SACW | Nov. 28-30, 2007 / Tanvir Mokammel / Taslima and the Bigots / Baramulla, 1989-2006
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Fri Nov 30 07:02:34 CST 2007
South Asia Citizens Wire | November 28-30, 2007 |
Dispatch No. 2471 - Year 10 running
[1] Bangladesh:
(i) SIDR Victims' Compensation Fund (United Bangladesh Appeal)
(ii) "The Promised Land": Tanvir Mokammel's moving documentary on Biharis
[2] Pakistan: Independence of Judiciary - The Main Issue (Beena Sarwar)
[3] India: Taslima, Bigots and Censorship - opinions
(i) South Asia scholars on Taslima
(ii) Exiled by Bigots' Edicts (J. Sri Raman)
(iii) An Open Letter To Narendra Modi (Shabnam Hashmi)
(iv) Candlelight support for Taslima
(v) Our con artists (Sitaram Yechury)
(vi) Taslima Nasrin talks to Kathleen McCaul
(vii) Taslima withdraws lines from autobiography (NDTV)
[4] Indian Administered Kashmir: Dead but Not
Forgotten: Baramulla, 1989-2006 (JKCCS)
[5] A language for the world: An Interview with Amartya Sen (Sanjay Suri)
[6] Announcements:
(i) Update on upcoming Pakistan Student protests
(ii) Gujarat Genocide Unmasked a conversation
with journalist Tarun Tejpal (San Francisco,
December 2)
(iii) Karnataka conference on communalism (Bangalore, December 6)
______
[1] BANGLADESH
(i)
Robin Khundkar
South Asia Forum
For Immediate Release
November 28, 2007
SIDR VICTIMS' COMPENSATION FUND
The United Bangladesh Appeal is pleased to
announce the formation and launch of a $500,000
compensation fund for families of the victims of
hurricane Sidr, a Category 4 hurricane that
devastated southwestern Bangladesh on November
15. With wind speeds exceeding 250 kmh (155 mph),
the storm and its accompanying surge killed over
3,200 individuals and another 1,800 are feared
missing. Damage to crops, livestock and property
is expected to run into billions of US dollars.
Over 7 million Bangladeshis are suffering from
the immediate aftermath of Sidr.
Modeled after the 911 Fund, the Sidr Victims'
Compensation Fund intends to make a cash payment
of approximately $100 per fatality to surviving
family members. Only direct family members such
as spouses, children, parents and siblings are
eligible beneficiaries, and funds will be
delivered to the closest surviving female head of
household. The fundraising is being conducted by
Bangladeshi expatriate groups that have come
together under the umbrella of the United
Bangladesh Appeal for this purpose. Already these
groups have pledged almost $200,000 for the fund.
Partner organizations in Bangladesh will compile
a detailed list of the victims and their
respective beneficiaries. Both sets of
organizations will come together for the actual
distribution of funds. Donated funds may not be
used for any purpose other than to compensate
Sidr victims. All administrative, organizational
and incidental costs will be borne by the partner
organizations. For more
information including how to donate to the Sidr
Victims' Compensation Fund, please visit
http://www.unitedbangladeshappeal.org.
United Bangladesh Appeal is an internet-based
umbrella organization created to unify the
numerous expatriate Bangladeshi groups under a
common goal in times of crisis or need. Its motto
e pluribus unum - 'many, uniting into one' - is
proudly borrowed from the great seal of the
United States .
visit http://www.unitedbangladeshappeal.org.
Contact:
United Bangladesh Appeal info at unitedbangladeshappeal.org
Global Coordinator: Muhit Rahman, 513-561-0914, Muhit at cinci.rr.com
London : Asif Saleh asif.saleh at gmail.com
New York : Rasheq Rahman, rasheq.rahman at gmail.com
Chicago : Rafiq Ahmed rahmed111 at comcast.net
Madison , WI : Rumi Ahmed rumi.ahmed at gmail.com
Boston : Mridul Chowdhury mridulch at gmail.com
Toronto : Nuzhat Rehman nuzhat_rehman at gmail.com
o o o
(ii)
The Daily Star
November 30, 2007
Culture
"THE PROMISED LAND": TANVIR MOKAMMEL'S MOVING DOCUMENTARY ON BIHARIS
Press show at Public Library
Fayza Haq
Footage used in the film (top), a scene from the documentary (left)
Tanvir Mokammel's soul-searching and poignant
90-minute documentary The Promised Land
(Shopnobhumi) had its press show at the Central
Public Library Auditorium on November 28. In the
documentary the filmmaker looks back to 1947,
when the Partition of India took place, which, in
Mokammel's opinion was a great tragedy as a lot
of people suffered, and yet solved nobody's
problem.
"The Hindus of East Bengal and Sikhs from West
Punjab fled but the worst sufferers are still the
Urdu-speaking Muslims from India, who suffered
both in 1947 and in 1971, when they became
'state-less'. I wrote a poem in protest for this
community, which is the soliloquy of an old
Bihari woman, Amina Begum. The film is based on
it," Mokammel says.
The documentary is in colour, which uses a lot of
old historical footages in black and white.
Interviews of a number of people have been
included in the film. Mokamel did a lot of
research through libraries, books and the
internet, along with examining of newspaper
clippings and trips to Bihar and Karachi -- which
were essential to find the roots of the subjects.
The theme, however, mostly revolves around an old
woman, Amina Begum, who migrated from Bihar to
the then East Pakistan. "It is her family tree
that is traced and followed vividly and the
audience sees the story though Amina Begum's
eyes," says Mukammel.
During the Liberation War this community became
involved and decided to support the Pakistanis.
They became marked as "collaborators" against
Bengalis and this move proved to be devastating
for these Urdu-speaking people after the war. Now
they live in "refugee camps", isolated from the
mainstream.
The research for the film was time consuming --
five months. The actual shooting by Anwar
Hossian, comprised two and a half months. Mahadeb
Shi edited the film. Background music was done by
Syed Shabab Ali. Uttam Guha and Sarwar Tamijuddin
assisted Mukammel in direction. Khalid Hussian
and Muhammad Hasan assisted in research. The film
was produced by Kino-Eye Films.
