The Hindu
Nov 01, 2007)
Indira Gandhi Award given to Puniyani, Bandukwalla
Special Correspondent
They left their distinguished academic careers to enter the arena of public action
Sonia Gandhi urges party to fight communal forces
Communalism in any form is bad, says Professor Puniyani
NEW DELHI: Ram Puniyani and Juzar Salehbhai Bandukwalla — two individuals who renounced “the serenity and security of their distinguished academic careers to enter the often turbulent arena of public action” after the Mumbai riots of 1993 and the Gujarat carnage of 2002 respectively — were on Wednesday awarded the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.
Addressing the awards function, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described communal harmony and co-existence of all great religions of the world as the building blocks of “our civilisation.” Congratulating the two awardees for combining scholarship with activism, he said Indira Gandhi saw efforts for national integration as permanent precautions that an architect incorporates in his building plans.
In her address, Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged the party rank and file to fight communal forces as they were threatening the secular and democratic fabric of the country.
Making an oblique reference to the Tehelka sting disclosures on the Gujarat carnage, she said it was further testimony to the relevance of the work being done by Prof. Puniyani and Dr. Bandukwalla.
In his acceptance speech, Prof. Puniyani said never before in India’s independent history has its national integrity been under such threat as it has been in the past decade-and-a-half.
Of the view that communal politics has nothing to do with religion, he said those whipping up passions in the name of religion were doing great a disservice to the faith they professed.
Stating that communalism in any form was bad, Prof. Puniyani sought to make a distinction between majority and minority communalism. Majority communalism, he said, was more dangerous because it assumed the garb of nationalism.
Dr. Bandukwalla was critical of attempts to provide reservation for Muslims and described it as a crutch that would permanently cripple the community.
“It could set off a race for backwardness within the community and would increase animosity towards Muslims,” he said while making out a case for creating a level playing field for everyone.
Prof. Puniyani took early retirement from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, in the wake of the 1992-93 violence following the demolition of the Babri Masjid and has been instrumental in introducing peace studies in the curriculum of educational institutions, including the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Nirmala Niketan.
October 31, 2007
Ram Puniyani and Juzar Salehbhai Bandukwalla get recognistion for their fine work against communalism
Secular stakes in Gujarat elections
(Khaleej Times
31 October 2007)
Secular stakes in Gujarat elections
by Praful Bidwai
WHEN Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi walked out of an interview with a television channel last week after being questioned about the 2002 carnage, he probably didn't realise he was committing a blunder. The walkout showed him as confused, shaky, yet arrogant and unreasonable.
This has gravely dented Modi's contrived image as a swashbuckling, super-confident leader.
As he prepares for electoral battle in December, Modi's falling image will extract a high price. Five years ago, Mod’s Bharatiya Janata Party won 70 per cent of seats in the Assembly despite (or because of?) the communal violence. Today, it appears more vulnerable than at any time during its 12-year tenure in Gujarat.
The vote-gap between it and the Congress narrowed from 10 percentage-points to three between 2002 and 2004, and may now get reversed.
Gujarat's elections will prove a national turning-point. If the BJP wins them, the result will greatly influence its leadership succession. In conjunction with the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls-due in December, in which the BJP is expected to oust the Congress — it'll help stem losses in the next Lok Sabha elections. Losing Gujarat will be a massive setback for the BJP. That’ll set the stage for a long-overdue correction to the ghastly trend that brought about the violence of 2002, in which more than 2,000 Muslims were butchered.
This could herald the BJP's relegation to the political margins, where it belonged until the Ram temple campaign clicked in the late 1980s. This could transform Indian democracy.
Modi, is beset by enemies-mainly from his own sangh parivar . The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the RSS, and significant sections of the BJP oppose him. The last comprise more than a dozen legislators, including two former chief ministers, a former union minister, and an ex-home minister. They are itching to defeat Modi. They have held about 80 rallies, including an unprecedented 300,000-strong one in Rajkot.
Beneath the dissidence lie shifts in the BJP's support-base. Two caste groups, Kolis and Leuva Patels, have moved away. The Kolis are among the state's largest cultivating castes. They voted massively for the BJP in 2002. By 2004, 55 per cent of their vote went back to the Congress.
The Patels dominate Gujarat's agriculture, small industries, and diamond polishing. Their vote is decisive in one-third of constituencies.
Both groups are upset with Modi because of his extremely abrasive style, and refusal to share the loaves and fishes of office.
Gujarat's tribal (Adivasi) community and civil society organisations (CSOs) too are angry anger with Modi. In 2002, the Congress got only 11 tribal seats to the BJP's 13. Now, important Adivasi organisations are taking on the BJP.
All this offers the Congress a chance to vanquish "Moditva", that diabolical combination of communalism, human rights violations, and extremely dualistic elitist policies.
Modi claims Gujarat is a high-performing state with all-round growth.
In reality, Gujarat is misgoverned, with unbalanced growth and warped development, in which 74.3 per cent of women and 46.3 per cent of children are anemic. Gujarat's per capita debt exceeds the ratio for UP and Bihar.
Gujarat continues to attract industrial investment not because of its policies but because of a historical accident-business groups invested there early on, and it has a petrochemicals cluster. As the official Human Development Report (2004) points out, "Gujarat has reached only 48 per cent of the goals set for human development". It lags behind thanks to "several distortions in [its] growth path", including agricultural stagnation. Its gains in literacy, education, health, nutrition, etc, are much lower than its GDP growth. Recent "deceleration in [its] achievements" is cause for "serious concern."
Gujarat is severely patriarchal. Its sex-ratio is 487:1000 in the 0-4 age-group and 571 in the 5-9 group (national averages, 515 and 632). Its health indices have dropped relative to other states and are barely higher than Orissa's. In social sector spending (as a proportion of total expenditure), Gujarat ranks a lowly 19 among India's 21 major states. The industries that have flourished the most in Gujarat are all highly polluting: poisonous chemicals-Vapi is the world's fourth most toxic hub — textile dyeing, shipbreaking, and diamond polishing, which turns young people blind. Gujarat hasn't still recovered from its mill industry's wholesale closure since the 1980s. In Gujarat, labour exploitation is extreme. On minimum wages, Gujarat ranks eighth among Indian states.
As for the claim that Gujarat is well-administered, its legislature's Public Accounts Committee has severely indicted the government for awarding contracts in major schemes without tenders, causing a loss of hundreds of crores. Tax breaks have cost Gujarat some Rs 15,000 crores.
Gujarat's law and order situation is appalling. Its religious minorities (including Christians) and Dalits suffer extreme discrimination and exclusion. More than 100 Dalits were murdered in Gujarat over the past three years. The harassment of hundreds of Muslims originally arrested under draconian anti-terrorism laws continues unabated — although these laws were repealed.
The Congress has a historic chance to inflict a stinging defeat on the BJP. To do this, it must offer an alternative vision, take a strongly secular line, build alliances with other anti-communal parties/groups, and run a spirited campaign with a wise choice of candidates, while keeping the BJP dissidents at an arm's length. The fight is winnable-and certainly worth winning.
Praful Bidwai is a veteran Indian journalist and commentator. He can be reached at praful@bol.net.in
31 October 2007)
Secular stakes in Gujarat elections
by Praful Bidwai
WHEN Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi walked out of an interview with a television channel last week after being questioned about the 2002 carnage, he probably didn't realise he was committing a blunder. The walkout showed him as confused, shaky, yet arrogant and unreasonable.
This has gravely dented Modi's contrived image as a swashbuckling, super-confident leader.
As he prepares for electoral battle in December, Modi's falling image will extract a high price. Five years ago, Mod’s Bharatiya Janata Party won 70 per cent of seats in the Assembly despite (or because of?) the communal violence. Today, it appears more vulnerable than at any time during its 12-year tenure in Gujarat.
The vote-gap between it and the Congress narrowed from 10 percentage-points to three between 2002 and 2004, and may now get reversed.
Gujarat's elections will prove a national turning-point. If the BJP wins them, the result will greatly influence its leadership succession. In conjunction with the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls-due in December, in which the BJP is expected to oust the Congress — it'll help stem losses in the next Lok Sabha elections. Losing Gujarat will be a massive setback for the BJP. That’ll set the stage for a long-overdue correction to the ghastly trend that brought about the violence of 2002, in which more than 2,000 Muslims were butchered.
This could herald the BJP's relegation to the political margins, where it belonged until the Ram temple campaign clicked in the late 1980s. This could transform Indian democracy.
Modi, is beset by enemies-mainly from his own sangh parivar . The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the RSS, and significant sections of the BJP oppose him. The last comprise more than a dozen legislators, including two former chief ministers, a former union minister, and an ex-home minister. They are itching to defeat Modi. They have held about 80 rallies, including an unprecedented 300,000-strong one in Rajkot.
Beneath the dissidence lie shifts in the BJP's support-base. Two caste groups, Kolis and Leuva Patels, have moved away. The Kolis are among the state's largest cultivating castes. They voted massively for the BJP in 2002. By 2004, 55 per cent of their vote went back to the Congress.
The Patels dominate Gujarat's agriculture, small industries, and diamond polishing. Their vote is decisive in one-third of constituencies.
Both groups are upset with Modi because of his extremely abrasive style, and refusal to share the loaves and fishes of office.
Gujarat's tribal (Adivasi) community and civil society organisations (CSOs) too are angry anger with Modi. In 2002, the Congress got only 11 tribal seats to the BJP's 13. Now, important Adivasi organisations are taking on the BJP.
All this offers the Congress a chance to vanquish "Moditva", that diabolical combination of communalism, human rights violations, and extremely dualistic elitist policies.
Modi claims Gujarat is a high-performing state with all-round growth.
In reality, Gujarat is misgoverned, with unbalanced growth and warped development, in which 74.3 per cent of women and 46.3 per cent of children are anemic. Gujarat's per capita debt exceeds the ratio for UP and Bihar.
Gujarat continues to attract industrial investment not because of its policies but because of a historical accident-business groups invested there early on, and it has a petrochemicals cluster. As the official Human Development Report (2004) points out, "Gujarat has reached only 48 per cent of the goals set for human development". It lags behind thanks to "several distortions in [its] growth path", including agricultural stagnation. Its gains in literacy, education, health, nutrition, etc, are much lower than its GDP growth. Recent "deceleration in [its] achievements" is cause for "serious concern."
Gujarat is severely patriarchal. Its sex-ratio is 487:1000 in the 0-4 age-group and 571 in the 5-9 group (national averages, 515 and 632). Its health indices have dropped relative to other states and are barely higher than Orissa's. In social sector spending (as a proportion of total expenditure), Gujarat ranks a lowly 19 among India's 21 major states. The industries that have flourished the most in Gujarat are all highly polluting: poisonous chemicals-Vapi is the world's fourth most toxic hub — textile dyeing, shipbreaking, and diamond polishing, which turns young people blind. Gujarat hasn't still recovered from its mill industry's wholesale closure since the 1980s. In Gujarat, labour exploitation is extreme. On minimum wages, Gujarat ranks eighth among Indian states.
As for the claim that Gujarat is well-administered, its legislature's Public Accounts Committee has severely indicted the government for awarding contracts in major schemes without tenders, causing a loss of hundreds of crores. Tax breaks have cost Gujarat some Rs 15,000 crores.
Gujarat's law and order situation is appalling. Its religious minorities (including Christians) and Dalits suffer extreme discrimination and exclusion. More than 100 Dalits were murdered in Gujarat over the past three years. The harassment of hundreds of Muslims originally arrested under draconian anti-terrorism laws continues unabated — although these laws were repealed.
The Congress has a historic chance to inflict a stinging defeat on the BJP. To do this, it must offer an alternative vision, take a strongly secular line, build alliances with other anti-communal parties/groups, and run a spirited campaign with a wise choice of candidates, while keeping the BJP dissidents at an arm's length. The fight is winnable-and certainly worth winning.
Praful Bidwai is a veteran Indian journalist and commentator. He can be reached at praful@bol.net.in
The Endless Liberhan Commission - 42nd extension for two more months
(Indian Express
October 31, 2007)
Babri probe goes on, total spent so far: 7.20 cr
Agencies
New Delhi, October 31:: Failing to complete its task within the repeatedly extended timeframe, the Liberhan Commission, probing the circumstances leading to demolition of Babri Masjid, was on Wednesday given its 42nd extension for two more months.
The term of the Commission, set up almost soon after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, has now been extended till December 31, official sources said.
The term of the panel was extended on August 31 despite the government's statement in Parliament that the Commission would not be given any further time.
Union Home Ministry was hoping that the panel would submit its report before the deadline as the 15-year old Commission has already cost the state exchequer about Rs 7.20 crore.
October 31, 2007)
Babri probe goes on, total spent so far: 7.20 cr
Agencies
New Delhi, October 31:: Failing to complete its task within the repeatedly extended timeframe, the Liberhan Commission, probing the circumstances leading to demolition of Babri Masjid, was on Wednesday given its 42nd extension for two more months.
The term of the Commission, set up almost soon after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, has now been extended till December 31, official sources said.
The term of the panel was extended on August 31 despite the government's statement in Parliament that the Commission would not be given any further time.
Union Home Ministry was hoping that the panel would submit its report before the deadline as the 15-year old Commission has already cost the state exchequer about Rs 7.20 crore.
Mumbai riots: Congress Govt in Maharashtra's lame excuse 'non proof' to move against Bal Thackeray
(Indian Express
October 31, 2007)
Mumbai riots: Deshmukh says no proof against Bal Thackeray
by Rakshit Sonawane
MUMBAI, OCTOBER 30: At a time when individuals and organisations are seeking implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and demanding action against those behind the riots, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has given a clean chit to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, saying there is no evidence against him.
“There is a reference to Balasaheb Thackeray (in the Srikrishna report), but there is no evidence (against him),” Deshmukh told The Indian Express while speaking on his government’s three years in office. “We can’t make out cases just like that. We have to go by legal advice. Deposition with a commission of inquiry is not admissible in a court of law.”
On Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena, the Srikrishna Commission had this to say: “There is no doubt that the Shiv Sena and the Shiv Sainiks took lead in organising attacks on Muslims and their properties, from the level of Shakha Pramukhs to Shiv Sena Pramukh Bal Thackeray, who like a veteran general, commanded his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate by organised attacks against Muslims.”
According to Deshmukh, even Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar, booked for his alleged role in the riots, had been acquitted. “When I took over the reins of the state (during his first stint as CM from 1999 to 2003), we had formed a special task force to examine the cases and send them to court... it takes time. We were required to work afresh on these cases with a view to collect clinching evidence.”
He said while that the commission took five years to complete the inquiry and the Sena-BJP government (from 1995 to 1999) had cast aside the report, his government had been instrumental in reviving the matter. He reiterated that his government was committed to take action as per recommendations of the report and would do everything possible to bring the culprits to book.
The Deshmukh government had appointed a committee to examine cases registered with the commission. The panel recommended 32 most serious cases for trial by special courts. Four special courts were appointed by the High Court last week on the request of the state.
October 31, 2007)
Mumbai riots: Deshmukh says no proof against Bal Thackeray
by Rakshit Sonawane
MUMBAI, OCTOBER 30: At a time when individuals and organisations are seeking implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and demanding action against those behind the riots, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has given a clean chit to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, saying there is no evidence against him.
“There is a reference to Balasaheb Thackeray (in the Srikrishna report), but there is no evidence (against him),” Deshmukh told The Indian Express while speaking on his government’s three years in office. “We can’t make out cases just like that. We have to go by legal advice. Deposition with a commission of inquiry is not admissible in a court of law.”
On Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena, the Srikrishna Commission had this to say: “There is no doubt that the Shiv Sena and the Shiv Sainiks took lead in organising attacks on Muslims and their properties, from the level of Shakha Pramukhs to Shiv Sena Pramukh Bal Thackeray, who like a veteran general, commanded his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate by organised attacks against Muslims.”
According to Deshmukh, even Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar, booked for his alleged role in the riots, had been acquitted. “When I took over the reins of the state (during his first stint as CM from 1999 to 2003), we had formed a special task force to examine the cases and send them to court... it takes time. We were required to work afresh on these cases with a view to collect clinching evidence.”
He said while that the commission took five years to complete the inquiry and the Sena-BJP government (from 1995 to 1999) had cast aside the report, his government had been instrumental in reviving the matter. He reiterated that his government was committed to take action as per recommendations of the report and would do everything possible to bring the culprits to book.
The Deshmukh government had appointed a committee to examine cases registered with the commission. The panel recommended 32 most serious cases for trial by special courts. Four special courts were appointed by the High Court last week on the request of the state.
The 2002 Riots Displaced of Ahmedabad
Economic & Political Weekly - October 27, 2007
The Displaced of Ahmedabad
by Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi, Silky Tyagi, Neha Khanna
Elections draw near in Gujarat but the survivors of the 2002 pogrom continue to live a miserable life, belying the claims of a "Vibrant Gujarat" by chief minister Narendra Modi who has embarked upon a re-election campaign emphasising the future over the shameful past. The plight of the riot victims raises questions about the state of democracy in Gujarat.
In his pre-election speeches, chief minister Narendra Modi repeatedly makes two firm statements. The first of these statements codes the suggestion that any comment or criticism, which conti nues to harp on the communal carnage that was visited upon the heads of the Muslim community in 2002 by mem- bers of his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and other allied organisations of the Hindutva brigade, should be aban- doned. These comments/criticisms, alleges Modi, remain far too preoccupied with the past. Apparently the past, for Modi, is another country. Observers of the Gujarat scene, he pro poses, should rather look to the future, which promises to be a luminous one for an already "Vibrant Gujarat", provided he is elected to power once again.
At stake here is a rather barefaced denial of history, particularly of the history of communalism in the state. This is simply bad politics, because as any first year student of political science knows, good politics is always constructed upon an awareness of history. Does Gujarat really want to hand over its future to a man who has such a lamentably short memory? The second of Modi's comments com- pletely denies the existence of a rather deep Hindu-Muslim divide in the state. Modi insists that he himself speaks for, and represents all people in the state of Gujarat. However, "representation" happens to be a deeply problematic concept, and Modi who is in the business of politics, should be conscious of this. We as citizens of India, of which Gujarat is a part, must ask this question: can Modi even begin to represent the interests, or more precisely the pressing needs of that category of the population which his govern ment has re- fused to recognise, or cater to - Muslim families who were displaced by communal violence in 2002? Are these interests fated to be unrepresented just because they do not fit into the self-representations that have been formulated and disseminated by Modi and his ilk for electoral pur poses? In effect, Modi not only wants people to forget that the communal carnage of 2002 ever happened, he does not want to acknowledge that five years after the po- grom, the victims of violence still con- tinue to suffer through the production and reproduction of different sorts of vi- olence. Surely this is not the section of society that he represents, because if he was representing this section of society, as the chief minister of a state that ranks first in the country in terms of per capita income, he would have done something to ameliorate the terrible and inhuman con- ditions that these people live in.
Victims of Violence
Though a considerable amount of research has gone into documenting and analysing the communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002, little work has been done on what happened to the people who survived. Where did they go? How have they reconstructed their lives? With the help of which agency? What has the state done for them? These are some of the anxiety ridden questions that our research team has sought to address, through an investi- gation of the resettlement colonies of Ahmedabad into which the victims of the 2002 violence have been herded. The answer to the last question is easy to nego- tiate. The government of Gujarat has done practically nothing for the people who might have managed to survive the pogrom, but who lost their family mem- bers, livelihoods, hearths, and their homes in the process.
That the victims of violence were herd- ed into poorly funded and grossly inade- quate relief camps is well known. In a short time, these camps were rapidly wound up, and the inhabitants, after be- ing given pathe tically inadequate funds as "compen sation"; funds sometimes as low as Rs 1,200, were now on their own, thrown onto the mercy of a society that had proved complicit in the carnage, either actively or through studied silence.
The state government, recognising neither the plight, nor the needs of the victims of communal violence, simply refused to take any action which would help these people to rebuild their shattered lives. At this point a few civil society organi- sations, predominantly the Islamic relief committee, stepped in to help people relo- cate and resettle. Some land was acquired on the outskirts of the city, and the victims were resettled in four pockets - Juha pura, Ramol, Vatva and Dani Limda. All of these "colonies" are on the periphery of Ahmedabad, and are poorly connected to the city where most of the jobs are gener- ated. The 729 households that have been relocated in 15 such colonies in Ahmeda- bad have been displaced mainly from eastern Ahmedabad, from areas such as Naroda Patia, Gomtipur, Daria Pur, Gomti Pur, Saraspur, Bapu Nagar Jamal Pur, Rakhial, and other inner city areas that have repeatedly suffered from periodic outbursts of communal violence right since 1969.
But the legal status of the land upon which these shanty towns have been constructed is contested, because much of it is agricultural land. This has instilled dread among the residents that they still live in temporary settlements, which can be eas- ily mowed down by the bull dozers of the Ahmedabad municipal corporation (AMC). Not only are most resettlement colonies remotely located from the city where jobs are to be found; they are far away from schools and health clinics that are an in- dispensable prerequisite of living a life free of oppression. In sum these displaced Muslim families are fated to remain out- side the reach of all the amenities that a vibrant Gujarat might perchance offer to those who form an integral part of society and the polity.
It is clear that for the present govern- ment these families just do not form an integral part of Gujarati society and poli- tics; they have been expelled both spatial- ly and socially to the margins of the city. In these bare, stark, inhospitable areas, civil society organisations constructed rickety one room tenements, without water supply, without electricity, without access to internal roads because there were none, and without sanitation and sewerage for families. And it is here, in these barren spaces, that the victims of the carnage in Ahmedabad have been set- tled, and expected to begin their life anew, amidst even more deprivation that they faced in their original habitats.
Shabby existence
Many of these families still own some land * where once houses that were burnt down by the Hindutva goons stood - in their original habitats. But even as bitter memo- ries of the brutal violence that was inflic ted upon them and their families and commu- nity haunts collective psyches, people fear going back to their homes. They prefer to live in these desolate, ugly, and rundown one-room tenements, which house as many as five members of a family. But this is not the major problem that confronts refugees. Other and much more serious problems stalk the everyday life of the in- habitants of these settlements.
For instance, in the resettlement colony ironically called the "Citizens Nagar" in Dani Limda, families who once lived in the most communally hit area of Ahmeda- bad; Naroda Patia, have been resettled. This particular "citizen's" colony has been built literally in the shadow of a massive mountain. The only problem is that this mountain has been constructed by human beings, out of the garbage collected from every part of Ahmedabad that is dumped here every morning. The mountain of gar- bage dominates the collective life of the inhabitants. The stench that emanates from this rubbish dump overwhelms both sense and sensibilities of people who live not only in the colony, but also in the surrounding areas. More critically, during the monsoons, the garbage overflows the mountain sized dump, runs through what passes for roads within the colony, and enters homes. The garbage, which is highly toxic, has penetrated the groundwater. Since the inhabitants of the colony do not have access to clean drinking water, they are forced to consume this contaminated groundwater. This yellow, grimy, and filthy water is so polluted that it cannot be but the harbinger of disease. Not surpris- ingly, gastronomical diseases are rampant in this locality.
Despite repeated representations, the AMC has made no attempt to look for an alternate site for the dumping of the garbage of the city. To make matters worse, residents complain that AMC often deposits carcasses of dead animals around the colonies, and the revolting odour makes the place simply unlivable. The plight of the residents who have been sub- jected to involuntary displacement does not end there. When the AMC begins to burn the garbage in the dump once in a while, the pollutant ridden smoke which manages to pervade every pore of the body leads to all kinds of health problems, particularly respiratory diseases. But the AMC, which is responsible for providing services to citizens, has refused to take notice of the deplorable condition of this colony, or of the appalling lives that the victims who live there, lead.
Dreadful Housing
Built as they were in a hurry, these so-called houses are in dreadful condi- tion, water seeps into the rooms during the monsoons, and rubbish flows along what passes for internal roads. These houses have low roofs, no ventilation, and have been provided with temporary and unsafe electrical wiring. The land these houses are built in is generally low lying, and therefore water logging is common. The situation is worsened by the fact that there is absolutely no drainage system, no 'pucca' pavements, or street lighting in the so-called colony. Vulnerable and insecure as the families already are; the highly uncongenial and sorry surroundings in which they are forced to live, leads to deep feelings of helplessness and alienation. These feelings are exacerbated by the fact that no aid from the government to make these colonies habitable, to build schools, and health clinics, or provide for transpor- tation to the city where people can work, is forthcoming.
The legitimacy of a democratically elected government rests upon its ability to take care of the worse off in society. In Ahmedabad as in the rest of the state, the government does not even acknowledge these responsibilities. Similar problems attend other resettlement colonies. Since most of these colonies are on the outskirts of the city, they are surrounded by indus- tries spewing pollutants, all of which makes the areas hazardous for human habitation. In Sundaram Nagar in Bapu Nagar, for example, cotton dust emana- ting twice a day from the burning of in- dustrial waste, makes breathing difficult for the residents. The children and the adults that we met have developed lung related diseases.
The residents of most of these resettle- ment colonies eke out a bare existence without any basic amenities, be it drink- ing water, sanitation, drainage, health- care, education for children, or approach roads and modes of transportation. Chil- dren have been forced to drop out of school and take to daily wage labour, because it is too expensive to hire rick- shaws to take the children to school. A few colonies have now been given anganwadi centres more than five years after they were established, but no schools for children have been provided. Residents of Ekta Nagar complained that they have to pay Rs 12 daily to send their children to the nearest school, and since they cannot af- ford this, the children have dropped out of school. Most families are terrified of sen- ding their daughters to school outside the neighbourhood, after the sexual violence that Muslim girls had been subjected to in 2002. Resultantly, an entire gene ration of children of Muslim families, who are less educated than their parents, is growing up in the city. Is this not a denial of the right of every child to education? Healthcare for the victims of the com munal violence is equally deplorable. There are barely any healthcare facilities available for these colonies. There have been instances when due to absence of health facilities, patients have died on the way to remote hospitals, and babies have often been delivered on the road.
Decline in Income
One major consequence of the way in which resettlement has been carried out by private organisations in spatially iso- lated areas is that people have been forced to abandon their previous vocations and look for alternative employment. Most of them now work in informal and petty jobs, and are known as 'chhuttak mazdoors'. Whereas most of the men work as auto and cycle rickshaw pullers, petty vendors, and casual workers in nearby neighbour- hoods, women work mostly as domestic help. Consequently there has been a universal decline in income, which has dropped to less than half to what people used to earn before the violence and relo- cation. The drop in income has not only led to extreme pauperisation, the ramifi- cations of poverty are seen in a new wave of child labour, and the growth of a gener- ation of illiterate and unskilled youth.
State apathy
The response of the state government to the needs, the grievances, and the woes of the victims of communal violence has been negligent at best and vicious at worst. Five years after the pogrom, many of the relocated families are still awaiting their voters' identity cards and BPL ration cards. Earlier this year, after a large meeting of the internally displaced, the Election Com- mission has taken measures to ensure that the displaced are able to cast their votes in the forthcoming assembly elections, but the attitude of local state functionaries is that of sheer indifference. When it comes to below the poverty line (BPL) and Antyodaya cards, the case is no different. Since these documents are crucial for citizens if they want to access ongoing social protection schemes, most of the victims living in these colonies are not able to do so. Ironically, residents of New Fazal Nagar, one of the relocated colonies, have been served a notice to pay Rs 8,000 as house tax; even though these houses simply lie outside the pale of the government, or of the corporation. role of nGos Since the state government continues to be in the denial mode, non-governmental and other civil society organisations have stepped in to support the victims of com- munal violence. Notably whereas a small group of such organisations has done a commendable job in resettling victims of communal violence, and it is because of their concerted effort that these people have been able to survive, a majority of civil society organisations have proved in- different to the cause. The cloud of Hindutva obviously hangs heavily on civil society organisations. Post carnage, the relief work was carried out predominantly with the help of the resources of the Islamic Relief Committee (IRC) along with few more agencies such as Action Aid. The role played by some of the civil society organisations has been highly commendable, and the victims are all praise for them. Organi sations like Aman Biradri and Jan Vikas, for example, have waged a long battle against the indifferent attitude of the state agencies towards the victims of communal violence, and the issue of the relocation of these victims. The documentation carried out by some of these organisations has gone a long way in exposing the callous attitude of the state towards victims of violence, and in fixing responsibility. It is with the help of these organisations that displaced families have been able to press for their rights, and put their demands before the government at the local level. That the plight of these victims has not been sub- sumed completely in the state-sponsored din about "Vibrant Gujarat" and the benefits of globalisation is due entirely to these organisations.
For instance, on February 1, 2007, the Antarik Visthapit Haq Rakshak Samiti, Centre for Social Justice and ANHAD, along with some other organisations con- ducted the "Convention of the Internally Displaced" in Gujarat. Thousands of inter- nally displaced households gathered in the convention, and demanded "recognition, reparation and rehabilitation". Discussions on several issues and problems such as livelihood of the internally displaced, dis- crimination, exclusion, and economic boy- cotts, police intimidation, the problems of the children, youth and women of this cat- egory highlighted several crucial issues. The convention was successful in expos- ing the lie of the state government's claim that the rehabilitation of "riot" victims had been accomplished. The convention also provided the victims with a forum where they could share their troubles and come together to fight these predicaments. Apart from the demand for the provision of basic amenities and livelihood, the convention suggested forcefully that there should be a national policy for rehabilitation for peo- ple displaced due to communal violence. One positive outcome of this convention was that the Election Commission recog- nised that the inhabitants of these colonies should get election cards even though they could not establish residence, simply because they have not been given the re- quired documents by the agencies that have relocated them. The second positive outcome is that there is hope that these families will be given BPL ration cards, even though they cannot render proof of residence, such as sale deeds, rental receipts or electricity bills. no Substitute However, private initiatives in resettling such massive numbers of the displaced cannot substitute for state action. For one, given the limited resources at the disposal of these agencies, relocation has been par- tial and insufficient, and falls well short of the requirements of the residents. Neither the poorly constructed houses, nor the pathetic state of facilities and services, can give the victims a sense of security, or a feeling that they are being compensated for a major lapse of justice. Secondly, since the colonies are a product of initiatives by non-governmental organisations, they are obviously not in accordance with the "city plan". The victims of communal violence continue to pay for the sins committed by others in 2002, because the status of these colonies as unplanned or unauthorised, gives the civic agency a pretext to deny basic amenities to the inhabitants. Thirdly, the land on which colonies are construc ted is privately bought, in most of the cases by the Islamic Relief Committee. This does not help either. According to city autho rities these lands are "not for residential pur- poses", and purchase of this land for resi- dential use is not legal. This breeds trepi- dation and uncertainty among people, who have lived amidst fear most of their lives. Two more consequences should be not- ed here because these are of some import. One, the manner in which the victims of violence were relocated, and the non- response of the state when it came to the pressing problem of looking after citizens who have been rendered jobless and homeless for no fault of their own, has led to new kinds of conflicts and tensions within colonies. Bagh-e-Aman in Vatva area is witness to one such tension. Here 12 families were relocated from various parts of the city which had witnessed intense violence. Rehabilitation was ac- complished through the collective efforts of the Islamic Relief Committee, private initiatives, and the people themselves. However, some people who belonged to this area had rebuilt their lives after the communal violence, mostly on their own, and without any external support. Now they face the odd problem of not being recognised as "relocated" in the same way as the 12 families, which have been reha-bilitated with outside help. Even as the state agencies have been forced to take cognisance of the 12 relocated families because of litigation in various courts, they refuse to recognise other affected households as displaced. As a result about 100 households are deprived of government schemes or compensation. Consequently these households do not even have voter identity cards. troubling Development
Secondly, our research team discerned a rather troubling development in these colonies. Since the state has refused to step in to rehabilitatethe displaced, Isla mic organisations have provided the major chunk of resources for the purpose. For example, the land on which victims have been relocated was mostly purchased by these Islamic organisations. But the land deeds remain with the IRC, even after families have started to live in these colonies. As no land entitlement has been given to the victims, people believe with good reason that they live in semi-perma- nent relief camps, that they are dependent upon other agencies, and that they have not really been rehabilitated. There have also been instances where the IRC has put its own set of conditionalities on people, if they want to live in these colonies. Most of these problems emanate from the conflict of priorities of the victims and civil society organisations on the one hand, and the IRC on the other. Residents told us that the IRC prefers the construction of mosques to health clinics, madrasas to schools, and that the organisation insists on dress codes for women, read purdah. The residents, on the other hand, are more concerned about incomes, health, and education for their children. In general, there is some evidence that the IRC has been trying to influence people to abandon their traditional life practices, and follow rigid and doctrinaire versions of Islam. This is the natural outcome of state funda- mentalism and neglect of religious minori- ties; for when religious civil society organ- isations step into the vacuum, they are likely to extort their own price for helping people. Fundamentalism always breeds counter-fundamentalism, and it is the lives and the futures of ordinary people that are at risk here.
Vibrant Gujarat, For Whom?
The plight of riot victims in Ahmedabad, and in Gujarat in general, raises some very critical questions about the state of democracy in Gujarat, and the capacity of the present leadership to represent the concerns of the ordinary people, irrespective of their religious denomination. As the state prepares for yet another assembly election, the pathetic condition of the majority of people who were hit by communal violence in 2002 begs many questions. For one,can Narendra Modi speak of a "Vibrant Gujarat" when a substantial numbers of its citizens live in want and despair? Secondly, why have political parties such as the Congress not taken up this issue? Is this due to the fear that they will lose the "Hindu" vote? Will the Congress Party that proclaims copyright over secularism really make common cause with BJP leaders who led the communally charged mobs in 2002?
And if so where do people who have been wronged for no fault of their own, go? Do any of the political parties who are contending for power in Gujarat, but who are supremely indiffer ent to the plight of minorities, have an answer? It is election time in Gujarat, and elections are meant to hold the ruling classes accountable for their acts of omission. It is time that the electorate in the state judges the government for what it has not done for the marginal sections of society, and not what for it has done for the already privileged.
[This study forms part of the Cities Component of the Crisis States Programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science.]
Email: neera.chandhoke@gmail.com
The Displaced of Ahmedabad
by Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi, Silky Tyagi, Neha Khanna
Elections draw near in Gujarat but the survivors of the 2002 pogrom continue to live a miserable life, belying the claims of a "Vibrant Gujarat" by chief minister Narendra Modi who has embarked upon a re-election campaign emphasising the future over the shameful past. The plight of the riot victims raises questions about the state of democracy in Gujarat.
In his pre-election speeches, chief minister Narendra Modi repeatedly makes two firm statements. The first of these statements codes the suggestion that any comment or criticism, which conti nues to harp on the communal carnage that was visited upon the heads of the Muslim community in 2002 by mem- bers of his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and other allied organisations of the Hindutva brigade, should be aban- doned. These comments/criticisms, alleges Modi, remain far too preoccupied with the past. Apparently the past, for Modi, is another country. Observers of the Gujarat scene, he pro poses, should rather look to the future, which promises to be a luminous one for an already "Vibrant Gujarat", provided he is elected to power once again.
At stake here is a rather barefaced denial of history, particularly of the history of communalism in the state. This is simply bad politics, because as any first year student of political science knows, good politics is always constructed upon an awareness of history. Does Gujarat really want to hand over its future to a man who has such a lamentably short memory? The second of Modi's comments com- pletely denies the existence of a rather deep Hindu-Muslim divide in the state. Modi insists that he himself speaks for, and represents all people in the state of Gujarat. However, "representation" happens to be a deeply problematic concept, and Modi who is in the business of politics, should be conscious of this. We as citizens of India, of which Gujarat is a part, must ask this question: can Modi even begin to represent the interests, or more precisely the pressing needs of that category of the population which his govern ment has re- fused to recognise, or cater to - Muslim families who were displaced by communal violence in 2002? Are these interests fated to be unrepresented just because they do not fit into the self-representations that have been formulated and disseminated by Modi and his ilk for electoral pur poses? In effect, Modi not only wants people to forget that the communal carnage of 2002 ever happened, he does not want to acknowledge that five years after the po- grom, the victims of violence still con- tinue to suffer through the production and reproduction of different sorts of vi- olence. Surely this is not the section of society that he represents, because if he was representing this section of society, as the chief minister of a state that ranks first in the country in terms of per capita income, he would have done something to ameliorate the terrible and inhuman con- ditions that these people live in.
Victims of Violence
Though a considerable amount of research has gone into documenting and analysing the communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002, little work has been done on what happened to the people who survived. Where did they go? How have they reconstructed their lives? With the help of which agency? What has the state done for them? These are some of the anxiety ridden questions that our research team has sought to address, through an investi- gation of the resettlement colonies of Ahmedabad into which the victims of the 2002 violence have been herded. The answer to the last question is easy to nego- tiate. The government of Gujarat has done practically nothing for the people who might have managed to survive the pogrom, but who lost their family mem- bers, livelihoods, hearths, and their homes in the process.
That the victims of violence were herd- ed into poorly funded and grossly inade- quate relief camps is well known. In a short time, these camps were rapidly wound up, and the inhabitants, after be- ing given pathe tically inadequate funds as "compen sation"; funds sometimes as low as Rs 1,200, were now on their own, thrown onto the mercy of a society that had proved complicit in the carnage, either actively or through studied silence.
The state government, recognising neither the plight, nor the needs of the victims of communal violence, simply refused to take any action which would help these people to rebuild their shattered lives. At this point a few civil society organi- sations, predominantly the Islamic relief committee, stepped in to help people relo- cate and resettle. Some land was acquired on the outskirts of the city, and the victims were resettled in four pockets - Juha pura, Ramol, Vatva and Dani Limda. All of these "colonies" are on the periphery of Ahmedabad, and are poorly connected to the city where most of the jobs are gener- ated. The 729 households that have been relocated in 15 such colonies in Ahmeda- bad have been displaced mainly from eastern Ahmedabad, from areas such as Naroda Patia, Gomtipur, Daria Pur, Gomti Pur, Saraspur, Bapu Nagar Jamal Pur, Rakhial, and other inner city areas that have repeatedly suffered from periodic outbursts of communal violence right since 1969.
But the legal status of the land upon which these shanty towns have been constructed is contested, because much of it is agricultural land. This has instilled dread among the residents that they still live in temporary settlements, which can be eas- ily mowed down by the bull dozers of the Ahmedabad municipal corporation (AMC). Not only are most resettlement colonies remotely located from the city where jobs are to be found; they are far away from schools and health clinics that are an in- dispensable prerequisite of living a life free of oppression. In sum these displaced Muslim families are fated to remain out- side the reach of all the amenities that a vibrant Gujarat might perchance offer to those who form an integral part of society and the polity.
It is clear that for the present govern- ment these families just do not form an integral part of Gujarati society and poli- tics; they have been expelled both spatial- ly and socially to the margins of the city. In these bare, stark, inhospitable areas, civil society organisations constructed rickety one room tenements, without water supply, without electricity, without access to internal roads because there were none, and without sanitation and sewerage for families. And it is here, in these barren spaces, that the victims of the carnage in Ahmedabad have been set- tled, and expected to begin their life anew, amidst even more deprivation that they faced in their original habitats.
Shabby existence
Many of these families still own some land * where once houses that were burnt down by the Hindutva goons stood - in their original habitats. But even as bitter memo- ries of the brutal violence that was inflic ted upon them and their families and commu- nity haunts collective psyches, people fear going back to their homes. They prefer to live in these desolate, ugly, and rundown one-room tenements, which house as many as five members of a family. But this is not the major problem that confronts refugees. Other and much more serious problems stalk the everyday life of the in- habitants of these settlements.
For instance, in the resettlement colony ironically called the "Citizens Nagar" in Dani Limda, families who once lived in the most communally hit area of Ahmeda- bad; Naroda Patia, have been resettled. This particular "citizen's" colony has been built literally in the shadow of a massive mountain. The only problem is that this mountain has been constructed by human beings, out of the garbage collected from every part of Ahmedabad that is dumped here every morning. The mountain of gar- bage dominates the collective life of the inhabitants. The stench that emanates from this rubbish dump overwhelms both sense and sensibilities of people who live not only in the colony, but also in the surrounding areas. More critically, during the monsoons, the garbage overflows the mountain sized dump, runs through what passes for roads within the colony, and enters homes. The garbage, which is highly toxic, has penetrated the groundwater. Since the inhabitants of the colony do not have access to clean drinking water, they are forced to consume this contaminated groundwater. This yellow, grimy, and filthy water is so polluted that it cannot be but the harbinger of disease. Not surpris- ingly, gastronomical diseases are rampant in this locality.
Despite repeated representations, the AMC has made no attempt to look for an alternate site for the dumping of the garbage of the city. To make matters worse, residents complain that AMC often deposits carcasses of dead animals around the colonies, and the revolting odour makes the place simply unlivable. The plight of the residents who have been sub- jected to involuntary displacement does not end there. When the AMC begins to burn the garbage in the dump once in a while, the pollutant ridden smoke which manages to pervade every pore of the body leads to all kinds of health problems, particularly respiratory diseases. But the AMC, which is responsible for providing services to citizens, has refused to take notice of the deplorable condition of this colony, or of the appalling lives that the victims who live there, lead.
Dreadful Housing
Built as they were in a hurry, these so-called houses are in dreadful condi- tion, water seeps into the rooms during the monsoons, and rubbish flows along what passes for internal roads. These houses have low roofs, no ventilation, and have been provided with temporary and unsafe electrical wiring. The land these houses are built in is generally low lying, and therefore water logging is common. The situation is worsened by the fact that there is absolutely no drainage system, no 'pucca' pavements, or street lighting in the so-called colony. Vulnerable and insecure as the families already are; the highly uncongenial and sorry surroundings in which they are forced to live, leads to deep feelings of helplessness and alienation. These feelings are exacerbated by the fact that no aid from the government to make these colonies habitable, to build schools, and health clinics, or provide for transpor- tation to the city where people can work, is forthcoming.
The legitimacy of a democratically elected government rests upon its ability to take care of the worse off in society. In Ahmedabad as in the rest of the state, the government does not even acknowledge these responsibilities. Similar problems attend other resettlement colonies. Since most of these colonies are on the outskirts of the city, they are surrounded by indus- tries spewing pollutants, all of which makes the areas hazardous for human habitation. In Sundaram Nagar in Bapu Nagar, for example, cotton dust emana- ting twice a day from the burning of in- dustrial waste, makes breathing difficult for the residents. The children and the adults that we met have developed lung related diseases.
The residents of most of these resettle- ment colonies eke out a bare existence without any basic amenities, be it drink- ing water, sanitation, drainage, health- care, education for children, or approach roads and modes of transportation. Chil- dren have been forced to drop out of school and take to daily wage labour, because it is too expensive to hire rick- shaws to take the children to school. A few colonies have now been given anganwadi centres more than five years after they were established, but no schools for children have been provided. Residents of Ekta Nagar complained that they have to pay Rs 12 daily to send their children to the nearest school, and since they cannot af- ford this, the children have dropped out of school. Most families are terrified of sen- ding their daughters to school outside the neighbourhood, after the sexual violence that Muslim girls had been subjected to in 2002. Resultantly, an entire gene ration of children of Muslim families, who are less educated than their parents, is growing up in the city. Is this not a denial of the right of every child to education? Healthcare for the victims of the com munal violence is equally deplorable. There are barely any healthcare facilities available for these colonies. There have been instances when due to absence of health facilities, patients have died on the way to remote hospitals, and babies have often been delivered on the road.
Decline in Income
One major consequence of the way in which resettlement has been carried out by private organisations in spatially iso- lated areas is that people have been forced to abandon their previous vocations and look for alternative employment. Most of them now work in informal and petty jobs, and are known as 'chhuttak mazdoors'. Whereas most of the men work as auto and cycle rickshaw pullers, petty vendors, and casual workers in nearby neighbour- hoods, women work mostly as domestic help. Consequently there has been a universal decline in income, which has dropped to less than half to what people used to earn before the violence and relo- cation. The drop in income has not only led to extreme pauperisation, the ramifi- cations of poverty are seen in a new wave of child labour, and the growth of a gener- ation of illiterate and unskilled youth.
State apathy
The response of the state government to the needs, the grievances, and the woes of the victims of communal violence has been negligent at best and vicious at worst. Five years after the pogrom, many of the relocated families are still awaiting their voters' identity cards and BPL ration cards. Earlier this year, after a large meeting of the internally displaced, the Election Com- mission has taken measures to ensure that the displaced are able to cast their votes in the forthcoming assembly elections, but the attitude of local state functionaries is that of sheer indifference. When it comes to below the poverty line (BPL) and Antyodaya cards, the case is no different. Since these documents are crucial for citizens if they want to access ongoing social protection schemes, most of the victims living in these colonies are not able to do so. Ironically, residents of New Fazal Nagar, one of the relocated colonies, have been served a notice to pay Rs 8,000 as house tax; even though these houses simply lie outside the pale of the government, or of the corporation. role of nGos Since the state government continues to be in the denial mode, non-governmental and other civil society organisations have stepped in to support the victims of com- munal violence. Notably whereas a small group of such organisations has done a commendable job in resettling victims of communal violence, and it is because of their concerted effort that these people have been able to survive, a majority of civil society organisations have proved in- different to the cause. The cloud of Hindutva obviously hangs heavily on civil society organisations. Post carnage, the relief work was carried out predominantly with the help of the resources of the Islamic Relief Committee (IRC) along with few more agencies such as Action Aid. The role played by some of the civil society organisations has been highly commendable, and the victims are all praise for them. Organi sations like Aman Biradri and Jan Vikas, for example, have waged a long battle against the indifferent attitude of the state agencies towards the victims of communal violence, and the issue of the relocation of these victims. The documentation carried out by some of these organisations has gone a long way in exposing the callous attitude of the state towards victims of violence, and in fixing responsibility. It is with the help of these organisations that displaced families have been able to press for their rights, and put their demands before the government at the local level. That the plight of these victims has not been sub- sumed completely in the state-sponsored din about "Vibrant Gujarat" and the benefits of globalisation is due entirely to these organisations.
For instance, on February 1, 2007, the Antarik Visthapit Haq Rakshak Samiti, Centre for Social Justice and ANHAD, along with some other organisations con- ducted the "Convention of the Internally Displaced" in Gujarat. Thousands of inter- nally displaced households gathered in the convention, and demanded "recognition, reparation and rehabilitation". Discussions on several issues and problems such as livelihood of the internally displaced, dis- crimination, exclusion, and economic boy- cotts, police intimidation, the problems of the children, youth and women of this cat- egory highlighted several crucial issues. The convention was successful in expos- ing the lie of the state government's claim that the rehabilitation of "riot" victims had been accomplished. The convention also provided the victims with a forum where they could share their troubles and come together to fight these predicaments. Apart from the demand for the provision of basic amenities and livelihood, the convention suggested forcefully that there should be a national policy for rehabilitation for peo- ple displaced due to communal violence. One positive outcome of this convention was that the Election Commission recog- nised that the inhabitants of these colonies should get election cards even though they could not establish residence, simply because they have not been given the re- quired documents by the agencies that have relocated them. The second positive outcome is that there is hope that these families will be given BPL ration cards, even though they cannot render proof of residence, such as sale deeds, rental receipts or electricity bills. no Substitute However, private initiatives in resettling such massive numbers of the displaced cannot substitute for state action. For one, given the limited resources at the disposal of these agencies, relocation has been par- tial and insufficient, and falls well short of the requirements of the residents. Neither the poorly constructed houses, nor the pathetic state of facilities and services, can give the victims a sense of security, or a feeling that they are being compensated for a major lapse of justice. Secondly, since the colonies are a product of initiatives by non-governmental organisations, they are obviously not in accordance with the "city plan". The victims of communal violence continue to pay for the sins committed by others in 2002, because the status of these colonies as unplanned or unauthorised, gives the civic agency a pretext to deny basic amenities to the inhabitants. Thirdly, the land on which colonies are construc ted is privately bought, in most of the cases by the Islamic Relief Committee. This does not help either. According to city autho rities these lands are "not for residential pur- poses", and purchase of this land for resi- dential use is not legal. This breeds trepi- dation and uncertainty among people, who have lived amidst fear most of their lives. Two more consequences should be not- ed here because these are of some import. One, the manner in which the victims of violence were relocated, and the non- response of the state when it came to the pressing problem of looking after citizens who have been rendered jobless and homeless for no fault of their own, has led to new kinds of conflicts and tensions within colonies. Bagh-e-Aman in Vatva area is witness to one such tension. Here 12 families were relocated from various parts of the city which had witnessed intense violence. Rehabilitation was ac- complished through the collective efforts of the Islamic Relief Committee, private initiatives, and the people themselves. However, some people who belonged to this area had rebuilt their lives after the communal violence, mostly on their own, and without any external support. Now they face the odd problem of not being recognised as "relocated" in the same way as the 12 families, which have been reha-bilitated with outside help. Even as the state agencies have been forced to take cognisance of the 12 relocated families because of litigation in various courts, they refuse to recognise other affected households as displaced. As a result about 100 households are deprived of government schemes or compensation. Consequently these households do not even have voter identity cards. troubling Development
Secondly, our research team discerned a rather troubling development in these colonies. Since the state has refused to step in to rehabilitatethe displaced, Isla mic organisations have provided the major chunk of resources for the purpose. For example, the land on which victims have been relocated was mostly purchased by these Islamic organisations. But the land deeds remain with the IRC, even after families have started to live in these colonies. As no land entitlement has been given to the victims, people believe with good reason that they live in semi-perma- nent relief camps, that they are dependent upon other agencies, and that they have not really been rehabilitated. There have also been instances where the IRC has put its own set of conditionalities on people, if they want to live in these colonies. Most of these problems emanate from the conflict of priorities of the victims and civil society organisations on the one hand, and the IRC on the other. Residents told us that the IRC prefers the construction of mosques to health clinics, madrasas to schools, and that the organisation insists on dress codes for women, read purdah. The residents, on the other hand, are more concerned about incomes, health, and education for their children. In general, there is some evidence that the IRC has been trying to influence people to abandon their traditional life practices, and follow rigid and doctrinaire versions of Islam. This is the natural outcome of state funda- mentalism and neglect of religious minori- ties; for when religious civil society organ- isations step into the vacuum, they are likely to extort their own price for helping people. Fundamentalism always breeds counter-fundamentalism, and it is the lives and the futures of ordinary people that are at risk here.
Vibrant Gujarat, For Whom?
The plight of riot victims in Ahmedabad, and in Gujarat in general, raises some very critical questions about the state of democracy in Gujarat, and the capacity of the present leadership to represent the concerns of the ordinary people, irrespective of their religious denomination. As the state prepares for yet another assembly election, the pathetic condition of the majority of people who were hit by communal violence in 2002 begs many questions. For one,can Narendra Modi speak of a "Vibrant Gujarat" when a substantial numbers of its citizens live in want and despair? Secondly, why have political parties such as the Congress not taken up this issue? Is this due to the fear that they will lose the "Hindu" vote? Will the Congress Party that proclaims copyright over secularism really make common cause with BJP leaders who led the communally charged mobs in 2002?
And if so where do people who have been wronged for no fault of their own, go? Do any of the political parties who are contending for power in Gujarat, but who are supremely indiffer ent to the plight of minorities, have an answer? It is election time in Gujarat, and elections are meant to hold the ruling classes accountable for their acts of omission. It is time that the electorate in the state judges the government for what it has not done for the marginal sections of society, and not what for it has done for the already privileged.
[This study forms part of the Cities Component of the Crisis States Programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science.]
Email: neera.chandhoke@gmail.com
AID Statement on Tehelka Expose on Violence in Gujarat
Association for India's Development (AID)
Contacts:
Aniruddha Vaidya (Bay Area): 650-996-8249
Prof. Mohan Bhagat (College Park): 301-345-5308
Nirveek Bhattacharjee (Baltimore): 410-627-7679
E-mail Contact: info@aidindia.org
Web: aidindia.org
Oct 31, 2007.
AID Statement on Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence
The Association for India’s Development (AID) views with great concern the various revelations in the Tehelka exposé of October 25th 2007 regarding the planning and execution of the Gujarat pogrom in 2002 and how a systematic effort is going on to deny justice to the victims and survivors of these violent events in which over 2000 people were killed according to human rights organizations.
The tapes reveal several prima-facie incriminating statements by the perpetrators themselves of how the pogrom in Gujarat was planned, how administrative cover was provided by the state, confessions of brutality, rape and murder ; statements to the effect that they will murder again if opportunity arises; statements indicating subversion of law by law officers such as by a prosecutor and another person representing the State of Gujarat in front of judicial commission investigating the violence; and bragging by a Gujarat MLA about how bombs were made at a place in his control and arms procured and distributed.
The tapes provide fresh evidence implicating those involved in the Gujarat government at the highest levels of the political establishment, administration and law enforcement who colluded with the key perpetrators of the violence. The tapes also correlate with various statements regarding the scale and the nature of violence as well as attempts to subvert justice previously made by various human-rights organizations in India, and by eminent persons and activists who were in Gujarat in the immediate aftermath of the violence in 2002 to independently investigate and provide relief and assistance to the survivors.
The violations of law and order recorded by Tehelka are heinous in the extreme and cast a most egregious blot on the very core of civic society. Every effort must be made to immediately bring the perpetrators and their supporters to justice. Such crimes should not go unpunished for such lengths of time by the judicial system, if we are to ensure that they don't ever repeat in Gujarat or elsewhere, and that people's faith in the rule of law is restored. It is shocking to be reminded that some of the most egregious violent incidents such as the Naroda Patiya and Gulbarga Society are still pending hearing for the past 4 years, not the least because of the way the state government handled the prosecution.
Following the exposé, the administration in Gujarat has responded by ordering a media black-out of the Tehelka tapes in that state. This goes against the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression and the fundamental tenets of the RTI Act of 2005 that says in its preamble: "democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning."
We demand that new evidence brought to light by the Tehelka exposé be rapidly looked at and action taken to arrest and bring to justice those who perpetrated, aided and abetted the violence; and that the pending cases be heard and resolved by the Courts in an expedited manner. Further, all Constitutional means should be considered to ensure that the Gujarat administration does not continue to subvert the rule of law in delivering justice to the victims. All the survivors and families affected in Gujarat in 2002 should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated, and clear steps taken to end the isolation and ghettoization of the communities affected by the riots. We also demand that the media black-out of Tehelka Tapes on televisions in Gujarat be lifted immediately.
We appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain public order and peace as they look at the evidence and demand that the Indian law enforcement and judicial system bring to justice all those who are implicated.
Contacts:
Aniruddha Vaidya (Bay Area): 650-996-8249
Prof. Mohan Bhagat (College Park): 301-345-5308
Nirveek Bhattacharjee (Baltimore): 410-627-7679
E-mail Contact: info@aidindia.org
Web: aidindia.org
Oct 31, 2007.
AID Statement on Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence
The Association for India’s Development (AID) views with great concern the various revelations in the Tehelka exposé of October 25th 2007 regarding the planning and execution of the Gujarat pogrom in 2002 and how a systematic effort is going on to deny justice to the victims and survivors of these violent events in which over 2000 people were killed according to human rights organizations.
The tapes reveal several prima-facie incriminating statements by the perpetrators themselves of how the pogrom in Gujarat was planned, how administrative cover was provided by the state, confessions of brutality, rape and murder ; statements to the effect that they will murder again if opportunity arises; statements indicating subversion of law by law officers such as by a prosecutor and another person representing the State of Gujarat in front of judicial commission investigating the violence; and bragging by a Gujarat MLA about how bombs were made at a place in his control and arms procured and distributed.
The tapes provide fresh evidence implicating those involved in the Gujarat government at the highest levels of the political establishment, administration and law enforcement who colluded with the key perpetrators of the violence. The tapes also correlate with various statements regarding the scale and the nature of violence as well as attempts to subvert justice previously made by various human-rights organizations in India, and by eminent persons and activists who were in Gujarat in the immediate aftermath of the violence in 2002 to independently investigate and provide relief and assistance to the survivors.
The violations of law and order recorded by Tehelka are heinous in the extreme and cast a most egregious blot on the very core of civic society. Every effort must be made to immediately bring the perpetrators and their supporters to justice. Such crimes should not go unpunished for such lengths of time by the judicial system, if we are to ensure that they don't ever repeat in Gujarat or elsewhere, and that people's faith in the rule of law is restored. It is shocking to be reminded that some of the most egregious violent incidents such as the Naroda Patiya and Gulbarga Society are still pending hearing for the past 4 years, not the least because of the way the state government handled the prosecution.
Following the exposé, the administration in Gujarat has responded by ordering a media black-out of the Tehelka tapes in that state. This goes against the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression and the fundamental tenets of the RTI Act of 2005 that says in its preamble: "democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning."
We demand that new evidence brought to light by the Tehelka exposé be rapidly looked at and action taken to arrest and bring to justice those who perpetrated, aided and abetted the violence; and that the pending cases be heard and resolved by the Courts in an expedited manner. Further, all Constitutional means should be considered to ensure that the Gujarat administration does not continue to subvert the rule of law in delivering justice to the victims. All the survivors and families affected in Gujarat in 2002 should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated, and clear steps taken to end the isolation and ghettoization of the communities affected by the riots. We also demand that the media black-out of Tehelka Tapes on televisions in Gujarat be lifted immediately.
We appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain public order and peace as they look at the evidence and demand that the Indian law enforcement and judicial system bring to justice all those who are implicated.
Concerned citizens demand special investigation into Gujarat riots of 2002
(The Hindu
Oct 31, 2007
Demand for SIT probe
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Eminent citizens, lawyers, academicians, journalists and social activists have called upon the Central government and the Supreme Court to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged involvement of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, other senior functionaries of his government and the police in 2002 Gujarat riots ‘exposed’ by Tehelka recently.
“This SIT can be constituted by the Supreme Court and should be monitored on a regular basis and asked to complete their investigation within a few months. This would be one of the most important investigations ever undertaken in this country,” they said in a statement here on Tuesday.
They said the persons shown on Tehelka tape ‘confessing’ to having committed crimes must be immediately arrested and the serving officials shown must be placed under suspension.
“If the State government shows any hesitation in doing this, that will only reinforce the overwhelming evidence of their complicity in the carnage.”
Pending cases of Naroda Patia, Gulbarga Society and others which have been stayed by the Supreme Court, pending hearing of the applications for their transfer outside Gujarat for the last four years, must be immediately taken up by the court, ordered to be reinvestigated by an independent agency and cases tried speedily.
They said the Tehelka ‘expose’ demonstrated very starkly that these were neither “spontaneous” nor “riots” but “mass murder, loot and mayhem” orchestrated by the “Gujarat units of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the BJP with full connivance and complicity of the Gujarat government.”
The statement was signed, among others, by Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, former Navy Chief, Shanti Bhushan, former Law Minister, Muchkund Dubey, former Foreign Secretary, Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Aruna Roy, social activist, Arundhati Roy, writer and social activist, Kamini Jaiswal, lawyer, Ajit Bhattacharjee, journalist, Arvind Kejriwal and Sandip Pandey, both Magsaysay awardees.
Oct 31, 2007
Demand for SIT probe
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Eminent citizens, lawyers, academicians, journalists and social activists have called upon the Central government and the Supreme Court to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged involvement of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, other senior functionaries of his government and the police in 2002 Gujarat riots ‘exposed’ by Tehelka recently.
“This SIT can be constituted by the Supreme Court and should be monitored on a regular basis and asked to complete their investigation within a few months. This would be one of the most important investigations ever undertaken in this country,” they said in a statement here on Tuesday.
They said the persons shown on Tehelka tape ‘confessing’ to having committed crimes must be immediately arrested and the serving officials shown must be placed under suspension.
“If the State government shows any hesitation in doing this, that will only reinforce the overwhelming evidence of their complicity in the carnage.”
Pending cases of Naroda Patia, Gulbarga Society and others which have been stayed by the Supreme Court, pending hearing of the applications for their transfer outside Gujarat for the last four years, must be immediately taken up by the court, ordered to be reinvestigated by an independent agency and cases tried speedily.
They said the Tehelka ‘expose’ demonstrated very starkly that these were neither “spontaneous” nor “riots” but “mass murder, loot and mayhem” orchestrated by the “Gujarat units of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the BJP with full connivance and complicity of the Gujarat government.”
The statement was signed, among others, by Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, former Navy Chief, Shanti Bhushan, former Law Minister, Muchkund Dubey, former Foreign Secretary, Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Aruna Roy, social activist, Arundhati Roy, writer and social activist, Kamini Jaiswal, lawyer, Ajit Bhattacharjee, journalist, Arvind Kejriwal and Sandip Pandey, both Magsaysay awardees.
October 30, 2007
New book on Delhi's 1984 riots
(Times of India
30 Oct 2007
1984 anti-Sikh riots probe panel diluted facts: Book
NEW DELHI: A new book on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital claims that the Ranganath Misra Commission which probed the carnage presented a "diluted" version of events and also blames the police for the mass killings.
When a Tree Shook Delhi , written by senior editor Manoj Mitta and advocate for many of the victims' families, H S Phoolka, claims to give an "uncensored" insight into the events.
It details incidents, particularly in East Delhi, which show complicity of the police in the rioting that broke out after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.
