Modi govt orders study of Gujarat population to ‘stop polarisation’
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Modi-govt-orders-study-of-Gujarat-population-to---stop-polarisation-/484867
Syed Khalique Ahmed
Posted: Friday , Jul 03, 2009 at 0415 hrs IST Ahmedabad:
The Narendra Modi government has set up a commission to inquire into the changes in demographic patterns in Gujarat since independence, and identify the reasons behind the “polarisation” and migration of population.
The panel, headed by retired Justice B J Sethna, will assess the total area in square metres occupied by people of different religious faiths as on August 15, 1947, and the patterns of “polarisation of population” and migration every 10 years thereafter.
The survey is expected to identify the areas — their names and sizes — where people of different religions live, or have shifted to.
An important aspect of the commission’s mandate is to give “recommendations and policies as a guidance” for “stopping polarisation of population in the state”.
The commission has been asked to submit its report by January 2011. Assembly elections are due in December 2012.
A copy of the notification is in possession of The
Indian Express.
According to the state legal department, the reason for commissioning the survey is that “allegations have been made in courts as well as in media against the state government that polarisation of population on the basis of religion is taking place in the state of Gujarat” and “such allegations and unscientific conclusions create heart-burning and distance among citizens”.
The notification says that “the Government of Gujarat is of the opinion that the allegations so made are not based on scientific study”.
The government feels that “development of the population as a whole should take place in the context of law and order and social and economic development as well”, and “an inquiry should be held into this matter of definite public importance”.
Justice Sethna refused to comment on the matter. The retired judge had been in the news after he upheld a Vadodara fast track court order acquitting all accused in the Best Bakery case relating to the 2002 riots. The Supreme Court later ordered a fresh trial in the case by a special court in Mumbai.
Gujarat minister of state for law and parliamentary affairs Amit Shah said the study was required in view of the unfounded allegations made against the state BJP government.
“The inquiry will make it clear when, how and under what circumstances minority population shifted from one area to another,” Shah said.
State government spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas said the matter was neither “sensitive nor provocative”, but it “will bring to surface the unfounded publicity that is being given without being backed by appropriate facts by certain NGOs and a section of the media”.
“This will also put in correct perspective a long-term change that has taken place in demography, nullifying the temporary bias a solitary incidence-based short term interpretation could bring in”, Vyas said.
o o o
Gujarat Govt’s demography study a communal agenda, say activists
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gujarat-govts-demography-study-a-communal-agenda-say-activists/485238/1
Syed Khalique Ahmed
Posted: Sunday , Jul 05, 2009 at 0350 hrs IST Ahmedabad:
NGO and human rights activists have reacted strongly to Gujarat Government’s move to study the reasons behind “polarisation of population” or changing demography of the state by setting up an inquiry commission, saying the move is intended to further harass the minorities.
Senior Gujarat High Court advocate and human rights activist Girish Patel said that “the move is nothing but state Government’s continuing communal agenda by perverted use of law”. “The commission will come out with a report blaming the minorities for the polarisation,” Patel said adding, fear factor owing to repeated communal tension with the successive state governments doing little to check it.
According to him, some polarisation took place after 1969 riots but it was not so sharp as in 2002.
“Today if some one in a Hindu locality wants to sell his house to a Muslim, he is attacked by the neighbours,” said Patel.
Another senior Gujarat HC advocate Mukul Sinha said it to be “political hypocrisy”. “Those who engineered polarisation now want a debate on it. If the government is sensitive to the problem of minorities, why it is not providing basic civic amenities in Juhapura, the biggest Muslim ghetto in Gujarat with no road, drainage and drinking water supply,” said Sinha. He also questioned the appointment of Justice B J Sethna (retd) as the commission’s chairman.
“The choice of judge is very inappropriate because he had been involved in several controversies in the past,” he said. The Supreme Court had reversed his judgment in the Best Bakery case and ordered fresh trial.
Gagan Sethi of the Jan Vikas Trust Gagan Sethi said,
“There are housing societies and multi-storeyed complexes where people belonging to only one caste are allowed to buy houses.” “If the Modi Government is seriously interested in mixed population localities, it must ensure that the houses constructed by the Gujarat Housing Board are allotted percentage wise to all religious communities,” said Sethi.
July 05, 2009
India A Secular Republic ? A state Govt is Probing Inter-Religious Marriages
Probe into Maharashtra's Muslim boy-Hindu girl marriages
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4731303.cms
3 Jul 2009, 0511 hrs IST, Sanjeev Shivadekar, TNN
MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s criminal investigation department (CID) meant to probe high-profile cases will now investigate love affairs that have resulted in marriages between Hindu girls and Muslim boys.
CID has been told to check whether Muslim boys are enticing Hindu girls as part of a ‘conspiracy’. Minister of state for home (rural) Nitin Raut had announced this in the assembly on the last day of Maharashtra’s budget session a fortnight back.
Participating in a calling attention notice, Eknath Khadse and Devendra Fadnavis had said young Muslim boys in rural areas were wooing Hindu college girls and then marrying them. According to them, this was part of a ‘conspiracy’ to increase the population of the community. Khadse even alleged that some Hindu girls had been sent to Gulf.
In his reply, Raut admitted such incidents were happening. ‘‘I will initiate an inquiry into this,’’ the minister had promised. But the opposition demanded that he order a CID probe as the issue was serious. Subsequently, Raut gave in to their demands.
CID chief SPS Yadav said, ‘‘We have yet to receive the order. The first thing we will have to do is to check whether such an inquiry is in consonance with the CID manual. If not, we will inform the government about the norms,’’ he said. ‘‘If government persists, we will decide on how to carry out these investigations.’’
Raut’s announcement has not gone down well with his cabinet colleagues and leaders of the Muslim community. Senior NCP leader and labour minister Nawab Malik said BJP has political interest in raising such issues.
Congress leader and minister of state for home (urban) Arif Naseem Khan said there is no provision in law where member of a particular community can be stopped from marrying a girl\boy of another community. ‘‘If any case where a girl\boy is pressurised into getting married to member of other community, the offender should be certainly punished,’’ he added.
Refuting the allegations made by Malik and Khan, Fadnavis said, ‘‘Had we wanted to politicise the issue, we would have carried out morcha and protest, instead we demanded CID inquiry that shows that our intention was not to gain political mileage of the issue.’’
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4731303.cms
3 Jul 2009, 0511 hrs IST, Sanjeev Shivadekar, TNN
MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s criminal investigation department (CID) meant to probe high-profile cases will now investigate love affairs that have resulted in marriages between Hindu girls and Muslim boys.
CID has been told to check whether Muslim boys are enticing Hindu girls as part of a ‘conspiracy’. Minister of state for home (rural) Nitin Raut had announced this in the assembly on the last day of Maharashtra’s budget session a fortnight back.
Participating in a calling attention notice, Eknath Khadse and Devendra Fadnavis had said young Muslim boys in rural areas were wooing Hindu college girls and then marrying them. According to them, this was part of a ‘conspiracy’ to increase the population of the community. Khadse even alleged that some Hindu girls had been sent to Gulf.
In his reply, Raut admitted such incidents were happening. ‘‘I will initiate an inquiry into this,’’ the minister had promised. But the opposition demanded that he order a CID probe as the issue was serious. Subsequently, Raut gave in to their demands.
CID chief SPS Yadav said, ‘‘We have yet to receive the order. The first thing we will have to do is to check whether such an inquiry is in consonance with the CID manual. If not, we will inform the government about the norms,’’ he said. ‘‘If government persists, we will decide on how to carry out these investigations.’’
Raut’s announcement has not gone down well with his cabinet colleagues and leaders of the Muslim community. Senior NCP leader and labour minister Nawab Malik said BJP has political interest in raising such issues.
Congress leader and minister of state for home (urban) Arif Naseem Khan said there is no provision in law where member of a particular community can be stopped from marrying a girl\boy of another community. ‘‘If any case where a girl\boy is pressurised into getting married to member of other community, the offender should be certainly punished,’’ he added.
Refuting the allegations made by Malik and Khan, Fadnavis said, ‘‘Had we wanted to politicise the issue, we would have carried out morcha and protest, instead we demanded CID inquiry that shows that our intention was not to gain political mileage of the issue.’’
July 03, 2009
Lifting the Veil
Lifting the Veil
Ram Puniyani
The statement of Nicholas Sarcozy that Burqa is not welcome in France, that it is a symbol of oppression and not of religion has raised serious debate all over. It is France again where five years ago the display of religious markers, head scarf, Sikh turban, and Jewish skull cap in schools was banned. Public servants cannot use the same in place of work.
France as a secular state has adopted a particular version of this policy. France has been setting example for some of the countries in this imposing type of secularism, like Turkey. It has another dimension and that is large number of poor Muslims coming here are from its old colonies who live in very abysmal conditions. One recalls a large section of these immigrant Muslim population lives in suburbs, poor localities in economic deprivation. A couple of years ago right here some Muslim youth began a series of violent acts out of frustration due to unemployment and poverty. The cultural economic differences between these sections are very wide and urban affluent ones’ are very gross.
How is secularism to be implemented? One way is that social situations are transformed and the hold of feudal elements is done away with and state encourages the society to adopt the norms of social and gender equality. And with this, the symbols of gender inequalities start receding in the face of changing social situation. There is no uniform pattern in this. Even after the democratic regimes come to being formally, many an old norms take time to vanish. Surely there are some of these which have to be done away by strong legislation. In India during freedom movement forcible prevention of Sati, burning of wife after husbands’ death, had to be resorted through legislation.
Burqa has not been the mandatory part of Koranic teachings. Here the emphasis is on dressing modestly. In earlier societies and other societies also, different dress codes have imposed on and also adopted by women, some as honor and more of them to impose controls on them. Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali, a noted Islamic scholar points out that long before the advent of Islam, veiling and seclusion appear to have existed in Hellinitic-Byzantine era, and also amongst Sassanians of Persia. In ancient Mesopotamia veil of women was regarded as sign of respectability and status.
During feudal times, the patriarchal norms were operated in the society through the institution of religion. With persistence of patriarchy the women were made to wear the identity markers in different cultures and societies. Stronger the patriarchal norms, stronger the social presence of clergy, stronger is the imposition of identity markers. These may be Ghunghat, (India) head scarf in different cultures and burqa amongst Muslims. From the beginning of twentieth century, the status of women started improving slightly and women started coming to social space. By 1980s in many a Muslim majority countries also women came to their own and prevalence of burqa came down, and at places totally done away with. The situation started worsening with the Global War on terror at world level and with communal violence in India intensifying.
With so called ‘war on terror’ the intimidation of Muslim communities’ world over started worsening. With this orthodox and conservative sects in Islam came to fore. Fundamentalist tendencies like Taliban propped up at places and worsened the situation by giving sense-less fatwa’s and dictates. Taliban imposed the norms in most inhuman way. The sense of insecurity in the wake of war, invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq increased the sense of insecurity and the consequent hold of conservative sections, who generally impose such restrictive norms on women increased. Still in many a countries, where the women enjoyed a safe and secure social condition, the use of burqa came down. If we have a look at global scene we will find great amount of diversity in this matter. Broadly one can say, more the insecurity, more the hold of orthodoxy more the burqa.
In India one can see a great diversity in the use of the same. In Kerala it was not much in use and in Kashmir it was practically absent. In Kerala its use started going up with the rising communal violence of the decade of 1980s and with the rising influence of Wahabi Islam through those taking up jobs in Gulf region. In Kashmir the rise of militancy after 1990, the communalization of the Kashmir issue, led to rise of conservative sections who wanted to impose the veil, but Kashmiri women held there ground and resisted the same.
Also lot of misconceptions have been constructed around Islam, Burqa and local traditions. Recently India’s President, Mrs. Pratibha Patil stated that the Ghunghat in Rajasthan has been introduced due to the fear of Muslim kings, to protect women from their atrocities. One can ask those arguing on these lines, how did Sati come into being? Can hiding the face protect women or make them more vulnerable to atrocities? Sati, Ghunghat etc, have been more a mark of patriarchal values than due to the impact of Muslim Kings. Even today Ghunghat persists not because of the fear of Muslims but the strong hold of patriarchal values. The occasional cases of Sati also fall in that category. Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena came for a strong praise of Sarcozy for his stand on Burqa. The same Shiv Sena has been intimidating girls on Valentine day off and on and giving the fatwa that girls should not wear Jeans. What a case of crass double standards!
The social and political situation leads to the social psychology and individual psychology of women is shaped around that. Men have held the sway in dictating such norms, and social situation is created where women internalize these norms. The Sufi tradition of Islam was not for the use of burqa. There are two essential points which the rulers have to keep in mind. One is that the very basis of democracy is freedom and liberal space. The countries like Saudi Arabia impose burqa. The countries like France want to do away with the same through a dictat. What is the difference? Secondly the point today is to see that globally and within the nation states the minorities are given the feeling of security, they are provided with situations leading to equity. These will ensure that the identity issues will take the back seat. Today the communities where security is the issue, equity is eluding the community, identity becomes the major rallying point. Just the statement about identity markers, without changing the social situation leading to such phenomenon is a hollow move.
--
Ram Puniyani
The statement of Nicholas Sarcozy that Burqa is not welcome in France, that it is a symbol of oppression and not of religion has raised serious debate all over. It is France again where five years ago the display of religious markers, head scarf, Sikh turban, and Jewish skull cap in schools was banned. Public servants cannot use the same in place of work.
France as a secular state has adopted a particular version of this policy. France has been setting example for some of the countries in this imposing type of secularism, like Turkey. It has another dimension and that is large number of poor Muslims coming here are from its old colonies who live in very abysmal conditions. One recalls a large section of these immigrant Muslim population lives in suburbs, poor localities in economic deprivation. A couple of years ago right here some Muslim youth began a series of violent acts out of frustration due to unemployment and poverty. The cultural economic differences between these sections are very wide and urban affluent ones’ are very gross.
How is secularism to be implemented? One way is that social situations are transformed and the hold of feudal elements is done away with and state encourages the society to adopt the norms of social and gender equality. And with this, the symbols of gender inequalities start receding in the face of changing social situation. There is no uniform pattern in this. Even after the democratic regimes come to being formally, many an old norms take time to vanish. Surely there are some of these which have to be done away by strong legislation. In India during freedom movement forcible prevention of Sati, burning of wife after husbands’ death, had to be resorted through legislation.
Burqa has not been the mandatory part of Koranic teachings. Here the emphasis is on dressing modestly. In earlier societies and other societies also, different dress codes have imposed on and also adopted by women, some as honor and more of them to impose controls on them. Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali, a noted Islamic scholar points out that long before the advent of Islam, veiling and seclusion appear to have existed in Hellinitic-Byzantine era, and also amongst Sassanians of Persia. In ancient Mesopotamia veil of women was regarded as sign of respectability and status.
During feudal times, the patriarchal norms were operated in the society through the institution of religion. With persistence of patriarchy the women were made to wear the identity markers in different cultures and societies. Stronger the patriarchal norms, stronger the social presence of clergy, stronger is the imposition of identity markers. These may be Ghunghat, (India) head scarf in different cultures and burqa amongst Muslims. From the beginning of twentieth century, the status of women started improving slightly and women started coming to social space. By 1980s in many a Muslim majority countries also women came to their own and prevalence of burqa came down, and at places totally done away with. The situation started worsening with the Global War on terror at world level and with communal violence in India intensifying.
With so called ‘war on terror’ the intimidation of Muslim communities’ world over started worsening. With this orthodox and conservative sects in Islam came to fore. Fundamentalist tendencies like Taliban propped up at places and worsened the situation by giving sense-less fatwa’s and dictates. Taliban imposed the norms in most inhuman way. The sense of insecurity in the wake of war, invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq increased the sense of insecurity and the consequent hold of conservative sections, who generally impose such restrictive norms on women increased. Still in many a countries, where the women enjoyed a safe and secure social condition, the use of burqa came down. If we have a look at global scene we will find great amount of diversity in this matter. Broadly one can say, more the insecurity, more the hold of orthodoxy more the burqa.
In India one can see a great diversity in the use of the same. In Kerala it was not much in use and in Kashmir it was practically absent. In Kerala its use started going up with the rising communal violence of the decade of 1980s and with the rising influence of Wahabi Islam through those taking up jobs in Gulf region. In Kashmir the rise of militancy after 1990, the communalization of the Kashmir issue, led to rise of conservative sections who wanted to impose the veil, but Kashmiri women held there ground and resisted the same.
Also lot of misconceptions have been constructed around Islam, Burqa and local traditions. Recently India’s President, Mrs. Pratibha Patil stated that the Ghunghat in Rajasthan has been introduced due to the fear of Muslim kings, to protect women from their atrocities. One can ask those arguing on these lines, how did Sati come into being? Can hiding the face protect women or make them more vulnerable to atrocities? Sati, Ghunghat etc, have been more a mark of patriarchal values than due to the impact of Muslim Kings. Even today Ghunghat persists not because of the fear of Muslims but the strong hold of patriarchal values. The occasional cases of Sati also fall in that category. Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena came for a strong praise of Sarcozy for his stand on Burqa. The same Shiv Sena has been intimidating girls on Valentine day off and on and giving the fatwa that girls should not wear Jeans. What a case of crass double standards!
The social and political situation leads to the social psychology and individual psychology of women is shaped around that. Men have held the sway in dictating such norms, and social situation is created where women internalize these norms. The Sufi tradition of Islam was not for the use of burqa. There are two essential points which the rulers have to keep in mind. One is that the very basis of democracy is freedom and liberal space. The countries like Saudi Arabia impose burqa. The countries like France want to do away with the same through a dictat. What is the difference? Secondly the point today is to see that globally and within the nation states the minorities are given the feeling of security, they are provided with situations leading to equity. These will ensure that the identity issues will take the back seat. Today the communities where security is the issue, equity is eluding the community, identity becomes the major rallying point. Just the statement about identity markers, without changing the social situation leading to such phenomenon is a hollow move.
--
Church Memo seeks witness protection and rehabilitation of viction of orissa communal violence
ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL
Press Note
29 June 2009
Christians seek urgent protection of witnesses of Orissa violence,
rehabilitation of victims of Orissa violence, SC rights for Dalit
Christians
The Christian community today asked the Union government to intervene decisively in Orissa and ensure the protection of witnesses whose lives are being threatened by criminals, including politicians and legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party charged with multiple murders in the anti Christian violence of August-October 2008.
Community representatives were invited today by the new Central Minister for Minority Affairs, Mr. Salman Khursheed, at his offices to appraise himself of the issues confronting the 2.6 crore [26 million] Christians in the country. The Christian delegation consisted of Delhi Catholic auxiliary Bishop Franco, Believers Bishop Simon John, All India Christian Council Secretary General Dr John Dayal, Sister Molly of St Beads College, Shimla and others. The Minister said he would take up with concerned ministries in the Union government and with the state governments issues that had been brought to his notice.
The Christian delegation demanded that the community be consulted in the formulation of the proposed Equal Opportunities Commission, the Anti-Communal Violence Bill and the Educational reforms that Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal has proposed in his public statements recently. The delegation also impressed on the minister the urgent need to give Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians, the setting up of a Commission to assess economic deprivation in the community on the lines of the Justice Sachhar committee for Muslims, commensurate share in central development funds, full relief and rehabilitation to all victims of communal violence in Orissa and other states, an end to harassment of Christian educational institutions, pastors, evangelists in various states, and abrogation of all so called Freedom of Religion laws passed by both BJP and Congress ruled states.
The following is the text of the memo presented to the minister:
Mr Salman Khursheed
Hon’ble Minister, Independent Charge
Ministry for Minority Affairs, New Delhi
Dear Minister
Greetings from the All India Christian Council and the other organisations I have the honour to represent. Please also accept our congratulations on your election to the Lok Sabha, and your installation as Minister with Independent Charge of Minority Affairs, an important portfolio that can help ensure strengthening of the very foundations of a secular and united India.
We thank you for inviting us to this meeting, even as we take this opportunity to express how touched we are at the feelings expressed last week by Union Home Minister Mr P Chidambaram who, during his visit to Orissa, offered an apology to the victims of Hindutva violence in the Kandhamal region. We expect the expressions of remorse will be followed by unremitting action by the Union and State governments in unison till confidence is restored, the guilty punished, the victims rehabilitated with all human dignity, and a Witness Protection Programme put into operation to ensure justice in the courts. My colleague Dr. Sampaul, the National Secretary of the All India Christian Council, has already written this in a letter to Mr Chidambaram.
As you are aware, the Church in India called upon all people, and specially Christians, to fully take part in the political democratic process in the General Elections, as it wanted India to emerge as nation strong enough to combat terrorism, communalism, and casteism. We continue to be deeply concerned at the rural crisis, urban poverty, and rise in unemployment, displacement in the SEZs – as Christians too are sufferers together with others—and the plight of women and the girl child.
The Christian community puts its own interests subservient to the interests of the Nation. But it feels that there are certain issues which are paramount – security of Religious Minorities, compensation to the victims at par with that given in other states, proportionate share to Christians in funds and projects earmarked for all minorities, as also in government jobs, civil services, police and other services, and removal of obstructions in the continuation and growth of our effort in the education, health and social service sectors.
On the eve of the General Elections, National consultations of Church and community leaders, presided over by Archbishop Vincent Concessao, with Dr John Dayal as the convenor, formulated urgent issues agitating the community. We had given such a list to the Prime Minister in his previous government and to your predecessor in the ministry. We also held consultations with the Planning Commission once to ensure that the National Five year Plans, as well as the National Census and National Sample Surveys reflected the Christian reality in the hinterland. Nothing has been done, and therefore we present you once again some, not all, of the grave issues that confront the Christian community and challenge the people and the Church. Our immediate anxiety, of course, continues to be Orissa where the situation remains grave, as Mr Chidambaram saw for himself, with thousands in government refugee camps, tens of thousands not able to return home under threat of being killed or forcibly converted to Hinduism by the local Sabah Parivar activists, and witnesses to murders, rape and mayhem being threatened with death by goons of the culprits. It is a shame and slur on democratic processes that two of the men accused of murders have been elected to the State Assembly on Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, and they are using their political clout to evade justice.
Our other major issues, requiring your urgent attention are:
1. Security of Religious Minorities: The Christian community had felt itself very safe in India since Independence, and the formative years of the democracy under Jawaharlal Nehru, and then under the premiership of Lal Bahadur Shashtri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. But after a spurt of violence in 1998-1999, hate crimes against the Church and the Christian community have been increasing alarmingly since 1997, averaging about 250 incidents a year. But 2007 and 2008 have seen such violence reach an unprecedented level. The violence has not been confined to Orissa. Fourteen other States have been affected, seven seriously. Karnataka is now second only to Orissa in crimes against Christians. Orissa in 2008 saw 120 deaths, 4,600 houses burnt, over 300 villages purged of Christians, and women, including religious women, raped. Six thousand men, women and children are still in government refugee camps, from the peak of 26,000. Battalions of Central forces are needed to maintain peace, and yet a sense of deep insecurity permeates the community in Orissa.
a. The Union Government must carry out a full investigation into the nationwide activities of extremist groups accused of the incitement and perpetration of violence against minority groups, including Hindutva groups, their foreign finances, and their penetration into the administrative and police apparatus.
b. Enforcing rule of law, ending Impunity of state, Police and criminal justice dispensation system in assuring Freedom of Faith: In State after State, the community has watched in utter helplessness uniformed Policemen accompany assailants attacking institutions, churches and house churches. In States such as Manipur, even villages have dared pass laws against Christians, banning conversions and excommunicating people. Pastors and Priests have been arrested on false charges, denied bail, and harassed. Often, the police have stood by while Priests, pastors and Lay persons were beaten up, often in the glare of Television Cameras. The Subordinate magistracy and judiciary have often been partisan in their conduct. This impunity must end.
c. The Prevention of Communal Violence Bill must take cognisance of Christian concerns and apprehensions. Government cannot shrug off responsibility. The rehabilitation seems to have been left to the Church. It is for the governments to reconstruct damaged and destroyed homes, institutions and churches, and provide adequate and commensurate compensation to the victims. These would be deterrent, in fact, to violence against the community.
2. Redress Economic deprivation and reversal of Unemployment and under-employment amongst Christian youth—Need for a National Commission on the lines of the Justice Rajender Sachhar Commission set up for Muslims: There is over 8 [Eight] per cent joblessness amongst Christian youth, the highest among minorities. Tribal Christian girls are amongst the most deprived in terms of education and nourishment. Rural employment generation schemes and central special components for marginalised groups do not reach their Christian counterparts in Tribal and Rural India There is no real assessment as to what extent institutions such as the National Minorities Financial Development Corporation, or sundry scholarship schemes have benefitted the Christian community even if they may have benefited some other Minorities. The Government must urgently set up a Commission on the Pattern of the Justice Sachhar committee to survey and assess the quantum of deprivation, marginalisation and lack of devolution of developmental initiatives, to the Christian community. Government must ensure fair spending on a pro rata basis on the Christian community from schemed meant to benefit the minority communities. Dalits, Tribals, Landless labour and marginal farmers, coastal and fishery workers and urban youth remain major victims.
3. Dalit Christian rights: Successive governments have betrayed Christians of Dalit origin. The Constitution of 1950 provided for affirmative action for Scheduled Castes without reference to religion. The Presidential Order of 1950, subsequently made into law, communalised the affirmative action by penalising those who converted to other faiths. Subsequently, government extended the privileges once again to Sikhs and Buddhists of Dalit origin. Christians remain deprived of these rights, though several Study Groups and National Commissions have strongly recommended that these rights be given to Dalit Christians. This in effect communalises the secular Indian Constitution. Government must pass legislation to immediately restore the Constitution to its 26 January 1950 position on this issue so that Dalit Christians get all privileges and safeguards that are given to their brothers and sisters professing other faiths. The recommendations of the Justice Rang Nath Misra Commission should be implemented.
