[sacw] SACW #2 | 19 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 19 March 2002

* For daily news updates & citizens initiatives in post riots=20
Gujarat Check: http://www.sabrang.com

__________________________

#1. Media Management: Restricting Freedom in Pakistan (Shaheen Sehbai)
#2. India Is ... A Culture Struggles With All That Defines It=20
(Shankar Vedantam)
#3. Marriage communalised through legal sanction? (Raheel Dhattiwala)
#4. 18th March update from Sonia Jabbar
- Meetings in Delhi 19th Afternoon : Join Justice Sachar in a=20
discussion on the implications of the RSS
- Meeting with Teesta Setalvad, who was in Gujrat during the worst of=20
the communal carnage
- Peace Actions to prevent Holi and Muharram to degenerate into violence-
#5. Fear is the Key (Vidya Subrahmaniam)
#6. The agony of Gujarat (K. N. Panikkar)
#7. The RSS message from Bangalore (V. Krishna Ananth)
#8. Number Games of Fate (Vinay Gidwani)

__________________________

# 1.

The Asian Wall Street Journal
March 18, 2002, A13
Opinion

Media Management: Restricting Freedom in Pakistan

By Shaheen Sehbai
Mr. Sehbai is the former editor of the News, an English-language daily
published in Pakistan.

Three weeks ago, I resigned as editor of Pakistan's largest and most
influential English language daily, the News. My newspaper's proprietor
had directed me to apologize to the chiefs of the country's notorious
Inter-Services Intelligence for my decision to publish details of the
confessional statement of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the prime suspect in
the abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. I
was the first local journalist Danny and his wife Mariane contacted last
year when they arrived in Karachi to cover Pakistan and America's war
against terror.

Never lacking for audacity, the ISI first broke into our newsroom on Feb.
17 over our story on Mr. Saeed, in which he linked ISI operatives directly
to his involvement in financing, planning and executing last December's
terrorist attack on India's Parliament. With such obviously embarrassing
information coming from one of their own kind -- Mr. Saeed had, after all,
turned himself in for interrogation to his former ISI handler on Feb. 5, a
week before Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, arrived in
Washington for an official visit -- the principal information officer of
the regime called me at 1 a.m. and demanded I pull the piece. When his
coercion failed, my proprietor in London was called. He too tried to stop
publication, but failed, and the government pulled all its advertising --
accounting for over half our income the next day -- in an effort to
silence my paper completely. Then they asked the owner to sack me, as well
as three other senior journalists.

I resigned rather than become part of the conspiracy to mislead the people
of Pakistan. Fearing physical attacks, as experienced in the past -- and
with the Pearl example fresh in my mind -- I chose to join my family in
the U.S. and live to fight another day.

And fight we must. These media management games are the first sign of
where Gen. Musharraf's newly purged, more outwardly tactful ISI is headed.
"Managing" politics and obviously rigging the elections in October are
next on the agenda. There are growing signs that a "King's Party" for Gen.
Musharraf is being put together to legitimize his stay in office, as an
all-powerful president, well beyond any reasonable timeframe.

Games we have seen so many times are underway in Pakistan again. I'm not
talking about renewed cricket matches with India, I'm talking about a
well-orchestrated effort to manipulate the press, to usurp the people's
right to free and fair elections, to perpetuate individuals rather than
institutions, and to hide Pakistan's Islamists under a presentable wrap
giving them a sizeable say in national affairs.

The primary instrument of change in achieving this devil's pact is Gen.
Musharraf's recasting of the ISI as a more docile and introspective
institution, ostensibly purged of Islamist hardliners and Taliban
sympathizers. But buyers beware.

Over 20 years ago, another military dictator, Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, created the
first monstrous reign of the ISI when he empowered the agency to run a
different war in Afghanistan -- the one against the Soviets. Billions of
American taxpayer dollars and weapons of every imaginable type flowed
through the ISI into Mujahideen hands -- while the U.S. government looked
the other way as Zia built Pakistan's nuclear capacity, trained Islamic
militants and inculcated radical Islam into the barracks, the schools and
the streets. Rogue terrorist armies were born and no one paid attention.

Then in 1985, under an absolutist formula for controlling press
dissension, Zia tried to patch together political legitimacy at home under
farcical non-party elections by handpicking his parliament and nominating
a nonentity as prime minister. An August 1988 plane crash left a gaping
power vacuum filled by out-of-control intelligence outfits. The births of
America's present-day nemeses, the Taliban and al Qaeda, were -- at least
in the eyes of the all-powerful Islamist generals -- the ISI's most
important contributions to Pakistani national security after the bomb.

Another intelligence disaster now looms. Its similarities to the Zia days
are remarkable. Gen. Musharraf, the military dictator of the day, is the
new darling of the West fighting the new enemy in Afghanistan. Billions of
American taxpayer dollars are again set to flow. A beautiful facade has
been crafted for external consumption, on everything from press freedoms
to promised elections to a corruption-free economy to an Islamist-free
reformed state. The reality is harshly different.

