South Asia Citizens Wire | January 18-22, 2009 | Dispatch No. 2599 -
Year 11 running
From: www.sacw.net
[1] Pakistan: The looming shadow of fascists
- Pakistan: For Whom Will ’Gul Nargis’ Bloom This Spring in The
Swat Valley (Shaheen Sardar Ali)
- Petition to: Stop the Carnage in Swat and FATA / Stop the
Taliban from Ending Girls Education (Child Rights Movement)
- Petition Against continuing violence in Swat and Taliban’s
closure of girls’ schools (Aryana Institute for Regional Research &
Advocacy)
[2] Pakistan in Peril (William Dalrymple) + Podcast
[3] Sri Lanka: SOS - Agonising Cry of the People of Wanni
[4] India - Pakistan: Go Tell The Hawks To Make Love Not Make War
Noise !!
- Despite War Hysteria Some Campaigners Hope For Peace (Swati
Sharma)
- Citizens launch campaign against ‘ war’
- ’Good Cop, Bad Cop’ Approach to Pakistan (Praful Bidwai)
- If winter comes, can spring be far behind? Ask the peace
caravan (Jawed Naqvi)
- Pakistan ‘peace’ team coming today
[5] India: RAND study of the Mumbai terrorist attack of November 2008
[6] India - Bangladesh: Ministerial Visage - dont blow the chance to
rebuild a relationship with Bangladesh (Ashok Mitra)
[7] India's 'Om Made' Taliban:
‘Hindutva terrorists’ wanted a Taliban- like overrun by 2024
(Krishna Kumar)
About the Malegaon 11 and the charges against them
How Hindutva Terrorists Operate in Karnataka (Subhash Gatade)
The decadal growth of the Sangh Parivar in Orissa
Hindutva operation in the US objects to Michael Wood's 2007
documentary 'The Story of India'
[8] Indian Business Elites Have No Qualms Sucking Up To Hindutva's Hero
- At the margins of competence (Shiv Visvanathan)
- Invoking India’s Fuhrer - Industrialists call for Modi to be
the Prime Minister (Ram Puniyani)
[9] Announcements:
(i) Stop the Bloodshed: An Exhibition of Gaza Protest Posters
(Karachi, 21 January 2009 onwards)
(ii) National Convention on Communal Harmony (Ayodhya, 30-31
January 2009)
(iii) A Future For Ahimsa - A Panel Discussion & Music Recital
(New Delhi, 30 January 2009)
(iv) Peace Rally (Lahore, January 31, 2009)
_____
[1] [PAKISTAN: THE LOOMING SHADOW OF FASCISTS
Democrats, liberals, secularists from the world over should stand up
in solidarity for the people of Swat Valley, facing a near total
takeover by the Taliban; Now adjacent valley of Peshawar of NWFP
where the voice of Frontier Gandhi 'Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan' once
echoed is also under grave threat. Hundreds of schools have been
blown up and education of girls is banned, thousands have been
displaced. Slaughter in the name of religion has already taken a huge
toll in the region. More mayhem will follow and spread, unless the
world supports every one in Pakistan who is actively opposing the
steady advance of forces of barbarism. The schools need rebuilding,
the refugees need assistance. The local secular democrats need
protection, the school teachers, the local govt officials need
support. Progressive and liberal voices across Pakistan are speaking
up, they need all the support and solidarity to build a mass movement
(similar to the powerful upsurge of opinion that mobilised for
democratic rights in the very recent past) to discredit and
criminalise the fascists forces undermining the region. Progressive,
secular voices must strengthen links across borders across South Asia
against fundamentalist forces in the region, we cant fight these
battles alone. --sacw ]
o o o
sacw.net, 17 January 2009
http://www.sacw.net/article512.html
PAKISTAN: FOR WHOM WILL ’GUL NARGIS’ BLOOM THIS SPRING IN THE SWAT
VALLEY
by Shaheen Sardar Ali
Dedicated to the Girls of Swat who may never go to school again! from
their sister who was fortunate enough to be educated
Excerpts:
Today, the 15th January 2009 civilisation, democracy, human rights,
rule of law, equality, justice and equity stand defeated. Today, the
Government and people of Pakistan have succumbed to a disparate group
of faceless, semi-invisible individuals hiding behind an opaque mask
of religion and declared all girls’ education as outside the pale of
Islam. ’Iqra’[Read], a mandatory injunction in the Qur’an for every
Muslim male and female, has been reduced to a meaningless word
trampled under the feet of worldly gods speaking in God’s name. The
great and glorious of the state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
in a state of complete denial whine and whimper as the state recedes
under their very eyes…………….. For today, the parallel ’taliban’ the
only government with any writ in Swat has declared all girls’ schools
closed forever.
But who cares for the Swat Pukhtuns from the back of beyond. Let them
shut down girls’ schools and chop up heads, hang them from poles and
tree tops. After all, Islamabad is thriving, we have a democratically
elected President, Prime Minister and Parliament. Swat and FATA are
very far away and only become significant when foreign masters are in
town and demand action. After agonising, weeping, brooding and making
angry conversations with whoever cared to listen, I decided to share
these thoughts with anyone who may wish to read and capture the
tormented soul of a Swati woman sitting continents away from her
beloved homeland. Is the pain greater when one is far away from home
and loved ones. Does everyone living in the ’diaspora’ experience a
sinking feeling at the sound of a ringing telephone in the early
hours of the morning, fearing some horrible news awaiting at the
other end of the telephone. Does everyone sit glued to the television
set in the anxious hope of more news of Swat, FATA and the country.
