From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sun Mar 1 12:05:23 2009 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 12:05:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?South_Asian_Conference_on_=91New_M?= =?windows-1252?q?edia_Technologies_and_Freedom_of_Expression=27=3A?= =?windows-1252?q?_3_=96_4_May_2009=2C_Kathmandu=2C_Nepal?= Message-ID: <62cba67a0902282235m1460a993g741966e81c17d407@mail.gmail.com> *Announcement for submitting papers for South Asian Conference on ‘New Media Technologies and Freedom of Expression': 3 – 4 May 2009, Kathmandu, Nepal* The ‘freedom of expression’ as safeguarded by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 has consistently been subject to intimidation by various social, political and economic actions in the sub-continent of South Asian democracies in the past few years. Lately in South Asian countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan the press has been attacked, journalists assassinated, threatened and intimidated in their endeavour to uphold the principles and ethos of freedom of press and freedom of expression. Though how dismal the situation maybe with press freedom and freedom of expression in South Asian countries, the new media technologies such as the Internet, hand-held devices (cell phones, PDAs) and wireless devices, and their applications like citizen journalism, blogs, Youtube and so on have provided promising opportunities to uphold freedom of press and freedom of expression in the sub-continent and elsewhere. In this context of opportunities provided by new media technologies, to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day (3 May 2009), Panos South Asia (PSA) is organising a two day sub-regional conference ‘South Asian Conference on New Media Technologies and Freedom of Expression’ in Kathmandu, Nepal from 3 - 4 May 2009. The conference aims to provide a forum for practitioners of new media technologies and freedom of expression for knowledge sharing and fostering a regional solidarity. Interested individual and institutional practitioners, researchers, academicians and related others from South Asian countries and elsewhere, in this regard are requested to submit an abstract (not more than 500 words) on three categories of: 1) New Media Technologies and Mainstream Media; 2) New Media Technologies and Citizen Journalism; and 3) New Media Technologies and Freedom of Expression/Information. In the first category the papers should address the issues of how new media technologies have been applied in the context of upholding press freedom in mainstream media practices. In the second category, submitted papers should address the issues of new media and citizen journalism and how it upholds freedom of expression/information. And the last but not the least category, the papers should discourse the overall issues of new media technologies and freedom of expression/information. Papers submitted shall be selected on the basis of the accuracy to address and discourse the themes categorised in the preceding paragraph. For each category 4-5 papers shall be selected, which will be presented during the conference and published later by Panos South Asia. Interested individual and institutional practitioners, researchers, academicians and related others may submit their abstracts with a brief bio-data by e-mail to prsa at panossouthasia.org by 20 March 2009. Only selected paper authors will be notified by PSA by 31 March 2009. The complete papers of the selected abstracts need to be submitted by 20 April 2009. The costs (travel, food, hotel etc) for attending the conference by the authors of the selected papers shall be covered by Panos South Asia. -- OISHIK SIRCAR oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca From kaksanjay at gmail.com Sun Mar 1 13:39:32 2009 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 13:39:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Back Channel / The New Yorker Message-ID: <5c5369880903010009j7bd348g2ab8868f95ab2d1f@mail.gmail.com> http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/02/090302fa_fact_coll It helps to notice that in this rather lengthy exposition by Steve Coll, some key historical events get a miss: - the US governments support for the Mujahideen in their crusade against the Soviets; - the more recent US invasion of Afghanistan; - most recently, in its discussion of Kashmir, the absence of any mention of the summer of protests in 2008. - and while discussing at lentgth the growth of the Islamic Right in Pakistan, the complete omission of the simultaneous growth of the Hindu Right in India. Steve Coll, incidentally, is the President & CEO of the New America Foundation. Their Board of Directors includes such luminaries as Francis Fukuyama, Lenny Mendonca (Chairman, McKinsey Global Institute), Eric Schmidt (Chairman & CEO, Google, Inc.), and of course, our very own, Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International Best Sanjay Kak _________ The Back Channel By Steve Coll, New America Foundation The New Yorker | March 2, 2009 Negotiators involved in the secret back channel regarded the effort as politically risky and exceptionally ambitious--a potential turning point in history, as one official put it. Two years ago, Pervez Musharraf, who was then Pakistan’s President and Army chief, summoned his most senior generals and two Foreign Ministry officials to a series of meetings at his military office in Rawalpindi. There, they reviewed the progress of a secret, sensitive negotiation with India, known to its participants as “the back channel.” For several years, special envoys from Pakistan and India had been holding talks in hotel rooms in Bangkok, Dubai, and London. Musharraf and Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, had encouraged the negotiators to seek what some involved called a “paradigm shift” in relations between the two nations. The agenda included a search for an end to the long fight over Kashmir, a contest that is often described by Western military analysts as a potential trigger for atomic war. (India first tested a nuclear weapon in 1974, and Pakistan did so in 1998.) Since achieving independence, in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars and countless skirmishes across Kashmir’s mountain passes. The largest part of the territory is occupied by India, and Pakistanis have long rallied around the cause of liberating it. The two principal envoys-- for Pakistan, a college classmate of Musharraf ’s named Tariq Aziz, and, for India, a Russia specialist named Satinder Lambah--were developing what diplomats refer to as a “non-paper” on Kashmir, a text without names or signatures which can serve as a deniable but detailed basis for a deal. At the Rawalpindi meetings, Musharraf drew his generals into a debate about the fundamental definition of Pakistan’s national security. “It was no longer fashionable to think in some of the old terms,” Khurshid Kasuri, who was then Foreign Minister, and who attended the sessions, recalled. “Pakistan had become a nuclear power. War was no longer an option for either side.” Kasuri said to the generals that only by diplomacy could they achieve their goals in Kashmir. He told them, he recalled, “Put your hand here--on your heart-- and tell me that Kashmir will gain freedom” without such a negotiation with India. The generals at the table accepted this view, Kasuri said. They “trusted Musharraf,” he continued. “Their raison d’être is not permanent enmity with India. Their raison d’être is Pakistan’s permanent security. And what is security? Safety of our borders and our economic development.” By early 2007, the back-channel talks on Kashmir had become “so advanced that we’d come to semicolons,” Kasuri recalled. A senior Indian official who was involved agreed. “It was huge--I think it would have changed the basic nature of the problem,” he told me. “You would have then had the freedom to remake Indo-Pakistani relations.” Aziz and Lambah were negotiating the details for a visit to Pakistan by the Indian Prime Minister during which, they hoped, the principles underlying the Kashmir agreement would be announced and talks aimed at implementation would be inaugurated. One quarrel, over a waterway known as Sir Creek, would be formally settled. Neither government, however, had done much to prepare its public for a breakthrough. In the spring of 2007, a military aide in Musharraf ’s office contacted a senior civilian official to ask how politicians, the media, and the public might react. “We think we’re close to a deal,” Musharraf ’s aide said, as this official recalled it. “Do you think we can sell it?” Regrettably, the time did not look ripe, this official recalled answering. In early March, Musharraf had invoked his near-dictatorial powers to fire the chief justice of the country’s highest court. That decision set off rock-tossing protests by lawyers and political activists. The General’s popularity seemed to be eroding by the day; he had seized power in a coup in 1999, and had enjoyed public support for several years, but now he was approaching “the point where he couldn’t sell himself,” the official remembers saying, never mind a surprise peace agreement with India. Kasuri was among the Musharraf advisers who felt that the Pakistanis should postpone the summit--that they “should not waste” the negotiated draft agreements by revealing them when Musharraf might not be able to forge a national consensus. Even if it became necessary to hold off for months or years, Kasuri believed, “We had done so much work that it will not be lost.” Pakistan’s government sent a message to India: Manmohan Singh’s visit should be delayed so that Musharraf could regain his political balance. India, too, was facing domestic complications, in the form of regional elections. In New Delhi, the word in national-security circles had been that “any day we’re going to have an agreement on Kashmir,” Gurmeet Kanwal, a retired Indian brigadier, recalled. “But Musharraf lost his constituencies.” Rather than recovering, the General slipped into a political death spiral. Armed Islamist radicals took control of the Red Mosque, in Islamabad, and, in July, Musharraf ordered a commando raid to expel them. Sensing a political opening, the country’s two most popular civilian politicians, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf had forced into exile, agitated to be allowed to return. By year’s end, public pressure had forced Musharraf to give up his Army command. A suicide bomber murdered Bhutto in a public park just a month later. Her widower, Asif Zardari, led their political party to victory in an election in which voters re pudiated Musharraf and his political allies. In August, 2008, Musharraf resigned and retired from public life. In the sixty-one years of their existence, the governments of India and Pakistan have periodically funded covert campaigns of guerrilla or terrorist violence on each other’s soil; as a result, each now holds unshakable assumptions about the other’s proclivity for dirty tricks. In Pakistan, for example, it is an article of faith among many senior Army officers that India’s foreign-intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing, or R.A.W., is providing guns and money to ethnic Baluch and Pashtun groups that operate along the Afghan border, and who seek to separate from or overthrow the Pakistani government. Equally, in India’s cabinet and parliament, it is taken for granted that the Pakistan Army leadership provides aid to jihadi groups so that they can carry out terrorist attacks on Indian soil--the latest example being the band of ten young men who arrived in an inflatable dinghy at Mumbai’s Badhwar Park last November 26th. The Mumbai attackers carried G.P.S. navigational equipment, a satellite telephone, cell phones suitable for local Mumbai networks, grenades, Kalashnikovs, and 9-millimetre pistols, which they employed to kill a hundred and sixty-five people, including six Americans, during a three-day spree of nihilistic violence. More than most cells that have turned up in India in recent years, the terrorists had production values that seemed inspired by the September 11th attacks: they struck at multiple sites in the heart of India’s financial district and exploited live television and radio coverage. Indian security services managed to intercept the attackers’ telephone calls, and discovered that they were speaking to handlers in Pakistan. The Indians assembled a dossier, containing excerpts of these conversations, translated into English, which they presented to Pakistan, the United States, and other governments; one version ran to a hundred and eighteen pages. In one intercept, the terrorists rejoice because television anchors are comparing their work to 9/11. In tone and rhythm, the excerpts suggest something of the banality of cellphone- enabled mass murder: Caller: Let me talk to Umar. Receiver: Note a number. Number is 0043720880764. Caller: Whose number is this? Receiver: It is mine. The phone is with me. Caller: … Allah is helping you…. Try to set the place on fire. Receiver: We have set fire in four rooms. Caller: People shall run helter skelter when they see the flames. Keep throwing a grenade every fifteen minutes or so. It will terrorize. Here, talk to “Baba.” Caller (2): A lot of policemen and Navy personnel have covered the entire area. Be brave! The dossier leaves little doubt that the attack originated in Pakistan: a man using a Pakistani passport paid for the terrorists’ phone services; their pis- tols were engraved with a manufacturer’s address in Peshawar; and numer-ous provisions recovered from a fishing trawler that the group used to reach Mumbai from Karachi were made in Pakistan. More specifically, the Indian government’s dossier concludes that the Mumbai attack was coördinated by Lashkare- Taiba, or the Army of the Pure—a Pakistan-based, Saudi-influenced Islamist terrorist and guerrilla force that fights mainly in Kashmir. A decade ago, Lashkar’s emir, Hafiz Saeed, announced his intention to destroy India: “We will not rest until the whole [of ] India is dissolved into Pakistan.” After the Mumbai attack, Saeed delivered a public sermon in Lahore in which he spoke approvingly of a new “awakening” among Indian Muslims, and described his coreligionists as “second to none in taking revenge.” A satellite-telephone conversation between one of the Mumbai terrorists and a supervisor in Pakistan, intercepted independently by the United States, also points to Lashkar’s involvement in the raid. After many weeks of prevarication, Pakistani officials conceded that the Mumbai attackers appear to have come from their country. Pakistan has detained and filed criminal charges against at least one senior Lashkar commander named in the Indian dossier. But it remains unclear how far Pakistan will go to dismantle Lashkar. Since the early nineteen-nineties, Pakistan’s principal military-intelligence service, Inter-Services Intelligence, or I.S.I., has armed and funded Lashkar to foment upheaval in Indian-held Kashmir. Although many of Pakistan’s generals are secular or apolitically religious, they have sponsored jihadis as a low-cost means of keeping India off balance. The historical ties between Lashkar and the Pakistani security services are for the most part undisputed; one book that describes them, published in 2005 and entitled “Between Mosque and Military,” was written by Husain Haqqani, who is currently Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. However, Brigadier Nazir Butt, a defense attaché at the Embassy in Washington, denied that his government had provided lethal aid to Lashkar or to other violent groups. “Pakistan only extended moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination,” he said. “After 9/11, Pakistan withdrew all its support for Kashmiri organizations and, as a consequence, drew violent attacks on its military and national leadership.” American officials, who rely upon the I.S.I.’s coöperation in their campaigns against Al Qaeda and the Taliban along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, continue to say that there is no evidence that active I.S.I. personnel participated in or knew in advance about the Mumbai strike. Yet critical evidence, such as interrogations conducted in Pakistan, is effectively under I.S.I. control; agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has jurisdiction in the matter under U.S. law, because American citizens were among the victims, have been denied direct access to the Lashkar suspects. It’s also true that Pakistan’s government has itself been on the receiving end of jihadi attacks in the past year. “It’s not as if all this stuff is external and going into India,” one official from a nato government said. “They don’t have the capacity to defend Islamabad and Peshawar. They’re losing ground.” Taliban-led insurgents today control large swaths of territory in Pakistan’s northwest, where they enforce a brutal regime of Islamic justice, and recently signed a truce with the government in the Swat valley. They have mounted a bombing campaign that has reached Islamabad; some of the bombs have been aimed at the Army and the I.S.I., suggesting a loss of control by the I.S.I. over its jihadi clients, or a split within the Pakistani security services, or both. In January, Prime Minister Singh remarked that the Mumbai attack could not have been carried out without “the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.” India nevertheless reacted to the attack with relative restraint. Singh’s government has not ordered a major military mobilization, nor has it launched any retaliatory strikes against Pakistan. Were it not for the back-channel talks, the response might not have been so measured: Singh and at least some of his civilian counterparts in Pakistan hope to find their way back to the non-paper. But this will be possible only if jihadis don’t provoke a war first. Many Indian politicians and security analysts continue to call for military action. Some predicted to me that additional jihadi attacks would take place during India’s upcoming national election, in May; if such strikes do occur, they said, it would be difficult for India’s democratic government to resist public calls for retaliation. For now, however, the decisions belong to Singh, a seventysix- year-old Cambridge-educated econ- omist who recently underwent heartbypass surgery. Singh’s decision-making appears to be grounded in military realism; if India were to launch even selective strikes, it would likely only deepen Pakistan’s internal turmoil and thus exacerbate the terrorist threat faced by India. Any Indian military action would also risk an escalation that could include nuclear deployments--which may be precisely what the jihadi leaders hoped to provoke. “There is no military option here,” Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian Ambassador in Washington, said. India had to “isolate the terrorist elements” in Pakistan, he said, not “rally the nation around them.” Negotiators involved in the secret back channel regarded the effort as politically risky and exceptionally ambitious— a potential turning point in history, as one official put it, comparable to the peace forged between Germany and France after the Second World War. At issue, they believed, was not just a settlement in Kashmir itself but an end to their debilitating covert wars and, eventually, their paranoiac mutual suspicions. They hoped to develop a new regime of free trade and political coöperation in the region, from Central Asia to Bangladesh. On January 8, 2007, at the height of this optimistic interval, Manmohan Singh remarked in public, “I dream of a day, while retaining our respective national identities, one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul.” These hopes, however quixotic, reflected a competition between two schools of radical thought: the millenarian terrorism of jihadi groups and their supporters; and the less well-known search by sections of the Indian and Pakistani élites for a transformational peace. For both groups, Kashmir is symbolically and ideologically important. It is also, still, a territory of grinding, unfinished war. Indian paramilitaries had placed Srinagar under an undeclared curfew on the morning this winter when I sought to drive out of the city, which is the summer capital of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. I wanted to visit a gravedigger in the northern sector of the Kashmir Valley, about fifteen miles from the heavily militarized de-facto border between India and Pakistan known as the Line of Control. Soldiers in overcoats and olive helmets huddled at checkpoints before open fires; they waved tree branches or batons to stop cars for inspection. The Indian troops on occupation duty in Kashmir-- about five hundred thousand soldiers and paramilitaries--rarely speak the Kashmiri dialect. Locals resent them, and they return the attitude. I was travelling with a Kashmiri journalist, Basharat Peer, who is the author of a forthcoming book, “Curfewed Nights,” a coming-of-age narrative set amid the region’s revolts and security crackdowns. Basharat’s press credentials had expired, but he had recently completed a fellowship at Columbia University, and he had his library card; at difficult moments, we thrust it through the window and shouted “New York!,” as if it trumped all rules--and, each time, the soldiers backed off and waved us through. We passed north, through rice paddies and apple orchards--hauntedlooking rows of barren trees. On the horizon rose the snowy ridges of Himalayan foothills. Convoys of troop carriers, water haulers, military tow trucks, and jeeps clogged the highway until we turned down an embankment to the village of Chahal, a hamlet of perhaps a hundred tin-roofed houses among terraced fields beside the Jhelum River. Kashmiri villagers inhabit a political space confined by roaming guerrillas on one side--some of them local boys, some foreign jihadis from Pakistan--and by Indian troops on the other. At the top of a hill, we found the residue of India’s counter-insurgency campaign: a new concrete school and clinic, constructed by India’s government to appease the villagers, and beside it, encircled by barbed wire, a field of muddy dunes that held the unmarked graves of about two hundred young men whose unidentified bodies had been delivered for burial by the Indian Army. Just under a thousand graves containing the corpses of unknown young men have been discovered in Kashmir so far by investigators from the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, a small advocacy organization in Srinagar. Last year, a grenade was tossed at the house of the lawyer who advises the group; he and his colleagues have expanded their field surveys nonetheless. They believe that the bodies they have found are among about eight thousand young men who have gone missing during the latest round of Kashmir’s wars; they hypothesize that Indian security forces detained many of the victims insecret prisons, tortured them, and shot them. Indian officials reject these allegations; they have estimated the number of missing Kashmiri men at about four thousand, and speculated that they left for Pakistan for training so that they could fight against India, only to fall in combat when they returned. In a small stone house, I met Atta Muhammad Khan, a slight man with a trimmed white beard, who is the guardian of Chahal’s tombs of unknown rebels. His work began in the late spring of 2002, he told me, when a Kashmiri policeman arrived in the village with a corpse in a truck. The policeman said that the victim was a Pakistani-supported militant who had been shot dead in battle. “They started bringing bodies every ten days, eight days, fifteen days, at times twice in one day,” Khan said. Villages such as Chahal that are known to contain such graves have become magnets for Kashmiri families who are looking for missing sons. When family members arrive bearing photographs or other scraps of evidence, Khan will exhume bodies for them. The gravedigger is himself a searcher; his nephew, whom he raised, disappeared in 2002. The Kashmir problem has a textbook quality: a dispute of more than six decades’ duration, involving British colonial concessions, United Nations resolutions, and a long record of formal negotiations. But it is the character of the war within Kashmir--the torture centers, the unmarked graves, and the remorseless violence of the jihadis--that better describes the contours of Indo- Pakistani enmity today. In one sense, the recent back-channel talks, with their promise of a cleansing peace, have offered each government a path to evade responsibility for the evisceration of Kashmiri villages and families. India and Pakistan each claims sovereignty in Kashmir, but neither has found a way to control the land or its people. These failures are rooted in what was perhaps Great Britain’s greatest imperial crime, the partition of its Indian domain, which ignited violence that claimed about a million lives. In 1947, the British government, bankrupted by the Second World War, hastily completed a plan to divide the subcontinent into the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan. The status of a few territories proved difficult to adjudicate. One was the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, ruled by a Hindu maharaja and largely inhabited by poor Muslim peasants. Under Britain’s demographic formula, territories with Muslim majorities were supposed to go to Pakistan, but the maharaja signed an accession agreement to join India. A year later, Pakistan tried to wrest away the territory by sending in a tribal guerrilla force, a gambit that ended in a military stalemate. In a sense, the war of guerrilla infiltration that Pakistan initiated in 1948 has never ended. In 1972, after their third formal war, India and Pakistan established the Line of Control and deployed artillery and infantry along its length. On the Indian side lay most of Kashmir, as well as the Hindu-majority region of Jammu and the Buddhist-influenced region of Ladakh. On the Pakistani side lay a sliver of land now known as Azad Kashmir and a Himalayan region of Muslim tribes known as the Northern Areas. For almost two decades, a relative calm prevailed, but in late 1989--inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall-- Kashmiris on the Indian side, who were fed up with rigged elections and job discrimination, staged a mass revolt. The I.S.I., which had used Islamist militias during the anti-Soviet campaigns in Afghanistan, reacted opportunistically, by arming those Islamist factions of the rebellion which sought to join Kashmir to Pakistan. Initially, when Kashmiri Muslim boys from villages such as Chahal sneaked across the Line of Control for weapons and training, I.S.I. officers encouraged them to join a local Islamist guerrilla group known as the Hezbul- Mujahideen, which was affiliated with the international networks of the Muslim Brotherhood. During the late nineties, however, Pakistan shifted much of its support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, which adhered to the Salafi strain of Islamist thought prevalent in Saudi Arabia, and later to a jihadi group called Jaish-e- Mohammed, or the Army of Mohammed. The membership of these secondwave groups came not from Kashmir itself but from the Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, where the suffering of fellow-Muslims in Kashmir is routinely exploited by religious and nationalistic political parties. Lashkar’s volunteers collaborated with Hezb-ul- Mujahideen cells, but they weren’t fighting and dying in Kashmir because their families had ties to the disputed land; they were there because they believed that God had called them to liberate the region’s Muslims from Hindu control. At least fifty thousand people have died in Kashmir’s violence since 1989. The pace of the killing has declined in recent years, but bombings and assassinations persist. Last August, on the highway just above Chahal, Indian paramilitaries shot and killed at least fifteen unarmed protesters marching toward the Line of Control; the shooting touched off yet more street protests. In the satellite- television age, the suffering of Kashmiri civilians has not been broadcast as often or as vividly as that of Palestinians or Lebanese, but on Al Jazeera and on Web sites from Britain to Bangladesh the war has been a major point of grievance. The Indian government has long resisted scrutiny of its human-rights record in Kashmir and deflects blame for the violence onto Pakistan’s support for jihadi groups. Special laws shield Indian security forces from accountability for deaths in custody, despite ample evidence that there have been many hundreds of such cases. Even India’s urban liberal élite remains in denial about its government’s record of torture and extrajudicial killing, Meenakshi Ganguly, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said. “In the history books, Kashmir is going to be where justice completely failed the promises of Indian democracy,” she said. India’s campaign to defeat the jihadis has, in some ways, become subtler and more effective. In 2002, the government held an election in Kashmir, judged locally as fair, which lured fence-sitting separatist Kashmiri politicians into greater coöperation with New Delhi. Last winter, when I visited, India was concluding a second successful regional election, in which Kashmiris turned out in record numbers. One afternoon, on the eve of the final round of voting, I visited the gated home of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, one of Kashmir’s best-known nonviolent separatist leaders. He had been placed under house arrest, so we spoke by cell phone as I sat outside his driveway. Farooq’s coalition, called the Hurriyat, had decided to boycott the election, a tactic that now looked like a mistake, since so many Kashmiris had chosen to participate. India has spent large sums on jobs and infrastructure projects, gradually convincing many war-weary civilians and politicians that they can regard regional elections not as a source of sovereign legitimacy for India but as a means to control their local affairs. “We are not in a position to address people’s concerns about water, electricity, and jobs,” Farooq admitted. The back-channel negotiations have also helped to quell mainstream Kashmiri separatism. At times secretly and at other times publicly, Musharraf and Singh each began discussions with Hurriyat and other local groups about the terms of an eventual settlement, drawing them in. “Musharraf was someone who was willing to think out of the box,” Farooq continued. “It is not an insoluble situation.” As violence has declined, the government has closed the worst of its detention centers. Yet its over-all progress has only clarified for Indian strategists the ongoing failure to stop the I.S.I. from infiltrating jihadi guerrillas across the Line of Control. One morning after my visit to Chahal, I drove up a pine-tree-lined hill above Srinagar’s Dal Lake, past a manicured golf course, to Raj Bhavan, a whitewashed colonial-era estate. I had come to see N. N. Vohra, a white-haired career civil ser vant who last summer was appointed the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Imperial histories and biographies lined the bookshelves in Vohra’s office; an oil portrait of Mohandas K. Gandhi hung on the wall beside his desk. The Governor told me that “whatever Islamabad may say to the world, and particularly to American leadership,” he did not feel that Pakistan had fully dealt with the I.S.I. and its “vested interest in keeping this Kashmir front alive.” Vohra said that when he first arrived as governor he received daily briefings from intelligence officers about interrogation reports, electronic intercepts, and other evidence of I.S.I. activity along the Line of Control. He asked for copies of the raw intercept recordings so he could listen himself. What he heard, he said, was controllers speaking to jihadi commanders inside Kashmir for “twentyfive, thirty minutes” at a time. “And they are very specific, very specific—to go for this target. . . . They said, ‘Task No. 1: Eliminate the most senior leaders available.’ And they mentioned some--I won’t mention the names. And then, ‘B, go for the larger rallies of the big leaders-- throw grenades, shoot, bombs, I.E.D.s, whatever.’ . . . And the kinds of rewards that are mentioned, rewards that will be given--lifetime, if you bump off a Grade A leader. If you injure them, you get three hundred thousand rupees.” Vohra had doubts about the Pakistan very much hoping in the last four years that they are now progressively seeing the great wisdom and the enormous benefit of not spending all their resources on building up their armies and their armed forces to deal with India-- and to subvert and infiltrate,” he said. “There has been a thaw, obviously, quite visibly. The levels of infiltration have gone down. But they haven’t given up. And that’s the worrying part.” A few days later, I arrived at Wagah, in the Punjab, the primary official land border crossing between India and Pakistan. A winter fog had reduced visibility to a few yards. Five dozen Tata trucks loaded with potatoes and other goods idled in a line facing Pakistan. The border compound has the look of a government park; rows of eucalyptus trees drape manicured lawns. The Indian and Pakistani militaries coöperate at the Wagah crossing. On most days, rival honor guards march and drill on adjoining parade grounds; on Pakistan’s side, grandstands have been erected so that spectators can enjoy the show, which has grown into a kind of martial battle of the bands, in which each side strives to excel in the performance categories of goose-stepping and glaring. Only very tall soldiers need apply for duty at Wagah; each country seeks to conjure the illusion that its Army is a legion of giants. After four cups of tea, several signatures in clothbound ledgers, and some subtle talk of gratuities, two porters carried my bags on their heads to a metal gate. A protocol officer waited inside Pakistan; I had an appointment with Nawaz Sharif, the former Pakistani Prime Minister, who lived nearby, on a family compound outside Lahore. Squads of police guard the Sharif estate, a walled expanse of orchards, wheat fields, and pens filled with deer and peacocks. In the main house, the former Prime Minister greeted me in a grand reception chamber flanked by two lifesize stuffed lions, and decorated with pink sofas, matching pink Oriental carpets, and gold-plated antelope figurines. He is a rotund, clean-shaven man who, remarkably, retains the youthful look of a person unburdened by stress. In 1999, less than a year after he authorized Pakistan’s nuclear test, Sharif initiated a precursor to the back-channel talks. In February of that year, Sharif invited India’s Prime Minister at the time, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to attend a summit in Lahore. The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding; they also commissioned secret, exploratory talks by special emissaries. Sharif designated an aide, Anwar Zahid, and Vajpayee named a journalist, R. K. Mishra. “It was basically on Kashmir,” Sharif recalled. “In the early days, we were not really having any consensus on anything. But the mere fact that the back channel was established was a big development. It was doing some serious work.” At the time, Sharif shared power uneasily with Musharraf, whom he had appointed as Chief of Army Staff. Musharraf “found the Lahore summit galling,” as Strobe Talbott, who was then the United States’ Deputy Secretary of State, put it in a memoir. In these years, Musharraf, “ like so many of his fellow officers . . . was a revanchist on the issue of Kashmir.” Musharraf apparently decided to break up the peace talks. He authorized a reckless incursion of Army personnel disguised as guerrillas into a mountainous area of Kashmir known as Kargil. A smallscale war erupted; at one point, the Clinton Administration believed that Pakistan’s Army had taken steps to mobilize its nuclear weapons. Musharraf has said that he briefed Sharif on the Kargil operation; Sharif denied this. “I think the back channel was making good progress,” he told me. “But soon after, you see, it was sabotaged by Mr. Musharraf-- a misadventure that was ill-advised, ill-executed, poorly planned.” A few months afterward, Sharif tried to fire the General; Musharraf seized power and threw Sharif in jail. After President Clinton intervened, Sharif was released into exile in Saudi Arabia. India’s leaders initially mistrusted Musharraf because he was the author of Kargil, but gradually, as Mansingh, then India’s Ambassador to the United States, recalled, “We found he was a man we could talk to.” After 2002, India’s economy began to grow more quickly and steadily than at any time since independence; the ranks of its middle-class consumers swelled; and it became possible for Indian strategists to visualize their country rising to become a great power by the mid-twenty-first century. Only a catastrophic war with Pakistan--or Pakistan’s collapse into chaos--would stand in the way of India’s greatness. “We were convinced these two countries must learn to live in accord--must,” Jaswant Singh, who was then India’s foreign minister, said. In time, Musharraf ’s thinking about India and Kashmir seemed to change, too. Late in 2003, splinter cells from Jaish-e-Mohammed twice tried to assassinate him. “This is what turns him decisively,” Maleeha Lodhi, then Pakistan’s high commissioner in London, recalled. Just weeks afterward, Musharraf met Vajpayee in Islamabad and agreed to an unprecedented joint statement: the Pakistani President would “not permit any territory under Pakistan’s control to be used to support terrorism in any manner.” The two leaders announced new formal negotiations between their foreign ministries, which were known as the Composite Dialogue. Privately, they re-started the back-channel talks on Kashmir. During the next two years, Musharraf delivered India proof of his sincerity. Guerrilla infiltrations into Indian-held territory declined; Pakistani artillery units stopped their salvos on Indian posts, which had been used as cover for infiltrating jihadis. Indian officials concluded that Musharraf--whether by an iron hand or by building a consensus-- had persuaded his senior generals to accept the potential benefits of peace negotiations. At the landmark meetings he convened at Rawalpindi, Musharraf talked about how a peace settlement might produce economic benefits that could strengthen Pakistan--and its military. The Army had a fifteen-year development plan; the generals knew that the plan would be difficult to pay for without rapid growth. “I was very happy to see how much focus there was on the economy among the Army’s officers,” Khurshid Kasuri, the former Foreign Minister, recalled. Mahmud Durrani, a retired major general who was then Musharraf ’s Ambassador in Washington, said that this new attitude reflected a broader change in outlook. Commanders were asking, he recalled, “Can my economy support me? Can my foreign policy support me? What does the world think of us?” There was “the feeling that the world is changing and that we have to change,” Khalid Mahmood, who was then Kasuri’s chief of staff, recalled. “It was not easy. There were people who felt that the President has made a U-turn.” To refine the non-paper, Musharraf relied intuitively on his college friend Tariq Aziz, a civil servant who had made his career in Pakistan’s federal tax department, a bridge enthusiast who seems to some of his colleagues to live precariously on tobacco and adrenaline. Aziz’s Indian counterparts--J. N. Dixit, Singh’s national-security adviser, followed by Satinder Lambah--worked more formally. The Indians typically brought note-takers to the secret hotel sessions overseas, whereas Aziz travelled alone, rarely carried a briefcase, and often had to scribble his notes on hotel stationery. Altogether, there were about two dozen of these hotel sessions between 2004 and early 2007, according to people familiar with them. The envoys worked on a number of long-standing territorial disputes, including the problem of Siachen, a heavily militarized glacier where Indian and Pakistani soldiers skirmish at heights above twenty thousand feet, battering each other’s snowbound positions with artillery shells. But a Kashmir settlement would be the grand prize. To outsiders, it has long seemed obvious that the Line of Control should be declared the international border between India and Pakistan--it’s been in place for almost forty years, and each country has built its own institutions behind it. Musharraf, however, made it clear from the start that this would be unacceptable; India was equally firm that it would never renegotiate its borders or the Line of Control. The way out of this impasse, Singh has said, was to “make borders irrelevant,” by allowing for the free movement of people and goods within an autonomous Kashmir region. For Pakistan, this formula might work if it included provisions for the protection--and potential enrichment, through free trade--of the people of Kashmir, in whose name Pakistan had carried on the conflict. The most recent version of the nonpaper, drafted in early 2007, laid out several principles for a settlement, according to people who have seen the draft or have participated in the discussions about it. Kashmiris would be given special rights to move and trade freely on both sides of the Line of Control. Each of the former princely state’s distinct regions would receive a measure of autonomy-- details would be negotiated later. Providing that violence declined, each side would gradually withdraw its troops from the region. At some point, the Line of Control might be acknowledged by both governments as an international border. It is not clear how firm a commitment on a final border the negotiators were prepared to make, or how long it would all take; one person involved suggested a time line of about ten to fifteen years. One of the most difficult issues involved a plan to establish a joint body, made up of local Kashmiri leaders, Indians, and Pakistanis, to oversee issues that affected populations on both sides of the Line of Control, such as water rights. Pakistan sought something close to shared governance, with the Kashmiris taking a leading role; India, fearing a loss of sovereignty, wanted much less power-sharing. The envoys wrestled intensively over what language to use to describe the scope of this new body; the last draft termed it a “joint mechanism.” Manmohan Singh’s government feared that successor Pakistani regimes would repudiate any Kashmir bargain forged by Musharraf, who had, after all, come to power in a coup. The Indians were not sure that a provisional peace deal could be protected “from the men of violence--on both sides,” the senior Indian official who was involved recalled. And they wondered whether the Pakistan Army had really embraced the nonpaper framework or merely saw the talks as a ploy to buy time and win favor in Washington while continuing to support the jihadis. “I remember asking Tariq Aziz, ‘Is the Army on board? Right now?’ ” the senior official recalled. “As long as Musharraf was the chief, had the uniform, I think he had a valid answer. He said, ‘Yes, the chief is doing this.’ ” As the peace talks stalled and Musharraf’s power waned during the first half of 2008, the I.S.I., or sections of it, appeared to be reënlisting jihadi groups. On July 7th, a suicide bomber rammed a car loaded with explosives into the gates of India’s Embassy in Kabul, killing fifty-four people, including the Indian defense attaché. The United States intercepted communications between active I.S.I. personnel and the Taliban-aligned network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, which is believed by U.S. military and intelligence officials to have carried out the Kabul Embassy attack. Haqqani has a long history of collaboration and contact with the I.S.I.; he was also a paid client of the Central Intelligence Agency during the late nineteen-eighties. On September 4th, less than three weeks after Musharraf ’s resignation as Pakistan’s President, Kashmiri militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, appeared at a large open rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir; the Pakistan Army has a heavy presence in this city, and it is unlikely that such an event could have taken place without the I.S.I.’s sanction. The rally seemed designed to send a message across the Line of Control: Musharraf is gone, but the Kashmir war is alive. “We asked them specifically, ‘How is all this going on if you say the Army’s on board?’ ” the senior Indian official recalled. “They kept saying, ‘Give us a chance. We need time. Yes, yes, the Army’s on board.’ ” In October, Durrani, who was then Pakistan’s national-security adviser, travelled to New Delhi and met with members of India’s National Security Advisory Board. Indian Army officers presented “some very nice colored charts,” as Durrani put it, documenting recent increases in ceasefire violations and jihadi infiltrations along the Line of Control. Durrani found the charts “a bit one-sided,” but when he returned to Islamabad he sought explanations about the violations from Pakistan Army commanders. In January, Durrani was fired after making public statements that were seen in Pakistan as too accommo- dating of India. The apparent revival of the I.S.I.’s covert operations influenced the Singh government’s assessment of who was likely responsible for the Mumbai attack. “It appears there has been a change in policy,” V. P. Malik, a former Indian Chief of Army Staff, who now heads an influential security-studies institute in New Delhi, said. “They really have not taken action against these outfits, their leaders and their infrastructure.” Pakistan’s new civilian President, Asif Zardari, had entered into his own struggle with those in the Pakistani security services who favor the jihadis and covert war against India. Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party has fought the Army for power since the late nineteen-seventies; neither institution fully trusts the other, although they have sometimes collaborated. (Some P.P.P. officials believe that the I.S.I. may have been involved in Benazir Bhutto’s murder.) Last May, Zardari tried to assert civilian control over the I.S.I. by placing it under the authority of the Interior Ministry; the Army rejected this order, and Zardari backed down. In November, speaking extemporaneously by video at a conference in New Delhi, Zardari declared that Pakistan might be willing to follow a policy of “no first use” of its nuclear weapons, a remarkable departure from past Pakistan Army doctrine. Privately, in discussions with Indian officials, Zardari affirmed his interest in picking up the back-channel negotiations. Some Indian officials and analysts interpreted Mumbai as a kind of warning from the I.S.I. to Zardari—“Zardari’s Kargil,” as some Indians put it, meaning that it was a deliberate effort by the Pakistan Army to disrupt Zardari’s peace overtures. Several Pakistani and American officials told me that Zardari is now deeply worried about his personal security. The regional headquarters of Jamaatud- Dawa--the educational and charitable organization that, depending on how you see it, is either the parent of or a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba--lies on a flat stretch of agricultural land west of Lahore, outside a village called Muridke. Barbed-wire fences surround a campus of about seventy-five acres, which contains an Olympic-size swimming pool, horse stables, offices, several schools, dormitories, and a large whitewashed mosque. When I visited, a smoky haze had shrouded the facility in a yellowish murk. The chief administrator, Mohammed Abbas, who is also known as Abu Ehsaan, greeted me. Abbas, who is thirty-five years old, has a substantial belly and a four-inch black beard. He showed me inside, to a carpeted room, where we sat cross-legged on the floor, propped against cushions. The United States listed Jamaat-ud- Dawa--the name roughly translates as the Society of the Call to Islam--as a foreign terrorist organization in 2006, on the ground that it was an alias for Lashkar. After the Mumbai attack, the United Nations Security Council followed suit, with tacit support from Pakistan’s civilian government. Abbas told me that these judgments were mistaken, and that Jamaat-ud-Dawa “is solely a relief organization.” He explained that young men often joined the organization as relief workers, and were sent out for a year or more to areas that had been struck by earthquakes or other disasters. These volunteers might also reside at Muridke, where they can receive lodging, food, and pocket money, he said. If they later marry or move into administration, they might qualify for a modest salary. Among the group’s projects, he said, “We’ve set up an emergency cell for accidents on the G.T. Road”--the principal highway that traverses Pakistan. “People call us and we send the ambulance to the scene. We also work in collaboration with the local district administration. They’re happy with our work. They think we’re honest--they know that if we pick up victims they will get back all of their valuables when they are released from the hospital.” As we spoke, several full-bearded men spread a plastic mat atop the carpeting and laid out a meal of chicken biryani and naan. Abbas excused himself briefly to answer his cell phone; its ring tone was the sound of a frog croaking. I asked Abbas if his organization had come under pressure from the government of Pakistan since the Mumbai attack. “The police came the night the organization was banned, but the schools and campus were already closed because of vacations,” he said. “It is not clear yet whether the schools will be able to reopen. The hospital is functional, but people are afraid. The number of patients has declined because people are afraid India may hit this Muridke complex. “No doubt we are afraid,” he contin- ued. “Hundreds of workers have been arrested and shifted to unknown places. Top leaders have been placed under house arrest. . . . If they come and they want to arrest me, I am ready. But what is the charge sheet? The U.S. should tell--the U.N. should tell--what Jamaat-ud-Dawa has done.” President Zardari announced that he would ban Jamaat, as required by the U.N. resolution. The Pakistani government plans to close Jamaat’s schools and to place provincial administrators at each of the charity’s facilities to oversee finances and personnel. However, Pakistan has a long record of implementing such crackdowns only partially, and of releasing jihadi leaders after relatively short periods--an approach to counterterrorism that is referred to in India as “catch and release.” Pakistan banned Lashkar in 2002, for example, but its leader, Saeed, continued to preach openly. Indian officials point out that Jamaat’s Web site continued to operate long after Pakistan had declared the latest ban, and they claim that Lashkar and Jamaat have now reorganized themselves under various new names. Abbas took me on a walk around the campus. We chatted with a few young men who said that they were students at Jamaat’s university. Lashkar educates thousands annually in a Wahhabiinfluenced strain of Islam that, in addition to its political doctrine of transnational jihad, emphasizes austere personal devotion. (Pakistan’s traditional religious culture has been influenced by the veneration of earthly Sufi saints.) Evangelizing students form the core of Lashkar’s membership and its strength—like Hezbollah, the young men in Jamaat dormitories and “humanitarian” camps can offer social services and a vision of ethical governance in a country that enjoys a paucity of both. Down a dirt road shaded by eucalyptus trees, we found Jamaat’s hospital, where half a dozen villagers squatted on the pavement, waiting for appointments. Inside we toured a gynecological clinic and a dentist’s office--the fee schedule posted on the wall indicated that a full dental exam would cost about fifty cents. A blue police truck had parked in front of the headquarters building by the time we returned. “This happened all of a sudden,” Abbas said unhappily. Had my presence been detected, and the police been dispatched to make a show of their vigilance, or was this a genuine inspection? We shook hands and said our farewells beside the police vehicle. On its side, stencilled in English in white block letters, were the words “Crime Forensic Laboratory.” A few minutes later, on the G.T. Road, headed back to Lahore, I passed some Urdu-language graffiti painted prominently in white on a brick wall. “Under the banner of preaching and jihad,” the scrawl declared, “Lashkar’s caravan will roll on.” Last December, during an appearance on “Meet the Press,” Barack Obama remarked, “We can’t continue to look at Afghanistan in isolation. We have to see it as part of a regional problem that includes Pakistan, includes India, includes Kashmir, includes Iran.” The President has appointed the veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke as a special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The public description of Holbrooke’s responsibilities has been carefully worded to avoid explicit mention of Kashmir, because India’s government has long rejected outside mediation of that conflict, but, given his mission, Holbrooke will inevitably be drawn into quiet talks about the achievements and frustrations of the back channel. The Indo-Pakistani equation is critical, in any event, to the outcome of the war in Afghanistan, which Obama has identified as one of his highest foreignpolicy priorities. Stability in Afghanistan will be difficult to achieve unless Paki- stan coöperates more wholeheartedly in American-led efforts to pacify the Taliban. The I.S.I. built up the Taliban as a national Afghan movement during the nineteen-nineties, partly as a means to prevent India from gaining influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s generals are unlikely to dismantle the Taliban leadership if they continue to regard jihadi groups as a necessary instrument in an existential struggle with India. “As far as the Pakistan Army is concerned, they think India is trying to weaken Pakistan,” Muhammad Nasir Akhtar, a retired three-star general, said. “They also think America is working with India to denuclearize Pakistan.” This mind-set, he added, “is very dangerous for the future.” The Mumbai attack took place during the transition between the Bush and Obama Administrations, and the United States concentrated its diplomatic efforts on preventing any armed conflict between India and Pakistan. There were several close calls. Less than seventy-two hours after the attack began, someone pretending to be India’s foreign minister telephoned Zardari and threatened war; only when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intervened did it become apparent that the call was a hoax. The caller has not been identified; like the Mumbai strike itself, the phony threat may have been a deliberate provocation by jihadi-aligned conspirators. The danger of open war between India and Pakistan has not passed. As recently as December 26th, Pakistani intelligence officials concluded that Indian warplanes were being positioned for an air raid. The country’s national-security adviser at the time, Durrani, telephoned American officials in alarm. The next day, Stephen Hadley, then the national-security adviser, tracked down Durrani on his cell phone while he was shopping in an Islamabad supermarket and told him that there would be no raid. During the Bush Administration, American and British officials monitored the secret negotiations. British officials contributed a few ideas based on their experience with the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, but neither they nor the Americans became directly involved. Ultimately, any peace settlement between India and Pakistan would have to attract support in both countries’ parliaments; if it were seen as a product of American or British meddling, its prospects would be dim. “One of the best pieces of advice we gave the State Department when I was in Delhi-- and I remember writing about four cables on this subject--was to keep hands off,” Ashley Tellis, a former political adviser in the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, recalled. “We stayed away, and unless the Obama-ites choose to change this I doubt we will intervene. They’ve managed quite well without us--they’ve ended up in a place we’d like to see them end up.” Direct negotiations, without mediators, had forced the two sides to confront the hard issues, the senior Indian official told me. “Ultimately, we need to screw up our courage and do the deal, and anybody else getting involved actually gives both of us a crutch,” the official said. “We grandstand.” On the fundamental problem of the Pakistan Army’s support for jihadi groups, however, only the United States has the leverage, through its militaryand economic-assistance packages, to insist upon changes. Unless the Pakistan Army makes a true break with its jihadi Clients--and comes to regard these groups as a greater threat than India-- not even the most creative diplomats in the region are likely to succeed. “The time to act--to control the Pakistan Army and get the civilians together--is now,” Brajesh Mishra, a former Indian national-security adviser, told me. “I have no doubt in my mind that unless the Pakistan Army is forced to do something about the jihadis it will lead to a military confrontation” with India, and perhaps very soon, he said. Since November, India has employed a diplomatic and media campaign to induce the international community-- the United States, in particular--to put greater pressure on the Pakistan Army to break its ties with jihadi groups. India and the United States have grown closer in recent years, but Indian officials still see the U.S. as far too willing to accept excuses from Pakistan’s generals. “The Pakistanis have been able to play the Americans,” C. Uday Bhaskar, a retired Indian Navy commodore, said. “I wouldn’t abandon them--that would only make the problem worse. . . . The Pakistan Army will have to self-correct. That is the only way-- short of total war.” In the face of Indian complaints, American officials have sometimes taken a protective posture toward the I.S.I. and the Pakistan Army. Pakistan’s generals have become adept at pursuing both peace talks and covert war simultaneously, and at telling American interlocutors what they wish to hear. After September 11th, in particular, the Bush Administration did little to challenge the dualities in Pakistan’s policies. Bush’s counter-terrorism advisers decided that Kashmir-focussed jihadi groups posed no direct threat to the U.S. The Administration delivered close to ten billion dollars’ worth of military aid to Pakistan, ostensibly to fight Al Qaeda, without real oversight and without requiring that the I.S.I. break with regional Islamist groups. “On Al Qaeda, there was nothing we asked them to do that they wouldn’t do,” Bob Grenier, who was the C.I.A.’s station chief in Islamabad during 2001 and 2002, recalled. As for groups such as Lashkar, “There was a tremendous amount of ambivalence.” I.S.I. leaders seemed “concerned about backlash” if they cracked down too hard on the Kashmir groups, Grenier said. Last fall, General David Petraeus, a specialist in counter-insurgency doctrine, was promoted to head the United States Central Command, which oversees American military operations and policies in the Middle East, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (India falls under the Pacific Command, thereby complicating efforts to coördinate U.S. military liaisons in the region.) Petraeus has organized a group of about two hundred government, academic, and military specialists to rethink U.S. strategy in his area of responsibility. Their study has highlighted the importance of changing the strategic outlook of Pakistani generals toward India, according to military officers involved in the review. Already, Petraeus has started to expound his “big idea” about U.S. military strategy toward Pakistan: that the Pakistan Army must be convinced that it faces no existential threat from India but does face a revolutionary threat from jihadis within its borders--and so should shift its emphasis from planning and equipping itself for war with India to eliminating homegrown jihadis. Admiral Mike Mullen became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October, 2007, and since then he has held eight meetings with the Pakistan Army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, as well as three or four meetings with General Ahmad Pasha, who was appointed by Kayani to lead the I.S.I. last autumn. Kayani participated in the back-channel talks while serving as Musharraf ’s I.S.I. chief; in that role, he endorsed the principles in the non-paper. Both Pakistani commanders have promised a new strategic direction. In January, Pasha told Der Spiegel, “We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India, both now and in general.” He added, “We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy, not India.” Mullen told me that he has heard the same from Kayani and Pasha in private. Their shift in outlook “has been transformational,” Mullen said. The Pakistan Army is “certainly committed,” and yet, Mullen said, “It’s going to take a while, and it’s an urgent, urgent situation, where lives are at stake.” The Obama Administration has initiated a sixty-day review of policy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan; as it completes that study, the Administration will have to decide how much patience with the Pakistan Army it can afford. The most difficult challenge will be finding the right blend of encouragement and pressure to induce the Pakistan Army and the I.S.I. to conclude that an overarching and long-lasting regional peace is in their interest. Not all American officials possess even Mullen’s qualified optimism. “History shows that the Pakistanis will slow-roll us to death,” a senior U.S. intelligence official told me, referring to Pakistan’s long record of tolerance for jihadi groups. “The history is so compelling--that the Pakistanis play around and nothing ever changes.” Zardari and Singh may not find it easy to return to the non-paper negotiations on Kashmir any time soon, even if they wish to. In Pakistan, civilian political leaders might well reject the earlier framework simply because the discredited Musharraf was behind it. Even more daunting, the violent contest for power and legitimacy between Taliban militants and Pakistan’s government is in many ways a struggle over Pakistan’s national identity--and, particularly, over whether the present government is righteously Islamic enough. In the midst of such a contest, any agreement that made concessions to India would be harder than ever to sell to the Pakistani public. “The military is completely on board at the top levels--with a paradigm shift, to see India as an opportunity, to change domestic attitudes,” a senior Pakistani official told me. However, he continued, “The public mood is out of synch.” The mood within sections of the Army and the I.S.I. may be out of synch with peace negotiations as well; in early February, the Kashmiri jihadi group Hezb-ul- Mujahideen hosted a public conference in Muzaffarabad, which Lashkar supporters attended. In India, Manmohan Singh seems determined to seek reëlection on a peaceand- stability platform. Last year, before Mumbai, Singh took steps to reconnect the back channel with Tariq Aziz, according to people familiar with the diplomacy. Singh was concerned, in particular, about whether Zardari would be willing to continue the talks and whether Pakistan would stand by the non-paper, or insist on renegotiating. Pervez Musharraf arrived in the United States in January for a speaking tour. It was not a particularly high-profile itinerary; he spoke first to the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan, and later at Stanford University and the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. On his last evening in the country, he attended a reception hosted by the Middle East Institute, a public-policy group with headquarters in an Edwardian row house near Dupont Circle, in Washington, D.C. Two men with crewcuts and earpieces stood outside the door; a private security guard with a metal detector checked the guests. Several dozen people sipped red wine in a high-ceilinged room: former American Ambassadors to Pakistan, lobbyists, and representatives of some of the defense contractors who did big business in the Musharraf era, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. The guest of honor turned up about five minutes late, in a black S.U.V. with flashing emergency lights. Musharraf looked well, in a tailored dark suit and red tie. He circulated among the crowd and engaged in small talk about the weather, inflected with nostalgia from his time in office--yes, Michigan was very cold, but nothing like the time he stepped onto an airport tarmac in Kazakhstan, when the temperature was minus thirty-six degrees. I asked him about the almost-deal he had made on Kashmir in 2007. I said that I had been surprised to discover how close his negotiators had been to drawing to an end one of the great territorial conflicts of the age. “I’ve always believed in peace between India and Pakistan,” he replied. “But it required boldness on both sides. . . . What I find lacking sometimes is this boldness-- particularly on the Indian side.” He then reviewed a long negotiating session he had had, many years before, with former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, in which the pair had tried and failed to agree on a particular joint statement. As he recounted the incident, the pitch of Musharraf ’s voice rose slightly; he seemed to be reliving his frustration. He returned to the subject of the 2007 talks. “I wasn’t just giving concessions-- I was taking from India as well,” he said, a touch defensively. Then he calmed. He fixed his gaze and added, “It would have benefitted both India and Pakistan. Copyright 2009, The New Yorker From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Mar 1 14:59:03 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 14:59:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ignore pub attack In-Reply-To: <006601c99973$11944bf0$0201a8c0@limo> References: <000801c998e3$1b4b07f0$0201a8c0@limo> <006601c99973$11944bf0$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear Joshua (and all) A really brilliantly written article. I hope we get to see more of such well written pieces from you. Regards Rakesh From kalakamra at gmail.com Sun Mar 1 20:38:59 2009 From: kalakamra at gmail.com (shaina a) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 19:08:59 +0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Report on the launch of pad.ma (Public Access Digital media Archive) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <33eee40c0903010708q71ba72a2ud47565653fb8fab3@mail.gmail.com> *Report of Pad.ma Launch * On the 16th of February 2009, we officially opened out Pad.ma to the general public, and as a part of the launch we had a stimulating day-long event with various people who have been engaging with pad.ma. This report attempts to capture a sense of the day, as well as the various questions and concerns that were raised. We were very excited by the range of responses, and ways in which people had used pad.ma in interpreting their own footage, revisiting their earlier work or annotating archived material, and we wanted to share our sense of excitement, as well as the newer ways in which the possibilities of pad.ma was revealed for us through its use by all the participants. Shaina Anand began the day by providing the background to pad.ma, and how the various organizations involved (Oil21 from Berlin, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, and three organizations from Bombay: Majlis, Point of View and ChitraKarKhana/CAMP) came together to conceptualize pad.ma. In its one year of making, pad.ma had already inculded over 150 events from Majlis's Godaam, Chitrakarkhana's collection of micro media and other contributions including that of Point of View, Alternative Law Forum and footage by filmmakers such at T. Jayashree and Saeed Mirza. Shaina said that the main reason for the day was to get a sense of how people from different disciplinary backgrounds from film makers to artists, and scholars to activists could use pad.ma to explore the relationship between text and image, to examine the possibilities that it opens up, and also to look at the blurring lines between those who produce images, those who interpret it, and those who are supposed to consume it. The first presentation of the day was made by Aagaz, a voluntary youth group from PremNagar, Meghwadi and SanjayNagar bastis of Jogeshwari. Members of Aagaz including Shaali Shaikh, Durga Gudillu and Ismail Sharif spoke about their contribution to pad.ma. About 15 hours of footage from their video project Ek Dozen Pani was collaboratively annotated to describe some relationships between infrastructure, water and the city. While infrastructure is hyper visible in most cities in their diverse forms, from high rise shining malls and multiplexes to decaying pipes from which water and electricity leaks to poorer neighborhoods, the members of Aagaz used the layers of annotation in pad.ma to go deep into their own histories of how infrastructure gets to be made and unmade in urban experience. ( http://pad.ma/find?l=Lj) Sanjay Kak spoke about his own relationship to found footage after the experience of making Jashn-e-azadi, and he was invited to write over a two-hour long tape of found footage, "Flight Over the CFL". In what can only be described as an ethnography of a media event, Sanjay Kak's reading of this film opens out for us the historical and analytical possibilities that lies in material which may seem completely ordinary and uneventful. Combining the skills of a film maker with that of the historian, Sanjay's contemporatry reading of the material opened out ways in which we can think the relationship between events, fragmentary material and contested political histories (http://pad.ma/Vg92c17o/info) Priya Sen, a film maker from Delhi revisited a film that she had made six years ago "The Knower of Secrets" about Qawwali singers in Hazrat Nizamuddin. In her annotations, Priya looked at what it would mean to capture the experience of the film maker in the making of the film, an experience which is never exhausted by the end product that emerges in the form of the finished film. Her annotation moves between the personal, the affective, the theoretical and the analytical. On Pad.ma, the knower of secrets emerges as a text which opens out to different registers of experience and reflection which were not immediately available at the time of the making of the film. (http://pad.ma/Vu5mgs8w/info) Nida Ghouse's presentation raised the critical question of the difference between seeing an image, reading and image and understanding the experience of pad.ma which attempts to bring text and image together. Nida located the development of the various versions of pad.ma andf its implications for newer forms of reading that are made available. Finally, Nida looked at the idea of the electronic archive not just as an archeological site for data mining, but also as a construction site of ideas and possibilities. Sebastian Lütgert and Jan Gerber looked at 10 remarks about video and the internet, which balances between the exhilaration about video on the net and the material realities of low bandwidth etc. They distinguished between open source as a 'cool attitude' and openness as a form of practice that constantly requires interventions that reframes the ways we think of our own practices. They also argued that licenses are 'real', in that issues of format of videos, inter-operability etc are all affected by proprietary licenses and the future of video on the net is also an issue about closed or open systems. Kaushik Bhowmick was invited by pad.ma to be a guest annotator, and Kaushik took up the challenge by trawling through all the events and settling on ten of them. But rather than choosing to annotate them through information or analysis of the events (which ranged from bar dancers to the item song in hindi films to the lumpen audience), Kaushik chose to read and write across them. Drawing from mythology and film theory, Kaushik chose to make poetic connections across images. Arguing that film eventually relies on the production of sensibilities, Kaushik' sannotations sought to capture the evocative feel of the videos and the ways they spoke to each other. ( http://pad.ma/Vejbx6uz/00:02:54.000) Desire Machine Collective from Guwahati chose to focus on the idea of the North East as it emerges in popular discourse and in the news. They curated a set of items which provided a name and place to the idea of the north east. In their curation they sought to raise the question of how an idea like the Northeast comes into being, where it finds form in media discourse, and also ways in which a counter archive that displaces one central idea of the north east could emerge. They chose to read one segment of a film Tango Charlie and its hugely stereotypical image of the north east and contrasted this with videos that looked at the Bnei Menashe, the lost tribes of Israel from Mizoram. ( http://pad.ma/find?l=Ll) Lawrence Liang made a presentation on the relationship between the image, politics and the distribution of the sensible. Drawing form Jacques Ranciere, Lawrence argued that politics was already aesthetics, in that ideas of the political often draw from sensorial metaphors such as visibility and invisibility, and politics may consist of interruptions/interventions in the distribution of the sensible, which modify the Aesthetic-political field. He tried to link this to an understanding of the political which is not dependent on a pre determined political field, but which is open to redefinition through a reversal of assumptions of social roles. In the case of pad.ma, the blurring of the lines between image makers and image readers would constitute such an aesthetic-political interruption. Ayisha Abraham who has made a film Straight 8 using found footage chose to look at rare films made on Ram Gopal, a dancer who became famous in the mid-twentieth century. Using the footage of Ram Gopal that had been shot by an amateur film maker Tom D'Aguiar, perhaps the only existing fragment of moving image of Ram, Ayesha posed questions about the relationship between the materiality of film, the role of archives and the reconstruction of histories. (http://pad.ma/Vsnjewdj/info) Ranu Ghosh has been working on the changing urban landscape of Kolkatta, looking at the emergence of new high rise apartments against the decaying landscape of factories that have shut down. In her presentation she spoke about the south city project which has emerged on the lands of the Usha sewing machine factory. She has used Pad.ma to annotate the history of the struggle of an individual against the acquisition of his housing quarters, and he was given a camera to document what was happening, since there are no visitors allowed inside the premises. The annotations become another layer through which the relationship between the film maker, footage shot by the subject of the film, and the audience interact. (http://pad.ma/Vfsgvjes/info ) Nilanjan Bhattacharya has been working on questions of traditional knowledge, and biodiversity. He presented an interview with Madhav Gadgil and related Prof. Gadgils view points on rituals and superstitions and myths as essential to the maintaining of sacred forests and knowledge systems through footage from his older films that included exampled of buddhist, hindu and animist rituals. http://pad.ma/Vs6e8x5j/00:13:51.000 Sadanand Menon showcased two films on Chandralekha. The first was part of a program made for a cultural show on Doordarshan, and the only footage available of it is the versions recorded from television. In an example of how text/image and histories (personal and public) interact, Sadanand's annotations on the Tanabana program takes us through an intimate journey with Chandralekha. Moments that would otherwise be missed (a dog passing by, Chandra making Rangoli), if we were just watching the film, are re-read by Sadanand to create a shared space where we begin to understand Chandra's philosophy of creativity and the body. Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan is an organization that has been working on housing rights, particularly against corporate privatization. They took an existing footage in pad.ma "One Day in the Life of Niranjan Hiranandani" and re' read it against information that they have been collection for a few years (through the use of RTI as well as investigative journalism). The grandiose vision of Hiranandani is read against the material conditions of housing for the poor, while his statements of corporate responsibility are read against the corrupt practices prevalent in the real estate industry. In a playful manner, GBGB completes the incomplete narrative of images through sharp political satire. (http://pad.ma/Vtowua9j/L2kv9) Once you enter a pad.ma event, you can use the 9 and 0 keys ( and ) keys to advance to next clip. You can register to ad your own annotations. Pad.ma is now open to external contribuitons and also invites in annotators. For more details write to pad.ma at pad.ma -- From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Mar 1 21:35:24 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 21:35:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Account of Woman Attacked in Bangalore In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <47e122a70903010805y19d561dey365cf2e37666d2f5@mail.gmail.com> may be Hindu Women too need something like Bhatiya Muslim Mahila Andholan to defend themselves Today in Times of India too, a pieces appeared : INDIA'S MUSLIM FEMINISTS JOIN GLOBAL JIHAD FOR GENDER JUSTICE lthere is lot to read about this never movement by Muslim women here is one clip : Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan launched Charu Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 11 In an effort to empower Muslim women, the international multilateral organisation, Action Aid, inaugurated a convention and launched the ‘Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan’ here on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion journalist, Ms Seema Mustafa, stressed upon the need for amendment in the Muslim Personal Law so as to ensure an equal space to women in the community. She added, “The reform requires a push from the community.” The Sachar Committee Report indicates that Muslims are the largest minority community in India constituting oddly 13.4 per cent of the population. The community is subjected to a poor human development index, widespread illiteracy, low income, and irregular employment- implying thereby a high incidence of poverty. Women of the community are the worst hit bearing not only the burden of patriarchy but also subjugated to the personal law for ages. Action Aid has initiated a process in different states where women from the grassroot level and NGOs have been discussing the need for women to monitor all the issues concerning their lives. It has stressed on increasing educational levels, providing livelihood, security and proper justice to Muslim women across the diaspora. “The Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan aims at acting as a voice for Muslim women and demand social, economic, political, civil, legal and religious rights for the realisation of equal citizenship,” observed Ms Zakia Jowhar of Action Aid. The convention centered on the crisis of leadership in the community. There are no satisfactory answers to who represents the community and takes responsibility for them. The speakers observed that besides the government, community leaders should also pay heed to the socio-economic backwardness of the community and take steps to ameliorate the condition. On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 2:23 AM, Lawrence Liang wrote: > Hi all > > In addition to the blog posted earlier, this is an account by a woman > attacked in Bangalore ( names Changed) > > > >  Time, date of Attack: 11:15-11:30 on > > My name is XXXXX. I am a Bangalorean. At least I think I am. I fell in love > with this city two years ago and shifted base from Mumbai. I was on my way > to work at Koramangala at around 11.15-11.30 in the morning when my auto > broke down at Ulsoor. As I was hailing another one a white Quallis slowed > down next to me and the occupants said something to me in Kannada. I rolled > my eyes. That was their provocation. > I do not know if that angered them but the more I dwell on that > unforgettable episode in my life, they seemed like predators, on the hunt. > Before I knew it four middle-aged men emerged out of the vehicle and began > verbally assaulting me. > > First they started hurling obscenities at me in Kannada and then it became > physical. They started touching and pulling at my clothes. One of them > tugged so brutally at the shrug I was wearing that he scratched my neck. > Their goal — to show the collected crowd the top that I was wearing > underneath my shrug. > When the shrug didn’t come off with their tugging, the violence of the > tugging increased. In self defence I hit out at an offending hand that was > trying to disrobe me. The response, he slapped me hard across my ear. Then > they began trying to lift my top up while making references to ‘pink chaddi’ > – the only words I could understand of their tirade. > > I told them I would call the police and one of them arrogantly proffered me > his phone to make the call. The few people who dared to gather and watch > were dumbfounded and no one said a thing. Some passing cars even slowed > down, but not one stopped to help. > The whole time, the four of them kept up the tireless rant of obscenities, > calling me names and trying to humiliate me in front of the gathered crowd. > They couldn’t bear that a woman was looking them in the eye, and each time I > raised my head to look at the tormentors, they kept pushing my head down, > threatening me not to look at them in the face. While they were hitting my > head, an army vehicle drove past. They stopped and intervened. Finally the > army men helped me into a rickshaw to continue on what I thought was going > to be a regular day at work. > > It looked like these guys just wanted to make a spectacle and humiliate > someone that day. And I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t > want to imagine what would have happened to me if the army men hadn’t put an > end to the humiliation. I do not want to talk to the cops as even with > hardcore evidence, the police didn’t do anything about the Mangalore episode > and those hooligans are out. I do not want to talk to the press and be > anyone’s political scapegoat. The whole situation was a nightmare and every > time I talk about it, I relive it. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Sun Mar 1 22:53:22 2009 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (artNET) Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:23:22 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_call_for_entries?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3A_Festival_Miden_2009_-_start_from_zero!?= Message-ID: <20090301182322.692B7DA5.97D30C3E@192.168.0.3> Call for entries - Festival Miden 2009 - start from zero! Video Art Festival Miden invites all video artists and video creators to participate in this year's events, which will take place, like the past four years, in public spaces at the Historic Centre of the city of Kalamata, Greece, in July 2009. In it's 5th realization, Festival Miden is supported by Kalamata's Historic Centre Organisation, The Messinia Chamber of Commerce and the Municipality of Kalamata. The deadline for the submission of application forms and videos is the 31st of March 2009 (post stamped). This year, along with the main program, Festival Miden wishes to present the following additional special showcases: --> a special theme program entitled "Transforming the ordinary" --> a special theme program entitled "Strange thoughts" --> a tribute to videodance --> a special theme program entitled "Urban (R)evolutions" in the context of the "Urban (R)evolutions" thematic unit, along with video screenings we invite all artists to submit still images (photos, digital images, photo-montages, collages, drawings, 3D graphics, architectural proposals etc) which transform and alter creatively the urban landscape. Each participant can submit up to 10 images. All submitted works will be screened in the form of a slide-show in open spaces of the Historic Centre of Kalamata. Submitted works must be original. Minimum image size 800x600pixels, 72dpi, tiff, jpg or bmp format. Please send your images along with a short cv via e-mail at festivalmiden at gmail.com with the indication "Urban-stills". Deadline: 15/05/2009 For any extra information contact us at: info at festivalmiden.gr For application forms and entry regulations go to http://www.festivalmiden.gr/prosklisi_eng.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- netEX - networkd experience http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=748 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From navayana at gmail.com Mon Mar 2 14:27:32 2009 From: navayana at gmail.com (Navayana Publishing) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 14:27:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Witness to a Kidnapping Message-ID: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/03/01/stories/2009030150010100.htm Witness to a kidnapping MEERA NANDA *01/03/2009, The Hindu *Seeing a woman getting kidnapped in front of one’s eyes and the public reaction to it brings home many truths. Why is it that we remain silent when it comes to more violent infringements of personal space that happens every day in the country? Are we defining the notion of personal freedom too narrowly and in a way that is convenient? ________________________________ The district court building happens to be barely five minutes walk from my parental home in Chandigarh. Outside this house of justice, I witnessed the kidnapping of a young woman who had come there seeking justice. The violence of the act — and how it was accepted by so many as natural, just and “for her own good” — revealed the ugliness of the City Beautiful. What I saw is very much on my mind as I think about the recent protests to defend women’s right to go to pubs. I wonder if all the pink chaddis the protestors sent to shame the hoodlums of the Hindu Right have anything meaningful to offer to that poor woman in Chandigarh. It was early February when I came to Chandigarh for a short visit. I was walking past the high court building on my way to the market around midday. A woman was walking in my direction. I would have passed her by without noticing her, but suddenly I heard her scream. Before I could figure out what the matter was, she began to run in the opposite direction. Just then I saw a huge white van stop by the curb. Burly young men — four or five of them — stepped out, and began to run after the woman. Within a matter of seconds, they had grabbed hold of the woman who was screaming and struggling. I saw them drag her by her hair into the van. Before I could unfreeze myself and try to take down the license number, they were gone. Soon a crowd gathered. One of us discovered the woman’s handbag that had fallen off in the scuffle. The bag contained a cell phone which was dead, an attested copy of her school-leaving certificate (which put her around 20 years of age), some money and few knickknacks. We decided that we should take the bag to the police station nearby. Then a middle-aged Sikh man who was in the crowd spoke up. He told us that it was all right, it was all a ghar ki baat and nothing bad was going to happen to the woman. He claimed that he was her father and it was her brothers and cousins who had “taken her home”. “How can you allow your own daughter to be treated like this? What kind of a father are you? Have you no shame?” I asked. This is what he offered by way of an explanation: His daughter was having an affair with a Muslim man and that was not acceptable to him. She was a bright girl, he said, an engineering student, but this Muslim man was ruining her life. He said something garbled about a lawsuit the couple had filed against the family. It appears that she had come to the court in connection with the lawsuit and the family had been waiting for her. Justifed? It seemed to me that many in the crowd cooled down after they heard this “explanation”. But there were four-five young men who agreed with me that we have to take this man to the police station and report the kidnapping. We narrated what we had seen to the policemen on duty. Then the old man started talking about the affair with the Muslim man, as if it were a crime. To show that he was not narrow-minded, he said that he would have had no objection to a chura-chamar (derogatory reference to “untouchable” communities) but he could not accept the idea of his daughter marrying a Muslim. His story had an immediate and a dramatic effect. The policemen were far more interested in the old man’s travails over this supposedly wayward daughter than the violence she had been subjected to. My pleas that the victim was past the age of consent and had the full right to choose her partner were met with total incomprehension. Madam, you don’t understand these matters, the cops told me. How can this poor man let his daughter marry a Muslim? Would I let such a thing happen to my daughter, they asked, without heeding my affirmative answer. It was self-evident to these guardians of law and order that respectable women from Sikh and Hindu families should not marry Muslim men. In their eyes, the old man did the right thing by having his own daughter kidnapped. It was also self-evident that these cops were not going to do anything to help. I insisted that they take me to their chief. By now, our group of eyewitnesses had dwindled to just two: myself and a young man. I pleaded with the inspector that for all we know, this kidnapping could be the first step toward an honour killing. I threatened to get the media involved if the police did not make all efforts to find the woman and to ensure that no harm came to her. After receiving assurances of action, I took down the inspector’s phone number and left. Later that day, the police inspector called to tell me that the woman wanted to stay with her family out of her own free will. He put her on the phone to me: she dutifully told me that the misunderstanding had been cleared, her family was treating her well and that she wanted to stay with her family. I gave her my cell phone number and asked her to call if she needed any help. This clearly was an unreported re-enactment of the script of the 2007 Rizwanur case from Kolkata. I can’t get this young woman out of my mind as I watch the recent wave of protests against the spate of violence against women unleashed by Sri Ram Sene and other hoodlums in Mangalore and elsewhere. While I fully support their right to choose to go to a pub and make other lifestyle choices, I worry that they are defining their freedoms way too narrowly. Why, I wonder, did it take this ugly incidence in a pub in Mangalore to create a sense of crisis that is bringing women and men into the streets in defence of personal freedom? Is it only when violence comes knocking at middle-class watering holes that we will take notice? After all, far deadlier crimes against women are taking place every day. It has been well-established — and well reported in the media — that honour killings are on the rise throughout Northern India. Nearly one tenth of all murders that take place in Punjab and Haryana involve family members who kill their own kin who dare to break the bounds of caste and creed. A majority of the victims are women. Disturbing trend Another thing that worries me is the soaring popularity of arranged marriages among the same hip crowd that is so protective (and rightly so) of their right to go to a pub and hold hands in public without the moral police keeping an eye on them. Most of them, I am sure, will condemn the Chandigarh abduction in no uncertain terms. But I am not sure where they will stand when it comes right down to the heart of the matter — namely, the right of individuals to defy family and community and choose to marry someone from a different caste or creed, especially Islam which is so little understood and so aggressively condemned these days. Will they stand with the woman, or will they stand with the father, not so much to condone the violence but to “understand” why he had to stop the marriage? I am afraid that the principle that it is the right of the individual to make such fundamental choices like marriage has not found much favour with the seemingly modern youth. Their idea of freedom of choice seems to stop outside the institution of marriage where the principle of the-family-knows-best seems to prevail. Surveys show that fairly large majorities — between 60-75 percent — of modern urban middle classes, including IT workers, prefer to have their parents find a mate for them. After enjoying the personal freedoms which an average young person takes for granted in the United States and Europe, many enthusiastically go through the most extravagant weddings, complete with incomprehensible rituals and inexcusable dowries. As long as they accept that marriages are family affairs, why would they care to fight against honour killings or honour abductions, as in the Chandigarh case? After all, wasn’t the father in this case acting on the principle of father-knows-best? Yes, he carried it farther than the hip set would like, but the underlying idea remains the same. The real hero The unsung hero in this is the young woman who was so badly treated by her family. She had the courage to follow her heart. I am quite sure she did not send pink underwear to the pub-smashing hoodlums: most probably, she does not condone the idea of women going to pubs. But at the same time, her idea of personal freedom is thicker and her battle is much harder and lonelier. My thoughts and best wishes are with her. (Meera Nanda is the author of Prophets Facing Backwards: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India. She is currently a fellow at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advance Studies, New Delhi.) www.navayana.org Join Navayana Book Club and avail free books and special discounts! http://www.navayana.org/display.php?id=5 From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 2 20:56:57 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 15:26:57 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] An exciting time to be in? Message-ID: <65be9bf40903020726k4da0bad0nfe806c13d775a5a5@mail.gmail.com> Dear all By all accounts it feels we are going to experience a lot of excitement in days to come. Adding on to the series of depressing 'recession' thread started by Jeebesh here are some of the headlines I skimmed this morning on BBC. AIG reports record $61.7bn loss http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7918643.stm Islamic banks 'better in crisis' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7918129.stm Anger at work 'good for career' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7918622.stm Global marketplaces feel the downturn http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7907335.stm US stocks slide to 12-year trough http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7918168.stm and ofcourse 'full coverage' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/business/2007/creditcrunch/default.stm Regards Taha From gitika.talwar at gmail.com Mon Mar 2 21:03:46 2009 From: gitika.talwar at gmail.com (Gitika Talwar) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 10:33:46 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [DIV45] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: "Mental Health Journal Investigates Trauma Among Muslims in America" In-Reply-To: <49AAFA16.50203@umbc.edu> References: <49AAFA16.50203@umbc.edu> Message-ID: <9949efb0903020733g6a0c2fe1p77446e545e7d6782@mail.gmail.com> Apologies for cross-posting. Thought this might be interesting for people who care about how sociopolitical factors impact mental health. Gitika Talwar, M.A. Graduate Student, Human Services Psychology Program University of Maryland Baltimore County. *For Immediate Release News from Routledge* Mental Health Journal Investigates Trauma Among Muslims in America The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 catalyzed a wave of research on the traumatic effects of the tragedy on residents across the US. However, according to research in a recent issue of the Journal of Muslim Mental Health (Volume 3, Number 2, 2008), Arab and Muslim Americans were largely ignored from these studies, revealing the lack of sufficient support for this community from Western mental health services and professionals. Research in this issue investigates the psychological experiences of Muslim communities in North America. Backlash and discrimination against Arabs and Muslims has increased over the past few years, the Editor contends, placing an even greater mental health burden on the community. “The paucity of research on these communities is troubling, particularly as Arab and Muslim Americans are seeking mental health services in greater numbers and many communities are finding it increasingly important to develop effective wellness and health promotion programs,” says Mona Amer, Editor-in-Chief. The papers presented capture the perspectives of immigrants, second and later generation individuals, refugees, imams (Muslim religious leaders), and mental health providers. Articles include: * An examination of the role of imams in Muslim mental health promotion in the wake of September 11, 2001, focusing on twenty-two mosques in New York City * A study of the impact of media upon Iraqi refugees in the US, which finds that refugees’ exposure to coverage of the war in Iraq bears physical and mental effects comparable to war-related death or injury of family and friends * An exploratory study of the effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the Arab American community of New York City, in which participants discuss fear of hate crimes, stigmatization, and isolation; concerns that are compounded by barriers to social and mental health services. * A groundbreaking empirical study based on interviews of fifty social work practitioners servicing Muslim clients residing in Canada All articles and book reviews featured in Volume 3, Number 2, 2008 are available for FREE online until April 1, 2009. To take advantage of this special offer, visit www.informaworld.com/UMMH and click on the “Latest Issue” tab. Articles in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health help social scientists, clinicians, and policy makers understand and treat these mental health issues by providing a forum to explore social, cultural, historical, and theological factors related to the mental health of Muslims in North America and around the world. The journal addresses such questions as: What is the impact of current geo-political conflicts on the mental health of Muslims worldwide? What are the mental health belief systems and coping behaviors of ethnically and geographically diverse Muslim groups? Do mental health professionals and institutions provide a culturally and religiously responsive approach to their Muslim clients? The Journal of Muslim Mental Health also provides a forum for the advancement of epidemiological studies of mental illness in Muslim populations, culturally valid psychometric scales, religiously sensitive psychotherapy techniques, and outcome research on mental health prevention and intervention programs. Subscription information for Journal of Muslim Mental Health or a copy of the most recent issue, (Volume 3, Number 2, 2008) can be obtained from the address below. The journal can be viewed online at www.informaworld.com/UMMH. For more information about research and resources in the field, visit www.MuslimMentalHealth.com. For subscription information, or to order a sample copy, contact: Taylor & Francis Customer Service Department 325 Chestnut St., Ste 800 Philadelphia, PA 19106 or Phone: 1-800-354-1420, press “4” or Email: customerservice at taylorandfrancis.com To submit an article, contact: Dr. Hamada Hamid, Managing Editor Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine Email: journal at MuslimMentalHealth.com The Journal of Muslim Mental Health Volume 3, Number 2 Fall – Winter 2008 Original Articles Letter to the Editor, Hisham Abu-Rayya and Mahmoud Khalil Social Worker's Understanding of the Immigrant Muslim Client's Perspective, John R. Graham, Cathryn Bradshaw, and Jennifer L. Trew “Only Allah Can Heal”: A Cultural Formulation of the Psychological, Religious, and Cultural Experiences of a Somali Man, Michael T. Starkey, Hyun Kyung Lee, Chia-Chen Tu, Jason Netland, Michael Goh, David McGraw Schuchman, and Ahmed Yusuf The Imam's Role in Mental Health Promotion: A Study at 22 Mosques in New York City's Muslim Community, Wahiba Abu-Ras, Ali Gheith, and Francine Cournos An Investigation of the Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the COPE Scale With a Muslim Migrant Population in Australia, Nigar G. Khawaja The Physical and Mental Health Effects of Iraq War Media Exposure on Iraqi Refugees, Ibrahim A. Kira, Thomas Templin, Linda Lewandowski, Vidya Ramaswamy, Bulent Ozkan, and Jamal Mohanesh The Impact of the September 11, 2001, Attacks on the Well-Being of Arab Americans in New York City, Wahiba Abu-Ras and Soleman H. Abu-Bader Book Reviews A Review of: “The Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality”, edited by Raymond Paloutzian and Crystal Park, by Brittney Beck and Brian Mistler A Review of: “Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy”, edited by Len Sperry and Edward P. Shafranske, by Aisha Hamdan A Review of: “Walking Together: Working with Women From Diverse Religious and Spiritual Traditions—A Guide for Domestic Violence Advocates”, edited by Jean Anton, by Leon Holtzhausen __________________________ Mona M. Amer, Ph.D. * Assistant Professor, Psychology Unit The American University in Cairo AUC Avenue, P.O. Box 74, New Cairo, Egypt * Assistant Clinical Professor Program for Recovery & Community Health Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine -- Anne E. Brodsky, Ph.D. Associate Chair and Associate Professor Department of Psychology UMBC 1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore, MD 21250 410 455-2416 brodsky at umbc.edu From ravig64 at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 11:04:03 2009 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 06:34:03 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Narcissism / Faith / Models In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40902261333g504e586el5f98f0b51952b32@mail.gmail.com> References: <65be9bf40902191850w4050c303l238f62f08340bc1b@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40902261333g504e586el5f98f0b51952b32@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Jeebesh and Taha, Sorry I have not been following the disucssion, but cannot help observing. I am not sure if institutional models of any sort have a 'natural flow' where their existence on their own is ratification of a acceptance. There is a fair degree of autonomy for the development of institutions per se, even though overall boundaries may be legally or socially defined. Else why would there be so much difference in modes of carrying out similar tasks even when the types of institutions are similar. All banks are not the same, nor are all charitable institutions or even all companies. They vary as widely as is possible. Of course, in an outer sense they need to follow the same set of rules, to confirm to the larger model they are part of. But culturally they can be different. On the overall types of models which are legally allowed, even this varies from one economy to another. In fact some institutions like the stock exchange need to have similarities only since they need to interact with each other across economies and ensure capital flows. This changes as this need for interaction increases, as economies become more open or global. And besides fulfilling this function, their is not much 'social debate' about these forms. In fact there is acceptance, and this may be a given. Even issues of transparency and requirements of 'openness' become conditions of operation, but not challenges per se to thier essential forms. The world we inhabit is so deeply instituionalised that there is no scope for a real challenge except in cases of deep crisis, and even that limit is questionable. It will be interesting to examine if the current forms of institutions we now inhabit are not lodged and have evolved in a discourse based in social power relationships. The building of institutions was also carried out by capital and the need for social control in one way or another, and not about serving all equally. The case of the largest chemical industry today in the world and its roots and relationship with the second world war and its often gruesome needs is one case. Today they are all a given, and hence all we talk about is reform, not restructuring. It may be that what provides stability today, in a political and even emotional sense, is itself resting on arbitary foundations, and infact become the main barriers to change. To me it is rather strange that some of the biggest and most trusted names in the institutional world, the ones which have halos around them can 'blip' out of existence from one day to another. That is unbelievable. It reflects the belief and trust in institutions, we have without knowing what is the real nature of the beast, so to say. best ravi On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:33 PM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>wrote: > Dear Jeebesh > > How can an institution otherwise come into being if not by taking into > cognizance other experiments in institutional building? And if they were to > suggest some further ways to conduct social or economic or political > process > then what is so wrong in that? I agree that wall street was not able to > hold on to an illusion of a robust economy but should a failure to sustain > a willing suspension of disbelief act as another 'model' to snatch any > further 'model making' agency from this beautiful institution. > > In many ways I find the existence of robust stock exchanges within a > country, cathartic. Do they not act as channels to dispel collective > nervous > anxieties of social mobility and a greater share in re-distribution of > private income? > > It is true that a stock exchange cannot be a true representative of the > socio-economic health of a nation but is it not true, that at the same > time, > a stock exchange can, in a way, project an image through rough indicators > about how a nation is faring as far as its biggest private industries are > concerned? > > You write- > > These models had percolated to all forms of social > organization (e.g grant making bodies) and has had consequences on the > ways life choices, effectivity etc was written and imagined. > > So? Would you not like to believe that even if these models have > 'percolated > to all forms of social organization', there must have been innumerable > occasions when core arguments, procedures, processes contained in this > model > must have had some amount of 'resistance'. I wonder what makes you so > disapproving of 'models'? > > Warm regards > > Taha > > dear Taha, > > I would think it more about a consensus that accumulates around some > visions and modalities in some institutions and schools of thought. > This then can have consequences . It more a speculation. I thought the > obsession around "models" that this report pointed out was interesting > to reflect on. These models had percolated to all forms of social > organization (e.g grant making bodies) and has had consequences on the > ways life choices, effectivity etc was written and imagined. > > warmly > jeebesh > - Show quoted text - > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 2 23:08:22 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 23:08:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery Message-ID: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> Dear All INVITATION MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari auditorium New Delhi presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. Keshav Malik, eminent poet and art critic. opening performance 'Palestine ' by Inder Salim regards inder salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 16:55:54 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 16:55:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmiri Pandits: Will their scars ever heal? Message-ID: <6353c690903030325h4adcb284o35b81453127ab80d@mail.gmail.com> Kashmiri Pandits: Will their scars ever heal? Hard News - http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/03/2679 * "Their relatively small numbers coupled with a tradition of non-violent protest have made the Kashmiri Pandits irrelevant in the political discourse"* *Anuja Khushu Jammu* *"I want to see my apple trees, take me to my orchards. I want to sit under the Chinar tree. Want to see my fields, my cows, buffalo sheds. Take me to my Kashmir,"* says Gunwati, 75, everytime when someone happens to pass by her home or comes to see her family. Neha Pandita, 16, who lives in Mishriwala Camp, says that her parents burst into tears everytime they remember their lives in Kashmir. *"Sometimes I enjoy these things, but only in dreams and not in reality. I want to see all these in reality."* Even today, the years of living under constant stress has left women like Gunwati ravaged. While Gunwati longs for the land of her youth, for young Neha, they do not even form the stuff of memories. She has spent most of her growing years in a camp in Jammu, only hearing about the homeland from the older generation. Both the women are Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced out of their homes in the Kashmir Valley because of the violence during the years of militancy beginning in the early 1990s. The impact of the conflict on these women and on thousands of people is directly related to the daily environment in which grenade explosions, improvised explosive device blasts, killings and encounters were more common than perhaps a routine day at work or a family gathering for the evening meal. The pain of experiencing brutal killings, of damaged residences and watching communities migrating to other regions, all had a direct bearing on the psyche of the people who lived in the conflict zone. The fallout of this has been highly detrimental to the collective psyche of people across Kashmir leading to wide-spread stress-related disorders. For the community of Kashmiri Pandits, however, this has been compounded by the fact that they have been rendered homeless and rootless. Now, living in Jammu , they still carry the scars. As many as 300,000 people fled their home and hearth, reduced to living the lives of refugees outside Kashmir. In what appears to be a flicker of a moment, they lost almost everything that their lives were based on: their roots, identity, homes, possessions and, most painful, their sense of belonging. Even their memories were full of the trauma and tragedy of being uprooted. Even after 18 years of migration, majority of the Kashmiri Pandits are living in squalid camps in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi with families of five to six people often huddled into a small room. Living in abysmal conditions in camps, they face spiraling health and economic problems. Sometimes, a single room is shared by three generations. At other places, sometimes, six families lived in one hall separated by partitions of blankets or bedsheets. For those who lived in the idyllic environs of the Kashmir valley, this degeneration of life has been unbearable. Leading neurologist, Dr Sushil Razdan, conducted a study to estimate the prevalence of dementia among the elderly population in a migrant camp at Mishirwala in Jammu. He found that it is 6.5 per cent among the Kashmiri Pandits aged 60 years and above which is higher than that reported from other parts of India. "Such individuals, mostly middle-aged, are unable to adjust to the cultural setup, language, environment alien to them and so many other things," says Dr Razdan. They feel cut-off and experience a sense of aloofness as most of the youngsters in search of a better future have moved to different parts of the country and even abroad, leaving their old parents alone, he says. A 1997 study based on inquiries at various migrant camps in Jammu and Delhi revealed that there had been only 16 births compared to 49 deaths in about 300 families between 1990 and 1995, a period during which terrorist violence in J&K was at a peak. Deaths were recorded mostly of people in the age group of 20 to 45. Dr KL Chowdhary, an eminent physician and neurologist. Says, *"Causes for the low birth rates were primarily identified as premature menopause in women, hypo-function of the reproductive system and lack of adequate accommodation and privacy."* The trauma of the exodus has taken a toll on all. The incidence of stress-related conditions like insomnia, depression and hypertension have increased and birth rates have declined significantly. Doctors who have been treating members of the community say that they had aged physically and mentally by 10 to 15 years beyond their natural age and this trend could threaten their very existence as a community. The larger questions of loss of identity and roots plague them along with problems stemming from their daily lives. The days of heightened militancy have receded and the spectre of violence is fading out. Yet, the trauma of the conflict remain particularly on those whose lives have changed beyond recognition. The political parties, government machinery, judiciary, media and NGOs, have all failed to fight for the cause of these hapless people. The silence on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits is deafening. Their relatively small numbers coupled with a tradition of non-violent protest have made them largely irrelevant in the political discourse. After the exodus of 1990, most Kashmiri Pandits were hopeful that they would one day return to their homes in the Valley with same honour and dignity they once had. But, the months stretched into years, and, now the years have stretched into a decade-and-a-half of exile. The end is nowhere in sight. The yearning for their homeland is still confined to the dreams that Gunwati and others like her cherish of once again seeing their precious Chinar trees and apple orchards in the Kashmir valley. *Charkha Features* From blauloretta at yahoo.com Tue Mar 3 16:58:27 2009 From: blauloretta at yahoo.com (Gustaff Harriman Iskandar) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 03:28:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] ICIES 2009, in Bandung (22 - 23 July 2009) Message-ID: <922247.30083.qm@web51002.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Hi all!, A friend of mine is organising a conference on Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Small Business in Bandung (22 - 23 July 2009). They were also interested for a paper around emerging technology, creativity, property rights, etc. Just let me know if any of you were interested in taking part. Best regards, - Gustaff CALL FOR PAPERS   The 1st Indonesian Conference on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Small Business (ICIES 2009) July 22-23, 2009 – ITB Campus, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia     Keynote Speaker: Howard H. Frederick Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand Author of Entrepreneurship Theory Process Practice (Asia-Pacific edition) and a Stanford graduate with broad European, Latin American, and Australasian experience, Prof. Howard Frederick is recognized as an authority in the field of ICT, business innovation, and economic growth. Howard is New Zealand's longest-serving Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He is currently writing a book called “Entrepreneurship As If the Planet Mattered”.   Organized by: Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership (CIEL) School of Business and Management (SBM) Institute of Technology, Bandung (ITB) in Cooperation with: Alumni Association of SBM-ITB   Important Dates Abstract submission deadline             : April 8, 2009 Abstract acceptance notice date        : April 15, 2009 Full paper submission deadline          : June 3, 2009 Conference dates                               : July 22-23, 2009   Aim and Scope This conference is aimed at challenging researchers, Indonesians in particular, to study and create local knowledge on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Small Business.  The conference also invites international researchers in order to enhance knowledge exchange and learning from diverse backgrounds. The topics include the following areas, but not limited to:  Entrepreneurship Theory Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurial Mindset/Traits/Characters Corporate Entrepreneurship/Intrapreneurship Social Entrepreneurship Creative Entrepreneurship Cultural Entrepreneurship Woman Entrepreneurship Technopreneurship Entrepreneurial Leadership Entrepreneurial Corporate Culture Entrepreneurial Marketing Entrepreneurial Finance Entrepreneurial Management New Venture/Start-ups Venture Capital Micro-Financing Business Plan Business Incubator Technology Park   Creativity & Innovation New Product Development Research and Development (R&D) Intellectual Capital/Property Rights Emerging Technology Technological Competitiveness Technological Forecasting Technological Assessment Technology Diffusion Technology Management Technology Development Technology Commercialization Technology Partnership Technology Transfer Science and Technology Policy Strategic Management of Technology Creative Industry Micro, Small, & Medium Enterprises Cooperatives Family Business Abstract Submission Requirements ·         All submissions must be entirely original and must not be under concurrent consideration or scheduled for presentation elsewhere. ·         Abstracts should consist of no more than 200 words. ·         Abstracts must be typed, single spaced using 12 point Times New Roman font. ·         Abstracts must be submitted no later than April 8, 2009 via email: icies at sbm.itb.ac.id ·         Abstracts are preferably written in English.   Conference Contacts Review/Conference Chair      : Dwi Larso, PhD (dwilarso at sbm.itb.ac.id) Program Coordinator              : Dohar Bob M. Situmorang, MBA (bob.situmorang at sbm.itb.ac.id) Submission Coordinator         : Isti R. Mirzanti, MBA (isti at sbm.itb.ac.id)   Contact Address Ms. Asisthariani/ Ms. Salfitrie Roos Maryunani CIEL, SBM – ITB SBM Building, 3rd Floor, Room 318 ITB Campus Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 West Java, Indonesia Phone              : +62.22.253.1923 ext. 313 Mobile              : +62.852.2071.5128/29 Fax                  : +62.22.250.4249 Facebook        : icies2009 at gmail.com Email               : icies at sbm.itb.ac.id Website           : www.ciel-sbm-itb.com/icies   From waliarifi3 at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 17:29:08 2009 From: waliarifi3 at gmail.com (Wali Arifi) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 17:29:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir: Discontents of democracy Message-ID: <4fcaee300903030359v6db7f755hc9694b08b9bf2238@mail.gmail.com> http://www.risingkashmir.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=11036 Kashmir: Discontents of democracy In Kashmir claims of democracy are different than the contents of democracy Seema Kazi The unexpectedly high voter turnout in the Valley during Kashmir’s assembly elections has evoked considerable debate and analysis. A number of commentators both in Kashmir and elsewhere noted, the elections reflect citizens’ expectation and demand for good governance and development; they are not a mandate for maintenance of the political status quo in the Valley. For the establishment, however, the installation of a duly elected government in Kashmir is perceived as an end in itself. The prime minister hailed the election as a “victory for democracy”. Important and significant as the election is, Manmohan Singh’s statement symbolises the deep and disturbing disconnect between New Delhi and the Kashmir Valley. If the holding of assembly elections in Kashmir and the participation of Kashmiri Muslims in them are considered markers of the triumph of ‘democracy’, then the establishment’s definition and understanding of democracy is exceedingly limited, if not dangerously flawed. The success of democracy is not to be assessed merely in terms of its formal dimensions, namely, the holding of regular and fair elections at the local, state and national level. Rather, it is the availability and protection of democracy’s substantive provisions that validate and authenticate its success. More specifically, the success of local-level democracy is based on the fundamental provisions of a democratic state, namely, the supremacy of civil authority, implementation of the rule of law, the existence of an independent judiciary, the protection of citizens’ right to speech, assembly and travel, and the freedom of citizens from violence, harassment and unlawful detention. It is precisely on these very counts that democracy in the Valley falls well short of the attributes that, in principle, affirm its legitimacy. There is a great contradiction between state claims to democracy in Kashmir and the subversion of civil authority by the military – exemplified by legislative measures such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Disturbed Areas Act. That a non-elected institution of the state meant for the protection of citizens is ‘legally’ empowered by India’s Parliament and courts to deprive Kashmir’s citizens of the inalienable right to life is disturbing testimony to the state of democracy in Kashmir, and indeed, in India. For citizens in the Kashmir Valley, this contradiction epitomises the experience and memory of a bitter, two-decade-old policy of authoritarian, militarily-backed ‘democracy’ that has generated and exacerbated Kashmir’s great human rights tragedy. The Bomai killings and the state’s response centred on stifling public protest by crude authoritarianism, curfew and preventive detention destroy, on a daily basis, any shred of hope Kashmiris may still have vis-à-vis ‘democracy’ in India. Indeed, this is precisely why the Valley’s Muslims aspire to, and dream of, a future sans New Delhi’s repressive hegemony and control. The latter’s attempt to use the elections in Kashmir as a means to advance its ‘democratic’ claims is, therefore, at best short-sighted and at worst, disingenuous. If India is a democracy, it cannot endorse a policy that violates three crucial foundations of a democratic state, namely, maintenance of the distinction between civil authority and the role of the military, citizens’ right to liberty, the duty of the state to protect citizens. There can be no role for the military or for the coercive suppression of civil rights in a truly democratic Kashmir. For over two decades, India’s extraordinary military presence in the Valley has been synonymous with flagrant violation of the rule of law. If the underlying principle of the rule of law is that no one is above the law, the impunity accorded to security forces in Kashmir is a grave violation of the legal basis of government and, by extension, the legality of the state. Since 1989, not a single member of the military has been prosecuted or convicted for a criminal offence in Kashmir. In 2005, the J&K government made almost three hundred requests for permission to prosecute public servants, including members of the military; none were granted. The Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) permit the military and paramilitary forces to operate their own network of detention and interrogation centres that are beyond judicial scrutiny. Persistent disregard by state authorities for the writ of habeas corpus – an important legal provision meant to protect citizens from institutional abuse and one of the cornerstones of a democratic state – and the concomitant paralysis of Kashmir’s judiciary underscore India’s shaky claims to ‘democracy’ in the Valley. In 2006, there were 60,000 habeas corpus petitions filed by individuals since 1990, and 8,000 cases of enforced disappearance. Even by the congealed yardstick of the establishment line that Kashmir is an ‘integral’ part of India, the denial of citizenship rights to Kashmiri Muslims underscores the great paradox between rhetoric and reality. India’s Constitution guarantees judicially enforceable fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of speech, political affiliation and the right to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention. In the Valley however, the ban on public gatherings, free speech, the right to be free from unlawful detention and the right to a fair trial remain suspended; no judicial reviews of such suspensions are allowed. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (1978), the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law Amendment Act (1983), the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act (1987) – in force in Kashmir till 1995 – together with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Jammu and Kashmir), contravene, respectively, the right to be free from arbitrary detention, the right to political affiliation and opinion, the right to freedom of speech, and the right to life. Democracy in Kashmir is also ill-served by the fear and paranoia of successive regimes at potential independent scrutiny of India’s democratic and human rights record in Kashmir. The mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to detention centres in Kashmir is restricted, while repeated requests by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and by Amnesty International to visit Kashmir have met with official refusal. A number of human rights defenders in the Valley have been murdered by the military and there are several cases of non-Indians whose interest in, or engagement with, Kashmir’s civil society and humanitarian tragedy prompted aggressive surveillance by state authorities and/or the revocation of their visa to India. The establishment’s denial of festering Kashmiri grievance may buy time for New Delhi and postpone its inevitable reckoning with the truth in the Valley: that assembly elections (held in the shadow of a coercive military presence, undeclared curfew and the arbitrary arrest of the Valley’s political leadership) cannot erase the anger and discontent of a people wronged. This election is not, and can never be, a substitute for a just resolution to the two-decade-old festering dispute between Kashmiri Muslims and the Indian state; nor can it erase India’s appalling record of governance in the Valley. Elections in Kashmir merely affirm India as a formal, rather than substantive democracy. That India is on the wrong side of history in the Valley was evident on 18 August 2008 when a million Kashmiri Muslims took part in an extraordinary peaceful demonstration against the status quo, symbolising, in Mikhail Bakhtin’s memorable words, “the thousand-year-old language of fearlessness, a language with no reservations and omissions, about the world and about power”. If India wishes to showcase democracy in Kashmir, it must extend to Kashmiri Muslims those rights and freedoms denied them for two long decades. Democracy in Kashmir would mean that its formal, participatory dimensions – involving elections at the local and state level are complemented and augmented by its substantive dimensions. It would be synonymous with the restoration of full citizenship rights for Kashmiris, namely, freeing Kashmiri civilians from violence and harassment from the police and the military, the revocation of repressive legislation, the end of unlawful killings, arbitrary searches and detentions, the restoration of Kashmir’s judiciary, the protection of civil rights including the right to freedom of speech and assembly, freedom for Kashmir’s citizens to travel within and beyond state borders, and last, but certainly not the least, the initiation of a process of public accountability for Kashmir’s human rights tragedy. Writer is the author of ‘Between Democracy and Nation: Gender and militarization In Kashmir’ and can be mailed at skazi at vsnl.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 3 18:48:30 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 05:18:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> wondering what PALESTINE has to do with Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh ..... on the face of it as per 'made known' information, seems to be more 'artifice' at work than 'art' --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Inder Salim wrote: From: Inder Salim Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery To: announcements at sarai.net Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 11:08 PM Dear All INVITATION MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari auditorium New Delhi presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. Keshav Malik, eminent poet and art critic. opening performance 'Palestine ' by Inder Salim regards inder salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 18:59:35 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 18:59:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> Even I was wondering how did this come up; almost out of nowhere. The invitation card I received of the same event yesterday at the Kashmir Festival; didn't mention this as well. Maybe, this comes as part of some strategy to mix issues and even seek support from Jamia by igniting their emotions. It is interesting to note that Jamia is one of the only places in Delhi which has support for Palestine; other being JNU (refer: recent protests). We shouldn't mix Politics with Art. On 3/3/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > wondering what PALESTINE has to do with Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh > ..... on the face of it as per 'made known' information, seems to be more > 'artifice' at work than 'art' > > --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Inder Salim wrote: > > From: Inder Salim > Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of > March: MF Hussain ART Gallery > To: announcements at sarai.net > Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 11:08 PM > > Dear All > > INVITATION > > > MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari auditorium New > Delhi > > presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary > Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh > > on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. Keshav > Malik, eminent poet and art critic. > > opening performance 'Palestine ' by Inder Salim > > > > regards > inder salim > > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _______________________________________________ > announcements mailing list > announcements at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- Aditya Raj Kaul Blog: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 3 19:31:52 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 06:01:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" Message-ID: <883123.27671.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> It could be just yet another 'conspiracy theory' although certainity of knowledge about Pakistani involvement has not been claimed.   Ironic though that the 'conspiracy theory specialist' Pakistan is the suspect. Pakistan and Pakistanis themselves make a habit of and are very fond of seeing the 'real conspiracy' behind a 9/11 or a 26/11 or Attack on Indian Parliament or Massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir.   (To Naeem) : In Bangladesh is there any such (seriously considered) suspicion about Pakistani involvement in the BDR Mutiny?   - " ....... harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute"   - " ........   whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's plans to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who collaborated with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence."     Kshmendra     "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" (The Pakistani intelligence services are suspected of being involved last week's Dhaka massacre of at least 77 Bangladesh Army officers.) By Dean Nelson   01 Mar 2009   Investigators say they have begun a search for the "powerful quarters" behind the revolt amid claims it may have been organised from abroad.   Officials yesterday filed murder cases against 1,000 border security guards of the Bangladesh Rifles as reports emerged in India and Bangladesh of a Pakistan-based plot to destabilise the new government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.   The Times of India quoted sources close to the investigation claiming arrested mutineers had named a senior a Bangladeshi businessman and politician believed to have close links with Pakistan's intelligence service. It was also reported that confession statements suggested the mutineers had received around £100,000 to bankroll their revolt.   Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency has previously been accused of involvement in the attacks on Mumbai last November in which 173 were killed.   As the scale of carnage and the cruelty of the mutineers has emerged – including harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute. The death toll is expected to rise further as investigators search for 70 officers who are still missing.   Investigators are expected to probe the extent of militant penetration of the Bangladesh Rifles by al-Qaeda linked groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and also whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's plans to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who collaborated with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence.   A leading Bangladeshi newspaper quoted one member of the inquiry committee saying the mutiny could not have happened without the support of "powerful quarters."   A seven-member committee to investigate the revolt, led by the country's Home Minister, Sahara Khatun, formally began its investigation yesterday to establish how the massacre happened and who was behind it.   It is due to report next weekend, but its inquiry will take place in an increasingly febrile atmosphere as rumours of a plot to destabilise the government and force the army to take power gathered momentum.   The mutineers themselves originally told the prime minister they were rebelling over poor pay and promotion prospects and abuses by their officers, who were drawn from the army and not from the Bangladesh Riflemen themselves. They claimed discredited officers were often seconded to the Rifles as a 'punishment posting' and that they used the Riflemen for personal smuggling operations.   Members of the Bangladesh Rifles who fled their posts during the mutiny began to return to barracks yesterday (SUN) as detectives said police forces throughout the country were hunting 1,000 border guards wanted for the mutiny murders.   Dhaka police chief Nabojit Khisa Khisa said: "Cases have been filed against more than 1,000 BDR troops who were involved with the mutiny in Dhaka last week."   Officials said the ringleaders among them, including six who met prime minister Sheikh Hasina to negotiate an amnesty, would be hanged if found guilty.   Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, pledged her support for the inquiry but criticised Sheikh Hasina's initial amnesty offer to the rebels. "This gave them more time to kill more people and conceal their brutality," she said.   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/4902794/Pakistan-in-the-frame-over-Bangladesh-uprising.html       From phadkeshilpa at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 23:24:07 2009 From: phadkeshilpa at gmail.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 23:24:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reminder: Invitation to a Talk: Cairo: Cartographies of Exclusion in Middle East Urbanism In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Centre for Media & Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Urban Design Research Institute are very pleased to invite you to a talk titled: *Cairo**: Cartographies of Exclusion in Middle East Urbanism* by *Martina Rieker* *Date*: 04 March 2009 *Time*: 6.30 p.m. *Place*: Urban Design Research Institute 43 Dr V.B. Gandhi Marg Kala Ghoda Fort Mumbai 400 023 Tel: 65735773 *Abstract:* The transformation of the modernist city with its celebration of diversity into gated enclaves of the affluent and far away informal communities of the poor is a *sine qua non* of contemporary critical urban literature. What is less well understood are the implications of the experience of the urban for the working poor in much of the global south. With the growth of informal laboring practices in post-industrial urban economies different sorts of creative mobility is demanded of the people who inhabit the contemporary city at its social and economic margins. Contemporary practices of visioning the urban (on the part of youth, women, men) are both embedded in and expand beyond the register of an earlier 'rights to the city' narrative. Drawing on research in Cairo, the first part of this paper examines ways in which these new urban mobilities re-articulate visions of the urban for the working poor. The neo-liberalization of the quotidian megatropolis raises important questions concerning the meaning of local exclusionary spatial inscriptions as such. With modernist urban centre and periphery models, among others, no longer providing a productive analytic grid through which to understand practices of the city, the second part of the paper explores forms of connections, communications, exchanges and activisms and that are being created within the temporal-spatial register of a very specific neo-liberal urban project. *About the Speaker:* Martina Rieker is Director of the Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the American University in Cairo. Together with Kamran Ali she is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Shehr Comparative Urban Landscapes in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa Network (www.shehr.net) The Shehr network is an academic initiative that seeks to further a social-historical and critical understanding of contemporary cities and urban practices in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The initiative examines the efficacy of the category of the city in modernist discourse and seeks to chart this spatial imagination and its effects through an exploration of the complex processes through which gendered, classed, and raced citizen-subjects have negotiated and been the object of urban projects in these regions. Attuned to both the legacy of modernist conceptual grammars and their inadequacy for understanding the remaking of space and place in the neo-liberal present, the purpose of the network is to open up an arena in which to address the particular positioning(s) of contemporary urban landscapes and urban practices through theme-based workshops, publications and an on-line discussion and exchange forum. Recent network publications ed. by Ali/ Rieker include *Gendering Urban Space *(Palgrave, 2007), *Comparing Cities: Middle East/South Asia* (Oxford University Press, 2009 forthcoming) and a special issue of the journal *Social Text *(95/ 2008) entitled "Urban Margins: Envisioning the Global South." From phadkeshilpa at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 23:54:03 2009 From: phadkeshilpa at gmail.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 23:54:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Women in Bangalore and Karnataka need your help NOW In-Reply-To: References: <202c5d230903030110m1bd34955n47b971ea934a8778@mail.gmail.com> <202c5d230903030622t9f95c81xa763d73e198c8bd3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Everyone, Women in Bangalore are facing serious violence and attacks - for wearing jeans, going out in the streets, fighting back the moral police etc. We need to stop these attacks; This is a letter to the police commissioner/home minister/press release regarding the recent attacks on women in bangalore, please either endorse the petition at- http://www.petitiononline.com/atackwom/petition.html or read it and send in your endorsements name occupation (optional) place do forward it widely, through mailing lists, facebook etc and either collect the endorsements or ask people to reply to me. please try and send in all the names by march 6th latest, so that we can use it for the protest at the police commissioners office on march 7th in Bangalore Dear Sir/Madam, 1 March 2009 Over the last two weeks, several women have been violently attacked in Bangalore. * On 28 Feb at 10.30 pm, Sanjana got hit by two men on a bike who slowed down, socked her on her jaw and fled away. * On 24 Feb, Lakshmi was attacked at around 9 pm by four men who punched her, hit her, and abused her for wearing jeans. * On 17 Feb, two men chased Geetanjali’s car at 1.30 pm. One chased her with a large stone as she ran to a friend’s house for refuge. * That week, Jasmine was attacked by four middle-aged men at 11.30 am when her auto broke down. They physically assaulted and tried to disrobe her while yelling obscenities. More than 80 attacks and cases of moral policing have been reported from all over Karnataka in the last six months.[1] Two women have committed suicide after humiliation from right-wing forces. On 12 Feb, Vanita killed herself after Bajrang Dal activists attacked her. On 11 Feb, Ashwini killed herself after Venur Bajrang activists attacked her and her friend Salim. The police have not taken meaningful steps to stop or prevent this violence, to arrest the perpetrators, or to ensure the safety of all women in Bangalore and Karnataka. On the 2nd of March when a group of concerned citizens protested outside the Police Commission Shankar Bidari’s office, urging him to take action to make the city safer for women he blatantly denied the fact that these attacks have been taking place and said Bangalore is one of the safest cities for women and that there was no law and order problem. These attacks are crimes against women. They are legal offences. They are neither isolated events nor trivial incidents of ‘eve-teasing’. They are part of a series of attacks inflicted on women in the name of ‘morality’, attacks that are escalating as women resist and fight back. It is the core responsibility of the state and city police to ensure that public spaces are kept safe for all. Women across class barriers – from powrakarmikas to garment factory workers to students and young professionals in the corporate sector – have today become vulnerable targets on the streets of Karnataka. As an organization fighting for the rights of all women, we demand that the Bangalore and Karnataka state and city police immediately: * Take punitive action to ensure that the attackers are punished by the law; * Take preventive action to ensure that no more women are attacked in Bangalore and Karnataka; * Take enabling action to ensure that streets and public spaces in Bangalore and Karnataka are safe for all women to use and enjoy as a matter of right. Sincerely, From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Mar 4 09:49:19 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 09:49:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903032018n269a09dfl52b62f89bdc95917@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903032018n269a09dfl52b62f89bdc95917@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903032019y2a39cc4fn66c96f08d416946f@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra thanks for response it is one's  sweet will to consider what art stands for, or what it does not. i respect your comment ' artifice, at work than art' for my proposed work on Palestine this is even before seeing it, this even before knowing how art has radically shifted its dependence on conventional forms of aesthetics but all the schools exist, and have right to exist, even if they are boring most of the times, or meant  only to lure the corporate houses. when  were artists from jammu kashmir and ladakh criticized/condemned for doing anything beyond their geographical boundaries? when were artists  instructed not to draw anything that comes to their imagination. today's news, Jaahangir Art Gallery mumbai has rejected Delhi Artists for painting breasts and buttocks. just not to attract Right wingers that is the situation at ground reality, are we marching ahead in terms of fresher understanding of art, nature, and poltics with aesthetic merged ? i really want people to encourage such alternative practices, which is good for society and art at the same time still if you have some questions on art, i will gladly try to answer # lot of love and regards is On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 6:59 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Even I was wondering how did this come up; almost out of nowhere. > > The invitation card I received of the same event yesterday at the Kashmir > Festival; didn't mention this as well. > > Maybe, this comes as part of some strategy to mix issues and even seek > support from Jamia by igniting their emotions. It is interesting to note > that Jamia is one of the only places in Delhi which has support for > Palestine; other being JNU (refer: recent protests). > > We shouldn't mix Politics with Art. > > On 3/3/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: >> >> wondering what PALESTINE has to do with Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh >> ..... on the face of it as per 'made known' information, seems to be more >> 'artifice' at work than 'art' >> >> --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> From: Inder Salim >> Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of >> March: MF Hussain ART Gallery >> To: announcements at sarai.net >> Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 11:08 PM >> >> Dear All >> >> INVITATION >> >> >> MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari auditorium New >> Delhi >> >> presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary >> Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh >> >> on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. Keshav >> Malik, eminent poet and art critic. >> >> opening performance 'Palestine '  by Inder Salim >> >> >> >> regards >> inder salim >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _______________________________________________ >> announcements mailing list >> announcements at sarai.net >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in >> the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > Blog: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From rahulroy63 at gmail.com Tue Mar 3 12:35:02 2009 From: rahulroy63 at gmail.com (Rahul Roy) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 12:35:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [DFA NewsLetter] Invitation for the Inaugural Screening of -- The Other Song by Saba Dewan Message-ID: India Foundation for The Arts invites you the the Inaugural Screening of *The Other Song* a film by Saba Dewan Date: Thursday 12 March 2009 Time: 6:45 PM Venue: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi In 1935 Rasoolan Bai the well known singer from Varanasi recorded for the gramaphone a thumri that she would never sing again - Lagat jobanwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar (My breasts are wounded, don't throw flowers at me).A variation of her more famous bhairavi thumri - Lagat karejwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar (My heart is wounded, don't throw flowers at me), the 1935 recording, never to be repeated, faded from public memory and eventually got lost. More than seventy years later the film travels through Varanasi, Lucknow and Muzzafarpur in Bihar to search for the forgotten thumri.This journey opens a Pandora's box of life stories, memories, half remembered songs and histories that for long have been banished into oblivion. It brings the film face to face with the enigmatic figure of the tawaif, courtesan, bai ji and the contested terrain of her art practise and lifestyle. To understand the past and present of the tawaif the film must unravel the significant transitions that took place in late 19th and early 20th century around the control, censorship and moral policing of female sexualities and cultural expression. Duration: 120 minutes Language: Hindi / Urdu / English / English subtitles Directed by: Saba Dewan Camera: Rahul Roy Editing: Reena Mohan / Khushboo Agarwal / Mahadeb Shi / Anupama Chandra Sound: Asheesh Pandya / Gissy Michael / Vipin Bhati For more information: sabadewan at gmail.com Supported by: India Foundation of the Arts and Hivos --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please DO NOT REPLY to the sender. To contact the MODERATOR: delhifilmarchive [at] gmail.com To UNSUBSCRIBE: send an email to delhifilmarchive-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com More OPTIONS are on the web: http://groups.google.com/group/delhifilmarchive Our WEBSITE: www.delhifilmarchive.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Tue Mar 3 22:15:59 2009 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 16:45:59 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] The Back Channel / The New Yorker In-Reply-To: <5c5369880903010009j7bd348g2ab8868f95ab2d1f@mail.gmail.com> References: <5c5369880903010009j7bd348g2ab8868f95ab2d1f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Any move by the Indian Govt. to secretly negotiate a settlement that could lead to dilution of Indian hold over Kashmir could only bolster the moral of the Islamists world over. It is well known that Indian has been on the jihadis’ agenda ever since the Pak trained, indoctrinated, armed & funded Kashmiri Islamists launched jihad in the name of ‘azadi’ against India in Kashmir. Today’s gruesome Lahore strike against the Sri Lankan cricket team only follows Pakistan’s surrender in Swat that came just after the 26-29/11 Mumbai carnage. Next jihadi terror strike could well be underway. Steve Coll is intriguingly silent over the ethnic cleansing of the minority Kashmiri Hindu Pandits in the valley at the hands of Kashmiri Jihadis twenty years ago. Possibly, he was given to understand that the Pandits never existed there….???..... However, the murky nexus between the Pakistan army-ISI & the various pan Islamic terror groups operating in Kashmir & outside in the name of Islam stands exposed. Steve Coll also misses on the airlifting of Mujahideen in US/NATO planes from Pakistani airports to fight in what was once Yugoslavia ( the self proclaimed Indian liberal mind set that cries hoarse over US invasion of Iraq surprisingly also remained silent over US/NATO role / bombing in Yugoslavia…????...). As for as August 2008 ‘Azadi- bara- e- Islam’ (freedom through Islam) ‘call’ by Kashmir separatists is concerned most Kashmiris themselves would prefer to forget that uncalled for agitation that began against the temporary allotment of land for Amarnath pilgrimage facilities & ended up with the aborted march to LOC & saw unprecedented polarisation in the state & took a heavy toll of life & property on the common masses even while the instigators- the Islamic separatists coolly availed themselves of the state hospitality by opting to remain under house arrest ( the then J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is on record having declared that the ‘Azadi- bara- e- Islam’ agitation was funded by an important Middle east country that he actually named) The overwhelming ‘electoral participation’ by Kashmiri masses in the recent elections is said to be just the right kind response that the self styled Kashmiri Muslim separatist leaders who had issued calls of boycott, deserved. And the nervousness & frustration is visible. Regards all LA > Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 13:39:32 +0530 > From: kaksanjay at gmail.com > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] The Back Channel / The New Yorker > > http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/02/090302fa_fact_coll > > It helps to notice that in this rather lengthy exposition by Steve > Coll, some key historical events get a miss: > - the US governments support for the Mujahideen in their crusade > against the Soviets; > - the more recent US invasion of Afghanistan; > - most recently, in its discussion of Kashmir, the absence of any > mention of the summer of protests in 2008. > - and while discussing at lentgth the growth of the Islamic Right in > Pakistan, the complete omission of the simultaneous growth of the > Hindu Right in India. > > Steve Coll, incidentally, is the President & CEO of the New America > Foundation. Their Board of Directors includes such luminaries as > Francis Fukuyama, Lenny Mendonca (Chairman, McKinsey Global > Institute), Eric Schmidt (Chairman & CEO, Google, Inc.), and of > course, our very own, Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International > > Best > > Sanjay Kak > > _________ > > The Back Channel > > By Steve Coll, New America Foundation > The New Yorker | March 2, 2009 > > Negotiators involved in the secret back channel regarded the effort as > politically risky and exceptionally ambitious--a potential turning > point in history, as one official put it. Two years ago, Pervez > Musharraf, who was then Pakistan’s President and Army chief, summoned > his most senior generals and two Foreign Ministry > officials to a series of meetings at his military office in > Rawalpindi. There, they reviewed the progress of a secret, sensitive > negotiation with India, known to its participants as “the back > channel.” For several years, special envoys from Pakistan and India > had been holding talks in hotel rooms in Bangkok, Dubai, and London. > Musharraf and Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, had > encouraged the negotiators to seek what some involved called a > “paradigm shift” in relations between the two nations. > > The agenda included a search for an end to the long fight over > Kashmir, a contest that is often described by Western military > analysts as a potential trigger for atomic war. (India first tested a > nuclear weapon in 1974, and Pakistan did so in 1998.) Since achieving > independence, in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars and > countless skirmishes across Kashmir’s mountain passes. The largest > part of the territory is occupied by India, and Pakistanis have long > rallied around the cause of liberating it. The two principal envoys-- > for Pakistan, a college classmate of Musharraf ’s named Tariq Aziz, > and, for India, a Russia specialist named Satinder Lambah--were > developing what diplomats refer to as a “non-paper” on Kashmir, a text > without names or signatures which can serve as a deniable but detailed > basis for a deal. > > At the Rawalpindi meetings, Musharraf drew his generals into a debate > about the fundamental definition of Pakistan’s national security. “It > was no longer fashionable to think in some of the old terms,” Khurshid > Kasuri, who was then Foreign Minister, and who attended the sessions, > recalled. “Pakistan had become a nuclear power. War was no longer an > option for either side.” Kasuri said to the generals that only by > diplomacy could they achieve their goals in Kashmir. He told them, he > recalled, “Put your hand here--on your heart-- and tell me that > Kashmir will gain freedom” without such a negotiation with India. > > The generals at the table accepted this view, Kasuri said. They > “trusted Musharraf,” he continued. “Their raison d’être is not > permanent enmity with India. Their raison d’être is Pakistan’s > permanent security. And what is security? Safety of our borders and > our economic development.” > > By early 2007, the back-channel talks on Kashmir had become “so > advanced that we’d come to semicolons,” Kasuri recalled. A senior > Indian official who was involved agreed. “It was huge--I think it > would have changed the basic nature of the problem,” he told me. “You > would have then had the freedom to remake Indo-Pakistani relations.” > Aziz and Lambah were negotiating the details for a visit to Pakistan > by the Indian Prime Minister during which, they hoped, the principles > underlying the Kashmir agreement would be announced and talks aimed at > implementation would be inaugurated. One quarrel, over a waterway > known as Sir Creek, would be formally settled. > > Neither government, however, had done much to prepare its public for a > breakthrough. In the spring of 2007, a military aide in Musharraf ’s > office contacted a senior civilian official to ask how politicians, > the media, and the public might react. “We think we’re close to a > deal,” Musharraf ’s aide said, as this official recalled it. “Do you > think we can sell it?” > > Regrettably, the time did not look ripe, this official recalled > answering. In early March, Musharraf had invoked his near-dictatorial > powers to fire the chief justice of the country’s highest court. That > decision set off rock-tossing protests by lawyers and political > activists. The General’s popularity seemed to be eroding by the day; > he had seized power in a coup in 1999, and had enjoyed public support > for several years, but now he was approaching “the point where he > couldn’t sell himself,” the official remembers saying, never mind a > surprise peace agreement with India. > > Kasuri was among the Musharraf advisers who felt that the Pakistanis > should postpone the summit--that they “should not waste” the > negotiated draft agreements by revealing them when Musharraf might not > be able to forge a national consensus. Even if it became necessary to > hold off for months or years, Kasuri believed, “We had done so much > work that it will not be lost.” > > Pakistan’s government sent a message to India: Manmohan Singh’s visit > should be delayed so that Musharraf could regain his political > balance. India, too, was facing domestic complications, in the form of > regional elections. In New Delhi, the word in national-security > circles had been that “any day we’re going to have an agreement on > Kashmir,” Gurmeet Kanwal, a retired Indian brigadier, recalled. “But > Musharraf lost his constituencies.” > > Rather than recovering, the General slipped into a political death > spiral. Armed Islamist radicals took control of the Red Mosque, in > Islamabad, and, in July, Musharraf ordered a commando raid to expel > them. Sensing a political opening, the country’s two most popular > civilian politicians, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf > had forced into exile, agitated to be allowed to return. By year’s > end, public pressure had forced Musharraf to give up his Army command. > A suicide bomber murdered Bhutto in a public park just a month later. > Her widower, Asif Zardari, led their political party to victory in an > election in which voters re pudiated Musharraf and his political > allies. In August, 2008, Musharraf resigned and retired from public > life. > > In the sixty-one years of their existence, the governments of India > and Pakistan have periodically funded covert campaigns of guerrilla or > terrorist violence on each other’s soil; as a result, each now holds > unshakable assumptions about the other’s proclivity for dirty tricks. > In Pakistan, for example, it is an article of faith among many senior > Army officers that India’s foreign-intelligence service, the Research > and Analysis Wing, or R.A.W., is providing guns and money to ethnic > Baluch and Pashtun groups that operate along the Afghan border, and > who seek to separate from or overthrow the Pakistani government. > Equally, in India’s cabinet and parliament, it is taken for granted > that the Pakistan Army leadership provides aid to jihadi groups so > that they can carry out terrorist attacks on Indian soil--the latest > example being the band of ten young men who arrived in an inflatable > dinghy at Mumbai’s Badhwar Park last November 26th. > > The Mumbai attackers carried G.P.S. navigational equipment, a > satellite telephone, cell phones suitable for local Mumbai networks, > grenades, Kalashnikovs, and 9-millimetre pistols, which they employed > to kill a hundred and sixty-five people, including six Americans, > during a three-day spree of nihilistic violence. More than most cells > that have turned up in India in recent years, the terrorists had > production values that seemed inspired by the September 11th attacks: > they struck at multiple sites in the heart of India’s financial > district and exploited live television and radio coverage. > > Indian security services managed to intercept the attackers’ telephone > calls, and discovered that they were speaking to handlers in Pakistan. > The Indians assembled a dossier, containing excerpts of these > conversations, translated into English, which they presented to > Pakistan, the United States, and other governments; one version ran to > a hundred and eighteen pages. In one intercept, the terrorists rejoice > because television anchors are comparing their work to 9/11. In tone > and rhythm, the excerpts suggest something of the banality of > cellphone- enabled mass murder: > > Caller: Let me talk to Umar. > Receiver: Note a number. Number is 0043720880764. > Caller: Whose number is this? > Receiver: It is mine. The phone is with me. > Caller: … Allah is helping you…. Try to set the place on fire. > Receiver: We have set fire in four rooms. > Caller: People shall run helter skelter when they see the flames. Keep > throwing a grenade every fifteen minutes or so. It will terrorize. > Here, talk to “Baba.” > Caller (2): A lot of policemen and Navy personnel have covered the > entire area. Be brave! > > The dossier leaves little doubt that the attack originated in > Pakistan: a man using a Pakistani passport paid for the terrorists’ > phone services; their pis- tols were engraved with a manufacturer’s > address in Peshawar; and numer-ous provisions recovered from a fishing > trawler that the group used to reach Mumbai from Karachi were made in > Pakistan. > > More specifically, the Indian government’s dossier concludes that the > Mumbai attack was coördinated by Lashkare- Taiba, or the Army of the > Pure—a Pakistan-based, Saudi-influenced Islamist terrorist and > guerrilla force that fights mainly in Kashmir. A decade ago, Lashkar’s > emir, Hafiz Saeed, announced his intention to destroy India: “We will > not rest until the whole [of ] India is dissolved into Pakistan.” > After the Mumbai attack, Saeed delivered a public sermon in Lahore in > which he spoke approvingly of a new “awakening” among Indian Muslims, > and described his coreligionists as “second to none in taking > revenge.” A satellite-telephone conversation between one of the Mumbai > terrorists and a supervisor in Pakistan, intercepted independently by > the United States, also points to Lashkar’s involvement in the raid. > > After many weeks of prevarication, Pakistani officials conceded that > the Mumbai attackers appear to have come from their country. Pakistan > has detained and filed criminal charges against at least one senior > Lashkar commander named in the Indian dossier. But it remains unclear > how far Pakistan will go to dismantle Lashkar. Since the early > nineteen-nineties, Pakistan’s principal military-intelligence service, > Inter-Services Intelligence, or I.S.I., has armed and funded Lashkar > to foment upheaval in Indian-held Kashmir. Although many of Pakistan’s > generals are secular or apolitically religious, they have sponsored > jihadis as a low-cost means of keeping India off balance. > > The historical ties between Lashkar and the Pakistani security > services are for the most part undisputed; one book that describes > them, published in 2005 and entitled “Between Mosque and Military,” > was written by Husain Haqqani, who is currently Pakistan’s Ambassador > to the United States. However, Brigadier Nazir Butt, a defense attaché > at the Embassy in Washington, denied that his government had provided > lethal aid to Lashkar or to other violent groups. “Pakistan only > extended moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for > self-determination,” he said. “After 9/11, Pakistan withdrew all its > support for Kashmiri organizations and, as a consequence, drew violent > attacks on its military and national leadership.” > > American officials, who rely upon the I.S.I.’s coöperation in their > campaigns against Al Qaeda and the Taliban along the > Pakistan-Afghanistan border, continue to say that there is no evidence > that active I.S.I. personnel participated in or knew in advance about > the Mumbai strike. Yet critical evidence, such as interrogations > conducted in Pakistan, is effectively under I.S.I. control; agents > from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has jurisdiction in > the matter under U.S. law, because American citizens were among the > victims, have been denied direct access to the Lashkar suspects. > > It’s also true that Pakistan’s government has itself been on the > receiving end of jihadi attacks in the past year. “It’s not as if all > this stuff is external and going into India,” one official from a nato > government said. “They don’t have the capacity to defend Islamabad and > Peshawar. They’re losing ground.” Taliban-led insurgents today control > large swaths of territory in Pakistan’s northwest, where they enforce > a brutal regime of Islamic justice, and recently signed a truce with > the government in the Swat valley. They have mounted a bombing > campaign that has reached Islamabad; some of the bombs have been aimed > at the Army and the I.S.I., suggesting a loss of control by the I.S.I. > over its jihadi clients, or a split within the Pakistani security > services, or both. > > In January, Prime Minister Singh remarked that the Mumbai attack could > not have been carried out without “the support of some official > agencies in Pakistan.” India nevertheless reacted to the attack with > relative restraint. Singh’s government has not ordered a major > military mobilization, nor has it launched any retaliatory strikes > against Pakistan. Were it not for the back-channel talks, the response > might not have been so measured: Singh and at least some of his > civilian counterparts in Pakistan hope to find their way back to the > non-paper. But this will be possible only if jihadis don’t provoke a > war first. > > Many Indian politicians and security analysts continue to call for > military action. Some predicted to me that additional jihadi attacks > would take place during India’s upcoming national election, in May; if > such strikes do occur, they said, it would be difficult for India’s > democratic government to resist public calls for retaliation. For now, > however, the decisions belong to Singh, a seventysix- year-old > Cambridge-educated econ- omist who recently underwent heartbypass > surgery. Singh’s decision-making appears to be grounded in military > realism; if India were to launch even selective strikes, it would > likely only deepen Pakistan’s internal turmoil and thus exacerbate the > terrorist threat faced by India. Any Indian military action would also > risk an escalation that could include nuclear deployments--which may > be precisely what the jihadi leaders hoped to provoke. “There is no > military option here,” Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian Ambassador in > Washington, said. India had to “isolate the terrorist elements” in > Pakistan, he said, not “rally the nation around them.” > > Negotiators involved in the secret back channel regarded the effort as > politically risky and exceptionally ambitious— a potential turning > point in history, as one official put it, comparable to the peace > forged between Germany and France after the Second World War. At > issue, they believed, was not just a settlement in Kashmir itself but > an end to their debilitating covert wars and, eventually, their > paranoiac mutual suspicions. They hoped to develop a new regime of > free trade and political coöperation in the region, from Central Asia > to Bangladesh. On January 8, 2007, at the height of this optimistic > interval, Manmohan Singh remarked in public, “I dream of a day, while > retaining our respective national identities, one can have breakfast > in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul.” > > These hopes, however quixotic, reflected a competition between two > schools of radical thought: the millenarian terrorism of jihadi groups > and their supporters; and the less well-known search by sections of > the Indian and Pakistani élites for a transformational peace. For both > groups, Kashmir is symbolically and ideologically important. It is > also, still, a territory of grinding, unfinished war. > > Indian paramilitaries had placed Srinagar under an undeclared curfew > on the morning this winter when I sought to drive out of the city, > which is the summer capital of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. I > wanted to visit a gravedigger in the northern sector of the Kashmir > Valley, about fifteen miles from the heavily militarized de-facto > border between India and Pakistan known as the Line of Control. > > Soldiers in overcoats and olive helmets huddled at checkpoints before > open fires; they waved tree branches or batons to stop cars for > inspection. The Indian troops on occupation duty in Kashmir-- about > five hundred thousand soldiers and paramilitaries--rarely speak the > Kashmiri dialect. Locals resent them, and they return the attitude. I > was travelling with a Kashmiri journalist, Basharat Peer, who is the > author of a forthcoming book, “Curfewed Nights,” a coming-of-age > narrative set amid the region’s revolts and security crackdowns. > Basharat’s press credentials had expired, but he had recently > completed a fellowship at Columbia University, and he had his library > card; at difficult moments, we thrust it through the window and > shouted “New York!,” as if it trumped all rules--and, each time, the > soldiers backed off and waved us through. > > We passed north, through rice paddies and apple > orchards--hauntedlooking rows of barren trees. On the horizon rose the > snowy ridges of Himalayan foothills. Convoys of troop carriers, water > haulers, military tow trucks, and jeeps clogged the highway until we > turned down an embankment to the village of Chahal, a hamlet of > perhaps a hundred tin-roofed houses among terraced fields beside the > Jhelum River. > > Kashmiri villagers inhabit a political space confined by roaming > guerrillas on one side--some of them local boys, some foreign jihadis > from Pakistan--and by Indian troops on the other. At the top of a > hill, we found the residue of India’s counter-insurgency campaign: a > new concrete school and clinic, constructed by India’s government to > appease the villagers, and beside it, encircled by barbed wire, a > field of muddy dunes that held the unmarked graves of about two > hundred young men whose unidentified bodies had been delivered for > burial by the Indian Army. > > Just under a thousand graves containing the corpses of unknown young > men have been discovered in Kashmir so far by investigators from the > Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, a small advocacy > organization in Srinagar. Last year, a grenade was tossed at the house > of the lawyer who advises the group; he and his colleagues have > expanded their field surveys nonetheless. They believe that the bodies > they have found are among about eight thousand young men who have gone > missing during the latest round of Kashmir’s wars; they hypothesize > that Indian security forces detained many of the victims insecret > prisons, tortured them, and shot them. Indian officials reject these > allegations; they have estimated the number of missing Kashmiri men at > about four thousand, and speculated that they left for Pakistan for > training so that they could fight against India, only to fall in > combat when they returned. > > In a small stone house, I met Atta Muhammad Khan, a slight man with a > trimmed white beard, who is the guardian of Chahal’s tombs of unknown > rebels. His work began in the late spring of 2002, he told me, when a > Kashmiri policeman arrived in the village with a corpse in a truck. > The policeman said that the victim was a Pakistani-supported militant > who had been shot dead in battle. “They started bringing bodies every > ten days, eight days, fifteen days, at times twice in one day,” Khan > said. > > Villages such as Chahal that are known to contain such graves have > become magnets for Kashmiri families who are looking for missing sons. > When family members arrive bearing photographs or other scraps of > evidence, Khan will exhume bodies for them. The gravedigger is himself > a searcher; his nephew, whom he raised, disappeared in 2002. > > The Kashmir problem has a textbook quality: a dispute of more than six > decades’ duration, involving British colonial concessions, United > Nations resolutions, and a long record of formal negotiations. But it > is the character of the war within Kashmir--the torture centers, the > unmarked graves, and the remorseless violence of the jihadis--that > better describes the contours of Indo- Pakistani enmity today. In one > sense, the recent back-channel talks, with their promise of a > cleansing peace, have offered each government a path to evade > responsibility for the evisceration of Kashmiri villages and families. > > India and Pakistan each claims sovereignty in Kashmir, but neither has > found a way to control the land or its people. These failures are > rooted in what was perhaps Great Britain’s greatest imperial crime, > the partition of its Indian domain, which ignited violence that > claimed about a million lives. In 1947, the British government, > bankrupted by the Second World War, hastily completed a plan to divide > the subcontinent into the newly independent nations of India and > Pakistan. The status of a few territories proved difficult to > adjudicate. One was the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, > ruled by a Hindu maharaja and largely inhabited by poor Muslim > peasants. Under Britain’s demographic formula, territories with Muslim > majorities were supposed to go to Pakistan, but the maharaja signed an > accession agreement to join India. A year later, Pakistan tried to > wrest away the territory by sending in a tribal guerrilla force, a > gambit that ended in a military stalemate. In a sense, the war of > guerrilla infiltration that Pakistan initiated in 1948 has never > ended. > > In 1972, after their third formal war, India and Pakistan established > the Line of Control and deployed artillery and infantry along its > length. On the Indian side lay most of Kashmir, as well as the > Hindu-majority region of Jammu and the Buddhist-influenced region of > Ladakh. On the Pakistani side lay a sliver of land now known as Azad > Kashmir and a Himalayan region of Muslim tribes known as the Northern > Areas. For almost two decades, a relative calm prevailed, but in late > 1989--inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall-- Kashmiris on the > Indian side, who were fed up with rigged elections and job > discrimination, staged a mass revolt. The I.S.I., which had used > Islamist militias during the anti-Soviet campaigns in Afghanistan, > reacted opportunistically, by arming those Islamist factions of the > rebellion which sought to join Kashmir to Pakistan. > > Initially, when Kashmiri Muslim boys from villages such as Chahal > sneaked across the Line of Control for weapons and training, I.S.I. > officers encouraged them to join a local Islamist guerrilla group > known as the Hezbul- Mujahideen, which was affiliated with the > international networks of the Muslim Brotherhood. During the late > nineties, however, Pakistan shifted much of its support to > Lashkar-e-Taiba, which adhered to the Salafi strain of Islamist > thought prevalent in Saudi Arabia, and later to a jihadi group called > Jaish-e- Mohammed, or the Army of Mohammed. The membership of these > secondwave groups came not from Kashmir itself but from the Punjab, > Pakistan’s most populous province, where the suffering of > fellow-Muslims in Kashmir is routinely exploited by religious and > nationalistic political parties. Lashkar’s volunteers collaborated > with Hezb-ul- Mujahideen cells, but they weren’t fighting and dying in > Kashmir because their families had ties to the disputed land; they > were there because they believed that God had called them to liberate > the region’s Muslims from Hindu control. > > At least fifty thousand people have died in Kashmir’s violence since > 1989. The pace of the killing has declined in recent years, but > bombings and assassinations persist. Last August, on the highway just > above Chahal, Indian paramilitaries shot and killed at least fifteen > unarmed protesters marching toward the Line of Control; the shooting > touched off yet more street protests. In the satellite- television > age, the suffering of Kashmiri civilians has not been broadcast as > often or as vividly as that of Palestinians or Lebanese, but on Al > Jazeera and on Web sites from Britain to Bangladesh the war has been a > major point of grievance. The Indian government has long resisted > scrutiny of its human-rights record in Kashmir and deflects blame for > the violence onto Pakistan’s support for jihadi groups. Special laws > shield Indian security forces from accountability for deaths in > custody, despite ample evidence that there have been many hundreds of > such cases. Even India’s urban liberal élite remains in denial about > its government’s record of torture and extrajudicial killing, > Meenakshi Ganguly, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said. > “In the history books, Kashmir is going to be where justice completely > failed the promises of Indian democracy,” she said. > > India’s campaign to defeat the jihadis has, in some ways, become > subtler and more effective. In 2002, the government held an election > in Kashmir, judged locally as fair, which lured fence-sitting > separatist Kashmiri politicians into greater coöperation with New > Delhi. Last winter, when I visited, India was concluding a second > successful regional election, in which Kashmiris turned out in record > numbers. One afternoon, on the eve of the final round of voting, I > visited the gated home of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, one of Kashmir’s > best-known nonviolent separatist leaders. He had been placed under > house arrest, so we spoke by cell phone as I sat outside his driveway. > Farooq’s coalition, called the Hurriyat, had decided to boycott the > election, a tactic that now looked like a mistake, since so many > Kashmiris had chosen to participate. India has spent large sums on > jobs and infrastructure projects, gradually convincing many war-weary > civilians and politicians that they can regard regional elections not > as a source of sovereign legitimacy for India but as a means to > control their local affairs. “We are not in a position to address > people’s concerns about water, electricity, and jobs,” Farooq > admitted. > > The back-channel negotiations have also helped to quell mainstream > Kashmiri separatism. At times secretly and at other times publicly, > Musharraf and Singh each began discussions with Hurriyat and other > local groups about the terms of an eventual settlement, drawing them > in. “Musharraf was someone who was willing to think out of the box,” > Farooq continued. “It is not an insoluble situation.” > > As violence has declined, the government has closed the worst of its > detention centers. Yet its over-all progress has only clarified for > Indian strategists the ongoing failure to stop the I.S.I. from > infiltrating jihadi guerrillas across the Line of Control. > > One morning after my visit to Chahal, I drove up a pine-tree-lined > hill above Srinagar’s Dal Lake, past a manicured golf course, to Raj > Bhavan, a whitewashed colonial-era estate. I had come to see N. N. > Vohra, a white-haired career civil ser vant who last summer was > appointed the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Imperial histories and > biographies lined the bookshelves in Vohra’s office; an oil portrait > of Mohandas K. Gandhi hung on the wall beside his desk. The Governor > told me that “whatever Islamabad may say to the world, and > particularly to American leadership,” he did not feel that Pakistan > had fully dealt with the I.S.I. and its “vested interest in keeping > this Kashmir front alive.” > > Vohra said that when he first arrived as governor he received daily > briefings from intelligence officers about interrogation reports, > electronic intercepts, and other evidence of I.S.I. activity along the > Line of Control. He asked for copies of the raw intercept recordings > so he could listen himself. What he heard, he said, was controllers > speaking to jihadi commanders inside Kashmir for “twentyfive, thirty > minutes” at a time. “And they are very specific, very specific—to go > for this target. . . . They said, ‘Task No. 1: Eliminate the most > senior leaders available.’ And they mentioned some--I won’t mention > the names. And then, ‘B, go for the larger rallies of the big > leaders-- throw grenades, shoot, bombs, I.E.D.s, whatever.’ . . . And > the kinds of rewards that are mentioned, rewards that will be > given--lifetime, if you bump off a Grade A leader. If you injure them, > you get three hundred thousand rupees.” > > Vohra had doubts about the Pakistan very much hoping in the last four > years that they are now progressively seeing the great wisdom and the > enormous benefit of not spending all their resources on building up > their armies and their armed forces to deal with India-- and to > subvert and infiltrate,” he said. “There has been a thaw, obviously, > quite visibly. The levels of infiltration have gone down. But they > haven’t given up. And that’s the worrying part.” > > A few days later, I arrived at Wagah, in the Punjab, the primary > official land border crossing between India and Pakistan. A winter fog > had reduced visibility to a few yards. Five dozen Tata trucks loaded > with potatoes and other goods idled in a line facing Pakistan. The > border compound has the look of a government park; rows of eucalyptus > trees drape manicured lawns. The Indian and Pakistani militaries > coöperate at the Wagah crossing. On most days, rival honor guards > march and drill on adjoining parade grounds; on Pakistan’s side, > grandstands have been erected so that spectators can enjoy the show, > which has grown into a kind of martial battle of the bands, in which > each side strives to excel in the performance categories of > goose-stepping and glaring. Only very tall soldiers need apply for > duty at Wagah; each country seeks to conjure the illusion that its > Army is a legion of giants. > > After four cups of tea, several signatures in clothbound ledgers, and > some subtle talk of gratuities, two porters carried my bags on their > heads to a metal gate. A protocol officer waited inside Pakistan; I > had an appointment with Nawaz Sharif, the former Pakistani Prime > Minister, who lived nearby, on a family compound outside Lahore. > Squads of police guard the Sharif estate, a walled expanse of > orchards, wheat fields, and pens filled with deer and peacocks. In the > main house, the former Prime Minister greeted me in a grand reception > chamber flanked by two lifesize stuffed lions, and decorated with pink > sofas, matching pink Oriental carpets, and gold-plated antelope > figurines. He is a rotund, clean-shaven man who, remarkably, retains > the youthful look of a person unburdened by stress. > > In 1999, less than a year after he authorized Pakistan’s nuclear test, > Sharif initiated a precursor to the back-channel talks. In February of > that year, Sharif invited India’s Prime Minister at the time, Atal > Behari Vajpayee, to attend a summit in Lahore. The two governments > signed a memorandum of understanding; they also commissioned secret, > exploratory talks by special emissaries. Sharif designated an aide, > Anwar Zahid, and Vajpayee named a journalist, R. K. Mishra. “It was > basically on Kashmir,” Sharif recalled. “In the early days, we were > not really having any consensus on anything. But the mere fact that > the back channel was established was a big development. It was doing > some serious work.” > > At the time, Sharif shared power uneasily with Musharraf, whom he had > appointed as Chief of Army Staff. Musharraf “found the Lahore summit > galling,” as Strobe Talbott, who was then the United States’ Deputy > Secretary of State, put it in a memoir. In these years, Musharraf, “ > like so many of his fellow officers . . . was a revanchist on the > issue of Kashmir.” Musharraf apparently decided to break up the peace > talks. He authorized a reckless incursion of Army personnel disguised > as guerrillas into a mountainous area of Kashmir known as Kargil. A > smallscale war erupted; at one point, the Clinton Administration > believed that Pakistan’s Army had taken steps to mobilize its nuclear > weapons. Musharraf has said that he briefed Sharif on the Kargil > operation; Sharif denied this. “I think the back channel was making > good progress,” he told me. “But soon after, you see, it was sabotaged > by Mr. Musharraf-- a misadventure that was ill-advised, ill-executed, > poorly planned.” A few months afterward, Sharif tried to fire the > General; Musharraf seized power and threw Sharif in jail. After > President Clinton intervened, Sharif was released into exile in Saudi > Arabia. > > India’s leaders initially mistrusted Musharraf because he was the > author of Kargil, but gradually, as Mansingh, then India’s Ambassador > to the United States, recalled, “We found he was a man we could talk > to.” After 2002, India’s economy began to grow more quickly and > steadily than at any time since independence; the ranks of its > middle-class consumers swelled; and it became possible for Indian > strategists to visualize their country rising to become a great power > by the mid-twenty-first century. Only a catastrophic war with > Pakistan--or Pakistan’s collapse into chaos--would stand in the way of > India’s greatness. “We were convinced these two countries must learn > to live in accord--must,” Jaswant Singh, who was then India’s foreign > minister, said. > > In time, Musharraf ’s thinking about India and Kashmir seemed to > change, too. Late in 2003, splinter cells from Jaish-e-Mohammed twice > tried to assassinate him. “This is what turns him decisively,” Maleeha > Lodhi, then Pakistan’s high commissioner in London, recalled. Just > weeks afterward, Musharraf met Vajpayee in Islamabad and agreed to an > unprecedented joint statement: the Pakistani President would “not > permit any territory under Pakistan’s control to be used to support > terrorism in any manner.” The two leaders announced new formal > negotiations between their foreign ministries, which were known as the > Composite Dialogue. Privately, they re-started the back-channel talks > on Kashmir. > > During the next two years, Musharraf delivered India proof of his > sincerity. Guerrilla infiltrations into Indian-held territory > declined; Pakistani artillery units stopped their salvos on Indian > posts, which had been used as cover for infiltrating jihadis. Indian > officials concluded that Musharraf--whether by an iron hand or by > building a consensus-- had persuaded his senior generals to accept the > potential benefits of peace negotiations. > > At the landmark meetings he convened at Rawalpindi, Musharraf talked > about how a peace settlement might produce economic benefits that > could strengthen Pakistan--and its military. The Army had a > fifteen-year development plan; the generals knew that the plan would > be difficult to pay for without rapid growth. “I was very happy to see > how much focus there was on the economy among the Army’s officers,” > Khurshid Kasuri, the former Foreign Minister, recalled. > > Mahmud Durrani, a retired major general who was then Musharraf ’s > Ambassador in Washington, said that this new attitude reflected a > broader change in outlook. Commanders were asking, he recalled, “Can > my economy support me? Can my foreign policy support me? What does the > world think of us?” > > There was “the feeling that the world is changing and that we have to > change,” Khalid Mahmood, who was then Kasuri’s chief of staff, > recalled. “It was not easy. There were people who felt that the > President has made a U-turn.” > > To refine the non-paper, Musharraf relied intuitively on his college > friend Tariq Aziz, a civil servant who had made his career in > Pakistan’s federal tax department, a bridge enthusiast who seems to > some of his colleagues to live precariously on tobacco and adrenaline. > Aziz’s Indian counterparts--J. N. Dixit, Singh’s national-security > adviser, followed by Satinder Lambah--worked more formally. The > Indians typically brought note-takers to the secret hotel sessions > overseas, whereas Aziz travelled alone, rarely carried a briefcase, > and often had to scribble his notes on hotel stationery. Altogether, > there were about two dozen of these hotel sessions between 2004 and > early 2007, according to people familiar with them. > > The envoys worked on a number of long-standing territorial disputes, > including the problem of Siachen, a heavily militarized glacier where > Indian and Pakistani soldiers skirmish at heights above twenty > thousand feet, battering each other’s snowbound positions with > artillery shells. But a Kashmir settlement would be the grand prize. > > To outsiders, it has long seemed obvious that the Line of Control > should be declared the international border between India and > Pakistan--it’s been in place for almost forty years, and each country > has built its own institutions behind it. Musharraf, however, made it > clear from the start that this would be unacceptable; India was > equally firm that it would never renegotiate its borders or the Line > of Control. The way out of this impasse, Singh has said, was to “make > borders irrelevant,” by allowing for the free movement of people and > goods within an autonomous Kashmir region. For Pakistan, this formula > might work if it included provisions for the protection--and potential > enrichment, through free trade--of the people of Kashmir, in whose > name Pakistan had carried on the conflict. > > The most recent version of the nonpaper, drafted in early 2007, laid > out several principles for a settlement, according to people who have > seen the draft or have participated in the discussions about it. > Kashmiris would be given special rights to move and trade freely on > both sides of the Line of Control. Each of the former princely state’s > distinct regions would receive a measure of autonomy-- details would > be negotiated later. Providing that violence declined, each side would > gradually withdraw its troops from the region. At some point, the Line > of Control might be acknowledged by both governments as an > international border. It is not clear how firm a commitment on a final > border the negotiators were prepared to make, or how long it would all > take; one person involved suggested a time line of about ten to > fifteen years. > > One of the most difficult issues involved a plan to establish a joint > body, made up of local Kashmiri leaders, Indians, and Pakistanis, to > oversee issues that affected populations on both sides of the Line of > Control, such as water rights. Pakistan sought something close to > shared governance, with the Kashmiris taking a leading role; India, > fearing a loss of sovereignty, wanted much less power-sharing. The > envoys wrestled intensively over what language to use to describe the > scope of this new body; the last draft termed it a “joint mechanism.” > > Manmohan Singh’s government feared that successor Pakistani regimes > would repudiate any Kashmir bargain forged by Musharraf, who had, > after all, come to power in a coup. The Indians were not sure that a > provisional peace deal could be protected “from the men of > violence--on both sides,” the senior Indian official who was involved > recalled. And they wondered whether the Pakistan Army had really > embraced the nonpaper framework or merely saw the talks as a ploy to > buy time and win favor in Washington while continuing to support the > jihadis. “I remember asking Tariq Aziz, ‘Is the Army on board? Right > now?’ ” the senior official recalled. “As long as Musharraf was the > chief, had the uniform, I think he had a valid answer. He said, ‘Yes, > the chief is doing this.’ ” > > As the peace talks stalled and Musharraf’s power waned during the > first half of 2008, the I.S.I., or sections of it, appeared to be > reënlisting jihadi groups. On July 7th, a suicide bomber rammed a car > loaded with explosives into the gates of India’s Embassy in Kabul, > killing fifty-four people, including the Indian defense attaché. The > United States intercepted communications between active I.S.I. > personnel and the Taliban-aligned network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, which > is believed by U.S. military and intelligence officials to have > carried out the Kabul Embassy attack. Haqqani has a long history of > collaboration and contact with the I.S.I.; he was also a paid client > of the Central Intelligence Agency during the late nineteen-eighties. > On September 4th, less than three weeks after Musharraf ’s resignation > as Pakistan’s President, Kashmiri militant groups, including > Lashkar-e-Taiba, appeared at a large open rally in Muzaffarabad, the > capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir; the Pakistan Army has a heavy > presence in this city, and it is unlikely that such an event could > have taken place without the I.S.I.’s sanction. The rally seemed > designed to send a message across the Line of Control: Musharraf is > gone, but the Kashmir war is alive. > > “We asked them specifically, ‘How is all this going on if you say the > Army’s on board?’ ” the senior Indian official recalled. “They kept > saying, ‘Give us a chance. We need time. Yes, yes, the Army’s on > board.’ ” > > In October, Durrani, who was then Pakistan’s national-security > adviser, travelled to New Delhi and met with members of India’s > National Security Advisory Board. Indian Army officers presented “some > very nice colored charts,” as Durrani put it, documenting recent > increases in ceasefire violations and jihadi infiltrations along the > Line of Control. Durrani found the charts “a bit one-sided,” but when > he returned to Islamabad he sought explanations about the violations > from Pakistan Army commanders. In January, Durrani was fired after > making public statements that were seen in Pakistan as too accommo- > dating of India. > > The apparent revival of the I.S.I.’s covert operations influenced the > Singh government’s assessment of who was likely responsible for the > Mumbai attack. “It appears there has been a change in policy,” V. P. > Malik, a former Indian Chief of Army Staff, who now heads an > influential security-studies institute in New Delhi, said. “They > really have not taken action against these outfits, their leaders and > their infrastructure.” > > Pakistan’s new civilian President, Asif Zardari, had entered into his > own struggle with those in the Pakistani security services who favor > the jihadis and covert war against India. Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples > Party has fought the Army for power since the late nineteen-seventies; > neither institution fully trusts the other, although they have > sometimes collaborated. (Some P.P.P. officials believe that the I.S.I. > may have been involved in Benazir Bhutto’s murder.) Last May, Zardari > tried to assert civilian control over the I.S.I. by placing it under > the authority of the Interior Ministry; the Army rejected this order, > and Zardari backed down. In November, speaking extemporaneously by > video at a conference in New Delhi, Zardari declared that Pakistan > might be willing to follow a policy of “no first use” of its nuclear > weapons, a remarkable departure from past Pakistan Army doctrine. > Privately, in discussions with Indian officials, Zardari affirmed his > interest in picking up the back-channel negotiations. Some Indian > officials and analysts interpreted Mumbai as a kind of warning from > the I.S.I. to Zardari—“Zardari’s Kargil,” as some Indians put it, > meaning that it was a deliberate effort by the Pakistan Army to > disrupt Zardari’s peace overtures. Several Pakistani and American > officials told me that Zardari is now deeply worried about his > personal security. > > The regional headquarters of Jamaatud- Dawa--the educational and > charitable organization that, depending on how you see it, is either > the parent of or a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba--lies on a flat stretch > of agricultural land west of Lahore, outside a village called Muridke. > Barbed-wire fences surround a campus of about seventy-five acres, > which contains an Olympic-size swimming pool, horse stables, offices, > several schools, dormitories, and a large whitewashed mosque. When I > visited, a smoky haze had shrouded the facility in a yellowish murk. > The chief administrator, Mohammed Abbas, who is also known as Abu > Ehsaan, greeted me. Abbas, who is thirty-five years old, has a > substantial belly and a four-inch black beard. He showed me inside, to > a carpeted room, where we sat cross-legged on the floor, propped > against cushions. > > The United States listed Jamaat-ud- Dawa--the name roughly translates > as the Society of the Call to Islam--as a foreign terrorist > organization in 2006, on the ground that it was an alias for Lashkar. > After the Mumbai attack, the United Nations Security Council followed > suit, with tacit support from Pakistan’s civilian government. Abbas > told me that these judgments were mistaken, and that Jamaat-ud-Dawa > “is solely a relief organization.” > > He explained that young men often joined the organization as relief > workers, and were sent out for a year or more to areas that had been > struck by earthquakes or other disasters. These volunteers might also > reside at Muridke, where they can receive lodging, food, and pocket > money, he said. If they later marry or move into administration, they > might qualify for a modest salary. Among the group’s projects, he > said, “We’ve set up an emergency cell for accidents on the G.T. > Road”--the principal highway that traverses Pakistan. “People call us > and we send the ambulance to the scene. We also work in collaboration > with the local district administration. They’re happy with our work. > They think we’re honest--they know that if we pick up victims they > will get back all of their valuables when they are released from the > hospital.” > > As we spoke, several full-bearded men spread a plastic mat atop the > carpeting and laid out a meal of chicken biryani and naan. Abbas > excused himself briefly to answer his cell phone; its ring tone was > the sound of a frog croaking. > > I asked Abbas if his organization had come under pressure from the > government of Pakistan since the Mumbai attack. “The police came the > night the organization was banned, but the schools and campus were > already closed because of vacations,” he said. “It is not clear yet > whether the schools will be able to reopen. The hospital is > functional, but people are afraid. The number of patients has declined > because people are afraid India may hit this Muridke complex. > > “No doubt we are afraid,” he contin- ued. “Hundreds of workers have > been arrested and shifted to unknown places. Top leaders have been > placed under house arrest. . . . If they come and they want to arrest > me, I am ready. But what is the charge sheet? The U.S. should > tell--the U.N. should tell--what Jamaat-ud-Dawa has done.” > > President Zardari announced that he would ban Jamaat, as required by > the U.N. resolution. The Pakistani government plans to close Jamaat’s > schools and to place provincial administrators at each of the > charity’s facilities to oversee finances and personnel. However, > Pakistan has a long record of implementing such crackdowns only > partially, and of releasing jihadi leaders after relatively short > periods--an approach to counterterrorism that is referred to in India > as “catch and release.” Pakistan banned Lashkar in 2002, for example, > but its leader, Saeed, continued to preach openly. Indian officials > point out that Jamaat’s Web site continued to operate long after > Pakistan had declared the latest ban, and they claim that Lashkar and > Jamaat have now reorganized themselves under various new names. > > Abbas took me on a walk around the campus. We chatted with a few young > men who said that they were students at Jamaat’s university. Lashkar > educates thousands annually in a Wahhabiinfluenced strain of Islam > that, in addition to its political doctrine of transnational jihad, > emphasizes austere personal devotion. (Pakistan’s traditional > religious culture has been influenced by the veneration of earthly > Sufi saints.) Evangelizing students form the core of Lashkar’s > membership and its strength—like Hezbollah, the young men in Jamaat > dormitories and “humanitarian” camps can offer social services and a > vision of ethical governance in a country that enjoys a paucity of > both. > > Down a dirt road shaded by eucalyptus trees, we found Jamaat’s > hospital, where half a dozen villagers squatted on the pavement, > waiting for appointments. Inside we toured a gynecological clinic and > a dentist’s office--the fee schedule posted on the wall indicated that > a full dental exam would cost about fifty cents. > > A blue police truck had parked in front of the headquarters building > by the time we returned. “This happened all of a sudden,” Abbas said > unhappily. Had my presence been detected, and the police been > dispatched to make a show of their vigilance, or was this a genuine > inspection? We shook hands and said our farewells beside the police > vehicle. On its side, stencilled in English in white block letters, > were the words “Crime Forensic Laboratory.” > > A few minutes later, on the G.T. Road, headed back to Lahore, I passed > some Urdu-language graffiti painted prominently in white on a brick > wall. “Under the banner of preaching and jihad,” the scrawl declared, > “Lashkar’s caravan will roll on.” > > Last December, during an appearance on “Meet the Press,” Barack Obama > remarked, “We can’t continue to look at Afghanistan in isolation. We > have to see it as part of a regional problem that includes Pakistan, > includes India, includes Kashmir, includes Iran.” The President has > appointed the veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke as a special > representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The public description of > Holbrooke’s responsibilities has been carefully worded to avoid > explicit mention of Kashmir, because India’s government has long > rejected outside mediation of that conflict, but, given his mission, > Holbrooke will inevitably be drawn into quiet talks about the > achievements and frustrations of the back channel. > > The Indo-Pakistani equation is critical, in any event, to the outcome > of the war in Afghanistan, which Obama has identified as one of his > highest foreignpolicy priorities. Stability in Afghanistan will be > difficult to achieve unless Paki- stan coöperates more wholeheartedly > in American-led efforts to pacify the Taliban. The I.S.I. built up the > Taliban as a national Afghan movement during the nineteen-nineties, > partly as a means to prevent India from gaining influence in > Afghanistan. Pakistan’s generals are unlikely to dismantle the Taliban > leadership if they continue to regard jihadi groups as a necessary > instrument in an existential struggle with India. “As far as the > Pakistan Army is concerned, they think India is trying to weaken > Pakistan,” Muhammad Nasir Akhtar, a retired three-star general, said. > “They also think America is working with India to denuclearize > Pakistan.” This mind-set, he added, “is very dangerous for the > future.” > > The Mumbai attack took place during the transition between the Bush > and Obama Administrations, and the United States concentrated its > diplomatic efforts on preventing any armed conflict between India and > Pakistan. There were several close calls. Less than seventy-two hours > after the attack began, someone pretending to be India’s foreign > minister telephoned Zardari and threatened war; only when former > Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intervened did it become apparent > that the call was a hoax. The caller has not been identified; like the > Mumbai strike itself, the phony threat may have been a deliberate > provocation by jihadi-aligned conspirators. > > The danger of open war between India and Pakistan has not passed. As > recently as December 26th, Pakistani intelligence officials concluded > that Indian warplanes were being positioned for an air raid. The > country’s national-security adviser at the time, Durrani, telephoned > American officials in alarm. The next day, Stephen Hadley, then the > national-security adviser, tracked down Durrani on his cell phone > while he was shopping in an Islamabad supermarket and told him that > there would be no raid. > > During the Bush Administration, American and British officials > monitored the secret negotiations. British officials contributed a few > ideas based on their experience with the Good Friday agreement in > Northern Ireland, but neither they nor the Americans became directly > involved. Ultimately, any peace settlement between India and Pakistan > would have to attract support in both countries’ parliaments; if it > were seen as a product of American or British meddling, its prospects > would be dim. “One of the best pieces of advice we gave the State > Department when I was in Delhi-- and I remember writing about four > cables on this subject--was to keep hands off,” Ashley Tellis, a > former political adviser in the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, recalled. > “We stayed away, and unless the Obama-ites choose to change this I > doubt we will intervene. They’ve managed quite well without > us--they’ve ended up in a place we’d like to see them end up.” Direct > negotiations, without mediators, had forced the two sides to confront > the hard issues, the senior Indian official told me. “Ultimately, we > need to screw up our courage and do the deal, and anybody else getting > involved actually gives both of us a crutch,” the official said. “We > grandstand.” > > On the fundamental problem of the Pakistan Army’s support for jihadi > groups, however, only the United States has the leverage, through its > militaryand economic-assistance packages, to insist upon changes. > Unless the Pakistan Army makes a true break with its jihadi > Clients--and comes to regard these groups as a greater threat than > India-- not even the most creative diplomats in the region are likely > to succeed. “The time to act--to control the Pakistan Army and get the > civilians together--is now,” Brajesh Mishra, a former Indian > national-security adviser, told me. “I have no doubt in my mind that > unless the Pakistan Army is forced to do something about the jihadis > it will lead to a military confrontation” with India, and perhaps very > soon, he said. > > Since November, India has employed a diplomatic and media campaign to > induce the international community-- the United States, in > particular--to put greater pressure on the Pakistan Army to break its > ties with jihadi groups. India and the United States have grown closer > in recent years, but Indian officials still see the U.S. as far too > willing to accept excuses from Pakistan’s generals. “The Pakistanis > have been able to play the Americans,” C. Uday Bhaskar, a retired > Indian Navy commodore, said. “I wouldn’t abandon them--that would only > make the problem worse. . . . The Pakistan Army will have to > self-correct. That is the only way-- short of total war.” > > In the face of Indian complaints, American officials have sometimes > taken a protective posture toward the I.S.I. and the Pakistan Army. > Pakistan’s generals have become adept at pursuing both peace talks and > covert war simultaneously, and at telling American interlocutors what > they wish to hear. After September 11th, in particular, the Bush > Administration did little to challenge the dualities in Pakistan’s > policies. Bush’s counter-terrorism advisers decided that > Kashmir-focussed jihadi groups posed no direct threat to the U.S. The > Administration delivered close to ten billion dollars’ worth of > military aid to Pakistan, ostensibly to fight Al Qaeda, without real > oversight and without requiring that the I.S.I. break with regional > Islamist groups. “On Al Qaeda, there was nothing we asked them to do > that they wouldn’t do,” Bob Grenier, who was the C.I.A.’s station > chief in Islamabad during 2001 and 2002, recalled. As for groups such > as Lashkar, “There was a tremendous amount of ambivalence.” I.S.I. > leaders seemed “concerned about backlash” if they cracked down too > hard on the Kashmir groups, Grenier said. > > Last fall, General David Petraeus, a specialist in counter-insurgency > doctrine, was promoted to head the United States Central Command, > which oversees American military operations and policies in the Middle > East, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (India falls under the Pacific > Command, thereby complicating efforts to coördinate U.S. military > liaisons in the region.) Petraeus has organized a group of about two > hundred government, academic, and military specialists to rethink U.S. > strategy in his area of responsibility. Their study has highlighted > the importance of changing the strategic outlook of Pakistani generals > toward India, according to military officers involved in the review. > Already, Petraeus has started to expound his “big idea” about U.S. > military strategy toward Pakistan: that the Pakistan Army must be > convinced that it faces no existential threat from India but does face > a revolutionary threat from jihadis within its borders--and so should > shift its emphasis from planning and equipping itself for war with > India to eliminating homegrown jihadis. > > Admiral Mike Mullen became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in > October, 2007, and since then he has held eight meetings with the > Pakistan Army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, as well as three or four > meetings with General Ahmad Pasha, who was appointed by Kayani to lead > the I.S.I. last autumn. Kayani participated in the back-channel talks > while serving as Musharraf ’s I.S.I. chief; in that role, he endorsed > the principles in the non-paper. Both Pakistani commanders have > promised a new strategic direction. In January, Pasha told Der > Spiegel, “We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India, both > now and in general.” He added, “We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not > completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our > enemy, not India.” Mullen told me that he has heard the same from > Kayani and Pasha in private. Their shift in outlook “has been > transformational,” Mullen said. The Pakistan Army is “certainly > committed,” and yet, Mullen said, “It’s going to take a while, and > it’s an urgent, urgent situation, where lives are at stake.” > > The Obama Administration has initiated a sixty-day review of policy > toward Pakistan and Afghanistan; as it completes that study, the > Administration will have to decide how much patience with the Pakistan > Army it can afford. The most difficult challenge will be finding the > right blend of encouragement and pressure to induce the Pakistan Army > and the I.S.I. to conclude that an overarching and long-lasting > regional peace is in their interest. Not all American officials > possess even Mullen’s qualified optimism. “History shows that the > Pakistanis will slow-roll us to death,” a senior U.S. intelligence > official told me, referring to Pakistan’s long record of tolerance for > jihadi groups. “The history is so compelling--that the Pakistanis play > around and nothing ever changes.” > > Zardari and Singh may not find it easy to return to the non-paper > negotiations on Kashmir any time soon, even if they wish to. In > Pakistan, civilian political leaders might well reject the earlier > framework simply because the discredited Musharraf was behind it. Even > more daunting, the violent contest for power and legitimacy between > Taliban militants and Pakistan’s government is in many ways a struggle > over Pakistan’s national identity--and, particularly, over whether the > present government is righteously Islamic enough. In the midst of such > a contest, any agreement that made concessions to India would be > harder than ever to sell to the Pakistani public. “The military is > completely on board at the top levels--with a paradigm shift, to see > India as an opportunity, to change domestic attitudes,” a senior > Pakistani official told me. However, he continued, “The public mood is > out of synch.” The mood within sections of the Army and the I.S.I. may > be out of synch with peace negotiations as well; in early February, > the Kashmiri jihadi group Hezb-ul- Mujahideen hosted a public > conference in Muzaffarabad, which Lashkar supporters attended. > > In India, Manmohan Singh seems determined to seek reëlection on a > peaceand- stability platform. Last year, before Mumbai, Singh took > steps to reconnect the back channel with Tariq Aziz, according to > people familiar with the diplomacy. Singh was concerned, in > particular, about whether Zardari would be willing to continue the > talks and whether Pakistan would stand by the non-paper, or insist on > renegotiating. > > Pervez Musharraf arrived in the United States in January for a > speaking tour. It was not a particularly high-profile itinerary; he > spoke first to the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan, and > later at Stanford University and the World Affairs Council of > Philadelphia. On his last evening in the country, he attended a > reception hosted by the Middle East Institute, a public-policy group > with headquarters in an Edwardian row house near Dupont Circle, in > Washington, D.C. Two men with crewcuts and earpieces stood outside the > door; a private security guard with a metal detector checked the > guests. Several dozen people sipped red wine in a high-ceilinged room: > former American Ambassadors to Pakistan, lobbyists, and > representatives of some of the defense contractors who did big > business in the Musharraf era, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and > Northrop Grumman. The guest of honor turned up about five minutes > late, in a black S.U.V. with flashing emergency lights. > > Musharraf looked well, in a tailored dark suit and red tie. He > circulated among the crowd and engaged in small talk about the > weather, inflected with nostalgia from his time in office--yes, > Michigan was very cold, but nothing like the time he stepped onto an > airport tarmac in Kazakhstan, when the temperature was minus > thirty-six degrees. I asked him about the almost-deal he had made on > Kashmir in 2007. I said that I had been surprised to discover how > close his negotiators had been to drawing to an end one of the great > territorial conflicts of the age. > > “I’ve always believed in peace between India and Pakistan,” he > replied. “But it required boldness on both sides. . . . What I find > lacking sometimes is this boldness-- particularly on the Indian side.” > He then reviewed a long negotiating session he had had, many years > before, with former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, in which the pair > had tried and failed to agree on a particular joint statement. As he > recounted the incident, the pitch of Musharraf ’s voice rose slightly; > he seemed to be reliving his frustration. > > He returned to the subject of the 2007 talks. “I wasn’t just giving > concessions-- I was taking from India as well,” he said, a touch > defensively. Then he calmed. He fixed his gaze and added, “It would > have benefitted both India and Pakistan. > > Copyright 2009, The New Yorker > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________________________________ Planning to buy a house? Search on MSN Real Estate http://www.makaan.com/msn/real-estate.php?ptnr=mk0113 From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 4 13:52:03 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:22:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903032019y2a39cc4fn66c96f08d416946f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <521763.51725.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Inder   I must apologise for having commented too hastily.   The Exhibhition is for 'contemporary art from jammu, kashmir and ladakh'. You are a 'contemporary artist' from 'jammu, kashmir and ladakh' so you have a place in the exhibhition.   I would agree with your hinting (as you seemed to do) that art accepts no limitations of 'form' or 'content'.   In fact, speaking on a personal note, "Palestine" is figures as a comparison quite pertinently in my concern for the slow but sure erasure taking place of the unique histro-socio-cultural-religious identity that is Kashmiri Pandits.   The overwhelming "Internal Displacement" of the Kashmiri Pandits and the strangulated existence of the remanants still left in their native-land Kashmir is reflected in somewhat similar situations of the Palestinians, Maoris in New Zealand, Aborginese of Australia and the Native Americans in the USA.   Apologies again for my 'artifice and not art' comment.   Kshmendra       --- On Wed, 3/4/09, Inder Salim wrote: From: Inder Salim Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery To: "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 9:49 AM Dear Kshmendra thanks for response it is one's  sweet will to consider what art stands for, or what it does not. i respect your comment ' artifice, at work than art' for my proposed work on Palestine this is even before seeing it, this even before knowing how art has radically shifted its dependence on conventional forms of aesthetics but all the schools exist, and have right to exist, even if they are boring most of the times, or meant  only to lure the corporate houses. when  were artists from jammu kashmir and ladakh criticized/condemned for doing anything beyond their geographical boundaries? when were artists  instructed not to draw anything that comes to their imagination. today's news, Jaahangir Art Gallery mumbai has rejected Delhi Artists for painting breasts and buttocks. just not to attract Right wingers that is the situation at ground reality, are we marching ahead in terms of fresher understanding of art, nature, and poltics with aesthetic merged ? i really want people to encourage such alternative practices, which is good for society and art at the same time still if you have some questions on art, i will gladly try to answer # lot of love and regards is On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 6:59 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Even I was wondering how did this come up; almost out of nowhere. > > The invitation card I received of the same event yesterday at the Kashmir > Festival; didn't mention this as well. > > Maybe, this comes as part of some strategy to mix issues and even seek > support from Jamia by igniting their emotions. It is interesting to note > that Jamia is one of the only places in Delhi which has support for > Palestine; other being JNU (refer: recent protests). > > We shouldn't mix Politics with Art. > > On 3/3/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: >> >> wondering what PALESTINE has to do with Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh >> ..... on the face of it as per 'made known' information, seems to be more >> 'artifice' at work than 'art' >> >> --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> From: Inder Salim >> Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of >> March: MF Hussain ART Gallery >> To: announcements at sarai.net >> Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 11:08 PM >> >> Dear All >> >> INVITATION >> >> >> MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari auditorium New >> Delhi >> >> presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary >> Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh >> >> on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. Keshav >> Malik, eminent poet and art critic. >> >> opening performance 'Palestine '  by Inder Salim >> >> >> >> regards >> inder salim >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _______________________________________________ >> announcements mailing list >> announcements at sarai.net >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in >> the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > Blog: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Wed Mar 4 16:28:07 2009 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 10:58:07 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir: Discontents of democracy - a parochial view..??.. In-Reply-To: <4fcaee300903030359v6db7f755hc9694b08b9bf2238@mail.gmail.com> References: <4fcaee300903030359v6db7f755hc9694b08b9bf2238@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Ms. Seema Kazi is being selective about the human rights & democratic norms. What about the rights of the victims of the pan Islamic terrorism in the Kashmir? Nefarious activities of local & foreign jihadis in Kashmir under the supervision of their Pakistani handlers are to some extent described by Steve Coll in his article “The Back Channel” in The New Yorker(March2, 09) that was posted on this forum by one of the members although for different reasons altogether. Since she is admittedly, following the past two decades of the bloody turmoil in the valley, (…. “For over two decades, India’s extraordinary military presence in the Valley has been synonymous with flagrant violation of the rule of law.”….) she has missed in her study any reference to the Minority Kashmiri Hindu Pandits who have a recorded history of their existence in the valley that goes back to 5000 years much beyond the advent of Islam in Kashmir. There is no mention of the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Hindu Pandits at the hands of jihadis twenty years ago, in her study . Ms. Seema Kazi should know that the ‘gun culture’ was founded in 1989-90 (twenty years ago) by the Kashmiri Islamists at the behest of their Pakistani masters to wage jihad against India for the secession of Muslim majority Kashmir valley. And how is terrorism fought in any democracy? How do they do it in UK or US or in other European countries or even in the predominantly Muslim countries else where? Talibanised areas of Pakistan continue to be bombarded by Pakistanis themselves. Even for hypothetical case no civilised society would have appreciated if Kashmir was surrendered to the proponents of ‘azadi- bara- e- Islam’ (freedom through Islam). Look what is happening in Afghanistan. Pakistan has just surrendered in SWAT & yet you had carnage in Lahore yesterday. It will only be seen whether Rawalpindi or Islamabad is allowed to fall next, to the jihadis???? One can not but agree that in any conflict area in spite of the utmost care there are going to be violations. Therefore, let us also condemn those responsible for initiating the very conflict in Kashmir. Regards all LA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 17:29:08 +0530 > From: waliarifi3 at gmail.com > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir: Discontents of democracy > > http://www.risingkashmir.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=11036 > > > Kashmir: Discontents of democracy > > > > In Kashmir claims of democracy are different than the contents of democracy > > > > Seema Kazi > > > > The unexpectedly high voter turnout in the Valley during Kashmir’s assembly > elections has evoked considerable debate and analysis. A number of > commentators both in Kashmir and elsewhere noted, the elections reflect > citizens’ expectation and demand for good governance and development; they > are not a mandate for maintenance of the political status quo in the Valley. > > > > > For the establishment, however, the installation of a duly elected > government in Kashmir is perceived as an end in itself. The prime minister > hailed the election as a “victory for democracy”. Important and significant > as the election is, Manmohan Singh’s statement symbolises the deep and > disturbing disconnect between New Delhi and the Kashmir Valley. > > > > If the holding of assembly elections in Kashmir and the participation of > Kashmiri Muslims in them are considered markers of the triumph of > ‘democracy’, then the establishment’s definition and understanding of > democracy is exceedingly limited, if not dangerously flawed. The success of > democracy is not to be assessed merely in terms of its formal dimensions, > namely, the holding of regular and fair elections at the local, state and > national level. Rather, it is the availability and protection of democracy’s > substantive provisions that validate and authenticate its success. More > specifically, the success of local-level democracy is based on the > fundamental provisions of a democratic state, namely, the supremacy of civil > authority, implementation of the rule of law, the existence of an > independent judiciary, the protection of citizens’ right to speech, assembly > and travel, and the freedom of citizens from violence, harassment and > unlawful detention. It is precisely on these very counts that democracy in > the Valley falls well short of the attributes that, in principle, affirm its > legitimacy. > > > > There is a great contradiction between state claims to democracy in Kashmir > and the subversion of civil authority by the military – exemplified by > legislative measures such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the > Disturbed Areas Act. That a non-elected institution of the state meant for > the protection of citizens is ‘legally’ empowered by India’s Parliament and > courts to deprive Kashmir’s citizens of the inalienable right to life is > disturbing testimony to the state of democracy in Kashmir, and indeed, in > India. For citizens in the Kashmir Valley, this contradiction epitomises the > experience and memory of a bitter, two-decade-old policy of authoritarian, > militarily-backed ‘democracy’ that has generated and exacerbated Kashmir’s > great human rights tragedy. The Bomai killings and the state’s response > centred on stifling public protest by crude authoritarianism, curfew and > preventive detention destroy, on a daily basis, any shred of hope Kashmiris > may still have vis-à-vis ‘democracy’ in India. Indeed, this is precisely why > the Valley’s Muslims aspire to, and dream of, a future sans New Delhi’s > repressive hegemony and control. The latter’s attempt to use the elections > in Kashmir as a means to advance its ‘democratic’ claims is, therefore, at > best short-sighted and at worst, disingenuous. If India is a democracy, it > cannot endorse a policy that violates three crucial foundations of a > democratic state, namely, maintenance of the distinction between civil > authority and the role of the military, citizens’ right to liberty, the duty > of the state to protect citizens. There can be no role for the military or > for the coercive suppression of civil rights in a truly democratic Kashmir. > > > > For over two decades, India’s extraordinary military presence in the Valley > has been synonymous with flagrant violation of the rule of law. If the > underlying principle of the rule of law is that no one is above the law, the > impunity accorded to security forces in Kashmir is a grave violation of the > legal basis of government and, by extension, the legality of the state. > Since 1989, not a single member of the military has been prosecuted or > convicted for a criminal offence in Kashmir. In 2005, the J&K government > made almost three hundred requests for permission to prosecute public > servants, including members of the military; none were granted. The > Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) permit > the military and paramilitary forces to operate their own network of > detention and interrogation centres that are beyond judicial scrutiny. > Persistent disregard by state authorities for the writ of habeas corpus – an > important legal provision meant to protect citizens from institutional abuse > and one of the cornerstones of a democratic state – and the concomitant > paralysis of Kashmir’s judiciary underscore India’s shaky claims to > ‘democracy’ in the Valley. In 2006, there were 60,000 habeas corpus > petitions filed by individuals since 1990, and 8,000 cases of enforced > disappearance. > > > > Even by the congealed yardstick of the establishment line that Kashmir is an > ‘integral’ part of India, the denial of citizenship rights to Kashmiri > Muslims underscores the great paradox between rhetoric and reality. India’s > Constitution guarantees judicially enforceable fundamental rights, including > the right to freedom of speech, political affiliation and the right to be > free from arbitrary arrest or detention. In the Valley however, the ban on > public gatherings, free speech, the right to be free from unlawful detention > and the right to a fair trial remain suspended; no judicial reviews of such > suspensions are allowed. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (1978), the > Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Law Amendment Act (1983), the Terrorism and > Disruptive Activities Act (1987) – in force in Kashmir till 1995 – together > with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Jammu and Kashmir), contravene, > respectively, the right to be free from arbitrary detention, the right to > political affiliation and opinion, the right to freedom of speech, and the > right to life. > > > > Democracy in Kashmir is also ill-served by the fear and paranoia of > successive regimes at potential independent scrutiny of India’s democratic > and human rights record in Kashmir. The mandate of the International > Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to detention centres in Kashmir is > restricted, while repeated requests by the United Nations Special Rapporteur > on Torture and by Amnesty International to visit Kashmir have met with > official refusal. A number of human rights defenders in the Valley have been > murdered by the military and there are several cases of non-Indians whose > interest in, or engagement with, Kashmir’s civil society and humanitarian > tragedy prompted aggressive surveillance by state authorities and/or the > revocation of their visa to India. > > > > The establishment’s denial of festering Kashmiri grievance may buy time for > New Delhi and postpone its inevitable reckoning with the truth in the > Valley: that assembly elections (held in the shadow of a coercive military > presence, undeclared curfew and the arbitrary arrest of the Valley’s > political leadership) cannot erase the anger and discontent of a people > wronged. This election is not, and can never be, a substitute for a just > resolution to the two-decade-old festering dispute between Kashmiri Muslims > and the Indian state; nor can it erase India’s appalling record of > governance in the Valley. Elections in Kashmir merely affirm India as a > formal, rather than substantive democracy. That India is on the wrong side > of history in the Valley was evident on 18 August 2008 when a million > Kashmiri Muslims took part in an extraordinary peaceful demonstration > against the status quo, symbolising, in Mikhail Bakhtin’s memorable words, > “the thousand-year-old language of fearlessness, a language with no > reservations and omissions, about the world and about power”. > > > > If India wishes to showcase democracy in Kashmir, it must extend to Kashmiri > Muslims those rights and freedoms denied them for two long decades. > Democracy in Kashmir would mean that its formal, participatory dimensions – > involving elections at the local and state level are complemented and > augmented by its substantive dimensions. It would be synonymous with the > restoration of full citizenship rights for Kashmiris, namely, freeing > Kashmiri civilians from violence and harassment from the police and the > military, the revocation of repressive legislation, the end of unlawful > killings, arbitrary searches and detentions, the restoration of Kashmir’s > judiciary, the protection of civil rights including the right to freedom of > speech and assembly, freedom for Kashmir’s citizens to travel within and > beyond state borders, and last, but certainly not the least, the initiation > of a process of public accountability for Kashmir’s human rights tragedy. > > > > Writer is the author of ‘Between Democracy and Nation: Gender and > militarization In Kashmir’ and can be mailed at skazi at vsnl.comThis e-mail > address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to > view it > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________________________________ Get Marriage Proposals Daily! Find your SPECIAL ONE on MSN Matrimony http://www.shaadi.com/msn/matrimony.php?ptnr=msnhottag From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 4 18:47:35 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 05:17:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] "Sufi Mujahideen" by Khuram Zaman Message-ID: <623665.6302.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> A general impression prevails that Sufis (in Islam) are an evolved bunch of Muslims who have a truer understanding of Islam and therefore do not believe in violence being a means of fulfilling the requirements of being a Good Muslim.   This is contested by many especially in the Indian context.   In his article Khuram Zaman does not treat seriously the image of Sufis as "twirling Dervishes lost in ecstasy, strange people who engage in exotic practices that seemantithetical to Islamic legal traditions, or apolitical mystics fixated in meditation".   Khuram goes a step further and dismisses the ideas that Sufis are 'hetrodox' and that they are "passive and apathetic towards Jihad"   In his article Khuram first seeks to establish:        """"""the orthodoxy of Sufism by pointing out the sheer number of eminent scholars who have been Sufi"""""""   He then goes on to give examples to prove his point that :         """"""""not only is Sufism not opposed to Jihad, but rather, Sufis have been amongst the foremost leaders of Jihad.""""""""   That done, Khuram Zaman states at the end of his article:        """""It should be self evident by now that Sufis are not passive, apolitical mystics but have often formed the core intellectual and military elite in propagating Islamic revivals all across the Ummah."""""   The profile of the author Khuram Zaman is interesting. He is no frothing at the mouth declaimer. A 2007 bio-brief calls him " A student of law and the Islamic sciences by day and an Islamic revolutionary intellectual by night."   Kshmendra PS. At some point of time Khuram Zaman has chosen to shut down his "GLOBAL INTIFADA" Blog http://jinnzaman.hadithuna.com/     "Sufi Mujahideen" By Khuram Zaman More often than not, the term "Sufi" invokes images of twirling Dervishes lost in ecstasy, strange people who engage in exotic practices that seem antithetical to Islamic legal traditions, or apolitical mystics fixated in meditation. In addition to the misconception that Sufism is inherently heterodox, perhaps the greatest misconception is that it is passive and apathetic towards Jihad. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. First and foremost, it is necessary to establish the orthodoxy of Sufism by pointing out the sheer number of eminent scholars who have been Sufi. Amongst the Hanafi Ulema, we have ‘Ali Qari (d. 1606)1, ‘Abd al-Ghaffar Nabulsi (1641-1733)2, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624), and Shah Waliullah (1702-1763). >From the Malikis, the following Ulema were Sufi: Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah al-Iskandari (d. 1309)3 and Ibn ‘Ajiba (1747-1809)4. The Hanbalis had ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Jawzi (1114-1201)5, ‘Abdal-Karim Jili (1365-1428) who was the great-grandson of ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani 6, and Ibn Rajab7. Mohiyuddin Ibn Arabi was of the Dhahiri madhab. The Shafi’i madhab too, had a plethora of Sufis as some of its most prestigious scholars: Abul Qasim al-Junayd (d.910)8, Hakim Tirmidhi (d. 320)9, Abu ‘Ali Daqqaq (d. AH 405)10, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Sulami (936 – 1021)11 , Imam Ghazzali (1058 -1111)12, ‘Abd al-Wahhab Sha’rani (1493-1565)13, Abul Qasim Qushayri (986 – 1072)14, Imam ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam (1181-1262) ( In addition to his outstanding works in Islamic law, he is also known for his harshness with Muslim rulers who did not fight against the Crusaders vigorously)15, Imam Nawawi (1233 – 1277)16, and Imam Suyuti (1445 – 1505)17. It should also be noted that even Muhammad Haya al-Sindi, the hadith teacher of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab who introduced him to the works of Ibn Taymeeyah*(There is much debate over whether or not Ibn Taymeeyah was a Sufi of the Qadiri order), was from the Naqshbandi tariqa. Interestingly enough, the great Indian scholar and Sufi, Shah Waliullah Dilhavi, was a student of another great Sufi scholar, Ibrahim al-Kurrani, who happened to also be the teacher of Muhammad Haya al-Sindi and Shaykh Yusuf who later lead a jihad against the Dutch in Indonesia.18 Aside from the select few of Sufi scholars that were briefly mentioned above, there are countless others who have not been mentioned. Although it does not give the subject justice, it should be clear that the roots of Sufism have always had its roots firmly entrenched in orthodoxy. The second greatest misconception that people, including non-Muslims, have of Sufism is that it is flaccid in participating in issues pertaining to social justice and engaging in Jihad. History is a testament that not only is Sufism not opposed to Jihad, but rather, Sufis have been amongst the foremost leaders of Jihad. Even the early Sufis were known for their fervent desire for engaging Jihad and seeking martyrdom.   For example, Ibrahim ibn Adham (d. 778), was an early Sufi ascetic who was born into a life luxury which he abandoned in order to study the Sacred Sciences and later fought in jihad against the Byzantines.19 In fact, the very roots of the Sufi zawiya, a type of lodge, has its roots in the ribat. The ribat is a type of fortress that was often built along the ever expanding Islamic frontier. At these fortresses, Sufi shuyookh adapted their teachings of outward jihad in order to teach their disciples the science of inner jihad.20 During the Crusades, Sufis also participated in popular resistance against the Franks. The Battle of Mansura in Egypt included participants of the likes of Sheikh Abu Hassan ash-Shadhili, Sheikh Ibrahim Dessouki, and Sheikh al-Qannawwi. When Sultan Al Kamel of Egypt began negotiating with the Franks during the Fourth Crusade, Mohiyuddin Ibn Arabi scolded him by saying "You have no pride and Islam will not recognize the likes of you. Stand up and fight or we shall fight you as we fight them." Even Imam Ghazzali castigated the Mameluke Sultans for failing to carry on the fight by giving them a similarly pernicious warning: "Either take up your sword for the sake of Allah and the rescue of your brothers in Islam, or step down from the leadership of Muslims so their rights can be championed by other than you."21 Egyptian resistance during the Seventh Crusade was lead by Sheikh Ahmad al-Badawi of the Rifa’i tariqa.22   Shaykh Najm al-Din Kubra, the founder of the Kubrawiya tariqa, died in the defense of Khwarazm from the Mongol hordes. Even from within the Ottoman Empire, Sufis mobilized the masses in jihad, often lead rebellions against the rulers, assisted in the accession of the Sultan, and some even served as chaplains to the warrior class known as the Janissaries.23 During the era of colonialism, Sufis lead resistance movements across the Ummah against imperialism and its purveyors. In the Caucasus, the Russians faced stiff resistance coming primarily from the Naqshbandi and Qadiri tariqas. Mulla Muhammad al-Ghazi al-Kamrawi fought against the Russians when Russia declared itself the protector for the Christians in Khurjistan and annexed portions of Safavid Persia in 1800. Mulla Muhammad was the Sheikh of the Naqshbandi tariqa and hundreds of thousands of his murids fought against the Russians until he died. Leadership was then transferred to Al-Amir Hamza al-Khanzaji but within a year, he was martyred as well. The famous Imam Shamil al-Dagestani then became the Amir of the jihad and fought the Russians for twenty-seven consecutive years.24 Interestingly enough, Imam Shamil met Sheikh Abd al- Qadir al-Jaza’iri, another Sufi who was fighting over 3,000 miles away, in 1828 while on Hajj where they exchanged information about guerilla warfare.25 After his surrender, rebellions were carried on by the murids of the Qadiri order. In 1864, the Russians killed over 4,000 Qadiri murids alone along with many other innocent civilians. The Naqshbandis and Qadiris joined forces and rebelled in 1865, 1877, 1878 and all throughout the 1890s. During the Soviet Revolution, the Muslims were lead by Shaykh Uzun Haji. Stalin ultimately dealt with the "Chechen problem" by forcibly relocating the entire population into concentration camps.26 In the Indian subcontinent, Sufis and Sufi orders played a considerable role in active military and intellectual resistance against the British. The Sufis participated in resistance prior to the famous Mutiny of 1857 when the followers of Shah Waliullah, under the leadership of his son Shah ‘Abd al’Aziz (1746-1824) began initiating Jihad.   In a fatwa Shah ‘Abd al’Aziz proclaimed India to be Dar al-Harb. He declared jihad, stating "Our country has been enslaved. To struggle for independence and put an end to the slavery is our duty." 27 He was succeeded in his struggles by Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (1786-1831) who founded the Tariqa-i Muhammadi and was eventually defeated by the Sikhs of Punjab.28 Both Sufi and non-Sufi scholars alike participated actively in the Mutiny of 1857. When the rebellion was finally extinguished, over 50,000 Ulema were dead.29   After the failure of the Mutiny of 1857, resistance to colonialism by the Ulema re-invented itself in the form of the Deoband movement which established a plethora of 3 maddrassehs all across India that taught the sacred sciences derived from the Qur’an, hadith, law, along with logic, kalam, science, and Sufism of the Chisti order.30 TheTableegi Jamaat grew out of the Deobandi movement through Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Khandelwi who was also a member of the Chisti order through the Sabiri branch. The focus of this movement was a return to the correct understanding of Islam based on the Quran and hadith, adhering to the injunctions of the Shariah, with an astute focus on worship.31 Even in Indonesia, the Qadiri order provided leadership in the already widespread resistance to Dutch imperialism in the 1840s and 1850s.32 By far, one of the most act areas of Sufi resistance occurred in Africa. Resistanc by Sufis against imperialism began almost as soon as Europeans endeavored at colonizing the Muslim lands. In Morocco, the Shadhili tariqa was the forefront opponent of the Portuguese in the 15th century, the most notable of the Sufis being al-Jazuli.33 Shaykh ‘Uthman Dan Fodio (1754 – 1817) was a Maliki scholar of the Qadiri order who vigorously spoke out against the innovations that had become dominant in his time, particularly the mixing of Islamic and pagan beliefs. He eventually performed hegira, established an Islamic state, and engaged in jihad to unite the region under the Shariah.34 Al-Hajj ‘Umar Tal was a Tijani sheikh from northern Senegal who fought jihad against both the French and pagans of Guinea, Senegal, and Mali. After performing his second pilgrimage, he traveled across various cities in Africa starting in Cairo and eventually coming to Sokoto, Nigeria, where he studied with Muhammad Bello, the son of Shaykh ‘Uthman Dan Fodio, in the field of military sciences and administration. Upon his return to his homeland, he fought mainly against the pagans of Karta and Segu. ‘Umar was a staunch advocate of the Shariah and after one victory against the polytheists, he destroyed the idols of the pagans with his own hands using an iron mace.35 Al-Hajj Muhammad al-Ahrash from Morocco, a Darqawi Sufi, organized a group comprised of Tunisians and Moroccans in 1799 to fight against the French during their invasion of Egypt. 36 Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abdullah al-Somali (1864-1920) was a Shafi’i scholar and member of the Salihiyya tariqa, which he utilized effectively as a military force for over twenty years against the British and Italians in Somalia. He once said in a speech "Unbelieving men of religion have assaulted our country from their remote homelands. They wish to corrupt our religion, to force us to accept Christianity, supported by the armed force of their governments, their weapons, their numbers. You have you’re your faith in God, your arms and your determination. Do not be frightened by their soldiers or armies: God is mightier than they . . ." 37 Perhaps one of the most famous Sufi mujahideen was ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri (1807-1883), was elected an Amir at the age of twenty-five and personally lead the mujahideen against the French invasion of Algeria in 1830. He was part of the Qadiri order and authored "al-Mawaqif" [Standpoints], which is a threevolume Sufi manual.38 Ma’ al-‘Aynayn al-Qalqami (1831-1910) of Mauritania was also a Qadiri Sufi who made a personal alliance with the Sharifian dynasty of Morocco to engage in jihad against the French which resulted in the death of several of his sons.39 In Libya, members of the Sanusi tariqa lead a coalition against the French and Italians.40 In the Middle East, with the Ottoman Empire in disarray, several prominent Sufi scholars carried the banner of Jihad against European occupation. ‘Ali al-Daqar (1877 – 1943) was a Shafi’i scholar and sheikh of the Tijani Tariqa who founded al-Jami’iyya al- Ghurra’, an academy of more than eleven separate schools of the sacred sciences. Along with Badr al-Din al-Hasani, he traveled the Syrian countryside during the French 4occupation and instructed the people of the villages of the obligatory nature of jihad against the imperialists.41 Hashim al-Khatib (1890 – 1958) was a Shafi’i scholar of the Qadiri tariqa also urged the Muslims to wage jihad against the French.42 Muhammad Sa’id Burhani was a Hanafi scholar and Sufi of the Naqshbandi order who fought against the French during their occupation of Syria that began in 1920.43 Sufi resistance has not withered away and is still active in many parts of the Ummah. For example, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Sufi tariqas played a pivotal role in evicting the Communists. Many prominent leaders of the resistance were Sufis such as Sayyid Ahmad Gailani, the head of the Qadiri order. He once held the position of Chief of Justice amongst the mujahideen. Two previous presidents of Afghanistan, Sebghatullah Mojaddedi and Burhanuddin Rabbani, are of the Naqshbandi order.44 The founder and the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, is allegedly a Naqshbandi as well. Even today, in Iraq a resistance group was recently formed in April 2005 known as the "Jihad Sufi Squadrons of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani" in order to fight against the American occupation.45 It should be self evident by now that Sufis are not passive, apolitical mystics but have often formed the core intellectual and military elite in propagating Islamic revivals all across the Ummah. The article should not be misconstrued as being a comprehensive study of the role that Sufis have played in daw’ah, the revival of the sacred sciences, and jihad, but rather, it is intended to be merely a brief introduction to a voluminous study. May Allah (swt) raise up a leader from amongst us who will fight the fitnah of our day and unite our Ummah. Ameen. 1 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller"Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 1038-1039 2 Ibid 1020 3 Ibid 1053 (Although Taj al-Din Subki concluded that Ibn ‘Ata’Illah was more Shafi’i) 4 Ibid 1052 5 Ibid 1021 6 Ibid 1020-1021 7 Abdal-Hakim Murad "Islamic Spirituality: The Forgotten Revolution" http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/fgtnrevo.htm 8 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 1031 9 Ibid 1048 10 Ibid 1026 11 Ibid 1025 12 Ibid 1047-1048 13 Ibid 1023 14 Ibid 1031 15 Ibid Reliance 1064 16 Ibid 1086 17 Ibid 1100 18 John Voll "Muhammad Hayya al-Sindi and Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab: An Analysis of an Intellectual Group in Eighteenth-Century Madina" Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 38, No. 1 (1975) p 32-33 19 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 10615 20 Abdullah Schleifer "Jihad and Traditional Islamic Consciousness" The Islamic Quarterly, London Fourth Quarter 1983 http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/schleifer_4.php 21 Sheikh Muhammad Said Al-Shinnawy "Sufism: A Call and an Education" http://www.islamonline.net/MercyForWorlds/English/Papers/03.shtml 22 Abdullah Schleifer "Jihad and Traditional Islamic Consciousness" The Islamic Quarterly, London Fourth Quarter 1983 http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/schleifer_4.php 23 Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 266-267 24 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 1096-1097 25 Kerim Fenari "The Jihad of Imam Shamyl" http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/shamyl.htm 26 David Damrel "The Religious Roots of Conflict: Russia and Chechnya; Religious Studies News, September 1995, Vol. 10, No. 3, p 10 http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/Articles/chechnya.htm 27 M. Burhanuddin Qasmi "Darul Uloom Deoband" http://www.markazulmaarif.org/darululoomdeoband.htm 28 Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 622-623 29 David Emmanuel Singh "The Independent Madrasas of India: Dar al-‘Ulum, Deoband and Nadvat al-‘Ulama, Lucknow http://www.ocms.ac.uk/docs/madrasas_deoband.pdf 30 Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 626 31 Ibid 635 (See also Barbara Medcalf " ‘ Traditionalist’ Islamic Activism: Deoband, Tablighis, and Talibs" 2002 p 10) 32 Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 659-660 33 Abdullah Schleifer "Jihad and Traditional Islamic Consciousness" The Islamic Quarterly, London Fourth Quarter 1983 http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/schleifer_4.php (See also Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 238) 34 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p Reliance 1108 35 Ibid 1106 36 Ibid 1074 37 Ibid 1094 38 Ibid 1021 (See also Itzchak Weismann "God and the Perfect Man in the Experience of 'Abd al-Qâdir al-Jaza'iri" http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/weismann.html) 39 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 1068 40 Ira Lapidus "A History of Islamic Societies" Cambridge University Press. New York 2002. p 614 41 Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (Translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller) "Reliance of the Traveller" Amana Publications. Beltsville 1991 p 1038 42 Ibid 1050 43 Ibid Reliance 1078-1079 44 Dan Alexe "Sufi Brotherhoods Reemerge after the Fall of the Taliban" February 1st 2002 on Radio Free Europe)   http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115345         From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Mar 4 19:36:34 2009 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 19:36:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <381050AC-AA0E-47B8-805B-3565E8D62801@sarai.net> Dear Aditya Raj Kaul, There are a lot of people, not only in Jamia, not only in JNU, not only in Delhi, but all over the world who support the right of the people of Palestine to be rid of the conditions imposed on them by successive governments in the State of Israel. Many people in Israel, including Israeli citizens, also support the right of people in Palestine to live without the harrassment, indignity and suffering caused to them by the policies of the State of Israel. I would urge you not to make such glib generalizations about who supports whom and where. Fortunately, we do not as yet live in a world where solidarities are parcelled out according to the assumptions that can be made at the drop of a hat about the provenances of the people who express them And, it would be perfectly reasonable for people anywhere in the world, be they in or from Delhi or Sri Nagar to express their solidarity with the people of Palestine, just as it would be perfectly reasonable for people anywhere in the world, be they in or from Tel Aviv, Haifa, Kiryat Shimona or Ramallah, Behtlehem or Nablus or Delhi or Bombay or Calcutta to express their solidarities with the people of Kashmir. Finally, I can't quite understand how you can keep politics and art separate? Is there an 'a-political' expression of art? Have you ever come across such art? Can you give any examples of 'a-political' art? best, Shuddha On 03-Mar-09, at 6:59 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Even I was wondering how did this come up; almost out of nowhere. > > The invitation card I received of the same event yesterday at the > Kashmir > Festival; didn't mention this as well. > > Maybe, this comes as part of some strategy to mix issues and even seek > support from Jamia by igniting their emotions. It is interesting to > note > that Jamia is one of the only places in Delhi which has support for > Palestine; other being JNU (refer: recent protests). > > We shouldn't mix Politics with Art. > > On 3/3/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: >> >> wondering what PALESTINE has to do with Art from Jammu, Kashmir >> and Ladakh >> ..... on the face of it as per 'made known' information, seems to >> be more >> 'artifice' at work than 'art' >> >> --- On Mon, 3/2/09, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> From: Inder Salim >> Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : >> 4th of >> March: MF Hussain ART Gallery >> To: announcements at sarai.net >> Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 11:08 PM >> >> Dear All >> >> INVITATION >> >> >> MF. HUSSAIN ART GALLERY, Jamia Millia Islamia, near Ansari >> auditorium New >> Delhi >> >> presents 'Strains of Himalayan Spirits', an exhibtion of contemporary >> Art from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh >> >> on 4th of March to 16th of march, at 5.30 P.M. conceived by Mr. >> Keshav >> Malik, eminent poet and art critic. >> >> opening performance 'Palestine ' by Inder Salim >> >> >> >> regards >> inder salim >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _______________________________________________ >> announcements mailing list >> announcements at sarai.net >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in >> the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > Blog: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Wed Mar 4 22:36:58 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 22:36:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <381050AC-AA0E-47B8-805B-3565E8D62801@sarai.net> References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> <381050AC-AA0E-47B8-805B-3565E8D62801@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha (and all) I think this point about whether politics and art can be separate, is a question which may not have been necessarily been there even among the creators of the art piece itself. Politics, as I see it, is basically influencing people for a common cause. (Incidentally, I am doing the same by asking people to believe that there could be chances of 'a-political' art). Art, on the other hand, could be defined as human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.