South Asia Citizens Wire | July 5-6 , 2008 | Dispatch No. 2535 - Year 10 running
[1] Nepal: We belong together (edit, Nepali Times) [2] Sri Lanka: War without end (Euan Ferguson) [3] Going MAD: Ten Years of the Bomb in South Asia (Zia Mian, M V Ramana) [4] The unnoticed emergency - How Bangladesh's generals get away with it (Edit, The Economist) + Debunking the 'NASA' doomsday climate prediction for Bangladesh (M Monirul Qader Mirza) [5] Kashmir: (i) Peace, not ceasefire (Muzamil Jaleel) (ii) Challenging Communal Mayhem in Jammu (a) Civil Society members need to come out of their shells (Edit, Kashmir Times) (b) Jammu needs us (Rekha Chowdhary) (c) A CNN IBN Video Report - July 06, 2008 [6] India: Blowing up a silly question (Indrajit Hazra) [7] India: Strong message to the intolerant (Editorial) [8] India: Repeal the law - Discrimination against sexuality minorities must end (Deccan Herald) [9] India: Muslims reject Darul's conversion fatwa (Rohit Karir) [10] British Muslims For Secular Democracy Reaction to Lord Philip's Views About The Incorporation Of Sharia Law In Britain ______ [1] Nepali Times 04 JULY 2008 - 10 JULY 2008 WE BELONG TOGETHER Assamese music teacher Meera Thapa was singing at a concert in Kathmandu last week when, in the middle of an old song by Tara Debi, she burst into tears. Meera Thapa is a third-generation Nepali, born in Digboi, educated in Shillong and mentored by diaspora poet-musician Hari Bhakta Katuwal. Her Bengali is more fluent than her Nepali and she seldom comes to Nepal. Yet, while singing at Paleti on Friday, when she got to the part where the lyrics go 'if there is a heaven on earth, it is my motherland...', Meera Thapa could not control the emotions that welled up in her soul. Wherever we may be, however much removed by time and distance from the land of our ancestors, there is a Nepali-ness that binds us. It is an emotional bond that is perhaps best expressed in poetry or song. Much more than a sense of shared history, more than the language, religion and festivals, beyond the artificial icons of nationhood, Mt Everest, Lumbini and the danfe, or even the now-defunct monarchy, a togetherness unites the Nepali world. Meera Thapa's tears signified a pure and intense emotional attachment to the land of her forebears. What was remarkable was that this sense of belonging hadn't diminished with separation, nor with the passage of generations. Five Nepali migrant workers-a Madhesi, a Janajati, a Chhetri, a Bahun and a Dalit-have jointly set up a literary society in the UAE. They meet regularly for gazal readings. The message in their poetry and song is always: why, if the rest of the world sees us as just Nepalis, do we look for differences among us? It is the tragedy of our times that the post-2006 identity politics is over-correcting past injustices and taking us down the path of ethno-chauvinism. While compensating for historic exclusion, we want to enforce even worse intolerance. We have to pull ourselves out of the quagmire. Today's prolonged political paralysis does not help. It is bringing out all kinds of demons in us. There is a danger the Madhes-Pahad gap will widen if the political tug-o-war in Kathmandu tempts the Maoists to project themselves as the protectors of the Pahad against those espousing a united Madhes. The Madhes needs autonomy, but not at the expense of other Tarai dwellers. Its ethno-separatist slogans threaten our infant republic because it would set a precedence for every other grouping for an unviable 'homeland'. Let's not get into who came here first. Learn from countries in our region which have suffered decades of civil war when they opened that can of worms. Except for the Tarai aborigines, we all came from somewhere else. We all share a Nepali identity and Nepali space. If someone like Meera Thapa, who doesn't even live here, feels she belongs, why don't we? ______ [2] The Observer, June 29, 2008 WAR WITHOUT END The last time he visited Sri Lanka, it was two days after the Boxing Day tsunami had struck. Yet among the devastation, a shaky ceasefire between Tamil rebels and government forces seemed to offer a glimmer of hope. So what went wrong? Euan Ferguson returns to find an island paradise once again torn apart by conflict by Euan Ferguson http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/29/srilanka ______ [3] South Asians Against Nukes - 6 July 2008 GOING MAD: TEN YEARS OF THE BOMB IN SOUTH ASIA by Zia Mian, M V Ramana (Economic and Political Weekly, June 28, 2008) India and Pakistan have been talking peace since 2003, yet they have continued to expand their nuclear arsenals. This suggests a failure both of imagination and of political will to seriously engage with the nuclear danger. The peace process does not seem to recognise the fact that since the two countries conducted their nuclear tests in 1998 there has been a war and a major military crisis, both prominently featuring nuclear threats. Nuclear denial in south Asia is not a symptom of inattention, or passivity in the face of an overwhelming problem. It is deliberate blindness to the contradiction between word and deed. India and Pakistan talk of peace while pouring scarce resources into developing their nuclear arsenals, the infrastructure for producing and using them, and doctrines aimed at fighting a nuclear war. [. . .] Full Text: http://www.s-asians-against-nukes.org/2008/ziaramanajune08.html ______ [4] BANGLADESH: (i) The Economist July 2, 2008 THE UNNOTICED EMERGENCY How Bangladesh's generals get away with it IN TERMS of foreign press coverage per head of population, probably no country in the world gets as raw a deal as Bangladesh. It has some 150m people. Yet if it features in the international media it tends to be either as the scene of an appalling natural disaster-flood or cyclone-or as the crucible for one of the great experiments in microcredit. Its politics tend to be ignored. This is surprising, since it is a bastion of moderate Islam, which, like other moderate Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Indonesia, has been prey to an extremist fringe. India accuses it of harbouring groups plotting secession in its north-eastern states and, at times, of training terrorists who mount attacks elsewhere in India. AFP Prisoners are transported to jail in Dhaka Outside the subcontinent, however, few pay much attention. This is just as well for the "interim" administration, which took power in January 2007 with the backing of the army. The