[ . . . ]
At about this time of year, in a few weeks perhaps, when the sun
starts shining with a bit more courage and looks down on this icy
cold valley, the gulai-nargis [narcissus] and ghaantol [wild tulips]
will take heart and peep out of the muddy soil on the slopes of the
adjoining mountains. Scores of women will be awaiting these first
signs of the turning weather in the hope that they can go saaba-
picking [edible green clover leaves, chives and a host of other saag
type vegetation which is the staple food of most of the population].
Travellers along the road from Mingora towards Peshawar will find the
familiar sight of young boys and girls holding up bouquets of
narcissus and wild tulips for sale.
That is how I remember life growing up as a young girl in the Swat
valley. My husband went to a co-education school in the town and his
female classmates are grandmothers now. Sixty years ago in Swat,
girls and boys went to primary school together; secondary and higher
secondary schools for girls were full to the brim from where hundreds
of young women ventured forth to the colleges and university if
Peshawar and beyond. My induction as the first woman cabinet minister
in the NWFP government in 1999 was widely hailed and men and women
alike shared in what they saw as a collective pride and recognition
of one of their own.
So when, why and how did the present nightmare unfold for us
unfortunate Swatis. When did this serene, hospitable valley get
chosen as the venue of game playing individuals and groups, local,
national, regional and international. What was/is the game plan,
input and output and what is the desired result that perpetrators of
the scheme aspire to achieve. Why choose Swat as opposed to adjoining
territories with less accessibility to the outside world and
governmental infrastructure. How true is it that so-called militant
religious extremists are entirely responsible for all the horror,
terror, death and destruction of Swat and Swatis and so-called
’progressive’ democratically elected government is innocent and
beyond reproach. How true is it seeds of the present situation were
sown by institutions responsible for upholding and protecting the
national interest in 1994 when Sufi Mohammad took Swat and the entire
governmental machinery hostage. The ’black turbans’, as they were
called simply emerged as if from nowhere and before anyone could take
a deep breath, had spread themselves across the valley. The
government of the time gave them some crumbs in the form of the Nizam-
i-adl regulation 1994, re-named judges and courts by using the names
Qazi, Ilaqa Qazi etc., and assigned supposedly Shari’a literate
muavin or advisers to assist the Qazi in administration of justice to
make sure it was Shari’a compliant. People of the Malakand division
as it was then called, had a choice to use the ’Islamic law’ or the
’regular’ law of the country. It is no secret that apart from a few
women daring to challenge their male relatives to obtain their
inheritance by using Islamic law, all and sundry stuck to the civil
and criminal law of the country.
Some time later, dissatisfied noises started being heard regarding
unsatisfactory nifaz/promulgation of Sharia, but it actually turned
out that some of the muavineen, or ’Shari’a conversant advisers, were
angling for a raise in their salaries. This demand was of course met,
as that was the easy way out and then forgot all about the underlying
million dollar question: Was/Is there a popular demand for Shari’a
promulgation in the region; how is this to be gauged; what is the
problem with existing offerings and what/who is the underlying,
simmering problem and issue’/s.
Why is it that this demand emanates not from more urbanised centres
of Swat including Mingora, Saidu etc., but from outlying, rural areas
where class divisions are more pronounced and landed class unpopular
among the general population. Surely, if the demand was the result of
delays in court and administration of justice generally, ought the
people from the urban centres not likely to be the ones more affected
thus proponents of the demand for Shari’a……………..
Leaving the above critical question on the back burner to simmer and
exacerbate, we now come to another governance and neglect issue in
Swat. This is the issue of ’custom-chor’ vehicles that have flooded
the market. Cars, jeeps etc are available for unbelievable paltry
sums creating avenues for all sorts of activities outside the perview
of the law. Why was this not dealt with and nipped in the bud asap
when the problem was first spotted. Receding and abdicating state
control and remit are terms that come readily to mind. The question I
pose here is: Was the state apparatus unaware of this and the wider,
serious implications for government and governance not to mention the
lost revenue and financial fallout. Is it rocket science to decipher
the fact that when you give an inch, a yard is what is generally
being conceded. The signal given to those who may have had intentions
of violent adventures in the area would be quite clear: go ahead and
do what you want; there is very little to stop you.
Deep in the forests of Swat, it was being reported that when
government officials went on inspection tours of the area, they were
stopped at the foot of the mountains where the thick pine forests
started. The local population also reported periodic ’earthquake-
like’ happenings as if a bomb has gone off; they were spotting
unfamiliar people on the roads, were generally confused but as
unsuspecting people focussing on earning two square meals for their
families, never thought more of it. Neither did they know who to say
all this strange goings on to; who would listen to poor villagers in
the first place…. Hospital staff in the several hospitals and health
facilities recollect numerous men and women patients who ’did not
look like us’, spoke a very strong sounding language, the men had
’long hair and sort of chinky eyes’, etc etc., These sightings
started about two summers ago but no governmental, agency picked this
up, or did they….
Is it possible that the few thousands of militants are so superior in
arms and training that the 7th largest army in the world is unable to
out manoeuvre them. Are the government structures and institutions so
weak that access lines to arms and ammunition cannot be cut off. But
the critical questions of all, that Swatis are asking themselves and
the world: Who are these ’people’ who have captured their land,
terrorised them to death, why and for what end and purpose. As
citizens of this country, Swatis demand answers to these questions
and for the government to take responsibility for leaving them
without security, succour and sustenance.