Beginning with the attack on the then President Giani Zail Singh's cavalcade in front of AIIMS, the book traces the genesis of the violence through eyewitness accounts and the investigations by Phoolka as counsel for the victims.
"Far from booking aggressors, the police cracked down on the victims -- the Sikhs who had been exercising the right of self defence at home," it says.
"The essence of all the findings on the Block 11 events in Kalyanpuri is unmistakable: that the police colluded with a mob to kill members of a minority community," says the book.
On the Ranganath Misra Commission constituted to probe the violence, it says "given the circumstances in which it was appointed, the Misra Commission faced a credibility crisis from its very birth. For almost six months, the government had blatantly stone-walled all demands for an inquiry into the carnage".
30 Oct 2007
1984 anti-Sikh riots probe panel diluted facts: Book
NEW DELHI: A new book on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital claims that the Ranganath Misra Commission which probed the carnage presented a "diluted" version of events and also blames the police for the mass killings.
When a Tree Shook Delhi , written by senior editor Manoj Mitta and advocate for many of the victims' families, H S Phoolka, claims to give an "uncensored" insight into the events.
It details incidents, particularly in East Delhi, which show complicity of the police in the rioting that broke out after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.
Beginning with the attack on the then President Giani Zail Singh's cavalcade in front of AIIMS, the book traces the genesis of the violence through eyewitness accounts and the investigations by Phoolka as counsel for the victims.
"Far from booking aggressors, the police cracked down on the victims -- the Sikhs who had been exercising the right of self defence at home," it says.
"The essence of all the findings on the Block 11 events in Kalyanpuri is unmistakable: that the police colluded with a mob to kill members of a minority community," says the book.
On the Ranganath Misra Commission constituted to probe the violence, it says "given the circumstances in which it was appointed, the Misra Commission faced a credibility crisis from its very birth. For almost six months, the government had blatantly stone-walled all demands for an inquiry into the carnage".
October 28, 2007
Should we be proud of Bobby Jindal?
Oct 28, 2007
Times of India
Shashi Tharoor
The election of Bobby Jindal as governor of the US state of Louisiana has been greeted exultantly by Indians and Indian Americans around the world. There's no question that this is an extraordinary accomplishment: a young Indian-American, just 36 years old, not merely winning an election but doing so on the first ballot by receiving more votes than his 11 rivals combined, and that too in a state not noticeably friendly to minorities. Bobby Jindal will now be the first IndianAmerican governor in US history, and the youngest currently serving chief executive of an American state. These are distinctions of which he can legitimately be proud, and it is not surprising that Indians too feel a vicarious sense of shared pride in his remarkable ascent.
But is our pride misplaced? Who is Bobby Jindal and what does he really stand for?
There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of Indian migrants in America: though no sociologist, I'll call them the atavists and the assimilationists. The atavists hold on to their original identities as much as possible, especially outside the workplace; in speech, dress, food habits, cultural preferences, they are still much more Indian than American. The assimilationists, on the other hand, seek assiduously to merge into the American mainstream; they acquire a new accent along with their visa, and adopt the ways, clothes, diet and recreational preferences of the Americans they see around them. (Of course, there are the in-betweens, but we'll leave them aside for now.) Class has something to do with which of the two major categories an Indian immigrant falls into; so does age, since the newer generation of Indians, especially those born in America, inevitably tend to gravitate to the latter category.
Bobby Jindal is an assimilationist's dream. Born to relatively affluent professionals in Louisiana, he rejected his Indian name (Piyush) as a very young child, insisting that he be called Bobby, after a (white) character on the popular TV show '˜The Brady Bunch'. His desire to fit in to the majority-white society he saw around him soon manifested itself in another act of rejection: Bobby spurned the Hinduism into which he was born and, as a teenager, converted to Roman Catholicism, the faith of most white Louisianans. There is, of course, nothing wrong with any of this, and it is a measure of his precocity that his parents did not balk at his wishes despite his extreme youth. The boy was clearly gifted, and he soon had a Rhodes scholarship to prove it. But he was also ambivalent about his identity: he wanted to be seen as a Louisianan, but his mirror told him he was also an Indian. The two of us won something called an '˜Excelsior Award' once from the Network of Indian Professionals in the US, and his acceptance speech on the occasion was striking, obligatory references to the Indian values of his parents, but a speech so American in tone and intonation that he mangled the Indian name of his own brother. There was no doubt which half of the hyphen this Indian-American leaned towards.
But there are many ways to be American, and it's interesting which one Bobby chose. Many Indians born in America have tended to sympathise with other people of colour, identifying their lot with other immigrants, the poor, the underclass. Vinita Gupta, in Oklahoma, another largely white state, won her reputation as a crusading lawyer by taking up the case of illegal immigrants exploited by a factory owner (her story will shortly be depicted by Hollywood, with Halle Berry playing the Indian heroine). Bhairavi Desai leads a taxi drivers' union; Preeta Bansal, who grew up as the only non-white child in her school in Nebraska, became New York's Solicitor General and now serves on the Commission for Religious Freedom. None of this for Bobby. Louisiana's most famous city, New Orleans, was a majority black town, at least until Hurricane Katrina destroyed so many black lives and homes, but there is no record of Bobby identifying himself with the needs or issues of his state's black people. Instead, he sought, in a state with fewer than 10,000 Indians, not to draw attention to his race by supporting racial causes. Indeed, he went well beyond trying to be nonracial (in a state that harboured notorious racists like the Ku Klux Klansman David Duke); he cultivated the most conservative elements of white Louisiana society. With his widely-advertised piety (he asked his Indian wife, Supriya, to convert as well, and the two are regular churchgoers), Bobby Jindal adopted positions on hot-button issues that place him on the most conservative fringe of the Republican Party. Most Indian-Americans are in favour of gun control, support a woman's right to choose abortion, advocate immigrants' rights, and oppose school prayer (for fear that it would marginalise non-Christians). On every one of these issues, Bobby Jindal is on the opposite side. He's not just conservative; on these questions, he is well to the right of his own party.
That hasn't stopped him, however, from seeking the support of Indian-Americans. Bobby Jindal has raised a small fortune from them, and when he last ran (unsuccessfully) for governor in 2004, an army of Indian-American volunteers from outside the state turned up to campaign for him. Many seemed unaware of his political views; it was enough for them that he was Indian. At his Indian-American fundraising events, Bobby is careful to downplay his extreme positions and play up his heritage, a heritage that plays little part in his appeal to the Louisiana electorate. Indian Americans, by and large, accept this as the price of political success in white America: it's just good to have 'someone like us' in such high office, whatever views he professes to get himself there.
So Indians beam proudly at another Indian-American success story to go along with Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, Hargobind Khorana and Subramaniam Chandrasekhar, Kal Penn and Jhumpa Lahiri. But none of these Indian Americans expressed attitudes and beliefs so much at variance with the prevailing values of their community. Let us be proud that a brown-skinned man with an Indian name has achieved what Bobby Jindal has. But let us not make the mistake of thinking that we should be proud of what he stands for.
Times of India
Shashi Tharoor
The election of Bobby Jindal as governor of the US state of Louisiana has been greeted exultantly by Indians and Indian Americans around the world. There's no question that this is an extraordinary accomplishment: a young Indian-American, just 36 years old, not merely winning an election but doing so on the first ballot by receiving more votes than his 11 rivals combined, and that too in a state not noticeably friendly to minorities. Bobby Jindal will now be the first IndianAmerican governor in US history, and the youngest currently serving chief executive of an American state. These are distinctions of which he can legitimately be proud, and it is not surprising that Indians too feel a vicarious sense of shared pride in his remarkable ascent.
But is our pride misplaced? Who is Bobby Jindal and what does he really stand for?
There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of Indian migrants in America: though no sociologist, I'll call them the atavists and the assimilationists. The atavists hold on to their original identities as much as possible, especially outside the workplace; in speech, dress, food habits, cultural preferences, they are still much more Indian than American. The assimilationists, on the other hand, seek assiduously to merge into the American mainstream; they acquire a new accent along with their visa, and adopt the ways, clothes, diet and recreational preferences of the Americans they see around them. (Of course, there are the in-betweens, but we'll leave them aside for now.) Class has something to do with which of the two major categories an Indian immigrant falls into; so does age, since the newer generation of Indians, especially those born in America, inevitably tend to gravitate to the latter category.
Bobby Jindal is an assimilationist's dream. Born to relatively affluent professionals in Louisiana, he rejected his Indian name (Piyush) as a very young child, insisting that he be called Bobby, after a (white) character on the popular TV show '˜The Brady Bunch'. His desire to fit in to the majority-white society he saw around him soon manifested itself in another act of rejection: Bobby spurned the Hinduism into which he was born and, as a teenager, converted to Roman Catholicism, the faith of most white Louisianans. There is, of course, nothing wrong with any of this, and it is a measure of his precocity that his parents did not balk at his wishes despite his extreme youth. The boy was clearly gifted, and he soon had a Rhodes scholarship to prove it. But he was also ambivalent about his identity: he wanted to be seen as a Louisianan, but his mirror told him he was also an Indian. The two of us won something called an '˜Excelsior Award' once from the Network of Indian Professionals in the US, and his acceptance speech on the occasion was striking, obligatory references to the Indian values of his parents, but a speech so American in tone and intonation that he mangled the Indian name of his own brother. There was no doubt which half of the hyphen this Indian-American leaned towards.
But there are many ways to be American, and it's interesting which one Bobby chose. Many Indians born in America have tended to sympathise with other people of colour, identifying their lot with other immigrants, the poor, the underclass. Vinita Gupta, in Oklahoma, another largely white state, won her reputation as a crusading lawyer by taking up the case of illegal immigrants exploited by a factory owner (her story will shortly be depicted by Hollywood, with Halle Berry playing the Indian heroine). Bhairavi Desai leads a taxi drivers' union; Preeta Bansal, who grew up as the only non-white child in her school in Nebraska, became New York's Solicitor General and now serves on the Commission for Religious Freedom. None of this for Bobby. Louisiana's most famous city, New Orleans, was a majority black town, at least until Hurricane Katrina destroyed so many black lives and homes, but there is no record of Bobby identifying himself with the needs or issues of his state's black people. Instead, he sought, in a state with fewer than 10,000 Indians, not to draw attention to his race by supporting racial causes. Indeed, he went well beyond trying to be nonracial (in a state that harboured notorious racists like the Ku Klux Klansman David Duke); he cultivated the most conservative elements of white Louisiana society. With his widely-advertised piety (he asked his Indian wife, Supriya, to convert as well, and the two are regular churchgoers), Bobby Jindal adopted positions on hot-button issues that place him on the most conservative fringe of the Republican Party. Most Indian-Americans are in favour of gun control, support a woman's right to choose abortion, advocate immigrants' rights, and oppose school prayer (for fear that it would marginalise non-Christians). On every one of these issues, Bobby Jindal is on the opposite side. He's not just conservative; on these questions, he is well to the right of his own party.
That hasn't stopped him, however, from seeking the support of Indian-Americans. Bobby Jindal has raised a small fortune from them, and when he last ran (unsuccessfully) for governor in 2004, an army of Indian-American volunteers from outside the state turned up to campaign for him. Many seemed unaware of his political views; it was enough for them that he was Indian. At his Indian-American fundraising events, Bobby is careful to downplay his extreme positions and play up his heritage, a heritage that plays little part in his appeal to the Louisiana electorate. Indian Americans, by and large, accept this as the price of political success in white America: it's just good to have 'someone like us' in such high office, whatever views he professes to get himself there.
So Indians beam proudly at another Indian-American success story to go along with Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, Hargobind Khorana and Subramaniam Chandrasekhar, Kal Penn and Jhumpa Lahiri. But none of these Indian Americans expressed attitudes and beliefs so much at variance with the prevailing values of their community. Let us be proud that a brown-skinned man with an Indian name has achieved what Bobby Jindal has. But let us not make the mistake of thinking that we should be proud of what he stands for.
October 27, 2007
Karanataka: Citizens Forum demands dismissal of Modi Government
(The Hindu, 27 October 2007)
Karnataka - Bangalore
Forum demands dismissal of Modi Government
Special Correspondent
‘Post-Godhra violence was not spontaneous but was part of a pre-meditated genocide’
Tehelka expose showed Sangh Parivar activists boasting about killings
Judiciary urged to take suo motu action
— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Seeking action: Members of the Karnataka Forum for Dignity staging a protest in Bangalore on Friday demanding the dismissal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Bangalore: The Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) on Friday staged a demonstration demanding the dismissal of Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat in the light of the revelations made by the sting operation by Tehelka, a news magazine. The expose, broadcast on Headlines Today channel, showed Sangh Parivar activists boasting about killings of Muslims in the post-Godhra carnage in 2002.
Speaking at the protest, Syed Kaleemullah, Vice-President of KFD, said that the footage proved that the killings “were not spontaneous, but were part of a pre-meditated genocide.” The sting operation had proved beyond doubt that top Sangh Parivar functionaries and Mr. Modi were behind the “gruesome plot” against Muslims. The Centre should, therefore, dismiss the Modi Government without delay, he added. The statements of people such as Babu Bajrangi, an accused in the Naroda Patia violence, was “shocking to a civilised and democratic society,” said Mr. Kaleemullah.
‘Warning to Karnataka’
Gauri Lankesh of the Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike, speaking at the protest, said that the expose was a lesson to Karnataka, considering that Sangh Parivar members had “repeatedly declared that they were out to make the State into another Gujarat and Bababudangiri into another Ayodhya.”
Prof. G.K. Ramaswamy, also of the Vedike, said that all secular and democratic minded people should come together to defeat the designs of Sangh Parivar elements in spreading the poison of communal hatred.
Dismissing the Modi Government was important in the interest of Indian democracy and Constitution, he added.
‘Modi behaved like Hitler’
President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee M. Mallikarjun Kharge told The Hindu, that Mr. Modi had “behaved like Hitler” while he was expected to protect all people including minorities. Terming the massacre as “a black spot on the civil society, democracy and the Constitution,” he said that people like Mr. Modi had no right to be in public life.
He denied the BJP criticism that the Congress was behind the operation. Who was behind it was immaterial in the light of the horrifying evidence of communal hatred, he added.
‘Irrefutable proof’
President of the State unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) Mirajuddeen Patel said that the sting operation was irrefutable proof of the involvement of Government machinery in the massacre. Mr. Modi should step down, as he can no longer deny his role in the killing of Muslims, he added.
Developments in Karnataka, including the burning of the Tamil Nadu-bound bus over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s reaction on the Ram Sethu issue, had proved what Sangh Parivar elements were capable of in the State of Karnataka when in power, said Mr. Patel.
Silent demonstration
Staff Correspondent reports from Mysore:
The KFD and Komu Souharda Vedike held a silent demonstration in front of the Gandhi Statue here demanding immediate dismissal of the BJP-led Government headed by Narendra Modi.
In a memorandum submitted to the President, the organisations said that that the sting operation exposed misdeeds of Mr. Modi and several of his Ministers.
Suo motu action sought
Human rights and civil liberties activists have demanded suo motu action against the alleged perpetrators of the crime.
Expressing shock over the confessions of Sangh Parivar functionaries, professor in Political Science at the University of Mysore and a member of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Muzaffar Assadi said that it was a known fact that post-Godhra violence was not spontaneous swell of anger but “genocide” planned and executed by Sangh Parivar activists.While the people in Gujarat were afraid to raise their voice against the “pogram,” it was secular and democratic forces, which exposed Sangh Parivar’s deeds, he said.
The Judiciary should take cognisance of the exposure and take suo motu action against the alleged perpetrators of the crime, as commissions of inquiry appointed by the State were not in a position to provide justice, he added.
Secretary of the district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prabhakar said that there was nothing wrong in courts taking cognisance of the exposure and taking suo motu against the perpetrators. He said the Election Commission should bar the culprits, including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from contesting in the coming elections to the Gujarat Assembly.
Noted writer and president of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party Devanuru Mahadev said that it was the judiciary, which could do something and take suo motu action against those who involved in the massacre.
President of the district unit of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Lakshminarayana said that it was horrifying evidence and courts and the National Human Rights Commission should take up this on priority basis and punish those involved in the massacre.
Convener of the district committee of Socialist Unity Centre of India Shashidhar said that though there was enough evidence for the genocide, the inquiry was not conducted impartially and perpetrators were roaming freely. Now the exposure of Tehelka pin-pointed the crime and it was time to act against those involved, however powerful they might be, he said.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu
Karnataka - Bangalore
Forum demands dismissal of Modi Government
Special Correspondent
‘Post-Godhra violence was not spontaneous but was part of a pre-meditated genocide’
Tehelka expose showed Sangh Parivar activists boasting about killings
Judiciary urged to take suo motu action
— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Seeking action: Members of the Karnataka Forum for Dignity staging a protest in Bangalore on Friday demanding the dismissal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Bangalore: The Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) on Friday staged a demonstration demanding the dismissal of Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat in the light of the revelations made by the sting operation by Tehelka, a news magazine. The expose, broadcast on Headlines Today channel, showed Sangh Parivar activists boasting about killings of Muslims in the post-Godhra carnage in 2002.
Speaking at the protest, Syed Kaleemullah, Vice-President of KFD, said that the footage proved that the killings “were not spontaneous, but were part of a pre-meditated genocide.” The sting operation had proved beyond doubt that top Sangh Parivar functionaries and Mr. Modi were behind the “gruesome plot” against Muslims. The Centre should, therefore, dismiss the Modi Government without delay, he added. The statements of people such as Babu Bajrangi, an accused in the Naroda Patia violence, was “shocking to a civilised and democratic society,” said Mr. Kaleemullah.
‘Warning to Karnataka’
Gauri Lankesh of the Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike, speaking at the protest, said that the expose was a lesson to Karnataka, considering that Sangh Parivar members had “repeatedly declared that they were out to make the State into another Gujarat and Bababudangiri into another Ayodhya.”
Prof. G.K. Ramaswamy, also of the Vedike, said that all secular and democratic minded people should come together to defeat the designs of Sangh Parivar elements in spreading the poison of communal hatred.
Dismissing the Modi Government was important in the interest of Indian democracy and Constitution, he added.
‘Modi behaved like Hitler’
President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee M. Mallikarjun Kharge told The Hindu, that Mr. Modi had “behaved like Hitler” while he was expected to protect all people including minorities. Terming the massacre as “a black spot on the civil society, democracy and the Constitution,” he said that people like Mr. Modi had no right to be in public life.
He denied the BJP criticism that the Congress was behind the operation. Who was behind it was immaterial in the light of the horrifying evidence of communal hatred, he added.
‘Irrefutable proof’
President of the State unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) Mirajuddeen Patel said that the sting operation was irrefutable proof of the involvement of Government machinery in the massacre. Mr. Modi should step down, as he can no longer deny his role in the killing of Muslims, he added.
Developments in Karnataka, including the burning of the Tamil Nadu-bound bus over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s reaction on the Ram Sethu issue, had proved what Sangh Parivar elements were capable of in the State of Karnataka when in power, said Mr. Patel.
Silent demonstration
Staff Correspondent reports from Mysore:
The KFD and Komu Souharda Vedike held a silent demonstration in front of the Gandhi Statue here demanding immediate dismissal of the BJP-led Government headed by Narendra Modi.
In a memorandum submitted to the President, the organisations said that that the sting operation exposed misdeeds of Mr. Modi and several of his Ministers.
Suo motu action sought
Human rights and civil liberties activists have demanded suo motu action against the alleged perpetrators of the crime.
Expressing shock over the confessions of Sangh Parivar functionaries, professor in Political Science at the University of Mysore and a member of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Muzaffar Assadi said that it was a known fact that post-Godhra violence was not spontaneous swell of anger but “genocide” planned and executed by Sangh Parivar activists.While the people in Gujarat were afraid to raise their voice against the “pogram,” it was secular and democratic forces, which exposed Sangh Parivar’s deeds, he said.
The Judiciary should take cognisance of the exposure and take suo motu action against the alleged perpetrators of the crime, as commissions of inquiry appointed by the State were not in a position to provide justice, he added.
Secretary of the district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prabhakar said that there was nothing wrong in courts taking cognisance of the exposure and taking suo motu against the perpetrators. He said the Election Commission should bar the culprits, including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from contesting in the coming elections to the Gujarat Assembly.
Noted writer and president of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party Devanuru Mahadev said that it was the judiciary, which could do something and take suo motu action against those who involved in the massacre.
President of the district unit of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Lakshminarayana said that it was horrifying evidence and courts and the National Human Rights Commission should take up this on priority basis and punish those involved in the massacre.
Convener of the district committee of Socialist Unity Centre of India Shashidhar said that though there was enough evidence for the genocide, the inquiry was not conducted impartially and perpetrators were roaming freely. Now the exposure of Tehelka pin-pointed the crime and it was time to act against those involved, however powerful they might be, he said.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu
The beast in us all
Business Standard
October 27, 2007
T N Ninan
The tragedy of Gujarat goes much beyond Narendra Modi, the Sangh Parivar, the ineffective commissions of inquiry into independent India’s worst state-sponsored pogrom, and the slow progress made in the prosecution of those guilty of large-scale killings. The real tragedy is the near-complete communal polarisation in the state, which is what has led commentators to argue that the Tehelka exposé on the 2002 pogrom will actually help Mr Modi to consolidate his vote base before the assembly elections, due in two months. It is the same polarisation that has prevented a relatively harmless film with a human story, like Parzania, from being shown in state theatres, and which on Thursday provoked many cable operators in the state to simply black out the TV channels showing the Tehelka footage of some of the guilty men of 2002 talk openly of the horrific things they did back then. Gujarat, it would seem, is the actualisation of the Hindutva movement’s objectives, a state where the executive and the law and order machinery have been sufficiently communalised to facilitate if not participate in a pogrom and to try and subvert justice afterwards, a state in which Muslims have been made to realise that they have no right to the Constitutional guarantees of life and the rule of law, and that they survive on the say-so of the majority Hindu community. Read some of the early writings of those who created the Sangh Parivar, and this closely resembles what they wanted to bring about.
It is the communalisation of the state that helped Mr Modi retain power as chief minister by sweeping the elections that were held in the wake of the Godhra killings and their aftermath, and in the absence of an effective opposition, he looks set to win again. There is no effective opposition because the Congress is not equal to the challenge of finding a secular message that will find some purchase in the state, and in fact has opted in the past for a BJP ‘B’ team to do battle in Congress colours; and because the BJP rebels and others in the Sangh Parivar who are disillusioned with Mr Modi’s authoritarian ways find that they cannot now get rid of the tiger they have mounted. Whatever Tehelka may have captured on tape, therefore, Mr Modi is safely ensconced in Gandhinagar.
This is not to argue that there is no communal divide elsewhere, nor even that political leaders have not instigated and participated in such riots in other states. Gujarat 2002 was different because it was the state that took part in the pogrom; it was therefore a comprehensive negation of what the Constitution stands for. The only thing that comes close (as the BJP keeps stressing, as though two wrongs make a right) is the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 in Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi’s unforgivable semi-justification subsequently that when a big tree falls, the ground will shake. But in that case there has been at least a semblance of attempts to punish the guilty, including political leaders. Not so in Gujarat, where the state government has been humiliated by the Supreme Court, and key officials by the Election Commission, because neither has faith in the state’s impartiality.
Those who draw satisfaction from this state of affairs should ponder what they expect the Muslim response to be if pushed into a corner, and whether the country will reap the jihadi whirlwind as a result. Even the narrower forms of discrimination and prejudice that surface occasionally, as in the tragi-scandal of Rizwanur Rahman’s fatal marriage to a Hindu girl in Kolkata, point to the challenges the country faces in giving substance to that faded slogan of “unity in diversity”. The City University of New York has just done a two-year study to test job discrimination in India on the basis of caste and community. It found that if two similar applications were sent in response to a job advertisement requiring responses from graduates, the odds of a Dalit being called for interview were about two-thirds of the odds for a high-caste applicant, and in the case of a Muslim, only one-third. The beast, it would seem, dwells in us all.
October 27, 2007
T N Ninan
The tragedy of Gujarat goes much beyond Narendra Modi, the Sangh Parivar, the ineffective commissions of inquiry into independent India’s worst state-sponsored pogrom, and the slow progress made in the prosecution of those guilty of large-scale killings. The real tragedy is the near-complete communal polarisation in the state, which is what has led commentators to argue that the Tehelka exposé on the 2002 pogrom will actually help Mr Modi to consolidate his vote base before the assembly elections, due in two months. It is the same polarisation that has prevented a relatively harmless film with a human story, like Parzania, from being shown in state theatres, and which on Thursday provoked many cable operators in the state to simply black out the TV channels showing the Tehelka footage of some of the guilty men of 2002 talk openly of the horrific things they did back then. Gujarat, it would seem, is the actualisation of the Hindutva movement’s objectives, a state where the executive and the law and order machinery have been sufficiently communalised to facilitate if not participate in a pogrom and to try and subvert justice afterwards, a state in which Muslims have been made to realise that they have no right to the Constitutional guarantees of life and the rule of law, and that they survive on the say-so of the majority Hindu community. Read some of the early writings of those who created the Sangh Parivar, and this closely resembles what they wanted to bring about.
It is the communalisation of the state that helped Mr Modi retain power as chief minister by sweeping the elections that were held in the wake of the Godhra killings and their aftermath, and in the absence of an effective opposition, he looks set to win again. There is no effective opposition because the Congress is not equal to the challenge of finding a secular message that will find some purchase in the state, and in fact has opted in the past for a BJP ‘B’ team to do battle in Congress colours; and because the BJP rebels and others in the Sangh Parivar who are disillusioned with Mr Modi’s authoritarian ways find that they cannot now get rid of the tiger they have mounted. Whatever Tehelka may have captured on tape, therefore, Mr Modi is safely ensconced in Gandhinagar.
This is not to argue that there is no communal divide elsewhere, nor even that political leaders have not instigated and participated in such riots in other states. Gujarat 2002 was different because it was the state that took part in the pogrom; it was therefore a comprehensive negation of what the Constitution stands for. The only thing that comes close (as the BJP keeps stressing, as though two wrongs make a right) is the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 in Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi’s unforgivable semi-justification subsequently that when a big tree falls, the ground will shake. But in that case there has been at least a semblance of attempts to punish the guilty, including political leaders. Not so in Gujarat, where the state government has been humiliated by the Supreme Court, and key officials by the Election Commission, because neither has faith in the state’s impartiality.
Those who draw satisfaction from this state of affairs should ponder what they expect the Muslim response to be if pushed into a corner, and whether the country will reap the jihadi whirlwind as a result. Even the narrower forms of discrimination and prejudice that surface occasionally, as in the tragi-scandal of Rizwanur Rahman’s fatal marriage to a Hindu girl in Kolkata, point to the challenges the country faces in giving substance to that faded slogan of “unity in diversity”. The City University of New York has just done a two-year study to test job discrimination in India on the basis of caste and community. It found that if two similar applications were sent in response to a job advertisement requiring responses from graduates, the odds of a Dalit being called for interview were about two-thirds of the odds for a high-caste applicant, and in the case of a Muslim, only one-third. The beast, it would seem, dwells in us all.
'Collector acted on his own, no order from Gujarat poll panel’
The Hindu, 27 Oct 2007
Special Correspondent
Cable operators refuse to say whether there was any instruction
AHMEDABAD: No instruction has been issued by the State Election Commission to black out telecast of the Tehelka expose on the 2002 communal riots. It seemed that Ahmedabad Collector Dhananjay Dwivedi issued an official order, on his own, to cable television operators in his jurisdiction to black out the telecast, sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said.
The Commission is reported to be enquiring from the Collectorate the reason for issuing the order, copies of which were also sent to the Principal Secretary, the Home Department, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner and the Office of the Entertainment Tax Commissioner.
Consequently, almost all news channels, barring a few, which had picked up the Tehelka expose and had been running discussions and reactions on the programme telecast since Thursday evening, were blacked out by cable operators in Ahmedabad, while showing the entertainment, sports and other channels normally. A large majority of the viewers in the State, particularly in urban areas served by the cable television network, could not view the expose. For, most networks had gone off the air since Thursday evening, just as Aaj Tak and Headlines Today started showing the Tehelka expose.
“Technical problems”
When contacted, cable operators declined to confirm whether there was any instruction from the government to switch off the channels. They claimed that they could not telecast the channels due to some “technical problems,” but could not explain how the problems occurred simultaneously in different parts of the State.
Voluntary organisations working for protection of human rights, condemned the Ahmedabad Collector’s order. The Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy, criticised the “undemocratic decision of the Gujarat government” to stop telecast by the news channels showing the Tehelka expose.
There was no official reaction from the State government on the Tehelka expose and Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was accused of direct involvement in the post-Godhra riots, remained incommunicado. The BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders who were shown in the sting operation went underground. Some of them were reported to have gone out of the State.
While Congress leaders are worried that the timing of the expose could again polarise Hindu votes in favour of Mr. Modi, State BJP spokesman Vijay Rupani said it would have no impact on the December Assembly elections. Blaming the Congress for “manipulating” the sting operation, he said, “Let any Muslim say he had been harassed in Gujarat in the last five years.”
State Congress president Bharat Solanki, refusing to comment on the expose, said, “Let people decide.” However, some senior Congress leaders, on condition of anonymity, said the expose had come at a very inopportune time for the party and Mr. Modi would try to present it as a concerted effort by his critics to “defame Gujarat” all over the world.
The then Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Jhadafiya, named in the expose as having supported the rioters, has turned a dissident and is hobnobbing with the Congress.
Most of the leaders named belonged to the VHP, but the Congress would not be able to take advantage of their dissatisfaction with Mr. Modi, these leaders point out.
Special Correspondent
Cable operators refuse to say whether there was any instruction
AHMEDABAD: No instruction has been issued by the State Election Commission to black out telecast of the Tehelka expose on the 2002 communal riots. It seemed that Ahmedabad Collector Dhananjay Dwivedi issued an official order, on his own, to cable television operators in his jurisdiction to black out the telecast, sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said.
The Commission is reported to be enquiring from the Collectorate the reason for issuing the order, copies of which were also sent to the Principal Secretary, the Home Department, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner and the Office of the Entertainment Tax Commissioner.
Consequently, almost all news channels, barring a few, which had picked up the Tehelka expose and had been running discussions and reactions on the programme telecast since Thursday evening, were blacked out by cable operators in Ahmedabad, while showing the entertainment, sports and other channels normally. A large majority of the viewers in the State, particularly in urban areas served by the cable television network, could not view the expose. For, most networks had gone off the air since Thursday evening, just as Aaj Tak and Headlines Today started showing the Tehelka expose.
“Technical problems”
When contacted, cable operators declined to confirm whether there was any instruction from the government to switch off the channels. They claimed that they could not telecast the channels due to some “technical problems,” but could not explain how the problems occurred simultaneously in different parts of the State.
Voluntary organisations working for protection of human rights, condemned the Ahmedabad Collector’s order. The Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy, criticised the “undemocratic decision of the Gujarat government” to stop telecast by the news channels showing the Tehelka expose.
There was no official reaction from the State government on the Tehelka expose and Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was accused of direct involvement in the post-Godhra riots, remained incommunicado. The BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders who were shown in the sting operation went underground. Some of them were reported to have gone out of the State.
While Congress leaders are worried that the timing of the expose could again polarise Hindu votes in favour of Mr. Modi, State BJP spokesman Vijay Rupani said it would have no impact on the December Assembly elections. Blaming the Congress for “manipulating” the sting operation, he said, “Let any Muslim say he had been harassed in Gujarat in the last five years.”
State Congress president Bharat Solanki, refusing to comment on the expose, said, “Let people decide.” However, some senior Congress leaders, on condition of anonymity, said the expose had come at a very inopportune time for the party and Mr. Modi would try to present it as a concerted effort by his critics to “defame Gujarat” all over the world.
The then Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Jhadafiya, named in the expose as having supported the rioters, has turned a dissident and is hobnobbing with the Congress.
Most of the leaders named belonged to the VHP, but the Congress would not be able to take advantage of their dissatisfaction with Mr. Modi, these leaders point out.
EC questions ban on TV channels in Gujarat
NDTV.com
Tehelka sting: Pandya cries foul play
NDTV Correspondent
Saturday, October 27, 2007 (Ahmedabad)
The Election Commission has questioned the ban ordered by the Gujarat state collector on TV channels which aired the Tehelka sting.
The sting showed several Sangh Parivar members involved in the Gujarat riots admitting to mass murder and rape.
One of the men featured in the sting is Gujarat government counsel Arvind Pandya who has resigned from his post and has filed an FIR against the Tehelka reporter who conducted the sting.
'They came to me and said they were making a serial. And to give a touch of reality, they wanted me to play a role. I would initially be portraying a negative role and later a positive one. I was given a script with all dialogues and I just had to read them. They also made me practice my lines,' he said.
The Election Commission has seeked an explanation from State Collector Dhananjay Dwivedi.
Meanwhile, Social activist Teesta Setalvad has moved the Supreme Court, urging it to look into the Tehelka sting.
Teesta, in her application, said Tehelka records should be used as evidence in the riot cases. She has also sought action against those people who have made on-camera confessions.
Setalvad has also urged the court to speed up the riot cases pending since November 2003 because the security of the witnesses was at stake.
A day after the sting operation revealing gory details of the Gujarat riots in 2002, news channels in Ahmedabad were the first target of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's anger.
Ahmedabad collector Dhananjay Dwivedi ordered the channels showing Tehelka expose to go off air in the city. He said airing of the sting could disturb communal peace in Ahmedabad.
The Tehelka sting showed several Sangh Parivar members involved in the Gujarat riots admitting to mass murder and rape with the connivance and active encouragement of elements in the state administration.
Political stunt?
Meanwhile, instead of going on the defensive, the BJP questioned the political independence of the sting.
'We were expecting this kind of a political stunt. Since Congress cannot go directly to people and give this message they have used Tehelka,' said Prakash Javdekar, Spokesperson, BJP.
But BJP's rivals say the sting only confirms what was suspected for long.
Demand for probe
The Congress, Left parties, RJD's Laloo Prasad Yadav and others have demanded a fresh probe against the Modi government.
The Left parties want both the Nanavati Commission, which is investigating the riots, and the Supreme Court to proceed against the Modi government.
''Whatever has happened can be called state-sponsored terrorism. The sting operation shows that the chief minister had a role to play in the incident,'' said B K Hariprasad, General Secretary, Congress.
Many of those accused in the sting refused to speak to NDTV but for the families of the riot victims this is clear vindication.
Zakiya Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri - who was hacked to death in Ahmedabad during the riots - has demanded action.
'Fresh investigation should be carried out by the CBI and Modi should be punished and barred from contesting elections,' said Zakiya.
Though the sting operation has heated up the political atmosphere in the country, it remains to be seen if the guilty are punished.
Tehelka sting: Pandya cries foul play
NDTV Correspondent
Saturday, October 27, 2007 (Ahmedabad)
The Election Commission has questioned the ban ordered by the Gujarat state collector on TV channels which aired the Tehelka sting.
The sting showed several Sangh Parivar members involved in the Gujarat riots admitting to mass murder and rape.
One of the men featured in the sting is Gujarat government counsel Arvind Pandya who has resigned from his post and has filed an FIR against the Tehelka reporter who conducted the sting.
'They came to me and said they were making a serial. And to give a touch of reality, they wanted me to play a role. I would initially be portraying a negative role and later a positive one. I was given a script with all dialogues and I just had to read them. They also made me practice my lines,' he said.
The Election Commission has seeked an explanation from State Collector Dhananjay Dwivedi.
Meanwhile, Social activist Teesta Setalvad has moved the Supreme Court, urging it to look into the Tehelka sting.
Teesta, in her application, said Tehelka records should be used as evidence in the riot cases. She has also sought action against those people who have made on-camera confessions.
Setalvad has also urged the court to speed up the riot cases pending since November 2003 because the security of the witnesses was at stake.
A day after the sting operation revealing gory details of the Gujarat riots in 2002, news channels in Ahmedabad were the first target of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's anger.
Ahmedabad collector Dhananjay Dwivedi ordered the channels showing Tehelka expose to go off air in the city. He said airing of the sting could disturb communal peace in Ahmedabad.
The Tehelka sting showed several Sangh Parivar members involved in the Gujarat riots admitting to mass murder and rape with the connivance and active encouragement of elements in the state administration.
Political stunt?
Meanwhile, instead of going on the defensive, the BJP questioned the political independence of the sting.
'We were expecting this kind of a political stunt. Since Congress cannot go directly to people and give this message they have used Tehelka,' said Prakash Javdekar, Spokesperson, BJP.
But BJP's rivals say the sting only confirms what was suspected for long.
Demand for probe
The Congress, Left parties, RJD's Laloo Prasad Yadav and others have demanded a fresh probe against the Modi government.
The Left parties want both the Nanavati Commission, which is investigating the riots, and the Supreme Court to proceed against the Modi government.
''Whatever has happened can be called state-sponsored terrorism. The sting operation shows that the chief minister had a role to play in the incident,'' said B K Hariprasad, General Secretary, Congress.
Many of those accused in the sting refused to speak to NDTV but for the families of the riot victims this is clear vindication.
Zakiya Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri - who was hacked to death in Ahmedabad during the riots - has demanded action.
'Fresh investigation should be carried out by the CBI and Modi should be punished and barred from contesting elections,' said Zakiya.
Though the sting operation has heated up the political atmosphere in the country, it remains to be seen if the guilty are punished.
October 26, 2007
In the name of fighting terror, the Hyderabad Police have targeted the Muslim community
Hindustan Times
25 October 2007
The marked people
In the name of fighting terror, the Hyderabad Police have targeted the Muslim community
by Harsh Mander
In TODAY'S world, many things have been globalised. One of these is prejudice. In the name of the global war on terrorism, an entire community has been labelled and demonised. Terror attacks, whether in Washington, London or Madrid, are followed by paranoid surveillance, strip searches and prolonged detentions of large numbers of Muslim youth, often without even tenuous evidence or respect for their elementary human rights.
The latest to join this global assault on democratic rights - in the wake of the three bomb blasts that hit Hyderabad this year - is the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh. The state Minorities Commission has reported the abduction and illegal detention and torture by the police of a large number of Muslim youth within days of the blasts on August 25, 2007. I have heard from several terrified families of many youth who "disappeared" for several days without legal trace, chilling testimonies similar to those made by youth incarcerated in Cheraiapally Jail before the fact-finding committee established by the Commission. The committee comprised advocate Ravi Chandran, Professor of forensic sciences Mahender Reddy and activists , Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, K. Anuradha and Afsar.
What emerges is that tens of - it is feared hundreds - Muslim youth have been forcibly picked up from their homes, and more often while they are on way to work or the market or to worship, without legal arrest. These detentions have been forced by men in civilian clothes presumed to be policemen. Among those illegally arrested is an autorickshaw driver, an embroiderer, a medical student and a software engineer. Almost none have criminal records.
As they struggle against their abductors, they are bundled into vehicles without number plates, their eyes covered with blindfolds that they are not allowed to remove throughout their detention, their hands bound and their mouths gagged. They are then driven to unknown destinations, possibly farm houses in the periphery of the city In . these locations they and other youth, , are subjected to various forms of torture, including denial of food for long periods, electric shocks and beatings on the soles of their feet. Their eyes continuously masked, they lose track of night and day They are driven . every few days to new torture chambers, grilled about their role in the bomb blasts and coerced to agree about their alleged role in the blasts and their sympathies with international jehad. They are continuously battered with communally-charged taunts by the interrogating policemen. Some succumb by signing blank confession papers; others stoutly resist.
Their hapless families are, of course, not informed by the police about the detention. They are sometimes informed by witnesses of the police abduction. Many are poorly educated and impoverished, desperate, but unable to comprehend how to set about finding their loved ones. They contact the police, who deny any knowledge of the missing men. Others frantically contact lawyers and human rights organisations to file habeas corpus petitions in the high court. These are heard without urgency by the judges, and the police routinely deny in court, that the , missing men are in their custody . However, in a few days, they are indeed produced by the same police before magistrates, claiming that they were arrested just a day earlier. It is not possible that the habeas corpus petitions by the families of the youth could have been filed before their arrest by the police, in anticipation of their future arrest by the police.
The fact-finding committee found "tell-tale signs of bodily abuse obviously not self inflicted" in the incarcerated youth, including "noticeable small scars of 1 cm diameter noted on external ears" and "1 mm to 2 mm scars noted around nipples indicative of electricity or needle entry". Even jail records in three cases acknowledge injuries. They were visibly traumatised, some vomited blood, and others were severely dehydrated with swollen limbs and barely able to walk. The Commission observed that since these injuries "are not self inflicted, these obviously arose during police custody [therefore] custodial ... atrocities on young detainees, all minority persons, stand proved".
What is even more worrying is that the magistrates abdicated their duties by wantonly ignoring the visible signs of torture (some even noted later in jail records), when the detained youth were presented before them. Even the high court judges ignored Supreme Court guidelines by listing habeas corpus matters for hearing only once a week, unmindful of the imminent threats to the survival of the youth.
It is remarkable that even after legal production, following prolonged interrogation under torture, the police could still not charge most youth with involvement in the bomb blasts. Instead, the police alleged the youths' support for international jehad been ‘proved' by possession and propagation of ‘inflammatory' CDs and pamphlets. The remand case diaries that I have in my possession describe these CDs as containing "Gujarat communal incidents like showing burnt bodies, damaged houses, the statements of victims as well as their relatives" and the other "clippings like shooting and beheading of… western forces by jehadis". I possess and exhibit at least the former. Is that evidence to detain me for waging war against the State, in the way that these unfortunate youth have been charged?
The dazed families of the detained men live with their loss in intense social isolation. They are not just stigmatised by people of the ‘other' community even their neighbours, , friends and relatives avoid contact with them, for fear that they too will be suspected by the authorities to harbour sympathies with terrorism. The larger community especially , poorer Muslims in the city subsist , with the daily cold dread that their own loved one may be the next target of the police.
An agonised young woman related to one of the detained youth cried out in a solidarity rally "We are also In , dians; we love India. Why are we seen as ISI agents and traitors?" Speaking from the heart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned recently against the dangers of precisely such ‘labelling' of communities as unpatriotic or violent. It is a warning that governments led by his own party in , Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam, do not seem to heed. He recalled that his own community of Sikhs was similarly labelled in the 1980s. What he did not mention was that thousands of youth were similarly abducted by the police in Punjab in those times, exterminated and cremated in mass graves. The story is hardly different for thousands of young people alleged to be Naxalites in Andhra, who are similarly abducted and eliminated.
After terror incidents, a hamstrung police are under unbearable pressure to perform. But crippled by ramshackle intelligence, poor investigative skills, demoralised and untrained forces and the crumbling fibre of police leadership, it resorts to shortcuts like the illegal abductions and torture that Hyderabad has witnessed. As the advocate appointed by the Commission, Ravi Chandran, concludes, "What is at stake is not just the lives of 20 odd young boys living in resigned solitariness in a cell tucked away somewhere on the periphery of the modern city What is at . stake is the functioning of a healthy democracy If you have tears, prepare . to shed them now."
25 October 2007
The marked people
In the name of fighting terror, the Hyderabad Police have targeted the Muslim community
by Harsh Mander
In TODAY'S world, many things have been globalised. One of these is prejudice. In the name of the global war on terrorism, an entire community has been labelled and demonised. Terror attacks, whether in Washington, London or Madrid, are followed by paranoid surveillance, strip searches and prolonged detentions of large numbers of Muslim youth, often without even tenuous evidence or respect for their elementary human rights.
The latest to join this global assault on democratic rights - in the wake of the three bomb blasts that hit Hyderabad this year - is the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh. The state Minorities Commission has reported the abduction and illegal detention and torture by the police of a large number of Muslim youth within days of the blasts on August 25, 2007. I have heard from several terrified families of many youth who "disappeared" for several days without legal trace, chilling testimonies similar to those made by youth incarcerated in Cheraiapally Jail before the fact-finding committee established by the Commission. The committee comprised advocate Ravi Chandran, Professor of forensic sciences Mahender Reddy and activists , Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, K. Anuradha and Afsar.
What emerges is that tens of - it is feared hundreds - Muslim youth have been forcibly picked up from their homes, and more often while they are on way to work or the market or to worship, without legal arrest. These detentions have been forced by men in civilian clothes presumed to be policemen. Among those illegally arrested is an autorickshaw driver, an embroiderer, a medical student and a software engineer. Almost none have criminal records.
As they struggle against their abductors, they are bundled into vehicles without number plates, their eyes covered with blindfolds that they are not allowed to remove throughout their detention, their hands bound and their mouths gagged. They are then driven to unknown destinations, possibly farm houses in the periphery of the city In . these locations they and other youth, , are subjected to various forms of torture, including denial of food for long periods, electric shocks and beatings on the soles of their feet. Their eyes continuously masked, they lose track of night and day They are driven . every few days to new torture chambers, grilled about their role in the bomb blasts and coerced to agree about their alleged role in the blasts and their sympathies with international jehad. They are continuously battered with communally-charged taunts by the interrogating policemen. Some succumb by signing blank confession papers; others stoutly resist.
Their hapless families are, of course, not informed by the police about the detention. They are sometimes informed by witnesses of the police abduction. Many are poorly educated and impoverished, desperate, but unable to comprehend how to set about finding their loved ones. They contact the police, who deny any knowledge of the missing men. Others frantically contact lawyers and human rights organisations to file habeas corpus petitions in the high court. These are heard without urgency by the judges, and the police routinely deny in court, that the , missing men are in their custody . However, in a few days, they are indeed produced by the same police before magistrates, claiming that they were arrested just a day earlier. It is not possible that the habeas corpus petitions by the families of the youth could have been filed before their arrest by the police, in anticipation of their future arrest by the police.
The fact-finding committee found "tell-tale signs of bodily abuse obviously not self inflicted" in the incarcerated youth, including "noticeable small scars of 1 cm diameter noted on external ears" and "1 mm to 2 mm scars noted around nipples indicative of electricity or needle entry". Even jail records in three cases acknowledge injuries. They were visibly traumatised, some vomited blood, and others were severely dehydrated with swollen limbs and barely able to walk. The Commission observed that since these injuries "are not self inflicted, these obviously arose during police custody [therefore] custodial ... atrocities on young detainees, all minority persons, stand proved".
What is even more worrying is that the magistrates abdicated their duties by wantonly ignoring the visible signs of torture (some even noted later in jail records), when the detained youth were presented before them. Even the high court judges ignored Supreme Court guidelines by listing habeas corpus matters for hearing only once a week, unmindful of the imminent threats to the survival of the youth.
It is remarkable that even after legal production, following prolonged interrogation under torture, the police could still not charge most youth with involvement in the bomb blasts. Instead, the police alleged the youths' support for international jehad been ‘proved' by possession and propagation of ‘inflammatory' CDs and pamphlets. The remand case diaries that I have in my possession describe these CDs as containing "Gujarat communal incidents like showing burnt bodies, damaged houses, the statements of victims as well as their relatives" and the other "clippings like shooting and beheading of… western forces by jehadis". I possess and exhibit at least the former. Is that evidence to detain me for waging war against the State, in the way that these unfortunate youth have been charged?
The dazed families of the detained men live with their loss in intense social isolation. They are not just stigmatised by people of the ‘other' community even their neighbours, , friends and relatives avoid contact with them, for fear that they too will be suspected by the authorities to harbour sympathies with terrorism. The larger community especially , poorer Muslims in the city subsist , with the daily cold dread that their own loved one may be the next target of the police.
An agonised young woman related to one of the detained youth cried out in a solidarity rally "We are also In , dians; we love India. Why are we seen as ISI agents and traitors?" Speaking from the heart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned recently against the dangers of precisely such ‘labelling' of communities as unpatriotic or violent. It is a warning that governments led by his own party in , Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam, do not seem to heed. He recalled that his own community of Sikhs was similarly labelled in the 1980s. What he did not mention was that thousands of youth were similarly abducted by the police in Punjab in those times, exterminated and cremated in mass graves. The story is hardly different for thousands of young people alleged to be Naxalites in Andhra, who are similarly abducted and eliminated.
After terror incidents, a hamstrung police are under unbearable pressure to perform. But crippled by ramshackle intelligence, poor investigative skills, demoralised and untrained forces and the crumbling fibre of police leadership, it resorts to shortcuts like the illegal abductions and torture that Hyderabad has witnessed. As the advocate appointed by the Commission, Ravi Chandran, concludes, "What is at stake is not just the lives of 20 odd young boys living in resigned solitariness in a cell tucked away somewhere on the periphery of the modern city What is at . stake is the functioning of a healthy democracy If you have tears, prepare . to shed them now."
Conviction of Basha in Coimbatore Bomb Blasts
Conviction of Basha in Coimbatore Bomb Blasts
by Irfan Engineer
S.A. Basha and 34 persons have been convicted for the conspiracy of bomb blasts in Coimbatore for a life term. There were 4 bomb blasts in Coimbatore on 14 th February 1998. There were 12 blasts in which 54 innocent people died. One of the suicide bombers was to target L.K. Advani, however he did not activate the bomb which was aimed at L.K. Advani as Advani's flight was delayed and had not reached the venue of the meeting on the fateful day. Basha was head of Al Umma, an extremist organization in Tamil Nadu formed in 1993, which had been accused of masterminding the bomb blasts. Till the eighties, there were hardly any extremist organizations in Tamil Nadu. However, after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Islamic extremism spread to Tamil Nadu and Al Umma was one such organization. Al Umma targeted RSS headquarters on 8 th August 1993 to take revenge for demolition of Babri Mosque on 6th December 1992 by the Sangh Parivar. Demolition of Babri Mosque has plunged even the South in a spiral of violence. In early nineties, several extremist organizations came into existence in Tamil Nadu, including Al Umma, Jihad Committee, and the IDF adopt and espouse violence, extensively using coercion, extortion and intimidation to achieve their goals. The goals of extremist organization generally includes "protecting" Islam and Muslims by retaliation against the Hindu extremists. However, often the victims are innocent persons. An important aspect of Islamist fundamentalist mobilisation in Tamil Nadu is that it has often been directed more towards countering the activities of Hindu extremist organizations, and is not entirely impelled by an independent vision, or by the mischief of external agencies. Extravagant and aggressive celebrations of Vinayaka Chaturthi, direct verbal attacks on Islam and Muslims by the Hindu Munnani and Hindu Makkal Katchi leaders, contributed to a sense of insecurity among the Muslims. Every year the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations create large-scale disturbances within the local community. Every year there is tension during these festivals, especially with regard to securing permission for the procession. In recent times, the security agencies have become more conscious about such problems and provide maximum security during this period in order to avert the growing tension between the two communities.
Karunanidhi made it clear that the state government had not received any specific information from the central agency on involvement of Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence activists in the blasts.
Provocative speeches and conflicts over the passage of religious processions had aggravated the animosity, and the state government had to intervene on many occasions to prevent untoward incidents.
Even the white paper published by the Tamil Nadu Govt. admitted that the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in December 1992 had upset the Muslims in the state and led to the spread of fundamentalism.
Referring to the communal violence preceding the February serial blasts, the white paper referred to the murder of Jehad Committee founder-leader Palani Baba at Pollachi in 1997 by certain RSS activists.
This triggered a series of incidents of communal violence in Coimbatore in which four Muslims and two Hindus lost their lives. The police swung into action and took into custody 43 Muslims and 27 Hindus. The textile city was rocked by communal violence again in November 1997 following the murder of police constable Selvaraj, allegedly by Al Umma activists.
I was part of the fact finding team of PUCL after the communal riots in Coimbatore in 1998. We met the victims, police officials, Hindu Munani leaders and other members of civil society organizations. The events which led to killing of 27 Muslims in police firing are as follows: On 29 th Novenber 1997 stopped bike of Jehangir, a member of Al-Umma for traffic violation. Jehangir failed to produce his driving license and communal abuses were hurled upon him. When leader of Al-Umma – Mohammed Ansari intervened, he was beaten with lathis. Inflamed members of Al-Umma stabbed the traffic constable – Selvaraj to death. Large force of Police came to arrest the culprits of Selvaraj's murder. The community leaders intervened and told the police force that it was late in night, and that if the police returned, they would themselves hand over the culprits wanted by the police next day by 11.00 a.m. While returning, the police burnt Muslim platform shops and posters and banners put for mobilization of meeting to be held on 6th December in commemoration of destruction of Babri Masjid. All Muslims, including Al-Umma had condemned murder of Constable Selvaraj. The three accused wanted by police for Slevaraj's murder were handed over next day morning, i.e. on 30th November 1997. On the same day, about 100 policemen wore black badges and staged a dharna for about an hour at Ukkadam, where Selvaraj was murdered, and then proceeded towards Govt. Hospital in a procession demanding that the body of Selvaraj be handed over to them and permit them to take a procession through Kottaimedu locality, which was inhabited by Muslim majority. Muslim shops all over the city were being looted with active instigation by the policemen. Many dalits told us that they were encouraged by the police to loot Muslim shops. There were rumours that Hindu Munani accompanied by policemen in procession would enter Kottaaimedu and therefore Muslims also gathered in anxiety as they were hearing the news of their shops being burnt and looted. Ayyub Khan, District Secretary of TMMK (Tamil Muslim Muntra Kazhgam) was pleading the Muslim mob gathered to retreat and they had begun retreating, when a police force led by a DCP at around 12.20 p.m. asked the police to fire on the unarmed retreating mob. The police force entered Poompuhar, then Eswaran Temple Street, Vandikara Street, Vincent Road, Naz theatre lane, Perumal Koil Street and Ukkadam and fired indiscriminately to kill and take "revenge" of Selvaraj's death. 27 Muslims were killed and over 100 persons were injured. Hindu Munani all throughout was with the lawless policemen extending all possible assistance to them and extending moral support. Hindu Munani followers had also gathered in the campus of Government Hospital and attacking all the injured victims of police firing who were brought for treatment. The DMK MLA C.D. Dhandapani was also gheraoed by policemen in mufti and Hindu Munani activists inside the Govt. Hospital Compound and attacked. Some critically injured Muslims died as they could not be treated in time.
By 1st of December, Administration called in Rapid Action Force and CRPF and situation was somewhat brought under control. However, some policemen from Coimbatore managed to shoot at Mohammed Ali who had ventured out to buy Milk for his daughter and at K.N. Annamalai, employed as a driver in State Transport and who was going for his duty. However, there were number of policemen who helped protecting lives of Muslims.
Unlike the communal riots in Mumbai, the society at large was not communalized. Even the victims did not blame Hindus in general for whatever happened in Coimbatore, nor had any love lost between members of the two communities. Ordinary Hindus within and outside Kottaimedu had no dislike for Muslims, though they viewed the Al-Umma activities with suspicion and disapproval. Even the dalits who were encouraged to loot Muslim shops and business did not have any communal prejudice against Muslims.
There are many similarities between the bomb blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993 and those in Coimbatore in the year 1998. Both the bombings in Mumbai and in Coimbatore were carried out by some misguided Muslims. Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim being prime suspects in the case of Mumbai blasts and Al-Umma, a Muslim extremist organization which attracted a few Muslim youth in Tamil Nadu, in case of Coimbatore bombings. Both bomb blasts followed the communal riots in which majority of sufferers were Muslims. Victims of the communal riots in both the cases did not get justice nor did they have any hopes of getting justice through our criminal justice system. Consequently, some of the victims could be easily mobilized to carry out the bombings in Mumbai and in Coimbatore. In Coimbatore as well as in Mumbai, the police and the politicians showed extraordinary zeal in bringing the guilty of the bombings to justice and utterly failed and neglected their constitutional duty to bringing the guilty of communal riots to justice. This establishes a sort of pattern. The right wing Hindu organizations could target minorities with impunity and some of the communalized police officers could also join the right wing Hindu organizations without fearing any reprisals or action against them. If some hot headed Muslim youth or victims of communal riots wrongly decided to "avenge" the riots by violent means like bombings, targeting innocent persons of Hindu community, they would be quickly brought to justice and the police would act overzealously in marshalling all the evidence to convict those guilty of the violent and criminal acts undertaken by some members of minority community.
The only way to break this spiral of violence is for the state to intervene in enforce law without impartially and take action mandated by law against the guilty of bombings as well as communal violence or any hate crime committed by member any community, sect or group or professing any identity.
by Irfan Engineer
S.A. Basha and 34 persons have been convicted for the conspiracy of bomb blasts in Coimbatore for a life term. There were 4 bomb blasts in Coimbatore on 14 th February 1998. There were 12 blasts in which 54 innocent people died. One of the suicide bombers was to target L.K. Advani, however he did not activate the bomb which was aimed at L.K. Advani as Advani's flight was delayed and had not reached the venue of the meeting on the fateful day. Basha was head of Al Umma, an extremist organization in Tamil Nadu formed in 1993, which had been accused of masterminding the bomb blasts. Till the eighties, there were hardly any extremist organizations in Tamil Nadu. However, after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Islamic extremism spread to Tamil Nadu and Al Umma was one such organization. Al Umma targeted RSS headquarters on 8 th August 1993 to take revenge for demolition of Babri Mosque on 6th December 1992 by the Sangh Parivar. Demolition of Babri Mosque has plunged even the South in a spiral of violence. In early nineties, several extremist organizations came into existence in Tamil Nadu, including Al Umma, Jihad Committee, and the IDF adopt and espouse violence, extensively using coercion, extortion and intimidation to achieve their goals. The goals of extremist organization generally includes "protecting" Islam and Muslims by retaliation against the Hindu extremists. However, often the victims are innocent persons. An important aspect of Islamist fundamentalist mobilisation in Tamil Nadu is that it has often been directed more towards countering the activities of Hindu extremist organizations, and is not entirely impelled by an independent vision, or by the mischief of external agencies. Extravagant and aggressive celebrations of Vinayaka Chaturthi, direct verbal attacks on Islam and Muslims by the Hindu Munnani and Hindu Makkal Katchi leaders, contributed to a sense of insecurity among the Muslims. Every year the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations create large-scale disturbances within the local community. Every year there is tension during these festivals, especially with regard to securing permission for the procession. In recent times, the security agencies have become more conscious about such problems and provide maximum security during this period in order to avert the growing tension between the two communities.
Karunanidhi made it clear that the state government had not received any specific information from the central agency on involvement of Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence activists in the blasts.
Provocative speeches and conflicts over the passage of religious processions had aggravated the animosity, and the state government had to intervene on many occasions to prevent untoward incidents.
Even the white paper published by the Tamil Nadu Govt. admitted that the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in December 1992 had upset the Muslims in the state and led to the spread of fundamentalism.
Referring to the communal violence preceding the February serial blasts, the white paper referred to the murder of Jehad Committee founder-leader Palani Baba at Pollachi in 1997 by certain RSS activists.
This triggered a series of incidents of communal violence in Coimbatore in which four Muslims and two Hindus lost their lives. The police swung into action and took into custody 43 Muslims and 27 Hindus. The textile city was rocked by communal violence again in November 1997 following the murder of police constable Selvaraj, allegedly by Al Umma activists.
I was part of the fact finding team of PUCL after the communal riots in Coimbatore in 1998. We met the victims, police officials, Hindu Munani leaders and other members of civil society organizations. The events which led to killing of 27 Muslims in police firing are as follows: On 29 th Novenber 1997 stopped bike of Jehangir, a member of Al-Umma for traffic violation. Jehangir failed to produce his driving license and communal abuses were hurled upon him. When leader of Al-Umma – Mohammed Ansari intervened, he was beaten with lathis. Inflamed members of Al-Umma stabbed the traffic constable – Selvaraj to death. Large force of Police came to arrest the culprits of Selvaraj's murder. The community leaders intervened and told the police force that it was late in night, and that if the police returned, they would themselves hand over the culprits wanted by the police next day by 11.00 a.m. While returning, the police burnt Muslim platform shops and posters and banners put for mobilization of meeting to be held on 6th December in commemoration of destruction of Babri Masjid. All Muslims, including Al-Umma had condemned murder of Constable Selvaraj. The three accused wanted by police for Slevaraj's murder were handed over next day morning, i.e. on 30th November 1997. On the same day, about 100 policemen wore black badges and staged a dharna for about an hour at Ukkadam, where Selvaraj was murdered, and then proceeded towards Govt. Hospital in a procession demanding that the body of Selvaraj be handed over to them and permit them to take a procession through Kottaimedu locality, which was inhabited by Muslim majority. Muslim shops all over the city were being looted with active instigation by the policemen. Many dalits told us that they were encouraged by the police to loot Muslim shops. There were rumours that Hindu Munani accompanied by policemen in procession would enter Kottaaimedu and therefore Muslims also gathered in anxiety as they were hearing the news of their shops being burnt and looted. Ayyub Khan, District Secretary of TMMK (Tamil Muslim Muntra Kazhgam) was pleading the Muslim mob gathered to retreat and they had begun retreating, when a police force led by a DCP at around 12.20 p.m. asked the police to fire on the unarmed retreating mob. The police force entered Poompuhar, then Eswaran Temple Street, Vandikara Street, Vincent Road, Naz theatre lane, Perumal Koil Street and Ukkadam and fired indiscriminately to kill and take "revenge" of Selvaraj's death. 27 Muslims were killed and over 100 persons were injured. Hindu Munani all throughout was with the lawless policemen extending all possible assistance to them and extending moral support. Hindu Munani followers had also gathered in the campus of Government Hospital and attacking all the injured victims of police firing who were brought for treatment. The DMK MLA C.D. Dhandapani was also gheraoed by policemen in mufti and Hindu Munani activists inside the Govt. Hospital Compound and attacked. Some critically injured Muslims died as they could not be treated in time.
