[sacw] SACW #1. (10 Dec. 01)

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Sun, 9 Dec 2001 23:40:14 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire | Dispatch #1.
10 December 2001
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

[This issue of the SACW is dedicated to the memory of Agha Shahid=20
Ali. One of the finest poets from South Asia Agha Shahid Ali passed=20
away on the 8th December 2001 in the United States. Many on this list=20
may be familiar with the work of Shahid. For those of us who knew=20
him, he will live on forever in our memories.]

------------------------------------------

#1. In Memory of Agha Shahid Ali - A short Note, some URLS, A poem=20
by Agha Shahid Ali sent by Zaheer Kidvai; tributes by Rukun Advani &=20
Alok Rai
#2. Sri Lanka : Paradox in paradise (Ilija Trojanow)
#3. India: Babri Masjid Demolition : 6th December observed as day of=20
National Shame
#4. Constructing the Future of Afganisthan (Debesh Roy)
#5. India: High Court Hope for Homosexuals
#6. Why Not Redraw Afghanistan's Borders - or Even Break It Up?=20
(Philip Bowring)
#7. India sanitizing its past (Sultan Shahin)
#8. India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 55 |=20
10 Dec. 2001

________________________

#1.

Agha Shahid Ali was born in New Delhi on February 4, 1949. He grew up=20
in Kashmir, and was later educated at the University of Kashmir,=20
Srinagar, and University of Delhi. He earned a Ph.D. in English from=20
Pennsylvania State University in 1984, and an M.F.A. from the=20
University of Arizona in 1985. His volumes of poetry include Rooms=20
Are Never Finished (W.W. Norton & Co., 2001), The Country Without a=20
Post Office (1997), The Beloved Witness: Selected Poems (1992), A=20
Nostalgist's Map of America (1991), A Walk Through the Yellow Pages=20
(1987), The Half-Inch Himalayas (1987), In Memory of Begum Akhtar and=20
Other Poems (1979), and Bone Sculpture (1972). He is also the author=20
of T. S. Eliot as Editor (1986), translator of The Rebel's=20
Silhouette: Selected Poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1992), and editor of=20
Ravishing Disunities: Real Ghazals in English (2000).

Ali received fellowships from The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts,=20
the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Ingram-Merrill Foundation,=20
the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation=20
and been awarded a Pushcart Prize. He held teaching positions at the=20
University of Delhi, Penn State, SUNY Binghamton, Princeton=20
University, Hamilton College, Baruch College, University of Utah, and=20
Warren Wilson College.

some URLs on Agha Shahid Ali:

http://www.wwnorton.com/trade/external/nortonpoets/alia.htm

http://www.parisreview.com/tpr158/ali.htm

o o o

[ Zaheer Kidvai a friend & admirer of Agha Shahid Ali sent this ]

This is the poem that Shahid read out to me in NY as we sat
on the steps of a store after the 'Translating Faiz' session:

A Dream of Glass Bangles
Agha Shahid Ali

Those autumns my parents slept
warm in a quilt studded
with pieces of mirrors
On my mother's arms were bangles
like waves of frozen rivers
and at night
after the prayers
as she went down to her room
I heard the faint sound of ice
breaking on the staircase
breaking years later
into winter
our house surrounded by men
pulling icicles for torches
off the roofs
rubbing them on the walls
till the cement's darkening red
set the tips of water on fire
the air a quicksand of snow
as my father stepped out
and my mother
inside the burning house
a widow smashing the rivers
on her arms.

His volumes of poetry include Rooms Are Never Finished (W.W. Norton &=20
Co., 2001), The Country Without a Post Office (1997), The Beloved=20
Witness: Selected Poems (1992), A Nostalgist's Map of America (1991),=20
A Walk Through the Yellow Pages (1987), The Half-Inch Himalayas=20
(1987), In Memory of Begum Akhtar and Other Poems (1979), and Bone=20
Sculpture (1972). He is also the author of T. S. Eliot as Editor=20
(1986), translator of The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems by Faiz=20
Ahmed Faiz (1992), and editor of Ravishing Disunities: Real Ghazals=20
in English (2000)

o o o

Tehelka.com

Agha Shahid Ali: A Few Memories

"Right now I can only hear Shahid himself, declaiming in
his endearing, giggly, wicked-sweet voice: 'Darling, I don't want=20
immortality through my works. I want
immortality by not dying'"

: Rukun Advani remembers the poet
Agha Shahid Ali, who died this evening
of a brain tumour in Amherst, USA.
Shahid will be buried tomorrow.

