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.4, April 2, 2003, (Next issue, May 7, 2003)
Something To Think About
Editorial
Let’s
Keep The Flame Of Hope Lit In Our Hearts, Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
Peace
Education
Peace & Harmony
Organizations
Asiapeace
International South Asia Forum & South Asian Network For Secularism And
Democracy
The Kashmir-Canadian Council
Pakistan
India Peoples' Forum For Peace & Democracy, India
Chapter
News From South Asia
This
Did Not Happen In My Kashmir, By Basharat Peer,
Rediff.Com, March 24, 2003
Kashmiri
Pandits Belong To Israel, Kashmir Observer, March 27, 2003
Arts
& Entertainment
The Heart Of Kashmir, Gabriele Torsello
Continuity And Change—Socio-Political Dynamics In Pakistan, S. Akbar Zaidi (Ed)
Understanding
9-11, Noam Chomsky
India’s
Islamic Traditions (711-1750), Richard M. Eaton (Ed)
Rethinking The
National Security Of Pakistan: The Price Of Strategic Myopia, Ahmad
Faruqui
The
Production Of Hindu-Muslim Violence In Contemporary India,
Paul R. Brass
Pakistan
History And Politics 1947-71, By Dr. Rafique Afzal
India’s Tryst With Pluralism, Harmony, Democracy
Communalism:
What Is False What Is True
Communal
Politics- An Illustrated Primer
Communal Politics: Facts Versus Myths
Fascsim
Of Sangh Parivar
The Other Cheek-Minorities Under Threat
Secular
Challenge To Communal Politics: Anthology On Communal Problem
The
Second Assasination Of Gandhi: Freedom Struggle And Indian Nationalism,
R Bonney (Ed)
Children
April 12, Aston Birmingham, U.K.: Shahmukhi - Gurmukhi Interface
April 13-15, Lahore, Rawalpindi & Karachi, Pakistan: Clash Of Civilizations: A Dialogue Between Political Movements
EnvironmentGulf War II
Women
(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)
Asia
The CASE
for South, Central Asia Trade Block , K
Gajendra Singh, South Asia Review,
March
Communalism
MYTHS and Dreams: Hindutva Nationalism and the Indian Diaspora, A. Chatterji, Asian Age
The ROLE of Ulama in Freedom
Struggle,
Asghar Ali Engineer, Secular
Perspective, April 1-15
India
What's the Population
'Problem' All ABOUT? Sandhya Srinivasan, Infochangeindia.org
Nagaland: HOPE and Uncertainty, P Bhattacharya, South
Asia Intelligence Review, Mar 10, 2003
Andhra Pradesh: A BLOW to the Bastion, but Naxalites
Still a Force,
P.V. Ramana , SAIR, Mar 31, 2003
India & Nepal
The Compact Revolutionary ZONE, S.K. Jha, South Asia
Intelligence Review, Mar 10, 2003
India
& Pakistan
Get
rid of the VISA regime, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Daily
Times, Sunday, 23 March, 2003
Kashmir
City of LEH Thrives as Oasis of Peace in Kashmir, Z. Istvan National
Geographic Today, Feb 27
Sheikh Abdullah
Kashmiri HERO or villain? Dr Shabir Choudhry, Mar 5, 2003
The Opportunities of Another Peace PROCESS, K.P.S. Gill, South Asia
Intelligence Review, Mar
Jehadis STRIKE as
Kashmir Recedes from Global Focus, K. Lakshman,
SAIR, Mar 24, 2003
Nepal
Tentative PROGRESS on
Negotiations,
D. Thapa, South Asia Intelligence Review, Mar
31, 2003
Women
Blackened man, blackened
woman (KARO-kari), A. Cowasjee, Dawn, Mar 9, 2003
The BANYAN: An organization
for the Mentally Ill women (in India), Humanscape, Mar 21
_______________________________________________________________________________
SOMETHING TO
THINK ABOUT
When the power of love overcomes the love of power
the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix
EDITORIAL
*Let’s keep the Flame of Hope lit in our
hearts,
Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
Militancy, religiosity, and communalism appear to be
on the rise around the world, but especially in South Asia. With the start of
Iraq War, things seem to have gone from bad to worse. There is a lot of
frustration and despondency among peace and tolerance activists.