FULL TEXT AT:
http://www.sacw.net/Wmov/Shaheen.pdf
o o o
PETITION TO: STOP THE CARNAGE IN SWAT AND FATA / STOP THE TALIBAN
FROM ENDING GIRLS EDUCATION
Child Rights Movement
http://www.sacw.net/article513.html
PETITION AGAINST CONTINUING VIOLENCE IN SWAT AND TALIBAN’S CLOSURE OF
GIRLS’ SCHOOLS
by Aryana Institute for Regional Research & Advocacy
http://www.sacw.net/article525.html
____
[2] Pakistan:
New York Review of Books
Volume 56, Number 2 · February 12, 2009
PAKISTAN IN PERIL
by William Dalrymple
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22274
New York Review of Books Podcast
January 19, 2009
William Dalrymple speaks with Sasha Weiss about the spread of radical
Islam in Central and South Asia since September 11, 2001, and its
implications for Pakistan's future
http://media.nybooks.com/011909-dalrymple.mp3
____
[3]
SRI LANKA: SOS - AGONISING CRY OF THE PEOPLE OF WANNI
A letter from a group of concerned persons to the United Nations
Secretary General
http://www.sacw.net/article518.html
____
[4]
Mail Today
January 9, 2009
DESPITE WAR HYSTERIA SOME CAMPAIGNERS HOPE FOR PEACE
By Swati Sharma in New Delhi
THE WAR hysteria on both sides of the subcontinental divide may be
showing no signs of abatement, but some campaigners are working
overtime to make the voice of the peace heard above the din. The
Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy will launch a
signature campaign on Friday for people who strongly oppose the idea
of the two nations going to war but are serious about wiping out the
menace of terrorism from the subcontinent.
And Karamat Ali, who is leading this campaign from Pakistan and is in
New Delhi to drum up support, says the beginning must be made by
Islamabad owning up to the fact that the perpetrators of 26/11 were
from that country.
“There are vested interests in both countries who want the neighbours
to be at war and don’t want the devil of terrorism to die,” said Ali,
Pakistan’s leading trade unionist who is married to an Indian
general’s daughter. “Among the dialogue wars and diplomatic
offensives, no one has time to hear what common people want. People,
both Indians and Pakistanis, want peace.”
Ali made a strong plea for a no-war pact between the two countries.
“India and Pakistan should act as responsible members of SAARC. They
should stop bickering and help each other in this moment of crisis,”
he said.
A couple of months ago, Ali’s words would have found support. But
post-26/11, the scene has changed dramatically. With evidence
mounting against Pakistan’s role in the terror attack, and Islamabad
remaining in denial mode, India can’t afford to appear friendly.
Responding to this argument, Ali said, “If the evidence proves the
militants were from Pakistan, our government should own up to it and
show its seriousness in the fight against terrorism.”
Ali, a founder-member of the Pakistan Peace Coalition, said
Pakistanis also wanted that “the perpetrators of this heinous crime
should be brought to book”. He said Islamabad was presenting a
negative image of itself by calling these people non-state actors.
“If we let the hardearned trust die so easily, it would mean victory
for the jihadis. And we can’t let that happen,” he said.
The Pakistan-India Forum is working overtime to get people in 15
Indian and 20 Pakistani cities to sign an online petition, available
at www.petitiononline. com/indopak/petition.ht ml. The petition,
which urges the two governments to have zero tolerance for religious
extremism, will be handed over to the presidents of India and
Pakistan simultaneously on February 8
o o o
Mail Today
January 10, 2009
CITIZENS LAUNCH CAMPAIGN AGAINST ‘ WAR’
By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi
PEACE activists of India and Pakistan gathered at Jantar Mantar in
New Delhi on Friday to launch a joint signature campaign against the
26/ 11 terror attack. The signature campaign would continue until
February 8 across both countries.
The activists demanded that the governments practise zero tolerance
for religious extremism and terrorism in the interest of both
nations. The speakers included Swami Agnivesh, chairman of Delhi
Minorities Commission Kamal Faruqui, noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan,
Pakistani trade unionist Karamat Ali, Mazhar Hussain, Kamla Bhasin,
Alka Punj, Mala Bhandari and several other activists.
Welcoming Pakistan’s acceptance of the nationality of Mumbai gunman
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman aka Qasab, Faruqui said the country needed
to shed its ostrich- like approach and fight terrorism, which was
posing a major threat to it.
However, war is no solution, and the coming together of so many
people of the two countries simultaneously vindicates the fact that
citizens do not want war, he added.
Child rights activist Swami Agnivesh said the initiative was to
showcase how many people on both sides wanted the crisis to be
resolved peacefully — against the war rhetoric that has been building
up since the Mumbai attack.
Ali said even though theoretical joint mechanisms existed between the
two countries, implementation mechanisms were yet to be put in place.
“ The common people on the two sides still have bread and butter
issues to think of. If the sound of the war drums was real, common
people like us would also have said the same,” Ali said.
The signature campaign was launched simultaneously in 21 Indian and
17 Pakistani cities. Besides Delhi, these cities include Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai in India, and Islamabad,
Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi in Pakistan.
The citizens joining the campaign demanded setting up of a joint
action and investigative agency for cooperation on the issue of
terrorism and strict adherence to the conventions and resolutions of
the UN and SAARC on terrorism. The campaign will culminate with the
signatures being submitted to the governments of both countries.
o o o
Inter Press Service
’GOOD COP, BAD COP’ APPROACH TO PAKISTAN
by Praful Bidwai
New Delhi, Jan 16 (IPS) - Exasperated by what it regards as "a
continuing pattern of evasiveness and denial in Pakistan’s response
to the terrorist attack on Mumbai", India seems to be fashioning a
two-pronged approach towards Islamabad to get it to act firmly
against terrorist networks based on its soil.
If one element in this approach is to downgrade relations with
Pakistan and remind it that the military option is not entirely off
the table, the second element is to cajole Pakistan to proceed
legally against jehadi extremist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba
(renamed Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and yet again, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awal).
