Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
LALGARH, MAOIST MOVEMENT, AND THE LEFT IN INDIA
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
The Lalgarh episode in West Bengal again brought into prominence the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or CPI (Maoist) which claimed leadership of the widespread insurrection that erupted in the district over the last several months. Different forces including the Maoists and the Trinamool Congress exploited the resentment of local tribal population to launch a bloody attack on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM; the outcome may be bad for CPM and for India and both need introspection.
DEMILITARIZE AND DEMOCRATIZE: THE WAY FORWARD IN SRI LANKA
Rohini Hensman
The way forward in Sri Lanka requires demilitarization and the restoration of the rule of law; the two are interlinked. However, their fulfillment is tied to the political future and economic survival of Sri Lanka.
NEPAL: ‘WE STILL FIGHT, BUT WITH WORDS, NO LONGER WITH GUNS’
Hisila Yami alias Comrade Parvati, whom INSAF Bulletin had the honor of hosting at a public meeting in Montreal in 2008 frankly speaks to New Delhi-based Tehelka Magazine. She explains why Nepal Maoists launched an armed struggle and why they entered the mainstream politics in keeping with the vibrant left tradition of Nepal. She elaborated on the democratic culture within the Maoist Party somewhat at odds with Lenin’s vision of a monolithic party and expressed optimism about her Party, the status of women and Nepal despite numerous roadblocks.
PAKISTAN’S IDEOLOGICAL BLOWBACK
Shibil Siddiqi
Talibans who controlled the Swat valley, destroyed state institutions and were dreaming of implementing their version of Sharia to all of Pakistan have been defeated at great cost and unprecedented internal displacement. But is the threat of the fundamentalist take over of Pakistan over? The following article discusses in detail what lies ahead in Pakistan and what need be done.
LIBERHAN COMMISSION; PAINFUL WAIT FOR JUSTICE
Ram Puniyani
Babri Mosque was destroyed on December 6, 1992. Enquiry into what led to this shameful act in India was finished in 2004; why did Liberhan commission take 5 years to submit its four volume report to the Government on 30 of June 2009. The zealot Uma Bharati still justifies the demolition but what about Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and other crooks who masterminded the demolition and tasted power as a reward?
RESERVED PAST: DE-RESERVING FUTURE
Ram Puniyani
Important social ills of Indian society have kept a significant section of its population deprived of their legitimate rights; the government policy of reservation for them in educational institutions and jobs has been one step to redress this issue. How far it has helped, who opposes such a policy and what is there for a significant Muslim minority?
HINDURASHTRA IN DELHI
Subhash Gatade
Hindu bigots are violently preventing the construction of a Mosque in Delhi on a legally acquired land for that purpose. Delhi is not ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) but that does not seem to stop it from implementing its agenda of building India into a Hindu kingdom.
INDIA FACES COLONIALISM CLAIMS OVER ‘LAND-GRAB’ IN AFRICA
Dean Nelson in New Delhi India and many other countries like China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea are acquiring huge tracts of farm land in Africa. Is it the beginning of colonization by former colonies?
ANNUAL SADBHAV MISSION CONVENTION ON EDUCATION AND HARMONY
Report of the Convention held in Washington, DC was sent by Zafar Iqbal,
Dr. Vipin Tripathi, Professor at IIT Delhi organized as before a successful Sadbhav Mission Convention in Washington area on June 27, 2009 to promote inter-communal harmony.
STATEMENT ON THE NHRC REPORT ON THE ALLEGED ENCOUNTER AT BATLA HOUSE
Citizens demand independent enquiry to determine the cause of death of two Muslim youth by the police in Batla house, Delhi.
AIMMM CONDEMNS THE ARREST OF FEROZE MITHIBORWALA AND KISHORE JAGTAP
All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan condemned the overnight arrest in Mumbai of political activists Feroze Mithiborwala and Kishore Jagtap in Mumbai which seemingly took place in the context of the visit of the US Secretary of State to the city.
CONCORD AT SHARM EL-SHEIKH
(Editorial, the Economic and Political Weekly, 25 July 2009)
On the occasion of the recent Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt, Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers agreed to resume talks which were cancelled after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack. Indian opposition parties are dead opposed to any talks with Pakistan; how immature is their role is discussed in the Editorial of a prestigious Indian weekly.
PEACE ACTIVISTS WELCOME INDO-PAK JOINT STATEMENT
The joint statement by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan on the occasion of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt has been welcomed by prominent citizens.
PUCL DEPLORES DEATHS OF POLICEMEN IN MAOIST ATTACK AT RAJNANGAON
The killing of 30 policemen in Chhattisgarh by the Indian Maoists has been deplored by the local unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
LETTER
CPM VERSUS MAOISTS: HOW TO ASSESS IT? Comments by Ranabir Samaddar and the responses by INSAF Bulletin editors.
OBITUARIES: Gangubai Hangal & Ali Akbar Khan
One of the few achievements of Independent India has been the popularization of India’s great musical traditions within India and abroad. The outward journey of Indian cultural artists started with Pandit Ravi Shankar, which was followed by such stalwarts as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Gangubai Hangal , Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj and others.
Two of these greats, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Gangubai Hangal, passed away in June and July 2009, respectively. INSAF Bulletin pays its homage to these two legendry artists, Khansahib the Sarod maestro and Gangubai, the doyen of Hindustani classical music.
OBITUARY: RAM NARAYAN KUMAR (1953-2009)
Pritam Singh
Ram Narayan Kumar, one of the finest human rights researcher, activist and campaigner in South Asia, passed away on June 28, 2009 at his house in Kathmandu (Nepal). His death at a relatively young age of 56 has sent shock waves among all those struggling for justice and fairness in South Asia.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST KUMAR NO MORE
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
Srinagar, June 29: Prominent human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, well known for his extensive work on custodial torture and disappearances particularly in Punjab, passed away yesterday in Kathmandu due to sudden illness. He was 56.
ON THE POLITICAL VIOLENCE UNLEASHED AGAINST THE LEFT IN WEST BENGAL
Academics and human rights activists from inside and outside India appeal to the democratic minded people in West Bengal and across the country to condemn and expose violence against the members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Left Front Government in West Bengal.
MAOIST VIOLENCE IN LALGARH, WEST BENGAL, MUST BE CONDEMNED
Posted by Aditya Nigam
The setback suffered by the two major communist parties of India in the recent parliamentary elections has given space to Indian Maoists to launch a reign of terror in the Left Front ruled state of West Bengal.
NO LINK BETWEEN NEPAL MAOISTS AND LALGARH: MENON
Indian authorities rule out any link between Nepal and Indian Maoists in recent violence in West Bengal.
PAKISTAN: TURNING THE TIDE OF TERROR
Kiran Omar
The Pakistan Army’s Operation Rah-e-Rast (the Right Path) continues to pound Taliban strongholds and aims to flush them out decisively from Buner, Swat and other areas where they had established their control forcibly through terror and coercion.
SRI LANKA: END ILLEGAL DETENTION OF DISPLACED POPULATION
(Human Rights Watch, June 11, 2009)
The defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has left more than a quarter million Tamils as virtual prisoners of the Sri Lanka’s government. Their human rights must be safeguarded.
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S STATEMENT TO THE MEDIA
Colombo, June 13, 2009
A Sri Lankan party demands a political solution to the plight of its Tamil population within a United Sri Lanka.
NO SCOPE FOR DITHERING OVER FATWA
(Editorial, New Age, June 17, 2009-supplied by SACW)
Issuing of Fatwa should be made illegal, argue Women’s organizations in Bangladesh.
INDIA: ELECTION VERDICT 2009- WHITHER BJP?
Ram Puniyani
The set back suffered by the Hindutva forces in the May 2009 Parliamentary elections in India has triggered a new debate within the party. Should it or should it not abandon the very reason for its existence- making India a Hindu country?
SHIVAJI’S STATUE IN ARABIAN SEA
Ram Puniyani
During the rule of Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707), Shivaji led a fight for a Maratha (now the state of Maharashtra) kingdom; he did not succeed but has been made into an icon. Attempts are being made to erect a statue something like the American Statue of Liberty in the Arabian sea.
IRANIAN ELECTIONS ARE AN OCCASION FOR BUT NOT THE CAUSE OF MASSIVE PROTESTS
Daya Varma
The recent protests in Iran denote a rebellion against fundamentalism; the election outcome is just an occasion.
NO MATTER WHO IS PRESIDENT OF IRAN, THEY WOULD STONE ME
Lila Ghobady
Why didn’t I vote in the latest elections for the president of the country of my birth, Iran? Because no matter who is the president of Iran, they would stone me!
BRIC SHOULD CREATE CONDITIONS FOR FAIRER WORLD ORDER
Siddharth Varadarajan
Brazil, Russia, India, China stress financial, agricultural and strategic aspect of new grouping.
OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE HUNGRY
One sixth of humanity undernourished – more than ever before. The faces behind the numbers.
NEPALESE IN CANADA TO HOLD ITS SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN CALGARY
Monday, June 22 2009, Calgary, Canada: NRN (Non-resident Nepalese)-Canada, the national umbrella organization of the Nepali Diaspora in Canada is holding its annual conference in Calgary, a beautiful city located near picturesque Rocky Mountains, on Saturday, the 27th June 2009.
CPI-MAOIST BANNED IN INDIA
On June 22, 2009, the Government of India extended the ban on the Communist Party of India (Maoist) across the country.
VIENNA SHOOT-OUT: DALIT ASSERTION- A REVOLT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
S. L. Virdi Advocate
On May 24, Sant Niranjan Dass Ji, Head of Dera Sach Khand Ballan (Jalandhar), his successor Sant Rama Nand and their followers were attacked by some Manuwadi elements in Shri Guru Ravidass Temple at Vienna City of Austria. Dera Head Sant Niranjan Dass was injured, his successor Sant Rama Nand was martyred and many followers were severely injured in the firing. As a reaction Dalits made a ravished show of their anger through violent demonstrations in Jalandhar, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Phillaur, Muktsar, Malot, Ludhiana, Amritsar cities of Punjab, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Jagadhari, Kurukshetar, Ladwa and Shahbad of Haryana and Jasur and Nurpur Cities of Himachal Pradesh.
OBITUARY: HABIB TANVIR (1923-2009)
The legendary theatre personality, a poet, an actor and a revolutionary Habib Tanvir died at the National Hospital, Bhopal on June 8, 2009 at 06.30 Indian Standard Time. His daughter Nageen was at the bedside. Habib Tanvir was admitted to the hospital because of respiratory problems; the cause of his death was kidney failure. Almost every one associated with INSAF Bulletin has met Habib Saheb one time or another. On behalf of INSAF Bulletin, we express our deep condolences to his daughter Nageen and to his close relatives, Javed and Neeraj Malik, New Delhi and Abha Sur in Boston (Ed.).
INDIAN ELECTIONS – STABLE GOVERNMENT EMERGES WHILE LEFT IS SCATTERED
Vinod Mubayi
Defying all projections of a hung parliament and a multitude of names as potential Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has become the Prime Minister of India for a second term. Fortunately, BJP and, unfortunately, the Left, especially CPM suffered a decline in their representation. The Third Front floated by the Left really came third, managing to get measly 70-odd seats. The dedicated cadres of the left parties constitute the strongest and most steadfast bulwark against the danger of right-wing Hindu communalism; they have to take some resolute steps to change the course taken by the present leadership of CPM.
WOULD THE END OF THE TRAGIC 26 YEARS BE THE BEGINNING OF SUNSHINE IN SRI LANKA?
Daya Varma
The secessionist movement in Sri Lanka led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came to a bitter end on May 17, 2009 with the death of its leader Prabhakaran. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa being deified as a god by Sinhalese Sri Lankans to the horror of Tamils must take steps for immediate rehabilitation of hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians displaced by the conflict and guarantee them equal rights with Sinhalese if he longs for a long-term peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka.
PRACHANDA OUTMANOUVERED – IS HE ALSO OVERPOWERED?
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
Assumption of the office of Prime Minister of Nepal by Prachanda, the leader of United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), [UCPN(M)], was greeted by democratic forces the world over; his resignation following insubordination by the Army Chief and the support to this act by the ceremonial President is, on one hand, a matter of great discontent and surprise, and on the other hand, quite worrisome because in a way it is a coup. What went behind closed doors within and outside Nepal to precipitate this development, which installed Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) [CPN-UML] as the Prime Minister with the support of the Nepalese Congress, is nothing but dirty politics. Have the Maoists been defeated in the end game? Or will they re-emerge with popular support?