Times like these test our resolve. How deep is of our faith? How strong is our commitment?
At times like this, we have to continue to march on
the path we have chosen. We must look for and find the proverbial silver lining
in dark clouds. We must keep our hope alive.
The following story, “The Four Candles” by an
unknown author, which we have received Via Satellite Communication Systems of Oakland, California, may be
helpful to us all in this regard.
The Four Candles burned slowly. Their Ambiance was so soft you could hear them speak... The first candle said, "I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to keep me lit." Then Peace's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely. The second candle says, "I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer indispensable." Then Faith's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely. Sadly the third candle spoke, "I Am Love and I haven't the strength to stay lit any longer." "People put me aside and don't understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them." And waiting no longer, Love goes out completely. Suddenly... A child enters the room and sees the three candles no longer burning. The child begins to cry, "Why are you not burning? You are supposed to stay lit until the end." Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the little boy, "Don't be afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn, we can re-light the other candles." With Shining eyes the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other three candles. Never let the Flame of Hope go out of your life. With Hope, no matter how bad things look and are...Peace, Faith and Love can Shine Brightly in our lives.
PEACE EDUCATION
Two
successful violence prevention programs - PeaceBuilders and Resolving Conflict
Creatively Program (RCCP) - have been
found to decrease aggressive behaviors in elementary schools, according to two
studies published in the March issue of Developmental Psychology, a journal of
the American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/.
The studies are: (1) Resolving Conflict Creatively Program, By J. Lawrence
Aber, Ph.D. (212.304.7101 jla12@columbia.edu),
and Joshua L. Brown, M.A., of Columbia University and Stephanie M. Jones,
Ph.D., of Yale University. Full text of the article is available from the APA
Public Affairs Office or at www.apa.org/journals/dev/press_releases/march_2003/dev392324.html.
(2) Initial Behavior Outcomes for the PeaceBuilders Universal School-Based
Violence Prevention Program, By Daniel J. Flannery (330-672-7917 dflanne1@kent.edu), Kent State University, Alexander T. Vazsonyi,
Auburn University, Albert K. Liau, Kent State University, Shenyang Guo,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenneth E. Powell, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, Henry Atha, Pima County (AZ) Community Services
Department, Wendy Vesterdal, University of Arizona, and Dennis Embry, PAXIS
Institute; Developmental Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 2. Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs
Office or at
http://www.apa.org/journals/dev/press_releases/march_2003/dev392292.html
PEACE &
HARMONY ORGANIZATIONS
(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)
*Asiapeace http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asiapeace,
an
Electronic Discussion Group, Affiliate of Association for Communal Harmony in
Asia (ACHA) www.asiapeace.org, Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, Moderator www.statsvet.su.se/forskning99/home_pages/ishtiaq_ahmed_ram.htm
Asiapeace condemned
the violence committed on March 23, against Kashmiri Pandit in Jammu &
Kashmir. A statement from them said,” Asiapeace believes that violence, and that too against
innocent human beings, can never succeed in resolving disputes and conflicts in
a just and amicable manner.”
*International South Asia
Forum (INSAF), & South
Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD). Dr. Hari Sharma,
President, 8027 Government Road, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A
2E1, Phone 604.420.2972, Fax 604.420.2970
In a public statement, INSAF and SANSAD, March
25, condemned “this savage act, this crime against humanity,” “a cowardly, yet
horrendously brutal” killing of 24 Hindu Pandits of
Kashmir in the village of Nadimarg, in Pulwama area of Jammu & Kashmir.