state of emergency it imposed then is still in force. This has allowed for some outrageous abuses. According to Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human-rights group, 68 people died in extrajudicial killings (often called "crossfire") in the first half of this year. Torture is endemic. The government also quietly adopted a new counter-terrorism ordinance last month, without debate. Human Rights Watch, a research and lobbying group, says it violates fundamental freedoms. Last month, after the breakdown of talks between the government and the political parties on the election promised for December, about 28,000 political activists were detained. The country's 68 prisons are designed to hold 27,368 people, but they were crammed with 87,579 prisoners in late June, according to the government. Some convicted prisoners are being freed prematurely to make room for these unconnected-and uncharged-political detainees. There two main reasons why all this is so widely overlooked. The first is that when the army intervened in January 2007, most Bangladeshis were relieved (as were aid donors). The two main political parties-the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League-seemed incapable of managing an orderly transfer of power. So the voices that might draw attention to the government's abuses have been muted. Secondly, the previous, BNP-led, government did not like the foreign press, and made it very hard for journalists to visit. It succeeded in removing Bangladesh from the international news agenda. A modest attempt to draw attention to Bangladesh's predicament was staged on June 27th in the unlikely setting of the House of Lords in London. In the Moses Room, dwarfed by the huge painting of the Old Testament prophet bringing God's laws down from the top of the mountain, Lord Avebury, a British peer, chaired a seminar on "political dialogue and the way forward to elections" in Bangladesh. Since Britain is both the former colonial power and has around 250,000 citizens of Bangladeshi origin, it is not surprising that its parliamentarians should take an interest in the country. Indeed, it is perhaps more surprising that the seminar was sparsely attended. One speaker, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, an Awami League leader, professed to see light at the end of the tunnel. The League is about to re-enter talks with the government. There seems a good chance that local and parliamentary elections will proceed. It is hard, however, to see how they can be free or fair, while emergency rule in still in place. The seminar adopted a unanimous resolution calling for an immediate end to the state of emergency. Naturally, this was not widely reported. o o o (ii) New Age July 5, 2008 DEBUNKING THE 'NASA' DOOMSDAY CLIMATE PREDICTION FOR BANGLADESH The 25-metre sea level rise is inappropriately cited in the UK's Independent newspaper in the name of NASA and certainly entire Bangladesh is not going under water by the end of this century, writes Dr M Monirul Qader Mirza BANGLADESH is a flat deltaic country where 80 per cent of the elevations are less than 12 metres above sea level. Terrain of the coastal southern Bangladesh is mostly at sea level. Because of the geographical setting and physical characteristics, the country is regularly inundated by riverine to coastal flooding. Under the future climate change regime, the country will be highly vulnerable to sea level rise, intense cyclones and storm surge flooding. A recent special report by Johann Hari - titled Bangladesh is set to disappear under the waves by the end of the century and published in the British daily Independent, has drawn significant attention around the world. It has particularly sent a shockwave among the people, scientists and policymakers in Bangladesh and overseas. However, will Bangladesh completely disappear under water by 2100, as claimed in the Independent citing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States? This issue deserves discussion in the context of the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was released in 2007, and the scientific developments that have taken place since the release of the IPCC report. Causes of sea level rise Sea level varies from temporal to spatial scales. For the inhabitants of the coastal area, relative sea level - the level of the sea surface in relation to land - is important. Relative sea level can change by vertical movement of the land or changes in the level of ocean surface itself. Vertical movement can occur due to tectonic activities and balance between deltaic subsidence caused by massive weight of sediments, and the accretion of land as additional sediments are deposited in the coastal areas. Changes in sea surface topography can occur at the very shortest time-scales due to tidal and meteorological phenomena. Sea level changes are recorded by tide gauges. The relative sea level at a gauge may show long-term changes due to the vertical motion of the gauge, circulation of the ocean or changes in global volume of the ocean which is caused by melting of land ice masses and warming of the ocean and its thermal expansion. In the context of greenhouse effect, the ocean, as well as land is warming up. As the ocean warms, the density of water would decrease and its volume would increase. This is termed 'oceanic thermal expansion'. There are three uncertainties to ascertain the rate of thermal expansion. They are changes in the heating of the climate system, the sensitivity of climate and the rate of heat uptake by the oceans. Sea level changes in the recent past According to the IPCC, the instrumental record of modern sea level changes shows evidence for onset of sea level rise during the 19th century. Estimates for the 20th century show that global average sea level rose at a rate of about 1.7mm per year. Satellite observations available since the early 1990s provide more accurate sea level data with nearly global coverage. This decade-long satellite altimetry dataset shows, since 1993 sea level has been rising at a rate of around 3mm per year, significantly higher than the previous half century. However, sea level is not rising uniformly around the world. In some regions, rates are up to several times the global mean rise, while in other regions sea level is falling. For the past decade, sea level rise shows the highest magnitude in the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans. Sea level rise in some tidal stations