New Delhi December 8, 2001

In the early 1970s, Agha Shahid Ali already had a high reputation as=20
an Indian 'University Wit'. He was known in poetry coteries as a=20
connoisseur of verse, a fund of learning on T.S.Eliot and Ezra Pound=20
(he went on to write a fine PhD on 'T.S.Eliot as Editor'), a ghazal=20
enthusiast, an inspiring lecturer of English, a bird of the most=20
dazzling feather who everyone in our university wanted to look at and=20
hear. His reputation had spilled out of Hindu College, where he=20
didn't so much teach as captivate and infect his students with his=20
knowledge of Hindustani music, Urdu verse, and the Modernist movement=20
in Anglo-American poetry. He was much in demand in the other=20
colleges, where he would invariably be encored and asked to read some=20
of his own verse.

This he always did with consummate, engaging immodesty. We are all=20
narcissists in some way, but Shahid had perfected the art of=20
narcissism. He displayed it unashamedly and was universally loved for=20
the abandon with which he could be so unabashedly and coyly full of=20
himself. He was just so disconcertingly free of pretence in this=20
respect, so entirely unique just for this reason. As he said of=20
himself once, 'Sweetheart, I'm successful in the US of A only because=20
I've raised self-promotion to the level of art.'

But he deserved every accolade he got. He had one foot in the realm=20
of mushairas and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the other in the world of Western=20
versification and translation activity. His own achievement was to=20
blend the two. Eliotic blank verse was, in the main, not for him=20
because he thought it an easy way out for poets. His own evolution as=20
a poet is marked by his increased interest in mastering the most=20
complex verse forms of Europe, such as the 'canzone' and the=20
'sestina', and deploying them as moulds for subcontinental ideas,=20
Kashmiri themes, Urdu sentiment. No one did this as successfully as=20
Shahid. Literary criticism does not yet possess a proper vocabulary=20
to describe the ways in which he pushed English poetry in new=20
directions.

It was a privilege to be counted among Shahid's friends, even though=20
he had so many. He was at home everywhere. All he had to do to=20
attract an adoring throng was just be himself. I lived with him for a=20
few days in New England, where he was teaching at Ezra Pound's alma=20
mater. 'They pay me to teach Creatiff Wrahting', he said with a=20
mimicing, self-deprecating drawl. Attending all his creative-writing=20
classes - they were chockful of aspiring writers who wanted him as=20
their personal tutor - was the most natural and easy and pleasurable=20
thing to do. In the evenings he cooked Kashmiri food, revelling in=20
the aromas of his parental home in Srinagar. In Delhi, which he=20
visited annually in order to meet friends such as the singer Sheila=20
Dhar (and because his publishers were located in the city), he was=20
only fleetingly available because he yearned to be in Srinagar. The=20
violence there affected him deeply, personally and as an artist. It=20
shaped him, ironically, to write some of his finest poems, such as=20
the title poem in The Country Without a Post Office. It is not as=20
well known as it ought to be, that Shahid's father, Agha Ashraf Ali,=20
remains one of Kashmir's most dedicated secular educationists ---=20
respected equally for his wisdom and urbanity by Islamists and=20
Kashmiri Pandits. Shahid was entirely constituted by the ideals and=20
values that he inherited from his parents.

A small corner of India's cultural landscape, which I'd assumed would=20
be forever Shahid, has died with him. His poems will keep him alive,=20
maybe, but only among those who never knew him and therefore missed=20
out on seeing and hearing what being preternaturally alive means as=20
an everyday, ordinary practice. When someone like Shahid dies, you=20
know it's the end. Right now I can only hear Shahid himself,=20
modifying Woody Allen's words and declaiming in his endearing,=20
giggly, wicked-sweet voice: 'Darling, I don't want immortality=20
through my works. I want immortality by not dying.'

o o o

Poet of loss

Alok Rai pays tribute to Agha Shahid Ali

Ali is a poet of distances, of loss. One of the ways in which this is=20
apparent is the distance he himself travelled - not from New Delhi to=20
New York, for that is shorter than you think! I mean the distance=20
that separates the pale, derivative poet - who, in his own words,=20
"drank India down with a faint British accent" in the early Writer's=20
Workshop anthologies - from the mature, later voice, confidently=20
taking on the challenge of the mundane. Everything is grist to this=20
poet's mill: a postcard from Kashmir triggers memories of the Jhelum,=20
once ultramarine, now sadly incarnadine; the glib cliches of Ma Bell=20
- reach out and touch someone; or the beggar's sudden pity at the=20
bewilderment of the returned native...