* * Now whether an act of art is necessarily created to influence people, or it is just created for one's own sake, is something one can't be sure of. For example, both the religious conservatives and liberals in India talk about Khajuraho. Now, Khajuraho, as it was made then, may have had such sculptures, neither as what conservatives believe to be sacred deities, nor to just portray sexuality as some great liberals claim. (Here, the conservatives refer to the Sangh Parivar and their like, and the liberals are basically the TV-pink chaddi-others gang.....). But who knows with what intention did the laborers make it? May be some king ordered and they were made exactly in the same way, in case of which it was simply a job. So, it's not art which is necessarily political. But yes, the way one looks at art can certainly make it political. Regards Rakesh From info at magiclanternfoundation.org Wed Mar 4 16:26:37 2009 From: info at magiclanternfoundation.org (Magic Lantern Foundation) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 16:26:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] contact details update Message-ID: Greetings from Magic Lantern Foundation. Our distribution network, Under Construction is conceived as a non-broadcast, non-commercial distribution initiative for educational films. Under Construction aims to bridge the gap between educational audio visuals and audiences to facilitate a culture of vibrant discourse as well as the ease of access to an eclectic collection from a single source. We are updating our address list of institutions and individuals. It would be of great help to us if you would kindly send us your current contact details as follows: Contact person: Occupation/ profession : Organisation: Address: Pincode: mobile: Email: Website: We would be greatful for the same. Thank you Sincerely, Parul Soni -- --- Magic Lantern Foundation J 1881, Basement, Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi 110019 Ph: +91 11 41605239, 26273244 Email: magiclantern.foundation at gmail.com, underconstruction at magiclanternfoundation.org Web: http://www.magiclanternfoundation.org From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Mar 4 19:37:44 2009 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2009 19:37:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Public Meeting on Binayak Sen in London Message-ID: <812A89AA-77EE-4CBF-AA22-13C27540C4C1@sarai.net> PUBLIC MEETING ON BINAYAK SEN IN LONDON Please Circulate WIdely Date: Tuesday, 10 March 2009. Time: 7.00 p.m. Venue: SOAS main building (room 4421), Thornaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC IX 0XG Speakers: Professor Ilina Sen (feminist scholar, human rights activist, wife of Binayak Sen); Kavita Srivastava (People's Union For Civil Liberties, India); Ramesh Gopalakrishnan (Amnesty International); Professor Jonathan Parry (London School of Economics); Mike Marqusee (writer, activist). Binayak Sen, doctor and civil rights activist, has been in prison since 14 May 2007, when he was arrested under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (which allows arrest up to 90 days without charge) on suspicion of 'involvement' with Maoist insurgents. The mineral-rich central Indian state of Chhattisgarh has seen massive forced displacement of adivasi (tribal) people to make way for the exploitation of resources by private companies in recent years. In this context, a civil war-like situation has emerged in the state, marked by brutal conflict between the state and the Maoists, who control significant stretches of territory. Binayak and Ilina Sen have been campaigning for human rights in Chhattisgarh for many years, and have been outspoken opponents of the Salwa Judum, a state- sponsored paramilitary terror initiative, which has involved arming local people 'against Maoists' and thus unleashing even deeper strife in the state. Soon after helping expose police involvement in the killing of 12 tribal people on 31 March 2007, Binayak Sen was targeted and imprisoned. His applications for bail have repeatedly been rejected by Indian courts. Sen is nationally and globally known for his work in community health. In 1983, he was instrumental in setting up the community- based Shaheed Hospital for mine-workers, and, later, was a member of the state advisory committee initating community-based health programmes across the state. Recently, while in jail, he was awarded the Jonathan Mann Award by the Global Health Council for his work with impoverished communities and his commitment to human rights. Sen's advocacy and activism, in the fields of both health and civil rights, have been a persistent thorn in the side of the Chhattisgarh government and, at a deeper level, the Indian state and its neo- liberal agenda. The embarrassingly flimsy 'evidence' on which he was arrested was his visits to a Maoist leader in jail, visits he had undertaken as state general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, to provide medical and legal assistance, with the full knowledge and permission of the jail authorities. It is impossible to see his arrest, and the continued refusal of bail, as anything other than a very deliberate attempt by the state to thwart dissidence expressed in any form, and to avert uncomfortable questions about its role and agenda. For further details contact: Subir Sinha (ss61 at soas.ac.uk), Nandini Nayak (nandini at soas.ac.uk), Aditya Sarkar (bhochka at gmail.com, bhochka_81 at yahoo.co.uk) -------------------- Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 5 18:21:45 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 04:51:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) Message-ID: <585495.6942.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Some interesting results thrown up by this survery on the US Drone attacks in FATA, Pakistan:   - -- Do you see drone attacks bringing about fear and terror in the common people?      (Yes 45%, No 55%)   -- Do you think the drones are accurate in their strikes?    (Yes 52%, No 48%) -- Do you think anti-American feelings in the area increased due to drone attacks recently?    (Yes 42%, No 58%) -- Should Pakistan military carry out targeted strikes at the militant organisations?    (Yes 70%, No 30%) -- Do the militant organisations get damaged due to drone attacks?    (Yes 60%, No 40%)   Some more Extracts from the Farhat Taj article in The News (05/03/09):   * The popular notion outside the Pakhtun belt that a large majority of the local population supports the Taliban movement lacks substance.   * The survey also reinforces my own ethnographic interactions ....people I personally met and ...contact ....through telephone calls and emails. .... The number is well over 2000. I asked almost all those people if they see the US drone attacks on FATA as violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. More than two-third said they did not. Pakistan’s sovereignty, they argued, was insulted and annihilated by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, whose territory FATA is after Pakistan lost it to them. The US is violating the sovereignty of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, not of Pakistan. Almost half the people said that the US drones attacking Islamabad or Lahore will be violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan, because these areas are not taken over by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Many people laughed when I mentioned the word sovereignty with respect to Pakistan. * Over two-thirds of the people viewed Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as enemy number one, and wanted the Pakistani army to clear the area of the militants. A little under two-thirds want the Americans to continue the drone attack because the Pakistani army is unable or unwilling to retake the territory from the Taliban. * The people I asked about civilian causalities in the drone attacks said most of the attacks had hit their targets, which include Arab, Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik terrorists of Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban (Pakhtun and Punjabis) and training camps of the terrorists. There has been some collateral damage. * The drones hit hujras or houses which the Taliban forced people to rent out to them. There is collateral damage when the family forced to rent out the property is living in an adjacent house or a portion of the property rented out. * The Taliban and Al Qaeda have unleashed a reign of terror on the people of FATA. People are afraid that the Taliban will suspect their loyalty and behead them. Thus, in order to prove their loyalty to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, they offer them to rent their houses and hujras for residential purposes. * There are people who are linked with the Taliban. Terrorists visit their houses as guests and live in the houses and hujras. The drones attacks kill women and small children of the hosts. These are innocent deaths because the women and children have no role in the men’s links with terrorists. * Other innocent victims are local people who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. * People told me that typically what happens after every drone attack is that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists cordon off the area. No one from the local population is allowed to access the site, even if there are local people killed or injured. Their relatives cry and beg the terrorists to let them go near the site. But the Taliban and Al Qaeda do not allow them. The Taliban and Al Qaeda remove everything they want from the site and then allow the locals to see the site. * What is happening in FATA is destroying the lives and culture of the FATA people, threatening the integrity of Pakistan and world peace.   http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=165781   From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 18:29:01 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 18:29:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: <585495.6942.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <585495.6942.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra As an initial response, brilliant. Indeed brilliant. Now that a survey has been conducted on this issue of American drones attacking Pakistan, and the response of the natives, let us do one more thing. Why not have a survey in Kashmir on what the people want there? If we can have a survey which can prove that the locals support Americans dropping bombs on Taliban locations inside NWFP, why not have a survey in Kashmir as well whether the people there want 'azadi' or not? And we can define before the campaign itself, that 'azadi' means independence from both India and Pakistan? Is that fine with you? Is that fine with others as well? By the way, Kashmiri Pandits, after proper identification, can and should be allowed to participate in this exercise as well. Regards Rakesh From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 18:55:36 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 18:55:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: References: <585495.6942.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra (and all) Now I am putting across a structured response, in reply to the arguments which have been raised in this particular survey. First of all, I can understand that a survey is trying to put across the fact that the people across the NWFP, don't support the Taliban or the Al-Qaeda. This is a welcome development. The more such surveys, and the more people's voices are heard, the better. But I can never support surveys having questions as '*Do you think the drones are accurate in their strikes?'* being asked to common people. After all, how can a survey decided whether the drones were actually accurate in their strikes or not? It can be determined by first America declaring their strike points they wished to target, and matching them with the actual points targetted. Similarly, it is useless to ask questions like *'Do the militant organisations get damaged due to drone attacks?*' to people. This is no way to decide whether the infrastructure for militancy and terrorism is nipped in the bud or not. The only way is to find out the organizations and institutions involved in propagating, managing and perpetuating this structure in the areas, and then finding out whether such attacks did manage in changing these three activities of the 'terrorists', so to speak. How can surveys decide such things? My second concern stems from the kind of background of people who have been chosen for the survey. When it comes to the questions asked, it's just 650 people chosen, out of whom 100 don't respond, as per the site link you have given. That means about 15% of people haven't expressed their opinion at all, which is significant, considering the percentage figures given for certain questions, which are very close, in terms of their choices. Also, the people chosen have been from business, health, education and transport. But the way these occupations have been taken up, it may be possible that these people are actually from the upper sections of the society. Ironically coming up from a researcher only, it would be much better, that to allay the apprehensions for once and for all, an economic background of the people whose views were asked for in the survey, can also be looked at. The third concern is with respect to lack of data. When it is said that '*The people I asked about civilian causalities in the drone attacks said most of the attacks had hit their targets, which include Arab, Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik terrorists of Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban (Pakhtun and Punjabis) and training camps of the terrorists. There has been some collateral damage.*' or '*The drones hit hujras or houses which the Taliban forced people to rent out to them. There is collateral damage when the family forced to rent out the property is living in an adjacent house or a portion of the property rented out*.', there is no numerical statistic or data to point out how many Tajiks, Arabs, Chechen, Uzbeks or Tajiks were there among those killed. Similarly, there is no assessment economically and in terms of number of innocents killed here, who are referred to as collateral damage. How does Farhat Taj say that drones have hit Taliban based upon surveys? '*Other innocent victims are local people who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.*' Indeed. But my point is that, there is no reference to either experiences of this being the reason for people being killed, in the above-mentioned article, neither is there data responding to the same. I don't understand how can this be accepted. Henceforth, it would be much better that we actually stick at least in such cases, to experiences of people at least, if not numerical data, to support our arguments, rather than giving macro-based statements which can fall flat. (although experiences can be misleading). After all, in research, it is important to first put arguments, then give constructive proofs for those arguments, and then conclude the argument. According to me, these arguments have loopholes, and may well turn into only perceptions. And perceptions are just that, perceptions. Regards Rakesh From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 5 19:40:35 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 06:10:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <640139.27446.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Rakesh   1. I did not quite understand what or who was 'brilliant'   2. The Survey was neither conducted by me, nor commissioned by me. I have provided the link to the article in the The News which is a mainstream Pakistani newspaper. I suggest you read the full article since it contains both the results from AIRRA survey and the author Farhat Taj's deductions from his/her own "ethnographic interactions". I found it interesting and gave no other comments of my own. In fact a lot from the contents of the article is quite contrary to my own judgment of the subject issues.   3. I found it fascinating that you should find equivalence between the 'Drone attack issue" in Fata and the "Azaadi issue" in Kashmir. I will humour you.   4. A Survey in Kashmir is not dependent on a FATA survey being first conducted. If you or anyone wants to conduct a Survey in Kashmir, they are free to do so. It has been done a number of times in the past. You might want to look up a 2002 MORI survey commissioned by "Friends of Kashmir" of Lord Avebury.   5. For any 'Survey" in Kashmir from which you might want to draw any reasonable conclusions, you would have to first define what is meant by 'Kashmir'. You could start with that.   6. Unless you redefine the parameters, "Kashmir" is usually taken to mean the erstwhile Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir. So it includes both Indian Controlled Kashmir (ICK) as well as Pakistan Controlled Kashmir (PCK).   7. The Kashmiri Pandits would hardly matter in any such Survey as envisioned by you. Their percentage in "Kashmir" (as defined in Point 5 above) is so miniscule that they would be absorbed by a "Margin of Error" that any such Survey allows for.   8. Since you spoke of 'proper identification' of those allowed to participate in the Survey you would be stumped by the situation in Pakistan Controlled Kashmir. While in ICK, the 'State Subject' identity (from 1912) continued after 1947 and got protection under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. No such instrumentation was enforced in PCK. Weeding out the 'Pakistanis' from any Survey meant for Kashmiris might be a humongous problem.   But, please go ahead with your Survey.   Kshmendra           --- On Thu, 3/5/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 6:29 PM Dear Kshamendra As an initial response, brilliant. Indeed brilliant. Now that a survey has been conducted on this issue of American drones attacking Pakistan, and the response of the natives, let us do one more thing. Why not have a survey in Kashmir on what the people want there? If we can have a survey which can prove that the locals support Americans dropping bombs on Taliban locations inside NWFP, why not have a survey in Kashmir as well whether the people there want 'azadi' or not? And we can define before the campaign itself, that 'azadi' means independence from both India and Pakistan? Is that fine with you? Is that fine with others as well? By the way, Kashmiri Pandits, after proper identification, can and should be allowed to participate in this exercise as well. Regards Rakesh From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 5 19:59:48 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 06:29:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Pashtun poet's mausoleum bombed in Pakistan Message-ID: <72864.12948.qm@web51403.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Pashtun poet's mausoleum bombed in Pakistan Thu Mar 5, 2009 3:25am EST PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan blew up on Thursday the mausoleum of a 17th century poet revered in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, apparently because women visited the shrine. The ethnic Pashtun poet, Abdul Rehman, is commonly known as Rehman Baba, and is loved by Pashtuns for his mystical verse. People regularly go to his white, marble mausoleum on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar to pay their respects but no one was hurt in the pre-dawn blast. "The structure of the shrine has been badly damaged but there were no casualties," said police officer Zar Noor. Militants had warned people to stop women visiting the shrine, a resident told DawnNews television. Militants have been stepping up attacks in Pakistan in recent years, especially in the Pashtun-dominated northwest. As well as battling the security forces, the militants in many areas have tried to stamp out what they see as inappropriate practices such as music and dancing. Radical Muslims such as the Taliban also consider paying homage at graves to be heretical. (Reporting by Faris Ali; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel) ((zeeshan.haider at thomsonreuters.com; +92 51 281 0017; Reuters Messaging: zeeshan.haider.reuters.com at reuters.net)) From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 20:17:33 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 20:17:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: <640139.27446.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <640139.27446.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra The following are my answers: 1) 'Brilliant' is a sarcasm for the article you have provided. It is directed against the article and its believers. The sarcasm is spoken about in the answer I have laid as for in my second e-mail in response to the article you have provided. What's interesting is that you have given 7 points of your 8 in response to my first mail, which was just intended to be a pun or a sarcasm against all those, who admire surveys in FATA, but have total problems with the claim of 'azadi' in Kashmir, on the basis of nationalism and anti-Pak (even simply just anti-Pakistan state) feelings. 2) I never said the survey was conducted by you. I know who conducted the survey, and I have gone through the article, if you were to read my structured response to it. And hence, my comments are against the researcher and those, who have drawn results of questions, which should be decided by evidence, not by surveys and questionnaires. At the same time, I am honest enough to accept, that as the last paragraph shows, I did take the article to be an indirect way of yours to state what some want to continuously put forward, that 'terrorists have to be nipped in the bud', and such notions, forgetting the very way in which 'terrorists' are made, and brain-washed upto the point, where they have no respect left for their own lives. Since you have clarified this, thank you very much. But it would be nice, if you could also mention in the original itself, regarding the article and your own views on it; lest such confusions do take place. 3) Well, I will humor you for ignoring the similarities between the two situations. In both cases, people are suffering; in both cases, people are victims of violence; and in both cases, their human and democratic rights have gone for a toss. In FATA, nobody has asked the basic question, that bombing is actually against human rights, as much as the Taliban's activities. In Kashmir, the Indian army and the terrorists are out in a competition to prove themselves as the 'worst violators' of human rights, according to me. Being a nation which calls Gandhi as it's Father, India should remember that he had said long back, that not only the ends, but even the means should be right. And in the above two cases, forget the ends, the means are way wrong, on both sides. Isn't that a similarity, Mr. Kshamendra. There can be differences, but human sufferings certainly unite humans. Of course, Kashmiris haven't faced bombing like FATA people, they have faced extortions, rapes and extra-judicial killings like encounters. 4) Since my point is based on sarcasm, the argument I am stating is that democratic rights of people must be accepted, not that I want to be the champion of them by conducting such surveys. And yes, I forgot that surveys can any day be undertaken. So, now, let's go for a plebiscite.After all, surveys bahut ho chuke bhai, ab janadesh milna chahiye. 5) I think we can only allow plebiscite to be undertaken in the territory which is under our control.. I feel the Indian state therefore, should undertake plebiscite on the territory of Kashmir which is under it's control, to find out whether any such control on Kashmir is considered legitimate by the Kashmiris or not. 6) You are right in talking about ICK and PCK. Hence, while undertaking a plebiscite on ICK, we should also encourage Pakistan to accept its mistakes and also undertake a plebiscite there. But for me, that is an issue which we should get to, once we undertake plebiscite in our own ICK, and then actually make the fair decision based on the results of the plebiscite. 7) Surveys don't require Pandits, but the plebiscite would. And I can understand that Pandits also have human rights (what a pity that the very nationalism which Pandits claim to practise, the same nationalists have forgotten their cause!! May be portraying the problem as one of humanity crisis, and forgetting nationalism, would have helped the cause. ) to survive in lands of their ancestors, which they had to leave because of their violence. Plus of course, that way, they also have democratic rights to choose their own fate. 8) This is a tricky one. I think, in response to this, for the plebiscite, in the PCK, this is an important issue. Here, efforts must be made to find out whether this issue of ethnicity of people can be solved or not. And the plebiscite, must certainly be conducted with the local-origin people. But yes, the status of Pakistan-origin people and their role in the local society in this region, must also be discussed through negotiations , as also the status of Kashmiri Pandits, whether or not ICK becomes independent or remains with India. I for one don't know whether such a segregation can be done or not, but yes, if possible it should be done. And humongous or not, this has to be tackled. So Kshamendra jee, aapne sahi kaha ki survey mai bhi kar sakta hoon. Ab plebiscite hona chahiye, aur sabse pehle humein ICK mein yeh karakar democratic aur human rights ka saath dena chahiye. After all, this will also strengthen democracy in South Asia. And it's a better way of doing so, rather than the American way of bringing democracy to any nation. Regards Rakesh From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 5 20:20:59 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 06:50:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <922577.71641.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Rakesh   1. It is a newspaper article which includes some Survey results.   2. You make fine points about the 'statistics of the survey'    3. Your judgment on the quality of the questions in the survey can be argued over. It would be just being argumentative. Avoiding that.   4. You do not seem to have recognised the distinction between a Survey (on which you made fine points) and the rest of the article by an author. A newspaper article often has anecdotal reportings, deductions and conclusions. Please do not confuse that with the critique that can be made of the 'statistics of a survey'.    Kshmendra --- On Thu, 3/5/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 6:55 PM Dear Kshamendra (and all) Now I am putting across a structured response, in reply to the arguments which have been raised in this particular survey. First of all, I can understand that a survey is trying to put across the fact that the people across the NWFP, don't support the Taliban or the Al-Qaeda. This is a welcome development. The more such surveys, and the more people's voices are heard, the better. But I can never support surveys having questions as 'Do you think the drones are accurate in their strikes?' being asked to common people. After all, how can a survey decided whether the drones were actually accurate in their strikes or not? It can be determined by first America declaring their strike points they wished to target, and matching them with the actual points targetted. Similarly, it is useless to ask questions like 'Do the militant organisations get damaged due to drone attacks?' to people. This is no way to decide whether the infrastructure for militancy and terrorism is nipped in the bud or not. The only way is to find out the organizations and institutions involved in propagating, managing and perpetuating this structure in the areas, and then finding out whether such attacks did manage in changing these three activities of the 'terrorists', so to speak. How can surveys decide such things? My second concern stems from the kind of background of people who have been chosen for the survey. When it comes to the questions asked, it's just 650 people chosen, out of whom 100 don't respond, as per the site link you have given. That means about 15% of people haven't expressed their opinion at all, which is significant, considering the percentage figures given for certain questions, which are very close, in terms of their choices. Also, the people chosen have been from business, health, education and transport. But the way these occupations have been taken up, it may be possible that these people are actually from the upper sections of the society. Ironically coming up from a researcher only, it would be much better, that to allay the apprehensions for once and for all, an economic background of the people whose views were asked for in the survey, can also be looked at. The third concern is with respect to lack of data. When it is said that  'The people I asked about civilian causalities in the drone attacks said most of the attacks had hit their targets, which include Arab, Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik terrorists of Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban (Pakhtun and Punjabis) and training camps of the terrorists. There has been some collateral damage.'  or 'The drones hit hujras or houses which the Taliban forced people to rent out to them. There is collateral damage when the family forced to rent out the property is living in an adjacent house or a portion of the property rented out.', there is no numerical statistic or data to point out how many Tajiks, Arabs, Chechen, Uzbeks or Tajiks were there among those killed. Similarly, there is no assessment economically and in terms of number of innocents killed here, who are referred to as collateral damage. How does Farhat Taj say that drones have hit Taliban based upon surveys? 'Other innocent victims are local people who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.' Indeed. But my point is that, there is no reference to either experiences of this being the reason for people being killed, in the above-mentioned article, neither is there data responding to the same. I don't understand how can this be accepted. Henceforth, it would be much better that we actually stick at least in such cases, to experiences of people at least, if not numerical data, to support our arguments, rather than giving macro-based statements which can fall flat. (although experiences can be misleading). After all, in research, it is important to first put arguments, then give constructive proofs for those arguments, and then conclude the argument. According to me, these arguments have loopholes, and may well turn into only perceptions. And perceptions are just that, perceptions. Regards Rakesh From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 20:21:33 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 20:21:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: References: <640139.27446.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra jee I forgot to add. I could have done the survey, but I too am a student busy with my own academics,a and also I don't have the resources for undertaking it. Hence I am sorry for not having the time or the resources required for doing so. Please accept my heartfelt apologies. Regards Rakesh From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 20:41:56 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 20:41:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: <922577.71641.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <922577.71641.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra I have said, earlier also, experiences can't stand up for statistical data. Just because in a few instances, some Tajiks, or someone else may have been killed, doesn't mean that those ancedotes are 'the truth' or the final truth. Data or statistics could have helped. At least a couple of cases could be discussed as well. I am not saying the author is wrong, but would it not have been better if experiences in detail as interview with persons, or their own words, could have been put up in the article? For ancedotal reportings, I think the source and its acceptance or not (based on proper reasoning) also is important. In good articles, you can see views of common people expressed in their own words. In Praveen Swami kind of articles, you have views of police confessions as well being thrown about regarding terrorism. Conclusions are drawn in both the cases. But yes of course, the latter practice is bad, simply because police confessions are not acceptable in courts, and police reports are to be proven before they can be accepted as the truth. But Swami already takes them to be the truth. Hence, not to say that the article is a lie, but yes, it is certainly little, compared to what has to be known. *And finally, plese Kshamendra jee, these are not comments against you. These are for the article. Please don't take them personally. * Regards Rakesh From aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com Thu Mar 5 21:02:32 2009 From: aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com (Aashish Gupta) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 21:02:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey) In-Reply-To: References: <640139.27446.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: There so many debates on Sarai which, though not starting with Kashmir, ultimately come to that, and only that. Not to suggest that Kashmir is not an important issue. But please, can we go beyond the wider -pakistan-islam-hindu-kashmir debate issues? Poverty, Governance, Education, Media, Urban Life ... there are so many other issues. I really used to like postings by sarai fellows. Even they don't come by. Aashish From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 10:04:43 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 09:34:43 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] drones parked in pakistan Message-ID: <5af37bb0903052034p3bbb4f7dr1301280f424b4885@mail.gmail.com> from 18 feb 2009 http://teeth.com.pk/blog/2009/02/18/drones-parked-in-pakistan From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 10:31:45 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 10:31:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pak Invasion 1947 - Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903052101l49b17f3bncef3ab52910e6a7c@mail.gmail.com> *BOOK-REVIEW * *JEET YA HAAR (By Balraj Madhok) * *Raiders’ Invasion-New Revelations * * * *By P.N. Raina * Jeet (win) Ya (or) Haar (Defeat) is a novel based on the Tribal Raiders’ invasion of J&K State in 1947. Its author Prof. Balraj Madhok claims that the novel is based on the actual incidents, events he had recorded regularly in his daily diary. Actual names of some characters have been changed to protect their identity as the novel was first published in 1953. Real incidents have been dramatized to give it the shape of a novel. Many of the events narrated by the author have been corroborated by independent observers who were witness to the era. Sh. Meher Chand Mahajan took over as Prime Minister of J&K State on 15th October 1947. His shrewdness, administrative capability and political foresight were well acknowledged even by his adversaries. His appointment unnerved Pakistanis who felt that their game-plan to grab Kashmir may run into rough weather with Mahajan at the helm. The Pakistanis were working overtime to create vast subversion network in the J&K State to prepare the ground for external invasion. They were trying to buy the loyalties of their co-religionists in state forces, training a section of local population for subversion in Jammu province. They were also dumping arms and ammunition in selective areas of Jammuregion. All this was being planned meticulously, keeping the strategic details and the D-Day a top secret. While all this was being done the senior officers of State forces were kept in good humour that everything was hunky dory. Prof. Balraj Madhok’s well-written novel throws light on all this. It also covers the actual invasion and the author’s escape in the aftermath of invasion. Many canards were spread by his political adversaries to distort his role and twist events to suit them politically. A dispassionate history detailing the patriotic role of all those forces who worked overtime to see the Kashmir remains with India during those, fateful days still eludes us. ‘Haar’ Ya ‘Jeet’ will obviously help in removing many cobwebs of confusion and facilitate in reconstructing the authentic history of that phase. *PROF. MADHOK’S ROLE: * Prof. Madhok was among the first 15 RSS workers of Undivided Punjab. He stood first in MA (History) in Punjab University. He came to Srinagar in 1944 and was appointed Vice-Principal of DAV College. Prof. Madhok was also chief of RSS organisation in Kashmir. A dynamic organiser Prof. Madhok was able to create a group of 250 cadres in Srinagar within a few years. During his stay in Lahore he had also been working in coordination with RSS workers in Rawalpindi district, Peshawar, Hazara, Abbotabad, Lahore etc. Due to his contacts with Sh. Meher Chand Mahajan from Lahore days Prof. Madhok had direct access to higher-ups in Maharaja’s administration. As per Prof. Madhok’s testimony he harnessed all his contacts to unearth the invasion conspiracy even as early as 9th October i.e. 12 days before the actual invasion. Had his information been acted upon much of the death and destruction could have been averted. The Maharaja’s administration would have been on a firmer wicket to face the Raiders (read Pakistanis). But then these are ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ of history. *DR. S.K. ATRI’S INFORMATION: * On October 8, 1947 Prof. Madhok got the first clue regarding the intended invasion from Dr. SK Atri. A medico frmo UP, Dr. Atri had been practicising medicine in Srinagar for over two decades. He was an influential and a renowned doctor in the city. Some of his elderly Muslim clients who had po-Pak views had visited him in the evening of 7th October and requested him to leave Srinagar along with his family at the earliest because Pakistanwould be invading Kashmir soon and members of the minority community would be soft targets. A little scared Dr. Atri took Prof. Madhok into confidence the following day. *PUNJAB MUSLIM HOTEL: * During those days Punjab Muslim Hotel at Pratap Chowk (now called Lal Chowk) was known to be the rendezvous of Pak spies and agents. Prof. Madhok took a few of his top cadres into confidence and decided out a strategy to dig out more details about the Pak gameplan. He decided to utilize the services of some cadres who had come to Srinagar from Punjab and NWFP. Prof Madhok managed to infiltrate his confidents into Punjab Muslim Hotel. Within two days he was able to unearth major elements in the Pakistani conspiracy. He got precise details about how Pakistan was subverting loyalties of a section of the Maharaja’s forces. Many top officers at Civil and Military level were working for Pakistan. These included Col. Adalat Khan, Ch. Faizullah Khan, Wazir Wazarat Baramulla. Prof. Madhok also learnt that invasion was to come from the direction of Abottabad, the invaders were to include Pak army personnel in civies and Pathan tribesmen. The Maharaja was to be taken captive, and then Pakistan would make declaration about Kashmir’s accession with Pakistan. Prof. Madhok says that soon after collecting this vital information he managed to convey it to Maharaja and Brig. Kashmir Singh, the Chief of State Forces. Madhok made a suggestion to disarm the section of state forces whose loyalities had raised a question mark. *HARISH BHANOT: * Two days later Harish Bhanot, RSS Chief of Abbotabad reached Srinagar. After partition Bhanot had been working underground as a RSS activist in Abbotabad under the cover name of ‘Nawab of Boi’. He had links with top officials of Pakistan and had gathered vital information from them about the invasion. Before the cover could blow off Bhanot managed to reach Srinagar by Car. On 16th of October, Prof. Madhok apprised Sh. Meherchand Mahajan about the information brought by Bhanot. Prime Minister Mahajan in view of limited strength of state forces made a request to Prof. Madhok to lend his helping hand. On 17th October Brig. Kashmir Singh met Prof. Madhok and informed him that details supplied by the latter have been found to be true. The Brigadier also expressed helplessness of the government in acting upon the information in view of limited troops at its disposal. Srinagar had just one company, with loyalty of a good number of troops under doubt. Brig. Kashmir Singh also talked about non-availability of arms and ammunition (which used to come via Rawalpindi road) and petrol stocks. Three was no enough petrol for army trucks. Brig. Kashmir Singh’s another worry was that Col. Narayain Singh was refusing to accept the gravity of the situation as related by Headquarters. The Brigadier asked Prof. Madhok to send some of his own activists to Domel to convince Col. Narain Singh. Accordingly, Harish Bhanot was sent on motorcycle to Domel on morning of 22nd October. At Uri he learnt about the raiders’ attack and returned to Srinagar in the evening. A few hours after Bhanot had left for Domel, Sh. Mangla Sein, a RSS Pracharak of Teetwal reached Srinagar. He informed Prof. Madhok about raiders’ attack on Muzaffarabad and told him that non-Muslims were fleeing towards Srinagar and Poonch to escape reprisals. Bhanot later joined Hindustan Times as a columnist and belonged to an influential family. He lives in Chandigarh. Mangal Sein later became leader of opposition in Haryana Assembly. *RSS HELP CALLED: * In the intervening night of 23/24 October, Maharaja’s ADC took Prof. Madhok to Maharaja’s palace in Srinagar. The Maharaja was closeted with his Prime Minister and Brig. Kashmir Singh. Sh. Meher Chand Mahajan talked about the grimness of the situation, aggravated by desertions in State forces. The Prime Minister said that his government expected Indian forces soon and asked Prof. Madhok to get his cadres so that they could be of help in maintaining order in Srinagar. At that time Brig. Rajender Singh was still holding on at Uri. While meeting was on the Maharaja telephonically ordered Brigadier to hold on to the last man and the last breath. On 24 October, Prof. Madhok collected 200 workers at the premises of Arya Samaj, most of them were college students. They were given two hours training in using 303 rifles at Badami Bagh. On 26th October, some groups of raiders had already positioned themselves around Shalteng. Prof. Madhok had gone to Badami Bagh Cantt to know whether Indian Army was coming in time or not. At 3 PM it was clear that Indian forces were expected any moment. Soon after this news NC and Communist Workers came out on streets of Srinagar for organising Civil Defence of the city. Same evening 200 RSS workers were put in 2-3 army trucks by Maharaja’s administration and despatched to Shalteng to hold back raiders till the time Indian forces landed in Srinagar. When the trucks reached Hari Singh High Street (Amirakadal) NC workers intercepted them. They searched the RSS cadres and found most of their rifle magazines empty. The NC workers thrashed them, telling them that raiders would lynch them within no time at Shalteng. The RSS workers were disarmed and asked to disperse. Later, a mischievous rumour was floated that RSS plan to create mischief in the city had been foiled. This mistrust later led to a bigger conflict, which paved way for Sheikh Abdullah’s dismissal in 1953. Prof. Madhok’s novel also makes a revelation that Maharaja cancelled his visit to Bhimbar on 20th October on the basis of information supplied by him. The Maharaja and his Prime Minister were on a tour of Jammu region to take stock of the latest situation. Pakistan, having come to know about it, had hatched a plan to attack Bhimber and take the Maharaja captive. Source: Kashmir Sentinel, Panun Kashmir __,_._,___ From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 10:32:39 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 10:32:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute - The Myth - Part 1 Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903052102u56439bb5h9632aa165ee01e70@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmir** Dispute - The Myth* By Dr. M.K. Teng Neither the composition of the population of the Princely States nor the self-determination of their peoples was recognised by the British, the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, as the determining factor of the future disposition for the states in respect of their accession. After the 3 June Declaration, envisaging the partition of the British India, Nehru demanded the right of the people of the Princely States to determine their disposition in respect of their accession Mohammad Ali Jinnah rejected Nehru's demand as an attempt to thwart the process of the partition. Shortly, before the transfer of power, the Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten advised the Princess to keep in consideration the geography and the composition of the population of the States in reaching a decision on their accession. Mountbatten proposed to the Muslim League as well as the Congress to accept the principles of the partition–geographical contiguity and the composition of the population as the criteria of their accession. While the Congress leaders indicated their inclination to accept the proposals, the Muslim League leadership reacted sharply against the proposals and characterised them as an attempt to interfere with the rights of the Princes to determine the future of the States. At that time the Muslim League was deeply involved in shadowy maneuvers to support the Muslim rulers of several major States to remain out of India and align with Pakistan. It has been pointed out in an earlier part of this paper that Pakistan invoked the partition to legitimize its claim to Jammu and Kashmiron the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population after the last two Muslim ruled States of Junagarh and Hyderabad were integrated with India. There is enough historical evidence available, which reveals that in persuading the Congress leaders to accept the partition the British assured the Congress leaders that after the Muslim majority provinces and regions were separated to form the Muslim homeland of Pakistan, the unity of the rest of India, including the states would be preserved and not impaired any further. The Indian leaders rejected the claim Pakistan made to the Muslim majority States as well as the Muslim ruled States, but they dithered when the time to act and unite the States with India arrived. Instead of taking active measures to bring about the unification of the States with India, they resorted to subterfuge.. The Indian leaders turned to Mountbatten and not the people of the States to bring about their integration with India. Mountbatten steered the States Department to accept a balance between the Muslim ruled States and the Muslim majority States. The largest of the Muslim ruled States were deep inside the Indian mainland. Neither Gandhi nor Nehru objected to the course, the Indian States Department followed. The Viceroy did not forgive Hari Snigh for having disregarded his advice to come to terms with Pakistan. He refused stubbornly to deal with Jammu and Kashmir independent of the Muslim States and in the long run did more harm to Jammu and Kashmir than anybody else in India did. He was the main proponent of the policy of isolation, the Indian leaders followed towards Jammu and Kashmir. The way Mountbatten acted as the Governor General of India till 15 August 1947, and the way he acted as the Governor General of the Indian Dominion after 15 August 1947, left wide space open for Pakistan to claim a separate freedom for the Muslim of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population. Not many months after the Security Council adopted its first resolution on Jammu and Kashmir in August 1948, the Muslims laid claim to a separate freedom for them on the basis of the Muslim majority character of the population. The Government of India and the Indian political leadership failed to rebut the claim made by Pakistan and the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir that the state was on the agenda of the partition of India. Not only that, the Government of India and the Indian political leadership failed to refute the claim made by the Muslims of the state to a separate freedom, different from the freedom that the Indian people were ensured by the Constitution of India - a separate freedom which was determined by the theological imperatives of Islam. The Indian leaders overlooked the fact that the conflict which led to the partition of India was rooted in the claim the Indian Muslims made to a separate freedom which drew its sanction from the precept and precedent of religion. The Muslim League followed a meticulously designed plan to use the Muslim rulers of several major Princely States, situated deep inside the Indian mainland to bring about the fragmentation of India. The Indian leaders walked into the trap when they tried to balance the accession the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir with the accession of the Hindu majority States ruled by the Muslim Nawabs like Bhopal, Hyderabad and Junagarh. The strategy to refer the issue of the accession to the people of these States tantamounted to the acceptance of the Muslim claim to a separate freedom, the Two-Nation theory envisaged. The Indian proposals to Pakistan to refer the accession of Junagarh with that Dominion, accomplished by the ruler of the State on the eve of the transfer of power, was a tame recognition of the Muslim claim to a separate freedom. When Pakistan made a counter-proposal to hold a plebiscite in all the three States, the Government of India was suddenly faced with a catastrophic choice. It promptly rejected the proposals made by Pakistan. The Indian Government, for unknown reasons, separated its offer to refer the accession of the State to its people i.e. the Muslims for their endorsement. Why did not the Indian Government propose to refer the accession of Bhopaland Trancore to the Dominion of India, to the people of the two States? The rulers of both the States were opposed to join India and their people took to the streets and forced them to accede to India. Hardly ten months after the accession of the Jammu and Kashmir while the Indian armies were still fighting to drive out the invading forces, United Nations foisted a resolution on India which envisaged a plebiscite to determine its final disposition in respect of its accession. The resolution of the Security Council, virtually underlined the repudiation of the accession of the State to India and opened the option for the Muslims of the State to exercise their choice to join Pakistan. The Security Council Resolution was the first step in the process of the internationalization of the claim of the Muslims of the State to a separate freedom. The Government of India cried hoarse that it had rejected the Two-Nation Theory inspite of having accepted the partition of India. But its commitment to refer the accession of the State, accomplished by Hari Singh to its people was a tacit recognition of the right to a separate freedom, which underlined the demand for Pakistan. Another ten months after the August resolution of the Security Council was adopted the Indian Government took a fateful step and formally recognised the right the Muslims for Jammu and Kashmir to a separate freedom, when in May 1949, it agreed to exclude Jammu and Kashmir from the constitutional organisation of India. In November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India incorporated provisions in the Constitution of India which left out the State from the constitutional structure which it had evolved for the Dominion as well as the Princely States which had acceded to India and after years of labour. The special provisions for the State, embodied in the Constitution of India, stipulated the application of only Article if the Constitution of India to the State. A blanket limitation was imposed upon the application of the rest of the provisions of the Constitution of India to the State. The Union Government was empowered to exercise powers listed in the Central list of the Seventh Schedule of the India Constitution only in respect of defence, foreign affairs and communications which corresponded with the powers delegated by the State to the Dominion Government by virtue of the Instrument of Accession. The Interim Government of the State, constituted by the National Conference insisted upon the right to frame a separate constitution for the State, which fulfilled the aspirations of the Muslims who constituted a majority of its population. The Interim Government arrogated to itself unrestricted powers and ruled the State by decree and ordinance. Within six years of its tenure, it completed the task of the Muslimisation of the State by enforcing the precedence of Islam and the Muslim majority in its social, economic and political organisation. In 1953, the Interim Government claimed a separate freedom for the Muslim ‘nation’ of Kashmir. The Indian leaders had conceded to the Muslims the right to constitute a Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmiron the territories of India. Confronted by the demand for a Muslim State outside the territories of India, the Indian leaders were flustered. They refused to countenance the Muslim demand for a separate Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmir, which did not form a part of India. The Interim Government was dismissed and the National Conference broke up. Pakistan, the Muslim separatist and pro-Pakistan Muslim flanks joined by a large section of the leaders and cadres of the National Conference, called for a plebiscite in the State, which enabled the Muslims to exercise their right of self-determination. They claimed that they had acquired in consequence of the partition of India and which India, Pakistan as well as the United Nations had explicitly recognised. The Muslim separatist movement led by the Plebiscite Front, committed itself to an ideological framework which was based upon the distortions of the history of the partition of India. The ideological commitments of the Plebiscite Front underlined : *(a) *that the right of the Muslims to a separate freedom enmated from the partition of India and the creation of the Muslim homeland of Pakistan; *(b) *that the right of the Muslims to a separate freedom transcended the accession of the State to India, brought about by the ruler of the State; and *(c) *that as a consequence of the partition of India, the Muslims, constituting the majority of the population of the State, had acquired an irreversible right to exercise their option to join the Muslim State of Pakistan. In 1990, the Muslim Jehad initiated by Pakistan and the Muslim separatist forces in the State, claimed their aims to be the unification of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan on the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population to complete the agenda of the partition of India. The Jehad claimed that Muslims of the State, as the Muslims elsewhere in India, had acquired a right to a separate freedom which the Muslim struggle for Pakistan had secured the Muslim nation of India. The Indian Government and the Indian political class must realise that the Muslims of the State did not acquire any right to separate freedom from the partition of India, which brought Pakistan into being and any attempts to arrive at a compromise with the Muslim separatists forces will lead straight to a second partition of India. The Muslim claim to a separate freedom on the basis of religious is a negation of the unity of India. – To be continued Source: Kashmir Sentinel, Panun Kashmir Copyrights iKashmir.net - All Rights Reserved. __._,_.___ From kadamfilms at yahoo.com Thu Mar 5 18:24:37 2009 From: kadamfilms at yahoo.com (Sachin Singh) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 04:54:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [vikalp] Reminder: Invitation to a Talk: Cairo: Cartographies of Exclusion in Middle East Urbanism In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <92890.58395.qm@web90602.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi, It should not be "Middle East" which is an Euro-centric approach to the world and its people...but a more appropriate "West Asia"?   Regards, Sachin --- On Tue, 3/3/09, Shilpa Phadke wrote: From: Shilpa Phadke Subject: [vikalp] Reminder: Invitation to a Talk: Cairo: Cartographies of Exclusion in Middle East Urbanism To: "reader-list at sarai.net" , "sexualityinstitute2002 at yahoogroups.co.in" , iradcrea at yahoogroups.com, vikalp at yahoogroups.com, "Birth India" Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 11:24 PM Centre for Media & Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Urban Design Research Institute are very pleased to invite you to a talk titled: *Cairo**: Cartographies of Exclusion in Middle East Urbanism* by *Martina Rieker* *Date*: 04 March 2009 *Time*: 6.30 p.m. *Place*: Urban Design Research Institute 43 Dr V.B. Gandhi Marg Kala Ghoda Fort Mumbai 400 023 Tel: 65735773 *Abstract:* The transformation of the modernist city with its celebration of diversity into gated enclaves of the affluent and far away informal communities of the poor is a *sine qua non* of contemporary critical urban literature. What is less well understood are the implications of the experience of the urban for the working poor in much of the global south. With the growth of informal laboring practices in post-industrial urban economies different sorts of creative mobility is demanded of the people who inhabit the contemporary city at its social and economic margins. Contemporary practices of visioning the urban (on the part of youth, women, men) are both embedded in and expand beyond the register of an earlier 'rights to the city' narrative. Drawing on research in Cairo, the first part of this paper examines ways in which these new urban mobilities re-articulate visions of the urban for the working poor. The neo-liberalization of the quotidian megatropolis raises important questions concerning the meaning of local exclusionary spatial inscriptions as such. With modernist urban centre and periphery models, among others, no longer providing a productive analytic grid through which to understand practices of the city, the second part of the paper explores forms of connections, communications, exchanges and activisms and that are being created within the temporal-spatial register of a very specific neo-liberal urban project. *About the Speaker:* Martina Rieker is Director of the Institute for Gender and Women's Studies at the American University in Cairo. Together with Kamran Ali she is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Shehr Comparative Urban Landscapes in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa Network (www.shehr.net) The Shehr network is an academic initiative that seeks to further a social-historical and critical understanding of contemporary cities and urban practices in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The initiative examines the efficacy of the category of the city in modernist discourse and seeks to chart this spatial imagination and its effects through an exploration of the complex processes through which gendered, classed, and raced citizen-subjects have negotiated and been the object of urban projects in these regions. Attuned to both the legacy of modernist conceptual grammars and their inadequacy for understanding the remaking of space and place in the neo-liberal present, the purpose of the network is to open up an arena in which to address the particular positioning( s) of contemporary urban landscapes and urban practices through theme-based workshops, publications and an on-line discussion and exchange forum. Recent network publications ed. by Ali/ Rieker include *Gendering Urban Space *(Palgrave, 2007), *Comparing Cities: Middle East/South Asia* (Oxford University Press, 2009 forthcoming) and a special issue of the journal *Social Text *(95/ 2008) entitled "Urban Margins: Envisioning the Global South." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Calendar MARKETPLACE >From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity  1 New MembersVisit Your Group Need traffic? Drive customers With search ads on Yahoo! Yahoo! Groups Dog Group Connect and share with dog owners like you Group Charity Give a laptop Get a laptop: One laptop per child . __,_._,___ From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 13:31:45 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:31:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SOS from Pakistan - Save Pakistani Shias Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903060001h3d7c6810m2979214de5a8624@mail.gmail.com> Pls check the petition http://www.petitiononline.com/ShiaSOS/petition.html To: Governments of Pakistan, USA, UK, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, UNESCO, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, OIC, European Union, Amnesty International, HRCP, Human Rights Watch, ICG Aim The aim of this petition is to draw the world's attention to the plight of minority Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Hundreds of Shias have been killed in the last one year alone in various acts of terrorism by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Sipah-e-Sahaba, and other sectarian and jihadi groups in Pakistan. Background Shia population in Pakistan Islam is the state religion of Pakistan with Sunni Muslims forming the majority of the population (Europa 2008 2008, 3498; US 19 Sept. 2008). According to the United States (US) Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report 2008, the Shia minority is roughly 10 to 20 percent of the population (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 1; see also ibid. 6 Nov. 2008) whereas Sunnis are estimated to be constituting 70 to 85 percent of the population. The treatment of Shias According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007, Shia Muslims in Pakistan "faced discrimination and societal violence" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 5). Country Reports 2007 further states that Shia Muslims "were the targets of religious violence" (ibid. 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 2.c). The International Religious Freedom Report 2008 indicates that some Sunni Muslim groups have published literature calling for violence against Shia Muslims (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 3). Freedom House states that Shia Muslims (along with Christians and Ahmadis) are targeted by extremist groups in Pakistan (2008). Country Reports 2007 states that the "[p]olice often failed to protect members of religious minorities – particularly ... Shias – from societal attacks" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 1.d). Source: UNHCR Report PAK102973.E: The treatment of Shias in Pakistan (2006 - November 2008) http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,,49913b5e59,0.html An account of recent Shia killings in Pakistan (from 1 Jan to 20 Feb 2009) Note: This is only a brief glimpse of systematic and continuous killings of Shia in Pakistan in the last few weeks. For a detailed account of the Shia genocide in the last many years in Pakistan, visit: http://www.shaheedfoundation.org/home.asp 1. On 20 February 2009, a suicide bomber killed at least 32 Shias and injured another 157 who were attending the funeral of an already murdered Shia leader in the southern district of D.I. Khan (Dera Ismail Khan) in the NWFP. Previously on 21 November 2008, 6 Shia were killed and 25 more received severe injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through the funeral procession of a slain Shia leader who was shot the previous night. 2. On 19 February 2009, six Shia were killed in Parachinar when Taliban terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on them at mid-day. They had gone to collect wood from local forest. It may be noted that the Shia are under siege in Parachinar for the past many years. The massacres of hundreds of Shias in Kurram Agency in 2007 and 2008 saw regular trickles of Shias migration. (Over the years, cities like Thal, Hangu and Kohat have developed significant pockets of migrant Shia population. All this area is also the target of the Afghan refugees who have leaked out of the Afghan refugee camps and don’t plan on going home because becoming a part of the Al Qaeda fighting machine is more lucrative. They take the identity of Taliban and do a lot of Shia-killing on the side. An informally named ghetto, Shiagarh, is an obvious target, located just 10 miles from Kohat going to the city of Hangu.) 3. On 19 February 2009, a Shia man, Qurban Ali, was killed and another Sabir sustained injuries when terrorists opened fire on their van in the Gilgit area. 4. On 10 February 2009, Mualana Syed Shabeer Hussain Shah was killed near Qureshi Maur; he was a prayer leader at Masjid-e-Kotla-Qaim Shah in D.I. Khan. He was 45 years old. 5. On 9 February 2009, Sardar Ali Baba, 45, was killed in Peshawar. He was the bread-winner of the family and used to run medicines' business. He is survived by four mourning children. 6. On 5 February 2009, at least 35 Shia were killed and more than 50 injured in a suicide attack on a Shia gathering in D.G. Khan. 7. On 3 February 2009, Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi was killed when terrorists attacked him near Dabal Road, Quetta. He worked in a Wood factory to earn livelihood. 8. On 2 February 2009, Syed Munawar Kazmi of Shia Dialogue Committee was shot in D.I. Khan. 9. On 27 January 2009, Syed Ather Shah was killed by terrorists on Dial Road outside of his home in D.I. Khan. Syed aged 40 years was the caretaker of Imambargah Faqir Shah Muhallah Totaan Walla. Previously on 18 January, another Shia, Ali Abbas was killed in the same city. 10. On 26 January 2009, Hussain Ali Yousufi president of Hazara Democratic Party was killed in firing by terrorist in today morning at Jinnah Road Quetta. The killing of Shia notables in Quetta, particularly those belonging to Hazara community, has sadly become a frequent occurrence. Some of the killings have been owned by Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, a sister organization of Pakistani Taliban. The number of the Shia community members killed there over the recent years has exceeded 300. Besides religious figures, liberal politicians, businessmen and government officials have been targeted. 11. On 14 January 2009, 3 Shia Police officials named DSP Hassan Ali, Mohammad Baqir and Sifwatullah were killed in Quetta, four were injured. They were going to Police Training Centre Quetta at Saryab Road at 10: 30 AM (PST) when terrorists sprayed fires upon them. All killed and two of injured belong from Shia Community. Four days ago president of Shia Conference was also targeted in Sibi (Baluchistan). On 8th June 2003 12 Shia cadets were also killed on Sariab Road Quetta. 12. On January 2009 in Hangu,17 Shia Muslims were killed and more than 35 injured. Taliban terrorists attacked with heavy weapons on Shia populated areas of Hungo City like; Ali Abad town, Muhallah Ganjanokalay, Muhallah Sangerh and Muhallah Paskaley. 13. On 10 Jan 2009, 4 Shia were killed and another 10 are injured when Taliban attacked the Shia converged for Ashura Procession in Hangu. In Summary 1. There is an ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in all areas in Pakistan, particularly in Kurram Agency, Kohat, Hangu, D.I. Khan and Quetta, and also in other areas. 2. Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia gatherings in Pakistan. They are supported by their sister organizations such as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangavi and other jihadi and sectarian organizations. 3. Looming large over all sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent times are various Taliban/jihadi figures, such as that of Qari Hussain, a militant commander based in South Waziristan, who is also known by the nom de guerre Ustad-i-Fidayeen (teacher of suicide bombers). Qari Hussain is believed to be a recruiter and trainer of suicide bombers and has infused his ideology with a virulent stream of anti-Shia sectarianism. This is an approach similar to the one adopted by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. 4. Since the ISI is involved in promoting and protecting jihadi outfits such as Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other jihadi and sectarian organization, the ISI's willingness to curb and eliminate acts of sectarian terror is seriously compromised or is doubtful. 5. The government's failure to track down the culprits has emboldened the perpetrators to kill with impunity. The situation has understandably enraged Shias in Pakistan. The Shia community is exasperated with the government's inability to perform one of its basic functions, that of ensuring that the lives of the people are protected. They are tired of hearing trite repetitions of promises by the Pakistan Government to 'find' the culprits and give them 'exemplary punishment'. 6. While the government has failed, the opposition's and media's role in Pakistan is no less pathetic. Some of them are clearly sympathetic to the Taliban, justifying their acts of terror, despite the fact that the Taliban have openly claimed responsibility of scores of Shia killings in Pakistan. 7. The world at large has paid little attention to the plight of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. The number of Shias killed in Pakistan in the last one year alone is much larger than the total number of Palestinians killed in the recent Gaza war. Yet, there is little international attention to the plight of Pakistani Shias. 8. The Sunni population also fears that unhindered killings of the Shias might cause sectarian strife in an area where the sects have generally coexisted peacefully for centuries. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has expressed its concern that the state agencies' consistent failure to track down the killers may prompt the Shia to retaliate against members of other sects, which is perhaps the sort of violence those behind the target-killings want to trigger. Source: http://www.hrcp-web.org/hrcpDetail_2.cfm?catId=180&catName=Press%20Releases The Petition According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the recent string of target-killing of Shias in Pakistan and the government's failure to bring any of the perpetrators to justice is a cause for growing alarm. We, the citizens of Pakistan, of all religious affiliations (including Sunni and Shia Muslims, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and others) are extremely sad and concerned about the ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in various parts of Pakistan. We urge you to take immediate action to stop killing of innocent Shia in Pakistan, particularly in Parachinar, D.I. Khan, Kohat, Hangu, Quetta and other areas affected by violence against Shia. We believe that the Shia killing is not an act of sectarian violence by Sunnis. In fact, these acts of terror are being perpetrated by a handful of extremist Deobandis and Wahhabis (Salafis) who are currently operating under different names, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other jihadi and sectarian organisations. We also believe that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is responsible for engineering, planning and facilitating these acts of terror in order to execute and expand its jihadi agenda, and to implement a plan to convert Pakistan into a puritanical Wahhabi state. The sad and gory events of Shia massacres in Quetta, D. I. Khan, D. G. Khan, Parachinar, Hangu and other areas in Pakistan in the last few weeks should have acted as awakeners for the Pakistan Government - especially for those sections of it directly responsible for protecting lives of the people (i.e. Police, ISI and the Army). They have failed to fulfil their duty to protect the lives of citizens who, in the words of the newspaper 'Dawn', are the continued targets of "a one-sided massacre of unwary mourners." However, given that the current civilian government in Pakistan has little power over the ISI and its unholy alliance with the jihadi/sectarian organisations, we urge that external and internal stakeholders in Pakistan (e.g., the UN, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Afghanistan) will be able to influence the military leadership in Pakistan to reconsider their policy of abetting and protecting jihadi and sectarian terrorists. If, however, Government of Pakistan is serious about taking steps to control and reverse the menace of target killing of Shias, here are some steps for immediate implementation. We demand that: • Government must constitute a permanent, high-power Anti-Sectarianism Commission in Pakistan, comprising the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of the ISI, a judge of the Supreme Court, federal minister of religious affairs, representatives of Shia, Deobandi, Barelvi, Salafi communities as well as members of minority communities. The Commission must meet at least once every three months to monitor the state of sectarian violence in Pakistan and deliberate on the progress to curb sectarian terrorism. • Local commandants of the ISI as well as local DIG/SP of Police must be held responsible for any act of sectarian terror which takes place their respective areas of jurisdiction. If they are unable to stop acts of terror or to arrest terrorists involved, the ISI and Police officials must be dismissed from their duties, arrested and tried for their negligence or complicity in the acts of terror. • Terrorists involved in acts of violence and those supporting them within the military and civil establishment must be arrested and tried immediately in anti-terrorist courts (ATCs). Bring people responsible and behind these killing to justices; punish them to maximum limit – the maximum time between arrest and sentence must not be more than three months. All of those involved in encouraging or executing sectarian violence must be punished with death sentence because there are instances in which these terrorists either managed to flee the prison by bribing the jail authorities or by harassing the judges through the ISI or Taliban. • The arch-terrorists of Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who are already under arrest, e.g., Akram Lahori, Malik Ishaque and Hafiz Shahid, all of whom have accepted killing Shia Muslims, shown no remorse, and promised 'more of the same' if they get the opportunity, should be publicly hanged forthwith as per sentences already handed down by ATCs. This will act as a strong deterrent to prospective travellers of this short-cut to heaven. • The mullahs who advocate 'takfeer' of Shia Muslims (i.e. declaring Shias as non-Muslims; creating sectarian hatred) be jailed immediately and tried in anti-terrorism courts, and barred from holding membership of parliament or legislatures. Sitting members of assemblies and other famous 'scholars' who have published the fatwa of takfeer of Shia Muslims include Maulana Samiul Haq, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Maula Bakhsh, Maulana Muhammad Ayub Khan Binori and others. • The madrassahs in which Shias are portrayed as Kafir (non-Muslim) or which promote sectarian hatred against Shias must be immediately closed down, and their leaders arrested. • Defeating the hydra of militancy does require different tactics at the local level, but there must be overall strategic coherency too. Currently, Pakistan is fighting the militants piecemeal in different areas of the country. That must change; the militants must be pursued across the length and breadth of the country simultaneously. There must be no dialogue with sectarian terrorists; they deserve no mercy. • Compensate Shia Muslims affected during sectarian attacks financially; Rs. 1 million compensation per Shia death must be paid to the family of each Shia killed; Rs. 5 lac per person should be paid as compensation to those injured. Other loss of property must be totally compensated. • Provide security and support to Shia not only through adequate police security but also by providing Shia mosques and imambargahs with latest scanners, anti-bomb equipment and anti-terrorism training so that Shias could secure themselves from any future attacks. • STOP SHIA KILLINGS in Pakistan. Sincerely, The Undersigned Sincerely, From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 13:36:32 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:36:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Rehman Baba - Pushtoons Great Poet Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903060006n1fa8dd57i548eceaa0e2bff7f@mail.gmail.com> Taliban Islamic fanatics bombed Pushtoons great poet ,Rehman baba's ,masoleum in Peshawar. Taliban did not want woman to go there. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Taliban-bomb-shrine-for-letting-in-women/articleshow/4231042.cms A Poem by Rehman Baba probably best suits the Pakistani establishment Sow flowers so your surroundings become a garden Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet If you shoot arrows at others, Know that the same arrow will come back to hit you. Don’t dig a well in another’s path, In case you come to the well’s edge You look at everyone with hungry eyes But you will be first to become mere dirt. Humans are all one body, Whoever tortures another, wounds himself. From difusion at medialab-prado.es Fri Mar 6 18:46:33 2009 From: difusion at medialab-prado.es (Difusion Medialab-Prado) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:16:33 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for collaborators> INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: MAGIC & TECHNOLOGY Message-ID: <49B12231.9060604@medialab-prado.es> : please spread this info - thanks! :: CALL FOR COLLABORATORS *INTERACTIVOS?' LIMA'09: MAGIC AND TECHNOLOGY *International Project Development Workshop *Deadline for collaborators: April 7, 2009 **Workshop dates: April 13 - 28, 2009 Venue: Escuelab (Lima, Peru) * Open call for collaborators for the INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: Magic and technology advanced project development workshop (Lima, April 13 - 28, 2009). The aim is to build software pieces and interactive installations which propose a rethinking of the usual scenario in magic tricks. Collaborators can join any of the developing teams that will carry out the selected proposals, depending on their particular interests and skills, thus contributing with their knowledge and skills and at the same time learning from the other group members and from the leading tutors (Julian Oliver, Clara Boj, Diego Díaz, and Kiko Mayorga). Collaborators' profile: artists, magicians, engineers, musicians, programmers, designers, architects, hackers, psychologists, or any other person interested in presenting a project on this topic. The call is open to collaborators from international and local spheres. No entry fees. More information and online submission form: http://medialab-prado.es/article/interactivos_lima09_colaboradores interactivos / at / medialab-prado.es Organizers: Medialab-Prado (Madrid, Spain) and the Cultural Center of Spain in Lima - AECID (Lima, Peru) www.medialab-prado.es www.ccelima.org -- Nerea García Garmendia Comunicación / Press Medialab-Prado Área de Las Artes, Ayuntamiento de Madrid Plaza de las Letras Alameda, 15 28014 Madrid Tfno. +34 914 202 754 difusion at medialab-prado.es www.medialab-prado.es "Antes de imprimir este documento asegúrate de que es realmente necesario. ¡Gracias por tu colaboración!" From niveditasubramaniam at gmail.com Fri Mar 6 19:28:24 2009 From: niveditasubramaniam at gmail.com (Niveditha) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 19:28:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for collaborators> INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: MAGIC & TECHNOLOGY In-Reply-To: <49B12231.9060604@medialab-prado.es> References: <49B12231.9060604@medialab-prado.es> Message-ID: <9e3c887f0903060558u26fe7a07vbcdabe3b32f561be@mail.gmail.com> either 2009/3/6 Difusion Medialab-Prado > > : please spread this info - thanks! :: > > > > CALL FOR COLLABORATORS > > *INTERACTIVOS?' LIMA'09: MAGIC AND TECHNOLOGY > *International Project Development Workshop > > *Deadline for collaborators: April 7, 2009 > **Workshop dates: April 13 - 28, 2009 > Venue: Escuelab (Lima, Peru) > * > Open call for collaborators for the INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: Magic and > technology advanced project development workshop (Lima, April 13 - 28, > 2009). The aim is to build software pieces and interactive installations > which propose a rethinking of the usual scenario in magic tricks. > > Collaborators can join any of the developing teams that will carry out > the selected proposals, depending on their particular interests and > skills, thus contributing with their knowledge and skills and at the > same time learning from the other group members and from the leading > tutors (Julian Oliver, Clara Boj, Diego Díaz, and Kiko Mayorga). > > Collaborators' profile: artists, magicians, engineers, musicians, > programmers, designers, architects, hackers, psychologists, or any other > person interested in presenting a project on this topic. > > The call is open to collaborators from international and local spheres. > > No entry fees. > > More information and online submission form: > http://medialab-prado.es/article/interactivos_lima09_colaboradores > interactivos / at / medialab-prado.es > > Organizers: Medialab-Prado (Madrid, Spain) and the Cultural Center of > Spain in Lima - AECID (Lima, Peru) > www.medialab-prado.es > www.ccelima.org > > > > > -- > Nerea García Garmendia > Comunicación / Press > Medialab-Prado > Área de Las Artes, Ayuntamiento de Madrid > Plaza de las Letras > Alameda, 15 28014 Madrid > Tfno. +34 914 202 754 > difusion at medialab-prado.es > www.medialab-prado.es > > > > "Antes de imprimir este documento asegúrate de que es realmente necesario. > ¡Gracias por tu colaboración!" > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pranesh at cis-india.org Fri Mar 6 13:06:35 2009 From: pranesh at cis-india.org (Pranesh Prakash) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:06:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] CIS Lecture Series | Kiran Sahi - The Internet and Illusions of Space and Liberty Message-ID: <4785f1e20903052336m5b0e244eh6cea3f65a2d4935f@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, The Centre for Internet and Society invites you to a talk by Kiran Sahi on 'The Internet and Illusions of Space and Liberty'. Kiran will use this talk as an opportunity to look at the parallels that can be drawn between the spatial elements of the mind, corporal physical space, and the virtual domains of the Internet. Reflecting on the roles of these parallel domains, we can discuss how dissident elements within society, traditionally found in geographical wildernesses, have found new opportunities for freedom in the realms of the Internet. The talk will also explore the idea of the Internet as a heterotopia, a safe space for displaced realities, and the pressures which make it adopt a panoptic structure. Speaker Kiran Sahi is is a designer and educator working from his home in a village north of Bangalore. His work involves presenting and interpreting the changing socio-political geography of his locality for teachers and students visiting from international academic institutions and education authorities. He also advises on local education development projects. Kiran works as a consultant design faculty, teaching materials and sculptural design, and runs a ceramic studio that produces large scale ceramic murals for public spaces. His previous work has involved exploring cultural narratives and their visual representations. He has been interested in exploring the possibilities of a collaborative community based business involving professional designers and local craftsmen. Time and Date Saturday, 7 March, 2009 17:00-18:00 hrs. Venue: Centre for Internet and Society, D2, 3rd Floor, Shariff Chambers, 14 Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 (It's in the same building as Wockhardt hospital) Map For a map, please see: http://bit.ly/cis-map You may RSVP at Regards, Pranesh -- Pranesh Prakash Programme Manager Centre for Internet and Society W: http://cis-india.org | T: +91 80 40926283 From difusion at medialab-prado.es Fri Mar 6 18:38:59 2009 From: difusion at medialab-prado.es (Difusion Medialab-Prado) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:08:59 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call for collaborators> INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: MAGIC & TECHNOLOGY Message-ID: <49B1206B.2060309@medialab-prado.es> : please spread this info - thanks! :: CALL FOR COLLABORATORS *INTERACTIVOS?' LIMA'09: MAGIC AND TECHNOLOGY *International Project Development Workshop *Deadline for collaborators: April 7, 2009 **Workshop dates: April 13 - 28, 2009 Venue: Escuelab (Lima, Peru) * Open call for collaborators for the INTERACTIVOS? LIMA'09: Magic and technology advanced project development workshop (Lima, April 13 - 28, 2009). The aim is to build software pieces and interactive installations which propose a rethinking of the usual scenario in magic tricks. Collaborators can join any of the developing teams that will carry out the selected proposals, depending on their particular interests and skills, thus contributing with their knowledge and skills and at the same time learning from the other group members and from the leading tutors (Julian Oliver, Clara Boj, Diego Díaz, and Kiko Mayorga). Collaborators' profile: artists, magicians, engineers, musicians, programmers, designers, architects, hackers, psychologists, or any other person interested in presenting a project on this topic. The call is open to collaborators from international and local spheres. No entry fees. More information and online submission form: http://medialab-prado.es/article/interactivos_lima09_colaboradores interactivos / at / medialab-prado.es Organizers: Medialab-Prado (Madrid, Spain) and the Cultural Center of Spain in Lima - AECID (Lima, Peru) -- Nerea García Garmendia Comunicación / Press Medialab-Prado Área de Las Artes, Ayuntamiento de Madrid Plaza de las Letras Alameda, 15 28014 Madrid Tfno. +34 914 202 754 difusion at medialab-prado.es www.medialab-prado.es "Antes de imprimir este documento asegúrate de que es realmente necesario. ¡Gracias por tu colaboración!" -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 7 14:15:47 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 14:15:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Land grabbing - another case Message-ID: Hi to all This is an article I got in Outlook magazine. Hope you find it interesting. http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090316&fname=Tribals&sid=1 Print This Page Magazine| Mar 16, 2009 a&n islands: tribals * A Little Naval Battle On Land * * The natives of Kamorta refuse to give up what the navy claims it 'acquired' in 1979* ANURADHA RAMAN *The Native Take* - The 230 acres on Kamorta island, which the navy claims, is theirs - The Rani of Nancowry had no right to gift the land to the navy - Only the chief commissioner or the lieutenant governor can decide on the fate of the land - The navy should try the tribals before a competent court if they have committed treason, as it alleges *** *The Navy’s Response* - The land is rightfully theirs. The tribals’ allegations of encroachment are untrue and unwarranted - Issue is being fanned by anti-national elements - Levelling allegations of land-grabbing by the navy is tantamount to high treason - The land in question was acquired in 1979 with an NoC from the Rani of Nancowry *** *"Nothing can separate us from our land. This is all we have."* —Rashid Yusuf, spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Five years ago, when the tsunami wreaked havoc, the tribespeople of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw the human face of the Indian navy. The men in white helped them restore normalcy after the ravages of the sea. Today, those same tribals are locked in a bitter battle with the navy over 230-odd acres on Kamorta island. The navy claims the land was given to them by the queen of Nancowry in 1978; the tribals declare the deal invalid in law. Things took a turn for the worse early this year, when the navy began cutting down plantations on the disputed land with help from the revenue department. The tribals were up in arms, for land in six villages was demarcated. Skirmishes broke out between the tribals and the navy, fuelling misgivings. "We’re required to apply for tickets to use the civil helicopter that ferries us to Port Blair thrice a week. The trips are crucial to us. But the navy, which owns the helipad, has threatened to deny us tickets if we continue to agitate for our land," says Rashid Yusuf, a tribal leader and spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Though under pressure, the tribals stand resolved to agitate if the land isn’t restored to them. What’s particularly vexing is that the navy has no plans to pay compensation of any sort. Worse, it hyperbolises the tribals’ demands into an attack on the nation. The navy’s Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) says the tribals’ allegations of encroachment are untrue, malicious and detrimental to the image and morale of the armed forces. "The issue is being fanned by anti-national elements, who are now adding (sic) the emotions of the tribal population in order to attain their own ends. Levelling baseless allegations against the nation’s armed forces, especially in these times of sub-conventional and separatist threats, is tantamount to high treason," the ANC said in a February 13 press release. Yusuf asks if fighting for one’s land is anti-national. Insulted by the navy’s allegations, the tribal councils decided to boycott the Lok Sabha elections. It took the intervention of Manoranjan Bhakta, the MP from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, to persuade the tribals to withdraw their boycott call. A delegation of tribals met defence minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi last week and he has assured them that he would look into their grievances and have officials determine the facts in the matter. "We are waiting to see whether our concerns will be addressed," says Yusuf. Bhakta also says the defence minister had assured the delegation that action would be taken against those responsible for harassing the tribals.In a February 21 letter to Antony, Bhakta notes: "...to call the tribal leaders anti-national is atrocious, baseless and totally uncalled for. The tribals say the entire island of Kamorta except the port area was declared a tribal reserve in 1957. Under the regulations, no one other than the administrator (the lieutenant governor) can permit any person other than a tribal to acquire an interest in any tribal land or any produce thereof. The deputy commissioner, the tribals believe, had no authority to allot any tribal land to anyone." Ravaged: A post-tsunami resettlement camp But what is the factual position as regards the 230 acres in question? Tribal leaders reveal that the navy’s claim on the land is based on a document signed by one Rani Lachmi, "Rani of Nancowrie", dated September 25, 1978, and an allotment order subsequently issued by the deputy commissioner, Nicobar district, dated November 15, 1979. Of course, there is no denying the fact that the area is strategic to the navy. The INS *Kardip* is an advanced forward naval base in the defence set-up. The defence forces already have 317 acres at Kamorta island but wants the additional 230 acres for "strategic reasons." The armed forces are presently engaged in an exhaustive joint survey for demarcation of land at Kamorta. In addition to representatives from the army, navy and the coast guard, the team includes a surveyor and draughtsman appointed by the Andaman & Nicobar administration as well as a representative from the assistant defence estates office, Port Blair. In reply to *Outlook*’s questionnaire, the defence ministry said: "The defence minister has ordered that the issues raised by the delegation be examined expeditiously, because of the nature of allegations made against the navy, so that the factual position can be ascertained." The tribals see the entire operation as land-grabbing by the navy. Many have begun to question the rationale of giving away their land and the time taken by the navy to claim it as its own. "Giving away 230 acres of land which does not belong to the Rani is amazing. Besides, Nancowry was not one of the 442 princely states under British domain. There is no evidence of an instrument of accession signed by the rani," says Samir Acharya of the Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology. Interestingly, regulations for Union Territories like the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are promulgated by the President, the one relevant to this matter being the Andaman & Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, promulgated in 1956. The entire island of Kamorta, except the naval port area, was declared a tribal reserve by gazette notification in 1957. No one can acquire any right on any land or produce except with consent of the administrator/chief commissioner. This, the tribals allege, was not obtained by the navy. For tribals the takeover of the land comes minus any compensation. Till now, they were cultivating the land. But once the navy moves in, they will be denied that source of livelihood. Which is why their leaders have been standing up to the might of the navy and the government. ------------------------------ From bhatt_rudra at yahoo.com Sat Mar 7 19:58:06 2009 From: bhatt_rudra at yahoo.com (Rudradep Bhattacharjee) Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 06:28:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] MONDAY SHORTS Message-ID: <294982.55996.qm@web34201.mail.mud.yahoo.com> ABOUT MONDAY SHORTS: The aim of Monday Shorts is to create a networking hub for creative minds where writers, directors, cinematographers as well as financiers meet to discuss ideas and business. And create an alternative experience of a night out for audiences. Every fortnight, short filmmakers from across Mumbai gather at the Mumbai Times Café to screen their work and receive feedback from a mixed audience: some of whom are interested in the medium of the cinema, others who are looking out for something different to do than just getting drunk every night and corporates and middle class audiences who like to indulge in regular doses of culture. We need your help to reach out to bigger audiences and more importantly film-makers who are interested in screening their work. If you know anybody who is interested, please get them in touch with us. Contact Details: Kenneth Lobo - kenneth at bombayelektrik.com For mailing Short Film synopsis and stills: shorts at bombayelektrik.com Mobile: 98197-03271. A very special screening this fortnight at Monday Shorts. (Facebook page link here: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/event.php?eid=55030662028&ref=ts) The Bombay Elektrik Projekt in association with Short Circuit proudly bring you the very best of The Asian Hot Shots festival. What a night and what a line up of some of the best shorts across Asia. Teena Lange, the director of the Asian Hotshots Festival in Berlin, this coming Monday at the Mumbai Times Cafe in Bandra. Asian Hotshots showcases the best contemporary cinema from (where else?) Asia.  What she's doing for us is screening short films from her selection - so it'll be something like a workshop cum talk cum screening. The Line up: GANDHI AT THE BAT (USA 2006, Stephanie Argy&Alec Boehm, 11min) http://www.gandhiatthebat.com In 1933 Gandhi made a top-secret trip to the United States. Now at last, newly unearthed newsreel footage proves the wild rumors true... and does it show?Gandhi is playing Baseball! GOD ONLY KNOWS - Winner 1st Prize Green Chilies Audience Award 2009 (Philippines/USA 2008, Mark V. Reyes, 17 min) A hear-ripping story from the slums: forced by economic circumstances a mother has to look for foster parents for her infant son. However, paradise expected in the first world can easily mean hell, too. HOOLAHOOP SOUNDINGS - Winner 2nd Prize Green Chilies Audience Award 2009 (Indonesia 2008, Edwin, 7 min) It is a story of a girl who hula-hoops to let customers of phone sex hear the noise. It is a remade film of a graduate work by Joel Coen in college. SUKRIT’S SUNDAYS (India 2008, Vasant Nath, 8 min) The magic of a simple ritual used to bring him and his grandfather together every sunday for as long as he can remember. EVOLVING IDENTITIES POST-INDEPENDENCE (India 2008, Elvis D’Silva, 1min) Using animated text, photographs and dynamic music, the film generates imagery from the lives of people that represent different facets of India. As characters appear in the frame, icons and images distinct to them highlight their evolving identities. LITERATURE (Philippines 2007, Khavn de la Cruz, 10 min) One hell of an existeltialistic one-man hard-boiled crime story. Visions from the streets of Manila. Life passes by. Literature can be deadly if taken seriously. Is this how poetic justice looks like? LAINER (Germany/China 2007, Dana Löffelholz & Anna Intemann, 8 min) Out of the heat into the frying pan. Long-term unemployed Rainer from Berlin tries to find a lucky new life in Beijing. However, this culture is completely alien to him. SAVING MOM AND DAD (India 2007, Kartik Singh, 14 min) Eight-year- old Ravi learns at school that non-believers in Christ will go to hell. Knowing his parents are not Christian, his challenge is “Saving Mom and Dad”. SHOPPING CART BOY (Taiwan 2007, Hou Chi-jan, 21 min) A love story between a supermarket employee and a shopping cart, the film tells a post-industrial allegory set on the fringes of an urban jungle of mega-marts. A VERY SLOW BREAKFAST (Indonesia 2002, Edwin, 6 min) The film explores feelings about individuality and the loss of family values. An attempt to redefine the meaning of family in the changing realm of modernity. KARA – THE DAUGTHER OF A TREE (Indonesia 2005, Edwin, 7 min) Kara‘s mother has been killed and her father has disappeared. The intrusion of a journalist into her isolated life prompts her to seek her mother‘s killer and an ultimate answer. From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Sat Mar 7 20:01:39 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 15:31:39 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Rifles Mutiny Message-ID: In an anguished editorial, former communist activist and now head of largest media house, Motiur Rahman writes: "Which Bangladesh is this? And where will this end?" His thoughts on our past and ongoing violent histories. Last Wednesday, frantic SMS came to mobiles around 10:30 am. There was a mutiny inside BDR Headquarters (Bangladesh Rifles, which guards the border with India/Burma), and the Army was moving into the area to suppress it. First impressions were very misleading. I left my house in Dhanmondi with my camera and went to BDR Gate (also in Dhanmondi). The photographs I took were at a remove: people running, empty streets, and soldiers. I ran into Nic Haque from Al Jazeera, last time I saw him was during last year's midnight attack on Balaka Stork Statues. Nic was wearing a PRESS-marked bullet-proof vest, and that reminded me that I was neither press nor bullet-proof. I went home, to watch the news. As we watched footage of BDR soldiers shouting into cameras, with bandannas covering their face, the image and rhetoric read like "class revolt". After a botched negotiation (TV drama w/o substance), a panicked evacuation of Dhanmondi during which mutineers disappeared into crowds, chaos of conflicting statements and death counts, and delayed discovery of mass graves, the grisly truth is slowly coming out. "Class revolt" is replaced with a killing machine that executed army officers trapped inside the camp. Why did this happen? Rumor-fed hysteria, mob violence or shadowy conspiracy-- no one knows what was the cause. Now the "rebel" faces are revealed as banal killers. An angry debate explodes around the timing of the massacres of army officers-- in the first hour, or while negotiations dragged on? Leaked secret recordings of the Prime Minister's closed-door meeting with army officers reveal high tensions between the new civilian government and the army-- latter in shock over the deaths of so many officers. Everything heading towards very unstable, definitely bad times, for the country. The honeymoon of the "we did it" election victory of last December now at an end. I was writing a newspaper op-ed yesterday, but every day brings new revelations, so I decided to wait. Maybe not write at all for now. In meantime, here are few photos. http://unheardvoice.net/blog/author/naeem/ [I didn't take any photos of the dead. But there are lot of those in the mass media-- graphic, horrifying and on edge of exploitation.] Liveblogging: http://unheardvoice.net/blog/ From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 8 06:35:49 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 01:05:49 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-97 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903071705k9544c48k47ecda026c48cc02@mail.gmail.com> http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=48169 ALL TYPES OF VESSELS TO BE REGISTERED UNDER A UNIFORM SYSTEM 16:52 IST The Cabinet Secretary today comprehensively reviewed/discussed issues relating to coastal/maritime security and the follow up action taken on the decisions arrived at in several meetings held at different levels in the Government of India following the 26/11 incidents in Mumbai. The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Deputy National Security Advisers, Defence Secretary, Secretary Shipping, Secretary, Fisheries, Secretary (Border Management), Secretary (West) MEA, DG NIC, Dy. Chief of the Naval Staff, Registrar General of India, DDG Coast Guard and other senior functionaries of Government of India. The Home Secretaries and Secretaries (Fisheries) of nine coastal States and four Union Territories viz. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands also participated in the meeting. The meeting focussed on the implementation aspects and progress vis-a-vis the entire range of issues relating to maritime/coastal security which, inter-alia, included the Coastal Security Scheme, uniform system for registration for fishing and other vessels, uniform system of issuance of Multipurpose National ID cards (MNIC) to fishermen, issuance of Identity Cards to the population living in the coastal villages, installation of navigational and communication equipments on the fishing vessels. The review of the initiatives in respect of coastal/maritime security has enabled further streamlining of the implementation time-lines and in resolving cross-cutting issues/problems. There was a broad agreement about putting in place a uniform system of registration of all types of vessels for which Department of Shipping was assigned the nodal responsibility to streamline the process, including the legal aspect, in consultation with coastal States/Union Territories and M/o Law. The need for installation of navigational and communication equipments on the boats for tracking their movement was emphasised and it was decided that Nautical Advisor will work out the technical details of such equipment in consultation with Coast Guard, National Informatics Centre and ISRO. As a part of coastal security measure, there was consensus in the meeting regarding the issue of application based Identity Cards to the fishermen and issuance of Multipurpose National Identity Cards to the population of the coastal villages. It was, inter-alia, also decided to constitute a group to look into the issue of inter-operability of two types of ID cards. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 8 06:36:59 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 01:06:59 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-98 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903071706m40b3fe02md17d09f666fbc5d8@mail.gmail.com> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Alibaug_fishermen_to_get_biometric_smart_ID_cards/articleshow/4185448.cms Alibaug fishermen to get biometric smart ID cards 25 Feb 2009, 0252 hrs IST, Vijay Singh, TNN NAVI MUMBAI: Fisherfolk from the coastal village of Awas in Alibaug taluka will be among the first few Indians to get the hi-tech biometric Multi-purpose National Identity Cards (MNIC), popularly known as smart cards. As a security measure initiated by the Union home ministry to undertake the National Population Register (NPR), along with the 2011 census in the country, Awas is just one of the four coastal villages in India chosen for this elaborate biometric experiment. Tehsildar of Alibaug taluka, V M Karnik, said: "Awas has been chosen as one of the coastal villages to begin the the process of issuing smart cards . At present, the officials are going from house-to-house collecting data. Later, their biometric fingerprinting scanning will also take place. The other three villages chosen are in Orissa, Karnataka and Andaman-Nicobar. The smart card will be tamper-proof as it will contain the unique fingerprints of the holder, along with his or her photograph and other vital details like PAN card number, driving licence in an embedded electronic chip. Companies like Bharat Electronics Limited, ITI and ECIL will help in the production of smart cards, with active help from National Informatics Centre. "Once smart cards come in use, nobody can make a fake or a duplicate card. Also, all transactions made by the smart card holder anywhere in the country will be centrally processed and recorded,'' said an official at Alibaug. For example, if a smart card holder takes a loan from one bank, he or she cannot fool another bank by taking another similar loan, as all the information will be computerised and available. The sarpanch of Awas, A Rane, told mediapersons: "We welcome the smart card process. With this scheme, any outsider or foreigner can easily be spotted.'' This is significant as intelligence agencies have warned of possible terror attacks via the sea route as security is inadequate. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 8 06:38:51 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 01:08:51 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-99 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903071708s5e3f1d3dm9fb9c7245b23e6ee@mail.gmail.com> http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb2509/at03 State population growth down to 18.9 pc Spl Correspondent The Assam Tribune Online Guwahati, Wednesday, February 25, 2009 NEW DELHI, Feb 24 – The spectre of demographic change of population looms large over Nagaland, as the State is among handful of six States, which have recorded a decadal growth of population. The decadal growth rate of population in percentage terms has declined in all States barring Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland and Gujarat besides few Union Territories, said Minister of State for Home Affairs, Dr Shakeel Ahmed in a Lok Sabha reply. As against an average national decadal growth rate of 21.5 pre cent, Nagaland has recorded a growth rate of whopping 64.5 per cent in 2001, when the last census operation was conducted. The States population in 2001 was unprecedented high, as in the previous census its population growth rate was recorded at 56.1 per cent, up from 50 percent in 1981. Nagaland, whose population was 19.90 lakh in 2001, had recorded population of 12.09 lakh in 1991. According to records furnished by the Minister, Assams population growth rate is down to 18.9 per cent, down from 24.2 per cent recorded in 1991. Meghalaya is another North Eastern States that has recorded a high growth rate of 30.7 per cent, though it is down from 32.9 percent. Assam population in 2001 was 2.66 crore and had recorded a population of 1.33 crore in 1991. Denying that the country’s population has recorded a phenomenal increase, Dr Ahmed said the country’s population has increased to 102.87 crore in 2001 from 54.82 crore in 1971. However, decadal growth rate of population in percentage terms has declined from 24.7 per cent in 1971-1981 to 21.5 per cent in 1991-2001. Meanwhile, the Minister said Government of India has issued nearly 13 lakh multi-purpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) to citizens in the pilot areas. The pilot project is under implementation in selected districts in12 States and one Union Territory including Assam and Tripura bordering Bangladesh. Dr Ahmed said the problems faced during implementation of the pilot project, authorities faced problems like verification of citizenship due to weak document base in rural areas, non-availability of data entry operators in regional languages, difficulties in capturing of photographs and finger prints biometrics. Based on these learnings, the Government of India has decided to create a National Population Register for all residents with one reference date at the time of next decennial census in 2011, he added. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Radhika V Selvi said Government of India is seized of the problem of cross border infiltration on the Indo-Bangladesh border. There is no significant incidence of infiltration on other borders. The Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a record number of 5130 illegal migrants in 2006, the number has gone down to 2559 in 2008, the Minister claimed. The Minister, however, said that Government has no information to suggest that money generated from cow smuggling from India to Bangladesh is used to finance smuggling of arms and ammunition. From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 09:38:28 2009 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 09:38:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 8 march solidarity rally and public meeting, Bombay Message-ID: <62cba67a0903072008g76d4cb7ere4f114ce814b8e5d@mail.gmail.com> On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2009, women’s organisations in Mumbai are raising the issue of growing assaults on women and their democratic rights in the name of safeguarding morality and culture by communal – fundamentalist organisations. The organisations will demand the upholding of rights, freedom and security of women provided in the Constitution and also the protection of all citizens from communal, casteist and regional chauvinist forces. *March 8, 2009**: Women’s Rally to start from Kotwal Garden (opposite Plaza cinema) Dadar (W) at **4.00 pm. Public Meeting at Bhupesh Gupta Hall, Sayani Road, Prabhadevi at 4.45 p.m.** * -- OISHIK SIRCAR oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca From shambhu.rahmat at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 14:06:49 2009 From: shambhu.rahmat at gmail.com (Shambhu Rahmat) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 09:36:49 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Bangladesh Bans YouTube To Stop Leaked Prime Minister-Army Recording Message-ID: Bangladesh government banned these five websites to prevent the spread of leaked audio recording of Prime Minister's meeting with Army Generals www.youtube.com www.esnips.com www.mediafire.com www.upload-mp3.com www.filefreak.com http://www.sachalayatan.com/omicronlab/22348 From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 19:30:15 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 19:30:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> <381050AC-AA0E-47B8-805B-3565E8D62801@sarai.net> Message-ID: <47e122a70903080700x27149fb3j33926c7262c79fe2@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, Please press  to see few images from performance/installation at MF Husain Gallery, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi on 4th of March http://thisispalestine.blogsppt.com the show ( Artists from Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh ) is on still 19th of  March love and regards inder salim On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 10:36 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > > Dear Shuddha (and all) > > I think this point about whether politics and art can be separate, is a > question which may not have been necessarily been there even among the > creators of the art piece itself. > > Politics, as I see it, is basically influencing people for a common cause. > (Incidentally, I am doing the same by asking people to believe that there > could be chances of 'a-political' art). > > Art, on the other hand, could be defined as human effort to imitate, > supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.* * > > Now whether an act of art is necessarily created to influence people, or it > is just created for one's own sake, is something one can't be sure of. For > example, both the religious conservatives and liberals in India talk about > Khajuraho. Now, Khajuraho, as it was made then, may have had such > sculptures, neither as what conservatives believe to be sacred deities, nor > to just portray sexuality as some great liberals claim. (Here, the > conservatives refer to the Sangh Parivar and their like, and the liberals > are basically the TV-pink chaddi-others gang.....). But who knows with what > intention did the laborers make it? May be some king ordered and they were > made exactly in the same way, in case of which it was simply a job. > > So, it's not art which is necessarily political. But yes, the way one looks > at art can certainly make it political. > > Regards > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 19:34:19 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 19:34:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Performance 'Palestine' : 4th of March: MF Hussain ART Gallery In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903080700x27149fb3j33926c7262c79fe2@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903020938u12a65bf5x69d22ceb6f52f69b@mail.gmail.com> <189428.18162.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6353c690903030529n3ac64ff9t2335e4430df36daa@mail.gmail.com> <381050AC-AA0E-47B8-805B-3565E8D62801@sarai.net> <47e122a70903080700x27149fb3j33926c7262c79fe2@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903080704m1c4571f8ve8507e7d61787388@mail.gmail.com> sorry for the spelling mistake , the correct one is below: http://thisispalestine.blogspot.com/ On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 7:30 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Dear All, > Please press  to see few images from performance/installation > at MF Husain Gallery, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi on 4th of March > > http://thisispalestine.blogsppt.com > > the show ( Artists from Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh ) is on still 19th of  March > > love and regards > inder salim > > > > On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 10:36 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: >> >> Dear Shuddha (and all) >> >> I think this point about whether politics and art can be separate, is a >> question which may not have been necessarily been there even among the >> creators of the art piece itself. >> >> Politics, as I see it, is basically influencing people for a common cause. >> (Incidentally, I am doing the same by asking people to believe that there >> could be chances of 'a-political' art). >> >> Art, on the other hand, could be defined as human effort to imitate, >> supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.* * >> >> Now whether an act of art is necessarily created to influence people, or it >> is just created for one's own sake, is something one can't be sure of. For >> example, both the religious conservatives and liberals in India talk about >> Khajuraho. Now, Khajuraho, as it was made then, may have had such >> sculptures, neither as what conservatives believe to be sacred deities, nor >> to just portray sexuality as some great liberals claim. (Here, the >> conservatives refer to the Sangh Parivar and their like, and the liberals >> are basically the TV-pink chaddi-others gang.....). But who knows with what >> intention did the laborers make it? May be some king ordered and they were >> made exactly in the same way, in case of which it was simply a job. >> >> So, it's not art which is necessarily political. But yes, the way one looks >> at art can certainly make it political. >> >> Regards >> >> Rakesh >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From peaceshantiaman at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 19:40:05 2009 From: peaceshantiaman at gmail.com (Aman Shanti) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 19:40:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] We don't need your advice: Muslim leader to Musharraf Message-ID: We don't need your advice: Muslim leader to Musharraf 8 Mar 2009, 1705 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: "Indian Muslims are capable of solving their problems... We don't need your advice.. Don't try to alienate Indian Muslims by your remarks, here or in Pakistan." This blunt message was conveyed to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by a prominent Muslim leader Mehmood Madani at a function in India. Madani, member of Rajya Sabha and leader of Jamat-e-Ulema-i-Hind, made it clear to the Pakistani leader that he or his country need not bother about the condition of Muslims in India. "Don't start your politics of Pakistan from here," Madani told Musharraf after the latter claimed that Muslims in India were alienated and suggested that this was one of the reasons for terrorism here. Virtually retorting the former Pakistani military ruler, Madani said, "Pakistan ki jitni total population hai , us se zyada population hai Indian Muslims ki . (Population of Muslims in India is more than that total population of Pakistan). You should be knowing this." When Musharraf said he was aware of it, Madani said "If you know this, then you should also know that Indian Muslims have the capability to solve their problems. We don't need your advise. Don't try to alienate Indian Muslims by your remarks, here or in Pakistan." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/We-dont-need-your-advice-Muslim-leader-to-Musharraf/articleshow/4241534.cms From jeebesh at sarai.net Mon Mar 9 09:18:07 2009 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 09:18:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Demonic and the Seductive in Religious Nationalism Message-ID: The Demonic and the Seductive in Religious Nationalism: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and the Rites of Exorcism in Secularizing South Asia by Ashis Nandy may be accessed in pdf format at: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2009/9086/pdf/HPSACP_NANDY.pdf From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 10:18:27 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 10:18:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute, The Myth - Part II Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903082148p66dc4815q9a66bccb53329bb0@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmir** Dispute The Myth-II* By Dr. M.K. Teng** Of the many distortions of the history of the transfer of power in India, which form a part of the Kashmir dispute, the most conspicuous is the distortion of the historical facts of the boundary demarcation between the Dominion of India and Pakistan in the province of the Punjab. After the announcement of the partition plan on 3 June, 1947, a Boundary Commission was constituted by the British to demarcate the boundary between the Muslim majority zones and the Hindu-Sikh majority zones in the two provinces of Bengal and the Punjab. The Boundary Commission for the demarcation of the Muslim majority zone in the Punjab was constituted of four Boundary Commissioners, two of them representing the Muslims and two representing Hindus and the Sikhs. Justice Din Mohammad and Justice Mohammad Munir represented the Muslims and Justice Mehar Chand Mahajan and Justice Teja Singh represented the Hindus and the Sikhs respectively. A British lawyer of great repute, Sir Cyril Radcliff was appointed the Chairman of the Commission. Sir Radcliff presided over the Boundary Commission appointed for the demarcation of the boundary in the province of Bengal as well. The Boundary Commission was charged with the responsibility of demarcating the Muslim majority region of the Punjab from the Hindu-Sikh majority region of the province on the basis of the population and other factors, which were considered to be relevant to the division of the province. Justice Mohammad Munir and Justice Din Mohammad refused to agree upon the criteria to specifically identify the factors other than population ratios. The Muslim Commissioners insisted upon strict adherence to the population proportions as the basis of the division of the province. Mehar Chand Mahajan and Teja Singh pleaded for a balanced interpretation of the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission and emphasised the need to bring about harmonization between population proportions and the "other factors", specified in the terms of reference. They felt that the division of the province of the Punjab was bound to affect the lives of millions of people, belonging to various communities living in the province as well as the future of the two Dominions, India and Pakistan. The Commissioners pointed out to the Commission that the population of the Hindus and Sikhs was unevenly distributed over the province of the Punjab. They pointed out that larger sections of the Hindu and Sikh population were concentrated in relatively smaller region of the East Punjab and the imbalance would be reflected in demarcation of Hindu and Sikh majority regions from the Muslim majority regions of the West Punjab. They expressed the fears that the territorial division of the Punjab on the basis of population would earmark a smaller part of the East Punjab, to the Hindu and Sikh Community which would not commenserate with their population in the province. The Hindus and the Sikhs, Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the Commission formed 45 percent of the population of the province and the territorial division of the province on the basis of the population ratios would leave them with less than 30 percent of the territory of the Punjab. Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the commission that fair distribution of river waters, irrigation headworks and canal system and cultural and religious centres could not be left out of its consideration in the delimitation of the Muslim majority and the Hindu and Sikh majority regions of the province. They emphasized the necessity of keeping in view the geographical contiguity of the demarcated regions, the communications and the viability of the borders of the two Dominions of India and Pakistan. They told the Commission that in the demarcation of the borders between the West Punjab and the East Punjab balance would have to be achieved to ensure a fair and equitable division of the territories of the province between the Muslim community and the Hindu and the Sikh communities. The most controversial and bitterly contested part of the demarcation for the borders was the division of the Doab, comprising the districts of the Lahore Division. Of the four districts of Lahore Division, the District of Amritsar was a Hindu-Sikh majority district and the district of Gurdaspur was a Muslim majority district with the Muslims having a nominal majority of 0.8 percent. Both Din Mohammad and Mohammad Munir insisted upon the inclusion of the entire Lahore Division in the West Punjab. The Muslim Commissioners were men of great ability and legal acumen and had the advantage of representing the majority community of the Punjab. They knew that the inclusion of the Lahore Division in the West Punjab would be of crucial importance to the future of Pakistan. The inclusion of the Lahore Division in the West Pakistan would ensure the Muslim homeland a larger share of water resources, irrigation headworks and the canal system of the Punjab. It would also close the only communication line; the Jammu-Madhopur fair weather road, which ran between the Jammu and Kashmir State and the Dominion of India. The Muslim League leaders were keen to isolate Jammu and Kashmir and build pressure on the ruler of the State to compel him to come to terms with Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir was not wholly isolated from Indiaand had a contiguous frontier with Kangra and the Punjab Hill States, which had acceded to India. The State Government could construct an alternative communication route to connect the State with India. The construction of an alternative road between the State and the Dominion of India would, however, be an arduous task and take a long time, thus exposing the State to more hardship. Logistically also the construction of an alternative road would pose many problems. The borders between the State and the Indian Union running east of the Pathankot tehsil in Gurdaspur district, through which the Jammu-Madhopur road run, were mountainous and rugged and largely snowbound. The closure of the Jammu-Sialkot road and railway line and the Jhelum Valley road, which linked Srinagar with Rawalpindi had been closed by Pakistan and there was little prospect of their being thrown open for transport after the State joined India. By the time, the Boundary Commission begun its work, Pakistan was left with little doubt about the disinclination for the ruler of the State Maharaja Hari Singh to accede to that country. Mahajan and Teja Singh pleaded for the inclusion of the Division of Lahore in the East Punjab. The two Commissioners raised fundamental issues with unparalleled eloquence in respect of their claim, which Sir Cyril Radcliffe could not overlook altogether. The issues they raised, included: i) the distribution of water resources between the East and West Punjab, the location of the irrigation headworks and the canal system; ii) the continuation of the communication lines in the East Punjab of which the Lahore Division formed Centre; iii) the demarcation of a viable and defensible border of the India in the Punjab; iv) the interests of the Sikh Community which had its largest assets in the West Punjab and its main religious and cultural centres in the Division of Lahore; v) the Indian interest in the road-link between Jammu and Madhopur, arising out of its proximity to Jammu and Kashmir State for the security of that state as well as its future relations with the Indian Dominion. Both Mahajan and Teja Singh avoided the heavily value-laden discourse of the Congress leaders, in their presentation to the Commission. They marshalled up concrete facts relevant to the demarcation of boundary in the Punjab and elucidated in detail the consequences - geographic, economic, political and strategic, the division of the province was bound to lead to and their impact on the future of the Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab. Sir Radcliffe was a man of independent outlook, sent down from his country to draw the boundaries of the new Muslim State of Pakistan, which the British had actively connvived in creating. Sir Radcliffe knew little of the cultural configuration of the Punjab, its economic organisation and its history. Not only the Punjab, Sir Radcliffe knew much less of the history and culture and economic and political organisation of Bengal, the other Indian province he was commissioned to divide between the two communities, Hindus and Muslims, on the basis of population proportions. Mahajan and Teja Singh were genuinely fearful of the future of their communities in the Punjab. The history of the Punjab had been shaped by Hindus and the Sikhs. The Sikhs established a powerful Kingdom in the Punjab, the borders of which extended from Afghanistan to the eastern fringes of Tibet. The Sikh state integrated the Himalayas into the northern frontier of India. The Himalayas, Sanskritised by the Hindus of Kashmir, formed the civilisational frontier of India. The establishment of the Sikh power put an end to the long history of the invasion of India from the north. The division of Punjab was bound to have serious effect on the future of the Sikh community. The Punjab was considered by the Sikhs to be their homeland. The Sikh places of pilgrimage were located in the eastern part of the Punjab, mainly the Division of Lahore. The responsibility of apprising the Boundary Commission of the sociology of the Sikh religion and its moorings in the Hindu civilisation of India, fell upon the Hindu and Sikh Commissioners. Teja Singh, ravaged by the anti-Hindu riots in the Punjab, exhibited great courage and forbearance, in defending the cause of his community. The Muslim League carried on a strident campaign to build pressure on the Commission to demarcate the boundary between the east and the West Punjab on the basis of the population proportions. The British Governors of the Punjaband the North-East Frontier province along with the British officials posted in the two provinces acted in tandem to influence the Commission. The Boundary Commission was entrusted with the historic task, of the demarcation of the Indian frontier in the north. Jammu and Kashmir formed the central spur of the warm Himalayan uplands and the new configuration of power created by the emergence of the Muslim state of Pakistan, was bound to effect the security of the Himalayas. There is no evidence to show that the Indian leaders realised the importance of the crucial changes, the emergence of Pakistan, would bring about in the structure of power-relations along northern frontier of India. The Hindu and Sikh leaders of the Punjab evinced serious interest in the boundary demarcation. Both Mahajan and Teja Singh kept themselves in close touch with the Hindu and Sikh leaders of the Punjab. Among them were Sir Shadi Lal and Bakshi Tek Chand. Both Sir Shadi Lal and Tek Chand were in the confidence of Maharaja Hari Singh. The Indian leaders had warbled notions about the northern frontier of India. They were carried away by the fraternal regard, the Asian conference held in Delhi in 1946, symbolised. The Indian leaders viewed the solidarity of the Asian people and the emergence of the Asian nation from colonial dominance as basis for coexistence and cooperation among the Asian people. Gandhi disclaimed national frontiers. He claimed commitment to vaguely conceived concept of anarchism which formed a part of the intellectual tradition of the early twentieth century. They had accepted partition of India, but they refused to recognise its political implications. They were unable to comprehend the significance of the demarcation of the boundary between India and Pakistan in the Punjab. Their inability to link the boundary demarcation in the Punjab with the security of the Northern Frontier of India exposed Jammu and Kashmir and the entire Indian frontier, stretching to its east, to foreign aggression. --(To be continued) Note: The essays in this series are based on documentary sources and records in the Archives of India and the Archives of Jammu and Kashmir State; Records of the Boundary Commission; States Peoples Conference Papers in Nehru Memorial Museum, New Delhi; contemporary Newspaper Files and Interviews. *(The author was Head of the Political Science Department, University of Kashmir. His book 'Article 370 and its Significance' is considered to be a classic on the subject.) Source: Kashmir Sentinel, Panun Kashmir -- Copyrights © 2009 Kashmir News Network (KNN) at http://iKashmir.net/copyrights.html . All Rights Reserved. No material, including the literature, audio, video and photographic material should be copied or reproduced in any form or context without the written permission of KNN. Disclaimer is at: http://iKashmir.net/disclaimer.html From rahulroy63 at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 23:10:48 2009 From: rahulroy63 at gmail.com (Rahul Roy) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 23:10:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [DFA NewsLetter] Invitation for the Inaugural Screening of -- The Other Song by Saba Dewan Message-ID: India Foundation for The Arts invites you to the the Inaugural Screening of The Other Song a film by Saba Dewan Date: Thursday 12 March 2009 Time: 6:45 PM Venue: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi In 1935 Rasoolan Bai the well known singer from Varanasi recorded for the gramaphone a thumri that she would never sing again - Lagat jobanwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar (My breasts are wounded, don't throw flowers at me).A variation of her more famous bhairavi thumri - Lagat karejwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar (My heart is wounded, don't throw flowers at me), the 1935 recording, never to be repeated, faded from public memory and eventually got lost. More than seventy years later the film travels through Varanasi, Lucknow and Muzzafarpur in Bihar to search for the forgotten thumri.This journey opens a Pandora's box of life stories, memories, half remembered songs and histories that for long have been banished into oblivion. It brings the film face to face with the enigmatic figure of the tawaif, courtesan, bai ji and the contested terrain of her art practise and lifestyle. To understand the past and present of the tawaif the film must unravel the significant transitions that took place in late 19th and early 20th century around the control, censorship and moral policing of female sexualities and cultural expression. Duration: 120 minutes Language: Hindi / Urdu / English / English subtitles Directed by: Saba Dewan Camera: Rahul Roy Editing: Reena Mohan / Khushboo Agarwal / Mahadeb Shi / Anupama Chandra Sound: Asheesh Pandya / Gissy Michael / Vipin Bhati For more information: sabadewan at gmail.com Supported by: India Foundation of the Arts and Hivos --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please DO NOT REPLY to the sender. To contact the MODERATOR: delhifilmarchive [at] gmail.com To UNSUBSCRIBE: send an email to delhifilmarchive-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com More OPTIONS are on the web: http://groups.google.com/group/delhifilmarchive Our WEBSITE: www.delhifilmarchive.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- From waliarifi3 at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 13:08:28 2009 From: waliarifi3 at gmail.com (Wali Arifi) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 13:08:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) Message-ID: <4fcaee300903090038o925942fn491bf11518324732@mail.gmail.com> With apologies for cross-posting, this is an unusual version of a situation many have come to believe in. One wonders, is it the state, the people living in Kashmir or a militia the displaced KPs are looking up to for their return or rehabilitation. Five hundred thousand Shiv Sainiks sounds like the number of Indian soldiers already in the state! An unusual perspective here! Is it a case of ethnic flooding? A psychological operation? Or just commodifying a displaced community for use in right wing politics? http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16402 Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits (Hem Raj Jain) Publication Date 9/3/2009 11:41:26 AM(IST) This refers to permanent complaint of DKPs from different forums that 1.5 million of them are refugees in their own country as they left Kashmir valley in nineties and onwards in the face of Muslim fundamentalist terrorism in valley. The latest such complaint was heard from a Kashmiri Pundit lady (during almost three hours address and question answer session of Pakistan’s ex-President Musharraf to a prominent T.V. Channel of India on Mach 7, 2009 evening). But very few people know that these DKPs are simply not interested in going back to J&K, even if they are assured of their security and restoration of their lost properties. Rather these DKPs are allowing Government of India to use them merely as stick to beat Pakistan (which, even as per Musharraf during said T.V. session, is responsible for Muslim militancy in J&K in the aftermath of Afghanistan war of eighties, when mujahidins free from Afghanistan were diverted to Kashmir). This is evident from the following:- (1)- In 2002 Shiv Sena (having its registered office at Sena Bhavan, Dadar Mumbai) participated in a meeting with Kashmiri Samiti President Sunil Shakdar and other members of its executive body at Kashmiri Bhavan, Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi where - (2)- Shiv Sena offered to send 5,00,000 (five hundred thousand) Shiv Sainiks (male & female) along with 5,00,000 DKPs (who reportedly wanted to go back to Kashmir valley) on one to one basis till DKPs feel secured to live in Kashmir valley on their own. (3)- These 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks though were not to be a financial burden on rehabilitated DKPs but it was expected from DKPs that they would extend every possible non-monetary help, assistance & support in making livelihood in Kashmir valley easy for these Shiv Sainiks. (4)- For this program a study team consisting of equal number of Shiv Sainiks and DKPs was supposed to go in Kashmir valley. Therefore 20 Shiv Sena office bearers participated in this 2002 meeting at Kashmiri Bhavan, with 20 members (mostly from executive body) of Kashmiri Samiti. (5)- But Kashmiri Samiti later on backed out from this proposal and program. (6)- Shiv Sena still stands by this program and 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks are still prepared to go along with DKPs in Kashmir valley. (7)- Shiv Sena does not believe in giving political sermons while sitting at Delhi but believes in solving this problem by going in the field and talking to other citizens of Kashmir valley so that these Hindu DKPs may live peacefully & harmoniously with Muslim majority population of Kashmir valley. (8)- Here it is in context to add that during this 2002 meeting, in reply to Kashmiri Samiti’s query (that what is the guarantee that these rehabilitated DKPs will not be attacked and killed in Kashmir by terrorists), Shiv Sena told that only guarantee is that the accompanying Shiv Sainik will lay down his life before such DKPs is killed. (9)- But the way DKPs backed out in 2002 and the way Government of India is supporting DKPs financially and economically, the Shiv Sena suspects that the DKPs have clearly developed a vested interest in remaining out of Kashmir valley as refugees. (10)- If DKPs believe that Shiv Sena is wrong in this inference then even now let these DKPs go with Shiv Sena to Kashmir valley and then only (if Shiv Sena fails in its commitment) DKPs should air their so called grievances and even such sweeping statements by some DKPs about the alleged impotence of entire Indian political class. (11)- Therefore, for God sake if there is a problem of Displaced Kashmiri Pundits (DKPs) who want to go back to Kashmir valley but cannot, due to violence by terrorists then (whether Sunil Shakdar of Kashmiri Samiti or not) Shiv Sena can still help them by sending equal number of 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks (both male & female) on one to one basis in Kashmir valley (without putting any financial burden on these DKPs) in order to get DKPs rehabilitated and to get their evacuee properties restored back. (12)- But if there is no problem of DKPs and if Kashmiri Pundits are quite satisfied with what India is doing in Kashmir then this bluff of DKPs should be called off where they are making huge hue & cry and lamenting day in and day out, in media, at various forums, political demonstrations etc. that they are refugee in their own country, no body helps them etc. etc. (13)- Here it is pertinent to add that the above mentioned ought to be kept in view before Obama administration (which is reportedly committed to find an early Kashmir solution) chalks out its foreign policy regarding south Asia especially about Indo – Pak relations in context of Kashmir solution. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 13:16:02 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 13:16:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Documentary_portrays_migrant_Kashm?= =?windows-1252?q?iri_Hindus=92_ordeal?= In-Reply-To: <6353c690903080913h4303a3c2h977c56ace99de22a@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690903080913h4303a3c2h977c56ace99de22a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690903090046j342529fdu3ef575f4503c73d7@mail.gmail.com> Documentary portrays migrant Kashmiri Hindus’ ordeal March 7th, 2009 - 9:37 pm Link - http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/documentary-portrays-migrant-kashmiri-hindus-ordeal_100163951.html Chandigarh, March 7 (IANS) A documentary portraying the ordeal of displaced Kashmiri Hindus was screened here Saturday evening, followed by the inauguration of a photo exhibition highlighting the manner in which hundreds and thousands of migrants are living far away from their homeland. The event was organised by Roots in Kashmir (RIK) - a Kashmiri Pandit organisation - at the Panjab University (PU) campus. The 45-minute documentary “Wuzmal (Lightning)” is a compilation of footage from various films on Kashmiri Pandits. “More than 500,00 Kashmiri Pandits are staying in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi. They have lost their land and all the resources and are forced to live in miserable circumstances,” Sugandhi Thusoo, Chandigarh coordinator of the RIK told IANS. According to the organisers, the event was held to garner public support for the return of the migrant Hindus to Kashmir. “There are many Kashmiri families residing here and most of them are well settled. But still, there is an urge among them to go back to their original home and our aim is to stimulate that urge,” said Thusoo, a mechanical engineering student at PU. The photo exhibition depicted dilapidated temples in Kashmir and life in migrant camps. “We are focusing on terrorism across the globe. In the light of last year’s terror attacks on Mumbai and the recent attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore, it would be injudicious to talk only about Kashmir,” said Bhawick Jalali, another RIK member. read more at - www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ -- Aditya Raj Kaul From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Mon Mar 9 19:37:42 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 07:07:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) In-Reply-To: <4fcaee300903090038o925942fn491bf11518324732@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <84239.35048.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Wali Arifi   Your questions seem to be a propagandist agenda driven self-indulging fantasies. Even if this idiot Hem Raj Jain's writing was to be taken seriously, he himself says that the 'proposal' from the Shiv Sena was not accepted by the named Kashmiri Samiti. Did you not read that?   Kashmir Samiti incidentally is an organisation (socio-cultural-religious) that is confined to NCT Delhi as it's domain. It has no 'political' role and in any case does not represent all KPs.   Hem Raj Jain is an interesting idiot. He has been floating this 'story' for a few years now. When challenged to back it up with any source or a statement from Shiv Sena (which he claims to belong to), he has been unable to do so. All that notwithstanding, there is absolutely no evidence that KPs have been party to any such idiotic scheme.   Here are some other interesting references for this idiot Hem Raj Jain's (HRJ) 'writings':   - "Kashmiris should support United Punjab, a precursor to "United States of SAARC"" HRJ wants to redefine the SAARC countries on linguistic basis. He urges "Kashmiris" that their support will help them achieve "Unified J&K again also a linguistic unification". Tells you how much this idiot knows about J&K and it's languages. (MYNEWS)   -  While advising Pakistan to declare War on India, HRJ  advises Kashmiris "Kashmiris should tell Pakistan that earlier also jihadi's entry from Pakistan did not help and Kashmiris had to sacrifice 80,000 of their people, hence if Pakistan is really serious about taking rest of Kashmir from India then Pakistan should use its regular armed forces in this war against India." and simultaneously that "Kashmiris should tell Hindu majority India also that in view of this declared war against India by Pakistan, if India is really serious about retrieving its lost territory of Muslim majority Pakistan administered Kashmir then India should use its armed forces to retrieve it."      HRJ reckons " For SAARC it will be a blessing in disguise as this Pakistan declared war against India has every potential of ushering into Federation / United States of Democratic Secular SAARC countries." (KGN)   - In Aug 2007 (when Musharraf was in power), HRJ writes " As armed forces have played a significant role in shaping the history of Pakistan and the present regime supported by armed forces is reasonably under control and command of the country moreover there is no mass political movement worth the name to bring democracy in Pakistan, therefore there is no valid reason why regime supported by armed forces should be denied the opportunity to rule Pakistan."      He goes on to suggest a democratised military rule for Pakistan "USA should help Pakistan in order to institutionalize military rule by electing President by armed forces on the basis of one to one vote or some formula based on rank (which will preserve the discipline & command in armed forces). This will rule out the possibilities of any coup / usurpation in future." (KGN)   - How much of a Shiv Sena person HRJ is (as is claimed by him), can be ascertained by this comment of his " Regarding my joining JKLF (or any other political organization from Kashmir), I don't mind rather would welcome it if asked so by JKLF." (KGN) - HRJ's knowledge of languages can be guaged by this comment of his " “Federation / United States of Democratic Secular SAARC countries” is an attempt to take the responsibility by India of entire South Asia region (which is one nationality due to Sanskrit family)." (KGN)   - On Tibet, HRJ makes the pronouncement "First and foremost the Tibetans ought to realize that Tibet is an integral part of China. In the interest of coming in the main stream, the Tibetans should also shed the prefix "Autonomous Region of China". (KGN)   There are many other such gems from HRJ that populate various discussion groups on the internet and in his published articles on websites   Kshmendra   --- On Mon, 3/9/09, Wali Arifi wrote: From: Wali Arifi Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) To: "Sarai" Date: Monday, March 9, 2009, 1:08 PM With apologies for cross-posting, this is an unusual version of a situation many have come to believe in. One wonders, is it the state, the people living in Kashmir or a militia the displaced KPs are looking up to for their return or rehabilitation. Five hundred thousand Shiv Sainiks sounds like the number of Indian soldiers already in the state! An unusual perspective here! Is it a case of ethnic flooding? A psychological operation? Or just commodifying a displaced community for use in right wing politics? http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16402 Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits (Hem Raj Jain) Publication Date 9/3/2009 11:41:26 AM(IST) This refers to permanent complaint of DKPs from different forums that 1.5 million of them are refugees in their own country as they left Kashmir valley in nineties and onwards in the face of Muslim fundamentalist terrorism in valley. The latest such complaint was heard from a Kashmiri Pundit lady (during almost three hours address and question answer session of Pakistan’s ex-President Musharraf to a prominent T.V. Channel of India on Mach 7, 2009 evening). But very few people know that these DKPs are simply not interested in going back to J&K, even if they are assured of their security and restoration of their lost properties. Rather these DKPs are allowing Government of India to use them merely as stick to beat Pakistan (which, even as per Musharraf during said T.V. session, is responsible for Muslim militancy in J&K in the aftermath of Afghanistan war of eighties, when mujahidins free from Afghanistan were diverted to Kashmir). This is evident from the following:- (1)- In 2002 Shiv Sena (having its registered office at Sena Bhavan, Dadar Mumbai) participated in a meeting with Kashmiri Samiti President Sunil Shakdar and other members of its executive body at Kashmiri Bhavan, Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi where - (2)- Shiv Sena offered to send 5,00,000 (five hundred thousand) Shiv Sainiks (male & female) along with 5,00,000 DKPs (who reportedly wanted to go back to Kashmir valley) on one to one basis till DKPs feel secured to live in Kashmir valley on their own. (3)- These 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks though were not to be a financial burden on rehabilitated DKPs but it was expected from DKPs that they would extend every possible non-monetary help, assistance & support in making livelihood in Kashmir valley easy for these Shiv Sainiks. (4)- For this program a study team consisting of equal number of Shiv Sainiks and DKPs was supposed to go in Kashmir valley. Therefore 20 Shiv Sena office bearers participated in this 2002 meeting at Kashmiri Bhavan, with 20 members (mostly from executive body) of Kashmiri Samiti. (5)- But Kashmiri Samiti later on backed out from this proposal and program. (6)- Shiv Sena still stands by this program and 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks are still prepared to go along with DKPs in Kashmir valley. (7)- Shiv Sena does not believe in giving political sermons while sitting at Delhi but believes in solving this problem by going in the field and talking to other citizens of Kashmir valley so that these Hindu DKPs may live peacefully & harmoniously with Muslim majority population of Kashmir valley. (8)- Here it is in context to add that during this 2002 meeting, in reply to Kashmiri Samiti’s query (that what is the guarantee that these rehabilitated DKPs will not be attacked and killed in Kashmir by terrorists), Shiv Sena told that only guarantee is that the accompanying Shiv Sainik will lay down his life before such DKPs is killed. (9)- But the way DKPs backed out in 2002 and the way Government of India is supporting DKPs financially and economically, the Shiv Sena suspects that the DKPs have clearly developed a vested interest in remaining out of Kashmir valley as refugees. (10)- If DKPs believe that Shiv Sena is wrong in this inference then even now let these DKPs go with Shiv Sena to Kashmir valley and then only (if Shiv Sena fails in its commitment) DKPs should air their so called grievances and even such sweeping statements by some DKPs about the alleged impotence of entire Indian political class. (11)- Therefore, for God sake if there is a problem of Displaced Kashmiri Pundits (DKPs) who want to go back to Kashmir valley but cannot, due to violence by terrorists then (whether Sunil Shakdar of Kashmiri Samiti or not) Shiv Sena can still help them by sending equal number of 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks (both male & female) on one to one basis in Kashmir valley (without putting any financial burden on these DKPs) in order to get DKPs rehabilitated and to get their evacuee properties restored back. (12)- But if there is no problem of DKPs and if Kashmiri Pundits are quite satisfied with what India is doing in Kashmir then this bluff of DKPs should be called off where they are making huge hue & cry and lamenting day in and day out, in media, at various forums, political demonstrations etc. that they are refugee in their own country, no body helps them etc. etc. (13)- Here it is pertinent to add that the above mentioned ought to be kept in view before Obama administration (which is reportedly committed to find an early Kashmir solution) chalks out its foreign policy regarding south Asia especially about Indo – Pak relations in context of Kashmir solution. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 21:05:58 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 11:35:58 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) References: <4fcaee300903090038o925942fn491bf11518324732@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <84FA15AE82404BDE8E56EEC17C993EC4@tara> I don't see what is unusual here. A set of goons being considered to counter another set of goons. Hasn't it been happening in the history? I wownder if you had similar concerns when Pakistan based, Pakistan backed "jihadi" elements entered Kashmir and ruthlessly butchered moderate muslims andd Hindus. Wasn't it a case of ethnic cleansing? A psychological operation? Or just commodification of a misplaced sense of communal bonding used for Pakistani right wing politics? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wali Arifi" To: "Sarai" Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 3:38 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) > With apologies for cross-posting, this is an unusual version of a > situation > many have come to believe in. One wonders, is it the state, the people > living in Kashmir or a militia the displaced KPs are looking up to for > their > return or rehabilitation. Five hundred thousand Shiv Sainiks sounds like > the > number of Indian soldiers already in the state! An unusual perspective > here! > Is it a case of ethnic flooding? A psychological operation? Or just > commodifying a displaced community for use in right wing politics? > > > > > > http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16402 > > > > Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits > > (Hem Raj Jain) > > Publication Date 9/3/2009 11:41:26 AM(IST) > > > > This refers to permanent complaint of DKPs from different forums that 1.5 > million of them are refugees in their own country as they left > > > > Kashmir valley in nineties and onwards in the face of Muslim > fundamentalist > terrorism in valley. The latest such complaint was heard from a Kashmiri > Pundit lady (during almost three hours address and question answer > session > of Pakistan’s ex-President Musharraf to a prominent T.V. Channel of India > on > Mach 7, 2009 evening). > > > > But very few people know that these DKPs are simply not interested in > going > back to J&K, even if they are assured of their security and restoration of > their lost properties. Rather these DKPs are allowing Government of India > to > use them merely as stick to beat Pakistan (which, even as per Musharraf > during said T.V. session, is responsible for Muslim militancy in J&K in > the > aftermath of Afghanistan war of eighties, when mujahidins free from > Afghanistan were diverted to Kashmir). This is evident from the > following:- > > > > (1)- In 2002 Shiv Sena (having its registered office at Sena Bhavan, Dadar > Mumbai) participated in a meeting with Kashmiri Samiti President Sunil > Shakdar and other members of its executive body at Kashmiri Bhavan, Amar > Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi where - > > > > (2)- Shiv Sena offered to send 5,00,000 (five hundred thousand) Shiv > Sainiks (male & female) along with 5,00,000 DKPs (who reportedly wanted to > go back to Kashmir valley) on one to one basis till DKPs feel secured to > live in Kashmir valley on their own. > > > > (3)- These 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks though were not to be a financial burden > on > rehabilitated DKPs but it was expected from DKPs that they would extend > every possible non-monetary help, assistance & support in making > livelihood > in Kashmir valley easy for these Shiv Sainiks. > > > > (4)- For this program a study team consisting of equal number of Shiv > Sainiks and DKPs was supposed to go in Kashmir valley. Therefore 20 Shiv > Sena office bearers participated in this 2002 meeting at Kashmiri Bhavan, > with 20 members (mostly from executive body) of Kashmiri Samiti. > > > > (5)- But Kashmiri Samiti later on backed out from this proposal and > program. > > > > (6)- Shiv Sena still stands by this program and 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks are > still prepared to go along with DKPs in Kashmir valley. > > > > (7)- Shiv Sena does not believe in giving political sermons while sitting > at > Delhi but believes in solving this problem by going in the field and > talking > to other citizens of Kashmir valley so that these Hindu DKPs may live > peacefully & harmoniously with Muslim majority population of Kashmir > valley. > > > > (8)- Here it is in context to add that during this 2002 meeting, in reply > to Kashmiri Samiti’s query (that what is the guarantee that these > rehabilitated DKPs will not be attacked and killed in Kashmir by > terrorists), Shiv Sena told that only guarantee is that the accompanying > Shiv Sainik will lay down his life before such DKPs is killed. > > > > (9)- But the way DKPs backed out in 2002 and the way Government of India > is > supporting DKPs financially and economically, the Shiv Sena suspects that > the DKPs have clearly developed a vested interest in remaining out of > Kashmir valley as refugees. > > > > (10)- If DKPs believe that Shiv Sena is wrong in this inference then even > now let these DKPs go with Shiv Sena to Kashmir valley and then only (if > Shiv Sena fails in its commitment) DKPs should air their so called > grievances and even such sweeping statements by some DKPs about the > alleged > impotence of entire Indian political class. > > > > (11)- Therefore, for God sake if there is a problem of Displaced Kashmiri > Pundits (DKPs) who want to go back to Kashmir valley but cannot, due to > violence by terrorists then (whether Sunil Shakdar of Kashmiri Samiti or > not) Shiv Sena can still help them by sending equal number of 5,00,000 > Shiv > Sainiks (both male & female) on one to one basis in Kashmir valley > (without > putting any financial burden on these DKPs) in order to get DKPs > rehabilitated and to get their evacuee properties restored back. > > > > (12)- But if there is no problem of DKPs and if Kashmiri Pundits are quite > satisfied with what India is doing in Kashmir then this bluff of DKPs > should > be called off where they are making huge hue & cry and lamenting day in > and > day out, in media, at various forums, political demonstrations etc. that > they are refugee in their own country, no body helps them etc. etc. > > > > (13)- Here it is pertinent to add that the above mentioned ought to be > kept > in view before Obama administration (which is reportedly committed to find > an early Kashmir solution) chalks out its foreign policy regarding south > Asia especially about Indo – Pak relations in context of Kashmir > solution. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From iskandar.zulkarnain.78 at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 22:37:12 2009 From: iskandar.zulkarnain.78 at gmail.com (iskandar zulkarnain) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 13:07:12 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] software piracy and open source references Message-ID: <2c6006d60903091007u5111d4fbr72b7d0bc2fb3aeb1@mail.gmail.com> Hi guys, I am doing two related researches on some aspects of digital culture. One is about the cultural impacts of software piracy in Indonesia and the other is on the significance of open source movement to social/political/cultural/artistic development also in Indonesia. Will anyone kindly direct me on some references that will help me in completing these projects? On piracy, I've read Ravi Sundaram's short but insightful essay on piracy as recylcling modernity in India, Brian Larkin's observation of piracy as the "dark" infrastructure for film production in, and also Tarleton Gillespie's Wired Shut on Digital Rights Management. On Open Source, i'm reading Chris Kelty's Two Bits, Joseph Feller, Brian Fitzgerald, Scott A. Hissam, and Karim R. Lakhani's Perspective on Free and Open Source Software, and also Glyn Moody's Rebel Code. I'm sensing that there are a lot of other works out there that I can also use. So if anyone has any information or suggestion on either/both of thiese topics, i'd really appreciate your willingness to share. Best, Izul From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 9 23:52:07 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 23:52:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) In-Reply-To: <84FA15AE82404BDE8E56EEC17C993EC4@tara> References: <4fcaee300903090038o925942fn491bf11518324732@mail.gmail.com> <84FA15AE82404BDE8E56EEC17C993EC4@tara> Message-ID: <47e122a70903091122v2734d29mc38b083859f9dce0@mail.gmail.com> Let us forget for a while about DKPs issue, which is quite a sensitive one. I believe Kashmir can still guide its destiny in absence of these DKPs, but there are some questions which need to be seriously looked into. First, why is Musharaf in Delhi? There is no satisfactory answer. The simpler one is: ISI wants to restore its Kashmir agenda to divert its inner dissent. That is a traditional line, but the question is why Manmohan Singh Ji, President ji and Sonia ji refused to meet him? I guess, all this was sorted out before hand. Musharaf, the architect of Kargil, but a failed General cant be right choice to sort out the Pakistani mess, and neither he is the right person to talk about the Kashmir issue. So why is he here, and not in Bangladesh or Iran or USA etc. I repeat, Musharaf’s visit to Delhi was sorted out at Diplomatic level, and that is the game which I am interested. He knew that he wont be meeting PM or President. At highest level there are games which are played by players at international level, and Musharaf is certainly not even its 16th man. So why he is he here? I don’t know. Well said by some one, that politics is not revealed even to those who are inside it. So how can I know. I am not bothered to know even, but I must keep on learning from such examples. After all, he is the man who exiled both Nawaz and Benazir, and he is the man who was compelled to bring them back. Surprising, he is happily living in Pakistan, and still can be ISI’s representative to handles some international issues. That is the state of Pakistan. Meanwhile Obama is seriously trying to engage Good Talibans in Afganistan and Paskitan, which squarely means that Talibans can be come to power in both in Pakistan and Afganistan, and who knows, Musharaf can become president again. He has only to grow some beard, or buy some readymade from old Delhi’s Kinari Bazar. But wait a while, the Talibans, I heard, refused to let male volunteers to touch the females victims in recent earth quack in Pakistan. They believe it was against Islam to let a male touch a female, so in the spirit of their Islam it was right to let them die painfully under the debris in absence of a female volunteer. Sad. If a future Taliban president, Musharaf or any other Maulana sahib dreams to think about Kashmir merger on those lines. I am not some one who believes that Kashmir is eternally wedded to India. But under the circumstances, to think ‘Indian administered Kashmir’ as part of present Pakistan will be unfortunate. Kashmiris have to discover their own voices from within, which has not happened. killing poets and innocent people ( both Hindus and Muslims), and driving entire Pandit community from their homes in 1990 was not Kashmiri Muslim’s agenda but it was thrust on them but ISI and some international politics. India, I am sure knew that there is a move to drive Pandits out of their homes. The game is such, deeper than we all can know and believe. I am learning by many such Musharaf like examples. But a genuine Kahsmiri Muslim voice will speak boldly and tell the truth. There has to be some new light, some new vision to guide its destiny. A new politics. I don’t know what, but the present approach to Kashmir Problem has only created disappointment. Metaphorically and literally, a Japanese scientist predicted that Dal Lake will the world first biggest septic tank. And we can blame Indian security forces for killing innocent Kashmiri muslims but not examples like Dal Lake. Where is ture Momin (a true believer ) in Kashmir. And I guess, only a true believer , in that sense, in Kashmir can talk about Jihad. The meaning of Jihad which poet Iqbal has lucidly explained in his verses: A movement based on non-violence and ethics and tolerance of the other can justify the political dissent; and with dissent comes the responsibility. There is hardly any body left in the world who embraces responsibility while marking political dissent. It is a hard choice, because, it brings into question our absolute ways of living. It talk about rights of women, trees birds and children. It talks about dying folk and tribal voices, songs, poetry and dance and music. It talks about simplicity and friendship. It talks about Love. I was talking to myself, more than you, Mr. Wali. With regards is p.s. ho mara kaam gariboon ki himayat karan , dard mandoon ki zaifoon ki himayat karan. ( My job to help poor, who are in pain, who are oppressed ) by poet Iqbal On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 9:05 PM, taraprakash wrote: > I don't see what is unusual here. A set of goons being considered to counter > another set of goons. Hasn't it been happening in the history? > > I wownder if you had similar concerns when Pakistan based, Pakistan backed > "jihadi" elements entered Kashmir and ruthlessly butchered moderate muslims > andd Hindus. Wasn't it a case of ethnic cleansing? A psychological > operation? Or just commodification of a misplaced sense of communal bonding > used for Pakistani right wing politics? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Wali Arifi" > To: "Sarai" > Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 3:38 AM > Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) > > >> With apologies for cross-posting, this is an unusual version of a >> situation >> many have come to believe in. One wonders, is it the state, the people >> living in Kashmir or a militia the displaced KPs are looking up to for >> their >> return or rehabilitation. Five hundred thousand Shiv Sainiks sounds like >> the >> number of Indian soldiers already in the state! An unusual perspective >> here! >> Is it a case of ethnic flooding? A psychological operation? Or just >> commodifying a displaced community for use in right wing politics? >> >> >> >> >> >> http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16402 >> >> >> >> Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits >> >> (Hem Raj Jain) >> >> Publication Date  9/3/2009 11:41:26 AM(IST) >> >> >> >> This refers to permanent complaint of DKPs from different forums that 1.5 >> million of them are refugees in their own country as they left >> >> >> >> Kashmir valley in nineties and onwards in the face of Muslim >> fundamentalist >> terrorism in valley. The latest such complaint was heard from a Kashmiri >> Pundit lady  (during almost three hours address and question answer >> session >> of Pakistan’s ex-President Musharraf to a prominent T.V. Channel of India >> on >> Mach 7, 2009 evening). >> >> >> >> But very few people know that these DKPs are simply not interested in >> going >> back to J&K, even if they are assured of their security and restoration of >> their lost properties. Rather these DKPs are allowing Government of India >> to >> use them merely as stick to beat Pakistan (which, even as per Musharraf >> during said T.V. session, is responsible for Muslim militancy in J&K in >> the >> aftermath of Afghanistan war of eighties, when mujahidins free from >> Afghanistan were diverted to Kashmir). This is evident from the >> following:- >> >> >> >> (1)- In 2002 Shiv Sena (having its registered office at Sena Bhavan, Dadar >> Mumbai) participated in a meeting with Kashmiri Samiti President Sunil >> Shakdar and other members of its executive body at Kashmiri Bhavan, Amar >> Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi where - >> >> >> >> (2)- Shiv Sena offered to send 5,00,000 (five hundred thousand) Shiv >> Sainiks (male & female) along with 5,00,000 DKPs (who reportedly wanted to >> go back to Kashmir valley) on one to one basis till DKPs feel secured to >> live in Kashmir valley on their own. >> >> >> >> (3)- These 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks though were not to be a financial burden >> on >> rehabilitated DKPs but it was expected from  DKPs that they would extend >> every possible non-monetary help, assistance & support in making >> livelihood >> in Kashmir valley easy for these Shiv Sainiks. >> >> >> >> (4)- For this program a study team consisting of equal number of Shiv >> Sainiks and DKPs was supposed to go in Kashmir valley. Therefore 20 Shiv >> Sena office bearers participated in this 2002 meeting at Kashmiri Bhavan, >> with 20 members (mostly from executive body) of Kashmiri Samiti. >> >> >> >> (5)- But Kashmiri Samiti later on backed out from this proposal and >> program. >> >> >> >> (6)- Shiv Sena still stands by this program and 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks are >> still prepared to go along with DKPs in Kashmir valley. >> >> >> >> (7)- Shiv Sena does not believe in giving political sermons while sitting >> at >> Delhi but believes in solving this problem by going in the field and >> talking >> to other citizens of Kashmir valley so that these Hindu DKPs may live >> peacefully & harmoniously with Muslim majority population of Kashmir >> valley. >> >> >> >> (8)-  Here it is in context to add that during this 2002 meeting, in reply >> to  Kashmiri Samiti’s query (that what is the guarantee that these >> rehabilitated DKPs will not be attacked and  killed in Kashmir by >> terrorists), Shiv Sena told that only guarantee is that the accompanying >> Shiv Sainik will lay down his life before such DKPs is killed. >> >> >> >> (9)- But the way DKPs backed out in 2002 and the way Government of India >> is >> supporting DKPs financially and economically, the Shiv Sena suspects that >> the DKPs have clearly developed a vested interest in remaining out of >> Kashmir valley as refugees. >> >> >> >> (10)-  If DKPs believe that Shiv Sena is wrong in this inference then even >> now let these DKPs go with Shiv Sena to Kashmir valley and then only (if >> Shiv Sena fails in its commitment) DKPs should air their so called >> grievances and even  such sweeping statements by some DKPs about the >> alleged >> impotence of entire Indian political class. >> >> >> >> (11)- Therefore, for God sake if there is a problem of Displaced Kashmiri >> Pundits (DKPs) who want to go back to Kashmir valley but cannot, due to >> violence by terrorists then (whether Sunil Shakdar of Kashmiri Samiti or >> not) Shiv Sena can still help them by sending equal number of 5,00,000 >> Shiv >> Sainiks (both male & female) on one to one basis in Kashmir valley >> (without >> putting any financial burden on these DKPs) in order to get DKPs >> rehabilitated and to get their evacuee properties restored back. >> >> >> >> (12)- But if there is no problem of DKPs and if Kashmiri Pundits are quite >> satisfied with what India is doing in Kashmir then this bluff of DKPs >> should >> be called off where they are making huge hue & cry and lamenting day in >> and >> day out, in media, at various forums, political demonstrations etc. that >> they are refugee in their own country, no body helps them etc. etc. >> >> >> >> (13)- Here it is pertinent to add that the above mentioned ought to be >> kept >> in view before Obama administration (which is reportedly committed to find >> an early Kashmir solution) chalks out its foreign policy regarding south >> Asia especially about  Indo – Pak relations in context of Kashmir >> solution. >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From yasir.media at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 04:56:21 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:26:21 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] SOS from Pakistan - Save Pakistani Shias In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903060001h3d7c6810m2979214de5a8624@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903060001h3d7c6810m2979214de5a8624@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903091626jb647b04ja25ad1db8e96dd81@mail.gmail.com> :) On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Pls check the petition > > http://www.petitiononline.com/ShiaSOS/petition.html > > > To:  Governments of Pakistan, USA, UK, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, > Iran, UNESCO, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, OIC, European > Union, Amnesty International, HRCP, Human Rights Watch, ICG > > > Aim > > The aim of this petition is to draw the world's attention to the plight of > minority Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Hundreds of Shias have been killed in the > last one year alone in various acts of terrorism by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, > Sipah-e-Sahaba, and other sectarian and jihadi groups in Pakistan. > > > Background > > Shia population in Pakistan > > Islam is the state religion of Pakistan with Sunni Muslims forming the > majority of the population (Europa 2008 2008, 3498; US 19 Sept. 2008). > According to the United States (US) Department of State's International > Religious Freedom Report 2008, the Shia minority is roughly 10 to 20 percent > of the population (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 1; see also ibid. 6 Nov. 2008) > whereas Sunnis are estimated to be constituting 70 to 85 percent of the > population. > > > The treatment of Shias > > According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights > Practices for 2007, Shia Muslims in Pakistan "faced discrimination and > societal violence" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 5). Country Reports 2007 further > states that Shia Muslims "were the targets of religious violence" (ibid. 11 > Mar. 2008, Sec. 2.c). The International Religious Freedom Report 2008 > indicates that some Sunni Muslim groups have published literature calling > for violence against Shia Muslims (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 3). Freedom House > states that Shia Muslims (along with Christians and Ahmadis) are targeted by > extremist groups in Pakistan (2008). Country Reports 2007 states that the > "[p]olice often failed to protect members of religious minorities – > particularly ... Shias – from societal attacks" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 1.d). > > > Source: UNHCR Report PAK102973.E: The treatment of Shias in Pakistan (2006 - > November 2008) > http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,,49913b5e59,0.html > > > An account of recent Shia killings in Pakistan (from 1 Jan to 20 Feb 2009) > > Note: This is only a brief glimpse of systematic and continuous killings of > Shia in Pakistan in the last few weeks. For a detailed account of the Shia > genocide in the last many years in Pakistan, visit: > http://www.shaheedfoundation.org/home.asp > > 1. On 20 February 2009, a suicide bomber killed at least 32 Shias and > injured another 157 who were attending the funeral of an already murdered > Shia leader in the southern district of D.I. Khan (Dera Ismail Khan) in the > NWFP. Previously on 21 November 2008, 6 Shia were killed and 25 more > received severe injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through the funeral > procession of a slain Shia leader who was shot the previous night. > > 2. On 19 February 2009, six Shia were killed in Parachinar when Taliban > terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on them at mid-day. They had gone to > collect wood from local forest. It may be noted that the Shia are under > siege in Parachinar for the past many years. The massacres of hundreds of > Shias in Kurram Agency in 2007 and 2008 saw regular trickles of Shias > migration. (Over the years, cities like Thal, Hangu and Kohat have developed > significant pockets of migrant Shia population. All this area is also the > target of the Afghan refugees who have leaked out of the Afghan refugee > camps and don’t plan on going home because becoming a part of the Al Qaeda > fighting machine is more lucrative. They take the identity of Taliban and do > a lot of Shia-killing on the side. An informally named ghetto, Shiagarh, is > an obvious target, located just 10 miles from Kohat going to the city of > Hangu.) > > 3. On 19 February 2009, a Shia man, Qurban Ali, was killed and another Sabir > sustained injuries when terrorists opened fire on their van in the Gilgit > area. > > 4. On 10 February 2009, Mualana Syed Shabeer Hussain Shah was killed near > Qureshi Maur; he was a prayer leader at Masjid-e-Kotla-Qaim Shah in D.I. > Khan. He was 45 years old. > > 5. On 9 February 2009, Sardar Ali Baba, 45, was killed in Peshawar. He was > the bread-winner of the family and used to run medicines' business. He is > survived by four mourning children. > > 6. On 5 February 2009, at least 35 Shia were killed and more than 50 injured > in a suicide attack on a Shia gathering in D.G. Khan. > > 7. On 3 February 2009, Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi was killed when terrorists > attacked him near Dabal Road, Quetta. He worked in a Wood factory to earn > livelihood. > > 8. On 2 February 2009, Syed Munawar Kazmi of Shia Dialogue Committee was > shot in D.I. Khan. > > 9. On 27 January 2009, Syed Ather Shah was killed by terrorists on Dial Road > outside of his home in D.I. Khan. Syed aged 40 years was the caretaker of > Imambargah Faqir Shah Muhallah Totaan Walla. Previously on 18 January, > another Shia, Ali Abbas was killed in the same city. > > 10. On 26 January 2009, Hussain Ali Yousufi president of Hazara Democratic > Party was killed in firing by terrorist in today morning at Jinnah Road > Quetta. The killing of Shia notables in Quetta, particularly those belonging > to Hazara community, has sadly become a frequent occurrence. Some of the > killings have been owned by Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, a sister organization of > Pakistani Taliban. The number of the Shia community members killed there > over the recent years has exceeded 300. Besides religious figures, liberal > politicians, businessmen and government officials have been targeted. > > 11. On 14 January 2009, 3 Shia Police officials named DSP Hassan Ali, > Mohammad Baqir and Sifwatullah were killed in Quetta, four were injured. > They were going to Police Training Centre Quetta at Saryab Road at 10: 30 AM > (PST) when terrorists sprayed fires upon them. All killed and two of injured > belong from Shia Community. Four days ago president of Shia Conference was > also targeted in Sibi (Baluchistan). On 8th June 2003 12 Shia cadets were > also killed on Sariab Road Quetta. > > 12. On January 2009 in Hangu,17 Shia Muslims were killed and more than 35 > injured. Taliban terrorists attacked with heavy weapons on Shia populated > areas of Hungo City like; Ali Abad town, Muhallah Ganjanokalay, Muhallah > Sangerh and Muhallah Paskaley. > > 13. On 10 Jan 2009, 4 Shia were killed and another 10 are injured when > Taliban attacked the Shia converged for Ashura Procession in Hangu. > > > In Summary > > 1. There is an ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in all areas in > Pakistan, particularly in Kurram Agency, Kohat, Hangu, D.I. Khan and Quetta, > and also in other areas. > > 2. Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia gatherings > in Pakistan. They are supported by their sister organizations such as > Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangavi and other jihadi and sectarian > organizations. > > 3. Looming large over all sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent times are > various Taliban/jihadi figures, such as that of Qari Hussain, a militant > commander based in South Waziristan, who is also known by the nom de guerre > Ustad-i-Fidayeen (teacher of suicide bombers). Qari Hussain is believed to > be a recruiter and trainer of suicide bombers and has infused his ideology > with a virulent stream of anti-Shia sectarianism. This is an approach > similar to the one adopted by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. > > 4. Since the ISI is involved in promoting and protecting jihadi outfits such > as Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other jihadi and sectarian organization, > the ISI's willingness to curb and eliminate acts of sectarian terror is > seriously compromised or is doubtful. > > 5. The government's failure to track down the culprits has emboldened the > perpetrators to kill with impunity. The situation has understandably enraged > Shias in Pakistan. The Shia community is exasperated with the government's > inability to perform one of its basic functions, that of ensuring that the > lives of the people are protected. They are tired of hearing trite > repetitions of promises by the Pakistan Government to 'find' the culprits > and give them 'exemplary punishment'. > > 6. While the government has failed, the opposition's and media's role in > Pakistan is no less pathetic. Some of them are clearly sympathetic to the > Taliban, justifying their acts of terror, despite the fact that the Taliban > have openly claimed responsibility of scores of Shia killings in Pakistan. > > 7. The world at large has paid little attention to the plight of Shia > Muslims in Pakistan. The number of Shias killed in Pakistan in the last one > year alone is much larger than the total number of Palestinians killed in > the recent Gaza war. Yet, there is little international attention to the > plight of Pakistani Shias. > > 8. The Sunni population also fears that unhindered killings of the Shias > might cause sectarian strife in an area where the sects have generally > coexisted peacefully for centuries. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan > has expressed its concern that the state agencies' consistent failure to > track down the killers may prompt the Shia to retaliate against members of > other sects, which is perhaps the sort of violence those behind the > target-killings want to trigger. Source: > http://www.hrcp-web.org/hrcpDetail_2.cfm?catId=180&catName=Press%20Releases > > > The Petition > > According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the recent string of > target-killing of Shias in Pakistan and the government's failure to bring > any of the perpetrators to justice is a cause for growing alarm. > > We, the citizens of Pakistan, of all religious affiliations (including Sunni > and Shia Muslims, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and others) are extremely sad > and concerned about the ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in various > parts of Pakistan. We urge you to take immediate action to stop killing of > innocent Shia in Pakistan, particularly in Parachinar, D.I. Khan, Kohat, > Hangu, Quetta and other areas affected by violence against Shia. > > We believe that the Shia killing is not an act of sectarian violence by > Sunnis. In fact, these acts of terror are being perpetrated by a handful of > extremist Deobandis and Wahhabis (Salafis) who are currently operating under > different names, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba > Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other jihadi and sectarian > organisations. > > We also believe that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is > responsible for engineering, planning and facilitating these acts of terror > in order to execute and expand its jihadi agenda, and to implement a plan to > convert Pakistan into a puritanical Wahhabi state. > > The sad and gory events of Shia massacres in Quetta, D. I. Khan, D. G. Khan, > Parachinar, Hangu and other areas in Pakistan in the last few weeks should > have acted as awakeners for the Pakistan Government - especially for those > sections of it directly responsible for protecting lives of the people (i.e. > Police, ISI and the Army). They have failed to fulfil their duty to protect > the lives of citizens who, in the words of the newspaper 'Dawn', are the > continued targets of "a one-sided massacre of unwary mourners." > > However, given that the current civilian government in Pakistan has little > power over the ISI and its unholy alliance with the jihadi/sectarian > organisations, we urge that external and internal stakeholders in Pakistan > (e.g., the UN, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Afghanistan) will be able > to influence the military leadership in Pakistan to reconsider their policy > of abetting and protecting jihadi and sectarian terrorists. > > If, however, Government of Pakistan is serious about taking steps to control > and reverse the menace of target killing of Shias, here are some steps for > immediate implementation. > > We demand that: > > • Government must constitute a permanent, high-power Anti-Sectarianism > Commission in Pakistan, comprising the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of the > ISI, a judge of the Supreme Court, federal minister of religious affairs, > representatives of Shia, Deobandi, Barelvi, Salafi communities as well as > members of minority communities. The Commission must meet at least once > every three months to monitor the state of sectarian violence in Pakistan > and deliberate on the progress to curb sectarian terrorism. > > • Local commandants of the ISI as well as local DIG/SP of Police must be > held responsible for any act of sectarian terror which takes place their > respective areas of jurisdiction. If they are unable to stop acts of terror > or to arrest terrorists involved, the ISI and Police officials must be > dismissed from their duties, arrested and tried for their negligence or > complicity in the acts of terror. > > • Terrorists involved in acts of violence and those supporting them within > the military and civil establishment must be arrested and tried immediately > in anti-terrorist courts (ATCs). Bring people responsible and behind these > killing to justices; punish them to maximum limit – the maximum time between > arrest and sentence must not be more than three months. All of those > involved in encouraging or executing sectarian violence must be punished > with death sentence because there are instances in which these terrorists > either managed to flee the prison by bribing the jail authorities or by > harassing the judges through the ISI or Taliban. > > • The arch-terrorists of Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who > are already under arrest, e.g., Akram Lahori, Malik Ishaque and Hafiz > Shahid, all of whom have accepted killing Shia Muslims, shown no remorse, > and promised 'more of the same' if they get the opportunity, should be > publicly hanged forthwith as per sentences already handed down by ATCs. This > will act as a strong deterrent to prospective travellers of this short-cut > to heaven. > > • The mullahs who advocate 'takfeer' of Shia Muslims (i.e. declaring Shias > as non-Muslims; creating sectarian hatred) be jailed immediately and tried > in anti-terrorism courts, and barred from holding membership of parliament > or legislatures. Sitting members of assemblies and other famous 'scholars' > who have published the fatwa of takfeer of Shia Muslims include Maulana > Samiul Haq, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Maula > Bakhsh, Maulana Muhammad Ayub Khan Binori and others. > > • The madrassahs in which Shias are portrayed as Kafir (non-Muslim) or which > promote sectarian hatred against Shias must be immediately closed down, and > their leaders arrested. > > • Defeating the hydra of militancy does require different tactics at the > local level, but there must be overall strategic coherency too. Currently, > Pakistan is fighting the militants piecemeal in different areas of the > country. That must change; the militants must be pursued across the length > and breadth of the country simultaneously. There must be no dialogue with > sectarian terrorists; they deserve no mercy. > > • Compensate Shia Muslims affected during sectarian attacks financially; Rs. > 1 million compensation per Shia death must be paid to the family of each > Shia killed; Rs. 5 lac per person should be paid as compensation to those > injured. Other loss of property must be totally compensated. > > • Provide security and support to Shia not only through adequate police > security but also by providing Shia mosques and imambargahs with latest > scanners, anti-bomb equipment and anti-terrorism training so that Shias > could secure themselves from any future attacks. > > • STOP SHIA KILLINGS in Pakistan. > > > Sincerely, > The Undersigned > > Sincerely, > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From christy.carmel at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 09:39:08 2009 From: christy.carmel at gmail.com (carmel christy) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:39:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Media seminar Message-ID: <4e4d9fc30903092109y3bfcb018o434099fe1a2ecdc0@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi, Department of Journalism, Invites you to a seminar on 24 X 7 Journalism: Issues and Perspectives At the Lecture Theatre, IIC Annexe, on 23rd March, 2009 CONCEPT NOTE: The possibilities of 24 x 7 television channels are immense. They have radically changed our sensibilities and aesthetics of news. Even when Indian citizenry has been offered the privilege of watching ‘news as it happens’ under the rubric of corporatized media, the whole gamut of issues such as social responsibility, representation, and ownership patterns need to be further debated. This is also the time when media is under criticism for its coverage, but from a statist regime that smacks of regulatory measures like censorship that could lead to curtailing the freedom of speech and expression. Of late, the ghastly media spectacle, created out of Mumbai terror attack for 60 hours by electronic media, has invited flak from different corners. The hysteria created by the media almost led the country virtually to the verge of an imminent War. In this context of cut-throat competition, when media plays to the galleries and TRP ratings, certain questions remain unanswered, but which should be addressed and discussed by media persons, scholars and students alike. This seminar is an attempt to map and critically analyze media discourse in relation to contemporary issues like terrorism, representation, identity and development. Through the sessions and discussions, the seminar hopes to debate some of the above issues for better understanding of how our society and media are structured. SEMINAR SCHEDULE: 10:00 AM: Keynote address by: Mr. Vinod Mehta, Editor-in-Chief, Outlook 11:15 AM: Tea- Break 11:30 AM: SESSION I Media, Representation and Identity Chair: Mr. Vipul Mudgal (Head, Inclusive Media and Rural Livelihood Project, CSDS) Speakers: Mr. Vinay Tiwari (Managing Editor, CNN-IBN) Prof. Anwar Alam (Hony. Deputy Director, Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia) Ms. Sevanti Ninan (Editor, www.thehoot.org) 1:30 PM: Lunch Break 2:00 PM: SESSION II Media and Development Chair: Prananjoy Guha Thakurta (Senior Journalist) Speakers: Ms. Pamela Philipose (Director, Women Feature Service) Ms Mohuya Chowdhary (Senior Editor, NDTV) Mr. S. Anand (Navayana Publishing House) CONVENOR Dr. Minoti Chatterjee (Principal) COORDINATORS Ms. Carmel Christy K.J. (9958500931) Ms. Jyoti Raghavan (9873457968) FACULTY Ms. Anubha Yadav -- Carmel Christy From lawrence at altlawforum.org Tue Mar 10 11:03:11 2009 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:03:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation to Talk by Lata Mani on Rethinking Feminist Response to the Mangalore Pub Attack Message-ID: *Towards a New Poetics of Practice: Rethinking Feminist Response to the Mangalore Pub Attack * Lata Mani In this brief note I raise questions that are posed by the nature and form of feminist response to the attack on women in the Amnesia pub in Mangalore and to the spirited defence of Valentine’s Day that followed Sri Ram Sene’s vigilantism. The creative momentum generated by these events suggest that we may be in a moment in which new activist formations can be forged in response to Right Wing lawlessness. However, the exclusive recourse to a liberal discourse of rights and the refusal to engage questions of culture and ethics have restricted the scope of our interventions and left urgent sociocultural and economic tensions unaddressed. If we are to “seize the time” we would need to engage these difficult questions and be willing to set aside various sacred and secular cows in the process. Since the intent is to initiate dialogue, Lata Mani will speak for 15 minutes. Du Saraswathy will respond and the floor will then be opened for discussion. Venue: Alternative Law Forum, No. 122/4 Infantry Road, Bangalore- 560001 Date: Friday the 13th (yes I know :), March 2009 Time : 6 PM From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Mar 9 14:09:54 2009 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (vCH) Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:39:54 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_Call=3A_one_minu?= =?iso-8859-1?q?te_films_and_videos?= Message-ID: <20090309093954.8482EE7C.756F1C71@192.168.0.3> Call for entries extended deadline: 2 May 2009 > -------------------------------------------- VideoChannel - video project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest:org is looking for "one minute films and videos" on the theme "memory " and "identity" for an online feature and future screening programs. Please find the entry regulations and form on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=447 > --------------------------------------------- VideoChannel - video project environments is a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetworjk]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net the experimental plattform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Mon Mar 9 23:39:00 2009 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 14:09:00 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Commission: "Eclipse" by EcoArtTech Message-ID: <011301c9a0e2$20a3f980$61ebec80$@org> March 9, 2009 Turbulence Commission: "Eclipse" by EcoArtTech http://turbulence.org/works/eclipse "Eclipse" is a user driven, networked-art application that alters and corrupts United States national and state park images from Flickr.com based on the real-time Air Quality Index (particle pollution data) provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) at the site www.airnow.gov. "We visit national parks to get away from traffic and smog. But the latter can be hard to shake, even in remote, pristine-seeming places. "Eclipse", an open-source program created by Cary Peppermint and Leila Christine Nadir of EcoArtTech, will make air pollution's presence visually -- and viscerally -- explicit." Anna Lena Phillips, American Scientist "Eclipse" is a 2008 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the Murray G. and Beatrice H. Sherman Charitable Trust. BIOGRAPHIES EcoArtTech is Cary Peppermint and Christine Nadir. They have been working together informally since 1996 and began exhibiting together in 2004. In 2005, they founded EcoArtTech as their collaborative platform for digital environmental art. LEILA CHRISTINE NADIR recently completed her doctoral studies in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and regularly gives talks on environmental ethics, art, and literature at international conferences and universities. She has taught at Columbia, Oneonta State College, and Colgate University, including courses on American literature, modernity and modernism, and new media art history and theory. In 2008, the Society for Utopian Studies awarded her the annual Arthur O. Lewis for the best paper by a young scholar. In addition to EcoArtTech, her current projects include writing a memoir on growing up Afghan and Muslim in the United States and reworking her dissertation into a book titled "Sacrifice and its Discontents: Ethical Paradox in Twentieth-Century Environmental Writing and Art." CARY PEPPERMINT is a conceptual and performance artist working with digital technologies and "natural" environments. Cary is known for his website "Restlessculture.net," an internationallly recognized platform for his ongoing series of net art and networked performance art. Cary has curated international exhibitions of digitally infused eco-art, including Nature Version 2.0: Ecological Modernities and Digital Environmentalism, Technorganic, and Wilderness Information Network. He is assistant professor of art at Colgate University where he teaches courses in the theory and practice of digital and new media art. Cary has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Franklin Furnace Performance Grant, Experimental Television Workshop Grant, and NYSCA's Decentralization Grant. His work is in the collections of the Walker Art Center, Rhizome.org at the New Museum for Contemporary Art, Computer Fine Arts, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. For more Turbulence Commissions, please visit http://turbulence.org. Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade New American Radio: http://somewhere.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 10 13:19:50 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:49:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] (PERSONAL) Re: SOS from Pakistan - Save Pakistani Shias In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0903091626jb647b04ja25ad1db8e96dd81@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <626393.34879.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> intriguing smile..... kya majraa hai? --- On Tue, 3/10/09, yasir ~يا سر wrote: From: yasir ~يا سر Subject: Re: [Reader-list] SOS from Pakistan - Save Pakistani Shias To: "sarai list" Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:56 AM :) On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Pls check the petition > > http://www.petitiononline.com/ShiaSOS/petition.html > > > To:  Governments of Pakistan, USA, UK, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, > Iran, UNESCO, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, OIC, European > Union, Amnesty International, HRCP, Human Rights Watch, ICG > > > Aim > > The aim of this petition is to draw the world's attention to the plight of > minority Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Hundreds of Shias have been killed in the > last one year alone in various acts of terrorism by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, > Sipah-e-Sahaba, and other sectarian and jihadi groups in Pakistan. > > > Background > > Shia population in Pakistan > > Islam is the state religion of Pakistan with Sunni Muslims forming the > majority of the population (Europa 2008 2008, 3498; US 19 Sept. 2008). > According to the United States (US) Department of State's International > Religious Freedom Report 2008, the Shia minority is roughly 10 to 20 percent > of the population (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 1; see also ibid. 6 Nov. 2008) > whereas Sunnis are estimated to be constituting 70 to 85 percent of the > population. > > > The treatment of Shias > > According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights > Practices for 2007, Shia Muslims in Pakistan "faced discrimination and > societal violence" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 5). Country Reports 2007 further > states that Shia Muslims "were the targets of religious violence" (ibid. 11 > Mar. 2008, Sec. 2.c). The International Religious Freedom Report 2008 > indicates that some Sunni Muslim groups have published literature calling > for violence against Shia Muslims (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 3). Freedom House > states that Shia Muslims (along with Christians and Ahmadis) are targeted by > extremist groups in Pakistan (2008). Country Reports 2007 states that the > "[p]olice often failed to protect members of religious minorities – > particularly ... Shias – from societal attacks" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 1.d). > > > Source: UNHCR Report PAK102973.E: The treatment of Shias in Pakistan (2006 - > November 2008) > http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,,49913b5e59,0.html > > > An account of recent Shia killings in Pakistan (from 1 Jan to 20 Feb 2009) > > Note: This is only a brief glimpse of systematic and continuous killings of > Shia in Pakistan in the last few weeks. For a detailed account of the Shia > genocide in the last many years in Pakistan, visit: > http://www.shaheedfoundation.org/home.asp > > 1. On 20 February 2009, a suicide bomber killed at least 32 Shias and > injured another 157 who were attending the funeral of an already murdered > Shia leader in the southern district of D.I. Khan (Dera Ismail Khan) in the > NWFP. Previously on 21 November 2008, 6 Shia were killed and 25 more > received severe injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through the funeral > procession of a slain Shia leader who was shot the previous night. > > 2. On 19 February 2009, six Shia were killed in Parachinar when Taliban > terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on them at mid-day. They had gone to > collect wood from local forest. It may be noted that the Shia are under > siege in Parachinar for the past many years. The massacres of hundreds of > Shias in Kurram Agency in 2007 and 2008 saw regular trickles of Shias > migration. (Over the years, cities like Thal, Hangu and Kohat have developed > significant pockets of migrant Shia population. All this area is also the > target of the Afghan refugees who have leaked out of the Afghan refugee > camps and don’t plan on going home because becoming a part of the Al Qaeda > fighting machine is more lucrative. They take the identity of Taliban and do > a lot of Shia-killing on the side. An informally named ghetto, Shiagarh, is > an obvious target, located just 10 miles from Kohat going to the city of > Hangu.) > > 3. On 19 February 2009, a Shia man, Qurban Ali, was killed and another Sabir > sustained injuries when terrorists opened fire on their van in the Gilgit > area. > > 4. On 10 February 2009, Mualana Syed Shabeer Hussain Shah was killed near > Qureshi Maur; he was a prayer leader at Masjid-e-Kotla-Qaim Shah in D.I. > Khan. He was 45 years old. > > 5. On 9 February 2009, Sardar Ali Baba, 45, was killed in Peshawar. He was > the bread-winner of the family and used to run medicines' business. He is > survived by four mourning children. > > 6. On 5 February 2009, at least 35 Shia were killed and more than 50 injured > in a suicide attack on a Shia gathering in D.G. Khan. > > 7. On 3 February 2009, Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi was killed when terrorists > attacked him near Dabal Road, Quetta. He worked in a Wood factory to earn > livelihood. > > 8. On 2 February 2009, Syed Munawar Kazmi of Shia Dialogue Committee was > shot in D.I. Khan. > > 9. On 27 January 2009, Syed Ather Shah was killed by terrorists on Dial Road > outside of his home in D.I. Khan. Syed aged 40 years was the caretaker of > Imambargah Faqir Shah Muhallah Totaan Walla. Previously on 18 January, > another Shia, Ali Abbas was killed in the same city. > > 10. On 26 January 2009, Hussain Ali Yousufi president of Hazara Democratic > Party was killed in firing by terrorist in today morning at Jinnah Road > Quetta. The killing of Shia notables in Quetta, particularly those belonging > to Hazara community, has sadly become a frequent occurrence. Some of the > killings have been owned by Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, a sister organization of > Pakistani Taliban. The number of the Shia community members killed there > over the recent years has exceeded 300. Besides religious figures, liberal > politicians, businessmen and government officials have been targeted. > > 11. On 14 January 2009, 3 Shia Police officials named DSP Hassan Ali, > Mohammad Baqir and Sifwatullah were killed in Quetta, four were injured. > They were going to Police Training Centre Quetta at Saryab Road at 10: 30 AM > (PST) when terrorists sprayed fires upon them. All killed and two of injured > belong from Shia Community. Four days ago president of Shia Conference was > also targeted in Sibi (Baluchistan). On 8th June 2003 12 Shia cadets were > also killed on Sariab Road Quetta. > > 12. On January 2009 in Hangu,17 Shia Muslims were killed and more than 35 > injured. Taliban terrorists attacked with heavy weapons on Shia populated > areas of Hungo City like; Ali Abad town, Muhallah Ganjanokalay, Muhallah > Sangerh and Muhallah Paskaley. > > 13. On 10 Jan 2009, 4 Shia were killed and another 10 are injured when > Taliban attacked the Shia converged for Ashura Procession in Hangu. > > > In Summary > > 1. There is an ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in all areas in > Pakistan, particularly in Kurram Agency, Kohat, Hangu, D.I. Khan and Quetta, > and also in other areas. > > 2. Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia gatherings > in Pakistan. They are supported by their sister organizations such as > Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangavi and other jihadi and sectarian > organizations. > > 3. Looming large over all sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent times are > various Taliban/jihadi figures, such as that of Qari Hussain, a militant > commander based in South Waziristan, who is also known by the nom de guerre > Ustad-i-Fidayeen (teacher of suicide bombers). Qari Hussain is believed to > be a recruiter and trainer of suicide bombers and has infused his ideology > with a virulent stream of anti-Shia sectarianism. This is an approach > similar to the one adopted by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. > > 4. Since the ISI is involved in promoting and protecting jihadi outfits such > as Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other jihadi and sectarian organization, > the ISI's willingness to curb and eliminate acts of sectarian terror is > seriously compromised or is doubtful. > > 5. The government's failure to track down the culprits has emboldened the > perpetrators to kill with impunity. The situation has understandably enraged > Shias in Pakistan. The Shia community is exasperated with the government's > inability to perform one of its basic functions, that of ensuring that the > lives of the people are protected. They are tired of hearing trite > repetitions of promises by the Pakistan Government to 'find' the culprits > and give them 'exemplary punishment'. > > 6. While the government has failed, the opposition's and media's role in > Pakistan is no less pathetic. Some of them are clearly sympathetic to the > Taliban, justifying their acts of terror, despite the fact that the Taliban > have openly claimed responsibility of scores of Shia killings in Pakistan. > > 7. The world at large has paid little attention to the plight of Shia > Muslims in Pakistan. The number of Shias killed in Pakistan in the last one > year alone is much larger than the total number of Palestinians killed in > the recent Gaza war. Yet, there is little international attention to the > plight of Pakistani Shias. > > 8. The Sunni population also fears that unhindered killings of the Shias > might cause sectarian strife in an area where the sects have generally > coexisted peacefully for centuries. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan > has expressed its concern that the state agencies' consistent failure to > track down the killers may prompt the Shia to retaliate against members of > other sects, which is perhaps the sort of violence those behind the > target-killings want to trigger. Source: > http://www.hrcp-web.org/hrcpDetail_2.cfm?catId=180&catName=Press%20Releases > > > The Petition > > According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the recent string of > target-killing of Shias in Pakistan and the government's failure to bring > any of the perpetrators to justice is a cause for growing alarm. > > We, the citizens of Pakistan, of all religious affiliations (including Sunni > and Shia Muslims, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and others) are extremely sad > and concerned about the ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in various > parts of Pakistan. We urge you to take immediate action to stop killing of > innocent Shia in Pakistan, particularly in Parachinar, D.I. Khan, Kohat, > Hangu, Quetta and other areas affected by violence against Shia. > > We believe that the Shia killing is not an act of sectarian violence by > Sunnis. In fact, these acts of terror are being perpetrated by a handful of > extremist Deobandis and Wahhabis (Salafis) who are currently operating under > different names, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba > Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other jihadi and sectarian > organisations. > > We also believe that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is > responsible for engineering, planning and facilitating these acts of terror > in order to execute and expand its jihadi agenda, and to implement a plan to > convert Pakistan into a puritanical Wahhabi state. > > The sad and gory events of Shia massacres in Quetta, D. I. Khan, D. G. Khan, > Parachinar, Hangu and other areas in Pakistan in the last few weeks should > have acted as awakeners for the Pakistan Government - especially for those > sections of it directly responsible for protecting lives of the people (i.e. > Police, ISI and the Army). They have failed to fulfil their duty to protect > the lives of citizens who, in the words of the newspaper 'Dawn', are the > continued targets of "a one-sided massacre of unwary mourners." > > However, given that the current civilian government in Pakistan has little > power over the ISI and its unholy alliance with the jihadi/sectarian > organisations, we urge that external and internal stakeholders in Pakistan > (e.g., the UN, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Afghanistan) will be able > to influence the military leadership in Pakistan to reconsider their policy > of abetting and protecting jihadi and sectarian terrorists. > > If, however, Government of Pakistan is serious about taking steps to control > and reverse the menace of target killing of Shias, here are some steps for > immediate implementation. > > We demand that: > > • Government must constitute a permanent, high-power Anti-Sectarianism > Commission in Pakistan, comprising the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of the > ISI, a judge of the Supreme Court, federal minister of religious affairs, > representatives of Shia, Deobandi, Barelvi, Salafi communities as well as > members of minority communities. The Commission must meet at least once > every three months to monitor the state of sectarian violence in Pakistan > and deliberate on the progress to curb sectarian terrorism. > > • Local commandants of the ISI as well as local DIG/SP of Police must be > held responsible for any act of sectarian terror which takes place their > respective areas of jurisdiction. If they are unable to stop acts of terror > or to arrest terrorists involved, the ISI and Police officials must be > dismissed from their duties, arrested and tried for their negligence or > complicity in the acts of terror. > > • Terrorists involved in acts of violence and those supporting them within > the military and civil establishment must be arrested and tried immediately > in anti-terrorist courts (ATCs). Bring people responsible and behind these > killing to justices; punish them to maximum limit – the maximum time between > arrest and sentence must not be more than three months. All of those > involved in encouraging or executing sectarian violence must be punished > with death sentence because there are instances in which these terrorists > either managed to flee the prison by bribing the jail authorities or by > harassing the judges through the ISI or Taliban. > > • The arch-terrorists of Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who > are already under arrest, e.g., Akram Lahori, Malik Ishaque and Hafiz > Shahid, all of whom have accepted killing Shia Muslims, shown no remorse, > and promised 'more of the same' if they get the opportunity, should be > publicly hanged forthwith as per sentences already handed down by ATCs. This > will act as a strong deterrent to prospective travellers of this short-cut > to heaven. > > • The mullahs who advocate 'takfeer' of Shia Muslims (i.e. declaring Shias > as non-Muslims; creating sectarian hatred) be jailed immediately and tried > in anti-terrorism courts, and barred from holding membership of parliament > or legislatures. Sitting members of assemblies and other famous 'scholars' > who have published the fatwa of takfeer of Shia Muslims include Maulana > Samiul Haq, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Maula > Bakhsh, Maulana Muhammad Ayub Khan Binori and others. > > • The madrassahs in which Shias are portrayed as Kafir (non-Muslim) or which > promote sectarian hatred against Shias must be immediately closed down, and > their leaders arrested. > > • Defeating the hydra of militancy does require different tactics at the > local level, but there must be overall strategic coherency too. Currently, > Pakistan is fighting the militants piecemeal in different areas of the > country. That must change; the militants must be pursued across the length > and breadth of the country simultaneously. There must be no dialogue with > sectarian terrorists; they deserve no mercy. > > • Compensate Shia Muslims affected during sectarian attacks financially; Rs. > 1 million compensation per Shia death must be paid to the family of each > Shia killed; Rs. 5 lac per person should be paid as compensation to those > injured. Other loss of property must be totally compensated. > > • Provide security and support to Shia not only through adequate police > security but also by providing Shia mosques and imambargahs with latest > scanners, anti-bomb equipment and anti-terrorism training so that Shias > could secure themselves from any future attacks. > > • STOP SHIA KILLINGS in Pakistan. > > > Sincerely, > The Undersigned > > Sincerely, > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 10 14:40:05 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:10:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) In-Reply-To: <84FA15AE82404BDE8E56EEC17C993EC4@tara> Message-ID: <912121.84439.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taraprakash   1. I doubt it that you will receive a direct response to your counter questions directed at Wali Arifi since your questions show up his hypocrisy.   2. You similarly had some pointed question and comments for one M Yousuf in April 2008 (in the thread 'The Hindu on Tibet).  He never responded. In fact that is the last one saw of him on this List, at least as identifiable by his email address of  "yousufism AT gmail.com".   Kshmendra     --- On Mon, 3/9/09, taraprakash wrote: From: taraprakash Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) To: "Sarai" Date: Monday, March 9, 2009, 9:05 PM I don't see what is unusual here. A set of goons being considered to counter another set of goons. Hasn't it been happening in the history? I wownder if you had similar concerns when Pakistan based, Pakistan backed "jihadi" elements entered Kashmir and ruthlessly butchered moderate muslims andd Hindus. Wasn't it a case of ethnic cleansing? A psychological operation? Or just commodification of a misplaced sense of communal bonding used for Pakistani right wing politics? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wali Arifi" To: "Sarai" Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 3:38 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits(?) > With apologies for cross-posting, this is an unusual version of a > situation > many have come to believe in. One wonders, is it the state, the people > living in Kashmir or a militia the displaced KPs are looking up to for > their > return or rehabilitation. Five hundred thousand Shiv Sainiks sounds like > the > number of Indian soldiers already in the state! An unusual perspective > here! > Is it a case of ethnic flooding? A psychological operation? Or just > commodifying a displaced community for use in right wing politics? > > > > > > http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16402 > > > > Cunning and scheming Displaced Kashmiri Pundits > > (Hem Raj Jain) > > Publication Date 9/3/2009 11:41:26 AM(IST) > > > > This refers to permanent complaint of DKPs from different forums that 1.5 > million of them are refugees in their own country as they left > > > > Kashmir valley in nineties and onwards in the face of Muslim > fundamentalist > terrorism in valley. The latest such complaint was heard from a Kashmiri > Pundit lady (during almost three hours address and question answer > session > of Pakistan’s ex-President Musharraf to a prominent T.V. Channel of India > on > Mach 7, 2009 evening). > > > > But very few people know that these DKPs are simply not interested in > going > back to J&K, even if they are assured of their security and restoration of > their lost properties. Rather these DKPs are allowing Government of India > to > use them merely as stick to beat Pakistan (which, even as per Musharraf > during said T.V. session, is responsible for Muslim militancy in J&K in > the > aftermath of Afghanistan war of eighties, when mujahidins free from > Afghanistan were diverted to Kashmir). This is evident from the > following:- > > > > (1)- In 2002 Shiv Sena (having its registered office at Sena Bhavan, Dadar > Mumbai) participated in a meeting with Kashmiri Samiti President Sunil > Shakdar and other members of its executive body at Kashmiri Bhavan, Amar > Colony, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi where - > > > > (2)- Shiv Sena offered to send 5,00,000 (five hundred thousand) Shiv > Sainiks (male & female) along with 5,00,000 DKPs (who reportedly wanted to > go back to Kashmir valley) on one to one basis till DKPs feel secured to > live in Kashmir valley on their own. > > > > (3)- These 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks though were not to be a financial burden > on > rehabilitated DKPs but it was expected from DKPs that they would extend > every possible non-monetary help, assistance & support in making > livelihood > in Kashmir valley easy for these Shiv Sainiks. > > > > (4)- For this program a study team consisting of equal number of Shiv > Sainiks and DKPs was supposed to go in Kashmir valley. Therefore 20 Shiv > Sena office bearers participated in this 2002 meeting at Kashmiri Bhavan, > with 20 members (mostly from executive body) of Kashmiri Samiti. > > > > (5)- But Kashmiri Samiti later on backed out from this proposal and > program. > > > > (6)- Shiv Sena still stands by this program and 5,00,000 Shiv Sainiks are > still prepared to go along with DKPs in Kashmir valley. > > > > (7)- Shiv Sena does not believe in giving political sermons while sitting > at > Delhi but believes in solving this problem by going in the field and > talking > to other citizens of Kashmir valley so that these Hindu DKPs may live > peacefully & harmoniously with Muslim majority population of Kashmir > valley. > > > > (8)- Here it is in context to add that during this 2002 meeting, in reply > to Kashmiri Samiti’s query (that what is the guarantee that these > rehabilitated DKPs will not be attacked and killed in Kashmir by > terrorists), Shiv Sena told that only guarantee is that the accompanying > Shiv Sainik will lay down his life before such DKPs is killed. > > > > (9)- But the way DKPs backed out in 2002 and the way Government of India > is > supporting DKPs financially and economically, the Shiv Sena suspects that > the DKPs have clearly developed a vested interest in remaining out of > Kashmir valley as refugees. > > > > (10)- If DKPs believe that Shiv Sena is wrong in this inference then even > now let these DKPs go with Shiv Sena to Kashmir valley and then only (if > Shiv Sena fails in its commitment) DKPs should air their so called > grievances and even such sweeping statements by some DKPs about the > alleged > impotence of entire Indian political class. > > > > (11)- Therefore, for God sake if there is a problem of Displaced Kashmiri > Pundits (DKPs) who want to go back to Kashmir valley but cannot, due to > violence by terrorists then (whether Sunil Shakdar of Kashmiri Samiti or > not) Shiv Sena can still help them by sending equal number of 5,00,000 > Shiv > Sainiks (both male & female) on one to one basis in Kashmir valley > (without > putting any financial burden on these DKPs) in order to get DKPs > rehabilitated and to get their evacuee properties restored back. > > > > (12)- But if there is no problem of DKPs and if Kashmiri Pundits are quite > satisfied with what India is doing in Kashmir then this bluff of DKPs > should > be called off where they are making huge hue & cry and lamenting day in > and > day out, in media, at various forums, political demonstrations etc. that > they are refugee in their own country, no body helps them etc. etc. > > > > (13)- Here it is pertinent to add that the above mentioned ought to be > kept > in view before Obama administration (which is reportedly committed to find > an early Kashmir solution) chalks out its foreign policy regarding south > Asia especially about Indo – Pak relations in context of Kashmir > solution. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 16:32:14 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:32:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Panun expresses Shock at the loss of Dr.Amans murder Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903100402o1467780fo6701c4d40673aeb2@mail.gmail.com> * Panun Kashmir* 177-F, Hari Nagar, Old Janipur -180007 Jammu email: panunwkpc3 at gmail.com, panundkkaul at gmail.com panunkashmirconvenor at gmail.com Phone: 0191-2533336, Cell- 09469370935 Convener: Dr. Agnishekhar Date: 07-12-2008 *Press-Release* *Panun Kashmir* expresses its strongest outrage at the murder of a medical student in Tanda Himachal Pradesh.Dr. Agnishekhar while reacting on the heinous incident expressed his shock and disbelief at the loss of life of a young and innocent life. Aman Kachroo was at the threshold of a noble and brilliant carrier but his life was cut shot by some criminals in brutal and tortuous ragging. Panun Kashmir urges the chief minister of the Himachal Pradesh to bring the perpetrators of the brutal murder to justice.Dr.Agnishekhar urged the authorities to bring to book all the criminals who were responsible for the carnage and also take strictest possible action against the authorities of the college who were supposed to be the guardians and sentinels of the students. In this case the authorities have completely failed to protect the life of a buding doctor. This is despite the fact that there are strict guidelines by the Indian Medical Association on the menace of ragging and even the affiliation of the college can be cancelled on this issue. We are watching the situation as it develops, as of now two of the perpetrators are still at large and we appeal the law enforcement agencies to arrest them immediately. We shall be revealing our next course of action after our meeting with the members of our chapter in Himachal Pradesh. Namaskar and ORZU *Dr.Agnishekhar* Convener __._,_.___ From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 16:41:49 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:41:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Press_Release_-_=91Roots_in_Kashmi?= =?windows-1252?q?r=92_shocked_with_the_ragging_death=2C_demands_im?= =?windows-1252?q?mediate_action_and_high_level_probe?= In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903100411yc90e3aaid05fed1557335bfe@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690903100230oad755a4q1ca61c1f28afe7ec@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690903100409n611283eai411762ca9d8a1683@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903100411yc90e3aaid05fed1557335bfe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903100411s4b4477f3m729a3a28e688d28d@mail.gmail.com> *Roots in Kashmir* *Campaign Office: New Delhi* *Blog: www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* *Website : www.rootsinkashmir.org * *E-mail: contact at rootsinkashmir.org* *Press Release* ‘Roots in Kashmir’ shocked with the ragging death, demands immediate action and high level probe *Tuesday, March 10th * *New Delhi:* *‘Roots in Kashmir’ *a frontline global youth initiative of the Kashmiri Pandit youth condemns the killing of teenaged medical student, who was ragged and beaten to death mercilessly by his seniors in the Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.19 year old Aman Satya Kachru who originally hailed from Kashmir breathed his last on Sunday night in a local Hospital. His family is based in Gurgaon. “It is a shocking incident and there are unanswered questions surrounding this most unfortunate killing. The college needs to be held responsible for this dastardly act by its students inside its premises”, said *Aditya Raj Kaul*, a senior member of Roots in Kashmir, who has initiated campaigns in the past for Priyadarshini Mattoo, Jessica Lall and Nitesh Katara cases. “We demand a high level probe from the Himachal Pradesh Government and an immediate action against those involved in the torturous killing of this innocent youth.” he added. Among a slew of directions issued by the Supreme Court to stamp out ragging, many were aimed at making educational institutions directly responsible for acting against the culprits. These included mandatory registration of FIRs by the institutions whenever a ragging incident comes to light. ‘In this particular incident no such directions were followed, and instead the murderers were given free hand to escape as the institution itself remained as a mute spectator hours into the crime.” In 2007, senior supreme court judge, Justice Arijit Pasayat had said in a ruling, “The punishment "should be exemplary and justifiably harsh to stop recurrence of the ugly incidents". In accordance with the law and the recent ruling we demand harshest punishment to the accused and their immediate conviction which sets a positive trend. The delay and usual lack of action from the local administration and the college has caused a deep hurt and anguish to the family, relative and friends of Aman Satya Kachru. A question hanging in the air is that why the R K Raghavan committee report which has Supreme Courts ruling was not followed by the said medical college. The last rites and cremation of Aman Satya Kachru were performed this morning at the Lodhi Road Crematorium. Hundreds of family and friends bid a tearful adieu to the departed soul. Among others who attended the cremation mourning was, *Neelam Katara* who lost her own son Nitish Katara, 8 years ago at the hands of criminals. She demanded an immediate stern action against the accused and a stop to ragging. * * From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 10 18:00:28 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:30:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] "The Bobby Jindal Racism Issue" by Keshni Kashyap Message-ID: <890855.365.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> EXTRACTS:   - “My own parents,” he said tonelessly, “came from a distant land.”   - But if we are uneasy with Bobby Jindal, it is not because we’re a nation of racists, it’s because we are observing a man who seems to be uneasy with his own race.   - There may be valid reasons why Jindal has changed himself from Piyush into Bobby, but people can sense the ambivalence, and that ambivalence was on full display last week in his speech.   - In the Obama age, a brown man who cannot or will not articulate his relationship to his heritage (aside from vague platitudes about the American dream) makes Americans uneasy. Today, transparency is touted as a virtue. But Bobby Jindal creates confusion in the minds of Americans who watch him: They sense self-deception.   Kshmendra     "The Bobby Jindal Racism Issue" by Keshni Kashyap March 4, 2009   (After the Louisiana governor's speech was panned as "creepy" and "weird," some suggested racism factored into the response. But Keshni Kashyap says if anyone's not comfortable with Jindal's roots, it's Jindal himself.)   On February 24, two skinny and bookish dark-hued men gave televised speeches, one after the other. The first man, favored from the start, generally got a thumbs up, but the second suffered a wide, cross-political panning. Some panned for substance, but mostly, it was an issue of style.   During his State of the Union-like speech on the economy, President Barack Obama, as usual, came across as supremely comfortable. But in delivering the GOP response, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had a curious mien, one that has since been associated with fictional characters from 30 Rock’s Kenneth the Page to The Simpsons’ Mr. Burns. For the duration of the speech, his shoulders were stiff, his head cocked to the right. He wore a forced smile that seemed to plead with the Republican-weary masses to enter the peculiar magic castle he was selling. “My own parents,” he said tonelessly, “came from a distant land.” People called the speech “deeply weird.”   Just for a moment, leave substance aside, if only because your aunt or grandfather may have voted for George because they wanted to have a beer with him. Jindal is not a man of average intelligence. He went to Brown. Like Bill Clinton, he was a Rhodes scholar. At the age of 24, he was appointed secretary of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals. At 36, he became the youngest sitting governor in the US. He is known to be a consummate wonk.   And, of course, he is Indian-American. It was only a matter of time before race came into the picture. Christopher Orr of the New Republic theorized that Americans can accept a nerdy black man, but not a nerdy Indian because Indians were never cool anyway. Ann Althouse of the University of Wisconsin Law School suggested yesterday that the reaction to Jindal and his speech might be racist: “If there’s someone of a different race, and you just have this gut feeling that something’s not quite right, why are you so confident that it’s not coming from racism?”   But if we are uneasy with Bobby Jindal, it is not because we’re a nation of racists, it’s because we are observing a man who seems to be uneasy with his own race.   While it hasn’t stopped him from taking campaign money from South Asians—I attended an Indian-sponsored fund-raiser in Los Angeles some years ago when he was running for governor for the first time—Jindal has downplayed his ethnic background throughout his political life. He changed his Indian name during childhood and, against his father’s wishes, he converted from Hinduism to Christianity. When the New Orleans Times-Picayune tried to go to India to cover his Punjabi roots, his family did not cooperate. And on Sunday night, when Morley Safer asked Jindal if he experienced racial tension growing up in Baton Rouge, the governor responded, “Not at all. You know, this has been a great place to grow up. The great thing about the people of Louisiana is that they accept you based on who you are." Safer pointed out this was hard to believe in a state where 40% of the population voted for Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke not so long ago. “We were raised as Americans. We were raised as Louisianans,” said Jindal’s wife, Supriya, when Safer asked them both if they maintained Indian traditions in their home. “Not too many,” they both agreed.   “This at a time when the president calls himself Barack rather than Barry, and openly talks about his Kenyan roots,” said Manish Vij, the creator of Ultrabrown, a popular South Asian-American blog. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine Obama referring to himself as a Hawaiian and leaving it at that. Obama’s detailed excavation of his background is, in fact, what made him seem less exotic to Middle America. He sorted out his issues and, with nothing to hide, could move onto the job of governing.   A child of immigrants has a unique set of formative experiences: The desire to etch away pieces of yourself—your name and your context—is very strong, particularly if you are trying to win the trust of people in the rural parts of a Southern state. I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980s and ‘90s—a very different experience, I imagine, than living in Baton Rouge in the ‘70s—and I was not remotely interested in running for governor, or even class president. But if it had occurred to me to change my name to Marsha, quite frankly, I might have.   “By changing his name from Piyush to Bobby and by converting from Hinduism to Christianity, Jindal has repeatedly distanced himself from his Indian ethnicity and his family's Hindu faith,” says Varun Soni, dean of religious life at the University of Southern California, and the first Hindu dean of a major American university. “But now that Jindal is being touted as the ‘Republican Obama,’ his identity as an Indian American may suddenly be politically advantageous." Maybe this is why Jindal awkwardly wedged in the canned comment about his family “from a distant land,” and at least part of the reason he’s become the golden boy in a party of white Christian men.   So now the GOP wants to update his image, and, by association, their own. With President Obama peppering race issues with elegant introspection, Jindal suddenly has to answer questions about something he has long glossed over. Perhaps this is the disconnect—the weirdness—that people are sensing. There may be valid reasons why Jindal has changed himself from Piyush into Bobby, but people can sense the ambivalence, and that ambivalence was on full display last week in his speech. In the Obama age, a brown man who cannot or will not articulate his relationship to his heritage (aside from vague platitudes about the American dream) makes Americans uneasy. Today, transparency is touted as a virtue. But Bobby Jindal creates confusion in the minds of Americans who watch him: They sense self-deception.   Keshni Kashyap is a writer who lives (mostly) in Los Angeles. Her first book, Tina's Mouth, a graphic novel, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2010. From c.anupam at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 19:56:23 2009 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:56:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Land grabbing - another case In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <341380d00903100726k2404bn3468da33e396057e@mail.gmail.com> dear rakesh a very interestingly article indeed. if you know anything about the shabari kumbh and the subsequent campaign by the VHP to quell the Dangi Nationalism of the Dang district of Gujarat please post it here. after travelling in the areas such as saputara, ahwa and other places, it seems the Dangis or the tribal population of the Dang district also feel forced to accept the indian mainstream culture. the Dangi king, Tapatrao Anandrao Pawar also feels that by organising shabari kumbh in dangs, the VHP and contrarily, the christian organisations by conversions have been trying to get the tribals to a "more" mainstream culture. regards anupam On 3/7/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > > Hi to all > > This is an article I got in Outlook magazine. Hope you find it interesting. > > http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090316&fname=Tribals&sid=1 > > Print This Page > Magazine| Mar 16, 2009 > > a&n islands: tribals > > * A Little Naval Battle On Land * > > * The natives of Kamorta refuse to give up what the navy claims it > 'acquired' in 1979* > > ANURADHA RAMAN *The Native Take* > > - The 230 acres on Kamorta island, which the navy claims, is theirs > - The Rani of Nancowry had no right to gift the land to the navy > - Only the chief commissioner or the lieutenant governor can decide on > the fate of the land > - The navy should try the tribals before a competent court if they have > committed treason, as it alleges > > *** > *The Navy’s Response* > > - The land is rightfully theirs. The tribals’ allegations of encroachment > are untrue and unwarranted > - Issue is being fanned by anti-national elements > - Levelling allegations of land-grabbing by the navy is tantamount to > high treason > - The land in question was acquired in 1979 with an NoC from the Rani of > Nancowry > > *** > *"Nothing can separate us from our land. This is all we have."* > > —Rashid Yusuf, spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman > & > Nicobar Islands. > Five years ago, when the tsunami wreaked havoc, the tribespeople of the > Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw the human face of the Indian navy. The men in > white helped them restore normalcy after the ravages of the sea. Today, > those same tribals are locked in a bitter battle with the navy over 230-odd > acres on Kamorta island. The navy claims the land was given to them by the > queen of Nancowry in 1978; the tribals declare the deal invalid in law. > > Things took a turn for the worse early this year, when the navy began > cutting down plantations on the disputed land with help from the revenue > department. The tribals were up in arms, for land in six villages was > demarcated. Skirmishes broke out between the tribals and the navy, fuelling > misgivings. "We’re required to apply for tickets to use the civil > helicopter > that ferries us to Port Blair thrice a week. The trips are crucial to us. > But the navy, which owns the helipad, has threatened to deny us tickets if > we continue to agitate for our land," says Rashid Yusuf, a tribal leader > and > spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman & Nicobar > Islands. Though under pressure, the tribals stand resolved to agitate if > the > land isn’t restored to them. > > What’s particularly vexing is that the navy has no plans to pay > compensation > of any sort. Worse, it hyperbolises the tribals’ demands into an attack on > the nation. The navy’s Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) says the tribals’ > allegations of encroachment are untrue, malicious and detrimental to the > image and morale of the armed forces. "The issue is being fanned by > anti-national elements, who are now adding (sic) the emotions of the tribal > population in order to attain their own ends. Levelling baseless > allegations > against the nation’s armed forces, especially in these times of > sub-conventional and separatist threats, is tantamount to high treason," > the > ANC said in a February 13 press release. > > Yusuf asks if fighting for one’s land is anti-national. Insulted by the > navy’s allegations, the tribal councils decided to boycott the Lok Sabha > elections. It took the intervention of Manoranjan Bhakta, the MP from > Andaman & Nicobar Islands, to persuade the tribals to withdraw their > boycott > call. A delegation of tribals met defence minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi > last week and he has assured them that he would look into their grievances > and have officials determine the facts in the matter. "We are waiting to > see > whether our concerns will be addressed," says Yusuf. > > Bhakta also says the defence minister had assured the delegation that > action > would be taken against those responsible for harassing the tribals.In a > February 21 letter to Antony, Bhakta notes: "...to call the tribal leaders > anti-national is atrocious, baseless and totally uncalled for. The tribals > say the entire island of Kamorta except the port area was declared a tribal > reserve in 1957. Under the regulations, no one other than the administrator > (the lieutenant governor) can permit any person other than a tribal to > acquire an interest in any tribal land or any produce thereof. The deputy > commissioner, the tribals believe, had no authority to allot any tribal > land > to anyone." > > > Ravaged: A post-tsunami resettlement camp > > But what is the factual position as regards the 230 acres in question? > Tribal leaders reveal that the navy’s claim on the land is based on a > document signed by one Rani Lachmi, "Rani of Nancowrie", dated September > 25, > 1978, and an allotment order subsequently issued by the deputy > commissioner, > Nicobar district, dated November 15, 1979. > > Of course, there is no denying the fact that the area is strategic to the > navy. The INS *Kardip* is an advanced forward naval base in the defence > set-up. The defence forces already have 317 acres at Kamorta island but > wants the additional 230 acres for "strategic reasons." > > The armed forces are presently engaged in an exhaustive joint survey for > demarcation of land at Kamorta. In addition to representatives from the > army, navy and the coast guard, the team includes a surveyor and > draughtsman > appointed by the Andaman & Nicobar administration as well as a > representative from the assistant defence estates office, Port Blair. > > In reply to *Outlook*’s questionnaire, the defence ministry said: "The > defence minister has ordered that the issues raised by the delegation be > examined expeditiously, because of the nature of allegations made against > the navy, so that the factual position can be ascertained." > > The tribals see the entire operation as land-grabbing by the navy. Many > have > begun to question the rationale of giving away their land and the time > taken > by the navy to claim it as its own. "Giving away 230 acres of land which > does not belong to the Rani is amazing. Besides, Nancowry was not one of > the > 442 princely states under British domain. There is no evidence of an > instrument of accession signed by the rani," says Samir Acharya of the > Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology. > > Interestingly, regulations for Union Territories like the Andaman & Nicobar > Islands are promulgated by the President, the one relevant to this matter > being the Andaman & Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, > promulgated in 1956. The entire island of Kamorta, except the naval port > area, was declared a tribal reserve by gazette notification in 1957. No one > can acquire any right on any land or produce except with consent of the > administrator/chief commissioner. This, the tribals allege, was not > obtained > by the navy. > > For tribals the takeover of the land comes minus any compensation. Till > now, > they were cultivating the land. But once the navy moves in, they will be > denied that source of livelihood. Which is why their leaders have been > standing up to the might of the navy and the government. > > ------------------------------ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aiindex at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 20:13:26 2009 From: aiindex at gmail.com (Harsh Kapoor) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:43:26 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Land grabbing - another case In-Reply-To: <341380d00903100726k2404bn3468da33e396057e@mail.gmail.com> References: <341380d00903100726k2404bn3468da33e396057e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: India - Gujarat: Untold Story of Hindukaran (Proselyisation) of Adivasi’s (Tribals) in Dangs A report by Citizen’s Inquiry Committee Digant Oza Harsh Mander Irfan Engineer Lakshmanbhai Rathore Prasad Chacko Ram Puniyani Rohit Prajapati Shabnam Hashmi Suresh Khairnar Uttambhai Parmar (Released in New Delhi on January 3, 2006) http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/DangsReport3jan2006.pdf On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 3:26 PM, anupam chakravartty wrote: > dear rakesh > > a very interestingly article indeed. if you know anything about the shabari > kumbh and the subsequent campaign by the VHP to quell the Dangi Nationalism > of the Dang district of Gujarat please post it here. > > after travelling in the areas such as saputara, ahwa and other places, it > seems the Dangis or the tribal population of the Dang district also feel > forced to accept the indian mainstream culture. the Dangi king, Tapatrao > Anandrao Pawar also feels that by organising shabari kumbh in dangs, the VHP > and contrarily, the christian organisations by conversions have been trying > to get the tribals to a "more" mainstream culture. > > regards > anupam > > On 3/7/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: >> >> Hi to all >> >> This is an article I got in Outlook magazine. Hope you find it interesting. >> >> http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090316&fname=Tribals&sid=1 >> >>     Print This Page >>   Magazine|  Mar 16, 2009 >> >> a&n islands: tribals >> >> * A Little Naval Battle On Land * >> >> * The natives of Kamorta refuse to give up what the navy claims it >> 'acquired' in 1979* >> >> ANURADHA RAMAN    *The Native Take* >> >>   - The 230 acres on Kamorta island, which the navy claims, is theirs >>   - The Rani of Nancowry had no right to gift the land to the navy >>   - Only the chief commissioner or the lieutenant governor can decide on >>   the fate of the land >>   - The navy should try the tribals before a competent court if they have >>   committed treason, as it alleges >> >> *** >> *The Navy’s Response* >> >>   - The land is rightfully theirs. The tribals’ allegations of encroachment >>   are untrue and unwarranted >>   - Issue is being fanned by anti-national elements >>   - Levelling allegations of land-grabbing by the navy is tantamount to >>   high treason >>   - The land in question was acquired in 1979 with an NoC from the Rani of >>   Nancowry >> >> *** >> *"Nothing can separate us from our land. This is all we have."* >> >> —Rashid Yusuf, spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman >> & >> Nicobar Islands. >> Five years ago, when the tsunami wreaked havoc, the tribespeople of the >> Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw the human face of the Indian navy. The men in >> white helped them restore normalcy after the ravages of the sea. Today, >> those same tribals are locked in a bitter battle with the navy over 230-odd >> acres on Kamorta island. The navy claims the land was given to them by the >> queen of Nancowry in 1978; the tribals declare the deal invalid in law. >> >> Things took a turn for the worse early this year, when the navy began >> cutting down plantations on the disputed land with help from the revenue >> department. The tribals were up in arms, for land in six villages was >> demarcated. Skirmishes broke out between the tribals and the navy, fuelling >> misgivings. "We’re required to apply for tickets to use the civil >> helicopter >> that ferries us to Port Blair thrice a week. The trips are crucial to us. >> But the navy, which owns the helipad, has threatened to deny us tickets if >> we continue to agitate for our land," says Rashid Yusuf, a tribal leader >> and >> spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman & Nicobar >> Islands. Though under pressure, the tribals stand resolved to agitate if >> the >> land isn’t restored to them. >> >> What’s particularly vexing is that the navy has no plans to pay >> compensation >> of any sort. Worse, it hyperbolises the tribals’ demands into an attack on >> the nation. The navy’s Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) says the tribals’ >> allegations of encroachment are untrue, malicious and detrimental to the >> image and morale of the armed forces. "The issue is being fanned by >> anti-national elements, who are now adding (sic) the emotions of the tribal >> population in order to attain their own ends. Levelling baseless >> allegations >> against the nation’s armed forces, especially in these times of >> sub-conventional and separatist threats, is tantamount to high treason," >> the >> ANC said in a February 13 press release. >> >> Yusuf asks if fighting for one’s land is anti-national. Insulted by the >> navy’s allegations, the tribal councils decided to boycott the Lok Sabha >> elections. It took the intervention of Manoranjan Bhakta, the MP from >> Andaman & Nicobar Islands, to persuade the tribals to withdraw their >> boycott >> call. A delegation of tribals met defence minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi >> last week and he has assured them that he would look into their grievances >> and have officials determine the facts in the matter. "We are waiting to >> see >> whether our concerns will be addressed," says Yusuf. >> >> Bhakta also says the defence minister had assured the delegation that >> action >> would be taken against those responsible for harassing the tribals.In a >> February 21 letter to Antony, Bhakta notes: "...to call the tribal leaders >> anti-national is atrocious, baseless and totally uncalled for. The tribals >> say the entire island of Kamorta except the port area was declared a tribal >> reserve in 1957. Under the regulations, no one other than the administrator >> (the lieutenant governor) can permit any person other than a tribal to >> acquire an interest in any tribal land or any produce thereof. The deputy >> commissioner, the tribals believe, had no authority to allot any tribal >> land >> to anyone." >> >> >> Ravaged: A post-tsunami resettlement camp >> >> But what is the factual position as regards the 230 acres in question? >> Tribal leaders reveal that the navy’s claim on the land is based on a >> document signed by one Rani Lachmi, "Rani of Nancowrie", dated September >> 25, >> 1978, and an allotment order subsequently issued by the deputy >> commissioner, >> Nicobar district, dated November 15, 1979. >> >> Of course, there is no denying the fact that the area is strategic to the >> navy. The INS *Kardip* is an advanced forward naval base in the defence >> set-up. The defence forces already have 317 acres at Kamorta island but >> wants the additional 230 acres for "strategic reasons." >> >> The armed forces are presently engaged in an exhaustive joint survey for >> demarcation of land at Kamorta. In addition to representatives from the >> army, navy and the coast guard, the team includes a surveyor and >> draughtsman >> appointed by the Andaman & Nicobar administration as well as a >> representative from the assistant defence estates office, Port Blair. >> >> In reply to *Outlook*’s questionnaire, the defence ministry said: "The >> defence minister has ordered that the issues raised by the delegation be >> examined expeditiously, because of the nature of allegations made against >> the navy, so that the factual position can be ascertained." >> >> The tribals see the entire operation as land-grabbing by the navy. Many >> have >> begun to question the rationale of giving away their land and the time >> taken >> by the navy to claim it as its own. "Giving away 230 acres of land which >> does not belong to the Rani is amazing. Besides, Nancowry was not one of >> the >> 442 princely states under British domain. There is no evidence of an >> instrument of accession signed by the rani," says Samir Acharya of the >> Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology. >> >> Interestingly, regulations for Union Territories like the Andaman & Nicobar >> Islands are promulgated by the President, the one relevant to this matter >> being the Andaman & Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, >> promulgated in 1956. The entire island of Kamorta, except the naval port >> area, was declared a tribal reserve by gazette notification in 1957. No one >> can acquire any right on any land or produce except with consent of the >> administrator/chief commissioner. This, the tribals allege, was not >> obtained >> by the navy. >> >> For tribals the takeover of the land comes minus any compensation. Till >> now, >> they were cultivating the land. But once the navy moves in, they will be >> denied that source of livelihood. Which is why their leaders have been >> standing up to the might of the navy and the government. >> >> ------------------------------ >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lists at shivamvij.com Tue Mar 10 20:16:20 2009 From: lists at shivamvij.com (Shivam V) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:16:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Press_Release_-_=91Roots_in_Kashmi?= =?windows-1252?q?r=92_shocked_with_the_ragging_death=2C_demands_im?= =?windows-1252?q?mediate_action_and_high_level_probe?= In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903100411s4b4477f3m729a3a28e688d28d@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690903100230oad755a4q1ca61c1f28afe7ec@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690903100409n611283eai411762ca9d8a1683@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903100411yc90e3aaid05fed1557335bfe@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903100411s4b4477f3m729a3a28e688d28d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fd66c110903100746g5c77a783i84743bc876d945bc@mail.gmail.com> Why Aman Kachroo’s won’t be the last ragging death, and what his family should do http://kafila.org/2009/03/10/why-aman-kachroos-wont-be-the-last-ragging-death-and-what-his-family-should-do/ On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 4:41 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > *Roots in Kashmir* > > *Campaign Office: New Delhi* > > *Blog: www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* > > *Website : www.rootsinkashmir.org * > > *E-mail: contact at rootsinkashmir.org* > > > > *Press Release* > > ‘Roots in Kashmir’ shocked with the ragging death, demands immediate action > and high level probe > > *Tuesday, March 10th * > > *New Delhi:* *‘Roots in Kashmir’ *a frontline global youth initiative of the > Kashmiri Pandit youth condemns the killing of teenaged medical student, who > was ragged and beaten to death mercilessly by his seniors in the Dr Rajendra > Prasad  Medical College, Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.19 year old Aman Satya > Kachru who originally hailed from Kashmir breathed his last on Sunday night > in a local Hospital. His family is based in Gurgaon. > > “It is a shocking incident and there are unanswered questions surrounding > this most unfortunate killing. The college needs to be held responsible for > this dastardly act by its students inside its premises”, said *Aditya Raj > Kaul*, a senior member of Roots in Kashmir, who has initiated campaigns in > the past for Priyadarshini Mattoo, Jessica Lall and Nitesh Katara cases. > > “We demand a high level probe from the Himachal Pradesh Government and an > immediate action against those involved in the torturous killing of this > innocent youth.” he added. > > Among a slew of directions issued by the Supreme Court to stamp out ragging, > many were aimed at making educational institutions directly responsible for > acting against the culprits. These included mandatory registration of FIRs > by the institutions whenever a ragging incident comes to light. ‘In this > particular incident no such directions were followed, and instead the > murderers were given free hand to escape as the institution itself remained > as a mute spectator hours into the crime.” > > In 2007, senior supreme court judge, Justice Arijit Pasayat had said in a > ruling, “The punishment "should be exemplary and justifiably harsh to stop > recurrence of the ugly incidents". In accordance with the law and the recent > ruling we demand harshest punishment to the accused and their immediate > conviction which sets a positive trend. > > The delay and usual lack of action from the local administration and the > college has caused a deep hurt and anguish to the family, relative and > friends of Aman Satya Kachru. A question hanging in the air is that why the > R K Raghavan committee report which has Supreme Courts ruling was not > followed by the said medical college. > > The last rites and cremation of Aman Satya Kachru were performed this > morning at the Lodhi Road Crematorium. Hundreds of family and friends bid a > tearful adieu to the departed soul. Among others who attended the cremation > mourning was, *Neelam Katara* who lost her own son Nitish Katara, 8 years > ago at the hands of criminals. She demanded an immediate stern action > against the accused and a stop to ragging. > > * > * > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- mail at shivamvij dot com From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 23:52:03 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:52:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From Aesthetics to Poltics: Ranciere, Kant and Deleuze by Katharine Wolfe Message-ID: <47e122a70903101122y7c3316c3sae0ce04b4e657c79@mail.gmail.com> >From Aesthetics to Politics: Ranci�re, Kant and Deleuze by Katharine Wolfe aesthetics, politics, sense, Ranci�re, Kant, Deleuze 1. Introduction Jacques Ranci�re's Dis-agreement, as Ranci�re writes in his subsequent work, The Politics of Aesthetics, explores "the distribution of the sensible at stake in any politics".