Different officials of the Indian government have recently made
varying statements suggesting the existence of such a dual strategy,
or ’the good cop, bad cop’ approach.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has by and large adopted a soft
stance, while other officials have spoken as if they preferred a
strategy to ratchet up pressure on Pakistan in a calibrated way.
Thus, following the second approach, India’s newly appointed Home
Minister P. Chidambaram told ’The (London) Times’ that India could
consider ending people-to-people and trade relations with Islamabad.
Chidambaram said: "There are many, many links between India and
Pakistan, and if Pakistan does not cooperate and does not help to
bring the perpetrators [of the terrorist attacks] to heel, those ties
will become weaker and weaker and one day snap."
On Thursday, in another instance of this graded approach, India’s
army chief Deepak Kapoor told the media that New Delhi is keeping all
its options open, but the military option would be "the last resort".
He said: "There is no need for war hysteria" and emphasised that
"waging war is a political decision".
More ominously, Kapoor hinted at the possibility of covert action in
Afghanistan and said increasing India’s strategic presence in
Afghanistan is "one of the factors" to be considered in exerting
pressure on Pakistan. But he made it clear that the decision would be
a political one.
Kapoor said: "Changing our strategic policy towards Kabul in terms of
raising military stakes is one of the factors that is to be
determined politically."
Just a week earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had accused
Pakistan of using "terrorism as an instrument of state policy".
Yet another indication of this gradual hardening of India’s stance
came in the cancellation of a meeting with Pakistan to discuss a
maritime border dispute at Sir Creek, a narrow 100 kilometre-long
estuary which divides the two countries on the Arabian Sea.
It was from the Sir Creek area that the 10 men who conducted the
Mumbai attacks of Nov. 26-29 hijacked a fishing boat to reach their
destination.
The Creek has long been a bone of contention between India and
Pakistan, who disagree on the location of the maritime border, and
have debated it since 1999. Officials of the two countries recently
conducted a survey of the estuary.
The dispute is considered extremely close to resolution. "We have
made considerable progress and hopefully, a solution should emerge in
a couple of meetings," says an Indian official who declined to be
identified.
"But the Mumbai attacks and Pakistan’s refusal to take action on the
basis of the detailed dossier on Mumbai recently given to it by India
have complicated matters,’’ the official added.
Pressure on New Delhi to adopt a tough stance vis-à-vis Pakistan
comes especially from the media, from retired diplomats and military
and intelligence officials. This is apart from ultra-nationalist,
opposition political parties.
Immediately after the Mumbai attacks, several television channels
launched a campaign in favour of punishing Pakistan. This has,
however, become less hysterical recent days.
But 10 former ambassadors, last week, urged the government to
downgrade diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
In a joint statement, the ambassadors, including four former foreign
secretaries, called upon the government to suspend bilateral
negotiations and the peace process, discontinue state-assisted
cultural, sporting and other exchanges, review existing bilateral
treaties and agreements and take specific economic measures against
Pakistan.
They also want New Delhi to restrict procurement from countries or
companies supplying defence material to Pakistan.
However, their appeal, and their view that that the attacks were
carried out "with the knowledge and support of sections of the
Pakistan military and the ISI" (Inter-Services Intelligence agency),
are at variance with the Foreign Ministry’s position against
suspending trade, transport and cultural relations with Pakistan.
A senior Ministry official has said that the demand for terminating
diplomatic and people-to-people links would "actually play into the
hands of the Pakistani military establishment", which would like to
stoke tensions and generate a state of siege in the neighbouring
country.
India’s foreign ministry has reacted in a relatively cool and sober
fashion to statements emanating from Pakistan to the effect that the
Mumbai dossier contains "information", but not "evidence".
In a significant move, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a
television channel on Friday that India would be satisfied if those
involved in planning and executing the Mumbai attacks are tried in
Pakistani courts, provided they are "tried fairly".
An identical view was stated two days earlier in New Delhi by
visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
This marks a departure from India’s earlier demand that Pakistan must
hand over to it some 40 terrorists and fugitives from Indian law.
India has made this demand repeatedly since the Parliament House
attack of December 2001, allegedly conducted by a Pakistan-based group.
India has not officially withdrawn that demand. "But there seems to
be a tacit acknowledgement that it is not very practical to expect
Pakistan to surrender its nationals for trial in India," says Achin
Vanaik, a professor of international relations and global politics at
the University of Delhi.
"This recognition is welcome, but Pakistan must do more on its own to
crack down on jehadi groups,’’ Vanaik added.
Many Pakistan-based analysts believe that Islamabad, in particular
its weak civilian government, cannot afford to be seen to be caving
in to Indian pressure.
For instance, former general Talat Masood has repeatedly said on
Indian television channels that there is likely to be a divergence
between officials pronouncements and actions, but that he expected
some action on the ground.
As if on cue, on Thursday, Pakistan’s prime ministerial advisor on
interior affairs, Rehman Malik, announced the detention of 71 members
of outlawed militant groups such as the JuD and the LeT and such of
their top ranking leaders as Hafiz Mohammed Saeed [founder of both
groups], Mufti Abdur Rehman and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Malik, in a televised press conference, said five "training camps" of
the JuD had been shut down and its websites banned. A special
investigation team headed by a top official of Pakistan’s Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA) will now examine "without any prejudice"
all aspects of the Mumbai attacks and the information provided by
India, he said.
"India’s best bet lies in patient diplomacy at the bilateral and
multilateral levels to secure a firm commitment and action from
Pakistan to put down jehadi groups,’’ argues Vanaik.
‘’All talk of covert operations in Afghanistan is a major distraction
from this,’’ Vanaik said. ’’It can only stoke suspicion and hostility
in Pakistan and strengthen the hardliners, besides creating new
intractable rivalries in Afghanistan’s already troubled situation."