But for me it is "The Dacca Gauzes" which, with its final image of=20
his grandmother, pulling the fine-textured, dew-starched autumn=20
morning "absently through her ring", now becomes a poignant but=20
ineluctable reminder of the delicate way in which a carefully=20
realized sense of loss itself constitutes a form of poetic=20
apprehension, of durable possession.

_______

#2.

The Hindu
Sunday, Dec 09, 2001
Magazine

Paradox in paradise

Everyday life seems to belie the blood spots on Colombo's common=20
memory. The people are friendly, polite, and helpful and the streets=20
are still streets. The traumas have not surfaced, although this is=20
Sri Lanka, a country racked by decades of civil war. Beauty and=20
horror co-exist and there is a constant exchange between violence and=20
normality. An essay by ILIJA TROJANOW.

Anuradhapura ... the old capital with its sprawling temples,=20
monasteries, pools and gardens.

A FEW days are enough to recognise the central metaphors of this=20
country: barbed wire and palm trees. Roadblocks abound. In the middle=20
of the city, barbed-wired fences besiege the President; in front of=20
the gates, green sandbags have entrenched security and the guards are=20
frightening in their stillness. Just turn your head and you will see=20
the palm trees swaying, like they do in one of the glossy catalogues=20
that lure the tourists to the beaches of Negombo, for example, just=20
north of the capital Colombo, where worn-out dreams are sold at a=20
bargain. Mechanics from Yorkshire sleep late, before they clink the=20
ice in their gin-and-tonics. The more enthusiastic among them play=20
bowls with coconuts. The sea, empty because of its evil reputation,=20
has reduced the brown beach to a small lungi, which can hardly cover=20
the shame of the hotel. The recent cosmetic operation is already=20
peeling off. There is a limit to investment when you are stuck with=20
the worst kind of international tourism: package tourism.

An unusual country calls for unusual guides. I rely on two books by=20
Michael Ondaatje: Running in the Family and Anil's Ghost. Both bear=20
witness to the wounds and destruction on this island, both sing of=20
its mystical charm. "But here it was a more complicated world=20
morally. The streets were still streets, the citizens remained=20
citizens. They shopped, changed jobs, laughed. Yet the darkest Greek=20
tragedies were innocent compared with what was happening here." At=20
every corner the visitor encounters this paradox. A constant exchange=20
between violence and normality. The centre of Colombo contains many=20
dark memories: a mark on the asphalt, where a former President was=20
blown up by a suicide bomber; the Reserve Bank, in front of which 200=20
kg of dynamite was detonated; the villa of a successful newspaper=20
publisher whose aeroplane exploded in mid-air. But everyday life=20
seems to belie the blood spots on the common memory. People are=20
friendly, polite, and helpful. There is no aggression to be felt. The=20
traumas have not risen to the surface, although the civil war has=20
lasted two decades and has killed around 60,000 people, displacing a=20
further million.

The countryside is green, but also cramped and confined, divided into=20
small portions of rice and grass. Punctuated by massive boulders.=20
Distances are small. It takes a few hours to reach the old capital=20
Anuradhapura, a sprawling monument consisting of holy trees, temples,=20
monasteries, wells, pools and gardens. Shortly after we arrive, it=20
starts to rain, hesitantly at first, then with a punch. Like a child,=20
which works itself up into a frenzy beyond any comfort. After dark we=20
have a full-blown storm on our hands, the rain blowing in through=20
every opening, across the verandah of the charmingly old-fashioned=20
Tissawewa Hotel, flooding the ears of the guests. A retired punkah=20
staggers from one pulley to the other. A filigreed lamp throws=20
wire-meshed shadows on the wooden ceiling. Everything trembles as=20
though on the high seas. A sofa with a baldachin is forced onto its=20
stilted knees. The old waiter, who calls his colleagues "boys",=20
serves one round of tea after the other, finding refuge in routine.=20
Later on, after tea has given way to beer, a centenarian tree=20
crashes, missing the roof by a few feet. We thank our stars for the=20
lucky escape.