By 1st of December, Administration called in Rapid Action Force and CRPF and situation was somewhat brought under control. However, some policemen from Coimbatore managed to shoot at Mohammed Ali who had ventured out to buy Milk for his daughter and at K.N. Annamalai, employed as a driver in State Transport and who was going for his duty. However, there were number of policemen who helped protecting lives of Muslims.
Unlike the communal riots in Mumbai, the society at large was not communalized. Even the victims did not blame Hindus in general for whatever happened in Coimbatore, nor had any love lost between members of the two communities. Ordinary Hindus within and outside Kottaimedu had no dislike for Muslims, though they viewed the Al-Umma activities with suspicion and disapproval. Even the dalits who were encouraged to loot Muslim shops and business did not have any communal prejudice against Muslims.
There are many similarities between the bomb blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993 and those in Coimbatore in the year 1998. Both the bombings in Mumbai and in Coimbatore were carried out by some misguided Muslims. Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim being prime suspects in the case of Mumbai blasts and Al-Umma, a Muslim extremist organization which attracted a few Muslim youth in Tamil Nadu, in case of Coimbatore bombings. Both bomb blasts followed the communal riots in which majority of sufferers were Muslims. Victims of the communal riots in both the cases did not get justice nor did they have any hopes of getting justice through our criminal justice system. Consequently, some of the victims could be easily mobilized to carry out the bombings in Mumbai and in Coimbatore. In Coimbatore as well as in Mumbai, the police and the politicians showed extraordinary zeal in bringing the guilty of the bombings to justice and utterly failed and neglected their constitutional duty to bringing the guilty of communal riots to justice. This establishes a sort of pattern. The right wing Hindu organizations could target minorities with impunity and some of the communalized police officers could also join the right wing Hindu organizations without fearing any reprisals or action against them. If some hot headed Muslim youth or victims of communal riots wrongly decided to "avenge" the riots by violent means like bombings, targeting innocent persons of Hindu community, they would be quickly brought to justice and the police would act overzealously in marshalling all the evidence to convict those guilty of the violent and criminal acts undertaken by some members of minority community.
The only way to break this spiral of violence is for the state to intervene in enforce law without impartially and take action mandated by law against the guilty of bombings as well as communal violence or any hate crime committed by member any community, sect or group or professing any identity.
Gujarat [2002]: The Truth
Tehelka's Ground breaking investigation
November 3, 2007
108 Pages + Spycam Videos
HARINDER BAWEJA
-----------
[Below Stories by Ashish Khetan]
CONSPIRATORS & RIOTERS
First-hand accounts from the men who plotted and executed the genocide in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Mayhem was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP-Bajrang Dal cadres across Muslim localities. READ »
THE BOMB MAKERS
The VHP and the Bajrang Dal manufactured and distributed lethal weapons across the state, often with the connivance of the police. READ »
ROLE OF THE POLICE
Shocking accounts of how the guardians of the law colluded with the outlaws to make Gujarat’s horror even worse. READ »
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT MODI
Key BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists speak openly of how Narendra Modi blessed the anti-Muslim pogrom . READ »
LEGAL SUBVERSION
How public prosecutors ran with the hare and hunted with the hound, keeping their sympathies strictly for the accused. Government Counsel Arvind Pandya on how he hopes to subvert justice by manipulating the Nanavati-Shah Commission, set up to ascertain the truth. READ »
DANCE OF HATE
The truth behind Naroda Patiya, the grisliest massacre of 2002. Ahmedabad police’s collusion in the pogrom and its cover-up. Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society, in the words of those who did it. READ »
GODHRA: THE DIABOLIC LIE
How spontaneous mob fury was shown as a premeditated conspiracy by the police who produced fake witnesses by bribing, coercion and torture. READ »
----
Having been undercover on the shadow lines between sanity and mayhem, ASHISH KHETAN retraces a quest for truth
November 3, 2007
108 Pages + Spycam Videos
Editor’s Cut
-----------
[Below Stories by Ashish Khetan]
CONSPIRATORS & RIOTERS
First-hand accounts from the men who plotted and executed the genocide in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Mayhem was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP-Bajrang Dal cadres across Muslim localities. READ »
THE BOMB MAKERS
The VHP and the Bajrang Dal manufactured and distributed lethal weapons across the state, often with the connivance of the police. READ »
ROLE OF THE POLICE
Shocking accounts of how the guardians of the law colluded with the outlaws to make Gujarat’s horror even worse. READ »
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT MODI
Key BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists speak openly of how Narendra Modi blessed the anti-Muslim pogrom . READ »
LEGAL SUBVERSION
How public prosecutors ran with the hare and hunted with the hound, keeping their sympathies strictly for the accused. Government Counsel Arvind Pandya on how he hopes to subvert justice by manipulating the Nanavati-Shah Commission, set up to ascertain the truth. READ »
DANCE OF HATE
The truth behind Naroda Patiya, the grisliest massacre of 2002. Ahmedabad police’s collusion in the pogrom and its cover-up. Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society, in the words of those who did it. READ »
GODHRA: THE DIABOLIC LIE
How spontaneous mob fury was shown as a premeditated conspiracy by the police who produced fake witnesses by bribing, coercion and torture. READ »
----
Reporter’s Diary
 |
Having been undercover on the shadow lines between sanity and mayhem, ASHISH KHETAN retraces a quest for truth
Our Inherited Brutalities
Tehelka
full story with pictures: http://tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=Ne271007
In India, tradition is a mask for tyranny. Collective violence is unleashed upon all those who defy it
S. ANAND
New Delhi
Most people do not realise that society can practice tyranny and oppression against an individual in a far greater degree than a government can. The means and scope that are open to society for oppression are more extensive than those open to the government; also, they are far more effective. What punishment in the penal code is comparable in its magnitude and its severity to excommunication? — BR Ambedkar
A CONSERVATIVE SOCIETY, enforcing its dictates with an iron hand — that is who we are, us Indians. Men and women who do not fall in line are routinely persecuted — and killed — under antiquated norms of honour and right conduct. Each day, violence is unleashed by society in its various manifestations — the family, biradari, caste, village, religion. Governed by unwritten rules, the “world’s largest democracy” seems to be doing little better than a theocratic dictatorship.
A spate of incidents testifies to this. The mysterious death of Rizwanur Rehman in Kolkata for the crime of loving and marrying Priyanka Todi, a Hindu; the September 10 lynching of ten people of the Kureri community in Vaishali, Bihar; the ostracisation of HIV-positive Jayalakshmi Bhovi, a midday-meal worker in Thombattu in Karnataka’s Udupi district; the televised mob attack on August 27 on Salim Ilyas, an unemployed youth in Bhagalpur, Bihar, which inspired a similar attack on a “gypsy” woman and her children in Kerala on October 3; the forced expulsion in September of 62 families of Pardhis — an itinerant tribe — from Chothiya village, 165km from Bhopal, and the razing of their homes built on authorised land; the killing of 30- year-old Natarajan, tied to a coconut tree by mill workers in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on September 23; the regular persecution of men and women who prefer to choose their own partners anywhere in the country. Life in India’s village republics can indeed be nasty, brutish and short. An urban location may offer relative relief, but not necessarily. As popular television actor Aamir Ali, who plays a Hindu protagonist in the serial Woh Rehne Wali Mehelon Ki, would testify. He was recently denied the right to buy a house in Springfield Co-operative Housing Society in the upmarket Andheri suburb of Mumbai — a city that passes for India’s most cosmopolitan even when it nurtures caste and community-specific housing societies.
Ali filed a public interest litigation petition before the Bombay High Court this August, but lawyers are already citing the 2005 Supreme Court judgement by Justices BN Agrawal and PK Balasubramanyan in the Zoroastrian Co-operative Housing Society case. The court upheld “the right of the Society to insist that the property has to be dealt only in terms of the bye-laws of the society, and assigned either wholly or in parts only to persons qualified to be members of the society in terms of its bye-laws.” Meaning, there is nothing illegal if a registered society seeks to restrict membership and exclude the general public. In Chennai, a magazine called Dalit Murasu was denied space and hounded out. Having moved several offices, its editor Punitha Pandian says, “People would receive us well and be nice to us till we mentioned the name of our magazine.”
In India — rural and urban — what passes for tradition and collective wisdom acts as a regulatory mechanism more powerful than the laws of the land. Those who transgress boundaries are either excommunicated or ghettoised, or sometimes simply executed. Everyday societal violence is rendered invisible, for much of it is “constitutive of Indian society, particularly in the maintenance of a hierarchical Hindu society,” ashistorian Dilip Menon sees it. “The State in India is like Dhritarashtra: blind, ineffective, idealistic.”
IN THE HINTERLANDs, women who assert their individuality are paraded naked, branded witches and often killed. In Assam, in the past five years, 59 people have been killed — 22 in 2005 alone — in 47 reported cases of witch-hunting. Six months ago, in the Chennai suburb of Pallavaram, a woman suspected of infidelity was tied to a tree and lynched. In most cases, the police blame it on mob fury and no action is taken. Under the ruse of maintaining law and order, the police, and sometimes the judiciary, invariably take the view that society’s diktats must be respected. In several instances, such as in Kherlanji where a year ago four members of a Dalit family were tortured to death for defying caste rules, the police, even when alerted, took its own time to arrive. When it did, it just pleaded helplessness. Says Menon, who teaches at Delhi University, “Bollywood satirises the police force and exalts the vigilante. As in the Hindi film, justice is not the preserve of the State; it is the right of the people. The police always arriving late in films is a metaphor for the irrelevance of the State apparatus. The perception is that you need to take the law into your own hands, as the Thakur did in Sholay. Of course,such heroism is prohibited for the Dalit and the Muslim.”
In Edappal, Malappuram district, Kerala, a mob at a busy market area descended on 41- year-old Jyoti and her two children when a customer raised an alarm saying her child’s gold anklets had been stolen. Jyoti was a suspect only because she belonged to a denotified nomadic community from Karnataka and was found “loitering” in the area. Public spaces in India are demarcated on such basis: there are legitimate occupants and then there are loiterers.
According to J. Devika, historian with the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, when Jyoti was strip-searched and manhandled by a mob, progressive intellectuals and the political class were quick to re-emphasise the difference between (uncivilised) Bihar and (civilised) Kerala. “But the state government and the intelligentsia remain blind to other forms of mob rule that are part of everyday life in Kerala. When sex workers are pushed out of their homes by moral vigilante “mobs”, when HIV infected children are thrown out of school by well-educated parents, when the “Gulf wife” is publicly punished for alleged “straying”, why is Kerala’s enlightened civil society so slow to respond?” asks Devika.
Ravikumar, writer and Dalit Panthers MLA in Tamil Nadu, says universal adult franchise and other ornamental aspects of parliamentary democracy do not ensure social democracy. “Most Indians, especially in rural India, are outside the purview of citizenship. Basic rights that many urban Indians take for granted do not exist for millions. Authoritarianism in Indian society is not vested solely in the centralised authority of the State, it is vested more within society. Hence the urban middle-class’ passive acceptance of the Emergency.”
The increase in the physical manifestation of violence also owes to hitherto-subordinated communities asserting their rights. It is only when subaltern communities seek to transgress boundaries drawn by society that we see erruptions. K. Satyanarayana, who heads the Kula Nirmoolana Porata Samiti (Forum for Annihilation of Caste) in Hyderabad, says the spurt in brutality should not be read merely as collusion between civil society and the State. “The widespread violence inflicted on Dalits across the country, particularly in the North, owes also to their assertion in the public domain — especially in the wake of Mandal and the Ambedkar centenary in 1990. A Dalit who goes to college and falls in love with an upper caste girl would be beaten up or even killed for asserting his humanity,” he says.
BESIDES DALITS, several communities — sub-castes, religious minorities, tribes — are organising themselves as identity movements. “The secular and liberal intellectuals are uncomfortable with such assertions of caste and religious minorities, but these struggles are significantly reshaping democracy in India. The violence we see today is a result of these contestations,” says Satyanarayana.
Even chilling statistics — 13 Dalits murdered every week, 3 Dalit women raped every day — do not evoke a response. “We are inured into thinking India is not racist and fascist even if society murders 2,000 Dalits over a year, witch-hunts 500 women, and kills a few hundreds in mob violence. Our civil society does not seem to react as long as a pogrom like in Gujarat does not happen,” says Ravikumar.
It’s a society that also comes down heavily on marriages which defy the system. A look at matrimonial columns and websites shows how most Indians prefer to find comfort in “arranged” subcaste and denomination-specific marriages. Despite the State providing Rs 50,000 as cash incentive to marriages involving a Dalit partner, there’s widespread persecution of couples who marry out of choice. Says Sharmila Rege, professor of sociology at Pune University, “Denial of the freedom to love a person — who does not belong to the same religious and caste group into which one is born, or a person of the same sex — is so naturalised in our caste-based patriarchal society that it does not even appear as denial until someone is brutally murdered for challenging this denial.” Rege says, “Women are the gateways of the caste system. Endogamy or marriage within sub-caste becomes essential to maintaining hierarchy and caste status in Indian society. Family, community and the State collude to punish young people who transgress these boundaries, for at stake is the reproduction of gender, caste and class inequalities.”
The haemorrhaging in society is historically linked to two perspectives that have dominated views on development in post-Independence India: the Nehruvian liberal State that stood for technocratic governance and which was criticised for oppressive homogenisation of society, and the communitarian perspective represented by Gandhi that has, since the 1980s, resulted in the NGO-led critique of the Nehruvian paradigm. Gandhi put forth the concept of a society based on sanatana (eternal) dharma, emphasising a non-secular, communitarian logic. The performance of duties was prio - ritised over the exercise of individual rights. However, Ambedkar spoke the secular language of rights of individuals, especially of minorities, and championed liberty, equality and fraternity. Reacting to Gandhi’s romance with villages, Ambedkar had told the Constituent Assembly: “I hold that these village republics have been the ruination of India. What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism?”
Such ruination unleashed by a militant society sits surreally juxtaposed to an Incredible India that the Dhritarashtra State prefers to showcase through malls, a soaring Sensex and nuclear muscle.
with inputs from Teresa Rahman in Guwahati, PC Vinoj Kumar in Chennai, Shalini Singh in Mumbai, M. Radhika in Bangalore, KA Shaji in Thiruvananthapuram and Anand ST Das in Patna [For case studies from across India, visit www.tehelka.com]
WRITER’S E-MAIL
sanand@tehelka.com
full story with pictures: http://tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=Ne271007
In India, tradition is a mask for tyranny. Collective violence is unleashed upon all those who defy it
S. ANAND
New Delhi
Most people do not realise that society can practice tyranny and oppression against an individual in a far greater degree than a government can. The means and scope that are open to society for oppression are more extensive than those open to the government; also, they are far more effective. What punishment in the penal code is comparable in its magnitude and its severity to excommunication? — BR Ambedkar
A CONSERVATIVE SOCIETY, enforcing its dictates with an iron hand — that is who we are, us Indians. Men and women who do not fall in line are routinely persecuted — and killed — under antiquated norms of honour and right conduct. Each day, violence is unleashed by society in its various manifestations — the family, biradari, caste, village, religion. Governed by unwritten rules, the “world’s largest democracy” seems to be doing little better than a theocratic dictatorship.
A spate of incidents testifies to this. The mysterious death of Rizwanur Rehman in Kolkata for the crime of loving and marrying Priyanka Todi, a Hindu; the September 10 lynching of ten people of the Kureri community in Vaishali, Bihar; the ostracisation of HIV-positive Jayalakshmi Bhovi, a midday-meal worker in Thombattu in Karnataka’s Udupi district; the televised mob attack on August 27 on Salim Ilyas, an unemployed youth in Bhagalpur, Bihar, which inspired a similar attack on a “gypsy” woman and her children in Kerala on October 3; the forced expulsion in September of 62 families of Pardhis — an itinerant tribe — from Chothiya village, 165km from Bhopal, and the razing of their homes built on authorised land; the killing of 30- year-old Natarajan, tied to a coconut tree by mill workers in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on September 23; the regular persecution of men and women who prefer to choose their own partners anywhere in the country. Life in India’s village republics can indeed be nasty, brutish and short. An urban location may offer relative relief, but not necessarily. As popular television actor Aamir Ali, who plays a Hindu protagonist in the serial Woh Rehne Wali Mehelon Ki, would testify. He was recently denied the right to buy a house in Springfield Co-operative Housing Society in the upmarket Andheri suburb of Mumbai — a city that passes for India’s most cosmopolitan even when it nurtures caste and community-specific housing societies.
Ali filed a public interest litigation petition before the Bombay High Court this August, but lawyers are already citing the 2005 Supreme Court judgement by Justices BN Agrawal and PK Balasubramanyan in the Zoroastrian Co-operative Housing Society case. The court upheld “the right of the Society to insist that the property has to be dealt only in terms of the bye-laws of the society, and assigned either wholly or in parts only to persons qualified to be members of the society in terms of its bye-laws.” Meaning, there is nothing illegal if a registered society seeks to restrict membership and exclude the general public. In Chennai, a magazine called Dalit Murasu was denied space and hounded out. Having moved several offices, its editor Punitha Pandian says, “People would receive us well and be nice to us till we mentioned the name of our magazine.”
In India — rural and urban — what passes for tradition and collective wisdom acts as a regulatory mechanism more powerful than the laws of the land. Those who transgress boundaries are either excommunicated or ghettoised, or sometimes simply executed. Everyday societal violence is rendered invisible, for much of it is “constitutive of Indian society, particularly in the maintenance of a hierarchical Hindu society,” ashistorian Dilip Menon sees it. “The State in India is like Dhritarashtra: blind, ineffective, idealistic.”
IN THE HINTERLANDs, women who assert their individuality are paraded naked, branded witches and often killed. In Assam, in the past five years, 59 people have been killed — 22 in 2005 alone — in 47 reported cases of witch-hunting. Six months ago, in the Chennai suburb of Pallavaram, a woman suspected of infidelity was tied to a tree and lynched. In most cases, the police blame it on mob fury and no action is taken. Under the ruse of maintaining law and order, the police, and sometimes the judiciary, invariably take the view that society’s diktats must be respected. In several instances, such as in Kherlanji where a year ago four members of a Dalit family were tortured to death for defying caste rules, the police, even when alerted, took its own time to arrive. When it did, it just pleaded helplessness. Says Menon, who teaches at Delhi University, “Bollywood satirises the police force and exalts the vigilante. As in the Hindi film, justice is not the preserve of the State; it is the right of the people. The police always arriving late in films is a metaphor for the irrelevance of the State apparatus. The perception is that you need to take the law into your own hands, as the Thakur did in Sholay. Of course,such heroism is prohibited for the Dalit and the Muslim.”
In Edappal, Malappuram district, Kerala, a mob at a busy market area descended on 41- year-old Jyoti and her two children when a customer raised an alarm saying her child’s gold anklets had been stolen. Jyoti was a suspect only because she belonged to a denotified nomadic community from Karnataka and was found “loitering” in the area. Public spaces in India are demarcated on such basis: there are legitimate occupants and then there are loiterers.
According to J. Devika, historian with the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, when Jyoti was strip-searched and manhandled by a mob, progressive intellectuals and the political class were quick to re-emphasise the difference between (uncivilised) Bihar and (civilised) Kerala. “But the state government and the intelligentsia remain blind to other forms of mob rule that are part of everyday life in Kerala. When sex workers are pushed out of their homes by moral vigilante “mobs”, when HIV infected children are thrown out of school by well-educated parents, when the “Gulf wife” is publicly punished for alleged “straying”, why is Kerala’s enlightened civil society so slow to respond?” asks Devika.
Ravikumar, writer and Dalit Panthers MLA in Tamil Nadu, says universal adult franchise and other ornamental aspects of parliamentary democracy do not ensure social democracy. “Most Indians, especially in rural India, are outside the purview of citizenship. Basic rights that many urban Indians take for granted do not exist for millions. Authoritarianism in Indian society is not vested solely in the centralised authority of the State, it is vested more within society. Hence the urban middle-class’ passive acceptance of the Emergency.”
The increase in the physical manifestation of violence also owes to hitherto-subordinated communities asserting their rights. It is only when subaltern communities seek to transgress boundaries drawn by society that we see erruptions. K. Satyanarayana, who heads the Kula Nirmoolana Porata Samiti (Forum for Annihilation of Caste) in Hyderabad, says the spurt in brutality should not be read merely as collusion between civil society and the State. “The widespread violence inflicted on Dalits across the country, particularly in the North, owes also to their assertion in the public domain — especially in the wake of Mandal and the Ambedkar centenary in 1990. A Dalit who goes to college and falls in love with an upper caste girl would be beaten up or even killed for asserting his humanity,” he says.
BESIDES DALITS, several communities — sub-castes, religious minorities, tribes — are organising themselves as identity movements. “The secular and liberal intellectuals are uncomfortable with such assertions of caste and religious minorities, but these struggles are significantly reshaping democracy in India. The violence we see today is a result of these contestations,” says Satyanarayana.
Even chilling statistics — 13 Dalits murdered every week, 3 Dalit women raped every day — do not evoke a response. “We are inured into thinking India is not racist and fascist even if society murders 2,000 Dalits over a year, witch-hunts 500 women, and kills a few hundreds in mob violence. Our civil society does not seem to react as long as a pogrom like in Gujarat does not happen,” says Ravikumar.
It’s a society that also comes down heavily on marriages which defy the system. A look at matrimonial columns and websites shows how most Indians prefer to find comfort in “arranged” subcaste and denomination-specific marriages. Despite the State providing Rs 50,000 as cash incentive to marriages involving a Dalit partner, there’s widespread persecution of couples who marry out of choice. Says Sharmila Rege, professor of sociology at Pune University, “Denial of the freedom to love a person — who does not belong to the same religious and caste group into which one is born, or a person of the same sex — is so naturalised in our caste-based patriarchal society that it does not even appear as denial until someone is brutally murdered for challenging this denial.” Rege says, “Women are the gateways of the caste system. Endogamy or marriage within sub-caste becomes essential to maintaining hierarchy and caste status in Indian society. Family, community and the State collude to punish young people who transgress these boundaries, for at stake is the reproduction of gender, caste and class inequalities.”
The haemorrhaging in society is historically linked to two perspectives that have dominated views on development in post-Independence India: the Nehruvian liberal State that stood for technocratic governance and which was criticised for oppressive homogenisation of society, and the communitarian perspective represented by Gandhi that has, since the 1980s, resulted in the NGO-led critique of the Nehruvian paradigm. Gandhi put forth the concept of a society based on sanatana (eternal) dharma, emphasising a non-secular, communitarian logic. The performance of duties was prio - ritised over the exercise of individual rights. However, Ambedkar spoke the secular language of rights of individuals, especially of minorities, and championed liberty, equality and fraternity. Reacting to Gandhi’s romance with villages, Ambedkar had told the Constituent Assembly: “I hold that these village republics have been the ruination of India. What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism?”
Such ruination unleashed by a militant society sits surreally juxtaposed to an Incredible India that the Dhritarashtra State prefers to showcase through malls, a soaring Sensex and nuclear muscle.
with inputs from Teresa Rahman in Guwahati, PC Vinoj Kumar in Chennai, Shalini Singh in Mumbai, M. Radhika in Bangalore, KA Shaji in Thiruvananthapuram and Anand ST Das in Patna [For case studies from across India, visit www.tehelka.com]
WRITER’S E-MAIL
sanand@tehelka.com
Citizens for Peace statement following the Tehelka expose on gujarat 2002
Citizens For Peace
Press Statement - 26th October 2007
Published by admin at 8:30 pm under Letters from CFP, Press Statement
The expose showing perpetrators of the 2002 carnage in Gujarat boasting about their crimes is an open challenge to all citizens of India. It is an urgent reminder that we must renew efforts to prosecute those who commit such crimes against humanity.
We, Citizens for Peace, in particular appeal to the people of Gujarat to break silence and oppose the politics of hatred and terror. It is possible that many residents of Gujarat may have been unaware of the enormity of crimes committed in their state with open state support in 2002. Others may have hesitated to confront a truth so bizarre. Now, after the confessions, silence is equal to endorsement of the chilling crimes.
Justice delayed is better than justice denied altogether. It will make a difference if citizens from all walks of life, across India, stand emphatically opposed to the continuing miscarriage of justice in Gujarat.
We urge all citizens to:
1. Write to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister demanding that they take immediate steps to prosecute the culprits of the carnage.
2. Write to all national political parties in India asking how and why the constitutional crisis, of a dysfunctional judicial system in Gujarat, is allowed to persist and urging them to address this grave threat to the idea of India with utmost urgency.
3. Write to the BJP, impressing on them that this is their chance to dissociate themselves from those responsible for these crimes, and to help this country make a new beginning towards justice for all.
For the text of our letters please see these posts on our website.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Citizens for Peace is a Mumbai based non-party group of volunteers committed to working for communal harmony and a vibrant secular polity. The Trustees of CFP are: Julio Rebiero, B.G.Deshmukh, Titoo Ahluwalia, Rina Kamath, Tariq Ansari, Dolly Thakore and Cyrus Guzder. The Managing Committee consists of: Titoo Ahluwalia, Tariq Ansari, Dolly Thakore, Dilip D’Souza, Gulan Kripalani, Pervin Varma, Rajni Bakshi and Devieka Bhojwani.
Press Statement - 26th October 2007
Published by admin at 8:30 pm under Letters from CFP, Press Statement
The expose showing perpetrators of the 2002 carnage in Gujarat boasting about their crimes is an open challenge to all citizens of India. It is an urgent reminder that we must renew efforts to prosecute those who commit such crimes against humanity.
We, Citizens for Peace, in particular appeal to the people of Gujarat to break silence and oppose the politics of hatred and terror. It is possible that many residents of Gujarat may have been unaware of the enormity of crimes committed in their state with open state support in 2002. Others may have hesitated to confront a truth so bizarre. Now, after the confessions, silence is equal to endorsement of the chilling crimes.
Justice delayed is better than justice denied altogether. It will make a difference if citizens from all walks of life, across India, stand emphatically opposed to the continuing miscarriage of justice in Gujarat.
We urge all citizens to:
1. Write to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister demanding that they take immediate steps to prosecute the culprits of the carnage.
2. Write to all national political parties in India asking how and why the constitutional crisis, of a dysfunctional judicial system in Gujarat, is allowed to persist and urging them to address this grave threat to the idea of India with utmost urgency.
3. Write to the BJP, impressing on them that this is their chance to dissociate themselves from those responsible for these crimes, and to help this country make a new beginning towards justice for all.
For the text of our letters please see these posts on our website.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Citizens for Peace is a Mumbai based non-party group of volunteers committed to working for communal harmony and a vibrant secular polity. The Trustees of CFP are: Julio Rebiero, B.G.Deshmukh, Titoo Ahluwalia, Rina Kamath, Tariq Ansari, Dolly Thakore and Cyrus Guzder. The Managing Committee consists of: Titoo Ahluwalia, Tariq Ansari, Dolly Thakore, Dilip D’Souza, Gulan Kripalani, Pervin Varma, Rajni Bakshi and Devieka Bhojwani.
October 25, 2007
Muslims demand justice for 1992-93 Mumbai carnage
India e-news 25 Oct 2007
From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 12:00 AM IST
Over 10,000 Muslims representing 35 organisations came together Thursday to demand full implementation of the recommendations of an inquiry report on the communal violence here in 1992-93 following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission, appointed by the Maharashtra government, had conducted a statutory inquiry into the communal carnage that engulfed the country's commercial capital in December 1992-January 1993, following the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992.
Abu Asim Azmi, a Rajya Sabha MP and the Maharashtra unit president of the Samajwadi Party, along with over 40 senior Muslim clerics addressed the Justice Rally in the Azad Maidan, south Mumbai.
Azmi said their quest for justice would not end till 'the Commission report is 100 percent implemented'.
Giving a deadline of Dec 5 to the Democratic Front government in the state, he warned that from Dec 6, the 15th anniversary of the Babri Masjid razing, Muslims would court arrest at all police stations in Mumbai.
Azmi pointed out that the long-winded trial in the March 12, 1993 bomb explosions here - after the mosque demolition and the subsequent carnage - had already been completed and the judgement too had been pronounced.
'However, the state government has not yet initiated action against those persons indicted by the Commission who continue to roam free,' Azmi said.
He demanded immediate arrest and legal proceedings against 31 police officials including former Mumbai police commissioner R.D. Tyagi, former Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai North-West constituency Madhukar Sarpotdar and others.
Azmi exhorted Muslims to 'throw out' the state government if their demands were not met by Dec 5.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court, responding to the government's appeal, last Tuesday set up four special courts to conduct fast trial of the cases pertaining to the communal violence.
An announcement to this effect was also made by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in Aurangabad Thursday.
The judges appointed by the high court are: P.N. Deshmukh, M.L. Tahiliani, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma and R.C. Bapat.
The police had made elaborate security arrangements for the rally which took place even as the state cabinet was away for two days in Aurangabad.
Over 1,000 uniformed personnel drawn from the local police, the Rapid Action Force, the Riots Police and others stood guard along with surveillance through closed circuit TV cameras - an unprecedented measure for a rally.
The organizations which took part included the Ulema Council, Jamiat-ul-Ulema, Jamat-e-Islami, Ulema Associations, Majlis-e-Shoura, and Mumbai Aman Committee.
From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 12:00 AM IST
Over 10,000 Muslims representing 35 organisations came together Thursday to demand full implementation of the recommendations of an inquiry report on the communal violence here in 1992-93 following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission, appointed by the Maharashtra government, had conducted a statutory inquiry into the communal carnage that engulfed the country's commercial capital in December 1992-January 1993, following the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992.
Abu Asim Azmi, a Rajya Sabha MP and the Maharashtra unit president of the Samajwadi Party, along with over 40 senior Muslim clerics addressed the Justice Rally in the Azad Maidan, south Mumbai.
Azmi said their quest for justice would not end till 'the Commission report is 100 percent implemented'.
Giving a deadline of Dec 5 to the Democratic Front government in the state, he warned that from Dec 6, the 15th anniversary of the Babri Masjid razing, Muslims would court arrest at all police stations in Mumbai.
Azmi pointed out that the long-winded trial in the March 12, 1993 bomb explosions here - after the mosque demolition and the subsequent carnage - had already been completed and the judgement too had been pronounced.
'However, the state government has not yet initiated action against those persons indicted by the Commission who continue to roam free,' Azmi said.
He demanded immediate arrest and legal proceedings against 31 police officials including former Mumbai police commissioner R.D. Tyagi, former Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai North-West constituency Madhukar Sarpotdar and others.
Azmi exhorted Muslims to 'throw out' the state government if their demands were not met by Dec 5.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court, responding to the government's appeal, last Tuesday set up four special courts to conduct fast trial of the cases pertaining to the communal violence.
An announcement to this effect was also made by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in Aurangabad Thursday.
The judges appointed by the high court are: P.N. Deshmukh, M.L. Tahiliani, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma and R.C. Bapat.
The police had made elaborate security arrangements for the rally which took place even as the state cabinet was away for two days in Aurangabad.
Over 1,000 uniformed personnel drawn from the local police, the Rapid Action Force, the Riots Police and others stood guard along with surveillance through closed circuit TV cameras - an unprecedented measure for a rally.
The organizations which took part included the Ulema Council, Jamiat-ul-Ulema, Jamat-e-Islami, Ulema Associations, Majlis-e-Shoura, and Mumbai Aman Committee.
Surround festive sound
Farah Baria
Indian Express, October 26, 2007
Instead of submitting meekly to this sound and fury, we need to ensure festivals signify the sublime.
You will get much further with the Lord if you learn not to offend His ears. I wish someone would convert Henry Higgins’s cryptic suggestion to Eliza Doolittle into the Eleventh Commandment. Or, better still, that last resort of the desperate citizen, a PIL. Reason? My family has just spent the better part of a month in enforced silence, our voices drowned by noisy Ganapati immersions, Durga puja pandals, Navratri garbas, Ramzan feasting and Id celebrations.
This annual affliction is not just personal. Come the festive season and Mumbai turns catatonic, deafened and paralysed by propitiations to the Almighty — the price we pay for being India’s melting pot, I guess. Holy September was particularly hellish. Suburban commuters resigned to the thrombotic two-hour ride on the city’s main artery doubled their quota of penance. It now took four. We obediently belly-crawled past the Siddhivinayak Ganesh temple — ironically dedicated to the Remover of Obstacles — before weaving through Ramzan revellers at Mahim and navigating the Mount Mary feast at Bandra. Scrupulously secular, that’s our city.
This month, 80,000 devotees turned up at the Mahalaxmi mandir every day during Dussehra, obliging motorists to file past at the respectful pace of 2 km/hour, aided by 300 ineffectual policemen. Some 30,000 others trooped to the Haji Ali dargah nearby for Id. And, next month, we can look forward to being asphyxiated by smoke from Diwali fireworks.
Inconvenient? Nah! In a city of 15 million, festivals must presumably be loud enough, and boisterous enough, for Heaven to take notice. The spectacle naturally supersedes the spiritual. But, more disturbingly, so does the political. With every community competing for the Lord’s attention, celebrations have become a demonstration of communal muscle. And aggression, wrapped in rowdy revelry, is unmistakable. During Navratri on the Panchvati Express, a group of passengers performed the morning aarti, complete with camphor and incense sticks, with a supreme disregard for safety. And at the disputed Durgadi Fort in Kalyan, Hindus and Muslims ‘celebrated’ Navratri and Ramzan together, separated by police barricades.
No wonder, then, that festivals have become the new hunting grounds for predatory politicians, with parties spending an estimated Rs 100 crore this year to sponsor Mumbai’s 8,500 Ganesh pandals. The 10 pm curfew was also obligingly extended to midnight, but predictably no one offered to pick up the tab for polluting the sea with 1.07 lakh idols, pay overtime to 11,000 constables, or compensate for the man hours lost to bottlenecks.
We are, after all, a secular country. Except that this constitutional right to worship is insidiously encroaching on personal and civic rights. Like, what about our basic right to skip the party, thank you very much? Or our right to peace and quiet in our own homes? To freedom of movement? Or plain old-fashioned respect for personal privacy? We need to defend these by law. Instead of submitting meekly to the sound and fury, we need to ensure that festivals can still signify the sublime.
Indian Express, October 26, 2007
Instead of submitting meekly to this sound and fury, we need to ensure festivals signify the sublime.
You will get much further with the Lord if you learn not to offend His ears. I wish someone would convert Henry Higgins’s cryptic suggestion to Eliza Doolittle into the Eleventh Commandment. Or, better still, that last resort of the desperate citizen, a PIL. Reason? My family has just spent the better part of a month in enforced silence, our voices drowned by noisy Ganapati immersions, Durga puja pandals, Navratri garbas, Ramzan feasting and Id celebrations.
This annual affliction is not just personal. Come the festive season and Mumbai turns catatonic, deafened and paralysed by propitiations to the Almighty — the price we pay for being India’s melting pot, I guess. Holy September was particularly hellish. Suburban commuters resigned to the thrombotic two-hour ride on the city’s main artery doubled their quota of penance. It now took four. We obediently belly-crawled past the Siddhivinayak Ganesh temple — ironically dedicated to the Remover of Obstacles — before weaving through Ramzan revellers at Mahim and navigating the Mount Mary feast at Bandra. Scrupulously secular, that’s our city.
This month, 80,000 devotees turned up at the Mahalaxmi mandir every day during Dussehra, obliging motorists to file past at the respectful pace of 2 km/hour, aided by 300 ineffectual policemen. Some 30,000 others trooped to the Haji Ali dargah nearby for Id. And, next month, we can look forward to being asphyxiated by smoke from Diwali fireworks.
Inconvenient? Nah! In a city of 15 million, festivals must presumably be loud enough, and boisterous enough, for Heaven to take notice. The spectacle naturally supersedes the spiritual. But, more disturbingly, so does the political. With every community competing for the Lord’s attention, celebrations have become a demonstration of communal muscle. And aggression, wrapped in rowdy revelry, is unmistakable. During Navratri on the Panchvati Express, a group of passengers performed the morning aarti, complete with camphor and incense sticks, with a supreme disregard for safety. And at the disputed Durgadi Fort in Kalyan, Hindus and Muslims ‘celebrated’ Navratri and Ramzan together, separated by police barricades.
No wonder, then, that festivals have become the new hunting grounds for predatory politicians, with parties spending an estimated Rs 100 crore this year to sponsor Mumbai’s 8,500 Ganesh pandals. The 10 pm curfew was also obligingly extended to midnight, but predictably no one offered to pick up the tab for polluting the sea with 1.07 lakh idols, pay overtime to 11,000 constables, or compensate for the man hours lost to bottlenecks.
We are, after all, a secular country. Except that this constitutional right to worship is insidiously encroaching on personal and civic rights. Like, what about our basic right to skip the party, thank you very much? Or our right to peace and quiet in our own homes? To freedom of movement? Or plain old-fashioned respect for personal privacy? We need to defend these by law. Instead of submitting meekly to the sound and fury, we need to ensure that festivals can still signify the sublime.
Celebrating Bhagat Singh
Frontline, Oct 20 - Nov 2, 2007
K.N. PANIKKAR
A tribute to Bhagat Singh on the occasion of his birth centenary.
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
THE revolutionary nationalist phase of the freedom struggle, of which Bhagat Singh was an iconic figure, was a brief, powerful and violent episode in a movement otherwise considered to be peaceful. To many it was nothing but an aberration, as the Indian freedom struggle was universally acknowledged as a non-violent movement. Treated as an avoidable interlude, though heroic and idealistic, its influence on the course of the national liberation struggle is considered negligible, and sometimes even negative. The mainstream historiography, concerned more with the elaboration of the non-violent character of the struggle, has not given enough attention to other streams of the freedom struggle, of which revolutionary nationalism is an important facet.
The historians’ neglect does not reflect the contemporary popular interest in Bhagat Singh’s mission or appreciation of his role in the freedom struggle. In fact, Bhagat Singh was a very popular leader in the 1930s. Jawaharlal Nehru uses the word ‘amazing’ to describe the popularity of Bhagat Singh. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the official historian of the Indian National Congress, confirms that Bhagat Singh was as widely known all over India and as popular as Gandhiji. He was an idol of the youth and a household name, which aroused admiration and respect.
Yet, it is rather surprising that till very recently serious academic work has not addressed adequately the contribution of Bhagat Singh and his comrades to the national life. In fact, the revolutionary nationalist phase itself has not been an area of serious academic investigation. Moreover, the birth centenary of Bhagat Singh is not being observed as an event of national importance or accorded official patronage reserved for national heroes. The reason for this neglect is worth exploring. Is it because the questions he raised about imperialism and economic exploitation are uncomfortable for the present ruling elite?
Yet, Bhagat Singh has not been entirely forgotten either, thanks to individuals and organisations who recognise the value of radical ideas and interventions in society. Consequently, a couple of publications that appeared recently in English critically evaluate his contribution to the freedom struggle. There are also several new publications in regional languages.
The popular image of Bhagat Singh is of a terrorist who took to violence in contrast to the pacifist methods adopted by the mainstream liberation movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Those who believed in the practice of violence as a political weapon, like some sections of the Left and present-day terrorists, have sought to perpetuate this notion. But the description of a terrorist, in the meaning attributed to the term either in the early 20th century or in the post-9/11 era, does not sit well on Bhagat Singh.
Bhagat Singh himself had drawn attention to this: “Let me announce with all the strength at my command that I am not a terrorist and I never was, except perhaps, in the beginning of my revolutionary career. And I am convinced that we cannot gain through those methods.” This oft-repeated self-appraisal points to the evolution of his political ideas and practice. Even if in his last political act he had used the bomb to make the deaf hear, he had long time back given up violence as a part of his political armoury. Such a transformation as a result of deep study and contemplation distinguished him from those who had earlier taken to the cult of the bomb.
The significance of Bhagat Singh in the anti-colonial struggle was not because of his choice of violence as a method of resistance, as many including Gandhiji underlined, or his idealistic heroism for which he is rightly and universally admired. His real contribution lay in trying to formulate a revolutionary philosophy and a course of action, taking into account the travails of colonial subjection, on the one hand and the character of internal exploitation, on the other. In this attempt he differed from both the Indian National Congress and the early nationalist revolutionaries.
Although the Indian national movement is known for its non-violent character, beginning with the Chapekar brothers in Maharashtra, violence, as a means to arouse the conscience of the people or as retribution for the excesses of the British, had become a mode of expression of anti-imperialist sentiments. The brave and patriotic young men and women, disgusted with the policy of mendicancy followed by the Indian National Congress, had chosen the path of armed encounter, eliminating those officials who were particularly unjust and oppressive. The initial attempts in this direction, though heroic and idealistic, did not go beyond individual acts of murder and as such did not develop as a viable and popular form of struggle. It attracted several adherents in different parts of the country, particularly in Bengal and Maharashtra. The movement left in its trail a large number of martyrs who were rightly admired for their heroism and sacrifice.
The mass mobilisation strategies of Gandhiji embodied in the non-violent Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920-21 had led to either the incorporation of the revolutionaries in it or their marginalisation. In fact, several revolutionaries, including Bhagat Singh, had participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement. The withdrawal of the movement as a result of the violence at Chauri Chaura, however, disillusioned most of them, who consequently sought an alternative path, leading to what is generally described as the second phase of the revolutionary movement.
Ideological turn
The importance of the second phase of the revolutionary movement was in its ideological content. In shaping its character Bhagat Singh played the most crucial role, even if he discounted the role of individuals in history. What enabled him to do so was his intellectual engagement with Marxism, which transformed him from a “romantic idealist revolutionary” to a materialist and atheist. As testified by his comrades, he was a voracious reader who had “deeply studied the history of the Russian revolutionary movement”. The story goes that he asked the warden who had come to take him to the gallows to wait until he finished what he was reading.
“Study,” he said, “was the cry that reverberated in the corridors of my mind. My previous faith and convictions underwent a remarkable modification. The romance of violent methods alone which was so prominent amongst our predecessors was replaced by serious ideas… I got ample opportunity to study various ideals of world revolution. I studied Bakunin, the anarchist leader, something of Marx, the father of communism and much of Lenin, Trotsky and others, the men who had successfully carried out a revolution in their country.”
His reading list was much larger, including among others, Tom Paine, Upton Sinclaire, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Spinoza, James Mill, Karl Kautsky, Nikolay Bukharin, and Thomas Aquinas. With such an intellectual make up, his ideas evolved over a period of time culminating in his conviction in materialism, socialism and atheism.
Bhagat Singh’s ideological world and political perspectives were shaped by his deep study of radical literature, which enabled him to develop an egalitarian view of society. From this literature he imbibed the ideas of democracy, socialism and rationalism, which eventually became the guiding principles of his political and social philosophy. He envisioned a system in which there was “no exploitation of man by man and nation by nation”. He realised that a qualitative change in the existing social relations was necessary for ushering in such a condition.
Although an admirer of Gandhi for the manner in which he managed to mobilise the masses, he did not believe that Gandhian philosophy and programme would lead to a fundamental transformation of society. Gandhian politics, he observed, would only result in the replacement of one set of exploiters by another. The alternative was found in socialism, which he incorporated in the ideology and programme of the movements with which he was associated. What distinguished him from the earlier revolutionaries was this ideological factor.
SOCIALIST IDEAS
The intellectual and political evolution of Bhagat Singh as a socialist is not easy to trace, as his biographical accounts do not record the dynamics of this transition. Bhagat Singh has mentioned about his introduction to liberal ideas while studying in National College in Lahore, which at that time was a centre of nationalist activities. His acquaintance with radical left ideas occurred only when he moved to Lucknow. Since his work on socialism written while in jail was lost, what is available about his passage to socialism is not very exhaustive.
However, the three organisations with which Bhagat Singh was associated and whose activities he decisively influenced indicate the evolution of his ideas. They were the Hindustan Republican Association, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha. The objective of the Hindustan Republican Association, formed in 1924, was to establish a federated republic by an organised and armed revolution. It advocated the abolition of all systems that make any kind of exploitation of man by man possible. It was also committed to the organisation of labour and kisans as this was necessary for the successful struggle against feudalism and capitalism.
The Hindustan Republican Association did not pronounce socialism as one of its objectives. It became so only when the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was formed in 1928. This change was primarily because of the influence of Bhagat Singh, who had by then come under the influence of Marxism. Hence the change in the name to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, which was committed to not only political independence but also economic freedom. The manifesto stated:
The transformation of the Hindustan Republican Association to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association coincided with a shift in Bhagat Singh’s own political understanding in which socialism formed the central concern. What constituted socialism was not well defined then, except in its bare essentials. He conceived of socialism as the abolition of capitalism and class domination.
It is unfortunate that his book entitled The Ideal of Socialism, which was smuggled out of the jail along with three other manuscripts, has not survived, as it would have given a much fuller account of his ideas on socialism. However, the political programme of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha founded in 1926 was firmly anchored in a socialist and secular agenda. The aim of the Sabha was to establish an independent republic of labourers and peasants. The ways of empowering these two classes figure prominently in almost all writings of Bhagat Singh.
ON RELIGION AND ATHEISM
The intellectual ability and analytical capacity of Bhagat Singh are best expressed in his tract on atheism, entitled ‘Why I Am An Atheist’, which he wrote during the last days in jail. It mainly addresses issues relating to the existence of God and the origin of man. In both cases he adopts a rational view. In the case of the origin of man, he invoked Darwin’s theory of evolution. About God, he rejected mechanical interpretations and sought to explain belief in God on ideological grounds. He wrote: “Unlike certain of the radicals I would not attribute the origin of God to the ingenuity of exploiters who wanted to keep the people under their subjection by preaching the existence of a Supreme Being and then claiming an authority and sanction from him for their privileged positions.”
He believed that God was “brought into imaginary existence to encourage man to face boldly all the trying circumstances”. He thus recognised the role of religion in the life of the masses. Reminiscent of the role Marx ascribed to religion, Bhagat Singh wrote: “God was to serve as a father, mother, sister and brother, friend and helper… so that when in great distress having been betrayed and deserted by all friends, he may find consolation in the idea that an ever true friend was still there to help him, to support him and that He was Almighty and could do anything. The idea of God is helpful to man in distress.” At the same time, he rejected the existence of a benevolent God, as otherwise there would not have been any injustice in the world.
Bhagat Singh was quite conscious of the role religion could play in public life. He was opposed to communal politics from which he tried to distance the organisations he was associated with. The Naujawan Bharat Sabha, for instance, did not entertain those belonging to religious-communal organisations as its members. The rules of the Sabha, drafted by Bhagat Singh, emphasised its opposition to communalism as well as its resolve to create the spirit of general tolerance among the public.
In other words, Bhagat Singh was a champion of secularism, which he appears to have held as central to his political practice, as any nexus between religion and politics was likely to endanger the pluralistic ethos of Indian society. Emancipation from the bondage of religion and superstition was, in his reckoning, crucial for revolutionary practice and, therefore, he tried to instil rational thinking in the minds of all his comrades. Given these ideas of Bhagat Singh, it is paradoxical that the Hindu communal forces are trying to appropriate him as their ideologue.
RELATIONS WITH CONGRESS
Bhagat Singh is popularly remembered for his two daring acts – avenging the death of Lala Lajpath Rai by killing the British police official, J.P Saunders, and throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly. The second was an attempt to stir the nation to act more boldly against imperialism, which, however, silenced the brilliant mind of this committed revolutionary.
The trial and hanging of Bhagat Singh, along with his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru, on March 23, 1931, had shocked the nation. Within the Congress, however, there were differences of opinion. They ranged from a total disapproval of the methods of the revolutionaries, as in the case of Mahatma Gandhi, to an appreciation of their patriotism and commitment to freedom by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
Nehru was all praise for the Naujawan Bharat Sabha and expected that it would “grow in strength to take a leading part in forming a national India”. Recognising the popularity of Bhagat Singh, Nehru stated: “He was a clean fighter who faced his enemy in the open field. He was a young boy full of burning zeal for the country. He was like a spark which became a flame in a short time and spread from one end of the country to the other dispelling the prevailing darkness everywhere.” Subhas Chandra Bose recognised Bhagat Singh as a symbol of awakening among the youth.
But Gandhji’s attitude was entirely different. Committed to non-violence, he could not approve of the methods of the revolutionaries. Holding that the revolutionaries have retarded the progress of the country, he considered them as “deluded patriots”, “men past reason” and “enemies of the country”. He believed that a “revolutionary’s sacrifice, nobility and love are not only waste of effort, but being ignorant and misguided and misjudged, do, and have done, more harm to the country than any other activity”.
But even within the Congress there were many who thought otherwise. Many prominent Congress leaders, such as Motilal Nehru, Purushotamdas Tandon, Shiv Prasad Gupta and Shaukat Ali, helped the revolutionaries politically and financially. The division within the Congress was clearly manifested in the Lahore session, in which Mahtma Gandhi moved a resolution deploring the attempt to blow up the Viceregal Special (train) at Delhi. The resolution did not have a smooth passage in the session. When put to vote, it was passed only with a narrow majority of 81, with 904 voting in favour and 823 against.
Despite the well-known opinion of Gandhiji about the revolutionaries, when Bhagat Singh and his comrades were sentenced to death there was general expectation that Gandhi would save their lives by interceding with the Viceroy. Failure to do so has been a matter of great disappointment and disapproval. The feeling among a considerable section of the youth, as mentioned by Subhas Chandra Bose, was that “Mahatma had betrayed the cause of Bhagat Singh and his comrades”. But Gandhiji said that he would have gladly surrendered his own life to the Viceroy to save Bhagat Singh and his friends. He also claimed that he had pleaded with the Viceroy with all the persuasion at his command to save their lives.
The memoirs of Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy, tell a different story. He reveals that Gandhi asked him:
Whether a more decisive intervention by Gandhiji at a time when the government was eager to effect a pact with the Congress would have possibly forced the Viceroy to commute the death sentence is a moot question. Whether Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary philosophy had anything to do with Gandhiji’s reluctance to assert himself more forcefully would remain one of the unsolved riddles of history. After all, Gandhiji had dissociated himself with the move to raise a memorial to Bhagat Singh. And if Bhagat Singh had been spared would it have made a difference to the revolutionary movement is another imponderable of history.
Bhagat Singh died in 1931 when he was only 23 years. During this brief period, he grew out of the religious influences of an Arya Samaj family, overcame the illusions of bourgeois nationalism and embraced a revolutionary movement informed by Marxism. Revolution, he said, “is the spirit, the longing for a change for the better. The people generally get accustomed to the established order of things and begin to tremble at the very idea of change. It is this lethargical spirit that needs to be replaced by the revolutionary spirit.” In other words, he realised the importance of creating a transformation of social and political consciousness, for which the dissemination of radical ideas was a necessary precondition. Reminiscent of the Gramcian notion of intellectually equipping the masses for revolution, he told the young political workers about the importance of “educating and enlightening the workers”.
Bhagat Singh himself underwent a revolutionary transformation in ideas through the reading of Marxism and other radical literature. As a result, at the end of his brief but tumultuous life, he had traversed an exciting intellectual terrain, which made him a socialist and an atheist. The transformation that Bhagat Singh underwent, which was primarily due to his exposure to Marxism, was not widely known during his life time. There is a criticism, however, that his understanding and application of Marxism was not complete or adequately scientific. The criticism is based mainly on the assumption that Bhagat Singh preferred youth and not class as the category for political mobilisation. But class was central to his political analysis.
About two months before his martyrdom, he wrote that the “real revolutionary armies are in the villages and factories, the peasantry and labourers”. Further, his view of politics was based on class struggle: “…the struggle in India would continue so long as a handful of exploiters go on exploiting the labour of the common people for their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are purely British capitalists, or British and Indians in alliance, or even purely Indians.”
Bhagat Singh was one of the early Marxists of India who tried to chart out a revolutionary path for the country. His contribution to nurture a democratic, socialist and secular tradition has considerable contemporary relevance.
K.N. Panikkar, a former professor of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a former Vice-Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, is currently the chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research.
K.N. PANIKKAR
A tribute to Bhagat Singh on the occasion of his birth centenary.
THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
THE revolutionary nationalist phase of the freedom struggle, of which Bhagat Singh was an iconic figure, was a brief, powerful and violent episode in a movement otherwise considered to be peaceful. To many it was nothing but an aberration, as the Indian freedom struggle was universally acknowledged as a non-violent movement. Treated as an avoidable interlude, though heroic and idealistic, its influence on the course of the national liberation struggle is considered negligible, and sometimes even negative. The mainstream historiography, concerned more with the elaboration of the non-violent character of the struggle, has not given enough attention to other streams of the freedom struggle, of which revolutionary nationalism is an important facet.
The historians’ neglect does not reflect the contemporary popular interest in Bhagat Singh’s mission or appreciation of his role in the freedom struggle. In fact, Bhagat Singh was a very popular leader in the 1930s. Jawaharlal Nehru uses the word ‘amazing’ to describe the popularity of Bhagat Singh. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the official historian of the Indian National Congress, confirms that Bhagat Singh was as widely known all over India and as popular as Gandhiji. He was an idol of the youth and a household name, which aroused admiration and respect.
Yet, it is rather surprising that till very recently serious academic work has not addressed adequately the contribution of Bhagat Singh and his comrades to the national life. In fact, the revolutionary nationalist phase itself has not been an area of serious academic investigation. Moreover, the birth centenary of Bhagat Singh is not being observed as an event of national importance or accorded official patronage reserved for national heroes. The reason for this neglect is worth exploring. Is it because the questions he raised about imperialism and economic exploitation are uncomfortable for the present ruling elite?
Yet, Bhagat Singh has not been entirely forgotten either, thanks to individuals and organisations who recognise the value of radical ideas and interventions in society. Consequently, a couple of publications that appeared recently in English critically evaluate his contribution to the freedom struggle. There are also several new publications in regional languages.
The popular image of Bhagat Singh is of a terrorist who took to violence in contrast to the pacifist methods adopted by the mainstream liberation movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Those who believed in the practice of violence as a political weapon, like some sections of the Left and present-day terrorists, have sought to perpetuate this notion. But the description of a terrorist, in the meaning attributed to the term either in the early 20th century or in the post-9/11 era, does not sit well on Bhagat Singh.
Bhagat Singh himself had drawn attention to this: “Let me announce with all the strength at my command that I am not a terrorist and I never was, except perhaps, in the beginning of my revolutionary career. And I am convinced that we cannot gain through those methods.” This oft-repeated self-appraisal points to the evolution of his political ideas and practice. Even if in his last political act he had used the bomb to make the deaf hear, he had long time back given up violence as a part of his political armoury. Such a transformation as a result of deep study and contemplation distinguished him from those who had earlier taken to the cult of the bomb.
The significance of Bhagat Singh in the anti-colonial struggle was not because of his choice of violence as a method of resistance, as many including Gandhiji underlined, or his idealistic heroism for which he is rightly and universally admired. His real contribution lay in trying to formulate a revolutionary philosophy and a course of action, taking into account the travails of colonial subjection, on the one hand and the character of internal exploitation, on the other. In this attempt he differed from both the Indian National Congress and the early nationalist revolutionaries.
Although the Indian national movement is known for its non-violent character, beginning with the Chapekar brothers in Maharashtra, violence, as a means to arouse the conscience of the people or as retribution for the excesses of the British, had become a mode of expression of anti-imperialist sentiments. The brave and patriotic young men and women, disgusted with the policy of mendicancy followed by the Indian National Congress, had chosen the path of armed encounter, eliminating those officials who were particularly unjust and oppressive. The initial attempts in this direction, though heroic and idealistic, did not go beyond individual acts of murder and as such did not develop as a viable and popular form of struggle. It attracted several adherents in different parts of the country, particularly in Bengal and Maharashtra. The movement left in its trail a large number of martyrs who were rightly admired for their heroism and sacrifice.
The mass mobilisation strategies of Gandhiji embodied in the non-violent Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920-21 had led to either the incorporation of the revolutionaries in it or their marginalisation. In fact, several revolutionaries, including Bhagat Singh, had participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement. The withdrawal of the movement as a result of the violence at Chauri Chaura, however, disillusioned most of them, who consequently sought an alternative path, leading to what is generally described as the second phase of the revolutionary movement.
Ideological turn
The importance of the second phase of the revolutionary movement was in its ideological content. In shaping its character Bhagat Singh played the most crucial role, even if he discounted the role of individuals in history. What enabled him to do so was his intellectual engagement with Marxism, which transformed him from a “romantic idealist revolutionary” to a materialist and atheist. As testified by his comrades, he was a voracious reader who had “deeply studied the history of the Russian revolutionary movement”. The story goes that he asked the warden who had come to take him to the gallows to wait until he finished what he was reading.
“Study,” he said, “was the cry that reverberated in the corridors of my mind. My previous faith and convictions underwent a remarkable modification. The romance of violent methods alone which was so prominent amongst our predecessors was replaced by serious ideas… I got ample opportunity to study various ideals of world revolution. I studied Bakunin, the anarchist leader, something of Marx, the father of communism and much of Lenin, Trotsky and others, the men who had successfully carried out a revolution in their country.”
His reading list was much larger, including among others, Tom Paine, Upton Sinclaire, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Spinoza, James Mill, Karl Kautsky, Nikolay Bukharin, and Thomas Aquinas. With such an intellectual make up, his ideas evolved over a period of time culminating in his conviction in materialism, socialism and atheism.
Bhagat Singh’s ideological world and political perspectives were shaped by his deep study of radical literature, which enabled him to develop an egalitarian view of society. From this literature he imbibed the ideas of democracy, socialism and rationalism, which eventually became the guiding principles of his political and social philosophy. He envisioned a system in which there was “no exploitation of man by man and nation by nation”. He realised that a qualitative change in the existing social relations was necessary for ushering in such a condition.
Although an admirer of Gandhi for the manner in which he managed to mobilise the masses, he did not believe that Gandhian philosophy and programme would lead to a fundamental transformation of society. Gandhian politics, he observed, would only result in the replacement of one set of exploiters by another. The alternative was found in socialism, which he incorporated in the ideology and programme of the movements with which he was associated. What distinguished him from the earlier revolutionaries was this ideological factor.
SOCIALIST IDEAS
The intellectual and political evolution of Bhagat Singh as a socialist is not easy to trace, as his biographical accounts do not record the dynamics of this transition. Bhagat Singh has mentioned about his introduction to liberal ideas while studying in National College in Lahore, which at that time was a centre of nationalist activities. His acquaintance with radical left ideas occurred only when he moved to Lucknow. Since his work on socialism written while in jail was lost, what is available about his passage to socialism is not very exhaustive.
However, the three organisations with which Bhagat Singh was associated and whose activities he decisively influenced indicate the evolution of his ideas. They were the Hindustan Republican Association, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha. The objective of the Hindustan Republican Association, formed in 1924, was to establish a federated republic by an organised and armed revolution. It advocated the abolition of all systems that make any kind of exploitation of man by man possible. It was also committed to the organisation of labour and kisans as this was necessary for the successful struggle against feudalism and capitalism.
The Hindustan Republican Association did not pronounce socialism as one of its objectives. It became so only when the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was formed in 1928. This change was primarily because of the influence of Bhagat Singh, who had by then come under the influence of Marxism. Hence the change in the name to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, which was committed to not only political independence but also economic freedom. The manifesto stated:
Foreign domination and economic exploitation have unmanned the vast majority of the people who constitute the workers and peasants of India. The position of the Indian proletariat, is today, extremely critical. It has double danger to face. It has to bear the onslaught of foreign capitalism on the one hand and the treacherous attack of Indian capital on the other. The latter is showing a progressive tendency to join forces with the former… Indian capital is preparing to betray the masses into the hands of foreign capital and receive as a price of this betrayal, a little share in the government of the country. The hope of the proletariat is, therefore, now centred on socialism, which alone can lead to the establishment of complete independence and the removal of all-social distinctions and privileges.
The transformation of the Hindustan Republican Association to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association coincided with a shift in Bhagat Singh’s own political understanding in which socialism formed the central concern. What constituted socialism was not well defined then, except in its bare essentials. He conceived of socialism as the abolition of capitalism and class domination.
It is unfortunate that his book entitled The Ideal of Socialism, which was smuggled out of the jail along with three other manuscripts, has not survived, as it would have given a much fuller account of his ideas on socialism. However, the political programme of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha founded in 1926 was firmly anchored in a socialist and secular agenda. The aim of the Sabha was to establish an independent republic of labourers and peasants. The ways of empowering these two classes figure prominently in almost all writings of Bhagat Singh.
