South Asia Citizens Wire - 19 December 2013 - No. 2802 [year 15] --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents: 1. Nepal Elections: Defeat for Maoists, Victory for United Left | Farooq Tariq 2. Pakistan: Misrepresentation and imperialism | S Akbar Zaidi 3. Pakistan: Mortality and Morality Enforcers - Taliban’s War on Health Workers and on University Campuses: A compilation of reports and commentary 4. Sri Lanka Censor Board Bans Popular Political Satire ’Pusswedilla’ 5. India: Catch-All Populism Of Arvind Kejriwal And The Aam Aadmi Party | Thomas Crowley 6. India: Banning And Censorship | Taslima Nasreen 7. Birth of Bangladesh is Still Haunting Pakistan | Mohiuddin Ahmad 8. India: Progressive Muslim Voices And Concerned Citizens Slam Clerics, Court Ruling On Section 377 9. Independent People's Tribunal 2013 On The Functioning Of India's National Human Rights Commission - A Report 10. India: Taslima Nasrin moves Supreme Court and gets relief against FIR over tweet 11. Khademul Islam: Dogfight Over Karachi | Granta 12. The Quest for Indigenous Identity in Bangladesh, 1993-2013 13. India: Alfa laval worker strike in Pune - Swedish workers solidarity action 14. India: Dear Supreme Court, read the Kama Sutra | Ruth Vanita 15. India: A delusion called Lokpal - The corrupt will rejoice !! | Mukul Sinha 16. Prime Minister of India - Keep Your Promises, Give Pensions And Stop Savage Budget Cuts 17. India: Call for Global Day of Rage: NO GOING BACK! (15th Dec, Jantar Mantar, New Delhi) 18. UK: Segregation by gender has no place in our public realm | Catherine Bennett 19. Robin Lustig - An Execution In Pyongyang 20. Paul Tuertscher: Competitive machismo ceremony on the India - Pakistan Border post in Wagah 21. Audio: Professor Krishna Kumar Speaking on Education and Democracy in India 22. Reinstating India's gay sex ban is a huge step back for the country 23. Video: Gautam Bhan at the Section 377 Verdict Press Conference by Lawyers Collective 24. India: What is BJP and Narendra Modi's stand on the atrocious SC Judgement on #Sec377? 25. Video and Lyrics: Feminist Song by Swaang - 'Maa Nee Meri' ( Dear Mother I will Not fear ) 26. India: Statements By Citizens Groups Against Supreme Court Ruling Re-Criminalizing Same Sex Relations 27. India: Will Communal Violence Bill be tabled in Parliament? (Irfan Engineer) 28. India: Business Tycoon supports illegal biometric aadhaar unmindful of Supreme Court Order and Parliamentary Committee's report 29. India: Concerned Citizens Statement on the Tragic Circumstances of Khurshid Anwar’s Suicide ========================================= 1. NEPAL ELECTIONS: DEFEAT FOR MAOISTS, VICTORY FOR UNITED LEFT | FAROOQ TARIQ ========================================= The recent elections in Nepal appear to spell a heavy retreat for the country’s Maoist movement. http://sacw.net/article6967.html ========================================= 2. PAKISTAN: MISREPRESENTATION AND IMPERIALISM | S AKBAR ZAIDI ========================================= Located in the heart of empire, in London and New York no less, some Pakistani academics and a handful of privileged, supposedly, leftist students from Pakistan, have taken it upon themselves to malign the politics of some Pakistani academics, feminists and activists, on the allegation that this politics is ‘pro-imperialist’. ========================================= 3. PAKISTAN: MORTALITY AND MORALITY ENFORCERS - TALIBAN’S WAR ON HEALTH WORKERS AND ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: A COMPILATION OF REPORTS AND COMMENTARY ========================================= Even as militants continue actions against polio vaccination teams, more and more problems stem from Pakistan’s inability to contain the disease. http://sacw.net/article6964.html ========================================= 4. SRI LANKA CENSOR BOARD BANS POPULAR POLITICAL SATIRE ’PUSSWEDILLA’ ========================================= The performance of Chaminda Pusswedilla Part 4.1 The Comon Welthings Sumit was banned by the Censor Board and the performance scheduled for 30th November did not take place. http://sacw.net/article6963.html ========================================= 5. INDIA: CATCH-ALL POPULISM OF ARVIND KEJRIWAL AND THE AAM AADMI PARTY | THOMAS CROWLEY ========================================= His is a catch-all populism, capitalizing on popular discontent and welcoming all comers. In reaching out to the businesses classes, he has sung the praises of commerce and industry, and has insisted that “99 percent” of businesspeople are the victims, not the perpetrators, of corruption. Although opposed to some particular cases of privatization or corporate malfeasance, he sees the root cause of