Next morning the tree lies next to the old house like a beached=20
whale. The storm has killed a few people, it has cut off electricity=20
lines and blocked roads. The uprooted trees underline the dilapidated=20
character of the park. Next to the wall of a refectory stands one=20
legible signpost: Dr. Weicherding. A Dutch planter comes to mind,=20
with knee-high boots and a monocle. Elsewhere the yellow letters have=20
peeled off.

Unfortunately the Dagobas, those massive domes, which from far away=20
resemble volcanoes that have not yet erupted, offer no shelter from=20
the rain. They are without inner space. Surely ranking among the most=20
mysterious religious buildings of mankind, they cater to few needs=20
except the thirst for powerful symbolism. Initially they represented=20
a cone of rice, before they gradually grew alongside the=20
self-confidence of the Buddhist rulers, rising to peaks of power. The=20
Jetavanarana Dagoba (Third Century), built solely of bricks, was at=20
its time the third largest construction in the world, just a few=20
hands smaller than the pyramid of Cheops. Five thousand monks used to=20
circle clockwise around the Abhayagiri Dagoba, another giant more=20
than 100 metres high. But otherwise little is left of the courtly=20
splendour, since most buildings then were constructed of wood, using=20
stone only for the base. The remains - amidst feverish overgrowth -=20
allow only a foggy dream of the lost and hidden. Here it is easy to=20
understand the archaeologist Palipana, one of Ondaatje's memorable=20
characters: "Every historical pillar he came to in a field he stood=20
beside and embraced as if it were a person he had known in the past."

Anuradhapura ... the old capital with its sprawling temples,=20
monasteries, pools and gardens.

A soldier on duty, who offers - ironically in front of the=20
Ratnaprasada, the jewel palace - a small, dark red stone, disturbs=20
such reflections. Ruby, he says. But it is glass, an old case of=20
mistaken identity, "good Birmingham glass!" At the entrance to the=20
holy Bo-Tree one has to undergo a full body check, several times.=20
Around the tree the army has constructed a wall of intensive=20
presence. Behind this wall is a pastoral scene: rice paddies, small=20
channels full of excessive energy, herons and cranes like pieces in a=20
game of patience. The beauty and the horror not only coexist,=20
sometimes they even collaborate. The security closure of some roads=20
to vehicles allows peaceful walks; the over-flooding makes fishermen=20
out of bicycle-riders; a group of women wash with gusto near their=20
storm-rattled village.

For a thousand years, Anuradhapura was the capital, then it was=20
conquered by the South Indian dynasty of the Cholas. New masters - a=20
new centre. In the late 10th Century, Polonnaruwa was founded in a=20
strategic setting. Today, Polonnaruwa is a more accessible monument,=20
sheltering, among others, the famous Stone Book (Gal Pota). The rain=20
had filled up the letters, as if it wanted to take a watery cast.=20
Words had become tiny channels, which converged into a praise of King=20
Nissankamalla, on this nine-metre-long and one-metre-wide=20
inscription. It is said that the king used to relax on this, the=20
largest of granite books. If so, his legs must have dangled over the=20
footnotes.

In a low dive nearby, bananas hang on the wall in clusters. A lonely=20
guest, a truck driver, shares five curries and his thoughts with us,=20
munching and whispering: "The army officers are making a fortune out=20
of this war. They sell weapons to the enemy. The people in power=20
could end this war tomorrow, but they have no interest in doing so.=20
So many atrocities have been committed that, for most people, the=20
only way out of the war is the war. But I will never allow my son to=20
be drafted into the army."

We pay the bill, inclusive of a 7.5 per cent defence tax.