BROKEN DEALS, SHATTERED PEACE AND LOOKING AT AN UNCLEAR FUTURE – EVENTFUL APRIL IN PAKISTAN
Kiran Omar
As was expected the controversial Peace Deal between the Taliban and the government came to an end in Swat valley, which has become a war zone within the boundaries of Pakistan. An estimated 2.5 million people have been displaced, the largest internal displacement since the division of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947. The plight of these refugees needs urgent help from all quarters. At the same time the government and military must ensure the routing-out of the Taliban if the country has to march on the path of economic growth and prosperity.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN FOR A CRASH PLAN FOR IDPS
Press Release, May 2009
Lahore: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the federal government to immediately set up a special task force to implement a crash plan for extending relief to the large number of people displaced in the ongoing conflict in the country’s northern part. In a statement issued today, the commission said:
THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY IN SRI LANKA
Rohini Hensman
LTTE established its claim to be the sole voice of Tamils in Sri Lanka by liquidating dissenters and became the mirror image of Sinhala fascist politics. Following the defeat of LTTE, the Rajapaksa regime is sliding into the same totalitarianism which gave rise to the conflict in the first place. At this time, the most urgent priority is to ensure fundamental rights of all the civilians displaced by the war. A credible long-term political solution would need to abolish the Executive Presidency and special place for Buddhism in the Constitution; ensure real parity for Sinhala and Tamil; put in place a Bill of Rights that rules out discrimination in all parts of the island and guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens.
TALIBAN’S TERROR-JIZYA ON SIKHS
Ram Puniyani
The brutality of Talibans in Swat valley and other parts of Pakistan is no more limited to innocent Muslims belonging to different sub-sect of Islam; it now includes imposition of Jizya, on non Muslims, Sikhs. The failure to pay the full Jizya has caused havoc among the Sikh community. Taliban say they are imposing Jizya as per the tenets of Islam; are they?
INDIAN MUSLIM LEADERS CONDEMN THE MISTREATMENT OF SIKHS IN NWFP/PAKISTAN
Submitted by Kaleem Kawaja
We, religious, political and community leaders of the Indian Muslims, are alarmed at the reports coming out of Pakistan’s tribal areas about the Pakistani Taliban’s kidnapping, extortion of huge amounts of money from their Sikh compatriots as “Jizya” and demolition of the houses and shops of those who fail to pay the demanded sums.
IT’S YET ANOTHER PAKISTANI NUCLEAR ANNIVERSARY TODAY
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Why do countries like Pakistan, North Korea, and India spend a fortune making nuclear bombs? They cannot compete with the US in nuclear arsenal. They key issue in North Korea is its dire poverty and autocratic rule. Pakistan is no better off with the nuclear bomb, which people in Balochistan, where it was tested, resent. Obviously nuclear bombs are exploded to whip up blind nationalism and demand some concessions from the western powers, perhaps monetary aid.
GUJARAT CARNAGE-ROLE OF NARENDRA MODI
Ram Puniyani
In the post Godhra violence, over 2000 innocent Muslims lost their lives. Most of the survivors have been degraded to the status of second class citizens. However, most of the perpetrators of violence have gone scot-free and many have moved upward. The efforts of the victims and human rights activists had yielded very few results. In this context, the direction of Apex court to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the role of Modi, his cabinet colleagues and other top functionaries of state and those involved in violence, has come as a sign of hope.
PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE: The incarnation of Dr. Binayak Sen
Anand Patwardhan
On May 14 this year Dr. Binayak Sen started his third year in Jail in Chhatisgarh state of India. Against this injustice, writers, poets, judges, lawyers, doctors, human rights workers, trade unionists, former Supreme Court justice Krishna Iyer, former US attorney general Ramsey Clark, Noam Chomsky and 22 Nobel laureates and thousands of people raised their voice, which were ignored by the authorities. Finally Dr. Sen has been granted bail and released from jail by the Supreme Court of India. Dr. Sen’s incarceration raises the fundamental question of the rights of citizens in world’s largest democracy. Patwardhan who made a documentary of the same name as the title of this article analyses the forces against and for democratic rights in India.
TWO SIDES TO DEMOCRACY – THE DEMOLITION OF A GANDHIAN ASHRAM
Ramachandra Guha
Not content with imprisonment of Dr. Binayak Sen and other violations of democratic rights of citizens, Chhatisgarh authorities demolished a Gandhi Ashram. What more can one expect?
HOW LONG WILL YOU RULE WITH OUR VOTES, AND WE WILL REMAIN DEPRIVED ?
Kaleem Kawaja
The 140 million strong India’s Muslim voters were wooed by various political parties during the recently concluded Parliamentary election. All parties treated them a little differently. BJP wanted them to consider themselves as “Mohammadiya Hindus”. The Congress party talked of giving equal rights to Muslims but took no steps to redress their injustices leading many commentators to proclaim that the difference between Congress and BJP is only slight.
THE BULLET CANNOT DEFEAT THE BALLOT
Kuldip Nayar
The veteran journalist analyses the fruitlessness of violent methods as opposed to democratic demands on a number of key issues in India.
THE POOR ALSO CRAVE AN ENGLISH EDUCATION
Dipankar Gupta
The author writes that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s animosity towards English is not just hypocritical, but cruel too and eventually would deprive the poor from sharing the fruits of any progress in India.
THE DEFEAT OF DIVISIVE FORCES IN MAY 2009 GENERAL ELECTIONS
All India Secular Forum
All India Secular Forum welcomes the people’s verdict in the 15th Lok Sabha elections.
LOOKING FORWARD TO PEACE AND PROGRESS
Ram Puniyani
The defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent elections (May 2009) is a matter of great relief and hope for India. Why?
INDIAN MUSLIMS WELCOME THE ELECTION RESULTS
Submitted by Kaleem Kawaja
New Delhi, 16 May 2009: The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat [umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations] welcomed the mandate given by the people of India to the UPA in general and the Congress Party in particular.
STATEMENT OF PROGRESSIVE NEPALESE ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas (PNEFA) reiterates its previous stand that President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav’s move has not only violated the constitution but also seriously undermined the legitimate mandate of a democratically elected civilian government in Nepal.
KARAT SINKS CPM AND CPI EN PASSE
Daya Varma
While the collapse of Soviet Union in 1989 did not shatter the Indian Communist movement, Prakash Karat, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPIM], has managed to accomplish this feat in just a few months; the burial was the just concluded 15th Parliamentary elections.
IS IT TIME TO HAVE A FRESH LOOK AT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
Daya Varma
Does the ascendancy of Barrack Obama to the highest office in the US need a fresh look at our attitude towards the US?
RAVIDASSIS TO OBSERVE MAY 24 AS MARTYR’S DAY
(Press release)
Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Vancouver will observe may 24 every year as the martyr’s day in the memories of Sant Rama Nand Ji, who was assassinated in Vienna Austria on 24 of may 2009.
INSAF BULLETIN HAILS MAY 1- THE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY!
A FEW FACTS ON INDIA’S 15TH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
The Editors
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SLAUGHTER OF CIVILIANS IN THE VANNI?
Rohini Hensman
Secessionist conflicts, regardless of their merit, are invariably bloody with noncombatant civilians paying the highest price. With the defeat of LTTE imminent, the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire between the government and LTTE has reached inhuman levels and both parties are at fault for this situation. The constitutional adoption of the APRC (All Parties Representatives Committee) proposal on the basis of the Majority and Minority Reports of the Panel of Experts and terms for an honorable surrender by LTTE is a possible way to end the horror in Sri Lanka.
VIBRANT GUJARAT LIES, HALF-TRUTHS AND ILLUSIONS: “The Gujarat Reality Today”
Fr. Cedric Prakash sj
There is much hype about a vibrant Gujarat but the truth is almost the opposite. Gujarat is what India should not be.
THE OTHER HALF: Memories of violence
Kalpana Sharma
“People do not forget the past wrongs, especially when there has been no attempt to ensure justice.”
BUT NOW IT IS AGAIN ELECTION TIME: TIME TO TALK OF RAM MANDIR AND WAR!
J. Sri Raman
Elections are usually the time when contending political parties promise and promise to deal with whatever is lacking. But not always? Gorge Bush came to power for the second time by promising military havoc. Advani and his BJP are saying that turning India upside down is good for the country.
ORISSA: TRAGEDY CONTINUES
Ram Puniyani
Terror against minorities as happened against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 and Christians in Orissa in 2007 is not simply an episodic act of violence; rather it is the unveiling of a policy by one of the major political parties in India. There is a reason why such sordid acts are not coming to a halt and there is a compelling need why it must.
ISLAM AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Asghar Ali Engineer
INSAF Bulletin enquired from Asghar Ali what the response to his provocative speech was. The author wrote back: “In the meeting where I spoke there was hushed silence as I was very critical of Islamic countries. But a few persons who heard me appreciated my critical remarks and I got many supporting e-mails after I circulated this article on e-mail network.” Why?
THE RETREAT OF JINNAH’S PAKISTAN
Maleeha Lodhi
The Swat concession to Talibans by the Pakistan government has far reaching and grave consequences for the entire country and has been analyzed by many commentators. Here is one.
A PERILOUS SITUATION IN PAKISTAN: DECONSTRUCTING THE TALIBAN
Fawzia Afzal-Khan
“Although she believes her days are numbered, Joya is not fearful for the future. “I am not frightened because we will all die one day,” she says. “What matters is that we fight despite the risk and we sacrifice despite the cost. Only then can we succeed.” ( From “A Voice of Hope for Afghanistan’s Women,” by Frud Bezhan, April 15, 2009, The Age-Australia).
IMPRISONED DR. BINAYAK SEN CONDEMNS VIOLENCE
Imprisonment of Dr. Binayak Sen for two years has been condemned by Nobel Laureates, Medical establishment, civil rights activists. There is overwhelming evidence that charges against Dr. Sen are cooked up. Much has been written about his case. In an interview in the Raipur Central Jail, Chhattishgrah by Vinay Sitapati, Dr. Binayak Sen says: “I have always condemned violence, whatever the justification”.
CNDP WELCOMES OBAMA’S CALL FOR A WORLD WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Press Release
President Obama is promising to reshape American policy on various issues including on what is the most serious threat to humanity – the overstocked nuclear arsenal. How does the Indian wing of CNDP react to this gesture of Obama?
“THE GREAT REPRICING”
George Yeo looks at China, India and Asia as it is unfolding and is likely to unfold particular in the face of the global economic crisis. He refers to the foresight of Needham and the evolutionary theory of Darwin. Here is a penetrating analysis.
ATTACK SUPPORTERS OF MALLIKA SARABAHI IN GANDHINAGAR CONDEMNED
Ram Puniyani
Hooliganism of Sangh Parivar is a norm and not an exception. It is being displayed against the secular candidature of Mallika Sarabhai who is taking on Hindutva’s Prime Ministerial candidate Advani in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) constituency. Some respected citizens of India are raising their voice against Sangh Parivar violence.
BOOK REVIEW: Scanning P.C. Joshi’s Biography
Daya Varma
[Note for the Editor of Mainstream: “The following review article has been sent to the Mainstream editor on April 6 with a note from the reviewer that reads: ‘I am submitting a review of Gargi Chakravartty’s P.C. Joshi: A Biography for favour of publication in Mainstream weekly. Not living in India, I was able to get the book only a while ago. Nevertheless I feel reviews of this important book reflecting different experiences and perspectives do not get dated. I hope Mainstream will be generous enough to publish it.’ We are publishing it on the occasion of P.C. Joshi’s 102nd birth anniversary on April 14, 2009. Daya Varma stays in Canada and his e-mail is: daya.varma@mcgill.ca]”
OBITUARY: IQBAL BANO (1935-2009)
(From Wikipedia and other sources, prepared by Feroz Mehdi)
What Mirza Ghalib was to Begum Akhtar, Faiz Ahmed Faiz was to Iqbal Bano; Both these Gazal icons are gone but their melodious voices are there and will resound for generations.
OBITUARY: SMITU KOTHARI
Noted scholar, author and activist Smitu Kothari passed away on the early morning of March 23, 2009 after a cardiac surgery at AIIMS in Delhi. He was in Delhi to attend a Delhi Solidarity Group meeting with Himalaya Niti Abhiyan friends and others to discuss strategies and support for the people’s struggles in Himachal Pradesh against displacement, mining and environmental destruction.
OBITUARY: AHILYA RANGNEKAR (1922-2009)
(Press statement by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – April 19, 2009)
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses profound grief at the passing away of Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar, former member of the Central Committee and veteran leader of the Party. She was aged 87. She died in Mumbai today.
OBITUARY: JANET JAGAN (1921-2009)
Norman Faria (From People’s Voice, April 16-30, 2009, Organ of the Communist Party of Canada)
Janet Jagan, the Chicago-born freedom fighter whom /Time/ magazine once described as the “most controversial woman in South American politics since Eva Peron”, has died in her adopted homeland of Guyana, succumbing to abdominal aneurysm at the age of 88.
SOUTH ASIA AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE FACING MULTIPLE CRISES
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
South Asia finds itself at a critical juncture facing multiple crises in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka while India goes through a general election, which could bring the rabidly communal BJP to power.
TOWARDS THEOCRACY?
Pervez Amir Ali Hoodbhoy
Physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy traces the evolution of fundamentalist culture in Pakistan and its consequences to the very survival of his country.
PAKISTAN: THE LESSONS OF MARCH 15
I.A. Rehman
The events of March 15 underscored the reality that Pakistan has multiple centres of power and the nominal state is not the strongest of them. The writ of this state will run only to the extent it is not hindered by the parallel centres of power. This is the real drag on the government’s autonomy that no politician should lose sight of.
