[sacw] SACW #2 | 20 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 20 March 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

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

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#1. Sri Lanka: Protect Alternative Tamil Opinion & Democracy
#2. Nepal: Editor Arrested
#3. India: The Gujarat carnage - I (Muchkund Dubey)
#4. India: NGO Says Gujarat Riots Were Planned : Rioters arrived 
equipped with phones and trucks (Ayanjit Sen - for BBC)
#5. India: With a secular Constitution and religious people how do we 
ensure that religion plays no role in the political domain? Can 
political parties, and more importantly, the government, remain 
equi-distant from all religions? - Mahesh Rangarajan, Javed Anand, 
Dipankar Gupta, Rajindar Sachar ( Sakina Yusuf Khan)
#6. India: Why can't we put Ayodhya in the deep freeze? (Sanghamitra 
Chakraborty & Malati Kallapur)
#7. India: Ayodhya & I / They transformed Utopia into a dispute 
(Mahesh Dattani)
#8. India: "A common Hindu and a common Muslim are not interested in 
a mandir or masjid at Ayodhya". (Farooq Sheikh)

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# 1.

www.gopetition.com is hosting a petition entitled Protect Alternative 
Tamil Opinion & Democracy.

Every signature helps to donate money to Amnesty International and 
raises awareness for the cause.

I've already been to the site and signed it. It only took a minute.

The link below takes you straight to the petition:

http://gopetition.com/info.php?petid=875

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#2.

***NEWS FROM THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEPALESE EDITOR ARRESTED

New York, March 19, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is
deeply concerned about the recent detention of Shyam Shrestha, editor of the
leftist monthly Mulyankan.

On March 16, authorities detained Shrestha at the Tribhuvan International
Airport in Kathmandu. Shrestha was on his way to New Delhi, India, to take
part in a conference on the current conflict between Maoist rebels and the
Nepalese government, local sources said.

Although the reasons for Shrestha's arrest are unclear, he is a well-known
journalist and political activist. He was arrested along with Mahesh Maskey,
a medical doctor and officer in the Intellectuals' Solidarity Group, a
Nepalese human rights organization, and Pramod Kafle, a human rights
activist.

"Shyam Shrestha should be released immediately, and the ongoing arrests of
journalists in Nepal must stop," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper.
"There is no possible justification for arresting a journalist simply
because the authorities disagree with his political perspective."

On March 17, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba confirmed that Shrestha,
Maskey, and Kafle had been detained but would not disclose their current
whereabouts or give any explanation for their arrest. Military sources have
told local media that the three are being held in army headquarters in the
capital, Kathmandu. Their families have not been allowed to see them.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Shrestha was involved in
negotiations between the government and Maoist groups prior to the emergency
declaration, according to local news reports. Sources at the Intellectuals'
Solidarity Group said the conference in New Delhi sought to create "a
peaceful political solution to the problem of Maoist insurgency through
dialogue."

Terrorist threat invoked to justify press crackdown
After Maoist rebels stepped up violent attacks last fall, the Nepalese
government declared a state of emergency on November 26, 2001. Many civil
liberties, including press freedom, were suspended. Under the emergency
regulations, anyone suspected of supporting the Maoist rebels can be charged
as a terrorist.

More than 70 journalists have been detained at various times since the state
of emergency was declared, according to the Federation of Nepalese
Journalists. While most have been released after short periods in detention,
CPJ documented the cases of 17 journalists in prison on December 31, 2001.

For more information about press freedom conditions in Nepal, visit
<www.cpj.org>. CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

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#3.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002032000821000.htm
The Hindu
Mar 20, 2002
Opinion - Leader Page Articles

The Gujarat carnage - I
By Muchkund Dubey

These incidents have undermined our social cohesion, our national 
unity and our chances of survival as a pluralistic society.

AFTER THE recent carnage in Gujarat, India stands diminished as a 
nation. Our pride in being Indians and human beings has suffered a 
massive erosion. What a shame that we could not respond to the 
anguished and desperate cry of our co-citizens and fellow human 
beings to save them from the fury of the mob. The fear of death writ 
large on the visage of innocent men, women and children begging to be 
left alive will remain etched in our memory for a long time to come.