in the Bangladesh coasts are: Hiron Point - 4mm per year; Char Changa - 6mm per year and Cox's Bazar - 7.8 mm per year, as reported by the SAARC Meteorological Centre in Dhaka. Regional variability of the rates of sea level is due mostly to non-uniform changes in temperature and salinity and related to changes in ocean circulation. What factors contributed to the observed sea level rise? As per the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, among the measurable factors, melting glaciers and ice caps were found to be the largest contributor, for example, from 1961-2003, their contribution was estimated to be 28 per cent followed by thermal expansion (23 per cent). But for the decade 1993-2003, contribution of thermal expansion was much larger (52 per cent). Future sea level projections of the IPCC In its Fourth Assessment Report, the IPCC projected that global sea level rise by 2100 would be in the range of 18cm to 59cm depending on a range of greenhouse gas emission scenarios. This full range of projection is relative to 1980-1999 and excluded of carbon-cycle feedback and future rapid dynamical change in ice flow because of lack of published literature. This is an emerging science. However, the NASA scientist Dr James Hansen (http ://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/) disagrees with the IPCC findings and said it had addressed 'a portion of the problem'. 2100: the doomsday for Bangladesh? The Independent article is partly based on two recent publications of Dr Hansen where he discussed the limitations of the IPCC's business as usual projection of sea level rise. According to him, the most important left out component of sea level rise was contributions from the disintegration of ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica. But the IPCC in its Fourth Assessment Report considered 0.1 to 0.2 metre additional sea level rise for the ice sheet melting. However, this has not been explicitly integrated in its sea level rise projections. Dr Hansen's concerns have been addressed differently by the IPCC as it states, 'Larger values cannot be excluded, but understanding of these effects is too limited to assess their likelihood or provide a best estimate or an upper bound for sea level rise.' According to Dr Hansen, the past warming of 0.7oC already produces large amount of summer melt on Greenland and West Antarctica. He iterates, 'Global warming of several more degrees, with its polar amplification, would have both Greenland and West Antarctica bathed in summer melt for extended melt seasons.' Dr Hansen further says that until the past few years, contribution from the ice sheet disintegration was insignificant, but it has doubled in the past one decade (1995-2005) and close to 1mm per year. So if 10mm or 1cm contribution from the ice sheets for the decade 2005-2015 doubles in every decade, by 2100 sea level rise only from the melting of ice sheets would be 5 metres. This estimate is only based on an assumption and there is no concrete reasoning to back it up. In this regard, Dr Hansen says, 'Of course, I cannot prove that my choice of a ten-year doubling time for non-linear response is accurate, but I am confident that provides a far better estimate than a linear response for the ice sheet component of sea level rise under BAU [business as usual] scenario.' We need at least two more decades of observational data from Greenland and West Antarctica to verify Dr Hansen's 'ten-year doubling' hypothesis. The scary part of the Independent article was 25-meter sea level rise and complete disappearance of Bangladesh from the world map. Mr Hari wrote: 'and found that many climatologists think the IPCC is way too optimistic about Bangladesh. I turned to Professor James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, whose climate calculations have proved to be more accurate than anybody else's. He believes the melting of the Greenland ice cap being picked up his satellite today, now, suggests we are facing a 25-metre rise in sea levels this century-which would drown Bangladesh entirely.' Note that the IPCC in its report has not considered Bangladesh exclusively although it has appeared in many instances because of special geophysical characteristics of the country and its future vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise. In my long association with the IPCC, I have not come across any literature that has particularly projected a 25-metre sea level rise by 2100. Therefore, I decided to verify it with Dr Hansen and sent him an email on June 26 and he was very kind to write back a day later. He replied: 'I have made no such projection, although the long-term response to 2-3oC warming would probably be a sea level rise of that order - it is hard to say how much would occur by 2100 - it could be a few metres.' This long-term timeline is debatable, may be thousands of years. So the 25-metre sea level rise is inappropriately cited in the Independent in the name of NASA and certainly entire Bangladesh is not going under water by the end of this century. Sea level rise: implications for Bangladesh Because of the flatness of the country, for any given magnitude of future sea level rise, the impacts could be devastating. The IPCC's Third Assessment Report published in 2001 projected 11 per cent inundation for a 45cm sea level rise. However, the inundated area may be doubled for a 1-metre rise. Another study conducted by the Institute for Water Modelling, Dhaka shows intrusion of seawater up to Chandpur, about 80km upstream from the estuary. With a 32cm sea level rise, 84 per cent of Sundarban, a UNESCO world heritage site, would be deeply inundated by 2050 and the entire Sundarban may be lost for about one-metre rise. In Bangladesh, impacts of sea level rise on land and water, crops, livestock, human health and livelihood would be significant. It is, therefore, necessary to formulate and implement appropriate adaptation measures under a long perspective plan. Dr M Monirul Qader Mirza is currently with the Adaptation and Impacts Research Division, Environment Canada and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto. He acted as coordinating lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Views presented are those of the writer's. ______ [5] Kashmir: (i) Indian Express, July 05, 2008 PEACE, NOT CEASEFIRE by Muzamil Jaleel This spring had brought a new season of peace and prosperity to Kashmir. The tourism industry was blossoming with nine to eleven