South Asia Citizens Wire | March 3-4, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2370 - Year 9 [1] Bring HEC Back To Earth (Pervez Hoodbhoy) [2] Open season on Pakistan, Hallelujah! (Khalid Hasan) [3] India: Gujarat 2002 - The Long Shadow (Bina Srinivasan) + Tracking The Trials; Divide Remains [4] India - So-called Anti-Terrorist Laws are Tools of State Terrorism (Rohit Prajapati) [5] India: Petition for implementation of Sachar Committee [6] India: Independent Peoples' Tribunal On Fascism's Rise and The Attack on the Secular State (New Delhi, March 20-22, 2007) + an appeal + background Note [7] India: One year after the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence - a meeting [8] UK: Muslims For Secular Democracy respond to MCB Fatwa on Muslim pupils in state schools [9] Publication announcements: (i) Himal Southasian's March 2007 (ii) 'Framing Geelani, Hanging Afzal' : Patriotism in the Time of Terror by Nandita Haksar
____ [1] Daily Times, Lahore 3 March, 2007 BRING HEC BACK TO EARTH by Pervez Hoodbhoy Every day brings new evidence that the planning of higher education in Pakistan has run out of control. It is now more about fantasy than fact. There seems no other way to explain the fact that while the country is becoming besieged by almost daily suicide bombings and religious fanatics can kill a woman minister for being un-Islamically dressed, the Higher Education Commission plans to spend $4.3 billion on building nine new engineering universities, staffed with European faculty and administrators. It must have sounded like a wonderful idea. Pakistan would pay for France, Sweden, Italy, and some other European countries to help set up, manage, and provide professors for new universities in Pakistan. It would be expensive - Pakistan would have to pay the full development costs, recurrent expenses, and euro-level salaries (plus 40 percent markup) for all the foreign professors and vice-chancellors. But the large presence of European professors teaching in these Pakistan universities would ensure high standards of teaching, the degrees would be awarded by institutions in the respective European countries, and Pakistan would finally end the acute shortage of international quality engineers. Work has already started. Off the nine universities, the most advanced in terms of construction and planning is the French engineering university with a completion cost of Rs26 billion. It has been named UESTP-France in Karachi, and has an ultimate faculty size of 450-600 with around 5000-7000 students. Its construction is underway and the official starting date is listed as October 2007. On the ground, the situation looks dismal. The French seem completely absent from the French university. As of the beginning of March 2007, not a single faculty member from France - including the all-important head of the university - has joined. This was confirmed to me by French official sources, and has not been refuted by the HEC. Even the skeleton crew is not on board although decent academic planning for a university requires years of preparation for the curricula, courses, laboratories, and infrastructure. According to the HEC "Initially, over 50 per cent of the faculty will be from partner countries but as foreign-trained Pakistani faculty become available over the next five to eight years, the foreign faculty component will be reduced to about 25 per cent". This means that UESTP-France in Karachi needs to find - just as a startup - scores of French professors and still more Pakistani engineering professors for its faculty. Should we blame the French for not turning up? And are hundreds of Swedes, and other Europeans any more likely to turn up to live and teach in Pakistan for several years at such a time? What is a European professor to make of the suicide bombings at the Islamabad international airport, the Islamabad Marriot Hotel, the Quetta High Court, and so many more in the past year, and that the international community grows more convinced everyday that Pakistan has become a new haven for Al Qaeda? Even if the Europeans came, there would not be enough Pakistani faculty for all these universities. The sad fact is that currently there are no more than 2-3 dozen PhD engineering professors in all of Pakistan's engineering universities who can teach modern engineering subjects at an international professional level. So, even if every one of these universities were sucked dry of all its best, this would be barely sufficient for meeting the needs of the first phase of the first Pak-European university. What will happen then to the Rs37 billion Pak-Swedish University, scheduled to start in 2008 and to be located in Sialkot, and which will need even more teachers? The HEC says that in time there will be more Pakistani faculty as 500 Pakistani engineers have currently been sent for PhD degrees abroad. This simply cannot suffice for meeting the needs for nine universities, which will need in total thousands of teachers. To be honest, the HEC should recognise even the 500 engineers it sent abroad may not be enough for even one university. Not all will succeed in getting a Ph.D. Past experience also shows that some of the really good students who get PhDs will stay on in the West, and some who do return to Pakistan will be too mediocre for university-level teaching. It is irresponsible to plan a series of universities with so much wishful thinking. Far wiser would be to aim for, at the very most, two properly planned new engineering universities under the collective authority of the European Union, and to seek external help for adding engineering departments to existing universities, as well as to massively upgrade existing ones. But these relatively modest goals are unacceptable to a HEC leadership that