Indian Express
June 20, 2004
SET PIECE
Sanyasin Satellites
Uma Bharti may be the power centre in Madhya Pradesh but real power belongs to a few chosen men in her inner circle — Bhopal’s gang of five
HARTOSH BAL
Posted online: Sunday, June 20, 2004 at 0000 hours IST
BHOPAL: Digvijay Singh recently said that Uma Bharti needs to escape the influence of gau, gobar, gau mutra and Govindacharya.
While Digvijay’s own credentials for making such a statement, given his record on the cow, remain suspect, Govindacharya’s official status in MP continues to remain a source of much speculation. He certainly seems to have spent more time in Bhopal over the past four months than he has over the previous four years.
He remains the most important of Uma Bharti’s circle of advisors, formal and informal, and she admits to consulting him on every important issue.
Till the election code of conduct came into place, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch—Govindacharya is the co-convenor of the organisation—had become the arbiter of most things in MP.
The most recent example of his influence on her political life came when she rushed to Delhi to submit her ‘resignation’ as chief minister over the possibility of Sonia being sworn in Prime Minister. Just days earlier Govindacharya had launched his Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan over the issue.
Having managed to do an unexpected favour to the Congress, Uma now claims her opposition to Sonia as PM is a personal issue.
By extension that would make the post of CM part of Uma’s personal concerns and perhaps that is where Govindacharya fits in. Ironically the charge the BJP now hurls at Sonia, power without responsibility, applies in equal measure to Govindacharya in Bhopal.
Former journalist and a Govindacharya acolyte, Atul Jain has traded in his right wing loyalties for governmental pelf. He appeared on the scene as the bridge between Uma and the media during the Assembly campaign.
His pitch to journalists was that he realised how badly Uma was misunderstood when he covered the Ram Janambhoomi campaign. Now as one of the four officially appointed advisors to the CM, he seems to be one of the main obstacles in the already tempestuous relationship that Uma has with the media.
TEAM UMA
Govindacharya: His is the
unseen hand that moves all things in MP. Official status: unclear
Atul Jain: One of the CM’s four advisors, he is the link between the media and her–a weak one
Shailendra Sharma: Advisor, works behind the scenes
Anil Dave: This RSS man had run Uma’s campaign. Is responsible for mobilising the RSS network
Siddharth Lodhi: CM’s nephew and bureaucracy’s favourite
As often happens, the blame for Uma’s inaccessibility is now laid at his door, with the state’s entire PR apparatus at his beck and call. He has not done himself any favour by recently barring the entry to the CM house for representatives of a national network, which also has a separate channel devoted to MP.
He comes from an old BJP political family to which Uma has been close through her political life. Shailendra Sharma was often seen with Atul Jain during the Assembly campaign. But ever since Uma has come to power and he has been appointed advisor, he has preferred to work behind the scenes.
Without clearly defined responsibilities in this post he is perceived to wield tremendous power within the administration.
With little background in electoral politics he was projected as one of the main claimants for the ticket to the Bhopal Lok Sabha in the recent polls. He claims that he was denied the ticket because state BJP president Kailash Joshi put forth a claim for the ticket. But the facts are otherwise, Kailash Joshi never wanted to contest.
Anil Dave, a senior RSS man, was the last of the political appointees to the post of advisor to the CM. Before the elections he had wielded together a team, including Atul Jain and Shailendra Sharma, that had run much of the Uma campaign and was widely credited with harnessing the large RSS network in the state.
For reasons that still remain unclear he had fallen out with Uma Bharti immediately after her victory and it was only the RSS’ insistence that led to his appointment to the post. He remains the only advisor who does not have a government office and operates out of the same set of room from where he had masterminded the campaign.
But while Uma continues to consult him, even the RSS has been unable to check many of her controversial moves. The next few months, could see this RSS man with a commercial pilot’s license take centrestage or make his exit.
Ever since the first days of the Uma regime, quips about two RSS have been doing the rounds. The first is the Sangh, the second was an acronym for the Lodhi triumvirate of Rahul, Siddharth and Swami—two nephews and a brother. But ever since it is Siddharth Lodhi who has emerged as the representative face of this RSS.
Siddharth is much sought out by the bureaucracy but unlike his uncle Swami, he had managed to evade the limelight till recently.
Now senior Congress leaders have alleged that it was Siddharth’s men who had kept a group of journalists hostage when they had attempted to expose illegal quarrying in Shivpuri district a fortnight ago.
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June 20, 2004
June 14, 2004
Bangladesh: DEBATING THE AHMADIYYA BAN
The Daily Star [Bangladesh]
June 14, 2004
DEBATING THE AHMADIYYA BAN
Naeem Mohaiemen and Zafar Sobhan
The two recently engaged in a free-spirited debate about the Ahmadiyya book ban and the state of human rights in Bangladesh.
Mohaiemen: Our government must come to its senses and lift the ban. What is accomplished by this ban? Peace and stability has not been restored. The Khatme Nabuwot has actually increased its campaign since the ban. Now they have given a June 30 deadline of declaring Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim. They have started calling themselves the "International Khatme Nabuwot" (makes you wonder who is funding them?). They have formed an executive committee with 33 members which had pledged to go from village to village in Bangladesh until all 91 Ahmadiyya mosques are liberated. In Rangpur, they kidnapped and tortured 15 Ahmadiyyas, forcing them to do tawba and renounce Ahmadiyya Islam. What kind of Islam is this? Did the Prophet Mohammed (SM) teach us to torture in the name of Islam? Khatme Nabuwot is perverting the meaning of Islam and giving a black eye to all Muslims. The government cannot be a passive spectator. They must step in and arrest the zealots of Khatme Nabuwot. And they need to take quick actions to remove the ban.
Sobhan: Let's call a spade a spade. This is not a question of being a passive spectator. The ban is law. It was promulgated by the government. The government is therefore -- whether it intended to be or not -- an active participant in the persecution of the Ahmadiyyas. And as you point out, there is a direct connection between the ban and the emboldenment of the extremists which we are now seeing play out in Rangpur and elsewhere. And to the extent that the government does nothing to protect the Ahmadiyyas, it is again at fault. Government inaction is not passivity. It is an active choice. The government could easily protect the Ahmadiyya communities if it wanted to. It has the capability. Are you telling me that the KN has the numbers to even bring Dhaka to a standstill, let alone the country, as they have threatened? Last time I checked, the government was actually rather efficient -- some might say a little too efficient -- in putting down demonstrations against it.
Mohaiemen: One journalist made an excellent point at a screening at the Goethe Institute. He said, "Any time there is any sort of communal trouble, our liberal Muslim neighbors come forward and say, 'We will protect you.' But why should people need to protect people? That is the state's role. Only if the state mechanism is broken does this sort of 'people protecting people' need to happen." I agree with that. The state needs to play a positive role in safeguarding minorities. And the state has done that at times. When some major riots happened in India, the Bangladesh government played a positive role in making sure retaliation riots didn't happen here. But the state has failed in the case of Ahmadiyyas and given in to the extremists. Why it has abdicated its responsibilities here is a mystery.
Sobhan: As you have pointed out, the government has successfully protected other constituencies in the past. And news reports make clear that when the government does take affirmative steps, such as in Barisal and Patuakhali recently, they have successfully stopped programmes of persecution. So I think that it is pretty clear that the government is actually unwilling -- not unable -- to do more to stop the persecution. The government is in hock to its extremist coalition partners who want their pound of flesh. They are beholden to both the JI and the OIJ, without whose support and electoral alliance they would not have come to power, and they owe them big-time. And the religious parties have decided that this is the issue they want to push. There are always political points to be scored by beating up on a minority. Sadly, it remains a sure-fire way to get votes. In Rangpur, for instance, the persecution has taken place in a constituency which is at present controlled by the Jatiya Party and has been targeted by the four-party alliance in the next election. The anti-Ahmadiyya campaign is their first shot at establishing a presence there with the ultimate goal of taking the seat.
