ACHA PEACE
BULLETIN http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in
Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org
Editor: Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
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_____________________________________________________________________________
ACHA PEACE
BULLETIN-Volume
V, No. 1, January 1, 2003, (Next issue, March 5, 2003)
On account of vacation, there will be no February
issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin. Instead a combined February-March issue will be
published on March 5 - Editor
CONTENTS
Something To Think About
Greetings
Peace & Harmony News
A Different Loneliness, Ten Years After The Babri Demolition, By Saeed Naqvi
The Festivity (of Eid)
Spills Over,
The Times of India, Lucknow
My Own Ramzan,
Khushwant Singh
The Final Partition, Irfan Husain
Nonkilling
Global Political Science
The World
Report On Violence And Health
Teaching
Human Rights And Peace: The Teacher’s Guide)
Yearbook Of International Organizations 2003,
From War To Peace
Gujarat: The Making Of A Tragedy
Conferences
Seeking A Praxis Of Peace
Peacebuilding And Development Summer Institute 2003
(For a copy send a blank email to pritamr@open.org with its subject as the
UPPERCASE word in the article title. Please limit your request to 3 articles)
Bangladesh
Ruling with the ARMY, Haroon Habib, Frontline,
Dec 9, 2002
Biswa Ijtema and BOMBS, Bertil
Lintner, Dec 16, 2002
Selective GENOCIDE, Suman Guha Mozumder, Dec 30, 2002
Bhutan
DAWN of a New Order, Palden Tshering, Dec 30,
2002
Communalism
The Struggle for India's
SOUL, Mira Kamdar, Sep 23, 2002
The RISE of the Hindu Right, Miranda Kennedy, AlterNet,
Dec 9, 2002
India
The DELHI Declaration:
Convergence on Terror, A. Sahni, Dec 9, 2002
CASTE Conflict In India, Ajay K. Mehra, 2000
India-Northeast
The CHURCH: Tackling
Politics in the Northeast, W Hussain, Dec 16, 2002
SHIFT In Strategy, or Just
Trigger-happy?,
Wasbir Hussain, Dec 30, 2002
India-Pakistan Relations
Peace and Friendship Memorial at Wagah-Attari BORDER, Ishtiaq Ahmed, 15 Dec, 2002
Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir: Suicide
TERROR, K. Lakshman, Dec 9, 2002
DIVISION of Kashmir is not
Acceptable,
Amanullah Khan, JKLF, Nov 29, 2002
WHY not write against India,
part 1, Dr
Shabir Choudhry
Why not write against India
PART 2, Dr
Shabir Choudhry
U TURN on Kashmir, Dr Shabir Choudhry, Dec
20, 2002
Pakistan
Demolishing HISTORY in Pakistan, Aamir Ghauri, BBC News, 5 Dec, 2002
Pakistan's QUEST for identity, Jamil Rashid, Dec 1, 2002
Religion
Reevaluating Democracy and Islam
AFTER September 11, Dec 14, 2002
Fundamentalism and TERRORISM, Asghar Ali Engineer, Jan -1-15, 2003
South Asia
The indigenous PEOPLES of South Asia,
Ishtiaq Ahmed, 22 Dec 2002
Sri
Lanka
Quantum LEAP in the Peace Process: From Separation
to Federalism,
S. Senadhira, Dec 9, 2002
_______________________________________________________________________________
SOMETHING TO
THINK ABOUT
“War may
sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an
evil, never a good.” - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Accepting the 2002 Nobel Peace
Prize, at Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2002
GREETINGS
LOSAR (Happy New Year)!
(In Balti/Ladakhi language “lo” means year and “sar”
means new. Based on lunar calendar, the new year in Baltistan/Ladakh, this
year, it will be celebrated on January 3. In Baltistan area, it is celebrated
with activities like mephang, which literally means fire throwing and is
similar to Muslim charaghan. Also people have dance festivals and visit
each other)
PEACE & HARMONY
NEWS
(Readers are
invited to submit similar news from other areas of South Asia to help us
broaden of our coverage. Please send the news, along with its date, and source,
to pritamr@open.org , a week before the
date of publication of the next issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin)
*Supreme Court acquits blasphemy accused - Pakistan
After
hearing senior Supreme Court lawyer Abid Hasan Minto and Additional
Advocate-General Punjab Tariq Khokar, a three-judge bench, on Thursday
acquitted Ayub Masih, 25, a Christian from Punjab, who was awarded death
penalty by the Lahore High Court on the charges of blasphemy.
Ayub
Masih, 25, was charged with blasphemy under the Section 295 (C) on the
compliant of Mohammad Akram on Oct 14, 1996, after over seven hours of the
alleged utterances which he said against Islam and the holy Prophet (PBUH).