[1] How is this phrase 'the distribution of the sensible' to be understood and why does the distribution of the sensible bear such a relation to politics? Dis-agreement tells us that politics first becomes a possibility with the institution of a community, where a community itself begins with something in common. This commonality is no shared stock of goods or shared claim to a territory. Rather, it is a shared partition of the sensible: community pivots around common modalities of sense. In other words, the commonality upon which a community is founded is sense, and politics first becomes a possibility with the institution of common sense. Hand in hand with the disclosure of shared modalities of sensing, moreover, comes the delimitation of each modality. The partition of the sensible thus renders some sounds intelligible (logos) and others unintelligible (pathos), some capacities visible and other invisible, and more. Moreover, social positions are portioned out according to these delimitations, and the partitioning of the sensible upon which the community is founded ultimately determines which people are recognizable as part of a shared world and which are sanctioned in partaking of it. Yet the moment politics becomes possible is distinct from the moment politics erupts -- politics is a much rarer thing than common sense or the institution of a community. For Ranci�re, politics is that rare event that occurs when the confluence between sanctioned dispositions to partake of the shared world and positions within the partition of the sensible is ruptured. Politics not only interrupts common sense but also erupts into the shared sensible world. As the title suggests, The Politics of Aesthetics argues that the distribution of the sensible is an aesthetic enterprise, and what is at stake in any politics is aesthetics. Drawing this correlation between aesthetics and the distribution of the sensible and, ultimately, between aesthetics and politics requires a precise understanding of the term. Aesthetics is not any set of artistic practices nor is it the general theory that concerns these practices. Indeed, aesthetics for Ranci�re is not even a theory of sense experience at large. Rather, if the correlation between politics and aesthetics is to be exposed, Ranci�re insists aesthetics must be understood in the terms of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Aesthetics is "the system of a priori forms determining what presents itself to sense experience."[2] Moreover, Ranci�re claims the relation aesthetics bears to politics is analogous to the relation Kant's a priori forms bear to sense experience. Just as these a priori forms determine the organization of human experience and provide its conditions, aesthetics comes in various structural systems that serve both to condition the shared world of our daily experience and to partition that world and delimit the positions one might occupy within it. Politics is not reducible to this partitioning of the sensible on the condition of aesthetic systems, yet it is conditioned by aesthetics, just as sense experience is conditioned by the a priori, according to the Critique of Pure Reason, insofar as it requires the partitions of the sensible as its space of disruption. In The Politics of Aesthetics, Ranci�re moves quickly on to undertake a Foucaultian historiography of distinct artistic practices and systems, illuminating the subject positions they make possible as well as the political systems with which they are synonymous. Here, however, I pause to reflect on the significance of Ranci�re's Kantian interlude. Returning to the insights of Dis-agreement, with Ranci�re's subsequent insights into the correlation between aesthetics and politics at hand, I hope to illuminate why and in what manner politics requires the disruption of aesthetics, understood, in the terms of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, as the structural system organizing human sense experience. In addition, I follow up Ranci�re's further claim that politics likewise requires the inauguration of a distinct aesthetics that will not replace the partitions of the sensible that give us a shared sensible world but will erupt from within them. This distinct aesthetics, I assert, also has its elucidation in Kant's critical philosophy. However, I shall press that it is Kant's last critical project, the Critique of Judgment and not the earlier Critique of Pure Reason, that offers such an aesthetics. Ranci�re misses this moment in Kant, as he derives his conception of Kantian aesthetics primarily from the Critique of Pure Reason, a text concerned first and foremost with the conditions of possibility for the world as we know it, where it is the later Critique of Judgment that explores sense beyond the limits of our understanding. The later might be called real sense, in contrast to the merely conceptually possible sense of the Critique of Pure Reason. A turn to the Critique of Judgment and its alternative elucidation of sense aids Ranci�re's 'Politics of Aesthetics' by providing this concept with a philosophical backbone and support for which his Foucaultian historiography at times is wanting. The Critique of Judgment distinguishes between two kinds of aesthetic experiences, experiences of the beautiful and of the sublime. While both offer insights into sense beyond the limits of the understanding and its correlated concepts, I want to argue that Kant's encounter with the sublime is much richer in its attunement to the interruption of the partitions of the sensible, or, in Kant's terms, the a priori structures of human experience, by a distinct aesthetics. Indeed, I shall use Kant's articulations of the aesthetic experience of the sublime as a foil for further elucidation of Ranci�re's notion of the partitioning of the sensible.[3] In addition to aspiring to better substantiate philosophically the correlation Ranci�re makes between politics and aesthetics, this turn to Kant's Critique of Judgment is also polemical. Ranci�re, in his article "Deleuze, Bartleby, and the Literary Formula," writes that the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze erects an impasse for politics.[4] Deleuze places 'imperceptibility' at the heart of a project to give birth to a new kind of community, a new kind of relationality between beings in the world. If politics occurs in a forced eruption into the sensible of that which aesthetic systems, conceived on the model of the a priori, render insensible through a partaking in and of common sense, how could imperceptibility be political? Is not the Deleuzian turn towards imperceptibility a move altogether away from any partaking in a shared, sensory world? Here, I want to argue that it is vital to identify Deleuze's notion of the imperceptible, like Ranci�re's politics, as situated in an engagement with Kantian aesthetics. The 'imperceptible' is only so from a particular perspective, that of the Kantian object-form, the condition of perception in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and the sensus communis in which it is key. This form is disrupted however, as Deleuze tells us, by the force of the real itself. The imperceptible is a part of this force and party to this disruption, functioning aesthetically as the 'percipiendum', that which must be perceived but cannot be perceived according to the delimitation of sense experience in the sensus communis. Indeed, it may be what Deleuze does with Kant's Critique of Judgment more than Kant's work itself that provides the philosophical backbone for Ranci�re's 'Politics of Aesthetics' and, through attention to Deleuze's own Kantian interlude, a political voice can be discerned in his philosophy in spite of Ranci�re's reservations. This is the key polemical assertion of this essay. However, one aspiration of this essay is to inspire further inquiries into the resonances between the work of Deleuze and Ranci�re despite Ranci�re's own reservations. Thus I add in passing that insofar as Deleuze remains first and foremost a philosopher, it may be only through Ranci�re's own Kantian interlude, revealing the political implications of aesthetics systems modeled like the Kantian a priori to which Deleuze, drawing on Kant's later Critique of Judgment, offers an alternative, that the possibility for a passage to politics from Deleuze is opened. Rather than illuminating the impasse Deleuze sends politics hurtling into, Ranci�re may instead point Deleuze's philosophy towards a political passage. 2. The Perceptible and the Beautiful In Dis-agreement, Ranci�re employs Aristotle's political philosophy to illuminate the pivotal role partitions of the sensible play in the institution of community. Although Ranci�re's primary engagement with the notion of an aesthetics of politics comes in his The Politics of Aesthetics, engagement with this notion in Dis-agreement sets the stage. Here, I employ Kant's articulation of the aesthetic experience of the beautiful in the Critique of Judgment in order to corroborate Ranci�re's later claim that any partitioning of the sensible is always conditioned by a certain aesthetic system. Aristotle's political community, I want to argue, is instituted according to the rules and principles of the aesthetic experience of the beautiful, itself conceived by Kant at least in the early stages of the Critique of Judgment's development according to the a priori rules and principles of human understanding. For Aristotle, the institution of a political community requires first the existence of a being whose nature is political: the human being. It is logos � the capacity to reason and to express claims about justice and injustice through speech � that marks the human as such an animal by nature. Logos is for Aristotle set apart from pathos � the capacity to express pain and pleasure. It is here, at the foundation of the Aristotelian political community, that Ranci�re finds lodged a partition of the sensible, a distinction "between two modes of access to sense experience:" logos, rendering sensible a world of justice and injustice, and pathos, restricting the sensible to the domain of pain and pleasure.[5] Capacities in not only sensing but expressing what is sensed are the hinge upon which the institution of a political community pivots, simultaneous with a delimitation of who will and will not partake of that community. Furthermore, it is insofar as logos is a modality of sense revealing a world of justice and injustice that logos is requisite for entry into a political community, and thus, Ranci�re pushes, it is precisely the appearance of such relations that marks this community as political. What, then, are relations of justice and injustice and how do they configure the sensible? Aristotle, like Plato, opposes any notion of justice that would reduce it to a question of profits and losses weighed against one another, such that what is just is only so from the perspective of a single profiting party, and what is unjust is in turn only so from the perspective of a correlative party harmed. This logic might be called mercantile, whereas the logic of justice, in contrast, pivots around relations of domination and dominance, ordered in accordance with each person's nature. One is positioned within the community so as to give to it that which is properly theirs to give and, in portion, take from it that which is properly theirs to take. In relations of justice there is no 'harm' correlated with profit the inferior party, for example the son, benefits from being ruled over by his father, the older and wiser of the pair. Thus, coextensive with the modality of sense experience characteristic of logos is the sensible emergence of a world composed of proper parts (those with a capacity for logos, rather than simply pathos) as well as, between these parts, proper relations (those which accord with the nature of the parts correlated). When a proper part takes a proper place � a place proportional to what that part brings to the community, a relation of justice holds; when either improper parts or improper relations appear on a shared horizon, injustice. Ranci�re, however, will question to what extent improper parts and improper relations can register sensibly at all. Those who can be taken account of in the political community are always already those who can be counted, those who make up some recognizable part. It is not clear that those, to whom is attributed the capacity for pathos alone, for example, can be 'heard.' This is not to say that their voices simply do not register audibly but that they register only in an unrecognizable modality. Their words register much like a buzzing or humming in the air of which no intelligible sense can be made. The same will be true of any claim that does not fall in its proper place. For example, Ranci�re writes that historically the partition of the sensible was such that the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the characteristics of a working day were perceived to have nothing to do with one another, and it was worker's strikes that forced the community to perceive the relationship between the two differently.[6] It is thus that the task of politics becomes one of producing and forcing into everyday experience a distinct organization of the sensible, conditioned by a distinct aesthetics. This task demands reconfiguring the limits of each of our senses, and their relations to one another. Offering another historical example to support his claims, Ranci�re writes that the plebeians of Aventine realized this necessity. In order that their speech, registering as mere background noise in the current sensory order, would be heard, they spoke in an overall sensory context mimicking that of their patricians. Just like their patricians, "they pronounce imprecations and apotheoses; they delegate one of their number to go and consult their oracles, and they give themselves representatives by rebaptizing them."[7] With Ranci�re's rendering of Aristotle's conception of justice as a partitioning of the sensible, I argue, resonates a Kantian refrain. Kant's critical philosophy marks out two distinct domains: the transcendental realm of a priori forms and the empirical realm of sensible matter (the phenomena). Despite a strict delineation of the two, Kant critical philosophy works to articulate the process by which the a priori structures of human subjectivity are mapped onto the sensible, phenomenal domain. Indeed, it is in this project that Kant's philosophical project finds much of its normative thrust. The shared sensory world is configured ethically for Kant only when it takes a shape expressive of the higher nature of the human being granted to that being by the transcendental form of human subjectivity. In the Critique of Pure Reason, as Daniel W. Smith explains, the form given to the phenomenal through reflection of the transcendental is what Kant calls the "object = x."[8] This is an empty form that only receives qualitative specifications when related to a multiplicity of phenomenal qualia held together through mental operations. White, thin, and sheet-like bark, dark-black knots, and a thin trunk, for example, are synthesized together mentally to form the object known as a birch tree. Moreover, Kant claims it is such a synthesis that allows the various qualitative impressions had of the birch tree, the sun, one's own hand, and more to be shared between the various faculties. It is because of this synthesis that the same qualia present themselves when, for example, I imagine a birch tree as when I conceptualize one. Pushing Kant's claim further, it might be posited that this synthesis is also what allows each of our various senses to present the same object to us such that when I put my hand to the white sheet-like bark of the tree, the feel of the bark indicates it is a birch tree I am touching, just as the visual appearance of its knots and leaves likewise indicates. However, the object-form is not itself a transcendental form but rather an analogue of such a form. What of the transcendental human subject has the capacity to produce an analogue of itself that conditions a shared sensory world? The cogito. The cogito for Kant is a unity prior conditionally to all empirical experience. It is the "I think" which gives to the human being a subjecthood by which it can then reach out to the world and make it one's own. Nonetheless, the cogito is neither individual nor personal. Rather, it is the universal form of reason in general. Thus, as an analogue of the cogito, the object-form renders a shared, sensory world not only for one's own senses and faculties but also for one person and another. It is in Kant's Critique of Judgmentand not the Critique of Pure Reason that the question of the communication between the empirical and the transcendental comes to the fore. By way of analogy, Kant here further explores the relation between two mental faculties or a priori formative powers of subjectivity distinguished in the Critique of Pure Reason: the faculty of cognition, with understanding as its primary modality, and the faculty of feeling pleasure and pain, with imagination as its operative expression. Imagination is the mode by which the subject reaches out to the sensible. In the Critique of Pure Reason Kant insists that the sensible can only be received in a form conditioned by the structure of the human understanding. Nonetheless, in the Critique of Judgment he is struck by the sensible's capacity to manifest structural organization beyond that which the understanding can conceptualize in terms of the object form. All structural organization manifested in the sensible which is beyond the possibility of understanding is organization manifest in a particular, empirical phenomenon. The understanding finds structure only in subsuming the particular under a general concept, never in the particular itself. Yet the sensible can manifest a regularity without recognizable specificities; a regularity that can't be referred back to any concepts the understanding already has. Conceptual matches are made only on the basis of specific regularities which a concept can be recognized to repeat itself in. The concept of a straight line, for example, is matched with any empirical instantiation of the shortest path between two points. Thus, the regularity cannot be referred back to concepts and thus to the activity of understanding as its a priori ground. The aesthetic experience of the beautiful is one example of the manifestation of such regularity in the particular. It is, Kant tells us, a single rose that one finds beautiful, not roses in general, due to a certain harmony or proportionality that appears to us in it.[9] Kant here puts an onus on appearance. It is not clear that the regularity is there in the sensible itself but only that it is there in the sensible for us. Beyond the limits of the understanding, then, any apparent reference of empirical phenomena to an a priori ground both preceding and making it possible is not clearly a necessary fact but only a subjective need. We cannot presuppose "that every thinking and cognizing being is subject to the same need as a necessary condition, and hence that this condition attaches to the object rather than merely to our selves as subjects."[10] Nonetheless, we can suppose every human being shares this need, and the aesthetic comprehension of the beautiful is thus posed to play a key role in the ethical configuration of the shared world of human experience. There are two parallels with Aristotle to be drawn from this. First, it is from this transcendental form, unique to human beings as creatures of consciousness and reason, that a shared sensory world is produced, with each of the senses as well as each of the faculties taking a proper place in this production. This sounds much like Aristotle's account of the coming to be of the community as rendered by Ranci�re, a coming to be of a common sensory world. The similarities suggest that Kant's account of the ethical configuration of human experience, begun in the Critique of Pure Reason and carried over into the Critique of Judgment's account of the aesthetic expression of beauty, can likewise be characterized in Ranci�re's terms as the very 'distribution of the sensible' at stake for politics. Kant's positioning and partitioning of the senses and the faculties will ultimately translate ethically into the positioning and partitioning of various beings (some of them barely registering on this continuum of humanity at all) and result, as Ranci�re reminds us, in such events as the Scythian's "customarily put[ting] out the eyes of those they reduced to slavery, the better to restrict them to their tasks as slaves, which was to milk the livestock."[11] Second, just as Aristotle pushes away from a mercantile logic that renders justice a question of point of view, the universality of the cogito as a transcendental form pushes away from an overly empirical perspective to render within the sensible its higher, ethical expression. However, it might be thought that to move away from the empirical with Kant is to move away from the very logic of natural parts and their proper relations that Aristotle posits as an alternative. Yet although Ranci�re does indeed emphasize the empirical nature of Aristotle's rendition of politics, he places, in addition, an onus on proportionality. What one takes � a place in the community � is always proportional to that which one brings to it, that is, certain capacities to make, say, see and do that supposedly belong to us by nature. Proportionality is the element in Aristotle's rendition of the political community that gives it harmony, making it not simply an expression of natural life, as are other associations such as the family and the village, but rather an almost divine expression of good life. In other words, proportionality is key in establishing perfection, in the form of man's proper end, within the empirical itself. The Critique of Pure Reason had a strong influence on Kant's later account of aesthetic comprehension, and this influence figures strongly in the ethical implications Kant's aesthetics share with Aristotle's teleological conception of political community. Yet the Critique of Judgment poses a question not asked in the Critique of Pure Reason: On what basis is it determined what of the multitudinous empirical world, full of sensory shocks and vague and diffuse matter, will count as a part of an object-form? That is, what of the sensible, empirical world around us will register as perceptible? The Critique of Pure Reason does insist that what counts is simply that which can be synthesized, yet just what can be synthesized and how? Kant's answer, says Smith, is that synthesis occurs by way of a certain notion of measure.[12] The faculty of understanding operates through concepts and thus has the capacity to develop conceptual units of measurement such as a meter or a foot. The faculty of imagination, however, does not have concepts at its disposal. Thus, there must be a sensible measure by which to synthesis parts. One might, for example, "evaluate a tree in relation to the human body" or "evaluate the moon rising in terms of a coin held at close range."[13] As Smith notes, there is here a moment of phenomenology in Kant that opens aesthetic comprehension to a kind of dialogue between the empirical and the transcendental, rather than simply a communion in one direction alone. One's choice of a unit of measurement reflects the object to be measured, just as this unit of measure influences the account of the object taken. The notion of a sensible unit of measure, then, offers a distinct notion of proportionality the relation between the shared, sensory world and one's natural qualities is not entirely prefigured by one end of the equation. Rather, a bi-directional exchange occurs. It is this phenomenological moment of attunement to sensible measure and bi-directional exchange that leads Kant to an aesthetic encounter with the sublime, and, I claim, installs in the Critique of Judgment insights into an aesthetics which would erupt in the form of what Ranci�re calls politics, in contrast to the aesthetics which such an alternative must disrupt. 3. The Percipiendum and the Sublime Ranci�re speaks of a people who have no proper place in Aristotle's political community. As such, there is no part regarded as theirs by nature to give to or take from a shared world. Politics is the rare event that occurs when these people nonetheless forcibly partake (part-take) in that community. Ranci�re designates them by the name they were given in Ancient Rome � the proletariat, the class of people regarded as contributing only offspring to the community.[14] The proletariat is thus a group of people rendered without logos. Here, Ranci�re follows a line of logic that derives from Aristotle's account of the slave. This account begins with an acknowledgement that slaves, just like their masters, exercise moral virtue and understanding; indeed, they do so just insofar as they obey their masters. Thus, if slavery is to be upheld as a natural order, there must be something other than moral virtue and understanding that gives to a master his natural claim to rule. It is on the basis of this acknowledgement, then, that Aristotle asks, "How could it be proper for the one to rule and the other to be ruled unconditionally?"[15] That is, how could slavery be proper to the political community? It is proper, according to Aristotle, insofar as a slave is different in kind from his master. The master has a soul with a deliberative capacity, and this gives him the natural right of rule. The slave has no such capacity, and although he can understand the reason of his master (allowing him to obey his master's orders), has no capacity to reason himself. Thus, following Aristotle, it is only insofar as the slave obeys his master that he partakes of logos, and in turn takes a proper place in the political community a place of subservience. For Ranci�re, the proletariat are slaves who have ceased to be subservient. The proletariat, just like the slaves of Athens, are rendered without any reason of their own, and "doomed to the anonymity of work and reproduction."[16] However, the proletariat make a claim to freedom. In this, they step wholly outside of the political community's partitioning of the sensible insofar as they denounce subservience. Yet at the same time they lay claim to that which belongs only to those with a part in the political community. The proletariat's claim to freedom, then, is a political event. It should be noted that Aristotle, too, contemplated the relation of such people to the political community. Ranci�re's proletariat is Aristotle's 'ordinary men,' those people whom are neither wealthy oligarchs nor noble aristocracy. Against Plato, Aristotle argues that the place of these people in the political community is ensured precisely insofar as these people do have freedom, and thus where the oligarchs contribute wealth to the community and the nobles virtue, ordinary men contribute freedom. Ranci�re's interest, then, is in showing that Aristotle's ordinary men just are the slaves whose capacity for equality he previously denied. Ranci�re presses two questions: What precisely is it that freedom brings to the community? And what makes freedom proper to the people? Beginning with the latter question, Ranci�re insists that there is nothing 'proper' about freedom at all; it is a historical contingency. Freedom is nothing other than the disobedience of the slaves and/or the abolition of slavery. Moreover, freedom is not the only property that is historically contingent. In slavery's illumination as a historical rather than natural condition, so, too, is illuminated the contingency of the aristocracy. The aristocracy is no more virtuous by nature and thus destined to rule over others than the oligarchs are naturally wealthy. The system of natural propriety upon which Aristotle orders the political community is thus thoroughly disrupted by the proletarian claim to freedom. Yet despite its impropriety, Ranci�re insists that freedom still contributes to the institution of a political community and a shared sensible world. A claim to freedom is not the same as either a claim to wealth or nobility. The later assert particular qualities as proper to s/he who lays the claim, and thus identify something contributed to the community which in turn validates a proportional partaking in accordance with the principles of Aristotelian justice. A claim to freedom, alternatively, is a partaking immediately, without any justification by way of a proportional, contributing quality. For the proletariat to partake of freedom is for the proletariat to claim it is, by nature, just like both the nobles and the oligarchs, despite historical conditions that leave them with nothing to give. Aristotle attempts to correct the teeter-totter-like imbalance of a mercantile logic in which one party profits only at another's expense by means of a logic of justice in which one takes a part in society always in proportion to one's own natural properties. The proletariat's claim to freedom upsets this balance by insisting on the artifice of that upon which it is grounded � a strict correlation between one's social position and one's natural capacities. I apply this conclusion to refute that of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The structure of the sensible, empirical world has a way of reverberating from its own conditions, that is, from those structures of human subjectivity Kant speaks of as a priori. Although Kant's a priori structures are intended to mark out universal structures of all human experience, and to show that these structures are simply those which are necessary in order to understand and draw together the elements of sensory experience, Ranci�re's account of the historical construction of the sensible hints that Kant's a priori structures are already too historically embedded to be universal. On the other hand, however, Ranci�re's attention to the eruption of voices, of sights, of people, and more, unsanctioned by any historical partitioning of the sensible � in other words, Ranci�re's insistence that politics can and does happen � may not be unlike Kant's encounter with a distinct aesthetics via the sublime in Critique of Judgment. Both Ranci�re's account of politics and Kant's attention to the sublime in the Critique of Judgment illuminate a power of sensible expression over and above any sensus communis, yet they do so without disavowing altogether a shared sensory world. Both illuminate a capacity for sense and its eruption that holds regardless of historically contingent and qualitatively determinable properties, such as a recognizable capacity for logos as lodged within the very push towards a shared, sensory world. In Ranci�re words, "It is through the existence of this part of those who have no part, of this nothing that is all, that the community exists as a political community � that is, as divided by a fundamental dispute� to do with the counting of the community's parts."[17] Perception's requisite of a sensible unit of measure, encountered in the aesthetic comprehension of the beautiful, sets up a path to the sublime. This two-way relation between the mental faculty of imagination and the sensible world opens sense experience to constant variation as new units of measure emerge. Thus the constancy of a shared sensory world is called into question. In a sensible world of constant variation, what could be constantly the same not only everywhere and for everyone but even for our own senses and faculties? Here, the sublime comes crashing in. The sublime is a mode of aesthetic comprehension occurring precisely when one experiences the harmonious relation between one's various faculties and senses being overturned. Indeed, an experience of the variation of a sensible measure is only a minor form of such loss. It can happen not only that sensible units of measure vary in accordance with the phenomena but, moreover, that for a particular phenomenon there is no commensurable measure. Further still, insofar as it is a sensible unit of measure that is necessary for the synthesis of empirical parts in accordance with an object-form, an experience of the sublime is one in which there is no synthesis. The parts cannot be counted, and a form cannot be produced. Without an object-form, there can be no sensus communis; no shared sensory ground that renders the object encountered the same for all of the senses and all mental faculties. Here emerges a serious problem for the Kantian system. While the cogito remains its own kind of sensus communis, a form of reason universalizable across all human life, it loses the analogue by which it would reach expression in the ethical organization of sensory experience, putting each sense and faculty in its proper place. In the sensible measure, then, Smith writes that Kant discovers the foundation of the sensus communis at the same time that he also discovers the fragility of this foundation.[18] This discovery is well articulated using Ranci�re's terminology: At the very foundation of common sense, there is a part played by that which cannot be counted, and it is in an aesthetic encounter with this part that politics occurs. Given that for Ranci�re this part is played by living, breathing people, is it crucial to highlight a correlation between formation and recognition embedded in Kant's philosophy all along. For the transcendental form of the cogito to express itself in the empirical world and give to this world its higher expression through form requires that this world can be rendered perceptible in accordance with that analogue of the cogito, the object-form. That is, the formation of the sensible world is always conditioned by recognition. Just as, on Ranci�re's account, in order to take part in the common world, one's words must be recognized by others as intelligible sounds rather than mere noise, so too for an object to take form, it is necessary that one can imagine and conceive as well as see and smell the same birth tree. Drawing on this correlation in Kant, it becomes evident that in order for the proletariat � the part of those who have no part � to not simply disrupt the sensible world but to partake of it. There must be a capacity for sense without recognition. Something in the Kantian sublime speaks to this. At the moment when the faculty of imagination is confronted with its fragility in the face of the world, the faculties are forced to stretch beyond themselves. It is this higher power that Kant speaks of as the Ideas, and where previously the faculties operated in the name of the cogito, the "I think," they hereby come to operate in the name of the cogitandum: that which ought be thought. If one is to follow Ranci�re's politics in a philosophical key and pose the question not only of what politics is but of what being is so that politics may come about, would one find that it is only the movement in being from the cogito to the cogitandum that allows for politics? First, it should be borne in mind that it is the faculty of imagination, in its requirement for a sensible rather than a conceptual measure that encounters the sublime. This allows Kant to conceive of the cogitandum as a higher power of transcendental reason that comes into full force in a moment when the faculties more closely tethered to the sensible are revealed as too frail to communicate with the transcendental. The sublime shows a faculty of the mind surpassing every standard of sense insofar as it reveals that "all the might of the imagination[is] still inadequate to reason's ideas."[19] In other words, a measure equal to the world can always be conceived, although not always imagined. Kant's philosophy remains in the end convinced that there will always be an a priori form which makes the sensible possible. Conceived along these Kantian lines, then, the cogitandum does not open being to the possibility of politics but rather operates to elide the political event. Yet to invoke Smith's insights once more, to posit something that can be thought but not imagined is to encounter a moment of discord between the faculties.[20] This moment of discord would be a moment of experience outside the dominion of common sense. Moreover � and this is key � its discovery by way of a sensible measure entails that this moment is sensible nonetheless. Uncovered here is a kind of sensibility distinct from that which partitions the world so as to render one sensible only within one's proper place, a sensibility without recognition. To follow this insight further, I turn to Deleuze. In Deleuze's rendition of this moment, the cogitandum appears when the faculty of understanding, pushing imagination to always find a measure, pushes imagination to its very limit and, at this limit, the imagination pushes back, leading the understanding itself to acquire a distinct power. Here, discord is understood as itself a kind of communication and, moreover, is revealed to be lodged within an orientation towards common sense.[21] Finally, whereas previously common sense was the goal and the end of communion between the senses and faculties, the end here is the generation of a higher form of each of these. For Kant's movement from the cogito to the cogitandum, Deleuze offers a like movement from the sensible to the sentiendum, from the perceptible to the percipiendum, and more. Here, I stress the last of these. The movement from the perceptible to the percipiendum is a movement from that which is only perceptible on the condition of the object-form, and its correlated sensus communis, to that which, as Deleuze insists, must be perceived, i.e. to that which "cannot but be perceived."[22] Note that Deleuze translates Kant's ought to a must. In this, he gives to the percipiendum an imperative force resonant with Ranci�re's politics. The percipiendum is that which forcibly erupts; it cannot but be perceived, whatever the community's will. This imperative power comes from a force of life unrecognizable according to the partitions of the sensible, and what is generated is a sense of that which is insensible and imperceptible in the community. Contrary to Ranci�re's denunciation of Deleuze's philosophy on the whole and his theory of 'imperceptibility' in particular, I argue that is just what Deleuze has captured and illustrated under this heading and that forces us to perceive precisely that which is unrecognizable � the part of those who have no part.[23] The import of this argument is not just to establish that Ranci�re's criticisms miss the political potential in Deleuze's work, but also give Ranci�re's 'Politics of Aesthetics' a philosophical backbone that holds up against those critics who ask how the imperceptible and the insensible can be or become perceptible and sensible. 4. From the Imperceptible to Politics If Deleuze's inversion of Kant offers to Ranci�re's politics, first, its affirmation as a potential within being as such and, second, an amplification of its claim to a crucial correlation between aesthetics and politics, what is to be done with Ranci�re's critique of Deleuze? Where Ranci�re's aesthetics of politics leads him ultimately to Deleuze, Deleuze, according to Ranci�re, leads politics ultimately to an impasse. There are several facets to Ranci�re's critique. However, Deleuze's notion of the imperceptible and its situation at the foundation of what Deleuze describes as a new kind of relationality, I argue, is the key. Ranci�re, I submit, has missed the force of this notion. The imperceptible is only so from the perspective of the sensus communis, and this perspective, despite Kant's efforts, may in the end be simply too empirical for politics or ethics. In other words, it is from an all too empirical perspective that the eruptive force of the imperceptible, a living force and perhaps the force of a certain people, is missed in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and even in certain stages of his Critique of Judgment. Deleuze offers the notion of the 'imperceptible' or the percepiendum as a means to illuminates Kant's empiricism, its costs, as well as an alternative. Moreover, this Deleuzian move illuminates a distinct aesthetics that may well be much like what Ranci�re conceives of as politics. It is in "Deleuze, Bartleby, and the Literary Formula" that Ranci�re concludes Deleuze's philosophy erects an impasse for politics. There are two interlocking tenets to this conclusion. The first of these derives from the value Deleuze assigns to the powers of being and the possibilities they entail for living, expressed and exemplified through the literary figure of Melville's 'Bartleby.' The second derives from a certain metaphysics in which these possibilities are inscribed, expressed in the image offered by Deleuze of the world as "a wall of loose, uncemented stones, where every element has a value in itself but also in relation to others."[24] Both tenets converge in drawing heavily on the Deleuzian notion of the imperceptible. For Deleuze, as described in his "Bartleby; Or, the Formula," the story of Bartleby is the story of the direct effects had upon the life of the protagonist when he develops a peculiar habit. Bartleby is a clerk in an attorney's office. The habit he develops is that of responding, when asked by the attorney to perform a particular task, "I would prefer not to." What are these effects and what in the nature of this utterance produces them? Deleuze begins with the second question, remarking on the indeterminacy of Bartleby's expression: that it ends with "not to" leaves open the object of the renunciation. Without an object specified, Deleuze stresses that it is not only that which Bartleby does not prefer that remains indeterminate but, insofar as the specificity of the one requires that of the other, that which he prefers as well. With both Bartleby's preferences and non-preferences indeterminate, the two themselves becomes almost indistinguishable from one another. This effect is multiplied by the indeterminacy of the statement not only with regard to its object but also with regard to affirmation and negation. To prefer not to is to neither refuse a particular task nor to accept it. In the end, then, the effect of the formula is to produce a state of suspension, a state in which it is indeterminate what will and will not be done. Bartleby only expresses preference, thus never affirming concretely what he will or will not do and, on top of this, never affirms concretely what it is that he does and does not prefer, rendering what might be expected of him still further indeterminate. In a regime of the sensible partitioned such that one is to make, say, see, and do in accordance with predetermined properties and correlative proper places, such indeterminacy may have noteworthy effects. Indeed, it is of import that Bartleby repeats this phrase in his workplace and in response to the tasks demanded of him by his employer. As Deleuze notes, to refuse his required task would transport Bartleby from one social position to another, from employee to derelict. Yet by first leaving indeterminate his preferences and, second, insisting on nonetheless only preferring, he escapes social positioning. However, on Ranci�re's account of politics such an effect may be no effect at all. An effect marks a change in the state of the world, and Bartleby, through this formula, mightn't change a thing. Rather, he may only cast his lot in with that of those cast, in the partitioning off of the sensible, into an almost unbearable state, one in which these people cease to register within the community. At its best, however, such an effect interrupts the operations of these partitions, much as, to find an analogy in the work of Kant, an aesthetic encounter with the sublime interruptions the organization of the faculties and senses. Here, Ranci�re's offers this summary: "The formula erodes the attorney's reasonable organization of work and life. It shatters not just the hierarchies of a world but also what supports them: the connections between causes and effects we expect from that world, between the behaviors and motives we attribute to them and the means we have to modify them."[25] Yet to interrupt the functioning of the regime of common sense is not yet to render sensible a missing part, the part of those who cannot be recognized in such partitions. If there is any hope for politics in Bartleby's formula, this formula must not only have the potential to disrupt the sensible order but must also have the potential to found a distinct kind of sense. Ranci�re finds Deleuze hopeful regarding the prospects of just such a founding. Indeed, as Ranci�re will emphasize, Deleuze posits Bartleby's formula as precisely the seed from which Melville's story develops. In so doing, he instantiates a commitment to the view that from this formula, a formula disrupting the partitions of the sensible and rendering Bartleby unlocatable within them, a new expression of the sensible � a new literature -- can indeed emerge. Such a view requires philosophical interrogation, as Deleuze is well aware. Looking to explain how a sensible expression, and, indeed, an aesthetic object such as a story can be generated from a formula that, if only in its first effect, disrupts the sensible, Deleuze turns to the radical empiricism of William James. It is in this engagement with James that Deleuze offers the image of the world by which Ranci�re is so intrigued, the world as "a wall of loose, uncemented stones."[26] However, where Deleuze finds in this image of radical empiricism the support for a new kind of literature and a new form of relationality, Ranci�re finds a metaphysics that is the impasse into which Deleuze sends any hope of politics hurtling. Ranci�re's The Politics of Aesthetics highlights the long-standing accounts of aesthetic production, such as Aristotle's, that have taken the properties of various subjects, predetermined by nature, to be the causal and formative force from which any narrative, that is, any ordering of the sensible, can unfold. This incites a political question: By what power might a narrative unfold in the absence of a subject with determinate capacities? In the history of literary theory, this question has been answered is several ways, yet all are, for Ranci�re, versions of one and the same contention: There is a causal power within matter itself and thus no heteronymous power, such as that of predetermined subjects' forms, is necessary to generate works of art. Introduced here is a kind of individuation distinct from that offered by either by Kant's Critique of Pure Reason or by Aristotle. Whereas for both of these philosophers, a faculty of the soul and an a priori power of the subject, respectively, give to matter its sensible form, here, individuations are immanent within matter itself. Ranci�re draws on Flaubert's Saint Anthony to exemplify these new individuations. An individuation can now be "a drop of water, a shell, a strand of hair." Moreover, these individuations are immediately felt. Their impact is to render us "stopped short, eyes fixed� heart open."[27] Yet this conception of matter, for Ranci�re, leading to the inauguration of a distinct metaphysics as well as a distinct aesthetic regime, does not facilitate any politics. Indeed, Ranci�re's employment of Flaubert bears Deleuze in mind. Deleuze, in A Thousand Plateaus, speaks of like individuations as 'imperceptible.' These individuations are of matter in its own genetic self-expression, and hold the key to a kind of relationality William James' speaks of as a radical empiricism. Sticking closely to the frame of aesthetic theory, Ranci�re will address this as an answer to a persisting problem. While such individuations, as Flaubert characterizes them, may be felt and are thus in some form sensible, it remains unclear what such individuations could contribute to the production of a work of art. Ranci�re asks what "can string a necklace from those 'pearls' that Saint Anthony supplied loose?" such that a new kind of literature, inseparable from a new kind of community, might come about.[28] Here, many versions of aesthetics will, in the end, remain Aristotelian. A harmony vested in natural properties of the soul will be subtly reinstated in order to hold the pieces together or, in other words, to create a political community. Deleuze's efforts by way of the notion of radical empiricism, then, are rare and, moreover, bear political community in mind, as Ranci�re is quick to acknowledge. In the potential to string the pearls together without recourse to Aristotelian proportionality lies "the promise of a people to come," as Ranci�re writes.[29] Bartleby's formula sets the stage for this by upsetting a metaphysics partitioning the sensible through an external and static law of natural properties and proper relations and, moreover, positing in its place the immanent power of the sensible to express itself. Bartleby's formula just is a series of imperceptible individuations. In this, Ranci�re sees all bodies rendered equal, the site of the same genetic power. This is a rendering in which the proletariat, understood via the sensus communis, or the distribution of the sensible, as the part that has no part, are granted something in common with others. However, this equality in and of itself is not sufficient for the entry into the community of a people that is missing in its current form. Here, Ranci�re insists that it is crucial to not simply substitute one metaphysics for another � a metaphysics that finds in matter its own genetic force for a metaphysics of static and predetermined forms that render sensible passive matter � but to bring these two worlds together. Indeed, in focusing on the character of Bartleby in his engagement with Melville's story, Ranci�re again notes that such a concern seems evident in Deleuze. Bartleby is the site at which the genetic power of matter in itself can enter into combat with a world that is structured in elision of such power. Bartleby, writes Ranci�re, is the figure who "make[s] the power of 'the other world' effective as the power that destroys this world."[30] According to Deleuze, it is from these ashes that arises the new kind of relationality indicative of James' radical empiricism. Whereas a traditional empiricism understands the empirical as the domain of discrete parts, at the heart of James' philosophy is the contention that relations are not derivations of a mental operation upon the raw data of sense experience, as Kant asserts by way of his account of syntheses. Rather, relations are themselves immediately sensed. Indeed, they are only sensed. Brian Massumi captures this insight in James: "relationality� registers materially in the activity of the body before it registers consciously" and thus "we do not run because we are afraid, but we are afraid because we run."[31] Immediately sensed relations, then, are of a world wherein, to follow the terms Ranci�re takes from Flaubert, the pearls not only individuate themselves but string themselves together. Indeed, the pearls only individuate themselves in this very relationality. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology is helpful here. He offers as exemplary the phenomenon of two contrasting colors appearing side by side, each intensifying each other and generating their value in this, such that, as Claudel writes,"a certain blue of the sea is so blue that only blood would be more red."[32] Deleuze himself offers just the image Ranci�re employs to crystallize his reservations about the political potential in Deleuze's philosophy; the image of a wall composed of 'loose, uncemented stones.' Such an image emphasizes the import of interrelations to the being of the phenomena, yet these interrelations do not form a whole fusing parts into a proper and immutable place. Rather, they form a whole world of individuations existing only in relation with others. Yet Ranci�re is not satisfied. He asks, "Why does the image of the whole in motion� have to be the image of a wall?"[33] Is not a wall rather the kind of thing that would "bar the road� of the people to come"? For Ranci�re, the fact that Deleuze's account of literature ends with this wall gives cause to ask once more after the very mode of existence his sojourn in Melville's text began with the mode of existence exemplified in the character of Bartleby and his formula. Where before, Ranci�re, following Deleuze, emphasized Bartleby's indiscernibility, here he puts the onus on what can aptly be called Bartleby's imperceptiblity. Bartleby is not only a character who, through his formula, escapes location within the partitions of the sensible which would assign to him a proper place and, accordingly, proper tasks. In addition, he is a character who literally goes unperceived. On his very first day at work for the attorney, Bartleby is given as his workspace an enclave within the office of the attorney himself. On one side of this enclave are the doors leading out of the office, on another a window that looks out only onto the wall of another building, and, finally, on the other is a high-rising screen. In such a situation, then, Bartleby both does not see the attorney and goes unseen by him. Moreover, when Bartleby utters his formula, it is generally followed, as Deleuze writes, by a retreat "behind his partition."[34] It is in this situation that Bartleby, for Ranci�re, is rendered imperceptible and unperceiving in the shared world. In the end, Ranci�re cannot find in this imperceptiblity that which would be sensible without being re-cognized according to a priori forms; Ranci�re cannot find any suggestion of a new sensible world Deleuze would give to a missing people. Ranci�re concludes, "The strength of every strong thought is� its ability to arrange its aporia itself, the point where it can no longer pass. And that is indeed what Deleuze does�. clears the way of Deleuzianism and sends it into the wall."[35] Thus, to respond to Ranci�re's critique, it is crucial to investigate the notion of imperceptibility in Deleuze. The individuations which characterize his distinct metaphysics are indeed given this name. However, to be imperceptible is, for Deleuze, a very different thing from not being available perceptually. Just as, for James, relationality is only immediately felt rather than always already conceptualized, so too for Deleuze are these imperceptible individuations only sensed and perceived. Moreover, they are always and only sensible in relation to others. Each pushes against another, and it is through this discordant communication with one another that each forces itself sensibly upon us. It should be noted that such discord is only possible, as the brief moment of phenomenology in Kant suggests, on the condition that the communication conditional to sense experience is bi-directional, and thus there is no faculty that acts without itself being acted upon. In other words, the sensing subject and not just the sensible must be organized like Deleuze's wall. Deleuze's imperceptible, then, is a force that registers within the common world its outside, that which can only be perceived, by way of bi-directional communication. Hence, the imperceptible for Deleuze just is the percipiendum, that of the perceptible that presents itself when our perception and the sensus communis, both among our faculties and senses and at the heart of political community, are pushed to their limit. Deleuze's notion of the imperceptible, then, crystallizes and further illuminates a moment in Kant's Critique of Judgment that turns the aesthetics of the Critique of Pure Reason on its head. This moment, I propose, may well open it to politics as Ranci�re understands it. What's more, Deleuze seeks in the percipiendum a model for a kind of communication and an example of a certain sensible force that goes unperceived from an all too empirical perspective, whether a perspective that, a l� Aristotle, develops a metaphysics that naturalizes historically contingent parts and properties or, a l� Kant, develops a theory of transcendental subjectivity according to a logic that is itself founded on a particular historical organization of the sensible. Drawing on the work of Duns Scotus, Deleuze gives to the imperceptible individuations that compose his wall the name of 'haeccities.' Haec is the Greek term for 'this,' and to speak of haeccities is to speak of the "thisness" of being. The onus on a kind of indeterminacy in the term is key, for haeccities are non-qualitative properties. Qualities are too empirical in the traditional sense, too distinct and concrete in and of themselves, to capture the discordant force that marks the always-relational individuation of a haeccity. Duns Scotus comes to the notion of 'haeccities' in asking how it is that we not only distinguish one kind of thing from another, such as a human from an animal, but also distinguish instantiations of the same kind of thing, one's child, for example, as an instantiation of a more general human being. The fact that things can share natures and yet remain distinct requires that a real property other than a thing's nature be in force in its being. It is in asking first after what cannot be instantiated, that is, divided into several things each of which remains the thing itself, that Scotus's notion of haecceities begins to develop, for it is here that the real property in being preventing the perfect collapse of two human beings into one general form might be witnessed.[36] There is something in the property of temperature or of pressure, for example, just as there is in an individual human being, which is absolutely incompatible with division into several parts each of which is an instance of the thing itself. While we may be able to divide these properties into parts, this cannot be done without changing the nature of the thing. For example, if we take away half the heat of a pot of water at 100 degrees centigrade, we will no longer have a pot of boiling water. There is a real property that exists in this state of the water that is not divisible such that each of the parts it separates into remains an instance of itself. That there is a real property in being indivisible without a change in kind suggests that something very like James' notion of relationality is at play in the real properties of being Scotus names 'haeccities.' Moreover, these properties, although not empirical in a traditional sense, are not strictly transcendental, they figure in the sensible, corporeal domain. Here it is Spinoza whom Deleuze turns to in order to further stress the point. A body, for Spinoza, is not first and foremost a distinct extension of matter but rather a set of orientations in movement and rest. For example, take a soap bubble. As Manuel De Landa tells us, the constituent molecules of this bubble "are constrained energetically to 'seek' the point at which surface tension is minimized."[37] In Spinoza's terms, this is a pattern of movement and rest that grows from within the collective molecules and through their energy, and it is this pattern that generates the soup bubble's extensive, empirical form. In addition, a number of empirical shapes and forms might be generated from one intensive pattern. Again, Manuel De Landa is helpful: "if instead of molecules of soap we have the atomic components of an ordinary salt crystal, the form that emerges from minimizing energy� is a cube."[38] Thus one can be sure that it is not the extensive parts, even if approached on a scale smaller than that of the soap bubble or salt cube itself � the scale of soap or salt molecules -- that are the force of behind its self-organization. Rather, organizational force derives from the relation that holds between the parts before they are even broken down into distinct parts. Spinoza again corroborates Deleuze's conclusion. For Spinoza, relations of movement and rest are only one of two halves to any body. The other he will call the body's affectivity. Affectivity is what gives to these relations their force to communicate with other such relations in the world, for affectivity is indissoluble from an expenditure outward, bringing the body into contact with these others, in an effort to endure, to preserve the particular relations of movement and rest that give to it its own being. What, then, is a force of self-organization that develops only through exchange and communication with the non-self? Here, it is helpful to think of Duns Scotus' insight, that there is in the world a real property indivisible without a change in nature, but in reverse. The force of affectivity is a force allowing intensities differing in nature to nonetheless be condensed into a whole which itself differs in nature from each of these intensities. Thus, the body's effort to endure always takes the form of a forcible communion between incommensurables, producing new intensities and reconfiguring the old. What Spinoza calls 'affectivity,' always tethered to relations of movement and rest, is then precisely the capacity which Deleuze finds holding forth the promise of a people to come, the promise of a new kind of community and, indissolubly, a new kind of sense. Deleuze's concern in developing the notion of the 'imperceptible,' then, is with illuminating this world of communication without common sense, a world in which the sensible is constituted through the holding together of that which differs in kind. Haeccities, the loose stones in Deleuze's wall, are indeed imperceptible, yet only from a traditional empirical perspective that reduces the perceptible to discrete and extended matter, matter, that is, without intensity or affectivity. This empirical account of the perceptible has the object-form, and thus, in turn, the transcendental cogito, as its condition. It is this form that renders the sensible the same despite divisions between the senses, the faculties, perspectives, and more, and thus institutes what Ranci�re will speak of as community. A wall of "loose, uncemented stones," in contrast, is a whole world outside this domain insofar as to divide these stones from their relations is to alter their nature. This world is the world of the percipiendum, that which must be perceived. Just as yellow and blue vanish from sight upon reaching a critical point of proximity with one another, changing in nature to produce green, relations of critical proximity produce every discrete element available to perception. 'Imperceptible' individuations constitute the perceived, and the perceived here forces itself upon our body just like a color so bright one cannot turn one's eyes from it. Moreover, there is a further implication to Deleuze's Kantian inversion. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason posits the "I think" as the control centre responsible for the organization of sense experience in which each faculty and sensory apparatus has a proper function, and develops a conception of the a priori and of aesthetics accordingly. It is precisely the functioning of such a control center productive of a proper and harmonious organization of senses, faculties, and parts that radical empiricism, indissoluble from the percipiendum, renders difficult. Ranci�re's attention to an aesthetics of politics may surprise us. Yet aesthetics has long been a field of inquiry that looks to sense experience to ask after value. Aesthetics asks how value is expressed sensibly and how we know when value is present.[39] Ranci�re is clearly responding to Foucault's analysis of the modern invention of the disciplines, distinguishing aesthetic value from ethics, social and political values from the evaluation of sense experience, and more, when he posits aesthetics both at what is at stake in politics and at what erupts anew when politics happens. The intentions of this paper, centered around Ranci�re's call for a Politics of Aesthetics, have been twofold. First, it has aimed to demonstrate how Kant's critical philosophy, particularly as developed in the Critique of Pure Reason, corroborates Ranci�re's analysis of the distribution of the sensible. Simultaneously, however, it argues that Kant's Critique of Judgment, approached through a Deleuzian lens, opens to a distinctly political aesthetics as defined by Ranci�re. Second, it argues that an eye to the role Kant's Critique of Judgment plays in Deleuze's formulation of the notion of the 'imperceptible,' key to Deleuze's own call for politics in A Thousand Plateaus, can not only reconcile Deleuze's philosophy with Ranci�re's politics but can, in fact, render Ranci�re's call for a 'Politics of Aesthetics' both more convincing, urgent, and important. ABSTRACT What does politics have to do with aesthetics? Surely, both politics and aesthetics are concerned with imagining, envisioning, and even creating, yet aren't the kinds of things these fields of inquiry imagine, envision and create greatly disparate? Jacques Ranci�re argues that what is at stake in politics, just as it is in aesthetics, is the distribution of the sensible, and that politics happens not only through the disruption of a certain aesthetic organization of sense experience but through the eruption of a distinct aesthetics. Here I elaborate the Kantian foundation for Ranci�re's conception of the kind of aesthetics that politics must disrupt, drawn primarily from the Critique of Pure Reason. Yet I also look to Kant's Critique of Judgment to pave the way for the kind of aesthetics Ranci�re understands as synonymous with the political event. With this gesture, my intention is, first, to provide further support for Ranci�re's call for a distinct aesthetics by elaborating upon how such a distinct aesthetics may be both possible and realizable. Yet my intention is also polemical. Ranci�re is highly critical of the political potential to be found in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, namely due to the onus placed on the project of 'becoming-imperceptible,' a notion which, Ranci�re claims, leads politics to a dead end. Is not the Deleuzian turn towards imperceptibility a move altogether away from any aesthetics? Here, I argue that it is vital to identify Deleuze's notion of the imperceptible, like Ranci�re's politics, as situated in an engagement with Kantian aesthetics. It is only through attention to Deleuze's reading of Kant's Critique of Judgment that it becomes evident that the 'imperceptible' for Deleuze is also the 'percipiendum': that which must be perceived but cannot be perceived according to the delimitation of sense experience in the sensus communis. Through attention to Deleuze's own Kantian interlude, then, a political voice can be discerned in his philosophy in spite of Ranci�re's reservations. If we care about Ranci�re's 'Politics of Aesthetics,' we should care about this. -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Mar 10 23:59:52 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:59:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Fearless Karnataka Campaign: [Make Art / Not War] In-Reply-To: <85149.66049.qm@web95213.mail.in2.yahoo.com> References: <85149.66049.qm@web95213.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903101129o535f8e02ta5dd8343223ca214@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Friends Women's movements have used all sorts of Protest weapons for last so many years. Pink Chhaddi was one of them. I am forwarding another form of Social Protest through the Visual Art. A new art collective has been formed in Bangalore which has designed the most incredibly beautiful posters for the March 8 Nirbhaya Karnataka event.  Please click the link given bellow. http://watercolourwar.blogspot.com/ Spread a word ! Kunda P N Peace Is Doable -- From kaksanjay at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 00:05:51 2009 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:05:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Israeli Armsdog-Millionaires Assault Bollywood, Good Taste Message-ID: <5c5369880903101135k7b7661edt4624e2afb30ec6b5@mail.gmail.com> To cheer up all those in India who are skulking indoors, hiding from the the drunken cheer of Holi... And do watch the video! Best Sanjay Kak __________________ Iron Eagle Nominee: Israeli Armsdog-Millionaires Assault Bollywood, Good Taste By Noah Shachtman March 09, 2009 Let's say you're a defense-company marketing executive. And you want to make a splash at the Indian defense ministry's annual air show. Do you: (a) buy expensive gifts for New Delhi's generals; (b) treat the press to Kingfishers and samosas; (c) produce a Bollywood-esque video featuring bare-midriff girls, flower-draped missiles, and the catch phrase "dinga dinga dee?" Unfortunately for us, Israeli arms-maker Rafael chose C. Which means we may have just found the most atrocious defense video of all time, just days into the Iron Eagles — our celebration of the awesomely bad videos of the military-industrial complex. Trust me, Slumdog Millionaire it ain't. (Since the post makes sense only if you watch dinga-dinga-dee, here's the most enthusaistic recommendation: go watch it! http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/03/iron-eagle-isra.html) From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 11 05:35:48 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:05:48 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Narcissism / Faith / Models In-Reply-To: References: <65be9bf40902191850w4050c303l238f62f08340bc1b@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40902261333g504e586el5f98f0b51952b32@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903101705m2bb1b808r4f08c3c9012852f6@mail.gmail.com> Dear Ravi, I quite agree with your argument inasmuch as I do not find Jeebesh's contention of 'model' related sensibility not entirely incorrect. A survey of articles related to the interpretation of housing and stock bubble burst also point fingers at people who were at the helm of affairs. For instance articles like, 'Harvard’s masters of the apocalypse If his fellow Harvard MBAs are all so clever, how come so many are now in disgrace?' ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5821706.ece ) are now all over the place. This argument is much closer to Jeebesh's first post in this thread which hinted at a relationship between obsession with self and imagination of precise world views, and the legitimacy of such a relationship in the event of a collapse of socio-economic modalities. It seems as if the institutional media is quick to blame these Harvard types now as it was quick to celebrate the rise of such bubbles. What makes me wonder is how an instance like the recent stock market crash, which people like Nasim Taleb would term as a Black Swan event, is going to have an impact on how things are going to be run from now on. Taleb cheekily urges us to be on an alert to en cash on these rare black swan events. In the western press, for instance, there is a lot of talk about great depression of the 1930's. On the cultural front too one feels a renewed interest amongst columnists to revisit films like the Great Gatsby or Renoir's Rules of the Game or The Sweet Smell of Success or The Night of the Hunter. As we perhaps, all know the first two films signify the effect of depression on 'haves', which was next to none, the last two films portray the 'darker shades' of havenots. As if the change in status quo during the depression was only a so called change in status quo which was restored by assiduously thinking through the 'century of the self' and 'its happiness machine'. Further more in terms of interpretation of human condition it seems, writers like Moravia are back. Moravia for instance, in his novels, particularly in Boredom and Conformist argues for a deep sense of insecurity and skepticism in accepting the diktat of gigantic institutional mechanisms as given. In films like Dev D too, when Chanda is sitting amidst hostile patriarchal grandparents in punjab after mother sends her to her paternal village, after her father commits suicide, after she is kicked out of school, after she indulges in a 'deviatory' act- we see her reading Moravia's Conformist. One is not surprised to see her find comfort in Moravia when all other social institutions around her have broken down. The bubble in a sense have burst. But then again all this talk at one level seems so diabolical because we cannot really experience dejavu, can we? Can we really delude ourselves with yet another Marshal plan or yet another set of euro centric civil wars or yet another mass consumption explosion or another century of pumping oil for oil's sake? The dominant ideas which to a certain extent paved the way for a spectacular crash, still remain. Words like efficiency, average, normal, utility etc very much determine our sensibilities. Any investigation on the role of 'capital' as an agent of institutional and social control must also entail an inquiry into the legitimacy of conceptual trajectories which 'capital' seems to pull... Regards Taha From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 11 14:09:12 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:39:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' Message-ID: <724518.99583.qm@web51411.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of jointly celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for the procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lalji Tandon said. People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of communal harmony," Tandon said. A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the function for the last 40 years. The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the celebrations Wednesday, residents said. "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one of the organisers. The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more and more people joined it. "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and special paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once during the past 40 years. "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual gaiety and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 11 15:18:13 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:48:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <724518.99583.qm@web51411.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Just thinking aloud.   Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi  celebration there is no brazen religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in inviting participation.   Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity.   Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the Hindus.   Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the Muslims towards the Hindus.   The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for similar heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The have to. They must.   Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi.    Perhaps:   - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few like Ajmer Sharif   - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' hosted by fasting Muslims.   - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias)   - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim children   Just thinking aloud.   Kshmendra   --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: From: Yousuf Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of jointly celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for the procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lalji Tandon said. People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of communal harmony," Tandon said. A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the function for the last 40 years. The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the celebrations Wednesday, residents said. "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one of the organisers. The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more and more people joined it. "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and special paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once during the past 40 years. "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual gaiety and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 11 16:42:35 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:12:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <112156.28172.qm@web51412.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear Kshmendra Its good to think about how Hindus and Muslims can reciprocate each other's gestures in festivals. Actually you may not find any "hedonistic" Muslim festival today, but there were many more in the past. In fact, many festivals in India did not fall into the identity of any one festival. Today, before we can talk about participation into each other's festivals, we have to look at whether we are even tolerating each other's festivities. Since yesterday I have heard communal violence broke out in at least 4 different places (in UP and MP) where a simple procession of one community was not being allowed to pass through the area of the other community. In fact, even the concept of a procession needs to be looked at - many people in cities like Delhi simply hate it when someone's religious procession blocks their traffic. Similarly, those participating in the procession don't care if their act brings the whole city to a standstill. Many religious processions are actually partly political procession too. So, how do we define a shared festivity in today's scenerio. Probably tolerance is more important than celebration. Yousuf --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > From: Kshmendra Kaul > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" , ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 3:18 PM > Just thinking aloud. >   > Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in > Hindu heritage. Yet, overwhelmingly at most places, in > the Holi  celebration there is no brazen religiosity > involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular > in inviting participation. >   > Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus > in Holi celebrations as compared to any other Hindu > festivity. >   > Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to > make a socio-political gesture of sharing the festival > celebratory joys of the Hindus. >   > Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed > only by the Muslims towards the Hindus. >   > The question in my mind is how should Hindus be > reciprocating for similar heartfelt gestures and also in > making socio-political statements. The have to. They must. >   > Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public > festivities, at least none anywhere close to the rather > hedonistic celebration of Holi.  >   > Perhaps: >   > - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting > 'chaadar' at the shrines of Muslim saints all over > India and not confined to just a few like Ajmer Sharif >   > - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the > 'iftihar' (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not > just attending 'iftihar dinners' hosted by fasting > Muslims. >   > - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating > in the 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) >   > - At the local community level presenting "Eid" > gifts to the Muslim children >   > Just thinking aloud. >   > Kshmendra >   > > --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf > wrote: > > From: Yousuf > Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate > Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM > > Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi > Baraat' > 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS > > LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large > number of Hindus and > Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old > practise of jointly > celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. > > Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled > around 10 a.m. for the > procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya > Janata Party (BJP) > Lalji Tandon said. > > People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat > sets an example of > communal harmony," Tandon said. > > A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part > in the function for > the last 40 years. > > The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of > rose petals and > garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for > the celebrations > Wednesday, residents said. > > "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged > pleasantries. This > is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said > Anurag Mishra, one of > the organisers. > > The procession passed through various localities of Old > Lucknow as more and > more people joined it. > > "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised > where sweets and special > paan were offered to the revellers," said one > resident, Shabi Haider. > > The multi-community procession has not been discontinued > even once during the > past 40 years. > > "Even when there was communal tension following the > demolition of the > Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was > celebrated with usual gaiety > and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From taraprakash at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 19:16:41 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:46:41 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' References: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: I wonder how you define hedonism. In not that negative sense of the word, hedonism is simple enjoyment: eat, drink and be merry. Hindus should visit Muslim houses during Eid celebrations. You get all of it, except the drinks served that day will not give you a hangover. To have the best experience, don't go to return the favor of Holi but to be with those who have reason to celebrate that particular day. Like people visit other people to attend their birth day celebrations. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kshmendra Kaul" To: "sarai list" ; Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:48 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > Just thinking aloud. > > Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, > overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi celebration there is no brazen > religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in > inviting participation. > > Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi > celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity. > > Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a > socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the > Hindus. > > Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the > Muslims towards the Hindus. > > The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for similar > heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The have > to. They must. > > Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at > least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi. > > Perhaps: > > - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the > shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few > like Ajmer Sharif > > - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' > (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' > hosted by fasting Muslims. > > - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the > 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) > > - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim > children > > Just thinking aloud. > > Kshmendra > > > --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: > > From: Yousuf > Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM > > Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS > > LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and > Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of > jointly > celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. > > Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for > the > procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party > (BJP) > Lalji Tandon said. > > People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of > communal harmony," Tandon said. > > A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the function > for > the last 40 years. > > The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and > garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the celebrations > Wednesday, residents said. > > "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This > is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one > of > the organisers. > > The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more > and > more people joined it. > > "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and special > paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. > > The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once during > the > past 40 years. > > "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the > Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual > gaiety > and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com Wed Mar 11 20:23:11 2009 From: vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:23:11 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Re: Fw: Something worth listening to! Message-ID: <276833.58163.qm@web94709.mail.in2.yahoo.com>     Do listen to this speech:   http://multimedia.heritage.org/content/wm/Lehrman-092706a.wvx   It is just fantastic!   VEDAVATI Check out the all-new Messenger 9.0! Click here. Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Invite them now. Check out the all-new Messenger 9.0! Click here. Check out the all-new Messenger 9.0! Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/ From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 21:49:33 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:49:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: References: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903110919u2fe5be3i830cf02d6f894501@mail.gmail.com> Perhaps, it is our universal sense of Aesthetics that transforms the simple ash of the dead into colour. The fact that she, the princess, died screaming but no one heard has no meaning here. Her brother, King Hirnaya Kashyp, must have mourned the death of his volunteer sister Holika, but the people, the lovers of Prahlad celebrate. Here, I am interested in key word: celebration. It has perhaps nothing to do with Prahlad even. To begin with it may sound absurd… I just saw Lord Krishan playing Holi on TV. The character Krishna was holding a ‘thali’ ( big plate for eating food ) spinning on his finger symbolizing his famous weapon which beheads the rival at a glance. And when his dearest beloved Radha touches him from behind, the Thali simply falls down with some petals already placed in it. At that moment some other characters come from above ( heaven ) and sprinkle more petals from such Thalis. It is again our sense of aesthetics that transforms a weapon into some celebratory sign, which often comes to us in ‘ready-mades’, particularly in our folk culture. The fact that everything happens here on earth, and yet we say it was Heaven where we performed Krishana and Radha with these ‘thalis’, and petals grown from outskirts of Delhi. I believe, the moment, the characters enter into the dance of it, the difference which we notice from outside - collapses. In the end the ‘thali’ performs neither a weapon nor a thali as thali. It is perhaps the flux of it, the dance of it which attracts the human mind. The actual identity of the characters too becomes meaningless. They could have been from any religion, or gender. Thinking loudly, it has perhaps, nothing to do with Hindusim even. With due regards to all the beliers, Hinduism is a dead sound as dead a Muslim or a Christian or a Sikh sound is. I am interested in the primordial, the shamanistic, the tribal, the simple, which we happen to call Art, but it must be without a representative word. We don’t havc a word to explain why a child dances on listening some beat, or when he or she becomes happy on wearing some festive colours. I believe, we have some ancient echoes hidden inside which enables us to transform into something else. We become a Hindu a Muslim or a Sikh , not only because we are born in particular families, but we sometimes have choice even. This again falls in the category of Art, although at a lower level. If a thali can become/represent a killing disc , why cant a Hindu become a Muslim or vice versa. The reason why we find festival ‘celebratory’ is because we all discover that universal echo in the happening of it. This has happened 35000 years ago in caves in Lukas in France and elsewhere. People must have danced, painted animals with passion on the walls. They had no security of food or shelter etc, but they had all the time to celebrate the life. Now, all we have is work, and work and work, to produce and produce and produce. And to top it we have sets of identities which we crushes our core purpose of being. Do we have a word to explain what that celebration meant to all our billions of predecessors. To cut it short, and come to my previous post: essay by Katherine Wolfe ‘ Aesthetics to Politics’ which is all philosophy, but it begins with “the distribution of the sensible “. The line is quite loaded , but here, I think if we can think more about what is sensible in the first place. It is indeed about the tolerance of the other, because the sensible cant be without aesthetic, so celebratory. It is indeed about the return to celebration, to arts, to music and dances, and even it is about simple prose, it has to be humble, with a readymade acceptance that in ‘celebration’ there is no place for egos. Any indifference to such a thought will compartmentalize the aesthetic and the political, rendering the former too vulnerable to endure the onslaught. The loss is ours, because the less we celebrate, the less we can carry forward our nobler political thoughts in the future. Unfortunately, that is happening all the times. I think of Ghalib, Jis ko ho deen-o-dil aziz, us ki gali mein jaian kioun. With love Inder salim On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 7:16 PM, taraprakash wrote: > I wonder how you define hedonism. In not that negative sense of the word, > hedonism is simple enjoyment: eat, drink and be merry. Hindus should visit > Muslim houses during Eid celebrations. You get all of it, except the drinks > served that day will not give you a hangover. > To have the best experience, don't go to return the favor of Holi but to be > with those who have reason to celebrate that particular day. Like people > visit other people to attend their birth day celebrations. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Kshmendra Kaul" > To: "sarai list" ; > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:48 AM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > > >> Just thinking aloud. >> >> Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, >> overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi celebration there is no brazen >> religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in >> inviting participation. >> >> Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi >> celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity. >> >> Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a >> socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the >> Hindus. >> >> Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the >> Muslims towards the Hindus. >> >> The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for similar >> heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The have >> to. They must. >> >> Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at >> least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi. >> >> Perhaps: >> >> - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the >> shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few >> like Ajmer Sharif >> >> - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' >> (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' >> hosted by fasting Muslims. >> >> - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the >> 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) >> >> - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim >> children >> >> Just thinking aloud. >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: >> >> From: Yousuf >> Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >> To: "sarai list" >> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM >> >> Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >> 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS >> >> LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and >> Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of >> jointly >> celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. >> >> Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for >> the >> procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party >> (BJP) >> Lalji Tandon said. >> >> People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of >> communal harmony," Tandon said. >> >> A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the function >> for >> the last 40 years. >> >> The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and >> garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the celebrations >> Wednesday, residents said. >> >> "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This >> is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one >> of >> the organisers. >> >> The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more >> and >> more people joined it. >> >> "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and special >> paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. >> >> The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once during >> the >> past 40 years. >> >> "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the >> Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual >> gaiety >> and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in >> the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From taraprakash at gmail.com Wed Mar 11 22:55:03 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:25:03 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' References: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <47e122a70903110919u2fe5be3i830cf02d6f894501@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <914C7D864F86432592E22E0D84019041@tara> A very appropriate line from Ghalib. This must be taught to all the demagogues, ideologues and all the radicals as they hardly tolerate difference of opinion. This can be the motto for the world peace. Haan vo naheen khuda parast Jaao vo bevafa sahi, Jisko ho din odil aziz Us ki gali mein jaae kyon. Here "Khuda" (God) can symbolize the transcendental signified of an ideology, towards which the followers of a specific ideology try to force the world; changing the multi-colored humanity to a unicolored one: saffron, or red, or green, or blue ... Ghalib can be interpreted as saying: "Yes, X is not loyal to God. Okay x is not sympathetic to Y's cause. If Y likes his/her religion and heart (which contains passion for something) why should y go to x's street" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Inder Salim" To: "reader-list" Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12:19 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > Perhaps, it is our universal sense of Aesthetics that transforms the > simple ash of the dead into colour. The fact that she, the princess, > died screaming but no one heard has no meaning here. Her brother, King > Hirnaya Kashyp, must have mourned the death of his volunteer sister > Holika, but the people, the lovers of Prahlad celebrate. > > Here, I am interested in key word: celebration. It has perhaps nothing > to do with Prahlad even. To begin with it may sound absurd… > > I just saw Lord Krishan playing Holi on TV. The character Krishna was > holding a ‘thali’ ( big plate for eating food ) spinning on his finger > symbolizing his famous weapon which beheads the rival at a glance. And > when his dearest beloved Radha touches him from behind, the Thali > simply falls down with some petals already placed in it. At that > moment some other characters come from above ( heaven ) and sprinkle > more petals from such Thalis. It is again our sense of aesthetics > that transforms a weapon into some celebratory sign, which often comes > to us in ‘ready-mades’, particularly in our folk culture. The fact > that everything happens here on earth, and yet we say it was Heaven > where we performed Krishana and Radha with these ‘thalis’, and petals > grown from outskirts of Delhi. > > I believe, the moment, the characters enter into the dance of it, the > difference which we notice from outside - collapses. In the end the > ‘thali’ performs neither a weapon nor a thali as thali. It is perhaps > the flux of it, the dance of it which attracts the human mind. The > actual identity of the characters too becomes meaningless. They could > have been from any religion, or gender. > > Thinking loudly, it has perhaps, nothing to do with Hindusim even. > With due regards to all the beliers, Hinduism is a dead sound as dead > a Muslim or a Christian or a Sikh sound is. I am interested in the > primordial, the shamanistic, the tribal, the simple, which we happen > to call Art, but it must be without a representative word. We don’t > havc a word to explain why a child dances on listening some beat, or > when he or she becomes happy on wearing some festive colours. > > I believe, we have some ancient echoes hidden inside which enables us > to transform into something else. We become a Hindu a Muslim or a Sikh > , not only because we are born in particular families, but we > sometimes have choice even. This again falls in the category of Art, > although at a lower level. If a thali can become/represent a killing > disc , why cant a Hindu become a Muslim or vice versa. The reason why > we find festival ‘celebratory’ is because we all discover that > universal echo in the happening of it. > > This has happened 35000 years ago in caves in Lukas in France and > elsewhere. People must have danced, painted animals with passion on > the walls. They had no security of food or shelter etc, but they had > all the time to celebrate the life. Now, all we have is work, and > work and work, to produce and produce and produce. And to top it we > have sets of identities which we crushes our core purpose of being. > > Do we have a word to explain what that celebration meant to all our > billions of predecessors. > > To cut it short, and come to my previous post: essay by Katherine > Wolfe ‘ Aesthetics to Politics’ which is all philosophy, but it begins > with “the distribution of the sensible “. The line is quite loaded , > but here, I think if we can think more about what is sensible in the > first place. > > It is indeed about the tolerance of the other, because the sensible > cant be without aesthetic, so celebratory. > > It is indeed about the return to celebration, to arts, to music and > dances, and even it is about simple prose, it has to be humble, with a > readymade acceptance that in ‘celebration’ there is no place for egos. > > Any indifference to such a thought will compartmentalize the > aesthetic and the political, rendering the former too vulnerable to > endure the onslaught. The loss is ours, because the less we celebrate, > the less we can carry forward our nobler political thoughts in the > future. > > Unfortunately, that is happening all the times. > > I think of Ghalib, > Jis ko ho deen-o-dil aziz, us ki gali mein jaian kioun. > > > With love > Inder salim > > > On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 7:16 PM, taraprakash > wrote: >> I wonder how you define hedonism. In not that negative sense of the word, >> hedonism is simple enjoyment: eat, drink and be merry. Hindus should >> visit >> Muslim houses during Eid celebrations. You get all of it, except the >> drinks >> served that day will not give you a hangover. >> To have the best experience, don't go to return the favor of Holi but to >> be >> with those who have reason to celebrate that particular day. Like people >> visit other people to attend their birth day celebrations. >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Kshmendra Kaul" >> To: "sarai list" ; >> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:48 AM >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi >> Baraat' >> >> >>> Just thinking aloud. >>> >>> Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, >>> overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi celebration there is no >>> brazen >>> religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in >>> inviting participation. >>> >>> Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi >>> celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity. >>> >>> Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a >>> socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the >>> Hindus. >>> >>> Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the >>> Muslims towards the Hindus. >>> >>> The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for >>> similar >>> heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The >>> have >>> to. They must. >>> >>> Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at >>> least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi. >>> >>> Perhaps: >>> >>> - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the >>> shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few >>> like Ajmer Sharif >>> >>> - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' >>> (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' >>> hosted by fasting Muslims. >>> >>> - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the >>> 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) >>> >>> - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim >>> children >>> >>> Just thinking aloud. >>> >>> Kshmendra >>> >>> >>> --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: >>> >>> From: Yousuf >>> Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >>> To: "sarai list" >>> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM >>> >>> Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >>> 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS >>> >>> LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and >>> Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of >>> jointly >>> celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. >>> >>> Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for >>> the >>> procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party >>> (BJP) >>> Lalji Tandon said. >>> >>> People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of >>> communal harmony," Tandon said. >>> >>> A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the >>> function >>> for >>> the last 40 years. >>> >>> The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and >>> garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the >>> celebrations >>> Wednesday, residents said. >>> >>> "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This >>> is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one >>> of >>> the organisers. >>> >>> The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more >>> and >>> more people joined it. >>> >>> "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and >>> special >>> paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. >>> >>> The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once >>> during >>> the >>> past 40 years. >>> >>> "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the >>> Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual >>> gaiety >>> and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in >>> the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From anansi1 at earthlink.net Wed Mar 11 23:05:52 2009 From: anansi1 at earthlink.net (Paul D. Miller) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:35:52 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [Reader-list] Fox News Predicts Second Civil War Message-ID: <32914660.1236792953213.JavaMail.root@mswamui-backed.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Some call it the "Bubba Effect" - basically, white hicks join militias, create havoc and civil unrest to "reclaim" their lost rights! I don't watch TV but every once in a while, Fox comes up with such a bizaare take on things that it echoes through onto the web, so I check it out on youtube or whatever. This is amusing... Paul Fox News Predicts Civil War: http://www.disinfo.com/content/story.php?title=Fox-News-Predicts-Second-Civil-War-To-Come-Soon Will a coming right-wing militia movement declare war on the Obama-led federal government and plunge the United States into civil war? Fox News is calling it first. Last week on the show "War Games," Glen Beck convened a panel that includes former CIA officer Michael Scheuer and Ret. U.S. Army Sgt. Major Tim Strong to discuss the possibility of American citizens rebelling against tax increases and socialist policies (which will bring about hyperinflation, depression, looting, chaos, and martial law) from the Obama adminstration. Beck says he "believes we're on this road" to a domestic uprising — and the panel contemplates whether the U.S. military would follow the President's orders to subdue civil unrest or would instead join with "the people" in defense of their Constitutional rights against the Government. (They agree that the U.S. military would be with "the people.") From anansi1 at earthlink.net Wed Mar 11 23:06:02 2009 From: anansi1 at earthlink.net (Paul D. Miller) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:36:02 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [Reader-list] Fox News Predicts Second Civil War Message-ID: <15489538.1236792963184.JavaMail.root@mswamui-backed.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Some call it the "Bubba Effect" - basically, white hicks join militias, create havoc and civil unrest to "reclaim" their lost rights! I don't watch TV but every once in a while, Fox comes up with such a bizaare take on things that it echoes through onto the web, so I check it out on youtube or whatever. This is amusing... Paul Fox News Predicts Civil War: http://www.disinfo.com/content/story.php?title=Fox-News-Predicts-Second-Civil-War-To-Come-Soon Will a coming right-wing militia movement declare war on the Obama-led federal government and plunge the United States into civil war? Fox News is calling it first. Last week on the show "War Games," Glen Beck convened a panel that includes former CIA officer Michael Scheuer and Ret. U.S. Army Sgt. Major Tim Strong to discuss the possibility of American citizens rebelling against tax increases and socialist policies (which will bring about hyperinflation, depression, looting, chaos, and martial law) from the Obama adminstration. Beck says he "believes we're on this road" to a domestic uprising — and the panel contemplates whether the U.S. military would follow the President's orders to subdue civil unrest or would instead join with "the people" in defense of their Constitutional rights against the Government. (They agree that the U.S. military would be with "the people.") From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Thu Mar 12 08:34:36 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:04:36 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <914C7D864F86432592E22E0D84019041@tara> References: <95749.29331.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <47e122a70903110919u2fe5be3i830cf02d6f894501@mail.gmail.com> <914C7D864F86432592E22E0D84019041@tara> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903112004g77ee2176y1d0ceaf578d5648@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Few lines from bulleshah on Holi...ikhtelafat...and mazhab... Enjoy! Regards Taha hori kheloongi kehe bismillah naam nabi ki ratn chadi boon padhi allah allah rang rangili oohi khilawe jis seekhe ho fanafi allah alastu bi rabbi kum- preetam bole sab sakhiyoon ne ghunghat khole ghalu ghala yuunhi kar bole laillaha illalah hori kheloongi kehe bismillah -bulleshah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsDe-sx5z8w From sanjay.singh at takshila.net Tue Mar 10 16:45:06 2009 From: sanjay.singh at takshila.net (Sanjay Singh) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:45:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth posting Message-ID: <011301c9a171$7a9fa8f0$e421ef7b@strategi407e89> We have started a school in Hoshiarpur by the name of Takshila School. We wish to do an exclusive classical music program in Hoshiarpur on 22nd Mar in our school premises. Pls suggest names of artists whom we could contact for performance. Regds Sanjay 'There is always a solution.!" Takshila Educational Society A22, Basement Defense Colony New Delhi 110022 From iram at sarai.net Thu Mar 12 13:20:41 2009 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:20:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Make an Impact - Long March Online Message-ID: <49B8BED1.4010607@sarai.net> Subject: [PR] Make an Impact - Long March Online From:yasir ~?? ?? Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:36:19 +0500 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Please forward this to everyone you know. to lists. This is the time to let those in the corridors of power know that citizens can count ! you can add your own update such as by sms or internet. read on. register if you have to. learn it. LONG MARCH UPDATES TO FOLLOW ONLINE : Live Coverage - http://cli.gs/LongMarch Monitor on your GPRS enabled cell phone - http://cli.gs/LongMarchCell Blog - http://marchforjustice.wordpress.com/ Pictures / SMS / MMS / Email - http://longmarch.seenreport.com EMAIL UPDATES: Sending an email to longmarch at seenreport.com or even update for any specific city by replacing the cityname in the following email address longmarch.cityname at seenreport.com SMS / MMS UPDATES to 0332-4797546 in the format "longmarch your message" Twitter: - http://twitter.com/LongMarch or Follow twitter Hashtag at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=LongMarch PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO ALL -~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is the People's Resistance Mailing List Send only RELEVANT discussion emails to PeoplesResistance at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to PeoplesResistance+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com Or visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/PeoplesResistance From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Tue Mar 10 12:40:47 2009 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (artNET) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:10:47 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_call=3A_The_Best?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_of_Flash_on_the_Net?= Message-ID: <20090310081047.8373BFAB.9D776E5C@192.168.0.3> extended deadline:30 June 2009 -------------------------------- Cinematheque - streaming media project environments http://cinema.nmartproject.net Call for entries \\ Flash & Thunder Flash as a medium and tool for artistic creations // Since the Internet became popular in the late 90'ies of 20th century, the software program "FLASH", once developed and prepared for the commercial market by Macromedia, and now owned by Adobe, represents a vector based developing environment which enables the creator to combine different media and develop vector based animations especially for the Internet. .swf data file extension became a standard for animations online and offline, and Flash video and its .flv file format stands for "videostreaming" on the net. As soon as the Internet started, artists captured it for artistic purposes, and the same is good for certain software used for the net, particularly Flash is predestined for developing artistic creations due to its intuitive use. It became one of the most popular software tools for the net, computer based animations and interactive applications like games. Flash based artworks entered media festivals, even festivals solely based on movies created in Flash are organised. After Cinematheque - streaming media environments - explored in 2007 the capabilities of "Quicktime" as an artistic medium in the comprehensive show \\Slowtime? Quicktime as an artistic medium// - its now the time to explore in 2009 the artistic potential of Flash in its own way in a big online show, as well. // Flash and Thunder Flash as a medium and tool for artistic creations \\ Cinematheque is looking for the best artistic Flash works created since 2000. Please find the regulations and entry form on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=408 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Cinematheque - streaming media project environments http://cinema.nmartproject.net is a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net - the experimental platform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From admin at indianfinearts.com Wed Mar 11 20:23:24 2009 From: admin at indianfinearts.com (Ajit Vahadane) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:23:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Great news for Indian artists participating in Jakarta exhibition Message-ID: <5232578[THNRR134]@winxp> Dear Artists friends, We are happy tell you that now our 9th Indian art exhibition will be part of big Indian cultural festival being held in Jakarta by Indian embassy and Indian cultural centre in Jakarta. It will consist of Indian Dances / Theatre performances / Musical performances / Indian films and many other interesting cultural events.There will be heavy publicity for this festival and our exhibition will be held within this festival.Our director of Indian cultural centre has already agreed to it and we shall have a great media coverage for our exhibition in Jakarta,Indonesia.Even if there is any change in this cultural festival or cancellation,our exhibition will still be held with help from Indian cultural centre and Indian embassy without any problem just like our last 8 exhibitions in Indonesia. Last date for sending your entries for paintings exhibition 30th April 2009.You need to send full resume in word file and all images of artworks in jpeg small files for selection process to admin at indianfinearts.com Full details can be read at our website www.indianfinearts.com The final selection of artists will be over by 1st week of May 2009 and all selected artists will have to send their contribution of Rs.20000 or Rs.25000 and painting in rolled form in second and third week of May 2009. If you have any questions, please email me or call me on 9821656016 Thanking you and expecting you high class creative entries for 9th Indian art exhibition in Jakarta.This is going to be the biggest exhibition so far in Indonesia. Your's Sincerely, Ajit Vahadane Organiser, Indian artists network www.indianfinearts.com admin at indianfinearts.com Jakarta Mobile:+62-81317489896 Mumbai Mobile:+91-9821656016 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Global! join International artists network http://internationalartistsnetwork.ning.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people"--Vincent van Gogh Please send us reply if you do not wish to recieve our emails with DELETE in subject matter in your email so that we can delete your email from our database.Sorry for inconvenience -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Thu Mar 12 03:16:25 2009 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:46:25 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Upgrade! Boston: Ursula Endlicher Message-ID: <008801c9a292$d5750230$805f0690$@org> Upgrade! Boston: Ursula Endlicher March 17, 2009; 7:00 - 9:00 pm Massachusetts College of Art and Design 621 Huntington Avenue Boston, Massachusetts, USA http://turbulence.org/upgrade_boston/2009/02/ursula-endlicher/ Ursula Endlicher's work resides on the intersection of Internet, performance and multi-media installation. Since 1994 the Internet has an impact on her practice where she bridges the Web and physical reality. Her focus lies in analyzing the social, political and structural components of the Web while translating its hidden architectures and languages - such as HTML - into choreography for performances, into layouts for visualizations, installations or objects, or into notation for music. Endlicher's recent projects include Website Impersonations: The Ten Most Visited (2006-09), a ten-part Live/Web performance series that utilizes Web Code as choreography. This series as well as the project html_butoh, a web-based participatory performance commissioned by Turbulence.org in 2006, are built on the html-movement-library, a database for small video clips enacting the html language through movement. She created Website Impersonations: The Amazons (.at versus .com), an interactive multi-media installation with real-time web-feed navigable via the "mouse-chair" for which she received a production grant by the Austrian Cultural Forum NY in 2006. A presentation of her web works including Famous For One Spam was commissioned by the Whitney Museum's artport in 2004. Web Performer 1.0 was among the first net art works included into Rhizome's ArtBase in 1999. She produced her very first piece for the Internet - Left/Right - for The Thing Vienna BBS in 1994. More here http://turbulence.org/upgrade_boston/2009/02/ursula-endlicher/ Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade New American Radio: http://somewhere.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Thu Mar 12 12:45:45 2009 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (soundNET) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:15:45 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_SoundLAB_VI_-_so?= =?iso-8859-1?q?undPOOL?= Message-ID: <20090312081545.131A1B6F.31284930@192.168.0.3> SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab.newmediafest.org is happy to launch its 6th edition ----------------------------------------------- SoundLAB VI - soundPOOL sound compositions - a challenge for imagination ----------------------------------------------- "soundPOOL " - represents an exciting composition consisting of soundcreations by 128 soundartists which want to activate the senses, to encourage the listener to dive deeply until the bottom of the pool which is offerring a wide range of unusual soundart works. ---> Erfan Abdi (Iran), Adern X (IT), Rodolphe Alexis (FR), Marco Albert (IT), Jorge Antunes (BR), Gastón Arévalo (UY), Oliver Augst & Jessika Ferriol (GER), Elise Baldwin (USA) André Bartetzki (Ger), Adam Basanta (Ca), Gennaro Becchimanzi (IT), Hans Bernhard (A) Max Biasoni (IT), bleedingboy (PH), Sean Burn (UK), Joe Leo Cantrell (USA) Osvaldo Cibils (Uruguay), Alfonso Carrasco Martínez (MX), Jen-Kuang Chang (TW) Efthymios Chatzigiannis (GR), Curt Cloninger (USA), Lin Culbertson (USA) Adrian Democ (SK), Paul Devens (B), Dezroyadam (Turkey), David van Dokkum (USA) Robert Dow (USA), Dorsey Dunn (USA), Heloisa Escudero (Brazil) Xerex C.Fang (Taiwan), Flow in (UK), Luca Forcucci (IT), Satoshi Fukushima (Japan) L. Gaab (USA), garlo (F/CA), Erin Marie Gee (CA), Cynthia Gomez (Ar) Max Alexander (USA), Henry Gwiazda (USA), Pieter Gyselinck (B) Susan Wishart Halawi (Aus), Scott F. Hall (USA), Alex Hetherington (UK) Thomas HILBERT (F), Jeremy Hight (USA), Richard Higlett (UK), Fu Fan Hsu (China) Infrason (IT), Yuichi Ito (Japan), Max Jacob (Ger), Claudio Jacomucci (IT), Sirpa Jokinen (FI) Bobby Jones (CR), Markus Jones (UK), Bernadette Johnson (CH) Timo Kahlen (GER), sibyll kalff/missippi goddamn (GER), Thanasis Kaproulias | Novi_sad (GR) Koji Kawai (Japan), Chris Kaczmarek (USA), Noema Khepry (USA), Andras Kiss (HU) Meri von KleinSmid (USA), The Volume (UA/KAZ), Pavel Kopecky (CZ) Bart Koppe (NL), Rainer Krause (Chile), Marco Lampis (IT) Dubravko Lapaine & Hrvoje Niksic (CR), Alain Lefebvre (CA), Daniel Lercher (A), Jessica Leza (USA) Gianluca Licciardi, (IT), Jesus Lopez-Donado (VE), Edwin Lo (China), Kevin Logan (UK) Jarryd Lowder (USA), Sergio Luque (MX), Wittwulf Y Malik (GER), Aymeric Mansoux (FR) John Maters (NL), Wolfgang Peter Menzel (SWE), Luc Messinezis (GR), Gurkan Mihci (Turkey) Anton Mobin (F), Satoshi Morita (Japan), David Mooney (USA), Sayandep Mukherjee (India) Shay Nassi (Israel), Agoston Nagy (HU), Joseph Nechvatal (FR), Meri Nikula (FI) Rudi Punzo (IT), Rovar17 (HU ), Graham Phillips (UK), Per Platou (NO), Rebekkah Palov (USA) Antonella Pintus (IT). Giuseppe Pradella (IT), Debra Petrovitch (AU), Jean-Philippe Renoult (FR) Marko Ritosa /Ritosha/ (CR), Ann Rosén (SWE), Jedrzej Rusin (POL), Janek Schaefer (UK) Joan Schuman (USA), Ashley Scott (AUS), Koichi Shimizu (Japan), Alexander Sigman (USA) Yolanda Spínola (ES), Peter V. Swendsen (USA), Jenny Spiers (AUS), Annemarie Steinvoort (NL) Joe Stevens (UK), Lauren Sopher (USA), Mørk Skog (HU), Sarah Layne Soriano (USA) Adam Stansbie (UK), Morgen Franzjoseph Stary (CA), Tobias Thiele (GER), Michael Trommer (CA) TZ/X - Zoltán Tonka (HU), unclejim (UK), Juha Valkeapää (Fi), Corsin VOGEL (Switzerland) Jan de Weille (NL), Rexz Xerex (China), xxxxx/Martin Howse (UK), Vladimir Zykov (USA), zheimeer (PL) --> But SoundLAB VI - soundPOOL is complete only through the component of more than 50 interviews with soundartists participating in this new edition, spotlighting the background of their sound creating For these interviews go to ---> http://sip.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit also the 5 previous SoundLAB editions I-V on SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab.newmediafest.org --> corporate part of [NewMediaArt ProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net the experimental platform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany ------------------------------------------------------------------- info (at) nmartproject.net ------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aarti.sethi at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 10:49:45 2009 From: aarti.sethi at gmail.com (Aarti Sethi) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:49:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Circuits of the Popular: Interdisciplinary Conference on Cinema, Theater, Performance Message-ID: <48c2916d0903112219w429a3149i7532644746c1dbf6@mail.gmail.com> *Circuits** of the Popular*** *Cinema . Visual Arts . Theatre and Performance * *The First Interdisciplinary Conference of * * The * *School** of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University* *New Delhi*** *Jawaharlal** Nehru University* *16 - 18 March, 2009 Venue: SAA Auditorium* * * *Panel Themes* ***·* The Circuits of the Popular in Ancient and Medieval India *·** * The Popular, Public Sphere and Exhibitionary Spaces *·* Circuits of the Popular: Design, Technology and the Sacred *·* Modernism and Popular Practices *·* Stardom, Performance and the Film Industry *·* The Classical, the Popular and the Progressive in Performing Arts *·* Spectatorship, Anxiety & the Moment of “Bollywood” *·* Visual Culture, Narration and the Emerging Modes of Visuality *·** * Modernisms in Theatre: Critiques of the Popular Note: Detailed Schedule in next mail. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 14:47:32 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:17:32 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Patti Smith: Jeff Koons "vile", "just litter upon the earth" Message-ID: Moneyshot quote from Patti Smith interview... TAN: Do you get the chance to follow much contemporary art? PS: If I have time I’m more likely to go to the opera than schlepping round the galleries. Also a lot of things I see lack soul, they might be clever, or well done, but it’s like the difference between listening to Theola Kilgore or one of the great R&B singers then having to listen to Britney Spears. Somebody like Jeff Koons I think is just litter upon the earth, I look at his stuff and I’m appalled, I can’t access where these people are coming from. TAN: Though it’s theoretically in a direct line from Duchamp. PS: Duchamp I can look at and I see poetry and intellect, I don’t see this “cleverness”. I’m not interested in just commentary or humour. For me art isn’t just commentary, maybe I look at art in the old fashioned way, to me art should take us to a place we have never been, to see something we’ve never seen. I can’t look at a Koons giant dog and be moved. TAN: But he is trying to be genuinely populist. PS: Look, let the populace be “populist”. To have to try to be “populist” is pathetic, that is not what we should be trying to do with art. I find Koons’s work especially vile, to go into Versailles and have to look at his silliness all through that magnificent building. By contrast I recently helped organise a show in Florence combining Michelangelo’s work and Robert’s photographs of nudes and of sculpture, and I do see some kind of relationship. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article.asp?id=17086 From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 14:47:52 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:17:52 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] long march live Message-ID: <5af37bb0903120217g44a7d5aexaee2d638871d8813@mail.gmail.com> http://maujmedia.blogspot.com/2009/03/pk-long-march-netlive.html From aarti.sethi at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 11:00:08 2009 From: aarti.sethi at gmail.com (Aarti Sethi) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:00:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Circuits of the Popular: Detailed Schedule Message-ID: <48c2916d0903112230s9cfb38dm3b201a2a192ad90c@mail.gmail.com> CIRCUITS OF THE POPULAR An International Conference at the School of Arts and Aesthetics Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi 110067 Monday 16 March 2009 10 -10.30 am Welcome address H S Shivaprakash Panel I 10:30 am– 1 pm The Circuits of the Popular in Ancient and Medieval India Chair: Uma Chakravarty R N Mishra Naman Ahuja Annapurna Garimella Panel II 2-4pm Student Presentations Chair: Naman Ahuja CS: Debashree Mukherjee Aarti Sethi TPS: Rahul Shekhar Shrinkhla Sahai VS: Naira Shovgaryan, Sham Sunder Panel III Visual Studies 4.15-5.30 pm The Popular, Public Sphere and Exhibitionary Spaces Chair: Parul Dave Mukherji Shukla Sawant Charles Merewether Tuesday 17 March 2009 Panel IV Visual Studies 10-11.30 am Circuits of the Popular: Design, Technology and the Sacred Chair: Shukla Sawant Jyotindra Jain Vidya Dehejia Panel V Visual Studies 11.30 am- 1.15 pm Modernism and Popular Practices Chair: Roma Chatterjee Daniel Rycroft Tapati Guha Thakurta Panel VI Cinema Studies 2.15-4.15 Stardom, Performance and the Film Industry Chair: Ira Bhaskar Kaushik Bhaumik Rosie Thomas Ranjani Mazumdar Panel VII Theatre and Performance 4.30-6.30pm The Classical, the Popular and the Progressive in Performing Arts Chair: H S Shivaprakash G P Deshpande K G Paulose Molly Kaushal Kapila Vatsyayana Wednesday 18 March 2009 Panel VIII Cinema Studies 10 am-12.00 pm Spectatorship, Anxiety & the Moment of “Bollywood” Chair: Rosie Thomas Lawrence Liang Shohini Ghosh Ravi Vasudevan Panel IX Visual Studies 12.15-1.15 pm Visual Culture, Narration and the Emerging Modes of Visuality Chair: Annapurna Garimella Roma Chatterjee Natalie Marsh Panel X Theatre & Performance 2.15-4.15 pm Modernisms in Theatre: Critiques of the Popular Chair: Bishnupriya Dutt Samik Bandhpadhyaya Soumyabrata Chowdhury Ralph Yarrow Anuradha Kapur -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 12 19:06:11 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:36:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <914C7D864F86432592E22E0D84019041@tara> Message-ID: <722701.96319.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taraprakash   Very well put.   Some thoughts provoked:   If your faith system (Deen) is one of mindless worship (Khuda parastee) and your heart is so dear to you that it cannot bear being trifled with, then stay away mate, do not venture into the domain where you frown upon the manner of my beloved.   It is somewhat akin to 'do not agree with someone but will defend to death the right to have different opinions'   In other couplets of the ghazal, Ghalib laments how he has been trifled with and berates the beloved for various inconsiderations. He then (in the quoted couplet) rises to the defence of the right of the beloved to be any whic way the beloved wants to be.   Ultimately in the last couplet (Maqtaa) of the ghazal, Ghalib negates his own self and his sufferings as being of any significance in the greater scheme.   Kshmendra          --- On Wed, 3/11/09, taraprakash wrote: From: taraprakash Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: "Inder Salim" , "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 10:55 PM A very appropriate line from Ghalib. This must be taught to all the demagogues, ideologues and all the radicals as they hardly tolerate difference of opinion. This can be the motto for the world peace. Haan vo naheen khuda parast Jaao vo bevafa sahi, Jisko ho din odil aziz Us ki gali mein jaae kyon. Here "Khuda" (God) can symbolize the transcendental signified of an ideology, towards which the followers of a specific ideology try to force the world; changing the multi-colored humanity to a unicolored one: saffron, or red, or green, or blue ... Ghalib can be interpreted as saying: "Yes, X is not loyal to God. Okay x is not sympathetic to Y's cause. If Y likes his/her religion and heart (which contains passion for something) why should y go to x's street" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Inder Salim" To: "reader-list" Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12:19 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > Perhaps, it is our universal sense of Aesthetics that transforms the > simple ash of the dead into colour. The fact that she, the princess, > died screaming but no one heard has no meaning here. Her brother, King > Hirnaya Kashyp, must have mourned the death of his volunteer sister > Holika, but the people, the lovers of Prahlad celebrate. > > Here, I am interested in key word: celebration. It has perhaps nothing > to do with Prahlad even. To begin with it may sound absurd… > > I just saw Lord Krishan playing Holi on TV. The character Krishna was > holding a ‘thali’ ( big plate for eating food ) spinning on his finger > symbolizing his famous weapon which beheads the rival at a glance. And > when his dearest beloved Radha touches him from behind, the Thali > simply falls down with some petals already placed in it. At that > moment some other characters come from above ( heaven ) and sprinkle > more petals from such Thalis. It is again our sense of aesthetics > that transforms a weapon into some celebratory sign, which often comes > to us in ‘ready-mades’, particularly in our folk culture. The fact > that everything happens here on earth, and yet we say it was Heaven > where we performed Krishana and Radha with these ‘thalis’, and petals > grown from outskirts of Delhi. > > I believe, the moment, the characters enter into the dance of it, the > difference which we notice from outside - collapses. In the end the > ‘thali’ performs neither a weapon nor a thali as thali. It is perhaps > the flux of it, the dance of it which attracts the human mind. The > actual identity of the characters too becomes meaningless. They could > have been from any religion, or gender. > > Thinking loudly, it has perhaps, nothing to do with Hindusim even. > With due regards to all the beliers, Hinduism is a dead sound as dead > a Muslim or a Christian or a Sikh sound is. I am interested in the > primordial, the shamanistic, the tribal, the simple, which we happen > to call Art, but it must be without a representative word. We don’t > havc a word to explain why a child dances on listening some beat, or > when he or she becomes happy on wearing some festive colours. > > I believe, we have some ancient echoes hidden inside which enables us > to transform into something else. We become a Hindu a Muslim or a Sikh > , not only because we are born in particular families, but we > sometimes have choice even. This again falls in the category of Art, > although at a lower level. If a thali can become/represent a killing > disc , why cant a Hindu become a Muslim or vice versa. The reason why > we find festival ‘celebratory’ is because we all discover that > universal echo in the happening of it. > > This has happened 35000 years ago in caves in Lukas in France and > elsewhere. People must have danced, painted animals with passion on > the walls. They had no security of food or shelter etc, but they had > all the time to celebrate the life. Now, all we have is work, and > work and work, to produce and produce and produce. And to top it we > have sets of identities which we crushes our core purpose of being. > > Do we have a word to explain what that celebration meant to all our > billions of predecessors. > > To cut it short, and come to my previous post: essay by Katherine > Wolfe ‘ Aesthetics to Politics’ which is all philosophy, but it begins > with “the distribution of the sensible “. The line is quite loaded , > but here, I think if we can think more about what is sensible in the > first place. > > It is indeed about the tolerance of the other, because the sensible > cant be without aesthetic, so celebratory. > > It is indeed about the return to celebration, to arts, to music and > dances, and even it is about simple prose, it has to be humble, with a > readymade acceptance that in ‘celebration’ there is no place for egos. > > Any indifference to such a thought will compartmentalize the > aesthetic and the political, rendering the former too vulnerable to > endure the onslaught. The loss is ours, because the less we celebrate, > the less we can carry forward our nobler political thoughts in the > future. > > Unfortunately, that is happening all the times. > > I think of Ghalib, > Jis ko ho deen-o-dil aziz, us ki gali mein jaian kioun. > > > With love > Inder salim > > > On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 7:16 PM, taraprakash > wrote: >> I wonder how you define hedonism. In not that negative sense of the word, >> hedonism is simple enjoyment: eat, drink and be merry. Hindus should >> visit >> Muslim houses during Eid celebrations. You get all of it, except the >> drinks >> served that day will not give you a hangover. >> To have the best experience, don't go to return the favor of Holi but to >> be >> with those who have reason to celebrate that particular day. Like people >> visit other people to attend their birth day celebrations. >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Kshmendra Kaul" >> To: "sarai list" ; >> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:48 AM >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi >> Baraat' >> >> >>> Just thinking aloud. >>> >>> Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, >>> overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi celebration there is no >>> brazen >>> religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in >>> inviting participation. >>> >>> Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi >>> celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity. >>> >>> Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a >>> socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the >>> Hindus. >>> >>> Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the >>> Muslims towards the Hindus. >>> >>> The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for >>> similar >>> heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The >>> have >>> to. They must. >>> >>> Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at >>> least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi. >>> >>> Perhaps: >>> >>> - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the >>> shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few >>> like Ajmer Sharif >>> >>> - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' >>> (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' >>> hosted by fasting Muslims. >>> >>> - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the >>> 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) >>> >>> - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim >>> children >>> >>> Just thinking aloud. >>> >>> Kshmendra >>> >>> >>> --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: >>> >>> From: Yousuf >>> Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >>> To: "sarai list" >>> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM >>> >>> Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' >>> 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS >>> >>> LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and >>> Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of >>> jointly >>> celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. >>> >>> Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for >>> the >>> procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party >>> (BJP) >>> Lalji Tandon said. >>> >>> People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of >>> communal harmony," Tandon said. >>> >>> A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the >>> function >>> for >>> the last 40 years. >>> >>> The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and >>> garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the >>> celebrations >>> Wednesday, residents said. >>> >>> "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This >>> is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one >>> of >>> the organisers. >>> >>> The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more >>> and >>> more people joined it. >>> >>> "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and >>> special >>> paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. >>> >>> The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once >>> during >>> the >>> past 40 years. >>> >>> "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the >>> Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual >>> gaiety >>> and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in >>> the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 12 19:21:07 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:51:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <112156.28172.qm@web51412.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <317320.3889.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Yousuf   I look at it differently.   There should be no need to call upon 'tolerance'. Asking for 'tolerance' suggests to me that something distasteful or illegal is being indulged in which one is being asked to bear with.   IF the Laws and the application of the Laws is fair and equitable then each one would have the equal right to indulge themselves in action or speech within specified limits. Yes I know it is a big IF, but if one does not first define the ideal then one cannot set pathways towards the ideal.   As far as 'processions' are concerned (in any situation), then they would be equally banned for everyone or equally allowed for everyone (to the same extent of disciplined or indisciplined teeming on the roads). Once that is clear, no one has the bloody right to selectively allow or disallow.    Nor does any procession, Religious, Political or Secular have a right to disrupt or inconvenience the lives of those who are not interested in being a part of the procession.   Kshmendra --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: From: Yousuf Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: "sarai list" , kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 4:42 PM Dear Kshmendra Its good to think about how Hindus and Muslims can reciprocate each other's gestures in festivals. Actually you may not find any "hedonistic" Muslim festival today, but there were many more in the past. In fact, many festivals in India did not fall into the identity of any one festival. Today, before we can talk about participation into each other's festivals, we have to look at whether we are even tolerating each other's festivities. Since yesterday I have heard communal violence broke out in at least 4 different places (in UP and MP) where a simple procession of one community was not being allowed to pass through the area of the other community. In fact, even the concept of a procession needs to be looked at - many people in cities like Delhi simply hate it when someone's religious procession blocks their traffic. Similarly, those participating in the procession don't care if their act brings the whole city to a standstill. Many religious processions are actually partly political procession too. So, how do we define a shared festivity in today's scenerio. Probably tolerance is more important than celebration. Yousuf --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > From: Kshmendra Kaul > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" , ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 3:18 PM > Just thinking aloud. >   > Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in > Hindu heritage. Yet, overwhelmingly at most places, in > the Holi  celebration there is no brazen religiosity > involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular > in inviting participation. >   > Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus > in Holi celebrations as compared to any other Hindu > festivity. >   > Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to > make a socio-political gesture of sharing the festival > celebratory joys of the Hindus. >   > Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed > only by the Muslims towards the Hindus. >   > The question in my mind is how should Hindus be > reciprocating for similar heartfelt gestures and also in > making socio-political statements. The have to. They must. >   > Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public > festivities, at least none anywhere close to the rather > hedonistic celebration of Holi.  >   > Perhaps: >   > - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting > 'chaadar' at the shrines of Muslim saints all over > India and not confined to just a few like Ajmer Sharif >   > - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the > 'iftihar' (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not > just attending 'iftihar dinners' hosted by fasting > Muslims. >   > - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating > in the 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) >   > - At the local community level presenting "Eid" > gifts to the Muslim children >   > Just thinking aloud. >   > Kshmendra >   > > --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf > wrote: > > From: Yousuf > Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate > Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM > > Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi > Baraat' > 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS > > LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large > number of Hindus and > Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old > practise of jointly > celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. > > Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled > around 10 a.m. for the > procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya > Janata Party (BJP) > Lalji Tandon said. > > People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat > sets an example of > communal harmony," Tandon said. > > A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part > in the function for > the last 40 years. > > The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of > rose petals and > garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for > the celebrations > Wednesday, residents said. > > "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged > pleasantries. This > is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said > Anurag Mishra, one of > the organisers. > > The procession passed through various localities of Old > Lucknow as more and > more people joined it. > > "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised > where sweets and special > paan were offered to the revellers," said one > resident, Shabi Haider. > > The multi-community procession has not been discontinued > even once during the > past 40 years. > > "Even when there was communal tension following the > demolition of the > Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was > celebrated with usual gaiety > and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 12 19:46:41 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:16:41 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <296781.13377.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taraprakash   No issues with your definition of 'hedonism' once it is shorn of the negatives the word normally suggests.   It is in the 'be merry' that we face the problem. Song, Dance (and sometimes Alcohol) seem to have become companion to many Hindu public festivities. All are missing from Muslim public festivities.  That is why I was looking for other forms of conveying "We value the joys you are celebrating and join you in them"   Yes mutual visits 'like attending birthday celebrations' used to be the norm. Used to be. There is a serious breach in it. Some, even if they want to do it are scared of being seen as doing it.   This, in my opinion, is due to the environment that has come to be created in the last few decades due to the corrupted propagation of both Hinduism and Islam and the various forms of terrorising in their name. Not to forget the Christians. Not to forget the social anarchists who under the garb of being Secular only deepen animosties by provoking people.   That is why I am looking for  not merely symbolic socio-political gestures but pro-active developement of interaction and mutuality in celebrations at widespread local community levels.      Kshmendra --- On Wed, 3/11/09, taraprakash wrote: From: taraprakash Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: "Sarai" Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 7:16 PM I wonder how you define hedonism. In not that negative sense of the word, hedonism is simple enjoyment: eat, drink and be merry. Hindus should visit Muslim houses during Eid celebrations. You get all of it, except the drinks served that day will not give you a hangover. To have the best experience, don't go to return the favor of Holi but to be with those who have reason to celebrate that particular day. Like people visit other people to attend their birth day celebrations. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kshmendra Kaul" To: "sarai list" ; Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:48 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > Just thinking aloud. > > Holi is a festivity that finds it's roots in Hindu heritage. Yet, > overwhelmingly at most places, in the Holi celebration there is no brazen > religiosity involved. Holi presents itself as charmingly secular in > inviting participation. > > Perhaps that is why Muslims find it easiest to join Hindus in Holi > celebrations as compared to any other Hindu festivity. > > Holi also lends itself very conveniently for Muslims to make a > socio-political gesture of sharing the festival celebratory joys of the > Hindus. > > Such symbolism is not very meaningful if it is directed only by the > Muslims towards the Hindus. > > The question in my mind is how should Hindus be reciprocating for similar > heartfelt gestures and also in making socio-political statements. The have > to. They must. > > Unfortunately the Muslims do not have any similar public festivities, at > least none anywhere close to the rather hedonistic celebration of Holi. > > Perhaps: > > - More widespread participation of Hindus in presenting 'chaadar' at the > shrines of Muslim saints all over India and not confined to just a few > like Ajmer Sharif > > - Hosting by Hindus, at the local community level, of the 'iftihar' > (breaking fast during Ramadhan) and not just attending 'iftihar dinners' > hosted by fasting Muslims. > > - Appropriately turned out Hindu contingent participating in the > 'Zuljinah' procession (Shias) > > - At the local community level presenting "Eid" gifts to the Muslim > children > > Just thinking aloud. > > Kshmendra > > > --- On Wed, 3/11/09, Yousuf wrote: > > From: Yousuf > Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > To: "sarai list" > Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:09 PM > > Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' > 11 Mar 2009, 1310 hrs IST, IANS > > LUCKNOW: Amid shouts of "Holi hai", a large number of Hindus and > Muslims came together here on Wednesday for a 40-year-old practise of > jointly > celebrating the festival of colours in the old quarter. > > Dancing to the beat of drums, the revellers assembled around 10 a.m. for > the > procession that began from the Koneshwar temple, Bharatiya Janata Party > (BJP) > Lalji Tandon said. > > People walked for about four kilometres. "Holi baraat sets an example of > communal harmony," Tandon said. > > A resident of Chowk locality, Tandon has been taking part in the function > for > the last 40 years. > > The night before, Muslims in the area collected heaps of rose petals and > garlands that were showered on Hindus as they arrived for the celebrations > Wednesday, residents said. > > "In response we (Hindus) garlanded them and exchanged pleasantries. This > is how we have been celebrating Holi for years," said Anurag Mishra, one > of > the organisers. > > The procession passed through various localities of Old Lucknow as more > and > more people joined it. > > "Throughout the route, Holi Milans were organised where sweets and special > paan were offered to the revellers," said one resident, Shabi Haider. > > The multi-community procession has not been discontinued even once during > the > past 40 years. > > "Even when there was communal tension following the demolition of the > Babri Masjid (in 1992), Holi in the Chowk area was celebrated with usual > gaiety > and gusto," said Ritesh Dwivedi, another resident. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lists at shivamvij.com Thu Mar 12 19:52:10 2009 From: lists at shivamvij.com (Shivam V) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:52:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] And then Suresh Sankhyan wanted to do the post-mortem Message-ID: <1fd66c110903120722i232df8d5s4f2990086642b7f2@mail.gmail.com> There's a candle light vigil in the Aman Kachroo ragging murder case, be there or elsewhere: Location: Jantar Mantar, Delhi Time: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM Date: Satarday, 14th March And here's more about the police case in Himachal, his principal and why he can't be arested, and anti-ragging laws: And then Suresh Sankhyan wanted to do the post-mortem http://kafila.org/2009/03/12/and-then-suresh-sankhyan-wanted-to-do-the-post-mortem/ Earlier post: Why Aman Kachroo’s won’t be the last ragging death, and what his family should do http://kafila.org/2009/03/10/why-aman-kachroos-wont-be-the-last-ragging-death-and-what-his-family-should-do/ best shivam From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 12 20:07:48 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:37:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903112004g77ee2176y1d0ceaf578d5648@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <470568.2056.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taha   Some uneducated thoughts:   That is a different world altogether where "Ann al Haq" (I am the Truth) resonates with "Aham Bramhasmi, Aham Vishnur, Aham Mahesha" (I am Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesha). A world where Krishna's Raas Leela with the Gopis (Krishna's dance with and teasing of the cowgirls) finds echoes in Amir Khusrau's "Mohay suhaagan keeni re, mohsay nainaa milaike" (You have locked your eyes with mine, Now I am wedded to you)   Kshmendra   --- On Thu, 3/12/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: "taraprakash" Cc: "reader-list" Date: Thursday, March 12, 2009, 8:34 AM Dear all Few lines from bulleshah on Holi...ikhtelafat...and mazhab... Enjoy! Regards Taha hori kheloongi kehe bismillah naam nabi ki ratn chadi boon padhi allah allah rang rangili oohi khilawe jis seekhe ho fanafi allah alastu bi rabbi kum- preetam bole sab sakhiyoon ne ghunghat khole ghalu ghala yuunhi kar bole laillaha illalah hori kheloongi kehe bismillah -bulleshah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsDe-sx5z8w _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 20:36:52 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:36:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mystical Thought of Kashmir: Prof. M.H.Zaffar Message-ID: <47e122a70903120806m5121b6av85bf00cb0282391a@mail.gmail.com> Mystical thought of Kashmir Prof. M.H. Zaffar Introduction: Kashmir has been a highly advanced seat of learning since ancient times. It has been at the cross currents of many cultures and religions. The spiritual and intellectual landscape of the Valley has always been a nodal point for different parts of the world like Iran, Central Asia, China and Arabia for exchange of scholarly ideas on religion, philosophy, art and literature. But for the distinctive identity and the survival of any cultural tradition, it is essential that it should have its roots in the soil of a world view which should be so broad, deep and rich, that it could nurture and sustain that culture for a considerable period of time and also assist it in maintaining and extending its space. Kashmir’s unique identity and essence can be delineated by identifying and foregrounding its metaphysico-mystical traditions. Rishism, Śaivism and Sufism are ideal frameworks to give it a locally rooted global identity. Kashmiri culture has been founded and nurtured by those saints, called Rishis and Sufis in whose name Kashmir is still known as Rishwari (abode of Rishis). The foundational layers of Kashmiri cultural tradition are informed by the world-view which comprises mainly the intense intellectual and spiritual labour of these Rishis. The majority of European historians call the medieval period of the World history as the ‘Dark Ages’ ignoring the fact that this period happens to be the most bright and enlightened period for many regions of Asia, which became the harbingers of light for other parts of the World. Islam was born or rather re-born during this period and the World was enriched and enlightened by its message. Islamic culture gave a boost to the evolution of knowledge. The Greek Science had a rebirth in the Muslim World. In Kashmir also, the growth and evolution of knowledge was remarkable during this period. When Baghdad, Damascus, Kashmir and many other parts of the sub-continent were great centres of knowledge and enlightenment, most parts of the Europe were engulfed in the darkness of superstition and ignorance. From the 6th century A.D to the 11th century A.D, Kashmir was considered to be the seat of learning and knowledge, in this part of the world. Throughout the Indian sub-continent it was known as S’ardapith i.e. the abode of Sarasvati, the Goddess of knowledge. The 4th Buddhist Council was held here during the 3rd Century A.D. Holding of this council in the Valley is a proof of the fact that Kashmir held the position of centrality from the point of view of the development of knowledge and learning, although geographically it happens to be on the margins of the sub-continent. The objective of this council was to reach a consensus regarding the basic tenets of Buddhism. It is said that the famous scholar Ashwaghosh played a very significant role in the conduct of this Council. Buddhism and Śaivism: In Buddhist thought Nirvana is possible only by removing the wrong knowledge about self and realizing the principle of non-self or Shunya Buddhism highlighted the negative aspect of the Divine. To be Divine is to realize the state of Non-being or shunya. The way to the realization of this absolute state is via negation which implies denial of all specific qualities and atributes in order to reach the ultimate nothingness of the absolute, as Max Muller has rightly pointed out: Nirvana … Is a name and thought but nothing can be predicated of it. It is what no eye hath seen, and what hath not entered into the mind of man. Since nothing can be predicated of it; it is quality-less Being and a quality-less Being is Non-being. To elucidate the point further let me quote from A.B. Keith’s Buddhist Philosophy: It follows from the fact that we are not concerned with relative knowledge that any definition of suchness is utterly impossible; to apply to it empirical determination is wholly misleading; to say that it is void is to ascribe to it the character which belong to the phenomena of this world; to say that it exists is to suggest something individual like ourselves which, however, leads to an eternal existence. It is necessary, then, to content ourselves with silence or to choose the simple term suchness or suchness of being, an idea which in its simple form is known to the Hinayana. Suchness is above existence or non-existence or both or neither. It can, therefore, be most easily expressed by negations like the ‘Not so, not so’ of the Upanishads, and hence it is natural to treat it as the void. But we must not make the error of thinking this a real definition; the void is as void as anything positive. As a matter of fact this way of approaching and realizing the Divine can be discerned even in the modern mystic tradition of Kashmir. A 19th century Sufi poet G.Q Kehnah Sings: Chu aura kehnai te yaura kehnai Bau kehnai kas wanai kehnai On either side there is Non - Being, nothingness is all pervading I am mere Nothingness. How to communicate with Non-Being. From this we can validity infer that the Buddhist approach of realizing the Divine has significantly informed the spiritual consciousness of Kashmiri people. Buddhism was divided into two sects: Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinayanees are of the view that an individual should concern himself with his own Nirvana and that is possible if he follows the righteous eight-fold path as shown by Buddha. But Mahayanees (Kashmiri’s were Mahayanees) are of the view that individual Nirvana is of little significance unless and until the realized one aims at and attempts for the Nirvana of all his fellow beings. They advocate that although Gautama had attained enlightenment, he came back to his fellow men as Buddha to assist them in attaining enlightenment. The Śaivistic approach to liberation is informed by the principles of Mahayana Buddhism. The enlightened one has to come back to the society for the enlightenment of one’s fellow beings and this is corroborated not only by the life and message of Lal Ded and Nund Rishi, but also by a long line of Sufi Saint Poets who succeeded them. Kashmiri Buddhist scholars achieved great excellence in logic which informs the philosophy of the monistic Śaivism also. With the erosion of Buddhism in Kashmir, Śaivism re-surfaced in the Valley during the 9th Century and gradually became popular among the masses. Prior to Buddhism, Śaivism was prevalent in Kashmir, but it was not a monistic creed. The Śavism that became popular after the decline of Buddhism and which is also known as Trikamat, is based upon various Agmic tantras. The etymological meaning of the word ‘Shiva’ is `good`. According to Śaivism the ultimate and the eternal reality is ‘Absolute Good’. The Universe is the manifestation of the Absolute Good or Shiva. This Absolute Good is an infinite, eternal and conscious light, which is also manifested through space and time and all that is contained within space and time. So, the Universe is a manifestation of the absolute reality and this reality is absolute conscious light. Man is also a ray of the same light. The goal and purpose of human life is to recognize this absolute and eternal reality. One of the basic texts of the school is Vasu Gupta’s Śiva-sutras and it articulates a strictly a monistic doctrine, in which there is no scope for any kind of duality. Śiva-sutras comprise 77 sutras. These sutras are more like riddles and coded statements and need interpretation and de-codification. The first two sutras are quoted here to illustrate the point. The first sutra reads: Chaitanyamatma Which means: Consciousness is the nature of reality Or Consciousness is the self or soul Or Consciousness is the essence of reality which is the self or soul The 2nd Sutra is: Jñambandha Which means: Knowledge is bondage Or Empirical & discursive knowledge leads to the bondage of the agent. Of all the commentaries written on the Śiva-sutras. Khemraj’s commentary is considered to be the most authentic. Khemraj was a disciple of Abhinava Gupta so the commentary must have been written some time during the 11th Century. The literature of monistic Śaivism consists of three parts (1) Agam Shastra (2) Spanda Shastra and (3) Pratyabhijna Shastra. 1. Agam Shastra:- It comprises revealed books, these books are not the product of human intelligence or experience, their origin is believed to be spiritual in nature. Among them Śiva-sutra is considered to be the most significant; and it is also called Śaiva-upanishad. 2. Spand Shastra:- These are the treatises wherein the Agam Shastras are interpreted and commented upon; the two important books belonging to this segment are Spand Karika and Spand Sandoha. 3. Pratyabhijna Shastra:- Literally it means the discipline of self-recognition. This part consists of works, wherein Śaivism is presented as a school of thought, as well as a world-view. The fundamental principles of the system are analyzed and an effort is made to prove their validity through rational and logical arguments; and arguments based on the experience of the agent himself. The most significant works belonging to this segment are: 1. Ishwar Pratyabhijna __ Utpalacharya 2. Ishwar Pratyabhijna Vimarshini ___ Abhinava Gupta 3. Ishwar Pratyabhijna Vivarti Vimarshini____ Abhinava Gupta. Even after Abhinava Gupta right upto the age of Lal-ded, the debate regarding the principles of Śaivism continued among the scholars and many works were also produced. On the other hand those interested in the spiritual well-being continued practicing the discipline for their spiritual growth and evolution. But the fact remains that no scholar or practitioner could match the achievements of Abhinava Gupta. And even today Abhinava Gupta is considered to be the chief exponent of Kashmir Śaivism. The ultimate reality according to this system is non-relational consciousness. It is the cause of all change but does not itself undergo any change. In it there is no distinction of subject and object. Ultimate Reality is not only universal consciousness but also supreme spiritual energy or power, that is why it is called prakashvimarśamay. It is both transcendental (Viśvottīrna) and immanent or (Viśvamaya). In its transcendental aspect it is called Anuttara and in its immanent creative aspect it is called Śiva tattva. It is Svabhāva or nature of ultimate reality to manifest itself. This manifestation takes place through a process of decent. The first five stages of decent are called the perfect or pure order, up to this stage all experience is ideal and the real nature of the Divine is not yet veiled these stages are : 1. Śiva (2) Śakti (3) Sadāśiva (4) Īśvara (5) Sadvidyā or Śuddhavidyā The following 31 stages are called imperfect or impure order because the ideal nature of the Divine is veiled. This order consists of thirty one tattvas which are as under: 1. I Māyā and its five Kañcukas --- Kalā, Vidyā, Ragā,- Kalā, Niyati 2. Purusa and Prakrati 3. Buddhi, Ahamkāra, and Manas. 4. The Tattvas of sensible experience, five Jñānendriyas, five Karmendriyas, Five Tamātras 5. The Tattvas of Materiality (a) Ākāśa (b) Vāyu (c) Teja (Agni) (d) Āpas (e) Pŗthivī. Self-recognition is the ultimate intrinsic value for Śaivism. Since all creation has only one origin and source, there is no question of inequality among humans on the spiritual plane. But to realize this value man has to strive very hard. Śaivism as propounded and propagated during the medieval times in Kashmir is not only an academic and intellectual pursuit but essentially a spiritual course of action for seekers of the truth and self knowledge. This is amply proved by the very person of the saint poet Lal-Ded who transformed her earthly existence into Heavenly Being by treading the path of the spiritual discipline. Her poetry forms the foundation not only of contemporary Kashmiri literature but also that of culture as a whole. As stated earlier Kashmir produced great thinkers and Spiritual practitioners from the 6th century A.D to the 12th century A.D but all their works are in Sanskrit language. After the advent of Islam in Kashmir around this time Kashmiri people gradually lost their hold on the language due to various political, social, religious and linguistic reasons; and whatever intellectual heritage their predecessors had bequeathed to them, became inaccessible to them. With the passage of time a gulf emerged between the pre- Islamic Kashmir and the Islamic Kashmir; but Lal-Ded is the most significant historical bridge that connects the two shores of this gulf very effectively. She was the product of the creed preached by Vasugupta in the 9th century and the philosophy propounded by Abhinavahgupta in the 10th and the 11th centuries. Her poetry was not written down during her life time. It was because of her power to move that people heard her and formed her words into chants and mantras which continue to be sung even today. She revolted against all the oppressive structures which` stifle and kill the human spirit and critically interrogated practices of inequality and injustice that were current during the times. Lala’s poetry is not only a continuation of the tradition, it is also simultaneously a break or rebellion against the tradition. Lala rejected wholly the ritualistic aspect of the śaivitic spiritual discipline. This rejection is articulated and expressed with great force in her poetry. On the one hand Lala gave a new lease of life to Kashmiri Śaivistic spiritual tradition, but on the other hand she demystified Śaivism by articulating its tenets in the language of the common people and deconstructed its ideology of being a Rahasya by making all the Upayas (means of realization) available to all those interested in the realization of their true identity. Abhinava Gupta in his Tantralok admits the possibility of attainting self-realization and self-recognition without following the ritualistic path prescribed by the tradition. But he devotes almost half of the Trantralok (2637 sholaks out of a total of 5859) to a minute and detailed description of the various rituals prescribed by the scriptures; this clearly shows that these rituals were considered as basic and significant constituents of the śaivistic religious creed. According to major śaiva scriptures there can be no valid Śaivism without ritual. One of the postulates of these scriptures is to the effect that the impurity (malah) that prevents the soul’s liberation is a substance (dravyav) and to remove it; action (kriya) is needed and not (Gnosis) jñañam. This effect can be produced only by the ritual of initiation performed by śaiva himself through the person of officiating Guru. But Abhinava Gupta does not totally agree with this view. For him malah or impurity is the consequence or result of ignorance of one’s true nature or identity and what is required for its removal is knowledge (Gnosis) not action. But at many places Abhinava Gupta is so thick and condescend that even his thirteen century commentator jayratha seems to have faltered in comprehending his texts properly as has been most ably demonstrated by Prof. Alexi-Sanderson in his article: “Sawmi Lakshman Joo and His Place In the Kashmiririan Śaiva Tradition”. At many places Abhinava Gupta has not explained things, do the satisfaction of his readers due to the fact that he considers the matter under consideration to be too secretive to be deliberated upon beyond a certain limit. But when we come to Lal Ded. All this secretiveness and thickness disappears and there is complete semantic transparency. There are no hidden corners in Lal-Ded. She adopted ritual free Trika as propounded by Abhinava Gupta as the norm. She redeemed the doctrine of any sectarian, local & regional colour and made it a Universal message for mankind in general. Lal-Ded is Śaivism made-easy for man in the street irrespective of his/her cast, creed colour, religion or sex. This is the reason for total acceptance of Lal-Ded by almost all Kashmiris. With the passage of time there was a schism in, the Trikamat of Kashmir Śaivism. On the one hand we have the branch that maintains the rituals, although not much of the traditional rituals detailed by Abhinava Gupta have survived the ravages of the time, and now these rituals are restricted to samart observances only, as the elaborate and complex trika rituals had died down by the 14th century itself. On the other hand we have ritual free Trikamat of Lal-Ded which merges with the Sufi mystic tradition of Islam and becomes a forceful movement in the hands of the so called Sufi poets of Kashmir. The unitary human mystical experience has been interpreted and articulated by different cultures and religious in their own particular way. But there are striking similarities among these interpretations. Shaykh-ul-Islam Zakariyah Ansari defines Sufism in these words: Sufism teaches how to purify one’s self, improve one’s morals and build up one’s inner and outer life in order to attain perpetual bliss. Its subject matter is the purification of the soul and its end or aim is the attainment of eternal felicity and blessedness.1 This doctrine of spiritual evolution which emanates from the Holy Quran has informed the spiritual quest of the seekers of truth all over the world. This is a well known historical fact that Kashmir was converted to Islam not through the brute power of the sword but through the word of love, the sages and saints right from the great Bulbul Shah and spiritually evolved Syeds to indigenous Kashmiri Rishis all were messengers of peace, love and harmony. Since Kashmir had strong spiritual and mystic traditions the seekers of truth found the atmosphere quite conducive to their quest. The indigenous mystic traditions were refined and recast in the new moulds and a new spiritual lexicon with a mixed terminology was developed. This can be evidenced by the writings of various Kashmiri Sufi poets, right from Nund Rishi (14th century) to Ahad Zargar (20th century). Let me illustrated the point by citing just one quotation from each of these poets. Just consider this Shalook of Nund Rishi: Poz yod bo:zakh pa:ntsh namu:rakh Nata ma:z namu:rakh soy chhem nema:z Shivas ta Shunyahas yod myul karakh Seduy soy chhay vahantar nema:z. If you listen to truth, curb the five; Otherwise, you bend the body and call it “Nemaz”! If you unite Siva and the void, That is the inner Nemaz, indeed. One can not but appreciate the way Nund Rishi preserves and enriches the mystical and spiritual traditions of Kashmir. He does not reject the sharia, which is fundamental to the Islamic Sufism, but comes up with anew and creative interpretation of it in the light of his own intense spiritual experience. To unite Śiva (Being) and the Shunya (Non-Being --void) is the real Nemaz. With what ease have the concepts belonging to different spiritual traditions been intermingled and what a fantastic rhythm they create. The spiritual experience of the saint has highly recharged these concepts and the terms connoting them appear to be dancing. A divine light emanates from this dance which is so sharp that it pierces not only one’s eyes but the heart also. Ahad Zagar is one of the most significant signatures of the contemporary Kashmiri Sufi poetry. He has great command over language. Like his other contemporary Samad Mir he is well versed in the spiritual ethos of Kashmir and by his contribution has definitely enriched the tradition. Some of his poems ignited controversies in the conservative religious circles of the valley, and some clerics even issued fatwas against him. But threats and fatwas notwithstanding he continued to articulate and express himself in the same controversial but piercing idiom. Here are some extracts: I am the hidden secret of both the interior as well as the exterior. To whom shall I bow, and for whom shall I perform the ‘Nemaz’. I am the ultimate grace of both the mosque and the temple. I am the worshiper, but I am the one worshiped. I am the chain of birth and death. And it is me again who is to play the game of love. In the absence of Nothingness, there is no possibility of Being. Nothingness is all pervading. But if Nothingness is mere Nothingness, Who has deluded me? Realize Nothingness within yourself, Dance round nothingness like a moth. Keep your heart awake with Nothingness. By examining this kind of poetry even at the linguistic level, we can probably identify the sources from which the poet draws inspiration. To paraphrase the above verses in rational prose would be mere sophistry. The poet has attempted to express an experience that transcends the rational and empirical categories. This kind of experience can be comprehended only at the level of Faith and not at the level of Reason. Ahad Zargar is a genuine and true representative of the mystical ethos of Kashmir. Going back to the Sufism that originated from the Holy Quran, let me quote from the well known book “The Quranic Sufism” by Dr. Mir Valinddin himself a practicing Sufi and a student and teacher of Philosophy. In the chapter titled “On The Descent of the Absolute” he writes: Now, the same Absolute Being that in the stage of transcendence is unknown and unknowable reveals Himself in multiple manifestations and different forms, or in the terminology of eminent Sufis, descends in these forms, or individualises Himself in different forms. This is of such a nature that in-spite of expressing himself in different manifestations and multiple forms the Absolute Being maintains His immutable state, and no change of any kind does necessarily take place. The stages of descent are innumerable but the most marked of these are but six and these are termed the Six Descents by the Sufis. The first three of them are called Marātib-i-Illahi (Divine ranks) which are ‘Ahadiyyat’ (Abstract Oneness) i.e., the state of Essence, the infinite, the indeterminate. The second is ‘Wahdat’ (Unity) and the third ‘Wahidiyat’ (Unity in Plurality). The remaining three are called Marātib-i-Kawni (worldly ranks) which are ‘Ruh’ (Spirit) ‘Mithal’ (similitude) and ‘Jism’ (body) Without making any comparisons, let us remind ourselves that, while discussing the process of manifestation from the perspective of Kashmir Śaivism we came across some similar formulations, although not identifical ones. Delineating the essential features of Sufism, Syed Hossein Nasr in his book Living Sufism Writes: The Sufi teaches this simple truth that the basis of all faith or imān is unity. For as Shaykh Mahmud Shabistari writes in his Gulshan-i-Raz: Yakay been, yakay gouy, yakay daan Badeen khatam aamad asal wa farah eemaan See but one, say but one, know but one, In this are summed up the roots and branches of faith. The integration of man means the realization of the one and the transmutation of the many in the light of the one. Right from the pre-Buddhist times Kashmiri spiritual consciousness has been perusing this goal of realization of the oneness of Being of course with varying degrees of successes and a contemporary Kashmir Sufi poet sings: Yaura dupmas cha path zoo jaan Taura dupnam cha kaya ba kaya hai hai Said I, I offer, you my soul my life. Said He, what a pity you are still a victim of duality and talk in terms of ‘you’ and ‘Me’. Let me conclude this presentation with a quotation from the same book by S. Hussain Nasr. Nasr in the chapter titled ‘Islam And the Encounter of Religious’ writes: He who has gained a vision of that mountain top that touches the infinite rests assured that the climbers who are following other paths are nevertheless his companions on this journey which is the only meaningful journey of life itself. His certainty comes not only from the Vision of the peak, but also from his knowledge that those paths that have been chosen for man by God Himself do ultimately lead to the top, What ever turns they may make on the way. -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From A.Khanna at sms.ed.ac.uk Thu Mar 12 20:39:20 2009 From: A.Khanna at sms.ed.ac.uk (A Khanna) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:09:20 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] promo of an israeli arms firm at Aero India 2009 Message-ID: <20090312150920.w2x1po41dwko0sck@www.sms.ed.ac.uk> this would be hilarious, if it were a spoof. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktQOLO4U5iQ&eurl= -- The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Mar 12 21:21:24 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:51:24 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth posting References: <011301c9a171$7a9fa8f0$e421ef7b@strategi407e89> Message-ID: <5100A63C4B5A4696AE8DF05E74F87C03@tara> I am not sure I will be able to offer some suggestions. But for anyone else to suggest something you need to provide more information. Who are you planning it for? Who will be the target audience? If students, what age group? Is it a primary level school? Or higher secondary? Classical music means nothing, unless you specify you want an instrumentalist, a vocalist or classical dance performer? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sanjay Singh" To: Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 7:15 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Fifth posting > We have started a school in Hoshiarpur by the name of Takshila School. > > We wish to do an exclusive classical music program in Hoshiarpur on 22nd > Mar in our school premises. > > Pls suggest names of artists whom we could contact for performance. > Regds > Sanjay > 'There is always a solution.!" > > Takshila Educational Society > A22, Basement Defense Colony New Delhi 110022 > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 00:50:56 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:50:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Join Protest for Aman Satya Kachroo - 'The Aman Movement' In-Reply-To: <6353c690903121220t60f10c97t19b4da6c60874b1@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690903121211r5b40ebdawd7767b11fc174727@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690903121218x45e6e5adoc53a77fbf7fb0a49@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690903121220t60f10c97t19b4da6c60874b1@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690903121220h22f6c974gd0930b41879c4450@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends, The family and friends of Aman Satya Kachroo who is no more with us along with students from various schools, colleges, universities and community organisations such as Roots In Kashmir, Kashyap Kashmiri Sabha, Gurgaon etc. have decided to organise a sit in protest and a candle light vigil coming Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi to demand speedy trial in Aman's case and also implementation of an all India anti-ragging law. Kindly participate along with your family and friends to mount pressure on the authorities to act and not just sit in with comfort and put such cases in cold box. Pls do make yourself availabe to light a candle and support what we call the * 'Aman Movement'* as per the following schedule: * Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi (near Connought Place; adjoining Parliament Street) Time: 5:00pm Day: Saturday, 14th March 2009* This is an honest and humble beggining to a national campaign against ragging. The Kachroo family and many friends have dedicated themselves to the cause. Hope to see you there! Kindly spread the word around. regards -- Aditya Raj Kaul www.activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ Campaign Blog: www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 13 06:30:59 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:00:59 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <470568.2056.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <65be9bf40903112004g77ee2176y1d0ceaf578d5648@mail.gmail.com> <470568.2056.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903121800p5eea51dbxa00cd5ff395238d4@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra I do not know whether that world was different from ours as I do think that our world could be not so dissimilar from that and it is not merely a matter of interpretation alone but rather a matter of belief. And maybe it is just up to people like you and me to strive towards that or maybe in times of fleeting belief not only in ourselves but also in the world around as we seem to miss the woods for the trees. so... Regards Taha On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 2:37 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Taha > > Some uneducated thoughts: > > That is a different world altogether where "Ann al Haq" (I am the Truth) > resonates with "Aham Bramhasmi, Aham Vishnur, Aham Mahesha" (I am Bramha, > Vishnu, Mahesha). A world where Krishna's Raas Leela with the Gopis > (Krishna's dance with and teasing of the cowgirls) finds echoes in Amir > Khusrau's "Mohay suhaagan keeni re, mohsay nainaa milaike" (You have locked > your eyes with mine, Now I am wedded to you) > > Kshmendra > > > From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 13 08:07:48 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:37:48 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-100 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903121937h5d75d5d1sede66f09a5201249@mail.gmail.com> http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20070709/technologysabha200705.shtml www.expresscomputeronline.com WEEKLY INSIGHT FOR TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS 09 July 2007 Future promise of e-governance Future promise of e-governanceThe next five years will see e-governance going beyond transactions to do much, much more. Sunil Chandiramani, Partner, Ernst & Young talked about the future of e-governance. He started off with a quick recap of what has been done to date. India has transformed significantly over the past few years. If you look at the country today you see change enabled by ICT. NeGP has been a comprehensive “programme” of the GoI & has gone a long way to leverage capabilities and opportunities presented by ICT to promote good governance across the country. Addressing the audience, he said, “Each of you has played a key role in transforming organisations.” He went on to declare that on a scale of 100 the change that we have seen so far is just 10 percent. The next five years will see much more. Focusing on some key areas could accelerate the speed of implementation of NeGP—multi-purpose, secure, authentic, unique national citizen identity database; Greater harmonization of initiatives between the centre and states; equitable partnerships with the private sector; accelerated rural connectivity; building common storage and processing capacities between or amongst the states and the centre to optimise investments and cost of maintenance; capacity building and change management as well as delayed projects and accelerated costs – monitoring and evaluation. Chandiramani posed a provocative question: “Do we restrict e-governance to transactions or do more than that?” He went on to state that there are a lot of projects that can be enabled with technology that go beyond transactions. With regard to a unique national ID, there is duplicity of efforts today. Several identification databases exist for citizens both at the central and the state levels. At the central level there are the PAN database (the database itself is also prone to duplications, with some people holding fraudulent/ multiple PAN IDs), Voter ID database, Ration cards and National Identity cards. At the state level you have the driving license (no common database exists, some states issue biometric cards, other simple paper based cards). None of these databases link together to form a single cohesive, comprehensive citizen identity database. An initiative in this direction is the new MNIC (Multipurpose National ID Card which gives hope for a unique identification of every citizen. A pilot has been launched with distribution of 3,000 ID cards in Narela village near New Delhi. During phase I it is expected that the Ministry of Home will distribute two million cards in six months and Phase II will cover the entire population. There’s also the Unique Identification Project which is in its concept stage to define an algorithm to combine multiple identities of a citizen (such as driving license, ration card, election card etc). Is there a possibility to synergise these two efforts with common storage and processing facilities. Moving on to why projects fail, often the participants fail to work out the benefits that the citizen gets. A lot of projects talk about computerisation and what they will do but benefits to citizens are missing. Lack of support at grass-root level can scupper a project as was the case with Gyandoot, a project aimed at establishing an intranet for the Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, which would connect kiosks across the district and facilitate access to government services and information. The project failed when the district level e-champion of the project moved out; his successor did not have adequate interest in keeping the project alive. Successful efforts are not replicated. You find one state completing a project successfully only to find five more working on similar projects. Several states are rolling out IT infrastructure under different projects such as SWAN, NICNET, National data banks, state data centres. Partnerships with private enterprises in a manner that the government likes can help reduce costs, while raising quality. Government control remains while the speed of execution rises. NSDL is an example of PPP in action. Depending on how the country does, five years from now rural connectivity could mean the difference between success and failure. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 13 08:18:08 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:48:08 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-101 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903121948g5ca409b8kd59bce06a7d2c976@mail.gmail.com> http://www.igovernment.in/site/india-plans-multi-purpose-national-id-card-for-citizens/ India plans multi-purpose national ID card for citizens The Government of India proposed to issue multi-purpose national identity (smart) card (MNIC) to the citizens in the country. Published on 2/27/2008 5:23:00 PM New Delhi: The Government of India proposed to issue Multi-purpose National Identity (smart) Card (MNIC) to the citizens in the country. In a communication sent to the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Manikrao H Gavit said that the project envisages providing unique national identity number (NIN) to each person in the National Population Register. However, keeping in view the complexities involved both in the processes and technology, a pilot project has been under implementation covering a population of 30.95 lakh in the selected areas in 12 states and one Union Territory. “Under the pilot project, identity smart cards are being issued to the citizens of age 18 years and above,” the Minister said. Gavit informed that the production and distribution of identity cards to be completed by March this year has been undertaken through central public sector undertakings (PSUs). He further added it has been decided that the implementation of the scheme in the entire country would be based in the light of the experiences gained and lessons learnt from the pilot project. —iGovernment Bureau From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 13 08:19:24 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:49:24 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-102 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903121949o207fb1a1rab1ff9cf89fba2ef@mail.gmail.com> http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Now-a-unique-identity-card-for-Indian-citizens/415638/ Now, a unique identity card for Indian citizens! Agencies Posted: Jan 27, 2009 at 1207 hrs IST New Delhi Observing that illegal immigration into the country was posing a serious threat to national security, a high-powered government committee has strongly recommended a unique identity card for citizens. "....one way of dealing with this issue (of illegal immigration) is by means of a citizen's identity number or card," the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) report on promoting e-governance has said. The recommendation assumes significance amidst reports of a large number of Bangladeshi immigrants and terrorists sneaking into the country from across the borders. The just released 186-page report pointed out that the Centre has already implemented a pilot project for a 'Multi-purpose National Identity Card (MNIC)' in select areas of 13 districts in 12 states and one Union Territory. One aim of the project is "to act as a deterrent for future illegal immigration", it said. Some of the districts covered under the project are Karimganj (Assam), Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir), Kachchh (Gujarat), Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand), West Tripura (Tripura), Murshidabad (West Bengal) and Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu). "Thus this project has focused on select border areas of the country with illegal immigration in mind," it said. The report said the need for such a card has been considered necessary "not only for security reasons, but also for delivery of services to citizens and taking the development programmes to the target population". From rashneek at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 10:28:03 2009 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:28:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mystical Thought of Kashmir: Prof. M.H.Zaffar In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903120806m5121b6av85bf00cb0282391a@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903120806m5121b6av85bf00cb0282391a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <13df7c120903122158m7cf637c4u7487a1aa1556cb85@mail.gmail.com> Dear Inder, Thanks a lot for this piece. Good wishes Rashneek On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 8:36 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Mystical thought of Kashmir > > Prof. M.H. Zaffar > > Introduction: > > Kashmir has been a highly advanced seat of learning since > ancient times. It has been at the cross currents of many cultures and > religions. The spiritual and intellectual landscape of the Valley has > always been a nodal point for different parts of the world like Iran, > Central Asia, China and Arabia for exchange of scholarly ideas on > religion, philosophy, art and literature. But for the distinctive > identity and the survival of any cultural tradition, it is essential > that it should have its roots in the soil of a world view which should > be so broad, deep and rich, that it could nurture and sustain that > culture for a considerable period of time and also assist it in > maintaining and extending its space. Kashmir’s unique identity and > essence can be delineated by identifying and foregrounding its > metaphysico-mystical traditions. Rishism, Śaivism and Sufism are ideal > frameworks to give it a locally rooted global identity. > > Kashmiri culture has been founded and nurtured by those > saints, called Rishis and Sufis in whose name Kashmir is still known > as Rishwari (abode of Rishis). The foundational layers of Kashmiri > cultural tradition are informed by the world-view which comprises > mainly the intense intellectual and spiritual labour of these Rishis. > > The majority of European historians call the medieval period of > the World history as the ‘Dark Ages’ ignoring the fact that this > period happens to be the most bright and enlightened period for many > regions of Asia, which became the harbingers of light for other parts > of the World. Islam was born or rather re-born during this period and > the World was enriched and enlightened by its message. Islamic culture > gave a boost to the evolution of knowledge. The Greek Science had a > rebirth in the Muslim World. In Kashmir also, the growth and evolution > of knowledge was remarkable during this period. When Baghdad, > Damascus, Kashmir and many other parts of the sub-continent were great > centres of knowledge and enlightenment, most parts of the Europe were > engulfed in the darkness of superstition and ignorance. > > From the 6th century A.D to the 11th century A.D, Kashmir > was considered to be the seat of learning and knowledge, in this part > of the world. Throughout the Indian sub-continent it was known as > S’ardapith i.e. the abode of Sarasvati, the Goddess of knowledge. The > 4th Buddhist Council was held here during the 3rd Century A.D. Holding > of this council in the Valley is a proof of the fact that Kashmir held > the position of centrality from the point of view of the development > of knowledge and learning, although geographically it happens to be on > the margins of the sub-continent. The objective of this council was to > reach a consensus regarding the basic tenets of Buddhism. It is said > that the famous scholar Ashwaghosh played a very significant role in > the conduct of this Council. > > Buddhism and Śaivism: > > In Buddhist thought Nirvana is possible only by removing > the wrong knowledge about self and realizing the principle of non-self > or Shunya Buddhism highlighted the negative aspect of the Divine. To > be Divine is to realize the state of Non-being or shunya. The way to > the realization of this absolute state is via negation which implies > denial of all specific qualities and atributes in order to reach the > ultimate nothingness of the absolute, as Max Muller has rightly > pointed out: > > Nirvana … Is a name and thought but nothing > can be predicated of it. It is what no eye hath > seen, and what hath not entered into the > mind of man. > > Since nothing can be predicated of it; it is quality-less Being > and a quality-less Being is Non-being. To elucidate the point > further let me quote from A.B. Keith’s Buddhist Philosophy: > > It follows from the fact that we are not concerned with > relative knowledge that any definition of suchness is utterly > impossible; to apply to it empirical determination is wholly > misleading; to say that it is void is to ascribe to it the character > which belong to the phenomena of this world; to say that it exists is > to suggest something individual like ourselves which, however, leads > to an eternal existence. It is necessary, then, to content ourselves > with silence or to choose the simple term suchness or suchness of > being, an idea which in its simple form is known to the Hinayana. > Suchness is above existence or non-existence or both or neither. It > can, therefore, be most easily expressed by negations like the ‘Not > so, not so’ of the Upanishads, and hence it is natural to treat it as > the void. But we must not make the error of thinking this a real > definition; the void is as void as anything positive. > > As a matter of fact this way of approaching and realizing the > Divine can be discerned even in the modern mystic tradition of > Kashmir. A 19th century Sufi poet G.Q Kehnah Sings: > > Chu aura kehnai te yaura kehnai > > Bau kehnai kas wanai kehnai > > On either side there is Non - Being, nothingness is all pervading > I am mere > Nothingness. How to communicate with Non-Being. > > From this we can validity infer that the Buddhist approach of > realizing the Divine has significantly informed the spiritual > consciousness of Kashmiri people. Buddhism was divided into two sects: > Hinayana and Mahayana. Hinayanees are of the view that an individual > should concern himself with his own Nirvana and that is possible if he > follows the righteous eight-fold path as shown by Buddha. But > Mahayanees (Kashmiri’s were Mahayanees) are of the view that > individual Nirvana is of little significance unless and until the > realized one aims at and attempts for the Nirvana of all his fellow > beings. They advocate that although Gautama had attained > enlightenment, he came back to his fellow men as Buddha to assist them > in attaining enlightenment. The Śaivistic approach to liberation is > informed by the principles of Mahayana Buddhism. The enlightened one > has to come back to the society for the enlightenment of one’s fellow > beings and this is corroborated not only by the life and message of > Lal Ded and Nund Rishi, but also by a long line of Sufi Saint Poets > who succeeded them. > > Kashmiri Buddhist scholars achieved great excellence in logic which > informs the philosophy of the monistic Śaivism also. With the erosion > of Buddhism in Kashmir, Śaivism re-surfaced in the Valley during the > 9th Century and gradually became popular among the masses. Prior to > Buddhism, Śaivism was prevalent in Kashmir, but it was not a monistic > creed. The Śavism that became popular after the decline of Buddhism > and which is also known as Trikamat, is based upon various Agmic > tantras. The etymological meaning of the word ‘Shiva’ is `good`. > According to Śaivism the ultimate and the eternal reality is ‘Absolute > Good’. The Universe is the manifestation of the Absolute Good or > Shiva. This Absolute Good is an infinite, eternal and conscious light, > which is also manifested through space and time and all that is > contained within space and time. So, the Universe is a manifestation > of the absolute reality and this reality is absolute conscious light. > Man is also a ray of the same light. The goal and purpose of human > life is to recognize this absolute and eternal reality. One of the > basic texts of the school is Vasu Gupta’s Śiva-sutras and it > articulates a strictly a monistic doctrine, in which there is no scope > for any kind of duality. > > Śiva-sutras comprise 77 sutras. These sutras are more like > riddles and coded statements and need interpretation and > de-codification. The first two sutras are quoted here to illustrate > the point. The first sutra reads: > > Chaitanyamatma > > Which means: > > Consciousness is the nature of reality > > Or > > Consciousness is the self or soul > > Or > > Consciousness is the essence of reality which is the > self or soul > > The 2nd Sutra is: > > Jñambandha > > Which means: > > Knowledge is bondage > > Or > > Empirical & discursive knowledge leads to the bondage of the agent. > > Of all the commentaries written on the Śiva-sutras. Khemraj’s > commentary is considered to be the most authentic. Khemraj was a > disciple of Abhinava Gupta so the commentary must have been written > some time during the 11th Century. > > The literature of monistic Śaivism consists of three parts > > (1) Agam Shastra > > (2) Spanda Shastra and > > (3) Pratyabhijna Shastra. > > 1. Agam Shastra:- It comprises revealed books, these books are not > the product of human intelligence or experience, their origin is > believed to be spiritual in nature. Among them Śiva-sutra is > considered to be the most significant; and it is also called > Śaiva-upanishad. > > 2. Spand Shastra:- These are the treatises wherein the Agam Shastras > are interpreted and commented upon; the two important books belonging > to this segment are Spand Karika and Spand Sandoha. > > 3. Pratyabhijna Shastra:- Literally it means the discipline of > self-recognition. This part consists of works, wherein Śaivism is > presented as a school of thought, as well as a world-view. The > fundamental principles of the system are analyzed and an effort is > made to prove their validity through rational and logical arguments; > and arguments based on the experience of the agent himself. The most > significant works belonging to this segment are: > > 1. Ishwar Pratyabhijna __ Utpalacharya > 2. Ishwar Pratyabhijna Vimarshini ___ Abhinava Gupta > 3. Ishwar Pratyabhijna Vivarti Vimarshini____ Abhinava Gupta. > > Even after Abhinava Gupta right upto the age of Lal-ded, the > debate regarding the principles of Śaivism continued among the > scholars and many works were also produced. On the other hand those > interested in the spiritual well-being continued practicing the > discipline for their spiritual growth and evolution. But the fact > remains that no scholar or practitioner could match the achievements > of Abhinava Gupta. And even today Abhinava Gupta is considered to be > the chief exponent of Kashmir Śaivism. > > The ultimate reality according to this system is non-relational > consciousness. It is the cause of all change but does not itself > undergo any change. In it there is no distinction of subject and > object. Ultimate Reality is not only universal consciousness but also > supreme spiritual energy or power, that is why it is called > prakashvimarśamay. It is both transcendental (Viśvottīrna) and > immanent or (Viśvamaya). In its transcendental aspect it is called > Anuttara and in its immanent creative aspect it is called Śiva tattva. > It is Svabhāva or nature of ultimate reality to manifest itself. This > manifestation takes place through a process of decent. The first five > stages of decent are called the perfect or pure order, up to this > stage all experience is ideal and the real nature of the Divine is not > yet veiled these stages are : > > 1. Śiva (2) Śakti (3) Sadāśiva (4) Īśvara (5) Sadvidyā or Śuddhavidyā > > The following 31 stages are called imperfect or impure order > because the ideal nature of the Divine is veiled. This order consists > of thirty one tattvas which are as under: > > 1. I Māyā and its five Kañcukas --- Kalā, Vidyā, Ragā,- Kalā, Niyati > 2. Purusa and Prakrati > 3. Buddhi, Ahamkāra, and Manas. > 4. The Tattvas of sensible experience, five Jñānendriyas, five > Karmendriyas, Five Tamātras > 5. The Tattvas of Materiality (a) Ākāśa (b) Vāyu (c) Teja (Agni) > (d) Āpas (e) Pŗthivī. > > Self-recognition is the ultimate intrinsic value for Śaivism. Since > all creation has only one origin and source, there is no question of > inequality among humans on the spiritual plane. But to realize this > value man has to strive very hard. Śaivism as propounded and > propagated during the medieval times in Kashmir is not only an > academic and intellectual pursuit but essentially a spiritual course > of action for seekers of the truth and self knowledge. This is amply > proved by the very person of the saint poet Lal-Ded who transformed > her earthly existence into Heavenly Being by treading the path of the > spiritual discipline. Her poetry forms the foundation not only of > contemporary Kashmiri literature but also that of culture as a whole. > As stated earlier Kashmir produced great thinkers and Spiritual > practitioners from the 6th century A.D to the 12th century A.D but all > their works are in Sanskrit language. After the advent of Islam in > Kashmir around this time Kashmiri people gradually lost their hold on > the language due to various political, social, religious and > linguistic reasons; and whatever intellectual heritage their > predecessors had bequeathed to them, became inaccessible to them. With > the passage of time a gulf emerged between the pre- Islamic Kashmir > and the Islamic Kashmir; but Lal-Ded is the most significant > historical bridge that connects the two shores of this gulf very > effectively. She was the product of the creed preached by Vasugupta in > the 9th century and the philosophy propounded by Abhinavahgupta in the > 10th and the 11th centuries. Her poetry was not written down during > her life time. It was because of her power to move that people heard > her and formed her words into chants and mantras which continue to be > sung even today. She revolted against all the oppressive structures > which` stifle and kill the human spirit and critically interrogated > practices of inequality and injustice that were current during the > times. Lala’s poetry is not only a continuation of the tradition, it > is also simultaneously a break or rebellion against the tradition. > Lala rejected wholly the ritualistic aspect of the śaivitic spiritual > discipline. This rejection is articulated and expressed with great > force in her poetry. On the one hand Lala gave a new lease of life to > Kashmiri Śaivistic spiritual tradition, but on the other hand she > demystified Śaivism by articulating its tenets in the language of the > common people and deconstructed its ideology of being a Rahasya by > making all the Upayas (means of realization) available to all those > interested in the realization of their true identity. Abhinava Gupta > in his Tantralok admits the possibility of attainting self-realization > and self-recognition without following the ritualistic path prescribed > by the tradition. But he devotes almost half of the Trantralok (2637 > sholaks out of a total of 5859) to a minute and detailed description > of the various rituals prescribed by the scriptures; this clearly > shows that these rituals were considered as basic and significant > constituents of the śaivistic religious creed. According to major > śaiva scriptures there can be no valid Śaivism without ritual. One of > the postulates of these scriptures is to the effect that the impurity > (malah) that prevents the soul’s liberation is a substance (dravyav) > and to remove it; action (kriya) is needed and not (Gnosis) jñañam. > This effect can be produced only by the ritual of initiation performed > by śaiva himself through the person of officiating Guru. But Abhinava > Gupta does not totally agree with this view. For him malah or impurity > is the consequence or result of ignorance of one’s true nature or > identity and what is required for its removal is knowledge (Gnosis) > not action. But at many places Abhinava Gupta is so thick and > condescend that even his thirteen century commentator jayratha seems > to have faltered in comprehending his texts properly as has been most > ably demonstrated by Prof. Alexi-Sanderson in his article: “Sawmi > Lakshman Joo and His Place In the Kashmiririan Śaiva Tradition”. At > many places Abhinava Gupta has not explained things, do the > satisfaction of his readers due to the fact that he considers the > matter under consideration to be too secretive to be deliberated upon > beyond a certain limit. But when we come to Lal Ded. All this > secretiveness and thickness disappears and there is complete semantic > transparency. There are no hidden corners in Lal-Ded. She adopted > ritual free Trika as propounded by Abhinava Gupta as the norm. She > redeemed the doctrine of any sectarian, local & regional colour and > made it a Universal message for mankind in general. Lal-Ded is Śaivism > made-easy for man in the street irrespective of his/her cast, creed > colour, religion or sex. This is the reason for total acceptance of > Lal-Ded by almost all Kashmiris. With the passage of time there was a > schism in, the Trikamat of Kashmir Śaivism. On the one hand we have > the branch that maintains the rituals, although not much of the > traditional rituals detailed by Abhinava Gupta have survived the > ravages of the time, and now these rituals are restricted to samart > observances only, as the elaborate and complex trika rituals had died > down by the 14th century itself. On the other hand we have ritual free > Trikamat of Lal-Ded which merges with the Sufi mystic tradition of > Islam and becomes a forceful movement in the hands of the so called > Sufi poets of Kashmir. > > The unitary human mystical experience has been interpreted and > articulated by different cultures and religious in their own > particular way. But there are striking similarities among these > interpretations. Shaykh-ul-Islam Zakariyah Ansari defines Sufism in > these words: > > Sufism teaches how to purify one’s self, improve one’s morals > and build up one’s inner and outer life in order to attain perpetual > bliss. Its subject matter is the purification of the soul and its end > or aim is the attainment of eternal felicity and blessedness.1 > > This doctrine of spiritual evolution which emanates from the > Holy Quran has informed the spiritual quest of the seekers of truth > all over the world. This is a well known historical fact that Kashmir > was converted to Islam not through the brute power of the sword but > through the word of love, the sages and saints right from the great > Bulbul Shah and spiritually evolved Syeds to indigenous Kashmiri > Rishis all were messengers of peace, love and harmony. Since Kashmir > had strong spiritual and mystic traditions the seekers of truth found > the atmosphere quite conducive to their quest. The indigenous mystic > traditions were refined and recast in the new moulds and a new > spiritual lexicon with a mixed terminology was developed. This can be > evidenced by the writings of various Kashmiri Sufi poets, right from > Nund Rishi (14th century) to Ahad Zargar (20th century). Let me > illustrated the point by citing just one quotation from each of these > poets. Just consider this Shalook of Nund Rishi: > > Poz yod bo:zakh pa:ntsh namu:rakh > > Nata ma:z namu:rakh soy chhem nema:z > > Shivas ta Shunyahas yod myul karakh > > Seduy soy chhay vahantar nema:z. > > If you listen to truth, curb the five; > > Otherwise, you bend the body and call it “Nemaz”! > > If you unite Siva and the void, > > That is the inner Nemaz, indeed. > > One can not but appreciate the way Nund Rishi preserves and > enriches the mystical and spiritual traditions of Kashmir. He does not > reject the sharia, which is fundamental to the Islamic Sufism, but > comes up with anew and creative interpretation of it in the light of > his own intense spiritual experience. To unite Śiva (Being) and the > Shunya (Non-Being --void) is the real Nemaz. With what ease have the > concepts belonging to different spiritual traditions been intermingled > and what a fantastic rhythm they create. The spiritual experience of > the saint has highly recharged these concepts and the terms connoting > them appear to be dancing. A divine light emanates from this dance > which is so sharp that it pierces not only one’s eyes but the heart > also. > > Ahad Zagar is one of the most significant signatures of the > contemporary Kashmiri Sufi poetry. He has great command over language. > Like his other contemporary Samad Mir he is well versed in the > spiritual ethos of Kashmir and by his contribution has definitely > enriched the tradition. Some of his poems ignited controversies in the > conservative religious circles of the valley, and some clerics even > issued fatwas against him. But threats and fatwas notwithstanding he > continued to articulate and express himself in the same controversial > but piercing idiom. Here are some extracts: > > I am the hidden secret of both the interior as well as the exterior. > > To whom shall I bow, and for whom shall I perform the ‘Nemaz’. > > I am the ultimate grace of both the mosque and the temple. > > I am the worshiper, but I am the one worshiped. > > I am the chain of birth and death. > > And it is me again who is to play the game of love. > > In the absence of Nothingness, there is no possibility of Being. > > Nothingness is all pervading. > > But if Nothingness is mere Nothingness, > > Who has deluded me? > > Realize Nothingness within yourself, > > Dance round nothingness like a moth. > > Keep your heart awake with Nothingness. > > By examining this kind of poetry even at the linguistic level, > we can probably identify the sources from which the poet draws > inspiration. To paraphrase the above verses in rational prose would be > mere sophistry. The poet has attempted to express an experience that > transcends the rational and empirical categories. This kind of > experience can be comprehended only at the level of Faith and not at > the level of Reason. Ahad Zargar is a genuine and true representative > of the mystical ethos of Kashmir. > > Going back to the Sufism that originated from the Holy Quran, > let me quote from the well known book “The Quranic Sufism” by Dr. Mir > Valinddin himself a practicing Sufi and a student and teacher of > Philosophy. In the chapter titled “On The Descent of the Absolute” he > writes: > > Now, the same Absolute Being that in the stage of > transcendence is unknown and unknowable reveals Himself in multiple > manifestations and different forms, or in the terminology of eminent > Sufis, descends in these forms, or individualises Himself in different > forms. This is of such a nature that in-spite of expressing himself in > different manifestations and multiple forms the Absolute Being > maintains His immutable state, and no change of any kind does > necessarily take place. The stages of descent are innumerable but the > most marked of these are but six and these are termed the Six Descents > by the Sufis. The first three of them are called Marātib-i-Illahi > (Divine ranks) which are ‘Ahadiyyat’ (Abstract Oneness) i.e., the > state of Essence, the infinite, the indeterminate. The second is > ‘Wahdat’ (Unity) and the third ‘Wahidiyat’ (Unity in Plurality). The > remaining three are called Marātib-i-Kawni (worldly ranks) which are > ‘Ruh’ (Spirit) ‘Mithal’ (similitude) and ‘Jism’ (body) > > Without making any comparisons, let us remind ourselves that, > while discussing the process of manifestation from the perspective of > Kashmir Śaivism we came across some similar formulations, although not > identifical ones. > > Delineating the essential features of Sufism, Syed Hossein Nasr > in his book Living Sufism Writes: > > The Sufi teaches this simple truth that the basis of all faith > or imān is unity. For as Shaykh Mahmud Shabistari writes in his > Gulshan-i-Raz: > > > Yakay been, yakay gouy, yakay daan > > Badeen khatam aamad asal wa farah eemaan > > See but one, say but one, know but one, > In this are summed up the roots and branches of faith. > > The integration of man means the realization of the one and > the transmutation of the many in the light of the one. > > Right from the pre-Buddhist times Kashmiri spiritual > consciousness has been perusing this goal of realization of the > oneness of Being of course with varying degrees of successes and a > contemporary Kashmir Sufi poet sings: > > Yaura dupmas cha path zoo jaan > > Taura dupnam cha kaya ba kaya hai hai > > Said I, I offer, you my soul my life. > > Said He, what a pity you are still a victim > > of duality and talk in terms of ‘you’ and ‘Me’. > > Let me conclude this presentation with a quotation from the same > book by S. Hussain Nasr. Nasr in the chapter titled ‘Islam And the > Encounter of Religious’ writes: > > He who has gained a vision of that mountain top that > touches the infinite rests assured that the climbers who are following > other paths are nevertheless his companions on this journey which is > the only meaningful journey of life itself. His certainty comes not > only from the Vision of the peak, but also from his knowledge that > those paths that have been chosen for man by God Himself do > ultimately lead to the top, What ever turns they may make on the way. > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From sanchia at cis-india.org Fri Mar 13 14:49:02 2009 From: sanchia at cis-india.org (Sanchia de Souza) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:49:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Conference Announcement--Scholarly Communication in the Age of the Commons Message-ID: <49BA2506.2020107@cis-india.org> Scholarly Communication in the Age of the Commons ================================================= One-day conference on Open Access Organised by National Aerospace Laboratories (as a part of their Golden Jubilee celebrations), Indian Academy of Sciences and the Centre for Internet and Society * Background Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. OA removes price barriers (subscriptions, licensing fees, pay-per-view fees) and permission barriers (most copyright and licensing restrictions) and ensures free availability and unrestricted use. In today’s knowledge-based society, the advent of the Internet and widespread and easy access to scientific information are facilitating research and innovation. Open Access is not only changing the nature of scholarly communication but even the way research is carried out. Indeed Open Access is the bedrock on which the emerging Global Research Library initiative is being built. Scientists and scientific institutions in India - some of them, to be precise - have moved up in the value chain in that they access information and disseminate their findings often through barrier-free electronic channels. Out of about 3,900 open access journals, India accounts for 108 titles as seen from the Directory of Open Access Journals. The major Indian publishers of OA journals are Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, MedKnow Publications and National Informatics Centre. According to the Registry of Open Access Repositories there are 40 open access repositories in India including those at Indian Institute of Science, National Aerospace Laboratories, National Institute of Oceanography, Raman Research Institute, National Institute of Technology - Rourkela, and Indian Institutes of Technology. Prof. Samir Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR, has initiated the Open Source Drug Discovery programme as an alternative to the traditional patent-driven model of drug research. Recently CSIR has adopted an open access policy. Indian National Science Academy is one of the early signatories to the Berlin Declaration. Thus Open Access - both for accessing worldwide information and for making our own research more visible - is not new to India. But one must admit that considering the size of India's research and higher education enterprise what we have achieved so far is utterly inadequate and incommensurate with our ambition to become a knowledge power. We have a long way to go. And the first step is to adopt open access nationwide. This one-day “Conference on Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons” is organized to take stock of the current developments in Open Access and to highlight the issues that would need to be addressed to enable a wider access to scientific knowledge and to enhance the visibility of research performed in India. * Speakers Speakers at the event include: Prof Leslie Chan, University of Toronto and Bioline International http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~chan/ Prof John Willinsky, Stanford University and Public Knowledge Project http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Willinsky * Date and Time 26 March 2009; 9.30 am - 5.00 pm * Venue S R Valluri Auditorium, National Aerospace Laboratories, (Old) Airport Road, Bangalore Speakers * Contact Dr I R N Goudar Scientist ‘G’ and Head, ICAST National Aerospace Laboratories Airport Road, Bangalore-560017 Telephone: (+91) 80 2508 6080 Fax: (+91) 80 2526 0862 Email: goudar at nal.res.in * Registration While you can register on the spot, we encourage you to kindly register through e-mail. Please provide your name, designation, address, contact telephone number and e-mail address. Participants may make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation. * Programme Please see http://www.cis-india.org/events/scholarly-communication-in-the-age-of-the-commons for a brief programme. -- Sanchia de Souza Publications Manager Centre for Internet and Society Phone: 91 97312 72499 Email: sanchia at cis-india.org From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 16:54:59 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:24:59 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] (PERSONAL) Re: SOS from Pakistan - Save Pakistani Shias In-Reply-To: <863896.20570.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <626393.34879.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <863896.20570.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903130424i7f13d018mcd2a1f0d4529ab99@mail.gmail.com> never heard of anyone promoting the shia cause in India let alone KPs :) its really funny. they are the passionate crying religion. generally speaking they can take care of themselves, but its part of the dirty games that get played. best On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 12:59 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > apologies ... it got copied to LIST too > > --- On Tue, 3/10/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > From: Kshmendra Kaul > > intriguing smile..... kya majraa hai? > > --- On Tue, 3/10/09, yasir ~يا سر wrote: > > From: yasir ~يا سر > Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:56 AM > > :) > > > On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Pawan Durani > wrote: > > Pls check the petition > > > > http://www.petitiononline.com/ShiaSOS/petition.html > > > > > > To:  Governments of Pakistan, USA, UK, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, > > Iran, UNESCO, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, OIC, European > > Union, Amnesty International, HRCP, Human Rights Watch, ICG > > > > > > Aim > > > > The aim of this petition is to draw the world's attention to the > plight of > > minority Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Hundreds of Shias have been killed in > the > > last one year alone in various acts of terrorism by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, > > Sipah-e-Sahaba, and other sectarian and jihadi groups in Pakistan. > > > > > > Background > > > > Shia population in Pakistan > > > > Islam is the state religion of Pakistan with Sunni Muslims forming the > > majority of the population (Europa 2008 2008, 3498; US 19 Sept. 2008). > > According to the United States (US) Department of State's > International > > Religious Freedom Report 2008, the Shia minority is roughly 10 to 20 > percent > > of the population (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 1; see also ibid. 6 Nov. 2008) > > whereas Sunnis are estimated to be constituting 70 to 85 percent of the > > population. > > > > > > The treatment of Shias > > > > According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human > Rights > > Practices for 2007, Shia Muslims in Pakistan "faced discrimination > and > > societal violence" (US 11 Mar. 2008, Sec. 5). Country Reports 2007 > further > > states that Shia Muslims "were the targets of religious > violence" (ibid. 11 > > Mar. 2008, Sec. 2.c). The International Religious Freedom Report 2008 > > indicates that some Sunni Muslim groups have published literature calling > > for violence against Shia Muslims (US 19 Sept. 2008, Sec. 3). Freedom > House > > states that Shia Muslims (along with Christians and Ahmadis) are targeted > by > > extremist groups in Pakistan (2008). Country Reports 2007 states that the > > "[p]olice often failed to protect members of religious minorities – > > particularly ... Shias – from societal attacks" (US 11 Mar. 2008, > Sec. 1.d). > > > > > > Source: UNHCR Report PAK102973.E: The treatment of Shias in Pakistan (2006 > - > > November 2008) > > http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,,49913b5e59,0.html > > > > > > An account of recent Shia killings in Pakistan (from 1 Jan to 20 Feb 2009) > > > > Note: This is only a brief glimpse of systematic and continuous killings > of > > Shia in Pakistan in the last few weeks. For a detailed account of the Shia > > genocide in the last many years in Pakistan, visit: > > http://www.shaheedfoundation.org/home.asp > > > > 1. On 20 February 2009, a suicide bomber killed at least 32 Shias and > > injured another 157 who were attending the funeral of an already murdered > > Shia leader in the southern district of D.I. Khan (Dera Ismail Khan) in > the > > NWFP. Previously on 21 November 2008, 6 Shia were killed and 25 more > > received severe injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through the funeral > > procession of a slain Shia leader who was shot the previous night. > > > > 2. On 19 February 2009, six Shia were killed in Parachinar when Taliban > > terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on them at mid-day. They had gone to > > collect wood from local forest. It may be noted that the Shia are under > > siege in Parachinar for the past many years. The massacres of hundreds of > > Shias in Kurram Agency in 2007 and 2008 saw regular trickles of Shias > > migration. (Over the years, cities like Thal, Hangu and Kohat have > developed > > significant pockets of migrant Shia population. All this area is also the > > target of the Afghan refugees who have leaked out of the Afghan refugee > > camps and don’t plan on going home because becoming a part of the Al > Qaeda > > fighting machine is more lucrative. They take the identity of Taliban and > do > > a lot of Shia-killing on the side. An informally named ghetto, Shiagarh, > is > > an obvious target, located just 10 miles from Kohat going to the city of > > Hangu.) > > > > 3. On 19 February 2009, a Shia man, Qurban Ali, was killed and another > Sabir > > sustained injuries when terrorists opened fire on their van in the Gilgit > > area. > > > > 4. On 10 February 2009, Mualana Syed Shabeer Hussain Shah was killed near > > Qureshi Maur; he was a prayer leader at Masjid-e-Kotla-Qaim Shah in D.I. > > Khan. He was 45 years old. > > > > 5. On 9 February 2009, Sardar Ali Baba, 45, was killed in Peshawar. He was > > the bread-winner of the family and used to run medicines' business. He > is > > survived by four mourning children. > > > > 6. On 5 February 2009, at least 35 Shia were killed and more than 50 > injured > > in a suicide attack on a Shia gathering in D.G. Khan. > > > > 7. On 3 February 2009, Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi was killed when terrorists > > attacked him near Dabal Road, Quetta. He worked in a Wood factory to earn > > livelihood. > > > > 8. On 2 February 2009, Syed Munawar Kazmi of Shia Dialogue Committee was > > shot in D.I. Khan. > > > > 9. On 27 January 2009, Syed Ather Shah was killed by terrorists on Dial > Road > > outside of his home in D.I. Khan. Syed aged 40 years was the caretaker of > > Imambargah Faqir Shah Muhallah Totaan Walla. Previously on 18 January, > > another Shia, Ali Abbas was killed in the same city. > > > > 10. On 26 January 2009, Hussain Ali Yousufi president of Hazara Democratic > > Party was killed in firing by terrorist in today morning at Jinnah Road > > Quetta. The killing of Shia notables in Quetta, particularly those > belonging > > to Hazara community, has sadly become a frequent occurrence. Some of the > > killings have been owned by Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, a sister organization of > > Pakistani Taliban. The number of the Shia community members killed there > > over the recent years has exceeded 300. Besides religious figures, liberal > > politicians, businessmen and government officials have been targeted. > > > > 11. On 14 January 2009, 3 Shia Police officials named DSP Hassan Ali, > > Mohammad Baqir and Sifwatullah were killed in Quetta, four were injured. > > They were going to Police Training Centre Quetta at Saryab Road at 10: 30 > AM > > (PST) when terrorists sprayed fires upon them. All killed and two of > injured > > belong from Shia Community. Four days ago president of Shia Conference was > > also targeted in Sibi (Baluchistan). On 8th June 2003 12 Shia cadets were > > also killed on Sariab Road Quetta. > > > > 12. On January 2009 in Hangu,17 Shia Muslims were killed and more than 35 > > injured. Taliban terrorists attacked with heavy weapons on Shia populated > > areas of Hungo City like; Ali Abad town, Muhallah Ganjanokalay, Muhallah > > Sangerh and Muhallah Paskaley. > > > > 13. On 10 Jan 2009, 4 Shia were killed and another 10 are injured when > > Taliban attacked the Shia converged for Ashura Procession in Hangu. > > > > > > In Summary > > > > 1. There is an ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in all areas in > > Pakistan, particularly in Kurram Agency, Kohat, Hangu, D.I. Khan and > Quetta, > > and also in other areas. > > > > 2. Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia > gatherings > > in Pakistan. They are supported by their sister organizations such as > > Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangavi and other jihadi and sectarian > > organizations. > > > > 3. Looming large over all sectarian violence in Pakistan in recent times > are > > various Taliban/jihadi figures, such as that of Qari Hussain, a militant > > commander based in South Waziristan, who is also known by the nom de > guerre > > Ustad-i-Fidayeen (teacher of suicide bombers). Qari Hussain is believed to > > be a recruiter and trainer of suicide bombers and has infused his ideology > > with a virulent stream of anti-Shia sectarianism. This is an approach > > similar to the one adopted by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. > > > > 4. Since the ISI is involved in promoting and protecting jihadi outfits > such > > as Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other jihadi and sectarian organization, > > the ISI's willingness to curb and eliminate acts of sectarian terror > is > > seriously compromised or is doubtful. > > > > 5. The government's failure to track down the culprits has emboldened > the > > perpetrators to kill with impunity. The situation has understandably > enraged > > Shias in Pakistan. The Shia community is exasperated with the > government's > > inability to perform one of its basic functions, that of ensuring that the > > lives of the people are protected. They are tired of hearing trite > > repetitions of promises by the Pakistan Government to 'find' the > culprits > > and give them 'exemplary punishment'. > > > > 6. While the government has failed, the opposition's and media's > role in > > Pakistan is no less pathetic. Some of them are clearly sympathetic to the > > Taliban, justifying their acts of terror, despite the fact that the > Taliban > > have openly claimed responsibility of scores of Shia killings in Pakistan. > > > > 7. The world at large has paid little attention to the plight of Shia > > Muslims in Pakistan. The number of Shias killed in Pakistan in the last > one > > year alone is much larger than the total number of Palestinians killed in > > the recent Gaza war. Yet, there is little international attention to the > > plight of Pakistani Shias. > > > > 8. The Sunni population also fears that unhindered killings of the Shias > > might cause sectarian strife in an area where the sects have generally > > coexisted peacefully for centuries. The Human Rights Commission of > Pakistan > > has expressed its concern that the state agencies' consistent failure > to > > track down the killers may prompt the Shia to retaliate against members of > > other sects, which is perhaps the sort of violence those behind the > > target-killings want to trigger. Source: > > > http://www.hrcp-web.org/hrcpDetail_2.cfm?catId=180&catName=Press%20Releases > > > > > > The Petition > > > > According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the recent string of > > target-killing of Shias in Pakistan and the government's failure to > bring > > any of the perpetrators to justice is a cause for growing alarm. > > > > We, the citizens of Pakistan, of all religious affiliations (including > Sunni > > and Shia Muslims, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and others) are extremely > sad > > and concerned about the ongoing, systematic killing of Shias in various > > parts of Pakistan. We urge you to take immediate action to stop killing of > > innocent Shia in Pakistan, particularly in Parachinar, D.I. Khan, Kohat, > > Hangu, Quetta and other areas affected by violence against Shia. > > > > We believe that the Shia killing is not an act of sectarian violence by > > Sunnis. In fact, these acts of terror are being perpetrated by a handful > of > > extremist Deobandis and Wahhabis (Salafis) who are currently operating > under > > different names, such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba > > Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other jihadi and sectarian > > organisations. > > > > We also believe that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is > > responsible for engineering, planning and facilitating these acts of > terror > > in order to execute and expand its jihadi agenda, and to implement a plan > to > > convert Pakistan into a puritanical Wahhabi state. > > > > The sad and gory events of Shia massacres in Quetta, D. I. Khan, D. G. > Khan, > > Parachinar, Hangu and other areas in Pakistan in the last few weeks should > > have acted as awakeners for the Pakistan Government - especially for those > > sections of it directly responsible for protecting lives of the people > (i.e. > > Police, ISI and the Army). They have failed to fulfil their duty to > protect > > the lives of citizens who, in the words of the newspaper 'Dawn', > are the > > continued targets of "a one-sided massacre of unwary mourners." > > > > However, given that the current civilian government in Pakistan has little > > power over the ISI and its unholy alliance with the jihadi/sectarian > > organisations, we urge that external and internal stakeholders in Pakistan > > (e.g., the UN, USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Afghanistan) will be > able > > to influence the military leadership in Pakistan to reconsider their > policy > > of abetting and protecting jihadi and sectarian terrorists. > > > > If, however, Government of Pakistan is serious about taking steps to > control > > and reverse the menace of target killing of Shias, here are some steps for > > immediate implementation. > > > > We demand that: > > > > • Government must constitute a permanent, high-power Anti-Sectarianism > > Commission in Pakistan, comprising the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of the > > ISI, a judge of the Supreme Court, federal minister of religious affairs, > > representatives of Shia, Deobandi, Barelvi, Salafi communities as well as > > members of minority communities. The Commission must meet at least once > > every three months to monitor the state of sectarian violence in Pakistan > > and deliberate on the progress to curb sectarian terrorism. > > > > • Local commandants of the ISI as well as local DIG/SP of Police must be > > held responsible for any act of sectarian terror which takes place their > > respective areas of jurisdiction. If they are unable to stop acts of > terror > > or to arrest terrorists involved, the ISI and Police officials must be > > dismissed from their duties, arrested and tried for their negligence or > > complicity in the acts of terror. > > > > • Terrorists involved in acts of violence and those supporting them > within > > the military and civil establishment must be arrested and tried > immediately > > in anti-terrorist courts (ATCs). Bring people responsible and behind these > > killing to justices; punish them to maximum limit – the maximum time > between > > arrest and sentence must not be more than three months. All of those > > involved in encouraging or executing sectarian violence must be punished > > with death sentence because there are instances in which these terrorists > > either managed to flee the prison by bribing the jail authorities or by > > harassing the judges through the ISI or Taliban. > > > > • The arch-terrorists of Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi > who > > are already under arrest, e.g., Akram Lahori, Malik Ishaque and Hafiz > > Shahid, all of whom have accepted killing Shia Muslims, shown no remorse, > > and promised 'more of the same' if they get the opportunity, > should be > > publicly hanged forthwith as per sentences already handed down by ATCs. > This > > will act as a strong deterrent to prospective travellers of this short-cut > > to heaven. > > > > • The mullahs who advocate 'takfeer' of Shia Muslims (i.e. > declaring Shias > > as non-Muslims; creating sectarian hatred) be jailed immediately and tried > > in anti-terrorism courts, and barred from holding membership of parliament > > or legislatures. Sitting members of assemblies and other famous > 'scholars' > > who have published the fatwa of takfeer of Shia Muslims include Maulana > > Samiul Haq, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Maula > > Bakhsh, Maulana Muhammad Ayub Khan Binori and others. > > > > • The madrassahs in which Shias are portrayed as Kafir (non-Muslim) or > which > > promote sectarian hatred against Shias must be immediately closed down, > and > > their leaders arrested. > > > > • Defeating the hydra of militancy does require different tactics at the > > local level, but there must be overall strategic coherency too. Currently, > > Pakistan is fighting the militants piecemeal in different areas of the > > country. That must change; the militants must be pursued across the length > > and breadth of the country simultaneously. There must be no dialogue with > > sectarian terrorists; they deserve no mercy. > > > > • Compensate Shia Muslims affected during sectarian attacks financially; > Rs. > > 1 million compensation per Shia death must be paid to the family of each > > Shia killed; Rs. 5 lac per person should be paid as compensation to those > > injured. Other loss of property must be totally compensated. > > > > • Provide security and support to Shia not only through adequate police > > security but also by providing Shia mosques and imambargahs with latest > > scanners, anti-bomb equipment and anti-terrorism training so that Shias > > could secure themselves from any future attacks. > > > > • STOP SHIA KILLINGS in Pakistan. > > > > > > Sincerely, > > The Undersigned > > > > Sincerely, > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 19:29:10 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:29:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Request to sign FOSS manifesto for India In-Reply-To: <49BA502C.6000703@redhat.com> References: <49BA502C.6000703@redhat.com> Message-ID: <35f96d470903130659o2d906e04g63270751426f5baf@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends, The Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community has published a manifesto requesting Indian political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans. FOSS is a powerful enabler for spreading education and opportunity to all peoples. With its collaborative knowledge model, FOSS can effect change and transparency in India. Supporting this petition is one small step in the right direction. The manifesto is up as a public petition at: http://www.public-software.in/FOSS-manifesto The signup link for the petition is at: http://www.public-software.in/node/add/sign-petition The list of signatories is at: http://www.public-software.in/signatories Regards, Anivar Aravind -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From indersalim at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 20:22:09 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:22:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] on happiness, or the performative without condition? Message-ID: <47e122a70903130752m1ab4e01et301cb42bded04ec3@mail.gmail.com> On happiness, or the performative without conditions? Note “Hello.” Saying hello is a performative. It is neither true nor false. By saying hello, I do something. I greet you, or maybe I’m just kidding. (Or I may give you an example, just now.) Derrida focuses on the performative nature of the professional/university field of utterances. University, he suggests, is the domain of performatives, and not of constatives. The proper speech act of the professor is performative; the profession of the professor is placed in the moment of engagement and responsibility. Later on, it is suggested that at the university constatives and performatives co-exist, in the classical alliance of constative and performative. As a whole, in the vision of the professor/professionalism and new Humanities, it is the performative of the professor which is underlined. Derrida himself has some doubts about the performative/constative distinction. Although he pretends to use these terms without reservations, in the last section of his lecture (and in the introductory chapter) he refers to the deconstruction of the distinction, to the mocking of both terms: “le débordement du performatif et de l’opposition constatif/performatif.” He arrives, then, to a conclusion which has been prefigured in Austin’s work. As you will remember, Austin’s distinction did not survive the eleventh chapter of his lectures: Austin himself deconstructs the opposition, challenges the borders between the terms. As if the distinction was forged just in order to be deconstructed, to show the Austinian way of making our clear-cut, simple, evident concepts collapse. A constative, then, is no more special or outstanding or distinguished a speech act than a performative is, and vice versa: we always perform, just in some cases our performatives happen to be statements. Still, one may wish to preserve the distinction, however deconstructed. The question is, whether it is a distinction in and by itself, or it is brought about, fait arrivée. Is in not made via a performative act of distinguishing? And what are the conditions of speaking in a performative or else in a constative way? Are there conditions of their having their proper place, let it be at the university or anywhere else? For Austin, the conditions of the constatives are truth conditions, whereas for the performatives, happiness (or felicity) conditions. While a statement can be true or false, a promise is neither true nor false, but it can be kept or it can go wrong in a way or another. If we can preserve the constative/performative distinction, it is only because we have this distinction of their conditions. Constatives may not have a distinguished place among utterances; but truth seems to have a very special place in our culture, and, consequently, utterances which can be judged along the dimension of truth/falsity still seem to have a particular position. By uttering performatives, we do not want to say the truth. We may keep our promises, but maybe we won’t. We warn somebody and may punish him, maybe we won’t. We say hello, and we cannot help meaning it. All these utterances are not meant to get closer to some truth; they are uttered in order to secure the smooth operation of things, to make things happen, les faire arrivée. But if we use the unqualified term of performative, regardless of their specific nature, we will miss the point where professing differs from any other activity. What performatives do a professor or a professional use? Saying hello, warning, banishing? Certainly not. What Derrida must have in mind (and he also refers to it) is promising. But is promising the only, or the most outstanding, or central performative of the professiona/professor? If we tend to preserve the distinction between constative and performative, how far are the utterances of the professional or the professor performatives? Are they performatives because they are meant to produce something, to make something arrive, to bring about something, rather than to belong to the realm of truth conditions? Derrida seems to suggest that what is going on at the universities is much more a declaration or expression of responsibility and engagement than that of a truth. But is this declaration unconditional? What about happiness? What are the happiness conditions of the performatives of the professional? Are the words of the professional performatives by themselves? Are they really performatives? Are there any conditions of their being performatives and of their being well formed performatives? What do they bring about? What do they do if once they are uttered? Do they have any common with the constatives at all - that is, do they have anything to do with truth? Although performatives, if and inasmuch as they exist, are considered by their happiness conditions, the moment of truth is always present in their utterances. When I make a promise, I am responsible of something to take place in the future, for the truth of some future event; when I ask something, I make an inquiry about the truth; and when I order, I wish that something be the case. Similarly, the performatives of the professional express a relation to truth, let it be a confession, a challenge, a wish, or a promise of truth. But their conditions are not truth conditions. A performative is well formed not only if the speaker feels it expresses his or her confession, challenge or whatever; but it also must be understood, taken account of, it must have the proper audience on the proper place, it must invoke a particular procedure, etc. To be a professor, to be a professional, to speak in a performative way, then, is not a solitary activity. What is a profession and what is a professor? Is it (or is he or she) what it (he/she) is by virtue of what is said, that is, by virtue of (his or her) performatives? Or, rather, is it a function of some conditions? (And, I add, these must be happiness conditions, rather than truth conditions.) Is not being a professor or a professional a function of some institutions? When Derrida confronts the profession of the lawyer or the professor and the “mastery” (métier) of the season worker, on the grounds that the lawyer and the professor and the doctor has a responsibility, a vocation, an engagement. But is it only a function of the free decision of these professionals? Certainly not. The lawyer, the doctor, the professor is woven into a intricate network of institutions and conditions which make their word their bond. One is not a professor by the performatives; rather, performatives are produced by the conditions of being a professor. It is the institutional conditions of the professor, the invocation to the procedure of professing which makes a professional performative, and not, or not exclusively, the vocation of the professional. On Derrida’s scene of the university, there is the professor professing, the speaker speaking and performing his or her performatives; what is missing, though, for me, is the dialogue; the voices interrupting and distracting the lonely performative acts and the voices elicited by the speaker. If the professor must have a profession, if he or she has a vocation, then there also must be a pro-vocation in his or her utterance, giving place for other voices. What should be present in the profession is not only the invocation of the procedures, but also the provocation of perhaps the same procedures, or the provocation of the position of the participants in the procedure, or the provocation of the seemingly unconditional relation to truth, etc. For Derrida, professing and profession in the professors’ performatives seems to be a solitary action. There is no room for the voice of the other, the uptake and the participation. As a whole, I am not really happy with the re-introduction of the constative/performative distinction. Not only because Austin himself has shown long ago that stating is an action just as any full-blood performative; not only because I have theoretical reservations. But also because by using these terms, and by associating performative with the active, devoted, responsible personality (the professor, the professional, the university citizen), and assigning a special position to this behavior, one can be trapped by a drifting and charming rhetoric, a rhetoric which renders the subversive Austinian thought a comfortable and domesticated dichotomy, a rhetoric which will obscure the specific conditions of being a professional, the happiness conditions of uttering a performative, of the difference between saying hello and promising (or warning) to see you again. Hello, I’ll see you again. Note This is a contribution to the round table discussion of Jacques Derrida's lecture entitled L'université sans conditions, in Pecs, Hungary, October 2000. To appear, hopefully, in Neohelicon. 1 -- From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Fri Mar 13 20:23:26 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:53:26 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] BANGLADESH: South Asia's "largest" shopping mall on fire Message-ID: The owners of Basundhara City, opened to the public in August 2004, claim it is the largest shopping mall in South Asia and the 12th largest in the world. The building is 20 storeys high, with the first 8 floors holding over 2,000 retail stores and cafeterias. Other floors also house a multiplex cinema, gymnasiums with swimming pools. The upper floors are used as the corporate headquarters of the Bashundhara Group. http://unheardvoice.net/blog/2009/03/13/bashundhara-fire From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sat Mar 14 08:13:43 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:43:43 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] National ID Card Or A Number Tattooed On Your Arm? Message-ID: <65be9bf40903131943m6c2c8461x158544649ad58132@mail.gmail.com> http://westernfrontamerica.com/2009/03/12/national-id-card-number-tattooed-arm/ National ID Card Or A Number Tattooed On Your Arm? By J.D. Longstreet March 12th, 2009 I read recently that a proposal for a National I.D. card for American citizens may soon be back on the table for consideration by US Lawmakers. There are some who believe approval for a National ID card is growing. I have to ask: what is wrong with Americans? Are we sheep to be herded by a National Shepherd? Where is the individualism that won this country from the British and then stretched it across the entire continent to the shores of the Pacific? Even the oceans could not hold back our burning desire for FREEDOM! Yet, today, we are begging the federal government to take our freedoms away! This is scandalous! This borders on cowardice of the highest magnitude! Are we so quick to give back the liberties bought with the precious blood of our forefathers, our ancestors, and in many cases our immediate relatives? In cemeteries all over the globe lie the bodies of American men and women who put their lives on the line and shed their blood up to the “last full measure” to ensure you and I the freedoms we are now begging the Federal Government to take away! Some example we are setting for the rest of the world! Look at the cowardly Americans. They talk a good game but when the going gets tough they run to hide under the wings of the Federal Nanny! Our national motto is: “In God We Trust.” Apparently it’s a lie! If we truly placed our trust in God we would not be so hasty to misplace it in a government, which is already too big and intrusive. There comes a time when we have to stand on our own two feet. Sure there is risk involved in living free! That’s why it’s called freedom. It means, simply, that you (you and I) take responsibility for ourselves! Example: If I’m afraid to get on a plane…. then I WON’T get on a plane! We have to understand, as did our forefathers, that living free does not mean, necessarily, living secure! To live free, it is required that we must live with certain insecurities, or risks. There is also the thing called “respect” and “self-respect.” Respect is earned. You earn the respect of your fellowman, and the respect of the world, by standing on your own two feet as a man! You do not earn respect by leaning on others… and that includes leaning on the government. Modern day Americans have forgotten that that. I am embarrassed, as an American, to find that I even feel I have to explain that to my fellow Americans! Something profound has happened to Americans. That steel in our character is gone. That “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead” characteristic of American manhood is not there anymore. As a result, our way of life, our freedom, indeed, our nation is at risk. American used to be known for sticking their finger in the eye of government. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. I am proud of my ancestors who were bootleggers and smugglers. They left me more than fond memories. They left me with a strong distrust of government. I think that distrust is healthy. They left me something else as well. They made me understand that the government is not responsible for me. They taught me that a man is always responsible for himself. They taught me that the more I depended on government the more dependence government would require until I had nothing left to give and then I would find that I was a slave to that government. The historian Edward Gibbon had it about right when he wrote of ancient Athens: ”In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life and they lost it all… security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted NOT TO GIVE TO SOCIETY BUT FOR SOCIETY TO GIVE TO THEM, when the freedom they wanted most was FREEDOM FROM RESPONSIBILITY, then ATHENS CEASED TO BE FREE…AND NEVER WAS FREE AGAIN! I agree that we need some government. But, I believe, as did our forefathers, that the government, especially the federal government was, and is, intended to be an agent of the states, and not the other way around! Our American Founders believed a federal government was answerable to the states… not the states to the federal government. I believe the government does some things well…. as it should. One such thing is “provide for the common defense” with a well trained and equipped military. I believe as did one of our founding fathers, Thomas Paine, one of the early “pamphleteers” (Most likely a “Blogger” today!) who said: “Government, even in its best state, is a necessary evil; in it’s worse state, and intolerable one.” (From: Common Sense). In this Democratic Republic we call America; it is up to us, the citizens, to keep our government on a short rein. Indeed, it is our duty, as citizens, to keep the tentacles of government out of our every day existence. They have no business there. We must be wary of “Knee-Jerk” responses to danger, real or imagined, such as I believe the National I.D. Card to be. If the government wants to “Card” somebody, why not make every one not a citizen of this country carry one (An I.D. Card) while inside our borders? How dangerous is Big Government? Well, I believe Alexis de Tocqueville summed it up nicely when writing of the dangers of big government. Tocqueville said of big government: “it covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds, and the most energetic characters, cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, extinguishes, and stupefies people, ’til each nation is reduced to be nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.” (Alexis de Tocqueville on “Big Government”.) Well, there you have it. Animals with a shepherd! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be counted among the animals that need a shepherd. I, like millions of Americans before me, will live free! I do not choose to beg the government to take back the liberty my ancestors fought and died that I might have. It’s blasphemy! I want my grandchildren to live, and grow up, in a free country. A country, which will allow them to be everything they are capable of being. I don’t want their prospects to be lessened by the intrusions of government. I owe them that. I owe them an America in which they can be FREE. Free to succeed and, yes, free to fail! I owe them an America my father, and my forefathers, placed in my safe keeping (as did yours) at my (our) birth. To be worthy custodians of this nation’s freedom, we must insure that we pass it along no less free that when we received it! As I look about me today, at modern day America, I have to conclude we have failed at the single most important task we have as adult Americans. That task is to preserve freedom in this country… to guarantee a future for our children in a free nation. A National ID card is much the same as a tattooed number on your forearm. It is proof of ownership… by someone other than you. Next will come the National RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip implanted at birth. It will broadcast a radio signal all the days of your life telling the government who you are, and where you are, at all times. National ID, of any kind, takes away one of your basic rights, the right to privacy. It is time to get a grip, America! Our National Anthem says: “…The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” Well, don’t you think it is about time we began to act like it? A National ID card would say to the world just the opposite. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sat Mar 14 08:23:02 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:53:02 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] MEET THE CANADIAN 'HUMAN SURVEILLANCE MACHINE' WHO'S MAKING A MOVIE Message-ID: <65be9bf40903131953w20c4ad1ag30157b60d22c2c66@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Please check out the link for an image of the bionic eye. Pretty spooky i'd say... regards Taha http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090312.AEYEBORG12/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Movies/ MEET THE CANADIAN 'HUMAN SURVEILLANCE MACHINE' WHO'S MAKING A MOVIE JAMES BRADSHAW March 12, 2009 Before long, a bionic Big Brother could be watching you - and you could end up on the big screen. Rob Spence, a one-eyed Toronto documentary filmmaker, is developing a prosthetic eye complete with embedded video camera, hoping to secretly record people for a film on the rise of global surveillance. Spence drew inspiration for the EyeBorg Project from his tiny cellphone camera and his love of The Six Million Dollar Man, a seventies TV show about a severely injured man who is given bionic implants in several body parts, including his left eye. Spence's own left eye was damaged in a childhood shotgun accident at his grandfather's farm. It was removed three years ago. With no money to fund the project, Spence relied on volunteerism and professional curiosity from a number of partners, including a whiz-kid California engineer named Kosta Grammatis and Steve Mann, co-founder of the wearable-computers research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Spence has also partnered with Santa Clara, Calif.-based OmniVision Inc., to provide the tiny camera originally designed for colonoscopies. Despite some technological setbacks, Spence thinks the camera could be up and running in less than a month. He hopes to make himself "a human surveillance machine" to investigate whether we are all "sleepwalking into an Orwellian society." He will film his subjects secretly, but will have to seek permission to feature them. He adds that people who know about the project are increasingly "freaked out" about being around him. From navayana at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 09:05:40 2009 From: navayana at gmail.com (Navayana Publishing) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:05:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?What_if_Ambedkar_had_shaped_India?