“For over twelve years now, the
people of Kahmir have
been subjected to a never-ending vortex of violence. The entire people have
been turned into helpless victims of the terror inflicted by the contending
forces, while their genuine aspirations for peace, dignity, and democratic
rights of self-determination remain crushed,” the statement said.
“It is
very unfortunate that every time there is some movement toward normalization of
social relations, some movement toward peace in the entire region, it becomes
disrupted by such wanton and malicious acts
of interruption. It is obvious that there are vested interests, who do not want
the Kashmir problem to be solved,” the statement continued.
*The Kashmir-Canadian Council (KCC),
Toronto, ON, Canada, Mushtaq A. Jeelani, Executive Director
KCC,
March 25, unequivocally condemned the gruesome killing of innocent
Kashmiri Hindus and offered condolences to the bereaved families. “This is a cowardly and heinous act of
cold-blooded murder of 24 innocent men, women and children. We condemn this
appalling act of terrorism in the strongest possible terms,” said Mr. Mushtaq
A. Jeelani, Executive Director of the
KCC. “Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of the victims and the
people of the disputed State of Jammu and Kashmir.” “Time is ripe for the immediate restoration of negotiations
between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership so as to achieve a lasting
political solution of the longstanding dispute ad an end to untold misery in
Kashmir,” concluded Mr. Jeelani.
*Pakistan India Peoples' Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD), India Chapter, Admiral Ramdas,
Chairperson; Sushil Khanna,
General Secretary
The Pakistan India Peoples'
Forum for Peace and Democracy, in a Press Release, dated 25th
March 2003 condemned “the barbaric incident” whereby alleged militant groups
have killed 24 innocent people belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit
community.
“Triggered by religious
fundamentalism, incidents like this hamper all attempts to bring peace back to
the blood-ridden Kashmir Valley. Incidents like these are not only attempted at
sabotaging the peace initiatives in Kashmir, but also are aimed at maligning
the secular and harmonious fabric of Kashmir. We condemn all such attempts at
terrorising the people or any section of it, by armed groups or individuals,”
the statement read. It called upon all peace loving people of Kashmir and rest
of India “to refrain from any act of violence, which will further worsen the
present turmoil existing in the state.”
(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)
*India
INSAT-3A launch on April 9
The satellite will provide telecom, television
broadcasting, meteorology and satellite-aided search and rescue services. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/apr/01fakir.htm
Spitting in public banned in West Bengal
Offenders can now be fined up to Rs10, 000 or
imprisonment for three months or both.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/apr/01beng.htm
Slide Show -The Kabuliwallah
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai comes calling. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/06sld1.htm
Panel to review POTA cases
Arun Saharya, former chief justice of Punjab and
Haryana high court, would head the committee.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/13pota.htm
*India-Ayodhya Issue
Advani, others get summons in Babri case
The deputy prime minister and others named in the
case have been summoned to appear before a special court in Rae Bareli on April
16. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/apr/01ayo.htm
SC rejects Centre's Ayodhya plea http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/31ayo.htm
More excavations in Ayodhya http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/15ayo.htm
High court orders excavation at disputed site http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/05ayo1.htm
*India-Kashmir
Infiltration continued in 2002: US
Quoting government figures, the state department
said terrorist activity increased notably during 2002 in J&K. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/apr/01jk3.htm
Mufti admits security lapse in Nadimarg http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/26jk2.htm Mufti's 'healing touch' under cloud http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/25jk7.htm Annan, Bush condemn Pulwama massacre They described it as cowardly act of terrorism.http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/25jk10.htm Kashmir massacre a terrorist act: Pakistan Pakistan condemned the Sunday night massacre in a foreign ministry statement.http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/24jk5.htm
This did not happen in my KashmirBasharat Peer shares a bond with the Pandits. They are partners in the grief and misery of a beautiful valley. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/24spec.htm Mufti disbands SOG in J&K
While the personnel would be absorbed into the
regular police force, Sayeed said those SOG personnel who had committed acts of
omission would face stern action. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/11jk.htm
Hurriet leaders to meet Sonia Gandhi 'soon'
After adopting a hard stance against Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the
centre, the 23-grouping conglomerate, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
(APHC) has decided to hold the first-ever meeting with Congress President and
leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi, according to sources in New Delhi. (March
15, 2003 Via jklfhqs@rediffmail.com)
*India-NE
ULFA terrorists on rampage in Assam
They set afire a 5000KL petrol tank, blasted a gas
pipeline, attacked a police post and a commando barrack and fired at a Bihari
settlement, killing two persons. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/08oil.htm
*Nepal
Maoist
insurgents demand release of five top leaders before peace talks
Setting
preconditions for peace talks to commence, the Maoist insurgents asked the
government to set free at least five central-level leaders and withdraw the
cases filed at the Patan Appellate Court against many Maoists, including top
leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai, media reports said on March 22, 2003.