Ayub, however, vehemently denied that he had uttered any blasphemous words and
stated that he had been implicated in a false case as the complaint wanted to
grab his plot of land.
The
Sessions Judge, Sahiwal, had awarded death sentence to the accused on April 27,
1998, after holding the trial in the Sahiwal jail. Bishop John Joseph of
Faisalabad had committed suicide outside the District and Session Judge,
Sahiwal, after hearing the judgment. Earlier, the bishop had led a procession
of Christians to protest against the blasphemy law.
The
Lahore High Court, Multan Bench, which had heard the appeal of Ayub Masih
against his conviction, had confirmed his death on July 24, 2001.
It
was brought on the record of the court that soon after the arrest of Ayub
Masih, the complainant, Mohammad Akram, forcibly occupied his house in Chak
No-352, falling in the jurisdiction of Arifwala Police Station. It was also
brought on the record that the complainant had filed an application to the
Director of Colonies, Punjab, for the allotment of the plot to him. The plot
was allotted accordingly and the piece of land was also transferred to the
complainant. The patwari of the area also confirmed that the land was
transferred to Mohammad Akram. (FACE Weekly Newsletter, December 29, 2002)
*Indo-Canadian youth awarded for promoting racial
harmony
Bikramjit Nahal, 19, received the 2002 Lincoln M
Alexander Award for eliminating discrimination in his school and community. http://www.rediff.com/us/2002/dec/11can.htm
*Goddess Kali on a Muslim’s buggy
Banne Khan, a Muslim in Bhopal (India), on December
5 drove his buggy with an image of Goddess Kali to commemorate the Hindu festival of Shatchandi Kalash
Yatra. (Press Trust of India, Via India West, Dec 13, 2002)
*Love versus war
The National Liberation Front of Tripura, a
separatist tribal guerrilla group in India’s revolt-racked northeast has
stopped recruiting women. They had signed up 70 young women over the past year
with the aim of creating an all-female force. But a number of male militants
got romantically involved with women recruits and surrendered to government
security forces or eloped with them and went into hiding due to fear of
retaliation by the group. (Reuters, Via
India West December 6, 2002)
*Sri Lanka, LTTE agree on autonomy formula http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/05lanka.htm
*Lashkar declares four-day ceasefire on Eid
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/04jk1.htm
(Readers are
invited to submit similar information
from other areas of South Asia to help us broaden of our coverage.
Please send the info to pritamr@open.org
, a week before the date of publication of the next issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin)
*People’s Union For Civil Liberties
(PUCL), 81, Sahyog Apartments, Mayur Vihar- Phase 1,Delhi-110091,
Phone 011-250014. President - K.G. Kannabiran; General Secretary Y. P
Chhibbar. Delhi Office: M-35 Greater
Kailash I, New Delhi 110048; President - R.M.Pal (6461444); Vice-Presidents - N. D. Pancholi azadpancholi@yahoo.com
& Anup Saraya; General Secretary - Pushkar Raj (6075570), Secretaries – Joseph Gathia, & R.L. Singh ;
Treasurer - Mahi Pal 3651152
PUCL-Delhi organized a joint public
meeting on the occasion of Human Rights Day on 10th of December at Indian
Social Institute, Lodhi Estate. Some distinguished speakers including Kuldip Neyyer, Rajinder Sachar, Praful Bidwai,
George Mathew, Gopal Guru, Zaya Hasan participated in the meeting and the
discussion.
(Readers are
invited to submit similar news from other areas of South Asia to help us
broaden of our coverage. Please send the news, along with its date, and source,
to pritamr@open.org , a week before the
date of publication of the next issue of ACHA Peace Bulletin)
*Bangladesh
'US okayed Pakistani repression in Bangladesh in
1971'
Declassified documents show that Pakistan's importance
to the China initiative made the then US President Richard Nixon turn a blind
eye to the brutal repression unleashed in the then East Pakistan by the
Pakistani dictator Yahya Khan. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/19pak.htm
Muslim
scholastics claim responsibility for Mymensingh-serial blasts
Unidentified
Muslim scholastics, who called themselves as "Students of Madrasa",
claimed responsibility for the December 7-Mymensingh serial blasts that killed
18 persons and injured 300 more, media reports said on December 12, 2002. The
group claimed responsibility in an e-mail sent to the vernacular 'Prothom Alo'
newspaper, and also said they received Bangladesh Taka one lakh (hundred thousand)
each for carrying out the blasts at four cinemas, from an unnamed Islamic
student's organisation. Indian
Express, December 12, 2002.