I fear, too, that some of the BNP leaders are not merely motivated by politics in not opposing the extremism of their alliance partners. They actually feel the same way. Their attitude is that Ahmadiyyas should be declared non-Muslim and have their books banned, and if they get burned out of their homes or raped or murdered as a result . . . well, that's not our fault, right?
Mohaiemen: Let's talk about Christine Rocca's visit, during which she brought up the Ahmadiyya book ban. It actually infuriates me that the government will respond to US officials when they complain about this issue, yet we Bangladeshi activists have been protesting about this for over six months. The government doesn't feel any need to respond to domestic human rights activists. ASK and others filed a "Demand Of Justice" notice the day after the ban, yet the government has yet to respond to that petition.
Ultimately, Bangladesh's problems have to be solved by us. You can't solve these problems through external pressure. Even if external pressure causes something to happen, it is a temporary fix. We have to build up the infrastructure and support for human rights and tolerance from inside Bangladesh. Also, I don't want my work co-opted by those who would divide the world into "us and them." I am fighting religious extremists, but I don't consider Bush's "Pax Americana" project to be my ally. Those who do, like Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis, are losing their own credibility with their "enemy of my enemy is my friend" philosophy. I am reminded of the Asian Dub Foundation song: "Enemy of the Enemy/Is a Friend/Until He's the Enemy Again."
Sobhan: I disagree. The way I see it, whatever pressure can be put to bear on the government is a good thing. I am not worried about the hypocrisy of the US government -- in this context it is not my problem. In fact, to me, this argument is a bit of a red herring thrown up by those who don't want change -- they can now say, well, you know, who is the US to be telling us what to do? This is total avoidance of the real issue. The only problem I have with Rocca speaking out is that it may delegitimise the struggle and could be used by the anti-Ahmadiyya activists to discredit the Ahmadiyyas. But I wouldn't want to play into that.
Your main frustration is over the government response to Rocca. But isn't that what governments do? They act in their own self interest and respond to those parties which have leverage over them. They don't respond to human rights activists because they don't see the need to. To make governments responsive, they have to fear negative repercussions -- and the only thing any government really fears is being thrown out of office. So the thing for activists to do is to raise awareness to the level that it becomes an electoral issue.
Mohaiemen: In the context of the US role in today's world, I am always interested in making linkages and parallels with other global situations. One of the things I have talked about at these film screenings is my own experience working with people like Blue Triangle and Not In Our Name in the US. These groups work to protect the civil rights of Muslim immigrants. In fact, Muslims are victims of the same racial profiling that tormented black Americans for decades. Now, in the post 9/11 hysteria, Muslims have become the new disenfranchised minority in America and Europe. Yet, in our own country where we Muslims are the majority, we do not hesitate to disenfranchise our own minorities. So, global activists cannot condemn only oppression against Muslim minorities in America. We have to speak out against oppression being carried out by our fellow Muslims. Otherwise it's a double standard.
Sobhan: I couldn't agree with you more. I find it ironic that we here in Bangladesh can get so outraged -- rightly -- over what is happening in Iraq or Palestine or the US, but can be so complacent about what is going on right under our noses. This is not to excuse the policies of the US or Israeli governments, but merely to point out that we should reserve a little more outrage for injustice that directly affects us and that we can actually do something about. Let me mention the case of Abdur Rob, Deputy Director of Proshika's Cultural Department, who has finally been released on bail, but has made credible allegations of torture while in custody. I found it very telling that we are so upset about torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib, but have been so silent about torture and abuse in our own jails. Abdur Rob isn't the first person to raise credible allegations of torture in custody -- which is almost always politically motivated -- but the outrage over these atrocities pales in comparison to the outrage registered by events abroad.
Mohaiemen: One disturbing trend is that a lot of people in Bangladesh and elsewhere think the religious parties are the only ones resisting neo-imperialism. Therefore, they tolerate and quietly support the religious parties. I keep hearing how the mosques and religious parties brought out largest rallies against the Iraq war. In fact, this is the failure of the Bangladesh left. Why couldn't they bring out massive rallies against the Iraq war? Kolkata had a very strong anti-war movement. They even mobilized a very successful boycott of American products. But it was all organized by the Kolkata left, not the religious parties. In fact, there are many ways to resist Empire. In America, some of the strongest voices against the war have been families of GIs, Vietnam vets, labor unions and black and Latino groups. So I have found other allies in the fight against imperialism, I don't feel any need to cozy up to the religious parties to resist Empire.
Sobhan: Well, the left parties did protest the recent visit of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as did the religious parties. But one thing to keep in mind is that the left in Bangladesh has been almost wiped off the face of the Earth. So even when they do take action, it has little impact. The worrisome thing is that there is a strong anti-imperialist, anti-Western, anti-globalisation constituency in the country, and many of their grievances are legitimate and deserve to be addressed, but in the absence of a healthy and durable left-wing in the nation, the only parties speaking to this constituency are the religious parties. This is something the more mainstream parties must address unless they want their base of popular support to continue to decline. The anti-Ahmadiyya movement, is, in my opinion, ultimately an electoral strategy, but it is only one of many that the religious parties are pursuing in order to consolidate and enhance their power.
Naeem Mohaiemen is the New York based director of Muslims or Heretics? (www.pinholepictures.com/ahmadiya), a documentary on persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslims.
Zafar Sobhan is an Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.
June 14, 2004
DEBATING THE AHMADIYYA BAN
Naeem Mohaiemen and Zafar Sobhan
The two recently engaged in a free-spirited debate about the Ahmadiyya book ban and the state of human rights in Bangladesh.
Mohaiemen: Our government must come to its senses and lift the ban. What is accomplished by this ban? Peace and stability has not been restored. The Khatme Nabuwot has actually increased its campaign since the ban. Now they have given a June 30 deadline of declaring Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim. They have started calling themselves the "International Khatme Nabuwot" (makes you wonder who is funding them?). They have formed an executive committee with 33 members which had pledged to go from village to village in Bangladesh until all 91 Ahmadiyya mosques are liberated. In Rangpur, they kidnapped and tortured 15 Ahmadiyyas, forcing them to do tawba and renounce Ahmadiyya Islam. What kind of Islam is this? Did the Prophet Mohammed (SM) teach us to torture in the name of Islam? Khatme Nabuwot is perverting the meaning of Islam and giving a black eye to all Muslims. The government cannot be a passive spectator. They must step in and arrest the zealots of Khatme Nabuwot. And they need to take quick actions to remove the ban.
Sobhan: Let's call a spade a spade. This is not a question of being a passive spectator. The ban is law. It was promulgated by the government. The government is therefore -- whether it intended to be or not -- an active participant in the persecution of the Ahmadiyyas. And as you point out, there is a direct connection between the ban and the emboldenment of the extremists which we are now seeing play out in Rangpur and elsewhere. And to the extent that the government does nothing to protect the Ahmadiyyas, it is again at fault. Government inaction is not passivity. It is an active choice. The government could easily protect the Ahmadiyya communities if it wanted to. It has the capability. Are you telling me that the KN has the numbers to even bring Dhaka to a standstill, let alone the country, as they have threatened? Last time I checked, the government was actually rather efficient -- some might say a little too efficient -- in putting down demonstrations against it.