believes, like the Musharraf regime as a whole, in grand plans rather than practical, feasible reforms. Administrative incompetence and bungling has become the hallmark of HEC projects, whether large amounts of money are involved or not. Consider the ham-handed manner in which rules for students wishing to register for the PhD degree in Pakistani universities have been changed. According to the new rules, published in national newspapers, it is now necessary for every student to 'clear' the subject GRE exam, administered by the Princeton-based Education Testing Service, before the student is granted admission to the PhD programme of any Pakistani university. Considered dauntingly tough by our students (most of their teachers would fare poorly as well) these exams do measure aptitude for higher studies fairly well. The logic - faultless in itself - is that Pakistani students must measure up to international standards. But left dangling are the key questions: what marks or percentile rating does 'clear' mean and who will decide? Who will pay the $160 examination fee, a major consideration for our public-university students? How to acclimatise the student, who has operated hitherto in a familiar rote-learning mode, into an alien problem-solving mode? The HEC is silent on these fundamental questions, but without addressing them a collapse of PhD programs will occur nationwide. This is just one more example of the scores of arbitrary schemes conceived by the HEC that have placed Pakistan's higher education in serious danger. Other projects launched by the HEC - such as incentivising the publication of research papers - have caused plagiarism to explode across the national scene. Hastily conceived and badly managed, they have channelled resources away from crucial areas into grandiose schemes. The HEC must be brought to task. There needs to be an independent investigation of its plans and financing, a review of its programmes, and a full audit of all the money that has been spent on and by HEC. ------------------------------------------- The author teaches physics at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad ______ [2] Daily Times March 04, 2007 POSTCARD USA: OPEN SEASON ON PAKISTAN, HALLELUJAH! by Khalid Hasan Pakistan should end its dabbling on other people's backyards and instead of trying to bring peace to the Middle East, it should bring peace to its own people and to that piece of land on which it stands itself This may not be open season on ducks and drakes but it is on Pakistan. The onslaught has been unremitting. The refrain of this orchestrated song is just four words: Pakistan should do more. While by now everyone I know is sick to his gills, having had the same four words drilled into his ears for the last year or so, the US national security orchestra continues to plays the same song. Obviously it loves the tune. Dick Cheney, whose name sounds like that of a seedy character from a Raymond Chandler novel, is the guest conductor. His fly-in-fly-out foray into Pakistan was undertaken to sing the ditty personally into the General's ear. The very day Cheney was in Islamabad, the New York Times ran a planted story, which said that he had "delivered a stiff private message" to President Musharraf. This account of the charming treatment of "America's closest ally in the war on terrorism," as Pakistan has been called on hundreds of occasions, was followed by the even more charming news that Democrats have threatened to link aid to Pakistan to its effectiveness in combating those twin otters of murder and mayhem, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The newspaper noted that Cheney's trip was one of a series to Pakistan by senior members of the administration to keep the pressure on Gen. Musharraf. To some outside analysts, that is a sign of increasing concern that American efforts to coax along the sometimes-prickly Pakistani leader has hit its limits, it added. The Washington Post, not to be left behind, said that the Cheney visit signalled the White House's "growing impatience with Pakistan's failure to crack down on Islamic extremists". US officials are increasingly worried, it said, that the Taliban are making a comeback in Afghanistan, using parts of Pakistan to stage cross-border raids and undermine the authority of President Karzai. Officials were also said to be concerned that Al Qaeda is more active in Pakistani tribal areas and that Gen. Musharraf has been insufficiently aggressive about taking action, despite promises to President Bush and other senior officials that he would address the situation. The Washington Times, which is owned by the Moonies, said that the US and Afghan leaders are "increasingly critical of Pakistan's efforts to curb Al Qaeda and Taliban cross-border operations". What is now in operation in Washington vis-à-vis Pakistan is the old good cop/bad cop act. Congress will be used as the bad cop and the administration will act as the good cop. The negative leaks to the media about Pakistan will continue. Gen. Musharraf said a few days ago that if Pakistan is not "doing more" then he would like to know who else is doing what. Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani blew his top off with the CNN this week when he said that Pakistan's critics have only one eye open with which they see Pakistan. The other eye, which should see Afghanistan, is kept tight shut. Clearly, Pakistan is the fall guy for the failures of the US, the NATO forces and the hapless Afghan government. Having said this, let me also say that the time has come when Pakistan should do some serious soul-searching and get its own house in order. It is also time that Pakistan should decide to end its dependence on the United States and the generous handouts it receives in return for services which never quite manage to please Washington. Is Pakistan a rentier state, which hires out its services to the highest bidder? I would like to think not, but there is much evidence that we may have reduced ourselves to that. The US has been on average giving $80 million a month to Pakistan in overt assistance and perhaps the same amount under the table. How can a country assert its independence if it is so heavily dependent on outside help? The prosperity that the government shouts about from housetops is illusory. The exchange reserves held by the State Bank are no good to man or beast as economist Nadeem Ul Haque used to say (now that he is GoP, he may have changed his views). Pakistan should end its dabbling on other people's backyards and instead of trying to bring peace to the Middle East, it should bring peace to its own people and to that piece of land on which it stands itself. All support to radicalism and radical groups must cease. The writ of the state should be re-established. The Lal Masjid, Islamabad, recapitulation is the latest example of how the state backs down every time it is challenged by the medieval religious establishment. Our intelligence agencies have earned such a bad name worldwide over the years that they are held responsible for things of which they are quite innocent. Ambassador Durrani tells me that the doctrine of strategic depth has been abandoned by the Pakistan Army. The Afghans would feel more reassured that it indeed is so, were this to come from Gen. Musharraf. The repressive apparatus of the state must be dismantled. Intelligence agencies should have their original mandate and the task for which they were originally created restored. They have no business to plan and manipulate elections. So intrusive and powerful they are today that a civil servant's promotion to the next grade is dependent on a good chit from "The Boys". No ambassador can be appointed unless he or she is cleared by them. Incidentally, this last one we owe to the Benazir Bhutto government. She it was who also conferred the Medal of Democracy on the Army. But let me end this with a quote from a Los Angeles Times editorial published on 1st of March: "The US may well be destined for a long marriage of convenience with Pakistan. But its spouse need not necessarily be named Musharraf." Khalid Hasan is Daily Times' US-based correspondent. ______ [3] South Asia Citizens Web - March 3, 2007 [http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/BinaMar07.html] GUJARAT 2002: THE LONG SHADOW by Bina Srinivasan [28 February 2007] I walk the same streets. Minus some houses. I smell the same air. Minus some smells. And life goes on. It stretches interminably for some. For others, it is a vibrant Gujarat. A few days back I had a bright idea. Let's stop investments coming into Gujarat, I thought, and then we will make a dent. I called up friends, fellow passengers in this journey past the long dark night. I told them this is what we can do. And the minute I said my phone is probably tapped, they dropped the phone. My idea was only a pipedream. How can I - one puny individual - stop the might of lucre, how can I, halt the flight of global capital? Even as I said it to my friends, in frenzied anger, bordering on hysteria, I knew it could never happen. What was disappointing was the way in which people begin to censor themselves. For those of us who have lived in Gujarat and will continue to do so, the struggle is intense. It is an everyday matter. Our lives are made up of the many stories that are a lived reality for so many thousands, as we watch helplessly. And sometimes not so helplessly, as we make our way towards multiplexes that have indulged in yet another act of self-censorship by turning their backs on Parzania - the film that portrays the saga of a family whose child went missing in the 2002 violence in Gujarat (just my luck that I stumbled into a relative of the family in the most 'innocuous' of places. This relative insisted I should talk to the father of the child. I died many small deaths that evening. What do you say to a father who has been looking for his child for the last five years?). And yet we walk towards those multiplexes, in appreciation of an art that is called Bollywood these days. No problem with that, but there is another bit of the story that is being left out here. That is what causes concern. How is it possible that one slice of creativity is denied audience, while others are allowed to capture the imagination? Somebody called it 'selective democracy'. I think, this is the complete absence of democracy. The name of the game, my friends, is fascism. It has nothing to do with democracy. This is how consent is woven out from coercion, or the threat of it. And believe me, women know this so well. So many thousands of women live through this. Yet, when it becomes a form of governance, it reminds those of us unfortunate enough to have memories, of a time when the decimation of an entire community was the rule, the rationale and the reason. So much for trying to keep historical truth afloat. In times when history is itself suspect, when history coalesces into mythology seamlessly, there are some of us who begin to doubt our sanity. Is it better to just go along with this? Is it better to resist? Who decides, who bears the brunt? Let me come to the point. It is now five years since Gujarat 2002. The searing memory of those days are now overwhelmed with the reality of a community so besieged, so pushed to the wall, it does not bear thinking of. And the little everyday injustices, the small instances of 'normalcy', the taken-for-grantedness of the prejudice - they lurk everywhere. They hide behind a 'vibrant' Gujarat, they seek shelter in what is euphemistically called