The ISI has been assigned the task of identifying, recruiting and
organizing representatives for this effort. They are to entice, cajole and
coerce the press and politicians. Key leaders from the political parties
of both former prime ministers -- Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif -- are
being lined up for pre-approval. The Islamist role will be enshrined by
fundamentalist generals in the National Security Council. Power, after
all, is still the ultimate aphrodisiac in Pakistani politics.

A full dress rehearsal of this methodology was carried out during the
recently concluded countrywide polls for mayors and deputy mayors. Every
city, big or small, had a pre-selected mayor. In Pakistan's military
stronghold, Rawalpindi, for example, ISI interference in seating a
pre-approved candidate was so blatant that the non-political but highly
compliant Chamber of Commerce president was "elected" mayor against
well-known political stalwarts.

Pakistan has played crucial roles in two of the most important struggles
of our time -- the defeats of communism and terrorism. The first time, the
West looked away while evil forces were born in our midst, destroying
whatever was left of our culture and society. The moderate majority was
silenced into submission until the world woke up on Sept. 11.

The warning signs are there again. America must invest its political and
financial capital in institutions and not individuals. It is imperative
that the American people, their elected representatives and the
international press watching events in Pakistan not look the other way
again. Freedom of the press is under siege. The promised return of
democracy is being systematically compromised. American aid is being used
to achieve dubious objectives. And the poor people of Pakistan, in defense
of whom the ISI and Gen. Musharraf have made their last stand, may once
again lose whatever is left of a country that can still be great.

---

Mr. Sehbai is the former editor of the News, an English-language daily
published in Pakistan.

_______

#2.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35958-2002Mar15.html

The Washington Post
Sunday, March 17, 2002; Page B01

India Is ...
A Culture Struggles With All That Defines It

In a remote hamlet deep inside India's western state of Rajasthan,=20
stonesmiths have been toiling for more than a decade to prefabricate=20
a Hindu temple. Workshops have echoed with the patter of metallic=20
rain, the effect of mallets tapping on chisels. Scores of giant pink=20
sandstone pillars have been trucked hundreds of miles to the fertile=20
heart of the country, to the city of Ayodhya, where, according to the=20
epic, "The Ramayan," the Hindu god Lord Ram was born. There Hindu=20
revivalists want to build a temple dedicated to him. For now,=20
however, the pillars lie in the open air, waiting to be assembled.

Hindu revivalists are forging something more subtle, more significant=20
and potentially far sturdier than stone: They are creating a new=20
narrative of Indian history, aimed at righting slights from previous=20
centuries. In 1992, a Hindu revivalist mob tore down an Ayodhya=20
mosque, charging that it was built over a Ram temple, which had been=20
demolished in the 16th century. More than 2,000 Indians were killed=20
in riots that followed. Recent clashes have killed 700 more.

The headlines obscure a deeper struggle to appropriate India's past,=20
and thus define its future. Every country has its myths, shared=20
narratives that weave together the conflicting threads of its past=20
and point the way forward. Some of these stories are true, some=20
aren't; some unite nations, some promote radical change, and others=20
are manipulated for self-serving ends. The United States has its=20
Puritan tale about immigrants coming to a new world in search of=20
religious freedom. Ancient Romans believed that Aeneas founded their=20
city as an instrument of providence.

In India, Hindu revivalists are revising the nation's founding myths.=20
They contend that India is essentially Hindu, and its Muslims and=20
Christians have been misled about their identity. Revivalist groups=20
such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or World Hindu Council,=20
argue that Hindus should assert themselves through aggressive=20
nationalism and that "Hindu interest is the national interest."

Not so, cry Indians who believe the secular state should not favor=20
any religion. The country is the birthplace of many faiths and home=20
to the second-largest Muslim population in the world. There are even=20
many interpretations of Hinduism and the VHP's focus on Lord Ram and=20
Ayodhya is a modern conceit, they say, modeled on monotheistic=20
religions, and aimed at uniting Hindu voters from a multitude of=20
sects, castes and linguistic groups. Many Indian Muslims and=20
Christians also note that their ancestors converted from Hinduism to=20
escape the caste system.

Some Indians say the true compass of the nation is the legacy of=20
Mahatma Gandhi, himself a deeply religious Hindu, who drew on Islam=20
and Christianity as he preached tolerance, nonviolence and material=20
simplicity.

To know Gandhi's place in India's modern political mythology is to=20
appreciate the sad ironies of recent events. The train full of Hindu=20
revivalists that was attacked late last month by Muslims was called=20
the Sabarmati -- the name of Gandhi's ashram. Much of the subsequent=20
anti-Muslim rioting occurred in Gandhi's home state of Gujarat.=20
Gandhi abhorred militant Hinduism and was assassinated in 1948 by a=20
Hindu extremist.