Mohaiemen: One journalist made an excellent point at a screening at the Goethe Institute. He said, "Any time there is any sort of communal trouble, our liberal Muslim neighbors come forward and say, 'We will protect you.' But why should people need to protect people? That is the state's role. Only if the state mechanism is broken does this sort of 'people protecting people' need to happen." I agree with that. The state needs to play a positive role in safeguarding minorities. And the state has done that at times. When some major riots happened in India, the Bangladesh government played a positive role in making sure retaliation riots didn't happen here. But the state has failed in the case of Ahmadiyyas and given in to the extremists. Why it has abdicated its responsibilities here is a mystery.
Sobhan: As you have pointed out, the government has successfully protected other constituencies in the past. And news reports make clear that when the government does take affirmative steps, such as in Barisal and Patuakhali recently, they have successfully stopped programmes of persecution. So I think that it is pretty clear that the government is actually unwilling -- not unable -- to do more to stop the persecution. The government is in hock to its extremist coalition partners who want their pound of flesh. They are beholden to both the JI and the OIJ, without whose support and electoral alliance they would not have come to power, and they owe them big-time. And the religious parties have decided that this is the issue they want to push. There are always political points to be scored by beating up on a minority. Sadly, it remains a sure-fire way to get votes. In Rangpur, for instance, the persecution has taken place in a constituency which is at present controlled by the Jatiya Party and has been targeted by the four-party alliance in the next election. The anti-Ahmadiyya campaign is their first shot at establishing a presence there with the ultimate goal of taking the seat.
I fear, too, that some of the BNP leaders are not merely motivated by politics in not opposing the extremism of their alliance partners. They actually feel the same way. Their attitude is that Ahmadiyyas should be declared non-Muslim and have their books banned, and if they get burned out of their homes or raped or murdered as a result . . . well, that's not our fault, right?
Mohaiemen: Let's talk about Christine Rocca's visit, during which she brought up the Ahmadiyya book ban. It actually infuriates me that the government will respond to US officials when they complain about this issue, yet we Bangladeshi activists have been protesting about this for over six months. The government doesn't feel any need to respond to domestic human rights activists. ASK and others filed a "Demand Of Justice" notice the day after the ban, yet the government has yet to respond to that petition.
Ultimately, Bangladesh's problems have to be solved by us. You can't solve these problems through external pressure. Even if external pressure causes something to happen, it is a temporary fix. We have to build up the infrastructure and support for human rights and tolerance from inside Bangladesh. Also, I don't want my work co-opted by those who would divide the world into "us and them." I am fighting religious extremists, but I don't consider Bush's "Pax Americana" project to be my ally. Those who do, like Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis, are losing their own credibility with their "enemy of my enemy is my friend" philosophy. I am reminded of the Asian Dub Foundation song: "Enemy of the Enemy/Is a Friend/Until He's the Enemy Again."
Sobhan: I disagree. The way I see it, whatever pressure can be put to bear on the government is a good thing. I am not worried about the hypocrisy of the US government -- in this context it is not my problem. In fact, to me, this argument is a bit of a red herring thrown up by those who don't want change -- they can now say, well, you know, who is the US to be telling us what to do? This is total avoidance of the real issue. The only problem I have with Rocca speaking out is that it may delegitimise the struggle and could be used by the anti-Ahmadiyya activists to discredit the Ahmadiyyas. But I wouldn't want to play into that.
Your main frustration is over the government response to Rocca. But isn't that what governments do? They act in their own self interest and respond to those parties which have leverage over them. They don't respond to human rights activists because they don't see the need to. To make governments responsive, they have to fear negative repercussions -- and the only thing any government really fears is being thrown out of office. So the thing for activists to do is to raise awareness to the level that it becomes an electoral issue.
Mohaiemen: In the context of the US role in today's world, I am always interested in making linkages and parallels with other global situations. One of the things I have talked about at these film screenings is my own experience working with people like Blue Triangle and Not In Our Name in the US. These groups work to protect the civil rights of Muslim immigrants. In fact, Muslims are victims of the same racial profiling that tormented black Americans for decades. Now, in the post 9/11 hysteria, Muslims have become the new disenfranchised minority in America and Europe. Yet, in our own country where we Muslims are the majority, we do not hesitate to disenfranchise our own minorities. So, global activists cannot condemn only oppression against Muslim minorities in America. We have to speak out against oppression being carried out by our fellow Muslims. Otherwise it's a double standard.
Sobhan: I couldn't agree with you more. I find it ironic that we here in Bangladesh can get so outraged -- rightly -- over what is happening in Iraq or Palestine or the US, but can be so complacent about what is going on right under our noses. This is not to excuse the policies of the US or Israeli governments, but merely to point out that we should reserve a little more outrage for injustice that directly affects us and that we can actually do something about. Let me mention the case of Abdur Rob, Deputy Director of Proshika's Cultural Department, who has finally been released on bail, but has made credible allegations of torture while in custody. I found it very telling that we are so upset about torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib, but have been so silent about torture and abuse in our own jails. Abdur Rob isn't the first person to raise credible allegations of torture in custody -- which is almost always politically motivated -- but the outrage over these atrocities pales in comparison to the outrage registered by events abroad.
Mohaiemen: One disturbing trend is that a lot of people in Bangladesh and elsewhere think the religious parties are the only ones resisting neo-imperialism. Therefore, they tolerate and quietly support the religious parties. I keep hearing how the mosques and religious parties brought out largest rallies against the Iraq war. In fact, this is the failure of the Bangladesh left. Why couldn't they bring out massive rallies against the Iraq war? Kolkata had a very strong anti-war movement. They even mobilized a very successful boycott of American products. But it was all organized by the Kolkata left, not the religious parties. In fact, there are many ways to resist Empire. In America, some of the strongest voices against the war have been families of GIs, Vietnam vets, labor unions and black and Latino groups. So I have found other allies in the fight against imperialism, I don't feel any need to cozy up to the religious parties to resist Empire.
Sobhan: Well, the left parties did protest the recent visit of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as did the religious parties. But one thing to keep in mind is that the left in Bangladesh has been almost wiped off the face of the Earth. So even when they do take action, it has little impact. The worrisome thing is that there is a strong anti-imperialist, anti-Western, anti-globalisation constituency in the country, and many of their grievances are legitimate and deserve to be addressed, but in the absence of a healthy and durable left-wing in the nation, the only parties speaking to this constituency are the religious parties. This is something the more mainstream parties must address unless they want their base of popular support to continue to decline. The anti-Ahmadiyya movement, is, in my opinion, ultimately an electoral strategy, but it is only one of many that the religious parties are pursuing in order to consolidate and enhance their power.
Naeem Mohaiemen is the New York based director of Muslims or Heretics? (www.pinholepictures.com/ahmadiya), a documentary on persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslims.
Zafar Sobhan is an Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.
June 12, 2004
India / Mauritius: BONDING WITHOUT BIGOTRY
The Times of India
June 12, 2004
BONDING WITHOUT BIGOTRY
Dileep Padgaonkar
Port Louis : Nowhere do developments in India affect people of Indian origin as dramatically as they do here in Mauritius . Part of the reason is demographic. Close to 70 per cent of the 1.2 million strong population of this divinely endowed island-nation traces its roots to Bihar , Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat , Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra . The languages, cultures and religious practices prevalent in these states are kept alive in homes and through a network of caste and community-based associations.
Another reason for the strong presence of India relates to the official and non-official ties that link Mauritius with the mother country. Governments may come and go in Port Louis and New Delhi but the ties, especially in defence matters, are left untouched. This is increasingly true of economic relations too. Add to this the many cultural and scientific undertakings of the Indian government.
