ACHA PEACE
BULLETIN http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
A publication of Association for Communal Harmony in
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Editor: Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D.
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ACHA PEACE
BULLETIN-Volume
VI, No. 1, January 7, 2004
NOTE: On account of vacation, the February issue will be sent out on January 22,
and the March issue on March 12.
My New Year Wishes
Slide Show
Peace &
Harmony News From & About South Asia
Association
for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), Keizer, OR, USA
Pakistan-India People’s
Forum for Peace and Development (PIPFPD), Karachi, Pakistan
International Initiative for
Justice in Gujarat (IIJG), New Delhi, India
Action Aid - Regional office, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India
Salokha, Mumbai, India
Peace Events
Friendship March from
Karachi to Delhi, June 11 - October 2, 2004
Of
'Pundit Bibi' and other secularists at Gujarat school,
Indo-Asian News Service, Dec 21, 2003
A friendly visit to an enemy
country,
Sandeep Pandey
Siachen Peace Park
Dr Mubarak Ali
Asghar Ali Engineer
Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed
Courses
& Training Programs
REPORTS & ANALYSES
(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. When requesting an article from an issue of
ACHA Peace Bulletin, other than the current one, please also mention date of
publication of that issue)
Bangladesh
Bangladesh: LAND disputes perpetuate internal
displacement,
Report of the Global IDP project of
Norwegian Refugee Council, 1 December 2003
Bangladesh may be emerging terrorist nexus, CSIS
report warns,
Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press, Dec 9,
2003
Books
Collection on the war and economy in Sri LANKA, Muttukrishna Sarvananthan,
Sri Lanka, 2003
India-Pakistan: Themes BEYOND Borders, Sumit Chakravartty, Konark
The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh:
Memoirs of an American DIPLOMAT, Archer K.Blood, Dhaka
Communal
Harmony
Greater Kashmir: Love you, my LAND, Veer Wangnoo, Kashmir Global
Network, Dec 11, 2003
Reunion heals partition WOUNDS, Zulfiqar Ali, BBC
ROZA-Iftar at Hanuman Garhi: Ayodhya: Celebrating
Intercommunity Relations, Ram Puniyani, Dec 2003
Hindu TEMPLE joins Christmas
celebrations,
Rohit Ghosh (IANS), Bhopal, December 23, 2003
Theatre sensitises GUJARAT
about communalism, Indo-Asian News Service, 15-December-2003
Communalism
Gujarat mantri threatens DANGS Christians, Deepal Trevedie, Asian
Age, October 21, 2003
Trishul to darkness: India seems destined to PASS
through a dark tunnel before it sees light again, Rahul
Bose, Communalism Combat,
November 2003
The WAR within Islam, Zafar Sobhan, The Daily
Star December 05, 2003
History
State in MUGHAL India: Re-examining the Myths of a
Counter-Vision,
Iqtidar Alam Khan, (Aligarh)
ALLAMA Iqbal's Allahabad address revisited, Prof Sharif al Mujahid,
Kashnet, December 10, 2003
India
Hindutva POLITICS in
India, Rubina Khurana
Indian MUSLIMS, Identity and Modernity, Asghar Ali Engineer,
Secular Perspective Dec 1-15, 2003
Of HINDUTVA and governance, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The
Hindu Dec 15, 2003
Postmodernism, HINDU nationalism and `Vedic science' [Part 1], Meera Nanda,
Frontline, Dec 20, 2003
India
NE
The CURSE of ethno-nationalism hits Assam, Daya Varma, Insaf Bulletin
, 5 December 2003
Look EAST, but via the Northeast, Sanjib Baruah, The Indian
Express, Friday, December 12, 2003
The NAGA insurgency has never quite enjoyed the
attention it deserves, R Guha, Telegraph India, Dec 13
India-Pak
Missile monuments stand down for ATAL, Imtiaz Gul, The Telegraph,
December 08, 2003
A
STEP in the right direction, Shafqat Mahmood, December 5,
2003
The strategic IMBALANCE, Irfan Husain, 10 Dec 2003
Yes, we are back on the PATH of peace again, Ramananda Sengupta,
Rediff.com, December 12, 2003
Peace BID welcomed, Shamim-ur-Rahman, Dawn, 15 December 2003
