South Asia Citizens Wire | May 27-28, 2007 | Dispatch No. 2412 - Year 9
[1] Afghanistan: Censure of Malalai Joya Sets Back Democracy and Rights
[2] Pakistan: Lal Majid Nuts Spread - Lal Mosque's Terror Link
(Muhammad Amir Rana)
[3] India: Why we spoke up (Priyamvada Gopal)
[4] India - Goa: Gross assault on academic and individual freedom by
right-wing forces
- Margao must say 'no' to communal forces (Editorial, Gomantak Times)
[5] India - Punjab: Mixing religion with politics is dangerous (Kuldip Nayar)
+ Beware of Zealotry (Editorial, Tehelka)
[6] USA: Letter to a Young American Hindu (Vijay Prashad)
[7] USA: Hindu Students Council Unable To Refute Report by Campaign
to Stop Funding Hate
[8] India: A Difficult Question (Mukul Dube)
[9] India: Full Text of Bombay High Court's recent judgment lifting
the ban of James Laine's Book on Shivaji
[10] Announcements:
(i) Shahidul Alam lectures at UCLA (Los Angeles, May 30, 31)
(v) Call for the release of Kian Tajbakhsh, Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, and
other Iranian-American scholars
detained in Iran.
____
[1]
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH - PRESS RELEASE
AFGHANISTAN: REINSTATE MP SUSPENDED FOR 'INSULT'
CENSURE OF MALALAI JOYA SETS BACK DEMOCRACY AND RIGHTS
(New York, May 23, 2007) - The Afghan parliament should immediately
reinstate Malalai Joya, a member suspended for criticizing
colleagues, and revise parliamentary procedures that restrict freedom
of speech, Human Rights Watch said today.
On May 21, 2007, the Lower House of the Afghan parliament voted to
suspend Joya for comments she made during a television interview the
previous day. It is unclear whether Joya's suspension will run until
the current parliamentary session ends in several weeks or whether
she will be suspended for the remainder of her term in office, which
ends in 2009. In addition to her suspension from parliament, several
legislators have said that Joya could be sued for contempt in a court
of law.
"Malalai Joya is a staunch defender of human rights and a powerful
voice for Afghan women, and she shouldn't have been suspended from
parliament," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"Joya's comments don't warrant the punishment she received and they
certainly don't warrant court proceedings."
Joya had criticized the parliament for failing to accomplish enough
for the Afghan people, saying, "A stable or a zoo is better [than the
legislature], at least there you have a donkey that carries a load
and a cow that provides milk. This parliament is worse than a stable
or a zoo."
On May 22, a recorded version of Joya's interview was shown during a
session of parliament. Afterward, a majority of her colleagues found
her guilty of violating article 70 of the Afghan legislature's rules
of procedure, which forbids lawmakers from criticizing one another.
Joya's specific crime was "insulting the institution of parliament."
Human Rights Watch noted that members of parliament have regularly
criticized each other, but no one else has been suspended.
"The article banning criticism of parliament is an unreasonable rule
that violates the principle of free speech enshrined in international
law and valued around the world," said Adams. "The Afghan parliament
should be setting an example by promoting and protecting free
expression, not by stamping it out."
Human Rights Watch urged the Afghan parliament to take steps to
revise article 70 and ensure that elected representatives can speak
freely without fear of suspension or lawsuits.
Joya, 28, is the youngest member of the Afghan legislature. As a
19-year-old refugee in Pakistan, she taught literacy courses to other
Afghan women. During the Taliban years, she ran an orphanage and
health clinic in Afghanistan. In 2003, she gained international
attention for speaking out publicly against warlords involved in
drafting the Afghan Constitution. Two years later, she was the top
vote-getter from Farah province in Afghanistan's parliamentary
elections, and was easily elected to the lower house of the
legislature.
Since her election, Joya has continued to be an outspoken defender
and promoter of the rights of Afghan women and children. She has also
continued to publicly call for accountability for war crimes, even
those perpetrated by fellow parliamentarians.
Joya has survived four assassination attempts, travels with armed
guards and reportedly never spends two nights in the same place.
"Joya is an inspiring example of courage," said Adams. "Afghanistan's
international friends should not hesitate to speak out in her
defense."
______
[2]
South Asia Net: May 25, 2007
Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies
LAL MOSQUE'S TERROR LINK
by Muhammad Amir Rana
Taking inspiration from the 'courage' of Lal Mosque's administration,
Muttahida Ulema Council of Bagh, Azad Kashmir has also announced to
set up Shariah courts in the district. Interestingly, Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl Group) has denounced the action of those at the
helm of Lal Mosque, and Wafaqul Madariss Al-Arabia (WMA), the
educational board of Deobandi Madariss, has also abrogated the
affiliation of the 12 Madariss run by the Mosque administration, but
the movement is still catching momentum.
Jamiat Tauheed-wal-Ishaat Quran-wal-Sunnah (JTIQS), the banned Therik
Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) and Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan (new
name of Sipah-e-Sihabah) are openly supporting the Lal Mosque
administration. JTIQS and TNSM have great influence in Malakand, Dir
and Federally Administered Tribal areas (FATA). Maulana Fazl Elahi, a
TNSM leader, has threatened that he, along with his thousands of
followers, would rush to Islamabad if the Lal Mosque is attacked.