Outside the government sphere Mauritians are exposed to India through films and television, itinerant spiritual gurus and now more and more thanks to Indian enterprises operating in the country. The latest Bollywood films are screened in cinema halls often before they are released in India . Their DVDs are also on sale at every other street corner. Many Indian TV channels can be accessed on cable. The second channel of the state-owned television network almost entirely broadcasts Indian programmes.
This explains in large measure the very high interest in Indian politics and indeed in any issue of national significance in India . That level of interest is also to be found in India 's economic advances in recent years. The growing stature of India in the world instils a sense of pride and perhaps also enhances the community's self-esteem in this multi-ethnic, religious and cultural environment.
There is however another, less rosy side to this picture. The elite in the Indo-Mauritian community look to Britain , France and the United States rather than to India to advance their professional interests. French remains the dominant language of education, culture and even commerce. The tiny Franco-Mauritian community controls a major chunk of the economy. Sino-Mauritians and Muslim Mauritians of Indian descent more or less monopolise retail trade.
Until not too long ago, the Hindus held the keys to political and administrative power. But their innate divisiveness, which non-Hindi Mauritians are said to have exploited to the hilt, got the better of them. Caste, religious and regional identities were brought into full play.
The accumulating frustrations found expression in the radicalisation of the Hindu community. The ascendancy of Hindutva in the mother country throughout the 1990s and in the early part of the new century contributed to this trend. A static, exclusivist idea of Indian culture with strong authoritarian undertones began to strike roots. This, in turn, accounts in part for the emergence of fundamentalist tendencies in the Muslim community too.
The fact remains however that an overwhelming majority of Hindus and Muslims treat religious extremism with the disdain it deserves. The younger generation in particular is attached to religion and culture. But it is in no mood to allow that attachment to be harnessed to political or ideological goals.
Here is an opportunity for India . For too long New Delhi thought it fit to focus its attention on Hindi-speaking, Hindu Mauritians. It must now reach out to other sections of the population as well. For, the appeal of a modernizing India which celebrates diversity and tolerance cuts across all these communities. Such an appeal alone can help to tame the demons of divisiveness which threaten to overwhelm this fascinating land whose inhabitants are proud to call as chota Bharat.
June 12, 2004
BONDING WITHOUT BIGOTRY
Dileep Padgaonkar
Port Louis : Nowhere do developments in India affect people of Indian origin as dramatically as they do here in Mauritius . Part of the reason is demographic. Close to 70 per cent of the 1.2 million strong population of this divinely endowed island-nation traces its roots to Bihar , Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat , Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra . The languages, cultures and religious practices prevalent in these states are kept alive in homes and through a network of caste and community-based associations.
Another reason for the strong presence of India relates to the official and non-official ties that link Mauritius with the mother country. Governments may come and go in Port Louis and New Delhi but the ties, especially in defence matters, are left untouched. This is increasingly true of economic relations too. Add to this the many cultural and scientific undertakings of the Indian government.
Outside the government sphere Mauritians are exposed to India through films and television, itinerant spiritual gurus and now more and more thanks to Indian enterprises operating in the country. The latest Bollywood films are screened in cinema halls often before they are released in India . Their DVDs are also on sale at every other street corner. Many Indian TV channels can be accessed on cable. The second channel of the state-owned television network almost entirely broadcasts Indian programmes.
This explains in large measure the very high interest in Indian politics and indeed in any issue of national significance in India . That level of interest is also to be found in India 's economic advances in recent years. The growing stature of India in the world instils a sense of pride and perhaps also enhances the community's self-esteem in this multi-ethnic, religious and cultural environment.
There is however another, less rosy side to this picture. The elite in the Indo-Mauritian community look to Britain , France and the United States rather than to India to advance their professional interests. French remains the dominant language of education, culture and even commerce. The tiny Franco-Mauritian community controls a major chunk of the economy. Sino-Mauritians and Muslim Mauritians of Indian descent more or less monopolise retail trade.
Until not too long ago, the Hindus held the keys to political and administrative power. But their innate divisiveness, which non-Hindi Mauritians are said to have exploited to the hilt, got the better of them. Caste, religious and regional identities were brought into full play.
The accumulating frustrations found expression in the radicalisation of the Hindu community. The ascendancy of Hindutva in the mother country throughout the 1990s and in the early part of the new century contributed to this trend. A static, exclusivist idea of Indian culture with strong authoritarian undertones began to strike roots. This, in turn, accounts in part for the emergence of fundamentalist tendencies in the Muslim community too.
The fact remains however that an overwhelming majority of Hindus and Muslims treat religious extremism with the disdain it deserves. The younger generation in particular is attached to religion and culture. But it is in no mood to allow that attachment to be harnessed to political or ideological goals.
Here is an opportunity for India . For too long New Delhi thought it fit to focus its attention on Hindi-speaking, Hindu Mauritians. It must now reach out to other sections of the population as well. For, the appeal of a modernizing India which celebrates diversity and tolerance cuts across all these communities. Such an appeal alone can help to tame the demons of divisiveness which threaten to overwhelm this fascinating land whose inhabitants are proud to call as chota Bharat.
June 02, 2004
Letter to India's Prime Minister by Secular activists in Gujarat
Date: June 1, 2004
To
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
'PMO',
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi, -110 011.
Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857
Respected Dr. Manmohan Singh,
As concerned citizens of a secular, plurastic and democratic country, we feel greatly relieved by the common people’s mandate against communal forces represented by the National Democratic Alliance under the domination of the Sangh Parivar in the election to the Parliament in 2004. By and large we welcome the Common Minimum Program agreed upon by the United Progressive Alliance, supported by the Left Front and hope that the CMP will be worked out in more specific terms and with time bound action – plans and continuous monitoring agency. We believe that we have won the battle, but also have to win the way and we urge upon the UPA and all others to be vigilant against the communal forces and to launch a long-term united struggle against them and not to fritter away the energies, time and resources in internal bickering and struggle for power and miss the unique opportunity offered to us by the non-shining common people of India. We feel strongly and hope also that if UPA Government will complete its full term without much hindrance and implement its program to make people realize and feel that they too can shine and they will.
Having seen the barbaric face of a fascist rule under Narendra Modi in Gujarat during the spate of anti-Muslim pogrom in 2002 during which over 2000 people were butchered, thousands maimed, scores of women raped, thousands of people rendered homeless and many more deprived of their sources of livelihood, we look upon the UPA government to initiate steps to instill a sense of security and faith among the people in secular democratic system. And to restore the constitutional system, rule of law, independence of judiciary, right to equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, right to life and liberty and right to justice. We expect the UPA government to give out a clear message that no one responsible for genocide and gross violation of human rights remains unpunished and that no one is above law and only the law of the land is supreme. We believe that the Union Government has constitutional obligation under Article 355 to protect the state (not merely the Government) against external aggression and internal disturbances and to ensure that the Government of each State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and it has both powers and duty to give directions to the state for this purpose and each state is bound to comply with such directions.
We have witnessed how the BJP government in Gujarat has grossly misused the draconian law of POTA against the minorities and dissenters to terrorize them into submission. We want the UPA government to:
1. Set up a high-level committee to inquire into the role of the state government including the chief minister and his ministerial colleagues, bureaucrats and police officials in gross abuse of law, flagrant violation of the Constitution, large scale violence, open violation of constitutional rights of the people and particularly the minorities. The committee should also inquire each the loss of lives and properties, assess the damages, evolve scheme of fair, full and just compensation as complete rehabilitation of all victim of riots.
2. Sign the international convention against torture.
3. Repeal with retrospective effect the draconian POTA.
4. Appoint independent Central review committee and special courts to review and conduct all POTA cases till the draconian law is not repealed.