Vanaik believes that it is unwise for India to place too much
reliance on the United States, given President-elect Barrack Obama’s
intention to intensify the Afghanistan war. This, he said, calls for
cooperation from the Pakistan Army and ’’limits the amount of
pressure the U.S. can mount on Pakistan’’.
Another of New Delhi’s priorities has been to persuade Washington to
abandon its plans to appoint a special envoy to South Asia, who will
help mediate Kashmir as well as other outstanding regional issues.
Recent indications suggest that the Indian government has had a
measure of success in this.
Meanwhile, civil society groups in both India and Pakistan are
stepping up their efforts to maintain people-to-people contacts and
ask their governments to abjure the military option and jointly fight
religious extremism and terrorism.
A 20-member delegation of Pakistani civil society activists is
planning to visit New Delhi between Jan. 21 and 23. It will be hosted
by a number of Indian peace groups and activists and will interact
with senior political leaders, key policymakers, the academic
community and the media.
o o o
Dawn
January 19, 2009
IF WINTER COMES, CAN SPRING BE FAR BEHIND? ASK THE PEACE CARAVAN
by Jawed Naqvi
It’s curious that while millions of Indians have to produce a dozen
proofs to get a passport or a driving licence, and brace the ordeal
of getting elusive police certificates, gazetted officers’ signatures
and the neighbourhood politician’s goodwill, Pakistanis who are
caught on the wrong side of law in India are readily identified by
the wrapper of the chewing gum found in their pockets, or a matchbox
made in Karachi, or a cigarette packet from Lahore.
There is of course the ubiquitous SIM card and occasionally a
telephone diary found conveniently in his shirt pockets if the
Pakistani happens to be declared a terrorist who was shot dead in an
encounter. The media gave up the practice of using alleged, suspected
and so on long ago, which helps widen the eligibility gap between
Indians and Pakistanis for official recognition and identification. I
believe Indian passport seekers must demand parity with their
Pakistani counterparts to ease the peculiar identity crisis they
otherwise face.
Some 20 odd Pakistani peace activists are due in New Delhi this week,
which is just as good an occasion as any to ask these and other
similar questions, not only of the Indian establishment but with
focus on matching absurdities in their own patch. There was a slight
improvement in the ‘identity crisis’ between the two countries last
week. The lone survivor from the gang of terrorists that attacked
Mumbai was finally acknowledged by Pakistan to be one of its
citizens, though not before Islamabad fired its national security
adviser, (who incidentally had gained considerable credibility with
India), for saying precisely what his government admitted weeks
later. But the problems of identity between the two are not waning
anytime soon. There is still a question mark, to quote one example,
about the identity of an Indian who was, or perhaps still is,
languishing on the death row as a convicted terrorist in a Pakistani
jail. The Indian media says he is innocent and calls him by a
different name to the one the judge used to condemn him.
Of course the caravan of peace from Pakistan, which consists of
leading activists like I.A. Rehman, Salima Hashmi and Asma Jehangir
will have a wider canvass of issues to address than to pose commonly
unasked questions. True to form, they will yet again explore the
truth, if there was any, in the claim of former Indian foreign
minister Jaswant who famously said after the collapse of the Agra
summit in July 2001, that though the caravan of peace had ‘stalled’,
it had ‘not overturned’. The fact is that the current foreign
minister (from the avowedly more agreeable political party) has all
but declared the entire dialogue process with Pakistan a virtual
failure. The sweeping assessment could make it that much more
difficult for the peaceniks to quote Shelley’s usually encouraging
lines If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
As questions go, there are several more that could or should be
raised if there will be time during the packed visit to accommodate
them. These pertain to the strange demeanour of both sides in the
present crisis. Questions should also be asked on points of fact that
are obfuscated in the din of the standoff. A simple question that
could be asked relates to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s description
of Mumbai, during a visit to the city last week, where he glorified
it as a symbol of pluralism and secularism, in fact the very heart of
Indian nationhood. The fact is that there are very few places left in
India that can be described thus, and Mumbai unfortunately may not be
among them. Yes, Mumbai has some of the greatest exponents of all the
qualities the prime minister admired. But they are having a hard
time. The Shiv Sena rules the city.
Ask the people from Bihar or the migrants from Uttar Pradesh about
pluralism of Mumbai. Yes Mumbai was a secular place. It was and
perhaps still is in some pockets. But ask the Pakistani actor who was
thrown out of a film studio the other day for belonging to his
country if Mumbai is the symbol of India. And why don’t they hold
cricket matches against Pakistan there? And what did we hear Shabana
Azmi and Javed Akhtar say only the other day — about being denied a
house because of their religion, a religion whose priests disown the
two for being apostates. That’s some quandary the couple is in. This
is more or less true of Karachi and its dangerously volatile ethnic
fault lines. These are the building blocks of terrorism, not symbols
of vibrant democracy by any stretch of imagination.
Unless we recognise our weaknesses, we cannot be strong. It is
tempting to believe that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has
now got a better idea of the distance that exists between the promise
of India’s democracy and its actual spread among the people. Very few
Indian MPs have slept in a village cot in a Dalit household as
Miliband did in Rahul Gandhi’s rural constituency during his recent
visit to India. There will be cynics who see the experience as a
gimmick. Similar questions were raised when I saw Princess Diana
holding the stump of a leper’s hand oozing with puss when she visited
Nepal three or four years before her death. But how many of these
cynics will sleep in a Dalit’s home or hold an oozing stump? Anyway,
just as important as his visit to Amethi were Miliband’s ideas on
Kashmir and a new definition for the so-called war on terror. Peace
activists can’t solve the problem of Kashmir or change the direction
of the war on terror. But they can ask good, hard-hitting questions.