WHERE have we to go, M B Naqvi, The News
International, December 24, 2003
Kashmir
Kashmir leader PUSHES self-rule compromise, al jazeera, Via KGN News,
06 December 2003
Kashmir website launched in LONDON, 18 Dec 2003
Dialogue With India and Kashmiri WISDOM, Dr Syed Nazir Gilani,
Kashmir Images on December 19, 03
Rethinking Plebiscite in KASHMIR, Pervez Hoodbhoy, 22 Dec
2003
Pakistan's suggestion to bypass Plebiscite is an
indication of losing LONG battle over Kashmir, Mumtaz Khan, Kashmir Global Network,
December 26, 2003
Pakistan Explores a Political End-GAME, Praveen
Swami, South Asia Intelligence Review, January 5
Nepal
HUMPTY dumpty had a great fall, Alok Bohara, Nepal News,
Ten TESTS for a successful negotiation, Anand Aditya, Nepal News,
December 11, 2003
India's pragmatic VIEW of Nepal's problems, Yadav Khanal, The
Himalayan Times, 12 December 2003
Pakistan
Confessions of a FAILED Jihadi, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia
Times on line
Poisoning young MINDS , Khalid Hasan, Friday
Times, 19 December 2003
TEXT books in Punjab in Pakistan that push hate (I), Dr Farrukh Saleem, The
New, December 14, 2003
TEXT books in Punjab in Pakistan that push hate (II), Dr Farrukh Saleem,
The News, December 21, 2003
On two SIDES of the jihad partition - People speak
out against the culture of extremism but palace does not listen, Bharat Bhushan, The
Telegraph December 22, 2003
Pakistan Bombing Aimed at Military Ruler Highlights
His ROLE,
David Rohde, New York Times, Dec 24
Peace
Kashmiris reunite - on either side of river that
flows between India, Pakistan, Roshan Mughal, AP
Peace in troubled TIMES, Mukhtar Ahmad, The Rediff
Special, December 03, 2003
240 Indians
cross WAGAH to attend peace forum,
DailyTimes.com,
December 12, 2003
Massive peace RALLY planned in Srinagar on new year
day , Press
Trust of India, December 20, 2003
One big peace PARTY, Beena Sarwar beena.sarwar@geo.tv,
The News, December 21, 2003
'They are humans... LIKE us,' Mohsin Sayeed, Th eNews,
December 21, 2003
POLO for peace, Brian Cloughley, Daily Times, 24 December,
2003
Forum SINGS Indo-Pak bhai-bhai, The Times of India,
December 31, 2003
People
Striving for RIGHTS (Asma Jehngir), Abdul Sattar, The News on
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Religion
Material development and MUSLIM attitudes, Ishtiaq Ahmed Daily Times,
Sunday, 14 December 2003
South
Asia
Securing South ASIA, Lakshman Kadirgamar, The
Hindu, December 29, 2003
Sri
Lanka
Broadening the Perspectives for Peace in Sri LANKA, Prof. Asoka Bandarage,
November 10, 2003
Women
FEMALE Foeticide – An Indian Perspective, Pavan Nair pavannair@vsnl.net, December 4, 2003
______________________________________________________________________________________
*My New
Year Wishes
May,
this year, female fetuses, girls and women in South Asia are treated with
dignity they deserve as human individuals!
May
the poor South Asians have better access to health resources, education and
economic opportunities in the Year 2004!
May,
in the New Year, the majority communities of South Asia be fairer to the
minorities!
May
public officials be less corrupt and the rich and powerful be less greedy, this
year. May protection of police and
courts be more accessible to everyone, and may people not resort to violence to
settle their disagreements!
May
South Asian leaders in the Year 2004, lead their people to peace and
prosperity, and health and happiness, which they need and deserve!
May
people, goods, arts and ideas find easier cross-border access, this year, among
the South Asian neighbors!
May the Governments of India and Pakistan, in
the New Year, resolve to halt development of weapons of mass destruction and to
dismantle the existing ones!
Finally, may the Year 2004 bring material
progress towards a just and equitable resolution of the conflicts in Kashmir,
Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and a durable peace between India and Pakistan!
Happy 2004!
