SACW | March 17-19, 2007 | Nepal: Mao to tourism / Pakistan: Why Musharraf Survives / India: Left Wing Capitalism and Infantile Disorder ; Fatwa againt Taslim Nasreen; Fear of sex and Indian Values

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire  | March 17-19, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2379 - Year 9

[1] Nepal: From Maoism to tourism (Prabin Gautam In Rolpa)
[2] Why Musharraf Survives (Pervez Hoodbhoy)
[3] India: Left Wing Capitalism and Infantile Disorder
   - Odd Man Out (Seema Mustafa)
   - Left intellectuals slam SEZ policy
[4] India: Mad Mullah's again threaten Taslima Nasreen :
   - Call to Kill (Times of India)
   -  Muslim group sets Rs 5 lakh on Taslima (Manjari Mishra)
[5] Fear of Sex and Indian Values:
   - Madhya Pradesh's BJP Govt Stops Sex education
   - MP Cong sees 'indecency' in AIDS campaign (Milind Ghatwai)
[6]  Books:
   (i) Operation Wheeljam (Tariq Ali)
   (ii) In the Making: Identity Formation in South Asia (Meeto)
[7]  Events: Peoples' Tribunal on the Rise of Fascist Forces in India 
(New Delhi, 20-22 March)


____


[1]

Nepali Times
  #340 (16 March 07 - 22 March 07)

FROM MAOISM TO TOURISM
Rolpa may show the world how to make a revolution a tourist attraction
Prabin Gautam In Rolpa

REVOLUTIONARY TREK: The trail from Tila and Thalsang under a foot of 
snow last month.

For a decade now, Nepal's tourism entrepreneurs have thought of 
tourism in terms of trekking to Khumbu, sightseeing in Kathmandu, and 
boating on Phewa.

It's time to push the envelope and define adventure tourism in a 
whole new way. Some trekking groups are already travelling to Rolpa 
and Rukum to combine trekking with the publicity generated by Nepal's 
Maoist insurgency. Even during the conflict, trekkers used to look 
forward to encounters with Maoists and took home receipts of Maoist 
'revolutionary tax' as souvenirs.

"There is a surprising level of interest in visiting these areas," 
says a Japanese tour leader, "people want to know what it looks like 
in a Maoist base area."

Contrary to the belief that most tourists are cautious, trekking 
agencies in Kathmandu specialising in French and Japanese tourists 
say they have lots of queries about visiting mid-western Nepal or 
other regions like Rara, Dhorpatan, and Phoksundo that were out of 
bounds because of the insurgency.

Because of the ceasefire, bookings are strong this year for 
off-the-beaten trek destinations like Budi Gandaki, Manasulu circuit, 
and Kangchenjunga, which had seen a sharp drop in visitors because of 
the conflict.

To be sure, the facilities on the Rolpa trek can be rudimentary-a bit 
like the Langtang trail 20 years ago. Even so, the terrain is harsh 
but spectacularly scenic, especially with the unprecedented snowfall 
this winter. The people are unexposed to the outside world in this 
remote area and therefore very hospitable.


PRABIN GAUTAM
Trekkers to the mid-west also get a sense of satisfaction from 
helping these war-torn districts recover, that their money is 
generating employment, and helping the area return to normal.

Taking a bus from Dang up to Tila, it is a two day walk to Thabang. 
This is the cradle of the Maoist revolution and was partially 
flattened in aerial bombardment by the army in 2002. A road is being 
built to Thabang, and it may be good idea to get to go there before 
the road does.

The road has several landslides because of construction, but the 
route has some dramatic vantage points for scenery. There are private 
tea houses, and also Maoist-run cooperatives, which offer food and 
lodging, but no beer or alcohol.

Food is cheaper here than most parts of rural Nepal: Rs 35 for a 
plate of rice and vegetables and overnight lodging is usually free if 
you eat in the shop.

"During the war, the party paid us to feed the guerrillas and cadre 
who passed through," remembers Comrade Zamana who runs a cooperative 
restaurant, "but now we have to run it like a business. It would be 
good if more tourists came through."

When we get to Thabang, we asked Comrade Inkar, the town's Maoist 
headman, if Americans are welcome. "Why not," he replied, "we will 
welcome them like we have welcomed them in the past." Suddenly 
turning serious, he added: "But their intention should be pure." 
Inkar said lots of foreigners including Americans have visited 
Thabang, but admitted most of them were journalists.

The Maoists are trying to make the revolution itself a tourist 
attraction, and Inkar tells us Thabang is being established as a 
model commune. Phone lines have been repaired and there will soon be 
electricity in Thabang.

Just like Mao-chic has become a tourist attraction in China, Rolpa's 
revolutionary songs and dances can also bring employment and income 
to local cultural troupes. After all, Rolpa has everything: scenic 
mountains, a rich folk tradition, and revolution.

_____


[2]


WHY MUSHARRAF SURVIVES

by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Recent threats by the Bush administration to cut off billions of 
dollars in aid to Pakistan have sparked panic in government circles.

Likewise, according to the Pakistani ambassador in Washington, 
military strikes by the US aimed at Al-Qaida and Taliban havens 
inside Pakistan's tribal areas would destabilise Pakistan and 
possibly could bring General Pervez Musharraf down.

But how worried should the Pakistani authorities really be in the 
face of growing US pressure to root out Islamic militants?

Occasional frustrations notwithstanding, it is, in fact, unlikely 
that the US will turn against a faithful and dependent ally, 
especially one whose leader enjoys cordial personal relations with 
Bush.

