited dimensions, its removal from the agenda of disputes awaiting settlement
will provide an impetus to the resolution of the others and improve the
atmosphere. Dr. Singh briefed the on-board media while returning from the
Non-Aligned summit in Tehran on August 31 that he had told Pakistan President
Asif Ali Zardari when they met there that “there must be a genuine feeling
that Pakistan is doing all that it could do to deal with terrorism directed at
India from Pakistan’s soil. The court trial on the Mumbai massacre is a
crucial test of Pakistan’s sincerity.”

But he did not stop at that. He added, significantly, “I also said Sir Creek,
which we had talked about during his visit to Ajmer [in April], was doable”.
Nor is that all. Credible reports have it that when Pakistan’s Interior
Minister Rehman Malik met India’s Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde “on the
sidelines” of the SAARC Home Ministers’ Conference in the Maldives late last
month, he gave a “verbal assurance” of access to Indian investigators to the
accused in Pakistan’s prisons and the evidence already collected. This is an
area which can be fully explored only in frank talks at a high level.

Sir Creek has been “doable” for at least the past five years. The joint
statements issued on May 21, 2011 and June 19, 2012 speak of demarcation of
“the land boundary in the Sir Creek area and the delimitation of [the]
International Maritime Boundary between Pakistan and India.” A joint survey of
Sir Creek was conducted in January and February 2007 which resulted in a joint
map of the area. It was authenticated by both sides at the fourth round of talks
when copies of the joint map were also exchanged.
Boundary-marking and making

As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar once remarked, boundary-marking is the task of a surveyor;
boundary-making is the task of a statesman. Both countries, parties to the
Convention on the Law of the Sea, submitted their claims to the extended
Continental Shelf with the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf. Their claims remain “on hold,” pending a settlement. If they continue
to disagree on the limits of the EEZ or the Continental Shelf, the matter will
have to be decided by arbitration (Articles 279-299 of the Convention). Is that
what we want? Why not do the “doable”?

There are two other matters on which India can take the initiative. One is a
no-war pact. Both sides came very close to an agreed draft in May 1984. India
had sent an aide-memoire to Pakistan on December 24, 1981 setting out the
principles. Pakistan sent its draft on January 12, 1982. In Islamabad, formal
talks began in May 1982 when Pakistan presented a complete draft of a no-war
pact. India followed up by presenting a draft Treaty of Peace, Friendship and
Cooperation in August 1982. Indira Gandhi wantonly injected new elements on
bases and alliances. Meanwhile, an agreement on a Joint Commission was signed on
March 10, 1983.

Talks resumed at Udaipur and Delhi on March 1 and 2, 1984. There was a
breakthrough in May 1984 on the two sticking points. The Shimla formulation on
bilateralism and the criteria for NAM membership, adopted at Cairo on June 5,
1961, was acceptable to India on bases and alliances. Pakistan did not send its
draft on them as it had promised. The Rajiv Gandhi-Zia-ul-Haq summit in Delhi on
December 17, 1985 imparted momentum to the dialogue. Talks were held in 1986 but
they petered out.

In 2012, bases and alliances have lost their relevance; but Article 8 of the
India-Bangladesh Treaty can be adopted. It used a standard formulation for
reciprocal pledges not to “enter into or participate in any military alliance
directed against the other party” nor “allow the use of its territory for
committing any act that may cause military damage to or constitute a threat to
the security of the other.”

The no-war pact proposal was formally revived by Nawaz Sharif when he was Prime
Minister, in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on September 22, 1997: “I
offer today from this rostrum to open negotiations on a treaty of non-aggression
between India and Pakistan”. He renewed it in a television interview on
December 11, 2008 after the Mumbai blasts: “We should sign a no-war pact for
peace.”
Almost there

Existing drafts can be meshed together. Not much work is involved. When this
writer asked M.K. Rasgotra, India’s Foreign Secretary during the May 1984
talks, how much time it would have required, he raised his index finger and
said, “one hour.”

There is another matter on which the summit will help. For some time, the
Pakistan People’s Party government treated the Musharraf-Manmohan consensus on
the four-point formula on Kashmir as something the cat had brought in. That is
no longer the case. Pakistan is prepared to adopt a constructive line on the
formula. Last month, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar clearly indicated to
Iftikhar Gilani of DNA that, “we need a relook [on Kashmir], we need to do
some homework for that.” In an interview to Barkha Dutt of NDTV around the
same time, former PPP Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani specified the subject of
the homework: “There had been some formula earlier which was decided between
General Musharraf and the Indian government. But there had been some loopholes
which we wanted to tighten, aur uspe hum kaam kar rahe the [and we were working
on it] when there was a change of government here in Pakistan.”

Tightening the loose ends would be a more accurate description for the exercise.
Only a summit can accomplish that. And, that is where the havoc wrought since
2008 must be repaired. As Churchill said in a historic speech to the House of
Commons on May 11, 1953, soon after Stalin’s death, “If there is not at the
summit of the nations the will to win the greatest prize and the greatest honour
ever offered to mankind, doom-laden responsibility will fall upon those who now
possess the power to decide. At the worst the participants … would have
established more intimate contacts. At the best we might have a generation of
peace.”

(A.G. Noorani is an advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a leading
constitutional expert. His latest book, Article 370: A Constitutional History of
Jammu and Kashmir, was published by Oxford University Press in 2011.)

=======================================
5. SRI LANKA: APPEAL TO THE UN HRC REGARDING THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW IN
NOVEMBER, 2012 ON SRI LANKA
=======================================
An open appeal to the UN HRC in connection with the Universal Periodic Review in
November, 2012 on Sri Lanka urging it to prevail upon Sri Lanka to stop the
dismantling the devolution of powers that have been conferred on the Provincial
Councils by the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
NfR Sri Lanka, a net work of journalists and human rights defenders, makes this
urgent and open appeal to the members of UN Human Rights Council in the context
of the up coming second session of the Universal Periodic Review. The human
rights situation of Sri Lanka is to be reviewed during this session commencing
on 1st November 2012.

