Islamic Utopia?

re: faisluno

{ if this is what you do to your own kind, shudder to think what you must do to the people of kashmir.}

...probably a lot less than the sentencing to gang rape that your cousins in pakistan carried out...

re: faisaluno

{i guess uncle sam does owe a debt of gratitute to you guys. after all he is in bed with a govt }


...yes, he is in bed with a govt whose people he arrests in their own country, and whose citizens he has locked up like animals in a bay somewhere near cuba...great being in bed with you...wonder if your wife would agree...

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Versha Bhogle in Rediff on 4th Nov.2002

``About 100 Dalit families live in the village of Thinniyam in Tiruchi district of Tamil Nadu, with the Kallars comprising the predominant caste. Seven years ago, Karuppiah, a Dalit, paid a bribe of Rs 2,000 to S Rajalakshmi, the (Kallar) panchayat chief, to get a house allotted to his sister. However, since Rajalakshmi`s term was about to end and the allotment hadn`t yet been made, Karuppiah demanded the money back. Rajalakshmi denied having taken it. So, Karuppiah began talking about the bribe and the breach of trust to the villagers. Next, Rajalakshmi`s husband, Subramanian, and her son thrashed Karuppiah with slippers. So, Karuppiah lodged a complaint with the police, with two of his Dalit friends, Murugesan and Ramasami, standing witness. The next day, Subramanian and 9 of his kinsmen assaulted Murugesan and Ramasami with hot iron rods - and forced them to feed each other human excreta...``

dear arjum_m

i guess uncle sam does owe a debt of gratitute to you guys. after all he is in bed with a govt that is sending killers across the border to kill innocent people before diwali.

dear rsaxena

bet dalit women being raped by bjp hoodlums think that bidwai`s concerns are irrelevant as well. if this is what you do to your own kind, shudder to think what you must do to the people of kashmir.

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faisaluno #117

Young people are refused visa for many, many reasons. This has happened to some of my hungarian friends, my sister etc. The main issue is that they might stay in the US for economic reasons etc. While arbitrary and harsh it is nothing new. The regular flow of business and students from India etc. is just fine, recently the Chennai Embassy indicated that they provided a record number of visas for 2002.


Quite different from the treatment of Pakistanis. No wonder the few Pakistanis I know have recently become ``South Asians``! Good move...

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...people, let`s not torture faisaluno anymore..he`s broken into hysteria googling till his beard hurts, desperately looking for irrelevant drivel to cut-n-paste...:)

dear harimau and other cheer leaders for narendra modi:

unlike you, we dont follow the advice of every psychotic nutcase who knows how to write. as the following article by praful bidwai indicates, you guys actually elect those people.

for pakis fretting about the prospect mma rule, realise that l.k advani has killed ten times the number of people in comparison to azim tariq. to gain an understanding of vileness of the whole bjp movement, please take the time to watch anand parthwadans documentary on the rise of l.k. advani. the name of the film is ``in the name of god``. if the film does not convince you to put aside your differences to work for a better pakistan, i dont know what will. review of the film is posted below

Subhuman lives
Oppression stalks dalits in India, says Praful Bidwai

October 2002, Jaipur, [IPS] - A 50-kilometer journey from the capital of Rajasthan, brings visitors to Chakwara village - and back into the Middle Ages. Here, after all, is a society based on terrible persistent inequalities, social servitude and economic bondage. At the centre of the serfdom, and legitimizing it, is the systemic, systematic and religiously sanctified discrimination against the Dalits, India`s former `untouchables`.

Oppression of the 160 to 180 million Dalits, who are viewed as being too low to even be part of the caste system, is one of the most repelling, but enduring, realities of the Indian countryside. Equally oppressive is the violence perpetrated against them, especially their women. To be a Dalit today means having to live in a subhuman, degraded, insecure fashion: Every hour, two Dalits are assaulted. Every day, three Dalit women are raped, and two killed. In most parts of India, Dalits continue to be barred from entering Hindu temples or other holy places - although doing so is against the law. Their women are banned from wearing shoes in the presence of caste Hindus. Dalit children often suffer a form of apartheid at school by being made to sit at the back of the classroom.

Yet, the Dalits are resisting. In parts of the country, they are organizing politically to demand their rights. A Dalit woman rules the largest state, Uttar Pradesh. However, breaking the barriers laid down by the Hindu caste system is an uphill struggle, especially when the government does little to uphold the law of the land that prohibits discrimination on account of descent.

The Dalits of Chakwara village discovered this when they lay their claim to a common or public resource: the village pond, bathing in which is an important ritual. The pond and the steps leading to it have been built and maintained over the years with state funds and contributions raised by the entire village, including the Dalits. But Dalits have been excluded from using the common `ghats` for decades. Caste-based ``tradition`` ensures that Dalits are treated worse than the buffaloes, cows and pigs that have virtually unrestrained access to the pond. The only exception is the women who have also, irrespective of caste, always been barred from the pond.

However, in December, Babulal and Radheshyam, who belong to the Bairwa group of Dalits, decided to defy the hallowed ``tradition`` and take a dip in the pond. Outraged, the caste Hindus subjected the Bairwas to vile abuse, threats of a ``bloodbath``, a nightly siege of their homes and a crippling social boycott. The Dalits could no longer buy tea or vegetables or hire farm implements. The local doctor would not treat them. The grocery shop ostracized them. The local mechanic would not repair their bicycles. Their men were stalked, their women abused.

The local administration and police should have protected and supported the Dalits. Instead, they generally sided with the upper castes. In January, officials allied with the caste Hindus in breach of the law bullied the Dalits into signing a ``compromise`` agreement, which effectively erased their right to the pond. The agreement produced discontent and resentment that has been simmering ever since. Last month, the discontent culminated in another effort by the Bairwas to assert their rights, through a rally in collaboration with other human rights organizations.