Nor, due to a lack of organised opposition, will public anger at 
Musharraf's pro-US policy destabilise his regime. Indeed, the wily 
general-president does not merely survive crisis after crisis, but 
has thrived in power.

How does he do it? The answer lies in a finely honed strategy, 
perfected over years, that juggles US demands and the inte-rests of 
local intelligence chiefs, mullahs, tribal leaders, venal 
politicians, and a host of fortune seekers.

Webs of intrigue and murky players obscure details, but the 
priorities are unmistakable.

First, American impatience must be held in check. Pakistan is 
expected to deliver results on Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

However, the pot is not to be emptied all at once. For example, when 
US vice-president Dick Cheney arrived in Islamabad in early March, 
threatening an aid cut and direct US action against Islamic 
militants, his message was not lost.

Shortly before his unmarked aircraft landed, Pakistan announced the 
capture in Quetta of Mullah Obaidullah, deputy to the elusive Taliban 
chief, Mullah Omar. Obaidullah carried a $1 million reward and was 
the most senior Taliban captured since November 2001.

Obaidullah's capture - carried out reluctantly - underscores the 
Pakistan military's ambiguous relationship with the Taliban.

Despite more than 700 Pakistani combat deaths, many in Musharraf's 
army wish to retain the Taliban as quasi-allies who, when the 
Americans leave Afghanistan someday, will give Pakistan the strategic 
depth it needs against India.

Thus, to the chagrin of Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai, Quetta 
remains a hub of Taliban opposition to his regime.

A second aspect of Musharraf's strategy is to create mutually 
beneficial relations with Islamists. This is a tricky business. 
Musharraf cannot permit the mullahs to become too strong.

The mullahs, on the other hand, consider Musharraf an agent of the 
great Satan, America, and thus a traitor to Islam. Nevertheless, 
Musharraf's men have skilfully fractured the main Islamic opposition 
party, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), with bribes, blackmail, and 
internal dissension fomented by agent provocateurs.

As part of the trade-off, terrorist leaders who are officially under 
house arrest like Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed remain able to 
open offices, address rallies, and preach jehad freely.

Such appeasement carries a price. This is clear in Islamabad, where 
over the past two months, Kalashnikov-toting students have openly 
challenged the state, following a government order for the demolition 
of dozens of illegally built mosques and seminaries.

Unnerved by the wild-eyed students, the government faltered, then 
surrendered. In a dramatic reversal, Musharraf's minister of 
religious affairs, the son of former dictator General Zia ul-Haq, 
promised to rebuild damaged mosques and even symbolically laid the 
first stone at one construction site.

The third element of Musharraf's strategy is more positive: he knows 
that he must do some good, and also be seen doing it.

This is crucial for his image as a newly emerged world leader, 
promising moderate Islam in an ocean of extremism.

Some of Musharraf's achievements are significant. Relations with 
India have improved, the Kashmir insurgency supported by Pakistan has 
been scaled back, a women's protection Bill was passed in the teeth 
of Islamic opposition, and a virulent public school curriculum that 
emphasised jehad and martyrdom has been toned down.

But men who live by the gun are willing to die by the gun, and 
Musharraf is not taking chances. He knows that the real threat to his 
power - and his life - comes from within his constituency, the 
military.

As a result, he has become obsessed with micromanaging everything 
from troop movements and special events to postings and promotions, 
all of which require his personal stamp of approval.

Hardline Islamists, favoured previously, are now out, and soldiers 
charged with mutiny have received the death penalty.

Although this has further deepened pro- and anti-US divisions within 
the army, among both commissioned and non-commissioned officers, 
Musharraf clearly expects to remain president well beyond the October 
2007 elections, as well as to extend further his term of leadership 
of the army.

To achieve this end, whatever needs to be done will be done; 
principles and rules are elastic. One might have expected the 
Americans to know better than to bet all on a man who might be gone 
tomorrow.

But, beyond pumping in dollars and supporting Musharraf and his 
military, the US appears clueless in dealing with Pakistan and its 
problems of social development.

With the defeat of Al-Qaida and the Taliban America's only visible 
goal, it is no surprise that the US remains enormously unpopular 
among Pakistanis, forcing Musharraf to maintain his perilous 
balancing act.

The writer teaches at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.


_____



[3]   INDIA'S OFFICIAL LEFT SHOULDNT BECOME A REFUGE FOR THE BOURGEOISIE  ! 

   [The state of west Bengal in India has had the unique experience of 
having the longest running democratically elected communist govt 
since 1977. It came to power due to the failure of earlier 
governments to improve the condition of the rural poor that had 
prompted a Mao-inspired uprising in the countryside. The uprising 
reflected widespread rural discontent, and once in power, the 
Communists did more than any other state government in India to break 
down feudalistic landholding systems, distributing thousands of acres 
to the poor peasants who worked them. Despite much valid criticism, 
the official left has definitely been a pole of attraction 
progressive voices for social change and against communalism. But 
during this long phase spanning 30 years India's parliamentary left 
has also come resemble other mainstream political parties and has 
come to accommodate bureaucratic ways in its functioning. it did 
little to spur any imaginative alterative industrial development in 
the state. It has sloganeered to no end on the perils of capitalist 
globalisation, but has had no practical alternative strategies of its 
own in West Bengal for the past 15 years. Now its suddenly woken up 
to capitalist industrialisation a la chinese that is being peddled as 
'the panacea' by India's ruling elites; India is not china and 
India's mainstream left cannot ignore the poor while they have this 
love affair with multinational and Indian capital. Nandigram is their 
krondstadt. Far left groupings and the unorganised sectors of India's 
progressive circles and social movements that have resisted plans for 
regimented industrialisation by the calcutta communists must'nt 
romanticise agriculture as holding a golden future for the rural 
poor. Its time that the left opposition to the official left actively 
devise blueprints for creative, people friendly, energy efficient and 
ecologically sound industrial plans for the future for bengal and 
other regions of India. Popularise these alternative development 
plans with the rural labouring poor. This will force the official 
left to open up, rethink and invent. Lets make the official left 
accountable. But left opposition must take clear social distance from 
the rag tag opportunists of the right i.e. a trinamul, the congress 
and devious hindutva (or Islamtva) lot who are having a great time 
with blood spilt in Nandigram . --hk ]

