South Asia Cultural Resource Center (SACRC)

Peace & Harmony News

Kashmir

Announcements

Books & Journals

August 10-12, Vancouver, B.C., Canada: International South Asia Forum (Insaf)

Environment

Bangladesh

A proposed UNIFORM Family Code for Bangladesh, By Swapna Majumdar

India

On Absence of DEMOCRACY in Muslism World, By Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer

Kashmir

MAO in the mountains (of Nepal), By Daniel Lak, BBC News

Pakistan

International community's efforts to bring peace in Sri LANKA, Sunday Observer 

Women

SOUTH ASIA CULTURAL RESOURCE CENTER (SACRC)

SACRC aims to promote peace and harmony among the people of South Asia living in Portland/Vancouver metropolitan areas by bringing them together in an all-inclusive environment of mutual respect, learning and understanding. Since its activities will be open to everyone regardless of national origin, it will also promote appreciation of diversity among non-South Asians. 

It will accomplish these goals by capitalizing on the strengths of the local and regional South Asian community in terms of its diversity, professional and business skills, and its heritage. Also, it will develop and foster relationship with other organizations in the general Portland area community

Specifically, SACRC will provide the following services for the regional community:

For more information please visit our website www.asiapeace.org or contact Pritam Rohila at pritamr@open.org

PEACE & HARMONY NEWS

*April 6: Pakistan's military ruler MUSHARRAF said he had no inhibitions in saluting Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee if he came to Pakistan.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/06jk1.htm

*April 6: The Centre for Society and Religion conducted a FACT-FINDING MISSION in Batticaloa last week where Sinhalese farmers from threatened villages in Polonnaruwa such as Welikande, living in fear of LTTE attacks, met Tamil villagers in somewhat similar situation, to exchange their experiences and discuss their common desire for peace especially in the North and East and in the whole country. They want a quick end to the war that has been sapping the country's economy and tearing apart the social fabric for nearly 20 years. (Daily News,Colombo, Sri Lanka, Via South Asia Citizens Wire)

*April 7: Ek shaam wadi-e-gul ke naam (An evening dedicated to the valley of flowers) was the title of a program featuring the noted folk singer Gul Akhtar and other members of her troupe, organized by the External Service Division of the All India Radio Urdu Service in New Delhi. "It was an effort to bring the lilting MELODIES FROM KASHMIR to the people here who have now become more familiar with the sounds of gunfire from that state, and thus to highlight the need to restore peace in the strife-torn land", the organizers said. (Monitor News Bureau Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org).

*April 8: In an interview with the CNN at the end of his visit to the United States, the Indian Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh has said in Washington D.C. that the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India would be MEETING on the sidelines of the SAARC preparatory conference in the second week of May. He said New Delhi remains committed to dialogue and peace saying, it has always taken steps in that direction. (Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org)

*April 16: Pakistan will allow SIKH PILGRIMS to visit their holy places in West Punjab as and
when they desire. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/16pak1.htm

*April 21: Over 3000 attend the PEACE MELA in Lahore organized here today by the Labour Party Pakistan in close association with Lahore Press Club and several human rights organizations (including Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, South Asia Partnership, Shirkat Ghah and Aurat Foundation, on the occasion of Faiz Peace Festival at Open Air Theater of Lawrence Garden. Many 
artists including Pervaiz Mehdi, Tranum Naz, Surriaya Khanum, Hamid Ali Khan, Zahoor Saeen, Iram Hassan, Jat brothers, Iqbal Bahoo and Papu Dholchi recited revolutionary poetry of
Faiz to a very receptive audience. (Report by Rizwan Atta Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org) 

*April 25 The Indian government has cleared a junior VOLLEYBALL team to play in Asian qualifying tournament to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan from May 10 to 19.
(Reuters Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org)

*April 28: Indian government declares ceasefire with NSCN (Khaplang): PTI. Security forces in Nagaland have been observing ceasefire with NSCN (Issac-Muivah) for the last four years.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/28naga.htm

KASHMIR

*April 5: Declaring that K C Pant would conduct the dialogue, the Indian government
invited all militant organisations and the Hurriyat Conference for talks without pre-conditions.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/05jk2.htm