I received a tutorial in Hindu revivalism during a reporting=20
assignment in Rajasthan and Ayodhya for the Philadelphia Inquirer in=20
1998. Temple-builders told me that the new temple would have more=20
than 200 giant pillars, stretch the length of a football field, and=20
last for a thousand years.

"This is a question of our identity," said Ramesh Sompura, who runs=20
some of the Rajasthan workshops. Although the proposed temple site is=20
bitterly disputed, he said that the national government, dominated by=20
revivalists, would ensure it was built.

The controversy extends beyond Ayodhya. Hindu revivalists have also=20
targeted mosques at Mathura and Varanasi, two other holy Hindu sites.=20
"There are 30,000 sites that Hindus have lost," says Shyam Tiwari, an=20
Atlanta software developer and a spokesman for VHP of America, a U.S.=20
group that supports the revivalists. "We are asking for three of the=20
holiest sites." Mathura is the mythological birthplace of the Hindu=20
God, Krishna. In Bombay, VHP activist Ramesh Mehta told me he saw no=20
reason Muslims should object: "Krishna is not my God," he said. "He=20
is the God of every Indian."

In recent weeks, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or=20
Indian People's Party, which is closely linked to the VHP and leads=20
the coalition government, have come under intense pressure to let=20
construction of the Ayodhya temple move ahead, even as their=20
coalition allies resist.

There is a certain poetic justice in their dilemma. The party, once a=20
marginal force, used the Ayodhya temple to win power. In 1990, BJP=20
leader L.K. Advani led a cross-country procession to press for the=20
temple. Now the second-most-powerful person in the Indian cabinet,=20
Advani rode a chariot mounted on a truck, evoking images of Lord Ram,=20
whipping followers into a frenzy. Today, the party wants to avoid the=20
controversy, but finds that myths once created are not easily=20
dispelled.

The Ayodhya issue tapped into a feeling that runs through the milieu=20
I grew up in, the influential middle class of modern India. This=20
group, which forms the core of the revivalist movement, shares a=20
sense that India has been disinherited of its wealth, splendor and=20
rightful place in the world. Much like India's freedom movement under=20
Mahatma Gandhi, the revivalists have turned a set of inchoate fears=20
and longings into tangible goals.

Unlike Gandhi, the VHP rejects nonviolence. The revivalists equate it=20
with weakness and say that when Hindus were weak, Muslim and=20
Christian invaders took over. One of my college classmates once told=20
me that the only thing wrong with Gandhi's assassination was that it=20
hadn't happened earlier. In portraying a martial Lord Ram, the VHP=20
says that if only Hindus were strong, the country would be respected,=20
prosperous and successful.

The emphasis on military power prompted the BJP-led government to=20
order a series of nuclear tests in 1998. "The BJP and the more=20
nationalistic people that emerged in the last few decades have=20
categorically said the Gandhian approach to the world gets no respect=20
anymore," said George Perkovich, author of "India's Nuclear Bomb."

The revivalists link interpretation of the past with policies in the=20
present. Item 20 of the VHP's 40-point agenda says that "the=20
distorted presentation of modern, social and cultural history of=20
(India) will be rewritten by honest, patriotic and learned historians=20
and archaeologists. The teaching syllabus shall be accordingly=20
reformed."

Not surprisingly, this has sparked fierce battles with prominent=20
historians, especially over the revivalists' most potent symbol, the=20
temple at Ayodhya. In Atlanta, Tiwari says several Ram temples=20
existed at the site. Based on religious texts and mythology, he=20
calculates that the first temple was built in 3100 B.C., the second=20
around 150 B.C., and another in 57 B.C. A temple built in the 12th=20
century was torn down by Muslim invaders in the 16th century, he=20
says, citing documents and artifacts, and was replaced with the=20
mosque that lasted until 1992.

The VHP's opponents charge the revivalists with distorting Ayodhya's=20
history to suit their ends. Romila Thapar, a professor emeritus at=20
Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University and the author of a widely read=20
history of ancient India, calls the VHP's version "historically=20
baseless fulminations." Some historians even question whether the=20
Ayodhya mentioned in mythology is the same city as modern day=20
Ayodhya. Johns Hopkins University historian Gyanendra Pandey says=20
modern Ayodhya may have originally been called Saket and may have=20
changed its name in order to identify itself with the city in the=20
Ramayan.

Revivalists ignore Hinduism's metaphorical messages by focusing on a=20
single plot of land, Pandey says. "It made no difference whether=20
there was a temple or not," he says. "What happened in the 16th=20
century -- whatever it might have been -- cannot be set right by=20
actions in the late 20th century."

Many historians say that repeated references to Hindu victimization=20
in the past only lead to a grisly series of present-day attacks on=20
mosques, churches and missionaries. Sumit Sarkar, a Delhi University=20
scholar, wrote in a recent essay that the revivalists have=20
"remarkably little to say about the crucial problems of Indian=20
society, above all mass poverty and social injustice. Endless harping=20
on the past misdeeds, real or imagined, of other religious=20
communities is an excellent diversion. . . ."