o o o

Asian age
March 19, 2007

ODD MAN OUT

by Seema Mustafa

There are two reactions overflowing from the Nandigram firing. One, 
led by the BJP/Congress/Trinamul Congress/Jamaat-e-Islami that is 
exultant that the Left citadel has finally been shaken, with all 
groups lining up to hammer in what they hope will be amongst the last 
nails in the Left coffin. The second, of deep dismay and apprehension 
that extends through the Left cadres, to their supporters, and to 
those sections of civil society that can look beyond the politics of 
opportunism to realise that a weakened Left today will rob Indian 
pluralism and democracy of an important shield in the struggle 
against communalism and imperialism.

This not to say that what has happened in Nandigram is acceptable. 
Police firing on the poor has to be condemned in the strongest 
possible terms. There can be no excuse whatsoever for killing the 
poor, and the West Bengal government should have realised that once 
the police was sent with rubber and real bullets to Nandigram, 
violence would follow. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has 
clearly stopped feeling the pulse of the people who have voted the 
Left Front back to power, without interruption, for decades. His 
attempts at globalisation have moved out of the realm of statements 
that had invited great admiration from Congress and BJP stalwarts, to 
direct action against the people coming in the way. It has begun to 
appear that he regards the urban middle class as his constituency and 
not the traditional peasant base that is being targeted in what he 
justifies as much-needed industrialisation.

There are no two views that the limited land holdings cannot feed the 
expanding peasant families for too long. But there can also be no two 
views, that acquisition of land cannot be done through force. The 
West Bengal government at least is expected to convince the peasants 
through direct dialogue, to ensure that all are more than adequately 
compensated before taking over the precious land for the special 
economic zone or whatever else the chief minister has in mind. The 
West Bengal peasant, unlike his brethren in other northern states, 
has under communist rule been radicalised sufficiently to know his 
rights and fight for them. He cannot be pushed under through the use 
of force, and it is surprising that the chief minister is seeking to 
do precisely what his personal supporters in the BJP, Congress, 
Rashtriya Janata Dal etc., have been doing against the farmers for 
decades now. The difference is that in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya 
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, the poor farmer is marginalised and oppressed, 
he does not know his rights, and even if he does, he does not have 
the wherewithal to fight for these. In West Bengal he has been 
educated and empowered by the Left government that has now, 
unfortunately, been placed at the receiving end by its chief minister.

Interestingly, those holding up the proceedings in Parliament on the 
Nandigram violence have taken exceptional care to blame the CPI(M), 
but to defend Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. BJP leader L.K. Advani went 
so far as to say that the chief minister was a good man. Both the BJP 
and the Congress party see him as the odd man out in the CPI(M) 
because he has publicly expressed support for their economic 
policies. Veteran leader Jyoti Basu has taken the chief minister to 
task in the CPI(M) meeting at Kolkata after the Nandigram violence, 
and made it clear that the Left coalition could not continue to work 
in the present fashion. What he might or might not have said is that 
if the Left continues with the chief minister's anti-farmer, 
pro-reforms policies in the current fashion, the CPI(M) could lose 
its bastion, and thus, its influence in national politics. Kerala 
gives it a government every alternative term, Tripura is a small 
state, and the Left has not found it easy to grow in the other 
states. West Bengal, thus, remains crucial for the Left movement in 
this country and a chief minister that cannot strengthen it should be 
seen as expendable.

Those looking on with dismay include those in the CPI(M). Discipline 
makes them silent, but they are finding it difficult to justify the 
violence on their own people. The excuses being offered by the state 
government so far are not acceptable, as these do not withstand 
scrutiny and definitely do not explain the human tragedy. Today, 
Indian polity has reached a point where democracy, secularism, 
pluralism make little sense to the politicians of the BJP, Congress 
and most of the regional parties. The Left alone has shown the 
commitment, and even the dedication, to speak up for what is right. 
So there is a certain apprehension about the future of the nation if 
the CPI(M) weakens and is unable to remain in a position to influence 
Parliament. This is what the other political parties along with the 
big powers are striving for, and this is what the Left has to resist.

But it can do so only when its own house is in order. Of course, Lalu 
Prasad Yadav who is speaking as loudly as the Congress and the BJP 
today on such issues, encouraged caste based violence in Bihar, 
pitting citizens against each other through exclusivist politics. The 
BJP is not in a position to even whisper on issues of violence, being 
the perpetrator of hate crimes all over the country. The Congress 
party, unable to even spell the word "secularism," today is leading a 
government of compromise in all fields and is being made to stop 
short of a complete, unabashed sell-out only by the influence that 
the Left parties wield in this government. Be it the issue of 
secularism, be it the need to focus economic policies on India's 
poor, be it nonalignment, be it opposition to US and Israel 
intervention in Indian politics, the Left parties are the only ones 
speaking out on issues vital for the health and future of India.