The Godhra incident in which 58 persons, mostly women and children, 
were burnt alive was as abhorrent and reprehensible as the arson, 
killing and destruction that followed in retaliation in Ahmedabad and 
other parts of Gujarat. Anyone who pulls his punches on either of 
these incidents does immense disservice to the cause of Indian 
secularism and national unity. However, what sets the post-Godhra 
incidents apart is, by all accounts, the State Government's 
complicity in them and the Central Government's studied abdication of 
firmness and resolve to intervene and bring the situation under 
control. Besides, there appeared to be a design to cleanse entire 
villages and urban suburbs of their minority population, to cripple 
them economically by destroying their property and business 
establishments and to cause maximum hurt to their religious feelings 
by systematically destroying and desecrating their places of worship. 
It seemed that those involved had planned the whole thing in advance 
and were waiting for an excuse to put it into effect. The Godhra 
massacre provided that excuse.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has described the Gujarat 
carnage as a "black mark on the nation's forehead" which has "lowered 
India's prestige in the world". This is correct as far as it goes. 
However, the consequences go beyond and put a question mark on the 
very future of India as a secular democratic state. These incidents 
have undermined our social cohesion, our national unity and our 
chances of survival as a pluralistic society.

The Muslim minority in India has hardly recovered from the shock of 
the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the nationwide communal riots 
that followed. Since then nothing has been done to assuage their 
feelings and restore their confidence. The promise of reconstructing 
the mosque at its original site given by the then Prime Minister, P. 
V. Narasimha Rao, was allowed to disappear from public discourse 
within a few weeks of the Ayodhya depredation. Sporadic attacks on 
the places of worship and life and property of the minorities, 
particularly Christians, have continued since Ayodhya. The Ram mandir 
issue has been kept alive throughout this period, with the potential 
of releasing more waves of communal riots. Nothing has been done to 
punish those involved directly or indirectly in the Ayodhya incident 
and its aftermath. All that the nation has witnessed is the unending 
process of judicial inquiry going on for almost a decade.

On top of all this have come the death and destruction in Gujarat. 
This has once again sent shock waves among Muslims all over the 
country. The minority communities in India are a frightened lot 
today. They have lost faith in the land to which they belong. They 
have nowhere else to go as this is the only land to which they 
legitimately and equally belong. They have, therefore, no alternative 
but to fight for their survival with all the means at their disposal. 
This has the potential of triggering more communal violence and even 
a civil war.

The cynics will argue that this is not the first communal carnage in 
India. Communal riots have visited the country every now and then and 
yet it has managed to survive. Here, we should not forget that each 
successive communal riot enlarges and deepens the festering wound, 
further corrodes the confidence of the minorities and alienates them 
from the mainstream. In such a situation, it is hardly possible to 
harness the creative energies of the disaffected, demoralised and 
insecure minorities for the task of nation-building.

Yes, India has survived in spite of frequent communal riots. But at 
what cost? Fifty-five years after Independence, we are still one of 
the world's poorest nations. We have failed to deliver to our people 
most of the promises we made in our Constitution. This is in no small 
measure because of the absence of social cohesion, national 
discipline and pride, and of bad governance. Besides, we live in a 
time when we are constantly in the gaze of outside powers who can 
decisively influence our territorial security and our economic 
destiny. Incidents of communal violence witnessed since Ayodhya 
hardly provide the basis for establishing a good equation with these 
powers.

If one is to go by the public pronouncements of the VHP, the Bajrang 
Dal and the RSS, their agenda seems to be to keep the minorities in a 
frightened state and reduce them to the de facto status of second 
class citizens. There is, however, no chance of the realisation of 
this agenda. The 140-odd million minorities simply will not accept a 
subservient status. They will fight hard to remain equal citizens and 
will not allow India to be converted into a Hindu Rashtra.

The VHP, Bajrang Dal, BJP and the BJP-led Central and State 
Governments are all working unitedly to advance the same Hindutva 
agenda. The Gujarat bandh which triggered the communal violence was 
sponsored jointly by the BJP and the VHP. No BJP leader in the 
Central Government gave any indication of the Government's firmness 
to intervene effectively to save minority lives. And when the issue 
came up on the floor of Parliament, the Union Home Minister stoutly 
defended the Gujarat Chief Minister.