thousand arrivals daily. Violence was substantially down. The separatist leadership was demoralised and divided. Mainstream political activity was at its peak in the anticipation that the 2008 assembly polls would finally shift the centre in Kashmir politics. In fact, Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani's poll boycott looked absurd. He was alone even in the separatist camp and the moderates had decided not to run an anti-election campaign. Still half a year away, the elections had become a popular topic everywhere. Unlike the 1996 and 2002 polls, the discussion was not about voter turnout but instead intricate analyses of the anticipated contests. Everything was going according to plan: the Centre had stopped mentioning the separatist leadership even occasionally. The peace process now revolved around government-sponsored working groups alone. Kashmir had even shifted away from the larger Indo-Pak discourse where the new Pak leadership had publicly abandoned the centrality of Kashmir to Islamabad's relationship with New Delhi. Then came the transfer of 40 acres of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. First, there were a few routine political statements, opposing the government move. And then, the entire Valley rose in protest, bringing life to a sudden halt. Hundreds of thousands came out on the streets. There were processions. There was violence too but, this time, stones had replaced bullets. These protests, however, were spontaneous, taking even astute observers by surprise. Suddenly, the situation in Kashmir was reminiscent of the turbulent '90s. Interestingly, those protesting were not divided by class, ideology or party affiliation: they were just very angry young people. The stone-pelting, slogan-shouting first ranks were formed of young men between 15 and 25. Even larger protests - some of 50,000 people - took place in remote rural areas that had been quiet for years, including in places with a traditionally close relationship with the army. What happened might be surprising, but not really unexpected. Everyone was positive about the situation on the ground: New Delhi, Pakistan and the state government. The moderate agenda of the Hurriyat and that of the PDP were beginning to overlap; the Congress was obsessed with "development", and the 2008 polls were expected to provide closure. Moderate separatists had lost much relevance, waiting indefinitely for the invitation to a second round of talks after the big photo-op. The mistake lay in assuming that the declining credibility of the separatist leadership implied a decline in separatist sentiment as well. While the government had been expecting that the calm would automatically heal the wounds of 18 years, Kashmir was silently waiting for a concrete mechanism to bring closure to its pain. The expose of mass graves in Baramulla and Kupwara had once again strengthened the demand that thousands of families here still need answers and it is the government's responsibility to make it possible. Two years of a substantial calm had provided the government with enough time to think and come up with a concrete plan to address the demands of justice. This would have provided a base for a real political process on the ground based on a true engagement rather than a game of dialogue, revolving around mutual gimmickry. The only unambiguous aspect of New Delhi's Kashmir policy has been to delay confronting real problems, and now Islamabad too has taken a similar line. Still, the presence and strength of security forces was never made proportional to the declining graph of violence or the security establishment's own assessment of the militant presence on the ground. Though the emotive issue of land ownership acted as the trigger, the real reason for mass anger is the perception that the political status quo is being traded officially as a permanent solution to the conflict. This uprising should have established before those formulating Kashmir policy in New Delhi and Islamabad that the Kashmir problem has its epicentre primarily in Kashmir, and so a solution will come only out of Kashmir. The obsession to look for answers in Islamabad, or through engaging a Kashmiri leadership closer to Pakistan, will never help resolve anything on the ground. The complexion of the protestors, especially their age group, their anger and their motivation, is itself a new phenomenon. It is a new and harsh reality that needs to be immediately understood so that we do not encounter another wave of thousands of angry young men taking to Kalashnikovs. This nine-day uprising has been a wake-up call: absence of war does not necessarily mean peace; and unless the issue is resolved permanently, we will always get the feel of a temporary ceasefire. o o o (ii) CHALLENGING COMMUNAL MAYHEM IN JAMMU (a) Kashmir Times July 4, 2008 Sanity should prevail CIVIL SOCIETY MEMBERS NEED TO COME OUT OF THEIR SHELLS Looking at the way things are flaring up in Jammu region, tensions persisting despite the imposition of curfew in many places, the immediate need is to douse these flames of communal and regional hatred that are vitiating the atmosphere. What may have essentially began from Jammu is now trickling down to other parts of the region, unusually even affecting villages and towns. There is particular concern about Doda, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar, where regional and religious lines get blurred in a delicate balance of demographics. The campaign to vitiate the atmosphere was indeed started by fringe elements but with the government dragging feet over any decision on the Amarnath land transfer initially, these elements had ample time to organise themselves and sell their propaganda and package of myths to the people of Jammu region. The damage has been done and cannot be undone by any political discourse, at least for the moment. Much of the political leadership of the state, having miserably bungled on the issue right from the day one of the controversy, has already failed. It is best for them to at least shut up and stop petty politicking and mud slinging for now. The rest are busy trying to cash in on the religious sentiments of the people, flared up by continuous over-dosage of myths, and vitiating the atmosphere. This is no trivial matter and neither an occasion to wait and watch. The violent protests cannot simply be crushed with an iron hand and clamping up of curfews and other restrictions, even if incidents of unprovoked