"The talks would commence immediately once the government fulfils these
demands," said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a member of the Maoist negotiation
team. The central-level leaders whose release has been demanded are Krishna
Dhoj Khadka, Rekha Sharma, Mumaram Khanal, Rabindra Shrestha and Bam Dev
Chhettri. Reports added that the government has indicated that they would soon
be released. Nepal
News, March 22, 2003.
*Pakistan
China to set up another nuclear power plant in Pak Interestingly, China's official media has kept mum on the nuclear project.http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/25china.htm
Pakistan NWFP province to come under Shariah Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani announced complete ban on obscene photos and cassettes.http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/22pak.htm Musharraf appoints air chief Air Marshall Kaleem Saadat, commissioned as a general duty pilot in 1971, was the deputy chief of staff (personnel) at the air force headquarters in Islamabad. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/19pak.htm
*Sri Lanka
The
government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) broke fresh ground
at the sixth round of peace talks on March 20, 2003, at Hakone, Japan, and
discussed core issues. The fiscal aspect of power sharing between the centre
and the units was discussed, in the main, and preliminary discussions on the
political aspects of power sharing were also initiated. "We are paying our
attention on the matter of the availability of resources to the units, and how
well these resources can be raised within various models", government
chief negotiator and Minister G.L. Peiris said. Fiscal imbalances and
inequality would be further discussed at the succeeding rounds of talks, Peiris
said. Tamil
Net, March 21, 2003.
Sri Lanka has decided to
offer amnesty to about 15,000 deserters who fled army ranks during the 19-year
ethnic warwith Tamil Tiger rebels. (Reuters, Via India West, March 14, 2003)
*This did not happen in my Kashmir, By
Basharat Peer, Rediff.com, March 24, 2003 http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/24spec.htm
This morning a colleague phoned me. "There has been a massacre in Kashmir,” he said. "Twenty-four Kashmiri Pandits killed." It jolted me out of my slumber. He told me it had happened some hours ago in a village in south Kashmir. He did not know where exactly. He wanted me to leave for Srinagar. I had known that. I have been leaving for Kashmir every time some maniac pulled the trigger and killed innocents. I would run to my room, throw a few shirts, jeans, a notebook and my camera into my backpack, lock my room and head for the airport. But today I began calling my friends in Kashmir to find out where the massacre had occurred. I wanted to know which village -- yes, I wanted to know that badly. Because it could be my village. Because the survivors I would interview, the bullet-ridden bodies I would see, they could be my people. Would it be Chaman Lal Kantroo, my Pandit teacher, who gave me a notebook and two pencils for winning a quiz at school? Would it be Somnath Dhar, our grocer, my grandfather's friend, from whose shop I would return home with my pockets full of cashew nuts and dried apricots? Would they have killed Naina, that beautiful classmate of mine with whom I used to lunch by the side of the spring? I prayed not. I did not have the strength to face that. How would I write about the people who have influenced my life, who have taught me to live? About the friends of my grandfather, a devout Muslim who headed the prayers at the mosque but kept not a separate place for Somnath Dhar in his house? About my father's best friend, Bansi Lal Pandita, Pandita uncle to me? How would I write about their death? I have seen my parents cry when our Pandit neighbours