Lal Mosque administration is also enjoying support of several leading
clerics like Maulana Sher Ali Shah, a respected religious teacher
among jihadist, and Senator Maulana Samiul Haq of Jamia Akora
Khattak. After the cancellation of their Madariss' affiliation with
WMA, Maulana Abdul Aziz announced establishment of a parallel
educational board 'Wafaqul Madariss Islamia'. Just after his
announcement, more than 1000 Madariss applied for the affiliation
with the new board. Out of which 138 are from Balochistan, 81 from
Kashmir, 450 from NWFP, 186 from Punjab and 9 Madariss are situated
in Northern Areas. This step might force the WMA to review its
decision because the division among Madariss would damage Madrisa
system in the country.
The head of Lal Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz formally announced
establishment of Shariah courts on April 6 and threatened of using
suicide attacks against the government, if a crackdown was launched
against the seminary.
It was the fallout of the three month occupation of children library
near the mosque. The movement was started when Capital Development
Authority (CDA) razed Ameer Hamza Mosque on 24th January 2007 in
Islamabad. To respond, the Maulana Abdul Aziz, his brother Maulana
Abdul Rasheed Ghazi and their 10,000 pupils started a strong protest.
A 'baton force' was formed for countering the use of force by the
government. Veiled female students took the positions and many
students across the country came to Islamabad to support Madrissa in
case of a full-scale clash with the government. Government tried to
resolve the issue through talks and engaged the WMA's religious
scholars for mediation. The Government accepted their all demands for
rebuilding the destroyed mosque and Lal Mosque administration as well
agreed but Maulana Abdul Aziz changed his stance suddenly and refused
to vacant the children library and announced Shariah enforcement
movement.
A few analysts believe that the motive behind the Shariah movement
was to keep their possession on the government land as no one dared
to raise objection on their illegal occupation over precious land
before.
Terror Link
This is not the first time that Lal Mosque created problem in the
capital. Maulana Abdullah, father of Maulana Abdul Aziz and Ghazi,
was very popular among Deobandis because of his anti-Shiites
speeches. He had very close links with sectarian outfit
Sipah-e-Sahaba. Shia community had serious reservation against him
and when he was assassinated in 2001, it was declared a
sectarian-related killing. Maulana Abdullah, the favorite religious
scholar of General Ziaul Haq because of his pro-jihad speeches, had
close association with Afghan Jihad leaders; Abdul Rab Sayyaf,
Jalaluddin Haqqani and Ahmed Shah Masood and later he affiliated
himself with the Taliban. He was one of those Deobandi religious
scholars, who started campaign for the release of Maulana Masood
Azhar when he was arrested in Indian Occupied Kashmir in 1994.
His sons, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz continued with
their father's ideology for jihad and mysticism. They were the
mastermind behind a religious decree that insisted Pakistan army
personnel killed during clashes in South Waziristan be denied a
Muslim burial. The Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa were in the news in
July 2005 when Pakistani security forces tried to raid the mosque
following the suicide bombings in London. And it was the Jamia Hafsa
which a British school girl Misbah Rana Molly Campbell was reported
to have been interested in joining after arriving in Pakistan at the
centre of an international custody row.
The more important was the Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi's links with
Al-Qaeda, which came on surface in 2004, when Osama bin Laden's
driver Usman was arrested in Islamabad in connection with alleged
sabotage activities in the capital. He was Maulana Abdul Rasheed's
guest and traveling in his car when arrested on August 11, 2007.
Calls from Usman's phone to Mustafa, the alleged Al-Qaeda terrorist
in Karachi, were traced and he was also arrested. After Usman's
arrest Abdul Rasheed Ghazi disappeared and re-appeared on the scene
after two weeks. Surprisingly he was not pursued in Usman's case and
set freed.
When riot erupted in the capital after the murder of Maulana Azam
Tariq, head of Sipah-e-Sahaba in 2003, the Jamia Faridia's students
were leading the mob which ransacked public and private property.
Recently suicide attacks in Islamabad on Marriot hotel and Airport as
well have links with Lal Mosque. According to the reports both
suicide attackers stayed in Jamia Mosque before going for the
operation.
Is there only one Shariah court in Pakistan?
After announcing setting up Shariah courts, Maulana Ghazi Abdul
Rasheed argued that if Jirga and Panchayat system are not considered
a parallel judicial system, why Shariah court is being called a
parallel system.
It is pertinent to mention that Shariah court is not at all a new
phenomenon in Pakistan. Right now, 54 private Shariah courts are
already working in the country. Out of them, 24 are run by Jamat ud
Daawa, five by banned Sipah-e-Sihabah and others by local Taliban,
not only in tribal areas but in Tank and Bannu as well.
The JUI was the first to introduce the idea of private Shariah courts
in 1975. At the JUI annual convention in Gujranwala, Mufti Mehmood
and Maulana Abdullah Darkhuasti had presented the idea of the private
courts. The participants approved the idea and a Shariah committee,
comprising Mufti Mehmood, Abdul Karim Qureshi and Maulana Sarfaraz
Khan, was formed to decide about the mechanism of the courts. The
plan for private courts was made the part of the JUI's constitution
and manifesto in 1976 but was not implemented because of Ziaul Haq's
martial law.
Following the same plan, Sipah-e-Sahaba set up Shariah court in
district Jhang in 1998. Jamat ud Daawa's head Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
had announced establishment of Shariah courts on September 15, 2005
in Lahore. The JD plan was to set up these courts at district level
and now 24 courts have been operating in Punjab and Interior Sindh.
These courts are working as mandatory for rival parties to submit an
affidavit that they would accept the court's decision.