5. Immediately repeal the provision that allows admission before the court confession made before the police.
6. Make use of Article 355 of the Constitution of India and direct the Gujarat government to follow its ‘Raj Dharma’ and act according to the Constitution. Using the powers vested in the Central government under the same Article, the government should implement the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission, particularly the one recommending reopening of all riot-related cases in Gujarat and handing over their reinvestigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Under Modi’s rule, the police had filed ‘A’ summary in over 2000 of the total 4000 cases related to rioting, murder and rape.
7. Ensure effective legal representation of the central government and its agencies like the CBI in all riot-related cases put up before the Supreme Court.
8. Immediately remove the Governor of Gujarat for his failure to prevent the Modi government from violating the law of the land.
9. To take steps to streamline the judicial institutions at all levels to ensure free, fair and impartial administration of justice to all sections of society.
10. Appoint new central government counsel in the state.
11. The Government of India should consider recommending to RBI and to other different concerned agencies to write off repayment of debts of riot victims who have no means left to repay the amount of Loans taken by them.
12. To take steps to desaffronise all institutions and aspects of society by the ideals of secularism and democracy.
We, the concerned citizens of Gujarat are sending you this letter with immense faith and hope. We will be thankful if you would respond to our letter.
Shri Chunibhai Vaidya Justice A. P. Ravani (Retired)
Achyutbhia Yagnik SHRI GIRISHBHAI PATEL
Prof. Abid Shamsi Indubhai Jani
Ms. Sheba George Mahesh Bhatt
Ms. Sofia Khan Manishi Jani
Hanif Lakdawala Anand Yagnik
Contact Address:
__________________________________________
C/o. Sanchetana Community Health and Research Centre
Institute For Initiatives in Education
O-45/46, New York Trade Centre, Nr. Thaltej Cross Roads
Ahmedabad - 380054.
To
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
'PMO',
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi, -110 011.
Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857
Respected Dr. Manmohan Singh,
As concerned citizens of a secular, plurastic and democratic country, we feel greatly relieved by the common people’s mandate against communal forces represented by the National Democratic Alliance under the domination of the Sangh Parivar in the election to the Parliament in 2004. By and large we welcome the Common Minimum Program agreed upon by the United Progressive Alliance, supported by the Left Front and hope that the CMP will be worked out in more specific terms and with time bound action – plans and continuous monitoring agency. We believe that we have won the battle, but also have to win the way and we urge upon the UPA and all others to be vigilant against the communal forces and to launch a long-term united struggle against them and not to fritter away the energies, time and resources in internal bickering and struggle for power and miss the unique opportunity offered to us by the non-shining common people of India. We feel strongly and hope also that if UPA Government will complete its full term without much hindrance and implement its program to make people realize and feel that they too can shine and they will.
Having seen the barbaric face of a fascist rule under Narendra Modi in Gujarat during the spate of anti-Muslim pogrom in 2002 during which over 2000 people were butchered, thousands maimed, scores of women raped, thousands of people rendered homeless and many more deprived of their sources of livelihood, we look upon the UPA government to initiate steps to instill a sense of security and faith among the people in secular democratic system. And to restore the constitutional system, rule of law, independence of judiciary, right to equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, right to life and liberty and right to justice. We expect the UPA government to give out a clear message that no one responsible for genocide and gross violation of human rights remains unpunished and that no one is above law and only the law of the land is supreme. We believe that the Union Government has constitutional obligation under Article 355 to protect the state (not merely the Government) against external aggression and internal disturbances and to ensure that the Government of each State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and it has both powers and duty to give directions to the state for this purpose and each state is bound to comply with such directions.
We have witnessed how the BJP government in Gujarat has grossly misused the draconian law of POTA against the minorities and dissenters to terrorize them into submission. We want the UPA government to:
1. Set up a high-level committee to inquire into the role of the state government including the chief minister and his ministerial colleagues, bureaucrats and police officials in gross abuse of law, flagrant violation of the Constitution, large scale violence, open violation of constitutional rights of the people and particularly the minorities. The committee should also inquire each the loss of lives and properties, assess the damages, evolve scheme of fair, full and just compensation as complete rehabilitation of all victim of riots.
2. Sign the international convention against torture.
3. Repeal with retrospective effect the draconian POTA.
4. Appoint independent Central review committee and special courts to review and conduct all POTA cases till the draconian law is not repealed.
5. Immediately repeal the provision that allows admission before the court confession made before the police.
6. Make use of Article 355 of the Constitution of India and direct the Gujarat government to follow its ‘Raj Dharma’ and act according to the Constitution. Using the powers vested in the Central government under the same Article, the government should implement the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission, particularly the one recommending reopening of all riot-related cases in Gujarat and handing over their reinvestigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Under Modi’s rule, the police had filed ‘A’ summary in over 2000 of the total 4000 cases related to rioting, murder and rape.
7. Ensure effective legal representation of the central government and its agencies like the CBI in all riot-related cases put up before the Supreme Court.
8. Immediately remove the Governor of Gujarat for his failure to prevent the Modi government from violating the law of the land.
9. To take steps to streamline the judicial institutions at all levels to ensure free, fair and impartial administration of justice to all sections of society.
10. Appoint new central government counsel in the state.
11. The Government of India should consider recommending to RBI and to other different concerned agencies to write off repayment of debts of riot victims who have no means left to repay the amount of Loans taken by them.
12. To take steps to desaffronise all institutions and aspects of society by the ideals of secularism and democracy.
We, the concerned citizens of Gujarat are sending you this letter with immense faith and hope. We will be thankful if you would respond to our letter.
Shri Chunibhai Vaidya Justice A. P. Ravani (Retired)
Achyutbhia Yagnik SHRI GIRISHBHAI PATEL
Prof. Abid Shamsi Indubhai Jani
Ms. Sheba George Mahesh Bhatt
Ms. Sofia Khan Manishi Jani
Hanif Lakdawala Anand Yagnik
Contact Address:
__________________________________________
C/o. Sanchetana Community Health and Research Centre
Institute For Initiatives in Education
O-45/46, New York Trade Centre, Nr. Thaltej Cross Roads
Ahmedabad - 380054.
June 01, 2004
India: NEW SECULAR GOVERNMENT AND ITS SECULAR TASKS
Secular Perspective
June-1-15-2004
NEW SECULAR GOVERNMENT AND ITS SECULAR TASKS
Asghar Ali Engineer
The new United Progressive Alliance Government (earlier called United Secular Alliance which was more meaningful) has been welcomed by all progressive and secular forces in the country. The victory of this alliance has proved to be liberative for the minorities and the oppressed people of India. The NDA Government led by the BJP was not only communal and anti-minorities but also pro-rich and anti-poor to the extreme. Even the Amnesty International Report made public on 26th May has lambasted the Indian Government for its poor human rights records particularly in Gujarat. Now even the BJP and Shiv Sena leaders have admitted that they lost because of Gujarat carnage.
It is for this reason that the minorities in particular have welcomed the new government, particularly so as it is backed by the left forces whose secular credentials are unimpeachable. Thus this government certainly inspires confidence among minorities and the poor. However, this initial confidence has not only to be sustained but strengthened through proper action. The Congress has always been ideologically secular but lost its secular orientation during the last days of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and began to be dubbed as the ‘B-team’ of Hindutva Party BJP. The minorities began to be alienated from the Congress until they deserted it after demolition of the Babri Masjid during the Prime Ministership of Shri Narasinha Rao.
Once it lost the confidence of minorities, particularly the Muslims, it lost power at the Centre and could not regain it until it could win the Muslim confidence again. The Congress had to work hard to convince Muslims again to regain their confidence. Now let us hope the Congress will not go off the course. Not only this it will have to take steps to inspire confidence among them. It should be seen as a party sympathetic to the problems of minorities. For that number of steps will have to be taken, some of which are suggested here.