= =?windows-1252?q?=92s_foreign_policy=3F?= Message-ID: What if Ambedkar had shaped India’s foreign policy? http://www.indianexpress.com/news/what-if-ambedkar-had-shaped-indias-foreign-policy/434288/ What if Ambedkar had shaped India’s foreign policy? Harish Parvathaneni Posted online: Mar 14, 2009 Dr. B. R. Ambedkar remains one of modern India’s towering personalities. While his social, economic and political views are well known, his approach to foreign policy is more shadowy. Ambedkar’s interest in the area emerged clearly in his resignation letter from the Cabinet in October 1951. Five issues deserve close attention. First, he notes that in 1946 he had prepared a report on the condition of the scheduled castes for submission to the UN but did not do so because he felt that “it would be better to wait until the constituent assembly and the future Parliament was given a chance to deal with the matter”. Second, he wrote that the foreign policy of the country has given him “cause, not merely for dissatisfaction but for actual anxiety and even worry”. He opined: “How dangerous it has been to us this policy of doing the impossible and of being too good”. Third, he expressed deep dissatisfaction with “our quarrel with Pakistan” that he termed “a part of our foreign policy”. He wrote: “There are two grounds which have disturbed our relations with Pakistan — one is Kashmir and the other is the condition of our people in East Bengal. I felt that we should be more deeply concerned with East Bengal — than with Kashmir. My view has always been that the right solution is to partition Kashmir... Or if you like, divide it into three parts; the cease-fire zone, the Valley and the Jammu-Ladakh Region and have a plebiscite only in the Valley.” Fourth, Ambedkar bemoaned the fact that he was neither a member of the defence committee nor the foreign committee of the Cabinet and had “joint responsibility without any opportunity of taking part in the shaping of policy”. Fifth, he regretted that he “had hardly any time to attend to our foreign affairs” because he had been busy with the framing of the constitution. Ambedkar’s criticism of Nehru’s foreign policy attracted international attention.Time magazine noted: “Dr. Ambedkar is the first important Indian official who has openly attacked Nehru for being too friendly to China and not friendly enough to the US”. Speaking to students of Lucknow University in November 1951, he said: “The government’s foreign policy failed to make India stronger. Why should not India get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council? Why has the prime minister not tried for it? India must choose between parliamentary democracy and the Communist way of dictatorship and come to a final conclusion”. Ambedkar criticised Nehru’s foreign policy for trying to “solve the problems of other countries and not to solve the problems of our own country”. On China, he disagreed with the Tibet policy and felt that “there is no room for Panchsheel in politics”. He said that “if Mr. Mao had any faith in the Panchsheel, he certainly would treat the Buddhist in his own country in a very different way”. He called for a more robust approach to the Goa question, listing out annexation, purchase or lease as possible options. He felt that a small police action by the government would enable obtaining possession of Goa and criticised Nehru for only shouting against the Portuguese and doing nothing. Ambedkar’s solutions to the question of Pakistan were based on either reaching an agreement or resorting to arbitration. His views on Kashmir and East Bengal were significantly different from mainstream approaches on the subject. Ambedkar felt that close Indo-US relations premised on a natural affinity of democracies would lead to foreign assistance to India and alleviate the national burden. He repeatedly expressed the desirability of a league of democracies in Asia and beyond. He challenged the government to move away from non-alignment and come to a final decision of either aligning with democratic governments or making friends with communist ones. What clearly emerges is that Ambedkar had a dramatically opposite view on foreign policy from Nehru. He espoused a pragmatic approach of trying to achieve the possible than wait to realise the ideal. His fundamental tenet was premised on fashioning foreign policy for solving our problems rather than regional and global ones. He felt that foreign policy must enhance our strategic and developmental options. He envisioned a strong India that took its place in the global order based on developing its economic strength and leveraging its political alliances with other democracies. The India of the 1940s is unparallleled in the modern history of our country. We had been blessed with many leaders of great integrity and ability such as Ambedkar, Nehru, Gandhi, and Patel. They took on their assigned tasks and made possible the emergence of India as it stands today. Ambedkar’s efforts were totally consumed in the crafting of our Constitution and with initial legislation. If his energies were directed towards crafting the foreign policy of the new Republic, who knows what the results might have been? The writer is a serving IFS officer, views expressed are personal ============ S. Anand www.navayana.org Visit us at U450 at London Book Fair, 20-22 April 2009 Navayana 120, Ground Floor Shahpur Jat New Delhi 110017 Landline: +91-11-26494795 Mobile: +91-9971433117 Join Navayana Book Club and avail free books and special discounts! http://www.navayana.org/display.php?id=5 From turbulence at turbulence.org Thu Mar 12 23:54:54 2009 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:24:54 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Floating Points 6: Games of Culture | Art of Games Message-ID: <00f401c9a33f$d97684a0$8c638de0$@org> Floating Points 6: Games of Culture | Art of Games http://institute.emerson.edu/floatingpoints/2009/ A Film Screening, Symposium and Workshops with Asi Burak, Anita Fontaine, Jesper Juul, Friedrich Kirschner, Marcin Ramocki, Jason Rohrer, Adriana de Souza Silva, Mushon Zer-Aviv DATE: March 20-21, 2009 VENUE: Emerson College, Boston + streamed live on the web and in Second Life FREE and OPEN to the public. Registration details on the website Video games extend beyond the gaming console into nearly every aspect of contemporary life. They are fun. They drive innovation, consumer engagement and employee productivity. Is our culture turning everything into a game? Video Games have had a greater impact on narrative form than any medium since film. They are altering our experience of both virtual and physical space. Gamespace is everywhere and nowhere (McKenzie Wark, "Gamer Theory"). In "Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds", Michael Nitsche introduces five analytical layers - rule-based space, mediated space, fictional space, play space, and social space. How do artists and game designers use these spaces in their creative practice? How does structured play impact our engagement with other people, both online and in urban space? What are the political and cultural implications of gaming practices? Please join us for a lively discussion. Co-Organized and Co-Presented by Emerson College and Turbulence.org Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade New American Radio: http://somewhere.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From pawan.durani at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 12:14:46 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:14:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/ Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it comes to our fundamental rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is the ‘pink chaddi’ campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second is a campaign to end ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student who was beaten to death by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal Pradesh. The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook and had 50,000+ members in less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman Kachroo’ has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, including your truly have been asking members to join the campaign but with little response. So, why is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman Kachroo? Was the ‘pink chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for which a 19-year-old had to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to us. Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one deserves such a death. But time and again, children die or attempt suicide unable to bear the ragging at their institutions, and the authorities first attempt a cover-up; then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept the crime only when the shit hits the fan. A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology institutes in the country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put through the grind when they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of the rooms, and wanted to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become ‘ashtrays’ – they were supposed to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with their MOUTHS OPEN so that ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those with a morbid sense of fun and fair play, this may be much better than being beaten to death, but that’s no consolation. Now of course, premier institutions like the one referred to above have clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it are told to drop a year and come back next year to continue the curriculum. Freshers are now given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe distance from them for fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who are rude with the seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at IIT Powai. Sadly, in all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. But I guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened with Aman Kachroo and, just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who tried to commit suicide because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps are necessary. So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub going loose women, and take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also ensure that no kids, whether yours or mine, lose their lives? From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 16:41:15 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:41:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear all I think the point raised by Pawan is certainly a valid one, in that certain issues have always hogged the limelight, while others are not even mentioned or discussed among the public. This has certainly been the case between incidents like Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case, Nitish Katara murder case, Jessica Lall murder case and also the Mangalore pub attacks on one hand, which have become popular, and on the other hand, incidents like Khairlanji massacre of Dalits, Jhajjar massacre of Dalits, and also the Kachroo ragging case, which have not been as popular. One aspect certainly on this issue, is the strong association between popular TV and newsprint media on one hand, and the class connection of the people working here. Most of the people working at such places belong to the upper middle class, and connect better to issues and problems they experience. The result is that they are not able to connect with issues like SHG's (Self Help Groups), massacre of lower-caste people, electoral politics (the actual way it works) among others. However, the larger framework in which this can be mentioned is what we call as 'democracy'. As I see it, the upper middle class of India don't want democracy; instead, democracy only seems to be a problem for them. Being a student of one of the premier technological institutes of India (IIT-Madras), my experiences can vouch for the fact that most of the students in my college belong to this upper middle class, and this class does not really want democracy. Instead, what most of this class wants (and at one time, even I wanted), is efficiency. Hence, the support for a party like BJP (which supports privatization as it improves efficiency, or even anti-terror laws as they are supposed to improve efficiency in giving justice and punishment to terrorists). The upper middle class can get all their works done through bribes and other means. For example, look at the way most of us get our licences, ration cards, and even passports.Most of this class members would have to or would have already paid some bribe at some point of time to get their work done (I dont' mean to say that people who pay bribes like to do so; it just means that they don't have any choice left). When these don't work, they can also use media pressure to get what they want. Look at issues of reservation, Mangalore pub attacks, and even murder cases as examples. However, when issues don't concern them, they hardly bother. So, massacre of Dalits can be forgotten. The fact that reservation as a move to protect unity of India has worked, can also be forgotten. Moreover, even Ambedkar and his followers can be forgotten. Even the fact, that people who are uneducated, poor, illiterate actually go out in each and every election and vote, (while the upper middle class generally dont' vote in that large numbers), is forgotten. Infact, it's these people who realize that they don't have the money or the resources to pay bribes to get their work done, and hence, go out and vote, in the hope that they would be able to get their necessities of daily life, in an easier and simpler manner, so also the hope that things would improve for them. Hence, it's not just an apathy of one incident, and sympathy for something else. It's a class-based system, where something is sympathised with, and something is totally forgotten. (And one reason as I see it, is the fact that India doesn't have one unified common education system, where children of rich were to study side-by-side with the children of poor. This would have changed India totally for the better, for when communication starts between members cutting across classes, you can understand others better, social trust improves, and issues can be understood much better. ) It would be better that we all try to now bring about this communication in our little ways we can, otherwise we are in trouble for now, and heading towards an impending disaster. Only then will sympathy be there for all classes. And nobody would have to ask others to sympathize with Aman Kachroo or any such cases. Regards Rakesh From swathi.shivanand at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 17:47:33 2009 From: swathi.shivanand at gmail.com (swathi shivanand) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:47:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: while agreeing with a large number of issues raised in the two emails, namely that of the class nature of the media, the horrific incidents of ragging demeaning human dignity, the under-reportage of atrocities against dalits..... but to priviliege one kind of oppression over the other, to say that one is more important than the other is doing a disservice to understanding the nature and operation of powerful, oppressive forces. it is also to say that one's oppression is worse than the other's... and one definitely cannot hierarchise oppression, can we? so while calling for support, perhaps we ask for support based on the historicity and nature of the incident involved, rather than demeaning other forms of protest? swathi On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/ > > Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it comes to our fundamental > rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is the ‘pink chaddi’ > campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second is a campaign to end > ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student who was beaten to death > by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal Pradesh. > > The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook and had 50,000+ members in > less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman > Kachroo< > http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56564914348#/group.php?gid=57342453306 > >’ > has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, including your truly have > been asking members to join the campaign but with little response. So, why > is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman Kachroo? Was the ‘pink > chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for which a 19-year-old had > to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to us. > > Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one deserves such a death. > But time and again, children die or attempt suicide unable to bear the > ragging at their institutions, and the authorities first attempt a > cover-up; > then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept the crime only when > the > shit hits the fan. > > A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology institutes in the > country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put through the grind when > they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of the rooms, and > wanted > to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become ‘ashtrays’ – they were > supposed > to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with their MOUTHS OPEN so > that > ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those with a morbid sense of > fun and fair play, this may be much better than being beaten to death, but > that’s no consolation. > > Now of course, premier institutions like the one referred to above have > clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it are told to drop a > year and come back next year to continue the curriculum. Freshers are now > given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe distance from them for > fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who are rude with the > seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at IIT Powai. Sadly, in > all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. But I > guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened with Aman Kachroo and, > just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who tried to commit suicide > because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps are necessary. > > So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub going loose women, > and > take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also ensure that no kids, > whether yours or mine, lose their lives? > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 19:18:46 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:48:46 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" In-Reply-To: <883123.27671.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <883123.27671.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: The latest theories http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/world/asia/14bangla.html On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 8:01 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > It could be just yet another 'conspiracy theory' although certainity of > knowledge about Pakistani involvement has not been claimed. > > Ironic though that the 'conspiracy theory specialist' Pakistan is the > suspect. Pakistan and Pakistanis themselves make a habit of and are very > fond of seeing the 'real conspiracy' behind a 9/11 or a 26/11 or Attack on > Indian Parliament or Massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir. > > (To Naeem) : In Bangladesh is there any such (seriously > considered) suspicion about Pakistani involvement in the BDR Mutiny? > > - " ....... harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the > officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such > brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute" > > - " ........   whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's plans > to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who collaborated > with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence." > > > Kshmendra > > > > "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" > > (The Pakistani intelligence services are suspected of being involved last > week's Dhaka massacre of at least 77 Bangladesh Army officers.) > > By Dean Nelson >   01 Mar 2009 > > Investigators say they have begun a search for the "powerful quarters" > behind the revolt amid claims it may have been organised from abroad. > > Officials yesterday filed murder cases against 1,000 border security guards > of the Bangladesh Rifles as reports emerged in India and Bangladesh of a > Pakistan-based plot to destabilise the new government of prime minister > Sheikh Hasina. > > The Times of India quoted sources close to the investigation claiming > arrested mutineers had named a senior a Bangladeshi businessman and > politician believed to have close links with Pakistan's intelligence > service. It was also reported that confession statements suggested the > mutineers had received around £100,000 to bankroll their revolt. > > Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency has previously been accused of > involvement in the attacks on Mumbai last November in which 173 were killed. > > As the scale of carnage and the cruelty of the mutineers has emerged – > including harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the > officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such > brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute. The death > toll is expected to rise further as investigators search for 70 officers who > are still missing. > > Investigators are expected to probe the extent of militant penetration of > the Bangladesh Rifles by al-Qaeda linked groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen > Bangladesh, and also whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's > plans to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who > collaborated with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence. > > A leading Bangladeshi newspaper quoted one member of the inquiry committee > saying the mutiny could not have happened without the support of "powerful > quarters." > > A seven-member committee to investigate the revolt, led by the country's > Home Minister, Sahara Khatun, formally began its investigation yesterday to > establish how the massacre happened and who was behind it. > > It is due to report next weekend, but its inquiry will take place in an > increasingly febrile atmosphere as rumours of a plot to destabilise the > government and force the army to take power gathered momentum. > > The mutineers themselves originally told the prime minister they were > rebelling over poor pay and promotion prospects and abuses by their > officers, who were drawn from the army and not from the Bangladesh Riflemen > themselves. They claimed discredited officers were often seconded to the > Rifles as a 'punishment posting' and that they used the Riflemen for > personal smuggling operations. > > Members of the Bangladesh Rifles who fled their posts during the mutiny > began to return to barracks yesterday (SUN) as detectives said police forces > throughout the country were hunting 1,000 border guards wanted for the > mutiny murders. > > Dhaka police chief Nabojit Khisa Khisa said: "Cases have been filed against > more than 1,000 BDR troops who were involved with the mutiny in Dhaka last > week." > > Officials said the ringleaders among them, including six who met prime > minister Sheikh Hasina to negotiate an amnesty, would be hanged if found > guilty. > > Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and leader of > the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, pledged her support for the inquiry but > criticised Sheikh Hasina's initial amnesty offer to the rebels. "This gave > them more time to kill more people and conceal their brutality," she said. > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/4902794/Pakistan-in-the-frame-over-Bangladesh-uprising.html > > > > From taraprakash at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 19:22:56 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:52:56 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Circuits of the Popular:Interdisciplinary Conference on Cinema, Theater, Performance Message-ID: <4996D68FB67A4FD3963715E746ECF735@tara> Hi all. I am not sure if this message reached the list. I got a message rejected mail. Apologies if it reached you twice. I wanted to know if there was any possibility to access some part of the seminar for those who couldn't be present at the venue. Thanks The original mail follows ----- Original Message ----- From: "taraprakash" To: "Aarti Sethi" ; Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:43 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Circuits of the Popular:Interdisciplinary Conference on Cinema, Theater, Performance >I wish there was a webcast available for it. > Is there any possibility that those who can't attend, may access some or > all the sessions of this seminar? Audio/video recording? Transcripts? PDF > for the hand-outs? > It is high time that we think in terms of archiving all the seminars so > that they can be accessed on a later date. > > Regards > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Aarti Sethi" > To: > Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:19 AM > Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Circuits of the > Popular:Interdisciplinary Conference on Cinema, Theater, Performance > > > *Circuits** of the Popular*** > > *Cinema . Visual Arts . Theatre and Performance * > > *The First Interdisciplinary Conference of * > > * The * > > *School** of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University* > > *New Delhi*** > > *Jawaharlal** Nehru University* > > *16 - 18 March, 2009 > Venue: SAA Auditorium* > > * * > > *Panel Themes* > > ***·* The Circuits of the Popular in Ancient and Medieval India > > *·** * The Popular, Public Sphere and Exhibitionary Spaces > > *·* Circuits of the Popular: Design, Technology and the Sacred > > *·* Modernism and Popular Practices > > *·* Stardom, Performance and the Film Industry > > *·* The Classical, the Popular and the Progressive in Performing Arts > > *·* Spectatorship, Anxiety & the Moment of “Bollywood” > > *·* Visual Culture, Narration and the Emerging Modes of Visuality > > *·** * Modernisms in Theatre: Critiques of the Popular > > Note: Detailed Schedule in next mail. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> _______________________________________________ >> announcements mailing list >> announcements at sarai.net >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 20:42:35 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:42:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... In-Reply-To: References: <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Swathi Ji (and all) I don't demean the fact that struggles are being conducted for issues like Priyadarshini Mattoo and Jessica Lall cases. However, the larger issue is the one of sensationalism being practiced for some issues on one hand, and that of complete neglect in reporting on the other. Infact, not only is there a lack of neglect in such cases, but also a total lack of sympathy being followed in those. So, if the impression is that I personally am demeaning those fights, then I am not doing so. And as a society, certainly we shouldn't do such things, so I am in favor of what Swathi has said. Also, I think for addressing any issue, one has to go to the root cause before solving it. In our case, the fact that certain issues are highlighted and others are not is somewhere related to class affiliations of the media and the people affected. Hence, we have to look at this as a major challenge in the way we organize our fights for justice in many cases in India. And this certainly not demeans fights for justice in upper middle classes, but also means we should equally lend our hand to those cases of justice, where the poor and deprived are involved. Regards Rakesh From krishnanrr at rediffmail.com Sun Mar 15 00:35:32 2009 From: krishnanrr at rediffmail.com (Radhakrishnan) Date: 14 Mar 2009 19:05:32 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Pink campaign and issue of Gender equality Message-ID: <20090314190532.16676.qmail@f4mail-235-230.rediffmail.com>  The recent campaigns and undue publicity give to the pink campaign clearly highlights the inherent upper class prejudices very logically as well as religiously projected by channels like CNN IBN - a channel with an inherent upper class prejudices, which masquerades as conscience keeper for some folks who feel that a miniscule section like them, who have all the benefits and economic clout, can have meals three times a day, can blow their money on Beer and Vodka, when a majority of us have to struggle to a get a daily share of drinking water . While there shouldn't be any doubt about prosecuting the criminals and lumpens who launched attacks on harmless and unarmed people (both men and women) going to pub – going to pub is absolutely well within one’s right to recreation based on their own monetary strength. One can’t let anybody stop them in the name of defending religion or culture. After all where do these culural defenders disappear when women are raped, humiliated or killed to defend so called honour? But at the same time to say that march towards Pub and guzzling beer is a sign of empowerment or is a mechanism for women’s liberation is not based on a mistaken notion of modernity but trivializing the very oppression majority of women in India who undergo untold atrocities based on religion and culture. Ironically the so called leaders coming form urban areas are not only mute spectators but mostly love to be indifferent when a Roop Kanwar was burnt alive to glorify sati or Bhawari devi was raped to be taught a lesson for challenging the existing patriarchy which condoned child marriages or Gudiya was paraded in public as a sex slave in the name of defending so called personal laws of religion. Hence to seek justice for the wanton attack is justified but to claim moral superiority and project as some warrior who seeks to claim public space is nothing but an attempt to fool oneself along with another upper caste moron called Renuka Chaudhary who would prefer to guzzle cans of beer for women empowerment but would hate to intervene when a women in Punjab gets killed for having married outside her caste and when her husband is chased in the market and butchered in broad daylight. So would be the case when a poor girl is raped by the zamindar’s son in West Bengal (Telegraph). She ends up delivering a baby and also shunted out of the village when all the attempts to silence her through money and muscle power fails.ironically many of such English speaking, urban centric warriors were impervious when a Stephanian turned out to be a cold blooded monster in Nithari. So isn’t it wonderful to be impervious to the truth of the majority as they aren’t probably as sophisticated as the pub goers or can’t speak a Sagarika ghosh’s or Rajdeep Sardesai’s English. A development journalist had mentioned some years ago that the number of journalists who covered the suicide by farmers in the countryside could be counted on ones finger tip but if one attempts to count the number of journalists who covered the Lakme Fashion week, it would go around 300 plus. So to cut the story short – one may justifiably ask as to what are the goals and objectives of such movement which is based on a lopsided understanding of freedom and social justice and doesn’t address the issue of gender equality by any means. Radhakrishnan ------------------------------------------------- On Sat, 14 Mar 2009 reader-list-request at sarai.net wrote : >Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > >You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > >Today's Topics: > > 1. [Announcements] Floating Points 6: Games of Culture | Art of > Games (Turbulence) > 2. Another cause, not pink but blood red... (Pawan Durani) > 3. Re: Another cause, not pink but blood red... (Rakesh Iyer) > 4. Re: Another cause, not pink but blood red... (swathi shivanand) > 5. Re: "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" > (Naeem Mohaiemen) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:24:54 -0400 > From: "Turbulence" >Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Floating Points 6: Games of > Culture | Art of Games >To: "Jo-Anne Green" >Message-ID: <00f401c9a33f$d97684a0$8c638de0$@org> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > >Floating Points 6: Games of Culture | Art of Games >http://institute.emerson.edu/floatingpoints/2009/ > >A Film Screening, Symposium and Workshops with Asi Burak, Anita Fontaine, >Jesper Juul, Friedrich Kirschner, Marcin Ramocki, Jason Rohrer, Adriana de >Souza Silva, Mushon Zer-Aviv > >DATE: March 20-21, 2009 >VENUE: Emerson College, Boston + streamed live on the web and in Second Life >FREE and OPEN to the public. Registration details on the website > >Video games extend beyond the gaming console into nearly every aspect of >contemporary life. They are fun. They drive innovation, consumer engagement >and employee productivity. Is our culture turning everything into a game? > >Video Games have had a greater impact on narrative form than any medium >since film. They are altering our experience of both virtual and physical >space. Gamespace is everywhere and nowhere (McKenzie Wark, "Gamer Theory"). >In "Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds", Michael >Nitsche introduces five analytical layers - rule-based space, mediated >space, fictional space, play space, and social space. How do artists and >game designers use these spaces in their creative practice? How does >structured play impact our engagement with other people, both online and in >urban space? What are the political and cultural implications of gaming >practices? > >Please join us for a lively discussion. > >Co-Organized and Co-Presented by Emerson College and Turbulence.org > >Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director >New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org >New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 >Turbulence: http://turbulence.org >Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog >Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review >Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade >New American Radio: http://somewhere.org > > >_______________________________________________ >announcements mailing list >announcements at sarai.net >https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements > >------------------------------ > >Message: 2 >Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:14:46 +0530 > From: Pawan Durani >Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... >To: sarai list >Message-ID: > <6b79f1a70903132344x60161cd3kdb3fc3dccb703c75 at mail.gmail.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > >http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/ > >Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it comes to our fundamental >rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is the ‘pink chaddi’ >campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second is a campaign to end >ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student who was beaten to death >by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal Pradesh. > >The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook and had 50,000+ members in >less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman >Kachroo’ >has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, including your truly have >been asking members to join the campaign but with little response. So, why >is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman Kachroo? Was the ‘pink >chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for which a 19-year-old had >to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to us. > >Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one deserves such a death. >But time and again, children die or attempt suicide unable to bear the >ragging at their institutions, and the authorities first attempt a cover-up; >then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept the crime only when the >shit hits the fan. > >A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology institutes in the >country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put through the grind when >they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of the rooms, and wanted >to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become ‘ashtrays’ – they were supposed >to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with their MOUTHS OPEN so that >ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those with a morbid sense of >fun and fair play, this may be much better than being beaten to death, but >that’s no consolation. > >Now of course, premier institutions like the one referred to above have >clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it are told to drop a >year and come back next year to continue the curriculum. Freshers are now >given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe distance from them for >fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who are rude with the >seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at IIT Powai. Sadly, in >all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. But I >guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened with Aman Kachroo and, >just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who tried to commit suicide >because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps are necessary. > >So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub going loose women, and >take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also ensure that no kids, >whether yours or mine, lose their lives? > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 3 >Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:41:15 +0530 > From: Rakesh Iyer >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... >To: Pawan Durani >Cc: sarai list >Message-ID: > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > >Dear all > >I think the point raised by Pawan is certainly a valid one, in that certain >issues have always hogged the limelight, while others are not even mentioned >or discussed among the public. This has certainly been the case between >incidents like Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case, Nitish Katara murder case, >Jessica Lall murder case and also the Mangalore pub attacks on one hand, >which have become popular, and on the other hand, incidents like Khairlanji >massacre of Dalits, Jhajjar massacre of Dalits, and also the Kachroo ragging >case, which have not been as popular. > >One aspect certainly on this issue, is the strong association between >popular TV and newsprint media on one hand, and the class connection of the >people working here. Most of the people working at such places belong to the >upper middle class, and connect better to issues and problems they >experience. The result is that they are not able to connect with issues like >SHG's (Self Help Groups), massacre of lower-caste people, electoral politics >(the actual way it works) among others. > >However, the larger framework in which this can be mentioned is what we call >as 'democracy'. As I see it, the upper middle class of India don't want >democracy; instead, democracy only seems to be a problem for them. Being a >student of one of the premier technological institutes of India >(IIT-Madras), my experiences can vouch for the fact that most of the >students in my college belong to this upper middle class, and this class >does not really want democracy. Instead, what most of this class wants (and >at one time, even I wanted), is efficiency. Hence, the support for a party >like BJP (which supports privatization as it improves efficiency, or even >anti-terror laws as they are supposed to improve efficiency in giving >justice and punishment to terrorists). > >The upper middle class can get all their works done through bribes and other >means. For example, look at the way most of us get our licences, ration >cards, and even passports.Most of this class members would have to or would >have already paid some bribe at some point of time to get their work done (I >dont' mean to say that people who pay bribes like to do so; it just means >that they don't have any choice left). When these don't work, they can also >use media pressure to get what they want. Look at issues of reservation, >Mangalore pub attacks, and even murder cases as examples. > >However, when issues don't concern them, they hardly bother. So, massacre of >Dalits can be forgotten. The fact that reservation as a move to protect >unity of India has worked, can also be forgotten. Moreover, even Ambedkar >and his followers can be forgotten. Even the fact, that people who are >uneducated, poor, illiterate actually go out in each and every election and >vote, (while the upper middle class generally dont' vote in that large >numbers), is forgotten. Infact, it's these people who realize that they >don't have the money or the resources to pay bribes to get their work done, >and hence, go out and vote, in the hope that they would be able to get their >necessities of daily life, in an easier and simpler manner, so also the hope >that things would improve for them. > >Hence, it's not just an apathy of one incident, and sympathy for something >else. > >It's a class-based system, where something is sympathised with, and >something is totally forgotten. (And one reason as I see it, is the fact >that India doesn't have one unified common education system, where children >of rich were to study side-by-side with the children of poor. This would >have changed India totally for the better, for when communication starts >between members cutting across classes, you can understand others better, >social trust improves, and issues can be understood much better. ) > >It would be better that we all try to now bring about this communication in >our little ways we can, otherwise we are in trouble for now, and heading >towards an impending disaster. > >Only then will sympathy be there for all classes. And nobody would have to >ask others to sympathize with Aman Kachroo or any such cases. > >Regards > >Rakesh > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 4 >Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:47:33 +0530 > From: swathi shivanand >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... >To: sarai list >Message-ID: > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > >while agreeing with a large number of issues raised in the two emails, >namely that of the class nature of the media, the horrific incidents of >ragging demeaning human dignity, the under-reportage of atrocities against >dalits..... > >but to priviliege one kind of oppression over the other, to say that one is >more important than the other is doing a disservice to understanding the >nature and operation of powerful, oppressive forces. it is also to say that >one's oppression is worse than the other's... and one definitely cannot >hierarchise oppression, can we? > >so while calling for support, perhaps we ask for support based on the >historicity and nature of the incident involved, rather than demeaning other >forms of protest? > >swathi > >On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > > > http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/ > > > > Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it comes to our fundamental > > rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is the ‘pink chaddi’ > > campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second is a campaign to end > > ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student who was beaten to death > > by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal Pradesh. > > > > The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook and had 50,000+ members in > > less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman > > Kachroo< > > http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56564914348#/group.php?gid=57342453306 > > >’ > > has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, including your truly have > > been asking members to join the campaign but with little response. So, why > > is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman Kachroo? Was the ‘pink > > chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for which a 19-year-old had > > to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to us. > > > > Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one deserves such a death. > > But time and again, children die or attempt suicide unable to bear the > > ragging at their institutions, and the authorities first attempt a > > cover-up; > > then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept the crime only when > > the > > shit hits the fan. > > > > A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology institutes in the > > country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put through the grind when > > they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of the rooms, and > > wanted > > to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become ‘ashtrays’ – they were > > supposed > > to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with their MOUTHS OPEN so > > that > > ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those with a morbid sense of > > fun and fair play, this may be much better than being beaten to death, but > > that’s no consolation. > > > > Now of course, premier institutions like the one referred to above have > > clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it are told to drop a > > year and come back next year to continue the curriculum. Freshers are now > > given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe distance from them for > > fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who are rude with the > > seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at IIT Powai. Sadly, in > > all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. But I > > guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened with Aman Kachroo and, > > just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who tried to commit suicide > > because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps are necessary. > > > > So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub going loose women, > > and > > take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also ensure that no kids, > > whether yours or mine, lose their lives? > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 5 >Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:48:46 +0600 > From: Naeem Mohaiemen >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh > uprising" >To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com, sarai list >Message-ID: > >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > >The latest theories > >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/world/asia/14bangla.html > >On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 8:01 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > It could be just yet another 'conspiracy theory' although certainity of > > knowledge about Pakistani involvement has not been claimed. > > > > Ironic though that the 'conspiracy theory specialist' Pakistan is the > > suspect. Pakistan and Pakistanis themselves make a habit of and are very > > fond of seeing the 'real conspiracy' behind a 9/11 or a 26/11 or Attack on > > Indian Parliament or Massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir. > > > > (To Naeem) : In Bangladesh is there any such (seriously > > considered) suspicion about Pakistani involvement in the BDR Mutiny? > > > > - " ....... harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the > > officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such > > brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute" > > > > - " ........   whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's plans > > to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who collaborated > > with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence." > > > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > > > "Pakistan in the frame over Bangladesh uprising" > > > > (The Pakistani intelligence services are suspected of being involved last > > week's Dhaka massacre of at least 77 Bangladesh Army officers.) > > > > By Dean Nelson > >   01 Mar 2009 > > > > Investigators say they have begun a search for the "powerful quarters" > > behind the revolt amid claims it may have been organised from abroad. > > > > Officials yesterday filed murder cases against 1,000 border security guards > > of the Bangladesh Rifles as reports emerged in India and Bangladesh of a > > Pakistan-based plot to destabilise the new government of prime minister > > Sheikh Hasina. > > > > The Times of India quoted sources close to the investigation claiming > > arrested mutineers had named a senior a Bangladeshi businessman and > > politician believed to have close links with Pakistan's intelligence > > service. It was also reported that confession statements suggested the > > mutineers had received around £100,000 to bankroll their revolt. > > > > Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency has previously been accused of > > involvement in the attacks on Mumbai last November in which 173 were killed. > > > > As the scale of carnage and the cruelty of the mutineers has emerged – > > including harrowing reports of the wives and children of some of the > > officers being mutilated – serious doubts have surfaced over whether such > > brutality would have been carried out simply over a pay dispute. The death > > toll is expected to rise further as investigators search for 70 officers who > > are still missing. > > > > Investigators are expected to probe the extent of militant penetration of > > the Bangladesh Rifles by al-Qaeda linked groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen > > Bangladesh, and also whether the uprising was linked to the prime minister's > > plans to establish a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial those who > > collaborated with the Pakistan Army in Bangladesh's war of independence. > > > > A leading Bangladeshi newspaper quoted one member of the inquiry committee > > saying the mutiny could not have happened without the support of "powerful > > quarters." > > > > A seven-member committee to investigate the revolt, led by the country's > > Home Minister, Sahara Khatun, formally began its investigation yesterday to > > establish how the massacre happened and who was behind it. > > > > It is due to report next weekend, but its inquiry will take place in an > > increasingly febrile atmosphere as rumours of a plot to destabilise the > > government and force the army to take power gathered momentum. > > > > The mutineers themselves originally told the prime minister they were > > rebelling over poor pay and promotion prospects and abuses by their > > officers, who were drawn from the army and not from the Bangladesh Riflemen > > themselves. They claimed discredited officers were often seconded to the > > Rifles as a 'punishment posting' and that they used the Riflemen for > > personal smuggling operations. > > > > Members of the Bangladesh Rifles who fled their posts during the mutiny > > began to return to barracks yesterday (SUN) as detectives said police forces > > throughout the country were hunting 1,000 border guards wanted for the > > mutiny murders. > > > > Dhaka police chief Nabojit Khisa Khisa said: "Cases have been filed against > > more than 1,000 BDR troops who were involved with the mutiny in Dhaka last > > week." > > > > Officials said the ringleaders among them, including six who met prime > > minister Sheikh Hasina to negotiate an amnesty, would be hanged if found > > guilty. > > > > Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and leader of > > the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, pledged her support for the inquiry but > > criticised Sheikh Hasina's initial amnesty offer to the rebels. "This gave > > them more time to kill more people and conceal their brutality," she said. > > > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/4902794/Pakistan-in-the-frame-over-Bangladesh-uprising.html > > > > > > > > > > >------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >reader-list mailing list >reader-list at sarai.net >https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >End of reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 27 >******************************************* From comradesaad at gmail.com Sun Mar 15 14:48:13 2009 From: comradesaad at gmail.com (S J) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:18:13 +0300 Subject: [Reader-list] Nawaz Sharif_ The Future 'Martyr' of Pakistani Politics Message-ID: <2ce11dd30903150218p1e2104d9g850ca79b94db1d39@mail.gmail.com> First of all by 'martyr',here, i mean one who killed, by CIA or governement or policy-makers etc, for some political reason/s [not one who die for some pious cause or mission]. now come to the point, In South Asian countries, the characters of leaders are very weak so they can't be used after their deaths since their popularity decreases as time passes. But my killing them, and thus making them 'shaheed', policy makers can achieve their goals. For ezample, Gandhis, Jinah, Liaqat Ali, Mujib urehman, Bhuttos, Iltafbhais, etc all were killed for making them popular in masses so that people may think they die for their 'holy' mission. Today, nearly all political parties of Pakistan have sufficient number of (so-called)'martyrs' but we see PML(N) has a defeciency of 'Shaheed' so on the bases of my political knowledge, i prophesize or anticipate that Mian Nawaz Sharif will not die a natural death. He has to give his 'life' in order to enhance the 'life span' of PML(N) and sharifs. So you will see, it'll be fulfilled one day! Saad Ahmed Baksh, Lahore. -- Live And Let Live! From comradesaad at gmail.com Sun Mar 15 16:21:39 2009 From: comradesaad at gmail.com (S J) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:51:39 +0300 Subject: [Reader-list] NAWAZ SHERIF: The Future 'MARTYR' of Pakistan? Message-ID: <2ce11dd30903150351i31697d6ew7c76db59e529aead@mail.gmail.com> First of all by 'martyr',here, i mean one who killed, by CIA or governmentor policy-makers etc, for some political reason/s [not one who die for some pious cause or mission]. now come to the point, In South Asian countries, the characters of leaders are very weak so they can't be used after their deaths since their popularity decreases as time passes. But my killing them, and thus making them 'shaheed', policy makers can achieve their goals. For example Gandhis, Jinnah, Liaqat Ali, Mujib urehman, Bhuttos, Iltafbhais, etc all were killed for making them popular in masses so that people may think they die for their 'holy' mission. Today, nearly all political parties of Pakistan have sufficient number of (so-called)'martyrs' but we see PML(N) has a deficiency of 'Shaheeds' so on the bases of my political knowledge, i prophesies or anticipate that Mian Nawaz Sharif will not die a natural death. He has to give his 'life' in order to enhance the 'life span' of PML(N) and sharifs in politics. So you will see, it'll be fulfilled one day! Saad Ahmad Baksh -- Live And Let Live! From comradesaad at gmail.com Sun Mar 15 16:23:27 2009 From: comradesaad at gmail.com (S J) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:53:27 +0300 Subject: [Reader-list] NAWAZ SHERIF: The Future 'MARTYR' of Pakistan? In-Reply-To: <2ce11dd30903150351i31697d6ew7c76db59e529aead@mail.gmail.com> References: <2ce11dd30903150351i31697d6ew7c76db59e529aead@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2ce11dd30903150353k14854080na17f4178c62bd71a@mail.gmail.com> First of all by 'martyr',here, i mean one who killed, by CIA or governmentor policy-makers etc, for some political reason/s [not one who die for some pious cause or mission]. now come to the point, In South Asian countries, the characters of leaders are very weak so they can't be used after their deaths since their popularity decreases as time passes. But by killing them, and thus making them 'shaheed', policy makers can achieve their goals. For example Gandhis, Jinnah, Liaqat Ali, Mujib urehman, Bhuttos, Iltafbhais, etc all were killed for making them popular in masses so that people may think they die for their 'holy' mission. Today, nearly all political parties of Pakistan have sufficient number of (so-called)'martyrs' but we see PML(N) has a deficiency of 'Shaheeds' so on the bases of my political knowledge, i prophesies or anticipate that Mian Nawaz Sharif will not die a natural death. He has to give his 'life' in order to enhance the 'life span' of PML(N) and sharifs in politics. So you will see, it'll be fulfilled one day! Saad Ahmad Baksh -- Live And Let Live! From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Mar 15 19:43:53 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:13:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa Message-ID: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in:   - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship"      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL   - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India"       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi   Kshmendra     "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" JAGMOHAN SINGH Saturday, 07 March 2009   AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back.   The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year.   Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”.   Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”.   Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”.   Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”.   Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped.   http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/     From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Mar 15 19:50:14 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:20:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?b?4oCYT3JnYW5pc2VkIGNvbnNwaXJhY3nigJkgYWdh?= =?utf-8?q?inst_Hindus_in_Sindh=3A_Mirza?= Message-ID: <107853.47069.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> (News item (truncated) is reproduced below   ""‘Organised conspiracy’ against Hindus in Sindh: Mirza"""   Friday, March 13, 2009 By By our correspondent Karachi Legislators during the Sindh Assembly session on Thursday expressed concern over a whole range of issues, including kidnapping of minority members, corruption at the Civic Centre during registration of vehicles, continued load-shedding, non-payment of salaries to lady health workers (LHW), extra fees by private schools, theft of steel from railway tracks and cutting of trees. “Certain elements have hatched an ‘organised conspiracy’ against the Hindus in interior Sindh to force them to flee and occupy their property and business,” Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza said. Responding to point of order by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) legislator Razaq Rahimoon about the alleged blasphemy act in Umerkot and subsequent violent protests there, Mirza said that such incidents have been reported in the last two to three months. He said that previously Ahmadis were targeted and now Hindus were being targeted. “It was a well-thought conspiracy against Hindus to occupy their property and compel them to flee,” he said, adding that they would not allow it and protect the minorities. Mirza said that concerns in this regard were justified, and the DPO concerned had held talks with both sides and the police had taken “strict action” to restore peace in the area. Rahimoon said that Umerkot was closed in last two days over alleged blasphemy. Hindus comprise 60 per cent of the population in the area and they were concerned about it. A minority MPA said that the minority members were not involved in it. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Rai Naz Bozdar said that three Hindu traders were kidnapped from Salihpat, Pano Aqil, and one of them had been killed. Another treasury legislator Aisha Khoso said that the PPP Jacobabad district minority president had been kidnapped, and his whereabouts were not known for last 21 days. Similarly, PPP MPA Amir Ali Shah highlighted the alleged assault on a seven-year-old girl from the minority community in his constituency, Matiari. http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=166859     From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 15 21:40:09 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:10:09 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. Regards Taha On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension > in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We > were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of > strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow > us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never > prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even > Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since > none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required > necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal > area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful > for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief > while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the > four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since > girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance > only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous > Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since > for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for > women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com Sun Mar 15 23:07:32 2009 From: santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com (santhosh hk) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:07:32 +0430 Subject: [Reader-list] Introducing the interdisciplinary e journal Message-ID: *Vijnanacintamani *is the electronic version of the journal of the same name started way back in 1883 by the eminent scholar Sri Punnassery Nambi Neelakanta Sharma in Sankrit, the founder of Sree Neelakanta Govt. Sanskrit College, Pattambi. This multi –lingual journal is published once in three months; it can be accessed and downloaded absolutely free of cost from www.vijnanacintamani.org or www.sngscollege.info, the website of the College both maintained by the Multimedia Centre. The contents remain the copyright of the college. The journal is essentially interdisciplinary in approach and sensibility. Seven volumes brought out so far vouchsafe this: the first one examines and explores the possibilities of new emerging techniques in English Language Teaching (ELT) while the second is an extensive survey on the theory and practice of local history. The third dwells extensively on the conflicting Sanskrit traditions, epistemological frameworks and knowledge systems of India. Outstanding academicians and writers have contributed in all issues. In each issue, research papers and abstracts of theses are included. Articles can be supplemented, if necessary, by audio and video files, power point or any other required software. There is space earmarked for review articles as well as creative pieces. We are seriously considering the prospects of including study materials and trying to covert the journal into a referred one. Articles can be submitted by email in soft copy in PDF / Word. Alternatively, hard copies can be sent to the Convener, Multimedia Centre. Writers are strongly advised to make sure submitted items are original and to desist from the use of copyrighted materials to avoid legal wrangling. For details, feel free to contact the Convener mail at sngscollege.info editor at vijnancintamani.org From vashsand at hotmail.com Sun Mar 15 23:34:58 2009 From: vashsand at hotmail.com (Sandeep) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:04:58 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] The Demonic and the Seductive in Religious Nationalism Message-ID: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2009/9086/pdf/HPSACP_NANDY.pdf Nandys himself a gandhian gives clean chit to gandhi co. and islamic ulema. Gandhis casteism is not mentioned nor are ulemas dream turning whole india into dar ul islam within 100 yrs or so from inside. Gandhi was basically a philistine bania who had big problems if not to say inferiority complex for anything coming from bengali renesanse or bengal at large. i dont konw much abt ali brothers but i dont think they ever liked ppl like omar khayyam or mirza ghalib. Nandy happily forgets to mention indian muslim league was established in 1905 ten yrs before hindu mahasabha. even though muslim league demanded state for themselves in 1940. he never mentions khilafat movement, which disillusioned jinnah away from congress. maybe congress and ali brothers alliance pissed both jinnah and savarkar away. Anyway this savarkarite/jinnah state buliding is perverse neither ramdhun or jehad (overt or stealth) is not answer. maybe india and pakistan should hv done like greeks and turks given few yrs for exchange of cows(populations) with nirad chaudhri, jinnah and savarkar as overseers. nb also master tara singh cheers Sandeep _________________________________________________________________ Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mkt=en-us From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 00:31:03 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:31:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> good mr. Taha just to intensity that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable around us goes into the building of a nation state, the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and its Law is bound to face oppression. there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its duty but its lenient/flexible approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat who teases him while deep slumber ) The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. the question is how voices of the other can force the State to bend and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, legitimately best is On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: > Dear Kshmendra > > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. > > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? > >  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political > class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. > > Regards > > Taha > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also >> appeared in: >> >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> >> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had >> crossed over to india few days back. >> >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >> >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never >> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal >> area of Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal >> area”, she quipped. >> >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 16 01:52:15 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:22:15 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> What's so good about it mr. Inder...I do not think that everything which is illegitimate 'in the eyes of the law is bound to face oppression'. The South Asian experience at least tells us that structural arrangements pertaining to big governement sometimes takes a back seat to human agency when it comes to 'dealing' with law, in most cases. 'Jugaad' is a poignant example such a negotiation. And what you suggest as a paradox regarding the tendency to 'tolerate' liberals etc is perhaps an all pervasive modern myth, something which we all want to believe in for, and again I would like to drag in Nandy's argument here, when he suggests that, 'Data on mass violence show that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the twentieth century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) So there you go, it seems as if the only way when voices of the other can be heard is perhaps when they acquire a state like power or perhaps when the state itself starts decaying by its own rotten or rottening mass. Regards Taha On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > good mr. Taha > > just to intensity > that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable > around us goes into the building of a nation state, > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel > > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and its Law is > bound to face oppression. > > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its > duty but its lenient/flexible approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat > who teases him while deep slumber ) > > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. > the question is how > voices of the other > can force the State to bend > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures > and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, > legitimately > > best > is > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: > > Dear Kshmendra > > > > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general > > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the > basis > > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the > > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of > > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a > long > > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or > > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when > it > > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. > > > > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and > > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we > > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious > > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as > > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was > > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we > witnessing > > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? > > > > It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo > political > > class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. > > > > Regards > > > > Taha > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >wrote: > > > >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have > also > >> appeared in: > >> > >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > >> http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > >> > >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > >> > >> > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > >> > >> Kshmendra > >> > >> > >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > >> JAGMOHAN SINGH > >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 > >> > >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu > migrants > >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly > in > >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children > had > >> crossed over to india few days back. > >> > >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried > the > >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > extension > >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > >> > >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We > >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the > domination of > >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In > such > >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > female > >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in > India”. > >> > >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow > >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > >> > >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never > >> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint > the > >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > Pakistan”. > >> > >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar > said, > >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. > Even > >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, > since > >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for > required > >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the > tribal > >> area of Pakistan”. > >> > >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful > >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > >> > >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief > >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were > observing > >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > always > >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > people. > >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in > the > >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, > since > >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > >> > >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets > chance > >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. > Numerous > >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. > Since > >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and > for > >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > >> area”, she quipped. > >> > >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> _________________________________________ > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >> Critiques & Collaborations > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >> subscribe in the subject header. > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From vashsand at hotmail.com Mon Mar 16 02:48:46 2009 From: vashsand at hotmail.com (Sandeep) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:18:46 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: 'Data on mass violence show that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the twentieth century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) Nandy has big problem here. im not sure he takes into account better health sevices in last 3 centuries or so leading to polpulation explosion. and better weapon technologies. both accounting for larger numbers of population being massacered. Nandy with his postmodren traditionalism lays all blame on secularism/modernity etc , no doubt doubt secular ideologies r also guilty of mass murder, its not their monoply. ppl like gandhi, ali brothers who used religon for political gains thus were instrumental in alienating secular ppl like jinnah and maybe savarkar equally guilty of mass murder. in a way whole indipendence movement was bullshit . useless murder for gain of few ppl. for majority of indians maybe it would hv been better they were still part of british empire, maybe we would hv acheived same kind of status like aussies and canadians by now. anyway its daydreaming as i dont underestimate neither british or southasian philistine racism/xenophobia > Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:22:15 +0000 > From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com > To: indersalim at gmail.com > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > > What's so good about it mr. Inder...I do not think that everything which is > illegitimate 'in the eyes of the law is bound to face oppression'. The South > Asian experience at least tells us that structural arrangements pertaining > to big governement sometimes takes a back seat to human agency when it comes > to 'dealing' with law, in most cases. 'Jugaad' is a poignant example such a > negotiation. And what you suggest as a paradox regarding the tendency to > 'tolerate' liberals etc is perhaps an all pervasive modern myth, something > which we all want to believe in for, and again I would like to drag in > Nandy's argument here, when he suggests that, 'Data on mass violence show > that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least > two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the twentieth > century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) So there you go, it seems as if the only way > when voices of the other can be heard is perhaps when they acquire a state > like power or perhaps when the state itself starts decaying by its own > rotten or rottening mass. > > Regards > > Taha > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > > > good mr. Taha > > > > just to intensity > > that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable > > around us goes into the building of a nation state, > > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel > > > > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and its Law is > > bound to face oppression. > > > > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( > > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its > > duty but its lenient/flexible approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat > > who teases him while deep slumber ) > > > > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in > > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. > > the question is how > > voices of the other > > can force the State to bend > > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures > > and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, > > legitimately > > > > best > > is > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood > > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: > > > Dear Kshmendra > > > > > > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general > > > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the > > basis > > > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the > > > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of > > > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a > > long > > > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or > > > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when > > it > > > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. > > > > > > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and > > > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we > > > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious > > > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as > > > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was > > > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we > > witnessing > > > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? > > > > > > It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo > > political > > > class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. > > > > > > Regards > > > > > > Taha > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > >wrote: > > > > > >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have > > also > > >> appeared in: > > >> > > >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > > >> http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > >> > > >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > >> > > >> > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > >> > > >> Kshmendra > > >> > > >> > > >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > > >> JAGMOHAN SINGH > > >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > >> > > >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu > > migrants > > >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly > > in > > >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children > > had > > >> crossed over to india few days back. > > >> > > >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried > > the > > >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > > extension > > >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > > >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > >> > > >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > > “We > > >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the > > domination of > > >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In > > such > > >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > > female > > >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > > >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in > > India”. > > >> > > >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > > allow > > >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > > >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > >> > > >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > > never > > >> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > > >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint > > the > > >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > > Pakistan”. > > >> > > >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar > > said, > > >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > > >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. > > Even > > >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, > > since > > >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for > > required > > >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > > >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the > > tribal > > >> area of Pakistan”. > > >> > > >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > > needful > > >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > > >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > >> > > >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > > relief > > >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were > > observing > > >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > > always > > >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > > people. > > >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in > > the > > >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, > > since > > >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > >> > > >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > > >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets > > chance > > >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > > >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. > > Numerous > > >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > > >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. > > Since > > >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and > > for > > >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > > >> area”, she quipped. > > >> > > >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> _________________________________________ > > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > >> Critiques & Collaborations > > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > >> subscribe in the subject header. > > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >> List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________________________________ Show them the way! Add maps and directions to your party invites. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/products/events.aspx From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 03:43:36 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:13:36 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com><65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com><47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <8DECCDC2E27542A29DBAB36EAC16A195@tara> "whole indipendence movement was bullshit". Spot on. Sau mein sattar adami filhaal jab nashaad hai Dil pe rakh ke haath kahiye desh kya aazad hai. Kothiyon se mulk ki maiyyar ko mat napiye Asli hindustan to foot-path par aabad hai. (I forgot who originally wrote this wonderful lines) Paraphrase: When 70 out of 100 Indians are in trouble, can you say for sure that the country is free? Don't measure the achievements of the country by palatial mansions, true Hindustan inhabits the side walks. Is kadar pabindi-e majahab ke sadke aap ke Jab se azadi mili hai mulk mein ramzaan hai. Here Dushyant Kumar is challenging our secular credentials. Ever since we attained "freedom" the country is fasting. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandeep" To: "sa" Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 5:18 PM Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > > 'Data on mass violence show > that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least > two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the > twentieth > century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) > > > > Nandy has big problem here. im not sure he takes into account better > health sevices in last 3 centuries or so leading to polpulation explosion. > and better weapon technologies. both accounting for larger numbers of > population being massacered. Nandy with his postmodren traditionalism lays > all blame on secularism/modernity etc , no doubt doubt secular ideologies > r also guilty of mass murder, its not their monoply. ppl like gandhi, ali > brothers who used religon for political gains thus were instrumental in > alienating secular ppl like jinnah and maybe savarkar equally guilty of > mass murder. in a way whole indipendence movement was bullshit . useless > murder for gain of few ppl. for majority of indians maybe it would hv been > better they were still part of british empire, maybe we would hv acheived > same kind of status like aussies and canadians by now. > > > > anyway its daydreaming as i dont underestimate neither british or > southasian philistine racism/xenophobia > >> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:22:15 +0000 >> From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com >> To: indersalim at gmail.com >> CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India >> grants Visa >> >> What's so good about it mr. Inder...I do not think that everything which >> is >> illegitimate 'in the eyes of the law is bound to face oppression'. The >> South >> Asian experience at least tells us that structural arrangements >> pertaining >> to big governement sometimes takes a back seat to human agency when it >> comes >> to 'dealing' with law, in most cases. 'Jugaad' is a poignant example such >> a >> negotiation. And what you suggest as a paradox regarding the tendency to >> 'tolerate' liberals etc is perhaps an all pervasive modern myth, >> something >> which we all want to believe in for, and again I would like to drag in >> Nandy's argument here, when he suggests that, 'Data on mass violence show >> that secular states, backed by secular ideologies, account for at least >> two-thirds of all the deaths in organized mass violence during the >> twentieth >> century.' (Nandy, A 2009 p-5) So there you go, it seems as if the only >> way >> when voices of the other can be heard is perhaps when they acquire a >> state >> like power or perhaps when the state itself starts decaying by its own >> rotten or rottening mass. >> >> Regards >> >> Taha >> >> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Inder Salim >> wrote: >> >> > good mr. Taha >> > >> > just to intensity >> > that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable >> > around us goes into the building of a nation state, >> > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel >> > >> > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and its Law is >> > bound to face oppression. >> > >> > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( >> > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its >> > duty but its lenient/flexible approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat >> > who teases him while deep slumber ) >> > >> > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in >> > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. >> > the question is how >> > voices of the other >> > can force the State to bend >> > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its >> > structures >> > and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, >> > legitimately >> > >> > best >> > is >> > >> > >> > >> > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood >> > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: >> > > Dear Kshmendra >> > > >> > > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a >> > > general >> > > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the >> > basis >> > > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the >> > > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' >> > > of >> > > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome >> > > a >> > long >> > > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or >> > > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, >> > > when >> > it >> > > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. >> > > >> > > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence >> > > and >> > > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. >> > > Are we >> > > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious >> > > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' >> > > families as >> > > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy >> > > was >> > > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we >> > witnessing >> > > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? >> > > >> > > It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo >> > political >> > > class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. >> > > >> > > Regards >> > > >> > > Taha >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >> > > > > >wrote: >> > > >> > >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) >> > >> have >> > also >> > >> appeared in: >> > >> >> > >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >> > >> http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> > >> >> > >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> > >> >> > >> >> > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> > >> >> > >> Kshmendra >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> > >> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> > >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> > >> >> > >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu >> > migrants >> > >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, >> > >> particularly >> > in >> > >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three >> > >> children >> > had >> > >> crossed over to india few days back. >> > >> >> > >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They >> > >> carried >> > the >> > >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get >> > extension >> > >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived >> > >> in >> > >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> > >> >> > >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan >> > >> said, >> > “We >> > >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the >> > domination of >> > >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. >> > >> In >> > such >> > >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially >> > >> our >> > female >> > >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we >> > >> can >> > >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in >> > India”. >> > >> >> > >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to >> > allow >> > >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in >> > >> the >> > >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> > >> >> > >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families >> > >> would >> > never >> > >> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here >> > >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never >> > >> disappoint >> > the >> > >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in >> > Pakistan”. >> > >> >> > >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar >> > said, >> > >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by >> > >> the >> > >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire >> > >> property. >> > Even >> > >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, >> > since >> > >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for >> > required >> > >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed >> > >> local >> > >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the >> > tribal >> > >> area of Pakistan”. >> > >> >> > >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the >> > needful >> > >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish >> > >> our >> > >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> > >> >> > >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of >> > relief >> > >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were >> > observing >> > >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents >> > >> were >> > always >> > >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist >> > people. >> > >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with >> > >> in >> > the >> > >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, >> > since >> > >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of >> > >> Pakistan”. >> > >> >> > >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >> > >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets >> > chance >> > >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. >> > >> In >> > >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. >> > Numerous >> > >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan >> > >> as >> > >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. >> > Since >> > >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission >> > >> and >> > for >> > >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the >> > >> tribal >> > >> area”, she quipped. >> > >> >> > >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> _________________________________________ >> > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > >> Critiques & Collaborations >> > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > >> subscribe in the subject header. >> > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > >> List archive: >> > > _________________________________________ >> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > > Critiques & Collaborations >> > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in the subject header. >> > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > >> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________________________________ > Show them the way! Add maps and directions to your party invites. > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/products/events.aspx > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 16 08:25:03 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:55:03 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903151955k139be4fbjb07b91cb65e6c59b@mail.gmail.com> Dear Sandeep Thank you for your mail. I do not resent you having personal opinions, after all we are free country and people have a right to have personal opinions but I do resent people articulating their personal opinions as truisms on a public list. So I beg your pardon because I do not think that a) whole Independence movement was bullshit, b)been better they were still part of british empire and c) maybe we would hv acheived same kind of status like aussies and canadians by now. Reason being rather obvious- it was an unjust rule. And I am glad that it was over long before I was born and were it to happen again I will be more than happy to resist it. Insofar as arguments over Nandy's position are concerned, I think the best person to answer these questions would be Nandy himself. Let me add that I am truly charmed by your clarity of thought and insight. Can we on the reader-list assume that for all times to come, your position on issues related to independence would be consistent i.e.'independence movement was bullshit'. Even if according to you, we consider the Independence movement as 'bullshit' then should we also consider all other social configurations, ideas, propositions emanating as complementary strands to the independent movement as 'bullshit? For instance, the Hindu mahasabha or the RSS etc were such propositions, could we consider these social reactions to contemporary socio-political thought as 'bullshit' too? Or should we go by your caveat and ignore your 'bullshit' as merely a 'daydream' and carry on? Warm regards Taha From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 08:52:34 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:52:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903152022l125b276n9f94b285df88e29c@mail.gmail.com> good in the sense, that i appreciate your comment to Kashmendras post on minorities who face the music in the current crises in pakistan. On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 AM, Inder Salim wrote: > good mr. Taha > > just to intensity >  that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable >  around us goes into the building of a nation state, > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel > > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and  its Law is > bound to face oppression. > > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its > duty but its lenient/flexible  approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat > who teases him while deep slumber ) > > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. > the question is how >  voices of the other > can force the State to bend > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures >  and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, legitimately > > best > is > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: >> Dear Kshmendra >> >> Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general >> tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis >> of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the >> situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of >> Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long >> time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or >> 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it >> comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. >> >> This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and >> blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we >> witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious >> nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as >> yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was >> kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing >> signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? >> >>  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political >> class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. >> >> Regards >> >> Taha >> >> >> >> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: >> >>> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also >>> appeared in: >>> >>> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >>>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >>> >>> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >>> >>> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >>> >>> Kshmendra >>> >>> >>> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >>> JAGMOHAN SINGH >>> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >>> >>> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants >>> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in >>> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had >>> crossed over to india few days back. >>> >>> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the >>> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension >>> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in >>> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >>> >>> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We >>> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of >>> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such >>> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female >>> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can >>> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >>> >>> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow >>> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the >>> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >>> >>> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never >>> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here >>> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the >>> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. >>> >>> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, >>> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the >>> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even >>> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since >>> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required >>> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local >>> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal >>> area of Pakistan”. >>> >>> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful >>> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our >>> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >>> >>> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief >>> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing >>> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always >>> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. >>> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the >>> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since >>> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >>> >>> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >>> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance >>> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In >>> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous >>> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as >>> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since >>> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for >>> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal >>> area”, she quipped. >>> >>> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 09:39:53 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:09:53 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com><65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com><47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com><65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151955k139be4fbjb07b91cb65e6c59b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6C03B426A67640D7B4E3C15FD0DCA6A0@tara> Dear Taha and all. I am not sure how fair it is to say that since X was thief, y too was a thief. Taha seems to have perfected the art of forcing Y in to discourse of X so that the discourse of x gets sidelined, not necessarily intentionally. May be Hindu Maha Sabha, PLO, KKK, ANC, DMK, LTTE, WHO, UNCTARD, and all other possible social or political formations are bull shit, but still they are not the same. Different bulls produce different kind of shit. I also fail to understand why would you ask an individual if his/her position on an issue will remain unchanged. One may read a bit and evolve one's position. May be one gets more radical and call the "independence movement" pig shit. Does it help the discussion in any way asking if Sandeep's position will change? Coming to independence of India, I wish you had added some rationale to assume that we became a just society after "independence" (when you say that British rule was unjust). Regards ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> To: "Sandeep" Cc: "reader-list" Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 10:55 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared,India grants Visa > Dear Sandeep > > Thank you for your mail. > > I do not resent you having personal opinions, after all we are free > country > and people have a right to have personal opinions but I do resent people > articulating their personal opinions as truisms on a public list. So I beg > your pardon because I do not think that a) whole Independence movement was > bullshit, b)been better they were still part of british empire and c) > maybe > we would hv acheived same kind of status like aussies and canadians by > now. > > Reason being rather obvious- it was an unjust rule. > > And I am glad that it was over long before I was born and were it to > happen > again I will be more than happy to resist it. Insofar as arguments over > Nandy's position are concerned, I think the best person to answer these > questions would be Nandy himself. > > Let me add that I am truly charmed by your clarity of thought and insight. > Can we on the reader-list assume that for all times to come, your position > on issues related to independence would be consistent i.e.'independence > movement was bullshit'. > > Even if according to you, we consider the Independence movement as > 'bullshit' then should we also consider all other social configurations, > ideas, propositions emanating as complementary strands to the independent > movement as 'bullshit? For instance, the Hindu mahasabha or the RSS etc > were such propositions, could we consider these social reactions to > contemporary socio-political thought as 'bullshit' too? > > Or should we go by your caveat and ignore your 'bullshit' as merely a > 'daydream' and carry on? > > Warm regards > > Taha > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 10:10:58 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:10:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903152022l125b276n9f94b285df88e29c@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903152022l125b276n9f94b285df88e29c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903152140y5ce49ba0n7571475a2ded9784@mail.gmail.com> Inder Ji, What was good about that....... Do you agree with Taha that minorities in India are suffering as much as they do in pakistan. Had it been the case , i do not think the population of minorities would have EXPLODED post independance. There is a difference. We ,still are a very much secular country with every relegios identity having equal rights. Pawan On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 8:52 AM, Inder Salim wrote: > good in the sense, that i appreciate your comment to Kashmendras post > on minorities who face the music in the current crises in pakistan. > > > On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 AM, Inder Salim > wrote: > > good mr. Taha > > > > just to intensity > > that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable > > around us goes into the building of a nation state, > > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel > > > > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and its Law is > > bound to face oppression. > > > > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( > > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its > > duty but its lenient/flexible approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat > > who teases him while deep slumber ) > > > > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in > > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. > > the question is how > > voices of the other > > can force the State to bend > > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its structures > > and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, > legitimately > > > > best > > is > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood > > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: > >> Dear Kshmendra > >> > >> Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general > >> tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the > basis > >> of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the > >> situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of > >> Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a > long > >> time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or > >> 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when > it > >> comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. > >> > >> This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence > and > >> blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are > we > >> witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious > >> nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families > as > >> yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was > >> kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we > witnessing > >> signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? > >> > >> It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo > political > >> class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. > >> > >> Regards > >> > >> Taha > >> > >> > >> > >> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul < > kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote: > >> > >>> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have > also > >>> appeared in: > >>> > >>> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > >>> http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > >>> > >>> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > >>> > >>> > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > >>> > >>> Kshmendra > >>> > >>> > >>> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > >>> JAGMOHAN SINGH > >>> Saturday, 07 March 2009 > >>> > >>> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu > migrants > >>> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly > in > >>> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children > had > >>> crossed over to india few days back. > >>> > >>> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried > the > >>> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > extension > >>> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > >>> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > >>> > >>> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We > >>> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the > domination of > >>> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In > such > >>> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > female > >>> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we > can > >>> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in > India”. > >>> > >>> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow > >>> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in > the > >>> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > >>> > >>> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never > >>> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > >>> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint > the > >>> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > Pakistan”. > >>> > >>> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar > said, > >>> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by > the > >>> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. > Even > >>> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, > since > >>> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for > required > >>> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > >>> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the > tribal > >>> area of Pakistan”. > >>> > >>> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful > >>> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > >>> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > >>> > >>> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief > >>> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were > observing > >>> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > always > >>> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > people. > >>> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in > the > >>> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, > since > >>> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of > Pakistan”. > >>> > >>> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > >>> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets > chance > >>> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > >>> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. > Numerous > >>> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > >>> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. > Since > >>> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and > for > >>> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the > tribal > >>> area”, she quipped. > >>> > >>> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> _________________________________________ > >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >>> Critiques & Collaborations > >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >>> subscribe in the subject header. > >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>> List archive: > >> _________________________________________ > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >> Critiques & Collaborations > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 12:44:42 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:44:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903152140y5ce49ba0n7571475a2ded9784@mail.gmail.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903152022l125b276n9f94b285df88e29c@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903152140y5ce49ba0n7571475a2ded9784@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903160014i7f5b3d3by4705b8f4f5226bb9@mail.gmail.com> Dear Pawan ji I have certainly jumped into this minority issue in Pakistan, but my point of interest is how Nation Sates thrive on LIES. It is not only about Pakistan but about any other country. Looking at the major monumental achievements of London the dates of construction become important: development happened after 1857 mutiny. There are no. of examples, about how we iron out the variations, be it tribal, minority, to even different species of nature. Since, I am convinced that Power structures in the world use all the means to grace the so called good governance, law, and constitution. But there is more myth than meets the eye. Here I feel mythology has less of myth than Myth Today. Pakistan is a classic case where Feudal Lords and dynasty rule in connivance with Army has almost wiped out the sensible from the masses. The Tribal of Swat, unfortunately seen as Talibans only are in fact the most important assets of the region, A Punjabi or a Sinhdi settled in London and New York has little to lose from the crises,. The majority of poor people, living in hills and deserts have everything at stake.. I am praising Talibans for the stupid actions but just see who is Devil at work. Now here to criticize the American policies towards this other is strangely dramatic, and goes dangerously in the making of Nation State, 9/11 was an investment in that sense,, they must be grateful to Talibans to strike their towers and give them a perfect excuse to declare war in iraq,, and now this Afganistan and Pakistan game: The dramatic turns and cinematic sequences make it a perfect spectacle to watch on TV. But who is the real gainer. The religious fundamentalism in this region suits the Americans in the long run. Now can you tell me why Dollar is rising against Rupee when we all know there is recession in America after a historic market crash. The most mysterious animal in the world is Econony, and this animal affects our core at the existence, There is madness out there, and I don’t see it Hindu Musilim problem On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 10:10 AM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Inder Ji, > > What was good about that....... > > Do you agree with Taha that minorities in India are suffering as much as > they do in pakistan. > > Had it been the case , i do not think the population of minorities would > have EXPLODED post independance. > > There is a difference. We ,still are a very much secular country with every > relegios identity having equal rights. > > Pawan > > On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 8:52 AM, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> good in the sense, that i appreciate your comment to Kashmendras post >> on minorities who face the music in the current crises in pakistan. >> >> >> On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 AM, Inder Salim >> wrote: >> > good mr. Taha >> > >> > just to intensity >> >  that how minorities and plus all the vulnerable >> >  around us goes into the building of a nation state, >> > the word ' legitimate' is very interesting here, i feel >> > >> > because what is illegitimate in the eyes of nation and  its Law is >> > bound to face oppression. >> > >> > there is however, a paradox, that how the same Nation State protects ( >> > or as Nation Sate lovers say 'tolerate; ) the liberals, not as its >> > duty but its lenient/flexible  approach... ( as a Lion ignores the Rat >> > who teases him while deep slumber ) >> > >> > The State, a hardened state, infact does not want any interruption in >> > the Laws that have been recongnized as legitimate. >> > the question is how >> >  voices of the other >> > can force the State to bend >> > and recognize the ' blood' that has gone into the steel of its >> > structures >> >  and is lustily looking for more 'blood shedding', unfotunately, >> > legitimately >> > >> > best >> > is >> > >> > >> > >> > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 9:40 PM, Taha Mehmood >> > <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: >> >> Dear Kshmendra >> >> >> >> Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general >> >> tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the >> >> basis >> >> of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the >> >> situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' >> >> of >> >> Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a >> >> long >> >> time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or >> >> 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, >> >> when it >> >> comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. >> >> >> >> This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence >> >> and >> >> blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are >> >> we >> >> witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious >> >> nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families >> >> as >> >> yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was >> >> kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we >> >> witnessing >> >> signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? >> >> >> >>  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo >> >> political >> >> class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. >> >> >> >> Regards >> >> >> >> Taha >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >> >> wrote: >> >> >> >>> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have >> >>> also >> >>> appeared in: >> >>> >> >>> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >> >>>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> >>> >> >>> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> >>> >> >>> Kshmendra >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> >>> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> >>> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> >>> >> >>> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu >> >>> migrants >> >>> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, >> >>> particularly in >> >>> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three >> >>> children had >> >>> crossed over to india few days back. >> >>> >> >>> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried >> >>> the >> >>> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get >> >>> extension >> >>> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived >> >>> in >> >>> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> >>> >> >>> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, >> >>> “We >> >>> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the >> >>> domination of >> >>> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In >> >>> such >> >>> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our >> >>> female >> >>> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we >> >>> can >> >>> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in >> >>> India”. >> >>> >> >>> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to >> >>> allow >> >>> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in >> >>> the >> >>> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> >>> >> >>> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would >> >>> never >> >>> prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here >> >>> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint >> >>> the >> >>> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in >> >>> Pakistan”. >> >>> >> >>> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar >> >>> said, >> >>> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by >> >>> the >> >>> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. >> >>> Even >> >>> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, >> >>> since >> >>> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for >> >>> required >> >>> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed >> >>> local >> >>> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the >> >>> tribal >> >>> area of Pakistan”. >> >>> >> >>> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the >> >>> needful >> >>> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our >> >>> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> >>> >> >>> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of >> >>> relief >> >>> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were >> >>> observing >> >>> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were >> >>> always >> >>> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist >> >>> people. >> >>> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with >> >>> in the >> >>> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, >> >>> since >> >>> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of >> >>> Pakistan”. >> >>> >> >>> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >> >>> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets >> >>> chance >> >>> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In >> >>> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. >> >>> Numerous >> >>> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan >> >>> as >> >>> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. >> >>> Since >> >>> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and >> >>> for >> >>> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the >> >>> tribal >> >>> area”, she quipped. >> >>> >> >>> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> _________________________________________ >> >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> >>> Critiques & Collaborations >> >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> >>> subscribe in the subject header. >> >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >>> List archive: >> >> _________________________________________ >> >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> >> Critiques & Collaborations >> >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> >> subscribe in the subject header. >> >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > >> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Mon Mar 16 15:39:56 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:09:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903121800p5eea51dbxa00cd5ff395238d4@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <820405.67528.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taha   I had written 'that IS a different world' and not WAS. I believe that it is not something you subscribe to but evolve into.   Religious faith systems dictate dos and donts or monopolise oneway named or the otherway named and defined "god". They segregate groups of people as being the favoured ones of this or that "god". Faith systems require subscription.   The spiritual quest of the UNKNOWN is identical for everyone, whether a theist or agnostic or rationalist (the scientist). Seeking to understand, to know. That is the trigger for the faith systems. The evolving is in transcending the confines of faith system requirements.      It is that UNKNOWN which is common to everyone of which everyone and everything is a part. Through that UNKNOWN we all are linked and everything (material) is linked.   To rid the individual from the restriction in evolving put in by the Religious Faith Systems we have to banish Religious Faith Systems into the private lives of the individual. We have to refuse any public recognition of Religious Faith Systems and disallow their playing any role or being acknowledged in governance.   Kshmendra   --- On Fri, 3/13/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindus, Muslims celebrate Lucknow's 'Holi Baraat' To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "taraprakash" , ysaeed7 at yahoo.com, "reader-list" Date: Friday, March 13, 2009, 6:30 AM Dear Kshmendra I do not know whether that world was different from ours as I do think that our world could be not so dissimilar from that and it is not merely a matter of interpretation alone but rather a matter of belief. And maybe it is just up to people like you and me to strive towards that or maybe in times of fleeting belief not only in ourselves but also in the world around as we seem to miss the woods for the trees. so... Regards Taha On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 2:37 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Dear Taha   Some uneducated thoughts:   That is a different world altogether where "Ann al Haq" (I am the Truth) resonates with "Aham Bramhasmi, Aham Vishnur, Aham Mahesha" (I am Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesha). A world where Krishna's Raas Leela with the Gopis (Krishna's dance with and teasing of the cowgirls) finds echoes in Amir Khusrau's "Mohay suhaagan keeni re, mohsay nainaa milaike" (You have locked your eyes with mine, Now I am wedded to you)   Kshmendra   From kiccovich at yahoo.com Mon Mar 16 17:48:36 2009 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:18:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] bulletins from northern iraq In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <536879.63929.qm@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear all the following is the link to my blog where i am collecting weekly stories from northern iraq where i have been based for the last 6 months. http://www.veleno.tv/bollettini/?lang=en Hope you'll enjoy the reading and look forward to your comments and feedback best francesca From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Mon Mar 16 18:01:50 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:31:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <629384.76861.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taha   In any situation, when the resources are 'more than plenty for everyone' we might see the humanistic face of sharing and caring. That humanist attitude gets relegated when there is a shortage of resources. People then first look after the needs of 'our own'. This is logical and understandable.   The 'our own' could be immediate family as the smallest social unit or on a larger scale the 'our own' identification could be on the basis of religion; or ethnicity; or citizenship; or caste; or gender; a whole range of possible identity groupings.    In my opinion, this also happens in the attitude towards minorities in a majoritarian demographic environment.   I would therefore not agree that it is always a directed  or designed attitude to alienate minorities but can simply be a 'less available for many, so let us first look after our own'.   I wrote earlier that it is 'logical and understandable'. But, should it be acceptable?   In the private domain of individuals, or smaller scale sets, one can only whine about it or argue against it but any legal enforcement to prevent it would be highly improbable to succeed.   However in all that is in the domain of 'public life', such discrimination should be unacceptable and illegal not only in the fabric of the Constitutional Umbrella but in every devolved Legislation or Law applicable to the functioning of the State, Semi-Govt & Quasi-Govt institutions and any enterprise that enjoys any kind of a support from 'public money' (schools, colleges, hospitals, clubs etc).   Here we have to take into reckoning the nature of the State, what exactly are the provisions of and under it's Constitutional Umbrella as far as the attitudes towards minorities is concerned or any provisions favouring the majority are concerned. In this design itself India and Pakistan are starkly different.   Before expanding on that, the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not suggest that they were driven out  but that they were overwhelmed and intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. These are just 35 Hindus compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated. The State might be considered to be guilty by neglect and not by design and that too not neglect of the Hindus specifically.   The other news item I posted about 'conspiracy against Hindus in Sindh' could be construed as neglect by the State of Hindus specifically. It could be interpreted as the 'design of deliberate neglect'.   But this 'design of deliberate neglect' would not be unique to Pakistan. One could cite quite a few hundred scenarios in India which suggest such a 'design of deliberate neglect' of minorities that has the dimensions of the State being susceptible to being accused of being complicit in the sufferings undergone by the minority.   Any non-propagandist recognition of such scenarios in India would reveal that the identity of the minority varies. Could be Muslims someplace, or Christians, or Sikhs, or Hindus or any other Minority Identity Grouping in a particular environment.    Pakistan is a Nation State (Islamic). In Pakistan, it is understandable if in the Design of the State, there is 'majoritarianism' in both the Constitution and the Laws and the application of the Laws. That is an aspect that will be and is seen in any State that declares itself Islamic. It is peculiar to Islam because only Islam goes beyond simply theorising about the Divine and specifies societal norms and attitudes. This exclusivist nature of Islam is further hardlined by the nature of the interpretation of Islamic precepts that have taken root and concretised through the ages. In any declared Islamic State the 'alienate minorities on the basis of their ....religious identities ' is automatically programmed in the design of the State.   The same would be true of any Nation State that is Ethnicity based.    India is not a Nation State. No such provision of the Constitution or in Law comes readily to my mind that could be seen as being dictated by 'majoritarianism'. On the contrary, many Hindu voices whine about 'minorityism' or 'pampering of minorities' being the Law of the Land. They of course are referring only to religious identities.   In India therefore, any 'design of deliberate neglect'  of any Minority Identity Group becomes totally unacceptable and illegal. Yet it happens. I know. It is sad. It is disgusting. It is destructive.   I have tried to respond best that I could. Hope that there is some 'clarity' in the conveyance of my thoughts.   Kshmendra    --- On Sun, 3/15/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 9:40 PM Dear Kshmendra Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan?  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. Regards Taha On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in:   - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship"      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL   - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India"       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi   Kshmendra     "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" JAGMOHAN SINGH Saturday, 07 March 2009   AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back.   The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year.   Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”.   Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”.   Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”.   Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”.   Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped.   http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/     _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 16 20:15:04 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:45:04 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <6C03B426A67640D7B4E3C15FD0DCA6A0@tara> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151955k139be4fbjb07b91cb65e6c59b@mail.gmail.com> <6C03B426A67640D7B4E3C15FD0DCA6A0@tara> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903160745o510119fcq4cb536326cb21d42@mail.gmail.com> Dear Taraprakash Thank you for your mail. I think it is a matter of how we look at things, for you it may be quite clear that such an such discourse fits neatly in a category and such and such does not. Unfortunately my mind does not work on a linear trajectory. Far more than determining primary causality I am more interested in seeking how X event is related to Y and conjecturing whether X is related to that seemingly remote event Z too. I may be wrong in thinking like this, but that is hardly a deterrence. Perhaps that is why in all my earnestness I was eager to perceive the independence movement as not only the one which was run by run congress but also by all other social groups of varying persuasions. This might seem to you as 'forcing' a discourse into another one but it is merely an attempt to garner a wider interpretation, in other words, it is an attempt to increase the number of variables in an equation to further ascertain whether such an increase, adversely or favorably effect the outcome. Hence I am curious, because reading your mail gives me a feeling that you seem to suggest that the formation of Hindu Mahasabha has nothing got to do with independence movement, but I am not sure, so let me ask you- Do you think the Hindu Mahashabha was an isolated case of coming together of people of an imagined homogeneous religious identity that has nothing got to do with the independence movement? You add, 'I also fail to understand why would you ask an individual if his/her position on an issue will remain unchanged.' The reason is quite simple is it not. It take years to form a world view, like it take years to define one's character, one's politics and I would not like to assume that Sandeep Dixit's character or position should make him think that the independence movement was 'bullshit', maybe it not so hunky dory, everything did not go right, we did not become equal and so on, but nevertheless it was an attempt which gave hope to a lot of people and we must respect that. India is young democracy and it will take time to change, it took almost three hundred years of 'democracy' and 'freedom' for the Brits to realise that women should also be given a right to vote. The time horizon of social processes as we all know, is slow and issues take years of deliberation to get negotiated which when juxtaposed against our current sensibility of instant coffee, instant cash, instant messaging, instant work etc might seem anachronistic. Regards Taha On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 4:09 AM, taraprakash wrote: > Dear Taha and all. > I am not sure how fair it is to say that since X was thief, y too was a > thief. Taha seems to have perfected the art of forcing Y in to discourse of > X so that the discourse of x gets sidelined, not necessarily intentionally. > May be Hindu Maha Sabha, PLO, KKK, ANC, DMK, LTTE, WHO, UNCTARD, and all > other possible social or political formations are bull shit, but still they > are not the same. Different bulls produce different kind of shit. > > I also fail to understand why would you ask an individual if his/her > position on an issue will remain unchanged. One may read a bit and evolve > one's position. May be one gets more radical and call the "independence > movement" pig shit. Does it help the discussion in any way asking if > Sandeep's position will change? > > Coming to independence of India, I wish you had added some rationale to > assume that we became a just society after "independence" (when you say that > British rule was unjust). > Regards > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taha Mehmood" < > 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > To: "Sandeep" > Cc: "reader-list" > Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 10:55 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared,India > grants Visa > > > From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 20:54:31 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:24:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151955k139be4fbjb07b91cb65e6c59b@mail.gmail.com> <6C03B426A67640D7B4E3C15FD0DCA6A0@tara> <65be9bf40903160745o510119fcq4cb536326cb21d42@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <3584A02BD8094B5CA1432D98BB036CBF@tara> Hi Taha and all. As far as my understanding goes, the formation of the organization you mentioned had nothing to do with independence movement. Nor had formation of Indian National Congress to do with that movement. Formation of Shiv Sena had nothing to do with independence movement of Maha Rashtra, but they may soon start demanding a free Maharashtristan as their ideology evolves/corrupts. Evolution/corruption of ideology is part and parcel of ambitious plans of an institution or some individuals in it. I never seriously treaded that path, but now as time permits I will need to go through the formation of Hindu Maha Sabha, may be my understanding will not remain that limited then. Your justification about how it matters for a public discussion whether an individual will keep holding the same opinions or he/she will change did not convince me. But you don't need to do it again. I need not get convinced. Thanks ----- Original Message ----- From: Taha Mehmood To: taraprakash Cc: Sandeep ; reader-list Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 10:45 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared,India grants Visa Dear Taraprakash Thank you for your mail. I think it is a matter of how we look at things, for you it may be quite clear that such an such discourse fits neatly in a category and such and such does not. Unfortunately my mind does not work on a linear trajectory. Far more than determining primary causality I am more interested in seeking how X event is related to Y and conjecturing whether X is related to that seemingly remote event Z too. I may be wrong in thinking like this, but that is hardly a deterrence. Perhaps that is why in all my earnestness I was eager to perceive the independence movement as not only the one which was run by run congress but also by all other social groups of varying persuasions. This might seem to you as 'forcing' a discourse into another one but it is merely an attempt to garner a wider interpretation, in other words, it is an attempt to increase the number of variables in an equation to further ascertain whether such an increase, adversely or favorably effect the outcome. Hence I am curious, because reading your mail gives me a feeling that you seem to suggest that the formation of Hindu Mahasabha has nothing got to do with independence movement, but I am not sure, so let me ask you- Do you think the Hindu Mahashabha was an isolated case of coming together of people of an imagined homogeneous religious identity that has nothing got to do with the independence movement? You add, 'I also fail to understand why would you ask an individual if his/her position on an issue will remain unchanged.' The reason is quite simple is it not. It take years to form a world view, like it take years to define one's character, one's politics and I would not like to assume that Sandeep Dixit's character or position should make him think that the independence movement was 'bullshit', maybe it not so hunky dory, everything did not go right, we did not become equal and so on, but nevertheless it was an attempt which gave hope to a lot of people and we must respect that. India is young democracy and it will take time to change, it took almost three hundred years of 'democracy' and 'freedom' for the Brits to realise that women should also be given a right to vote. The time horizon of social processes as we all know, is slow and issues take years of deliberation to get negotiated which when juxtaposed against our current sensibility of instant coffee, instant cash, instant messaging, instant work etc might seem anachronistic. Regards Taha On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 4:09 AM, taraprakash wrote: Dear Taha and all. I am not sure how fair it is to say that since X was thief, y too was a thief. Taha seems to have perfected the art of forcing Y in to discourse of X so that the discourse of x gets sidelined, not necessarily intentionally. May be Hindu Maha Sabha, PLO, KKK, ANC, DMK, LTTE, WHO, UNCTARD, and all other possible social or political formations are bull shit, but still they are not the same. Different bulls produce different kind of shit. I also fail to understand why would you ask an individual if his/her position on an issue will remain unchanged. One may read a bit and evolve one's position. May be one gets more radical and call the "independence movement" pig shit. Does it help the discussion in any way asking if Sandeep's position will change? Coming to independence of India, I wish you had added some rationale to assume that we became a just society after "independence" (when you say that British rule was unjust). Regards ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> To: "Sandeep" Cc: "reader-list" Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 10:55 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared,India grants Visa From lists at shivamvij.com Tue Mar 17 01:01:14 2009 From: lists at shivamvij.com (Shivam V) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:01:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra, Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most literal sense of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching away' jobs from Bihari labourers. Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees equally. This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu you're just Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of the world equally. I hope you agree with me. best shivam On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- mail at shivamvij dot com From lists at shivamvij.com Tue Mar 17 01:04:53 2009 From: lists at shivamvij.com (Shivam V) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:04:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Lahoris woke up and joined their son' Message-ID: <1fd66c110903161234n4813f6e4t85e63e12fb003545@mail.gmail.com> What a moment it is, what a moment it must be. Ordinary people on the streets of Lahore on Sunday, countless thousands of them, have forced the Pakistani government to re-instate the deposed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. What a moment of hope in a country the rest of the world believes is about to ‘implode’. What a resurrection of yourself, Mian Sa’ab, who will now remember how unpopular you were when Mush had ousted you! http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13311048&source=features_box_main I'm pasting below an extremely illuminating account of what happened in Lahore, an anonymous account circulating on some mailing lists. This is apart from some excellent citizen reportage on Twitter by Pakistanis. best shivam * The Army, the Presidency, the Americans and the Prime Minister, were all ready to throw peanuts at Nawaz Sharif. The assessment was that 500 will reach constitution avenue. ( read Salman Taseer) In Pindi, we had halwa puri at a friends house today. a ppp friend who knew my passion for the cj, at 11-00 am said, looking at me, “Yar Imran, there is a bigger long march in my house than in Lahore.” A PML N friend told me from Lahore, “Punjabis dont get out in the face of danda. The long march will fail” The starting point of the Long March from Lahore was the GPO chowk. Nawaz had to join it from model town. Nawazs house had 40 PML N workers chanting tired slogans at 10-30. Mall in front of GPO had a vacant look at 10-55. Police and the empty road. A sole lawyer reached GPO chowk at 11-00 am and said to Express TV, ” I made it, others can come too.” By 12 around 50 civil society activists and lawyers reached the place. Then, God smiled. Police starting using the third degree. Surprisingly, fool hardily, the 50 surivived the first 15 minutes, and fought back. By another 15 minutes, they became 150 and started throwing stones at the police. Justice Shahid Siddiqui got a shell and was injured. For three hours they kept fighting, girls, women, lawyers, including Asma Jilani. Express had a crane camera and three great reporters. Lahore saw police beating girls and activists. Mian sb was reluctant to come out. He did not have numbers with him. There was no organisation. Lahore was locked, and some rich kids were preparing for Basant. I think the GPO beatings shook him. Hamza Shahbaz stealthily broke free in an SUV , with ten people. Express broke the news. Suddenly Lahore woke up. ” Nawaz is out, on his own?” In two hours, the 10 became 20,000. In the meanwhile, the 150 at GPO chowk fought, some fainted but did not leave despite Salman Taseer’s goons. In these three hours from 11-00 am to 2-00 pm, Pakistan’s destiny changed. Lahoris woke up, and joined their son. In another three hours, they knew that lacs would reach islamabad. No police, no army could stop the procession. So, Kiyani went to the presidency and prime ministers house. The 202 calls were made, but 202 had seen the procession. If you dont give him what he wants, “he will take everything.” Nawaz Sharif is in Muridke only. The CJ is inshallah going to be restored. When history will be written about this transformational moment in Pakistan’s history, we must remember the GPO 150. Had they stayed at home thinking “what difference can i make,” our dark night would not have ended. The people of Pakistan have great passion, you need to show them the way. That is what the GPO 150 did. From cubbykabi at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 08:22:19 2009 From: cubbykabi at yahoo.com (kabi cubby sherman) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:22:19 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: [SASIALIT] Congratulations, Pakistan! Message-ID: <634651.58126.qm@web94707.mail.in2.yahoo.com> on another group/listserv, i had gotten that same email that was doing the rounds that shivam sent . this morning this one was sitting in the inbox as a follow-up kabi -------------------------------------------------- Dear Name-Omitted, I happened to be part of that "GPO 150" when the police started using tear-gas. This is a picture of us throwing stones at the police http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Pakistan/ss/events/wl/081401pakistan/im:/090315/ids_photos_wl/r469008846.jpg/ (Im in a red shirt on the right) We had left Zaman park where Aitzaz had been placed under house arrest. Lahore gave the look of a deserted ghost town in the morning with the Mall road completely blocked. I was with the Labour party pakistan, Student Action Committee and civil society members. We decided to walk our way towards the High court in pairs so that the police fails to notice us. Some of us succeeded while others, like nauman Qaiser and jalees Hazir were arrested at the checkpoints. I have been to many protests in the past but I have never seen anything like the passion visible infront of the High Court. There was a consensus that if the Lahore High Court falls, the movement will fizzle out. We also had feryal gauhar and Hina jilani with us in the crowd and they also thought that resistance infront of the High Court is the key for a victory. As the police started shelling tear-gas indiscriminately, many started falling unconscious. All of us panicked and started fleeing the scene to evade arrests. A man who must in his 70s, started yelling to the fleeing crowd (which included me as I could no longer breath) that this was not a time to run but to fight. Eventually, the baba ji fainted as well but he encouraged all of us to come back and continue the fight. We resisted the police for over two hours, pushing them back many a times. Express News reported that 250 to 300 shells had been fired at the protestors. Express news reporter Rabia Mehmood and AAG channel correspondent Mani almost fainted and had to be taken away from the scene. Many were vomiting because of chemicals in the tear-gas which were worse than anything I have witnessed. However, this brought the best out of the Pakistani nation. Some people were carrying salt and water for those getting injured in the fighting. Others were helping carrying people to the diagnostic center in the High Court or onto Edhi ambulances. When the police would charge protestors on one side, they would be pelted by stones from the other side. This was the key to this street battle as the police was being hit by stones from all sides which is why they could not takeover the High Court. It didnt matter which political party or group one beloned to. Everyone was looking out for each other. By this time, alot of lawyers, political activists and civil society members had gathered at the gates and those of us who had been there since almost 12 decided to leave as we felt de-hydrated and coult not breathe properly. When we went in the courtyard where all the activists had gathered (including Justice Tariq Mehmood, Advocate Anwar kamal, Hina Jila, Tehmina Daultana etc), we had no idea what this battle at the GPO really meant. We were just looking for water and a place to sit. Infact, I was a little dissapointed that the numbers infront of the GPO had not been big and that the Long March could be a failure. It is here that we recieved the news that this battle had gripped the entire country's imagination. The news channels were constantly talking about the police high-handedness and the resistance by many activists. I even recieved a call from a friend in States who said that she had read about the crazy fighting at the Lahore High Court. The tide was deifnitely turning. After this, the people were in complete cotrol of the city. Thousands joined Nawaz Sharif's caravan as he defied detention orders to lead the procession from his house in Model Town. The High Court courtyard went ecstatic when we heard the news of the resignations of the IG,DIG, SP, DCO and deputy attorney general of pakistan. Crowds cheered wildly as some of these gentlemen joined us at the High Court. The most memorable part of the evening for me was to see Aitzaz Ahsan defiantly enter the High Court building despite orders for his house arrest and the police officers stood in line to salute him. This meant a complete victory for the movement and from their onwards, it was just a matter of time before the government would be forced to accept our demands. I feel that the way Taseer's goons were defeated at the GPO showed the weakness of this state apparatus. It represented the best of pakistan. On one side, it represented despair, state brutality and police repression. On the other, it reflected hope, resistance, the passions and the dreams of many Pakistanis. We had won not because of the generosity of the country's leadership, but because of the countless sacrifices of lawyers and activists for the past 2 years with 15th march 2009 becoming the grand finale in Lahore. Despite the success, our post-colonial state is still full of problems and oppression and there will inevitably be more resistance. In all of the future struggles, we shall remember and take with us the spirit of March 15. In solidarity, Mitta hua naam P.S. I had always been embarassed about bthe fact that Punjabis have shown the least amount of resistance to the establishment. Our brothers and sisters from the smaller provinces have been at the forefront of the anti-establishment struggle and have rightly accused the Punjabi leadership of making compromises. I hope our performance in Lahore and generally during the lawyers movement will also help enhance the image of Punjabis as people who can take a stand and fight the tyranny of an oppressor even if he is Punjabi (Salman Taseer). >> >> >> >>> back channel window into lahore: >>> >>> <>> all ready to throw peanuts at Nawaz Sharif. The assessment was that 500 >>> will reach constitution avenue. ( read Salman Taseer) >>> In Pindi, we had halwa puri at a friends house today. a ppp friend who >>> knew my passion for the cj, at 11-00 am said, looking at me, "Yar >>> Imran, there is a bigger long march in my house than in Lahore." >>> A PML N friend told me from Lahore, "Punjabis dont get out in the face >>> of danda. The long march will fail" >>> The starting point of the Long March from Lahore was the GPO chowk. >>> Nawaz had to join it from model town. Nawazs house had 40 PML N workers >>> chanting tired slogans at 10-30. >>> Mall in front of GPO had a vacant look at 10-55. Police and the empty >>> road. >>> A sole lawyer reached GPO chowk at 11-00 am and said to Express TV, " I >>> made it, others can come too." By 12 around 50 civil society activists >>> and lawyers reached the place. >>> Then, God smiled. >>> Police starting using the third degree. Surprisingly, fool hardily, the >>> 50 surivived the first 15 minutes, and fought back. By another 15 >>> minutes, they became 150 and started throwing stones at the police. >>> Justice Shahid Siddiqui got a shell and was injured. For three hours >>> they kept fighting, girls, women, lawyers, including Asma Jilani. >>> Express had a crane camera and three great reporters. Lahore saw police >>> beating girls and activists. >>> Mian sb was reluctant to come out. He did not have numbers with him. >>> There was no organisation. Lahore was locked, and some rich kids were >>> preparing for Basant. I think the GPO beatings shook him. Hamza Shahbaz >>> stealthily broke free in an SUV , with ten people. >>> Express broke the news. >>> Suddenly Lahore woke up. " Nawaz is out, on his own?" >>> In two hours, the 10 became 20,000. >>> In the meanwhile, the 150 at GPO chowk fought, some fainted but did not >>> leave despite Salman Taseer's goons. >>> In these three hours from 11-00 am to 2-00 pm, Pakistan's destiny >>> changed. Lahoris woke up, and joined their son. >>> In another three hours, they knew that lacs would reach islamabad. No >>> police, no army could stop the procession. >>> So, Kiyani went to the presidency and prime ministers house. The 202 >>> calls were made, but 202 had seen the procession. If you dont give him >>> what he wants, "he will take everything." >>> Nawaz Sharif is in Muridke only. >>> The CJ is inshallah going to be restored. >>> When history will be written about this transformational moment in >>> Pakistan's history, we must remember the GPO 150. Had they stayed at >>> home thinking "what difference can i make," our dark night would not >>> have ended. >>> The people of Pakistan have great passion, you need to show them the >>> way. That is what the GPO 150 did. >> >>> >>> ((note: the name of the sender has been omitted.)) >>> >>> - moazzam >>> >>>> >>>> what great news to wake up to. jubilation. >>>> >>>> kabi >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Meter Down - à¤à¤¾à¤²à¥ पà¥à¤²à¥ à¤à¥ à¤à¤¹à¤¾à¤¨à¥ >>>> blog: http://meterdown.wordpress.com >>>> podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/meterdown >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ---- >>>> From: A S >>>> To: sasialit at listserv.rice.edu >>>> Sent: Monday, 16 March, 2009 3:41:06 AM >>>> Subject: [SASIALIT] Congratulations, Pakistan! >>>> >>>> > Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ From javedmasoo at gmail.com Tue Mar 17 12:17:37 2009 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (M Javed) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:47:37 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Tales from torture's dark world Message-ID: Guantánamo might probably be closed down soon, but these tales of torture will keep reminding us that America is as undemocratic, ruthless and unjust as the terrorists are. ------ Tales from torture's dark world By Mark Danner Sunday, March 15, 2009 On a bright sunny day two years ago, President George W. Bush strode into the East Room of the White House and informed the world that the United States had created a dark and secret universe to hold and interrogate captured terrorists. "In addition to the terrorists held at Guantánamo," the president said, "a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency." At these places, Mr. Bush said, "the C.I.A. used an alternative set of procedures." He added: "These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful." This speech will stand, I believe, as George W. Bush's most important: perhaps the only historic speech he ever gave. In his fervent defense of his government's "alternative set of procedures" and his equally fervent insistence that they were "lawful," he set out before the country America's dark moral epic of torture, in the coils of whose contradictions we find ourselves entangled still. At the same time, perhaps unwittingly, Mr. Bush made it possible that day for those on whom the alternative set of procedures were performed eventually to speak. For he announced that he would send 14 "high-value detainees" from dark into twilight: They would be transferred from the overseas "black sites" to Guantánamo. There, while awaiting trial, the International Committee of the Red Cross would be "advised of their detention, and will have the opportunity to meet with them." A few weeks later, from Oct. 6 to 11 and then from Dec. 4 to 14, 2006, Red Cross officials whose duty it is to monitor compliance with the Geneva Conventions and to supervise treatment of prisoners of war traveled to Guantánamo and began interviewing the prisoners. Their stated goal was to produce a report that would "provide a description of the treatment and material conditions of detention of the 14 during the period they were held in the C.I.A. detention program," periods ranging "from 16 months to almost four and a half years." As the Red Cross interviewers informed the detainees, their report was not intended to be released to the public but, "to the extent that each detainee agreed for it to be transmitted to the authorities," to be given in strictest secrecy to officials of the government agency that had been in charge of holding them in this case the Central Intelligence Agency, to whose acting general counsel, John Rizzo, the report was sent on Feb. 14, 2007. The result is a document, labeled "confidential" and clearly intended only for the eyes of those senior American officials, that tells a story of what happened to each of the 14 detainees inside the black sites. A short time ago, this document came into my hands and I have set out the stories it tells in a longer article in The New York Review of Books. Because these stories were taken down confidentially in patient interviews by professionals from the International Committee of the Red Cross, and not intended for public consumption, they have an unusual claim to authenticity. Indeed, since the detainees were kept strictly apart and isolated, both at the black sites and at Guantánamo, the striking similarity in their stories would seem to make fabrication extremely unlikely. As its authors state in their introduction, "The I.C.R.C. wishes to underscore that the consistency of the detailed allegations provided separately by each of the 14 adds particular weight to the information provided below." Beginning with the chapter headings on its contents page "suffocation by water," "prolonged stress standing," "beatings by use of a collar," "confinement in a box" the document makes compelling and chilling reading. The stories recounted in its fewer than 50 pages lead inexorably to this unequivocal conclusion, which, given its source, has the power of a legal determination: "The allegations of ill treatment of the detainees indicate that, in many cases, the ill treatment to which they were subjected while held in the C.I.A. program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture. In addition, many other elements of the ill treatment, either singly or in combination, constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Perhaps one should start with the story of the first man to whom, according to news reports, the president's "alternative set of procedures" were applied: "I woke up, naked, strapped to a bed, in a very white room. The room measured approximately 4 meters by 4 meters. The room had three solid walls, with the fourth wall consisting of metal bars separating it from a larger room. I am not sure how long I remained in the bed. After some time, I think it was several days, but can't remember exactly, I was transferred to a chair where I was kept, shackled by hands and feet for what I think was the next two to three weeks. During this time I developed blisters on the underside of my legs due to the constant sitting. I was only allowed to get up from the chair to go [to] the toilet, which consisted of a bucket. "I was given no solid food during the first two or three weeks, while sitting on the chair. I was only given Ensure and water to drink. At first the Ensure made me vomit, but this became less with time. "The cell and room were air-conditioned and were very cold. Very loud, shouting-type music was constantly playing. It kept repeating about every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Sometimes the music stopped and was replaced by a loud hissing or crackling noise. "The guards were American, but wore masks to conceal their faces. My interrogators did not wear masks." So begins the story of Abu Zubaydah, a senior member of Al Qaeda, captured in a raid in Pakistan in March 2002. The arrest of an active terrorist with actionable information was a coup for the United States. After being treated for his wounds he had been shot in the stomach, leg and groin during his capture Abu Zubaydah was brought to one of the black sites, probably in Thailand, and placed in that white room. It is important to note that Abu Zubaydah was not alone with his interrogators, that everyone in that white room guards, interrogators, doctor was in fact linked directly, and almost constantly, to senior intelligence officials on the other side of the world. "It wasn't up to individual interrogators to decide, 'Well, I'm going to slap him. Or I'm going to shake him,'" said John Kiriakou, a C.I.A. officer who helped capture Abu Zubaydah, in an interview with ABC News. Every one of the steps taken with regard to Abu Zubaydah "had to have the approval of the deputy director for operations. So before you laid a hand on him, you had to send in the cable saying, 'He's uncooperative. Request permission to do X.'" He went on: "The cable traffic back and forth was extremely specific.... No one wanted to get in trouble by going overboard." Shortly after Abu Zubaydah was captured, C.I.A. officers briefed the National Security Council's principals committee, including Vice President Dick Cheney, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and Attorney General John Ashcroft, in detail on the interrogation plans for the prisoner. As the interrogations proceeded, so did the briefings, with George Tenet, the C.I.A. director, bringing to senior officials almost daily reports of the techniques applied. At the time, the spring and summer of 2002, Justice Department officials, led by John Yoo, were working on a memorandum, now known informally as "the torture memo," which claimed that for an "alternative procedure" to be considered torture, and thus illegal, it would have to cause pain of the sort "that would be associated with serious physical injury so severe that death, organ failure, or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body function will likely result." The memo was approved in August 2002, thus serving as a legal "green light" for interrogators to apply the most aggressive techniques to Abu Zubaydah: "I was taken out of my cell and one of the interrogators wrapped a towel around my neck; they then used it to swing me around and smash me repeatedly against the hard walls of the room." The prisoner was then put in a coffin-like black box, about 4 feet by 3 feet and 6 feet high, "for what I think was about one and a half to two hours. "The box was totally black on the inside as well as the outside.... They put a cloth or cover over the outside of the box to cut out the light and restrict my air supply. It was difficult to breathe. When I was let out of the box I saw that one of the walls of the room had been covered with plywood sheeting. From now on it was against this wall that I was then smashed with the towel around my neck. I think that the plywood was put there to provide some absorption of the impact of my body. The interrogators realized that smashing me against the hard wall would probably quickly result in physical injury." After this beating, Abu Zubaydah was placed in a small box approximately three feet tall. "They placed a cloth or cover over the box to cut out all light and restrict my air supply. As it was not high enough even to sit upright, I had to crouch down. It was very difficult because of my wounds. The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in the leg and stomach became very painful. I think this occurred about three months after my last operation. It was always cold in the room, but when the cover was placed over the box it made it hot and sweaty inside. The wound on my leg began to open and started to bleed. I don't know how long I remained in the small box; I think I may have slept or maybe fainted. "I was then dragged from the small box, unable to walk properly, and put on what looked like a hospital bed, and strapped down very tightly with belts. A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral water bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe. After a few minutes the cloth was removed and the bed was rotated into an upright position. The pressure of the straps on my wounds was very painful. I vomited. "The bed was then again lowered to horizontal position and the same torture carried out again with the black cloth over my face and water poured on from a bottle. On this occasion my head was in a more backward, downwards position and the water was poured on for a longer time. I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless." After being placed again in the tall box, Abu Zubaydah "was then taken out and again a towel was wrapped around my neck and I was smashed into the wall with the plywood covering and repeatedly slapped in the face by the same two interrogators as before. "I was then made to sit on the floor with a black hood over my head until the next session of torture began. The room was always kept very cold. This went on for approximately one week." Walid bin Attash, a Saudi involved with planning the attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998 and on the Navy destroyer Cole in 2000, was captured in Pakistan on April 29, 2003: "On arrival at the place of detention in Afghanistan I was stripped naked. I remained naked for the next two weeks.... I was kept in a standing position, feet flat on the floor, but with my arms above my head and fixed with handcuffs and a chain to a metal bar running across the width of the cell. The cell was dark with no light, artificial or natural." This forced standing, with arms shackled above the head, seems to have become standard procedure. It proved especially painful for Mr. bin Attash, who had lost a leg fighting in Afghanistan: "After some time being held in this position my stump began to hurt so I removed my artificial leg to relieve the pain. Of course my good leg then began to ache and soon started to give way so that I was left hanging with all my weight on my wrists." Cold water was used on Mr. bin Attash in combination with beatings and the use of a plastic collar, which seems to have been a refinement of the towel that had been looped around Abu Zubaydah's neck: "On a daily basis during the first two weeks a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against the walls of the interrogation room. It was also placed around my neck when being taken out of my cell for interrogation and was used to lead me along the corridor. It was also used to slam me against the walls of the corridor during such movements. "Also on a daily basis during the first two weeks I was made to lie on a plastic sheet placed on the floor which would then be lifted at the edges. Cold water was then poured onto my body with buckets.... I would be kept wrapped inside the sheet with the cold water for several minutes. I would then be taken for interrogation." Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the key planner of the 9/11 attacks, was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003. After three days in what he believes was a prison in Afghanistan, Mr. Mohammed was put in a tracksuit, blindfold, hood and headphones, and shackled and placed aboard a plane. He quickly fell asleep. On arrival, however, he realized he had come a long way: "I could see at one point there was snow on the ground. Everybody was wearing black, with masks and army boots, like Planet X people. I think the country was Poland. I think this because on one occasion a water bottle was brought to me without the label removed. It had [an] e-mail address ending in '.pl.'" He was stripped and put in a small cell. "I was kept for one month in the cell in a standing position with my hands cuffed and shackled above my head and my feet cuffed and shackled to a point in the floor." "Of course during this month I fell asleep on some occasions while still being held in this position. This resulted in all my weight being applied to the handcuffs around my wrist, resulting in open and bleeding wounds. [Scars consistent with this allegation were visible on both wrists as well as on both ankles.] Both my feet became very swollen after one month of almost continual standing." For interrogation, Mr. Mohammed was taken to a different room. The sessions lasted for as long as eight hours and as short as four. "If I was perceived not to be cooperating I would be put against a wall and punched and slapped in the body, head and face. A thick flexible plastic collar would also be placed around my neck so that it could then be held at the two ends by a guard who would use it to slam me repeatedly against the wall. The beatings were combined with the use of cold water, which was poured over me using a hose-pipe." As with Abu Zubaydah, the harshest sessions involved the "alternative set of procedures" used in sequence and in combination, one technique intensifying the effects of the others: "The beatings became worse and I had cold water directed at me from a hose-pipe by guards while I was still in my cell. The worst day was when I was beaten for about half an hour by one of the interrogators. My head was banged against the wall so hard that it started to bleed. Cold water was poured over my head. This was then repeated with other interrogators. Finally I was taken for a session of water boarding. The torture on that day was finally stopped by the intervention of the doctor." Reading the Red Cross report, one becomes somewhat inured to the "alternative set of procedures" as they are described: The cold and repeated violence grow numbing. Against this background, the descriptions of daily life of the detainees in the black sites, in which interrogation seems merely a periodic heightening of consistently imposed brutality, become more striking. Here again is Mr. Mohammed: "After each session of torture I was put into a cell where I was allowed to lie on the floor and could sleep for a few minutes. However, due to shackles on my ankles and wrists I was never able to sleep very well.... The toilet consisted of a bucket in the cell, which I could use on request" — he was shackled standing, his hands affixed to the ceiling — "but I was not allowed to clean myself after toilet during the first month.... I wasn't given any clothes for the first month. Artificial light was on 24 hours a day, but I never saw sunlight." Abu Zubaydah, Walid bin Attash, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed — these men almost certainly have blood on their hands. There is strong reason to believe that they had critical parts in planning and organizing terrorist operations that caused the deaths of thousands of people. So in all likelihood did the other "high-value detainees" whose treatment while secretly confined by the United States is described in the Red Cross report. >From everything we know, many or all of these men deserve to be tried and punished — to be "brought to justice," as President Bush vowed they would be. The fact that judges, military or civilian, throw out cases of prisoners who have been tortured — and have already done so at Guantánamo — means it is highly unlikely that they will be brought to justice anytime soon. For the men who have committed great crimes, this seems to mark perhaps the most important and consequential sense in which "torture doesn't work." The use of torture deprives the society whose laws have been so egregiously violated of the possibility of rendering justice. Torture destroys justice. Torture in effect relinquishes this sacred right in exchange for speculative benefits whose value is, at the least, much disputed. As I write, it is impossible to know definitively what benefits in intelligence, in national security, in disrupting Al Qaeda the president's approval of use of an "alternative set of procedures" might have brought to the United States. Only a thorough investigation, which we are now promised, much belatedly, by the Senate Intelligence Committee, can determine that. What we can say with certainty, in the wake of the Red Cross report, is that the United States tortured prisoners and that the Bush administration, including the president himself, explicitly and aggressively denied that fact. We can also say that the decision to torture, in a political war with militant Islam, harmed American interests by destroying the democratic and Constitutional reputation of the United States, undermining its liberal sympathizers in the Muslim world and helping materially in the recruitment of young Muslims to the extremist cause. By deciding to torture, we freely chose to embrace the caricature they had made of us. The consequences of this choice, legal, political and moral, now confront us. Time and elections are not enough to make them go away. Mark Danner, a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and Bard College, is the author of "Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror." This essay is drawn from a longer article in the new issue of The New York Review of Books, available at www.nybooks.com. http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=20819334 From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 14:41:47 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:11:47 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] NYT: Bangladeshi Premier Faces a Grim Crucible Message-ID: NEW YORK TIMES Bangladeshi Premier Faces a Grim Crucible By SOMINI SENGUPTA Published: March 13, 2009 DHAKA, Bangladesh — Sheikh Hasina survived when gunmen executed her father and extended family late one summer night in 1975. She survived again when assassins hurled 13 grenades at her political rally in 2004, killing two dozen people.Today, about two months into her tenure as prime minister of this fractious, poor and coup-prone country, she confronts her greatest crucible yet: an unusually savage mutiny by border guards last month that left soldiers buried in mass graves and widened the gulf between her fragile administration and the military. Altogether, 74 people were killed, mostly army officers in command of the border force. Two separate investigations are under way to identify those responsible: one by the army, another by Mrs. Hasina’s government. Whether either will yield credible results is unknown. Mrs. Hasina’s fate and the stability of the country depend on the outcome. In an interview this week, Mrs. Hasina called the mutiny “a big conspiracy” against her agenda to establish a secular democracy in this Muslim-majority nation of 150 million. She struck a note of defiant resolve. “No one will stop me,” she said. “I will continue.” Then she raised her eyebrows and offered a hint of a smile. “We have to unearth all these conspiracies.” Mrs. Hasina, 61, has the air of a strict grandmother. She speaks softly. She wears traditional Bengali saris that cover her head. Her eyes are a cool gray. She said she was keen to hunt down and punish those responsible for the mutiny. She suggested that several factions unhappy with her agenda could have been responsible, including Islamist militants, whom she has vowed to crush. “There are many elements,” she said in her first extensive interview since the Feb. 25 siege. “These terrorist groups are very much active. This incident gives us a lesson. It can happen again.” After two years of army-backed rule in the country, Mrs. Hasina’s won a resounding majority of the parliamentary seats in elections last December, after campaigning on a slate of provocative promises. She said she would root out Islamist guerillas, put on trial those suspected of conspiring against Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, nurture friendly relations with India and stop anti-Indian insurgents from using Bangladeshi soil to launch attacks against New Delhi. The election drew a turnout of around 80 percent and was cited as among the most credible and least violent here in recent years. Then came the massacre. On the last Wednesday in February, at the headquarters of the border patrol, known as the , a guard pointed his weapon at the force commander. Some commotion ensued, according to investigators, and then other guards stormed the hall. Gunfire could be heard blocks away. Hundreds of civilians who lived, worked and went to school inside the compound were trapped. Mrs. Hasina allowed the army to take position around the compound but not to storm it. She negotiated with the mutineers for the next 36 hours, first directly and then through emissaries. She offered a general amnesty and promised to address the rebels’ grievances. On the second day, when they refused to surrender, she threatened to send in tanks. By the time the siege ended, more than 6,000 border guards had escaped, and an unknown quantity of weapons had been taken from the armory. As the bodies of the dead soldiers were discovered, the horrific nature of the violence became evident. Some army officers had been shot at close range and then stabbed repeatedly with bayonets. Eyes were gouged out. A stack of 38 bodies was found in a mass grave. No sooner did the siege end than the arguments began. Today, the bitter points of contention are whether the army commanders were killed before or after negotiations began (the time of death has not yet been established for all the victims), whether Mrs. Hasina pressed to know the scale of the killings before offering amnesty, and, most important, why she did not permit the army to storm the compound early on. “The government was not in charge,” said Abdur Razzak, a leader of the conservative Jamaat-e-Islami party. “This was an army problem. The army should have solved it in their wisdom.” Mr. Razzak said the mutiny was a conspiracy designed “to weaken the army, to weaken the state.” Mr. Razzak’s party was trounced in the last election; its share of the 300 elected seats in Parliament fell to 2 from 17 in the December elections. Mrs. Hasina said sending in the army would have resulted in a bloodbath and risked a potential conflict between the 46 border guard battalions scattered across the country and their army commanders. In any case, few in Bangladesh say they believe that the mutiny was what it first appeared: a rebellion of rank-and-file border guards aggrieved by their commanders, their pay and their working conditions. In a country where conspiracy theories are a national sport, the mutiny has become a screen onto which many anxieties are projected. Some point to terrorist groups and anti-Indian insurgents. Others say that it was fueled by intelligence agencies in either India or Pakistan — both countries have been alternately friend and foe to Bangladesh. There are those who suggest that it could involve politicians who lost the last election, while others blame people within Mrs. Hasina’s party whose goal is to keep the army in check. The truth of what happened may never be known. Bangladesh holds many mysteries in its heart, including the question of who ordered the killing of Mrs. Hasina’s father, Sheik Mujibur Rahman, a former prime minister. Mrs. Hasina was spared only because she had been visiting her husband in Europe at the time. Eighteen members of her family, including her brothers and their wives, were executed. Central to Mrs. Hasina’s survival today is keeping the military on her side. Her face-off with the army came into sharp focus three days after the mutiny ended when she confronted an unusually rowdy room of army officers. They berated her for not allowing the army to take charge early on. The screaming match was recorded and put up on YouTube, shocking the nation. This week, in the interview, Mrs. Hasina said she sympathized with the soldiers’ grief even as she cautioned them against taking revenge — or power. So far, the army does not seem interested. Mrs. Hasina’s most deadly enemies have been the Islamist militant groups that have put down roots here in recent years. They have been implicated in assassination attempts against her, including the grenade attack on her political meeting in August 2004. Mrs. Hasina lost some of her hearing as a result of that attack. Sitting under a framed portrait of her father, she said she would not be bowed. “If I am afraid for my life, the whole nation will be afraid,” she said. “I know some bullets, some grenades are chasing me.” From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 15:25:13 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:55:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <614985.5983.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge.   If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa.   You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of India.   The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to disconnect themeselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien one.   The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice.   But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally Displaced.   The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be understood.   It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such instances.    I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages to towns to cities. The State has failed them.   It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally Displaced in their own country.    Kshmendra   --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: From: Shivam V Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM Dear Kshmendra, Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most literal sense of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching away' jobs from Bihari labourers. Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees equally. This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu you're just Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of the world equally. I hope you agree with me. best shivam On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- mail at shivamvij dot com From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 15:26:32 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:56:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <673099.10878.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge.   If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa.   You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of India.   The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien one.   The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice.   But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally Displaced.   The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be understood.   It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such instances.    I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages to towns to cities. The State has failed them.   It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally Displaced in their own country.    Kshmendra   --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: From: Shivam V Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM Dear Kshmendra, Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most literal sense of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching away' jobs from Bihari labourers. Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees equally. This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu you're just Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of the world equally. I hope you agree with me. best shivam On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- mail at shivamvij dot com From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 17:04:54 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:34:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Is India secular In-Reply-To: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <556155.53819.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   I wanted to tackle this issue separately (too many thoughts muddle me up)   You wrote "......no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India  ......... The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India is a Hindu country and not a secular country"   That is confusing since you had written prior to it " Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India"   Perhaps the point you were trying to make is that there is a bias in India against "Muslim" Refugees.   Even in the absence of data, purely on an anecdotal or on your "I feel" basis I would not be surprised if it is true. It should not surprise you either. It is only to be expected.   Two factors that certainly would contribute to any such attitude towards Muslim Refugees are:   - The partitioning of India and Pakistan being carved out for Muslims. It should not be difficult to appreciate that in the minds of many Indians it was an abuse of Bharat and that Islam (read Muslims) having been made welcome in Bharat ended up stealing part of Bharat. One need not agree or disagree with such attitudes or argue over interpretations or challenge them on the basis of precedential history. Such attitudes exist. "Now that Muslims have their own land let them stay there (or even) leave India and go there"   - The second factor is that the manner in which Islam has been propagated and is still being propagated combined with actions in the name of Islam do not make Muslims the most favoured people that would be welcomed with open arms in any part of the world. Muslims are suspect. One could argue about it and argue over it but that does not change the current reality of the attitude towards Muslims. Ironically Muslims are even suspect in the eyes of other Muslims (obvious references).   That still leaves the question "Is India secular?". How can one answer that.   In any country the Constitution is the Ideal. It is the Vision Document. It is the Mission Statement. Nothing in the Constitution of India comes readily to my mind that would suggest that India is not a secular country. On the contrary we are all familiar with the whine that there is 'selective secularism' in India that favours the minorities (read Muslims as the target).   Agreed that actual practice may not be very close to the desired Ideal. But I do not think it is very far either.   It would be interesting (especially for you as a journalist) to source some data that might give us some guidelines. We need to find out the numbers of Indian Non-Resident Expatriates in various parts of the world, the tabulation of this data religion wise and additionally  for comparison the religion-wise break-up of those who have surrendered their Indian Citizenship.   My observations and anecdotal experiences (of over 20 years) suggest to me that from amongst those who surrender their Indian Citizenship, Muslims are the lowest percentage-wise (of those who have lived as Non-Resident expatriates). Christians I would reckon are the the highest percentage-wise.   Even if this is not correct, there is no significantly noticeable incidence of Indian Muslims surrendering their citizenship in percentages far out-stripping others.   I will recognise here that the appropriate educational qualifications make it easier for Non-Muslims (who are generally better educated) to emigrate to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada where you can 'buy' citizenship. I could not swear by it though given that the Kerala Muslim is as educated as the Kerala Hindu, the Andhra Muslim is as educated or uneducated as the Andhra Hindu and the Punjabi Hindu (predominantly unskilled and semi-skilled labour is quite uneducated)    There are Indian Muslim NRIs who are humongously rich, who could emigrate with not just family and clan but complete villages  and yet there is not one such example known to me.   Interestingly, from amongst the Muslim NRIs, who do emigrate to other countries, it would only be the rarest of rare cases who shifts to Pakistan. (Generally the exceptions are those who get married to Pakistanis and have no choice.)   Somewhere in all of that, to some degree, might be the answer to "Is India secular?"  One could also ask the Bangladeshi Muslims who 'pour' into India.   I cannot help asking you a question. Dont you think that there is a hypocrisy inherent in someone who is concerned about the 'secular' credentials of India and simultaneously is supportive of or sympathetic towards the "Azaadi" movement in Kashmir which when shorn of the deceitful lies describing it as being elsewise is simply an Islamic Movement?   I would ask a similar question of those who pontificate philosophy denigrating Nation States (criticizing India although India is not a Nation State) and at the same time support or are sympathetic towards the creation of a Nation State (Islamic) under the Kashmir "Azaadi" Movement.   Kshmendra          --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: From: Shivam V Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM Dear Kshmendra, Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most literal sense of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching away' jobs from Bihari labourers. Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees equally. This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu you're just Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of the world equally. I hope you agree with me. best shivam On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- mail at shivamvij dot com From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 17:07:20 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:37:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Tales from torture's dark world In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <855621.82979.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Howsoever much one might dislike American policies, it is sheer idiocy to call America undemocratic. --- On Tue, 3/17/09, M Javed wrote: From: M Javed Subject: [Reader-list] Tales from torture's dark world To: "sarai-list" Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 12:17 PM Guantánamo might probably be closed down soon, but these tales of torture will keep reminding us that America is as undemocratic, ruthless and unjust as the terrorists are. ------ Tales from torture's dark world By Mark Danner Sunday, March 15, 2009 On a bright sunny day two years ago, President George W. Bush strode into the East Room of the White House and informed the world that the United States had created a dark and secret universe to hold and interrogate captured terrorists. "In addition to the terrorists held at Guantánamo," the president said, "a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency." At these places, Mr. Bush said, "the C.I.A. used an alternative set of procedures." He added: "These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful." This speech will stand, I believe, as George W. Bush's most important: perhaps the only historic speech he ever gave. In his fervent defense of his government's "alternative set of procedures" and his equally fervent insistence that they were "lawful," he set out before the country America's dark moral epic of torture, in the coils of whose contradictions we find ourselves entangled still. At the same time, perhaps unwittingly, Mr. Bush made it possible that day for those on whom the alternative set of procedures were performed eventually to speak. For he announced that he would send 14 "high-value detainees" from dark into twilight: They would be transferred from the overseas "black sites" to Guantánamo. There, while awaiting trial, the International Committee of the Red Cross would be "advised of their detention, and will have the opportunity to meet with them." A few weeks later, from Oct. 6 to 11 and then from Dec. 4 to 14, 2006, Red Cross officials whose duty it is to monitor compliance with the Geneva Conventions and to supervise treatment of prisoners of war traveled to Guantánamo and began interviewing the prisoners. Their stated goal was to produce a report that would "provide a description of the treatment and material conditions of detention of the 14 during the period they were held in the C.I.A. detention program," periods ranging "from 16 months to almost four and a half years." As the Red Cross interviewers informed the detainees, their report was not intended to be released to the public but, "to the extent that each detainee agreed for it to be transmitted to the authorities," to be given in strictest secrecy to officials of the government agency that had been in charge of holding them in this case the Central Intelligence Agency, to whose acting general counsel, John Rizzo, the report was sent on Feb. 14, 2007. The result is a document, labeled "confidential" and clearly intended only for the eyes of those senior American officials, that tells a story of what happened to each of the 14 detainees inside the black sites. A short time ago, this document came into my hands and I have set out the stories it tells in a longer article in The New York Review of Books. Because these stories were taken down confidentially in patient interviews by professionals from the International Committee of the Red Cross, and not intended for public consumption, they have an unusual claim to authenticity. Indeed, since the detainees were kept strictly apart and isolated, both at the black sites and at Guantánamo, the striking similarity in their stories would seem to make fabrication extremely unlikely. As its authors state in their introduction, "The I.C.R.C. wishes to underscore that the consistency of the detailed allegations provided separately by each of the 14 adds particular weight to the information provided below." Beginning with the chapter headings on its contents page "suffocation by water," "prolonged stress standing," "beatings by use of a collar," "confinement in a box" the document makes compelling and chilling reading. The stories recounted in its fewer than 50 pages lead inexorably to this unequivocal conclusion, which, given its source, has the power of a legal determination: "The allegations of ill treatment of the detainees indicate that, in many cases, the ill treatment to which they were subjected while held in the C.I.A. program, either singly or in combination, constituted torture. In addition, many other elements of the ill treatment, either singly or in combination, constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Perhaps one should start with the story of the first man to whom, according to news reports, the president's "alternative set of procedures" were applied: "I woke up, naked, strapped to a bed, in a very white room. The room measured approximately 4 meters by 4 meters. The room had three solid walls, with the fourth wall consisting of metal bars separating it from a larger room. I am not sure how long I remained in the bed. After some time, I think it was several days, but can't remember exactly, I was transferred to a chair where I was kept, shackled by hands and feet for what I think was the next two to three weeks. During this time I developed blisters on the underside of my legs due to the constant sitting. I was only allowed to get up from the chair to go [to] the toilet, which consisted of a bucket. "I was given no solid food during the first two or three weeks, while sitting on the chair. I was only given Ensure and water to drink. At first the Ensure made me vomit, but this became less with time. "The cell and room were air-conditioned and were very cold. Very loud, shouting-type music was constantly playing. It kept repeating about every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Sometimes the music stopped and was replaced by a loud hissing or crackling noise. "The guards were American, but wore masks to conceal their faces. My interrogators did not wear masks." So begins the story of Abu Zubaydah, a senior member of Al Qaeda, captured in a raid in Pakistan in March 2002. The arrest of an active terrorist with actionable information was a coup for the United States. After being treated for his wounds he had been shot in the stomach, leg and groin during his capture Abu Zubaydah was brought to one of the black sites, probably in Thailand, and placed in that white room. It is important to note that Abu Zubaydah was not alone with his interrogators, that everyone in that white room guards, interrogators, doctor was in fact linked directly, and almost constantly, to senior intelligence officials on the other side of the world. "It wasn't up to individual interrogators to decide, 'Well, I'm going to slap him. Or I'm going to shake him,'" said John Kiriakou, a C.I.A. officer who helped capture Abu Zubaydah, in an interview with ABC News. Every one of the steps taken with regard to Abu Zubaydah "had to have the approval of the deputy director for operations. So before you laid a hand on him, you had to send in the cable saying, 'He's uncooperative. Request permission to do X.'" He went on: "The cable traffic back and forth was extremely specific.... No one wanted to get in trouble by going overboard." Shortly after Abu Zubaydah was captured, C.I.A. officers briefed the National Security Council's principals committee, including Vice President Dick Cheney, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and Attorney General John Ashcroft, in detail on the interrogation plans for the prisoner. As the interrogations proceeded, so did the briefings, with George Tenet, the C.I.A. director, bringing to senior officials almost daily reports of the techniques applied. At the time, the spring and summer of 2002, Justice Department officials, led by John Yoo, were working on a memorandum, now known informally as "the torture memo," which claimed that for an "alternative procedure" to be considered torture, and thus illegal, it would have to cause pain of the sort "that would be associated with serious physical injury so severe that death, organ failure, or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body function will likely result." The memo was approved in August 2002, thus serving as a legal "green light" for interrogators to apply the most aggressive techniques to Abu Zubaydah: "I was taken out of my cell and one of the interrogators wrapped a towel around my neck; they then used it to swing me around and smash me repeatedly against the hard walls of the room." The prisoner was then put in a coffin-like black box, about 4 feet by 3 feet and 6 feet high, "for what I think was about one and a half to two hours. "The box was totally black on the inside as well as the outside.... They put a cloth or cover over the outside of the box to cut out the light and restrict my air supply. It was difficult to breathe. When I was let out of the box I saw that one of the walls of the room had been covered with plywood sheeting. From now on it was against this wall that I was then smashed with the towel around my neck. I think that the plywood was put there to provide some absorption of the impact of my body. The interrogators realized that smashing me against the hard wall would probably quickly result in physical injury." After this beating, Abu Zubaydah was placed in a small box approximately three feet tall. "They placed a cloth or cover over the box to cut out all light and restrict my air supply. As it was not high enough even to sit upright, I had to crouch down. It was very difficult because of my wounds. The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in the leg and stomach became very painful. I think this occurred about three months after my last operation. It was always cold in the room, but when the cover was placed over the box it made it hot and sweaty inside. The wound on my leg began to open and started to bleed. I don't know how long I remained in the small box; I think I may have slept or maybe fainted. "I was then dragged from the small box, unable to walk properly, and put on what looked like a hospital bed, and strapped down very tightly with belts. A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral water bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe. After a few minutes the cloth was removed and the bed was rotated into an upright position. The pressure of the straps on my wounds was very painful. I vomited. "The bed was then again lowered to horizontal position and the same torture carried out again with the black cloth over my face and water poured on from a bottle. On this occasion my head was in a more backward, downwards position and the water was poured on for a longer time. I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless." After being placed again in the tall box, Abu Zubaydah "was then taken out and again a towel was wrapped around my neck and I was smashed into the wall with the plywood covering and repeatedly slapped in the face by the same two interrogators as before. "I was then made to sit on the floor with a black hood over my head until the next session of torture began. The room was always kept very cold. This went on for approximately one week." Walid bin Attash, a Saudi involved with planning the attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998 and on the Navy destroyer Cole in 2000, was captured in Pakistan on April 29, 2003: "On arrival at the place of detention in Afghanistan I was stripped naked. I remained naked for the next two weeks.... I was kept in a standing position, feet flat on the floor, but with my arms above my head and fixed with handcuffs and a chain to a metal bar running across the width of the cell. The cell was dark with no light, artificial or natural." This forced standing, with arms shackled above the head, seems to have become standard procedure. It proved especially painful for Mr. bin Attash, who had lost a leg fighting in Afghanistan: "After some time being held in this position my stump began to hurt so I removed my artificial leg to relieve the pain. Of course my good leg then began to ache and soon started to give way so that I was left hanging with all my weight on my wrists." Cold water was used on Mr. bin Attash in combination with beatings and the use of a plastic collar, which seems to have been a refinement of the towel that had been looped around Abu Zubaydah's neck: "On a daily basis during the first two weeks a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against the walls of the interrogation room. It was also placed around my neck when being taken out of my cell for interrogation and was used to lead me along the corridor. It was also used to slam me against the walls of the corridor during such movements. "Also on a daily basis during the first two weeks I was made to lie on a plastic sheet placed on the floor which would then be lifted at the edges. Cold water was then poured onto my body with buckets.... I would be kept wrapped inside the sheet with the cold water for several minutes. I would then be taken for interrogation." Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the key planner of the 9/11 attacks, was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003. After three days in what he believes was a prison in Afghanistan, Mr. Mohammed was put in a tracksuit, blindfold, hood and headphones, and shackled and placed aboard a plane. He quickly fell asleep. On arrival, however, he realized he had come a long way: "I could see at one point there was snow on the ground. Everybody was wearing black, with masks and army boots, like Planet X people. I think the country was Poland. I think this because on one occasion a water bottle was brought to me without the label removed. It had [an] e-mail address ending in '.pl.'" He was stripped and put in a small cell. "I was kept for one month in the cell in a standing position with my hands cuffed and shackled above my head and my feet cuffed and shackled to a point in the floor." "Of course during this month I fell asleep on some occasions while still being held in this position. This resulted in all my weight being applied to the handcuffs around my wrist, resulting in open and bleeding wounds. [Scars consistent with this allegation were visible on both wrists as well as on both ankles.] Both my feet became very swollen after one month of almost continual standing." For interrogation, Mr. Mohammed was taken to a different room. The sessions lasted for as long as eight hours and as short as four. "If I was perceived not to be cooperating I would be put against a wall and punched and slapped in the body, head and face. A thick flexible plastic collar would also be placed around my neck so that it could then be held at the two ends by a guard who would use it to slam me repeatedly against the wall. The beatings were combined with the use of cold water, which was poured over me using a hose-pipe." As with Abu Zubaydah, the harshest sessions involved the "alternative set of procedures" used in sequence and in combination, one technique intensifying the effects of the others: "The beatings became worse and I had cold water directed at me from a hose-pipe by guards while I was still in my cell. The worst day was when I was beaten for about half an hour by one of the interrogators. My head was banged against the wall so hard that it started to bleed. Cold water was poured over my head. This was then repeated with other interrogators. Finally I was taken for a session of water boarding. The torture on that day was finally stopped by the intervention of the doctor." Reading the Red Cross report, one becomes somewhat inured to the "alternative set of procedures" as they are described: The cold and repeated violence grow numbing. Against this background, the descriptions of daily life of the detainees in the black sites, in which interrogation seems merely a periodic heightening of consistently imposed brutality, become more striking. Here again is Mr. Mohammed: "After each session of torture I was put into a cell where I was allowed to lie on the floor and could sleep for a few minutes. However, due to shackles on my ankles and wrists I was never able to sleep very well.... The toilet consisted of a bucket in the cell, which I could use on request" he was shackled standing, his hands affixed to the ceiling "but I was not allowed to clean myself after toilet during the first month.... I wasn't given any clothes for the first month. Artificial light was on 24 hours a day, but I never saw sunlight." Abu Zubaydah, Walid bin Attash, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed these men almost certainly have blood on their hands. There is strong reason to believe that they had critical parts in planning and organizing terrorist operations that caused the deaths of thousands of people. So in all likelihood did the other "high-value detainees" whose treatment while secretly confined by the United States is described in the Red Cross report. >From everything we know, many or all of these men deserve to be tried and punished to be "brought to justice," as President Bush vowed they would be. The fact that judges, military or civilian, throw out cases of prisoners who have been tortured and have already done so at Guantánamo means it is highly unlikely that they will be brought to justice anytime soon. For the men who have committed great crimes, this seems to mark perhaps the most important and consequential sense in which "torture doesn't work." The use of torture deprives the society whose laws have been so egregiously violated of the possibility of rendering justice. Torture destroys justice. Torture in effect relinquishes this sacred right in exchange for speculative benefits whose value is, at the least, much disputed. As I write, it is impossible to know definitively what benefits in intelligence, in national security, in disrupting Al Qaeda the president's approval of use of an "alternative set of procedures" might have brought to the United States. Only a thorough investigation, which we are now promised, much belatedly, by the Senate Intelligence Committee, can determine that. What we can say with certainty, in the wake of the Red Cross report, is that the United States tortured prisoners and that the Bush administration, including the president himself, explicitly and aggressively denied that fact. We can also say that the decision to torture, in a political war with militant Islam, harmed American interests by destroying the democratic and Constitutional reputation of the United States, undermining its liberal sympathizers in the Muslim world and helping materially in the recruitment of young Muslims to the extremist cause. By deciding to torture, we freely chose to embrace the caricature they had made of us. The consequences of this choice, legal, political and moral, now confront us. Time and elections are not enough to make them go away. Mark Danner, a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and Bard College, is the author of "Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror." This essay is drawn from a longer article in the new issue of The New York Review of Books, available at www.nybooks.com. http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=20819334 _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rahulpandita at yahoo.com Tue Mar 17 17:55:20 2009 From: rahulpandita at yahoo.com (Rahul Pandita) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:25:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Screening of Ajay Bhardwaj's Film Message-ID: <888781.1579.qm@web30601.mail.mud.yahoo.com> In their 'Nashisht' Series Impresario Asia invites you to the screening of a documentary on the partition memories RABBA HUN KEE KARIYE (THUS DEPARTED OUR NEIGHBOURS) A film by Ajay Bhardwaj The screening will be followed by an interactive session with the director DATE: Wednesday 25th March 2009 TIME: 7.00 p.m. VENUE: Gulmohar, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi R.S.V.P. Pramilla Chhabra K.K. Kohli 2462-1685 98107-23979 Rahul Pandita www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com Mobile: 9818088664 From anansi1 at earthlink.net Tue Mar 17 19:30:57 2009 From: anansi1 at earthlink.net (Paul D. Miller) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:00:57 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [Reader-list] Koobface - Facebook Virus and YOU! Message-ID: <26512837.1237298458269.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hound.atl.sa.earthlink.net> http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2009/03/03/03idg-Koobface-worm-t.html Be everyone's facebook friend! Paul Koobface worm to users: Be my Facebook friend A worm that hit Facebook last December has resurfaced, a security researcher said today, and is now hijacking user accounts -- not only for that social networking service, but also for MySpace, Friendster, LiveJournal and others. Skip to next paragraph More News From IDG * Plugged In: Desktops Get a 64-Bit Speed Boost * Social networks all over the map on reliability * The top 10 social networking annoyances The Koobface worm is again making the rounds on Facebook, said Jamz Yaneza, a research project manager with Trend Micro Inc. "But this is an improved version with some interesting functions," he said. Like the variant that hit Facebook late last year , the newest Koobface tries to dupe users into clicking on a link that's included in a message from a friend. Clicking on the link displays a fake error message claiming that Adobe System Inc.'s Flash is out of date, and prompts the user to download an update. The update is nothing of the sort, but is instead an executable file that installs the Koobface worm. "Koobface.az," as Trend pegged the worm, rifles through a compromised PC, sniffs out browser cookies associated with 10 different social networking sites, uses the usernames and passwords within those cookies to log on to each service, searches for the infected user's friends, and then sends those people messages that include a link to the worm. It looks for cookies connected to bebo.com, Facebook, Friendster, fubar.com, hi5.com, LiveJournal, MySpace, myYearbook, Netlog and Tagged. Much of the message processing takes place on a remote server, said Yaneza, which the hackers control. That server communicates with each infected PC, receiving data and sending instructions. "This is pretty serious stuff," Yaneza said. Trend Micro has identified more than 300 Internet protocol (IP) addresses hosting the worm, and although some have been blocked, others are still online. Those addresses are located in Asia, Yaneza said. "This is maybe only in its early stages," he added, referring to the small but growing number of infections. "I'd call it fairly active at the moment." Koobface.az isn't the only piece of malware to have struck Facebook recently. Trend, as well as other security vendors, have noted a pair of scams in the past week that targeted users of the popular service. The most recent sent messages to users claiming that friends had turned them in for violating Facebook's terms of service; when people clicked on the included link, they downloaded an application that spammed all friends with a similar message and may have harvested information from each Facebook account as it did so. "I don't think this is a coincidence," said Yaneza, speaking of Koobface coming hard on the heels of other attacks against Facebook users. "[Cyber criminals] are looking at how these services are being used, and more importantly, their sizes," he said. "Users need to be very, very careful about what they install when they're on these [social networking] services," Yaneza advised. "And they should be careful about how they use social networks and what information they put on them. The criminals are gleaning all the information they can and using it against you." From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Mar 17 22:57:57 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:57:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast Message-ID: <47e122a70903171027g210c66a0p322fcc8d39f46df5@mail.gmail.com> The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: Stalin Epigram We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. His cockroach whiskers are laughing, And his boot tops shine. And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – He plays with the services of half-men. Who warble, or miaow, or moan. He alone pushes and prods. Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. When he has an execution it's a special treat, And the Ossetian chest swells. Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his words dance. Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is poetry respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?" Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of the fence. With love and regards Inder salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Mar 17 23:11:39 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:11:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903171027g210c66a0p322fcc8d39f46df5@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903171027g210c66a0p322fcc8d39f46df5@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections after this incident. On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > > Stalin Epigram > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > And his boot tops shine. > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > He plays with the services of half-men. > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > He alone pushes and prods. > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > And the Ossetian chest swells. > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > issue, I see his poems on  all the subject. Even in Translation his > words dance. > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is poetry > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry > is so common a motive for murder?" > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > establishment.  The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise  and > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill > each other, and in turn get rewarded even.  Strange, we have musicians > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of > the fence. > > With love and regards > Inder salim > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 02:58:05 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:28:05 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [PR] March 14th- Lahore High Court. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5af37bb0903171428r190453dcjcb099873b0826ec3@mail.gmail.com> While Pakistan has just gone through an ameliorative convulsion the only indication on this list, sarai, being Shivam's post, you guys are still discussing your own issues about pakistan || head shake || thats pretty myopic. an way an eye witness account for you, which followed the brazen arrests and blocking of the Long March for the restoration of the displace judiciary ( on 03 Nov 2007) in Karachi th eprevious day which set the tone for the whole country in the coming days. best On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 moneeza wrote: > Hello All, > > > The day in Lahore High court during the long march was probably the worst > in terms of laathi (baton) charge and shelling, however probably was one of > the most significant of the long march as well…was going to send a detailed > account, will take long, however on someone’s request, I am just sending an > eye witness account of the day in lahore high court…these are just messages > that I fed into my phone along with updates I sent to the ggg crew….havent > changed much...apologize if the messages seeem erratic and if they dont > follow any rules of grammar. > > I have to say that what I saw in Lahore High Court that day was something > that was perhaps the pinnacle of the 2 year struggle. The situation may have > been leading to a show down like this for days; however what happened in > Lahore High Court on March 14th was probably one of the most significant > and symbolic events of the movement. > > > > One could see the determination especially in the lawyer’s eyes. This > determination however wasn’t just rebellion or the need to stand up to > authority or to just challenge the writ of the state. It was as pure and > simple a group of people who really believed in their cause and their > country. They had lived and breathed practicing the law and they were now > out to protect it. > > > > Hundred or so lawyers along with another hundred activists and political > workers would march to where the police stood with their dandas, get tear > gassed…. run inside wash their eyes and faces with water, throw a little bit > of salt. They would then form lines and groups, march out again sometimes > with dandas and sometimes without but always with more determination, more > fervor and courage, ready to face absolutely anything. > > > > More on this later…am still trying to capture what happened inside into > wordsJ… > > > > Here is the blog style account > > > > Pakistan ZindabadJ > > > > Monz > > > > > > * * > > *14th March, 2009…..* > > * * > > - Leaving home at 9:15…just grabbed a rickshaw, told the rickshaw > to drive us close to Lahore High Court. Lahore blocked from all sides > through barricades. Police and rangers everywhere in the city. > > - Rickshaw leaves us at a point. Wow I could move to Lahore just > for the beautiful old trees. Walking to NCA. > > - First check point. g and I pretend to be Indus Valley > Architecture students. Get through the first check point. > > - Just walked past second check point. Walked past 40 police > walaas, pretending to take pictures of NCA. What idiots. > > - Third check point. Syed Aftab, the SP, wouldn’t let us through. > Just entered the university gate to get through to the other side. Still a > 15 minute walk to High Court. > > - The university guard not letting us in. walking to the other > side of the road > > - Ambulance coming through. Myself and g told the ambulance walaas > to drop us near High Court > > - News of lawyers breaking the high court gate and getting to GPO > chowk. > > - Still in the ambulance….we video tape the police walas and all > the police walaas standing > > - Just crossed the 4th check point without being discovered. > Apparently police walas don’t check ambulances:) > > - > > - The ambulance walas are telling us they cant take us further…or > they will get fired. We telling them we will fail if we don’t finish our > project. > > - They are taking us a little further. > > - Crazy police waalas everywhere. One of them points to the > camera that I am using to tape the police standing everywhere. We cross > another check point. > > - The ambulance has left us 5 mins away from GPO chowk….a huge > blockade…over 20 policemen…there is however apparently a hospital close by, > as told to us by the ambulance waalas. > > - We talk to the policemen. g pretends to have a sick relative. > They aren’t buying it. I break out into a bad speech of how Ifthikhar > Chaudhry cant stop this mulk ka nizaaam and how we had come to see Amna’s > naani. Amna almost breaks into tears. It doesn’t work > > - They let the dawn van through. God we are bad actors. > > - We are turning back…. > > - Just saw a group of lawyers…. > > - Apparently there is a back way to the Lahore High Court. > > - We follow them into the parking lot. There is the dawn van those > police waalas let through…. > > - Police at the back gate…..we run to make it with dawn van….who > is trying to get in > > - Victory. We are in Lahore High Court. > > > > Lahore High Court…. > > - Just ran into d and d > > - Walk out the main gate. Hundreds of lawyers and political > activists. PML(N) supporters. > > - Crazy Naaras….my favourite…Musharaf ka patwari kaun zardari hai > zardari hai, oh BB kinay mari hai zardari hai zardari hai” > > - News of Nawaz and Aitzaz trying to break out of house arrest. > > - Taking Pictures and footage of the hungama outside GPO. > > - Jamiat arrives with 400 people or so….. > > - Chilling with the Karachi lawyers having kulfi… kulfis in Lahore > aint that good… > > - Crazy Naaras…standing in front of the LHC > > - Tear Gas attack…everyone is running inside…I run inside…my purse > is gone…lawyers handing out water……and salt….. > > - We all run inside to the back of the stage put up for the > speeches. My purse is with d. > > - A lawyer shouting “Aaaao bhaayeeon bahar chalo” > > - We all walk out again…shouting “chief ki bahaali tak dharna > hoga”…the police are stranding with blockades and dandas just where the > chowk starts > > - We continue to chant and walk up to the police blockade. > > - I can see only 2-3 women. > > - Second Tear Gas attack we run inside. News of them targeting > specific individuals. > > - Inside..… A lawyer breaking bricks to throw them at the police > waalas. > > - I stand by the stage….thinking I should have bought a video > camera > > - The lawyers grouping together again to march out. The PML( N) > supporters have grabbed sticks > - The contingent is walking out chanting “ chief ki bahali tak > dharna hoga dharna hoga” > > > - a LPP women contingent walking out with black bands wrapped > around their head which proudly claim dharna. > > - I run upto them to walk with them…. We walk out…I can see a few > lawyers marching up ahead….with dandaaas….an aunite is saying “ women > shouldn’t go outside; her face is fully make-uped…guess she hasn’t been tear > gassed yet” > > - Tear Gas close to the gate. > > - Worst tear gassing yet….we all just run inside > > - They are tear gassing High court from all three sides. Everyone > is inside…. Huddled together……various people giving out bottles and salt. > - We all walk outside again…Salauddin tells me to go back inside…the > lawyers are trying to beat up the police!!...this is crazy…. > - > - > > - things seem to have settled down a bit…we all walk inside to take a > little rest… > > - walking outside…tear gas again…we run inside again > > - inside….high court cafeteria is packed with lawyers, students….everyones > looking for water and food > > - we grab a guy who has chaanaas…..when is Nawaz going to show up > > - News that Nawaz is with 500,000 people…. > > - News of aitzaz showing up > > - Hanging out with the Karachi lawyers in a big run down library/conference > room of the lhc > > - SAC students chanting go zardaari go Naaras inside > > - Chai and samosas > > - a few hours have passed…still no sign of nawaz > > - Aitzaz shows up…..everyone is going crazy > > - we walk out with a megaphone…start chanting sindhi Naaras…followed by > anti zardari naaras…..everyone joins us….things have settled down… > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > “I am for truth, no matter who tells it. I am for justice, no matter who it > is for or against. I am a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m > for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” > -- Malcolm X > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ > This is the People's Resistance Mailing List > > From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 18 09:03:09 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:33:09 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <3584A02BD8094B5CA1432D98BB036CBF@tara> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <47e122a70903151201t40a2b55egf797ccb70d4784fe@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151322l1e2e710bxddfa5711d2b8539f@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903151955k139be4fbjb07b91cb65e6c59b@mail.gmail.com> <6C03B426A67640D7B4E3C15FD0DCA6A0@tara> <65be9bf40903160745o510119fcq4cb536326cb21d42@mail.gmail.com> <3584A02BD8094B5CA1432D98BB036CBF@tara> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903172033k524362bemcbe6e182ba51fb70@mail.gmail.com> Dear Taraprakash Please talk me through this- > Your justification about how it matters for a public discussion whether an > individual will keep holding the same opinions or he/she will change did not > convince me. But you don't need to do it again. I need not get convinced. > What is it that you intend to imply by above statements? Is it that when one is discussing something on a public list then any such discussion is without any sense of conviction or belief? Or is it that you are in a habit of arguing for argument's sake? Say one thing because it fits in your scheme of things and then say completely opposite things later because it suits your argument in so thread, like you did when exchanging posts about 'identity'? To refresh your memory, I was given an impression that you believe that there exists a relationship between signifier and signified when it comes to identity and then during a later discussion you seem to state with as much confidence that the relationship between signifier and signified is completely arbitrary? I think like any other rational, earnest person I had difficulty in understanding what seemed to me like a janus faced repartee. In above statement too, you seem to suggest that it is okay for one to twist ones interpretation and belief in any which's way possible then you seem to stick to one position by saying,' I need not get convinced'? As you can clearly see this is confusing. So could you please arrange your thoughts again on this most pertinent matter and talk me through because I beleive it is necessary for me to know the rules of engagement with you? Warm regards Taha > From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 18 09:14:22 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:44:22 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <629384.76861.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <65be9bf40903150910k12140ab6xabf44cd51373d86b@mail.gmail.com> <629384.76861.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903172044u9cab3c9x73081ddf3c321b1e@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendera Thank you for a thought provoking mail on political theory 101 and political philosophy 101 with respect to the idea of just and unjust distribution and eligibility of recipients with respect to any such distribution. It was most instructive to go through your thoughts. I have only one question and I do not even desire a justification of your position on this one. In your response you articulate, 'India is not a Nation State.' Now my question to you is this- Do you actually believe, India is Not a Nation State? lol (All the brooding anarchists on this list must sit up and take notice) Warm regards Taha PS: While answering, A simple yes or no would suffice. On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Taha > > In any situation, when the resources are 'more than plenty for everyone' we > might see the humanistic face of sharing and caring. That humanist > attitude gets relegated when there is a shortage of resources. People then > first look after the needs of 'our own'. This is logical and understandable. > > > The 'our own' could be immediate family as the smallest social unit or on a > larger scale the 'our own' identification could be on the basis of religion; > or ethnicity; or citizenship; or caste; or gender; a whole range of possible > identity groupings. > > In my opinion, this also happens in the attitude towards minorities in a > majoritarian demographic environment. > > I would therefore not agree that it is always a directed or designed > attitude to alienate minorities but can simply be a 'less available for > many, so let us first look after our own'. > > I wrote earlier that it is 'logical and understandable'. But, should it > be acceptable? > > In the private domain of individuals, or smaller scale sets, one can only > whine about it or argue against it but any legal enforcement to prevent it > would be highly improbable to succeed. > > However in all that is in the domain of 'public life', such discrimination > should be unacceptable and illegal not only in the fabric of the > Constitutional Umbrella but in every devolved Legislation or Law applicable > to the functioning of the State, Semi-Govt & Quasi-Govt institutions and any > enterprise that enjoys any kind of a support from 'public money' (schools, > colleges, hospitals, clubs etc). > > Here we have to take into reckoning the nature of the State, what exactly > are the provisions of and under it's Constitutional Umbrella as far as the > attitudes towards minorities is concerned or any provisions favouring the > majority are concerned. In this design itself India and Pakistan are starkly > different. > > Before expanding on that, the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not > suggest that they were driven out but that they were overwhelmed and > intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of > 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). > And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) > pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. These are just 35 Hindus > compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from > those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to > those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated. The State might be considered > to be guilty by neglect and not by design and that too not neglect of the > Hindus specifically. > > The other news item I posted about 'conspiracy against Hindus in Sindh' > could be construed as neglect by the State of Hindus specifically. It could > be interpreted as the 'design of deliberate neglect'. > > But this 'design of deliberate neglect' would not be unique to Pakistan. > One could cite quite a few hundred scenarios in India which suggest such a > 'design of deliberate neglect' of minorities that has the dimensions of the > State being susceptible to being accused of being complicit in the > sufferings undergone by the minority. > > Any non-propagandist recognition of such scenarios in India would reveal > that the identity of the minority varies. Could be Muslims someplace, or > Christians, or Sikhs, or Hindus or any other Minority Identity Grouping in a > particular environment. > > Pakistan is a Nation State (Islamic). In Pakistan, it is understandable if > in the Design of the State, there is 'majoritarianism' in both the > Constitution and the Laws and the application of the Laws. That is an aspect > that will be and is seen in any State that declares itself Islamic. It is > peculiar to Islam because only Islam goes beyond simply theorising about the > Divine and specifies societal norms and attitudes. This exclusivist nature > of Islam is further hardlined by the nature of the interpretation of Islamic > precepts that have taken root and concretised through the ages. In any > declared Islamic State the 'alienate minorities on the basis of their > ....religious identities ' is automatically programmed in the design of the > State. > > The same would be true of any Nation State that is Ethnicity based. > > India is not a Nation State. No such provision of the Constitution or in > Law comes readily to my mind that could be seen as being dictated by > 'majoritarianism'. On the contrary, many Hindu voices whine about > 'minorityism' or 'pampering of minorities' being the Law of the Land. They > of course are referring only to religious identities. > > In India therefore, any 'design of deliberate neglect' of any Minority > Identity Group becomes totally unacceptable and illegal. Yet it happens. I > know. It is sad. It is disgusting. It is destructive. > > I have tried to respond best that I could. Hope that there is some > 'clarity' in the conveyance of my thoughts. > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On *Sun, 3/15/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>* wrote: > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India > grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "sarai list" > Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 9:40 PM > > > Dear Kshmendra > > Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general > tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis > of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the > situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of > Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long > time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or > 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it > comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. > > This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and > blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we > witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive' form a religious > nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as > yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was > kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing > signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan? > > It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo > political class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. > > Regards > > Taha > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also >> appeared in: >> >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >> http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> >> http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had >> crossed over to india few days back. >> >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension >> in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in >> Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We >> were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of >> strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can >> breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >> >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow >> us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would >> never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even >> Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since >> none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required >> necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local >> executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal >> area of Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful >> for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief >> while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the >> four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since >> girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance >> only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In >> Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous >> Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as >> unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since >> for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for >> women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal >> area”, she quipped. >> >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 18 09:32:23 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:02:23 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [PR] March 14th- Lahore High Court. In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0903171428r190453dcjcb099873b0826ec3@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0903171428r190453dcjcb099873b0826ec3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903172102h3011143k9eb87699e0268851@mail.gmail.com> so what do you suggest yasir, should we now celebrate the restoration of early nineties status quo of Pakistan, that look, instead of a discredited muhajir general and a discredited sindhi zamindar, the salwar brigade of Punjabi men and black jackets have now restored a discredited Punjabi feudal businessman back...I don't understand, what are you trying to imply by your seemingly condescending remarks.. and may I ask what is this, 'you guys are still discussing...' busniess. this list is a voluntary list and frankly I was expecting more posts from you on this issue. so could I suggest that instead of patronizing shivam for his efforts please deluge us with posts and annotationns on what's happening in pakistan. regards taha From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 18 13:40:10 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:10:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Inder   I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you have any access to that?   I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what context.   Hope you can oblige.   If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest the elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should suffer much much heavier penalties.   Kshmendra  --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: From: Inder Salim Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast To: "reader-list" Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections after this incident. On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > > Stalin Epigram > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > And his boot tops shine. > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > He plays with the services of half-men. > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > He alone pushes and prods. > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > And the Ossetian chest swells. > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > issue, I see his poems on  all the subject. Even in Translation his > words dance. > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is poetry > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry > is so common a motive for murder?" > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > establishment.  The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise  and > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill > each other, and in turn get rewarded even.  Strange, we have musicians > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of > the fence. > > With love and regards > Inder salim > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 18 14:03:52 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:33:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903172044u9cab3c9x73081ddf3c321b1e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <922585.64666.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taha   The answer to your question is a Yes.   It is interesting that you should be reduced to articulating yourself with a 'lol'.   This patronising arrogance is also evident (unless I registered it wrongly) in the sarcastic reference to "political theory 101 and political philosophy 101".   Kshmendra --- On Wed, 3/18/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:14 AM Dear Kshmendera Thank you for a thought provoking mail on political theory 101 and political philosophy 101 with respect to the idea of just and unjust distribution and eligibility of recipients with respect to any such distribution. It was most instructive to go through your thoughts. I have only one question and I do not even desire a justification of your position on this one. In your response you articulate, 'India is not a Nation State.' Now my question to you is this- Do you actually believe, India is Not a Nation State? lol (All the brooding anarchists on this list must sit up and take notice) Warm regards Taha PS: While answering, A simple yes or no would suffice. On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Dear Taha   In any situation, when the resources are 'more than plenty for everyone' we might see the humanistic face of sharing and caring. That humanist attitude gets relegated when there is a shortage of resources. People then first look after the needs of 'our own'. This is logical and understandable.   The 'our own' could be immediate family as the smallest social unit or on a larger scale the 'our own' identification could be on the basis of religion; or ethnicity; or citizenship; or caste; or gender; a whole range of possible identity groupings.    In my opinion, this also happens in the attitude towards minorities in a majoritarian demographic environment.   I would therefore not agree that it is always a directed  or designed attitude to alienate minorities but can simply be a 'less available for many, so let us first look after our own'.   I wrote earlier that it is 'logical and understandable'. But, should it be acceptable?   In the private domain of individuals, or smaller scale sets, one can only whine about it or argue against it but any legal enforcement to prevent it would be highly improbable to succeed.   However in all that is in the domain of 'public life', such discrimination should be unacceptable and illegal not only in the fabric of the Constitutional Umbrella but in every devolved Legislation or Law applicable to the functioning of the State, Semi-Govt & Quasi-Govt institutions and any enterprise that enjoys any kind of a support from 'public money' (schools, colleges, hospitals, clubs etc).   Here we have to take into reckoning the nature of the State, what exactly are the provisions of and under it's Constitutional Umbrella as far as the attitudes towards minorities is concerned or any provisions favouring the majority are concerned. In this design itself India and Pakistan are starkly different.   Before expanding on that, the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not suggest that they were driven out  but that they were overwhelmed and intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. These are just 35 Hindus compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated. The State might be considered to be guilty by neglect and not by design and that too not neglect of the Hindus specifically.   The other news item I posted about 'conspiracy against Hindus in Sindh' could be construed as neglect by the State of Hindus specifically. It could be interpreted as the 'design of deliberate neglect'.   But this 'design of deliberate neglect' would not be unique to Pakistan. One could cite quite a few hundred scenarios in India which suggest such a 'design of deliberate neglect' of minorities that has the dimensions of the State being susceptible to being accused of being complicit in the sufferings undergone by the minority.   Any non-propagandist recognition of such scenarios in India would reveal that the identity of the minority varies. Could be Muslims someplace, or Christians, or Sikhs, or Hindus or any other Minority Identity Grouping in a particular environment.    Pakistan is a Nation State (Islamic). In Pakistan, it is understandable if in the Design of the State, there is 'majoritarianism' in both the Constitution and the Laws and the application of the Laws. That is an aspect that will be and is seen in any State that declares itself Islamic. It is peculiar to Islam because only Islam goes beyond simply theorising about the Divine and specifies societal norms and attitudes. This exclusivist nature of Islam is further hardlined by the nature of the interpretation of Islamic precepts that have taken root and concretised through the ages. In any declared Islamic State the 'alienate minorities on the basis of their ....religious identities ' is automatically programmed in the design of the State.   The same would be true of any Nation State that is Ethnicity based.    India is not a Nation State. No such provision of the Constitution or in Law comes readily to my mind that could be seen as being dictated by 'majoritarianism'. On the contrary, many Hindu voices whine about 'minorityism' or 'pampering of minorities' being the Law of the Land. They of course are referring only to religious identities.   In India therefore, any 'design of deliberate neglect'  of any Minority Identity Group becomes totally unacceptable and illegal. Yet it happens. I know. It is sad. It is disgusting. It is destructive.   I have tried to respond best that I could. Hope that there is some 'clarity' in the conveyance of my thoughts.   Kshmendra    --- On Sun, 3/15/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 9:40 PM Dear Kshmendra Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan?  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. Regards Taha On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also appeared in:   - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship"      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL   - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India"       http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi   Kshmendra     "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" JAGMOHAN SINGH Saturday, 07 March 2009   AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had crossed over to india few days back.   The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year.   Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”.   Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”.   Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”.   Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”.   Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”.   Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped.   http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/     _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: From pawan.durani at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 14:23:25 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:23:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Sir, If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those hands which trouble hindus. As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all delivering to his constituency . And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why trouble hindus at all... ? Regards Pawan On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Inder > > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you have > any access to that? > > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what > context. > > Hope you can oblige. > > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest the > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should > suffer much much heavier penalties. > > Kshmendra > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: > > From: Inder Salim > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear > contrast > To: "reader-list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM > > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections > after this incident. > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim > wrote: > > > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > > > > Stalin Epigram > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > > And his boot tops shine. > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > > He plays with the services of half-men. > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > > He alone pushes and prods. > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > > And the Ossetian chest swells. > > > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his > > words dance. > > > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is > poetry > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry > > is so common a motive for murder?" > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of > > the fence. > > > > With love and regards > > Inder salim > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From nilankur at cultureunplugged.com Wed Mar 18 14:37:18 2009 From: nilankur at cultureunplugged.com (Nilankur) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:37:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Blog Writer + Editor to work with Global Team of Writers/Contributors Message-ID: <67594D67-1542-4DF6-982D-B5A2E8CD748A@cultureunplugged.com> To you, is it a bliss to meditatively write and move spirit/ consciousness of the audience? Do you love to focus on subjects such as films/media, consciousness, culture/society, identity? Do you write in the style where profundity meets simplicity of expression? Our wish is to adopt a voice that is: Mature, Noble, Pragmatic, Frank, Fearless, Fresh; truth-seeking, expansive & inclusive, sharp- focused, thoughtful & sensitive – holding compassionate viewpoint of humanity and disparate cultures. We are launching a blog platform, on our online venue (http://www.cultureunplugged.com/filmedia ) catering to our primary audience - film-makers, film-lovers - culture explorers & conscious world citizens. This venue is to be launched in April 2009, for which the efforts are already in progress. Through this effort, we are not just building a platform/structure that simply publishes content, but one that raises consciousness of film-makers as citizens and unites people through their spirit & experience. We are looking for Blog Writer+Editor with spiritual insight in social/ world affairs & substantial experience in the world of journalism/ media, who aspires to write & engage with global team of writers, and connect with the audience in a conscious dialogue through this online platform. Responsibilities include : conceptualize, organize & own the entrepreneurship of the entire publishing effort and enable the market opportunity of this platform, working with others. It also requires to maintain the publishing system with other team members which includes search & recruit fresh, deep voices, manage communication with writers, review all submitted articles, sign-off articles to be published & manage publishing process/schedule. To be able to work as independent contributor, ability to manage virtual freelance team of writers and the knowledge of online medium is must. These opportunity is in PUNE (exceptions possible) at Culture Unplugged Studio, and the start-date is immediate. Compensation is based on expertise/experience and mutual expectations. If you have experience as film/media critic, social scientist, cultural anthropologist, or editorial journalist, we wish to know you. To learn about us, please visit http://www.cultureunplugged.com/landing.php Please email us your profile/interest/samples at : apply at cultureunplugged.com In respect of time, we will contact you if we find your profile/ expectation a fit. We thank you for your attention. from Culture Unplugged: (HQ : Pune, India) about us : http://www.cultureunplugged.com/landing.php http://studio.cultureunplugged.com nilankur Culture Unplugged Studios India | USA | UK | Indonesia | New Zealand +91.20.650.02520/ +91.992.340.4262 From javedmasoo at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 14:52:35 2009 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (M Javed) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:52:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Pawan You are right: "why trouble Hindus at all..." If its simply a matter of safeguarding the rights of the Hindus, its perfectly all right. But the trouble begins when you are using that excuse to win votes. Is Varun Gandhi assuming that all his voters and supporters are Hindus? Is he assuming that no Muslim will vote for him? This is the same when during the last year's assembly elections in Delhi, the BJP advert and posters mentioned that the Congress has been responsible for "mushrooming Batla Houses" in Delhi, assuming that no one in the real Batla House will ever vote for BJP, so let us loose that constituency to win in other constituency. Is this real democracy? Why have we brought our complex situation to such over-simplistic terms of "BJP=Hindu" and "Congress=Muslim"? J On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Sir, > > If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those > hands which trouble hindus. > > As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu > party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all delivering > to his constituency . > > And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why trouble > hindus at all... ? > > Regards > > Pawan > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > >> Dear Inder >> >> I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you have >> any access to that? >> >> I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV >> but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what >> context. >> >> Hope you can oblige. >> >> If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest the >> elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should >> suffer much much heavier penalties. >> >> Kshmendra >> >> --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> From: Inder Salim >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear >> contrast >> To: "reader-list" >> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM >> >> Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi,  is a BJP canditate for >> coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on >> camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). >> Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun >> Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to >> gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections >> after this incident. >> >> >> >> On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim >> wrote: >> > >> > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in >> > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was >> > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family >> > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: >> > >> > Stalin Epigram >> > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, >> > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, >> > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, >> > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. >> > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, >> > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. >> > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, >> > And his boot tops shine. >> > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – >> > He plays with the services of half-men. >> > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. >> > He alone pushes and prods. >> > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, >> > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. >> > When he has an execution it's a special treat, >> > And the Ossetian chest swells. >> > >> > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine >> > issue, I see his poems on  all the subject. Even in Translation his >> > words dance. >> > >> > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is >> poetry >> > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry >> > is so common a motive for murder?" >> > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir >> > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, >> > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar >> > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death >> > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history >> > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the >> > establishment.  