One of the major human rights issues if not the major one in Sri Lanka, relates
to the rights of the Tamil and Muslim communities who constitute the principal
minorities in the country to exercise devolution of powers. Post independence as
well as post war, the Sri Lankan State has time and again failed to keep its
promises of a political solution to the just grievances of the Tamil people and
has unilaterally abrogated all agreements reached with the democratically
elected representatives of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.
http://www.sacw.net/article3252.html

=======================================
6. INDIA: PUBLIC RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS ARE A READY RESOURCE FOR REACTIONARY
POLITICS. CAN THEY BE SECULARISED?
- Editorial, Economic and Political Weekly
=======================================
(Economic and Political Weekly, Vol - XLVII No. 44, November 03, 2012)

Building New Solidarities
Public religious festivals are a ready resource for reactionary politics. Can
they be secularised?

Religious festivals are no more merely about religion or spirituality. They are
as much, if not much more, about politics, about national and other identities,
and about the market. They are also, lest we forget, about celebrating and
fraternising. Increasingly though, many festivals are coming under pressure from
caste, gender and civic groups for their symbolisms and ideological content. As
the country gets into the period of public festivals it may be a good time to
take a step back and reflect on these events.

It was only in the late 19th century that religious festivals started coming out
of the seclusion of the home and the religious gathering to become public
spectacles, involving and inviting a larger public to participate. This
tradition of public or, in that particular sense, communal (sarvajanik)
religious festivals was a conscious effort by some nationalists to unite the
community for the nation. The deliberate effort of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in
starting the public Ganesh Pujas in Bombay or of the young Bengali nationalists
in starting similar public Durga Pujas in Calcutta was to harness the potential
of religious symbols and icons to unite large numbers of people in the new
cities of colonial India by unshackling these ceremonies from their traditional
family, caste and locality moorings. That this was a successful political
intervention is attested to by the history of the 20th century where all mass
religious denominations have changed their religious practices to make public
religious celebration the centrepiece of their religious imagination and
community identity. Thus Ganesh Chaturthi has become a cultural symbol of
Maharashtra, like Onam has for Kerala or Durga Puja for Bengal.

Many of them are overflowing their regional and linguistic boundaries, carried
over to new geographies on the backs of migrants and new technologies of
communication. Such public religious festivals allow the recreation of
migrants’ original communities in the new cities of residence. Other festivals
like Diwali and Dussehra already have a pan-India presence and many others, like
Holi, Raksha Bandhan and Karwa Chauth, are joining their ranks.

The public religious festival has not only served to build a certain form of
national (or sub-national) identity, it has also been a convenient vehicle for
creating communal divisions as well as, very often, reasserting caste and gender
lines. Right from the moment when religious festivals were transformed into
public celebrations, they have also sharpened religious divisions and often led
to communal violence. In recent times, Onam’s myth of Mahabali, who was pushed
into the netherworlds by Vishnu’s Vamanavatar, and Durga’s mythical killing
of Mahishasur, have invited sharp dalit critiques of how this symbolism
reasserts the subjugation of the lower castes and tribals by the upper castes.
There is the much older, and similar, “debate” over the depiction of Ravana
and his killing by the god Rama.

Today, the public religious festival has entrenched itself in the social fabric
of the country. These religious festivals are occasions for celebrations, for
sharing and exchanging gifts, visiting family and friends and participating in
social gatherings which build local level fraternal bonds. To attack and
critique such religious festivals is almost akin to assailing the celebrations
and festivities of the people at large. Given how dominant these events have
become, they have also been co-opted by political parties and organisations as
well as by the market. It is a symbiotic relation where these festivals provide
politicians and marketers with captive collectives of people with similar
tastes, languages and perspectives; it also provides political and financial
muscle to these festivals to expand and encroach more of the public space. The
roads and parks are taken over, loudspeakers drown out any other talk, social
pressure increases to conform to food and sartorial codes, while work and school
schedules are increasingly dictated by these occasions. This has been the result
of conscious and deliberate effort, almost all of it of right-wing and
reactionary political forces.

Perhaps precisely because of this, it is necessary to develop a critique –
both intellectual as well as political/practical – of the public religious
festival. Some earlier attempts, like those of Tagore in Bengal, Gora in Andhra
Pradesh and Periyar in Tamil Nadu, to critique them and move away to other,
non-religious public festivities, have been unsuccessful, despite their initial
promise. More recent attempts, those from the women’s movement or the
anti-caste movement, or even from the peoples’ science movements, have been
insufficient. Much of the left and radical politics has in fact surrendered to
these and do not even make a formal attempt to provide critiques or
alternatives.

In the social and cultural transformations of the last century and more, a
process which has only intensified in recent decades, public religious festivals
have become important mechanisms for building solidarities as well as creating
divisions; of celebrating and sharing with friends and family as well as
excluding those identified as “others”; of protest as well as conformity. Is
it possible for radical and progressive forces to find forms of public
festivities which can rival the public religious festival? Is it possible to
build a popular culture which does not rely on religion and communal identities?
We will not know the answer till the battle is truly joined.

[Also available at: http://www.sacw.net/article3255.html ]

=======================================
7. INDIA: THE EMPIRE BEGS BACK - WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THE UK HIGH COMMISSIONER
VISITS MODI?
by Badri Raina
=======================================
Rightwing Hindutva social forces may well have collaborated with the colonising
Britishers during the highnoon of India’s Congress-led freedom movement, their
standard polemic after Independence has been that what ought to have remained an
indigenised Bharat has been systematically degraded into an internationalised
India by generations of secular-liberal Indians whom they habitually
characterise as “Macaulay ki Aulad” (Macaulay’s children, because the
induction of English into Indian administration and education is seen to have
been the one decisive act of such subversive cultural transformation).

In that polemic, Nehru has often been their chief bete noir, regarded as an
“un-Indian” anglophile, a denigrator of long-held Hindu customs and
traditions, a shallowly westernised moderniser, and, worst of all, a leveling
and godless socialist at heart.

Well now, how times do change.
There is jubilee among current-day Hindutva sartraps as we write: for lo and
behold, no less than the British High Commissioner in India has gone and met the
globally ostracised Narendra Modi!

Only one conclusion is permitted—that Modi’s international isolation has
ended, the high-falutin world that espouses all that nonsense about “human
rights” has come to its senses, and that Britain has put the imperial seal on
Modi’s progress report as a great “developer.”

Pathetic you might say, and you would be right.
Yet why, despite the disclaimer made by the High Commissioner that the meeting
should not be construed as any sort of endorsement of Modi, the meeting at all?
The fact is that many of the “developed” world’s erstwhile givers are
today reduced to being willing takers from the very worlds which they once
ravaged for their development. The so-persistent economic collapse of western
Capitalism now underway leaves them little choice but to seek afresh among the
brown and the pale races for some piece of their burgeoning cake.