migrated. I did not cry then. I did not understand what was happening. A decade later, I did. When I visited the migrants camp in Jammu. On another assignment there, I decided to visit the camp on the outskirts of the city to write about my displaced brethren who live in claustrophobic one-room hutments, abandoned by man and god. "Nobody cares about us," a teenager told me. He did not speak like a Kashmiri. And he hated Muslims. I could not muster the courage to tell him I was one. I told him I was a Punjabi from Delhi. As I walked around, trying to locate the people from my part of Kashmir, a 50-something man in a white kurta appeared out of a narrow, dingy lane. I introduced myself as a journalist working in Delhi, originally from Anantnag. He looked at me carefully. ”Where from in Anantnag?" "Seer," I said. "You are from Seer? Whose son are you?" I gave my father's name and my grandfather's name. In my part of the world, you are always your father's son, your grandfather's grandson. His eyes lit up. He laughed, abused me fondly, hugged me tight. Before I could ask him who he was, he grabbed my arm, telling me to keep my mouth shut and obey. We walked through narrow lanes for a minute or so. He stopped outside a shabby hut, where a frail woman was washing clothes. "Get up, Gowri!" he said. "Hug him! Your son has come!" She didn't recognize me. But she hugged me. "She is your father's sister," the man told me. I did not know of any. But I believed him, when the woman said: "Is he Amel's son?" Amel is my father's nickname, which hardly anyone outside the family knew. She was crying. So was her husband. And so was I. I spent the next few hours with them in their cramped room, learning about my family, my history. Not for a moment was I anything but their son. I left Jammu that day happier than ever, richer by an aunt and an uncle and a faith in that unorthodox, anti-communal value system that makes me proud of Kashmir. But today the news has come. More of my people have been massacred. The friends I phoned up said it was not in my village. The massacre was in a place where I have never been to. Every child orphaned, every widow there is a stranger to me. But I share a bond with them. And it is a strong bond. We belong to Kashmir. We are partners in the grief and misery of our beautiful valley. There are maniacs who want to severe this emotional, cultural and historical chord I share with my Pandit brothers. I am not sure about the identity of these enemies of my Kashmir. The police say they are Muslim militants. Maybe. Maybe not. Everything the police tell us in Kashmir is not true. What they told us after the Chittisinghpora massacre of Sikhs in March 2000 has been proved a lie. The separatists say it is Indian intelligence agencies; words like ‘politico-intelligence operations' fly in carpeted drawing rooms. I do not know the truth. The truth was murdered in the first bomb blast in Kashmir. Now we have only versions in Kashmir. As I prepared to leave for the airport, my reporter's reflexes failed. I did not want to go. I did not want to report this massacre. This did not happen in my Kashmir. Not again. I dream about seeing the Pandits back. I want to visit Somnath Dhar's shop again. And walk home with cashews and apricots in my pockets. I don't have words to express my grief. Let me paraphrase Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali from Farewell in the country without a post office: At a certain point I lost track of you.You needed me. You needed to perfect me:In your absence you polished me into the Enemy.Your history gets in the way of my memory.I am everything you lost. Your perfect enemy.Your memory gets in the way of my memory.There is nothing to forgive. You won't forgive me.I hid my pain even from myself; I revealed my pain only to myself.There is everything to forgive. You can't forgive me.