The caste Hindus decided to confront the Dalits ``physically`` and gathered a mob of 10 to 15,000 men armed with sticks. The police tried to stop the men from attacking the rally, halted some distance away. Angered, the caste Hindus attacked the police who responded with teargas and bullets, and in the ensuing brawl more than 50 people were injured, including 44 policemen.

The incident has created waves beyond Rajasthan - one of India`s most socially backward states. Rajasthan has a dismal record of anti-Dalit offenses, with an annual average of 5,024 crimes registered in the last three years. On average, there are 46 killings, 134 rapes and 93 cases of grievous injury every year. One of the worst killings was the massacre of 17 Dalits, at Kumher village, in 1992.

However, the state administration and police have learnt few lessons. Rather than take preventive measures or prosecute those guilty of caste discrimination, they side with the upper castes. This is partly because the bulk of India`s bureaucracy is caste Hindu. Although the Dalits are entitled to 15 percent of all government jobs, they rarely get the better-paid ones in senior categories.

Of equal importance is the role that ``tradition`` plays in the Hindu religion. Many enlightened Hindus reject the idea of caste. Modern education persuaded large numbers of them to support a reform movement for cleansing Indian society of evils like caste-based apartheid, widow burning and dowry. But despite early gains, the reform momentum ran out of steam by the 1950s and conservative currents have taken hold since then. In the past 10 to 15 years, these have struck their deepest roots in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and critics allege that the party ideologically represents hierarchical Hinduism and casteism in its worst aspects.

Legally, the notion of untouchables and discrimination against the Dalits are prohibited under the Indian Constitution under a 1955 civil rights act and the 1989 Prevention of Atrocities, or POA, act. The act was written explicitly to outlaw physical and verbal abuse against Dalits, but hasn`t had the desired effect.

The Dalit struggle for emancipation from social and economic servitude faces heavy odds, but it has also acquired an international dimension since the World Conference Against Racism last year in South Africa. Casteism has come in for strong criticism from the United Nations. In August, while discussing descent-based discrimination, the U.N. Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination strongly condemned caste. The panel`s recommendations for corrective measures are thoughtful and exhaustive. They confront India with a simple choice: systematically fight casteism or face opprobrium and possible sanctions from the world community.

Praful Bidwai
October 2002

Praful Bidwai is a correspondent with Inter Press Service, a global news resource faciliating south-south and south-north dialogue on important economic, social, environmental, and other issues. IPS is distributed by Global Information Network

Review
In the Name Of God


A Film by Anand Patwardhan

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Since gaining independence in 1947, India has been a secular state. But now, as religious fundamentalism grips much of India`s population, the greatest danger to the nation`s extremely strained social fabric may come not from Sikh or Muslim separatists, but from Hindu fundamentalists who are appealing to the 83% Hindu majority to redefine India as a Hindu nation.

IN THE NAME OF GOD focuses on the campaign waged by the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to destroy a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya said to have been built by Babar, the first Mughal Emperor of India. The VHP claim the mosque was built at the birthsite of the Hindu god Ram after Babar razed an existing Ram temple. They are determined to build a new temple to Ram on the same site. This controversial issue, which successive governments have refused to resolve, has led to religious riots which have cost thousands their lives, culminating in the mosque`s destruction by the Hindus in December of 1992. The resulting religious violence immediately spread throughout India and Pakistan leaving more than 5,000 dead, and causing thousands of Indian Muslims to flee their homes.

Filmed prior to the mosque`s demolition, IN THE NAME OF GOD examines the motivations which would ultimately lead to the drastic actions of the Hindu militants, as well as the efforts of secular Indians - many of whom are Hindus - to combat the religious intolerance and hatred that has seized India in the name of God.




``IN THE NAME OF GOD is an honest documentary that leaves no doubt about the catastrophe that is about to engulf the country... Made with very little editorial interference, what we see is what is there. And what is there is frightening.`` - Ruma Dutta, India Today

``The screen is electric with religious fervor, masses of people swarming through the streets, gathering in rallies, or violently rioting... This is investigative cinema verité documentary at its dynamic best.`` - Kay Armatage, Toronto Film Festival

``A deceptively informal look at one lethal instance of India`s move towards fundamentalist politics. For those who need to translate westward, it provides a possible clairvoyant example of the force of religious-political belief.`` - Cameron Bailey

``[An] acutely informative, restrainedly courageous, and grimly prophetic film.``- Hank Heifetz, author, ORIGIN OF THE YOUNG GOD

``Hard-hitting, provocative, revealing look at secularism in India under siege from militants on both sides. Patwardhan explores this tragedy in this lucid, courageous film that allows supporters of both sides to have their say... A documentary well worth seeking out.`` - Variety



** 1994 Association for Asian Studies Conference
** Best Ecumenical Film Award Winner, 1993 Nyon Film Festival
** Critics Prize Winner, 1993 Fribourg Film Festival
** 1993 Human Rights Watch Film Festival
** 1993 Margaret Mead Film Festival
** Best Investigative Documentary, 1993 National Awards (India)
** 1993 Berlin Film Festival
** Best Documentary, 1992 Filmfare

dear believers in the goodness and purity of american society:

i bet the dead sikh taxi driver and the dead hindu dead gas station attendant were grateful for not looking like muslims before a bullet was pumped through their foreheads.

bet also that those two research assistants were grateful that india was a partner and not a condom. i on the other hand, an average citizen of condom country unlike those exceptional research assistants, have been able to travel to pakistan and back, four times since Sep 11.

interesting to note that 50 years after independence, some of the smartest people in india have to leave the motherland to survive. interesting to also note that americans are not even criticizing mush for sending people who were who were planning to kill innocent shoppers before diwali.

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