4. Assault on right of Tribal Christians: Strident and frightening statements have been made in right wing Hindutva groups in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, among others, threatening to deny Christian Tribals their statutory rights in Education, land and employment, and to restrict Tribal rights to only those who convert to Hinduism. This violates Constitutional guarantees, and divided the Tribal people. The Union government must thwart all such nefarious efforts and hate mongering.
5. Irrational and Bigoted implementation of Forest Act and its implications for Dalit Christians: Recent experience in Orissa’s Kandhamal and other districts have shown how Supreme Court guidelines are being ignored in the implementation of the Forest Act, and traditional forest dwellers, many of them Dalits, are being deprived of their land, livelihood and even liberty as false cases are being brought against them. This, of course, must cease forthwith. The right of all indigenous dwellers must be protected according to the guidelines of the Supreme Court and witch-hunt and harassment must end.
6. Erosion of Minority rights under Article 30: Various State governments and political parties have tried to infringe upon Article 30, and have made persistent efforts to erode the rights of Minorities to run and administer educational institutions. Christian educational institutions have frequently had to approach the Supreme Court of India to try to protect these fundamental rights. The ironically titled Freedom of Religion Bills actually erodes the Constitutional right to Freedom to profess, practice and propagate faith. They have become instruments of persecution, and in fact, provide an excuse for criminal and communal elements to target the Church and Christian workers in particular when they exercise their right to propagate their faith. Government must assure there will be no effort in the future to infringe upon, erode, or nibble at Minority educational and other Constitutional rights under any pretext.
7. The Union government must use its good offices to ensure that state governments – both under Congress Control and run by other parties –withdraw laws they have passed under the guise of Freedom of Religion, which in actuality, are being used to brutally suppress Christianity and punish Pastors, Priests, Nuns and church workers.
8. Shrinking Secular-Spiritual Space: State and city administrations are auctioning land for schools and hospitals in the Open Market. The result is that the Church and Voluntary sector can no longer get legal possession of low cost land for providing Educational and health facilities to the marginalised groups are affordable prices. In addition, new townships and urban spaces, most of them now in the private sector, do not provide for simple and basic Secular spaces, including plots of land for Churches and cemeteries. In many new urban conglomerates in the emerging landscape, there is, in fact, no provision for cemeteries at all. Union and State Governments must ensure adequate and commensurate Secular and Spiritual Space –
Education land, cemeteries etc
9. Ending gender-bias and upholding the rights of women in reforms in Christian Personal Laws: Christian Women more than a decade ago led a campaign for reforms in Christian personal laws which dated from the Nineteenth Century. Though some progress has been made, Governments have been tardy in passing reform amendments to the centuries’ old Christian personal laws despite the united endorsement and support by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the National Council of Churches, the Joint Women’s Programme and others. Political parties must assure the community that laws will reformed in full as devised in the documents prepared by the united Christian campaign to bring them in line with contemporary demands of gender rights.
10. We welcome the concept of an Equal Opportunity commission, but it must be formed in consultation with the Christian community and other minority groups.
11. We also demand statutory status to the Minority Commission and assurances that such Central commissions work for the actual benefit of the communities and not as adjuncts of political parties.
12. The Church and the Community uphold the sanctity of life and any attempt to destroy it at any stage is unacceptable. Advances and research in science, such as stem cell research, cloning, transplants, must be in consonance with ethical and moral values. Legislation must not be passed which compromises human life in any form and which justifies meddling with the established processes in nature in the guise of scientific research.
13. Special Memorandum on Orissa: The Union government must use its good offices with the Orissa government to:
i. Ensure that (with reference to the ruling of the Supreme Court in Writ Petitions) police unfailingly assist victims of violence to submit FIRs.
ii. There must be a Witness Protection Programme put into immediate operation giving serious consideration to the need for a suitable atmosphere for victims and witnesses to testify, in order to expedite prosecutions and convictions;
iii. Investigate reports of police officers failing to register cases or showing complicity in attacks, and bring prosecutions against offending officers;
iv. Supply a substantial number of investigating officers and public prosecutors, and implement fast-track courts in at least four locations in Kandhamal district.
v. Investigate the forcible conversion of Christians to Hinduism, and prosecute perpetrators under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code;
vi. Request that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carry out an investigation into the assassination of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakhmanananda Saraswati and the subsequent anti-Christian violence from 24th August 2008, paying specific attention to the root causes of this violence, including the propagation of anti-Christian hatred;
vii. Undertake the following actions with regard to relief camps, taking into consideration the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement:
a. Provide an adequate standard of living to the inhabitants of relief camps, in accordance with the definition given in Principle 18;
b. Provide education to displaced children in relief camps, in accordance with Principle 23;
c. Ensure that relief camps continue until the establishment of suitable conditions and the means for the displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes, or to resettle voluntarily, in accordance with Principle 28;
d. Grant permission and security to lawyers, priests and medical teams to visit relief camps in Kandhamal;
viii. Provide further compensation for those who have been affected by the violence, including covering the loss of crops, livestock and employment, and assess required levels of compensation on a case-by-case basis through certified independent evaluators;
ix. The Government should take measures to carry out an extensive research with the view to rehabilitating the victims of violence, make the recommendations public, and implement them without loss of time.
x. Undertake to follow the recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities in September 2008 on the establishment of Peace Committees, and further to take measures to ensure that all communities are adequately represented within such Peace Committees, to enable these to promote reconciliation and inter-communal understanding with integrity;
xi. Establish a State Commission for Minorities (in the model of its national counterpart) and ensure that members of the commission are appointed by transparent and non-partisan procedures;
xii. Repeal the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967.
xiii. Provide further compensation for those who have been affected by the violence, including covering the loss of crops, livestock and employment, and assess required levels of compensation on a case-by-case basis through certified independent evaluators;
Thank you
God Bless India
Dr. John Dayal
Press Note
29 June 2009
Christians seek urgent protection of witnesses of Orissa violence,
rehabilitation of victims of Orissa violence, SC rights for Dalit
Christians
The Christian community today asked the Union government to intervene decisively in Orissa and ensure the protection of witnesses whose lives are being threatened by criminals, including politicians and legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party charged with multiple murders in the anti Christian violence of August-October 2008.
Community representatives were invited today by the new Central Minister for Minority Affairs, Mr. Salman Khursheed, at his offices to appraise himself of the issues confronting the 2.6 crore [26 million] Christians in the country. The Christian delegation consisted of Delhi Catholic auxiliary Bishop Franco, Believers Bishop Simon John, All India Christian Council Secretary General Dr John Dayal, Sister Molly of St Beads College, Shimla and others. The Minister said he would take up with concerned ministries in the Union government and with the state governments issues that had been brought to his notice.
The Christian delegation demanded that the community be consulted in the formulation of the proposed Equal Opportunities Commission, the Anti-Communal Violence Bill and the Educational reforms that Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal has proposed in his public statements recently. The delegation also impressed on the minister the urgent need to give Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians, the setting up of a Commission to assess economic deprivation in the community on the lines of the Justice Sachhar committee for Muslims, commensurate share in central development funds, full relief and rehabilitation to all victims of communal violence in Orissa and other states, an end to harassment of Christian educational institutions, pastors, evangelists in various states, and abrogation of all so called Freedom of Religion laws passed by both BJP and Congress ruled states.
The following is the text of the memo presented to the minister:
Mr Salman Khursheed
Hon’ble Minister, Independent Charge
Ministry for Minority Affairs, New Delhi
Dear Minister
Greetings from the All India Christian Council and the other organisations I have the honour to represent. Please also accept our congratulations on your election to the Lok Sabha, and your installation as Minister with Independent Charge of Minority Affairs, an important portfolio that can help ensure strengthening of the very foundations of a secular and united India.
We thank you for inviting us to this meeting, even as we take this opportunity to express how touched we are at the feelings expressed last week by Union Home Minister Mr P Chidambaram who, during his visit to Orissa, offered an apology to the victims of Hindutva violence in the Kandhamal region. We expect the expressions of remorse will be followed by unremitting action by the Union and State governments in unison till confidence is restored, the guilty punished, the victims rehabilitated with all human dignity, and a Witness Protection Programme put into operation to ensure justice in the courts. My colleague Dr. Sampaul, the National Secretary of the All India Christian Council, has already written this in a letter to Mr Chidambaram.
As you are aware, the Church in India called upon all people, and specially Christians, to fully take part in the political democratic process in the General Elections, as it wanted India to emerge as nation strong enough to combat terrorism, communalism, and casteism. We continue to be deeply concerned at the rural crisis, urban poverty, and rise in unemployment, displacement in the SEZs – as Christians too are sufferers together with others—and the plight of women and the girl child.
The Christian community puts its own interests subservient to the interests of the Nation. But it feels that there are certain issues which are paramount – security of Religious Minorities, compensation to the victims at par with that given in other states, proportionate share to Christians in funds and projects earmarked for all minorities, as also in government jobs, civil services, police and other services, and removal of obstructions in the continuation and growth of our effort in the education, health and social service sectors.
On the eve of the General Elections, National consultations of Church and community leaders, presided over by Archbishop Vincent Concessao, with Dr John Dayal as the convenor, formulated urgent issues agitating the community. We had given such a list to the Prime Minister in his previous government and to your predecessor in the ministry. We also held consultations with the Planning Commission once to ensure that the National Five year Plans, as well as the National Census and National Sample Surveys reflected the Christian reality in the hinterland. Nothing has been done, and therefore we present you once again some, not all, of the grave issues that confront the Christian community and challenge the people and the Church. Our immediate anxiety, of course, continues to be Orissa where the situation remains grave, as Mr Chidambaram saw for himself, with thousands in government refugee camps, tens of thousands not able to return home under threat of being killed or forcibly converted to Hinduism by the local Sabah Parivar activists, and witnesses to murders, rape and mayhem being threatened with death by goons of the culprits. It is a shame and slur on democratic processes that two of the men accused of murders have been elected to the State Assembly on Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, and they are using their political clout to evade justice.
Our other major issues, requiring your urgent attention are:
1. Security of Religious Minorities: The Christian community had felt itself very safe in India since Independence, and the formative years of the democracy under Jawaharlal Nehru, and then under the premiership of Lal Bahadur Shashtri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. But after a spurt of violence in 1998-1999, hate crimes against the Church and the Christian community have been increasing alarmingly since 1997, averaging about 250 incidents a year. But 2007 and 2008 have seen such violence reach an unprecedented level. The violence has not been confined to Orissa. Fourteen other States have been affected, seven seriously. Karnataka is now second only to Orissa in crimes against Christians. Orissa in 2008 saw 120 deaths, 4,600 houses burnt, over 300 villages purged of Christians, and women, including religious women, raped. Six thousand men, women and children are still in government refugee camps, from the peak of 26,000. Battalions of Central forces are needed to maintain peace, and yet a sense of deep insecurity permeates the community in Orissa.
a. The Union Government must carry out a full investigation into the nationwide activities of extremist groups accused of the incitement and perpetration of violence against minority groups, including Hindutva groups, their foreign finances, and their penetration into the administrative and police apparatus.
b. Enforcing rule of law, ending Impunity of state, Police and criminal justice dispensation system in assuring Freedom of Faith: In State after State, the community has watched in utter helplessness uniformed Policemen accompany assailants attacking institutions, churches and house churches. In States such as Manipur, even villages have dared pass laws against Christians, banning conversions and excommunicating people. Pastors and Priests have been arrested on false charges, denied bail, and harassed. Often, the police have stood by while Priests, pastors and Lay persons were beaten up, often in the glare of Television Cameras. The Subordinate magistracy and judiciary have often been partisan in their conduct. This impunity must end.
c. The Prevention of Communal Violence Bill must take cognisance of Christian concerns and apprehensions. Government cannot shrug off responsibility. The rehabilitation seems to have been left to the Church. It is for the governments to reconstruct damaged and destroyed homes, institutions and churches, and provide adequate and commensurate compensation to the victims. These would be deterrent, in fact, to violence against the community.
2. Redress Economic deprivation and reversal of Unemployment and under-employment amongst Christian youth—Need for a National Commission on the lines of the Justice Rajender Sachhar Commission set up for Muslims: There is over 8 [Eight] per cent joblessness amongst Christian youth, the highest among minorities. Tribal Christian girls are amongst the most deprived in terms of education and nourishment. Rural employment generation schemes and central special components for marginalised groups do not reach their Christian counterparts in Tribal and Rural India There is no real assessment as to what extent institutions such as the National Minorities Financial Development Corporation, or sundry scholarship schemes have benefitted the Christian community even if they may have benefited some other Minorities. The Government must urgently set up a Commission on the Pattern of the Justice Sachhar committee to survey and assess the quantum of deprivation, marginalisation and lack of devolution of developmental initiatives, to the Christian community. Government must ensure fair spending on a pro rata basis on the Christian community from schemed meant to benefit the minority communities. Dalits, Tribals, Landless labour and marginal farmers, coastal and fishery workers and urban youth remain major victims.
3. Dalit Christian rights: Successive governments have betrayed Christians of Dalit origin. The Constitution of 1950 provided for affirmative action for Scheduled Castes without reference to religion. The Presidential Order of 1950, subsequently made into law, communalised the affirmative action by penalising those who converted to other faiths. Subsequently, government extended the privileges once again to Sikhs and Buddhists of Dalit origin. Christians remain deprived of these rights, though several Study Groups and National Commissions have strongly recommended that these rights be given to Dalit Christians. This in effect communalises the secular Indian Constitution. Government must pass legislation to immediately restore the Constitution to its 26 January 1950 position on this issue so that Dalit Christians get all privileges and safeguards that are given to their brothers and sisters professing other faiths. The recommendations of the Justice Rang Nath Misra Commission should be implemented.
4. Assault on right of Tribal Christians: Strident and frightening statements have been made in right wing Hindutva groups in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, among others, threatening to deny Christian Tribals their statutory rights in Education, land and employment, and to restrict Tribal rights to only those who convert to Hinduism. This violates Constitutional guarantees, and divided the Tribal people. The Union government must thwart all such nefarious efforts and hate mongering.
5. Irrational and Bigoted implementation of Forest Act and its implications for Dalit Christians: Recent experience in Orissa’s Kandhamal and other districts have shown how Supreme Court guidelines are being ignored in the implementation of the Forest Act, and traditional forest dwellers, many of them Dalits, are being deprived of their land, livelihood and even liberty as false cases are being brought against them. This, of course, must cease forthwith. The right of all indigenous dwellers must be protected according to the guidelines of the Supreme Court and witch-hunt and harassment must end.
6. Erosion of Minority rights under Article 30: Various State governments and political parties have tried to infringe upon Article 30, and have made persistent efforts to erode the rights of Minorities to run and administer educational institutions. Christian educational institutions have frequently had to approach the Supreme Court of India to try to protect these fundamental rights. The ironically titled Freedom of Religion Bills actually erodes the Constitutional right to Freedom to profess, practice and propagate faith. They have become instruments of persecution, and in fact, provide an excuse for criminal and communal elements to target the Church and Christian workers in particular when they exercise their right to propagate their faith. Government must assure there will be no effort in the future to infringe upon, erode, or nibble at Minority educational and other Constitutional rights under any pretext.
7. The Union government must use its good offices to ensure that state governments – both under Congress Control and run by other parties –withdraw laws they have passed under the guise of Freedom of Religion, which in actuality, are being used to brutally suppress Christianity and punish Pastors, Priests, Nuns and church workers.
8. Shrinking Secular-Spiritual Space: State and city administrations are auctioning land for schools and hospitals in the Open Market. The result is that the Church and Voluntary sector can no longer get legal possession of low cost land for providing Educational and health facilities to the marginalised groups are affordable prices. In addition, new townships and urban spaces, most of them now in the private sector, do not provide for simple and basic Secular spaces, including plots of land for Churches and cemeteries. In many new urban conglomerates in the emerging landscape, there is, in fact, no provision for cemeteries at all. Union and State Governments must ensure adequate and commensurate Secular and Spiritual Space –
Education land, cemeteries etc
9. Ending gender-bias and upholding the rights of women in reforms in Christian Personal Laws: Christian Women more than a decade ago led a campaign for reforms in Christian personal laws which dated from the Nineteenth Century. Though some progress has been made, Governments have been tardy in passing reform amendments to the centuries’ old Christian personal laws despite the united endorsement and support by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the National Council of Churches, the Joint Women’s Programme and others. Political parties must assure the community that laws will reformed in full as devised in the documents prepared by the united Christian campaign to bring them in line with contemporary demands of gender rights.
10. We welcome the concept of an Equal Opportunity commission, but it must be formed in consultation with the Christian community and other minority groups.
11. We also demand statutory status to the Minority Commission and assurances that such Central commissions work for the actual benefit of the communities and not as adjuncts of political parties.
12. The Church and the Community uphold the sanctity of life and any attempt to destroy it at any stage is unacceptable. Advances and research in science, such as stem cell research, cloning, transplants, must be in consonance with ethical and moral values. Legislation must not be passed which compromises human life in any form and which justifies meddling with the established processes in nature in the guise of scientific research.
13. Special Memorandum on Orissa: The Union government must use its good offices with the Orissa government to:
i. Ensure that (with reference to the ruling of the Supreme Court in Writ Petitions) police unfailingly assist victims of violence to submit FIRs.
ii. There must be a Witness Protection Programme put into immediate operation giving serious consideration to the need for a suitable atmosphere for victims and witnesses to testify, in order to expedite prosecutions and convictions;
iii. Investigate reports of police officers failing to register cases or showing complicity in attacks, and bring prosecutions against offending officers;
iv. Supply a substantial number of investigating officers and public prosecutors, and implement fast-track courts in at least four locations in Kandhamal district.
v. Investigate the forcible conversion of Christians to Hinduism, and prosecute perpetrators under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code;
vi. Request that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carry out an investigation into the assassination of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakhmanananda Saraswati and the subsequent anti-Christian violence from 24th August 2008, paying specific attention to the root causes of this violence, including the propagation of anti-Christian hatred;
vii. Undertake the following actions with regard to relief camps, taking into consideration the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement:
a. Provide an adequate standard of living to the inhabitants of relief camps, in accordance with the definition given in Principle 18;
b. Provide education to displaced children in relief camps, in accordance with Principle 23;
c. Ensure that relief camps continue until the establishment of suitable conditions and the means for the displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes, or to resettle voluntarily, in accordance with Principle 28;
d. Grant permission and security to lawyers, priests and medical teams to visit relief camps in Kandhamal;
viii. Provide further compensation for those who have been affected by the violence, including covering the loss of crops, livestock and employment, and assess required levels of compensation on a case-by-case basis through certified independent evaluators;
ix. The Government should take measures to carry out an extensive research with the view to rehabilitating the victims of violence, make the recommendations public, and implement them without loss of time.
x. Undertake to follow the recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities in September 2008 on the establishment of Peace Committees, and further to take measures to ensure that all communities are adequately represented within such Peace Committees, to enable these to promote reconciliation and inter-communal understanding with integrity;
xi. Establish a State Commission for Minorities (in the model of its national counterpart) and ensure that members of the commission are appointed by transparent and non-partisan procedures;
xii. Repeal the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967.
xiii. Provide further compensation for those who have been affected by the violence, including covering the loss of crops, livestock and employment, and assess required levels of compensation on a case-by-case basis through certified independent evaluators;
Thank you
God Bless India
Dr. John Dayal
Liberhan report is bad news for BJP - But will any action be taken?
The Hindu, 1 July 2009
Regardless of contents, Liberhan report is bad news for BJP news analysis
by Siddharth Varadarajan
But Congress may shrink from taking firm action
New Delhi: Sixteen years on from the Sangh parivar’s single biggest act of infamy, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders are likely to discover there is no political statute of limitations for the crimes of conspiracy, incitement, rioting and vandalism that were committed in the name of Hindutva when the Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.
Having prospered politically for more than a decade from the resulting polarisation, the BJP’s ‘rath’ eventually ran out of steam in 2004.
Catalyst
The catalyst was perhaps the Gujarat killings of 2002 or the neoliberal economic policies to which the illiberal politics of Hindutva were wedded. But today, after its second consecutive defeat in a general election, the BJP finds itself increasingly aware of the liability that communalism has become.
Officially, the party claims the demolition was the result of spontaneous action by the mob which it had mobilised in Ayodhya that fateful day. BJP leader L.K. Advani, whose alleged role in the conspiracy is the subject of a CBI prosecution, famously described the event as the “saddest day” of his life. But the fact is that he and his colleagues had hitched their political fortunes to the violence and intolerance that was the Ramjanmabhoomi movement. And today, they have to accept political responsibility for the consequences of that movement, even if the Indian judicial system eventually proves incapable of assigning criminal liability.
This is where the report of the Liberhan Commission delivers the cruellest blow: at a time when the BJP is looking for ways to repackage itself as an inclusive party, its role in the destruction of the 16th century monument is a reminder of its intolerant agenda. “The subject matter of the report is 90 per cent about BJP,” a senior Congress leader told The Hindu. He acknowledged that the report might also criticise the role of Narasimha Rao, who was Prime Minister at the time, and his Congress-run Central government for its inaction. “But the entire episode is one which is of, for and by the BJP.”
Second, the manner in which the report names and assigns guilt is likely to accentuate the already acute internal fissures within the party. Indeed, Liberhan may become an ‘internal brahmastra’ for Mr. Advani regardless of the role the report says he played in the demolition. Worse, by bringing Ayodhya back into the news, the report will also encourage those within the Sangh parivar who feel the Ram temple issue should remain at the core of their political agenda.
Instead of jettisoning the Hindutva agenda, a remedy that some inside the party now say the 2009 election results indicate, the BJP might then find itself thrust into an even tighter embrace with sectarianism.
For the Congress, the party is likely to want to use the report’s recommendations to weaken the BJP and its leadership politically without allowing them to claim the mantle of martyrdom. But after 17 years, those citizens who still feel aggrieved at the criminal destruction of the mosque are also entitled to expect that justice will be done and that all politicians involved in the crime are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
However, the track record of the Congress does not encourage optimism. Most of the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into the 1992-93 Bombay riots, for example, remain unimplemented a decade after that report was submitted. And the more fundamental reforms that are needed to protect the citizenry from official acts of omission and commission during riots are not even on the Manmohan Singh government’s radar screen.
Regardless of contents, Liberhan report is bad news for BJP news analysis
by Siddharth Varadarajan
But Congress may shrink from taking firm action
New Delhi: Sixteen years on from the Sangh parivar’s single biggest act of infamy, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders are likely to discover there is no political statute of limitations for the crimes of conspiracy, incitement, rioting and vandalism that were committed in the name of Hindutva when the Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.
Having prospered politically for more than a decade from the resulting polarisation, the BJP’s ‘rath’ eventually ran out of steam in 2004.
Catalyst
The catalyst was perhaps the Gujarat killings of 2002 or the neoliberal economic policies to which the illiberal politics of Hindutva were wedded. But today, after its second consecutive defeat in a general election, the BJP finds itself increasingly aware of the liability that communalism has become.
Officially, the party claims the demolition was the result of spontaneous action by the mob which it had mobilised in Ayodhya that fateful day. BJP leader L.K. Advani, whose alleged role in the conspiracy is the subject of a CBI prosecution, famously described the event as the “saddest day” of his life. But the fact is that he and his colleagues had hitched their political fortunes to the violence and intolerance that was the Ramjanmabhoomi movement. And today, they have to accept political responsibility for the consequences of that movement, even if the Indian judicial system eventually proves incapable of assigning criminal liability.
This is where the report of the Liberhan Commission delivers the cruellest blow: at a time when the BJP is looking for ways to repackage itself as an inclusive party, its role in the destruction of the 16th century monument is a reminder of its intolerant agenda. “The subject matter of the report is 90 per cent about BJP,” a senior Congress leader told The Hindu. He acknowledged that the report might also criticise the role of Narasimha Rao, who was Prime Minister at the time, and his Congress-run Central government for its inaction. “But the entire episode is one which is of, for and by the BJP.”
Second, the manner in which the report names and assigns guilt is likely to accentuate the already acute internal fissures within the party. Indeed, Liberhan may become an ‘internal brahmastra’ for Mr. Advani regardless of the role the report says he played in the demolition. Worse, by bringing Ayodhya back into the news, the report will also encourage those within the Sangh parivar who feel the Ram temple issue should remain at the core of their political agenda.
Instead of jettisoning the Hindutva agenda, a remedy that some inside the party now say the 2009 election results indicate, the BJP might then find itself thrust into an even tighter embrace with sectarianism.
For the Congress, the party is likely to want to use the report’s recommendations to weaken the BJP and its leadership politically without allowing them to claim the mantle of martyrdom. But after 17 years, those citizens who still feel aggrieved at the criminal destruction of the mosque are also entitled to expect that justice will be done and that all politicians involved in the crime are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
However, the track record of the Congress does not encourage optimism. Most of the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into the 1992-93 Bombay riots, for example, remain unimplemented a decade after that report was submitted. And the more fundamental reforms that are needed to protect the citizenry from official acts of omission and commission during riots are not even on the Manmohan Singh government’s radar screen.
July 02, 2009
Homophobia unites moral police from all religio-political lobies
[The 2 July 2009 judgement by the Delhi high court is a great victory for human rights; but all secular forces must be beware that all the major religious and conservative forces will unite to block and oppose the full legalisation of homosexuality in India. So lets us firmly fight them back on a secular platform. See the real colours of the Maulanas, and clergymen of all stripes. See reports and excerpts from the press posted below. hk]
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The Hindu, July 2, 2009 : 2015 Hrs
Legalising homosexuality will lead to sexual anarchy: church
Kochi (PTI): Expressing reservation over the Delhi High court judgement legalising homosexuality, the Catholic Church in Kerala on Thursday said this would 'open up' the society to 'sexual anarchy'.
"Though Homosexual act is immoral, we should be merciful, considerate to people with homosexual tendencies. However, that does not mean they have the right to the homosexual act," the Catholic Church spokesperson Paul Thelekat said.
"Legalising gay sex will open up the society to some sort of sexual anarchy. Perhaps Indian culture is being eroded by the western promiscuous culture," he said.