15 killed in explosions in cinema halls in Bangladesh http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/07bang.htm
*India
INSAT-3A launch in mid-February
It will be launched from Korou (French Guyana) on an
Ariane-5 rocket of the European Space Agency.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/24fakir.htm
Bill to curb criminalisation in politics passed http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/19bill.htm
US
issues demarche to India on Afghanistan reconstruction activities, indicates
report
The
US is reported to have pointed out that India’s attempts to carve out a
presence in the post-Taliban Afghanistan, for example, by opening consulates in
key cities like Kandahar and Jalalabad – both near the Pakistan border – was
causing significant discomfort to the Musharraf regime. Indian Express
December 8, 2002)
3,000 dalits in TN to convert on December 6
They are doing so in protest against the Tamil Nadu
government's anti-conversion law.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/05tn.htm
Opposition slams BJP for Babri demolition
They staged an hour-long dharna inside the
Parliament House complex denouncing the BJP and Sangh Parivar outfits. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/05par.htm
`I don't see a Hindutva upsurge'
'Hindutva is geographically limited. Common people
are worried about day-to-day problems.' Socio-political analyst Achyut Yagnik
tells Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt.
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/04inter.htm
*India-Gujarat
Gujarat Election: Detailed Results http://www.rediff.com/election/gjconst02.htm
Slide Show: A Crucial Vote
The outcome of this election may change the course
of the Indian polity.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/12sld1.htm
Slide Show: Gujarat diary
Snapshots from the keenly contested election, which
the BJP won convincingly.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/17sld1.htm
The verdict and after
'The Hindutva genie has resurfaced. This time it
will not go away in a hurry,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/16sai.htm
Modi's three-and-a-half allies
'Who were they? Step forward the Congress (I), the
English media, the militants, and, last but not least that 'half' ally, the
Election Commission,' says T V R Shenoy. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/16flip.htm
BJP disapproves of Togadia's 'Hindu Rashtra' remark
A party spokesman said that the party did not
believe in a theocratic state and would work towards integrating the minorities
into the mainstream. http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/16guj3.htm
The telia rajas: Power in a nutshell
Gondol, around 40 kilometres from Rajkot, can and
does determine the politics of Saurashtra, and has a bearing on the politics of
the state thanks to the oil mills in the town.
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/13spec.htm
For Muslims of Naroda, safety is the only issue http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/05guj3.htm
Election Commission restricts VHP's December 6 rally
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/05guj1.htm
*India-Jammu & Kashmir
LoC conversion could help solve Kashmir issue: PoK
leader
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/30pak.htm
Hizb vows to continue attacks in J&K
Outfit chief Syed Salahuddin said there would be no
peace in the valley until the residents are allowed to decide their own fate. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/28hizb.htm
Hurriyat ready for talks if Pakistan involved
'We are ready to hold talks with anybody to find a
durable and long lasting solution to Kashmir issue,' Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/28jk1.htm
Monitoring committee in J&K announced
State Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad will head the
nine-member committee that will look into the implementation of the Common
Minimum Programme of the coalition government.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/28jk.htm
Hurriyat ready for talks, if allowed to visit
Pakistan
'We can achieve some result and make some headway if
the Hurriyat is allowed to go to Pakistan for talks. If India and Pakistan
cannot solve the Kashmir issue, then let us do it,' chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat
said.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/23jk1.htm
Healing touch meant for victims, not terrorists:
Baig
'People have misunderstood our healing touch policy.