Asked about the making of the film, Mokammel says
that the theme was something that preoccupied him
for decades and he felt an enormous sense of
satisfaction in being able to hold this up to
both the intellectuals and masses of the nation
-- for them to ponder on and think of some
satisfactory solution.
"It was something cathartic as I don't belief
that we have really treated our minority groups
fairly, even though we have a reputation for
being tolerant and hospitable. The Hindus, the
indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
or the Urdu-speaking people living in the country
-- have all suffered maltreatment in some way."
Mukammel's film Quiet Flows the River Chitra
follows the plight of a Hindu family and
Teardrops of Karnofuli deals with the troubles of
the people of Chittagong Hill Tracts. The latest
film, Mokammel says, gives him a sense of
contentment -- an aesthetic fillip to his mind.
The Biharis whom he worked with, he says, were
kind and understanding, cooperative and helpful,
specially the people living in "Geneva Camp" at
Muhammadpur and Mirpur in Dhaka, Syedpur,
Rangpur, Bogra and Khulna.
The film was shot from May to July earlier this
year. "As the issue is a sensitive one many
people were not as enthusiastic about the film as
one might have expected thinking people to be,"
-- Mokammel's observation.
The film marks the 60th anniversary of the Partition of India.
_____
[2]
[Citizens Challenge Emergency Rule in Pakistan
http://emergency2007.blogspot.com/]
o o o
POLITICS-PAKISTAN: INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY - THE MAIN ISSUE
by Beena Sarwar (Inter Press Service, November 28, 2007)
KARACHI, Nov 28 (IPS) - As Gen. Pervez Musharraf
doffs his army uniform and takes oath as the
civilian President of Pakistan, two crucial
issues stand out: continuing curbs on the
judiciary and media, and general elections,
scheduled for early January, that observers say
cannot be fair and free under emergency rule.
And then there is speculation as to whether or
not the political parties will boycott the polls.
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both
twice-elected former prime ministers, were among
the candidates who filed nomination papers by
Nov. 25. Bitter rivals in the past, they have
over the past couple of years been dialoguing for
a common cause: the removal of the army from
politics in the country.
In May 2006, while still in exile, Bhutto and
Sharif, respective heads of Pakistan's two most
popular political parties, signed a 'charter of
democracy' in London. This was, as prominent
analyst Hasan Askari-Rizvi commented, "The first
major attempt by their parties to identify a
common agenda for a political struggle against
the military-dominated political order in
Islamabad."
Ten months later, Musharraf's attempts to suspend
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar
A. Choudhry catalysed what came to be known as
the 'judicial crisis' -- the lawyer-led movement
to restore Choudhry, covered by some two dozen
television news channels. The high-voltage
protests and the media coverage rocked the
country and Musharraf's popularity plummeted.
By October, United States-backed negotiations
between Musharraf and Bhutto had forced the
general into conceding political ground. Their
political alliance allowed Bhutto to make a
triumphal return to Pakistan on Oct. 18 -- marred
by the bomb attack on her welcome procession
which claimed some 150 lives.
Musharraf refused to allow Sharif's return,
foiling his attempt to arrive ahead of Bhutto by
ignominiously bundling him back in an airplane to
Saudi Arabia where he has been based as part of
an agreement with the monarchy since the army
chief ousted him from power in October 1999. But
Sharif was allowed to return after Bhutto's
falling out with Musharraf over his emergency
proclamation of Nov. 3. His return has been
widely hailed as a positive step for electoral
politics and democracy. "It will strengthen the
democratic and political culture," said Bhutto.
Political observers cite the Saudi Kingdom's
discomfort with a woman potentially heading the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan as the basis for its
rejection of Musharraf's attempts to keep his old
foe out in the political wilderness.
The exiled politicians had to be allowed back
because the National Assembly was completing its
five-year tenure on Nov. 15 -- a first in the
country's 60-year history. That day, Musharraf
was also supposed to step down from his position
either as army chief or president, the dual
office that the parliament, elected in the 2002
general elections, had allowed him to hold for
one term.
However, Musharraf made it clear that he would
leave the army only if allowed to remain
President. The constitution does not permit
anyone to contest presidential elections until
two years have elapsed after leaving a salaried
government position.
When the Supreme Court appeared likely to prevent
Musharraf from taking oath as President, the
General declared a state of emergency. He
promulgated a Provisional Constitutional Order
(PCO), suspended the constitution, and required
the justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts
to take fresh oath. The independent electronic
media was blacked out.
"If the constitution is the soul of a nation,
then the judiciary is its heart," said former
Supreme Court judge Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, "Our
nation is without a heart and a soul just now."
Bhutto has said that a democratic government
would restore all the deposed judges of the
superior judiciary and declared that she is ready
to form an alliance with Nawaz Sharif. "We are
ready to forge an alliance with all moderate
political parties," she told reporters in her
home town Larkana, after filing her nomination
papers.
Although Bhutto, Sharif and others -- like the
imprisoned lawyers Aitzaz Ahsan and Ali Ahmed
Kurd, heroes of the lawyers' movement -- filed
nomination papers, the parties are keeping the
boycott option open. "We are concerned that
elections will be rigged but we don't want to
leave the field empty," said Bhutto, adding that
the U.S. was also pushing an alliance of moderate
parties. "In the past the U.S. would support
dictatorships but now it is supporting democratic
forces, which is a sign of encouragement for all
the democracy-loving people.''
Cricket
hero-turned-philanthropist-turned-politician
Imran Khan, on the other hand, tore up his
nomination papers, refusing to contest elections
in the present dispensation. Khan, recently
released from prison where he was being held
after attempting to address a students' rally in
Lahore last week, said that to even file the
papers would be a betrayal of the judiciary.