The Church would work with every sensitive person and community to keep the moral fabric of the society intact, he said.
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Times of India
Govt resolve to act on Section 377 hits Deoband hurdle
30 June 2009
NEW DELHI: Islamic seminary Deoband's condemnation on Monday of moves to repeal Section 377 of IPC to legalise same sex liaisons -- by calling it
a wish of an "ungodly few" -- set off fears that conservative religious opinion could dilute the resolve of the government to "decriminalise homosexuality".
The seminary, reacting to statements from government circles that there was a case for scratching Section 377, called it a "contemptible move likely to corrupt the gullible in society". The strong criticism may well increase the wariness that has marked the reactions of ministers after initially signalling a preparedness to legalise homosexuality.
While there was a strong reaction from Muslim clerics in general, their stand was bolstered by Deoband with deputy V-C of Darul-Uloom, Mufti Mohammad Abdul Khalik Madrasi, warning, "Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat law and haram (prohibited) in Islam."
Two days after reactions from Union ministers raised hope among groups working for its repeal, the mood was one of caution and the ruling Congress itself made it clear that it had no particular views on the matter. The apprehensions are largely on account of conservative opinion from religious quarters, which can have a social resonance and are seen to have a political impact as well.
What may make withdrawal of Section 377 a challenge are hints of convergence across religious barriers against the move. Mohammad Arshad Farukhi from the fatwa department of Darul-Uloom said, "A joint forum of Hindus, Muslims and Christians must be set up to check the government from making the offending legislation."
It has tempered the aggression in government. Law minister Veerappa Moily assured that a wide debate on the issue would take care of reservations of Christian groups. "The government cannot take a decision in a hurry. We need to apply our mind," he said in Hyderabad, adding, "We are examining it."
Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was as non-committal. "I can simply say there should be more debate -- public debate, Parliament debate. There has to be a consensus. The negative and positive has to be evaluated and then a conclusion should be evolved," he said.
Azad favoured a debate in Parliament, saying, "There should be a total consensus. Not only government, but other political parties should also be in line with it (amendment)."
As the two key ministers advocated debate and consensus, Congress refused to take sides on the issue. "This is under consideration of the government. It is a normal government process. The party does not have any opinion on it," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said in response to queries about the party's stand on repealing Section 377.
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Excerpt from PTI report in Herald
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=23802&cid=2
"While Rt Rev Abraham Mar Paulos Episcopa, head of Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar diocesan, said homosexuality is not at all acceptable and agreeable as it is against the tenets of Bible.
According to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, repeal of the section would create “sexual anarchy” in the society.
VHP said homosexuality is against the culture and family system in India and will result in spread of number of diseases."
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Excerpt from report in Times TV
http://www.timesnow.tv/Political-divide-over-legality-deepens/articleshow/4321162.cms
"Kamal Farooqui, Member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, speaking against the judgement said, "This judgement is just to please our western and american friends. In Indian socieity this is not accceptable whether Muslim or Hindu. Basically we are a religious society. Our temperament is that homosexual act is an unnatural act."
Amar singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party, also speaking against the high court order said that the party does not support homosexuality or sexual relations between the same sex."
Menawhile, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Islamic scholar, said, "As far as the practice of homosexuality is concerned, I think that is completely wrong."
Acharya Giriraj Kishore, VHP Leader, not in favour of the judgement said that the high court order is unfortunate and that it would destroy the society."
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http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Religious-leaders-disapprove-HC-judgement-on-homosexuality/484077
Indian Express
Religious leaders disapprove HC judgement on homosexuality
Posted: Thursday , Jul 02, 2009 at 1326 hrs IST New Delhi:
Certain religious leaders on Thursday strongly disapproved of the Delhi High Court judgement which legalised gay sex among consenting adults. "This is absolutely wrong to legalise homosexuality. We will not accept any such law," Jama Masjid Imam Ahmed Bukhari said. He also critcised the government for trying to amend the Indian Penal Code to scrap section 377 that criminalizes homosexuality. "If the government makes such attempt to scrap the Section 377, we will oppose it strongly," Bukhari said.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahli said homosexuality is not allowed by any religion. "It is against all religions. It is against the culture of Indian society. We feel there is no need to legalise homosexuality. This practice is unnatural. It should continue as a criminal act," he said. Father Dominic Immanuel said that churches have no objection to decriminalisation of homosexuality but it should not be legalised. "We have no objection to decriminalisation of homosexuality because we do not consider these people as criminals on par with other criminals," Immanuel said.
However, churches do not approve of homosexual relations as ethical and moral right of the people, he said. "It is against nature.Our position is that homosexuality should not be legalised," he said, adding such practice will increase paedophilia and HIV/AIDS. The court said Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalises gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights.
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The Hindu, July 2, 2009 : 2015 Hrs
Legalising homosexuality will lead to sexual anarchy: church
Kochi (PTI): Expressing reservation over the Delhi High court judgement legalising homosexuality, the Catholic Church in Kerala on Thursday said this would 'open up' the society to 'sexual anarchy'.
"Though Homosexual act is immoral, we should be merciful, considerate to people with homosexual tendencies. However, that does not mean they have the right to the homosexual act," the Catholic Church spokesperson Paul Thelekat said.
"Legalising gay sex will open up the society to some sort of sexual anarchy. Perhaps Indian culture is being eroded by the western promiscuous culture," he said.
The Church would work with every sensitive person and community to keep the moral fabric of the society intact, he said.
o o o
Times of India
Govt resolve to act on Section 377 hits Deoband hurdle
30 June 2009
NEW DELHI: Islamic seminary Deoband's condemnation on Monday of moves to repeal Section 377 of IPC to legalise same sex liaisons -- by calling it
a wish of an "ungodly few" -- set off fears that conservative religious opinion could dilute the resolve of the government to "decriminalise homosexuality".
The seminary, reacting to statements from government circles that there was a case for scratching Section 377, called it a "contemptible move likely to corrupt the gullible in society". The strong criticism may well increase the wariness that has marked the reactions of ministers after initially signalling a preparedness to legalise homosexuality.
While there was a strong reaction from Muslim clerics in general, their stand was bolstered by Deoband with deputy V-C of Darul-Uloom, Mufti Mohammad Abdul Khalik Madrasi, warning, "Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat law and haram (prohibited) in Islam."
Two days after reactions from Union ministers raised hope among groups working for its repeal, the mood was one of caution and the ruling Congress itself made it clear that it had no particular views on the matter. The apprehensions are largely on account of conservative opinion from religious quarters, which can have a social resonance and are seen to have a political impact as well.
What may make withdrawal of Section 377 a challenge are hints of convergence across religious barriers against the move. Mohammad Arshad Farukhi from the fatwa department of Darul-Uloom said, "A joint forum of Hindus, Muslims and Christians must be set up to check the government from making the offending legislation."
It has tempered the aggression in government. Law minister Veerappa Moily assured that a wide debate on the issue would take care of reservations of Christian groups. "The government cannot take a decision in a hurry. We need to apply our mind," he said in Hyderabad, adding, "We are examining it."
Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was as non-committal. "I can simply say there should be more debate -- public debate, Parliament debate. There has to be a consensus. The negative and positive has to be evaluated and then a conclusion should be evolved," he said.
Azad favoured a debate in Parliament, saying, "There should be a total consensus. Not only government, but other political parties should also be in line with it (amendment)."
As the two key ministers advocated debate and consensus, Congress refused to take sides on the issue. "This is under consideration of the government. It is a normal government process. The party does not have any opinion on it," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said in response to queries about the party's stand on repealing Section 377.
o o o
Excerpt from PTI report in Herald
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=23802&cid=2
"While Rt Rev Abraham Mar Paulos Episcopa, head of Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar diocesan, said homosexuality is not at all acceptable and agreeable as it is against the tenets of Bible.
According to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, repeal of the section would create “sexual anarchy” in the society.
VHP said homosexuality is against the culture and family system in India and will result in spread of number of diseases."
o o o
Excerpt from report in Times TV
http://www.timesnow.tv/Political-divide-over-legality-deepens/articleshow/4321162.cms
"Kamal Farooqui, Member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, speaking against the judgement said, "This judgement is just to please our western and american friends. In Indian socieity this is not accceptable whether Muslim or Hindu. Basically we are a religious society. Our temperament is that homosexual act is an unnatural act."
Amar singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party, also speaking against the high court order said that the party does not support homosexuality or sexual relations between the same sex."
Menawhile, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Islamic scholar, said, "As far as the practice of homosexuality is concerned, I think that is completely wrong."
Acharya Giriraj Kishore, VHP Leader, not in favour of the judgement said that the high court order is unfortunate and that it would destroy the society."
o o o
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Religious-leaders-disapprove-HC-judgement-on-homosexuality/484077
Indian Express
Religious leaders disapprove HC judgement on homosexuality
Posted: Thursday , Jul 02, 2009 at 1326 hrs IST New Delhi:
Certain religious leaders on Thursday strongly disapproved of the Delhi High Court judgement which legalised gay sex among consenting adults. "This is absolutely wrong to legalise homosexuality. We will not accept any such law," Jama Masjid Imam Ahmed Bukhari said. He also critcised the government for trying to amend the Indian Penal Code to scrap section 377 that criminalizes homosexuality. "If the government makes such attempt to scrap the Section 377, we will oppose it strongly," Bukhari said.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahli said homosexuality is not allowed by any religion. "It is against all religions. It is against the culture of Indian society. We feel there is no need to legalise homosexuality. This practice is unnatural. It should continue as a criminal act," he said. Father Dominic Immanuel said that churches have no objection to decriminalisation of homosexuality but it should not be legalised. "We have no objection to decriminalisation of homosexuality because we do not consider these people as criminals on par with other criminals," Immanuel said.
However, churches do not approve of homosexual relations as ethical and moral right of the people, he said. "It is against nature.Our position is that homosexuality should not be legalised," he said, adding such practice will increase paedophilia and HIV/AIDS. The court said Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalises gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights.
Time to act now that the Liberhan report is out
Times of India
EDITORIAL COMMENT | Omission Of Inquiry
2 July 2009, 0000 hrs IST
The Justice Liberhan Commission was set up around 10 days after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992. From then on, it had 399 sittings and was given 48 extensions. Submission of its findings came a good 17 years after the event it was meant to shed light on. A whopping Rs 9 crore was spent on the upkeep of this commission, which now blames "non-cooperation" of witnesses for its procrastination. Whether or not it exposes those under the Babri cloud, India's longest running probe panel is yet another reminder that digging for truth about inglorious episodes, be they corruption cases or communal violence, has become something of a farce. Hundreds of inquiry panels have popped up since 1956, most with little to show for the effort and taxpayers' money.
Meant to conduct impartial probes, these entities have long come to resemble instruments for putting off fact-finding and fixing of blame. Worse, when reports do materialise, governments can accept or junk them, depending on what's expedient. While delaying tactics may be a cunning way to diffuse crises, they breed popular cynicism by appearing to reject accountability in public life. And, ironically, when old issues aren't given closure, public discourse is hijacked by their periodic reappearances. The nation keeps flogging dead horses instead of moving forward. This unedifying scenario risks being played out again, with Indians being thrust back to the fractious identity politics which marked the 1990s.
Once the report is made public, political parties should look at the findings less as a chance for generalised mud-slinging than for seeking ways to avoid a repeat of the past. India's netas without exception have claimed shock at the events of December 1992 and their aftermath. They need to put their politics where their mouth is by acting in concert to now serve the ends of justice. We need a consensus on ensuring police autonomy and modernisation, and a law on communal violence. Without unfettered action, law enforcers can't meet unprecedented challenges like Ayodhya. And the hands of security forces can only be strengthened by a law that makes booking rioters a matter of clear-cut procedure rather than political dictation.
India has undergone a sea change since 1992. Today, it has aspirational aims rather than antediluvian agendas. As poll mandates at the national level or in post-Amarnath Kashmir and post-Kandhamal Orissa show, people want governance and development, not manipulation of their sentiments by sectarian forces. Such an India needs unifying symbols, not monuments to social discord. Let Ayodhya become a site of social harmony. Build a museum there celebrating Hindu-Muslim unity, which records the evidence of syncretism between the two religions, so that no community thinks of itself as losing out for or winning at the cost of another. That will be the best way to redeem the past.
EDITORIAL COMMENT | Omission Of Inquiry
2 July 2009, 0000 hrs IST
The Justice Liberhan Commission was set up around 10 days after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992. From then on, it had 399 sittings and was given 48 extensions. Submission of its findings came a good 17 years after the event it was meant to shed light on. A whopping Rs 9 crore was spent on the upkeep of this commission, which now blames "non-cooperation" of witnesses for its procrastination. Whether or not it exposes those under the Babri cloud, India's longest running probe panel is yet another reminder that digging for truth about inglorious episodes, be they corruption cases or communal violence, has become something of a farce. Hundreds of inquiry panels have popped up since 1956, most with little to show for the effort and taxpayers' money.
Meant to conduct impartial probes, these entities have long come to resemble instruments for putting off fact-finding and fixing of blame. Worse, when reports do materialise, governments can accept or junk them, depending on what's expedient. While delaying tactics may be a cunning way to diffuse crises, they breed popular cynicism by appearing to reject accountability in public life. And, ironically, when old issues aren't given closure, public discourse is hijacked by their periodic reappearances. The nation keeps flogging dead horses instead of moving forward. This unedifying scenario risks being played out again, with Indians being thrust back to the fractious identity politics which marked the 1990s.
Once the report is made public, political parties should look at the findings less as a chance for generalised mud-slinging than for seeking ways to avoid a repeat of the past. India's netas without exception have claimed shock at the events of December 1992 and their aftermath. They need to put their politics where their mouth is by acting in concert to now serve the ends of justice. We need a consensus on ensuring police autonomy and modernisation, and a law on communal violence. Without unfettered action, law enforcers can't meet unprecedented challenges like Ayodhya. And the hands of security forces can only be strengthened by a law that makes booking rioters a matter of clear-cut procedure rather than political dictation.
India has undergone a sea change since 1992. Today, it has aspirational aims rather than antediluvian agendas. As poll mandates at the national level or in post-Amarnath Kashmir and post-Kandhamal Orissa show, people want governance and development, not manipulation of their sentiments by sectarian forces. Such an India needs unifying symbols, not monuments to social discord. Let Ayodhya become a site of social harmony. Build a museum there celebrating Hindu-Muslim unity, which records the evidence of syncretism between the two religions, so that no community thinks of itself as losing out for or winning at the cost of another. That will be the best way to redeem the past.
impossible to feel elated by the completion of an inquiry that took 17 years
The Hindu
2 July 2009
Unconscionable delay
It is impossible to feel elated by the completion of an inquiry nearly 17 years after the occurrence of the traumatic events it was meant to look into. In any civilised society, the deliberate vandalism wrought upon a centuries-old monument like the Babri Masjid and its destruction would have merited exemplary punishment for all those involved in the frenzied attack and in the conspiracy that preceded it. But then the exertions of Justice M.S. Liberhan are of a piece with the extraordinarily languorous ways of the Indian judicial system. If the criminal trial of policemen indicted for the 1987 massacre of innocent Muslims in Malliana and Hashimpura is still on 22 years later, why should there be any surprise over the fact that the Babri Masjid probe has taken so long? And tempting though it is to blame the hapless Mr. Liberhan for taking so long, it is not as if the Central Bureau of Investigation or successive governments at the Centre and in Lucknow have shown any urgency in prosecuting the criminal cases that flowed directly from the destruction of that 16th century mosque on December 6, 1992.
Indeed, so indifferent have all the dramatis personae been to the fate of the probe that it is hard to escape the conclusion that what is now unfolding is nothing other than the predictable ending of a farce. When the Liberhan report is finally made public, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders will seek to distance themselves from its implications while the Congress is bound to seek as much political mileage as it can wrest from this issue. Going by the record of the 1984 riot commissions as well as the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into the Bombay riots of 1992-93, few believe that the justice which ordinary Indians look for will actually be delivered. If the pervasive cynicism about the capacity of India’s institutional system to deliver justice is to be dissipated, it is important to see that the significance of exercises such as the Liberhan commission, however limited they be in scope, is not diminished. It is evident that the BJP still has to pay a political price for its implicit support of its extremist allies such as the Bajrang Dal which were at the forefront of the demolition of the masjid. If the Manmohan Singh government is serious about countering the politics of sectarian violence and hate, it must introduce and then implement a robust law to deal with communal crimes. The need for legislation which criminalises the kind of official and political complicity which was on display in Gujarat in 2002 or Delhi in 1984 or Ayodhya in 1992 remains as compelling as ever. Enacting such a law must be one of this government’s top priorities.
2 July 2009
Unconscionable delay
It is impossible to feel elated by the completion of an inquiry nearly 17 years after the occurrence of the traumatic events it was meant to look into. In any civilised society, the deliberate vandalism wrought upon a centuries-old monument like the Babri Masjid and its destruction would have merited exemplary punishment for all those involved in the frenzied attack and in the conspiracy that preceded it. But then the exertions of Justice M.S. Liberhan are of a piece with the extraordinarily languorous ways of the Indian judicial system. If the criminal trial of policemen indicted for the 1987 massacre of innocent Muslims in Malliana and Hashimpura is still on 22 years later, why should there be any surprise over the fact that the Babri Masjid probe has taken so long? And tempting though it is to blame the hapless Mr. Liberhan for taking so long, it is not as if the Central Bureau of Investigation or successive governments at the Centre and in Lucknow have shown any urgency in prosecuting the criminal cases that flowed directly from the destruction of that 16th century mosque on December 6, 1992.
Indeed, so indifferent have all the dramatis personae been to the fate of the probe that it is hard to escape the conclusion that what is now unfolding is nothing other than the predictable ending of a farce. When the Liberhan report is finally made public, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders will seek to distance themselves from its implications while the Congress is bound to seek as much political mileage as it can wrest from this issue. Going by the record of the 1984 riot commissions as well as the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into the Bombay riots of 1992-93, few believe that the justice which ordinary Indians look for will actually be delivered. If the pervasive cynicism about the capacity of India’s institutional system to deliver justice is to be dissipated, it is important to see that the significance of exercises such as the Liberhan commission, however limited they be in scope, is not diminished. It is evident that the BJP still has to pay a political price for its implicit support of its extremist allies such as the Bajrang Dal which were at the forefront of the demolition of the masjid. If the Manmohan Singh government is serious about countering the politics of sectarian violence and hate, it must introduce and then implement a robust law to deal with communal crimes. The need for legislation which criminalises the kind of official and political complicity which was on display in Gujarat in 2002 or Delhi in 1984 or Ayodhya in 1992 remains as compelling as ever. Enacting such a law must be one of this government’s top priorities.
July 01, 2009
Way's of BJP govt in Chattisgarh -- A respected peace activist may be arrested on trumped up charges of spreading communal violence
I may be arrested soon for spreading communal violence
Posted by: "vcadantewada ashram" vcadantewada (at) gmail.com
Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:16 am (PDT)
Dear All,
You may recall that last year I had complained against a government officer who was siphoning off ration meant for children in anganwadis in Dantewada.
Some villagers had also met SP about it and had made a written complaint.
The government official is also wife of an influential journalist in the city. Then police had filed a complaint against me by a Muslim journalist on the charge of threatening him under section 153 B.
Section 153B deals with communal violence.
I have applied for my passport recently and I was told by a source in police station that police has sent the matter to passport office saying because there is a case under section 153B registered against me so I should not be issued the passport. I have not seen the letter myself.
The source also tells me that on that case I may be arrested soon.
I will keep all of you posted
Sincerely
-Himanshu Kumar
-Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Dantewada
-09425260031
Posted by: "vcadantewada ashram" vcadantewada (at) gmail.com
Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:16 am (PDT)
Dear All,
You may recall that last year I had complained against a government officer who was siphoning off ration meant for children in anganwadis in Dantewada.
Some villagers had also met SP about it and had made a written complaint.
The government official is also wife of an influential journalist in the city. Then police had filed a complaint against me by a Muslim journalist on the charge of threatening him under section 153 B.
Section 153B deals with communal violence.
I have applied for my passport recently and I was told by a source in police station that police has sent the matter to passport office saying because there is a case under section 153B registered against me so I should not be issued the passport. I have not seen the letter myself.
The source also tells me that on that case I may be arrested soon.
I will keep all of you posted
Sincerely
-Himanshu Kumar
-Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Dantewada
-09425260031
Liberhan report: Deep involvement of the Sangh in the Babari masjid demolition
The Times of India
Liberhan pins Babri blame on Sangh leaders
1 July 2009, 0101 hrs IST, Akshaya Mukul, TNN
NEW DELHI: It was on December 16, 1992 that M S Liberhan, then a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, was asked to probe the conspiracy leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid -- an event that took communal polarisation to a new scale, and shaped the politics of the turbulent 1990s.
Seventeen years, 399 sittings, 100 witnesses, 48 extensions and Rs 9 crore later, Justice Liberhan submitted his report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, indicting the BJP and its leaders including L K Advani, and the Sangh Parivar for conspiring to demolish the Mughal-era mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
The report, being kept under wraps, also holds BJP leader L K Advani responsible for the demolition, pointing to the Rath Yatra he took out to mobilise support to build a Ram temple where the Masjid stood, and, on the fateful day, for failing to control the crowds he had helped mobilise.
The indictment of other front-ranking Hindutva leaders is sharper, with former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar and others all coming in for severe criticism for their individual culpabilities.
Kalyan, who has since joined Mulayam Singh Yadav, has also been criticised for dodging the inquiry panel.
As for Congress, the criticism is limited to the "inaction" of former PM P V Narasimha Rao who allegedly slept through the demolition.
A big section in the report, likely to be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session, is devoted to the role of Advani and his statements during the cross-examination. The report criticises him for his Rath Yatra and not keeping the saffron combine in control. Faizabad district officials have also been severely indicted for their role during the demolition.
Given the string of extensions to the commission, submission of the report came as a surprise. Naturally so, considering that half of India's T-20 squad was in primary school when Justice Liberhan was tasked with the probe.
Then again, Justice Liberhan has been consistently maintaining that he will take longer.
Not surprisingly, Justice Liberhan had to handle a barrage of questions on the delay. The retired chief justice of Madras and Andhra High Courts, however, defended himself, pointing to the stalling and obstructionist manoeuvres used to derail the probe. "I did not receive cooperation from few people," he said. Though he did not name names, the finding in the report about the delaying tactics of Kalyan and others can be taken to suggest that the reference could be to leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar.
Repeated efforts to draw him out on the issue did not succeed. "I do not want to comment," he said, though he remarked that he was feeling "relieved".
Under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, government has six months to share the findings of Justice Liberhan along with the action taken report (ATR) with Parliament. However, the tabling of the report in the two Houses will depend on how swiftly the government wants to act on the recommendations. In case conspiracy charge is to be probed further, government can ask CBI, already seized with the criminal case about demolition, to probe further.
With strong likelihood of Congress trying to derive mileage from the report, chances of the voluminous document being tabled in the coming session of Parliament are high. Elections in Maharashtra, due in September-October, may serve as another incentive for early tabling.
Liberhan pins Babri blame on Sangh leaders
1 July 2009, 0101 hrs IST, Akshaya Mukul, TNN
NEW DELHI: It was on December 16, 1992 that M S Liberhan, then a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, was asked to probe the conspiracy leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid -- an event that took communal polarisation to a new scale, and shaped the politics of the turbulent 1990s.
Seventeen years, 399 sittings, 100 witnesses, 48 extensions and Rs 9 crore later, Justice Liberhan submitted his report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, indicting the BJP and its leaders including L K Advani, and the Sangh Parivar for conspiring to demolish the Mughal-era mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
The report, being kept under wraps, also holds BJP leader L K Advani responsible for the demolition, pointing to the Rath Yatra he took out to mobilise support to build a Ram temple where the Masjid stood, and, on the fateful day, for failing to control the crowds he had helped mobilise.
The indictment of other front-ranking Hindutva leaders is sharper, with former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar and others all coming in for severe criticism for their individual culpabilities.
Kalyan, who has since joined Mulayam Singh Yadav, has also been criticised for dodging the inquiry panel.
As for Congress, the criticism is limited to the "inaction" of former PM P V Narasimha Rao who allegedly slept through the demolition.
A big section in the report, likely to be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session, is devoted to the role of Advani and his statements during the cross-examination. The report criticises him for his Rath Yatra and not keeping the saffron combine in control. Faizabad district officials have also been severely indicted for their role during the demolition.
Given the string of extensions to the commission, submission of the report came as a surprise. Naturally so, considering that half of India's T-20 squad was in primary school when Justice Liberhan was tasked with the probe.
Then again, Justice Liberhan has been consistently maintaining that he will take longer.
Not surprisingly, Justice Liberhan had to handle a barrage of questions on the delay. The retired chief justice of Madras and Andhra High Courts, however, defended himself, pointing to the stalling and obstructionist manoeuvres used to derail the probe. "I did not receive cooperation from few people," he said. Though he did not name names, the finding in the report about the delaying tactics of Kalyan and others can be taken to suggest that the reference could be to leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar.
Repeated efforts to draw him out on the issue did not succeed. "I do not want to comment," he said, though he remarked that he was feeling "relieved".
Under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, government has six months to share the findings of Justice Liberhan along with the action taken report (ATR) with Parliament. However, the tabling of the report in the two Houses will depend on how swiftly the government wants to act on the recommendations. In case conspiracy charge is to be probed further, government can ask CBI, already seized with the criminal case about demolition, to probe further.
With strong likelihood of Congress trying to derive mileage from the report, chances of the voluminous document being tabled in the coming session of Parliament are high. Elections in Maharashtra, due in September-October, may serve as another incentive for early tabling.
A public discussion on the Liberhan Commission Report (Ahmedabad, 2 July 2009)
DISCUSSION ON JUSTICE LIBERHAN REPORT
On- 2-7-09 ,Thursday At 6 PM.