And Miliband raised some of these.
In a sense some of Miliband’s ideas that riled Indians were in fact
an implicit yet stinging critique of the fawning, even obsequious
relationship that the current Indian government has had with
President George W. Bush. Naturally, the Indian foreign office ticked
off Miliband as intrusive. One unnamed official told The Hindu: “He’s
a young man and I guess this is the way he thinks diplomacy is
conducted…In both his meetings, his posture and style of talking were
a little too aggressive. The (prime minister) and (the foreign
minister) are much older and this is not what they are used to.”
One of the ironies that peace activists between India and Pakistan
represent as well as face is that they are entirely beholden to the
host country for their grudgingly granted visas. This is something
that should bother everyone who needs to visit the other side to make
their case or meet old comrades. The state of play as it exists
inhibits a free dialogue. (And everyone is not Miliband to say it as
it is) Poor Sheema Kirmani came to New Delhi with an excellent play,
one which she has staged here several times in different parts of the
country. It questions the communal division of India. However, this
time she was prevented from going to Lucknow as someone in authority
warned the group that they either posed or faced a law and order
issue. We know that Sheema wants to come back to India with other
plays and ballets. So she kept her disappointment to herself instead
of venting it to the media. A meeting of senior editors from India
was to take place in Pakistan to discuss the recent upsurge in bad
journalism on both sides. That meeting has been scrapped, I
understand, because visas were not granted.
And, by the way, the Mumbai attacks seem to have produced another gem
of an irony. No, not all Indians face problems getting passports
issued. The raging story doing the rounds, though it has been shunned
by the otherwise alert electronic media, is that a fisherwoman who
saw the six (or was it all 10) men, landing from their boats at the
Gateway of India in Mumbai, was whisked away to America for several
days grilling. Another key material witness, the nanny of a Jewish
infant whose parents were murdered by the terrorists, was flown off
to Israel even before the siege of Mumbai was over. The Mumbai police
have not come up with a cogent explanation. What’s going on? Of
course, these are not the kind of issues that serious peace activists
usually bother to get involved with. Fortunately, the questions are
not going to go away simply because they may remain unasked. Never
mind if it’s winter. We’ll wait for spring.
o o o
The Hindu
January 21, 2009
PAKISTAN ‘PEACE’ TEAM COMING TODAY
http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/21/stories/2009012160581300.htm
____
[5] A view from RAND Corporation
THE LESSONS OF MUMBAI
Angel Rabasa, Robert D. Blackwill, Peter Chalk, Kim Cragin, C.
Christine Fair, Brian A. Jackson, Brian Michael Jenkins, Seth G.
Jones, Nathaniel Shestak, Ashley J. Tellis
This study of the Mumbai terrorist attack of November 2008 is part of
the RAND Corporation
http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP249.pdf
_____
[6]
The Telegraph
January 19, 2009
MINISTERIAL VISAGE
- India has a chance to rebuild its relationship with Bangladesh
by Ashok Mitra
The country has a new minister for home affairs, one shoved off the
ministry of finance. The earlier home minister had a reputation for
passivity. The fresh incumbent has evidently taken upon himself the
task of removing traces of the infamy his predecessor was the cause
of. The ardour of activism can, however, sometimes have disastrous
consequences.
The ministry of home affairs is charged with the responsibility of
ensuring the country’s internal security. Such security, the new
minister has concluded, is impeded by the inflow, from across
Bangladesh, of agents of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and
of other saboteurs. The minister has seemingly no doubts regarding
how to take care of the problem. Too many visas, he has growled, are
being issued to Bangladeshi citizens. He wants to do something about
it. Slash the quota of visas for Bangladeshis, and, hey presto, a
dramatic improvement is sure to take place in our internal security.
Do our cabinet ministers operate on their own, or do they
occasionally talk to one another on matters, which involve concurrent
jurisdiction? For instance, did the home minister bother to discuss
with the minister of external affairs before he unburdened himself of
the issue of visas for Bangladeshis? Consider the awkwardness of the
situation. After a long, long while, Bangladesh has a government
whose architects have been, of all political formations in that
country, the most favourably disposed towards India. Sheikh Hasina
Wajed, the presiding deity of the Awami League, is Sheikh Mujibur
Rehman’s daughter. The league as well as she personally have had
friendly relations, at both official and non-official levels, with
Indian personalities. In fact, during the campaign for the just
concluded elections in Bangladesh, one main charge hurled against
Wajed by her opponents was that she was India’s stooge. Her
installation in the prime ministerial office in the neighbouring
country is certainly a great slice of luck coming India’s way.
This development should be — and still could be — the forerunner of
happier possibilities. What is called for from the Indian end at this
juncture is cool watchfulness and sobriety. India’s intelligence
agencies may have their worries about the nature of infiltration —
either actual or prospective — from across Bangladesh. Instead of
airing them openly and on a high pitch, wisdom demands that these
concerns be tucked in for the present and confidential talks arranged
between representatives of the two countries. Other options would
always be available in case these meetings prove infructuous from New
Delhi’s point of view.
Patience is not the strong point of our minister for home affairs
though. He has, on the contrary, chosen the path of bluster and name-
calling. In case he is not exactly speaking out of turn and has the
prime minister’s backing, raising a few further questions becomes
unavoidable. Now that the nuclear deal with the United States of
America is a reality, is it New Delhi’s view that India is the cock
of the road in south Asia and has therefore the prerogative to treat
all its neighbours as dirt?