After the Shakai agreement in 2004 between Baitullah Mehsud and the
government, Mehsud was allowed to enforce Shariah in the area. He not
only established the courts but also formed the Shariah police to
watch law and order. Following his footsteps religious Scholars in
Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu districts adopted the same system. Khyber
agency has two Shariah courts, established by the rival sectarian
groups, Lashkar-e-Islam and Ansarul Islam.
But the Lal Mosque's Shariah courts plan is very much similar with
Sipah-e-Sahaba plan which was announced by Maulana Azam Tariq in 2000
in the 7th International Difa-e-Islam Conference in Karachi.
Maulana presented a proposal of converting twenty-eight big cities as
model Islamic cities. The initial agreed-upon five points were:
The shops must close with Azan.
Friday should be a holiday
Bribes and impermissible business must be stopped
Cable network must be terminated
Every decision should be taken in consultation with Ulema
In his address, he said, "Let all the shops be closed with the
calling of Azan. If any trader does not obey, let other traders
boycott him and thus compel him to fall in line. The traders must be
persuaded that they should not allow sale of adulterated goods,
narcotics, wine and other impermissible items. The traders in these
cities, in conjunction with Ulema and other individuals, should
prevent fixing of dish antennae and operation of cable network. For
resolving their dispute they should not go to the court or the police
but approach the mosque where the Ulema would resolve their disputes
according to Islamic laws, as it is done in Jhang."
Sipah-e-Sahaba sources claimed that Maulana Abdullah was behind the
idea and Maulana Azam Tariq promised him that his party would make
his dream come true.
Government writ was already at stake, but Lal Mosque administration
just exposed it in the federal capital. If the Mosque and affiliated
seminaries had done the same somewhere else in the country, the
government, possibly, would have not taken it seriously as it did in
Faislabad case where students of Jamia Qasmia, Ghulam Muhammad Abad
raided an alleged brothel house and did whatever they could.
Lal mosque movement is getting success in its agenda. Even if the
government now controls the situation by using power, the Lal mosque
has set a precedent of implementing radical agenda by gun. In
Pakistan such radial Madariss exist every where and they can start
challenging the state's writ.
_____
[3]
Magazine Section / The Hindu
May 27, 2007
WHY WE SPOKE UP
by Priyamvada Gopal
A self-confident and strong society does not fear its own diversity.
Photo: AFP
In the eye of a storm: M.F. Husain
LAST week, several scholars based in the U.K., Europe and the U.S.
added their voices to the chorus in India protesting the arrest of an
arts student and the related suspension of a senior academic at MS
University in Baroda. We were particularly con cerned about the entry
of police into a university campus, which suggested state collusion
with goons for whom physical assault and vandalism seems to be the
preferred form of spiritual practice.
Though many of us are Indian citizens and others, distinguished
scholars of South Asia, we were aware that the kind of statement we
issued usually elicits that charge that we were outsiders interfering
in affairs that don't concern us in a country we don't live in. Or
worse, that we ourselves were complicit with those hypocritical and
patronising Western denunciations of violations of human rights,
democracy and free speech in the Third World.
Under attack
On the contrary. We support our suspended colleague, Professor
Panikkar, not because such attacks on academic freedom are only
happening in India but precisely because he stood up so courageously
to those forces which seek to undermine it everywhere. Scholarly and
artistic freedom and integrity are under attack globally. There are
accounts everyday of suspensions and denials of tenure at
universities from New York and Colorado to Haifa and Durban. The 'War
on Terror' has justified intensified attacks on freedom of speech in
Britain and the U.S. Campus monitoring groups have been set up to
blacklist professors for teaching 'anti-American' course content.
Plays and exhibitions are shut down in Britain, while the state looks
on passively, even approvingly. There are attempts to pass draconian
legislation which would make it the interrogation of religious
orthodoxies an offence called 'incitement to religious hatred'. This
is an atmosphere of constraint that academics across the world have
every reason to be concerned about and challenge.
Our own solidarity necessarily extends across continents and contexts
because forces like the Hindutvawadis in Gujarat (who, in fact,
violate the heterodox and diverse nature of actual Hindu practices)
are also working in concerted kinship across the globe. Despite the
superficial rhetoric of difference, chauvinists of all stripes are
brethren-in-arms who fully understand and endorse each others'
projects. Last year, during a heated discussion on the forcible
shutting down of the M.F. Husain exhibition in London by vandals
calling themselves Hindus, one of the loudest voices was that of a
bearded man who declared himself a maulvi. Claiming that he visited
temples and satsang, he shouted for Husain to be excommunicated for
offending his 'Hindu brothers and sisters'. It was necessary to
remind him then that there are others who, in their turn, would have
him excommunicated for fraternising with kafirs. If offence becomes a
crime, there will be no one left to lock the jails. The religion that
Islamists, Hindutvawadis, Zionists, Christian zealots and other such
factions share is a devotion to narrow-mindedness, divisions, hate
and bigotry. Nothing could be less spiritual or more ungodly.
Why does academic and artistic freedom matter? Is it because we think
anything and everything goes? Again, the opposite is true. We defend
the right of writers, artists and scholars to express their views
precisely so that these can be held up to scrutiny, debate and
judgement. MSU Vice-Chancellor Manoj Soni may not allow his own
students and colleagues to express their views but we would support
his right to publish his book, In Search of Third Space, with its
explicit (and to man y, offensive) Hindutva bias. It is only when
such work is in the public domain that it can be subject to rigorous
analysis. Work driven underground will not die but simply poison the
groundwater. Suppression, censorship and banning will not transform
ways of thinking and seeing; open discussion will.