But political myths, however tenuously linked to facts, possess=20
remarkable power. State governments allied with the revivalists have=20
rewritten textbooks to describe the repeated desecration of the Ram=20
temple and the perils of Hindu passivity. The police and judiciary=20
have become polarized over the issue. Discussions about law and order=20
increasingly prompt questions about whose law and whose order. During=20
the recent bloodletting in Gujarat, and the previous round in 1992,=20
the police were accused of tacitly allowing the mayhem to unfold.

In Ayodhya's winding streets in 1998, I met Ansar Husain, a Muslim=20
who said his ancestors had lived in the city for several centuries.=20
"There is a rotation," he said ominously. "Muslims destroy what=20
Hindus build. Hindus destroy what Muslims build. There was a mosque,=20
there will be a temple, there will be mosque again. . . ."

There is a larger lesson to be drawn from this battle: As the past=20
weeks have shown, when scholarship becomes the weapon of politics,=20
mobs become the historians, spears become quills and the pages of=20
history run with blood.

Shankar Vedantam, a writer on the national staff of The Post, was=20
born in India.

=A9 2002 The Washington Post Company

______

#3.

The Times of India
SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002

Marriage communalised through legal sanction?
RAHEEL DHATTIWALA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2002 11:25:01 PM ]
Love trangresses barriers of caste and religion. That's what we have=20
been told since time immemorial. Apparently, Ayaz Ali and Rupa=20
Tripathi discovered otherwise.
Both fell in love, decided to get married under The Special Marriage=20
Act and consequently had the whole world baying for their blood.
The Special Marriage Act of 1872 (repealed and reintroduced in 1954)=20
was formulated with the purpose of sustaining the secular essence of=20
the Constitution.
It provides for solemnisation as well as registration of marriage=20
between two individuals irrespective of caste and religion. However=20
Section 4 of the Act makes the Act conditional.
According to this, the marriage can be declared void in case either=20
marrying sides is mentally unfit, is below marriageable age, suffers=20
from recurrent attacks of epilepsy, or already has a spouse at the=20
time of marriage.
"Some of these conditions are illogical," says a leading city-based=20
advocate. He feels that the entire purpose behind a supposedly=20
democratic setup like marriage is defeated by clamping conditions=20
onto it.
"It's a matter of trust and choice. Being an adult, I should be=20
trusted for my actions. That apart, why point fingers at an epileptic=20
or a schizophrenic? Choosing my life partner should be entirely my=20
prerogative," he asserts.
Another 'condition' that has faced tremendous flak, especially on=20
communal grounds, is the necessity for affixing a 30-day public=20
notice in the office of the Marriage Officer before the marriage is=20
solemnised. The notice is meant to intimate a third person, who can=20
object to the marriage in case any of the conditions are contravened.
"Four out of 10 cases that I handled have faced the problem where a=20
third party - familial or religious - has interfered on account of an=20
inter-religion marriage," says advocate N C Gupta, a problem which=20
has tormented Ali and Tripathi themselves.
Last year, the couple decided to opt for a civil marriage under the=20
provision of the Act. As per law, the public notice was issued.
"Within the next five days, I got a phone call from a prominent=20
fundamentalist Hindu group who warned leave the girl alone or face=20
dire consequences," says Ali.
"Since Rupa's parents were opposed to our relationship, we were=20
taking the big step without informing them. After the threat call, I=20
realised that the notice could have fallen into wrong hands only=20
through informers," he adds.
In the next month, the same group intimated the girl's parents as=20
well. "They threatened me with disfiguring my face with acid unless I=20
stopped seeing Ayaz," says Tripathi.
Evidently the notice is misused for creating strife. Marriage=20
Officer, S K Amin disagrees.
"Every year we get about 120 cases of marriages being solemnised=20
under the SMA. In my three years as MO, there has never been a single=20
case of interference on communal basis," he says.
However, a source at the Ahmedabad Collectorate proves otherwise.=20
"Many times parents, who suspect their daughter is about to get=20
married to a person from a different religion, request me to inform=20
them whenever a notice is put up, and I do it. l feel it's my duty to=20
prevent a marriage which is taking place without the consent of=20
parents," he states nonchalantly.
Advocate Harin Raval feels that while the right to object makes the=20
purpose more transparent "as the inbuilt safeguards help save some=20
innocent minor from getting married off forcibly", he does believe=20
that amendments are required.
As regards the communal aspect, he says, "You either live with these=20
communal elements or work towards a less corrupt law enforcement=20
agency."

____

#4.

Subject: 18th update
Status:=20=20

Dear Friends,

The VHP juggernaut trundles on. Never mind the slap across the face by
the Supreme Court, never mind=20
outraged demands for their ban in Parliament. Their claims are now
buttressed by the RSS who have
warned the Muslims to "behave" themselves.