We are giving jobs to the relatives of the victims of the terrorist violence,'
the finance minister said. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/21onkar.htm
Kashmir Government Cracks Down on Dal Lake Swindlers
This week, the government launched a crackdown on
officials charged with swindling funds intended for the conservation of the
dying Dal lake in the state's summer capital- Srinagar. KGN News 13 Dec
2002
J&K to set up committee on release of militants
The principal secretary of the state home ministry
will head the five-member joint screening committee.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/09jk.htm
*Nepal
The
National Security Council Secretariat has, on December 27, 2002, presented to
Premier Lokendra Bahadur Chand a concept paper it has prepared on disarming the
Maoist insurgents and rehabilitating victims of the insurgency. Nepal News,
December 28, 2002
Rocca in Nepal to explore ways to fight Maoist
challenge
This is the US Assistant Secretary of State for
South Asia's third visit to the Himalayan Kingdom. She will leave for Islamabad
on Sunday. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/13nep.htm
*Pakistan
Pak PM to seek vote of confidence on Dec 30
The prime minister will also resume talks with the
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal to resolve the deadlock over President Musharraf
continuing as army chief. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/19pak1.htm
'Musharraf asks EC to burn records of referendum'
The South Asia Tribune, a Web site run by noted
Pakistani journalist Shaheen Sehbai, has termed the act `despicable'. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/18pak.htm
6 Supreme Court Judges validating army coup get
retired
Out
of the 12 Supreme Court judges who in May 2000 had validated the military
takeover of Oct 12, 1999, under the doctrine of necessity, six have retired
while the rest have been given extension in service of three years each. FACE,
Dec 8, 2002
Pakistan postpones SAARC summit http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/09pak.htm
Zardari released on parole; NAB suspends
anti-corruption drive
The former Pakistan prime-minister Benazir Bhutto's
husband was imprisoned for over six years in connection with a host of
corruption and criminal cases. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/06pak.htm
Pakistan protests over reports of its nuke links
with N Korea
The issue of Pakistan-N Korea ties figured during
the talks visiting US Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley held with
President Musharraf on Wednesday.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/05pak.htm
*Sri Lanka
Monitors
to convene meet on resettling IDPs in High Security Zones: Sri Lanka
Monitoring
Mission (SLMM) spokesperson, Teitur Torkelsson, on December 27, 2002, hoped
that the issue of resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs) in High
Security Zones (HSZ) would be settled amicably between the Army and Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), at a meeting to be convened in early January
2003. Daily
News, December 28, 27, 2002; Tamilnet.com,
December 26, 27, 2002; www.peaceinsrilanka.org, December
26, 2002.
Film on Lankan civil war to be screened in London
But 'In The Name of Buddha' has kicked up a row with
some reports accusing the LTTE of funding it.
http://www.rediff.com/us/2002/dec/18shyam.htm
War
will resume if federal solution is rejected, says government chief negotiator
Cabinet
spokesperson and government chief negotiator in the peace talks with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), G L Peiris, warned at a press
conference on December 9, 2002, in Colombo that war could resume if a political
solution based on federal framework was not accepted. Daily News,
Dec 10, 02.
Government
and LTTE make historic decision on federal model
The
Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to
explore a federal structure within a ‘united Sri Lanka’ on the principle of
‘internal self-determination’ at the third round of peace talks held in Oslo on
December 5, 2002. www.dailynews.lk, December 6, 2002; www.tamilnet.com,
December 5, 2002.
*A
different loneliness, Ten years after the Babri demolition, By Saeed Naqvi,
Indian Express, Dec 6, 2002, Via Asiapeace, ACHA’s electronic discussion group
I have tried to induce in myself a nostalgia, some sort of emotion, on the 10th
anniversary of the fall
of Babri Masjid and have drawn a blank. In another context, Wordsworth talked
of the loss of that
'visionary gleam'. Possibly, something inside me has dried up. In my years as a journalist I have reverted
repeatedly to my village, Mustafabad, near Rae Bareli, where my earliest
sensibilities were shaped by grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and, above
all, my father and mother. Ours was a Muslim home, a mosque dominating our
courtyard. But the cultural derivatives of this Islam were set against a broad
Hindu civilisational framework. It was not something we discussed. It was
something we lived.
Our marriage rituals were rituals of Avadh and therefore, I dare say, Hindu. If
one of our cousins was in the family way my mother would arrange for Aseemun to
be around for the childbirth. How could a
baby be born in our house without Aseemun singing in her full-throated style,
my mother's favourite sohar,
song sung at childbirth in our villages. Allah mian hamare bhaiyya ka diyo nand
Lal (Oh my Allah give my
brother a son like Lord Krishna). The controller of ceremonies, both at
weddings and at childbirth, was
the nawan, or the barber's wife. Whether Hindu or Muslim, she brought into the
rituals and the
festivities the cultural elements of the Hindu countryside.
Even our religious poetry was occasionally cast in a Hindu ambience. The
greatest epics on various aspects
of the tragedy of Karbala were written by Mir Anis who is regarded as the
greatest master of Urdu diction.
These poems, or Marsias, are the staple at most Moharram congregations
particularly in areas around
Avadh.
Even though all of Anis's characters like Imam Hussain, the prophet's grandson,
Abbas, his brother, Zainab, his sister and a range of sisters and
daughters-in-law, are historically Arab, Anis has
delineated his characters as quintessentially Avadhi. In their speech and
demeanour they come across as Indian. Bano-e-nek naam ki kheti, hari rahey/
Sandal se maang, bachchon/ Se godi bhari rahey (May the
parting in Bano's hair always carry a streak of sandalwood and may her house
always be filled with the
laughter of children).