Put simply, the Empire is begging back.

And the poor British High Commissioner is not alone. Do recall that not too many
months ago, no less than the American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, went
to meet another Indian Chief Minister, namely, Mamta Bannerjee in West Bengal to
plead with her for suspending her opposition to the induction of FDI in Indian
retail.
Desperate times, desperate visits.

Yet why does Gujarat seem a preferred destination? The reasons here are not far
to seek.

The last thing that has ever interested the Western ruling classes, strident
protestations notwithstanding, has been the state of democracy or human rights
in other parts of the world, except when it suits them tactically to foreground
such “values.”

Their economic interests are always seen to be best served by regimes that
ensure minimal democratic opposition in their domains, next –to- no labour
issues, and a state apparatus always at beck and call to curb tendencies that
may thwart the brutal procedures of profit maximisation.

Which is the reason why ever since the reorganisation of the geo-politics of the
globe after the second world war, the concerted efforts of Western ruling
classes were to consolidate totalitarian regimes, military juntas and
dictatorships, even theocratic barbarisms that would be friendly to infusions of
western Capital and to its free runs among the resources of the world’s
“hinterlands.” And if, for instance, in West Asian regions, selectively,
western Capitalism has recently felt the imperative to destabilise some regimes
ostensibly to promote democracy, the simple logic has been that these were cows
that were no longer yielding milk and butter in desired proportions.

Reason why a Bahrain or a Yemen, or, most of all, the world’s most oppressive
negator of human rights, Saudi Arabia, remain in good books; they continue to
yield dividends that the Western “military-industrial complex”
(Eisenhauer’s coinage) cannot afford to jettison in favour of either democracy
or human rights. Nor is it an issue that the Ben Walid region in Libya has this
past week seen a genocide at the hands of the new Libyan regime far worse than
anything Gaddafi could have been accused of, or Assad has done in Syria. You see
the new “liberated” Libya has now placed its oil fields with glad alacrity
at the service of American oil corporations. Ergo, both democracy and human
rights have returned to Libya, haven’t they? Both guarded by the Al Queda in
the Maghreb. Could there be more sanguine confluence?

In our part of the world, China remains the primary preferred destination for
western Capital for reasons aforesaid—no oppositional political formations, no
out-of-control unions, all backed by unusual social cohesiveness. Everything
pretty much amenable to unhassled single-window clearances.

After China, India’s own Gujarat as led by Modi. A leadership that has so
nicely rendered his own party null in all decision-making matters, complete
absence of the least forms of Left-of-Centre politics, a Congress party that
until now has been at a complete loss to demarcate itself from Modi’s polemic
about “development,” and heinously shy of taking on the local Caligula on
the subject of the massacres of 2002, fearing loss of vote.

Thus having proved that he can parcel off rich farmlands, forest reserves,
coastal fishing areas, mineral and water resources, to foreign and Indian
developers at will, without fear of political or social upheaval, who better to
meet in an India where in most other places oppositional political forces and
non-governmental organisations often make the job of milking the realms
painfully cumbersome. Modi can deliver, as dictators do elsewhere. At least so
long as they behave like “our sons of bitches” rather than somebody
else’s.

Thus, what does it matter to the High Commissioner in question that the Modi
phenomenon in Gujarat has wilfully, and seemingly irretrievably, ghettoised her
fear-ridden Muslims, disenfranchised her adivasis, fisher folk, farmers (five
thousand suicides in less than a year)? Or that malnutrition among Gujarati
adivasis,dalits, women, children should be among the highest of any Indian
state? Or that the sex-ratio of women to men among Gujaratis should be among the
lowest as well? Not to speak of an administration that is shown day after day in
court and other legal-investigative proceedings to have been hand-in-glove with
both the genocide of 2002, with cussed attempts to subvert all subsequent
attempts to unravel the truths, and with the “encounter” murders of scores
of innocent or inconvenient citizens.

All that the High Commissioner is asked to see by the Tory regime in Britain,
abetted with all its resourcefulness by the mercantilist Gujarati diaspora, is
what goodies Modi is prepared to offer in return for the so-publicised stamp of
approval, and timed with great finesse to precede the coming elections in
December wherein, from all accounts, Modi is no longer sitting as pretty as
before, thanks to the defection of a powerful Patel falange working now as a
separate political party, and a resurgent Congress rather more effective in
showing up the truth of Modi’s claims about “development.” Notwithstanding
the fact that some electronic channels friendly to Hindutva, and to Modi
especially, are busy prognosticating an improvement in Modi’s seats in the
Assembly even as they tell us that his vote share is slated to go down some 4%.

Inwardly among many Gujaratis, a sense of shame attaches to the efforts afloat
to sell the Modi-High Commissioner meeting as a vindication of the Hindu samrat
(czar) by Macaulay after all.

It will remain to be seen how the elections in Gujarat turn out. With all the
hulaballoo, if Modi loses seats, Brittania might not feel so good about her
grand gesture. If Modi crushes the secular “pretenders” well then, other
ambassadors may follow the High Commissioner to make hay in the Modi sunshine,
wherein foreign investments and Hindutva fascism may, after all, coexist happily
to salvage, in whatever measly proportion, Western Capitalisms’ sinking
flotilla.

[Also available at:
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/the-empire-begs-back-what-does-it-mean.ht\
ml ]

=======================================
8. INDIA: OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF MINISTER NARENDRA MODI REGARDING DEATHS OF
MIGRANT WORKERS AT ALANG SHIPBREAKING WORKS
by Gopal Krishna
=======================================
I submit that the ongoing deaths of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand and Odisha on Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat came to light once again
when officially six (now seven) workers were burnt to death on October 6, 2012.
Sources have informed that the death toll is higher. These occupational deaths
routinely happen. There has nothing been done to arrest these preventable
deaths. I submit that in the year 2011, 27 workers died in the shipbreaking
activities at Alang beach. These migrant casual workers live and work in a slave
like condition.

http://www.sacw.net/article3258.html

=======================================
9. PAKISTAN: TRIBUTES TO ASAD REHMAN ’CHAKAR KHAN’
=======================================
Asad Rehman, the youngest of a group of Marxists, joined the Baloch guerilla
struggle in the 1970s. He was given the name ‘Chakkar Khan,’ a legendary
15th century Baloch statesman, during his stay in Balochistan.