It would greatly inspire confidence among minorities if a ministry of minority affairs is created and some minority leader of integrity is put in charge of it. In fact one of the Congress leaders from Maharashtra Mr. Gurudas Kamat also has made this suggestion. All minorities like the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains should be included under it. All put together these minorities constitute more than 20 per cent of Indian population. Indian Muslims alone are around 150 million.
The ministry can study many of the problems facing these minorities, which are of huge proportions. Today no government ministry even monitors data and indices pertaining to these minorities. The Gopal Singh High Commission Report prepared during the eighties, which had painfully collected data on minorities was also put in cold storage and its recommendations were never implemented. The data was collected during early eighties and hence has become totally outdated. The Report prepared after lot of hard labour was not even tabled in the Parliament. When I spoke to the then Prime Minister Shri. V.P. Singh about it in 1990 he was not even aware about its existence.
Had there been a full-fledged ministry such reports would not have been wasted like this. It is true there is a minorities commission but it hardly has any powers. It has often been described as toothless tiger. It functions under Welfare Ministry and its budget is also controlled by this ministry. Thus the Commission is totally at the mercy of the welfare minister. It has hardly any priority for the ministry. Since I was on one of its sub-committees I know its plight very well. And the NDA Government appointed a BJP man as its chairman. What sympathy such a person would ever have for minorities. The very psychological orientation of BJP members is anti-minority. This was very much demonstrated when Mr. Trilochan Singh, the Chairman of National Minorities Commission gave certificate to Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat when Muslim carnage was taking place in 2002 and when the National Human Rights Commission was lambasting Mr. Narendra Modi. So much for the credentials of the NMC.
However, it may take time to take decision for setting up a ministry for the minority affairs, which is also bound to generate political controversy with the BJP in opposition. Meanwhile it is suggested that the National Minorities Commission should be strengthened and should be made statutory. Today it has no statutory powers at all and its recommendations are not binding on the government. Often its reports are not even tabled in the Parliament. The NMC must be given statutory powers and its recommendations should be made binding on the government. This should be done as early as possible as it is long standing demand.
The NMC should also be asked to gather fresh data on the pattern of the Gopal Singh High Commission and suitable recommendations should be formulated on its pattern and these recommendations should be implemented to uplift the economic and educational status of minorities. This should be given top priority. In fact reliable data on all India pattern about minorities is not available and in the absence of such data no suitable policies can be made.
The other suggestions relate to communalisation of education. Even during earlier Congress and other regimes no serious efforts were made to de-communalise our school textbooks, particularly relating to history. The BJP campaign for Ramjanambhoomi would not have succeeded to such an extent if our history text -books had not been what they are today. The British rulers had designed our history textbooks to divide us and rule over us. These text- books were never seriously revised and made genuinely secular so as to de-communalise our education system.
It is for this reason that you find educated middle class people who avail of these faulty text books much more communal than the poor illiterate masses. Our education system really makes them communal and injects communal ideas into their minds. Thus one can hardly fight communal forces if our education system is not thoroughly reformed. Our education system should be devised to inculcate secular rational outlook, on one hand, and, respect for all religions, on the other. But unfortunately our education system is producing communal bigots instead.
Thus text-book reform is an urgent need and should be attended to on priority basis. The Human Resources Ministry under the leadership of Arjun Singh should pay attention to this task. This will really strengthen our secular polity and would permanently checkmate communal forces from capturing power. The BJP rode to power on the basis of Ramjanambhoomi issue and this issue in turn became so powerful because of the mind-set created by our text books. It is difficult task but first step must be taken by appointing a suitable commission, which can thoroughly examine all text- books taught throughout India and then suggest steps to reform them. Education is a concurrent subject and, therefore, should not be difficult to devise them for whole of India. Of course regional considerations would be there and guidelines could be given for states to prepare these text -books suitably.
There is another important area, which needs to be attended to with similar sense of urgency. It is the textbooks taught in the RSS run Shishu Vihars some 32 thousand in numbers. These schools do not take grant from government but that does not mean they should be free to teach what is totally contrary to our constitutional values. The textbooks taught in these schools are highly objectionable and inject poison against minorities. We have examined these textbooks and what is written there in will never be permitted by any secular government.
Similarly, if one finds any objectionable material being taught in madrasas too, steps should be taken to remove such objectionable material from madrasa text-books also. So far I have not found any objectionable material but our study may not be thorough and madrasa text -books should also be thoroughly examined. No institution, public or private, should be allowed to violate the spirit of the Constitution. Thousands of students study in these private schools who grow with hatred towards other religions because of such textbooks and thus it becomes very easy to communalise polity.
Such a step to de-communalise our textbooks will strengthen our secular foundations. Unfortunately it has remained highly neglected area and as a result we have witnessed thousands of small and big riots throughout the post-independence era culminating of course in the Gujarat genocide. Much of this could have been avoided if we had courage to reform our textbooks right after independence. Now at least, after having paid heavy price, we should not hesitate to take this much needed step on top priority.
Another important area of reform is functioning of the police. Since police is also educated through these very institutions they also get easily communalised. I have seen that in the police training colleges there are no orientation lectures on secularism. The policemen handle communal riots with such communalised mind-set and as a result they tend to be anti-minority in their behaviour. Various inquiry commission reports, particularly the Madon Commission and Srikrishna Commission Reports on Bhivandi-Jalgaon and of 1970 and of Bombay riots of 1992-93 have severely castigated the role of the police in these riots. In Gujarat carnage of 2002 it was even worse and yet no steps are being taken to effectively de-communalise the police. The Congress-led UPA Government should pay urgent attention to this problem as well. We have much to learn in this respect from the Left-Front Government in West Bengal.
(Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
Mumbai)
June-1-15-2004
NEW SECULAR GOVERNMENT AND ITS SECULAR TASKS
Asghar Ali Engineer
The new United Progressive Alliance Government (earlier called United Secular Alliance which was more meaningful) has been welcomed by all progressive and secular forces in the country. The victory of this alliance has proved to be liberative for the minorities and the oppressed people of India. The NDA Government led by the BJP was not only communal and anti-minorities but also pro-rich and anti-poor to the extreme. Even the Amnesty International Report made public on 26th May has lambasted the Indian Government for its poor human rights records particularly in Gujarat. Now even the BJP and Shiv Sena leaders have admitted that they lost because of Gujarat carnage.
It is for this reason that the minorities in particular have welcomed the new government, particularly so as it is backed by the left forces whose secular credentials are unimpeachable. Thus this government certainly inspires confidence among minorities and the poor. However, this initial confidence has not only to be sustained but strengthened through proper action. The Congress has always been ideologically secular but lost its secular orientation during the last days of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and began to be dubbed as the ‘B-team’ of Hindutva Party BJP. The minorities began to be alienated from the Congress until they deserted it after demolition of the Babri Masjid during the Prime Ministership of Shri Narasinha Rao.
Once it lost the confidence of minorities, particularly the Muslims, it lost power at the Centre and could not regain it until it could win the Muslim confidence again. The Congress had to work hard to convince Muslims again to regain their confidence. Now let us hope the Congress will not go off the course. Not only this it will have to take steps to inspire confidence among them. It should be seen as a party sympathetic to the problems of minorities. For that number of steps will have to be taken, some of which are suggested here.
It would greatly inspire confidence among minorities if a ministry of minority affairs is created and some minority leader of integrity is put in charge of it. In fact one of the Congress leaders from Maharashtra Mr. Gurudas Kamat also has made this suggestion. All minorities like the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains should be included under it. All put together these minorities constitute more than 20 per cent of Indian population. Indian Muslims alone are around 150 million.