How much more of this nonsense are we going to take?

You are invited to :

1. Join Justice Sachar in a discussion on the implications of the RSS
threat at the Indian Social Institute,
Lodi Road, tomorrow, 19th March at 4 pm. This will be followed by a:

2. Meeting with Teesta Setalvad, who was in Gujrat during the worst of
the communal carnage. She is in
Delhi just for a day and is willing to share with us her experiences,
plus strategise with us on future action.
We will screen a half hour of video footage taken in Gujrat during the
pogrom. This will be followed by a
discussion with Teesta.

Date: Tuesday 19 March 2002.
Venue: Indian Social Institute auditorium
Time: 5:00pm

At a meeting today of People for Peace, Secularism and Communal Harmony,
it was felt that we have
explored every avenue available to us in our secular democracy, knocked
at every door, sent numerous
petitions, done dharnas and lit candles, all to little effect. Modi
still sits pretty. Muslims are still being killed
in Gujrat. The violence and tension spreads to places as far apart as
Bangalore, Haryana, Orissa. And the
Centre continues to deny that things are amiss.

What do we do now? Do we continue in this manner? Continue to appeal
ineffectively? Is there anything to
be done which will genuinely bring pressure on the Government? Can we
issue an ultimatum, if so what do
we have to bargain with?

One of the suggestions which came up was for an indefinite fast of say,
a thousand people in the Capital. A
thousand people putting their lives on the line; telling the Government
bring order back into this country,
curb the fascists or face the consequences of this fast....

Is this practical? Feasible?

The fundamentalists have said they will play holi with the blood of
Muslims this year. Holi is on the 28th.
Muharram-- a time which even in normal circumstances can degenerate into
violence-- is on the 25th. It
was decided that we start this action on the 23rd and carry on until Holi.

Some ideas were put forth about doing a relay fast instead-- a different
group of 30-40 people every day--
appealing to both Hindus and Muslims to keep the peace during the festivals=
....

we would like to invite friends from outside Delhi to descend on the
Capital and make your presence felt. let the men and women who are
sitting pretty in Parliament see for themselves what the people of this
country are made of.

Please respond to these ideas. We need to know what people feel about
them, whether they would join in.
We will discuss the details at the meeting tomorrow so please attend,
and tell friends and colleagues as
well.

warmest,
sonia

______

#5

The Times of India
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002
LEADER ARTICLE

