IMC-USA Weekly News Digest - October 12th, 2009
Thousands of Indian Muslims, including many from the Middle East, have petitioned the Oman government to rescind its invitation to controversial politician Narendra Modi. Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat for eight years and a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi, 59, came into the limelight following accusations of complicity in the communal violence that swept Gujarat in 2002. The rioting claimed over 2,000 lives, the majority of whom were Muslims, and rendered countless others homeless. News of Modi leading a business delegation to Oman later this year has raised the hackles of Indian Muslims in the region. Already, 5,646 have signed an online petition to stall his visit and the numbers are steadily rising. Addressed to the Oman Ambassador in New Delhi, the petition traces Modi's alleged track record against minorities and urges Oman to reconsider the invitation as a "mark of respect for humane values enshrined in all religions and the declaration of universal human rights under the UN Charter". http://www.xpress4me.com/articles/09/10/08/20015205.html SEE ALSO: The Mehsana district police have been accused of barging into Muslim households at Della village and assaulting women and children. More than 33 women and children, who had sustained injuries in the alleged incident, were brought to the V S Hospital for treatment here on Wednesday. Senior police officers, however, rubbished the allegations. They said the victims were injured when the police resorted to a mild baton charge to contain a riot between the members of Muslim and Bharward communities on Monday afternoon. According to the case details, some local Muslims were at loggerheads with Bharwad families over the latter's cattle grazing in their fields. A complaint in this regard was filed with the Bavlu police station on October 1, based on which the police arrested five Bharwads. A day later, the two communities reached a compromise, the police said. However, three days later a major fight ensued between the two communities over the same issue, in which Muslims allegedly pelted stones at the Bharwards. On learning about the incident, the Mehsna police reached the spot and resorted to baton charge to contain the situation. "Some people sustained minor injuries in the lathi charge," said Mehsana Superintendent of Police Raju Bhargav. He said a complaint of rioting was lodged with the Bavlu police station and 52 people were booked in this regard. "We conducted a combing operation in the night and arrested 22 people," he added. The victims, however, allege that the police assaulted them with riffle butts and batons. "Ten policemen barged into my house and started assaulting me as my husband was not there. They made obscene gestures at me," said Hazrabanu, one of the victims. Another victim, Amina Qureshi (70), said, "Policemen came and beat me and my daughter-in-law on our private parts. I cannot even tell you the kind of language they used to address us." Denying this, Bhargav said: "I was there till 10 am on Tuesday and not a single incident of this nature took place. They are levelling baseless allegations because we have arrested their family members for rioting." http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526561/ SEE ALSO: Of the several fears that haunt Indian Muslims today, the worry of being "picked up" by the law enforcement agencies is the most compelling. At the end of a three-day national conference in the Capital on Monday on the status of Muslims in contemporary India, community representatives from across the country voiced fear and despair as their immediate concerns. Victims who have either been accused of being involved in terror activities or have relatives behind bars for alleged involvement in acts of terror shared their experiences before a panel of eminent people who have now come up with a set of 12 recommendations. Referring to the feeling of "despair and fear" among the Muslims, former bureaucrat Harsh Mander who was also a panellist said Muslims feel let down by the police and the judiciary in particular and by the media and the political parties to some extent as well. He said the ongoing war on terror has emerged as a pattern that can be seen not just in Gujarat but in several other States as well: "Muslim youths with no criminal records are picked up illegally by policemen in plain clothes, taken to farmhouse, etc., and kept for days on end and tortured brutally." Taking note of the feeling of discrimination felt by Muslims in various spheres, the recommendations put forth by the panel suggest a high-power judicial commission headed by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed to examine all cases of terror across the country. "Those that seem doubtful or fabricated should be handed over to a special investigation team. It should complete its task in a year so that prolonged detention of persons against whom there is little convincing evidence is not prolonged," the panel recommended. Prosecution of police officers who have tampered with evidence in cases which can result in capital punishment, compensation for victims who were detained but found innocent, a concerted drive to recruit in larger number Muslims to all levels of the police, civil administration and judiciary have also been recommended. The jury members after studying the submissions, which include complaints like discrimination in matters of renting houses in non-Muslim dominated areas, prejudices and biases of public institutions against Muslims and reinforcing stereotypes by the media, also recommended enactment of a Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill with changes suggested by the civil society groups. "Strong action should be taken under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code against organisations which indulge in hate campaigns and communal propaganda. The requirement of prior sanction of the State government before a