firing and highhandedness by police and the CRPF are contained fully. The imposition of restrictions itself has not been able to curb the acts of the violent protestors, many of whom are managing to violate curfew orders and even resort to hooliganism and vandalism even as the innocent masses are huddled indoors and facing the brunt of the curfew restrictions. In such a scenario where almost every part of the region is becoming vulnerable, security is of paramount concern and the violent mobs must be contained. This effort has to be coupled with voices of sanity, a task that cannot be accomplished without secular and credible civil society members coming forward and making an appeal to the people for maintaining communal amity. The message should go down to the people, who are mainly reeling under panic, confusion and insecurity at the moment or dealing with their pent up anger against the State, that it is important not to further vitiate the atmosphere or play into the hands of vested interests and political parties who have fanned the fires of communal and regional polarisation. Given the tense situation, the administration could facilitate the movement of such civil society members, rather than creating hurdles. Similar voices of sanity should also prevail in the Valley, which has returned to normalcy after the agitation, for the very simple logic that voices in one region have an impact in the other part of the state. The gravity of the situation should not be undermined. If Jammu is in flames, this has long term repercussions, which may of course not be positive, not just for the region but the entire state, hampering in many ways the Kashmir situation as also the day to day life of the people. It has to be dealt with by people who are staunch believers of communal harmony and wish to maintain the secular traditions of the state. They must rise up to the occasion. Viewing the nation wide bandh call by the Sangh Parivar on Thursday and the announcement of their elaborate programme against the revocation of Amarnath Board land transfer order, it is clear that the flare up in Jammu is instigated from outside by vested interests who may continue to fan these fires for their vote bank politics. But this fact should in no way compel anyone to sit back and simply wait for the calamity to fall. Things in Jammu are still not beyond control. Indigenous efforts have to begin immediately, if we want to save the situation. (b) Kashmir Times July 4, 2008 JAMMU NEEDS US by Rekha Chowdhary I am writing this column as a Jammuite and through it appealing to my fellow citizens to take up the responsibility at this crucial juncture - to take forward the tradition of plurality, communal amity and secular ethos that this region is known for. I apologise for writing this column in a more personal manner - but it is the only way that I can reach out to the people who may be swayed by emotions and may face the danger of falling prey to the polarised and divisive politics at this point of time. I also want to reach out and appeal to those who understand the danger of the polarisation, but feel too marginalised to intervene and are waiting for trouble to subside. I want to tell them how their silence is as criminal as the frenzy of the communal voices. So much is happening in the name of Jammu. So much is being said as to what Jammu is and what Jammu wants. I also want to intervene in the name of Jammu, Jammu that I have come to appreciate over the years! Honestly speaking it took me time to develop my appreciation for what Jammu is. But once I developed this appreciation, I have been talking about Jammu at all the places where my profession has taken me - in Delhi and other parts of India and outside India. I have been giving examples as to how Jammu represents a marvel in the present day world inflicted by communal and cultural polarisation. In the seminars where 'diversity' is being talked about a desired value, where plurality and multiculturalism have been discovered as the theoretical answers to the problem of polarisation - I have been making a point as to how Jammu is the best example of diversity and plurality. That plurality here is not a 'desired' value but a 'lived' reality. It is not a theoretical construct, nor an ideal - it is the way we live. Plurality is writ large on the day-to-day existence of this region. Though it is the state as a whole that represents an example of plurality, yet within the State also, it is Jammu where plurality is reflected in its best dimensions. Seen from the perspective of religious composition, languages spoken or cultural reflections Jammu is heterogeneous at all counts. Heterogeneity has contributed to the richness of this region. Apart from the fact that different religious and cultural groups live side by side, there is so much that has evolved as 'mixed living' and 'shared spaces'. I experience this mixed living on every day basis in the University that I work and the class that I teach. It is pleasure to see the students of any of the two MA classes - representing so much diversity - not only identified in terms of being Hindus and Muslims but also in terms of their cultural, linguistic, tribal and caste identity. What gives me greater pleasure though is the comfort with which they deal with each other's difference. Difference of religion or of culture or language does not give them a sense of danger and does not invoke in them a sense of suspicion about the 'other'. This sense of comfort about living with each other, despite the differences, is not exclusive to the University students. The scenario that I reflected about University, can be replicated anywhere else in the region. There is so much of 'otherness' around us that we are not ghettoised in our compartmentalised lives. Diversity and plurality is all the time making us familiar with the reality of the others - other religions, other cultures, other languages, other tribes, other kinds of people. It is this plural reality and this comfort of living with each other that makes Jammu unique. It is this Jammu that I appreciate and this Jammu that I want to stand for. And it is for this Jammu that I am making appeal to all those who have a strong sense of identification with Jammu to stand up and say that we do not want Jammu to be appropriated by one kind of voice and one kind of representation. The city of Jammu, which is facing the turbulence the most, is as much an example of plurality as the rest of