Initiation- Mr. Dwarika Nath Rath
Place- Narmad -Meghani library, Natraj (Gandhigram)Railway Crossing,
Meethkhali, Ahmedabad
From - Movement for Secular Democracy(MSD)
On- 2-7-09 ,Thursday At 6 PM.
Initiation- Mr. Dwarika Nath Rath
Place- Narmad -Meghani library, Natraj (Gandhigram)Railway Crossing,
Meethkhali, Ahmedabad
From - Movement for Secular Democracy(MSD)
A G Noorani on the Crisis in the BJP
Frontline, July 04-17, 2009
Decline of the BJP
by A.G. Noorani
The party faces two distinct but related crises, organisational and existential.
VIJAY KUMAR JOSHI/PTI
Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh with the party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani (extreme right) during the launch of the BJP’s IT vision in New Delhi in March.
“When the members drop off, the main body cannot be insensible of its approaching dissolution. Even the violence of their proceedings is a signal of despair. Like broken tenants, who have had warning to quit the premises, they curse their landlord, destroy the fixtures, throw everything into confusion, and care not what mischief they do to the estate.”
EVERY word of Junius’ censure on the abrupt resignation from the Cabinet of the Duke of Grafton, delivered on February 14, 1770, applies to the political pornography that is the public feuding in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Not one of the performers has cared a jot for the party while staging the obscene drama in public, least of all the erstwhile Prime Minister-in-waiting Lal Krishna Advani and his ambitious protege Arun Jaitley whom he has tried to anoint as his successor. Advani, the ace manipulator and survivor, stands stripped of moral authority. So are his opponents.
In this fight for power, the honours between them are evenly divided. None of the excuses either side cites for the electoral defeat make sense. Criticism of a shrill style and advocacy of moderation come strangely from the shrillest of the lot, Arun Jaitley, who rasps bitter comments with oracular pauses and was the staunchest supporter of Narendra Modi in 2002 and since.
Where were Advani’s critics when he was mortgaging the BJP’s future for immediate gains? Did they not believe in Hindutva, which he has been propounding since 1989 and whose cause constituted the raison d’etre of the BJP ever since it was formed in 1980? Where was the concern for “the future” or for “moderation” when he went on a rath yatra in 1990 and was privy to the conspiracy to demolish the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, as two courts have found – the Special Judicial Magistrate Mahipal Sirohi on August 27, 1994, and the Additional Sessions Judge Jagdish Prasad Srivastava on September 9, 1997. The BJP’s defeat spared the country the humiliation of having as Prime Minister a man who faced grave criminal charges in the Sessions Court for over a decade but was able to avoid accountability to it. He would have been truly “the one and only L.K. Advani”, as a TV anchor gushingly hailed him.
The party faces two distinct but related crises, organisational and existential. The first has been brilliantly analysed by Neena Vyas. “For two or three decades, the party failed to put a younger leadership in place. That is now the source of great anxiety and also the cause of a lot of heartburn. Those in their sixties and seventies are now doomed to become the ‘lost generation’ like Hemingway’s characters in The Sun Also Rises….
“The change will almost certainly bypass those currently in their sixties and seventies. It is this fact perhaps that led veteran partyman Jaswant Singh to make common cause with colleagues Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha to attack the BJP general secretary and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley at the core committee meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday [June 10]…. Behind the counter-offensive lurks the fear that ‘youngsters’ in their fifties – the list includes Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and Venkaiah Naidu – will seize the reins of leadership, leaving the ‘lost generation’ out in the cold. This seems to have brought together Jaswant Singh (71), Yashwant Sinha (72) and Arun Shourie (67). Unless they stand, fight, and be counted now, they would meet the fate of Hemingway’s characters” (The Hindu, June 13, 2009).
The rebel’s ire is not at the lapses, grave as they were. It is at the defeat. It coupled the dimmed prospects of recovery with the race of time against their own prospects. They were more sanguine in 2004. Had the BJP won, all sins could have been forgiven once Advani began doling out the loaves and fishes of office. As Count Ciano, Italy’s Foreign Minister and son-in-law of Mussolini, wrote in his diary on September 9, 1942, “Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”
TWO VIEWS
Two views have emerged within the Sangh Parivar. One advocates a return to Hindutva. The other, its repackaging. The first comes from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) The second comes from the BJP’s ruling establishment and from sympathisers in the media and academia. Even some avowed secularists join in this cry. They would have the BJP emerge as a rightist conservative party with a soft Hindutva to coincide with their own soft secularism [emphasis added, throughout]. This is what distinguishes them from Nehru’s secularism. He gave battle to the Parivar. They find common ground with the BJP in rejection of Nehru’s secularism and his world view, generally.
In-house critics who accuse the BJP of “ideological confusion” betray their own confusion if not, indeed, intellectual dishonesty, when they advocate “a non-communal pro-Hindu organisation committed to the ideal of Hindu unity and renaissance”. It is an oxymoron. Both “Hindutva” and its synonym “cultural nationalism” are well defined in the Sangh Parivar’s texts.
M.S. Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts denounces “Territorial Nationalism” (Chapter X). Everyone born in India is not an Indian. He must embrace “Hindu culture”. That is a cultural nationalism, that is, “revert to the truth of our nationalism as an ancient fact and the Hindus being the national society of Bharat”. He lauded V.D. Savarkar’s essay Hindutva, condemned secularists and cited three “Internal Threats” – the Muslims, the Christians and the Communists (Chapter XII).
You can no more redefine Hindutva to make it acceptable to Muslims or redefine “cultural nationalism” to make it “inclusive” than you can define fascism to make it acceptable to democrats or racism to make it “inclusive”.
VIVEK BENDRE
Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a rally to commemorate the death anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, on June 23, 2004. In 1985, when the BJP took stock of its abject defeat and Vajpayee was asked whether it marked a return to the Jan Sangh, he countered, “When did we get away from Jan Sangh?”
Such pleas are dishonest, not simply ignorant. The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, edited by Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, can cure political illiteracy, not intellectual dishonesty (Oxford University Press; 606 pages, Rs.345. The Second Edition). Its co-editor, Alistair McMillan, Research Officer, Nuffield College, Oxford, defines Hindutva thus: “Translated as Hinduness, it refers to the ideology of Hindu nationalists, stressing the common culture of the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. The term originated in Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? (1923) by V.D. Savarkar (1883-1966), written whilst imprisoned by the British. Influenced by the Italian nationalist Mazzini, Savarkar stresses the need to preserve the cultural purity of the Hindu nation, and resist the incursion of alien practice. Modern politicians have attempted to play down the racial and anti-Muslim aspects of Hindutva, stressing the inclusiveness of the Indian identity, but the term has fascist undertones.”
Note the precision and the nuances. He refers to the correct meaning, the desperate attempts to play it down and to its clear “fascist undertones”. There is an even more authoritative definition. It is by the RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat in a speech at a training camp in Nagpur, reported by its organ Organiser (June 15). He said: “The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva. It is the bedrock of our national and social life. It connotes the way of life and encompasses all the faiths and languages in India…. Hindu and Hindutva represent the cultural heritage of every Indian irrespective of his way of worship, religious faith and language. Hindutva encompasses Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs in India because it is the national identity of all of us.”
Organiser adds: “Taking a dig at those who prefer ‘Bharatiya’ to ‘Hindu’, the RSS Sarsanghchalak said the ‘Hindu’ does not connote the mere geographical boundaries of India while Bharatiya has a mere geographical connotation and cannot define the cultural dimensions associated with the word ‘Hindu’.
“Giving historical proofs Shri Bhagwat said that those regions where the Hindu population was reduced to minority or converted to other faiths, got separated from India in the recent past. Loss of Hindutva is the main reason behind the recent problems of internal security, regionalism, separatism, etc. being faced by the country, he said.”
Two features deserve note. First, let alone Indian, even the term “Bharatiya” is rejected because of its “geographical connotation”. The cultural dimensions – that is, “cultural nationalism”, only the word “Hindu” can denote. Secondly, while asserting that Hindutva “encompasses” all communities, Bhagwat, like Deoras and other RSS leaders before him, defines the word Hindu in one and the same speech to mean the majority community – “the Hindu population was reduced to minority or converted to other faiths.”
It is on such deception that commitments to Hindutva rest. Bhagwat uttered a brazen falsehood when he said “our doors are open to all”. The RSS rejected appeals by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1977 and A.B. Vajpayee in 1979 to do precisely that.
POLITICAL COMPULSION
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
Advani on his Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra, which led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and inflicted a deep scar on the Indian psyche.
The fact that the falsehoods are uttered under political compulsion does not mitigate the offence. It only exposes the hypocrisy of the apologists. That the BJP cannot nurse its core ideological constituency and also expand its appeal at the same time was recognised by Advani at the very moment the BJP was founded. He bared the truth in an interview to none other than the RSS’ organ Panchjanya (Deepavali 1980). “Advani: No. I do not agree with it for in India a party based on ideology can at the most come to power in a small area. It cannot win the confidence of the entire country… neither the Communist Party nor the Jan Sangh in its original form.
Panchjanya: But by ignoring the ideological appeal will you be able to keep together the cadres on the basis of these ideals?
Advani: Effort is being made to make them understand. That is why I want the debate to go on. In this context, some people have criticised me although even during the Jan Sangh days I used to advocate these ideas. I have already said that the Jan Sangh was initially built as a party based on ideology, but slowly it departed from that course.
Panchjanya: The appeal increased to the extent the ideology got diluted. Wherever the ideology was strong, its appeal diminished.”
Contrast this with what Advani said on the eve of the Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra: “Ideologically, I am ranged against all political parties because of this issue. All political parties think alike.” The issue was clearly defined. It was not the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. It was a “crusade in defence of Hindutva and a crusade against pseudo-secularism.” Its goal is to break from the Nehru-Gandhi ethos and recast the polity.
It is an error to hold that Advani or the BJP has no core beliefs. Both have. But since they are not acceptable to a tolerant nation, dissimulation is necessary. In 1990, inebriated with momentary success, Advani fondly imagined that he would win the Hindu vote and acquire a majority which would enable him to acquire the Babri Masjid by legislation, without a court verdict. The idea has still not been abandoned. The 2009 manifesto pledged, “There is an overwhelming desire of the people in India and abroad to have a grand temple at the birth place of Sri Ram in Ayodhya. The BJP will explore all possibilities, including negotiations and judicial proceedings, to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.” The reference to “all possibilities”, apart from talks and litigation, is a giveaway.
INCONVENIENT SECULARISM
AFP
Mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief, delivering a speech in New Delhi on March 31. "The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva," he said at a training camp in Nagpur recently.
So confident of success in riding to power on the strength of the Hindu vote alone was Advani that he declared at Ayodhya on November, 19, 1990, that “henceforth only those who fight for Hindu interests would rule India”. Secularism was an inconvenience. He complained on October 2, 1990, that “secular policy is putting unreasonable restrictions on Hindu aspirations”. That is the Advani which some people wish he was not. But he very much is just that. Which is why, on the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence, he wrote for the party journal, not on a vision for India, but “A Four-Point Appeal to Muslims of India” (BJP Today, June 16, 1997). He is obsessed with Muslims. He demands that they should accept Hindu gods such as Ram and Krishna as “sources of our national culture” but is pained when they do not. That utterly illiberal document very much represents his “core beliefs”.
It did not work. Allies, lured by power, helped in 1998, only to drift apart later. It has been a monumental hoax. Sushma Swaraj exposed it when she said in Bhopal on April 14, 2000, that the Ram Janmabhoomi was “purely political in nature and had nothing to do with religion”.
It is foolish to expect the BJP to part company with the RSS. As Nehru said of its ancestor, the Jan Sangh, “it was the illegitimate child of the RSS” (The Hindu, January 6, 1952). In 1980, the Jan Sangh members of the Janata Party had a clear choice when faced with criticism from its colleagues on the RSS issue. On August 7, 1979, George Fernandes alleged “a well-organised and smartly orchestrated exercise mounted by the RSS-Jan Sangh forces for the total takeover of the Janata Party”. In an obvious reference to Vajpayee and Advani, he wrote: “The carefully cultivated self-abnegation postures of some RSS-Jan Sangh leaders were but a flimsy facade for the power grabbing….” A little over a decade later, he became their staunch ally.
The Jan Sanghis could have either revived the party or emerged with a new ideology. They practised deception instead, they stole the Janata Party’s name to cover up a revived Jan Sangh. Vajpayee said in an interview in August 1980 that the BJP was different from the BJS “in many ways…. Having tasted power once, we realised that unless we became a party of the national mainstream and enjoyed support from all sections, we could not become a national alternative.”
In 1985, when the BJP took stock of its abject defeat and Vajpayee was asked whether it marked a return to the Jan Sangh, he countered, “When did we get away from Jan Sangh?” On November 6, 1977, however, he had said exactly the opposite. “When we joined the Janata Party we had given up our old beliefs and faiths and there was no question of going back.” No less revealing was his remark, on July 22, 1985, that “we wanted to assert our views in the [Janata] government but the government broke up too soon. Had we been in power for some more time we would have imparted a new thinking to India’s politics.”
The Jan Sangh was set up in 1951 under a pact between Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, a Hindu Mahasabhaite and follower of Savarkar, and Golwalkar. The RSS would provide the cadre. The Jan Sangh would be the political front.
This is the BJP’s raison d’etre. Why was the Jan Sangh set up in 1951 at all? The Congress continued as a political party after Independence. So did the CPI. The Socialists broke away from the Congress in 1948. The Swatantra Party was set up in 1959 as a conservative party, but a secular one. Regional parties sprang up to voice regional demands. The Jan Sangh was set up in 1951 to pursue the communal policies of the RSS. The BJP was formed in 1980 to continue that line.
Two presidents of the Jan Sangh – Mauli Chandra Sharma and Balraj Madhok – were booted out by the RSS which also showed the door to one president – so far – of the BJP, Advani. Speaking to an RSS gathering in Coimbatore in 1990, Advani said: “While in the case of the BJS the linkage (with the RSS) was only ideological, in the case of the BJP the linkage is both ideological and historical. He asked his audience to realise that ‘the BJP which you described as a good party is good only because of its associations with the RSS’” (The Telegraph, May 17, 1990).
It is vain to expect men who have lived in bondage to the RSS to reject its overlordship. A.V. Dicey’s remarks on internal limitations are apt: “People sometimes ask the idle question why the Pope does not introduce this or that reform? The true answer is that a revolutionist is not the kind of man who becomes a Pope, and that the man who becomes a Pope has no wish to be a revolutionist. Louis the Fourteenth could not in all probability have established Protestantism as the national religion of France, but to imagine Louis the Fourteenth as wishing to carry out a Protestant reformation is nothing short of imagining him to have been a being quite unlike the Grand Monarque.”
Not surprisingly, on June 1, Advani, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Arun Shourie and Sushma Swaraj repaired to Keshav Kunj, the RSS headquarters in New Delhi, to meet its supremo Mohan Bhagwat. On June 14, after the civil war had broken out, the RSS ideologue M.G. Vaidya warned: “If the BJP gives up Hindutva, it will automatically snap its umbilical cord with the Sangh” – and lose its cadre’s support.
That is where lies and deception have brought the BJP. The Hindu youth has no taste for the RSS’ mumbo jumbo – that Homer adapted Valmiki’s Ramayana for his Iliad, Jesus Christ drew his ideas from Hinduism, and so on. These historical discoveries and many more such figure in textbooks taught in RSS-run schools (The Telegraph, November 18, 2000). The RSS’ attacks on the decadent culture of the West and such hold no appeal for the young. It is proud to be Indian and its sights are set on national progress.
The BJP can neither break from the RSS nor grow up to acquire a national appeal. It can only exploit certain issues to acquire temporary political mileage. In the days ahead both crises will become acute and impart rancour – the organisational as well as the existential crises. At the national executive on June 20 and 21, Advani astutely allowed the critics to blow off the accumulated steam and established his control. It remains to be seen whether the rebels will acquiesce in the manipulation if he offers them some sops to keep quiet.
Decline of the BJP
by A.G. Noorani
The party faces two distinct but related crises, organisational and existential.
VIJAY KUMAR JOSHI/PTI
Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh with the party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani (extreme right) during the launch of the BJP’s IT vision in New Delhi in March.
“When the members drop off, the main body cannot be insensible of its approaching dissolution. Even the violence of their proceedings is a signal of despair. Like broken tenants, who have had warning to quit the premises, they curse their landlord, destroy the fixtures, throw everything into confusion, and care not what mischief they do to the estate.”
EVERY word of Junius’ censure on the abrupt resignation from the Cabinet of the Duke of Grafton, delivered on February 14, 1770, applies to the political pornography that is the public feuding in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Not one of the performers has cared a jot for the party while staging the obscene drama in public, least of all the erstwhile Prime Minister-in-waiting Lal Krishna Advani and his ambitious protege Arun Jaitley whom he has tried to anoint as his successor. Advani, the ace manipulator and survivor, stands stripped of moral authority. So are his opponents.
In this fight for power, the honours between them are evenly divided. None of the excuses either side cites for the electoral defeat make sense. Criticism of a shrill style and advocacy of moderation come strangely from the shrillest of the lot, Arun Jaitley, who rasps bitter comments with oracular pauses and was the staunchest supporter of Narendra Modi in 2002 and since.
Where were Advani’s critics when he was mortgaging the BJP’s future for immediate gains? Did they not believe in Hindutva, which he has been propounding since 1989 and whose cause constituted the raison d’etre of the BJP ever since it was formed in 1980? Where was the concern for “the future” or for “moderation” when he went on a rath yatra in 1990 and was privy to the conspiracy to demolish the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, as two courts have found – the Special Judicial Magistrate Mahipal Sirohi on August 27, 1994, and the Additional Sessions Judge Jagdish Prasad Srivastava on September 9, 1997. The BJP’s defeat spared the country the humiliation of having as Prime Minister a man who faced grave criminal charges in the Sessions Court for over a decade but was able to avoid accountability to it. He would have been truly “the one and only L.K. Advani”, as a TV anchor gushingly hailed him.
The party faces two distinct but related crises, organisational and existential. The first has been brilliantly analysed by Neena Vyas. “For two or three decades, the party failed to put a younger leadership in place. That is now the source of great anxiety and also the cause of a lot of heartburn. Those in their sixties and seventies are now doomed to become the ‘lost generation’ like Hemingway’s characters in The Sun Also Rises….
“The change will almost certainly bypass those currently in their sixties and seventies. It is this fact perhaps that led veteran partyman Jaswant Singh to make common cause with colleagues Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha to attack the BJP general secretary and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley at the core committee meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday [June 10]…. Behind the counter-offensive lurks the fear that ‘youngsters’ in their fifties – the list includes Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and Venkaiah Naidu – will seize the reins of leadership, leaving the ‘lost generation’ out in the cold. This seems to have brought together Jaswant Singh (71), Yashwant Sinha (72) and Arun Shourie (67). Unless they stand, fight, and be counted now, they would meet the fate of Hemingway’s characters” (The Hindu, June 13, 2009).
The rebel’s ire is not at the lapses, grave as they were. It is at the defeat. It coupled the dimmed prospects of recovery with the race of time against their own prospects. They were more sanguine in 2004. Had the BJP won, all sins could have been forgiven once Advani began doling out the loaves and fishes of office. As Count Ciano, Italy’s Foreign Minister and son-in-law of Mussolini, wrote in his diary on September 9, 1942, “Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”
TWO VIEWS
Two views have emerged within the Sangh Parivar. One advocates a return to Hindutva. The other, its repackaging. The first comes from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) The second comes from the BJP’s ruling establishment and from sympathisers in the media and academia. Even some avowed secularists join in this cry. They would have the BJP emerge as a rightist conservative party with a soft Hindutva to coincide with their own soft secularism [emphasis added, throughout]. This is what distinguishes them from Nehru’s secularism. He gave battle to the Parivar. They find common ground with the BJP in rejection of Nehru’s secularism and his world view, generally.
In-house critics who accuse the BJP of “ideological confusion” betray their own confusion if not, indeed, intellectual dishonesty, when they advocate “a non-communal pro-Hindu organisation committed to the ideal of Hindu unity and renaissance”. It is an oxymoron. Both “Hindutva” and its synonym “cultural nationalism” are well defined in the Sangh Parivar’s texts.
M.S. Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts denounces “Territorial Nationalism” (Chapter X). Everyone born in India is not an Indian. He must embrace “Hindu culture”. That is a cultural nationalism, that is, “revert to the truth of our nationalism as an ancient fact and the Hindus being the national society of Bharat”. He lauded V.D. Savarkar’s essay Hindutva, condemned secularists and cited three “Internal Threats” – the Muslims, the Christians and the Communists (Chapter XII).
You can no more redefine Hindutva to make it acceptable to Muslims or redefine “cultural nationalism” to make it “inclusive” than you can define fascism to make it acceptable to democrats or racism to make it “inclusive”.
VIVEK BENDRE
Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a rally to commemorate the death anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, on June 23, 2004. In 1985, when the BJP took stock of its abject defeat and Vajpayee was asked whether it marked a return to the Jan Sangh, he countered, “When did we get away from Jan Sangh?”
Such pleas are dishonest, not simply ignorant. The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, edited by Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, can cure political illiteracy, not intellectual dishonesty (Oxford University Press; 606 pages, Rs.345. The Second Edition). Its co-editor, Alistair McMillan, Research Officer, Nuffield College, Oxford, defines Hindutva thus: “Translated as Hinduness, it refers to the ideology of Hindu nationalists, stressing the common culture of the inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. The term originated in Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? (1923) by V.D. Savarkar (1883-1966), written whilst imprisoned by the British. Influenced by the Italian nationalist Mazzini, Savarkar stresses the need to preserve the cultural purity of the Hindu nation, and resist the incursion of alien practice. Modern politicians have attempted to play down the racial and anti-Muslim aspects of Hindutva, stressing the inclusiveness of the Indian identity, but the term has fascist undertones.”
Note the precision and the nuances. He refers to the correct meaning, the desperate attempts to play it down and to its clear “fascist undertones”. There is an even more authoritative definition. It is by the RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat in a speech at a training camp in Nagpur, reported by its organ Organiser (June 15). He said: “The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva. It is the bedrock of our national and social life. It connotes the way of life and encompasses all the faiths and languages in India…. Hindu and Hindutva represent the cultural heritage of every Indian irrespective of his way of worship, religious faith and language. Hindutva encompasses Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs in India because it is the national identity of all of us.”
Organiser adds: “Taking a dig at those who prefer ‘Bharatiya’ to ‘Hindu’, the RSS Sarsanghchalak said the ‘Hindu’ does not connote the mere geographical boundaries of India while Bharatiya has a mere geographical connotation and cannot define the cultural dimensions associated with the word ‘Hindu’.
“Giving historical proofs Shri Bhagwat said that those regions where the Hindu population was reduced to minority or converted to other faiths, got separated from India in the recent past. Loss of Hindutva is the main reason behind the recent problems of internal security, regionalism, separatism, etc. being faced by the country, he said.”
Two features deserve note. First, let alone Indian, even the term “Bharatiya” is rejected because of its “geographical connotation”. The cultural dimensions – that is, “cultural nationalism”, only the word “Hindu” can denote. Secondly, while asserting that Hindutva “encompasses” all communities, Bhagwat, like Deoras and other RSS leaders before him, defines the word Hindu in one and the same speech to mean the majority community – “the Hindu population was reduced to minority or converted to other faiths.”
It is on such deception that commitments to Hindutva rest. Bhagwat uttered a brazen falsehood when he said “our doors are open to all”. The RSS rejected appeals by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1977 and A.B. Vajpayee in 1979 to do precisely that.
POLITICAL COMPULSION
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
Advani on his Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra, which led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and inflicted a deep scar on the Indian psyche.
The fact that the falsehoods are uttered under political compulsion does not mitigate the offence. It only exposes the hypocrisy of the apologists. That the BJP cannot nurse its core ideological constituency and also expand its appeal at the same time was recognised by Advani at the very moment the BJP was founded. He bared the truth in an interview to none other than the RSS’ organ Panchjanya (Deepavali 1980). “Advani: No. I do not agree with it for in India a party based on ideology can at the most come to power in a small area. It cannot win the confidence of the entire country… neither the Communist Party nor the Jan Sangh in its original form.
Panchjanya: But by ignoring the ideological appeal will you be able to keep together the cadres on the basis of these ideals?
Advani: Effort is being made to make them understand. That is why I want the debate to go on. In this context, some people have criticised me although even during the Jan Sangh days I used to advocate these ideas. I have already said that the Jan Sangh was initially built as a party based on ideology, but slowly it departed from that course.
Panchjanya: The appeal increased to the extent the ideology got diluted. Wherever the ideology was strong, its appeal diminished.”
Contrast this with what Advani said on the eve of the Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra: “Ideologically, I am ranged against all political parties because of this issue. All political parties think alike.” The issue was clearly defined. It was not the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. It was a “crusade in defence of Hindutva and a crusade against pseudo-secularism.” Its goal is to break from the Nehru-Gandhi ethos and recast the polity.
It is an error to hold that Advani or the BJP has no core beliefs. Both have. But since they are not acceptable to a tolerant nation, dissimulation is necessary. In 1990, inebriated with momentary success, Advani fondly imagined that he would win the Hindu vote and acquire a majority which would enable him to acquire the Babri Masjid by legislation, without a court verdict. The idea has still not been abandoned. The 2009 manifesto pledged, “There is an overwhelming desire of the people in India and abroad to have a grand temple at the birth place of Sri Ram in Ayodhya. The BJP will explore all possibilities, including negotiations and judicial proceedings, to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.” The reference to “all possibilities”, apart from talks and litigation, is a giveaway.
INCONVENIENT SECULARISM
AFP
Mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief, delivering a speech in New Delhi on March 31. "The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva," he said at a training camp in Nagpur recently.