Colonial legacy
India is rightly proud of the democratic rights, including freedom of
expression, guaranteed by a Constitution that draws on indigenous
traditions of intellectual enquiry, scepticism, and disputation. We
are admired for this. These rights, however, cannot be taken for
granted; they need to be nourished at all times. When we allow
divisive forces to undermine our intellectual traditions and
democratic rights, we are, in practice, giving up an integral part of
what it means to be Indian.
Ironically, censorship as we know it is a colonial legacy, not an
intrinsic way of life for us. In an era when democracy and freedom
are falsely proclaimed to be Western values, we are in a position to
illustrate how a nation can truly let these values flourish. Banning,
suppression, and vandalism are signs of fragility; a strong and
self-confident society does not fear its own diversity.
Priyamvada Gopal teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge
University and is the author of Literary Radicalism in India).
______
[4] INDIA: TALK ON COMMUNAL HARMONY IN GOA STOPPED
[In an unprecedented action, constituting a gross assault on academic
and individual freedom, the Goa administration, after threats and
allegations by right-wing elements, through an order passed by the
Margao SDM and Electoral Returning Officer, Derek Neto, stopped a
public talk on "Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India" by
noted speaker and advocate of secularism, Prof. Ram Puniyani. This
talk was taking place in collaboration with Kare Law College, Margao,
and on the premises of the college.]
o o o
Gomantak Times, Editorial, 26/05/07
CONNIVING COPS
MARGAO MUST SAY 'NO' TO COMMUNAL FORCES
May 26 2007
How dangerous are people like IIT Professor Ram Puniyani, woman
activist and lawyer Albertina Almeida, and Ramesh Gauns? Can they
single-handedly start a riot in Margao? Can they provoke the citizens
of Margao into taking law into their own hands? Can they, with their
speeches incite the people of Margao into a communal frenzy? Can they
create a situation where Margao will have to be closed down for two
days? Can they generate enough communal tension for a mob to run amok
damaging vehicles and shops like in Sanvordem and Curchorem? Does the
police and the sub divisional magistrate expect us to believe that a
lecture on "Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India" would
hurt the sentiments of people in Margao and cause them to disrupt
life in the city? One only has to go through the sequence of events
to know how one person, by force of threat, coerced the state
authorities into stopping a perfectly legitimate meeting organised by
the Citizen's Initiative for Communal Harmony (CICH) in association
with the Goan Ramnath Kare Law College in Margao. Albertina Almeida
and Ramesh Gauns were the convenors of this lecture which never took
place thanks to the conniving police of Margao. We laud the courage
of the management of Kare Law College who, inspite of severe pressure
from fundamentalist forces in Margao to cancel the lecture, opted to
pursue the agenda of peace and harmony.
After Sanvordem and Curchorem, the communal forces in the state have
shifted their attention to Margao because they believe that the only
way to defeat Digamber Kamat is by polarising the vote of the
majority community. An attempt was made some weeks back when these
communal forces used the new market vendors to close down the city
for two days on a flimsy reason that a girl of the majority community
was eve teased in the market by a member of the majority community.
Thursday's decision of the Margao police to halt the lecture will
only encourage these communal forces. What is distressing is that the
police, instead of providing protection to the forces of peace,
succumbed to the legend of hate and stopped the meeting. Worse still,
even when no complaint was filed by the cowardly communal forces, the
police inspector of Margao, ordered the PSI to lodge a complaint on
behalf of the state on grounds that it was cleared by the higher ups.
And what was the basis of this complaint? The basis was one sentence
in a pamphlet outlining the conviction of the CICH. The offending
sentence reads as follows: "The ideology of the right-wing Hindutva
has been growing at a furious pace leading to a feeling of insecurity
among minorities."
When an election observer in North Goa requests a police officer to
lodge complaint for wrongful use of a car in campaigning, the cops
refuse on grounds that the observer has to first file a complaint.
However, in Margao, the police go out of their way to lodge a
complaint against a peaceful gathering of people dedicated to
preserving communal harmony in the state. This is the third time that
communal forces in the state have been allowed to get away with their
agenda of hate and segregation. The first time was when the Congress
government slept on the magisterial inquiry report on the riots in
Curchorem and Sanvordem; the second time was when these forces were
allowed to close down Margao city for two days and the third occasion
occurred on Thursday when the police and sub divisional magistrate,
instead of confronting these vested interests succumbed to their
threats. The people and voters of Margao are now at crossroads - one
route will lead them into the crushing embrace of communal forces,
while the second will strengthen the traditions of tolerance and
harmony. The voters of Margao must choose the pathway of peace.
______
[5]
Gulf News
May 26, 2007
MIXING RELIGION WITH POLITICS IS DANGEROUS
by Kuldip Nayar
THE Sikhs are a brave and courageous community but easily excitable.
Transparent as their community is, it does not nourish a grievance.
It ventilates it whenever and wherever it feels hurt. But it is too
emotional.
What has happened in Punjab in India over the last few days reflects
the same trait of pouring one's heart out and getting square with
those who hurt the community. Its anger is like a flood which breaks
all the banks and even the dykes.
Take the case of Dera Sacha Sauda, a monastery of sorts, where
thousands of people, particularly those belonging to low castes,
throng to in order to meditate or listen to its chief, Gurmeet Ram
Rahim Singh who purposely named himself so to convey the message of
pluralism. Yet he donned robes like those of Guru Gobind Singh, the
10th guru of the Sikhs, and even imitated him in distributing 'amrit'
- one can call it 'sherbet-i-hayat' (syrup of life).