The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the >> > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, >> > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the >> > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was >> > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances >> > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise  and >> > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. >> > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, >> > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after >> > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published >> > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and >> > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. >> > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer >> > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed >> > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill >> > each other, and in turn get rewarded even.  Strange, we have musicians >> > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same >> > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when >> > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear >> > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira >> > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT >> > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this >> > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of >> > the fence. >> > >> > With love and regards >> > Inder salim >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > >> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in >> the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 15:23:56 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:23:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear all For the benefit of all those, who wish to know what exactly Varun Gandhi has said, these are the excerpts, taken from Indian Express, which has obtained them through a recording of election meetings, which are held in two different locations. Link: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/badey-daraawne-naam-hotey-hain-inke...-karimullah-mazharullah...-varun-gandhi-kaat-daalega.../435950/1 Excerpts: 1) *Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka haath hai. Yeh kat** ke galey ko kaat dega chunaav ke baad. Jai Shri Ram! Ram ji ki jai! Varun Gandhi kaat daalega! Kaat denge us haath ko, kaat denge, kaat daalega! 2) **Apne jao, apne gaon mein jao aur halla karo ki saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao, chhetra ko Pakistan hone se bachao, aur saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao! 3) **Kya yeh sach nahin hai… ki usko bola gaya ki mataji aapka naam kya hai... agar usne bola ki Bimla Devi, to usko kahaa ki dekhenge, sochenge... pehle paanch hazaar rupaye do... aur agar uska naam hai Saira Bano ya jo bhi Begum Hukum Begum... hum to jaante nahin hain... badey daraawne naam hotey hain inke... Karimullah... Mazharullah.... agar raat ko kabhi dikh jaayen... to darr rahen hain... 4) **Meri ek behan hai... to ek pamphlet chhapa tha jisme saare pratiyashiyon ka picture likha hua hai... toh meri behan... us bitiya ne kaha... Bhaiya mujhe nahi pata tha ki aapke chhetra mein Osama bin Laden chunaav lad rahein hain... Maine kaha beta Osama bin Laden ko to America pakad nahi liya lekin Varun Gandhi ke to pakad mein bahut aane waale hain chunaav ke baad! 5) **Jo aadmi thappad aapko maare, aapko kya karna chahiye? Doosra gaal aage kar dena chahiye… Usse bewakoofi ki baat maine suni nahi hai aaj tak. Agar koi aadmi aapko thappad maare, to saale ka haath kat do ki kisi ko phir thappad nahi maar paaye baad mein. 6) **.Agar kisi ne, kisi galat tatv ke aadmi ne, kisi Hindu pe haath uthaya...to main Gita ki kasam khake kehta hun ki main us haath ko kaat daalunga! *After reading all this, you can for yourself make out the kind of language Varun Gandhi has used. The problem with all the right-wing people of this nation is that, they want a masculine, effete kind of response to these things, for the fact is that in their own personal lives, they are never satisfied with the devotion they have towards God. The fact is that, they always want their devotion to increase further and further, and no levels are enough for them. That's what my own experiences have shown me, though they are not many. And I sincerely feel, that right-wing people probably don't have any confidence in their masculinity, which forces them to always express it again and again in useless issues. Similarly, they also don't have enough confidence in their devotion to God, for they constantly are in search of more and more. They need psychologists to boost their confidence in their masculinity and contentment in their devotion to God, rather than Ram Mandirs and action against 'appeasers' of Muslims. After all, as one line of the song 'Pal Pal hai Bhari' from Swades says: 'Man se Ravana jo nikaale, Ram uske man mein hai'. So please let the Ravana of our minds run away, instead of fighting over masjids-mandirs, and if that's what we want to fight for, let us have one single fight to solve the issue for once and all. Let us not have Ayodhya, Godhra, post-Ayodhya, post-Godhra, Kandhamal, Mangalore one by one. Let us go on streets and solve the issue for once and for all. At least be that rational. Let us not die every day (I mean the soul). Let the death be once, and for all. After all, 'roz roz kutte ki mout marne se achcha hai ek din sher ki maut marna', as one of the 'alleged' terrorists of Ahmedabad blasts said. The choice is ours: Useless fights to destroy ourselves (Pakistan is already involved in these), or fight against all the evils leaving aside all infighting amongst ourselves (not because we are Indians, but because we are human beings first). Regards Rakesh From pawan.durani at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 15:39:33 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:39:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903180309o13111150kf76757192064cc57@mail.gmail.com> How do we want an action against a real Gandhi ie Varun ....when we have organisations like JKLF which the Indian media and the progressive secularist liberals call as a 'secular ' organisation and Yasin Malik as a modern day Gandhi. His main slogan was "Yahan Kya Chalega ---Nizam E Mustafa' ....and then added in posters that Kashmir would be a Pakistan...without Hindu men but with hindu womenfolk. The problem is when people like Yasin find a group of stupid ignorant supporters [ Joholla Wallas ] who make a hero out of a killer, everything else seems justified. Correct me if I am wrong..... Pawan On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 3:23 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > For the benefit of all those, who wish to know what exactly Varun Gandhi > has said, these are the excerpts, taken from Indian Express, which has > obtained them through a recording of election meetings, which are held in > two different locations. > > Link: > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/badey-daraawne-naam-hotey-hain-inke...-karimullah-mazharullah...-varun-gandhi-kaat-daalega.../435950/1 > > Excerpts: > > 1) *Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka haath hai. Yeh kat** ke galey ko kaat > dega chunaav ke baad. Jai Shri Ram! Ram ji ki jai! Varun Gandhi kaat > daalega! Kaat denge us haath ko, kaat denge, kaat daalega! > > 2) **Apne jao, apne gaon mein jao aur halla karo ki saara Hindu ek tarfa > ho jao, chhetra ko Pakistan hone se bachao, aur saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao! > > 3) **Kya yeh sach nahin hai… ki usko bola gaya ki mataji aapka naam kya > hai... agar usne bola ki Bimla Devi, to usko kahaa ki dekhenge, sochenge... > pehle paanch hazaar rupaye do... aur agar uska naam hai Saira Bano ya jo bhi > Begum Hukum Begum... hum to jaante nahin hain... badey daraawne naam hotey > hain inke... Karimullah... Mazharullah.... agar raat ko kabhi dikh jaayen... > to darr rahen hain... > > 4) **Meri ek behan hai... to ek pamphlet chhapa tha jisme saare > pratiyashiyon ka picture likha hua hai... toh meri behan... us bitiya ne > kaha... Bhaiya mujhe nahi pata tha ki aapke chhetra mein Osama bin Laden > chunaav lad rahein hain... Maine kaha beta Osama bin Laden ko to America > pakad nahi liya lekin Varun Gandhi ke to pakad mein bahut aane waale hain > chunaav ke baad! > > 5) **Jo aadmi thappad aapko maare, aapko kya karna chahiye? Doosra gaal > aage kar dena chahiye… Usse bewakoofi ki baat maine suni nahi hai aaj tak. > Agar koi aadmi aapko thappad maare, to saale ka haath kat do ki kisi ko phir > thappad nahi maar paaye baad mein. > > 6) **.Agar kisi ne, kisi galat tatv ke aadmi ne, kisi Hindu pe haath > uthaya...to main Gita ki kasam khake kehta hun ki main us haath ko kaat > daalunga! > > *After reading all this, you can for yourself make out the kind of > language Varun Gandhi has used. The problem with all the right-wing people > of this nation is that, they want a masculine, effete kind of response to > these things, for the fact is that in their own personal lives, they are > never satisfied with the devotion they have towards God. The fact is that, > they always want their devotion to increase further and further, and no > levels are enough for them. That's what my own experiences have shown me, > though they are not many. > > And I sincerely feel, that right-wing people probably don't have any > confidence in their masculinity, which forces them to always express it > again and again in useless issues. Similarly, they also don't have enough > confidence in their devotion to God, for they constantly are in search of > more and more. They need psychologists to boost their confidence in their > masculinity and contentment in their devotion to God, rather than Ram > Mandirs and action against 'appeasers' of Muslims. > > After all, as one line of the song 'Pal Pal hai Bhari' from Swades says: > > 'Man se Ravana jo nikaale, Ram uske man mein hai'. So please let the Ravana > of our minds run away, instead of fighting over masjids-mandirs, and if > that's what we want to fight for, let us have one single fight to solve the > issue for once and all. Let us not have Ayodhya, Godhra, post-Ayodhya, > post-Godhra, Kandhamal, Mangalore one by one. Let us go on streets and solve > the issue for once and for all. At least be that rational. > > Let us not die every day (I mean the soul). Let the death be once, and for > all. > > After all, 'roz roz kutte ki mout marne se achcha hai ek din sher ki maut > marna', as one of the 'alleged' terrorists of Ahmedabad blasts said. > > The choice is ours: Useless fights to destroy ourselves (Pakistan is > already involved in these), or fight against all the evils leaving aside all > infighting amongst ourselves (not because we are Indians, but because we are > human beings first). > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 17:24:39 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:24:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903180309o13111150kf76757192064cc57@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903180309o13111150kf76757192064cc57@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903180454t398fdd92mba683e177992b1a7@mail.gmail.com> Dear Pawan we all know Huriyat conference ( which includes JKLF ) never participated in elections in kashmir, so to link Yasin Malik or anybody from Huriyat with Varun Gandhi is not making much sense. I agree, any ,discussion on kashmir will bring the questions, which you raised, into consideration, and those who suffered shall speak from their experience. People on the list, have respected that sentiment,... However, i beleive, outwitting Kashmiri radicals on that account will still not dilute the core Kashmir issue which has a historical reference. Govt. of India too endorses it officially. I dont know how much Varun Gandhi has played on that element of ' hate' inherited from 1947 Partition but, in kashmir only time will tell us what the muslim uprising in kashmir was all about. Right now it is too opportunistic, and we know how people have been sold and bought by agencies. you know in kashmir every body is suspect. If there will be any talks between centre ( even BJP/NDA) they will talk to JKLF/Hurriyat but not to you or RIK/Panun Kashmir etc, you must know how politics works in reality. True, that Kashmiri Pandits suffered in the 1990's bloody wind which had ' hate' and 'murder' its part agenda. But, i still believe, if outside agents ( international ) had not played games in kashmir, Hindus would have lived a dignified life in kashmir. alas Here, we have no reason to exonerate the central govt. in Delhi on this account, as i have pointed out earlier as well, that they knew the game from beginning, but mysteriously allowed it to grow, how to blame just one party. Interestingly, it is the same Gandhi Nehru dynasty who remain indifferent to Hindus as and when it suits them and deliver hate speeches against muslims as and it suits them. just for power. love and regards is On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 3:39 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > How do we want an action against a real Gandhi ie Varun ....when we have > organisations like JKLF which the Indian media and the progressive > secularist liberals call as a 'secular ' organisation and Yasin Malik as a > modern day Gandhi. > > His main slogan was "Yahan Kya Chalega ---Nizam E Mustafa' ....and then > added in posters that Kashmir would be a Pakistan...without Hindu men but > with hindu womenfolk. > > The problem is when people like Yasin find a group of stupid ignorant > supporters [ Joholla Wallas ]  who make a hero out of a killer, everything > else seems justified. > > > Correct me if I am wrong..... > > Pawan > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 3:23 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > >> Dear all >> >> For the benefit of all those, who wish to know what exactly Varun Gandhi >> has said, these are the excerpts, taken from Indian Express, which has >> obtained them through a recording of election meetings, which are held in >> two different locations. >> >> Link: >> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/badey-daraawne-naam-hotey-hain-inke...-karimullah-mazharullah...-varun-gandhi-kaat-daalega.../435950/1 >> >> Excerpts: >> >> 1) *Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka haath hai. Yeh kat** ke galey ko kaat >> dega chunaav ke baad. Jai Shri Ram! Ram ji ki jai! Varun Gandhi kaat >> daalega! Kaat denge us haath ko, kaat denge, kaat daalega! >> >> 2) **Apne jao, apne gaon mein jao aur halla karo ki saara Hindu ek tarfa >> ho jao, chhetra ko Pakistan hone se bachao, aur saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao! >> >> 3) **Kya yeh sach nahin hai… ki usko bola gaya ki mataji aapka naam kya >> hai... agar usne bola ki Bimla Devi, to usko kahaa ki dekhenge, sochenge... >> pehle paanch hazaar rupaye do... aur agar uska naam hai Saira Bano ya jo bhi >> Begum Hukum Begum... hum to jaante nahin hain... badey daraawne naam hotey >> hain inke... Karimullah... Mazharullah.... agar raat ko kabhi dikh jaayen... >> to darr rahen hain... >> >> 4) **Meri ek behan hai... to ek pamphlet chhapa tha jisme saare >> pratiyashiyon ka picture likha hua hai... toh meri behan... us bitiya ne >> kaha... Bhaiya mujhe nahi pata tha ki aapke chhetra mein Osama bin Laden >> chunaav lad rahein hain... Maine kaha beta Osama bin Laden ko to America >> pakad nahi liya lekin Varun Gandhi ke to pakad mein bahut aane waale hain >> chunaav ke baad! >> >> 5) **Jo aadmi thappad aapko maare, aapko kya karna chahiye? Doosra gaal >> aage kar dena chahiye… Usse bewakoofi ki baat maine suni nahi hai aaj tak. >> Agar koi aadmi aapko thappad maare, to saale ka haath kat do ki kisi ko phir >> thappad nahi maar paaye baad mein. >> >> 6) **.Agar kisi ne, kisi galat tatv ke aadmi ne, kisi Hindu pe haath >> uthaya...to main Gita ki kasam khake kehta hun ki main us haath ko kaat >> daalunga! >> >> *After reading all this, you can for yourself make out the kind of >> language Varun Gandhi has used. The problem with all the right-wing people >> of this nation is that, they want a masculine, effete kind of response to >> these things, for the fact is that in their own personal lives, they are >> never satisfied with the devotion they have towards God. The fact is that, >> they always want their devotion to increase further and further, and no >> levels are enough for them. That's what my own experiences have shown me, >> though they are not many. >> >> And I sincerely feel, that right-wing people probably don't have any >> confidence in their masculinity, which forces them to always express it >> again and again in useless issues. Similarly, they also don't have enough >> confidence in their devotion to God, for they constantly are in search of >> more and more. They need psychologists to boost their confidence in their >> masculinity and contentment in their devotion to God, rather than Ram >> Mandirs and action against 'appeasers' of Muslims. >> >> After all, as one line of the song 'Pal Pal hai Bhari' from Swades says: >> >> 'Man se Ravana jo nikaale, Ram uske man mein hai'. So please let the Ravana >> of our minds run away, instead of fighting over masjids-mandirs, and if >> that's what we want to fight for, let us have one single fight to solve the >> issue for once and all. Let us not have Ayodhya, Godhra, post-Ayodhya, >> post-Godhra, Kandhamal, Mangalore one by one. Let us go on streets and solve >> the issue for once and for all. At least be that rational. >> >> Let us not die every day (I mean the soul). Let the death be once, and for >> all. >> >> After all, 'roz roz kutte ki mout marne se achcha hai ek din sher ki maut >> marna', as one of the 'alleged' terrorists of Ahmedabad blasts said. >> >> The choice is ours: Useless fights to destroy ourselves (Pakistan is >> already involved in these), or fight against all the evils leaving aside all >> infighting amongst ourselves (not because we are Indians, but because we are >> human beings first). >> >> Regards >> >> Rakesh >> >> >> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From taraprakash at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 19:17:02 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:47:02 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com><330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com><6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: This kind of polarization is sad, but it is the reality of politics in India. Similarly it is risky to keep calling BJP and its allies communal, giving an illusion that non-BJP always equals secular. ----- Original Message ----- From: "M Javed" To: "Pawan Durani" ; "sarai-list" Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 5:22 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast > Dear Pawan > You are right: "why trouble Hindus at all..." > If its simply a matter of safeguarding the rights of the Hindus, its > perfectly all right. But the trouble begins when you are using that > excuse to win votes. Is Varun Gandhi assuming that all his voters and > supporters are Hindus? Is he assuming that no Muslim will vote for > him? > > This is the same when during the last year's assembly elections in > Delhi, the BJP advert and posters mentioned that the Congress has been > responsible for "mushrooming Batla Houses" in Delhi, assuming that no > one in the real Batla House will ever vote for BJP, so let us loose > that constituency to win in other constituency. Is this real > democracy? Why have we brought our complex situation to such > over-simplistic terms of "BJP=Hindu" and "Congress=Muslim"? > > J > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani > wrote: >> Sir, >> >> If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those >> hands which trouble hindus. >> >> As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu >> party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all >> delivering >> to his constituency . >> >> And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why >> trouble >> hindus at all... ? >> >> Regards >> >> Pawan >> >> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >> wrote: >> >>> Dear Inder >>> >>> I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you >>> have >>> any access to that? >>> >>> I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV >>> but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what >>> context. >>> >>> Hope you can oblige. >>> >>> If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest >>> the >>> elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should >>> suffer much much heavier penalties. >>> >>> Kshmendra >>> >>> --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: >>> >>> From: Inder Salim >>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear >>> contrast >>> To: "reader-list" >>> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM >>> >>> Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for >>> coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on >>> camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). >>> Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun >>> Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to >>> gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections >>> after this incident. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim >>> wrote: >>> > >>> > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in >>> > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was >>> > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family >>> > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: >>> > >>> > Stalin Epigram >>> > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, >>> > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, >>> > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, >>> > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. >>> > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, >>> > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. >>> > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, >>> > And his boot tops shine. >>> > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – >>> > He plays with the services of half-men. >>> > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. >>> > He alone pushes and prods. >>> > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, >>> > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. >>> > When he has an execution it's a special treat, >>> > And the Ossetian chest swells. >>> > >>> > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine >>> > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his >>> > words dance. >>> > >>> > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is >>> poetry >>> > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry >>> > is so common a motive for murder?" >>> > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir >>> > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, >>> > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar >>> > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death >>> > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history >>> > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the >>> > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the >>> > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, >>> > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the >>> > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was >>> > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances >>> > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and >>> > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. >>> > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, >>> > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after >>> > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published >>> > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and >>> > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. >>> > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer >>> > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed >>> > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill >>> > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians >>> > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same >>> > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when >>> > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear >>> > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira >>> > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT >>> > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this >>> > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of >>> > the fence. >>> > >>> > With love and regards >>> > Inder salim >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -- >>> > >>> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in >>> the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From shivam at kafila.org Wed Mar 18 21:08:51 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:08:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: You see nothing wrong, why trouble Hindus at all? Hindutva 101: Create a false bogey of Muslims troubling Hindus, Muslims multiplying etc., and in the name of defence mount your offence. Tell me, if somebody in Kashmir was to say cut hands of Indians who trouble you, will Pawa Durani still say what's wrong with that? Why trouble Kashmiris at all? Will you still say the leader was just delivering it for his constituency. And he said a lot more. What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing whose "full flow" you desire in J&K? shivam On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Sir, > > If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those > hands which trouble hindus. > > As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu > party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all delivering > to his constituency . > > And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why trouble > hindus at all... ? > > Regards > > Pawan > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >wrote: > > > Dear Inder > > > > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you > have > > any access to that? > > > > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV > > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what > > context. > > > > Hope you can oblige. > > > > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest > the > > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should > > suffer much much heavier penalties. > > > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: > > > > From: Inder Salim > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear > > contrast > > To: "reader-list" > > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM > > > > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for > > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on > > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). > > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun > > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to > > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections > > after this incident. > > > > > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim > > wrote: > > > > > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in > > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family > > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > > > > > > Stalin Epigram > > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > > > And his boot tops shine. > > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > > > He plays with the services of half-men. > > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > > > He alone pushes and prods. > > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > > > And the Ossetian chest swells. > > > > > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > > > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his > > > words dance. > > > > > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is > > poetry > > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry > > > is so common a motive for murder?" > > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir > > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death > > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > > > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was > > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances > > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and > > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published > > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and > > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed > > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill > > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians > > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same > > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear > > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira > > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this > > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of > > > the fence. > > > > > > With love and regards > > > Inder salim > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in > > the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 18 21:16:58 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:46:58 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <922585.64666.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <65be9bf40903172044u9cab3c9x73081ddf3c321b1e@mail.gmail.com> <922585.64666.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903180846v2a84ba2dj6b2d1bd09446d237@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra I have often smiled a lot while reading your witty responses so this time I thought it appropriate to include non-verbal reactions in my reply. As is clearly evident there seems to be some discomfort in that, hence I will try to refrain from using non-verbal language in future. It pains me to see that what was clearly plain speak is translated as arrogance or sarcasm. It was far from that Kshmendera I genuinely thought what you wrote was more like revisiting a nervous system of concepts which were pulled together to rule India. It was interesting and I hugely enjoyed reading it. Please don't take it otherwise. In fact your articulation on states reminded me of Proudhon's take on nation states, wherein he argues that a nation state is an instrument of Governance. Please allow me to share with you a quote from Proudhan- 'To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. it is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of general interest, to be placed conder contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistence, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, diarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemend, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed, and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonered. That if Government, that is its justice and that is its morality' Please let me know what do you think of this view. Warm regards Taha From shivam at kafila.org Wed Mar 18 21:17:40 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:17:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <673099.10878.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> <673099.10878.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra, You say, "If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa." Now Tibetans cross into India "surreptitiously" - that is without visas, escaping the watchful eyes of Chinese forces, bribing Nepali forces, and then they finally reach after a long journey in which people even lose lives. So according to your policy prescription you are against Tibetans being given refugee status, right? Secondly, the Pakistani Hindus come to India on short-term tourist visas which, as I mentioned, expire long before Indian red tape gives them Indian citizenship. So according to your policy prescription, Pakistani Hindus whose visas have expired should be deported? There must be at least fifty thousand such individuals in Indian territory... you must request Aditya Raj Kaul to carry out a campaign to deport them. best shivam On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Dear Shivam > > I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge. > > If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa. > > You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of India. > > The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien one. > > The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice. > > But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally Displaced. > > The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be understood. > > It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such instances. > > I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages to towns to cities. The State has failed them. > > It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally Displaced in their own country. > > Kshmendra > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: > > From: Shivam V > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "sarai list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM > > Dear Kshmendra, > > Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, > there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India > continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went > to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 > that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred > thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and > organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This > shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most > literal sense > of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues > over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, > complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the > corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching > away' > jobs from Bihari labourers. > > Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is > very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive > manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports > expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports > from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, > like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the > 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful > eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu > refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. > > At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, > say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and > continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. > There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to > India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why > this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees > equally. > > This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in > India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. > > If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu > you're just > Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get > Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in > abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play > politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. > > I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee > law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of > the world equally. > > I hope you agree with me. > > best > shivam > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: > > > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > >  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > > JAGMOHAN SINGH > > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. > > > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in > visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on > Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination > of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe > out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh > Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the > priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual > daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as > a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four > walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were > not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only > in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan > Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families > still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for > India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to > appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come > out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > -- > mail at shivamvij dot com > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From shivam at kafila.org Wed Mar 18 21:56:30 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:56:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is India secular In-Reply-To: <556155.53819.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> <556155.53819.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra, What I meant to say was that Pakistani Muslims won't be able to imagine getting Indian citizenship the way Pakistani Hindus can. So perhaps this was more complicated than Hindu-Muslim, it is India-Pakistan at the same time. But my statement stands because the Pakistani Hindus who come all know through their relatives who are already here as to where in Delhi they have to go and file aplications, despite knowing only Sindhi and Urdu, for Indian citizenship and the long process of naturalisation follows with a lot of harassment and red tape. (Praise be upon Manto.) The rest don't have even this privilege, except Afghan Sikhs. So that's why I wonder if this bodes well for a country that claims to be secular. So while this may not really be surprising, it is certainly detestable. Perhaps not for you but certainly for me. The two reasons you cite, one is history and the second is bunkum. I am shocked to see you justify the Hindutva slogan 'Let-Muslims-go-to-Pakistan'. As for Constitutional ideals, if they have to be made light of let's just throw the book away and have anarchy. Ideals must also always be striven for. They may not be fully achieved but must always be tried to be fully achieved. The 'selective secularism' business is false propaganda and I am not going to waste time arguing with you about it. Nor am I interested in wasting my time in making religion-wise tables of NRIs and those giving up Indian citizenship, but I share your perception that motherland-loving Hindus would top the list, not least because of their population. Yes, Indian Muslims haven't been running to Pakistan for citizenship but if people like Modi, Varun Gandhi and the general RSS goons have their way that too will happen one day. Varun Gandhi, who says he is afraid of Muslim names, will then live in peace and Hindus will achieve nirvana. Yes, Bangladeshi Muslims who do come to India, those Bangladeshi Muslims who come illegaly for economic reasons, those who came legally during the war, Indian Bengali Muslims who came as Partition refugees, Indian Bengali Muslims who were always from the west of Bengal - yes, asking all of them about how secular India is and how communal some Hindus are would definitely be a good idea. The same question should also be put to Bangladeshi Hindus. (We're agreeing too much these days.) As for the freedom movement in Kashmir, which has both theological and secular underpinnings, I support it because of the values with which India was created and the number one value is that of freedom. I think that if a people want to be free they should be free, if a people want to live in an Islamic state they should be allowed to do so, if they want to live in a Hindu state they should be allowed to do so. I want to live in a secular-nation state, and so do most Indians. In Kashmir, opinion on this is divided, as to what they want, and to say that the movement is 100% Islamic is far from the truth, as if the issue is one of the Book and the Gun and not regional identity, Indian atrocities, etc. More importantly, I think that the letter of the Indian constitution should be implemented in Kashmir, and the special status of Kashmir in the Indian Constitution be restored, as it has been rendered meaningless because of the Army occupation and AFSPA, the special Army law. But one can't even have such a conversation with you when you say such ludicrous things as India is not a nation-state. Go and make your Akhand Bharat and then we'll talk. best shivam On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 5:04 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Shivam > > I wanted to tackle this issue separately (too many thoughts muddle me up) > > You wrote "......no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India  ......... The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country" > > That is confusing since you had written prior to it " Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India" > > Perhaps the point you were trying to make is that there is a bias in India against "Muslim" Refugees. > > Even in the absence of data, purely on an anecdotal or on your "I feel" basis I would not be surprised if it is true. It should not surprise you either. It is only to be expected. > > Two factors that certainly would contribute to any such attitude towards Muslim Refugees are: > > - The partitioning of India and Pakistan being carved out for Muslims. It should not be difficult to appreciate that in the minds of many Indians it was an abuse of Bharat and that Islam (read Muslims) having been made welcome in Bharat ended up stealing part of Bharat. One need not agree or disagree with such attitudes or argue over interpretations or challenge them on the basis of precedential history. Such attitudes exist. "Now that Muslims have their own land let them stay there (or even) leave India and go there" > > - The second factor is that the manner in which Islam has been propagated and is still being propagated combined with actions in the name of Islam do not make Muslims the most favoured people that would be welcomed with open arms in any part of the world. Muslims are suspect. One could argue about it and argue over it but that does not change the current reality of the attitude towards Muslims. Ironically Muslims are even suspect in the eyes of other Muslims (obvious references). > > That still leaves the question "Is India secular?". How can one answer that. > > In any country the Constitution is the Ideal. It is the Vision Document. It is the Mission Statement. Nothing in the Constitution of India comes readily to my mind that would suggest that India is not a secular country. On the contrary we are all familiar with the whine that there is 'selective secularism' in India that favours the minorities (read Muslims as the target). > > Agreed that actual practice may not be very close to the desired Ideal. But I do not think it is very far either. > > It would be interesting (especially for you as a journalist) to source some data that might give us some guidelines. We need to find out the numbers of Indian Non-Resident Expatriates in various parts of the world, the tabulation of this data religion wise and additionally  for comparison the religion-wise break-up of those who have surrendered their Indian Citizenship. > > My observations and anecdotal experiences (of over 20 years) suggest to me that from amongst those who surrender their Indian Citizenship, Muslims are the lowest percentage-wise (of those who have lived as Non-Resident expatriates). Christians I would reckon are the the highest percentage-wise. > > Even if this is not correct, there is no significantly noticeable incidence of Indian Muslims surrendering their citizenship in percentages far out-stripping others. > > I will recognise here that the appropriate educational qualifications make it easier for Non-Muslims (who are generally better educated) to emigrate to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada where you can 'buy' citizenship. I could not swear by it though given that the Kerala Muslim is as educated as the Kerala Hindu, the Andhra Muslim is as educated or uneducated as the Andhra Hindu and the Punjabi Hindu (predominantly unskilled and semi-skilled labour is quite uneducated) > > There are Indian Muslim NRIs who are humongously rich, who could emigrate with not just family and clan but complete villages  and yet there is not one such example known to me. > > Interestingly, from amongst the Muslim NRIs, who do emigrate to other countries, it would only be the rarest of rare cases who shifts to Pakistan. (Generally the exceptions are those who get married to Pakistanis and have no choice.) > > Somewhere in all of that, to some degree, might be the answer to "Is India secular?"  One could also ask the Bangladeshi Muslims who 'pour' into India. > > I cannot help asking you a question. Dont you think that there is a hypocrisy inherent in someone who is concerned about the 'secular' credentials of India and simultaneously is supportive of or sympathetic towards the "Azaadi" movement in Kashmir which when shorn of the deceitful lies describing it as being elsewise is simply an Islamic Movement? > > I would ask a similar question of those who pontificate philosophy denigrating Nation States (criticizing India although India is not a Nation State) and at the same time support or are sympathetic towards the creation of a Nation State (Islamic) under the Kashmir "Azaadi" Movement. > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: > > From: Shivam V > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "sarai list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM > > Dear Kshmendra, > > Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, > there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India > continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went > to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 > that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred > thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and > organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This > shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most > literal sense > of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues > over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, > complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the > corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching > away' > jobs from Bihari labourers. > > Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is > very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive > manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports > expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports > from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, > like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the > 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful > eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu > refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. > > At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, > say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and > continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. > There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to > India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why > this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees > equally. > > This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in > India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. > > If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu > you're just > Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get > Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in > abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play > politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. > > I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee > law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of > the world equally. > > I hope you agree with me. > > best > shivam > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: >> >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> >  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. >> >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in > visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on > Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination > of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe > out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >> >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh > Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the > priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual > daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as > a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four > walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were > not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only > in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan > Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families > still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for > India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to > appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come > out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. >> >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > -- > mail at shivamvij dot com > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 22:47:09 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:17:09 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [PR] March 14th- Lahore High Court. In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903172102h3011143k9eb87699e0268851@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0903171428r190453dcjcb099873b0826ec3@mail.gmail.com> <65be9bf40903172102h3011143k9eb87699e0268851@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181017t18f73229od6e592b0d34a1735@mail.gmail.com> the thing of it is that the civil society is maturing, the media progressive lately, is instrumental in it evoking all sorts of responses (conspiracy, immorality, raw, antipakistan, to being a mashal, waking people up and what not), and thirdly it sreally the bar associations which came thru undeterred through party lines and pressure on party lawyers, as well as from the string of regimes we are seeing. I think these particulars put us past the nineties. you berate and then ask nicely for a deluge .. :) jawabe shikwa kuchh bhee ho sakta hai. mubarak ho. yasir On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 9:02 AM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>wrote: > so what do you suggest yasir, should we now celebrate the restoration of > early nineties status quo of Pakistan, that look, instead of a discredited > muhajir general and a discredited sindhi zamindar, the salwar brigade of > Punjabi men and black jackets have now restored a discredited Punjabi > feudal businessman back...I don't understand, what are you trying to imply > by your seemingly condescending remarks.. > > and may I ask what is this, 'you guys are still discussing...' busniess. > this list is a voluntary list and frankly I was expecting more posts from > you on this issue. so could I suggest that instead of patronizing shivam for > his efforts please deluge us with posts and annotationns on what's happening > in pakistan. > > regards > > taha > From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 23:28:43 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:58:43 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan is being shaped by popular will as never before Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181058o11bd49fw97d538b0dc98ff1e@mail.gmail.com> mohsinhamid http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/moshin-hamid-pakistan-democracy Pakistan is being shaped by popular will as never before The decision to reinstate the chief justice is a fillip for democracy – and bad news for those waging war in Afghanistan Comments (63) - [image: moshin] - - Mohsin Hamid - The Guardian , Tuesday 17 March 2009 - Article history Yesterday's announcement of the restoration of the chief justice of the Pakistani supreme court is a victory for those who desire a more representative state in Pakistan . But it is a blow for Barack Obama, who appears intent on escalating American military involvement in Afghanistan. The reason is simple: the US needs a Pakistani state that is significantly unrepresentative of the Pakistani people, because most Pakistanis are opposed to America's war in Afghanistan, and the US cannot hope to succeed there without Pakistan's support. Pakistan is a vast and complicated country, and it is witnessing many confusing and contradictory developments. Among the most important of these appears to be a narrative of increasing representativeness: despite itself, the Pakistani state is being shaped by the will of its citizens as never before. The power of this narrative has been breathtaking, particularly over the past year and a half. In November 2007, General Musharraf, an unpopular president, was pressured into giving up his uniform. Three months later the army stood back and refused to facilitate the rigging of national elections, allowing Musharraf's party to suffer a crushing defeat. And in August 2008, Musharraf was removed from the presidency by an unprecedented alliance of the PPP - the Pakistan People's party - and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML-N. It was the first case in Pakistan's history of a military strongman relinquishing power to democratically elected civilians without first being killed or plunging the nation into civil war. And now, a mere half year later, an increasingly autocratic President Zardari has been forced to restore the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry. The result is likely to be increased independence for the judiciary - an unwelcome development (to say the least) for a man as notoriously corrupt as Zardari - as well as a rolling back of the powers Musharraf had brought in to strengthen the executive at the expense of the legislature. Given Pakistan's unpredictability, this promising narrative of representativeness could of course still be undermined. But for now, four related and powerful developments are propelling it along. The first is a decline in the army's popularity after the rule of Musharraf, and in its morale after losses in the unpopular campaign against the Pakistani Taliban, which has made the military reluctant to intervene directly against the will of the people. The second is a rapid expansion of the middle class due to economic growth and urbanisation. For much of this decade, the economy has performed almost as well as India's, and roughly half the population now live in cities, towns and built-up borders of major roads that cut across the countryside and are home to traders rather than farmers. The third is the complete transformation of the country's media and communications industries, with dozens of independent television channels and tens of millions of new mobile phone connections creating, in effect, a giant electronic public forum. And the fourth is the exhaustion of ideological cover: customary invocations of a threat from India and of the need to defend Islam are failing to explain the state's willingness to use (and have America use) violence against its own people in large swaths of its own territory. It was by ignoring this emerging climate in Pakistan that Zardari found himself in the embarrassing - and, for him, politically dangerous - position of needing to reverse course on the issue of the chief justice. Zardari was proceeding from the old-school assumption that he who controls the state controls Pakistan. As president, and with a hand-picked retainer as governor in the most populous province of Punjab, Zardari thought he could with impunity dismiss the provincial government of the PML-N when its insistence on the restoration of Chaudhry became too irritating. But then something unprecedented happened. Civil society denounced the move. The media cried foul. Zardari's low poll ratings collapsed. A minister in the national PPP government stepped down. Senior provincial bureaucrats resigned rather than act as directed by the governor to prevent a protest march led by Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N leader and former prime minister. Police officers in Punjab refused to follow orders. The march went ahead, and it grew in numbers by the thousands, advancing towards Islamabad. The top-down Pakistani state found itself facing a bottom-up revolt. Authority was flowing from something other than the will of a tyrant - a novel concept in Pakistan. Zardari was being told that the country now believed in certain rules, and even he would have to abide by them. Dismissing democratically elected provincial governments and undermining the judiciary was just not on. All of which must have come to Zardari, an inveterate rule-breaker, as quite a surprise. Where all this will lead is uncertain. For Pakistan, if the will of the people can be harnessed to democratic institutions and to politicians who learn to respect the notion of shared power, there is reason for great hope. If not, today's agitation could become tomorrow's revolution. I have been inundated with congratulatory messages from Pakistani friends, many of them normally supporters of the Zardari-led PPP. It all feels like a birthday, and more than one person has said that today will be remembered as the day a truly democratic Pakistan was born. After the horror of this month's terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, many Pakistanis are celebrating much-needed good news. For President Zardari, recent events represent a significant defeat. He is favoured by the same foreign governments who favoured President Musharraf, and for the same reason: his willingness to resist popular outrage over the war in Afghanistan and its consequences for Pakistan. But Zardari is also like his predecessor in his propensity for undemocratic excesses. Now he, too, is discovering that in the new Pakistan he is less powerful than he had imagined. For the rest of the world, and particularly the US, Britain and Nato, the choice is becoming increasingly stark. If a war fought by democracies for control of Afghanistan, a country of 30 million people, requires for its successful prosecution the undermining of democracy in Pakistan, a country of 170 million, is that really a price worth paying? Mohsin Hamid is the author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist mohsinhamid.com From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 23:30:28 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:00:28 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: [PR] Fwd: Jashn-i-adl Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181100t33a538e9yf79990ffd2eb7d30@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: fauzia Minallah Date: 2009/3/18 Subject: Re: Jashn-i-adl All those who have been involved in the Lawyers movement had our moment of jubilation. While Naek, Khosa, Babar Awan and Rehman Malik are upto more dirty tricks we will always remember 16th March as the day of 'ADL' which we celebrated with singing and clapping, with the RIGHT WING & LEFT WING, jeans clad and Hijab Clad, Pathan, Punjabi, baluchi, Brahui, Sindhi, Christian, Muslim, babies, old men and women, taxi drivers, labourers as well as the elite well off, we were all rejoicing, mesmerised by the young talented group LAAL. rejoice with the lawyers and the civil society, click on the video below. [image: Justice Day] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dSz0_-wk3c&feature=channel_page From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 23:31:52 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:01:52 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan- Fwd: [beena] POLITICS: Five Days That Changed Pakistan Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181101g4377fc17xf7a75ea64743e085@mail.gmail.com> What a watered down version of events this is! http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46119 I am happy to have witnessed the rare moment anywhere when the growl of the people humbles those with undue power. I would like to share my observations and the tenor of resistance led by lawyers from the bar associations and civil society activists, which was then followed by the political parties. I am happy to say all have fallen in line and brought together under the lawyers' torch. In that rare moment early morning today, not only has the Judiciary been restored but Pakistan is back on the road of Rule of Law and Constitutionality, laid down at least since the Enlightenment with markers based on provisions of basic rights, for the weak and the powerful alike, in transparent fashion - something irrelevant to a Musharraf or a Zardari, and sadly to the everyday life of the people of Pakistan. The democratically elected government of the PPP had reneged and denied its own promises, and the promise and commitment of its late leader Benazir Bhutto, who had declared that Iftikhar Chaudhry was her Chief Justice in November 2007 in the Judges Colony in Islamabad when military rule "Emergency" had been declared by Gen Musharraf. The judges have hopefully been restored to the 02 November 2007 position - a few have retired. There's going to be argument over detail of what to do with the judges who were appointed in the interim, by Musharraf (acquiescing with the Doctrine of Necessity & PCO) and Zardari (pro-PPP ones to fill the benches), whose appointments stand annulled. Best Regards Yasir Husain People's Resistance & Mauj Collective -- People’s Resistance A civil society organisation - citizen’s group, loose coalition - composed of ordinary citizens, professionals, NGOs, and other human rights groups who work together for the common cause of : upholding the Constitution, restoration of Judiciary and rule of Law. Mauj Collective promotes openness in society through linkages and social engaged projects which involve ordinary people in technology, art and culture. http://maujmedia.blogspot.com/ ----- http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46119 Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Mar 16 (IPS) - A late night meeting between Pakistan's army chief, President and Prime Minister led to the dramatic announcement in the wee hours of Monday morning that Iftikhar Mohammed Choudhry would be restored as Chief Justice. The announcement, made by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani, has been widely welcomed for having broken the political impasse that was threatening to plunge the country into chaos and possible army intervention. For the past few days, hectic efforts had been underway domestically and at the international level to break the impasse, including by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British foreign minister David Miliband. Former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf initially suspended Choudhry from office in March 2007, sparking off a nation-wide lawyers' movement joined by civil society and political activists. When a Supreme Court order restored Choudhry to office, Musharraf imposed Emergency rule on Nov 3, 2007 that many saw as imposition of martial law. Superior court judges who refused to take oath under the Emergency orders were sent packing. For the first time in the country's history, the majority of judges refused to take this oath, leading to hopes that the days of the judiciary's connivance with the establishment were over. The elections of Feb 18, 2008 brought in a democratically elected government. But lawyers were unhappy with the way it dealt with the judges' issue. The government restored the judges who took a new oath under the constitution. Choudhry and a few other judges refused on the grounds that this legitimised Musharraf's illegal executive order that had sent them packing in the first place and that the restoration should take place through another executive order. Leaders of the lawyers' movement announced a `long march' starting on Mar.12 to converge on the capital Islamabad on Mar. 16 for a `dharna' or sit-in until the Chief Justice was restored. As the long march kicked off, the beleaguered government appeared to be at odds with itself. Prime Minister Gillani asserted that the marchers would be allowed to converge on Islamabad even as his Interior Minister Rehman Malik, known to be close to President Asif Ali Zardari, took measures to prevent this from happening. The resulting scenes of police beating and arresting people, in many cases from their houses, drew comparison to Musharraf's last months in power, particularly during the Emergency of 2007. In his early morning announcement, Gillani said that Choudhry would be restored to office "according to my government's promise" on Mar. 21 when the incumbent Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, a Zardari appointee, is due to retire. He confirmed the decision reported a day earlier, that his government would file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the disqualification from elected office of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif. A controversial court decision of Feb 25 that dislodged the younger Sharif from office of chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province had led to the Sharifs coming out with no holds barred against the man they saw as behind the judgement, President Zardari. Many felt the disqualification judgement was timed to remove the Sharifs from power ahead of the `long march'. Several city mayors loyal to the PPP whom the Sharifs had removed from office were brought back to aid the federal government in its attempts to block the long march. Police arrested hundreds of activists across the country and commandeered buses and containers to barricade roads and prevent the protestors from marching - except in Balochistan province where the provincial government remained neutral and allowed the marchers to demonstrate. However, people defied police barricades and tear gas to converge in large numbers at key points like the Lahore High Court. Matters climaxed as Nawaz Sharif defied a detention order confining him to his estate at Raiwind near Lahore, and headed a motorcade towards the city centre where hundreds of charged up activists had already converged. As the momentum gathered the police in some places avoided confrontation and watched from the sidelines, making no attempt to stop the marchers. In other places, protestors armed with sticks attacked the buses blocking the roads, smashing windshields and denting carriages. Television footage showed a policeman fleeing from a group of protestors only to be caught by others and beaten up even as some demonstrators tried to prevent the mob action. "The public is taking their revenge," commented one viewer in Peshawar, glued like many others to his television set since early morning. Some activists occupied the grand old colonial building of the General Post Office in Lahore, on the roof of which they planted a Jamat-e-Islami flag next to the Pakistan flag. Some hurled red bricks at policemen, severely injuring some who had to be rushed to hospital. The government had already drawn sharp criticism for holding Islamabad-based women's rights activist Tahira Abdullah in preventive detention on the day the long march started. At 4 am on Mar. 15, Peshawar police without search or arrest warrants raided the home of prominent lawyer Musarrat Hilali, who is also vice-chairperson of the respected Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). As she tried to escape, she fell, fracturing her leg in three places. "I did not want to be arrested," Hilali told IPS from her bed in Peshawar. According to law, police cannot detain a woman between sunset and sunrise. Hilali said that the provincial Awami National Party (ANP) government had denied sending the police and that the orders had come from the federal level. "After I fell and was injured, the police left, but they placed me under house arrest," she said, recalling her ordeal. Her house arrest is now over following Gillani's speech, in which he announced that those arrested or placed under house arrest over the past few days would be immediately released. He also announced the lifting of prohibitory orders that barred public gatherings. Gillani's televised speech led to jubilation in city streets across Pakistan. Lawyers and activists danced to drum beats and distributed sweets as Sharif called off the long march. However, some sound a word of caution. Zahid Abdullah, programme manager, Transparency and Right to Information Programme, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, Pakistan suggests that Chaudhry now needs to ponder over "whether he should be joining the judiciary or remain a symbol of independent judiciary by working from the outside for a truly independent judiciary at its all levels." "He has won the moral victory through his tenacity and that of the lawyers. His personal restoration is not an end itself but a means to an end. If he joins the judiciary, he is likely to be bogged down by the practicalities and the compulsions of the judiciary as it stands today," he wrote in an email circular. "It would be better if he stays outside and helps political forces by exerting his pressure and influence to suggest and implement the modalities of putting in place independent judges in the courts and carrying out judicial reforms." Others are suspicious of the government's move. Jamat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed expressed doubts about the move, complaining of not having been taking into confidence about it. "Who knows what pressures were placed on the Chief Justice and what he has been made to agree to," he told a television anchor. "Duped again by Mr Zee," text-messaged a Karachi-based lawyer caustically, referring to Zardari whom he had been hoping the crisis would dislodge. However, advocate Asad Jamal in Lahore sees the restoration as a success of civil society that has struggled for this cause for the past two years. "It shows the resilience of democracy and the ability of the present rulers to submit to the people's demand, even if belatedly," he told IPS. "I think it would be unfortunate if my fellow citizens, who like to be part of progressive civil society, do not give Zardari credit for this retreat, howsoever belatedly it may have come." (END/2009) _ From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 23:34:31 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:04:31 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: [PR] Nicholas Kristof, NYT: "In Pakistan...perhaps we can aspire to a second-rate president monitored by an independent judiciary and a vibrant civil society." Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181104j3d51b02bs95f9c9f26077fbef@mail.gmail.com> March 17, 2009, 11:06 am In Pakistan, Shakespeare Was Wrong By Nicholas Kristof < http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/in-pakistan-shakespeare-was-wrong/ > Shakespeare’s line about lawyers from Henry VI — “the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” — was gravely misguided, as least as concerns Pakistan. Like almost anyone who has spent time in Pakistan, I love the country and its people but am horrified at the direction it has been going. And the big problem, I think, is awful leadership. >From General Zia on, Pakistan has mostly had particularly wretched leaders who combine arrogance, incompetence, corruption and indifference. Some have been a bit better than others, others worse, but there’s no one on the scene right now who inspires much confidence. Yet we’re beginning at least to see a more assertive civil society that can check the rulers and hold them accountable. The news media are one element of that civil society, but perhaps the most important in the last couple of years has been the lawyers and the judiciary. One of the Bush administration’s great mistakes was that it didn’t back up the lawyers’ movement led by Aitzaz Ahsan, seeking the restoration of the Supreme Court chief justice, Iftikar Chaudhury (one of the few Pakistani elites who seems to care deeply about injustices suffered by the poor). Now the chief justice seems set to return, and that’s a great day for Pakistan. The best thing for Pakistan would be a first-rate president. But if we can’t have that — and neither Asif Zardari nor Nawaz Sharif qualifies — then perhaps we can aspire to a second-rate president monitored by an independent judiciary and a vibrant civil society. (UPDATE: some readers have noted that Shakespeare meant the line ironically. True. Likewise, I meant my headline ironically.) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is the People's Resistance Mailing List From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:19:29 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:49:29 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: [PR] Restore the people after restoration of judges Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181149y394ab135g411d0ba31bd348f5@mail.gmail.com> From: farooq tariq Date: Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 11:21 PM * Restore people after restoration of the judges * Labour Party Pakistan has emerged fourth largest party of pakistan in terms of arrests during long march * LPP activists in forefront during the battle of GPO Chouck, * Rehman Malik must resign immediately Dear all, today on 18 March, I addressed a press conference in company of Ammar Ali Jan, youth secretary LPP Lahore, Imtiaz Choudry, secretary LPP Punjab, Rana Ashraf, member Lahore LPP committee, Niaz Khan secretary carpet workers union and Kashif Aslam progressive Youth Front Lahore. Over two dozen activists of LPP were also present during the press conference. Here is the text of the statement distributed at the time. The purpose of this press conference is to present and introduce those heroes of GPO Chouck who payed a decisive role in pushing the police backward. There are not many examples of the bravery that these heroes had shown on the day. If the demonstrators at GPO Chouck would have been defeated the course of events occurring afterwards might have been different. The activists of LPP played a decisive role in this battle. They fought with police again and again forcing police to retreat facing hundreds of tear gas shells. Some of them fainted but returned soon after gaining consciousness. These heroes include Ammar Ali Jan, Kashif Aslam, Rans Ashraf, Sajid Naveed, Niaz Khan and others. While the LPP women also showed tremendous act of bravery during the event. Three political parties were in the fore front during this time, Jamat Islami, Pakistan Muslim League and Labour Party Pakistan. During long march of the lawyers movement. LPP emerged as the fourth largest political parties on terms of arrests. Analyzing the arrest of the activists, it becomes clear that after PMLN, Jamat Islami and Tehreek Insaaf, LPP activists were in the line. Over 40 activists were arrested during 5 days of long march. These arrests were mainly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and Charsada. While police raided the houses of LPP activists in Qasur, Toba Tek Singh, Sheikhupura, Layya, Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad. On the instructions of LPP leadership, no activist was arrested from their homes. All the arrests were made during demonstrations and rallies. LPP activists resisted the arrests every where. In Karachi, LPP leadership was brutally beaten up and women arrested. These arrests made headlines across Pakistan. Against the arrests, LPP demonstrated in Karachi and Lahore on 13 march despite the threats of arrests. While in Hyderabad, 7 LPP activists were arrested from a demonstration. Dozens of LPP activists were able to enter Islamabad despite all the blockades. They would have demonstrated in Islamabad if the long march would have reached in Islamabad. We are bringing all this into the notice of people of Pakistan through media because an impression is being given that only three political parties took part in the lawyers movement. LPP has proved in action that LPP has taken part in the lawyers movement with all its power. LPP is organizing a special celebrations in honor of GPO Chouck heroes. LPP believe that PMLN has changed its attitude towards PPP. Till Yesterday, they were using very provocative language against PPP leadership, now an absolute conciliatry tone is being used. LPP demands that the secret talks and deal between the two parties be made public. Governor rule in Punjab must be lifted immediately. We demand that Rehman Malik must resign. He is responsible for all the state repression against political activists. He has destroyed the whole economy bu blockades for several days. He must be accountable for all the state atrocities and arrests. Those killed, tortured and arrested during the two years of lawyers movement must be recognized by the state and accordingly compensated. LPP demands to investigate of 12 May 2007 incidents of Karachi. Also state must take notice of Sahiwal burning of lawyers and other such brutalities. Those responsible must be brought to justice. We also demand to investigate all the arrests, blockades, raids and torture of political activists by PPP government. We fail to understand how PPP is celebrating the reinstatement of Iftikhar Choudry. They are distributing sweets. Till 15 March, whole PPP leadership was claiming that the chief justice is been politicised, it is an issue of one person, that Benazir Bhutto never promised to reinstate the judges, that the judges can not be reinstated without constitutional amendments. PPP leadership was claiming the most of the judges have been reinstated. Now, the PPP leadership is celebrating and want every one to forget what they said and did before 16 March. This is sheer hypocrisy. PPP leadership thinks that masses are fool, but they will be proven wrong with the events unfolding in future. On 16 March, it was an expression of a real mass power. A new Pakistan emerging, where the center of power will be people of Pakistan. We demand the removal of all PCO judges. The privatization process must be cancelled, the land of Military Farms be given to the tenants. A minimum wage of 6000 Rupees must be implemented everywhere. All the restrictions on trade unions must be lifted. LPP will send appeals of public interests to chief justice of Pakistan. He must start to take sue motto notices of human rights violations. All the missing persons must be produced. No actions be taken against any person unlawfully. The working class of Pakistan has played an important role in the reinstatement of the judges. It is time for the restoration of the people of Pakistan. There must be free services of transport, health, education and a decent wage. All the reminents of Musharaf dictatorship must be removed from everywhere. LPP will continue to struggle for emancipation of the working class. *** This Message Has Been Sent Using BlackBerry Internet Service from Mobilink *** --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is the People's Resistance Mailing List Send only RELEVANT discussion emails to PeoplesResistance at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to PeoplesResistance+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com Or visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/PeoplesResistance -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:26:28 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:56:28 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [PR] The Lahore rebellion In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181156r7bdb94abxeecc693a215ecc64@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, The fight is going on. Police is sometime retreating and coming back to use tear gas. The protesters are also determined to express their right to get together. Police is firing directly at the demonstrators. One casualty the Shahid siddique, the newly elected president of Lahore High Bar Association. Thousands of rounds of tear gas been fired at General Post Office Chouck. Many has injured. Asma Jehanghir is also been effected badly. The Labour Party Pakistan contingent arrive at GPO Chouck around one pm. They include several women. Maqsood Mujahid, member national executive committee LPP told me on phone that all of us have been effected but all of us are on high spirit. When they left the LPP office to go to the main place of demonstration, it was clear to them that they are going to be arrested but they all wanted to do that. Mian Nawaz Sharif is on the way to Lahore after breaking all police barriers, thousands are with him. All the measures and strategies of police have been shattered by mass power. They could not repeat what they could do in Karachi, Hyderabad and Multan during the last three days. It seems a total collapse of the state arrangements to stop the rally. The whole city is coming to the streets. The police brutalities of the last few days are coming to an end. The PPP regime has no option but to accept the demands of restoration of judges. >From Islamabad, I got a call from Nisar Shah, general secretary LPP, he is now been rounded by the police after he made a successful escape being arrested along with another comrade. He was with Javed Hashmi, a leader of Muslim League , who is now been arrested. He is hiding in a flat of unknown people who offered him to provide a shelter. Farooq Tariq *** This Message Has Been Sent Using BlackBerry Internet Service from Mobilink *** --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ This is the People's Resistance Mailing List Send only RELEVANT discussion emails to PeoplesResistance at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to PeoplesResistance+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com Or visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/PeoplesResistance -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:24:53 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:54:53 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: [PR] Re: congratulations Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181154k1c72b02avc9e8c1fbf882ec1d@mail.gmail.com> fwd We should mention the brave karachiites who set the initial tone of the Long March, who were beaten, harrassed and arrested at the Toll Plaza, along with those who bore the same in lesser known towns throughout pakistan. Lets not forget Ms Liberty: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/media-gallery/female-activists-of-the-long-march http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/03/12/nytfrontpage/20090312POD_3.html does someone have a link to her interview: (the Dawn website is just terrible) ! kj wrote: > Yes, it seems to be a very good suggestion to collect the names of those > 150 - and let the names be authenticated, properly researched, so that this > becomes a documented fact of our history - the people's history. > > ---------------------- > > hft wrote: > >> Truly, congratulations to all the activists (lawyers, HR and civil >> society), here in Karachi and in Lahore and Islamabad, who braved all the >> violence and intimidation, stood firm and undeterred. >> >> From what I have gathered, it seems yesterday at 12noon at GPO chowk in >> Lhr there were only about 50 activists and Express TV covering them, then >> the police violence started, and 15 min later there were maybe 150 >> activists, but everything was being shown on tV. The activists resisted and >> stood strong, adn wouldn't budge in the face of violent police action. This >> is apparently what galvanised others, including the NS wallas, to turn out, >> and by 2pm there were 20,000 out on the streets. >> >> I wish we could gather at least the names of those brave 150 to honour >> them now and later. Asma Jehangir was there, and Justice Shahid Siddiqui -- >> what about the others? we need to ask and collect the names of known folks >> and also the not-known-to-the-public activists, incld PR and SAC. Maybe PR >> folks who were in Lahore and SAC can help. Adn the names of those who braved >> violence in Karachi and Islamabad and other towns and cities. >> >> While before there was all the tal-matol, after that showdown, the >> establishment apparently realised that if they did not quickly restore Chief >> Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry then the momentum on the street (incld NS) would >> take everything. >> >> WE owe this historic moment to the marpeet taken and courageous resistance >> of the activists. This is what compelled the political leaderan to come out >> too. >> >> But listen, the celebratory march must continue to ensure that the >> judiciary truly is independent, and remains so in the coming months... >> > From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:27:35 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:57:35 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: [PR] ZARDARI IS GONE Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181157o227ef06fy54ca57176b26f6f0@mail.gmail.com> jhff I just got off the phone with comrades of International Socialists, who are inside the Lahore High Court. The Atmosphere there is ecstatic.. All the governments plans have gone in disarray.. The police has stopped pelting people, they have stopped the tear-gas. Instead HIGH RANKING Police Officials (of SSP rank and above) are coming inside the High Court and making speeches!!! They are apologizing to the lawyers and civil society activists. They are saying that all that is happening is wrong and from now on they wont hurt them!!! Police officials are, in fact, talking and adjusting with the people inside high court!!!! Rich Traders of Lahore have also come to the High Court, they are saying that their businesses haven't been doing well at all, and they are categorically blaming it ALL on Zardari!!! According to comrades, there must be around 20,000 people in and around High Court and GPO Chowk. People are not chanting Zardari ko jana hoga, rather they are saying, ZARDARI TO GAYA!!!!! Friends (after dodging police) managed to arrange a stall inside High Court. People are buying our monthly Socialist magazine (which has Jalib's Dastoor printed on it) like anything, in the past few hours around Rs.2300 literature has been sold.. Riaz says that, one thing that is common among everybody in Lahore (Policemen, traders etc.) is that.......Everybody agrees that this "system" has to change. Long live the Struggle. ljjh From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:44:03 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:14:03 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Long March Islamist or not Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181214k20009638n71306f5e84eaf6e6@mail.gmail.com> Long March, Islamist or not? a stupid debate pretty much to discredit the long March, while defending zardari in one case ans a case for islam in the other as the inside agenda. As far as the LM is concerned religion was not even remotely mentioned. analysts can keep pasting over something to do with the taliban / fundamentalist threat / sharia and another can keep dreaming about how to take it for a drive for an islamist agenda, but sure as hell, its pure BS. ----- beena sarwar http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46083 -------- From: A convoluted writing at such a clear time, only as Bina can do. There is no rhyme and reasoning to the PPP apologists. Shocking ---------- From: d Our friend Beena writes extremely well and this article is no exception. The only problem is it does not deal with the central issue involved..........should we accept, as the govt position explicitly demands, that the chief of army staff has the right to amend the constitution and sack the entire superior judiciary of the country whenever he so choses? Further, when the army chief excercises this right, it should neither require parliamentary approval nor can be subject to judicial review? It is as simple as that. This is neither about the threatening "emerging" right wing coalition nor about how bad hamid gul and roedad khan have been. Tahira abdullah and aitzaz ahsan are not taliban in disguise for heavens sake. Stop hiding behind smoke screens and have the moral courage to say that the constitution of Pakistan and rule of law be damned if it comes in the way of a party being in power whom we support. ---------- From: *w* And here is another column by M.A. Niazi in today's The Nation that is trying to link the long march (a secular movement) with 'an Islamic system of justice' -- whereas one would think logically (ironic that the column is titled The Logic of the Long March) that it would have the opposite effect. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Columns/13-Mar-2009/The-logic-of-the-long-march/2 "Though none of the pro-long march parties are calling for Islam, the call for revolution is possible only if it promises an Islamic system of justice, which is the basis of an Islamic system, because Islam is still a potent call. Why is Mian Nawaz taking this path, particularly now that it is unpopular abroad? Because that is all that people will listen to at this point." ------------- From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 00:59:41 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:29:41 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: Political deal worked out - By Rauf Klasra Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181229y7276fa67q79035b82a6f643df@mail.gmail.com> Political deal worked out Friday, March 13, 2009 By Rauf Klasra ISLAMABAD: A new political deal, backed by Washington, London and the establishment, has quietly been conveyed to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to bring down the political temperature, well-placed sources confided to The News on Thursday. As part of the deal, the prime minister has been asked to immediately convince beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari to demonstrate the flexibility required to break the present deadlock before the long march could reach Islamabad. Gilani has reportedly been given 24 hours to convince Zardari into agreeing to the new political and constitutional arrangement, as further delay will not produce any positive results for the political forces currently on the warpath. After several rounds of talks with the key political players, officials disclosed, the US ambassador and the UK high commissioner to Pakistan came up with a new formula to bring the perilous situation under control. Gilani was tasked with taking Zardari into confidence on the salient features of the accord. The Punjab governor would be a likely casualty of the deal, one insider disclosed, suggesting that Salmaan Taseer might be shown the door. Just like Zardari, Taseer is seen as a major hurdle to normalisation of the working relationship between the PPP and the PML-N. The ball is now firmly in the court of President Zardari, who has to take a decision swiftly on endorsing the agreement brokered by powerful international actors. The Army will act as a guarantor of the fresh arrangementís success, according to knowledgeable quarters. Sources claimed that Gilani, the Army chief, the Americans and the British were in favour of the new political pact, which may be accepted or rejected by Zardari, whose fate will largely depend on his decision. A new constitutional package would be part of the deal between the PPP and the PML-N. Major irritants will be removed through parliament, with the Americans still favouring the political order in place in Islamabad and Lahore as a result of the last yearís general election. Expected to be implemented in the next 48 hours after a Gilani-Zardari meeting, the new initiative includes restoration of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Although, there has been no meeting between Gilani and Zardari since the presidentís return from Iran early Thursday morning, the two leaders are said to have talked on telephone. A meeting between the president and the PM — as and when it takes place — will determine the fate of the deal. Should the president spurn the plan, the situation may get worse and the ëpowers involvedí will be left with no option but the ëminus-one formulaí to save the system. Background interviews with top-level officials revealed that the PML-N would be given a fair chance to form its government in the Punjab by bringing in a new face in place of Shahbaz Sharif. Sources said Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told the prime minister at Thursdayís meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, to get the new arrangements through within 48 hours. In the light of his deliberations with Kayani, the PM will hold the decisive round of talks with the president. A constitutional committee is said to be part of the deal to be inked between the government and the PML-N, which may also submit a new package of reforms in line with the Charter of Democracy. The condition barring the election of a prime minister or a chief minister for a third term will also go. One proposal to break the deadlock on the judgesí issue is to revive the old proposal of two chief justices — one dealing with the legal side of the Supreme Court and the other with the constitutional side. Justice Sardar Raza and Iftikhar Chaudhry will likely hold these positions. An official familiar with the latest developments said that the top military leadership was of the view that the time had come to ìmarginaliseî the president. Certain measures were needed to create a balance of power, he added. General Kayani reportedly asked Gilani to have a straight talk with the president so as to defuse the explosive situation. Gilani agreed to the new arrangement and dropped a clear hint at an early understanding between the warring political forces. The sources divulged that as the back-channel contacts between Zardari and Nawaz were still open, Shujaat Hussain rejected on Thursday the idea of his party fielding a candidate for the Senate chairman against the PPP nominee Farooq H Naek. Two PML-Q Senators — Salim Saifullah and Jamal Leghari — were ready to contest the election but Shujaat informed them that he was busy in negotiating a secret deal with Zardari on forming a coalition government in the Punjab and any Senate contest might jeopardise the plan. Himself eyeing the slot, Shujaat rejected Salim Saifullahís demand to make him the opposition leader in the Upper House. Former president Farooq Leghari had desperately tried to stop Shujaat from letting Naek become the new Senate chairman without a contest. From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:04:04 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:34:04 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - The Eids of March has come - 15 march Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181234l45c85200lc81ddedf05a14117@mail.gmail.com> musing on the ides of march, in the old lunar the full moon marks the middle of the month, something to celebrate, Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, after declaring himself dictator of Rome for life. According to a near-contemporary biographer, Caesar summoned the Senate to meet in the Theatre of Pompey on the Ides of March. A certain soothsayer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril on the day of the month of March which the Romans call the Ides, and when the day had come and Caesar was on his way to the senate-house, he greeted the seer with a jest and said: "The Ides of March has come", to which the seer replied: "Aye Caesar, but not gone".[4]As the Senate convened, Caesar was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the*Liberatores * ("Liberators"); they justified their tyrannicide on the grounds that they were preserving the Republic from Caesar's alleged monarchical ambitions. > > From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:05:13 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:35:13 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: pk tv on the web Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181235u616e61f3x4269d766a04ddeba@mail.gmail.com> http://www.geo.tv/geoip/ http://www.samaa.tv/samaatvlive.html http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/home/ [left column : watch live] http://www.dunyanews.tv/newsite/livetv.php many others From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:11:23 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:41:23 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Long march and cyber activism Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181241h215bc531oaa2f2cfa095aad87@mail.gmail.com> bbc - BLOGGERS AND ACTIVISTS MOBILISE http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7936949.stm http://dawntravelshow.com/dblog/2009/03/12/the-long-march-online/ the live coverage sites on internet http://maujmedia.blogspot.com/2009/03/pk-long-march-netlive.html http://cli.gs/LongMarch http://longmarch.seenreport.com ushahidi http://map.pakvoices.net/ (not used) Monitor on your GPRS enabled cell phone http://cli.gs/LongMarchCell Blog http://marchforjustice.wordpress.com/ http://teeth.com.pk/blog/ Twitter http://twitter.com/LongMarch or follow twitter hashtag at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=LongMarch watch pakistani tv (english) http://www.dawntv.org/ From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:12:39 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:42:39 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - cable tv gone Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181242h7827e9bewcb6f14946db9d89c@mail.gmail.com> my cable tv is now gone after a popular talk show host Hamid Mir replayed Benazir Bhutto's speech in support of the ousted Judiciary in late (Nov?) 2007. Her husband Asif Zardari has avoided dong exactly that and retained poweres of Gen Musharraf, after the former literally had hijacked his wife's party with an out pour of sympathy. Over the past year he has squandered it. karachi From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:14:59 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:44:59 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Fwd: Karachi Crackdown - Anis Haroon Statement 12 mar/4:23pm Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181244k28da7b5j17840efb8609ef8e@mail.gmail.com> *Anis Haroon* *Statement:* Like everyone i was also apprehensive when we set off the high court. The police was all around the high court and it appeared to be a blockade but actually from one point they were letting the cars go right in the highcourt. The bar room was crowded and the atmosphere was charged with speeches and slogans Jst Wajihuddin, Jst Fakhruddin, Rashid Rizvi, Munir Malik, Iqbal Haider and women's n Human Rights activists, a few People's Resistance friends were there. The leaders addressed and asked people to follow them and remain peaceful. we came down chanting slogans rather singing > Aisay Dastur Ko Hum Nahin Mantay. The political activist of different parties joined in and we kept on marching. Stopped by police and plain clothesmen with dandas in their hands were hovering around. Then we heard the news of first arrests of Khi Bar office bearers and political leaders as well. The police had started creating hurdles but nobody seemed to be scared. By the time carvan reached Quaid's Mazar it was pretty long. When it passed Dawood College students showered petals. The crowd was growing and people on the roadsides watching us. I wish they should have joined us.Thesection 144 was rendered useless ! Now sitting in my office I am watching the lawyers march being stopped at Sohrab Goth. They cant stop the will of the people from prevailing! - Anis Haroon. Anis quotes people's liberation poet Habib Jalib: Aisay dastoor ko, aisay qanoon ko, hum nahin jantay, ham nahin mantay ! From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:18:14 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:48:14 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - Karachi 12 mar - Pakistan arrests opposition leaders ahead of planned rallies Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181248t7d745e50i15430d412dca5eff@mail.gmail.com> Pakistan Pakistan arrests opposition leaders ahead of planned rallies http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/11/pakistan-arrests-opposition-leaders - Haroon Siddique and agencies - guardian.co.uk , Wednesday 11 March 2009 14.26 GMT - Article history [image: Nawaz Sharif addresses a press conference in Islamabad] Nawaz Sharif is the head of the Pakistan Muslim League N party. Photograph: Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty images The crisis engulfing Pakistan deepened today after the government issued orders for opposition leaders, including Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, to be placed under house arrest ahead of planned rallies against the ruling administration. Hundreds of lawyers and opposition activists have been arrested today and, according to reports on Pakistani television, orders have been issued for the detention of Sharif, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League N party (PML-N), his brother Shabhaz Sharif, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the Jamat-e-Islami leader, and Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain who is the head of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Many opposition leaders are said to have gone into hiding. Pakistani lawyers, supported by opposition leaders, are due to begin a protest tomorrow dubbed the long march to demand the restoration of judges removed from office by the former president Pervez Musharraf. President Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has failed to fulfil a pledge to restore the justices since being elected last year. The clampdown will increase fears for the stability of the country as the government struggles to contain violent extremists. Six Pakistani policemen and a bus driver were killed, and six Sri Lankan cricketers and two team officials wounded last week when heavily armed men attacked a bus carrying the visiting team to the venue for the second Test against Pakistan. Rao Iftikhar, the home secretary in eastern Punjab province, said he issued orders for a ban on public gatherings there "so that terrorists cannot take any advantage by targeting political gatherings". The ban, which gives authorities the right to arrest any protesters, will remain in force for three months, he said. The Sindh province home secretary, Arif Ahmed Khan, announced a 15-day ban on public gatherings today to "prevent a bad law-and-order situation". Sindh is the main stronghold of the ruling PPP. But opposition activists have vowed to press on with the planned long march, which will see protesters gather in cities around the country tomorrow before leaving for the capital, Islamabad. They have vowed to stage a sit-in at the parliament building until the judiciary is restored. Addressing thousands of supporters at a rally in the North West Frontier Province, Sharif said: "I cannot rest when Pakistan is being taken toward disastrous circumstances. We cannot compromise when all institutions are ruined and the system is on the verge of collapse." Last week's attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team came amid protests following a court ruling banning the former minister Sharif and his brother, who was the chief minister of Punjab, from political office. In August last year Sharif pulled his party out of a coalition with Zardari's Pakistan People's party (PPP), because of the failure to restore the judiciary. His supporters saw the latest court ruling as a political move engineered by Zardari. A spokesman for Sharif's party, Sadiqul Farooq, said he received reports from party offices across the country that members were being arrested, but he had no accurate numbers. Munawar Hassan, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader, said: "Nearly two dozen of our supporters have been detained." Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Zardari, said 18 people had been arrested and would be released once the situation calmed down. "Some people have announced they are going to defy the ban on public meetings," he said. "It is sad, but this is what the law says." In the Punjabi city of Multan the senior police officer, Fayyaz Ahmad, said 42 Sharif supporters were arrested and "would be dealt with according to the law". From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:26:03 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:56:03 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Music by Laal set to Fai zand Jalib's poetry Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181256q3de5da95tebbe3110ea3173d0@mail.gmail.com> Laal's 'Hope of Dawn' sets the tone for Restoration of Judiciary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjaNQFChkCY Umeed e Sahar by LAAL Poet: Faiz Ahmed Faiz Mein nay uss se ye kaha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsr1RnEfWo This is Habib Jalib's poem other versionso are by aitzaz and jalib himself he died some yeas ago thi one was written for ayub and his advisors From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:33:46 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:03:46 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: PK - PakNationalists - The 'Wrong' March: Why Military Won't Intervene Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181303l2349fcf9tefc1491ce9c213c1@mail.gmail.com> kjghg I am happy at how things are turning out. You know what i think of him (zaid H). whether its Gen Mush, AsifZ or NawazS on top, the lawyers movement will still go ahead independently because - it is for extending the Rule of Law to all citizens of pakistan, weak and influential alike, - it is is for a judiciary which does not follow the Executive ie (President/COAS or PM), and - it is for extending the cover of protection given by the Constitution of Pakistan to all its citizens, and holding especially those in positions of power accountable to the public - so all it says is follow the Constitution. no government can gain legitimacy without the lawyers' bodies, the experts in law - even the biggest party PPP could not influence its own lawyers to walk away from the judiciary issue in the Pakistan's Bar councils. My humble suggestion is to stand up for the Rule of Law and Constitutionality, no matter which politician is with you or against you. Pakistan deserves this unfinished independence after 60 years - the independence of its people. best wishes :) ---------------------------------- > > > > The ‘Wrong’ March: Why The Pakistani Military Won’t Intervene > > > > By AHMED QURAISHI > > Saturday, 14 March 2009. > > ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The Pakistani military will not intervene to protect President Asif Ali Zardari or his nemesis Nawaz Sharif. Although firmly opposed to intervention as per the wishes of Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani military is nonetheless exploring all options to deal with the looming specter of a total collapse of government leading to anarchy across the country. > > > > There is a common feeling in military circles that Pakistan’s elite political class should bear the responsibility for its decisions. The full range of the public administration abilities of these politicians, many of whom have been elected more than twice and thrice, are exposed as sharply lacking. The political class consists of people who are recycled, tried, tested and failed. > > > > But the ineptitude of Pakistani politicians has entered a dangerous phase now. The new threat includes creating an ethnic confrontation between two provinces, Sindh and Punjab, which could result from the aggressive drive by Mr. Nawaz Sharif to dislodge the Zardari government. > > > > This time Pakistanis are seeing a breathtaking failure and irresponsible behavior across the board. > > > > ZARDARI VS. SHARIF > > > > The incompetence of President Zardari is evident in the manner in which he deliberately pushed all his political enemies to align themselves against him simultaneously. The support for Mr. Zardari’s government from the United States and the United Kingdom is a matter of deep concern for many Pakistanis. These Pakistanis feel that Mr. Zardari’s government is a vehicle for Washington and London to contain Pakistan’s military, intelligence agencies and its nuclear and advanced missile programs. They cite the examples of the behavior of this government in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the attempts to sideline and dismantle ISI, and the acceptance of U.S. military’s aerial and ground border violations. In this sense, Mr. Zardari has few friends within the Pakistani public opinion. His ouster is the demand of most Pakistani nationalists. > > > > But Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s role is no less deceptive and destructive than that of Mr. Zardari’s. The former premier, who is denouncing Mr. Zardari today, played the most important role in helping Mr. Zardari become President. Nawaz Sharif helped Zardari come to power. It is hypocritical for Mr. Sharif now to condemn NRO (the law that Musharraf promulgated on Anglo-American desire to facilitate the return of the Bhutto-Zardari combine back to power) when his own political career is at stake. Nawaz Sharif’s recent outbursts are not principled politics but revenge. The sorry part is that the lawyers and the media have failed to put this opportunism by Mr. Sharif on the spotlight. > > > > Mr. Sharif has also declared ‘rebellion’ against the State and has encouraged policemen and government officials to declare mutiny. This is the most dangerous aspect of this crisis. The fact that Pakistani television commentators have almost ignored this dangerous call is surprising. For those Pakistanis who had condemned, in 2005, the rebellion against the State by politician-turned-terrorist Akbar Bugti, Mr. Sharif’s statements came as a shock. It is possible that in the near future, Bugti-wannabes will quote Sharif’s example to justify such rebellions. Their argument will be, ‘You ignore the calls for rebellion from Punjab politicians but condemn those from smaller provinces.’ > > > > Another alarming development was how Mr. Sharif resorted to portray his issues with Mr. Zardari as a battle between the entire Punjab province and a President from Sindh. > > > > This use of the so-called ‘Punjab card’ by the Sharif brothers sets a dangerous precedent. Pakistan’s security managers must stay alert to the possibility of trouble in Sindh if the Zardari government falls. There are indications that subversive elements will stoke trouble by suggesting that Mr. Zardari’s government crumbled due to a mutiny led by Punjab. > > > > This is why it is important that Mr. Nawaz Sharif does not emerge from this crisis with more political influence than what he had before the crisis. Pakistanis are right in wanting Mr. Zardari and his team out, but the Sharif brothers are not the right replacement. This is also why it is important to heed the advice of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q. Shujaat has proposed a three-party coalition government in Punjab, where Mr. Sharif will have to share power with both PPPP and PML-Q. > > > > AMERICA & BRITIAN > > > > It was surprising to see some Pakistani commentators describe the panicked American and British diplomatic moves to save the Zardari government as ‘good this time’ because, in the words of these commentators, the two countries were trying to stabilize Pakistan and save democracy. > > > > The reality comes with a twist. Such naïveté on the part of some Pakistanis is unfortunate and shows the extent to which Pakistan stands confused and disturbed thanks to the constant barrage of Anglo-American psychological operations, missile attacks, and covert insurgencies being waged against this country by the powers that occupy Afghanistan. > > > > The fact is that Washington and London moved swiftly to save the Zardari government regardless of whether they like Mr. Zardari or not. This is a government in which Washington had made huge investment. It is part of a ‘deal’ linked to the Anglo-American interests in the region. > > > > It is incorrect that Washington ‘does not trust’ President Zardari, as some Pakistani commentators have been saying recently. The Americans accepted Benazir Bhutto after a long neglect when they felt they needed to counterbalance the Pakistani military and Musharraf, whom America and Britain did not trust. > > > > President Zardari is as acceptable to Washington and London as Benazir Bhutto was when the ‘deal’ was brokered by the two capitals to force a beleaguered Musharraf to share power with someone the Anglo-Americans could trust. > > > > The real problem this time was that President Zardari made an unnecessary move that threatened this government and made the military takeover look good to many Pakistanis. The Americans need this democracy so that they can use its players to counterbalance the Pakistani military in Afghanistan and Kashmir. They know it is easy to meddle in Pakistan. They know that Pakistani politicians are characterless, corrupt and easily buyable through money and power. There are no political parties in Pakistan, only political families with their own interests. It is easy for foreign powers to manipulate these players for their interests. > > > > So U.S. and U.K. intervened to save ‘democracy’ and avert the scary possibility of the Anglo-Americans having to deal with the Pakistani military in the driving seat again. > > > > LAWYERS’ MOVEMENT > > > > Despite the good intentioned statements to the contrary, the lawyers’ movement has become thoroughly politicized by now. Pakistanis have noticed how Mr. Nawaz Sharif, a political partisan with his own agenda, has become the face of the movement and its official spokesperson. > > > > In 2007, wily politicians too scared to directly confront the military government sheepishly hid behind the lawyers’ movement and used it to topple the military government. > > > > In 2008, the politicians ditched the lawyers and refused to boycott elections under a military ruler. > > > > In 2009, one politician, Nawaz Sharif, is using the lawyers to topple another politician, Asif Zardari. > > > > Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan played a key role in turning the movement into a tool for ambitious politicians. Chaudhry Iftikhar, the deposed chief justice, would have done a great service by decisively shunning this overt politicization. But even he, after being released from house arrest in March 2008, dashed straight to the residence of Asif Zardari, not a president then but the leader of the party in government, to thank him for releasing him. When Zardari shunned him, Iftikhar is now basking in the glory of Mr. Sharif. > > > > Mr. Sharif is no innocent political player and the message of change that the lawyers’ movement is promoting cannot happen with Mr. Sharif at the helm. > > > > The question is: Have the two Chaudhrys - Iftikhar and Aitzaz – irreparably politicized the noble cause of an independent judiciary? If he is restored, will Chaudhry Iftikhar be in a position to fairly deal with Mr. Sharif and the other political players in the country? > > > > Then there is also this: Pakistan does need an independent judiciary. But this should come as part of wider changes in the entire political system that is falling apart. Merely reinstating a few judges, who are also now politicized, will never solve the problem for good. > > > > THE MEDIA > > > > The media in Pakistan has also gone berserk, becoming political partisan under the pretext of siding with truth. First its hype helped these failed politicians come to power. The media failed to help the Pakistani public opinion ask questions about the past record of these politicians before electing them. During the run-up to the 2008 elections, the media suppressed any criticism of these politicians under the pretext of fighting dictatorship. And today when these politicians have plunged the nation into another unnecessary confrontation because of their lust for power, the media has readily become a tool in this fight, siding with one party against another. Until now, there is no regulation whatsoever of this important medium of influence. Other countries have sophisticated media management systems that wage diplomatic and military wars. In Pakistan, this important pillar of national security is running amok. > > > > DEMOCRATIC HORROR > > > > If democracy could turn into horror, it just did in Pakistan. Politicians and partisan activists posing as civil society have just turned Pakistan into the butt of global jokes: a nation with vast economic, geographic, cultural and military potential that is unable to produce a mature, educated leadership. > > > > This internal chaos is excellent fodder for the propaganda that strong lobbies in the United States have been engaging in against Pakistan over the past two years, trying to convince the world that Pakistan is a dangerous country that desperately needs U.S. military intervention and containment of its nuclear and strategic programs. > > > > The worst part is that even if the judges are restored and Mr. Nawaz Sharif’s government in Punjab is reinstated, this failed political system in Pakistan will keep generating artificial tensions and crises linked to dogfights among politicians over booty. Pakistan is ripe for a major overhaul in its political structure and foreign policy. Sooner or later, the ball will fall in the military’s court. When that happens, the military better be ready with creative solutions because old-style coups won’t work this time. > > From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:39:33 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:09:33 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <388318.99514.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181309rfea8fb9w13c025dd5a26f257@mail.gmail.com> apart from the hindus, 400,00 - 700,000 people have also left the area during the last few months, so. they are other humans in the area. best yasir On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension > in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We > were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of > strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow > us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never > prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even > Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since > none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required > necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal > area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful > for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief > while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the > four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since > girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance > only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous > Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since > for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for > women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 01:48:51 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:18:51 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: References: <1fd66c110903161231r5c1b90f8p65e7e9e2176c9e5f@mail.gmail.com> <673099.10878.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181318g778dc743w90cc558e2a5e6f4e@mail.gmail.com> i met a farmer near nagarparker which is the area of sindh which is 50% hindu. he told me he had gone to live in india after 1971, worked there digging for pipeline projets, but came back, life was better. look at the work of thar deep the organization and amar mahboob's film http://maujmedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-of-amar-mahboobs-film-colours-of.html best On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 8:47 PM, shivam at kafila.org wrote: > Dear Kshmendra, > > You say, "If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy > should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a > surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their > Visa." > > Now Tibetans cross into India "surreptitiously" - that is without > visas, escaping the watchful eyes of Chinese forces, bribing Nepali > forces, and then they finally reach after a long journey in which > people even lose lives. So according to your policy prescription you > are against Tibetans being given refugee status, right? > > Secondly, the Pakistani Hindus come to India on short-term tourist > visas which, as I mentioned, expire long before Indian red tape gives > them Indian citizenship. So according to your policy prescription, > Pakistani Hindus whose visas have expired should be deported? There > must be at least fifty thousand such individuals in Indian > territory... you must request Aditya Raj Kaul to carry out a campaign > to deport them. > > best > shivam > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > > > Dear Shivam > > > > I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards > refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge. > > > > If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should > also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or > those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa. > > > > You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform > policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of > India. > > > > The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to > disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien > one. > > > > The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who > leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have > none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice. > > > > But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it > impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of > their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological > support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally > Displaced. > > > > The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of > Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be > understood. > > > > It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by > Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most > disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such > instances. > > > > I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces > of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages > to towns to cities. The State has failed them. > > > > It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the > State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are > not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally > Displaced in their own country. > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: > > > > From: Shivam V > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India > grants Visa > > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > > Cc: "sarai list" > > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM > > > > Dear Kshmendra, > > > > Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, > > there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India > > continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went > > to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 > > that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred > > thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and > > organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This > > shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most > > literal sense > > of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues > > over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, > > complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the > > corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching > > away' > > jobs from Bihari labourers. > > > > Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is > > very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive > > manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports > > expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports > > from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, > > like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the > > 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful > > eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu > > refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. > > > > At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, > > say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and > > continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. > > There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to > > India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why > > this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > > is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees > > equally. > > > > This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in > > India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. > > > > If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu > > you're just > > Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get > > Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in > > abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play > > politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. > > > > I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee > > law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of > > the world equally. > > > > I hope you agree with me. > > > > best > > shivam > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > > > wrote: > > > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have > also > > appeared in: > > > > > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > > > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > > > > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > > > > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > > > JAGMOHAN SINGH > > > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > > > > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu > migrants > > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly > in > > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children > had > > crossed over to india few days back. > > > > > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried > the > > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > extension in > > visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > Amritsar on > > Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > > > > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > > “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the > domination > > of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In > such > > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > female > > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > breathe > > out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > > > > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > > allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back > in the > > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > > > > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > > never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint > the > > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > Pakistan”. > > > > > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar > said, > > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. > Even Sikh > > Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none > of the > > priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary > ritual > > daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive > magistrates as > > a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > > needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could > reestablish our > > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > > > > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > > relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were > observing > > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > always > > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > people. > > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in > the four > > walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since > girls were > > not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance > only > > in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan > > Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu > families > > still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get > visa for > > India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has > to > > appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to > come > > out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > > > > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > -- > > mail at shivamvij dot com > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 02:05:14 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:35:14 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Nawaz Sharif_ The Future 'Martyr' of Pakistani Politics In-Reply-To: <2ce11dd30903150218p1e2104d9g850ca79b94db1d39@mail.gmail.com> References: <2ce11dd30903150218p1e2104d9g850ca79b94db1d39@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903181335n6c915843xef8308acdac82fd4@mail.gmail.com> a bomb did go off after the Long March in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. One can imagine its was meant for Nawaz Sharif. the thing is that no one will know ever whether any of the quotes are true: - its Rehman Malik the'advisor' to the Interior ministry )since he is unelected and there is no minister) - you can imagine the cronyism here. i think its likely he was trying to prove himself right that theat the long march had a terrorist threat :D - its raw trying to destabilize and kill the last popular leader - its the US as always On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 2:18 PM, S J wrote: > First of all by 'martyr',here, i mean one who killed, by CIA or governement > or policy-makers etc, for some political reason/s [not one who die for some > pious cause or mission]. > now come to the point, In South Asian countries, the characters of leaders > are very weak so they can't be used after their deaths since their > popularity decreases as time passes. But my killing them, and thus making > them 'shaheed', policy makers can achieve their goals. For ezample, > Gandhis, > Jinah, Liaqat Ali, Mujib urehman, Bhuttos, Iltafbhais, etc all were killed > for making them popular in masses so that people may think they die for > their 'holy' mission. > Today, nearly all political parties of Pakistan have sufficient number of > (so-called)'martyrs' but we see PML(N) has a defeciency of 'Shaheed' so on > the bases of my political knowledge, i prophesize or anticipate that Mian > Nawaz Sharif will not die a natural death. He has to give his 'life' in > order to enhance the 'life span' of PML(N) and sharifs. > So you will see, it'll be fulfilled one day! > > Saad Ahmed Baksh, Lahore. > > > -- > Live And Let Live! > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 09:19:35 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:19:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903182049r4d0f583dq4ead8e934bb56291@mail.gmail.com> Dear Mr Inder & friend Shivam, While I agree with some expressions of Inder Ji, I reject his statement where he quotes that the Kashmiri Pandits suffered in 1990. It almost portrays as if the whole suffering of Kashmiri Pandits gets restricted to 1990. Inder Ji, you re wrong .......the suffering continues till today. And you further go down and try to justify by quoting 1947. Well, if history has a role to play , why do you not justify that the whole conversions of Hindus in Kashmir by Turks, Afghans etc was unfortunate. Had it not happened that whole Kashmir problem would not have been there. We do understand that the Govt of India is equally responsible and would not be talking to Kashmiri Pandits . You are absolutely bang on. However , i swear , even if there is a resolution , where Kashmiri Hindus are not involved...... The Kashmir problem would continue to exist and it more vocal and more embarassment for Govt Of India. If GOI doesnt involve us , there would not be a solution. We may not be having the might , but we would be a pain for them. Shivam : Pls quote law everywhere . When it comes down to Kashmiri separatist, you almost endrose a further partition of India and at the same time you forget the resoltion passed in the parliament about Jammu & Kashmir. Do I need to remind you of that ? Warm regards Pawan On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 9:08 PM, shivam at kafila.org wrote: > You see nothing wrong, why trouble Hindus at all? Hindutva 101: Create a > false bogey of Muslims troubling Hindus, Muslims multiplying etc., and in > the name of defence mount your offence. > > Tell me, if somebody in Kashmir was to say cut hands of Indians who trouble > you, will Pawa Durani still say what's wrong with that? Why trouble > Kashmiris at all? Will you still say the leader was just delivering it for > his constituency. > > And he said a lot more. > > What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are > punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing whose > "full flow" you desire in J&K? > > shivam > > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > >> Sir, >> >> If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those >> hands which trouble hindus. >> >> As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu >> party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all >> delivering >> to his constituency . >> >> And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why trouble >> hindus at all... ? >> >> Regards >> >> Pawan >> >> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > >wrote: >> >> > Dear Inder >> > >> > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you >> have >> > any access to that? >> > >> > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV >> > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what >> > context. >> > >> > Hope you can oblige. >> > >> > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest >> the >> > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should >> > suffer much much heavier penalties. >> > >> > Kshmendra >> > >> > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: >> > >> > From: Inder Salim >> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear >> > contrast >> > To: "reader-list" >> > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM >> > >> > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for >> > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on >> > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). >> > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun >> > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to >> > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections >> > after this incident. >> > >> > >> > >> > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim >> > wrote: >> > > >> > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in >> > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was >> > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family >> > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: >> > > >> > > Stalin Epigram >> > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, >> > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, >> > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, >> > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. >> > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, >> > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. >> > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, >> > > And his boot tops shine. >> > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – >> > > He plays with the services of half-men. >> > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. >> > > He alone pushes and prods. >> > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, >> > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. >> > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, >> > > And the Ossetian chest swells. >> > > >> > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine >> > > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his >> > > words dance. >> > > >> > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is >> > poetry >> > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry >> > > is so common a motive for murder?" >> > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir >> > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, >> > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar >> > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death >> > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history >> > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the >> > > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the >> > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, >> > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the >> > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was >> > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances >> > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and >> > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. >> > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, >> > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after >> > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published >> > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and >> > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. >> > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer >> > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed >> > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill >> > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians >> > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same >> > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when >> > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear >> > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira >> > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT >> > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this >> > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of >> > > the fence. >> > > >> > > With love and regards >> > > Inder salim >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > -- >> > > >> > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > >> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in >> > the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: >> > >> > >> > >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > From the.solipsist at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 12:20:03 2009 From: the.solipsist at gmail.com (Pranesh Prakash) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:20:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tsering Shakya | Tibet and China: the past in the present In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4785f1e20903182350o55c48f27k84d8c53f76921396@mail.gmail.com> Tsering Shakya is research chair in religion and contemporary society in Asia at the Institute for Asian Research, University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet since 1947  (Columbia University Press, 1999) http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/tibet-and-china-the-past-in-the-present Tibet and China: the past in the present Tsering Shakya China's official commemoration of its "liberation" of Tibet in 1959 is underpinned by a colonial vision that denies Tibetan voice and agency, says Tsering Shakya. 18 - 03 - 2009 The Chinese government proclaimed in January 2009 that for the first time a festival called "Serf Liberation Day" is to be celebrated in Tibet, in commemoration of the events of 1959 when Chinese forces occupied Lhasa and established direct control over the country following the uprising of Tibetans against their encroaching rule. The decision - a response to the widespread protests that engulfed the Tibetan plateau in March-April 2008 - was carefully crafted and presented as if it reflected the heartfelt sentiments of the Tibetan people. The announcement of this "liberation day" - 28 March 2009 - was made by the Tibetan members of the standing committee of the regional National People's Congress in Lhasa, a body that represents China's promise of autonomy to Tibetans but which in fact functions invariably as a conduit for the iteration of Chinese Communist Party directives rather than expressing local views. It is indeed possible that such an initiative may have come from one group of Tibetans - senior party apparatchiks on the receiving end of internal criticism for their failure in 2008 to guarantee a loyal and docile populace.  But this itself is telling of the nature of the Serf Liberation Day initiative: for in an authoritarian regime, the failure of a client administration leaves performance as one of the few options available. It is natural then that authoritarian regimes have a love of public displays of spectacle, engineered to perfection, in which the people are required to perform ceremonial displays of contentment. The phenomenon is most evident in North Korea. But there as elsewhere, the local logic of such events may be quite different from the external message they communicate. When a North Korean refugee once told me that he had liked taking part in these performances, I thought he might have been appreciating their aesthetic merit; in fact, he said, the reason he liked performing was because the participants were fed during the rehearsal and on the day of the performance. For local Tibetan officials, the intended message of Serf Liberation Day will be the delivery of public mass compliance to the leadership in Beijing. A choreographed spectacle - in which former "serfs" will tearfully recount the evils of the past while locals in their hundreds march past the leaders' podium, dressed in colourful costumes and dancing in unison - will both reinforce the party's narrative of 1959 and convey the contentment of Tibetans today. This will allow the Tibetan officials to produce the performances required to retain their posts, and the local people to fulfil the needs of the local leaders so that they can be allowed to maintain their livelihoods. As Joseph Conrad discerned in his evocation of the native predicament under European imperialism in Africa a century ago, the local subject learns to savour the "exalted trust" of the colonial master. The way to survive There are other and more immediate precedents. China itself experienced a similar situation under the Japanese occupation, when local collaborators - such as Wang Jinwei, a official in the early 1940s now known to most Chinese as a hanjian ("traitor to the Han") - were forced to carry out orders to coerce the people on behalf of their rulers. Today, the party in its dealings with non-Chinese needs such local intermediaries to provide a semblance of native acquiescence; it reportedly holds regular meetings of such officials where for hours they are alternately praised and admonished by apparatchiks sent from Beijing for the purpose. Tibetans do not accuse these people of treachery, but rather mock them using a slang word that refers to their need to say different things to different people: go nyi pa ("two-headed men"). At the same time, the local leaders are sometimes seen as immensely skilful, because many of them retained their positions decades longer than any Chinese counterpart; no other leaders from the cultural-revolution era were allowed to remain in power after the ultra-leftists of that time were purged in 1976. But there are also instrumental reasons for their survival: the party could not operate without them in the "nationality" areas. The routes of culture This longevity has had its semi-comical dimensions, particularly in the cultural sphere. The party, for example, has maintained a roster of acceptable Tibetan pop stars whose songs are considered exemplary. But the list has never changed: the official diva of Tibetan song is Tseten Dolma, who has since the 1950s been decreed the most loved of all Tibetan singers. She appears regularly at every political event even though many people despise her music. The reason is plain. What the party finds enchanting is the symbolism constructed around her life: the fairytale saga of a poor serf girl who was liberated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), brought to national status through her voice, seen as a vindication of class struggle and an authentic sign of native approval for the state. The difficulty with elaborate performances of loyalty such as Serf Liberation Day is that local interpretations are always impossible to control. As a child growing up in Lhasa, I remember when the epic Chinese film Nongnu (The Serf  [1963], directed by Li Jun) was first shown in Tibet. The film depicted the harrowing life of a "serf" called Jampa whose parents are killed by an evil landlord and who is used as a human horse for his master's child until freed from bondage by the arrival of the PLA. The film, meant to arouse indignation amongst the people against the Tibetan elite's class oppression, is still seen in China as a powerful depiction of the Tibetan social system. But when it was shown in Lhasa, nobody watched it with quite those sentiments. Many of the local audience had watched Li Jun and his crew shooting the film; they also knew the actors, and had heard stories that they were just following instructions and were not allowed to correct many of the inaccuracies in the film. This didn't affect the performance of sentiment. Everyone in Tibet was supposed to watch the film and cry; in those days if you did not cry, you risked being accused of harbouring sympathy with the feudal landlords. So my mother and her friends would put tiger-balm under their eyes to make them water. In one famous scene, Jampa is shown being beaten by monks after hunger had forced him to steal food left as an offering on a temple shrine. Lhasa people at the time saw this not so much as a moment of class oppression but as the karmic reward due to a sacrilegious thief.  The film became known locally as Jampa Torma Kuma  (Jampa, The Offering Thief): even today hardly any Tibetan uses the official title when referring to the film. The risk for China's officials is that Serf Liberation Day will face a similar fate in popular memory once the public spectacle is over. The problem for the Chinese goes deeper, for the claims embodied in the 1959 anniversary commemoration require a cultural as well as a political rearrangement, where local gods are denigrated and local traditions are branded as redundant (even when being seen as "exotic"). The homeland effort The Chinese government has been unable to establish good governance in Tibet, and to appoint cadres who are attuned to the people.  The government's primary goal is the "life or death" fight against "splittism" and "the Dalai clique"; local politicians must repeat the appropriate slogans and demonstrate their anti-splittist zeal. But to establish these as the only criteria needed for survival and promotion is to create an obstacle to the development of good policy. For a long period - ever since the "anti-rightist" campaign in the late 1950s, and even earlier in eastern Tibet - local Tibetan officials who could have brought genuine accommodation between the two peoples have been edged out of position. This too is a feature that is typical of colonial administrations, where legitimacy is created through public endorsement by local intermediaries and maintained through mass performances of native compliance. At the heart of this project is denial of indigenous agency, though it is typically presented as the opposite: a local populace's welcome to a foreign model of modernity. This highlights the fact that a crucial priority in Chinese political calculations in Tibet is to convince a "home" audience (rather than the subject one in the occupied area). The act of possession - and the ritualised displays of power, ceremony and state symbolism that grow up around it - has to be explained and legitimated to key domestic constituencies. The way this works can be transparent. The Chinese press, for example, often publishes articles about exhibitions (abroad as well as in China) that display the evils of Tibetan life before the Chinese arrived in the 1950s. The formula is to quote a Chinese interviewee attesting to the persuasiveness of the exhibits (rather than a Tibetan confirming their authenticity). An official party paper, the China Daily, reported on a gory exhibition in Beijing of the Tibetan past hurriedly launched during the height of the 2008 protests in Tibet by quoting a Chinese visitor: "I feel in the exhibition the barbarianism and darkness that permeated old Tibet, and have a better understanding how the backward system of mixing politics and religion thwarted Tibet's development and progress." The uncertainty and anxiety that underlies the colonising project is indicated by the need to have the metropolitan centre persuaded of the merits of its mission. This need to appease the home audience can have complications, however. When the protests in Tibet erupted in March 2008, Chinese state television repeatedly broadcast footage of Tibetans lashing out against innocent Chinese civilians in Lhasa and reported the death of shop-workers. The same images and the same reports were broadcast over and over again, arousing the wrath of Chinese people in China and around the world against Tibetans. But the wave of support for the Chinese government and its crackdown that ensued also inflamed and licensed ethnic antagonism in China, further dividing Chinese and Tibetans, and undoing decades of rhetoric in China about the unity of nationalities and the harmony of society. It also helped create tensions between aggressively nationalist and progressive Chinese citizens. A group of leading Chinese intellectuals circulated a petition criticising Beijing's response to the protest, and the first point they urged on the government was to desist from one-sided propaganda. Zhang Boshu of the Philosophy Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing wrote that "although the authorities are not willing to admit it", the problems in Tibet "were created by the Chinese Communist Party itself as the ruler of China." A further complication in the Chinese government's effort to ensure the consensus of the domestic audience is inscribed in the portrayal of the Tibet unrest as the work of outside forces - the Dalai Lama, the CIA, CNN, the west in general or other institutions. This deflective response - common to besieged administrations everywhere - allowed the government to avoid answering questions about its own policies. But it also insinuates a potent notion (again, one that echoes many other comparable situations): a denial of the "native's" reasoning capacity and in its place an assumption of his inherently violent character. The spectators are not asked to consider why the natives are restless. Again, the Chinese themselves were long the target of the very same depictions. The Yihetuan rebellion of 1900 - which can be regarded as the Chinese people's first uprising against western imperialism - was portrayed by western powers as a kind of racial project of cruel, heathen masses. The reporting of Chinese residents in Lhasa applauding the government's action and welcoming the police's armed street-patrols echo those of the western press with regard to Europeans in Beijing in 1901: order is restored and life returned to normality. But order and normality for whom? Today, citizens of Lhasa live under surveillance. Their houses are liable to be searched; every text they produce, every piece of music they record on a CD or download on a phone can be examined for its ideological content. Every local cadre has to attend countless meetings, and to declare loyalty to the party and the motherland. The central question is avoided: why are the sons and daughters of "liberated slaves" rising against the "liberator"? The only permissible answers are foreign instigation and an inherent ethnic propensity for violence. The naturalisation of violence The discourse of Serf Liberation Day is revealing of how the Chinese government sees Tibetans. For in repeatedly using the words "serfs" or "slaves" (albeit in relation to past oppressions), official China also reduces Tibetans to the status of primitives, and authorises outside management of their lives. Jiang Dasan, a retired PLA pilot who was stationed in the Qinghai region of eastern Tibet in the 1950s, wrote a tale on his blog that illustrates this view.  He was witness to an incident where Chinese army generals, realising that the initial attempts to win over local Tibetans through "education" had failed, invite the Tibetan leaders to witness a bombing display by their air-force. When Tibetans saw the PLA's firepower, Jiang writes, "they really believed the PLA was ‘heaven's army'". A few people couldn't take it and fainted; some urinated in their pants; others shouted slogans at the top of their voice: "Long live the Communist Party! Long live Chairman Mao!" The incident recalls similar accounts in western colonial literature where the natives fall to their knees and submit, awestruck by the white man's techno-magical power and reified as emotionally driven simpletons without reflective capacity. There are many parallels too in China's presentation of the protests of March-April 2008.  The bloodiest early incident of these protests occurred on 14 March in Lhasa, when a number of civilians (official reports say eighteen) were killed, twelve of them after rioters set off fires in Chinese shops. It's not clear if the arsonists had any idea that there were people hiding in the shops' upper floors or backrooms, or that they were unable to escape. The "Lhasa incident" resembled the anti-migrant urban riots familiar from elsewhere in the world: a crime of the urban dispossessed that reflects the failure of the local political process. It is not comparable to the ethnic cleansing seen in Bosnia in 1992, where crimes were meticulously planned, with weapons imported and hate-propaganda fomented; nor to the religious pogrom seen in Gujarat in 2002, when Hindu zealots murdered hundreds of Muslims. But the Chinese media did handle it in ways reminiscent of the United States media's coverage of victims of 11 September 2001: in terms of what Paul Gilroy (in openDemocracy) called  "the imperial topography, which dictates that deaths are prized according to where they occur and the characteristics of the bodies involved." The death of these Chinese shop-workers was broadcast repeatedly on Chinese national television news and overseas Chinese-language stations, with little or no mention of the Tibetan shop-workers who died in the same fires (nor, later, of any Tibetans killed or injured by security forces). This silence is symptomatic: for as with all struggles by the powerless, the actual experience and voices of Tibetans inside China are regarded as unimportant. Where they are noticed at all, they are regarded as the effects of other forces (whether these be foreign powers, natural disasters or ethnic tendencies). This argument has served the Chinese government well, and helped arouse nationalistic sentiments - on both sides. As the 2008 tensions escalated, the Chinese community in large part heeded its government's call to defend the motherland against the west. As a result, every pro-Tibetan or human-rights protest tends to be countered by Chinese counter-protests. There have been persecution-campaigns too - just as a Chinese student at Duke University who publicly reached out to Tibetans on her campus was vilified by her compatriots and even Chinese state-owned media, an exile Tibetan student at Harvard who had spoken on American television in complex terms about the nuances of the current situation without demonising the Chinese as oppressors was viciously attacked by Tibetan nationalists (and in both cases the attacks extended to the students' families). These experiences demonstrate the workings of a mindset where prejudice, blind nationalism, and an ugly anger in language transcend differences of political alignment. The huge imbalance of power, however, means that the Chinese depiction of Tibetans can more easily reach and influence citizens' attitudes. The period since March-April 2008 has seen a hardening of attitudes against Tibetans, which draw on long-standing attitudes that view them as primitive and "ungrateful" natives who are predisposed to violence. Even many young Chinese abroad and those who escaped the aftermath of the 4 June 1989 massacre supported their government's actions and condemned the Tibetan protesters as "looters" and "hooligans" (the same words used to depict the Tiananmen protesters). The idea of the Tibetan being luohou (backward) is entrenched in the official state discourse on Tibet; and the perception has penetrated the Chinese popular image of Tibet.  Yet it is notable how recent an invention this is: it has been systematised only after the conquest of 1959, as part of the process of transforming a conquered people into the uncivilised awaiting the gift of civilisation from the conqueror (and is a marked contrast to earlier centuries, when the Chinese acknowledged their copious learning from the Tibetans, particularly in matters of philosophy and religion). A half-century of the Chinese mission civilisatrice has left Tibetans with what the social anthropologist Stevan Harrell calls a "stigmatised identity". This is reflected in the requirement for Tibetans in China to propitiate the benevolent ruler in their speeches and writings; almost every published text opens with such ritual invocations. People become accustomed to performing their assigned roles in society; they internalise the logic that has made these roles, and the wider unequal relationship that fixes them, seem natural and necessary. Many Tibetans have (as Emily Yeh has shown) come to believe the widely disseminated notion that they are "naturally" more idle than their Chinese counterparts; again, a familiar aspect of the experience of every colonised people. This makes it all the more shocking to the rulers when elements of this docile and indolent native population protest: like a fish speaking back to ichthyologists. The limits of economics The Tibetan unrest is a product of the paradox of modern China, in which the government wants the people to passively accept its programme of modernisation and its framing of Tibetan subjects as grateful natives. Hu Jintao's notion of a harmonious society is tantamount to a call for passivity on the part of the citizens. The radical changes being introduced to Tibet - including large-scale infrastructural projects - are accepted as a facet of a modern Tibet but the people do not acquiesce, as they do not have a voice in this transformation of their lives. The main discourse of modern China - albeit with somewhat less confidence as the severe effects of the recession are felt - is the economic-development paradigm, where the core issues are growth, efficiency, productivity and consumption. It is true that material well-being is crucial for any society. But it is not enough. As Vincent Tucker has written: "without consideration of culture, which essentially has to do with people's control over their destinies, their ability to name the world in a way which reflects their particular experience, development is simply a global process of social engineering whereby the economically and militarily more powerful control, dominate, and shape the lives of other for their purposes". This is a precise description of what is happening in Tibet. For the Tibetans, the imposition of the economic paradigm has aroused resistance. The resistance is also about the right to have a voice in the process, and wider dignity and recognition.  As long as these are denied, the conditions for people to take to the streets will remain. The Chinese state, with all its might, can and will be able to control the land, but will find underlying resentment harder to erase. The removal of the Dalai Lama's pictures and the banning of songs will not remove the reasons why the people put the photographs there in the first place. The Chinese government response to protest favoured by party hardliners is to combine nationalist fervour, colonial attitudes and brute force in shifting increasingly towards an agenda of control and rushed development. This approach, far from eliminating Tibetan opposition, will further alienate the Tibetan population. The commemoration of "Serf Liberation Day" is a classic illustration of the nature of Chinese power over Tibetans. Until local voices are listened to and local memories understood, until issues of perception and language that surround the Tibetan situation are addressed, until a political settlement based on the devolution of power is considered, it is unlikely that any progress will be possible. From vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 13:10:40 2009 From: vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:10:40 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Varun Gandhi Message-ID: <550239.24326.qm@web94710.mail.in2.yahoo.com> It is difficult to comprehend,why so much noise is made on a speech or two delivered by Mr Varun Gandhi to the residents of his constituency; meant for a very limited number of people.   On the other hand   1) nothing happens when the PM of the country says "Muslims have first claim on the resources of nation." or when a PM sets up a Sachchar Committee, which is a blatant violation of the Constitution   2)ABDUL NASAR MADANI and his wife are directly linked with ISI and bomb blasts in our country. They openly pledged their support for Pakistan and yet they are eligible to contest elections   3)read the speeches of omar obdullah ,he wants to use pakistan currency,   4)read what former governor singh of kashmir has said about mufti mohammad  and his pdp   i have so far not read a single 'secualr' reaction against it but,   when a person in india speaks about hindu his secularism is questioned while there is no problem speaking about xyz caste or religon right because they can dent their vote bank.   remember mayavati's '.....brahmin ko joote maro  chhar' slogan!   media should  try to analyse his speech as he never spoke anything against muslims.   varun gandhi"s speech and his views are inspiring and hope he follows the same path and don't bow to anyone's pressure   vedavati --- On Wed, 18/3/09, Pawan Durani wrote: From: Pawan Durani Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast To: "Rakesh Iyer" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Wednesday, 18 March, 2009, 6:09 PM How do we want an action against a real Gandhi ie Varun ....when we have organisations like JKLF which the Indian media and the progressive secularist liberals call as a 'secular ' organisation and Yasin Malik as a modern day Gandhi. His main slogan was "Yahan Kya Chalega ---Nizam E Mustafa' ....and then added in posters that Kashmir would be a Pakistan...without Hindu men but with hindu womenfolk. The problem is when people like Yasin find a group of stupid ignorant supporters [ Joholla Wallas ]  who make a hero out of a killer, everything else seems justified. Correct me if I am wrong..... Pawan On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 3:23 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > For the benefit of all those, who wish to know what exactly Varun Gandhi > has said, these are the excerpts, taken from Indian Express, which has > obtained them through a recording of election meetings, which are held in > two different locations. > > Link: > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/badey-daraawne-naam-hotey-hain-inke...-karimullah-mazharullah...-varun-gandhi-kaat-daalega.../435950/1 > > Excerpts: > > 1) *Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka haath hai. Yeh kat** ke galey ko kaat > dega chunaav ke baad. Jai Shri Ram! Ram ji ki jai! Varun Gandhi kaat > daalega! Kaat denge us haath ko, kaat denge, kaat daalega! > > 2) **Apne jao, apne gaon mein jao aur halla karo ki saara Hindu ek tarfa > ho jao, chhetra ko Pakistan hone se bachao, aur saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao! > > 3) **Kya yeh sach nahin hai… ki usko bola gaya ki mataji aapka naam kya > hai... agar usne bola ki Bimla Devi, to usko kahaa ki dekhenge, sochenge.... > pehle paanch hazaar rupaye do... aur agar uska naam hai Saira Bano ya jo bhi > Begum Hukum Begum... hum to jaante nahin hain... badey daraawne naam hotey > hain inke... Karimullah... Mazharullah.... agar raat ko kabhi dikh jaayen.... > to darr rahen hain... > > 4) **Meri ek behan hai... to ek pamphlet chhapa tha jisme saare > pratiyashiyon ka picture likha hua hai... toh meri behan... us bitiya ne > kaha... Bhaiya mujhe nahi pata tha ki aapke chhetra mein Osama bin Laden > chunaav lad rahein hain... Maine kaha beta Osama bin Laden ko to America > pakad nahi liya lekin Varun Gandhi ke to pakad mein bahut aane waale hain > chunaav ke baad! > > 5) **Jo aadmi thappad aapko maare, aapko kya karna chahiye? Doosra gaal > aage kar dena chahiye… Usse bewakoofi ki baat maine suni nahi hai aaj tak. > Agar koi aadmi aapko thappad maare, to saale ka haath kat do ki kisi ko phir > thappad nahi maar paaye baad mein. > > 6) **.Agar kisi ne, kisi galat tatv ke aadmi ne, kisi Hindu pe haath > uthaya...to main Gita ki kasam khake kehta hun ki main us haath ko kaat > daalunga! > > *After reading all this, you can for yourself make out the kind of > language Varun Gandhi has used. The problem with all the right-wing people > of this nation is that, they want a masculine, effete kind of response to > these things, for the fact is that in their own personal lives, they are > never satisfied with the devotion they have towards God. The fact is that, > they always want their devotion to increase further and further, and no > levels are enough for them. That's what my own experiences have shown me, > though they are not many. > > And I sincerely feel, that right-wing people probably don't have any > confidence in their masculinity, which forces them to always express it > again and again in useless issues. Similarly, they also don't have enough > confidence in their devotion to God, for they constantly are in search of > more and more. They need psychologists to boost their confidence in their > masculinity and contentment in their devotion to God, rather than Ram > Mandirs and action against 'appeasers' of Muslims. > > After all, as one line of the song 'Pal Pal hai Bhari' from Swades says: > > 'Man se Ravana jo nikaale, Ram uske man mein hai'. So please let the Ravana > of our minds run away, instead of fighting over masjids-mandirs, and if > that's what we want to fight for, let us have one single fight to solve the > issue for once and all. Let us not have Ayodhya, Godhra, post-Ayodhya, > post-Godhra, Kandhamal, Mangalore one by one. Let us go on streets and solve > the issue for once and for all. At least be that rational. > > Let us not die every day (I mean the soul). Let the death be once, and for > all. > > After all, 'roz roz kutte ki mout marne se achcha hai ek din sher ki maut > marna', as one of the 'alleged' terrorists of Ahmedabad blasts said. > > The choice is ours: Useless fights to destroy ourselves (Pakistan is > already involved in these), or fight against all the evils leaving aside all > infighting amongst ourselves (not because we are Indians, but because we are > human beings first). > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Get perfect Email ID for your Resume. Grab now http://in.promos.yahoo.com/address From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 13:33:08 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:03:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0903181309rfea8fb9w13c025dd5a26f257@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <761773.57988.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Yasir   Perhaps you missed seeing it; in an ensuing conversation I had written to Taha:   """"" These are just 35 Hindus compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated.""""""   That was preceded by:   """"" the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not suggest that they were driven out  but that they were overwhelmed and intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. """""""   Take care   Kshmendra   --- On Thu, 3/19/09, yasir ~يا سر wrote: From: yasir ~يا سر Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: "sarai list" Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 1:39 AM apart from the hindus, 400,00 - 700,000 people have also left the area during the last few months, so. they are other humans in the area. best yasir On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > Kshmendra > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > JAGMOHAN SINGH > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension > in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, “We > were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination of > strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to allow > us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would never > prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even > Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since > none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required > necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal > area of Pakistan”. > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the needful > for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of relief > while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the > four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since > girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance > only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous > Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since > for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for > women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > area”, she quipped. > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 14:16:35 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:46:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <543466.47065.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   I totally agree with your comment """" What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing whose "full flow" you desire in J&K?"""""   Having gone through various excerpts and transcripts and pored over video coverage of Varun Gandhi's speeches, that piece of shit can never justify what he said, whatever be the context in which he said it. Such people are enemies of India because by word or action they undermine the integrity of India. They need to be dealt with firmly.   What has shocked me is that after all this Varun Gandhi cannot be stopped from fighting the election. At best, if he wins, his getting elected can be revoked after prosecution.   He must be prosecuted right away under other provisions of the Law (other than the Election Code of Conduct)   All of that too is not enough. My penalty for him would be to place him for 6 months to look after the footwear of worshipers at some Mosque and devotees at some Dargah (shrine). I would put him for another 6 months at an old age home for impoverished Muslims where he is asked to look after the most basic of their including feeding them, nursing them and helping them with their toiletries.   If the BJP has even a modicum of love for India (that they profess) they should not only withdraw the candidature of Varun Gandhi but kick him out of the Party.   Kshmendra --- On Wed, 3/18/09, shivam at kafila.org wrote: From: shivam at kafila.org Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast To: "Pawan Durani" Cc: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com, "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:08 PM You see nothing wrong, why trouble Hindus at all? Hindutva 101: Create a false bogey of Muslims troubling Hindus, Muslims multiplying etc., and in the name of defence mount your offence. Tell me, if somebody in Kashmir was to say cut hands of Indians who trouble you, will Pawa Durani still say what's wrong with that? Why trouble Kashmiris at all? Will you still say the leader was just delivering it for his constituency. And he said a lot more. What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing whose "full flow" you desire in J&K? shivam   On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: Sir, If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those hands which trouble hindus. As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all delivering to his constituency . And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why trouble hindus at all... ? Regards Pawan On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Inder > > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you have > any access to that? > > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what > context. > > Hope you can oblige. > > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest the > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should > suffer much much heavier penalties. > > Kshmendra > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: > > From: Inder Salim > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear > contrast > To: "reader-list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM > > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi,  is a BJP canditate for > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections > after this incident. > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim > wrote: > > > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > > > > Stalin Epigram > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > > And his boot tops shine. > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > > He plays with the services of half-men. > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > > He alone pushes and prods. > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > > And the Ossetian chest swells. > > > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > > issue, I see his poems on  all the subject. Even in Translation his > > words dance. > > > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is > poetry > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry > > is so common a motive for murder?" > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > > establishment.  The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise  and > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even.  Strange, we have musicians > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of > > the fence. > > > > With love and regards > > Inder salim > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From javedmasoo at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 14:27:20 2009 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (M Javed) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:27:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] All resemblances are not coincidental Message-ID: In a debate on Varun, it would be interesting to see this article - how his father's career itself could be compared to what our friends do today: ---- All resemblances are not coincidental Shiv Visvanathan Violence has always mystified me. It seems utterly inventive and yet on reflection one sees patterns, connections that one didn’t see at first. Consider the politics of violence and how it unites Congress and BJP. At first sight, the idea seems a bit ludicrous. But consider two leaders as exemplars and paradigms of violence. For the Congress, violence as excess was represented by Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay represents the deinstitutionalised style so prevalent today. He represents the tiredness with politics, the hostility and indifference to the poor that marks our development. He represents the sense of our city as a visual spectacle that is intolerant of the anarchy of the informal economy. Sanjay represented the inventiveness of evil banalised through management and development. His vision of the city encompassed the small car we call the Maruti today. Evil in fact always creates a populist set of semi-private goods. Hitler after all created the first vision of the Volkswagen and people forget that Fanta was a drink manufactured in the Nazi era. Hitler also created the people’s radio. The technological artifact always provided the gloss for evil, which people mistook as progress. Once one accepted the idea of progress, development, they soon became legitimations for violence. All the violence of the Emergency took place in the name of development, planning and progress. Every tyrant had his willing executioners. The reader might wonder whether this long prelude on an almost forgotten politician is excessive. What I would like to argue is that Sanjay lives with us mutated as Narendra Modi. Let me outline this comparison. Both attempted to create a notion of politics around a model of ideal citizenship. Both directed violence against those reluctant to adhere to this model of citizenship. For Sanjay, it was the poor; for Modi, the Muslims. Both used violence as plan, or riots as real estate operation to cleanse the city. Both were great advocates of privatisation. In fact, what Sanjay began was a task that Modi completed. In the politics of mirroring, the Nano completes what his primitive idea of Maruti began. The SEZ as empty of history, politics, offering only technology was a vision both adhered to. There was a frugal Arya Samaji style to both, an ersatz asceticism, a toughness parading as urgency. Both are contemptuous of politics as a slow decision-making process. Sanjay Gandhi created politics as speeded-up time and this vision found its most efficient disciple in Modi. Both had a contempt for party politics. Sanjay operated through supine cronyism, Modi operates through a spineless bureaucracy. Both were subjects of commissions of enquiry — Sanjay, a subject of the Shah Commission, Modi the alleged case study of the Nanavati Commission. Even the integrity of Justice Shah didn’t prevent the report from going the way of the Nanavati Commission. In fact, in the twinning of the two one sees not just similarity and continuity, but the real thread of Indian politics. If one reads them without blinders, one realises they are two chapters in the history of liberalisation and globalisation. Sanjay inaugurated the privatisation of the state to which Modi added the corporatisation of the state. For both, concepts and ideology were secondary, mere footnotes to the logic of power. Modi is just a later version of Sanjay, a leader with a PRO. Both knew how to cater to middle class vulnerabilities. In Sanjay’s time order came when trains ran on time and clerks reached office before time. For Modi, the disciplined body of the middle class now reacted to words like security and toughness. Both realised that evil, fascism, tyranny becomes possible if one can play on the insecurities of the middle class. Both saw themselves as crime fighters. Without smashing the Muslims gangs which ran crime in Gujarat, the 2002 riots would not have been so easy. Sanjay as crime fighter suppressed petty crime and small dissent to create a picture of order. As wizards of planned violence, they know how to make the victim guilty and argue that violence was necessary or historically inevitable. In Indian politics, the poor and the Muslim always invite violence on themselves by being refractory to progress or the modernising rituals of citizenship. For both, citizenship isn’t a right but a mode of discipline. Only a “disciplined” citizen has access to rights. There is another similarity that few bother to think about today. Both Sanjay and Modi had visions of the great city. Sanjay did it in terms of the discourses of the day which emphasised beautification and urban cleansing. Modi creates the futuristic city around privatised ports, science cities, the SEZ. Both used violence to create futuristic spaces emptied of dissent, ethnicity, and unionism. Sanjay’s vision of Delhi was still one of demolition, Modi’s vision of the city, an antidote to the anarchy of Ahmedabad, will be a revitalised Gandhinagar built on Chinese lines, a scale of urbanism which is futuristic, hitherto unimagined in India. Both were open to technology, science, innovation. Both saw these as substitutes for politics and democracy. Yet one must realise that Sanjay is a period piece next to Modi. Sanjay Gandhi was still an unwilling relic of the socialist period, where the information revolution was a distant speck. He anticipated globalisation but Modi enacted out its possibilities using the diaspora as a mirror of legitimation. One often asks why the Congress in Gujarat is silent about riot victims or development? Why is there a sense of the twining of these parties, both built around the middle class as an abstract imagination? In an unconscious sense, these politicians understand the secret siblinghood of Modi and Sanjay — the twinning of their political unconscious. They are two parts of a political script whose logic operates independent of ideology or institutions. These men are two exemplars, two narratives in the logic of politics as populist tyranny. The power of politics today lies in the fact that as BJP and Congress confront each other, the Sanjay in one recognises the Modi in the other. The writer is an Ahmedabad-based social scientist From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 14:39:05 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:39:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <543466.47065.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <543466.47065.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra (and all) Having said that BJP should remove Varun from the party would not be enough. Who can forget the Modi of 2002, who had said that Lyngdoh is supporting Congress as he is Christian? Who can forget that this party takes support from the VHP, which very clearly throughout Gujarat, before the riots and even Godhra, was on a village tour saying that let's purify our villages by cleaning them of cow-eaters (read Muslims)? Who can forget that it's the same VHP which now questions Muslims' allegiance to India and that to Pakistan? Who can forget that it's the very same BJP, which was bent upon changing the Constitution of India itself, and only when the then President Mr. K.R.Narayanan, had said he wont' sign on any changed constitution, did they withdraw the idea? Who can forget Modi's statement of 'hum paanch humare pachees', and how they were targetted? I can't. And hence, the BJP should not only say in public that they believe India can and should trust it's Muslims, they should clearly point out that they trust Muslims of India, and should clearly state that they would never take the support of VHP cadres during elections and also other times, till VHP changes it's stand on Muslims. Otherwise, like the SIMI, the entire Sangh Parivar should be banned. Regards Rakesh From shivam at kafila.org Thu Mar 19 14:47:11 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:47:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903182049r4d0f583dq4ead8e934bb56291@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903182049r4d0f583dq4ead8e934bb56291@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: So bhai Pawan, you're not interested in defending Varun Gandhi anymore? best shivam On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Dear Mr Inder & friend Shivam, > > While I agree with some expressions of Inder Ji, I reject his statement > where he quotes that the Kashmiri Pandits suffered in 1990. > > It almost portrays as if the whole suffering of Kashmiri Pandits gets > restricted to 1990. Inder Ji, you re wrong .......the suffering continues > till today. > > And you further go down and try to justify by quoting 1947. Well, if history > has a role to play , why do you not justify that the whole conversions of > Hindus in Kashmir by Turks, Afghans etc was unfortunate. Had it not happened > that whole Kashmir problem would not have been there. > > We do understand that the Govt of India is equally responsible and would not > be talking to Kashmiri Pandits . You are absolutely bang on. However , i > swear , even if there is a resolution , where Kashmiri Hindus are not > involved...... The Kashmir problem would continue to exist and it more vocal > and more embarassment for Govt Of India. If GOI doesnt involve us , there > would not be a solution. We may not be having the might , but we would be a > pain for them. > > Shivam : Pls quote law everywhere . When it comes down to Kashmiri > separatist, you almost endrose a further partition of India and at the same > time you forget the resoltion passed in the parliament about Jammu & > Kashmir. > Do I need to remind you of that ? > > Warm regards > > Pawan > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 9:08 PM, shivam at kafila.org > wrote: >> >> You see nothing wrong, why trouble Hindus at all? Hindutva 101: Create a >> false bogey of Muslims troubling Hindus, Muslims multiplying etc., and in >> the name of defence mount your offence. >> >> Tell me, if somebody in Kashmir was to say cut hands of Indians who >> trouble you, will Pawa Durani still say what's wrong with that? Why trouble >> Kashmiris at all? Will you still say the leader was just delivering it for >> his constituency. >> >> And he said a lot more. >> >> What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are >> punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing whose >> "full flow" you desire in J&K? >> >> shivam >> >> >> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani >> wrote: >>> >>> Sir, >>> >>> If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those >>> hands which trouble hindus. >>> >>> As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu >>> party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all >>> delivering >>> to his constituency . >>> >>> And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why >>> trouble >>> hindus at all... ? >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Pawan >>> >>> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul >>> wrote: >>> >>> > Dear Inder >>> > >>> > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you >>> > have >>> > any access to that? >>> > >>> > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on >>> > TV >>> > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what >>> > context. >>> > >>> > Hope you can oblige. >>> > >>> > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest >>> > the >>> > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should >>> > suffer much much heavier penalties. >>> > >>> > Kshmendra >>> > >>> > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: >>> > >>> > From: Inder Salim >>> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear >>> > contrast >>> > To: "reader-list" >>> > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM >>> > >>> > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi,  is a BJP canditate for >>> > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on >>> > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). >>> > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun >>> > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to >>> > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections >>> > after this incident. >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim >>> > wrote: >>> > > >>> > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in >>> > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was >>> > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish >>> > > family >>> > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: >>> > > >>> > > Stalin Epigram >>> > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, >>> > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, >>> > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, >>> > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. >>> > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, >>> > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. >>> > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, >>> > > And his boot tops shine. >>> > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – >>> > > He plays with the services of half-men. >>> > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. >>> > > He alone pushes and prods. >>> > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, >>> > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. >>> > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, >>> > > And the Ossetian chest swells. >>> > > >>> > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine >>> > > issue, I see his poems on  all the subject. Even in Translation his >>> > > words dance. >>> > > >>> > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is >>> > poetry >>> > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where >>> > > poetry >>> > > is so common a motive for murder?" >>> > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir >>> > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, >>> > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar >>> > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death >>> > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history >>> > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the >>> > > establishment.  The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the >>> > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, >>> > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the >>> > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was >>> > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances >>> > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise  and >>> > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. >>> > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, >>> > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after >>> > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published >>> > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and >>> > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. >>> > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer >>> > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed >>> > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill >>> > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even.  Strange, we have >>> > > musicians >>> > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same >>> > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when >>> > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear >>> > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how >>> > > Indira >>> > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT >>> > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this >>> > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of >>> > > the fence. >>> > > >>> > > With love and regards >>> > > Inder salim >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > -- >>> > > >>> > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > -- >>> > >>> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com >>> > _________________________________________ >>> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> > Critiques & Collaborations >>> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> > subscribe in >>> > the subject header. >>> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> > List archive: >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > _________________________________________ >>> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> > Critiques & Collaborations >>> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> > subscribe in the subject header. >>> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> > List archive: >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > From shivam at kafila.org Thu Mar 19 14:54:07 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:54:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aciidental Death of a Carpenter Message-ID: The lives of some Indian citizens are more valuable than others. Always. best shivam * * * Thousands protest carpenter's killing in Kashmir http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hGCLn9AEnqoc5ACFoWYJSe1ghp2A SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — Thousands of people in revolt-hit Kashmir held a massive anti-India demonstration Thursday over the alleged murder by police of a Muslim carpenter. The death occurred Wednesday evening in southern Pulwama district, sparking protests by thousands of Kashmiris, who chanted slogans like "down with Indian troops" and "we want freedom." "The protests are continuing," local resident Reyaz Sheikh told AFP by telephone. "We will bury the dead only after government promises to punish the guilty," he said. Prabhakar Tripathi, the spokesman for Central Reserve Police Force, said the carpenter, Mohiudin Malik was killed by cross-fire during a confrontation between Muslim militants and police. But Malik's family said he was killed after he argued with federal police who raided his house, and that there were no rebels in the area at the time of the shooting. India's state-owned television, Doordarshan, said four policemen, including an officer, have been suspended after the death. Local police also said they have registered a murder case and launched an investigation. Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly two decade old insurgency against Indian rule that has so far left more than 47,000 people dead, according to official figures. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, which last year witnessed some of the biggest protests. Over 50 Muslims were killed, mostly by security forces. * * * Civilian killing: Four paramilitary troopers suspended in Kashmir http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200903191340.htm Srinagar (IANS): Four paramilitary troopers, including an assistant commandant, were Thursday suspended pending investigations into Wednesday's firing in a south Kashmir village that left a carpenter dead. Gulam Mohiuddin Malik, 35, was killed in allegedly unprovoked firing by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Kheegam village of Pulwama district, according to witnesses. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the security forces with police asking CRPF officials to identify the accused troopers to complete the probe into the incident. "The CRPF has suspended one assistant commandant and three constables allegedly involved in the firing incident in which one villager unfortunately lost his life", B. Srinivas, inspector general of police (Kashmir Zone) said today. Malik was shot dead when troopers of the 181 CRPF battalion were patrolling the village. The villagers claimed the troopers opened fire at the carpenter without any provocation. CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi said: "A CRPF patrol had gone to the village for searches on specific information about the presence of militants. The patrol was fired upon by militants and they returned the fire. The body of one person was recovered from the spot." The killing, which sparked off protests in Pulwama, came when union Home Minister P. Chidambaram was on a day-long visit to the state. Mr. Chidambaram assured action against the army troopers found guilty of killing two youth in north Kashmir's Bomai village Feb 21. The situation in Kheegam was tense with hundreds of villagers refusing to bury the body of the slain carpenter until the guilty were punished. Senior civil and police officers rushed to the spot to defuse the palpable tension From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 15:34:18 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:04:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903180846v2a84ba2dj6b2d1bd09446d237@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <376044.69680.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Taha   You had written " Now my question to you is this- Do you actually believe, India is Not a Nation State? lol (All the brooding anarchists on this list must sit up and take notice)"   That 'lol' of yours was arrogant patronising.   Either you take me for a complete idiot or you have no idea what you write. Being a smart-ass and playing around with words and justifications might be an amusing thing for you and it might feed your intellect in some deviant manner, but you must consider the possibility of the other person having at least some intelligence even if yours is far superior, as it surely is when compared to mine..   If you do not know how and where to punctuate conversation with a 'lol', then please do not use it.   Look at your latest gem in telling me " what you wrote was more like revisiting a nervous system of concepts which were pulled together to rule India." A highly flawed gem.   I had simply expressed my reading of how the 'sharing and caring' attitudes of people change when the availability of resources for distribution change in their quantum. It is not particular to India. It is true of people in any part of the world.   Nor had I anywhere given any such value judgment that you ascribed to me (in your earlier post) as "just and unjust distribution and eligibility of recipients with respect to any such distribution." and then went on to sneer at it being "  political theory 101 and political philosophy 101 "   Your presumption of my articulation is in fact a fabrication of your own mind. Nowhere did I comment on Nation States being good or bad, desirable or undesirable.   In fact, to start with the mention of "(majoritarian) nation states" was injected by you into the conversation. To that I had responded, that (previewed on basis of religion), India is not a Nation State whereas Pakistan is.   Thank you for sharing words from Proudhan. I have no idea who that is.   I am not obsessed with the topic of Nation States (as many on this List seem to be) so any theorising on it is of little interest to me.   This Proudhan seems to have expressed an opinion on Nation States. Good luck to him. You say that  "he argues that a nation state is an instrument of Governance." I have no conflict with your certification. Like I said, I have little interest in the theorising on Nation States.   In general I do not pay much attention to such extracts or quotings. It never tells me what is the context and what precedes and what follows. That is true of these words of Proudhan too. The words also do not tell me how Proudhan describes or what he understands by the term Nation State.   I did notice though that what you described as " nation state is an instrument of Governance" does not suggest that Nation State is the only instrument of Governance or that Governance is not possible without being a Nation State.   But, to repeat myself I have very little interest in the theorising  on Nation States.     Kshmendra       --- On Wed, 3/18/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:16 PM Dear Kshmendra I have often smiled a lot while reading your witty responses so this time I thought it appropriate to include non-verbal reactions in my reply. As is clearly evident there seems to be some discomfort in that, hence I will try to refrain from using non-verbal language in future. It pains me to see that what was clearly plain speak is translated as arrogance or sarcasm. It was far from that Kshmendera I genuinely thought what you wrote was more like revisiting a nervous system of concepts which were pulled together to rule India. It was interesting and I hugely enjoyed reading it. Please don't take it otherwise. In fact your articulation on states reminded me of Proudhon's take on nation states, wherein he argues that a nation state is an instrument of Governance. Please allow me to share with you a quote from Proudhan- 'To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be  governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. it is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of general interest, to be placed conder contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistence, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, diarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemend, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed, and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonered. That if Government, that is its justice and that is its morality' Please let me know what do you think of this view. Warm regards Taha --- On Wed, 3/18/09, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: From: Kshmendra Kaul Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Cc: "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 2:03 PM Dear Taha   The answer to your question is a Yes.   It is interesting that you should be reduced to articulating yourself with a 'lol'.   This patronising arrogance is also evident (unless I registered it wrongly) in the sarcastic reference to "political theory 101 and political philosophy 101".   Kshmendra --- On Wed, 3/18/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "reader-list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:14 AM Dear Kshmendera Thank you for a thought provoking mail on political theory 101 and political philosophy 101 with respect to the idea of just and unjust distribution and eligibility of recipients with respect to any such distribution. It was most instructive to go through your thoughts. I have only one question and I do not even desire a justification of your position on this one. In your response you articulate, 'India is not a Nation State.' Now my question to you is this- Do you actually believe, India is Not a Nation State? lol (All the brooding anarchists on this list must sit up and take notice) Warm regards Taha PS: While answering, A simple yes or no would suffice. On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 12:31 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Dear Taha   In any situation, when the resources are 'more than plenty for everyone' we might see the humanistic face of sharing and caring. That humanist attitude gets relegated when there is a shortage of resources. People then first look after the needs of 'our own'. This is logical and understandable.   The 'our own' could be immediate family as the smallest social unit or on a larger scale the 'our own' identification could be on the basis of religion; or ethnicity; or citizenship; or caste; or gender; a whole range of possible identity groupings.    In my opinion, this also happens in the attitude towards minorities in a majoritarian demographic environment.   I would therefore not agree that it is always a directed  or designed attitude to alienate minorities but can simply be a 'less available for many, so let us first look after our own'.   I wrote earlier that it is 'logical and understandable'. But, should it be acceptable?   In the private domain of individuals, or smaller scale sets, one can only whine about it or argue against it but any legal enforcement to prevent it would be highly improbable to succeed.   However in all that is in the domain of 'public life', such discrimination should be unacceptable and illegal not only in the fabric of the Constitutional Umbrella but in every devolved Legislation or Law applicable to the functioning of the State, Semi-Govt & Quasi-Govt institutions and any enterprise that enjoys any kind of a support from 'public money' (schools, colleges, hospitals, clubs etc).   Here we have to take into reckoning the nature of the State, what exactly are the provisions of and under it's Constitutional Umbrella as far as the attitudes towards minorities is concerned or any provisions favouring the majority are concerned. In this design itself India and Pakistan are starkly different.   Before expanding on that, the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not suggest that they were driven out  but that they were overwhelmed and intimated by the increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of 'kya tha aur kya ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). And yet one comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) pronouncing how happier they are under the Taliban. These are just 35 Hindus compared to many a thousand Muslims (reportedly) who have emigrated from those areas (to other parts of Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to those that the '35 Hindus' have articulated. The State might be considered to be guilty by neglect and not by design and that too not neglect of the Hindus specifically.   The other news item I posted about 'conspiracy against Hindus in Sindh' could be construed as neglect by the State of Hindus specifically. It could be interpreted as the 'design of deliberate neglect'.   But this 'design of deliberate neglect' would not be unique to Pakistan. One could cite quite a few hundred scenarios in India which suggest such a 'design of deliberate neglect' of minorities that has the dimensions of the State being susceptible to being accused of being complicit in the sufferings undergone by the minority.   Any non-propagandist recognition of such scenarios in India would reveal that the identity of the minority varies. Could be Muslims someplace, or Christians, or Sikhs, or Hindus or any other Minority Identity Grouping in a particular environment.    Pakistan is a Nation State (Islamic). In Pakistan, it is understandable if in the Design of the State, there is 'majoritarianism' in both the Constitution and the Laws and the application of the Laws. That is an aspect that will be and is seen in any State that declares itself Islamic. It is peculiar to Islam because only Islam goes beyond simply theorising about the Divine and specifies societal norms and attitudes. This exclusivist nature of Islam is further hardlined by the nature of the interpretation of Islamic precepts that have taken root and concretised through the ages. In any declared Islamic State the 'alienate minorities on the basis of their ....religious identities ' is automatically programmed in the design of the State.   The same would be true of any Nation State that is Ethnicity based.    India is not a Nation State. No such provision of the Constitution or in Law comes readily to my mind that could be seen as being dictated by 'majoritarianism'. On the contrary, many Hindu voices whine about 'minorityism' or 'pampering of minorities' being the Law of the Land. They of course are referring only to religious identities.   In India therefore, any 'design of deliberate neglect'  of any Minority Identity Group becomes totally unacceptable and illegal. Yet it happens. I know. It is sad. It is disgusting. It is destructive.   I have tried to respond best that I could. Hope that there is some 'clarity' in the conveyance of my thoughts.   Kshmendra    --- On Sun, 3/15/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote: From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "sarai list" Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 9:40 PM Dear Kshmendra Do you think that this is a predicament of 'Hindus' alone or a general tendency of majoritiarian nation states to alienate minorities on the basis of their so called religious/ethnic identities? How different is the situation of 'Hindus' in Pakistan from 'Muslims' of India or 'Hindus' of Bangladesh or 'Jews' of Germany sometime back or 'Christians' of Rome a long time back or 'Tutsis' of Rwanda or ' Tibetan Buddhists' of China or 'Palestianian Arabs' of Israel or 'Blacks or Hispaniacs of America, when it comes to assertion of dominant ethno-religious form of nationalism. This makes me think about the Asis Nandy's observation about violence and blood shedding as part of legitimate strategy for nation building. Are we witnessing another round of 'demonic and seductive'  form a religious nationalism? Could we read the terrible experience of 'Hnidu' families as yet another sick rite of exorcism? (the link to this essay by Nandy was kindly posted by Jeebesh on the reader-list few days ago). Are we witnessing signs of an 'Islamic' revolution in Pakistan?  It is indeed sad and disgusting to see sections of pakistan's neo political class pick on 'Hindus' to make an example of them. Regards Taha From pawan.durani at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 18:31:36 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:31:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast In-Reply-To: References: <47e122a70903171041g399cc725h6c7a961cf5f1ab3@mail.gmail.com> <330385.93055.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <6b79f1a70903180153j4c640b38t262d2f3debd656c0@mail.gmail.com> <6b79f1a70903182049r4d0f583dq4ead8e934bb56291@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903190601o7a24ebber5f5d3651b23c7304@mail.gmail.com> Bhai Shivam, Do you defend Lalu, Ram Vilas , Karat ,Karunanidhi , Mehbooba , Mufti , Madani , Mullahyam etc..... Do you believe that these people should be barred from elections ? Answer me with reasons and I would have an answer for you. Pawan On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 2:47 PM, shivam at kafila.org wrote: > So bhai Pawan, you're not interested in defending Varun Gandhi anymore? > best > shivam > > On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Pawan Durani > wrote: > > Dear Mr Inder & friend Shivam, > > > > While I agree with some expressions of Inder Ji, I reject his statement > > where he quotes that the Kashmiri Pandits suffered in 1990. > > > > It almost portrays as if the whole suffering of Kashmiri Pandits gets > > restricted to 1990. Inder Ji, you re wrong .......the suffering continues > > till today. > > > > And you further go down and try to justify by quoting 1947. Well, if > history > > has a role to play , why do you not justify that the whole conversions of > > Hindus in Kashmir by Turks, Afghans etc was unfortunate. Had it not > happened > > that whole Kashmir problem would not have been there. > > > > We do understand that the Govt of India is equally responsible and would > not > > be talking to Kashmiri Pandits . You are absolutely bang on. However , i > > swear , even if there is a resolution , where Kashmiri Hindus are not > > involved...... The Kashmir problem would continue to exist and it more > vocal > > and more embarassment for Govt Of India. If GOI doesnt involve us , there > > would not be a solution. We may not be having the might , but we would be > a > > pain for them. > > > > Shivam : Pls quote law everywhere . When it comes down to Kashmiri > > separatist, you almost endrose a further partition of India and at the > same > > time you forget the resoltion passed in the parliament about Jammu & > > Kashmir. > > Do I need to remind you of that ? > > > > Warm regards > > > > Pawan > > > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 9:08 PM, shivam at kafila.org > > wrote: > >> > >> You see nothing wrong, why trouble Hindus at all? Hindutva 101: Create a > >> false bogey of Muslims troubling Hindus, Muslims multiplying etc., and > in > >> the name of defence mount your offence. > >> > >> Tell me, if somebody in Kashmir was to say cut hands of Indians who > >> trouble you, will Pawa Durani still say what's wrong with that? Why > trouble > >> Kashmiris at all? Will you still say the leader was just delivering it > for > >> his constituency. > >> > >> And he said a lot more. > >> > >> What's wrong is that inflammatory, communal statemnets like these are > >> punishable by law. Law Mr Durani? Indian Constitution? That same hing > whose > >> "full flow" you desire in J&K? > >> > >> shivam > >> > >> > >> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani > >> wrote: > >>> > >>> Sir, > >>> > >>> If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those > >>> hands which trouble hindus. > >>> > >>> As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing > hindu > >>> party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all > >>> delivering > >>> to his constituency . > >>> > >>> And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why > >>> trouble > >>> hindus at all... ? > >>> > >>> Regards > >>> > >>> Pawan > >>> > >>> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > >>> wrote: > >>> > >>> > Dear Inder > >>> > > >>> > I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do > you > >>> > have > >>> > any access to that? > >>> > > >>> > I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on > >>> > TV > >>> > but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what > >>> > context. > >>> > > >>> > Hope you can oblige. > >>> > > >>> > If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to > contest > >>> > the > >>> > elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he > should > >>> > suffer much much heavier penalties. > >>> > > >>> > Kshmendra > >>> > > >>> > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim wrote: > >>> > > >>> > From: Inder Salim > >>> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear > >>> > contrast > >>> > To: "reader-list" > >>> > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM > >>> > > >>> > Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for > >>> > coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on > >>> > camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ). > >>> > Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun > >>> > Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to > >>> > gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections > >>> > after this incident. > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim > >>> > wrote: > >>> > > > >>> > > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region > in > >>> > > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was > >>> > > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish > >>> > > family > >>> > > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938: > >>> > > > >>> > > Stalin Epigram > >>> > > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us, > >>> > > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard, > >>> > > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue, > >>> > > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander. > >>> > > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs, > >>> > > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights. > >>> > > His cockroach whiskers are laughing, > >>> > > And his boot tops shine. > >>> > > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs – > >>> > > He plays with the services of half-men. > >>> > > Who warble, or miaow, or moan. > >>> > > He alone pushes and prods. > >>> > > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes, > >>> > > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye. > >>> > > When he has an execution it's a special treat, > >>> > > And the Ossetian chest swells. > >>> > > > >>> > > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine > >>> > > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his > >>> > > words dance. > >>> > > > >>> > > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is > >>> > poetry > >>> > > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where > >>> > > poetry > >>> > > is so common a motive for murder?" > >>> > > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in > Kashmir > >>> > > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad, > >>> > > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar > >>> > > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing > death > >>> > > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history > >>> > > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the > >>> > > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the > >>> > > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy, > >>> > > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the > >>> > > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too > was > >>> > > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic > utterances > >>> > > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and > >>> > > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers. > >>> > > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember, > >>> > > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after > >>> > > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too > published > >>> > > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses > and > >>> > > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even. > >>> > > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer > >>> > > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves > killed > >>> > > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to > kill > >>> > > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have > >>> > > musicians > >>> > > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the > same > >>> > > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when > >>> > > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often > hear > >>> > > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how > >>> > > Indira > >>> > > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT > >>> > > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like > this > >>> > > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side > of > >>> > > the fence. > >>> > > > >>> > > With love and regards > >>> > > Inder salim > >>> > > > >>> > > > >>> > > > >>> > > -- > >>> > > > >>> > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > -- > >>> > > >>> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > >>> > _________________________________________ > >>> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >>> > Critiques & Collaborations > >>> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >>> > subscribe in > >>> > the subject header. > >>> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>> > List archive: > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > _________________________________________ > >>> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >>> > Critiques & Collaborations > >>> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >>> > subscribe in the subject header. > >>> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>> > List archive: > >>> _________________________________________ > >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >>> Critiques & Collaborations > >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >>> subscribe in the subject header. > >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 19:21:00 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:51:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <297995.17293.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   It is not ethical of you to ascribe to me views or positions that have not been articulated by me.   I gave no (what you have called) 'policy prescription' for those who enter surreptitiously or overstay their Visas. Did I?   I agreed with you that there should be a uniform policy towards refugees. I qualified that by breaking it up into categories. Those who seek and are granted refugee and those who, by their very definition are not as yet refugees and who ingress into India surreptitiously or  those who overstay their Visa.   Yes I did say that the 'uniform policy' for one kind should not be the same for the others. So there would be separate 'uniform policies' for all sets. You could disagree with this formulation  instead of losing control over your rationality.   Neither you nor I gave any kind of a  'policy prescription'.   Do you think it is correct on your part to ascribe to me a 'policy prescription' when I have not given any? I did not presume on your behalf any characteristics of your desired 'uniform policy', why should you presume on my behalf the characteristics of my differentiated 'uniform policies'   I did not even say that those who's ingress is surreptitious or those who Overstay should not be granted refugee status. Did I?   But let me say this, it would be sheer idiocy and stupidity for any country to have one single 'policy prescription' that is identically and equally applicable to a) those who seek and are granted refuge; b) those who enter the country surreptitiously and c) those who overstay their Visa   It would be equally idiotic and stupid for anyone to suggest that it be so.   Kshmendra    --- On Wed, 3/18/09, shivam at kafila.org wrote: From: shivam at kafila.org Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "Shivam V" , "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:17 PM Dear Kshmendra, You say, "If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa." Now Tibetans cross into India "surreptitiously" - that is without visas, escaping the watchful eyes of Chinese forces, bribing Nepali forces, and then they finally reach after a long journey in which people even lose lives. So according to your policy prescription you are against Tibetans being given refugee status, right? Secondly, the Pakistani Hindus come to India on short-term tourist visas which, as I mentioned, expire long before Indian red tape gives them Indian citizenship. So according to your policy prescription, Pakistani Hindus whose visas have expired should be deported? There must be at least fifty thousand such individuals in Indian territory... you must request Aditya Raj Kaul to carry out a campaign to deport them. best shivam On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Dear Shivam > > I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy towards refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted refuge. > > If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa. > > You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens of India. > > The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in an alien one. > > The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where they have none of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice. > > But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who find it impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the land of their heritage and culture and the land where they have the psychological support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves Internally Displaced. > > The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by forces of Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be understood. > > It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought about by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find most disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens in such instances. > > I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from villages to towns to cities. The State has failed them. > > It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that the State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that they are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered Internally Displaced in their own country. > > Kshmendra > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: > > From: Shivam V > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "sarai list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM > > Dear Kshmendra, > > Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, > there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India > continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went > to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 > that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred > thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and > organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This > shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most > literal sense > of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues > over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, > complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the > corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching > away' > jobs from Bihari labourers. > > Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is > very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive > manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports > expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports > from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, > like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the > 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful > eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu > refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. > > At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, > say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and > continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. > There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to > India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why > this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees > equally. > > This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in > India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. > > If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu > you're just > Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get > Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in > abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play > politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. > > I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee > law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of > the world equally. > > I hope you agree with me. > > best > shivam > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: > > > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > >      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > >  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > > JAGMOHAN SINGH > > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. > > > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in > visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on > Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination > of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe > out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. > > > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh > Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the > priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual > daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as > a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four > walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were > not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only > in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan > Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families > still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for > India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to > appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come > out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. > > > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > -- > mail at shivamvij dot com > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From dnyan21 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 19:33:33 2009 From: dnyan21 at yahoo.com (vaid theite) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:03:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... Message-ID: <941257.71015.qm@web30705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The points that Pavan and others are making are important and valid and we need to look thoroughly at class structure and its politics in media. 1. What makes one decide that a “class” supporting to Pink Chaddi is upper and others who are not supporting are upper middle class. 2. Is Pavan talking about ‘attitude’ white collar class or affluent class with money power? 3. I wonder if he has been confusing class with caste. Do you want to say that those who are supporting to anti-oppression protests for lowers lower caste people? 4. It really an issue of serious concern that protests don’t happen for Khairlanji. Everyone irrespective of class and caste is responsible. But, an issue remains where are those lower class/caste people who are “enlightened” with new era wealth or have reached one step “up” in a ladder by buying houses/flats in posh localities of cities with broadband connections? 5. It is true that media are biased. But important is to articulate the way in which they are biased. IF we don’t articulate, we shouldn’t be surprised with Swathi’s observation. 6. There is the class hierarchy that works. To site an example, in a campaign of “Fearless Karnataka”, initially, their draft of memorandum was an interesting read. It said it was a protest by “tax-payers”- Sir, we are tax payers of Bangalore …so it is a duty of police to give us security….etc…this kind of statement, one can understand was a very much class based….corporate….etc…that suited to IT –pink slip city of Bangalore. Now, thankfully, they have changed it saying that “It is the core responsibility of the state and city police to ensure that public spaces are kept safe for all. Women across class barriers – from powrakarmikas to garment factory workers to students and young professionals in the corporate sector – have today become vulnerable targets on the streets of Karnataka.” Here also, the protest ‘needs’ to explain their benefactors. --- On Sat, 3/14/09, swathi shivanand wrote: > From: swathi shivanand > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another cause, not pink but blood red... > To: "sarai list" > Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009, 5:17 AM > while agreeing with a large number of > issues raised in the two emails, > namely that of the class nature of the media, the horrific > incidents of > ragging demeaning human dignity, the under-reportage of > atrocities against > dalits..... > > but to priviliege one kind of oppression over the other, to > say that one is > more important than the other is doing a disservice to > understanding the > nature and operation of powerful, oppressive forces. it is > also to say that > one's oppression is worse than the other's... and one > definitely cannot > hierarchise oppression, can we? > > so while calling for support, perhaps we ask for support > based on the > historicity and nature of the incident involved, rather > than demeaning other > forms of protest? > > swathi > > On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 12:14 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > > > http://mohan-sinha.blogspot.com/ > > > > Here are two issues, both equally relevant when it > comes to our fundamental > > rights - but see how we perceive them. The first is > the ‘pink chaddi’ > > campaign against Muthalik and the Ram Sene. The second > is a campaign to end > > ragging, by the family of Aman Kachroo, the student > who was beaten to death > > by his seniors at a medical school in Himachal > Pradesh. > > > > The ‘Pink Chaddi’ group was started on Facebook > and had 50,000+ members in > > less than a week. The second, ‘Justice for Aman > > Kachroo< > > http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56564914348#/group.php?gid=57342453306 > > >’ > > has just 1607 and quite a few Facebook members, > including your truly have > > been asking members to join the campaign but with > little response. So, why > > is there empathy for pink chaddi and apathy for Aman > Kachroo? Was the ‘pink > > chaddi’ campaign more up-market than the reason for > which a 19-year-old had > > to give up his life? Is human life worth so little to > us. > > > > Children don’t deserve such a death – hell, no one > deserves such a death. > > But time and again, children die or attempt suicide > unable to bear the > > ragging at their institutions, and the authorities > first attempt a > > cover-up; > > then try to taint the victim’s character, and accept > the crime only when > > the > > shit hits the fan. > > > > A cousin, who studied at one of the premier technology > institutes in the > > country in the 1980s, told me how juniors were put > through the grind when > > they joined. When seniors were playing cards in one of > the rooms, and > > wanted > > to smoke, the juniors were ordered to become > ‘ashtrays’ – they were > > supposed > > to sit on their haunches next to the seniors, with > their MOUTHS OPEN so > > that > > ash could be tipped in their mouth. Ouch! To those > with a morbid sense of > > fun and fair play, this may be much better than being > beaten to death, but > > that’s no consolation. > > > > Now of course, premier institutions like the one > referred to above have > > clamped down on ragging and students who indulge in it > are told to drop a > > year and come back next year to continue the > curriculum. Freshers are now > > given right of way and seniors usually keep a safe > distance from them for > > fear of being reprimanded. Now it’s the freshers who > are rude with the > > seniors! And this was conveyed to me by a student at > IIT Powai. Sadly, in > > all this what is lost is the spirit of camaraderie and > friendship. But I > > guess, to avoid incidents like the one that happened > with Aman Kachroo and, > > just yesterday, with the girl in Andhra Pradesh who > tried to commit suicide > > because she couldn’t take the ragging, these steps > are necessary. > > > > So maybe it's time to see beyond pink chaddis and pub > going loose women, > > and > > take up the fight for Aman Kachroo’s family and also > ensure that no kids, > > whether yours or mine, lose their lives? > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 19 20:21:14 2009 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:51:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Is India secular In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <768287.17237.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shivam   You seem to have made a habit of  giving your own convoluted interpretation of something that has not even been stated by me. It is a disgusting habit. It does not speak well of you as a person or your professional capabilities.   Why is this so? You seem to be a person of reasonable intellect. What drives you to this deviant manner of conversing? Are you so blinded by preconceived notions about a person that you can neither think nor act in a rational manner?   If I examine or analyse or state various positions held on an issue that does not necessarily mean that I subscribe to any one of those. You shouId learn to make this differentiation. You most of all should be able to appreciate such objectivity since you are supposed to be a journalist (by your own admission)   Also dismissing something I have said as 'bunkum' or 'ludicrous' is only a reflection of your own inability to recognise the possibility of points of view that might be different from yours and could be as pertinent as you think your own are.   Actually I am tiring of trying to have a rational conversation with you. Maybe you only deserve abuse.   Patience I tell myself.   Will you please explain to me:   - Where and how did I justify the slogan "Let Muslims go to Pakistan". I stated (in the context of the discussion) that it was an attitude that existed. Does stating the existence of such an attitude in India mean that I subscribe to it? Do you disagree that such an attitude exists? The context in which I mentioned this attitude was that there does exist a bias against Muslim refugees and was trying to analyse the "why" of it.   - You are free to disagree with my contention that "  the manner in which Islam has been propagated and is still being propagated combined with actions in the name of Islam do not make Muslims the most favoured people that would be welcomed with open arms in any part of the world. Muslims are suspect."       Your simply dismissing that as "bunkum" is not an argument against my contention but a meaningless childish retort. Makes me question your intellect and attitude towards having a meaningful conversation.   - Again, your calling my statement "India is not a Nation State" as being 'ludicrous' is of no consequence unless you tell me why it is 'ludicrous'. You should consider this that maybe you are indoctrinated into thinking in a particular manner and/or taking for granted some notions that are popular amongst some. Maybe you need to open your mind and get out of compartmentalised thinking. Preconceived opinions bereft of any rationalised thought seem to be your habit.   - With your line thrown at me "Go and make your Akhand Bharat first and then we will talk" you outdid yourself in your own foolishness. Tis so because I do not subscribe to that concept or similar Hindutvavaadi precepts. You can understand how distasteful I found your words   There are other comments you have made. I agree with some and disagree with some. On some I would have liked a further exchange.    You will also understand that with this recognition of your prejudiced attitude which prevents you from registering what actually has been said one questions the spending of time in trying to have a meaningful interaction with you.   Oh! I forgot that you pre-empted me on that. You have already banished me with your parting words:   """""  But one can't even have such a conversation with you when you say such ludicrous things as India is not a nation-state. Go and make your Akhand Bharat and then we'll talk. """"   Such a loss to me.   Kshmendra             --- On Wed, 3/18/09, shivam at kafila.org wrote: From: shivam at kafila.org Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Is India secular To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Cc: "Shivam V" , "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:56 PM Dear Kshmendra, What I meant to say was that Pakistani Muslims won't be able to imagine getting Indian citizenship the way Pakistani Hindus can. So perhaps this was more complicated than Hindu-Muslim, it is India-Pakistan at the same time. But my statement stands because the Pakistani Hindus who come all know through their relatives who are already here as to where in Delhi they have to go and file aplications, despite knowing only Sindhi and Urdu, for Indian citizenship and the long process of naturalisation follows with a lot of harassment and red tape. (Praise be upon Manto.) The rest don't have even this privilege, except Afghan Sikhs. So that's why I wonder if this bodes well for a country that claims to be secular. So while this may not really be surprising, it is certainly detestable. Perhaps not for you but certainly for me. The two reasons you cite, one is history and the second is bunkum. I am shocked to see you justify the Hindutva slogan 'Let-Muslims-go-to-Pakistan'. As for Constitutional ideals, if they have to be made light of let's just throw the book away and have anarchy. Ideals must also always be striven for. They may not be fully achieved but must always be tried to be fully achieved. The 'selective secularism' business is false propaganda and I am not going to waste time arguing with you about it. Nor am I interested in wasting my time in making religion-wise tables of NRIs and those giving up Indian citizenship, but I share your perception that motherland-loving Hindus would top the list, not least because of their population. Yes, Indian Muslims haven't been running to Pakistan for citizenship but if people like Modi, Varun Gandhi and the general RSS goons have their way that too will happen one day. Varun Gandhi, who says he is afraid of Muslim names, will then live in peace and Hindus will achieve nirvana. Yes, Bangladeshi Muslims who do come to India, those Bangladeshi Muslims who come illegaly for economic reasons, those who came legally during the war, Indian Bengali Muslims who came as Partition refugees, Indian Bengali Muslims who were always from the west of Bengal - yes, asking all of them about how secular India is and how communal some Hindus are would definitely be a good idea. The same question should also be put to Bangladeshi Hindus. (We're agreeing too much these days.) As for the freedom movement in Kashmir, which has both theological and secular underpinnings, I support it because of the values with which India was created and the number one value is that of freedom. I think that if a people want to be free they should be free, if a people want to live in an Islamic state they should be allowed to do so, if they want to live in a Hindu state they should be allowed to do so. I want to live in a secular-nation state, and so do most Indians. In Kashmir, opinion on this is divided, as to what they want, and to say that the movement is 100% Islamic is far from the truth, as if the issue is one of the Book and the Gun and not regional identity, Indian atrocities, etc. More importantly, I think that the letter of the Indian constitution should be implemented in Kashmir, and the special status of Kashmir in the Indian Constitution be restored, as it has been rendered meaningless because of the Army occupation and AFSPA, the special Army law. But one can't even have such a conversation with you when you say such ludicrous things as India is not a nation-state. Go and make your Akhand Bharat and then we'll talk. best shivam On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 5:04 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Shivam > > I wanted to tackle this issue separately (too many thoughts muddle me up) > > You wrote "......no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to India  ......... The reason why this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country" > > That is confusing since you had written prior to it " Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and continue to pour into India" > > Perhaps the point you were trying to make is that there is a bias in India against "Muslim" Refugees. > > Even in the absence of data, purely on an anecdotal or on your "I feel" basis I would not be surprised if it is true. It should not surprise you either. It is only to be expected. > > Two factors that certainly would contribute to any such attitude towards Muslim Refugees are: > > - The partitioning of India and Pakistan being carved out for Muslims. It should not be difficult to appreciate that in the minds of many Indians it was an abuse of Bharat and that Islam (read Muslims) having been made welcome in Bharat ended up stealing part of Bharat. One need not agree or disagree with such attitudes or argue over interpretations or challenge them on the basis of precedential history. Such attitudes exist. "Now that Muslims have their own land let them stay there (or even) leave India and go there" > > - The second factor is that the manner in which Islam has been propagated and is still being propagated combined with actions in the name of Islam do not make Muslims the most favoured people that would be welcomed with open arms in any part of the world. Muslims are suspect. One could argue about it and argue over it but that does not change the current reality of the attitude towards Muslims. Ironically Muslims are even suspect in the eyes of other Muslims (obvious references). > > That still leaves the question "Is India secular?". How can one answer that. > > In any country the Constitution is the Ideal. It is the Vision Document. It is the Mission Statement. Nothing in the Constitution of India comes readily to my mind that would suggest that India is not a secular country. On the contrary we are all familiar with the whine that there is 'selective secularism' in India that favours the minorities (read Muslims as the target). > > Agreed that actual practice may not be very close to the desired Ideal. But I do not think it is very far either. > > It would be interesting (especially for you as a journalist) to source some data that might give us some guidelines. We need to find out the numbers of Indian Non-Resident Expatriates in various parts of the world, the tabulation of this data religion wise and additionally  for comparison the religion-wise break-up of those who have surrendered their Indian Citizenship. > > My observations and anecdotal experiences (of over 20 years) suggest to me that from amongst those who surrender their Indian Citizenship, Muslims are the lowest percentage-wise (of those who have lived as Non-Resident expatriates). Christians I would reckon are the the highest percentage-wise. > > Even if this is not correct, there is no significantly noticeable incidence of Indian Muslims surrendering their citizenship in percentages far out-stripping others. > > I will recognise here that the appropriate educational qualifications make it easier for Non-Muslims (who are generally better educated) to emigrate to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada where you can 'buy' citizenship. I could not swear by it though given that the Kerala Muslim is as educated as the Kerala Hindu, the Andhra Muslim is as educated or uneducated as the Andhra Hindu and the Punjabi Hindu (predominantly unskilled and semi-skilled labour is quite uneducated) > > There are Indian Muslim NRIs who are humongously rich, who could emigrate with not just family and clan but complete villages  and yet there is not one such example known to me. > > Interestingly, from amongst the Muslim NRIs, who do emigrate to other countries, it would only be the rarest of rare cases who shifts to Pakistan. (Generally the exceptions are those who get married to Pakistanis and have no choice.) > > Somewhere in all of that, to some degree, might be the answer to "Is India secular?"  One could also ask the Bangladeshi Muslims who 'pour' into India. > > I cannot help asking you a question. Dont you think that there is a hypocrisy inherent in someone who is concerned about the 'secular' credentials of India and simultaneously is supportive of or sympathetic towards the "Azaadi" movement in Kashmir which when shorn of the deceitful lies describing it as being elsewise is simply an Islamic Movement? > > I would ask a similar question of those who pontificate philosophy denigrating Nation States (criticizing India although India is not a Nation State) and at the same time support or are sympathetic towards the creation of a Nation State (Islamic) under the Kashmir "Azaadi" Movement. > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: > > From: Shivam V > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "sarai list" > Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM > > Dear Kshmendra, > > Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, > there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India > continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I went > to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 > that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred > thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and > organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This > shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most > literal sense > of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition continues > over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, > complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, the > corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them 'snatching > away' > jobs from Bihari labourers. > > Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is > very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive > manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports > expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports > from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, > like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the > 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful > eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu > refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. > > At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, > say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and > continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. > There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to > India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why > this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like India > is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees > equally. > > This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in > India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. > > If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu > you're just > Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get > Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in > abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play > politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. > > I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee > law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all parts of > the world equally. > > I hope you agree with me. > > best > shivam > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: >> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > appeared in: >> >> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >>      http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >> >> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >> >  http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >> JAGMOHAN SINGH >> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >> >> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children had > crossed over to india few days back. >> >> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get extension in > visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in Amritsar on > Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >> >> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination > of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In such > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our female > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can breathe > out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >> >> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >> >> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. Even Sikh > Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since none of the > priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required necessary ritual > daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive magistrates as > a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >> >> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were always > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist people. > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in the four > walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since girls were > not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >> >> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for   women to move out, if gets chance only > in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In Pakistan > Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous Hindu families > still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to get visa for > India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa everybody has to > appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is difficult to come > out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. >> >> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > -- > mail at shivamvij dot com > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From shuddha at sarai.net Thu Mar 19 20:29:44 2009 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:29:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <297995.17293.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <297995.17293.