So confident of success in riding to power on the strength of the Hindu vote alone was Advani that he declared at Ayodhya on November, 19, 1990, that “henceforth only those who fight for Hindu interests would rule India”. Secularism was an inconvenience. He complained on October 2, 1990, that “secular policy is putting unreasonable restrictions on Hindu aspirations”. That is the Advani which some people wish he was not. But he very much is just that. Which is why, on the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence, he wrote for the party journal, not on a vision for India, but “A Four-Point Appeal to Muslims of India” (BJP Today, June 16, 1997). He is obsessed with Muslims. He demands that they should accept Hindu gods such as Ram and Krishna as “sources of our national culture” but is pained when they do not. That utterly illiberal document very much represents his “core beliefs”.
It did not work. Allies, lured by power, helped in 1998, only to drift apart later. It has been a monumental hoax. Sushma Swaraj exposed it when she said in Bhopal on April 14, 2000, that the Ram Janmabhoomi was “purely political in nature and had nothing to do with religion”.
It is foolish to expect the BJP to part company with the RSS. As Nehru said of its ancestor, the Jan Sangh, “it was the illegitimate child of the RSS” (The Hindu, January 6, 1952). In 1980, the Jan Sangh members of the Janata Party had a clear choice when faced with criticism from its colleagues on the RSS issue. On August 7, 1979, George Fernandes alleged “a well-organised and smartly orchestrated exercise mounted by the RSS-Jan Sangh forces for the total takeover of the Janata Party”. In an obvious reference to Vajpayee and Advani, he wrote: “The carefully cultivated self-abnegation postures of some RSS-Jan Sangh leaders were but a flimsy facade for the power grabbing….” A little over a decade later, he became their staunch ally.
The Jan Sanghis could have either revived the party or emerged with a new ideology. They practised deception instead, they stole the Janata Party’s name to cover up a revived Jan Sangh. Vajpayee said in an interview in August 1980 that the BJP was different from the BJS “in many ways…. Having tasted power once, we realised that unless we became a party of the national mainstream and enjoyed support from all sections, we could not become a national alternative.”
In 1985, when the BJP took stock of its abject defeat and Vajpayee was asked whether it marked a return to the Jan Sangh, he countered, “When did we get away from Jan Sangh?” On November 6, 1977, however, he had said exactly the opposite. “When we joined the Janata Party we had given up our old beliefs and faiths and there was no question of going back.” No less revealing was his remark, on July 22, 1985, that “we wanted to assert our views in the [Janata] government but the government broke up too soon. Had we been in power for some more time we would have imparted a new thinking to India’s politics.”
The Jan Sangh was set up in 1951 under a pact between Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, a Hindu Mahasabhaite and follower of Savarkar, and Golwalkar. The RSS would provide the cadre. The Jan Sangh would be the political front.
This is the BJP’s raison d’etre. Why was the Jan Sangh set up in 1951 at all? The Congress continued as a political party after Independence. So did the CPI. The Socialists broke away from the Congress in 1948. The Swatantra Party was set up in 1959 as a conservative party, but a secular one. Regional parties sprang up to voice regional demands. The Jan Sangh was set up in 1951 to pursue the communal policies of the RSS. The BJP was formed in 1980 to continue that line.
Two presidents of the Jan Sangh – Mauli Chandra Sharma and Balraj Madhok – were booted out by the RSS which also showed the door to one president – so far – of the BJP, Advani. Speaking to an RSS gathering in Coimbatore in 1990, Advani said: “While in the case of the BJS the linkage (with the RSS) was only ideological, in the case of the BJP the linkage is both ideological and historical. He asked his audience to realise that ‘the BJP which you described as a good party is good only because of its associations with the RSS’” (The Telegraph, May 17, 1990).
It is vain to expect men who have lived in bondage to the RSS to reject its overlordship. A.V. Dicey’s remarks on internal limitations are apt: “People sometimes ask the idle question why the Pope does not introduce this or that reform? The true answer is that a revolutionist is not the kind of man who becomes a Pope, and that the man who becomes a Pope has no wish to be a revolutionist. Louis the Fourteenth could not in all probability have established Protestantism as the national religion of France, but to imagine Louis the Fourteenth as wishing to carry out a Protestant reformation is nothing short of imagining him to have been a being quite unlike the Grand Monarque.”
Not surprisingly, on June 1, Advani, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Arun Shourie and Sushma Swaraj repaired to Keshav Kunj, the RSS headquarters in New Delhi, to meet its supremo Mohan Bhagwat. On June 14, after the civil war had broken out, the RSS ideologue M.G. Vaidya warned: “If the BJP gives up Hindutva, it will automatically snap its umbilical cord with the Sangh” – and lose its cadre’s support.
That is where lies and deception have brought the BJP. The Hindu youth has no taste for the RSS’ mumbo jumbo – that Homer adapted Valmiki’s Ramayana for his Iliad, Jesus Christ drew his ideas from Hinduism, and so on. These historical discoveries and many more such figure in textbooks taught in RSS-run schools (The Telegraph, November 18, 2000). The RSS’ attacks on the decadent culture of the West and such hold no appeal for the young. It is proud to be Indian and its sights are set on national progress.
The BJP can neither break from the RSS nor grow up to acquire a national appeal. It can only exploit certain issues to acquire temporary political mileage. In the days ahead both crises will become acute and impart rancour – the organisational as well as the existential crises. At the national executive on June 20 and 21, Advani astutely allowed the critics to blow off the accumulated steam and established his control. It remains to be seen whether the rebels will acquiesce in the manipulation if he offers them some sops to keep quiet.
June 30, 2009
Govt. should not give in to religious organisations and decriminsalise homosexuality
The Telegraph
June 30 , 2009
Govt soft-pedals on gay law change
Our Special Correspondent
Participants at a gay parade in Delhi
New Delhi, June 29: Vocal opposition from religious minority groups and consequent fears of a political backlash have forced the government into cautious — and hasty — retreat on removing the “illegal” tag from homosexuality.
Within 48 hours of indicating a bold move to amend section 377 and give gay people the right to profess their brand of sexuality, the Centre sent out clear signals it was backtracking.
While Union law minister Veerappa Moily claimed he had been “misquoted” as saying the government was planning to legalise homosexuality, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke of the need for “debate and consensus” on the issue before any move. This is a sure way of putting amendments to section 377 in the cold storage as consensus appears unlikely.
On the heels of objections from the Catholic Church yesterday, an influential Islamic seminary spoke out strongly against lifting the ban on homosexuality, saying “unnatural sex” was against the tenets of Islam.
“Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat law and haram (prohibited) in Islam,” Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi, deputy vice-chancellor of the Darul Uloom of Deoband said. Madrasi also asked the government not to repeal IPC Section 377 which criminalises homosexuality.
Terming gay activities as crime, Maulana Salim Kasmi, vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, said homosexuality was punishable under Islamic law and Section 377 should not be tampered with. Other prominent spokespersons for Islamic organisations too have strongly opposed any changes.
The law, home and health ministries are expected to meet soon to discuss the issue.
“We need more debate on the positives and the negatives... and there can’t be a better forum than Parliament,” Azad said. “We need a broad consensus within the government and [other] political parties. I don’t think my personal or anyone else’s personal thinking on this should prevail.”
Asked about his personal views on the issue, Azad said: “I don’t come in that category.”
The debate on Section 377 has simmered in India since the early-1990s but has intensified in recent years with health experts arguing it obstructs action to prevent the spread of HIV infection among men who have sex with men. Non-government agencies have also been calling for a change in the law saying it is used by police to harass individuals for their sexual orientation.
Azad said the debate on the proposal to repeal the law would be multifaceted. Some might link the issue with culture, while others may point out its implications for infections or the potential of the existing law to induce harassment. “We need a debate... and then a broad consensus.”
But lawyers who have campaigned for the repeal of Section 377 said history suggests that a majority view or consensus may not be easy to obtain on progressive laws.
“When Raja Rammohun Roy opposed sati and advocated widow remarriage in the early 19th century, there was massive opposition to it — specially from upper-caste Hindus,” said Leena Menghaney, a civil rights lawyer in New Delhi. “In every era, there are unpopular reforms to be made.”
o o o
Gay sex against tenets of Islam: Deoband
29 Jun 2009, 1353 hrs IST, PTI
MUZAFFARNAGAR, UP: A leading Islamic seminary on Monday opposed Centre's move to repeal a controversial section of the penal law which
criminalises homosexuality saying unnatural sex is against the tenets of Islam.
"Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat Law and haram (prohibited) in Islam," deputy vice chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi said.
Madrasi also asked the government not to repeal section 377 of IPC which criminalises homosexuality.
His objection came a day after law minister Veerappa Moily said a decision on repealing the section would be taken only after considering concerns of all sections of the society, including religious groups like the church.
Terming gay activities as crime, Maulana Salim Kasmi, vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said homosexuality is punishable under Islamic law and section 377 of IPC should not be tampered.
Maulana Mohd Sufiyan Kasmi, an AIMPLB member, and Mufti Zulfikar, president of Uttar Pradesh Imam Organisation have also expressed similar views on the issue.
Kasmi said it would be harmful for the society to legalise gay sex.
Buoyed by the news that the Centre is considering repealing the controversial section of the IPC, members of the gay community on Sunday held parades in several cities.
http://tinyurl.com/kqulab
o o o
The Telegraph
June 29 , 2009
Religious disquiet on gay law
Our Bureau
A participant at the Delhi parade.
(Prem Singh)
New Delhi, July 28: An attempt to decriminalise homosexuality has set up for the UPA government a sensitive test reminiscent of the Shah Bano case.
Some religion-driven organisations have opposed the government’s effort to build a consensus on repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal code, which makes punishable “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.
The government initiative for a meeting of its three relevant ministries to scrap or modify the section has rekindled hope among gay activists and liberal opinion-makers.
But two Muslim outfits — the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind and the Jamaat Islami — and the VHP have categorically opposed any change in the law.
A Christian organisation — the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) — restated the Church’s objections but suggested that it was not against the repeal as such. The CBCI does not want homosexuality to be treated as a criminal offence but it will oppose measures, such as gay marriages, intended at “legalising” same-sex relationships.
Law minister M. Veerappa Moily and home minister P. Chidambaram are said to be in favour of repealing the 1860 law. Moily today said the concerns of all sections, including religious groups, would be taken into account before the final decision.
He said the department of law, home and health would soon meet on the issue but did not commit a date. Sources said health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from Kashmir, had not yet articulated his position. “He may want to gauge the mood in the Valley,” a Congress source said.
“Section 377 makes no sense,” said Ponni Arasu, a law student and organiser of the Gay Pride March in Delhi today. “You cannot deny people their basic civil rights.”
The younger section in the Congress appears to favour what one leader called “a liberal step in the right direction”.
But a veteran associated with minority affairs in the Congress said: “This cannot be a black-and-white decision. The party will have to discuss the issue in detail.”
Government sources stressed no decision had been taken to repeal the section that is also invoked to fight child abuse. The government could suggest modifications that will prevent harassment of homosexuals and squeeze in some clauses aimed at addressing the concerns of religious groups.
For the Congress, the controversy has brought back memories of the Shah Bano case. In 1986, the Rajiv Gandhi government, under pressure from Muslim organisations, had nullified a Supreme Court order awarding maintenance to the divorced woman.
The homosexuality debate comes at a time the Congress feels it has won back the support of minorities. The UPA government also takes care to project a minority-sensitive face.
o o o
Hindustan Times
June 29, 2009
Long march to real rights
Don’t be fooled by Sunday’s gay parades in India’s major metros. There is still a social stigma against sexual minorities in our country and the law is there to firm up this taboo. Add to this Law Minister Veerappa Moily’s remarks that the Cabinet would be ‘re-looking’ at Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which penalises “voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, and the picture emerging in 21st century India is not exactly encouraging. The law states that even consensual anal or oral sex between two people — regardless of gender — is punishable by a fine and up to ten years imprisonment. That the government intends to take into account the concerns of all sections of society, including religious groups, suggests that it will be a good long time before this retrograde law is repealed.
A common argument against doing away with this law is that this would enable paedophiles to prey on young children, especially boys. This makes little sense. The protection of all children from sexual abuse cannot come within the ambit of an omnibus law that also governs adults. There has to a comprehensive law dealing with child abuse that includes issues like incest and domestic sexual violence. The existence of this law has driven the majority of the gay community underground. This means that, by and large, they do not have access to either information or healthcare when it comes to safe sex. As it stands, the law has been used to harass gays, transgender people and eunuchs. They are often targeted by the police who take advantage of the law being weighted against them.
Powerful religious organisations have already made it clear that they would oppose any move to dilute or repeal this law. Resistance to changing this law is evident from the fact that not much has moved from the time it was first challenged in the courts in 1994. Issues of sexuality are still very much taboo in India though we pride ourselves on having traditionally been an open society. Arguments that any discrimination on grounds of sexuality amounts to a violation of a person’s fundamental rights have not cut much ice with those opposing it. All governments have been wary of grasping this nettle and the current one seems to be no exception. Many other countries have moved ahead to the extent of openly gay people holding high office. In India, a beginning would be made if, for starters, legal discrimination was done away with.
June 30 , 2009
Govt soft-pedals on gay law change
Our Special Correspondent
Participants at a gay parade in Delhi
New Delhi, June 29: Vocal opposition from religious minority groups and consequent fears of a political backlash have forced the government into cautious — and hasty — retreat on removing the “illegal” tag from homosexuality.
Within 48 hours of indicating a bold move to amend section 377 and give gay people the right to profess their brand of sexuality, the Centre sent out clear signals it was backtracking.
While Union law minister Veerappa Moily claimed he had been “misquoted” as saying the government was planning to legalise homosexuality, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke of the need for “debate and consensus” on the issue before any move. This is a sure way of putting amendments to section 377 in the cold storage as consensus appears unlikely.
On the heels of objections from the Catholic Church yesterday, an influential Islamic seminary spoke out strongly against lifting the ban on homosexuality, saying “unnatural sex” was against the tenets of Islam.
“Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat law and haram (prohibited) in Islam,” Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi, deputy vice-chancellor of the Darul Uloom of Deoband said. Madrasi also asked the government not to repeal IPC Section 377 which criminalises homosexuality.
Terming gay activities as crime, Maulana Salim Kasmi, vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, said homosexuality was punishable under Islamic law and Section 377 should not be tampered with. Other prominent spokespersons for Islamic organisations too have strongly opposed any changes.
The law, home and health ministries are expected to meet soon to discuss the issue.
“We need more debate on the positives and the negatives... and there can’t be a better forum than Parliament,” Azad said. “We need a broad consensus within the government and [other] political parties. I don’t think my personal or anyone else’s personal thinking on this should prevail.”
Asked about his personal views on the issue, Azad said: “I don’t come in that category.”
The debate on Section 377 has simmered in India since the early-1990s but has intensified in recent years with health experts arguing it obstructs action to prevent the spread of HIV infection among men who have sex with men. Non-government agencies have also been calling for a change in the law saying it is used by police to harass individuals for their sexual orientation.
Azad said the debate on the proposal to repeal the law would be multifaceted. Some might link the issue with culture, while others may point out its implications for infections or the potential of the existing law to induce harassment. “We need a debate... and then a broad consensus.”
But lawyers who have campaigned for the repeal of Section 377 said history suggests that a majority view or consensus may not be easy to obtain on progressive laws.
“When Raja Rammohun Roy opposed sati and advocated widow remarriage in the early 19th century, there was massive opposition to it — specially from upper-caste Hindus,” said Leena Menghaney, a civil rights lawyer in New Delhi. “In every era, there are unpopular reforms to be made.”
o o o
Gay sex against tenets of Islam: Deoband
29 Jun 2009, 1353 hrs IST, PTI
MUZAFFARNAGAR, UP: A leading Islamic seminary on Monday opposed Centre's move to repeal a controversial section of the penal law which
criminalises homosexuality saying unnatural sex is against the tenets of Islam.
"Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat Law and haram (prohibited) in Islam," deputy vice chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi said.
Madrasi also asked the government not to repeal section 377 of IPC which criminalises homosexuality.
His objection came a day after law minister Veerappa Moily said a decision on repealing the section would be taken only after considering concerns of all sections of the society, including religious groups like the church.
Terming gay activities as crime, Maulana Salim Kasmi, vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said homosexuality is punishable under Islamic law and section 377 of IPC should not be tampered.
Maulana Mohd Sufiyan Kasmi, an AIMPLB member, and Mufti Zulfikar, president of Uttar Pradesh Imam Organisation have also expressed similar views on the issue.
Kasmi said it would be harmful for the society to legalise gay sex.
Buoyed by the news that the Centre is considering repealing the controversial section of the IPC, members of the gay community on Sunday held parades in several cities.
http://tinyurl.com/kqulab
o o o
The Telegraph
June 29 , 2009
Religious disquiet on gay law
Our Bureau
A participant at the Delhi parade.
(Prem Singh)
New Delhi, July 28: An attempt to decriminalise homosexuality has set up for the UPA government a sensitive test reminiscent of the Shah Bano case.
Some religion-driven organisations have opposed the government’s effort to build a consensus on repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal code, which makes punishable “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.
The government initiative for a meeting of its three relevant ministries to scrap or modify the section has rekindled hope among gay activists and liberal opinion-makers.
But two Muslim outfits — the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind and the Jamaat Islami — and the VHP have categorically opposed any change in the law.
A Christian organisation — the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) — restated the Church’s objections but suggested that it was not against the repeal as such. The CBCI does not want homosexuality to be treated as a criminal offence but it will oppose measures, such as gay marriages, intended at “legalising” same-sex relationships.
Law minister M. Veerappa Moily and home minister P. Chidambaram are said to be in favour of repealing the 1860 law. Moily today said the concerns of all sections, including religious groups, would be taken into account before the final decision.
He said the department of law, home and health would soon meet on the issue but did not commit a date. Sources said health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from Kashmir, had not yet articulated his position. “He may want to gauge the mood in the Valley,” a Congress source said.
“Section 377 makes no sense,” said Ponni Arasu, a law student and organiser of the Gay Pride March in Delhi today. “You cannot deny people their basic civil rights.”
The younger section in the Congress appears to favour what one leader called “a liberal step in the right direction”.
But a veteran associated with minority affairs in the Congress said: “This cannot be a black-and-white decision. The party will have to discuss the issue in detail.”
Government sources stressed no decision had been taken to repeal the section that is also invoked to fight child abuse. The government could suggest modifications that will prevent harassment of homosexuals and squeeze in some clauses aimed at addressing the concerns of religious groups.
For the Congress, the controversy has brought back memories of the Shah Bano case. In 1986, the Rajiv Gandhi government, under pressure from Muslim organisations, had nullified a Supreme Court order awarding maintenance to the divorced woman.
The homosexuality debate comes at a time the Congress feels it has won back the support of minorities. The UPA government also takes care to project a minority-sensitive face.
o o o
Hindustan Times
June 29, 2009
Long march to real rights
Don’t be fooled by Sunday’s gay parades in India’s major metros. There is still a social stigma against sexual minorities in our country and the law is there to firm up this taboo. Add to this Law Minister Veerappa Moily’s remarks that the Cabinet would be ‘re-looking’ at Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which penalises “voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, and the picture emerging in 21st century India is not exactly encouraging. The law states that even consensual anal or oral sex between two people — regardless of gender — is punishable by a fine and up to ten years imprisonment. That the government intends to take into account the concerns of all sections of society, including religious groups, suggests that it will be a good long time before this retrograde law is repealed.
A common argument against doing away with this law is that this would enable paedophiles to prey on young children, especially boys. This makes little sense. The protection of all children from sexual abuse cannot come within the ambit of an omnibus law that also governs adults. There has to a comprehensive law dealing with child abuse that includes issues like incest and domestic sexual violence. The existence of this law has driven the majority of the gay community underground. This means that, by and large, they do not have access to either information or healthcare when it comes to safe sex. As it stands, the law has been used to harass gays, transgender people and eunuchs. They are often targeted by the police who take advantage of the law being weighted against them.
Powerful religious organisations have already made it clear that they would oppose any move to dilute or repeal this law. Resistance to changing this law is evident from the fact that not much has moved from the time it was first challenged in the courts in 1994. Issues of sexuality are still very much taboo in India though we pride ourselves on having traditionally been an open society. Arguments that any discrimination on grounds of sexuality amounts to a violation of a person’s fundamental rights have not cut much ice with those opposing it. All governments have been wary of grasping this nettle and the current one seems to be no exception. Many other countries have moved ahead to the extent of openly gay people holding high office. In India, a beginning would be made if, for starters, legal discrimination was done away with.
Update on The Communal Situation In Rohini, Delhi
From: Subhas Gatade
(The below update follows the article at: http://www.sacw.net/article980.html)
This is to give you an update on the communal situation in Rohini (the area in NorthWest Delhi) Sector 16 which saw sudden flaring up of tension last week. As can be expected the Hindutva forces are playing a very mischievous and criminal role to aggravate the situation. The building of a new mosque in this area, on a piece of land alloted by the Delhi Development Authority, has given them a pretext to polarise the population.
Last friday (26 th June 2009) these communal elements had mobilised hundreds of people to stop people from offering Namaz at the mosque. If police would not have been there, things could have taken a turn for the worst.
Some of us who happen to live in this area had organised a meeting of citizens groups, social-political organisations to decide our strategy (27 th June). It was decided to organise a signature campaign and also submit a memorandum to the higher authorities. Today a eight member delegation of these organisations met concerned officials and conveyed to them our concern.
The memorandum submitted to them emphasised three things :
- A significant section of the local population does not support such attempts to create new divisions in the society
- It is expected that the administration would play a proactive role to ensure constitutionally guaranteed right to faith and would also take steps to remove the feeling of terror in the minority community.
- The administration would make extra efforts to nab the real 'ringleaders' of this agitation.
A few friends have talked to the media but as of now the matter is severly underreported.
Coming Friday is crucial. It would reveal the level of preparations of these fanatic elements.We will have to monitor the situation closely.
(The below update follows the article at: http://www.sacw.net/article980.html)
This is to give you an update on the communal situation in Rohini (the area in NorthWest Delhi) Sector 16 which saw sudden flaring up of tension last week. As can be expected the Hindutva forces are playing a very mischievous and criminal role to aggravate the situation. The building of a new mosque in this area, on a piece of land alloted by the Delhi Development Authority, has given them a pretext to polarise the population.
Last friday (26 th June 2009) these communal elements had mobilised hundreds of people to stop people from offering Namaz at the mosque. If police would not have been there, things could have taken a turn for the worst.
Some of us who happen to live in this area had organised a meeting of citizens groups, social-political organisations to decide our strategy (27 th June). It was decided to organise a signature campaign and also submit a memorandum to the higher authorities. Today a eight member delegation of these organisations met concerned officials and conveyed to them our concern.
The memorandum submitted to them emphasised three things :
- A significant section of the local population does not support such attempts to create new divisions in the society
- It is expected that the administration would play a proactive role to ensure constitutionally guaranteed right to faith and would also take steps to remove the feeling of terror in the minority community.
- The administration would make extra efforts to nab the real 'ringleaders' of this agitation.
A few friends have talked to the media but as of now the matter is severly underreported.
Coming Friday is crucial. It would reveal the level of preparations of these fanatic elements.We will have to monitor the situation closely.
Support and Resistance to the Hindu Far Right Among the Middle Classes in Delhi
Protest by Hindutva organisations against construction of a mosque in Rohini Sector 16, Delhi…Prayer by the MUSLIMS not allowed by hindutva forces on 26.6.2009 and those who were coming for the NAMAZ were beaten up and chased back. .. Hooligans marched in street to look out for muslims…Women also participated in large numbers..Timely intervention by the police..19 arrested……Appeal to maintain communal harmony by citizens groups.
Full text at: http://www.sacw.net/article980.html
Full text at: http://www.sacw.net/article980.html
Liberhan Commission submits Babri report
The Times of India
17 years later, Liberhan Commission submits Babri report to PM
30 Jun 2009, 1114 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM
NEW DELHI: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Tuesday submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. ( Watch )
The commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram.
The contents of the report were not immediately known, PTI said.
According to Times Now, the report could reveal role of BJP's L K Advani and Bajrang Dal in Babri incidents. Report could also shed light on number of other top BJP leaders.
Justice M S Liberhan told Times Now that certain witnesses weren't non-cooperative during the probe. "The report got delayed due to uncooperative attitude of witnesses," he added.
Liberhan refused to reveal who is responsible for Babri demolition. "I won't name the people, it is mentioned in the report," he said.
"I feel liberated after submitting report," he added.
Meanwhile, political parties have begun to score points over each other over the report.
The Congress said that mere apologies by BJP leaders are not enough. The BJP claimed that Advani has been framed in the Babri case.
Set up within ten days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country's longest serving Commission of Enquiry.
The commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe.
The last three-month extension was given in March this year.
The probe panel was one of the costliest commissions having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.
During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.
The panel had completed hearing the last witness in 2005.
17 years later, Liberhan Commission submits Babri report to PM
30 Jun 2009, 1114 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM
NEW DELHI: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Tuesday submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. ( Watch )
The commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram.
The contents of the report were not immediately known, PTI said.
According to Times Now, the report could reveal role of BJP's L K Advani and Bajrang Dal in Babri incidents. Report could also shed light on number of other top BJP leaders.
Justice M S Liberhan told Times Now that certain witnesses weren't non-cooperative during the probe. "The report got delayed due to uncooperative attitude of witnesses," he added.
Liberhan refused to reveal who is responsible for Babri demolition. "I won't name the people, it is mentioned in the report," he said.
"I feel liberated after submitting report," he added.
Meanwhile, political parties have begun to score points over each other over the report.
The Congress said that mere apologies by BJP leaders are not enough. The BJP claimed that Advani has been framed in the Babri case.
Set up within ten days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country's longest serving Commission of Enquiry.
The commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe.
The last three-month extension was given in March this year.
The probe panel was one of the costliest commissions having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.
During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.
The panel had completed hearing the last witness in 2005.
Hindutva project that targets and moves children from North Eastern States to RSS schools in Karnataka
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 26, Dated July 04, 2009
investigation
A Strange And Bitter Crop
An ambitious RSS social engineering project is transporting children from Meghalaya to Karnataka to bring them up ‘the Hindu way,’ discovers SANJANA.