*Kashmiri Pandits belong to Israel, Kashmir Observer, March
27, 2003
Who are the aborigines of Kashmir? This question has been a topic of discussion with many an anthropologist, researchers and historians in this state and outside. Nothing has been so far said about it with authority. Historians of different periods have come up with varied theories and hypothesis. The most popular belief is that twelve different tribes from different directions have trickled into this beautiful valley and made it their permanent abode. One theory puts down them as 'being descendents of the last tribes of Israel, this perhaps is being suggested by the Jewish cut of features to be found among some of the older people who look patriarchal type.' This theory could be now cross-examined scientifically by conducting advanced DNA studies of inhabitants of this land. There can be no denying that Kashmir was multiracial society as historian P.N. Bamzi has said, "Before the advent of Islam in the 14th century the population of Kashmir was not entirely Brahaman. We find names of several sects namely Nishads, Khasas, Dards, Bhauttas, Bhikas, Damars, Tantarins etc who constantly gave trouble not only to rulers of the country but also to Brahamns". What was faith of these people who troubled Brahamans is not known but obviously they could not have been the Brahmans, who are commonly known as Kashmiri Pandits. The Kashmiri Pandits who are direct 'descendents' of Kashayp Reshi, divided into 133 gotras, named after the divine sages or ascetics by whom their clans are represented, claim to be purest specimen of ancient Aryan settlers in the valley. Whether Kashmiri Pandits are the aborigines or not but there can be no denying that they are very ancient settlers of this land. It also cannot be disputed that at different junctures of Kashmir history this community of Brahmans ran into controversies and some of the historians have used unsavory remarks about some members of this community. The community for its great adaptability has always identified itself with the rulers even oppressors like Pathans and Mughals. In the words of Bamzi, who himself was a Kashmiri Pandit, "They posses the knack of adapting themselves to changed circumstances at short notice." They also have a long history of migration and on this count are known as Bhanmasi (those who fled) and Malmasi (those who stayed back) but at the same time they have suffered persecution at the hands of rulers from Harsha to Afghans. The community nevertheless has made immense contributions in the fields of art, philosophy, literature and education in the state and have produced great authors, sages and savants. There can be no denying that they are the warp and woof of Kashmir society. And many members of this community like those of the majority community have suffered exploitation at the hands of political leaders. And for past decade or so members of this community too, like their Muslim brethren , have suffered at the hands of 'unidentified' gun and many innocents of this community fell to the bullets of these gunmen. As always, some unscrupulous politicians are unfortunately using suffering of this community as a tool to gain political mileage this time as well. How Kashmiri Pandits migrated from Kashmir valley in 1990 is a matter of debate. Many here blame the then State Governor Jag Mohan for their exodus, while majority of the members of the community have been blaming Pakistan for their plight. But ever since their departure no serious effort was made to bring them back to their birth place instead politicians have been using their return as a political ploy. The Congres- PDP coalition after assuming power made many hyperbolic statements about their return with out doing any groundwork resulting in adding the complexity to the issue. Whether Nadimarg bloodbath could be attributed to immature and premature sloganeering of the present government or not the fact of the matter is that neither the state government nor the Central government has any concrete proposals for safe return of this community to their motherland. Now when Deputy Prime Minister has convened a meeting to deliberate upon the return of migrants to Kashmir in the backdrop of the carnage in the tiny village, there is need for making serious efforts for creating congenial atmosphere for their safe return.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
*Till April 27, Pasadena, CA, USA: TANA BANA, an exhibit featuring the arts of
Pakistan and its rich textile heritage and regional artistic diversity at the
Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave. More info from 626.449.2742
*Till May 25, Birmingham, AL, USA: DESIRE
& DEVOTION: ART FROM INDIA, NEPAL & TIBET, an exhibition of a selection
from John & Berthe Ford Collection
of 150 works
of art, which explore the relationship between earthly and scared love in the
Hindu & Budhhist art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. More info from www.artsbma.org
*Till July 20, Los Angels, CA, USA: LUXURY
TEXTILES EAST & WEST, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905
Wilshire Bvd. More info from 323.857.6000
*Till October 19, New York, NY: THE WORLD OF BUDDHISM will explore the key concepts and imagery of
Buddhism at the Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Avenue at 70th street.