Brutal visions are not new to this island. Amid dramatic rocks lies=20
the monastery of Aluvihara - it harbours a Buddhist cabinet of=20
horrors. Goya and Blake united in medieval Lanka. Yamaha passes=20
judgment on the sinners of this world. Several dozen frescos imagine=20
their just punishment vividly. Crows gouge out the eyes of liars.=20
Slanderers (and informers!) are set adrift in a sea of snakes. The=20
thorns of a cactus spear adulterers. Some of the sensitivities are=20
astoundingly modern. Whoever sets forests on fire, will be thrown=20
into the fire. Spears will dismember whoever exploits his workers. A=20
local high school teacher is angered by this baroque display of=20
fantasy. After all, this is the holy place where the teachings of the=20
Buddha were written down in Pali script for the very first time. But=20
the people, he rages, have falsified Buddhism; they have degraded the=20
pure philosophy to a crude superstition. He will not agree that the=20
social and ecological awareness, which speaks out of this punitive=20
catalogue, is impressive.

Kandy, just a few kilometres away, has succumbed to bad taste. The=20
Lake Club celebrates its own eclecticism. At the entrance one is=20
greeted by a ticket vendor and a Sri Lankan painting in the classical=20
style. In the next room, a gigantic hall, some sort of card roulette=20
is played at a forlorn table. Behind a glass wall, virtual horses=20
rack up real bets. And in the theatre next door, a potpourri of local=20
dances is presented, spiced with some acrobatics and exotic antics.=20
After the show one is eager to agree with Paul Bowles (as quoted by=20
Ondaatje): "The Singhalese are probably the most unmusical people in=20
the world. It is positively impossible to show less feeling for=20
pitch, melody or rhythm".

Like all colonial hill stations, Kandy is a victim of its attractive=20
setting. In valleys, the pollution is effectively dammed up. Kandy=20
offers a lot of congestion, noise, spoliation, and a tooth of the=20
Buddha, heavily guarded after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam=20
(LTTE) attacked and bombed the temple several years ago. Most=20
tourists rush on to the Pinnewale Elephant Orphanage. The elephant in=20
Pinnewale is like Mozart in Salzburg: Elefant View Hotel and Hotel=20
Elefant Park, wooden elephants and cloth elephants, carved, stamped=20
and painted elephants. T-Shirts with happy, sweet, dancing elephants.=20
At ten every morning, the stars of Pinnewale are led to the river,=20
where they enjoy a Walt Disney splash in front of 500 amateur=20
paparazzi. A small signboard warns that elephants are not tame=20
animals, which at first sounds about as credible as if one were to=20
read that the elephants from the movie "Jungle Book" are dangerous.=20
But that impression is terribly wrong. The very next day, one of the=20
pachyderms revolted, trampling his mahout to death and seriously=20
injuring several visitors. Nature had reinstated itself, and horror=20
had broken out again.

A temple in Colombo ... mystical charm and dark memories.

In the Paradise Club, a casino next to the airport, a few men are=20
busy piling up chips on indifferent numbers. Two of them speak=20
excellent German, but they will not confide in me, where and why they=20
learnt it. Civil war is a great redistributor of wealth. Only one=20
number wins, but it wins heavily.

The forces betting on this one number are keen to destroy diversity,=20
a quality Sri Lanka is blessed with. They propagate a monoculture,=20
which secures their wealth. For nationalism and fundamentalism are=20
mainly instruments of greed and enrichment. In this sense, Sri Lanka=20
has truly fallen among thieves.

Ilija Trojanow is the founder of Marino Verlag, a publishing company=20
for African and East European fiction and non-fiction. He is=20
currently based in Mumbai, working as a freelance journalist. The=20
winner of numerous literary awards and prizes, he is now working on a=20
collection of articles on India called Der Sadhu an der Teufelswand.=20
Reportagen aus einem an deren Indien and his second novel dealing=20
with the life of British historian and explorer Sir Richard Burton.
______

#3.

----- Original Message -----
From: N. Pancholi

PRESS RELEASE 7TH December 2001

Babri Masjid Demolition : 6th December observed as day of National Shame

Large number of organizations observed 6th December 2001 as a DAY=20
OF NATIONAL SHAME by holding protest Dharna (Sit-in) at Tilak's=20
Statue, near Supreme Court of India at New Delhi on this day. There=20
were banners and placards condemning demolition of Babari Masjid ,=20
demanding punishment of the guilty, stop to persecution of=20
minorities and immediate withdrawal of POTO. The team of Nishant=20
Natya Manch staged songs exposing and criticizing the communal and=20
anti-people policies of the government. The organizations included:=20
The citizens Committee For Secular Action, Champa-The Amiya &=20
B.G.Rao Foundation, P.U.C.L., P.U.D.R., Nishant Natya Manch,=20
JUSTICE, Forum For Democracy & Communal Amity, Muslim Women's Forum,=20
Women's Initiative For Peace in South Asia(WIPSA), Students' Islamic=20
Organisation (SIO), P.R.O., Naujwan Bharat Sabha, Pragatisheel=20
Mahila Sangathan, Jan-Hastkshep, IFTU, Citizens For Democracy and=20
Indian Radical Humanist Association. The following statement was=20
issued :