This is the truth, even for those who do not like to admit it. The 
BJP and the Congress have lost their voice a long time ago, one seeks 
power through hate filled propaganda and divisive politics, and the 
other seeks to remain in power by paying lip service and little else 
to the politics of secularism, equity and justice. One has seen the 
politics of the Mamata Banerjees and her ilk on the streets, and this 
is definitely not designed to steer India towards stability and 
prosperity. The Jamaat-e-Islami and now the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that 
is fast losing its basic character after the death of Maulana Madani, 
are parties now fired with political ambitions and have made it their 
duty to attack the CPI(M) as the ruling party in West Bengal that has 
the support of the majority of the Muslims. These two fundamentalist 
parties are bound to jump in whenever there is such an issue, and 
encouraged by others, are now visible in West Bengal seeking to 
colour all issues - even Nandigram - with a Muslim fanatical bias.

It is imperative, thus, for the CPI(M) to take honest stock of the 
situation and not defend what is really the indefensible. The answer 
does not lie in replacing the poor of one party by the cadres of 
another, but in directly addressing the issue without prejudice and 
arrogance, and resolving the matter in a manner that there is no room 
left for other political parties to exploit. It does not seem that 
the present chief minister can do it, in which case he should be made 
expendable. If he can, he must demonstrate through direct remedial 
action that the farmers are his first priority, and that 
industrialisation will be dependent on their will and consent. The 
police attack on the hapless farmers will have large scale 
repercussions, and the issue will not be allowed to die down by the 
vested political interests looking for a foothold in West Bengal. 
Instead of blaming and accusing them, it is now for the Left parties 
to hunker down, not break ranks, and set into motion a series of bold 
measures to regain what they have lost, and to build bridges with the 
affected poor regardless of political affiliations. One cannot 
condemn the poor because they owe allegiance to a political rival, 
wisdom and good politics lie in winning them over.

o o o

LEFT INTELLECTUALS SLAM SEZ POLICY
ibnlive.com
Posted Monday , March 19, 2007 at 23:29
Updated Tuesday , March 20, 2007 at 00:17

SEZ MOVE: social activists say SEZ has led to displacement of people 
and civil strife.

New Delhi: Left intellectuals and social activists on Monday slammed 
the Central and state governments for promoting Special Economic 
Zones (SEZ).

They said the SEZ has led to displacement of people and civil strife.

Historians like Sumit Sarkar, Tanika Sarkar and social activists 
Praful Bidwai, Arjun Sen Gupta and Vandana Shiva demanded immediate 
scrapping of the 'anti-labour' SEZ Act.

"SEZs are an altogether distorted path of industrial development and 
cannot be of any interest to the vast majority of the common masses 
of the country," PTI quoted a resolution adopted at the seminar.

According the resolution, SEZs will be utilised only for promoting 
Export Oriented Units of industrial activities, real estates and 
amusement parks besides will also encourage shifting of industrial 
units from the present sites so that they can enjoy tax relaxation.

"The state governments are competing amongst themselves for offering 
several undue advantages to the investors without caring a little for 
the land losers and the environmental or ecological concerns," it 
said.

The resolution accused the Centre of being indifferent in protecting 
rights and interests of poor and the marginalised and diluting even 
the National Rehabilitation Policy based on the draft circulated by 
the Rural Development Ministry.

"The Central government is surprisingly reluctant even to honour its 
own draft in an overenthusiastic ugly attempt to serve the interests 
of big capitalists, both national and multinational," it said.

(With agency inputs)

______


[4]    MAD MULLAH'S AND TASLIM NASREEN

The Times of India
20 Mar, 2007

Editorial

CALL TO KILL

It is important that the government punishes the leaders of the 
obscure outfit that has put a price for Taslima Nasreen's life.

A few months ago, when a UP minister announced a bounty on the Danish 
cartoonists who were accused of insulting the Prophet, we argued in 
these columns that the minister had committed a criminal offence and 
should be arrested.

But the state did not act as Yakoob Qureshi basked in the glory of 
his threat to emerge as yet another spokesperson for social 
conservatism.

It is possible that the leaders of the All India Ibtehad Council 
(AIIC), the body that has called for the head of the Bangladeshi 
writer, also nourishes political ambitions.

Demagoguery and goondaism pay in Indian politics. However, these 
considerations should not prevent the government from acting. The 
threat to Taslima should be viewed as an incitement to murder.

It is a challenge to the Indian state which is bound by the 
Constitution to preserve law and order. Taslima, who had to flee her 
country following death threats, is currently living in India.

There is talk of India giving Taslima citizenship. The bounty offer 
may be to pre-empt a decision in her favour.

What has emboldened fringe groups like the AIIC and politicians like 
Qureshi is the inaction on the part of the
state against open challenges to civil rights.

The tendency is not limited to any particular community or group. 
Over the years, the number of people proscribed by fundamentalism has 
been on the rise.

Outfits like the Bajrang Dal, which want to break inter-religious 
marriages and ban films like Parzania, reflect the same illiberal 
sentiment expressed by the AIIC.

In fact, the conservative opinion among Hindus and Muslims converges 
in its hostility to people like Taslima.

A woman exposing social hypocrisies is a threat not just to her own 
religion, but to conservatives in every religion.

Religious conservatism does not restrict itself to religious rights, 
but influences social attitudes to other civil rights.

The social mindset retreats further into conservatism when the threat 
to violence begins to dictate the discourse.

Space is denied to individuals who would want to dissent or uphold 
the right to dissent. The Bajrangis and Qureshis are the face of an 
ugly conservatism that a democracy should be wary of.