MOMENTOUS MARCH: NEW BEGINNINGS IN PAKISTANI POLITICS
Kiran Omar
March in much of Pakistan is about Basant (spring festival marked by kite-flying), flowering landscapes and fine weather. This past March in Pakistan, the Spring breezes brought more than flowers and fluttering kites, it was marked by three significant events, that brought Pakistan to a turning point in its turbulent political history.
[PAKISTAN] A SECOND LOOK
Sam Noumoff
The acceptance of Sharia in a region of Pakistan adjoining Afghanistan is likely to usher a new division in Pakistan society. This article analyzes its implications and will be included in the book “Maut ke Saudagar” (Merchants of Death) by “Rashani Publication” Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, and edited by Khurshid Kaimkhani.
MADHYAMAM: A MUSLIM MEDIA SUCCESS STORY
Yoginder Sikand
Muslims constitute a significant proportion of Kerala’s population and are amongst the most literate Muslim community. Aside from their participation in different political formations, they produce numerous magazines, which unlike the Muslim publications in the North, deal with issues other than religion.
A MATCH ABANDONED OR A BATTLE LOST?
Jawed Naqvi
Referring to the disastrous British campaign against Afghanistan, the author analyzes the implications of the terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on Pakistan’s civil society as well as the complexity of the crisis facing Pakistan.
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION IS MUSLIMS’ ARTICLE OF FAITH: DEOBAND SEMINARY CHIEF
Seema Chishti
Refuting implicit and explicit charges of the Hindu fundamentalist organizations that Muslims do not owe loyalty to India, the highest religious authority of Indian Muslims asserts, as others have done, the faith of Indian Muslims in the secular constitution of India.
WHY ‘HATE SPEECH’?
Ram Puniyani
Varun Gandhi is the son of Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi; Late Sanjay Gandhi was the son of Indira and Feroz Gandhi; Indira Gandhi was the only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Birth defects are consistent with Darwinian theory of evolution but many of the magnitude revealed by Varun Gandhi are not in record. A Hindu boy born to a Sikh mother and Parsi father? In the article below, Varun Gandhi utters unutterable but then this most likely is the way members of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Singh (RSS) family think. Some say, other are too clever to openly say it.
PLEASING GODS WITH PUBLIC MONEY
Ram Puniyani
In an unprecedented move in Indian history, the BJP (Bhartiya Janata party ) government of Karnataka has allotted huge sums to Hindu temples in addition to its past acts of forcing pujas by temples.
WOMEN FOR SECULARISM: A FORUM FOR HARMONY, INCLUSION, JUSTICE, PEACE
This article deals with a novel initiative by women of India to defend and promote secularism.
OVER 3,000 STILL IN ORISSA CAMPS: UNWILLING TO BECOME HINDUS
Prafulla Das
Months have passed since Hindu fundamentalists launched their attack on poor Christians of Orissa forcing them to abandon their less than modest homes to seek shelter in camps. Some have returned by many cannot because to do so they have to avow Hinduism.
RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) APPOINTS A NEW CHIEF
Unlike any other organization in India, RSS chiefs are appointed and not elected. A new chief has been appointed to replace Sudarshan. Given the absolute control that the RSS chief exercises over RSS and all its affiliates, this change of guards of a fascist organization is important.
DOES INDIA NEED A THIRD FRONT OR A DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE FRONT?
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
Both the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (M) have joined hands to launch a Third Front to face the coming Lok Sabha (Parliament) election to be held next month. It is called a Third Front because the First and Second Fronts are, respectively, led by the Congress of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of the Advani-Rajnath Singh-Narendra Modi triumvirate.
MALLIKA SARABHAI TO OPPOSE L.K. ADVANI IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Advani is the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. To the delight of secular forces, he is challenged by Mallika Sarabhai. None could be more suitable an opponent of Advani than Mallika.
DESPERATE CPI(M) DISCOVERS NEW SECULAR ‘HERO’ IN NAVEEN (PATNAIK)
Naveen Patnaik was to Christians of Orissa what Narendra Modi was to Muslims of Gujarat. As is often the case, Indian elections disturb all other ideological and political equations for a seat or two in Indian Parliament. Here is a new development; if true, the glorious history of the Communist movement against communalism makes a drastic shift by including Naveen Patnaik in the conglomerate of secular formation.
LALU, MULAYAM , PASWAN FORM ‘SECULAR ALLIANCE’
The three parties (led by Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh and Ram Bilas Paswan) vowed to provide an ‘alternative’ in the fight against ‘communal forces’ in UP and Bihar. Since UP and Bihar provide the bulk of members in the Parliament, this alliance may determine who forms the next government.
TAKE LEGAL ACTION (against Varun Gandhi): NITISH (Kumar)
Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister of populous Bihar province in alliance with Hindu fundamentalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Since Varun Gandhi’s vitriolic hate speech against Muslims, Indian Election Commission has requested BJP not to field him as its candidate from Pilibhit (UP)
THE OBAMA PUZZLE
Daya Varma
Obama has been the President of the US only since January 2009. Normally this is too short a time to judge a new leader; yet given the impact of this change on world politics, it seems one has no choice but to judge him. How does the Indian left judge Obama? Immanuel Wallerstein, a leading figure of the US Left offers a clue.
INVESTIGATE THE ISRAELI MISSILE CONTRACT: COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST)
(Circulated by Vijay Prashad)
The advent of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) as the ruling party in 1999 shifted India’s policy from being pro- Palestinian to pro-Israel. Although BJP was defeated in 2004 and a coalition led by Congress came to power, this pro-Israel policy has continued. Here is a case of a huge arms deal to purchase missiles, which can be made in India. What is behind this deal?
FREE, FREE BINAYAK SEN!: US SUPPORT FOR RAIPUR SATYAGRAH
Fifty international groups organize support in the USA for the Raipur Satyagraha in India Simultaneous protests held in 3 US cities.
US, CHINA AND THE WAR IN SRI LANKA
Peter Symonds
There are many ways to do the wrong thing. In the troubled world, big powers intervene not so much to address the suffering of the people but to derive advantage to their national strategic interest. In the end game between the government and Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, the plight of Tamil civilians is precarious. How do two powers, the US and China respond to this? The US talks about human rights and China defends Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. What a surprise?
SOUTH ASIA ENGULFED BY CONFLICTS!
Vinod Mubayi
South Asia is experiencing an unprecedented degree of ethnic, linguistic, and religious conflict. This is exemplified by the fast growing Talibanization of Pakistan and the violence perpetrated on innocent civilians, the depredations of the Hindutva fundamentalists in India not only against religious minorities but also on all those who do not subscribe to their ideology, but above all by the majority Sinhala – minority Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka now reaching a climax, which threatens a full-scale genocide of the hapless Tamil population, caught between two brutal opposing forces, the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army.
LIONS, TIGERS, AND THE CULLING OF SRI LANKA’S TAMILS
Neil DeVotta
Sri Lanka’s Lions (Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist government) and Tigers (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) continue their savage war that is now slaughtering thousands of innocent Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire. The government claims to go out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, despite having relied on a strategy of deliberately and indiscriminately bombing areas filled with Tamil civilians; the LTTE, which is branded a terrorist group by over thirty countries, claims it is fighting to liberate Tamils-even as it forcibly recruits civilians, including child soldiers, to fight government forces and uses these trapped Tamils as human shields; and the international community, which claims to care about the plight of innocent civilians, stands impotently on the sidelines as beleaguered Tamils are being murdered.
FUNDAMENTALISM WITHOUT BORDERS
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
While Muslims are the obvious target of Sangh Parivar, no one should feel immune to their pernicious policies- even Hindus?
KITCHEN, CHURCH AND CHILDREN: Shri Ram Sene Beats up Girls in a Pub
Ram Puniyani
Having killed and humiliated thousands of Muslims and Christians, the Hindutva fascists extend their operation to include non-conformist Hindus, starting with women. But that is not where it will end.
HINDU TALIBAN
(Editorial, The Hindu, February 7, 2009)
The California-based late IK Shukla had the foresight to introduce the term “Hindu Talibans” to describe hooligans of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and other outfits of the Sangh Parivar. Now the mainstream media too is recognizing that the Sangh Parivar is on war path against what people cherish about India.
HOLY GARB: PROFANE AGENDA: Seers Demand Dropping of Word Secular from Indian Constitution!
Ram Puniyani
The self-appointed custodians of Hindu ethos want to take the next jump by transforming Secular India into a formal Hindu India.
DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS AND MINORITIES IN INDIA
Asghar Ali Engineer
Major political parties recognize the significance of Muslims votes. So in the upcoming federal election they are using a variety of tricks to wooing Muslims – but just for their votes and hardly their well being.
IN THE NAME OF “HONOUR” – EDUCATION OF GIRLS IN FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED TRIBAL AREAS OF PAKISTAN UNDER SIEGE
Kiran Omar
Born to be illiterate – is that the fate of girls in certain parts of Pakistan?
THE SAUDI-ISATION OF PAKISTAN
Pervez Hoodbhoy
A stern, unyielding version of Islam is replacing the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis in Pakistan. The vibrant culture of the subcontinent is being crucified in Pakistan.
INDIA IS A SILENT BYSTANDER IN SRI LANKAN TRAGEDY
Tapan Bose
Violating all international norms formulated at the end of the World War II, the government of Sri Lanka will practically imprison the Tamil population as a solution to the present conflict and future issues.
A HUMANITARIAN TRUCE TO SAFEGUARD TRAPPED CIVILIANS IN SRI LANKA
(National Peace Council of Sri Lanka; Press Release; January 29, 2009)
In the battle for final victory and surrender of LTTE, the Sri Lanka government does not care who and how many civilians die and suffer – such is the scale of humanitarian crisis.
JOINT INDIA-PAKISTAN CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE AND HARMONY
(Initiated by COVA (Hyderabad) and Piler (Karachi)
We are happy to inform you that the India-Pakistan Joint Signature Campaign against terrorism, war posturing and to promote cooperation and peace between India and Pakistan is drawing excellent support from the civil societies of India and Pakistan. The following prominent personalities have signed the petition: Read the endorsements…
RALLY FOR PEACE BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND INDIA
(SACW Feb 1, 2009 Dispatch# 2604)
Lahore: A massive turnout at the peace rally organized by the Aman Tehreek from Regal Chowk to Punjab Assembly building in a bid to defuse tension and war-mongering between India and Pakistan was seen on January 31, 2009.
CPI(M) AND CPI DEMAND CANCELLATION OF DEFENCE CONTRACT WITH ISRAEL
(Submitted by Vijay Prashad).
On February 9, 2009, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India sent the following letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India opposing defence contrats with Israel.
THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HONORS KING-GANDHI ASSOCIATION
(Submitted by Zafar Iqbal, February 12, 2009)
The US House of Reps passed a with a 460-0 vote a resolution to “…commemorate the impact that Dr. King’s trip to India and his study of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi had in shaping the Civil Rights Movement…”
OBSERVATIONS OF A BRIEF TRIP TO SHANGHAI: MODERNITY TROUNCING TRADITION
Arun Kumar
A trip to China is an eye-opener for a curious and informed Indian. How does China compare with India in general wellbeing and infrastructure?
OBITUARY: ILLUSION OF AN EPOCH – Victor Kiernan (1913-2009): Historian and India’s friend
Rudrangshu Mukherjee (The Telegraph, February 22, 2009)
The death of the British Marxist historian Victor Kiernan, deeply connected with India, naturally inspired many columns including from Eric Hobsbawm and Tariq Ali. Here is one from Prof. Mukherjee produced below.
HELPING CAPITALISTS WOULD NOT HELP THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM
Daya Varma
Every one knows that the present economic crisis, which started from the U.S. is now affecting the whole world. Yet capitalism as a system is not about to collapse like did the Soviet-brand of socialism. Yet the solution being devised by leaders of the capitalist world are helping individual capitalists but not the system.
THE ASSAULT ON GAZA
Vinod Mubayi
INSAF Bulletin usually limits itself to South Asian issues. However just as Hitler’s attack on Poland was not simply an European but an international matter so also is the attack of Israel on Gaza Palestinians.
“EXTERMINATE ALL THE BRUTES”: GAZA 2009
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky is one of the most progressive free thinkers of modern times. He is an encyclopedia of facts and an eyesore to the US government; if it were not for his excellence and fame as a linguist, he would probably have been banished. Professor Chomsky has raised his voice for the oppressed and deprived and here he brilliantly analyzes why Israel resorted to this uncalled for barbarism in Gaza.
OBAMA’S STANCE ON GAZA CRISIS: “APPROXIMATELY THE BUSH POSITION”
Noam Chomsky
Will Obama be or not be another Bush, is the question? Obama’s stand on the middle-east conflict within 3 days of his presidency does not make it fully clear but chances are he will be closer to Bush in this regard than to the spirit of his inaugural address.