complaint is registered under this Act should be waived," the panel recommended. The panel has also proposed a law against communal discrimination on the lines of the SC/ST Act to recognise specific crimes of discrimination against minorities and punish these severely. "The Prime Minister should nominate a 10-member committee to undertake a nationwide campaign against communalisation of society, akin to the literacy campaign and temple entry campaigns of the past. This committee should also study and document these social processes of structural discrimination, some of which came to light in the national meet," it recommended. Pointing out that the Indian society at present is not truly secular, film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, who was also on the jury, said there is an immediate need to "implement an anti-discrimination law". http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/06/stories/2009100657170400.htm SEE ALSO: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in Maharashtra wants speedy trial of Muslim youths arrested on charges of terrorism so that if found innocent their formative years are not spoiled. "It would be very illogical to say that all Muslim youths arrested in different cases are innocent, but speedy trial will ensure that their formative years are not wasted in jails if they are found innocent at the end of the trial," Javed Mukarram, President, Aurangabad unit of Jamaat-e-Islami said. A 13-point charter of demands of Jamaat for Assembly polls, which it has named People's Manifesto, has a mention about speedy trials of Muslim youths arrested in the name of terrorism. To a question, he said Jamaat will demand government to rehabilitate those Muslim youths found innocent in severe kind of cases after lengthy trials. He, however, said how they should be rehabilitated need to be deliberated before approaching government. "Punish them (Muslim youths) if they are found guilty, but take speedy trials," Jamaat-e-Islaami, Maharashtra unit's spokesperson Aslam Ghazi said. "Who will compensate for their formative years, if they are found innocent in terrorism cases after 14 or 15 years," he said. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/463117.aspx SEE ALSO: Embarrassed by the controversy surrounding its affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, the government has decided to strengthen the litigation wing, including possible appointment of a special secretary in the Law Ministry. "Several litigations are filed against the government. The government too files various affidavits through its law officers…a need has now been felt to strengthen the litigation wing of the Ministry," a source in the Law Ministry said. There are possibilities that a Special Secretary (Litigations) could be appointed in the Law Ministry to better coordinate the government's response to various court cases, sources added. The move was prompted by the embarrassment the Centre faced following its affidavit in the Gujarat High Court in 2004, in connection with the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. A judicial inquiry into the case by magistrate S P Tamang had concluded that the encounter, in which Jahan was killed, was fake. After Tamang's report, the Gujarat government, quoting an affidavit filed by the Centre in the High Court, said that as per that document, Ishrat and three others killed in the encounter were linked to the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror outfit. The Gujarat government's action had put the Union Home Ministry in a precarious situation. After that, the Centre had decided to file a fresh affidavit in the Gujarat High Court on September 30. The earlier affidavit filed by the Centre had said that as per intelligence inputs, the four were LeT operatives and had come to Gujarat for a terror strike. Meanwhile, taking note of several contempt notices being issued to the government for non-compliance of court orders, the Law Ministry is contemplating appraisal of its law officers and standing counsel. The decision was taken as the government had on several occasions, remained ill-informed of court notices with counsels failing to take appropriate steps, a source said. He said the ministry is still working on the appraisal method and the procedures. "This is part of our effort to strengthen the litigation section of the ministry." Around a dozen law officers give their views to the government on various issues while over a hundred standing counsels appear in various courts across the country for the government. http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527838/ SEE ALSO: Two Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders have been charged under the Gangster Act for allegedly trying to create communal tension in the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad during Dusshera for the last two years. Gyan Kesarwani, the vice-president of VHP's local unit, and Ashok Kumar Gupta, another leader of the outfit were arrested on October 2. On Thursday evening, Additional District Judge R S Yadav ordered framing of charges under the Gangster Act against the duo. According to the police, the duo was running a gang involved in criminal activities. The gang used to commit crimes during festivals with an aim to create communal tension. "On the occasion of Ram Baraat, Ram Vivaah and Dusshera, Kesarwani and his gang spread rumours that meat pieces were thrown on the route the procession was to take," said Senior Superintendent of Police (Faizabad) R K S Rathore. http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527339/ SEE ALSO: The three-year-old party MNS, known for its anti-north Indian campaign has outperformed to other political outfits by fielding more candidates with criminal cases pending against them for Maharashtra Assembly polls, according to a study conducted by NGO AGNI. The study, conducted in 31 constituencies of Mumbai and Thane region, revealed that 14 MNS candidates have criminal cases registered against them. Rival Shiv Sena has fielded 13 candidates. "Out of 354 candidates in fray in these 31 constituencies, 82 have criminal cases registered against them. One of the candidates Arun Gawli is convicted in seven cases," trustee and election coordinator of AGNI Sharad Kumar told PTI. The study showed Congress has fielded the maximum number of rich candidates. "Congress has 16 cadidates with assets of over a crore rupees. MNS is not behind, with 12 candidates having assets in crores," Kumar said. Interestingly, the number of educated candidates is also large this time. Altogether, 26 are post-graduates and 65 graduates, Kumar said. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/462142.aspx SEE ALSO: With the Maoists getting bolder and carrying out attacks at will, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday gave its approval for launching major anti-Naxalite operations in the rebel strongholds across the country. The approval came on a day when Naxalites gunned down 17 policemen in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Sources said the dates of these anti-Naxalite operations would be decided later keeping the element of surprise in view. The only item discussed at the CCS, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was the security challenge posed by Naxalism, sources added. Centering around the incidents of Naxalite violence like the one where a police officer in Jharkhand was beheaded, the discussion explored ways to deal with the problem. The two-hour-long meeting, however, did not discuss the proposal to give the IAF permission to fire at the Maoists. The CCS approval to the anti-Naxalite operations came a day after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram warned the Maoists to “abjure” violence or face action. According to the Union Home Ministry's plan, the anti-Naxalite operations would be undertaken in states affected by the Left-wing extremism and would be assisted by CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), a central force. The Home Ministry went to the CCS for its approval after the plan was discussed threadbare with Chief Ministers of the Naxalite-affected states in the second week of September. Officials said the plan envisaged the anti-Naxal operations to be led by state police while central forces would lend assistance. Meanwhile, following the Gadchiroli attack, the Centre has rushed BSF personnel to the area. Sources said that the Centre was nervous about sending in the BSF to the area given the fact that the force was not familiar to the area and had been sent to Maharashtra for election duty originally. Sources said several alerts for possible Naxalite strikes in Gadchiroli, Gondia and neighbouring areas in the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections had been sounded recently. http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526952/ SEE ALSO: The Supreme Court today said the Centre would be free to take action against the Uttar Pradesh government if the state continued to flout its stay on the construction of memorials in Lucknow, leaving much scope for interpretation that it could mean imposition of President's Rule as well. "We have come to the conclusion that there is flagrant violation of our orders. If you continue to violate, the ball will be in the hands of the Union government," a Bench comprising Justices BN Agarwal and Aftab Alam observed during arguments by senior counsel Harish Salve, who appeared for the state. In the order passed at the end of 90 minutes of resumed arguments today, the Bench issued notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, asking him to show cause why contempt proceedings could not be initiated against him. The top official would have to be present in the court for the next hearing - on November 4. "The Supreme Court registry is directed to register a contempt case on this direction," the Bench said in its order. Making it clear that the state government had shown its "desperation" not to allow the court to adjudicate the matter, the Bench said construction work was going on "several projects" even after the restraint order was passed on September 11. Asking Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to assist it in the case as amicus curiae, the court said its interim restraint order would now be treated as absolute. At one stage, the Bench wondered what action it could take against the Chief Secretary by raising a question, "Can we send him to jail?" The Bench, however, did not pass any order on the PIL petitioner's plea for deployment of central forces at the one square km memorial site, where 24 projects were coming up at a cost of Rs 2,600 crore. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091007/main1.htm SEE ALSO: The police have ordered an inquiry after a pregnant Dalit woman accused a constable of kicking her on abdomen resulting in miscarriage and produced the foetus of male twins before the DIG on Thursday. Somwati, who had been pregnant for six months, alleged that constable Ram Milan kicked her on the abdomen on Wednesday, when she and her husband had an altercation with a few neighbours at her village of Paheva. Somwati's family members said they made several rounds of the Ghatampur police station to register a case, but were chased away by policemen. On Thursday, Somwati and her in-laws produced the foetus of male twins before Kanpur DIG Neera Rawat, who ordered an FIR to be lodged. The police have arrested four persons - Mohan Lal, Ram Dhani, Ramesh and Guru Prasad - the neighbours with whom Somwati's family had a scuffle. ASP (Kanpur Rural) Lal Bahadur, who is investigating the incident, said, "Prima facie, it appears that fake charges have been leveled against the constable." Bahadur said an FIR has been registered at the Ghatampur police station and the role of constable Ram Milan, who allegedly kicked Somwati, is being probed. "Action will be taken against Ram Milan if he is found guilty, Bahadur said, adding