In fact, he went beyond that by inserting an advertisement to
publicise his reception where he was shown in flowing robes with a
plume pinned on his turban like Guru Gobind Singh. This instigated a
large number of Sikhs. Several thousands came out on the streets with
unsheathed swords and there was a clash in which state buses and some
buildings were set on fire. There was vandalism and destruction.
No doubt, the Dera chief is to blame for the violence. But the Punjab
government sat back and did nothing for the first two days. Is it
because the Dera chief had issued an edict to his followers during
the recent state election to vote for the Congress? His behaviour,
particularly the advertisement, has given life to militants and
hardliners who had been lying low for the last decade or so. They
took law and order into their own hands and the Akali Dal-led
government became a mute spectator.
The Akal Takht came into action. It is the highest spiritual and
temporal seat of the Sikhs and acts like the government and issues
ultimatums. Had the state government taken timely action against
those who went about unchecked, particularly in the countryside,
things would not have reached the pass they did. While the state was
in the throes of one of its worst crises, the government waited for
word to come from the political affairs committee of the party.
The Dera chief could have doused the fire if he had gone to the
public to say that he never meant to present himself as Guru Gobind
Singh. The Dera later issued a press release to express regret. But
it was too little, too late. An apology would have been in order.
I do not know why the Dera chief was adamant on not issuing an
apology. The Pope did it when he realised that some of his words had
hurt the Muslims. We, living in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, should
never have any hesitation in saying "sorry", especially when we find
that we have, wittingly or unwittingly, hurt some people.
What has disconcerted me is the role of the Akal Takht. It supplanted
the state government. Calling a bandh (strike) was none of its
business. This is the job of political parties. The Akalis should
have done it if they had felt the need. Bandh is a political term,
not a religious one. India, particularly Punjab, has suffered in the
past because the Akal Takht has mixed religion with politics. It has
been once again found doing that. Ordering the closure of deras is
the government's job, not that of the Akal Takht. These are not
religious issues.
The Sikh faith in 'miri' and 'piri' is interpreted wrongly in today's
context, and politics is mixed with religion. When Guru Hargobind
Sahib, in adumbrating the concept, rationalised the joining of
politics with religion, his purpose was to instil the sentiments of
social service among his followers. He wanted the Sikhs to pay
attention to the lowest in the land.
No doubt, the Sikhs are far ahead in this field as compared to other
communities. Still, their contribution is not in proportion to the
wealth at their command. Why can't the community channel money to
productive avenues so as to absorb the lakhs of unemployed Sikhs who
are prone to drugs? One cause for the last militancy in Punjab was
the unemployment of Sikh youth.
The situation has not improved. I do not understand why every time
there is trouble in Punjab, some elements collect in London to raise
the demand for Khalistan, a separate state. This happened last week
as well. And, as usual, two Muslim MPs of Pakistani origin were there
to denounce India.
Pakistan has its own troubles and they emanate from the same malady:
mixing religion with politics. Take the case of Lal Masjid in
Islamabad which has become a centre of fundamentalists trying to
dictate to the Pakistan government.
The Sikhs, by and large, have come to accept provincial autonomy like
the rest of the Indians. But the problem with the Sikh community is
that it tends to mix religion with politics. It is not opposed to
secularism but it overemphasises the religious identity. Guru Nanak
Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion, preached pluralism and put
together the sayings of Hindu, Muslim and other saints in the Guru
Granth Sahib, the holy book.
It is pluralism the Sikhs should be pursuing and upholding, not
religious jingoism. When they get carried away by passions, as has
been seen again and again, they exhibit a trait which only impairs
the community's image.
I wonder if the Dera Sacha Sauda incident is the beginning of the era
of the Giani Zail Singh type of politics. Then the Congress found the
extremist Bhindranwale and lionised him to fight against the Akalis.
Things went beyond control and the result was disastrous. The army
attacked the Golden Temple where Bhindranwale had tried to build a
state within a state and Sikh guards assassinated Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi.
This retaliation led to another fiendish kind of reprisal: the
killing of innocent Sikhs in broad daylight, 3,000 in Delhi alone.
What is called the Sikh problem got more aggravated. The elevation of
Manmohan Singh as prime minister has solved it to a large extent and
that Mrs Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, has brought
this about has made all the difference.
The tendency all over the world is to mix religion with politics.
Turkey is a brave exception where people marched through the streets
to show their support for secularism. I wish such a thing could
happen in what was once the Indian subcontinent, now divided into
three nations, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The region's forte is
pluralism.
The writer is a leading columnist based in New Delhi.
o o o
Tehelka
June 2, 2007
Editorial
BEWARE OF ZEALOTRY
The role of religion in public affairs: this has always been a tough
nut to crack in India, and by all accounts will continue to be so. At
most times the mainline political parties appear to have a sense of
its inflammatory potential and tend to handle it with care. But there
is enough evidence of irresponsibility in the last sixty years,
leading to killings and chaos. Every decade has seen sporadic riots
sparked by religious posturing; there has been the trail of animus
left behind by the rath yatra and the ensuing demolition of the Babri
Masjid; there has been the fundamentalist terrorism; and there have
been the organised attacks on missionaries and minorities.
