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 118-119
February, March 2012
GUJARAT: TEN YEARS OF SHAME, NO END YET IN SIGHT
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
Ten years ago in Gujarat, several thousand Muslims were brutally killed; their properties torched while many more were driven from their homes and forced to live for years in squalid refugee camps. As has become the hallmark of the Indian justice system, the main perpetrators of this atrocity, amounting almost to genocide, have remained unpunished and continue to enjoy all the perks of power. Ironically, the principal targets of the perverted legal system in the state were initially the victims themselves. Over 90 Muslims in Godhra were arrested soon after the fire in the coaches of the Sabarmati express that killed 57 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya. Read more…
AN APPEAL BY CONCERNED CITIZENS ON GUJARAT CARNAGE
We, the undersigned members of civil society, were aghast to learn from newspaper reports that RK Raghavan, the head of the Special Investigative Team (SIT), is planning to file a closure report, and has no intention of filing charges against Narendra Modi and his co-conspirators for being allegedly complicit in the horrific massacre in Gujarat in 2002 which resulted in the death of over a thousand innocent citizens and extensive destruction of private and public property. Read more…
A DECADE OF GUJARAT CARNAGE
Ram Puniyani
India has witnessed many acts of communal violence. Starting from the Jabalpur riot of 1961 to the last major one of Kandhmal (August 2008). Many an innocent lives have been lost in the name of religion. Amongst these the Gujarat carnage is a sort of marker. It came in the backdrop of massive Anti Sikh pogrom of 1984, the anti Muslim violence of post Babri demolition and the horrific burning of Pastor Graham Steward Stains in Kandhmal. It was a quantitative and qualitative departure from the other major carnages which have rocked the country. Read more…
GUJARAT AUTHORITIES MUST FACE JUSTICE OVER MASS KILLING
The persistence of Zakia Jafri in her fight for the truth after her husband was murdered is in the interests of all Indians.
Savitri Hensman
A magistrates court in Gujarat has postponed a decision on whether a dossier on the horrific murder of a former MP and 68 others should be disclosed to his widow and others. Despite mounting evidence, a special investigation team had urged that no charges be brought against the state authorities, including chief minister Narendra Modi, for their alleged role in the killings, and that the report be kept secret. The team was ordered to submit all papers to the court by 15 March. This landmark case is not only about justice for the victims but also about whether the Indian constitution and rule of law apply in Gujarat. Read more…
REMEMBERING GUJARAT
According to information available to us the following programs have been organized concerning Gujarat anti-Muslim carnage. Read more…
THE GREATEST THREAT TO INDIA: CHILD MALNUTRITION
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
Aarti Dhar reported in the Hindu (January 11, 2012) the findings of a survey by Naandi Foundation. The survey found that 42 percent of Indian Children are malnourished. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it “a national shame’; that is true but he forgot to add that this is the gravest threat to India’s future as well. Read more…
RESERVATION: A FAIR DEAL FOR MUSLIMS
P.S. Krishnan
No one can complain that too much has been given to the minorities, in particular Muslims, through the sub-quota for B.Cs among the minorities. Read more…
STIFLING THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
Ram Puniyani
The state refusal to let Salman Rushdie attend the Jaipur Literary Festival is being used to spread anti-Muslim climate. Read more…
WHY ARE PAKISTANI STUDENTS SCIENCE-PHOBIC?