ON RELIGION AND ATHEISM
The intellectual ability and analytical capacity of Bhagat Singh are best expressed in his tract on atheism, entitled ‘Why I Am An Atheist’, which he wrote during the last days in jail. It mainly addresses issues relating to the existence of God and the origin of man. In both cases he adopts a rational view. In the case of the origin of man, he invoked Darwin’s theory of evolution. About God, he rejected mechanical interpretations and sought to explain belief in God on ideological grounds. He wrote: “Unlike certain of the radicals I would not attribute the origin of God to the ingenuity of exploiters who wanted to keep the people under their subjection by preaching the existence of a Supreme Being and then claiming an authority and sanction from him for their privileged positions.”
He believed that God was “brought into imaginary existence to encourage man to face boldly all the trying circumstances”. He thus recognised the role of religion in the life of the masses. Reminiscent of the role Marx ascribed to religion, Bhagat Singh wrote: “God was to serve as a father, mother, sister and brother, friend and helper… so that when in great distress having been betrayed and deserted by all friends, he may find consolation in the idea that an ever true friend was still there to help him, to support him and that He was Almighty and could do anything. The idea of God is helpful to man in distress.” At the same time, he rejected the existence of a benevolent God, as otherwise there would not have been any injustice in the world.
Bhagat Singh was quite conscious of the role religion could play in public life. He was opposed to communal politics from which he tried to distance the organisations he was associated with. The Naujawan Bharat Sabha, for instance, did not entertain those belonging to religious-communal organisations as its members. The rules of the Sabha, drafted by Bhagat Singh, emphasised its opposition to communalism as well as its resolve to create the spirit of general tolerance among the public.
In other words, Bhagat Singh was a champion of secularism, which he appears to have held as central to his political practice, as any nexus between religion and politics was likely to endanger the pluralistic ethos of Indian society. Emancipation from the bondage of religion and superstition was, in his reckoning, crucial for revolutionary practice and, therefore, he tried to instil rational thinking in the minds of all his comrades. Given these ideas of Bhagat Singh, it is paradoxical that the Hindu communal forces are trying to appropriate him as their ideologue.
RELATIONS WITH CONGRESS
Bhagat Singh is popularly remembered for his two daring acts – avenging the death of Lala Lajpath Rai by killing the British police official, J.P Saunders, and throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly. The second was an attempt to stir the nation to act more boldly against imperialism, which, however, silenced the brilliant mind of this committed revolutionary.
The trial and hanging of Bhagat Singh, along with his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru, on March 23, 1931, had shocked the nation. Within the Congress, however, there were differences of opinion. They ranged from a total disapproval of the methods of the revolutionaries, as in the case of Mahatma Gandhi, to an appreciation of their patriotism and commitment to freedom by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
Nehru was all praise for the Naujawan Bharat Sabha and expected that it would “grow in strength to take a leading part in forming a national India”. Recognising the popularity of Bhagat Singh, Nehru stated: “He was a clean fighter who faced his enemy in the open field. He was a young boy full of burning zeal for the country. He was like a spark which became a flame in a short time and spread from one end of the country to the other dispelling the prevailing darkness everywhere.” Subhas Chandra Bose recognised Bhagat Singh as a symbol of awakening among the youth.
But Gandhji’s attitude was entirely different. Committed to non-violence, he could not approve of the methods of the revolutionaries. Holding that the revolutionaries have retarded the progress of the country, he considered them as “deluded patriots”, “men past reason” and “enemies of the country”. He believed that a “revolutionary’s sacrifice, nobility and love are not only waste of effort, but being ignorant and misguided and misjudged, do, and have done, more harm to the country than any other activity”.
But even within the Congress there were many who thought otherwise. Many prominent Congress leaders, such as Motilal Nehru, Purushotamdas Tandon, Shiv Prasad Gupta and Shaukat Ali, helped the revolutionaries politically and financially. The division within the Congress was clearly manifested in the Lahore session, in which Mahtma Gandhi moved a resolution deploring the attempt to blow up the Viceregal Special (train) at Delhi. The resolution did not have a smooth passage in the session. When put to vote, it was passed only with a narrow majority of 81, with 904 voting in favour and 823 against.
Despite the well-known opinion of Gandhiji about the revolutionaries, when Bhagat Singh and his comrades were sentenced to death there was general expectation that Gandhi would save their lives by interceding with the Viceroy. Failure to do so has been a matter of great disappointment and disapproval. The feeling among a considerable section of the youth, as mentioned by Subhas Chandra Bose, was that “Mahatma had betrayed the cause of Bhagat Singh and his comrades”. But Gandhiji said that he would have gladly surrendered his own life to the Viceroy to save Bhagat Singh and his friends. He also claimed that he had pleaded with the Viceroy with all the persuasion at his command to save their lives.
The memoirs of Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy, tell a different story. He reveals that Gandhi asked him:
“Would your Excellency see any objection to my saying that I tried for the young man’s life? I said I saw none, if he would also add that from my point of view he did not know what other course I could have taken. He thought for a moment, then finally agreed and on that basis went to Karachi… and I was told that he was roughly received. But when he had opportunity he spoke in the sense agreed between us.”
Whether a more decisive intervention by Gandhiji at a time when the government was eager to effect a pact with the Congress would have possibly forced the Viceroy to commute the death sentence is a moot question. Whether Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary philosophy had anything to do with Gandhiji’s reluctance to assert himself more forcefully would remain one of the unsolved riddles of history. After all, Gandhiji had dissociated himself with the move to raise a memorial to Bhagat Singh. And if Bhagat Singh had been spared would it have made a difference to the revolutionary movement is another imponderable of history.
Bhagat Singh died in 1931 when he was only 23 years. During this brief period, he grew out of the religious influences of an Arya Samaj family, overcame the illusions of bourgeois nationalism and embraced a revolutionary movement informed by Marxism. Revolution, he said, “is the spirit, the longing for a change for the better. The people generally get accustomed to the established order of things and begin to tremble at the very idea of change. It is this lethargical spirit that needs to be replaced by the revolutionary spirit.” In other words, he realised the importance of creating a transformation of social and political consciousness, for which the dissemination of radical ideas was a necessary precondition. Reminiscent of the Gramcian notion of intellectually equipping the masses for revolution, he told the young political workers about the importance of “educating and enlightening the workers”.
Bhagat Singh himself underwent a revolutionary transformation in ideas through the reading of Marxism and other radical literature. As a result, at the end of his brief but tumultuous life, he had traversed an exciting intellectual terrain, which made him a socialist and an atheist. The transformation that Bhagat Singh underwent, which was primarily due to his exposure to Marxism, was not widely known during his life time. There is a criticism, however, that his understanding and application of Marxism was not complete or adequately scientific. The criticism is based mainly on the assumption that Bhagat Singh preferred youth and not class as the category for political mobilisation. But class was central to his political analysis.
About two months before his martyrdom, he wrote that the “real revolutionary armies are in the villages and factories, the peasantry and labourers”. Further, his view of politics was based on class struggle: “…the struggle in India would continue so long as a handful of exploiters go on exploiting the labour of the common people for their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are purely British capitalists, or British and Indians in alliance, or even purely Indians.”
Bhagat Singh was one of the early Marxists of India who tried to chart out a revolutionary path for the country. His contribution to nurture a democratic, socialist and secular tradition has considerable contemporary relevance.
K.N. Panikkar, a former professor of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a former Vice-Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, is currently the chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research.
Spirit of unity
Frontline, Oct 20 - Nov 2, 2007
BHASKAR GHOSE
The systems of governance prevail and are seen as enduring, to be looked up to for redress in times of chaos in the country.
THERE is something very touching about the way the media and to some extent people in general, particularly the middle class in the country, react when there is a bomb blast in which a number of people die or are injured – some horribly, losing their eyes or limbs or being maimed or disfigured for the rest of their lives. Once the horror and shock have been overcome, there is a sense of something akin to achievement when the incident does not cause – indeed no incident in recent years has caused – any spread of communal passions or hatred that can lead to orgies of killing or looting and arson, as if that is something for which we need to congratulate ourselves.
There was, of course, one exception, which was the reaction to the killings in Godhra railway station, but that was orchestrated and organised partly by the forces of the state, something that the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, does not even bother to deny now, though the coming elections have made his reactions less arrogantly dismissive and more evasive.
If this orchestrated violence is discounted, the attacks and bombings in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Delhi, Malegaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad and now Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan do underscore the refusal, almost, of people to react to these incidents with violence and communal passion.
This is, rightly, lauded and given prominence by the media; not only are the people complimented for their refusal to be provoked, but the stoic spirit of the common man in the street, and the heroism of some, are featured for a long time after the incidents are over.
It remains, nonetheless, a curious phenomenon. The pre-Independence days, and the early decades after it, witnessed communal violence almost all over the country. It was as if the two communities – Hindu and Muslim – barely tolerated each other, and it required a trivial incident to spark off riots that on some occasions lasted for days.
What has happened to change that, to bring about an atmosphere where the two communities not only co-exist, but mingle without any of the earlier prejudices and hostility? One reads almost every day of gangs of toughs, car thieves and the like, being caught, and they belong to both communities; political demonstrations have people from the two communities who are equally vocal and, unfortunately, equally violent when these demonstrations turn ugly.
If one looks at the supporters of the Trinamul Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) during the violent incidents that took place at Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal not so long ago – in fact, the violence in Nandigram has not yet died down – one will find an equal number of Muslims and Hindus among them. Arguments that the residents of those areas are both Muslim and Hindu will not wash. What gives members of the minority community the confidence to take to violence with members from the other community when some two or three decades ago that confidence was conspicuous by its absence?
Political parties will have their own, and usually facile arguments that will ultimately be statements replete with their stock arguments and a great deal of casuistry. Scholars may well have very complicated answers to this particular trait in people all over the country, but it is perhaps possible for laymen to identify two factors, and a third that is related to the other two only by marriage, so to speak. There is also the fact that all types of activity – economic and even criminal, as we have seen – have begun to include everyone, as the quest for prosperity transcends other considerations. But even this is based on the two tacit assumptions or traits that one can see around one today.
One is the fact that people belong to different communities. Perhaps, this is to state the obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. In the often bewildering diversity of India, these communities often seek to stress their special identities – the Himachali, the Keralite, the Bengali and the Maharashtrian, all want to establish their particular identity through their dress, cuisine, customs, language (but naturally) and other ways. Special days are set aside to observe Maharashtra Day, or Assam Day, for instance. In this effort the religious differences are not as important, unless of course it is linked to something like cuisine – Andhra Pradesh is as proud of its Hyderabadi cuisine as it is of its Telugu dishes.
The other is that, given the huge transformation in our means of communication, religions, at least the two main religions, spread through the whole of the country and act as a common factor among believers. Television plays a crucial role here; there are a number of channels that are entirely given over to religions of different kinds. This factor is not at variance with the first, but is just another factor that shares the same characteristic – it brings people of one kind or another together. So it is that pilgrims go from all over the country to Vaishnodevi or Tirupati, and also to the dargahs of Ajmer Sharif and Nizamuddin Auliya.
The third element is a little less distinct, but it exists, nonetheless, and in a very real sense. Over the years our systems of governance – the legislatures, courts and the State and Central governments – have become a part of everyone’s existence, possibly in a manner in which they were not before Independence. It is a different matter that our legislators behave in strange ways, but the fact is that the systems function, after a fashion, and are the subject of much interest to people in general. One has only to open a newspaper to see what kind of stories are on the front pages; a sizable number of them will have to do with ministerial pronouncements, laws passed by or disturbances in, legislatures and orders passed by courts.
The point is the systems are what are of common interest. Not leaders anymore. It is usual to hear people bemoan the fact that there are no “tall leaders” left. Perhaps, that is not such a bad thing after all; tall leaders tend to dwarf institutions. Very few great leaders have actually helped build systems and institutions as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru did. He could have, given his stature after Independence, reduced Parliament and even the courts to insignificant and irrelevant institutions, and used his massive hold over the people to do so. That, after all, is what Hitler did. But Jawaharlal Nehru was the exception. Most “tall” leaders have trivialised the institutions that they have seen as standing between them and power.
Thus, in our time, it is perhaps not such a bad thing that we have small men as leaders and the primacy of our institutions, with all their failings, remains unquestioned. To paraphrase William Shakespeare a little, our institutions “bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men… peep about to find ourselves dishonourable graves”. “Petty men” meaning, naturally, those who style themselves as our leaders. The systems prevail and are seen as enduring, to be looked up to for redress in times of trouble.
These factors may be why we, as ordinary people, have stopped reacting with the earlier hatred and passion to bomb blasts and other outrages. But, the weave of the fabric of our unity is very strong. Those who plan the killings and blasts still, clearly, have the old, outdated beliefs, that such incidents will cause chaos in the country. They will not, as the warp of our communities and the weft of our religions holds us together in a manner that makes such beliefs rather ridiculous.
The tragedy is that the cost of our ability to endure and accept, of the fabric of unity we have woven, is paid for by some innocent people, sometimes children, and the price is a terrible one for anyone to pay.
BHASKAR GHOSE
The systems of governance prevail and are seen as enduring, to be looked up to for redress in times of chaos in the country.
THERE is something very touching about the way the media and to some extent people in general, particularly the middle class in the country, react when there is a bomb blast in which a number of people die or are injured – some horribly, losing their eyes or limbs or being maimed or disfigured for the rest of their lives. Once the horror and shock have been overcome, there is a sense of something akin to achievement when the incident does not cause – indeed no incident in recent years has caused – any spread of communal passions or hatred that can lead to orgies of killing or looting and arson, as if that is something for which we need to congratulate ourselves.
There was, of course, one exception, which was the reaction to the killings in Godhra railway station, but that was orchestrated and organised partly by the forces of the state, something that the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, does not even bother to deny now, though the coming elections have made his reactions less arrogantly dismissive and more evasive.
If this orchestrated violence is discounted, the attacks and bombings in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Delhi, Malegaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad and now Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan do underscore the refusal, almost, of people to react to these incidents with violence and communal passion.
This is, rightly, lauded and given prominence by the media; not only are the people complimented for their refusal to be provoked, but the stoic spirit of the common man in the street, and the heroism of some, are featured for a long time after the incidents are over.
It remains, nonetheless, a curious phenomenon. The pre-Independence days, and the early decades after it, witnessed communal violence almost all over the country. It was as if the two communities – Hindu and Muslim – barely tolerated each other, and it required a trivial incident to spark off riots that on some occasions lasted for days.
What has happened to change that, to bring about an atmosphere where the two communities not only co-exist, but mingle without any of the earlier prejudices and hostility? One reads almost every day of gangs of toughs, car thieves and the like, being caught, and they belong to both communities; political demonstrations have people from the two communities who are equally vocal and, unfortunately, equally violent when these demonstrations turn ugly.
If one looks at the supporters of the Trinamul Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) during the violent incidents that took place at Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal not so long ago – in fact, the violence in Nandigram has not yet died down – one will find an equal number of Muslims and Hindus among them. Arguments that the residents of those areas are both Muslim and Hindu will not wash. What gives members of the minority community the confidence to take to violence with members from the other community when some two or three decades ago that confidence was conspicuous by its absence?
Political parties will have their own, and usually facile arguments that will ultimately be statements replete with their stock arguments and a great deal of casuistry. Scholars may well have very complicated answers to this particular trait in people all over the country, but it is perhaps possible for laymen to identify two factors, and a third that is related to the other two only by marriage, so to speak. There is also the fact that all types of activity – economic and even criminal, as we have seen – have begun to include everyone, as the quest for prosperity transcends other considerations. But even this is based on the two tacit assumptions or traits that one can see around one today.
One is the fact that people belong to different communities. Perhaps, this is to state the obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. In the often bewildering diversity of India, these communities often seek to stress their special identities – the Himachali, the Keralite, the Bengali and the Maharashtrian, all want to establish their particular identity through their dress, cuisine, customs, language (but naturally) and other ways. Special days are set aside to observe Maharashtra Day, or Assam Day, for instance. In this effort the religious differences are not as important, unless of course it is linked to something like cuisine – Andhra Pradesh is as proud of its Hyderabadi cuisine as it is of its Telugu dishes.
The other is that, given the huge transformation in our means of communication, religions, at least the two main religions, spread through the whole of the country and act as a common factor among believers. Television plays a crucial role here; there are a number of channels that are entirely given over to religions of different kinds. This factor is not at variance with the first, but is just another factor that shares the same characteristic – it brings people of one kind or another together. So it is that pilgrims go from all over the country to Vaishnodevi or Tirupati, and also to the dargahs of Ajmer Sharif and Nizamuddin Auliya.
The third element is a little less distinct, but it exists, nonetheless, and in a very real sense. Over the years our systems of governance – the legislatures, courts and the State and Central governments – have become a part of everyone’s existence, possibly in a manner in which they were not before Independence. It is a different matter that our legislators behave in strange ways, but the fact is that the systems function, after a fashion, and are the subject of much interest to people in general. One has only to open a newspaper to see what kind of stories are on the front pages; a sizable number of them will have to do with ministerial pronouncements, laws passed by or disturbances in, legislatures and orders passed by courts.
The point is the systems are what are of common interest. Not leaders anymore. It is usual to hear people bemoan the fact that there are no “tall leaders” left. Perhaps, that is not such a bad thing after all; tall leaders tend to dwarf institutions. Very few great leaders have actually helped build systems and institutions as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru did. He could have, given his stature after Independence, reduced Parliament and even the courts to insignificant and irrelevant institutions, and used his massive hold over the people to do so. That, after all, is what Hitler did. But Jawaharlal Nehru was the exception. Most “tall” leaders have trivialised the institutions that they have seen as standing between them and power.
Thus, in our time, it is perhaps not such a bad thing that we have small men as leaders and the primacy of our institutions, with all their failings, remains unquestioned. To paraphrase William Shakespeare a little, our institutions “bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men… peep about to find ourselves dishonourable graves”. “Petty men” meaning, naturally, those who style themselves as our leaders. The systems prevail and are seen as enduring, to be looked up to for redress in times of trouble.
These factors may be why we, as ordinary people, have stopped reacting with the earlier hatred and passion to bomb blasts and other outrages. But, the weave of the fabric of our unity is very strong. Those who plan the killings and blasts still, clearly, have the old, outdated beliefs, that such incidents will cause chaos in the country. They will not, as the warp of our communities and the weft of our religions holds us together in a manner that makes such beliefs rather ridiculous.
The tragedy is that the cost of our ability to endure and accept, of the fabric of unity we have woven, is paid for by some innocent people, sometimes children, and the price is a terrible one for anyone to pay.
October 24, 2007
When Will Women Come of Age?
Aditi Bhaduri
"Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses." (Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Many dreams must have been dreamt in this house in the run-down Tiljala area of Kolkata, which has become the centre of all attention for the past few weeks. Numerous rallies, demonstrations and meetings have been held here. For it was here that Rizwanur Rehman, 30 - a young and struggling graphic designer and teacher from a lower middle-class Muslim family - and his wife, Priyanka Todi, 23 - daughter of an influential Marwari industrialist - spent their short-lived marital life. Those days have passed into history: On September 21, Rizwanur was found lying dead near the railway track, his head smashed.
The city has been clamoring for justice ever since. The overwhelming feeling is that Rizwanur was murdered, or, at the very least, his death was not natural.
Rizwanur and Priyanka had got married in August under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Priyanka's family found out about the marriage only after she moved into her husband's house. After that the police had been harassing them, thrice summoning Rizwanur and Priyanka to the police headquarters, 'advising' Priyanka to return home, and even registering a case of abduction against Rizwanur. Ultimately, Priyanka went back to her father's house, after her uncle gave a written guarantee that she would return to the Rehman household in a week's time. Before that happened, Rizwanur was found dead.
This is an old story told in many lands \u2013 Laila and Majnu; Romeo and Juliet; Heer and Ranjha \u2013 relationships that ended in tragedies because the individuals concerned had dared to dream and breach social norms. Now, it has happened in 21st century Kolkata. Kolkata is a city that prides itself for its liberal values. It was here that the first gay pride march in India took place (now an annual event) and where the first lesbian organization in the country \u2013 Sappho \u2013 was established.
And it was in this city that Rizwanur and Priyanka had dared to cross the boundaries of class, community and religion. Kolkata, however, is not willing to let this episode pass as another sad story of unrequited love. There is palpable anger on the streets among ordinary citizens at what is being thought of as the murder of a young man, and there is fury at the role of the police. As recorded by Rizwanur with the Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Kolkata, the couple had married of their own free will but were facing harassment from the police and being pressurized to dissolve the marriage. The public is outraged at the actions of the police - that a verdict of 'suicide' had been passed by the Police Commissioner even before investigations had begun!
However, amidst the steady stream of protests, marches, demonstrations, filing of an online petition and round-the-clock candle light vigils outside St. Xavier's College, where Rizwanur had once studied, one voice is conspicuous by its absence - that of the young widow, Priyanka. While the greater issue engulfing the city has been the arrogance of the rich and the anti-social role of the police, the defining one for women has been Priyanka's silence. While a Central Investigations Department (CID) team investigating the case, and, more recently, members of the State Women's Commission were able to meet Priyanka, the media has not had any access to her, neither has she come forward with any public statement.
This silence is felt to be emblematic of a larger issue. The Rizwanur-Priyanka case has thrown up many issues - the role of the police as moral guardians; inter-community marriages; and the intrusion into the private space of individuals by the many institutions - family, society and the state. The overarching issue for women, cutting across all sections of society, is the issue of a woman's right to sexual choice and autonomy over her body. And Priyanka's silence seems to confirm women's inability to articulate their authority over their beings, their lack of voice in asserting their ownership over themselves.
"The marriage was between two consenting adults," points out Samita Sen, Director, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University. The state guarantees the right of adults of two different communities to enter into the marriage of their choice by making provisions under the Special Marriage Act. "Yet, the way the father intervened showed that though Priyanka is 23 years of age, there is no coming of age. She is her father's property."
Concurs Ishita Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Economics and Director, Women's Studies Resource Centre, Calcutta University: "The father has every right to communicate with his daughter and to present his point of view, but never to interfere in a choice that she has made. An adult is perfectly capable of making her own choice."
It is this issue of a woman's right to choice that has emerged as the most vexing one. "The case has brought to the fore the patriarchal concept of 'guardianship over women', " says Krishna Bandhopadhyay, an activist and editor of 'Khoj Ekhon', a Bengali publication dedicated to women's rights. "The parents, the police, all connived to act as Priyanka's moral guardians, depriving her of her independence to marry a person of her choice."
The Rizwanur-Priyanka marriage was both an inter-class and inter-faith one. Rina Mukherjee, a Kolkata-based Hindu journalist married to a Parsi, and who faced a lot of opposition from her extended family, is of the opinion that while faith may not be the overriding concern, a similarity in the socio-economic status of both partners is important for a successful marriage. Gender economists point out things may have turned out quite differently had Priyanka's family been economically dependent on her.
Mukherjee further feels that women play an important role here "if they assert themselves enough they can emerge the winner", pointing to her own successful marriage.
The tragedy has spurred women's groups and individuals to engage with an issue largely left untouched by civil society and the media - women's right to sexual choice. On September 26, intellectuals walked in a silent march to protest Rizwanur's death and police involvement. About 500 women from all fields of life - media, films, activism, academia, and even homemakers - participated, walking shoulder to shoulder with mostly Muslim men. Eminent litterateur and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi demanded the removal of Kolkata Police Chief Prasun Mukherjee.
Publications 'Khoj Ekhon' and 'Ahalya' are planning a media campaign on women's right to sexual choice. Jeevika, an NGO working with grassroots women in West Bengal, is planning a series of street plays dealing with the issue. Women's Sahayog, another NGO working for women's empowerment, will hold its annual seminar on this theme. Meanwhile, the School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University, is mulling over the idea of holding a workshop dedicated to the right to choice, while Maitreyee, a network of women's organizations and individuals in the state, intends to observe December 10 - Human Rights Day - as the Right to Choice Day.
Women's Feature Service
"Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses." (Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Many dreams must have been dreamt in this house in the run-down Tiljala area of Kolkata, which has become the centre of all attention for the past few weeks. Numerous rallies, demonstrations and meetings have been held here. For it was here that Rizwanur Rehman, 30 - a young and struggling graphic designer and teacher from a lower middle-class Muslim family - and his wife, Priyanka Todi, 23 - daughter of an influential Marwari industrialist - spent their short-lived marital life. Those days have passed into history: On September 21, Rizwanur was found lying dead near the railway track, his head smashed.
The city has been clamoring for justice ever since. The overwhelming feeling is that Rizwanur was murdered, or, at the very least, his death was not natural.
Rizwanur and Priyanka had got married in August under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Priyanka's family found out about the marriage only after she moved into her husband's house. After that the police had been harassing them, thrice summoning Rizwanur and Priyanka to the police headquarters, 'advising' Priyanka to return home, and even registering a case of abduction against Rizwanur. Ultimately, Priyanka went back to her father's house, after her uncle gave a written guarantee that she would return to the Rehman household in a week's time. Before that happened, Rizwanur was found dead.
This is an old story told in many lands \u2013 Laila and Majnu; Romeo and Juliet; Heer and Ranjha \u2013 relationships that ended in tragedies because the individuals concerned had dared to dream and breach social norms. Now, it has happened in 21st century Kolkata. Kolkata is a city that prides itself for its liberal values. It was here that the first gay pride march in India took place (now an annual event) and where the first lesbian organization in the country \u2013 Sappho \u2013 was established.
And it was in this city that Rizwanur and Priyanka had dared to cross the boundaries of class, community and religion. Kolkata, however, is not willing to let this episode pass as another sad story of unrequited love. There is palpable anger on the streets among ordinary citizens at what is being thought of as the murder of a young man, and there is fury at the role of the police. As recorded by Rizwanur with the Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Kolkata, the couple had married of their own free will but were facing harassment from the police and being pressurized to dissolve the marriage. The public is outraged at the actions of the police - that a verdict of 'suicide' had been passed by the Police Commissioner even before investigations had begun!
However, amidst the steady stream of protests, marches, demonstrations, filing of an online petition and round-the-clock candle light vigils outside St. Xavier's College, where Rizwanur had once studied, one voice is conspicuous by its absence - that of the young widow, Priyanka. While the greater issue engulfing the city has been the arrogance of the rich and the anti-social role of the police, the defining one for women has been Priyanka's silence. While a Central Investigations Department (CID) team investigating the case, and, more recently, members of the State Women's Commission were able to meet Priyanka, the media has not had any access to her, neither has she come forward with any public statement.
This silence is felt to be emblematic of a larger issue. The Rizwanur-Priyanka case has thrown up many issues - the role of the police as moral guardians; inter-community marriages; and the intrusion into the private space of individuals by the many institutions - family, society and the state. The overarching issue for women, cutting across all sections of society, is the issue of a woman's right to sexual choice and autonomy over her body. And Priyanka's silence seems to confirm women's inability to articulate their authority over their beings, their lack of voice in asserting their ownership over themselves.
"The marriage was between two consenting adults," points out Samita Sen, Director, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University. The state guarantees the right of adults of two different communities to enter into the marriage of their choice by making provisions under the Special Marriage Act. "Yet, the way the father intervened showed that though Priyanka is 23 years of age, there is no coming of age. She is her father's property."
Concurs Ishita Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Economics and Director, Women's Studies Resource Centre, Calcutta University: "The father has every right to communicate with his daughter and to present his point of view, but never to interfere in a choice that she has made. An adult is perfectly capable of making her own choice."
It is this issue of a woman's right to choice that has emerged as the most vexing one. "The case has brought to the fore the patriarchal concept of 'guardianship over women', " says Krishna Bandhopadhyay, an activist and editor of 'Khoj Ekhon', a Bengali publication dedicated to women's rights. "The parents, the police, all connived to act as Priyanka's moral guardians, depriving her of her independence to marry a person of her choice."
The Rizwanur-Priyanka marriage was both an inter-class and inter-faith one. Rina Mukherjee, a Kolkata-based Hindu journalist married to a Parsi, and who faced a lot of opposition from her extended family, is of the opinion that while faith may not be the overriding concern, a similarity in the socio-economic status of both partners is important for a successful marriage. Gender economists point out things may have turned out quite differently had Priyanka's family been economically dependent on her.
Mukherjee further feels that women play an important role here "if they assert themselves enough they can emerge the winner", pointing to her own successful marriage.
The tragedy has spurred women's groups and individuals to engage with an issue largely left untouched by civil society and the media - women's right to sexual choice. On September 26, intellectuals walked in a silent march to protest Rizwanur's death and police involvement. About 500 women from all fields of life - media, films, activism, academia, and even homemakers - participated, walking shoulder to shoulder with mostly Muslim men. Eminent litterateur and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi demanded the removal of Kolkata Police Chief Prasun Mukherjee.
Publications 'Khoj Ekhon' and 'Ahalya' are planning a media campaign on women's right to sexual choice. Jeevika, an NGO working with grassroots women in West Bengal, is planning a series of street plays dealing with the issue. Women's Sahayog, another NGO working for women's empowerment, will hold its annual seminar on this theme. Meanwhile, the School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University, is mulling over the idea of holding a workshop dedicated to the right to choice, while Maitreyee, a network of women's organizations and individuals in the state, intends to observe December 10 - Human Rights Day - as the Right to Choice Day.
Women's Feature Service
October 23, 2007
Clear Police Bias in Anti terror arrests
(The Times of India
22 Oct 2007)
Blatant double standards
by Jyoti Punwani
With Islamic groups “not being ruled out’’ as culprits in the Ludhiana bomb blast, and Bangladeshis being interrogated for the Ajmer blast, it is clear that in India’s fight against terrorism, one group of terrorists is being completely excluded.
This is despite the Nanded blast in April 2006, in which two persons died while making bombs in the house of an RSS member, and the recovery of fake beards from the house. This is despite the revelations during narco-analysis of the accused that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was training Hindu youth to commit terrorist acts outside mosques. Neither the RSS nor any of its militant wings are ever suspected by the police of being behind any of the bomb blasts that have targeted Muslims with regularity since the 2003 Parbhani blast.
This newspaper highlighted the sensational letter written from Tihar jail by an ex-Intelligence Bureau (IB) informer detailing how IB, working with the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, plants its own ‘‘jehadi maulvis’’ to lure Muslim youth to commit terrorist acts. The Central Bureau of Investigation, directed by the Delhi high court, has corroborated the most important accusations made by the informer. Every politically conscious Muslim, thanks to the Urdu press and the internet, now knows this story.
These two factors taken together are enough to destroy the credibility of the intelligence set-up and the police. Yet, the latter continue to act true to type after every blast, as though nothing’s changed. The same automatic blaming and arrest of the usual suspects; the same revelation that the IB/home department had warned about such a blast.
It is ironic that the very congregations of Muslims that have always been treated with suspicion by the police have become the targets of terrorist killings since 2003.
The depositions of senior policemen before the Srikrishna commission were marked by a Friday-namaz-phobia; they made it a point to stress that ‘‘bandobast was tightened for the Friday prayers and no untoward incident took place’’. The implication was clear: with Muslims gathering in such large numbers to listen to sermons in mosques, there was every chance of them going berserk thereafter.
Yet, there is little evidence of the high-profile Anti-Terrorist Squads (ATS), set up in Maharashtra and elsewhere, having conducted raids on RSS outfits. In fact, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act has not even been applied to the Nanded RSS accused, while it has to those accused for the July 11, 2006 train blasts, the Malegaon blasts and the alleged Naxalites. Nanded’s Muslims had to move the court before the state even called in the ATS to investigate the case.
You don’t need to be the IB to fear a blast during Diwali. Imagine the backlash if that happens. Yet, a blast on the eve of Ramzan Eid at India’s best-known Muslim shrine created no such reaction. The Ajmer dargah was teeming with devotees who had fasted the entire month and planned to spend their most important religious festival at their favourite shrine. Even the return of the bodies to their homes in Mumbai’s slums passed off peacefully. Compare this extreme restraint with the threats given by the Modis, Thackerays, Togadias and Singhals in similar circumstances.
After every bomb blast targeting Hindus, these self-styled Hindu leaders ask why Muslims have not condemned it. Their logic is clear: Because some Muslims have targeted Hindus, the entire community has to distance itself from them or else share their guilt. But not once in the recent blasts targeting Muslims has such a demand been made by Muslims of Hindus; neither have Hindu organisations condemned such acts.
The state’s agencies have different yardsticks when dealing with terrorist acts targeting Hindus and Muslims. What’s more disturbing is the difference between the conduct of the victim communities in the aftermath of such acts. Isn’t this difference an indication of the power equation between the majority and largest minority in our secular democracy?
(The writer is a political commentator.)
22 Oct 2007)
Blatant double standards
by Jyoti Punwani
With Islamic groups “not being ruled out’’ as culprits in the Ludhiana bomb blast, and Bangladeshis being interrogated for the Ajmer blast, it is clear that in India’s fight against terrorism, one group of terrorists is being completely excluded.
This is despite the Nanded blast in April 2006, in which two persons died while making bombs in the house of an RSS member, and the recovery of fake beards from the house. This is despite the revelations during narco-analysis of the accused that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was training Hindu youth to commit terrorist acts outside mosques. Neither the RSS nor any of its militant wings are ever suspected by the police of being behind any of the bomb blasts that have targeted Muslims with regularity since the 2003 Parbhani blast.
This newspaper highlighted the sensational letter written from Tihar jail by an ex-Intelligence Bureau (IB) informer detailing how IB, working with the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, plants its own ‘‘jehadi maulvis’’ to lure Muslim youth to commit terrorist acts. The Central Bureau of Investigation, directed by the Delhi high court, has corroborated the most important accusations made by the informer. Every politically conscious Muslim, thanks to the Urdu press and the internet, now knows this story.
These two factors taken together are enough to destroy the credibility of the intelligence set-up and the police. Yet, the latter continue to act true to type after every blast, as though nothing’s changed. The same automatic blaming and arrest of the usual suspects; the same revelation that the IB/home department had warned about such a blast.
It is ironic that the very congregations of Muslims that have always been treated with suspicion by the police have become the targets of terrorist killings since 2003.
The depositions of senior policemen before the Srikrishna commission were marked by a Friday-namaz-phobia; they made it a point to stress that ‘‘bandobast was tightened for the Friday prayers and no untoward incident took place’’. The implication was clear: with Muslims gathering in such large numbers to listen to sermons in mosques, there was every chance of them going berserk thereafter.
Yet, there is little evidence of the high-profile Anti-Terrorist Squads (ATS), set up in Maharashtra and elsewhere, having conducted raids on RSS outfits. In fact, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act has not even been applied to the Nanded RSS accused, while it has to those accused for the July 11, 2006 train blasts, the Malegaon blasts and the alleged Naxalites. Nanded’s Muslims had to move the court before the state even called in the ATS to investigate the case.
You don’t need to be the IB to fear a blast during Diwali. Imagine the backlash if that happens. Yet, a blast on the eve of Ramzan Eid at India’s best-known Muslim shrine created no such reaction. The Ajmer dargah was teeming with devotees who had fasted the entire month and planned to spend their most important religious festival at their favourite shrine. Even the return of the bodies to their homes in Mumbai’s slums passed off peacefully. Compare this extreme restraint with the threats given by the Modis, Thackerays, Togadias and Singhals in similar circumstances.
After every bomb blast targeting Hindus, these self-styled Hindu leaders ask why Muslims have not condemned it. Their logic is clear: Because some Muslims have targeted Hindus, the entire community has to distance itself from them or else share their guilt. But not once in the recent blasts targeting Muslims has such a demand been made by Muslims of Hindus; neither have Hindu organisations condemned such acts.
The state’s agencies have different yardsticks when dealing with terrorist acts targeting Hindus and Muslims. What’s more disturbing is the difference between the conduct of the victim communities in the aftermath of such acts. Isn’t this difference an indication of the power equation between the majority and largest minority in our secular democracy?
(The writer is a political commentator.)
October 21, 2007
The Politics of Hate
Navhind Times, 21 October 2007
Freedom of Expression, Hate Speech, and the Government Response
Vidyadhar Gadgil
Freedom of expression has been an issue that has been much in the public eye of late. At the national level, we have had two major cases of artists – M.F. Hussain and Taslima Nasrin – who have been attacked by religious fundamentalists (the former by the Hindu variety and the latter by the Muslim version) for ‘hurting religious sentiments’.
Goa too has been witnessing a heated public debate on the issue of freedom of expression over the Hindu Janjagruti Sammelan-FACT (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) exhibition at the Kala Academy which concluded on 2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti. Secular, human rights groups and ordinary citizens have been questioning the government patronage extended to the exhibition, and even demanding that the government step in forthwith to stop it, arguing that it is covered under the ‘hate speech’ exception. The Constitution, under Article 19, guarantees the right to freedom of expression, but this freedom is not absolute. As with other provisions related to various freedoms in Article 19, ‘reasonable restrictions’ can be imposed upon this right. In this article, we will look at three examples – the screening of Rakesh Sharma’s ‘Final Solution’, Prof. Puniyani’s public talk and the FACT exhibition – all dealing with the phenomenon of communal violence. How are we to distinguish between them and decide what stand to take on each? And how do we understand the government response to them, both singly and taken as a whole, in the context of this constitutional provision?
This exhibition, which is based on photographs by the Frenchman Francois Gautier, has been touring the hinterland of Goa for some months now and has been the centrepiece of a major communal mobilisation by the Hindutva forces. When the exhibition was on at the Kala Academy, volunteers would entice you inside, telling you to come and see the atrocities being perpetrated by violent Muslims against innocent Hindus. The photographs depicted mutilated corpses and other scenes of violence. Was this used to warn us of the dangers of communal violence? No, the captions and posters were inflammatory and invited the viewer to further violence. To quote just one example, “If you are a Hindu, and your blood does not boil when you see this, then you are not a true Hindu.” The whole purpose of the exhibition appeared to be to create a deep, visceral hatred among Hindus towards Muslims. There were jeeps going round Panjim, with megaphone-wielding volunteers exhorting Hindus to come see the exhibition, understand the threat against them, and unite to defend the faith. There were clips promoting this film running on Goan cable channels showing ‘Hindu self-defence squads’. Defence against what and whom? Is this relevant in the Goan context; in fact, is it not actively seeking to create a problem where none exists? As for Francois Gautier, the photographer, we all know his history as a cheerleader of the Hindu right and as a person who denigrated ex-President Narayan as an ‘untouchable’.
As we have seen, the right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute – the state may impose reasonable restrictions upon it ‘in the interest of public order, security of State, decency or morality’. Are we then to argue that no depiction or analysis of communal violence be permitted? If we demand that the FACT exhibition be stopped, are we saying that all depiction of communal violence be banned? Two other recent cases from Goa relating to freedom of expression in relation to depiction and analysis of communal violence are instructive in this regard.
It is well established in Indian law that it is not the actual portrayal but the framing and the intent that is to be invoked when imposing restrictions. Rakesh Sharma’s film ‘Final Solution’ is a study of the gruesome communal violence directed against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002. Through meticulous documentation of events and detailed interviews with some of the dramatis personae, the film projects itself as a ‘study of the politics of hate’. The director claims that “Final Solution is anti-hate/violence as those who forget history are condemned to relive it.” When the film was screened widely in Goa in August 2006, with the director in attendance, there were protests from some sections of the Hindu right, asking that they be stopped.
The film was denied a certificate by the Censor Board (during the NDA regime) for several months. It was only after a sustained public campaign that the ban was finally lifted and a censor certificate issued in October 2004. The film has subsequently gone on to win a plethora of national and international awards and has been feted as one of the most powerful statements against the politics of hate and violence made in recent times. Answering questions after a well-attended public screening in Panjim in August 2006, Sharma agreed that the film does depict communal violence and records communal speeches, but argued that all this is framed in a context which argues against these phenomena. He went on to say, “Months of filming in Gujarat showed me how viciously communal propaganda can pollute the public mind – hatred of the other is now common sense. Communal violence scars not only its victims but also its perpetrators, leaving deep wounds in society which can take centuries to heal. If we take this path, we are in danger of becoming a society of psychopaths.”
The last of our three cases from Goa around this theme was a talk by Prof. Puniyani on the subject ‘Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India’ in May 2007. Prof. Ram Puniyani has been a sustained campaigner against communal politics for some time. He argues that communal politics, whether claiming support from Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, is essentially the same. It does not concern itself with the moral aspect of religion, which is similar across all religions, but with identity politics. It tries to build political constituencies by claiming support from religion and employs violent means towards this end. In an interview given in Goa in August 2007, when asked where he thinks India is heading in respect of communal violence, he replied, “I think we are at the critical path. We can either choose the path of destruction due to communalism or we have to realise the dangers of it and thus bring back the values of the freedom movement.”
Now let us examine the way the Government of Goa reacted in each of these cases. The government did not extend any support to Rakesh Sharma’s film. Human rights groups in Goa organised the screenings in non-governmental public spaces. By no word or gesture did the government express any support to its anti-hate message. It could perhaps be argued that this is not the job of the government. But why then was the FACT exhibition, which is clearly communal hate speech and propaganda, allowed on the premises of the Kala Academy? This is the premier public space of Goa, which is chaired by a committee headed by the current Speaker and ex-Chief Minister, Pratapsinh Rane. The Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, saw fit to visit this exhibition. There has been no attempt to curb the communal propaganda taking place in Goa under the pretext of mobilising the masses to view this exhibition.
Fine. That means the Goa government permits freedom of speech, with no exceptions? But in the case of Prof. Ram Puniyani’s talk, the administration stepped in to stop his public talk on the basis of a complaint made by some members of the VHP. By no stretch of the imagination can Prof. Puniyani be described as a person indulging in communal propaganda – in fact, he devotes all his time to combating it. Yet the government banned the talk. The Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami, commented at the time that that “this action on the part of the SDM was wrong.”
In the context of these three cases, one would have to accept that the behaviour of the government is, to say the very least, inconsistent. But a more in-depth analysis indicates something far more disturbing. The government, in the case of the screenings of ‘Final Solution’, sees no need to support anti-hate messages arguing for peace and harmony. Not content with that, in the case of Dr. Puniyani, it actually bans such messages. And in a final travesty, in the case of the FACT exhibition it actively connives with hate speech, enabling its spread by providing it with government space to disseminate its virulent messages.
Goa is still peaceful and harmonious, but communal agendas have entered so deeply into the psyche of our political class that we no longer need a ‘communal’ government to be in power to advance the agenda of hate and violence; our ‘secular’ government does the job perfectly well. In terms of actual action on the ground, such labels are becoming meaningless; all are now the same. V.D. Savarkar and Mohammad Ali Jinnah (atheists both, but masters at using religion for political purposes) can rest in peace – irrespective of who is in power in Goa, their poisonous legacy is in safe hands.
Freedom of Expression, Hate Speech, and the Government Response
Vidyadhar Gadgil
Freedom of expression has been an issue that has been much in the public eye of late. At the national level, we have had two major cases of artists – M.F. Hussain and Taslima Nasrin – who have been attacked by religious fundamentalists (the former by the Hindu variety and the latter by the Muslim version) for ‘hurting religious sentiments’.
Goa too has been witnessing a heated public debate on the issue of freedom of expression over the Hindu Janjagruti Sammelan-FACT (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) exhibition at the Kala Academy which concluded on 2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti. Secular, human rights groups and ordinary citizens have been questioning the government patronage extended to the exhibition, and even demanding that the government step in forthwith to stop it, arguing that it is covered under the ‘hate speech’ exception. The Constitution, under Article 19, guarantees the right to freedom of expression, but this freedom is not absolute. As with other provisions related to various freedoms in Article 19, ‘reasonable restrictions’ can be imposed upon this right. In this article, we will look at three examples – the screening of Rakesh Sharma’s ‘Final Solution’, Prof. Puniyani’s public talk and the FACT exhibition – all dealing with the phenomenon of communal violence. How are we to distinguish between them and decide what stand to take on each? And how do we understand the government response to them, both singly and taken as a whole, in the context of this constitutional provision?
This exhibition, which is based on photographs by the Frenchman Francois Gautier, has been touring the hinterland of Goa for some months now and has been the centrepiece of a major communal mobilisation by the Hindutva forces. When the exhibition was on at the Kala Academy, volunteers would entice you inside, telling you to come and see the atrocities being perpetrated by violent Muslims against innocent Hindus. The photographs depicted mutilated corpses and other scenes of violence. Was this used to warn us of the dangers of communal violence? No, the captions and posters were inflammatory and invited the viewer to further violence. To quote just one example, “If you are a Hindu, and your blood does not boil when you see this, then you are not a true Hindu.” The whole purpose of the exhibition appeared to be to create a deep, visceral hatred among Hindus towards Muslims. There were jeeps going round Panjim, with megaphone-wielding volunteers exhorting Hindus to come see the exhibition, understand the threat against them, and unite to defend the faith. There were clips promoting this film running on Goan cable channels showing ‘Hindu self-defence squads’. Defence against what and whom? Is this relevant in the Goan context; in fact, is it not actively seeking to create a problem where none exists? As for Francois Gautier, the photographer, we all know his history as a cheerleader of the Hindu right and as a person who denigrated ex-President Narayan as an ‘untouchable’.
As we have seen, the right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute – the state may impose reasonable restrictions upon it ‘in the interest of public order, security of State, decency or morality’. Are we then to argue that no depiction or analysis of communal violence be permitted? If we demand that the FACT exhibition be stopped, are we saying that all depiction of communal violence be banned? Two other recent cases from Goa relating to freedom of expression in relation to depiction and analysis of communal violence are instructive in this regard.
It is well established in Indian law that it is not the actual portrayal but the framing and the intent that is to be invoked when imposing restrictions. Rakesh Sharma’s film ‘Final Solution’ is a study of the gruesome communal violence directed against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002. Through meticulous documentation of events and detailed interviews with some of the dramatis personae, the film projects itself as a ‘study of the politics of hate’. The director claims that “Final Solution is anti-hate/violence as those who forget history are condemned to relive it.” When the film was screened widely in Goa in August 2006, with the director in attendance, there were protests from some sections of the Hindu right, asking that they be stopped.
The film was denied a certificate by the Censor Board (during the NDA regime) for several months. It was only after a sustained public campaign that the ban was finally lifted and a censor certificate issued in October 2004. The film has subsequently gone on to win a plethora of national and international awards and has been feted as one of the most powerful statements against the politics of hate and violence made in recent times. Answering questions after a well-attended public screening in Panjim in August 2006, Sharma agreed that the film does depict communal violence and records communal speeches, but argued that all this is framed in a context which argues against these phenomena. He went on to say, “Months of filming in Gujarat showed me how viciously communal propaganda can pollute the public mind – hatred of the other is now common sense. Communal violence scars not only its victims but also its perpetrators, leaving deep wounds in society which can take centuries to heal. If we take this path, we are in danger of becoming a society of psychopaths.”
The last of our three cases from Goa around this theme was a talk by Prof. Puniyani on the subject ‘Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India’ in May 2007. Prof. Ram Puniyani has been a sustained campaigner against communal politics for some time. He argues that communal politics, whether claiming support from Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, is essentially the same. It does not concern itself with the moral aspect of religion, which is similar across all religions, but with identity politics. It tries to build political constituencies by claiming support from religion and employs violent means towards this end. In an interview given in Goa in August 2007, when asked where he thinks India is heading in respect of communal violence, he replied, “I think we are at the critical path. We can either choose the path of destruction due to communalism or we have to realise the dangers of it and thus bring back the values of the freedom movement.”
Now let us examine the way the Government of Goa reacted in each of these cases. The government did not extend any support to Rakesh Sharma’s film. Human rights groups in Goa organised the screenings in non-governmental public spaces. By no word or gesture did the government express any support to its anti-hate message. It could perhaps be argued that this is not the job of the government. But why then was the FACT exhibition, which is clearly communal hate speech and propaganda, allowed on the premises of the Kala Academy? This is the premier public space of Goa, which is chaired by a committee headed by the current Speaker and ex-Chief Minister, Pratapsinh Rane. The Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, saw fit to visit this exhibition. There has been no attempt to curb the communal propaganda taking place in Goa under the pretext of mobilising the masses to view this exhibition.
Fine. That means the Goa government permits freedom of speech, with no exceptions? But in the case of Prof. Ram Puniyani’s talk, the administration stepped in to stop his public talk on the basis of a complaint made by some members of the VHP. By no stretch of the imagination can Prof. Puniyani be described as a person indulging in communal propaganda – in fact, he devotes all his time to combating it. Yet the government banned the talk. The Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami, commented at the time that that “this action on the part of the SDM was wrong.”
In the context of these three cases, one would have to accept that the behaviour of the government is, to say the very least, inconsistent. But a more in-depth analysis indicates something far more disturbing. The government, in the case of the screenings of ‘Final Solution’, sees no need to support anti-hate messages arguing for peace and harmony. Not content with that, in the case of Dr. Puniyani, it actually bans such messages. And in a final travesty, in the case of the FACT exhibition it actively connives with hate speech, enabling its spread by providing it with government space to disseminate its virulent messages.
Goa is still peaceful and harmonious, but communal agendas have entered so deeply into the psyche of our political class that we no longer need a ‘communal’ government to be in power to advance the agenda of hate and violence; our ‘secular’ government does the job perfectly well. In terms of actual action on the ground, such labels are becoming meaningless; all are now the same. V.D. Savarkar and Mohammad Ali Jinnah (atheists both, but masters at using religion for political purposes) can rest in peace – irrespective of who is in power in Goa, their poisonous legacy is in safe hands.
October 20, 2007
A new deal for Gujarat
Indian Express, 20 October 2007
EYE ON MODI
A new deal for Gujarat
Manish Tewari
BJP and Congress are preparing for the big fight in December. Here, Manish Tewari, AICC secretary looking after Gujarat, argues that Modi’s ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ is a myth that will not hold
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the Congress won 12 out of 26 seats and 44 per cent of the popular vote in Gujarat. The BJP won 14 seats and 47 per cent of the vote. The Lok Sabha results analysed in terms of the 182 assembly constituencies in the state reveal that both the Congress and the BJP won 90 assembly segments each with one going to the NCP and the JD(U) respectively. Ostensibly, the ensuing battle for forming the new government in Gandhinagar is evenly poised.
The BJP came to power in Gujarat in 1995. Except for a brief period when Shanker Sinh Vaghela gave it a short shrift, it has been ruling for close to a decade now. There is a two-party system with no third force in the state. The BJP’s sand castle in Gujarat rests on the twin constructs of minority-bashing and a myth called Vibrant Gujarat.
Let’s examine the latter first. How vibrant is Gujarat, really? From January 1997 to September 2005 Gujarat has consistently ranked fifth in terms of approved FDI projects behind Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. While Maharashtra attracted investment worth Rs 35,757 crore, Gujarat could only mobilise Rs 13,289 crore during this eight year period. Between January-May 2007 Gujarat was not even among the first five states in terms of investment proposals. It managed to retain its position in the first ten only due to the expansion plans of Reliance and Essar refineries.
Gujarat is the most indebted state of the Union. Its public debt stands at a whopping Rs 86,000 crore. Its 48-lakh farmers have a per-capita debt of Rs 15,526 on their heads. The power situation is abysmal with rural areas receiving six to eight hours of power every day.
On the law and order front, atrocities on dalits and violence against women has increased over the past five years. More than 100 Dalits have been murdered in the past 3 years.
Gujarat ranks eighth in terms of providing minimum wages. Evaluated on six fundamental indicators of population status, that is, health, basic amenities, education, unemployment, poverty and social deprivation Gujarat has slipped, over the past decade, from the fifth to eleventh position in rural areas and to the eighth position in urban areas.
Corruption is at a zenith in the highest echelons of government. The issue of gross irregularities in the Sujalam Sufalam irrigation project, shady land deals, tax breaks worth Rs 15,000 crore to select industrialists, purchasing power at padded rates of up to Rs 5.32 per unit from private producers thereby causing a loss of more than Rs 11, 000 crore to the state exchequer, are urgent issues.
Coming back to the first construct of minority-bashing, it would be sheer escapism not to point out that there are historical reasons for the continuing Hindu-Muslim divide in Gujarat. The great Indian Renaissance that harmonised Hindu-Muslim relations in the 15th and 16th centuries completely by-passed Gujarat. The lingering bitterness of Somnath and other invasions could not be reconciled. In the early 20th century the initial emigrants to Africa and other places were mostly Muslim entrepreneurs. Their remittances generated affluence for the brethren back home that created envy among the local Hindu populace. (Mahatma Gandhi, conscious of this historical legacy, laid great emphasis on bridging this divide). The textile mill riots in Ahmedabad in 1969 acquired communal overtones and set the stage for a fresh round of bitterness. Last but not least, successive governments from 1980-95 have been singularly unsuccessful in combating a canard spread by the Sangh machine that these governments were soft on criminal elements in the Muslim community.
It is a given that the Sangh Parivar has been using Gujarat as its laboratory. The intent is to psychologically coerce the minorities into accepting the status of second rate citizens. A vicious whisper campaign suggests, “How does it bother you if Modi continues to rule as long as you can live in peace”. From the persecution of Christians in the Dangs in 1998 to the state sponsored pogrom against the Muslims in 2002, the effort has been to cleanse the state of minorities through conversion, migration and violence.
The decisive battle against fundamentalism would only commence with the rout of the BJP at the hustings. Over the past decade the Sangh Parivar has systematically injected the toxin of fundamentalism into the body politic, administrative structure and education system of Gujarat. It would require nothing short of a purge to detoxify the institutions of the state. The pre-requisite for doing that is to acquire control over the instruments of governance. Mere grandstanding and verbosity to score debating points does not further the secular cause. It undermines it. Nobody understands this hard reality better than the Congress.
Gujarat needs a healing touch and a new deal. A healing touch to reconcile the deep fissures between people and communities. A new deal for inclusive growth. Above all, there is a need to ensure that those responsible for masterminding the 2002 pogrom are brought to justice.
Views are personal
EYE ON MODI
A new deal for Gujarat
Manish Tewari
BJP and Congress are preparing for the big fight in December. Here, Manish Tewari, AICC secretary looking after Gujarat, argues that Modi’s ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ is a myth that will not hold
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the Congress won 12 out of 26 seats and 44 per cent of the popular vote in Gujarat. The BJP won 14 seats and 47 per cent of the vote. The Lok Sabha results analysed in terms of the 182 assembly constituencies in the state reveal that both the Congress and the BJP won 90 assembly segments each with one going to the NCP and the JD(U) respectively. Ostensibly, the ensuing battle for forming the new government in Gandhinagar is evenly poised.
The BJP came to power in Gujarat in 1995. Except for a brief period when Shanker Sinh Vaghela gave it a short shrift, it has been ruling for close to a decade now. There is a two-party system with no third force in the state. The BJP’s sand castle in Gujarat rests on the twin constructs of minority-bashing and a myth called Vibrant Gujarat.
Let’s examine the latter first. How vibrant is Gujarat, really? From January 1997 to September 2005 Gujarat has consistently ranked fifth in terms of approved FDI projects behind Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. While Maharashtra attracted investment worth Rs 35,757 crore, Gujarat could only mobilise Rs 13,289 crore during this eight year period. Between January-May 2007 Gujarat was not even among the first five states in terms of investment proposals. It managed to retain its position in the first ten only due to the expansion plans of Reliance and Essar refineries.
Gujarat is the most indebted state of the Union. Its public debt stands at a whopping Rs 86,000 crore. Its 48-lakh farmers have a per-capita debt of Rs 15,526 on their heads. The power situation is abysmal with rural areas receiving six to eight hours of power every day.
On the law and order front, atrocities on dalits and violence against women has increased over the past five years. More than 100 Dalits have been murdered in the past 3 years.
Gujarat ranks eighth in terms of providing minimum wages. Evaluated on six fundamental indicators of population status, that is, health, basic amenities, education, unemployment, poverty and social deprivation Gujarat has slipped, over the past decade, from the fifth to eleventh position in rural areas and to the eighth position in urban areas.
Corruption is at a zenith in the highest echelons of government. The issue of gross irregularities in the Sujalam Sufalam irrigation project, shady land deals, tax breaks worth Rs 15,000 crore to select industrialists, purchasing power at padded rates of up to Rs 5.32 per unit from private producers thereby causing a loss of more than Rs 11, 000 crore to the state exchequer, are urgent issues.
Coming back to the first construct of minority-bashing, it would be sheer escapism not to point out that there are historical reasons for the continuing Hindu-Muslim divide in Gujarat. The great Indian Renaissance that harmonised Hindu-Muslim relations in the 15th and 16th centuries completely by-passed Gujarat. The lingering bitterness of Somnath and other invasions could not be reconciled. In the early 20th century the initial emigrants to Africa and other places were mostly Muslim entrepreneurs. Their remittances generated affluence for the brethren back home that created envy among the local Hindu populace. (Mahatma Gandhi, conscious of this historical legacy, laid great emphasis on bridging this divide). The textile mill riots in Ahmedabad in 1969 acquired communal overtones and set the stage for a fresh round of bitterness. Last but not least, successive governments from 1980-95 have been singularly unsuccessful in combating a canard spread by the Sangh machine that these governments were soft on criminal elements in the Muslim community.
It is a given that the Sangh Parivar has been using Gujarat as its laboratory. The intent is to psychologically coerce the minorities into accepting the status of second rate citizens. A vicious whisper campaign suggests, “How does it bother you if Modi continues to rule as long as you can live in peace”. From the persecution of Christians in the Dangs in 1998 to the state sponsored pogrom against the Muslims in 2002, the effort has been to cleanse the state of minorities through conversion, migration and violence.
The decisive battle against fundamentalism would only commence with the rout of the BJP at the hustings. Over the past decade the Sangh Parivar has systematically injected the toxin of fundamentalism into the body politic, administrative structure and education system of Gujarat. It would require nothing short of a purge to detoxify the institutions of the state. The pre-requisite for doing that is to acquire control over the instruments of governance. Mere grandstanding and verbosity to score debating points does not further the secular cause. It undermines it. Nobody understands this hard reality better than the Congress.
Gujarat needs a healing touch and a new deal. A healing touch to reconcile the deep fissures between people and communities. A new deal for inclusive growth. Above all, there is a need to ensure that those responsible for masterminding the 2002 pogrom are brought to justice.
Views are personal
October 19, 2007
POINTING FINGERS AT FASCISTS
Gomantak Times, 19 October 2007
Right to Free Speech is not Absolute
Jason Fernandes
A fortnight ago I had occasion to visit and write about an exhibition at the Kala Academy that, in my opinion, amounted to trying to create a genocidal Gujarat-like situation in Goa. Subsequent to its publication the essay was ‘commented’ on by the Hindu Janajagruti Samitithe organizers of the exhibition, and a few others. The more substantial of the criticisms against the column accused me of being Fascist and preventing a peaceful organization from exercising their right to speech. This particular criticism is an interesting one to respond to since it is this single argument that often underlies a number of contentious issues.
Thanks to the Constitution of India, the right to the freedom of speech and expression is the fundamental right of every Indian. And yet, this right is not an absolute right allowing us to say and express everything that we think and feel. The same Article that guarantees us this fundamental right also places restrictions on this right. We may not exercise this right to speech and expression if it threatens to, among other things, impinge on public order or act as incitement to an offence. It was my opinion that the exhibition in exhorting Hindus (and Hindus alone) to hate Muslims and view every single one of them as a potential terrorist was clearly exceeding the rights under the Constitution and entering into the realm of hate-speech. There can be no fundamental right to hate-speech. To allow for hate-speech under the Right to Speech and Expression is to make a fetish of this Right to the point of its loosing its meaning. In fact it would be a fascist tendency that would argue that it has a right to hate-speech, allowing me to turn around and ask my accusers if they and not I are more worthy of the label they award me.
The criticisms also accused me of being a Hindu-hater for asking that their exhibition be banned. Nothing could be further from the truth; on the contrary most of my best friends are Hindu! The exhibition purported a concern for the situation for the Hindus in Kashmir, and truly there is reason to be concerned for the daily violence and bloodshed in Kashmir. It is true that a number of Hindu families have been forced to leave the valley and this is not just tragic but condemnable. But this is not a Hindu tragedy alone since it is also Muslim families and those of other religions that have been forced to leave the valley thanks to the frenzy of violence that engulfs Kashmir. To ignore this dimension of the problem is not to solve the problem, but to only compound it. Any solution to Kashmir must necessarily ensure that all these affected groups are returned in peace to their homeland. The violence in Kashmir is one that should concern any individual not just Hindus. It is the appeal to Hindus alone, thereby excluding others from even expressing concern, or denying their possibility for concernas indeed is what my critics are doing to meis what is disturbing about the exhibition and its organizers. What is disturbing about the appeal to a ‘Hindu’ consciousness is that it is based on the denial of all other identitiesgender, caste, region, syncreticand the recollection of historical wrongs that are sought to be redressed in the present. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that responses to the column dragged up the issue of the Inquisition and the destruction of temples in Goa. In doing so, once more the issue was constructed as only a Hindu issue. What these critics forget is that the primary target of the Inquisition was those persons who became Catholic and whose lives subjected to greater stricture than those who managed to retain, through negotiation with the Portuguese state, their religion. This historical recollection of wrongs then, is only a partial recollection, and it is this partiality that we must question to realize that there is something deeply problematic with the construction of a ‘Hindu’ consciousness.