The ministry can study many of the problems facing these minorities, which are of huge proportions. Today no government ministry even monitors data and indices pertaining to these minorities. The Gopal Singh High Commission Report prepared during the eighties, which had painfully collected data on minorities was also put in cold storage and its recommendations were never implemented. The data was collected during early eighties and hence has become totally outdated. The Report prepared after lot of hard labour was not even tabled in the Parliament. When I spoke to the then Prime Minister Shri. V.P. Singh about it in 1990 he was not even aware about its existence.
Had there been a full-fledged ministry such reports would not have been wasted like this. It is true there is a minorities commission but it hardly has any powers. It has often been described as toothless tiger. It functions under Welfare Ministry and its budget is also controlled by this ministry. Thus the Commission is totally at the mercy of the welfare minister. It has hardly any priority for the ministry. Since I was on one of its sub-committees I know its plight very well. And the NDA Government appointed a BJP man as its chairman. What sympathy such a person would ever have for minorities. The very psychological orientation of BJP members is anti-minority. This was very much demonstrated when Mr. Trilochan Singh, the Chairman of National Minorities Commission gave certificate to Narendra Modi Government in Gujarat when Muslim carnage was taking place in 2002 and when the National Human Rights Commission was lambasting Mr. Narendra Modi. So much for the credentials of the NMC.
However, it may take time to take decision for setting up a ministry for the minority affairs, which is also bound to generate political controversy with the BJP in opposition. Meanwhile it is suggested that the National Minorities Commission should be strengthened and should be made statutory. Today it has no statutory powers at all and its recommendations are not binding on the government. Often its reports are not even tabled in the Parliament. The NMC must be given statutory powers and its recommendations should be made binding on the government. This should be done as early as possible as it is long standing demand.
The NMC should also be asked to gather fresh data on the pattern of the Gopal Singh High Commission and suitable recommendations should be formulated on its pattern and these recommendations should be implemented to uplift the economic and educational status of minorities. This should be given top priority. In fact reliable data on all India pattern about minorities is not available and in the absence of such data no suitable policies can be made.
The other suggestions relate to communalisation of education. Even during earlier Congress and other regimes no serious efforts were made to de-communalise our school textbooks, particularly relating to history. The BJP campaign for Ramjanambhoomi would not have succeeded to such an extent if our history text -books had not been what they are today. The British rulers had designed our history textbooks to divide us and rule over us. These text- books were never seriously revised and made genuinely secular so as to de-communalise our education system.
It is for this reason that you find educated middle class people who avail of these faulty text books much more communal than the poor illiterate masses. Our education system really makes them communal and injects communal ideas into their minds. Thus one can hardly fight communal forces if our education system is not thoroughly reformed. Our education system should be devised to inculcate secular rational outlook, on one hand, and, respect for all religions, on the other. But unfortunately our education system is producing communal bigots instead.
Thus text-book reform is an urgent need and should be attended to on priority basis. The Human Resources Ministry under the leadership of Arjun Singh should pay attention to this task. This will really strengthen our secular polity and would permanently checkmate communal forces from capturing power. The BJP rode to power on the basis of Ramjanambhoomi issue and this issue in turn became so powerful because of the mind-set created by our text books. It is difficult task but first step must be taken by appointing a suitable commission, which can thoroughly examine all text- books taught throughout India and then suggest steps to reform them. Education is a concurrent subject and, therefore, should not be difficult to devise them for whole of India. Of course regional considerations would be there and guidelines could be given for states to prepare these text -books suitably.
There is another important area, which needs to be attended to with similar sense of urgency. It is the textbooks taught in the RSS run Shishu Vihars some 32 thousand in numbers. These schools do not take grant from government but that does not mean they should be free to teach what is totally contrary to our constitutional values. The textbooks taught in these schools are highly objectionable and inject poison against minorities. We have examined these textbooks and what is written there in will never be permitted by any secular government.
Similarly, if one finds any objectionable material being taught in madrasas too, steps should be taken to remove such objectionable material from madrasa text-books also. So far I have not found any objectionable material but our study may not be thorough and madrasa text -books should also be thoroughly examined. No institution, public or private, should be allowed to violate the spirit of the Constitution. Thousands of students study in these private schools who grow with hatred towards other religions because of such textbooks and thus it becomes very easy to communalise polity.
Such a step to de-communalise our textbooks will strengthen our secular foundations. Unfortunately it has remained highly neglected area and as a result we have witnessed thousands of small and big riots throughout the post-independence era culminating of course in the Gujarat genocide. Much of this could have been avoided if we had courage to reform our textbooks right after independence. Now at least, after having paid heavy price, we should not hesitate to take this much needed step on top priority.
Another important area of reform is functioning of the police. Since police is also educated through these very institutions they also get easily communalised. I have seen that in the police training colleges there are no orientation lectures on secularism. The policemen handle communal riots with such communalised mind-set and as a result they tend to be anti-minority in their behaviour. Various inquiry commission reports, particularly the Madon Commission and Srikrishna Commission Reports on Bhivandi-Jalgaon and of 1970 and of Bombay riots of 1992-93 have severely castigated the role of the police in these riots. In Gujarat carnage of 2002 it was even worse and yet no steps are being taken to effectively de-communalise the police. The Congress-led UPA Government should pay urgent attention to this problem as well. We have much to learn in this respect from the Left-Front Government in West Bengal.
(Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
Mumbai)
India: A Citizens Charter of Demands or justice and healing in Gujarat.
1 June 2004
CITIZENS CHARTER OF DEMANDS
TO THE UPA GOVERNMENT
The paramount duty of the newly elected Government of India is to take all measures possible to reclaim and defend the secular and democratic foundations of India. These were under unprecedented threat during the last NDA government in the centre as well as the BJP government in the state of Gujarat. Indeed, Gujarat was the crucible of Hindutva politics and continues to be wounded by the genocide and wanton refusal of the state government to ensure justice and healing. Therefore, the test case of the secular resolve of the new UPA government will be its ability to take resolute and often difficult decisions to restore justice and hope to the people of Gujarat.
A group of concerned citizens and organizations from both within and outside Gujarat gathered on 1st June 2004 at Prashant, Ahmedabad to draw up a charter of demands for the Government of India for justice and healing in Gujarat.
A summary of our demands to the UPA government is as under:
Legal Justice
1. The UPA government should support the recommendations of the Amicus Curiae in the Supreme Court [Writ Petition (Cri)No.109 of 2003] which proposes that, a retired judge of the Supreme Court and a retired police officer of impeccable credentials should be empowered to (a) re-examine all cases of closure, acquittal and bail related to cases registered in relation to the post-Godhra carnage; (b) if they find prima-facie miscarriage of justice at the stages of FIR, investigation, prosecution and trial, they should be empowered to order and supervise reinvestigation and / or retrial; and (c) monitor all ongoing investigation, prosecution and trial.
2. Repeal of POTA with retrospective effect, and cancellation of all POTA charges in Gujarat, in recognition of the painful fact that the state government openly misused this draconian Act to victimize exclusively members of the minority community, with very little genuine evidence.
3. The UPA government should institute a Special Judicial Commission to enquire into the Godhra incident, because the people of India have the right to know the exact facts behind the fire in the S6 compartment of the ill-fated Sabarmati Express on 27th February, 2002
Compensation & Rehabilitation
4. UPA should announce a compensation package based on the most progressive features of the compensation packages that were announced for the survivors of the Kaveri riots, 1984 riots and others. Supervision of fair and timely implementation of this revised package should be entrusted to a Commissioner appointed by the Central Government.