THE GAZA INFERNO – CAN WE SILENCE THE GUNS FOREVER? YES WE CAN
Kiran Omar
Israel’s lust for Palestinian blood is so intense and crude that any one with heart and soul and a bit of sense of justice can get deeply traumatized. Here Kiran expresses her anguish and frustration mixed with a candid analysis of what is happening in Gaza and why.
GAZA WAR ENDED IN UTTER FAILURE FOR ISRAEL
Gideon Levy
I once saw a documentary called Palestine represented by a young woman. After all the brutalities of Israelis, she stands with her sling and cannons are fired at her. She stands smiling and with her sling slot demolishes the entire Israeli firing squad. This is a film but it is also real. The days when US could win a war is gone since Vietnam. The days when Israel could win also ended with the 6-day war. In a way their December 27 attack on Gaza was no different from their dismal failure in Lebanon. Sure innocent civilians die but their resistance does not. In this article the Israeli journalists recounts how on all fronts Israel lost the war. Will Israel and U.S. ever learn their days are numbered?
PALESTINIANS MEND TUNNELS DESPITE ISRAELI THREATS
How brave and determined are the Palestinians? Read this.
STATEMENTS AND ACT IONS CONDEMNING ISRAEL
Compiled by Daya Varma
As to be expected the Israeli attack on Gaza has received world wide condemnation. INSAF Bulletin is producing what it was able to get and we are sure there have been dozens and dozens of statements not accounted by us. Read what we have access to.
BANGLADESH ELECTIONS BRING NEW HOPE
Daya Varma
Notwithstanding compromises made by the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League in the past, its impressive victory against Zia Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the December 29 elections in Bangladesh is a refreshing development and a decisive verdict against fundamentalism.
BIRTH OF A NEW BANGLADESH: JOY BANGLA
Biplab Pal
Since 1947 when the present Bangladesh was East Pakistan and a major force behind the division of India into India and Pakistan (West and East) on the basis of two-nation theory, the country has had a tumultuous history. When it broke away from Pakistan, Bangladesh was a secular country; it went through several military coups and was ruled by Islamic fundamentalists for a while. The author Biplab Pal expresses his optimism in the future of Bangladesh and points out that economic reforms are a must to guarantee a secular Bangladesh as was the vision of its founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
INVOKING INDIA’S FUHRER: INDUSTRIALISTS CALL FOR MODI TO BE THE PRIME MINISTER
Ram Puniyani
Capital respects no boundaries and has no morals. It is thus not surprising that Tata, Ambani and Mittal, the three biggest industrialists of India with one (Mittal) with second most assets in the word have chosen Narendra Modi, the indignity of India as their new Prime Minister. The author Ram Puniyani who has dedicated along with many to the cause of secularism and democracy in India exposes the nefarious character of the three blood-suckers.
HINDU TERRORISTS
Based on information from Shabnam Hashmi
In one of his frank moods, the former Prime Minister Vajpayee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political wing of the Hindutva fascist outfit Rashtria Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) got encouraged to say while he was in Goa that all Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. Obviously he was very wrong because his own party is deep in to terrorism. Who bombed the Hubli court in Karnataka? The evidence is here, they were not Muslims but Hindus.
PAKISTAN’S CIVIL SOCIETY URGES GOVERNMENT TO COME OUT OF DENIAL
Nirupama Subramanian
The Hindu newspaper’s correspondent reports that civil society groups in Pakistan represented by highly respected citizens call upon Pakistan to take its due responsibility in the Mumbai terror attack of last year.
GUFTAGU BAND NA HO (LET’S KEEP ON TALKING!)
Ali Sardar Jafri
[This poem, in Urdu, was written by Ali Sardar Jafri on the occasion of the 1965 war between India and Pakistan. Jafri was a member of the Progressive Writers Association led by the Communist Party of India while PC Joshi was the General Secretary)
SADHUS OF AYODHYA AND LEGISLATORS OF SINDH ASSEMBLY JOIN FOR PEACE
Sent by COVA, Hyderabad, India
Sadhus (Hindu holy men) of India and legislators from Sindh province of Pakistan embark on a novel initiative to bring peace in the subcontinent. An admirable effort with promising consequences.
GRAPPLING WITH ESCALATING VIOLENCE – PAKISTAN’S GROWING PROBLEM WITH INTERNAL MILITANCY
Kiran Omar
Unable to squarely confront the US and unable to improve economic situation in the country, the Pakistan government is steadily creating conditions favorable to terrorists , which threatens Pakistan as well. Montreal-based Kiran Omar originally from Pakistan and a keen observer of Pakistani politics analyzes who fundamentalists who in the past recruited mainly the marginalized are now able to draw middle class youth in their sphere.
TWO MAOIST PARTIES OF NEPAL UNITE
Since the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960’s, practically every one of the non-ruling communist parties split into two or more. Some small parties united since then but that has been of little political significance. The recent unification of two important communist parties [The CPN (Maoist) and the CPN (Unity Centre-Masal)] might signal a reversal of that trend or it might be that unity comes in the process of solving specific problems.
SRI LANKA: TIME FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION
Compiled by Daya Varma
The recent offensive by the Sri Lanka government against the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Elam (LTTE) has caused loss of lives and property of Tamil civilians in Tamil Majority; naturally this fight to the finish approach also requires silencing ant criticism and exposure of its deeds. The FOUR articles on Sri Lanka produced below are examples of the havoc caused by the government as well as suggestion for peaceful resolution of the national question in Sri Lanka.
SIMILAR YET DIFFERENT: WHAT DALIT ACTIVISTS THINK ABOUT BARACK OBAMA
Anuja Mirchandaney
The 44th President of America, Barrack Hussein Obama, is a black American with ancestry in Kenya. Only 50 years ago a black man could be thrown out of a running train for entering into a all white coach. Naturally his election to the highest office of the most powerful country in the world evoked unprecedented response both within and outside the US, perhaps more than any event in recent history. It is thus natural that Dalits of India look at this development with unusual expectations about their own status and future. But India is at least 50 years behind the US and threatens to prolong the agony of its millions of Dalits, be they Hindus, Muslims or Christians. This article by Anuja Mirchandaney examines the thinking of Dalit activists in India about the developments in America.
[OBAMA] THE 11TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Fidel Castro Ruz
Fidel Castro is one of the most well-read and educated political leaders with a knowledge and view on almost everything political, even social and economic. Since his retirement he is writing his reflections on various issues. This one is about Obama – the 44th President with George Washington being the first but 11th since the Cuban revolution.
ON IFTI NASIM’S POEM “HIS MASTER’S VOICE”
Kaleem Kawaja
(Ifti Nasim’s poem “HIS MASTER’S VOICE” on the day Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States, criticized him as “hiding from his Muslim name Husain”, and “as being a poodle waiting for his master’s order to bomb Muslim countries”. The poem received many comments. One comment was from Kaleem Kawaja who told the critics to “stop this kind of nonsense which shows the Muslim community in poor light”. Some people criticized Mr Kawaja’s comment as unsympathetic to Muslims. Here Mr Kawaja responds to the criticism on his comments on the poem.
NEW YEAR GREETINGS!
INDO-PAK RELATIONS AFTER MUMBAI MASSACRE: BACK TO SQUARE ONE?
Vinod Mubayi
As the refreshing breeze of normalization of relations between India and Pakistan had started to blow across the two countries, forces hostile to peace and sanity staged the Mumbai terrorist attack to renew hostility; this has placed additional burden on civil society and India-Pakistan friendship organizations to work even more vigorously to foil the designs of hawks on both sides of the border.
A CALL FOR SANITY
(Editorial: Economic & Political Weekly, India, December 6, 2008)
A catastrophe awaits if the government takes military action against Pakistan.
UNITING IN THE FACE OF TERROR
Ram Puniyani
Big tragedies like the Mumbai terrorist attack pose big questions and confusion. While there is a good chance that terrorists came from Pakistan, they came into being because of the US attempt to push Soviet Union-backed regime from Afghanistan. These terrorists are also a headache for Pakistan. Who is responsible and what should be done needs sober mind and not jingoism.
TERROR: THE AFTERMATH
Anand Patwardhan
The attack on Mumbai is over. After the numbing sorrow comes the blame game and the solutions. Loud voices amplified by saturation TV: Why don’t we amend our Constitution to create new anti-terror laws? Why don’t we arm our police with AK 47s? Why don’t we do what Israel did after Munich or the USA did after 9/11 and hot pursue the enemy? Solutions that will lead us further into the abyss. For terror is a self-fulfilling prophecy. It thrives on reaction, polarization, militarization and the thirst for revenge.
MUMBAI FOR PEACE: SAY NO TO TERROR AND WAR! SAY NO TO VIOLENCE!
Dolphy D’souza
Thousands of Mumbaikars hold hands for peace and harmony.
INDIA’S UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES PREVENTION ACT (UAPA): THE RETURN OF POTA & TADA
Rajeev Dhavan
It seems as if the government of India was waiting for an opportunity like the Mumbai mayhem to come up with laws that could prove more dangerous than acts of terrorism by non-state organizations. The December 2008 INSAF Bulletin warned against this possibility. Now it is here; an expert lawyer provides his analysis. After months in pre-trial detention under brutal investigation, the police will extract even untruths. The Bill casts a shadow on all of us. It is founded on the principle that everyone is suspicious or a suspect, with no fine distinction between the two. We are creating a suspicious state to empower suspicious officials and citizenry to act suspiciously against any supposed suspect. This Bill goes further than TADA or POTA in its creation of a suspicious state. India must fight terrorism, but the last thing India wants to be is a terrorist anti-terrorist state.
HINDUTVA FASCISTS DICTATE CIVIC LIFE NO MATTER WHO IS IN POWER
Daya Varma
There are two parties contending to rule India, the Indian National Congress (Congress) and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Democratic forces have reservations about the present Congress-led government and the Congress Party in general; however, most of them would prefer Congress rather than BJP to form the central government in 2009. Perhaps it does matter which is the ruling party but unfortunately only minimally so.
MUMBAI REKINDLES DEBATE ABOUT MUSLIMS, THEIR BEARD AND SO ON
Jawed Naqvi
Beard become a source of suspicion, the name becomes a proof. One of the many ways the prejudice against Muslims with adverse socio-political consequences is almost becoming a norm.
IN INDIA, MUSLIMS MARK A SOMBER EID: CELEBRATIONS SUBDUED AFTER MUMBAI SIEGE
Emily Wax
When I first heard of subdued festivity at Eid, I thought it is worse than Mumbai terror. Over 150 million citizens of India feel threatened and respond to this threat in their own way (Daya Varma).
NEPAL: LAND COMMISSION CHIEF SAYS HE WILL PROVIDE LAND TO LANDLESS
Land to the landless is not the same thing as land to the tiller but it is something in the right direction.
COMMUNIST PARTY OF NEPAL (MAOIST) DECIDES TO FORGE REPUBLICAN FRONT
Kathmandu (Xinhua, December 15, 2008)
Instead of going ahead with a People’s Republic like in China, the Nepal Maoists have opted for some kind of Federal Republic, which would accommodate other parties as well.
HEAR HER OUT – A SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN’S AID (SAWA) EVENT.
Kiran Omar
On December 6, 1989, fourteen women students of the University of Montreal Polytechnic were murdered by a lone gunman. Since then some form of commemoration of this tragic event to highlight violence against women is held every year in Montreal. In the following article Kiran Omar deals with the a panel discussion about the important question of violence against women.
OBAMA PRESIDENCY AND SOME QUESTION MARKS
Aijaz Ahmad
Will he be forced to scrap the trajectory he has been following and re-make himself into a latter-day FDR (Roosevelt), as many are hoping?
SIGN OF SYSTEMIC CRISIS: US COMPANIES TOO BIG TO FAIL BUT FAILING
Arum Kumar
Till early 2008 it was believed that certain economic entities are too big to fail, hence safe. Companies like, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Merrill Lynch and Citibank each with assets running into hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars were supposed to be in this category. Their turnover was larger than the GDP of most countries in the world. Each one of them has failed since August 2008 and has been bailed out by the US government or bought over by other companies. General Motors, another giant, has been pleading for help.
DEMANDING RELEASE OF LENIN KUMAR AND ABHAYA SAHOO IN ORISSA
Orissa government supported by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) not only allowed the massacre of Christians but suppresses dissenting voices including by imprisonment. Here is a story of two men arbitrarily arrested and the struggle to get them released.
IK SHUKLAJI MEMORIAL MEETING IN DELHI
Friends of Professor Indukant Shukla (lovingly called Shuklaji) gathered to remember him at the Gandhi Peace Foundation auditorium on December 20th. Shuklaji was a great rebel thinker, writer and activist who breathed his last on September 17, 2008, in California (USA). Shuklaji was born in 1927.
CONDOLENCE FOR DR. YASHPAL CHHIBBAR
K.G. Kannabiran
I am deeply shocked to hear of the said demise this morning of my dear friend and colleague in the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Dr. Yashpal Chhibbar, after a brief illness.
McGILL UNIVERSITY (CANADA) STATEMENT ON MUMBAI ATTACK
Two members of McGill University, Prof Michael Moss and graduate Elizabeth Russel died in Mumbai terror.