The state should not balk at such threats, nor should anyone who 
cherishes the freedom of speech.


o o o


The Times of India
18 Mar, 2007

MUSLIM GROUP SETS RS 5 LAKH ON TASLIMA
Manjari Mishra
[ 17 Mar, 2007 0237hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

LUCKNOW: Nearly seven months after UP minister Haji Yakoob Qureshi 
raised a storm by announcing a reward on the heads of two Danish 
cartoonists for lampooning the Prophet, a little-known conservative 
Muslim group on Friday offered a Rs 5 lakh bounty for the head of 
controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.

President of the All India Ibtehad Council, Taqi Raza Khan ordered 
the elimination (qatal) of the exiled novelist. The decision, he 
said, had full approval of All India Muslim Personal Law Board 
(Jadid), a splinter group set up four years ago in Bareilly. Jadid 
means new.

Khan said he had declared a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone who killed 
the "notorious woman". He claimed a core body of the board comprising 
150 ulema, lawyers, retired IPS officers, doctors and professors had 
already passed a resolution on Thursday to oust Nasreen from India. 
Khan enjoys wide support among the Barelvi sect and the issue is 
likely to generate heat in coming days, especially with assembly 
elections round the corner, observers said.

Would the decision be reconsidered? Only if "woh mafi mangey, apni 
sari kitabein jalaye, aur tauba kare (she apologises, burns her books 
and leaves)," Khan said.

What has Nasreen done to ruffle this body? "Yeh aurat behad badzuban 
hai, aur Shariat par hamla karti rahi hai (this woman has a vicious 
tongue and has been attacking the Shariat)," said Khan.

"We have been hearing that the Indian government is thinking of 
granting her citizenship. The idea is repugnant to all God-fearing 
Muslims.

If the government does not drive her out within 10 days, all hell 
will break lose."


______


[5]   FEAR OF SEX AND INDIAN VALUES:

Times of India
MP GOVT STOPS SEX EDUCATION UNDER AEP
[ 18 Mar, 2007 1914hrs IST PTI ]

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to stop imparting 
sex education in schools under the Adolescence Education Programme.

The programme, wherein students of standards IX and XI were being 
imparted sex education for four days in a year, will not be continued 
in the current form, official sources said here today.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has issued instructions to the 
school education department to stop its implementation in view of 
gross graphics and pictorial descriptions used in the course 
material. In a letter to HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Chouhan said he 
was "surprised" by the pictures.

The course material was not produced before Singh. He would never 
have sanctioned it. The Centre has completely forgotten Indian 
traditions and values, the Chief Minister alleged. Instead, the young 
generation should be imparted education on Yoga and Indian traditions 
and values, he said in the letter conveying the state government's 
decision.

The AEP, funded by National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), covered 
19 districts under the first phase and 11 more were added this year, 
the sources said. The decision to discontinue it will have no impact 
on the AIDS control programmes being carried out in the state, they 
added.


o o o

Indian Express
March 03, 2007
MP CONG SEES 'INDECENCY' IN AIDS CAMPAIGN

Milind Ghatwai

BHOPAL, MARCH 2: The Sangh Parivar may have earned itself a 
reputation for prudery, but in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is giving 
it a healthy challenge by opposing photographs of human anatomy used 
in adolescence education programmes in schools, saying it's an insult 
to the teacher-student relationship.

But, as is the case with such campaigns, this latest one too seems to 
be ill-informed. The sets of photographs the Congress and its 
students' wing, National Students' Union of India, are objecting to 
and which they displayed during a protest here yesterday, are not 
actually meant for students.

The kits for the Adolescence Education Programme, run by the National 
AIDS Control Organisation and UNICEF throughout India, have been 
available in the state for quite some time. The Flip Chart, which 
carries the coloured sketches, is part of the kits, which are 
distributed to teachers after they undergo a four-day training under 
the programme.

The programme was introduced in the state two years ago and under it, 
Classes IX, X and XI students are given sex education and told about 
AIDS.

"When the Flip Chart is given to teachers they will obviously share 
it with students. Why should it be given to them in the first place?" 
asks Congress leader P C Sharma, who led the NSUI protest, noting 
that the BJP often lectures others on cultural values.

Told that the kits had been distributed to all teachers across the 
country, Sharma's reply was: "We are based in Madhya Pradesh, ruled 
by the BJP. We don't approve of such education. There are other ways 
of making children aware of AIDS."

Commissioner of Directorate of Public Instructions L S Baghel points 
out that the kits were meant only for "resource persons" trained 
under the programme, and were not part of the syllabus nor meant for 
students. "If teachers themselves are unclear about the subject, how 
will they educate students?"

State Nodal Officer P R Tiwari says students in 30 of the 48 
districts in the state were covered under the project, and that the 
only reason it wasn't extended to all was lack of funds. "Only half 
the schools in Bhopal and Bhind could be covered as a result."

But the Congress claims that some teachers were themselves hesitant 
to use the kits in the classroom. "Any nude picture would look 
indecent. Instead of such kits, students should be told that they 
should abstain from sex till 25 and they would get the message," 
reasoned a principal of a school for excellence.

______


[6]    BOOKS:

(i)

Dawn
March 18, 2007

OPERATION WHEELJAM

by Tariq Ali


Tariq Ali presents a dramatised version of events leading up to the 
1977 miltary coup in Pakistan.

The script of a shelved, three-part BBC drama series on the 
overthrow, trial and execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

INTERIOR. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CHAMBER. NIGHT.