the local police had registered a non-cognisable report after the clash in the village. Meanwhile, Somwati has been admitted at Ursula Horsman Memorial Hospital. It all began on Wednesday when a fight broke out between Somwati's husband Anil Kumar and his neighbours Mohan Lal and his family members, with whom they had a running dispute. "Two police constables, Ram Milan and Hari Om, were present when the fight broke out," said Anil's uncle Ram Aashrey. "Ram Milan kicked Somwati on abdomen, leading to the miscarriage." Somwati alleged the local police tried to hush up the incident. "A few constables at Ghatampur police station threatened to register a fake case against us," she claimed. Inspector in-charge of Ghatampur Omkar Sagar said, "As per the initial information, Somwati had a miscarriage on Wednesday morning, whereas the dispute broke out in the afternoon." http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=526961 SEE ALSO: The tableau was as improbable as it was grisly. The bullet-riddled bodies of four Muslims lay neatly lined up in the middle of a road. One of the dead cradled a machine gun. Bomb-making chemicals and a suitcase full of cash sat in the trunk of their car. Intelligence reports had identified the four as terrorism suspects. It was a tidy crime scene with a story to match: four Islamic extremists who planned to assassinate the powerful chief minister of India's richest state stopped cold by a fearless band of policemen early on the morning of June 15, 2004. The officers were hailed as heroes. But the story was too good to be true, according to a recently released magistrate's report. The supposed militants included a 19-year-old college student, a woman named Ishrat Jehan, who had no evident links to terrorist groups, the magistrate wrote. The forensic evidence showed that the four had not died in a shootout but were shot at point-blank range, much earlier than the police had said. None of the four had actually fired a gun. They had been killed, the magistrate declared, in cold blood. The sensational case has fed a heated national debate about the longstanding Indian police practice of killing suspects. Known euphemistically as "encounter killings," such extrajudicial executions have been a tolerated and even celebrated method of dealing swiftly with crime in a country with a notoriously slow and sometimes corrupt judiciary. An officer in such cases invariably "encounters" a suspect and kills him, supposedly in self-defense. In cities like Mumbai, which was for decades gripped by violent organized crime syndicates, officers who killed notorious gangland figures were often seen as dark folk heroes, selflessly carrying out the messy business of meting out justice. These officers, known as encounter specialists, became celebrities, even boasting about the number of gangsters they had killed. But Indians have become increasingly wary of police officers crusading as judge, jury and executioner. Since 2006, 346 people have been killed in what seem to have been extrajudicial police killings, according to the National Human Rights Commission. In many of these killings, investigations have found, the motive was not vigilante justice. The police often staged such killings for personal gain: bumping off a rival of a powerful politician in the hopes of a big promotion; killing a crime boss at the behest of one of his rivals; settling scores between businessmen. Here in the state of Gujarat, the grim practice took on an even more sinister form. According to court documents, lawyers, human rights activists and the families of the victims, police officers seeking the favor of Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi, began killing small-time Muslim criminals and framing them as big-time terrorists bent on mass murder. No evidence has been offered to show that Mr. Modi encouraged such killings. Riots in Gujarat killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, in the aftermath of a fire on a train carrying Hindu pilgrims that killed 59 people in 2002. The Gujarat government concluded the train fire was a Muslim attack, but that finding has been disputed by a central government investigation, which concluded the fire was an accident. Mr. Modi, a prominent member of the Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has long been accused of fueling the anti-Muslim violence with inflammatory remarks. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims here are high. The officers who carried out the killings hoped to win promotions and other favors from lawmakers, according to court documents and human rights workers here. In Gujarat, the team of officers suspected of carrying out these killings usually chose their victims carefully. In all five cases pending in the courts so far, the main targets had shady pasts confirmed by an arrest or conviction, usually for a petty crime. Most were Muslims. But in the killing of Ms. Jehan that formula went awry. She hardly fit the usual profile of encounter victims. She was a full-time college student who also worked to provide for her widowed mother and six siblings. According to her family, she was on a trip with her employer to help him set up his marketing business. On June 15, she was shot, according to the police, along with her accomplices as they tried to evade capture. But the Gujarat magistrate's report shredded that claim. The food in the victims' stomachs proved that they had been killed much earlier, the report said. Their wounds were consistent with point-blank shootings. Their hands showed no trace of gunpowder residue. The police had planted weapons on the victims and staged the crime scene. Gujarat government officials dispute the magistrate's report, and Gujarat's High Court has stopped the authorities from arresting the officers it named as the court conducts an inquiry. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/world/asia/04ahmedabad.html?