One would have thought Punjab would have learnt never to put flint to
religion again
But no part of India has suffered this cataclysm worse than the
Punjab. For more than a decade, religious politics tore apart a state
famed for its optimism and prosperity. By the time the dust - raised
in 1979 - settled in the early 1990s, one prime minister, one chief
of army staff, one chief minister, scores of political leaders, and
tens of thousands of security personnel and ordinary people had been
killed. There had also been, in this time, the destruction of the
Akal Takht at the Golden Temple, the economic crippling of the state,
and, worst of all, a genocidal assault on innocent Sikhs in Delhi,
leading to the murder of more than three thousand. One would have
thought Punjab would have learnt to stay away from ever again putting
a flint to religion. And yet, the spectre of emotional panthic
politics - medieval slogans, naked swords - has begun to float again.
Instead of being dismissed as trivial, the grandiloquent posturing of
the leader of one religious cult has been taken up as some great
challenge that needs mass mobilisation. The whole thing smacks of
low-down politicking, the attempt to gain political traction from a
dangerous - and at one level, silly - situation. Sikhism, with its
deep spiritual and philosophical roots, its noble traditions and
practices, does not need to feel a moment's alarm about any
evangelist walking through its domain. Leaders - religious or
political - who are ringing the alarm are inviting turmoil and doing
a great disservice to their flock.
_____
[6]
Pass the roti on the left side
21 May 2007
LETTER TO A YOUNG AMERICAN HINDU,
by Vijay Prashad (May 17, 2007.)
The following is a guest contribution from Vijay Prashad. He is the
author of eleven books, including Karma of Brown Folk (2000), and
most recently The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third
World (2007).
Dear Friend,
Like you, I was raised in a mixed family. My parents' families came
to Bengal from Punjab, and from Burma. One side leans towards
Hinduism; the other to Sikhism. The city, the metro, provided its own
cultural mooring, and in secular India, I found myself interested in
all religions and deeply schooled in none. Id meant fellowship with
my Muslim neighbors and friends; a Navjot meant a crash course in
Parsi life; Nanak's birthday meant a visit to Gurudwara Sant Kutiya
in the center of town; Christmas, which is Bara Din in Calcutta,
meant a brightly lit Park Street and a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral;
and, of course, Diwali and Holi represented the high-points of our
festival culture. Religion was colorful, and friendly. It didn't
represent either the harshest of personal morality nor the
resentments or distrust of others.
I learnt a few prayers and songs, but this learning was not
systematic. Some of my friends were better schooled than I in their
various traditions. Our diversity was not simply across religion, but
also a diversity of the density of our engagement with religion:
agnostics or religious illiterates were as welcome as those who were
committed to their faith. The festival that I most liked was
Saraswati Puja, the day when we wore yellow and put all our
schoolbooks at the feet of the goddess. The respite from study was
welcome, as you can imagine.
My morality came from elsewhere than religion, from recognition of
the pain in the world. Religious teachers whom I encountered
sometimes talked about this suffering, but they didn't seem to have
more than charity to offer to those who suffered. It struck me that
while religious festivals were beautiful, religions themselves were
not adequate as a solution to modern crises. But religion, as I came
to understand while reading Gandhi many years later, can play a role
in the cleansing of public morality. In 1940, Gandhi wrote, "I still
hold the view that I cannot conceive politics as divorced from
religion. Indeed, religion should pervade everyone one of our
actions. Here religion does not mean sectarianism. It means a belief
in ordered moral government of the universe. It is not less real
because it is unseen. This religion transcends Hinduism, Islam,
Christianity, etc. It does not supersede them. It harmonizes them and
gives them reality" (Harijan, February 10, 1940). In other words,
politics should not be simply about power struggles, but it must be
suffused with moral concerns. It is not enough to win; one must
strive to create, what Gandhi called, Truth in the world.
To strive for Truth does not mean that we, as humans, can be sure
that what we believe in or what we aspire to is some transcendental
truth. Gandhi's autobiography was not called I've Found Truth, but
The Story of My Experiments with Truth. The use of the word
"experiments" is revealing, since it refers to a scientific tradition
that privileges verifiable testing (this is also the case with the
Gujarati word "prayago," which is in the original 1927 title,
Satya-na Prayago athva Atmakatha; Professor Babu Suthar links
"prayoga," the singular of "prayago," to the ayurvedic and yogic
sense of treatment and practice. An ayurvedic doctor must ask the
patient to "prayoga" a medicine, which would imply, try it out to see
if it works). Religious traditions are resources to guide us, as
social individuals, through the difficulties and opportunities of our
lives. They are not dogmas to tear people apart from each other. In a
powerful essay against compulsory widow segregation, Gandhi wrote,
"It is good to swim in the waters of tradition, but to sink in them
is suicide" (Navajivan, June 28, 1925). Let tradition be a studied
resource, not a set of inflexible, unchanging rules.
[ . . . ]
http://www.passtheroti.com/?p=487#more-487
______
[7]
USA: HINDU STUDENTS COUNCIL UNABLE TO REFUTE EVIDENCE IN THE
REPORT BY CAMPAIGN TO STOP FUNDING HATE
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/05/hindu-students-council-unable-to-refute.html
______
[8]
Mainstream,
2 June 2007
A DIFFICULT QUESTION
by Mukul Dube
A politically active young woman told me of a question which she had
faced but had been unable satisfactorily to answer. The question was,
"Why do you object to the Hindu Right's actions in Baroda in regard
to the art student although you were silent when Muslims reacted
vociferously and sometimes violently to the Danish cartoons?"
Unlike the young woman, I do not have to formulate a party position
on the matter: but I have to search for an answer because the
question may well be put to me. Questions which were identical but
for specific detail have been put to me in the past, and I have
fumbled for answers. I need to explain, at least to my own
satisfaction, why I act at some times and fail to act at other times.