http://www.sacw.net/article3259.html


=======================================
10. INDIA: TRIBUTE TO COMRADE SITARAM SHASTRY
by T. Vijayendra
=======================================
(Labour Notes South Asia Mailing List)

Sitaram Shastry died on 24.10.2012 [. . .] From 1968 onwards, till his death,
Sitaram had been a full time revolutionary/social activist. Till then he had
worked for LIC in Jamshedpur and was a union leader. That year, like many other
places in India, a lot of young people turned towards revolution. In Jamshedpur
quite a few TELCO workers resigned, collected their PF and joined the
revolutionary movement. Those were heady times.

http://www.sacw.net/article3239.html

=======================================
10. India - Communalism vs Secular Democracy : Selected posts from Communalism
Watch
=======================================

SAVARKAR'S ADVOCACY OF RAPE AS REVENGE
[Thanks to Dilip Simeon for sending the comment and the below reference from
V.D. Savarkar]

Here's the man whom [Perry] Anderson considers a 'revolutionary' (true enough,
if The Fuhrer is also considered as such). But then, fascism is a 'category
mistake' when applied to India...

Women and the Hindu Right article on Surat, Savarkar and Draupadi by Purushottam
Agrawal; citing V.D. Savarkar in Six Glorious epochs of Indian History, Rajdhani
Granthagar, 1963, translated 1971.

    The Muslim women never feared retaliation or punishment at the hands of any
Hindu for their heinous crime (of playing a devilish part in the mutilation and
harassment of Hindu women). Suppose if from the earliest Muslim invasions , the
Hindus also, whenever they were victors in the battlefield decided to pay the
Muslim fair sex in the same coin or punish them in some other ways that is, by
conversion even by force, then with this horrible apprehension in their heart,
they would have desisted from their evil design against Hindu ladies.. Even now
we proudly refer to the noble acts of Chatrapati Shivaji and Chinaji Appa when
they honourably sent back the daughter-in-law of the Muslim governor of Kalyan
or the wife of the Portuguese governor of Bassein respectively. Did not the
plaintive screams and pitiful lamentations of the millions of molested Hindu
women which reverberated throughout the length and breadth of the country reach
the ears of Shivaji Maharaj and Chinaji Appa? Once they (Muslims) are haunted
with the dreadful apprehension that the Muslim women to stand in the same
predicament as is the case with Hindu women, the future Muslim conquerors will
never dare to think of such molestation of Hindu women. ... But because of the
then prevalent perverted religious ideas (sadguna vikriti), about chivalry to
women which ultimately proved highly detrimental to the Hindu community, neither
Shivaji Maharaj nor Chinaji Appa could do such wrongs to the Muslim women .. It
was the Hindu idea of chivalry which saved the Muslim women simply because they
were women from heavy punishment for committing heinous crimes against Hindu
women.. their womanhood became their shield sufficient to protect them..

o o o

The Empire Begs Back: What does it mean when the UK High Commissioner visits
Modi? by Badri Raina
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/the-empire-begs-back-what-does-it-mean.ht\
ml

Symbol of Communal Harmony In Faizabad Attacked by Sandeep Pandey
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/symbol-of-communal-harmony-in-faizabad.ht\
ml

Bajrang Dal activists display arms, take out rally
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/bajrang-dal-activists-display-arms-take.h\
tml

Kerala: VHP to provide Hindu nurses, Hindu car drivers and cars owned by Hindus
for the needy
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/kerala-vhp-to-provide-hindu-nurses.html

UP: Communal Violence in the past seven months of 2012
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/communq.html

RSS functionaries linked with Nitin Gadkari's firm
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/rss-functionaries-linked-with-nitin.html

India: laws on hate speech ought to be toned up
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/india-laws-on-hate-speech-ought-to-be.htm\
l

India: Sena, MNS oppose Pak cricket team's tour
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/india-sena-mns-oppose-pak-cricket-teams.h\
tml

India: Billboard of “Hitler” men’s wear store in Ahmedabad taken down
[possibly because Modi wants appear sensitive to international image]
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/india-billboard-of-hitler-mens-wear.html

Travelling exhibit on anti-Sikh riots
http://communalism.blogspot.in/2012/10/travelling-exhibit-on-anti-sikh-riots.htm\
l

INTERNATIONAL

=======================================
11. Egypt: FASCISM in our new constitution
by Sherif Younis
=======================================
The most critical culprit in the current draft constitution being finalized by
the Constituent Assembly is the definition of citizenship — who is a citizen?
The draft constitution defines citizens as those whose identity is primarily
Islamic, and, secondly, nationals of the country. In this conception of
citizenship, the state aims to control and hegemonize citizens’ visions,
stances and beliefs, working to entrench them and produce standardized citizens.

http://www.sacw.net/article3248.html

=======================================
12. THE EUROPEAN LEFT AND ITS TROUBLE WITH JEWS
by Ed Alcock for The New York Times
=======================================
Today, a sizable section of the European left has been reluctant to take a clear
stand when anti-Zionism spills over into anti-Semitism. Beginning in the 1990s,
many on the European left began to view the growing Muslim minorities in their
countries as a new proletariat and the Palestinian cause as a recruiting
mechanism. The issue of Palestine was particularly seductive for the children of
immigrants, marooned between identities.

http://www.sacw.net/article3266.html

=======================================
13. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: TIME FOR REPUBLIKA SRPSKA TO MAKE REPARATIONS FOR
WAR-TIME RAPE, SAYS AMNESTY
=======================================

Amnesty International Press release
31 October 2012

The full extent of the sexual violence during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina that shattered the lives of thousands of women across the country
has still to be recognized by the Republika Srpska authorities which must to
meet the needs of the survivors, Amnesty International said in a briefing paper
published today.

When everyone is silent: Reparation for survivors of war-time rape in Republika
Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR63/012/2012/en/5185778e-ebd2-4f66-90\
08-5e7812f4bffc/eur630122012en.pdf), gives a snapshot of the situation today of
women survivors of war-time rape and is part of the organization’s ongoing
project to get justice and reparation.

Since the start of the war Amnesty International has collected numerous
testimonies of women who were subjected to torture, including often systematic
and repeated rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and other crimes of sexual
violence.

“The silence surrounding the war-time rape of women in Republika Srpska, an
internationally recognized crime under international law, is deafening. Both the
authorities and the media are ignoring the suffering of part of the
population,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director
at Amnesty International.