Pritam Rohila
SLIDE SHOW
Getting Close: SAARC Meeting at Islamabad, January
2004 http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/05sld1.htm
PEACE &
HARMONY NEWS FROM & ABOUT SOUTH ASIA (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)
*Bangladesh
Crackdown
launched on terrorists in border areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts
The
Government is reported to have launched a crackdown on terrorists, irrespective
of their nationality, in the border areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and
greater Sylhet district on January 3, 2004. Operations are also reportedly
underway in the Bandarban district of CHT following the seizure of a large
cache of arms and ammunition on January 1. Meanwhile, State Minister for Home
Lutfuzzaman Babar denied reports that the crackdown had been launched at
India's request. He was quoted as saying that "It is not that we will
launch operations if there is a request and refrain from doing so if there is
no request. It is our Government's own stand. It is not for the first time that
such operation has been launched." He also said that operations against
insurgents along the frontier with India would continue. "If Indian
insurgents are held during this operation they will be tried according to the
law of the land," added Babar. Independent
Bangladesh, January 3, 2004.
*Bangladesh
& India
Dhaka moots joint river
body with Delhi
Bangladesh delegation at the Asian Regional
Conservation Forum (RCF) of IUCN, the World Conservation Union, has proposed to
set up a joint river basin commission on three major river systems –– the
Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna –– consisting of co-riparian India,
Nepal, Bhutan and China, reports BSS. News
Today, December 12, 2003 http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72447&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
India-Bangladesh border
calmer this year
The 4,000-km-long porous frontier between India and
Bangladesh was comparatively calm in 2003, with fewer casualties in sporadic
firing by border guards, say officials here. Hindustan Times, December 4, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=70127&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
*Bhutan
Bhutan Army smashes 19 camps
ULFA ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain has succumbed to
his injuries.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/19bhutan.htm
*India-NE
ULFA for peace talks with India
'We had been repeatedly requesting Bhutan government
to act as a mediator between us and the Indian government and convince New
Delhi to agree to focus its discussions on our main demand for sovereignty,'
ULFA chief Paresh Baruah said. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/27ulfa.htm
2,641 militants surrender in Assam
It paves the way for the formation of an interim
council that will administer the Bodo-dominated areas in the state.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/06assam.htm
*Kashmir
Good news for Kashmiri Pandits
The Jammu and Kashmir government has begun the
process of rehabilitating the displaced Pandits of the state and the first
batch of volunteers will be provided accommodation in flats specially
constructed for them in the safe and secure Badgam area. Times News Network, December 27, 2003
Talks with Centre soon: Hurriyat chief
Maulvi Abbas Ansari said a Hurriyat delegation will
be travelling to Delhi.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/24jk.htm
A lesson in communal amity
A cluster of Kashmiri pandit families, who decided
not to migrate from the valley at the height of the 1990 exodus, have no
regrets today. Their best allies have been the muslims. Migration’ is the most hated word here.
Camaraderie and brotherhood is a way of life for the Kashmiri pandits and local
Muslims here. Communal amity is the buzzword and those who preach intolerance
should learn lessons from the pandits and muslims who share a unique bonding here. Deccan Herald, December 22, 2003 http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec22/n2.asp
PoK also bans jihadi outfits
Of the six, one is the Khadaam-ul Islam led by
former Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/05pak.htm
Peace in troubled times
The ceasefire on the LoC has been Kashmir's best Eid
gift in a long time.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/03spec.htm
*Nepal
Asian monks in Nepal for
peace prayer
A group of 167 Buddhist monks and nuns from seven
Asian nations arrived in Kathmandu Friday to take part in the World Peace
Prayer to be organised at the Birendra International Convention Centre on
December 14, Sunday, the Rising Nepal said Saturday. Nepal News, December 14, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72898&category=Frontend&Country=NEPAL
*Pakistan
Pak peace symbol to greet
Saarc summit
To gear up to host the South Asian association for
Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit next month, the government has planned to
build in Islamabad a "peace monument" in place of a missile replica
at the main square of posh residential area in F-10 sector. NewIndPress, December 12, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72475&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
World Tolerance Day was observed in Islamabad and
other cities in Pakistan. Several programs were arranged by educational
institutions and governmental and non-government organizations to highlight the
importance of the Day. Daily Times,
November 17, 2003
*Pakistan-India
Vajpayee, Musharraf to continue peace process http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/05saarc3.htm
Why ties are looking up
The thaw in relations is not just confined to
diplomatic channels; it is visible in the streets of Islamabad, finds out
Sheela Bhatt. http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/05saarc2.htm
SAARC
social charter signed
Leaders
of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) leaders on
January 3, 2004, signed a ten-point social charter to promote the welfare of
the people of South Asia and accelerate their economic growth while agreeing to
adopt a strategy to deal with issues like poverty alleviation, promoting status
of women and population stabilisation. Under the ten-page charter signed in
Islamabad, the seven-member grouping agreed to establish a people-centred
framework for social development and to respond to the immediate needs of those
who are most affected by human distress. Daily
Excelsior, January 4, 2004.