The problem of ‘Hindu’ consciousness is not a unique problem though; it shares more in common with fundamentalist and radical Islam and Christianity that it realizes. Which is why, when we are called to contest Islamic radicalism and the manner in which these radicals begin to define Islam, we are similarly called on to contest Hindutva proponents who seek to tells us that they know Hinduism better than us, and Christian fundamentalists who pervert the religion in their bid for State power. Hindu-Muslim-SikhIsai, Sab hain bhai-bhai, went a now forgotten nationalist slogan. It appears that the moment to forge the Brotherhood anew is upon us as the fight with these dark fascist forces looms large on our horizon.
(Comments are welcomed at www.dervishnotes.blogspot.com)
Right to Free Speech is not Absolute
Jason Fernandes
A fortnight ago I had occasion to visit and write about an exhibition at the Kala Academy that, in my opinion, amounted to trying to create a genocidal Gujarat-like situation in Goa. Subsequent to its publication the essay was ‘commented’ on by the Hindu Janajagruti Samitithe organizers of the exhibition, and a few others. The more substantial of the criticisms against the column accused me of being Fascist and preventing a peaceful organization from exercising their right to speech. This particular criticism is an interesting one to respond to since it is this single argument that often underlies a number of contentious issues.
Thanks to the Constitution of India, the right to the freedom of speech and expression is the fundamental right of every Indian. And yet, this right is not an absolute right allowing us to say and express everything that we think and feel. The same Article that guarantees us this fundamental right also places restrictions on this right. We may not exercise this right to speech and expression if it threatens to, among other things, impinge on public order or act as incitement to an offence. It was my opinion that the exhibition in exhorting Hindus (and Hindus alone) to hate Muslims and view every single one of them as a potential terrorist was clearly exceeding the rights under the Constitution and entering into the realm of hate-speech. There can be no fundamental right to hate-speech. To allow for hate-speech under the Right to Speech and Expression is to make a fetish of this Right to the point of its loosing its meaning. In fact it would be a fascist tendency that would argue that it has a right to hate-speech, allowing me to turn around and ask my accusers if they and not I are more worthy of the label they award me.
The criticisms also accused me of being a Hindu-hater for asking that their exhibition be banned. Nothing could be further from the truth; on the contrary most of my best friends are Hindu! The exhibition purported a concern for the situation for the Hindus in Kashmir, and truly there is reason to be concerned for the daily violence and bloodshed in Kashmir. It is true that a number of Hindu families have been forced to leave the valley and this is not just tragic but condemnable. But this is not a Hindu tragedy alone since it is also Muslim families and those of other religions that have been forced to leave the valley thanks to the frenzy of violence that engulfs Kashmir. To ignore this dimension of the problem is not to solve the problem, but to only compound it. Any solution to Kashmir must necessarily ensure that all these affected groups are returned in peace to their homeland. The violence in Kashmir is one that should concern any individual not just Hindus. It is the appeal to Hindus alone, thereby excluding others from even expressing concern, or denying their possibility for concernas indeed is what my critics are doing to meis what is disturbing about the exhibition and its organizers. What is disturbing about the appeal to a ‘Hindu’ consciousness is that it is based on the denial of all other identitiesgender, caste, region, syncreticand the recollection of historical wrongs that are sought to be redressed in the present. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that responses to the column dragged up the issue of the Inquisition and the destruction of temples in Goa. In doing so, once more the issue was constructed as only a Hindu issue. What these critics forget is that the primary target of the Inquisition was those persons who became Catholic and whose lives subjected to greater stricture than those who managed to retain, through negotiation with the Portuguese state, their religion. This historical recollection of wrongs then, is only a partial recollection, and it is this partiality that we must question to realize that there is something deeply problematic with the construction of a ‘Hindu’ consciousness.
The problem of ‘Hindu’ consciousness is not a unique problem though; it shares more in common with fundamentalist and radical Islam and Christianity that it realizes. Which is why, when we are called to contest Islamic radicalism and the manner in which these radicals begin to define Islam, we are similarly called on to contest Hindutva proponents who seek to tells us that they know Hinduism better than us, and Christian fundamentalists who pervert the religion in their bid for State power. Hindu-Muslim-SikhIsai, Sab hain bhai-bhai, went a now forgotten nationalist slogan. It appears that the moment to forge the Brotherhood anew is upon us as the fight with these dark fascist forces looms large on our horizon.
(Comments are welcomed at www.dervishnotes.blogspot.com)
October 18, 2007
Sangh Parivar's Dattamala campaign in Karnataka opposed
Deccan Herald, 17/10/07
Datta Mala campaign: 'Don't permit Sangh Parivar plans'
Various political parties and organisations have demanded that the Dattamala campaign and related programmes being planned by the Sangh Parivar should not be given permission. They also assured to support the district administration for the steps taken to ensure law and order.
The issue was raised at the meeting organised at the DC’s office on Tuesday to collect public opinion with regard to the Sankeertana Yatra.
Congress leader Dr D L Vijay Kumar, BSP district president Radhakrishna and Yusuf Haji expressed opinion that permission must not be given for organising new programmes.
BJP district spokesperson Varasiddhi Venugopal said former minister D B Chandregowda had participated in the Dattajayanthi celebrations organised at Datta peeta last year. Moreover, the district administration had released funds for Dattamala pooja. This year too, for the Sankeertana Yatra, the district administration must extend co-operation, he added.
CPI district secretary Amjad said the Dattapeeta issue still exists as the political parties have failed to use their political will. A permanent solution must be found out for the issue, he suggested.
Ranganath of Bajrang Dal said the Yatra being organised by the Bajrang Dal without having any party affiliations must be given necessary permission. Political parties must stop giving statements in order to play politics, he added. Ruben Moses said the district administration must take necessary steps to ensure peace along with giving permission for the yatra.
Congress city president Venkatesh Naida said a clear decision has to be taken on the issue. Congress district spokesperson M L Moorthi said Bababudangiri must be preserved as a secular place and it is not desirable to give a new face to it. Sangh Parivar and Muslim leaders must change their stand and take steps to dispel the atmosphere of fear, he advised. Praveen said it is not right to create confusion by giving different statements.
The Bajrang Dal has decided to take out a peaceful procession. He also hoped that the district administration will give the required support.
JD(S) district general secretary H H Devraj said people from other districts must not give statements which disrupts peace. The administration must take steps to conduct the programme in an orderly manner and the party will support the administration in this move, he added.
G K Basavaraj of BSP said the programme should not be organised in the city, while K Mohan said a permanent solution with regard to the Dattapeeta issue must be arrived at. Shareef demanded that an atmosphere of fear is building up in the city and suitable steps must be taken.
BJP general secretary C H Lokesh said 79 MLAs from the State will take part in the Dattamala campaign and peace will be maintained at any cost.
Anil of Bajrang Dal said it is unfortunate that Hindus are forced to seek permission for organising their programmes. Ghous Mohiuddin of Komu Sauharda Vedike said new programmes will not be given permission.
If permission is given for pooja and bhajans, problems can arise, Mohammed Ahmed said. Manjunath, Mallika, Harish and Shivanna gave their suggestions.
PRIORITY TO MAINTAIN PEACE
Deputy Commissioner Naveenraj Singh said the Governor will be submitted a report with regard to the developments taking place in connection with the Dattamal campaign.
Speaking at the peace meeting of various political parties and leaders of various organisations held at DC’s office on Tuesday, he said the secretary of Department of Home has already been submitted a report. Suggestions were given to arrive at a permanent solution for the problem and form a committee.
Suggestions were also given on improving tourism in the region, he informed. Peace should prevail in the district and people should live without any fears. Even people from outside the district must be able to come here without apprehensions.
Moreover politics must be set aside and devotion must exist in everyone’s mind, he felt. If people keep faith in the district administration and join hands with the administration, the imbroglio can be solved. Priority is being given to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and law and order in the city and district, he added.
CRPF, RAF TO BE DEPLOYED
IGP (western range) A M Prasad said arrangements will be made for the Dattamala campaign which will be held on October 20.
Speaking to presspersons after the meeting held with officers with regard to security arrangements on Tuesday, he said the same number of personnel will be deployed as was done in the last two years. Information with regard to the personnel being deployed will be provided within three days.
CRPF and RAF units will be brought in to ensure peace during the campaign. It is also being ensured that the supreme court order is not flouted and the common man does not suffer, he added. District police chief Vipul was also present.
---
The Hindu, 17/10/07
It is ‘yatra’ for power, not ‘dharma yatra’: Devanuru
MYSORE: Taking serious objection to the “dharma yatra” campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), president of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party and noted writer Devanuru Mahadeva here on Tuesday accused the BJP of misusing caste and religion to meet its political end.
Addressing presspersons, he said that it was not right on part of BJP leaders to link religion with power. “Let them call it a “yatra for power”, but not as “dharama yatra”, he added.
Objecting to the BJP’s propaganda of “reneging of promise”, Mr. Mahadev said that the BJP had no right to term failure of the Janata Dal (Secular) to transfer power as reneging of promise, as agreement reached by the parties “secretly” had nothing to do with the people. “People were not party to the agreement, and they struck a “deal” to come to power. How can they take it to people’s court? he asked. The Janata Dal (Secular) had betrayed the people 20 months ago, when it struck an alliance with the BJP by sacrificing its long cherished secular credentials and it had no moral right to assert its stand now, he added.
Reacting to some Veerashaiva organisations protesting against the Janata Dal (Secular) not transferring power to the BJP, he said that those who have understood Veearashaivism in letter and spirit would not participate in the protest as Veerashaivism was aimed at uniting people, whereas the BJP’s agenda was “dividing the people and society”, he noted.
Working president of Sarvodaya Karnataka K.S. Puttannaih said that the party was in the process of forming secular forces by keeping the BJP, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress at bay. A convention of secular forces would be held in the first week of November and political parties, including the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other secular political parties and Dalit’s and farmers’ organisations would participate .
---
The Hindu, 16/10/07
Abhiyan opposed by Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike
BANGALORE: Opposing the Dattamala Abhiyan organised by the Sangh Parivar organisations at Bababudangiri in Chikamagalur district from October 20, the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike has urged the administration to ban the abhiyan. An anti-Dattamala rally has been organised by the vedike at Chikamagalur on Wednesday and State-wide agitation on October 23.
Speaking to presspersons here on Monday, vedike’s State secretary K.L. Ashok said that a delegation comprising vedike members would meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur seeking a ban on the programmes.
He said that neither the Dattamala Abhiyan nor the Nagara Sankertane being organised at Chikamagalur were traditional festivals. He said: “The abhiyan and sankertane would incite communal feelings.” Mr. Ashok said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishath (VHP) and Bajarang Dal were trying to replace the Sufi tradition of Bababudangiri with an artificial celebration that lacks traditional value.
---
The Hindu, 16/10/07
Steps taken to maintain law and order at Bababudangiri: Governor
Religious rights of the people will be protected, says Rameshwar Thakur
D.B. Chandre Gowda seeks ban on the controversial ‘Shoba Yatra’
‘Datta Mala Abhiyan’ to be launched from October 24
BANGALORE: Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Monday said that the State administration would take all steps to protect the religious rights of the people and maintain law and order at the famous Bababudangiri shrine in Chikmagalur district where Datta Jayanthi celebrations would be held in December.
“Necessary and appropriate action will be taken to maintain peace. The matter will be looked into,” Mr. Thakur told presspersons.
Earlier, the former Law and Parliamentary Minister D.B. Chandre Gowda met the Governor at the Vidhana Soudha and submitted a memorandum seeking a ban on the controversial “Shoba Yatra,” which is organised as a precursor to the Datta Jayanthi celebrations.
In 2004 and 2005, the N. Dharam Singh Government did not allow the Shoba Yatra to take place. The Kumaraswamy Government too had banned the yatra in 2006.
Mr. Chandre Gowda told presspersons that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party activists had decide to launch “Datta Mala Abhiyan” from October 24.
The Sangh Parivar plans to take out the Shoba Yatra in Ckikmagalur would create law and order problem. It was only in recent years that the Shoba Yatra had been organised. Its larger aim is to mobilise people and then take them in a procession all the way to Bababudangiri during the Datta Jayanthi celebrations. A few days ago, BJP MP H.N. Ananth Kumar had given a statement in Chikmagalur that the party would hold the Datta Jayanthi celebrations in a grand manner in December, Mr. Gowda said.
Mr. Gowda alleged that the Sangh Parivar was determined to transform the Bababudangiri shrine, a Sufi dargah that has for centuries been a place of common worship, into a Hindu temple complete with idols and Brahmin priests.
Datta Mala campaign: 'Don't permit Sangh Parivar plans'
Various political parties and organisations have demanded that the Dattamala campaign and related programmes being planned by the Sangh Parivar should not be given permission. They also assured to support the district administration for the steps taken to ensure law and order.
The issue was raised at the meeting organised at the DC’s office on Tuesday to collect public opinion with regard to the Sankeertana Yatra.
Congress leader Dr D L Vijay Kumar, BSP district president Radhakrishna and Yusuf Haji expressed opinion that permission must not be given for organising new programmes.
BJP district spokesperson Varasiddhi Venugopal said former minister D B Chandregowda had participated in the Dattajayanthi celebrations organised at Datta peeta last year. Moreover, the district administration had released funds for Dattamala pooja. This year too, for the Sankeertana Yatra, the district administration must extend co-operation, he added.
CPI district secretary Amjad said the Dattapeeta issue still exists as the political parties have failed to use their political will. A permanent solution must be found out for the issue, he suggested.
Ranganath of Bajrang Dal said the Yatra being organised by the Bajrang Dal without having any party affiliations must be given necessary permission. Political parties must stop giving statements in order to play politics, he added. Ruben Moses said the district administration must take necessary steps to ensure peace along with giving permission for the yatra.
Congress city president Venkatesh Naida said a clear decision has to be taken on the issue. Congress district spokesperson M L Moorthi said Bababudangiri must be preserved as a secular place and it is not desirable to give a new face to it. Sangh Parivar and Muslim leaders must change their stand and take steps to dispel the atmosphere of fear, he advised. Praveen said it is not right to create confusion by giving different statements.
The Bajrang Dal has decided to take out a peaceful procession. He also hoped that the district administration will give the required support.
JD(S) district general secretary H H Devraj said people from other districts must not give statements which disrupts peace. The administration must take steps to conduct the programme in an orderly manner and the party will support the administration in this move, he added.
G K Basavaraj of BSP said the programme should not be organised in the city, while K Mohan said a permanent solution with regard to the Dattapeeta issue must be arrived at. Shareef demanded that an atmosphere of fear is building up in the city and suitable steps must be taken.
BJP general secretary C H Lokesh said 79 MLAs from the State will take part in the Dattamala campaign and peace will be maintained at any cost.
Anil of Bajrang Dal said it is unfortunate that Hindus are forced to seek permission for organising their programmes. Ghous Mohiuddin of Komu Sauharda Vedike said new programmes will not be given permission.
If permission is given for pooja and bhajans, problems can arise, Mohammed Ahmed said. Manjunath, Mallika, Harish and Shivanna gave their suggestions.
PRIORITY TO MAINTAIN PEACE
Deputy Commissioner Naveenraj Singh said the Governor will be submitted a report with regard to the developments taking place in connection with the Dattamal campaign.
Speaking at the peace meeting of various political parties and leaders of various organisations held at DC’s office on Tuesday, he said the secretary of Department of Home has already been submitted a report. Suggestions were given to arrive at a permanent solution for the problem and form a committee.
Suggestions were also given on improving tourism in the region, he informed. Peace should prevail in the district and people should live without any fears. Even people from outside the district must be able to come here without apprehensions.
Moreover politics must be set aside and devotion must exist in everyone’s mind, he felt. If people keep faith in the district administration and join hands with the administration, the imbroglio can be solved. Priority is being given to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and law and order in the city and district, he added.
CRPF, RAF TO BE DEPLOYED
IGP (western range) A M Prasad said arrangements will be made for the Dattamala campaign which will be held on October 20.
Speaking to presspersons after the meeting held with officers with regard to security arrangements on Tuesday, he said the same number of personnel will be deployed as was done in the last two years. Information with regard to the personnel being deployed will be provided within three days.
CRPF and RAF units will be brought in to ensure peace during the campaign. It is also being ensured that the supreme court order is not flouted and the common man does not suffer, he added. District police chief Vipul was also present.
---
The Hindu, 17/10/07
It is ‘yatra’ for power, not ‘dharma yatra’: Devanuru
MYSORE: Taking serious objection to the “dharma yatra” campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), president of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party and noted writer Devanuru Mahadeva here on Tuesday accused the BJP of misusing caste and religion to meet its political end.
Addressing presspersons, he said that it was not right on part of BJP leaders to link religion with power. “Let them call it a “yatra for power”, but not as “dharama yatra”, he added.
Objecting to the BJP’s propaganda of “reneging of promise”, Mr. Mahadev said that the BJP had no right to term failure of the Janata Dal (Secular) to transfer power as reneging of promise, as agreement reached by the parties “secretly” had nothing to do with the people. “People were not party to the agreement, and they struck a “deal” to come to power. How can they take it to people’s court? he asked. The Janata Dal (Secular) had betrayed the people 20 months ago, when it struck an alliance with the BJP by sacrificing its long cherished secular credentials and it had no moral right to assert its stand now, he added.
Reacting to some Veerashaiva organisations protesting against the Janata Dal (Secular) not transferring power to the BJP, he said that those who have understood Veearashaivism in letter and spirit would not participate in the protest as Veerashaivism was aimed at uniting people, whereas the BJP’s agenda was “dividing the people and society”, he noted.
Working president of Sarvodaya Karnataka K.S. Puttannaih said that the party was in the process of forming secular forces by keeping the BJP, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress at bay. A convention of secular forces would be held in the first week of November and political parties, including the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other secular political parties and Dalit’s and farmers’ organisations would participate .
---
The Hindu, 16/10/07
Abhiyan opposed by Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike
BANGALORE: Opposing the Dattamala Abhiyan organised by the Sangh Parivar organisations at Bababudangiri in Chikamagalur district from October 20, the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike has urged the administration to ban the abhiyan. An anti-Dattamala rally has been organised by the vedike at Chikamagalur on Wednesday and State-wide agitation on October 23.
Speaking to presspersons here on Monday, vedike’s State secretary K.L. Ashok said that a delegation comprising vedike members would meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur seeking a ban on the programmes.
He said that neither the Dattamala Abhiyan nor the Nagara Sankertane being organised at Chikamagalur were traditional festivals. He said: “The abhiyan and sankertane would incite communal feelings.” Mr. Ashok said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishath (VHP) and Bajarang Dal were trying to replace the Sufi tradition of Bababudangiri with an artificial celebration that lacks traditional value.
---
The Hindu, 16/10/07
Steps taken to maintain law and order at Bababudangiri: Governor
Religious rights of the people will be protected, says Rameshwar Thakur
D.B. Chandre Gowda seeks ban on the controversial ‘Shoba Yatra’
‘Datta Mala Abhiyan’ to be launched from October 24
BANGALORE: Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Monday said that the State administration would take all steps to protect the religious rights of the people and maintain law and order at the famous Bababudangiri shrine in Chikmagalur district where Datta Jayanthi celebrations would be held in December.
“Necessary and appropriate action will be taken to maintain peace. The matter will be looked into,” Mr. Thakur told presspersons.
Earlier, the former Law and Parliamentary Minister D.B. Chandre Gowda met the Governor at the Vidhana Soudha and submitted a memorandum seeking a ban on the controversial “Shoba Yatra,” which is organised as a precursor to the Datta Jayanthi celebrations.
In 2004 and 2005, the N. Dharam Singh Government did not allow the Shoba Yatra to take place. The Kumaraswamy Government too had banned the yatra in 2006.
Mr. Chandre Gowda told presspersons that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party activists had decide to launch “Datta Mala Abhiyan” from October 24.
The Sangh Parivar plans to take out the Shoba Yatra in Ckikmagalur would create law and order problem. It was only in recent years that the Shoba Yatra had been organised. Its larger aim is to mobilise people and then take them in a procession all the way to Bababudangiri during the Datta Jayanthi celebrations. A few days ago, BJP MP H.N. Ananth Kumar had given a statement in Chikmagalur that the party would hold the Datta Jayanthi celebrations in a grand manner in December, Mr. Gowda said.
Mr. Gowda alleged that the Sangh Parivar was determined to transform the Bababudangiri shrine, a Sufi dargah that has for centuries been a place of common worship, into a Hindu temple complete with idols and Brahmin priests.
October 17, 2007
Is the Congress Willing to Admit Mass Murderers?
October 14, 2007
Open Letter
Is the Congress Willing to Admit Mass Murderers? What a Cynical Eid Gift for India's Largest Minority!!!
To,
Smt Sonia Gandhi
President
Congress (I)
Dear Smt Gandhi,
We the undersigned write this letter with anguish and concern. It also reiterates our earlier concerns express at the time, in Maharashtra, not so long ago, that your party cheerfully welcomed the vanguard of hate and divisive politics in the personas of Sanjay Nirupam and thereafter, Narayan Rane. We had also written to you at that time.
Ma'am, the repeated efforts of some senior Congressmen to exact a win in Gujarat by not standing for any ideology of the erstwhile Congress but to resort to cheap short term gains by admitting even those men who served Shri Modi well in 2002 in leading the communal carnage against the state's Muslims. (Senior Congress leaders have reportedly stated that since hard core Shiv Sainiks have been welcomed with open arms in Maharashtra why cannot the Congress not open its arms to mass murderers like Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya?) . Mr Zadaphiya was at the forefront of the mass carnages against minorities in the city of Ahmedabad and as home minister responsible for the shameful state complicity in the genocidal carnage all over the state.
We the undersigned do not believe that you, the seasoned politician that you are, have not been aware of these brazen moves even within high levels of the Congress party. We hope and wish to believe that you personally at least do not share this rather opportunistic brand of politics. We urge that you speak out, unequivocally on this issue secularism and moral principle just as strongly as y ou have on others. We would not like to believe that secularism is a private concern that can only be voiced behind closed doors. It needs to find centre stage on the campaign arena in Gujarat.
In hope, and in anticipation,
Teesta Setalvad, Vijay Tendulkar, Prasad Chacko, Fr Cedric Prakash, Alyque Padamsee, Rahul Bose, Hanif Lakdawala, Javed Anand, Persis Ginwalla, Avinash Kumar, Rakesh Sharma, Jimmy C. Dabhi, S.J., Anand Patwardhan, Harsh Mander, Ajay Bhatt, Avani Parekh-Bhatt, Akhil Paul, Ashok Gupta, Jitesh Odedra, Wilfred D'Costa, Ram Punyani, Kiran Chhokar, Anand Mazgaonkar, Swati Desai, Sheba George, Vijay Parmar, Vijayprakash Jani, Javed Ameer, Navdeep Mathur, Shruti Upadhyaya, Atul Raval, Ashfaq Mohammed, Bharat Jhalla, Sushila Prajapati, Bharat Parmar, Khalid Chaudhary, Beena Jadav, Rais Khan Pathan
Open Letter
Is the Congress Willing to Admit Mass Murderers? What a Cynical Eid Gift for India's Largest Minority!!!
To,
Smt Sonia Gandhi
President
Congress (I)
Dear Smt Gandhi,
We the undersigned write this letter with anguish and concern. It also reiterates our earlier concerns express at the time, in Maharashtra, not so long ago, that your party cheerfully welcomed the vanguard of hate and divisive politics in the personas of Sanjay Nirupam and thereafter, Narayan Rane. We had also written to you at that time.
Ma'am, the repeated efforts of some senior Congressmen to exact a win in Gujarat by not standing for any ideology of the erstwhile Congress but to resort to cheap short term gains by admitting even those men who served Shri Modi well in 2002 in leading the communal carnage against the state's Muslims. (Senior Congress leaders have reportedly stated that since hard core Shiv Sainiks have been welcomed with open arms in Maharashtra why cannot the Congress not open its arms to mass murderers like Shri Gordhan Zadaphiya?) . Mr Zadaphiya was at the forefront of the mass carnages against minorities in the city of Ahmedabad and as home minister responsible for the shameful state complicity in the genocidal carnage all over the state.
We the undersigned do not believe that you, the seasoned politician that you are, have not been aware of these brazen moves even within high levels of the Congress party. We hope and wish to believe that you personally at least do not share this rather opportunistic brand of politics. We urge that you speak out, unequivocally on this issue secularism and moral principle just as strongly as y ou have on others. We would not like to believe that secularism is a private concern that can only be voiced behind closed doors. It needs to find centre stage on the campaign arena in Gujarat.
In hope, and in anticipation,
Teesta Setalvad, Vijay Tendulkar, Prasad Chacko, Fr Cedric Prakash, Alyque Padamsee, Rahul Bose, Hanif Lakdawala, Javed Anand, Persis Ginwalla, Avinash Kumar, Rakesh Sharma, Jimmy C. Dabhi, S.J., Anand Patwardhan, Harsh Mander, Ajay Bhatt, Avani Parekh-Bhatt, Akhil Paul, Ashok Gupta, Jitesh Odedra, Wilfred D'Costa, Ram Punyani, Kiran Chhokar, Anand Mazgaonkar, Swati Desai, Sheba George, Vijay Parmar, Vijayprakash Jani, Javed Ameer, Navdeep Mathur, Shruti Upadhyaya, Atul Raval, Ashfaq Mohammed, Bharat Jhalla, Sushila Prajapati, Bharat Parmar, Khalid Chaudhary, Beena Jadav, Rais Khan Pathan
Death of Rizwan-ur Rahaman, the police and the CPI (M)
Death of Rizwan-ur Rahaman in Calcutta
The killing shows again the abysmal depth CPI(M) has stooped down to
Proletarian Era, 15th October 2007
Inter-caste, inter-community or inter-religion marriages hardly face any hindrance in any civil, democratic society, for instance, in those of the western world. But attempts to undertake such marriages appear to be meeting insurmountable stumbling block of disapproval in our country. Even after sixty years of independence, the country is not freed of this curse of condemning such marriages. Rather, under the spell of rising spate of communal, obscurantist, superstitious ideas, gained momentum, courtesy arch-communal Hindutwavadi forces like BJP-RSS combine and similar communal forces of other religious communities, these shameful social maladies are spreading their roots further into the society, even not excluding that of states like West Bengal, which remain under the 'leftist rule' of CPI(M) for decades. The reason, we will have to seek in the historical course of modern nation-building processes, for it is there that people of different caste, religion or language etc. are united in one single whole of nation. Whereas, in western countries, modern nations emerged during the days of Renaissance and development of bourgeois civilization, fighting uncompro-misingly against these social differences and maladies based thereupon, our fight for nationhood took place at a time when the bourgeoisie had become moribund, unable to undertake any uncompromising struggle towards social and cultural revolution uniting people of different castes, languages, religions etc. The force like Congress, that represented the Indian bourgeoisie in the leadership of our independence struggle, threw aside the tasks of social and cultural revolution, in the haste of their greed to assume political power. Post-independence days, too, could see only the natural aftermaths, as the different political parties of the same capitalist class, Congress, BJP or their different alliances rose to power, but did never take up the task from their fear-complex of revolution. Only people had to pay for it, as their disunity on different terms, often bursting out into internecine strife, went on increasing, vitiating the social atmosphere. The fall-out is seen in the rise of such maladies as among others, social, and even administrative disapproval of inter-caste, inter-community or inter-religion marriages. A number of the latest of such fall-outs, come from West Bengal where the pseudo communist CPI(M) boasts of ruling for a record span of three decades. The most glaring of them is the very recent case of Rizwan-ur Rahman.
In Calcutta of West Bengal, Rizwan-ur Rahman and Priyanka Todi, both of right age, fell in love and married themselves, duly and legally on August 18. Rizwan came of an ordinary middle-class Muslim family, and Priyanka of fabulously rich and Hindu, Todis. Reportedly, Asok Todi, bride's father, once an ordinary trader, had connection with unlawful betting syndicate dealing with cricket match-fixing, but eventually built up his multi-hundred crore corporate empire, by developing and nurturing a closely-built up network of connections with the police- local or of the Calcutta Police headquarters at Lalbazar- administration-business world and high-ups of the society. On August 31, Priyanka moved out to live with her husband and his family without carrying any valuables from her paternal source, lest her father file any case of theft against Rizwan and her. Also, there had been earlier cases in the same Todi family, in which inter-caste marriages were intercepted and broken, of course not in lawful ways. So on the same date, apprehending interception and interference from Priyanka's father, the couple sent copies of their marriage certificate to the Police Commissioner and DC (Calcutta South), both in the police headquarters at Lalbazar and to different concerned officers of the local police stations, where Rizwan and Priyanka lived. Priyanka then talked with her father on mobile phone, stating her decision to stay with her husband. Same evening, Asok Todi came to Rizwan's house along with a few other members of his family, of which one was some Anil Saraogi, an uncle of Priyanka, at whom she reacted vehemently as 'criminal' and 'murderer'. In presence of a number of members of Rizwan's family, they first tried to persuade Priyanka to return to her paternal family. Finding Priyanka firm on her stand, Asok Todi, stayed for the whole night and threatened Rizwan's inmates with dire consequences, to the extent of wiping out the whole family. He then filed a case of abduction of his daughter by Rizwan, not with the local police station, but with the Lalbazar itself, with which, as mentioned, Todis were well connected. On the other hand, between September 1 and 8, deputy commissioners Gyanwant Singh (headquarters) and Ajoy Kumar (detective department), assistant commissioner of anti-rowdy section Sukanti Chakraborty and a sub-inspector of the same section Krishnendu Das, either sending instructions or working under such from their superiors as the case may be, summoned the couple and even the witnesses of the marriage-registration repeatedly to Lalbazar and threatened them in presence of Todis in their office. They forced Rizwan, under threat of imminent arrest, ultimately making the couple sign over a plain-paper, agreeing to send Priyanka back for seven days to her father's house. On September 8, Priyanka went back to be seen for the last time. Rather, in a mysterious situation, Rizwan-ur was found dead beside a railway-track on September 21 morning. Apprehensive and sensing a foul play, Rizwan and his family members and friends, had also approached the Human Rights Commission or other NGOs. Before there was any post-mortem report and before he saw the body of Rizwan, the police commissioner (CP) held a press conference on September 23, where he termed Rizwan's death a suicide framing up the possible modes and motives and arrogantly justified such naked interference by the police into the exclusively private matters of two adult citizens, terming it as a social act of relieving tension of parents whose ward might have married against the parents' wills. To add here, he has been a police commissioner enjoying unstinted favour of none other than the Chief Minister, who, apart from other favours, had referred to the CP, as "my candidate" in an election for the lucrative post of the president of Cricket Association of Bengal. The privilege, thus acquired, seems to have enthused the CP to make such haughty, uncivil, undemocratic statements. People's opinion, including that of his family members, was however otherwise; they suspected long and foul hand of forces in power. On 21st night, Rizwan's brother complained to the Kareya Police station, under which they lived, in writing about the threats from Asok Todi and suspected a hand of him behind his brother's death. The police station cared the least to take any action. The whole array of circumstantial evidences, as they came out from different sources, however, stood against the suicide mode of Rizwan's death and pointed palpably to a murder. A few minutes before he met his death, he had talked on cell-phone to fix up a vital appointment with legal personnel at 2-30 pm, showing no sign of any depression to lead him to suicide immediately afterwards. Secondly, no driver of any of the trains that must have passed by that track around the time of his death reported anybody to be hit by their vehicle. Rizwan's skull bore the whole injury; there was nothing else to be found on the body, a case unthinkable for a run-over victim of a speedy train. There were also allegations of a fat sum of money changing hands and use of hired professional killers in the process, a method with which Todis were not totally unacquainted, as was known from their past records. In this case too, some unidentified goons threatened Rizwan's family members on September 3 at their own house. However, with their blue-eyed CP under fire, the West Bengal State Secretary of the ruling party CPI(M), held brief for the Police as a part of a cover-up operation stating that they did not know the couple to be rightfully married, a blatant false statement as it was. It has already been mentioned that apprehending interception from the Todis, the couple informed the concerned local police stations and the Lalbazar of their civil marriage immediately after they had gone into it. Soon the CPI(M) top leader of the state had to eat his words to add that he did not know that the police had been aware of the marriage. The incident and the shameless act of the CPI(M) leaders and the police not only brought rude shock to people, they created deep anger and strong indignation among all sections of the masses. Under pressure of such rapidly growing adverse opinion, the government announced a CID enquiry, meaning a branch of the police force was given the charge of investigating the case, in which high officials of another branch of the same force were already involved. Under fire of criticism and opposition, the Chief Minister apparently made another backtrack and announced setting up of an one-man judicial enquiry commission under a retired judge. CBI enquiry, though also not generally fruitful, was demanded by the inmates of Rizwan's family. At first, it was summarily rejected; later as the bereaved family moved the court, it was tagged up conveniently with a long-drawn legal procedure to be dismissed ultimately.
Such being the essence of the series of relevant events, the first point to note is that, particularly, in a country like India where people are miserably divided into different castes, creeds, religions etc., and repeatedly fall victims to internecine strife, such acts of inter-caste or inter-religion marriages, as undertaken by Rizwan-ur and Priyanka, would have provided, all the more, courageous examples to the younger generation to make amends with the prevailing disunity and hostility among people, at least in their personal life. Further, even the Supreme Court ordered encouragement of these. But, as mentioned, people are shocked with horrid tales of such couples being ostracized, tortured, chased by the Police, even lynched brutally, as mark of 'honour-killing' , at the instance of some influential moneyed person or group. It is not much different in states ruled by the arch-communal BJP-RSS combine on one extreme, and in states like West Bengal ruled by a party, like CPI(M) which clamours of Marxism and its pro-people attitude; neither there is any difference between areas dominated by the Muslims or by different other religions. Hardly, if ever, the victims find any protection or support from the administration and even the much- trumpeted CPI(M) party machinery. In fact, the local party bosses and the local administration, generally either wash their hands off or even directly join the bandwagon itself.
Right from the moment the news of this Rizwan- Priyanka incident had come out in public, it stirred up strong indignation and hatred among people, irrespective of religion or other differences, against the police, which had apparently acted well beyond their legal and constitutional jurisdiction of non-interference into personal matters of adult citizens, in this case a valid civil marriage. People were in no mood to meekly accept this criminal audacity of the Police and the party. Only a few months back, the villagers of Singur and Nandigram had stood up against the pro-capitalist, anti-people move of the CPI(M). Particularly in Nandigram, the organized, sustained movement of people, united cutting across the prevailing political identities and irrespective of religion or other differences, forced the government to abandon its project of setting up chemical hub and SEZ in that area at the cost of life and livelihood of lakhs of people. In fact, Nandigram incident did not remain confined to that village. It stirred up the long-dormant conscience of people of the entire state, from workers, peasants, students, youth and common middle class section of the population, to even the fore-ranking intellectuals of all shades of opinion. They stood rock-solid in defence of the Nandigram people's right to live and against the utterly anti-people policies of the CPI(M) that reflected their total subservience to the ruling class, the moneyed people. When, on this backdrop of rising surge of democratic movement, that even sent its impact beyond the state and over the whole of the country, as well as outside it, Rizwan had to pay with his life for his love, it did not fail to create its impact also in the people at large. Suicide or homicide, there was no doubt that it was the threat and intimidation from the highest levels of the police and the Todis with their ramified connections with the administration and even government, which lay at the root of this tragic end of a young innocent life. And what was the role of the master of the police, the government itself? Did the police act on its own? No, they could not; at least, they did not have to worry about the expressed or silent approval of their master. Any civilized government would not have denied the moral responsibility of revealing the truth behind this ghastly crime with which the police was directly involved. It would have taken drastic action against the officers, immediately suspending them. But here the CPI(M) in government acted to the contrary. As immediate reaction, the CPI(M) state secretary, the honourable state secretary, flatly came up in their defence. Unfortunately, his effort was based on sheer falsehood. As stated above, when he backtracked and said that he had been unaware of the fact that the police knew about the marriage, was he again making a false statement or did it betray the sense of responsibility of a leader of his position with which he had made the earlier statement ? Everybody knows that in a class-divided society, the police is one of the ugliest organs, the hounding watchdog of the state to defend interest of the ruling class. In our capitalist state, there are ample examples of how the police stand in favour of the moneyed class to deny and deprive the poor even their minimum legitimate rights. In the present case also, the police was acting in favour of the Todis, as against Rizwan and his family-inmates, even his wife. And the CPI(M) leaders are coming up in naked defence of the police, just as they had stood for the police perpetrating carnage on innocent villagers, including women and children in Nandigram or dastardly suppressing movement of peasants at Singur. The course followed in Rizwan case reflected the same trend. The only aim of the government is to hush up the affair, the tragic death, the completely illegal behaviour of the highest officials of the Police overstepping their jurisdiction and absolutely unwarranted unlawful interference into constitutional right of individuals, all at the instance of and to the benefit of the moneyed people, who are hand-in-glove with the administration, the Police and thus the government. As it stands in this country, it is hard to believe that justice can be meted out through any CID investigation, where higher officials of the Police are themselves involved and continue to be in their posts while the investigation is on. Yet the government went for that. So there are questions raised from people of any and every stratum or section. Even there are murmurs among the ruling party or its allies, since the incident endangered the prospect of cashing upon minority vote-bank in the Panchayat or other elections in the near future. The apprehension is proved correct in the interim report of the CID, which did not mention the name of any of the involved Police officers, even if the CID had summoned at least some of them, questioned them and expressed concern over presence of contradictory statements in their answers. Neither did CID file a FIR, without which the whole investigation boiled down to an eyewash. The judicial enquiry Commission under a retired judge instead of a sitting judge, was another shady move, that too taken under pressure of criticism. When named, the judge was found to be a person who had past record of amity with the ruling party. Besides, as required formally, the setting up of such a Commission and the associated steps were not even reported to the Chief Justice, that really nullified the validity of that move. It was all the more necessary to inform the Union government, because of the involvement of IPS officers in the incident, though the Commission had no power to deal with IPS officers. In addition, people of the state are fully aware of a score of such judicial enquiries ordered on past incidents ending in fiasco without any result whatsoever for years together. There remained the point of CBI enquiry. CPI(M), at least as the past record goes, has never proved at all reluctant to demand CBI enquiries into this or that incident. However, in this case, the demand of a CBI enquiry by the inmates of Rizwan's family and others was summarily rejected; reportedly, leaders of CPI(M) even rushed from Delhi to visit Rizwan's family members and to persuade them not to demand CBI enquiry.
We may reiterate the sum and substance once more. Rizwan will never return. Whether Priyanka will be allowed by her brute family members to cherish even the tragic memory of her beloved husband, is yet to be seen. Already there are indications otherwise. Shutting Priyanka off from the world and the media, Todis allowed only members of the CPI(M)- dominated Women's Commission to interview her. Incidentally, it was this Commission, which termed the brutal rape and palpable murder of Tapasi Malik of Singur a suicide and concluded from their talks with the rape victims of Nandigram, that there had been no rape there. So it appears that Todis-Police- CPI(M) combine is monitoring a script to use the Women's Commission in their cover-up game. In the meanwhile, in face of severely adverse people's opinion, CPI(M), the party in power and thus in charge, is playing the worst kind of hypocritical role. The veteran former chief minister or the present incumbent as well as other leaders of the top echelon of that party, try to assure people that nobody found guilty will be spared, while at the same time, the government takes such measures and avoid such others, as discussed above, as to simply confuse the process of finding the truth and delay meting out of justice, thus in effect and in reality leaving the culprits safe and denying the victims the justice. The more there are criticisms and opposition from people, the more frantic and erratic attempts, the government and the CPI(M) leaders make to shield the criminal police officers and hush up the horrid incident at any cost.
Now, a bunch of questions may disturb right-thinking people who have followed the course of events. The first is: how could the police, in a state governed by a party like CPI(M), claiming to be Communist, act so highhanded to perpetrate this abominable crime of interfering into the legally performed civil marriage of two adults. And then: Why is the government so keen on shielding the implicated police officers and covering up the whole issue. To find answers, it must be noted that after assuming power, even the lip-service to democratic movement CPI(M) used to pay at one stage, although it was reformist constitutional in nature, was completely abandoned by that party in its bid to serve the ruling class to continue to remain in power; also it has done away with all shades of morality and ethics. It has simply turned out to be a watchdog to protect the interest of the ruling class and has thus become a part and parcel of the system of exploitation of people. And concomitant to all this, utter selfish attitude and opportunist bent of mind are spreading fast among people to provoke acts purported to make the most out of the situation. Cumulatively, it is vitiating the social environment and bringing CPI(M) further into bogs of corruption. On the other hand, having been isolated from people as a result of these, CPI(M) is now using the brute force more and more in suppressing the democratic movement. The police and the bureaucracy have thus turned out to be the main planks of their power. They cannot simply afford to live without their support. Naturally it is providing the police and the bureaucracy with added fillip and encouragement to go ahead with more and more highhandedness and arrogance. Unhesitatingly, they are bringing down ruthless attacks not only on democratic movements, also on minimum democratic rights of people to live. This is evident in the present case and not just here. For example, in Nandigram they pounced upon innocent villagers, women and children not spared, fighting for their life and livelihood or in Katwa an ill reputed officer killed a leader of peaceful demonstration from point-blank range and went scot-free. Under such circumstances people must come out with a massive, organized and united struggle unequivocally demanding a neutral enquiry of Rizwan's death by a commission formed of judges, law professionals, intellectuals and journalists, in whom the people have faith. They must demand for immediate suspension, and not just transfer, of police officers implicated in the murder and immediate arrest of Asok Todi and his accomplices, in the interest of neutral enquiry. Only that can make some amends for the gross injustice the society has inflicted upon the young couple, as desired by Rizwan's hapless mother. The other serious issue that evokes concern in right-thinking minds relates to the cultural aspect. It makes them wonder how in the cultural atmosphere of a state run by a party like CPI(M) boasting of leftism for long three decades, such an incident of harassing and threatening two adult individuals for undertaking a perfectly legal inter-religion marriage and finally bringing death, whether suicide or homicide, to one of them, could take place. To get the right answer, the first point that must be realized is that had there been a genuine leftist party in power in West Bengal, then from its seat of power, it would have tried to give people whatever relief it could. At the same time it would have engaged itself in developing massive movements one after another, to help people wrest their legitimate demands from the government and the ruling class, keeping those movements free from the interference of the police and the bureaucracy and building up those movements on the edifice of higher culture, morality and ethics. And in that process, realizing the need of uniting people of the country, irrespective of caste, creed, religion and language, a task that was neglected by the bourgeois leadership of our independence struggle and thus devolved upon the genuine leftists in free India, it would have also made every possible attempt to develop rock-solid unity and amity of the toiling people irrespective of caste- race-religion-language, wiping out the prevailing disunity and distrust among them. It is such an environment given birth to by the intense united mass movement of toiling people that would have created the concrete reality in which a free exchange, intermixing and interaction of toiling people would have been possible. CPI(M) has, however, never trodden that path. Rather they have chosen the path of clinging to power, shunning the path of democratic movement, playing upon people's disunity to gain premium in vote-bank politics and thus, ultimately playing a totally subservient role to the ruling class. And by these, they are simply helping in unbridled spread of bourgeois culture, thinking and attitude. In their thirty-one year rule, not to speak of developing higher culture-morality and ethics, there has been rapid cultural degeneration spreading its roots throughout the society.
And so West Bengal today finds even minimum democratic acts like inter-religion marriages being condemned; the couples, even their friends and family members, are being hounded by the police, at the instance and instigation of some influential moneyed persons, and, as in the case of Rizwan- Priyanka, the rabid communal BJP terming people's indignation against Rizwan's killing as 'excess', thus lend support to otherwise isolated CPI(M). It is found that with every passing day, rampant corruption, both material and spiritual, is devouring every walk of life, warped mindset is gaining more and more currency, all divisive and deriding traits and propensities are on a spiral, crude individualism, sickening philosophical intolerance and forcible muzzling of opposing views are becoming dominant features, sex-perversion and such other degraded mentalities are getting firmly entrenched, drug peddling and smuggling are assuming mind-boggling proportions, the state stands second in the country in woman trafficking, first in child trafficking; obscurantist thoughts and religious bigotry are found to be extremely pronounced. Instances of rape, molestation and lynching of women even in public, prostitution, dowry deaths are reported every hour. Witchcraft, sorcery are increasing in rural particularly tribal belts. Liquor shops and gambling dens mushroom throughout the state on liberal license from the government. In many of these criminal or unlawful acts, leaders, cadres and even supporters of CPI(M) are found involved in or abetting the acts, be it in running a sleaze racket in Calcutta proper, or in organizing vulgar stage shows like Hope '86. The very same CPI(M) minister linked with Hope'86 also boasted of his close ties with godmen or frequented temples to flaunt his 'Brahmin' credential. A CPI(M) zonal committee secretary has been implicated in rape and brutal murder of Tapasi Malik, a teenaged activist of Singur resistance movement of peasants. A senior CPI (M) central committee member openly asked the female cadres of the party to 'show their buttocks' to Medha Patkar, in protest of her standing by the Nandigram carnage victims. Instances galore are there. Surely all these acts and activities only smack of typical subservience to bourgeois class politics committed to pollute people from within, rob them of human essence and turn them into spineless creatures so that they are unable to stand erect against oppressions and suppressions unleashed on them. It is in this backdrop, that the latest incidents of attacks on inter-religion marriages and CPI(M)'s reactions to them are to be viewed and judged.
Naturally, such limitless cultural degeneration has only encouraged people or forces like the police or the Todis to commit the crimes they have done in Rizwan's case. So it is precisely the crop of the same seed of degenerated, corrupt cultural atmosphere that the CPI(M) has carefully sown and cultivated through all these thirty one years of its rule. And it is neither really unexpected of CPI(M), nor it came out of the blue. This party has never grown up as a real communist party; all through it has been a social democratic force. It has always borne all traits of bourgeois culture and vices leaving imprints upon the behaviour and activities of its leaders and cadres. Noticing this painful phenomenon in CPI(M) and for that matter also in CPI, Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the founder General Secretary of our party SUCI, pointed out time and again that the banner, the name and the title of a party do not really matter. He maintained : The living soul, the kernel of any lofty ideal is ingrained in its cultural and ethical standard. If the cultural and ethical standard is not high, the frame of even an advanced political ideology becomes a lifeless body. When in a body, even if it is beautiful, there is no life, it becomes a useless corpse. Left to itself, it causes harm to society. In the same way, if anybody speaks of a lofty ideal, but does not reflect high ethics and cultural standard, it also becomes equally harmful for society and putrefied. So, it is not enough if a party engages in loud and tall talks of ideology. Whether the ideology it reflects is really high is proven by whether its leaders, cadre and supporters reflect high ethical and moral standard in their personal life, daily work and habits and political activities and behaviour. Had CPI(M) been a genuine revolutionary party, increase in its influence within the society would have brought a restraining effect on lowering of cultural standard and degeneration of morality resulting from decadence of capitalism. But it was not that; rather the contrary was true (free translation from a Bengali speech of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh made on 25th Party Foundation Day on 24 April, 1973). These notes of caution and criticism, sounded a few decades back, revealed the reality prevailing then. Thereafter, wallowing in power and pelf for years together, parties like CPI(M) have further degenerated; the stench is now coming out terribly in incidents like Nandigram carnage or Rizwan's death in West Bengal, no less from rampant corruption unveiled in Kerala. People thus face a two-fold task. In addition to their united movement demanding revelation of truth and punishment of the culprits, as mentioned above, they must rid themselves of harbouring any illusion, if they may still have, about the real character of CPI(M) or such forces, and find out and strengthen the force that continues to fight for people on genuine Marxism- Leninism with their leaders and cadres and even the masses involved in movements under their leadership reflecting a higher level of cultural-ethical standard, that is the proletarian culture and ethics. Failure in performing either of these tasks will only lead to such tragic incidents as Rizwan's killing.
The killing shows again the abysmal depth CPI(M) has stooped down to
Proletarian Era, 15th October 2007
Inter-caste, inter-community or inter-religion marriages hardly face any hindrance in any civil, democratic society, for instance, in those of the western world. But attempts to undertake such marriages appear to be meeting insurmountable stumbling block of disapproval in our country. Even after sixty years of independence, the country is not freed of this curse of condemning such marriages. Rather, under the spell of rising spate of communal, obscurantist, superstitious ideas, gained momentum, courtesy arch-communal Hindutwavadi forces like BJP-RSS combine and similar communal forces of other religious communities, these shameful social maladies are spreading their roots further into the society, even not excluding that of states like West Bengal, which remain under the 'leftist rule' of CPI(M) for decades. The reason, we will have to seek in the historical course of modern nation-building processes, for it is there that people of different caste, religion or language etc. are united in one single whole of nation. Whereas, in western countries, modern nations emerged during the days of Renaissance and development of bourgeois civilization, fighting uncompro-misingly against these social differences and maladies based thereupon, our fight for nationhood took place at a time when the bourgeoisie had become moribund, unable to undertake any uncompromising struggle towards social and cultural revolution uniting people of different castes, languages, religions etc. The force like Congress, that represented the Indian bourgeoisie in the leadership of our independence struggle, threw aside the tasks of social and cultural revolution, in the haste of their greed to assume political power. Post-independence days, too, could see only the natural aftermaths, as the different political parties of the same capitalist class, Congress, BJP or their different alliances rose to power, but did never take up the task from their fear-complex of revolution. Only people had to pay for it, as their disunity on different terms, often bursting out into internecine strife, went on increasing, vitiating the social atmosphere. The fall-out is seen in the rise of such maladies as among others, social, and even administrative disapproval of inter-caste, inter-community or inter-religion marriages. A number of the latest of such fall-outs, come from West Bengal where the pseudo communist CPI(M) boasts of ruling for a record span of three decades. The most glaring of them is the very recent case of Rizwan-ur Rahman.
In Calcutta of West Bengal, Rizwan-ur Rahman and Priyanka Todi, both of right age, fell in love and married themselves, duly and legally on August 18. Rizwan came of an ordinary middle-class Muslim family, and Priyanka of fabulously rich and Hindu, Todis. Reportedly, Asok Todi, bride's father, once an ordinary trader, had connection with unlawful betting syndicate dealing with cricket match-fixing, but eventually built up his multi-hundred crore corporate empire, by developing and nurturing a closely-built up network of connections with the police- local or of the Calcutta Police headquarters at Lalbazar- administration-business world and high-ups of the society. On August 31, Priyanka moved out to live with her husband and his family without carrying any valuables from her paternal source, lest her father file any case of theft against Rizwan and her. Also, there had been earlier cases in the same Todi family, in which inter-caste marriages were intercepted and broken, of course not in lawful ways. So on the same date, apprehending interception and interference from Priyanka's father, the couple sent copies of their marriage certificate to the Police Commissioner and DC (Calcutta South), both in the police headquarters at Lalbazar and to different concerned officers of the local police stations, where Rizwan and Priyanka lived. Priyanka then talked with her father on mobile phone, stating her decision to stay with her husband. Same evening, Asok Todi came to Rizwan's house along with a few other members of his family, of which one was some Anil Saraogi, an uncle of Priyanka, at whom she reacted vehemently as 'criminal' and 'murderer'. In presence of a number of members of Rizwan's family, they first tried to persuade Priyanka to return to her paternal family. Finding Priyanka firm on her stand, Asok Todi, stayed for the whole night and threatened Rizwan's inmates with dire consequences, to the extent of wiping out the whole family. He then filed a case of abduction of his daughter by Rizwan, not with the local police station, but with the Lalbazar itself, with which, as mentioned, Todis were well connected. On the other hand, between September 1 and 8, deputy commissioners Gyanwant Singh (headquarters) and Ajoy Kumar (detective department), assistant commissioner of anti-rowdy section Sukanti Chakraborty and a sub-inspector of the same section Krishnendu Das, either sending instructions or working under such from their superiors as the case may be, summoned the couple and even the witnesses of the marriage-registration repeatedly to Lalbazar and threatened them in presence of Todis in their office. They forced Rizwan, under threat of imminent arrest, ultimately making the couple sign over a plain-paper, agreeing to send Priyanka back for seven days to her father's house. On September 8, Priyanka went back to be seen for the last time. Rather, in a mysterious situation, Rizwan-ur was found dead beside a railway-track on September 21 morning. Apprehensive and sensing a foul play, Rizwan and his family members and friends, had also approached the Human Rights Commission or other NGOs. Before there was any post-mortem report and before he saw the body of Rizwan, the police commissioner (CP) held a press conference on September 23, where he termed Rizwan's death a suicide framing up the possible modes and motives and arrogantly justified such naked interference by the police into the exclusively private matters of two adult citizens, terming it as a social act of relieving tension of parents whose ward might have married against the parents' wills. To add here, he has been a police commissioner enjoying unstinted favour of none other than the Chief Minister, who, apart from other favours, had referred to the CP, as "my candidate" in an election for the lucrative post of the president of Cricket Association of Bengal. The privilege, thus acquired, seems to have enthused the CP to make such haughty, uncivil, undemocratic statements. People's opinion, including that of his family members, was however otherwise; they suspected long and foul hand of forces in power. On 21st night, Rizwan's brother complained to the Kareya Police station, under which they lived, in writing about the threats from Asok Todi and suspected a hand of him behind his brother's death. The police station cared the least to take any action. The whole array of circumstantial evidences, as they came out from different sources, however, stood against the suicide mode of Rizwan's death and pointed palpably to a murder. A few minutes before he met his death, he had talked on cell-phone to fix up a vital appointment with legal personnel at 2-30 pm, showing no sign of any depression to lead him to suicide immediately afterwards. Secondly, no driver of any of the trains that must have passed by that track around the time of his death reported anybody to be hit by their vehicle. Rizwan's skull bore the whole injury; there was nothing else to be found on the body, a case unthinkable for a run-over victim of a speedy train. There were also allegations of a fat sum of money changing hands and use of hired professional killers in the process, a method with which Todis were not totally unacquainted, as was known from their past records. In this case too, some unidentified goons threatened Rizwan's family members on September 3 at their own house. However, with their blue-eyed CP under fire, the West Bengal State Secretary of the ruling party CPI(M), held brief for the Police as a part of a cover-up operation stating that they did not know the couple to be rightfully married, a blatant false statement as it was. It has already been mentioned that apprehending interception from the Todis, the couple informed the concerned local police stations and the Lalbazar of their civil marriage immediately after they had gone into it. Soon the CPI(M) top leader of the state had to eat his words to add that he did not know that the police had been aware of the marriage. The incident and the shameless act of the CPI(M) leaders and the police not only brought rude shock to people, they created deep anger and strong indignation among all sections of the masses. Under pressure of such rapidly growing adverse opinion, the government announced a CID enquiry, meaning a branch of the police force was given the charge of investigating the case, in which high officials of another branch of the same force were already involved. Under fire of criticism and opposition, the Chief Minister apparently made another backtrack and announced setting up of an one-man judicial enquiry commission under a retired judge. CBI enquiry, though also not generally fruitful, was demanded by the inmates of Rizwan's family. At first, it was summarily rejected; later as the bereaved family moved the court, it was tagged up conveniently with a long-drawn legal procedure to be dismissed ultimately.
Such being the essence of the series of relevant events, the first point to note is that, particularly, in a country like India where people are miserably divided into different castes, creeds, religions etc., and repeatedly fall victims to internecine strife, such acts of inter-caste or inter-religion marriages, as undertaken by Rizwan-ur and Priyanka, would have provided, all the more, courageous examples to the younger generation to make amends with the prevailing disunity and hostility among people, at least in their personal life. Further, even the Supreme Court ordered encouragement of these. But, as mentioned, people are shocked with horrid tales of such couples being ostracized, tortured, chased by the Police, even lynched brutally, as mark of 'honour-killing' , at the instance of some influential moneyed person or group. It is not much different in states ruled by the arch-communal BJP-RSS combine on one extreme, and in states like West Bengal ruled by a party, like CPI(M) which clamours of Marxism and its pro-people attitude; neither there is any difference between areas dominated by the Muslims or by different other religions. Hardly, if ever, the victims find any protection or support from the administration and even the much- trumpeted CPI(M) party machinery. In fact, the local party bosses and the local administration, generally either wash their hands off or even directly join the bandwagon itself.
Right from the moment the news of this Rizwan- Priyanka incident had come out in public, it stirred up strong indignation and hatred among people, irrespective of religion or other differences, against the police, which had apparently acted well beyond their legal and constitutional jurisdiction of non-interference into personal matters of adult citizens, in this case a valid civil marriage. People were in no mood to meekly accept this criminal audacity of the Police and the party. Only a few months back, the villagers of Singur and Nandigram had stood up against the pro-capitalist, anti-people move of the CPI(M). Particularly in Nandigram, the organized, sustained movement of people, united cutting across the prevailing political identities and irrespective of religion or other differences, forced the government to abandon its project of setting up chemical hub and SEZ in that area at the cost of life and livelihood of lakhs of people. In fact, Nandigram incident did not remain confined to that village. It stirred up the long-dormant conscience of people of the entire state, from workers, peasants, students, youth and common middle class section of the population, to even the fore-ranking intellectuals of all shades of opinion. They stood rock-solid in defence of the Nandigram people's right to live and against the utterly anti-people policies of the CPI(M) that reflected their total subservience to the ruling class, the moneyed people. When, on this backdrop of rising surge of democratic movement, that even sent its impact beyond the state and over the whole of the country, as well as outside it, Rizwan had to pay with his life for his love, it did not fail to create its impact also in the people at large. Suicide or homicide, there was no doubt that it was the threat and intimidation from the highest levels of the police and the Todis with their ramified connections with the administration and even government, which lay at the root of this tragic end of a young innocent life. And what was the role of the master of the police, the government itself? Did the police act on its own? No, they could not; at least, they did not have to worry about the expressed or silent approval of their master. Any civilized government would not have denied the moral responsibility of revealing the truth behind this ghastly crime with which the police was directly involved. It would have taken drastic action against the officers, immediately suspending them. But here the CPI(M) in government acted to the contrary. As immediate reaction, the CPI(M) state secretary, the honourable state secretary, flatly came up in their defence. Unfortunately, his effort was based on sheer falsehood. As stated above, when he backtracked and said that he had been unaware of the fact that the police knew about the marriage, was he again making a false statement or did it betray the sense of responsibility of a leader of his position with which he had made the earlier statement ? Everybody knows that in a class-divided society, the police is one of the ugliest organs, the hounding watchdog of the state to defend interest of the ruling class. In our capitalist state, there are ample examples of how the police stand in favour of the moneyed class to deny and deprive the poor even their minimum legitimate rights. In the present case also, the police was acting in favour of the Todis, as against Rizwan and his family-inmates, even his wife. And the CPI(M) leaders are coming up in naked defence of the police, just as they had stood for the police perpetrating carnage on innocent villagers, including women and children in Nandigram or dastardly suppressing movement of peasants at Singur. The course followed in Rizwan case reflected the same trend. The only aim of the government is to hush up the affair, the tragic death, the completely illegal behaviour of the highest officials of the Police overstepping their jurisdiction and absolutely unwarranted unlawful interference into constitutional right of individuals, all at the instance of and to the benefit of the moneyed people, who are hand-in-glove with the administration, the Police and thus the government. As it stands in this country, it is hard to believe that justice can be meted out through any CID investigation, where higher officials of the Police are themselves involved and continue to be in their posts while the investigation is on. Yet the government went for that. So there are questions raised from people of any and every stratum or section. Even there are murmurs among the ruling party or its allies, since the incident endangered the prospect of cashing upon minority vote-bank in the Panchayat or other elections in the near future. The apprehension is proved correct in the interim report of the CID, which did not mention the name of any of the involved Police officers, even if the CID had summoned at least some of them, questioned them and expressed concern over presence of contradictory statements in their answers. Neither did CID file a FIR, without which the whole investigation boiled down to an eyewash. The judicial enquiry Commission under a retired judge instead of a sitting judge, was another shady move, that too taken under pressure of criticism. When named, the judge was found to be a person who had past record of amity with the ruling party. Besides, as required formally, the setting up of such a Commission and the associated steps were not even reported to the Chief Justice, that really nullified the validity of that move. It was all the more necessary to inform the Union government, because of the involvement of IPS officers in the incident, though the Commission had no power to deal with IPS officers. In addition, people of the state are fully aware of a score of such judicial enquiries ordered on past incidents ending in fiasco without any result whatsoever for years together. There remained the point of CBI enquiry. CPI(M), at least as the past record goes, has never proved at all reluctant to demand CBI enquiries into this or that incident. However, in this case, the demand of a CBI enquiry by the inmates of Rizwan's family and others was summarily rejected; reportedly, leaders of CPI(M) even rushed from Delhi to visit Rizwan's family members and to persuade them not to demand CBI enquiry.