TERROR STRIKES MUMBAI AGAIN
Vinod Mubayi
The recent terrorist attack in Mumbai has affected people of all strata. The killers not only attacked the Taj hotel but also the main railway station and Cama hospital, which is frequented by the poor of Mumbai. The death of Karkare, who was investigating the role of Sangh Parivar in terrorism was a grave loss. The assault must be condemned in the strongest terms not only because of its utterly brutal nature but even more so because of its possible repercussions in the country’s polity.
TERRORISM AND SECURITY
Daya Varma
The Indian Prime Minister is being chastised by all kinds of people from Hindutva leader Advani to leftists for not providing adequate security. Making all of India like the present day Kashmir will stifle civilian life with graver consequences than can be brought about by terrorists.
LAMENT FOR MUMBAI: TEARS AS THE CITY OF JOY BURNS
Natasha Fatah
An outpouring of personal anguish by a young Canadian journalist with historic ties with Mumbai.
EMPATHY, GRIEF IN PAKISTAN AT MUMBAI MAYHEM
Beena Sarwar
Karachi-based Journalist Beena Sarwar recounts the outpouring of sympathy in Pakistan for the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack and for India as a whole.
MUMBAI BLOODBATH
This Joint Statement was released to the press simultaneously in Pakistan and India on November 30 2008.
STATEMENT BY SADBHAV MISSION
MUMBAI UNDER SIEGE
Yoginder Sikand
“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God. For God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” (The Quran, Surah Al-Maida:8
Big events give rise to big conspiracy theories. Many have been floated following the recent Mumbai tragedy named 9/11 of India. Yoginder examines the saga of Mumbai and the role of Lashkar-e Tayyeba, one of the many outfits in this tragedy.
MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACKS REPREHENSIBLE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Dr. Fai (Kashmir American Council)
The Kashmir American Council like so many other organizations and individuals condemns the Mumbai terrorist attack.
THE DECEMBER ISSUE SHOULD FOCUS ON MUMBAI TERROR
Kiran Omar
Kiran Omar had submitted an article for the December issue of INSAF Bulletin; she felt the issue should focus on Mumbai episode.
KARKARE’S FAMILY REJECTS NARENDRA MODI’S OFFER
Karkare family shuns Rs. 10 million offer from Narendra Modi, the orchestrator of Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom.
MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS: UPDATED LIST OF DEAD, INJURED
Submitted by Mumtaz on 28 November 2008 – 7:03pm.
Mumtaz has compiled a partial list of victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack.
TWO GREAT PARTIES, TWO INCOMPETENT LEADERS: ADVANTAGE HINDUTVA FASCISM
Daya Varma
Historically the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress have played a crucial role in forging Hindu-Muslim unity, which is opposed by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the political wing of Hindutva fascism. There has been a let down in the role of CPI over years and with its division into CPI and CPI(Marxist), electoral politics had a sway. Against the historic and glorious tradition of the Communist Party, the two General Secretaries led the two parties to opportunistically ally with BJP to topple the present government on the non-issue of Indo-US nuclear deal.
FIGHT THE LIBERAL-LEFT MASKS THAT PROTECT THE FASCISTS
Kunal Chattopadhyay
The most important aids to the Hindutva-fascists are being provided by certain liberal or left wing, or even civil libertarian voices and former leftists. The strategy of the RSS and its extra-parliamentary wings are obvious. Yet people with left and liberal masks and past are mobilized by the fascists. These renegades from progressive battles flaunt their pedigrees all the better to defend the fascists in a roundabout way like not condemning strongly the murder of Hindutva leader Lakshmanand Saraswati or lumping all violence to be the same.
FACING UP TO SANGHI TERROR MODULES AND FASCIST DESIGN
From ML Update
Malegaon episode has revealed that the Sangh Parivar represents a lethal convergence of both communalism and terrorism. Custodial torture and fake encounters are invested by the Sangh Parivar and its political wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) with a halo of gallantry as long as the victims are Muslim. The same forces, however, begin to cry foul the moment some ‘swami’ or ‘sadhvi’ or some army official comes under the scanner.
ANATOMY OF SANGH PARIVAR
Ram Puniyani
The arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in the context of Malegaon blasts along with the arrest of army officers and the involvement of Bhonsala Military School has unfolded the whole new dimension of terrorism. The Sadhvi has been the member of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Durga Vahini, which are the parts of Sangh Parivar. However from the time of the murder of Gandhi by Godse, Sangh Parivar continues to deny its role, notwithstanding the evidence, in terrorism.
NANO IN GUJARAT- MAKE BELIEVE STATURE OF MODI
Ram Puniyani
Shifting of Nano from Singur, West Bengal to Gujarat has been projected as a feather in Narendra Modi’s cap. Modi, the organizer of the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 is being portrayed as the future of India notwithstanding the dismal economic performance of his government.
AND NOW HINDU TERRORISTS?
Asghar Ali Engineer
Ram Madhav of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) contends that there is no such thing as Hindu terrorism. When asked about Sadhvi Pragnya’s arrest, he tried to distance RSS from her as did Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani. However, there is strong evidence of terrorism by Hindu zealots.
DHULE COMMUNAL VIOLENCE: INDEPENDENT CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE REPORT
Suryavanshi, Medha Patkar, M.B. Shah, J.G. Khairnar, Gopinath Landge, Shyam Patil, Avinash Patil, Vinod, Sandeep Barve
A team of concerned citizens investigated the communal riots in Dhule which erupted 9th October after 16 odd years, the previous one having taken place in 1992. The brutal attacks by outside mobs of communally charged youth equipped with arms have shaken the people of Dhule. The damage both in terms of human life and property is enormous. Most of the survivors are mill workers and daily wage laborers or small traders from poor households. No high ranking Govt. official or political leader visited the area and could promise them of building their future. Shocking revelations of the violence against minorities were witnessed. The team gives horrid details of the violence and makes many recommendations.
A HEALTHY DEBATE WITHIN THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF NEPAL (MAOISTS)
Daya Varma
Two separate documents, one authored by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Chairman and the other by Mohan Baidya were presented to the National Cadre Conference. Prachanda argued in favour of Federal Republic and Baidya for People’s Republic like in China. The debate appeared healthy and the Conference adopted what is termed People’s Federal Democratic National Republic, which seems to accommodate both views. Such debates, not very characteristic of communist parties, are healthy development.
A NEW POLITICAL FORMATION IN UTTAR PRADESH (UP)
Daya Varma
A new political formation in UP, Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JSM), held a massive rally in Lucknow on November 10 . It aims as a third alternative to the two existing parties, one led by the Chief Minister Mayawati and the other by the ex-Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. JSM will field candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2009 and explore the possibility of all-India platform.
A PROFILE OF NOVEL PEOPLES’ UNITY CAMPAIGN
Based in a report sent by VK Tripathi
Members of Sadbhav Samiti go door to door enquiring about their hardship and popularizing people centric nationalism as opposed to religious nationalism and persuade for communal harmony.
REBUTTAL OF PRAFUL BIDWAI’S COLUMN “THE ROAD TO GUJARAT”
In my (Daya Varma) opinion, political honesty and personal integrity demands that Medha Patkar, Sumit Sarkar and others in the company mount a fiercer resistance against Tata’s Nano venture in Gujarat than they did in Singur. Will they remain content criticizing Tata? This query is the substance of the following letter in Frontline by Ramakumar. The author of the letter Ramkumar argues that “Praful Bidwai’s column (“The Road to Gujarat”, November 7) is intriguing since he along with Medha Patkar and others opposed tooth and nail Tata’s nano car factory venture in Singur, West Bengal, ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led left front.
DR. ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER CONFERRED D.LITT BY JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY
Another honor for Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer.
INDIA: FASCISM ON THE HORIZON
Daya Varma, Feroz Mehdi and Vinod Mubayi
Though not commonly recognized, India is in the midst of a battle between democracy and fascism. The process started with Advani’s Rath Yatra leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid followed by massacre of Muslims and now Christians. Hindutva hordes dictate the civic life threatening full fledged fascism.
NATIONAL CONVENTION: COUNTERING FASCIST FORCES: DEFENDING THE IDEA OF INDIA
A timely two day Convention against fascism was held in New Delhi on October 25 and 26 with participation of a wide spectrum of representatives of the civil society from almost all parts of India. The political resolution passed at the Convention emphasizes the urgency to fight for democracy, secularism and justice and foil the attempts of Hindutva forces to establish fascism.
TATA LEAVES SINGUR, GOES TO GUJARAT; LEFT INTELLECTUALS CRY ‘FOUL’
Vinod Mubayi
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress succeeded in harnessing the services of all kinds of allies, from leftists to do-gooder environmentalists, to oppose West Bengal’s attempt to facilitate the Indian industrialists Tata in setting up an auto factory in Singur near Kolkata. The protests led to Tata withdrawing from West Bengal and going to Gujarat of Narendra Modi. Are these leftists going to stop Tata’s Nano auto factory in Gujarat or are they only going to relish the defeat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist?
GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN – PAKISTAN, AND ITS UNRAVELING ECONOMY
Kiran Omar
Because of the interdependence of different countries in the era of globalization, the current credit crisis in the US has affected every country but Pakistan has not been able to withstand the meltdown due to specific reasons of its own. An important factor for the Pakistani crisis has been the neglect of key sectors of economy by the outgoing Musharraf government.
INDIA: GROWING BUT HUNGRY
G.S. Mudur
Notwithstanding the generally acclaimed booming economy of India, the country is the home of the largest number of hungry people, worse than Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon. Within India, Gujarat touted as the most prosperous state is only second to Chhattisgarh in hunger score.
ORISSA UPDATE ON ASSAULT AGAINST CHRISTIANS
John Dayal
There is as yet no end in sight for the terror launched by Hindutva hordes on 50,000 Christians in Kandhamal region of Orissa. Judged by what is happening in Orissa, all the stories about democracy and secularism in India seem utterly false.
JAMIA RESIDENTS FOIL “ENCOUNTER” ATTEMPT
Mumtaz Alam Falahi
Indiscriminate rounding of Muslim youths by the police and then framing the victims by attributing violent encounter, which started in Kashmir valley has now become a common occurrence in Muslim areas. One such episode was to occur in Jamia Nagar Police edict when local residents came to the rescue of Amir, who was by dragged into a car by plainclothes policemen.
PEACE MARCH FROM RED FORT TO OKHLA HEAD HELD
V.K. Tripathi
In one of the many attempts by the civil society to promote communal harmony, Sabdhav mission organized a 15 km long peace march via historic places in Delhi.
HOW SECULAR IS INDIA TODAY?
Asghar Ali Engineer
If India was as secular as its Constitution implores, it would be a wonderful place for religious minorities. The author, a renowned scholar and ardent activists for peace and harmony, presents loopholes – numerous enough to undermine the constitution. He analyzes the root cause of the erosion of secularism in India.
AZAMGARH MUSLIMS SHOULD TURN A NEW PAGE
Kaleem Kawaja
Azamgarh (a city and also the name of a district) in Eastern UP of India has a rich history and a substantial Muslim population. The author traces its history and accomplishments as well as the negligible role of its people in the uplift of Azamgarh as they left the district to homes in Pakistan, middle-east and elsewhere.
SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY MARCHES AGAINST WAR
N.S. Singh
Approximately 400 people on Oct. 11 attended a three-hour, peaceful, anti-war rally and march through West Rogers Park, a diverse, largely immigrant-based and working-class neighborhood in Chicago.
UNIQUE CIVIL INITIATIVE CONTRIBUTES TO CONSERVATIVES GETTING A MAJORITY IN CANADA: LESSONS FOR 2009 INDIAN ELECTIONS
Daya Varma
A campaign to elect any one who is most likely to defeat the candidates of Conservative Party in November 14 elections contributed to Harper’s failure to get a majority government. This tactics can have implications in Indian elections.
CRUNCH RESURRECTS MARX
Erik Kirschbaum
It is not surprising that the present economic crisis in the capitalist world was foreseen by Marx more than 150 years ago during his analysis of capital. Naturally his classic book Das Kapital is being studied with renewed interest.
IN MEMORY OF I.K. SHUKLA, WHOSE PEN AGAINST HINDUTVA FASCISM AND OTHER REACTIONARIES WAS SHARPER THAN A SWORD! SHUKLAJI DIED ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
NUCLEAR DEAL IN THE MIDST OF THE INDIAN POLITICAL CAULDRON
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
INSAF Bulletin has editorially supported the deal since it was proposed based on a basic, rational, technical judgment; for a number of reasons, many of them having to do with climate change and the environment, nuclear electric generation has a role to play in India’s energy future.
ATROCITIES AGAINST MINORITIES, PRE-ELECTION STRATEGY OF HINDUTVA FORCES
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
Elections for the Indian Parliament are due in less than a year. The Hindutva forces are doing every thing they can, including dangerously destabilizing and polarizing the Indian polity by their attacks on minorities, to get their political front, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), elected to form the next government with Advani of the notorious Babri Mosque episode as the next Prime Minister.