Proposal for Indo-Pak bus through Thar desert
The road link was mooted because the proposed rail
link may take some time to open as it entails gauge conversion. http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/31pak.htm
India, Pak to flights start Thursday
Pakistan International Airlines officials said the
first PIA flight from Lahore would leave for New Delhi in the afternoon on
Thursday and return the same day.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/31flight.htm
Pakistan, India freeze nuclear programme
Missile development also to stop; steps may lead to
resolution of all outstanding issues including Kashmir. The two neighbours also
decided to put an immediate end to the testing, production and deployment of
all their missile systems. The News on
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Indian film delegation to visit Pakistan
A delegation, comprising of eminent film producers,
will visit Pakistan to promote goodwill and harmony and to plead for lifting
ban on the release of Hindi movies there, announced the Indian Motion Pictures
Producer’s Association president Saawan Kumar, in Mumbai on December 6. PTI, Via India west December 19, 2003
Joint patrol at Punjab border
They also decided to hand over civilians who
inadvertently cross into each other's country.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/20pak1.htm
Samjhauta Express to resume January 15 http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/19khan.htm
Ready to set aside UN resolution: Musharraf
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf favoured both
sides adopting a 'flexible approach' and meeting 'halfway' for a solution.http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/18pak2.htm
Pak may lift ban on Indian wheat imports http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/dec/13pak.htm
Tahira, a computer professional from Faisalabad,
Pakistan, and her Indian fiance’ Maqbool, a news reporter got married at
Qadian, in Punjab, India, on December 8, in the first cross-border nikaah since India severed links with
Pakistan two years ago, following a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament.
In the absence of her parents and other immediate relatives from Pakistan,
Mirza Waseem Ahmed, chief secretary of the local Sadar Anjuman Ahmediya and his
wife, officiated as her guardians, while Harsuchetan Kaur, daughter of Urban Welfare
Family Unit incharge, Baljit Kaur, acted as her sister at the wedding ceremony.
India West December 12, 2003
Pak to guarantee the security of
proposed gas pipelines to India: Pak High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan
"The overland route of gas
pipelines from Central Asia through Pakistan would be economically viable for
India," Khan said. Hindustan Times, December
11,2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72213&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
PIA to resume flights to India in January http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/dec/11pak.htm
Pak to propose extension of Samjhauta Express to
Delhi http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/09pak.htm
Pakistani prime minister calls Vajpayee http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/08pak2.htm
Seven Pak teenagers return home
India has sent seven Hindu boys from Pakistan, who
had been languishing in juvenile jails back to their country in a goodwill
gesture on Children’s Day, which is celebrated in India on November 14.
Pakistan authorities received them at the Wagah joint checkpost. The children
claimed that they had unknowingly entered Indian territory from the Kutch
region while playing or grazing cattle. PTI,
via India West, December 5, 2003
Pakistan for full mission strength
'Restoration of the full staff strength of the high
commissions will facilitate speedy processing and grant of visas,' the foreign
office said in a statement.http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/05pak1.htm
Pakistan, India to cut duties on 500 items
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan on Thursday agreed to
lower duties on an expanded list of products traded between the two countries,
a news report said, in what appeared to be another step forward in improving relations
between the South Asian neighbours. The
News, December 5, 2003 http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
A Pakistan team of veteran cricketers will play a
goodwill series in India later this month.