*April 7: Officials of the USA are said to be on their way to Kashmir to motivate APHC leaders to accept at least the first round of talks with the Government of India for which a formal invitation was made Thursday. (Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org)

*April 7: 'We are ready for a cease-fire if Government of India is sincere,' says Hizb Commander Abdul Majid Dar. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/07inter.htm

*April 8: The former Prime minister of Pakistan Kashmi, Sardar Qayoom Khan welcomed the talks offer by the Indian government to the separatist groups of Indian administered Kashmir and urged the main separatist alliance All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) conference (APHC) to enter into dialogue with the government of India without any pre-conditions. (Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org) 

*April 15: Indian government's political dialogue process on Jammu and Kashmir formally got underway today with K. C. Pant inviting former Chief Minister Syed Mir Qasim to his house for a round of discussions. He said invitations had been sent out to "former chief ministers, members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, leaders of all parties in the State Legislative Assembly and Council, leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), 'other groups' like Shabir Shah's Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and the Imam Khomeni Memorial Trust of Kargil." 
(Hindustan Times, Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org)

*April 16: APHC executive will discuss Pant's offer, Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Butt said.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/16jk2.htm

*April 16: Shabir Shah, the separatist politician said, he is ready to talk to Pant, but the government of India should simultaneously engage in a dialogue with Pakistan. (Press Trust of India Via http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/16jk1.htm)

*April 17: Most of the speakers at a "United Kashmir" conference held at Alhamra Hall, Lahore endorsed the formula proposed by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Amanullah Khan for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. The formula suggests a plebiscite 15 years after peace is restored to determine whether the people want to join Pakistan or India or to be independent. (Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org) 

*April 18: Democratic Freedom Party has decided to enter into discussions with the personalities belonging to different schools of thought within state to discuss the recent offer for talks by New Delhi, Shabir  Ahmad Shah announced at Srinagar. The party has decided to depute a delegation  based in Pakistan Occupied  Kashmir headed by its vice chairman Mehmood Ahmad Sagar to  initiate  discourses with  the  militant leaders. (KT News Service Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org) 

*April 19: Attired in a pink suit, Asma Khan Lone, daughter Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Amanullah Khan, arrived in New Delhi today from Lahore, with her husband Sajjad
Lone, who is also visiting the country after nearly a decade-long stay in Gulf. She said she would like to settle in Kashmir and participate in the movement, which her father and father-in-law Abdul Gani Lone were leading. (Press Trust of India Via Kashmir Record & Research Council www.krrc.org) 

*April 28: Awami National Conference will talk to Pant: G M Shah. The only condition was that the talks be held in Srinagar. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/28jk.htm

*Apr 28: In an open debate first of its kind during the last 11  years, diverse views were expressed today by speakers on the vexed  Kashmir issue, its resolution and the response of Kashmiri leadership  towards the talks offer from the government of India. The debate was organised by Shabir Ahmed Shah's Democratic Freedom Party. The gathering was addressed by a good number of non-Muslim delegates. Significantly, the APHC was conspicuous by its absence from the debate   though the conglomerate has already rejected the talks offer some two days ago. (GK News Service Via Kashnet kashmir-global-network@yahoogroups.com
 

*April 30: An influential Muslim separatist leader, known as the "Mandela of Kashmir" for his lengthy stay in Indian prisons, said Monday he was considering accepting New Delhi's invitation for peace talks. "In principle we believe in dialogue ... and when the unconditional dialogue offer was announced by New Delhi, there was no question of
rejecting it outright," said Shabir Shah, chief of the Pro-Independance Freedom democratic Party. http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/30jk.htm

*April 30: Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Shah has formed a three member team comprising of Moulana Tari, Saleem Geelani and Hakim Abdul Rashid to discuss modalities of dialogue with K C Pant. The team will talk to Pant within three days in New Delhi and seek some clarifications. GK News Service Via Kashnet kashmir-global-network@yahoogroups.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*ZOROASTRIAN Worldwide at the Millennium is the title of a 565-page encyclopedia of Zoroastrian history and culture released March 25 by the Russian Cultural Center in Mumbai. It contains chapters on the ancient Shahnamah history of Iran, photographs and history of temples and Piruns all over the world and biographical sketches of outstanding Zoroastrian. Edited bby Dame Dr. Meher Master-Moos and Ruby Lilaowalla and published by Mazdayanie Monastrie.

*ISLAM: EMPIRE OF FAITH, a two-and-a-half-hour documentary narrated by the 
Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley, will air in Seattle area on PBS (e.g., CTS-Channel 9), 8pm-10:30pm, on Tuesday, May 8. The program tells the story of the great sweep of Islamic power and faith during its first 1,000 years from the birth of the prophet Muhammad to the peak of  the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. More info from http://www.pbs.org/whatson/press/winspring/islam.html and http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/

*BHARATNATYAM, one of the most popular forms of classical Indian dance, has undergone several major transformations in its 2,000 year history. Access a comprehensive collection of articles, multimedia resources, and links to dance schools

http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=49956

*PAKISTAN TV WORLD will air a series on Human Rights after the Khabarnama, which is 930 pm. The schedule is as follows:

May 03 Women's Rights 

May 10 Karo Kari 

May 17 Religious Intolerance 

May 24 Violence Against Women 

May 31 Child Abuse

June 07 Trafficking of Women and Children

*Pakistan News Service (www.PakNews.com) has launched its URDU Poetry and Literature Service to publish original works of poets and writers in the Urdu. Poets and writers may submit their poetry for consideration and publication to Fayyaz Uddin (fayyaz@paknews.com), a poet from San Francisco Bay Area, who has been appointed Associate Editor of the PNS Urdu section. Selected classical works will be printed in the PNS Urdu Poetry and Literature Forum located in the PNS website at http://urdu.paknews.com. More info from PNS Urdu Associate Editor, 1111 W. El Camino Real, #109-218, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, Phone 510-475-0100, Fax 510-475-0200, urdupoetry@paknews.com

*The proceedings of the 2000 Pak-Millennium Conference, a forum held at Boston University to discuss development paths for Pakistan are available on-line at the Pak-Millennium website, www.pak2000.org. Though much of the report discusses domestic issues for Pakistan. one of the panelist stated how language (Urdu/Hindi) can be unifying force between India and Pakistan.  The report for the first conference in 1999 should also be available on the website under "Transcripts". (Via Parwez Wahid Pwahid@aol.com)
 

AWARDS

*Dr. Vineeta Gupta, a Social activist and General Secretary of Insaaf International was conferred Rotary Manav Seva Awards 2001 on 24.3.01 at New Delhi, "in recognition of her relentless crusade against political and administrative corruption in the country". 

BOOKS & JOURNALS

*June 1 is the deadline for submission of papers for the special issue of Contemporary South Asia, an academic, peer-reviewed journal, on "THE SOUTH ASIAN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION". More info from Dr Apurba Kundu, Editor, Contemporary South Asia, Department of Cybernetics University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK, +44-(0)1274-235-046, Fax +44-(0)1274-235-295, a.kundu@bradford.ac.uk, www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/09584935.html

*Handcuffed to History: Narratives, Pathologies, and Violence in South Asia, Edited by
S. P. Udayakumar spudayakumar@yahoo.com, spuk@vsnl.net, Westport, Connecticut and London: Praeger, 2001, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-042774 ISBN: 0-275-96843-X $64.95; 216pp.
 

With a view to understanding the ethnic and religious rivalries that have come to be a major source of conflict in South Asia, Udayakumar and his contributors analyze the interface between interpretations of the past, identity construction practices and inter-group relations.  With general theoretical perspectives, contributors explain the various ethnic conflicts in South Asia and other parts of the world.  The role of history, narratives, and violent pathologies in those conflicts are also explained. Some of the most prominent South Asian conflicts such as the ìKashmir decision,î ìRamjanmabhumi temple,î and the ìhistoricity of caste systemî in India and the ìfirst comer controversyî in Sri Lanka are analyzed in detail. 
 

One of the major conclusions reached is that there is an element of bigotry in certain historiographies and these ìbigoted historiesî and ethnic/religious histrionics build on and contribute to each other and thrive in certain environments. Elevating this debate to a more political level, the essays highlight the role of human agency in the decision to remain handcuffed to bigoted histories or to be more aware and struggle for new beginnings. The essays also examine the prospects and possible means of negating the unity of history and metanarratives (with their characteristic pathologies and violence) and proliferating ìmany historiesî told from diverse perspectives.

This book is a stimulating collection for scholars, students, and researchers dealing with South Asian history as well as current ethnic, political, and military tensions in the region.

*Jhelum:The River Through My Backyard, By Khalid Bashir Ahmed, 200 pages

The result of sustained research that makes it the first authentic and detailed work on the Jhelum. The materials have been derived from ancient texts, chronicles, travelogues, interviews and scientific and literary studies making it an absorbing, reading and a useful reference work. It presents an interesting backdrop of events associated with the Jhelum over the centuries. It also gives the history of floods in the river dating back to 2000 BC and details the evolution of bridge construction over the main stream of the valley.
 

Divided into 10 chapters, the book also discusses the present status of pollution in the river and cautions that if the measures were not taken in the right earnest, it would not be too long before there was "anything left to do about the river." (GK News Service Via Kashnet kashmir-global-network@yahoogroups.com)

*POLITICS after Television: Hindu Nationalism and the  Reshaping of the Public in India, By Arvind Rajagopal,  Cambridge University Press, 2001; pages 393. Review "A message and the medium" by Parvathi Menon, Frontline Volume 18 - Issue 09, Apr. 28 - May 11, 2001
 

 THIS book is one of the most significant of recent contributions to  the literature on the history and political economy of the Hindu  Right in India between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, a period  that saw the exponential growth of the Sangh Parivar's mass base  and ideology. For full text send a blank email with POLITICS as its subject to pritamr@open.org

CONFERENCES

*August 10-12, Vancouver, B.C., Canada: INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIA FORUM (INSAF)

Upholding the principles of secularism, democracy, and social-economic justice, the conference aims to bring the concerned members of the South Asian Diaspora together, to discuss the many burning issues the countries and people face in the South Asian region, to share each others' experiences, and to plan collective actions. More info from Hari Sharma <sharma@sfu.ca>.

ENVIRONMENT

*The man from Ladakh who makes artificial glaciers (Anil Bhat, Via Kashmir Record & Research Council (KRRC) www.krrc.org)

Jammu, Apr 3: For the frontier rocky vestitudes of Ladakh, 65 year old Chewang Norpnel is a scientist with a difference. Neither has he any prize to his credit, nor does he find a place in the Guinness Book of world records for his innovation of making "artificial glaciers" in the cold desert.
 

"Glacier Man" as he is popularly called in Ladakh province, Norpnel has been making artificial glaciers to help terribly poverty-stricken peasants, who use the waters from these to irrigate their lands. "It is probably for the first time that someone has made artificial glacier in the history of world," says researcher Pallava Bagla.
 

Seven years ago, Norpnel retired from Jammu and Kashmir Rural Development Department as an engineer. Later, he took up an unusual job of making artificial glaciers in 1993. He chose a perenially shady part of the village Phuktsey perched high up in remote Leh district for the project. The area thus identified for the purpose measured 1500 ft in length, 200 to 250 feet in breadth and five feet in depth. Norpnel used iron pipes to divert water from a stream to the mountainside in the winter period. Then at regular intervals small embankments of stone were made to impede water flow and to make pools shallow. 

The process was started in the '93 winter. The thick mass of ice appearing like a glacier supplied water for irrigation to the fields of Phuktsey, thus benefiting the 1000-odd people inhabiting the village. 

According to Norpnel, an artificial glacier costs anywhere between Rs 20000 to Rs 100000 depending on the size. He has made more than 30 artificial glaciers across the length and breadth of Ladakh. 

Norpnel's formula for making artificial glaciers is simple. That is, diversion of water from any stream through iron pipes to a shady and inclined mountain land, at the start of winter. 
This has to be followed up with the construction of stone embankments in the demarcated areas. The winter cold freezes water like the original glacier, says Norpnel. 

In Ladakh, water is at a premium, particularly during mid-March when there is hardly any water to irrigate the crops with. Even the original glaciers on which peasants depend for water to grow crops like peas or wheat, do not melt easily. "The cropping season in Ladakh is short and if rains are delayed it fails," a senior scientist in the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture, Science and Technology said. Over 70 odd villages have been cultivated in last five years on account of the harvesting of water in the form of artificial glaciers. 
 

Norpnel wants World Bank help for construction of more glaciers in Ladakh. The proposal for the same has been already submitted to the Bank.

*Initiating a national strategy to encourage the JAL BIRADARI (water community) to make participatory water management a national movement in rural as well as urban regions, Centre for Science and Environment, and Tarun Bharat Sangh, non-government organizations from New Delhi based and Alwar respectively, organized a three-day conference from 21 April to 23 April 2001. http://www.cseindia.org/html/au/au4_20010425.htm

*Environmental issues have been included in schools at the pre-primary level in BHUTAN and in every grade in BANGLADESH, according a report of 5-day sub-regional workshop of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) sponsored by UNESCO and organized by the Punjab State Council for Science & Technology at Chandigarh recently. 

EVENTS

*Through May 11, Houston, TX, USA: COLORS FROM THE QURAN: Contemporary Islamic Calligraphy, An exhibition by Warris Mahmud, at the Asian Art Gallery, 3331 D'Amico Street. More information from 713.439.0051 or txcenter@asiasoc.org

*May 11, Hong Kong: FROM THE SPIRITED TO THE SPIRITUAL: Indian Classical Music Performance by Internationally acclaimed Rajeev Taranathand with Uday Raj Karpur on Tabla, at 7:30 p.m., at the City Hall, 8/F, Recital
Hall, 2103-9508. Tickets at HK$290 (HK$250 Asia Society members)

*May 18, Newark, CA, USA: GHAZALON KI EIK SHAAM, GHALIB KI SHAIRI KE NAAM, featuring singing of ghazals and geets by Sudhir Narain and talks about Ghalib’s poetry and personality by famous personalities of Urdu literature, a presentation of San Francisco Bay Area’s Bazm-E-Arbab-E-Sukhan, at 8:00 p.m., at Chandani Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Road. Dinner will be served 8 - 9 p.m. only. Tickets at $20. Sudhir Narain of from Agra, India is gifted with a gloriously rich voice and remarkable clarity in pronunciation. His Ghazal Albums include Ibtida and Irshad. More information from Annie Akhter   650.697.4445, mail4annie@aol.com or Dr. Tahir Mahmood (925) 485-0960 tahir3@home.com

FELLOWSHIPS

*Year 2002 International Policy Fellowships of The Central European University Center for Policy Studies. More info from http://www.osi.hu/ipf/apply.html.

*The American Institute of Indian Studies invites applications from scholars from all disciplines who wish to conduct their research in India.  Junior fellowships are given to doctoral candidates to conduct research for their dissertations in India for up to eleven months. Senior long-term (six to nine months) and short-term (four months or less) fellowships are available for scholars who hold the Ph.D. degree. Some senior fellows in the humanities will receive funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Performing and Creative Arts fellowships are available for accomplished practitioners of the performing arts of India and creative  artists.  Professional development fellowships are available to scholars and professionals who have not previously worked in India. Eligible applicants include 1) U.S. citizens, and 2) citizens of other countries who are students or faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities. Apply before July 1, 2001. Applications & More info from American Institute of Indian Studies 1130 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, (773) 702-8638: aiis@uchicago.edu.

WEBSITES

*www.hazratbalmosque.com is the website for the Hazratbal shrine of Kashmir. It site features color photographs of the shrine and contains full details about the shrine including its history. 

*www.ramayana.com is "the place where anyone can go to find out anything and everything about Lord Ramachandra and his devotees." It has been launched by Torchlight Publishing.

WOMEN

*'There is a contradiction in our (Indian) law which permits abortion in general while prohibiting sex-selective ones. If gender equality is the touchstone, then the rights of the female parent take precedence over the rights of the female foetus,' says Bharat Jhunjhunwala.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/20bharat.htm