Chowking the North South Divide Going through the comments/replies posted against Harish Nambiar`s article was quite an experience. It was amazing to see how the discussion could (or is it a deliberate scheme?) get distracted into irrelevance. A simple cultural differentiation, so natural and pleasantly presented, was twisted and used for advocacy of one`s own views which were not even remotely connected with the theme of the article. Don`t the Indians find similar cultural differentiations within Northern India; say between the Punjab or Rajhastan and Utter Pardesh or Bihar? What is so common between the Bengalis and the Sikhs or the Rajputs, besides living in India?

The tenor and quality of discussion raise many serious questions. How should free discussion be defined? Does it have no binding parameters beyond good English? What about intellectual discipline? What is the purpose of this website? To encourage wild and incoherent discussion (frequently degenerating into Pakistan bashing)? Whose interests is it prompoting? The very few participants who keep revisiting the site with old and hackneyed rhetoric only make the discussion stifling. The arguments should be based on knowledge and not fixed ideas and petty feelings. Chowk needs some fresh air.

It would have been far more interesting to have brought out and commented on `the East-West Divide`, or `the Continental Divide` or yet `the sub-continental diversities` which carry undisputed geo-historical permanance and contemporary relevence. These have decisively shaped and influenced events in the sub-continent and even today dominate the lives of its people. A meaningful discussion on these, would have led to more relevant conclusions.

Would Gautier, Jay Sadhna or anyne else make an attempt?

Again, Desperate Times

Dawn: December 10th

NEW YORK, Dec 9: India`s `abysmal` human rights record in Kashmir and its minorities, specially Muslims and Christians, and the torture of Kashmiri militants by its security forces were the centerpiece of Human Rights Watch World report 2000 released on Thursday.

Saying that, ``conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir and communal violence dominated human rights developments in India during the year,`` the Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted, ``while Pakistan demanded UN mediation in the Kashmir dispute, the Indian Prime Minister rejected an offer by the UN secretary-general to send an envoy. In a report issued in January, the UN special Rapporteur on torture commented on India`s abysmal record on torture and detentions, specially in Jammu and Kashmir, and noted with regret the government`s continued refusal to extend him an invitation to conduct investigations in the country.``

``Also in January, the special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism indicated that, with the permission of the Indian government, he might undertake a field mission to investigate the situation of `untouchables` in the country.``

The HRW also chided the international community for failing to persuade India`s BJP government to `curb human rights abuses` in Kashmir in the aftermath of the Kargil crisis.

The report said, ``Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir continued to violate human rights with impunity. The Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which authorize warrantless searches and arrests, remained in effect in the state. Military-led cordon-and-search operations in Muslim neighbourhoods continued to result in violations of fundamental civil rights, including the detention, torture, and summary executions of suspected militants.``

The report said, ``the Hindu nationalist Indian People`s Party (BJP), which led India`s coalition government during the year, appeared to condone the activities of right-wing Hindu groups responsible for attacks on religious minorities and people at the bottom of or outside India`s caste system, including members of tribal groups. The attacks increased significantly in the months preceding national parliamentary elections in September and October.

``In Bihar, a series of caste clashes and massacres between January and April once again revealed the unwillingness of state authorities to protect the rights of those born into lower castes. The commission also ordered the payment of compensation to the families of persons who had either died as a result of police violence or had been physically assaulted by the police, and recommended action against guilty police officials.``

The report observed that in February, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee`s bus trip across the Indo-Pakistan border to meet the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seemed to signal the beginnings of a reconciliation and hopes for a resolution of the Kashmir conflict. However, those hopes were short-lived. In April India tested ballistic missiles and Pakistan followed suit. In May, after Muslim fighters crossed from Pakistan into Indian Kashmir near the town of Kargil, India responded with military operations against them and their Pakistani backers.

Armed clashes between India and Pakistan continued for the next eight weeks, until Pakistan agreed to withdraw the militants, and both countries agreed on a process of `disengagement.`

In the course of those clashes, over 1,200 people, many of them civilians, were killed by artillery fire. Civilians were also forced to flee the towns along the 720-kilometre border that divides Indian and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Communal violence between Hindu and Muslim groups escalated during the military confrontation, particularly in Jammu, the Hindu-majority area of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Observing that ``Caste violence assumed alarming dimensions early in the year, particularly in the state of Bihar, where clashes between the Ranvir Sena, an upper-caste landlord militia, and Naxalites, Maoist guerillas agitating for higher wages and more equitable land distribution for lower-caste labourers, claimed many lives, the Human Rights activists charged the state administration with criminal negligence for failing to intervene effectively and prosecute those responsible for the killings. On Jan 25, about 100 armed extremists from the Ranvir Sena killed at least 22 Dalit (untouchable) men, women, and children in Bihar`s Jehanabad district. On February 10, Sena members struck again in the same district killing eleven Dalits as they slept.``