My grandmother could actually recite passages from Padmavat, the classic in
Avadhi written by Malik
Mohammad Jaisi. This epic again is dotted with Hindu lore. Wali Dakhini or Wali
Gujarati was another
favourite set to tunes by Aseemun. Koocha-e yaar ain Kashi, hai/ Jogia dil
wahan ka Vaasi, haai (My
beloved's neighbourhood is exactly like the holy city of Kashi; and the yogi of
my heart has taken up
residence in that city).
Yes, this is the same Wali Gujarati whose grave was levelled by the rioters in
Ahmedabad and today traffic
plies over it.
But traffic of another type plies over the grave of another poet, possibly the
greatest of them all, Mir
Taqi Mir. A railway track runs over his grave at Lucknow city station. Uske
farogh-e-husn se/ jhamke
hai sab mein noor/ Shamm-e haram ho ya ki diya/ Somnath ka (His light permeates
through all - the lamp
at Kaaba or the Somnath temple.)
Ghalib's house in Ballimaran remains ignored. Remember his adoration for
Varanasi? (Varanasi is like a
beautiful woman admiring herself in the mirror of the Ganga, mornings, evenings
and afternoons). In fact in this long poem, 'Lamp in a Temple', Ghalib
describes Varanasi as the 'Kaaba of Hindustan', somewhat in the same vein as
Iqbal's description of Lord Rama as the 'Imam of Hindustan'.
How many more poets must I list? Does anybody remember poetry in praise of Lord
Rama by Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana? That somewhat ravaged monument at the
entrance of Nizamuddin East in New Delhi is his tomb.
And what of Saiyid Ibrahim Raskhan's unparalleled adoration for that 'naughty boy
from Gokul' or
Salbeg's lyrics on Jagannath never sung better than by Sikandar Alam. Or Nazir
Akbarabadi on Krishna Raas, Mahadev, Guru Nanak. And if you have had enough of
the 19th century let me introduce you to modern poets.
Krishn ka hun pujari/ Ali ka banda hoon/ Yagana shaan-e-khuda/ Dekh kar raha na
Gaya (I am a pujari of
Krishna and a devotee of Ali/ I cannot help myself when I see the wonders of
God).
Just in case you didn't know, the longest running serial, Mahabharat, which
almost transformed Hinduism
into a congregational religion, was written by Masoom Raza Rahi.
And why restrict ourselves to literature? Ustad Fayyaz Khan had a series of
compositions but of none was he more proud than: Manmohan Braj ke Rasiya
(Colourful Krishna in Braj land). Visit Ustad Alauddin Khan's house in Maihar
and you will be witness to one of the great spectacles of composite culture.
The great master said his namaaz five times a day but his music he derived from
Saraswati, who adorns all the walls of his house.
When my friend Raghu Rai and I visited Malikarjun Mansoor, Gangubai Hangal and
Bhimsen Joshi, prominent on their walls were photographs of their respective
gurus, Manjhe Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Ibrahim Adil Shah, the King of
Bijapur in the 18th century begins his great work on music Kitaab-e-Nauras with
Saraswati Vandana. Had Dara Shikoh not translated the Upanishads into Persian,
the transmission of Hindu thought to the West would have had to rely on some
other route.
I have not even mentioned Khushi Mohammad, the pujari who looks after Goga
Merhi temple in Ganganagar and Adam Malik from Baktot village in Pahalgam who
discovered the Amarnath shrine. One third of the proceeds from the shrine to
this day go to the descendents of Mailk.
But in the 10th year of the destruction of the Babri Masjid, none of this seems
relevant. Would Modi,
Singhal or Togadia understand any of this? They were not around when I went out
and made 50 short films on these themes. Oh the passion with which I undertook
the expedition. Except for my cousin Jimmy's mad
pursuit of these themes, I was alone even then. Today I feel different,
probably lonely and there is a
difference.
*The festivity spills over, The Times
of India, Lucknow lucknow.times@timesgroup.com,
December 6, 2002, Via Dr. Zafar Iqbal
It's that time of the year again when the festivity of Eid spills over onto the
city streets and segues into the typical Ganga Jamuni culture of Lucknow.
Eid is a festival of Muslims, but not necessarily in the old city where you
have the Khans celebrating it with as much gusto as perhaps the Khannas.
Says Maulivganj resident 51-year-old Majeed Murtaza, "Nowhere else would
you find a more perfect amalgamation of religion than in Lucknow. My daughter
Suraiya lights lamps on Diwali while our neighbour Asthana Sahib's little one
is so fond of Eid that she wears new clothes and even insists on
preparing seevaiyan in her house."