Pervez Hoodbhoy
School syllabi demand it, but even then few young Pakistanis want to study science subjects and still fewer want to become scientists. Many generations have found science so odiously dull that they are now indifferent – even hostile – to a subject that stands at the very pinnacle of human understanding and progress. While some of our better students will be reasonably successful in science-related professions such as engineering, medicine, and information technology, their poor science backgrounds will leave them ill-equipped for pushing the frontiers of these rapidly evolving fields. Read more…
AFGHANISTAN: WEST’S ROMANCING OF THE TALIBAN
Praveen Swami
People of Afghanistan will pay the price for the West’s looming deal with the Islamic Emirate it destroyed after 9/11. Read more…
INDIA SEEKS BOOST IN SAUDI ARABIA CRUDE OIL SUPPLY
Rakesh Sharma and Santanu Choudhury
India has asked Saudi Arabia, its largest crude oil supplier, to augment daily shipments by up to 100,000 bbl each year over the next few years to meet expanding refining capacities at home, Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy said Thursday. Saudi Arabia exported 547,236 bpd to India last fiscal year. Read more…
INDIA, PRAISING U.S. TIES, DEFENDS BUYING IRAN’S OIL
Jim Yardley
New Delhi – Ranjan Mathai, the Indian foreign secretary, made the rounds in Washington last week, describing India’s relationship with the United States as one of growing comfort, depth and candor, if not perfect harmony. Read more…
THE MASK IS OFF: TEAM ANNA AND HIS LIEUTENANTS ARE BATTING FOR THE BJP
Dhirendra K Jha
On 30 October last year, when Mohan Bhagwat claimed that Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement was actually supported by the RSS, the remark conveyed palpable nervousness and attracted criticism from Team Anna. Read more…
STRONG WATCHDOG INSTITUTIONS IN A WEAK DEMOCRACY MAKE FOR A TALL ORDER
Arun Kumar
The Lokpal Bill failed to become law in 2011. The Lok Sabha passed it after some acrimony, but the Rajya Sabha did not even vote on it. Three views emerged during the debate inside and outside Parliament. First, it is a weak Bill not worth passing in its present form. Secondly, it is better to have some sort of Lokpal even if it is not what it ought to be. Lastly, the Bill would create a monstrous institution that will undermine Indian democracy, especially as it would affect the functioning of legislators and the Prime Minister. Read more…
PATHWAY TO HINDU RASHTRA
Ram Puniyani
Recently (December 2011) M.P. Government’s Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Act (Bill for Protection of Cow Progeny) got the Presidential clearance. As per this act punishment for slaughtering the cow or its progeny, transporting them to slaughter house, eating and storing beef, is punishable with a fine of R 5000 and prison term up to seven years. States like Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh already have laws against cow slaughter, while Orissa and Andhra Pradesh permit the killing of cattle other than cows if the animals are not fit for any other purpose. Read more…
MALEVOLENT MAMATA AND THE DANCE OF DEATH IN WEST BENGAL
The tragic stories of Safar, Vikram and others like them typify the plight of peasants and workers in post-“change” Bengal. In the case of starving transport workers, the blatantly irresponsible policy of the state government is directly to blame. As for the distressed peasants who are helpless victims of a deep agrarian crisis generated by successive governments at state and central levels, the TMC-led government has betrayed a total lack of political will to help them out. Read more…
BANGLADESH: COUP BID REVEALS EXTREMISM WITHIN ARMY
Analysis by Naimul Haq
Dhaka, Feb 2, 2012 (IPS) – Bangladesh’s army has won paludits as leading United Nations peacekeepers, but the January coup attempt against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has exposed lurking religious extremism within its ranks. Read more…
SRI LANKA: PRACTICAL STEPS TO MEANINGFUL RECONCILIATION – JOINT STATEMENT BY CONCERNED CITIZENS
17th February 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Several valuable recommendations are contained in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) Report and they are all the more compelling because they have issued from a Presidential Commission. In pursuance of this, we the undersigned call upon the government of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the leadership of the Muslims, to take steps to implement the recommendations. In this statement we have highlighted certain important recommendations. The government is morally bound to implement the proposals of its own commission or otherwise stand indicted of a lack of sincerity. Read more…
SOUTH ASIA: ONWARD TO A BETTER TOMORROW
Pritam K. Rohila
Most South Asian nations are currently struggling with internal tensions, some more serious than others. But at the same time they are reaching out to their neighbors to find solutions to their problems. Read more…
NEWS BRIEFS
Some news in brief from South Asia. Read more…
BOOK REVIEW: THE MARKET FOR HUMAN ORGANS
Amal Joseph
Book: The Red Market by Scott Carney; Hachette Book Publishing India, 2011; pp xvi + 254, Rs 550.
Scott Carney chooses an unusual trade to write about – that of human body parts. From a single cell the human egg to a fully grown child, everything is up for sale in the global red market and Carney documents each one of them in great detail. The usual laws of trade apply to human organs too, except that the seller is always poor and the buyer is always rich and both of them are desperate for different reasons and the middleman slices off a huge amount of money while the soft bureaucracy and the law enforcers look the other way. Read more…
ANNOUNCEMENT
South Asia: Beyond Boundaries, Building Solidarities (South Asia Solidarity Initiative Six-Week Course). Read more…
OBITUARY: HAR GOBIND KHORANA (1922–2011)
Uttam L. Raj Bhandary
Har Gobind Khorana, who died on 9 November 2011 at the age of 89, was a pioneer and a visionary. That someone with such a humble background could rise to become an icon of molecular biology is a testament to his extraordinary drive, discipline and striving for excellence. Read more…
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