One side is full. Opposition benches are empty. Crowded government 
benches, lacklustre. Lots of yawning and stretching. Neon lights fail 
to dispel the gloom. There are armed policemen in the chamber. The 
diplomat's gallery is packed with white and black and a few Chinese 
faces. In the visitor's gallery we see General Zaman and two 
unidentified intelligence officers. In the Press Gallery we see 
Cherry, Lily and others. Cherry and Lily are chatting animatedly. The 
front bench is occupied by the cabinet with Khalid and Akbar next to 
Bhutto's empty seat and Whiskey at the other end.

Whiskey is slightly tipsy. As a large wall clock strikes midnight, 
Bhutto enters, dressed immaculately in a summer suit. Whiskey rises 
to his feet and starts applauding wildly. Others applaud more 
sedately. Bhutto smiles at Khalid and takes his seat, providing a cue 
for the speaker.

SPEAKER. Honourable members, I welcome you to this special session of 
Parliament. I am sad that our opposition parties have decided to 
boycott this session. It reminds me of what our greatest poet, Iqbal, 
once said ...

At this point he catches Bhutto's eye. The leader signals his impatience.

SPEAKER (cont'd). I call on the Prime Minister, Mr Zulfikar Ali 
Bhutto, to address this house.

BHUTTO (rises slowly and moves to despatch box). Mr Speaker, 
honourable members. We are at the political crossroads once again. 
Our country still bleeding from the wounds of the last war with 
India, still suffering from the pangs of enforced separation from 
East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, is being threatened again. For five 
years this government has tried to build a new Pakistan. Our vision 
was of a country whose social standards could become comparable to 
parts of Europe. We wanted, and still want, a society engaged in a 
permanent war against illiteracy and ignorance, prejudice and 
obscurantism. A society in which men and women are equals. We have 
sought to mobilise the collective energies of our people, to give 
them education and medical aid, to clean the towns, to improve the 
villages, give every citizen a dignity that is his due. Of course, we 
haven't achieved this. We always knew it would be a long haul. They 
always do. The scale of their violence forced us to use the army to 
restore law and order. The crisis we confront now is serious. Very 
serious. We could resolve it tomorrow, or this very night, if the 
actors were all indigenous.

Pauses. Pin drop silence. Now his tone changes from a reflective 
statesman to a more fiery and passionate form of oratory.

BHUTTO (cont'd). But I am angry tonight. Because I know that foreign 
powers are destabilising our country. They never learn. They carry on 
as before.

Cries of 'name them, name them.'

BHUTTO (cont'd). You know who they are. So does the opposition. They 
are the ones who use their currency.

CHERRY (whispers to Lily). Beginning of the end.

Lily nods sadly.

BHUTTO. The opposition is playing with fire. They appeal to the 
generals to intervene. There are meetings at the American Embassy in 
Teheran. They dig out old contingency plans and prepare to perpetrate 
misdeeds against our people.

Cries of 'shame, shame.'

BHUTTO (cont'd). Yes, it is a cause for shame that people who are 
supposed to protect our country, defend our borders, are talking to 
foreign ambassadors. It is an intolerable form of interference in our 
internal affairs. (Looking at the gallery) Don't treat us as one of 
your Banana Republics. The bloodhounds are on my trail. After my 
blood. They killed President Allende in Chile, inaugurating a regime 
of terror and torture, but they could not do the same in Vietnam.

Loud applause.

CHERRY (to Lily). He's committing suicide.

Some diplomats walk out, followed by Zaman and his aides. Other 
diplomats are laughing at Bhutto.

BHUTTO. The source of our power is invincible. The people. My people 
harken to me. They are my strength, my iron will, my determination, 
my conscience. We owe them everything. Without them we are nothing. 
Nothing. With them we cannot be defeated. Never!

There is a prolonged applause. Shouts of 'Long live Chairman Bhutto.' 
The faithful have now woken up and are enthused. Silence.

BHUTTO (cont'd). I want to tell you something.

Bhutto pauses. Everyone waits. Expectant hush. Slowly, he takes out 
of his pocket a two-paged typed letter and holds it up for all to see.

CHERRY (quietly). Don't do it, my friend.

LILY (transfixed by Bhutto). Too late, Bob. The die is cast.

BHUTTO. This is a letter from Mr Cyrus Vance, the American secretary 
of state. He has the nerve to write to me and suggest a meeting 
between us to resolve the political crisis in Pakistan. As if we were 
a pliant satrapy. He could solve our crisis!

Shocked gasps.

BHUTTO (cont'd). He wants to act on behalf of the opposition, the 
Pakistan National Alliance. My answer to Vance is simple. No!

Prolonged applause.

BHUTTO (cont'd). I refuse to barter the sovereignty of my country in 
this fashion. (Looking up at the gallery) Find someone else to do 
your dirty work. The party isn't over.

* * * * *


EXTERIOR. GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS. ISLAMABAD. DAY.

Zia and Zaman walk through the courtyard, down steps and through 
another courtyard. Occasionally nodding and smiling at government 
officers as they walk by.

ZAMAN. The way he talks now. I'm sure he knows.

ZIA (grins reassuringly). He suspects. He does not know.

ZAMAN. But his speech to the assembly ...

ZIA. Hot air. He's concerned. That much he knows. No more.

ZAMAN. The attack on the Americans was strong. Too hard. He's never 
gone so far before.

ZIA (grinning). Nor have the Americans.

ZAMAN. Sir, you underestimate him.

ZIA. I don't think so.

ZAMAN. We should despatch him.

ZIA. No!At Zero Hour we implement Operation Wheeljam. Zaman and I 
will take Bhutto. Nizami will supervise mopping-up operations. The 
whole cabinet and heads of police and security to be dealt with 
before we take him.ZAMAN. No accidents?

ZIA. No. There are dangers. If the people come out for Bhutto, it 
could get messy.

ZAMAN. If the people come out, it means civil war. The army will not 
hold. Many soldiers will not open fire. Azad knows that well.

ZIA. Exactly. Question: will they come out? Perhaps if Bhutto were to 
appeal to them directly. But Bhutto will not do that. He is relying 
on a deal with the opposition leaders. And he is not sure if the 
people will come out for him.

ZAMAN. If they did, it might go too far.

ZIA. He knows that well. So he will manoeuvre. Not call the people 
out. And in the ways of manoeuvre, we have more training.

ZIA (cont'd). No, the real danger is above. Air force. Air force 
chiefs like Bhutto. We have not involved them in Operation Wheeljam. 
Suppose they get wind of our plans. Bomb our tanks. Take Bhutto in 
safety to air force base. That must be avoided.

ZAMAN. Air force strike? That's just impossible, sir.

ZIA (quietly). That's very possible.

* * * * *

INTERIOR. CABINET ROOM. NIGHT.

The door slowly opens. Whiskey creeps in and takes his seat. Bhutto 
carries on talking, completely ignoring the late entrant. No one else 
looks at him. A cabinet meeting in progress. We peer in from the 
window and watch a tableau.

* * * * *

EXTERIOR. ROAD. DAY.

Zia in his military limousine speeding to military intelligence HQ.

* * * * *

INTERIOR. MILITARY HQ. DAY.

All five generals are present. Zia strides in, goes straight to the 
head of the table.

ZIA (serious, tense). Generals, we are now short of time. We must 
strike tonight. Operation Wheeljam at Zero Hour.

AZAD. What the hell is going on? I've just returned from Lahore. The 
city is calm.

IFTIKHAR. And I hear Bhutto's done a deal with the opposition.

ZIA. Exactly. You know the basis? All the Baloch gangsters are to be 
released now or just before elections. Do you realise the effect this 
will have? It will legitimise rebellion. These men waged war against 
our state. To release them is an intolerable provocation.

AZAD. I take the point, but to launch a coup - an overreaction, sir! 
I cannot be party to a move that is seen as a blatant violation of 
democracy.

ZAMAN. They will say we're preventing the politicians from reaching 
an agreement.

ZIA. Our country's integrity is now at stake. It is now our duty as 
guardians of this Islamic republic to preserve our religion and our 
country. That's why Pakistan exists. We are like Israel. An 
ideological state. Take Judaism out of Israel and it will collapse. 
Take Islam out of Pakistan and make it a secular state and we will 
collapse. The Pakistan Army is Pakistan.

AZAD. Now I see it all. The mullahs have got you in their grip. 
Remember Black September in Jordan? Did you think about Islam when 
you helped King Hussein butcher the Palestinians?

ZAMAN. Shut your mouth. He is our chief.

ZIA (calm). Do you know that Bhutto has got cabinet approval to sack 
us all tomorrow?

Azad, Ifty and Rahman are clearly shocked.

AZAD. Where is the proof?

ZAMAN (rises, walks to the door and shouts). Bring him in, Colonel.

Azad and the others are amazed as the colonel enters with Whiskey, 
looking extremely cocky in contrast to cabinet appearances.

ZIA. Here, my dear General Azad, is the proof. Straight from a cabinet meeting.

AZAD. So I see. Is it sober? (To Whiskey) Is all this I hear true, you rogue?

WHISKEY. General-sahib, would I risk my life to come here and inform 
you otherwise? These two ears heard Bhutto. These two eyes read the 
papers ordering all your dismissals. Rashid, that bastard, said you 
should be executed for treason. All of you will spend tomorrow night 
in prison.

Azad stares at him hard. He is shattered. He turns away from Whiskey 
in disgust and indicates that the man be removed. No one moves.

AZAD (angry). Get him out of here. The stench is unbearable.

Zia nods to Colonel who exits with Whiskey.

AZAD. So Bhutto found out about us. I should have known. We are 
plotting. He is right to try and get rid of us. (To Zaman) You've 
trapped me.

Zaman shrugs.

ZIA. Now are you convinced?

Azad doesn't reply.

ZIA (signals to everyone to sit). At Zero Hour we implement Operation 
Wheeljam. Zaman and I will take Bhutto. Nizami will supervise 
mopping-up operations. The whole cabinet and heads of police and 
security to be dealt with before we take him. All communications to 
and from Bhutto's house to be cut off at midnight. Rahman, you fly to 
Quetta and take over the province. Iftikhar, you become the Frontier. 
Nizami will take the Punjab. Zaman and I will keep here.

AZAD. And me? Ambassador to Austria?

ZIA (smiling). General Azad, you are too important to waste on 
administering provinces. You must stay in command of the armoured 
corps. We can't take everyone out of the army.

All rise.

ZIA (cont'd) Just one more thing. If Bhutto summons any of you to his 
house today, don't go!
All laugh except Azad.