A historian I know, who is of the left but is not aligned with any
party, said that the difference was that while the visual depiction
of gods and goddesses was traditional, there never had been such a
thing in Islam, which indeed is widely held to forbid it.
This is not sufficient explanation, because the context is one of a
putatively absolute freedom being given to artists to express
themselves. Such freedom cannot be absolute, my historian friend
pointed out, because artists too are creatures of society and can be
expected to know what will grievously offend some of those who see,
read or hear their work.
Writing about the issue, Vir Sanghvi (hindustantimes.com, 19-20 May
2007) speaks of the "distinction between private expression and
public exhibition." This is directly relevant, but his criticism that
"No principles are ever discussed ... [and] when another such
incident occurs, we have the same pointless debates all over again"
is weakened by the fact that he himself does little by way of
discussing principles.
I suggest that an explanation may be found in the power that social
forces have over the thinking and action of individuals, in
particular the unshakeable nature of identities.
The most effective criticism of Islam has come from those whose names
identify them as Muslims. The same is true of Hinduism and Hindus.
Hindus are of course likely to know more about Hinduism than are
others; but we must also reckon with the power of the mostly unspoken
notion that only Muslims have the right to find fault with Islam.
"Look in your own back yard before you point a finger at my house" is
a defence and retort probably as ancient as the division of human
societies into groups.
My name proclaims the religion and the caste into which I was born.
That I may have tried to break away from both, and to oppose what
underlies and is preached by both, is of no consequence. Most people
who were born Muslims are likely to be Muslims culturally -- in such
things as everyday speech, food, dress, literature -- never mind that
they may not follow Islam and may speak against it. I am thus placed
in the Hindu camp, and in certain ways I belong to it, even though I
may do all I can to distance myself from it.
The result is pressure on me -- some of it exerted by myself, some of
it anticipated or feared from without -- to speak up critically about
the religion with which I am associated while remaining silent about
other religions. I may think, or may be told, that criticism of those
religions should come or will come from those who are associated with
them.
Then there is the idea of giving the underdog not just a fair chance
but a head start, essentially the reasoning which underpins
protective discrimination. Individuals who are opposed to all
religions but are "from the Hindu camp" tend not to speak up about
even those things in Islam which they dislike, because they do not
wish to add to the burden of a group of people whom they know to be
discriminated against in several ways.
An explanation is not a justification, but sometimes it is the
nearest thing to one that can be found.
In conclusion, a parenthetical note. Another historian I know told me
that there is within Islam a long tradition of portraying Muhammad
visually and that he has photocopies of many such portrayals.
Muhammad is variously depicted as having anthropologically
distinctive features: Semitic of course, but also Mongoloid and
Negroid. There is, he said, a substantial collection of pictures at
the university library in Edinburgh. The Iranian-born journalist and
author Amir Taheri wrote in the Wall Street Journal of 8 February
2006: "The claim that the ban on depicting Muhammad and other
prophets is an absolute principle of Islam is also refuted by
history. Many portraits of Muhammad have been drawn by Muslim
artists, often commissioned by Muslim rulers."
______
[9]
FULL TEXT OF BOMBAY HIGH COURT'S RECENT JUDGMENT LIFTING THE BAN OF
JAMES LAINE'S BOOK ON SHIVAJI
http://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/data/judgements/2007/OSWP172204.pdf
_____
[10] ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(i)
-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Vinay Lal
Sent: May 25, 2007 1:11 PM
Subject: Campus visit of Shahidul Alam, Regents' Lecturer
CAMPUS VISIT OF SHAHIDUL ALAM -- please circulate widely
I am pleased to announce that Shahidul Alam is visiting UCLA from
Friday, May 25th, until Tuesday, June 5th as a Regents' Fellow. He
will be giving two talks on campus on Wednesday, May 30th, 4-6 PM
(Bunche 6275) and Thurs, May 31st, 12:30-2:30 PM (Bunche 11377). (For
details, see below.)
Shahidul Alam is one of the world's most recognized and exciting
photographers and a major figure in the public, intellectual, and
cultural life of Bangladesh. The sheer versatility of Mr. Alam's
accomplishments can be gauged from the fact that he is a principal
figure in the human rights movement in Bangladesh, but also the
person who first introduced email to Bangladesh and first launched a
photography gallery in the nation's capital.
He founded the Bangladesh Human Rights Network (www.banglarights.net)
in 2001. His work in the late 1980s and early 1990s was recognized by
the Mother Jones Award in 1992, the first time it had ever been
awarded to an Asian. He has since gone on to win numerous
international recognitions, including the Andrea Frank Foundation
Award and the Howard Chapnick Award [for excellence in
photojournalism], both conferred in 1998, and induction as a Honorary
Fellow into the Royal Photographic Society (UK). Mr. Alam also serves
as a juror for National Geographic. He founded the Drik Picture
Library (www.drik.net) in 1989, the Bangladesh Photographic Institute
in 1990, Pathshala, the South Asian Institute of Photography
(www.pathshala.net) in 1998, and Meghbarta, Bangladesh's first
webzine(www.meghbarta.org) in 1999. Pathshala brings to Dhaka
visiting professors, not only of photography, but of allied fields,
such as literature, art, and art history.