Admission at $7 adults; $5 students and senior citizens and free to members and
children under 16 and to everyone 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. on Fridays. More info
from 212-517-ASIA
http://www.asiasociety.org/events/calendar.pl?event=13695
*The Heart of Kashmir, Gabriele Torsello, KASH GT, 2002, Hardback Photographic Book, Pp 192, £29.00 (Available on-line from www.kashgt.co.uk and www.amazon.co.uk) Preview at http://www.kashgt.co.uk/frameset.book.htm/ More info from Gabriele Torsello, http://www.kashgt.co.uk/ mail@kashgt.co.uk
*Continuity
and Change—Socio-Political Dynamics in Pakistan, S.
Akbar Zaidi (Ed), City Press www.citypress.cc
Karachi, 2003, Pp 185, Rs. (Pakistani) 395 (From a book review in Qalandar,
March 2003, www.islaminterfaith.org)
This book encapsulates some of these
(Dissenting) voices (in Pakistan), arguing for a more progressive politics,
both internal, as well as in Pakistan’s relations with India. In his opening
essay, the noted Pakistani Marxist Hamza Alavi notes that religion per se
hardly played any role in the Pakistan movement. In fact, the League, Hamza
clarifies, did not envision a separate Islamic state, ruled in accordance with
Islamic law. Rather, the League, including Jinnah, sought to represent what it
saw as the secular, as opposed to the strictly religious, interests of the
Muslims of India. However, owing to various political developments and the
political manipulations of Hindu and Muslim elites and the British, the League
was finally driven to demanding a separate state for the Muslims, although,
almost till the end, this demand was essentially used as a bargaining tool to
extract concessions, rather than as an actual, seriously considered political
project.
*Understanding 9-11,
Noam Chomsky, Natraj Publishers, Delhi, 2002, Pp 125, 81-85019-15-0, Rs.
250 (From a book review in Qalandar, March 2003, www.islaminterfaith.org)
In this timely book, he writes with great passion and scholarly insight about the changing contours of global politics following the attacks in New York in September last year. The book presents a refreshing contrast to the jingoistic verbiage being churned out by American policy-makers and journalists alike, forcing the reader to critically interrogate the claims of a global clash of civilizations championed with equal zeal by the likes of George Bush and Osama bin Laden alike.
*India’s Islamic Traditions (711-1750),
Richard M. Eaton (Ed), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, Pp 439, Rs.
650 (From a book review in Qalandar, March 2003, www.islaminterfaith.org)
South Asia, with its large, and, for want of a more appropriate term, ‘Hindu’
majority, posed particular challenges to the early Muslim jurists, for neither
the Qur’an nor the Hadith provides clear guidance for deciding the precise
legal status of ‘Hinduism’. Ultimately, however, the majority of the Hanafi
Sunni ‘ulama accepted the Hindus as akin to the ‘people of the book’ (Jews and
Christians) and granted them the status of dhimmis or ‘protected citizens’.
This did not, however, put an end to the ambiguity in the ways in which Hindus
and Muslims viewed each other. As Aziz Ahmad remarks in his incisive piece,
Hindus and Muslims formed diverse images of each other in the epics that they
composed. Yet, these different versions of the same events did not uniformly
construct ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’ as inveterate enemies of each other.
*Rethinking the National Security of Pakistan: The
price of strategic myopia, Ahmad Faruqui, Aldershot:
Ashgate, 2003, 190 pages, ISBN 0-7546-1497-2
Pakistan’s
chequered history includes not only a violent birth but also a traumatic break
up in 1971 when the eastern wing of the country seceded to become Bangladesh.
Dr Ahmad Faruqui has written a timely book which looks in depth at many of the
problems which Pakistan has faced in its ambition to overcome its weaknesses in
relation to the arch rival India and the general regional implications of it.