Photographs by S RADHAKRISHNA
image
Culture by rote Sixyear- old Meghalaya children chant shlokas in Thinkabettu School
IN AN investigation spanning 35 schools across Karnataka and four districts in Meghalaya, TEHELKA has found that since 2001, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on an ambitious social engineering project to transfer at least 1,600 children from Meghalaya to RSS-friendly schools across Karnataka. The latest batch comprising 160 children arrived in Bengaluru on June 7, 2009. Thirty RSS volunteers accompanied the children on the 50-hour train journey down to the city.
Tukaram Shetty, the RSS organiser responsible for the programme, in conversations spanning three months, candidly admitted to TEHELKA that the children were part of a larger mission launched by the RSS and its affiliate organisations to ‘protect’ people from Christian missionaries active in Meghalaya. “We are committed to nurturing the Hindu way of life. There is a long-term plan envisioned by the RSS to defeat the Christian missionary forces active in Meghalaya while expanding our base in the region. These children form a part of that long-term vision. In the years to come, they will propagate our values amongst their own family members,” A childhood recruit into the RSS fold, Shetty hails from Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and has spent close to eight years in Meghalaya – familiarising himself with the terrain and culture.
The RSS programme brings to the fore several concerns operating as it does within the demographic context of Meghalaya. The state is one of the few Christian majority states in India, with 70.25 percent of the population being classified as Christians in the 2001 census. In comparison, Hindus are pegged at 13.27 percent while a category of religious compositions pegged as ‘others’ – a possible reference to the indigenous tribal religions – is at 11.52 percent. The first Christian missionaries arrived in the mid nineteenth century to work amongst the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes living in the region that now comprises Meghalaya. Despite the long entrenched history of Christian conversions in the state, there exists a significant minority population of tribals who have steadfastly continued to practice their indigenous religions – their beliefs often spliced with a thin wedge of resentment against those who have chosen to convert. The RSS plans of ‘expanding the base in the region’ capitalises on this wedge of resentment with children and their education being — as Shetty admits — the starting points of engagement.
The Thinkabettu Higher Primary and Secondary School in remote Uppur — nearly 500 km from Bengaluru — is one of the 35 schools in Karnataka where the children are studying. In 2008, 17 students between six and seven years were brought to this school from Meghalaya. Following instructions from the head of the school, the children of Thinkabettu School stand up, announce their names politely in Kannada, the local language, and sit down again on the bare floor. Ask the head of the school to introduce himself and he refuses, saying, “You have come to see the children, here they are. If I give you my name, you will use it against me.” The only details forthcoming are that he is a retired bank employee and that the school, which is a century old, was started by his father. A woman in the corner is revealed to be his wife, Nirmala.
Introductions done, the children are asked to recite the latest prayer that they have memorised. Hands folded and eyes closed, the children, with shorn heads and in ragged clothes, begin a Brahminical chant that is a tribute to the teacher — Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara. The children are sitting in the same hall that serves as their school and hostel. They live and breathe, eat and sleep and study on that same barren floor. A 30-watt bulb, a blackboard and a few books and slates neatly lined up complete the picture. An ancient fridge and a ramshackle sofa separate the children’s space from the kitchen area of the hall.
HARD FACTS
1,600 children brought to Karnataka from Meghalaya since 2001
The latest batch of 160 children arrived in Bengaluru on June 7, accompanied by 30 RSS volunteers
Siblings are always separated to ensure better discipline
Most schools where children are studying are in the communally disturbed coastal districts of Karnataka
While most children are from poorer backgrounds, richer families who are RSS sympathisers pay up to Rs 16,000 a year
Children often forget their native languages
Drawn from remote and often inaccessible villages across four districts in Meghalaya — Ri Bhoi, West Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills — the children taken by the RSS to study in Karnataka belong to the Khasi and Jaintia tribal communities. Traditionally, the Khasi tribes follow the Seng Khasi religion, while the Jaintias follow Niamtre religion. Ask Manje Gowda, Headmaster at the Sri Adichunchanagiri Higher Primary School in BG Nagar, Mandya district where 38 children from Meghalaya currently study, why students are taken out of Meghalaya and he echoes Shetty’s logic, “If the children had stayed on in Meghalaya they would have been converted to Christianity by now. The RSS is trying to protect them. The education that the children receive here includes strong cultural values. When they go back home, after their education, they will help propagate these values to their families.”
The cultural values that Gowda talks of imparting to children include familiarity with Brahiminical chants, Hindu religious festivals, and a weaning away from an overwhelmingly non-vegetarian Meghalayan diet to vegetarianism. How could this possibly help the RSS in expanding their base? Shetty told TEHELKA that indoctrination of cultural values and discipline was the first step. “It is important that children imbibe these values early on. It will bring them closer to us and away from the Christian way of life.
We teach them shlokas so they will not recite hymns. We take them away from meat so they will abhor the animal sacrifice that is inherent in their own religion,” he says. “Ultimately, when the RSS tells them that the cow is a sacred animal and that all those who kill and eat it have no place in our society, these children will listen,” he recounts calmly. Are these children being groomed to be the future foot soldiers of RSS? Shetty’s only answer is that they will part of ‘the family’ in one way or another and that time will decide.
As TEHELKA found, across schools in different districts of Karnataka, the cultural values imparted did not vary. The degrees of immersion into the RSS credo, however, depended on the schools the children were placed in. Children who came from financially stable homes were placed in schools with proper educational and hostel facilities since parents were able to pay for them. In these schools, the disciplinary regime imposed on the children was more relaxed compared to the schools where children from poorer families were placed. TEHELKA found that 60 percent of the children it met came from economically weaker families. Subsequently, the schools that these children were placed in resembled the Thinkabettu school in Uppur where both education and lodging facilities were free and dismal.
Most of the schools where the children have been placed are located in the coastal belt of Karnataka, the region that has emerged as the centre of communal violence in the state. The places include Puttur, Kalladka, Kaup, Kollur, Uppur, Deralakatte, Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmaglur districts. Besides these, the children have been placed in schools run by influential ashrams such as the JSS Mutt in Suttur, the Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya district and the Murugrajendra Mutt in Chitradurga district.
How do children from Meghalaya end up thousands of kilometres away in Karnataka? What is the modus operandi? Almost every child and parent that TEHELKA spoke with identified Tukaram Shetty as the man who proposed the idea of educating children in Karnataka, offered to take the children there and then ultimately accompanied the children to Karnataka.
A former Seva Bharati (an RSS-affiliated community service organization) worker, Shetty is the official face of the Lei Synshar Cultural Society, a shell organisation established to maintain the required official distance from the RSS. In fact, the Lei Synshar Cultural Society is utterly unknown even outside its own head office in Jowai in the Jaintia Hills district. Ask for Tukaram or Bah Ram as he is called in Meghalaya and there are instant flashes of recognition. Outside the capital city, Shillong, right down to the village level, people easily recognise the RSS as the organisation that takes children to Karnataka. The organisation runs three offices in the Jaintia Hills district – in Jowai, Nartiang and Shongpong. Besides, there are several spaces occupied by the Seva Bharati and Kalyan Ashram organizations which help in the identification and transport of children.
RSS organiser Tukaram Shetty candidly admitted that the children were part of a larger RSS mission to ‘protect’ them from Christian missionaries
YOLIN KHARUMINI, a teacher at a local Seng Khasi school and resident at Shillong’s Kalyan Ashram described the process. “We are asked to identify families that have not converted to Christianity and are firm in their belief in indigenous religions — Seng Khasi and Niamtre. Usually, these are families that nurse some form of resentment against Christians. Offers are made to these families to have their children educated in Karnataka. We always tell them that they will be educated according to Seng Khasi or Niamtre traditions.” Kharumini’s own niece, Kerdamon Kharumini, studies in Mangala Nursing School in Karnataka. Lists are drawn up based on the parents’ capacity to afford the child’s education and hostel facilities.
Continuing the narrative, Khatbiang Rymbai, a Class 10 student at Vidya - niketan School in Kaup, Udupi district described in detail how 200 children travelled to Bengaluru from various villages. “There were many young children. So when they divided us into groups of 13-14, the older children were put in charge. In Shillong, we were all given identification tags which had mobile numbers and the Jowai address of the Lei Synshar Cultural Society. From there, we traveled in Tata Sumos to Guwahati to take the train to Bengaluru,” she says. In Bengaluru, they were taken to the RSS office before being split into groups to go to their respective schools.
The children are taught to avoid meat so they will start to abhor the religious sacrifices that are part and parcel of their native religions
In a chilling admission, an RSS worker in Shillong, Prafulla Chandra Koch and the head of the Thinkabettu school told TEHELKA that care is always taken to ensure that any siblings are separated from each other. “It is easier to discipline them if they are not together. We have to control them if we have to mould them. The lesser the contact they have with home, the better it is, really,” he stated.
TEHELKA met with several siblings placed in different schools – Khatbiang’s brother Supplybiang Rymbai was placed in Prashanti Vidya Kendra in Kasargod, Kerala while she studies in Vidyaniketan school near Udupi in Karnataka. Yet another student at Vidyaniketan, Reenborn Tariang admitted to having a sister, Wanboklin Tariang, at the JSS Mutt school in Mysore. Bedd Sympli at the Abhinav Bharati Boys Hostel in Mandya district has a sister studying in Vidyaniketan, Udupi district; Iwanroi Langbang a student at the Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt school in Mandya district had a sister, Daiamonlangki, at the Vanishree school in Shimoga district. There is not one instance of siblings studying together. Ask the children why they were separated and there are no answers.
WHEN TEHELKA asked parents why they had chosen to place their children in different schools, they admitted they were only informed of it several months after the children had started school. Says Klis Rymbai, Khatbiang and Supplybiang’s older sister, “When they left home, all we knew was that they would go to Bengaluru. We had no details of the school they would go to – not even a name or address. Much later, we realised that Khatbiang and Supplybiang were separated and that they were not in Bengaluru. Khatbiang also told us she was repeating Class VIII after she got admitted into school. The RSS promised to take care of our children and we trusted them.” Klis admits that her family is attempting to bring Supplybiang back to Meghalaya. “He has not adjusted well and is still young so we want him to come back. Khatbiang has already lost a year so it is best she finishes school there,” says Klis. The Rymbais are extremely well off, having made their money through mining in the Jaintia Hills district. The father, Koren Chyrmang, is an RSS sympathiser, who, besides sending his own children, has helped convince other families to send their children across. “He used to be very active but has fallen sick of late This has prevented him from traveling to other villages in this area with the RSS,” says Klis.
The physical and mental impact of studying in school environments diametrically opposed to their culture, language, religion, and food habits has been devastating. In the schools that TEHELKA visited, hostel wardens, heads of schools and the children themselves admitted to having had serious physical problems given the differences in climatic conditions between their villages in Meghalaya and schools in Karnataka. In the Deenabandhu Children’s Home, Chamarajnagar, Karnataka, according to the Secretary, GS Jayadev, the six-year-olds from Meghalaya — Shining Lamo, Sibin Ryngkhlem and Spid Khongshei — had skin rashes for over a month as their bodies tried to acclimatise to the heat of Karnataka. Besides rashes, Spid’s eyes turned bloodshot. Doctors at the hospital where Spid was taken by school authorities told them that it was a natural reaction to the altitudinal differences.
In Thinkabettu school, too, children had severe sunburns on their faces, hands and legs though they had already spent three months in Karnataka when TEHELKA visited them. The situation was no different with the children studying in the Kalabyraveshwara Sanskrit College run by the Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Nagamangala. Of the 11 children from Meghalaya who were placed in this school, the oldest, Iohidahun Rabon (see box) told TEHELKA that the three of the younger ones — Sowatki Chulet, Tailang Nongdam and Perskimlang Nongkrot — were chronically ill since they had not taken to the food being given to them.
The physical and mental impact of living in environments diametrically opposed to their culture, language, religion and food is devastating
The psychological impact of the move was also obvious on several children. In all the schools that TEHELKA visited seeking information about children from Meghalaya, the school authorities summoned the children from their classes and instructed them to introduce themselves in Kannada. For the authorities, it was a matter of great pride that children who had no association with Kannada had been taught the language well. That students who did not know a word of Sanskrit earlier now recited Sanskrit prayers with great clarity. In the Sri Adichunchanagiri Higher Primary School in BG Nagar, Mandya district, the headmaster, Manje Gowda, flung a Kannada newspaper at a student from Meghalaya, ordering him to read it. Obediently, in a low voice, devoid of any expression, the boy proceeded to read a few sentences, before quietly folding and placing the newspaper back on the headmaster’s desk. Till he was sent away, the boy never looked up. In school after school, the same scene unfolded with variations in the demonstrations of skill and familiarity with Kannada and Sanskrit.
While the authorities claimed that the students from Meghalaya had integrated well with the rest, there was overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise. A few minutes of conversation with the children brought out stories of how they were laughed at because their names were unfamiliar and because they looked different. Invariably, and especially amongst the older students, relationships were forged with others from Meghalaya. In classrooms, six or seven students from Meghalaya squeezed into a bench meant to seat four children. Speaking Kannada had integrated the children only so far. Faced with animosity, they have withdrawn into the familiar. In schools where this was not a possibility given the limited number of students from Meghalaya, they withdrew into themselves.
The locations of the schools did not help alleviate their isolation at all. Iwanroi Langbang, a Class IX student currently staying in Nagamangala (about 150 kms from Bengaluru), talked of her disappointment at not studying in Bengaluru. “We were only told that I would be studying in Bengaluru. It was only after I came here that I heard the name of the school and realised that it was very far from Bengaluru. Here, we are not allowed outside the compound wall. And even if we get away, there is nothing outside,” said Langbang. Her school is located off an isolated stretch of the state highway.
A consequence of completely immersing young children from Meghalaya in a Kannada-speaking environment was visible at the Deenabandhu Children’s Home in Chamarajnagar district. A caretaker at the Home described one child’s growing familiarity with Kannada, “Sibin [one of the children at the Home] has picked up a lot of Kannada in the two months he has been here. During a phone call from a relative back home, he kept answering questions in Kannada which obviously they did not understand at all.” In a shocking display of insensitivity, the caretaker burst into laughter at what she thought was a hilarious incident and added, “For 45 minutes, a woman, I assume his mother, kept trying. Sibin, of course, had no answers since he had forgotten his own language.” She giggled. The caretaker then proceeded to teach Sibin the Kannada word for dinner.
ACCORDING TO Sibin’s birth certificate, he is six. Yet another certificate issued by the village headman of Sibin’s village, Mihmyntdu, certifies that he comes from a poor family and needs help for his education. TEHELKA was unable to contact his parents.
The physical and mental consequences suffered by children from Meghalaya differ from the everyday story of children placed in several thousand boarding schools across the country. That there is a larger plan behind the transportation of these children is something that RSS workers like Koch, have no qualms admitting.
Why are parents willing to send young children aged only six and seven to a distant place? In the face of these overwhelming disadvantages to the children, during visits with parents across eight villages in Meghalaya, TEHELKA found that parents — mostly poor — handed over their children to the RSS in the belief that their kids would be well cared for, as promised. Often, the transportation of children followed kinship routes, with younger siblings following older ones. While this may seem to defy logic, examined closely, it speaks of the intricate web of lies that the RSS has managed to weave, webs that ensnare parents, school authorities and often the children themselves. There are multiple untruths that are the foundation of this entire process.
PARENTS HAVE GIVEN THEIR CONSENT IN WRITING
Why are parents willing to send their children far from home? The mostly poor parents believe the RSS’ promises that the kids will be taken care of
When TEHELKA approached schools in Karnataka seeking papers that legalise the transfers of children across states, letters signed by the village headman or the Rangbah Shnong attesting to the family’s poor economic condition were handed out along with birth and caste certificates. Across different schools that TEHELKA visited, not a single letter was produced with the parents’ signature that stated explicitly that the care of their children was handed over to that particular school. No parent that TEHELKA met in Meghalaya had copies of any signed consent letter signed. Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 – such consent letters are mandatory for legal transfers of children.
The transportation of children, then, with no official papers sanctioning the move, is in clear violation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000. Under this law, the RSS can be held guilty of child trafficking.
THE CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOLS RUN ACCORDING TO THEIR SENG KHASI OR NIAMTRE RELIGIONS
Amongst the Khasi and Jaintia tribes, there is a tenuous relationship between those who have converted to Christianity and those who have not. The RSS carefully selects children from poor families who have not converted to Christianity. “I was told that the only way to protect my daughter from conversion was to send her outside. If I didn’t, the Church would take them away and make them priests and nuns,” said Biye Nongrum in Swer village. “I was afraid for my daughter and so I agreed to hand her over,” she says. Six years after her daughter left home, Biye has no details of the school that she is studying in. All she has is a class photograph. “I don’t have the money to visit my daughter and bring her back, even if I find out where she is. But I will never send another child away,” she says. Biye ekes out a living by selling sweet pancakes to richer families in the village. The ramshackle house that she shares with her mother and at least three other children further signal her poverty stricken condition. The socioeconomic status of the families are an indication of why it is difficult for the parents to ever bring their children back — they simply cannot afford it.
Several parents told TEHELKA that the RSS schools where their children were studying were schools that upheld their indigenous religions – a rationale that has many takers. In Jel Chyrmang’s home in Mookhep village, TEHELKA found a framed photograph of Jel’s daughter, Rani Chyrmang, being felicitated by the patron saint of her school, Sri Balagangadharnath. Ask Jel who the saffron-robed saint is and she blithely repeats what she has been told, a story that would be hilarious if the circumstances were not so sad. According to Jel, Sri Balagangadharnath is a Seng Khasi saint who runs her daughter’s school. There is no doubt in her voice at all. Jel’s ignorance, however, does not extend to others in the family. Her husband, Denis Siangshai, who contested the recent Lok Sabha elections, turns out to be an RSS worker. Using his daughter as an example, he admitted to having convinced others in the area as well. “People have a wrong notion of RSS. I always tell them that the RSS will give them good education and culture,” says Denis.
The transportation of children without clear consent letters from parents and guardians is a clear violation of the Juvenile Justice Act
Most parents have no idea that the schools chosen by the RSS espouse a different ideology. Besides the forced culturisation, even the libraries and books handed out to the students are RSS publications from recognized right-wing publishing houses in Bengaluru. In the JSS Ashram school, the library was stocked with publications of RSS ideologues published from Bharata Samskruti Prakashana (Indian Culture Publications). No trace of Seng Khasi teachings or Niamtre practices.
THE CHILDREN ARE ABANDONED AND DESTITUTE
For a non-tribal society like Karnataka, the notion of a father abandoning the family is seen as a social and economic disaster. Meghalaya, though, is a matrilineal society, where men move to live with women in their villages. Mothers continue to remain the primary caretakers. Even if the mother dies, the child is brought up by relatives and is never entirely abandoned.
THE CHILDREN HAVE ADJUSTED WELL
When children first leave Meghalaya, parents and children are not aware where the children will ultimately be taken. As direct communication between the children and parents is limited owing to the socio-economic conditions of the parents and the lack of facilities at the schools, the RSS is the main intermediary between the two. The RSS tells parents that the children are happy and well adjusted in their new environments. The reality is something else.
Raplangki Dkhar, a standard VI student at Vidyaniketan, was clearly waiting for his uncle to come take him home. “Only if people from home come and take us, we can go back. Every year when school ends, we hear that we will be taken back. But it has been two years already,” said a forlorn Raplangki. Only two of the children TEHELKA met had ever returned home to visit. Back in Raplangki’s hometown in Raliang, Meghalaya, when TEHELKA asked his uncle why he had not visited Raplangki, he is surprised, “I had no reason to doubt the fact that my nephew has adjusted well. At every RSS meeting in Jowai we are assured by them that the kids are healthy and happy.”
Direct phone calls between children and parents are dependent entirely on the parents’ finances. If the parents have not been able to pay for the child’s education, the schools that they are placed in are often the free orphanages run by the Mutts, where access to phones is non-existent, as is the case with the free hostel run by the Sri Adichunchanagiri Mutt.
For the RSS, these falsifications are part of a process. A process that is bound to add an additional layer of complexity amongst the people of Meghalaya, quite apart from the mental and social costs inflicted on young children.
WRITER’S EMAIL
sanjana(at)tehelka.com
_____
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 26, Dated July 04, 2009
‘The Children Will Champion Hinduism’
At the Kalyan Ashram in Shillong, Prafulla Chandra Koch and Sukanto Borman, two RSS workers, talked with TEHELKA about what the RSS hopes to gain through the programme. Both refused to be photographed.
For how many years have the children been taken to Karnataka? How many have gone?
SB: I am not sure about the years, but I know there are more than 1,500 to 1,600 children in schools in Karnataka. Every year, Tukaram Shetty takes more children with him.
But why don’t you start schools here? Why send them to Karnataka?
PCK: In some villages, we help village councils run schools. We pay their teachers’ salaries. This isn’t possible in many villages since the Christians are everywhere here. This programme is also about culture. The children are sent to schools in Karnataka to imbibe good cultural values.
What values are you talking about?
SB: That we are all Hindus and that Hindus have to stick together...
PCK: (interrupts) When they stay in Karnataka, they are exposed to many other children. They learn to live in harmony with them. They carry the love and acceptance they get there back to Meghalaya and spread it to their parents. Right now, outsiders or dakkar are viewed with a lot of suspicion but this will change after some years, making our work easier.
‘WE CAN’T CALL IT A SHAKHA YET, BUT GIVE US ANOTHER YEAR’
What specific gains does the RSS hope for?
PCK: Since these children are educated in RSS schools, they will adopt the Hindu religion. Already, we have seen children refusing to eat meat when they return. They will also teach their parents to follow in their footsteps. Over time, the children who return will champion the Hindu way of life in Meghalaya.
That is a really long-term agenda.
PCK: We benefit immediately too. Four to five times a year, we hold compulsory meetings with the parents of children sent to Karnataka, usually in Jowai. RSS pracharaks attend these meetings. We share information with the parents and ask them if their children have been in touch with them and what they have been saying. Besides this, discussions also revolve around conversions and the problems that are created by Christians in Meghalaya. We can’t call it a shakha yet, but give us another year.
investigation
A Strange And Bitter Crop
An ambitious RSS social engineering project is transporting children from Meghalaya to Karnataka to bring them up ‘the Hindu way,’ discovers SANJANA.
Photographs by S RADHAKRISHNA
image
Culture by rote Sixyear- old Meghalaya children chant shlokas in Thinkabettu School
IN AN investigation spanning 35 schools across Karnataka and four districts in Meghalaya, TEHELKA has found that since 2001, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on an ambitious social engineering project to transfer at least 1,600 children from Meghalaya to RSS-friendly schools across Karnataka. The latest batch comprising 160 children arrived in Bengaluru on June 7, 2009. Thirty RSS volunteers accompanied the children on the 50-hour train journey down to the city.
Tukaram Shetty, the RSS organiser responsible for the programme, in conversations spanning three months, candidly admitted to TEHELKA that the children were part of a larger mission launched by the RSS and its affiliate organisations to ‘protect’ people from Christian missionaries active in Meghalaya. “We are committed to nurturing the Hindu way of life. There is a long-term plan envisioned by the RSS to defeat the Christian missionary forces active in Meghalaya while expanding our base in the region. These children form a part of that long-term vision. In the years to come, they will propagate our values amongst their own family members,” A childhood recruit into the RSS fold, Shetty hails from Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and has spent close to eight years in Meghalaya – familiarising himself with the terrain and culture.
The RSS programme brings to the fore several concerns operating as it does within the demographic context of Meghalaya. The state is one of the few Christian majority states in India, with 70.25 percent of the population being classified as Christians in the 2001 census. In comparison, Hindus are pegged at 13.27 percent while a category of religious compositions pegged as ‘others’ – a possible reference to the indigenous tribal religions – is at 11.52 percent. The first Christian missionaries arrived in the mid nineteenth century to work amongst the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes living in the region that now comprises Meghalaya. Despite the long entrenched history of Christian conversions in the state, there exists a significant minority population of tribals who have steadfastly continued to practice their indigenous religions – their beliefs often spliced with a thin wedge of resentment against those who have chosen to convert. The RSS plans of ‘expanding the base in the region’ capitalises on this wedge of resentment with children and their education being — as Shetty admits — the starting points of engagement.
The Thinkabettu Higher Primary and Secondary School in remote Uppur — nearly 500 km from Bengaluru — is one of the 35 schools in Karnataka where the children are studying. In 2008, 17 students between six and seven years were brought to this school from Meghalaya. Following instructions from the head of the school, the children of Thinkabettu School stand up, announce their names politely in Kannada, the local language, and sit down again on the bare floor. Ask the head of the school to introduce himself and he refuses, saying, “You have come to see the children, here they are. If I give you my name, you will use it against me.” The only details forthcoming are that he is a retired bank employee and that the school, which is a century old, was started by his father. A woman in the corner is revealed to be his wife, Nirmala.
Introductions done, the children are asked to recite the latest prayer that they have memorised. Hands folded and eyes closed, the children, with shorn heads and in ragged clothes, begin a Brahminical chant that is a tribute to the teacher — Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara. The children are sitting in the same hall that serves as their school and hostel. They live and breathe, eat and sleep and study on that same barren floor. A 30-watt bulb, a blackboard and a few books and slates neatly lined up complete the picture. An ancient fridge and a ramshackle sofa separate the children’s space from the kitchen area of the hall.
HARD FACTS
1,600 children brought to Karnataka from Meghalaya since 2001
The latest batch of 160 children arrived in Bengaluru on June 7, accompanied by 30 RSS volunteers
Siblings are always separated to ensure better discipline
Most schools where children are studying are in the communally disturbed coastal districts of Karnataka
While most children are from poorer backgrounds, richer families who are RSS sympathisers pay up to Rs 16,000 a year
Children often forget their native languages
Drawn from remote and often inaccessible villages across four districts in Meghalaya — Ri Bhoi, West Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills — the children taken by the RSS to study in Karnataka belong to the Khasi and Jaintia tribal communities. Traditionally, the Khasi tribes follow the Seng Khasi religion, while the Jaintias follow Niamtre religion. Ask Manje Gowda, Headmaster at the Sri Adichunchanagiri Higher Primary School in BG Nagar, Mandya district where 38 children from Meghalaya currently study, why students are taken out of Meghalaya and he echoes Shetty’s logic, “If the children had stayed on in Meghalaya they would have been converted to Christianity by now. The RSS is trying to protect them. The education that the children receive here includes strong cultural values. When they go back home, after their education, they will help propagate these values to their families.”