"For the first time in 60 years' history our
Supreme Court has stood for an independent
judiciary and rule of law and shunned the
doctrine of necessity," said Khan. "Any
politician, who participates in these fraudulent
elections held under an unconstitutional and
illegal PCO, will be strengthening a dictator."
However, observers say that since his
Tehreek-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) is
basically a one-seat party, this decision does
not dent the political situation.
The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM), a
coalition of all the opposition parties,
including Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP)
and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML), had
called for the political parties to boycott the
elections if the pre-Nov. 3 conditions were not
restored -- including the judiciary.
This, essentially, is the sticking point, say
observers. Musharraf, now a civilian president,
will sooner or later have to lift the emergency
orders, hold elections, and restore the
independent media. Some channels like the radio
FM 103 in Karachi and Geo TV nationwide are still
shut down, causing huge financial losses to their
ownership. In all aspects, Pakistan is likely to
revert to the pre-Nov. 3 situation -- except for
the judiciary.
There is near unanimous demand in the country,
voiced by civil society organisations, lawyers
and political parties, for this to happen. The
majority of Supreme Court and High Court judges
preferred to step down from office rather than
take fresh oath under the PCO. These 'non-PCO'
judges now find themselves in the centre of the
controversy and the fight for a democratic
Pakistan.
Their 'peaceful defiance' has inspired many,
including the 'Musharraf generation' - well-to-do
young urbanites from the consumer-oriented urban
middle class that benefited materially from
Musharraf's liberal economic policies --
corporate bankers and lawyers, chartered
accountants, software engineers and
businesspeople.
Investment banker Ali Assad, 26, initially moved
by the lawyers' movement and the media coverage,
was outraged into activism by the emergency. "I
just wanted to make my voice heard. I felt that
in a country where the highest judiciary can
receive no protection, what is my standing?" he
told IPS. "It scared me."
On Nov. 27, 17 retired judges of the Sindh High
Court made public a joint signed statement
declaring the emergency as "entirely
unconstitutional". "A return to democracy is
impossible without the restoration of all Chief
Justices and Judges to their rightful position as
of Nov. 2, 2007", they declared. The statement
also holds that "any election carried out under a
de facto martial law shall be farcical and
illegitimate."
Similar declarations are expected from retired
judges of the Supreme Court as well as the High
Courts of the other three provinces.
"Right now, the only thing certain in this
country," said Sindh High Court lawyer Zahid
Ebrahim, "is that there is no certainty in the
months ahead."
_____
[3] Taslim Nasreen
(i)
SOUTH ASIA SCHOLARS ON TASLIMA
[29 November 2007]
We, concerned scholars of South Asia, condemn the
attacks on Bangladeshi writer, Taslima Nasreen,
by extremist forces in West Bengal who claim to
speak for Muslim community. Freedom of speech,
dissent and expression must be defended
everywhere and at all times by those who are
genuinely and consistently committed to these
values. The Government of Bengal has, regrettably
not fulfilled its obligation to do so even as it
disregards the real interests of Muslim
communities, forcibly acquiring land for
industrial development, much of it from poor
Muslims.
We also deplore the hypocritical opportunism of
Hindu chauvinist groups, including the BJP, who
having themselves participated vigorously in
attacking artists and filmakers such as MF Husain
and Deepa Mehta, are claiming to defend Ms
Nasreen against Islamists. We call on the
Bangladeshi and Indian governments to safeguard
Ms Nasreen's rights to dignity and freedom of
speech and to ensure that she does not become a
pawn in an ugly stand-off between Hindu and
Muslim chauvinist forces.
From Cambridge University:
Dr Susan Daruvala, Dr Anuj Dawar
Dr Priyamvada Gopal
Dr Subha Mukherji
Dr Farzana Shaikh
From Oxford University: Professor Barbara Hariss-White
Dr Nikita Sud
University of London
Prof Gautam Appa
Dr Uttara Natarajan
Dr Harsh Pant
Dr Sangeeta Datta
From University of Warwick:
Dr Dwijen Rangnekar
Prof Benita Parry
From University of Minnesota
Prof Keya Ganguly
Prof Tim Brennan
From University of Pennsylvania
Professor Suvir Kaul
Professor Ania Loomba
Aarhus University, Denmark
Dr Tabish Khair
Queens University, Belfast
Dr Manav Ratti
Professor Rajeswari Sunderrajan, New York University
Professor Sabina Sawhney, Hofstra University
Prof Aishwary Kumar, Stanford University
Shashwati Talukdar, filmmaker
Hasan Saroor, journalist
(ii)
truthout.org
28 November 2007
EXILED BY BIGOTS' EDICTS
by J. Sri Raman
A woman writer who won literary trophies in her
twenties. An aged artist once known and loved for
his bare-foot charm and innovative brush. Both
are on the run today. And no force in the vast
South Asian region, stretching from New Delhi to
Dhaka, can help either return home in dignity.
Painfully dramatic events over the past week,
involving the persecuted Bengali writer and
reminding many of the banished painter,
illustrate a major threat to peace in the
subcontinent - inside and between its
impoverished nations. Competing forces of
bigotry, whose edicts have condemned both to
cruel exiles, can coexist with each other,
comfortably so. But they cannot coexist with
enduring South Asian peace.
Forty-five-year-old writer Taslima Nasreen is
being kicked around like a football for a week
now within India, where she sought asylum 13
years ago. She has been living in Kolkata (once
Calcutta), capital of the State of West Bengal,
which shares a border and the Bengali language
and culture with Bangladesh, despite a religious
divide. In this city and State, known for its
love of literature and arts, she has seemed happy
and at home. Not any more. It now appears
doubtful whether she can return to even her first
place of exile and resume her life there for long.
Maqbool Fida Husain is more than twice Nasreen's
age. The 92-year-old painter, among the
best-known artists of India, was forced to flee
abroad in 2006. He now divides his time between
Dubai and London, telling every interviewer about
how much he misses his Mumbai (formerly Bombay)
and the country that inspired his canvases. He,
too, however, has no realistic hope of returning
home in the foreseeable future.