“Almost 20 years after the end of the conflict, the cruel failure to ensure
justice for survivors of wartime sexual violence must at last be brought out of
the shadows if the survivors themselves are to rebuild their lives and their
families, communities and societies are to heal.

“Many of the survivors still struggle with the physical, emotional and social
consequences of the crimes committed against them. Justice for survivors
requires both the prosecution of perpetrators and the acknowledgement of – and
resolve to redress – the continuing consequences of their abuse. The Republika
Srpska authorities must move to meet these needs and work on de-stigmatizing
war-time rape, so that survivors can be given the opportunity to speak out.”

To the knowledge of Amnesty International the authorities of Republika Srpska
have never made a meaningful attempt to collect data on this population, to
understand and quantify their problems, or to develop policies that would
address their specific needs nor have they tried to stimulate public discussion
and break the silence surrounding the crimes committed against these women
during the war.

Vinko Lale, president of the local association of camp inmates told Amnesty
International: “Often, out of fear of stigma, these women don’t want to say
they were raped, so they just say that they went through different types of
torture. Maybe if they knew that breaking the silence would improve their lives,
they would feel able to speak out.”

As a result of rape and other war related human rights abuses, many survivors
have developed post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological syndromes.
They feel insecurity, shame, self-blame, depression, fragmented memories, lack
of concentration, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety or mistrust of other people.

“The authorities of Republika Srpska must for a start recognize, loud and
clear, that rape and other forms of sexual violence were committed during the
war. This will help create an atmosphere where public debate on this issue will
thrive and survivors will feel confident to come forward, tell their stories and
demand justice,” said John Dalhuisen.

“The authorities must identify the number of survivors of war-time rape and
look into their needs today. They must ensure that the public health system is
well-equipped to provide the survivors with the necessary medical and
psychological care.”

The current Republika Srpska Law on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War
guarantees special measures of social protection to people who suffered at least
60 per cent damage to their bodies as a result of torture, assault, rape, or
other crimes committed in the course of the conflict provided applications were
submitted until 2007.

However, this law has excluded a great many survivors of sexual violence
firstly, because of the time limit, and, secondly, by not taking into account
psychological harm - benefits provided under this law do not extend to
psychological care.

“In order to provide to provide reparation to survivors of war-time rape, the
Republika Srpska authorities must amend the Law on the Civilian Victims of War:
firstly, by creating a separate category of survivors of rape and other forms of
sexual violence which does not impose a percentage of bodily damage as the only
criteria for granting the status; secondly, by re-opening the applications
procedure,” said John Dalhuisen.

Out of the tens of thousands of alleged crimes of sexual violence committed
against women and girls during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, fewer than 40
cases have been prosecuted by either the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, or by state and entity courts in the republic
since 1995.

The central government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is developing a number of
legislative and policy measures to ensure reparation for survivors of crimes
under international law. These measures require implementation at the entity
level including in Republika Srpska whose authorities must deliver reparations
in order ensure the rights of survivors.

=======================================
14. MADONNA AND MILK CARTONS RUSSIA'S WAR ON GAYS AND LESBIANS INTENSIFIES
by Benjamin Bidder
=======================================
(Spiegel online 22 October 2012)
Obscure conservative groups in Russia have intensified their fight against
homosexuality, recently going after the pop-singer Madonna as well as an
allegedly offensive milk carton label. The developments underscore a growing
atmosphere of intolerance in the country.

Russia's self-proclaimed morality police have discovered a new danger to the
people's health and values, and it is to be found in the country's supermarkets
-- in the form of dairy products from the American company PepsiCo. Activists
from the Orthodox group called the People's Council have even gotten Russia
prosecutors involved.

"The packaging of these dairy products with the label 'Vesyoly Molochnik' have
long been a thorn in my side," says Anatoly Artyuch, of the People's Council.
The brand means "happy milkman" in English.

Pepsi uses the brand to sell all manner of dairy products, including milk,
yoghurt and kefir. Packages portray a smiling, slightly rotund milkman wearing a
chef's hat. Behind him is a green meadow with a rainbow stretching across the
sky. Artyuch believes that the rainbow isn't quite as innocent as it might seem.
He thinks it is "the global symbol of the sodomite movement." Russia's judiciary
is currently looking into the claims.

The grotesque offensive against the dairy brand is part of a conservative
campaign in Russia aimed at gays and lesbians in the country. In their view,
homosexuality isn't merely a sin, but also a symbol of damaging
"Westernization."

The happy milkman isn't the only target. A court in the metropolis of St.
Petersburg, once called the "window to the West" by Czar Peter the Great, has
subpoenaed US pop icon Madonna for allegedly disseminating "homosexual
propaganda" during her concert in the city at the beginning of August.

'Colossal Moral Damage'

She is being investigated in connection with a law passed in St. Petersburg at
the beginning of the year by President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party
which criminalizes "public behavior that promotes sodomy, lesbianism,
bisexuality and trans-genderism among minors." Indeed, the passage of the law
led the Canadian Foreign Ministry to issue a travel warning for gays and
lesbians, urging them to avoid public displays of affection in St. Petersburg.

During her concert, Madonna demanded "respect, tolerance and love" for gays and
lesbians and distributed pink armbands as a symbol of acceptance. She also
displayed the message "No fear" on her back during the show. For the plaintiffs
in the case, that was enough to cause "colossal moral damage." They are
demanding that Madonna be made to pay 333 million rubles, roughly €8.3
million, in damages.

The two cases help demonstrate that today, more than two decades after the
collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia remains an intensely intolerant country.
According to a recent survey by the well-respected Levada Center, fully 62
percent of Russians condemn homosexuality. The only things seen as worse are
suicide and rejecting one's own children.

'The New Jews'

Recently, when an outdoor clothing chain advertised in the Internet for
applicants to a business academy, one of the five criteria listed was
"traditional orientation," Russian code for heterosexuals. A columnist for the
English language paper Moscow Times commented in response that "gays are the new
Jews."

Despite the widespread discrimination, a homosexual subculture has been able to
develop in Russia. In both Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are dozens of clubs
catering to gays. They are the exception, however, tolerated in the niches of
the cosmopolitan metropolises. Attempts to hold gay-pride parades in the two
cities regularly end with bans, arrests or brutal neo-Nazi attacks. Earlier this
month, when around 70 gays and lesbians were celebrating Coming Out Day at the
Moscow club 7freedays, men in masks stormed the party. They threatened the
security personnel and bartenders with a pistol and proceeded to beat up the
guests.