The massacres led the government in New Delhi to impose ``president`s rule`` in Bihar, a legal regime whereby the central government takes over authority from the state. Despite that measure, which led to the increased presence of paramilitary forces in the state, 12 alleged supporters of the Ranvir Sena were reportedly gunned down on February 14 by Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (Liberation) activists in retaliation for the January killings. In early March the central government reinstated the state government led by Chief Minister Rabri Devi. On March 18, Naxalites killed another 35 upper-caste villagers in Senari village, Jehanabad district. On April 21, about 100 armed activists from the Ranvir Sena killed 12 lower-caste villagers in neighbouring villages in Gaya district.

The victims included a 65-year-old man, three women, and a 9-month-old child. Police made little effort to prevent the killings, despite the fact that the Ranvir Sena often publicly announced its intentions days before each attack. They also failed to provide protection for villagers in the aftermath of such attacks.

Caste clashes also continued to plague the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and Dalit women were primary targets. On March 29, in the Ogalur-Villupuram region of Tamil Nadu, four upper- caste men sexually assaulted a female Dalit farm labourer. The attackers were then beaten by those responding to the labourer`s cry for help. On April 3, in retaliation for the beatings, three upper-caste men set fire to a Dalit colony, injuring 20 people. On June 19 a gang of upper-caste Hindus looted and destroyed the houses in a Dalit settlement in Kodankipatti village, Madurai district, after Dalits there had demanded a share in the common property of the village. The Dalits were then chased out of their homes.

On the plight of India`s Christain community, the HRW said, ``more incidents of violence against India`s Christian community were recorded during the past two years than in all the years since independence. Attacks occurred primarily in the tribal regions of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, as well as the state of Maharashtra. Activists belonging to militant Hindu extremist groups, including the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP) were often blamed for the violence.

While the central government officially condemned the attacks, spokespersons for the BJP characterized the surge in violence as a reaction to a conversion campaign by Christian missionaries in the country. Anti-Christian violence in the state of Gujarat reached its peak during Christmas week 1998 when a local extremist Hindu group obtained permission to hold a rally on Dec 25 in Ahwa town in the state`s southeastern Dangs district. Over 4000 people participated in the rally, shouting anti-Christian slogans while the police stood by and watched. After the rally, Hindu groups began to attack Christian places of worship, schools run by missionaries, and shops owned by Christians and Muslims. Between December 25, 1998, and January 3, 1999, churches and prayer halls were damaged, attacked, or burned down in at least 25 different villages in the state.

On January 23 in Keonjhar district, Orissa, a mob of Hindu extremists burned to death Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons as they slept in their car. Staines had worked for over 30 years in a leper colony in the state and was accused of conducting mass conversions to Christianity. In August a government-appointed judicial commission accused Bajrang Dal activist and BJP member Dara Singh of leading the charge in the killings. The commission`s report also found that Staines had not been involved in any conversions.

On Shiv Sena`s role in its campaign against the Muslims, the HRW said, ``the Shiv Sena, a Hindu party which heads the state government of Maharashtra in coalition with the BJP, also engaged in disruptive practices and hate campaigns against Muslims and Christians throughout the year. In December 1998, the award-winning film `Fire` by director Deepa Mehta, was recalled from theatres after Shiv Sena activists vandalized at least 15 cinemas where it was being screened. Sena members objected to the film`s depiction of a lesbian relationship between two Hindu sisters-in-law, adding that had the women been Muslim there would be no objection.

In January 1999, when Pakistan`s cricket team was set to travel to India for a series of test matches, members of the Shiv Sena dug up the pitch at a New Delhi stadium that was to host the first match and ransacked the headquarters of the Board of Control for Cricket in Bombay. In June, the Shiv Sena launched a series of attacks against Christian mission- run kindergarten schools alleging that they were not admitting the children of Sena activists.

On June 26 suspected Sena members vandalized the Sacred Heart school in Worli, Bombay.``

On August 26 Staines` killer Dara Singh struck again, when he led an angry mob to attack the garment shop of Sheikh Rehman, a Muslim trader in Orissa`s Mayurbhanj district. In the presence of 400 eyewitnesses and in broad daylight, Rehman`s arms were chopped and his body was set on fire. Singh continued to evade arrest despite his numerous television appearances in the months following the Staines murder. One week later, on September 2, the Rev. Arul Doss was killed by a gang of 15 unidentified assailants. Voting in Orissa for the staggered general elections was scheduled for September 25. On September 20, a Catholic nun in Bihar was abducted by two men, stripped, and forced to drink their urine. The nun was reportedly interrogated about her proselytizing activities.