Nasreen's exile within an exile began on November
21. That was the day Kolkata, seat of a Left
Front State government, surprised the whole
country with a violent agitation demanding
Nasreen's expulsion from West Bengal, if not her
deportation from India. The Muslims of the city
and the State, whom the agitators claimed to
represent, had never raised this demand in all
these years.
What made the event more intriguing was it came
as an unexpected twist to a rally supposedly in
solidarity with a struggle of farmers in
Nandigram, a far-away village that had witnessed
much violence earlier. The farmers were soon all
forgotten, as agitators turned the city streets
into a battlefield and would not relent until
Nasreen's flight became known.
Starting as a physician in a government hospital
in Dhaka, Nasreen acquired both fame and infamy
as she turned increasingly to writing in the
early nineties. It is for literary critics to
judge the quality of her works. It was her
courage of conviction, as a writer for women's
rights at the risk of incurring the clerics'
wrath, that won her instant recognition and
increasing admiration besides opposition of a
most obscurantist kind.
Her strong views on this subject inevitably made
her a staunch opponent of politico-religious
forces that stood for persecution of the
minorities (including the Hindus and Ahmedia sect
of Islam) in Bangladesh. In 1994, she came out
with her best-known novel titled "Lajja
(Shame),"' which brought out the sectarian
backlash against the minorities following the
demolition of the Babri mosque in India's Ayodhya
by the far-right hordes.
This brave effort brought her honors abroad,
including the Sakharov Freedom of Thought Award
from the European Parliament. What followed in
Bangladesh, however, was an official ban on the
book. The slew of court cases launched against
her soon forced her to flee the country with the
government encouraging her self-exile.
Husain's troubles also began in the early
nineties, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), the political front of the far right,
advancing towards power in New Delhi through the
Ayodhya agitation. Interestingly, the anti-Husain
campaign was initiated with a far-right journal
abrupt re-publication of some of his portraits of
a Hindu pantheon, dating back to the seventies,
and assailing them as a crime against the
majority community.
Husain was alleged to have offended "Hindu
sensibilities" by painting some of the female
deities in an "indecent" fashion. The far-right
crusaders for "cultural nationalism" did not even
seem to know of the similarly exquisite
sculptures of the same deities in shrines where
common Indians have worshiped down the centuries
without any qualm.
A series of court cases hounded Husain too. When
threats to his life made it even worse, Husain
left India in 2006.
It is not only opponents of religious bigotry who
see a parallel in the two cases of persecution.
The tormentors of Nasreen actually cite the two
cases together as evidence of even-handedness.
Their repeated refrain is they had supported the
cause of majority sectarianism in Husain's case
and would like the courtesy to be reciprocated.
Some observers point to a certain subtle
difference between the two cases. Husain's
persecution was a punishment the majority meted
out to an offender from a minority. Nasreen's
torture, however, was an example of a minority
community chastising one of its own. While the
observation has a certain validity, it is not as
if Husain has been a darling of the obscurantists
of his own community.
He faced their ire when his experimental film
titled "Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities" was
released in 2004. Clerics took strong exception
to one of the songs in the film on the grounds it
reproduced words from the Quran and, therefore,
amounted to a gross blasphemy. The film had to be
pulled out of theaters after a day's showing.
The BJP has not agreed to back the bullying of
Nasreen as a quid pro quo for the minority
sectarians' support for Husain's banishment. It
has, in fact, seized the opportunity to mount an
offensive on the Left and the Manmohan Singh
government. The episode, the far right claims,
exposes the hypocrisy of its political foes and
the skin-deep nature of their "secularism."
It is true that often, perhaps too often, parties
and forces that claim to fight the BJP and the
rest of the far right fail to do so frontally and
betray a lack of firmness in the face of a
rabble-rousing campaign by religious
fundamentalists. This, however, does not make the
BJP's allegedly pro-Nasreen agitprop anything but
an extension of its anti-minority offensive,
which includes demonization of Muslims and Islam
as a whole.
The most outrageously funny part of the BJP
campaign must be the pro-Nasreen perorations
emanating from Narendra Modi. The BJP chief
minister of the State of Gujarat, who presided
over the anti-minority pogrom of 2002, has
offered Nasreen unsolicited protection. He has
invited her to seek asylum in Gujarat, if she
cannot return to Kolkata. No one has asked him
where the thousands of Muslims, who were forced
to flee Gujarat and still cannot return home,
will find their refuge.
Even as politics rages all around her, Nasreen is
being shifted from place to place for "her own
safety" as intelligence agencies continue to
insist. And, even as his name is being bandied
about in the debate over her, there is no word
about anyone doing anything to ensure the return
of nonagenarian Husain who has brought laurels to
his nation as Nasreen did to hers.
o o o
(iii)
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:07:45 +0530
From: "shabnam hashmi"
AN OPEN LETTER TO NARENDRA MODI
Mr Chief Minister,
It is ironical that a Govt which refused to
acknowledge the gang rape of more than 300 Muslim
women during the Gujarat carnage of 2002 is
proposing to give shelter to Taslima Nasrin.
The forces of hatred that you and your government
unleashed in the society have caused havoc during
your regime against ordinary women of Gujarat.
It is a well established fact that there is a
direct and deep connection between the ideology
of hatred and growing violence against women. If
a society allows hatred to breed and spread
against any section of the society it ultimately
engulfs every other section too and has direct
impact on the women in that particular society.
The hatred and violence that you unleashed in
2002 against the women from a particular
background has engulfed women of all classes,
religions, castes and socio-economic backgrounds.
It is shocking every morning to open the
newspapers. The news of dowry deaths, female
feticide, domestic violence and rape glares at
the reader. One wonders if it is the same Gujarat
where the Mahatma was born.
A pilot study conducted by Ahmedabad Women's
Action Group (AWAG) under the 'Mental Health Care
Pilots in Gujarat' project undertaken by the
Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad (IIM-A
) revealed that a whopping 58 per cent of the
surveyed women in 'your mega city' of Ahmedabad
suffer significant mental distress.