_r=2 SEE ALSO: The new RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mr. Mohan Bhagawat told Minorities (Sept 20, 2009) that they should join RSS and see that 'our intentions are clear and our behavior is good'. As per him all Muslims in India were Hindus in the past. They have only changed their way of worship, and if they accept this fact there will be no clashes. He told Christians that they should not convert people, as that creates communal violence. Mr. Bhagwat is partly correct in saying that Muslims have Hindu ancestry. Islam spread in India, by various ways, major being the attempt of Shudras to escape the tyranny of Landlord Brahmin, to quote Swami Vivekananda, "Why amongst the poor of India so many are Mohammedans? It is nonsense to say that they were converted by the sword. It was to gain liberty from Zamindars and Priests…" (Collected Works-Vol 8-Page330). These conversions took place as dalits were not permitted to enter temples so they were visiting the shrines of Sufi saints and under the influence of the Humanistic aspect of Islam they took to Islam. There were other reasons like, anticipation of reward, interaction with Muslims, the least important factor being fear of Muslim kings. So he is partly right that most Muslims have local ancestry. But is the change of religion mere change of mode of worship or is it a total change in religious belief system? We do recognize that syncretic traditions of Hinduism and Islam have drawn a lot from each other. But as far as Holy book, belief in one God, Allah, belief in Mohammad as the prophet, this is not just a change in mode of worship, it is much broader than that. So, are there clashes because Muslims deny their ancestry, and culture. By no means! As far as culture is concerned for the extremist elements, for the clergy and for those using religion for politics, the culture is just a subset of elitist version of their religion. For average people culture is a broad category, it is affected by regional factors and by some aspects of religion. A large population of Muslims and Hindus both regarded culture as a meeting and mixing point, while elite traditions look down upon the culture of the 'other'. In India Muslims and Hindus did live in peace, creating different facets of culture, Music, Poetry, clothes and food habits, architecture and religious traditions. We see Ustad Bismillah Khan creating his wonderful work, devoted to Hindu gods and goddesses while sitting on the pavements of Kashi temples, we see Rahim and Raskhan writing beautiful poetry in devotion of Lord Krishna, we see people taking to jalebi, Biryani and other food items coming from Iran and other places from where Muslims came. We also see the intermixing in the customs, festivals. To delineate a Hindu and Muslim component of our culture was difficult at a point of time. We have the lovely tradition of people from both religions following the teachings of Ramdeo Baba Pir and Satya Pir. We have that great Saint Kabir who was loved by both Muslim and Hindus. The problem begins with the communal historiography, looking at History through the prism of religion, introduced by British to pursue the policy of divide and rule. This version was picked up by the communal streams of Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS, and aided in the communalization of society and rise of communal violence, more so from the decade of 1940s. To think that clashes are there because Muslims deny their common ancestry is wrong. Also Islam is a religion with its own spirituality and to reduce any religion to just a mode of worship is not correct. In post Independence India the clashes were brewed by this communal thinking, by political motivations not because of religions. Those who deny that Sufis are a part of Indian culture, or Urdu is and Indian language or that the contributions of Muslim Kings, poets, artisans, are the one's who have created divisiveness leading to clashes. Those who deny that Bhakti tradition was part of tradition which was respected by a section of Muslims, or that celebrating Holi, Divali or Muharram and Id is part of Indian culture are the cause of the political thinking which leads to clashes. Coming to Christians, it is not they came here with the British. Christian community in India is over 1500 years old. While their may be some aggressive proselytizers, mainly the conversions take place because of social interaction and genuine charity work. If conversions were a forced phenomenon, how to explain that there are merely 2.30% Christians in India toady? How do we explain that during last four decades the all India percentage of Christians has fallen down, 1971-2.60%, 1981-2.44%, 1991-2.34% and 2001-2.30%? One concedes that some dalits taking to Christianity may not be getting registered as Christians to keep availing the job reservations, but surely this cannot tilt the population percentage to a very great extent. Wadhva Commission, which investigated the burning of Pastor Graham Stains by Bajrang Dal's Dara Sing and is facing the jail term for that, concluded that Pastor Stains was not involved in any work of conversions and that the percentage of Christians in Keonjhar of Manoharpur district in Orissa, did not go up. Even recently the anti Christian violence was launched on the pretext of murder of Swami Laxmananand. It was a clear pretext to scare the Christian missionaries away from the Adivasi areas, where they are involved in the work of education and health care of Adivasis, something which empowers Adivasis. It was a clear pretext as Maoists had owned the murder of Swami. Most of the organizations at the core of communal politics are manned on one side by Muslim Communalists and on the other by the RSS trained swayamsevaks working and controlling BJP, VHP, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram or Bajrang Dal. Minorities want a safety, and freedom to follow their own religion. Indian Constitution does give us the liberty to practice and preach our own religion. Also RSS is not the representative of Hindus at large. We