India’s problems as the corruption of the country’s political class — ignoring the much wider net of economic and political forces that entrap the “common man.” http://sacw.net/article6962.html ========================================= 6. INDIA: BANNING AND CENSORSHIP | TASLIMA NASREEN ========================================= The police and a bunch of Muslim fanatics both asking the channel to ban my TV serial. The funny thing is that the serial has not started going on air but fanatic Mullahs started claiming that my serial ‘could hurt the sentiments of the community’. Mullahs don’t know about the story of the serial but they want to ban it because I have written it. They not only want to vanish me physically, they want to make all my ideas and thoughts vanished. I think they learn the trick from the West Bengal government. http://sacw.net/article6960.html ========================================= 7. BIRTH OF BANGLADESH IS STILL HAUNTING PAKISTAN | MOHIUDDIN AHMAD ========================================= The birth of Bangladesh is still a nightmare for an average Pakistani politician, rightist, centrist, Islamist or pseudo left whoever one may be (barring few exceptions). This has been manifested in the reaction of Pakistani political hawks who still mourn for its ‘break up’ in 1971. The military defeat and the psychological injury they suffered are still haunting them. Based on a judgment by the International Crime Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh and authenticated by the Supreme Court, the execution of the Jammat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla on 12 December has triggered sharp reaction in Pakistan and her close allies USA and Turkey. http://sacw.net/article6956.html ========================================= 8. INDIA: PROGRESSIVE MUSLIM VOICES AND CONCERNED CITIZENS SLAM CLERICS, COURT RULING ON SECTION 377 ========================================= In a statement signed by over 50 members, two NGOs—Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD) and Muslim Women’s Rights Network—have said that they are "shocked by the SC verdict which, instead of affirming the fundamental constitutional principle of non-discrimination between citizens, criminalises homosexuality." http://sacw.net/article6946.html ========================================= 9. INDEPENDENT PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL 2013 ON THE FUNCTIONING OF INDIA'S NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - A REPORT ========================================= An Independent Peoples' Tribunal was jointly organised by Human Rights Law Network, All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National / State Human Rights Institutions [AiNNI], Human Rights Alert, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) on the functioning of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on December 14, 15 & 16, 2013 in New Delhi. http://sacw.net/article6947.html ========================================= 10. INDIA: TASLIMA NASREEN MOVES SUPREME COURT AND GETS RELIEF AGAINST FIR OVER TWEET ========================================= The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a writ petition filed by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, seeking to quash the charges filed against her under the Information Technology Act for a controversial tweet criticising a meeting between Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and religious leader Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan. http://sacw.net/article6930.html ========================================= 11. KHADEMUL ISLAM: DOGFIGHT OVER KARACHI | GRANTA ========================================= The Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 left 400,000 Bengalis stranded in West Pakistan, many of whom escaped from there to Bangladesh in subsequent months. Shooting at Sharks, Khadem's debut novel, is about one such perilous escape. This excerpt from the novel recounts a day in the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. http://sacw.net/article6941.html ========================================= 12. THE QUEST FOR INDIGENOUS IDENTITY IN BANGLADESH, 1993-2013 ========================================= “Historically, the so called ‘tribal', non-Bengali ethnic groups – i.e. those who wish to be known as indigenous peoples (IPs) – of Bangladesh have been at the forefront of various struggles against feudal and colonial forms of subjugation, oppression and exploitation. However, the emergence of the post-colonial nation-states – first Pakistan, and then Bangladesh http://sacw.net/article6937.html ========================================= 13. INDIA: ALFA LAVAL WORKER STRIKE IN