The study revealed horrendous forms of physical
violence which include slapping, punching,
biting, kicking and even branding with cigarette
butts!
According to the sample survey 65 per cent women
conceded to being abused in public and in front
of neighbours! 35 per cent women reported that
their children, especially girls, were victims of
violence and were physically and verbally abused
by the father. 70 per cent reported verbal abuse,
threats, 68 per cent reported slapping, 62 per
cent reported kicking, 53 per cent reported
punching, 49 per cent reported hitting with hard
objects, 37 per cent reported biting, 29 per cent
reported choking and 22 per cent reported
branding with cigarette butts.
It is the result of the hatred which you have
sown in the hearts and minds of the people. The
men whom you encouraged and sent to rape and kill
in 2002 were brothers and fathers and husbands.
They were part of this society. Did you expect
that they will indict violence on 'other' women
and be very nice to women inside their own houses?
Mr. Chief Minister, You could not protect women
in Gujarat. It will do you good to first try and
put your house in order.
India is a large democracy and Indians will protect and keep Taslima safely.
Shabnam Hashmi
November 28, 2007
1914, Karanjwala Building, In Front of Khanpur Darwaza,
Ahmedabad
o o o
(vi)
Indian Express
November 28, 2007
CANDLELIGHT SUPPORT FOR TASLIMA
Express news service
New Delhi, November 27 To express dissatisfaction
over the hasty transportation of Taslima Nasreen
from West Bengal, more than 100 social activists,
writers and artists today held a silent
candlelight protest at Mandi House.
Holding placards that said, "We stand for freedom
of speech and expression," the protesters not
only condemned the transportation of Taslima
Nasreen but also condemned the violence against
artists such as M F Husain, Deepa Mehta,
Chandrashekhar and Khooshboo.
"Taslima Nasreen had to leave Kolkata because a
handful of fundamentalists committed violence.
What happened to the safety that the government
had promised her while giving her refuge?" said
Kamla Bhasin of Jagori which organised the vigil.
She said she felt the need to stage the protest
because "everyone was dissatisfied over what was
happening to Taslima but nobody was doing
anything about it. They needed somebody to take
the initiative and here I am".
The protesters at the vigil felt that freedom of
expression should be irrespective of caste,
gender or religion. "As an artist, one should be
allowed to express himself or herself and I am
all for anti-censorship because that is the basis
of a democratic society," said Brinda Bose, who
is doing her fellowship at the Nehru Memorial.
Another volunteer Bhupen Singh, a cultural
activist, said, "The CPI(M) is presenting its
pseudo-secular character by forcing the writer to
flee from Kolkata."
When asked whether their candlelight vigil can
help the cause of free speech, a majority
answered that it is upto the government to
decide. "By protesting, we are doing what we
ought to do. Now by listening to us, the
government should do what it should do," said
Anil Chowdhury from Peace.
o o o
(v)
Hindustan Times
November 29, 2007
OUR CON ARTISTS
by Sitaram Yechury
The hue and cry being raised by the BJP and other
RSS tentacles over the issue of the stay of
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen in India is,
indeed, the height of duplicity. Even Narendra
Modi, who conducted the symphony of bloodshed in
Gujarat in 2002, has jumped on to this bandwagon
by offering asylum and protection to Taslima in
his state. This effort to project themselves as
the champions of 'freedom of expression' does not
even serve as a mask to conceal their true
intention of seeking to sharpen communal
polarisation through such a stand. Given the fact
that some sections of Muslims have taken offence
to Taslima's writings on Islam and the Prophet
Mohammad, the BJP has sprung to her defence.
Thus, they are seeking to reinforce their
anti-Muslim stance and consequently consolidate
the Hindu vote-bank. Nothing else can explain
this sudden fondness for Taslima.
The duplicity lies in the fact that the BJP and
the saffron brigade continues with its relentless
campaign to send 'Bangladeshis' back from the
metros of Delhi and Mumbai. In the process, many
a genuine Indian citizen, who happens to be a
Muslim hailing from West Bengal, have been
harassed and hounded. Further, further duplicity
lies in their rabid intolerance of any artistic
expression that they consider offensive to their
religious sentiments. Over the last decade, there
have been innumerable instances of brazen attacks
on artists of a wide spectrum, the most infamous
of them being attacks against Indian painter,
M.F. Husain. His house was vandalised, his
paintings that sell in international auctions at
phenomenal prices were destroyed, and court
proceedings were initiated against him at various
places. The net result is that one of India's
illustrious sons is forced to live abroad
virtually in exile. The BJP spokesman in the Lok
Sabha says, "Husain is welcome to come back and
face charges... We don't stop him from coming and
facing the law." Everyone needs to both face and
abide by the law. This is not the contentious
issue. The same law of the land must also
protect the life and properties of the concerned
individual. When these are violated with impunity
by the saffron brigade, where is the protection?
The concert of noted Pakistani ghazal singer
Ghulam Ali was disrupted in Mumbai. The shooting
of Deepa Mehta's film, Water, was sought to be
prevented. Films like Parzania on the 2002
Gujarat carnage or Fanaa are attacked. In fact,
some film-makers needed to take 'permission' for
their films to be screened. In May 2007, the
saffron brigade ransacked the prestigious M.S.
University in Vadodara protesting against an
in-house painting of a student for hurting their
religious sentiments - the same charge that some
Muslim organisations have raised against
Taslima. On May 19, 2007, justifying this
attack, the BJP said: "Freedom of expression does
not mean hurting religious sentiments." Clearly,
the saffron brigade does not accept the saying,
'What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for
the gander'.
This list of moral policing being done by the
saffron brigade can continue endlessly. However,
on the question of Taslima's stay in India, the
record must be set right. The question of any
foreign national visiting or staying in India is
based on the granting of a visa, which is the
sole prerogative of the central government. Once
this is done, the centre can well prescribe
certain conditions as well as locations in India
where the person concerned can stay. Wherever
the person stays, it is incumbent upon the
concerned state government to provide security,
given the fact that law and order is a state
subject under our Constitution.