DELHI BLASTS: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA
New Delhi, September 15, 2008,
Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,
The blasts in Delhi (September 12, 2008) are another in the series of tragic blasts in which scores of people have been killed. We strongly condemn the blasts and demand a proper, unbiased investigation into the same. We demand that the guilty be punished. At the same time it seems that our investigating agencies are ignoring some thing very crucial in the matters of investigating the acts of terror.
RECONCILIATION MAY BE EASY, ACCEPTING THE TRUTH IS TRICKIER
Jawed Naqvi
Saturday’s (September 13, 2008) blasts in Delhi killed 20 innocent people, terrorised the city of 14 million and threatened to deepen its social fault lines. In fact the terrorists, going by an email apparently sent by the shadowy Indian Mujahideen, are now planning to wreak more havoc in Mumbai.
THEN THEY CAME FOR CHRISTIANS…
Ram Puniyani
Orissa is witnessing unprecedented violence against the tiny Christian minority. On August 23, 2008, Swami Laxmananand along with his four followers was killed, probably by a group of Maoists. Immediately, anti-Christian violence began on big scale.
SECOND LINK IN THE CHAIN
K.N. Panikkar
The incidents of August show that communalisation of Orissa is taking place very fast. Communal violence is not new in Orissa, or for that matter in any part of the country. But the latest incident is different, just as what happened in Gujarat in 2002. It is by far the most violent, brutal and widespread incidence of communal attack in the history of Orissa.
THE GLOVES ARE OFF IN PAKISTAN
Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI – Pakistani authorities have compared Saturday evening’s devastating truck suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in the capital Islamabad to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Pakistani security guards and employees at the devastated Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on September 22, 2008. Pakistan’s top leadership was set to dine at Islamabad’s luxury Marriott hotel when it was bombed at the weekend but was saved after changing venue at the last minute.(AFP/Pedro Ugarte)
OF OATHS AND PROMISES – ASIF ZARDARI AS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN
Kiran Omar
On 9th September Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the deceased leader of the PPP, Benazir Bhutto, was sworn in as the 12th President of Pakistan. The PPP won the February election together with their chief political rivals the PML-(N).
NEPAL: PRACHANDA — `NO ILLUSIONS ON THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF SOCIALIST COMMUNISM’
September 3, 2008 — In his first interview since he became Nepal’s prime minister, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” spoke to Rabindra Mishra of BBC’s Nepali Service about the strategies of his new government.
NEPALI YOUTH IN CANADA HOST FLAGSHIP RADIO PROGRAM
Pramod Dhakal
Ottawa, Canada (September 16, 2008) – Canada Forum for Nepal (CFFN) has launched CFFN Radio, a new audio network where listeners can access radio programs produced by or distributed by the organization. The audio programs can be downloaded or played directly from CFFN Radio’s website (http://radio.cffn.ca).
NEPAL: STATE AND PEOPLE: WHO IS SOCIALIST?
Pramod Dhakal
Every politician in Nepal seems to be a fierce socialist these days! In the last few days, two Nepali Congress (NC) leaders told us that they are the true socialists as opposed the Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist (CPNM), which also claims to be a socialist.
NANAVATI COMMISSION HAS FORGOTTEN THE REAL STORY OF THE GUJARAT CARNAGE
The Nanavati Commission has conveniently misunderstood Mr. Modi and his Government without examining them. Mr. Modi and his Government got Full Marks without appearing in the Exam of the Nanavati Commission. We strongly feel that the Nanavati Commission has forgotten the real story of the Gujarat Carnage 2002, publicly admitted and proudly advocated by the Mr. Modi and his BJP. – Rohit Prajapati & Trupti Shah – Activists, Gujarat.
NANAVATI COMMISSION INTERIM REPORT CONDEMNED
Kaleem Kawaja
On behalf of the large number of Muslims from India who live in North America, the Association of Indian Muslims of America condemns in the strongest terms the recent release of the first part of the Justice Nanavati Commission report, into the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat in February/March 2003.
NANAVATI REPORT ON GODHRA TRAGEDY: ERASING THE OBVIOUS TRUTHS
Ram Puniyani
Recently Justice Nanavati-Mehta (N-M) submitted their report to Govt. (Sept 2008). What it has done must be very close to the desire of the ruling establishment, which reaped a rich harvest due to the Godhra train burning and the anti Muslim pogrom in the aftermath of the same.
TERRORISM, POLICE AND MINORITIES
Asghar Ali Engineer
The police has had a strong bias against minorities right from the dawn of freedom. Our freedom came at the cost of partition and partition further increased Hindu-Muslim divide and the police could not remain unaffected by communalization of society.
NEPAL: THE FIRST IN MANY WAYS
Daya Varma
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, long known as Prachanda, becomes the fist Prime Minister of the democratic Republic of Nepal, which used to be the Hindu Kingdom a while ago. Departing from the tradition of making the first visit to India, Dahal attends the dazzling closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics while expressing a desire for friendship with both its neighbors.
FROM JAMMU & KASHMIR TO ORISSA: HINDUTVA ON WARPATH AGAIN
Vinod Mubayi
As if paying the nation back for its unsuccessful attempt to unseat the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government in the no-confidence vote on July 22 on the nuclear deal, the forces of Hindutva, led by the BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) and cheered on by its leader Mr. L.K. Advani, have gone on a mad warpath against the minorities in India. While Muslims are the predictable victims in Jammu district of J&K, it is the fate of poor Christians in Kandhamal district of the eastern state of Orissa, whose meager properties are being burnt as this issue is being written and whose lives are being snuffed out in retaliation for the alleged killing of a Hindutva leader, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, and four of his associates, that is particularly poignant.
JAMMU AND KASHMIR: AT CROSSROADS!
Ram Puniyani
In the aftermath of the Amarnath shrine board land transfer and then reversal of the same, the matters in the state are going from bad to worse. One was witnessing a gradual decline in acts of terror and increase in the democratic space, democratic patterns, despite the heavy presence of the army in the state. With the Shrine board issue being used by the separatist elements and communal elements, the things seem to be heading in the direction which will have far reaching adverse impact on the politics of the region.
WHY HAS SECTARIAN VIOLENCE FLARED UP AGAIN IN JAMMU &KASHMIR?
Kaleem Kawaja
The resurgence of ugly Hindu-Muslim violence in the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in the last month is very disturbing. The manner in which all of the J&K state’s political parties have fanned sectarian feelings between the two communities, exploiting a small event, and the poor management of this episode by the government reflects poorly on the secular character of the Indian nation.
RESOLVE KASHMIR CRISIS NOT BY FORCE BUT BY MAKING THE LoC IRRELEVANT
Tapan Kumar Bose
The entire valley of Kashmir is under curfew since August 24, 2008. Curfew is a weapon in the hands of the state to prevent people from exercising their right to democratic dissent. On August 11, the state had imposed curfew to prevent the Kashmiris from marching towards Muzaffarabad. The armed forces opened fire on unarmed civilians and killed people, including Sheikh Aziz, a leader of the Hurriyat. Later, the armed forces insinuated that Sheikh Aziz was killed by militants hiding in the crowd of marchers and not by the army.
TERROR ATTACKS – IS THERE ANY WAY OUT?
Asghar Ali Engineer
It is often maintained and rightly so that it is very difficult to define terrorism as one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. But in our case there is no such ambiguity. These people whatever they call themselves, Indian Mujahidin or something else, there is no doubt that they are terrorists pure and simple. It is great insult of the word mujahid as mujahid is one who struggles for higher causes, for humanity, for justice and is most compassionate to others suffering. No one can be termed mujahid who kills innocent people, women and children and in case of Ahmedabad even those of sick and injured. Let alone mujahideen they cannot claim to be human beings. A mujahid does not seek revenge. Qur’an condemns seeking revenge and describes Allah as ghafoorur Rahim i.e. a Pardoner and Merciful. Murderers cannot pass themselves as mujahideen in any case.
OF FAREWELLS AND NEW BEGINNINGS – MUSHARRAF’S EXIT FROM THE WORLD STAGE
Kiran Omar
Watching the unfolding of the events, that led to ex-president Musharraf’s final exit from the world political stage, one is reminded of the famous children’s poem by Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter. The poem is too long to be quoted here, however the following rather arresting passage sums up the situation quite well….”The time has come, ” the Walrus said, “to talk of many things”…..”of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings…and why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings…” (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872) It goes on in this whimsical vein and seems at times to be mockingly reflective of the equally whimsical convolutions world politics takes specially in our vibrant South Asian region.
IN FAIRNESS TO THE ISI
I.A. Rehman
WHATEVER the merits of the move to change the address of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, the genius behind it earned extra marks for ham-handedness. But the storm in the media that followed indicated that the government did not have a monopoly on naivety.
WHY DID CPM WANT TO BRING DOWN THE UPA GOVERNMENT ON THE NUCLEAR DEAL?
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) claims that the Indo-US nuclear deal threatened the sovereignty of India so much so that it was forced to withdraw support for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of Manmohan Singh even if it meant joining with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The UPA government some how survived the July 22 No Confidence Motion. Thus far, the only important casualty of all this drama has been the expulsion of the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the primary membership of CPM.
REALITY, ONE BITE AT A TIME: INDIA, ASIA AND THE WORLD
Siddhartha Varadarajan
The nuclear deal and other questions of foreign policy should be opposed or defended on their own merits. Sadly, both the government and its opponents have played fast and loose with the “Muslim” card, to the detriment of the community’s larger interest.
COMBATING TERRORISM
Ram Puniyani
The sufferings of the country are worst compounded with the occurrence of acts of terror. Every such act not only inflicts bodily blow to the innocents but also acts as a divisive force, subtly polarizing the communities and weakening the bonds of National integration. One is not talking of the massive bonhomie shown by the communities in the wake of terror attack. Actually immediately after the attack the communities come together like solid rocks, helping each other in the moments of grief. One is talking of the strengthening of communal politics, which emerges stronger after the terror attacks. The role which communal violence has played during last two and a half decades, of dividing the nation, gets a deeper strength due to these blasts as by now despite the most immediate protests by most of the Muslim groups, coming out with severest condemnation of these dastardly acts, the ‘social common sense’ that ‘all terrorists are Muslims’ does get a shot in the arm.
NINE DAYS IN AZAMGARH
V.K. Tripathi
An important mission of the author Tripathi is communal harmony and his visit to Azamgarh, an Eastern district of India’s northern province UP is a part of that mission.
AFGHANISTAN TRANSFORMS CANADA
Murray Dobbin
To play junior partner to empire, we’ve militarized our identity. Some government policy decisions are so profound in their impact that they can actually change the nature of the country. Medicare was one such policy decision and so was the signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. It could be argued that the decision to take on an explicitly war-fighting role in Afghanistan will turn out to be another watershed decision, this one at odds with Canadian values and Canadians’ convictions about the military’s role in the world and society.
URDU/HINDI MUSHAIRA/KAVI SAMMELAN IN WASHINGTON AREA
Zafar Iqbal
The Aligarh Alumni Association held a function honoring Professor Satyapal Anand. An Urdu/Hindi mushaira/kavi sammelan was celebrated at Gaithersburg, Maryland on 2nd August 2008. More than 200 people attended this event. The function felicitated Professor Satyapal Anand for his contribution to Urdu literature as a poet, critic, and short-story writer.
CANADA FORUM FOR NEPAL
Canada Forum for Nepal was active in organizing program for Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). leader Hisila Yami. The following press release was sent by Pramod Dhakal who was also kind enough to make possible the visit of Yami to Montreal on August 29 to address a meeting organized by INSAF Bulletin and Alternatives.
STATEMENT ISSUED BY SOMNATH CHATTERJEE, SPEAKER, INDIA’S PARLIAMENT
Following refusal to resign as the Speaker of the Parliament, the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) expelled Somnath Chatterjee from the party. Below is his statement explaning the basis of his stand.
IT WAS WORSE THAN A CRIME; IT WAS A BLUNDER!
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
Communists voting along with the arch-reactionary right-wing BJP on July 22, 2008 to topple the Congress-led government of Manmohan Singh is the most puzzling of all the mistakes ever committed by the Communist Party in India leaving India’s 150 million plus Muslims without a reliable friend.
INDO-US ALLIANCE – SOME REFLECTIONS
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
India is already in friendly alliance with the US through a long process, which was intensified by the NDA government of Vajpayee and not by the UPA government of Manmohan Singh. Does the proposed Indo-US nuclear deal which would allow India acquiring nuclear material and technology for civilian purposes make India subservient to the US ?
ARE KARAT AND YECHURI LEADING CPI/CPIM INTO AN ABYSS?
Kaleem Kawaja
The direction in which Karat and Yechuri are taking the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPIM by aligning with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and banking on a possible alliance with Mayawati, one of the most corrupt leaders of a major political party and a campaigner of Gujarat’s Muslim murderer Narendra Modi, is mindboggling. Which direction is CPIM heading? – Ed.