We may reiterate the sum and substance once more. Rizwan will never return. Whether Priyanka will be allowed by her brute family members to cherish even the tragic memory of her beloved husband, is yet to be seen. Already there are indications otherwise. Shutting Priyanka off from the world and the media, Todis allowed only members of the CPI(M)- dominated Women's Commission to interview her. Incidentally, it was this Commission, which termed the brutal rape and palpable murder of Tapasi Malik of Singur a suicide and concluded from their talks with the rape victims of Nandigram, that there had been no rape there. So it appears that Todis-Police- CPI(M) combine is monitoring a script to use the Women's Commission in their cover-up game. In the meanwhile, in face of severely adverse people's opinion, CPI(M), the party in power and thus in charge, is playing the worst kind of hypocritical role. The veteran former chief minister or the present incumbent as well as other leaders of the top echelon of that party, try to assure people that nobody found guilty will be spared, while at the same time, the government takes such measures and avoid such others, as discussed above, as to simply confuse the process of finding the truth and delay meting out of justice, thus in effect and in reality leaving the culprits safe and denying the victims the justice. The more there are criticisms and opposition from people, the more frantic and erratic attempts, the government and the CPI(M) leaders make to shield the criminal police officers and hush up the horrid incident at any cost.
Now, a bunch of questions may disturb right-thinking people who have followed the course of events. The first is: how could the police, in a state governed by a party like CPI(M), claiming to be Communist, act so highhanded to perpetrate this abominable crime of interfering into the legally performed civil marriage of two adults. And then: Why is the government so keen on shielding the implicated police officers and covering up the whole issue. To find answers, it must be noted that after assuming power, even the lip-service to democratic movement CPI(M) used to pay at one stage, although it was reformist constitutional in nature, was completely abandoned by that party in its bid to serve the ruling class to continue to remain in power; also it has done away with all shades of morality and ethics. It has simply turned out to be a watchdog to protect the interest of the ruling class and has thus become a part and parcel of the system of exploitation of people. And concomitant to all this, utter selfish attitude and opportunist bent of mind are spreading fast among people to provoke acts purported to make the most out of the situation. Cumulatively, it is vitiating the social environment and bringing CPI(M) further into bogs of corruption. On the other hand, having been isolated from people as a result of these, CPI(M) is now using the brute force more and more in suppressing the democratic movement. The police and the bureaucracy have thus turned out to be the main planks of their power. They cannot simply afford to live without their support. Naturally it is providing the police and the bureaucracy with added fillip and encouragement to go ahead with more and more highhandedness and arrogance. Unhesitatingly, they are bringing down ruthless attacks not only on democratic movements, also on minimum democratic rights of people to live. This is evident in the present case and not just here. For example, in Nandigram they pounced upon innocent villagers, women and children not spared, fighting for their life and livelihood or in Katwa an ill reputed officer killed a leader of peaceful demonstration from point-blank range and went scot-free. Under such circumstances people must come out with a massive, organized and united struggle unequivocally demanding a neutral enquiry of Rizwan's death by a commission formed of judges, law professionals, intellectuals and journalists, in whom the people have faith. They must demand for immediate suspension, and not just transfer, of police officers implicated in the murder and immediate arrest of Asok Todi and his accomplices, in the interest of neutral enquiry. Only that can make some amends for the gross injustice the society has inflicted upon the young couple, as desired by Rizwan's hapless mother. The other serious issue that evokes concern in right-thinking minds relates to the cultural aspect. It makes them wonder how in the cultural atmosphere of a state run by a party like CPI(M) boasting of leftism for long three decades, such an incident of harassing and threatening two adult individuals for undertaking a perfectly legal inter-religion marriage and finally bringing death, whether suicide or homicide, to one of them, could take place. To get the right answer, the first point that must be realized is that had there been a genuine leftist party in power in West Bengal, then from its seat of power, it would have tried to give people whatever relief it could. At the same time it would have engaged itself in developing massive movements one after another, to help people wrest their legitimate demands from the government and the ruling class, keeping those movements free from the interference of the police and the bureaucracy and building up those movements on the edifice of higher culture, morality and ethics. And in that process, realizing the need of uniting people of the country, irrespective of caste, creed, religion and language, a task that was neglected by the bourgeois leadership of our independence struggle and thus devolved upon the genuine leftists in free India, it would have also made every possible attempt to develop rock-solid unity and amity of the toiling people irrespective of caste- race-religion-language, wiping out the prevailing disunity and distrust among them. It is such an environment given birth to by the intense united mass movement of toiling people that would have created the concrete reality in which a free exchange, intermixing and interaction of toiling people would have been possible. CPI(M) has, however, never trodden that path. Rather they have chosen the path of clinging to power, shunning the path of democratic movement, playing upon people's disunity to gain premium in vote-bank politics and thus, ultimately playing a totally subservient role to the ruling class. And by these, they are simply helping in unbridled spread of bourgeois culture, thinking and attitude. In their thirty-one year rule, not to speak of developing higher culture-morality and ethics, there has been rapid cultural degeneration spreading its roots throughout the society.
And so West Bengal today finds even minimum democratic acts like inter-religion marriages being condemned; the couples, even their friends and family members, are being hounded by the police, at the instance and instigation of some influential moneyed persons, and, as in the case of Rizwan- Priyanka, the rabid communal BJP terming people's indignation against Rizwan's killing as 'excess', thus lend support to otherwise isolated CPI(M). It is found that with every passing day, rampant corruption, both material and spiritual, is devouring every walk of life, warped mindset is gaining more and more currency, all divisive and deriding traits and propensities are on a spiral, crude individualism, sickening philosophical intolerance and forcible muzzling of opposing views are becoming dominant features, sex-perversion and such other degraded mentalities are getting firmly entrenched, drug peddling and smuggling are assuming mind-boggling proportions, the state stands second in the country in woman trafficking, first in child trafficking; obscurantist thoughts and religious bigotry are found to be extremely pronounced. Instances of rape, molestation and lynching of women even in public, prostitution, dowry deaths are reported every hour. Witchcraft, sorcery are increasing in rural particularly tribal belts. Liquor shops and gambling dens mushroom throughout the state on liberal license from the government. In many of these criminal or unlawful acts, leaders, cadres and even supporters of CPI(M) are found involved in or abetting the acts, be it in running a sleaze racket in Calcutta proper, or in organizing vulgar stage shows like Hope '86. The very same CPI(M) minister linked with Hope'86 also boasted of his close ties with godmen or frequented temples to flaunt his 'Brahmin' credential. A CPI(M) zonal committee secretary has been implicated in rape and brutal murder of Tapasi Malik, a teenaged activist of Singur resistance movement of peasants. A senior CPI (M) central committee member openly asked the female cadres of the party to 'show their buttocks' to Medha Patkar, in protest of her standing by the Nandigram carnage victims. Instances galore are there. Surely all these acts and activities only smack of typical subservience to bourgeois class politics committed to pollute people from within, rob them of human essence and turn them into spineless creatures so that they are unable to stand erect against oppressions and suppressions unleashed on them. It is in this backdrop, that the latest incidents of attacks on inter-religion marriages and CPI(M)'s reactions to them are to be viewed and judged.
Naturally, such limitless cultural degeneration has only encouraged people or forces like the police or the Todis to commit the crimes they have done in Rizwan's case. So it is precisely the crop of the same seed of degenerated, corrupt cultural atmosphere that the CPI(M) has carefully sown and cultivated through all these thirty one years of its rule. And it is neither really unexpected of CPI(M), nor it came out of the blue. This party has never grown up as a real communist party; all through it has been a social democratic force. It has always borne all traits of bourgeois culture and vices leaving imprints upon the behaviour and activities of its leaders and cadres. Noticing this painful phenomenon in CPI(M) and for that matter also in CPI, Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the founder General Secretary of our party SUCI, pointed out time and again that the banner, the name and the title of a party do not really matter. He maintained : The living soul, the kernel of any lofty ideal is ingrained in its cultural and ethical standard. If the cultural and ethical standard is not high, the frame of even an advanced political ideology becomes a lifeless body. When in a body, even if it is beautiful, there is no life, it becomes a useless corpse. Left to itself, it causes harm to society. In the same way, if anybody speaks of a lofty ideal, but does not reflect high ethics and cultural standard, it also becomes equally harmful for society and putrefied. So, it is not enough if a party engages in loud and tall talks of ideology. Whether the ideology it reflects is really high is proven by whether its leaders, cadre and supporters reflect high ethical and moral standard in their personal life, daily work and habits and political activities and behaviour. Had CPI(M) been a genuine revolutionary party, increase in its influence within the society would have brought a restraining effect on lowering of cultural standard and degeneration of morality resulting from decadence of capitalism. But it was not that; rather the contrary was true (free translation from a Bengali speech of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh made on 25th Party Foundation Day on 24 April, 1973). These notes of caution and criticism, sounded a few decades back, revealed the reality prevailing then. Thereafter, wallowing in power and pelf for years together, parties like CPI(M) have further degenerated; the stench is now coming out terribly in incidents like Nandigram carnage or Rizwan's death in West Bengal, no less from rampant corruption unveiled in Kerala. People thus face a two-fold task. In addition to their united movement demanding revelation of truth and punishment of the culprits, as mentioned above, they must rid themselves of harbouring any illusion, if they may still have, about the real character of CPI(M) or such forces, and find out and strengthen the force that continues to fight for people on genuine Marxism- Leninism with their leaders and cadres and even the masses involved in movements under their leadership reflecting a higher level of cultural-ethical standard, that is the proletarian culture and ethics. Failure in performing either of these tasks will only lead to such tragic incidents as Rizwan's killing.
October 15, 2007
Ram Leela to share space with namaz
Times of India, 14/10/07
MUMBAI: To look for Mumbai’s legendary secular spirit, one doesn’t have to go much farther than the sprawling Azad Maidan.
The maidan these days is hosting the 10-day Ram Leela celebrations before Dussehra, like it has been doing for the past 30 years. So when the city’s Muslim community, which also holds the Eid-ul-Fitr (morning namaz on the day of Eid) at the maidan ever year, applied for permission this year, the state government was caught in a bind.
The Eid-ul-Fitr is mandatory for Muslims and every year around 50,000 people perform the namaz at Azad Maidan.
The situation was ripe for a serious law and order problem. This is when Maharashtra Ram Leela Mandal, which organises the Ram Leela at the maidan, showed the way out. The mandal wrote to the state government and the police giving the nod to the morning namaz on Sunday morning at the maidan as the Ram Leela function is usually organised in the night.
“Both are religious functions that are important to Hindus and Muslims and after a long time both festivals fell on the same day,’’ said B P Pandey, vice-president of the mandal. “Instead of turning the situation into a communal problem, we thought it was the right opportunity to build bridges between the two communities.’’
The mandal not only gave the NOC, but also promised to extend its facilities including the stage it had built for the function for the Muslim brethren. “It is a good example not only for the city, but also for the whole country on how two communities can exist and even celebrate together,’’ said Naseem Siddiqui, chairman of the state minorities commission, adding, “This is a lesson for all politicians who resort to communal planks that the common man wants to live in peace.’’
This year, when the namazis converge at the Maidan on Sunday morning they may just send up a prayer for their Hindu fellow citizens.
MUMBAI: To look for Mumbai’s legendary secular spirit, one doesn’t have to go much farther than the sprawling Azad Maidan.
The maidan these days is hosting the 10-day Ram Leela celebrations before Dussehra, like it has been doing for the past 30 years. So when the city’s Muslim community, which also holds the Eid-ul-Fitr (morning namaz on the day of Eid) at the maidan ever year, applied for permission this year, the state government was caught in a bind.
The Eid-ul-Fitr is mandatory for Muslims and every year around 50,000 people perform the namaz at Azad Maidan.
The situation was ripe for a serious law and order problem. This is when Maharashtra Ram Leela Mandal, which organises the Ram Leela at the maidan, showed the way out. The mandal wrote to the state government and the police giving the nod to the morning namaz on Sunday morning at the maidan as the Ram Leela function is usually organised in the night.
“Both are religious functions that are important to Hindus and Muslims and after a long time both festivals fell on the same day,’’ said B P Pandey, vice-president of the mandal. “Instead of turning the situation into a communal problem, we thought it was the right opportunity to build bridges between the two communities.’’
The mandal not only gave the NOC, but also promised to extend its facilities including the stage it had built for the function for the Muslim brethren. “It is a good example not only for the city, but also for the whole country on how two communities can exist and even celebrate together,’’ said Naseem Siddiqui, chairman of the state minorities commission, adding, “This is a lesson for all politicians who resort to communal planks that the common man wants to live in peace.’’
This year, when the namazis converge at the Maidan on Sunday morning they may just send up a prayer for their Hindu fellow citizens.
October 14, 2007
CEC bans ‘Hindu Rashtra’ banners in Gujarat
(The Statesman
October 13, 2007)
CEC bans ‘Hindu Rashtra’ banners
Statesman News Service
GANDHINAGAR, Oct. 12: Villages in Gujarat will no longer be allowed to have hoardings announcing “welcome to Hindu Rashtra” at entry points. Chief Election Commissioner Mr N Gopalaswamy asked district authorities to “bring down the hoardings” after receiving complaints during his visit here for the December polls.
It was reported to the CEC that cable operators were being forced to screen pro-government propaganda during prime time. This, too, has now been disallowed. "No more banners or hoardings at government expense," Mr Gopalaswamy said.
He met all the district magistrates and superintendents of police. The chief secretary, the director general of police and the home secretary also met him, apart from party leaders.
The CEC has disallowed temporary and backdated appointments. "No new government advertisements will be issued, as the Model Code of Conduct is in force," the CEC said. Replying to CPI-M queries that Kerala had a three-phased poll and Gujarat will have a two-phased one, Mr Gopalaswamy said the DGP, Kerala wanted 300 companies of the Central police force for a one-day poll. "This was not possible."
He said West Bengal had five-day polls because the state had more polling stations and poll centres than in Gujarat. In West Bengal, 2,750 companies of Central forces were deployed. In Gujarat, there will be 40 per cent less, he said.
October 13, 2007)
CEC bans ‘Hindu Rashtra’ banners
Statesman News Service
GANDHINAGAR, Oct. 12: Villages in Gujarat will no longer be allowed to have hoardings announcing “welcome to Hindu Rashtra” at entry points. Chief Election Commissioner Mr N Gopalaswamy asked district authorities to “bring down the hoardings” after receiving complaints during his visit here for the December polls.
It was reported to the CEC that cable operators were being forced to screen pro-government propaganda during prime time. This, too, has now been disallowed. "No more banners or hoardings at government expense," Mr Gopalaswamy said.
He met all the district magistrates and superintendents of police. The chief secretary, the director general of police and the home secretary also met him, apart from party leaders.
The CEC has disallowed temporary and backdated appointments. "No new government advertisements will be issued, as the Model Code of Conduct is in force," the CEC said. Replying to CPI-M queries that Kerala had a three-phased poll and Gujarat will have a two-phased one, Mr Gopalaswamy said the DGP, Kerala wanted 300 companies of the Central police force for a one-day poll. "This was not possible."
He said West Bengal had five-day polls because the state had more polling stations and poll centres than in Gujarat. In West Bengal, 2,750 companies of Central forces were deployed. In Gujarat, there will be 40 per cent less, he said.
October 13, 2007
First 'reconversion' in Mahdya Pradesh comes a cropper
[See item about how the 'reconversion' came a cropper, below this news item.]
Indian Express, October 10, 2007
In first reconversion in MP, VHP to ‘purify’ 160 Christians today
Milind Ghatwai
DEWAS (MP), OCTOBER 10: In the first “reconversion ceremony” in Madhya Pradesh, as many as 160 Christians will be “returned to the Hindu fold” tomorrow by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti. The Sampraday is identified with Swami Narendracharyaji Maharaj whose followers protested at airports after he was denied permission to board a plane with his mace.
Confirming this, VHP Dewas district secretary Nandkishore Dwivedi told The Indian Express that 160 Christians will be “purified” amid “rituals” and “chanting of hymns” at the Chimnabai Girls Higher Secondary School in Dewas town’s Meera Bawdi locality.
Converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra along with those from two tribal-dominated talukas of Dewas district “will return to the Hindu fold” at a day-long ceremony that will begin with “a three-hour purification process”, the first such ceremony in the state. Even in Jhabua district, where Hindu organisations accused Christians of converting tribals in large numbers, no “reconversion” ceremony ever took place.
“We haven’t forced anyone. They have all agreed to return to their original faith willingly and have given us affidavits,” Dwivedi said.
He said locals were “scared to convert”, so the organisers “decided to bring converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra” as well.
Followers of Narendracharya said that in the last 18 months he had brought back to the Hindu fold some 26,000 families who had “strayed to other religions”.
Posters announcing the “reconversion” have come up all over Dewas, forcing police to take precautionary measures. There’s already tension in town with the function organisers alleging that several posters were torn last night. They have even lodged complaints with the police.
Sampraday’s MP unit chief Rajendra Garud warned that if more posters were torn, followers would be forced to act like they did when the Swami was not allowed to board a plane with his mace.
---
Indian Express, October 12, 2007
VHP ‘reconversion’ ignored by MP town, so Gujarat fills gap
Milind Ghatwai
Nine of ten ‘reconverted’ from Christianity to Hinduism in Dewas were brought in from Gujarat
DEWAS, OCTOBER 11: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s maiden attempt at reconversion in Madhya Pradesh came a cropper today as only three locals turned up, despite the publicity campaign prior to the event. However, Gujarat saved the day for the VHP, sending in two truckloads of Christian converts.
In fact, 90 per cent of the 140 who were reconverted to Hinduism today were from Navsari and Valsad districts in south Gujarat. The rest, barring the three locals, were from Maharashtra.
The organisers — VHP and the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti — were clearly disappointed. Admitting the low turnout, Rajendra Garud, Sampraday’s MP unit chief, said the organisation would reflect on what went wrong.
The VHP had spared no efforts in ensuring the event’s success. Over 30,000 leaflets were distributed and hundreds of posters and hoardings were put up all over the town. A huge pandal was erected to accommodate a crowd of 10,000, but only a few places were occupied.
Swami Narendracharya of the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti presided over the “purification” ceremony — a three-hour function after which the converts were warned not to return to Christianity. Wearing dhotis and sporting the sacred thread, the converts’ heads were tonsured to signify their “rebirth”. However, many had a difficult time following the instructions which were in Marathi.
Narendracharya claimed to have reconverted 27,394 people in the last one-and-a-half years. He told Hindu families to give birth to five boys and at least two-three girls, or else they would soon be a minority. He urged the gathering to emulate the Muslims when it comes to taking pride in one’s religion.
Meanwhile, officials of the Chimnabai Girls High School in Meera Bawdi area, where the reconversion was carried out, complained that the function was held while classes were on. “We don’t know how the authorities gave them permission to hold the programme on a working day,” said a school official.
Indian Express, October 10, 2007
In first reconversion in MP, VHP to ‘purify’ 160 Christians today
Milind Ghatwai
DEWAS (MP), OCTOBER 10: In the first “reconversion ceremony” in Madhya Pradesh, as many as 160 Christians will be “returned to the Hindu fold” tomorrow by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti. The Sampraday is identified with Swami Narendracharyaji Maharaj whose followers protested at airports after he was denied permission to board a plane with his mace.
Confirming this, VHP Dewas district secretary Nandkishore Dwivedi told The Indian Express that 160 Christians will be “purified” amid “rituals” and “chanting of hymns” at the Chimnabai Girls Higher Secondary School in Dewas town’s Meera Bawdi locality.
Converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra along with those from two tribal-dominated talukas of Dewas district “will return to the Hindu fold” at a day-long ceremony that will begin with “a three-hour purification process”, the first such ceremony in the state. Even in Jhabua district, where Hindu organisations accused Christians of converting tribals in large numbers, no “reconversion” ceremony ever took place.
“We haven’t forced anyone. They have all agreed to return to their original faith willingly and have given us affidavits,” Dwivedi said.
He said locals were “scared to convert”, so the organisers “decided to bring converts from Gujarat and Maharashtra” as well.
Followers of Narendracharya said that in the last 18 months he had brought back to the Hindu fold some 26,000 families who had “strayed to other religions”.
Posters announcing the “reconversion” have come up all over Dewas, forcing police to take precautionary measures. There’s already tension in town with the function organisers alleging that several posters were torn last night. They have even lodged complaints with the police.
Sampraday’s MP unit chief Rajendra Garud warned that if more posters were torn, followers would be forced to act like they did when the Swami was not allowed to board a plane with his mace.
---
Indian Express, October 12, 2007
VHP ‘reconversion’ ignored by MP town, so Gujarat fills gap
Milind Ghatwai
Nine of ten ‘reconverted’ from Christianity to Hinduism in Dewas were brought in from Gujarat
DEWAS, OCTOBER 11: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s maiden attempt at reconversion in Madhya Pradesh came a cropper today as only three locals turned up, despite the publicity campaign prior to the event. However, Gujarat saved the day for the VHP, sending in two truckloads of Christian converts.
In fact, 90 per cent of the 140 who were reconverted to Hinduism today were from Navsari and Valsad districts in south Gujarat. The rest, barring the three locals, were from Maharashtra.
The organisers — VHP and the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti — were clearly disappointed. Admitting the low turnout, Rajendra Garud, Sampraday’s MP unit chief, said the organisation would reflect on what went wrong.
The VHP had spared no efforts in ensuring the event’s success. Over 30,000 leaflets were distributed and hundreds of posters and hoardings were put up all over the town. A huge pandal was erected to accommodate a crowd of 10,000, but only a few places were occupied.
Swami Narendracharya of the Shree Sampraday Seva Samiti presided over the “purification” ceremony — a three-hour function after which the converts were warned not to return to Christianity. Wearing dhotis and sporting the sacred thread, the converts’ heads were tonsured to signify their “rebirth”. However, many had a difficult time following the instructions which were in Marathi.
Narendracharya claimed to have reconverted 27,394 people in the last one-and-a-half years. He told Hindu families to give birth to five boys and at least two-three girls, or else they would soon be a minority. He urged the gathering to emulate the Muslims when it comes to taking pride in one’s religion.
Meanwhile, officials of the Chimnabai Girls High School in Meera Bawdi area, where the reconversion was carried out, complained that the function was held while classes were on. “We don’t know how the authorities gave them permission to hold the programme on a working day,” said a school official.
October 11, 2007
In the Midst of Goans
Gomantak Times, October 11, 2007
Vidyadhar Gadgil
Twenty years ago, when I first lived and worked in Goa, I attended a workshop on threats to Goa’s environment and culture. It was there that I first heard the term ‘bhaille’ (outsiders). It was one of the recurring motifs of the workshop that the ‘bhaille’ were the biggest threats to Goa’s environment. I was taken aback, as this was an event attended by liberals and activists, where one would not have expected such viewpoints. Another term I heard was ‘ghati’. There was clearly a negative value attached to the term, which in Maharashtra is used to describe rustics. Intrigued, I devoted a fair bit of time to examining the issue. It seemed contradictory that I – ‘bhaillo’ and ‘ghati’ – never felt any particular hostility directed towards myself; in fact, I met with an easy acceptance. Was this because of my class/caste background? Not entirely, I discovered – Goans are truly among the most tolerant and easygoing of people, not easily given to prejudice.
It was not only me, there was no overt hostility towards the people from outside Goa who lived and worked in Goa. When talking about ‘outsiders’, what people were protesting was a phenomenon – their perceived lack of control over the development process – rather than individuals. There was also a genuine anger against the tourism industry’s despoilation of Goa and against the anti-people pattern of development that people felt, with some justice, was being imposed upon them from outside Goa.
Those were heady times – there was a churning in Goa as the masses began to assert their identity and demand their rights. The Konkani agitation, the movement against tourism spearheaded by the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fauz (JGF), the movement for statehood – they all redefined the political landscape of Goa. At a public meeting on 30 May 1987, the day Goa attained statehood, the mood was one of jubiliation: it was the dawn of hope.
Over the next ten years, my involvement with Goa continued, albeit somewhat intermittently, so I was aware that these hopes were being largely crushed. Yet, in 1997, when my family and I shifted to Goa to settle here permanently, it came as a bit of shock to see the change in the public mood; it was as if the churning of the mid-80s had never happened. The movement for genuine change had been sidetracked, marginalized or co-opted by the political class and corporate interests, and it was business as usual. A cynicism and tiredness had set in amongst the no-longer-so-young activists I knew in the mid-80s.
But around 2005 the churning process began once again, as globalization and neo-liberalization began to be revealed for the chimeras that they were. People looked around them and discovered to their horror that the development process had been hijacked and turned against the people. The beaches had become privatized concrete jungles, Goa’s forests were facing the axe as the construction boom reached ridiculous proportions, and Goa’s politicans fattened themselves at the expense of the masses. Once again, the common man was feeling marginalized and threatened.
One response to this has been a questioning of the very concept of development. The people’s movement which crystallised around the Goa Bachao Abhiyan has redefined the way development is perceived. Development which enriches a few at the expense of the masses and destroys Goa’s environment is not true development, this strand of thought avers. It is not the mass of people – of Goan descent or otherwise – who are the problem. It is those who heedlessly plunder Goa’s resources – politicians, industrialists and various kinds of middlemen – and sell them to the highest bidder that are the problem. To paraphrase the speech of Dr. Oscar Rebello, the convenor of the GBA, at the massive public rally in Panjim on 19 December 2006: “It is not non-Goans who are the problem; it is the anti-Goans.”
There is however, another response to Goa’s current crisis. This seeks to externalise the problem and, following a xenophobic and reactionary line of thought, blames the workers who come to Goa from other parts of India to earn their living. Ignoring the fact that these workers make a vital contribution to Goa’s economy, they are despised and condemned on the basis of the fact that they are poor and come from different cultures and traditions. Rather than look at their relationship with the community and the environment, their ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds are focused upon.
The stigmatization of the ‘ghatis’ and bhaille’ has now reached frightening proportions. The worst example of this was when the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence of March 2006 was sought to be justified on the grounds that its targets were ‘outsiders’. The growing communalization of the Goan polity and society provides a fertile ground in which such thought patterns acquire particular virulence, and find expression in terms of active discrimination and even violence against minorities, who can easily be cast in the role of the ‘other’.
But at a subtler level, this trend of thought is beginning to pervade everyday social discourse in Goa. Workers from Orissa, Karnataka and other ‘backward’ states are vilified for defecating in the open and described as ‘unclean’ (that they are in this position because their employers do not provide them even basic facilities is conveniently forgotten). Even in the urbane drawing rooms of Goa’s educated and well-off classes, such a prejudice has begun to take hold, and all kinds of derogatory comments about ‘ghatis’ are routine, being allowed to pass without any criticism of the social attitudes that underlie them.
Goa is at a crossroads today: it is obvious that we cannot follow the existing pattern of development without social and environmental disaster. But there are two options. Do we question what ‘development’ means, and insist that, rather than merely enriching a few and destroying natural resources, it is framed and practiced in a manner that benefits all and respects the environment? Or do we seek convenient scapegoats for our problems, and further marginalize and victimize them, thereby exacerbating social tensions and furthering communal agendas? The choice is ours to make.
Vidyadhar Gadgil
Twenty years ago, when I first lived and worked in Goa, I attended a workshop on threats to Goa’s environment and culture. It was there that I first heard the term ‘bhaille’ (outsiders). It was one of the recurring motifs of the workshop that the ‘bhaille’ were the biggest threats to Goa’s environment. I was taken aback, as this was an event attended by liberals and activists, where one would not have expected such viewpoints. Another term I heard was ‘ghati’. There was clearly a negative value attached to the term, which in Maharashtra is used to describe rustics. Intrigued, I devoted a fair bit of time to examining the issue. It seemed contradictory that I – ‘bhaillo’ and ‘ghati’ – never felt any particular hostility directed towards myself; in fact, I met with an easy acceptance. Was this because of my class/caste background? Not entirely, I discovered – Goans are truly among the most tolerant and easygoing of people, not easily given to prejudice.
It was not only me, there was no overt hostility towards the people from outside Goa who lived and worked in Goa. When talking about ‘outsiders’, what people were protesting was a phenomenon – their perceived lack of control over the development process – rather than individuals. There was also a genuine anger against the tourism industry’s despoilation of Goa and against the anti-people pattern of development that people felt, with some justice, was being imposed upon them from outside Goa.
Those were heady times – there was a churning in Goa as the masses began to assert their identity and demand their rights. The Konkani agitation, the movement against tourism spearheaded by the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fauz (JGF), the movement for statehood – they all redefined the political landscape of Goa. At a public meeting on 30 May 1987, the day Goa attained statehood, the mood was one of jubiliation: it was the dawn of hope.
Over the next ten years, my involvement with Goa continued, albeit somewhat intermittently, so I was aware that these hopes were being largely crushed. Yet, in 1997, when my family and I shifted to Goa to settle here permanently, it came as a bit of shock to see the change in the public mood; it was as if the churning of the mid-80s had never happened. The movement for genuine change had been sidetracked, marginalized or co-opted by the political class and corporate interests, and it was business as usual. A cynicism and tiredness had set in amongst the no-longer-so-young activists I knew in the mid-80s.
But around 2005 the churning process began once again, as globalization and neo-liberalization began to be revealed for the chimeras that they were. People looked around them and discovered to their horror that the development process had been hijacked and turned against the people. The beaches had become privatized concrete jungles, Goa’s forests were facing the axe as the construction boom reached ridiculous proportions, and Goa’s politicans fattened themselves at the expense of the masses. Once again, the common man was feeling marginalized and threatened.
One response to this has been a questioning of the very concept of development. The people’s movement which crystallised around the Goa Bachao Abhiyan has redefined the way development is perceived. Development which enriches a few at the expense of the masses and destroys Goa’s environment is not true development, this strand of thought avers. It is not the mass of people – of Goan descent or otherwise – who are the problem. It is those who heedlessly plunder Goa’s resources – politicians, industrialists and various kinds of middlemen – and sell them to the highest bidder that are the problem. To paraphrase the speech of Dr. Oscar Rebello, the convenor of the GBA, at the massive public rally in Panjim on 19 December 2006: “It is not non-Goans who are the problem; it is the anti-Goans.”
There is however, another response to Goa’s current crisis. This seeks to externalise the problem and, following a xenophobic and reactionary line of thought, blames the workers who come to Goa from other parts of India to earn their living. Ignoring the fact that these workers make a vital contribution to Goa’s economy, they are despised and condemned on the basis of the fact that they are poor and come from different cultures and traditions. Rather than look at their relationship with the community and the environment, their ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds are focused upon.
The stigmatization of the ‘ghatis’ and bhaille’ has now reached frightening proportions. The worst example of this was when the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence of March 2006 was sought to be justified on the grounds that its targets were ‘outsiders’. The growing communalization of the Goan polity and society provides a fertile ground in which such thought patterns acquire particular virulence, and find expression in terms of active discrimination and even violence against minorities, who can easily be cast in the role of the ‘other’.
But at a subtler level, this trend of thought is beginning to pervade everyday social discourse in Goa. Workers from Orissa, Karnataka and other ‘backward’ states are vilified for defecating in the open and described as ‘unclean’ (that they are in this position because their employers do not provide them even basic facilities is conveniently forgotten). Even in the urbane drawing rooms of Goa’s educated and well-off classes, such a prejudice has begun to take hold, and all kinds of derogatory comments about ‘ghatis’ are routine, being allowed to pass without any criticism of the social attitudes that underlie them.
Goa is at a crossroads today: it is obvious that we cannot follow the existing pattern of development without social and environmental disaster. But there are two options. Do we question what ‘development’ means, and insist that, rather than merely enriching a few and destroying natural resources, it is framed and practiced in a manner that benefits all and respects the environment? Or do we seek convenient scapegoats for our problems, and further marginalize and victimize them, thereby exacerbating social tensions and furthering communal agendas? The choice is ours to make.
Rajasthan Court drops all charges against Togadia
(The Hindu
Oct 09, 2007)
Rajasthan Court drops all charges against Togadia
Special Correspondent
Case relates to ‘Trishul diksha’
Prosecution sought to withdraw
charges
Court also discharges other VHP workers
JAIPUR: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Ajmer on Monday discharged Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia from the charges levelled against him in connection with the infamous “Trishul diksha” (ceremonial distribution of tridents) in Ajmer on April 13, 2003.
The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ajay Shukla dropped the charges against Mr. Togadia after the prosecution seeking to withdraw them.
Mr. Togadia was taken into custody following the distribution of tridents during the previous Government in Rajasthan, headed by Ashok Gehlot. The VHP leader was jailed in Ajmer for nine days after his arrest.
The Bharatiya Janata Party Government, which came to power in the State after the November 2004 elections, withdrew many of the cases filed against workers of the VHP and the RSS.
Though the Government did not withdraw the Togadia case along with the others, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria had made it known that it would not pursue the matter.
The initial charges against Mr.Togadia, who had carried out a series of “Trishul dikshas” in Rajasthan in the run up for the Assembly elections in the State, included those under Arms Act, for disturbing communal harmony and for conspiring against the State.
However, challan was not field against him in the court under the conspiracy clause.
The court also discharged the cases against Gopi Krishna, Jhaveri Lal, Sarveshwar Agarwal and Bhagwati Prasad, the VHP workers arrested along with Mr.Togadia. After his bail, Mr.Togadia had appeared personally only once in the court in connection with this case.
Oct 09, 2007)
Rajasthan Court drops all charges against Togadia
Special Correspondent
Case relates to ‘Trishul diksha’
Prosecution sought to withdraw
charges
Court also discharges other VHP workers
JAIPUR: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Ajmer on Monday discharged Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia from the charges levelled against him in connection with the infamous “Trishul diksha” (ceremonial distribution of tridents) in Ajmer on April 13, 2003.
The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ajay Shukla dropped the charges against Mr. Togadia after the prosecution seeking to withdraw them.
Mr. Togadia was taken into custody following the distribution of tridents during the previous Government in Rajasthan, headed by Ashok Gehlot. The VHP leader was jailed in Ajmer for nine days after his arrest.
The Bharatiya Janata Party Government, which came to power in the State after the November 2004 elections, withdrew many of the cases filed against workers of the VHP and the RSS.
Though the Government did not withdraw the Togadia case along with the others, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria had made it known that it would not pursue the matter.
The initial charges against Mr.Togadia, who had carried out a series of “Trishul dikshas” in Rajasthan in the run up for the Assembly elections in the State, included those under Arms Act, for disturbing communal harmony and for conspiring against the State.
However, challan was not field against him in the court under the conspiracy clause.
The court also discharged the cases against Gopi Krishna, Jhaveri Lal, Sarveshwar Agarwal and Bhagwati Prasad, the VHP workers arrested along with Mr.Togadia. After his bail, Mr.Togadia had appeared personally only once in the court in connection with this case.
October 10, 2007
Two Lovers and the Funeral of Secularism
Counterpunch.org
October 9, 2007
Return to the Clans in Leftist West Bengal?
By FARZANA VERSEY
His skull was smashed and his body thrown on the railway tracks. The police in Kolkata claimed that Rizwan-ur-Rehman had committed suicide. His diary and complaints to human rights organisations show that he was being threatened by the cops for marrying Priyanka Todi, the daughter of an influential industrialist from a Marwari family, traditionally considered clannish.
This was less than a month after their wedding. The girl has disappeared; the voice of the criminal party is barely heard and the victim's family is hounded by the media. In a most appalling move, Rizwan's brother and mother were in the studio for a panel discussion on one of the private channels. At one point the anchor asked the audience to put up their hands if they believed he could have been forced by circumstances to commit suicide. This was media interference in legal matters. Is this how justice is conducted?
Later, the lights were dimmed to show us how Bollywood has portrayed inter-religious alliances. This was demeaning and facile.
The screen captured the father, a butcher, brandishing an axe. The young man was pleading with him to let him marry his daughter. He glowered in return, screaming. The girl cowered in a corner wearing a veil, but her eyes dripped pain. For the sake of cinematic licence they showed the eyes and the face. Our beauties are not to be hidden.
The lover, his ardour not lessened, grabbed the weapon and then the girl's hand, slashing her arm near the wrist, then his and letting their blood mix. All differences were wiped out in that one melodramatic moment.
Why is it disgusting? It isn't about Hindi cinema but about how a serious discussion on inter-religious marriage that led to a tragic death chose to use clips from movies; this particular one ended the montage, while the brother and mother watched. The brother said that this in fact was Rizwan's story.
No, it is not. Not all Muslims are butchers with axes. The sly media devil is creating a most dangerous trend. Rizwan was educated at St. Xavier's college in Kolkata; he graduated with English Honours. He had ambitions of being a journalist, but due to financial pressure chose to be a graphic designer. They are not a poor, but a middle-class family.
Middle-class does not sound exotic enough when you talk about Indian Muslims. Poor, shabby, illiterate look great.
Communal divisions are getting more pronounced. Disturbingly, while the youth are prone to making choices, they are increasingly making pro-clannish choices. The voices of dissent are not rising against the status quo but for it.
* * *
I belong to a family where people practise different versions of Islam as well as people from other faiths, including atheism. Years ago my cousin converted to Hinduism. I recall almost everyone attending the ceremony, including my grandmother. She moved to America. A few years later on a visit to India, she was frantically looking for a plaque with some Quranic verses, "Anything Islamic, Bismillah or whatever," she said. I was a bit disappointed. What was she trying to prove? Was it to be merely one more showpiece where she could tell her foreign neighbours that cultures had meshed, when it was so clear that she had shed her own skin?
And that pained me. She was here a while ago. We went for a film. A lady in a headscarf walked past. She told me, "The Muslims are really asserting themselves now." A young woman watching a late-night English film munching popcorn was asserting Muslimness? And this from her whose first stop on arrival in Mumbai is to visit a temple in another town?
Those who had never judged her were being judged by her. This has become a part of the 'belong to the mainstream' idea. It is terribly dangerous because it leaves no room for individual choice, forget theological ones. The Hindu ideologue, Guru Golwalkar, had unequivocally declared in his book 'We Or Our Nationhood Defined': "The non-Hindu peoples in Hindustan must adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of glorification of the Hindu race and cultureSo long, however, as they maintain their racial, religious and cultural differences (with Hindus), they cannot but be only foreigners."
If we see the tragedy of the murder of Rizwan against this backdrop we will realise it isn't about one individual but that individual has raised several questions about what constitutes nationhood in India today.
If it is a religion we are loyal to, then what is it about that religion ˇ its concept of god, its message for living, or its single-minded obsession with itself? And if it is the country you have to wag your tail behind, then what aspect of it must make us feel loyal ˇ its existence on the world map, the few square feet of space that we live in, the nationality it grants us on the global stage, or the values of equality and fraternity that it promotes on a scrap of paper? Both religion and the country make people into zombies and are expected to be followed blindly. Weren't there cries of "Jai Siyaram" (Hail Lord Ram) when houses were burnt down in Gujarat?
Muslims are told, even by secularists, that institutionalised silence can be seen as confirmation of the suspicious Hindu's belief that you cannot trust the Muslim during a national crisis. No one seems to have asked why the Hindus at the institutional level did not protest when the Babri Masjid was brought down. Where were the holy men then? Did not Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, at the 'Global Vision 2000' in Chicago, snap at an Indian Christian who asked him about the Hindu Rashtra with a, "If 800 million people in India want a theocracy, how does it concern you?"
Today, in Kolkata there are protest rallies by the ordinary people. They are whitewashing Rizwan's murder as a class divide.
This is rubbish. As someone rightly pointed out, had the boy been a less wealthy person from the same community nothing would have happened. West Bengal, the state where this incident took place, prides itself on communal harmony. It has a communist ruling party. The Left has always been a great opposition, but wherever it is the Establishment it errs on the side of money and power. Even today there is talk about the class war because it needs to underscore its position.
Rizwan was not a man in the streets; he was educated. He has become the symbol of a twisted secular ideal and posthumously has the potential of creating a right royal fright. Therefore, the questions posed are typical: Was the girl forced to convert? She wasn't. And she did not.
No Muslim organisation is rallying behind this family. It is the herd of politicians that is behaving like vultures. Even today his family says it believes in the Indian judiciary. If this is not being 'mainstream' enough, then let me ask you: have you heard about Muslims wanting a solution other than that given by the courts? Whether it was the Bombay riots or the bomb blasts, whether it is Gujarat or Godhra, and even the demolition at Ayodhya, they have never said it is a matter that should be decided by religious heads.
* * *
As a counterpoint we have a situation where the Hindutva parties are against the setting up of the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project in South India which has been lying comatose for years. In the blazing controversies surrounding it, two writ petitions were filed seeking an assurance from the government that there would be no destruction of the mythical barrier Ram Sethu during the construction.
The reason being that the bridge was the creation of Lord Ram and is therefore sacred. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters in Ramayana. It is not a man-made structure, but a natural formation. The court has said it cannot use myths to justify history.
Now, the Sangh Parivar is planning to enrol fifty million Hindus to agitate, timing it with the major festivals. For this reason security around mosques and temples has increased. Is this what we are calling secular? The Ram Temple has been replaced by the Ram Sethu. They are tugging at religious heartstrings once again by using pugnacious language. One leader announced a reward for anyone who could behead the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, who is for the construction of the canal and happens to be an atheist. The media, pretending to be secular, decided to call it a "Hindu fatwa". Words like "Hindu ayatollahs" have become regular occurrences, driving home the point that a peace-loving people have been forced to fight.
The headlines tell us that a village in Haryana has a "Taliban writ" because the 5000 Muslims living there are not allowed to watch TV or get themselves photographed as per an edict by some religious head. A woman reportedly said, "The women folk aren't allowed to come out of their house. Many haven't travelled more than 25 km ever in their lives."
How many rural women in India manage to travel? And if they do, it is to fetch water. The fact is that Haryana has the largest number of female foeticides; according to a report, 43 per cent of first-born girls are killed. The male-female ratio is so low that there is a regular racket of importing poor women from other states. What is this? Talibanisation? Have they learned it at the feet of some mullahs in Afghanistan?
We are worrying about people not watching television when 250,000 villages in India do not have electricity.
At such a time the Hindutva parties are gung-ho about organising a group of "Raksha Dharam Yoddha" ˇ warriors of the faith. This is all they can think about.
As recently as a month ago, the Allahabad High Court observed that the Bhagavad Gita should be made the national "dharma shastra" (religious treatise) of the country. Was the Bhagwad Gita written as a legal treatise? How many non-Hindus are aware of the contents? The scripture, like most religious texts, is about war and struggle. We have a Constitution.
Who is adhering to it?
India is perhaps the only secular democracy that has to reiterate that it is a Hindu majority state. And it has nothing to do with the ancient history of Hindu civilisation, but the less than 80-year existence of Hindutva.
The other theory doing the rounds, and expounded by the venerable saint Sir Vidia Naipaul, is that since Indian Muslims are converted people, they become part of the Arab story and reject their own histories and "develop fantasies about who and what they are; and in the Islam of converted countries there is an element of neurosis and nihilism. These countries can easily be set on the boil".
How little does he know about our fantasies. If anything, it is Indian Muslims who have steered clear of major controversies; they are difficult to understand because Islamic societies cannot quite pin them down. Naipaul's problem is that by attributing the Indian Muslim holy land as Arabia he is living out his own fantasy of his holy land being India. His is an attempt of trying to belong to a place by playing their game.
As much as the media is. In the West we realise how devious society has become. It is evident from Ronald Kessler's book, 'The CIA at War'. He writes, "the CIA created fake mullahs -recruited agents who would proclaim themselves clerics and take a more moderate position about nonbelievers. 'We are taking over radio stations and supporting clerics,' a CIA source was quoted as saying. 'It's back to propaganda. We are creating moderate Muslims'." Kessler said the CIA also paid for mullahs to issue fatwas, or urging Iraqis not to resist American forces.
The Indian media is transposing the butcher Muslim with the "Hindu fatwa". Strangely, and with supreme irony (or is it parody?) the majority is sought to be portrayed as colonised. A truly secular Rizwan dies for it.
Farzana Versey is a Mumbai-based writer-columnist. She can be contacted at kaaghaz.kalam@gmail.com.
October 9, 2007
Return to the Clans in Leftist West Bengal?
By FARZANA VERSEY
His skull was smashed and his body thrown on the railway tracks. The police in Kolkata claimed that Rizwan-ur-Rehman had committed suicide. His diary and complaints to human rights organisations show that he was being threatened by the cops for marrying Priyanka Todi, the daughter of an influential industrialist from a Marwari family, traditionally considered clannish.
This was less than a month after their wedding. The girl has disappeared; the voice of the criminal party is barely heard and the victim's family is hounded by the media. In a most appalling move, Rizwan's brother and mother were in the studio for a panel discussion on one of the private channels. At one point the anchor asked the audience to put up their hands if they believed he could have been forced by circumstances to commit suicide. This was media interference in legal matters. Is this how justice is conducted?
Later, the lights were dimmed to show us how Bollywood has portrayed inter-religious alliances. This was demeaning and facile.
The screen captured the father, a butcher, brandishing an axe. The young man was pleading with him to let him marry his daughter. He glowered in return, screaming. The girl cowered in a corner wearing a veil, but her eyes dripped pain. For the sake of cinematic licence they showed the eyes and the face. Our beauties are not to be hidden.
The lover, his ardour not lessened, grabbed the weapon and then the girl's hand, slashing her arm near the wrist, then his and letting their blood mix. All differences were wiped out in that one melodramatic moment.
Why is it disgusting? It isn't about Hindi cinema but about how a serious discussion on inter-religious marriage that led to a tragic death chose to use clips from movies; this particular one ended the montage, while the brother and mother watched. The brother said that this in fact was Rizwan's story.
No, it is not. Not all Muslims are butchers with axes. The sly media devil is creating a most dangerous trend. Rizwan was educated at St. Xavier's college in Kolkata; he graduated with English Honours. He had ambitions of being a journalist, but due to financial pressure chose to be a graphic designer. They are not a poor, but a middle-class family.
Middle-class does not sound exotic enough when you talk about Indian Muslims. Poor, shabby, illiterate look great.
Communal divisions are getting more pronounced. Disturbingly, while the youth are prone to making choices, they are increasingly making pro-clannish choices. The voices of dissent are not rising against the status quo but for it.
* * *
I belong to a family where people practise different versions of Islam as well as people from other faiths, including atheism. Years ago my cousin converted to Hinduism. I recall almost everyone attending the ceremony, including my grandmother. She moved to America. A few years later on a visit to India, she was frantically looking for a plaque with some Quranic verses, "Anything Islamic, Bismillah or whatever," she said. I was a bit disappointed. What was she trying to prove? Was it to be merely one more showpiece where she could tell her foreign neighbours that cultures had meshed, when it was so clear that she had shed her own skin?
And that pained me. She was here a while ago. We went for a film. A lady in a headscarf walked past. She told me, "The Muslims are really asserting themselves now." A young woman watching a late-night English film munching popcorn was asserting Muslimness? And this from her whose first stop on arrival in Mumbai is to visit a temple in another town?
Those who had never judged her were being judged by her. This has become a part of the 'belong to the mainstream' idea. It is terribly dangerous because it leaves no room for individual choice, forget theological ones. The Hindu ideologue, Guru Golwalkar, had unequivocally declared in his book 'We Or Our Nationhood Defined': "The non-Hindu peoples in Hindustan must adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of glorification of the Hindu race and cultureSo long, however, as they maintain their racial, religious and cultural differences (with Hindus), they cannot but be only foreigners."
If we see the tragedy of the murder of Rizwan against this backdrop we will realise it isn't about one individual but that individual has raised several questions about what constitutes nationhood in India today.
If it is a religion we are loyal to, then what is it about that religion ˇ its concept of god, its message for living, or its single-minded obsession with itself? And if it is the country you have to wag your tail behind, then what aspect of it must make us feel loyal ˇ its existence on the world map, the few square feet of space that we live in, the nationality it grants us on the global stage, or the values of equality and fraternity that it promotes on a scrap of paper? Both religion and the country make people into zombies and are expected to be followed blindly. Weren't there cries of "Jai Siyaram" (Hail Lord Ram) when houses were burnt down in Gujarat?
Muslims are told, even by secularists, that institutionalised silence can be seen as confirmation of the suspicious Hindu's belief that you cannot trust the Muslim during a national crisis. No one seems to have asked why the Hindus at the institutional level did not protest when the Babri Masjid was brought down. Where were the holy men then? Did not Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, at the 'Global Vision 2000' in Chicago, snap at an Indian Christian who asked him about the Hindu Rashtra with a, "If 800 million people in India want a theocracy, how does it concern you?"
Today, in Kolkata there are protest rallies by the ordinary people. They are whitewashing Rizwan's murder as a class divide.
This is rubbish. As someone rightly pointed out, had the boy been a less wealthy person from the same community nothing would have happened. West Bengal, the state where this incident took place, prides itself on communal harmony. It has a communist ruling party. The Left has always been a great opposition, but wherever it is the Establishment it errs on the side of money and power. Even today there is talk about the class war because it needs to underscore its position.
Rizwan was not a man in the streets; he was educated. He has become the symbol of a twisted secular ideal and posthumously has the potential of creating a right royal fright. Therefore, the questions posed are typical: Was the girl forced to convert? She wasn't. And she did not.
No Muslim organisation is rallying behind this family. It is the herd of politicians that is behaving like vultures. Even today his family says it believes in the Indian judiciary. If this is not being 'mainstream' enough, then let me ask you: have you heard about Muslims wanting a solution other than that given by the courts? Whether it was the Bombay riots or the bomb blasts, whether it is Gujarat or Godhra, and even the demolition at Ayodhya, they have never said it is a matter that should be decided by religious heads.
* * *
As a counterpoint we have a situation where the Hindutva parties are against the setting up of the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project in South India which has been lying comatose for years. In the blazing controversies surrounding it, two writ petitions were filed seeking an assurance from the government that there would be no destruction of the mythical barrier Ram Sethu during the construction.
The reason being that the bridge was the creation of Lord Ram and is therefore sacred. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters in Ramayana. It is not a man-made structure, but a natural formation. The court has said it cannot use myths to justify history.
Now, the Sangh Parivar is planning to enrol fifty million Hindus to agitate, timing it with the major festivals. For this reason security around mosques and temples has increased. Is this what we are calling secular? The Ram Temple has been replaced by the Ram Sethu. They are tugging at religious heartstrings once again by using pugnacious language. One leader announced a reward for anyone who could behead the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, who is for the construction of the canal and happens to be an atheist. The media, pretending to be secular, decided to call it a "Hindu fatwa". Words like "Hindu ayatollahs" have become regular occurrences, driving home the point that a peace-loving people have been forced to fight.
The headlines tell us that a village in Haryana has a "Taliban writ" because the 5000 Muslims living there are not allowed to watch TV or get themselves photographed as per an edict by some religious head. A woman reportedly said, "The women folk aren't allowed to come out of their house. Many haven't travelled more than 25 km ever in their lives."
How many rural women in India manage to travel? And if they do, it is to fetch water. The fact is that Haryana has the largest number of female foeticides; according to a report, 43 per cent of first-born girls are killed. The male-female ratio is so low that there is a regular racket of importing poor women from other states. What is this? Talibanisation? Have they learned it at the feet of some mullahs in Afghanistan?
We are worrying about people not watching television when 250,000 villages in India do not have electricity.
At such a time the Hindutva parties are gung-ho about organising a group of "Raksha Dharam Yoddha" ˇ warriors of the faith. This is all they can think about.
As recently as a month ago, the Allahabad High Court observed that the Bhagavad Gita should be made the national "dharma shastra" (religious treatise) of the country. Was the Bhagwad Gita written as a legal treatise? How many non-Hindus are aware of the contents? The scripture, like most religious texts, is about war and struggle. We have a Constitution.
Who is adhering to it?
India is perhaps the only secular democracy that has to reiterate that it is a Hindu majority state. And it has nothing to do with the ancient history of Hindu civilisation, but the less than 80-year existence of Hindutva.
The other theory doing the rounds, and expounded by the venerable saint Sir Vidia Naipaul, is that since Indian Muslims are converted people, they become part of the Arab story and reject their own histories and "develop fantasies about who and what they are; and in the Islam of converted countries there is an element of neurosis and nihilism. These countries can easily be set on the boil".
How little does he know about our fantasies. If anything, it is Indian Muslims who have steered clear of major controversies; they are difficult to understand because Islamic societies cannot quite pin them down. Naipaul's problem is that by attributing the Indian Muslim holy land as Arabia he is living out his own fantasy of his holy land being India. His is an attempt of trying to belong to a place by playing their game.
As much as the media is. In the West we realise how devious society has become. It is evident from Ronald Kessler's book, 'The CIA at War'. He writes, "the CIA created fake mullahs -recruited agents who would proclaim themselves clerics and take a more moderate position about nonbelievers. 'We are taking over radio stations and supporting clerics,' a CIA source was quoted as saying. 'It's back to propaganda. We are creating moderate Muslims'." Kessler said the CIA also paid for mullahs to issue fatwas, or urging Iraqis not to resist American forces.
The Indian media is transposing the butcher Muslim with the "Hindu fatwa". Strangely, and with supreme irony (or is it parody?) the majority is sought to be portrayed as colonised. A truly secular Rizwan dies for it.
Farzana Versey is a Mumbai-based writer-columnist. She can be contacted at kaaghaz.kalam@gmail.com.
October 08, 2007
Hindutva - Not just an urban phenomenon
(Book Review / The Hindu
Oct 02, 2007)
Not just an urban phenomenon
by Prema A. KuriEN
Ethnographic account of the emergence of Hindu nationalism in a tribal community in Chhattisgarh
RELIGIOUS DIVISION AND SOCIAL CONFLICT—The Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in Rural India: Peggy Froerer, Social Science Press, New Delhi, Distributed by Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., 1/24, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110002. Rs. 650.
Most of the literature on the spread of Hindu nationalism in India to date has focussed on urban areas, the middle classes, and the use of mass media and public festivals to disseminate the message. Peggy Froerer’s book in contrast, examines the transmission of Hindu nationalist ideas by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to rural “adivasis” and the impact it came to have on inter-group relations, in particular the relations between Christia ns and Hindus. She argues that it is particularly important to understand how the Hindutva ideology has penetrated into the everyday lives of “adivasi groups” because despite the setbacks that the movement has received at the national level, it seems to be gaining in strength in states with large “adivasi” populations.
Ethnographic study
The book is based on a two year (1997-99) ethnographic study of Mohanpur, a village in a remote and densely forested area of Chhattisgarh, central India. Mohanpur comprised 164 households with Hindu “adivasi” families forming the majority. However, there were also 43 households belonging to Catholic “Oraon adivasi” settlers who had migrated to the area from the neighbouring district. The “Oraons” were ranked the lowest on the local caste hierarchy and were considered to be untouchable by the Hindu community. The majority of the Hindu households were agriculturalists but most “Oraons” worked as labourers in the industrial town, 40 km away. “Oraons” also made some additional money by producing liquor and selling it to the Hindu community. These two sources of income, together with the fact that the Catholic church discouraged their members from engaging in many of the expensive rituals practised by the local Hindu groups meant that the “Oraons”, in the course of their one generation settlement in the area, were able to gain in material prosperity and even outstrip the economic position of the landowning dominant caste in the village. They were consequently able to take over (on usufructuary arrangements) land mortgaged by Hindus in times of economic need. This reversal of community fortunes of the dominant “Ratiya Kanwar” caste and the “Oraons” led to the development of local tensions. The book narrates the manner in which the RSS workers were able to harness and frame these tensions in larger communal terms.
Mission
The local RSS leader, Raj, was a member of Mohanpur from a “Ratiya Kanwar” family who had completed his schooling at a Catholic school and had gone to the city in search of a university education and a good job. Failing at these attempts, he turned to the RSS, embraced the Hindutva ideology, and became a “pracharak”. Subsequently, he and some of his RSS friends had taken on the task of disseminating the Hindutva message to “adivasis” in the area and had started visiting the village regularly from the city. Using his position as a member of a prominent local family, Raj was able to recruit some other young men from the village to help him in his mission. Since their main opponent in the area was the Catholic church, Raj and his friends developed a strategy of attacking but also emulating the practices of their rival.
Strategies
Froerer argues that the local RSS pracharaks mimicked the strategies used by the church, primarily its ‘civilising mission.’ Thus, like the church, the civilising strategy of the RSS involved trying to purge the “adivasis” of their ‘jangli’ or backward religious practices and getting them to adopt the deities, rituals, and festivals of ‘proper’ or city Hinduism. The RSS workers also gained local support by getting involved in the kind of civic activism that Christian missionaries had undertaken for generations, such as setting up schools, hospitals, and focussing on the economic and political rights of their constituents. Raj set up a local nursery school, established a local health worker to take care of the routine medical needs of the area, and also got a corrupt village official dismissed from his position. Through these strategies, the RSS leaders were able, over time, to cultivate a Hindu identity among the “adivasis” and link them to the larger Hindu nation. They also reinforced the ‘sons of the soil’ politics of entitlement of the local Hindus and created a wedge between them and the “Oraons” by defining the latter as Christian outsiders who were part of a national conspiracy to impoverish and decimate the Hindu community. Eventually, the RSS “pracharaks” were able to obtain legitimacy to use aggressive tactics to implement their agenda.
This is a carefully analysed and well-written ethnography which provides an excellent lens into grassroots processes by which Hindu nationalism becomes entrenched in rural areas. It deserves a wide audience since it cautions against the facile assumption that the Hindutva movement is merely an urban phenomenon and that it will soon disappear due to its electoral defeat.
Oct 02, 2007)
Not just an urban phenomenon
by Prema A. KuriEN
Ethnographic account of the emergence of Hindu nationalism in a tribal community in Chhattisgarh
RELIGIOUS DIVISION AND SOCIAL CONFLICT—The Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in Rural India: Peggy Froerer, Social Science Press, New Delhi, Distributed by Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd., 1/24, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110002. Rs. 650.
Most of the literature on the spread of Hindu nationalism in India to date has focussed on urban areas, the middle classes, and the use of mass media and public festivals to disseminate the message. Peggy Froerer’s book in contrast, examines the transmission of Hindu nationalist ideas by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to rural “adivasis” and the impact it came to have on inter-group relations, in particular the relations between Christia ns and Hindus. She argues that it is particularly important to understand how the Hindutva ideology has penetrated into the everyday lives of “adivasi groups” because despite the setbacks that the movement has received at the national level, it seems to be gaining in strength in states with large “adivasi” populations.
Ethnographic study
The book is based on a two year (1997-99) ethnographic study of Mohanpur, a village in a remote and densely forested area of Chhattisgarh, central India. Mohanpur comprised 164 households with Hindu “adivasi” families forming the majority. However, there were also 43 households belonging to Catholic “Oraon adivasi” settlers who had migrated to the area from the neighbouring district. The “Oraons” were ranked the lowest on the local caste hierarchy and were considered to be untouchable by the Hindu community. The majority of the Hindu households were agriculturalists but most “Oraons” worked as labourers in the industrial town, 40 km away. “Oraons” also made some additional money by producing liquor and selling it to the Hindu community. These two sources of income, together with the fact that the Catholic church discouraged their members from engaging in many of the expensive rituals practised by the local Hindu groups meant that the “Oraons”, in the course of their one generation settlement in the area, were able to gain in material prosperity and even outstrip the economic position of the landowning dominant caste in the village. They were consequently able to take over (on usufructuary arrangements) land mortgaged by Hindus in times of economic need. This reversal of community fortunes of the dominant “Ratiya Kanwar” caste and the “Oraons” led to the development of local tensions. The book narrates the manner in which the RSS workers were able to harness and frame these tensions in larger communal terms.
Mission
The local RSS leader, Raj, was a member of Mohanpur from a “Ratiya Kanwar” family who had completed his schooling at a Catholic school and had gone to the city in search of a university education and a good job. Failing at these attempts, he turned to the RSS, embraced the Hindutva ideology, and became a “pracharak”. Subsequently, he and some of his RSS friends had taken on the task of disseminating the Hindutva message to “adivasis” in the area and had started visiting the village regularly from the city. Using his position as a member of a prominent local family, Raj was able to recruit some other young men from the village to help him in his mission. Since their main opponent in the area was the Catholic church, Raj and his friends developed a strategy of attacking but also emulating the practices of their rival.
Strategies
Froerer argues that the local RSS pracharaks mimicked the strategies used by the church, primarily its ‘civilising mission.’ Thus, like the church, the civilising strategy of the RSS involved trying to purge the “adivasis” of their ‘jangli’ or backward religious practices and getting them to adopt the deities, rituals, and festivals of ‘proper’ or city Hinduism. The RSS workers also gained local support by getting involved in the kind of civic activism that Christian missionaries had undertaken for generations, such as setting up schools, hospitals, and focussing on the economic and political rights of their constituents. Raj set up a local nursery school, established a local health worker to take care of the routine medical needs of the area, and also got a corrupt village official dismissed from his position. Through these strategies, the RSS leaders were able, over time, to cultivate a Hindu identity among the “adivasis” and link them to the larger Hindu nation. They also reinforced the ‘sons of the soil’ politics of entitlement of the local Hindus and created a wedge between them and the “Oraons” by defining the latter as Christian outsiders who were part of a national conspiracy to impoverish and decimate the Hindu community. Eventually, the RSS “pracharaks” were able to obtain legitimacy to use aggressive tactics to implement their agenda.
This is a carefully analysed and well-written ethnography which provides an excellent lens into grassroots processes by which Hindu nationalism becomes entrenched in rural areas. It deserves a wide audience since it cautions against the facile assumption that the Hindutva movement is merely an urban phenomenon and that it will soon disappear due to its electoral defeat.