The UPA government's statement in Parliament on
Wednesday has clearly indicated that Taslima
would be permitted to stay in India subject, of
course, to the usual conditions that she would
"eschew political activities in India or any
actions which may harm India's relations with
friendly countries." It is also expected that the
guest "will refrain from activities and
expressions that may hurt the sentiments of our
people." For nearly three years, Taslima has been
living in Kolkata and the West Bengal government
has been providing her the required protection.
It is, therefore, not merely unjust and unfair to
target the West Bengal government on this score
but also an outright political attack to score
points.
Returning to Modi's defence of Taslima, a report
that appeared in the November 28 edition of this
paper is both shocking and revealing. Two
survivors of the 2002 carnage have reportedly
stated that they will vote for Modi "because I
don't know what Bajrang Dal will do to us if he
is voted out". This is Abdul Majid, who lost
seven family members, including a daughter who
was raped and killed and two sons who were burnt
alive. The other survivor who echoes this
sentiment is Khaliq Noor Mohammad Sheikh. Apart
from losing his father and four uncles during
Partition, he lost his wife and all five children
in 2002. He tells the reporter, "You must have
heard of Kausar Bi, the pregnant girl whose baby
was ripped out of her. I am her father."
This unfortunately confirms that Machiavelli and
his discourses with the Prince suggesting
diabolic ways to retain power continue to remain
valid even today. One of his dictums was: First
demonstrate to the people the worst that you are
capable of. Then proceed not to repeat it. The
people will then heave a sigh of relief and come
to look upon you as a benefactor. Machiavelli
probably did not know then that he would find,
centuries later, an ardent and sincere disciple
in Modi.
Those who in their overpowering desire to
belittle, if not eliminate, the present influence
of the Left in the country, compare Nandigram
with Gujarat are not only belittling the tragedy
of the 2002 carnage but are, in fact, extending
support to Modi and giving a degree of legitimacy
to the communal carnage. The debate on Nandigram
has taken place in Parliament and will continue
for sometime to remain in public discourse. We
have joined issue and there shall be
opportunities to do so in the future as well.
Suffice to state here that one cannot afford to
allow anti-communist prejudices to lead into
positions of support to communal fascism.
Those succumbing to such a proclivity must
recollect what the German intellectual Pastor
Neimoeller had said at the time of Nazi
ascendancy:
"First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.
Next they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
Sitaram Yechury, MP, Rajya Sabha & Member, CPI(M) Politburo
o o o
(vi)
TASLIMA NASRIN TALKS TO KATHLEEN MCCAUL [November 30, 2007]
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,2219223,00.html
o o o
(viii) Taslima withdraws lines from autobiography (NDTV)
Friday, November 30, 2007 (New Delhi)
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has withdrawn
controversial lines in her autobiographical book
Dwikhandito.
The move comes just two days after the Centre
said it would continue to shelter the exiled
author but she had to refrain from hurting
religious sentiments.
Speaking to NDTV from the undisclosed safe house
where she has been kept under the Centre's care,
the author said ''I am withdrawing the
controversial lines from my book Dwikhandito. The
book was written in 2002 based on my memories of
Bangladesh in the 1980s during which time
secularism was removed from the Bangladesh
constitution.''
''Because I value secularism I wanted secularism
to remain in the Bangladesh constitution. I
didn't write the book to hurt anybody's
sentiments. Some people claim that sentiments
have been hurt. It was not intended. I hope there
will be no controversy anymore and I will be able
to live peacefully in India,'' she said.
Senior left leader Gurudas Dasgupta said that
Taslima had taken the correct step, which will
help facilitate her return to Kolkata.
[. . .]
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070034420&ch=11/30/2007%204:43:00%20PM
______
[4]
Economic and Political Weekly
November 24 - November 30, 2007
DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: BARAMULLA, 1989-2006
by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society
This is a summary of the results of a survey
carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of
Civil Society between 2003 and 2006 in Baramulla
district of Jammu and Kashmir that, in the
context of the resistance to "occupation", tries
to bring "alive" the profile of those who were
killed during 1989-2006.
http://www.epw.org.in/uploads/articles/11250.pdf
______
[5]
Asia Times
Nov 30, 2007
INTERVIEW - A LANGUAGE FOR THE WORLD
Amartya Sen, Nobel economist
Interview by Sanjay Suri
LONDON - The "war on terror" is not everybody's
language, nor for that matter is "globalization",
says 1998 Nobel Prize economics laureate Amartya
Sen. Nor is anyone right to think that religious
radicalism is really an Islamic problem, he says.
Such views made Sen, an Indian, a natural choice
to lead the Commonwealth Commission on Respect
and Understanding in its search for civil paths
to peace. The group's report titled "Civil Paths
to Peace" was launched in London recently.
That report was presented to Commonwealth
Secretary General Don McKinnon ahead of the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the
Ugandan capital Kampala from November 23 to 25.
The report follows a mandate from the
Commonwealth Heads of Government to look into the
causes of conflict, violence and extremism in the
53 members of the Commonwealth, the countries
that once formed the British Empire.
Inter Press Service European regional editor
Sanjay Suri interviewed Amartya Sen after the
launch of the report.
Inter Press Service: What does your report see as the prime causes of conflict?
Amartya Sen: I think that just as World War I was
fed by playing up nationality divisions, at the
moment a lot of the debates, are, and a lot of
the fury and flames are connected with the
divisions of religious distinctions. And I think
to overcome that we have to see the richness of
human relations. And we're really concerned with
that.
It's a complex subject. And yet unless we engage
with the battle for people's minds, there's no
way, we believe, of defeating violence and
terrorism in the world. It cannot be done by
militarism alone. We don't take the view that
military actions never make any difference. It
can make a difference, but certainly the civilian
initiative, civilian commitment and a variety of
instruments connected with media, education, the
political process and civil society engagement
can make a difference.
IPS: It is usually considered proper to speak
broadly of a religious problem, but a lot of
people see it as primarily an Islamist problem.