Three limited overs matches will be held at
Jalandhar, Dehra Dun and Agra between December 20 and 23, said Board for
Veteran Cricket in India (BVCI) president Chetan Chauhan. Tennis player Aisam
Qureshi and three school cricket teams are already in India to play in
different cities. A Pakistan 'A' team is set to play a triangular series in
Kolkata this month. Indian Express
December 5, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=70434&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
India and Pakistan have agreed to offer preferential
market access to each other's products
This was decided during a two-day meeting between
the officials of the two countries which concluded at the SAARC Secretariat in
Kathmandu Thursday. Indian Express,
December 5, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=70423&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
PM to attend SAARC meet
He has written a letter to the Pakistan PM in this
regard. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/04pm.htm
Pak endorses Coast Guard ties
India has proposed direct communication between the
coast guards of both countries to address issues relating to fishermen and
operational difficulties. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/04cg.htm
*South Asia
Saarc agrees on free trade zone by 2006 http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/jan/03safta.htm
Saarc summit 'will help
smaller states'
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan said on
Saturday a South Asian summit in Islamabad next month would strive to bolster
regional peace and give smaller states a fairer deal."Peace and prosperity
are the main objectives of the people which can be achieved though economic and
political cooperation," Khan added. Reuters,
Via South Asian Media.Net December 14, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72921&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
South Asian Free Trade Arrangement (SAFTA) is likely
to be inked during the SAARC summit in January
Muhammad Sharif Ijaz Ghauri, additional secretary
and spokesman for the ministry of commerce, told a press conference that the
trade agreement is almost in its final stages. South Asia Media Net December 11, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72154&category=frontend&Country=main&pro=0
Two-day summit of South Asian journalists on
"Access to and free flow of information" at Islamabad on January 3
More than 150 journalists from the Saarc states will
participate in the summit to bring attention to its proposed protocol on
"Free movement of media person and media products across the frontiers of
South Asian region." Dawn, December
11, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72215&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
Indian doctors call for nuclear-free Asia at Lahore
Speaking at the concluding session of the sixth
annual international conference of the Forum of General Medical Practitioners
(FGMP), Dr Jagjit Singh, one of the 34-member delegation from the Indian
Medical Association (IMA), called on the governments of South Asian countries
to maintain peace in the region. "We want to live like
brothers and work for each other," he said. The Daily Times, December 08, 2003
*Sri Lanka
The Security Forces, Police, LTTE and local
community leaders have agreed to work together
At a meeting held at the local SLMM office on Monday
all parties agreed for an unified effort to ease tensions in Trincomalee. Daily News December 4, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=70047&category=Frontend&Country=sri%20lanka&pro=0
*Sri Lanka-
India
India, Sri Lanka sign MoU
on fishing
The agreement provides that the Indian fishermen
could dry their nets kill their fish and worship at the Catholic church built
there. Sunday Leader, December 14, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=73001&category=Frontend&Country=SRI%20LANKA
Indian airlines ready for
Colombo flight
Briefing mediapersons in New Delhi, Civil Aviation
Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the open sky offers would be reciprocal and
could be operational as early as December 25 and latest by January 1. Business Standard, December 12, 2003 http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72322&category=Frontend&Country=MAIN
*The Maldives
Maldives sets up human
rights commission
A statement released through Maldives President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s ssid, "It is my hope that the work of this
commission will help us to ensure that people and individuals are treated
fairly under the constitution." Reuters,
Via South Asian Media.Net, December 11, 2003
http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=72252&category=Frontend&Country=MALDIVES&pro=0
(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)
*Association for
Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), 4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR 97303, USA,
www.asiapeace.org 503.393.6944 Contact Person:
Pritam K. Rohila, P.h.D., Executive Director
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) was
established in 1993, to promote peace in South Asia and harmony among South
Asians everywhere. In the course of ten years it has accomplished a lot.
ACHA has established working relationship with many
peace and communal harmony activists and organizations in South Asia and
elsewhere.
ACHA has set up a Peace Foundation to "promote
provide financial assistance to organizations and individuals in their work to
promote peace, communal harmony, respect for diversity and tolerance of
differences, through research, education, and/or action-projects, especially in
South Asia and amongst South Asians."
ACHA produces two electronic publications: Peace
Bulletin and Community Calendar with a total circulation of about 1,350.
ACHA has published three annual editions of South
Asian Resources Directory in Portland-Vancouver Area.
ACHA’s two electronic discussion groups, Asiapeace
and Kashmir Solutions Forum have a total of 550 subscribers.
With its ACHA Star and Make-A-Difference awards we
have recognized 33 individuals and groups.
ACHA has so far organized one essay contest, one
film-festivals, one Children’s art projects, two panel discussions, two civic
dialogs, two inter-faith services, three celebrations, five conferences, and
five public lectures.
ACHA is attempting to set up a South Asia Cultural
Resource Service, in Portland, OR, USA, to preserve and propagate South Asian
cultural heritage in Portland-Vancouver area.