October 07, 2007
Do commissions of inquiry serve any purpose?
http://www.indiaenews.com/politics/20071007/73986.htm
Murali Krishnan
Do judicial commissions and commissions of inquiry (COI) appointed by the government to examine issues ranging from communal riots, scandals and assassinations to inter-state disputes actually achieve anything? A sampling of the number of the commissions appointed till date and their fate is an eye-opener.
There have been over 40 commissions of inquiry that have been appointed to study major communal riots in the country since independence and none of the recommendations has been implemented. Jurists and lawmakers, critical of such commissions, firmly believe that they are at best a diversionary tactic to hoodwink people, that they take an inordinately long time to deliver reports and that their recommendations, when submitted, are seldom implemented.
The 41st extension, and perhaps the last, given in September to one of the country's longest running inquiry commissions probing the sequence of events leading to the razing of the Babri mosque by Hindu mobs on Dec 6, 1992, has put the spotlight on whether such commissions serve any real purpose. Considering that it has cost the exchequer over Rs.70 million for the one-man panel of Justice M.S. Liberhan, who is currently writing up his report, many believe this too will go the way of other commissions.
To name just a few: the Justice Jagmohan Reddy COI that probed the Ahmedabad riots in 1969, the Justice Venugopal COI that investigated the Kanyakumari riots, 1982, the Justice Joseph Vithayathal COI on the Tellicherry disturbances, 1971, and the Justice Madon COI into the communal disturbances at Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad in May 1970.
Almost every commission that probed these riots, including the Bhagalpur riots of 1989 that left 1,000 dead and the riots in Jabalpur of 1961, recommended various measures to prevent communal violence, de-communalise the police, punish the guilty and ensure justice to victims.
'Many of the recommendations have remained only on paper. No government, be it the Congress, or the Janata Dal or the Bharatiya Janata Party, has shown any interest or inclination in implementing any of the major recommendations,' says Justice Hosbet Suresh, a retired judge of the Bombay High Court who was also a member of the Concerned Citizens' Tribunal, Gujarat, in 2002.
Interestingly, in almost all communal riots as gleaned by the inquiries it is the minority community that has suffered the most and nearly every COI appointed by the government concerned has, without exception, charged the majority community as mainly responsible for the violence.
Just two years ago, former chief justice of India R.C. Lahoti, expressed reservations about the importance of COIs, saying there were shortcomings in the Commission of Inquiry Act which should be corrected by an amendment.
'Personally, I feel that no judge should accept the responsibility of heading commissions of inquiry unless it is guaranteed that their recommendations and findings will be implemented,' he remarked.
Lahoti said the appointment of COIs was a diplomatic way of diverting attention of the people, and termed it a 'waste of time' and in his reckoning the only way to make commissions more effective was to amend the law to make it binding on the government to implement their recommendations.
'It is a diversionary tactic. After a public controversy dies down, everything is forgotten and the recommendations are not implemented,' constitutional expert K.K. Venugopal told IANS.
Justice B.N. Srikrishna, who headed the COI that went into the Mumbai communal riots of 1992-93, recently called for an institutional mechanism that ensures the government of the day does not have the discretion to reject a report it found inconvenient.
Nearly 1,000 people are known to have been killed in the riots that Justice Srikrishna investigated and he named 31 police officers for 'actively participating in riots, communal incidents or incidents of looting, arson and so on'. Till date, the recommendations of the COI have neither been accepted nor acted upon by the Maharashtra government.
'It is for you to judge my work. That is all I will say,' Justice Srikrishna told IANS.
But it is not just COIs on communal riots that are put on the backburner. Ten years after the Justice Lentin COI submitted a comprehensive report on the deaths of 14 people following the administration of contaminated glycerol at the JJ Hospital, Mumbai, the state government is yet to take action.
Even the Jain panel set up to inquire into the conspiracy behind the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi came up with no specific conclusion except breeding yet another commission-the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), which is currently going into the merits of the Jain COI report.
'Forget COI reports. Even the national commission report headed by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah to review the constitution and the Law Commission reports are gathering dust. Ultimately, the government is simply not serious,' said senior advocate P.P. Rao.
The most telling comment of the functioning of COIs came from a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia which observed in November last year that commission after commission were appointed only for political reasons 'knowing fully well that nothing will come out of it'.
'We hear that in some states there are big rooms only for keeping the final reports of such inquiry commissions and they are gathering dust there,' the judges observed.
Murali Krishnan
Do judicial commissions and commissions of inquiry (COI) appointed by the government to examine issues ranging from communal riots, scandals and assassinations to inter-state disputes actually achieve anything? A sampling of the number of the commissions appointed till date and their fate is an eye-opener.
There have been over 40 commissions of inquiry that have been appointed to study major communal riots in the country since independence and none of the recommendations has been implemented. Jurists and lawmakers, critical of such commissions, firmly believe that they are at best a diversionary tactic to hoodwink people, that they take an inordinately long time to deliver reports and that their recommendations, when submitted, are seldom implemented.
The 41st extension, and perhaps the last, given in September to one of the country's longest running inquiry commissions probing the sequence of events leading to the razing of the Babri mosque by Hindu mobs on Dec 6, 1992, has put the spotlight on whether such commissions serve any real purpose. Considering that it has cost the exchequer over Rs.70 million for the one-man panel of Justice M.S. Liberhan, who is currently writing up his report, many believe this too will go the way of other commissions.
To name just a few: the Justice Jagmohan Reddy COI that probed the Ahmedabad riots in 1969, the Justice Venugopal COI that investigated the Kanyakumari riots, 1982, the Justice Joseph Vithayathal COI on the Tellicherry disturbances, 1971, and the Justice Madon COI into the communal disturbances at Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad in May 1970.
Almost every commission that probed these riots, including the Bhagalpur riots of 1989 that left 1,000 dead and the riots in Jabalpur of 1961, recommended various measures to prevent communal violence, de-communalise the police, punish the guilty and ensure justice to victims.
'Many of the recommendations have remained only on paper. No government, be it the Congress, or the Janata Dal or the Bharatiya Janata Party, has shown any interest or inclination in implementing any of the major recommendations,' says Justice Hosbet Suresh, a retired judge of the Bombay High Court who was also a member of the Concerned Citizens' Tribunal, Gujarat, in 2002.
Interestingly, in almost all communal riots as gleaned by the inquiries it is the minority community that has suffered the most and nearly every COI appointed by the government concerned has, without exception, charged the majority community as mainly responsible for the violence.
Just two years ago, former chief justice of India R.C. Lahoti, expressed reservations about the importance of COIs, saying there were shortcomings in the Commission of Inquiry Act which should be corrected by an amendment.
'Personally, I feel that no judge should accept the responsibility of heading commissions of inquiry unless it is guaranteed that their recommendations and findings will be implemented,' he remarked.
Lahoti said the appointment of COIs was a diplomatic way of diverting attention of the people, and termed it a 'waste of time' and in his reckoning the only way to make commissions more effective was to amend the law to make it binding on the government to implement their recommendations.
'It is a diversionary tactic. After a public controversy dies down, everything is forgotten and the recommendations are not implemented,' constitutional expert K.K. Venugopal told IANS.
Justice B.N. Srikrishna, who headed the COI that went into the Mumbai communal riots of 1992-93, recently called for an institutional mechanism that ensures the government of the day does not have the discretion to reject a report it found inconvenient.
Nearly 1,000 people are known to have been killed in the riots that Justice Srikrishna investigated and he named 31 police officers for 'actively participating in riots, communal incidents or incidents of looting, arson and so on'. Till date, the recommendations of the COI have neither been accepted nor acted upon by the Maharashtra government.
'It is for you to judge my work. That is all I will say,' Justice Srikrishna told IANS.
But it is not just COIs on communal riots that are put on the backburner. Ten years after the Justice Lentin COI submitted a comprehensive report on the deaths of 14 people following the administration of contaminated glycerol at the JJ Hospital, Mumbai, the state government is yet to take action.
Even the Jain panel set up to inquire into the conspiracy behind the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi came up with no specific conclusion except breeding yet another commission-the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), which is currently going into the merits of the Jain COI report.
'Forget COI reports. Even the national commission report headed by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah to review the constitution and the Law Commission reports are gathering dust. Ultimately, the government is simply not serious,' said senior advocate P.P. Rao.
The most telling comment of the functioning of COIs came from a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia which observed in November last year that commission after commission were appointed only for political reasons 'knowing fully well that nothing will come out of it'.
'We hear that in some states there are big rooms only for keeping the final reports of such inquiry commissions and they are gathering dust there,' the judges observed.
October 06, 2007
Gandhi, Religion and Indian Nationalism
5 October, 2007
Gandhi, Religion And Indian Nationalism
by Ram Puniyani
The Gandhi anniversary this year has been very special (2007). With UN declaring 2nd October as the International Day for Non-Violence, with the renewed interest in Gandhi all over the globe one needs to revisit the Father of Indian Nation and his yeomen contribution in the articulation of the concepts of non-violence and nationalism in Indian context. At another level his own unique definitions and practice of religion and definition of God as truth and non-violence have their own matchless place in the history of human thought.
Even before coming to India, the Mahatma had sharpened his philosophy and political methods. When he returned from South Africa, India was in the grip of religiosity and broad masses were part of the churning process due to the on going social changes. Broadly they were not yet major part of freedom movement. Gandhi on one hand had the exposure to liberal British political system and on the other had experienced the repressive South African regime, which was practicing apartheid. In India the social changes were slow to come by. The elite through different political formations dominated political process at that point of time. We had Indian National Congress, mainly espousing Indian nationalism, where the elite were the main participants. In Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha, the landlords and princes were the core participants, later they were joined in by those few who came from the background of modern education. They were not from the landed gentry but they did develop political ideologies suiting the interests of feudal classes. Gandhi's decision, to launch non-cooperation movement, and to involve broad layers of society, alienated some of elites from within Congress. Those from communal organizations were not concerned about freedom movement anyway. Some from the Congress left in due course of time to join the communal formations. Gandhi was firm on the involvement of whole nation in the process of national movement.
This ensured that our freedom movement would emerge as the biggest mass movement not only of India but any time in the World. This had the participation of people of all the religions, castes and of both the genders. This movement was also to define the contours of Indian constitution while laying the path to freedom from British colonialism. His major opponents
were in Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha, which later were joined in by the RSS. These formations were reflecting the interests of landed gentry and upheld the birth based caste and gender hierarchies. He faced the tough task of taking all the sections of society along to the path of Independence of the nation. In this, those on the side of secularism and democracy had some differences with him, but their common point of acceptance was the values of democracy and secularism His differences with Ambedkar and Bhagatsingh are highlighted by sections of society to the limit of exaggeration. They deliberately overlook that the grounds of agreement on major fields of political terrain did exist and were and are crucial in understanding the diverse paths towards modern India. The Poona Pact with Ambedkar did deprive the dalits them separate electorate, but it also kept them in the fold of emerging India. The separate electorate to Muslims did in a way led to the foundation of Pakistan.
He did not make efforts to save the life of Bhagat Singh who was given the death penalty by the colonial powers. Here he was sticking to his principles of non-violence, which for him was the central credo of value system.
His differences with Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS were more on the fundamental issues. These political formations were for Religion based nationalism, Muslim and Hindu. Subtly they were also upholders of birth based caste and gender hierarchy. These were the differences, which were used by the British to partition India. His central place in the freedom movement and his espousing the cause of all did get hostile reaction from Muslim communalism and Hindu Communalism both. These formations projected him to be against their religion, while his opposition was not to religions but to the politics in the name of religion. Nothing could be more contradictory in the approach to religion, than the approach of communalists and Gandhi. The communalists, both Muslim and Hindu, used the religious identity of their religion, by-passing the issues related to values and social reform. They used it to exclude the 'other', while Gandhi on the other hand saw religion mainly as a moral force, a set of values, which should guide the individual in her/his life. He hardly talked of identity and his religion was innovatively inclusive of the other.
While Muslim League talked of Islamic Nation, Pakistan, and Hindu Mahasbha/RSS talked of Hindu nation, Gandhi talked of secular India, articulating the aspirations of majority of the country. He wanted religion to be a private matter for the individual, "In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular", and, "religion is not the test of nationality but is a personal matter between man and God, and," religion is a personal affair of each individual, it must not be mixed up with politics or national affairs". It is clear that while communalists saw religion as the dividing institution, Gandhi in his unique way, more in continuation with Bhakti and Sufi
traditions saw religion as the ground which united people, "I consider myself as good a Muslim as I am a Hindu and for that matter, I regard myself as equally good a Christian or a Parsi" This quote of his has to be seen along with his two other more often cited quotes," For me, politics bereft of religion is absolute dirt, ever to be shunned", and "politics divorced from religion is like a corpse, fit only to be burnt." (all quotes from Gandhi and Communal Problems, CSSS, 1994 pg 6). This again is so exceptional in its innovation in understanding. Here by religion he meant its morality aspects not just the ones related to external identity.
While he had differences from Ambedkar, he took up the cause of untouchables in his own way. Ambedkar hammered his point in an uncompromising way and Gandhi did his all to take the eradication of untouchably far and wide. As secularization process had not gone far in the country which was/is in the grip of religiosity, he realized that policies and values laced in the language of religion will reach the people in an effective way. His contribution in the eradication of this evil of untouchability cannot be underestimated. His use of the word Harijan for the untouchables was again in tune with his language, which he devised to communicate with the masses. It was not that he wanted to humiliate them by using a separate derogatory term for them. It was to lift them up in the popular perception.
At the same time Ambedkar correctly rebelled against the rigid chains of prevalent Brahminic Hinduism, Gandhi wanted to take along the majority of social sections towards the process of reform. At this point the Hindu communalists were talking of values of Manusmiriti, we are already having the best of social laws in this book, they claimed. There are also incidents when people like Savarkar also worked for temple entry for untouchables, but such moves are mere exceptions. His impact on the process to improve the condition of women reached all over, at a time when the communalists were putting all obstacles for women coming out for education and to participate in social life. It is no surprise that we do not see women's participation in the communal organization while National movement led by Gandhi has huge participation by women, and there are illustrious women who led by example in the fold of national movement.
The divide between Gandhi and communalists, both Hindu and Muslim, was not merely for the political goals; it ran deeper, to the way of looking at society. It was about the approach to the social and human values. A section of Hindu communalists perceived Gandhi as the "biggest enemy of Hindu". Nathuram Godse symbolized this section. He killed the father of nation. He began his career as the trained pracharak of RSS and was later to become the Secretary of Pune Branch of Hindu Mahasabha. The paper he edited had the title, Agrani and was subtitled as Hindu Rashtra. Even today while Hindu right pays lip service to the Mahtama, they do not regard him as the father of the Nation, and look down upon his principles of non violence as being emasculating to Hindus and so should be forgotten. Their discomfort during the present revival of interest in Gandhi's values is palpable through their reaction as seen in number of list serves and web sites run by them, and through other expressions of theirs'.
Today sixty years down the line, the world has come far. The increase in violence all over the world, the politics wearing the clothes of religion has intensified the 'Hate other' ideology. Can we look up to Gandhi to confront the misuse of religion for political agenda of the mighty at global as well as local level? Can we pick up some of the values from him rather than just bypass him or merely pay lip service to his ideals?
Gandhi, Religion And Indian Nationalism
by Ram Puniyani
The Gandhi anniversary this year has been very special (2007). With UN declaring 2nd October as the International Day for Non-Violence, with the renewed interest in Gandhi all over the globe one needs to revisit the Father of Indian Nation and his yeomen contribution in the articulation of the concepts of non-violence and nationalism in Indian context. At another level his own unique definitions and practice of religion and definition of God as truth and non-violence have their own matchless place in the history of human thought.
Even before coming to India, the Mahatma had sharpened his philosophy and political methods. When he returned from South Africa, India was in the grip of religiosity and broad masses were part of the churning process due to the on going social changes. Broadly they were not yet major part of freedom movement. Gandhi on one hand had the exposure to liberal British political system and on the other had experienced the repressive South African regime, which was practicing apartheid. In India the social changes were slow to come by. The elite through different political formations dominated political process at that point of time. We had Indian National Congress, mainly espousing Indian nationalism, where the elite were the main participants. In Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha, the landlords and princes were the core participants, later they were joined in by those few who came from the background of modern education. They were not from the landed gentry but they did develop political ideologies suiting the interests of feudal classes. Gandhi's decision, to launch non-cooperation movement, and to involve broad layers of society, alienated some of elites from within Congress. Those from communal organizations were not concerned about freedom movement anyway. Some from the Congress left in due course of time to join the communal formations. Gandhi was firm on the involvement of whole nation in the process of national movement.
This ensured that our freedom movement would emerge as the biggest mass movement not only of India but any time in the World. This had the participation of people of all the religions, castes and of both the genders. This movement was also to define the contours of Indian constitution while laying the path to freedom from British colonialism. His major opponents
were in Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha, which later were joined in by the RSS. These formations were reflecting the interests of landed gentry and upheld the birth based caste and gender hierarchies. He faced the tough task of taking all the sections of society along to the path of Independence of the nation. In this, those on the side of secularism and democracy had some differences with him, but their common point of acceptance was the values of democracy and secularism His differences with Ambedkar and Bhagatsingh are highlighted by sections of society to the limit of exaggeration. They deliberately overlook that the grounds of agreement on major fields of political terrain did exist and were and are crucial in understanding the diverse paths towards modern India. The Poona Pact with Ambedkar did deprive the dalits them separate electorate, but it also kept them in the fold of emerging India. The separate electorate to Muslims did in a way led to the foundation of Pakistan.
He did not make efforts to save the life of Bhagat Singh who was given the death penalty by the colonial powers. Here he was sticking to his principles of non-violence, which for him was the central credo of value system.
His differences with Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS were more on the fundamental issues. These political formations were for Religion based nationalism, Muslim and Hindu. Subtly they were also upholders of birth based caste and gender hierarchy. These were the differences, which were used by the British to partition India. His central place in the freedom movement and his espousing the cause of all did get hostile reaction from Muslim communalism and Hindu Communalism both. These formations projected him to be against their religion, while his opposition was not to religions but to the politics in the name of religion. Nothing could be more contradictory in the approach to religion, than the approach of communalists and Gandhi. The communalists, both Muslim and Hindu, used the religious identity of their religion, by-passing the issues related to values and social reform. They used it to exclude the 'other', while Gandhi on the other hand saw religion mainly as a moral force, a set of values, which should guide the individual in her/his life. He hardly talked of identity and his religion was innovatively inclusive of the other.
While Muslim League talked of Islamic Nation, Pakistan, and Hindu Mahasbha/RSS talked of Hindu nation, Gandhi talked of secular India, articulating the aspirations of majority of the country. He wanted religion to be a private matter for the individual, "In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular", and, "religion is not the test of nationality but is a personal matter between man and God, and," religion is a personal affair of each individual, it must not be mixed up with politics or national affairs". It is clear that while communalists saw religion as the dividing institution, Gandhi in his unique way, more in continuation with Bhakti and Sufi
traditions saw religion as the ground which united people, "I consider myself as good a Muslim as I am a Hindu and for that matter, I regard myself as equally good a Christian or a Parsi" This quote of his has to be seen along with his two other more often cited quotes," For me, politics bereft of religion is absolute dirt, ever to be shunned", and "politics divorced from religion is like a corpse, fit only to be burnt." (all quotes from Gandhi and Communal Problems, CSSS, 1994 pg 6). This again is so exceptional in its innovation in understanding. Here by religion he meant its morality aspects not just the ones related to external identity.
While he had differences from Ambedkar, he took up the cause of untouchables in his own way. Ambedkar hammered his point in an uncompromising way and Gandhi did his all to take the eradication of untouchably far and wide. As secularization process had not gone far in the country which was/is in the grip of religiosity, he realized that policies and values laced in the language of religion will reach the people in an effective way. His contribution in the eradication of this evil of untouchability cannot be underestimated. His use of the word Harijan for the untouchables was again in tune with his language, which he devised to communicate with the masses. It was not that he wanted to humiliate them by using a separate derogatory term for them. It was to lift them up in the popular perception.
At the same time Ambedkar correctly rebelled against the rigid chains of prevalent Brahminic Hinduism, Gandhi wanted to take along the majority of social sections towards the process of reform. At this point the Hindu communalists were talking of values of Manusmiriti, we are already having the best of social laws in this book, they claimed. There are also incidents when people like Savarkar also worked for temple entry for untouchables, but such moves are mere exceptions. His impact on the process to improve the condition of women reached all over, at a time when the communalists were putting all obstacles for women coming out for education and to participate in social life. It is no surprise that we do not see women's participation in the communal organization while National movement led by Gandhi has huge participation by women, and there are illustrious women who led by example in the fold of national movement.
The divide between Gandhi and communalists, both Hindu and Muslim, was not merely for the political goals; it ran deeper, to the way of looking at society. It was about the approach to the social and human values. A section of Hindu communalists perceived Gandhi as the "biggest enemy of Hindu". Nathuram Godse symbolized this section. He killed the father of nation. He began his career as the trained pracharak of RSS and was later to become the Secretary of Pune Branch of Hindu Mahasabha. The paper he edited had the title, Agrani and was subtitled as Hindu Rashtra. Even today while Hindu right pays lip service to the Mahtama, they do not regard him as the father of the Nation, and look down upon his principles of non violence as being emasculating to Hindus and so should be forgotten. Their discomfort during the present revival of interest in Gandhi's values is palpable through their reaction as seen in number of list serves and web sites run by them, and through other expressions of theirs'.
Today sixty years down the line, the world has come far. The increase in violence all over the world, the politics wearing the clothes of religion has intensified the 'Hate other' ideology. Can we look up to Gandhi to confront the misuse of religion for political agenda of the mighty at global as well as local level? Can we pick up some of the values from him rather than just bypass him or merely pay lip service to his ideals?
The psyche of Hindu fascism
(Himal
October-November 2007)
The psyche of Hindu fascism
Does the suppression of sexuality make men more open to the promises of fascist thinking?
By : Rakesh Shukla
bilash rai
The large-scale massacre of Muslims in February-March 2002 in Gujarat was a watershed in the history of independent India. So, too, was what followed. While investigating violations in situations of severe state repression, from Bastar to Kashmir, human-rights teams in India had never before been afraid of the masses. But the hostility of the ‘ordinary people’ that met investigators in Gujarat was palpable, particularly in villages such as Sanjeli and Anjanwa. These were agents of neither the ubiquitous state nor of villainous industrialists: these were ‘common people’, suddenly on the brink of attacking human-rights teams perceived as ‘minority appeasers’.
Given the collaboration of the state machinery in the killings in Gujarat, Muslims fled to areas where they came to make up sizable sections of the population. But there proved to be no safety, even in numbers. Sanjeli, for instance, in Dahod District, had 500 Muslim households, constituting about 40 percent of the population. After the 27 February 2002 burning at Godhra railway station of two train compartments carrying kar sevaks (volunteers) returning from Ayodhya, Sanjeli was attacked by a mob of more than 25,000 people – a horde that, for the first time, included the large-scale participation of Adivasis. The rallying cries were: Muslims despoil our women! and One hundred Bhil women violated in Sanjeli alone!
The massacres of Muslims in residential colonies such as Naroda-Patiya and Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad were undertaken by mobs likewise numbering between 20,000 and 25,000, largely with the approval of the state’s Hindu community. This support likewise manifested itself in the subsequent assembly elections, and the “peoples’ verdict” of returning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to power. This victory was subsequently used as a sledgehammer with which to silence critics. In such a situation, it becomes impossible to refuse to see the participation of a sizable section of the common people in a fascist agenda.
The agenda is undoubtedly fascist, not merely fundamentalist. Within any religion, ‘fundamentalism’ literally connotes the strict maintenance of orthodox beliefs and fundamental doctrines. Christian fundamentalism would thus require a literal reading of the Bible, including a belief in the ‘virgin birth’ and the second coming of Christ. Islamic fundamentalism would look to a return to the principles and practices of early Islam, as patterned on the 7th-century community established by Mohammad at Medina. Similarly, Hindu fundamentalism could be a revitalisation of sorts – through the return to an imaginary ram rajya, or a golden age during the reign of Lord Ram.
Yet, ‘fundamentalism’ no longer refers to a mere return to fundamentalist doctrines, and has come to represent the aggressive promotion of a doctrinaire, rigid and centralised religion, increasingly intolerant not only of other faiths, but also of any deviant strand within its own. It also denotes an acceptance of the use of violent means in pursuit of furthering or protecting the faith. The Hindutva ideology represents a dogmatic Hinduism, which shows evidence not only of fundamentalism, but also of fascism.
Although there is no coherent body of political doctrine associated with fascism, the shared common features of fascist movements have been: aggressive and unquestioning nationalism; belief in the supremacy of one national, ethnic or religious group over others; disrespect for democratic and liberal institutions, which does not preclude using them to attain power; a profound hatred for socialism; insistence on obedience to a powerful and absolute leader; and a strong association with militarism and a demagogic approach, that appeals to and whips up the basest emotions in a mob, making it suggestible, hasty in judgement, easily swayed and carried away by the consciousness of its own force. It is these features of the movement, spearheaded by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that urge comparisons with the Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF) founded by Benito Mussolini, Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in Britain, the Iron Guard in Romania, the Croix de Feu in France and the Nazi Party in Germany.
Since its formation in 1925, it has been the RSS’s agenda to transform a relatively tolerant and pluralistic Hinduism into an aggressive Hindutva, attacking minorities. Christians have also been targeted, but special virulence is reserved for Muslims. The Sangh has a rigidly hierarchical structure, with leaders appointed rather than elected. Though the Sangh is open to married men, the grihastha (householder) is considered on a lower footing than the brahmachari, the virile but celibate son of Bharat Mata embodied in the pracharak (preacher). The Sangh accepts no women members, although a separate all-woman Rashtriya Sevika Samiti was founded back in 1936 by K B Hedgevar and Lakshmibai Kelkar.
Father-fuehrer-leader
After the Allied victory, the West projected fascism as a national characteristic unique to the Germans and Japanese. In reality, fascism enjoyed a sizable following in all countries, including the United States, during the era preceding World War II. A number of industrial houses supported fascism, and were subsequently able to prosper both during the war and since.
Unfortunately, the left has offered little insight into the phenomenon of the mobilisation of people for a fascist agenda. Marxism defines fascism as “the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinist and most imperialist elements of finance capital”. Even the German Communist Party – other than using terms such as “fear psychosis”, or stating that fascism had “corrupted” and “hypnotised” the masses – had little to offer by way of explanation as to why the German economic crisis of the 1930s had not led the masses to turn to the revolutionary, rather than the fascist, forces. The left in India suffers from the same flaw, offering little more than rhetoric in the analysis of fascism evident in Hindutva. Indeed, the Indian left appears to be in no position to devise strategies to counter the menacing shadow of fascism in the country.
The biggest lacuna of Marxist thought has been its failure to explore the role played by impulses that do not originate in the conscious mind. The appeal and growth of fascism cannot be understood without dipping into the well of the unconscious. Marx was a sociologist, not a psychologist. In any case, scientific psychology did not exist at the time, and the so-called subjective factor of history, in Marx’s sense, remained un-investigated. It was not until a half-century later that Freud’s articulation of the ‘unconscious’ – the path-breaking postulation that consciousness is only a small part of the psychic life; the dissociation of sexuality from procreation; and the recognition of repression of childhood sexuality – finally created analytical tools with which to explore the irrational in human beings.
The success of Joseph Goebbels-like propaganda is not based on appeal to the rational mind, the establishment of facts through scientific data. There is little factual reality, for instance, behind the successful implanting in a sizable section of the Hindu community such beliefs as ‘Hindus are being persecuted in their own country’, ‘Muslims have four wives and 64
children’ or ‘Hindus will soon be a minority in India’. In the face of data (including that officially compiled by the government of India), one particular erroneous conviction held by the majority Hindus played a crucial role in the post-carnage 2002 Gujarat elections: the certainty that, in all prior riots in the state, most of the victims had been Hindus. This explains the encomiums – such as lauh purush (Iron Man) – that have subsequently been showered on Narendra Modi, as the first chief minister to have ensured that, in the 2002 riots, more Muslims were killed than Hindus.
Repression and oppression
The work of Wilhelm Reich, based on the experience of the rise of fascism in Germany during the 1930s, offers a possible way in which to comprehend the appeal of the Hindutva brand of fascism for a sizable section of people in India. Taking psychoanalytical tools beyond the confines of individual clinical psychology, and building upon the sociological groundwork of Marx, Reich explored the sociological reasons for the suppression of sexuality by society, and the concomitant repression by the individual. He postulated that the suppression of sexuality could have a crippling effect on both rebellious impulses and critical faculties, and could eventually lead to the development of a docile and obedient personality, one that is attracted to authoritarian order. Such a theory could provide a pointer as to the phenomenon of Hindutva fascism in India.
Along with suppression of sexuality, there is valorisation in Hindu society of brahmacharya, which emphasises mental and physical restraint, including celibacy. Hindu scriptures are replete with aphorisms extolling the virtues of brahmacharya. But the belief that a drop of semen is the equivalent of thousands of drops of blood is not confined to Hindus alone; rather, it is a deeply embedded cultural belief shared by many in the Subcontinent. The sheer number of flourishing roadside practitioners of various forms of medicine geared to treating weakness in men bears testimony to the widespread prevalence of this belief. Allopathic medical practitioners testify that, confronted with patients who feel ‘weak’ after their wedding, the only options are either to give a placebo or to advise against having sex for an extended period of time.
In general, India’s arid education system; worries about employment; family pressures to marry, produce children and fulfil duties towards parents – all of these together leave little space for the development of an autonomous, well-rounded personality. The personality of the Indian boy/man is a far cry from the existential man of Sartre and Camus, who deals with the world’s many complexities and ambiguities, makes choices and takes responsibility for his actions. The decisions that are considered ‘major’ and ‘individual’ in the Western worldview – those of job, the times and partners for marriage and children – in Indian society are all taken predominantly by elders.
The end result is a non-assertive, amorphous personality – one that can take the shape of the obedient son, but who can also get pushed around in the workplace. This personality also has a converse, authoritarian side, most often manifested in the role of the ‘strict father’ and ‘master-husband’, who keeps his wife and children under rigorous control and sees to it that they serve his parents well. Fascism enmeshes with and appeals to both aspects of this personality. It offers a simple ‘good-bad’ binary that is well suited for this personality. This binary removes the individual from the burdens of independent thinking, the usage of critical faculties, the formation of personal opinions and the exercise of choices that would bring with them responsibilities towards action. Instead of anxiety-causing complexity and uncertainty, there is simplicity and certainty. Ambiguities are replaced with comforting moral clarities: Muslims are bad, Hindus are good or Muslims are good, Hindus are bad or Christians are believers, Muslims are infidels. The burden of making choices and taking personal responsibility is also lifted, as the father-fuehrer-leader offers absolution:
Kill the dirty Muslims/Hindus/Jews. We will take responsibility. The authoritarian aspects likewise receive fulfilment in the degradation and humiliation of the opposing community.
The manifestation of the good-bad binary can also be seen in the goddess-whore paradigm, which retains a strong grip on the Indian psyche. The Sati Savitris are always in sharp contrast to Surpanakhas, the sister of Ravan who sought to entice Lakshman (and therefore deserved to get her nose chopped off), or the ubiquitous non-Hindu ‘Lily’ and ‘Mona’ vamps of Indian cinema, who likewise get their comeuppance in the end. This deeply embedded binary construct plays a crucial role in mobilisation for a fascist agenda.
‘Saving’ women
Conservative Indian society, whether in the Hindi heartland, peninsular India or elsewhere, offers little space for any expression of sexuality, or for interaction between boys and girls. At the same time, the reverence for brahmacharya among males, along with beliefs about loss of semen leading to weakness of the body, mind and spirit, acts as a block to healthy masturbation. Even when ‘indulged’ in, the act comes ridden with anxiety and fears about the consequences. Sexual fantasies, half-remembered dreams, nebulous near-incestuous memories involving the ‘pure’ mother and ‘virgin’ sister engender feelings of guilt and perversion. Such anxiety-provoking feelings are also inevitably suppressed from the consciousness, leading to further repression in the psyche. In turn, such frustrations can more easily be projected onto the ‘other’, who becomes the repository of all that is ‘impure’, ‘sexual’ and ‘evil’. Under the right circumstances, this projection will become violent.
It is no coincidence that riding the Hindutva chariot is primarily a male phenomenon, barring a couple of notable Sadhvis. This machismo seems to tap directly into the large masses of sexually deprived and repressed young men – their energies, it would seem, effectively channelled towards the larger Hindutva project. The connection between repressed sexuality and the whipping-up of violent reaction against other communities was never more apparent than in the spring of 2002 in Gujarat. Long before any killing began, symbolism over women’s bodies was being used to polarise the Hindu and Muslim communities. Muslim men were demonised as ‘marauding aliens’ lusting over Hindu women. Leaders of the Hindutva brigade in Gujarat would systematically stir fears about Muslim men carrying away Hindu women to add to their harems. Over the past decade, public meetings, speeches, pamphlets, schools, cultural groups, ashrams, philanthropic institutions, babas, sants and maharajs have all been used by the Sangh Parivar to spread venom against Muslims. This tendency was ratcheted up to a fever pitch following the Godhra train burning, with rumours about Hindu women being abducted, raped and mutilated playing a crucial role in the subsequent mobilisation.
Between 28 February and 1 March, leading Gujarati dailies such as Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar carried incendiary and fabricated news such as: “10-15 Hindu women were dragged away by a fanatic mob from the railway compartment”, “Wicked villains of this mob kidnapped some ten behno [sisters] whose whereabouts are not yet known”, “Helpless women were struggling to escape from the grip of saitans [devils]”, “Out of kidnapped young ladies from Sabarmati Express, dead bodies of two women recovered – breasts of women were cut off”. As they were meant to do, such headlines inevitably inflamed communal tensions, feeding into righteous indignation and moral outrage, and providing an apparent justification for the massacre of Muslims that followed.
As with the construction of the black male in white-supremacist discourse, in the Hindutva agenda the Muslim male is projected as an over-sexed, beast-like creature, lusting after (and, thus, threatening) Hindu women. The stereotyping of individual women into the categories of ‘whore ‘ and ‘goddess’ likewise contributes to women of other communities (Muslim and Christian) being considered amoral – enjoying sex, unlike ‘dutiful’ Hindu women. Sexual violence against Muslim girls and women thus becomes a righteous moral act to save the ‘honour’ of ‘our’ mothers and sisters; at the same time, it also emasculates the rapacious Muslim males, ‘dishonouring’ the entire community.
Not that women have not been actively utilised by Hindutva militancy, but overt participation of women in riots and killings is still a relatively new phenomenon. Maya Kodnani, a female MLA in the Gujarat Assembly, played a leading role in the 2002 massacres in Ahmedabad. There were several instances of rapists being supported or even actively instigated by women in the carnage against Muslims in Gujarat. Growing evidence points out that militant Hindu nationalism often offers greater independence and autonomy for women than is permissible in the general model of domestic femininity. Hinduism’s many references to non-demure goddesses slaying enemies provides space for training in armed combat, as well as travelling across the country in the cause of the Hindu nation – ultimately presenting a life significantly less controlled by family and society.
Motherland lust
As the goddess-whore binary alludes, Hindutva fascism does not focus on women’s sexuality alone. The idea of ‘woman as mother’ also plays a crucial role in the shaping of the male psyche, and fits snugly into fascist ideology. Given the particularly intense and intimate mother-son relationship in India, the impact of the mother may be even more significant than in other societies. It also contributes to evoking particularly strong feelings with respect to perceived threats to the mother.
The emotional core of the feelings towards both the mother and the motherland has been used to great effect in the mobilisation for the Hindutva agenda. The existence of Babri Masjid as a phallic symbol – which colonises Mother India and emasculates the virile sons who failed to protect her – was forcefully played upon by BJP leader L K Advani in order to spread hate during the Ramjanmabhoomi Rath Yatra. The speeches by various leaders throughout the yatra, as well as at Ayodhya, went along the following lines: the Invader Babar the Cruel raped our mothers and sisters, and destroyed the original Ram temple; the Babri Masjid baitha (a sexually charged ‘astride’) Bharat Mata is an insult and humiliation to Hindu virility and manhood. In the vernacular, these words and phrases sounded even cruder, and likewise had an even greater emotional impact.
Starting the yatra from Somnath on the Gujarat coast, invoking the plunder of the temple (the looting and destruction of which had nothing to do with Indian Muslims), and ending it at Babri Masjid, was a masterful exercise in invoking past traumas as though they were occurring in the immediate present. RSS leaders repeatedly emphasised to their cadre that the existence of the standing, ‘erect’ Babri Masjid proclaimed to the world the defiling of Hindu women by Muslims and the rape of the ‘motherland’ by Babar – and that the demolition of the mosque would restore both Hindu male virility and symbolic Hindu feminine purity. The conflation of contemporary stories with those of historical Muslim rulers (Taimur, Genghis Khan, Babar) invading Mother India and violating ‘pure’ Hindu girls and women inevitably led to an intensification of anti-Muslim anger – as attested to by the killings of Muslims in towns and cities along the yatra’s route.
It is no coincidence that Hindutva is currently being propagated as “cultural nationalism”, a not-too-distant cousin of the National Socialism of the Nazi Party. The attempts to demonise the Muslim community sound astoundingly similar to Goebbels’s propaganda against the Jews: “If someone cracks a whip across your mother’s face, would you say to him, ‘Thank you! He is a man too!’ One who does such a thing is not a man – he is a brute! How many worse things has the Jew inflicted upon our mother Germany, and still inflicts upon her! He has debauched our race, sapped our energy, undermined our customs and broken our strength!”
Almost a century after the rise of the right in Europe, the left the world over remains closed to the discipline of psychoanalysis, looking at it solely as a bourgeois pseudo-science. It is equally unfortunate that psychoanalysis remains largely confined to the individual psyche and the therapist-patient paradigm. Perhaps it is time to pull down the walls, take psychoanalysis out of the closet, and recognise that the irrational in the human psyche influences not only individual behaviour, but also impacts mass psychology and the broader canvas of events. It is a little-known but curious fact that Mohandas Gandhi, in his anguished search for a resolution to the vexed Hindu-Muslim problem, attended the 1925 meeting of the Indian Psychoanalytical Society in Calcutta.
bilash rai
Most of us have the anxieties, insecurities, feelings of rage and anger that are part of human existence. At the other end of the spectrum, however, remain positive feelings: those of belonging to a community, of love for the earth and for fellow human beings. It is the interface of politics and psychoanalysis that can unravel the processes through which both negative and positive feelings in the psyche become mobilised for a fascist agenda.
October-November 2007)
The psyche of Hindu fascism
Does the suppression of sexuality make men more open to the promises of fascist thinking?
By : Rakesh Shukla
bilash rai
The large-scale massacre of Muslims in February-March 2002 in Gujarat was a watershed in the history of independent India. So, too, was what followed. While investigating violations in situations of severe state repression, from Bastar to Kashmir, human-rights teams in India had never before been afraid of the masses. But the hostility of the ‘ordinary people’ that met investigators in Gujarat was palpable, particularly in villages such as Sanjeli and Anjanwa. These were agents of neither the ubiquitous state nor of villainous industrialists: these were ‘common people’, suddenly on the brink of attacking human-rights teams perceived as ‘minority appeasers’.
Given the collaboration of the state machinery in the killings in Gujarat, Muslims fled to areas where they came to make up sizable sections of the population. But there proved to be no safety, even in numbers. Sanjeli, for instance, in Dahod District, had 500 Muslim households, constituting about 40 percent of the population. After the 27 February 2002 burning at Godhra railway station of two train compartments carrying kar sevaks (volunteers) returning from Ayodhya, Sanjeli was attacked by a mob of more than 25,000 people – a horde that, for the first time, included the large-scale participation of Adivasis. The rallying cries were: Muslims despoil our women! and One hundred Bhil women violated in Sanjeli alone!
The massacres of Muslims in residential colonies such as Naroda-Patiya and Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad were undertaken by mobs likewise numbering between 20,000 and 25,000, largely with the approval of the state’s Hindu community. This support likewise manifested itself in the subsequent assembly elections, and the “peoples’ verdict” of returning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to power. This victory was subsequently used as a sledgehammer with which to silence critics. In such a situation, it becomes impossible to refuse to see the participation of a sizable section of the common people in a fascist agenda.
The agenda is undoubtedly fascist, not merely fundamentalist. Within any religion, ‘fundamentalism’ literally connotes the strict maintenance of orthodox beliefs and fundamental doctrines. Christian fundamentalism would thus require a literal reading of the Bible, including a belief in the ‘virgin birth’ and the second coming of Christ. Islamic fundamentalism would look to a return to the principles and practices of early Islam, as patterned on the 7th-century community established by Mohammad at Medina. Similarly, Hindu fundamentalism could be a revitalisation of sorts – through the return to an imaginary ram rajya, or a golden age during the reign of Lord Ram.
Yet, ‘fundamentalism’ no longer refers to a mere return to fundamentalist doctrines, and has come to represent the aggressive promotion of a doctrinaire, rigid and centralised religion, increasingly intolerant not only of other faiths, but also of any deviant strand within its own. It also denotes an acceptance of the use of violent means in pursuit of furthering or protecting the faith. The Hindutva ideology represents a dogmatic Hinduism, which shows evidence not only of fundamentalism, but also of fascism.
Although there is no coherent body of political doctrine associated with fascism, the shared common features of fascist movements have been: aggressive and unquestioning nationalism; belief in the supremacy of one national, ethnic or religious group over others; disrespect for democratic and liberal institutions, which does not preclude using them to attain power; a profound hatred for socialism; insistence on obedience to a powerful and absolute leader; and a strong association with militarism and a demagogic approach, that appeals to and whips up the basest emotions in a mob, making it suggestible, hasty in judgement, easily swayed and carried away by the consciousness of its own force. It is these features of the movement, spearheaded by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that urge comparisons with the Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF) founded by Benito Mussolini, Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in Britain, the Iron Guard in Romania, the Croix de Feu in France and the Nazi Party in Germany.
Since its formation in 1925, it has been the RSS’s agenda to transform a relatively tolerant and pluralistic Hinduism into an aggressive Hindutva, attacking minorities. Christians have also been targeted, but special virulence is reserved for Muslims. The Sangh has a rigidly hierarchical structure, with leaders appointed rather than elected. Though the Sangh is open to married men, the grihastha (householder) is considered on a lower footing than the brahmachari, the virile but celibate son of Bharat Mata embodied in the pracharak (preacher). The Sangh accepts no women members, although a separate all-woman Rashtriya Sevika Samiti was founded back in 1936 by K B Hedgevar and Lakshmibai Kelkar.
Father-fuehrer-leader
After the Allied victory, the West projected fascism as a national characteristic unique to the Germans and Japanese. In reality, fascism enjoyed a sizable following in all countries, including the United States, during the era preceding World War II. A number of industrial houses supported fascism, and were subsequently able to prosper both during the war and since.
Unfortunately, the left has offered little insight into the phenomenon of the mobilisation of people for a fascist agenda. Marxism defines fascism as “the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinist and most imperialist elements of finance capital”. Even the German Communist Party – other than using terms such as “fear psychosis”, or stating that fascism had “corrupted” and “hypnotised” the masses – had little to offer by way of explanation as to why the German economic crisis of the 1930s had not led the masses to turn to the revolutionary, rather than the fascist, forces. The left in India suffers from the same flaw, offering little more than rhetoric in the analysis of fascism evident in Hindutva. Indeed, the Indian left appears to be in no position to devise strategies to counter the menacing shadow of fascism in the country.
The biggest lacuna of Marxist thought has been its failure to explore the role played by impulses that do not originate in the conscious mind. The appeal and growth of fascism cannot be understood without dipping into the well of the unconscious. Marx was a sociologist, not a psychologist. In any case, scientific psychology did not exist at the time, and the so-called subjective factor of history, in Marx’s sense, remained un-investigated. It was not until a half-century later that Freud’s articulation of the ‘unconscious’ – the path-breaking postulation that consciousness is only a small part of the psychic life; the dissociation of sexuality from procreation; and the recognition of repression of childhood sexuality – finally created analytical tools with which to explore the irrational in human beings.
The success of Joseph Goebbels-like propaganda is not based on appeal to the rational mind, the establishment of facts through scientific data. There is little factual reality, for instance, behind the successful implanting in a sizable section of the Hindu community such beliefs as ‘Hindus are being persecuted in their own country’, ‘Muslims have four wives and 64
children’ or ‘Hindus will soon be a minority in India’. In the face of data (including that officially compiled by the government of India), one particular erroneous conviction held by the majority Hindus played a crucial role in the post-carnage 2002 Gujarat elections: the certainty that, in all prior riots in the state, most of the victims had been Hindus. This explains the encomiums – such as lauh purush (Iron Man) – that have subsequently been showered on Narendra Modi, as the first chief minister to have ensured that, in the 2002 riots, more Muslims were killed than Hindus.
Repression and oppression
The work of Wilhelm Reich, based on the experience of the rise of fascism in Germany during the 1930s, offers a possible way in which to comprehend the appeal of the Hindutva brand of fascism for a sizable section of people in India. Taking psychoanalytical tools beyond the confines of individual clinical psychology, and building upon the sociological groundwork of Marx, Reich explored the sociological reasons for the suppression of sexuality by society, and the concomitant repression by the individual. He postulated that the suppression of sexuality could have a crippling effect on both rebellious impulses and critical faculties, and could eventually lead to the development of a docile and obedient personality, one that is attracted to authoritarian order. Such a theory could provide a pointer as to the phenomenon of Hindutva fascism in India.
Along with suppression of sexuality, there is valorisation in Hindu society of brahmacharya, which emphasises mental and physical restraint, including celibacy. Hindu scriptures are replete with aphorisms extolling the virtues of brahmacharya. But the belief that a drop of semen is the equivalent of thousands of drops of blood is not confined to Hindus alone; rather, it is a deeply embedded cultural belief shared by many in the Subcontinent. The sheer number of flourishing roadside practitioners of various forms of medicine geared to treating weakness in men bears testimony to the widespread prevalence of this belief. Allopathic medical practitioners testify that, confronted with patients who feel ‘weak’ after their wedding, the only options are either to give a placebo or to advise against having sex for an extended period of time.
In general, India’s arid education system; worries about employment; family pressures to marry, produce children and fulfil duties towards parents – all of these together leave little space for the development of an autonomous, well-rounded personality. The personality of the Indian boy/man is a far cry from the existential man of Sartre and Camus, who deals with the world’s many complexities and ambiguities, makes choices and takes responsibility for his actions. The decisions that are considered ‘major’ and ‘individual’ in the Western worldview – those of job, the times and partners for marriage and children – in Indian society are all taken predominantly by elders.
The end result is a non-assertive, amorphous personality – one that can take the shape of the obedient son, but who can also get pushed around in the workplace. This personality also has a converse, authoritarian side, most often manifested in the role of the ‘strict father’ and ‘master-husband’, who keeps his wife and children under rigorous control and sees to it that they serve his parents well. Fascism enmeshes with and appeals to both aspects of this personality. It offers a simple ‘good-bad’ binary that is well suited for this personality. This binary removes the individual from the burdens of independent thinking, the usage of critical faculties, the formation of personal opinions and the exercise of choices that would bring with them responsibilities towards action. Instead of anxiety-causing complexity and uncertainty, there is simplicity and certainty. Ambiguities are replaced with comforting moral clarities: Muslims are bad, Hindus are good or Muslims are good, Hindus are bad or Christians are believers, Muslims are infidels. The burden of making choices and taking personal responsibility is also lifted, as the father-fuehrer-leader offers absolution:
Kill the dirty Muslims/Hindus/Jews. We will take responsibility. The authoritarian aspects likewise receive fulfilment in the degradation and humiliation of the opposing community.
The manifestation of the good-bad binary can also be seen in the goddess-whore paradigm, which retains a strong grip on the Indian psyche. The Sati Savitris are always in sharp contrast to Surpanakhas, the sister of Ravan who sought to entice Lakshman (and therefore deserved to get her nose chopped off), or the ubiquitous non-Hindu ‘Lily’ and ‘Mona’ vamps of Indian cinema, who likewise get their comeuppance in the end. This deeply embedded binary construct plays a crucial role in mobilisation for a fascist agenda.
‘Saving’ women
Conservative Indian society, whether in the Hindi heartland, peninsular India or elsewhere, offers little space for any expression of sexuality, or for interaction between boys and girls. At the same time, the reverence for brahmacharya among males, along with beliefs about loss of semen leading to weakness of the body, mind and spirit, acts as a block to healthy masturbation. Even when ‘indulged’ in, the act comes ridden with anxiety and fears about the consequences. Sexual fantasies, half-remembered dreams, nebulous near-incestuous memories involving the ‘pure’ mother and ‘virgin’ sister engender feelings of guilt and perversion. Such anxiety-provoking feelings are also inevitably suppressed from the consciousness, leading to further repression in the psyche. In turn, such frustrations can more easily be projected onto the ‘other’, who becomes the repository of all that is ‘impure’, ‘sexual’ and ‘evil’. Under the right circumstances, this projection will become violent.
It is no coincidence that riding the Hindutva chariot is primarily a male phenomenon, barring a couple of notable Sadhvis. This machismo seems to tap directly into the large masses of sexually deprived and repressed young men – their energies, it would seem, effectively channelled towards the larger Hindutva project. The connection between repressed sexuality and the whipping-up of violent reaction against other communities was never more apparent than in the spring of 2002 in Gujarat. Long before any killing began, symbolism over women’s bodies was being used to polarise the Hindu and Muslim communities. Muslim men were demonised as ‘marauding aliens’ lusting over Hindu women. Leaders of the Hindutva brigade in Gujarat would systematically stir fears about Muslim men carrying away Hindu women to add to their harems. Over the past decade, public meetings, speeches, pamphlets, schools, cultural groups, ashrams, philanthropic institutions, babas, sants and maharajs have all been used by the Sangh Parivar to spread venom against Muslims. This tendency was ratcheted up to a fever pitch following the Godhra train burning, with rumours about Hindu women being abducted, raped and mutilated playing a crucial role in the subsequent mobilisation.
Between 28 February and 1 March, leading Gujarati dailies such as Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar carried incendiary and fabricated news such as: “10-15 Hindu women were dragged away by a fanatic mob from the railway compartment”, “Wicked villains of this mob kidnapped some ten behno [sisters] whose whereabouts are not yet known”, “Helpless women were struggling to escape from the grip of saitans [devils]”, “Out of kidnapped young ladies from Sabarmati Express, dead bodies of two women recovered – breasts of women were cut off”. As they were meant to do, such headlines inevitably inflamed communal tensions, feeding into righteous indignation and moral outrage, and providing an apparent justification for the massacre of Muslims that followed.
As with the construction of the black male in white-supremacist discourse, in the Hindutva agenda the Muslim male is projected as an over-sexed, beast-like creature, lusting after (and, thus, threatening) Hindu women. The stereotyping of individual women into the categories of ‘whore ‘ and ‘goddess’ likewise contributes to women of other communities (Muslim and Christian) being considered amoral – enjoying sex, unlike ‘dutiful’ Hindu women. Sexual violence against Muslim girls and women thus becomes a righteous moral act to save the ‘honour’ of ‘our’ mothers and sisters; at the same time, it also emasculates the rapacious Muslim males, ‘dishonouring’ the entire community.
Not that women have not been actively utilised by Hindutva militancy, but overt participation of women in riots and killings is still a relatively new phenomenon. Maya Kodnani, a female MLA in the Gujarat Assembly, played a leading role in the 2002 massacres in Ahmedabad. There were several instances of rapists being supported or even actively instigated by women in the carnage against Muslims in Gujarat. Growing evidence points out that militant Hindu nationalism often offers greater independence and autonomy for women than is permissible in the general model of domestic femininity. Hinduism’s many references to non-demure goddesses slaying enemies provides space for training in armed combat, as well as travelling across the country in the cause of the Hindu nation – ultimately presenting a life significantly less controlled by family and society.
Motherland lust
As the goddess-whore binary alludes, Hindutva fascism does not focus on women’s sexuality alone. The idea of ‘woman as mother’ also plays a crucial role in the shaping of the male psyche, and fits snugly into fascist ideology. Given the particularly intense and intimate mother-son relationship in India, the impact of the mother may be even more significant than in other societies. It also contributes to evoking particularly strong feelings with respect to perceived threats to the mother.
The emotional core of the feelings towards both the mother and the motherland has been used to great effect in the mobilisation for the Hindutva agenda. The existence of Babri Masjid as a phallic symbol – which colonises Mother India and emasculates the virile sons who failed to protect her – was forcefully played upon by BJP leader L K Advani in order to spread hate during the Ramjanmabhoomi Rath Yatra. The speeches by various leaders throughout the yatra, as well as at Ayodhya, went along the following lines: the Invader Babar the Cruel raped our mothers and sisters, and destroyed the original Ram temple; the Babri Masjid baitha (a sexually charged ‘astride’) Bharat Mata is an insult and humiliation to Hindu virility and manhood. In the vernacular, these words and phrases sounded even cruder, and likewise had an even greater emotional impact.
Starting the yatra from Somnath on the Gujarat coast, invoking the plunder of the temple (the looting and destruction of which had nothing to do with Indian Muslims), and ending it at Babri Masjid, was a masterful exercise in invoking past traumas as though they were occurring in the immediate present. RSS leaders repeatedly emphasised to their cadre that the existence of the standing, ‘erect’ Babri Masjid proclaimed to the world the defiling of Hindu women by Muslims and the rape of the ‘motherland’ by Babar – and that the demolition of the mosque would restore both Hindu male virility and symbolic Hindu feminine purity. The conflation of contemporary stories with those of historical Muslim rulers (Taimur, Genghis Khan, Babar) invading Mother India and violating ‘pure’ Hindu girls and women inevitably led to an intensification of anti-Muslim anger – as attested to by the killings of Muslims in towns and cities along the yatra’s route.
It is no coincidence that Hindutva is currently being propagated as “cultural nationalism”, a not-too-distant cousin of the National Socialism of the Nazi Party. The attempts to demonise the Muslim community sound astoundingly similar to Goebbels’s propaganda against the Jews: “If someone cracks a whip across your mother’s face, would you say to him, ‘Thank you! He is a man too!’ One who does such a thing is not a man – he is a brute! How many worse things has the Jew inflicted upon our mother Germany, and still inflicts upon her! He has debauched our race, sapped our energy, undermined our customs and broken our strength!”
Almost a century after the rise of the right in Europe, the left the world over remains closed to the discipline of psychoanalysis, looking at it solely as a bourgeois pseudo-science. It is equally unfortunate that psychoanalysis remains largely confined to the individual psyche and the therapist-patient paradigm. Perhaps it is time to pull down the walls, take psychoanalysis out of the closet, and recognise that the irrational in the human psyche influences not only individual behaviour, but also impacts mass psychology and the broader canvas of events. It is a little-known but curious fact that Mohandas Gandhi, in his anguished search for a resolution to the vexed Hindu-Muslim problem, attended the 1925 meeting of the Indian Psychoanalytical Society in Calcutta.
bilash rai
Most of us have the anxieties, insecurities, feelings of rage and anger that are part of human existence. At the other end of the spectrum, however, remain positive feelings: those of belonging to a community, of love for the earth and for fellow human beings. It is the interface of politics and psychoanalysis that can unravel the processes through which both negative and positive feelings in the psyche become mobilised for a fascist agenda.
Ahmedabad forced to acknowledge victims of the 2002 communal riots
(Himal
October-November 2007)
Report
In a small, dark corner of Gujarat
After resolutely ignoring the victims of the 2002 communal riots for five years, the Ahmedabad government is now being forced to acknowledge their existence.
text and photographs By: Deepa A
A cluster of unfinished houses stands in two rows in a small clearing in Rajgadh, in Gujarat’s Panchmahal District. Two goats rest on a charpoy outside a house, and a group of children playing a game with tamarind seeds chase away a black hen that wanders too near, incessantly pecking away at the ground.
Eleven Muslim families, displaced from their hometowns in other parts of Panchmahal by the Gujarat riots of 2002, now call these two-room, unpainted structures home. Inside are a few mats and pillows on the floor, as well as some pots and pans, neatly arranged on makeshift shelves in makeshift kitchens. There is no electricity, no plaster on the walls and no bathroom. When nature calls, the families visit the shrubs behind their homes, with the women in particular seeking the darkness of the night or early dawn. Amidst these very shrubs are also reminders of other houses that were to be constructed here: half-finished brick walls, which rise up as if in the hope of finding a roof to hold them together.
The description ‘relief colony’ hangs anachron-istically over the Rajgadh dwellings. There were to be about 40 families here, comprising people who were either hounded out of their homes or fled on their own due to a fear of pogroms. But, as 30-year-old Hasinabibi Makrani explains, the non-government agency that started the construction of these houses had to stop its work midway due to police and political intervention. The first few families had already moved into the unfinished houses when police officers suddenly turned up to chase away workers at the site. The agency, the residents believe, had not secured the requisite paperwork before starting construction. It is arguable whether a state that displayed such insensitivity towards its Muslim population would have even considered such a request. But the ‘illegal’ tag has proved sufficient for the police and other arms of the state to deny basic civic conveniences to the residents of this ‘relief’ colony.
Fearing for their safety, and unable to return to their hometowns due to threats from Hindu neighbours, the 11 families have remained in Rajgadh, fashioning lamps out of discarded bottles, and sleeping outside every night to escape the oppressive airlessness of their homes. Hasinabibi’s biggest worry is centred on her son, who goes to a school five kilometres away. “He is in the tenth standard this year,” she says. “How can he study without lights at night?”
Hasinabibi used to run a bangle shop in Navakuva, in Panchmahal, where she lived with her children and husband, who ran a garage. During the riots, their house was burnt down, and the family was forced to stay with relatives before moving to the Rajgadh colony. Now, Hasinabibi has no means of livelihood; her husband works in a garage in Baroda, earning about INR 50 every day, on which he, his wife and six children must survive. Her neighbour, Hussainbhai Zafibhai, moved to the colony from a relief camp, after his house in Sarasva, also in Panchmahal, was burnt down by rioters. “We used to own farms. Here I do any work that comes my way,” he says. He makes about INR 1500 every month, with which he has to support his parents, wife and two children.
Precarious existence
The stories from Rajgadh are echoed across the 80-odd relief colonies spread across Gujarat, which house well over 4000 families. An Oxfam-supported survey in October 2006 found that almost no public infrastructure had been provided in these colonies. Little has changed since then. In 65 percent of these settlements, residents are forced to get their drinking water from private sources; only two colonies have government schools; and just four colonies have Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres, known as anganwadis. For a population that is so desperately out of work, only three colonies have ration shops for subsidised food.
Perhaps one reason for this negligence is that none of these colonies was established by the state government. In fact, when the relief-colony residents were issued voter-identification cards this past June, following a directive from the National Human Rights Commission, it was practically the first official acknowledgement of their existence. Much work, however, remains to be done. Typically, riot victims have received little or no compensation. (Though, in late September, the Centre did announce INR 705 million in additional compensation.) Moreover, their existence continues to be a precarious battle for survival in a society that appears to have little compunction about excluding and ignoring them.
In his tiny house, where a tall, blue water container is the most prominent fixture, Dedki Mehboob Yusuf sifts through stacks of paper detailing the upturned lives of the inhabitants of Aman Park Society, a relief colony in Chikodhra, Godhra, where he also lives. Yusuf’s family used to own three shops in Ranipura, from where he and his family barely managed to escape during the riots. Today, he scrapes together a living by working two jobs: teaching at a private school while doubling as a social activist. Yusuf has been assiduously shooting off letters to the local administration about the lack of water and electricity in his colony. The water situation is so bad here that a resident who works as a jeep driver occasionally brings his vehicle to the colony, at which time people pile the truck high with clothes, and head off to a pond a few kilometres away to do a week’s worth of washing (see pic).
The story remains much the same in relief colonies across Gujarat. In Halol, Iqbal Makrana, the father of two children, works as a casual labourer. He talks about how the families living in the 150-odd houses in the colony have to depend on one hand-pump for water, which is half a kilometre away. Mehboob Shaikh, who used to sell coconuts at the foot of the famed Kali temple at Pavagadh before the riots, and today works as a truck driver, adds that there is not even a primary health centre in the vicinity.
Perhaps most ironic about Gujarat’s relief colonies is the fact that residents do not even hold ownership papers for their houses, though these buildings were constructed by Muslim trusts and a few non-government organisations. This means that they can be evicted at any time. Many even had to pay significant amounts for these tiny structures – often INR 25,000-40,000. In Baroda’s Noorani Mohalla, where 45 displaced families live, 42-year-old Sarfaraf Habibullah Khan says that residents were forced to pay more than INR 45,000 each. “But the work quality is poor,” he complains. “There’s water leakage, there’s no plastering. And we paid the amount by borrowing money from relatives.” Even so, the residents have yet to be given allotment letters for their houses. And as Mohammad Hanif, a maulana in Bachesar colony in Shehera, where 64 families live without holding any land document, notes, “You can’t apply for a loan without a property deed.”