In Rahimnagar, the Eid Milan function is organised by one Dr RS Singh and in
Aliganj and Cantonment, most of the iftar parties during Ramzan were hosted by
non Muslims. Traditionally, festivals have always transcended the barriers of
religions in Lucknow where some of aa most important temples were
built by the Nawabs of erstwhile Avadh.
Sure enough, the Gujarat violence and the December 6 co-incidence hasn't
dampened the spirit of festivity as far as the average city Muslim is concerned
"What happened in Ayodhya and Gujarat was really unfortunate. But we
cannot let past events cast their shadow on our future," says 23-year-old
Mohammad Rehan.
*My own Ramzan, Khushwant Singh, Courtesy: Hindustan Times, December 7,
2002 Via Asiapeace, ACHA’s electronic discussion group
A couple of years ago when my wife was very ill, I had
to hire nurses to look after her. Their names elude my memory except for one
night-nurse, Seema. I only discovered she was Muslim when Ramzan came and she
wanted something to eat before sunrise when her fast began. So I rose before my
usual time, prepared toast and coffee for her and laid out a musalla (prayer
mat) in my study for her namaaz.
Though a mulhid (non-believer), it gave me a lot of
pleasure to have her pray in my home. She assured me that I would be rewarded
for it by Allah (“Iswaab milega”). I accepted the assurance gratefully. I
believed it to be a once-a-lifetime experience which would never recur. Seema
disappeared, so did my wife.
Friends remained: a sizeable number of them were, and
are, Muslims. Most of them did not fast during Ramzan. Now quite a few of them
have begun to do so. I have little doubt that this is largely a reaction to the
Hindutva onslaught on Muslims. The more a section of Hindus proclaim their
gaurav in being Hindus, the more the Muslims assert their Islamic identity.
Leaders of the Sangh parivar are too thick-headed to understand this obvious
reaction to discrimination.
I am deviating from my main theme. Ramzan came back
into my life. My friend of many years, Syeda Saiyadain Hameed, who has spent
many years teaching in Canada where her three children are settled, asked me if
she could break her fast in my home.
I was delighted. This time it had to be after
sun-down.
I got a packet of dates, had egg sandwiches and a mug
of tea prepared for her. She came around 5.30 pm, glanced at her wrist-watch
before eating a date and drinking a glass of water. Then she adjourned to my
study to say her prayer on the very spot Seema had prayed some years ago in the
early hours of the morning. As she sat down to her sandwich meal, she used the
same words as Seema had used: “Iska Iswaab aapko milega.” Again, I accepted the
assurance with gratitude.
“Do this again, at least once before Id,” I pleaded
with Syeda. Whether or not Syeda comes for another iftar, I wish all my readers
— Muslims and non-Muslims — Kullu am antum bi khair (May you be well throughout
the year).
*The FINAL partition,
Irfan Husain, DAWN, 23 Nov 2002, Via Asiapeace, ACHA’s Electronic Discussion
Group
When Mr Jinnah contemplated
the new country he had been pivotal in creating 55 years ago, he did not sell
his property in India as he could not visualize a future in which travel
between the two neighbours would become extremely difficult.
The mass killings and the vast
migration that accompanied partition on both sides of the border must have been
a heavy weight on his conscience.
He could not have foreseen the
bloody consequences of the division of the subcontinent. Indeed, being a
rational and secular person, he probably did not fathom the capacity for hatred
and violence concealed in so many human hearts.
Gandhi, a leader of an
altogether different mould, went on hunger strike to protest against the
Congress government's delaying tactics in transferring Pakistan's share of the
divisible cash resources, and as a result, he was assassinated by a Hindu
fanatic.
Many people who fled the
violence in both countries left their property and possessions in the
expectation that they would be able to return to their homes once the madness
had faded. Indians and Pakistanis of that generation still speak nostalgically
of growing up in cities that have suddenly become enemy territory. But despite
the magnitude of their loss, they are not bitter about their old friends and
neighbours; indeed, they retain nothing but fond memories of their childhood.
Their anger is focused on the leadership of both countries that have made
travel between the two such a nightmare.
Despite the political gulf
that opened up with partition and the still-festering Kashmir dispute that
erupted immediately afterwards, the cultural and personal affinities between
the two countries remained largely intact for some time. Until the 1965 war,
travel was relatively simple and people thought little of going across the
border to attend a wedding or watch a Test match.
In short, the slogans and
shrill rhetoric that emanated from the leaders and propaganda machines had not
infected the minds of ordinary citizens who continued to make a distinction
between politicians and people. In short, the demonization of the two countries
had not yet begun in the popular imagination.