A lot of work still needs to be done. The Kashmir
issue, which has turned neighbors into enemies, and has resulted in loss of
thousands of lives and physical and mental disability in tens of thousands of
people, is still unresolved. Also internal strife, communal tensions,
persecution of minorities, and violence against women and female children,
continue to plague India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
Besides, the rivalries back home, are driving apart South Asians living in the
USA, Canada, and Europe.
ACHA needs help in continuing this work.
Please consider becoming our member. If you are
already a member, please consider upgrading it to family or life membership.
Also your donations would be very much appreciated.
Please complete the form below and send it with your
check to Association for Communal Harmony, 4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR, USA.
NAME: Dr./Mr/Miss/Mrs.
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
EMAIL ADDRESS:
DUES: (Individual $10, Couple/Family $25, Life $200)
$
DONATION $
TOTAL PAYMENT: $
*Pakistan-India People’s
Forum for Peace and Development (PIPFPD)
“Defy the divide; unite for peace,” was theme of the
6th Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Development (PIPFPD) convention
held December 12-14, 2003 at Karachi. A 235-member delegation from India
participated in it. Two exhibitions - a unique Takhti painting exhibition, and
a stylish exhibition featuring ‘flags of peace’ depicting peace as the
revolving theme on different cloth pieces painted by Pakistani and Indian
artists – were held on this occasion.
On the concluding day, the delegates issued Karachi Declaration
www.sacw.net/PIF/karachiDecl122003.html
*International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat
(IIJG)
“Threatened Existence,” a feminist analysis by IIJG of the genocide in Gujarat
was released on December 24, 2003, at the Indian Women's Press Corps, 5 Windsor
Place, Near Hotel Meridien, New Delhi. It was prepared by a panel of feminist
jurists, activists, lawyers, writers and academics.
The International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat and was set up by: Citizen's Initiative (Ahmedabad), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)-Shanti Abhiyan (Baroda), Communalism Combat, Aawaaz-e-Niswaan, Forum Against Oppression of Women (FAOW) and Stree Sangam (Bombay), Saheli, Jagori, Sama, and Nirantar (Delhi), and Organised Lesbian Alliance for Visibility and Action (OLAVA, Pune), and Aman Ekta Manch.
* Action Aid - Regional office, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India
Action Aid - Bhubaneswar Regional office Bhubaneswar along with Ambedkar Lohia
Vichar Manch, on January 05, hosted a consultative meeting, at Orissa Rotary
Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, “to understand the dynamics of communal
forces, identifying strategies to counter communalism, defining the role of
civil society and preparing the future plan of action.”
*Salokha, College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, 38, New Marine Lines,
Mumbai 400 020, Contact person Dr. Jalindar Adsule, Director salokhaproject@rediffmail.com
On December 21, 2003, Salokha organized a full day workshop in Mumbai for grass
root workers, animators, and NGO colleagues.
Salokh, a centre for communal harmony is a field
action project of the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan. It was started
July 2, 1993, to help unite people of different religious communities in the
wake of devastating riots of 1992 - 93. Salokha works with different target
groups to spread the message of peace and harmony.
PEACE EVENTS
*Friendship March from Karachi to Delhi, June 11
- October 2, 2004
Initiated by Dr. Sandeep Pandey ashaashram@yahoo.com
, National Convener, National Alliance of People's Movement, India, a
four-month long Friendship March from Karachi to Delhi has been proposed by
Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy meeting in Karachi. The
1700 kilometer long Friendship March will begin on June 11, 2004 and will reach
Lahore on September 4, 2004, the day of the 10th anniversary of the formation
of Pakistan-India People's Forum. After crossing over the border at Wagah, the
Friendship March will end in New Delhi at Rajghat on 2nd October 2004. A joint
convention of Pakistan and India chapters of the Forum will be held at the
conclusion of the march in New Delhi. The marchers will walk 15 to 20 km on an
average per day, stopping over at night in scheduled villages, towns and cities
enroute, interacting with thousands of common people in both the countries,
seeking their endorsement for accelerating the peace process. Karamat Ali,
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Karachi. See the
full report at www.sacw.net/peace/karachiDelhiMarch2004.html
and related news reports from the Pakistani Press in English and Urdu at www.sacw.net/peace/KarachiDelmarchDawn16Dec03.gif
and
www.sacw.net/peace/karachiDelhimarchUrdureport.gif
*Of 'Pundit
Bibi' and other secularists at Gujarat school, Indo-Asian
News Service, December
21, 2003 http://in.news.yahoo.com/031221/43/2ahni.html
Ahmedabad, Dec 21 (IANS) It is a school where a
woman Muslim teacher imparts Sanskrit lessons and where Muslim students can
rattle off stories from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
It is a school where Muslim students and a teacher
heroically protected Hindus from rampaging mobs during communal violence in
Gujarat.