AS: I don't think it is a problem of religion as
such, because, I mean I am not religious myself,
but I can see that for people who are religious,
religion can have quite an enriching role in
their life. But that's quite different from using
religious divisions for purpose of a sectarian
division, and for purpose of perpetrating
violence on people who do not share the religion
but have another religion.
But that is not confined to Islamic - what you
now call Islamic - terrorism. That is a very
small group of people of the Muslim faith who
happen to take a particular view about how to
advance it; I think the vast majority of Muslims
don't take that view.
And you see that kind of violence in others too.
When there were the Gujarat riots in India it was
the Hindu sectarians who played a part. Similarly
the Buddhist sectarians have played a part in the
Sri Lankan riots, and so on. So I think it's the
confusion between the enriching role of religion,
which is one identity among a plethora of
identities which human beings have.
IPS: But what is called the "global war on
terror" is really against Islamist violence.
AS: Well, the "global war on terror" is not our
language, of course. When we refer to it, we call
it the so-called "war on terror". I think no
matter what we think about military initiatives,
and many people took the view within the
commission that the Afghanistan initiative was
more correct in a military way than the Iraq
initiative was, but no matter how we size up on
that issue, we all agreed that the basic
philosophical understanding that underlines the
"war on terror" is far too limited. It does not
engage sufficiently in the battle for people's
minds.
And in that it so happened that by seizing on one
particular type of violence's cause, it has taken
a reading of the world in which a clash of
civilizations, particularly between so-called
Western civilization and so-called Islamic
civilization plays a big part.
But that's not the way the world is divided.
People between people who are Muslims, or
Christians or Jews or Hindus or Sikhs can
participate in the same business activities, can
take part in the same celebration of language and
literature, enjoy the same kind of music, there
are all kinds of ways in which they are united.
It's just a question of taking a small sub-set of
a very large group, and then identifying that
whole group with that little subset. Which does
not produce a very good way of understanding.
IPS: So is the idea of a clash of civilizations misplaced?
AS: It's a wholly wrong expression. For at least three different reasons.
One, that these divisions of civilization are
done on grounds of religion. But we don't have
only religious and civilizational identity. When
I talk with a Muslim friend, I happen to come
from a Hindu
background ... whether in India or in Pakistan or
in Bangladesh, or for that matter in Egypt or
Britain, it's not a relation between a Hindu
civilization and a Muslim civilization. It could
be two Indians chatting, or two sub-continentals
chatting. Or two South Asians chatting, or it
could be two people from developing countries
chatting. There are all kinds of ways in which we
have things in common. So the civilizational
division is a very impoverished way of
understanding human beings. In fact, classifying
the world population into civilization and seeing
them in that form is a very quick and efficient
way of misunderstanding absolutely everybody in
the world.
Second, as these cultures have grown, they have
had huge connections with each other. Indian food
drew the use of chilli from the Portuguese
conquerors. British food is deeply influenced by
Indian cooking today. Similarly maths and science
and architecture travel between regions. So does
literature. So, civilizations have not grown into
self-contained little boxes.
The third mistake is to assume that somehow they
must be at loggerheads with each other. It is
just one division among many. And there are
others; there are men and there are women. The
gender division. Now if that leads to hostility
between them, that will be a different thing. And
then one has to see what kind of rhetoric has
made that possible. And if there is lack of
justice to women, how both men and women may have
a joint commitment in overcoming that quality.
It's the totality of neglect of these issues; the
multiplicity of identities, the non-insular
interactive emergence of world civilization which
is increasingly a united one, and the absence of
the reason for a battle just when a
classification exists, these are the ways in
which the rhetoric of a clash of civilizations is
not only mistaken, but is doing an enormous
amount of harm today.
IPS: The Commonwealth is often spoken of as a
microcosm of diversity. What could it
symbolically or practically do?
AS: We're not trying to arrive at a position in
the Commonwealth that everyone will have the same
politics. Or exactly the same view on economic
relations. We have a variety of views. But we
also have shared interests, and a shared
commitment to peace and prosperity and to good
living. These are the commitments we want to
pursue, and they can be pursued without having to
resolve all our differences.
So the Commonwealth brings a multilateral
dialog-based approach to dealing with each
other's differences, and that's what we have
tried to deal with in the past. For example when
we were battling with South Africa overcoming
apartheid, similarly when there have been
religious divisions and riots we are concerned
with overcoming them. So the Commonwealth brings
an approach, a multilateral dialog-based approach
in which civil initiatives take priority over
military ones. That's where the Commonwealth's
contribution is.
IPS: But whose globalization is it anyway? That
of the West? Of goods, the market? Of people,
ideas?
AS: It depends on what you mean by globalization.
Globalization of ideas has been one of the most
important ways in which human progress has
occurred. People have learnt scientific
techniques from somewhere, mathematical
techniques from other places. At the moment the
non-Western world learns a lot from advancement
in the West in terms of science and engineering.
On the other hand, at the time of the Renaissance
and then later at the time of the European
enlightenment, there was an enormous contribution
of Chinese science to European understanding.
Indian and Arab mathematics which transformed the
way of the 11th, 12th, 13th century world in
which maths was done. Similarly the Arab heritage
in providing an interactive dialog commitment in
the days when the Arab world was very powerful.
It is often overlooked now that when Aristotle
and Plato were obliterated in the so-called Dark
Ages after the classical period, it is only
through an Arabic translation that Aristotle and
Plato survived. And they were re-translated back
into Latin in order to revive that part of
Western civilization. So globalization of ideas
has been a hugely constructive thing.
The globalization of economic relations could be
too. But it's a question not of being against
globalization, it's a question of making sure
that different communities, different parts of
the world can all benefit from the globalization
process, rather than the benefit being unequally
shared, going mostly to some people and not
others.
It's really the sharing, the avoidance of
inequality that we are looking at. And that is
not a question of being anti-globalization. And I
don't think it is a question of whose
globalization. If it's globalization then it's
everybody's globalization.
But you're right, that's a good question to ask,
to make sure that globalization is really that of
the globe. And not just one part of the globe.