SAVE THE INDIAN COMMUNIST MOVEMENT FROM ITS CURRENT LEADERSHIP
Daya Varma
We argued that an attack on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM for its development policies in West Bengal weakens the communist movement no matter what the intentions of the critics were. This time it is not outsiders but the leadership of the Party itself destroying the glorious tradition of the Communist Party of India as the architect of a culture of unity and camaraderie among communities belonging to different religions. Notwithstanding CPM/CPI’s recent moves, every effort should be made to save the glorious anti-communal traditions of the communist movement. – Ed.
ORGANIZATIONAL DISCIPLINE AND FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE: THE EXPULSION OF SOMNATH CHATTERJEE
Daya Varma
The contradiction between organization and individual freedom has been addressed in bourgeois democracy by devising various provisions. Lenin’s organizational method of “Democratic centralism”, vulgarized to its extreme by Stalin leaves little room for individual freedom; yet disciplinary measures under this method can vary from simple censorship to expulsion and execution (when in power). The expulsion of veteran communist leader Somnath Chatterjee for abiding by his conscience and parliamentary duty against the dictates of CPM leadership is an extreme and uncalled for measure. – Ed.
PRIME MINISTER DR. MANMOHAN SINGH’S REPLY TO THE DEBATE ON THE MOTION OF CONFIDENCE IN THE LOK SABHA (July 22, 2008)
In his speech, which he was not allowed to deliver fully by the boisterous opposition, the Indian Prime Minister castigated Advani for his role in the demolition of historic Babri mosque, ineptness during the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament and the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat. He praised veteran Communist leaders Jyoti Basu and Surjeet for guidance. The Prime Minister recounted many achievements of his government and asserted that the proposed Indo-US nuclear deal is of benefit to India and does not compromise India’s military nuclear program. – Ed.
WHY DID AIMIM’S MP OWAISI SUPPORT UPA?
Based on a report “AIMIM’s MP Owaisi to support UPA” by Mohammed Siddique in Hyderabad: July 20, 2008; www.rediff.com; posted on Foil by satish kolluri)
The member of the Indian Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, while expressing strong reservations about Indo-US nuclear deal said that for him the top priority is to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming to power. Owaisi said that the BJP and the CPIM were the two sides of the same coin and contended that Advani is the number one enemy and Prakash Karat is second. – Ed.
AFTER THE HONEYMOON – GILANI COALITION FACING TOUGH CHALLENGES
Kiran Omar
The first 100 days of the democratically elected coalition government of Pakistan led by Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif present a picture of confusion with no clear direction on the style of governance. The coalition has failed to arrive at any consensus on crucial issues like the restoration of the judiciary, containing the militancy and the faltering economy. Young blood is not being recruited for governance. Capital and assets are leaving the country, violence is on the rise and US-led aggressive measures along the Afghanistan borders have not declined. – Ed.
ANTI-AMERICANISM IN PAKISTAN AND THE TALIBAN MENACE
Pervez Hoodbhoy
While the recent killing of 11 Pakistani soldiers by American-NATO forces caused immense anger, similar incidents would have been a non-event if killers were Talibans. Undoubtedly the United States has for decades waged illegal wars and undermined movements for progressive change. However, the militants are using America as a smokescreen for their real agenda of establishing their writ over Pakistan. A Taliban victory would usher a dark ages with no place for social justice and economic development. – Ed.
SADBHAV MISSION CONVENTION HELD IN MARYLAND , USA
Sadbhav Mission’s annual convention on July 12, 2008 at College Park , Maryland attracted over 50 people from diverse community organizations. It lauded nonviolence as a doctrine of mass struggle against oppression and slavery. – Ed.
LECTURES BY TEESTA SETALVAD, SREEKUMAR AND NISHRIN HUSSAIN ABOUT GUJARAT POGROM
Zafar Iqbal
Teesta Setalvad spoke at the Washington regional Amnesty International of Washington meeting about anti-Muslim riots and justice in India (Gujarat) on July 8th, 2008. She lamented the ineptness of the central government and callousness of Gujarat judiciary in bringing justice for the victims. The report presents a profile of the three speakers. – Ed.
NEW MARRIAGE LAW FOR MUSLIM WOMEN IN INDIA
The “Shariat Nikahnama” released by the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board could give equal rights to both Muslim men and women. – Ed.
NEPAL
Monarchy ended a fortnight ago. Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress resigned as the Prime Minister on June 27, 2008. Prachanda of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is likely to be the next Prime Minister.
INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL: IS THE LEFT GOING TO FALL ON ITS OWN SWORD?
Vinod Mubayi
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPM, has threatened to withdraw support for the Congress-led government of Manmohan Singh, which would precipitate parliamentary elections a year earlier than due. The issue is the Indo-US nuclear deal, which the Indian government supports but CPM thinks will push India into strategic alliance with the US. The likely beneficiary of this confrontation will be the champion of Hindutva, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
MARCHING INTO HISTORY OR OBLIVION – LAWYERS LONG MARCH
Kiran Omar
The unlawful removal of the Supreme Court and High Court judges by Pakistan by President Pervez Musharraf in November 2007 triggered a major resistance, which was joined by a large section of the civil society. All political parties made the restoration of the judiciary as a key point in their platform during the February 2008 elections. However, the coalition government that came to power is dragging its feet on this important issue.
DEMOCRATIC POSTURING: SECTARIAN AGENDA: CAN BJP BE COMMITTED TO PLURAL “INDIA”?
Ram Puniyani
With all its virtues, parliamentary democracy has room for a party with minority popular vote to form a government as recently happened in Karnataka; it also allows opportunistic politics, which can hide real motives as is the case with BJP. The actual agenda of BJP is dictated by its loyalty to RSS and BJP stand for a Hindu Rashtra, no matter what it says from time to time.
BJP RISING TO POWER AGAIN?
Asghar Ali Engineer
All major political formations are preparing for the parliamentary elections in India due in 2009. The main contenders are the Congress and the Hindu nationalist party BJP but both need alliance to gain majority. What is the agenda of different parties and why? Do political equations favor BJP, which just formed a government in the Southern part of India for the first time?
SKEWED MEDIA APPROACH TO TERRORISM
Yoginder Sikand
In this essay, Yogi Sikand writes how the Indian media ignores terrorist attacks by hardcore Hindu fundamentalist groups and leaders like Bal Thackeray but goes on and on against Muslims if a Muslim group is involved or the identity is unknown. He refers to a Urdu booklet, titled ‘Hamara Hindustan Aur Uske Fazail’ (‘Our India and Its Glories’), by the late Maulana Syed Muhammad Miyan, which provides evidence that India occupies the status of a Holy Place in Islam, which commands Muslims to revere India.
THE “ANGRY HINDUS” AND THE MUSLIMS
Kaleem Kawaja
Day in and day out the “angry Hindus” charge the power structure in India with the allegation that the government is eager to go out of its way to please Muslims. Since currently it is not possible to blame Muslims for oppressing Hindus, the attack is launched against the government for minorityism. The anger of these Hindus is directed at both the perceived appeaser and perceived appeased. The disregard for truth is extraordinary indeed.
INDIA’S RESERVATION POLICY DEBATED IN CANADA
Jai Birdi
While debating the Reservation policy in India, Chetna Association concluded that the policy has helped Dalits in different ways, writes Jai Birdi.
MIGRANTS FEEL HEAT AFTER JAIPUR BOMBS
Sanjoy Majumder
The life of nearly 350 Bangladeshi families on the outskirts of Jaipur has taken a further downwards dive since the bomb blast, which killed nearly 60 people, reports Majumdar for BBC News.
THE FAILURE OF SUCCESS AND THE FAILURE TO GOVERN: ‘REST OF THE WORLD’ AS CULPRITS FOR OIL INFLATION
Atul Sood
The claims of the mainstream media that India and China are culprits for oil price increase has little substance and attempts to hide the role of speculators and financiers on whose behalf the global economy is being run. The Indian government could easily cut oil duties and raise income tax and thereby share the burden of oil price increase either with corporate India or the large Indian consuming middle classes. The threat of bringing the government down in India, on oil price increase, mostly by the left parties, defies logic, especially when, bulk of the rural population and poor households still depend on their energy needs on solid fuels; the increase in oil and related product price is more of a concern for the upper income groups and that too in the urban areas. The real challenge then is to convert the fight against oil price increase to a fight for access to cleaner and efficient energy for the poor households.
SHIFTING BALANCE
Pritam Singh
As global capital moves East, developing economies need to understand the importance of not aping the entrenched lifestyles of the West.
QAWWALI AT HINDU MANDIR IN MONTREAL
Daya Varma
I got an email from Arif Khan, one of the organizers of the Kabir Cultural Center, informing me of “Qawaali at Hindu Mandir in Montreal” that was held on April 6, 2008. I found it an exciting event and sent this information to a few friends; here are their responses:
A PLAY: ADAAB MAIN PREMCHAND HOON (Good day! I am Premchand)
Ideal Drama and Entertainment Academy (IDEA) has been staging 4 one-act plays by legendary writer Munshi Premchand in its series “ADAAB MAIN PREMCHAND HOON”.
INSAF Bulletin Hails the Abolition of Monarchy in Nepal and the Declaration by the National Assembly (560 votes for, 4 against) to Constitute Nepal as an “Independent, Indivisible, Sovereign, Secular Democratic Republic”!
JAIPUR SERIAL BLASTS: STATEMENT OF CONCERNED CITIZENS
Eminent citizens who have championed communal harmony condemn the terrorist blast in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
ALIGARH ALUMNI IN WASHINGTON CONDEMNS JAIPUR BLAST
Jaipur blast condemned in America.
WHITHER NEPALI DEMOCRACY!
Tapan Kumar Bose
Kathmandu May 20, 2008
Nepal Maoists who won the majority in April elections are willing to work with other major parties of Nepal but both Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) seem unwilling to let the Maoists form the new government.
KASHMIR – A TROUBLED PARADISE
Kiran Omar
Kashmir issue has been a key factor in strained relation between Pakistan and India. The renewed talks between the two governments may pave the way for permanent solution in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmir people.
TERRORISM: A POLITICAL CANCER
Ram Puniyani
Many people died and many more were inured in the Jaipur bomb blast. If terrorist wanted to disturb the harmony in the civil society, they miserably failed. This terrorist attack does not prove that the present UPA government is weak as BJP claims.
MOB SOLUTIONS
I.A. Rehman
Belief should be rescued from the clutches of the self-appointed priests, force banished from common discourse, and the state recovered from its illegitimate occupiers.
MUSLIMS’ CONTRIBUTION TO THE GROWTH OF MUSIC IN INDIA
Kaleem Kawaja
The author recounts the immense contribution of Muslims to the glorious tradition of Indian Music.
BIRTH CENTENARY OF MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN HELD IN MONTREAL
Daya Varma
The audience unanimously praised both the relevance and the quality of the program.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Book:
FEDERALISM, NATIONALISM and DEVELOPMENT: INDIA and the PUNJAB ECONOMY
Author: Pritam Singh
MAY DAY 2008!
The 2008 May Day One comes on the eve of good news – communists are on the verge of forming a government in Nepal, the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) had successful 20th and 19th Congresses, respectively, South African workers refused to unload the ship carrying arms for Zimbabwe, left governments have swept across South America and the US is in a no-win situation in Iraq and Afghanistan!
NEPAL ELECTIONS – RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
The last five years in South Asian politics have proved to be extremely embarrassing to the mainstream media, its self-anointed pundits and the pollsters as far as ascertaining the wishes of the people are concerned. In the 2004 elections in India, an easy victory for the “Shining India” of the NDA was predicted. Similarly, in the just concluded Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal, the winner by a large margin, the CPN (M), had been forecast to come in at a distant third, behind the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML).
ROAD TO FAIR REPRESENTATION: A LOOK AT THE POLITICS OF TRANSITION IN NEPAL
Pramod Dhakal
On April 10, 2008, the people of Nepal surprised the world in a number of ways. First, a much awaited, but often postponed, election for the Constituent Assembly actually happened. Second, it happened with a level of violence and disturbances so far below the expected international norm for countries like Nepal that the whole world came to extol Nepal.
TRIUMPH OF THE NEW MAINSTREAM IN NEPAL
Siddharth Varadarajan
By voting in the Maoists, the Nepali people have chosen the party most likely to push for an egalitarian society and inclusive republican system in the Constituent Assembly. India must not only respect the verdict but also help the new government implement its democratic mandate.
CRY FOR JUSTICE! FRESH PROBE ORDERED INTO GUJARAT’S CARNAGE CASES
Ram Puniyani
The Supreme Court order for fresh probe into some Gujarat riot cases, like Naroda Patia, Naroda etc. (March 25 08) comes as a welcome relief in the dark times where most of the times justice is conspicuous by its absence. In Gujarat, we witnessed the case of Zahira Sheikh, going for a toss, the judiciary quietly watching and ignoring all the witnesses turning hostile, but preferring to accept the version of the state despite all the holes in its argument.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IN PAKISTAN – RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Kiran Omar
” A free press can be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom a press will never be anything but bad.”….(Albert Camus)
The newly installed government of Yousaf Raza Gilani has made many promises to the nation, amongst them is the striking down of the much hated Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Bill.