" Babri Masjid was deliberately demolished on 6th December 1992 by=20
the forces led by Sangh Pariwar. It was a grievous blow to the=20
foundation of our secular democratic republic. It was a foretaste of=20
the proposed Hindu Rashtra to be established under the aegis of the=20
BJP. The agenda for the Hindu Rashtra is being meticulously persued.=20
In addition to Muslims, the Sangh Pariwar has been targeting the=20
Christian community. No action is being taken against the spokesmen=20
of the Sangh Parowar who have been issuing offensive warnings to=20
minorities and adopting provocative postures, but police machinery=20
is being misutilized to oppress minorities. SIMI (Students' Islamic=20
Movement of India) has been banned but Bajrang Dal and other Hindu=20
extremist groups are openly at large. POTO has been proclaimed to=20
terrorise and silence any dissent when the most urgent priorities of=20
the country are eradication of the scourges of poverty, illiteracy,=20
superstitions, control of population explosion and provision of=20
potable drinking water and minimum health care and sanitation and=20
affordable shelter for millions. No attention is being paid to such=20
pressing needs of our teeming millions. " Not a single person for=20
committing the crime of demolishing Babri Masjid has been punished.=20
Victims of riots have also not been paid compensation. "We=20
therefore demand : (1) Swift and exemplary punishment to the guilty=20
of Babri Masjid Demolition; (2) Attacks on minorities should stop=20
forthwith; (3) Saffronisation of education should be stopped; (4)=20
POTO should be withdrawn in toto."

Citizens Committee for Secular Action, Champa-The Amiya & B.G.Rao=20
Foundation, PUCL, PUDR, Nishant Natya Manch, JUSTICE, forum For=20
Democracy and Communal Amity, P.R.O., Muslim Women's Forum, Women's=20
Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA), Naujwan Bharat Sabha,=20
Students Islamic Organisation (SIO), Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan,=20
Jan Hastkshep, I.F.T.U., Citizens For Democracy & Indian Radical=20
Humanists Association.

______

#4.

Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 21:19:09 +0530

Constructing the Future of Afganisthan

Debesh Roy

(Originally published in the Bengali daily Aajkaal, Calcutta,=20
November 30; translated by Nirmalangshu Mukherji, Department of=20
Philosophy, Delhi University. Debesh Roy is a well-known literary=20
author in Bengal. Subsequent events at Bonn have borne out the=20
perspective sketched in this article)

Deliberations began on 27 November on the future of Afganisthan in=20
the German city of Bonn. Who are the discussants? Some=20
representatives of a king of Afganisthan who left his kingdom in 1973=20
to reside in Rome. Another group known as the 'Peshawar Assembly' who=20
uttered some words in the past regarding peace in Afganisthan from=20
outside of Afganisthan. A similar formation called the 'Cyprus=20
group'. Plus representatives of the Northern Alliance. And of course=20
representatives of the motley alliance put together by the US to=20
conduct its war against Afganisthan. In all, 30 people were from the=20
inside of Afganisthan. The intelligentsia of Afganisthan, who bore=20
the brunt of five years' of Taliban rule, were not there. Those who=20
continued to perform their duties as lawyers, doctors and engineers=20
were not there either. Women of Afganisthan, who had suffered the=20
most, were not represented; neither were the members of various=20
political organisations.

And, perhaps as a preparation for determining the future of=20
Afganisthan in a handful of meetings, the media in US and Europe have=20
been saying, ever since 9/11, that Afganisthan is not a nation,=20
Afgans do not have a nationality, Afgans are an assortment of tribes=20
and factions, their tribal affinities override their nationalism and=20
their international imagination.