urban development, they conceal themselves in the vocabulary of capital, they proclaim themselves from Special Economic Zones. There is no peace, I am sorry. No justice either. Newspapers come out with stories of 'communal harmony'. What is that animal? Who is it? Communal harmony? Can anybody point it out to me, please? What zoo does it live in? I know that humanity exists. In the pores of the lives of the 'little people'. The real people, I call them. They live, they try to live, as they used to. They move on, they struggle. But we all know what it means. Its what they call an uphill struggle. You only have to go to one basti in Ahmedabad, one relief colony, one 'resettlement colony' and the truth comes tumbling out like a stream bursting at the seams, like a flow of tears, like an unending nightmare. When the state abdicates its responsibilities, horror stories ensue. People are not allowed to go back, the insecurity is enormous, the guilty are at large. So on and so forth. But the Hindu Rashtra is only carrying out its 'dharma', its duty. That is the agenda we saw unfolding much before 2002. That is the agenda we see fractionally fulfilled today. But. Its time to call a spade a spade. Religious fundamentalism is fundamentalism is fundamentalism. And it is everywhere. Patriarchy is patriarchy is patriarchy. So now it is beginning to cut both ways. I take the risk here of saying that even the religious groups that have provided relief post Gujarat 2002 are guilty, some of them, or at least some individuals within them. If truth has to prevail, it has to first see light of day. And there are no big truths and small truths. The truth is the truth. Big or small, it can be as bitter. So, women are being exploited, they are being forced to take to sex work. They are being forced outside their homes by their relatives, their immediate community, in many instances. That apart, there are many other tales untold, of having been duped, cheated and robbed of the money they received as compensation for death of kin, of the loans they got as victims of the violence in 2002. Tales of being threatened by people of their own community. Key words: people, of their own, community. So much for charity. So much for relief. I know the context in which Gujarat happens. You don't have to tell me about the nature of the state in Gujarat. I know about the revamping of textbooks, the setting up of special programmes for Dalits and adivasis, the POTA arrests, ad nauseam. But. There is another angle of exploitation. Another angle of religious bigotry that is also happening. I am not willing to condone it. A man whose house has been attacked twice in 2002, says to a community that women should be given some training in business, and is told by a cleric that, 'this work is "haram" ', we cannot ask our women to do that.' 'But sex work is even more "haram" ', he says helplessly. He is angry, he is infuriated, to use his own words. He is alone. Almost alone. With these words I know I will fall in between two stools. Ah, well. Maybe my place is in between two stools. The view is bleak from here, but at least it gives you the truth. As I live through the political wilderness of Gujarat, I wonder. What is to happen, where will it all end? Will it end at all? Flying in the face of such adversity, there are moments of exhilaration. Just the sheer defiance of it. The rebellion it entails. Sometimes there is fear. Cloying, stinking fear. o o o [See also other content on Communalism Watch: TRACKING THE TRIALS The status of the 13 cases sent outside Gujarat http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/03/gujarat-5-years-later-tracking-trials.html DIVIDE REMAINS No steps have been taken to address politics of hate. http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/03/divide-remains.html ] ______ [4] www.sacw.net - March 3, 2007 SO-CALLED ANTI-TERRORIST LAWS ARE TOOLS OF STATE TERRORISM (Submission for South Asia Sub-Regional Hearing in New Delhi, New Delhi, 27-28 February 2007) by Rohit Prajapati [. . .] - I would also like mention that we should demand in all countries the new law "The Prevention of Atrocities and State-Terrorism Act", (PASTA) 2007 to counter State-Terrorism. [. . .]. FULL TEXT OF THIS PAPER IS AVAILABLE AT: http://www.sacw.net/hrights/rohitICJFeb2007.pdf ______ [5] Monday, February 26, 2007 Sub: PETITION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SACHAR COMMITTEE Dear Friends, We are forwarding herewith a URL petition for implementation of Sachar Committee which 1228 people have already signed and we request you to kindly sign it. The petition will be submitted to President and Prime Minister of India, Speaker of Parliament, Home Minister and Minister of Minority Affairs. Kindly sign it and forward it to you friends as we are trying to collect 1,00,000 signatures. Here is the URL: <http://www.petitiononline.com/sushovan/petition.html>http://www.petitiononline.com/sushovan/petition.html Yours sincerely, Asghar Ali Engineer. Centre for Study of Society and Secularism 602 & 603, Silver Star, 6th Floor, Santacruz (E), Mumbai:- 400 055. ______ [6] PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL PREPONED TO MARCH 20-22, 2007 INDEPENDENT PEOPLES' TRIBUNAL ON FASCISM'S RISE AND THE ATTACK ON THE SECULAR STATE MARCH 20-22, 2007 VENUE: INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE, LODI ROAD INSTITUTIONAL AREA NEW DELHI Dear Friends, We had to prepone the IPT on the Rise of Fascism to March 20-22, 2007 because of a large number of requests received from various activists who are attending the People's Health Assembly in Bhopal. Kindly note that we are trying to raise resources for the travel and stay of people who will be deposing in front of the jury from the following 15 states: GUJARAT, MADHYA PRADESH, RAJASTHAN, UTTAR PRADESH, JHARKHAND, KARNATAKA, ORISSA, TAMIL NADU, KERALA, MAHARSHTRA, GOA, MANIPUR, J & K, WEST BENGAL, CHATTISGARH. Approximately 20 victims (who have suffered directly) and 5 activists / academicians (who have been working on the issue and can give an over all picture from their respective states) are being identified. The organisers will be able to support only their stay and travel. Anyone else wanting to come to the tribunal from outside Delhi will have to bear his or her own travel and stay. If you know of any cases which need to be reported please write to us urgently. We will put you in touch with the state co-ordinators from your state. This is also an urgent appeal for funds (supporting travel, stay, documentation etc). Sincerely Shabnam Hashmi o o o http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/03/background-note-independent-peoples.html Background Note INDEPENDENT PEOPLES' TRIBUNAL ON FASCISM'S RISE AND THE ATTACK ON THE SECULAR STATE MARCH 20-22, 2007 VENUE: INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE, LODI ROAD INSTITUTIONAL AREA NEW DELHI A. BACKGROUND Jawaharlal Nehru about eighty years back had said that 'if fascism comes to India it will come in the form of communalism'. Most leaders and intellectuals did not realize the gravity of the formulation. They did not have to, for the reason that most individuals or organized communalists occupied positions at the farthest end of the periphery of Indian socio-political ethos. No one took them seriously or in other words they were not perceived as a threat to secular democratic fabric as it was weaved by the leadership after India own its freedom. Subsequent pronouncements of the Supreme Court laid down that secularism forms part of the basic structure of the constitution. In S.R. Bommai's case the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court said, "The state has no religion. It stands aloof from religion." When the secular forces and civil society were engaged building the nation and grappling with the questions of development such as eradication of illiteracy, poverty, epidemic, floods and famines, the communal formations both Hindu and Muslim, abetting each other, were busy creating a communal mindset. Drawing strength from the fabricated history and fictitious present day realities, the hate campaigns, unleashed by especially the Hindu right , gradually corroded the secular and democratic fabric of the country. They are no more on the periphery. Through covert and overt operations they today occupy fairly large spaces particularly in northern parts of India. The Gujarat genocide perpetrated by these forces shook the people of the country. The enormity of operation as was unfolded in Gujarat makes it imperative for civil society to look at the process of genocide closely and draw lessons. Activists are aware about these dangers and different strategies have been adopted to battle them. Grass root mobilizations, sensitisation workshops, training sessions, academic intervention, and judicial challenges have all been adopted to a greater or lesser degree. Though information about the spread of fascist forces and strategies adopted against them is available from all parts of the country we believe that at this juncture we need to have a macro level picture of the spreading cancer. No doubt this can be done through national level seminars or partially even through e- mails, etc. But there is no substitute for actually hearing testimonies of victims and activists and based on this arrive at a macro level picture. B. NEED FOR A TRIBUNAL We have been involved in a number of peoples' tribunals and our experience has shown that though, these tribunals represent only one aspect of the strategy, they are an important tool. Tribunals serve the following objectives: 1. For any political and social change to occur an in depth understanding of the problem is required. 2. The testimonies of the victims and the report of the Tribunal can be used for legal initiatives to strengthen the secular structure of the state. 3. The tribunals act as a recorder of history which may otherwise be lost 4. The issue gets much more media coverage and gets highlighted in public spaces. 5. The Report is used by organizations for lobbying of their issues. 6. The report, if properly done, has tremendous credibility at the national and international level and at times can influence courts and policy makers. After the Gujarat carnage and particularly after the change of government at the Centre, it was thought that the communal build up was on hold or on the decline. However reports from all over India, including the South and Central states, indicates an alarming spread of fascist ideology and activities and a deeper penetration into education and the arms of the state. It is a cancer that seems capable of growing in all political environments. C. PRESENT TRIBUNAL AND ITS LOGISTICS The Independent Peoples' Tribunal, which is planned, is a small step towards this. The object is to have a panel of judges, which include retired High Court and Supreme Court judges, academicians, journalists and other media persons, activists as also retired police officers, bureaucrats and media persons. The panel will take testimonies of different groups and individuals- victims, activists and academicians from across the country and draw a nation wide picture of the rising face of fascism. The dates for the IPT are March 20-22, 2006. It will be organised at Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road Institutional Area, New Delhi. D. CO- ORGANISERS Anhad and Human Rights Law Network have taken the initiative to organise this Tribunal. The task is stupendous. Obviously it cannot be undertaken by one or two organisations. We need to make it a collective national level effort. We would therefore request you/ your organization to participate in this effort. Participation would involve all or at least some of the following: 1. Being a joint co organiser of this process 2. Identifying issues nationally as well as locally which need to be taken up by the Tribunal 3. Identifying and contacting other groups which can be part of this process as also names of panel members 4. Helping to identify 15-20 individual/ groups from your state to depose at the Tribunal. 