And in Delhi for the past few weeks the nation has been witness to 
the bizarre drama of the Government trying to negotiate a compromise 
with the fascist forces who have placed themselves above the law. It 
drafted the Kanchi Sankaracharya and the Attorney-General in an 
attempt to strike a deal with the VHP and persuade it to commit 
itself to abide by the law of the land. This is regarded as the 
supreme achievement of consensus politics in India. The fact that the 
Indian state has put itself fully behind the construction of a Ram 
mandir was demonstrated by the Attorney-General's argument before the 
Supreme Court that it was legal to offer a symbolic "bhoomi puja" for 
construction of the mandir in the undisputed portion of the acquired 
land and by a senior Government official formally accepting a "shila" 
for the construction.

It is really nauseating to watch on TV and read in newspapers about 
the daily drama of appeasement with the criminal communalist forces 
as though the Government has no other priority, no other burning 
issue to turn to. And the nation's energy is being wasted on this 
ungainly and dangerous pursuit. On what strength are these habitual 
violators of the law of the land holding the nation to ransom? Their 
strength lies in the BJP-dominated Government being in power at the 
Centre and this Government being committed to work for the same 
cause. The concessions made by the Government to the extremists are 
designed to advance the common agenda. Thus, there is a complete 
synergy and identity of purpose between the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the 
RSS, the BJP and its leaders in the Central Government.

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#4.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1881000/1881497.stm
BBC News
Tuesday, 19 March, 2002, 18:29 GMT

NGO SAYS GUJARAT RIOTS WERE PLANNED
Rioters arrived equipped with phones and trucks

By Ayanjit Sen
BBC correspondent in Delhi
A leading non-governmental organisation in India has alleged that 
recent communal rioting in western Gujarat state was systematically 
planned by Hindu mobs.

It's not possible to identify Muslim shops with Hindu names within 24 
hours and this suggests the meticulous planning of the attackers

Dr Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Sahmat

At least 700 people died when Hindu mobs went on the rampage, 
apparently in revenge for an attack by Muslims on a train-load of 
Hindu activists returning from the disputed holy site at Ayodhya.

But Dr Kamal Mitra Chenoy of the Sahmat organisation said Hindu 
groups were simply waiting for an excuse to launch pre-meditated 
attacks on Gujarat's religious minority.

He said the violence, which centred on the state's largest city, 
Ahmedabad, was targeted in a way that would not have been possible 
without prior planning.

In a report on the violence, Sahmat also criticised conditions in 
relief camps set up by the state government for more than 70,000 
Muslims displace by the unrest.

Violence continued on Tuesday as four people were killed when police 
opened fire on mobs trying to torch buses and shops in Bharooch and 
Sabarkantha towns.

Another man was injured in a stabbing incident at Sabarkantha.

Planning

However, a Gujarat government spokesman, Bharat Pandya, told the BBC 
the rioting was a spontaneous Hindu backlash fuelled by widespread 
anger against Muslims.

Sahmat says Muslim property was clearly targeted

"Hindus are frustrated over the role of Muslims in the on-going 
violence in Indian-administered Kashmir and other parts of India," he 
said.

But Dr Chenoy said it was obvious that the Muslim community and its 
commercial interests had clearly already been singled out.

Aside from establishments that were immediately identifiable as 
Muslim, Muslim-owned shops with Hindu-sounding names were destroyed 
by the mobs, he said.

He also noted the violence in Ahmedabad erupted just one day after 
the attack on the train, which left 58 Hindus dead.

"It's not possible to identify Muslim shops with Hindu names within 
24 hours and this suggests the meticulous planning of the attackers," 
Dr Chenoy said.

He also said that rioters arrived at the scene equipped with mobile 
phones and supplies of bottled water, and brought in trucks to take 
away looted goods.

None of this would have been possible, he said, without prior planning.

State criticised

The Sahmat report, compiled after a fact-finding tour of Gujarat, 
also said displaced Muslims were living in appalling conditions in 
state-run relief camps.

More than 70,000 Muslims were displaced by the rioting

Dr Chenoy said there was a scarcity of blankets and clothes and a 
lack of adequate medical help.