On violence during the elections the HRW said ``Violence remained a salient feature of India`s national parliamentary elections. During five stages of polling in September and October 1999, repolling was ordered for hundreds of poll stations as a result of violence and the destruction of ballot papers and ballot boxes. Well over 100 election-related deaths were reported throughout the country, predominantly in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kashmir, Bihar, and the northeast region of Assam and Tripura.

In the Chidambaram constituency of Tamil Nadu, Dalits were not allowed to vote in as many as 23 villages as a result of attacks by political parties contesting elections in which the Dalit Panthers of India were also candidates. In clashes that ensued, nearly ten Dalit hamlets were torched. While over 200 Dalits were arrested, police refused to register cases against caste Hindus.

Police in Andhra Pradesh continued to summarily execute suspected Naxalites in so-called ``encounter killings.`` Violence in the northeastern states, particularly Assam, continued throughout the year, claiming many civilian casualties.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act remained in effect in the northeast, but it was not the only abusive law on the books. Due to the spurious backdating of violations, detentions under the notorious Terrorist and Disruptive Practices (Prevention) Act (TADA) continued for offences allegedly committed before the law lapsed in 1995. In Karnataka, for example, 52 people remained in pre-trial detention in Mysore Central Prison for periods ranging from four to six years.

On the issue of violation of women`s rights the HRW noted ``women, particularly those belonging to the lower castes, continued to be victims of violence and sexual abuse. In a positive step to promote gender equality, the Supreme Court of India gave women the same rights as men to act as natural guardians of a minor. Gita Hariharan`s application for financial bonds in the name of her minor child had been rejected by the Reserve Bank of India on the basis of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956, which regards the father, and only after him the mother, as the natural guardian of a minor. The Supreme Court ruled that the provision ``after`` had to be struck down from the act as it violated gender equality``

Again, Desperate Times To macgupta, gymnosophist, the happy one, anarayn, Jay, and other secular minded Indians:

Would like to know your opinion about this Gujarat religion Bill.

The following is an article from The Hindustan Times:

Christians wary of Gujarat religion Bill

Rathin Das (Gandhinagar, December 8)

Christians in Gujarat, particularly in the southern region of the State where they have been attacked by Hindu fundamentalists, are getting increasingly wary about a Bill that comes up for discussion in the Assembly at its next session.

BJP legislators in Gujarat are preparing to pass a Bill that would make religious conversions a punishable offence. The person effecting a conversion or making an attempt to convert could attract a jail term of up to three years and fine of Rs 2,000 or both. In case the ``victim`` of ``conversion`` is a minor or a woman or a member of

a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the severity of the punishment could be harsher. The ``offence`` of conversion of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe is to be deemed an atrocity on them. Legal luminaries say if it indeed becomes law, it could violate Article 25 of the Constitution that provides for freedom to propagate religion.

Named, ironically, `The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, 1999``, the proposed legislation seeks to restrict the freedom of an individual to change his or her religion. Introduced in the State Assembly as a private member`s Bill on August 30, it is to be discussed in the next session of the House in February-March.

Given the BJP`s absolute majority in the 182-member Assembly, the smooth passage of the Bill is a foregone conclusion. However, legal experts are pessimistic about such an Act getting the President`s assent, which is essential for it to become law.

Moved by Mr Maganbhai Patel, the BJP MLA from Mansa, the introduction to the Bill says ``it is necessary to provide protection to persons against forced conversions by fraudulent means``.

It had been the contention of the Sangh Parivar that tribals in southern and eastern Gujarat are being converted by missionaries to Christianity through ``fraudulent means``. The Bill`s provisions, if made into law, are likely to open a Pandora`s Box as these could be used for harassment of religious preachers through debatable definitions of ``allurement``, ``force`` or ``fraudulent means``.

The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill seeks to make conversion a cognisable offence that merits investigation by an officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Police. Since ``allurement`` has been redefined in this Bill as ``offer of any temptation in the form of gift, gratification, either in cash or kind, or any material benefit``, all the activities of the missionary health and educational institutions are likely to fall

under the purview of the police Inspector.

Again, Desperate Times

LUCKNOW DEC. 4. In his 12-page reply to the show-cause notice issued by the BJP president, Mr. Kushabhau Thakre, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, today charged the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, with making it a prestige issue to remove him from office.