Fear is the Key
by VIDYA SUBRAHMANIAM

[ TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002 12:12:36 AM ]
FEARSOME, ugly, horrifying - but true. It is a nightmare scenario=20
that the pragmatists categorically assured us would never happen,=20
never mind the copious literature and evidence indicating the=20
opposite.
Their logic was impeccable: Once in office, the BJP perforce would=20
shed its divisive agenda, indeed that no sectarian government can=20
administer secular, multicultural India.
A convincing enough example of this was the once extremist Dravida=20
Munnetra Kazhagam, which had metamorphosed from a Dravidian party=20
fighting for a separate homeland, to one that comfortably co-habited=20
with the Hindi-Hindu BJP.
Whatever illusion there may have been about a similar transformation=20
in the BJP has been demolished by the madness of Gujarat. And yet, is=20
this really a surprise?
The prelude to this horrific climax had been building up for a while:=20
The prime minister's appearance at a VHP meeting in New York, his=20
unprovoked equation of Ayodhya with the nation's sentiment, the=20
escalation of the VHP's temple construction campaign to coincide with=20
a crucial election in Uttar Pradesh, the Centre's needless offer to=20
negotiate with the VHP on the temple, and finally the government's=20
refusal to acknowledge the growing congregation in Ayodhya, despite=20
the terrifying backdrop of December 6, 1992.
Godhra was macabre, and it brooks no justification. It must be=20
recognised though that it was a mob act. What followed thereafter was=20
orchestrated terror, aided and abetted by the official machinery.
This is the vital difference that the BJP refuses to accept: Mobs can=20
be savage, but when an elected government imitates this behaviour, it=20
becomes a threat both to the citizens it has sworn to protect, and=20
the Constitution from where it derives its legitimacy.
If Godhra was an ISI plot as the government insists, then, there can=20
be only one explanation for the retaliation, which has been=20
officially justified as "natural": That Indian Muslims are somehow=20
responsible for Pak-based terrorism. Is this Narendra Modi's case?
It is by now more than clear that the riots that shattered the peace=20
of Gujarat were not spontaneous. Far from it, the state machinery in=20
all its might was at hand to help the marauders as they=20
systematically targeted and wiped out the Muslim community.
Over the past fortnight, this truth has been brought home to us in=20
the starkest detail by TV and the newspapers. And for once they named=20
names.
Who can forget the disturbing photograph of the Muslim man begging to=20
be spared? And who can forget that other picture - of a dying child,=20
his eyes lit bright with last-minute hope?
However, for this painstaking work, the journalists have been=20
pilloried and doubts cast on their integrity.
>From the prime minister and the home minister to the state chief=20
minister, the refrain has been the same: That a prejudiced media has=20
deliberately exaggerated facts, that the riot scene in Gujarat was=20
nowhere near as frightening as portrayed.
Perhaps members of the BJP-led government should read a report filed=20
by Harsh Mander, a serving IAS officer with an acknowledged=20
reputation for fighting on the side of the truth (in his 20-year=20
service he has been transferred 22 times).
Mr Mander's gut-wrenching account of post-riot Gujarat is now part of=20
the e-mail circuit, but unlike many other dubious stories on the net,=20
this one is real - so real, it hurts exactly where it is meant to=20
hurt.
A raw anguish runs through the expose. To quote: "As one who has=20
served in the IAS for over two decades, I feel great shame at the=20
abdication of duty of my peers in the civil and police=20
administration".
Mr Mander's observations must count among the most daring ever=20
expressed by a member of the bureaucracy. For that reason alone, his=20
chronicle becomes an indictment more powerful than anything one has=20
seen or read of the riots.
He cites unimaginable instances of violence against the minority=20
community - from the brutal killing of a full-term pregnant woman and=20
her forcibly torn out fetus to the electrocution of an entire family=20
to the hapless plight of a woman and her baby, directed by a police=20
constable to a waiting mob of killers.
However, the most haunting words in the report are undoubtedly the=20
following: "What Gujarat witnessed was not a riot but a terrorist=20
attack followed by a systematic, planned massacre - a pogrom".
It is against this background that the Vajpayee government offered to=20
negotiate with the VHP on building a temple. And what was the offer?=20
In return for a vague promise by the VHP to obey the verdict of the=20
court, large portions of the acquired land were to be made over to it=20
for the construction of the temple.
That the VHP would go back on this promise was known, of course. But=20
even assuming the Parishad had stuck by it, what was the deal all=20
about? A reward for obeying the law of the land.
An ordinary citizen who runs foul of the law will find himself=20
ruthlessly dealt with. When the Hurriyat Conference talks of going=20
beyond the Indian Constitution, we call its members militants.
They are placed under house arrest, disallowed permission to travel=20
abroad, and prevented from attending a reception hosted by the=20
visiting Pakistani head of state. All this is done ostensibly to=20
uphold the supremacy of the Indian Constitution.
However, when the VHP proudly asks to defy the protector of the same=20
Constitution - the Supreme Court - government functionaries queue up=20
outside its door, offering all kinds of allurements.
The latest in this was, of course, the despatch of a PMO official to=20
receive the shilas that the VHP said would form the foundation of the=20
temple. Clearly, Gujarat became a symbol - of what awaited the=20
country, especially the minorities, if the VHP's demand was not=20
fulfilled.
It is precisely this permissible environment that has acted as=20
licence for the BJP's sister organisations to do as they please.=20
Whether it is the Gujarat riots, the storming of the Orissa assembly=20
by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal or the "behave or else" warning issued=20
to the minorities by the RSS, all bear the stamp of tacit official=20
support.
As part of the NDA government, the BJP had no mandate to revive the=20
Ayodhya issue, much less strike deals that didn't meet with the=20
approval of its allies. And yet, the party has done it, evidently=20
under pressure from within its parivar. And that, in turn, points to=20
a future where Hindutva will come upfront.

______

#6.

The Hindu
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2002

http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002031901431000.htm

The agony of Gujarat
By K. N. Panikkar

Narendra Modi's Gujarat is a blueprint of the future, if the Indian=20
state comes fully under the control of the Sangh Parivar.

FOR FIVE days from February 28, Ahmedabad, the city of Gandhiji's=20
early experiment with non-violent politics, witnessed an=20
unprecedented communal carnage. What made it unprecedented was that=20
it was not a communal riot, the fury of which Ahmedabadis had in=20
ample measure in the past. It was a state-sponsored, supported and if=20
the eyewitnesses are to be believed, even state-directed attempt at=20
ethnic cleansing. From the RSS Pracharak Chief Minister to the police=20
constable in the street everyone appears to have `admirably'=20
performed his role. While the RSS and VHP goons went around the city=20
armed with lethal weapons, gas and oxygen cylinders and petrol, the=20
state machinery stood aloof, permitting full play to the mayhem. The=20
names of at least two Ministers are mentioned by many victims as=20
instigating and directing the crowd. Both the Chief Minister and the=20
Home Minister are accused of either involvement or abdication of=20
duties, which ensured that the police did not take adequate steps to=20
contain the violence. Hundreds of telephone calls were made to=20
Ministers, to police officials and other Government functionaries=20
from different localities for succour, only to be greeted with=20
indifference and in many cases with scorn. Are we not citizens of=20
this country, asked a young businessman in the Paldi area, a middle=20
class locality in which quite a few apartments owned by Muslims were=20
set on fire.