SWAYAMSEVAK’S STORY: Advani’s Aurobiography is RSS version of Events
Ram Puniyani
Undoubtedly there are some serious mistakes like the narration of the hanging of Bhagat Singh, but how can one expect a Hindu nationalist to know the life events of an atheist, communist, dead against the politics promoted in the name of religion, which Advani practices. Then there is a deliberate presentation that he, despite being Home minister, was not the part of decision making process of Jaswant Singh accompanying the terrorists to Kandhar.
WHAT IS REALLY BEHIND THE FUROR OVER TIBET?
Sharat G. Lin
The U.S. government has been funding and encouraging Tibetan exiles in India through the U.S. Agency for International Development, National Endowment for Democracy, and through covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency.
A MUSEUM OF RESISTANCE
In Ahmedabad, the city which witnessed the criminal assault on Muslims in 2002, a museum is being erected.
HINDUTVA VIOLENCE PORTENDS GRIM FUTURE
Vinod Mubayi
Authoritarian right wing groups belonging to the movement commonly known as Hindutva in India are increasingly perpetrating violence of the classic fascist variety. Recent attacks have occurred on tribal Christians in the state of Orissa, on the New Delhi headquarters of the CPM in New Delhi, and in several other places. This violence could be a prelude to the national elections, which are due within the next year, and offers a glimpse of the grim future that may affect the country if the right wing alliance comes back into power.
SHARE THE WEALTH – URGENT NEED FOR SUBSTANTIVE LAND REFORMS IN PAKISTAN
Kiran Omar
The issue of land reform has been a contentious and difficult one to address in Pakistan. Since its creation, both democratic and military regimes have failed to address this problem seriously. The Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent has a large rural population, and agriculture is an important part of its economy. Since Partition in 1947, India, which abolished feudal holdings, has managed successfully to diversify and broaden its economic base, and has steadily progressed in developing its industrial sector. Such diversification has eluded Pakistan’s economy, which is still heavily dependant on agriculture as its main economic activity.
DALAI LAMA, TIBET UNREST and INDIA
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The unrest in the Tibet region of China is having an impact in India also. The Indian government is obligated to ensure that the Tibetan community in India who fled with the Dalai Lama in 1959 does not engage in political activity against China. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proclaimed during his recent trip to China that it was India’s desire to have good and friendly relations with China. However, events related to the conflict in Tibet have indicated that India needs to do more to ensure that India does not become a platform for campaigners with their own dubious agendas.
HISTORY AND COMMUNITY HONOR: Protests against film Jodha Akbar
Ram Puniyani
Disruption of the screening of film Jodha Akbar. Sections of Rajput community claims that this film insults their community honor. Some Governments banned this film, which was lifted by the courts. The film shows many a trends and patterns of the time, Akbar’s policy towards those following other faiths, his alliances with Rajputs and the development of Mughal Rajput syncretism. The communal historiography which understands the history through the prism of religion has been brought in strongly by the RSS combine and it presents the Mughal period as the dark period of Indian history.
POLITICAL PARTIES CONDEMN ATTACK ON CPI(M) HEADQUARTERS BY SANGH PARIVAR
Daya Varma
(Based on a report in the Hindu of March 10, 2008)
The attack by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists on the national headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] on March 9 has been condemned by several political leaders and intellectuals.
AIDWA HAILS FOCUS ON AGRARIAN CRISIS
Daya Varma
(Based on Press Reports)
The All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has hailed Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s initiative of taking cognisance of the huge agrarian crisis. In a statement, Subhashini Ali, President, and Sudha Sundararaman, General Secretary of the AIDWA, said the measures for debt waiver and debt relief did not, however, address the critical issue of loans taken from private moneylenders.
INDIA LAUNCHES SCHEME TO PROTECT THE GIRL CHILD
Shree Mulay
On March 8, 2008, International Women’s Day, Renuka Chowdhary, the Minister for Women and Child Development, launched the ‘Dhan Laxmi,’ (female as a treasure) scheme with Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to remedy the scandalous decline in sex ratios of girls. This is not the first time India has experimented with a scheme to protect girls.Hopefully the Dhan Laxmi scheme will have better success than previous such schemes.
MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN BIRTH CENTENARY
Birth Centenary Celebration (Montreal, Canada)
PAKISTAN ELECTIONS 2008: DEMOCRACY AND STABILITY OR MORE OF THE SAME?
Kiran Omar
February 18, 2008 will go down as a remarkable day in the annals of Pakistan’s history. The peaceful general election has closed the door on that tumultuous chapter and opens a new one of stability, prosperity and economic growth. The Pakistani people have much to celebrate. A new level of political maturity and awareness seems to be taking root and growing in Pakistani public life.
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST) AND LEFT INTELLECTUALS
Vinod Mubayi
In the last year and a half, the CPM has faced intense criticism from a number of its erstwhile supporters among the left intellectuals and commentators in India. The thrust of this criticism is that CPM has abandoned socialism and is practicing anti-democratic governance in the states where it leads the government. Are these criticisms justified and do they make sense when the communal fascist forces are again threatening the country?
THE HINDUTVA CHALLENGE AND US
Daya Varma
Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh (RSS), which spearheads the Hindutva offensive has continued to grow since its inception in 1926. Its empire comprises of the political party BJP), the goon squad Bajarang Dal, the religious protagonist and the trade union BMS) among others. BJP and its allies rule in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Punjab, threaten to form the next central government. Several factors have favored the growth of RSS. The onus of defeating the Hindutva challenge lies with CPI, CPM and Congress and therefore what relations they have with each other is crucial.
‘HINDU MAJORITY’ AND ‘MUSLIM MINORITY’: ARE THEY INDEED MEANINGFUL CATEGORIES?
Yoginder Sikand
Excerpt from a major article titled “Indian Muslim community discourses: continuities,changes and challenges” argues that the assumption that Hindus are the ‘majority community’ in India and that Hinduism is the ‘majority religion’ is actually fallacious.
DEMOCRACY, PAROCHIALISM AND PEACE
Asghar Ali Engineer
(From Secular Perspective Feb. 16-29, 2008)
Street violence provoked against north Indians in Maharashtra by Raj Thackeray and the inaction of the state government has indeed shamed all those who stand for democracy and peace. The chauvinist attack has forced many from UP and Bihar to leave. One can reduce effect of caste, communal and regional emotions by making the elections all-inclusive, like democracy should be.
COW’S URINE AS MEDICINE!: FAITH’S LEAP INTO BLIND ALLEYS
Ram Puniyani
The BJP ruled Uttarakhand Government’s decision to procure cow’s urine, refine it and sell it to Ayurvedic pharmacies is an affirmation of the central place of the cow in the political symbolism of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh). Since Muslims, Christians, Adivasis, and some Dalits do not have any prohibitions against eating beef, this decision is expected to arouse Hindu sentiments against minorities.
FIFTIETH DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD
Kaleem Kawaja
Maulana Azad, who died on February 22, 1958 ranks among the top builders of modern India. He dedicated his entire life to liberate India from British colonial rule, and to promote unity among the Hindus and Muslims and for these reasons received high praise from Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Maulana Azad was proud to be a Muslim and an Indian.
MAKING REVOLUTION THE INDIAN MAOIST WAY
Daya Varma
Guerillas of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) attacked police stations in Orissa killing 16 including 2 women and a civilian. One police man was burnt alive and another castrated. A number of intellectuals and journalists have condemned this as well as the violent response by the government.
CYPRUS: A COMMUNIST COMES TO POWER THROUGH ELECTION OUTSIDE INDIA
Daya Varma
Demetris Christofias becomes the first communist leader to come to power through elections outside of India. Christofias promised to work for the unification of Cyprus, currently divided into Greek and Turkish enclaves and maintain a market economy.
NEW PUBLICATIONS: “COMMUNALISM: ILLUSTRATED PRIMER”
Ram Puniyani
This book deals with the phenomenon of sectarian violence and politics in a very lucid manner.
IS GUJARAT DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF INDIA?
Daya Varma
The decisive victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP in the December 2007 Assembly elections in Gujarat may well be a harbinger for India unless democratic forces unite to demonstrate that a Hindu Rashtra is not only dangerous to Muslims but to Hindus as well.
FRIGHTENING EXPANSION OF RSS NETWORK IN AMERICA
Daya Varma
The report “Unmistakably Sangh: the National HSC (Hindu Student Council) and its Hindutva agenda” released by the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) reveals frightening the expansion of Hindutva influence in the second generation Indian in America. (www.stopfundinghate.org.)
ORISSA: ANTI CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE
Ram Puniyani
Gladys Stains, whose husband and two sons were torched to death around a decade ago by Bajrang Dal (an RSS affiliate) appealed to Indian Prime Minister to ensure peace in Orissa, center of anti-Christian violence in the Adivasi area at Christmas time. The BJP is part of the ruling coalition in Orissa., and those involved in the vandalism are part of some or the other organization directly affiliated with the RSS. Punyani argues that anti Christian violence is in the continuation of RSS agenda of Hindu Rasthra.
PAKISTAN: OUR REAL RULERS
Dr Mubashir Hasan
(Dawn, Jan 15, 2008)
Pakistan is not ruled by presidents, prime ministers and chief ministers but by a combine of civil and military services which are self-governing, self-perpetuating and independent institutions with the support of the USA.
ELECTORAL PARTIES AND SECULAR VALUES
Ram Puniyani
The adjective ‘Merchants of Death’, was a bold characterization of Modi/BJP politics in Gujarat. Punyani argues against comparing BJP and Congress notwithstanding many weaknesses of the latter.
COMMUNAL RIOTS 2007
Asghar Ali Engineer
The author recounts all communal riots in India in 2007, which he painstakingly monitors year after year. They seem widespread and often incited by minor disputes.
BANGLADESH: DILEMMA OF DEMOCRACY
G. M. Quader
Despite a noble preamble to the Constitution, Bangladesh continues to slide into autocratic sectarian rule due to a continuous downslide of values in our political culture and a gap between political parties and the people.
SRI LANKA: TIME FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION
(Asian Center for Human Rights –ACHR- Review, Jan 09, 2008)
The killing of Sri Lankan Minister DM Dassanayake and LTTE’s Political wing chief S P Tamilselvam and Intelligence wing chief “Colonel” Charles and the formal withdrawal of the Norwegian brokered Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) has plunged Sri Lanka into a war of attrition.
BENAZIR BHUTTO
Asghar Ali Engineer
Benazir Bhutto was the first Muslim woman Prime Minister in the entire Islamic world. She met a violent death, like her father. We may not agree with her policy, but we greatly admire her grit and courage. She fought her way through the male dominated world of politics.
SOUTH ASIA SCHOLARS ON TASLIMA NASREEN
(Statement)
We, concerned scholars of South Asia, condemn the attacks on Bangladeshi writer, Taslima Nasreen, by extremist forces in West Bengal who claim to speak for Muslim community. Freedom of speech, dissent and expression must be defended everywhere and at all times by those who are genuinely and consistently committed to these values. The Government of Bengal has, regrettably not fulfilled its obligation to do so even as it disregards the real interests of Muslim communities, forcibly acquiring land for industrial development, much of it from poor Muslims. Read more…
DIFFERING DIMENSIONS OF 1984 and 2002 TRAGEDIES
Daya Varma
It is always problematic to compare tragedies. A few more deaths in one than another act of violence do not make one horror any less repugnant than the other. Yet the political dimensions of all such sordid events in India, and elsewhere, are not always the same; the events of 1984, 1992, 1993 and 2002 are cases in point. Read more…
MUSLIMS SHOULD ADOPT ADVOCACY INSTEAD OF PROTESTS
Kaleem Kawaja
The number of Muslim students in India’s better universities, engineering colleges, medical colleges, IITs, IIMs, IIScs etc despite much growth of such institutions in recent years still hovers around a miserly two percent. Lack of education among the Muslim youth and their lack of competitiveness were recently pointed out by the Sachar Committee, who conducted a nationwide grassroots survey of the Muslim community, as a significant impediment to the community’s progress. Read more…
SECULARISM AND ITS PROBLEMS IN INDIA
Asghar Ali Engineer
(Secular Perspective, December 1-15, 2007)
It will be no exaggeration if I say secularism is the very life breath of Indian politics. One can hardly conceive of Indian polity sans secularism. However, it also faces several problems in Indian context. We will throw light and discuss the problematic of secularism in India. Before we do so we must explain meaning and context of Indian secularism. Read more…
GUJARAT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS OF DECEMBER 2007: SOME FACTS
Shabnam Hashmi
Dec 25, 2007
While the whole media except a handful of journalists is under the spell of Modi’s magic it is important to register the fact that e.g. In Gandhinagar though 81864 people voted for BJP and they won the seat, there are 78116 people who voted against BJP and Modi. Read more…
IS SONIA GANDHI’S CONGRESS TO BLAME FOR THE GUJARAT DEFEAT?
Daya Varma
Sonia Gandhi’s Congress Party was badly defeated in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections securing a mere 59 seats compared with 117 for the Bharatiya Janata Party – led by Narendra Modi, rightly called “the merchant of death”. Read more…
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