Mr. Singh said he had sent his reply to Mr. Thakre and copies to Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. L. K. Advani. Copies were also sent to the RSS chief,

Prof. Rajendra Singh and the joint general secretary, Mr. K. S. Sudarshan.

Mr. Singh said he was convinced that the conspiracy against him would shape his final removal from the party and that the party chief, throwing to the winds all democratic norms, did not even seek his views before deciding to suspend him.

Holding Mr. Vajpayee responsible for his removal as Chief Minister, he wondered why the Prime Minister nursed such a deep grouse against him. Mr. Vajpayee was responsible for robbing the BJP of its distinct identity shaped over the years and promoting individual cult worship, which despite the favourable political atmosphere, failed to help the party improve its Lok Sabha seat tally this year.

Stating that he had served the party as a dedicated, disciplined, committed worker for over 45 years, Mr. Singh wondered if the BJP under Mr.

Vajpayee`s leadership was edging towards giving an institutional shape to the National Democratic Alliance, endangering its own identity.

Mr. Singh said that technically, the BJP was only left with its poll symbol of lotus and a certificate from the Election Commission recognising it as a national party. The rest of its ideals had been lost in the bid to secure power, he charged. ``I sought to caution the party chief and the masses that a handful of persons around Mr. Vajpayee were proving harmful to the BJP organisation,`` he claimed.

The Congress(I) promoted the personality cult with the slogan ``Indira is India and India is Indira``, which led to its downfall, Mr. Kalyan Singh said. The BJP now was following the same path and had become a victim of individual worship, which was more dangerous for a healthy democracy than casteism and communalism, he said.

The former Chief Minister who is counting his days before he is officially dismissed from the party, sought to spell out his priorities for the coming days when he would launch his own new outfit by riding the ``twin horses of Hindutva and social justice``.

The ``attack on him at the instance of Mr.Vajpayee was an attack on the downtrodden, deprived, poor, Dalits and others whose rights have been snatched``, he charged. ``My fault was that I had been fighting for the rights of these interests which was not relished by the Prime Minister and he found me an impediment. I shall continue to fight against injustice, exploitation and centralisation of power. Mine would be a fight against authoritarianism. On several occasions in the past I had raised this issue on the BJP forum and pleaded for sharing of power on the basis of social components. But these were not relished by Mr. Vajpayee and he formed a prejudice and bias, which could not be dispelled.``

``Hindutva, nationalism, Indian identity and culture, Indian ethos are all synonymous. Among these Hindutva was comprehensive and widely

accepted. It is a philosophy and way of life. Sects, religion, community are limited terms which cannot be synonyms of Hindutva,`` he said. Some of the BJP leaders had forgotten these basics but the people of India and the vast multitude of party workers still remembered them, the former Chief Minister said.

The former Chief Minister said he would form his party soon after consulting his supporters. He would not visit Ayodhya on December 6, the day Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, as earlier reported. ``I will tour the State extensively.`` He said he would remain in the RSS till the end of his life. ``I began my public life as a RSS member. I may be out of the BJP, but my asociation with the RSS will remain intact.``

Again, Desperate Times From ``The Hindu`` Nov 21 1999

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 20 The former Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, today said he only wanted a ``free, fair and open trial`` for himself. Mr. Sharif, who was produced before a judicial magistrate in Karachi along with the other accused, conyeved his demand for a free trial through one of his lawyers, Mr. Mian Aftab Farrukh.

Reports from Karachi said, Mr. Sharif asked the lawyer to tell the press that the `cooked-up story` against him (a reference to the hijacking, conspiracy and attempt to murder charges) would expose itself. The former Prime Minister said the `world would judge` the hollowness of the case against him.

The deposed Prime Minister was brought before the court of Mr. Farid Anwar Kazi, Judicial Magistrate (Malir), amidst heavy security as three witnesses recorded their evidence in what had come to be known as the `plane case.`

The process of recording statements of witnesses in the Pakistani system by a magistrate preceded the formal filing of a charge- sheet. Today, three witnesses recorded their statements taking the total number of witnesses who had deposed before the Judicial Magistrate to six.

Like yesterday, when Mr. Sharif was produced before the anti- terrorist court, no presspersons were allowed inside the court house.

Again, Desperate Times The Hindu, Nov 18, 1999

Describing the Kargil intrusion as ``a sort of watershed``, Mr. Advani said

the decade-long proxy war from across the border was still being waged

in Jammu and Kashmir. ``In a way, it is a war- like situation. How can we

afford to be off-guard? Sudden spurt in terrorist activities in the State and

impunity with which the Army headquarters was attacked indicates

frustration which is a direct fall-out of Pakistan`s humiliating defeat in

Kargil operations,`` the Home Minister said.