Or is it henceforth New Delhi’s established policy not to give any
quarter to any country, which has a population with a Muslim
majority? Nothing could be more disastrous in the long run than this
genre of sectarianism. Given the state of our uneasy relationship
with Pakistan, the uncertainties in Nepal and pervasive speculation
over the implications of China’s resolve to be the most powerful
nation in the world next to the US, would it not on the other hand be
prudent to exercise some restraint while dealing with other
strategically placed nations such as Bangladesh? The opportunity to
rebuild the relationship with Bangladesh would never be greater than
what it is today. And that opportunity might not be long-lasting. For
despite the Awami League’s entering office after winning a convincing
majority in democratic elections, the shadow of the military would
not be quite dispelled from the Bangladesh sky. Those in charge of
the armed forces there have for the present bestowed their favours on
the Awami League. But the circumstances could change fast. If the
provocative remarks of our home minister lead to an outburst of anti-
India hysteria in Bangladesh and embarrass Wajed and her regime no
end, the ISI would have the last laugh.
The home minister’s nervousness over the large number of visas issued
to Bangladeshi citizens, in fact, betrays his ignorance of some of
the ground realities. Yes, quite a few Bangladeshis have tended to
visit India in recent years. More than 90 per cent of them come on
short visits, mostly to West Bengal. These visitors could well
include an infinitesimally small number of espionage masters. The
bulk of them are, however, householders visiting relatives in India,
students, university and college teachers, singers, film
personalities, poets, writers and suchlike. Why deny it, the bond of
language and culture persists between the middle classes in West
Bengal and the neighbouring country in the east. This may not be to
everybody’s liking, but to try to thwart the tide of natural urges
would be altogether foolhardy. What is much more relevant, close
cultural relations between the peoples of Bangladesh and West Bengal
make a positive contribution to the cause of Indo-Bangladesh amity,
and is therefore an effective instrument for combating the
machinations of species such as the ISI.
Another matter is worth a mention too. Not as famous or as strategic
as the Silk Route from China to Europe, there was, at least, for
3,000 years, a long winding Cattle Route in existence, starting in
Baluchistan, travelling all the way across the northern terrains of
India, and finally terminating in Bengal. Cattle of the finest stock
bought in Quetta would be disposed of in Sindh; cattle, a shade of a
lesser quality, but still of excellent breed, bought in Sindh would
be sold off in Punjab, the local stock in Punjab would be brought for
sale to Rajasthan, from Rajasthan the route would proceed to
locations like Indore and Gwalior, and then turn north into
Bulandshahr and Oudh. Selling and buying cattle would proceed
uninterrupted at each centre, the quality of the cattle steadily
deteriorating until the route reached the Bihar-Bengal border. By
then the cattle offered for disposal had gone down precipitously in
quality, but the rickety lot would still have some demand in Bengal,
either for purposes of agriculture or for meat, and would fetch a
respectable price. Bengal, however, would pay for the cattle not by
offering a ricketier breed — none was available — but by barter,
exchanging foodgrains, textiles and locally produced pots and pans
against the cattle that were bought.
The Cattle Route was rudely disturbed by the partition of the country
in 1947. And yet, the upheaval in political geography did not quite
finish it off. Rickety cattle continue to be smuggled across from
West Bengal into Bangladesh in exchange for grains, utensils and
textiles. This often takes the shape of small-scale, informal
activity, otherwise known as smuggling. However determined the Border
Security Force might be, to crush this relic of a great historical
route is not that feasible a proposition. Visa or no visa, people
will travel between Bangladesh and West Bengal, as much for reasons
of culture as for the sake of livelihood.
The home minister of the country has recently acquired the habit of
shooting from the mouth. That can cause the country a great deal of
trouble. The nuclear agreement notwithstanding, the US
administration, it is now more than obvious, would not play
favourites between India and Pakistan. We therefore badly need
friends in the region to buttress our security. A minister who
creates obstacles in the search for such friends is a bit of a menace.
_____
[7] India in times of Hindutva:
‘HINDUTVA TERRORISTS’ WANTED A TALIBAN- LIKE OVERRUN BY 2024
by Krishna Kumar
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/malegaon-terror-suspects-
intended.html
ABOUT THE MALEGAON 11 AND THE CHARGES AGAINST THEM
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/about-malegaon-11-and-charges-
against.html
HOW HINDUTVA TERRORISTS OPERATE IN KARNATAKA
by subhash gatade
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-hindutva-terrorists-
operate-in.html
THE DECADAL GROWTH OF THE SANGH PARIVAR IN ORISSA
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/decadal-growth-of-sangh-
parivar-in.html
HINDUTVA OPERATION IN THE US OBJECTS TO MICHAEL WOOD'S 2007
DOCUMENTARY 'THE STORY OF INDIA'
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/hindu-american-foundation-
objections-on.html
_____
[8] Indian Business Elites Have No Qualms Sucking Up To Hindutva's Hero
The Times of India
18 Jan 2009
AT THE MARGINS OF COMPETENCE
by Shiv Visvanathan
When leadership becomes purely an act of brand-building, it confronts
its own dangers. Substance and style often get separated; image drifts
apart from truth and what begins as a grand inauguration can end in
an embarrassing silence.
The career of Narendra Modi is a case study that'll intrigue many.
He's a politician seeking to redefine himself and Gujarat. He's doing
this not in terms of a holistic vision, but a fragmentary one. He has
the industrialists on his side because he simplifies rules and
regulations for them. He has the religious sects with him because he
speaks the hybrid language of history and modernity. He claims the
new by antagonizing the old, creating a middle class urban base that
dreams of change, tired of the old grammar of party politics and
caste equations. No leader is more contemptuous of his own party than
Modi.
He has contempt for process, but in an India in a hurry, this can be
seen as decisive; even competent, because of his dismissal of the
normative and the institutional. The power of Modi lies in his moral
luck.