5. Volunteering to compile the existing material on the issue. 6. Assisting in Report preparation 7. Fund raising for the project E. ISSUES TO BE TAKEN UP AT INDEPENDENT PEOPLES TRIBUNAL 1. Overview of Rise of Anti Democratic Forces in India - Increasing spread of majority communalism - Growing intensity of riots and spread to newer areas - Failure of the State machinery - Links between the government/ state and non-state actors - use of the law to promote anti-democratic forces 2. Education - Communalisation of Mainstream Education - Changes in Curriculum - Spread of communalisation through schools run by various communal groups - Attacks on minority schools - Funding grants - discrimination in distribution of grants - Discrimination of secular scholars and academicians 3. Communalisation of Culture - Rewriting of history - Insistence on Unitary Versus composite culture - Attacks on places of worship- Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Bhoj Shala destruction of places of worship in Gujarat and other states, attacks on churches at various places - Dress Code - Policing of Culture 4. Role of Media - Media- especially the role of vernacular media, electronic media 5. Conversion - Extent of conversion and how big is it really an issue? - Anti conversion laws - "Hinduisation" of tribals - Connected issues such as separate census of Christians 6. Hate Speech - Extent and nature of hate speech - Circulars and handbills issued by communal organisations against Muslims and Christians - Legislative response to hate speech (S.153A, 153B, 505 of the Penal Code) - Judicial response to hate speech - Administrative failure to respond to hate speech 7. Riots and Other Attacks - History and causes of major riots in different parts of India - Impact of riots on various communities - Role of the fundamentalist organizations in riots - Role of administration in riots - Paramilitary forces of communal groups 8. Police Force - Reports of various Enquiry Commissions on Role of Police - Police involvement in riots - Scuttling of investigations by the police - Religion wise composition of the Police force 9. Administration - Reports of various Enquiry Commissions on Role of Bureaucracy, Involvement of bureaucracy in riots - Communalisation of bureaucracy - Penetration of communal forces in bureaucracy 10. Legislation - Conversion laws - Anti cow slaughter laws - Repeal of Assam Migrants Act - Art. 370A of the Constitution - Misuse of TADA, POTA, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act and related legislation 11. Judiciary - Recent judicial trends in issues concerning secularism- such as judgments on Elections, Bommai Judgment, Communalisation of Education Judgment, Conversion cases, etc. - Role of the judiciary in important cases such as Anti Sikh riots, Bombay riots and Gujarat pogrom 12. Other Quasi Judicial Institutions - NHRC & SHRCs - Minority Commission - Women's Commission - Election Commission, (To be taken up at Delhi and at such other places where the Commissions have been called upon to act- such as Gujarat) - Identity/ Impact on reservation/ welfare schemes and other issues close to Dalits 13. Communalisation amongst Dalits and Tribals - Recent trends of communalisation amongst Dalits and tribals - Participation of Dalits and tribals in recent riots, Identity politics, impact on reservation - Impact on welfare schemes and issues close to Dalits 14. Impact of Communalisation on women - Impact on women during riots - Impact on women's rights due to communalisation of society, - Cult of male supremacy - Distorted picture of Hindu women from mythology 15. Attack on Secular Organisations - Description of attacks on organizations- here we need to give a geographical spread as also description based on attacks on different community groups- such as Missionary schools, NGOs, individuals working on issues concerning secularism, etc. 16. Other ways of Spreading the hatred by communal groups - Extent and spread of different in India communal groups, (both majority and minority groups) - International connections of these organizations and their funding - Distribution of weapons - Attempts to make communal persons national heroes - Changes in the National Anthem and Flags law - Vande Matram controversy - Jingoism around Pakistan and Bangladeshi immigrants - Economic Boycott 17. Minority Communalism - The growth of fundamentalist organisations - Impact on women's rights due the growth of fundamentalist forces 18. Rise of Militarism, the International situation and Fascism - Hyper Nationalism, the rise of militarism and nuclearisation within the country - India as a Super Power - Islamic Phobia - Militarisation of daily life - The U.S. hegemony and rise of fundamentalism after September, 11th - Selective targeting of fundamentalism by the Western countries - Situation in Pakistan and its impact on India ______ [7] http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/03/peace-with-justice-meeting-one-year.html Citizens' Initiatives for Communal Harmony - Goa TOWARDS PEACE WITH JUSTICE -- One year after the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence 3rd March, 2007 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at T.B . Cunha Hall, Panjim 3rd and 4th March 2006 are days that we would probably prefer to forget. But can history be erased? Alternatively, should history become a cause of conflict? Or should we work at what it means to recall history with a view to constructing a just and secular future? One year after the riots, the Muslim community in the area continues to live in fear and anxiety, afraid that at any time any day they can once again be attacked and left in the lurch. Can we let this continue? Can we continue to say that all Indians are our brothers and sisters with our heads held high? What has been the role of the State in all this? What would it take to ensure that all, specially the minority communities and the marginalised sections of society are included amongst us as our equal brothers and sisters? How do we ensure that all citizens can live in peace and security? To not only talk of peace but to ground it in reality -- rather than talking of an illusory peace -- is the challenge before us. Goa also needs to be protected in the future against communal ideologies and processes. For this we need to get to the root of the current problems, and pledge ourselves to work towards a better future. So come, sing a song of secularism, and share your thoughts with like-minded people. Together we can make a difference and bring about peace with justice. Come and be part of the peace-with-justice meeting organised by Citizens' Initiatives for Communal Harmony on 3rd March, 2007 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at T.B.Cunha Hall, Panjim (Albertina Almeida) (Ramesh Gauns) Convenors ______ [8] PRESS RELEASE - 23rd FEBRUARY 2007 RESPONSE OF BRITISH MUSLIMS FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY (BMSD) TO THE INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE PUBLISHED BY MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN: MEETING THE NEEDS OF MUSLIM PUPILS IN STATE SCHOOLS British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) is deeply concerned about the recent information and guidance document published by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) titled "Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools". We believe the guides would have a detrimental effect on Muslim children and on the practice of progressive education. The MCB document in effect institutionalises the exclusion of Muslim pupils and their parents from various school activities and alienates them further from the rest of the pupils. BMSD further believes that the recommendations in the guidance document, which seems to have the tacit approval of the government's Advisor to London Schools, Professor Tim Brighouse, would put unnecessary burdens on many state schools. Furthermore schools, which may view the recommendations as impractical and divisive, may be forced into acceptance and implementation by undue pressure being put on them on them by hard-line organisations such as the MCB. Muslim parents and pupils who are otherwise liberal minded and flexible in their approach towards practising their religion would also come under social and peer pressure to conform to the general notion that all Muslims (parents and pupils) wish to see these recommendations implemented within the schools. BMSD is wholly opposed to the following recommendations: . Major changes to school uniform policies to accommodate the perceived and widely disputed Islamic requirements of clothing such as Hijab and Jilbab. . Prayers rooms according to strictest of specifications and allowing children leave school premises for extended periods of time to perform Friday prayers. . Alteration to sports activities affecting all school pupils such as mixed-gender contact sports and exemption of Muslim pupils from dance, drama and other expressive arts with provision of alternative activities. . Changes to the contents of Religious Education (RE) sessions to cover Islamic teachings as opposed to other faiths, emphasis on statutory right of withdrawal of Muslim pupils from RE sessions as a result of non-compliance by schools. Provision of external Muslim teachers for Islamic education as part of RE as an alternative to complete withdrawal of Muslim pupils from RE. . Major changes to provision of Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) according to Islamic beliefs, or exemption of Muslim pupils from attendance as a result of non-compliance by schools. Dr Shaaz Mahboob of BMSD said "The guidance cannot and should not be seen as entirely reflective of the desires of the majority of the Muslim pupils and their parents, since they hail from diverse range of backgrounds based on ethnicity, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. MCB being an umbrella body for mainly mosques and other religious organisations is not a representative body for all Muslim parents in Britain and therefore the views expressed in the document should not be considered by the schools or the government as the collective will of the numerous Muslim communities in Britain. It is amusing to find that one hand MCB wishes to promote better understanding and coexistence between Muslims and members of other faiths, and would like to see Islamic belief to be taught in schools where there aren't even any Muslim pupils, yet according to their guidance document they wish to remove British Muslim pupils from essential teachings for today's youth such as Sex and Relationship Education and Religious Education classes where they are likely to be exposed to faiths such as Christianity, Hinduism or concepts such as Atheism. Moreover they demand that additional instruction be given to Muslim pupils only in Islamic education by external Muslim teachers, provided for at the expense of the schools' resources". He said "The recommendations, should they be implemented by schools, would not only serve to increase the segregation of Muslim pupils from their non-Muslim peers, who may grow up viewing Muslim pupils as those unduly awarded concessions and treated somewhat differently, thereby creating a wider gulf between the communities in the years to come". Notes to the editors: 1. BMSD is made up of a group of Muslim democrats of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, who support a clear separation between religion and the State. 