During the 1965 war that began
in Kashmir (where else?), pilots of both air forces took great care to avoid
civilian targets. Similarly, artillery fire was directed at military targets
only, and the little activity that the two navies were engaged in did not
include commercial shipping. Although the propaganda war was probably more
fierce than actual combat, most Pakistanis did not consider ordinary Indians to
be their enemies.
Meeting Indians after the war,
one did not get the impression that they felt any differently. Officers from
the opposing armies who met after the end of hostilities did not harbour any
personal animosity either.
Although the 1971 war evoked
far greater bitterness, it was largely confined to the eastern theatre. In West
Pakistan, the fighting was more of a defensive nature. But despite the air
superiority the Indian air force enjoyed over Pakistani skies, it did not
engage in deliberate attacks on civilian targets. I was in Lahore then and
remember watching an Indian jet attacking the radar installation at the old
airfield in Gulberg (which, incidentally has been taken over by our air force
for officers' housing colony). Despite the target being close to so many
private residences, I do not recall any reports of civilian casualties.
It was in the seventies that
travel became more and more difficult. An entire generation of Pakistanis and
Indians grew up with no personal knowledge of each other, their minds poisoned
by jingoistic textbooks and official propaganda. More and more young people on
both sides of the border began to harbour a personal animus without really
knowing very much of the cultural ties that still existed.
Even though Pakistanis watched
(and continue to watch) Bollywood blockbusters and Indians were enthralled by
Pakistani TV soap operas, the gulf between the two countries grew. Popular
music, cricket and hockey supplied just about the only glue to the
relationship. Over 30 years have passed since the 1971 war, and apart from
Kargil, we have not engaged in any major conflicts.
But Kargil was a watershed in
many ways. For the first time, there were allegations of uncivilized conduct
when infiltrators from this side were accused of having mutilated the bodies of
Indian soldiers. Right or wrong, ordinary Indians were shocked and outraged
that the peace moves initiated by their government had been answered by an act
of perceived aggression. Being mostly unaware of the hold the military has on
decision-making even when a civilian is nominally in power, they saw the
infiltration as an act of treachery. More than that, they became convinced for
the first time that Pakistan was not interested in peace.
Coming as it did after a
decade of escalating violence in Kashmir, for many Indians, Kargil was the
proverbial last straw. A hit movie was soon churned out showing Pakistanis as
brutal killers; a computer game carried the same message. On our side, the
official media and many private newspapers spared no effort in showing Indians
in the same light.
Similarly, when General
Musharraf travelled to Agra last year, many of us in Pakistan wished him to
succeed, and were bitterly disappointed when the talks were broken off when
they seemed so close to success. The general perception was that the hawks in
India had succeeded in derailing the negotiations just when there was promise
of a breakthrough.
Whatever the reality, the fact
is that relations between the two nations have never been worse. Despite the
economic, cultural and geographic imperatives, we are further away from
normality than ever before.
Whenever I have written about
the urgent need for peace, I have been tauntingly reminded of Kargil by Indian
readers, who have also gratuitously informed me that their country is far ahead
of Pakistan and does not need us. Several of them gloatingly sent me reports of
the successful visit of Microsoft's Bill Gates to India.
Pakistani detractors, on the
other hand, go on at length about the rights and wrongs of the Kashmir issue
and advise me to return to India if I am unhappy about the state of affairs in
Pakistan. Irrespective of whose fault it is, the fact is that we have succeeded
in partitioning the subcontinent far more thoroughly than was originally
visualized for we have achieved a division of a shared culture and a shared
past.
*Nonkilling Global Political Science, Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2002 and New Delhi,
Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram: Gandhi Media Centre, 2002. Also now freely
available on the Center for Global Nonviolence Website www.globalnonviolence.org (Via
Glenn Paige)
*The World Report on Violence and Health, World Health Organization, $27. (Contact Helen Green, Information Officer, NMH
Communications, WHO, Avenue Appia 20, 1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland, Website: www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/pr73/en
Email: greenh@who.int, T:
41-22-791 3432, F: 41-22-791 4832
This is the first comprehensive review of the problem of violence at a global
level. It focuses not only on the scale of the problem, but also covers
issues related to the causes of violence and methods for preventing violence
and reducing its adverse health and social consequences. In addition to
the issues of collective violence such as war or conflict, the report examines
equally significant yet frequently overlooked issues such as youth violence,
child abuse, elderly abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and
self-inflicted violence or suicides. (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
*Teaching Human Rights and
Peace: The Teacher’s Guide, The African Center for Democracy
and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) and the United Nations Education, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (Contact Zoe Tembo, Executive Director,
ACDHRS, Kairaba Avenue, Kombo St. Mary Division, The Gambia. T: 220-394 961, F:
220-394 962 Email: acdhrs@acdhrs.gm
This
teaching guide has been designed to give teachers the tools for teaching
secondary school students about human rights and peace. It can also be
adapted by primary and secondary school curriculum developers or policy makers
who could use the module as a guide for inputting human rights and peace
culture into schools. (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
*Yearbook of International
Organizations 2003, Asia
Pacific Infoserv, GPO Box 2987, Sydney 2001, Australia, T: 61-2-4934 6290, F:
61-2-4934 3692, Email: aapi@aapi.com.au,
Website: www.galegroup.com/world/distributors/australia.htm
This three-volume set references 31,086 international organizations in nearly
300 countries and territories around the world. It profiles 5,556 intergovernmental
and 25,540 international nongovernmental organizations currently active.