PUNE - SWEDISH WORKERS SOLIDARITY ACTION ========================================= The agitation by around 400 "contract workers" outside Alfa Laval, Indian arm of the Swedish Engineering Group, has drawn support from workers in Sweden. http://sacw.net/article6916.html ========================================= 14. INDIA: DEAR SUPREME COURT, READ THE KAMA SUTRA | RUTH VANITA ========================================= Justice Singhvi asked commentators on the Supreme Court judgment in the Section 377 case to "read the judgment first". Having read it, my question is: what is the social or national interest that necessitates depriving consenting adults of their right to engage in sexual relationships in private? http://sacw.net/article6917.html ========================================= 15. INDIA: A DELUSION CALLED LOKPAL - THE CORRUPT WILL REJOICE !! by Mukul Sinha ========================================= Ministers and government officials have to work out major deals with private parties that involve huge amounts of money. In order to get lucrative contracts, Corporate houses and private Companies bribe Government officials. Thus the corruption is not only at the end of the Ministers or Government officials but equally by the Private sector players. Annas and Kejriwals fail to bring this truth out since they have not even attempted to suggest a law which would swiftly punish these private players who are the real perpetrators of corruption and the actual sources of bribe money. http://sacw.net/article6914.html ========================================= 16. PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA - KEEP YOUR PROMISES, GIVE PENSIONS AND STOP SAVAGE BUDGET CUTS ========================================= It is shocking that today, India's elderly, over 9.65 crore citizens, above 60 years of age, physically exhausted and frail are left to fend for themselves. More than 93% of the working population works in the unorganised sector and does not get pensions linked to their jobs. The Indian Government currently provides an old age pension of a pitiful and shameful amount of rupees 200 per month, that too to less than 2.3 crore members of the total population. The Pension Parishad, a conglomerate of civil society groups (www.pensionparishad.org) has been agitating for immediate implementation and enhancement of universal social security pensions for the elderly, disabled, and single women since 2012. http://sacw.net/article6913.html ========================================= 17. CALL FOR GLOBAL DAY OF RAGE: NO GOING BACK! (15TH DECEMBE, JANTAR MANTAR, NEW DELHI) + PHOTOS ========================================= On December 11th, 2013, The Supreme Court of India reinstated the Criminality of Homosexuality in India. This Judgment has inspired anger across different sections of society around the world. While the legal battle continues, it is important that we make our voices heard. Loud and Clear. http://sacw.net/article6910.html ========================================= 18. UK: SEGREGATION BY GENDER HAS NO PLACE IN OUR PUBLIC REALM | CATHERINE BENNETT ========================================= Even as ridicule and condemnation of UUK advice on guest lecturers reached a climax last week, this eminent body asked Fenella Morris QC to confirm its approval of gender segregation http://sacw.net/article6915.html ========================================= 19. ROBIN LUSTIG - AN EXECUTION IN PYONGYANG ========================================= (Via Dilip Simeon's Blog) Perhaps Shakespeare isn't the most obvious place to look when trying to make sense of the latest dramatic events in North Korea, but when I heard last night of the execution of Jang Song-thaek, the powerful uncle of the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, my thoughts immediately turned to Hamlet.Shakespeare's play ends with Hamlet murdering his uncle the king, a man he calls "incestuous, murderous, and damned." Last night, the North Korean news agency called Jang Song-thaek (...) http://sacw.net/article6897.html ========================================= 20. PAUL TUERTSCHER: COMPETITIVE MACHISMO CEREMONY ON THE INDIA - PAKISTAN BORDER POST IN WAGAH ========================================= Like Arnold Schwarzenegger at a body-building competition, soldiers on both sides of the divide tried to beat their ‘opponents' by showing off their strength and machismo, driving the crowds wild. As a loud finale, they smashed the gates shut like angry children throwing a tantrum. http://sacw.net/article6907.html ========================================= 21. AUDIO: PROFESSOR KRISHNA KUMAR SPEAKING ON EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY IN INDIA ========================================= This is an audio recording of Professor Krishna Kumar speaking on the occasion of the 28th Dr. Ramanadham Meeting on the theme of The State of Education in India: Knowledge, Equity and Democratic Rights organised by PUDR in New Delhi on 14 September 2013 http://sacw.net/article6904.html ========================================= 22. REINSTATING INDIA'S GAY SEX BAN IS A HUGE STEP BACK FOR THE COUNTRY ========================================= The Delhi supreme court's decision to uphold a law criminalising homosexuality is a servile adherence to colonial bigotry http://sacw.net/article6870.html ========================================= 23. VIDEO: GAUTAM BHAN AT THE SECTION 377 VERDICT PRESS CONFERENCE BY LAWYERS COLLECTIVE ========================================= http://sacw.net/article6869.html ========================================= 24. INDIA: WHAT IS BJP AND NARENDRA MODI'S STAND ON THE ATROCIOUS SC JUDGEMENT ON #SEC377? ========================================= BJP leadership has been largely mum about this issue save and except Subramanian Swamy who has been very vocal in his support of the Supreme Court Judgement which is very evident from his Twitter timeline. Such atrocious statements coming from BJP leaders should be a cause for alarm for LGBT community all over India. http://sacw.net/article6867.html ========================================= 25. VIDEO AND LYRICS: FEMINIST SONG BY SWAANG - 'MAA NEE MERI' ( DEAR MOTHER I WILL NOT FEAR ) ========================================= a song called “Ma Nee Meri” (my dear mother) from the Bombay based theatre and protest music group “Swaang.” http://sacw.net/article6868.html ========================================= 26. INDIA: STATEMENTS BY CITIZENS GROUPS AGAINST SUPREME COURT RULING RE-CRIMINALIZING SAME SEX RELATIONS ========================================= Statements issued on 11 December 2013 after a shocking ruling by India's supreme court re-criminalising same sex relations: a) Voices Against 377, Alternative Law Forum, Adhikaar and other petitioners; b) PUDR; c) Attached also is the Full Text of Supreme Court Judgment on section 377 Civil Appeal No 10972 of 2013 Suresh Kumar Kaushal v. Naz Foundation by G S Singhvi J. http://sacw.net/article6849.html ========================================= 27. INDIA: WILL COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL BE TABLED IN PARLIAMENT? by Irfan Engineer ========================================= With the defeat of Congress in the 4 states results of which were declared on 8th December 2013, one does not know the fate of the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill 2013 that was to be introduced in the last winter session of the Parliament under UPA II. http://sacw.net/article6843.html ========================================= 28. INDIA: BUSINESS TYCOON SUPPORTS ILLEGAL BIOMETRIC AADHAAR UNMINDFUL OF SUPREME COURT ORDER AND PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE'S REPORT | GOPAL KRISHNA ========================================= December 11, 2013: Endorsing Supreme Court's order, Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Finance in its most recent report has asked Government of India to issue instructions to State Governments and to all other authorities that 12 digit biometric Unique Identification (UID)/aadhaar number should not be made mandatory for any purpose. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani, the tycoon has come out in support of biometric identification providing explicit signal to all those political organizations, media, voluntary and academic organizations who are directly or indirectly dependent on him for donations. http://sacw.net/article6852.html ========================================= 29. INDIA: CONCERNED CITIZENS STATEMENT ON THE TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF KHURSHID ANWAR’S SUICIDE ========================================= We the undersigned are shocked at the manner in which a section of the electronic media and the social media vilified Khurshid Anwar, social activist and writer with regard to an allegation of rape against him, causing him to commit suicide today morning , the 18th of December, 2013. The allegation was never investigated by either the police, (there was no FIR) or any statutory body resulting in him being completely denied the opportunity of being heard or the allegation fairly investigated. http://www.sacw.net/article6968.html _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ South Asia Citizens Wire Buzz for secularism, on the dangers of fundamentalism(s), on matters of peace and democratisation in South Asia. Newsletter 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