This unilateral publicity has helped spread the view across the world=20
that this war in reality is a war between the civilised and the=20
savage. Bush, the US president, in fact said that. In most of the=20
publications from Calcutta to London and New York, self-made=20
Afgan-experts wrote on a daily basis that the US is bearing the=20
burden of civilization in Afganisthan. Even the liberals, in part the=20
left, have been saying that, notwithstanding the devastation caused=20
by US bombs and missiles, the fact remains that the savagery of the=20
Taliban is the only alternative. Jamila Mujahed, who reads news for=20
radio Kabul, made a faint protest. Jamila is one of Afganisthan's=20
known and respected intellectuals. Her husband, Sayeed Amin Mujahed,=20
teaches history in the Academy of Social Sciences in Kabul. In 1992,=20
Jamila announced the fall of Najibullah over radio Kabul. Jamila=20
reported on the entry of the mujahideen in Kabul. In 1996, Jamila=20
announced the entry of the Taliban after they drove the mujahideen=20
off. Just the other day, she announced the withdrawal of the Taliban=20
from Kabul. Then Jamila said that no discussion on the future of=20
Afganisthan can be meaningful without the representation of the women=20
of Afganisthan. She was supported by Sarika Parlika, one of the=20
leaders of women's movement in Kabul.

Why should we think of the Northern Alliance as the liberators of=20
Afganisthan just because they are fighting America's skywar in the=20
ground? Each aspect of the misrule of the Taliban - the abuse of=20
human rights, atrocities on women, imposition of an imaginary Islamic=20
rule, use of terror - started and grew during the mujahideen rule=20
from 1992 to 1996. The Northern Alliance represents that rule. When=20
the Taliban entered Afganisthan, the Afgans supported them in the=20
hope that they would be freed from the autocracy of the mujahideen.=20
Rabani's militia publicly whipped girls because their shoes made=20
noise, people were publicly executed in the sports stadium. Who does=20
not know that the Taliban and Osama bin Laden are American creations=20
and the Pakistan-Taliban axis was formed because the US needed it. It=20
has not been proved if Osama bin Laden is behind the brutality of=20
9/11 or whether the Taliban supports this act. The US is=20
progressively moving away from the responsibility of furnishing the=20
proof. Isn't its prominent support to the Northern Alliance on the=20
future of Afganisthan is just another name for reimposing the Taliban=20
rule?

Just as every government of the world has unconditionally supported=20
America's war against Afganisthan, they have also supported the=20
(US-sponsored) plan of constructing the future of Afganisthan. Never=20
before did we see such unity of opinion in support of the terrorism=20
of the state. Some states in some ways raised some protest between=20
9/11 and October 7. But as the war progressed, the official support=20
to America and its alliance has mounted as well. As the direction of=20
the war became clear with the fall of Kabul, a queue has virtually=20
formed to support America's plan. This support is based on sheer=20
opportunism as each government vies for its share of the loot.

There is some economic competition between the US and the states of=20
the European Union; but the overarching interests of global politics=20
is sufficient to sustain the level of support (to America's war in=20
Afganisthan). Just when the US got busy with its, to quote Bush,=20
'first war of the new millenium', the American Congress raised the=20
status of China to P.N.T.R, China was made a member of WTO, and plans=20
are afoot to increase the existing trade relations with that country.=20
Of course Taiwan was also admitted to the WTO. China did not=20
complain. Heads of states of China and America wore chinese coats and=20
were photographed as twins. The Russian president spent his holidays=20
in the ranch of America's president like a family friend; they have=20
resolved the problem of missile-defence. Just then the war in=20
Afganisthan intensified. It was declared as a war against terrorism.=20
The declaration found its use in Russia and China. China will find it=20
useful to extend America's war against the secessionist arms struggle=20
in Western China. Russia will extend it against the chechens.=20
Pakistan will use it in Kashmir under Indian control; India in=20
Kashmir under Pakistani control. There is a stampede in the White=20
House to extend support to America. In the second week of November=20
alone, President Bush shook hands with scores of Premiers and=20
ministers standing in line - from Britain, France, Pakistan, India,=20
Algeria. In this week, Bush gave more speeches than in the entire=20
October.

It may be thought that this range of support to America is a passing=20
affair. Later we might see some of these supporters parting ways.=20
This is how global diplomacy works.