the region. For decades now, it has become home to anyone seeking shelter from the troubled situations. Thus all kinds of people who were displaced at one point of time or the other since 1947 found refuge in this city - the reason the city is called as a city of Refugees - the 1947 refugees from Pakistan and Pakistan Administered Kashmir, the people living on the borders and displaced during various wars, the Kashmiri Pundits who faced exodus in 1990, the people displaced from various militancy infested parts of the region, so on and so forth. So welcoming has been this city to the 'outsiders' that lots of Punjabis shifted to this city during the period when militancy was at its peak in Punjab. Lots of Kashmiri Muslims have virtually made this city as their second home and constructed their houses here. The Jammu city has absorbed all kinds of people and has expanded in the process, not only physically but also in its character - in its capacity of accommodation and its tolerance of divergent cultures and religions. Last two decades of conflict have actually shown the vibrancy and the strength of this city. Ironically, the term 'Jammu' as it is used represents both - the region as well as the city. Seen from any angle, from the angle of the region or form the angle of city, communal polarisation does not define the life, society or the politics of the state. There is a secular ethos that not only prevails but which frustrates all attempts to use the religious differences for creating communally divided constituencies. It is this secular ethos that has seen us through difficult phases of militancy. It is this secular ethos which has defeated all kinds of politics based on communal division of the State. Jammu does not stand for what is being projected now - in the images that are being flashed all over the country and the world - a communal Jammu, a polarised Jammu, a chauvinistic Jammu. Jammu stands for much more - for its inter-community harmony, for its plurality and for its mixed life, for its shared social and political spaces and for its secular ethos. It is the responsibility of all those who belong to Jammu and who claim to identify with Jammu to stand up and protect the image of Jammu. It is not the time to sit quiet and watch. It is the time to assert our conviction. o o o [See also: A CNN IBN Video Report - Jul 06, 2008: http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/68374/07_2008/30min_0507_3/30-minutes-land-an-emotive-issue-in-jk.html ] _______ [6] Hindustan Times, 22 June 2008 BLOWING UP A SILLY QUESTION by Indrajit Hazra I'm on holiday in Balasaheb Thackerayland, holed up in the rather droll West End Hotel that is bang opposite the Bombay Hospital and a stone's throw away from the Gol Masjid. Rather non-ominously between these two institutions is the office of the Shiv Sena's trade union wing, the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena. Hopefully, a few days here will give me a deep insight into the New Mumbai that is a lot less about Alyque Padamsee and the hamster that's on his head, and more about the city of the man who is increasingly looking like a cross between Amitabh Bachchan and V.S. Naipaul: Balasaheb Thackeray. Just to reassure us that he is still a nasty piece of work, Thackeray wrote an editorial last week in the Shiv Sena's version of the New Yorker about "the need of the hour is to plant a strong bomb in Bangladeshi bastis that have mushroomed in Thane and elsewhere in Maharashtra". Even as I clutch on to my passport and fervently hope not to mutter Bengali swear words each time I look at the prices printed on the room service drinks menu, it's something else that Balasaheb has written that has got me thinking: the need for a Hindu suicide bomber squad to combat Muslim fundamentalism. The Shiv Sena chief mentor was reacting to two explosions last month in Vashi and Thane reportedly directed against a Marathi play that 'made fun' of Hindu deities. The two organisations suspected have denied that they were behind the blasts. But it is this denial that has cheesed off Balasaheb, who has called the (thankfully ineffective) blast attempts "ridiculous and stupid". So inside my hotel room I've started thinking: But can there be good (by which I mean successful) Hindu suicide bombers? The Balasaheb's separation of suicide bombers into 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' is really a red herring. To blow oneself up - and, for that matter, others - requires either an extreme cause or a serious chemical imbalance in the brain. You can be a Zoroastrian and have either of these qualities and be the next Freddie Fidayeen if you want to. And with no (real or made up) incentives to go straight to paradise after pressing the button, the notion of a Hindu suicide squad ready to be trained and unleashed on the face of the Earth looks rather remote. Then there's the track record. The first decade of the 20th century has been considered the most 'terroristic' in the history of India's struggle for independence. And if one goes by inspiration, the Bengal Bombers - led by the revolutionary-turned-proto-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aurobindo Ghose - were the closest we ever came to Balasaheb's 'Hindu fidayeen squad'. Even with iconic chaps like Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki, both romanticised by Bengalis to this day - and replicated in their own heads by bomb-throwing cadres of West Bengal political parties - the record is abysmal. Between 1906 and 1908, ten 'actions' were undertaken by the al-Qaeda-like (non-centralised) Maniktola Secret Society. Not one was successful. Five were aborted because of failure of nerves or lack of planning; four were failures because the explosives wouldn't work; and one killed the wrong target. Not totally unlike Balasaheb, Aurobindo Ghose - full of Garibaldi-sh notions and Hindu nationalistic-religious ideas inspired by reading Bankimchandra - wanted terrorist actions "to prepare the young men to have some sort of military training, to kill and get killed" before the imminent "open armed revolution". It didn't happen. So, as far as Balasaheb's desire to see local Hindu boys blowing themselves up into smithereens by picking up tips from the existing (?) fidayeen go, I think all this is the result of the Chief Shiv Sainik being extremely bored. As am I, too lazy to paint the town outside my hotel red, but knowing that Subhas Chandra Bose was dead right when he