As though if this were not enough, Mr. Alam founded Chobi Mela
(www.chobimela.org), a festival of photography, in 2000. His own
photographs have been exhibited in the leading venues of the world,
including the Museum of Modern Art [MOMA}, New York, the Georges
Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Tehran,
and the Photographer's Gallery in London. His photographs have been
published in newspapers and magazines of mass circulation, among them
Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Observer,
Liberation, Paris Match and The New Straits Times. Among the latest
initiatives in which he is involved is majorityworld.com, which
"champions the cause of indigenous photographers from the developing
world and the global South."
See also ShahidulNews at http://shahidul.wordpress.com
On his visit to UCLA as a Regents' Lecturer, Mr. Alam will also be
available on campus to those faculty and students who wish to speak
to him about his work. To set up an appointment with him, please
email him at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
LECTURES ON CAMPUS
Shahidul Alam will be delivering the Regents' Lecture on Wednesday,
May 30th, in Bunche 6275 from 4-6 PM. His lecture is entitled
PUBLISHING FROM THE STREETS:
CITIZEN JOURNALISM.
Amongst the two words most often discussed in every institution
offering courses in modern communication these days are "citizen" and
"journalism". The rise of the amateur writer and publisher has been
driven by giant strides in personal technology. "Blogging" is now
widely recognized throughout the world. Inexpensive computers,
digital cameras and the internet have presented individuals with a
new chance to reach audiences. While disillusionment with traditional
media is widespread, rumours -- unsubstantiated, libelous and
sometimes dangerous - also feed much net content. The jury is out in
terms of what constitutes the most effective journalism.
But the phenomenal entry barriers to traditional media, and
increasingly greater control over the media by governments, has led
to shifts in battle strategies. While governments scurry to enact new
laws to curb cyberdissidents, the collective strength of new media
savvy activist communities, have become the most potent source of
media resistance. With the military emerging as a political force in
South Asia, the citizen journalist is the new David. This talk will
open up this ongoing debate and try to feel the pulse of a shifting
media landscape, and in particular it will attempt to assess the
place of media streaming, blogging, and the internet amidst the
political turmoil in contemporary Bangladesh.
*************************
The Center for India and South Asia is sponsoring a second talk by
Shahidul Alam on Thursday, May 31st, 12:30-2:30 in Bunche 11377,
entitled THE MAJORITY WORLD: RECONFIGURING THE FRAME
One recent study has shown that "upward of 90% of the images of the
developing world (now increasingly called 'majority world') are taken
by white non-indigenous photographers, either in-country staff of
development organisations or commissioned photographers sent
in-country by the 'western' media." Charities and development
agencies need to raise money from the western public. It has been
felt that the best way to pull the heart strings - and thereby the
purse strings - is to show those doleful eyes that a few pennies
could save.
With the advent of the internet and digital photography it should be
easier than ever for photographers from the Majority World to present
their own reality in the global media. But old prejudices die hard.
Perhaps photographers from the South cannot be trusted to understand
this? Perhaps they are so hardened to such images of daily suffering
that they are unable to appreciate the impact these sights might have
on western audiences - and the coffers of western aid agencies.
The talk explains the underlying causes behind this prejudice and
narrates the tale of resistance against it.
------------------------------------------------------
Vinay Lal, Associate Professor, Departments of History & Asian
American Studies, &
Chair of South Asia Interdepartmental Program
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
US mail: Department of History, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave.
6265 Bunche Hall, Box 951473, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1473
Tel: 310.825.4601/8276; fax: 310.206.9630; email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(ii)
DEAR FRIENDS,
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ AND SIGN THIS PETITION. YOUR SOLIDARITY
IS CRUCIAL TO RELEASING DR. KIAN TAJBAKHSH, A SCHOLAR, SOCIAL
SCIENTIST AND PEACE-LOVING INDIVIDUAL, FROM PRISON in TEHRAN, WHERE HE
HAS BEEN HELD WITHOUT ACCESS TO A LAWYER.
YOUR SOLIDARITY WILL BE DEEPLY APPRECIATED
Bina Sarkar Ellias
Editor/Gallerie
About this Campaign: Please sign the petition here: http://www.freekian.org
The Free Kian campaign has been created by friends and associates of
Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh. Kian is a distinguished scholar, teacher, and
international expert on urban planning. He has worked tirelessly to
aid the people of Iran and build bridges between them and the
international community.
Kian was arrested at his home in Tehran by the Iranian security
services on May 11th, and has been detained in the notorious Evin
prison since then. Kian has not seen a lawyer and has not been
permitted visitors. He has been charged with no crime. We are
shocked and saddened by his detention.
We believe Kian's arrest was a terrible mistake, and are deeply
concerned for his well-being. We call for the immediate release of
Kian, Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, and other Iranian-American scholars
detained in Iran.
Please take a moment to sign the petition calling for Kian's release.
If you choose to share your email address, the Free Kian campaign will
send you further updates on Kian's case and information about how to
help.
Please sign the petition here: http://www.freekian.org
This petition will be sent to:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
M. Javad Zarif, Head of the Iranian Mission to United Nations
We the undersigned call for the immediate release of Dr. Kian
Tajbakhsh, who is being detained without charge in Evin Prison in
Iran.
Dr. Tajbakhsh is an internationally-respected scholar, and has used
his expertise in the areas of local government reform, urban planning
and social policy in service of the Iranian people. His work has
sought to foster cultural and academic exchange between the people of
Iran and the international community. His detention is a mistake.
We urgently ask the Iranian government to release Dr. Tajbakhsh and
ensure his safe return to his family.
Please sign the petition here: http://www.freekian.org
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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/
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