have diverse traditions of Hinduism ranging from the one of Gandhi to the other ones which are like those of Bajrang dal etc. RSS has tried to co-opt and win over sections of minorities for enhancing its agenda. RSS progeny BJP keeps doing it, trying to win minorities, so often for electoral purpose. But over all the minorities have experienced at heavy cost of loosing lives, that RSS is like a wolf trying to put on sheep's clothing. It is unlikely that after what has been done by its pracharks, Swayamsevaks through its progeny, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Bajrang Dal and vishwa Hindu Parsishad etc. that minorities can ever be fooled by the language being used by Mr. Bhagwat. By now it is also well known that the second Sarsanghchalak of RSS, M. S. Golwalkar had ordained that minorities “the non-Hindu people in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and revere Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but the glorification of Hindu nation i.e. they must not only give up their attitude of intolerance and ingratitude towards this land and its age old traditions, but must also cultivate the positive attitude of love and devotion instead; in one word, they must cease to be foreigners or may stay in this country wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation claiming nothing, deserving no privileges far less any preferential treatment, not even citizen's rights.(We or our Nationhood Defined, 1938, p. 27) RSS is no representative of Hindus. It stands for values which are opposed to the human rights of weaker sections of society, Dalits, workers, adivasis, women and minorities. It stands for values of birth based hierarchy of caste and gender as ordained in Manu Smriti. Its primary goal is to establish Hindu nation, i.e. nation with primacy of Hindu elite men, rather than the nation envisaged by the Indian people during the freedom movement, the values which are an amalgam of the principles of Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar and Gandhi. One wishes RSS rather than deceiving others, learns the lessons of freedom movement and makes Gandhi's Hinduism as its base rather than pursuing Godse's Hinduism. One knows this is a practical impossibility as RSS is the organization of those who are not elected beings; they are self-appointed guardians of Brahmanical Hinduism, who neither represent Hindus nor the Humanistic aspects of Hinduism. Let's wish RSS clan can be retrained to think as Indians rather than just as Hindus with Brahmanical values! http://www.countercurrents.org/puniyani071009.htm SEE ALSO: It is no longer enough to merely condemn the dastardly killing of the unarmed police inspector Francis Indwar by underground Maoists in Jharkhand. The perpetrators, who abducted the police officer while he was out shopping and kept him hostage for several days before beheading him, must be tracked down so that they face the consequences of their barbaric act. The Maoists' killing-spree has not spared anyone. In Lalgarh in West Bengal, where the Maoists have murdered over two dozen unarmed and innocent people in the past few months, they have even gone to the extent of entering the classroom in a school and killing the teacher, merely because he happened to be a CPM activist. The only deterrent against such senseless violence is to be unsparing. Demoralised policemen in Ranchi demanding greater security for themselves is the last straw. It was a near-rebellion in the city when policemen initially refused on Monday to allow an autopsy of the body of the slain inspector. Even after they were persuaded to return the body to the medical college, the policemen threatened to pull out of rural areas, where Special Branch officers like Indwar are deployed to gather intelligence but are not allowed to carry personal firearms lest they fall into the hands of the rebels. While the state government is likely to review the strategy, it is a matter of concern that men in uniform are being forced to seek armed escorts to carry out their routine work. Restoring confidence in the police rank and file has to be the foremost priority and as Indwar was abducted from the marketplace and in full view of hundreds of villagers, it should not be such a difficult task to go after the culprits. While delivering the sixth Nani Palkhivala lecture in Mumbai on Monday, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram did well to rule out the possibility of any exchange of prisoners for hostages held by Maoists. "We are governed by the rule of law and prisoners are under the custody of court," said the Home Minister while responding to reports that the Jharkhand inspector was killed because of the government's reluctance to release three prominent Maoist leaders arrested in the recent past. It is time for making the rebels realise that those who live by the sword also die by the sword. If they fail to respond to the state's call for peace, they must be ready to face what the Maoists themselves describe as annihilation. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091008/edit.htm#1 SEE ALSO: It would be naïve to expect that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief, Mr Raj Thackeray would not pursue his narrow-vision politics as for him this was the surest way to come to power. But his latest act of making noted film maker Mr Karan Johar seek an apology for using the word 'Bombay' instead of 'Mumbai' in his forthcoming film 'Wake Up Sid' is indeed ridiculous. In view of this, the MNS activists stopping the screening of the film 'Wake Up Sid' in some cinema halls. Mr Johar might have tendered apology "It was a genuine mistake on our part. Henceforth, we will use Mumbai instead of Bombay" but the entire episode makes it explicit that Mr Thackeray has no respect for democratic values and also right to expression. He was simply concerned to promote his interest through undemocratic means. Else, he would not have resorted to such tactics. No filmmaker who has invested