Welcome to Shantiniketan Vidyalaya, run by a Hindu
in the almost exclusively Muslim area of Juhapura here. Mansuri Husseina, who
teaches Sanskrit, is the only Muslim teacher there and is a shining example of
social harmony in a communally cleaved state.
Wearing a sari and sporting a bindi, she has come to
be known as "Pundit Bibi" or Muslim scholar of Sanskrit in Juhapura,
one of the largest Muslim settlements in India with a 400,000-odd population.
Such is her popularity and influence that last year
some 1,000 students of the school made a human chain to protect the lives of
the Hindu teachers and students when the riots broke.
"In March last year, a marauding mob from
Juhapura lay siege to our school," Husseina told IANS.
"My Hindu colleagues were terrified and were
about to flee. I was the only Muslim teacher and I told them not to panic. I
assured them that I would stop the mob.
"All Muslim students supported me and we stood
at the gate of the school defiantly. Soon parents of Muslim students also came
to our rescue.
"The mob that had come to attack the school
turned away. Never again has any Hindu felt threatened while coming to our
school," Husseina told IANS.
Husseina, who has a bachelor's degree in Sanskrit,
has been teaching at the Shantiniketan Vidyalaya for 14 years.
Secularism is the essence of Shantiniketan
Vidyalaya.
"I did not want my children to be educated in
madrassas. Religious preaching cuts one apart from mainstream society,"
said Jamal Shaikh, a businessman in Juhapura.
"My two sons are better off being taught by
Hindu teachers in Shantiniketan Vidyalaya."
Teachers there make it a point to impart lessons in
humanity and secularism.
Gujarati teacher Heena Shukla loves to tell the
tales of Mahabharata, Ramayana, "Arabian Nights" and
"Hatimtai" to her students. No wonder, attendance in her class is
always full.
"Children, irrespective of their faith, are
innocent souls and we teachers strive to help them retain their
innocence," she says.
"I love the Mahabharata, and Bhim is my
favourite character," chuckles Mohammed Shabir, a Class 5 student.
Shantiniketan Vidyalaya trustee Ranchorbhai Kiri
said, "When I founded the school in 1984, only 30 percent of students were
Muslims.
"But after successive violence in Gujarat,
Hindus sold their houses and went to Hindu-dominated areas." According to
Kiri, many advised him to shift the school to a Hindu locality.
"But I chose to place my trust in Muslim
residents. I knew that humanity is above every religion, and today I know I was
right."
*A friendly visit to an enemy country,
Sandeep Pandey
On the very first day at Syracuse when I went to the US as a graduate student
at the age of 21 years I met a Pakistani, who was the first national from that
country I was meeting. I was surprised to see that he could speak the language
that I did. I asked him, 'How do you know Hindi?'
'I don't know Hindi, I can speak only Urdu,' he replied. It was a discovery for
me that spoken Hindi and Urdu are very similar even though they use different
scripts. Later on I met more Pakistanis during my six years stay in the US and
also shared a room in the International House at Berkeley with a friend from
the Ismaili community for a year and learnt about many more similarities between
the people from two countries.
But it was only during my recent first visit to Pakistan as part of a
235-member delegation to attend the 6th convention of Pakistan-India People's
Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) from December 12th to 14th, 2003, that I
realized it was essentially the same people separated artificially politically.
If one were to ignore the barbed wire at the boundary, the immigration and
customs formalities one has to go through at the border, for me it was like
visiting any other state within India. In fact, I cannot communicate with the
non-English speaking common
people at all of a number of states in the south and north-east of India
because I'm not familiar with their languages but in Pakistan I could talk to
everybody. We intermingled so freely with the people there that I had to remind
myself once in a while that I was in a different country. But nowhere did I
ever get the feeling that I was in an enemy' country. The Pakistanis made us
feel so much at home that it was more like visiting some friends and relatives.