Vitoly Milonov, a United Russia deputy in the St. Petersburg legislative
assembly and one of the initiators of the city's anti-gay law, even went so far
as to blame the partygoers for the violence. They provoked the violence, he
said, by virtue of their "obnoxious, crude and permissive behavior." He said
that homosexuals "run around like jackals at foreign consulates begging for
another grant" or they "call from help from some star or from Hillary Clinton."

Sodom and Gomorrah

The charges against Madonna also have an anti-Western subtext. The singer is an
"ideological weapon of the West" the complaint against her reads, she is
perpetrating "moral genocide." The group behind the complaint is an obscure
collection of Orthodox hardliners called the Union of Russian Citizens. Group
members attracted attention previously by seeking to sprinkle holy water onto a
square where Madonna had performed. The group glorifies the Soviet Union for
being a "country of goodness and justice." They are currently collecting
signatures for a referendum on changing the name of Wolgograd back to
Stalingrad. Mikhail Gorbachev, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his
contribution to opening up the Soviet Union, would like to see the Union of
Russian Citizens be brought to court for treason.

The radical Moscow priest Sergei Rybko even used the brutal attack on the club
7freedays as an excuse to call for the final battle between the East and the
West. Russia, he warned, is threatening to become "a tolerant, Western country
in which anything goes." He called for a "cleansing of the Fatherland."

That was too much even for some within the Orthodox Church. "Of course we
denounce such phenomena," said conservative priest Roman Bratshik. "I would like
to point out, however, that God sent angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah."


=======================================
15. HOW CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM FEEDS THE TOXIC PARTISANSHIP OF US POLITICS
When evangelicals attack 'the gay agenda' of an anti-bullying event in schools,
something is sick in America's religious culture
by Katherine Stewart
=======================================
(The Guardian, 25 October 2012)
Mix It Up at Lunch Day is one of those programs that just seems like a nice
thing to do.

The idea is that on one day of the school year, kids are invited to have lunch
with the kind of kids they don't usually hang out with: the jocks mix with the
nerds, lunch tables are racially integrated, et cetera. Sponsored by the
Southern Poverty Law Center as part of their Teaching Tolerance division, it
arose out of a broad effort to tackle the problems of bullying in the schools
and bigotry in society – and it appears to have been effective in breaking
down stereotypes and reducing prejudice. Over 2,000 schools nationwide now
participate in the program, which is set to take place this year on 30 October.

You can argue about how permanent its effects are, or whether other approaches
might be better, but the idea of making new friends in the lunchroom seems
utterly benign. Right?

Wrong, as it turns out – at least, according to the American Family
Association, a radical rightwing evangelical policy group. Mix It Up at Lunch
Day is, in fact, part of "a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle
in public schools", according to the AFA literature. The program "is an
entry-level 'diversity' program designed specifically by SPCL (sic) to establish
the acceptance of homosexuality into public schools, including elementary and
junior high schools," warns the AFA website. "See if your child's school is on
the list."

The AFA has urged parents to keep their kids home on 30 October, and claims that
at least 200 schools have responded to its charge by canceling the program.

There's a backstory here. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has fought for
civil rights causes since its founding in 1971, conceived and promoted Mix It Up
at Lunch as part of their Teaching Tolerance program. The SPLC also, as it
happens, named the AFA, along with a dozen other "pro-family" groups, as a "hate
group" in 2010, citing, among other factors, AFA's expressed views on same-sex
relationships. The "homosexual agenda" is not the only factor in the SPLC's
decision to include AFA on the list. AFA's director of issues analysis, Bryan
Fischer, has appeared to suggest that what is biblically deemed "sexual
immorality" merits punishment by death. He evidently hates Muslims, too, having
recently opined that "allowing a mosque to be built in town is fundamentally no
different than granting a building permit to a KKK cultural center".

So, now it's payback time. The AFA's jihad against Mix It Up at Lunch Day is its
way of saying "I'm rubber, you're glue." It has come up with its own list of
boycotts and hate groups, and sure enough the SPLC, on account of its
"incendiary language", is on that list.

Funny word games aside, the SPLC is right. It is, by now, well known that the
AFA and the kind of interests they represent spread conspiratorial falsehoods
about the LGBT community, placing blame for a wide variety of social ills on a
"gay agenda". They also seem to support a certain type of bullying and bigotry
in public schools – the faith-based kind – and believe there should be more
of it.

One example comes from an AFA cultural ally: Gateways to Better Education,
formed in 1991 by Focus on the Family in tandem with a rightwing Christian legal
advocacy group that calls itself the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Gateways
publishes a "Guide for Commemorating Religious Freedom at School". But the
freedom Gateways and the ADF have in mind applies only to those who share their
religion.

"Religious Freedom Day is not 'celebrate-our-diversity-day,'" members are
reminded. Gateways advocates a "Biblical approach to tolerance", which
apparently consists of intolerant attitudes toward what the ADF and Gateways
call "pro-homosexual education" and "the gay activist agenda". Parents' No 1
goal, they say, should be to "encourage your children to be bolder" in
expressing their faith at school.

The far right's fixation on same-sex relationships is so ludicrous that it
defines a sub-category of camp. But let's take a step back for a moment. The big
question, the one that keeps coming back in every one of these skirmishes in the
culture wars, is: why is the loudest religion in American politics today so much
about hate?

Consider Mix it Up at Lunch Day from the perspective of the almost limitless
other conceptions of the Christian religion that are out there. You could, for
example, construe it as an exercise in "loving thy neighbor". You could quote
the gospel of John that "God is love." You could view it as part of the
religious mission of charity. I have no doubt that there are countless Christian
and non-Christian people in the US who would view Mix It Up Day in just this
way.

So why does the form of religion that seeks to claim the term "Christian" in the
political realm have to focus so relentlessly on a "gay conspiracy" – not to
mention sexually active singles and the purely evil Muslims?

I don't believe for a moment that this hysterical voice that screeches in
America's political sphere is the authentic voice of religion in America. Most
religious Americans want to mix it up at lunch! They want to make friends across
party lines, and they want to help people who are less fortunate. A survey by
the Public Religious Research Institute, released on 24 October, reveals that
60% of Catholics believe the Church should place a greater emphasis on social
justice issues and their obligation to the poor, even if that means focusing
less on culture war issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Earlier this
year, in response to the Ryan budget, the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops joined other Christian leaders in insisting that a "circle of
protection" be drawn around "essential programs that serve poor and vulnerable
people".