hundreds of crores in his film would ever think of jeopardising the financial gains of his film. Mr Johar also did the same thing. It is sheer irony that Mr Thackeray thinks of coming to power riding on the shoulders of hoodlums. But for this situation the approach of the state government of Congress and NCP deserved to be condemned. How could a government allow a bunch of goons to disrupt screening of a film? What was its police doing? Does not it imply that the entire operation took place at the behest of the government? The Congress and NCP leaders need to explain it. However Mr Thackeray should realise the immense damage he was inflicting on Mumbai. Even today the film industry of Mumbai is known as Bollywood; deriving its nomenclature from Bombay. If Mr Thackeray intends to completely banish Bombay then he should ask the industry to change its identity! If he is resorting to such tactics and gimmicks to establish his identity, the film industry could well also resort to some drastic action of shifting its base to maintain its identity. Did he ever imagine what would happen to Mumbai if this unfortunate development takes place? Already some famous filmmakers have started shifting to Delhi. In fact Mr Thackeray's attack on Mr Johar's film is an attack on creativity. Mr Johar is a sensitive filmmaker and naturally when he used the word Bombay he did it for certain creative compulsions. One thing is obvious Mr Thackeray's divisive politics would do great harms to Mumbai and Maharashtra than doing good to them. http://www.navhindtimes.in/opinions/3745-political-bigotry SEE ALSO: The Khagaria massacre in which 16 people were killed is a warning that caste wars aren't a thing of the past in Bihar. Though Maoists were initially suspected to be behind the killings, the government has now clarified that the violence was over farmland and involved Dalit Musahars and Kurmis and Koeris, two backward caste groups. Interestingly, both the perpetrators and the victims of the massacre belong to castes wooed by Nitish Kumar to be part of a social coalition he has tried to build in Bihar in recent times. The incident, coming after a lull in caste violence, could impact the political future of Nitish and his party, Janata Dal (United). Nitish's political strategy to counter Lalu Prasad was to build a caste coalition of a few backward castes and Dalit communities. His government created a sub-category among Dalits Mahadalits that included Musahars, ostensibly to streamline delivery of reservation benefits to the scheduled castes. The move helped Nitish to forge a political alliance between Kurmis and Mahadalits that paid off in elections. The alliance could well be unravelling now. Kurmis, the victims in Khagaria, are reportedly angry at Nitish, himself a Kurmi. They have threatened to walk out on him for allegedly favouring the Mahadalits. Clearly, the political alliance has not transformed into a social coalition at the grassroots. The caste arithmetic has not helped to amicably resolve livelihood issues. Agrarian conflicts need policy interventions that go beyond affirmative action. The chief minister has said anti-socials will not be allowed to break the law. He needs to firm up the law and order machinery, of course. But Nitish must go further and address the root cause of the conflict, which is the desperate struggle in rural Bihar to possess cultivable land. Issues like land rights, wages, low agriculture productivity and incomes call for a political paradigm different from the obsession with caste. A committee, set up by Nitish, to study agrarian relations in the state has reportedly suggested that the government should initiate land reforms. The government, perhaps wary of its political repercussions, has so far refused to discuss the report. The social justice politics, viewed through the prism of affirmative action, has reached a dead-end in Bihar even though caste continues to be an influential factor in elections. Nitish tried to break the deadlock by focusing on economic development and good administration. He needs to up the ante on governance so that the emphasis doesn't return to building caste alliances. More jobs need to be created in industry and services to lift the pressure off land. Bihar needs to build a broad-based economy to absorb the tensions of social empowerment in a post-Mandal era. That's the challenge staring at Nitish Kumar. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5091146.cms SEE ALSO: The Supreme Court has rightly issued contempt notice to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary for violating its order on stoppage of work at the construction sites for the statues and memorials of BSP founder Kanshi Ram and other Dalit leaders including Chief Minister Mayawati herself in Lucknow. A Bench consisting of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice Aftab Alam has made out a "strong prima facie case" for initiating contempt proceedings and summoned the Chief Secretary. The Bench, which has been hearing the validity of the Rs 2,600-crore memorial structure, took strong exception to the state government's willful and deliberate flouting of its instructions. Surprisingly, though the government had given an undertaking to the apex court on September 8, it had gone ahead with the construction work and thus committed contempt of the apex court. While hearing the case on Monday, the Bench slammed the Mayawati government for not complying with the court's order and objected to the manner in which it was trying to pass off some of the constructions as "cleaning" operations. Newspaper reports clearly revealed how the government had split the projects into 24 sites and tried to show that they were not covered under the court's restraint order. "Don't play games like (you do) with the Opposition in the Assembly. You are treating this court like an adversary. What differentiates democracy from majoritarianism is the Constitution and the rule of law. As a democratic government, you should have stopped construction after we passed the order", Justice Alam said. The Bench aptly rejected the government's argument that construction was under way only outside 75 acres of the 105 acres where the disputed memorials and statues were coming up. The judges pointed out that the government undertaking (not to carry out the work) was "in respect of all properties". Undoubtedly, at a time when the state is facing drought and resource crunch for taking up development programmes, the state government has been squandering away crores of rupees of public money on statues and memorials. As this project is a huge burden on the state exchequer, this needs to be scrapped and the government taken to task for flouting the apex court's restraint order. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091007/edit.htm#1 SEE ALSO:
