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).
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.
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