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <661E2763-F994-4C77-9F96-B327E7C139C5@sarai.net> Dear Kshmendra, You said, > But let me say this, it would be sheer idiocy and stupidity for any > country to have one single 'policy prescription' that is > identically and equally applicable to a) those who seek and are > granted refuge; b) those who enter the country surreptitiously and > c) those who overstay their Visa The qualifications suggested by you are relevant as long as there are visas. Why do you think visas and immigration controls will forever define and regulate acts of travel. After all, if money, trade and capital are expected to move freely in the world, so should labour, and people in general, Actually, the systems and regulations to do with passports and visas on a general scale are pretty recent in human history. If, for thousands of years, we have had several functioning societies that did not regulate entry, or lay down conditions for the entry and stay of migrants, then there is no reason for us to assume that social life would automatically suffer some catastrophe if the regime of visas and passports simply withers away. The city of Delhi is maintained as it is by the labour of thousands of so called illegal Bangladeshi migrants. They perform different forms of domestic labour, run food stalls, ply rickshaws, collect and sort waste, generate wealth and contribute in thousands of different ways to the economy and the ecology of the city. Any attempt to forcibly deport them from the city would make the city suffer. I cannot see what sense there is at all in restricting the freedom of peaceful movement, for whatever reason. The nature of all our cultures testifies to the rich contributions that have been made by all kinds of migrants, nomads, transients and travellers. Why cancel these possibilities in the present and the future. What after all, is wrong if people contribute with their labour and sociality to societies and spaces that they were not necessarily born into? best, Shuddha > Your differentiation bet On 19-Mar-09, at 7:21 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Shivam > > It is not ethical of you to ascribe to me views or positions that > have not been articulated by me. > > I gave no (what you have called) 'policy prescription' for those > who enter surreptitiously or overstay their Visas. Did I? > > I agreed with you that there should be a uniform policy towards > refugees. I qualified that by breaking it up into categories. Those > who seek and are granted refugee and those who, by their very > definition are not as yet refugees and who ingress into India > surreptitiously or those who overstay their Visa. > > Yes I did say that the 'uniform policy' for one kind should not be > the same for the others. So there would be separate 'uniform > policies' for all sets. You could disagree with this formulation > instead of losing control over your rationality. > > Neither you nor I gave any kind of a 'policy prescription'. > > Do you think it is correct on your part to ascribe to me a 'policy > prescription' when I have not given any? I did not presume on your > behalf any characteristics of your desired 'uniform policy', why > should you presume on my behalf the characteristics of my > differentiated 'uniform policies' > > I did not even say that those who's ingress is surreptitious or > those who Overstay should not be granted refugee status. Did I? > > But let me say this, it would be sheer idiocy and stupidity for any > country to have one single 'policy prescription' that is > identically and equally applicable to a) those who seek and are > granted refuge; b) those who enter the country surreptitiously and > c) those who overstay their Visa > > It would be equally idiotic and stupid for anyone to suggest that > it be so. > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Wed, 3/18/09, shivam at kafila.org wrote: > > From: shivam at kafila.org > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, > India grants Visa > To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > Cc: "Shivam V" , "sarai list" list at sarai.net> > Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 9:17 PM > > Dear Kshmendra, > > You say, "If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy > should also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a > surreptitious manner or those who overstay the period allowed in their > Visa." > > Now Tibetans cross into India "surreptitiously" - that is without > visas, escaping the watchful eyes of Chinese forces, bribing Nepali > forces, and then they finally reach after a long journey in which > people even lose lives. So according to your policy prescription you > are against Tibetans being given refugee status, right? > > Secondly, the Pakistani Hindus come to India on short-term tourist > visas which, as I mentioned, expire long before Indian red tape gives > them Indian citizenship. So according to your policy prescription, > Pakistani Hindus whose visas have expired should be deported? There > must be at least fifty thousand such individuals in Indian > territory... you must request Aditya Raj Kaul to carry out a campaign > to deport them. > > best > shivam > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > > wrote: >> >> Dear Shivam >> >> I will agree with you that India should follow a uniform policy >> towards > refugees from any part of the world who seek refuge and are granted > refuge. >> >> If it is suggested so, I will not agree that such a policy should > also apply to those who's ingress into India is in a surreptitious > manner > or those who overstay the period allowed in their Visa. >> >> You remarked on it in passing, but I would also agree that a uniform > policy should be followed towards all Internally Displaced citizens > of India. >> >> The sad part however is that people are driven by circumstances to > disconnect themselves from their own environment and take refuge in > an alien > one. >> >> The magnitude of the desperation is the most significant in those who > leave their own country and seek refuge in another country where > they have none > of the rights of a citizen. They know it and yet they make the choice. >> >> But the same character of desperation also bears upon those who >> find it > impossible to continue living in the land of their forefathers, the > land of > their heritage and culture and the land where they have the > psychological > support of being amongst family and friends and render themselves > Internally > Displaced. >> >> The Internal Displacement to some degree forced upon people by >> forces of > Nature resulting in floods, famines, tsunamis, earthquakes can be > understood. >> >> It is the Internal Displacement of people due to factors brought >> about > by Political, Social, Religious, Corporate machinations that I find > most > disturbing. The State has failed in it's duty towards the citizens > in such > instances. >> >> I recognise, in some ways the characteristics of such (not by forces > of Nature) Internal Displacement in the thousands who migrate from > villages to > towns to cities. The State has failed them. >> >> It is therefore equally and perhaps more important in my eyes that >> the > State provides such a protective environment for it's citizens that > they > are not 'driven' to seek refuge in another country, or to be rendered > Internally Displaced in their own country. >> >> Kshmendra >> >> >> --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shivam V wrote: >> >> From: Shivam V >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, >> India > grants Visa >> To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com >> Cc: "sarai list" >> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 1:01 AM >> >> Dear Kshmendra, >> >> Thanks for posting this and bringing our attention to it. However, >> there is nothing unusual about it. Pakistani Hindu migration to India >> continues on an almost daily basis. I once did a story on them. I >> went >> to the Bhati mines area of Chattarpur in Delhi and met a family of 11 >> that had arrived just two days ago. There are at least a hundred >> thousand Pakistani Hindus in Rajasthan, and with some leadership and >> organisation some of them have been getting Indian citizenship. This >> shows how the "long" Partition "continues" in the most >> literal sense >> of the word "continues". This is just like the Partition > continues >> over the unsettled dispute over the Kashmir Valley and the constant, >> complaining allegations about "Bangaldeshis" who come to India, > the >> corresponding issues of "vote bank politics" and them > 'snatching >> away' >> jobs from Bihari labourers. >> >> Firstly, the situtaion of the Pakistani Hindu refugees in India is >> very bad. Indian red tape deals with them in the most insensitive >> manner, makes sure that not only their visas but also passports >> expire, and then expects them to have the money to get new passports >> from the Pakistan High Commission, which is most uncooprative. So, >> like most refugees, they just disappear in the mass of the >> 'unorganised sector' of the Indian economy, away from the watchful >> eyes of an Indian state that couldn't care less. Most Pakistani Hindu >> refugees are from Sindh as another posting on this list shows. >> >> At the same time, being Hindus they still have it much easier than, >> say the Afghan Muslims who continue to flee the same Taliban and >> continue to pour into India and work in the same unorganised sector. >> There is of course no question of Muslims from Peshawar fleeing to >> India despite India having more Muslims than Pakistan. The reason why >> this causes me some discomfort is because it makes it sound like >> India >> is a Hindu country and not a secular country that treats all refugees >> equally. >> >> This discrimination exists within internally displaced refugees in >> India as Shuddhabrata Sengupta once showed on this list. >> >> If you're Tibetan you're god; if you're Bangladeshi Hindu >> you're just >> Hindu and thus Indian; if you're Afghan Sikh you will easily get >> Indian citizenship; if you're Sri Lankan Tamil you will live in >> abominable conditions in refugee camps and the Tamilians will play >> politics in your name but never do anything for your plight. >> >> I think it is important that India passes a uniform national refugee >> law and policy and shows compassion towards refugees from all >> parts of >> the world equally. >> >> I hope you agree with me. >> >> best >> shivam >> >> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:43 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > >> wrote: >>> Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) >>> have > also >> appeared in: >>> >>> - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" >>> > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL >>> >>> - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" >>> >> > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/ > news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi >>> >>> Kshmendra >>> >>> >>> "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" >>> JAGMOHAN SINGH >>> Saturday, 07 March 2009 >>> >>> AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu > migrants >> from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, >> particularly in >> tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three >> children > had >> crossed over to india few days back. >>> >>> The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They > carried the >> nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > extension in >> visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > Amritsar on >> Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. >>> >>> Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan > said, >> “We were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the > domination >> of strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel >> Government. In > such >> circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > female >> members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India >> we can > breathe >> out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in India”. >>> >>> Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India > to >> allow us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go >> back > in the >> hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. >>> >>> Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families > would >> never prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to >> settle here >> permanently and expect that Government of India would never >> disappoint the >> Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > Pakistan”. >>> >>> Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar > said, >> “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over >> by the >> fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire >> property. > Even Sikh >> Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, >> since none > of the >> priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required >> necessary > ritual >> daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local executive > magistrates as >> a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >>> >>> Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the >> needful for us so that we could settle down in India and could >> reestablish > our >> business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. >>> >>> Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of >> relief while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we >> were > observing >> close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > always >> worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > people. >> Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined >> with in > the four >> walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, >> since girls > were >> not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. >>> >>> Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of >> Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets > chance only >> in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In >> Pakistan >> Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous >> Hindu > families >> still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as unable to >> get > visa for >> India which they were facing acute hardship. Since for visa >> everybody has > to >> appear before the Indian High Commission and for women it is >> difficult to > come >> out from house to move out from the tribal area”, she quipped. >>> >>> http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >> >> >> >> -- >> mail at shivamvij dot com >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 22:54:20 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:24:20 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <761773.57988.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <5af37bb0903181309rfea8fb9w13c025dd5a26f257@mail.gmail.com> <761773.57988.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0903191024n77967eefoc6421dddf9c56f4a@mail.gmail.com> yes that message got buried, and i missed it too. thanks for reiterating. best. y On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 1:03 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Yasir > > Perhaps you missed seeing it; in an ensuing conversation I had written to > Taha: > > """"" These are just 35 Hindus compared to many a thousand Muslims > (reportedly) who have emigrated from those areas (to other parts of > Pakistan) for reasons that are similar to those that the '35 Hindus' have > articulated."""""" > > That was preceded by: > > """"" the specifics of the "35 Hindus migrating" do not suggest that they > were driven out but that they were overwhelmed and intimated by the > increasing sway of the Taliban. The changed environment of 'kya tha aur kya > ho gaya hai' (how it used to be and how it has become now). And yet one > comes across 'bites' from Hindus in those areas (FATA etc) pronouncing how > happier they are under the Taliban. """"""" > > Take care > > Kshmendra > > > --- On *Thu, 3/19/09, yasir ~يا سر * wrote: > > From: yasir ~يا سر > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India > grants Visa > To: "sarai list" > Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 1:39 AM > > apart from the hindus, 400,00 - 700,000 people have also left the area > during the last few months, so. they are other humans in the area. > best > > yasir > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:13 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > > Versions of the news item reproduced below (from PunjabNewsline) have also > > appeared in: > > > > - ZEENEWS "Pak Hindu families seekl India citizenship" > > http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=203968&sid=HEL > > > > - DAWN "Fata’s 35 Hindus migrate to India" > > > >http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/fatas-35-hindus-migrate-to-india--bi > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > "Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa" > > JAGMOHAN SINGH > > Saturday, 07 March 2009 > > > > AMRITSAR: Indian Government has granted one year visa to 35 Hindu migrants > > from Pakistan who faced threat to their lives in Pakistan, particularly in > > tribal areas. The group including 16 men, 16 females and three children > had > > crossed over to india few days back. > > > > The Pak Hindus narrated their woes to Indian authorities. They carried the > > nightmare, experienced Immediately after they went to Delhi to get > extension > > in visa and permission to stay in Amritsar. All the families arrived in > > Amritsar on Saturday after obtaining visa for one year. > > > > Jagdish Sharma resident of tribal area near Peshawar in Pakistan said, > “We > > were living in Pakistan under severe fear psychosis due to the domination > of > > strong group of Taliban people who are running parallel Government. In > such > > circumstances, Hindus and Sikh families were not safe, especially our > female > > members. We preferred to migrate in India, at least here in India we can > > breathe out with peace and calm mind since our families are safe in > India”. > > > > Adding further he said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to > allow > > us stay here in India permanently, since we don’t want to go back in the > > hellish atmosphere where there is no life security”. > > > > Jagdish Sharma said, “All the 35 members of four Hindu families would > never > > prefer to return to Pakistan. Now we have intention to settle here > > permanently and expect that Government of India would never disappoint the > > Pakistan based Hindus who arrived here after being plundered in > Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari Lal resident of Orkzai nearly 180 kilometers from Peshawar said, > > “I was running my grocery shop there which was forcibly took over by the > > fundamentalist people who also took possession of our entire property. > Even > > Sikh Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) as well as Hindu Temples were not safe, since > > none of the priest of respective religions dare to stay there for required > > necessary ritual daily prayers. Pakistan Government has appointed local > > executive magistrates as a care taker for religious shrines in the tribal > > area of Pakistan”. > > > > Hardwari said, “We strongly urge the Government of India to do the > needful > > for us so that we could settle down in India and could reestablish our > > business here as there is no chance for us to go back to Pakistan”. > > > > Rekha a female migrant from Peshawar said, “ We have heaved sigh of > relief > > while reaching on Indian territory, since every morning we were observing > > close encounter to death as life is highly unsecured. My parents were > always > > worried about me and my brothers due to domination of fundamentalist > people. > > Being a girl I Never went out of my house and remained confined with in > the > > four walls of our house. I never got privilege to obtain education, since > > girls were not allowed to attend school in the tribal area of Pakistan”. > > > > Adding further Rekha said, “There was no life in the tribal area of > > Pakistan, as there was no liberty for women to move out, if gets chance > > only in Burqa (clad) while covering face and body with black gown. In > > Pakistan Taliban considers Hindu community very meek and feeble. Numerous > > Hindu families still were languishing in the tribal area of Pakistan as > > unable to get visa for India which they were facing acute hardship. Since > > for visa everybody has to appear before the Indian High Commission and for > > women it is difficult to come out from house to move out from the tribal > > area”, she quipped. > > > > http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/15562/40/ > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 20 09:02:29 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:02:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "ME", SHEETLESVARA - THE SHEETALNATH Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903192032p6cee01dfs4d2fc4166e23ffec@mail.gmail.com> " The article is about SheetalNath - The place of gathering for Kashmiri Pandits" ‘Me’, Sheetlesvara - The Sheetalnath English translation of the original paper written in Hindi by Dr. Triloki Nath Ganjoo In Sheetal Nath rendered by S. N. Pandit Several thousand years ago ‘my’ present day boundaries formed the edges of small lake whose one end lay as far as the Brihad Vihara, the modern day Badiyar. To cross this stretch, a foot-over bridge comprising of wooden planks was made by the members of the Razdan clan. To ‘my’ north is the temple of Mangalaesvara Bhairava situated on a mound. But nay, it may be more appropriate to call it a place of belief and faith worthy of devotion and worship. Perhaps, past seventeen years, all of you may have forgotten ‘me’; but trust me, even for a single moment none among you has receded from my thoughts, for ‘I’ am the forlorn and neglected historical precinct of the Sathu Sheetalnath Bhairav. About two thousand five hundred years ago ‘my’ geographical location and the topography of the nearby locales was interestingly very different and beautiful. On ‘my’ south-west stood the magnificent and imposing temple of Gourisvari where the festive celebration was held on the third day of the moon-lit fortnight during the month of January. However, after 1390 A.D. the temple was never to be seen again! Only a heap of stone rubble now marks its location. The place now called Gowkadal is but a reminder to perpetuate the hallowed memory of this Gouri temple. Nearby flows Chuntkual, the Candrakuliya of olden times and seen as the outlet to modern Dal Lake, formerly known as Mahasarit or the Satadal, and flowing further in the west meets the river Vitasta at Dubhuja, presently known as Duboonch. To ‘my’ south across the Candrakuliya lies the locality of Makshikasvamin, the present day Maisama. This is the abode of Anandaesvara Bhairav. Nearby, between the eight and eleventh century, on the bank of the Vitasta river stood a great centre of knowledge and learning. It was here Acharaya Abhinave Gupta, in the temple of Bhairava, composed his devotional hymns in the praise of the Lord. To ‘my’ north is the temple of Mangalaesvara Bhairava situated on a mound. But nay, it may be more appropriate to call it a place of belief and faith worthy of devotion and worship. Around it spreads a small lake called Bhattarika Nadvali known presently by the modern name of Brari Nambal. About two thousand years ago, the then king of Kashmir, Pravarasena, erected here a strong embankment to secure his capital city Pravesa Nagri from the devastating flood waters of Candrakuliya, the present day Chuntkual. This embankment erected by him stretched nearly a mile long and originated on the right side of Durga Galika, the modern day Drugian onward right of Chuntkual rivulet reaching right up to the Gourisvari temple or the modern Gowkadal. As a result, the raised ground to the north of the embankment came to be known by the name of Sathu. Right in ‘my’ front, towards the west above the riverbed, came up the locality of Ganit Vihara presently called as Ganpatyar. The Brihad Vihara or the modern Badiyar in the north is an ancient habitation. Several thousand years ago ‘my’ present day boundaries formed the edges of small lake whose one end lay as far as the Brihad Vihara, the modern day Badiyar. To cross this stretch, a foot-over bridge comprising of wooden planks was made by the members of the Razdan clan. It was called as Razdan Kadal. In the south-west ‘my’ lake-waters spread from Gowkadal to Basant Bagh. In those days all the present day habitated areas beyond the Rattan Rani Hospital did not exist. Only the beautiful lake waters spread in the beyond. Those who loved ‘me’ called this stretch as Gundahlad Math which as a result of colloquia corruption of the tongue is now known as Gundahlamar. Not too far away to ‘my’ south-west lies an island spot called Kashram Teng. During the eighth century this place was inhabited by the Brahmans of the Kaushik Gotra who had come here from Central India. Here, they laid many magnificent gardens. As a result people called these gardens as ‘Kaushik Retreats’ or simply the ‘Kaushik Gardens’. The area being situated on a mound, as such subsequently came to be called as ‘Tengs’ due to the aberrations of the tongue. Off-course, as Sheetlesvara Sheetalnath, ‘I’ do not count among the eight Bhairava Lords, but for thousands of years i.e. right from the beginning of the auspicious Kashmir Samvat era, Kashmir has been a seat of the followers of the Sakta religion. The Nilamatapurana too attests this belief by attributing the name of Kashmir as Parvati Taej. In the olden times all the ascetics of Kashmir before beginning their penance would pay a visit to ‘my precinct’ to attain equanimity of their physical mental and expounded attributes. It is for these reasons. From times immemorial to 1990 A.D., ‘I’ have become a seat of action for the intellectual and social reformists. The Gowd Brahmans of India now called as Gandhyas have been my staunch followers. Acharaya Sukhananda Shastri had given the ancient holy scroll of ‘my’ autobiographical text to late Pandit Tara Chand and his brother. In fact the way that led to ‘my precinct’ passed through an adjacent lane where they lived. On a mound nearby ‘me’ stood a temple of dedicated Bhairava architecture which in 1766 A.D. was raised to the ground by the Afghans of Kabul. Even now, the strewn debris of it lies buried at the spot. The event dates to the time when ascetics and sages, on way to the Amaresvara pilgrimage, would assemble at the high ground situated in the north. It is probable that religious intolerance and bigotry for such a tradition may have led to the destruction of the temple here and is attested by the fact that whenever Siddhakak Ji Khounmashi would offer his routine prayers to ‘me’, he invariably recited the verse: Sheetlaesvara aarambya amaresvara pooryantam meaning from sheetalnath to amaranth. Following land settlement and survey of the Kashmir Valley by the English civil servant Mr. Lawrence, total land, measuring seven hundred Kanals, was appropriated to my campus and the file which retained this record was available in the archives till 1947 A.D. Occasionally, ‘I’ would reassert the claim and remain reassured by verification of the land appropriated to ‘me’. However, regretfully, ‘I’ recall the unlawful annexation of my land measuring nearly three to four hundred Kanals by the erstwhile Dogra minister late Paras Ram and his family members. My land assets situated in the Mandir Bagh area were grabbed by the Madans. The spread of ‘my’ area extended to Barbar Shah in Gowkadal. In fact the sinister design to grab unlawfully the land appropriated to me began with the misdemeanor of the Arazbeg family who lived near Barbar Shah Embankment. As a result, the campus repeatedly got sub divided in a manner as is narrated in the proverbial cat and monkey story. Today the prime portion of ‘my’ land is held under the massive structure of buildings, bungalows and mansions. Gradually ‘my’ area squeezed just to the stretch that extends to the former minister late Pyare Lal Handoo’s boundary walls enclosing the north, south and western sides of his house. In the south, where a footpath winds on ‘my’ very own land, barbed wire fencing with a big hoarding has come up illegally to demarcate the Rishi Park. At the south-east end, half a Kanal of land has been grabbed by Haji Son Makru and a Kanal has simply become a thoroughfare for public passage! Some members of the Sheetalnath Sabha have swallowed the returns of rent that accrues from the school and by granting renewed and fresh lease have simply become fat with the lap. The temple here is closed since 1990 A.D. The priest, worshipers and the effects ordained for worship, all the three are either absconding or else have deserted ‘me’. The complete name of the Hindu School is simply reduced to H. High School. ‘I’ feel by hearing my tale of woes, you may be bored with disinterest. But my woes do not end here, since ‘I’ continue to be the past, present and yet to come historical land mark of the Kashmiri Pandit community. ‘My’ tragedy at present is caused by a self proclaimed usurper named Shri Gulbod who, following his pivotal role in having greased the palms of well meaning members of the Sheetalnath Sabha with a bribe of rupees one lakh, thinks ‘I’ am his fiefdom. Two years ago Shri Gulbod did not allow Shri Sri Ashok even to place his foot in ‘my’ precinct. [‘Me’, Sheetalesvara Sheetalnath ever since 1340 A.D. right up to 1818 A.D. have withstood the horrors of barbaric history. Between 1818 and 1947 A.D., when ‘I’ had just recovered from the horrendous onslaughts, ‘I’ yet again fell to the cruel hands of time, only to stand on the cross road of history. In fact ‘My’ very existence came under threat during the fierce 1931 up-rise. In order to safeguard my identity. ‘I’ raised my own slogan : “We too have a right to exist”] In return a howling cry of hatred and challenge rand the air. “Kashmiri Pandits –vanish or perish.’ “Kashmiri Pandits – leave your home and hearth.” “Kashmiri Pandits – let your identity dissolve, lose thy name by taking to the faith of the majority.” Before the early decades of the twentieth century, many a reformists and social activists including late Shri Hargopal and others who held the banner of social reform afloat, did not raise their voice of concern from ‘my’ precinct. In fact they had no permanent banner under which they stood. Of course, the historic event when the ‘brave man of action’ – Kashyap Bandhu offered the supreme sacrifice of his blood, drained after incising his finger, during the foundation laying ceremony of the Sharika Bhawan in ‘my’ very precinct ushered a unique new chapter in the history of Kashmiri Pandits. Witnessing the establishment of the All India Kashmir Hindu Yuva Sanatan Dharma Sabha, simply overwhelmed ‘me’. The moment connoted a clarion call of the social resurgence. It followed with the publication of the Martanda newspaper in Urdu that represented the mute and muffled voice of the Kashmiri Pandit community. And following the public spirited Kashyap Bandhu Ji, many a leaders with zest and zeal like Shri Fotedar, Shri Teng, Shri Kilam, Shri Dar, Shri Jalali (Kaul), Shri Bhat and others carried the mission from this very platform. Their voice still echoes in ‘my’ ears! From thisvery seat of the Sheetalesvara Sheetalnath, both Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Shrimati Indira Gandhi addressed their rallies. And from here only late Shri Nehru Ji sounded the impending danger when he stated, “If suddenly and somehow the security assurances of Maharaja Hari Singh give away, think, what all can happen then’’! >From here, the Pakhtoon leader of west India, Badshah Khan, too made his speech. ‘I’ know that you may not have forgotten the event of the great Indian nationalist Veer Savarkar’s visit to ‘me’. Before he took to the speech podium, ‘I’ recall, he prostrated at the temple altar here, and drank the libation offered to him by Srikanth Bansri-the priest, and only afterwards took his steps towards the podium to make the speech. ‘I’ have seen here, the man of ages, Mahatma Gandhi, calm and serene. It was a Monday, the day to observe silence for Gandhi Ji. So he did not speak at all, instead Sheikh’s wife late Begum Sahiba spoke at length. In September 1947, as a result of the raid by Pakistan based tribal, many Hindus of north-west Kashmir had to flee from there. Hindu and Sikhrefugees thronged Srinagar. Even though there were few places for rehabilitation, yet arrangements were made to accommodate them. The Jammu & Kashmir Sudhar Samiti played a vital role in this task. For next five years, the platform abounding ‘my’ precinct remained an active ground of action. Trust ‘me’, Sheetallesvara Sheetalnath is neither a temple nor a place of worship, nor is it to be looked simply as a piece of land, but indeed it is the sacrificial ground of the Kashmiri Hindus. Following the sinister Paramesvari episode, one is reminded of the sacrifice of those martyred and claimed by the brute force of the government in which innocent and unarmed men were shot to death while the hapless women became the victims of criminal acid-spray as the innocent Hindu girl was abducted at the point of rape. This happened despite Shrimati Indira Gandhi being the Prime Minister, who however, remained a mute spectator to these events. Raising the voice of concern about these happenings, the then President of the erstwhile Jana Sangha, Professor Balraj Madhok thundered to remind that “the medieval Islamic barbarity still remained to be undone.” ‘I’ Sheetalesvara Sheetalnath have not forgotten anything, have been witness from ‘my’ very own precinct to two annual festivals dedicated to ‘me’. The first one that marked ‘my birthday’ was held on Basant Panchmi when the entire campus would remain covered by a blanket of white snow, but still the enthusiastic crowd thronged the venue. And while the smoke from the sacrificial fire spread in all the four directions, the children amused themselves with fire-crackers and pelting of snow-balls with mirth and frolic. Amidst the chanting of the Vedic hymns and verses dedicated to Bhairva, the fragrant aura and aromatic ambience emanating from the temple complex enticed one to all enthralled feelings of the senses. A day before Jammashtami, a large number of decorated tableau would assemble in ‘my’ precinct and from there roll out in a festive procession through the main bzaars only to return to the very same spot by the sunset. Holding flutes, the smiling young boys simply felt overjoyed and bewildered to play Sri Krishna. Various streets and roads of the city were done upto a bridal look by the display of the merchandise of the shops. Next day on the Ashtami, the entire precinct with the erected canopies and colorful spreads would look fabulous to eye. On that particular day, saints, sages, learned scholars and thinkers etc. gave enthralling discourses while the gathering felt greeted by the garland of their oratory acumen. Occasionally, these discourses were sequestered by the melodious music dedicated to Sri Krishna. But past seventeen years now, though these days have repeated, ‘I’ forsake any celebrations and mirth and simply yearned like a hapless forlorn. Today, ‘I’ exist but as a barren abandonment. Without the chant of prayers. ‘I’ have turned into a desolate idol. Someone has torn away my festive apparel of Basant Panchmi, Instead of hearing the Bhairava hymns, hallucinating voices rend me at present. Often ‘I’ dream of past journeys and live on going up and down the memory lane. However, never for a moment have ‘I’ forgotten the fact that ‘I’ am the religious, social and political hub of the Kashmiri Pandits and a seat of their continuing crusade. From iram at sarai.net Fri Mar 20 12:39:08 2009 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:39:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: screening of Rabba Hun Ki Kariye by Ajay Bhardwaj Message-ID: <49C34114.6010603@sarai.net> Subject: screening of Rabba Hun Ki Kariye by Ajay Bhardwaj From: sanjay joshi Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:06:00 -0700 (PDT) In their 'Nashisht' Series Impresario Asia invites you to the screening of a documentary on the partition memories RABBA HUN KEE KARIYE (THUS DEPARTED OUR NEIGHBOURS) A film by Ajay Bhardwaj The screening will be followed by an interactive session with the director DATE: Wednesday 25th March 2009 TIME: 7.00 p.m. VENUE: Gulmohar, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi R.S.V.P. Pramilla Chhabra K.K. Kohli 2462-1685 98107-23979 COURTESY: DELHI DIARY From chiarapassa at gmail.com Fri Mar 20 13:04:13 2009 From: chiarapassa at gmail.com (Chiara Passa) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:34:13 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] "Over the limbo" out now! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear friends & colleagues, I'm glad to inform you that my new interactive video installation "Over the limbo" is out now at: http://www.chiarapassa.it/overthelimbo.html Thanks & best regards, Chiara -- Chiara Passa chiarapassa at gmail.com http://www.chiarapassa.it http://www.ideasonair.net http://twitter.com/jogador Skype: ideasonair From surbhi5276 at hotmail.com Fri Mar 20 20:22:18 2009 From: surbhi5276 at hotmail.com (Surbhi Goel) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:22:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 48 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It is piteous that such incidents will further alienate Kashimiris from the rest of India. And the civil society outside Kashmir sits prostate while an average kashmiri is living a death sentence. Politicians lack the political will to resolve the issues, the rest like us watch ans wait and an average Kashmiri is victimized. Surbhi > The lives of some Indian citizens are more valuable than others. Always. > best > shivam > > * * * > > Thousands protest carpenter's killing in Kashmir > > http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hGCLn9AEnqoc5ACFoWYJSe1ghp2A > _________________________________________________________________ The new Windows Live Messenger. You don’t want to miss this. http://www.microsoft.com/india/windows/windowslive/messenger.aspx From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 20 21:04:26 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:34:26 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <376044.69680.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <65be9bf40903180846v2a84ba2dj6b2d1bd09446d237@mail.gmail.com> <376044.69680.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903200834u5fcadf80kcbc44d886300bd9f@mail.gmail.com> Dear Kshmendra There is no one in this world who can do an interpretation of a message for us, at best people can only suggest. What ever I say is open to any form interpretation in any witch's way and vice versa. Hence in the same vein, what you suggest as 'arrogant patronizing' might be actually deep reverence or a homage. In either instance I think it would be hard to make a case for an assertion. An assertion which sticks. Unless you could substantiate your claim that 'lol' was in fact an instance of 'arrogant patronizing' by sharing with us any historical, religious, societal, judicial, literary, psychological, social, theological, subaltern, cultural history which is not only universal but also indicative of generally accepted social practice. If you want to have a conversation on this then I will gladly like to engage with you on the idea of limits of respect. But we are talking of a completely different thread here aren't we, so please let me allow you to set the ball rolling. I look forward to sharing with you an annotative history of 'slights' and 'insults' and 'arrogant patronizing', and not to mention 'lol' an expression which seems to become dearer to you now and I wait for your post and I promise to reply to any such mails. Regarding other pertinent points which you have raised with such finesse. I will hesitate before jumping to a conclusion as to who I think is an idiot, or with respect to the indeterminacy of my writing because I believe, what we exchange here on the reader-list is priceless in terms of intellectual content and articulation and I would not like to demean the value of a space like this. Writing without any thought or jumping to unnecessary conclusions would be a step in that direction. So coming back to the point, through the current exchange, I know at least, what the views of my respected co-members of reader-list community are, in so far as the idea of nation state is concerned and let me state that I have taken some measure of trouble to state what I think was relevant. I humbly acknowledge the most generous act of sharing the views of everyone who has written on this thread. However I yearn to read an interpretation of the idea of nation state as other members perceive because the point in question, the starting post on this thread was a reading about the predicament faced by the nation states, with respect to categorizing of citizens and non-citizens, their resultant prosecution and possible trajectories of negotiation. With lots of lol :) and Warm regards Taha From indersalim at gmail.com Fri Mar 20 21:38:22 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:38:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: AAA Lecture-Performance: As Transient as a Whale by Raqs Media Collective In-Reply-To: <5614780.1237546474003.JavaMail.wharf@emma.ideoconcepts.com> References: <5614780.1237546474003.JavaMail.wharf@emma.ideoconcepts.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70903200908j66797ff4o15bc7456b84cf5d2@mail.gmail.com> - AAA Lecture-Performance - As Transient as a Whale Raqs Media Collective Thursday, 26 March 2009, 6.30-8pm Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre *Please note the new venue. Hong Kong has had two curious visitors in this month, a lost humpbacked whale on a detour and the Raqs Media Collective at the Asia Art Archive. Humpbacked Whales, like memories in a city eager to live forever in the future, are an endangered species. While Raqs has not yet met the whale, they have spent time with some of Hong Kong's memories. They have also spent some time thinking about the place of memory in an archive. In their lecture-performance presentation - 'As Transient as a Whale' - Raqs will present their field notes, research and the images they have been working with as they travel in Hong Kong. The lecture performance will also present sketches of the in-situ installation that they will produce at the Asia Art Archive at the conclusion of their residency. AAA welcomes Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta of Raqs Media Collective, Delhi based think-tank, curators and cutting-edge artist collective, as its first international residents. Raqs Media Collective was formed in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. The Collective is based in Delhi and work at Sarai, a program of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, an initiative they co-founded in 2001.Their work takes the form of installations, video, photography, image-text collages, media objects, performances, and encounters. They cross contemporary art practice with historical and philosophical speculation, research and theory. The Collective has been exhibited widely in major international spaces and events including Documenta 11 (2002), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2005), the Guangzhou Triennial (2005), and the Istanbul Biennial (2007). Their writings have also been published extensively. They curated 'The Rest of Now' in Bolzano/Bozen and co-curated 'Scenarios' for Manifesta 7, Italy. They are currently showing at 'Chalo! India', Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and 'Indian Highway', Serpentine Gallery, London. AAA's Residency Programme is the first offered annually by an arts organization in Hong Kong and one of the first in the world to take the art archive as its point of departure. Event Details Presented by: Asia Art Archive Venue: Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Date: Thursday, 26 March 2009 Time: 6.30-8pm Language: English Registration: chantal at aaa.org.hk or 2815 1112. DVD of the talk will be available for viewing at the Archive. Sponsored by: Supported by: - �Ȭw��N���w��y�t�X- ������ ��̡GRaqs Media Collective �P��|, 2009 �~3�� ���U�Ȥ��ɥb�ܤK�������N���ߥ]��Y *�Ъ`�N����a ������F���n�Ƥ���---- �@��g��y���A�H�ΨȬw��N���w���n��N�զXRaqs Media Collective�C �����ت��y���A�N�p�������O�Ф@�˰��ë������C�q���J�L�y����Raqs�����B�����I������y�����̮����@��@�w�A�P�ɾn��Ȭw��N���w�����s����a�誺�O�СC �b�Y�N��檺��y�t�X�u�������v�ARaqs�N�|�i�ܥL�̦b�r�d�������ҹ��Ӫ����O����A�H�ΥL�̬��n����@���ɩ�m�w�����Ч@���˸m��C �Ȭw��N���w��ШӦۦL�׼w�����e���N�P��s��δ��Raqs Media Collective�A�@���Ĥ@�Ӱ��ʪ��n�������N�զX�C Raqs Media Collective��eebesh Bagchi�BMonica Narula��huddhabrata Sengupta��2�~���ߡA�H�s�w������A�æb2001�~�п��i����|������arai�A�i���m�B����B�Ϥ��K�B�C��B�t�X�H�ܤ��J���Ч@�Ҧ��A�z�L�z�שM���A�H����[��ĤJ���P������N�Φ��C Raqs���ѻP�h�����j���i��A�p��1�����i(Documenta 11, 2002�~)�B�¥�����~�i(2003��005�~)�B�s�{�T�~�i(2005�~)�Υ촵�Z���i(2007�~)���C���g�峹���l�A�紿���i�h�Ӷ��ءA�p�N�j�Q�i�����uThe Rest of Now�v�B�ĤC���Ũ���~�i(Manifesta 7)�B�N�j�Q���uScenarios�v�C���~�{������F�ʴˬ���i��uChalo! India�v�έ^����Serpentine�e�Y���i��uIndian Highway�v�C ���w�@�����䭺�өw��|���׾n�������N��A�Х���w�v�����X�o�A��Х@�ɦU�a����N�a���N�զX�n�d�������C ���ʸԱ� �D�����Ȭw��N���w �a�:�����J���D�G����N���ߥ]��Y ��: 2009�~3 �� ��P��| �ɶ�:�U�Ȥ��ɥb�ܤK���y��:�^�y �n�O: chantal at aaa.org.hk �έP�q 2815 1112�C ����y��DVD�N�i�b�Ȭw��N���w����� ��U: ��: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Asia Art Archive 11/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 1112 Fax: (852) 2815 0032 Email: info at aaa.org.hk Website: http://www.aaa.org.hk AAA is a registered charity in Hong Kong supported by the HKADC, private corporations, foundations, individuals, galleries and artists. Support Asia Art Archive by becoming a patron! For details of our patron programs visit www.aaa.org.hk/support_front.aspx To ensure our newsletter reaches your mail box, please remove info at aaa.org.hk from your junk email folder. Please reply with title "unsubscribe" if you wish to remove your email from AAA mailing list. -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 06:49:34 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 06:49:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903200834u5fcadf80kcbc44d886300bd9f@mail.gmail.com> References: <65be9bf40903180846v2a84ba2dj6b2d1bd09446d237@mail.gmail.com> <376044.69680.qm@web57203.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <65be9bf40903200834u5fcadf80kcbc44d886300bd9f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear all It seems sad that from once a time, when I was not a member, (and used to read articles on civil rights, poverty and others), today, we keep on discussing about Kashmir, Pakistan, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims (traitors or sufferers), bla bla bla.... I don't mean that the question of identity is not important. Nor does it mean that such issues of migration are not important. But there are other issues as well, can't we discuss them in detail as well. The SC's and Muslims of India face a calamity today in terms of their economic and social conditions. While the SC's are discriminated against in various parts of the country, the Muslims are discriminated against in cities, in the name of religion. Can't we talk about this, and how this affects them in varying degrees economically and socially? And if identity is so important (it is, but that much important as the articles put up in Sarai, I don't feel), then how come we don't talk about SC's ST's and Muslims from economic and social angle point of view? The ST's of India are even in a worse position compared to the SC's and ST's. After all, they are stripped bare of their livelihoods, and have to migrate as well, to places which their ancestors would never have gone to even once in their lives. They forget their own culture and places, like the Hindus and Muslims during partition. Aren't they to be talked about?? Or is it that as most of us are not SC's/ST's/Muslims (of poor economic background), we can forget them? Isn't poverty our single biggest enemy, not these identity based people? Then how come identity is a major concern with us? Probably a result of all of us being well fed and coming from well off families, has meant identity is a major concern for us rather than poverty. What about the issue of civil rights? When terrorists attack us, ultimately the issue degenerates into one of whether we can trust Indian Muslims or not, whether we can trust Pakistan or not? Brilliant. If we can't trust a neighbor, how come we have been so foolish as to be living with that same neighbor, be it internal and external, peacefully, for the last 60 years? And why don't we remember what Gandhi and Jesus said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will lead us to path of destruction'.? Instead we keep on asking about tough laws on terror, tough laws on any situation, forgetting that they affect civil rights, and reduce the incentive to work hard as well. Why not open up and liberalize our democracy? Where are the talks about that? Why don't we try to understand the problems from the base, and then think of possible solutions to close them up, not only for this Kashmir-Pakistan-India-Afghanistan axis, but also for the other larger gambit of issues which are there to be discussed? Regards Rakesh From vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com Sat Mar 21 12:08:05 2009 From: vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:08:05 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa Message-ID: <233821.2905.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> as far as sc/sts are concerned we are not ready to accept that reservation policy has miserably failed. what they need is free and compulsory education till 12th std. and thereafter scholarships and interest free loans for higher education plus proper domestic condition for education in which children are not looked upon as bread earners.    consider a situation in which father is drunkard, who beats up his wife and children everyday, his wife is a maidservant who works whole day and earns only two thousand per month. can we expect these children to be doctors and engineers even if seats are reserved for them. only lalu's and paswan's children can take advantage of reservations.  politicians don't want to understand the real nature of the problem and real needs of these people. discussing these issues on readers list and holding elite class responsible for the miserable condition of sc and sts is not going to solve any problem.   as far as muslims are concerned too much has been talked about descrimination faced by them in cities. few years back i had read on readers list that their children are not given admission in schools. i remember, i had asked the writer for the names of those schools, there was no reply from him. recently shabana azmi had complained that she was denied flat in mumbai, hence times of india checked with many builders in mumbai and they found that there was absolutely no descrimination. in cities life is so fast that nobody has time to check whether his/her neighbour is a hindu or muslim. then why this fake problem is being created by socalled seculars? i sincerely feel that seculars are responsible for creating gulf between hindus and muslims by such unfounded rhetorics.     muslims send their children to urdu schools or madarssas, they want separate laws which allow them to marry four times. in that case who is responsible for their bad soci-economic condition?   if you really care so much for muslims, then ask them not to maintain their separate identity instead ask them to join mainstream. ask them to send their children to english -hindi or regional language medium schools. ask them to accept common civil code. hindus have so far trusted muslims now muslims have to reciprocate.   as far as pakistan is concerned, if you are still trusting them, then i must say you are truely secular ! then i would advice you to go to pakistan and start discussing plight of poor hindus in their country. it will be more benificial for improving relationship between india and pakistan.   vedavati     Sat, 21/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa To: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> Cc: "reader-list" Date: Saturday, 21 March, 2009, 9:19 AM Dear all It seems sad that from once a time, when I was not a member, (and used to read articles on civil rights, poverty and others), today, we keep on discussing about Kashmir, Pakistan, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims (traitors or sufferers), bla bla bla.... I don't mean that the question of identity is not important. Nor does it mean that such issues of migration are not important. But there are other issues as well, can't we discuss them in detail as well. The SC's and Muslims of India face a calamity today in terms of their economic and social conditions. While the SC's are discriminated against in various parts of the country, the Muslims are discriminated against in cities, in the name of religion. Can't we talk about this, and how this affects them in varying degrees economically and socially? And if identity is so important (it is, but that much important as the articles put up in Sarai, I don't feel), then how come we don't talk about SC's ST's and Muslims from economic and social angle point of view? The ST's of India are even in a worse position compared to the SC's and ST's. After all, they are stripped bare of their livelihoods, and have to migrate as well, to places which their ancestors would never have gone to even once in their lives. They forget their own culture and places, like the Hindus and Muslims during partition. Aren't they to be talked about?? Or is it that as most of us are not SC's/ST's/Muslims (of poor economic background), we can forget them? Isn't poverty our single biggest enemy, not these identity based people? Then how come identity is a major concern with us? Probably a result of all of us being well fed and coming from well off families, has meant identity is a major concern for us rather than poverty. What about the issue of civil rights? When terrorists attack us, ultimately the issue degenerates into one of whether we can trust Indian Muslims or not, whether we can trust Pakistan or not? Brilliant. If we can't trust a neighbor, how come we have been so foolish as to be living with that same neighbor, be it internal and external, peacefully, for the last 60 years? And why don't we remember what Gandhi and Jesus said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will lead us to path of destruction'.? Instead we keep on asking about tough laws on terror, tough laws on any situation, forgetting that they affect civil rights, and reduce the incentive to work hard as well. Why not open up and liberalize our democracy? Where are the talks about that? Why don't we try to understand the problems from the base, and then think of possible solutions to close them up, not only for this Kashmir-Pakistan-India-Afghanistan axis, but also for the other larger gambit of issues which are there to be discussed? Regards Rakesh _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Get perfect Email ID for your Resume. Grab now http://in.promos.yahoo.com/address From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 12:59:07 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:59:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindu families in Pakistan feel scared, India grants Visa In-Reply-To: <233821.2905.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> References: <233821.2905.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Vedavati jee (and all) By subscribing to a particular language, a particular institution to learn about your religion, by adhering to a particular religion, by having affection for one's own background, one's own region, one's own sex too, one does not become an outcast for the mainstream. By going to a madrassa, by learning Urdu, by stating that their needs should also be fulfilled and by demanding their rights as Indian citizens, they are not out of the mainstream; infact they further become a part of the mainstream. It's only when Muslims decide they would only interact with other Muslims and not with other religion members, it's only when Muslims believe in a fantasized separate state within India only for them, it's only when the entire community organizes violence not only against Indian citizens but also against the very Indian state, that it becomes an outcast against the state. I think you should better go and understand what is an outcast for a state, before giving such great lectureships on who is an outcast and who is not. It's people like you and the RSS which portrays Muslims as outcast. Muslims vote in large numbers in every election (thanks to the RSS and the BJP which ensures at least Muslims vote for their security, if not development). Muslims join the police and the armed forces if they have the capability of doing so. In commensurate with their academic and education qualifications, as well as depending on the social and economic background, they have taken up jobs across India. They too sing the National Anthem like the rest of India does. Take that for patriotism. As for the RSS, they are an outcast. They want the current Indian Constitution out of India. They are of the lot which resulted in death of Gandhi. They think India is feminine and needs to be masculine, which is against the very philosophy of Gandhi. What's mroe, they organize riots and propagate ideologies which go against the very foundations on which the state of India is based. They have already communalized Gujarat, now they want the 'Gujarat laboratory' to be propagated across India, in the name of portraying Muslims as Ravana or adharmis (as Krishna used the word in Mahabharata). Today Muslims, most of whom are poor, actually have to vote for their security more than development thanks to BJP (go and read Yogendra Yadav's election analysis reports for this). It's the RSS which is outcast against the nation state. Will the RSS shut down its Saraswati Shishu Mandirs and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad which propagate a false based notion of India, which creates an intolerant population who are bent on violent activites all the time, whether it be moral policing, Muslim bashing or something else? Who are you to talk on behalf of the Hindus? How many Hindus have voted you to be their voice? The same question, I ask here to the RSS and the VHP. How can you say Hindus trusted Muslims and now it's Muslims turn to reciprocate? If you think that's the Hindus' point of view, let us have a referendum on it to see how many Hindus support you, the VHP-RSS bandwagon, or anybody for that matter? And let us have a referendum on Muslims as well to see which organization represents them? As for reservation, you don't even know for why it was brought in the first place. While Ambedkar and old Congressmen can state it was done as an affirmative action, an important reason for doing so was to safeguard and forge national unity among the SC's and the ST's, who form a substantial number of India's population. And why should politicians anyways stop the reservation? How many upper caste people are there in India to begin with? Isn't it true that SC's alone outnumber upper caste in India? Then what about the ST's? Then, how come we can stop it? Is there a way you can suggest politicians to win elections without these? What about others asking for reservation? Further more, how can you say reservations have failed? When reservation was started, it was believed that by seeing those among them who had succeeded (irrespective of their economic backgrounds), the others among the reserved category would be inspired to do well and secure good opportunities for themselves. (The reason for initial reservation). What is wrong in that? Can anybody prove their own community doesn't get inspired by these achievements? Then why should we stop it? Whatever arguments have been given against reservation say about free education. Where was the same class of people talking about this, when it wasn't introduced uptil a year back or so, in the Constitution of India, regarding primary education? Does any of them even bother about the way their own money is spent in anything? And when the people at the grassroot don't get what was due to them, then they have to turn to elections. Do you do that? Do you vote as well? The middle class hardly votes, as we know. Look at cities, voting rates are low. Look at urban developed areas, the voting rates are even lower. And then, we crib about our politicians, about reservation, about this, about that. Do you have any data as well to prove that reservations have actually failed? Do you have any data to state that reservation is only useful for the well off of these castes and people? And even if it is true, does that go against the very argument of reservation? But we are ready to discuss about Katrina Kaif, pornography, about Sachin's achievements (not that they are not achievements), about Pokhran nuclear tests, about this and that and about gossip. Not that these shouldn't be discussed. But then, if that's what we are and that's all we can and are discussing, then we should stop cribbing about our politicians not doing what they should. We should stop chiding them when they take bribes, for we are responsible directly or indirectly for how they behave and act. We are responsible for failing our nations. We are the outcast in our own nation, for we not only are away from the very idea our Constitution was created for, but we are also alienated from the duties which we are supposed to perform as responsible citizens. Are we doing that? Do we even go out and vote? Do we know who are the candidates in our constituency and actually look about for information about them? Do we know who are the people who decide our future? Do we even discuss about the kinds of laws made? Do we know the foundational values and basis on which our Constitution was made? And we talk about Muslims being outcast, about reservation policy not working (are there even figures to prove that), about anti-incumbency, about imperialist policies in India and all that....Bravado indeed! And as for your understanding of your problems, the less said the better. As an argument, can you explain the reasons as to why a normal person like you or me would join terrorism, and what are the values a terrorist would have, what circumstances make a person terrorist? Instead you and other folk here go about things like tough terror laws, security improvement, and all crap. Let me ask you here: If I wish to kill you come what may, regardless of the consequences, what can save you? Tough laws against killing?? Improvement in security and intellligence (one lapse and you could be gone, mind you)?? Or something else?? And as for your trust of Pakistan, India has 1 billion plus citizens. Just because you don't trust them does not mean others don't trust them as well. And we are a democracy, so we may as well respect other's views about them. If you would like , we can put up a joint request for a referendum on such issues like a) Does India trust Pakistan (or do Indian citizens trust Pakistan) ? b) Do we want a Ram Mandir any more? Or a Babri Masjid? Or a third alternative? c) Should we bring in a uniform civil code? Or is it not required? Bring such referendums (and get all the people to vote), and that will spell the dooms day of the nationalists and the BJP-RSS-VHP bandwagon. More importantly, it will help us secure the foundations of our state. I am very sorry indeed for such an outburst. But I am absolutely frustrated at the fact of our understanding of issues. If this is what we know, then how are we different from the politicians who take these decisions affecting common people? And shouldn't we stop our cribbing about their actions? Regards Rakesh From shivam at kafila.org Sat Mar 21 14:32:55 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:32:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who's afraid of the BOSS School of Music? Message-ID: Dear all, Read this, and the best part comes at the end. enjoy shivam *** Woman hurls slipper at judge SAMANWAYA RAUTRAY http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090321/jsp/frontpage/story_10702272.jsp New Delhi, March 20: A woman today took off her slipper and flung it at a Supreme Court judge, but the missile fell short of a stunned Justice Arijit Pasayat who ducked in the nick of time. The woman, one of a quintet of “educationists” personally fighting a contempt case, however, got away with a three-month jail term, far lighter than the three-year sentence given to Iraqi journalist Muntazer al Zaidi for hurling a shoe at former President George W. Bush. The remaining four would have to serve out similar terms, the court said. An atmosphere of shock hung over the courtroom, crammed with security personnel because of a similar “attack” by a man earlier. The five were immediately led out and taken to an undisclosed place. The women have been appearing in the top court for over a year now in defence of Mumbai’s Boss School of Music that was ordered shut by Bombay High Court on parents’ complaints that their children were being “brainwashed” there. The high court had also directed the teachers and staff — at last count, the Vasai school had some 4,000 students — to go in for psychiatric tests after some of the employees hinted at a mafia “comprising the CM, all high court judges and international Christian groups” trying to shut the school down. Since the time the case landed in the Supreme Court, the women have been repeating their charge that “all state authorities” were acting in tandem to force a closure. “It is nothing short of genocide,” one alleged at an earlier hearing. The women have distributed caricatures of high court and Supreme Court judges. Asked to withdraw the scandalous allegation, the women prayed that all 12 judges of Bombay High Court be arrested. Reported to be “highly educated”, the women have repeatedly brushed off warnings by the court to desist from saying such things. Nor have they heeded requests to appoint lawyers. The top court had initiated contempt proceedings against them. But it permitted the school to re-open and stayed the order for psychiatric tests. Three of the women have been identified as Leila David, Annette Kotian and Pavithra Murali. *** "Not only did they make allegations against the CJI but the documents annexed to their reply also contained cartoons in which he was compared with terrorist Osama bin Laden and the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein." http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/21/stories/2009032158310100.htm *** A 2002 report: "The Boss School aims to help you discover the true essence of music that sets your whole being — body, brain and soul — into rhythms that are harmonious with nature. The various courses can transform a complete novice into a music teacher in just six months." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/17442707.cms *** The court called them mentally unsound but... "Mumbai: A woman who is fighting allegations of being mentally unsound and practising black magic in the Bombay High Court has been honoured by the chief justice of the high court for topping the Masters course in Philosophy of the Mumbai University." http://indiaedunews.net/In-Focus/February_2008/%27Mentally_unsound%27_girl_tops_Mumbai_University_3422/ *** And black magic: "Your parents are evil spirits, said Glenn Fernandes, principal of Boss School of Music, in an alleged bid to keep the students away from their parents." http://www.mid-day.com/news/2005/apr/107661.htm *** And now look at the website of the BOSS School of Music where a flash presentation makes their case: http://thebosskingdom.110mb.com/ From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 14:55:36 2009 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?windows-1256?B?eWFzaXIgfu3HINPR?=) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:25:36 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] PK - some PR pics Message-ID: <5af37bb0903210225kfea5434o53f5b46be91b831d@mail.gmail.com> From: hhhhh I discovered this by co incidence. I think it is made by PTI (Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf - imran khan's party) .. some People's Resistance [PR] pics in there too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMTHLv7zN1A From pawan.durani at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 15:00:32 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:00:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] AnantNag will be renamed Islamabad Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> Dear All PDP, right wing Islamic fundamentalist party is coming with a bill proposing renaming of following in Kashmir. 1. AnantNag is proposed to be renamed as Islamabad. 2. Shankar Acharya Temple hill is proposed to be renamed asTakht E Sulaiman. 3. Hari Parbat is proposed to be renamed as Koh-i-Marhan. All are requested to resent it to the best of your ability using whateverer means you have. Pawan From aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 16:26:38 2009 From: aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com (Aashish Gupta) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:26:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] AnantNag will be renamed Islamabad In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Which intelligence agency gave you this information? On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Dear All > > PDP, right wing Islamic fundamentalist party is coming with a bill > proposing renaming of following in Kashmir. > > 1. AnantNag is proposed to be renamed as Islamabad. > 2. Shankar Acharya Temple hill is proposed to be renamed asTakht E > Sulaiman. > 3. Hari Parbat is proposed to be renamed as Koh-i-Marhan. > > All are requested to resent it to the best of your ability using > whateverer means you have. > > Pawan > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 17:10:09 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:10:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] AnantNag will be renamed Islamabad In-Reply-To: References: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903210440v350d4ebek482fd064c5fb058b@mail.gmail.com> Dear Mr Gupta , I am glad you asked this question. Please refer to the following report as appeared in largest selling newspaper in Jammu. JAMMU, Mar 13: While taking the serious exception to the recent resolution brought by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA, Peer Mansoor Hussain in State Legislative Assembly, Jammu and Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM) today said it is part of a big conspiracy to distort the facts about the original history of Kashmir. The act of PDP is aimed at Islamisation of Kashmir by distorting the facts of ancient history of the Valley, JKVM senior national vice president, Dr R L Bhat told reporters here today. Contesting the claims of the PDP MLA on history of Kashmir, he said the name of Anantnag has been mentioned over 1700 years back in Neelmat Puran one of the ancient books on history of Kashmir and same has also been mentioned by Dr Ved Kumari Ghai at three places in her book which is the translation of Neelmat Puran. The book has been published by JK Academy of Art Culture and Languages, he added. He said the verses in Neelmat Puran describe the sacred nature of Anantnag , the importance of visiting the tirath and the merits acquired by worshiping there and the present Anantnag is built around this holy site, he added. Dr Bhat, who was flanked by JKVM state president, Ashok Kangan, its general secretary, H L Bhat and Executive member J L Raina said, Bringish Samhita in its various Mahatamyas also carries details about the holy places in Anantnag district including Anantnag itself. He said this way it has become clear that Anantnag is an ancient place which has been known for 1700 years past and the town is named after a holy spring which has great religious significance as per Neelmat Puran. As quoted by MLA while referring to Taarikhi Hassan that town has been founded in Jehangir’s time under the governorship of Islam Khan and the name of the town was later changed in Ranjit Singh’s regime, Dr Bhat termed it a bundle of lies and is not based on facts. He also contested the claims of the MLA on Hariparbat and Shankaracharya which he said were originally called Kohi Maran and Takht Suliaman. These claims are not borne by Taarikhi of Hassan Shah or any historical record, he added. Criticising it he said this entire theory is a part of conspiracy to take Kashmir towards Islamisation. He said the renaming of Srinagar air port on the name of Sheikh-ul-Alam is also the part of the same theory. Had there been sincerity why the airport has not been named as Nund Rishi Airport by which the Sofi saint was called by people of all religions in Valley, he asked? SOURCE:DAILY EXCELSIOR On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Aashish Gupta wrote: > Which intelligence agency gave you this information? > > On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM, Pawan Durani > wrote: >> >> Dear All >> >> PDP, right wing Islamic fundamentalist party is coming with a bill >> proposing renaming of following in Kashmir. >> >> 1. AnantNag is proposed to be renamed as Islamabad. >> 2. Shankar Acharya Temple hill  is proposed to be renamed asTakht E >> Sulaiman. >> 3. Hari Parbat is proposed to be renamed as Koh-i-Marhan. >> >> All are requested to resent it to the best of your ability using >> whateverer means you have. >> >> Pawan >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From pawan.durani at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 17:18:42 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:18:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Renaming AnantNag - Talibanised Kashmir Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903210448t5aa2205cra3cbcff68907f0bd@mail.gmail.com> http://www.theshadow.in/theshadow/newsdet.aspx?q=9161 Shadow Correspondent Jammu, Mar 13: Preposterous to strengthen islamisation by moves to rechristen thousands of years old nomenclature of Kashmir after forcible exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, the latest one by the PDP MLA to rename 'Anantnag' as 'Islamabad', Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM) allegedly falsified the Member by substantiating some figures, which of-course can be open for authentication. Challenging the MLA, JKVM negated the claim that Tarikhi Hasan as claimed by the MLA mentions that Anantnag had been founded in Jehangir's time under the governorship of Islam Khan and named 'Islamabad' and that the name was latter changed into 'Anantnag'. JKVM claims that the Tarikh of Peer Hassan Shah Khoihami is a comparatively recent work written in the year 1884, which deals with Moghul period in volume II and tells that there was no governor called Islam Khan during Jahangir's time. JKVM however says that there was a governor in 1075 Hijri (1664 A.D) during Aurangzeb's rule in Kashmir (Vol II page 625-27) in the name of Islam Khan, who ruled for a period of one year. There is no mention of his visiting Anantnag or founding Islamabad in the book. Contrary, Hasan states in Vol I part 2 of Tarikh in a footnote to the chapter on Naags of Kashmir (page 840) that Anantnag is named after the holy spring of Anant which is sacred to Hindus. On page 839 of the said volume it is stated that Islam Khan laid out a garden in the village Achgam near Anantnag and that the village was renamed Islambad by Mugal Emperor Aurangzeb, says JKVM. Further 'Anantnag' is an ancient holy place of Kashmiri Pandits, which is mentioned in Nilmat Puran dated 4-5th century. It mentions 'Anantnag' at three places (Shlookas 916, 1205, and 1235, Vol II). Again 'Anantnag' is mentioned in half a dozen places in Bringish Samhita detailing different holy places in Anantnag district. Kashmiri Pandits observe 'Anant Chaturdashi' every year and before 1990 when forcible exodus of KPs took place, thousands of devotees used to visit the sacred springs and perform Hawan there. To say that the district was originally Islamabad and was renamed Anantnag after some sepoy of Maharaja Ranjhit Singh is not only a historical lie but an insult to the sentiments of Hindus of Kashmir, said JKVM adding that Kashmiriyat the creed of tolerant cceptance of a plurality is increasingly becoming an excuse for sly islamisation of the valley. From shivam at kafila.org Sat Mar 21 21:19:24 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:19:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] AnantNag will be renamed Islamabad In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Is the PDP in power? Let me know. best shivam On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Dear All > > PDP, right wing Islamic fundamentalist party is coming with a bill > proposing renaming of following in Kashmir. > > 1. AnantNag is proposed to be renamed as Islamabad. > 2. Shankar Acharya Temple hill  is proposed to be renamed asTakht E Sulaiman. > 3. Hari Parbat is proposed to be renamed as Koh-i-Marhan. > > All are requested to resent it to the best of your ability using > whateverer means you have. > > Pawan > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From shivam at kafila.org Sat Mar 21 21:22:50 2009 From: shivam at kafila.org (shivam at kafila.org) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:22:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] AnantNag will be renamed Islamabad In-Reply-To: References: <6b79f1a70903210230w5b9a4249m4d283634649713f8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: On the name of Anantnag/Islamabad, there has been some discussion before on this list. Back then Pawan had no response to it. Shuddhabrata Sengupta had written on 21 08 2008: Dear Pawan, Thank you for your mail. Actually my usage of the name "Islamabad' was influenced by my memory of having read the text that I had mentioned (Nivedita's journal of the travel with Vivekananda through kashmir). You might find it interesting to know that even Vivekananda, for whom, you no doubt have some regard, and Sister Nivedita, refer to the town that you call as Anantnag, as Islamabad. And in fact, yes, when they mention the temple located at the site known as Shankaracharya hill, in Srinagar, they refer to it as 'Takht - e - Suleiman'. When a place gets more than one name attached to it, I see no problem by calling it by either one, or both names. A place- name, is ultimately a convention used to identify and mark a site on a particular topography. If that marking is facilitated by more than one name, I see no reason to insist on one over the other. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the Internet is a true Pandora's Box, and those who persist in their curiosities are rewarded. After I wrote the last mail, just to be certain that my memory was not playing tricks on me, I ran a google search with the words Vivekananda, Nivedita and Amarnath, and at the same time, a friendly soul sent me a mail with a link, having read my earlier mail, and I came across the entire text of the book, online, at - http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_9/Excerpts_from_Sister_Nivedita%27s_Book Since this page is very neatly and systematically chapterized, all you need to do is to follow the links to the chapters. here are, a few excerpts from the Vivekananda/Nivedita account, that I had mentioned earlier, Here is the entry dated, June 29, a fragment from Chapter VII, titled, 'Life at Srinagar' "JUNE 29. Another day we went off quietly by ourselves and visited the Takt-i- Suleiman, a little temple very massively built on the summit of a small mountain two or three thousand feet high. It was peaceful and beautiful, and the famous Floating Gardens could be seen below us for miles around. The Takt-i-Suleiman was one of the great illustrations of the Swami's argument when he would take up the subject of the Hindu love of nature as shown in the choice of sites for temples and architectural monuments. As he had declared, in London, that the saints lived on the hill-tops in order to enjoy the scenery, so now he pointed out — citing one example after another — that our Indian people always consecrated places of peculiar beauty and importance by making there their altars of worship. And there was no denying that the little Takt, crowning the hill that dominated the whole valley, was a case in point." Here is another for August 8, in chapter X, titled, interstingly, 'The Shrine at Amarnath' AUGUST 8. "We started for Islamabad next day, and on Monday morning as we sat at breakfast, we were towed safely into Srinagar." There are several other examples, in the pages of this account, where the words Islamabad are used, to mean the site that is marked as Anantnag today. I can cite them if it would satisfy your curiosity Clearly, in the year 1898, when this journey was undertaken, people like Swami Vivekananda and Sister Nivedita saw no reason to use names other than 'Takht-e-Suliman' and 'Islamabad'. Would you like to add their names to the list of 'intellectuals' you are compiling, who should be calumnized, together with Arundhati Roy? best Shuddha On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 9:19 PM, shivam at kafila.org wrote: > Is the PDP in power? Let me know. > best > shivam > > On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 3:00 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: >> Dear All >> >> PDP, right wing Islamic fundamentalist party is coming with a bill >> proposing renaming of following in Kashmir. >> >> 1. AnantNag is proposed to be renamed as Islamabad. >> 2. Shankar Acharya Temple hill  is proposed to be renamed asTakht E Sulaiman. >> 3. Hari Parbat is proposed to be renamed as Koh-i-Marhan. >> >> All are requested to resent it to the best of your ability using >> whateverer means you have. >> >> Pawan >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From shveta at sarai.net Sat Mar 21 22:11:42 2009 From: shveta at sarai.net (Shveta) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:11:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] What is in this word "evidence"? Message-ID: <49C518C6.9090702@sarai.net> Dear All, Over the years you have read texts written by writers living in LNJP basti (near LNJP hospital and Turkman gate) on this list. LNJP basti, one of the few remaining older squatter settlements in Delhi, is now under pressure of eviction and demolition. There is a survey in operation in LNJP now. This survey will determine how resettlement will happen. Here is a text by Babli Rai on the survey. warmly shveta --------------------------------- What is in this word "evidence"? Babli Rai "Sleep has vanished from my nights, agonising over what will happen during our survey. We have lived here so many years, made so many things, but we can be turned homeless overnight..." The word 'homeless' runs through our lives today like a shiver down the spine. He who doesn't have a plot of land to his name does not exist. Listening to my father I sensed, our sense of self, our entire existence is connected deeply to this place in which we have lived many years. But it is not enough to have lived in this place. Today the ground has hollowed out like a bottomless pit, the walls of the house are shifting away from us. And we are trying to keep everything together but, I think, not too successfully. "When we first came here, we saw it only as a place to shelter ourselves in. We saw possibilities here, which were first and foremost, and perhaps only about earning a living, finding a sustenance to live life. When the VP Singh cards began to be made, we saw our names inside official registers, and thought now we have been included in government ledgers. Slowly, as we continued to live here, we realised it is not enough to just build a house somewhere. When it presented itself as a possibility, we got our ration cards made. The ration card was something through which we could get sarkari benefits, that is rations at lower costs than in the market. That is, it made it possible for us to save some money from that which we were earning while living here. Over twenty five years, through different kinds of counting done by the government, we too began to get different numbers. Every corner of the house we turned into a corner for safe-keeping the various slips of paper we received in the process, so that they remain secure." How long have we lived in this place? As soon as this question knocked at me, I pulled out all the documents in the house, to look at them closely, again. We have lived here for twenty five years. How are we going to prove this? Here is a small visualisation of what will happen when the surveyors come to our house: They will ask for evidence. They will say to my father, "Babuji, what can we say about mistakes that may have been made in your documents. We are here only to see what there is." What is in this word "evidence"? Often, it was our neighbours - those who live around us - who were sufficient as "proof". What they said about someone was accepted. Today each and every one of those who can vouch for atleast the last twenty years of our life are here, near us. But when they speak, the government behaves as if it were deaf. I have understood this. And today when I look at my neighbourhood, I see the present situation has transformed it into a row of deaf and mute people. They are all waiting for their turn; and each one will speak only when it is his turn to speak. We will have to be our own witness now. And for that we need our documents, our sarkari papers. So I sat down, with all the slips and papers and documents spread out around me, my eyes fixed on them, in the lookout for the official language of evidence. Every document is as if ready to spill like the white of an egg. Every paper must be touched softly, it's edges smoothened tenderly, lest it tear and become meaningless. And when you can't find a document, the turbulence that causes is such that you become like a diver, diving into the deep oceans, in search for your lost treasure. Lest you think I am alone in thinking this... A man, anywhere between 80 and 90 years old, whom I call babaji and have seen here since I was a little girl. He has laid the foundation for and built innumerable brick and cement houses in LNJP with his own hands. I remember in my childhood, whenever he would be making a house, we used to get beaten up by him for sneaking away wet mud from what he was building. He says a lot in a few words, communicating much more through his gestures than his words. He took me by my hand to his house. His house is still kutcha, after all these years. He wanted to know what was going on. He seemed in the dark about the nature of the survey. Then he wanted to know when the survey team would reach his house. He pulled out a heavy bundle which had his documents. Where is your lal card, I asked? He brought out an old, stiff wallet and pulled out his VP Singh card from it. And along with it tumbled out innumerable receipts of materials he must have purchased when he was making different peoples' homes. I began reading out the names on those receipts, and he started telling me, "Ah this one must be from Mehtar Bhai, who used to sell cement masala at Turkhman Gate. There weren't any shops inside LNJP from which construction material could be bought in those times." Where is your old ration card, I asked him. I asked him for different documents, and he unknotted different polythene bags looking for them. It looked like all these knots were being undone in front of us, for the first time in many years. I'd put aside the document, and then then ask for a document made before that one, or one from after it. He'd nod his head and open a different bag. He remembered which document was in which polythene from the way he had knotted it, or from rags of cloth of different colours tied over them. With each document there were slips and receipts, and he'd say whose house they were from, so I sat there conjecturing whose house was made in which year. I made a set of documents and asked him to get them photocopied. I explained to him that in the survey, the survey team would only pay heed to documents issued by departments like their own, that they want to only see if you have given them adequate respect over the last twenty years, that it was very important he should get across through his documents that he was worthy of being resettled in a new place. A woman had been sitting nearby all this time, and she looked very bored by all this, as if she had grown tired of waiting for her turn for the survey. She said, "Sarkari work used to get done so quickly earlier. But now you have to keep waiting endlessly. When the lal cards had been made here, long ago, everything had got done so quietly, with so much ease. They had hung a red curtain near Nehru Hill Park to make a background. We had all gone together. As soon as we got there, we were each given a number, and then we sat down to wait for our turn. They would keep calling out the numbers, and each one would get up when his or her number was called, go stand in front of the red curtain and get his photograph clicked. Neither were too many questions asked, nor was there any fear. They only asked, your name and your father's name and jot them down. No one asked what use these would come in. All that we thought was that now we too have been counted by the sarkari counting. "But look now at how many questions are being asked, as if their questions are our truth. Then these officers used to want to earn some small money here and there, but they'd do their work. Look at them today - they don't take a step without their followers. Earlier we used to take everyone with us wherever we went, but today it is meaningless to think of doing that. It feels like thousands of people are fighting amidst each other." I sat there a while longer, listening to the old woman. She had in her the capacity to reconstruct a time that has gone by. She could recall who she had gone somewhere with, what kind of an environment she encountered there, what kinds of questions and confusions all of them grappled with. But all these stories - what do they hold today? From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 08:51:10 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:51:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Varun's speech blues Message-ID: Dear all Another audio record has cropped up for Varun Gandhi. This is even more interesting, for it makes derogatory references not only to Muslims, but also to Sikhs. Read this: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-logon-ko-pakad-pakad-ke-nasbandi-karana-padega/437496/ ‘In logon ko pakad pakad ke nasbandi karana padega’ Font Size *D K Singh * Posted: Mar 22, 2009 at 0125 hrs IST [image: AddThis] Print Email Feedback Discuss ** *Related Stories:* BJP’s tempered response: CD could be tamperedNaveen hits back: BJP had communal plansJaitley stays away again, Mittal digs his heels inJai ha! campaign: BJP turns to Kaka Hathrasi’s satireBJP bares hurt, kicks off Orissa campaign calling Naveen cheat *New Delhi:* As the Election Commission discussed BJP candidate Varun Gandhi’s reply to its notice on his alleged hate speeches, it received another complaint today — from Pilibhit Congresscandidate V M Singh, in the form of a 28-minute audio CD of a purported speech by Gandhi at Deshnagar in Pilibhit on March 6. According to the CD, a copy of which has been obtained by The Sunday Express, Gandhi’s alleged speech in Deshnagar echoes the hate and vitriol of his alleged speeches in Barkhera and, this time, slams Sikhs as well as Muslims. Gandhi is the BJP candidate from Pilibhit. Singh was once close to the Maneka Gandhi family. Excerpts: • ...Main khada hoon hinduon ke liye...mujhe musalmaan vote nahin chahiye...mereko ek bhi nahin chahiye...Na Khalistan se, na Pakistan se...” [I am contesting for Hindus, I don’t want the Muslim vote, I don’t want a single Muslim vote. Neither from Khalistan nor from Pakistan]. • Maana jayega ki Hindu ka garh hai yeh ki koi kat** apne sir nahin utha sakta is chetra main [This will be known as a Hindu bastion, no (derogatory reference) Muslim dare raise his head here] n In logon ko pakad pakad ke nasbandi karaana padega...nasbandi karaana padega. [Need to pick them up, one by one, and sterilise them] • ...Ek to paagal sardar lad raha hai, jiske har samay barah baje hue hain...aur woh ek musalman ka agent ban ke lad raha hai, jo hindu usko lada rahe hain...woh hinduon ke sabh se bade gaddar hain...unko sazaye maut honi chahiye iske baad. [A deranged Sikh is contesting (a derogatory reference to the complainant)...he’s contesting as an agent of Muslims...the Hindus who are supporting him are the worst traitors of their community...they should be sentenced to death after this election]. • Boli se main jitna samarthan Hinduon ka doonga, usse zaada main goliyon se samarthan unka doonga [More than my words in support of Hindus, will be my bullets] Despite repeated attempts, Gandhi was not available for comment. In his complaint, Singh has told the EC that the audio recording was obtained through one of the residents of Pilibhit who wants that his name not be disclosed for fear of repercussions. Singh claims to have “verified the contents” of the recording from “some residents of Desh Nagar who were present at the meeting.” Reacting to Gandhi’s claim on the earlier CDs that those had been tampered with, CEC N Gopalaswami has said that it’s up to Gandhi to prove that. Also, speaking in Bhubaneswar yesterday, the CEC said there was no reason for the EC to believe that the CDs were doctored. What a shame that what the VHP used to say (and hence the EC could take no action), now the BJP candidates are saying. Soon, there could be a day when their prime-ministerial candidate would be also saying such things, and that man could soon be Narendra Modi (after Advani goes away). I think two things are very necessary from here: 1) Varun Gandhi must be sentenced as well as debarred from elections forever, to ensure such speeches are never given again. 2) More importantly, not only the BJP, but any organization like the VHP should be banned during election time from giving speeches against any religion, on the pretext of communalizing atmosphere, and such people must be jailed. Regards Rakesh From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 09:02:08 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:02:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Negative Voting - Allowed or Not Message-ID: Dear all As I had earlier said, I think we need to go away from just identity-based issues, for there are a whole other gambit of issues which we need to discuss about. To go forward, I have put up this article from India Together. The link is: http://indiatogether.org/2009/mar/gov-negvote.htm I put up this article, because with the elections near, I think this is an important issue. On one hand, the urban middle class is so much disgusted with politicians (a sample was the kind of reaction seen after Mumbai terror attacks), that they think 'sab politicians chor hain'. On the other hand, we have our villages where voting rates are generally seen to be quite high. But again, 100% voting is not seen everywhere. And certainly, when it is a right to vote, there should also be a complementary right to not to vote. Or shouldn't it be there? This article captures the debate of having it or not. Regards Rakesh Article : ELECTORAL REFORMS * SC keeps door open on negative voting * A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has referred the question of whether voters should have the option to declare their lack of confidence in all the candidates on a ballot to a Constitution bench. Kannan Kasturi reports. * Write the author * Elections * Send to a friend * Printer friendly version *09 March 2009* - It is election summer, and the leaders of the major political parties are busy nominating candidates whose most important qualification will be the ability to take advantage of the local caste or community arithmetic in their respective constituencies. In these pre-election games, neither those who do the everyday work of parties nor those who vote them in and out of power have anything to do with selecting candidates. Naturally, then, one is led to ask - on Election Day, should the voter have the choice to reject all candidates - by selecting a 'None of the above' option on the electronic voting machines - if he finds them all unsuitable? The proposal for allowing what is commonly termed the 'negative vote' was debated for many years before it reached the doors of the Supreme Court as the substance of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2004. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, disposing this petition on 23 February 2009, found sufficient merit in it to recommend its consideration by a larger Constitution Bench; the Government of India, opposing the petition, had argued for its outright dismissal. This proposal for electoral reform is just one example of the many that have been languishing for years for want of action on the part of the Government. The history of these attempts at electoral reforms provides valuable insights into the forces ranged for and against them. But first, it will be useful to consider the problems of the elector today, and the arguments advanced for and against the negative vote. *Lack of interest or disapproval?* What are the choices before an elector today if s/he is presented with an undesirable set of candidates? There is an obscure provision in the current election rules that allows a voter to merely register his presence at the booth with the polling officials without voting for any candidate. But this option is not secret, and as a result one can expect it to be rarely used, and that indeed that is the case. The major political parties, notwithstanding their differences, share a strong common vested interest in denying greater rights and freedoms to the electors, and have closely co-operated in Parliament to defend the status quo in electoral law. * Full coverage: Electoral reforms * Towards positive change There are other ways of expressing dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates. Voting for the least unacceptable candidate is another option, but this is only possible when at least one candidate meets the minimum threshold of acceptance for a voter. The more common practice, among those who aren't particularly enamoured of any of their potential representatives, is to stay away from the polling booth altogether, and over 280 million electors did just that during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. But abstaining electors inevitably invite the charge of being uninterested in the affairs of the nation, and of failing to be good citizens. The recent Tata Tea/Janaagraha-led *jaago re* campaign epitomises this view in the lines "On election day, if you are not voting, you are in slumber...". Against this backdrop, the introduction of a 'None of the above' option in the ballot is expected to give the elector a legitimate way of expressing disapproval of candidates in an election without appearing to boycott the proceedings as a whole. As a positive side effect to this, incidences of bogus voting through impersonation of absent voters should come down. There is also perhaps an optimistic view that negative voting will lead eventually to better candidates. The Law Commission in its *170th report on Reform of Electoral Laws*, while recommending the negative vote, explained its benefit: "the negative vote is intended to put moral pressure on political parties not to put forward candidates with undesirable record i.e., criminals, corrupt elements and persons with unsavoury background". However, it has been pointed out that such pressure would be more likely to work, if, the negative vote also carries weight in determining the outcome of an election. For example, the election rules could provide for a re-election in case 'None of the above' option receives more votes than any candidate, and also bar the original candidates from contesting again. Critics of the negative vote option do not find anything wrong in principle with the measure. Rather, their criticism is that it may be impractical to implement, that it is unlikely to change voting patterns, and hence unnecessary. Examples are cited of countries with the negative vote where it has not made a great difference. The State of Nevada in the United States has a 'None of these candidates' option in its ballots and votes gathered under this option are reported, though the 'first-past-the-post' candidate is always declared elected. In the recent presidential elections in the US, only 0.65 per cent of the voters of Nevada voted against all the candidates. Still, the negative vote option - even if it is unlikely to change voting patterns - is unlikely to cause harm, and may in fact help to improve the quality of candidates. The opposition to it, therefore, should be seen in light of the stumbling blocks that have been placed before other equally innocuous measures for electoral reforms by the major political parties. It is also noteworthy that the recent history of attempts at electoral reforms shows the major political parties, notwithstanding their differences, sharing a strong common vested interest in denying greater rights and freedoms to the electors and closely co-operating in Parliament to defend the status quo in electoral law. As a result, the burden of championing the interests of the elector has been left to civil society. *The elector's right to know* In 1999, the Association of Democratic Reforms filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court requesting the court to direct the Election Commission (EC) to collect and make available to the public, details of pending criminal cases, if any, from candidates in their nomination forms by amending the Conduct of Election Rules and obtained a favorable ruling in 2000. The Government of India immediately appealed against this ruling to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, upholding the High Courts judgment in 2002 explained its reasoning: "Under our Constitution, Article 19(1)(a) provides for freedom of speech and expression. Voter's speech or expression in case of election would include casting of votes, that is to say, voter speaks out or expresses by casting vote. For this purpose, information about the candidate to be selected is a must. Voter's (little man-citizens') right to know antecedents including criminal past of his candidate contesting election for MP or MLA is much more fundamental and basic for survival of democracy. The little man may think over before making his choice of electing law-breakers as law-makers." The Court also determined that while the Election Commission was bound to act in conformity with laws made by Parliament or State Legislatures relating to elections, it was empowered by Article 324 of the constitution to take the necessary steps for conducting free and fair elections where the law was silent. The Court directed the EC to use these powers to collect information from candidates in an affidavit about criminal convictions, pending cases, assets & liabilities and educational qualifications. The EC complied by issuing an order in June, 2002 to implement this decision. The political establishment was extremely uncomfortable at this turn of events. An all-party meeting in July 2002, presided over by the Law Minister with the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in attendance, decided to introduce a bill in Parliament to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to define the scope of disclosures to be made by candidates. The bill, passed as an ordinance by Government and later approved by Parliament in December 2002 limited the disclosures that could be sought from candidates by the EC. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) challenged the constitutionality of sections of the amended Law. In March 2003, the Supreme Court declared some of the modifications to the Representation of People Act, 1951 carried out by Parliament to be unconstitutional and restored the disclosures from candidates sought by the EC. Through these court battles, a small concession had been wrested in favor of the elector's right to know about candidates who seek to represent him (see *India Together's* earlier coverage of this struggle at this link). *The elector's right to reject* Way back in 2001, the Election Commission approached the then National Democratic Alliance government with the proposal of introducing negative voting. There was no response from the government. In July 2004, after the UPA was voted to power, the EC again approached the government with a set of "urgent proposals for electoral reforms" including the negative voting proposal. On the question of negative voting, the EC had this to say: "The Commission has received proposals from a very large number of individuals and organizations that there should be a provision enabling a voter to reject all the candidates in the constituency if he does not find them suitable ... The Commission recommends that the law should be amended to specifically provide for negative / neutral voting." Yet again, there was no response from the Government. With the experience of the struggle to establish the elector's right to know, and seeking to push through this reform in the face of an intransigent government, the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties approached the Supreme Court in 2004 seeking directions to the EC to provide for negative voting in full secrecy. Incidentally, around this time, the BJP spokesman and former Law Minister, when contacted about the PIL, remarked that "it is a debatable issue and there should be a thorough debate among the cross-section of people..." (*The Tribune*, Chandigarh, 25 January, 2005). But the debate had been already on for a mere 7 years or so! With the recent ruling of the Supreme Court this year on this PIL, it will be left to a Constitution bench to decide whether the right to vote in secrecy and the right to reject all candidates flow from fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution and if the scope of the powers of the Election Commission can extend to implementing mechanisms for negative voting. If the right of the voter to positively reject bad candidates is recognised, it will be another step, albeit small, along the difficult road of electoral reforms. *��* *Kannan Kasturi* 09 Mar 2009 * Kannan Kasturi is an independent researcher and writer on law, policy and governance. * From javedmasoo at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 09:27:40 2009 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (M Javed) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:27:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Varun's speech blues In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: In today's age of recordings, hidden cameras and CDs, what I don't understand is, why have we become so lazy that we only depend on what is there in the recording (whether doctored or not) to prove whether somebody said something or not. If Varun made a speech in front of at least a few hundred (or even 20) people, why can't we consider bringing some of those people as witnesses to what he said? And if those people tell us a lie, or refuse to cooperate giving a witness account, or don't want to divulge their names (as one resident of Pilibhit does) then it becomes even more interesting - it shows how we play double standards: on one hand we want to spread the hatred against a community (to gain the other votes), and on the other, we also want to remain safe and secure from the clutches of law (and reprisal from the obvious people). So, it is the responsibility of the election commission to question the eye-witnesses in Pilibhit or other areas: whether they tell a lie or truth - both ways it will expose our hypocrisy. Javed On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 8:51 AM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > Another audio record has cropped up for Varun Gandhi. This is even more > interesting, for it makes derogatory references not only to Muslims, but > also to Sikhs. > > Read this: > > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-logon-ko-pakad-pakad-ke-nasbandi-karana-padega/437496/ > > ‘In logon ko pakad pakad ke nasbandi karana padega’ >  Font Size > *D K Singh * Posted: Mar > 22, 2009 at 0125 hrs IST >  [image: AddThis] >  Print > Email > Feedback > Discuss >  ** >  *Related Stories:* BJP’s tempered response: CD could be > tamperedNaveen > hits back: BJP had communal > plansJaitley > stays away again, Mittal digs his heels > inJai > ha! campaign: BJP turns to Kaka Hathrasi’s > satireBJP > bares hurt, kicks off Orissa campaign calling Naveen > cheat >  *New Delhi:* As the Election Commission discussed BJP candidate Varun > Gandhi’s reply to its notice on his alleged hate speeches, it received > another complaint today — from Pilibhit > Congresscandidate > V M Singh, in the form of a 28-minute audio CD of a purported > speech by Gandhi at Deshnagar in Pilibhit on March 6. > > According to the CD, a copy of which has been obtained by The Sunday > Express, Gandhi’s alleged speech in Deshnagar echoes the hate and vitriol of > his alleged speeches in Barkhera and, this time, slams Sikhs as well as > Muslims. > > Gandhi is the BJP candidate from Pilibhit. Singh was once close to the > Maneka Gandhi family. > > Excerpts: > > • ...Main khada hoon hinduon ke liye...mujhe musalmaan vote nahin > chahiye...mereko ek bhi nahin chahiye...Na Khalistan se, na Pakistan se...” > [I am contesting for Hindus, I don’t want the Muslim vote, I don’t want a > single Muslim vote. Neither from Khalistan nor from Pakistan]. > > • Maana jayega ki Hindu ka garh hai yeh ki koi kat** apne sir nahin utha > sakta is chetra main [This will be known as a Hindu bastion, no (derogatory > reference) Muslim dare raise his head here] > n In logon ko pakad pakad ke nasbandi karaana padega...nasbandi karaana > padega. [Need to pick them up, one by one, and sterilise them] > > • ...Ek to paagal sardar lad raha hai, jiske har samay barah baje hue > hain...aur woh ek musalman ka agent ban ke lad raha hai, jo hindu usko lada > rahe hain...woh hinduon ke sabh se bade gaddar hain...unko sazaye maut honi > chahiye iske baad. [A deranged Sikh is contesting (a derogatory reference to > the complainant)...he’s contesting as an agent of Muslims...the Hindus who > are supporting him are the worst traitors of their community...they should > be sentenced to death after this election]. > > • Boli se main jitna samarthan Hinduon ka doonga, usse zaada main goliyon se > samarthan unka doonga [More than my words in support of Hindus, will be my > bullets] Despite repeated attempts, Gandhi was not available for comment. > > In his complaint, Singh has told the EC that the audio recording was > obtained through one of the residents of Pilibhit who wants that his name > not be disclosed for fear of repercussions. Singh claims to have “verified > the contents” of the recording from “some residents of Desh Nagar who were > present at the meeting.” > > Reacting to Gandhi’s claim on the earlier CDs that those had been tampered > with, CEC N Gopalaswami has said that it’s up to Gandhi to prove that. Also, > speaking in Bhubaneswar yesterday, the CEC said there was no reason for the > EC to believe that the CDs were doctored. > > > What a shame that what the VHP used to say (and hence the EC could take no > action), now the BJP candidates are saying. Soon, there could be a day when > their prime-ministerial candidate would be also saying such things, and that > man could soon be Narendra Modi (after Advani goes away). > > I think two things are very necessary from here: > > 1) Varun Gandhi must be sentenced as well as debarred from elections > forever, to ensure such speeches are never given again. > > 2) More importantly, not only the BJP, but any organization like the VHP > should be banned during election time from giving speeches against any > religion, on the pretext of communalizing atmosphere, and such people must > be jailed. > > > Regards > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 10:00:02 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:00:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Varun's speech blues In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Javed ji (and all) I think one must look at this from the perspective of those onlookers who may have heard the speech. While what you had said is one brave point, the fact is that for every person (except today's suicide bombers), the utmost respect is for one's own life. And while it is true that everybody wants the law to function properly in principle, in reality everybody tries to save their own skin, life and sometimes reputation. And those people won't be protected by your or mine brave points, for this is how our democracy works. As for hypocrisy, who cares? The UPA and the NDA will break today and will come back again tomorrow; SP can support or not support the UPA as and when it wishes; and other things can also happen or not happen depending on the politicians' importance to it; they have already accepted they are hypocritic, and when one looks at them, one realizes Indian democracy is at a stage where the politicians are indirectly saying: 'Do what you can, it hardly matters'. It's an absolutely depressing situation to look at where we have reached in our 60 years of independence, with very few achievements, and huge disasters in democratic functioning. And when the people know the system will never work properly, by stating the truth, they would only be doing what failed suicide bombers do: just die themselves. And the cost of a life in their eyes, is more than the cost of obtaining justice. After all, 'jaan bachchi to laakhon paaye'. And not for nothing, are movies like 'Gulaal' true. So any attempt at improving the system can't be introduced through encouraging suicidal tendencies of people (where they disregard their lives in order to obtain justice), but would have to come by providing incentives to politicians to work towards reform of politics and Indian democracy. And so in todays' case, we would have to go with these recordings, unfortunately, instead of evidences by people themselves, in order to take justice. It's these which could begin a set of good practices to be followed up during election speeches, though I agree that this is not the way things should go. Regards Rakesh From javedmasoo at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 11:48:55 2009 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (M Javed) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:48:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Varun's speech blues In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Rakesh You are right, everyone wants to save his/her skin, and to heck with democracy and the larger interest of the nation. But my question about the recordings was not only for the slippery politician. I was asking more about the impact of (recording) media on people's lives today (something that Sarai is also interested in discussing). I think that after watching hours and hours of news channels' stupidity about an "evidence" to prove a news item, we seem to be losing touch with our human-ness. Every time something happens, our first instinct is to look for the telecast of what the surveillance cameras recorded or what the TV grab shows in a newspaper. We forget (or ignore, or mistrust) the presence of real people at the scene. The cameras and recording machines decide whether our nation is under siege or not. Although at one level, these recordings are also a great advantage - they archive (and transmit) what we could not see just 20 or 50 years ago. But 20-50 years ago, we also depended more on people's eyewitness accounts. Any way, the important question is not what Varun Gandhi said or did not say in his speeches, but what he truly is in real life. For many people (who have seen him grow from a baby to an adult) it is still difficult to come to terms that someone from the Gandhi-Nehru family could take such a sharp turn (not that the Nehru-Gandhi family consists of angels any way). Javed On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 10:00 AM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear Javed ji (and all) > > I think one must look at this from the perspective of those onlookers who > may have heard the speech. While what you had said is one brave point, the > fact is that for every person (except today's suicide bombers), the utmost > respect is for one's own life. And while it is true that everybody wants the > law to function properly in principle, in reality everybody tries to save > their own skin, life and sometimes reputation. And those people won't be > protected by your or mine brave points, for this is how our democracy works. > > As for hypocrisy, who cares? The UPA and the NDA will break today and will > come back again tomorrow; SP can support or not support the UPA as and when > it wishes; and other things can also happen or not happen depending on the > politicians' importance to it; they have already accepted they are > hypocritic, and when one looks at them, one realizes Indian democracy is at > a stage where the politicians are indirectly saying: 'Do what you can, it > hardly matters'. > > It's an absolutely depressing situation to look at where we have reached in > our 60 years of independence, with very few achievements, and huge disasters > in democratic functioning. And when the people know the system will never > work properly, by stating the truth, they would only be doing what failed > suicide bombers do: just die themselves. And the cost of a life in their > eyes, is more than the cost of obtaining justice. > > After all, 'jaan bachchi to laakhon paaye'. And not for nothing, are movies > like 'Gulaal' true. > > So any attempt at improving the system can't be introduced through > encouraging suicidal tendencies of people (where they disregard their lives > in order to obtain justice), but would have to come by providing incentives > to politicians to work towards reform of politics and Indian democracy. > > And so in todays' case, we would have to go with these recordings, > unfortunately, instead of evidences by people themselves, in order to take > justice. It's these which could begin a set of good practices to be followed > up during election speeches, though I agree that this is not the way things > should go. > > Regards > > Rakesh > From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 12:28:18 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:28:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Varun's speech blues In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Javed ji (and all) I feel that for the media, such items are nothing more than a way to gain TRP's, which is why they have probably forgotten the presence of the people there. And today, each incident is best captured with the angle of maximizing one's own viewership at the expense of others. Which is why we have come up to this. But I think, the absence of a regulator of TV media is also responsible for all this. And certainly, with all the link between politicians and media today, you can hardly expect the media to actually be ethical (DMK --> Sun TV, Jayalalitha --> Jaya TV, In Kerala, CPM, Congress and the Muslim League have their channel each, and in West Bengal, you have three channels owned by people belonging to the CPM. As far as NDTV and others are concerned, they may have heads linked to politicians with a view to gain favour of them). And I agree with you that this is something which is disastrous for our nation, and for the society at large. As far as Varun Gandhi's views are concerned, I am of the view that today's politicians have totally misused Gandhi (Mohandas, not Varun)'s ideals of changing one's idea with the times if it was found to be wrong. Here we have situations, where Gandhi's notion which was based on whether something is good for the society and nation at large or not, to something which is good for oneself or not. And the end result is that a person belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, has now vouched for communal values. After all, in the BJP, such rhetoric gives one a stronger position in the organization, as well as gives you a solid votebank for yourself and the party at large. Regards Rakesh From sub_sengupta at yahoo.co.in Sun Mar 22 12:49:44 2009 From: sub_sengupta at yahoo.co.in (subhrodip sengupta) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:49:44 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Khakis, Public ,& Overwork. Message-ID: <966173.9528.qm@web94708.mail.in2.yahoo.com> As my title suggests, this is connected to Para-millitary forces. And it is concerning Delhi, India's capital territory. People in Uniform have always been reverred, for reasons quite faimiliar for many of us, so they stand out of the crowd. This time again, loopholes appeared and a blot would have been put once again on the khaki, if I did not intervene. Friends, I travell on a 1 hr metro route from Rajiv Chowk to Dwarka. Central Industrial Security forces whose heavily-armed security personnel guard the metro-property and sometimes scare away peace-lovers like me, use this metro for transportaion as well as for vigilance, tough personnel in uniform are seemingly bound by some strict codes. Who cares? Common man views this unnecessary violence as infringent on his privacy and sometimes even dignity, but disciplined by rules of city life and high standards of personal space that members of public give to one another or basically, this socio-economic regime, the fact that he cannot afford a car-drive makes him reconcile of his powerless state, re-inforced by the fact that given means-ends tsatus quo, he'd better concentrate on his job and treat transit as transit(re-inforced by recent news and heavy displays of arms and commando tactics at roadside, too)! Also,I'd like to add to this seemeingly loose-formed serntences which I add as a background, that as regards seats only a few care for how and where seats are reserved, and here do I salute them for beings bearers for humanity, as for enforecement of these codec, apart from useless and irritating cackaphony which jamms our radio-devices, there's none, a very conscious move by metro officials again, to appease bulls of the society.     Karol Bagh, 2pm, three Security personnel Board the coach I am in. Two of them run and occupy a seat just beside a woman, asking others to adjust. This lady now shovelled by security guards now doesn't know what to do. may be under normal circumstances, she'd have objected for very understandable reasons, well evidence was I could make that out from her expression, so would have a few of her co-passengers. Now it happens so that only two of us, remotely sitiuated from her actually assess the intent and state of events going on. There are other security personnel too, but none of them actually understand whats going on.  Clearly these people do not seem to care and the civilians who understand are under a spel of fear, embarrassed and confused, do not know what to do. A colleague come to these and while standing in such a manner that is infringing into this sole lady, caught in between making faces, but who'd listen, who after a day's hard work wants to be beaten up? Not every body, sadly not one except me. From this end with a 35+ kg bag on my shoulder I slowly tear open the crowd and approach these guys and urge standing one out. By this time two de-board the train. Now who remains is a kannad guy who immidiately falls asleep. Well this is not a story of my bravery or anti-national else I'd have narrated about drunk guys, misbehaving and moleting a woman, shovvling her and making her feel uncomfortable. No, definitely that's not a story, else you'd have read that in the newspaer 'Guy held up for Scuffle up with Seciurity men','inabbriated guy riots in metro', or 'terrorist shot dead, critically injured 4 men before dying'! Well I kept on stnding there with myself ready for a scuffle once the lady asks for help. By nature of training, most of these men are machoists, and their training towards gender sensitisation is Nil. I've seen many commandos letching 'westren dressed women' I cant read their minds and tell U if they think them to be sluts or not! Anyways, I find them much better and easier to quiten since they are armed under discipline (I may run into trouble anytime, but cant help it!)and as for this guy slept off and started brushing  against the woman I do not know whether he was taking advantage of the trains vibrations, no further wankh laait, I intervene, now this lady's relieved and smiling, he says aankh lag gaya tha, I say thats Not fine! He knows he's into some trouble, he awakens. I sniff him to test for alcohol, but since I do not find much reason from his eyes or smell or otherwise, I do not take my action plan, which I'd list for comments, below. He tries and tries on to explain. I'd make him appologise again to the lady, though I sense he's a typical chauvinist how can he lean against a girl? he explains and I politely disagree admist a conversation pulls up! I knew that was the case for in any case my training tells me to transend for reality beyond the Uniform. I recon hes well above 40's and has a kid of my age, which I knew that from moment 1, but isn't the harrasment part, whats, rather shocking, nobody 'dares?' Anyways I do not know what I did to dare, because all I was doing was expressing my privacy.  Now the metro empties and even the lady knows why I didnt act earlier, as she did not see me coming to her aid before, it wasnt a first time dillema, only understanding needs of a tired senior man (behind the Uniform), not sexual needs off course! This man was friendly but anything could have happenned. Poor lady! He style at first fitted my general image arrogant not ready to leave his stand, but he was rather friendly and a jolly fellow, rare among all men, as was a possibility and I've no offences against this honest man, (what I find alarmed is about the feeling of ignorance of social envoirnment and submissiveness and vulnerability that was brewing on part of both) i thought he seemed talking about  sharm and haya and purdah of culture, not in delhi to me. He swears, in his personal experirence, he hasn't seen any discipline in delhi, nor much sound administration, provoked I take up the bangalore, not mangalore issue.  Hea long  tells me about his standing duty and extra long hours that prevails top-bottom on the ground level.  He has to awake at 3 in morning and sleep at 11:00. It amuses him when he discovers that I go to sleep when he awakens and still work early in the morning, still have senses not to be a 'bull' and do ensure rights of others ---- people who cant brush their bodies against others, people who do not posess judo-karate skills, get seat if they need it and do not feel disadvqantaged and still I do not find offence in him for breaking code of conduct, I could have urged him to do that if that would benefit me,but only wish he was a litlle more aware of not crushing others on the way or acting indecently.  I come to know aboout he used to play tabla well and now his duty and family time crushes him out. Well friend he's not the only one, many CISF personnel have previously shown their dislike for this work and complained of ling hours of standing, no recreational support etc. I am afraid as I remember the frequent CRPF suicidal outbursts. Stricter and vigillant norms have to be enforced, before that it needs to be checd with a humane touch. Culture and social awareness and training with frequent off the job interaction with public, a model implemented by kolkatta police, unfortunately unsuccesful due to high proved corruptedness. Overwork makes you sleep and drink and then the jerking of the train causes the mischief. As a epilogue, I wouldnt be amused if this educated middle-class mob would have beaten up this man after he appologised, it's jackal instinct!Everyday I helplessly watch them, not bound by any code of discipline on there urge to prove they are bulls, to capture seats for themselves, be it sit on reserved for women, and ladies do not need to sit-- pressing for equality,they look fit enough to stand! Ther's no other way in which these men can get their way, it's we the civilian people who should raise a voice for them(rather than raising a toast at functions) so that good social sense prevails!                   (Nb: what to do: 1> check out if drunk. Drunk misbehaving always gives you benefit of doubt as against his carreer record. 2> Call them be polite but firm, so that they know you are intelligent 3> Sense trouble, do not brush up against people armed by your sweat and blood(taxes?), 4> Read the name badge,Call the operator, tell others,as well as raise an alarm and at next station, refuse to deboard unless rthe security in charge is over the wireless. Remember to lodge and get a copy of complaint to ensure action and avoid repurcations. No need to be upset. 5> Do not get nasty unless the other is. Violence begets violence(somethings that pretending bi-gots wouldn't ever understand),There's no chuvinism in unnecessary violence, remember you could be in their position someday too, unwell and surrounded by overbearing crowd! 6> Every time you are on an overcrowded metro thats slow file an well at least an e-complaints, I guess white gloved guards are not there to ensure smooth functioning of doors! Surely we can prvent delhi-metro from being a drama based on commonweath games). ________________________________ Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India Messenger. Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ From phadkeshilpa at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 14:30:46 2009 From: phadkeshilpa at gmail.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:30:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Job description - Program Director, Point of View In-Reply-To: <025001c9aabb$daa766e0$6601a8c0@bishakha6bbb1b> References: <025001c9aabb$daa766e0$6601a8c0@bishakha6bbb1b> Message-ID: Please email this widely across all your networks. This is a key position - we welcome applications from all those who fit the bill. Or names of potential candidates; we can follow up. Bishakha *Program Director, Point of View* *Application Deadline: 5 April 2009* *Application Requirements: CV and cover letter; details below.* *About Us *www.pointofview.org Point of View is a Mumbai-based non-profit organization that brings the points of view of women into the public domain through media, art and culture. We work across five program areas: *· **FIGHTING FOR HEADSPACE Placing the broad concept of gender in the public domain* * * · *PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES* *Putting forward the realities of women in sex work and prostitution in their own voices* * * · *SPEAKING IN TONGUES * *Highlighting marginalized realities: HIV, sexuality, mental health**, migration, body image* * * · *DEFENDING OUR BODIES * *Enabling women to speak out about and prevent domestic violence* * * · *CHANGING THE LENS* *Building the art and media capacities of grassroots women*** * * All our work is carried out in collaboration with grassroots NGOs and blends women’s rights, gender and sexuality *content* with media, art and culture * forms* and platforms. These include photography, video, theatre, text, film festivals, new media, interactive games etc. We are a lean organization with a staff of less than nine. Our work style is not rooted in a 9 to 5 job ethic, but in a professional culture that offers flexibility and demands delivery and accountability. *New Phase* As we enter our 12th year, Point of View is actively looking for a Program Director who will: - Direct the implementation of our ongoing programs and projects - Envision, shape and lead the program portfolio of POV 2.0, the organization in its second decade *Job Description* The Program Director would primarily be responsible for: - Project and program conceptualization, design and implementation This would also include elements of financial management, advocacy and communications, administration, staff management, fundraising and donor relationships. The Program Director would immediately take charge of executing Point of View’s initiative *Act Against Domestic Violence: The Law Is On Your Side. *This initiative aims to provide user-friendly information about the recent Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) to multiple constituencies in the city of Mumbai over the next 18 months – and enable them to report, take action against, and prevent domestic violence. The initiative is part of our *Defending Our Bodies *program, which* **enables women to speak out about and prevent domestic violence.* * * *Side by side, the Program Director would manage all our other programs – and conceptualize, design and pitch new initiatives to donors as part of the transition to POV 2.0, or Point of View in its second decade.** *We see POV 2.0 as a deft, creative, and strategic amalgam of old and new priorities, programs and media. ** * * *The Ideal Candidate* A woman who is: Ambitious Creative Innovative A Self-starter Effective *Ten Essential Candidate Skills* The Program Director would be a visionary self-starter with: 1. Strong program and project management skills and experience of more than five years, including financial management skills 2. Creative approaches to outreach and a deep belief in the value of reaching beyond the circles of the converted 3. Exceptional inter-personal skills that translate into an ability to straddle multiple worlds and work successfully with extremely diverse constituencies 4. Rigorous attention to detail, quality and impact in program conceptualization, design, execution and implementation, in written communications, and in financial management 5. Innovative ideas, and immense energy to run programs through their life cycle - from funding to conceptualizing and implementing them 6. Excellent writing, editing and verbal communications skills, including the ability to communicate complex ideas in accessible, jargon-free English 7. Sound understandings of media, art and culture forms, including mass media, new media and alternative media 8. State-of-the art knowledge of women’s rights in India, including gender and sexuality 9. High multi-tasking abilities to simultaneously manage multiple tasks, functions, projects, programs and constituencies 10. Solid team working skills including the abilities to delegate and work cooperatively with people at various levels of responsibilities, and direct, mentor and supervise staff. *Job Location* Mumbai *Remuneration* Competitive salaries within the non-profit sector, with flexi-time work options** *Reporting* To Point of View’s Executive Director * * *Start date* May-June 2009 *References* Names of three professional references, including one referee from the last three years *Application requirements and deadlines* To apply, please email the following to pointofviewmumbai at gmail.com by *5 April 2009*. - An updated resume or CV - A cover letter of less than two pages explaining why you are the ideal candidate. Tell us everything we can’t get from the CV – your professional motivations, strengths, limitations, and passions, and why this job is of interest to you at this point in time. *Attachment* 1997-2009 at POV(one page) From navayana at gmail.com Sun Mar 22 16:20:35 2009 From: navayana at gmail.com (Navayana Publishing) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:20:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The pundit just lost his job in Uttar Pradesh Message-ID: *In Gandhi kingdom, Mayawati on the cards* http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?sectionName=IndiaSectionPage&id=27365d0b-fb72-4e3f-a853-2aa3bfef7aa1MyIndiamyvote2009_Special&Headline=In+Gandhi+kingdom%2c+Mayawati+on+the+cards Sunita Aron Hindustan Times, March 21, 2009* * The pundit just lost his job in an Uttar Pradesh village. When Rangnath (33) and Ranjana (31), both Dalits, tied the knot in December, there was no Hindu priest at the ceremony. No sacred fire. No chanting of mantras. It was a Buddhist wedding, and it was over in half-an-hour. The couple took their vows before portraits of Buddha and Dalit champion Bhimrao Ambedkar. Thirty kilometres north of the state capital of Lucknow, even those without invites thronged Rangnath’s house in Janki Khera Ambedkar village in Rae Bareli to gape at the unusual proceedings. It was the first wedding of its kind in the village — but not the first in Uttar Pradesh. As their Dalit chief minister gives them a new confidence and renewed identity, the lowest caste in the Hindu hierarchy is going a step further. Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of luck, and the Om symbol are being replaced on weddings cards with the Dalit idols — Ambedkar, Buddha and, in many cases, even Mayawati. The Dalit chief minister of Uttar Pradesh may not have improved the lives of her people very much — and she may even be wooing the Brahmins once more ahead of the general election — but her very existence is changing the way Dalits see themselves. After generations of yearning to draw water from the same well, Uttar Pradesh’s 3.51 crore Dalits are revelling in their own identity. “We don’t follow Vedic culture,” says Guru Prasad Madan, an advocate and social activist in Allahabad. Three months after the Rangnath-Ranjana wedding, a number of other young couples plan to follow suit. In a state where Dalits make up 21 per cent of the population, Pandits are fast losing jobs in the countryside as couples enter into wedlock, name their children, bless new homes and even conduct last rites according to Buddhist traditions. According to a study by the Dalit Resource Centre in Allahabad, at least 60 per cent of Jatavs — a Dalit sub-caste — now conduct all religious ceremonies without a pandit. “The momentum has picked up in the last five years,” the study says. Jayant Gautam, president of the UP chapter of the Buddhist Society of India, founded by Ambedkar in 1954, says 5,000 Buddhist weddings are held every year in the state. “The practice is now spreading to states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where there are also sizeable Dalit communities.” Rangnath’s elder brother Jagannath admits Mayawati's influence. “She did send out a message by conducting the last rites of [political mentor] Kanshi Ram according to Buddhist traditions,” he says. “She is spreading the message without hurting the sentiments of other castes.” The absence of a Bhenti or Buddhist priest to officiate is not a problem. “Anyone who has taken Bodh deeksha (converted to Buddhism) can play the role,” says Jagannath. -- Navayana Publishing M-110 (First Floor) Saket New Delhi--110017 Ph: +91 9971433117 Registered address: Navayana Publishing 54, I Floor Savarirayalu Stree Pondicherry 605001 Ph: 91-413-2223337 Mobile: 91-94430-33305 www.navayana.org Join Navayana Book Club and avail free books and special discounts! http://www.navayana.org/display.php?id=5 From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 01:53:41 2009 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:53:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] understanding politics:coming Indian Parliamentary Elections Message-ID: <47e122a70903221323n5bee47dcpae403294ba93dcfc@mail.gmail.com> …today's society is tending toward a generalization of this procedure to all citizens, placing the population under permanent suspicion and surveillance. politics has “contaminated itself with law” in the state of exception. Because “only human action is able to cut the relationship between violence and law”, it becomes increasingly difficult within the state of exception for humanity to act against the State[: "The political body thus has became a criminal body" The above is Giorgio Agamben, the well known Italian philosopher. Given the Election Time in India, normally after quoting such a loaded passage , talking on conflicts of immediate nature becomes imperative. But I want to see it further down the line ,as the same person says “our task would be to radically differentiate "pure violence" from….., instead of tying them together” So what is the nature of this animal called violence? We all known how psychologically we are hooked to horror stories, of all kinds, of incest, of murder, war stories and what not. Novel and cinema has thrived on this human aspect. So there must be a reason or so; and the most frightening one, perhaps, is that our own hearts must be hiding some form of violence inside, and that is why when suddenly some thing explodes in the middle of a society, we see it like we see theatre. Beyond what we know as the Media turning such event into a spectacle, I am thinking of Arts. The Arts ( speaking in general ) only lifts the ideas and moulds them to the compulsions of different mediums chosen for expressions, both individual and collective. So we have a Triangle like thing, At the one end of it the Arts which we celebrate, and the other is the politics out there, and the third one indeed is our inner world. With Arts, we know there are signs and rhythms and performances which interpolate and throws out some unpredictable possibility to see the door for opening the other two angles of the triangle. So with the other two angles of the triangle, we have two situations: one where there is calm, but violence is within like ‘fish in the river, and the other one is isolated Fish as Piranha, much more lethal than actual. In the later case we know that our only choice is to run, and with the former we have alwyas hope. That is too obvious, but see the paradox: We have a school boy in Germany who rampantly kills scores of his innocent friends in the school, or the Austrian father who locked his daughter in the basement for decades and even produced children from incest. We have all the acidic expressions to explain the Mumbai’s villain Ajmal Kasab, but we don’t have system to deal the violence which is sitting like a kundalani-snake in our so called developed societies. After all, India is pursuing itself on the paths which leads a nation to such a developed stage, but is that development ? As Agamben often stresses, that ‘there is a very thin line between Democracy and Fascism’ , there also is very thin line between this isolated ‘piranha’ and ‘the fish’ who enjoy the depths of river. Both the kinds of fish plus water are structures of our society, and hence any attempt to treat it with a totalitarian and biased approach will give rise to further violence. I quote Hannah Ardent “Most of the evils of our time, arise from misguided attempts to moralize politics or politicize morality “ She was on a mission to keep politics pure. It was almost like a very passionate zeal to understand violence without any pre-condition. For Ardent, Politics was a precious cultural achievement rather than a regrettable social necessity, I further quote text written on her ¬Politics required us to set aside all sentiments of pride, indignation, shame or resentment, as well as any pretensions to superior expertise, in order to become responsive, intelligent citizens willing to negotiate all our differences on a basis of complete equality. Politics, in short, was the opposite of totalitarianism, and it depended on an open-hearted love for "human plurality"”, So far I quoted extensively two political scientists of our times. Although Arendt criticized Racism and Veitman War, she nevertheless celebrated Americanism, and on the other hand Agamben even refused to visit America in 2004 simply because he saw giving Biometric information to Visa authorities violates his fundamental existential right of being: Zoe In spite of two views of America, we have Arendt and Agamben talking intensely about the need to , as I quoted earlier, “ differentiate violence “ Arendt argued that the relationship between the world of public politics and that of personal morality a lot in common, in that neither political issues nor moral ones could ever be settled definitively. So there is a constant demand of the subjectivities to interact and alter the norm, and revaluate the sign. Similarly, for Agamben” Modern politics has been governed by a 'secret link' between bare life and politics.”. so the human being is in the process of unraveling itself. During the hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay prison, Agamben observes that news of forced feedings began to surface in the autumn of 2005……which was a breach of the government’s power and was against the rights of the prisoners. Now this squarely means that the American policies mixed morality with politics and finally created evils from such actions. So under the situation , is it immoral to not-to-vote. if the Political body has become a criminal body, then why we cant see it as an act against the state. A silent but potent act. However, Arendt who was a radical feminist as well, emphasized that it is “the audience-centeredness that renders the political…” and she even thought Politics even much superior forms of expressions, even bettter than poetry etc. So not to vote, must be political… To be contd…. with love inder salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 23 07:56:30 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:26:30 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] What is in this word "evidence"? In-Reply-To: <49C518C6.9090702@sarai.net> References: <49C518C6.9090702@sarai.net> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903221926w2cf1f963udb493ab9f1e461a5@mail.gmail.com> Dear Shveta Thank you for posting Babli Rai's text. For me the text describes the diabolical situation of the uncertainty of certain lives trapped in the certainty of uncertain numbers. I wonder about quantum of scale here because if in order to survey a seemingly small cluster of urban population the government has no pukka plan in place to sift through a panoply of identification papers and documents then how is it going to carry out the survey of one billion Indians to roll out MNIC? On the other hand 'fringe' sections of our population trapped in urban clusters like LNJP seems like a perfect 'case' for testing the veracity of MNIC regime, I will not be surprised or horrified if some smart babu at RGI decides to concentrate on specific spatial domains like 'slums' to introduce another round of pilot testing of MNIC? Regards Taha From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 08:58:21 2009 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:58:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Support the Candidature of Mallika Sarabhai Against L.K.Advani in Gandhinagar, Gujarat Message-ID: <1f9180970903222028u698cd617n55d79856cb9a36ba@mail.gmail.com> *Dear friend(s), I have this message posted by a friend, to a list elsewhere ( to which I'm a subscriber). Thought of re-circulating the content. Hope you will help spreading the word to have some consequences, ultimately. Regards, Venu.* Here is an announcement about Mallika Sarabhai's candidacy as an Independent in L K Advani's constituency. She is looking for financial and any other support. If anyone is interested in getting more information, or contributing any help, please get in touch with Ms.Leela Mayor. Her e-mail is: mayor.leela at gmail.com Here is some background (from Wikipedia) Mallika Sarabhai (born April 5, 1954) is a renowned Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer from India. Daughter of classical danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai and the renonwned space scientist, Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is also known for her association with the field of theatre and cinema. As well as a dancer, Sarabhai is a social activist. She, along with her mother, manages the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts located at Ahmedabad.[3] She made headlines when she complained that the Narendra Modi government of Gujarat was harassing her due to her public criticism of their role during the 2002 riots; the government in late 2002 had accused her of human trafficking. The Gujarati government dropped the case in December 2004. In 1989 she performed hard-hitting solo theatrical works, Shakti: The Power of Women. after it She direct & acted in numerous productions based on current issues and which raised awareness for social change. Mallika Sarabhai also wrote the script of the play Unsuni based on Harsh Mander's book Unheard Voices.Arvind Gaur translate it in hindi and Mallika Sarabhai direct Unsuni for Darpana Academy.Unsuni travels all over India.Darpana, the arts institution of Ahmedabad, has launched the people awareness movement through its production Unsuni. On March 19, Mallika Sarabhai announced to take on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. Mallika announced that she would contest the poll as an independent candidate. She said she had neither personally approached the Congress nor did it offer to make her its candidate. She positioned herself as a "people centric" candidate saying that “I am people’s candidate as people have asked me to contest.” Regarding her poll agenda, she said it will be people centric. Expressing her view that politicians of all hues and colours had killed democracy she said that “Politicians go to the people only during elections and are not to be seen for five years after that,”.[6] The firebrand danseuse, who has been taking up the cause of the riot victims, was also the first to file a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court against the BJP government's alleged role in fomenting communal violence across Gujarat. -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 09:08:55 2009 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (S. Jabbar) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:08:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Announcement Message-ID: Smitu Kothari, friend and colleague, peace activist, environmentalist and editor of Lokayan passed away early this morning after a sudden and brief illness. The funeral will be held today, Mon 23 March, in New Delhi at the Lodi Road electric crematorium at 4 pm. From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 10:09:12 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:09:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Thou subtle, perjur'd, false, disloyal man! Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903222139pce5154md59a97c5bde37498@mail.gmail.com> Dear Shivam , A Sahespearen insult from the novel "Measure for Measure " is an apt thing for you . It goes like this ....."Canst thou believe thy living is a life, so stinkingly depending? Go mend, go mend." I am forced to write this after readcing your article in Hindustan Times yesterday . The article i am refering about is "Stop The Ragging Bulls." Link - http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=CinemaSectionPage&id=686bb1e4-9707-4c70-b37b-5450cb38cece&Headline=Stop+the+ragging+bulls I know for sure your hate for Kashmiri pandits and your love for anyone who hates Kashmiri pandits . However there may be millions of readers of Hindustan Times who may be ignorant about the same and you would be corrupting them. In your article about Aman Kachroo's unfortunate death due to alleged ragging , you have mischeviously suggested that the case got attention because Aman Kachroo happened to be a Kashmiri pandit and as if Kashmiri pandits get more attantion than the ordinary citizens. Here is what you had written .... *What has changed? Have the chickens come home to roost? DPS, Gurgaon, Kashmiri Pandit — have the defenders shut up because the victim was a ‘person like us’?* ** Shivam , Please enlighten us and do mention which media house highlighted that Aman was a Kashmiri Pandit ? You go out all your way to create a wrong perception , anything which is Anti Kashmiri Pandit ? What is wrong with you ? Have you ever been abused in any sorts by a Kashmiri Pandit ? Please let me know so that I would ask the whole community to apologize ! You go out and speak against the Indian army if an innocent person dies in Kashmir , that is well understood and appreciated . However what makes you seal your lips when a colnel or a major and armymen die in Kashmir ? Why do you keep silent ? Do you celebrate these deaths ? You find re-naming of Anantnag as justified , and find a justification in what Mr Sengupta had written , however you have no response to what Rashneek wrote back to him . I would again end with another quote from "Measure to Measure " ...."Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade. From santhosh.kanipayur at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 10:15:07 2009 From: santhosh.kanipayur at gmail.com (Santhosh Kumar) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:15:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Announcement In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <19d498870903222145y7a3a8fd6r37ff4bd8e572013b@mail.gmail.com> Very very sad news. On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 9:08 AM, S. Jabbar wrote: > Smitu Kothari, friend and colleague, peace activist, environmentalist and > editor of Lokayan passed away early this morning after a sudden and brief > illness. The funeral will be held today, Mon 23 March, in New Delhi at the > Lodi Road electric crematorium at 4 pm. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mayorleela at yahoo.com Mon Mar 23 10:39:10 2009 From: mayorleela at yahoo.com (Leela Mayor) Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:09:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Campaign Message-ID: <279209.26548.qm@web58503.mail.re3.yahoo.com> The reason I am writing to you all is to tell you that Mallika Sarabhai is contesting for elections as an Independant candidate from the Gandhinagar constituency in Ahmedabad which is also L K Advani's constituency. So far there are no candidates from the Congress or the CPI so there is a possibility that they may back her. For all of us interested in the fight against the BJP this is a great opportunity to pitch in our resources and help her make a great push towards a victory. It is also a great chance to undermine Narendhra Modi and all that he stands for and to put a spoke in the wheels of Advani's quest for Prime Ministership of India. This will be a national battle fought out at the micro level and all eyes will be on it.   Mallika is looking for support in terms of ideas for campaigning (she already has a good idea of strategy but is open to fresh and new ideas) and also very importantly, FUNDS. If you feel you can rally like-minded people to contribute in any which way they can it would be great. The Bank Account details are as below. She wants total transparency in terms of how the monies are spent and there will be public accountability for this. She wants people to contribute upfront without wanting anonymity. I am a point of contact for anyone wanting information. I will be working for and with the campaign. We also need on the ground volunteers and workers.   Please let me know how you can help. Hope to hear from you anyway.....   Please find below the information on Accounts for transfer of funds. Please pass on to anyone interested. Please let everyone know that funds can be as small or as large as people can afford. It is also for us a token of their involvement and support.   We really appreciate your support and the fact that you share our enthusiasm.   Fund transfer Information No foreign contribution possible. If the NRIs have an Indian account, they may transfer it to that account and then forward that cash to us by bearer("self") cheque or cash itself.   For domestic wire transfer, please use this: A/c Name: "Mallika Sarabhai MP Election 2009" A/c Number: 202810110001569 Bank of India Vadaj Branch Ahmedabad 380013   If you are sending a check, please make check payable to: Mallika Sarabhai MP Election 2009 & mail to: Mallika Sarabhai Chidambaram Usmanpura Ahmedabad 380013   From image.science at donau-uni.ac.at Mon Mar 23 18:38:09 2009 From: image.science at donau-uni.ac.at (Image Science) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:08:09 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] REV-CONF: Gazing into the 21st Century (Veigl) Message-ID: <49C797C90200007D000079EA@gwgwia.donau-uni.ac.at> Conference Proceeding Second International Conference for Image Science Goettweig 08: Gazing into the 21st Century. Organised by: Department for Image Science, Danube University Krems, October 16th - 18th 2008, www.donau-uni.ac.at/dis The increasing number of new technical and social possibilities to produce and distribute visual material - from YouTube, Flickr to other virtual spaces - demonstrates more and more the demand for strengthening visual competencies. On that basis the credo of the conference Gazing into the 21st Century, which brought together American experts on image science like Felice Frankel, Barbara Stafford or Michael Naimark with German representatives like Marie-Luise Angerer, Oliver Grau or Nikolaj van der Meulen et al., was dedicated to the inventory, classification and historiography of the latest worlds of images in the domains of publicity, art, entertainment and science. Nowadays individual worlds of images form the background of PCs and cell phones; TV transforms to the global field of zapping of thousands partly even interactive channels; several hundred thousand new videos are published online every day in video communities; in interactive three-dimensional worlds of images a virtual and seemingly authentic parallel universe expands. In addition to entertainment also science and politics use the new dimensions of creating images and impact images. New questions arise in this new context: which inspirations do current image worlds experience though art? Which influences does medium have over the iconic character of the image? Which chances and challenges arise for intermediators of images and museums because of the „liquidity” of the image? Additionally, democratic chances and risks are directly related to processes of transformation in publicity provoked new image worlds, chances which ask for sensitive handling and augmented projects of archiving. Practices of collective writing, as they appear on the most famous hypertext Wikipedia, revolutionized within a decade the over centuries established status of author variability, style and aesthetical shape. The same developments were noticed by the journalist and photograph Stefan Heidenreich from Berlin in the world of the electronic image. YouTube and Flickr represent new forms of a collaborative visual process, obtaining more and more dominance. The transformations resulting in the fields of copyright, artistic institutions, popular culture and economy seem to be vague. The discussions led to the consensus that the possibilities for an increasing democratization of image policy exists more than ever, but that the increasing frankness of communication also needs more critical faculties and sensibility for the handling of visual material. Despite the alteration of the world of images in both professional and most private fields, the social reactions lag behind these developments. Felice Frankel, representative of North American image science and founder of the Image and Meaning Initiative - against the background of image policy claimed for an intensification of the dialogue between natural sciences with image sciences, designers and artists with natural scientists, in order to make the power of images more visible in the representation of science. A lot of visualizations that respond to the intellectual canon of today´s societies, do not correspond to the contemporary state of research and thus communicate a wrong or dated image. Oliver Grau, professor for image science at the Danube University Krems, also took on the question of image policy in the public place and pointed out main problems of current cultural policy. Media art, “the” contemporary art form, is still rarely collected by museums, not accepted in a suitable manner and nearly inaccessible for the non north-western public. Grau worries about the erasure of three decades of artistic work from the cultural memory. For the near future he recommends the establishment of an encyclopaedia of vissciences, like the Human Genome Project, it would relay the history of seeing and its relation to the evolution of image media. Jan Henselder from Berlin, dealt with the loss of contemporary material, too, and digitized biographical interviews about the national socialist and GDR past and preserves them for future generations. Règis Debray can add to the conversation, that beyond the communication via new technologies adequate social institutions are also necessary in order to guarantee the transfer of medial contents. Another focus of the conference was the question about the finding of knowledge through technological procedures of visualization concerning natural sciences. So the medical scientists Dolores und David Steinman from Toronto University showed, resulting from their practical experience, that most of the images clinicians are confronted with are computer generated interpretations of patients´ records. Organic processes as well as the bloodstreams´ dynamics elude the human view, what makes computer aided imaging techniques indispensable for timely diagnosis and therapy. The challenge is the integration of scientific truth, aesthetic trends and established scientific-medical conventions. These days doctors primarily make decisions how the digitally measured values are to be displayed. This causes, like in many fields that are not trained in the handling of images and respectively whose training does not broach the issue of the phenomenon image, a naïve handling of new image forms. The discussion underlined the need for scientific image qualification in creating scientific knowledge influenced by technological methods of visualization. Nicolaj van der Meulen, image scientist and professor for art history at University Basel, claimed for an applied image research that should not only deal with the representation but also the generation of knowledge by use of visual concepts. A web based, digital medium for image-oriented research was presented in this context by Martin Warnke, head of the data center of Lueneburg University. „HyperImage“ fulfills the long wished for requirement not to treat visual forms semiotically. Observations on images may be marked, arranged, published and utilized scientifically without adding linguistic remarks. (www.hyperimage.org) Already at the beginning of the international conference the American media artist Michael Naimark pointed out the image development of Google Earth: Despite the promises of virtual reality many applications emerging during the last years are, due to a lack of combination of photo-realistic and interactive features, not able to involve recipients in such a way that you can feel the illusion of the site. Harald Kraemer, university lecturer and media producer, noticed the need for improvement of the dramaturgy of web sites. The recipient should be integrated through a feeling of solidarity and empathy, which can be achieved through a holistic attempt of the symbiosis of content, navigation and design. The rector of the Art College for Media in Cologne, Marie-Luise Angerer, integrated the advanced problem area with the title “The Affective and Emotional Addressing of Recipients of Digital Media.” The discussion about affective and emotional addressing finds a broad base what, interdisciplinary practised, should and could lead to an “affect policy”. Barbara Stafford from the University of Chicago pointed out another aspect. The “Social - Memory - Hypothesis” sees a condition for the maintaining of social cohesion in the coordination of individual satisfaction of needs and inter-subjective behaviour. In order to clarify the workings of this „social synchronization“ she pleaded for an intensified relation to aspects of associative art in historic and recent worlds of images and drew a line from ancient hieroglyphs to hybrid collages. Results of the conference can be seen that the main challenge for making use of the democratic chances presented by the image politics of our time is the further expansion of visual competencies on the part of recipients as well as producers of new image worlds and digital archiving projects. The dialog between artists, scholars from the humanities and natural sciences offers the necessary platform on which image competency may be further developed through new educational research and teaching tools in order to serve the needs of the general public. Many of the lectures are archived on our website: www.donau-uni.ac.at/telelectures A publication about the conference results is in preparation and should be published in 2009. A continuation of the Goettweig image conference is planed for 2010. by Thomas Veigl From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 22:26:56 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:26:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Join 'No Coca-Cola Spokespersons for Indian Parliament' campaign on Facebook In-Reply-To: <35f96d470903230536j21bfd94cg582bbf111b24c97d@mail.gmail.com> References: <35f96d470903230536j21bfd94cg582bbf111b24c97d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <35f96d470903230956lbc9dd69pbda3f84b1f73ca78@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Anivar Aravind Date: Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 6:06 PM Subject: Join 'No Coca-Cola Spokespersons for Indian Parliament' campaign on Facebook To: Greenyouth , FOIL LIST , Invites *Join 'No Coca-Cola Spokespersons for Parliament' on Facebook at http://is.gd/ouhi.* Shashi Tharoor is a Member of the Advisory Board of Coca-Cola India Foundation, the PR face of a company that destroyed the environment and lives of people around its plant in Plachimada, Kerala. He speaks for the criminal company and ridicules people's fight for their lives and livelihood. Now he is seeking to represent the people of Kerala in Indian Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram. This is a chance for us to show our support for the struggle of people in Plachimada by not sending a spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company to the Indian Parliament. Read more one this issue, An Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor: http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth/msg/2f60091d948ac4e9 An Open Response to "an Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shashi-tharoor/an-open-response-to-an-op_b_170172.html An Open Reply to Shashi Tharoor: http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth/msg/6a09b6a15653654b Coca Cola/Plachimada: An open rejoinder to Mr Shashi Tharoor: http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth/msg/651f28b01205e702 *Providing the Facts for Mr. Tharoor on Coca-Cola in India* ================================== Mr. Tharoor: I read with amazement your letter defending your role as an advisor to the Coca-Cola India Foundation. I was amazed because you have completely misstated the facts relating to the shutdown Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada and the company's bottling plants elsewhere in India. As an advisor to the Coca-Cola India Foundation, along with your own proclaimed inquiry into the matter surrounding Coca-Cola's operations in India, it is incumbent upon you to be aware of the facts of matter and state them as such. Not only have you failed in stating the facts, but it is dismaying to note that you repeat the same defense of Coca-Cola's operations in India as the Coca-Cola company itself! For your benefit, and more importantly, the public in India, I would like to respond to your letter with the appropriate facts. Scoring Political Points? *You accuse the authors of the open letter, Mr. Swaminathan and Mr. Ajayan, of attempting to "score political points" by releasing the open letter to the media and internet forums prior to you receiving the letter. * An open letter is just that - a letter intended to be read by a wider audience. It is not unusual to see such open letters making the rounds in internet forums and the media prior to reaching the specific person it is addressed to. And even a cursory internet search of open letters alongside your name reveals that you are well accustomed to such communication. The intent of the open letter was to highlight to the larger public the problems the authors see with your association with the Coca-Cola company and the foundation, especially in the context of you "nurturing political ambition." Mr. Tharoor, if anybody is trying to score political points, it seems to be you. Just a week after your response, we read in the *Yale Daily News* dated March 5, 2009 that "Tharoor confirmed that he is planning to run for a position in India's lower house of Parliament, and said an official announcement would be released "in a week to 10 days."" And the confirmation of your political run, strangely enough, came at a lecture at Yale University which was sponsored by the Coca-Cola World Fund! It is you who is running for political office, not the authors of the open letter to you. You used your response to lay out your views on the political climate in Kerala, asserted your identity as a Keralite, stated your commitment to increasing corporate investment in the state, the need to make it more business friendly, faulted the current negative image of Kerala, bemoaned the trend of workers having to seek jobs in the Gulf and elsewhere, asserted the need for safe drinking water for the state of Kerala, and even managed to throw in "energy resources, waste management, and the development of backward areas" - all very appropriate content for someone making a run for political office. But you got the facts about Coca-Cola's operations wrong. Coca-Cola India Foundation, Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola India? You go to great lengths in your response to try to differentiate, unsuccessfully, between the Coca-Cola India Foundation, on whose advisory board you serve, and the Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Tharoor, as someone who has been very involved in the campaigns against Coca-Cola in India for over seven years now, I am keenly aware of the declared differences between the two bodies. But the facts are as follows: - The Coca-Cola India Foundation was set up by the *Coca-Cola company* on December 3, 2007. - The Coca-Cola India Foundation was set up with an initial funding of USD 10 million by the *Coca-Cola company.* - The announcement was made on *Coca-Cola company* letterhead, including the absurd "Little Drops of Joy" caption. - The only two quotes provided in the announcement were by Mr. Muhtar Kent, President and COO, *Coca-Cola company* and Mr. Atul Singh, President & CEO, *Coca-Cola India.* - Close to half the announcement of the foundation was about what the *Coca-Cola company* and *Coca-Cola India* (not the foundation) does. - The contacts listed for further information were the public relations company for *Coca-Cola India.* - The Coca-Cola India Foundation focuses on areas that the *Coca-Cola company* has decided. - The Coca-Cola India Foundation would cease to exist were it not for the funding from the *Coca-Cola company* itself. The fact of the matter is that the Coca-Cola India Foundation is an integral part of the Coca-Cola family and its primary purpose is to manufacture a "green" and "benevolent" image of the Coca-Cola company and its products in India, never mind what the reality on the ground may be. In your response, you claim that "the purpose of encouraging such a Foundation is precisely to ensure that the company looks beyond its commercial bottom-line and serves the people of our country." The Coca-Cola company is a for profit corporation whose primary (and sole) purpose is to maximize profits for its shareholders. The Coca-Cola company neither has the expertise, nor has it been invited, to serve the development needs of the people of our country. Providing safe drinking water to the Indian population, as you suggest being one of the Foundation's concrete projects, is out of Coca-Cola's realm. The company bottles water and puts a price on it, making a product that remains unaffordable for too many Indians - exactly the opposite of providing safe, drinking water to all. Let us not forget that it has taken the Coca-Cola company until now - sixteen years after it started operations in India - to set up a foundation with an intention of preserving water and the environment. Is this a proactive approach, as you claim? Hardly. The decision to set up the Coca-Cola India Foundation is not so much the result of altruistic intentions of the Coca-Cola company as it is a strategic move on the part of the company to deflect attention away from the growing discontent with its operations in India. It is also interesting to note that the focus of the Coca-Cola India Foundation, set by the Coca-Cola company, are water, environment, healthy living and social advancement - exactly the areas in which the Coca-Cola company is being challenged in India. Why worker's safety and rights are not included are beyond our grasp. But if there was to be a vibrant labour campaign against Coca-Cola, be assured that the Coca-Cola company would ensure that the Coca-Cola India Foundation include worker's rights in their area of focus. Coca-Cola's Pollution Confirmed by State *You claim that you are fully aware that groundwater exploitation and pollution led to the closure of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada in 2004, yet you claim that you are "unable to understand the scientific basis" behind the charges being leveled against Coca-Cola in Plachimada.* It is absolutely unconscionable that you remain ignorant of the facts surrounding Coca-Cola's operations in Plachimada, yet you have the audacity to respond with such confidence to the original authors of the open letter! Mr. Tharoor, why do you suppose that the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada, one of Coca-Cola's largest in India, remains shut down? The Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada remains shut down because the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB ) has refused to issue the "Consent to Operate" to the Coca-Cola company. On August 19, 2005, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board rejected Coca-Cola's application, and directed "the Company to stop production of all kinds of products with immediate effect." The KSPCB rejected Coca-Cola's application because it found unacceptably high levels of cadmium in Coca-Cola's sludge (more than 400 to 600% cadmium beyond the permissible limit). The KSPCB also established that the groundwater in the vicinity of the bottling plant had been contaminated with cadmium as a result of high levels of cadmium in Coca-Cola's sludge as well as effluent. Specifically, the KSPCB order dated August 19, 2005 said, "Since the functioning of the Company in the present manner causes severe environmental problems, including poisoning/contamination of well water, the undersigned, by invoking the powers conferred under Section 25(4), 27(2) and 33 A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 refuses to issue the consent to operate and, by rejecting the defective application submitted by the Company to stop production of all kinds of products with immediate effect." The Kerala State Pollution Control Board's decision was based on scientific studies that it conducted on the samples it took from and around the Coca-Cola bottling plant. Alarmingly, in international venues where we continue to challenge them, Coca-Cola company officials have repeatedly said that there is no scientific basis for proving the pollution allegations against them. It is exactly the same defense you are claiming - lack of scientific basis. Are you suggesting that KSPCB's technical studies are not "scientific" enough for you? Mr. Tharoor, we have come to expect such disregard for state government agencies such as the KSPCB from companies like Coca-Cola that operate with impunity in India. For a person such as yourself, who is in the hunt for political office representing the people of Kerala, it is extremely unfortunate that you toe the same line as the Coca-Cola company, in spite of the scientific evidence by the state government against it confirming that it pollutes the groundwater. In the event that the Coca-Cola company has not shared the KSPCB "stop production" notice in you personal inquiry, you can see it here - http://www.indiaresource.org/documents/kspcbAug192005.pdf It is also worth noting that a formidable community mobilization took place in and around Plachimada to bring attention to Coca-Cola's abuses and challenge them. The actions of the state were a result of the public mobilization, without which it is very possible that the Coca-Cola company would have continued its ways in Plachimada. And in the interest of educating yourself so as to better advise the Foundation, I would suggest that you also obtain the study of sludge conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board of Coca-Cola bottling plants in 2003. It is an alarming conclusion, to say the least. For at least 10 years, it seems the Coca-Cola company was distributing its toxic waste as fertilizer to the farmers around its bottling plants. I would be curious to know if you would question the "scientific basis" of the Central Pollution Control Board study as well, which included Plachimada. Coca-Cola's Water Extraction Restricted by Court, Case Pending *In your response, you note that "a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court ruled, in a judgment dated 7 August 2005, that the company was not guilty of unfairly exploiting the groundwater, and that indeed the groundwater in Plachimada continued to dry up after the company ceased operations, leading the Court to conclude that other factors, including a shortage of rainfall, were to blame." * Once again, Mr. Tharoor, you adopt exactly the same defense that the Coca-Cola company does when it comes to defending charges of water depletion in Plachimada, raising serious doubts about the integrity of your fact-finding. First, and very importantly, it MUST be noted that the High Court judgment that you and Coca-Cola reference is currently being heard by the Supreme Court of India. As such, there is no resolution on whether Coca-Cola was unfairly exploiting the groundwater. It is premature, and I would suggest, irresponsible, to conclude that Coca-Cola was "not guilty of unfairly exploiting the groundwater", as you have done. It is noteworthy that while Coca-Cola makes mention of this particular 2005 High Court judgment on their website, there is no mention whatsoever of the case currently pending in the Supreme Court of India. Secondly, and still quite importantly, the High Court judgment that you reference actually placed RESTRICTIONS on groundwater withdrawal by the Coca-Cola company, by no means a business as usual matter. The judgment actually restricted Coca-Cola's water withdrawals by 75% of what it had originally been permitted. The High Court judgment even mentioned that Coca-Cola could not withdraw any water if the rainfalls were below 30% of average. And yes, water levels in Plachimada have continued to drop even after Coca-Cola ceased operations. This, in and by itself, does in no way absolve the Coca-Cola company's operations in the area of any wrongdoing. In fact, it begs the question as to why the Coca-Cola company located its bottling plant in Plachimada in the first place, given that Plachimada lies in the rain shadow region of Pallakad? In other words, if the water conditions were already difficult to begin with, why did a beverage company with a massive thirst for water locate itself in that area? Coca-Cola Implicated in Other Parts of India *In your response, you do not address Coca-Cola's operations in Kala Dera and Mehdiganj, even though the open letter to you clearly made reference to them "for similar destruction of environment, water and livelihoods." * Mr. Tharoor, the Coca-Cola company's indiscriminate practices are not just confined to Plachimada, as was noted in the open letter to you. In fact, Plachimada points towards a pattern by the Coca-Cola company of regularly abusing water resources in some of the areas where it operates. You have completely failed to acknowledge the pending problems created by the Coca-Cola company in Kala Dera in Rajasthan and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh. As an advisor to the Coca-Cola India Foundation, you should be well aware of the issues surrounding Coca-Cola's practices in these areas. The community of Kala Dera has challenged the Coca-Cola bottling plant since 2003, making it very clear that the company's operations had exacerbated the water crisis in the area, and that Coca-Cola must shut down its plant. In 2006, the Coca-Cola company was forced to agree to an independent assessment of its operations in India as a result of our campaign in the US. The assessment - paid for by Coca-Cola - was released in January 2008, and only looked at six bottling plants. The assessment was a scathing indictment of Coca-Cola's operations. The assessment, conducted by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an ally of Coca-Cola, saved its strongest language for Kala Dera. The assessment confirmed that the Kala Dera "plant is located in a water-scarce, drought-prone area" and that the water extraction by Coca-Cola has "significant impacts" on Kala Dera. The assessment went on to conclude that the Kala Dera "plant's operations in this area would continue to be one of the contributors to a worsening water situation and a source of stress to the communities around." The assessment made four recommendations to Coca-Cola for the Kala Dera plant - including shutting down the plant - all of which made clear that Coca-Cola must not use the groundwater in Kala Dera anymore. The four recommendations were: - Transport water from the nearest aquifer that may not be stressed - Store water from low-stress seasons - Relocate the plant to a water-surplus area - Shut down this facility Needless to say, the community of Kala Dera welcomed the recommendations. But one summer has come and gone, and as another summer approaches - when the water shortages are most pronounced - and Coca-Cola continues its operations in Kala Dera. Mr. Tharoor, the Coca-Cola company has decided to ignore the findings and the subsequent recommendations on Kala Dera, very similar to what you seem to have chosen to done in your response. Coca-Cola's continued operations in Kala Dera also violate the precautionary principle that the company has ostensibly agreed to uphold - as a condition to joining the UN Global Compact, which you mention. Coca-Cola knows, without a doubt, that continued operations in Kala Dera "would continue to be one of the contributors to a worsening water situation and a source of stress to the communities around." Yet, the company operates. Coca-Cola's operations in Kala Dera make a mockery of the UN Global Compact and lends credence to the criticism that the voluntary guidelines of the Global Compact are ineffective. We are now faced with absurd public relations exercises from the Coca-Cola company under the guise of corporate social responsibility. It has announced drip water irrigation initiatives with 15 farmers in the area to respond to the recommendations - in a village of 10,000! In your response, you mention that your role as an advisor to the Coca-Cola India Foundation is to "ensure that the company looks beyond its commercial bottom-line and serves the people of our country." Then perhaps you can begin with asking Coca-Cola to choose one of the recommendations of the TERI assessment. After all, why pay for a study if you are not going to abide by the findings and the recommendations? And while you are at it, perhaps you can also ask Coca-Cola to share the Environmental Impact Assessment it says it conducted, but refuses to share, citing "legal and confidential" reasons. Similar to Plachimada, one of the salient features of the Kala Dera bottling facility is that it was located in an area that was already experiencing water shortages. The Central Ground Water Board of India had assessed the area as "overexploited" in its groundwater resources in 1998, yet Coca-Cola started their bottling plant in 2000. That Coca-Cola's bottling operations further exacerbated the already existing water crisis was to be expected. In Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh, the TERI assessment warned Coca-Cola of deteriorating water conditions, and has found an alarming increase in pollution as one gets closer to the Coca-Cola bottling plant - validating what the community has been saying all along. Mr. Tharoor, Coca-Cola's problems in India are far from over, and this is primarily because Coca-Cola has committed wrongs in India and instead of incorporating genuine operational changes to the way it conducts its business in India, the company has resorted to addressing the growing opposition against its plants through its public relations department. The Coca-Cola India Foundation, who you advise, is part of the public relations exercise and yet another attempt by the Coca-Cola company to try to deflect attention from the very real crises it has created in India. Sure, water conservation initiatives in India and around the world are welcome, and massive water guzzlers like the Coca-Cola company should be at the forefront of cutting down their inefficient water usage. But they must first walk the walk before they can talk the talk. Genuinely addressing the crises it continues to create in India would be a positive first step. Appointing celebrity advisors such as yourself to their Coca-Cola India Foundation is not. Amit Srivastava India Resource Center www.IndiaResource.org http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2009/ircresponse.html =============== More Response to Mr. Tharoor by S. Faizi, Environmental Expert Member of the Kerala Groundwater Authority http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2009/faizi.html *Join Facebook Group and Invite Your Friends* *http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=144116935382&ref=nf* -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Mar 23 22:49:24 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:49:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 170 Kashmir temples hit by militancy: Report In-Reply-To: <6353c690903231018i3ca5ec16k786b60adaf700d7a@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690903231018i3ca5ec16k786b60adaf700d7a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690903231019r3205c72cpac39a7768f2d49a3@mail.gmail.com> 170 Kashmir temples hit by militancy: Report Ishfaq Naseem Indian Express March 23, 2009 Link - http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/170-Kashmir-temples-hit-by-militancy-Report/437922.html *Jammu *A report by the Jammu and Kashmir government's Revenue Department has revealed that as many as 170 temples were damaged in the 19 years of militancy in the Valley. However, the Government has begun repairs on 90 temples and incurred an expenditure of Rs 33 lakh. The report comes soon after the Jammu and Kashmir Government tabled the Hindu Shrine's Management Bill in the Assembly seeking to make an inventory of temple property. The Bill also seeks to constitute a Shrine Board at the state level and management committees in the districts for protection of temples. However, the Bill, introduced by the last Government, has not yet been passed due to the change of Government. Law Secretary A H Kochak said while the Bill is likely to come up for discussion in the next Assembly session, the Government had the option of passing an ordinance in the interim to protect temples in the Valley. However, Dr Ajay Chrungoo, chairman of Panun Kashmir, a frontal organisation of Kashmiri Pandits, said the state Government has been sitting on the law to protect temples for long. "The exercise to frame a law has been going on for the last more than six years," he said. A survey conducted by Panun Kashmir has revealed extensive damage to temple properties and encroachments across the Valley, he said, adding that "at many places government departments had even encroached on the temple property". However, Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Masood Samoon said "the temples in Kashmir were not under any threat. They have been guarded by the police, while at many places locals are protecting the structures". From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 01:21:12 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:21:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Updates from Raipur Satyagragha for the release of Dr. Binayak Sen Message-ID: <35f96d470903231251p3799cc3atab5a9c7b5a13fc4@mail.gmail.com> "Speaking on the occasions Rashida Bi [of the Bhopal Gas Survivors] expressed shock that while Varun Gandhi publicly made hate speeches was granted anticipatory bail in no time by a Delhi Court but Dr. Sen who had committed no crime was even being denied bail even after twenty months." longer account of the Second Raipur Satyagraha, from Kavita Srivastava and Sudha Bharadwaj. http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/news-from-raipur-satyagrah-demanding-the-release-of-dr-binayak-sen/ -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 01:23:12 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:23:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] PLS FWD: Send a free fax in support of the Raipur Satyagraha for release of Dr. Binayak Sen In-Reply-To: <5cf84e20903231010nbfee8d7ra8ef51610fb6208c@mail.gmail.com> References: <5cf84e20903230725w71c1c76ep8b8c9724e281f6a3@mail.gmail.com> <5cf84e20903231010nbfee8d7ra8ef51610fb6208c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <35f96d470903231253u5ba5d5f7pd3946557bc9a48b9@mail.gmail.com> http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/send-a-free-fax-in-support-of-the-raipur-satyagraha-for-release-of-dr-binayak-sen/ *SUPPORT THE RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA FOR THE RELEASE OF DR. BINAYAK SEN* *Send a FREE FAX to the Chhattisgarh government to demand:* *1. Immediate release of the doctor to the workers DR. BINAYAK SEN* *2. End to the state repression of democratic dissent, revocation of the CSPSA* *3. Disbanding of SALWA JUDUM, full compensation to all victims* *VISIT **http://petitions.aidindia.org/binayaksen09/* * * The *Raipur Satyagraha* , a mass civil disobedience movement, was successfully launched on Monday, March 16th, to urge for the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen. Every Monday, batches of 50-100 people will court arrest in front of the Raipur Jail where Dr. Sen in incarcerated, to prevail upon the government to reverse its illegitimate action. It is now 22 months since *Dr Binayak Sen*, the well-known public health and human rights activist was imprisoned by the Chhattisgarh government on false charges of abetting activities of an outlawed organization. In the days and months following his incarceration, Dr. Binayak Sen has received tremendous support from within India and outside. Twenty two Nobel Laureates have signed a letter in support of Dr Binayak Sen. International and national media, through news stories and editorials, have consistently pointed to the unjustified nature of Dr. Binayak Sen's imprisonment. Even though the state has been unable to produce any evidence against him, Dr. Binayak Sen’s pleas for bail have been repeatedly refused by judicial institutions at all levels in the country. *We oppose the use of bail as punitive measure to intimidate human rights defenders and demand and demand the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen.* The *Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) *, under which Dr.Binayak Sen has been arrested, allows the state to bypass many routine forms of due process through the law's unreasonably broad definition of unlawful activity, and acceptance of vague and unreliable evidence, all in the name of national security. The unclear provisions of this law have been used unfairly by the State to silence government critics such as Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG , a film maker and PUCL activist, and Journalist Sai Reddy (and many others). *We demand that draconian laws which have been used unfairly to harass human rights activists be immediately repealed.* *Salwa Judum *, the State-sponsored militia set up in 2005, has been responsible for killing, looting, rapes and forced eviction from their homes of more than 100,000 indigenous people to camps with inhuman conditions. Common concern for many is that the arrest and detention of Dr. Sen was directly related to his activities in defending the rights of the indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh state, and to his open criticism of the Salwa Judum. *We condemn the state government for arming Salwa Judum and abetting terror against innocent civilians and tribals, and demand that it be immediately disbanded.* A letter endorsed by over 50 international peace and justice groupshas already been sent to the Chhattisgarh government. *Add your support to these demands by sending a free fax NOW! **VISIT ** http://petitions.aidindia.org/binayaksen09/* ------------------------------ *For more information, see the following*: · Information on the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen is available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com · More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case: o For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the 3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/indian-express-series-on-binayak-sen/ o A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-of-events-in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/ o A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm · On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005: o The text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for Democratic Rights can be found here: http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act/ o A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov 2008 http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm o Caught between Naxals and police, Indian Express, June 11, 2008 http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080611/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-caught-between-naxals-and-police-aaaedd4_1.html · Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh, http://cpjc.wordpress.com/reports-by-fact-finding-teams-on-salwa-judum/ · Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and justice groups can be found here: http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 01:24:55 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:24:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] US actions in support of Raipur Sataygraha In-Reply-To: <5cf84e20903231110s7bd2e0behed7ab7f40618ee56@mail.gmail.com> References: <5cf84e20903231110s7bd2e0behed7ab7f40618ee56@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <35f96d470903231254n5c92baf8rb335207d64c52a55@mail.gmail.com> http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/us-actions-in-support-of-the-raipur-satyagraha/ *U.S. ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA FOR DR. BINAYAK SEN* *Friday, March 27: Washington DC, New York, San Francisco* It is now 22 months since Dr Binayak Sen, the well-known public health and human rights activist was imprisoned by the Chhattisgarh government on false charges of abetting activities of an outlawed organization. International and national groups and individuals, including *Twenty Two Nobel Laureates,* have consistently demanded the release of Dr. Binayak Sen. *On Monday, March 16**th*, the *Raipur Satyagraha*, a mass civil disobedience movement, that follows the tradition of *Mahatma Gandhi *and *Martin Luther King Jr.,*was successfully launched to demand the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen. *Every Monday*, batches of 50-100 people will court arrest in front of the Raipur Jail, Chhatisgarh where Dr. Sen is incarcerated. *Groups in the United States are organizing a solidarity action in front the Indian Consulates at New York City, San Francisco Consulates and the DC Embassy on MARCH 27, Friday.* *COME ON MARCH 27 AND SUPPORT THE RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA * *Send a FREE FAX to the Chhattisgarh Government to support our demands.* *Our Demands:* *** 1. Release DR. BINAYAK SEN 2. End state repression, and Repeal CSPSA 3. Disband SALWA JUDUM* *CONTACT DETAILS FOR U.S. ACTIONS* *New York City*: *When*: Friday, March 27th at 2:00 pm *Where*: Indian Consulate, 3 East 64th Street, (Between 5th and Madison Avenues), New York, NY 10065 *Contact*: Murli Natrajan, 973-928-3918 Jinee Lokaneeta, 973-216-2360 *San Francisco*: *When*: Friday, March 27th at 2:00 pm *Where*: Indian Consulate, 540 Arguello Boulevard, San Francisco *Contact*: Anu Mandavilli, 408-480-5805 *Washington DC* *When*: Friday, March 27th at 4:30 pm *Where*: Indian Embassy, 2107 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. *Contact*: Somu Kumar, 703-728-8987 * For more information, visit www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org, www.aidboston.org/freebinayaksen * -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 10:03:18 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:03:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The sickness of slavery...............Courtesy Kashmir Sentinel Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903232133k744fadd5lbfbbbd0a688b1275@mail.gmail.com> *The Sickness Of Slavery* * * * By special correspondant ** Khalil Gibran* wrote about slavery with a spiritual insight. "I found the *lame slavery*, which places man's neck under the domination of the tyrant and submits strong bodies with weak minds to the sons of Greed for use as instruments to their power."......I found the *subtle slavery *which entitles things with other than their names--calling slyness an intelligence and emptiness a knowledge, and weakness a tenderness and cowardice a strong refusal.....I found the *twisted slavery* which causes the tongues of the weak to move with fear and speak outside their feelings, and they feign to be meditating their plight, but they become empty sacks which even a child can fold or hang." Communities having long history of persecutions have slavish individuals or groups who side with their persecutors and prolong their own agony. Kashmiri Hindus also have a fair share of such persons. They relish in the art of keeping their own community a hostage to the communal establishment of Valley. These individuals or small groups operate as fifth columns of the Muslim establishment. They run organisations or NGOs having patronage of the government. The slavish behaviour as described above is in ample evidence in the programmes or functions which they organise. Recently a programme was held to commemorate the death anniversary of Late Pyare Lal Handoo on 27th Feb, 2009 at Abhinav Theatre Jammu. The proceedings were conducted by a retired educationist. The verses from Quran which he quoted forced the Muslim dignitaries, who otherwise appeared very indifferent, to adopt a serious demeanour. A well known Kashmiri Physician received an award for and on behalf of a voluntary medical mission. He also spoke on the occasion. His words were directed mainly at the chief guest on the occasion, the President of National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah. The physician in a show of abject sycophancy confessed that he did not have the qualities to become the 'Shreeya Bhat', the legendary physician of 'Zain-ul-Abdin-Budshah'. But at the same time claimed that Dr Farooq Abdullah had all the attributes to relive the spirit of 'Budshah'. He implored that the new government lead by NC should somehow take the Kashmiri Pandits back. The request carried the undertones of endorsing a return by any means. The physician, in the not distant past, never missed any opportunity to claim to be an ideologue of Panun Kashmir. He also presents himself the brain behind the ideas of 'Constituencies in Exile', 'Reservation in Legislative Bodies', 'A Greek City State, Model for rehabilitation of the displaced and last but not the least the 'Minority Status' for Kashmiri Pandits. In the same programme a retired bureaucrat, who recently won one more extention of his carrier by getting a berth in the upper house, also spoke. The bureaucrat has the distinction of earning the extension first as the Chief Secretary and then as the advisor in the State government before joining the National Conference. Known more for his total subservience to Muslim establishment, the quality which he has wielded with consummate effect, the bureaucrat had words of censure for the Pandit audience or perhaps for Panun Kashmir which he seemed to suspect commanded the respect of the audience he was addressing. He declared that parochial visions and extreme positions do not have takers now. He also enunciated a thumb rule that a Kashmiri Pandit can only become a leader if he is also acceptable to Kashmiri Muslims. The chief guest on occasion Dr. Farooq Abdullah started his speech by showing discomfiture at the words of an Advocate who had spoken little more assertively eshewing sycopahncy pervading the rank and file of the speakers. Dr Farooq expressed his helplessness to instal a statue of Late P.L. Handoo in Kashmir Valley which was the demand of the P.L. Handoo foundation. He was unsure whether he would be able to do the same in Jammu. He, as is his key tactic while talking to Pandits, lamented on the disunity among Kashmiri Pandits and conveniently ignored the issue of their reservation in Legislative Assembly. Farooq Abdullah however could not restrain himself to hurl the insult at the Kashmiri Pandit audience by making an insinuation that Kashmiri Pandits in cohorts with brokers in Valley had themselves got their homes and hearths burnt or plundered only to claim the insurance money. The audience left dumb founded. The attitude of abject slavery, self denial and self flagellation is evident in the behaviour of a class of Kashmiri Pandit individuals who have an uncontrollable urge to some how remain closer to power echelons or who have enjoyed some measure of importance with the Muslim establishment while the large community was ruthlessly being marginalised and excluded from the socio-economic organisation of the state. This attitude of slavery described here is not only unique to individuals described above. An office bearer of a Pandit organisation in Kashmir Valley was abducted by terrorists in Srinagar. He was then strangulated with a steelwire. Thinking that he had died, terrorists left his body near a drain in the downtown. The Pandit had not died. He regained his consciousness and crawled into a nearby Hindu house where from he was taken to the hospital. He then lived in Jammu alongwith his wife. One day a Hurriat interlocutor placed in Jammu visited his accommodation. The interlocutor, talked about the great tradition of love and brotherhood between Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. The Pandit leader, slavishly nodded in affirmation. It is said that after listening to their conservation the elderly wife of the Pandit got enraged. She stood up and lifted the Kurta over the back of her husband and revealed the torture marks still left on his back to the Hurriat leader. The Hurriat interlocutor quietly walked out. Another individual wrote a letter to Hurriat Conference which was published in the local dailies, requesting its leaders to invite the types of his ilk for dialogue so that the hands of secularist within the community are strengthened and communal forces weakened. The brother of this individual was murdered by the terrorists not long back. A group of writers, perhaps eager to win official patronage would listen condescendingly the expositions of the cultural czars of the Valley making suggestions as obnoxious as claiming Lal Ded to be a Muslim convert and having even seen her grave. A group of KPs managed to capture a KP education society. They surreptitiously got a clause in its constitution changed which guaranted the society the status of a minority institution only to pave way for its take over by the government. The bargain which they sought to strike was to ensure the regularisation of its set up in Jammu in return of handing over the prestigious college run by the society in Kashmir Valley to a Muslim management. The take over was aborted by a third party intervention through Court after the general body of the society had reintroduced the expunged clause into its constitution. What makes members of a persecuted community to act in a way which jeopardises its very struggle for survival? Incentives in the form of money and patronage play a role in this attitude. The bureaucrat must have used abject subservience to rise up the ladder and secure extentions even after reaching the top. The teachers of the education society supported the take over of the college in which they were employed by the government hoping to secure their salaries and pensionary benefits. Late Pyare Lal Handoo would defend anything and everything with regard to National Conference even brazen communalism directed against the community to which he belonged to fortify his position within the party and the government. But the attitude of self denial, negation and flagellation has more to it than mere self-interest. Late Pyare Lal Handoo said in early 90s that Kashmiri Pandits should have stayed put in the Valley even if thousands of them would have been killed. He knew very well the character and strength of the genocidal forces which brought about religious cleansing of Hindus. The statement he made was not just overlooking the tragedy which had befallen his own community. It was a blatant self condemnation. When the bureaucrat said that parochial vision and extreme positions have no takers it was not an innocuous egalitarian vision which he was articulating. It went even beyond self blame. It sought to create a self guilt within the community for having stood and spoken against forces of intolerance, exclusion and genocide. When somebody whose kith and kin has been killed by the terrorists chooses to appeal to the same terrorist leadership for recognition it is not merely a political ploy to gain importance or leadership credibility. It is a statement of total impotence powerlessness and surrender. We are actually witnessing a diseased mental state-a psychopathology. Khalil Gibran calls this state as lame slavery, or subtle slavery or twisted slavery. Psychoanalysts call it masochism-a diseased state of mind where the individual or a group takes pleasure in suffering or submitting. In such a state of mind one tends to glorify and praise his tormentor. One sees enemy only within one's ownself and security in submission in front of the victor. One behaves in such a state out of a sense of total impotence. What was manifest during the deliberations of the commemoration of death anniversary at Abhinav Theatre was not mere selfishness or self aggradisement. The Pandits were told that they were disunited and rudderless. They were told that they themselves got their houses burnt in the Valley to claim the insurance money. Such expositions carried sadist streaks-an urge to show absolute and unrestricted power over the victims. The Pandits listened helplessly to such grave insinuations. Such a submissiveness shall only qualify as masochism. The great psychoanalysts Eric Fromm qualifies that, "Both the sadist and masochist need another being to complete them as it were. The sadist makes another being an extention of himself; the masochist makes himself the extention of another being. Both seek a symbiotic relationship because neither has his centre in himself. While it appears that the sadist is free of his victim, he needs the victims in a perverse way." end COURTESY:____________ Kashmir Sentinel From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 10:04:44 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:04:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmiri Pandits - The Last Journey From Sarda Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903232134h7ccc82adidbf1845308d68b4b@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmiri Pandits - The Last Journey From Sarda* By RKS Shandilya Village Sardi, which houses the holy shrine of Goddess Sharda, is perhaps the most scenic place in 'Kishenganga (Neelam) Valley'. It lies about 20 kms to the north of Muzaffarabad. Till 1974 the village had no motorised transport link with the outside world. Due to its strategic importance Maharaja Gulab Singh had constructed a fort here. Dogra Kings maintained here a permanent military post. In October 1947 the garrison was headed by Pt. Sham Lal Khushu, the Thanedar. *Kashmiri Pandit population:* In 1947 the Kashmiri Pandit population of Sharda included the shopkeepers, the *purohits* and the employees. Swami Nand Lal, a saint of great merit had his *kutiya* at Sharda. He would stay here during summers. There were three shops run by Kashmiri Pandits. Tika Lal and Nand Lal Thusu, the two brothers who belonged to Lidderwan, had shops at Sharda and Dudniyal. Nath Ram of Seer Jagir and Dina Nath of Tikr ran another shop. The other shop belonged to Deva Ram and his brothers, who hailed from Gotheng. [image: A view of Sardi village.]* A view of Sardi village. * Pt. Sat Lal and Pt. Govind Ram Bhat served as Purohits at the shrine. There were many Pandit employees in the area, serving mostly in Forest Department. Pt. Shridhar Dhar, Conservator of Forests and resident of Chotta Bazar, Srinagar had served in the area in different capacities. A great devotee of Goddess Sarda, he used to perform havan on every Sarda Ashtmi at Sarda. Most of the employees in the forest department in Kupwara region had been recruited by him. *Tribal Invasion:* Soon after the news about the 1947 disturbances (tribal raid) reached Dudniyal, Pt. Sona Lal Thusu, son of Tika Ram, closed the shop. He entrusted his belongings to the care of his servants and moved to Lidderwan (Kashmir). Pt. Jagadhar Bhat (Patwari) and Sham Lal Gagru (of Karahama), a forest guard were his companions on this journey. Kashmiri Pandits in Sarda came to know about ribal invasion from Sultan Malik, servant of Pt. Dina Nath, the shopkeeper. Malik had brought a letter from Dina Nath's family at Tikr. Dr. Gauri Shankar, the Ayurvedic doctor had already left. His Dawasaz (Pharmacist) Pt. Narayan Joo Pujari (brother of Purohit Govind Joo) left along with his family members, which included Govind Ram's wife, children, besides Nand Lal Pujari's mother, Parvati diyad. Parvati had a local friend called Zeba. One day Parvati sensed the gravity of the situation from her conversation with Zeba. Apprehension that invasion could force them to change their faith, Parvati asked her family members to pack belongings immediately and leave for Gotheng. [image: Sharda Temple in ruins at Sardi (PoK)]* Sharda Temple in ruins at Sardi (PoK) * The *purohit* family left Sarda the following day at 4 AM and reached Jumagand in the forest range at 4 PM. The family was carrying ten kgs of Silver, which they had received as Chadav (offerings). Locals of Jumagand robbed them of Silver and other valuables. They also ordered them to dismount from the horses. The family marched to Lidderwan on foot. The horseman (Markban) returned with horses from Jumagand the next evening and narrated to Kashmiri Pandits at Sarda what all had happened. Swami Nand Lal Ji had refused to leave Sarda till Pandit employees from periphery of Sarda also returned. The day Pujari family left for Lidderwan, Swami Ji had organised a mehfil at his Kutiya at around 2 PM. This was attended by Nath Ji Razdan (the shopkeeper) of Gotheng, Dina Nath Tikr, Shamboo Nath of Zolura, Shamboo Nath Thusu, a Kuth Watcher, Hriday Nath Kaw, the Forestor, Shridhar Joo of Goshbug, and two Pandit constables from Malmoh. Pt. Govind Ram Pujari, his brother Prakash Ram and Thanedar Sham Lal Khushu of Srinagar were also present in this gathering. Prakash Ram was an employee in the forest department. Thanedar functioned as administrator of Sarda and operated from fort. He was in his mid fifties. Normally Fort was a forbidden territory for the public. In the mehfil one of the Pandit employees requested Thanedar to get Kashmiri Pandits into the fort on some pretext in view of prevailing security situation. Pt. Sham Lal who was slow in understanding the gravity of the situation virtually flew into a rage and threatened to arrest the employee who suggested this. Thanedar accused the employee of spreading panic. Prakash Ram calmed Sham Lal down, arguing that the particular employee was a man of little consequence. This had sobering effect on Thanedar. The horseman (Markban) who had accompanied Purohit family to Jumagund came to see Swami Nand Lal Ji and narrated to him how the Purohit family was robbed of silver and divested of horses. Swami Ji was now desperate to go to Kashmir but expressed his inability to walk. He asked Pt. Shamboo Nath Thusu and Pt. Shridhar Joo to fetch a horse for him from Ram Saran Das, a shopkeeper at Surgan-a village 6 kms from Sarda Surgan is 8 miles from Nurinarsar, the latter separates Sarda. Valley from Kaghan Valley in Yagistan (Chilas). Ram Saran Dass's family was also with him. Both Thusu and Shridhar Joo were Kuth watchers. Govt. had issued doublebored rifles to them. *Fort Captured:* In October 1947 when locals were talking in whispering tones about the invasion, Thanedar Sham Lal had secretly despatched two Dogra soldiers to Srinagar to ask for reinforcements. While the soldiers were still in Handwara they received the disturbing news about the invasion. One of them returned to Sarda to put Thanedar on alert. Thanedar had a force of 11 constables—4 Dogra soldiers, six constables from the majority community in Kashmir valley and Kartar Singh, a Sikh from Hamal, Rafiabad. [image: The Fort at Sardi.]* The Fort at Sardi. * Shridhar Joo and Shamboo Nath Thusu left for Surgan, carrying a rifle with them, to fetch horse for Swamiji. The same night Wali Mohammad, son of Sayid Ahmed Sardar entered the fort. Wali Mohammad was a forester and belonged to Kharigam, a village 2 kms from Sarda. The drama began with six constables of the majority community asking Thanedar to open the ammunition room (Kuhth). They told him that situation was grim and asked him to open the ammunition room so that they could take out the ammunition. As Thanedar opened the ammunition room, Ahmed Khan, a constable, pushed him in and locked the room from outside. Khan hurled choicest abuses on him. This constable hailed from Srinagar city and had been recruited in police in 1933. In this confusion four Dogra soldiers managed to escape while Kartar Singh was taken captive. Meanwhile, a constable who manned the outer gate of the fort and was carrying a rifle asked Thanedar to surrender. Pt. Sham Lal was handcuffed and taken as captive, Maharaja's flag was burnt and a new 'Pakistan' flag fashioned from the blue turban was hoisted. Wali Mohammed, the forester, became self-styled administrator of Sarda. The forester and around 50 locals then went to Swami ji's *kutiya*, asking Pandits there to change their faith, Janki Nath Thusu was renamed as Jan Khan. Shamboo Nath Thusu and Shridhar Joo left Surgan the next morning after taking horse from Ram Saran. At Dunarian, 2 kms down from Surgan the duo met Mohammad Hakim, a peon in Forest Range office at Sarda. He was carrying a message for Shamboo Nath Thusu from his brother Janki Nath. The message carried information of the happenings of the previous day-the hoisting of 'Pak' flag and conversion of Kashmiri Pandit and holding them as captives. It impressed upon Thusu to change his faith and also suggested new name for him. Mohammad Hakim forced them to hand over the rifle to him. Swamiji and other Kashmiri Pandits were waiting for SN Thusu and Shridhar Joo and had already decided to leave. Numberdar Mir Zaman, a man with deep secular convictions, had told Swamiji that the situation was fast deteriorating and had impressed upon him to leave. Swamiji was held in high esteem by local Muslims of Sarda. Locals advised him to take Sinjli route and not Dudniyal route which otherwise was easier. They feared that Dudniyal may already have come under the sway of raiders. Locals were quite sympathetic. [image: Saint Swami Nand Lal in Aasan.]* Saint Swami Nand Lal in Aasan. * *First Journey:* Swamiji and Pandits began journey back home at 10 AM the same day. Swamiji had hardly walked 2 miles of the uphil journey when he gave up and refused to walk any further. Meanwhile, Mir Zaman's messenger caught up with them and advised them to return to Sarda immediately. Two locals, armed with axes, had been following them. They had lost the track and had gone ahead of Pandits. After having learnt about it Mir Zaman got worried about the safety of Pandits. The deep concern Mir Zaman showed about the safety of Pandits in those turbulent times is remembered by Pandits to this day. *Mir Zaman, the saviour:* Mir Zaman heaved sigh of relief when Kashmiri Pandits returned to Sarda. He had already convened a Jirga (meeting of local elders) in the courtyard of his house. Kashmiri Pandits also joined them on one side. Mir Zaman admonished his community brethren, asking them why did they not restrain the two locals who had gone with axes to harm Swamiji and others. He warned them that it was not easy to kill Pandits. Mir Zaman concluded his address by saying with concern and authority that Kashmiri Pandits were his guests and would stay with him. Mir Zaman had already arranged a room for Pandits in his house and had spread grass on the floor. Within two hours all the belongings and the provisions in the three shops owned by Pandits reached the new 'hideout' of Pandits. Mir Zaman had also arranged a Chulha in the room. Numberdar was in his early sixties. He asked Pandits to lit the fire and prepare the food. Mir Zaman emphatically told Pandits that they should cook food in their own way and added that it was not his religion to impose things on others. Janki Nath, Nath Ji Razdan, Shamboo Nath Thusu and Shridhar Joo used to attend to kitchen work by turns, with Shridhar Joo maintaining overall supervision. During the month Pandits stayed in the house of Mir Zaman, the latter took extremely good care of them. He and his wife would sleep near the door of Pandits' room to keep watch on any stranger straying into their room. Locals would of and on ask Mir Zaman whether the Pandits were following the new faith with sincerity. He would put them off by telling that the Pandits were observing new faith all the time. He would then come to Pandits and tell them, 'Rascals, why you are not performing your own *pujas?' *Mir Zaman kept locals away from visiting Pandits. One day Swamiji felt like smoking his own special tobacco he had kept in his *kutiya, *located 1 mile away from Mir Zaman's house. A Pandit employee not only got the sack of tobacco but also ensured that nobody saw him while going to the *kutiya *in the afternoon. On another occasion Thanedar Sham Lal was brought to Mir Zaman's house to show to Pandits that he was alive. Kartar Singh's beard and hair had been trimmed. All the non-Muslims who were in Sarda were forced to change their faith. *Latif Malik and Barkatullah Khan intervene:* Meanwhile Nand Ram Thusu of Lidderwan whose two sons-Janki Nath and Shamboo Nath were among the captives in Sarda contacted his friend Latif Malik, a Zaildar of Changan (Dudniyal) through a messenger, Nabir Sheikh of Kawari. Nand Ram had asked Latif to help him to see his sons reach home safely. In the prevailing situation Latif Malik had little authority as Zaildar. Wali Mohammad was the sole authority that mattered. Latif, however, assured Nabir Sheikh that he would do his best to help Nand Ram. Pak troops had still not entered Sarda. Mir Zaman's house was 1½ miles away from the fort, while the Sarda shrine was just at a distance of 1 mile. Shops of Kashmiri Pandits were located in the shrine area. For a month Kashmiri Pandits holed up in Sarda had remained cut off from the outside world. Lateef Malik contacted Wali Mohammad, the self-styled administrator and asked him, "What these Pandits would do here? It was Pakistan now.Let them go". Another person who came to Sarda to intervene for their release was Barkatullah Khan of Kawari. Through the intervention of Barkatullah Khan and Latif Malik, Kashmiri Pandits were set free. Mir Zaman asked Barkatullah Khan to take care of Pandits for their onward journey to Lidderwan. The Pandits left at 11 AM, carrying maize bread and Kishmish-Zirish along with them and reached Dudniyal at 7 PM. It was dark by now. The shops of Thusu family were locked. The godowns of Jodhamal Kutiyal were located in the same building on the second storey. Pt. Sona Lal Thusu and Amar Nath who also worked with Jodhamal had already returned to Lidderwan. Amarnath also functioned as guard of the bridge at Dudniyal. At Barkatullah's advice Pandits decided to spend the night at the house of Sharif Dar, a forest guard. The latter's father, Satar Dar had business partnership in water-mill with Sona Lal Thusu. Sharif's family was still hospitable and courteous. They helped Pandits to relieve their fatigue by bringing maize bread and a samovar of salt tea. Janki Nath suggested to Sharif, "This *sadhu *(Swami Ji) has not taken salt for ten years. I will prepare tea for him separately". Janki Nath prepared *kahwa *for him. Swamiji took *kahwa *and the maize bread they had carried from Sarda. *Thusu Shops Burnt:* It was 11 PM. Pandits were still gossiping on the road when they heard the sound of a bullet shot. Shops of Thusus had been put to arson, the godowns of Jodhamal Kutiyal also perished in the fire. However, the two three-storeyed houses owned by Thusus located some distance away remained safe. Rai Bahadur Ishar Dass's godowns, a school and a *sarai* were housed in these houses. The ladies of Dar household cried bitterly that the 'shops of our Pandits have been burnt'. Pandits told them that they had built these shops and hoped that they would rebuild these. At the morning breakfast at Dar's house Pandits were joined by many locals. Pandits asked the locals why did they put their shops to arson even after they had converted. The locals claimed that the accused had been identified and claimed that he would be taught a good lesson. Soon Pandits reached Potkhai (Marhama) gully. From here there was a steep climb of 1½ kms over one foot deep snow. Swamiji gave up and could not walk any further. Janki Nath warmed him up with hot *kahwa*. Nathji and Shamboo Nath Thusu carried Swamiji on shoulders upto Marhama gully top. From here they could see Kashmir—their home. Swamiji was thrilled and puffed his special tobacco. In downhill journey towards Lidderwan he moved like a tiger taking 5-7 steps together. *Zirhama:* While passing through Zirhama Pandits were a little apprehensive. Soon after the raid a Sikh youth had been killed here while his younger brother had been saved by Karim Sheikh of Kawari. Karim had given him shelter in his house. When situation improved he brought him to Kupwara Thana. The two Sikh brothers were running a shop in Sarda and used to sell army shoes and clothes. While fleeing Sarda a mob had attacked them at Zirhama, one km from Lidderwan. When Pandits reached Zirhama, the mob had moved towards Lidderwan. *Thanedar Suspended:* Thanedar Sham Lal reached Srinagar a few months later. He and constable Kartar Singh were shifted from Fort to a Kotha (a Kacha Hut) and were put under house-arrest. Kartar was taken daily to the Kishenganga river by 'soldiers'. They would terrorise him by asking their colleagues to open fire at him. One day Thanedar and Kartar decided to escape. The door of Kotha made lot of noise on being opened. The duo put some dust and dirty water around it to ensure that it did not make any noise. They ran away during the night. Their gum ammunition shoes helped them cover 26 miles over snow to reach Kupwara. At Srinagar Sham Lal had another surprise in store for him. He was put under suspension and remained without pay for many months. Thanedar was shocked to see a constable attending his duties at Hari Parbhat Fort. This constable was among those who had stormed the Fort at Sarda and hoisted Pakistani flag. *Source: **Kashmir Sentinel* From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 24 10:05:58 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:05:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute, The Myth - Part III Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903232135j35d2aa12h4c8d79d7f6d73d02@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmir** Dispute - The Myth-III* ** *By Dr. M.K. Teng* ** Another man, whose future was linked with the de marcation of the boundary in the Punjab, was Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu-Madhopur fair weather cart-road was the only communication link between the State and India. The two major all weather motorable roads, the Jehlum-Valley Road linking Srinagar with Rawalpindi and the Jammu-Sialkot road ran into the West Punjab. The railway line connecting Jammu with Sialkot also ran into the West Punjab. The border between the State and Kangra and the Punjab Hill States, which had decided to accede to India, was broken by rugged mountainous terrain. An alternate road could be built via Mukerian to connect Jammu with Kangra and via Doda with the Punjab Hill States. Indeed, when Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the Commission the necessity of securing access to Jammu and Kashmir through East Punjab, Mohammad Munir and Din Mohammad suggested the construction of an alternate land route via Mukerian connecting Jammu with Kangra. The Hindu and the Sikh Commissioners realised, as did Hari Singh, the importance of the tehsil of Pathankot to the viability and the defensibility of the borders of India as well the Jammu and Kashmir State. Sir Shadi Lal and Bakshi Tek Chand kept Hari Singh informed of the boundary demarcation in the Punjab. They were close to Mehar Chand Mahajan and had apprised him of the interest Hari Singh had in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab. Hari Singh was suspicious of Mountbatten, whose mind he knew. He did not trust the Congress leaders. He had received a communication from States Minister, in which the latter had advised him to release the National Conference leaders and come to terms with them. Unsure of the course Sir Radcliffe would follow in respect of his State, he reportedly, conveyed to the British officials, through some of his trusted British friends, his interests in a balance border with the two Dominions of India and Pakistanand the importance of the Jammu-Pathankot road for the security of his State. Reportedly, he conveyed to the British authorities that in case he was not secured the land route between Jammu and Pathankot he would have no other alternative except to depend upon the Dominion of India for the construction of a new transit route, across the eastern borders of the State with Kangra or with any of the Punjab Hill States, which had already acceded to India. The British were not averse to a balanced border of the State with India and Pakistan, for they were keen to avoid any diplomatic or political lapse which would push the Maharaja into the lap of India. Some of the British officials sincerely believed that Hari Singh would opt for an arrangement in which he was not required to accede to any of the Dominions, if he was guaranteed peace on his frontiers. Ram Chander Kak, out of stratagem or straight devotion to his master, had spared no efforts to assure the British, that Hari Singh pursued a policy, which enabled him to retain his independence, rather than join India which was beset with serious difficulties. In view of the extremely divergent views and deep disagreement among the Hindu and Sikh Commissioners and the Muslim Commissioners, the Boundary Commission was unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement on the demarcation of the boundary across the Lahore Division. In accordance with the procedure laid down for the Boundary Commission, in case of disagreement among the Hindu, Sikh and the Muslim representation in the Commission, it was decided by mutual agreement to entrust the task of the demaracation to Sir Radcliffe, the Chairman of the Boundary Commission. The Commissioners, representing the Hindus and the Sikh as well as the Muslims agreed that the arbitral award made by Sir Radcliffe would be binding on them. History had cast a unique responsibility on Sir Radcliffe, to lay down the future boundaries of the nation of India, which was on the threshold of freedom from centuries of slavery as well as describe the future boundaries of an independent Muslim state in India. The Congress leaders, were perhaps, oblivious of the elemental change the creation of Pakistan would bring into the civilisational boundaries of India and the far-reaching effect the establishment of a Muslim power in India, would have on its northern frontiers. Jammu and Kashmir formed the central spur of the great Himalayan uplands poised as the State was, it stood as a sentinel for any eastward expansion of any power from the west as well as the north. Pakistan was, however, keenly conscious of the strategic importance of Jammu and Kashmir. But the Government of Pakistan was unable to judge the ability of Maharaja Hari Singh to defeat their designs. *Hari Singh played a historic role in persuading Sir Radcliffe to accept that his State could not be completely isolated from the Indian Dominion.* The Muslim League leaders did not trust Hari Singh. They spared no efforts to convince the British officials in the Government of India about the necessity to ensure that the Boundary Commission did not deviate from the principle of the population proportions. *The Muslim League leaders were keen to acquire the **Ravi** Headworks at Madhopur isolate the district of * *Amritsar** and seal the existing road-link connecting **Jammu and Kashmir**with **India**.* The League leaders sent Chowdhary Mohammad Ali to convey to the British officials in the Indian Government their concern about the future of the Lahore Division. Mohammad Ali met, Lord Ismay, the Political Advisor to the Viceroy to convey to Mountbatten the anxiety of the Muslim League leaders about any deviation from the principle of population-proportions the Boundary Commission may resort to in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab. Ismay told Mohammad Ali that the Boundary Commission was an independent body of which the functions were determined by its terms of reference, and the Government of India had no role in its function. Many years later, research in Pakistan revealed that during his meeting with Lord Ismay, Mohammad Ali showed the Political Advisor a sketch map of the demarcation of the boundary between east and west Punjab which was not strictly based upon the principle of population-proportions. Ismay, reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with it. The award of the Boundary Commission was announced on 18 of August 1947, three days after the transfer of power in India. Sir Radcliffe left Indiathe same day. The districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur were included in the East Punjab, whereas the districts of Lahore and Sheikhopora were included in the West Punjab. The entire Muslim League leadership flared upon in anger against the inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab and blamed Sir Radcliffe of connivance in a craftily devised plan to give India access to Jammu and Kashmir and provide the Indian state the strategic ground to grab the State. Communal riots flared up in Lahore and spread to the whole of the Punjab. Sir Radcliffe followed uniform standards in the delimitation of the boundary between India and Pakistan in Bengal as well as the Punjab. Evidently, he did not overlook the consideration of other factors, specifically mentioned in the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission in the delimitation of the boundary between the East and the West Punjab. He did take into consideration the nominal majority, the Muslims enjoyed over the Hindus and the Sikhs in Gurdaspur. The Tehsil of Pathankote in the Gurdaspur district had a distinct Hindu majority and it could not have been included in the West Punjab by any stretch of imagination. Sir Radcliffe had not followed the district boundaries as the basis of delimitation of the boundaries elsewhere in the Punjab. Besides, the Ravi irrigation headworks were located in Pathankot and they could not have been excluded from the East Punjab, to ensure a just and equitable distribution of water resources in the Punjabbetween India and Pakistan. undoubtedly, Sir Radcliffe did not overlook the necessity of providing a balanced border to the Jammu and Kashmir State, for which Mahajan and Teja Singh had spiritedly pleaded. The security of the Jammu and Kashmir State, which constituted the central spur of the northern frontier of India and which was crucial to the security of the Himalays, could not be left out the consideration of the Boundary Commission. The division of the Punjab was a part of the partition of India and the demarcation of the boundary between India and Pakistan could not be undertaken in isolation from its effects on the Indian States. The delimitation of the boundary in the Punjab around the Bahawalpur State, was undertaken with due consideration of its future affiliations. Bahawalpurjoined Pakistan,. Sir Radcliffe recognised the inclusion of the district of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab as a strategic requirement of the security of the northern frontier of India, including the frontier of India in the Punjab. He accepted in his report that the inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab was necessary for the security of the district of Amritsar, which would otherwise he surrounded by Pakistan. Perhaps, Radcliffe was aware of the security of the northern Frontier of India, in which the British were more interested than the Congress leaders, who had warbled notions about the security of the Himalayas. Unlike the other officials of the Government of India, Radcliffe was free of the trappings, the British officials of the Indian Civil Service were strapped to. He did not visualise the partition of India as the British officials of the Indian Government did, and he was guided by his own judgement. *He refused to recognise the claim to the geographical expression of the Muslim nation of **Pakistan**, the way the British officials of the Indian Government did. He had little regard for their colonial concerns or Jinnah's notions of the ascendance of the Muslims power in **India**.* An important consideration which Sir Radcliffe had in mind in dividing the Lahore Division was the future of the Sikh Community, which was bound to be adversely affected by the partition of the Punjab. The land and the assets owned by the Sikhs were largely situated in the west Punjab but a larger section of their population lived in the East Punjab. Besides, their main religious centres and most sacred shrines, including the Durbar Saheb, were located in the Lahore Division. The division of the Punjab was bound to uproot them from the West Pakistan and deprive them of their land and assets. The claim laid by the Muslims to the whole of Lahore Division, would divest them of their sacred places and shrines. Lahore was the seat of the Sikh empire of the Punjab, which had changed the course of the history of India. The demarcation of the boundary of the East Punjab was therefore, crucial to the survival and future of the Sikh community. Both Mahajan and Teja Singh emphasised upon the need to consider the interests of the Sikh community in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab. *The inclusion of Gurdaspur in the **East Punjab** mitigated, though only partially, the rigours of the division of the **Punjab**. *The delimitation of the boundary in the Punjab, Sir Radcliffe undertook, gave the Muslims, who constituted 55 percent of the population of the Province, 65 percent of its territory. The Hindus and the Sikhs who constituted 45 percent of the population got only 35 percent of the territory of the Punjab. The Muslim League leaders had no reason to grumble. Their reconstruction were politically motivated and aimed to prepare ground to launch a new form of Direct Action to reduce the Jammu and Kashmri State. * - To be continued* *(Note: *The Articles in this series are based upon the documentary sources in the Archives of India, Archives of Jammu and Kashmir State, All States People's Conference Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum New Delhi, Sapru House Library, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, Documentary sources, published in Pakistan, Contemporary News Paper files and Interviews). From iram at sarai.net Tue Mar 24 11:37:11 2009 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:37:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] fwd: AAA Lecture-Performance: As Transient as a Whale by Raqs Media Collective Message-ID: <49C8788F.4080302@sarai.net> Subject: AAA Lecture-Performance: As Transient as a Whale by Raqs Media Collective From: info at aaa.org.hk Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:01:49 +0800 (HKT) To: reader-list at sarai.net - AAA Lecture-Performance - As Transient as a Whale Raqs Media Collective Thursday, 26 March 2009, 6.30-8pm Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre *Please note the new venue. Hong Kong has had two curious visitors in this month, a lost humpbacked whale on a detour and the Raqs Media Collective at the Asia Art Archive. Humpbacked Whales, like memories in a city eager to live forever in the future, are an endangered species. While Raqs has not yet met the whale, they have spent time with some of Hong Kong's memories. They have also spent some time thinking about the place of memory in an archive. In their lecture-performance presentation - 'As Transient as a Whale' - Raqs will present their field notes, research and the images they have been working with as they travel in Hong Kong. The lecture performance will also present sketches of the in-situ installation that they will produce at the Asia Art Archive at the conclusion of their residency. AAA welcomes Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta of Raqs Media Collective, Delhi based think-tank, curators and cutting-edge artist collective, as its first international residents. Raqs Media Collective was formed in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. The Collective is based in Delhi and work at Sarai, a program of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, an initiative they co-founded in 2001.Their work takes the form of installations, video, photography, image-text collages, media objects, performances, and encounters. They cross contemporary art practice with historical and philosophical speculation, research and theory. The Collective has been exhibited widely in major international spaces and events including Documenta 11 (2002), the Venice Biennale (2003, 2005), the Guangzhou Triennial (2005), and the Istanbul Biennial (2007). Their writings have also been published extensively. They curated 'The Rest of Now' in Bolzano/Bozen and co-curated 'Scenarios' for Manifesta 7, Italy. They are currently showing at 'Chalo! India', Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and 'Indian Highway', Serpentine Gallery, London. AAA's Residency Programme is the first offered annually by an arts organization in Hong Kong and one of the first in the world to take the art archive as its point of departure. Event Details Presented by: Asia Art Archive Venue: Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Date: Thursday, 26 March 2009 Time: 6.30-8pm Language: English Registration: chantal at aaa.org.hk or 2815 1112. DVD of the talk will be available for viewing at the Archive. _____________________________________ Asia Art Archive 11/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 1112 Fax: (852) 2815 0032 Email: info at aaa.org.hk Website: http://www.aaa.org.hk AAA is a registered charity in Hong Kong supported by the HKADC, private corporations, foundations, individuals, galleries and artists. Support Asia Art Archive by becoming a patron! For details of our patron programs visit www.aaa.org.hk/support_front.aspx To ensure our newsletter reaches your mail box, please remove info at aaa.org.hk from your junk email folder. Please reply with title "unsubscribe" if you wish to remove your email from AAA mailing list. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nilankur at cultureunplugged.com Tue Mar 24 13:13:39 2009 From: nilankur at cultureunplugged.com (Nilankur) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:13:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Looking for Film Community+Media Organizer Message-ID: <5F9FA31C-9C5E-446D-84FB-0DB6165BC420@cultureunplugged.com> Looking for Film Community+Media Organizer : from Culture Unplugged: (HQ : Pune, India) about us : http://www.cultureunplugged.com/landing.php http://studio.cultureunplugged.com Do you love to discover & connect with film-makers across the globe? Do you thrive in discovering & watching meaningful films/media content? Do you aspire to collaborate for & organize film-festivals? If yes, we wish to discover you. We are looking for film community+media organizer who is people- friendly, enthusiastic, calm & compassionate, who thrives on challenges, is passionate about spending time with films & film- makers, and, is able to work as independent contributor as well as collaborate with the team members. Familiarity or knowledge of online medium is valued. Responsibilities include : searching and sourcing for content that meets festival/event mission + organizational content- quality standards, approaching, following up & building relationship with the film-makers, managing the flow of incoming content and facilitating in other efforts involved with festivals. For this opportunity, flexibility is required for: travel + responsibilities + hours. Ability to think creatively & clean organizational skills are important. Ability to virtually create + manage the film-community is must. An open mind, self management & entrepreneurial spirit is vital. These opportunity is in PUNE (exceptions possible) at Culture Unplugged Studios, and the start-date is immediate. Compensation is based on expertise/experience and mutual expectations. We wish to build a community of spiritualists/creatives who can compliment & share our vision of life & future. It is our wish to build a New Age work environment, where work is joy and smart means spiritual. If you have experience as film/media critic, film-producer or film/ media event organizer we wish to know you. To learn about us, please visit http://www.cultureunplugged.com/landing.php Please email us your profile/interest/samples at : apply at cultureunplugged.com In respect of time, we will contact you if we find your profile/ expectation a fit. We thank you for your attention. nilankur Culture Unplugged Studios India | USA | UK | Indonesia | New Zealand +91.20.650.02520/ +91.992.340.4262 From sanchia at cis-india.org Tue Mar 24 16:31:44 2009 From: sanchia at cis-india.org (Sanchia de Souza) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:31:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Event Announcements--Lectures at the Centre for Internet and Society Message-ID: <49C8BD98.40708@cis-india.org> The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, invites you to two lectures this weekend. On Friday, 27 March, Patrice Riemens will speak on 'The Dark Face of Google', and on Saturday, 28 March, Emma Ota will speak on 'Technology and the Mediation of Place'. 'The Dark Face of Google' ========================== * Talk by Patrice Riemens * Date and Time 27 March 2009; 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm The extraordinary rise of Google Inc. from a 'confidential' search site in the late nineties, the heydays of Altavista, to its present preminent status on the internet, has attracted a lot of attention. The admirers see Google as the incarnation of things to come, not only in information retrieval & management, and not even on the Internet only, but in the economy and society as a whole. The nay-sayers variously view Google as a flattening behemoth of digital information, or as a cultural war machine, bent on the Americanisation of the planet, and generally as a mendacious commercial monopoly pretending to 'do no evil' while hypocritically promoting open source, access, and life in general. Outside this discussion stand an ever growing mass of millions of users who ask no questions, profess neither admiration or hatred (and if so, rather the former), but are happy to use the search engine and the many other services provided by Google. That they hereby gladly if unwittingly contribute to reinforcing the assets of Google, in the words of Yann Moulier Boutang, "the only company in the world that is able to make 14 million people work for it at any given moment, for free", is one of the many starkly under-lighted aspects of this Internet giant's operative mode. 'The Dark Face of Google' is the title of the book written two years ago by the Italian Ippolita Collective, which Patrice Riemens is currently translating. Ippolita's brief is neither eulogizing nor demonising Google, but to understand it, especially in its less advertised aspects. Their aim is to educate Google's users, not to wean them away from it, and to politicise the discussion about search, digital services, and the management of information and knowledge in general. Patrice Riemens will discuss a few points in this context. * The ways in which Google determines, undermines, or enforces existing power and knowledge structures * The Google Books Project and how it reinforces IPR tyranny * Google's local policies and how they affect fundamental civil liberties This talk, like Ippolita's book, is intended as a general, informed introduction to an issue that has been insufficiently discussed, due to media hype, and the apparent innocuousness of a readily available, extremely fast and effective, free, Internet service. * Speaker Patrice Riemens is a social geographer by education and a private intellectual and internet activist by choice. He is a promoter of Open Knowledge and Free Software, and has been involved as a "FLOSSopher" (a 'philosopher' of the Free/Libre and Open Source Software movements) at the Asia Source and Africa Source camps, held to promote FLOSS among non-governmental organisations. He is a member of the Dutch hackers' group Hippies from Hell. He has formerly worked with De Waag Center for Old and New Media, an institute housed in an old castle in Amsterdam, on the cutting edge of technology, culture, education and industry. Patrice has also been on the staff of Multitudes, a French philosophical, political and artistic monthly journal founded in 2000 by Yann Moulier-Boutang. ----- Technology and the Mediation of Place ====================================== * Talk by Emma Ota * Date and Time 28 March 2009; 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm When mediated space surrounds us and our sense of place is increasingly constructed through technology, how do we locate ourselves? Challenging notions of location and locality, Emma Ota will present an overview of two years of research into the mediation of place through technology and the developments of media art in Asia. We carry many locations with us, virtual, physical, psychological and cultural locations which have a complex relation to each other; this presentation will consider the impact of new media upon the construction of these locations and how they interact with each other, as these technologies increasingly become part of the reality of our located experience, no longer separate apparatus, not merely a portal to elsewhere but part of our encounter of place. When identity, community and culture are formulated upon mediated experiences we are led back to Benjamin’s discussion of the loss of aura, debating what meaning can still lie in the original; yet, arguably, such an original state has never existed, all phenomena encountered and assimilated through one form of mediation or another. But to be mediated is to transform and, as Heidegger has demonstrated, technology presents an enframing of its content, which may lead to new revealings but also a loss of that which lies beyond the frame. We have perhaps reached a stage where we can no longer comment upon mediated localities, but must turn to the localities of mediation. These are just some of the critical debates which Ota has been investigating in her research. While pursuing theoretical research into this topic, Ota has also followed studies in Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia in an examination of new media art provision and development in East/South East Asia. Interviewing artists, curators, theorists etc. over the course of a year, a large body of documentation has been accumulated which will be presented as a small glimpse into the new media condition of the region. * Speaker Emma Ota is a curator and researcher based in Tokyo, the Director of Dislocate, Project for Art, Technology and Locality, and a Researcher at Musashino Art University, Department of Visual Imaging and Sciences. Her practices focus upon media arts and international exchange. She has worked for the media arts organization Trampoline, based in Germany and the UK and co-curated the Radiator Festival for Art and Technology in 2005. She initiated the project Traversing Territories, fostering collaboration between students and young artists in Japan and the UK (which has since continued annually). In 2006 she established the project Dislocate for art, technology and locality which brings together international artists and experts in the discussion and debate of the role of new media in relation to our surrounding environment. Ota is guest curator at Ginza Art Lab, an independent artist run space and was also co-curator of Space Rabi Adesso, Koenji in 2008. Ota is highly concerned with promoting international cross-cultural communication between children and is co-founder of Inter-play, an organization which runs collaborative workshops and projects between children in Japan and other countries around the world. Other projects have included ‘The Moon’, a groundbreaking contemporary art exhibition of Japanese and UK artists held in the historic gardens of Kodaiji Temple, Kyoto, and ‘A Gift to Those who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling’, an artist in residency exchange project with participant artists Erika Tan (UK) and Mio Shirai (Japan). As a researcher Ota is investigating the development of media arts in Asia and its relation to specific social and cultural contexts, in particular ideas of place, these investigations have led her to China, Korea, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. For more information please see www.dis-locate.net and www.eonsbetween.net. ========================================================================= * Venue Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers, 14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052 * Map For a map, please see link: http://tinyurl.com/apltcb. * Contact Sanchia de Souza (Email sanchia at cis-india.org / call +91 80 4092 6283) -- Sanchia de Souza Publications Manager Centre for Internet and Society Email: sanchia at cis-india.org From vivek at sarai.net Tue Mar 24 23:04:37 2009 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:04:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Amiri Baraka + Adrienne Rich Message-ID: <49C919AD.2070709@sarai.net> Adrienne Rich writing on Amiri Baraka-- that makes a great poet + a great poet. (and certainly one of the most illuminating combos I've read in a while) http://bostonreview.net/BR34.2/rich.php What Country Is This? Rereading LeRoi Jones’s The Dead Lecturer Adrienne Rich A splinter of language flares into mind before sleep, in crawling traffic or some waiting room of defunct magazines. So a few years ago a phrase began stalking me: A political art, let it be / tenderness . . . words of a poem from The Dead Lecturer by LeRoi Jones (afterward to become Amiri Baraka). I found the book, the poem (“Short Speech to My Friends”), then pored through the pages, as after some long or lesser interval one reads poetry as if for the first time. I’d been taken, unsettled, by these poems in the late 1960s; read some of them with basic writing students at City College of New York and graduate students at Columbia. My Grove Press paperback, with the young poet’s photograph on the cover, has titles and pages scribbled inside the back and front covers, faint pencil lines along margins. A traveled book, like a creased and marked–up map. I read The Dead Lecturer again partly for the feeling of a time and place, personal and historical: New York in the late 1960s, surges of public expectation and anger, war news, assassination news, political meetings, demonstrations, posters and leaflets; a time lived in the streets, in community centers, lecture halls and student cafeterias, storefronts and walk–ups, coffeehouses and jazz clubs; living room and open–air poetry readings from the East Village to the Upper West Side to Harlem. A time when factions might clash but there was motive and hope in social participation. I read it again realizing, forty years later, how Jones’s poetics had furthered my sense of possibilities when I was writing the poems of The Will to Change and Diving into the Wreck. But I return to The Dead Lecturer here for reasons beyond the personal. Amiri Baraka’s distinguished, embattled history as poet, small–press editor, essayist, playwright, political activist, autobiographer, and public figure is not what I want to write about here—even if I thought I could do it justice. Paul Vangelisti, in his foreword to Transbluesency: The Selected Poems of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones, 1961—1995, and Robert Creeley, in a December 1996/January 1997 Boston Review essay, provide valuable perspectives on a major poetic career. But I would urge any serious student of the human scene, certainly any poet, who has not recently, or ever, read The Dead Lecturer: borrow a copy from the public library, from a friend’s bookshelf, or get hold of it secondhand. (“Used,” “As New,” “Slightly Worn,” say the mail–order book catalogues. The copy in my hands, both used and new, in different senses.) Many of the poems are included in Transbluesency, but The Dead Lecturer itself is out of print. And it is a book, not an assemblage of occasional poems: a soul–journey borne in conflictual music, faultless phrasing. Music, phrasing of human flesh longing for touch, mind fiercely working to decipher its predicament. Titles of poems are set sometimes in bold, sometimes italics, implying structures within the larger structure. Drawing both on black music and the technical innovations of American Modernism, Jones moves deeper into a new poetics, what the poet June Jordan would name “the intimate face of universal struggle.” But intimacy is never simple, least of all in poems like these where “inept tenderness” (“A Poem for Neutrals”) searches for an ever–escaping mutuality. Or, in “Footnote to a Pretentious Book”: Who am I to love so deeply? As against a heavy darkness, pressed against my eyes. Wetting my face, a constant trembling rain. A long life, to you. My friend. I tell that to myself, slowly, sucking my lip. A silence of motives / empties the day of meaning. What is intimate enough? What is beautiful? It is slow unto meaning for any life. If I am an animal, there is proof of my living. The fawns and calves of my age. But it is steel that falls as a thin mist into my consciousness. As a fine ugly spray, I have made some futile ethic with. “Changed my life?” As the dead man pacing at the edge of the sea. As the lips, closed for so long, at the sight of motionless birds. There is no one to entrust with meaning. (These sails go by, these small deadly animals.) And meaning? These words? Were there some blue expanse of world. Some other flesh, resting at the roof of the world you could say of me, that I was truly simpleminded. No lyric of romantic loneliness and melancholy here. The title suggests an addendum to some literary classic presumed to have changed a life, but the mode is largely interrogative: “It is slow unto meaning for / any life. . . . Who am I to love / so deeply? . . . What is intimate / enough? What is / beautiful? . . . And meaning? These words?” Images bind these questions, render them sensuous: darkness and rain, the sucked lip, the young animals, steel “that falls / as a thin mist . . . . a fine / ugly spray,” the immobility of “the dead man / pacing,” “the lips, closed / for so long,” “motionless / birds.” Together they conjure a landscape of withholding, longing and mistrust. The speaker is not, cannot be, “simpleminded.” In “An Agony. As Now.” (possibly one of Jones’s most–quoted poems—at least the first few lines) contactlessness and self–barricading are evoked but cannot utter themselves. Nor can “love” decipher them from the outside. But this is not simply one person’s crisis. Robert Creeley rightly saw in it “life . . . in a literal body which the surrounding ‘body’ of the society defines as hateful”—an unacceptable condition. It can be read as common existential anguish, but to ignore that surround of social hatred is to mistake the poem’s diagnostic power: I am inside someone who hates me. I look out from his eyes. Smell what fouled tunes come in to his breath. Love his wretched women. Slits in the metal, for sun. Where my eyes sit turning, at the cool air the glance of light, or hard flesh rubbed against me, a woman, a man, without shadow, or voice, or meaning. This is the enclosure (flesh, where innocence is a weapon. An abstraction. Touch. (Not mine. Or yours, if you are the soul I had and abandoned when I was blind and had my enemies carry me as a dead man (if he is beautiful, or pitied. It can be pain. (As now, as all his flesh hurts me.) It can be that. Or pain. As when she ran from me into that forest. Or pain, the mind silver spiraled whirled against the sun, higher than even old men thought God would be. Or pain. And the other. The yes. (Inside his books, his fingers. They are withered yellow flowers and were never beautiful.) The yes. You will, lost soul, say ’beauty.’ Beauty, practiced, as the tree. The slow river. A white sun in its wet sentences. Or, the cold men in their gale. Ecstasy. Flesh or soul. The yes. (Their robes blown. Their bowls empty. They chant at my heels, not at yours.) Flesh or soul, as corrupt. Where the answer moves too quickly. Where the God is a self, after all.) Cold air blown through narrow blind eyes. Flesh, white hot metal. Glows as the day with its sun. It is a human love, I live inside. A bony skeleton you recognize as words or simple feeling. But it has no feeling. As the metal, is hot, it is not, given to love. It burns the thing inside it. And that thing screams. “Self–hatred” is too shallow a diagnosis for this condition. Here is self–wrestling of a politicized human being, an artist/intellectual, writing among the white majority avant–garde at a moment when African revolutions and black American militance seemed to be converging in the electric field of possible liberations. Experiencing the American color line—that deceptively, murderously, ever–shifting, ever–intransigent construct—as neither “theme” nor abstraction, but as disfiguring all life, and in a time when “revolution” was still a political, not a merchandising term, Jones’s poems both compress and stretch the boundaries of the case. “A Poem for Willie Best” (a well–known black character actor) scathingly quotes the dominant cultural “line” on “the Negro”: “Lazy / Frightened / Thieving / Very potent sexually / Scars / Generally inferior / (but natural / rhythms.” (Such terms may have gone underground but still inhabit popular imaginations, via television and film, African–American political and celebrity figures notwithstanding.) In addition to Best, the poetry’s geography includes Billie Holiday (as “Crow Jane,” after Yeats’s “Crazy Jane” poems), the civil rights leader Robert F. Williams, the poets Edward Dorn (to whom the book is dedicated) and Robert Duncan (cited in two poems), Sartre, Paul Valéry (“as Dictator”), Marx. Lyrically tough as deepest blues, they do not romanticize the black populace as some revolutionary vanguard: It cannot come except you make it from materials it is not caught from. (The philosophers of need, of which I am lately one, will tell you. “The People,” (and not think themselves liable to the same trembling flesh). I say now, “The People, as some lesson repeated, now, the lights are off, to myself, as a lover, or at the cold wind. Let my poems be a graph of me. (And they keep to the line, where flesh drops off. You will go blank at the middle. A dead man. But die soon, Love. If what you have for yourself, does not stretch to your body’s end. (Where, without preface, music trails, or your fingers slip from my arm (“Balboa, The Entertainer”) Out of the verse experiments of William Carlos Williams, Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, and Robert Creeley, Jones had come into association with younger white contemporaries like Edward Dorn, Diane Wakoski, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Diane di Prima, Carol Berg. (All of these and others were published in chapbooks under Jones’s editorship through his imprint, Totem Press, along with his first collection, Preface to a Twenty–Volume Suicide Note.) In The Dead Lecturer he takes what he needs for breath and measure, committed to the break with anglicized formalism he calls for in “The Myth of a Negro Literature,” his 1962 address to the American Society for African Culture: No poetry has come out of England of major importance for forty years, yet there are would–be Negro poets who reject the gaudy excellence of 20th century American poetry in favor of disemboweled Academic models of second–rate English poetry . . . . It would be better if such a poet listened to Bessie Smith sing Gimme a Pigfoot, or listened to the tragic verse of a Billie Holiday, than be content to imperfectly imitate the bad poetry of the ruined minds of Europe. Yet the poems in The Dead Lecturer cannot be called derivative or said to belong to any single school, so imprinted are they with the intensity of Jones’s own personality, intellect, and location. It is the book of an artist contending first of all with himself, his sense of emotional dead ends, the limits of poetic community, the contradictions of his assimilation by that community, his embrace and rejection of it: searching what possible listening, what possible love or solidarity might exist out beyond those contradictions. It is the book of a young artist doing what some few manage or dare to do: question the foundations of the neighborhood in which he or she has come of age and received affirmation. Because Jones himself is implicated, this questioning is double–sided, and sides will be chosen. “Short Speech to My Friends” moves to the crux of the matter. The voice in the first section of the poem rehearses utopian desire and opposes it against actual disjuncture: A political art, let it be tenderness, low strings the fingers touch, or the width of autumn climbing wider avenues, among the virtue and dignity of knowing what city you’re in, who to talk to, what clothes —even what buttons—to wear. I address / the society the image, of common utopia. / The perversity of separation, isolation, after so many years of trying to enter their kingdoms, now they suffer in tears, these others, saxophones whining through the wooden doors of their less than gracious homes. The poor have become our creators. The black. The thoroughly ignorant. Let the combination of morality and inhumanity begin. “Inhumanity”: dehumanization in the eyes of others, entrenched power that inflicts suffering without compunction, and the violence (mostly horizontal) embraced by those who feel no stake in the social compact. A “political art” cannot claim to imagine a “common utopia,” or evoke “tenderness” while enduring this dual inhumanity. But it must somehow bear tenderness for those who “after so many years of trying to enter their kingdoms, / now . . . suffer in tears.” (Or, in “Balboa, the Entertainer”: “But / die soon, Love. If / what you have for / yourself, does not / stretch to your body’s / end.”) The last three lines in this section of “Short Speech to My Friends” flash a signal toward The Wretched of the Earth (1961, translated in 1963), Frantz Fanon’s great study of colonialist violence, pathology, culture, and national consciousness. The poem’s structure spirals like a staircase, where “the society / the image, of / common utopia” turns sharply into “The perversity / of separation, isolation,” this turn signified by a full–stop and capital letter. And, since the poet is located between worlds, there is a necessary ambiguity to the pronouns, the “they” and the “our.” The poem from which the book’s title is taken, “I Substitute for the Dead Lecturer,” carries Jones’s predicament to the edge: What is most precious, because it is lost. What is lost, because it is most precious. They have turned, and say that I am dying. That I have thrown my life away. They have left me alone, where there is no one, nothing save who I am. Not a note nor a word. Cold air batters the poor (and their minds turn open like sores). What kindness What wealth can I offer? Except what is, for me, ugliest. What is for me, shadows, shrieking phantoms. Except they have need of life. Flesh at least, should be theirs. The Lord has saved me to do this. The Lord has made me strong. I am as I must have myself. Against all thought, all music, all my soft loves. For all these wan roads I am pushed to follow, are my own conceit. A simple muttering elegance, slipped in my head pressed on my soul, is my heart’s worth. And I am frightened that the flame of my sickness will burn off my face. And leave the bones, my stewed black skull, an empty cage of failure. What can the practice of the middle–class, avant–garde artist offer to a downpressed and (formally) uneducated people who need poetry, beauty, as much as, or more than, any? To a people who possess elaborate cultural traditions of language and music—of which Jones is well aware, even if they are disdained by his middle–class professors at Howard University—yet from whom, in his present life, he feels ruptured? Fellow artists, unable to feel or hear Jones’s shrieking phantoms, have left him alone with it all: “They have turned, and say that I am dying. That / I have thrown / my life / away.” The voices are internal also: how to give flesh to shadows? This is the beset, conflicted art of one experiencing—allowing himself to experience—a split at the core: Who and what do I work for? What can I offer? What city am I living in? Who am I talking to? There is no “universal” city but that defined by those who think they rightfully own the cities. Such questions have engaged many other poets, in cultures outside North America, who believed that art must be a human resource in any genuine seismic shift, that it should belong to those who need it most. But rarely in North America has appeared so morally problematized, artistically self–critical a poetic document. Jones’s fusion of craft and emotional volatility can possess a furious eloquence reminiscent at times of Aimé Césaire. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl broke expressive limits in 1955, beginning with the wreckage of intelligence (“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness”) through the desperation beneath numbed, Freudianized, complacent postwar America. Howl transposed despair and alienation from individual pathology onto that society itself. In this it is one of our great public poems. But much of Beat–influenced poetry, catching on to the expressive open–form Whitmanic model and the un–Whitmanic machismo, minus Howl’s social insights, easily devolved into self–indulgence, penile narcissism, and tantrum. In The Dead Lecturer there is neither rant (unless strategically placed) nor self–aggrandizing neurotic angst. There are, however, many sliding screens. “Black Dada Nihilismus” I read as bitter verbal extremism, a send–up of “Dadaist” and nihilist jabber, turned against Eurocentrism. Here it is said of Sartre, “a white man” who had strenuously opposed the French presence in North Africa: “we beg him die / before he is killed.” The injunction to “Rape the white girls” hurls back the deadly lie of white lynching tradition; to “Rape their fathers” an expression of sheer political impotence. Masks and voice–overs are strategic to the poem. In the poem “The politics of rich painters” Jones mocks the discourse of an art clique he perceives as inhabited by “faggots.” Gay men are made to stand in for the capitalist art world, its class entitlement and hypocrisy. They become the target for rank homophobia, which the poet has failed to disentangle from class (and racial) rage; the language wobbles unsteadily between the two. Minus the homophobic stereotyping this could have been a brilliant satirical poem on the posturing of rich aesthetes: Whose death will be Malraux’s? Or the names Senghor, Price, Baldwin whispered across the same dramatic pancakes, to let each eyelash flutter at the news of their horrible deaths. It is a cheap game to patronize the dead, unless their deaths be accountable to your own understanding. Which be nothing nothing if not bank statements and serene trips to our ominous countryside . . . The source of their art crumbles into legitimate history. The whimpering pigment of a decadent economy Published in 1964, The Dead Lecturer is not just a transitional book in a long, controversial career. It is a landmark in itself. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Jones broke with his former affiliations (including his wife and daughters); moved to Harlem, then Newark; identified for a time as a Black Nationalist, then turned away from Nationalism to international socialism and Third World Marxism; and became Amiri Baraka. In these readings I have wished not to biographize the poems except as Jones gives leave within them; “Let my poems be a graph / of me.” Rather, I am drawn and held by the poet as social being, trying to pierce layers of inhumanity and bad faith, including his own, with language. For me, perhaps for others, the legacy of LeRoi Jones from this early book is to have made a poetry so personally exposed yet so wide–lensed, asking questions at the crossroads of experimentalism and political upheaval—questions about art, community, poverty, audience, skin, self. His torquing of language is organic to the work; he does not assume that either self–revelation or experiments in language can suffice. The reflexive, un–self–critical use of “jews” and “fags” as familiar, still–poisonous code names for class enemies certainly disfigures the poet’s achievement, along with misogyny and its images craving the woman victim. Jones was writing within conditions that continue to disfigure the American—and human—scene of which he was, and is, though oppositionally, a part. Even the erratics of his art continue to be instructive on that society. And still there is this painful, visionary music: What comes, closest, is closest. Moving, there is a wreck of spirit, a heap of broken feeling. What was only love or in those cold rooms, opinion. Still, it made color. And filled me as no one will. As, even I cannot fill myself . . . And which one is truly to rule here? And what country is this? (“Duncan spoke of a process”) From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 25 05:14:01 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:01 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-103 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903241644w677427edlc147e4992949b664@mail.gmail.com> http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16552 BJP releases 'IT vision document' New Delhi: Trying to quash reports of personality conflicts within the party, the BJP on Saturday kicked off its campaign by unveiling its '''IT vision document', detailing how it planned to use information technology as a tool for change in all major sectors, if voted to power. Positioning itself as a party with a modern and progressive vision, its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said that they planned to use IT to transform various sectors, including education, health, agriculture and even economy. He promised, among other things, 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in rural areas, laptops to one crore students at Rs 10,000 each, broadband Internet in every town and village, bank accounts for all with e-banking facilities, basic health insurance for all, and promoting domestic IT hardware industry. Special attention would be given to bring women, SCs, STs, OBCs and other weaker sections of the society within the ambit of IT-enabled development. Stressing on NDA government's achievements under prime minister Vajpayee and its successful schemes, Advani said that if they came back to power, they will take forward the unfinished agenda. The highways project will be taken forward to become the National Digital Highway Development Project, and the rural road project will be transformed into Pradhan Mantri Gram Digital Sadak Yojana. Advani's vision naturally could not have been complete without focussing on national security. He said that they would revive the project of Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) launched when NDA was in power, but it kept languishing under the UPA. He said that the NDA will ensure an MNIC for each citizen within three years of coming to power. It would provide a unique Citizenship Identity Number (CIN) to each person, and it will integrate all identities including election ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license number into one common identity. Advani said that security was the main concern for making the cards mandatory. He pointed out the increasing infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals into the country, particularly in the northeast. There are an estimated two crore Bangladeshi immigrants staying illegally in the country, he said. Meanwhile, the party's high-profile general secretary Arun Jaitley made a late entry at the important function. Other senior BJP leaders, including party president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh and Arun Shourie were present at the function. Rajnath Singh also launched BJP's revamped website on the occasion. A day earlier, Jaitley, who is reported to be at loggerheads with Singh over the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as in-charge of the poll campaign in Assam and joint in-charge of the entire northeast, had skipped the party's important central election committee meeting. Courtesy India Today From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 25 05:14:59 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:59 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-104 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903241644j3c80eb7fl50bc96079b1e1f8b@mail.gmail.com> http://www.countercurrents.org/karun240309.htm BJP’s IT Vision: The Discreet Charm Of Techno-Hindutva By Binu Karunakaran 24 March, 2009 Countercurrents.org In June 2007 the Indian Express reported that the Shiv Sena (SS) is planning to build a software to monitor abusive communities on the popular social networking site Orkut. One doesn't know whether the Shiv Sainiks made use of any web technology when they singled out and slapped a criminal suit on a teenaged computer science student from Kerala for letting anonymous users post defamatory comments against Shiv Sena in a community he created in Orkut. But one thing can be confirmed: The existance of saffron cyber vigilantes crawling the internet for every bit of ideologically inimical political kilobyte that lies buried in blog comments or community discussion threads. Perfect virtual partners for the street lumpens who beat up pub-going women or girls who dare talk to Muslim boyfriends. The crime of Ajith D who now faces charges of criminal intimidation and hurting religious sentiments in a Mumbai court (his appeal for quashing criminal complaint was dumped by the country's apex court). There are several issues here that concerns not only the freedom of speech but also the quality of democracy as reflected in our participation in the information society through the medium of Internet. The colour of content, the ideological orientation of communities in the Indian cyber-landscape is showing a definite tilt towards politics of Hindutva. Hundreds of ethnical and racially abusive comments are posted in web discussion forums daily and any content/article that touches Hindu nationalism brings in armies of dogged cyber flame warriors. The political activism of Shiv Sainiks in Orkut, which tops the list of social networking sites in India with 12.8 million unique vistors is only a pointer to a larger Hindutva project that aims to hijack the cyberspace for its political ends. In the past Shiv Sainiks have done everything from vandalising cyber cafes to blocking entire web communities for hosting 'disparaging and objectionable' content. But if you search for Shiv Sena in Orkut you will find dozens of Shiv Sena communities along with anti-Shiv Sena sites. Interestingly the ant-SS kept mostly alive by Hindu's who may be supporters of BJP but can't stand the Maratha nationalism. The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been in Orkut since June 2005 and currently has some 45,565 members. A well organised community which also has the technical ability to provide members with SMS update. The VHP at the time of writing this article had some 11,563 members. The BJP supporters group also in Orkut has a strength of 21,023. The National Development Front (NDF) currently known as the Popular Front of India (PFI), a political party suspected of harbouring Islamist agenda has 545 members. For the comfort of the Left there's an unofficial CPI(M) community with 619 members which suffers from lack of any active debate and entry of fake profiles who carry out ideological sabotage. If you look at Orkut communities little more closely you will find it a virtual forest of fake profiles and pseudo communities. The profile of Praveen Togadia for example lists Dawood Ibrahim as a community that he joined. The activism of Sangh Parivar's cyber sympathisers should be read together with the massive online campaign that the BJP has unleashed through the Advani cult website www.lkadvani.in and the www.bjp.org. The newly released and much-hyped IT Vision Document of the party establishes a broader theoretical framework for cyber politics. It is easy to view the BJP's new IT vision document in the perspective of techno-nationalism, where public policies that target strategic industries (in this case the IT industry) are given governmental support. The party's open support for Free and Open Software (FOSS) and the promise to bring about standardisation in open source computing has been generally welcomed by the Indian Freedom Software community that prides itself on its stand against the greed of techno-capitalism. As a party with a prounounced techno-ideological goal of becoming the most high-tech political outfit, the BJP is ensuring that its action matches the words by moving its entire IT infrastructure into the realm of Open Source - In the words of Prodyut Bora, the national convenor of the BJP's Information Technology cell: to create an entire enterprise IT ecosystem using only FOSS. So the party uses OpenVZ for Server Virtualisation, Qmail and Squirrelmail for emails, Ubuntu interface for desktops and Joomla for web content management. The BJP is miles ahead of its political competitors when it comes to thought and action on the possibilities of harnessing the possibilities that the information society and the discreet charm of the power that it provides. To be fair on the BJP the IT Vision document is not short on great/grandiose ideas (even if some of them looks recycled) that can tranform our nation like a national digital highway, unrestricted VoIP, a special rural IT infrastructure christened Digital Gram Sadak and a programme to help the marginalised sections of people enjoy fruits of IT-enabled development. Also clubbed together are techno-nationalist concerns reflected in the promise to promote the domestic IT hardware industry and the domestic hosting industry. The party promises that it will make India equal to China in every IT parameter in five years.Though one is not very clear whether the IT parameter also includea the level of freedom that the country's cyber dissidents and netizens are currently enjoying. All this is well and good and reveals the Sangh Parivar’s bleeding liberal info-tech heart. But read it closer and you cannot but arch your eyebrows. The BJP wants to set up an independent body - Digital Security Agency exclusively for cyber warfare, cyber counter terrorism and the cyber security of national digital assets. One can understand the cyber counter-terrorism and cyber security part of the declaration. But what is cyber warfare? Did they mean to say counter-cyber warfare and suffered a Freudian keyboard slip? No sane country in the world is likely to set up a body for Cyber Warfare - the unofficial stink job of spy agencies and misguided techno-Jihadi's. Then there is the new technology subdomain to bolster BJP's ideological backbone of cultural nationalism. The use of IT to protection of India's priceless cultural and artistic heritage. Good so long as it is used to digitise ancient text archives, document artforms and give fillip to dying languages. Scary when you think of the potential to be used by self-imposed guardians of culture, muzzle free press, gag bloggers and other cyber dissidents. The pivot of this digital revolution will be a Multipurpose National ID Card that will integrate all identities (Electoral ID, PAN and Driving License) into one common identity: Citizen Identification Card. The project which was the brain child of NDA's Obsessive Compulsive Neurosis with our nationalistic identity and disregard for citizen's privacy. The vision document claims that the project has been dumped by the UPA government. But the claim is far from true. The UPA set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) in January this year. The BJP now says it will combine the offices of the Registrar General of the Census of India and that of the UIAI to create a Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) which would maintain the National Register of Citizenship. The CRAI would have a 24x7 Online presence and enable government, law enforcement and ‘authorised’ private institutions to let their computer systems 'look up' the MNIC database in realtime. Leave the government institutions, but who is going to ‘authorise’ private institutions to run a check on our privacy? "The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory under the law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC and parents of newly born infants would have to apply for one for their child, immediately after the baby's birth," says the vision document. I hope there will be some realistic time to cut the umbilical cord or tie a nappy. http://cheekyzero2.blogspot.com From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 25 05:15:54 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:54 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-105 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903241645i3c3c90c3lf4b37804f79029b0@mail.gmail.com> http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar1509/at01 BJP takes up ID-card issue as poll plank Spl Correspondent NEW DELHI, March 14 – BJP’s new IT vision envisages according top priority to detect illegal migrants by re-jigging the UPA’s brainchild programme Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to create a new authority, Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) by amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The national ID plan is a key component of the Party’s IT Vision,” declared Opposition leader and Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, LK Advani releasing the IT Vision ‘Transforming Bharat’. The release function was attended by national president, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Arun Jaitely, among others. The man behind the Project is Assamese IT professional Pradyut Bora, who heads the BJP’s IT cell. Addressing the function, Advani said that security concern continues influenced by the problem of to be illegal migrants. “There are an estimated 1-2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in the country,” he contended. Castigating the UPA Government for not doing anything, Advani charged that in a way the Government of India was colluding with them. The centrepiece of the implementation of the BJP’s IT Vision is the Multi-purpose Identity Card (MIC), a programme started by the then NDA Government. The party also pooh-poohed the attempt of the UPA Government to introduce the (UIAI). “Only in January did the UPA Government make a token attempt to be seen as responsive on this issue, when it set up UIAI, as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” the document said. Against this slipshod and half-hearted attempt of the UPA Government, a future BJP-led NDA Government would give this programme topmost priority. “We would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of register General if Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a CRAI. The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory under law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC, and parents of newly born infants would have to apply for one for their child immediately after the baby’s birth. It would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute. Based on the BRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique Citizen Identification Number (CIN). CRAI would maintain 24X7 online presence and enable Government, law enforcement agencies and private institutions to let their computer system ‘look up’ the MNIC database in real time, the document proposes. The BJP promises to complete the MNIC rollout within three years of taking office, the Vision Document promises. Earlier, introducing the Project, Arun Shourie said that IT Vision is part of the agenda of good governance. The emphasis is on technology for people. He also explained the benefits that would be derived from the new IT policy and some of its highlights. Recalling the initiatives taken by the NDA regime in the IT sector, he said the new policy would help in telemedicine, health, and education, besides other sectors. The document promises to re-orient the IT sector by empowerment of rural India. Advani promised to take internet literacy to the country’s 6 lakh villages leading to creation of 1.25 crore new jobs. The BJP promised distribution of laptops to I crore students at interest free loans. Meanwhile, the BJP national president inaugurated the new look BJP website (www.bjp.org). From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 25 05:18:13 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:48:13 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House of Lords Message-ID: <65be9bf40903241648w615029fdmafa070a6bcc4b6dc@mail.gmail.com> http://www.out-law.com/page-9897 Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House of Lords OUT-LAW News, 23/03/2009 The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK's highest court ruled that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows lawyers' conversations to be bugged. Lawyers are allowed to withhold the details of communication with their clients from the police, prosecutors or courts. This long-established right is designed to allow a client to receive full and proper legal advice. Under legal professional privilege they can tell their lawyer the full facts of a situation without fear of the communications ending up as evidence against them. RIPA is the law which governs secret surveillance, outlining what the state can and cannot do to obtain information. Solicitor Manmohan Sandhu was charged at Antrim Magistrates' Court with incitement to murder and intending to pervert the course of justice. The evidence against Sandhu consisted of recordings of conversations he had with clients in a room in Antrim police station. Sandhu claimed that it was against the law for police to record his discussions with his clients because of legal professional privilege. A Divisional Court backed his claim, but the case was appealed to the House of Lords. Lord Carswell in the House of Lords said that RIPA does allow for the surveillance of privileged communications. "In its natural and ordinary sense [RIPA] is capable of applying to privileged consultations and there is nothing in its wording which would operate to exclude them," he wrote in his ruling. "It seems to me unlikely that the possibility of RIPA applying to privileged consultations could have passed unnoticed [in Parliament]. On the contrary, it is an obvious application of the Act, yet no provision was put in to exclude them." Lord Carswell said that legal professional privilege cannot be absolute, that it has to have exceptions. "If it were not possible to exercise covert surveillance of legal consultations where it is suspected on sufficiently strong grounds that the privilege was being abused, the law would confer an unjustified immunity on dishonest lawyers," he wrote. "There may be other situations where it would be lawful to monitor privileged consultations, for example, if it is necessary to obtain information of an impending terrorist attack or to prevent the threatened killing of a child," said Lord Carswell. "The limits of such possible exceptions have not been defined and I shall not attempt to do so, but they could not exist if the rule against surveillance of privileged consultations were absolute." Lord Carswell also said that the Code explaining RIPA suggests that the law does cover privileged communication. "The Code makes detailed provision for obtaining authorisation for monitoring consultations covered by legal professional privilege," he said. "It was laid before and approved by Parliament, but no point appears to have been taken that RIPA did not cover such consultations. It would be surprising at least that no objection was made to the inclusion of those provisions in the Code if it was thought that Parliament had not intended that the consultations be covered by RIPA." "Parliament intended that the covert surveillance provisions of RIPA should extend to the type of lawyer/client and doctor/patient consultations which are ordinarily protected by legal professional privilege," he said. Because of the Divisional Court's initial finding that RIPA could not justify such surveillance, though, two of the Lords expressed concern that the Government had carried on regardless. Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said that the court "made a finding of law against the Secretary of State. She chose not to appeal against that finding. In those circumstances it was not open to her to consider as a matter of policy whether to "take the steps necessary to remedy the concern identified by the Divisional Court". The position was simply that unless and until she took the appropriate steps she could not lawfully continue to carry out surveillance on legal consultations in prisons or police stations". Lord Neuberger of Abbostbury also said that he was concerned at the apparently illegal survillance. "Having decided not to appeal the Divisional Court's decision that surveillance of privileged and private consultations under the present regime is unlawful, the Secretary of State should have ensured that such surveillance did not take place or she should have promptly changed the regime so as to comply with the Divisional Court's decision," he said. "Unless no surveillance of privileged and private consultations has been going on for the past year in the United Kingdom (which appears most unlikely), this strongly suggests that the Government has been knowingly sanctioning illegal surveillance for more than a year. If that is indeed so, to describe such a state of affairs as "regrettable" strikes me as an understatement." From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Wed Mar 25 05:27:26 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:57:26 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House Message-ID: <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce@mail.gmail.com> Dear all The article below seems interesting. Unfortunately I could not access the article because it is only available to subscribers. I would be grateful to anyone on the list who subscribes to the National Journal and is willing to share this article with us. Regards Taha http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090321_6471.php SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some surveillance policies. by Shane Harris Saturday, March 21, 2009 Barack Obama began backing off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance policies while running for president last year. Now that he's in the Oval Office, he has shown no intention of turning back or taking a new direction. From pawan.durani at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 09:27:33 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:27:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] All roads lead to Lal Ded Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903242057v4a1d5145sa994a3d38918fa95@mail.gmail.com> * All roads lead to Lal Ded * ** *By Bilhan Kaul* Of all the literary greats of Kashmir, Lal Ded takes the cake as number one poet not only among her peers but extends to six centuries down the line in our age as well. Hence the question that is most important is her number one ranking in Kashmiri literature justified? In doing so, we have not to resort to sentimentality or romanticism which Bertand Russel describes as love for the past but put her to the rigours of critical analysis and evaluation. Firstly, whether she was a saint poet and mystic is immaterial to present occupation and need not detain us to explore her number one position among the poets of Kashmir whether of past or of present. Lal Ded, had she lived in present times could easily have been existentialist scholar but that she was saivite yogini as Richard Temple calls her reflects the mood of the age in 14th Century. Kashmir Saivism was the fashion of 14th Century Kashmiri Hindus and was followed by both classes and masses in equal measure. The fact remains Lalla was a poet of high quality and that is to state the obvious. She was definitely a Saivite Yogini and used it as an instrument to give way to her poetic genius. In the end, she chose her own path with inspiration often preceding the thought. Lal Ded wrote her poetry with fury and passion and even with intellectual arrogance. Her poetry came to her in a fit of emotion, seized her entire being inspired her to vomit gems of Kashmiri literature. Lal Vaakhs are forceful enough to hit you on the face before you realize what has hit you. Most importantly, you should not read or hear them in English translation. In doing so, as in the case of all poetry does not convey even the one fourth of original Idea or to put it differently, does not convey in any manner the skills of Lalla. Therefore, read them in Kashmiri language. Never mind if the alphabets are Roman or Devnagri. Lalla was more than a mere saivite Yogini. She was a philosopher, teacher, pacifist, social reformer. But her genius lay in her poetic compositions. Incidentally, her competitor as number one Kashmiri poet is another woman Habbakhatoon. Lal Vaakhs are forceful while Habbakhatoon's composition are more down to earth. Lal Vaakhs are philosphers's stone as against Habba Khatoon whose concerns are more mundane. Lal Ded preaches as against Habba Khatoon's compositions which are born in the backdrop of intense agitation and poetic sermons acts as a balm on that agitation. Lalla walks alone confident of herself and her knowledge. Habba Khatoon is not so sure of herself and creates poetry for her solace. Lalla creates poetry to confirm her confident status. She is a mystic and her concerns are universal. Habba Khatoon is an out and out a Kashmiri poet and uses Kashmiri beauty to create a top class imaginary. The theme of her poetry is that she has just missed the bus. Lal Ded was already on board surveying the scene as an outsider. Habba Khatoon wanted to swim with the tide as against Lal Ded had no inclination to swim with current. She was forever a rebel. A rebel with purpose. A rebel with cause. Her sympathies are not for people or for even her own self. She searched for meaning in life and it was life long mission for her. Habba Khatoon created poetry to create sympathy for her and for her condition. Her poetry was created in isolation and yet was meant for people. Habba Khatoon's Vatsun was meant to create awareness. As against Lal Vaakhs, where, search was more essential. In the end, Lal Ded beats Habba Khatoon as premier poet of Kashmir because Lal Ded had more skill and her Vaakhs viewed with cool head created more impact. Some scholars notably PN Bazaz has suggested that she was influenced by Sufis and that she brought about synthesis between Islam and Hinduism. I must say that this is quite outrageous claim. We have no evidence that Lalla was influenced by Sufism. In any case, Islam was just beginning to penetrate Kashmir during Lalla's time and the interaction of Lal Ded with Hamdani is totally false. She was out and out a Hindu who was impressed with Saivism. Her Guru Sedamol initiated her in Saivite philosophy and in following Vaakh she conveys her gratitude. Gurun Dupnam Kunny Vachun Nuybrai Dupnam Andar Achun Sui Gau Lali Vaakh Tu Vachun Tavwy Huytam Nangai Nachun That Lalla was in the practice of Yogic penances can be seen in the following Vaakh which is easily her best. Damadam Kaurmas Daman Hale Prazuloym Deef t Nanayum Zaath Andrum Prakaash Nubar Chotum Gati Rotum t Karmus Thap. This Vaakh is simply mind blowing in its intensity. Watch out for skills and dexterous use of Kashmiri language and watch out for metre in the above Vaakh. Marvellous is least one can say. This Vaakh is also noticeable for the force with which it is uttered. There is hint of rising above religious dogma in the following Vaakh. Muda Krai Chai N Dharun Tu Parun. Muda Krai Chai N Rachinai Kai Muda Krai Chai N Deh Sandarum Sahaz Vuyachurn Chui Vapudesh. In the last two stanzas she is also contradicting herself what has been stated earlier. In view of the difficulty in writing Kashmiri language in Roman script I limit myself to following one Vaakh to convey to reader her poetic genius. Lal Bu Drayus Kapsi Poshi Kadai tu Dunyu Kadnam Lath Tuiyi Yali Kharnam Zauz Tuyi Vovir Vaan Gayum Alunz Lath Dhobi Yali Chavnas Bu Kani Pyathai Saz Tu Sabun Machnum Yachui Suchi Yali Phirnam Hani Hani Kachai Ad Lali Mai Prayum Parmai Gath. The above mentioned Vaakh confirms why Lalla is premier poet of Kashmir. It also confirms why she walks tallest among the many great poets of Kashmir. It is a show piece poetry. It is a poetry of highest order. It has all the ingredients of greatest poetry written by mankind. It has everything which poetry lover wants to find. Skill, imagery, metaphor, philosophical outpourings and the determination to come through. We accord Lal Ded as number one position keeping in view number of factors. And when we consider those factors all roads lead to Lal Ded. She rules among the minds and hearts of Kashmiris. Her influence is also evident when a section of Kashmiri society tried to communalize her name and give it Islamic connotation. Lot of effort was undertaken to appropriate her in Islamic ethos. All we can say is that Lal Ded belonged to mankind and not just to Kashmiris. In fact, Lalla was quite appalled by depredations carried by Muslim invaders. This is evidenced by following Vaakh. Shiv Chui Thali Thali Rozan Mu Zan Hind Tu Muslaman Trukh Hai Chuk Paan Praznaay Soi Chai Shvi Sati Zam Zan It is certainly not the Vaakh that makes non distinction between Hindus and Muslims. It tells foreigners to maintain human dignity and not discriminate between man and man. It tells them to look inwards and realize one's own self as God is seeing in the heaven. In the end, it is a tribute to Lal Ded that she continues to occupy our minds and hearts even after more than six centuries after he death. She defined Kashmiri poetry and set standards for others to follow. And to tell the truth her standards are still hard to climb. She was her own self and genre of poetry that she created was unique. Lal Ded's poetry gives the impression that she was poet of intellect. Yet, all her poetry rose from deep recesses of the heart. The english translations of her compositions fail to do justice to her. Because translator seeks to focus on wards and search for its equivalent. By doing so flavour and unity of the poetry is lost. That is why translations by Prof. Jaya Lal Koul or PN Bazaz in English fail to do justice to her compositious. Because poetry is not all about meaning it should be captured by senses much before one seeks to get the meaning. Source: Kashmir Sentinel __._,_.___ From press at tank.tv Tue Mar 24 16:38:32 2009 From: press at tank.tv (tank.tv press) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:08:32 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] www.tank.tv: Now Showing: Steve Reinke, until 7th April 2009 Message-ID: <78c84f090903240408q4196e947u40694dc211e4c34d@mail.gmail.com> *Steve Reinke 15th March - 7th April 2009 on www.tank.tv* “In a city so dense with smart psychoanalytic cinema, Reinke wields the language of the unconscious as lightly as a portable video camera. He plays with the thinness of images and the inadequacy of words, the gap between language and desire. [ . . . ] Though Reinke fills these videos with his own thoughts, revealing the most intimate things about his fantasies, his childhood, his family, there is an ironic note that undercuts the confessional quality, as if Reinke hesitated to burden the viewer. [ . . . ] Not masochistically but quasiscientifically, Reinke mortifies the flesh in order to isolate desire: if you cannot both be and have, Reinke chooses to have.” Laura U. Marks, Artforum, May 1995. tank.tv is pleased to present a selection of work from Steve Reinke including thirty two videos from his series 'The Hundred Videos' as well as 'Painter', 'Regarding the Pain of Susan Sontag (Notes on Camp)' and 'The Fallen'. Reinke is a prolific storyteller who enjoys sapping his self-righteous counterparts. As suggested by the title of The Hundred Videos (1989-1996), the volume of his output is monumental. In most of his work and in this series - a large part of which is shown on tank.tv - the procedure that underlies these brief videos consists of an exploration of the voice and of the role of the narrator. In situations engaging with topics as diverse as literature, sex, science and art, Reinke’s voice questions the consistency of the relation between what one sees and what is happening. Reinke’s comments distract the viewer from the meaning imposed by the images while at the same time, speaking in the first person, he creates an interlace of fictional, subjective and documentary elements. Moreover, the content of his films carries a seductive provocation and is prone to make one’s teeth gnash or laugh. In Regarding the Pain of Susan Sontag (Notes on Camp), Reinke films a cemetery full of gravestones with the name “Reinke”. “Every stone bears my name. If Oprah is every woman, I am every corpse” says the voice-over. Revealing the artist’s disbelief in self-esteem, this also perhaps represents a foretaste of the artist’s lifetime project which will explore deaths and ends, called Final Thoughts... Steve Reinke is an artist and writer best known for his work in video. He lives in Toronto and Chicago, where he is Associate Professor of Art Theory & Practice at Northwestern University. His work is screened widely and is in several collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Pompidou (Paris), and the National Gallery (Ottawa). Steve Reinke’s thirty two selections from The Hundred Videos and more will be on www.tank.tv from the 15th March - 7th April 2009 before moving to tank.tv’s online archive of over 600 previously exhibited videos. -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - tank.tv 2nd Floor Princess House 50 - 60 Eastcastle Street London W1W 8EA press at tank.tv T: +44 (0)207323 3475 F: +44 (0)207631 4280 http://www.tank.tv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now showing: 'Straight to Video' Grizedale Arts on film 2000 - 2008 1st December - 31st December 2008. Fresh Moves - Out now! Order your copy on www.tank.tv "A significant archive of creative practices in the early years of twenty-first century England" Tyler Coburn, Tomorrow Unlimited --- tank.tv is an inspirational showcase for innovative work in film and video. Dedicated to exhibiting and promoting emerging and established international artists, www.tank.tv acts as a major online gallery and archive for video art. A platform for contemporary moving images. From raviv at sarai.net Wed Mar 25 11:09:51 2009 From: raviv at sarai.net (Ravi Vasudevan) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:09:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] film by Safina Uberoi Message-ID: <49C9C3A7.8070108@sarai.net> *_PRESS RELEASE March 20, 2009_* *_A GOOD MAN_* *A film by SAFINA UBEROI* * * *The true story of a struggling Australian farmer, his quadriplegic wife, their new-born baby, and their plans to open a brothel in a small country town.* *Screening: 7:00 pm Monday 30^th March* *HABITAT CENTRE* *Screening supported by The Australia India Council* _PRAISE FOR ‘A GOOD MAN’_ “A beautifully crafted, sensitive film on a sure-to-polarize subject.”- FILMINK “A disturbing and deeply moving portrait of life in rural Australia.” AT THE MOVIES “Touching and unexpectedly hilarious”- Julie Riggs, MOVIE TIME _A GOOD MAN_ 80 minute documentary film. ABC Television/Screen Australia Chris Rohrlach, the good man of the title, looks like an ordinary Australian ‘bloke’. A farmer from northern New South Wales, we discover Chris mustering sheep. But Chris’s is an extraordinary story- Fourteen years ago, his pregnant girlfriend Rachel had a massive stroke which left her incurably quadriplegic, with significant neurological impairment. But Chris was undeterred- for him Rachel was still Rachel, and he married her shortly after their baby was born. That baby is now a teenage boy and Chris and Rachel have just found out they are having another child! If this was not enough responsibility for Chris, life on the farm is tough and he desperately needs a second income. To the horror of many local townspeople, Chris decides to open a small legal brothel. This is an extraordinary story of love, commitment, the uniquely Australian culture of country people, and a resilience that seems to know no bounds. _DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY_ Safina Uberoi is an Indian-Australian filmmaker. Her best-known documentary is ‘My Mother India’, an auto-biographical film which won 11 major international awards including the Australian Film Critics Circle Award for best Australian documentary. Safina directed an episode on the British-Asian writer Meera Syal for the high profile BBC series ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ which was nominated for a BAFTA and won an Indie award for best historical series. Safina also directed ‘1800-India’ for PBS which won the Golden Eagle award for excellence in journalism. For further Information contact safina.uberoi at gmail.com MOBILE India +91 9818077681 Australia +61 406355273 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From rajenradhika at vsnl.net Wed Mar 25 12:46:31 2009 From: rajenradhika at vsnl.net (rajenradhika at vsnl.net) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:16:31 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I have been reading with interest the posts by an individual about national id card and clippings from news and media reports. This individual seems to think that individual freedom and right to express is far superior than that of societal needs for peace and harmony in society. Freedom does not mean that an individual can take law in to his hands and be the judge for the society at what he percieves as correct. Nation state if is not there, what use is the freedom to individual who lives in society using the societal benefits but hesitates to own up his duty to society.? It is sad that freedom of expression is muisused often to deride the societal sections of communities, use it as vote bank collection tool by all political parties, but when it is done by one section it is frowned upon by "secular" media, if one party starts its campaign by visit to hanuman temple and then a darga, it is secular canvassing of votes, if BJP does it, it is communal.! One thing for common man is very clear, the so called intellectuals, secular branded individuals in media do not like the BJP, they use their "freedom of expressio" to promote hate to the party, who need to first correct themselves as a common man now sees the game tru what with these blacksheep in media, ( media and judiciary is always respected in democratic life) getting rewarded and awardd by Padmashris nothing more to be added as much better journalists are denied of this honour as they are not psycophants, call spade a spade , be it from any political party. The days of men and women in media influencing the voting is over, as voter is more balanced and looks around at what is happening around them, as rapes in one state is played less hype in media but attack on women in another state is hyped in such a way that it becomes a joke in private circles of pink chaddis and loose women.? For example, the state of Delhi has seen murders of young women as routine and no tv channel made it an issue as all wanted to be in good books with the party ruling the state as their headquarters is at Delhi, but in remote mangalore if loose women and pink chaddis pub attack is publicised one.? This type of partisan journalism has made the channels to loose teir credibilty quotient alarmingly. News channels have now become entertainment channels, as they deal with anything but news.? Regards. Rajendra Uppinangadi, rajen882uppinangadi at gmail.com ----- Original Message ----- From: reader-list-request at sarai.net Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 5:27 am Subject: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 To: reader-list at sarai.net > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > Identity Cards-103 (Taha Mehmood) > 2. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > Identity Cards-104 (Taha Mehmood) > 3. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > Identity Cards-105 (Taha Mehmood) > 4. Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House > of Lords (Taha Mehmood) > 5. Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House > (Taha Mehmood) > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:01 +0000 > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > National Identity Cards-103 > To: reader-list > Message-ID: > <65be9bf40903241644w677427edlc147e4992949b664 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16552 > > BJP releases 'IT vision document' > > > New Delhi: Trying to quash reports of personality conflicts within the > party, the BJP on Saturday kicked off its campaign by unveiling its > '''IT vision document', detailing how it planned to use information > technology as a tool for change in all major sectors, if voted to > power. > > Positioning itself as a party with a modern and progressive vision, > its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said that they planned to > use IT to transform various sectors, including education, health, > agriculture and even economy. > > He promised, among other things, 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in > rural areas, laptops to one crore students at Rs 10,000 each, > broadband Internet in every town and village, bank accounts for all > with e-banking facilities, basic health insurance for all, and > promoting domestic IT hardware industry. Special attention would be > given to bring women, SCs, STs, OBCs and other weaker sections of the > society within the ambit of IT-enabled development. > > Stressing on NDA government's achievements under prime minister > Vajpayee and its successful schemes, Advani said that if they came > back to power, they will take forward the unfinished agenda. The > highways project will be taken forward to become the National Digital > Highway Development Project, and the rural road project will be > transformed into Pradhan Mantri Gram Digital Sadak Yojana. > > Advani's vision naturally could not have been complete without > focussing on national security. He said that they would revive the > project of Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) launched when > NDA was in power, but it kept languishing under the UPA. He said that > the NDA will ensure an MNIC for each citizen within three years of > coming to power. It would provide a unique Citizenship Identity Number > (CIN) to each person, and it will integrate all identities including > election ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license number into one > common identity. > > Advani said that security was the main concern for making the cards > mandatory. He pointed out the increasing infiltration of Bangladeshi > nationals into the country, particularly in the northeast. There are > an estimated two crore Bangladeshi immigrants staying illegally in the > country, he said. > > Meanwhile, the party's high-profile general secretary Arun Jaitley > made a late entry at the important function. Other senior BJP leaders, > including party president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh > and Arun Shourie were present at the function. > > Rajnath Singh also launched BJP's revamped website on the occasion. A > day earlier, Jaitley, who is reported to be at loggerheads with Singh > over the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as in-charge of the poll > campaign in Assam and joint in-charge of the entire northeast, had > skipped the party's important central election committee meeting. > > Courtesy India Today > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:59 +0000 > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > National Identity Cards-104 > To: reader-list > Message-ID: > <65be9bf40903241644j3c80eb7fl50bc96079b1e1f8b at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > http://www.countercurrents.org/karun240309.htm > > > BJP’s IT Vision: The Discreet Charm Of > Techno-Hindutva > > By Binu Karunakaran > > 24 March, 2009 > Countercurrents.org > > In June 2007 the Indian Express reported that the Shiv Sena (SS) is > planning to build a software to monitor abusive communities on the > popular social networking site Orkut. One doesn't know whether the > Shiv Sainiks made use of any web technology when they singled out and > slapped a criminal suit on a teenaged computer science student from > Kerala for letting anonymous users post defamatory comments against > Shiv Sena in a community he created in Orkut. > > But one thing can be confirmed: The existance of saffron cyber > vigilantes crawling the internet for every bit of ideologically > inimical political kilobyte that lies buried in blog comments or > community discussion threads. Perfect virtual partners for the street > lumpens who beat up pub-going women or girls who dare talk to Muslim > boyfriends. > > The crime of Ajith D who now faces charges of criminal intimidation > and hurting religious sentiments in a Mumbai court (his appeal for > quashing criminal complaint was dumped by the country's apex court). > > There are several issues here that concerns not only the freedom of > speech but also the quality of democracy as reflected in our > participation in the information society through the medium of > Internet. The colour of content, the ideological orientation of > communities in the Indian cyber-landscape is showing a definite tilt > towards politics of Hindutva. Hundreds of ethnical and racially > abusive comments are posted in web discussion forums daily and any > content/article that touches Hindu nationalism brings in armies of > dogged cyber flame warriors. > > The political activism of Shiv Sainiks in Orkut, which tops the list > of social networking sites in India with 12.8 million unique vistors > is only a pointer to a larger Hindutva project that aims to hijack the > cyberspace for its political ends. > > In the past Shiv Sainiks have done everything from vandalising cyber > cafes to blocking entire web communities for hosting 'disparaging and > objectionable' content. But if you search for Shiv Sena in Orkut you > will find dozens of Shiv Sena communities along with anti-Shiv Sena > sites. Interestingly the ant-SS kept mostly alive by Hindu's who may > be supporters of BJP but can't stand the Maratha nationalism. > > The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been in Orkut since June 2005 and > currently has some 45,565 members. A well organised community which > also has the technical ability to provide members with SMS update. The > VHP at the time of writing this article had some 11,563 members. The > BJP supporters group also in Orkut has a strength of 21,023. The > National Development Front (NDF) currently known as the Popular Front > of India (PFI), a political party suspected of harbouring Islamist > agenda has 545 members. > > For the comfort of the Left there's an unofficial CPI(M) community > with 619 members which suffers from lack of any active debate and > entry of fake profiles who carry out ideological sabotage. If you look > at Orkut communities little more closely you will find it a virtual > forest of fake profiles and pseudo communities. The profile of Praveen > Togadia for example lists Dawood Ibrahim as a community that he > joined. > > The activism of Sangh Parivar's cyber sympathisers should be read > together with the massive online campaign that the BJP has unleashed > through the Advani cult website www.lkadvani.in and the www.bjp.org. > The newly released and much-hyped IT Vision Document of the party > establishes a broader theoretical framework for cyber politics. > > It is easy to view the BJP's new IT vision document in the perspective > of techno-nationalism, where public policies that target strategic > industries (in this case the IT industry) are given governmental > support. The party's open support for Free and Open Software (FOSS) > and the promise to bring about standardisation in open source > computing has been generally welcomed by the Indian Freedom Software > community that prides itself on its stand against the greed of > techno-capitalism. > > As a party with a prounounced techno-ideological goal of becoming the > most high-tech political outfit, the BJP is ensuring that its action > matches the words by moving its entire IT infrastructure into the > realm of Open Source - In the words of Prodyut Bora, the national > convenor of the BJP's Information Technology cell: to create an entire > enterprise IT ecosystem using only FOSS. So the party uses OpenVZ for > Server Virtualisation, Qmail and Squirrelmail for emails, Ubuntu > interface for desktops and Joomla for web content management. > > The BJP is miles ahead of its political competitors when it comes to > thought and action on the possibilities of harnessing the > possibilities that the information society and the discreet charm of > the power that it provides. > > To be fair on the BJP the IT Vision document is not short on > great/grandiose ideas (even if some of them looks recycled) that can > tranform our nation like a national digital highway, unrestricted > VoIP, a special rural IT infrastructure christened Digital Gram Sadak > and a programme to help the marginalised sections of people enjoy > fruits of IT-enabled development. Also clubbed together are > techno-nationalist concerns reflected in the promise to promote the > domestic IT hardware industry and the domestic hosting industry. The > party promises that it will make India equal to China in every IT > parameter in five years.Though one is not very clear whether the IT > parameter also includea the level of freedom that the country's cyber > dissidents and netizens are currently enjoying. > > All this is well and good and reveals the Sangh Parivar’s bleeding > liberal info-tech heart. > > But read it closer and you cannot but arch your eyebrows. The BJP > wants to set up an independent body - Digital Security Agency > exclusively for cyber warfare, cyber counter terrorism and the cyber > security of national digital assets. One can understand the cyber > counter-terrorism and cyber security part of the declaration. But what > is cyber warfare? Did they mean to say counter-cyber warfare and > suffered a Freudian keyboard slip? No sane country in the world is > likely to set up a body for Cyber Warfare - the unofficial stink job > of spy agencies and misguided techno-Jihadi's. > > Then there is the new technology subdomain to bolster BJP's > ideological backbone of cultural nationalism. The use of IT to > protection of India's priceless cultural and artistic heritage. Good > so long as it is used to digitise ancient text archives, document > artforms and give fillip to dying languages. Scary when you think of > the potential to be used by self-imposed guardians of culture, muzzle > free press, gag bloggers and other cyber dissidents. > > The pivot of this digital revolution will be a Multipurpose National > ID Card that will integrate all identities (Electoral ID, PAN and > Driving License) into one common identity: Citizen Identification > Card. The project which was the brain child of NDA's Obsessive > Compulsive Neurosis with our nationalistic identity and disregard for > citizen's privacy. The vision document claims that the project has > been dumped by the UPA government. But the claim is far from true. The > UPA set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) in > January this year. > > The BJP now says it will combine the offices of the Registrar General > of the Census of India and that of the UIAI to create a Citizenship > Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) which would maintain the National > Register of Citizenship. The CRAI would have a 24x7 Online presence > and enable government, law enforcement and ‘authorised’ private > institutions to let their computer systems 'look up' the MNIC database > in realtime. Leave the government institutions, but who is going to > ‘authorise’ private institutions to run a check on our privacy? > > "The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory under the law for > all citizens to acquire an MNIC and parents of newly born infants > would have to apply for one for their child, immediately after the > baby's birth," says the vision document. I hope there will be some > realistic time to cut the umbilical cord or tie a nappy. > > http://cheekyzero2.blogspot.com > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:54 +0000 > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > National Identity Cards-105 > To: reader-list > Message-ID: > <65be9bf40903241645i3c3c90c3lf4b37804f79029b0 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar1509/at01 > > BJP takes up ID-card issue as poll plank > Spl Correspondent > > NEW DELHI, March 14 – BJP’s new IT vision envisages according top > priority to detect illegal migrants by re-jigging the UPA’s brainchild > programme Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to create a > new authority, Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) by > amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The national ID plan is a key > component of the Party’s IT Vision,” declared Opposition leader and > Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, LK Advani releasing the IT Vision > ‘Transforming Bharat’. > > The release function was attended by national president, Rajnath > Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad > and Arun Jaitely, among others. The man behind the Project is Assamese > IT professional Pradyut Bora, who heads the BJP’s IT cell. > > Addressing the function, Advani said that security concern continues > influenced by the problem of to be illegal migrants. “There are an > estimated 1-2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in the country,” he > contended. > > Castigating the UPA Government for not doing anything, Advani charged > that in a way the Government of India was colluding with them. > > The centrepiece of the implementation of the BJP’s IT Vision is the > Multi-purpose Identity Card (MIC), a programme started by the then NDA > Government. The party also pooh-poohed the attempt of the UPA > Government to introduce the (UIAI). > > “Only in January did the UPA Government make a token attempt to be > seen as responsive on this issue, when it set up UIAI, as an attached > office under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” the document said. > > Against this slipshod and half-hearted attempt of the UPA Government, > a future BJP-led NDA Government would give this programme topmost > priority. > > “We would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of > register General if Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a > CRAI. The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory > > under law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC, and parents of newly > born infants would have to apply for one for their child immediately > after the baby’s birth. > > It would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of > Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute. > > Based on the BRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique > Citizen Identification Number (CIN). CRAI would maintain 24X7 online > presence and enable Government, law enforcement agencies and private > institutions to let their computer system ‘look up’ the MNIC database > in real time, the document proposes. > > The BJP promises to complete the MNIC rollout within three years of > taking office, the Vision Document promises. > > Earlier, introducing the Project, Arun Shourie said that IT Vision is > part of the agenda of good governance. The emphasis is on technology > for people. He also explained the benefits that would be derived from > the new IT policy and some of its highlights. > > Recalling the initiatives taken by the NDA regime in the IT sector, he > said the new policy would help in telemedicine, health, and education, > besides other sectors. The document promises to re-orient the IT > sector by empowerment of rural India. > > Advani promised to take internet literacy to the country’s 6 lakh > villages leading to creation of 1.25 crore new jobs. The BJP promised > distribution of laptops to I crore students at interest free loans. > > Meanwhile, the BJP national president inaugurated the new look BJP > website (www.bjp.org). > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:48:13 +0000 > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: [Reader-list] Lawyer-client privilege can't stop > surveillance, says House of Lords > To: reader-list > Message-ID: > <65be9bf40903241648w615029fdmafa070a6bcc4b6dc at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > http://www.out-law.com/page-9897 > > Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House of Lords > > OUT-LAW News, 23/03/2009 > > The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their > clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK's highest court ruled > that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows > lawyers' conversations to be bugged. > > Lawyers are allowed to withhold the details of communication with > their clients from the police, prosecutors or courts. This > long-established right is designed to allow a client to receive full > and proper legal advice. Under legal professional privilege they can > tell their lawyer the full facts of a situation without fear of the > communications ending up as evidence against them. > > RIPA is the law which governs secret surveillance, outlining what the > state can and cannot do to obtain information. > > Solicitor Manmohan Sandhu was charged at Antrim Magistrates' Court > with incitement to murder and intending to pervert the course of > justice. The evidence against Sandhu consisted of recordings of > conversations he had with clients in a room in Antrim police station. > > Sandhu claimed that it was against the law for police to record his > discussions with his clients because of legal professional privilege. > A Divisional Court backed his claim, but the case was appealed to the > House of Lords. > > Lord Carswell in the House of Lords said that RIPA does allow for the > surveillance of privileged communications. > > "In its natural and ordinary sense [RIPA] is capable of applying to > privileged consultations and there is nothing in its wording which > would operate to exclude them," he wrote in his ruling. "It seems to > me unlikely that the possibility of RIPA applying to privileged > consultations could have passed unnoticed [in Parliament]. On the > contrary, it is an obvious application of the Act, yet no provision > was put in to exclude them." > > Lord Carswell said that legal professional privilege cannot be > absolute, that it has to have exceptions. "If it were not possible to > exercise covert surveillance of legal consultations where it is > suspected on sufficiently strong grounds that the privilege was being > abused, the law would confer an unjustified immunity on dishonest > lawyers," he wrote. > > "There may be other situations where it would be lawful to monitor > privileged consultations, for example, if it is necessary to obtain > information of an impending terrorist attack or to prevent the > threatened killing of a child," said Lord Carswell. "The limits of > such possible exceptions have not been defined and I shall not attempt > to do so, but they could not exist if the rule against surveillance of > privileged consultations were absolute." > > Lord Carswell also said that the Code explaining RIPA suggests that > the law does cover privileged communication. > > "The Code makes detailed provision for obtaining authorisation for > monitoring consultations covered by legal professional privilege," he > said. "It was laid before and approved by Parliament, but no point > appears to have been taken that RIPA did not cover such consultations. > It would be surprising at least that no objection was made to the > inclusion of those provisions in the Code if it was thought that > Parliament had not intended that the consultations be covered by > RIPA." > > "Parliament intended that the covert surveillance provisions of RIPA > should extend to the type of lawyer/client and doctor/patient > consultations which are ordinarily protected by legal professional > privilege," he said. > > Because of the Divisional Court's initial finding that RIPA could not > justify such surveillance, though, two of the Lords expressed concern > that the Government had carried on regardless. > > Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said that the court "made a finding > of law against the Secretary of State. She chose not to appeal against > that finding. In those circumstances it was not open to her to > consider as a matter of policy whether to "take the steps necessary to > remedy the concern identified by the Divisional Court". The position > was simply that unless and until she took the appropriate steps she > could not lawfully continue to carry out surveillance on legal > consultations in prisons or police stations". > > Lord Neuberger of Abbostbury also said that he was concerned at the > apparently illegal survillance. > > "Having decided not to appeal the Divisional Court's decision that > surveillance of privileged and private consultations under the present > regime is unlawful, the Secretary of State should have ensured that > such surveillance did not take place or she should have promptly > changed the regime so as to comply with the Divisional Court's > decision," he said. "Unless no surveillance of privileged and private > consultations has been going on for the past year in the United > Kingdom (which appears most unlikely), this strongly suggests that the > Government has been knowingly sanctioning illegal surveillance for > more than a year. If that is indeed so, to describe such a state of > affairs as "regrettable" strikes me as an understatement." > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:57:26 +0000 > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > Subject: [Reader-list] Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama > White House > To: reader-list > Message-ID: > <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Dear all > > The article below seems interesting. Unfortunately I could not access > the article because it is only available to subscribers. I would be > grateful to anyone on the list who subscribes to the National Journal > and is willing to share this article with us. > > Regards > > Taha > > > > http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090321_6471.php > > SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES > Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House > The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some > surveillance policies. > > by Shane Harris > > Saturday, March 21, 2009 > > Barack Obama began backing off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance > policies while running for president last year. Now that he's in the > Oval Office, he has shown no intention of turning back or taking a new > direction. > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > reader-list mailing list > reader-list at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 > ******************************************* > From c.anupam at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 13:24:11 2009 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:24:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <341380d00903250054x1ebac9dfg94b5a59eeeae20be@mail.gmail.com> Dear Sir, Individuals make for a society. Well, nation state is not more important than the people if we consider the present scenario of the world. You name a region, there will be one issue or the other dividing the society. Why so? Are people happy with the idea of dividing themselves as a nation or state or society? Then why are there so many demands. Right to express is far more important than peace, I guess. What good is that peace which turns out to be a cold war? Offcourse, there are ways of articulating your thoughts and beliefs. I think if we analyse our own homes -- what children, what do adolescent wants, what the adults want, the senior citizens want -- we will have so many differing views. Can we afford to quell each of them and supress voices and needs? How would this family function? I dont know much about BJP visiting a dargah or a temple. I dont think I have seen too many BJP leaders in a dargah except for the ones who have replicated the similar secular ideology of the Congress party ( by throwing iftar parties in the national capital). Similarly, your idea of awards given to a certain section of journalists is contradictory to what you have said: "Freedom does not mean that an individual can take law in to his hands and be the judge for the society at what he percieves as correct. Nation state if is not there, what use is the freedom to individual who lives in society using the societal benefits but hesitates to own up his duty to society?" So all these journalists getting state awards are rightly honoured because they are serving the society -- as the state is the one which is giving them such honours (instead of gagging their freedom of expression). and last part about your post is more disturbing than anything else. it is true that delhi registers more crimes against women than any other state, but why have you selectively pointed out mangalore issue? and you go on to say: "but in remote mangalore if *loose* (?) women and pink chaddis pub attack is publicised one?" for you the sight of these women getting beaten might have been entertaining sir, for me it was pure horror. i do not want to compare you with pramod muthalik but your ideas are very similar with his. I hope you understand that this is a public forum, which is open to all. therefore, not disrespecting you freedom to express, i request you to carefully reconsider what you have said. -anupam On 3/25/09, rajenradhika at vsnl.net wrote: > > > I have been reading with interest the posts by an individual about national > id card and clippings from news and media reports. This individual seems to > think that individual freedom and right to express is far superior than that > of societal needs for peace and harmony in society. Freedom does not mean > that an individual can take law in to his hands and be the judge for the > society at what he percieves as correct. Nation state if is not there, what > use is the freedom to individual who lives in society using the societal > benefits but hesitates to own up his duty to society? > > It is sad that freedom of expression is muisused often to deride the > societal sections of communities, use it as vote bank collection tool by all > political parties, but when it is done by one section it is frowned upon by > "secular" media, if one party starts its campaign by visit to hanuman temple > and then a darga, it is secular canvassing of votes, if BJP does it, it is > communal.! One thing for common man is very clear, the so called > intellectuals, secular branded individuals in media do not like the BJP, > they use their "freedom of expressio" to promote hate to the party, who need > to first correct themselves as a common man now sees the game tru what with > these blacksheep in media, ( media and judiciary is always respected in > democratic life) getting rewarded and awardd by Padmashris nothing more to > be added as much better journalists are denied of this honour as they are > not psycophants, call spade a spade , be it from any political party. > > The days of men and women in media influencing the voting is over, as voter > is more balanced and looks around at what is happening around them, as rapes > in one state is played less hype in media but attack on women in another > state is hyped in such a way that it becomes a joke in private circles of > pink chaddis and loose women.? For example, the state of Delhi has seen > murders of young women as routine and no tv channel made it an issue as all > wanted to be in good books with the party ruling the state as their > headquarters is at Delhi, but in remote mangalore if loose women and pink > chaddis pub attack is publicised one.? This type of partisan journalism has > made the channels to loose teir credibilty quotient alarmingly. News > channels have now become entertainment channels, as they deal with anything > but news.? > > Regards. > > Rajendra Uppinangadi, > rajen882uppinangadi at gmail.com > ----- Original Message ----- > From: reader-list-request at sarai.net > Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 5:27 am > Subject: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > > reader-list at sarai.net > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > > Identity Cards-103 (Taha Mehmood) > > 2. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > > Identity Cards-104 (Taha Mehmood) > > 3. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National > > Identity Cards-105 (Taha Mehmood) > > 4. Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House > > of Lords (Taha Mehmood) > > 5. Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House > > (Taha Mehmood) > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > -- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:01 +0000 > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > > National Identity Cards-103 > > To: reader-list > > Message-ID: > > <65be9bf40903241644w677427edlc147e4992949b664 at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16552 > > > > BJP releases 'IT vision document' > > > > > > New Delhi: Trying to quash reports of personality conflicts within the > > party, the BJP on Saturday kicked off its campaign by unveiling its > > '''IT vision document', detailing how it planned to use information > > technology as a tool for change in all major sectors, if voted to > > power. > > > > Positioning itself as a party with a modern and progressive vision, > > its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said that they planned to > > use IT to transform various sectors, including education, health, > > agriculture and even economy. > > > > He promised, among other things, 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in > > rural areas, laptops to one crore students at Rs 10,000 each, > > broadband Internet in every town and village, bank accounts for all > > with e-banking facilities, basic health insurance for all, and > > promoting domestic IT hardware industry. Special attention would be > > given to bring women, SCs, STs, OBCs and other weaker sections of the > > society within the ambit of IT-enabled development. > > > > Stressing on NDA government's achievements under prime minister > > Vajpayee and its successful schemes, Advani said that if they came > > back to power, they will take forward the unfinished agenda. The > > highways project will be taken forward to become the National Digital > > Highway Development Project, and the rural road project will be > > transformed into Pradhan Mantri Gram Digital Sadak Yojana. > > > > Advani's vision naturally could not have been complete without > > focussing on national security. He said that they would revive the > > project of Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) launched when > > NDA was in power, but it kept languishing under the UPA. He said that > > the NDA will ensure an MNIC for each citizen within three years of > > coming to power. It would provide a unique Citizenship Identity Number > > (CIN) to each person, and it will integrate all identities including > > election ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license number into one > > common identity. > > > > Advani said that security was the main concern for making the cards > > mandatory. He pointed out the increasing infiltration of Bangladeshi > > nationals into the country, particularly in the northeast. There are > > an estimated two crore Bangladeshi immigrants staying illegally in the > > country, he said. > > > > Meanwhile, the party's high-profile general secretary Arun Jaitley > > made a late entry at the important function. Other senior BJP leaders, > > including party president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh > > and Arun Shourie were present at the function. > > > > Rajnath Singh also launched BJP's revamped website on the occasion. A > > day earlier, Jaitley, who is reported to be at loggerheads with Singh > > over the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as in-charge of the poll > > campaign in Assam and joint in-charge of the entire northeast, had > > skipped the party's important central election committee meeting. > > > > Courtesy India Today > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:59 +0000 > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > > National Identity Cards-104 > > To: reader-list > > Message-ID: > > <65be9bf40903241644j3c80eb7fl50bc96079b1e1f8b at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > > > http://www.countercurrents.org/karun240309.htm > > > > > > BJP’s IT Vision: The Discreet Charm Of > > Techno-Hindutva > > > > By Binu Karunakaran > > > > 24 March, 2009 > > Countercurrents.org > > > > In June 2007 the Indian Express reported that the Shiv Sena (SS) is > > planning to build a software to monitor abusive communities on the > > popular social networking site Orkut. One doesn't know whether the > > Shiv Sainiks made use of any web technology when they singled out and > > slapped a criminal suit on a teenaged computer science student from > > Kerala for letting anonymous users post defamatory comments against > > Shiv Sena in a community he created in Orkut. > > > > But one thing can be confirmed: The existance of saffron cyber > > vigilantes crawling the internet for every bit of ideologically > > inimical political kilobyte that lies buried in blog comments or > > community discussion threads. Perfect virtual partners for the street > > lumpens who beat up pub-going women or girls who dare talk to Muslim > > boyfriends. > > > > The crime of Ajith D who now faces charges of criminal intimidation > > and hurting religious sentiments in a Mumbai court (his appeal for > > quashing criminal complaint was dumped by the country's apex court). > > > > There are several issues here that concerns not only the freedom of > > speech but also the quality of democracy as reflected in our > > participation in the information society through the medium of > > Internet. The colour of content, the ideological orientation of > > communities in the Indian cyber-landscape is showing a definite tilt > > towards politics of Hindutva. Hundreds of ethnical and racially > > abusive comments are posted in web discussion forums daily and any > > content/article that touches Hindu nationalism brings in armies of > > dogged cyber flame warriors. > > > > The political activism of Shiv Sainiks in Orkut, which tops the list > > of social networking sites in India with 12.8 million unique vistors > > is only a pointer to a larger Hindutva project that aims to hijack the > > cyberspace for its political ends. > > > > In the past Shiv Sainiks have done everything from vandalising cyber > > cafes to blocking entire web communities for hosting 'disparaging and > > objectionable' content. But if you search for Shiv Sena in Orkut you > > will find dozens of Shiv Sena communities along with anti-Shiv Sena > > sites. Interestingly the ant-SS kept mostly alive by Hindu's who may > > be supporters of BJP but can't stand the Maratha nationalism. > > > > The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been in Orkut since June 2005 and > > currently has some 45,565 members. A well organised community which > > also has the technical ability to provide members with SMS update. The > > VHP at the time of writing this article had some 11,563 members. The > > BJP supporters group also in Orkut has a strength of 21,023. The > > National Development Front (NDF) currently known as the Popular Front > > of India (PFI), a political party suspected of harbouring Islamist > > agenda has 545 members. > > > > For the comfort of the Left there's an unofficial CPI(M) community > > with 619 members which suffers from lack of any active debate and > > entry of fake profiles who carry out ideological sabotage. If you look > > at Orkut communities little more closely you will find it a virtual > > forest of fake profiles and pseudo communities. The profile of Praveen > > Togadia for example lists Dawood Ibrahim as a community that he > > joined. > > > > The activism of Sangh Parivar's cyber sympathisers should be read > > together with the massive online campaign that the BJP has unleashed > > through the Advani cult website www.lkadvani.in and the www.bjp.org. > > The newly released and much-hyped IT Vision Document of the party > > establishes a broader theoretical framework for cyber politics. > > > > It is easy to view the BJP's new IT vision document in the perspective > > of techno-nationalism, where public policies that target strategic > > industries (in this case the IT industry) are given governmental > > support. The party's open support for Free and Open Software (FOSS) > > and the promise to bring about standardisation in open source > > computing has been generally welcomed by the Indian Freedom Software > > community that prides itself on its stand against the greed of > > techno-capitalism. > > > > As a party with a prounounced techno-ideological goal of becoming the > > most high-tech political outfit, the BJP is ensuring that its action > > matches the words by moving its entire IT infrastructure into the > > realm of Open Source - In the words of Prodyut Bora, the national > > convenor of the BJP's Information Technology cell: to create an entire > > enterprise IT ecosystem using only FOSS. So the party uses OpenVZ for > > Server Virtualisation, Qmail and Squirrelmail for emails, Ubuntu > > interface for desktops and Joomla for web content management. > > > > The BJP is miles ahead of its political competitors when it comes to > > thought and action on the possibilities of harnessing the > > possibilities that the information society and the discreet charm of > > the power that it provides. > > > > To be fair on the BJP the IT Vision document is not short on > > great/grandiose ideas (even if some of them looks recycled) that can > > tranform our nation like a national digital highway, unrestricted > > VoIP, a special rural IT infrastructure christened Digital Gram Sadak > > and a programme to help the marginalised sections of people enjoy > > fruits of IT-enabled development. Also clubbed together are > > techno-nationalist concerns reflected in the promise to promote the > > domestic IT hardware industry and the domestic hosting industry. The > > party promises that it will make India equal to China in every IT > > parameter in five years.Though one is not very clear whether the IT > > parameter also includea the level of freedom that the country's cyber > > dissidents and netizens are currently enjoying. > > > > All this is well and good and reveals the Sangh Parivar’s bleeding > > liberal info-tech heart. > > > > But read it closer and you cannot but arch your eyebrows. The BJP > > wants to set up an independent body - Digital Security Agency > > exclusively for cyber warfare, cyber counter terrorism and the cyber > > security of national digital assets. One can understand the cyber > > counter-terrorism and cyber security part of the declaration. But what > > is cyber warfare? Did they mean to say counter-cyber warfare and > > suffered a Freudian keyboard slip? No sane country in the world is > > likely to set up a body for Cyber Warfare - the unofficial stink job > > of spy agencies and misguided techno-Jihadi's. > > > > Then there is the new technology subdomain to bolster BJP's > > ideological backbone of cultural nationalism. The use of IT to > > protection of India's priceless cultural and artistic heritage. Good > > so long as it is used to digitise ancient text archives, document > > artforms and give fillip to dying languages. Scary when you think of > > the potential to be used by self-imposed guardians of culture, muzzle > > free press, gag bloggers and other cyber dissidents. > > > > The pivot of this digital revolution will be a Multipurpose National > > ID Card that will integrate all identities (Electoral ID, PAN and > > Driving License) into one common identity: Citizen Identification > > Card. The project which was the brain child of NDA's Obsessive > > Compulsive Neurosis with our nationalistic identity and disregard for > > citizen's privacy. The vision document claims that the project has > > been dumped by the UPA government. But the claim is far from true. The > > UPA set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) in > > January this year. > > > > The BJP now says it will combine the offices of the Registrar General > > of the Census of India and that of the UIAI to create a Citizenship > > Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) which would maintain the National > > Register of Citizenship. The CRAI would have a 24x7 Online presence > > and enable government, law enforcement and ‘authorised’ private > > institutions to let their computer systems 'look up' the MNIC database > > in realtime. Leave the government institutions, but who is going to > > ‘authorise’ private institutions to run a check on our privacy? > > > > "The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory under the law for > > all citizens to acquire an MNIC and parents of newly born infants > > would have to apply for one for their child, immediately after the > > baby's birth," says the vision document. I hope there will be some > > realistic time to cut the umbilical cord or tie a nappy. > > > > http://cheekyzero2.blogspot.com > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 3 > > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:54 +0000 > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > > Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose > > National Identity Cards-105 > > To: reader-list > > Message-ID: > > <65be9bf40903241645i3c3c90c3lf4b37804f79029b0 at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > > > http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar1509/at01 > > > > BJP takes up ID-card issue as poll plank > > Spl Correspondent > > > > NEW DELHI, March 14 – BJP’s new IT vision envisages according top > > priority to detect illegal migrants by re-jigging the UPA’s brainchild > > programme Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to create a > > new authority, Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) by > > amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The national ID plan is a key > > component of the Party’s IT Vision,” declared Opposition leader and > > Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, LK Advani releasing the IT Vision > > ‘Transforming Bharat’. > > > > The release function was attended by national president, Rajnath > > Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad > > and Arun Jaitely, among others. The man behind the Project is Assamese > > IT professional Pradyut Bora, who heads the BJP’s IT cell. > > > > Addressing the function, Advani said that security concern continues > > influenced by the problem of to be illegal migrants. “There are an > > estimated 1-2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in the country,” he > > contended. > > > > Castigating the UPA Government for not doing anything, Advani charged > > that in a way the Government of India was colluding with them. > > > > The centrepiece of the implementation of the BJP’s IT Vision is the > > Multi-purpose Identity Card (MIC), a programme started by the then NDA > > Government. The party also pooh-poohed the attempt of the UPA > > Government to introduce the (UIAI). > > > > “Only in January did the UPA Government make a token attempt to be > > seen as responsive on this issue, when it set up UIAI, as an attached > > office under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” the document said. > > > > Against this slipshod and half-hearted attempt of the UPA Government, > > a future BJP-led NDA Government would give this programme topmost > > priority. > > > > “We would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of > > register General if Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a > > CRAI. The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory > > > > under law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC, and parents of newly > > born infants would have to apply for one for their child immediately > > after the baby’s birth. > > > > It would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of > > Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute. > > > > Based on the BRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique > > Citizen Identification Number (CIN). CRAI would maintain 24X7 online > > presence and enable Government, law enforcement agencies and private > > institutions to let their computer system ‘look up’ the MNIC database > > in real time, the document proposes. > > > > The BJP promises to complete the MNIC rollout within three years of > > taking office, the Vision Document promises. > > > > Earlier, introducing the Project, Arun Shourie said that IT Vision is > > part of the agenda of good governance. The emphasis is on technology > > for people. He also explained the benefits that would be derived from > > the new IT policy and some of its highlights. > > > > Recalling the initiatives taken by the NDA regime in the IT sector, he > > said the new policy would help in telemedicine, health, and education, > > besides other sectors. The document promises to re-orient the IT > > sector by empowerment of rural India. > > > > Advani promised to take internet literacy to the country’s 6 lakh > > villages leading to creation of 1.25 crore new jobs. The BJP promised > > distribution of laptops to I crore students at interest free loans. > > > > Meanwhile, the BJP national president inaugurated the new look BJP > > website (www.bjp.org). > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 4 > > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:48:13 +0000 > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > > Subject: [Reader-list] Lawyer-client privilege can't stop > > surveillance, says House of Lords > > To: reader-list > > Message-ID: > > <65be9bf40903241648w615029fdmafa070a6bcc4b6dc at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > http://www.out-law.com/page-9897 > > > > Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House of Lords > > > > OUT-LAW News, 23/03/2009 > > > > The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their > > clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK's highest court ruled > > that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows > > lawyers' conversations to be bugged. > > > > Lawyers are allowed to withhold the details of communication with > > their clients from the police, prosecutors or courts. This > > long-established right is designed to allow a client to receive full > > and proper legal advice. Under legal professional privilege they can > > tell their lawyer the full facts of a situation without fear of the > > communications ending up as evidence against them. > > > > RIPA is the law which governs secret surveillance, outlining what the > > state can and cannot do to obtain information. > > > > Solicitor Manmohan Sandhu was charged at Antrim Magistrates' Court > > with incitement to murder and intending to pervert the course of > > justice. The evidence against Sandhu consisted of recordings of > > conversations he had with clients in a room in Antrim police station. > > > > Sandhu claimed that it was against the law for police to record his > > discussions with his clients because of legal professional privilege. > > A Divisional Court backed his claim, but the case was appealed to the > > House of Lords. > > > > Lord Carswell in the House of Lords said that RIPA does allow for the > > surveillance of privileged communications. > > > > "In its natural and ordinary sense [RIPA] is capable of applying to > > privileged consultations and there is nothing in its wording which > > would operate to exclude them," he wrote in his ruling. "It seems to > > me unlikely that the possibility of RIPA applying to privileged > > consultations could have passed unnoticed [in Parliament]. On the > > contrary, it is an obvious application of the Act, yet no provision > > was put in to exclude them." > > > > Lord Carswell said that legal professional privilege cannot be > > absolute, that it has to have exceptions. "If it were not possible to > > exercise covert surveillance of legal consultations where it is > > suspected on sufficiently strong grounds that the privilege was being > > abused, the law would confer an unjustified immunity on dishonest > > lawyers," he wrote. > > > > "There may be other situations where it would be lawful to monitor > > privileged consultations, for example, if it is necessary to obtain > > information of an impending terrorist attack or to prevent the > > threatened killing of a child," said Lord Carswell. "The limits of > > such possible exceptions have not been defined and I shall not attempt > > to do so, but they could not exist if the rule against surveillance of > > privileged consultations were absolute." > > > > Lord Carswell also said that the Code explaining RIPA suggests that > > the law does cover privileged communication. > > > > "The Code makes detailed provision for obtaining authorisation for > > monitoring consultations covered by legal professional privilege," he > > said. "It was laid before and approved by Parliament, but no point > > appears to have been taken that RIPA did not cover such consultations. > > It would be surprising at least that no objection was made to the > > inclusion of those provisions in the Code if it was thought that > > Parliament had not intended that the consultations be covered by > > RIPA." > > > > "Parliament intended that the covert surveillance provisions of RIPA > > should extend to the type of lawyer/client and doctor/patient > > consultations which are ordinarily protected by legal professional > > privilege," he said. > > > > Because of the Divisional Court's initial finding that RIPA could not > > justify such surveillance, though, two of the Lords expressed concern > > that the Government had carried on regardless. > > > > Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said that the court "made a finding > > of law against the Secretary of State. She chose not to appeal against > > that finding. In those circumstances it was not open to her to > > consider as a matter of policy whether to "take the steps necessary to > > remedy the concern identified by the Divisional Court". The position > > was simply that unless and until she took the appropriate steps she > > could not lawfully continue to carry out surveillance on legal > > consultations in prisons or police stations". > > > > Lord Neuberger of Abbostbury also said that he was concerned at the > > apparently illegal survillance. > > > > "Having decided not to appeal the Divisional Court's decision that > > surveillance of privileged and private consultations under the present > > regime is unlawful, the Secretary of State should have ensured that > > such surveillance did not take place or she should have promptly > > changed the regime so as to comply with the Divisional Court's > > decision," he said. "Unless no surveillance of privileged and private > > consultations has been going on for the past year in the United > > Kingdom (which appears most unlikely), this strongly suggests that the > > Government has been knowingly sanctioning illegal surveillance for > > more than a year. If that is indeed so, to describe such a state of > > affairs as "regrettable" strikes me as an understatement." > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > Message: 5 > > Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:57:26 +0000 > > From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> > > Subject: [Reader-list] Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama > > White House > > To: reader-list > > Message-ID: > > <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce at mail.gmail.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > Dear all > > > > The article below seems interesting. Unfortunately I could not access > > the article because it is only available to subscribers. I would be > > grateful to anyone on the list who subscribes to the National Journal > > and is willing to share this article with us. > > > > Regards > > > > Taha > > > > > > > > http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090321_6471.php > > > > SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES > > Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House > > The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some > > surveillance policies. > > > > by Shane Harris > > > > Saturday, March 21, 2009 > > > > Barack Obama began backing off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance > > policies while running for president last year. Now that he's in the > > Oval Office, he has shown no intention of turning back or taking a new > > direction. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > reader-list mailing list > > reader-list at sarai.net > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 > > ******************************************* > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 14:29:55 2009 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (S. Jabbar) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:29:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: prayer meeting for smitu In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > From: Shivani Chaudhry > Date:  March 25 2009 10:56:06 AM GMT+05:30 > Subject: prayer meeting for smitu > > > > > Dear friends, > >   > > A prayer meeting will be held in remembrance of Smitu Kothari -- a dear > friend, comrade, beacon, mentor, inspiration -- who left us too soon and too > suddenly. > >   > > Thursday 26th March 2009 > > 5 - 6 PM > > > Chinmaya Mission, 89 Lodhi Estate, Lodhi Road, New Delhi > > (phone: 2469 - 7848) > >   > > Please pass the message on to friends of Smitu who would like to be there. > >   > > Thank you. > >   > > in grief, > > shivani > ______________________________ Jai Sen jai.sen at cacim.net CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India www.cacim.net Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, +91-98189 11325 - PLEASE NOTE NEW SECOND NUMBER !   Check out the OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net   Subscribe to WSFDiscuss, an open and unmoderated forum on the World Social Forum and on related social and political movements and issues. Simply send an empty email to worldsocialforum-discuss-subscribe at openspaceforum.net   P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail Note : In case you are having problems opening any Word attachments I have sent you here, you could try one of the following : (a) Put your cursor on the icon, do a right click, see ŒOpen With¹, and open with WordŠ; or (b), try saving the document onto your desktop or hard disc, and then opening it.  With apologies in advance if this advice seems to question your technological literacyŠ ------ End of Forwarded Message From jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Mar 25 14:32:12 2009 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:32:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Qupem police on prowl again against Colamb activists against mining Message-ID: From MAND: www.mandgoa.blogspot.com Quepem police are back on the prowl to satisfy their mining masters. Yesterday at around 6.00 pm there was physical alteration at Cawrem village between two anti - mining activists Alcine Dias and Egyps D'Souza on the one hand and Rivona Panchayat member of Panchayat Ram Gaoncar who once upon a time in 2003 was opponent mining operated by Radha Timblo belonging to Badruddin Mavany mining lease but then surrendered himself and his land to Timblos pressure tactics. When the two men Alcine and Egyps went to the Police station to register the complaint against Ram Gaoncar. Soon Timblo mining company Manager and another contractor of the Fomento mining company in Colamb swung into action and pressurised the police to register the case against Egyps D'Souza. A case was registered for assault and breach of Public Peace against Egyps. Egyps has been detained at the police station for the full one night and when the last reports came at 2.00 pm he was still not released nor was produced before the Quepem Deputy Collector as required. On the contrary when Rama Velip went to meet Egyps at the Police station today afternoon he was arrested and forced to accept bail and move out of the police station case in one old case pertaining to blockade of the mining transport near Fomento mine. Colamb villagers has claims this as false case. Further reports are awaited. Please call up the Quepem Police Station at phone number 08322662253 and inquire about the status on this matter. Sebastian Rodrigues -- www.mandgoa.blogspot.com MAND An adivasi-rights resource centre, An initiative of Gawda, Kunbi, Velip, and Dhangar Federation (GAKUVED) "Hari Smriti" 381, Dhulapi, Corlim, Ilhas, Goa. Pincode: 403 110 From aliens at dataone.in Wed Mar 25 15:35:57 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:35:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? References: Message-ID: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> I agree with your views fully ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 12:46 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? > > I have been reading with interest the posts by an individual about > national id card and clippings from news and media reports. This > individual seems to think that individual freedom and right to express is > far superior than that of societal needs for peace and harmony in society. > Freedom does not mean that an individual can take law in to his hands and > be the judge for the society at what he percieves as correct. Nation state > if is not there, what use is the freedom to individual who lives in > society using the societal benefits but hesitates to own up his duty to > society.? > > It is sad that freedom of expression is muisused often to deride the > societal sections of communities, use it as vote bank collection tool by > all political parties, but when it is done by one section it is frowned > upon by "secular" media, if one party starts its campaign by visit to > hanuman temple and then a darga, it is secular canvassing of votes, if BJP > does it, it is communal.! One thing for common man is very clear, the so > called intellectuals, secular branded individuals in media do not like the > BJP, they use their "freedom of expressio" to promote hate to the party, > who need to first correct themselves as a common man now sees the game tru > what with these blacksheep in media, ( media and judiciary is always > respected in democratic life) getting rewarded and awardd by Padmashris > nothing more to be added as much better journalists are denied of this > honour as they are not psycophants, call spade a spade , be it from any > political party. > > The days of men and women in media influencing the voting is over, as > voter is more balanced and looks around at what is happening around them, > as rapes in one state is played less hype in media but attack on women in > another state is hyped in such a way that it becomes a joke in private > circles of pink chaddis and loose women.? For example, the state of Delhi > has seen murders of young women as routine and no tv channel made it an > issue as all wanted to be in good books with the party ruling the state as > their headquarters is at Delhi, but in remote mangalore if loose women and > pink chaddis pub attack is publicised one.? This type of partisan > journalism has made the channels to loose teir credibilty quotient > alarmingly. News channels have now become entertainment channels, as they > deal with anything but news.? > > Regards. > > Rajendra Uppinangadi, > rajen882uppinangadi at gmail.com > ----- Original Message ----- > From: reader-list-request at sarai.net > Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 5:27 am > Subject: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 > To: reader-list at sarai.net > >> Send reader-list mailing list submissions to >> reader-list at sarai.net >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> reader-list-request at sarai.net >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> reader-list-owner at sarai.net >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National >> Identity Cards-103 (Taha Mehmood) >> 2. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National >> Identity Cards-104 (Taha Mehmood) >> 3. News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National >> Identity Cards-105 (Taha Mehmood) >> 4. Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House >> of Lords (Taha Mehmood) >> 5. Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House >> (Taha Mehmood) >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:01 +0000 >> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> >> Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose >> National Identity Cards-103 >> To: reader-list >> Message-ID: >> <65be9bf40903241644w677427edlc147e4992949b664 at mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> >> http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=16552 >> >> BJP releases 'IT vision document' >> >> >> New Delhi: Trying to quash reports of personality conflicts within the >> party, the BJP on Saturday kicked off its campaign by unveiling its >> '''IT vision document', detailing how it planned to use information >> technology as a tool for change in all major sectors, if voted to >> power. >> >> Positioning itself as a party with a modern and progressive vision, >> its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said that they planned to >> use IT to transform various sectors, including education, health, >> agriculture and even economy. >> >> He promised, among other things, 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in >> rural areas, laptops to one crore students at Rs 10,000 each, >> broadband Internet in every town and village, bank accounts for all >> with e-banking facilities, basic health insurance for all, and >> promoting domestic IT hardware industry. Special attention would be >> given to bring women, SCs, STs, OBCs and other weaker sections of the >> society within the ambit of IT-enabled development. >> >> Stressing on NDA government's achievements under prime minister >> Vajpayee and its successful schemes, Advani said that if they came >> back to power, they will take forward the unfinished agenda. The >> highways project will be taken forward to become the National Digital >> Highway Development Project, and the rural road project will be >> transformed into Pradhan Mantri Gram Digital Sadak Yojana. >> >> Advani's vision naturally could not have been complete without >> focussing on national security. He said that they would revive the >> project of Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) launched when >> NDA was in power, but it kept languishing under the UPA. He said that >> the NDA will ensure an MNIC for each citizen within three years of >> coming to power. It would provide a unique Citizenship Identity Number >> (CIN) to each person, and it will integrate all identities including >> election ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license number into one >> common identity. >> >> Advani said that security was the main concern for making the cards >> mandatory. He pointed out the increasing infiltration of Bangladeshi >> nationals into the country, particularly in the northeast. There are >> an estimated two crore Bangladeshi immigrants staying illegally in the >> country, he said. >> >> Meanwhile, the party's high-profile general secretary Arun Jaitley >> made a late entry at the important function. Other senior BJP leaders, >> including party president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh >> and Arun Shourie were present at the function. >> >> Rajnath Singh also launched BJP's revamped website on the occasion. A >> day earlier, Jaitley, who is reported to be at loggerheads with Singh >> over the appointment of Sudhanshu Mittal as in-charge of the poll >> campaign in Assam and joint in-charge of the entire northeast, had >> skipped the party's important central election committee meeting. >> >> Courtesy India Today >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:59 +0000 >> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> >> Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose >> National Identity Cards-104 >> To: reader-list >> Message-ID: >> <65be9bf40903241644j3c80eb7fl50bc96079b1e1f8b at mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 >> >> http://www.countercurrents.org/karun240309.htm >> >> >> BJP’s IT Vision: The Discreet Charm Of >> Techno-Hindutva >> >> By Binu Karunakaran >> >> 24 March, 2009 >> Countercurrents.org >> >> In June 2007 the Indian Express reported that the Shiv Sena (SS) is >> planning to build a software to monitor abusive communities on the >> popular social networking site Orkut. One doesn't know whether the >> Shiv Sainiks made use of any web technology when they singled out and >> slapped a criminal suit on a teenaged computer science student from >> Kerala for letting anonymous users post defamatory comments against >> Shiv Sena in a community he created in Orkut. >> >> But one thing can be confirmed: The existance of saffron cyber >> vigilantes crawling the internet for every bit of ideologically >> inimical political kilobyte that lies buried in blog comments or >> community discussion threads. Perfect virtual partners for the street >> lumpens who beat up pub-going women or girls who dare talk to Muslim >> boyfriends. >> >> The crime of Ajith D who now faces charges of criminal intimidation >> and hurting religious sentiments in a Mumbai court (his appeal for >> quashing criminal complaint was dumped by the country's apex court). >> >> There are several issues here that concerns not only the freedom of >> speech but also the quality of democracy as reflected in our >> participation in the information society through the medium of >> Internet. The colour of content, the ideological orientation of >> communities in the Indian cyber-landscape is showing a definite tilt >> towards politics of Hindutva. Hundreds of ethnical and racially >> abusive comments are posted in web discussion forums daily and any >> content/article that touches Hindu nationalism brings in armies of >> dogged cyber flame warriors. >> >> The political activism of Shiv Sainiks in Orkut, which tops the list >> of social networking sites in India with 12.8 million unique vistors >> is only a pointer to a larger Hindutva project that aims to hijack the >> cyberspace for its political ends. >> >> In the past Shiv Sainiks have done everything from vandalising cyber >> cafes to blocking entire web communities for hosting 'disparaging and >> objectionable' content. But if you search for Shiv Sena in Orkut you >> will find dozens of Shiv Sena communities along with anti-Shiv Sena >> sites. Interestingly the ant-SS kept mostly alive by Hindu's who may >> be supporters of BJP but can't stand the Maratha nationalism. >> >> The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been in Orkut since June 2005 and >> currently has some 45,565 members. A well organised community which >> also has the technical ability to provide members with SMS update. The >> VHP at the time of writing this article had some 11,563 members. The >> BJP supporters group also in Orkut has a strength of 21,023. The >> National Development Front (NDF) currently known as the Popular Front >> of India (PFI), a political party suspected of harbouring Islamist >> agenda has 545 members. >> >> For the comfort of the Left there's an unofficial CPI(M) community >> with 619 members which suffers from lack of any active debate and >> entry of fake profiles who carry out ideological sabotage. If you look >> at Orkut communities little more closely you will find it a virtual >> forest of fake profiles and pseudo communities. The profile of Praveen >> Togadia for example lists Dawood Ibrahim as a community that he >> joined. >> >> The activism of Sangh Parivar's cyber sympathisers should be read >> together with the massive online campaign that the BJP has unleashed >> through the Advani cult website www.lkadvani.in and the www.bjp.org. >> The newly released and much-hyped IT Vision Document of the party >> establishes a broader theoretical framework for cyber politics. >> >> It is easy to view the BJP's new IT vision document in the perspective >> of techno-nationalism, where public policies that target strategic >> industries (in this case the IT industry) are given governmental >> support. The party's open support for Free and Open Software (FOSS) >> and the promise to bring about standardisation in open source >> computing has been generally welcomed by the Indian Freedom Software >> community that prides itself on its stand against the greed of >> techno-capitalism. >> >> As a party with a prounounced techno-ideological goal of becoming the >> most high-tech political outfit, the BJP is ensuring that its action >> matches the words by moving its entire IT infrastructure into the >> realm of Open Source - In the words of Prodyut Bora, the national >> convenor of the BJP's Information Technology cell: to create an entire >> enterprise IT ecosystem using only FOSS. So the party uses OpenVZ for >> Server Virtualisation, Qmail and Squirrelmail for emails, Ubuntu >> interface for desktops and Joomla for web content management. >> >> The BJP is miles ahead of its political competitors when it comes to >> thought and action on the possibilities of harnessing the >> possibilities that the information society and the discreet charm of >> the power that it provides. >> >> To be fair on the BJP the IT Vision document is not short on >> great/grandiose ideas (even if some of them looks recycled) that can >> tranform our nation like a national digital highway, unrestricted >> VoIP, a special rural IT infrastructure christened Digital Gram Sadak >> and a programme to help the marginalised sections of people enjoy >> fruits of IT-enabled development. Also clubbed together are >> techno-nationalist concerns reflected in the promise to promote the >> domestic IT hardware industry and the domestic hosting industry. The >> party promises that it will make India equal to China in every IT >> parameter in five years.Though one is not very clear whether the IT >> parameter also includea the level of freedom that the country's cyber >> dissidents and netizens are currently enjoying. >> >> All this is well and good and reveals the Sangh Parivar’s bleeding >> liberal info-tech heart. >> >> But read it closer and you cannot but arch your eyebrows. The BJP >> wants to set up an independent body - Digital Security Agency >> exclusively for cyber warfare, cyber counter terrorism and the cyber >> security of national digital assets. One can understand the cyber >> counter-terrorism and cyber security part of the declaration. But what >> is cyber warfare? Did they mean to say counter-cyber warfare and >> suffered a Freudian keyboard slip? No sane country in the world is >> likely to set up a body for Cyber Warfare - the unofficial stink job >> of spy agencies and misguided techno-Jihadi's. >> >> Then there is the new technology subdomain to bolster BJP's >> ideological backbone of cultural nationalism. The use of IT to >> protection of India's priceless cultural and artistic heritage. Good >> so long as it is used to digitise ancient text archives, document >> artforms and give fillip to dying languages. Scary when you think of >> the potential to be used by self-imposed guardians of culture, muzzle >> free press, gag bloggers and other cyber dissidents. >> >> The pivot of this digital revolution will be a Multipurpose National >> ID Card that will integrate all identities (Electoral ID, PAN and >> Driving License) into one common identity: Citizen Identification >> Card. The project which was the brain child of NDA's Obsessive >> Compulsive Neurosis with our nationalistic identity and disregard for >> citizen's privacy. The vision document claims that the project has >> been dumped by the UPA government. But the claim is far from true. The >> UPA set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) in >> January this year. >> >> The BJP now says it will combine the offices of the Registrar General >> of the Census of India and that of the UIAI to create a Citizenship >> Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) which would maintain the National >> Register of Citizenship. The CRAI would have a 24x7 Online presence >> and enable government, law enforcement and ‘authorised’ private >> institutions to let their computer systems 'look up' the MNIC database >> in realtime. Leave the government institutions, but who is going to >> ‘authorise’ private institutions to run a check on our privacy? >> >> "The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory under the law for >> all citizens to acquire an MNIC and parents of newly born infants >> would have to apply for one for their child, immediately after the >> baby's birth," says the vision document. I hope there will be some >> realistic time to cut the umbilical cord or tie a nappy. >> >> http://cheekyzero2.blogspot.com >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 3 >> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:54 +0000 >> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> >> Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose >> National Identity Cards-105 >> To: reader-list >> Message-ID: >> <65be9bf40903241645i3c3c90c3lf4b37804f79029b0 at mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 >> >> http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar1509/at01 >> >> BJP takes up ID-card issue as poll plank >> Spl Correspondent >> >> NEW DELHI, March 14 – BJP’s new IT vision envisages according top >> priority to detect illegal migrants by re-jigging the UPA’s brainchild >> programme Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to create a >> new authority, Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI) by >> amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The national ID plan is a key >> component of the Party’s IT Vision,” declared Opposition leader and >> Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, LK Advani releasing the IT Vision >> ‘Transforming Bharat’. >> >> The release function was attended by national president, Rajnath >> Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad >> and Arun Jaitely, among others. The man behind the Project is Assamese >> IT professional Pradyut Bora, who heads the BJP’s IT cell. >> >> Addressing the function, Advani said that security concern continues >> influenced by the problem of to be illegal migrants. “There are an >> estimated 1-2 crore illegal Bangladeshis in the country,” he >> contended. >> >> Castigating the UPA Government for not doing anything, Advani charged >> that in a way the Government of India was colluding with them. >> >> The centrepiece of the implementation of the BJP’s IT Vision is the >> Multi-purpose Identity Card (MIC), a programme started by the then NDA >> Government. The party also pooh-poohed the attempt of the UPA >> Government to introduce the (UIAI). >> >> “Only in January did the UPA Government make a token attempt to be >> seen as responsive on this issue, when it set up UIAI, as an attached >> office under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” the document said. >> >> Against this slipshod and half-hearted attempt of the UPA Government, >> a future BJP-led NDA Government would give this programme topmost >> priority. >> >> “We would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of >> register General if Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a >> CRAI. The amended Citizenship Act would make it mandatory >> >> under law for all citizens to acquire an MNIC, and parents of newly >> born infants would have to apply for one for their child immediately >> after the baby’s birth. >> >> It would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of >> Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute. >> >> Based on the BRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique >> Citizen Identification Number (CIN). CRAI would maintain 24X7 online >> presence and enable Government, law enforcement agencies and private >> institutions to let their computer system ‘look up’ the MNIC database >> in real time, the document proposes. >> >> The BJP promises to complete the MNIC rollout within three years of >> taking office, the Vision Document promises. >> >> Earlier, introducing the Project, Arun Shourie said that IT Vision is >> part of the agenda of good governance. The emphasis is on technology >> for people. He also explained the benefits that would be derived from >> the new IT policy and some of its highlights. >> >> Recalling the initiatives taken by the NDA regime in the IT sector, he >> said the new policy would help in telemedicine, health, and education, >> besides other sectors. The document promises to re-orient the IT >> sector by empowerment of rural India. >> >> Advani promised to take internet literacy to the country’s 6 lakh >> villages leading to creation of 1.25 crore new jobs. The BJP promised >> distribution of laptops to I crore students at interest free loans. >> >> Meanwhile, the BJP national president inaugurated the new look BJP >> website (www.bjp.org). >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 4 >> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:48:13 +0000 >> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> >> Subject: [Reader-list] Lawyer-client privilege can't stop >> surveillance, says House of Lords >> To: reader-list >> Message-ID: >> <65be9bf40903241648w615029fdmafa070a6bcc4b6dc at mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> >> http://www.out-law.com/page-9897 >> >> Lawyer-client privilege can't stop surveillance, says House of Lords >> >> OUT-LAW News, 23/03/2009 >> >> The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their >> clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK's highest court ruled >> that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows >> lawyers' conversations to be bugged. >> >> Lawyers are allowed to withhold the details of communication with >> their clients from the police, prosecutors or courts. This >> long-established right is designed to allow a client to receive full >> and proper legal advice. Under legal professional privilege they can >> tell their lawyer the full facts of a situation without fear of the >> communications ending up as evidence against them. >> >> RIPA is the law which governs secret surveillance, outlining what the >> state can and cannot do to obtain information. >> >> Solicitor Manmohan Sandhu was charged at Antrim Magistrates' Court >> with incitement to murder and intending to pervert the course of >> justice. The evidence against Sandhu consisted of recordings of >> conversations he had with clients in a room in Antrim police station. >> >> Sandhu claimed that it was against the law for police to record his >> discussions with his clients because of legal professional privilege. >> A Divisional Court backed his claim, but the case was appealed to the >> House of Lords. >> >> Lord Carswell in the House of Lords said that RIPA does allow for the >> surveillance of privileged communications. >> >> "In its natural and ordinary sense [RIPA] is capable of applying to >> privileged consultations and there is nothing in its wording which >> would operate to exclude them," he wrote in his ruling. "It seems to >> me unlikely that the possibility of RIPA applying to privileged >> consultations could have passed unnoticed [in Parliament]. On the >> contrary, it is an obvious application of the Act, yet no provision >> was put in to exclude them." >> >> Lord Carswell said that legal professional privilege cannot be >> absolute, that it has to have exceptions. "If it were not possible to >> exercise covert surveillance of legal consultations where it is >> suspected on sufficiently strong grounds that the privilege was being >> abused, the law would confer an unjustified immunity on dishonest >> lawyers," he wrote. >> >> "There may be other situations where it would be lawful to monitor >> privileged consultations, for example, if it is necessary to obtain >> information of an impending terrorist attack or to prevent the >> threatened killing of a child," said Lord Carswell. "The limits of >> such possible exceptions have not been defined and I shall not attempt >> to do so, but they could not exist if the rule against surveillance of >> privileged consultations were absolute." >> >> Lord Carswell also said that the Code explaining RIPA suggests that >> the law does cover privileged communication. >> >> "The Code makes detailed provision for obtaining authorisation for >> monitoring consultations covered by legal professional privilege," he >> said. "It was laid before and approved by Parliament, but no point >> appears to have been taken that RIPA did not cover such consultations. >> It would be surprising at least that no objection was made to the >> inclusion of those provisions in the Code if it was thought that >> Parliament had not intended that the consultations be covered by >> RIPA." >> >> "Parliament intended that the covert surveillance provisions of RIPA >> should extend to the type of lawyer/client and doctor/patient >> consultations which are ordinarily protected by legal professional >> privilege," he said. >> >> Because of the Divisional Court's initial finding that RIPA could not >> justify such surveillance, though, two of the Lords expressed concern >> that the Government had carried on regardless. >> >> Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said that the court "made a finding >> of law against the Secretary of State. She chose not to appeal against >> that finding. In those circumstances it was not open to her to >> consider as a matter of policy whether to "take the steps necessary to >> remedy the concern identified by the Divisional Court". The position >> was simply that unless and until she took the appropriate steps she >> could not lawfully continue to carry out surveillance on legal >> consultations in prisons or police stations". >> >> Lord Neuberger of Abbostbury also said that he was concerned at the >> apparently illegal survillance. >> >> "Having decided not to appeal the Divisional Court's decision that >> surveillance of privileged and private consultations under the present >> regime is unlawful, the Secretary of State should have ensured that >> such surveillance did not take place or she should have promptly >> changed the regime so as to comply with the Divisional Court's >> decision," he said. "Unless no surveillance of privileged and private >> consultations has been going on for the past year in the United >> Kingdom (which appears most unlikely), this strongly suggests that the >> Government has been knowingly sanctioning illegal surveillance for >> more than a year. If that is indeed so, to describe such a state of >> affairs as "regrettable" strikes me as an understatement." >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 5 >> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:57:26 +0000 >> From: Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> >> Subject: [Reader-list] Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama >> White House >> To: reader-list >> Message-ID: >> <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce at mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> >> Dear all >> >> The article below seems interesting. Unfortunately I could not access >> the article because it is only available to subscribers. I would be >> grateful to anyone on the list who subscribes to the National Journal >> and is willing to share this article with us. >> >> Regards >> >> Taha >> >> >> >> http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090321_6471.php >> >> SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES >> Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House >> The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some >> surveillance policies. >> >> by Shane Harris >> >> Saturday, March 21, 2009 >> >> Barack Obama began backing off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance >> policies while running for president last year. Now that he's in the >> Oval Office, he has shown no intention of turning back or taking a new >> direction. >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> reader-list mailing list >> reader-list at sarai.net >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> >> End of reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62 >> ******************************************* >> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 15:42:54 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:42:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear all I can understand the point that freedom of expression is more important than peace, for after all any peace without any freedom of expression is only the lull before the storm waiting to happen. Plus of course, it hampers one of the basic human rights of citizens. However, the other question which is confusing my mind, as pointed out in the article, is regarding nation-states providing rights to citizens. I don't know much on this, so it would be good if we can discuss on whether it's nation-states which act as the agencies to provide rights (and hence without them people can't ask for rights), or is it that rights are inherent irrespective of whether nation-states exist or not. Regards Rakesh From tasveerghar at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 16:15:05 2009 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:15:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tasveer ka Bhed - Cloak and Dagger Illustrations in Hindi Detective Fiction Message-ID: <484c1050903250345h6968a67fke014cae501d72293@mail.gmail.com> Friends, Tasveer Ghar, the house of images, invites to you visit our website with a new visual essay: Tasveer ka Bhed: Cloak and Dagger Illustrations in Hindi Detective Fiction http://www.tasveerghar.net/2007/kamal/ This visual essay, written and curated by a Tasveer Ghar fellow Kamal K. Mishra, explores the shifts from early twentieth century in north Indian popular visual culture by considering a set of printed book and cover illustrations that were published with a newly introduced commercial genre called jasoosi upanyas (detective fiction) in Hindi. After discussing the production context(s) of this imagery, this paper will consider through a brief visual analysis, the ways in which the imagery of popular visual culture of north India appears to have been heavily influenced by the world of theatre, and somewhat later by cinema. On our website, you may also visit our regular features as well as earlier exciting visual essays such as the following: Kajri Jain: Monuments, Landscapes and Romance in Indian Popular Imagery http://tasveerghar.net/2009/kajri/ (Published on 12 February 2009) Amit Madheshiya and Shirley Abraham: Tiled Gods appear on Mumbai's Streets http://tasveerghar.net/2008/shirley-amit/ (Published on 12 February 2009) Stephen Inglis: Pongal Greetings by K. Mahadevan http://tasveerghar.net/pongal/ (Published on 31 July 2008) Sujithkumar Parayil: Icons of the Reformist Period and ‘Re-formed’ Icons of the Present http://tasveerghar.net/2007/sujith/ (Published on 30 June 2008) Sumathi Ramaswamy: When a Language Becomes a Mother/Goddess http://tasveerghar.net/stamil/ (Published on 16 April 2008) Madhuja Mukherji: Remediation: Iconic Images and Everyday Spaces http://tasveerghar.net/2007/madhuja/ (Published on 31 March 2008) Vishal Rawlley: Miss Use: A Survey of Raunchy Bhojpuri Music Album Cover http://tasveerghar.net/2007/vishal/ (Published on 29 February 2008) Annapurna Garimella: Miniature Societies & Grihani Aesthetics http://tasveerghar.net/2007/annapurna/ (Published on 29 February 2008) Atmaram K. Bhakal: Objects of Desire: Commodification of Gender in the Titles of Popular Hindi Novels http://tasveerghar.net/2007/atmaram/ (Published on 29 February 2008) Yousuf Saeed: This is What They Look Like: Stereotypes of Muslim Piety in Calendar Art and Hindi Cinema http://tasveerghar.net/mstereo/ (Published on 6 October 2007) Patricia Uberoi: Good Morning – Welcome – Svagatam: Kitschy Indian 'Welcome' Posters http://tasveerghar.net/welcome/ (Published on 13 May 2007) Christiane Brosius: Celebrating More Than the New Year: The Hindu Nationalist Greeting Cards http://tasveerghar.net/hgreet/ (Published in April 2007) Looking forward to your visit and contributions and suggestions about Tasveer Ghar, a Digital Archive of South Asian Popular Visual Culture. Tasveer Ghar team http://www.tasveerghar.net From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 18:04:24 2009 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:04:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: <1f9180970903250532t7fc014cbp86a8ee499f84adf9@mail.gmail.com> References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> <1f9180970903250532t7fc014cbp86a8ee499f84adf9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1f9180970903250534v7166880fx546bc448ba6289c4@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Venugopalan K M Date: Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 6:02 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? To: Rakesh Iyer Dear friends, To me, it seems rather like human rights are inherent to individuals, irrespective of how far your nation state is willing to acknowledge them,allow their exercise , or put restrictions on then by force. Rights come to be articulated and defined differently by different contexts in time and space , even perpetually redefined to suit the interests of people in command. Until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did take place half a century back, there existed total lack of understanding about what makes Human Rights "Universal" despite existence of different regions, nationalities , religions ,legal systems , governments and cultures. Alas, posts here by Rajendra Upinangadi with his supporters virtually take the entire discourse back to the days prior to the acceptance of an agenda of Universal Human Rights by practically all nation states and governments under the umbrella of the UN. One hopes it could at least be had with the Constitution of India as a reference point! Sree Ram Sene attacks on the so-called 'loose, pub visiting women' were indeed, preceeded and succeeded by many such attacks on youth,women and minorities on the basis of arbitrary moral judgement backed by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Please don't compare those with the figures based on crime records in Delhi or elsewhere, for that matter! These attacks were actually promoted by Hindutva politics , prompted by a particular view of women , youth and the minorities as "non-citizens" or "lesser citizens".There are press reports galore proving this, and thus let the discussions be focused on the Constitution of India Vs Hinutwa, rather than on Society Vs Individual's rights! On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 3:42 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > I can understand the point that freedom of expression is more important > than > peace, for after all any peace without any freedom of expression is only > the > lull before the storm waiting to happen. Plus of course, it hampers one of > the basic human rights of citizens. > > However, the other question which is confusing my mind, as pointed out in > the article, is regarding nation-states providing rights to citizens. I > don't know much on this, so it would be good if we can discuss on whether > it's nation-states which act as the agencies to provide rights (and hence > without them people can't ask for rights), or is it that rights are > inherent > irrespective of whether nation-states exist or not. > > Regards > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 18:04:59 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:04:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: <1f9180970903250532t7fc014cbp86a8ee499f84adf9@mail.gmail.com> References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> <1f9180970903250532t7fc014cbp86a8ee499f84adf9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Venugopalan K M Date: Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 6:02 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? To: Rakesh Iyer Dear friends, To me, it seems rather like human rights are inherent to individuals, irrespective of how far your nation state is willing to acknowledge them,allow their exercise , or put restrictions on then by force. Rights come to be articulated and defined differently by different contexts in time and space , even perpetually redefined to suit the interests of people in command. Until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did take place half a century back, there existed total lack of understanding about what makes Human Rights "Universal" despite existence of different regions, nationalities , religions ,legal systems , governments and cultures. Alas, posts here by Rajendra Upinangadi with his supporters virtually take the entire discourse back to the days prior to the acceptance of an agenda of Universal Human Rights by practically all nation states and governments under the umbrella of the UN. One hopes it could at least be had with the Constitution of India as a reference point! Sree Ram Sene attacks on the so-called 'loose, pub visiting women' were indeed, preceeded and succeeded by many such attacks on youth,women and minorities on the basis of arbitrary moral judgement backed by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Please don't compare those with the figures based on crime records in Delhi or elsewhere, for that matter! These attacks were actually promoted by Hindutva politics , prompted by a particular view of women , youth and the minorities as "non-citizens" or "lesser citizens".There are press reports galore proving this, and thus let the discussions be focused on the Constitution of India Vs Hinutwa, rather than on Society Vs Individual's rights! On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 3:42 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > I can understand the point that freedom of expression is more important > than > peace, for after all any peace without any freedom of expression is only > the > lull before the storm waiting to happen. Plus of course, it hampers one of > the basic human rights of citizens. > > However, the other question which is confusing my mind, as pointed out in > the article, is regarding nation-states providing rights to citizens. I > don't know much on this, so it would be good if we can discuss on whether > it's nation-states which act as the agencies to provide rights (and hence > without them people can't ask for rights), or is it that rights are > inherent > irrespective of whether nation-states exist or not. > > Regards > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 18:09:44 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:09:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> <1f9180970903250532t7fc014cbp86a8ee499f84adf9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Venu ji First of all you sent a message to me, though I see you intended it for the group. Hence I put it up on the group. Secondly, you have stated that human rights are inherent to an individual. I personally have read Sen's argument on human rights (in the book Development As Freedom). What I can't understand here, is his agency argument. This means that for any right to be obtained by a person, there should be an agency which should provide that person/individual with that right, and should also care to see if that right is granted properly to that person or not (in other words, it is not violated). In the case of any right, be it human right or others, which is this agency which determines that these are not violated? If there is no nation-state (or state-nation like India), then which is the agency which guarantees these rights? I have no objections at all with the 'universality' of human rights, but certainly I wish to know what agency is going to enforce the implementation mechanism to secure these rights for a normal individual? (Normal is someone who is not in a position of power-play in conventional terms). Regards Rakesh From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 18:42:12 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:42:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SC panel raps UGC, MCI for poor anti-ragging measures Message-ID: <6353c690903250612x47770930pb6482f8a9b6e7631@mail.gmail.com> SC panel raps UGC, MCI for poor anti-ragging measures PTI New Delhi, Mar 25 : Unhappy over poor implementation of its recommendations, a Supreme Court-appointed anti-ragging panel today pulled up UGC, MCI and other regulatory bodies and favoured the idea of starting a national call centre for providing assistance to students. The committee headed by former CBI Chief R K Raghavan met here today and asked the regulatory bodies to take punitive action against errant institutions. "We have not seen regulatory bodies taking punitive action against institutions. We told them that we want to see punitive action against institutions which have not implemented the anti-ragging provisions," Raghavan told PTI after the meeting. The punitive actions could include curtailing grants to the institutes and withdrawing their recognition. The Supreme Court has also said that regulatory bodies could withdraw grants to institutes for not taking anti-ragging measures. Rajendra Kachru, father of medical student Aman Kachru who was allegedly died due to ragging in Himachal Pradesh earlier this month, attended the meeting and suggested starting a national call centre for providing assistance to students who face ragging. "The suggestion is feasible. We are considering it and follow up action would be taken. Detailed modalities will be worked out," Raghavan said. More From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 20:00:56 2009 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:00:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] About Agency Message-ID: <1f9180970903250730w61301c3di740095ef4406cea1@mail.gmail.com> Dear Rakesh, Thanks for your kind response. Later I too posted it the list,though I didn't know if login were necessary for posting a message.(I'm new to this list)That case, I hope you'll post this message too. About agency, I would argue that it may not be quite possible to locate one that prefectly matches the freedom and rights in question. Hence, at least to begin with, agency of Constitution/ Rule of Law could be seen as a reference point. You have the patriarchal family where women and younger members are structurally deprived of rights of citizenship, despite the existence of the Constitutional Agency guaranteeing citizenship to all. You have those political parties and police regimes which again, often seek to bye pass Rule of Law by virtue of the very fact that majority of people are too poor or voiceless to place their stakes in citizenship before the presiding agency of Constitution. Similarly, many of those the UN bodies are comparatively dysfunctional when it comes to the protection of rights of women,labourers, and implementation of the related covenants at governmental levels. The question raised by the issue of pub attack and several other similar attacks on women and minorities by various outfits of Hidutwa is obviously not media hype. This is rather about new claims for agency. These claims are culmination of a series of acts by all political parties that tantamount to subversion of Rule of Law. Fascist outfits are just trying to prevail up on the agency of Constitution by claiming new form of nationhood ,viz, Hindutwa to the exclusion of other sections claiming their legitimate rights for citizenship and inclusiveness. Regards, Venu. -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 22:21:29 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:21:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] As DM, she closed down 100 arms shops Message-ID: <6353c690903250951l18d6594cl1e7ca1b5f92c2f46@mail.gmail.com> As DM, she closed down 100 arms shops Font Size *Alka Pande * Posted: Mar 25, 2009 at 0200 hrs IST Indian Express *Lucknow:* A young woman IAS officer, Ministhy S, has dared to bring the shutters down on shops of 100 arms dealers and cancelled 70 weapon licences in Mainpuri district, the bastion of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Her daring action, within a month of taking over as the District Magistrate of Mainpuri, has irked Mulayam. At a rally in Mainpuri on Monday, he allegedly said: “Since the DM is a woman I am restraining myself from saying much. But she should check her brain and know that it is Mulayam Singh Yadav who is contesting from Mainpuri.” This is the fourth posting of Ministhy, who is from Kerala and is a 2003 batch IAS officer from UP cadre. In her initial days, she had been posted as joint magistrate in Jhansi and Agra. Before Mainpuri, she was posted in Shahjahanpur where she posted land lease records on the Governmentwebsite. Known as a net savvy officer, Ministhy holds a B Tech degree with distinction in Electronics Communication from Kerala. Besides, she is a gold medalist in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from XLRI Jamshedpur. Ads By Google An avid writer, she has got three books published — Unequal Equations, Learning with Tippy Tortoise: Tales for Kids and Happy Birthday: Poem for Kids. A fourth book is in the pipeline. Her decision to shut the arms shops has hurt Mulayam as most affected dealers have a close association with the SP. Records at the DM office confirm this. “The majority of shops belong to influential people who have direct or indirect political connections and most of these shops either do not exist or they are being run from homes. A few are run alongside medical stores or utensils stores,” said an official. He named two shops — Payag Gun House, running from a medical store and for which the licence is issued in the name of Mritunjay Yadav, and Sheela Gun House, run from a house and for which the licence has been issued in the name of Sheela Yadav. Over half a dozen licences issued for arms shops — which after a check were found non-existent — belonged to SP MLC Awdhesh Kumar Yadav, SP MLA Sandhya Katheria and Katheria’s father. But SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “They have deliberately chosen this crucial time to take action against the SP leaders and workers.” Mulayam too is reported to have said at Monday’s public meeting that “weapons and arms shop licences of our party people are being cancelled arbitrarily”. The DM has set up a committee to look into each licence of arms dealership and individual weapon. ... contd From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Mar 25 22:35:58 2009 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:35:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear All, Dear Rakesh, I think that the passivity that might get confused with peace in the absence of a freedom of expression is better described as stupor. Peace and Liberty cannot be traded for each other in some ridiculous zero sum game. If you win peace at the cost of liberty, or liberty at the cost of peace, you can not enjoy your peace (in the first instance) or express your liberty (in the second) rendering neither peace nor liberty substantive and real. And, as for the rights of people and nation states, as far as I am aware, all rights, be they to universal adult suffrage, or freedom of conscience and expression have had to be snatched from the political establishments of nation states, if not, suffragates and dissidents would not have been imprisoned by all nation states in earlier times, including by those that posture as defenders of liberty today. Finally, what about those who do not qualify as bona fide citizens of nation states (and there are many such people in the world). Do they not have rights, and if they do, (and these are recognized in international law as 'natural rights', and include the rights to life and liberty) then what are the sources of the rights. They are not citizens, so their rights cannot be sourced in the state that has sovereignty over them. So, clearly, the nation state is not the exhaustive or sole guarantor of rights for persons. regards Shuddha On 25-Mar-09, at 3:42 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Dear all > > I can understand the point that freedom of expression is more > important than > peace, for after all any peace without any freedom of expression is > only the > lull before the storm waiting to happen. Plus of course, it hampers > one of > the basic human rights of citizens. > > However, the other question which is confusing my mind, as pointed > out in > the article, is regarding nation-states providing rights to > citizens. I > don't know much on this, so it would be good if we can discuss on > whether > it's nation-states which act as the agencies to provide rights (and > hence > without them people can't ask for rights), or is it that rights are > inherent > irrespective of whether nation-states exist or not. > > Regards > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From pawan.durani at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 09:29:31 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:29:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute, The Myth-IV Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903252059p52a49b1aqa2eaf2521fa0f1e7@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmir** Dispute, The Myth-IV* *By Dr. M.K. Teng*** Pakistan resorted to the distortion of the history of the transfer of power in India, to justify its claim on Jammu and Kashmir. Inside Jammu and Kashmir the National Conference leaders who ruled the State for decades after its accession to India, resorted to the distortion of the history of the accession of the State to India, to legitimize their claim to a Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmir inside India but independent of the Indian Union and its political organisation. Not only that. The Muslim separatists forces, which dominated the political scene in the State after the disintegration of the National Conference in 1953, also resorted to the fossilization of the facts of the accession of the State to India. Interestingly, the entire process of the distortion of the history of the accession of the State, spread over decades of Indian freedom assumed varied expressives from time to time. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who headed the Interim Government instituted in March 1948, disclaimed the Instrument of Accession executed by Hari Singh, as merely the Kagzi Ilhaq' or "paper Accession" and claimed that the "real accession of the state to India" would be accomplished by the people of the State, more precisely the Muslim majority of the people of the State. While the Constitution of India was on the anvil and the issue of the constitutional provisions for the States came up for the consideration for the Constituent Assembly of India, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah claimed that the National Conference had endorsed the accession of the State to India on the condition that the claim the people of the state had to a separate freedom was recognised by India and the leadership of the National Conference had been assured by the Indian leaders that the people of Jammu and Kashmir would be reserved the right to constitute Jammu and Kashmir into an autonomous political organisation, independent of the Indian constitutional organisation. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and other National Conference leaders, claimed that they had been assured that Jammu and Kashmir would not be integrated in the constitutional organisaion of India and the assurances were incorporated in the Instrument of Accession. They stressed that they had agreed to the accede to India on the specific condition that the Muslim identity of the State would form the basis of its political organisation. In his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmirconvened in 1951, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who was the Prime Minister of the Interim Government of the State, claimed that the Constituent Assembly was vested with the plenary powers, drawn from the people of the State and independent of the Constitution of India. He claimed that the Constituent Assembly was vested with the powers to opt out of India and assume independence or join the Muslim state of Pakistan. Fifty years later the claims Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made in the Constituent Assembly were echoed in the first Round Table Conference, convened by the Government of India in 2006, to reach a consensus on a future settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, represented the People Democratic Party in the Round Table Conference which was a constituent of the coalition government in the State, headed by the Congress Party. Beg claimed, that the Instrument of Accession was a treaty between two independent states, the Dominion of India and the Jammu and Kashmir State and the Constituent Assembly was a sovereign authority, independent powers inherent in its sovereignty. The Government of India made no efforts to put the record straight. Frightened at the prospect of losing the support of the National Conference the Indian leaders did not question the veracity of the claims the Conference leaders made. Indeed, they depended upon the support of the National Conference to win the plebiscite which the United Nations Organisation was hectically preparing to hold in the State. The Indian leaders, overwhelmed by their own sense of self-righteousness, helped overtly and covertly in the falsification of the history of the integration of the Princely States with India and the accession of Jammu and Kashmirwith the Indian Dominion in 1947. Many of them went as far as to link the unity of India with the reassertion of the subnational identity of Jammu and Kashmir, which the Muslim demand for separate freedom for the Muslim symbolised. The Indian Independence Act of 1947, laid down separate procedures for the transfers of power in the British India and the Indian Princely States. The Princely States were left out of the partition plan, which divided the British Indian provinces and envisaged the creation of the Muslim state of Pakistan. In respect of the Princely States, the Indian Independence Act, envisaged the lapse of the paramountcy - the power which the British Crown exercised over the Indian States. The British Government clarified its stand on the future disposition of the States in the British Parliament during the debate on the Indian Independence Bill. It categorically stated that the lapse of the Paramountcy would not enable the Princes to acquire Dominion status or assume independence. The British Government made it clear that the reversion of the Paramountcy to the rulers of the States would inevitably lead to mutually accepted agreements between the Dominions and the Princely States which would involve their accession. The Indian Independence Act did not envisage in the procedure the accession of States. The Nawab of Bhopal approached the Diplomatic Mission of the United States of America in India to seek the recognition of the Independence of his state. The American Government snubbed the Nawab and refused to countenance any proposals for the independence of the Princely States in India. It was left to be formulated by the two Dominions of India and Pakistan. The Political Department of the British Government of India was divided into two separate Political Departments – the Political Department of Pakistan to deal with the Indian Princely States. The Political Department of India was put in charge of Sardar Vallabhai Patel and the Political Department of Pakistan was put in charge of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar. The procedure for the accession of the States to the two Dominions was evolved separately by their respective Political Departments. The Muslim League however, insisted upon the independence of the Princely States in order to enable the Muslim ruled states to remain out of India. The Muslim League aimed to Balkanise the Princely States and place the state of Pakistan in a position which provided it a way to forge an alliance with them. The Indian States spread over more than one-third of the territory of India constituted more than one fourth of the Indian population. Some of the Muslim ruled Princely States were largest among the Princely States of Indiaand several of them were fabulously rich. The claim Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made in his inaugural speech to the Constituent Assembly of the State that the States had the option to assume independence was a reiteration of the stand the Muslim League had taken on the future disposition of the states following the lapse of the Paramountcy. The lapse of the Paramountcy did not underline the independence of the States. It did not envisage the reversion of any plenary powers to the Princes or the people of the states as a consequence of the dissolution of the Paramountcy. The states were not independent when they were integrated in the British Empire in India. They did not acquire independence when they were liberated from the British Empire 1947. They were not vested with any inherent powers to claim independence to which Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah referred to in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly. The convocation of the Constituent Assemblies in the States was provided for in the stipulations of the Instrument of Accession that the Princely States acceding to India, executed. The Instrument of Accession devised by the States Department of Pakistan for the accession of the States to that country did not envisage provisions pertaining to the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. The power to convene separate Constituent Assemblies was reserved for all the major states the Union of the States, which acceded to India. The Jammu and Kashmir State was no exception. In fact, Constituent Assemblies were convened, in the states of Cochin and Mysore and the State Union of Saurashtra, shortly after their accession to the Indian Dominion. The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was a creature of the Instrument of Accession. It exercised powers which were drawn from the state of India and its sovereign authority. It did not assess any powers to revoke the accession of the State to India to bring about the accession of the State to Pakistan or opt for its independence, as Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly claimed or as Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg claimed in the Round Table Conference. The truth of what happened during those fateful days of October 1947, when the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was accomplished was concealed by a irredentist campaign of disinformation which was launched to cover the acts of cowardice and betrayal, subterfuge and surrender which went into the making of the Kashmir dispute. The National Conference leaders, were at no stage, brought in to endorse the accession of the State to India. No one among them was required to sign or countersign the accession and none of them signed or countesigned the Instrument of Accession, executed by Maharaja Hari Singh. The Indian Independence Act, an Act of the British Parliament, which laid down the procedure for the transfer of power in India, did not recognize the right of self-determination of either the people of the British India or the people of the States. The transfer of power was based on an agreement among the Congress, the Muslim League and the British. The British and the Muslim League stubbornly refused to recognise the right of the people of the British India and right of the people of the Princely State to determine the future of the British India or the Indian states. The Muslim League and the British insisted upon the lapse of the Paramountcy and its reversion to the rulers of the States. Accession of the States was not subject to any conditions and the Instrument of Accession underlined an irreversible process the British provided for the dissolution of the empire in India. No assurance was given to the National Conference leaders that the Constituent Assembly of the State would be vested with plenary powers or powers to ratify the accession of the State to India, revoke it opt for its independence or its accession to Pakistan. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and the other National Conference leaders did not seek the exclusion of the State from the Indian political organization as a condition for the accession of the state to India. Nor did the Indian leaders give any assurance to them that the Jammu and Kashmir would be reconstituted into an independent political organisation, which would represent its Muslim identity. **Note: The articles in this series are based upon the documentary sources in the Archives of India, Archives of Jammu and Kashmir, All India States Peoples Conference Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum; Contemporary Newspaper Files and Interviews) * *-To be continued* ** *Source: Kashmir Sentinel* From waliarifi3 at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 11:07:28 2009 From: waliarifi3 at gmail.com (Wali Arifi) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:07:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi Message-ID: <4fcaee300903252237p7bc1e339x161b0399ad36c6ae@mail.gmail.com> Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times March 07, 2009 First Published: 21:47 IST(7/3/2009) The same people? Surely not Few things annoy me as much as the claim often advanced by well-meaning but woolly- headed (and usually Punjabi) liberals to the effect that when it comes to India and Pakistan, "We’re all the same people, yaar." This may have been true once upon a time. Before 1947, Pakistan was part of undivided India and you could claim that Punjabis from West Punjab (what is now Pakistan) were as Indian as, say, Tamils from Madras. But time has a way of moving on. And while the gap between our Punjabis (from east Punjab which is now the only Punjab left in India) and our Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks to improved communications, shared popular culture and greater physical mobility, the gap between Indians and Pakistanis has now widened to the extent that we are no longer the same people in any significant sense. This was brought home to me most clearly by two major events over the last few weeks. The first of these was the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on the streets of Lahore. In their defence, Pakistanis said that they were powerless to act against the terrorists because religious fanaticism was growing. Each day more misguided youngsters joined jihadi outfits and the law and order situation worsened. Further, they added, things had got so bad that in the tribal areas the government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend the rule of law under pressure from the Taliban and had conceded that sharia law would reign instead. Interestingly, while most civilised liberals should have been appalled by this surrender to the forces of extremism, many Pakistanis defended this concession. Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even declared that sharia law would be better because justice would be dispensed more swiftly! (I know this is politically incorrect but the Loin of the Punjab’s defence of sharia law reminded me of the famous Private Eye cover when his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was announced. The Eye carried a picture of Khan speaking to Jemima’s father. “Can I have your daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly asking James Goldsmith. “Why? Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith replied. So much for sharia law.) The second contrasting event was one that took place in Los Angeles but which was perhaps celebrated more in India than in any other country in the world. Three Indians won Oscars: A.R. Rahman, Resul Pookutty and Gulzar. Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We were proud of our countrymen. We were pleased that India’s entertainment industry and its veterans had been recognised at an international platform. And all three men became even bigger heroes than they already were. But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a Hindu. Can you imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you even conceive of a situation where the whole country would celebrate the victory of three members of two religious minorities? For that matter, can you even imagine a situation where people from religious minorities would have got to the top of their fields and were, therefore, in the running for international awards? On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing sharia law, doing deals with the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, declaring jihad on the world and trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan cricketers. On the other, you have the triumph of Indian secularism. The same people? Surely not. We are defined by our nationality. They choose to define themselves by their religion. But it gets even more complicated. As you probably know, Rahman was born Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he was 21. His religious preferences made no difference to his prospects. Even now, his music cuts across all religious boundaries. He’s as much at home with Sufi music as he is with bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying ‘Vande Mataram’. Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan. Can you conceive of a Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at the age of 21 and still went on to become a national hero? Under sharia law, they’d probably have to execute him. Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting case. Until you realise that Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the rest of us would put an ‘a,’ (Ravi becomes Revi and sometimes the Gulf becomes the Gelf), you cannot work out that his name derives from Rasool, a fairly obviously Islamic name. But here’s the point: even when you point out to people that Pookutty is in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It makes no difference to them. He’s an authentic Indian hero, his religion is irrelevant. Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a man’s religion? Can you believe that Pakistanis would not know that one of their Oscar winners came from a religious minority? And would any Pakistani have dared bridge the religious divide in the manner Resul did by referring to the primeval power of Om in his acceptance speech? The same people? Surely not. Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who many Indians believe is a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra. So why does he have a Muslim name? It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show some years ago. He was born in West Pakistan and came over the border during the bloody days of Partition. He had seen so much hatred and religious violence on both sides, he said, that he was determined never to lose himself to that kind of blind religious prejudice and fanaticism. Rather than blame Muslims for the violence inflicted on his community — after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with equal ferocity — he adopted a Muslim pen name to remind himself that his identity was beyond religion. He still writes in Urdu and considers it irrelevant whether a person is a Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu. Let’s forget about political correctness and come clean: can you see such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you actually conceive of a famous Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or Sikh name out of choice to demonstrate the irrelevance of religion? My point, exactly. What all those misguided liberals who keep blathering on about us being the same people forget is that in the 60-odd years since Independence, our two nations have traversed very different paths. Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It still defines itself in terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it destroys itself, it will be because of Islamic extremism. India was founded on the basis that religion had no role in determining citizenship or nationhood. An Indian can belong to any religion in the world and face no discrimination in his rights as a citizen. It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect society or that Muslims face no discrimination. But only a fool would deny that in the last six decades, we have travelled a long way towards religious equality. In the early days of independent India, a Yusuf Khan had to call himself Dilip Kumar for fear of attracting religious prejudice. In today’s India, a Dilip Kumar can change his name to A.R. Rahman and nobody really gives a damn either way. So think back to the events of the last few weeks. To the murderous attack on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by jihadi fanatics in a society that is being buried by Islamic extremism. And to the triumphs of Indian secularism. Same people? Don’t make me laugh. From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 26 12:13:58 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:43:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <4fcaee300903252237p7bc1e339x161b0399ad36c6ae@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <816926.55325.qm@web51402.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Thanks Wali Arifi for posting this write-up. I am amazed at the shallowness of the analysis made by such an experienced journalist. If one can get to know about the people of a certain country simply by observing the most apparent signs (as seen on TV) of last few days and generalize that they are evil or different or whatever, compared to us, then I think Vir Sanghvi is right. But I am sure such a simple generalization could even be made by a 6th grade school student brought up on a diet of TV news. If Pakistanis are not the same people as us (Indians) simply because over last 60 years they have grown to become something else (something of an evil), haven't we Indians grown to become something else? What makes Mr.Sanghvi think that among the twins separated at birth one has gone in the right direction while the other one has been spoiled. But talking about the same-ness, at one level even the residents of Amritsar and Lahore have been very different (even before 1947), and at another level, the people of Kabul and Kandhamal are the same, even today. Am I not right? Yousuf --- On Thu, 3/26/09, Wali Arifi wrote: > From: Wali Arifi > Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: "Sarai" > Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 11:07 AM > Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times > March 07, 2009 > First Published: 21:47 IST(7/3/2009) > > The same people? Surely not > > Few things annoy me as much as the claim often advanced by > well-meaning but woolly- headed (and usually Punjabi) > liberals to the > effect that when it comes to India and Pakistan, > "We’re all the same > people, yaar." > > This may have been true once upon a time. Before 1947, > Pakistan was > part of undivided India and you could claim that Punjabis > from West > Punjab (what is now Pakistan) were as Indian as, say, > Tamils from > Madras. > > But time has a way of moving on. And while the gap between > our > Punjabis (from east Punjab which is now the only Punjab > left in India) > and our Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks to > improved > communications, shared popular culture and greater physical > mobility, > the gap between Indians and Pakistanis has now widened to > the extent > that we are no longer the same people in any significant > sense. > > This was brought home to me most clearly by two major > events over the > last few weeks. > > The first of these was the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket > team on > the streets of Lahore. In their defence, Pakistanis said > that they > were powerless to act against the terrorists because > religious > fanaticism was growing. Each day more misguided youngsters > joined > jihadi outfits and the law and order situation worsened. > > Further, they added, things had got so bad that in the > tribal areas > the government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend the rule > of law under > pressure from the Taliban and had conceded that sharia law > would reign > instead. Interestingly, while most civilised liberals > should have been > appalled by this surrender to the forces of extremism, many > Pakistanis > defended this concession. > > Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even declared > that sharia > law would be better because justice would be dispensed more > swiftly! > (I know this is politically incorrect but the Loin of the > Punjab’s > defence of sharia law reminded me of the famous Private Eye > cover when > his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was announced. The Eye > carried a > picture of Khan speaking to Jemima’s father. “Can I > have your > daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly asking James > Goldsmith. “Why? > Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith replied. So > much for > sharia law.) > > The second contrasting event was one that took place in Los > Angeles > but which was perhaps celebrated more in India than in any > other > country in the world. Three Indians won Oscars: A.R. > Rahman, Resul > Pookutty and Gulzar. > > Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We were proud > of our > countrymen. We were pleased that India’s entertainment > industry and > its veterans had been recognised at an international > platform. And all > three men became even bigger heroes than they already were. > > But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a Hindu. > > Can you imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you > even > conceive of a situation where the whole country would > celebrate the > victory of three members of two religious minorities? For > that matter, > can you even imagine a situation where people from > religious > minorities would have got to the top of their fields and > were, > therefore, in the running for international awards? > > On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing sharia law, > doing deals > with the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, declaring > jihad on the > world and trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan cricketers. On > the other, > you have the triumph of Indian secularism. > > The same people? > > Surely not. > > We are defined by our nationality. They choose to define > themselves by > their religion. > > But it gets even more complicated. As you probably know, > Rahman was > born Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he was 21. His > religious > preferences made no difference to his prospects. Even now, > his music > cuts across all religious boundaries. He’s as much at > home with Sufi > music as he is with > bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying ‘Vande > Mataram’. > > Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan. Can you > conceive of a > Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at the age of > 21 and > still went on to become a national hero? Under sharia law, > they’d > probably have to execute him. > > Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting case. Until > you realise > that Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the rest of us > would put an > ‘a,’ (Ravi becomes Revi and sometimes the Gulf becomes > the Gelf), you > cannot work out that his name derives from Rasool, a fairly > obviously > Islamic name. > > But here’s the point: even when you point out to people > that Pookutty > is in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It makes no > difference to > them. He’s an authentic Indian hero, his religion is > irrelevant. > > Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a man’s > religion? Can > you believe that Pakistanis would not know that one of > their Oscar > winners came from a religious minority? And would any > Pakistani have > dared bridge the religious divide in the manner Resul did > by referring > to the primeval power of Om in his acceptance speech? > > The same people? > > Surely not. > > Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who many > Indians believe > is a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his real name is > Sampooran > Singh Kalra. > > So why does he have a Muslim name? > > It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show some years > ago. He was > born in West Pakistan and came over the border during the > bloody days > of Partition. He had seen so much hatred and religious > violence on > both sides, he said, that he was determined never to lose > himself to > that kind of blind religious prejudice and fanaticism. > > Rather than blame Muslims for the violence inflicted on his > community > — after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with equal ferocity > — he adopted > a Muslim pen name to remind himself that his identity was > beyond > religion. He still writes in Urdu and considers it > irrelevant whether > a person is a Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu. > > Let’s forget about political correctness and come clean: > can you see > such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you actually > conceive of a > famous Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or Sikh name out > of choice > to demonstrate the irrelevance of religion? > > My point, exactly. > > What all those misguided liberals who keep blathering on > about us > being the same people forget is that in the 60-odd years > since > Independence, our two nations have traversed very different > paths. > > Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It still > defines itself in > terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it destroys > itself, it > will be because of Islamic extremism. > > India was founded on the basis that religion had no role in > determining citizenship or nationhood. An Indian can belong > to any > religion in the world and face no discrimination in his > rights as a > citizen. > > It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect society or > that Muslims > face no discrimination. But only a fool would deny that in > the last > six decades, we have travelled a long way towards religious > equality. > In the early days of independent India, a Yusuf Khan had to > call > himself Dilip Kumar for fear of attracting religious > prejudice. > > In today’s India, a Dilip Kumar can change his name to > A.R. Rahman and > nobody really gives a damn either way. > > So think back to the events of the last few weeks. To the > murderous > attack on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by jihadi fanatics > in a > society that is being buried by Islamic extremism. And to > the triumphs > of Indian secularism. > > Same people? > > Don’t make me laugh. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From iram at sarai.net Thu Mar 26 13:34:51 2009 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:34:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Subject: Fwd: Re: reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <49CB3723.5000002@sarai.net> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and > right to express at what cost to society.? > From: > Venugopalan K M > Date: > Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:52:23 +0530 > To: > Rakesh Iyer > > To: > Rakesh Iyer > > > Dear Rakesh, > Thanks for your kind response. Later I too posted it the list,though > I didn't know if login were necessary for posting a message.(I'm new > to this list)That case, I hope you'll post this message too. > About agency, I would argue that it may not be quite possible to > locate one that prefectly matches the freedom and rights in question. > Hence, at least to begin with, agency of Constitution/ Rule of > Law could be seen as a reference point. > You have the patriarchal family where women and younger members are > structurally deprived of rights of citizenship, despite the existence > of the Constitutional Agency guaranteeing citizenship to all. You have > those political parties and police regimes which again, often seek to > bye pass Rule of Law by virtue of the very fact that majority of > people are too poor or voiceless to place their stakes in citizenship > before the presiding agency of Constitution. > Similarly, many of those the UN bodies are comparatively dysfunctional > when it comes to the protection of rights of women,labourers, and > implementation of the related covenants at governmental levels. > The question raised by the issue of pub attack and several other > similar attacks on women and minorities by various outfits of Hidutwa > is obviously not media hype. This is rather about new claims for > agency. These claims are culmination of a series of acts by all > political parties that tantamount to subversion of Rule of Law. > Fascist outfits are just trying to prevail up on the agency of > Constitution by claiming new form of nationhood ,viz, Hindutwa to the > exclusion of other sections claiming their legitimate rights for > citizenship and inclusiveness. > Regards, > Venu. > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 6:09 PM, Rakesh Iyer > wrote: > > Dear Venu ji > > First of all you sent a message to me, though I see you intended > it for the group. Hence I put it up on the group. > > Secondly, you have stated that human rights are inherent to an > individual. I personally have read Sen's argument on human rights > (in the book Development As Freedom). What I can't understand > here, is his agency argument. > > This means that for any right to be obtained by a person, there > should be an agency which should provide that person/individual > with that right, and should also care to see if that right is > granted properly to that person or not (in other words, it is not > violated). In the case of any right, be it human right or others, > which is this agency which determines that these are not violated? > > If there is no nation-state (or state-nation like India), then > which is the agency which guarantees these rights? I have no > objections at all with the 'universality' of human rights, but > certainly I wish to know what agency is going to enforce the > implementation mechanism to secure these rights for a normal > individual? (Normal is someone who is not in a position of > power-play in conventional terms). > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > > > -- > http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From iram at sarai.net Thu Mar 26 13:37:02 2009 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:37:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: A journey through biraha in the folk repertoire of Bengal by Moushumi Bhowmik and Sukanta Majumdar Message-ID: <49CB37A6.8070207@sarai.net> Subject: A journey through biraha in the folk repertoire of Bengal by Moushumi Bhowmik and Sukanta Majumdar From: "India Foundation for the Arts" Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:34:49 +0530 (IST) To: reader-list at sarai.net India Foundation for the Arts in collaboration with The India International Centre cordially invites you to a presentation and performance of, Music as Absence, Memory and Desire: A journey through biraha in the folk repertoire of Bengal by singer-songwriter-researcher Moushumi Bhowmik and sound recordist Sukanta Majumdar {This performance is the result of grants made to Moushumi by India Foundation for the Arts under its Arts Research and Documentation Programme. The grant made in 2003-2004 was to research into and document the repertoire of biraha (songs of separation) in the folk music of Bengal, towards a musical travelogue in Bengali and English. The grant made in 2006-2007 was for innovative dissemination of the archive of biraha songs through musical camps in the field and presentations/performances in cities.} In this presentation-performance, Moushumi will talk and sing about the many landscapes and histories of Bengal through which they have travelled and the many expressions of absence and longing that they have heard along the way. The presentation will bring together ther arts of narration, singing, sound recording and design, using also visual illustration from various sources. Ms Moushumi Bhowmik and Mr Sukanta Majundar will take questions from the audience at the end of the presentation Venue: The India International Centre, Delhi Date: April 2, 2009 Time: 6.30 pm (Entry is free) RSVP: Vindya - vindya at indiaifa.org Tele / Fax: 91 80 23414681 / 82 India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is an independent, nationwide philanthropy, professionally managed, and dedicated to strengthening the arts in India. IFA has funded over 239 projects over the 13 years across 20 states. We support research and practice leading to films, books, artworks, archives, exhibitions and performances. We help to bring the arts into the classroom. We fund the preservation and transmission of valuable cultural knowledge. We offer advice, information and expertise related to the Indian arts. Bengali singer-composer-researcher Moushumi Bhowmik, a two-time Grantee of the IFA, has been journeying with sound recordist Sukanta Majumdar through a world of folk music of Bengal, recording voices and songs from an old, but living tradition, for over five years. From rama.sangye at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 16:53:41 2009 From: rama.sangye at gmail.com (V Ramaswamy) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:53:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <816926.55325.qm@web51402.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <4fcaee300903252237p7bc1e339x161b0399ad36c6ae@mail.gmail.com> <816926.55325.qm@web51402.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6ade4a8f0903260423we842f94mfe0eef6c17b1e672@mail.gmail.com> Thanks Yousuf for your comment on the Singhvi article. Just like the Peter principle, which says that every employee rises to the level of his incompetence, there would be an equivalent with writing too: every writer rises to his level of senility, or some such. Perhaps we could call that the Singhvi principle - though looking at so-called writers and columnists in India, there would be quite a bit f competition in this respect, what with the overall intellectual morass that defines much of Indian English-language media... We Indians love to take credit where no credit is due at all. And its so pathetic... Singhvi's piece is as pathetic as the Bollywood projections of communal amity between Amars, Akbars and Anthonys. He should send it to Narendra Modi to use in one of his election campaign speeches. After Delhi 1984, Ayodhya 1992 and Gujarat 2002, instead of boasting about our o-so-wonderful "secular" fabric and ethos, Indians should simply keep quiet and if there's anything to be done, that should be done silently and diligently; and there is work to be done that can take several lifetimes before any claim can be made about anything creditable here. Singhvi needs a dose of "Yahaan Sey Sheher Ko Dekho". Since its unlikely that this would could ever happen on its own, the only option is to kidnap him, render him (temporarily?) amnesic and throw him into the situation of a Muslim slumdweller in one of the metro cities. Or even into the situation of a studious lower-middle class Muslim youth. And thus have him experience for himself the meaning and ramifications of institutionalised prjudice prejudice and bigotry. I am reminded of an article called “Palestinian like me” by an Israeli journalist, written about 20 years ago, who assumed the identity of a Palestinian and explored the meaning of being a Palestinian. I wait for a Hindu journalist to assume a Muslim identity, and investigate first-hand what being Muslim in India entails, and thus write “Muslim like me” for the education of his co-religionists. But conversely, there is something to celebrate, but it is not the likes of Mr Sanghvi who could do that, with his pathetic vision. Many true Indians, Hindus as well as Muslims - no, not the "innocent" common folk of Bollywood stereotype, nor the so-called "secularists" of India, who provide so much pseudo-secular fodder to the Hindutva mill - are indeed silently but steadily building another culture, another India, through intercourse.And they exist and act despite India and the general lot of Indians. V Ramaswamy Calcutta On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 12:13 PM, Yousuf wrote: > > Thanks Wali Arifi for posting this write-up. > I am amazed at the shallowness of the analysis made by such an experienced > journalist. If From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 26 16:59:22 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:29:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <681807.18228.qm@web94714.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <484778.11823.qm@web51404.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear Vedavati ji Even I don't have an answer to that question. Maybe its there in my genes: to love the Pakistani Muslims. I think I should get my "P" gene surgically removed, and get the enemy gene inserted. By the way, what in my previous mail made you think that I, being an Indian Muslim, have an affinity to Pakistani Muslims? Yousuf --- On Thu, 3/26/09, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > From: Vedavati Jogi > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 4:02 PM > one thing i don't understand, 'why do indian > muslims like you possess so much affinity for > pakistani muslims'? you may or may not accept, but most > of the indian population look upon them as enemies . > vedavati > > --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Yousuf > wrote: > > > From: Yousuf > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > Sanghvi > To: "Sarai" , > "Wali Arifi" > Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 2:43 PM > > > > Thanks Wali Arifi for posting this write-up. > I am amazed at the shallowness of the analysis made by such > an experienced journalist. If one can get to know about the > people of a certain country simply by observing the most > apparent signs (as seen on TV) of last few days and > generalize that they are evil or different or whatever, > compared to us, then I think Vir Sanghvi is right. But I am > sure such a simple generalization could even be made by a > 6th grade school student brought up on a diet of TV news. > > If Pakistanis are not the same people as us (Indians) > simply because over last 60 years they have grown to become > something else (something of an evil), haven't we > Indians grown to become something else? What makes > Mr.Sanghvi think that among the twins separated at birth one > has gone in the right direction while the other one has been > spoiled. > > But talking about the same-ness, at one level even the > residents of Amritsar and Lahore have been very different > (even before 1947), and at another level, the people of > Kabul and Kandhamal are the same, even today. Am I not > right? > > Yousuf > > > --- On Thu, 3/26/09, Wali Arifi > wrote: > > > From: Wali Arifi > > Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > Sanghvi > > To: "Sarai" > > Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 11:07 AM > > Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times > > March 07, 2009 > > First Published: 21:47 IST(7/3/2009) > > > > The same people? Surely not > > > > Few things annoy me as much as the claim often > advanced by > > well-meaning but woolly- headed (and usually Punjabi) > > liberals to the > > effect that when it comes to India and Pakistan, > > "We’re all the same > > people, yaar." > > > > This may have been true once upon a time. Before 1947, > > Pakistan was > > part of undivided India and you could claim that > Punjabis > > from West > > Punjab (what is now Pakistan) were as Indian as, say, > > Tamils from > > Madras. > > > > But time has a way of moving on. And while the gap > between > > our > > Punjabis (from east Punjab which is now the only > Punjab > > left in India) > > and our Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks to > > improved > > communications, shared popular culture and greater > physical > > mobility, > > the gap between Indians and Pakistanis has now widened > to > > the extent > > that we are no longer the same people in any > significant > > sense. > > > > This was brought home to me most clearly by two major > > events over the > > last few weeks. > > > > The first of these was the attack on the Sri Lankan > cricket > > team on > > the streets of Lahore. In their defence, Pakistanis > said > > that they > > were powerless to act against the terrorists because > > religious > > fanaticism was growing. Each day more misguided > youngsters > > joined > > jihadi outfits and the law and order situation > worsened. > > > > Further, they added, things had got so bad that in the > > tribal areas > > the government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend the > rule > > of law under > > pressure from the Taliban and had conceded that sharia > law > > would reign > > instead. Interestingly, while most civilised liberals > > should have been > > appalled by this surrender to the forces of extremism, > many > > Pakistanis > > defended this concession. > > > > Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even > declared > > that sharia > > law would be better because justice would be dispensed > more > > swiftly! > > (I know this is politically incorrect but the Loin of > the > > Punjab’s > > defence of sharia law reminded me of the famous > Private Eye > > cover when > > his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was announced. The > Eye > > carried a > > picture of Khan speaking to Jemima’s father. “Can > I > > have your > > daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly asking > James > > Goldsmith. “Why? > > Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith replied. > So > > much for > > sharia law.) > > > > The second contrasting event was one that took place > in Los > > Angeles > > but which was perhaps celebrated more in India than in > any > > other > > country in the world. Three Indians won Oscars: A.R. > > Rahman, Resul > > Pookutty and Gulzar. > > > > Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We were > proud > > of our > > countrymen. We were pleased that India’s > entertainment > > industry and > > its veterans had been recognised at an international > > platform. And all > > three men became even bigger heroes than they already > were. > > > > But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a Hindu. > > > > Can you imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan? > Can you > > even > > conceive of a situation where the whole country would > > celebrate the > > victory of three members of two religious minorities? > For > > that matter, > > can you even imagine a situation where people from > > religious > > minorities would have got to the top of their fields > and > > were, > > therefore, in the running for international awards? > > > > On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing sharia > law, > > doing deals > > with the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, > declaring > > jihad on the > > world and trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan > cricketers. On > > the other, > > you have the triumph of Indian secularism. > > > > The same people? > > > > Surely not. > > > > We are defined by our nationality. They choose to > define > > themselves by > > their religion. > > > > But it gets even more complicated. As you probably > know, > > Rahman was > > born Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he was > 21. His > > religious > > preferences made no difference to his prospects. Even > now, > > his music > > cuts across all religious boundaries. He’s as much > at > > home with Sufi > > music as he is with > > bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying > ‘Vande > > Mataram’. > > > > Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan. Can you > > conceive of a > > Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at the > age of > > 21 and > > still went on to become a national hero? Under sharia > law, > > they’d > > probably have to execute him. > > > > Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting case. > Until > > you realise > > that Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the rest > of us > > would put an > > ‘a,’ (Ravi becomes Revi and sometimes the Gulf > becomes > > the Gelf), you > > cannot work out that his name derives from Rasool, a > fairly > > obviously > > Islamic name. > > > > But here’s the point: even when you point out to > people > > that Pookutty > > is in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It > makes no > > difference to > > them. He’s an authentic Indian hero, his religion is > > irrelevant. > > > > Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a > man’s > > religion? Can > > you believe that Pakistanis would not know that one of > > their Oscar > > winners came from a religious minority? And would any > > Pakistani have > > dared bridge the religious divide in the manner Resul > did > > by referring > > to the primeval power of Om in his acceptance speech? > > > > The same people? > > > > Surely not. > > > > Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who many > > Indians believe > > is a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his real > name is > > Sampooran > > Singh Kalra. > > > > So why does he have a Muslim name? > > > > It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show some > years > > ago. He was > > born in West Pakistan and came over the border during > the > > bloody days > > of Partition. He had seen so much hatred and religious > > violence on > > both sides, he said, that he was determined never to > lose > > himself to > > that kind of blind religious prejudice and fanaticism. > > > > Rather than blame Muslims for the violence inflicted > on his > > community > > — after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with equal > ferocity > > — he adopted > > a Muslim pen name to remind himself that his identity > was > > beyond > > religion. He still writes in Urdu and considers it > > irrelevant whether > > a person is a Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu. > > > > Let’s forget about political correctness and come > clean: > > can you see > > such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you actually > > conceive of a > > famous Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or Sikh > name out > > of choice > > to demonstrate the irrelevance of religion? > > > > My point, exactly. > > > > What all those misguided liberals who keep blathering > on > > about us > > being the same people forget is that in the 60-odd > years > > since > > Independence, our two nations have traversed very > different > > paths. > > > > Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It still > > defines itself in > > terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it > destroys > > itself, it > > will be because of Islamic extremism. > > > > India was founded on the basis that religion had no > role in > > determining citizenship or nationhood. An Indian can > belong > > to any > > religion in the world and face no discrimination in > his > > rights as a > > citizen. > > > > It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect society > or > > that Muslims > > face no discrimination. But only a fool would deny > that in > > the last > > six decades, we have travelled a long way towards > religious > > equality. > > In the early days of independent India, a Yusuf Khan > had to > > call > > himself Dilip Kumar for fear of attracting religious > > prejudice. > > > > In today’s India, a Dilip Kumar can change his name > to > > A.R. Rahman and > > nobody really gives a damn either way. > > > > So think back to the events of the last few weeks. To > the > > murderous > > attack on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by jihadi > fanatics > > in a > > society that is being buried by Islamic extremism. And > to > > the triumphs > > of Indian secularism. > > > > Same people? > > > > Don’t make me laugh. > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject > > header. > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >       > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to > http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 17:47:02 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:47:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <484778.11823.qm@web51404.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <681807.18228.qm@web94714.mail.in2.yahoo.com> <484778.11823.qm@web51404.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear all First of all I am very happy that such an article has been put up. Having been a consistent reader of Vir Sanghvi's column in Hindustan Times over the past few years, I must say that he has stopped any kind of researching, which I consider an essential part in journalism. I believe that if research into one area has stopped, then it should be started into some other area. After reading Sanghvi's articles, I realize he goes on speaking about the same things in a merry-go-round. As far as Sanghvi's article goes, I agree with the above mentioned points that it is quite far from reality. Considering that about 35% of the Muslim population in the nation (based on Census and obtained from Sachar Committee's report), lives in cities, and most of this population lives in ghettoes (old city areas generally), and is poor, one would have to see the way the state has abandoned itself from its responsibilites in these areas. Looking at my own city Bhopal, I can say that not only has the administrative work shifted to new city buildings for many purposes, what's more, the old city suffers many problems related to water, sewage and other kinds handled generally by the municipal corporation, on a daily basis, much more than what the new city (read Hindu-dominated areas), face. The economic situation of Muslims is already very poor, and most Muslim ghettoes in India also don't have proper education facilities (or even private based schools), to educate their children. Hence, they have to send their children to madrassas. And then, our Vedavati jee and their folk go hammer and tongs at these madrassas for giving 'terrorist education' to them, when in the first place they should talk about the lack of education facilities given to them. In India, we keep on asking for one ban after the other. When 'Water' was supposed to be made in Varanasi by Deepa Mehta, the RSS goons stopped it and created violence. When the 'revenge' had to be taken for Gujarat, the very same organizations indulged in mass-rapes of women, something unheard of even in pre-1992 Gujarat riots by and large. Infact, even districts unaffected in any riot since independence witnessed massive violence. And then our great Modi has the courage to say this: 'Not more than 100 died in the violence, and that too due to police firing'. Later on, he said there was no violence at all. If there was no violence, how come there was the need for police firing?? Hence Sanghvi was definitely wrong in that article. Inspite of this, I can say that India is on a slightly better footing while treating its minorities in practice, for at least they are considered as equal with the majority community (read Hindus), and even cases in post-Godhra can be re-investigated again and again, while whether I can say the same for Pakistan or not, is something I am not sure of. While constitutionally Pakistan is an Islamic republic, we are a 'secular, socialist, democratic republic', and through constant practice of democracy, can at least get our voice heard. (Muslims did in the election mandate of 2004, critically in UP and Bihar). The second part is with respect to this harsh truth. I don't feel comparisons are the way to find out whether we are doing the right thing or not. And if any comparison is to be made, let us do an intra-country comparison to find out whether we have done enough for our minorities, for our scheduled caste brothers, for the scheduled tribes, for the women, for the children, for the unemployed, and for the poor, and if yes, upto what extent did they benefit from this, across states, across districts, and across villages in a district too. Instead, we have set Pakistan as a benchmark in many cases. Do we too wish to become a Hindu Pakistan? Is that what we want? Let me ask Vedavati jee here and others as well. If in Bangladesh tomorrow 100 Hindus are burnt, should we respond by burning 100 Muslims here? Tell me this. I think these questions are imperative, and in times of elections, should be asked by the media to the BJP leaders. I think as a state, we should set up benchmarks based on principle of reason and justice. And that's where we should move towards, rather than surpassing China in terms of power, or becoming a Hindu version of Pakistan, and portraying our 'mardangi' by nuking them or by killing our Muslims. I don't think any Gujarati Hindu who went about raping women post-Godhra ever became a 'mard' by doing so in the name of Lord Ram or revenge, for very souls of those died in Godhra and Lord Ram himself, must be ashamed of what happened in their name. But I think this question should be solved for once and for all as well here. How many people (Indian non-Muslims) don't trust Indian Muslims? And why? This is the question we need to ask. We have avoided this for long, and have been giving explanations like 'our culture is composite', 'we are all human beings', 'we are all the same' and all this. The fact is that Modi and his folk won't listen to all this, so now we need to question them instead of answering them. Let these folk also do some answering to their part, because our reasons would never satisfy them unless they are forced to think rationally too. The other thing I feel, is that these rational discourses may still not be useful. We have been discussing about how our culture is composite, and this and that? May be what is needed now is conversation and communication between people. Hence, we need to get a public common education system being the same for all, which should be mandatory and compulsory for all. No discrimination must be allowed here. Moreover, colleges should not be based anymore on minority or majority basis, and instead reservations must be provided (the guidelines of which can be discussed certainly). Moreover, we also need to have public forums where such issues can be discussed. And certainly, leaders like Modi and Advani must be questioned on the issues of mistrust they have with Muslims of India, to expose them and their party (or set of parties), on the fallacies on which they live. Regards Rakesh From bridgetkustin at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 22:46:21 2009 From: bridgetkustin at gmail.com (Bridget Kustin) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:16:21 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] IRIN: BANGLADESH: Fears for social stability as migrant workers return Message-ID: <8d2a79ac0903261016k71e065b7y32409fc0fdc49cab@mail.gmail.com> Humanitarian news and analysis UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs BANGLADESH: Fears for social stability as migrant workers return DHAKA, 26 March 2009 (IRIN) - Abdul Monsur has good reason to worry. After losing his job as a pipe welder in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) he was deported to Bangladesh. [See also: BANGLADESH: Global financial crunch set to cut remittances] “I sold my land and borrowed almost 1.75 lakh taka (US$2,550) from my relatives to get this job,” the father-of-four, who paid more than $3,500 to a local job recruiter six months earlier to secure the job, told IRIN. “I still haven’t been able to pay off the debt,” he said. Such stories are not uncommon. Layoffs and forced repatriation of Bangladeshi workers from the Middle East and Malaysia (the two primary destinations for Bangladeshi workers) are increasing at an alarming rate. According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, some 13,000 were sent back in the first two months of 2009. On 11 March, Malaysia decided to revoke the visas of some 55,000 Bangladeshi workers. Ghulam Mustafa, president of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, expressed concern over the number of returning workers. “If this continues for long, I am afraid Bangladesh might plunge into a great economic and social crisis,” he told IRIN. He feared that the annual outflow of migrant workers might fall by nearly half in 2009 - to below 500,000 from a record high of 875,000 in 2008. Reliance on remittances Bangladesh is the fifth highest remittance-earning country in the world. In the last fiscal year (July 2007-June 2008), remittances totalled US$10.7 billion, accounting for 10 percent of gross domestic product, according to the central bank. The sharp drop in oil prices over the past few months has affected the construction sector in places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, causing migrant workers to be laid off. Motasim Billah, manpower consultant and owner of a recruiting agency, described the current situation as grim. “The real estate business has taken a major blow in the Middle East due to the recession. As most of the Bangladeshis work for construction companies, they are now facing the axe,” he told IRIN. The UAE hired 23,978 Bangladeshi workers last December and 25,463 in January, although over the past few years it had been hiring an average of 36,000 workers monthly. After a 10-year ban, Malaysia resumed hiring Bangladeshi workers in August 2006 and had recruited around 400,000 since then, but recently numbers have declined dramatically. Diplomatic efforts Meanwhile, as concern about the returning migrant workers rises, the government is making diplomatic efforts. At a briefing at the National Press Club in Dhaka on 16 March, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said Bangladesh had formally asked the Malaysian high commissioner in Dhaka to review its visa decision. She also said it was time to look around for new labour markets. Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Khandker Musharraf Hossain said: “We have moved to explore new markets like Libya and Romania.” Worldwide, around 6.2 million Bangladeshis are migrant workers. Of these about 2.2 million are employed in Saudi Arabia; one million in UAE, Kuwait and other Arab countries; and 800,000 in Malaysia. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), “increasingly, migration is recognised as a livelihood option and a major development issue for Bangladesh.” “In many developing countries, remittances provide a lifeline for the poor,” said Dilip Ratha, senior economist and co-author of the World Bank report Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008. as/ds/cb Themes: (IRIN) Early Warning, (IRIN) Economy [ENDS] Report can be found online at: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83649 From navayana at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 23:05:19 2009 From: navayana at gmail.com (Navayana Publishing) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:05:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dalits for Asian College of Journalism, Chennai Message-ID: In 2006, Navayana had lobbied with Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, for the intake of Dalit students. Since then ACJ has institutionalised (up to) four scholarships for Dalit/Adivasi students. The ACJ website says: ACJ offers full scholarships for up to 4 Dalit students in the Class of 2010. The scholarships cover tuition fees, accommodation expenses and a living allowance per month. Aspiring candidates may apply and take the entrance test at one of the locations specified. ACJ will invite successful candidates for an interview at the college. ACJ will reimburse candidates shortlisted for interview second class train fare from their places of residence to Chennai and back. Candidates seeking this scholarship must produce proof of their caste and economic status. GRADUATES in any discipline and students awaiting their degree examination results are eligible to apply. SELECTION is based on an entrance examination conducted at various centres in India and abroad in late May 2009 and a personal interview at the college in Chennai in mid June 2009. A demand draft for* Rs. 1000/**-* favouring *‘Media Development Foundation’*payable at Chennai must accompany your application. The last date for receipt of completed applications is *April 30, 2009. * The course design and application form are available online at *www.asianmedia.org.in (OR) www.asianmedia.org* or at the Office of the Registrar, Asian College of Journalism, 124 Wallajah Road, Chennai-600 002, India. Telephone: +91-44-28418254/55, 28526227, 28526249; Feel free to direct queries regarding ACJ and the fellowships to krish.navayana at gmail.com. (Krish is an ACJ 2008 alumnus who is now an intern with Navayana.) Please ensure the widest circulation of this mail on all university/ college notice boards. www.navayana.org Navayana 120, Ground Floor Shahpur Jat New Delhi 110049 Landline: +91-11-26494795 Mobile: +91-9971433117 Visit us at U450 at London Book Fair, 20-22 April 2009 From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 23:57:46 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:57:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha >From what I get, the right to life is a natural right and must be given. Now as per what you have written, first of all, international law can also be a guarantor of rights. However, from what I know (and this could either contradict your assumption, or may be you may be still right) about international law, any international law has to be implemented properly by an international organization. However, in today's times, all nations operate on the principle of sovereignty, and hence any international law is valid only if the national law is either the same, or any nation ratifies the international law. Hence, on that aspect, even though indirectly, it's the nation which guarantees whether any particular right is given to the citizen or not. Secondly, the fact that people had to fight from nation-states to get rights is itself indicative of the fact that it's the nation states which have to provide rights to citizens, and nobody else can do so, probably because it's the state apparatus which is the most powerful in any society, be it in any form. Thirdly, for the non-bonafide citizens of the world, I think that first of all, they are guaranteed rights based on international laws, which as I earlier have stated, can be implemented depending upon whether the state apparatus of the nation concerned, decides to use them or not. What I wish to say here, is that I feel a nation-state apparatus is probably a reality which can't be wished away, howsoever much we try to do so. And while maybe theoretically it's right that there are agencies which can guarantee rights, practically speaking, these rights are guaranteed directly or indirectly by nation-state. So it is useless probably to argue again and again against the states and their apparatus. It would be much better if we can change the very nature of the state, to improve the lives of the people. Regards Rakesh From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 27 03:17:25 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:47:25 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-106 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903261447l129e12fet5caeb22098404ff9@mail.gmail.com> http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/CEOs_Respond_to_BJP_IT_Vision_Document/551-100108-912.html CEOs Respond to BJP IT Vision Document By Manu Sharma Bangalore, Mar 17, 2009 1518 hrs IST As most election manifestos go, BJP's IT Vision Document, recently put up on its official website, promises a lot - ranging from generating 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in rural areas, introducing IT in education and healthcare services, to making available laptops at Rs 10,000 to 1 crore students and setting up Digital Security Agency. Following are some of the reactions to the vision document from CIOs and CEOs CXOtoday spoke to. Vivek Kulkarni, former IT secretary of Karnataka, who is now the chairman and CEO of BrickWork India, said, "The IT vision of BJP will really come handy for creation of new job opportunities in the IT and ITeS sector in India where we still have a large percentage of unemployed graduates struggling to provide their services for the growth of the country." Sudhindra Mokhasi, founder & CEO of e-Sutra, sees the document as overall a comprehensive and ambitious statement of intent, especially the open source preference, e-governance thrust, wider last-mile internet access, 100 million low-cost computers, education and financing. "In a few cases it's probably better to let the incremental approach like converting post offices into e-service centers and creating higher density of Internet kiosks to take root before attempting ambitious plans like smart phones for bank access for all BPL population," Mokhasi said. Similarly more robust envisioning needs to be done to ensure that providers of the solutions are predominantly Indian IT companies so there is a full 360 degree of benefit to the Indian society," said Mokhasi. In all, however, most of these vision statements are significantly focused on the infrastructure supply, education and empowerment side of the divide," he said. Terming the document a positive intent, Ramakrishna Voruganti, managing director of Barracuda Networks (India), said, MNIC will help traceability of transactions and will result in better tax collections. "Having an open standard and adaptation of open source will level the playing field for enterprises. The cyber security initiative and the establishment of DSA will provide enormous possibilities for Indian IT security professionals while providing opportunities for organizations like Barracuda Networks, who have been in the forefront of countering cyber threats," Voruganti said. Ajay Dhir, CIO of Jindal Steel, said the multipurpose national identity card (MNIC) with unique citizen identification number for every Indian citizen is a good initiative. "Besides, the other schemes like IT-enabled jobs in rural areas, 1 crore students to get laptop computers at Rs 10,000 are all good schemes. Overall, one can say that it is a progressive vision." The initiative to provide IT-enabled jobs was also welcomed by Voruganti especially since the government is acting a catalyst rather than as an agency. "The linking of PHCs, schools and colleges, use of IT in agriculture, rural development, SMEs, retail trade, informal and unorganised will greatly impact at the grassroots, will improve the off-farm employment in the villages, and prevent labour migration," he said. Some of the measures are populist, but that is expected during the polls, was the general sentiment about BJP's IT Vision Document. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 27 03:20:08 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:50:08 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-107 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903261450u5084ebc0sb9795cd500d3ebd2@mail.gmail.com> http://www.littleabout.com/2009/03/06/residents-in-kashmir-border-areas-get-multi-purpose-identity-cards/ Residents in Kashmir border areas get multi-purpose identity cards “We used to hear about reports stating that many duplicate cards were also being used by the people. But these cards are so well made that it is difficult to duplicate them,” said Rajinder Kumar, another resident. These MNIC cards will prove to be an effective way to keep a check on the infiltrators by segregating them from the Indian nationals. The MNIC carries a micro-chip giving full information of a person along with a photograph of the person. It will prevent instances of detention by the army or police on mere suspicions of links to militant outfits. “This card will prevent the arrest and detention of innocents by the police and army. Many a time innocents used to be arrested under suspicion of being militants, but this card will help prevent that,” said Omprakash Khajuria, a resident. The micro-chip also prevents the duplication of an MNIC, which is valid up to a period of ten years. “We used to hear about reports stating that many duplicate cards were also being used by the people. But these cards are so well made that it is difficult to duplicate them,” said Rajinder Kumar, another resident. These MNIC cards will prove to be an effective way to keep a check on the infiltrators by segregating them from the Indian nationals. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 27 03:21:29 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:51:29 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-108 Message-ID: <65be9bf40903261451hee51e07u97f131d5991ad663@mail.gmail.com> http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/MNIC_Program_Pilots_in_Coastal_India/551-99783-912.html Multipurpose Identity Card Project Gets Under Way By Muntazir Abbas Delhi, Mar 06, 2009 0911 hrs IST In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, the need for single multipurpose national identity cards in India has increased manifold. The card will have a single number for your voter card, driving license, or passport. A pilot project is presently under way in more than 12 regions, including coastal states and Union Territories, and would cover a population of more than 30 lakh in its first phase. The micro processor chip-based identity cards with a picture and finger biometrics will be issued to the coastal inhabitants, including fishermen who have attained the age of 18. According to Onkar Kedia, spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Office of the Registrar General of India will be the nodal office for the implementation of this project. The government in the current budget has already earmarked Rs 100 crore for the comprehensive process towards the National Authority of Unique Identity under the National Planning Commission. The MNIC cards will be designed to support more than 300,000 Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) write cycles and could retain data for over 10 years with a memory of 16 KB. The states under pilot project include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa. In addition, it will cover Union Territories of Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Government of India expects to offer the permanent identity cards to all persons in the National Population Register by 2010. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 27 03:33:33 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:03:33 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Muslims unfair target of FBI surveillance Message-ID: <65be9bf40903261503r4e9ea410yafccf1af611d0f11@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Considering the fact people having the 'Islam' as a religious tag are in the news for mostly wrong reasons, that government organizations the world over are becoming wary of Muslims. And in a country like the US where preemption has of lately emerged as the name of the game that it is but natural to put 'Muslims' under scanner. The story below is a testimony to an unfortunate fallout, a collateral damage, really, if you may, of policies we allow our governments to pursue in the name of securing us, protecting us. Warm regards Taha http://www.cnjonline.com/opinion/unfair_33015___article.html/muslims_act.html Muslims unfair target of FBI surveillance Supporters of the Patriot Act and other expansive efforts to fight the “war on terror” often mock claims by civil libertarians that aggressive federal spying powers within the United States undermines civil liberties. We’ve often heard conservatives ask critics to name anyone who has lost any freedoms because of the government’s post-9/11 powers. Yet such dismissive attitudes toward government snooping are easily rebutted by recent events in California. A convicted con artist named Craig Monteilh admitted last month that he infiltrated Orange County mosques on behalf of the FBI and recorded conversations about the possibility of blowing up buildings. Although the FBI won’t confirm Monteilh’s identity, the agency acknowledges that one suspect had been secretly recorded by an informant, according to a news report. Muslims say Monteilh, who went by Farouk al-Aziz, tried to bait them into discussing radical politics. Hussam Ayloush, head of the greater Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Anaheim, said Monteilh went from one young Muslim to another and engaged in radical discourse that promoted terrorism. Some people, he said, stopped going to mosque to avoid these discussions. Some mosque-goers contacted the FBI to report the incident but were referred to the Irvine Police Department, he said. Ayloush said those men who called the authorities then became the subject of FBI interrogations. We’ve heard reports that Muslims are afraid to talk about politics or civil liberties issues within their mosques or even among their friends because of fear it will draw attention from undercover agents. We agree with Ayloush, that “there should not be a presumption of guilt among an entire community.” This could backfire, he explained, as the FBI should supposedly work with American Muslims in the event of a terrorist threat, not treat them as adversaries by creating fear of surveillance within mosques. Everyone understands the need for legitimate undercover activities in response to credible evidence. But we cannot fathom the justification for fishing expeditions and entrapment. Nationwide, some of the supposed terrorist “plots” the FBI has claimed to have foiled have simply been cases of entrapment involving Muslims without the intent or wherewithal to pull off any attacks. Infiltrating mosques without evidence of crime is an affront to the First Amendment. We know the retort from the law-and-order crowd: If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to fear. That is the motto of a police state. Law-abiding, honest, terrorism-hating Americans have every legitimate reason to watch their words in front of a federal agent. No one wants to face trouble with powerful government agencies. So the natural tendency is to stay quiet or avoid places the government might be monitoring. That’s what people always have done in totalitarian and authoritarian nations. The FBI’s activities have led a consortium of Muslim groups to “consider suspending ongoing outreach efforts with the FBI.” We can hardly blame them. Perhaps the Obama administration will rethink this counterproductive and un-American strategy. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Fri Mar 27 03:55:16 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:25:16 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House In-Reply-To: <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce@mail.gmail.com> References: <65be9bf40903241657i1015ef4k1733642a985158ce@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903261525q7b8224b6vb35bd6eb583954eb@mail.gmail.com> Dear all The full article is now available to us on the list, courtesy- S S Sandhu. The article quite clearly suggests that the Obamaspeak of 'change' and 'yes we can' may not necessarily result in actually changing some policies of the Bush administration, especially those pertaining to surveillance. Regards Taha SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some surveillance policies. Saturday, March 21, 2009 by Shane Harris Special Report Obama's Agenda: Surveillance Shane Harris Has Obama held his position steady since the presidential campaign, made a course change from his 2008 promises, or pursued an issue new on his agenda? Read National Journal's guide to his surveillance agenda. Select other issues in this series below. Choose an issueInternet PolicyTrade Health Care PakistanCounter-terrorismHousingGlobal WarmingInfrastructure It was February 12, 2008, and then-Sen. Barack Obama faced an easy vote. The Senate was about to take up the hotly debated question of whether telecommunications companies should be exempt from civil lawsuits alleging that they helped the Bush administration illegally spy on Americans. Opponents of the terrorist surveillance program, which bypassed federal law calling for court-approved search warrants for such eavesdropping, brought the suits, and Obama agreed with the litigants that if companies broke the law -- regardless of the assurances they received from the government that their participation was lawful -- they should be held to account. Obama's opposition to the so-called immunity provision during his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination solidified his support among liberal activists, the technologically savvy Net-roots of his party, and burnished his anti-Bush bona fides. The Senate took up the controversy that morning, as an amendment to a pending bill that would modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (This was the law that the litigants accused the administration of violating.) The proposed revisions to FISA would dramatically expand the government's surveillance capabilities, giving it greater leeway to conduct surveillance of terrorism suspects and other foreign groups without obtaining individual search warrants from the FISA court. The communications of American citizens would undoubtedly be caught up in that electronic dragnet. Whether the immunity provision should be part of this new law was on the table. Obama voted to remove it, putting him at odds with the majority of his colleagues. So, with the Senate in support of immunity, that left the question of whether Obama would oppose the overall changes to FISA, which the Senate took up later the same day. When the moment came to cast his vote, however, Obama didn't vote at all. He was one of three senators to take no position; the others were Hillary Rodham Clinton, then his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, voted for the bill. Obama had seemingly backed off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance policies. His position was challenged again a few weeks later when the candidate's top intelligence adviser said in an interview with National Journal that he personally favored immunity for the telecom companies. John Brennan's remarks ignited controversy, and some of Obama's supporters called upon the candidate to dismiss him. That would affirm, they seemed to think, Obama's loyal opposition to the legislation moving through Congress, which Brennan, in the interview, said had become "embroiled now in a partisan debate in some quarters." Obama was still on record against immunity and through a spokesperson confirmed that he thought the companies' liability was "more appropriately a decision for the judiciary." In July, almost five months after the immunity vote, Obama finally had to face the music. The Senate took up another FISA-changing bill, which the House had passed. It included immunity, and it would give the government broad authority to monitor communications outside the traditional search-warrant process. Sixty-nine senators voted in favor of the bill. Obama was one of them. President Bush signed the bill into law the next day. No Turning Back Candidate Obama's reversal on warrantless surveillance was the first major break with his most loyal supporters, and it remains a sore spot during the first months of his presidency. On his second full day in office, Obama earned some goodwill among the base by issuing two important executive orders. One would close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year (although the fate of the nearly 250 prisoners there remains very much in question), and the other requires the CIA to follow the same interrogation rules as the military. That order effectively barred waterboarding, a harsh interrogation technique that intelligence officials say was rarely used but that many experts say is torture, and certainly was a potent symbol of past policies that Obama wanted to cleanly break from. But on the hot-button issue of surveillance, Obama has shown no intention to turn back or break in a new direction. Indeed, most of what the Bush administration did under the cover of secrecy is now legal under the surveillance law that Obama voted for last summer, seven weeks before he accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Obama has chosen Brennan, his onetime intelligence adviser and telecom immunity supporter, to be his chief homeland-security and counter-terrorism adviser in the White House. And in January, a federal Appeals Court strengthened Obama's hand when it published its opinion that the executive branch can claim an exemption to the Fourth Amendment's requirement for a court-ordered search warrant. If the government is monitoring the communications of foreigners overseas, it need not seek a warrant to do so, even if Americans are a party to those communications, the court ruled. When it comes to his surveillance authorities, then, Obama has clear sail ing ahead of him and the wind at his back. "The duty of the Justice Department is to defend statutes that have been passed by Congress, unless there is some very compelling reason not to." --Eric Holder The opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review -- only the second in the history of this panel, which was set up to review FISA-related cases -- doesn't settle the issue of whether President Bush violated the law when he authorized warrantless surveillance after the 9/11 attacks. Nor does it give Obama free rein to target Americans directly without search warrants. The law for which he voted forbids it. "This was not a blank check by any means," legal scholar Orin Kerr wrote of the court opinion and its implications for future presidents. Steven Schwinn, an associate professor of constitutional law at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, also stressed that the court opinion applies only to surveillance activities that Congress has specifically authorized in the various FISA acts. "It said nothing about the president's inherent Article II power to authorize the secret surveillance program," Schwinn wrote. (Bush had asserted an "extravagant" interpretation of his constitutional surveillance authorities, according to former Justice Department official Jack Goldsmith, who threatened to resign in 2004 over aspects of the surveillance program that he believed could not be supported by law.) "Bush administration supporters who praise this opinion as a vindication of Bush's sweeping claims of inherent Article II powers simply misread the opinion," Schwinn wrote. But just because Obama's berth is wide doesn't mean it's free of conflict. The legal opinions justifying warrantless surveillance remain secret. And electronic privacy and civil-liberties groups are still pressing the president to circumvent the immunity provisions that he ultimately voted for, a potentially tricky legal maneuver that would also hold tremendous political consequences. Both McCain and Clinton questioned whether candidate Obama had the requisite experience and fortitude to fight a global war on terrorism; in that conflict, surveillance has been one of the United States' primary weapons. The Legacy Question Obama faces pressure from his base to make a demonstrable turn away from Bush-era policies. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, for one, wants the administration to put the civil lawsuits against the telecommunications companies back in play. Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney with the group, said that could happen in any one of a few ways, all of which involve the new attorney general, Eric Holder. First, Obama could tell Holder to simply withdraw the government's current motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity provision, reversing course from the Bush Justice Department. Or, Obama could tell Holder to ask the courts to temporarily stay the proceedings while the administration comes up to speed on the cases and awaits the findings of several inspectors general, whose reports on the warrantless surveillance program are expected in July. But there is a third route, Bankston said. Obama could instruct Holder not to appeal a case that Bankston's group brought last December before a federal District Court judge. It argues that the immunity provision violates constitutional separation of powers because the attorney general -- not a judge -- gets to determine unilaterally that any warrantless surveillance was both lawful and deemed necessary to protect national security. If the attorney general says that the surveillance met those criteria, then by law a judge must dismiss any lawsuit against a telecom company. It's doubtful that the judge who is pondering the case will pick that fight with the new administration. Judge Vaughn Walker, the chief judge of the Northern District of California, heard oral arguments before Obama nominated Holder. "Why shouldn't the court wait to see what the new attorney general will do?" the judge asked. During his confirmation hearing, Holder gave the response. "President-elect Obama was against the [immunity provision]," he said, "but nevertheless voted for the statute that contained that immunity." The immunity question is now a matter of law, Holder said, and "the duty of the Justice Department is to defend statutes that have been passed by Congress, unless there is some very compelling reason not to. "It would seem to me," he continued, "that unless there are compelling reasons, even given the opposition ... I don't think that we would reverse course." That could well be the new president's guiding mantra when it comes to his broad, and now legal, surveillance powers. This is the ninth in an ongoing series looking at an issue on President Obama's agenda. The entire series can be found at NationalJournal.com/agenda. Next week: Criminal justice. On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 11:57 PM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>wrote: > Dear all > > The article below seems interesting. Unfortunately I could not access > the article because it is only available to subscribers. I would be > grateful to anyone on the list who subscribes to the National Journal > and is willing to share this article with us. > > Regards > > Taha > > > > http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090321_6471.php > > SURVEILLANCE: OBAMA AND THE ISSUES > Bush Surveillance Policies Live On In Obama White House > The new president has changed his tune from the campaign trail on some > surveillance policies. > > by Shane Harris > > Saturday, March 21, 2009 > > Barack Obama began backing off his opposition to Bush-era surveillance > policies while running for president last year. Now that he's in the > Oval Office, he has shown no intention of turning back or taking a new > direction. > From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 08:46:24 2009 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:16:24 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] BANGLADESH: Darbar Hall, 9 am, as the Massacre Starts Message-ID: Photos from first minutes of BDR/Darbar Hall massacre are circulating on email, Facebook and were also printed in Daily Star today. Note: Captions compiled from various emails. We do not have independent verification of captions, please treat as hypothesis. http://unheardvoice.net/blog/2009/03/27/bdr-9am/ From vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com Fri Mar 27 09:48:07 2009 From: vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:48:07 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi Message-ID: <296718.39805.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> we should not burn 100 muslims in india but 1) we should not let muslims burn hindus in india either examples- kashmir and godhra and many more.   2) we should not hesitate to stand by our hindu brothers in pakistan and bangladesh. because they don't have any secular -human rights brigade in these countries.   'eye for eye will make the whole world blind' -mahatma had said. but if we don't defend ourselves there are chances, this  enemy will make us totally blind.   rather we have already experienced it in 1947 unfortunately we have not learnt any lesson from the history.   vedavati       --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Cc: "Vedavati Jogi" , "sarai list" Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 8:17 PM Dear all First of all I am very happy that such an article has been put up. Having been a consistent reader of Vir Sanghvi's column in Hindustan Times over the past few years, I must say that he has stopped any kind of researching, which I consider an essential part in journalism. I believe that if research into one area has stopped, then it should be started into some other area. After reading Sanghvi's articles, I realize he goes on speaking about the same things in a merry-go-round. As far as Sanghvi's article goes, I agree with the above mentioned points that it is quite far from reality. Considering that about 35% of the Muslim population in the nation (based on Census and obtained from Sachar Committee's report), lives in cities, and most of this population lives in ghettoes (old city areas generally), and is poor, one would have to see the way the state has abandoned itself from its responsibilites in these areas. Looking at my own city Bhopal, I can say that not only has the administrative work shifted to new city buildings for many purposes, what's more, the old city suffers many problems related to water, sewage and other kinds handled generally by the municipal corporation, on a daily basis, much more than what the new city (read Hindu-dominated areas), face. The economic situation of Muslims is already very poor, and most Muslim ghettoes in India also don't have proper education facilities (or even private based schools),  to educate their children. Hence, they have to send their children to madrassas. And then, our Vedavati jee and their folk go hammer and tongs at these madrassas for giving 'terrorist education' to them, when in the first place they should talk about the lack of education facilities given to them. In India, we keep on asking for one ban after the other. When 'Water' was supposed to be made in Varanasi by Deepa Mehta, the RSS goons stopped it and created violence. When the 'revenge' had to be taken for Gujarat, the very same organizations indulged in mass-rapes of women, something unheard of even in pre-1992 Gujarat riots by and large. Infact, even districts unaffected in any riot since independence witnessed massive violence. And then our great Modi has the courage to say this: 'Not more than 100 died in the violence, and that too due to police firing'. Later on, he said there was no violence at all. If there was no violence, how come there was the need for police firing?? Hence Sanghvi was definitely wrong in that article. Inspite of this, I can say that India is on a slightly better footing while treating its minorities in practice, for at least they are considered as equal with the majority community (read Hindus), and even cases in post-Godhra can be re-investigated again and again, while whether I can say the same for Pakistan or not, is something I am not sure of. While constitutionally Pakistan is an Islamic republic, we are a 'secular, socialist, democratic republic', and through constant practice of democracy, can at least get our voice heard. (Muslims did in the election mandate of 2004, critically in UP and Bihar). The second part is with respect to this harsh truth. I don't feel comparisons are the way to find out whether we are doing the right thing or not. And if any comparison is to be made, let us do an intra-country comparison to find out whether we have done enough for our minorities, for our scheduled caste brothers, for the scheduled tribes, for the women, for the children, for the unemployed, and for the poor, and if yes, upto what extent did they benefit from this, across states, across districts, and across villages in a district too. Instead, we have set Pakistan as a benchmark in many cases. Do we too wish to become a Hindu Pakistan? Is that what we want? Let me ask Vedavati jee here and others as well. If in Bangladesh tomorrow 100 Hindus are burnt, should we respond by burning 100 Muslims here? Tell me this. I think these questions are imperative, and in times of elections, should be asked by the media to the BJP leaders. I think as a state, we should set up benchmarks based on principle of reason and justice. And that's where we should move towards, rather than surpassing China in terms of power, or becoming a Hindu version of Pakistan, and portraying our 'mardangi' by nuking them or by killing our Muslims. I don't think any Gujarati Hindu who went about raping women post-Godhra ever became a 'mard' by doing so in the name of Lord Ram or revenge, for very souls of those died in Godhra and Lord Ram himself, must be ashamed of what happened in their name. But I think this question should be solved for once and for all as well here. How many people (Indian non-Muslims) don't trust Indian Muslims? And why? This is the question we need to ask. We have avoided this for long, and have been giving explanations like 'our culture is composite', 'we are all human beings', 'we are all the same' and all this. The fact is that Modi and his folk won't listen to all this, so now we need to question them instead of answering them. Let these folk also do some answering to their part, because our reasons would never satisfy them unless they are forced to think rationally too. The other thing I feel, is that these rational discourses may still not be useful. We have been discussing about how our culture is composite, and this and that? May be what is needed now is conversation and communication between people. Hence, we need to get a public common education system being the same for all, which should be mandatory and compulsory for all. No discrimination must be allowed here. Moreover, colleges should not be based anymore on minority or majority basis, and instead reservations must be provided (the guidelines of which can be discussed certainly). Moreover, we also need to have public forums where such issues can be discussed. And certainly, leaders like Modi and Advani must be questioned on the issues of mistrust they have with Muslims of India, to expose them and their party (or set of parties), on the fallacies on which they live. Regards Rakesh Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname at rocketmail.com. Sign up now! Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Fri Mar 27 10:43:57 2009 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:13:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <33608.59492.qm@web94702.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <399571.6486.qm@web51407.