To the ordinary citizens, the state is a protector, which enables=20
them to lead their lives without fear. Today fear is writ large on=20
the face of the members of the minority community of Gujarat, for=20
they are suddenly faced with the partisanship of the state, without=20
any other source to look for support. This helplessness is the result=20
of the state and its institutions turning communal in the wake of the=20
BJP coming to power. But for the communal character of the state and=20
its antipathy towards the minorities the carnage in Gujarat would not=20
have taken place. Narendra Modi's Gujarat is a blueprint of the=20
future, if the Indian state comes fully under the control of the=20
Sangh Parivar.

The attempt to justify the mass murder of the members of a community=20
by the Chief Minister, the Police Commissioner and a host of BJP-VHP=20
leaders on the grounds of being a spontaneous reaction is appalling.=20
Invoking Newton to lend credence to their deformed minds is an insult=20
to the great scientist. What happened to the passengers of the=20
Sabarmati Express is indeed a heinous crime, which deserves to be=20
sternly dealt with, but the sequel to it is much more than a=20
reaction. The instance was well planned and executed with meticulous=20
precision. The methods adopted and the manner in which the violence=20
was carried out leaves no doubt that long preparation had preceded=20
the event. It is believed that a militia drawn from the VHP and the=20
Bajrang Dal was trained for quite some time. The strength of the=20
crowds that moved around the city was in thousands, well equipped to=20
kill, plunder and destroy property. At any rate, they knew what to=20
do, including how to cut open safes and selectively target=20
establishments. The Godhra incident was the occasion and not the=20
reason for the carnage that followed. The reason is the=20
communalisation of the Hindus, which the Sangh Parivar has carried=20
out during the last many years.

The generalised violence, which engulfed a major part of Ahmedabad,=20
is bound to have multiple motives. Among them the economic interest=20
and religious hatred appear to be dominant. Although religion is a=20
common denomination in the violent incidents all over the city, the=20
former has played a decisive role in the affluent areas. The city=20
broadly falls into two economic and social zones. The old city on the=20
eastern bank of Sabarmati River is relatively poor with more well=20
marked religious community settlements. The western side, on the=20
other hand, is the new business district and the residential area of=20
the affluent class. The upwardly mobile Muslims who have considerable=20
business interests in this area are an eyesore to the middle and=20
business class supporters of the Hindutva brigade. A marketing agency=20
was recently employed to prepare a census of Muslim business=20
establishments, the purpose of which was not then realised by anyone.=20
The gangs which went around the city and systematically destroyed=20
Muslim business premises were well equipped with their names and=20
addresses. Even their looting instincts which was otherwise quite=20
evident did not induce them to target the nearby Hindu=20
establishments. The very first sight of the destruction of property=20
one comes across while driving from the airport to the city is the=20
charred remains of Moti Minar, a hotel owned by a Muslim. More than=20
1,000 hotels, all of them vegetarian, located on the highways of=20
Gujarat and owned by the Chelliya community of Muslims have been=20
destroyed. Abid Shamshi, who was forced to leave a mixed locality in=20
which he had lived for more than 30 years, fears large-scale=20
migration of Muslims. He feels that the Muslims who have considerable=20
business interests in the State can hardly afford to risk their=20
investment. His fears are not misplaced. In the Naroda fruit market,=20
17 Muslim-owned shops have been gutted. Even a fruit shop jointly run=20
by a Muslim and a Hindu, Ebrahim and Ramanlal, for the last 40 years=20
was torched. Hardly a single Muslim business establishment has been=20
spared. The Hindutva message to the minorities, as Prof. Shamshi=20
says, is clear: there is no place for them in the nation, except by=20
sufferance.

The colonies on the east bank witnessed the most brutal violence.=20
These are colonies inhabited by poor Muslims, most of them daily wage=20
workers, living in hutments clustered together in narrow lanes. They=20
were raided by thousands of well-armed VHP-RSS activists, in some=20
areas led by local leaders. One of the worst hit area is Naroda where=20
the entire colony of more than 5,000 inhabitants was repeatedly=20
attacked, subjecting women to unprintable atrocities. Ram Sajeevan=20
Saroj who was a witness to the attack said about 15,000 people roamed=20
the area from 9 a.m. till late in the night. The police was=20
conspicuously absent leaving the locality completely under the=20
control of the armed mob. One of the activists tried to alert the=20
police and the Home Minister without any success. About 700 people=20
were reportedly killed in Naroda, some of than pushed into a well.=20
Several women were gangraped and the number of young girls missing is=20
not yet certain. Similar incidents were repeated in almost all=20
colonies. Consequently, those who were able to escape have fled for=20
safety and there are now more than 50,000 people in different relief=20
camps run by NGOs and other organisations. Incidentally, the=20
Government has not so far come forward in an effective manner to=20
provide succour to Another target of mob fury was the places of=20
worship. About 30 mosques and dargahs have been razed to the ground.=20
The events of the last few days indicate how brutalising communalism=20
is. It destroys all noble sentiments in human beings. Gujarati=20
society was ravaged by its worst manifestation. But even in such=20
frightening situations what is essentially humane asserts itself. In=20
different areas where the Hindutva goons had let loose a reign of=20
terror, several Hindus have tried to protect and help the victims.=20
But RSS pracharaks such as Mr. Modi, incapable of such response are=20
pushing the nation to a dangerous brink. If India is not to be=20
decimated by a civil war as in the case of Bosnia, the agony of=20
Gujarat should not occur again, anywhere in the country. Does our=20
political class have the foresight and energy to ensure that?