wrote in his 'Prison Diaries': "Those who are considered good boys in society are in fact nothing but eunuchs... The Bengali will never become manly unless the so-called good boys are totally uprooted from the West End Hotel." Oh, all right. I made up that bit about the hotel. © Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times ______ [7] (The Hindu, July 4, 2008) STRONG MESSAGE TO THE INTOLERANT Editorial The Supreme Court's quashing of the summons issued by a Gujarat court to political scientist Ashis Nandy should send a strong message not just to harassers of free speech, including intolerant state governments, and religious and chauvinistic groups, but to the lower judiciary as well. The summons were issued on a first information report (FIR) registered by the Gujarat police on the basis of a complaint filed by a non-government organisation that his analysis of the 2007 Gujarat elections published in The Times of India in January tended to promote enmity among different groups and was derogatory to the state as a whole. The Supreme Court bench found that Dr. Nandy's academic analysis was hardly the incendiary material it was alleged to be and the attempt to prosecute him was only a demonstration of intolerance. This is the latest in a series of court orders that have sought to protect writers, artists, film makers, entertainers, and public personalities from harassment through frivolous cases filed by intolerant religious or regional forces, self-proclaimed enforcers of morality, and governments. In May, the Delhi High Court quashed proceedings in three cases in which the renowned painter M.F. Husain was charged with painting Hindu gods and goddesses in an objectionable manner. The Supreme Court itself had earlier come to the rescue of Richard Gere, who was sought to be arrested and prosecuted for his demonstrative gesture of kissing Shilpa Shetty. That the Supreme Court and the high courts should step in to prevent the harassment of writers and creative artistes through the abuse of the legal process is not a surprise. What is disquieting is that despite repeated judicial pronouncements, there seems to be no let-up in the attempts to silence free speech and expression that some group or the other finds objectionable. In part, that is due to the overly broad interpretation by the lower judiciary of what constitutes an offence under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with writings and creative activities that promote "disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups, or castes or communities." Often enough, magistrates are persuaded by vocal and powerful religious or chauvinistic groups playing upon local sentiments to take up cases and issue summons on the most frivolous grounds. They would do well to heed the caution urged by the Delhi High Court while quashing the cases against Mr. Husain that they should strictly scrutinise frivolous and vexatious complaints that impinge on the basic freedom of an individual. The intolerant need to be told clearly and firmly of the level of tolerance called for in a democratic society. While court orders in specific cases illustrate what cannot be considered objectionable, the Supreme Court in the case relating to the film Ore Oru Gramathile had adopted a broad standard that "the effect of the words must be judged from the standards of reasonable, strong-minded, firm and courageous men, and not those of weak and vacillating minds, nor of those who scent danger in every hostile point of view." The permissive legal culture that provides any bigot a forum to turn perfectly acceptable speech or expression into a crime and harass writers and creative artistes is clearly in need of an attitudinal, if not structural, overhaul ______ [8] Deccan Herald July 5, 2008 REPEAL THE LAW DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SEXUALITY MINORITIES MUST END There is an urgent need for India to halt discrimination against sexuality minorities. This was the main theme of rallies and processions in three Indian cities last week to mark Rainbow Pride Week, which commemorates riots that erupted in New York when police raided a pub and arrested several gays in 1969. The rallies in three cities was an attempt by the community to have their demands heard. They have called for repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality. The legislation forbids "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and practice of unlawful sex is punishable with a 10-year jail term and a fine. Under the law, gay sex is bracketed with sex with animals and pedophilia and classed as an "unnatural" offense. It criminalises sexuality minorities. This is an outdated and inhumane piece of legislation, which needs to be repealed. Some have argued that there is no need to change the legislation as gays are not actually arrested in the country and are allowed to lead the lives of their choice quietly. This might be so. But by making homosexuality illegal, gays are made vulnerable to police harassment and blackmail. They are forced to keep their sexual orientation secret. This means that they are often unwilling and unable to access information or medical treatment for diseases like HIV/AIDS. That many of those who participated in the rallies in Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata wore masks and needed police protection from the public indicates the extent of social prejudice and discrimination that sexuality minorities face in this country. Often families and friends too are unsupportive, forcing them to lead double lives. There have been instances of gays who, unable to take the social ostracism and pressure, take their own lives. They find it difficult to find jobs or accommodation because society sees them as as immoral. There are a few groups and networks that are working to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations and to articulate their problems. The rallies were part of their effort to put forward their demands. But the issues that were raised are ones that should concern all those who believe in an egalitarian world, where the rights of all minorities is respected. It is time India ended its prejudice against sexuality minorities. ______ [9] Mail Today 4 July 2008 MUSLIMS REJECT DARUL'S CONVERSION FATWA by Rohit Karir in New Delhi MUSLIMS from across the spectrum have rejected a recent fatwa on conversion issued by the Deoband seminary Dar- ul Uloom. The seminary's fatwa questions the validity of