IN THIS ISSUE
NEWS HEADLINES
OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
NEWS HEADLINES
PETITION AGAINST INDIAN POLITICIAN: MODI NOT WANTED (OCT 8, 2009, XPRESS4ME.COM)
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527595/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5103666.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526559/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5099374.cmsIN DELLA, MUSLIMS ACCUSE COPS OF ASSAULTING WOMEN, KIDS (OCT 8, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5099362.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/525508/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/461803.aspx
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527301/CONCERN OVER DESPAIR,FEAR AMONG MUSLIMS (OCT 6, 2009, THE HINDU)
http://www.siasat.com/english/news/be-muslim-today-be-encounterable-experts
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article28517.ece
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5103878.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526657/JAMAAT FOR SPEEDY TRIAL OF MUSLIMS HELD ON EXTREMISM CHARGES (OCT 9, 2009, HINDUSTAN TIMES)
http://www.ptinews.com/news/322322_Jamaat-disgruntled-with-Cong-NCP--will-support-individuals
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527327/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/463409.aspx
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/525786/
ISHRAT ENCOUNTER: LAW MINISTRY PLANS TO STRENGTHEN LITIGATION WING (OCT 12, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/463405.aspx
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5102434.cms
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091005/j&k.htm#14
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5107774.cmsVHP LEADERS BOOKED UNDER GANGSTER ACT IN AYODHYA (OCT 10, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5094944.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/527245/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/461828.aspx
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5110917.cmsMNS TOPS LIST OF PARTIES FIELDING CRIMINAL CANDIDATES (OCT 7, 2009, HINDUSTAN TIMES)
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/28982/bihar-court-issues-arrest-warrant.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mns-workers-attack-cong-mp-over-antimigrant-issue/102881-37.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5110906.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526861/CCS CLEARS ANTI-NAXAL OPERATIONS (OCT 9, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/29773/govt-tackle-naxals-polls.html
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526988/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5111716.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/525107/DEFIANT MAYA EARNS SC RAP OVER STATUES (OCT 7, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/shame-for-mayawati-govt-sc-slams-it-for-statues/102732-37.html
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/463404.aspx
http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/07/sc-ruling-on-statues-misinterpreted-bsp.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5091162.cmsDALIT WOMAN SUFFERS MISCARRIAGE, SAYS COP KICKED HER; INVESTIGATION ON (OCT 9, 2009, EXPRESS INDIA)
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20091008/1416/tnl-dalit-woman-reaches-dig-s-office-wit.html
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/01/stories/2009100151850300.htm
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20091008/1416/tnl-dalit-tries-to-set-himself-on-fire.html
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/01/stories/2009100151370300.htm
OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS
QUESTIONS ON EXECUTIONS MOUNT IN INDIA - BY LYDIA POLGREEN (OCT 4, 2009, NEW YORK TIMES)
http://epw.in/epw/uploads/articles/14023.pdf
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2620/stories/20091009262000800.htm
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262215
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2620/stories/20091009262001400.htmRSS AND MINORITIES - BY RAM PUNIYANI (OCT 7, 2009, COUNTERCURRENTS)
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091006/edit.htm#5
http://www.countercurrents.org/dasani051009.htm
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2621/stories/20091023262103200.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5087143.cmsPUNISH THE MAOISTS - EDITORIAL (OCT 8, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526479/
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2621/stories/20091023262102300.htm
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/29055/wrong-strategy.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5087138.cmsPOLITICAL BIGOTRY - EDITORIAL (OCT 4, 2009, NAV HIND TIMES)
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/524956/CASTE QUAGMIRE - EDITORIAL (OCT 6, 2009, TIMES OF INDIA)
http://www.asianage.com/
http://www.countercurrents.org/gatade051009.htmMAYA IN TROUBLE - EDITORIAL (OCT 7, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)
http://www.patnadaily.com/editorial/billionaire_behanji.html