Excerpted with permission from
The Leopard and the Fox: A Pakistani Tragedy
By Tariq Ali
Seagull Books. Available with Liberty Books, next to Bar B.Q. Tonight,
Shop No. G-1, Plot # GP-5, Block 5, Clifton, Karachi
Tel: 021-5374153
www.libertybooks.com
ISBN 1 9054 2 229 6
204pp. Rs495

Tariq Ali is a historian, film-maker and political activist. His 
other books include The Clash of Fundamentalisms and Bush in Babylon.

o o o

(ii)

In the Making:
Identity Formation in South Asia

by Meeto (Kamaljit Bhasin-Malik)

Date: March 2007

description
This book critiques the taken-for-granted opposition of Hindu and 
Muslim as separate and cohesive categories, the frequent coding of 
syncretism as deviant, impermanent or tolerant, and moves towards a 
more nuanced approach. It questions the historicist preoccupation 
with incidents and processes of conflict, conquest, iconoclasm, and 
sets out to look at co-existence and peaceful interactions at the 
grassroots as equally crucial for the formation of identities. 
Written with perception and lucidity, it could be used profitably by 
scholars and by students, teachers, activists and the general reader.

Contents:

Introduction by Kumkum Sangari

1. A historiographical essay on Hindu-Muslim relations
2. Composite Culture in Pre-Partition Punjab: Fractures and Continuities
3. The Historian and the Indian Census: Accounts of Religion in late 
Nineteenth Century Punjab
4. The Census in Colonial Ceylon
5. Minority Rights, Secularism and Civil Society (co-authored with 
Yamini Aiyar)
6. The Ahmadi Problem: an unfinished essay
7. Appendices: a. I would like to ...; b. Concept Paper on the 
Census; c. Being an Ahmadi in an Age of 'Islamic terrorism'

Meeto by Judith Brown

about the author
Meeto (Kamaljit Bhasin-Malik) was doing her doctoral dissertation at 
Balliol College, University of Oxford, when she died in January 2006 
at the age of 28. She had been awarded the prestigious Clarendon 
Fellowship. Before returning to academics, she worked in various 
capacities with organisations involved in developmental and gender 
issues, minorities and human rights, and peace movements.


E-mail: info at threeessays.com
Website: http://www.threeessays.com

______

[7]  EVENTS:

http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/03/programme-tribunal-on-rise-of-fascist.html

Independent Peoples' Tribunal on the Rise of Fascist Forces in India 
and the attack on Secular State
Venue: Indian Social Institute, 10 Lodi Road Institutional Area,
Lodi Road, New Delhi-110001


OVER 200 VICTIMS, ACTIVISTS AND ACADEMICIANS FROM ACROSS 17 STATES 
TESTIFY BEFORE THE INDEPENDENT PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON THE RISE OF THE 
FASCIST FORCES IN INDIA.

DATE	TIME	Plenary Session
Screening of the Documentary: In The Dark Times (16 minutes)
by Gauhar Raza
  Prof. K N Panikkar, Prof Upendra Baxi, Justice Hosbeth Suresh, Prof. 
Akoijam Bimol
March 20	10-11.30
			STATE	JURY
	12.00-6.00pm

	PANEL 1	Gujarat	Prof. Upendra Baxi
Prof Akoijam Bimol
Prof Subharanjan Dasgupta
Nikhil Waghle
Dr. Sandeep Pandey
		PANEL 2	Madhya Pradesh & Jharkhand	Prof. KN Panikkar
Gagan Sethi
Annie Raja
Vishnu Nagar
John Dayal
		PANEL 3	Rajasthan	Justice Hosbeth Suresh
Vincent Manoharan J.
Dr. Rooprekha Verma
Dr. Angana Chatterjee

	6.15-8.00	Screening of Documentary Final Solution by 
Rakesh Sharma
March 21	9.30-10.15	Members of the Jury Speak on the 
findings of the Previous Day
	10.30-4.30pm	PANEL 1	Orissa and Karnataka	Justice KL Sharma
Dr. KM Shrimali
Dr. Ram Puniyani
John Dayal
Henri Tephange
		PANEL 2	Tamil Nadu and Kerala, West Bengal	Prof. 
KN Panikkar
Nikhil Waghle
Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy
Jaya Mehta
		PANEL 3	Chattisgarh, Maharashtra
	Justice SN Bhargava
Asghar Ali Engineer
Ali Asghar
Syeda Hameed
Vincent Manoharan J.
	5.00- 7.00	An evening of Protest Poetry and Music
March 22	9.00-10.00	Members of the Jury Speak on the 
findings of the Previous Day
	10.00-4.00pm	PANEL 1	J & K, Manipur, Nagaland 
	Justice KL Sharma
Ayo Jajo Aier
Prof. Purushottam Aggarwal
Kumar Ketkar
John Dayal
		PANEL 2	Goa and Uttar Pradesh	Justice R B Mehrotra
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer
KM Shrimali
S. Irfan Habib
Ali Asghar
Sheetla Singh
		PANEL 3	A National Perspective
Presentations by: Sukumar Muralidharan, Shankar Goplakrishnan, Priya 
Sreenivasa, Anil Choudhary, Dr. Angana Chatterjee, Apoorvanand, 
Poorva Bhardwaj, Deepta Bhog, Tehmina Arora	Justice SN Bhargava
Uma Chakravarty
Henri Tephange
Ashok Vajpayee
Lalit Surjan
	4.30-6.00	CONCLUDING SESSION AND PRESS CONFERENCE


ROOM NUMBER	MARCH 20	MARCH 21	MARCH 22
MAIN HALL GROUND FLOOR	GUJARAT	CHATTISGARH AND MAHARSHTRA 
	NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
CONFERENCE ROOM no. 207
2ND FLOOR	MADHYA PRADESH & JHARKHAND	ORISSA AND KARNATAKA 
	J& K , MANIPUR, NAGALAND
CONFERENCE ROOM no. 313
3RD FLOOR	RAJASTHAN	TAMIL NADU, KERALA, WEST BENGAL	GOA 
AND UTTAR PRADESH

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

Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.