The Nanavati panel produced a report that vouches for his Teflon
properties. The SIT is not designed to probe the higher echelons.
Modi is a populist leader with a readymade crowd feeding on his
narcissism. He's user-friendly to sectional interests that invest in
him. There is no commitment to values here; only price and costs. So
long as Modi serves the corporations, the middle class and the sects,
he'll survive.
What defines him is speed: He is in a hurry, so he is intolerant. He
hates any form of opposition and his ruthlessness stems from there.
Often in India, we confuse the arbitrary and the ruthless with the
decisive. Ratan Tata forgot the Tata tradition to opt for Modi's
modernity, and created a favourable social contract between two
outstanding modernisers. Gujarat is probably the only state where the
SEZ and the privatised ports have legitimacy. In the short run, Modi
is king. Long live the king of the short run. What of the long run?
As John Maynard Keynes said, we'll all be dead, but memory lives, and
the future will ask questions which may not be popular today. Is
Gujarat India's China, seeking to substitute Chinese ruthlessness for
Indian deliberative democracy? What of justice for marginals and
minorities and for all the opposition that paid the price for
dissent? Dissent is a precious way of life. If Gujarat were measured
in terms of a dissenters' index, it would rank abysmally low. If
competence were evaluated in terms of diversity, well-being and value
maintenance, we've already lost the battle.
Modi's Gujarat is a future urban nightmare. On ecology, health and
welfare, Modi shows little competence. Privatising health is no way
to well-being. Creating education as a business is no guarantee of
quality. As a master of methodology, Modi is all technique and speed,
without vision.
For Modi to be PM, he has to move from presentation to
representation. He needs to add plurality, diversity and
sustainability to his limited glossary of modernity. Tolerance is the
Indian way, and efficiency without tolerance will never work at the
national level. Maybe that is the difference between a statesman and
a politician. This is the deficit between Vajpayee and Modi, and not
all the gadgets, perfumes and projects can sweeten his little hands.
To be fair, Modi has galvanised Gujarat. But the etymology of the
word galvanic goes back to Italian scientist Galvani, who
administered shocks to frogs. No one recorded their cries of pain.
All history did was to celebrate electricity.
Modi has created an electric excitement. But the cries of pain can be
heard when the current is off. When that happens, the neon halo of
competence may be read for what it actually is - an illusion.
(The writer is a social scientist)
o o o
see also:
INVOKING INDIA’S FUHRER
Industrialists call for Modi to be the Prime Minister
by Ram Puniyani
http://www.sacw.net/article515.html
_____
[8] ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(i)
STOP THE BLOODSHED: AN EXHIBITION OF GAZA PROTEST POSTERS
Opening Date: 21st January 2009 | Time: 6:00 pm
When T2F started, we wrote a blog post about "Design Anarchy" - a
plea to graphic designers to use their talent for social commentary.
Read the post here: http://www.t2f.biz/design-anarchy/
We hoped it was only a matter of time before someone would step up
and and demand a platform ...
A few days ago, Shajee, a design student, wrote:
> "The situation in Gaza bothered me and I started thinking about
what I could do. I started putting up pictures on Facebook, hoping to
provoke people into reacting. I soon realized it wasn't enough and
that something more public needed to be done. I remembered our
campaign against the university fee hike and decided to use the
medium of graphic design to condemn the offensive in Gaza. I talked
to a couple of colleagues, and soon, over a dozen people came on
board, including teachers and alumni. We were wondering if we could
put up an exhibition of protest posters at T2F. We'd like to open on
21st January because it will be the first Bush-Free day in 8 years!"
Obviously the answer was a resounding YES.
Please join us at T2F for an exhibition of posters by graphic
designers expressing their outrage against the violence in Gaza.
Opening Date: Wednesday, 21st January 2009
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Karachi
538-9273 | 0300-823-0276 | i...@t2f.biz
Map: http://www.t2f.biz/location
- - -
(ii) National Convention on Communal Harmony
30th and 31st January, 2009
Kabir Math, Jiyanpur, Ayodhya, District Faizabad, U.P.
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2009/01/convention-on-communal-
harmony-ayodhya.html
- - -
(iii)
The World Ahimsa Day Initiative
The India International Centre
Invite you to
A Panel Discussion & Music Recital
30th January 2009 : 3.30 - 6.45 PM
IIC, 40 Max Mueller Marg
New Delhi - 110003
Reflections on
A FUTURE FOR AHIMSA
Speakers 3.30 - 5.30 PM
Nandita Das, actress, film-maker ('Firaaq', 2008)
Krishna Kumar, educationist, writer, director NCERT
Dilip Simeon, historian, writer, peace activist
Chair, moderator
Father George Gispert-Sauch
Question & Answer Session 5.30-6.00 PM
Music Recital 6.00 - 6.45 PM
Sawani Mudgal sings Nirgun Bhajans:
Kabir, Nanak, Bulleh Shah &
Narsi Mehta's "Vaishnava Jana"
Courtesy SEHER, Delhi
Search at : http://maps.google.com/
- - -
(iv)
Peace Rally
3pm - Saturday, January 31, 2009
Regal Chowk, Mall Road, Lahore
Organized By Amn Tehreek
Please mobilize within your community, convince your family, friends,
colleagues to participate. Bring your voice through placards and
banners to promote peace
To volunteer in mobilizing & organizing the rally, please contact
Phone: 0313.435.3611
Email instituteforpe...@gmail.com
www.peaceandsecularstudies.org
-raheem
member coordination committee Amn Tehreek
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
S o u t h A s i a C i t i z e n s W i r e
Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. An offshoot of South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.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