So why is it that the so-called "values voters" are urged to vote against the
politician who supports choice, not the politician who wants to shred that
"circle of protection" for the poor and vulnerable? Why is it that when
politicians want to demonstrate just how religiously righteous they are, they
talk about banning same-sex marriage and making contraceptives hard to get,
instead of showing what they have done to protect the weak?

There is an obvious answer, and it is, in a sense, staring you in the face every
time you watch a political debate or read about the latest antics of Focus on
the Family and the AFA. The kind of religion that succeeds in politics tends to
focus on the divisive element of religion. If you want to use religion to
advance a partisan political agenda, the main objective you use it for is to
divide people between us and them, between the in-group and the out-group, the
believers and the infidels.

The result is a reduction of religion to a small handful of wedge issues.
According to the religious leaders and policy organizations urging Americans to
vote with their "Biblical values", to be Christian now means to support one or,
at most, a small handful of policy positions. And it means voting for the
Republican party.

This type of rhetoric is also championed by a segment of Jewish conservatives.
Alarmed that Obama won 78% of the Jewish vote in 2008, they accused Democratic
Jews of being "Jinos" – Jews In Name Only. "They eat bagels and lox; they
watch 'Schindler's List,'" writes Town Hall columnist Ben Shapiro, "but they do
not care about Israel" – at least, not in the way that Shapiro thinks we
should.

When religion is thus reduced to a single policy decision and support for a
political party, it becomes shrill and bigoted. This abuse of religion for
political purposes has been tremendously damaging for American politics. But it
is worth pointing out that it has been destructive of religion, too. According
to another poll this month, this one by the Pew Research Center, record numbers
of Americans are now reporting that they have no particular religious
affiliation. Perhaps that is because, right now, the God of hate seems to be
shouting louder than the God of love.


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

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.
=====================================

South Asia Citizens Wire - 5 Nov 2012 - No. 2763
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents:

1. ICJ report on ’The Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka’
2. Sri Lanka: The final nail in the coffin of the judiciary (Kishali Pinto
Jayawardene)
3. Rohingyas and Bangladesh (Mo Chaudhury)
4. Pakistan: Drones - theirs and ours (Pervez Hoodbhoy)
5. Taliban: agent or victim? (Afiya Shehrbano Zia)
6. Pakistan: Revisiting the Baloch Resistance Movement with Asad Rahman (Malik
Siraj Akbar)
7. India: What Statement Is Being Made By The Award To Naipaul? (Girish Karnad)
8. India’s sexist political habitat (Monobina Gupta)
9. Petition to Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay to encourage the withdrawal of
complaints against Rationalist Sanal Edamaruku

International:
10. Nigeria: ’If religion was taken away I’d be happy’ - Interview with
Wole Soyinka

=======================================
1. ICJ REPORT ON ’THE CRISIS OF IMPUNITY IN SRI LANKA’
=======================================
The Sri Lankan government must immediately cease its assault on the independence
of the judiciary, the ICJ said in a new report released today. The 150-page
report, Authority without Accountability: The Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka,
documents how, and why, it has become nearly impossible for people who have
suffered serious violations of their human rights to receive justice in Sri
Lanka. Recent attacks on judicial officers and judges only highlight the
systematic erosion of accountability mechanisms.

http://www.sacw.net/article3273.html

=======================================
2. SRI LANKA: THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF THE JUDICIARY
by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
=======================================
For those of us who prefer to take refuge in comfortable illusions that this
Presidency only hides a velvet hand in an iron glove (to mischievously twist
that proverbial saying around), the motion of impeachment of the Chief Justice
of Sri Lanka presented by 117 government MPs to the Speaker this week should
dispel all such arrant foolishness. Whether the government goes ahead with the
impeachment or not, let it be clearly said that the final nail in the
metaphorical coffin of the institution of the judiciary in Sri Lanka is already
hammered in.

http://www.sacw.net/article3280.html

=======================================
3. ROHINGYAS AND BANGLADESH
by Mo Chaudhury
=======================================
(The Daily Star, 5 November 2012)
The bouts of ethnic violence in the Rakhine region of Miyanmar since mid-2012
have once again triggered the attempted exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh. The
purpose of this commentary is to explore key dimensions of the Rohingya tragedy
and potential courses of action from the Bangladesh perspective.

First, the conflicting and growing strategic interests of the global power
players in the land and sea area surrounding Myanmar (and Bangladesh) continue
to prevent any strong independent action on the part of these players to bring
about and enforce a mutually fair redress for the Rohingya trgedy. Such a
redress would perhaps involve creating an autonomous Rohingya-majority territory
in Myanmar carved out of north-western Rakhine with its political and governance
structure similar to the territories of Canada and USA, for instance.

Second, the Government of Miyanmar (GoM) continues to deny citizenship to the
Rohingyas claiming that the Rohingya ancestors, originating from areas now part
of Bangladesh, unlawfully trespassed into and settled in the Rakhine region. The
Government of Bangladesh (GoB), on its part, argues that it is an internal
problem of Myanmar, and a more accommodative GoB policy regarding the Rohingyas
would simply encourage continued governance failure in Myanmar.

Meantime, the tragedy continues to deepen with all of its manifold implications
for Bangladesh, such as economic rehabilitation, cultural assimilation, risk of
strengthening of anti-secular extremism, risk of counter violence against the
Buddhists in Bangladesh, risk of infiltration of illegal arms and weapons, risk
of border tension in case of Rakhine insurgency (of ethnic alliances of
separatists) operating from within Bangladesh, risk of strengthening of
separatist forces in the southeastern areas of Bangladesh, etcetera. The blame
game (as much as the blames may be true) and the associated lack of commitment
to the humanity of the Rohingyas do not seem like productive courses of action
for Bangladesh.

Third, there is no legislation in Bangladesh specifically targeted at handling
refugees or asylum seekers. Instead, the GoB relies on the 1946 Foreigners Act
that grants it sweeping power. Further, Bangladesh is not a party to the 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol. This legal
void has provided utmost discretion to the GoB in dealing with the Rohingya
refugees. For example, Bangladesh is yet to document/register the vast majority
(221,000 out of the reported 250,000) of the Rohingyas already in Bangladesh,
most of them since 1991-92.