He looks at particular at the ‘fallacy of the nuclear deterrence’ approach and
the need to reorganise the Pakistan military structure. He also brings in the
economic costs of the present approach to security and examines a strategy of reducing military expenditure
and disarmament. (Via Asiapeace)
*The Production Of
Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India, Paul R. Brass
Brass exposes the mechanisms by which endemic communal violence is deliberately
provoked and sustained. He convincingly implicates the police, criminal
elements, members of Aligarh's business community, and many of its leading
political actors in the continuous effort to "produce" communal
violence. Much like a theatrical production, specific roles are played, with
phases for rehearsal, staging, and interpretation. In this way, riots become
key historical markers in the struggle for political, economic, and social
dominance of one community over another.
*Pakistan History and Politics
1947-71, By Dr. Rafique Afzal, Oxford University Press (An excerpt from
“Pakistan's Politics In Historical Perspective,” Ijaz Hussain, Daily Times,
Pakistan,, March 5, 2003
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_5-3-2003_pg3_4
The author … has painstakingly researched the subject for a decade by locating
source material which is scattered in libraries and private collections in
Pakistan. For this purpose, he also spent two academic years at the Columbia
University and the University of Massachusetts in the United States. As to
contents of the book, treatment is not a run of the mill analysis.
*India’s Tryst with Pluralism, Harmony, Democracy,
Voice of the Exploited, Bombay Sarvodaya Friendship Center, Rs. 5 (English,
Gujarati edition is being planned)
The booklet covers some of the myths and also takes
up freedom struggle, outlines the traditions of harmony and amity between
different communities, role of Kabir, Nanak, Gandhi in promoting communal
amity. Also deflates the concept about temple breaking, fights between Hindu
Muslims etc. Pitched at most simple level, it is suitable for higher secondary,
junior college students and average reader.
*Communalism: What is False What is true.
(Available from Pradeep Deshpande B-1, 252, Jeevdani Darshan, Arunodaya Nagar
Mulund (W) Mumbai, 400081, Phone 25928328 npdeshpande@vsnl.net),
Rs. 20 (English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati). Two-volume audio cassette or CD
in Hindi (140 Minutes), Rs. 80.
This booklet deals with following myths and is suitable for junior college
students and average readers:
a. Muslims Kings destroyed Hindu temples to humiliate them,
b. Islam spread in India on the strength of sword
c. Muslims and Hindu kings fought with each other on religious
grounds
*Communal Politics- An Illustrated Primer,
(Available from Pradeep Deshpande B-1, 252, Jeevdani Darshan, Arunodaya Nagar
Mulund (W) Mumbai, 400081, Phone 25928328 npdeshpande@vsnl.net),
English- Rs.150, Hindi Rs. 60, Guajrati Rs 40, Marathi Rs. 35.
Deals with the total spectrum of issues since the Babri demolition. Covers an
evaluation of Mumbai riots, India's Syncretic traditions, Rise and growth of
Communal politics, Myths of History, The nature of Hindutva Politics, Hindutva
and Exploited sections of Society. Richly illustrated with Photographs,
cartoons and visuals. Suitable for Junior College and above, as well as for
average readers and activists)
*Communal Politics: Facts versus Myths, Sage
Publications India Pvt. Ltd (B- 42 Panchsheel Enclave
New Delhi 100017), 2003, Pp 308, Paper (0-7619-9667-2), Rs 295.
Deals with the total theme. Suitable for graduate level students, activists, scholars, journalists
*Fascsim of Sangh Parivar, Media House (375-A, Pocket 2, Mayur Vihar, Phase I, Delhi 110091), Pp 125, Rs. 50
Deals with the concept of Fascism, India's Freedom Struggle and Rise of
Communal Politics, Role of Gandhi. Role of Hindu Mahasabha-RSS in Freedom
Struggle, Ideological base of Hindutva, Social base of Hindutva, Hindutva and
exploited sections of Society. (Suitable for serious readers and activists)
*The Other Cheek-Minorities Under Threat,
Media House (375-A, Pocket 2, Mayur Vihar, Phase I, Delhi 110091), Pp 206, Rs.
95
Collection of articles on the theme of communal politics-Democracy, Gandhian
values today, Gender, Caste and Communal Politics. (