Organizations descriptions listed in Volume 1 are numbered sequentially to
facilitate quick and easy cross-referencing from the other Yearbook volumes.
Users can refer to Volumes 2 and 3 to locate organizations by region or subject
respectively, and comprehensive indexes are included. (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
*From War to
Peace, Caroline
Guinard, The International Peace Bureau in association with Nonvionlence
International and Geneva Call, .US$17, (Contact Colin Archer,
Secretary-General, International Peace Bureau, 41 rue de Zurich, 1201, Geneva,
Switzerland, T: 41-22-731 6429 F: 41-22-738 9419, Email: mailbox@ipb.org, Website: www.ipb.org, www.haguepeace.org
This book is
intended as a practical handbook for peace negotiators (either governmental,
non-state actors, or others). The book draws on studies of transition from
armed conflict to peace in nine countries and is funded by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
*Gujarat: the Making of a Tragedy, Siddharth Varadarajan, ISBN 0143029010, Indian Rs.
295, Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd, #11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New
Delhi 1100017, India.
T: 91-11-649 4401, F: 91-11-649 4403, Email: customer.service@penguin-india.com,
Website: www.penguinbooksindia.com/Books/aspbookhome.asp
This book gives an account of the violence in Gujurat. It is assembled from
various sources including newspaper articles, first-hand interviews, opinion
columns, and speeches. (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
(Readers are
invited to submit similar information
from other areas of South Asia to help us broaden of our coverage.
Please send the info to pritamr@open.org
, a week before the date of publication of the next issue of ACHA Peace
Bulletin)
*Seeking a Praxis of Peace: This annual conference will address what it means to
be committed to peacemaking, active nonviolence, and the Quaker peace
testimony. It will discuss how educators help students, faculty, and staff
learn tools for open communication and support of one another, thus laying the
groundwork for peaceful relationships in their lives and work. The conference
will also look at methods educators are using to engage students, faculty, and
staff in productive experiences of multiculturalism, diversity, and difference,
and to recognize and work through the tensions and conflict that arise from
difference. Presentations, panels, and workshops are welcomed by January 27,
2003. More info from James W. Hood, English Department, Guilford College, 5800
West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro NC 27410, USA. T: 1-336-316 2462, F: 1-336-316
2940 Email: jhood@guilford.edu (Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)
*Peacebuilding and Development
Summer Institute 2003 provides knowledge, practical experience and skills for
professionals, teachers, and students involved in conflict resolution,
peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance, and development. The Summer Institute
will focus on various approaches to mediation, negotiation, facilitation,
reconciliation, and dialogue, particularly in conflict-torn and developing
regions. Participants will explore innovative methods of promoting cultural
diversity with respect to public policy, community, and religion in war and
post-conflict environments, while expanding their knowledge and skills in a
participatory and interactive learning environment. Participants in the Summer
Institute will be exposed to leading national and international professionals
in the fields of public policy, conflict resolution, and development. The
Institute is designed for students and faculty who want to better understand
the causes of war and violence and the conditions for constructing peace. The
following courses are available: Religion and Culture in Conflict Resolution
(Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer); Conflict Resolution and Human Rights (Diana Chigas
and Ellen Lutz); Peacebuilding and Development in Conflict Resolution (Dr.
Kimberly Maynard, Ph.D.);Training for Trainers (Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer); Gender
and Peacebuilding in a Development Context (Dr. Julie Mertus); and Innovative
Strategies for Change: Civil Society, Peacebuilding, and Development (Claudia
Liebler). Cost: USD
700 per course (non-credit), USD 1,654 per course (2 credits). More info from
Peacebuilding and Development Summer Institute 2003, School of International
Service, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8071,
USA. T: 1-202-885 2014, F: 1-202-885 2494 Email: pcrinst@american.edu, Website: www.american.edu/sis/peace/summer
(Via Coexistence Initiative www.coexistence.net)