Again, Desperate Times ``The Hindu`` (internet edition, Nov 17, 1999)

In his opening remarks to presspersons, Mr. Vajpayee recalled how he

intervened at the ``Retreat`` (of Heads of Government) to ``put forward

India`s viewpoint exhaustively``. The Prime Minister mentioned that he

narrated the history of Pakistani military establishment`s habit of dislodging

democratically- elected Governments.

In a bid to suggest that he had played an activist role at the retreat, Mr.

Vajpayee observed: ``When we were discussing the fate of Mr. Nawaz

Sharif, I told the other leaders that if there is no timely international

intervention, then Mr. Nawaz Sharif might end up meeting the (Zulfikar Ali)

Bhutto fate.`` However, when asked how come he had become so

concerned about Mr. Sharif whereas only a few months ago he was

accusing the former Pakistani Prime Minister of (Kargil) ``betrayal``, Mr.

Vajpayee chose to be excused from elaborating on Mr. Sharif. ``I do not

want to complicate things for Mr. Nawaz Sharif,`` observed the Prime

Minister somewhat evasively.

But he did suggest that if things deteriorated (in the matter of a release/fair

trial for Mr. Sharif), the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group

(CMAG) would take prompt action. The Prime Minister hinted that the

CHOGM would definitely `intervene` if an attempt was made to hang or

put the former Pakistani Prime Minister on trial.

What is it that Pakistanis want? From ``The Hindu``

Talking to presspersons aboard the special aircraft on the way back from the Commonwealth summit at Durban, Mr. Vajpayee formulated that ``a referendum under military regime, to ascertain whether the people of Pakistan approved of the October 12 coup, will lack credibility``.

The Prime Minister also suggested that unlike African and Caribbean nations, the Americans and `developed` members of the Commonwealth such as Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia were in favour of a softer treatment of the military regime in Pakistan.

Replying to a question as to whether the United States was taking a soft

line on the military coup, Mr. Vajpayee suggested that perhaps the

American view was informed by considerations other than democracy.

``Consideration of human rights is not uppermost`` with them; as far as the

other developed nations were concerned, Mr. Vajpayee thought that

``they are not in favour of immediate expulsion of Pakistan from the

Commonwealth. Perhaps they are hopeful that Pakistan would reform

itself``.

In his opening remarks to presspersons, Mr. Vajpayee recalled how he

intervened at the ``Retreat`` (of Heads of Government) to ``put forward

India`s viewpoint exhaustively``. The Prime Minister mentioned that he

narrated the history of Pakistani military establishment`s habit of dislodging

democratically- elected Governments.

In a bid to suggest that he had played an activist role at the retreat, Mr.

Vajpayee observed: ``When we were discussing the fate of Mr. Nawaz

Sharif, I told the other leaders that if there is no timely international

intervention, then Mr. Nawaz Sharif might end up meeting the (Zulfikar Ali)

Bhutto fate.`` However, when asked how come he had become so

concerned about Mr. Sharif whereas only a few months ago he was

accusing the former Pakistani Prime Minister of (Kargil) ``betrayal``, Mr.

Vajpayee chose to be excused from elaborating on Mr. Sharif. ``I do not

want to complicate things for Mr. Nawaz Sharif,`` observed the Prime Minister somewhat evasively.

But he did suggest that if things deteriorated (in the matter of a release/fair

trial for Mr. Sharif), the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group

(CMAG) would take prompt action. The Prime Minister hinted that the

CHOGM would definitely `intervene` if an attempt was made to hang or

put the former Pakistani Prime Minister on trial.

Like other Indian officials during the CHOGM summit, Mr. Vajpayee also

insisted that the African and Caribbean member- States were vehemently

opposed to any kind of action that could accord legitimacy to the military

regime. The bottom-line, according to Mr. Vajpayee, is the CMAG would

keep a close watch on actions and intentions of the Musharraf regime.

``Pakistan has now been suspended from the councils of the

Commonwealth for a period of six months. If democracy is not restored

soon, Pakistan can be suspended from the Commonwealth fold, and may

even be expelled from the Commonwealth,`` summed up Mr. Vajpayee.

The Prime Minister also said he was satisfied over the CHOGM`s ``strong

and principled view`` on terrorism. Mr. Vajpayee wanted the United

Nations to take ``stringent and effective steps against State-sponsored

terrorism``.