The cultural values that Gowda talks of imparting to children include familiarity with Brahiminical chants, Hindu religious festivals, and a weaning away from an overwhelmingly non-vegetarian Meghalayan diet to vegetarianism. How could this possibly help the RSS in expanding their base? Shetty told TEHELKA that indoctrination of cultural values and discipline was the first step. “It is important that children imbibe these values early on. It will bring them closer to us and away from the Christian way of life.
We teach them shlokas so they will not recite hymns. We take them away from meat so they will abhor the animal sacrifice that is inherent in their own religion,” he says. “Ultimately, when the RSS tells them that the cow is a sacred animal and that all those who kill and eat it have no place in our society, these children will listen,” he recounts calmly. Are these children being groomed to be the future foot soldiers of RSS? Shetty’s only answer is that they will part of ‘the family’ in one way or another and that time will decide.
As TEHELKA found, across schools in different districts of Karnataka, the cultural values imparted did not vary. The degrees of immersion into the RSS credo, however, depended on the schools the children were placed in. Children who came from financially stable homes were placed in schools with proper educational and hostel facilities since parents were able to pay for them. In these schools, the disciplinary regime imposed on the children was more relaxed compared to the schools where children from poorer families were placed. TEHELKA found that 60 percent of the children it met came from economically weaker families. Subsequently, the schools that these children were placed in resembled the Thinkabettu school in Uppur where both education and lodging facilities were free and dismal.
Most of the schools where the children have been placed are located in the coastal belt of Karnataka, the region that has emerged as the centre of communal violence in the state. The places include Puttur, Kalladka, Kaup, Kollur, Uppur, Deralakatte, Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmaglur districts. Besides these, the children have been placed in schools run by influential ashrams such as the JSS Mutt in Suttur, the Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt in Mandya district and the Murugrajendra Mutt in Chitradurga district.
How do children from Meghalaya end up thousands of kilometres away in Karnataka? What is the modus operandi? Almost every child and parent that TEHELKA spoke with identified Tukaram Shetty as the man who proposed the idea of educating children in Karnataka, offered to take the children there and then ultimately accompanied the children to Karnataka.
A former Seva Bharati (an RSS-affiliated community service organization) worker, Shetty is the official face of the Lei Synshar Cultural Society, a shell organisation established to maintain the required official distance from the RSS. In fact, the Lei Synshar Cultural Society is utterly unknown even outside its own head office in Jowai in the Jaintia Hills district. Ask for Tukaram or Bah Ram as he is called in Meghalaya and there are instant flashes of recognition. Outside the capital city, Shillong, right down to the village level, people easily recognise the RSS as the organisation that takes children to Karnataka. The organisation runs three offices in the Jaintia Hills district – in Jowai, Nartiang and Shongpong. Besides, there are several spaces occupied by the Seva Bharati and Kalyan Ashram organizations which help in the identification and transport of children.
RSS organiser Tukaram Shetty candidly admitted that the children were part of a larger RSS mission to ‘protect’ them from Christian missionaries
YOLIN KHARUMINI, a teacher at a local Seng Khasi school and resident at Shillong’s Kalyan Ashram described the process. “We are asked to identify families that have not converted to Christianity and are firm in their belief in indigenous religions — Seng Khasi and Niamtre. Usually, these are families that nurse some form of resentment against Christians. Offers are made to these families to have their children educated in Karnataka. We always tell them that they will be educated according to Seng Khasi or Niamtre traditions.” Kharumini’s own niece, Kerdamon Kharumini, studies in Mangala Nursing School in Karnataka. Lists are drawn up based on the parents’ capacity to afford the child’s education and hostel facilities.
Continuing the narrative, Khatbiang Rymbai, a Class 10 student at Vidya - niketan School in Kaup, Udupi district described in detail how 200 children travelled to Bengaluru from various villages. “There were many young children. So when they divided us into groups of 13-14, the older children were put in charge. In Shillong, we were all given identification tags which had mobile numbers and the Jowai address of the Lei Synshar Cultural Society. From there, we traveled in Tata Sumos to Guwahati to take the train to Bengaluru,” she says. In Bengaluru, they were taken to the RSS office before being split into groups to go to their respective schools.
The children are taught to avoid meat so they will start to abhor the religious sacrifices that are part and parcel of their native religions
In a chilling admission, an RSS worker in Shillong, Prafulla Chandra Koch and the head of the Thinkabettu school told TEHELKA that care is always taken to ensure that any siblings are separated from each other. “It is easier to discipline them if they are not together. We have to control them if we have to mould them. The lesser the contact they have with home, the better it is, really,” he stated.
TEHELKA met with several siblings placed in different schools – Khatbiang’s brother Supplybiang Rymbai was placed in Prashanti Vidya Kendra in Kasargod, Kerala while she studies in Vidyaniketan school near Udupi in Karnataka. Yet another student at Vidyaniketan, Reenborn Tariang admitted to having a sister, Wanboklin Tariang, at the JSS Mutt school in Mysore. Bedd Sympli at the Abhinav Bharati Boys Hostel in Mandya district has a sister studying in Vidyaniketan, Udupi district; Iwanroi Langbang a student at the Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt school in Mandya district had a sister, Daiamonlangki, at the Vanishree school in Shimoga district. There is not one instance of siblings studying together. Ask the children why they were separated and there are no answers.
WHEN TEHELKA asked parents why they had chosen to place their children in different schools, they admitted they were only informed of it several months after the children had started school. Says Klis Rymbai, Khatbiang and Supplybiang’s older sister, “When they left home, all we knew was that they would go to Bengaluru. We had no details of the school they would go to – not even a name or address. Much later, we realised that Khatbiang and Supplybiang were separated and that they were not in Bengaluru. Khatbiang also told us she was repeating Class VIII after she got admitted into school. The RSS promised to take care of our children and we trusted them.” Klis admits that her family is attempting to bring Supplybiang back to Meghalaya. “He has not adjusted well and is still young so we want him to come back. Khatbiang has already lost a year so it is best she finishes school there,” says Klis. The Rymbais are extremely well off, having made their money through mining in the Jaintia Hills district. The father, Koren Chyrmang, is an RSS sympathiser, who, besides sending his own children, has helped convince other families to send their children across. “He used to be very active but has fallen sick of late This has prevented him from traveling to other villages in this area with the RSS,” says Klis.
The physical and mental impact of studying in school environments diametrically opposed to their culture, language, religion, and food habits has been devastating. In the schools that TEHELKA visited, hostel wardens, heads of schools and the children themselves admitted to having had serious physical problems given the differences in climatic conditions between their villages in Meghalaya and schools in Karnataka. In the Deenabandhu Children’s Home, Chamarajnagar, Karnataka, according to the Secretary, GS Jayadev, the six-year-olds from Meghalaya — Shining Lamo, Sibin Ryngkhlem and Spid Khongshei — had skin rashes for over a month as their bodies tried to acclimatise to the heat of Karnataka. Besides rashes, Spid’s eyes turned bloodshot. Doctors at the hospital where Spid was taken by school authorities told them that it was a natural reaction to the altitudinal differences.
In Thinkabettu school, too, children had severe sunburns on their faces, hands and legs though they had already spent three months in Karnataka when TEHELKA visited them. The situation was no different with the children studying in the Kalabyraveshwara Sanskrit College run by the Adichunchanagiri Mutt in Nagamangala. Of the 11 children from Meghalaya who were placed in this school, the oldest, Iohidahun Rabon (see box) told TEHELKA that the three of the younger ones — Sowatki Chulet, Tailang Nongdam and Perskimlang Nongkrot — were chronically ill since they had not taken to the food being given to them.
The physical and mental impact of living in environments diametrically opposed to their culture, language, religion and food is devastating
The psychological impact of the move was also obvious on several children. In all the schools that TEHELKA visited seeking information about children from Meghalaya, the school authorities summoned the children from their classes and instructed them to introduce themselves in Kannada. For the authorities, it was a matter of great pride that children who had no association with Kannada had been taught the language well. That students who did not know a word of Sanskrit earlier now recited Sanskrit prayers with great clarity. In the Sri Adichunchanagiri Higher Primary School in BG Nagar, Mandya district, the headmaster, Manje Gowda, flung a Kannada newspaper at a student from Meghalaya, ordering him to read it. Obediently, in a low voice, devoid of any expression, the boy proceeded to read a few sentences, before quietly folding and placing the newspaper back on the headmaster’s desk. Till he was sent away, the boy never looked up. In school after school, the same scene unfolded with variations in the demonstrations of skill and familiarity with Kannada and Sanskrit.
While the authorities claimed that the students from Meghalaya had integrated well with the rest, there was overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise. A few minutes of conversation with the children brought out stories of how they were laughed at because their names were unfamiliar and because they looked different. Invariably, and especially amongst the older students, relationships were forged with others from Meghalaya. In classrooms, six or seven students from Meghalaya squeezed into a bench meant to seat four children. Speaking Kannada had integrated the children only so far. Faced with animosity, they have withdrawn into the familiar. In schools where this was not a possibility given the limited number of students from Meghalaya, they withdrew into themselves.
The locations of the schools did not help alleviate their isolation at all. Iwanroi Langbang, a Class IX student currently staying in Nagamangala (about 150 kms from Bengaluru), talked of her disappointment at not studying in Bengaluru. “We were only told that I would be studying in Bengaluru. It was only after I came here that I heard the name of the school and realised that it was very far from Bengaluru. Here, we are not allowed outside the compound wall. And even if we get away, there is nothing outside,” said Langbang. Her school is located off an isolated stretch of the state highway.
A consequence of completely immersing young children from Meghalaya in a Kannada-speaking environment was visible at the Deenabandhu Children’s Home in Chamarajnagar district. A caretaker at the Home described one child’s growing familiarity with Kannada, “Sibin [one of the children at the Home] has picked up a lot of Kannada in the two months he has been here. During a phone call from a relative back home, he kept answering questions in Kannada which obviously they did not understand at all.” In a shocking display of insensitivity, the caretaker burst into laughter at what she thought was a hilarious incident and added, “For 45 minutes, a woman, I assume his mother, kept trying. Sibin, of course, had no answers since he had forgotten his own language.” She giggled. The caretaker then proceeded to teach Sibin the Kannada word for dinner.
ACCORDING TO Sibin’s birth certificate, he is six. Yet another certificate issued by the village headman of Sibin’s village, Mihmyntdu, certifies that he comes from a poor family and needs help for his education. TEHELKA was unable to contact his parents.
The physical and mental consequences suffered by children from Meghalaya differ from the everyday story of children placed in several thousand boarding schools across the country. That there is a larger plan behind the transportation of these children is something that RSS workers like Koch, have no qualms admitting.
Why are parents willing to send young children aged only six and seven to a distant place? In the face of these overwhelming disadvantages to the children, during visits with parents across eight villages in Meghalaya, TEHELKA found that parents — mostly poor — handed over their children to the RSS in the belief that their kids would be well cared for, as promised. Often, the transportation of children followed kinship routes, with younger siblings following older ones. While this may seem to defy logic, examined closely, it speaks of the intricate web of lies that the RSS has managed to weave, webs that ensnare parents, school authorities and often the children themselves. There are multiple untruths that are the foundation of this entire process.
PARENTS HAVE GIVEN THEIR CONSENT IN WRITING
Why are parents willing to send their children far from home? The mostly poor parents believe the RSS’ promises that the kids will be taken care of
When TEHELKA approached schools in Karnataka seeking papers that legalise the transfers of children across states, letters signed by the village headman or the Rangbah Shnong attesting to the family’s poor economic condition were handed out along with birth and caste certificates. Across different schools that TEHELKA visited, not a single letter was produced with the parents’ signature that stated explicitly that the care of their children was handed over to that particular school. No parent that TEHELKA met in Meghalaya had copies of any signed consent letter signed. Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 – such consent letters are mandatory for legal transfers of children.
The transportation of children, then, with no official papers sanctioning the move, is in clear violation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000. Under this law, the RSS can be held guilty of child trafficking.
THE CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOLS RUN ACCORDING TO THEIR SENG KHASI OR NIAMTRE RELIGIONS
Amongst the Khasi and Jaintia tribes, there is a tenuous relationship between those who have converted to Christianity and those who have not. The RSS carefully selects children from poor families who have not converted to Christianity. “I was told that the only way to protect my daughter from conversion was to send her outside. If I didn’t, the Church would take them away and make them priests and nuns,” said Biye Nongrum in Swer village. “I was afraid for my daughter and so I agreed to hand her over,” she says. Six years after her daughter left home, Biye has no details of the school that she is studying in. All she has is a class photograph. “I don’t have the money to visit my daughter and bring her back, even if I find out where she is. But I will never send another child away,” she says. Biye ekes out a living by selling sweet pancakes to richer families in the village. The ramshackle house that she shares with her mother and at least three other children further signal her poverty stricken condition. The socioeconomic status of the families are an indication of why it is difficult for the parents to ever bring their children back — they simply cannot afford it.
Several parents told TEHELKA that the RSS schools where their children were studying were schools that upheld their indigenous religions – a rationale that has many takers. In Jel Chyrmang’s home in Mookhep village, TEHELKA found a framed photograph of Jel’s daughter, Rani Chyrmang, being felicitated by the patron saint of her school, Sri Balagangadharnath. Ask Jel who the saffron-robed saint is and she blithely repeats what she has been told, a story that would be hilarious if the circumstances were not so sad. According to Jel, Sri Balagangadharnath is a Seng Khasi saint who runs her daughter’s school. There is no doubt in her voice at all. Jel’s ignorance, however, does not extend to others in the family. Her husband, Denis Siangshai, who contested the recent Lok Sabha elections, turns out to be an RSS worker. Using his daughter as an example, he admitted to having convinced others in the area as well. “People have a wrong notion of RSS. I always tell them that the RSS will give them good education and culture,” says Denis.
The transportation of children without clear consent letters from parents and guardians is a clear violation of the Juvenile Justice Act
Most parents have no idea that the schools chosen by the RSS espouse a different ideology. Besides the forced culturisation, even the libraries and books handed out to the students are RSS publications from recognized right-wing publishing houses in Bengaluru. In the JSS Ashram school, the library was stocked with publications of RSS ideologues published from Bharata Samskruti Prakashana (Indian Culture Publications). No trace of Seng Khasi teachings or Niamtre practices.
THE CHILDREN ARE ABANDONED AND DESTITUTE
For a non-tribal society like Karnataka, the notion of a father abandoning the family is seen as a social and economic disaster. Meghalaya, though, is a matrilineal society, where men move to live with women in their villages. Mothers continue to remain the primary caretakers. Even if the mother dies, the child is brought up by relatives and is never entirely abandoned.
THE CHILDREN HAVE ADJUSTED WELL
When children first leave Meghalaya, parents and children are not aware where the children will ultimately be taken. As direct communication between the children and parents is limited owing to the socio-economic conditions of the parents and the lack of facilities at the schools, the RSS is the main intermediary between the two. The RSS tells parents that the children are happy and well adjusted in their new environments. The reality is something else.
Raplangki Dkhar, a standard VI student at Vidyaniketan, was clearly waiting for his uncle to come take him home. “Only if people from home come and take us, we can go back. Every year when school ends, we hear that we will be taken back. But it has been two years already,” said a forlorn Raplangki. Only two of the children TEHELKA met had ever returned home to visit. Back in Raplangki’s hometown in Raliang, Meghalaya, when TEHELKA asked his uncle why he had not visited Raplangki, he is surprised, “I had no reason to doubt the fact that my nephew has adjusted well. At every RSS meeting in Jowai we are assured by them that the kids are healthy and happy.”
Direct phone calls between children and parents are dependent entirely on the parents’ finances. If the parents have not been able to pay for the child’s education, the schools that they are placed in are often the free orphanages run by the Mutts, where access to phones is non-existent, as is the case with the free hostel run by the Sri Adichunchanagiri Mutt.
For the RSS, these falsifications are part of a process. A process that is bound to add an additional layer of complexity amongst the people of Meghalaya, quite apart from the mental and social costs inflicted on young children.
WRITER’S EMAIL
sanjana(at)tehelka.com
_____
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 26, Dated July 04, 2009
‘The Children Will Champion Hinduism’
At the Kalyan Ashram in Shillong, Prafulla Chandra Koch and Sukanto Borman, two RSS workers, talked with TEHELKA about what the RSS hopes to gain through the programme. Both refused to be photographed.
For how many years have the children been taken to Karnataka? How many have gone?
SB: I am not sure about the years, but I know there are more than 1,500 to 1,600 children in schools in Karnataka. Every year, Tukaram Shetty takes more children with him.
But why don’t you start schools here? Why send them to Karnataka?
PCK: In some villages, we help village councils run schools. We pay their teachers’ salaries. This isn’t possible in many villages since the Christians are everywhere here. This programme is also about culture. The children are sent to schools in Karnataka to imbibe good cultural values.
What values are you talking about?
SB: That we are all Hindus and that Hindus have to stick together...
PCK: (interrupts) When they stay in Karnataka, they are exposed to many other children. They learn to live in harmony with them. They carry the love and acceptance they get there back to Meghalaya and spread it to their parents. Right now, outsiders or dakkar are viewed with a lot of suspicion but this will change after some years, making our work easier.
‘WE CAN’T CALL IT A SHAKHA YET, BUT GIVE US ANOTHER YEAR’
What specific gains does the RSS hope for?
PCK: Since these children are educated in RSS schools, they will adopt the Hindu religion. Already, we have seen children refusing to eat meat when they return. They will also teach their parents to follow in their footsteps. Over time, the children who return will champion the Hindu way of life in Meghalaya.
That is a really long-term agenda.
PCK: We benefit immediately too. Four to five times a year, we hold compulsory meetings with the parents of children sent to Karnataka, usually in Jowai. RSS pracharaks attend these meetings. We share information with the parents and ask them if their children have been in touch with them and what they have been saying. Besides this, discussions also revolve around conversions and the problems that are created by Christians in Meghalaya. We can’t call it a shakha yet, but give us another year.
June 27, 2009
Restoring green in valley
Restoring Green in the Valley
Ram Puniyani
On 29th May night (2009) in Shopian in Kashmir, two girls Nilofer and Asiya were raped and murdered. The administration tried to prove that it was a case of death due to drowning. The valley erupted into severe protests. The favorite slogan of the protesters from last several years has been, Hamen Kya Chahiye-Azadi (what do we want-Freedom). Every act of trampling on the interests of the people of valley leads to the same. Last time it took place when the Amarnath agitation sparked by the faulty move of Pro BJP governor of Kashmir, to acquire vast stretch of land for the shrine.
The present incident is very disturbing. It shows the role of the army and para-military forces, the attitude of administration in toeing lines which are very much insulting to the people of Kashmir, which cover up the crimes of the forces. Also one should note the tragic plight of the Kashmiri’s and more so the Kashmiri women at the hands of the people with the gun, the militants and the army both. The rising militancy in Kashmir has led to the deployment of more and more forces in Kashmir. Last two decades in particular have seen the life drying out there, and the suffering of people caught in the cross fire between the militant-terrorist outfits and the Indian armed personnel.
The popular perception has been that the Kashmir issue is due to the separatism of Muslims, and that Islam and Jihad is the major culprit. Kashmir has been mired right from the beginning by the ultra nationalism of Hindu right pressuring the Indian government to abolish article 370 and fully merge Kashmir with India. After the tragic partition of India, Kashmir’s Raja Harisingh decided to remain independent. The Hindutva forces in valley said that a Hindu Kingdom Kashmir (since the king was a Hindu) should not merge with secular India. When Pakistan’s army, disguised as tribals, attacked Kashmir, the People of Kashmir as represented by the National Conference with its leader Sheikh Abdullah, did not want to merge with Pakistan.
In the face of aggression Maharaja Harising appealed to Indian government to send its army to protect Kashmir from the attack by Pakistan army. On the insistence of Sheikh Abdullah in particular, the army was sent after the treaty of accession was signed. With Indian army intervention, Kashmir’s 2/3 became part of India with all the clauses of autonomy, article 370. With general elections Sheikh Abdullah swept the polls and became the Prime Minister of Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah must be credited as being one of the most progressive leaders of the time as he was determined to undertake land reforms, which he did once he came to power.
Immediately after the treaty was signed Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of Hindu Mahasabha, started campaigning for abolishing the clauses of autonomy and to forcibly merge it with India. This pressure had its effect and the attitude of Indian Government, over a period of time, hardened towards the autonomy clauses. With such attitude developing, Sheikh felt regret for his decision for accession, started loud rethinking and started talking to other countries, including the US and China. With this the Indian Govt. declared him as anti National and he was imprisoned for long years. This in turn led to the alienation of Kashmir people. As such on one hand Kashmir has been the victim of global imperialist policy on one hand and the attempts to go back from the promise of autonomy, on the other. US was clear that in the geographically crucial area, Kashmir, which has its border with many countries, cannot be left alone and so its stooge Pakistan did all possible to help the disgruntled elements in Kashmir. The later events showed the attitude of India and Pakistan as powers trying to take hold of the real Estate called Kashmir. Kashmir was seen not as constituted by people with their own aspirations but as a piece of property.
In all fairness it must be said till Nehru was alive he cautioned restraint and believed in winning over the hearts and minds of the people of Kashmir. Even at his time the pressure of Ultra Nationalists inside and outside the Government kept going up and gradually army was projected as the answer to the ‘problem of Kashmir.’ Ironically Pakistan which so far has been in the chains of the rule of Army, Mullahs and America, named the part of Kashmir, under its control as Azad Kashmir (Independent Kashmir)! And freedom for Kashmir has been the favorite theme of most of the dictators ruling the roost, of course with due support from Uncle Sam. What an irony; Dictators talking of Freedom! The trajectory of events is long, how after Sheikh Abdullah’s concern of autonomy changed over to Independence in the decades of 1970s, and in 1980-1990 to armed struggle for Azad Kashmir.
Interestingly after the defeat of Al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan, many of them turned their attention to Kashmir and partly communalized the issue. Mostly the theme of the Kashmir struggle has been Kashmiriyat, a concept which incorporates the values of Vedanta, Buddha and Sufis.
India kept sending more and more armed personnel to ‘solve’ the problem. There has been one Indian soldier for every 6-7 Kashmiris. What can be the life under such circumstances? Army is meant to fight the enemies, and not for any prolonged stay in any area. The army stay, domination in an area creates different type of vested interests. Army is no holy cow! From times immemorial army has been plundering and raping apart form other things. While it will be wrong to tar all the armed personnel with single brush, it is also true that section of army’s attitude to women has not been any thing good to write about. Be it the case of Manorama in the North East or the present case of Nilofer and Asiya, the tale is tragic.
The good news from Kashmir has been that last tow lections have been conducted fairly democratically, and even the separatists like Sajjad Lone are now opting for the democratic system with changed equation in Pakistan, with democracy struggling to come in there, the portents are healthy. It is time that army is withdrawn at a rapid pace, democratic process is deepened, guilty of violence against women and their protectors are punished and army rests in barracks rather than dictating terms in Kashmir. Hope Mr. Chidambaram promise in this direction does not remain merely on paper.
Ram Puniyani
On 29th May night (2009) in Shopian in Kashmir, two girls Nilofer and Asiya were raped and murdered. The administration tried to prove that it was a case of death due to drowning. The valley erupted into severe protests. The favorite slogan of the protesters from last several years has been, Hamen Kya Chahiye-Azadi (what do we want-Freedom). Every act of trampling on the interests of the people of valley leads to the same. Last time it took place when the Amarnath agitation sparked by the faulty move of Pro BJP governor of Kashmir, to acquire vast stretch of land for the shrine.
The present incident is very disturbing. It shows the role of the army and para-military forces, the attitude of administration in toeing lines which are very much insulting to the people of Kashmir, which cover up the crimes of the forces. Also one should note the tragic plight of the Kashmiri’s and more so the Kashmiri women at the hands of the people with the gun, the militants and the army both. The rising militancy in Kashmir has led to the deployment of more and more forces in Kashmir. Last two decades in particular have seen the life drying out there, and the suffering of people caught in the cross fire between the militant-terrorist outfits and the Indian armed personnel.
The popular perception has been that the Kashmir issue is due to the separatism of Muslims, and that Islam and Jihad is the major culprit. Kashmir has been mired right from the beginning by the ultra nationalism of Hindu right pressuring the Indian government to abolish article 370 and fully merge Kashmir with India. After the tragic partition of India, Kashmir’s Raja Harisingh decided to remain independent. The Hindutva forces in valley said that a Hindu Kingdom Kashmir (since the king was a Hindu) should not merge with secular India. When Pakistan’s army, disguised as tribals, attacked Kashmir, the People of Kashmir as represented by the National Conference with its leader Sheikh Abdullah, did not want to merge with Pakistan.
In the face of aggression Maharaja Harising appealed to Indian government to send its army to protect Kashmir from the attack by Pakistan army. On the insistence of Sheikh Abdullah in particular, the army was sent after the treaty of accession was signed. With Indian army intervention, Kashmir’s 2/3 became part of India with all the clauses of autonomy, article 370. With general elections Sheikh Abdullah swept the polls and became the Prime Minister of Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah must be credited as being one of the most progressive leaders of the time as he was determined to undertake land reforms, which he did once he came to power.