Small steps
After visits made in October 2006, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) listed many of the challenges faced by colony residents in a report submitted to the central government. Among other findings, the report said that the residents were being denied the most basic of civic amenities, such as potable water, sanitary facilities, schools, primary health centres and approach roads. The report added that the state government had not provided any amenity or facility in the colonies, nor had Gandhinagar officials attempted to facilitate the residents’ return to their original homes.
The residents are “frustrated” by their inability to earn their own livelihoods, said the NCM report. Many of them had been self-employed traders, artisans or industrialists before the riots, but now customers are “unwilling to use their services”. An examination of the homes of residents showed they were living in “abject poverty”, with little more than bedding and kitchen utensils. The report also noted the atmosphere of insecurity and hostility that residents face, including from state agencies, particularly the police.
In June, a Supreme Court-appointed committee tasked with monitoring national food-security schemes noted that only 725 out of the 4545 internally displaced families in Gujarat had been recognised as living below the poverty line, though the economic situations of all were dire. The Right to Food Commissioner, N C Saxena, told the court, based on a survey by his colleagues, that only five of the 81 colonies had government or government-recognised schools, of which only four served midday meals to children. The committee’s recommendations included setting up primary schools (with midday meals), ICDS anganwadis and ration shops in all colonies, wherever they are not available within a three-kilometre radius.
The National Commission for Minorities asked Gujarat Chief Secretary Sudhir Mankad to provide an explanation for the commission’s findings of abysmal conditions in relief colonies. In its response in August, the Gandhinagar government for the first time admitted that 3660 riot-displaced families were still living in 69 temporary colonies. Gagan Sethi, managing trustee of the Ahmedabad-based Jan Vikas and Centre for Social Justice, says the government’s admission is in itself a significant step. For five years, the state government has consistently denied, even to the Supreme Court, that anyone had been displaced by the riots. The official acknowledgement could now ensure that the colony residents, who have already been issued voter ID cards, finally have a platform from which to claim their rights. Sethi, whose organisation has been actively working for the rights of those displaced by the riots, points out that, even in colonies where the use of land for residential purposes is yet to be legalised, voter ID cards can serve as proof of residence.
After five years, and probably due to insistent complaints and challenges, some positive changes are finally starting to be seen in the displacement camps. The state government in Gandhinagar has at long last started issuing Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya ration cards. While these are crucial steps, Jan Vikas’s Sethi warns, “What they’re not doing is improving infrastructure in the relief colonies.” But in a dramatic turnaround of sorts, the Gujarat government, which had previously returned INR 191 million that it had received from the Centre as relief-work funding – claiming that rehabilitation was already complete – is reportedly asking New Delhi for money for special schemes, specifically to improve infrastructure in the relief colonies.
Meanwhile, the colony residents hope for the best, but say they will believe the new promises when they see the infrastructure and services actually arrive. In Rajgadh, a wick burning in a small bottle in a smoky room emits a shaky flame, on which Hasinabibi’s son still relies to read his textbooks. As he traces the words, she hopes that eventually he will have a life with lights, toilets, a future to look forward to, and the respect of the state.
October-November 2007)
Report
In a small, dark corner of Gujarat
After resolutely ignoring the victims of the 2002 communal riots for five years, the Ahmedabad government is now being forced to acknowledge their existence.
text and photographs By: Deepa A
A cluster of unfinished houses stands in two rows in a small clearing in Rajgadh, in Gujarat’s Panchmahal District. Two goats rest on a charpoy outside a house, and a group of children playing a game with tamarind seeds chase away a black hen that wanders too near, incessantly pecking away at the ground.
Eleven Muslim families, displaced from their hometowns in other parts of Panchmahal by the Gujarat riots of 2002, now call these two-room, unpainted structures home. Inside are a few mats and pillows on the floor, as well as some pots and pans, neatly arranged on makeshift shelves in makeshift kitchens. There is no electricity, no plaster on the walls and no bathroom. When nature calls, the families visit the shrubs behind their homes, with the women in particular seeking the darkness of the night or early dawn. Amidst these very shrubs are also reminders of other houses that were to be constructed here: half-finished brick walls, which rise up as if in the hope of finding a roof to hold them together.
The description ‘relief colony’ hangs anachron-istically over the Rajgadh dwellings. There were to be about 40 families here, comprising people who were either hounded out of their homes or fled on their own due to a fear of pogroms. But, as 30-year-old Hasinabibi Makrani explains, the non-government agency that started the construction of these houses had to stop its work midway due to police and political intervention. The first few families had already moved into the unfinished houses when police officers suddenly turned up to chase away workers at the site. The agency, the residents believe, had not secured the requisite paperwork before starting construction. It is arguable whether a state that displayed such insensitivity towards its Muslim population would have even considered such a request. But the ‘illegal’ tag has proved sufficient for the police and other arms of the state to deny basic civic conveniences to the residents of this ‘relief’ colony.
Fearing for their safety, and unable to return to their hometowns due to threats from Hindu neighbours, the 11 families have remained in Rajgadh, fashioning lamps out of discarded bottles, and sleeping outside every night to escape the oppressive airlessness of their homes. Hasinabibi’s biggest worry is centred on her son, who goes to a school five kilometres away. “He is in the tenth standard this year,” she says. “How can he study without lights at night?”
Hasinabibi used to run a bangle shop in Navakuva, in Panchmahal, where she lived with her children and husband, who ran a garage. During the riots, their house was burnt down, and the family was forced to stay with relatives before moving to the Rajgadh colony. Now, Hasinabibi has no means of livelihood; her husband works in a garage in Baroda, earning about INR 50 every day, on which he, his wife and six children must survive. Her neighbour, Hussainbhai Zafibhai, moved to the colony from a relief camp, after his house in Sarasva, also in Panchmahal, was burnt down by rioters. “We used to own farms. Here I do any work that comes my way,” he says. He makes about INR 1500 every month, with which he has to support his parents, wife and two children.
Precarious existence
The stories from Rajgadh are echoed across the 80-odd relief colonies spread across Gujarat, which house well over 4000 families. An Oxfam-supported survey in October 2006 found that almost no public infrastructure had been provided in these colonies. Little has changed since then. In 65 percent of these settlements, residents are forced to get their drinking water from private sources; only two colonies have government schools; and just four colonies have Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres, known as anganwadis. For a population that is so desperately out of work, only three colonies have ration shops for subsidised food.
Perhaps one reason for this negligence is that none of these colonies was established by the state government. In fact, when the relief-colony residents were issued voter-identification cards this past June, following a directive from the National Human Rights Commission, it was practically the first official acknowledgement of their existence. Much work, however, remains to be done. Typically, riot victims have received little or no compensation. (Though, in late September, the Centre did announce INR 705 million in additional compensation.) Moreover, their existence continues to be a precarious battle for survival in a society that appears to have little compunction about excluding and ignoring them.
In his tiny house, where a tall, blue water container is the most prominent fixture, Dedki Mehboob Yusuf sifts through stacks of paper detailing the upturned lives of the inhabitants of Aman Park Society, a relief colony in Chikodhra, Godhra, where he also lives. Yusuf’s family used to own three shops in Ranipura, from where he and his family barely managed to escape during the riots. Today, he scrapes together a living by working two jobs: teaching at a private school while doubling as a social activist. Yusuf has been assiduously shooting off letters to the local administration about the lack of water and electricity in his colony. The water situation is so bad here that a resident who works as a jeep driver occasionally brings his vehicle to the colony, at which time people pile the truck high with clothes, and head off to a pond a few kilometres away to do a week’s worth of washing (see pic).
The story remains much the same in relief colonies across Gujarat. In Halol, Iqbal Makrana, the father of two children, works as a casual labourer. He talks about how the families living in the 150-odd houses in the colony have to depend on one hand-pump for water, which is half a kilometre away. Mehboob Shaikh, who used to sell coconuts at the foot of the famed Kali temple at Pavagadh before the riots, and today works as a truck driver, adds that there is not even a primary health centre in the vicinity.
Perhaps most ironic about Gujarat’s relief colonies is the fact that residents do not even hold ownership papers for their houses, though these buildings were constructed by Muslim trusts and a few non-government organisations. This means that they can be evicted at any time. Many even had to pay significant amounts for these tiny structures – often INR 25,000-40,000. In Baroda’s Noorani Mohalla, where 45 displaced families live, 42-year-old Sarfaraf Habibullah Khan says that residents were forced to pay more than INR 45,000 each. “But the work quality is poor,” he complains. “There’s water leakage, there’s no plastering. And we paid the amount by borrowing money from relatives.” Even so, the residents have yet to be given allotment letters for their houses. And as Mohammad Hanif, a maulana in Bachesar colony in Shehera, where 64 families live without holding any land document, notes, “You can’t apply for a loan without a property deed.”
Small steps
After visits made in October 2006, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) listed many of the challenges faced by colony residents in a report submitted to the central government. Among other findings, the report said that the residents were being denied the most basic of civic amenities, such as potable water, sanitary facilities, schools, primary health centres and approach roads. The report added that the state government had not provided any amenity or facility in the colonies, nor had Gandhinagar officials attempted to facilitate the residents’ return to their original homes.
The residents are “frustrated” by their inability to earn their own livelihoods, said the NCM report. Many of them had been self-employed traders, artisans or industrialists before the riots, but now customers are “unwilling to use their services”. An examination of the homes of residents showed they were living in “abject poverty”, with little more than bedding and kitchen utensils. The report also noted the atmosphere of insecurity and hostility that residents face, including from state agencies, particularly the police.
In June, a Supreme Court-appointed committee tasked with monitoring national food-security schemes noted that only 725 out of the 4545 internally displaced families in Gujarat had been recognised as living below the poverty line, though the economic situations of all were dire. The Right to Food Commissioner, N C Saxena, told the court, based on a survey by his colleagues, that only five of the 81 colonies had government or government-recognised schools, of which only four served midday meals to children. The committee’s recommendations included setting up primary schools (with midday meals), ICDS anganwadis and ration shops in all colonies, wherever they are not available within a three-kilometre radius.
The National Commission for Minorities asked Gujarat Chief Secretary Sudhir Mankad to provide an explanation for the commission’s findings of abysmal conditions in relief colonies. In its response in August, the Gandhinagar government for the first time admitted that 3660 riot-displaced families were still living in 69 temporary colonies. Gagan Sethi, managing trustee of the Ahmedabad-based Jan Vikas and Centre for Social Justice, says the government’s admission is in itself a significant step. For five years, the state government has consistently denied, even to the Supreme Court, that anyone had been displaced by the riots. The official acknowledgement could now ensure that the colony residents, who have already been issued voter ID cards, finally have a platform from which to claim their rights. Sethi, whose organisation has been actively working for the rights of those displaced by the riots, points out that, even in colonies where the use of land for residential purposes is yet to be legalised, voter ID cards can serve as proof of residence.
After five years, and probably due to insistent complaints and challenges, some positive changes are finally starting to be seen in the displacement camps. The state government in Gandhinagar has at long last started issuing Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya ration cards. While these are crucial steps, Jan Vikas’s Sethi warns, “What they’re not doing is improving infrastructure in the relief colonies.” But in a dramatic turnaround of sorts, the Gujarat government, which had previously returned INR 191 million that it had received from the Centre as relief-work funding – claiming that rehabilitation was already complete – is reportedly asking New Delhi for money for special schemes, specifically to improve infrastructure in the relief colonies.
Meanwhile, the colony residents hope for the best, but say they will believe the new promises when they see the infrastructure and services actually arrive. In Rajgadh, a wick burning in a small bottle in a smoky room emits a shaky flame, on which Hasinabibi’s son still relies to read his textbooks. As he traces the words, she hopes that eventually he will have a life with lights, toilets, a future to look forward to, and the respect of the state.
Royal Hindutva
(Himal
October-November 2007)
Royal Hindutva
The Hindu right in Nepal is currently down, but not out.
by Prashant Jha
India’s Hindu right does not like what it sees taking place in Nepal. Angry that the country is headed towards becoming a secular, democratic republic, it can see its traditional influence in Nepali politics waning. A terminal blow has now been dealt to the two pillars central to what the Hindutva-wallahs have cherished about Nepal: a Hindu rashtra with a Hindu monarchy. But Hindutva leaders from both India and Nepal have not given up. They have been brainstorming – at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in New Delhi, the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, and at the residence of royalist politicians in Kathmandu – as well as with King Gyanendra at the Narayanhiti Palace. However, the Indian and Nepali Hindu right recognises the limits of its capacity, and does not have a clear rescue plan as yet.
Nepal always was an unusual ‘Hindu kingdom’ – not merely because it was the only one in the world, but also because it was not a typical theocracy. It did not insist on a unitary identity for the entire population, though close to 80 percent of the population was identified as Hindus in the national census (a figure that has been contested by ethnic groups); it did not deprive minority groups of political and civic rights, such as freedom of expression and voting; and the state was not governed by dharmashastras, or a Hindu code, but by a democratic constitution. At the same time, however, for many these were little more than disconcerting clauses. The very fact that Nepal was regarded by the establishment (and constitutionally) as a Hindu state alienated a large section of the populace, especially the country’s many ethnic groups. There was a ban on conversion and cow slaughter; the state promoted the use of Sanskrit; and the head of the state, the king, could only be a born Hindu, with claims to being Vishnu incarnate.
There was no inevitability about Nepal being constitutionally declared as Hindu, or about a close nexus evolving between the Nepali monarch and the Indian Hindu right. It was only after King Mahendra overthrew a short-lived elected government in 1960, and imposed a dictatorial system, that links first deepened between the royalty and the RSS. This turned out to be a mutually beneficial relationship. At a time when the king was not on particularly good terms with Jawaharlal Nehru’s government, it helped Mahendra to cultivate the Hindu forces as his supporters in India. For the RSS, Nepal, as an active Hindu monarchy, was the playing-out of its fantasies of a Hindu rashtra, unpolluted by foreign (read: Christian or Muslim) invasion. Indeed, Mahendra’s Panchayat monarchy came as a significant morale booster for the saffron soldiers, at a time when secularism was beginning to take deep roots in India.
Gorakhnath connection
The Hindu rashtra phenomenon thus defined the relationship between Nepal’s royalty and the Hindutva forces over the past five decades. The RSS helped to prop up the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh (VHM) in Nepal. In theory, the VHM was a global federation of all Hindu organisations; in practice it was completely dependent on its Indian affiliate, the VHP.
Today, VHM functionaries are active royalists, best represented by General Bharat Kesar Simha, present head of the VHM and honorary ADC to the king. Simha was the most outspoken supporter of Gyanendra’s autocratic rule after the latter’s military-backed coup in February 2005. Mahant Awaidhnath, of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, and his successor, Yogi Adityanath (see pic), a BJP member of the Lok Sabha, are also senior VHM functionaries and ardent supporters of Gyanendra.
Power centre: Yogi Adityanath and the Gorakhnath temple
The Narayanhiti-Gorakhnath relationship reportedly goes back to the middle of the 18th century, when the founder of the temple, Gorakhnath Maharaj, is said to have blessed Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of the modern state of Nepal, when he began his expansionist drive. At present, Mahant Awaidhnath is ill, and Yogi Adityanath has assumed his religious and political responsibilities. Adityanath, founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical youth wing, is among the most rabid Hindu fanatics in India, and is seen as extremist even by other Hindutva organisations. He exerts tremendous influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Indian districts that border Nepal’s central Tarai. Adityanath claims that the Nepali Maoists have plans to expand into India, and made this a central plank in his election campaign in the recent UP assembly polls. Adityanath has warned that removing the king and declaring Nepal secular will lead to the country’s disintegration.
During the mid-1990s, King Birendra attended a mass rally in Haridwar, sharing the dais with the head of the RSS at the time, Rajendra Singh, as well as senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal. Earlier, the VHM had declared the king the vishwa hindu samrat, emperor of all of the world’s Hindus. Similar treatment was accorded to Gyanendra in 2004. This relationship, between the Hindu organisations and Hindu king, had suddenly gained significance following Gyanendra’s takeover of state control in October 2002, when there was also a BJP-led government in Delhi. The Indian Hindu right used its fraternal links with the BJP to influence the Indian government not to exert pressure for democracy in Nepal. After the coup of February 2005, the Hindu right again came out in vociferous support of the Nepali monarch. After all, how could you have a true Hindu rashtra if the Hindu king did not wield true power?
The details point to a more substantial trend. For one, there is a deep relationship between the Hindu right in both India and Nepal; indeed, they are often indistinguishable. The Hindu fundamentalists have long served as a constituency of support for the Kathmandu king at the Delhi durbar. In turn, they have drawn their influence in Nepali politics from proximity to the king, not from organisational capacity or mass support on the ground. For this reason, it is important not to overestimate the strength of Hindu fundamentalists in Nepal. At the same time, they do possess enough of an ability and network to act as spoilers and create disturbances. On 1 September 2004, after 12 Nepalis in Iraq were abducted and killed by insurgents, Kathmandu witnessed riots for the first time. Muslims were attacked, and their homes and masjids vandalised. A credible investigation was never held, and it is still not clear who was behind the attacks. But it is suspected that Hindutva elements, with the silent acquiescence of a royalist administration, played a crucial part.
Secular turn
The last few years have not been good for either the king or the Hindu fundamentalists in Nepal. Ethnic groups have asserted themselves, made it clear they are not Hindus, and demanded state secularism. The Maoists supported these demands and called for a republic. In the course of the peace process between the democratic parties and the Maoists, energised by the People’s Movement of April 2006, this appeared as a national agenda. In May 2006, the reinstated parliament proclaimed Nepal a secular state. The institution of a republic seemed not far off, which meant the absence of a king.
This humiliation of Nepal’s kingship and its threatened abolition is seen as a grave setback to the fundamentalist Hindu groups. In fact, many Hindutva-oriented leaders in India blame Gyanendra himself for getting the monarchy stuck in such a quagmire. Many RSS leaders, in off-the-record conversations, are contemptuous of Gyanendra, and believe that his incompetence, coupled with dubious advisers, allowed the political parties and Maoists to emerge successful. They admit to having made a mistake by putting all their eggs in Gyanendra’s royal basket, and realise that association with a discredited king has eroded their own credibility in Nepal. But while remaining distrustful of Gyanendra himself, Hindutva-wallahs continue to support the institution of Hindu monarchy in Nepal.
Meanwhile, the declaration of secularism has bred public resentment. Some surveys reveal that a majority of respondents disagreed with the proclamation, due to the substance of the decision and the procedure adopted. The parties did not engage in broad-based consultation, there was no political debate, and there was little communication about what the Nepali translation dharma nirpekshata actually meant. Together, these led people to believe that the notion of secularism was synonymous with being anti-religious.
The Hindu right in Nepal and India is aware of this resentment. But the political climate, coupled with the right’s limited organisational strength and absence of effective leadership, disallow the Hindutva groups from capitalising on this sentiment. However, this does not preclude the possibility of them emerging as a potent force in the future. For one, they have the resources; all they are waiting for is a Nepali leader, with a mass base of supporters, who is viscerally anti-Maoist and publicly committed to the agenda of a Hindu state.
The Hindu rightists thought their moment had come earlier this year, when the Madhesi movement emerged in the Tarai plains. The movement targeted both the Kathmandu state and the Maoists, with whom most Madhesi groups share an antagonistic relationship. Upendra Yadav, leader of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, met Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur, as well as senior RSS leaders in Delhi. Even so, the Madhesi movement was neither driven by the Hindu right nor did it influence the Madhesis to any great extent. No Madhesi group is willing to say that it is for a Hindu rashtra or monarchy, and RSS leaders realise that they can derive only limited benefit from a fractured and directionless Madhes agitation.
Nepal is fortunate in having a weak and demoralised Hindu right. But that should not make the country’s politicians and civil society complacent, for the neighbouring Indian experience shows the resilience of Hindutva groups. As Nepal moves towards becoming a genuinely secular state, it would do well to be cautious, and engage more directly with the larger population on issues related to religion and politics.
October-November 2007)
Royal Hindutva
The Hindu right in Nepal is currently down, but not out.
by Prashant Jha
India’s Hindu right does not like what it sees taking place in Nepal. Angry that the country is headed towards becoming a secular, democratic republic, it can see its traditional influence in Nepali politics waning. A terminal blow has now been dealt to the two pillars central to what the Hindutva-wallahs have cherished about Nepal: a Hindu rashtra with a Hindu monarchy. But Hindutva leaders from both India and Nepal have not given up. They have been brainstorming – at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in New Delhi, the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, and at the residence of royalist politicians in Kathmandu – as well as with King Gyanendra at the Narayanhiti Palace. However, the Indian and Nepali Hindu right recognises the limits of its capacity, and does not have a clear rescue plan as yet.
Nepal always was an unusual ‘Hindu kingdom’ – not merely because it was the only one in the world, but also because it was not a typical theocracy. It did not insist on a unitary identity for the entire population, though close to 80 percent of the population was identified as Hindus in the national census (a figure that has been contested by ethnic groups); it did not deprive minority groups of political and civic rights, such as freedom of expression and voting; and the state was not governed by dharmashastras, or a Hindu code, but by a democratic constitution. At the same time, however, for many these were little more than disconcerting clauses. The very fact that Nepal was regarded by the establishment (and constitutionally) as a Hindu state alienated a large section of the populace, especially the country’s many ethnic groups. There was a ban on conversion and cow slaughter; the state promoted the use of Sanskrit; and the head of the state, the king, could only be a born Hindu, with claims to being Vishnu incarnate.
There was no inevitability about Nepal being constitutionally declared as Hindu, or about a close nexus evolving between the Nepali monarch and the Indian Hindu right. It was only after King Mahendra overthrew a short-lived elected government in 1960, and imposed a dictatorial system, that links first deepened between the royalty and the RSS. This turned out to be a mutually beneficial relationship. At a time when the king was not on particularly good terms with Jawaharlal Nehru’s government, it helped Mahendra to cultivate the Hindu forces as his supporters in India. For the RSS, Nepal, as an active Hindu monarchy, was the playing-out of its fantasies of a Hindu rashtra, unpolluted by foreign (read: Christian or Muslim) invasion. Indeed, Mahendra’s Panchayat monarchy came as a significant morale booster for the saffron soldiers, at a time when secularism was beginning to take deep roots in India.
Gorakhnath connection
The Hindu rashtra phenomenon thus defined the relationship between Nepal’s royalty and the Hindutva forces over the past five decades. The RSS helped to prop up the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh (VHM) in Nepal. In theory, the VHM was a global federation of all Hindu organisations; in practice it was completely dependent on its Indian affiliate, the VHP.
Today, VHM functionaries are active royalists, best represented by General Bharat Kesar Simha, present head of the VHM and honorary ADC to the king. Simha was the most outspoken supporter of Gyanendra’s autocratic rule after the latter’s military-backed coup in February 2005. Mahant Awaidhnath, of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, and his successor, Yogi Adityanath (see pic), a BJP member of the Lok Sabha, are also senior VHM functionaries and ardent supporters of Gyanendra.
Power centre: Yogi Adityanath and the Gorakhnath temple
The Narayanhiti-Gorakhnath relationship reportedly goes back to the middle of the 18th century, when the founder of the temple, Gorakhnath Maharaj, is said to have blessed Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of the modern state of Nepal, when he began his expansionist drive. At present, Mahant Awaidhnath is ill, and Yogi Adityanath has assumed his religious and political responsibilities. Adityanath, founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical youth wing, is among the most rabid Hindu fanatics in India, and is seen as extremist even by other Hindutva organisations. He exerts tremendous influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Indian districts that border Nepal’s central Tarai. Adityanath claims that the Nepali Maoists have plans to expand into India, and made this a central plank in his election campaign in the recent UP assembly polls. Adityanath has warned that removing the king and declaring Nepal secular will lead to the country’s disintegration.
During the mid-1990s, King Birendra attended a mass rally in Haridwar, sharing the dais with the head of the RSS at the time, Rajendra Singh, as well as senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal. Earlier, the VHM had declared the king the vishwa hindu samrat, emperor of all of the world’s Hindus. Similar treatment was accorded to Gyanendra in 2004. This relationship, between the Hindu organisations and Hindu king, had suddenly gained significance following Gyanendra’s takeover of state control in October 2002, when there was also a BJP-led government in Delhi. The Indian Hindu right used its fraternal links with the BJP to influence the Indian government not to exert pressure for democracy in Nepal. After the coup of February 2005, the Hindu right again came out in vociferous support of the Nepali monarch. After all, how could you have a true Hindu rashtra if the Hindu king did not wield true power?
The details point to a more substantial trend. For one, there is a deep relationship between the Hindu right in both India and Nepal; indeed, they are often indistinguishable. The Hindu fundamentalists have long served as a constituency of support for the Kathmandu king at the Delhi durbar. In turn, they have drawn their influence in Nepali politics from proximity to the king, not from organisational capacity or mass support on the ground. For this reason, it is important not to overestimate the strength of Hindu fundamentalists in Nepal. At the same time, they do possess enough of an ability and network to act as spoilers and create disturbances. On 1 September 2004, after 12 Nepalis in Iraq were abducted and killed by insurgents, Kathmandu witnessed riots for the first time. Muslims were attacked, and their homes and masjids vandalised. A credible investigation was never held, and it is still not clear who was behind the attacks. But it is suspected that Hindutva elements, with the silent acquiescence of a royalist administration, played a crucial part.
Secular turn
The last few years have not been good for either the king or the Hindu fundamentalists in Nepal. Ethnic groups have asserted themselves, made it clear they are not Hindus, and demanded state secularism. The Maoists supported these demands and called for a republic. In the course of the peace process between the democratic parties and the Maoists, energised by the People’s Movement of April 2006, this appeared as a national agenda. In May 2006, the reinstated parliament proclaimed Nepal a secular state. The institution of a republic seemed not far off, which meant the absence of a king.
This humiliation of Nepal’s kingship and its threatened abolition is seen as a grave setback to the fundamentalist Hindu groups. In fact, many Hindutva-oriented leaders in India blame Gyanendra himself for getting the monarchy stuck in such a quagmire. Many RSS leaders, in off-the-record conversations, are contemptuous of Gyanendra, and believe that his incompetence, coupled with dubious advisers, allowed the political parties and Maoists to emerge successful. They admit to having made a mistake by putting all their eggs in Gyanendra’s royal basket, and realise that association with a discredited king has eroded their own credibility in Nepal. But while remaining distrustful of Gyanendra himself, Hindutva-wallahs continue to support the institution of Hindu monarchy in Nepal.
Meanwhile, the declaration of secularism has bred public resentment. Some surveys reveal that a majority of respondents disagreed with the proclamation, due to the substance of the decision and the procedure adopted. The parties did not engage in broad-based consultation, there was no political debate, and there was little communication about what the Nepali translation dharma nirpekshata actually meant. Together, these led people to believe that the notion of secularism was synonymous with being anti-religious.
The Hindu right in Nepal and India is aware of this resentment. But the political climate, coupled with the right’s limited organisational strength and absence of effective leadership, disallow the Hindutva groups from capitalising on this sentiment. However, this does not preclude the possibility of them emerging as a potent force in the future. For one, they have the resources; all they are waiting for is a Nepali leader, with a mass base of supporters, who is viscerally anti-Maoist and publicly committed to the agenda of a Hindu state.
The Hindu rightists thought their moment had come earlier this year, when the Madhesi movement emerged in the Tarai plains. The movement targeted both the Kathmandu state and the Maoists, with whom most Madhesi groups share an antagonistic relationship. Upendra Yadav, leader of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, met Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur, as well as senior RSS leaders in Delhi. Even so, the Madhesi movement was neither driven by the Hindu right nor did it influence the Madhesis to any great extent. No Madhesi group is willing to say that it is for a Hindu rashtra or monarchy, and RSS leaders realise that they can derive only limited benefit from a fractured and directionless Madhes agitation.
Nepal is fortunate in having a weak and demoralised Hindu right. But that should not make the country’s politicians and civil society complacent, for the neighbouring Indian experience shows the resilience of Hindutva groups. As Nepal moves towards becoming a genuinely secular state, it would do well to be cautious, and engage more directly with the larger population on issues related to religion and politics.
Militant Hindutva on the rise - silence that seeks to hide this reality
A Hindutva recruitment poster
Taking aim: Bajrang Dal women’s brigade, Lucknow, 2001
(Himal
October-November 2007)
Cover Feature
Saffron terror
Militant Hindutva is on the rise, but there is a conspiracy of silence that seeks to hide this reality.
by Subhash Gatade
Nanded, in Maharashtra, is a town with a significant population of different faiths – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist. Nanded could well have become a new metaphor for secularism as practised in the Subcontinent, but this was not to be. Instead, Nanded has come to represent the emergent danger of a violent new brand of Hindu militancy, with due support from a section of the state machinery. A place that was once witness to the final days of Guru Gobind Singh, Sikhism’s Tenth Guru, has today metamorphosed into an epicentre of violent Hindutva. Indeed, Nanded represents the build-up of the violent fundamentalist Hinduism of the past half-century. The town has been witness to a new spate of acts that can be inarguably dubbed ‘terrorism’.
The inner workings of this new form of Hindutva were on show recently in two, evidently accidental, explosions in Nanded within a span of nine months, in April 2006 and February 2007. These blasts, which killed four people, took place at the houses of activists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena. The arrival of Nanded on India’s ‘terror’ map was followed by media investigations into similar previous incidents, which also showed the involvement of Hindu youth in terrorist actions.
The new element here is the increasing similarity between Hindu militancy and ‘terrorism’ of other hues. While various enquiry commissions have looked into riots in post-Independence India and corroborated the proactive role played by the RSS in instigating riots, the irony of the situation is that the organisation is still able to maintain its ‘missionary’ image. Part of this is because the group has long maintained a strict division of labour within its ranks, delegating much of the ‘dirty work’ to fringe workers. The Nanded blasts proved to be an exception to this pattern, as the RSS links were obvious. This is why, in the immediate aftermath of the explosions, the Sangh Parivar leadership went to great lengths to suppress the news. Indeed, activist friends of this writer in Maharashtra were themselves unaware that any such incident had taken place.
One set of blasts took place in a house belonging to Laxman Rajkondwar, an old RSS activist, and killed two youths belonging to the Bajrang Dal and RSS, while injuring three others. The explosives that were being made were to be used during the entry into Maharashtra of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani’s Bharat Suraksha Yatra, the idea being to warn of the grave security situation existing in the country. Later investigations found that the plan had been to instigate communal riots in Nanded that could have spread to adjoining areas. Such a situation, it was hoped, would boost the sagging morale of both the BJP and its ageing stalwart, Advani (see accompanying story, “Befuddled, jingoistic party”).
The aim was clearly to instigate a communal conflict. A police raid on one of the deceased’s houses found maps of nearby mosques, as well as clothes and caps usually worn by Muslims in the area, which the activists were going to wear to sneak into and attack the mosques and gurudwaras. The only thing still needed was explosives. The making of bombs in a house owned by an old RSS activist – one who supposedly also dealt in firecrackers, at that – seemed like the perfect plan.
Of course, the story neither begins nor ends in Nanded. Since 2003, at least five, and perhaps six, Hindutva-related explosions have taken place in central Maharashtra alone, in Parbhani, Purna, Jalna and Nanded. Malegaon also witnessed a bomb blast last year, killing 40 people, with strong indications of a Hindutva hand behind it. (The final picture will emerge after an ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation finishes.) Beyond the geographical similarities, the details of the attacks were uncanny: each took place between 1:45 and 2:00 in the afternoon, just after Friday prayers, at the most prominent mosque in town. (The bomb that went off in Nanded in 2006 exploded on 6 April, a Thursday, but was apparently meant to be set off at an Aurangabad masjid the following day.)
At the same time, this cannot be dubbed a Maharashtra-centric phenomenon. Madhya Pradesh’s former chief minister, Digvijay Singh, has publicly admitted to the involvement of various groups and individuals affiliated with the RSS in similar acts in his state. As for the rest of the country, no systematic study of saffron ‘terror’ has yet been undertaken. One reason for this could be the thin line that separates the different anushangik (affiliated) organisations of the RSS, thereby making it possible to move from the ‘legal’ to the ‘illegal’ without great effort. Indeed, there is every possibility that funds collected from the Hindu diaspora for philanthropic work might also have been channelled to further ‘terrorist’ activities.
Nonetheless, culturally integrated practices are being utilised to arm certain sections of the Hindu community. Back in 2001, Rajasthan’s then-Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot revealed that up to four million trishuls – six to eight inches long and sharp enough to kill – had been distributed by the Bajrang Dal to Hindu households across the country. Meanwhile, in 2002, a group in Orissa, under the district Shiv Sena unit, formed the first-ever Hindu suicide squad, aimed at countering Muslim ‘extremism’ in Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere. More than 100 youths, including some women, are said to have joined the group.
Hindutva collusion
Nanded’s population is made up of around 500,000 Hindus, 200,000 Muslims and 100,000 Sikhs. The town has seen a significant amount of communal tension in the past, which spiked following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. In more recent years, this tension seems to have also spilled over into surrounding towns such as Parbhani, where, in November 2003, motorcycle-borne attackers hurled bombs into the midst of a large congregation of Muslims assembled for Friday papers. Although the identities of the Parbhani bomb-throwers were never traced, forensic tests following the Nanded blasts revealed that the accused were part of the same group of Hindu militants that had executed the attack in Parbhani.
Following the April 2006 blasts in Nanded, an odd silence ensued – in the local and national media, as well as in the local and national governments. There was also a disturbing lack of sincerity on the part of the investigating agencies in pursuing the case, despite appearing to have gathered significant evidence of the involvement of district and state leaders of the RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). As investigations by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other rights organisations have made clear, the district administration even saw to it that news of the blasts did not receive wide coverage. After the initial excitement, district officials also allegedly pressured the local media not to follow the case any further.
The lackadaisical reaction also spread through those involved in local and national investigations. Local police made contradictory statements, and failed to make arrests in the initial stages. Despite the sensitive nature of the Nanded case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) expressed its “inability” to conduct the subsequent investigation. In response to a case filed by some social organisations against the tardiness of the investigations, the CBI filed a suo moto affidavit explaining that it was “overburdened” and had “limited hands to deal with such cases”. The cumulative effect of the half-hearted – or wholly obstructionist – initiatives, at both the state and central level, was to show the kid-glove treatment being meted out to India’s new breed of Hindutva militants. Secular activists questioned whether the reaction would have been similar had the explosions taken place in a minority-dominated area, and the involvement of some ‘fanatic’ Islamic group been detected.
The cavalier manner in which the probes of the Nanded blasts were undertaken may have prepared the ground for a stepping-up of similar activities in the area. On 10 February 2007, at little after midnight, biscuit boxes being hauled by 28-year-old Pandurang Ameelkanthwar in another area in Nanded exploded, killing him instantly. His cousin, Dnaneshwar Manikwar, sustained massive burns and died six days later. Ameelkanthwar had been a former shakha pramukh (branch head) of the Shiv Sena, and was also associated with the Bajrang Dal. He hailed from an area in Nanded called Rangargalli, a known hotbed of rightwing Hindu outfits.
A mere ‘fire-related accident’ was how state officials subsequently reported the incident. But preliminary findings of a civil-society inquiry suggest that Ameelkanthwar and Manikwar died due to handled planted explosives. Neighbours near the explosion also told the team that there had been a third person present at the time, who had also been injured but has been unaccounted for in subsequent reports.
These eyewitnesses also said that a police officer, who went on to be part of the official investigation, supervised the seizing and spiriting away of critical evidence from the spot. In their report, the civil-society investigators state that the Maharashtra police, particularly the superintendent and inspector-general, appeared to be in “undue haste to close all possibilities of a possible liquid-substance-driven explosion, preferring to quote oral findings of forensic experts from Aurangabad who are reported to have told them that it was a petrol-ignited fire”. Among other evidence, this conclusion is brought under serious suspicion by the fact the explosion threw the iron shutter of a nearby godown a distance of 40 feet – an extremely long way for a fire set off by burning gasoline.
The civil society team also refers to a “nexus between some police officials and the rightwing Hindu outfits”. According to the probe’s findings, Nanded Police Inspector Ramesh Bhurewar, who was leading the investigation of the 2006 Nanded blast, was also in charge of the investigation into the Parbhani blasts in November 2003. During the course of the long investigation, he had not made a single arrest. A First Information Report was only registered after a legislator raised a question in the state assembly. But following the Nanded blasts in April 2006, the accused admitted to having placed the bombs at Parbhani. As such, the civil-society report concludes: “The Nanded and state police are hence guilty of underplaying crimes wherein members of the minority community are the victims, causing a loss of face for the state police.”
In their conclusion, the fact-finding team demanded that the central government keep a close watch over the increasing incidence of Hindutva ‘terror’ activities. They also asked for independent investigations under a team of neutral officers; and impartial, public inquiries into the Nanded, Malegaon, Parbhani and Purna incidents, in order to ascertain whether state intelligence and police agencies are indeed professional and neutral enough to investigate instances of politically driven Hindutva violence.
History of hate
Taking aim: Bajrang Dal women’s brigade, Lucknow, 2001
Post-Independence India is replete with examples of the participation of Hindu extremists in aggravating communal situations, targeting particular communities, and aiding and abetting riots. Those who have watched the organisation since its inception say that the ‘terrorism’ label may be modern, but the acts themselves, fundamentalist to the core, are decades old: making communally sensitive speeches that culminate in riots; leading religious processions in sensitive areas inhabited by Muslims and other minorities; and outright provocations leading people to engage in violence.
Rajeshwar Dayal, chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh at the time of Partition, provides in his 1999 memoirs A Life of Our Times details of another kind: damning evidence of RSS chief Golwalkar’s plans to conduct a pogrom against Muslims. Pyarelal Nayyar, Mohandas Gandhi’s secretary during those tumultuous times, adds to these accusations: “It was common knowledge that the RSS … had been behind the bulk of the killings in [Delhi] as also in various other parts of India.”
Contrary to the perception that the Sangh Parivar has gained momentum only since the 1990s, various commissions that have looked into communal riots since 1947 have gathered a significant body of evidence on the role of the RSS and affiliated organisations. The Reddy Commission, which in 1969 looked into rioting in Gujarat; the Justice Madon Commission, which analysed the riots in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in the early 1970s; the Justice Vithayathil Commission, which probed the 1971 Tellicherry riots – all of these provide solid details of the involvement of either the RSS or its mass political platform, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in fomenting the trouble.
Justice Venugopal’s report, on the Kanyakumari riots of 1982, also severely indicted the RSS for its role in instigating riots against Christians. According to Justice Venugopal, the RSS methodology for provoking communal violence was as follows: rousing communal feelings in the majority community; deepening fear in the majority community; infiltrating into the state administration; training young people of the majority community in the use of weapons; and spreading rumours to widen communal splits. About the shakhas that the RSS organises under the rubric of physical training, Justice Venugopal said that the aim appeared to be “to inculcate an attitude of militancy and training for any kind of civil strife”.
It was only in 2004 that the Terrorism Research Centre (TRC), a US-based institute, declared the RSS a ‘terrorist organisation’, lumping it together with a host of jihadi and secessionist outfits, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Hizb ul-Mujahideen. This new listing came close on the heels of an internationally
embarrassing incident for the Hindutva-wallahs, wherein Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was denied a visa to travel to the US. The two slaps in the face left the Sangh Parivar bosses seething (although it took more than eight months for the RSS to formally react to the TRC’s assessment). But this was not the first time that Hindutva organisations had earned international opprobrium. In 2002, secular activists in the US brought out a thoroughly researched report called “Funding Hate”. For the first time, this document exposed how funds collected in the US by the India Development and Relief Fund (the IDRF, an umbrella organisation floated by the Hindutva brigade) were directly sponsoring sectarian violence in India.
Cover-up
One potential reason for the inability of the powers-that-be to establish a connection between Hindu militants and acts of terror in India could be the near absence of non-Hindus in the central government’s various intelligence wings. Whatever the reasons, this dearth is shocking. Barring the Intelligence Bureau, which has around 12,000 personnel and only a few Muslim officers, none of the other intelligence departments have even a single Muslim officer between them. From 1969 until today, neither the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) nor the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) has hired even one Muslim officer. (Following the Malegaon blasts, S M Mushrif, a retired India Police Service officer, publicly disparaged the Intelligence Bureau for having long been the source of “unsubstantiated rumours” due to “deep-seated bias”.) The state of affairs has inevitably led to what can be dubbed the government’s rather monochromatic presentation of the menace of terrorism in recent years, with sole responsibility for attacks almost immediately placed on various Islamist groups, regardless of evidence.
Despite a ‘secular’ coalition currently holding the reins of power at the Centre and in many of India’s state administrations, there have been depressingly few sincere attempts to move beyond post-9/11 mythology and the rhetoric of the ‘war on terror’, which demonises Islam. So complete is this perspective that it is difficult to decipher any qualitative difference between the ‘secular’ Congress and the ‘communal’ BJP in their responses to any act of ‘terror’. Instead, even while we have been witness to the dilly-dallying of the Congress following the Nanded and Malegaon blasts, the same Congress-led government had no qualms in targeting Muslims as a community after the July 2006 bomb blasts in Bombay. (In the immediate aftermath of the Bombay attacks, an anti-terrorist squad singled out the Muslim community for suspicion, and immediately began ‘combing’ operations.) The Maharashtra state administration has also shown its anti-Muslim bias in times of tragedy. Even while attesting to their sadness over the Malegaon blast, state officials saw to it that victims, the majority of whom were Muslim, received just a fifth of the compensation received by the victims of the Bombay blasts of 1993 – the majority of whom were Hindu.
The fallout of this situation has been the administrative failure to address terrorism unleashed by Hindutva activists and formations. One possible reason for the government’s ostrich-like position could be that, due to electoral considerations, nobody has wanted to displease the majority Hindus. While it is true that Hindutva groups are not currently in a majority at the Centre, the impact of Hindutva nonetheless transcends its strength in government. Note the inability of ‘secular’ groups to bring criminal cases against the likes of communal leaders like Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, and the champions of Hindutva: Praveen Togadia, Lal Krishna Advani or Narendra Modi. Indeed, the present-day Congress itself is a faint shadow of its Nehruvian avatar: after all, it ‘discovered’ the idea of ‘soft Hindutva’ two decades ago, in a bid to further its hold on the reins of power.
It is time that the public be made aware of the rising trajectory of Hindutva criminality. The dangerous understanding that a particular community, region or religious ideology is more prone towards ‘terrorist’ activities needs to be refuted at all costs. The people of Southasia in general, and India in particular, need to be convinced that there is no qualitative difference between the violent acts committed by LTTE suicide bombers, al-Qaeda jihadis, Khalistani militants or members of militant Hindutva organisations. This realisation could be the first step in organising simultaneous social and political strategies to expose, challenge and dissolve these groups.
Tea-labour Hinduisation
[Illustration by: karen haydock
(Himal
October-November 2007)
Cover Feature
Tea-labour Hinduisation
by : Tom Mangattuthazhe Thomas
The Adivasis of Assam’s tea-labour communities are among the oldest of the state’s migrants. They were recruited by British tea planters from present-day Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal between 1861 and the early 20th century. Belonging to numerous Adivasi groups – including the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Kharia, Gond, Khond, Kisang and Nagesia – they settled down in Assam after their contracts ended. These groups now form a significant percent of the state’s population.
However, despite their long history in the state, the ex-tea-labour communities remain ‘outsiders’ in Assam – lacking the Scheduled Tribe status accorded to the same groups in their original homelands, and deprived of benefits available to other ‘backward castes’. Local resentment also has a long history. Although Adivasi tea labourers were brought to the Assamese plantations under slave-like conditions, at a time when the British were forcibly taking over lands belonging to the indigenous Ahom, Boro, Mishing and Koch communities for plantations, locals who had lost their land viewed them as encroachers. Throughout the Northeast but particularly in Assam, there followed a fierce competition for scarce resources, particularly land and forests, with the tea-labour communities pitted against the locals, causing the low-burn conflict that continues to date.
The future of the Adivasis in Assam needs to be seen in the context of the growing sub-nationalism in the Northeast generally, in which each group is increasingly asserting its own identity and turning against ‘outsiders’. The Adivasis, as their name indicates, may well be indigenous elsewhere, but are not considered so in Assam.
Parivar inroads
Dalits and Adivasis throughout India are targets of particular attention by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Hindu organisations. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has a blueprint for an Adivasi ‘emancipation’ through activities covering their economic, social and cultural existence. The Ekal Vidyalaya foundation, an outfit under RSS control, likewise has a chain of single-teacher schools in the Adivasi villages of the Northeast.
Such instances are part of a larger programme to incorporate those who are traditionally outside the Hindu social order into Hinduism. The creation of a new religious identity is central to this project, which is effected through the transformation of daily life practices. A change in the pattern of worship in these groups is gradually being brought about, whereby the places of worship of Adivasis and Dalits are being transformed into Hindu temples, with Brahmanical deities replacing local gods and goddesses.
Not all Hindu influences on Adivasi life are recent, however. As Adivasis started interacting with plains people, they also started inculcating Brahmanical traits. But in recent years, the RSS and its affiliates are systematically promoting Hindu rituals and pujas to obliterate tribal identity. Despite recently emerged differences in their customs and beliefs, over the decades the different Adivasi groups have broadly retained their core identity, marked by kinship and clan affiliation.
The aggressive Hindutva-isation is now eroding these core features, re-interpreting the commonality between Hinduism and animism in an attempt to accelerate the already existing process of Sanskritisation. The zealous intervention of the Sangh Parivar in the Northeast, including Assam, has at least three immediate implications. First, it is likely to entail the loss of the traditional culture of these groups. Second, conflicts could be sparked off with Christians groups active in these areas. Third, conflict could spike between the Hinduised and organised Adivasis and the traditional local communities.
Christians are meanwhile being portrayed as being more loyal to a foreign land than their own motherland, and thus not able to be part of the Indian nation in its Hinduised polity. The fact that Christianity was becoming an attractive option to many Adivasi communities has undoubtedly posed a threat to the forces of Hindu nationalism. In this coupling, religio-cultural differences were reinforced by ethno-social differences. Variation threatens to become potently dangerous: Adivasis must in no way reassert their difference from Hinduism by embracing Christianity. Thus, those who subscribed to the Hindu homogenisation project disseminated the view that embracing Christianity was both an anti-national and anti-cultural act.
Meanwhile, from slanderous whispers to blasphemous literature, the Sangh is currently reeling out spools of half-truths and blatant lies, with an eye to expanding its network and influence among the largely non-literate rural public. In the Northeast, there are pamphlets, leaflets, calendars and magazines to imprint the Hindutva version of truth. Indeed, the steady inroads being made into poor communities throughout the Northeast by Hindutva is nothing less than alarming.
October 02, 2007
Hindu Janjagruti Samiti Exhibition in Goa: An Invitation to Hate
Gomantak Times, Panjim, 2 October 2007
An Invitation To Hate and Spread It
Jason Keith Fernandes
This weekend I had the misfortune of visiting the most obnoxious exhibition. Set up by the Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, the object of the exhibition was to ‘educate’ the average Hindu about the violence by Muslims on the Hindus of Kashmir and Bangladesh. I say ‘educate’ the Hindu, since every display of violence was followed by a caption addressed to the viewer indicating that if they were Hindu, then these visuals should make their blood boil, and tomorrow this violence could possibly be visited on them. If they were not moved, they were not fit to be - and hence not - Hindu. The theme of the exhibition purported to be the violence occurring in Kashmir, and yet, addressing the plight of the Kashmiri whether Hindu or Muslim was not its concern. On the contrary, the attempt through the exhibition was to ensure that local Hindus see the local Muslim as the natural and necessary enemy. What this exhibition is, therefore, is a very clear and deliberate attempt to create communal divisions in Goa.
Now I am not surprised by this display of anti-Muslim hatred, since one has gotten used to seeing this daily violence perpetuated for not being a certain kind of Hindu. For the Hindu right wing, it is not enough to hate only the minorities. Not being brahmanised upper-caste and minority hating is just as bad in their book. What is surprising is that this very blatant organizing of Hindus against Muslims (and by logical conclusion against the Catholics in Goa) is that it is taking place in the premises of the Kala Academy. Why the premier cultural institution of a secular state is allowing violent activities on its premises is a question that the authorities of the Kala Academy must immediately answer. The authorities can reprieve themselves of this abuse of authority only by withdrawing permission for this exhibition immediately. Worse, this is not just an exhibition; there was also a screening of inflammatory documentaries, followed by similar discussion sessions which were nothing short of unnerving.
Walking through the exhibition, the organizing women clamoring quite literally for the blood of local Muslims, was extremely unnerving. I fancy myself as a reasonably rational individual not given to acts of passion. And yet in this environment, I was strangely drawn toward pulling down the posters, destroying the projector and disrupting the meeting that was being conducted, knocking a few heads while I was at it. It was when placed in this environment that I finally realized what it must be like to be a persecuted minority, and especially a Muslim in this country. Every apparently innocuous saffron flag is in fact a threat, telling you that your time is coming and you had better be careful. If then I, as an individual who is not being directly threatened here, who has an escape route out of the country in terms of livelihood options, should respond irrationally and violently to such stimuli, how would a Muslim, already on the economic fringes of society, and subject to no less that 60 years of harassment respond to this threat? The object of the exhibition then, is twofold. It is first to tell the individual that you are Hindu (or not Hindu) first, and that every Muslim is your presumed enemy and you should ‘get’ them before they get you. The objective: The creation of a communal divide, and an invitation to violence. It exceeds this-one sided mobilization however, and also operates as a provocation to local Muslim groups. Of course, once the Muslims have been hounded enough to retaliate, all of society will turn around, refuse to see the provocation and shrug, saying “It is true, these Muslims are violent by nature.” A minimum of 60 years of such violence has produced nervous and insecure Muslim groups in India. 60 and more years of Hindutva aggression has created the communal bloodbaths of this country, and the current exhibition is a fantastic example of who and what is responsible for it.
This particular exhibition has been touring Goa for some months now and it is a sign of the power and arrogance of these groups that they dare to take over the Kala Academy, the space of the secular and sophisticated in our capital. This is nothing less than a final flexing of muscle before they act out their fiendish agenda. While we must guard ourselves from this venom, they must first be cast out from the Kala Academy and the Academy asked to explain how they got there in the first place.
[The exhibition mentioned in this article is a photo-documentation by Francois Gautier. He subscribes to the fascist Hindutva project, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francois_Gautier]
An Invitation To Hate and Spread It
Jason Keith Fernandes
This weekend I had the misfortune of visiting the most obnoxious exhibition. Set up by the Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, the object of the exhibition was to ‘educate’ the average Hindu about the violence by Muslims on the Hindus of Kashmir and Bangladesh. I say ‘educate’ the Hindu, since every display of violence was followed by a caption addressed to the viewer indicating that if they were Hindu, then these visuals should make their blood boil, and tomorrow this violence could possibly be visited on them. If they were not moved, they were not fit to be - and hence not - Hindu. The theme of the exhibition purported to be the violence occurring in Kashmir, and yet, addressing the plight of the Kashmiri whether Hindu or Muslim was not its concern. On the contrary, the attempt through the exhibition was to ensure that local Hindus see the local Muslim as the natural and necessary enemy. What this exhibition is, therefore, is a very clear and deliberate attempt to create communal divisions in Goa.
Now I am not surprised by this display of anti-Muslim hatred, since one has gotten used to seeing this daily violence perpetuated for not being a certain kind of Hindu. For the Hindu right wing, it is not enough to hate only the minorities. Not being brahmanised upper-caste and minority hating is just as bad in their book. What is surprising is that this very blatant organizing of Hindus against Muslims (and by logical conclusion against the Catholics in Goa) is that it is taking place in the premises of the Kala Academy. Why the premier cultural institution of a secular state is allowing violent activities on its premises is a question that the authorities of the Kala Academy must immediately answer. The authorities can reprieve themselves of this abuse of authority only by withdrawing permission for this exhibition immediately. Worse, this is not just an exhibition; there was also a screening of inflammatory documentaries, followed by similar discussion sessions which were nothing short of unnerving.
Walking through the exhibition, the organizing women clamoring quite literally for the blood of local Muslims, was extremely unnerving. I fancy myself as a reasonably rational individual not given to acts of passion. And yet in this environment, I was strangely drawn toward pulling down the posters, destroying the projector and disrupting the meeting that was being conducted, knocking a few heads while I was at it. It was when placed in this environment that I finally realized what it must be like to be a persecuted minority, and especially a Muslim in this country. Every apparently innocuous saffron flag is in fact a threat, telling you that your time is coming and you had better be careful. If then I, as an individual who is not being directly threatened here, who has an escape route out of the country in terms of livelihood options, should respond irrationally and violently to such stimuli, how would a Muslim, already on the economic fringes of society, and subject to no less that 60 years of harassment respond to this threat? The object of the exhibition then, is twofold. It is first to tell the individual that you are Hindu (or not Hindu) first, and that every Muslim is your presumed enemy and you should ‘get’ them before they get you. The objective: The creation of a communal divide, and an invitation to violence. It exceeds this-one sided mobilization however, and also operates as a provocation to local Muslim groups. Of course, once the Muslims have been hounded enough to retaliate, all of society will turn around, refuse to see the provocation and shrug, saying “It is true, these Muslims are violent by nature.” A minimum of 60 years of such violence has produced nervous and insecure Muslim groups in India. 60 and more years of Hindutva aggression has created the communal bloodbaths of this country, and the current exhibition is a fantastic example of who and what is responsible for it.
This particular exhibition has been touring Goa for some months now and it is a sign of the power and arrogance of these groups that they dare to take over the Kala Academy, the space of the secular and sophisticated in our capital. This is nothing less than a final flexing of muscle before they act out their fiendish agenda. While we must guard ourselves from this venom, they must first be cast out from the Kala Academy and the Academy asked to explain how they got there in the first place.
[The exhibition mentioned in this article is a photo-documentation by Francois Gautier. He subscribes to the fascist Hindutva project, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francois_Gautier]
October 01, 2007
THE NEW CONGRESS GODS!
Goan Observer, Panjim, Sep 29 - Oct 5, 2007
[This is the polemical first half of an article written in the context of local Goan politics. The second half of this article, which is the local context, is not included.]
RAJAN NARAYAN
The Congress Party has always sought to appease every god, but it is now worrisome that they are falling at the feet of the devil’s assurors.
THE CONGRESS party has always prided itself on being a secular party. This does not mean that the Congress party is anti-religion. On the contrary, this means that the Congress party, or at least Congress politicians, believe in keeping all the gods happy. Whether they are Hindu gods or Muslim gods or Christian gods or Sikh gods or Buddhist gods or even Parsi gods. Congress politicians compete with each other to pay homage to all the gods. Not necessarily because they are all very religious, but because they do not want to antagonise the followers and the devotees of any of the gods. Which is why the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, and other senior Congress leaders like the Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal, were so upset because the Minister for Culture, Ambika Soni, committed the blasphemy of permitting the Archaeological Survey of India to file an affidavit insisting that there was no historical evidence that Shri Ram ever existed.
Congress leaders are extremely religious. Or at least believe in being seen as extremely religious. Right from the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, to the lowest functionary in the party. Congress leaders make it a point to visit and offer prayers at every temple, mosque or church. They do not limit themselves to visiting and offering prayers at every temple, mosque and dargah. They also do not fail to pay their respects to every godman, whether it is the Shankaracharya or the Sai Baba or the Catholic and Muslim clergy. They pray to all the gods before every election to bless the party and the candidate. After they are elected to power they go back to all the gods and all the godmen and all the godwomen to thank them for their victory in the elections. And pray for offices of profit.
SUPREME DEITY
THE Congressmen and Congresswomen do not limit themselves to praying to all the religious gods and all the godmen and the godwomen. For Congressmen and Congresswomen, the supreme deity is not Lord Ram or the Prophet Mohammed or Lord Jesus Christ or Lord Buddha or Lord Mahavira or Guru Govind Singh. The supreme deity of all Congressmen is goddess Sonia Gandhi. Because the fate of Congressmen depends not only on Lord Ram or Lord Ganesh or Lord Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed, but more importantly on goddess Sonia Gandhi. Because it is Sonia Gandhi who decides whether the Congressmen or Congresswomen will get the party ticket to contest the election. It is Sonia Gandhi who decides which Congress MP will be inducted into the cabinet and what portfolio he or she will be given. It is Sonia Gandhi who decides which Congress MLA will be “unanimously” elected as the Congress Legislative Party chief, who is automatically anointed the chief minister.
In all - if not most – religions, you cannot approach God directly. God has his agents. To please the gods and get their benediction, you have to please the bhatjis and the purohits and the maulanas and the parish priests, who see themselves as intermediaries between devotees and gods. The presumption being that the priests of every religion are closer to god than the common man and know best what will please the gods. So in everyday life the aam aadmi seeks the assistance of the priest and the maulanas and the purohits to help them seek the blessings of the god. Presumably the priests have special knowledge and expertise on what pleases the gods, and know the best way of persuading them to shower their benedictions on the aam aadmi.
GODS’ AGENTS
AS in the case of the religious gods, the secular gods also have their own agents. Some appointed by the secular gods. And some who are self-appointed and project themselves as enjoying the confidence of the secular gods. For instance, Congressmen and Congresswomen who wish to seek and receive favours from the Supreme Goddess of the Congress party have to go through the general secretaries of the All India Congress Committee in charge of their particular states because Goddess Sonia Gandhi does not entertain direct petitions. But it is not only the Congress general secretaries who have to be propitiated to secure favours from goddess Sonia Gandhi. Like all gods, Sonia Gandhi also has some close personal confidants. [Snip]
[This is the polemical first half of an article written in the context of local Goan politics. The second half of this article, which is the local context, is not included.]
RAJAN NARAYAN
The Congress Party has always sought to appease every god, but it is now worrisome that they are falling at the feet of the devil’s assurors.
THE CONGRESS party has always prided itself on being a secular party. This does not mean that the Congress party is anti-religion. On the contrary, this means that the Congress party, or at least Congress politicians, believe in keeping all the gods happy. Whether they are Hindu gods or Muslim gods or Christian gods or Sikh gods or Buddhist gods or even Parsi gods. Congress politicians compete with each other to pay homage to all the gods. Not necessarily because they are all very religious, but because they do not want to antagonise the followers and the devotees of any of the gods. Which is why the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, and other senior Congress leaders like the Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal, were so upset because the Minister for Culture, Ambika Soni, committed the blasphemy of permitting the Archaeological Survey of India to file an affidavit insisting that there was no historical evidence that Shri Ram ever existed.
Congress leaders are extremely religious. Or at least believe in being seen as extremely religious. Right from the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, to the lowest functionary in the party. Congress leaders make it a point to visit and offer prayers at every temple, mosque or church. They do not limit themselves to visiting and offering prayers at every temple, mosque and dargah. They also do not fail to pay their respects to every godman, whether it is the Shankaracharya or the Sai Baba or the Catholic and Muslim clergy. They pray to all the gods before every election to bless the party and the candidate. After they are elected to power they go back to all the gods and all the godmen and all the godwomen to thank them for their victory in the elections. And pray for offices of profit.
SUPREME DEITY
THE Congressmen and Congresswomen do not limit themselves to praying to all the religious gods and all the godmen and the godwomen. For Congressmen and Congresswomen, the supreme deity is not Lord Ram or the Prophet Mohammed or Lord Jesus Christ or Lord Buddha or Lord Mahavira or Guru Govind Singh. The supreme deity of all Congressmen is goddess Sonia Gandhi. Because the fate of Congressmen depends not only on Lord Ram or Lord Ganesh or Lord Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed, but more importantly on goddess Sonia Gandhi. Because it is Sonia Gandhi who decides whether the Congressmen or Congresswomen will get the party ticket to contest the election. It is Sonia Gandhi who decides which Congress MP will be inducted into the cabinet and what portfolio he or she will be given. It is Sonia Gandhi who decides which Congress MLA will be “unanimously” elected as the Congress Legislative Party chief, who is automatically anointed the chief minister.
In all - if not most – religions, you cannot approach God directly. God has his agents. To please the gods and get their benediction, you have to please the bhatjis and the purohits and the maulanas and the parish priests, who see themselves as intermediaries between devotees and gods. The presumption being that the priests of every religion are closer to god than the common man and know best what will please the gods. So in everyday life the aam aadmi seeks the assistance of the priest and the maulanas and the purohits to help them seek the blessings of the god. Presumably the priests have special knowledge and expertise on what pleases the gods, and know the best way of persuading them to shower their benedictions on the aam aadmi.
GODS’ AGENTS
AS in the case of the religious gods, the secular gods also have their own agents. Some appointed by the secular gods. And some who are self-appointed and project themselves as enjoying the confidence of the secular gods. For instance, Congressmen and Congresswomen who wish to seek and receive favours from the Supreme Goddess of the Congress party have to go through the general secretaries of the All India Congress Committee in charge of their particular states because Goddess Sonia Gandhi does not entertain direct petitions. But it is not only the Congress general secretaries who have to be propitiated to secure favours from goddess Sonia Gandhi. Like all gods, Sonia Gandhi also has some close personal confidants. [Snip]
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