Except for the train fare from Lahore to Karachi and back and the registration
fees for the convention, we did not have to pay anything from our pocket. All
expenses were borne by the PIPFPD, Pakistan chapter, and at tea stalls on
railway stations no Pakistani, standing there, would allow us to pay. We were
the honoured mehmans.
Some people, especially the ones who had to cross
the border during partition, became so nostalgic that sometimes it was more
like get-together of families separated for a long time. But never during my
five-day stay there and interaction with mostly common people did I hear any
adverse comments about India or Indians. What was surprising was that some
people regretted the partition which had taken place 56 years ago and there
seemed to be a longing for reunion - if not political, at least in terms of
opening up of borders and allowing free access to people from either side. In
Karachi, the venue of the convention, some Sindhis pressed upon us to help them
reopen the Kokhrapar-Munabao border. It was quite clear that the partition may
have helped some political parties on both sides and probably still continues
to help some, but it definitely was not in the interest of the common people.
SIACHEN PEACE PARK
A proposal to establish a peace park at Siachen. For
details please go to http://www.k2peacepark.org
AWARDS
Dr
Mubarak Ali
Activist and writer Dr Mubarak Ali received the Ramkrishan Jaidayal Harmony
Award from the Dalai Lama in India. The award is given by the Organization
of Understanding & Fraternity (OUF)
with the noble objective of promoting greater understanding between
communities.
Holding a Masters' degree in history from the University of Sindh and a PhD
from Ruhr University, Germany, Dr Mubarak Ali taught at the University of Sindh
from 1963 to 1989. He was the director of the Goethe-Institut, Lahore, in
1991-1994. At present he is visiting professor at the National College of Arts,
Lahore, and edits a quarterly journal Tarikh. Dr Mubarak Ali has been
campaigning for ethnic, religious and communal harmony and his writings have
widely influenced the younger generation. (Dawn,
December 28, 2003)
*Asghar Ali Engineer
Dr. Engineer was recognized December 7 by the
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org with its ACHA Star
award. He occupies a unique position among scholars of Islam and of Muslims in
India, and among teachers and activists working for the cause of communal
harmony in the nation. A civil engineer by qualification, he has trained in
Islamic theology, Tafsir, Islamic Jurisprudence and the Hadith. He is the
Director of the Institute of Islamic
Studies, and the Centre for Study of
Society and Secularism (www.csss-isla.com)
Called "one-man army fighting against
communalism," for over 40 years, he has been doing research on communal
and secular problems. To counter the menace of communal riots in India, he has
formed many organizations like Awaz-e-Bradran, Ekta, Committee for Communal
Harmony, and finally the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. Also, with
his associates, he has organized communal harmony workshops and seminars for
teachers, students and youth, journalists and police at many places throughout
India.
He has published more than 40 books on Islam, the
problems of Muslims, the rights of Muslim women, and on communal and ethical
problems in India and South Asia. Many of his articles have appeared in leading
Indian newspapers and journals. He is the editor of the bulletins, "Islam and Modern Age" and "Secular Perspective" and the
quarterly Indian Journal of Secularism.
He has held office in key academic, Islamic and civil rights institutions and
associations, and won a number of national awards for efforts in communal
harmony.
For his work, he has received several awards
including the National Communal Harmony Award of Government of India’s
Foundation for Communal Harmony.
* Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org recognized December 7 Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed with its ACHA Star award. Originally from Pakistan, he is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. There he teaches such subjects as Theory and Practice of Human Rights, Religion and Politics in Islam, Politics of South Asia, and Nationalism and Ethnicity.
He has carried out research on Human Rights in
Pakistan, and Secularism in India. Currently he is working on the 1947 Forced
Migration and Ethnic Cleansing in Punjab.
He has published two books and about 30 papers on religious nationalism, ethnic conflict, and
separatist movements in India and Pakistan. He is on the advisory Board of two
professional journals and the Chief Editor of the Journal of Peace and
Democracy in South Asia. Also he writes weekly Op-eds for the Daily Times, a
Pakistani newspaper.
In 1998, he conducted an email campaign against
nuclear tests by India and Pakistan. The same year, he helped form Pakistanis
for Peace & Alternative Development, and developed a proposal to set up on
India-Pakistan border check point at Wagah a memorial for those who lost their
lives in the Partition related carnage of Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs in 1947.
Since the year 2000, he has been the moderator of ACHA electronic discussion
group, Asiapeace.
*Dwikhandita, Taslima Nasrin, http://www.taslimanasrin.com