Immediately after the treaty was signed Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of Hindu Mahasabha, started campaigning for abolishing the clauses of autonomy and to forcibly merge it with India. This pressure had its effect and the attitude of Indian Government, over a period of time, hardened towards the autonomy clauses. With such attitude developing, Sheikh felt regret for his decision for accession, started loud rethinking and started talking to other countries, including the US and China. With this the Indian Govt. declared him as anti National and he was imprisoned for long years. This in turn led to the alienation of Kashmir people. As such on one hand Kashmir has been the victim of global imperialist policy on one hand and the attempts to go back from the promise of autonomy, on the other. US was clear that in the geographically crucial area, Kashmir, which has its border with many countries, cannot be left alone and so its stooge Pakistan did all possible to help the disgruntled elements in Kashmir. The later events showed the attitude of India and Pakistan as powers trying to take hold of the real Estate called Kashmir. Kashmir was seen not as constituted by people with their own aspirations but as a piece of property.
In all fairness it must be said till Nehru was alive he cautioned restraint and believed in winning over the hearts and minds of the people of Kashmir. Even at his time the pressure of Ultra Nationalists inside and outside the Government kept going up and gradually army was projected as the answer to the ‘problem of Kashmir.’ Ironically Pakistan which so far has been in the chains of the rule of Army, Mullahs and America, named the part of Kashmir, under its control as Azad Kashmir (Independent Kashmir)! And freedom for Kashmir has been the favorite theme of most of the dictators ruling the roost, of course with due support from Uncle Sam. What an irony; Dictators talking of Freedom! The trajectory of events is long, how after Sheikh Abdullah’s concern of autonomy changed over to Independence in the decades of 1970s, and in 1980-1990 to armed struggle for Azad Kashmir.
Interestingly after the defeat of Al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan, many of them turned their attention to Kashmir and partly communalized the issue. Mostly the theme of the Kashmir struggle has been Kashmiriyat, a concept which incorporates the values of Vedanta, Buddha and Sufis.
India kept sending more and more armed personnel to ‘solve’ the problem. There has been one Indian soldier for every 6-7 Kashmiris. What can be the life under such circumstances? Army is meant to fight the enemies, and not for any prolonged stay in any area. The army stay, domination in an area creates different type of vested interests. Army is no holy cow! From times immemorial army has been plundering and raping apart form other things. While it will be wrong to tar all the armed personnel with single brush, it is also true that section of army’s attitude to women has not been any thing good to write about. Be it the case of Manorama in the North East or the present case of Nilofer and Asiya, the tale is tragic.
The good news from Kashmir has been that last tow lections have been conducted fairly democratically, and even the separatists like Sajjad Lone are now opting for the democratic system with changed equation in Pakistan, with democracy struggling to come in there, the portents are healthy. It is time that army is withdrawn at a rapid pace, democratic process is deepened, guilty of violence against women and their protectors are punished and army rests in barracks rather than dictating terms in Kashmir. Hope Mr. Chidambaram promise in this direction does not remain merely on paper.
Faith; Instilling Unity
Faith: Instilling Unity
One has heard that faith can move mountains, but currently one looks forward to see that it restores peace and justice in society. We have been hearing about various Inter Faith Dialogues from quite some time. One such high level dialogue took place in Mumbai in second week of June 2009. This was attended by top clergy from Hindu and Christian religions. It came to the understanding that there should be no violence against minorities, there should be no conversions and that religious organizations will pool together their resources for charity.
The need for interfaith dialogue has been felt very acutely in the light of violence in the name of religion, which has intensified during last couple of decades. Faith has been misused during this time to launch violence by vested interests. The aim of this use, nay abuse, of faith for political goals was a very well calculated move by vested interests to come to power. Surely interfaith dialogue is the best contribution the clergy can make for the peace of society. It is also true that it is not the clergy which is instrumental in misuse of faith.
In last three decades faith has been misused for political goals by US when it resorted to cultivating terror groups and then launched War on Terror, unleashed ‘crusade’ and attacked Afghanistan. Then the Al Qaeda, Taliban types liberally misused the word Jihad, Kafir in an insane manner to launch their ‘revenge’ offensive, apparently for the glory of their faith. In India the adverse effect of Al Qaeda violence added on to the misuse of faith here. At another level with Ram Rath Yatra, as it was riding on the chariot of faith and leaving behind the trail of blood, the misuse of faith for divisive politics tormented the society. Those blinded by lust for power saw the resurgence of faith around the chariot and ignored the spilling of blood in the back. It did achieve the purpose of sectarian forces occupying the seats of power for six long years.
The other misuse of faith was around defense of Hindu faith by organizations in Adivasi areas. A group of swamis descended in these Adivasi areas and dubbed the charity work done by section of missionaries as being a danger to Hindu faith and so burnt a Pastor from Australia working amongst Leprosy patients and backed it up by further misuse of faith in unleashing violence in the Adivasi belt from Dangs to Orissa.
The clergy’s effort in the direction of restoring peace is laudable. Though the problem is not of their making they do realize a large section of society looks up to them for guidance. The organizations of religion have a very different role to play in today’s World. True, in feudal times, clergy was associated with the kings and legitimized the system of economic exploitation, social subjugation of landed labor and women. Today when democracy is struggling to be the norm, clergy has to play a different role. It should not associate with powers that be to perpetuate the unjust social, economic system. They have to act as the soothing balm to the suffering humanity. It is in this direction that the meeting of Archbishops and Shankarachayas is a welcome move. With such dialogues the perpetuators of violence in the name of religion will loose their legitimacy after such pronouncements by the men of religion, and that will be a big step in curbing the violence, emasculating the politics deriving its legitimacy in the name of religion.
One point which strikes in the discourse of these holy people is their emphasis on spirituality. While Cardinal Gracias said ours is a spiritual country, Sri Sarswati went in to call that India should be declared as a spiritual state. There is some problem here. Being spiritual is a personal Endeavour, effort to discover oneself, to connect one self with the divine powers etc., is a personal matter, not the matter for state apparatus to deal with. The state cannot be and should not be declared spiritual. In modern times even religion which has visible aspects in the form of identity markers cannot be a state matter. Spirituality is an abstract concept, persons’ own path to be at peace in the universe. Many a mystics, saints adopted the path of spirituality as a way of life for themselves. Spirituality can be expressed, but not transferred. In democratic society as religion is a personal matter, spirituality is much more so. Individual path of spirituality of people cannot make the state as spiritual. State has to have its own norms of laws, schemes for welfare of material betterment of its citizens.
As such the formulation that India is a spiritual nation is not a new one. It began with British coming to India. They propounded that India is essentially a religious country and spiritualism is its core. This myth was started by British rulers who were consolidating their hegemony over India. The sole aim of such a fabrication was to dominate the political, social machinery, the 'material realm' of socie¬ty, while leaving the 'spiritual arena' for the Indians. The idea was to flatter the Indians away from the matters of civil and political society, where they wanted to establish unhindered hegemony.
The fact is, India was the cradle for multiple rich materi¬al pursuits: trade and commerce, which was well developed, Indian traders going far and wide for their business pursuits, crafts¬manship had reached its glorious heights in different professions. Art and architecture had a rich spectrum to offer from the paintings of Kangada Kalam, to temples of Khajuraho, to the majestic palaces of Kings to Taj Mahal. It was a comprehensive develop¬ment of all the faculties of society, spiritual and material. This civilization and culture had rich inputs from different cultures, which came and interacted with the local cultures. Starting from Aryans down to British, all those who came contributed to the culture of this land. Indian cul¬ture is a rich outcome of interaction of multiple cultures and syncretic traditions which not only left their deep mark on the ‘way of life' of the people but also a pleasant imprint on the social and cultural lie of society.
So while welcoming the move to understand each other, to shun from looking at the ‘other’ in a humiliating way, to having a pro-active affinity for each others’ positive values, one also hopes clergy tunes itself to the values of democratic society and democratic ethos rather than stick to formulations which are either borrowed from the practitioners of divisive politics or from the past, which have no relevance today.
--
One has heard that faith can move mountains, but currently one looks forward to see that it restores peace and justice in society. We have been hearing about various Inter Faith Dialogues from quite some time. One such high level dialogue took place in Mumbai in second week of June 2009. This was attended by top clergy from Hindu and Christian religions. It came to the understanding that there should be no violence against minorities, there should be no conversions and that religious organizations will pool together their resources for charity.
The need for interfaith dialogue has been felt very acutely in the light of violence in the name of religion, which has intensified during last couple of decades. Faith has been misused during this time to launch violence by vested interests. The aim of this use, nay abuse, of faith for political goals was a very well calculated move by vested interests to come to power. Surely interfaith dialogue is the best contribution the clergy can make for the peace of society. It is also true that it is not the clergy which is instrumental in misuse of faith.
In last three decades faith has been misused for political goals by US when it resorted to cultivating terror groups and then launched War on Terror, unleashed ‘crusade’ and attacked Afghanistan. Then the Al Qaeda, Taliban types liberally misused the word Jihad, Kafir in an insane manner to launch their ‘revenge’ offensive, apparently for the glory of their faith. In India the adverse effect of Al Qaeda violence added on to the misuse of faith here. At another level with Ram Rath Yatra, as it was riding on the chariot of faith and leaving behind the trail of blood, the misuse of faith for divisive politics tormented the society. Those blinded by lust for power saw the resurgence of faith around the chariot and ignored the spilling of blood in the back. It did achieve the purpose of sectarian forces occupying the seats of power for six long years.
The other misuse of faith was around defense of Hindu faith by organizations in Adivasi areas. A group of swamis descended in these Adivasi areas and dubbed the charity work done by section of missionaries as being a danger to Hindu faith and so burnt a Pastor from Australia working amongst Leprosy patients and backed it up by further misuse of faith in unleashing violence in the Adivasi belt from Dangs to Orissa.
The clergy’s effort in the direction of restoring peace is laudable. Though the problem is not of their making they do realize a large section of society looks up to them for guidance. The organizations of religion have a very different role to play in today’s World. True, in feudal times, clergy was associated with the kings and legitimized the system of economic exploitation, social subjugation of landed labor and women. Today when democracy is struggling to be the norm, clergy has to play a different role. It should not associate with powers that be to perpetuate the unjust social, economic system. They have to act as the soothing balm to the suffering humanity. It is in this direction that the meeting of Archbishops and Shankarachayas is a welcome move. With such dialogues the perpetuators of violence in the name of religion will loose their legitimacy after such pronouncements by the men of religion, and that will be a big step in curbing the violence, emasculating the politics deriving its legitimacy in the name of religion.
One point which strikes in the discourse of these holy people is their emphasis on spirituality. While Cardinal Gracias said ours is a spiritual country, Sri Sarswati went in to call that India should be declared as a spiritual state. There is some problem here. Being spiritual is a personal Endeavour, effort to discover oneself, to connect one self with the divine powers etc., is a personal matter, not the matter for state apparatus to deal with. The state cannot be and should not be declared spiritual. In modern times even religion which has visible aspects in the form of identity markers cannot be a state matter. Spirituality is an abstract concept, persons’ own path to be at peace in the universe. Many a mystics, saints adopted the path of spirituality as a way of life for themselves. Spirituality can be expressed, but not transferred. In democratic society as religion is a personal matter, spirituality is much more so. Individual path of spirituality of people cannot make the state as spiritual. State has to have its own norms of laws, schemes for welfare of material betterment of its citizens.
As such the formulation that India is a spiritual nation is not a new one. It began with British coming to India. They propounded that India is essentially a religious country and spiritualism is its core. This myth was started by British rulers who were consolidating their hegemony over India. The sole aim of such a fabrication was to dominate the political, social machinery, the 'material realm' of socie¬ty, while leaving the 'spiritual arena' for the Indians. The idea was to flatter the Indians away from the matters of civil and political society, where they wanted to establish unhindered hegemony.
The fact is, India was the cradle for multiple rich materi¬al pursuits: trade and commerce, which was well developed, Indian traders going far and wide for their business pursuits, crafts¬manship had reached its glorious heights in different professions. Art and architecture had a rich spectrum to offer from the paintings of Kangada Kalam, to temples of Khajuraho, to the majestic palaces of Kings to Taj Mahal. It was a comprehensive develop¬ment of all the faculties of society, spiritual and material. This civilization and culture had rich inputs from different cultures, which came and interacted with the local cultures. Starting from Aryans down to British, all those who came contributed to the culture of this land. Indian cul¬ture is a rich outcome of interaction of multiple cultures and syncretic traditions which not only left their deep mark on the ‘way of life' of the people but also a pleasant imprint on the social and cultural lie of society.
So while welcoming the move to understand each other, to shun from looking at the ‘other’ in a humiliating way, to having a pro-active affinity for each others’ positive values, one also hopes clergy tunes itself to the values of democratic society and democratic ethos rather than stick to formulations which are either borrowed from the practitioners of divisive politics or from the past, which have no relevance today.
--
June 22, 2009
Reports nail Varun for hate speech
by Tapas Chakraborty
(The Telegraph, 22 June 2009)
Lucknow, June 21: Uttar Pradesh police are preparing to file a chargesheet against Varun Gandhi after two forensic reports confirmed independently that the voice in a hate-speech CD is his, sources said.
The Mayavati government had detained Varun, now a BJP member of Parliament, under the National Security Act for the anti-Muslim speech during his campaign in Pilibhit. But the Supreme Court gave him bail and then squashed the use of the NSA against him. Varun, 29, claims the CD was doctored.
Varun, however, was also booked in criminal cases under Election Commission orders for allegedly promoting enmity between religious groups, punishable by up to three years in jail. The charge-sheets will be filed in connection with these six cases, lodged in various Pilibhit police stations.
Pilibhit district magistrate Ajay Chauhan confirmed that two preliminary reports had arrived from the forensic science laboratories in Chandigarh and Hyderabad. “I have not seen the reports but I have been told by the police that they confirm that the voice in the CD was Varun’s,” he said.
A police source said the investigating officer, Mani Ram Rao, would travel to Chandigarh to get a detailed report. “After the detailed report is received, a charge-sheet along with the statements of forensic experts will be placed before the local court,” the source said.
In Lucknow, Varun’s lawyer Prashant Singh Atal said: “The charge-sheet is not expected to alter the status of Varun who is on bail.”
Varun’s mother and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi said in New Delhi that the forensic reports gave a “one-sided version” and claimed the “entire tape is doctored”.
(The Telegraph, 22 June 2009)
Lucknow, June 21: Uttar Pradesh police are preparing to file a chargesheet against Varun Gandhi after two forensic reports confirmed independently that the voice in a hate-speech CD is his, sources said.
The Mayavati government had detained Varun, now a BJP member of Parliament, under the National Security Act for the anti-Muslim speech during his campaign in Pilibhit. But the Supreme Court gave him bail and then squashed the use of the NSA against him. Varun, 29, claims the CD was doctored.
Varun, however, was also booked in criminal cases under Election Commission orders for allegedly promoting enmity between religious groups, punishable by up to three years in jail. The charge-sheets will be filed in connection with these six cases, lodged in various Pilibhit police stations.
Pilibhit district magistrate Ajay Chauhan confirmed that two preliminary reports had arrived from the forensic science laboratories in Chandigarh and Hyderabad. “I have not seen the reports but I have been told by the police that they confirm that the voice in the CD was Varun’s,” he said.
A police source said the investigating officer, Mani Ram Rao, would travel to Chandigarh to get a detailed report. “After the detailed report is received, a charge-sheet along with the statements of forensic experts will be placed before the local court,” the source said.
In Lucknow, Varun’s lawyer Prashant Singh Atal said: “The charge-sheet is not expected to alter the status of Varun who is on bail.”
Varun’s mother and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi said in New Delhi that the forensic reports gave a “one-sided version” and claimed the “entire tape is doctored”.
The BJP’s substance is more important not leaders
by Mahesh Rangarajan
(Mail Today, 22 June 2009)
MUCH of the country’s politically acute media and public are glued to the new round of debate in the premier Opposition party. Senior leaders who had held onerous posts in the Vajpayee government are locked in bitter battles with those anointed to lead in the legislature.
It is tempting, all too much so, to see this as a clash of cultures. At a time many observers are obsessed with age, it is also natural to see this as a generational conflict.
Such a view ignores how crucial “ older men” have been at turning points in India’s recent history. It was a septuagenarian, PV Narasimha Rao, who took the leap for economic reform. It was another, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who crossed the nuclear Rubicon in the summer of 1998. Yet another, in July last year took India into the international nuclear community.
One might differ with these decisions but no one can deny their import. What matters is not the age of a leader, but what he or she stands for. One measure of this is by looking at the quality and timbre of the second line leaders that are mentored by them.
Few now recall it but Vajpayee in one of his last party conclaves as prime minister had referred to two men as the Rama and Lakshmana of the party. One was Advani, who had a five decade long equation with the PM; and the other was Pramod Mahajan.
As it turns out, Mahajan was snatched away by fate and an assassin’s bullet. Advani took on the mantle but fell short of it on most if not all counts.
Icons
He did more than read the mood of the voters wrong in the run up to the polls. His stance was far too aggressive for a society that had had enough of strife, conflict and division.
It was in the handling of defeat that he had tripped up. In 2004, the shock of defeat took a while to set in, with the chief leader insisting that it was a mere aggregate of state level results that had done them in. Perhaps he took as an axiom the comment he was fond of repeating in the early years of the decade when he claimed his was “ the natural party of governance.” The facts indicate otherwise.
India’s polity entered a phase where Congress was no longer hegemonic in 1989. In the ensuing period of some twenty two years, the BJP has governed as head of alliance governments for only six.
It is the premier non- Congress formation and no such alliance can but reflect its predominance. But it is now sinking in that the party is playing for the second spot.
There is — despite my hesitation on ascribing views as per a protagonist’s age — a leap in terms of generations.
Arun Jaitley was the elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union who emerged to a hero’s welcome from jail in 1977. At the time Sushma Swaraj was to contest and win an MLA seat in Haryana as a socialist in the Janata Party.
This was the year when Vajpayee, Advani and Brijlal Verma served as cabinet ministers in India’s first ever non- Congress government. If 2004 marked the end of the Vajpayee era, then this year surely will be the curtain call for the Advani period.
At the time it was in power, the party saw itself as a harbinger of modernity. It would be an assertive India, with nuclear weapons, and first rate highways. It even dusted off the old plans of Colonel Dastur and KL Rao and proposed linking India’s rivers.
Looking back, it seems it was obsessed with what were icons and emblems of power in the mid- twentieth century. It was the world where the young Vajpayee and Advani cut their political teeth taking on no less than the Congress of Jawaharlal Nehru.
So enamoured were they with their opponents’ imagery that Atal was modelled by admirers on Nehru.
Advani settled for Sardar Patel as his role model. These were almost caricatures, but still they did matter.
It did not occur to them that the Congress itself has moved on as any mature political formation must. In doing so, Congress retrieved a great positive virtue of the Nehru period, the ability to access ideas and projects from the intelligentsia. For large sections of the modern and traditional literati, the aftermath of Gujarat and the Sangh Parivar’s association with its own icons ( from Ram Mandir to Ram Sethu), made Congress under Sonia appear like a breath of fresh air.
Lacking any taint of past associations with the Emergency or with the Babri Masjid demolition, she and then Rahul Gandhi scored over the BJP. It was not simply an issue of age. It was also one of having an ideology that sought to blend the competing claims of enterprise and equity, development and ecology, state building and local identity.
Hindutva
Jaswant Singh, who served as Finance, External Affairs and Defence Minister was right when he said he was not sure what Hindutva meant any more. And so was Shivraj Singh Chauhan who said simply that Hindutva meant vikas or development.
But if this were so, what is to be special about the party of cultural nationalism? In any case, the poor did not turn to the BJP as their party.
The Opposition party promised more grain per poor family per month and at lower price. It still did not fare better than Congress. Obviously, the memory of the Vajpayee period rankles among the poor. It was not seen as a sarkar that was with the aam aadmi.
Modernity
Conversely, there is the line of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, closer to the heart and soul of the Sangh than the other two members of the old trinity.
But it was under his tenure as HRD Minister that 23 universities got to list karmakand ( Hindu rites of sacrifice) as a humanities subject. To add to it astrology was to be listed as a science subject.
There can be no objection to the study of sacrifice or astrology, but funding these from the exchequer cannot be a modern project. In either case, it hardly seems a vision in keeping with a 21st century India.
Nor can denying the massacre in Gujarat work any more. Where it really needed to learn from a Nehru or a Patel in cracking down on violence, it failed to do so. If the older leadership was too imbued with the ideas of state building of the Fifties, today’s top echelon is unable to even come close to that.
The party and indeed the entire project of cultural nationalism is at a cross roads. It cannot for reasons of history and its very structure walk away from its parent, the RSS. The latter is not too pleased about the party being so remote from power.
Even the Gandhi family, its bête noire since Motilal Nehru’s days, has resurrected itself.
Without a serious rethink about what it stands for and who it represents, it cannot move forward. It is here that it is in a crisis. Who heads it matters less than what ideas it comes up with.
The writer teaches history in Delhi University
(Mail Today, 22 June 2009)
MUCH of the country’s politically acute media and public are glued to the new round of debate in the premier Opposition party. Senior leaders who had held onerous posts in the Vajpayee government are locked in bitter battles with those anointed to lead in the legislature.
It is tempting, all too much so, to see this as a clash of cultures. At a time many observers are obsessed with age, it is also natural to see this as a generational conflict.
Such a view ignores how crucial “ older men” have been at turning points in India’s recent history. It was a septuagenarian, PV Narasimha Rao, who took the leap for economic reform. It was another, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who crossed the nuclear Rubicon in the summer of 1998. Yet another, in July last year took India into the international nuclear community.
One might differ with these decisions but no one can deny their import. What matters is not the age of a leader, but what he or she stands for. One measure of this is by looking at the quality and timbre of the second line leaders that are mentored by them.
Few now recall it but Vajpayee in one of his last party conclaves as prime minister had referred to two men as the Rama and Lakshmana of the party. One was Advani, who had a five decade long equation with the PM; and the other was Pramod Mahajan.
As it turns out, Mahajan was snatched away by fate and an assassin’s bullet. Advani took on the mantle but fell short of it on most if not all counts.
Icons
He did more than read the mood of the voters wrong in the run up to the polls. His stance was far too aggressive for a society that had had enough of strife, conflict and division.
It was in the handling of defeat that he had tripped up. In 2004, the shock of defeat took a while to set in, with the chief leader insisting that it was a mere aggregate of state level results that had done them in. Perhaps he took as an axiom the comment he was fond of repeating in the early years of the decade when he claimed his was “ the natural party of governance.” The facts indicate otherwise.
India’s polity entered a phase where Congress was no longer hegemonic in 1989. In the ensuing period of some twenty two years, the BJP has governed as head of alliance governments for only six.
It is the premier non- Congress formation and no such alliance can but reflect its predominance. But it is now sinking in that the party is playing for the second spot.
There is — despite my hesitation on ascribing views as per a protagonist’s age — a leap in terms of generations.
Arun Jaitley was the elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union who emerged to a hero’s welcome from jail in 1977. At the time Sushma Swaraj was to contest and win an MLA seat in Haryana as a socialist in the Janata Party.
This was the year when Vajpayee, Advani and Brijlal Verma served as cabinet ministers in India’s first ever non- Congress government. If 2004 marked the end of the Vajpayee era, then this year surely will be the curtain call for the Advani period.
At the time it was in power, the party saw itself as a harbinger of modernity. It would be an assertive India, with nuclear weapons, and first rate highways. It even dusted off the old plans of Colonel Dastur and KL Rao and proposed linking India’s rivers.
Looking back, it seems it was obsessed with what were icons and emblems of power in the mid- twentieth century. It was the world where the young Vajpayee and Advani cut their political teeth taking on no less than the Congress of Jawaharlal Nehru.
So enamoured were they with their opponents’ imagery that Atal was modelled by admirers on Nehru.
Advani settled for Sardar Patel as his role model. These were almost caricatures, but still they did matter.
It did not occur to them that the Congress itself has moved on as any mature political formation must. In doing so, Congress retrieved a great positive virtue of the Nehru period, the ability to access ideas and projects from the intelligentsia. For large sections of the modern and traditional literati, the aftermath of Gujarat and the Sangh Parivar’s association with its own icons ( from Ram Mandir to Ram Sethu), made Congress under Sonia appear like a breath of fresh air.
Lacking any taint of past associations with the Emergency or with the Babri Masjid demolition, she and then Rahul Gandhi scored over the BJP. It was not simply an issue of age. It was also one of having an ideology that sought to blend the competing claims of enterprise and equity, development and ecology, state building and local identity.
Hindutva
Jaswant Singh, who served as Finance, External Affairs and Defence Minister was right when he said he was not sure what Hindutva meant any more. And so was Shivraj Singh Chauhan who said simply that Hindutva meant vikas or development.
But if this were so, what is to be special about the party of cultural nationalism? In any case, the poor did not turn to the BJP as their party.
The Opposition party promised more grain per poor family per month and at lower price. It still did not fare better than Congress. Obviously, the memory of the Vajpayee period rankles among the poor. It was not seen as a sarkar that was with the aam aadmi.
Modernity
Conversely, there is the line of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, closer to the heart and soul of the Sangh than the other two members of the old trinity.
But it was under his tenure as HRD Minister that 23 universities got to list karmakand ( Hindu rites of sacrifice) as a humanities subject. To add to it astrology was to be listed as a science subject.
There can be no objection to the study of sacrifice or astrology, but funding these from the exchequer cannot be a modern project. In either case, it hardly seems a vision in keeping with a 21st century India.
Nor can denying the massacre in Gujarat work any more. Where it really needed to learn from a Nehru or a Patel in cracking down on violence, it failed to do so. If the older leadership was too imbued with the ideas of state building of the Fifties, today’s top echelon is unable to even come close to that.
The party and indeed the entire project of cultural nationalism is at a cross roads. It cannot for reasons of history and its very structure walk away from its parent, the RSS. The latter is not too pleased about the party being so remote from power.
Even the Gandhi family, its bête noire since Motilal Nehru’s days, has resurrected itself.
Without a serious rethink about what it stands for and who it represents, it cannot move forward. It is here that it is in a crisis. Who heads it matters less than what ideas it comes up with.
The writer teaches history in Delhi University
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