5. A generous package of soft loans for housing and livelihoods should be given to all affected families.
6. For rehabilitation colonies that have been established through non-government initiatives (because of the total inaction by the State Government) recognition and regularization in order to make them eligible for land title, electricity, water supply, approach roads, primary schools, etc. For families still unwilling to return to their original homes because of fear, government should establish new settlements at suitable locations consented to by the affected families, and ensure basic facilities.
Accountability & Preventive Measures
7. UPA government should establish a machinery to ensure prosecution of all civil and police officers, who failed in their duties to prevent and control the violence, to protect the victims, and to extend relief and rehabilitation.
8. Similarly it should institute legal measures for the prosecution of the Chief Minister and other cabinet colleagues, for planning, instigating and abetting the carnage, and refusing to perform duties for relief and rehabilitation.
9. Enquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the allegations of deliberate partisanship in the appointment of public prosecutors and judges in the post Godhra trial cases.
10. A special group should be set up to monitor and take appropriate action against all individuals and organizations that preach or provoke hatred amongst people of different faiths.
11. The UPA should enquire into the systematic manufacture of hatred against minorities through textbooks and ensure their immediate replacement with liberal and secular educational material.
12. There has always been a precedent adopted by most governments in independent India to rebuild places of religious and cultural importance when these have been destroyed in communal violence. This healing precedent should be applied to the nearly 700 places of worship and cultural importance destroyed in the post-Godhra carnage. Particularly important is the rebuilding of the symbols of Gujarat syncretic culture like the Mazar of Wali Gujarati [Shahibaug, Ahmedabad]
13. In order to prevent recurrence of open state abetment of communal violence, abdication of responsibilities for relief and rehabilitation, and subversion of the justice system, the UPA government should undertake codification and passage of a national law. This law should delineate the statutory duties and accountability of the Government to prevent communal violence, protect victims and organize relief, compensation and rehabilitation, and lay down strong penalties for failure to perform these duties.
Amar Jyot [Action Aid]
Batuk Vora
Digant Oza [Satyajit Trust]
Fr.Cedric Prakash [Prashant]
Gagan Sethi [Centre for Social Justice]
Harinesh [Janpath]
Harsh Mander [Anhad]
Hiren Gandhi [Samvedan]
Mallika Sarabhai [Darpana Academy]
Mukul Sinha [Jan Sangarsh Manch]
Parthiv Shah [CMAC]
Prasad Chacko [Behavioral Science Centre]
Rafi Mallik [Centre for Development]
Saumya Joshi [Fade-in Theatre]
Shabnam Hashmi [Anhad]
Stalin K. [Drishti Media Collective]
Swarup Dhruv [Samvedan]
Wilfred D‚souza [INSAF]
Zakia Jowher [Aman Samuday]
......... and others
CITIZENS CHARTER OF DEMANDS
TO THE UPA GOVERNMENT
The paramount duty of the newly elected Government of India is to take all measures possible to reclaim and defend the secular and democratic foundations of India. These were under unprecedented threat during the last NDA government in the centre as well as the BJP government in the state of Gujarat. Indeed, Gujarat was the crucible of Hindutva politics and continues to be wounded by the genocide and wanton refusal of the state government to ensure justice and healing. Therefore, the test case of the secular resolve of the new UPA government will be its ability to take resolute and often difficult decisions to restore justice and hope to the people of Gujarat.
A group of concerned citizens and organizations from both within and outside Gujarat gathered on 1st June 2004 at Prashant, Ahmedabad to draw up a charter of demands for the Government of India for justice and healing in Gujarat.
A summary of our demands to the UPA government is as under:
Legal Justice
1. The UPA government should support the recommendations of the Amicus Curiae in the Supreme Court [Writ Petition (Cri)No.109 of 2003] which proposes that, a retired judge of the Supreme Court and a retired police officer of impeccable credentials should be empowered to (a) re-examine all cases of closure, acquittal and bail related to cases registered in relation to the post-Godhra carnage; (b) if they find prima-facie miscarriage of justice at the stages of FIR, investigation, prosecution and trial, they should be empowered to order and supervise reinvestigation and / or retrial; and (c) monitor all ongoing investigation, prosecution and trial.
2. Repeal of POTA with retrospective effect, and cancellation of all POTA charges in Gujarat, in recognition of the painful fact that the state government openly misused this draconian Act to victimize exclusively members of the minority community, with very little genuine evidence.
3. The UPA government should institute a Special Judicial Commission to enquire into the Godhra incident, because the people of India have the right to know the exact facts behind the fire in the S6 compartment of the ill-fated Sabarmati Express on 27th February, 2002
Compensation & Rehabilitation
4. UPA should announce a compensation package based on the most progressive features of the compensation packages that were announced for the survivors of the Kaveri riots, 1984 riots and others. Supervision of fair and timely implementation of this revised package should be entrusted to a Commissioner appointed by the Central Government.
5. A generous package of soft loans for housing and livelihoods should be given to all affected families.
6. For rehabilitation colonies that have been established through non-government initiatives (because of the total inaction by the State Government) recognition and regularization in order to make them eligible for land title, electricity, water supply, approach roads, primary schools, etc. For families still unwilling to return to their original homes because of fear, government should establish new settlements at suitable locations consented to by the affected families, and ensure basic facilities.
Accountability & Preventive Measures
7. UPA government should establish a machinery to ensure prosecution of all civil and police officers, who failed in their duties to prevent and control the violence, to protect the victims, and to extend relief and rehabilitation.
8. Similarly it should institute legal measures for the prosecution of the Chief Minister and other cabinet colleagues, for planning, instigating and abetting the carnage, and refusing to perform duties for relief and rehabilitation.
9. Enquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the allegations of deliberate partisanship in the appointment of public prosecutors and judges in the post Godhra trial cases.
10. A special group should be set up to monitor and take appropriate action against all individuals and organizations that preach or provoke hatred amongst people of different faiths.
11. The UPA should enquire into the systematic manufacture of hatred against minorities through textbooks and ensure their immediate replacement with liberal and secular educational material.
12. There has always been a precedent adopted by most governments in independent India to rebuild places of religious and cultural importance when these have been destroyed in communal violence. This healing precedent should be applied to the nearly 700 places of worship and cultural importance destroyed in the post-Godhra carnage. Particularly important is the rebuilding of the symbols of Gujarat syncretic culture like the Mazar of Wali Gujarati [Shahibaug, Ahmedabad]
13. In order to prevent recurrence of open state abetment of communal violence, abdication of responsibilities for relief and rehabilitation, and subversion of the justice system, the UPA government should undertake codification and passage of a national law. This law should delineate the statutory duties and accountability of the Government to prevent communal violence, protect victims and organize relief, compensation and rehabilitation, and lay down strong penalties for failure to perform these duties.
Amar Jyot [Action Aid]
Batuk Vora
Digant Oza [Satyajit Trust]
Fr.Cedric Prakash [Prashant]
Gagan Sethi [Centre for Social Justice]
Harinesh [Janpath]
Harsh Mander [Anhad]
Hiren Gandhi [Samvedan]
Mallika Sarabhai [Darpana Academy]
Mukul Sinha [Jan Sangarsh Manch]
Parthiv Shah [CMAC]
Prasad Chacko [Behavioral Science Centre]
Rafi Mallik [Centre for Development]
Saumya Joshi [Fade-in Theatre]
Shabnam Hashmi [Anhad]
Stalin K. [Drishti Media Collective]
Swarup Dhruv [Samvedan]
Wilfred D‚souza [INSAF]
Zakia Jowher [Aman Samuday]
......... and others
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