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).
MUBAYI AND VARMA’S ARTICLE ON LALGARH EVOKES HARSH CRITICISM
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The August 2009 issue of INSAF Bulletin (#88) carried an article titled “Lalgarh, Maoist movement, and the left in India” by Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma. Promptly we received two responses, one by Soumitra Bose and the other by Sivanandam Sivasegaram (reproduced here). We think both have passed judgment without justifying the bases of their views. We stand by what we wrote and we explain why?
THE SHAME THAT WAS GOJRA – UNPROVOKED ATTACKS ON CHRISTIAN MINORITIES
Kiran Omar
“The recent unprovoked attacks on Christian communities living in the Punjabi village of Gojra, have left the country and the international community reeling with shock and horror.” This is the opening sentence of Omar’s article.
ARTICLE IN KASHMIR TIMES BY CHANDER K. AZAD
Chander K. Das
“How Pakistan’s Qaid-e-Azam got Urdu-knowing Jagannath Azad to write the song.
A RESPONSE TO CHANDER K. AZAD’S ARTICLE ON JINNAH
Kaleem Kawaja
“In my opinion Jinnah was an excellent politician. So he played tricks like asking a Hindu to write Pakistan’s national anthem and making a statement that Pakistan will be a secular nation.” This is the first paragraph of Kawaja’s article.
ANOTHER RESPONSE TO CHANDER K. AZAD’S ARTICLE ON JINNAH
Daya Varma
While I fully share the sentiments expressed above by Kaleem Kawaja, I would like to add just two points. Personal convictions of Jinnah do not matter; his actions do.
BJP TAKES THE LEAD FROM CPM: EXPELS JASWANT SINGH
Daya Varma
About a year ago the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM had expelled veteran communist leader Somnath Chatterjee for not resigning as the Speaker of the Parliament as ordered by its General Secretary Prakash Karat. Not to be shamed for being any less monolithic than CPM, Rajnath Singh, the President of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled its leader Jaswant Singh for writing a book on the role of different leaders for the partition of India.
VICTIM AS THE CULPRIT
Ram Puniyani
Mumbai film actor Emraan Hashmi was not allowed to buy a house of his choice by the Housing Society. To add further insult, a complaint against him has been filed in the court by an activist of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
SHIBLI NU’MANI AND NATIONAL POLITICS
Asghar Ali Engineer
My friend and noted Hindi writer Kamleshwar wrote an excellent novel Kitne Pakistan (How Many Pakistan?) and in that novel he counts Maulana Shibli No’mani as one of narrow minded Muslim. I told Kamleshwar he has done great injustice to Shibli.” These are the opening lines of Engineer’s article.
EMPEROR’S ISLAMOPHOBIA : Shah Rukh Khan Detained at US airport
Ram Puniyani
The Bollywood film icon Shah Rukh Khan was questioned for two hours at a New York airport. The Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam was treated like a commoner by the US based Airlines staff in his own country. They are both Indian citizens and Muslims and hence victims of American Islamophobia.
DEMAND FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PRE-MATRIC SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME FOR MINORITIES
Vipin K. Tripathi
(The text of Tripathi’s letter to Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat)
“The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities was launched by the Central Government on April 1, 2008. For Classes I-V, it provides maintenance allowance of Rs. 100 pm (for 10 months) where as for VI-X it provides admission fees actual up to Rs. 500 pa, tuition fees actual up to Rs. 350 pm (for 10 months) and the maintenance allowance of Rs. 100 pm (for 10 months). More than twenty states have implemented the scheme. Gujarat has not yet accepted it.” This is the opening paragraph of Tripathi’s letter to Modi.
NEPAL’S MAIN PARTIES FORM A TASKFORCE FOR POLITICAL MECHANISM
(August 1, 2009: nepalnews.com)
Top leaders of Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) or CPN-UML, and the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or UCPN (M) have agreed to constitute a taskforce to finalize formation of political mechanism. The taskforce includes two persons from each party.
DO REVOLUTIONARIES KNOW AS MUCH AS THEY THINK THEY DO? THE CASE OF PRACHANDA
Daya Varma
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), the Chairman of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or CPN (Maoist) discloses in London how his party is doing the correct thing and how he has a correct vision of 21st century developments. Does he?
THE CONTINUED SAGA OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA
(Editorial, New Democracy, Organ of the New Democratic Party of Sri Lanka, August 2009)
President Rajapakse of Sri Lanka had declared more than once that his war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was aimed to safeguard the interest of Tamils. Developments since the victory against LTTE reveal an opposite scenario.
MAKING SENSE OF RAVIDASIS: THE CASTE SYSTEM IN PUNJAB
S. Jodhka
This long, informative and well-researched article analyzes the caste structure among Sikhs in Punjab and attempts by the Sikh Dalits to address caste oppression.
FREEDOM – THROUGH EDUCATION
Jai Birdi
Jai Birdi writes: “If education is the first and prime most ingredient for social transformation and creating opportunities for dignity, advancement, and equality, the Surrey-based organization, Dalit Freedom Network (DFN), has found the right ingredient and has found a mission of creating a “more equal education system” in India.”
INDEPENDENCE DAY BI-LINGUAL POETRY RECITATION IN WASHINGTON
Submitted by Zafar Iqbal (Raabta.india@gmail.com)
“The future of Urdu and Hindi is tied together and both depend upon each other,” said Professor Asghar Wajahat at the third bi-lingual poetry recitation program held Sunday 16th August 2009 at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building in Rockville, Maryland. Professor Wajahat, a noted Hindi fiction writer and chairman of Hindi Department, Jamia Millia Islamia was presiding the bi-lingual “Yaum-e-Azadi” mushaira-kavi sammelan. The program, initiated by the Washington Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA) in 2007 to celebrate the independence of the Indian Subcontinent, this year was joined by the Metropolitan Washington chapter of the Global Organization of the People of Indian Origin (GOPIO).” First paragraph of Zafar’s report.