_____

#7.

The Hindu
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2002
Opinion - News Analysis
The RSS message from Bangalore
By V. Krishna Ananth
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002031902641300.htm

_____

#8.

The Telegraph
19 March 2002

FIFTH COLUMN / NUMBER GAMES OF FATE
BY VINAY GIDWANI

"Situation returning to normalcy in Gujarat," drones a news headline.=20
Normalcy. Seven hundred and fifty human beings, Muslims and Hindus,=20
but mostly Muslims, are dead. Burnt alive. The mobs that lit bonfires=20
of the living in the name of religion and the impassive spectators=20
and neighbours who watched have now dispersed.

"Where was the delay? I restored sanity in a record 72 hours," says=20
Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat. Is this sanity? Perhaps=20
it is. After all, the brute average that underwrites a democracy by=20
numbers is normalcy. The will of people must be respected.

This is clear from what Hareshbhai Bhatt, the vice- president of the=20
Bajrang Dal, has said: "There was no rioting. This was an expression=20
of the way the majority community has felt. For years, Hindus have=20
been pushed around." Did he hire arsonists to restore the will of the=20
people, to soothe their suffering sense of subjugation at the hands=20
of a Muslim community that ranks last nationally in terms of per=20
capita wealth, income, education?

"We have our ways. But it all revolves around Hindu anger." Normalcy=20
is freedom to murder without consequences. After all, isn't the job=20
of the courts and the police to ensure the greatest good - justice=20
and security - for the greatest numbers? Utilitarianism is nothing if=20
not the philosophy par excellence of the demos.

The minorities ruffle the average, they strain at the central=20
tendency at Hindu-ness, Islamic-ness, Christian-ness, white-ness,=20
native-ness, you name it. Democracy by numbers tidies the=20
distribution by purging pesky outliers. In the past, however, we have=20
called this worship of majoritarian sentiment by its kindred name:=20
fascism.

Move to the centre
Ehsaan Jafri, two weeks ago member of the legislative assembly of=20
Gujarat, is now a pile of charred remains, along with several family=20
members and Muslim residents of Gulbarg Society, Ahmedabad. He moved=20
to the Chamanpura locality not to escape the majority, not to live in=20
the ghetto that is the lived geography of fascism but, rather, to=20
live with ordinary people like himself, who were Hindus by birth but=20
in every other respect no different. So he thought. So says Zakia=20
Naseen, his widow.

Jafri believed, in retrospect one has to say naively, that because he=20
saw his Hindu neighbours as friends and acquaintances, not as=20
anonymous inhabitants of the reified "majority", they too would see=20
him, care for him, protect him, as Ehsaan Jafri, and not abandon him=20
to the mob as they did, on February 28, 2002 , as a Muslim.

He could have - perhaps should have - expected that from the police=20
or from politicians. He could not - should not - have expected that=20
from friends and neighbours. But, then, the fault is his. He failed=20
to comprehend the impassive logic of normalcy, which has no place for=20
individuality, for relationships, for difference; no place for Ehsaan=20
Jafris, only room for the majority sentiment and well-behaved=20
minorities who respect the central tendency.

Memories of normalcy
Middle-class Gujaratis called friends on cellphones to rejoice in the=20
pickings as Muslim businesses on C.G. Road, Ahmedabad, were=20
systematically looted. These well-bred Gujaratis, stalwarts of=20
Hindutva, were simply aiding the central tendency, perhaps, by=20
normalizing the population.

Ayub Qureishi, recently resident of Naroda-Patiya on the outskirts of=20
Ahmedabad, is one of those fortunate Muslims who survived the pogrom.=20
He can now enjoy the fabulous sum of Rs 100,000 for each family=20
member killed that the government of Gujarat, in its unending=20
benevolence, has assessed as proper compensation for "affected"=20
members of the minority (members of the majority "affected" by Godhra=20
will receive Rs 200,000 per family member killed). Ayub can look=20
forward to his large cache of money and an endless cache of time to=20
re-live memories of his seven-year old daughter and a five-year old=20
son roasted alive, now that the "situation is returning to normalcy=20
in Gujarat."

Welcome to democracy by numbers. Only those with deference to the=20
popular will allowed. Dissenters will be summarily removed.

--=20
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