2. The initial focus of our organisation is Britain; however, we are aware of the international and geo-political ramifications of the perception of a threat from a 'globalised and radicalised Islam' and the impact that this perception has on the every day lives of secular Muslims across the world. We therefore are keen to link our work to the European and global contexts in the future. 3. BMSD claims no mandate or false representative status. Our primary concern is democratic engagement not detailed theological analysis or debate. The level and depth of commitment to the doctrinal core and orthodoxy of the faith varies among Muslims as much as it does in members of other faith groups. BMSD founders wish to create a platform for alternative, diverse Muslim views, essential for a progressive, multi-layered, democratic identity that is not in conflict with itself or fellow citizens. 4. For details please visit http://www.bmsd.org.uk 5. For any further queries, please contact: Dr Shaaz Mahboob on [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 07884473491 Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui on [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 07860259289 ______ [9] PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENTS o o o (i) Himal Southasian's March 2007 issue is out! <http://www.himalmag.com>www.himalmag.com COVER PACKAGE: INDIA DISCOVERS SOUTHASIA It has taken two long decades following the establishment of SAARC, but India finally seems to have boarded the Southasian train. As New Delhi prepares to take over from Dhaka as chair of SAARC during the first week of April, the managers of Indian foreign policy are giving out enthusiastic sound bites on Southasian regionalism. They say that it is in India's self-interest to make peace with its neighbours. All of which is great news for those of us who believe that regionalism's dividend is not only a safer Southasia, but also a more prosperous one. We present five perspectives on this emerging regionalism: India realising Southasia - Kanak Mani Dixit India's new regionalism - C Raja Mohan Pakistan-India roadblocks to regional peace - Moeed Yusuf The Indo-Bangla SAARC puzzle - Imtiaz Ahmed Sri Lanka's win-win FTA - Paranjoy Guha Thakurta The March issue also includes updates from: * Bangladesh . Pseudo-innovation in Dhaka, by Asif Saleh * Sri Lanka . The wages of Muslim passivity, by Dilrukshi Handunnetti * Nepal . A country in interim, commentary * Andaman Islands . Moving on from a cataclysm, by Pankaj Sekhsaria o o o (ii) 'FRAMING GEELANI, HANGING AFZAL' : PATRIOTISM IN THE TIME OF TERROR by Nandita Haksar 2007 / 350pp. / Paperback ISBN 81-85002-80-0 Rs. 450.00 / $22.95 (U.S.) About the Book The Parliament Attack Case has generated many controversies but in this book Nandita Haksar throws light on the range of political, legal and historical issues that have arisen in the campaign to save two Kashmiri men from the gallows. She does this through a series of open letters written to public figures, personal friends and comrades, in which she links the immediate issues of the campaign with the larger problems of secularism, nationalism and democracy. Through her letters the reader will discover the horrifying world that Kashmiris inhabit: the terrifying reality of illegal arrests, dark, damp prison cells and the barbarity of the torture and pain of a child waiting for his father to be hanged. Nandita Haksar's central concern is that the war against terrorism is systematically weakening the democratic foundations of our country, widening the chasm between Hindu and Muslim citizens, and allying India with the most hated States in the world - the USA and Israel. Her letters express the anguish of a citizen who is helplessly watching her country become authoritarian and fascist without any effective political resistance. Nandita has not cringed from either naming the problems or those responsible for creating them. This book is written neither in anger nor in frustration but with a deep sense of solidarity with her fellow citizens. Her letters are those of an Indian patriot who rejects official definitions of nationalism. The book's dedication "in celebration of F riendships" reflects the emotions imbued in each letter. She asserts her belief in the magic of love, friendship and solidarity. This book is a must read for all those interested in building bridges between Hindus and Muslims; Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis; and feminists and fundamentalists. And for those who are too young to read the letters, Nandita has a heart-warming fable. About the Author Nandita Haksar is a human rights teacher, lawyer and activist with an international reputation. For orders please contact: PROMILLA & CO., PUBLISHERS / BIBLIOPHILE SOUTH ASIA C-127 Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi 110 017, India Tels : 91-11-26864124, 65284748, 41829491 Fax : 91-11-26961462 E-mails : [EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL : www.biblioasia.com _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ 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. _______________________________________________ SACW mailing list SACW@insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/sacw_insaf.net