But which action of the US generated this wide support? Everyone=20
agreed that the US has the right to bypass the UN, including the=20
Security Council. Alternatively, everyone finally officially agreed=20
with the right of the US to run the UN according to its will. It is=20
agreed that a nation can be attacked without any proof whatsoever.=20
These things have happened before, these have been happening since=20
the second world war. However, never before such American actions=20
were backed by this massive support of states. Never before did every=20
country in the world support the US solely from amoral self-interest.=20
There was never any doubt that the future government of Afganisthan=20
will be constructed according to the desires of the US. It happennd=20
with the Rabbani government, it happened with the Taliban. But now=20
the rest of the world wants to join the party. The party began in the=20
Gernan city of Bonn without Afganisthan.

______

#5.

The Telegraph
9 December 2001

HIGH COURT HOPE FOR HOMOSEXUALS

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Dec. 8:
Delhi High Court yesterday fanned the winds of a social revolution by=20
nudging the Centre about the possibility of legalising homosexual=20
relations between two consenting adults. The Indian Penal Code=20
describes a gay or lesbian relationship as an offence on the grounds=20
that it is against the "natural order".

The high court sought a reply from the Centre after a public interest=20
litigation was filed by Naz, a non-governmental organisation working=20
with gays and HIV affected persons.

The NGO argued that the rising graph of AIDS in the country could be=20
arrested by legalising homosexuality.

"The harassment of homosexuals and lesbians constitutes a blatant=20
abuse of their fundamental and human rights," the petitioner added.

The legal notice served by Delhi High Court is going to raise the=20
hackles in several quarters - particularly of those who, despite=20
overwhelming evidence, continue to deny the prevalence of=20
homosexuality in society. In fact, policy-makers in educational=20
institutions are loath to talk about the subject that is virtually=20
taboo.

Films portraying lesbian relationships have evoked a vicious response=20
from political and fundamentalist groups. Deepa Mehta's Fire, a film=20
about two women who develop a lesbian relationship, ran into serious=20
trouble after Hindu fundamentalist groups attacked and damaged=20
theatres screening the film.

The government was wary about backing the film though it had been=20
cleared by the censor board. It sent the film back to the censors for=20
a second time, fearing a backlash from orthodox groups.

"Through its public litigation, Naz has brought out in the open a=20
subject that has been kept strictly under wraps - a subject society=20
prefers to dismiss out of hand," said an activist.

Naz has reminded the Centre that Article 14 guarantees all citizens=20
equality before law while Article 15 safeguards them against any=20
discrimination. This gives a citizen the freedom to live life the way=20
he or she wants.

But these rights are negated at one stroke by section 377 of the IPC,=20
which says voluntary sex against the "order of nature" with any man,=20
woman or animal will be penalised with imprisonment up to a maximum=20
of 10 years in addition to a fine.

Homosexuals are among the sections most vulnerable to AIDS and the=20
NGO argued that by making homosexuality an offence, the court was=20
driving it under the carpet. The legal bar, they stressed, was coming=20
in the way of raising awareness about AIDS among homosexuals.

Naz has sought an immediate injunction on police taking action=20
against homosexuals. The court, however, adjourned the hearing after=20
issuing notices to the Centre, ministry of social welfare, Delhi=20
government, the police commissioner and National AIDS Council, asking=20
them to file replies by January 28.

_____

#6.

[ An Alarming article on Afghanistan]

International Herald Tribune
Saturday, December 8, 2001
Why Not Redraw Afghanistan's Borders - or Even Break It Up?
Philip Bowring
http://www.iht.com/articles/41253.html

_____

#7.

Asia Times
10 December 2001
India sanitizing its past
By Sultan Shahin

NEW DELHI - The Taliban are dead, long live Talibanism! This slogan=20
seems to characterize the Indian government's attitude to education,=20
particularly history.
Leading figures from India's recently united opposition have=20
characterized the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party=20
(BJP)-led coalition government's recent order to delete tales of=20
Hindu atrocities and their food habits from history books as the=20
"Talibanization of education". [...].
http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CL08Df01.html

_____

#8.

India Pakistan Arms Race & Militarisation Watch (IPARMW) # 55
10 December 2001

The complete IPARMW archive is available at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPARMW/messages

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South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996. To=20
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