He also alleged that audio cassettes of cries and howls were 
sometimes played at night on loudspeakers to frighten the refugees.

The report said that trucks carrying relief goods were being stopped 
from entering the camps on the grounds that they might be carrying 
arms for Muslims.

But the government justified this action saying it was necessary to 
ensure security.

Government spokesman Mr Pandya told the BBC that the state was 
extending all possible help to the people in the camps.

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#5.

The Times of India

Should religion be divorced from politics?
SAKINA YUSUF KHAN
[ SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002 12:11:11 PM ]
With a secular Constitution and religious people how do we ensure 
that religion plays no role in the political domain? Can political 
parties, and more importantly, the government, remain equi-distant 
from all religions?
Not really, if the government's machinations this past week is 
anything to go by.
The problem clearly is not with religion but with the religion-based 
politics that has gained ground.
"People in responsible posts distinguish between one kind of violence 
and another; the law is violated with impunity and innocents suffer," 
says political analyst, Mahesh Rangarajan.
Javed Anand, co-editor Communalism Combat believes that if the state 
were to take its primary constitutional duty of maintaining the rule 
of law and equal protection for all citizens, the problem of certain 
religious groups meddling with politics will resolve itself quickly.
He adds: "If the state did its duty when Sikhs were killed in 1984 or 
Muslims in Mumbai and elsewhere in 1992, if our prime minister were 
to take the state's responsibility in acting firmly against killers 
and mass murders instead of just beating his breast over the blot on 
India's image caused by the Gujarat riots, we would be very close to 
a solution to this seemingly intractable problem."
And sociologist Dipankar Gupta is categorical that use of religion 
for political sectarianism must be dealt with severely.
The way to ensure this, he says, is to make sure that no exception be 
made when anybody infringes on this matter, strict legal action is 
taken and punishment is meted out to those who are guilty.
Having a dialogue only encourages these religious sectarians. In his 
opinion, the best way to stop sectarian violence is to deny any kind 
of cover and political patronage to the perpetrators of the crime.
These people should be seen as as criminals and dealt with 
accordingly. "They are paper tigers whose bluff must be called. They 
are always willing to kill for a cause but would never die for a 
cause," says Gupta.
Delving deeper into the problem Rajindar Sachar, former Chief Justice 
of the Delhi High Court points out that Hindu kings sought the 
blessings of saints but never allowed them to meddle in state affairs.
Today, religion is invoked as a political ploy by all parties. It is 
a convenient cover-up for for lack of governance.
According to Sachar there are enough safeguards in the constitution 
to ensure that religion is not misused for electoral gains. People 
must raise their voice against exploitation of religious sentiment.

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#6.

The Times of India

Why can't we put Ayodhya in the deep freeze?
SANGHAMITRA CHAKRABORTY & MALATI KALLAPUR
[ SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002 12:11:43 AM ]
"Great idea," says sociologist Ashish Nandy, "but who's going to buy 
it? Sure it's a damp squib, but even if the BJP wants to drop it, its 
fringe groups will make it an ego issue and keep it alive."
Political scientist Zoya Hasan agrees: "The VHP will probably launch 
into mass mobilisation if they hear of it. In any case, the issue, 
which has been so controversial and divisive should be confronted and 
settled."
She has an ally in filmmaker M.S. Sathyu who believes procrastination 
and postponement of the settlement will only let the fundamentalists 
grow stronger: "The court proceedings take time as it is. There is no 
point freezing it over and above this. See how Ayodhya evokes ennui? 
If only the Sangh Parivar came to terms with it."
The Attorney General's plea in the court for puja to be performed at 
the undisputed site in Ayodhya this week, has already evoked strong 
feelings. Cartoonist and champion of constitutional reforms, Rajinder 
Puri calls it a subversion of the rule of law and says: "I would have 
been very happy had things come to a head on Friday. The government 
would have been forced to take action against the VHP."
Nandy explains why: "The BJP is as much of a political party as the 
Congress, which opened the temple doors for electoral gains. The BJP 
is willing to sell the mandir to the highest bidder for holding on to 
power."
Adds Hasan: "How can the leadership of a country be obsessed with the 
past, with stones, in this manner. I read in this a pathology of 
defeat."
(Sanghamitra Chakraborty in Delhi and Malati Kallapur in Bangalore)

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#7.