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear Vedavati I am not a defender of Pakistan or Pakistani Muslims. Personally I don't care if they are different or the same or an evil or whatever. I was only reacting to Vir Sanghvi's write-up who presents the most shallow and immature reasons to prove that they are not the same as us. If you read your mail carefully, I have made it very clear, and I quote again: "If Pakistanis are not the same people as us (Indians) simply because over last 60 years they have grown to become something else (something of an evil), haven't we Indians grown to become something else? What makes Mr.Sanghvi think that among the twins separated at birth one has gone in the right direction while the other one has been spoiled. But talking about the same-ness, at one level even the residents of Amritsar and Lahore have been very different (even before 1947), and at another level, the people of Kabul and Kandhamal are the same, even today." Let me know what you find wrong in the above statement. cheers Yousuf --- On Fri, 3/27/09, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > From: Vedavati Jogi > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Date: Friday, March 27, 2009, 10:29 AM > > first let me know what made you think that there is no > difference between 'them' and 'us'? >   > vedavati > > --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Yousuf > wrote: > > > From: Yousuf > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > Sanghvi > To: "Vedavati Jogi" > , "sarai list" > > Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 7:29 PM > > > > Dear Vedavati ji > Even I don't have an answer to that question. Maybe its > there in my genes: to love the Pakistani Muslims. I think I > should get my "P" gene surgically removed, and get > the enemy gene inserted. > > By the way, what in my previous mail made you think that I, > being an Indian Muslim, have an affinity to Pakistani > Muslims? > > Yousuf > > > --- On Thu, 3/26/09, Vedavati Jogi > wrote: > > > From: Vedavati Jogi > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > Sanghvi > > To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > > Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 4:02 PM > > > one thing i don't understand, 'why do indian > > muslims like you possess so much affinity for > > pakistani muslims'? you may or may not accept, > but most > > of the indian population look upon them as enemies . > > vedavati > > > > > --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Yousuf > > wrote: > > > > > > From: Yousuf > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > > Sanghvi > > To: "Sarai" , > > "Wali Arifi" > > Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 2:43 PM > > > > > > > > Thanks Wali Arifi for posting this write-up. > > I am amazed at the shallowness of the analysis made by > such > > an experienced journalist. If one can get to know > about the > > people of a certain country simply by observing the > most > > apparent signs (as seen on TV) of last few days and > > generalize that they are evil or different or > whatever, > > compared to us, then I think Vir Sanghvi is right. But > I am > > sure such a simple generalization could even be made > by a > > 6th grade school student brought up on a diet of TV > news. > > > > If Pakistanis are not the same people as us (Indians) > > simply because over last 60 years they have grown to > become > > something else (something of an evil), haven't we > > Indians grown to become something else? What makes > > Mr.Sanghvi think that among the twins separated at > birth one > > has gone in the right direction while the other one > has been > > spoiled. > > > > But talking about the same-ness, at one level even the > > residents of Amritsar and Lahore have been very > different > > (even before 1947), and at another level, the people > of > > Kabul and Kandhamal are the same, even today. Am I not > > right? > > > > Yousuf > > > > > > --- On Thu, 3/26/09, Wali Arifi > > wrote: > > > > > From: Wali Arifi > > > Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir > > Sanghvi > > > To: "Sarai" > > > > Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 11:07 AM > > > Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times > > > March 07, 2009 > > > First Published: 21:47 IST(7/3/2009) > > > > > > The same people? Surely not > > > > > > Few things annoy me as much as the claim often > > advanced by > > > well-meaning but woolly- headed (and usually > Punjabi) > > > liberals to the > > > effect that when it comes to India and Pakistan, > > > "We’re all the same > > > people, yaar." > > > > > > This may have been true once upon a time. Before > 1947, > > > Pakistan was > > > part of undivided India and you could claim that > > Punjabis > > > from West > > > Punjab (what is now Pakistan) were as Indian as, > say, > > > Tamils from > > > Madras. > > > > > > But time has a way of moving on. And while the > gap > > between > > > our > > > Punjabis (from east Punjab which is now the only > > Punjab > > > left in India) > > > and our Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks > to > > > improved > > > communications, shared popular culture and > greater > > physical > > > mobility, > > > the gap between Indians and Pakistanis has now > widened > > to > > > the extent > > > that we are no longer the same people in any > > significant > > > sense. > > > > > > This was brought home to me most clearly by two > major > > > events over the > > > last few weeks. > > > > > > The first of these was the attack on the Sri > Lankan > > cricket > > > team on > > > the streets of Lahore. In their defence, > Pakistanis > > said > > > that they > > > were powerless to act against the terrorists > because > > > religious > > > fanaticism was growing. Each day more misguided > > youngsters > > > joined > > > jihadi outfits and the law and order situation > > worsened. > > > > > > Further, they added, things had got so bad that > in the > > > tribal areas > > > the government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend > the > > rule > > > of law under > > > pressure from the Taliban and had conceded that > sharia > > law > > > would reign > > > instead. Interestingly, while most civilised > liberals > > > should have been > > > appalled by this surrender to the forces of > extremism, > > many > > > Pakistanis > > > defended this concession. > > > > > > Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even > > declared > > > that sharia > > > law would be better because justice would be > dispensed > > more > > > swiftly! > > > (I know this is politically incorrect but the > Loin of > > the > > > Punjab’s > > > defence of sharia law reminded me of the famous > > Private Eye > > > cover when > > > his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was announced. > The > > Eye > > > carried a > > > picture of Khan speaking to Jemima’s father. > “Can > > I > > > have your > > > daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly asking > > James > > > Goldsmith. “Why? > > > Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith > replied. > > So > > > much for > > > sharia law.) > > > > > > The second contrasting event was one that took > place > > in Los > > > Angeles > > > but which was perhaps celebrated more in India > than in > > any > > > other > > > country in the world. Three Indians won Oscars: > A.R. > > > Rahman, Resul > > > Pookutty and Gulzar. > > > > > > Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We > were > > proud > > > of our > > > countrymen. We were pleased that India’s > > entertainment > > > industry and > > > its veterans had been recognised at an > international > > > platform. And all > > > three men became even bigger heroes than they > already > > were. > > > > > > But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a > Hindu. > > > > > > Can you imagine such a thing happening in > Pakistan? > > Can you > > > even > > > conceive of a situation where the whole country > would > > > celebrate the > > > victory of three members of two religious > minorities? > > For > > > that matter, > > > can you even imagine a situation where people > from > > > religious > > > minorities would have got to the top of their > fields > > and > > > were, > > > therefore, in the running for international > awards? > > > > > > On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing > sharia > > law, > > > doing deals > > > with the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, > > declaring > > > jihad on the > > > world and trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan > > cricketers. On > > > the other, > > > you have the triumph of Indian secularism. > > > > > > The same people? > > > > > > Surely not. > > > > > > We are defined by our nationality. They choose to > > define > > > themselves by > > > their religion. > > > > > > But it gets even more complicated. As you > probably > > know, > > > Rahman was > > > born Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he > was > > 21. His > > > religious > > > preferences made no difference to his prospects. > Even > > now, > > > his music > > > cuts across all religious boundaries. He’s as > much > > at > > > home with Sufi > > > music as he is with > > > bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying > > ‘Vande > > > Mataram’. > > > > > > Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan. > Can you > > > conceive of a > > > Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at > the > > age of > > > 21 and > > > still went on to become a national hero? Under > sharia > > law, > > > they’d > > > probably have to execute him. > > > > > > Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting > case. > > Until > > > you realise > > > that Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the > rest > > of us > > > would put an > > > ‘a,’ (Ravi becomes Revi and sometimes the > Gulf > > becomes > > > the Gelf), you > > > cannot work out that his name derives from > Rasool, a > > fairly > > > obviously > > > Islamic name. > > > > > > But here’s the point: even when you point out > to > > people > > > that Pookutty > > > is in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It > > makes no > > > difference to > > > them. He’s an authentic Indian hero, his > religion is > > > irrelevant. > > > > > > Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a > > man’s > > > religion? Can > > > you believe that Pakistanis would not know that > one of > > > their Oscar > > > winners came from a religious minority? And would > any > > > Pakistani have > > > dared bridge the religious divide in the manner > Resul > > did > > > by referring > > > to the primeval power of Om in his acceptance > speech? > > > > > > The same people? > > > > > > Surely not. > > > > > > Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who > many > > > Indians believe > > > is a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his > real > > name is > > > Sampooran > > > Singh Kalra. > > > > > > So why does he have a Muslim name? > > > > > > It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show > some > > years > > > ago. He was > > > born in West Pakistan and came over the border > during > > the > > > bloody days > > > of Partition. He had seen so much hatred and > religious > > > violence on > > > both sides, he said, that he was determined never > to > > lose > > > himself to > > > that kind of blind religious prejudice and > fanaticism. > > > > > > Rather than blame Muslims for the violence > inflicted > > on his > > > community > > > — after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with > equal > > ferocity > > > — he adopted > > > a Muslim pen name to remind himself that his > identity > > was > > > beyond > > > religion. He still writes in Urdu and considers > it > > > irrelevant whether > > > a person is a Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu. > > > > > > Let’s forget about political correctness and > come > > clean: > > > can you see > > > such a thing happening in Pakistan? Can you > actually > > > conceive of a > > > famous Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or > Sikh > > name out > > > of choice > > > to demonstrate the irrelevance of religion? > > > > > > My point, exactly. > > > > > > What all those misguided liberals who keep > blathering > > on > > > about us > > > being the same people forget is that in the > 60-odd > > years > > > since > > > Independence, our two nations have traversed very > > different > > > paths. > > > > > > Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It > still > > > defines itself in > > > terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it > > destroys > > > itself, it > > > will be because of Islamic extremism. > > > > > > India was founded on the basis that religion had > no > > role in > > > determining citizenship or nationhood. An Indian > can > > belong > > > to any > > > religion in the world and face no discrimination > in > > his > > > rights as a > > > citizen. > > > > > > It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect > society > > or > > > that Muslims > > > face no discrimination. But only a fool would > deny > > that in > > > the last > > > six decades, we have travelled a long way towards > > religious > > > equality. > > > In the early days of independent India, a Yusuf > Khan > > had to > > > call > > > himself Dilip Kumar for fear of attracting > religious > > > prejudice. > > > > > > In today’s India, a Dilip Kumar can change his > name > > to > > > A.R. Rahman and > > > nobody really gives a damn either way. > > > > > > So think back to the events of the last few > weeks. To > > the > > > murderous > > > attack on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by > jihadi > > fanatics > > > in a > > > society that is being buried by Islamic > extremism. And > > to > > > the triumphs > > > of Indian secularism. > > > > > > Same people? > > > > > > Don’t make me laugh. > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the > > city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to > > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the > > subject > > > header. > > > To unsubscribe: > > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > >       > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject > > header. > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > >       Add more friends to your messenger and > enjoy! Go to > > http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ > > > > > > > From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over > India. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/citygroups/ From rama.sangye at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 10:52:46 2009 From: rama.sangye at gmail.com (V Ramaswamy) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:52:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Foundations of our knowledge Message-ID: <6ade4a8f0903262222p5c36ae1ao553b8b0bdeac515e@mail.gmail.com> Book review: The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization, by Jonathan Lyons, Bloomsbury. by James Buchan The Guardian The theory of permanent Muslim-Christian enmity, though it flourishes in the caves of Tora Bora and parts of the American academy, was long ago exploded by the historians. In this clear and well-written book, Jonathan Lyons delves into all sorts of musty corners to show how Arabic science percolated into the Latin world in the middle ages and helped civilise a rude society. He tells how Arab advances in astronomy, mathematics, engineering, navigation, geography, medicine, architecture, chemistry, gardening, finance and verse passed into Europe by way of the Crusader kingdoms, Sicily and Spain and prepared the ground for both the Renaissance and the scientific advances of the 16th and 17th centuries. This infiltration of ideas has left traces in our language, from alcohol, algebra and algorithm to the Arabic names of the bright stars Betelgeuse and Aldebaran. With the fall of the Roman empire in the west, Europe lost touch with much of its classical inheritance and was isolated by the Arab invasions from the Byzantine empire where some ancient learning survived. Lyons recounts how early medieval Christendom was unable accurately to measure the time of day for monastic offices, or fix the date of Easter, while dogmatic schemes of scripture and hierarchy left little scope for natural science. Aristotle's influence was confined to the logic and rhetoric of the schools. Bishop Isidore of Seville promulgated the idea that the Earth was flat. In contrast, when the Arabs conquered Iraq in the first half of the seventh century AD, they came upon living schools of Hellenistic learning in natural science and medicine, along with Indian mathematics and astronomy that had come by way of Iran. Systematic reasoning, driven out of Muslim jurisprudence in favour of precedents from the Prophet's life and conduct, found a new field of inquiry in ancient geography and cosmology. After the founding of Baghdad in AD762, the Abbasid caliphs established a library and a team of translators at the Beit al-Hikma, the "House of Wisdom" of Lyons's title. A famous early catalogue of Arabic books known as the Fihrist lists as many as 80 Greek authors in Arabic translation, chief among them Aristotle, the mathematician Euclid and the medical philosophers Hippocrates and Galen. For this natural philosophy, the Arabs coined the word falsafa, and called its practitioners falasifa. The great Arabic philosophers such as Ibn Sina in Iran (known in Latin Europe as Avicenna, who died in 1037) and Ibn Rushd in Spain (Averroes, who died in 1198) found ways of inserting Aristotelian natural philosophy and Ptolemaic cosmology into a scriptural monotheism, which was precisely what the Latins needed. As Lyons writes, "Arabic replaced Greek as the universal language of scientific inquiry". He begins with a vivid contrast. In 1109, 10 years after the Crusaders sacked Jerusalem and put Muslims, Jews and eastern Christians to the sword, Adelard of Bath, a well-born scholar, set off for Antioch not to kill Muslims but, as he put it, "to investigate the studies of the Arabs" (studia arabum). As so often in medieval biography, a few "facts" are made to work hard, and some scholars (though not Lyons) doubt Adelard ever mastered Arabic. Nonetheless, he is thought to have taken part in translations from Arabic of Euclid's geometric system, the elements, and the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi, and composed such original works as On the Use of the Astrolabe. For Lyons, Adelard is the "first man of science". Such was the prestige of Arabic learning in England, according to a startling passage here, that partisans of King Henry II, during the quarrel with Rome over Thomas Becket, threatened the king would convert to Islam. The new learning spread. By the middle of the 12th century, Euclid and Pythagoras are arrayed with the Virgin on the west front of Chartres cathedral. Lyons summons up a world of itinerant scholars such as Michael Scot, who (in the words of one monk) "in Paris seek liberal arts, in Orléans classics, at Salerno medicine, at Toledo magic, but nowhere manners and morals". Scot found his way to the Arabising court of one of the "baptised Sultans", the Emperor Frederick II, where he translated Arabic commentaries on Aristotle and helped promote the great mathematician Leonardo of Pisa. Leonardo, generally known as Fibonacci, gave a systematic account of the Arab/Indian numerical system and "the sign 0, which the Arabs call zephyr", or rather sifr - and which we call the zero. For the orthodox, these men reeked of brimstone, and Dante placed Michael with the wizards in the eighth circle of hell. St Thomas Aquinas brought a measure of peace to the church, but the systems of Aristotle and Ptolemy became rigid and brittle till they shattered in the Copernican revolution of the 16th century. Why Muslim science and medicine remained in their medieval state in certain regions well into our lifetimes belongs to another book. For all Lyons's wonder and admiration, the falasifa were always out of the mainstream of Muslim thought; they are best understood as a sort of sect, like the Shia, and were just as vulnerable to charges of heresy. The only small blemish in this fine book is that Lyons has printed a beautiful page of al-Biruni's Arabic treatise on mathematics back to front, so the text can only be read in a mirror. From pawan.durani at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 11:35:45 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:35:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Happy Navreh In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903262304t3b6d6e1dq7aa668af7175876@mail.gmail.com> References: <6b79f1a70903262304t3b6d6e1dq7aa668af7175876@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903262305k71e9b9b6la65fd4399ef930a6@mail.gmail.com> Greetings and good wishes on the occasion of Chaitra Sukladi, Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Chetti Chand, Navreh and Sajibu Cheiraoba. I wish you a Happy Navreh. Since I originally belong to Kashmir, we Kashmiri Pandits celebrate their New Year's Day, Navreh, on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada or the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra. The word 'Navreh' is derived from Sanskrit 'Nava Varsha' meaning the New Year.Navreh, falls on Amavasya or the last night of the dark fortnight. Celebrated in a wide variety of ways in different parts of our country, these festivals reflect our diversity and yet underline the unity of the nation. May these festivals reinforce the common bond of togetherness of our people and ensure progress, prosperity and peace. I wish you Success & Joy. Pawan Durani From dak at sarai.net Fri Mar 27 15:43:36 2009 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:43:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Short-term research positions: Asian cultural studies Message-ID: <49CCA6D0.90507@sarai.net> Short-Term Research Positions: Asian Cultural Studies The Cultural and Material life of media piracy is a three-year project carried out by the Sarai programme of the CSDS, Delhi, India in collaboration with the Alternative Law Forum Bangalore, India. The project seeks open a different debates on piracy other than simply that of enforcement and criminality in Asia. We hope to generate discussions of cultural needs, community practices of sharing and circulation in societies of high inequality. We will also look at media industry approaches to piracy and enforcement strategies. In addition, there will be ethnographic and quantitative work on media use in neighborhoods. The main research node spans South Asia, with comparative work in China and South East Asia. The Sarai-ALF teams of researchers work in tandem with an international project on media piracy with fellow researchers in Brazil, South Africa and Russia coordinated by the SSRC (New York). The project is supported by the IDRC (Canada) We are looking for bright, energetic and qualified researchers who can work in collaboration with a regional and international team. Applicants must demonstrate abilities to research and write on the subject. A familiarity with the debate on piracy, intellectual Property and the creative commons is preferable. Social science and humanities applicants should have completed postgraduate degrees, law students a four-year programme. The position is ideal for researchers working on their Ph.d/M.Phil, wanting to combine it with ongoing research and interest in media, law and cultural studies. Independent researchers with a clear, demonstrable research capacity and experience may also apply. Researcher One: Beijing The researcher will be media and copy culture circuits in China post video/VCD and the relationship to the international legal regime. Research will be fieldwork based. Researchers must be bi-lingual in Mandarin and English. Researcher Two: Hong Kong The researcher will be looking at Hong Kong Media industries after video and the worlds of piracy in South China. Researchers should be fluent and bi-lingual in Cantonese and English. Remuneration will be approximately USD 5000 for a six-month period. A publication quality research paper is expected at the conclusion of the research period. Interested applicants may send their CV and a written research sample to researchjobs at sarai.net by April 20th, 2009. Applications without a written research sample will not be entertained. Links Sarai, CSDS: www.sarai.net Alternative Law Forum www.altlawforum.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 23:54:44 2009 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:54:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <296718.39805.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> References: <296718.39805.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1f9180970903271124x584e3c84uf8c7543099e4cccc@mail.gmail.com> > > Crass Communalism!!! Who told you that in Kashmir,Godhra and many more incidents"muslims burnt hindus?" and " We " have "let" "Them" do so? (Will you plz stop this nonsense?..) Regards, Venu. > > > > > > we should not burn 100 muslims in india > but > 1) we should not let muslims burn hindus in india either > examples- kashmir and godhra and many more. > > 2) we should not hesitate to stand by our hindu brothers in pakistan and > bangladesh. because they don't have any secular -human rights brigade in > these countries. > > 'eye for eye will make the whole world blind' -mahatma had said. > but if we don't defend ourselves there are chances, this enemy will make > us totally blind. > rather we have already experienced it in 1947 unfortunately we have not > learnt any lesson from the history. > > vedavati > > > > --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > > > From: Rakesh Iyer > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Cc: "Vedavati Jogi" , "sarai list" < > reader-list at sarai.net> > Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 8:17 PM > > > Dear all > > First of all I am very happy that such an article has been put up. Having > been a consistent reader of Vir Sanghvi's column in Hindustan Times over the > past few years, I must say that he has stopped any kind of researching, > which I consider an essential part in journalism. I believe that if research > into one area has stopped, then it should be started into some other area. > After reading Sanghvi's articles, I realize he goes on speaking about the > same things in a merry-go-round. > > As far as Sanghvi's article goes, I agree with the above mentioned points > that it is quite far from reality. Considering that about 35% of the Muslim > population in the nation (based on Census and obtained from Sachar > Committee's report), lives in cities, and most of this population lives in > ghettoes (old city areas generally), and is poor, one would have to see the > way the state has abandoned itself from its responsibilites in these areas. > Looking at my own city Bhopal, I can say that not only has the > administrative work shifted to new city buildings for many purposes, what's > more, the old city suffers many problems related to water, sewage and other > kinds handled generally by the municipal corporation, on a daily basis, much > more than what the new city (read Hindu-dominated areas), face. > > The economic situation of Muslims is already very poor, and most Muslim > ghettoes in India also don't have proper education facilities (or even > private based schools), to educate their children. Hence, they have to send > their children to madrassas. And then, our Vedavati jee and their folk go > hammer and tongs at these madrassas for giving 'terrorist education' to > them, when in the first place they should talk about the lack of education > facilities given to them. > > In India, we keep on asking for one ban after the other. When 'Water' was > supposed to be made in Varanasi by Deepa Mehta, the RSS goons stopped it and > created violence. When the 'revenge' had to be taken for Gujarat, the very > same organizations indulged in mass-rapes of women, something unheard of > even in pre-1992 Gujarat riots by and large. Infact, even districts > unaffected in any riot since independence witnessed massive violence. And > then our great Modi has the courage to say this: 'Not more than 100 died in > the violence, and that too due to police firing'. Later on, he said there > was no violence at all. > > If there was no violence, how come there was the need for police firing?? > > Hence Sanghvi was definitely wrong in that article. > > Inspite of this, I can say that India is on a slightly better footing while > treating its minorities in practice, for at least they are considered as > equal with the majority community (read Hindus), and even cases in > post-Godhra can be re-investigated again and again, while whether I can say > the same for Pakistan or not, is something I am not sure of. While > constitutionally Pakistan is an Islamic republic, we are a 'secular, > socialist, democratic republic', and through constant practice of democracy, > can at least get our voice heard. (Muslims did in the election mandate of > 2004, critically in UP and Bihar). > > The second part is with respect to this harsh truth. > > I don't feel comparisons are the way to find out whether we are doing the > right thing or not. And if any comparison is to be made, let us do an > intra-country comparison to find out whether we have done enough for our > minorities, for our scheduled caste brothers, for the scheduled tribes, for > the women, for the children, for the unemployed, and for the poor, and if > yes, upto what extent did they benefit from this, across states, across > districts, and across villages in a district too. > > Instead, we have set Pakistan as a benchmark in many cases. Do we too wish > to become a Hindu Pakistan? Is that what we want? Let me ask Vedavati jee > here and others as well. If in Bangladesh tomorrow 100 Hindus are burnt, > should we respond by burning 100 Muslims here? Tell me this. I think these > questions are imperative, and in times of elections, should be asked by the > media to the BJP leaders. > > I think as a state, we should set up benchmarks based on principle of > reason and justice. And that's where we should move towards, rather than > surpassing China in terms of power, or becoming a Hindu version of Pakistan, > and portraying our 'mardangi' by nuking them or by killing our Muslims. I > don't think any Gujarati Hindu who went about raping women post-Godhra ever > became a 'mard' by doing so in the name of Lord Ram or revenge, for very > souls of those died in Godhra and Lord Ram himself, must be ashamed of what > happened in their name. > > But I think this question should be solved for once and for all as well > here. > > How many people (Indian non-Muslims) don't trust Indian Muslims? And why? > > This is the question we need to ask. We have avoided this for long, and > have been giving explanations like 'our culture is composite', 'we are all > human beings', 'we are all the same' and all this. The fact is that Modi and > his folk won't listen to all this, so now we need to question them instead > of answering them. Let these folk also do some answering to their part, > because our reasons would never satisfy them unless they are forced to think > rationally too. > > The other thing I feel, is that these rational discourses may still not be > useful. We have been discussing about how our culture is composite, and this > and that? May be what is needed now is conversation and communication > between people. > > Hence, we need to get a public common education system being the same for > all, which should be mandatory and compulsory for all. No discrimination > must be allowed here. Moreover, colleges should not be based anymore on > minority or majority basis, and instead reservations must be provided (the > guidelines of which can be discussed certainly). Moreover, we also need to > have public forums where such issues can be discussed. And certainly, > leaders like Modi and Advani must be questioned on the issues of mistrust > they have with Muslims of India, to expose them and their party (or set of > parties), on the fallacies on which they live. > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > > Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname at rocketmail.com. Sign up > now! > > > Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to > http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sat Mar 28 04:33:05 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:03:05 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?The_decline_of_the_=91encounter_de?= =?windows-1252?q?ath=92?= Message-ID: <65be9bf40903271603g38959d5ei1e1d60d6f4ce75a@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Few days ago I forwarded on the reader list an article which discussed how Muslims in America are being made 'unfair target' of FBI Surveillance. At a fundamental level the writer of the article was trying to bring to our notice the idea of 'categorical suspicion' which a tag like 'Islam' normally attracts in free, democratic societies. Today I came across an opinion piece by Praveen Swami wherein he tries to argue that in the Indian context the perceived communal bias of the Indian police against 'Muslims' is perhaps a conjectural mistake. Praveen Swami does a quantitative analysis of NCRB Data of past four years to conclude that in many instances it is not 'religion' but 'class' which play a major role in making up of filters through which police profile suspects. I do not know how much of what Mr.Swami argues is true hence I look forward to other interpretations of Mr. Swami's point of view. Regards Taha http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/26/stories/2009032654540800.htm *The decline of the ‘encounter death’ * Praveen Swami * Most police forces are reducing use of lethal force — and shedding communal partisanship. * Six months ago, the police raided an apartment in New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. Two alleged terrorists and a police officer died. By the standards a violence-scarred nation has become accustomed to, the event was unremarkable. But the Jamia Nagar deaths had an exceptional impact, precipitating charges that police forces across India were operating a large-scale shoot-to-kill policy directed at Muslims: a communal project, it was claimed, that was being camouflaged as counter-terrorism. Participants at an October 2008 convention in New Delhi, for example, declared that there was “a concerted effort by the Indian police, intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as ‘terrorists and extremists’ — to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.” Members of the Coordination Committee of Muslim Organisations — an alliance made up of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the All-India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the Jamiat Ullema-e-Hind, the All-India Milli Council and the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis — went further, demanding that during a “search operation in any Muslim locality, at least one-third of the raiding force must consist of officers belonging to the minority community, and minority elders of the affected area should be taken into confidence.” Media accounts since have elevated the charge that India’s police officers are trigger-happy bigots to the level of received truth. Little effort has been made, though, to see if the allegations rest on sound empirical foundations. They don’t. In fact, the police are reducing their reliance on lethal force, and shedding communal partisanship. The reason why they do not rely on force helps to explain just why India’s democracy, often reviled by metropolitan elites, is so important to hundreds of millions of voters. No public-domain documentation exists on the religious identity of individuals killed by the police. Databases maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau set down each incident — but not the religious identity of the victims. The police are obliged to report all lethal force deaths to the National Human Rights Commission. In addition, the Union Home Ministry monitors incidents involving the use of lethal force by the police. For the most part, though, the reporting of incidents by the States is less than comprehensive. Based on the available Central government documentation, *The Hindu* was able to examine 750 civilian deaths in police firing which took place between January 2004 and December 2008 — about two-thirds of those estimated to have been killed during this period. Spread across Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, the data exclude deaths in insurgency and counter-terrorism in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. One hundred and forty-six victims, or 19.4 per cent of the sample, were identified by the police as Muslims. Given that Muslims make up 13.5 per cent of the Indian population, it would seem clear that they are disproportionately in danger from the police weapons. Misleading A close study of the available data, though, suggests that this conclusion would be misleading. For one, the bulk of the killings have not taken place in the States most often accused of communal bias: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and, more recently, Delhi. Gujarat saw just five police firing deaths in 2005, 16 in 2006 and one in 2007. Delhi registered just eight during the same period. Andhra Pradesh saw high numbers of killings, but mainly of Maoist insurgents of Hindu origin. Instead, an overwhelming majority of killings of Muslims by the police took place in Uttar Pradesh — a State where they make up 18 per cent of the population, not dissimilar to their share of deaths in police firing. The Uttar Pradesh police offensive, targeting violent organised crime, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years — of Hindus and Muslims. In 2007, the last year for which the NCRB figures are available, the Uttar Pradesh police accounted for 102 of the 250 civilian lethal force fatalities nationwide. By way of contrast, the police fire in Andhra Pradesh led to the loss of 30 lives, while Maharashtra registered 27 deaths. Rajasthan reported 22 fatalities, most of them during caste riots. In 2006, Uttar Pradesh saw 103 fatalities, second only to insurgency-devastated Chhattisgarh. And in 2005, it recorded 42 deaths, placing the State third in police-firing fatalities after Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Nationwide, half or a lesser number of civilian fatalities in police firing were the outcome of counter-terrorism operations — and the ratio has been declining steadily. In 2005, counter-terrorism operations accounted for 46.76 per cent of civilian fatalities in police firing. In 2006, the figure rose to 52.12 per cent. The NCRB figures show that in 2007, though, just a quarter of civilian fatalities in police firing — 54 of 252 — were linked to counter-terrorism. Put simply, there is no evidence to support the claim that there is an increased incidence of extra-judicial executions of Muslims — or, for that matter, Hindus. Even though police forces across India have intensified intelligence-led operations targeting Islamist groups, the NCRB data for 2007 show a sharp decline in the use of lethal force. A large part of the decline came because of a dramatic decline in killings by the police in Chhattisgarh, where fatalities fell to seven. Andhra Pradesh also saw a sharp decline in police killings, from 72 to 45. Only in Uttar Pradesh did deaths caused by the use of lethal force remain at the 2006 levels. By global standards, the use of lethal force by the police in India is relatively low. Figures published in 1987 show that the police in Dallas, Texas, killed 1.03 people per 1,00,000 population the previous year. San Diego was next, with 0.83 people killed per 100,000, followed by Los Angeles with 0.71 deaths. Far from being trigger-happy, these figures suggest, India’s police forces are extremely cautious in resorting to lethal force. Communal bias What these figures point to is a slow but sure process of transformation: for which the social transformation brought about by democracy deserves credit. Less than a decade ago, the police forces across India faced credible charges of communal bias. Reports of judicial commissions, which investigated the 1982 riots in Meerut, the 1978 riots in Aligarh and the 1992-1993 carnage in Mumbai, showed systematic anti-Muslim biases in everything from the use of lethal force and patterns of arrest to the treatment of prisoners. New studies, though, have thrown up signs of change. In January 2005, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Safi Rizvi — now an aide to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram — conducted a study of the district’s prison population. He sought to test the proposition that the police were disproportionately likely to act against Muslims and backward caste suspects. Mr. Rizvi’s study, however, demonstrated that the prison population of Saharanpur closely matched the district’s demographic profile. Hindus made up 58.5 per cent of the jail population, closely mirroring their overall share in the district population. Muslim prisoners accounted for 39 per cent of the jail population, marginally lower than their demographic representation. While Dalits made up 21 per cent of the district population, they constituted just 19 per cent of the prisoners; Brahmins, in a twist, were somewhat over-represented in jail. Class, more accurate Rather than religion or caste, Mr. Rizvi concluded, class constituted an accurate marker of which sections of the population were over-represented in prisons. More than 84 per cent of the prison population, he found, was made up of the poor — more than twice their share of the general population, as determined by the National Council for Applied Economic Research. It wasn’t, Mr. Rizvi noted, that the poor were more likely to steal: “the fact is that the poor criminal is promptly sent to jail for stealing 5 pieces of iron from the rail yard, one bicycle or pick-pocketing Rs. 50. He goes to jail for these crimes and stays there — unable to afford a lawyer, sureties or patronage.” More studies are needed to see if the data from Saharanpur reflect national trends: anecdotal evidence suggests that Muslims are still significantly over-represented in the prison populations of Maharashtra and Gujarat. But if Mr. Rizvi’s findings are borne out by subsequent studies, it would suggest that Muslim and Dalit voters have become adroit at leveraging the political process to avoid victimisation. Police officers, the decline in police-firing deaths also shows, are increasingly sensitive to the costs of the indiscriminate use of force. Large-scale violence, or resort to extra-judicial executions, is no longer possible without inviting protest — and political or judicial censure. By contrast, Uttar Pradesh’s anti-crime killings have continued apace because the police are acting against groups which challenge the influence and authority of mainstream politicians. Police forces everywhere in the world reflect the biases of the societies which give birth to them. It ought to surprise no one that some police officers in India have communal prejudices. The good news for India is that democracy appears to be making it ever more difficult for bigots in uniform to act on their beliefs. From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sat Mar 28 04:35:48 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:05:48 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?The_decline_of_the_=91encounter_de?= =?windows-1252?q?ath=92?= Message-ID: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Few days ago I forwarded on the reader list an article which discussed how Muslims in America are being made 'unfair target' of FBI Surveillance. At a fundamental level the writer of the article was trying to bring to our notice the idea of 'categorical suspicion' which a tag like 'Islam' normally attracts in free, democratic societies. Today I came across an opinion piece by Praveen Swami wherein he tries to argue that in the Indian context the perceived communal bias of the Indian police against 'Muslims' is perhaps a conjectural mistake. Praveen Swami does a quantitative analysis of NCRB Data of past four years to conclude that in many instances it is not 'religion' but 'class' which play a major role in making up of filters through which police profile suspects. I do not know how much of what Mr.Swami argues is true hence I look forward to other interpretations of Mr. Swami's point of view. Regards Taha http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/26/stories/2009032654540800.htm The decline of the ‘encounter death’ Praveen Swami Most police forces are reducing use of lethal force — and shedding communal partisanship. Six months ago, the police raided an apartment in New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. Two alleged terrorists and a police officer died. By the standards a violence-scarred nation has become accustomed to, the event was unremarkable. But the Jamia Nagar deaths had an exceptional impact, precipitating charges that police forces across India were operating a large-scale shoot-to-kill policy directed at Muslims: a communal project, it was claimed, that was being camouflaged as counter-terrorism. Participants at an October 2008 convention in New Delhi, for example, declared that there was “a concerted effort by the Indian police, intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as ‘terrorists and extremists’ — to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.” Members of the Coordination Committee of Muslim Organisations — an alliance made up of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the All-India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the Jamiat Ullema-e-Hind, the All-India Milli Council and the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis — went further, demanding that during a “search operation in any Muslim locality, at least one-third of the raiding force must consist of officers belonging to the minority community, and minority elders of the affected area should be taken into confidence.” Media accounts since have elevated the charge that India’s police officers are trigger-happy bigots to the level of received truth. Little effort has been made, though, to see if the allegations rest on sound empirical foundations. They don’t. In fact, the police are reducing their reliance on lethal force, and shedding communal partisanship. The reason why they do not rely on force helps to explain just why India’s democracy, often reviled by metropolitan elites, is so important to hundreds of millions of voters. No public-domain documentation exists on the religious identity of individuals killed by the police. Databases maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau set down each incident — but not the religious identity of the victims. The police are obliged to report all lethal force deaths to the National Human Rights Commission. In addition, the Union Home Ministry monitors incidents involving the use of lethal force by the police. For the most part, though, the reporting of incidents by the States is less than comprehensive. Based on the available Central government documentation, The Hindu was able to examine 750 civilian deaths in police firing which took place between January 2004 and December 2008 — about two-thirds of those estimated to have been killed during this period. Spread across Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, the data exclude deaths in insurgency and counter-terrorism in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. One hundred and forty-six victims, or 19.4 per cent of the sample, were identified by the police as Muslims. Given that Muslims make up 13.5 per cent of the Indian population, it would seem clear that they are disproportionately in danger from the police weapons. Misleading A close study of the available data, though, suggests that this conclusion would be misleading. For one, the bulk of the killings have not taken place in the States most often accused of communal bias: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and, more recently, Delhi. Gujarat saw just five police firing deaths in 2005, 16 in 2006 and one in 2007. Delhi registered just eight during the same period. Andhra Pradesh saw high numbers of killings, but mainly of Maoist insurgents of Hindu origin. Instead, an overwhelming majority of killings of Muslims by the police took place in Uttar Pradesh — a State where they make up 18 per cent of the population, not dissimilar to their share of deaths in police firing. The Uttar Pradesh police offensive, targeting violent organised crime, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years — of Hindus and Muslims. In 2007, the last year for which the NCRB figures are available, the Uttar Pradesh police accounted for 102 of the 250 civilian lethal force fatalities nationwide. By way of contrast, the police fire in Andhra Pradesh led to the loss of 30 lives, while Maharashtra registered 27 deaths. Rajasthan reported 22 fatalities, most of them during caste riots. In 2006, Uttar Pradesh saw 103 fatalities, second only to insurgency-devastated Chhattisgarh. And in 2005, it recorded 42 deaths, placing the State third in police-firing fatalities after Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Nationwide, half or a lesser number of civilian fatalities in police firing were the outcome of counter-terrorism operations — and the ratio has been declining steadily. In 2005, counter-terrorism operations accounted for 46.76 per cent of civilian fatalities in police firing. In 2006, the figure rose to 52.12 per cent. The NCRB figures show that in 2007, though, just a quarter of civilian fatalities in police firing — 54 of 252 — were linked to counter-terrorism. Put simply, there is no evidence to support the claim that there is an increased incidence of extra-judicial executions of Muslims — or, for that matter, Hindus. Even though police forces across India have intensified intelligence-led operations targeting Islamist groups, the NCRB data for 2007 show a sharp decline in the use of lethal force. A large part of the decline came because of a dramatic decline in killings by the police in Chhattisgarh, where fatalities fell to seven. Andhra Pradesh also saw a sharp decline in police killings, from 72 to 45. Only in Uttar Pradesh did deaths caused by the use of lethal force remain at the 2006 levels. By global standards, the use of lethal force by the police in India is relatively low. Figures published in 1987 show that the police in Dallas, Texas, killed 1.03 people per 1,00,000 population the previous year. San Diego was next, with 0.83 people killed per 100,000, followed by Los Angeles with 0.71 deaths. Far from being trigger-happy, these figures suggest, India’s police forces are extremely cautious in resorting to lethal force. Communal bias What these figures point to is a slow but sure process of transformation: for which the social transformation brought about by democracy deserves credit. Less than a decade ago, the police forces across India faced credible charges of communal bias. Reports of judicial commissions, which investigated the 1982 riots in Meerut, the 1978 riots in Aligarh and the 1992-1993 carnage in Mumbai, showed systematic anti-Muslim biases in everything from the use of lethal force and patterns of arrest to the treatment of prisoners. New studies, though, have thrown up signs of change. In January 2005, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Safi Rizvi — now an aide to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram — conducted a study of the district’s prison population. He sought to test the proposition that the police were disproportionately likely to act against Muslims and backward caste suspects. Mr. Rizvi’s study, however, demonstrated that the prison population of Saharanpur closely matched the district’s demographic profile. Hindus made up 58.5 per cent of the jail population, closely mirroring their overall share in the district population. Muslim prisoners accounted for 39 per cent of the jail population, marginally lower than their demographic representation. While Dalits made up 21 per cent of the district population, they constituted just 19 per cent of the prisoners; Brahmins, in a twist, were somewhat over-represented in jail. Class, more accurate Rather than religion or caste, Mr. Rizvi concluded, class constituted an accurate marker of which sections of the population were over-represented in prisons. More than 84 per cent of the prison population, he found, was made up of the poor — more than twice their share of the general population, as determined by the National Council for Applied Economic Research. It wasn’t, Mr. Rizvi noted, that the poor were more likely to steal: “the fact is that the poor criminal is promptly sent to jail for stealing 5 pieces of iron from the rail yard, one bicycle or pick-pocketing Rs. 50. He goes to jail for these crimes and stays there — unable to afford a lawyer, sureties or patronage.” More studies are needed to see if the data from Saharanpur reflect national trends: anecdotal evidence suggests that Muslims are still significantly over-represented in the prison populations of Maharashtra and Gujarat. But if Mr. Rizvi’s findings are borne out by subsequent studies, it would suggest that Muslim and Dalit voters have become adroit at leveraging the political process to avoid victimisation. Police officers, the decline in police-firing deaths also shows, are increasingly sensitive to the costs of the indiscriminate use of force. Large-scale violence, or resort to extra-judicial executions, is no longer possible without inviting protest — and political or judicial censure. By contrast, Uttar Pradesh’s anti-crime killings have continued apace because the police are acting against groups which challenge the influence and authority of mainstream politicians. Police forces everywhere in the world reflect the biases of the societies which give birth to them. It ought to surprise no one that some police officers in India have communal prejudices. The good news for India is that democracy appears to be making it ever more difficult for bigots in uniform to act on their beliefs. From taraprakash at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 07:24:47 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:54:47 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?The_decline_of_the_=E2=80=98encounter_dea?= =?utf-8?b?dGjigJk=?= References: <65be9bf40903271603g38959d5ei1e1d60d6f4ce75a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: I seem to agree with Swami's analysis. He is wrong if India means some nooks and corners in Gujarat, U.P. and Hyderabad. I personally believe that analyzing every police atrocity, every social discrimination tfrom religious angle is a conspiracy of the religious extremists to weaken the progressive movement in India. I also believe that only secular power left in India is that of Maoists who, if need be, take on green brigade in Bihar, take on RSS in Kandmal, Orisa and don't mind attacking a church in Maha Rashtra and elsewhere. Let me clarify that this is just my belief for which I have no qualitative or quantitative to support. So if someone thinks otherwise, they may be right. I just don't want to argue on this. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> To: "reader-list" Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 7:03 PM Subject: [Reader-list] The decline of the ‘encounter death’ > Dear all > > Few days ago I forwarded on the reader list an article which discussed how > Muslims in America are being made 'unfair target' of FBI Surveillance. At > a > fundamental level the writer of the article was trying to bring to our > notice the idea of 'categorical suspicion' which a tag like 'Islam' > normally attracts in free, democratic societies. > > Today I came across an opinion piece by Praveen Swami wherein he tries to > argue that in the Indian context the perceived communal bias of the Indian > police against 'Muslims' is perhaps a conjectural mistake. Praveen Swami > does a quantitative analysis of NCRB Data of past four years to conclude > that in many instances it is not 'religion' but 'class' which play a > major > role in making up of filters through which police profile suspects. > > I do not know how much of what Mr.Swami argues is true hence I look > forward > to other interpretations of Mr. Swami's point of view. > > Regards > > Taha > > http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/26/stories/2009032654540800.htm > > *The decline of the ‘encounter death’ * Praveen Swami * Most police forces > are reducing use of lethal force — and shedding communal partisanship. * > > Six months ago, the police raided an apartment in New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. > Two alleged terrorists and a police officer died. By the standards a > violence-scarred nation has become accustomed to, the event was > unremarkable. But the Jamia Nagar deaths had an exceptional impact, > precipitating charges that police forces across India were operating a > large-scale shoot-to-kill policy directed at Muslims: a communal project, > it > was claimed, that was being camouflaged as counter-terrorism. > > Participants at an October 2008 convention in New Delhi, for example, > declared that there was “a concerted effort by the Indian police, > intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all members > of the Muslim community as ‘terrorists and extremists’ — to be arbitrarily > arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.” > > Members of the Coordination Committee of Muslim Organisations — an > alliance > made up of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the All-India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, > the Jamiat Ullema-e-Hind, the All-India Milli Council and the Jamiat > Ahl-e-Hadis — went further, demanding that during a “search operation in > any > Muslim locality, at least one-third of the raiding force must consist of > officers belonging to the minority community, and minority elders of the > affected area should be taken into confidence.” > > Media accounts since have elevated the charge that India’s police officers > are trigger-happy bigots to the level of received truth. Little effort has > been made, though, to see if the allegations rest on sound empirical > foundations. They don’t. In fact, the police are reducing their reliance > on > lethal force, and shedding communal partisanship. The reason why they do > not > rely on force helps to explain just why India’s democracy, often reviled > by > metropolitan elites, is so important to hundreds of millions of voters. > > No public-domain documentation exists on the religious identity of > individuals killed by the police. Databases maintained by the National > Crime > Records Bureau set down each incident — but not the religious identity of > the victims. The police are obliged to report all lethal force deaths to > the > National Human Rights Commission. In addition, the Union Home Ministry > monitors incidents involving the use of lethal force by the police. For > the > most part, though, the reporting of incidents by the States is less than > comprehensive. > > Based on the available Central government documentation, *The Hindu* was > able to examine 750 civilian deaths in police firing which took place > between January 2004 and December 2008 — about two-thirds of those > estimated > to have been killed during this period. Spread across Assam, Delhi, > Gujarat, > Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil > Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, the data exclude deaths > in > insurgency and counter-terrorism in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. > One > hundred and forty-six victims, or 19.4 per cent of the sample, were > identified by the police as Muslims. Given that Muslims make up 13.5 per > cent of the Indian population, it would seem clear that they are > disproportionately in danger from the police weapons. > Misleading > > A close study of the available data, though, suggests that this conclusion > would be misleading. For one, the bulk of the killings have not taken > place > in the States most often accused of communal bias: Gujarat, Andhra > Pradesh, > Maharashtra and, more recently, Delhi. Gujarat saw just five police firing > deaths in 2005, 16 in 2006 and one in 2007. Delhi registered just eight > during the same period. Andhra Pradesh saw high numbers of killings, but > mainly of Maoist insurgents of Hindu origin. Instead, an overwhelming > majority of killings of Muslims by the police took place in Uttar > Pradesh — > a State where they make up 18 per cent of the population, not dissimilar > to > their share of deaths in police firing. The Uttar Pradesh police > offensive, > targeting violent organised crime, has claimed hundreds of lives in recent > years — of Hindus and Muslims. In 2007, the last year for which the NCRB > figures are available, the Uttar Pradesh police accounted for 102 of the > 250 > civilian lethal force fatalities nationwide. By way of contrast, the > police > fire in Andhra Pradesh led to the loss of 30 lives, while Maharashtra > registered 27 deaths. Rajasthan reported 22 fatalities, most of them > during > caste riots. In 2006, Uttar Pradesh saw 103 fatalities, second only to > insurgency-devastated Chhattisgarh. And in 2005, it recorded 42 deaths, > placing the State third in police-firing fatalities after Andhra Pradesh > and > Jammu and Kashmir. > > Nationwide, half or a lesser number of civilian fatalities in police > firing > were the outcome of counter-terrorism operations — and the ratio has been > declining steadily. In 2005, counter-terrorism operations accounted for > 46.76 per cent of civilian fatalities in police firing. In 2006, the > figure > rose to 52.12 per cent. The NCRB figures show that in 2007, though, just a > quarter of civilian fatalities in police firing — 54 of 252 — were linked > to > counter-terrorism. > > Put simply, there is no evidence to support the claim that there is an > increased incidence of extra-judicial executions of Muslims — or, for that > matter, Hindus. Even though police forces across India have intensified > intelligence-led operations targeting Islamist groups, the NCRB data for > 2007 show a sharp decline in the use of lethal force. A large part of the > decline came because of a dramatic decline in killings by the police in > Chhattisgarh, where fatalities fell to seven. Andhra Pradesh also saw a > sharp decline in police killings, from 72 to 45. Only in Uttar Pradesh did > deaths caused by the use of lethal force remain at the 2006 levels. > > By global standards, the use of lethal force by the police in India is > relatively low. Figures published in 1987 show that the police in Dallas, > Texas, killed 1.03 people per 1,00,000 population the previous year. San > Diego was next, with 0.83 people killed per 100,000, followed by Los > Angeles > with 0.71 deaths. Far from being trigger-happy, these figures suggest, > India’s police forces are extremely cautious in resorting to lethal force. > Communal bias > > What these figures point to is a slow but sure process of transformation: > for which the social transformation brought about by democracy deserves > credit. Less than a decade ago, the police forces across India faced > credible charges of communal bias. Reports of judicial commissions, which > investigated the 1982 riots in Meerut, the 1978 riots in Aligarh and the > 1992-1993 carnage in Mumbai, showed systematic anti-Muslim biases in > everything from the use of lethal force and patterns of arrest to the > treatment of prisoners. > > New studies, though, have thrown up signs of change. In January 2005, the > Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Safi Rizvi — now an aide to > Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram — conducted a study of the district’s > prison population. He sought to test the proposition that the police were > disproportionately likely to act against Muslims and backward caste > suspects. Mr. Rizvi’s study, however, demonstrated that the prison > population of Saharanpur closely matched the district’s demographic > profile. > Hindus made up 58.5 per cent of the jail population, closely mirroring > their > overall share in the district population. Muslim prisoners accounted for > 39 > per cent of the jail population, marginally lower than their demographic > representation. While Dalits made up 21 per cent of the district > population, > they constituted just 19 per cent of the prisoners; Brahmins, in a twist, > were somewhat over-represented in jail. > Class, more accurate > > Rather than religion or caste, Mr. Rizvi concluded, class constituted an > accurate marker of which sections of the population were over-represented > in > prisons. More than 84 per cent of the prison population, he found, was > made > up of the poor — more than twice their share of the general population, as > determined by the National Council for Applied Economic Research. It wasn’t, > Mr. Rizvi noted, that the poor were more likely to steal: “the fact is > that > the poor criminal is promptly sent to jail for stealing 5 pieces of iron > from the rail yard, one bicycle or pick-pocketing Rs. 50. He goes to jail > for these crimes and stays there — unable to afford a lawyer, sureties or > patronage.” > > More studies are needed to see if the data from Saharanpur reflect > national > trends: anecdotal evidence suggests that Muslims are still significantly > over-represented in the prison populations of Maharashtra and Gujarat. But > if Mr. Rizvi’s findings are borne out by subsequent studies, it would > suggest that Muslim and Dalit voters have become adroit at leveraging the > political process to avoid victimisation. Police officers, the decline in > police-firing deaths also shows, are increasingly sensitive to the costs > of > the indiscriminate use of force. Large-scale violence, or resort to > extra-judicial executions, is no longer possible without inviting > protest — > and political or judicial censure. By contrast, Uttar Pradesh’s anti-crime > killings have continued apace because the police are acting against groups > which challenge the influence and authority of mainstream politicians. > > Police forces everywhere in the world reflect the biases of the societies > which give birth to them. It ought to surprise no one that some police > officers in India have communal prejudices. The good news for India is > that > democracy appears to be making it ever more difficult for bigots in > uniform > to act on their beliefs. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From taraprakash at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 08:21:01 2009 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (taraprakash) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:51:01 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi References: <296718.39805.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <7F6B933A695A4906BE4979222437CD19@tara> Whether there are secular forces in Pakistan or not, you should ask the extremist forces in that country. And they will be able to show you a black list of the "bad Muslims" who don't think like extremists. As recently as last week a member in the house of representatives raised the issue of rising attacks on Hindus in Sind. Still if you think the Indian Hindus should stand in defence of Pakistani Hindus, you should let Indian Muslims in defence of Pakistani Muslims and visa versa. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vedavati Jogi" To: Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 12:18 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > > > > > > > > > > > > we should not burn 100 muslims in india > but > 1) we should not let muslims burn hindus in india either > examples- kashmir and godhra and many more. > > 2) we should not hesitate to stand by our hindu brothers in pakistan and > bangladesh. because they don't have any secular -human rights brigade in > these countries. > > 'eye for eye will make the whole world blind' -mahatma had said. > but if we don't defend ourselves there are chances, this enemy will make > us totally blind. > rather we have already experienced it in 1947 unfortunately we have not > learnt any lesson from the history. > > vedavati > > > > --- On Thu, 26/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > > > From: Rakesh Iyer > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com > Cc: "Vedavati Jogi" , "sarai list" > > Date: Thursday, 26 March, 2009, 8:17 PM > > > Dear all > > First of all I am very happy that such an article has been put up. Having > been a consistent reader of Vir Sanghvi's column in Hindustan Times over > the past few years, I must say that he has stopped any kind of > researching, which I consider an essential part in journalism. I believe > that if research into one area has stopped, then it should be started into > some other area. After reading Sanghvi's articles, I realize he goes on > speaking about the same things in a merry-go-round. > > As far as Sanghvi's article goes, I agree with the above mentioned points > that it is quite far from reality. Considering that about 35% of the > Muslim population in the nation (based on Census and obtained from Sachar > Committee's report), lives in cities, and most of this population lives in > ghettoes (old city areas generally), and is poor, one would have to see > the way the state has abandoned itself from its responsibilites in these > areas. Looking at my own city Bhopal, I can say that not only has the > administrative work shifted to new city buildings for many purposes, > what's more, the old city suffers many problems related to water, sewage > and other kinds handled generally by the municipal corporation, on a daily > basis, much more than what the new city (read Hindu-dominated areas), > face. > > The economic situation of Muslims is already very poor, and most Muslim > ghettoes in India also don't have proper education facilities (or even > private based schools), to educate their children. Hence, they have to > send their children to madrassas. And then, our Vedavati jee and their > folk go hammer and tongs at these madrassas for giving 'terrorist > education' to them, when in the first place they should talk about the > lack of education facilities given to them. > > In India, we keep on asking for one ban after the other. When 'Water' was > supposed to be made in Varanasi by Deepa Mehta, the RSS goons stopped it > and created violence. When the 'revenge' had to be taken for Gujarat, the > very same organizations indulged in mass-rapes of women, something unheard > of even in pre-1992 Gujarat riots by and large. Infact, even districts > unaffected in any riot since independence witnessed massive violence. And > then our great Modi has the courage to say this: 'Not more than 100 died > in the violence, and that too due to police firing'. Later on, he said > there was no violence at all. > > If there was no violence, how come there was the need for police firing?? > > Hence Sanghvi was definitely wrong in that article. > > Inspite of this, I can say that India is on a slightly better footing > while treating its minorities in practice, for at least they are > considered as equal with the majority community (read Hindus), and even > cases in post-Godhra can be re-investigated again and again, while whether > I can say the same for Pakistan or not, is something I am not sure of. > While constitutionally Pakistan is an Islamic republic, we are a 'secular, > socialist, democratic republic', and through constant practice of > democracy, can at least get our voice heard. (Muslims did in the election > mandate of 2004, critically in UP and Bihar). > > The second part is with respect to this harsh truth. > > I don't feel comparisons are the way to find out whether we are doing the > right thing or not. And if any comparison is to be made, let us do an > intra-country comparison to find out whether we have done enough for our > minorities, for our scheduled caste brothers, for the scheduled tribes, > for the women, for the children, for the unemployed, and for the poor, and > if yes, upto what extent did they benefit from this, across states, across > districts, and across villages in a district too. > > Instead, we have set Pakistan as a benchmark in many cases. Do we too wish > to become a Hindu Pakistan? Is that what we want? Let me ask Vedavati jee > here and others as well. If in Bangladesh tomorrow 100 Hindus are burnt, > should we respond by burning 100 Muslims here? Tell me this. I think these > questions are imperative, and in times of elections, should be asked by > the media to the BJP leaders. > > I think as a state, we should set up benchmarks based on principle of > reason and justice. And that's where we should move towards, rather than > surpassing China in terms of power, or becoming a Hindu version of > Pakistan, and portraying our 'mardangi' by nuking them or by killing our > Muslims. I don't think any Gujarati Hindu who went about raping women > post-Godhra ever became a 'mard' by doing so in the name of Lord Ram or > revenge, for very souls of those died in Godhra and Lord Ram himself, must > be ashamed of what happened in their name. > > But I think this question should be solved for once and for all as well > here. > > How many people (Indian non-Muslims) don't trust Indian Muslims? And why? > > This is the question we need to ask. We have avoided this for long, and > have been giving explanations like 'our culture is composite', 'we are all > human beings', 'we are all the same' and all this. The fact is that Modi > and his folk won't listen to all this, so now we need to question them > instead of answering them. Let these folk also do some answering to their > part, because our reasons would never satisfy them unless they are forced > to think rationally too. > > The other thing I feel, is that these rational discourses may still not be > useful. We have been discussing about how our culture is composite, and > this and that? May be what is needed now is conversation and communication > between people. > > Hence, we need to get a public common education system being the same for > all, which should be mandatory and compulsory for all. No discrimination > must be allowed here. Moreover, colleges should not be based anymore on > minority or majority basis, and instead reservations must be provided (the > guidelines of which can be discussed certainly). Moreover, we also need to > have public forums where such issues can be discussed. And certainly, > leaders like Modi and Advani must be questioned on the issues of mistrust > they have with Muslims of India, to expose them and their party (or set of > parties), on the fallacies on which they live. > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > > Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname at rocketmail.com. Sign up > now! > > > Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to > http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 09:25:25 2009 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:25:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Raman Pillai Finds Certain Things In RSS "Against Development and People's Unity "and Yet Likes to Identify With its Other Ideas In-Reply-To: <1f9180970903271257l437d3b38r264bfec0e635137f@mail.gmail.com> References: <1f9180970903271257l437d3b38r264bfec0e635137f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1f9180970903272055i7bc2866amf416660edf43ecf2@mail.gmail.com> http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayala... =@@@ Plz go through the above report verbatim and solve the puzzle, 1. Who is telling the bigger lie here? The Manorama's scribe who distorts the content by a misleading caption, or Mr.Raman Pillai himself , who has reportedly stated only that certain policies pursued by the RSS are harmful to the unity and development of this country and yet he would continue to be a supporter of the RSS in "certain ideas" and "not in certain other aspects"..more over, he would oppose "seeing it as a terrorist organization" [Probably true; how can a State like Gujarat , though proved near complicit in massacre of its own people be called that bad, when it is shining with so much of achievements in development even to impress an Ex-MP of CPI(M) ?] So long as RSS enjoys support from the leading players of neoliberal economic agenda world wide, including Non-BJP UPA and State governments of this country , certainly one needs to be more careful in dubbing the RSS as terrorists! In fact, one is encouraged to say that the RSS do a lot of good things in relief works, promote the kind of patriotism helping the people, governments and the armed forces to fight terrorism, and moreover, showing (misguided) dalits, women and youth their "culturally legitimate" roles , moral values, spaces and places, etc...etc.. And this is the real message one can read into the kind of equivocalism in the content of these press reports and the statements of political leaders from the mainstream! 2. How close are his (dream) "Janapksham" views to (the real) "Hindu Janapaksham" that the likes of Malayala Manorama and other papers and the mainstream parties like to push forward! and After all, he is the very same person who had played the role of Advani in Kerala in the pre- Babari Masjid demolition mobilizations in early nineties. How can he totally disown this legacy? Didn't A.B.Vajpayee too look saddedned by Babri demolition, once it had been accomplished and the security forces having been on guard to protect the so called Ramjanmastan? Regards, Venu. -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ -- http://venukm.blogspot.com/ From pawan.durani at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 10:27:29 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:27:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Dispute, The Myth - Part V Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903272157w440a4988n8582976016ef103d@mail.gmail.com> *Kashmir** Dispute, The Myth-V* **** ** *By Dr. M.K. Teng* **** At the time of the transfer of power in India, the National Conference leaders and cadres were in jail. They were released from their incarceration after the proclamation of General Amnesty was made on 6 September 1947. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the Acting President of the National Conference who had evaded arrest and taken refugee in the British India in May 1946, arrived in Srinagar with several other senior leaders of the National Conference on 12 September 1947. Meanwhile, Mohi-ud-Din Qara the Director General of the War Council, which had been constituted by the National Conference to direct the Quit Kashmir Movement, surfaced from his underground quarters alongwith some of his close aides. Onkar Nath Trisal, who played a historic role in the defence of Srinagar, when the invading armies of Pakistan surrounded the city, was with him. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was released from jail on 29 September 1947. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad used the good offices of Pandit Sham Sundar Lal Dhar, a personal aide of the Maharaja to arrange a reconciliatory meeting between Hari Singh and Sheikh Mohammd Abdullah. The meeting did not go beyond usual formalities as the two men who shaped the future of the State looked at each other with cold distrust. Shiban Madan, a close kin of Sham Sundar Lal Dhar, then a man of younger years acted as a help. Shiban Madan told the author in a interview held in Srinagar in 1978, that Hari Singh sat through the meeting glumly. His Highness looked straight when the usual presentation ceremony of the Nazarana was completed. He sat glum and expressionless, his haughty demeanour more than awkwardly visible. The rest of the meeting was strictly formal." Hari Singh was unable to judge the far-reaching consequences of the end of the British empire in India. Not only him, the other Princes too refused to realise that their power, which had its sanction in the British Paramountcy had virtually suffered dissolution with its withdrawal. The Princely rulers genuinely believed that the States were their fiefs and the British had usurped their right to rule them. They visualised the end of the British Empire as an act of deliverance for them, which they believed would enable them to regain the unquestioned authority they had as the sovereigns of the states. They considered accession of their States to India as a new arrangement with the Dominion of India, by virtue of which they would part with the specific powers of the defence, foreign affairs and communications of the states and retain the rest of the powers of the governance without the encumbrances the Paramountcy entailed. Hari Singh had been shaken by Mountabatten's advice to come to terms with Pakistan when the Viceroy visited Srinagar. Accession to Pakistan was the last act, Hari Singh was prepared to perform. However, when he turned to India and conveyed to the Indian leaders his desire to accede to India the Indian leaders advised him not to take any perceptible action in respect of the accession, till the transfer of power had been accomplished. The Indian leaders advised Hari Singh to end the distrust with the National Conference, release the leaders and cadres of the Conference and take them into confidence and commence preparations to associate them with the government of the State. After the transfer of power in August 1947 Hari Singh promptly ordered fresh recruitment to his armed forces and reportedly sought to secure field guns from Patiala and Hyderabad. Reports appeared in the newspapers in Pakistanthat he tried to seek military assistance from India and wanted the Indian Government to take up the conversion of the fair weather road from Jammu to Madhopur, into a national roadway. He was alarmed by the establishment of the Provisional Government of Pak-occupied-Kashmir at Tran Khel in the district of Mirpur by Sardar Ibrahim Khan on 30 August 1947. Hari Singh knew that the proclamation of the Provisional Government of Azad Kashmir had been made in connivance with the intelligence agencies of the Government of Pakistan and the leaders of the Muslim League to build pressure on him to accede to Pakistan. Meanwhile Sham Sunder Lal Dhar helped to bridge the differences between Hari Singh and the National Conference leaders. Hari Singh agreed to revive the Dyarchy he had introduced in the State Government in 1944, and provide a wider share of power for the National Conference and accept to entrust a fairly large measure of responsibility in the State Government to National Conference leaders as members of his Council of Ministers. The National Conference leaders had shown their readiness to join the State Government. For Hari Singh however, the difficulties he faced in regard to the accession were not eased. Several developments in the process of the integration of the States complicated his situation further. Junagarh, situated in the midst of the Kathiawad States, which had acceded to India, acceded to Pakistan on the eve of the transfer of power. The Nawab of Hyderabad refused to join India and secretly plotted with the leadership of the Muslim League to align himself with Pakistan. Not only that. Mountbatten was at the helm of affairs in India, where he had been placed by the Congress leaders probably, to earn them a favourable disposition of the British. Hari Singh knew that Mountbatten had not forgiven him for his audacity to send him back to the Indian capital, without having agreed to abide by his advice to come to terms with Pakistan. It is hardly possible that the Congress leaders must not report have received the intelligence of what transpired between the Viceroy and the Maharaja in Srinagar. But how did they install him the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India is an enigma, which continues to remain unexplained. Hari Singh was unsure of the Congress leaders as well, who had, in unabashed self-conceit, indicated their willingness to accept a settlement on the Princely States on the basis of their population and geographical location. Perhaps, they sought to use the influence of the Viceroy to ensure the accession of the Muslim ruled States, inhabited by Hindu majorities and situated within the territorial limits earmarked for the Indian Dominion to India. It is hardly possible that they did not know the mind of the Viceroy and perhaps the strategic implications of the future disposition of Jammu and Kashmir to the British interests in Asia. A section of the Congress leadership was not averse to the division of the States on the basis of their population even after the transfer of power. Some of them believed that Mountbatten would be able extricate Junagarh from Pakistan and bring about the integration of Hyderabad with India. Their prestige in the whole of the Kathiawad peninsula had plummeted down as they had reacted to the accession of Junagarh to Pakistan pussiliminously. The rulers of the Kathiawad States had to send Jam Sahib of Nawanagar to convince the Congress leaders that Junagarh posed a serious threat to them and to demand immediate and effective action to liberate Junagarh, which was fast slipping into a civil wear. The Congress leaders looked up to Mountbatten, who advised them restraint. Later admissions made by him in his interviews and memoirs, prove that he was keen to secure the interests of Pakistan and his country, Britain, in Jammu and Kashmir, but he had no mandate from the British Government to secure the Indian interests in the Muslim ruled States of Junagarh and Hyderabad. He disapproved of any perceptible action for the reclamation Junagarh and Hyderabad. Hari Singh did not lose sight of the problems, arising out of his enemity with Mountabatten and the duplicity of the Congress leaders. Jinnah scuttled the proposals to divide the States on the basis of their population and scoffed at the suggestions made by Mountbatten. Hari Singh knew that if he took a false step, Mountbatten as well as the Congress leaders would nor hesitate to abandon him in a bargain with Pakistan. This was the greatest act of betrayal committed by the men in power in India. The Indian Government crumbled in its resolve to set right the wrong in Junagarh and rein in the Nawab of Hyderabad. The Indian leaders looked upto Mountbatten to deliver them from their predicament though experience had shown to them that the major role in the integration of the States had been played by the States people who had struggled for the unity of the States with India and the Hindu rulers of the States who had acceded to India. The Government of India should have made a bold move to take Hari Singh into confidence, thrash out the issues pertaining to the transfer of power to the peoples representatives with him and helped in removing the prevailing distrust between him and the National Conference leaders. Instead the Indian leaders sulked away. Gandhi had advised Hari Singh to handover the State Government to the National Conference leaders and entrust them the responsibility to conduct elections to the Praja Sabha, the State Legislative Assembly and empower the elected representatives of the people to take a decision on the accession of the State. *Hari Singh had refused to abide by Gandhi’s advice and told him that such a course would enable ** Pakistan** to grab the State with the support of the Muslim Conference and the other pro-Pakistan flanks in the state. Later events proved that Hari Singh had chosen the right course. **Jammu and Kashmir** would have gone the way, **North West** **Frontier** **Province** did if he had opted for elections to the Praja Sabha.* The Indian Princely States were a part of the Indian nation. Partition did not divide the States, nor did the partition empower Pakistan to grab Junagarh or claim Hyderabad on the basis of being Muslim ruled States and annex Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of its population. The Muslim League as well as the British treated the States as their personal preserve and sought to use them to Balkanise India. The Princes as well as the people of the States defeated their designs. *The role played by Mountbatten and VP Menon, in the integration of the Indian States was only marginal. The States’ Ministry did not draw up any plans for the consolidation of the northern frontier of **India** of which * *Jammu and Kashmir** was the central spur. Nor did the States Ministry formulate any plans for the security of the **Himalayas** against the threat of their de-Sanskritsation which the creation of **Pakistan** posed. * * - (To be continued)* ** *Source*: Kashmir Sentinel From aliens at dataone.in Sat Mar 28 11:00:18 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:00:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?The_decline_of_the_=E2=80=98encounter_dea?= =?utf-8?b?dGjigJk=?= References: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> You are right, Indian police working very neutrally in almost everywhere and there is no question of any bias behavior by them. They target criminal and terrorists only. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taha Mehmood" <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> To: "reader-list" Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 4:35 AM Subject: [Reader-list] The decline of the ‘encounter death’ > Dear all > > Few days ago I forwarded on the reader list an article which discussed > how Muslims in America are being made 'unfair target' of FBI > Surveillance. At a fundamental level the writer of the article was > trying to bring to our notice the idea of 'categorical suspicion' > which a tag like 'Islam' normally attracts in free, democratic > societies. > > Today I came across an opinion piece by Praveen Swami wherein he tries > to argue that in the Indian context the perceived communal bias of the > Indian police against 'Muslims' is perhaps a conjectural mistake. > Praveen Swami does a quantitative analysis of NCRB Data of past four > years to conclude that in many instances it is not 'religion' but > 'class' which play a major role in making up of filters through which > police profile suspects. > > I do not know how much of what Mr.Swami argues is true hence I look > forward to other interpretations of Mr. Swami's point of view. > > Regards > > Taha > > http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/26/stories/2009032654540800.htm > > The decline of the ‘encounter death’ Praveen Swami > Most police forces are reducing use of lethal force — and shedding > communal partisanship. > > Six months ago, the police raided an apartment in New Delhi’s Jamia > Nagar. Two alleged terrorists and a police officer died. By the > standards a violence-scarred nation has become accustomed to, the > event was unremarkable. But the Jamia Nagar deaths had an exceptional > impact, precipitating charges that police forces across India were > operating a large-scale shoot-to-kill policy directed at Muslims: a > communal project, it was claimed, that was being camouflaged as > counter-terrorism. > > Participants at an October 2008 convention in New Delhi, for example, > declared that there was “a concerted effort by the Indian police, > intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all > members of the Muslim community as ‘terrorists and extremists’ — to be > arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.” > > Members of the Coordination Committee of Muslim Organisations — an > alliance made up of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the All-India Muslim > Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the Jamiat Ullema-e-Hind, the All-India Milli > Council and the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis — went further, demanding that > during a “search operation in any Muslim locality, at least one-third > of the raiding force must consist of officers belonging to the > minority community, and minority elders of the affected area should be > taken into confidence.” > > Media accounts since have elevated the charge that India’s police > officers are trigger-happy bigots to the level of received truth. > Little effort has been made, though, to see if the allegations rest on > sound empirical foundations. They don’t. In fact, the police are > reducing their reliance on lethal force, and shedding communal > partisanship. The reason why they do not rely on force helps to > explain just why India’s democracy, often reviled by metropolitan > elites, is so important to hundreds of millions of voters. > > No public-domain documentation exists on the religious identity of > individuals killed by the police. Databases maintained by the National > Crime Records Bureau set down each incident — but not the religious > identity of the victims. The police are obliged to report all lethal > force deaths to the National Human Rights Commission. In addition, the > Union Home Ministry monitors incidents involving the use of lethal > force by the police. For the most part, though, the reporting of > incidents by the States is less than comprehensive. > > Based on the available Central government documentation, The Hindu was > able to examine 750 civilian deaths in police firing which took place > between January 2004 and December 2008 — about two-thirds of those > estimated to have been killed during this period. Spread across Assam, > Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, > Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West > Bengal, the data exclude deaths in insurgency and counter-terrorism in > the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. One hundred and forty-six > victims, or 19.4 per cent of the sample, were identified by the police > as Muslims. Given that Muslims make up 13.5 per cent of the Indian > population, it would seem clear that they are disproportionately in > danger from the police weapons. > Misleading > > A close study of the available data, though, suggests that this > conclusion would be misleading. For one, the bulk of the killings have > not taken place in the States most often accused of communal bias: > Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and, more recently, Delhi. > Gujarat saw just five police firing deaths in 2005, 16 in 2006 and one > in 2007. Delhi registered just eight during the same period. Andhra > Pradesh saw high numbers of killings, but mainly of Maoist insurgents > of Hindu origin. Instead, an overwhelming majority of killings of > Muslims by the police took place in Uttar Pradesh — a State where they > make up 18 per cent of the population, not dissimilar to their share > of deaths in police firing. The Uttar Pradesh police offensive, > targeting violent organised crime, has claimed hundreds of lives in > recent years — of Hindus and Muslims. In 2007, the last year for which > the NCRB figures are available, the Uttar Pradesh police accounted for > 102 of the 250 civilian lethal force fatalities nationwide. By way of > contrast, the police fire in Andhra Pradesh led to the loss of 30 > lives, while Maharashtra registered 27 deaths. Rajasthan reported 22 > fatalities, most of them during caste riots. In 2006, Uttar Pradesh > saw 103 fatalities, second only to insurgency-devastated Chhattisgarh. > And in 2005, it recorded 42 deaths, placing the State third in > police-firing fatalities after Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. > > Nationwide, half or a lesser number of civilian fatalities in police > firing were the outcome of counter-terrorism operations — and the > ratio has been declining steadily. In 2005, counter-terrorism > operations accounted for 46.76 per cent of civilian fatalities in > police firing. In 2006, the figure rose to 52.12 per cent. The NCRB > figures show that in 2007, though, just a quarter of civilian > fatalities in police firing — 54 of 252 — were linked to > counter-terrorism. > > Put simply, there is no evidence to support the claim that there is an > increased incidence of extra-judicial executions of Muslims — or, for > that matter, Hindus. Even though police forces across India have > intensified intelligence-led operations targeting Islamist groups, the > NCRB data for 2007 show a sharp decline in the use of lethal force. A > large part of the decline came because of a dramatic decline in > killings by the police in Chhattisgarh, where fatalities fell to > seven. Andhra Pradesh also saw a sharp decline in police killings, > from 72 to 45. Only in Uttar Pradesh did deaths caused by the use of > lethal force remain at the 2006 levels. > > By global standards, the use of lethal force by the police in India is > relatively low. Figures published in 1987 show that the police in > Dallas, Texas, killed 1.03 people per 1,00,000 population the previous > year. San Diego was next, with 0.83 people killed per 100,000, > followed by Los Angeles with 0.71 deaths. Far from being > trigger-happy, these figures suggest, India’s police forces are > extremely cautious in resorting to lethal force. > Communal bias > > What these figures point to is a slow but sure process of > transformation: for which the social transformation brought about by > democracy deserves credit. Less than a decade ago, the police forces > across India faced credible charges of communal bias. Reports of > judicial commissions, which investigated the 1982 riots in Meerut, the > 1978 riots in Aligarh and the 1992-1993 carnage in Mumbai, showed > systematic anti-Muslim biases in everything from the use of lethal > force and patterns of arrest to the treatment of prisoners. > > New studies, though, have thrown up signs of change. In January 2005, > the Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Safi Rizvi — now an > aide to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram — conducted a study of the > district’s prison population. He sought to test the proposition that > the police were disproportionately likely to act against Muslims and > backward caste suspects. Mr. Rizvi’s study, however, demonstrated that > the prison population of Saharanpur closely matched the district’s > demographic profile. Hindus made up 58.5 per cent of the jail > population, closely mirroring their overall share in the district > population. Muslim prisoners accounted for 39 per cent of the jail > population, marginally lower than their demographic representation. > While Dalits made up 21 per cent of the district population, they > constituted just 19 per cent of the prisoners; Brahmins, in a twist, > were somewhat over-represented in jail. > Class, more accurate > > Rather than religion or caste, Mr. Rizvi concluded, class constituted > an accurate marker of which sections of the population were > over-represented in prisons. More than 84 per cent of the prison > population, he found, was made up of the poor — more than twice their > share of the general population, as determined by the National Council > for Applied Economic Research. It wasn’t, Mr. Rizvi noted, that the > poor were more likely to steal: “the fact is that the poor criminal is > promptly sent to jail for stealing 5 pieces of iron from the rail > yard, one bicycle or pick-pocketing Rs. 50. He goes to jail for these > crimes and stays there — unable to afford a lawyer, sureties or > patronage.” > > More studies are needed to see if the data from Saharanpur reflect > national trends: anecdotal evidence suggests that Muslims are still > significantly over-represented in the prison populations of > Maharashtra and Gujarat. But if Mr. Rizvi’s findings are borne out by > subsequent studies, it would suggest that Muslim and Dalit voters have > become adroit at leveraging the political process to avoid > victimisation. Police officers, the decline in police-firing deaths > also shows, are increasingly sensitive to the costs of the > indiscriminate use of force. Large-scale violence, or resort to > extra-judicial executions, is no longer possible without inviting > protest — and political or judicial censure. By contrast, Uttar > Pradesh’s anti-crime killings have continued apace because the police > are acting against groups which challenge the influence and authority > of mainstream politicians. > > Police forces everywhere in the world reflect the biases of the > societies which give birth to them. It ought to surprise no one that > some police officers in India have communal prejudices. The good news > for India is that democracy appears to be making it ever more > difficult for bigots in uniform to act on their beliefs. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 11:27:14 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:27:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi In-Reply-To: <7F6B933A695A4906BE4979222437CD19@tara> References: <296718.39805.qm@web94701.mail.in2.yahoo.com> <7F6B933A695A4906BE4979222437CD19@tara> Message-ID: Dear Taraprakash & Vedavati It's completely wrong to state that we should concern ourselves with the sad plight of someone, because that someone is our friend/belongs to our race, sex, religion, caste, community, nation, province or something else. The very reason we should concern ourselves with that someone, is because that someone is a human being/living creature, and the plight he/she may be suffering is because of some injustice meted out to him/her/it. So, it's not the case of Indian Muslims standing for Pakistani Muslims, or Indian Hindus standing for Pakistani Hindus. Any Indian should condemn blasts in Pakistan, and vice versa, because such blasts kill innocents in the name of giving justice to someone/something. Hence, the actual advice to Vedavati jee should be that India should definitely oppose any kind of violence being unleashed on any section of society anywhere, including Pakistan, be it on Pakistani Hindus, or Pakistani Muslims. Regards Rakesh From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 11:40:21 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:40:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?The_decline_of_the_=91encounter_de?= =?windows-1252?q?ath=92?= In-Reply-To: <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> References: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear all Since this question of bias of police towards Muslims has come up, I think it must be assessed in terms of two things: 1) The kind of speech-rhetoric used by police for them 2) The kind of actions (killings/extra-judicial encounters) undertaken by police against them As Praveen Swami is pointing out from the data in his article, the second gives the impression that Muslims are not being unfairly targetted in such cases. However, certain questions do remain, which have not been answered. He is comparing the extra judicial killings to counter-terror operations, to begin with. Not all such killings are related to terrorism. As the report itself indicates, Andhra Pradesh has such killings in the name of eliminating Maoists, and so, one has to look at the way such cases have been undertaken to begin with. Secondly, one has to find out how many of these were considered as anti-terror operations. And in how many such cases were the Muslims involved. Is that disproportionate with their population in that particular locality/state/the entire nation? And if yes, then there is something really wrong with the way our cases are investigated. Let me ask this to all. In the case of any blast happening in India, Muslim ghettoes are searched in midnights and people are arrested. Search operations are also conducted in nights. (For confirmation, look at the Hyderabad blasts) But in the case of Malegaon blasts, our great Sadhvi and the other alleged conspirators were arrested during day time. Why this discrimination? Are the Muslims allegedly termed conspirators going to run away during night itself, or in early morning, in all such cases? More than the police however, it's our media and the BJP which is biased against them. The BJP and their parivar have been able to introduce rhetoric in the public minds which has made some of us believe that Muslims are terrorists. Whereas the reality is that the only case till know which has seen conviction of Muslims as terrorists outside Kashmir (excluding the Parliament case), are the 1992-93 Mumbai blasts. In rest cases, these continue and yet nothing has been found out. (I am talking about the high profile blasts in India, supposedly conducted at the behest of ISI). And the media portrays this reality as well. Either they should be regulated, or somebody should attack them as terrorists for misleading the public through their news. May be that can reform them. (Sorry to say this, but you can understand my frustration at their ways). Regards Rakesh From asitredsalute at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 12:02:15 2009 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:02:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Appeal for Mallika Sarabhai Message-ID: *APPEAL* *RALLY BEHIND MALLIKA SARABHAI IN HER FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNAL FASCISM* As you must be aware Mallika Sarabhai is contesting from the Gandhi Nagar loksabha seat against BJPs Prime ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani. Ms. Sarabhai's electoral fight against Mr. Advani assumes utmost political significant because it has become a symbol of struggle between the forces of secular democracy versus communal fascism. This is a struggle for pluralist democracy where the religious minorities are respected as equal citizens against the fascist Hindutva ideology of creating a demonic "other" and carrying out pogroms against religious minorities and treating them as second class citizens in a modern liberal democratic society. This goes against the very ethos of our constitution. One recoils in horror about the memory of the gory episodes of murder, rape and mayhem of the ghastly state sponsored communal carnage in Gujrat in the year 2002. Mr. L.K. Advani as the Home Minister of India and Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujrat presided over this most shameful chapter of Post Independent Indian History. It is needless to recall Mr. Advani's role as the prime mover of communalizing the Indian society and imposing fascist Hindutva ideology on toiling workers, peasants and peace loving citizens of our country, thus tearing apart the social fabric of our society, which continues to bleed until today. L.K. Advani's infamous RathYatra in 1989 spread the communal poison across the length and breadth of the country, polarized the society on religious lines, inflicting a severe blow on the very basis of peaceful, dignified coexistence of various religious groups in a pluralist liberal democratic society undermining the secular democratic foundations of our constitution, which was achieved after numerous sacrifices in our long drawn freedom struggle. The Rathyatra of Advani and the resultant communal frenzy culminated in the shameful demolition of Babri Masjid which has traumatized the Muslim community and secular citizens for a long time. Mr. Advani was present on the spot along with other B.J.P. leadership encouraging the lumpen Kar Sevaks when they forcibly brought down the Babri Masjid. The recent incidents like the horrifying killing of Christians in Kandhmal, the attack on women in Mangalore and other places are frightening indicators of Hindutva ideology led by Mr. Advani. It bears ominous signs of the fascist take over of India if we don’t make the necessary effective intervention to stem this tide of regressing in to medieval barbarism. Mr. Advani is the symbol of both communal fascism and patriarchy, which spells doom for religious minorities and women in this country. Therefore it is imperative all of us join hands to defeat the nefarious designs of the Sangh Parivar. We appeal to all the secular, democratic, organization, womens, organizations, students and youth to actively campaign for Ms. Mallika Sarabhai against her principled electoral battle against Mr. L.K. Advani in Gandhi Nagar. (Note : Please endorse this appeal and forward it to your friends and other activist groups.) 1. Vijay Pratap (Convenor Socialist front) 2. Babulal Sharma (Global Gandhi forum) 3. Wilfred - (Insaf. New Delhi) 4. Kiran Shaheen - ( Journalist and Politicl activist - New Delhi) 5. Faisal Khan - (NAPM - New Delhi) 6. Prakash Kumar Ray (Research scholar, film studies, school of arts and Aesthetics, New Delhi JNU) 7. Usman (Research scholar, centre for Indian languages school of languages JNU) 8. Rishika Meherishi (Research scholar, school of Art and Aesthetics JNU) 9. P.K. Sundaram (Research scholar school of International studies JNU) 10. Laxman Singh (Research scholar, Third world studies Jamial Milia Islamia, New Delhi) 11. Putul (Social activist, New Delhi) 12. Asit (Activist and researcher New Delhi) 13. Sayantoni (Researcher, New Delhi) 14. Bhuwan Pathak (Social activist, Uttarakhand) 15. Kumar Sameer (Social activist, New Delhi ) 16. Anil Pushkar (Research scholar centre for Indian languages school of language, JNU) 17. Ajit Jha (Reader, Delhi University) 18. Amit Pokhriyal (Research scholar centre for science policy JNU) 19. Aftab Alam (Research scholar centre for political studies JNU) From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Mar 28 20:06:07 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:06:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] India - the way it is Message-ID: Dear all I had earlier too commented that we are discussing only identity based issues, which is not right. I had earlier also put up an article. Now I am putting up my 2nd effort in this direction. This is an article from countercurrents.org which talks about our attitudes towards rich and poor, and probably I have read an incident in Gandhi's auto-biography regarding an incident which also speaks of the same. http://www.countercurrents.org/date270309.htm *Pampering The Rich, Insuling The Poor* *By Vidyadhar Date* 27 March, 2009 *Countercurrents.org* London and New York are tackling serious problems of urban poverty. In Mumbai though poverty is on a much larger scale it is nowhere on the agenda of the ruling class. India's politicians and upper class remain obsessed with making Mumbai and other metropolises into world class cities with glamorous projects, never mind the neglect of basic needs of the people. They are talking of making Mumbai into an international financial centre even as London has taken a severe beating as the financial capital because of the greed and corruption of bankers. So much so that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently wrote a signed article in the Observer saying the government should serve the interests of common people, not of bankers. But Mumbai's planners are talking of building an iconic 101 storey tower in Mumbai to rival higherises in other parts of the world neglecting the basic function to provide decent primary education, sanitation and water and security to people. Adding insult to injury a fancy sports complex is to be built in Dharavi, for long a symbol of urban poverty and neglect which has now attracted international attention with the Oscar award winning film Slumdog Millionaire. This at a time when 184 municipal schools are in a dilapidated condition and 88 are considered extremely unsafe for children. What Dharavi needs is sanitation and basic infrastructure, not fancy redevelopment projects. It will not cost much to provide toilets so that several areas are not litterd with human excreta as outside the Dharavi bus depot opposite the Mahim Nature Park. Attention to basicsis important. That is why a presentation on improving the slums of Caracas in Venezuela got a big applause at an international conference of architects, engineers, designers and scholars organised by the journal Indian Architect & Builder in Mumbai on March 22. Alfredo Brillembourg, architect of Urban Think Tank, who made the presentation, showed how a sprawling slum in Caracas rises on a hilltop equivalent to 23 floors and is served by a cable car to connect it to the formal city. It is the slum dominated informal city that deserves most attention of authorities but it is this very majority of the population which is ignored, he pointed out. Give power to people and we can bridge the divide between the upper class and the poor, he said. There was also a big applause when Dr Joachim Krause of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, described much of contemporary architecture as ugly and nothing to be proud of. One thing is clear now. Ordinary people are being marginalised because the upper class corners many of the benefits. There is also poor city planning and poorer land management. So, the poor suffer for no fault of theirs.Urban poverty is not so much a matter of economic deprivation as of lack of access to basic amenities. This is the main conclusion of a recent report on urban povertyh prepared by UNDP in collaboration with Amitabh Kundu, professor in JNU, Jawaharlal Nehru university. The challenge is to provide basic services to slumd wellers without letting the elite capture all the benefits, according to Kumari Selja, minister of state for urban poverty alleviation. Our elite's fascination with financial centres like New York and London does not take not take account of the fact that these have a big problem of poverty with a widening gap between the rich and the poor. New York Mayor Bloomberg, one of the richest men in the US, has declared a war on poverty in the city and is giving cash to parents to keep children in school and healthy. London plans to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020. In London while the bankers have snapped up yachts and huge bonuses, millions struggled to make ends meet. London, the centre of capitalism, has always had widespread poverty. Life and Labour in London 1886-1903 is a monumental 17-volume study conducted by Charles Booth, a businessman with interests in shipping and leather, but with great concern for the poor. It is an early example of social cartography. It shows each street coloured to indicate income and social class of inhabitants. We clearly need such dedicated souls, not academics confined to their ivory towers. Sudhir Venkatesh, a professor in Columbia university, is an exceptinal social scientist, who has spent years working among the poor and studying their life. Sadly in Mumbai while the administration is going all out to provide facilities for the rich, it is treating ordinary people with absolute contempt. Nothing shows this attitude than the new steel bus shelters erected in Mumbai which are an insult to commuters. they are very badly designed, it is a torture to sit even for a while on the narrow strip and one cannot stand comfortably either. They seem to serve the interests of only the advertisers. In the evenings diesel generators light up the advertisements emitting unbearable heat, noise and foul odour. In a hot and humid city where millions have to walk quite a distance, a little place to sit down is desperately needed. But even this little courtsey is denied to the masses. And imagine these bus stops are built as part of an exercise of Mumbai Makeover, a shining Mumbai.. Plenty of sitting places in public spaces is a common sight in much of the Western world. But our ruling class seems to think that ordinary people here do not deserve even basic amenities. Regards Rakesh From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 29 07:52:54 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:22:54 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?The_decline_of_the_=91encounter_de?= =?windows-1252?q?ath=92?= In-Reply-To: <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> References: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903281922t5bf01031i8f1f575eed3f800e@mail.gmail.com> On Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 6:30 AM, bipin wrote: > You are right, Indian police working very neutrally in almost everywhere > and there is no question of any bias behavior by them. They target criminal > and terrorists only. > > Dear All, Dear Bipin, Thank you for your response. Please forgive me but why do I get this feeling that every time, you kneel down to bow before a perception which seem to portray our pathetic system in a non-communal light, it seems as if you inadvertently expose your khaki chaddis. Sir, have you come across a figure that there has been almost 7000 custodial deaths in India between 2002-07 and as some national dailies suggest that, 'Four persons die in jail or police custody every day in India,' ( http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=f49af966-b5c6-47a1-af33-f0566d0525b7). Mr. Swami has done his analysis while relying on a category called, 'encounter deaths' and on the basis of this minute categorical imagination he asserts, 'Put simply, there is no evidence to support the claim that there is an increased incidence of extra-judicial executions of Muslims — or, for that matter, Hindus'. But please tell me, Sir, must we to take his word for granted or should we put his hypothesis to more stringent testing? Even during the publication of Sacchar committee report the data on the religious make up of our one thousand three hundred and thirty six prisons was withheld. I wonder why? I do not think that data on 'encounter deaths' alone is in any way indicative of a view that the attitude of the Indian police towards Muslims is changing. Although I would hope otherwise. Regards Taha From santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com Sun Mar 29 09:48:09 2009 From: santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com (santhosh hk) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:48:09 +0430 Subject: [Reader-list] Inviting Research Articles for Interdisciplinary E - Journal Message-ID: *Vijnanacintamani *is the electronic version of the journal of the same name started way back in 1883 by the eminent scholar Sri Punnassery Nambi Neelakanta Sharma in Sankrit, the founder of Sree Neelakanta Govt. Sanskrit College, Pattambi, Kerala, India. This multi –lingual journal is published once in three months; it can be accessed and downloaded absolutely free of cost from www.vijnanacintamani.org or www.sngscollege.info , the website of the College maintained by the Multimedia Centre. The contents remain the copyright of the college. The journal is essentially interdisciplinary in approach and sensibility. Seven volumes brought out so far vouchsafe this: the first one examines and explores the possibilities of new emerging techniques in English Language Teaching (ELT) while the second is an extensive survey on the theory and practice of local history. The third dwells extensively on the conflicting Sanskrit traditions, epistemological frameworks and knowledge systems of India. The fourth one is the exact reproduction of the old vijnanacintamani which was published by Punnasseri Nampi. The last issue seeks the impact of contemporary linguistic perspectives in Regional language studies especially in Malayalam. Outstanding academicians and writers have contributed in all issues. In each issue, research papers and abstracts of theses are included. Articles can be supplemented, if necessary, by audio and video files, power point or any other required software. There is space earmarked for review articles as well as creative pieces. We are seriously considering the prospects of including study materials and trying to covert the journal into a referred one. Articles can be submitted by email in soft copy in PDF / Word. Alternatively, hard copies can be sent to the Convener, Multimedia Centre. Writers are strongly advised to make sure submitted items are original and to desist from the use of copyrighted materials to avoid legal wrangling. For details, feel free to contact the Convener. Ph: 9447651899, 9947113641. ADDRESS: The Convener Multimedia Centre SNGS College Pattambi Palakkad Ph: 0466 2212223 Email: editor at vijnanacintamani.org , mail at sngscollege.info , sngscollege at gmail.com Website: www.sngscollege.info www.vijnanacintamani.org From santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com Sun Mar 29 09:50:50 2009 From: santhoshhrishikesh at gmail.com (santhosh hk) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:50:50 +0430 Subject: [Reader-list] Inviting Research Articles for Interdisciplinary E - Journal Message-ID: *Vijnanacintamani *is the electronic version of the journal of the same name started way back in 1883 by the eminent scholar Sri Punnassery Nambi Neelakanta Sharma in Sankrit, the founder of Sree Neelakanta Govt. Sanskrit College, Pattambi, Kerala, India. This multi –lingual journal is published once in three months; it can be accessed and downloaded absolutely free of cost from www.vijnanacintamani.org or www.sngscollege.info , the website of the College maintained by the Multimedia Centre. The contents remain the copyright of the college. The journal is essentially interdisciplinary in approach and sensibility. Seven volumes brought out so far vouchsafe this: the first one examines and explores the possibilities of new emerging techniques in English Language Teaching (ELT) while the second is an extensive survey on the theory and practice of local history. The third dwells extensively on the conflicting Sanskrit traditions, epistemological frameworks and knowledge systems of India. The fourth one is the exact reproduction of the old vijnanacintamani which was published by Punnasseri Nampi. The last issue seeks the impact of contemporary linguistic perspectives in Regional language studies especially in Malayalam. Outstanding academicians and writers have contributed in all issues. In each issue, research papers and abstracts of theses are included. Articles can be supplemented, if necessary, by audio and video files, power point or any other required software. There is space earmarked for review articles as well as creative pieces. We are seriously considering the prospects of including study materials and trying to covert the journal into a referred one. Articles can be submitted by email in soft copy in PDF / Word. Alternatively, hard copies can be sent to the Convener, Multimedia Centre. Writers are strongly advised to make sure submitted items are original and to desist from the use of copyrighted materials to avoid legal wrangling. For details, feel free to contact the Convener. Ph: 9447651899, 9947113641. ADDRESS: The Convener Multimedia Centre SNGS College Pattambi Palakkad Ph: 0466 2212223 Email: editor at vijnanacintamani.org , mail at sngscollege.info , sngscollege at gmail.com Website: www.sngscollege.info www.vijnanacintamani.org From rajenradhika at vsnl.net Sun Mar 29 12:46:30 2009 From: rajenradhika at vsnl.net (rajenradhika at vsnl.net) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:16:30 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68, Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? In-Reply-To: References: <001101c9ad31$4c32a500$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: We the citizens of India gave ourselves the constitution of India which gave us rights to property, rights to life, rights to express individually and we live in the nation state as a social group of citizens and the state when it declared itself as a secular, it means in letter and spirit that the state does not uphold any faith, faith is strictly in the individuals prerogative to live life as per his personal belief, practice the faith he believes in, but th conflict comes in to play when the individual wants to impose his faith in his right to express on the the other individuals in the society. Right to property is upheld by the constitution in its articles but the governance by leaders elected by us, the citizens have systematically denied this right to property, right from Keshavanand Bharathi vs. Union of India case law judgement by amending the constitution and inserting such laws into schedules in the constitution which are beyond the perview of judicial system. Right to have faith as strictly personal domain is again violated by the Shah bano case law judgement by amending the laws to suit vote banks, faith is used as a tool to gather votes. We see today and in the last sixty two years of governance all the political parties either for a faith or against a faith, either for a community or against a community, either for few business houses or against a few more business houses. Is this the true facet of democratic governance.? True democratic rule in letter and spirit is when the elected who take oaths of office to govern, without fear or favour in just governance to all the citizens. But our leaders violate the oath taken the very day by imposing their whims and fancies on selective governance to citizens. Irrespective of the political parties the issues of good governance alays take the last priority, the community which voted them to power gains its pound of flesh and discrimination in governance starts immediately. As to the four pillars of democratic governance, let us examine the role of each of these in good governance or lack of it. Political leadership or legislative pillar as explained above is partisan and never does it rule with just and fair rule of law enshrined in constitution. Only this can explain the coterie culture of leaders as seen in every political parties, Sonia with her one faith folowers as her inner circle, Advani with core idealogists as his advisers, less said it is better. Now our babus, with weak and corrupt leadrs to pamper, the babus for a nexus to keep these leaders happy and in the meanwhile feather their nests. Thus deprived citizens are frustrated lot, so naxal movement and other form of demand for fair rule of law is evident in the nation, but naxals when they take law in to their own hands towards reform of the system, they are outlawed, naturally. So are the religious fanatics as they take violence as a method of correction of the system.Hence rama sena and such other outfits are illegal as the method is illegal . The next is judiciary which in normal rule of laws is most respected of all the pillars of democracy. But when the retired chief justice of the highest court admits that there are 10 percent corrupt in judiciary, and we see the case of a judge not being impeached for regional considerations by "national" party, a chief justice fudging his date of birth to be in seat for a few more months, a chief justice shielding his sons in his official residence to avail 600 crore loans in non-existent land assets, judges in PF scams encashing employees' provident funds, judge keeping the funds in his personal account being the receiver of the court, are all indications of decay in judicial process. The chief justice who can not act when his judicial officer goes to London to release 21 crore to uncle Q with begging the crown prosecutors' office, but instead gets the promotion, and scam money reaches the culprit with the knowledge of the law minister and the beneficiary pretends ignora nce of the loot, what more certification is needed of the falling standards of judicial system other than untold delays and subversion of the system.? The lawyers playing with the process, bribing the witness, duress to witness is also not uncommon. The last of the pillars, the media, has its own fair share of corrupt men and women in journalism. The poll surveys, reportage of the events have ,ade the citizens realise that all the news are not news but only views of such blacksheep in journalism. As to rewards and awards, what service these blacksheep of media anchors served the society is big question mark as they seem to be more involved in newly evolved moral games of life styles and reportage of sensation rather that relevance to the society with trp as only driving forces. Unless the society and citizens understand and inculcate what is right and correct way of life irrespective of faith, ( as all faiths are only way of life to live life ethically and morally correct.) and what is wrong in societal life, the democratic rule of laws and god governance will be a mirage. Regards, Rajendra Uppinangadi, rajen882uppinangad at gmail.com. PS: Author is not member to the list if the moderator/ administrator feels fit may invite the author to be its member of the list, any way freedom of expression for author is not a right of obsession to rule other thoughts but to exchange all thoughts and take the best for the life. ----- Original Message ----- From: Rakesh Iyer Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 3:43 pm Subject: Re: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 68,Issue 62Freedom and right to express at what cost to society.? To: bipin Cc: rajenradhika at vsnl.net, sarai-list > Dear all > > I can understand the point that freedom of expression is more > important than > peace, for after all any peace without any freedom of expression is > only the > lull before the storm waiting to happen. Plus of course, it hampers > one of > the basic human rights of citizens. > > However, the other question which is confusing my mind, as pointed > out in > the article, is regarding nation-states providing rights to > citizens. I > don't know much on this, so it would be good if we can discuss on > whetherit's nation-states which act as the agencies to provide > rights (and hence > without them people can't ask for rights), or is it that rights are > inherentirrespective of whether nation-states exist or not. > > Regards > > Rakesh > From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Sun Mar 29 23:07:39 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:37:39 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Are News Channels emerging as arbitrators of the I-card discourse? Message-ID: <65be9bf40903291037o454b506v55465ecbba234004@mail.gmail.com> Dear all CNN IBN's Kinnari Patel reports about a village called Nargol in Gujarat where it is mandatory for residents to have an I-card. All the villagers have shared their fingerprints with the local police, she ends her report by suggesting that, 'Nargol's is probably one story Gujarat and the rest of the country should take lessons from.'. Interestingly in another version of the same story, CNN IBN's Urunuday Majumdar suggests that, this experiment should be 'emulated' by the rest of india. Regards Taha Please follow the links below to check out the stories- http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/70576/crime-control-you-need-an-icard-to-enter-this-village.html http://ibnlive.in.com/news/crime-control-you-need-an-icard-to-enter-this-village/70576-3.html From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 07:50:28 2009 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:50:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Free, Free Binayak Sen!" -- Report on U.S. Actions in Solidarity with the Raipur Satyagraha In-Reply-To: <5cf84e20903291705l5d5c6bd0l4ed13cb001fa7ece@mail.gmail.com> References: <5cf84e20903291705l5d5c6bd0l4ed13cb001fa7ece@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <35f96d470903291920m9ee9220wf85f3eec8ddea4a9@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message -------- [Thanks to all those who participated in Friday's solidarity action with the Raipur Satyagraha. Below is a report on the actions held in three different cities in the US. Please forward to other groups.] http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/free-free-binayak-sen-report-on-us-protests/ ** *"Free, Free Binayak Sen!" * *50 international groups organize support in the USA for the Raipur Satyagraha **in India* *Simultaneous protests held in 3 US cities* * San Francisco, CA, New York, NY and Washington DC, 28 March, 2009:* Verve and vigor marked the simultaneous protests held at the Indian embassy and consulates in Washington DC, New York City and San Francisco on March 27th, demanding the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen, an end to the repressive Chhattisgarh Special People's Security Act (CSPSA) and disbanding of the state-sponsored militia, Salwa Judum. Activists from Association for India's Development (AID), Friends of South Asia (FOSA), South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI), International League of People's Struggles, students and faculty from local universities participated in these protests, coinciding with the *Raipur Satyagraha* *, *the ongoing mass civil disobedience action in the city of Raipur where Dr. Sen is incarcerated. Over 50 groups from the US, UK and Canada have written to the Chhattisgarh government and offered their support to the Raipur Satyagraha, and nearly 600 individual faxes have also been sent to the Chhattisgarh government from around the world. The 22-month long, unjustifiable detention of Dr. Binayak Senhas become a rallying point for human rights and peace and justice groups in India and internationally. A pediatrician by training who chose to work with the marginalized and malnourished people in remote villages of Chhattisgarh in central India, Dr. Binayak Sen has been recognized for his contributions to public health and human rights with the Paul Harrison awardby his alma mater, the Christian Medical College, Vellore, the R.R. Keithan gold medalfrom the Indian Academy of Social Sciences, and the Jonathan Mann Award by the Global Health Council in Washington DC. As Vice-president of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Dr Binayak Sen was instrumental in bringing to light the excesses of the Chhattisgarh government's security apparatus, notably the Salwa Judum, a state-sponsored militia which has wreaked havoc in the villages of south Bastar district. Activists and intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, George Galloway, Mahashweta Devi, over 135 faculty members and 22 nobel laureates from around the world have joined in urging the Indian government to free Dr. Binayak Sen and stop the harassment of human rights activists. Anu Mandavilli, with Friends of South Asia (FOSA), reminded the protestors in San Francisco, that the one-year long trial of Dr. Sen, which included testimonies from over 50 government witnesses, has not produced a shred of evidence or a single witness who could corroborate the Government's claim that Dr. Sen engaged in seditious activities. "Yet, the courts have denied Dr. Sen's bail application three times. It is interesting to note that men from Shri Ram Sene, who beat up women in Mangalore pubs in front of cameras, were released on bail within 6 hours. Whereas Dr. Sen, with an impeccable 25-year record of public service, and no evidence against him, has been in jail for 22 months now." Angana Chatterji, associate professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, cited the harassment of other human rights defenders in Orissa and Kashmir, stating that Dr. Sen's case represents an alarming trend where the Indian state is using draconian laws to silence those who oppose state repression. Indeed, Dr. Sen is only the most prominent among numerous human rights defenders and public intellectuals who languish in Indian jails because they dared to speak truth to power. In New York, activists gathered outside the Indian consulate to read Dr. Sen's New Year Letter from jail, recite poems from around the world in support of Dr. Sen, and sing songs of collective action. Jinee Lokaneeta of the South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI), and on the faculty at Drew University, drew attention to the fact that notwithstanding the floundering case against Dr. Sen, the government has recently produced an additional supplementary chargesheet against him. "By repeatedly denying Dr. Sen's bail application, and purposefully prolonging a meaningless trial, the state is ensuring that Dr. Sen stays in prison a long time, even if charges against him are never proved." Murli Natrajan, also of SASI and a faculty member at William Paterson University, added, "The laws used by the state to arrest Dr. Sen are truly draconian. These are the latest in the tradition of other harsh laws, such as MISA, TADA and POTA, each one of which had to be abandoned after being declared unconstitutional by the highest judicial authorities, and after gross misuse by the state's security apparatus became apparent." Somu Kumar, with Association for India's Development (AID), and one of the organizers of the protest at the Indian embassy in Washington DC, highlighted that these protests are not limited to demanding the human rights of just one inidividual, Dr. Binayak Sen, but are in opposition to a system which criminalizes those who point out its shortcomings. "At this point, Dr. Sen is a symbol of many other ongoing struggles in India--especially those of the *adivasis*, the indigenous inhabitants of the mineral rich areas, who are resisting displacement by large mining companies, and whose rights Dr. Sen was championing. These protests are also to demand consideration for the human rights of the *adivasis *of Chhattisgarh, more than 100,000 of who are officially internally displaced people due to the actions of the state-sponsored Salwa Judum." A letter signed by more than 50 international peace and justice groups, and a list of individuals who have faxed lettersto the Chhattisgarh and central governments, were submitted to the Indian consular staff at each city who have guaranteed their delivery to the desks of the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, the President and Prime Minister of India, and the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. Some activists voiced their disappointment that the government of India had yet to acknowledge any of their previous submissions made over the course of the last year. "In spite of sending several hundred faxes, multiple letters, and individual emails to various officials, we have yet to hear back from a single government official that our letters have been received and read, leave alone considered," said Srividhya Venkataraman, with AID-Berkeley. She added, "The Indian government has made it a priority to reach out to NRIs. But if we, with multiple channels of communication available to us, have such difficulty in getting our voice heard, how must the Indian government respond to the concerns of an *adivasi *located in a remote village in Bastar!" Is anyone listening? ------------------------------ *For more information, see the following*: · Information on the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen is available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com · More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case: o For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the 3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/indian-express-series-on-binayak-sen/ o A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-of-events-in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/ o A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm · On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005: o The text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for Democratic Rights can be found here: http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act/ o A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov 2008 http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm o Caught between Naxals and police, Indian Express, June 11, 2008 http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080611/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-caught-between-naxals-and-police-aaaedd4_1.html · Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh, http://cpjc.wordpress.com/reports-by-fact-finding-teams-on-salwa-judum/ · Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and justice groups can be found here: http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf ------------------------------ *Photo Credits*: Pei Wu, Sangay Mishra, Somu Kumar and Balaji Narasimhan *For more information*, contact: Shalini Gera, mail at friendsofsouthasia.org Murli Natrajan, mnatrajan at yahoo.com -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds. From aliens at dataone.in Mon Mar 30 11:34:27 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:34:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?_Re=3A__The_decline_of_the_=27encoun?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ter_death=27?= References: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> <65be9bf40903281922t5bf01031i8f1f575eed3f800e@mail.gmail.com> <000e01c9b031$3dc645a0$0201a8c0@limo> <65be9bf40903291859o3f6c9128o2c0029079a503cde@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <002101c9b0fd$62d23e90$0201a8c0@limo> Dear Taha, Its question of common sense and no study is required. The man who accused remains in custody for long time and waiting for their hearing in court to come. During the time they are mentally down or may go under depression, which effects their health heavily. Police strictness to get truth adds fuel to their mental/physical illness position. If he proved innocent after pretty long time (say 8/10 years) but mentally he would be tired and his health effected heavily. No doubt, there might be cases of police atrocities, but looking to the cases comes with police and court, this figure is negligible. Also, the figure appear may be after studies, not necessarily true. Since they just count death not only at jail, but death occur at home, but case going on can also be counted. They are no clarification in their data. For each and every thing one should not see in the eye research or studies. Even thing I have noticed that after long research, data achieved can also be easily understood by common sense. thanks Bipin ----- Original Message ----- From: Taha Mehmood To: bipin Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 7:29 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The decline of the 'encounter death' Dear Bipin Please tell me what has our judicial system got to do with custodial deaths? What is the co-relationship between delay in court cases and out dated laws and people dying under police custody? Are there any studies or any figures that you would wish to quote here or are we to believe your seemingly outrageous claims on the basis of your word only? Again a primary reading of your post might lead us to assume that ALL custodial deaths involve people who are 'criminals', is that the case? If so then could you please substantiate your argument. Regards Taha From asitredsalute at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 13:49:41 2009 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:49:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March Message-ID: Dear All Mallika Sarabhai the famous activist and artist, who is contesting against Mr LK Advani from BJP in Ahemdabad Lok Sabha will be speaking at a Public Meeting at JNU. You are invited at the meeting to lend your support in the fight against communalism. At *Sutlej Mess, Jawaharlal Nehru University* *Time: 3:30 pm * * * On *Tuesday, 31st March 2009* * * *Asit (Citizen’s against Communalism)* *Faisal Khan (Asha Parivar)* *Putul(PPF)* *Vijay Pratap (Peoples Political Front(PPF)* * * *Kindly circulate this information to your friends, colleagues and other activist groups widely* * * From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 14:03:52 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:03:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903300133w702653e0m2a33211382dd250b@mail.gmail.com> Is Mr Advani the only other contesting candidiate in Ahmedabad ? It would have been nice to hear Mr Advani as well. He also speaks well against communalism. May the better candidates win this election. Pawan On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 1:49 PM, Asit asitreds wrote: > Dear All > > > > Mallika Sarabhai the famous activist and artist, who is contesting against > Mr LK Advani from BJP in Ahemdabad Lok Sabha will be speaking at a Public > Meeting at JNU. > > > > You are invited at the meeting to lend your support in the fight against > communalism. > > > > At > > *Sutlej Mess, Jawaharlal Nehru University* > > > > *Time: 3:30 pm * > > * * > > On > > *Tuesday, 31st March 2009* > > * * > > *Asit (Citizen’s against Communalism)* > > *Faisal Khan (Asha Parivar)* > > *Putul(PPF)* > > *Vijay Pratap (Peoples Political Front(PPF)* > > * * > > *Kindly circulate this information to your friends, colleagues and other > activist groups widely* > > > > * * > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Mon Mar 30 15:50:26 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:50:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March References: Message-ID: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> Dear Asit, I have given answer to Mr. Ranjan Kamath for supporting Mallika Sarabhai. Same answer giving bellow. Please read it patiently. It’s surprising that you are encouraging Mallika Sarabhai against veteran leader like Advani. She is only rich class goons, supporter of anti Gujarat activist like Megha Patker, one of the pseudo-secularist and most selfish lady. I give salute to her for her dancing ability, but not at all social activists. She uses their money power for social activity to become popular in the high society and not doing any real grass root level social work. I am giving my analysis since independence as under. Please read it patiently. In the 60 years of Independence, the things improving at very slow rate. Today poverty is 25 % below poverty line which was about 75 % at the time independence. It took 50/55 years for reduction of 50% poverty and major reduction took place after 1991 only when reform started. You can’t expect miracle in 5/6 years. Govt. job is to create opportunity by way of developing infrastructure in the field of Power, Road, Port, Airport which helps in the overall development. This key development was ignored since independence for about 50 years. During Narsimharao rule he took bold step by bringing Dr. Manmohansingh as Finance Minister, a non-politician and started free economy which was necessary to develop competitiveness in the Indian industries. At that time (1992-93) my friends/business ally telling that by cut in import duty Indian industries will die. But, I told them that nothing will happen and with this step Indian industries will grow very well and within 10 years Indian industries were capable to buy foreign industries. Rajiv Gandhi has also done good job in the communication field and brought computer age. At this stage also, infrastructure development was not upto the mark, which was started in big scale by Atalji in the field of Road, Power, Airports. Many were arguing why wasting in road to run luxury cars. I replied that 85% roads are used by trucks for transportation and with the improved quality of road transportation becomes chip and ultimately benefited to people only. This infrastructure of Road development running in the fast pace were slowed down drastically when UPA came to power because of communists and Laluji. This infrastructural development should have been started after 5/10 years of independence and in that case India would have been super power by now. But sorry to say that Congress was after vote bank politics only (Particularly from the Indira Gandhi rule. Corruption has also started heavily during her rule) and there policies were decided keeping in the mind of minority vote bank. So, to counter this minority vote bank BJP started vowing major vote bank of Hindu and vicious circle started. Of course they apply tit for tat policy. (Loha, lohe ko kate) Nuclear agreement with US was initiated by NDA govt. only and I doubt even congress would have thought in this line to do such agreement. However, it was initiated once one has to go on that direction and if Manmohansingh (non-politician, non-congress originally) was not there as PM, it would have not been done. BJP was opposing for some clause of it included on the pressure of US. This agreement was necessary because our nuclear plant producing power was not working without fuel like uranium and to run this plant we require the fuel else they would have been scrapped. In India we talk about the lack of cleanliness of roads and public places. I do not blame any govt. for this, the un-disciplined public is responsible for it. To bring discipline, I think we should make compulsory NCC subject in the college. It was there earlier, but Indira has removed it. Today, if anyone talks to bring NCC back, National anthem/prayer like vandemataram, Surya-namaskar for exercise purpose (its best exercise) or any such type, but the so called pseudo-secularist comes in the media to oppose it with the argument that you are forcing Hinduism. They are not real secular, but worry for their vote bank. These are all steps bring discipline and nationality (not Hinduism). I remember when Atalji became PM, I wrote one letter to PMO with suggestions like: The reservation policy benefit can be given to those family having family planning (2 children) or at the most 3 children. I got just one line answer: Thanks. Good suggestion, we will think over it. I gave this suggestions to one my friend in the congress also, but he told that no one like to lose back-ward class votes by applying this, though its good suggestion. Vote bank politics is biggest hindrance in India to grow healthily. The world fascism used for BJP is created by media and Pseudo secularist. Most of them for the sake of power joined hand with BJP and now to get minor vote they create show of not supporting BJP. Please indicate me during NDA rule, have they took any of the steps against minor community? No. Even they increase subsidy for Huj. Of course, I personally oppose such pilgrimage subsidy. It should be abolish completely for all. It is wastage of tax payers's money only. Bellow is few examples of communal steps taken by congressy. Mr. Nehru, no doubt he was great leader, but his mistakes to take Kashmir issue in the UN in spite of warning from fellow members. For this mistake, we are still suffering. Since his biased behavior towards Sheikh Abdullah (may be due to religious nature or friendship god knows) created the Kashmir problem. His policy towards Kashmir was guided by Sheikh Abdullah only. This is general persuasion may be I might be wrong. But, things happen on those days leads to this belief. He was even not listening to his fellow member also like Mr. Sardar Patel for this matter, who succeeded to do some extraordinary tough job after independence. Ignorance of Mr. Patel is still going on by congress or Nehru/Gandhi family. This might be the root of religionism and/or minor vote bank politics coming inherence in congress. Mrs. Indira Gandhi was also great leader, but deviate court orders and imposes of emergency was non-regrettable mistakes. She won the war in 1971 and there was golden chance to solve Kashmir problem, but she didn't thought on that line, may be minor vote bank politics in mind. The dynamic PM like Rajiv Gandhi has reverted Shah Bano court case just to appease minority and there after open Ram-Mandir lock to appease Hindu. Actually this is the root of Hindu-Muslim riot occur thereafter. So, my dear friend, minor vote bank politics played by congress since independence is the key root for lack of development and to counter this BJP has started to vow major Hindu vote bank. However, such gimmick is not working much and voter become smarter now. So, the congress day by day looses their grip. Whoever, does real developmental work will get elected in the near future and this is good sign of real reform. By the way, I am not belonging to any political party and giving these as neutral point of view. While your support and act shows bias behavior or strong anti BJP stance. I don't say BJP is right in all the way, but during their 6 years rule real infrastructural development work was initiated. thanks Bipin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Asit asitreds" To: "Sarai" Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 1:49 PM Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March > Dear All > > > > Mallika Sarabhai the famous activist and artist, who is contesting against > Mr LK Advani from BJP in Ahemdabad Lok Sabha will be speaking at a Public > Meeting at JNU. > > > > You are invited at the meeting to lend your support in the fight against > communalism. > > > > At > > *Sutlej Mess, Jawaharlal Nehru University* > > > > *Time: 3:30 pm * > > * * > > On > > *Tuesday, 31st March 2009* > > * * > > *Asit (Citizen’s against Communalism)* > > *Faisal Khan (Asha Parivar)* > > *Putul(PPF)* > > *Vijay Pratap (Peoples Political Front(PPF)* > > * * > > *Kindly circulate this information to your friends, colleagues and other > activist groups widely* > > > > * * > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 17:24:06 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:24:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March In-Reply-To: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> References: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear Bipin (and all) Since you have put up this article, which I feel is very biased, I think the truth needs to be put out in perspective as well. To begin with, the man contesting as BJP candidate from Gandhinagar, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani, is known to be the man who led the Somnath-Ayodhya Rath yatra, which was responsible for the second biggest series of communal riots across India after the Partition post 1946. Wherever his rath went, there were riots. Infact, the Babri Masjid was also demolished thanks to his movement. And who can forget his contributions to the nation, in addition to these: The Parliament attack (to understand its meaning, think about what would have happened if Vajpayee would have been killed), the Akshardam attack, the fiasco after the Parliament massacre (putting up troops on the border without fighting any war led to death of soldiers due to mines laid there), as well as wastage of public expenditure. To add to that, his role during the Godhra and post-Godhra incidents, as Home Minister of India. (If I accept BJP's contention that the Godhra incident was planned, it was a massive intelligence failure of both the Central NDA govt. and the Gujarat govt that they failed to prevent it). What more do we need? What do you know about Medha Patkar? Go and first read about her before commenting on her at all. She fought for 10 years just to ensure that villages which were getting drowned by the Sardar Sarovar dam should be rehabilitated properly at other places. When this was not done for 10 years, she decided to fight against the dam. Go and first ask the BJP Govt in Madhya Pradesh to get those people rehabilitated, and also read the technical reports prepared which prove that the Dam wouldn't fulfill its missions of water supply and electricity in the way it is supposed to as per public pronoucements. The second fact is that poverty line as measured in India is very skewed. Today, it's Rs. 400 in rural areas and Rs 600 in urban areas. Taking the urban value as cut off, it is about Rs. 20 per day. What can people do in Rs. 20 per day? What can one buy in that, can anybody tell me? The Congress has been a failure, but if somebody makes me feel the reforms are good as of now, it's all crap. Please go and find figures before making grand statements. The growth in India which has been registered has by and large been just because of getting rid of licence raj, which at best, can be considered as piece-meal reforms. Real reforms have never taken place in any sector, be it labour, banking or anything. Infact, the useless development paradigm used prior to 1991 has been still continued, whereby people should put up the state above their families, and should sacrifice everything for the state rather than they getting compensated. Only recently has a Rehabilitation bill been passed. Roads are important not only for truck movement and movement of industrial goods; roads are important because they connect villages to cities, and thereby provide good means of transporting agricultural produce from villages to cities. Quick transportation means better quality and less chances of deterioration in quality, thereby ensuring better sale and profits of the sellers. Moreover, roads can also help definitely in quick transportation of industrial goods and cheaper means of transport compared to railways. This is all a big hoo-hah being created regarding policy creation in the name of votebank politics. The fact is that first of all, democracy in India means vote bank politics, and it's not as if other democratic nations don't experience it too. Bangladesh experiences it, the US experiences it and so do others. It would be better if somebody names a democratic nation which doesn't experience vote-bank politics. Secondly, the policy creation has never helped Muslims. On the other hand, the propaganda used by the BJP and now the media has now made their lives horrible and problematic compared to about 20-25 years ago. And the Congress has also played a part in ensuring this, to get Muslim votes solidly behind them. Hence, it's their complementary politics which is a problem for us. In many cases, Congress is replaced by some other 'secular' party. Since you talk about nuclear plant programs, the fact is that a US document concludes that by 2030, the maximum electricity we would be able to produce by nuclear fuel would be about 6-7%. Even the DAE (Dept. of Atomic Energy), India has made similar kind of projections. Then why do we make a kind of hoohaah that this nuclear deal is a huge achievement, is beyond my comprehension. Moreover, this is not about energy security as well. Cheaper energy can be obtained through coal and other means. Plus getting this fuel and building nuclear plants would entail huge costs, which if subsidized would increase govt. burden a lot from what it already is. Vande mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and it was written in favor of India viewed as a motherland. Since Muslims don't indulge in any image worship/idol worship as it's prohibited in their religion, and the given song idolizes India as a mother, they refuse to sing the song. It does not mean they don't respect the nation, for they do sing 'Jan Gan Man' and also 'Saare Jahan se Achcha'. Then what is the problem if Muslims don't sing the song? Would the patriotism of Muslims or their loyalty towards India be judged on whether they sing one particular song or not? It seems by saying nationality can be brought through such moves, nationality resides somewhere else. Nationality is there the moment we are born with us, it doesn't have to be brought from somewhere by some song or some dance form or something else. Nothing is achieved by useless force, and instead people should be made to understand the repercussions of their activities. Many poor people produce poor children because they are poor, and since their children start earning from a very young age (instead of going to schools), they feel that more be the number of children, more is the income of the family, and hence their economic situation will improve. Rather than improving their economic situation and thereby ensuring that they produce less children, you wish to force this solution upon them and degrade their economic position, which is not acceptable to me, or to them. And if this is votebank politics, it is better to subscribe to it rather than your suggestion which is not right to tackle the problem. Just because BJP does not take any step against Muslims, doesn't mean it loves them or does not hate them. The BJP belongs to the RSS led Sangh parivar, which had Golwalkar as one of its chairmen, who had said that Muslims and Christians should live as second class citizens in this country, based on the goodwill of the Hindus. In other words, their lives would be worse that of servants. They are supposed to follow the customs of the Hindus, rather than their own. Worse, other RSS heads have directly or indirectly repeated the same in their speeches at different times. And of course, who can forget that in the Gandhi assassination case, the judge had remarked that though there is no proof, he believed that RSS was also involved in this case. Nehru and Patel had different views. Patel suspected that Muslims would not be loyal to India post partition, whereas Nehru believed the opposite to be the case since Muslims had shown their magnanimity by staying back in India rather than migrating to Pakistan, thereby proving they were willing to live back in a secular republic than in an Islamic state. Plus, he did not want India to be a Hindu version of Pakistan. The reasons are there for all to see. If India would have been a Hindu Pakistan, then we would have been in same situation as Pakistan is today. And we would have been the joint headache of the world. Nehru took Kashmir to UN in the hope of getting the matter resolved, because he believed in peaceful co-existence of nations and believed that armies are not required as such to waste public funds on, like Gandhi. However, the 1962 war changed all that and he started spending more on defense, which has continued to this day. And while Sheikh Abdullah was his friend, he also got the Sheikh jailed since he never wanted Kashmir to go to Pakistan, for he knew that doing this would mean loss of PM post in India. How can Indira Gandhi be a great leader when she tried to destroy Indian democracy by imposing Emergency to perpetuate her own rule? Even she removed it when told that she would win the elections after removing them and declaring elections. Moreover, how is 1971 war related with vote-bank politics? Are you trying to suggest that Muslims were the reason she decided to let Kashmir remain with Pakistan? And if yes, have the guts to say that. Then we can argue upon it. As for the BJP, the fact remains that they have a different conception of economy from what the Congress has. To begin with, BJP has always been a party of upper castes and upper classes, and the schemes they suggest have always been good for these people. The introduction of mobiles on a large scale (used by large farmers, not those earning Rs. 600 a month), the Golden Quadrilateral Road + Rail scheme (Yes, there was a Golden Quadrilateral Rail scheme, where it is today nobody knows), the Airport Privatization Scheme and so on. But all these schemes would directly or indirectly favor the rich classes and the upper castes. The BJP was more concerned about the Sensex and the ups and downs in it, so also today it connects with the economic recession and loss of jobs. The BJP is concerned with inflation primarily because inflation is an urban issue. When a poor person never earns enough to buy to satisfy the hunger of himself or his family, how can he worry about inflation at all? Moreover, he does not have a proper shelter or clothes to wear as well. However, the Congress till 2004 at least was more concerned about the 'aam aadmi' (at least it said so) which is why they introduced schemes like the NREGA (to provide employment to people in their villages and ensure they don't migrate to cities in search of livelihood), as well as the RTI (Right to Information which ensured transparency in central and state govt sponsored schemes). However, since the Congress is an amalgam party, it includes people of diverse backgrounds and castes and classes. Hence, they also have schemes for rich people like loans for farmers at 7% credit, as well as the other schemes which BJP introduced in their reign, with the exception of privatization, which was not there thanks to the Left present in UPA govt for 4.5 years. The BJP has learnt the lesson from the Congress, hence in Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh they introduced the schemes of rice at Rs. 3/- kg and wheat at Rs. 2/- kg in their respective states, as well as more food items available at subsidized prices in their ruled states to the BPL families. *Moreover, in Madhya Pradesh, the Ladli Laxmi Yojana was started (brainchild politically of Shivraj Singh Chauhan), which ensures girl child education upto 12th standard as responsibility of the state govt, as well as depositing Rs. 1 lakh in her account till age of 18, so that she is not a burden for the family. So impressed is Mr. Advani himself that he has now said that if elected to power at the centre, he will introduce this scheme across the nation through the central govt. * Hence, please don't make broad based assumptions. Highways and all don't necessarily ensure votes, whereas employment schemes if properly implemented, and such BPL schemes can possibly give votes for they ensure people are able to at least feed themselves properly. As for Mallika Sarabhai, if you know something she hasn't put up in public domain, do let us know that. Regards Rakesh PS : Sorry for this long mail, but I think I had to counter this. From vizylac at yahoo.com Mon Mar 30 17:49:37 2009 From: vizylac at yahoo.com (Khan Akif) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:49:37 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Varun and the LSE Degree. Message-ID: <109057.63541.qm@web94712.mail.in2.yahoo.com> After Mukesh Ambani, now its the turn of Varun Gandhi to be in the controversy of a Degree, which according to media reports, He never got. Why do we need to get the support of foreign degrees to support our caliber and stature ? Varun Gandhi:  http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varun-told-hc-he-has-degrees-from-lse-soas-the-institutions-say-he-d.../440606/ Mukesh Ambani:    http://www.tehelka.com/story_main10.asp?filename=Bu010105is_mda.asp Regards Akif Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India Messenger at http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/?wm=n/ From 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com Mon Mar 30 19:51:32 2009 From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com (Taha Mehmood) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:21:32 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] The decline of the 'encounter death' In-Reply-To: <002101c9b0fd$62d23e90$0201a8c0@limo> References: <65be9bf40903271605q4833b251l38a63d19e019f578@mail.gmail.com> <001201c9af66$49447d00$0201a8c0@limo> <65be9bf40903281922t5bf01031i8f1f575eed3f800e@mail.gmail.com> <000e01c9b031$3dc645a0$0201a8c0@limo> <65be9bf40903291859o3f6c9128o2c0029079a503cde@mail.gmail.com> <002101c9b0fd$62d23e90$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: <65be9bf40903300721p580723a9m950fd7373d40eb52@mail.gmail.com> Dear Bipin Thank you for your mail. Had it been just a question of common sense then perhaps your argument would have reflected the impunity with which police acts on a day to day basis. However it appears as if there are different kinds of common sense. I would like to think of a common sensical remark by Engles in this regard, 'The lowest police officer of the civilized state has more "authority" than all the organs of gentile society put together'. So perhaps what we see in encounter killings and custodial deaths is nothing but benevolence of our police. And I do hope that such love and care for Bharat Mata is must be displayed with more vigour. And you are perhaps not entirely wrong in stating that for 'each and every' assertion we must not rely on a study or some proof. India after all is a free country and it must not shame us to state what we believe in, more so if our imagination propels us to acknowledge the existence of a gentle and prompt police force. Who kill only four people a day but that too because they are stressed and the people who die are stressed because of the lacuna of the state judiciary. Bipin Saheb...What we have indeed is an extraordinary brave bunch of people in police who are willing to lay down not only their own lives but also take others with them when it comes to rendering a praise worthy service to the nation. Regards Taha From dnyan21 at yahoo.com Mon Mar 30 22:29:12 2009 From: dnyan21 at yahoo.com (vaid theite) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:59:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March Message-ID: <30629.48035.qm@web30707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> While I support Mallika Sarabhai's cause, is it not bizare that she is campaigning in Delhi? Is she also not playing politics? Have you heard of any candidate from North East or far south campaigning in Delhi? Why has she chosen JNU? d --- On Mon, 3/30/09, Asit asitreds wrote: > From: Asit asitreds > Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March > To: "Sarai" > Date: Monday, March 30, 2009, 1:19 AM > Dear All > > > > Mallika Sarabhai the famous activist and artist, who is > contesting against > Mr LK Advani from BJP in Ahemdabad Lok Sabha will be > speaking at a Public > Meeting at JNU. > > > > You are invited at the meeting to lend your support in the > fight against > communalism. > > > >                 >                 >                 >             At > > *Sutlej Mess, Jawaharlal Nehru University* > > > > *Time: 3:30 pm * > > * * > > On > > *Tuesday, 31st March 2009* > > * * > > *Asit (Citizen’s against Communalism)* > > *Faisal Khan (Asha Parivar)* > > *Putul(PPF)* > > *Vijay Pratap (Peoples Political Front(PPF)* > > * * > > *Kindly circulate this information to your friends, > colleagues and other > activist groups widely* > > > > * * > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 22:36:08 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:36:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March In-Reply-To: <30629.48035.qm@web30707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <30629.48035.qm@web30707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Vaid When one contests elections, one has to play politics. The thing one should see is whether that politics benefits the society at large in a 'good way' or not. What I see here is that such election speeches at Delhi wont' benefit her. That's all. Neither is it beneficial for the Gandhinagar people who would like to know about her. Regards Rakesh From vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com Mon Mar 30 23:42:14 2009 From: vedavati_jogi at yahoo.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:42:14 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi Message-ID: <636054.11695.qm@web94707.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Dear Rakesh,   I would like to discuss all these points with you.   1) Very first thing,   There were 2 reasons why muslims decided to stay in India , firstly they were assured security by nehru and Patel, secondly, their daily bread & butter was here. If you read true History (and not the 'secular' one) that too with open mind then you will come to know that more than 90% muslims had supported 'pakistan' but most of them stayed back after partition.   I was shocked to read that it was magnonimity of muslims which made them to choose  India as their homeland.    2) Muslims come out to vote in large numbers does not mean they are very much in favour of democratic processes. Democarcy does not exist in muslim countries- see the past & present of all middle east countries. Muslims are quite aware of this fact that Hindus are divided in castes hence muslim votes can decide the future of the candidate which gives them power of bargaining.   Thats why 'secular' parties cannot cancel article 370, they can not bring 'uniform civil' code. they don't dare to hang Afzal guru. they don't show sympathy to kashmiri pandits or godhra victioms, list is very big.   3) You have said that,   'secular folk' has never stated that they want Bangladeshis to vote in elections. Neither have they made any statement in favor of Pakistan.   seculars have created hue and cry whenever shivsena or BJP have talked of sending back bangladeshis   Shankarrao Chavan former minister had said that he would like to provide permanent settlement to bangladeshis.   After pokharan testing in 1998, Mulayam singh had advised Bajpeyi Govt. to pay 2000 crores to pakistan.   Manishankar Ayyar loves and trusts Pakistan and hates RSS. and whatever happened in Swat valley was just a 'deal' and not something one should worry about.   Arundhati Roy openly supported Afzal Guru and advised govt. to give Kashmir to pakistan   I would prefer not to talk about 'Tista Settlewad'   4) For me, muslims are Indians moreover they are human beings and not votebanks, Not Babar but Ram was their ancestor. They should mingle with  their Hindu brothers freely. They should send their children to English / Hindi or Regional language medium schools and allow them to mix up with their Hindu brothers and sisters. They should accept uniform civil code.   Unfortunately that is not happening because you seculars continously give them feeling that they are different than Hindus, they are suffering because they are Muslims   I would like to give you one example,   I am a media professional working in the field of Education since last 23 years. Presently I am working for socio-economicall unprivileged children 20% of them are Muslims. Among them my most obedient and favourite student 'Rahil Tamboli' happens to be a Muslim . His mother is a victim of Talaque, who is now working as a peon. Rahil is a very hardworking student who wants to be an IAS officer,   Recently some congress workers visited his slum area mostly occupied by muslims. These workers started talking about descrimination against muslims and how congress gave them gift of Sacchar etc. Rahil stood up and dared to ask those workers 'which descrimination you are talking about?' Because he is quite aware of this fact that he is the most favourite student of his Jogi madam. What he said was very very important. 'Talaque' is the reason behind his sufferings. This 17 years old youth  wants to be an  IAS officer but he can't  achieve his goal because he can't join even Junior college, he has to work because he has to look after his three younger siblings. "I will throw your Sacchar report into waste paper basket" believe me these are his words.     There are thousands of Rahil Tambolis in India.  Politicians and  seculars are constantly reminding them of their religion,  trying to separate them from Hindus, Politicians get votes and seculars can prove their secular credentials. They are more worried about preserving their separate identity and expect Hindus to forget their own identity, anything 'hindu' is communal anything 'muslim' is 'secular' 'liberal' . Does this situation encourage Hindu-Muslim unity?   Keep aside your 'secular tag' and think over it'   Regards   vedavati         --- On Sat, 28/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi To: "Vedavati Jogi" Date: Saturday, 28 March, 2009, 4:50 PM Dear Vedavati Since you have stated that you can't accept certain things, I would be glad if you could answer the following questions in regard to these itself. These are: 1) You state that Hindus had shown magnanimity to Muslims by allowing them to stay back. As far as I remember, violence during Partition had occurred in Bengal and Punjab, and may be in some other parts of North India. Rajasthan and Gujarat, as well as the rest of India, was not involved in any time of strife or violence, so there the Muslims stayed back. And even in Punjab and Bengal, many Muslims did stay back. Hence, your understanding that Hindus were magnanimous enough to let Muslims stay back, is in my minds contentious. This may be true only upto an extent in Bengal and Punjab. Infact, to my mind, the Muslims were magnanimous enough by staying back in India rather than going back to Pakistan, thereby strengthening the idea that they believe in surviving in a secular republic rather than in an Islamic state.  This idea is further strengthened by the fact that Muslims come out to vote in large numbers (forget for the moment the parties they vote for), which means they are very much in favor of democratic processes. And they do believe in the rights of the state. Infact, while the Muslims of India oppose US for its' foreign policy, they don't oppose the Indo-US Nuclear Deal or any deal.  And all talk of Left fell flat when they said Muslims are against the deal. 2) What makes you say that 100% Indianisation of Muslims has not taken place? And first of all, can you define what Indianisation is? I can understand Talibanization, but I don't understand what Indianisation is. Do you have personal experiences of Muslims not being Indianized, or are these just statements which keep on circulating as usual through media folk and the like. I would be very glad if people who post these statements actually come out, put their names, and show photos and visuals of these happening. 3) You say dividing the country. I agree that Congress and the other 'secular' parties are more interested in getting the Muslim vote, and if they can get that through communal riots, so be it. The fact is that the same Sachar committee which you deride, has proven that in the last 60 years, Muslims have actually become worser, so much so, that their position today is comparable to that of Dalits (which is not great, irrespective of Mayawati becoming CM of UP). And even the Muslims know that they have been taken for granted as a vote bank, but they can't help it. If the second most important party in India had not been the BJP, but say the Left or some other party which was not based on any religion-based agenda (even if it were say casteist), Muslims could have voted tactically to ensure their progress. Instead, today they have to waste their votes (like in my state MP), towards ensuring their own security. All thanks to BJP and their activities. 4) You are stating there is so-called discrimination against Muslims. If you want, you can go to Gujarat, in the city of Ahmedabad. My relatives live there, and so do a couple of my friends. You would be sad to know that on one hand, we have the Hindu-dominated areas, where there are banks, schools (both public and private functioning properly by and large), municipal offices, and other facilities expected of a modern city. Go to the Muslim ghettoes, and there are none. You may say people are poor, so they don't go to schools or other areas. Then let me remind you that in 2007, India finally accepted the duty of educating children from 5 to 14 years of age, with primary education free of cost. What is happening to this particular idea in these areas? Here, teachers don't attend schools, and students come back after some time as no teachers are there. No banks are established even to give micro-credit, something for which none other than Mohammed Yunus, won the Nobel Prize for Peace. These Muslims, even if rich, are not allowed to buy houses in certain areas of Ahmedabad where Hindus live. People are threatened if they give houses in rent to Muslims. Is this the way to go? I can understand the criteria of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, but this alone is not what makes people go against Muslims. Let me go ahead and say this. If we are so insecure about our own daughters and wives that we feel that they would run away with Muslims, we should stop marrying and live alone. That way would still be better. And is it better to marry off our daughters to people who are bad but Hindu, rather than someone they love but is a Muslim? 5) Finally, who shows sympathies towards Bangladeshis or Pakistanis? Never has any of this 'secular folk' has stated that they want Bangladeshis to vote in elections. Neither have they made any statement in favor of Pakistan. Instead, you interpret any statement made by them for Muslims, as one supporting Pakistan. Because for you, Indian Muslim = Pakistan. And it's this which I say is wrong, simply because it has been unproven. For actions of a few Muslims, they can't be branded anti-nationals. And all those who actually feel for Pakistan, need not be necessarily anti-India. They may be simply pro human, who would want both India and Pakistan to prosper side by side. Finally, for the fact you can't forgive. Then what should we do? Cut Muslims to pieces? Would that give you some satisfaction? And if you get killed then? Should we continue with this blood bath till one community gets vanquished? Regards Rakesh Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname at rocketmail.com. Sign up now! Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Go to http://in.webmessenger.yahoo.com/ From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Mar 30 23:58:26 2009 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:58:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Lest you forget... Message-ID: <6353c690903301128t3f375cd6uf925c950e734756a@mail.gmail.com> Lest you forget... MTV Iggy Video Features on J&K Mohan's entire family was killed in Kashmir by so called 'Freedom Warriors'. http://www.mtviggy.com/desi/kashmir-voices-mohan-story-refugee-camp Sunil describes his life in inhuman camps. http://www.mtviggy.com/desi/kashmir-voices-sunil-integral-india regards Aditya Raj Kaul freelance writer the times of India From dnyan21 at yahoo.com Tue Mar 31 00:16:50 2009 From: dnyan21 at yahoo.com (vaid theite) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:46:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March Message-ID: <168163.60703.qm@web30702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> True. I am not opposing her politics. But, better she should focus her energies in Gandhinagar. Is she not collecting money to support her campaign? Why is she spending it in flying to Delhi? Better, why doesnt she spend in playing "politics" so that more and more anti-right wings come under her wings. I am suggesting that play a politics in such a way that slippery congress voters will join her hands. It is electoral politics after all. Not intellectualising in Delhi- that again in JNU, am i not right? --- On Mon, 3/30/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > From: Rakesh Iyer > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March > To: "vaid theite" > Cc: "Sarai" , "Asit asitreds" > Date: Monday, March 30, 2009, 10:06 AM > Dear Vaid > > When one contests elections, one has to play politics. The > thing one should see is whether that politics benefits the > society at large in a 'good way' or not. What I see > here is that such election speeches at Delhi wont' > benefit her. That's all. Neither is it beneficial for > the Gandhinagar people who would like to know about her. > > > Regards > > Rakesh > > From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 09:40:06 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:40:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Pakistani Reacts - Lahore [ Manawan ] attack by Islamic Fascist Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903302110r4f9ebe2dn62d30f8420d90137@mail.gmail.com> Almost 150 years ago, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, a Sufi poet, wrote: "Neechan di ashnayee kolon faiz kisay na paya, kikker te angoor cherhaya her guchha zakhmaya" Translation: You will gain nothing from your friendship with a person of lowly character. You will be foolish to plant a grape vine on a keekar (acacia) tree. Ahsan: I live 4 km away from the academy. Heard about the attack at around 8:30. At around 10.00, I began to realize the seriousness and intensity of the attack. Hurried to pick my son from school which is hardly 2 km from the academy. The shrine of great Sufi Saint Madhoo Lal Hussain is hardly 2 km away from the academy. Today is the third day of Lal Hussain Urs. Devotees were busy going towards his shrine, thronging the already congested G.T.Road and oblivious of the mayhem carried out 2 km away. I thought about the message of peace and universal brotherhood which Lal Hussain preached in this city of saints and gardens. I dont know why we failed to stop the violation and plunder of our great city. Violation of its traditions of hospitality and tolerance. I can not figure out why we continue to tolerate these violater and plunderers amongst us. Sitting on the pulpits of bone and flesh, they continue to spread their message of hate and bigotry. Tonight I am going to the shrine of Lal Hussain to lit “chiraghs and diyas” for all the innocent blood that was spilled. I will sit amongst my brothers to drink bhang, smoke pot and shout a rebel yell in defiance of the mullahs of this land. http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/ From aliens at dataone.in Tue Mar 31 10:53:17 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:53:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi References: <636054.11695.qm@web94707.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <001901c9b1c0$cd3ec550$0201a8c0@limo> well said Vedavati, your points are much valid. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vedavati Jogi" To: Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 11:42 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > > > > > > > > > > > Dear Rakesh, > > I would like to discuss all these points with you. > > 1) Very first thing, > > There were 2 reasons why muslims decided to stay in India , firstly they > were assured security by nehru and Patel, secondly, their daily bread & > butter was here. If you read true History (and not the 'secular' one) that > too with open mind then you will come to know that more than 90% muslims > had supported 'pakistan' but most of them stayed back after partition. > > I was shocked to read that it was magnonimity of muslims which made them > to choose India as their homeland. > > 2) Muslims come out to vote in large numbers does not mean they are very > much in favour of democratic processes. Democarcy does not exist in muslim > countries- see the past & present of all middle east countries. Muslims > are quite aware of this fact that Hindus are divided in castes hence > muslim votes can decide the future of the candidate which gives them power > of bargaining. > > Thats why 'secular' parties cannot cancel article 370, they can not bring > 'uniform civil' code. > they don't dare to hang Afzal guru. they don't show sympathy to kashmiri > pandits or godhra victioms, list is very big. > > 3) You have said that, > > 'secular folk' has never stated that they want Bangladeshis to vote in > elections. Neither have they made any statement in favor of Pakistan. > > seculars have created hue and cry whenever shivsena or BJP have talked of > sending back bangladeshis > > Shankarrao Chavan former minister had said that he would like to provide > permanent settlement to bangladeshis. > > After pokharan testing in 1998, Mulayam singh had advised Bajpeyi Govt. to > pay 2000 crores to pakistan. > > Manishankar Ayyar loves and trusts Pakistan and hates RSS. and whatever > happened in Swat valley was just a 'deal' and not something one should > worry about. > > Arundhati Roy openly supported Afzal Guru and advised govt. to give > Kashmir to pakistan > > I would prefer not to talk about 'Tista Settlewad' > > 4) For me, muslims are Indians moreover they are human beings and not > votebanks, > Not Babar but Ram was their ancestor. They should mingle with their Hindu > brothers freely. They should send their children to English / Hindi or > Regional language medium schools and allow them to mix up with their Hindu > brothers and sisters. They should accept uniform civil code. > > Unfortunately that is not happening because you seculars continously give > them feeling that they are different than Hindus, they are suffering > because they are Muslims > > I would like to give you one example, > > I am a media professional working in the field of Education since last 23 > years. Presently I am working for socio-economicall unprivileged children > 20% of them are Muslims. Among them my most obedient and favourite student > 'Rahil Tamboli' happens to be a Muslim . > His mother is a victim of Talaque, who is now working as a peon. Rahil is > a very hardworking student who wants to be an IAS officer, > > Recently some congress workers visited his slum area mostly occupied by > muslims. These workers started talking about descrimination against > muslims and how congress gave them gift of Sacchar etc. Rahil stood up and > dared to ask those workers 'which descrimination you are talking about?' > Because he is quite aware of this fact that he is the most favourite > student of his Jogi madam. What he said was very very important. 'Talaque' > is the reason behind his sufferings. This 17 years old youth wants to be > an IAS officer but he can't achieve his goal because he can't join even > Junior college, he has to work because he has to look after his three > younger siblings. "I will throw your Sacchar report into waste paper > basket" believe me these are his words. > > There are thousands of Rahil Tambolis in India. Politicians and seculars > are constantly reminding them of their religion, trying to separate them > from Hindus, Politicians get votes and seculars can prove their secular > credentials. They are more worried about preserving their separate > identity and expect Hindus to forget their own identity, > anything 'hindu' is communal anything 'muslim' is 'secular' 'liberal' . > Does this situation encourage Hindu-Muslim unity? > > Keep aside your 'secular tag' and think over it' > > Regards > > vedavati > > > > > --- On Sat, 28/3/09, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > > > From: Rakesh Iyer > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Epitaph of a Mind: Vir Sanghvi > To: "Vedavati Jogi" > Date: Saturday, 28 March, 2009, 4:50 PM > > > Dear Vedavati > > Since you have stated that you can't accept certain things, I would be > glad if you could answer the following questions in regard to these > itself. These are: > > 1) You state that Hindus had shown magnanimity to Muslims by allowing them > to stay back. As far as I remember, violence during Partition had occurred > in Bengal and Punjab, and may be in some other parts of North India. > Rajasthan and Gujarat, as well as the rest of India, was not involved in > any time of strife or violence, so there the Muslims stayed back. And even > in Punjab and Bengal, many Muslims did stay back. > > Hence, your understanding that Hindus were magnanimous enough to let > Muslims stay back, is in my minds contentious. This may be true only upto > an extent in Bengal and Punjab. Infact, to my mind, the Muslims were > magnanimous enough by staying back in India rather than going back to > Pakistan, thereby strengthening the idea that they believe in surviving in > a secular republic rather than in an Islamic state. > > This idea is further strengthened by the fact that Muslims come out to > vote in large numbers (forget for the moment the parties they vote for), > which means they are very much in favor of democratic processes. And they > do believe in the rights of the state. Infact, while the Muslims of India > oppose US for its' foreign policy, they don't oppose the Indo-US Nuclear > Deal or any deal. And all talk of Left fell flat when they said Muslims > are against the deal. > > 2) What makes you say that 100% Indianisation of Muslims has not taken > place? And first of all, can you define what Indianisation is? I can > understand Talibanization, but I don't understand what Indianisation is. > Do you have personal experiences of Muslims not being Indianized, or are > these just statements which keep on circulating as usual through media > folk and the like. > > I would be very glad if people who post these statements actually come > out, put their names, and show photos and visuals of these happening. > > 3) You say dividing the country. I agree that Congress and the other > 'secular' parties are more interested in getting the Muslim vote, and if > they can get that through communal riots, so be it. The fact is that the > same Sachar committee which you deride, has proven that in the last 60 > years, Muslims have actually become worser, so much so, that their > position today is comparable to that of Dalits (which is not great, > irrespective of Mayawati becoming CM of UP). > > And even the Muslims know that they have been taken for granted as a vote > bank, but they can't help it. If the second most important party in India > had not been the BJP, but say the Left or some other party which was not > based on any religion-based agenda (even if it were say casteist), Muslims > could have voted tactically to ensure their progress. Instead, today they > have to waste their votes (like in my state MP), towards ensuring their > own security. All thanks to BJP and their activities. > > 4) You are stating there is so-called discrimination against Muslims. If > you want, you can go to Gujarat, in the city of Ahmedabad. My relatives > live there, and so do a couple of my friends. You would be sad to know > that on one hand, we have the Hindu-dominated areas, where there are > banks, schools (both public and private functioning properly by and > large), municipal offices, and other facilities expected of a modern city. > Go to the Muslim ghettoes, and there are none. You may say people are > poor, so they don't go to schools or other areas. > > Then let me remind you that in 2007, India finally accepted the duty of > educating children from 5 to 14 years of age, with primary education free > of cost. What is happening to this particular idea in these areas? Here, > teachers don't attend schools, and students come back after some time as > no teachers are there. No banks are established even to give micro-credit, > something for which none other than Mohammed Yunus, won the Nobel Prize > for Peace. > > These Muslims, even if rich, are not allowed to buy houses in certain > areas of Ahmedabad where Hindus live. People are threatened if they give > houses in rent to Muslims. Is this the way to go? I can understand the > criteria of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, but this alone is not what > makes people go against Muslims. > > Let me go ahead and say this. If we are so insecure about our own > daughters and wives that we feel that they would run away with Muslims, we > should stop marrying and live alone. That way would still be better. And > is it better to marry off our daughters to people who are bad but Hindu, > rather than someone they love but is a Muslim? > > 5) Finally, who shows sympathies towards Bangladeshis or Pakistanis? Never > has any of this 'secular folk' has stated that they want Bangladeshis to > vote in elections. Neither have they made any statement in favor of > Pakistan. Instead, you interpret any statement made by them for Muslims, > as one supporting Pakistan. > > Because for you, Indian Muslim = Pakistan. > > And it's this which I say is wrong, simply because it has been unproven. > For actions of a few Muslims, they can't be branded anti-nationals. And > all those who actually feel for Pakistan, need not be necessarily > anti-India. They may be simply pro human, who would want both India and > Pakistan to prosper side by side. > > Finally, for the fact you can't forgive. Then what should we do? Cut > Muslims to pieces? Would that give you some satisfaction? And if you get > killed then? Should we continue with this blood bath till one community > gets vanquished? > > Regards > > Rakesh > > > > Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID. Get yourname at rocketmail.com. Sign up > now! > > > Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Go to > http://in.webmessenger.yahoo.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 13:32:45 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:32:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why No NSA against Geelani & Malik ? Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903310102i2c545eb6n1f847d0e0751444a@mail.gmail.com> Yasin Malik endrosing terrorist activities on 30th March 2009 http://www.kmsnews.org/news/martyrs%E2%80%99-mission-continue-malik In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Muhammad Yasin Malik has emphasised that the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs will not be allowed to go waste and their mission will be accomplished at all costs. Muhammad Yasin Malik, addressing a mammoth gathering held in connection with 19th martyrdom anniversary of Ashfaq Majeed Wani at Mazar-e-Shuhada, Eidgah in Srinagar paid glowing tribute to Kashmiri martyrs including renowned human rights activists Jaleel Andrabi, Ashfaq Majeed Wani and Dr Abdul Ahad Guru. Ashfaq Majeed Wani was martyred on March 30, 1990. [ Ashfaq Majid Wani belonged to HAJY Gang who bought gun to valley . Others included Yasin malik , Hamid Sheikh and Javed Mir [ Nalka ] ] Geelani endrosing terrorist activities on 30th March 2009 http://www.risingkashmir.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=11638 “Armed struggle is the backbone of our struggle. Our issue is internationally acclaimed because of our sacrifices. Such people are our heroes and are way ahead than those involved in political struggle for the cause,” Geelani said while addressing a gathering at Dadsara Tral on Sunday, where two militants Azad Ahmed Bhat and Safeer ul Islam were killed in an encounter. From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 16:11:42 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:11:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31st March In-Reply-To: <168163.60703.qm@web30702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <168163.60703.qm@web30702.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Vaid On the account you have put up, it is certainly true that Mallika should better go to Gandhinagar and campaign. As for donations from Delhi, while she is entitled to have them, she has said she will fight in a transparent manner, and the EC is there to look that she doesn't spend more than 25 lakhs in the pre-election period I think (sorry if the amount I have put up is wrong). So if she is hurting herself, it's her problem. And if one feels that is wrong, then one should write to her or better contest elections oneself (if she still does not listen). Am I right now? Regards Rakesh From aliens at dataone.in Tue Mar 31 18:38:41 2009 From: aliens at dataone.in (bipin) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:38:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31stMarch References: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: <003901c9b201$d086b3d0$0201a8c0@limo> Dear Rakesh and All, I am giving point by point reply to Rakesh mail as under. Interested person please read it patiently and welcome your point of view. Advani was not first person to take out Rath Yatra for political mileage. There was series of rath yatra organized by various political parties. I have already mentioned in my analysis that to counter minor vote bank politics of congress since years, BJP started appeasing Hindu vote bank. Advani started from Somnath and wherever it passes through Gujarat and other places got very good response. No riot took place in Gujarat or even other part wherever it passed, but when Lalu stopped the same at Bihar tension/riot started particularly at UP. Question is that why Lalu stopped. Naturally to get political mileage from minor vote bank. Babri Masjid demolition was also not good. But, there is historical place of Hindu and Lord Ram birth place deep routed in the mind of whole India and the place of mosque where nothing was happening since years and remain idle, with broad mind, Muslim community should understand and would have given the place for building temple. This very long issue and repeated requests was denied by Babri committee. Time came, when Hindu got anxious and things happened. However, this is not the actual issue we want to discuss. This is history now and if you remember old things and will remain in past only, one will never progress. Since, you have written this, I have given my view point. Ram mandir issue is now legal matter and court will decide it. If Muslim staying in India stays here as Indian and stop their mental physical support to the terrorist and you will see the difference. Whenever any govt. comes in the power and after getting stable for sometime adopts some new policies, it will take at least 2.5/3 years time to get effect of that policy. So, during that initial period of govt., previous govt. policies will remain in effect. This is very important point to note. Since the NDA was the first co-alition govt. took more time to stabilize. Major terror attack took place, including parliament attack, in the initial tenor of their rule. There after attack was there, but much lower impact attack took place. You mentioned Akshardham, but in Gujarat after that, no other terror attack took place. Only recent (2008) bomb blast took place. Strict law like POTA or any such kind is necessary to prevent local hand to support terrorist and so that is why such laws are required. With such a law outsider will not effected but local hand will think twice for support to terrorist. No doubt, intelligence failure is major problem in system and it is applicable to all the govt. whoever in the power. To improve it, we need independent agency without political interference. I don't know whether it is possible or not, but altogether again different issue. So, if you point out for only NDA rule intelligence failure is not fair. Its more applicable to congress since they ruled for about 50 years after independent. Misuse of intelligence agency was started by Indira, as she has started so many unwanted things during her rule. Her only good step was Nationalization of Banks which was necessary at that time and situation, so the bank without looking into the profit, reaches each and every villages. However, I doubt this point was there in her mind. She must have taken this step to become popular in public mind to vow votes. So, do you think that if Megha Patker was not there, rehabilitation would have not done in proper manner? Gujarat govt. rehabilitation was appreciated by court as well as world bank also. May be she is social worker and doing some good work, but one should not put hindrance in the development or public benefit process. Court has also slept her for this matter. Today, it started producing power and water reaching many cities/towns/villages in Gujarat and benefited to farmers. Crops in Gujarat has increased compare to previous years. No doubt canal work is yet not completed and could not able to achieve canal work as per target. Power plant also started producing power. Still the height has to increase and for which court giving step wise permission. By making Narmada dam, water of river going in the sea was stopped and utilized. It is unfortunate that we have wasted water for 15 years unutilized by delaying the projects. Thanks (or curse) to Megha Patker. Can you elaborate, from where you got that figure of Rs. 20 per day. I am going to my village in Sabarkantha district, I have noticed of minimum Rs. 100 to 200 per day they get by way labor of all kind. While farmers labor gets Rs. 80 to 200 minimum according to their skill. The figure you must be giving might there in the states like UP, Bihar, Orissa and even west Bengal also. WB was one of the prosperous state earlier and Kolkata prosperous city even after independence, what happened? Communists ruled for more than 25 years what happened, things more worsened. They have ruined the state by enforcing labor unions. The key reason for govt. employees inefficiency is their job securities. This securities make them lazy and lethargic. We give examples of Japan, China for their remarkable progress in short span. Why? Because of their efficiency and loyal to their employer. They don't have labor unions. If anybody does not work with efficiency and discipline, they should allowed to fired off. When overall interest rate were reduced so accordingly PF interest rate must be reduced. But, communists did not allow it. Why? In PF list there are 10/12% or maximum 15% people are their of the total population. By not reducing PF interest rate, you are giving injustice to remaining 85% of the population. Just answer me this question. Don't ignore it. Rigid communist mind will never understand this. And also those in the PF list are getting best salary and job securities than rest of the people. So, why should they be treated specially. It is surprising that you praise license raj. It was there for 45 years, but the things improved during the period? No. it has more or less worsened. Since it was biggest hindrance for new technological industrialization. Only Tata, Birla and other few industrialist were having monopoly. When the things becomes free, competitiveness comes and this competitiveness will lead to progress. East-West and North-South four lane corridor along with their link to town and villages were initiated and started at rapid pace by NDA govt. which was practically stopped when UPA came to power. Better roads is useful which you have also agreed so nothing to say about it. The real root based progress is to build infrastructure like Roads, Power, Ports, Airports development and first priority of fund allotment should be for these purpose and not the schemes you have mentioned. You have well said these schemes are good if properly implemented. That is the main problem of proper implementation. Our corrupt and inefficient system will not allow proper implementation and it will be wastage of money. By giving such assurance to people, you make them lazy and inefficient. When you put the same money for infrastructure development with the private partners, your money will have definitely appreciation in the long run. This is the root development and in long run even poor people also get benefit out of it. Please think deeply in this and than reply, don't think this in the eye of communist since they never understand root based development and will not come out of their rigid thoughts. Well said by you, one should put state above their family and that is Nationalism, where we are lacking. When I am saying Vande Matram should sing, means not necessarily the same song, but any of such kind can be made compulsory at school level, but I am sure pseudo-secularist will not allow it. You are talking sometime like child. Every one can understand that where you have borne you will be citizen or having nationality of that country. Understand the difference between nationality and nationalism (deshdaz, deshprem). Nuclear agreement is necessary since our existing nuclear power plants required fuel like Uranium and without that they would have been scrapped. New nuclear power plant viability is the next issue. If it is not viable, definitely one should not go for it. You say that "Patel suspected that Muslims would not be loyal to India post partition". I think vision of Patel unfortunately proved to be right if he told like that. I did not find in History any of such statement. Please give me book reference if you find it. Today, many Muslim individual or family are giving mental/physical support to terrorist activities. May be operated and planned from outside India, but without local support it can not be executed. I think you will agree with this simple fact. I am not blaming whole community and my many Muslim friends are there and they condemn the terror attacks whenever took place. Nehru has taken unanimous decision of taking Kashmir issue in UN and almost whole cabinet was not agreed with it. He proved totally wrong in this decision. At that time if he would have given free hand to Patel, I am sure Kashmir problem would have been resolved permanently. There is no question of Hindu version of Pakistan to be happen since Hindus are peace loving since ancient time and that is the reason Muslim and British were ruled over them for long time. Among the entire ancient King and today's politician only Akbar was the real secular King and I salute him. Without leader ship quality, one can not rule for 17 years and so I described her as great leader. She could be able to materialize 1971 war because at that time we have full backing of Russia and considered as super power at that time. Which is not possible at today's time, since US has his own interest in Pakistan will never allow India for war. This is the reason both NDA and now UPA could not attack on Pakistan, though they both were keen to do so. On the winning track in 1971, she could have easily captured POK back to India, but she did not do the reason god knows may be vote bank politics I don't know, but there is much possibility is like that. No body concerned for sensex. Once the economy and GDP is on track, sensex bound to go upword by way of natural law. One should not bother for it. If industrialization along with infrastructural development is going on GDP will also be on the track. By giving free power, rice at Rs. 3.00 per kg, these all gimmicks are for vote bank and money making process by way of corruption. BJP by adopting such schemes (may be due to compulsion) making mistake. I have already told you earlier that such schemes are wastage of money due to lack in proper implemtation and corrupted system. Please think twice before putting any argument, if you want root based development, you have to adopt infrastructural development on war foot base. Madhya Pradesh CM scheme is welcome scheme and such innovative idea whoever does should be implemented immediately. Free education for Girl is there in Gujarat since more than 10 years. May be about 15 years. Mallika Sarabhai identity is that she is daughter of great scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai coming from ultra rich family. It's surprising that many encouraging her against veteran leader like Advani. She is only rich class goons, supporter of anti Gujarat activist like Megha Patker, one of the pseudo-secularist and most selfish lady. I give salute to her for her dancing ability, but not at all social activists. She uses their money power for social activity to become popular in the high society and not doing any real grass root level social work. thanks Bipin ----- Original Message ----- From: Rakesh Iyer To: bipin Cc: Asit asitreds ; sarai-list Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 5:24 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31stMarch Dear Bipin (and all) Since you have put up this article, which I feel is very biased, I think the truth needs to be put out in perspective as well. To begin with, the man contesting as BJP candidate from Gandhinagar, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani, is known to be the man who led the Somnath-Ayodhya Rath yatra, which was responsible for the second biggest series of communal riots across India after the Partition post 1946. Wherever his rath went, there were riots. Infact, the Babri Masjid was also demolished thanks to his movement. And who can forget his contributions to the nation, in addition to these: The Parliament attack (to understand its meaning, think about what would have happened if Vajpayee would have been killed), the Akshardam attack, the fiasco after the Parliament massacre (putting up troops on the border without fighting any war led to death of soldiers due to mines laid there), as well as wastage of public expenditure. To add to that, his role during the Godhra and post-Godhra incidents, as Home Minister of India. (If I accept BJP's contention that the Godhra incident was planned, it was a massive intelligence failure of both the Central NDA govt. and the Gujarat govt that they failed to prevent it). What more do we need? What do you know about Medha Patkar? Go and first read about her before commenting on her at all. She fought for 10 years just to ensure that villages which were getting drowned by the Sardar Sarovar dam should be rehabilitated properly at other places. When this was not done for 10 years, she decided to fight against the dam. Go and first ask the BJP Govt in Madhya Pradesh to get those people rehabilitated, and also read the technical reports prepared which prove that the Dam wouldn't fulfill its missions of water supply and electricity in the way it is supposed to as per public pronoucements. The second fact is that poverty line as measured in India is very skewed. Today, it's Rs. 400 in rural areas and Rs 600 in urban areas. Taking the urban value as cut off, it is about Rs. 20 per day. What can people do in Rs. 20 per day? What can one buy in that, can anybody tell me? The Congress has been a failure, but if somebody makes me feel the reforms are good as of now, it's all crap. Please go and find figures before making grand statements. The growth in India which has been registered has by and large been just because of getting rid of licence raj, which at best, can be considered as piece-meal reforms. Real reforms have never taken place in any sector, be it labour, banking or anything. Infact, the useless development paradigm used prior to 1991 has been still continued, whereby people should put up the state above their families, and should sacrifice everything for the state rather than they getting compensated. Only recently has a Rehabilitation bill been passed. Roads are important not only for truck movement and movement of industrial goods; roads are important because they connect villages to cities, and thereby provide good means of transporting agricultural produce from villages to cities. Quick transportation means better quality and less chances of deterioration in quality, thereby ensuring better sale and profits of the sellers. Moreover, roads can also help definitely in quick transportation of industrial goods and cheaper means of transport compared to railways. This is all a big hoo-hah being created regarding policy creation in the name of votebank politics. The fact is that first of all, democracy in India means vote bank politics, and it's not as if other democratic nations don't experience it too. Bangladesh experiences it, the US experiences it and so do others. It would be better if somebody names a democratic nation which doesn't experience vote-bank politics. Secondly, the policy creation has never helped Muslims. On the other hand, the propaganda used by the BJP and now the media has now made their lives horrible and problematic compared to about 20-25 years ago. And the Congress has also played a part in ensuring this, to get Muslim votes solidly behind them. Hence, it's their complementary politics which is a problem for us. In many cases, Congress is replaced by some other 'secular' party. Since you talk about nuclear plant programs, the fact is that a US document concludes that by 2030, the maximum electricity we would be able to produce by nuclear fuel would be about 6-7%. Even the DAE (Dept. of Atomic Energy), India has made similar kind of projections. Then why do we make a kind of hoohaah that this nuclear deal is a huge achievement, is beyond my comprehension. Moreover, this is not about energy security as well. Cheaper energy can be obtained through coal and other means. Plus getting this fuel and building nuclear plants would entail huge costs, which if subsidized would increase govt. burden a lot from what it already is. Vande mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and it was written in favor of India viewed as a motherland. Since Muslims don't indulge in any image worship/idol worship as it's prohibited in their religion, and the given song idolizes India as a mother, they refuse to sing the song. It does not mean they don't respect the nation, for they do sing 'Jan Gan Man' and also 'Saare Jahan se Achcha'. Then what is the problem if Muslims don't sing the song? Would the patriotism of Muslims or their loyalty towards India be judged on whether they sing one particular song or not? It seems by saying nationality can be brought through such moves, nationality resides somewhere else. Nationality is there the moment we are born with us, it doesn't have to be brought from somewhere by some song or some dance form or something else. Nothing is achieved by useless force, and instead people should be made to understand the repercussions of their activities. Many poor people produce poor children because they are poor, and since their children start earning from a very young age (instead of going to schools), they feel that more be the number of children, more is the income of the family, and hence their economic situation will improve. Rather than improving their economic situation and thereby ensuring that they produce less children, you wish to force this solution upon them and degrade their economic position, which is not acceptable to me, or to them. And if this is votebank politics, it is better to subscribe to it rather than your suggestion which is not right to tackle the problem. Just because BJP does not take any step against Muslims, doesn't mean it loves them or does not hate them. The BJP belongs to the RSS led Sangh parivar, which had Golwalkar as one of its chairmen, who had said that Muslims and Christians should live as second class citizens in this country, based on the goodwill of the Hindus. In other words, their lives would be worse that of servants. They are supposed to follow the customs of the Hindus, rather than their own. Worse, other RSS heads have directly or indirectly repeated the same in their speeches at different times. And of course, who can forget that in the Gandhi assassination case, the judge had remarked that though there is no proof, he believed that RSS was also involved in this case. Nehru and Patel had different views. Patel suspected that Muslims would not be loyal to India post partition, whereas Nehru believed the opposite to be the case since Muslims had shown their magnanimity by staying back in India rather than migrating to Pakistan, thereby proving they were willing to live back in a secular republic than in an Islamic state. Plus, he did not want India to be a Hindu version of Pakistan. The reasons are there for all to see. If India would have been a Hindu Pakistan, then we would have been in same situation as Pakistan is today. And we would have been the joint headache of the world. Nehru took Kashmir to UN in the hope of getting the matter resolved, because he believed in peaceful co-existence of nations and believed that armies are not required as such to waste public funds on, like Gandhi. However, the 1962 war changed all that and he started spending more on defense, which has continued to this day. And while Sheikh Abdullah was his friend, he also got the Sheikh jailed since he never wanted Kashmir to go to Pakistan, for he knew that doing this would mean loss of PM post in India. How can Indira Gandhi be a great leader when she tried to destroy Indian democracy by imposing Emergency to perpetuate her own rule? Even she removed it when told that she would win the elections after removing them and declaring elections. Moreover, how is 1971 war related with vote-bank politics? Are you trying to suggest that Muslims were the reason she decided to let Kashmir remain with Pakistan? And if yes, have the guts to say that. Then we can argue upon it. As for the BJP, the fact remains that they have a different conception of economy from what the Congress has. To begin with, BJP has always been a party of upper castes and upper classes, and the schemes they suggest have always been good for these people. The introduction of mobiles on a large scale (used by large farmers, not those earning Rs. 600 a month), the Golden Quadrilateral Road + Rail scheme (Yes, there was a Golden Quadrilateral Rail scheme, where it is today nobody knows), the Airport Privatization Scheme and so on. But all these schemes would directly or indirectly favor the rich classes and the upper castes. The BJP was more concerned about the Sensex and the ups and downs in it, so also today it connects with the economic recession and loss of jobs. The BJP is concerned with inflation primarily because inflation is an urban issue. When a poor person never earns enough to buy to satisfy the hunger of himself or his family, how can he worry about inflation at all? Moreover, he does not have a proper shelter or clothes to wear as well. However, the Congress till 2004 at least was more concerned about the 'aam aadmi' (at least it said so) which is why they introduced schemes like the NREGA (to provide employment to people in their villages and ensure they don't migrate to cities in search of livelihood), as well as the RTI (Right to Information which ensured transparency in central and state govt sponsored schemes). However, since the Congress is an amalgam party, it includes people of diverse backgrounds and castes and classes. Hence, they also have schemes for rich people like loans for farmers at 7% credit, as well as the other schemes which BJP introduced in their reign, with the exception of privatization, which was not there thanks to the Left present in UPA govt for 4.5 years. The BJP has learnt the lesson from the Congress, hence in Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh they introduced the schemes of rice at Rs. 3/- kg and wheat at Rs. 2/- kg in their respective states, as well as more food items available at subsidized prices in their ruled states to the BPL families. Moreover, in Madhya Pradesh, the Ladli Laxmi Yojana was started (brainchild politically of Shivraj Singh Chauhan), which ensures girl child education upto 12th standard as responsibility of the state govt, as well as depositing Rs. 1 lakh in her account till age of 18, so that she is not a burden for the family. So impressed is Mr. Advani himself that he has now said that if elected to power at the centre, he will introduce this scheme across the nation through the central govt. Hence, please don't make broad based assumptions. Highways and all don't necessarily ensure votes, whereas employment schemes if properly implemented, and such BPL schemes can possibly give votes for they ensure people are able to at least feed themselves properly. As for Mallika Sarabhai, if you know something she hasn't put up in public domain, do let us know that. Regards Rakesh PS : Sorry for this long mail, but I think I had to counter this. From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 20:27:01 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:27:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31stMarch In-Reply-To: <003901c9b201$d086b3d0$0201a8c0@limo> References: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> <003901c9b201$d086b3d0$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: Dear Bipin (and all) Unfortunately, I again have to put up a long mail on the points raised. Please bear with me for this, especially if you consider this spamming. 1) Advani's Rath Yatra: About this yatra, I mentioned it in particular because firstly, Advani is no great personality who did no wrongs. While you have been criticizing Mallika for being an upper class goon, the fact is that Advani also has done wrongs. Not for nothing is a case registered against him by the CBI for Babri Masjid Demolition case. Moreover, the Liberhan Commission is still investigating the case. And while you can claim that he is innocent until proven guilty, everybody knows what happened in the yatra. You can take a survey as well on this issue if you don't agree with me, and I would be happy to be proven wrong. Mallika doesn't have any case registered against her to the best of my knowledge. If you know of some case, you can please bring it to our notice. As far as your knowledge of riots is concerned, when his Rath Yatra passed through Rajasthan, there were riots in places after his yatra passed. Moreover, even believing your point that it was his arrest that led to riots, why did those riots take place outside Bihar? In particular as a threat to show that nobody dare arrest Advani. And as for Lalu, if Advani is right in playing Hindu vote bank up by this yatra, what wrong has Lalu done by playing minority vote bank politics? 2) Babri Masjid demolition: Let's look at it this way. Suppose tomorrow the BJP says that the place where your house was constructed had a temple long back, which had been destroyed. Now, they want it to be rebuild again. Would you like to leave your house? Secondly, while the Babri Masjid Action Committee may have had a part in communalizing the incident by refusing to hand over Babri Masjid, will we keep on fighting about our history all the time? Is hunger a bigger issue or Ram Mandir? And if the latter is a bigger issue, I challenge the entire Sangh Parivar to sit for a hunger strike till the Mandir is built. By the way you would be glad to know that the place which is today regarded as Ayodhya (holy place as Lord Ram was born there), is considered by historians to be very different from the Ayodhya as described in the Ramayana. Moreover, the time period when this mandir was supposedly destroyed, was also the period when one of the greatest bhakts of Lord Ram, namely Goswami Tulsidas also lived. Tulsidas has never mentioned any destruction of any mandir in that part of India to make a masjid, for he would have protested it. He could have mentioned it in his texts. Moreover, it has never been a part of any historical record either by Hindus or Muslims at that time in India. The first time it came into acknowledgement was under the British rule, somewhere in 1860's or 1870's. How do you know that a Mandir was there? As for nationalizing Muslims or making them patriotic, name one Muslim who is not patriotic or is not loyal to India. Enough of this rhetoric. I would challenge any Sarai member here to name one single Muslim of India, who is not loyal to this nation. I have been hearing this crap for long. There is no evidence to prove this. Even in the past 5 years or 6 years, no case of terrorism involving Indian Muslims supposedly has been proven. Inspite of all this, many continue to say Indian Muslims are supporters of terrorists. So please tell me who are the Muslims you have seen who are anti-India or pro-terrorist? Name them. Don't be afraid of them. 3) It's an absolutely irrational statement to believe that any government policy formed by a govt in the beginning of its tenure, requires 2.5/3 years to be actually successful and show its' effects. The time lag after which any policy shows its' effects depends upon the policy and the conditions in which it is supposed to operate. A scheme like NREGA was successful in its very first year in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, whereas for a thermal power plant to be constructed, the mininum time required for the fruition of such a scheme is about 5 years (I read this in a newspaper report, and you are free to challenge this. I would be happy), and in many cases, a party would required two terms at the centre or the provincial level to ensure that power projects initiated at the beginning of its first term start showing effects in the second term. As for Gujarat. In 2002, POTA had not become a law. It was an ordinance known as POTO. And yet the Akshardam attack took place. Gujarat didn't have any law of POTA name after 2004 when the UPA govt at centre repealed it. Inspite of this, 4 years were taken for Gujarat to get attacked. All this time, Gujarat had no special law on terror. And yet it was not attacked. If without any anti-terror law, Gujarat was so safe that no terror attacks took place, then what is the requirement of such a law anyway? My opposition to POTA stems from two factors. First of all, it's conviction rate as I have read it, is about 2-3%. This is even lower than TADA, the earlier anti-terror law. Secondly, it goes against basic tenets of human rights, and only innocents have been captured through this law. I would ask you again the same question as I had asked previously on this very forum: If I want to kill you at any cost and don't worry about my own death in the process, can POTA stop me from doing so? Or will police action in an effective manner stop it? Take your pick. 4) What is so wrong if something is done from the votes earning point of view? Is vote earning a kind of sin being committed by political parties? Any step being good or bad must be analyzed rationally, whether it be allowing a riot to take place or nationalization of banks. I don't know much about nationalization and wont' comment upon it. But I think politicians are concerned about winning votes, and if some good policy is introduced to get votes, there is nothing wrong in it. Examples are NREGA, RTI and Ladli Laxmi Yojana. As for intelligence failure, I can agree with you. However, intelligence is not the future way to solve terrorism problem. It is through creation of a just and humane society that we can solve terrorism. 5) You have been talking about Medha Patkar. First of all, it would be better for you to learn the spelling and pronounce the name properly. I personally respect her, and so would be many here on this forum. At least respect our sensibilites if not your own. After all, I dont' go around abusing Lord Ram and disrespecting others. And I expect the same from you too. Now getting out of sentimenality, since you claim Sardar Sarovar Dam project is very useful, I would like to get an answer regarding this fact I have heard and read. The dam was supposed to deliver water to the parched areas of Kutch. How many areas of Kutch has the water reached? Has it reached all the cities? How much area does it irrigate? This is what I got from a report on this particular dam, and I can put up the entire report for the benefit of all, if they want. �nReport shows only 15% of households in Kutch and Saurashtra getting water 1)Sitting BJP MP under Modi says farmers not getting water or power in spite of Narmada Canal going through the district 2) �nRenowned Ecologist says Narmada water in Rann (desert) wont work 3) Modi government busy wasting water by ��inter-linking�� Narmada with mythical river Saraswati; a ploy to create sheer emotional appeal 4)Government leasing out land to industrialists in SSP Command 5) �nLarge scale water-logging in the Sardar Sarovar command area this monsoon, including Jambusar 6) Narmada main canal breaches again this year; lakhs of gallons of water floods nearby fields 7) �nNarmada Main Canal becoming a watery grave for many desperate indebted families as per September 2005 data. May be you should also read things on other side of the story instead of believing Modi mania all the time. Even Modi can be wrong. As for the power production, the less said the better. The Gujarat government has been giving different heights for the generation of power in the last 17 years, and how much power production is taking place now? For further info, read this: http://www.narmada.org/sardar-sarovar/faq/whopays.html http://www.narmada.org/sardar-sarovar/irnoverview940525.html By the way, the project was protested so vehemently that the very World Bank, which you claim praised the project, had stopped lending money for the project (after 92 if I am not wrong). How is that for this great project? And so many people can't be wrong, even if Medha Patkar is wrong. Better find statistics showing the increase in agricultural production, increase in electricity production, increase in land area irrigated and other relevant data due to this particular project (not total Gujarat data please). 6) As far as this figure is concerned. Let me just clarify something here. This figure had been obtained from a Jean Dreze article. However, I couldn't find that article here. Luckily, what I did get is this article on web, which proves my point. The link is: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/mar/ddz-povline.htm What this says is that the poverty line was Rs. 540 (urban)as per 2004 statistics. And this only included food expenses (not shelter or clothing or other possible emergency expenses on health). This is below Rs. 600. The article I read said that due to inflation, this data had changed from Rs. 540 to Rs. 600 as per 2007-08 statistics, which I will confirm. And Bipin jee, I don't think you have seen Lord Ram or Lord Krishna in your life. (not in dreams, and not Arun Govil). At least I haven't seen them. Many have not seen them as well. Then why do they believe these lords exist? Reality can exist even if I or you haven't seen it, provided others have. These statistics prove that 26% population is still below poverty line as per these statistics The point I feel I have put up which could be wrong is that 72% population is below this figure, as I can't find that article by Dreze which said that if the urban poverty line is taken as the poverty line even in rural areas, particularly as Dreze saw that the amount per day was too low in rural areas to lead a proper life. By the way, if you doubt Dreze, then better read about who he is and what he does before commenting. 7) By mentioning licence raj, I haven't supported it. Better come back to reality than imagining things which I never said. I only said it was the removal of licence raj which saw growth for India. I am not against growth, but I want that growth to be equitable as well, to which the UPA govt has tried to achieve this, and the BJP seems to try to do the same. But people like you think these subsidies are a waste of public money. Go and find out the amount given directly and indirectly as subsidy by Gujarat govt to Tatas or Indian govt to all large scale industries and big players. The food subsidy is very small compared to that. 8) Just because government companies don't work does not mean you sell them. You ensure strict implementation of rules and also introduce incentives for people to work, rather than selling them off to private companies. And any selling should be judged by rationally, not by you and me, but by professionals and economic specialists as well as people who can keep the overall objective of safeguarding national interests in mind. As for the PPP model or private ownership model, now that the economy is in a recession, the companies are not able to develop their own property or production capability, then only the govt. is left to do any economic activity. What should the govt do then? Not do anything and let people wither away? The govt has realized its responsibility of providing equitable growth to all through schemes like NREGA, and any day I would support such subsidy instead of giving 30,000 crores subsidy to Tatas in Gujarat by Modi and his dispensation. 9) I don't want any nationalism. It is crap. I want citizens to be patriotic. There is no need to be nationalistic. For all those who want to be nationalistic, let me remind them that the Nationalist Government in China was overthrown by the Communists after a decade of rule in 1947-49. And nationalism hasn't worked for BJP in getting a majority on its own in Indian Parliament. They had to adjust themselves with regional sub-nationalisms and collabarate with state based regional parties. 10) I agree terror blasts can't take place without local support. What is the proof that this support is given by Muslims? As for Patel's statement, I have read statements not exactly reading this, but meaning the same, in a couple of books. The one I remember now is Ramchandra Guha's 'India after Gandhi', and probably it has an incident where Patel tells someone to be careful about Muslims and to get information about Muslim policemen or something. Please check that out. 11) 'Peace loving Hinduism' is already seen by me in Babri Masjid demolition and Gujarat riots. Now I dont' want to see any more 'peace-loving Hindus'. It's better to see silent Hindus than these great Hindus who want to wipe out the very ideals of our nation on which it is based, by raping and molesting women, and by killing old men and children who could never harm Hindu religion (just because they were Muslims/Christians). I am ashamed to call such people as belonging to my religion. Akbar was more a Hindu than these genocide creators. And such Hindus would have created Hindu Pakistan long back if Nehru was not there. Nehru made many mistakes, but he ensured proper rule of democracy in India and also gave other achievements like proper establishments of institutions in India like Election Commission, Planning Commission and others. It was his daughter who ruined India more than them. As for Kashmir, why do you worry about referendum? If you are very sure Kashmiris want to be a part of India, let us have a referendum and get it proven. It will put our doubts to end for once and for all. 12) If Indira can be a great leader by ruling for 17 years, then I think Jyoti Basu and Fidel Castro would be far greater leaders in your mind (both Communists) as they ruled their respective state and country (Cuba) for 25 and (50+) years respectively. And I don't rate rulers as great based on that. She ruined India by emergency and her actions like Bhindranwale's creation which ruined Punjab and India as such. It was what led to her death as well. As for your vote bank politics, could you name the vote bank for which Indira Gandhi did so? We all would be very happy if you could do so. And please, do justify how does this vote bank get satisfied if POK is not taken from Pakistan. 13) Better be concerned with Gini inequality ratio (used by World Bank) and GDP per capita to look at inequality as well instead of looking only at GDP in totality. Today India is more unequal than it was in 1991. And this is wrong. 14) As far as your infrastructural development is concerned, it only helps the rich and not the poor. The poor want education, health, sanitation facilities, food, clothing and shelter. This is also infrastructure, but is unfortunately missing from your understanding of infrastructure. Mind you, they need these at low cost, not at the costs at which today middle class people buy their homes. And they need these from the govt. Neither you nor me, nor any real estate buyer or some private company is going to get these for them. And for implementation, you are right. One should criticize the govt if it is found lacking in implementation, but then the govt should provide it. Privatization is not the solution for it involves high costs, which these poor people can't pay. By the way, Raman Singh has won in Chhatisgarh on a macro level because it is believed his schemes of rice at Rs 3/- per kg was implemented very properly and efficiently. This is claimed even by NGO' s supposedly loyal to Congress. Very useful scheme for tribal people, as BJP won in tribal seats. Ab final baat hindi mein Bipin jee (because English is my brain language, Hindi is my heart language). Dekhiye jee. aap issues badi superficially dekh rahe hain. mai kahoonga aapse issues ki gehrai mein jaayein aur unhein dekhein. aap gujarat mein hain. bajay yeh kehne ke ki modi ne elections jeete ya woh development laaya, figures dekhiye aur constituency level par analyze kijiye what clicked and what not. chahiye to surveys kijiye aur unke results bataiye. i would be very happy. is tarah se macro based statements dene se kisi ka koi bhala nahi hoga. aur kripa karke muslims ke liye bani sachar commitee ka report zaroor padhiye. aapko pata chalega woh kitne poor hain. aur phir aap khud sochenge unhein itni gaali kyun dete hain log. aap hi khud achambhe mein rahenge Regards Rakesh From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 20:52:03 2009 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:52:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31stMarch In-Reply-To: References: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> <003901c9b201$d086b3d0$0201a8c0@limo> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70903310822s3ffcbb5cg313c4bc20e8f941c@mail.gmail.com> Dear Rakesh , I would request you to kindly also read what Guru Nanak Ji had said about Babar and Ayodhya . He was also contemporary of Babar. That may enlighten you ! Regards Pawan 2009/3/31 Rakesh Iyer > Dear Bipin (and all) > > Unfortunately, I again have to put up a long mail on the points raised. > Please bear with me for this, especially if you consider this spamming. > > 1) Advani's Rath Yatra: About this yatra, I mentioned it in particular > because firstly, Advani is no great personality who did no wrongs. While > you > have been criticizing Mallika for being an upper class goon, the fact is > that Advani also has done wrongs. Not for nothing is a case registered > against him by the CBI for Babri Masjid Demolition case. Moreover, the > Liberhan Commission is still investigating the case. And while you can > claim > that he is innocent until proven guilty, everybody knows what happened in > the yatra. You can take a survey as well on this issue if you don't agree > with me, and I would be happy to be proven wrong. > > Mallika doesn't have any case registered against her to the best of my > knowledge. If you know of some case, you can please bring it to our notice. > As far as your knowledge of riots is concerned, when his Rath Yatra passed > through Rajasthan, there were riots in places after his yatra passed. > Moreover, even believing your point that it was his arrest that led to > riots, why did those riots take place outside Bihar? In particular as a > threat to show that nobody dare arrest Advani. And as for Lalu, if Advani > is > right in playing Hindu vote bank up by this yatra, what wrong has Lalu done > by playing minority vote bank politics? > > 2) Babri Masjid demolition: Let's look at it this way. Suppose tomorrow the > BJP says that the place where your house was constructed had a temple long > back, which had been destroyed. Now, they want it to be rebuild again. > Would > you like to leave your house? > > Secondly, while the Babri Masjid Action Committee may have had a part in > communalizing the incident by refusing to hand over Babri Masjid, will we > keep on fighting about our history all the time? Is hunger a bigger issue > or > Ram Mandir? And if the latter is a bigger issue, I challenge the entire > Sangh Parivar to sit for a hunger strike till the Mandir is built. > > By the way you would be glad to know that the place which is today regarded > as Ayodhya (holy place as Lord Ram was born there), is considered by > historians to be very different from the Ayodhya as described in the > Ramayana. Moreover, the time period when this mandir was supposedly > destroyed, was also the period when one of the greatest bhakts of Lord Ram, > namely Goswami Tulsidas also lived. Tulsidas has never mentioned any > destruction of any mandir in that part of India to make a masjid, for he > would have protested it. He could have mentioned it in his texts. Moreover, > it has never been a part of any historical record either by Hindus or > Muslims at that time in India. The first time it came into acknowledgement > was under the British rule, somewhere in 1860's or 1870's. How do you know > that a Mandir was there? > > As for nationalizing Muslims or making them patriotic, name one Muslim who > is not patriotic or is not loyal to India. Enough of this rhetoric. I would > challenge any Sarai member here to name one single Muslim of India, who is > not loyal to this nation. > > I have been hearing this crap for long. There is no evidence to prove this. > Even in the past 5 years or 6 years, no case of terrorism involving Indian > Muslims supposedly has been proven. Inspite of all this, many continue to > say Indian Muslims are supporters of terrorists. So please tell me who are > the Muslims you have seen who are anti-India or pro-terrorist? Name them. > Don't be afraid of them. > > 3) It's an absolutely irrational statement to believe that any government > policy formed by a govt in the beginning of its tenure, requires 2.5/3 > years > to be actually successful and show its' effects. The time lag after which > any policy shows its' effects depends upon the policy and the conditions in > which it is supposed to operate. A scheme like NREGA was successful in its > very first year in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, whereas for a thermal > power plant to be constructed, the mininum time required for the fruition > of > such a scheme is about 5 years (I read this in a newspaper report, and you > are free to challenge this. I would be happy), and in many cases, a party > would required two terms at the centre or the provincial level to ensure > that power projects initiated at the beginning of its first term start > showing effects in the second term. > > As for Gujarat. In 2002, POTA had not become a law. It was an ordinance > known as POTO. And yet the Akshardam attack took place. Gujarat didn't have > any law of POTA name after 2004 when the UPA govt at centre repealed it. > Inspite of this, 4 years were taken for Gujarat to get attacked. All this > time, Gujarat had no special law on terror. And yet it was not attacked. If > without any anti-terror law, Gujarat was so safe that no terror attacks > took > place, then what is the requirement of such a law anyway? > > My opposition to POTA stems from two factors. First of all, it's conviction > rate as I have read it, is about 2-3%. This is even lower than TADA, the > earlier anti-terror law. Secondly, it goes against basic tenets of human > rights, and only innocents have been captured through this law. I would ask > you again the same question as I had asked previously on this very forum: > If > I want to kill you at any cost and don't worry about my own death in the > process, can POTA stop me from doing so? Or will police action in an > effective manner stop it? Take your pick. > > 4) What is so wrong if something is done from the votes earning point of > view? Is vote earning a kind of sin being committed by political parties? > Any step being good or bad must be analyzed rationally, whether it be > allowing a riot to take place or nationalization of banks. I don't know > much > about nationalization and wont' comment upon it. But I think politicians > are > concerned about winning votes, and if some good policy is introduced to get > votes, there is nothing wrong in it. Examples are NREGA, RTI and Ladli > Laxmi > Yojana. > > As for intelligence failure, I can agree with you. However, intelligence is > not the future way to solve terrorism problem. It is through creation of a > just and humane society that we can solve terrorism. > > 5) You have been talking about Medha Patkar. First of all, it would be > better for you to learn the spelling and pronounce the name properly. I > personally respect her, and so would be many here on this forum. At least > respect our sensibilites if not your own. After all, I dont' go around > abusing Lord Ram and disrespecting others. And I expect the same from you > too. > > Now getting out of sentimenality, since you claim Sardar Sarovar Dam > project > is very useful, I would like to get an answer regarding this fact I have > heard and read. The dam was supposed to deliver water to the parched areas > of Kutch. How many areas of Kutch has the water reached? Has it reached all > the cities? How much area does it irrigate? > > This is what I got from a report on this particular dam, and I can put up > the entire report for the benefit of all, if they want. > > �nReport shows only 15% of households in Kutch and Saurashtra getting water > 1)Sitting BJP MP under Modi says farmers not getting water or power in > spite > of > Narmada Canal going through the district > > 2) �nRenowned Ecologist says Narmada water in Rann (desert) wont work > > 3) Modi government busy wasting water by ��inter-linking�� Narmada with > mythical > river Saraswati; a ploy to create sheer emotional appeal > > 4)Government leasing out land to industrialists in SSP Command > > 5) �nLarge scale water-logging in the Sardar Sarovar command area this > monsoon, > including Jambusar > > 6) Narmada main canal breaches again this year; lakhs of gallons of water > floods > nearby fields > > 7) �nNarmada Main Canal becoming a watery grave for many desperate indebted > families > as per September 2005 data. May be you should also read things on other > side > of the story instead of believing Modi mania all the time. Even Modi can be > wrong. > > As for the power production, the less said the better. The Gujarat > government has been giving different heights for the generation of power in > the last 17 years, and how much power production is taking place now? > > For further info, read this: > > http://www.narmada.org/sardar-sarovar/faq/whopays.html > > http://www.narmada.org/sardar-sarovar/irnoverview940525.html > > By the way, the project was protested so vehemently that the very World > Bank, which you claim praised the project, had stopped lending money for > the > project (after 92 if I am not wrong). How is that for this great project? > > And so many people can't be wrong, even if Medha Patkar is wrong. > > Better find statistics showing the increase in agricultural production, > increase in electricity production, increase in land area irrigated and > other relevant data due to this particular project (not total Gujarat data > please). > > 6) As far as this figure is concerned. Let me just clarify something here. > This figure had been obtained from a Jean Dreze article. However, I > couldn't > find that article here. Luckily, what I did get is this article on web, > which proves my point. The link is: > > http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/mar/ddz-povline.htm > > What this says is that the poverty line was Rs. 540 (urban)as per 2004 > statistics. And this only included food expenses (not shelter or clothing > or > other possible emergency expenses on health). This is below Rs. 600. The > article I read said that due to inflation, this data had changed from Rs. > 540 to Rs. 600 as per 2007-08 statistics, which I will confirm. > > And Bipin jee, I don't think you have seen Lord Ram or Lord Krishna in your > life. (not in dreams, and not Arun Govil). At least I haven't seen them. > Many have not seen them as well. Then why do they believe these lords > exist? > > > Reality can exist even if I or you haven't seen it, provided others have. > These statistics prove that 26% population is still below poverty line as > per these statistics > > The point I feel I have put up which could be wrong is that 72% population > is below this figure, as I can't find that article by Dreze which said that > if the urban poverty line is taken as the poverty line even in rural areas, > particularly as Dreze saw that the amount per day was too low in rural > areas > to lead a proper life. By the way, if you doubt Dreze, then better read > about who he is and what he does before commenting. > > 7) By mentioning licence raj, I haven't supported it. Better come back to > reality than imagining things which I never said. I only said it was the > removal of licence raj which saw growth for India. I am not against growth, > but I want that growth to be equitable as well, to which the UPA govt has > tried to achieve this, and the BJP seems to try to do the same. But people > like you think these subsidies are a waste of public money. Go and find out > the amount given directly and indirectly as subsidy by Gujarat govt to > Tatas > or Indian govt to all large scale industries and big players. The food > subsidy is very small compared to that. > > 8) Just because government companies don't work does not mean you sell > them. > You ensure strict implementation of rules and also introduce incentives for > people to work, rather than selling them off to private companies. And any > selling should be judged by rationally, not by you and me, but by > professionals and economic specialists as well as people who can keep the > overall objective of safeguarding national interests in mind. As for the > PPP > model or private ownership model, now that the economy is in a recession, > the companies are not able to develop their own property or production > capability, then only the govt. is left to do any economic activity. What > should the govt do then? Not do anything and let people wither away? > > The govt has realized its responsibility of providing equitable growth to > all through schemes like NREGA, and any day I would support such subsidy > instead of giving 30,000 crores subsidy to Tatas in Gujarat by Modi and his > dispensation. > > 9) I don't want any nationalism. It is crap. I want citizens to be > patriotic. There is no need to be nationalistic. For all those who want to > be nationalistic, let me remind them that the Nationalist Government in > China was overthrown by the Communists after a decade of rule in 1947-49. > And nationalism hasn't worked for BJP in getting a majority on its own in > Indian Parliament. They had to adjust themselves with regional > sub-nationalisms and collabarate with state based regional parties. > > 10) I agree terror blasts can't take place without local support. What is > the proof that this support is given by Muslims? As for Patel's statement, > I > have read statements not exactly reading this, but meaning the same, in a > couple of books. The one I remember now is Ramchandra Guha's 'India after > Gandhi', and probably it has an incident where Patel tells someone to be > careful about Muslims and to get information about Muslim policemen or > something. Please check that out. > > 11) 'Peace loving Hinduism' is already seen by me in Babri Masjid > demolition > and Gujarat riots. Now I dont' want to see any more 'peace-loving Hindus'. > It's better to see silent Hindus than these great Hindus who want to wipe > out the very ideals of our nation on which it is based, by raping and > molesting women, and by killing old men and children who could never harm > Hindu religion (just because they were Muslims/Christians). I am ashamed to > call such people as belonging to my religion. Akbar was more a Hindu than > these genocide creators. > > And such Hindus would have created Hindu Pakistan long back if Nehru was > not > there. Nehru made many mistakes, but he ensured proper rule of democracy in > India and also gave other achievements like proper establishments of > institutions in India like Election Commission, Planning Commission and > others. It was his daughter who ruined India more than them. > > As for Kashmir, why do you worry about referendum? If you are very sure > Kashmiris want to be a part of India, let us have a referendum and get it > proven. It will put our doubts to end for once and for all. > > 12) If Indira can be a great leader by ruling for 17 years, then I think > Jyoti Basu and Fidel Castro would be far greater leaders in your mind (both > Communists) as they ruled their respective state and country (Cuba) for 25 > and (50+) years respectively. And I don't rate rulers as great based on > that. > > She ruined India by emergency and her actions like Bhindranwale's creation > which ruined Punjab and India as such. It was what led to her death as > well. > As for your vote bank politics, could you name the vote bank for which > Indira Gandhi did so? We all would be very happy if you could do so. And > please, do justify how does this vote bank get satisfied if POK is not > taken > from Pakistan. > > 13) Better be concerned with Gini inequality ratio (used by World Bank) and > GDP per capita to look at inequality as well instead of looking only at GDP > in totality. Today India is more unequal than it was in 1991. And this is > wrong. > > 14) As far as your infrastructural development is concerned, it only helps > the rich and not the poor. The poor want education, health, sanitation > facilities, food, clothing and shelter. This is also infrastructure, but is > unfortunately missing from your understanding of infrastructure. Mind you, > they need these at low cost, not at the costs at which today middle class > people buy their homes. And they need these from the govt. Neither you nor > me, nor any real estate buyer or some private company is going to get these > for them. > > And for implementation, you are right. One should criticize the govt if it > is found lacking in implementation, but then the govt should provide it. > Privatization is not the solution for it involves high costs, which these > poor people can't pay. > > By the way, Raman Singh has won in Chhatisgarh on a macro level because it > is believed his schemes of rice at Rs 3/- per kg was implemented very > properly and efficiently. This is claimed even by NGO' s supposedly loyal > to > Congress. Very useful scheme for tribal people, as BJP won in tribal seats. > > Ab final baat hindi mein Bipin jee (because English is my brain language, > Hindi is my heart language). Dekhiye jee. aap issues badi superficially > dekh > rahe hain. mai kahoonga aapse issues ki gehrai mein jaayein aur unhein > dekhein. aap gujarat mein hain. bajay yeh kehne ke ki modi ne elections > jeete ya woh development laaya, figures dekhiye aur constituency level par > analyze kijiye what clicked and what not. chahiye to surveys kijiye aur > unke > results bataiye. i would be very happy. is tarah se macro based statements > dene se kisi ka koi bhala nahi hoga. > > aur kripa karke muslims ke liye bani sachar commitee ka report zaroor > padhiye. aapko pata chalega woh kitne poor hain. aur phir aap khud sochenge > unhein itni gaali kyun dete hain log. aap hi khud achambhe mein rahenge > > Regards > > Rakesh > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Tue Mar 31 21:20:10 2009 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:20:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mallika Sarabhai's Public Meeting in JNU on 31stMarch In-Reply-To: <6b79f1a70903310822s3ffcbb5cg313c4bc20e8f941c@mail.gmail.com> References: <000901c9b121$26989220$0201a8c0@limo> <003901c9b201$d086b3d0$0201a8c0@limo> <6b79f1a70903310822s3ffcbb5cg313c4bc20e8f941c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Pawan ji >From what I got, Nanak has written Baburvani which talks about the destruction and disaster Babur brought to India. But as far as Ayodhya is concerned, I have still got nothing. The one new piece of information I have obtained is that the five months period during which the Babri Masjid has been supposedly built, is missing in Baburnama, Babur's autobiography. And some motives have been attributed to this missing period. I never said Babur was secular and just ruler. And for Nanak mentioning about Ayodhya, I would be glad if you can provide link for the same. Also, I would like this post not to be a Bipin-Rakesh series (or any other series for that matter) for the Sarai readers; I would like the others to contribute as well. Regards Rakesh From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Fri Mar 27 15:13:22 2009 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (netEX) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:43:22 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_netEX=3A_calls_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=26_deadlines_--=3E_April_2009?= Message-ID: <20090327104322.E5675711.C79FB5A@192.168.0.3> netEX: calls & deadlines -->April 2009 ------------------------------------- [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne newsletter contents calls & deadlines 03 Calls: 2009 deadlines internal 15 Calls: April 2009 deadlines external 9 Calls: ongoing external/internal ------------------------------------------------ Calls & deadlines ---> ------------------------------------------------ 2009: deadlines internal Deadline: 30 September A Virtual Memorial - memorial project environments is looking for artists who work on the subject "SHOAH" in digital media, primarily videoart/filmart, but also netart, soundart, digital photography and media installation http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=662 extended Deadline 30 June 2009 Cinematheque - streaming media project environments call: Flash & Thunder - Flash as a medium and tool for artistic creations http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=408 extended Deadline 2 May 2009 VideoChannel - video project environments call: One Minute Videos http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=447 ------------------------------------------------ April 2009 deadlines: external ------------------------------------------------ 30 April 5th Short Film festival Ljubljana/Slovenia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=847 30 April Earth 2009 - The Green Exhibition http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=753 30 April Tramuntana 09 Festival Cadaques/Spain http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=819 30 April Sardinia Film Festival Sassari/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=742 25 April International Film Festival Torun/Poland http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=758 20 April One Minute Shot Film Festival Yerewan/Armenia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=852 20 April One Minute Film Festival Croatia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=870 20 April Kurye Internation Video Festival Istanbul /Turkey http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=794 17 April Radio Art Contest Madrid/Spain http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=766 15 April Palazzo Barberini Screening Nights (Italy) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=827 15 April 36th Bourges International Competitions Bourges/France http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=724 12 April Art-o-thlon Vilnius 2009 (Lithuania) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=880 10 April Onion City Film/Video Festival Chicago/USA http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=551 7 April Interactivos? Lima 2009 - workshop Lima/Peru http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=791 1 April Tabor Short Film Fest (Croatia) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=786 ----------------------------------------------- Ongoing calls: external/internal ----------------------------------------------- -->Videos for Bivouac Projects Sumter/USA -->OUTCASTING - web based screenings -->Films and video screenings Sioux City (USA) -->Laisle screenings Rio de Janeiro/Brazil -->Videos for Helsinki based video gallery - 00130 Gallery -->Web based works for 00130 Gallery Helsinki/Finland -->Project: Repetition as a Model for Progression by Marianne Holm Hansen -->US webjournal Atomic Unicorn seeks netart and video art for coming editions -->TAGallery and more deadlines on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?page_id=4 ----------------------------------------------- NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net # calls in the external section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=3 # calls in the internal section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=1 ----------------------------------------------- # This newsletter is also released on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=9 # netEX - networked experiences is a free information service powered by [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net - the experimental platform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany # info & contact: info (at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements