ACHA PEACE BULLETIN http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACHAPeaceBulletin
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Editors:
Pritam K. Rohila & Azam Saeed
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ACHA PEACE BULLETIN (Volume IV, No. 4, April 03, 2002 (Next issue, May 01,
2002)
CONTENTS
Prayer: Let
my country awake! By Rabindranath Tagore
Peace
& Harmony News
Peace
& Harmony Organizations
Commonway Institute
Joint Action Committee for Peace
Karachi, Pakistan
South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR), Kathmandu, Nepal
Reactions
To The Recent Communal Carnage In India
Appeal For Funds To Help For The
Victims Of Gujarat Violence
Feature
Gujarat Riots: Despatch From Karachi, Pakistan, By M.B Naqvi, March 4,
Reclaiming The Real Hinduism, By
Vijay Rana, Free Press Journal
Hindu Family’s Islamic Tradition, By
Kamil Zaheer, India West, March 22, 2002
Erasing Dividing Lines, By
Lavina Melwani Lavina@Juno.Com, Newsday,
March 20, Historic Wrong Redressal, By Shamsul Islam
Some Hindus Rescuing Muslims, By
Beth Duff-Brown, Associated Press Writer, Mar 4
A Calm Corner Keeps An Eye On A Violent Subcontinent, By A. Chhabra, New York
Letters
& Opinions
Let's Kill Religion, Subramony Sesha
Religion May Have Outlived
Its Utility, Dhanyal Sahibzada
Response To Dhanyal Sahibzada,
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Communal Tensions In India,
Kushanava Choudhury, Calcutta
My Grandfather Would
Sometimes Say, Omar Ali
Hindu Majority Has Taken A Self Righteous Stance, By Kanak Ravel
Announcements
Books
Political Islam In The Indian Subcontinent: The Jama'at-I-Islami, By F. Grare, & Centre
Heir To A Silent Song: Two Rebel Women Of Nepal, By Dr. Barbara Nimri
India Briefing: Quickening The Pace Of Change, Edited By A. Ayres & P.Oldenburg
Education:
American Institute Of Indian Studies Fellowship Competition
Events
Through April 12, Houston, Tx, Usa: Colors
Of The Bindu
April 14, Los Angeles, Ca:
Kashmir: Ways To Help Resolve
May 24-27, Atlanta, Ga, Usa: Young
Sindhi Adults
Human
Rights: U.S. State Department Report On Human Rights Abuses In Bangladesh,
Bhutan,
India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Coexistence
Resource
For info
about Courses, Calls for papers, Conferences, Fellowships, Grants, Jobs &
Practical Resources featured in recent issues of Coexistence Network Notice
Board send a blank email to pritamr@open.org
with the word COEXISTENCE as its subject
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)
Bangladesh
LANGUAGE and religion in
Bangladesh, By K. Ahmed, The Friday Times,
March 8-14, 2002
Bangladesh Opposition ACCUSES Govt
Of Persecution, Dow Jones International News
Corruption
World's most CORRUPT countries, By Wg Cdr Fardad Ali Shah (R), Chitral, Letter to Editor, Dawn,
February 23, 2002
India-Business
Company Town Keeps Indians at HOME, By Saritha Rai, The New York Times, March 18, 2002
India: Gujarat Tragedy &
Related Matters
CRY, the beloved country:
Reflections on the Gujarat massacre, By
Harsh Mande
BJP’S RIOT - Free India, By Asghar Ali Engineer, Secular Perspective Mar
16-31, 2002
Indian Town's Seed Grew Into the Taliban's CODE, By C. DUGGER, The New York Times, Feb
India: Politics & Civil
Society
INSTABILITY in India, Unsigned Editorial, The New York Times, Mar 7, 2002
India Is ... A Culture Struggles
With All That DEFINES It, By S. Vedantam, The
Washington Post
DEFEAT of
BJP is Defeat
of Communalism, Asghar Ali Engineer, Secular Perspective
India: Ram Janambhumi/Babri Masjid
Thick friends, save for 67.7 ACRES
of land ,By Basharat Peer, Rediff.com
March 18,
Secularism GARDEN at Ayodhya, By Prof. Chithra KarunaKaran, New York, March 3, 2002
India: Secularism
India's Past Becomes a WEAPON, By Shashi Tharoor, The New York Times, March 6, 2002
SAVE Our Secularism, By T. Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2002
Would Ram RAJYA have been like
this? By Gourisankar Ghosh,
Rediff.com, Mar 6, 2002
'Loving' to HATE, Ram Puniyani bmrrpia@cc.iitb.ac.in,
Issues in Secular Politics, Feb
Muslims of India, look for a
SILVER lining in your own interest, By
Faiz Ahmad, KGN News
This is the home of GANDHI?, By Sunil Khilnani, The Globe & Mail, March 20, 2002
GOLDEN Age Hallucinations: Indian civilisation derives from no utopian ideal; it was founded on,
and as, a crossroads, By Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Outlook 20
August 2001
Kashmir
BETWEEN the mountains, By Isabel Hilton, New Yorker, 03-11-2002
Nuclear Issues
The nuclear MENACE in the
Subcontinent, By A. G. Noorani, Frontline,
Mar. 16 - 29, 2002
The SHAPE of events to come, By M.B. Naqvi, March 18, 2002
A Modest Proposal From The
BRIGADIER, The Atlantic Monthly, March 2002
Pakistan
Spring Peace Fest attempts to
create peace awareness for KARACHI kids, By T.
J. Khan
MEDIA Management: Restricting
Freedom in Pakistan, By S. Sehbai, The Asian
Wall Street J.
In Pakistan's Squalor, CRADLES of Terrorism, By Paul Blustein, Washington Post
Pakistan's American FALLACY, By Ayaz Amir, Commentary, Dawn, Feb 15. 2002
How many GENERALS can a country
afford? By Ayaz Amir
Religion
The CORE Of Muslim Rage, By Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times
March 6, 2002
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka peace initiative: A
progress REPORT, By Sharif M. Abdullah
______________________________________________________________________
PRAYER
*Let
my country awake! By Rabindranath Tagore, Via Gourisankar Ghosh, a former Indian Administrative Service officer from
the Gujarat cadre, who now works with the United Nations
Where the mind is without fear and the
head is held high,
Where knowledge is free,
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls,
Where words come out from the
depth of truth,
Where timeless striving stretches
its arms towards perfection,
Where the clean stream of reason
has not lost its way
In the dreary desert sand of dead
habit,
Where the mind is led forward by
these
Into ever-widening thought and
action,
Into that heaven of Freedom, my
father,
Let my country awake!
PEACE & HARMONY NEWS
The banned United Liberation Front
of Asom, which has been fighting for independence since 1979, has renewed calls
to the Government of India for peace talks to end 23 years of violence. “We
desperately want a peaceful solution of the ongoing Indo-Assam conflict and so
the conditions have already been set to hammer out through meaningful
dialogue,” ULFA said in the latest issue of its magazine, Freedom.
Hindus observe Muharram in Orissa
While about a hundred Hindu
families joined the Muharram procession at Jatni in Khurda district, some other
families took out processions in western Orissa's Sambalpur town.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/27oris.htm
LTTE, Lankan govt may begin direct
talks in May
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister
Vidar Helgesen is expected to visit Sri Lanka next month to meet LTTE chief V
Prabhakaran. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/27lanka.htm
Bangladesh and Indian security
officials agreed today to hold regular guard meetings and to patrol jointly to
maintain peace along the 2,500-mile common border. “We have set up guidelines
for peace in border areas and encounter cross-border crimes including
smuggling,” Gurbachan Jagat, Director General of the Indian Border Security
Force told reporters after the three-day meeting in Dhaka. 3/25
India, Pak to discuss resumption
of cricket ties
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2002/mar/25kalamd.htm
Peaceful
Tazia processions held in Ayodhya, Faizabad
In
Ayodhya, the processions were taken out from Kasiyana locality till the Sheesh
Paigambar mausoleum in Vidyakund locality. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/25ayo.htm
RSS
holds talks with Christian leaders
RSS
chief K S Sudarshan said that the outfit had been depicted as
"anti-Christian, anti-Muslim and an uncompromising militant group" by
the media.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/22rss1.htm
22
PWG militants surrender in Andhra
They
were vexed with the mindless violence being carried out by the PWG, a senior
police officer said. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/21jafri.htm
Naga peace process all set to move ahead
The
NSCM (I-M) has accepted the government's invitation to continue talks in India.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/14vina.htm
Pak
proposes SAARC Interior Ministers meet
The
proposed meet would discuss a host of issues of common interest, including
terrorism, extremism, drug and human smuggling, border control and visa
restrictions.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/11pak.htm
Sattar
ready to visit India to resolve tension http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/11pak1.htm
Pak
offers to withdraw troops from border http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/09pak3.htm
Pak ready to sign extradition treaty with India http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/09pak2.htm
Restart
J&K dialogue process: Shabir Shah
'We
believe in democracy and negotiations and want India and Pakistan to resolve
the problem peacefully', Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party president
said.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/07jk.htm
Text
of Sri Lanka truce deal: BBC News, Friday, 22 February, 2002
Agreement
on a ceasefire between the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of
Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1836000/1836198.stm
PEACE & HARMONY ORGANIZATIONS
*Commonway
Institute, P.O. Box 12541, Portland, OR 97212, http://www.commonway.org 503.281.1667,
Contact person: Sharif M. Abdullah
Sarvodaya
organized, March 15, at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, the worlds’ largest peace
meditation ever. About 600,000 people, from all ethnic groups and all
religions, meditated together, at one place. Neither the bomb attack at
Sarvodaya Headquarters two nights before, nor the blinding rainstorm the day
before, dampened the spirits of the organizers and the participants. Someone
said that the attack was a sign that the peace efforts were getting
results. "These people feel desperate," he said. "It
must be terrible for them, to see everything that they believe in turning to
dust. Their power base of violence is eroding right under them.
And, without violence, what do they have?" Nothing, except a few spare
hand grenades.
*Joint Action Committee for Peace http://www.pakistanis4peace.org Via
Beena Sarwar bsarwar@onetel.net.uk from Karachi, Pakistan
Convened
by the Joint Action Committee for Peace, the country's major political parties,
trade union and non-government organisations and concerned citizens came
together, March 20, at PMA House, on a joint platform to unequivocally condemn
the growing violence and targeted killings of doctors, particularly in Karachi,
with serious nation-wide consequences.
the meeting expressed concern at the safety of Pakistan's Christians, and
asked political parties to take up this issue from their own platforms as well,
in order to isolate the sectarian elements.
*South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR), G. P. O. Box 12855 Kathmandu, Nepal, Tel: +977-1-541026 Fax:
+977-1-527852, E-mail: south@safhr.org
The
human rights community of South Asia appealed to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights to request the governments of the region to stop
their restrictive practices which prevent the human rights organizations in the
South Asian countries from exercising their moral and political function of
extending democratic rights.
The monthly global vigil for peace
between India and Pakistan, that have been organized by various groups around
the world, was continued March 24, at Cardoza Park, by QPB and FSA, to urge the
two governments to resolve all issues through dialogue.
REACTIONS TO THE RECENT COMMUNAL
CARNAGE IN INDIA
Hindu
and Muslim leaders urged Indians to maintain communal harmony, after a meeting
of representatives of the South African Hindu Mahasabha and five Muslim
organizations including the Muslim Youth Movement, Sunni Jamiat Ulama and
Palestine Support Committee.
Hindu
Mahasabha secretary Ragubeer Kalideen said, “We (Hindu and Muslims) are one
people and we have not allowed religious disharmony to affect us here. “We are
shocked at the uncivilized and unreligious manner in which some groups are
behaving in Gujarat,” he added. Religion is supposed to be about peace,
tolerance and harmony. But what’s happening in Gujarat is just the opposite,”
remarked Moulana Rafeek Shah of the Muslim Youth Movement.
A
group of Bay Area-based Indians walked down from the Gadar Memorial Hall here
March 23 to the Consulate General of India to protest the recent communal
mayhem in Gujarat. They carried placards with Hindi and Urdu statements like
“Religious Harmony and Social Justice in India,” “India: Secular, democratic,
United,” “Godhra HO Ya Ahmeabad, Sampradayikata Hai Barbad” (“Whether it is
Godhra or Ahmedabad, Communalism is a Disaster”).
A
peace rally was organized in Washington, DC, on Wednesday afternoon to express
people’s concerns about the carnage and try to mobilize people to work for
peace and harmony. The number of concerned Indians belonging to different
organizations, religions and culture observing fast for peace at different
locations since Tuesday has reached to more than 400. Some of us are
taking turns in staying near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi located in front of
the Indian embassy in Washington, DC. Zafar Iqbal Ph.D. raabta1@hotmail.com
In order to “challenge the communal forces and stand up for the
secular values of the Nation (India)” and to
match with peace march to Ayodhya by people's movement, various organizations, and concerned individuals in Washington D. C.
observed March 15 the National day for Peace and Communal Harmony. They
gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue to collectively break the relay fast that
they had been observing since March 5.
Ahmedabad,
Gujarat, India, By Prashant
Jawalikar
AID,
the Association for India's Development and many other organizations, are
coming together to send a message, indicating that we, as responsible citizens
of the world, condemn this violence in all its forms, and call upon the Indian
Government to put all in its ability to dissuade groups and individuals
perpetuating such violence.
Seeking inspiration from Gandhiji
who came from the same state of Gujarat, we give a c all for a one-day FAST for
Peace and Communal Harmony. If you cannot fast, you may express your solidarity
by signing up on the website http://aidindia.org/fastforpeace
and lighting a candle in remembrance of the victims of violence.
Ahmedabad,
Gujarat, India
Moved
by the communal violence that swept across Ahmedabad, and to demonstrate their
support for peace and harmony, around 1,000 marchers, including women, from
various religious groups on Tuesday staged a six-km long silent march, from
Kochrab Ashram to Sabarmati Ashram -- both set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917
after he returned to India from South Africa. http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/05train5.htm
Ahmedabad,
Gujarat, India, Report by
Teesta & Sushoba
A
team of the People’s Union for Human Rights plans to visit different parts of
the city of Ahmedabad and the state of Gujarat to document the loss of life and
property. Other groups are also collating similar information. This would
collectively be the groundwork for a people’s Judicial Commission into the
Ethnic Cleansing in Gujarat that would be headed by Justice Krishna Iyer and of
which Justice Suresh and Girishbhai Patel would be a part.
Delhi,
India, By Shaswati Mazmdar
smazumdar@yahoo.com of Delhi
University Forum for Democracy
On the initiative of a large number of groups and eminent individuals a
Citizens' March in
defence of democracy and secularism was organized on March 13. It started at 11
a.m. from Mandi House, (Jawaharla Nehru Univesity- City Centre), and to
Parliament.
Faizabad,
U.P., India, National Alliance
of People's Movement (NAPM), 9/982 Indira Nagar, Lucknow 226016, U.P., India,
Phone 347365, 342435, e-mail ashain@sancharnet.in
On
March 10, a Peace March was organized by Nagrik Shanti Morcha in Faizabad,
which is 6 km from Ayodhya. A bare-feet and silent Peace and Harmony March was
planned on March 14 to Ayodhya.
Women
of diverse faiths held hands by Char Minar in a march to prevent outbreak of
communal violnce March 15, the day Hindu radicals planned to conduct a prayer
ceremony at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
Hyderabad, A.P., India, Report
by Sagari Ramdas of COVA
Yesterday
a few of us met at DDS office to think of what we can do here at Hyderabad-not
only to condemn the happenings in Gujarat but to pre-empt, prevent any such
spread which could potentially happen in the city. Particularly in the wake of
the latest call by VHP that they are determined to go ahead with their plans of
March 15th, it is imperative to act.
Today, a press statement was issued. It condemned the continuing
violence was, and the attitude of the govt. in this matter. Teams of volunteers
will visit and meet with community members in communally sensitive areas
identified in the Bastis around the old city and other parts. They will visit
these areas regularly for the next many days, with the aim to set up local
Ekta, Aman and Peace committees in each locality. An interfaith evening of prayers will be
organised on the Tank Bund on 7th March between 5-7pm. An has been made appeal
to all organizations celebrating Women’s day on March 8th, to dedicate the day
for communal harmony.
Jaipur,
Rajasthan, India, Report by
Kavita Srivastava
On
February 28, concerned individuals held meetings with senior BJP leaders to
persuade the latter to stop the bandh call or else to ensure peace. Also they
were in constant touch with the 18 Muslim organizations, who had set up 4
control rooms to monitor the communal situation. Besides they met with the
Intelligence people in order to understand their preparation to prevent
something like Gujarat from happening in Jaipur.
On
the day of the BJP-VHP Rajasthan Bandh, a shanti sabha was held in the center
of town. More than eighty people turned up to protest against the carnage in
Gujarat and demanded the dismissal of Narendra Modi. People also went around
town monitoring the situation particularly around the juma - ki- namaz period.
Today,
we met in one of the bastis from where riots start. It was very well attended.
We are planning to hold a big rally with left and other secular parties on the
6th of March. The theme for 8th March
is Women for Peace and Development:
No War No Terrorism.
Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India, By Dr.
Jalandar Adsule, Director, Salokha; and Maju Varghese, SACH majuv@rediffmail.com
Hundreds
of students from the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan along with Salokha
an NGO working for communal harmony organised a harmony chain from Bandra (E)
to Vakola on March 6. Many NGO's including EKTA, CSSS, Pratham, Yuva, Sakya,
Sethu etc joined the harmony chain to announce to the world that the young
generation and citizens in Mumbai are not with the communal hatred campaign
carried out by some fundamental groups in the country.
Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India, By Ammu Abraham <womcentr@vsnl.com
International
Women's Day in Mumbai was observed by several local women's organizations
(AIDWA, Women's Centre, YWCA, NFIW, FAOW, Mahila Daxata Samiti, Swadhar,
Samajwadi Mahila Sabha, Akshara and Forum for Women's Health) as a Peace Dharna
at Hutatma Chowk/Flora Fountain, 4 - 6p.m. The common banner was: 'Strenghten
Women's Unity for Communal Harmony and National Unity, For Secularism And
Protection of the Rights of All Communities'. They endorsed statement demanding
(1) that the Central government should act immediately to restore normalcy in
Gujarat, (2) that the Karsevaks be cleared out of Ayodhya and, (3) that those
who have proclaimed their contempt for the Constitution of India be taken to
task.
Slogans like "Commywad se, Azaadi" and even "Sangh Parivar se
Aazaadi" reverberated at the Fountain area, where hundreds of working
people were passing by on their way to the Churchgate station, and paused to
see the dharna and take the leaflets being distributed.
Representatives of the groups present gave short talks or led anti-communal
sloganeering. Stree Sangam members sang a song which was specially written
about the riot victims. The gathering observed 2 minutes' silence in mourning
for the thousands who have been massacred or tortured or rendered destitute in
Gujarat's shameful genocide and resolved to strengthen women's unity for a
secular India.
Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India, huright@vsnl.com
"HUM
JEENA CHAHTE HAIN - DHARM KE NAAM PAR HAME "PHIR SE" MAT LADAO. KYA
AAP "HUM' ME SHAMIL HONA CHAHTE HAIN?" is the slogan for a campaign
regarding the Godhra and subsequent events in India. Individuals, who are
neither affiliated to, nor funded by any party or organization, collected 3492
signatures for it in three days from Universities, Slums, Platforms, trains and
buses of Mumbai and 195 signatures in a couple of hours in villages of South
Gujarat.
New Delhi, India
Distressed
by the recent communal carnage in India, People for Peace and Secularism
organized a fast for peace and communal harmony was held March 23-28 at Mandi
House circle in New Delhi. Each group of 50-100 individuals fasted for 24 hours
starting at 8:00 a.m. every day.
Some
30 Opposition Members of Parliament, March 5, attended a meeting and peace
march at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The
Left parties organized, March 6 a large demonstration at Jantar Mantar at
noon.
On March 7, at 4:30 p.m., a planning meet was held at the Indian Social Institute
to develop a strategy for the following week.
Well-known
artists in the capital city, including K.G. Subramanium, Satish Gujaral,
Krishen Khanna, and Jatin Das, expressed its solidarity with the victims of
Gujarat violence by donating paintings and art works displayed at an exhibition
organized by Sahmat, a city-based cultural organization. The proceeds of the
sale were routed through Commual Combat, an NGO.
APPEAL FOR FUNDS TO HELP FOR THE VICTIMS OF GUJARAT VIOLENCE
To help the victims, Center
for Study of Society and Secularism, has started a fund drive. “We wish
to reach it to the sufferers irrespective of their religion and caste strictly
on secular lines,” said Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, the chairman of the Center and
a well-known secularism activist in India. Our readers have frequently seen his
columns in ACHA PEACE BULLETIN.
As a first step in building this fund Center has decided to
donate a modest sum of Twenty Thousands. Dr Engineer urged people to “donate
generously for this humane cause.” Please make your checks payable to Center for Study of Society and Secularism and mail them to the Center at
9B, Himalaya Apts, 1st Floor, 6th Road, Santacruz (E), Mumbai:- 400 055,
India.
Pritam Rohila, Editor, ACHA Peace Bulletin
FEATURE
*Gujarat Riots:
Despatch From KARACHI, Pakistan,
By M.B Naqvi, March 4, 2002 Via Harsh
Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
It
is entirely possible to reconcile the Hindus and Muslims because the bases for
discord and enmity as well as of understanding, friendship and fraternity
simultaneously exist. A people-to-people reconciliation between Pakistan and
India – that must also include the people of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – can
create a whole new dispensation in which the communal politics can be contained
and countered, both inside each South Asian state and among the states of the
region. Only, it is necessary to see the utility of this approach for first
resolving India's persistent problem and this can go on to resolve inter state
confrontation, which incidentally would resolve many of Pakistan's domestic
problems. Even Bangladesh may thereby be able to evolve a truly
common nationalism for all Bangladeshis to fit the new state. For full text
email a request to pritamr@open.org with KARACHI
as its subject.
*RECLAIMING the Real Hinduism, By Vijay Rana, Free Press Journal
My
Nana's day began with the chants of: 'Servey bhavantu sukhinah, servey santu
niramaya...' (May all living being be
happy and free from fear.') Then I didn't understand the relevance of these
lines, but I understand now. When rampaging mobs, chanting the name of my Lord
Rama, kill innocent women and children. I say, 'No! That's not the Hinduism I
was taught. My Hinduism
promised to ensure freedom from fear, not for Hindus alone but for all living
being.'…
That was the Hinduism that echoes in my
ears. The Hinduism of Ramchndra Paramhans or Ashok Singhal is alien to me. The
sword wielding, slogan shouting and hate spewing Karsevaks terrorise me, a
Hindu, too. No, I am not prepared to accept them as protectors of Hinduism. No,
I am not prepared to accept the VHP and Bajrang Dal as champions of Hinduism.
Yes, I would welcome a Rama temple in Ayodhya, a temple of compassion and
social harmony. I do not need a temple made with the shilas of hatred, a temple
that is cemented by communal intolerance. I am in no rush. I can wait till
courts come up with an acceptable answer. I can wait till
Hindus and Muslims come to a sensible compromise. For full text email a request to pritamr@open.org
with RECLAIMING as its subject.
*Hindu
FAMILY’s Islamic Tradition, By Kamil Zaheer, India West, March 22, 2002
“I
feel good that the Basu family looks after the mosque on their compound,”
Muslim priest Mohammed Abu Bakkar told Reuters. “Itshows that despite Gujarat
and all the religious hatred, Muslims and Hindus are basically one,” said
Bakkar, a 76-year-old with a white goatee beard and a skullcap. For full text
email a request to pritamr@open.org with FAMILY
as its subject.
*Erasing
Dividing LINES: An Indian-owned gallery showcases Pakistani artists, By
Lavina Melwani lavina@juno.com, Newsday,
March 20, 2002 Via South Asian Journalists Association http://www.saja.org
For
most Americans, Pakistan, which has been catapulted into world consciousness
with the painful events of the past six months and the war in Afghanistan, has
remained an enigma. In presenting Painting Over the Lines: Five Contemporary
Artists from Pakistan, Indian-owned IndoCenter of Art & Culture (ICAC) is
providing a glimpse into contemporary Pakistani culture and conflicts. For full
text email a request to pritamr@open.org
with FAMILY as its subject.
*Historic
WRONG Redressal, By Shamsul Islam
It
is really intriguing that in a country like India whose civilization is more
than two thousand years old, a period of 400-500 years (so called Muslim Rule)
only is put under scanner. It may still be relevant to inquire into two aspects
of this 'Muslim Rule'.Firstly, why the common Muslims of today's India pay for
the sins of Muslim rulers who had very solid and cordial relations with high
caste hierarchy of Hindu ruling classes…Secondly, in spite this persecuting
'Muslim Rule', India remained a country predominantly inhabited by Hindus
who constituted around 80 percent of the population.