The Times of India

They transformed Utopia into a dispute
AYODHYA & I / MAHESH DATTANI

[ SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002 12:04:36 AM ]
It's a nightmare I never imagined I would have to go through. I am a 
Hindu, born and raised in the best traditions of Indian culture, but 
I can't claim Hindutva.
Some people have already claimed it. I can't wear a saffron shirt 
because they have claimed it. I can't display the sign of 'Om' in my 
house.
That too is theirs. The lotus, so deeply rooted in my collective 
unconscious, is no longer mine because they have usurped that as 
well. And Ram was a hero far more complex and compelling than any 
Greek hero.
That icon of a land that hallowed mythology, has been reduced to a 
childish petulant creature in the hands of rabble rousers.
I'm left with a deep sense of violation because a handful of 
politicians have taken away what I culturally grew up with.
Instead of enriching me as a Hindu, they have deprived me, instead of 
making me proud of being a Hindu, they've made me feel ashamed about 
it. And all this happened in the name of Ayodhya.
Like Dwarka, Ayodhya was a land we grew up believing in. The kingdom 
of Ram was our fairyland. Our version of Utopia.
That this Ayodhya could be reduced to a disputed site would not have 
occurred to a Hindu or Muslim, until people thought of gaining 
political mileage.
But how on earth can a mere 15,000 hold to ransom every Hindu in the 
land of a billion, to the bogey they've made of Ram Janmabhoomi? If 
the Hindus number 80,000,000, what is the percentage of these rabble 
rousers?
Initially, when 'Ayodhya' became an issue, it seemed rather amusing 
because it was such a non-issue. It was as laughable as the issues 
raised in Parliament during the question hour.
Then came the fiery speeches of Sadhvi Rithambara and her ilk. 
Sadhvis and sadhus? They were maniacs, no less, who made a travesty 
of the name that implied the peace of a land that needs no warrior.
The real horror sank in when the demolition happened: We are dealing 
with war mongers of the worst kind.
My views have changed today. From a complete non-believer, I feel I 
must keep vigil on all that is being taken away. We don't have to 
look for outsiders to invade us culturally.
It's not Coke but indigenous chimeras who thrive on creating fear and 
mass paranoia that we need to be wary of. All I'm asking for is that 
they, the ''keepers'' of the Hindu conscience, back out from the 
posture that they represent Hindus.
All I'm praying for is that they realise that the Hindu pride does 
not lie in a puja at a disputed site.
The nation's glory does not lie in a fractured polity. Self-serving 
as these sadhus are, even they surely realise that peace at Ayodhya 
is the nation's need of the hour.
Now they too are looking for face saving devices. All I am praying 
for is that no one now rakes up the issue since tempers need to cool 
down.
Any kind of pro-action would ruffle feathers and lead to more 
violence. Hindus need to ensure that their culture is not represented 
by politicians and Muslims need to be more restrained in the time of 
provocation. Only then can we avoid a civil war.
(The playwright spoke to Ratnottama Sengupta)

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#8.

The Times of India

A common Hindu and a common Muslim are not interested in a mandir or 
masjid at Ayodhya.
FAROOQ SHEIKH

[ SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2002 12:10:20 AM ]
There's no point in saying that the Muslims should, as a gesture of 
peace, gift the piece of land or that the Hindus should let a mandir 
and masjid co-exist there.
A common Hindu and a common Muslim are not interested in a mandir or 
masjid at Ayodhya. It is an issue raked up by politicians and they 
want to take as much political mileage out of it as they can.
They will not accept any peace formula as long as they can squeeze 
something out of the situation.
In 1992, an apolitical congregation of multi-religious heads had 
suggested a compromise formula. If that had been accepted how would 
these people have became celebrities overnight?
The common man has to make a conscious effort to see through the 
demagogic tirade carried on by both sides.
We need to realise that till this happens politicians will continue 
to use us as cannon fodder. Indians need to sit together and decide 
on the issue.
(As told to Sakina Yusuf Khan & Rachna Subramanian)

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