(Inter Press Service)
______
[6] ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(i)
Dear All,
Pakistani students at home and abroad have risen
up to fight for their rights. From now on they
will be taking their movement outside of their
universities, computers, cellphones and into the
streets. The statement is attached below. WE
STRONGLY URGE LAWYERS, NGOs AND ALL SECTION OF
THE CIVIL SOCIETY TO JOIN IN THESE PROTESTS TO
SUPPORT THE STUDENTS! Please forward this email
to everyone who might be willing to come!
These are only a build up for MASSIVE WORLD WIDE
PROTESTS to be held until the country goes back
to pre-Nov 2 position (restoration of judges,
freedom of media, release of political prisoners,
etc). Please contact
emergencyinpakistan at gmail.com if you want to hold
protest in your cities and want them to be
included in the next newsletter!
You are advised to participate in the events and
to distribute this to as many people as possible.
If you are a student and want to promote the PYA
or SAC cause (available here) :
harvard.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6346003727
please print out the attached logos and take them
to the rallies.
Media coverage has been asked for but please do
not forget to bring your own cameras. In addition
feel free to inform about these events to any
media personnel.
Here are the details of the events:
FRIDAY NOV 30th
[Updated]
Islamabad: 3pm, Infront of Holiday Inn (opp Press
Club) for Capital talk then join judges and
lawyers at 4 30 in front of Marriot to march to
CJs house.
Lahore: 2pm, Liberty Chowk Lahore
Karachi: 3pm, Mazar-e-Quaid
Waiting confirmation from other cities in Pakistan.
INTERNATIONAL VENUES:
Nov 30th:
Toronto 3 pm, Queen's Park,Toronto, ON Contact:416.879.7246
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5935509669
Chicago contact Shahzad ,
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=588342233 or (773) - 817-1689.
Geneva, 3 pm, infront of the UN building. contact Ayesha
www.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000080&id=501392142
Oslo, contact Oslo: farukh_qureshi at hotmail.com phone # 004747391608
Boston, contact Saad Rizvi, saadmustafa.rizvi at gmail.com, 857-334-8012
Dec 1:
Orlando, 1 pm, Lake Eola Park, Downtown, Orlando
London, 1 pm , parliament avenue , contact Mutahir--07943005302
New York, 12pm, Infront of UN in Manhattan, NY. 42nd street, and 1st Avenue
Dublin, 1 pm, outside PARLIAMENT HOUSE Marion House,
last protest was something like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkJzmU3XsWc
YOUR SILENCE; THE DEATH OF OUR COUNTRY
· Under the guise of emergency, on the 3rd
of November a brutal attack was launched against
the civil society of Pakistan which recently
mobilized in unison with the judiciary and the
lawyers.
· All the judges who stood by their oath
to protect the constitution were removed and
placed under house arrest. Moreover, the two
judges blamed for releasing terrorists have taken
oath under the PCO. There is no excuse for the
treatment meted out to the judiciary.
· The media has effectively been silenced
as have all opposing voices to the totalitarian
regime.
· Fundamental human rights, including
freedom of expression and assembly, right to
association and right to life, liberty and
property, have been taken away.
· A direct assault on the students has
been made: talks and debates on academic campuses
have been banned. Students are being threatened
with expulsions and are being pressurized by a
pseudo-student's (non-democratic) organization.
Threats have been made against the students'
future careers and job acquisitions.
· Thousands of people are in jail to date without any legal basis.
· Our industries and businesses have
suffered immense losses in millions of rupees due
to the aforementioned governmental policies.
If not Now, WHEN? If not Us, Who?
There is no neutrality anymore; SILENCE IS CONSENT. SPEAK!
Do not strengthen the forces of repression which
plunder the life and liberties of innocent
citizens. SPEAK!
"I will not remember the words of my enemies but
the silence of my friends." Martin Luther King Jr.
Raise your voice with ours for the restoration of
the constitution and the judiciary; freedom of
the media and release of protest prisoners to
enable a democratic process to take root through
free and fair election.
JOIN PYA AND SAC on these protests!
- - -
(ii)
Gujarat Genocide Unmasked
in conversation with journalist Tarun Tejpal
Sunday, December 02, 5.20-6.30 pm, 2007
At the California Institute of Integral Studies
Address: 1453 Mission Street (btw. 10th and 11th) in San Francisco
Venue: 3rd Floor, Auditorium
February 28 - March 2, 2002, witnessed the murder
of about 2,000 Muslims by militant Hindus in
Gujarat, India. Women and children were victims
of sexualized violence. Between 150,000-200,000
were internally displaced. Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi and his government, in command over
the law enforcement machinery, were responsible
for providing leadership and material support in
the politically motivated and planned attacks.
Today, Narendra Modi continues as chief minister
of Gujarat, as justice eludes the survivors.
In October 2007, the Tehelka newspaper released
an investigative report based on a
sting-operation, establishing the genocide to
have been state sanctioned.
Tehelka editor TARUN TEJPAL speaks to the
findings and their political and legal
implications.
Introduced by Angana Chatterji for
The Social and Cultural Anthropology Program,
California Institute of Integral Studies
Directions: <http://ciis.edu/about/directions.html> or 415 575 6100
Further information: Phone: 415 575 6254
Free and open to the public
- - -
(iii)
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov302007/state2007113038642.asp
CONFERENCE ON COMMUNALISM
Bangalore, DHNS:
Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike will host a State-level conference
here on December 6 as part of observation of Dr Ambedkar's death
anniversary and 'Black Day' reminding the day on which Babri
Masjid was razed.
Vedike general secretary K L Ashok told reporters the conference
will discuss about 'Fight against Communalism: Challenges before
Karnataka' with specific regard to the controversy created around
Baba Budangiri. Bombay IIT's retired professor Dr Ram Puniyani
will inaugurate the event in which Tehelka reporter Ashish Ketan
and Lankesh Patrike editor Gauri Lankesh will take part.
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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: http://insaf.net/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/
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