love marriages in the Muslim community where a girl or a boy from a different religion converts to Islam for matrimony. According to the 150- year- old seminary's fatwa unit, such conversions are against the Shariat. Mufti Ehsan Kazmi, the unit head, had said, "If you're converting to Islam, then it has to be based on grounds of faith and not on emotional reasons. There should be no compromises made on matters of faith." But most Muslims are not buying the seminary's argument. Maulana Ahmed Jameed Ilyasi, president of the All India Organisations of Imams of Mosques, rejected the fatwa, saying decrees such as these create tension in society and within the community. "The Dar- ul Uloom should not get involved in such matters. There are, however, not too many cases of conversions for the sake of marriage," the Maulana said. The sentiment is shared across the board. "Anybody can become a Muslim, even if it is for marriage. Converting to Islam to get married is nothing new. Fatwas like this are regressive," filmmaker Muzaffar Ali said. Bollywood actor Malaika Arora Khan, who married Salman Khan's brother, Arbaaz, said the fatwa does not reflect the majority opinion in the community. "She did not convert to get married and she's happy with the relationship," a source said. Social activist Nafisa Ali -whose husband, Colonel Pickles Sodhi, is a Sikh -said, "Who is to decide the actual truth behind a person's decision to convert for the sake of marriage? If conversion is the price of staying together, such a step should be thought through." Ilyasi said the seminary should think before issuing such a fatwa in the future. "If the two families agree on conversion, then the Shariat isn't against it," he argued. There have been past instances of men converting to Islam. The most famous being that of actor Dharmendra, who took this step before marrying Hema Malini, to escape the charge of bigamy. ______ [10] BRITISH MUSLIMS FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY (BMSD) Press Release - 4th JULY 2008 British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) has deep reservations about the comments made by Lord Philips advocating for the incorporation of Sharia law alongside Civil law in Britain. His legal position and arguments of equality notwithstanding, a move in this direction would be detrimental to Muslims and to society as a whole. Lord Philips' has a particular view of Islamic law and appears not to understand that there are major differences over the interpretation and implementation of Sharia amongst the various schools of thought the Muslim world. Moreover, British Muslims are not homogenous but diverse with groups and individuals holding distinct views on religious practice, cultural and social customs based on their geographical and ethnic backgrounds and their evolving European identities. Therefore there is no single set of Islamic laws that can be applied to every Muslim, in order to govern their financial and civil matters. Such an inclusion will also fail to accommodate the minority sects within British Muslim communities such as Shias and Ismailis who are often deemed as non-Muslims by the hard-line Sunni Islamic organisations operating within Britain. BMSD believes that the concept of parallel justice systems, is, in effect, a denial of inclusion and shared citizenship. The western legal systems grant men and women equal rights under a single set of rules. Whereas some Islamic jurisprudence experts promote Sharia rules that contravene the Human Rights Act and civil liberties guaranteed under the English laws, such as freedom of expression, rights of women in cases of divorce, inheritance and testimony in court. Dr Shaaz Mahboob of BMSD said, "Lord Philips makes generalised assumptions about the perceived will of British Muslims. Incorporation of aspects of Sharia law within the English legal system will further segregate Muslim communities from the mainstream. As result ordinary Muslims who are content living under the umbrella of the British justice system, are likely to come under unnecessary pressure from self-appointed religious representatives such as those from the Sharia Council, Muslim Council of Britain and Mosque Imams, to seek alternative avenues such as the Shaira courts to settle their disputes. This will only alienate communities and individuals from each other and create barriers which harm the social fabric of the society." [End] Notes to the editors: 1. BMSD is made up of a group of Muslim democrats of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, who support a clear separation between religion and the State. 2. BMSD's mission statement: "To promote civic engagement, social inclusion, responsible citizenship and good governance particularly within constituent Muslim communities of Britain; in order to build an understanding of the shared values between all citizens to enable them to live in an inclusive, pluralist, secular and confident Britain." 3. BMSD claims no mandate or false representative status. Our primary concern is democratic engagement not detailed theological analysis or debate. The level and depth of commitment to the doctrinal core and orthodoxy of the faith varies among Muslims as much as it does in members of other faith groups. BMSD founders wish to create a platform for alternative, diverse Muslim views, essential for a progressive, multi-layered, democratic identity that is not in conflict with itself or fellow citizens. 4. For details please visit -http://www.bmsd.org.uk 5. For any further queries, please contact: Dr Shaaz Mahboob on [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 07961365751 Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui on [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 07860259289 Regards, Shaaz Shaaz Mahboob (Dr) Vice Chair, bmsd m: +44(0)7884 473 491 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] url: http://www.bmsd.org.uk _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on matters of peace and democratisation in South Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit citizens wire service run since 1998 by South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/ SACW archive is available at: http://sacw.net/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/ DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers. _______________________________________________ SACW mailing list SACW@insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/sacw_insaf.net