Without any legal status, these Rohingyas do not qualify for any official
humanitarian assistance and have been living in sub-human conditions. While
respecting the international law of non-refoulement, Bangladesh did not expel
the undocumented Rohingyas, but the 2012 actions of repelling the asylum seekers
indicate a reluctance to respect this law going forward. Further, in November
2010, the GoB suspended the UNHCR programme for resettlement of Rohingyas abroad
and has since rebuffed strong appeals from the UNHCR to revoke the suspension.

Granted that the internal security concerns of Bangladesh may be well-taken, the
question is why twenty years (since 1992) is not a long enough period of
sub-human living for the undocumented Rohingyas without access to lawful
employment, education, health, freedom of movement, justice system and
international assistance.

Fourth, the 250,000 Rohingyas in Bangladesh represent a tiny 0.17% of the
country's population of 150 million, and only one-eighth of the annual growth
(1.37%) of population. Further, if the documented Rohingyas are rehabilitated in
low density areas, additional amenities and infrastructure needs will be
minimal. With legal status, it is also expected that the economic productivity
and consumption of the Rohingyas and the inflow of international assistance for
them will rise. Thus, their registration is not likely to result in either a
population burden or an economic baggage. Without documentation, however, not
only the are economic benefits foregone, the Rohingyas may in fact become
increasingly desperate and vulnerable to recruitment by criminals, extremists
and political opportunists.

Fifth, there is a risk of ethnic clash and separatist turmoil if the Rohingyas
are all rehabilitated in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. For example, if
all 250,000 Rohingyas are relocated to the Bandarban district, they will become
a dominant ethnic majority there. Therefore security concerns warrant a
spatially diversified rehabilitation, possibly dispersing a significant number
of Rohingyas to the northern and western districts and perhaps the off-shore
islands of Bangladesh.

Lastly, it is in the long-term interests of Bangladesh to be seen as a nation
that genuinely cares about the sufferings of fellow human beings. Unbalanced
concerns about internal security and geopolitics should not cloud the
recollection of traumatic ethnic and political persecution of the Bangladeshis
themselves in the not so distant past, nor should it be lost that a sufficiently
large segment of the world was always there for Bangladesh whenever it needed
economic and humanitarian assistance, especially at times of severe natural
calamities. The care and assistance needed by the Rohingyas surely pales in
contrast.

While mindless compassion can be reckless, so can be heartless pragmatism.
Hence, it is a reasonable balance between the two that Bangladesh needs
regarding the Rohingyas. Clearly the transition from defending minorities within
own borders to accommodating minorities across the borders is fraught with
unpleasant challenges, but continued deferral of taking up the challenges is not
a sustainable choice either.

Such a recognition could perhaps start with: (a) unequivocal condemnation of the
acts of violence in Rakhine as unacceptable by the GoB, civil society and other
collective forums, (b) registration of the undocumented Rohingyas in Bangladesh,
(c) cooperation with relief organisations to channel humanitarian aid to the
Rohingyas in Bangladesh, (d) articulation and enactment of a comprehensive
refugee policy, and (e) leadership by the GoB in orchestrating a multilateral
alliance to address the Rohingya tragedy. In other words, a combination of
unequivocal moral support, refuge and relief efforts within an internationally
accepted legal framework, and mobilisation of interested powerful partners are
called for.

The writer is Professor, Practice in Finance, McGill University, Montreal,
Canada.

Email: mo.chaudhury@...

=======================================
4. PAKISTAN: DRONES: THEIRS AND OURS
by Pervez Hoodbhoy
=======================================
Vocal as they are about being bombed from the sky, most Pakistanis – including
many on the Left – suddenly lose their voice when it comes to the human
(Muslim) drone

http://www.sacw.net/article3267.html

=======================================
5. TALIBAN: AGENT OR VICTIM?
by Afiya Shehrbano Zia
=======================================
In their attempt to assassinate girl-activist, Malala Yousufzai, has the Taliban
inadvertently rescued the narrative of violence against women? Over the last
three decades, Pakistan has been at the receiving end of donor-assisted
campaigns and gender-empowerment awareness programmes on violence. These
projects were sub-contracted to NGOs that had been set up by feminists who
themselves, in the 1980s, had been involved in direct action activism on cases
of violence. With the sponsorship of international development assistance,
“women’s NGOs” have steadily embraced the concept and become advocates of
linking VAW to neo-liberal development agendas. This has re-directed analysis
and activism from its primary focus on survivors and perpetrators of violence.
Instead, increasing attention and funding has led to a change that is more in
tune with the UN and donor-preferred approach known as ‘Gender-Based
Violence’ (GBV).

http://www.sacw.net/article3279.html

=======================================
6. PAKISTAN: REVISITING THE BALOCH RESISTANCE MOVEMENT WITH ASAD RAHMAN
interview by Malik Siraj Akbar
=======================================
. . . exceptionally striking chapter of the Baloch movement was written in the
early 1970s when a group of five scions of Pakistani non-Baloch elite joined
Balochistan’s guerilla war against the Pakistan army’s occupation of the
Baloch land. Popularly known as the London Group, the members of this study
circle left the comforts of wealthy life, education in London and joined the
Balochs in their battle against the Pakistan army in the Marri hills. In their
early twenties, these comrades adopted Balochi names, learned the language,
explored the terrain, faced hunger and fought on the frontline in their
commitment for the Balochs.

http://www.sacw.net/article1200.html

=======================================
7. INDIA: WHAT STATEMENT IS BEING MADE BY THE AWARD TO NAIPAUL?
by Girish Karnad
=======================================
India’s celebrated playwright Girish Karnad made spirited secular critique of
Nobel laureate V S Naipaul being awarded the Landmark and Literature Alive’s
Lifetime Achievement Award on October 31 [2012]

http://www.sacw.net/article3272.html

=======================================
8. INDIA’S SEXIST POLITICAL HABITAT
by Monobina Gupta
=======================================
Put forth sometimes as nuggets of profound wisdom, at others as political
weaponry, these anti-women diatribes have become ’legitimate and
respectable’ conversation at the high table. Often they have passed unnoticed,
but during unpredictable and fractious times as these, the terrible utterances
are ratcheted up and dissected the way they deserve to be. We, however, can only
be thankful for that much-needed critical attention, however brief its span.

http://www.sacw.net/article3270.html

============